//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 - Income 
// Story: Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium 
// by Thunderbug80 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 7
Income





They say that joy is fleeting.

Then again, they have said a good deal more than just that. For instance, they say that time is money, that numbers don't lie, and to be careful what you wish for. This is all well and good of course, but sometimes one wishes that they would butt out of our business and keep it to themselves. 

Unfortunately for Lyra and Bon Bon, joy had been fleeting. 

It wasn't for lack of effort, however. Their joy had been genuine as they celebrated Lyra's first sale to Pinkie Pie, but as time passed and the minutes built up and turned into an hour, the complete lack of any new customers had put a damper on their spirits.

"Why isn't anypony else coming in to have a look?" Lyra finally asked. She had maintained her optimism for an admirable amount of time, but even she couldn't stay satisfied without customers. Not with an indeterminable amount of debt owed and her home on the line. 

Bon Bon sighed. "I hate to say it but I think we need better stock," she admitted. She came up next to Lyra and put a hoof on her shoulder. "Selling that old spring to Pinkie was great, but let's face the facts. There aren't many ponies around who are going to want half of what we have here, and the other half of what we have is in too poor of a condition to realistically expect to sell." She picked up a broken tennis racket and gave it a cursory glance before setting it back on its display. 

Lyra perked up. "Well that's easy!" She trotted over to the cash register and pushed a button to open it. "We have the ten bits from Pinkie, so let's close up shop for a little while and go find something better to sell!" The bits disappeared from the register and went into a coin purse.

"Not yet," Bon Bon declared. She ignored the confused look that Lyra gave her and continued. "We need to replace all the junk that's set up on the window displays, but ten bits isn't going to buy enough to do the trick even if we get some amazing deals. We would also probably be best served if we travelled to Appleoosa or Canterlot to get something that isn't normally sold here in Ponyville, and that means buying train tickets." 

"So what do you propose that we do?" Lyra asked. Bon Bon walked to the front door and turned back to face her friend.

"It's simple," Bon Bon explained, gesturing towards the displays. "All we need to do is get one more decent sale and we should have enough bits to replace a good amount of this stuff." She sat down in front of the door and grinned. "Surely we can make one more sale, right?"

At that moment the door opened with a deafening bang, startling Bon Bon and causing her to jump high into the air and land hard on the floor with her legs splayed out. It took a moment before she could compose herself enough to shoot a defiant glare at Lyra for giggling at her. She then stood up and turned around to scold whoever had set her blood pressure sky-rocketing. A large, bluish-grey minotaur looked down at her apologetically.

"Please excuse Iron Will," it said with a granite voice. "Iron Will is still not entirely used to pony-made buildings and will remember to be more gentle next time." With that said, he looked up and seemed to notice the interior of the shop for the first time, because he frowned slightly. "Perhaps this is the wrong place. Iron Will was looking for the home of Lyra Heartstrings."

"Um, I'm right over here!" Lyra chirped. She waved a hoof from her spot at the checkout counter. "I've turned my home into an item shop. Didn't you recognize me?"

The minotaur squinted at Lyra and rubbed his chin. They all look the same to Iron Will, he thought. Aloud, he said, "Ah, yes! Just the unicorn Iron Will wanted to see." He strode over to the counter in three long strides and clapped his huge hands together. "As was promised yesterday, Iron Will has come to remind you of when your first payment is due. Can't Run, Can't Hide has also granted Iron Will permission to reveal how much your first payment will be." He cleared his throat and continued. "It is Iron Will's pleasure to announce that the sum of your debt has been split into multiple easy installments to be paid over a period of weeks. Additionally, because Can't Run, Can't Hide understands how difficult a new and unexpected debt can be to pay off, your first payment will be comparatively small, with each successive payment being larger until the full amount is paid off."

"Wait," Bon Bon cut in. "So you're saying that the payment for week one will be a small, easily-manageable amount owed, then the payment for week two will be a bit more, and so on for all the payments?"

The minotaur nodded. "That is correct."

Bon Bon grinned and addressed Lyra. "Well that's not too bad, it will give us a chance to build up a bit of business for the shop before having to tackle the bigger payments!" She turned around and nodded to Iron Will. "I guess your employer isn't so bad after all. So how much does Lyra owe for the first week?" she asked.

Iron Will withdrew his clipboard and examined it.

"Your first payment, due in seven days, is a mere five thousand bits!" he announced proudly.

Panic is a really funny word in that when you hear it or see it in print, you immediately know how someone, or in this case somepony, feels. 

"Five thousand bits!?" the two ponies cried simultaneously. 

Alarms went off in Iron Will's head. The scene unfolding before his eyes was the very kind of scene he had been warned about back at Can't Run, Can't Hide. He knew things had gone particularly sour when both ponies had their eyes become dilated. He was just preparing to block the exit in case either of them tried to flee when the door opened.

"Delivery for Miss Lyra Heartstrings!" announced an earth pony mare who had appeared in the doorway. Iron Will recognized her and allowed himself to relax somewhat.

"Ah, yes!" he said loudly. "Just in time!"

Lyra and Bon Bon allowed themselves to start breathing again and beheld the one dozen beautiful red roses that Iron Will signed for and brought to the counter. The delivery pony left, her job completed.

"Here," the minotaur said. "Iron Will knows that unexpected debt can be difficult, and hopes that these might cheer you up." He offered up a weak grin.

Bon Bon rolled her eyes, but Lyra's were wide and sparkling with wonder.

"They're beautiful..." she murmured. 

"Oh please, don't tell me you're actually buying that story!" Bon Bon interjected. She bent close to Lyra's ear and whispered. "It's just a bribe!"

"No, I'm not buying it!" Lyra announced. She then snatched the roses up in her mouth, trotted up to the front window, kicked the old broken wheel off the display and replaced it with the flowers. "Someone else is going to buy it! I appreciate the gesture, Iron Will, but flowers won't save my home. Only bits can do that."

Iron Will was left scratching his head, but Bon Bon giggled. "Hey, wouldn't it be awesome if somepony saw those and..." she began just as the front door opened.

"Excuse me, miss," a short, bespectacled stallion called out as he entered the shop. "I couldn't help but notice those amazing roses in the window. How much for them?"

Iron Will's jaw dropped as Bon Bon covered her mouth with both front hooves to keep from bursting out laughing. He wasn't even offended that his gift was about to be sold. On the contrary, he was quite impressed with the unicorn's ruthless ability to turn a sudden profit.

Perhaps she can pull this off after all, he thought. His thoughts were broken by a hoof nudging his side.

"How much did you pay for them?" Lyra whispered into his ear as he bent down.

"Hm? Oh uh, fourteen bits," he answered quietly.

Lyra put both her front hooves on the counter and leaned towards the stallion. "Fifteen bits!" she declared.

Iron Will and Bon Bon both sucked in air and held it simultaneously. It was bold, if not outright ludicrous, to demand more than fourteen bits.

The stallion adjusted his glasses in thought, then said, "Well... that's fair enough, I guess. I'll take them."

Breaths were exhaled behind Lyra as she rung up the roses and took in the bits. She wished the stallion a pleasant day and watched him exit the shop, then turned to the stunned pair standing behind her.

"Those roses were from Roseluck's shop," she explained. "She only keeps a dozen roses of top quality at her stall at any given time. I know, because I like to eat one every now and then." She turned back to the cash register and opened it, then began counting bits. "Since our minotaur friend here had bought all twelve of them, I knew that her shop would be out of stock until tomorrow. As such, I was the only shop in town with top quality roses in stock." She finished counting and looked Bon Bon in the eye. "As you said earlier, ponies are willing to pay a little more if it means saving time and effort."

Bon Bon simply continued to stare at Lyra, her jaw slightly agape. Iron Will, on the other hand, was openly grinning.

"Now that's how it's done!" he roared. He couldn't help himself. With what he had just witnessed, he felt that perhaps his job wasn't in as much jeopardy as he thought it had been.

Lyra walked behind Bon Bon and nudged her in the flank. "Come on, Bon Bon, snap out of it! We've got to close up shop for a little while so we can buy some new stock." She then stopped suddenly and turned to address Iron Will with a smile. 

"Hey, want to come with us to Appleloosa... partner?"