Lyra’s eyes slowly opened as the sun came through the bedroom window. It took her a few moments to register the dream she’d been having was over. She lifted herself up to find she was the same pony as she had ever been; two bright teal hooves pointed at her, another fell slightly out of the sheets, and a fourth wrapped around the leg of her sleeping partner.
Nope, Lyra thought. Still don’t have hands.
Unable to lie back down and return to sleep, Lyra got up and went over to the mail slot. The slot kept rattling and rattling as Lyra heard a crinkling of paper from the other side. Lyra went over to and opened the door to find a familiar grey Pegasus with blonde hair trying to shove mail into the mail slot.
“Why don’t I take that off your hooves, Ditzy,” Lyra yawned.
“Oops,” Ditzy said. “My bad.” She took the mail in her hoof and extended it to Lyra, who quickly grabbed it with her unicorn magic and set it down on a small table nearby. “Oh, and there’s one more thing here, too.”
Lyra stared in confusion at Ditzy as she rifled through her postal carrier bag. Other ponies’ mail went flying all over the place until the Pegasus pulled out a small wooden box with a metal lock on it. Lyra took the box and examined it, noticing something was etched on its lid. “Is… that all?” she asked, suddenly awake.
“For today,” Ditzy said cheerily. “Well, I’ve got to get going now. Lots of mail to deliver. Bye!”
Lyra ignored Ditzy trying to collect all the dropped mail and went inside with the box. Upon closer inspection, the box was of a very fine and polished oak and was made with such skill that Lyra assumed it was a jewelry box from Canterlot. While a very fine thing to think, Lyra knew no such pony in Ponyville that would have the necessary funds in order to buy one of them. And the medal lock was made from such a strong medal that Lyra’s magic couldn’t break it open.
Setting the box on the kitchen counter for a moment, Lyra turned her attention to the other mail she had been given. There was a bill from the electric company, a bill from the gas company, a bill for a credit card, a notice that the available bit amount was lowered for said credit card because of failure to pay it back, and a letter for the upcoming taxes. Lyra had at least been hoping for acceptance to her application from the local Ponyville symphony – ran by Octavia, who also was first chair cellist though wanted to go to Canterlot – in order to be able to practice with them. Even a simple job response from the bank would be enough, but the fact remained that Lyra was astoundingly in debt.
A groan from the adjacent room told Lyra her roommate was awake. The beige pony with a frazzled pink and blue main slouched over to the kitchen and pulled out a pan and some eggs. “Mail come in this morning?” she said.
“Bon Bon,” Lyra asked, “aren’t you supposed to be receiving a paycheck soon?”
“Why do you ask?” Bon Bon said, turning around to face the teal and white pony.
Lyra shoved the stack of bills over to her. Bon Bon quickly sorted through them with her hoof and sighed. “If only the Cakes would promote me higher than that Pinkie Pie. I swear, she makes a total mess of the kitchen while I am neat and organized. I don’t know why they keep her on. Anyways, if they did, I’d be getting a bigger pay and we wouldn’t be in this mess.” She turned back around and continued cooking eggs for two.
Lyra and Bon Bon went to eat at a small table when the latter noticed the box still sitting on the counter. “What’s that?”
“I don’t know,” Lyra responded.
“Is it a jewelry box?” Bon Bon asked, confused.
“I don’t think so,” Lyra said. “Neither of us wear jewelry; what would we need a jewelry box for?”
Bon Bon went over to the box and grabbed it with her mouth before bringing it over to where she and Lyra were eating. “There’s something etched on it.”
“Read it, then.”
Bon Bon turned the box around until she could see it right-side up. “You have been given this box courtesy of a very special friend. This friend shall come around this night wearing a cloak as black as oil. You will be given a choice.”
Lyra blinked. “Sounds like a bunch of nonsense.”
“I agree,” Bon Bon said as she finished her eggs. “I’ll take it with me and throw it in the trash on my way to work.” She washed her dishes and packed a small salad to take with her before heading for the door. “Are you playing today?”
“Practicing for tomorrow,” Lyra said. “There’s supposed to be a festival tomorrow night in the park and I want to be ready for it. Twilight let me borrow a book of musical compositions from the library a week ago.”
“Very well,” Bon Bon said, and headed out the door. “I’ll be home sometime this afternoon.” And she left.
Lyra finished her egg then went to pluck some strings.
- - - -
Later that evening, after Bon Bon had returned home and dinner had been eaten, Lyra went to practice her lyre again in the bedroom. She was interrupted after the first few notes by a strange knocking coming from the door.
“Who is that knocking on the door?” Bon Bon shouted from the living room.
“A friend.” The voice resounded throughout the house like the royal Canterlot voice. “A very special friend.”
Lyra went to the living room and looked at Bon Bon attempting to peek out the mail slot.
“You get it,” she said quickly.
Lyra walked carefully towards the door and opened it. Standing outside was a very large pony in a black cloak that almost made her blend in with the night. The pony had a dark blue coat that was barely indistinguishable from cloak, and nothing else could be seen of it other than piercing white eyes and a blue aura that held a familiar box.
Bon Bon screamed.
The stranger walked in to the house uninvited, passing an astonished Lyra, before setting the box on the table where they had eaten dinner earlier that evening. A single hoof waved Lyra and Bon Bon over, and the two ponies went over to the table and sat down in the chairs the pony had magicked out for them.
“I’ve come here with a proposition,” the pony began, speaking much quieter. “One that deals with this box.”
“What sort of box is it?” Lyra asked.
“A special sort of box,” the pony said. “Inside this box… is a muffin.”
“A muffin?” Bon Bon scoffed as she regained her former composure. “What would we need a muffin for? This is starting to sound a bit overblown to me.”
“Now, now,” the pony chided. “Don’t be so quick to judge. You see, there are special properties attached to this muffin. Firstly, it is a special chocolate chip muffin, a blue-ribbon prize winning muffin at the Canterlot Dessert Competition from fifteen years ago and has been regarded as the most perfect muffin to have ever existed. The recipe has been kept secret by one family, one family that you know very well.”
“It’s still just a muffin,” Lyra commented.
“Ah, but with this muffin are magical properties. Things can change at the slightest whim of whoever eats it. Not beyond reason, of course, but the side effects of eating it can be… very strange.”
“So, what is your proposition regarding this muffin?” Bon Bon asked.
“You have two choices. Eat the muffin, or don’t eat the muffin. Do not eat the muffin, and you will be given a prize equivalent to it’s worth. Eat the muffin, and you will be given a hundred thousand bits, but something will happen in regards to your cutie mark.”
Lyra looked at her lyre. Bon Bon stared at the three pieces of candy.
“You have three days,” the figure continued without waiting for a response. “At the end of those three days, I will come back and either take back the muffin and give you your prize, or I shall watch you eat the muffin and you shall obtain the hundred thousand bits and whatever price your cutie mark shall pay. And you’ll need this to open it.” The pony brought out a small silver key. “Good night.”
Again without waiting for a response, the pony walked out of the house and disappeared in what Lyra could only describe as a tacky cloud of purple smoke.
“Well,” Lyra said after a long moment of silence. “What do you think?”
Bon Bon turned to Lyra as though dazed. “What do you mean?”
“What should we do about this box?”
Bon Bon’s head faced the floor. “I think… we should go to bed. In the morning, we’ll wake up and find out this has all been some sort of strange dream. Our lives will… go on as normal, I guess.”
Although she was trying to sound as tough about the issue as she had earlier, Lyra could tell that Bon Bon had no energy. “I suppose you’re right,” the unicorn said.
- - - -
Lyra’s eyes slowly opened as the sun came through the bedroom window. It took her a few moments to register the dream she’d been having was over. She lifted herself up to find she was the same pony as she had ever been; two bright teal hooves pointed at her, another fell slightly out of the sheets, and a fourth wrapped around the leg of her sleeping partner.
Nope, Lyra thought. Still don’t have hands.
Unable to go back to sleep, Lyra got up from the bed and decided to make herself breakfast so she could get started with practicing for that evening’s festival. Lyra lazily trotted to the kitchen and began making herself breakfast before turning her attention to the small oak box that sat on the table.
It wasn’t a dream, Lyra thought. We really do have this box.
Taking her breakfast over to the table, Lyra sat and stared at the box. She looked over it again and again, from the etchings to the lock to the silver key next to the box. Bon Bon had yet to wake up and Lyra decided that it wouldn’t hurt to just peek at the muffin. Taking the silver key and steadying it in the lock, Lyra turned the key until she heard a small click come from the interior of the box, taking her hooves and carefully opening the box.
Inside, as the stranger from the night before had said, there was a muffin. A small wisp of steam rose from the top of the lightly browned muffin. Lyra could see small chocolate chips scattered around the muffin. Forgetting her unicorn magic, Lyra took her hooves and gently lifted the muffin out of the box and brought it up to her nose; the muffin was soft but held up against the pressure from Lyra’s hooves. She smelled the muffin and noticed she was starting to drool. There was no doubt about it; this was the perfect muffin.
“Lyra!” a voice shouted from somewhere nearby, startling the unicorn. “What are you doing with that muffin? Were you going to eat it?”
“N-No!” Lyra said, placing the muffin back into the box with her magic. “I was just taking a look at it. I had to make sure it was real.”
“Thank goodness,” Bon Bon said, still annoyed. “Who knows what would have happened if you had eaten that danged thing.”
Lyra whined.
“Oh, don’t look at me that way,” Bon Bon said. “Just remember we have three days to make a decision before that stranger comes back.”
Lyra nodded.
“You’re playing at the festival tonight?” Bon Bon said.
“Yeah,” Lyra said. “I’ll be practicing for most of the day.”
“Alright. I hope the Cakes will let me out early to join up with you, but don’t wait for me.”
“Okay. Hope work goes better than yesterday.”
Bon Bon smiled as Lyra left the room to go practice.
- - - -
Bon Bon hadn’t returned home by the time of the start of the festival, so Lyra left for the park on her own, her lyre levitating next to her in its case. She wasn’t as quick as other ponies all around her were, feeling slightly apprehensive about how ponies would react to her playing. The harvest festival was a big thing at Sweet Apple Acres, and Lyra hoped she would be able to get even a small audience.
The festival was crowded and well-lit before Lyra even arrived. The teal unicorn went around and said ‘hi’ to some of her friends, not mentioning the box with the muffin when someone asked her how her week had been going. A few others suggested going to the unemployment office when Lyra mentioned her debt but Lyra only smiled weakly and said “I’ll think about it” before trotting off.
A small stage was set up for small talent acts and a small fee was required for entry. Even though the price to enter was small, Lyra found that she didn’t have the proper funds in order to be able to join.
“No need to worry,” said a voice from somewhere near her.
Lyra looked around, dropping her lyre case and nearly screaming from surprise as she noticed the pony in the black cloak standing next to her. “Your entry price has already been paid and you are on that list,” the voice said as though not taking notice of Lyra’s reaction. The larger pony sighed. “I hope you do well on this most wonderful of nights. Perhaps the even the stars themselves shall aid you.”
Lyra looked over at the booth for the stage, then turned back to where the pony was standing. Or rather, had been standing; just as soon as Lyra turned her head around the pony was no longer there. Lyra blinked stupidly for a moment before walking over to the booth.
“What’s your name?” the unicorn at the table asked.
“Lyra,” Lyra responded.
The unicorn flipped through a few pieces of paper. “You’re the one playing the lyre?”
“Y-Yes,” Lyra responded.
The unicorn nodded and returned the papers to their original state. “Come with me. You will be allowed on stage in five minutes, and will have ten to twenty minutes of time to play whatever you want. You can place your case out for tips if you’d like. Are you ready?”
Lyra nodded as the unicorn took her behind the stage.
“Very well, then. Wait here for a few minutes and I’ll announce your name when we’re ready.”
Lyra nodded again and sat down, taking out her lyre to polish it and tune the strings. When she was finished, she waited anxiously for the unicorn to call her name. When he did, Lyra quietly walked on stage, settled herself on a pillow, and grabbed the microphone to move it closer to her lyre. She levitated the lyre in front of her and extended her hooves before beginning to gently pluck the strings of her first song.
It wasn’t long before Lyra found herself becoming lost in her playing. The tune was a simple one, one she had studied for weeks and found easy to play. The tune was a slow one, played calmly upon the strings of her lyre. There were a few faster parts, but Lyra had mastered them with ease and now quickly and smoothly played her lyre through those parts. Once or twice she looked out to the audience to see a small crowd of ponies watching her in awe and she smiled before returning to her work. A spotlight soon shone on Lyra as she continued playing her song, but soon it was all over and she was met with excited cheers and ponies going up to the stage and placing bits in her case.
The next song Lyra played was a simple olden hymn with slight variations in tempo and sound of her strings. Lyra wished she had somepony to back her up while she played, but the ponies still cheered with delight as she played her song. More ponies came to watch and more ponies came to place bits in her case as Lyra continued, slightly embellishing the last portions of the song to make it even grander than just her alone. By the time she had finished with her second song, Lyra was exhausted and the bits were falling out of her lyre case. Lyra bowed as the ponies cheered her again and she closed up her case and began walking off the stage.
“That was… quite the performance,” came a sophisticated-sounding voice.
Lyra looked around and just about squeed when she found who was looking at her. There was no mistaking the grey pony with the pink and white bowtie around her neck. “Octavia!” Lyra said delightedly. “You… you were watching me perform?”
“Yes, I was. And I am impressed. Not many ponies can play Claire de Luna on a piano, not to mention a lyre like you did.”
Lyra felt something that was between giddiness and shock though wasn’t sure which one she felt more.
“Tell me, what’s your name?” Octavia asked.
“L-Lyra,” the unicorn said as a smile grew on her face.
“I shall not be forgetting that performance any time soon, Lyra,” Octavia said, a much more refined and restrained smile settling on her face. “Well done.” And she walked off.
A little while later, a teal unicorn pony was seen laughing delightedly as she hopped around the fair like Pinkie Pie.
It was later still when Lyra returned, worn out from happiness as she placed the bits into a small chest she kept next to her before flopping onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.
- - - -
The next morning, Lyra was awakened by the sound of a click coming from the next room. Wondering who was making that noise so early in the morning, Lyra walked out of the bedroom to see Bon Bon fiddling with the box with the muffin inside of it.
“Bon Bon!” Lyra said. “Where were you last night while I was at the festival?”
“I was also at the festival,” Bon Bon growled. “Working.”
Bon Bon’s quickness to anger upset Lyra and she walked over to the table and sat down with Bon Bon. “What happened?”
“The Cakes needed an extra worker at the festival,” Bon Bon said. “I was working until late last night, but all that running around made me stay awake. I haven’t slept since yesterday.”
“Um… do you get the day off?”
“Thankfully. But I can’t stand working there any longer!” Bon Bon shouted, nearly startling Lyra out of her chair. “Pinkie Pie always messes up everything I do! I try to make something, but it fails miserably because she wants to interfere to try something new. She’s always dragging me away from my work in order for me to help her with some little project she has. The Cakes do nothing to stop her and always are saying I should help her out! And I hardly am getting any overtime for the hours I had to work at the fair because the Cakes need the money to buy more supplies because Pinkie keeps using them!”
Lyra had no idea what to say.
“Um… Bon Bon…”
Bon Bon shot a death glare at Lyra, who recoiled but continued onwards. “I… made some money at the festival last night from the talent stage. I was also talked to by Octavia.”
“Wonderful,” Bon Bon said, but showed no joy or excitement. “You got back the entry fee, I’m assuming.”
“No. More than that.”
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “Show me.”
Lyra brought out the chest full of bits and placed it on the table and opened it so that Bon Bon could see. Together, Lyra and Bon Bon started taking out the bits and counting them until small stacks of bits filled the table.
“It’s… it’s enough money to pay off all our debts,” Bon Bon said.
“So… we don’t need to eat the muffin for the money?” Lyra said.
Bon Bon growled. “Are you crazy!?” she said, a maniacal look in her eye. Her voice became deeper and faster the longer she continued. “This is only enough to pay off this month’s debts. It won’t be enough to pay off any other debts we might occur. This meager amount is nothing compared to the hundred thousand bits we get if we eat that muffin.”
“But what about our cutie marks?” Lyra pleaded. “If something bad happens to my lyre cutie mark, I might not be able to keep playing. And… and what if it happened to yours? It’s possible we’d have the hundred thousand bits but not a way to keep adding bits to that. And let’s not forget a prize for not eating that muffin.”
“Do you want to know how much a muffin is worth?” Bon Bon asked.
“About two bits,” Lyra said.
“What prize is there going to be if we don’t eat it, then?” Bon Bon said. “What sort of life-changing reward will we get if we don’t eat the muffin? Nothing!”
“What about my cutie mark? I had Octavia come up to me today and applaud me for my performance! She might even ask me to join the Ponyville symphony orchestra! What would happen if my cutie mark were to change?”
“There’s the possibility of you becoming the best lyre player Equestria has ever known!”
“There’s also the possibility of you becoming the worst chef Equestria has ever known!”
“I say we should eat it!” Bon Bon shouted, raising herself up with the table as she stood on her hind legs.
“I say we shouldn’t eat it!” Lyra said as she rose to match Bon Bon’s height.
“Should!”
“Shouldn’t!”
“Should!”
“Shouldn’t!”
“We are going to eat that muffin!”
“We are not going to eat that muffin!”
“Fine!” Bon Bon shrieked. “If you won’t eat it, then I will all by myself when that stranger comes around tomorrow! And you shan’t have a single bite of it! Say goodbye to a taste of the single most perfect muffin ever made, because it’s all mine!”
Using her magic, Lyra flipped the table over, sending both Bon Bon and the box flying backwards. “Fine, then!” she said. “Be that way! Don’t care about what happens to our cutie marks!” And she stormed off to the bedroom, locking it so that Bon Bon couldn’t get in before settling down uneasily and waiting until the next night or at least until her roommate calmed down.
- - - -
The next morning, Lyra carefully unlocked the bedroom door and slowly walked out to see Bon Bon sitting at the table staring intently at the box as though it was going to move.
“Bon Bon…?” Lyra asked.
Bon Bon didn’t move.
“H-Have you eaten anything?” Lyra asked.
Bon Bon slowly shook her head.
“Do you want anything?”
Bon Bon slowly shook her head again.
Lyra gulped but walked over to the table all the same and sat down. The two remained at the table, staring at the box for a long time.
“You won’t be eating the muffin with me?” Bon Bon asked.
“No,” Lyra responded.
“Fine.” Bon Bon fell silent again.
The silence was not broken until that evening when a knock came at the door. Lyra slowly got up and walked over to the door as she opened it with her magic to reveal the now familiar cloaked figure standing at the door.
“Have you made your decision?” the figure said.
“My roommate is going to eat the muffin,” Lyra said.
The figure stared at her with the whites of its eyes. “…and what about yourself?”
“I will not be partaking in the muffin.”
“You won’t be getting any prize.”
“It will keep my mind at ease.”
“Only your friend shall get the reward of the hundred thousand bits and the price paid only to her cutie mark.”
“I shall take that risk of not getting the reward.”
The cloaked pony nodded and walked inside to where Bon Bon was at the table looking at the box. Taking the silver key, the figure opened the box and brought out the muffin with its magic, handing it to Bon Bon. “You must eat the entire muffin for you to get the reward.”
Bon Bon nodded.
The cloaked pony brought the muffin over to Bon Bon’s mouth, the wisp of smoke still rising from the top. Bon Bon bit into the muffin and Lyra heard a “mmmmmmm” come from her roommate’s mouth as she chewed the muffin. Lyra could only watch with mixed feelings of regret and satisfaction as she merely smelled the muffin from afar. When Bon Bon was finished, the cloaked figure brought over a napkin for her to wipe her face on, then threw the napkin in the trash and began levitating the box with her magic as she walked out the door.
“Wait!” Lyra found herself shouting.
The cloaked pony turned around. “Your choice has been made,” she said.
“It’s not about that. What… what happens next?”
“The bits shall be placed into your friend’s bank account in two days’ time. The effect on her cutie mark shall be present by tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, the box shall be taken to someone else and the same offer shall be presented with a new muffin inside of it.”
Though the pony had answered the question, she didn’t move. “Do you have another question for me?”
Lyra gulped as Bon Bon walked over, intrigued. “What was the prize we would have gotten?”
The pony laughed a bit. “Do you know how many bits this muffin is sold for?”
Lyra shook her head.
“Five bits,” the pony said. “It can go for up to seven bits in places like Canterlot and Fillydelphia. A small price to pay for a pony looking for the best possible muffin. Do you know how many are sold each year?”
Lyra again shook her head, feeling something cold and wet roll down her cheek.
“Thousands. Thousands of this type of muffin are sold everywhere to ponies far and wide. Had your friend not succumbed to her greed, I’m sure the Cakes would have been willing to show you how to make the muffin. Alas, should you talk to them now, they would pretend they do not know. And you shan’t find it in writing anywhere, either; it’s a family secret.”
Both Lyra’s and Bon Bon’s mouths dropped.
“Anyways,” the pony said. “I hope you have fun with your cutie mark. I doubt you’ll be seeing me again anytime soon. Good bye!” And she vanished in a tacky cloud of purple smoke, leaving no trace she had ever been there.
“I’m going to bed,” Bon Bon said, leaving a dumbstruck Lyra at the door.
- - - -
After Bon Bon left for work the next morning, Lyra sat down and took her bits to pay for all the bills they had received in the mail before taking them to the post office to send back her payments. When she was done, she went over to Sugarcube Corner and ordered a chocolate chip muffin; it smelled nothing like the one she had been offered and even tasted slightly dry, but it was good enough for her.
A familiar face saw Lyra sitting in the shop eating the muffin and walked out from the kitchen. “Lyra!” Bon Bon said. “Enjoying your muffin?”
“I don’t think I’ll enjoy it as much as you did last night,” Lyra responded.
“Hey, I’m sorry about that whole thing these last few days,” Bon Bon said apologetically. “I didn’t mean to be so hard on you about the whole thing. I promise you I’ll share the reward when it comes.”
“It’s fine,” Lyra said. “You got to taste the most perfect muffin in the world and you looked like you enjoyed it. Be happy you got to experience a rare thing and that we finally have some money for us now.”
“True,” Bon Bon said. “But, there’s something else.”
“What is it?” Lyra asked.
“Hold on; I’ll be right back.” Bon Bon left for the kitchen and returned with a small plate with two small pieces of confectionary on it. “I think I may have perfected my recipe!” Bon Bon said excitedly. “I knew it was these things that were my cutie mark, but I haven’t made them in so long. Anyways, I want you to be the first taste tester and tell me how it goes.”
“Thank you, Bon Bon!” Lyra said happily and picked up one of the pieces of confectionary. “And congratulations on the recipe.”
“Thank you, but come on! Try it!”
Lyra happily took the piece and put it in her mouth, exploding with sweet and salty flavor as she bit into it. She may not have had the muffin, but as she took the second bite of her treat, she found it to be just as good. She savored the flavor as she gulped it all down.
“That’s… that’s…” Lyra was going to say “That’s excellent”, but something else caught her eye.
“Well?” Bon Bon asked. “What do you think?”
“Bon Bon… your cutie mark… what happened?”
Bon Bon turned around to see what Lyra was pointing at. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw that the normally blue and yellow candy wrappers emblazoned on her flank had turned to a mixture of sickly green colors. Lyra almost couldn’t believe her eyes even as she stared right at them.
Suddenly, her stomach dropped and started churning. The world became blurred and she found it hard to stay in her chair. Lyra’s head swam as she struggled to stay upright as Bon Bon tried calling out to her, but her voice was so distant and echoed so much that Lyra could not understand what she was saying. Lyra lost her balance and fell off the chair and onto the floor of Sugarcube Corner.
The last thing Lyra heard before blacking out was the sound of sirens approaching.