//------------------------------//
// Chapter 32 - Sold! 
// Story: Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium 
// by Thunderbug80 
//------------------------------//

"So what do you think? If we send Spitfire northeast, she should be able to quickly cover a lot of ground. That's where most of the slimes and such seem to be concentrated, anyway." Bon Bon made a few adjustments to the display she was working on. "Of course, it would be nice to send Rainbow Dash too, but she and her friends are currently off saving the world or some such thing again. Is Iron Will free to do any contracts?"

Lyra lifted her head off the counter. "I think he's checking in with the debt collectors, but he should be back soon. Diamond Tiara has already managed to call in another family favor and should be getting some fashions from Manehattan that were going to be sold in Canterlot to be shipped here instead. Should come in tomorrow." She yawned and flopped her head back down. "Maud Pie is bringing in some gemstones to sell. Scootaloo was going to go see Flim and Flam and see if they could drum up some more contracts. And I already put in an order for fresh food supplies to be delivered. Saves time having to go collect it ourselves."

Bon Bon finished with the display and walked over to her friend. She brushed the mane out of Lyra's eyes and smiled. "Look at you. Even all tuckered out, you still have a plan in motion. Honestly, I'm beat too." She stretched her back and hind legs out one at a time. "It'll be nice to get this week over with. Who knew selling could be so physically demanding?"

"Three more days like yesterday and we can finally relax," Lyra said. She sighed softly and smiled.  "Remember when I told you my idea for the shop? You were eating a tulip sandwich in your kitchen"

Bon Bon laughed. "How could I forget? 'I won't sell everything I own. I'll just sell everything!' Wasn't that what you said?" She allowed herself a short burst of giggles, then sighed and looked around the shop. "Never would have thought you'd actually go and do it. Come to think of it, I never did get to finish that sandwich."

"I'll buy you lunch when this is all over," Lyra said.

"Deal," Bon Bon replied.

The two friends remained quiet for some time, content with fond and sometimes crazy memories of this impossible task that they had somehow made possible through wits and determination. And sales. Lots and lots of sales.

Though the two would have been happy to spend a little more time relishing that quiet, peaceful moment, fate had other plans for  them. For in that moment, several small, frantic taps sounded at the front door.

Bon Bon sighed and made for the door. "It's open," she called out.

The door opened to reveal Diamond Tiara, a hoof wrapped comfortingly around Scootaloo, whose face was stained with tears.

"Oh my goodness, what happened?" Bon Bon asked as Lyra lifted her head from the counter behind her.

"I'm not sure," Diamond said. "I found her like this, walking all alone. She wasn't saying anything, so I grabbed her and came here straight away."

"You did good, Diamond Tiara," Lyra said. She trotted over and took Scootaloo into her forelegs, comforting the filly as best as she could. "There, there. It's alright."

"It's n-not," Scootaloo said through sobs. "It's n-not a-alright." She looked up into Lyra's eyes and renewed her crying all over again. It took several minutes before she could speak again. "I... I can't. I can't save your house," she said, her body shaking as she tried to wipe away tears. 

"I can't save your house!"





"Disbanded?" Bon Bon said, aghast. "How could this even happen?" She stopped pacing for a moment and narrowed her eyes. "Flim and Flam," she growled through gritted teeth.

"It's not their fault," Scootaloo said. She was wrapped in a warm blanket and sipping on cocoa. Lyra still had a protective hoof on her shoulder. "They aren't as bad as everypony makes them out to be."

"No, just bad enough to completely ruin several weeks worth of effort to save Lyra's home," Bon Bon countered. At the sight of Scootaloo wincing she said, "Sorry. Kind of."

"Well now what do we do?" Diamond Tiara asked. "There's only so many favors I can call in. Without guild members bringing in additional supplies, there won't be anything left to sell after today."

"Honestly, I don't think our stock will last through the day," Bon Bon admitted. "Trixie went and bought up pretty much everything we didn't buy first, so we were completely relying on new items found through contracts and such until the shops in Appleloosa and Canterlot got restocked."

"We can't even buy out the stock at Trixie's Rich's!" Diamond walked to a window and pointed a hoof towards the shop across the road. "Everything over there is rare and expensive as-is, and there's no way Trixie would be willing to sell at anything less than a solid profit."

"Argh, this is aggravating! There has to be something we can do." Bon Bon looked toward Lyra. "What do you think, Lyra?"

But Lyra Heartstrings wasn't listening. She was looking off toward the back of the shop, her eyes distant, her face unreadable. It was enough to make everypony else in the room grow silent. Lyra always paid attention when there was planning to do. Even when half-asleep. 

"Lyra?" Bon Bon repeated, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"I..." Lyra began. She lifted a hoof to her chest, still staring at nothing. After a moment her eyes found the floor, then finally she looked over at Bon Bon. "I don't know."

Bon Bon felt her heart sink as her best friend's eyes welled with tears. Worse, she had no idea how to comfort her. They had no stock, they had no guild, and in a few days, Lyra would have no home. Worst of all, Bon Bon had no answers.

"I'm sorry," Lyra said as she wiped her face and walked quickly to the door. "I just... I need some time to think." With that, she opened the door. A stallion was just outside, apparently waiting for the shop to open. Lyra took a step back and stared blankly at him. Before they could well up with tears again, she averted her eyes and managed to say "We're closed," before brushing past him and hurrying off down the road.

Bon Bon stared after her before looking back at Diamond and Scootaloo. Diamond nodded gently, and Bon Bon rushed out of the shop in pursuit of her friend.





It didn't take long for Bon Bon to find Lyra. She held her breath as she carefully picked her way through the various types of rubbish on her way to the top of the trash heap. Once she arrived there, she carefully took a seat next to her.

They sat in silence for several minutes. Bon Bon wanted to hold Lyra, comfort her, and tell her everything would work out just fine. But she knew that wasn't possible, and she knew that Lyra knew it as well. With the guild disbanded, there was no realistic way to raise enough money to make the final payment. All their hard work had been for naught.

She wrapped her forelegs around Lyra and held her anyway.

"I'm so, so sorry," Bon Bon said. She tried to think of something wise or profound to say, but nothing came to mind. She became angry with herself, unable to be of any use in her friend's time of need. She looked around awkwardly, trying to avoid meeting Lyra's gaze. Eventually, she resigned herself to just looking down at the rubbish.

She blinked, and stared at something within one of the piles below her. She let go of Lyra and carefully made her way down toward whatever she had seen. Lyra, who had been staring straight ahead, took notice and watched as her friend dug into a pile of trash and came up with something. A moment later Bon Bon had made her way back up to Lyra.

Lyra stared at the object Bon Bon had retrieved. "Is that...?"

Bon Bon nodded. "Yeah. It's the missing sock to that set we found all those weeks ago."

There was something about the serious tone Bon Bon had used that made Lyra's ears perk up. She looked at the sock, its three mates still somewhere in the bargain bin, at the mess of trash in Bon Bon's mane, and at the expressionless look on her face.

Bon Bon continued, her voice nearly monotone. "Now that we have the final sock, we can sell the entire set. Just seventy-three thousand bits. Your home is saved. Yayifications." 

A moment later, Lyra burst into a fit of giggles.

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I don't even know," Lyra admitted, still giggling. "My life is a complete mess, and yet here I am laughing at a sock." She sighed, leaned back, and became more serious. "Honestly, though. I don't know what to do. I've done the math. It's just... not possible."

"I know," Bon Bon admitted. "Look, I realize it can never replace your house, but you can stay with me at my place until you get back on your hooves. There's no way I'll ever let you go homeless."

Lyra leaned in for a hug. "Thank you. I just... I thought we were going to make it. It hurts to have come so close just to—"

"I understand," Bon Bon said. "Look, let's head back. There's still a few days left, and I'm sure we can sell enough to at least put a good dent into what's still owed. Even if you lose the... even if we can't save everything, we can still try to save as much as we can."

Lyra gave a small smile and nodded. Together the two friends made their way down the trash heap and headed back towards the shop.





The last thing Lyra expected was for there to be a small crowd gathered outside the shop when she and Bon Bon got back into town. The two stopped and looked at each other. Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara were there, and it looked like Iron Will had returned from his business at Can't Run, Can't Hide. But Spitfire was also there, as was Maud Pie. Stranger still, Trixie, Filthy Rich, and the salespony they had hired were also present.

"There she is!" Scootaloo called out. And suddenly all eyes were on Lyra.

"Um, what's all this about?" Bon Bon asked as she and Lyra looked around at those who were gathered. Diamond Tiara stepped forward.

"Hi," she said, almost shyly. "Um... well, I may have explained your situation to my father."

"But it won't be the same if Lyra's not doing it!" Scootaloo said. Spitfire nodded sagely beside her.

"Does she have any other choice?" Diamond shot back. "I didn't tell father for any kind of personal gain, I swear it. I told him because she needs our help!"

"Whoah there," Bon Bon said. "Can somepony please just explain what's going on?"

At that moment Filthy Rich, Trixie, and Amber Glow all came forward. Filthy Rich adjusted his suit and nodded at Lyra.

"Miss Heartstrings, my daughter told me all about how you stand to lose your home if you do not come up with a sizable sum of bits within the next few days. Now, believe me when I say that had I known of your situation, I may have chosen another location for my business. It has never been my intention to run you or anypony else out of their home"

"We may have wanted to run you out of business," Trixie chimed in, "but making you homeless would kind of be evil, or something."

Amber Glow quickly said, "What she means to say is that there's a difference between healthy competition and capitalistic brutality."

Filthy Rich nodded. "So I thought about it, and I believe I have a mutually beneficial solution." He held a hoof out. "Shake on it here and now, and I'll purchase the rights to Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium for the sum of all your remaining debt, plus the value of all stock and supplies within. Best part is, you get to keep your home and go back to living your life debt-free."

Lyra stared at the hoof that was extended before her.

"Lyra, wait," Bon Bon said. "Maybe there's some other way. I know it sounds good, but maybe there's something we haven't thought of."

"What's there to think of?" Trixie asked. "You either have a home or you don't. I would think the choice is rather obvious."

Lyra hesitated and stared at the ground.

"But to sell out to the competition? That just isn't Lyra's way!" Scootaloo called out. "She can find a better way, I know it!"

"Listen, kid, I understand. But we're not trying to be the bad guys here," Amber said soothingly. "We just want to offer a solution that helps everypony."

Lyra closed her eyes and tried to concentrate.

"I was just trying to help," Diamond Tiara said. "I didn't want to start any arguments!"

"Then you could have come to us to try and find a solution instead of them!" Scootaloo retorted. Her eyes were welling up with tears again.

"I did come to you! And I loved working by your side for Lyra, but—"

Suddenly, Lyra gritted her teeth, reached a hoof out, and bumped it against Filthy Rich's.

"Sold," she breathed. A moment later, she turned and ran into the shop as fast as she could and locked the door behind her, leaving everypony else outside to stare after her in bewilderment.