Hearth's Warming Evil

by Tortfeasor

Sixteen Weeks

Disclaimer: Would you believe me if I told you I do own My Little Pony? No? Well that’s okay, I wouldn't either.

Lyra Heartstrings plucked a single string with her magic. The note resounded through the small room with a purity that could only be brought forth by a caring, expert musician using a well loved instrument. It was a perfect moment, she would have stopped time for a few hours then and there if she had the ability.

The moment ended. Lyra placed the sitar some noble had bought from some exotic land back on the table. The thought of taking the whole day off to simply relish the experience of playing such a strange instrument nearly brought forth a storm of giggles. Playing music, however, did not pay her bills, that was what she fixed the instruments of unicorn nobles with too many bits for.

It was a shame really. She could easily imagine the haunting, alien melodies the sitar could produce in the hands of one of her so-called 'mythical' humans with their long, dexterous fingers.. That was as far as she took the thought. Playing music wouldn't bring in enough customers, waxing about humans or other so-called 'fantastic' creatures would just drive ponies and their bits away.

And if other unicorns knew she was close with an earth pony… Well, she didn’t quite think they’d throw her in Dirtville, but her modest success would certainly melt like the snow in the next few weeks as spring took hold, and it wouldn't come back next winter. No, she wouldn't worry about that. It wasn't like most unicorns spared a second thought for earth ponies except to demand they produce enough food. And the unicorn nobles who made up most of her clientele were more self-absorbed than most. It was rare enough for one of them to pick up or drop off an instrument themselves rather than send some servant.

Lyra was unlike most unicorns in the opposite direction. It was odd enough for a unicorn to care about an earth pony. It was far odder still for a graduate of the Clover the Clever Academy to do such. Most of those self-absorbed unicorn nobles had gone through the Clover the Clever Academy. Somehow, though, Lyra had gone through the academy, on a scholarship of course, and wound up with Bon Bon, very much an earth pony, as the single most important pony in her world.

She suffered the worries typical for a unicorn in her position. At least, she thought she did. Lyra had never met another unicorn who’d become close to an earth pony. No surprise there, it wasn't as if unicorns like herself shouted what they’d done with pride into the streets.

What would happen to her if other unicorns found out about Bon Bon would be unpleasant. What would happen to Bon Bon if other unicorns found out about them… would likely be fatal. It would probably be the same if other earth ponies found out. She’d walked past the charred skeletons of several houses, and ponies, that morning as she’d snuck out of Dirtville. Most of those had been right up against the wall where the few earth ponies who collaborated with unicorns and pegasi lived.

Or, Lyra thought with a shudder, Bon Bon could wind up in a penal colony. She suspected most unicorns wouldn't even know what the words meant. Every whispered rumor she’d heard about those places said that they were where earth ponies went to die, slowly and none too pleasantly. No, she rubbed at tired eyes with her hooves, that wouldn't happen to Bon Bon. Lyra was always careful to the point of paranoia making sure that no one knew she was a unicorn when she went to Dirtville. And she always went to Dirtville rather than the other way around. The thought of Bon Bon sneaking up to visit her was beyond laughable.

Lyra heaved a sigh. This moping was getting her nowhere. She had plenty of instruments to fix for bored nobles. Bored nobles who probably had no idea how to play their instruments, and who only bought them to display them and make like they were some patron of the arts. What good was that degree laying in her closet if she couldn't teach some rich, entitled brats what real music was? The answer was depressingly easy. That degree laying in her closet was a big reason why her clientele was composed of unicorn nobles who payed… Well, not that much, but certainly more than she could have gotten from other commoners.

Going down to Dirtville and visiting Bon Bon always made her mope after she came back to her own comparatively luxurious surroundings. Bon Bon was well off as far as earth ponies went. She wasn't near starvation, she had more than enough bits around to not need any help from Lyra, and she wouldn't be swept up in the next cleanout that came down from the palace, or the one after that, or the one… Lyra wondered how Bon Bon put up with it. She didn’t have to worry about any of those things as a unicorn, and the mere thought had her sick with worry.

Focus, Lyra told herself over and over. Business wasn't booming, but she was far from having a disturbing amount of free time each day. She picked up the next instrument, a Kanun some noble had imported all the way from Saddle Arabia. It needed all its strings replaced, and the wood was in desperate need of polishing. Lyra immersed herself in her work for the next several hours, grateful for the distraction from her own overactive mind.

When Lyra finally did look up it was accompanied by a crack from her neck. Maybe she’d overdone it just a bit. The sun was already creeping down from its noon peak. The unicorns responsible for raising and lowering it would give a few minutes more of light each day until summer, when they’d leave the sun up a bit less each day. That was their problem, Lyra’s was finding herself some lunch.

The bell at her front door chose that exact moment to jingle. Lyra sighed as she turned to go attend her new customer. A late lunch would mildly inconvenience her. A customer meant earning bits to keep having lunch, both late and on time.

“Hello.” Lyra trotted out with a smile on your face. “How can I help you…” Lyra’s throat went bone dry. Standing in front of her was none other than the Court Sorceress herself, Twilight Sparkle.

“Lady Sparkle, what can I do for you, your excellency?” Lyra’s blood was ice in her veins. There was no way her illustrious former classmate, not that she’d likely remember Lyra, would never stop by for a simple social call. The only reason Twilight Sparkle would stop by her shop probably ended up with Lyra in jail, and Bon Bon dangling at the end of a rope.

“Just Twilight.” Lyra didn’t quite comprehend that the first words out of Twilight Sparkle’s mouth weren't fire and brimstone, and her face said as much. “My mom is ‘lady,’ I’m just Twilight.”

“Right.” Lyra held her smile on her face through sheer willpower. “So, um, La... Twilight, what brings you to my shop today?”

“Oh not much, just an impromptu class reunion. I was looking something up in the library yesterday when I saw something that reminded me of you. I looked you up, and here I am.”

Lyra was used to hearing one thing on the surface, and something quite different between the lines. Usually it was something along the lines of how charming it was that she believed in creatures like humans, while the other pony actually thought her irritating bordering on insane. Twilight Sparkle hadn't come by for a chat. Why the guards hadn't burst in already? There were only two entrances to her shop, and it wasn't like she’d make it far if she tried to run up to her apartment above the shop and flee.

“It’s nice to see you’re doing well for yourself.” Twilight Sparkle seemed determined to keep up the cheery act. “Far too many scholarship students get their degree, a pat on the head, and then a swift kick to the rear out the door.”

“Thanks?” Lyra was far too nervous to string together multiple words, two syllables had been a stretch.

The smile dropped from Twilight Sparkle’s face. This was it. Lyra only wished she’d been able to talk to Bon Bon one last time. Maybe they’d put them in cells near enough to hear each other.

“Relax,” Twilight Sparkle sighed. “You’re not in trouble. I’m here alone, and next to no one knows that I’m not locked up in my room right now working on something.”

“What does that have to do with me? I’m just an ordinary unicorn trying to get by like the rest of us.” Maybe they didn’t have proof of anything. If Lyra watched her words she and Bon Bon might just make it out alive.

“Nothing normal had you in Dirtville during that riot.” Lyra’s heart plummeted. All her paranoia had been for nothing. “Like I said, you’re not in trouble.” Twilight Sparkle had no problems reading her thoughts on her face. “If you were, we’d be having this conversation in a much less friendly environment.”

“What… what do you want?”

“I want your help.” That wasn't the answer Lyra had been expecting. “Look, during the riots I was in Dirtville too. I was trying to get to a pegasus garrison when I saw you running by. I was hidden and I wasn't using any magic, so I’m not surprised you didn’t see me. I followed you to that shop and saw you talking with that earth pony.”

“Bon Bon.” Lyra interrupted. “Her name is Bon Bon.”

“Well that’s more than I knew about her at the start of the day.” Twilight Sparkle had a very good poker face. “Is she supposed to be in Platinum City? I can make sure she gets her papers, even if you can’t help me.”

Lyra bit down her answer. Twilight Sparkle had just spoken between the lines again. She was clearly reaching for something from Lyra, but just as clearly, she didn’t want to come right out and say it.

“We met at a noble’s party in the unicorn part of the city, so I’m pretty sure her papers are in perfect order.” Lyra had no idea what Twilight Sparkle was after, but if it could keep Bon Bon safe she’d take the offer without blinking. “You obviously did your homework, so you probably know that I perform music on the side to bring in more bits. It was a few years back, there was a fad sweeping all the nobles, they were being very counter culture with music and food.”

“I remember that,” Twilight Sparkle said. “I wasn't Court Sorceress yet, and Sombra had just started taking over the government. Lots of unicorns thought it was funny, until they realized just what kind of pony he is.”

“Right.” That had all gone over Lyra’s head. “Anyways, I was approached to play some earth pony songs at this fancy get-together. I didn’t really think about earth ponies much back then, so it was just another job. They’d also decided to get earth pony food at the gathering. At least, they wanted something that passed for earth pony food, the real thing uses cheap ingredients and there’s never enough of it. That was where Bon Bon came in. I forget what unicorn she'd been contracted under for that job, he was some big shot who never bothered to do more than occasionally poke his head in.

“I was kind of uncomfortable at first. Working with earth ponies wasn't exactly a major topic at school. I’m pretty sure Bon Bon wasn't having the time of her life being surrounded by unicorns either. The pay was good enough, though, I definitely remember that, even if I probably got loads more bits than she did. Please don’t take offense at this, but plenty of unicorn nobles lump everyone who’s not them as simply ‘lesser.’”

Twilight Sparkle laughed, Lyra hadn't been expecting that. “Oh I agree perfectly with that. I deal with them every day. Most of them have their noses so far in the air I’m always amazed when they can get around without bumping into everything.”

“Um, yeah.” Lyra really hadn't expected that from the Court Sorceress herself. “Like I was saying, the nobles there didn’t have much clue what they were talking about, and they always talked down to both of us about it. I think I was just as surprised as the other servants that we had something in common with an earth pony. For some reason I wound up as the one talking with Bon Bon the most. We didn’t become friends then and there, of course. But she was impressed that a unicorn could play earth pony music and be good at it, and I’d always thought that earth ponies practically ate dirt. That was something in common, and I guess it was enough.

“I started sneaking into Dirtville after that. Bon Bon has never seen my shop. After the party she was practically hustled back past the wall by a squad of pegasus guards. It took quite a toll on both of us at first. We’d been raised from foalhood to hate each other, so finding out that we’re both just ponies, let alone that we'd get along so well, was quite a shock. I think you can understand why we haven’t exactly wanted to run around and tell every pony on the streets the good news. I try to get down to Dirtville to visit her whenever I can, but I’m always very careful about it. I make sure no one sees me leave, and by the time I’m in the pegasus part of Platinum City I have my cloak up so no one can tell I’m a unicorn. It was going great, Bon Bon’s a fantastic pony, and I was able to help her out a lot, at least until you saw me. Now I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Twilight Sparkle sat in silence for several minutes digesting Lyra’s tale. “Spring starts tomorrow.” Lyra wasn't sure what to make of that, not even a little.

“Spring starts tomorrow.” Twilight Sparkle looked Lyra straight in the eyes. “The Unicorn King won’t see the start of next winter.”

That was news to Lyra. From the way Twilight Sparkle had said it, Lyra suspected it would prove a surprise to a great many ponies.

“He has about four months to live, sixteen weeks give or take.” Twilight Sparkle spoke far too matter of factly to not have known for some time. “That’s why I need your help. The Unicorn King has been sick, too sick to rule, for awhile now. But Rarity, his eldest daughter, isn't running things as regent. Sombra, the chancellor, has sidelined her, and he’s behind everything that’s been happening to the earth ponies for the past year and more. In four months, though, that’s all over. Rarity becomes queen, and Sombra finds out what life is like living under a rock. Unless he sidelines her in a more permanent sense first.”

“I still don’t get where I come into all this.” Lyra’s brain was spinning. “This is all high politics and intrigue, and I was only let into the Clover the Clever Academy because they thought I’d look good wedged into the graduation picture.”

“Unicorns are dying,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Unicorns who have moderate views on earth ponies are winding up dead at an alarming rate. I just found out that I might have been slated to have an ‘accident’ during the riots. I won’t lie and say that I think your world where we get along with the earth ponies is what I want. But New Unicornia needs the earth ponies, and what Sombra is doing is just plain wrong. Where you come into all this is that you can be a bridge between me, Rarity, and the earth ponies. I want to calm them down, stop giving Sombra excuses to send in the pegasus guards every other day. I think I have a way to keep them calm, but I don’t know where to use it. You can talk to earth ponies, find out where it’s most likely that Sombra is going to strike next, and you can make it into the palace to tell me or Rarity. No one else could do that. Embarrass Sombra enough and his support will collapse. Things will start getting better for the earth ponies as soon as he’s gone, I can promise you that.”

“I don’t know Lady… Twilight. I’m just a musician who repairs instruments to keep a roof over my head. I don’t think I’m remotely qualified for this. I’m sorry, I wish I could help, I really do, but I think I’ll just make things worse.” Lyra was quite willing to do anything if it meant keeping Bon Bon safe. But this… She’d been right on the dot when she’d said she’d only make things worse, and worse would bring the guards down on Bon Bon.

“Don’t worry.” Twilight Sparkle surprised Lyra, again. “I feel like I’m treading water right up to my horn with this. Dumping it all on you and expecting you to just jump right in was silly. Make sure Bon Bon has her papers in order though. Come talk to me if she doesn't, I’ll make sure she gets some. And Lyra, come up with a way to get her out of Platinum City. Things are going to get worse before they get better, if they get better. Because if Sombra wins I don’t think he’ll care whether or not earth ponies have their papers.”

“Five thirty,” Lyra said as Twilight Sparkle was opening her door. “I close at five thirty. It’s best to go down to Dirtville during the evening rush. No one notices two more ponies going back into Dirtville. I can’t promise you that Bon Bon will be willing to help, but I’ll take you to see her.”

Twilight Sparkle was nothing if not punctual. She’d shown up at Lyra’s door just as she was turning the small sign in the window from open to closed. She also seemed to have some clue what she was doing. Twilight Sparkle’s cloak was far from what Lyra was expecting a unicorn of her exalted station to wear. It was unornamented, dull of color, generally what one would expect from an average pony who cared first about staying warm.

As they left the shop, Lyra stopped to do her usual check to make sure that no one had seen her leave. Part of it was sheer habit, and a not inconsiderable part was fear that there would be a squad of pegasus guards waiting around the corner for a shout from Twilight Sparkle. There were no guards, much to the benefit of Lyra’s heart rate, and no ponies other than Twilight Sparkle to see her lock up the shop and step out into the street.

“Make sure to keep your hood up and your head down once we get to the pegasus part of the city.” Lyra suspected Twilight Sparkle wasn't particularly ignorant of how to get into Dirtville unnoticed, but Lyra was as close to a professional as it was possible to be without being an actual smuggler. “We’re just two ponies going back into Dirtville after a long day of work, nothing to be noticed or remembered.”

Twilight Sparkle nodded. Lyra set off on a slightly different course than usual, no reason to take unnecessary chances. She made sure to avoid the main thoroughfares, and to give no one on the back streets they took any reason to notice or remember them. For her part, Twilight Sparkle seemed to be content with following in silence. Lyra had exactly zero complaints about that. She didn’t dislike Twilight Sparkle, she didn't know her enough for that, but she was an equal distance from trusting her beyond necessity.

“Is there anything I should know before we get to Dirtville?” Lyra had been so engrossed in the silence that Twilight Sparkle’s question nearly made her jump out of her cloak.

“Earth ponies aren't monsters or anything.” Lyra’s heart was getting quite a workout despite a distinct lack of exercise. “Bon Bon is a pony just like you or me, so don’t talk down to her or anything like that. She’s plenty smart, she might not have had the fancy schooling we did, but she still taught herself to read and write when she opened up her shop. That, and I think you already know that keeping your horn covered means keeping your head attached to your body.”

“I've gotten that piece of advice a few times over the last couple of days.” Twilight Sparkle’s response was impressively deadpan. “No touchy subjects though? Having a real conversation with an earth pony is pretty new to me, and I’d rather not blow this by saying something that’s fine between unicorns but turns out to be incredibly offensive to earth ponies.”

“Just what you’d expect,” Lyra said. “Like I said, earth ponies are simply ponies like the rest of us. They’re a bit touchy about parts of history most unicorns are taught to be proud of, but I don’t think you were planning on a history lesson.”

Twilight Sparkle didn’t respond to that, apparently satisfied by the answer. They made their silent way through the pegasus part of Platinum City to eventually join the line of earth ponies going back into Dirtville. Just like Lyra had hoped, they became merely two more ponies going back through the wall after work.

Once they made it into Dirtville, Lyra took the occasional glance over her shoulder. Part of it was a simple routine check to make sure she wasn't being followed, a distinct danger in Dirtville. And part of it was to see how Twilight Sparkle was holding up. For one of such a delicate station she was doing an impressive job. Streets in Dirtville were also sewers and garbage dumps, and they smelled the part. Twilight Sparkle didn't seem particularly offended by the smell, the waste, or the heaps of garbage covering the narrow, dirt streets. Lyra was far from trust, but she began to believe that Twilight Sparkle had indeed been coming down here on some sort of business.

“Here we are.” Lyra slowed as they turned onto the street where Bon Bon lived and worked. “I know I’m not in any position to ask this, but please go easy on her. Earth ponies have it hard enough without getting mixed up in unicorn politics.”

“I’ll try,” Twilight Sparkle said, “but like I said, I think the earth ponies are going to get mixed up in unicorn politics whether they like it or not.”

Lyra walked up to the door and pushed it open. The bell that jangled overhead sounded just like the one at her shop. That was no surprise, she'd given Bon Bon the old bell from her shop.

Bon Bon was behind the counter, scratching away at a piece of paper with a quill. When she looked up, Lyra wondered if her face had looked at all like Bon Bon’s earlier that day. First there was the normal smile for a potential customer, then came the start of a genuine smile as she recognized Lyra, then came shock mixed with fear as she saw another unicorn with her, lastly came the blank face that earth ponies used instinctively when they feared a word out of line might mean their heads.

“My ladies.” Lyra hadn't heard such a feebly subservient tone from Bon Bon in a long time, she didn’t like it one bit. “You honor me by setting hoof in my humble shop. How can I serve such illustrious ponies as yourselves?”

“Hello Bon Bon.” Lyra tried to cut short Bon Bon's panic.

“Yes, that’s me.” Lyra had a particularly hard time blaming Bon Bon for not wanting to give even the tiniest hint that they knew each other. It still hurt having that groveling tone directed at her. “Were you by chance referred by one of the unicorns I've done business with in the past. I assure you, they were all very satisfied customers, and whatever your needs are I can meet them.”

“Bon Bon.” Lyra looked her straight in the eyes. “This is Twilight Sparkle, she saw me last night.” Even behind the counter it was clear that Bon Bon had just seized up with fear. “Relax, she’s not here to drag us off to horrible tortures. She… This is going to take awhile, so it’s probably better if she says it.”

Bon Bon slowly climbed down from her panic. Her eyes, however, were still filled to the brim with fear when Lyra walked behind the counter to put a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

“It’s probably better for all of us the less time Lyra and I spend here in Dirtville, so I’ll try to make this as short as I can. Like Lyra said, my name is…” Twilight Sparkle never finished her sentence. At that exact moment Bon Bon’s shop assistant made a rather spectacular entrance.

Pinkie Pie was unbelievably energetic, was compulsively nice to every pony she met, regardless of their own views about her, and Lyra had not thought she would be working today. She was also currently attached to the back of a very confused Twilight Sparkle.

“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! A new pony! Welcome to Bon Bon’s, I’m Pinkie Pie, and I’m gonna make sure you have the best day in the history of ever!”

Twilight Sparkle’s look of complete befuddlement would have been hilarious as far as Lyra was concerned, had Twilight Sparkle not been a unicorn capable of having Bon Bon and every other earth pony in Platinum City exterminated with a few words.

“Pinkie Pie,” Lyra called out to the writhing, pink ball of energy. “Twilight Sparkle is a… um… she’s here with me. Bon Bon and I can take care of her. So could you please get off her back?”

Pinkie Pie leapt off Twilight Sparkle’s back to land on four quivering hoofs. Keeping Pinkie Pie from bombarding Twilight Sparkle with her own unique brand of goodwill sounded only marginally less difficult than repairing relations between earth ponies and unicorns in Platinum City.

“Um, yes.” Twilight Sparkle looked back and forth between Pinkie Pie and Lyra several times before continuing. “Like I was saying, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m the Court Sorceress, and I need your help.”

Lyra felt Bon Bon tense next to her as she realized exactly who had walked into her shop. She could hardly blame her, Lyra had practically fallen over when Twilight Sparkle had come into her shop.

“And I’m Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie Pie grabbed Twilight Sparkle’s hoof and pumped it with such vigor that it seemed the unicorn was being lifted up and down off the ground with each shake of her hoof. “This is so cool, a new friend! I love making new friends! I get to make them smile, they get to make me smile, we can go out and make all sorts of ponies smile together! Ooooooooh, I’m just so excited I could burst!”

Lyra knew Pinkie Pie could come close to making that last part of her exclamation a very literal claim. She also knew that while an outburst from Pinkie Pie wouldn't attract any attention in this part of Dirtville it would be a whole different matter if Pinkie Pie got excited about making ‘friends’ with a unicorn. In desperation, Lyra looked over at Bon Bon to see if she could calm Pinkie Pie down.

“Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie!” Bon Bon was reduced to shouting over her assistant to get her attention. “Lady Sparkle here is a valued customer, and what do we always say about letting customers speak?”

“Just Twilight,” Twilight Sparkle's response seemed a reflex. “My mom is ‘lady,’ I’m just Twilight. I swear, if it would survive in this climate I’d get a parrot and train it to say that whenever someone calls me ‘Lady Sparkle.’ Now, like I was saying, I need your help.”

Lyra listened as Twilight gave Bon Bon, and Pinkie Pie, the same pitch she’d given her. She did note that Twilight Sparkle omitted several details such as the imminent death of the Unicorn King.

“That doesn't sound at all good, especially for earth ponies,” Bon Bon said. “But I’m still not entirely sure where I, or maybe we, come into all this.”

“I need to get out ahead of Sombra. He clearly has a way of finding these large batches of earth ponies without proper papers so he can send in the guards to haul them off, and, in doing so, drive the rest of the earth ponies closer to the revolt he needs as an excuse to deal with the ‘problem’ once and for all. If you can find where he’s likely to move next, I think I have a way to get those ponies out of Sombra’s way.”

Lyra had never seen such a calculating look on Bon Bon’s face. She rather suspected it had been a very long time indeed since an earth pony had bargained with a unicorn on anything remotely approaching even terms.

“I’m all for helping earth ponies survive, but too many earth ponies are just surviving. When they get up in the mornings... what they're doing can hardly be called a life. I’m grateful that any unicorn, let alone one in your position, would actually care about helping earth ponies, but even before Sombra came along too many of us were simply corpses who haven’t stopped moving yet. How do I know that we won’t just exchange one tyrant for another?”

Lyra was extremely well acquainted with the deprivations that earth ponies suffered in Platinum City. Until that moment she’d never grasped at the feelings of hopelessness and despair they lived with each and every day.

Twilight Sparkle, however, continued to surprise her. “I've had a number of conversations with Princess Rarity about this matter and she appreciates that we, unicorns, need earth ponies to succeed if New Unicornia is going to succeed. I can promise you that everything Sombra has done to hold you down will be gone immediately if this works. Her Highness has made that quite clear to me.”

Lyra considered speaking up, Twilight Sparkle had voiced far more reservations in recruiting her to this mad scheme. She kept quiet, with a foul taste in her mouth. If Sombra won it was quite possible that there wouldn't even be any earth ponies left for her to care about. Besides, it had taken her quite awhile to come around from a normal unicorn to where she was. Moving Twilight Sparkle down that road would take some time, but Lyra was nothing if not patient. After all, she had been waiting for years to find a human, she could wait sixteen weeks to change one unicorn’s mind.

“Oh, one last thing,” Twilight Sparkle said. “I don’t suppose you sell pies here do you? I feel like I've imposed on you quite a bit, and one of the guards back at the palace has a love affair with pies. I think he’s particularly fond of apple pie.”

“Um, I think so.” Bon Bon clearly hadn't expected the Court Sorceress to be buying from her shop. It was a shame, Lyra thought, that she couldn't advertise the fact to bring in more business. “Pinkie Pie, I think there should still be a few of the pies we got from Sugarcube Corner yesterday down in the cellar. Would you mind getting one for Lady Sparkle?”

Lyra heard Twilight Sparkle sigh as Pinkie Pie took off in a pink streak of happiness. Sooner than should have been possible for a normal pony, but not for Pinkie Pie, an apple pie was wrapped and sitting on the counter.

“Thank you very much.” Lyra kept silent when Twilight Sparkle laid down far more bits than such a pie would normally go for in Dirtville. “We should get going before some other pony comes in and sees us. Hopefully it will be awhile before I need your help. That means Sombra is having trouble finding earth ponies to drag off to one of those abominable penal colonies.”

Lyra followed Twilight out the door with a sad wave. She hated to drop in on Bon Bon and then run, but she had no excuse for her absence from her own shop, and the consequences if she was discovered in Dirtville…

Their trip back up to the unicorn part of the city was so uneventful as to approach boredom. The guards at the wall didn’t even ask what was in the box containing Twilight Sparkle’s pie when they saw two unicorns.

“Hopefully I don’t need your help either.” Twilight Sparkle said as they reached Lyra’s shop at last. “I know you have plenty of doubts about me. And I’ll be the first to admit that our goals don’t entirely match. But I need you to trust me when I say that thwarting Sombra really will make things better for earth ponies in both the short and long term.”

“I want to, I really do. But…” Lyra left her doubts unsaid as she closed her door on Twilight Sparkle.