The next day rolled around quickly. Landshark, contrary to her conservative estimate, was able to get started on Trixie's horseshoes early in the day. Although she did not proceed entirely without trepidation, the construct managed to shoe Trixie's hooves without causing damage. She had also set up an evening with her friends so the showmare could work off her debt. Bon Bon questioned the decision to offer a deal on the horseshoes, but part of her new apprentices' wages was being paid by the state, so Landshark for once had some real leeway in her personal budget.
Her friends were naturally a bit doubtful about meeting Trixie, but Landshark told the stories of the showmare's previous visits from Trixie's point of view, which seemed to help to some extend.
Meeting at Landshark's smithy wasn't entirely ideal in the cold season, but Trixie had expressed a strong preference to not go any further into town, so the construct had grudgingly kept the forge hot so there'd be a place to warm up for anyone who got too cold in the back yard. Coal might be cheap but it wasn't free, although she really only pointed that out to mollify Bon Bon, who still took an interest in Landshark's finances.
"Where's the Admiral, anyway?" Lyra looked around curiously. The dog, after all, would normally be pretty excited about all of Landshark's friends coming by.
"Staying with Fluttershy," the construct explained. "He's got to get to know Bon's future friend and learn when not to bother him, and the other dog has to practice being all unflappable."
"Ah, fair enough." Lyra nodded and redirected her attention to Trixie.
Trixie wasn't putting on a real show, of course. She apparently very much wanted to avoid making any kind of splash in the area. She showed the fillies some easy illusions and some conventional tricks of the trade. As Landshark had expected, Dinky took a particular interest in stage effects, like flashpaper.
"I think we might have been trying to re-invent the wheel a bit, Ma'am." Dinky critically inspected a fountain of sparks that Trixie had set off. "There's obviously a lot more to know about ... about things that explode or burn that we hadn't considered."
"Pyrotechnics," Ruby Pinch helpfully reminded her friend. "Stage effect pyrotechnics. Grown ponies are still going to think that's a little dangerous for us, but you could use that term to check out more chemistry reading material without making Princess Twilight think you're helping Landshark work on weapons!"
Landshark chuckled. Pinchy wasn't really as enthusiastic about book learning as Dinky, but she was cunning, in a way. She shot a glance in Berry Punch's direction, but the mare didn't seem inclined to point out that the construct was a terrible influence for making her daughter think about how to sneak things past a Princess.
Besides, it would still basically be the truth, Landshark guessed. If anything, Dinky seemed even more enthusiastic about the flashier applications for basic chemistry than she had been about trying to figure out home-made gunpowder. Ponies apparently were peaceful creatures as a rule, even by the standards of herbivores they weren't particularly ornery, so it seemed to make sense that entertainment applications for chemistry should hold the filly's interest more than weaponry.
Landshark was glad for it. Ponies seemed to be strongly defined by their cutie marks, and getting one specifically for crafting munitions would have seemed like a loss of innocence and a harbinger of future self-doubts.
The construct didn't like thinking about cutie marks. They seemed so deterministic, and the way ponies talked about them confused her, sometimes. Were special talents decided at birth and had to be found? Were they genetic? Or were they tied to the level of joy and enthusiasm a pony experienced while performing a given activity?
Landshark explicitly rejected concepts of destiny or inescapable fate, but this world and its rules were not known to her. How could she really be sure? What if one of the fillies earned some unconventional cutie mark they clearly wouldn't have gotten if they had not spent time with Landshark? Would that mean her presence in Equestria was according to some cosmic plan? She hated that idea, but it would be unfair to stop spending time with the fillies over a concern of that nature.
Ponies would probably never really understand that Landshark wanted nothing more than to live a life of complete cosmic insignificance. Even a cutie mark would be an intolerable imposition to the construct. She didn't want her life to have any sort of meaning or purpose she hadn't at least actively agreed to. She meant a great deal to her friends, she knew that without conceit. But she would hate to mean anything to Ponyville, Equestria, or the world that she hadn't worked for herself.
On the other hand, cutie marks clearly weren't always particularly limiting. "Hey Ditzy. You mind telling me what's up with your cutie mark? It occurs to me that it never really came up so far." She had to look up – the pegasus was resting on the roof of the smithy, close to the warm chimney, enjoying a commanding view of the space behind the building all the way to the Everfree, unhindered by the earth barrier at the edge of Landshark's property. It wouldn't stay any kind of view for much longer, of course. Dusk had already set in.
"Yeah," Ditzy agreed. "It never came up." She frowned briefly. "No, I'm n-not particularly better at house cleaning than other ponies."
Dinky took a sudden interest as well, turning her focus away from Trixie. "Mom's cutie mark is good. You can always tell about a pony by how they talk about it. Bad ponies make fun, good ponies say nothing or come up with nice ideas about it."
Even Trixie seemed to pay attention now. It made sense to Landshark. Ditzy's cutie mark seemed the least obvious of anyone present besides the showmare's own.
"W-well ... " Ditzy held up a hoof, signaling that she was ordering her thoughts. "I wasn't really doing anything in particular when I got it." She crossed her forelegs and rested her chin on them. "It was more like, more like coming to terms."
"I was a b-blank flank longer than most. I guess ... I just realized that not everypony gets to be a Wonderbolt, you know? I was never going to fly as effortlessly as, as Rainbow Dash. I was always going to be clumsy and ... and not a good talker." She paused and smiled.
"I don't really remember how I got to the point, but I decided that, that it was okay. That there wasn't any real point in being sad. Why not try to smile, even in the rain? Every weather p-pony and farmer knows, the rain is good, too. Sure, words can ... can hurt a lot. But having to work harder, it just, it just makes me stronger, right?"
Landshark wanted so very badly for Ditzy's cutie mark to stand for some sort of irrepressible will to live, it surprised herself. Courage, after all, was a moral quality, not a chance gift of nature. A cold choice between alternatives, the fixed resolve not to quit. Destiny or fate had nothing to do with it, to the construct. "Bubbles, like happiness, are fleeting. But they're both easily recreated by the simplest means."
Bon Bon hadn't said much all evening. Sometimes, this happened because the earth pony was in a bad mood, but with increasing frequency, she simply relaxed without having to maintain the cheerful front she used when at work selling candy, or out and about town with Lyra. "Well, I don't know if that's true, but it sure sounds nice. You know, you get a lot of ponies who're so ebullient that they never come down from a perpetual good mood, and I don't mean Pinkie Pie. But it seems to be worth more coming from Ditzy."
Berry pursed her lips. "Ebullient? You cheating on Lyra with one of those Word of the Day calendars?"
"I knew it!" Lyra pretended to scowl. "Good thing it's not murder if it's aimed at inanimate objects!"
"Ebullient is just another word for being in high spirits. A great mood!" Trixie explained without sounding condescending, which was to her credit, Landshark thought. She had reacted to the fillies looking unsure, although the construct suspected that Berry hadn't been sure of the definition either. Fortunately the meaning of the word had been more or less obvious in context.
"Trixie would normally prefer to be the center of attention, but that was one of the more unusual cutie mark tales. With some embellishments, it would be a grand tale of perseverance! Trixie can see it now. 'Ponies see so many flaws, and they wonder, how can the mare beneath them not be broken?'" The showmare had gestured grandly before catching herself. She lowered her head. "Apologies. Trixie has spent a long time being petty and shallow. You have her ... my respect, Miss Do, for not letting ponies such as Trixie get you down."
"Yeah," Berry Punch mumbled while glowering at Trixie. She apparently didn't have a really clear recollection of either time that Trixie had been to Ponyville, so it was probably somewhat difficult to stay suspicious. "You better watch your mouth. That's one of the best ponies in this town you're talking too." After a brief pause, she added, "Making you eat your own horn is still on the table."
"Put a lid on it," Bon Bon grunted without any real irritation shining through. "Let the mare have her quirks, Berry, she doesn't mean any harm. Besides, I got an eye on her."
"Sure." Berry nodded minutely and settled down. "Sorry 'bout that, Trixie."
"Think ... think nothing of it?" Trixie shrugged. "It's only natural to be concerned, Trixie thinks. Thank you for giving her a chance!"
Landshark had observed a slight change in the way her two earth pony friends interacted. Probably because they'd done the heavy lifting when fighting changelings. Bon Bon had seen that Berry had real guts, Berry had seen what Bon Bon could do, if prompted. If Bon Bon said she was keeping an eye on Trixie, there was no real need for Berry to act particularly belligerent around the showmare.
Sometimes Landshark worried that Berry was going to incorporate her capacity for violence into her sober Self with a little too much gusto, but she seemed perfectly willing to defer to her friends in such matters, so the construct didn't see any real harm in it.
Ruby Pinch had listened quietly to the adults, but now she seemed to have come to a conclusion. "You're probably a good pony, Trixie." She tilted her head and gave the showmare a scrutinizing look. "Or a sneaky one, I guess, but you don't seem very sneaky. It's not fun when ponies who think they're so good make fun of Ditzy's cutie mark." She suddenly shot Trixie an accusing glare, as if daring the older unicorn to prove her wrong.
"While Trixie is certainly sure of her own Greatness and Power, she is not in the habit of talking about cutie marks in any fashion. She is trying to judge ponies by what is put in front of her." She shot a look towards the pegasus on the roof. "There is nothing there that any right-thinking pony would make fun off."
Trixie shuffled in place. Landshark was getting the impression that the showmare wasn't wholly comfortable without the stage as a divider between her and other ponies.
"So how about your cutie mark?" Bon Bon eyed Trixie curiously. "Doesn't look too obvious. Did you narrow it down from just 'magic'?"
"But of course!" The transformation was telling. Trixie seemed to do best when talking about herself. She didn't strike Landshark as self-centered, so perhaps she was used to it as part of her act. Or had changed. "Trixie earned her cutie mark with her first real performance for her friends and family!" With a flourish, she called up some illusory fireworks. "Although for the sake of honesty, you may, of course, assume that young Trixie's effects were fractionally less flawless."
"T'was a simple performance, in truth." She approached Ruby Pinch and produced a shiny bit from behind the filly's ear. "Barely any unicorn magic involved at all, beyond the cosmetic. Pick a card, please, any card!" She offered a deck of cards to Berry Punch.
As she performed a simple card trick, she continued to tell the story. "Not every trick she attempted worked at the time, but nonetheless, the feelings of joy and wonder she brought to foals and adults alike earned Trixie her cutie mark. Trixie forgot this for a time, but her cutie mark is not for unicorn spells alone. Twilight and Trixie will never agree on this, but true magic doesn't have to come from the horn. It is stories that make foals believe that monsters can be beaten. It is making ponies curious and inquisitive. And yes, it is dazzling and wondrous."
Trixie stopped and seemed to pant a little. "If Trixie could take back her last visits to Ponyville, she would. She had forgotten the faces of her family and only saw her own fame."
Berry Punch worked her jaw and frowned. "Can't say I remember real well what you did. Only got stories from other ponies. I guess I forgive you? Maybe you're alright after all." She shook her head, shooting her daughter a quick smile. "I'm heading inside to warm up."
Pinchy shook off some snow, obviously intending to follow her mother. "Good idea, mommy."
"Help yourself to the m-muffins I brought!"
"Sure will, Ditzy."
Landshark watched Berry head inside. The construct enjoyed watching her friends move about. It could be insightful. Berry had always moved with some degree of deliberation. She'd been drunk a lot, but she'd also been responsible for her daughter, inestimably precious. It mandated the ability to successfully navigate her own life in all but her most intoxicated states, Landshark assumed. The construct's understanding of intoxication was entirely second-hand, of course.
Recently, Berry's demeanor had changed. She made eye contact more readily, and although she still moved with care in most situations, when she was just walking about, there was something about her that the construct would almost want to call a calm sort of swagger. She was confident and comfortable with her Self, probably for the first time in a great many years.
Bon Bon, from the very beginning, had been more difficult to pin down. She moved with the precision of a professional. She never seemed to waste motion or hesitate. Unfortunately this also meant that watching Bon Bon move didn't tell Landshark much of anything about the candy maker's mood.
It was good, then, that there was almost always Lyra. The unicorn had, during one of their first conversations, made a vague claim about social anxieties. Landshark didn't know if that had been the honest truth or an excuse for spending almost all her time at Bon Bon's side. Lyra never struck the construct as all that self-conscious, and although the unicorn would probably claim to resent the label, she was the most ordinary pony among Landshark's friends. She had no addictions, physical defects or emotional trauma. She just had some strange interests, little more than mild eccentricities, really, by Landshark's standards.
The way Lyra sat like a humanoid or her strange interest in hands were, to most ponies, the mare's most noteworthy traits. To Landshark it was Lyra's devotion to her marefriend. Even Landshark, with her incomplete understanding of romantic relationships, knew that the sort of issues Bon Bon had could damage relationships badly. Lyra hadn't had any sort of noteworthy social life until recently, but had never once complained, to the construct's knowledge.
At the moment, Lyra seemed intent to show off to Trixie by shuffling a deck of cards with her spectral hands. This had been a mildly funny quirk to her other friends, but Trixie, for all that she likely preferred to be the one doing impressive feats, understood much better the concentration it required to line up the two illusions with the telekinetic work of shuffling while making it look natural.
"Trixie doesn't really understand why you would go through all that effort, but the coordination required does you credit." Trixie put on an encouraging smile.
"Thanks!" Lyra responded with her distinct grin. "Took a lot of practice. I'm not a prodigy or anything. But say, could you try and explain a bit more about your illusions? Just, if you could, so a unicorn without fancy training understands it." Lyra rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Dinky, you mind explaining to Trixie here how you'n Shark put those flash bangs together? She probably understands it from her stage effects background, but I think that should be doable with illusions too, right? It's just light and sounds."
Landshark rubbed her hands together. Obviously the cold didn't bother her, but it had been one of those common gestures appropriate for cold weather that she had copied. "If you plan to get bright and loud, please do it on the other side of the wall, ladies."
The construct's attention wandered again as the three unicorns got up, talking about how useful disorientation by light and sound could be. She walked a few steps to where Bon Bon was standing and, without thinking, put a hand on the earth pony's withers.
"Sweet Celestia, Shark, get your hands off me! It's like you're made of ice." Bon Bon shivered, but she was grinning in amusement.
"Hah, sorry. I'm not real aware of the temperature as long as it doesn't damage me. Sometimes I forget." Landshark twitched her jaw. "How's your dog coming along? Training going well?"
"Pretty great, yeah," Bon Bon admitted. "Swampy's taking it real serious. I'm really looking forward to when he's with me full time. Fluttershy is a good listener too."
"Mhm. So you picked a name?"
"Well, Lyra did. She named him Swampborn." Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "Swampy. As good as any name. Better than some." She snorted. "Can't thank you enough for pointing out the option, Shark."
"We've been over this how many times? No thanks needed." Landshark shook her head. She wished that Bon Bon would start taking assistance from people other than Lyra for granted. The five of them, seven, counting the fillies, were all on the same team.
"Fair," Bon Bon conceded. "I'm worried about Lyra," she added quietly.
"Do tell. She worried about job competition from the dog?" She'd meant it as a joke, but she really had no idea what Bon Bon was on about.
"She used to know Twilight, back in Canterlot. Not real closely, I think. She's also, uh ... she looks up to the Princesses more than the rest of us do. But Princess Twilight wasn't real happy with me after the changeling thing. I think that disappointed Lyra somethin' fierce." Bon Bon shifted her body as she talked, working muscle groups with a minimum of movement. She seemed perfectly cool, as she often did when the topic became uncomfortable, and the proximity of strangers kept her from being openly emotional.
"She gets more worked up about what other ponies think than you do." Landshark might have said more, but Bon Bon suddenly tensed and looked up. Landshark followed suit, trying to detect what Bon Bon had noticed.
"Pegasus incoming." The earth pony didn't seem particularly alarmed. Likely, some local citizen had been attracted by Lyra and Trixie trying to recreate flash bang grenades via unicorn magic.
"What's SHE doing here?" It was Rainbow Dash who had landed heavily on Landshark's property, glaring daggers at a startled Trixie, who was standing atop the barrier of piled up earth forming a border to area, along with Lyra and Dinky. "You've got some nerve coming back here!"
Landshark sighed and shook her head. "She's here to pay off-"
"I don't see how this is your business, Loyalty." Lyra interrupted the construct unexpectedly, and with equally unexpected venom. "We're private citizens on a privately owned property. What are YOU doing here?"
Bon Bon watched the exchange without expression. She slowly worked a kink out of her neck. She probably didn't expect real trouble, but Bon Bon always got ready for trouble when the situation changed without warning, regardless.
"Are you nuts? This is Trixie, remember? Caused no end of trouble twice already? Tried to rule the town?" Rainbow Dash seemed quite incensed. Trixie herself just seemed intimidated.
Landshark maneuvered around Rainbow Dash to be closer to Lyra, Dinky and Trixie. She saw Berry Punch and her daughter exit the smithy as well.
Lyra was apparently unimpressed. "We both know she's not legally responsible for actions taken under the influence of an evil artifact. I ask again, how is this your business?
Landshark honestly wasn't sure why Lyra was so worked up.
"It's for the crown to have an overwhelming need on the part of the citizens to justify intrusions," Bon Bon suddenly cut in, her voice even. She might as well have been commenting on the weather for all the emotion she showed. "We shouldn't be compelled to come up with reasons why the crown shouldn't snoop around in our closets. Or back yards."
"C'mon! You were there! She's always up to no good!" Rainbow Dash seemed slightly off balance as she looked over her shoulder at Bon Bon. "And what the hay are you talking about?"
"You have a throne in that giant palace looming over the town." It was Berry Punch who'd spoken up now. Although at greater distance to Rainbow Dash than anyone but Ditzy, who was still on the roof, Berry was clearly taking on an aggressive posture. "I hear it's even got your cutie mark on it. If you're not the fuzz, you're the next best thing." She spat. "And the fuzz and I, we don't get along."
That was clearly a lie. Landshark knew that Berry Punch actually got on fairly well with some of the older cops around town. Most of them seemed to give the earth pony a lot of credit for not getting thrown into the drunk tank every few days anymore. Pinchy nuzzled her mother, perhaps to keep her calm.
Landsharp clapped her hands together with a distinct ceramic on ceramic sound. "Let's all just calm down!" She didn't like raising her voice among regular people, but sometimes a situation needed to be controlled.
"Miss Trixie is here paying off a small debt to me. We negotiated that exchange in good faith. Her money and services for my goods and services. I saw no reason to ask her to take her business elsewhere. Besides, horseshoes are a rather harmless purchase, agreed?"
The construct added a slightly patronizing note to her voice. "But I suppose since you already invited yourself onto my property, we may as well hear your case also, Rainbow Dash." She bowed her head slightly.
Rainbow Dash actually did seem to collect her thoughts briefly before answering. "Well, it's simple. She's way too full of herself, she's wrecked the town once and tried to dominate it another time." She shot a glare at Lyra. "And she still decided to get her hooves on the alicorn amulet and come back here just to have another go at Twilight." With a sneer, she concluded, "she's got too much of a hang-up about Twilight to be anything but bad news. And now you're sheltering her on a property you only bought with money Twilight hoofed to you with barely any strings attached! You're just too nice for your own good, Shark."
Landshark thought it would be hard to argue that Trixie did not have some sort of issue with Twilight, since it seemed the showmare had only come to town out of curiosity and a suspicion that the construct was something Twilight had built. Trixie didn't seem particularly malicious, though, not currently.
Landshark also assumed that Rainbow had brought up the loan from Twilight because ... the construct wasn't sure. Perhaps she was supposed to owe Twilight loyalty beyond what the law required? In any case, being so rudely reminded that she owed her current lodgings and business to the good graces of one of the alicorns made being reasonable seem significantly less appealing.
She dropped her arms to her sides and snapped her jaws shut.
Lyra rubbed her forehead. "Good job, idiot. She's got like two buttons to push and you just had to go and mash one."
"I do owe Princess Twilight Sparkle." Landshark began speaking without inflection. "I normally judge people by what they put in front of me, but since the Element of Loyalty, one of Princess Twilight Sparkle's trusted inner circle, believes that Trixie here has not and perhaps will not change for the better, I suppose we'll have to accept that judgement call."
Her gaze dropped on Trixie. "What do you suggest, then, Loyalty? Letting her go to ply her deceptions among less canny towns would be irresponsible. Allowing her to remain here would also be foolish. The Princess is too eager to believe in redemption, she does not see as clearly as you do. She would leave herself open to some plot or scheme."
"You just had to set her ramblin', Dash." Berry Punch seemed to be trying to bury her face in her daughter's mane, eliciting a giggle from the filly.
Rainbow Dash didn't say anything yet. While she probably liked agreement in general, she seemed unsure how to respond to the construct's tone and demeanor.
"I think we can find an expedient solution to our mutual satisfaction. We could simply make Trixie disappear. I'll do the deed, all you need to do is drop her far enough over the Everfree that her body won't be found. Then we figure out how to get rid of the wagon." She'd changed back from monotone to a pleasant conversational voice. "I think that's really the best solution, it keeps Trixie from preying on other towns while protecting Ponyville and the Princess also."
Her friends knew, of course, that the construct was just clumsily trying to mess with Rainbow Dash. Nonetheless they all moved to interpose themselves between Rainbow Dash, Landshark and a trembling Trixie. After all, Trixie really didn't know the construct at all.
"Trixie doesn't want to die! I'm sorry for everything!"
"I don't want you to kill anypony!" Rainbow Dash bristled again. Nobody liked being deliberately misunderstood, after all.
Landshark crossed her arms and sighed heavily. "I know you don't, but you obviously also have a problem with her interacting with private citizens, and you have a life and can't just follow her around busting in every time she speaks to someone."
"That passive aggressive stuff doesn't look good on you, Shark." Lyra frowned in irritation, but tried to sound gentle. "So keep it down and count to ten or something. Please?"
Landshark offered a curt nod and looked away towards the Everfree. It was childish and probably uncivilized to act as she had, but she supposed that she simply did not like it when people implied she should show extra consideration to Twilight, or any alicorn, for favors granted. Landshark generally was more comfortable pretending that she was making what use and getting what advantage she could from the kindness of rulers in a purely pragmatic, even opportunistic fashion. She didn't like to think that she owed anything.
"Let's start this thing over. We already covered why Trixie is here." Lyra jabbed a hoof in Rainbow Dash's direction. "If you had anything legally actionable, you'd already be smug about it. You're not here in any official capacity. You're here to spend some quality time yelling at somepony who wronged you in the past. Totally understandable!" She nodded firmly.
"Fine! Maybe that's why I'm here. I don't trust her. Why're you so set on defending her?"
"Excellent question." Lyra made a show of thoughtfully rubbing her chin. "I'm not really sure! I guess at first I just got steamed because I don't like it when ponies burst in on my friends uninvited, maybe?" Her gaze flicked to Bon Bon briefly.
Landshark wasn't convinced that was the entire reason Lyra had reacted strongly to Rainbow Dash's appearance. Still, the unicorn was probably better suited to talking things out with the Element of Loyalty than her other friends.
"I didn't care for you bringing up Twi- Princess Twilight the way you did." She licked her lips and glanced about briefly, nervously. "I'd rather not think she's doing what she's doing to make debts. I happen to know that Shark's keeping up with her loan payments. It's all square and by the book."
Landshark generally hadn't had a great deal of use for the law. As a servant of the First and then as a secret monster hunter, the law had always been something like a fanciful machine, she found it interesting to look at, but would prefer not to be caught up in the wheels as she went about her duties.
In any case, the original teachings of the Cult of Self hadn't been coy about rejecting society's laws and fighting their supporters whenever they got in the way of individual freedom. In hindsight, those were, of course, corrosive teachings. Laws were necessary, it seemed. The real source of right was might, but the rule of law could at least be an attempt to use collective might to create certain individual rights and freedoms. As she'd told Twilight once, if no checks at all are placed on people, then very quickly only the most savage of them would have actual freedom.
They'd all been taught to value absolute, uncompromising freedom, which had, in turn, enabled them to turn their back on their creator. Landshark was acutely aware of all the little things that made mortals less free. Obligations to others. Rules and regulations. Even, she admitted to herself, personal standards, which she herself had developed as well.
It probably counted as a form of self-deception, but if Landshark had to limit her own freedom by settling down and starting a business, she would rather do it by law and contract, not by the largesse of an immortal, even if the two of them were going to look like one and the same to other people, in the form of the loan Twilight had granted her.
She obeyed the law, which in Equestria wasn't any more objectionable than elsewhere, because that made it easier to integrate in this society. She was not beholden to any godlike being. When necessary, it was easier to escape the law than obligations to immortals. One was an expedient, the other would feel like she was betraying her Self. It was an important matter of perspective.
She supposed that the capacity for self-delusion was a pretty good indicator that she was more than a machine, if any skeptics could read her mind now.
It had been insightful, not to mention appreciated, for Lyra to point out that Landshark was fully up to date with her contractual obligations to the legal entity Twilight Sparkle.
She shook her head and forced herself to stop with the wool gathering.
Bon Bon cleared her throat, put on her best smile and engaged her chipper storekeeper act. Rainbow Dash probably only knew her that way, but the others took note of the change.
"It's nice of you to warn us, Dash, but we're not that easily manipulated, and Trixie probably isn't that sneaky. No offense."
"Trixie is not ashamed of preferring to be seen and heard!"
"Mhm. Actually, I apologize for being short with you earlier. I'm Bon Bon, I run a local candy store. I remember your last two times in Ponyville, but I'm trying to be understanding. Still, since Dash here already got started in on you, I'd like to get something off my chest." Her smile didn't reach her eyes.
Trixie nodded slowly. "Do go ahead. Trixie regrets her actions, but please, say your piece." She seemed to brace herself.
Bon Bon leaned forward slightly, still smiling. "Everypony makes mistakes, and ponies change. I want you to know that I really do think you aren't a bad pony, and maybe you never were." She nodded to herself.
Trixie continued to listen. She seemed to sense that something was wrong. Landshark considered that the showmare was likely experienced enough to realize that Bon Bon was acting more cheerful than she was.
"I suppose I'm really only saying this aloud for Dash's benefit." She took a step forward and placed a hoof on Trixie's shoulder. "I've been around the block a few times, and maybe some of the more excitable locals wouldn't call me a good pony either."
"I can forgive a lot. More than Dash here, evidently. Everypony is flawed, after all." Bon Bon shrugged. "But I'm a resourceful mare, and meticulous. If you hurt any of my friends here, I'll make sure it's not some misunderstanding. If it isn't, I'll arrange your death."
Bon Bon removed her hoof from Trixie's shoulder and shook her head. "As I said, I think you're a decent enough pony. Maybe a little weird, but okay. The little ones seem to like you, and they're my most important customers too, after all." It seemed to be a real joke, and Trixie did crack a weak smile in response, despite being in a deeply uncomfortable situation.
Bon Bon turned to Rainbow Dash and deadpanned. All trace of humor and cheer were gone from her voice. "We're in the business of giving ponies the benefit of the doubt. That doesn't make us soft, or foolish" Her tone was curt and precise. "I didn't appreciate you showing up uninvited and making a scene, but you're a well-meaning sort, so I won't hold it against you. It's still rude, though."
Landshark held up her hands. "I swear Bon was like that when I found her!" The construct was a little surprised. She hadn't pegged Bon Bon as the sort of person to make an overt threat, at least not directed at other ponies. She didn't doubt that the earth pony would make good on it, however. No boasting or gloating or looking Trixie in the eye. A bomb wired to the wagon maybe, or a sabotaged stage, or just a pegasus hired to drop the showmare from a great height. Whatever got the job done. Some people just didn't go about their work with a lot of ego involved.
"Rude? You just threatened to have a pony killed!" Rainbow seemed off balance. Landshark figured that the pegasus, at most, had vague notions about roughing Trixie up, if she had planned to get physical at all. It probably also made a difference that Bon Bon wasn't clearly just trying to get a rise out of Rainbow Dash, as Landshark had earlier, although that was perhaps still part of it.
"Threatened?" Bon Bon quirked a brow. "I'm not in the habit of threatening people, and I'm not violent by inclination."
"That's me," Berry Punch interjected amicably. Her daughter couldn't quite stop herself from rolling her eyes.
"All I did was describe a fairly specific circumstance, pointing out that I consider it unlikely, and stated my likely reaction. It would be an emotionally trying event, after all." Bon Bon smiled crookedly. "You never know what a grieving, uh, widow might do." She took a few steps to stand closer to Lyra. "That's all. I hope that won't get in the way of us being acquaintances, Trixie."
"N-no." Trixie shook her head and seemingly steadied herself. "Trixie understands. If anything, thank you for believing in her."
"Maybe you could," Ditzy trailed off briefly as she squinted her wandering eye shut. "Maybe you could go wait by ... wait by Trixie's wagon if you need to argue with her?" She leapt off the roof and landed gracelessly with a short stumble. "She probably doesn't want to lose all her things again."
"Nah," Rainbow Dash scoffed. "That's just stupid. I'm done here. I guess you've got this in hoof, but I'll keep my eye on you, Trixie! And Twilight'll want to hear about this." As suddenly as she had appeared, Rainbow Dash took off again.
"That's Trixie's cue to pack up and leave town." The showmare began hurriedly collecting some of the tools of her trade she had used earlier. "Trixie is grateful to have come to this agreement with you, and it was nice meeting you all." She paused, looking thoughtful. "Even you, Bon Bon. Trixie is glad to have made everypony's acquaintance. Consider watching a play at the Royal Canterlot Theater sometime this winter to marvel at Trixie's stagecraft!"
Landshark shrugged. "Might as well help you pack up your kit. No offense, but are you going to be alright? I'm starting to think I didn't do you a favor by making you stick around after shoeing."
"Doesn't seem real smart to set out this late in the day," Berry suggested. "You got a stove or something to stay warm in that wagon?"
"Your concern is appreciated, but Trixie will be alright. She is used to the open road and her wagon will withstand the cold."
Landshark and her friends helped Trixie stow what few possessions she had brought out to show the fillies and saw her off with a gift of additional firewood. Trixie really seemed to be in a hurry.
"She's not half bad. I can see why Dash or Applejack wouldn't like her much, though." Lyra grinned. "One shiny bit says Twilight is going to have some neurotic friendship freakout and catch up to her within the hour."
"Th-that's not very nice." Ditzy clucked her tongue reprovingly. "I'm putting my bit on ... on Rainbow Dash getting distracted by something and not telling Princess Twilight until tomorrow. Or later tonight anyway."
Berry chuckled. "I'm betting with Lyra on this one. You used to know Twilight, right?"
"My bit's on Ditzy's prediction." Landshark reached into one of her pockets and flicked the coin towards the fillies. "You're in charge of the pot, agents." She honestly wasn't in any position to judge which idea seemed more likely. Bon Bon wouldn't play along and going with Ditzy's bet had symmetry to it.
"Yeah. Used to." Lyra frowned briefly. She levitated a coin of her own towards the fillies. "Let's hit the Hayburger before you two put the fillies to bed? No offense to the muffins or the candy but I could really go for some hayfries."
"Good call." Bon Bon nodded. "Our treat. Let's go."
"Hey, it's not even that late yet!" Dinky glowered at Lyra.
"Alright, you'd know better than I do what your bedtime is," Lyra conceded with a laugh.
Berry and Ditzy also offered their coins to the fillies. Ruby Pinch stored them in her saddlebags while Dinky noted down everyone's bets. "But you tell us not to talk bad about ponies behind their backs," Pinchy scolded, sounding faintly amused. Landshark assumed that the filly had a lifetime's worth of experience with 'do as I say, not as I do' and had perhaps resigned herself to it.
The group set out towards their fast food, the fillies talking excitedly about what Trixie had shown them. Landshark noted that they appeared to make the effort not to talk about Rainbow Dash's reaction to the showmare, or Trixie's previous visit to Ponyville. It wasn't their business and Trixie had been pretty interesting to meet, after all.
"I really didn't expect this can of worms when Trixie wandered in last night after closing," Landshark mused. "Sorry I got so petulant earlier."
"I guess Dash having her tail in a twist about Trixie is pretty understandable," Bon Bon allowed. "Trixie made her look stupid the first time around and the second time used her magic to mess with Dash's wings."
"You probably overreacted when she ... when she brought up Princess Twilight," Ditzy suggested. "She doesn't mean any harm. Sometimes says thoughtless stuff, though. She just gets protective about, about her friends."
Landshark nodded slowly. "Yeah. First I thought she was overreacting but then it felt like she was taking a cheap shot at me or something. I guess we were both being kind of terrible examples."
"We figured that one out ourselves," Dinky agreed. She looked to her mother as if checking for permission to continue. "You're great to be around, but I think we're starting to tune you out a little when it's about Princesses," she admitted. Ruby Pinch nodded along.
Landshark chuckled. "Yeah, you girls just stick with that. I did once tell Twilight I'd spare you all my weird issues with immortals." She paused. "I suppose I should apologize to Dash at some point. If you've given me a decent read on Trixie's personality on the first visit, I guess it's understandable that her performance grated on some ponies. These are self-made mares, Trixie, Dash both. Some folk like that worship their creator, and may resent contact with other personalities of the same type. S'like a doctrinal difference, almost."
"That's a pretty roundabout way of saying they were both full of themselves, and I guess it was pretty funny seeing Dash accuse Trixie of that earlier." Lyra shook her head, but looked serious. "You don't have to spare us anything. We all got our hangups and as you just heard, we're all mature enough to know when to take what you're saying with a grain of salt."
Landshark shrugged, but offered her usual smile. "I appreciate it. Still, I guess I was being childish. We'll just have to wait and see what happens next. You really think Twilight will want to go after Trixie?"
"Oh yeah," Lyra nodded. "She's the Princess of Friendship, and she has a tendency to worry. If Trixie told the truth and Twilight did forgive her last time, it's got to be eating at her that she just let Trixie walk away instead of using more friendship on her." She shook her head in a dismissive gesture. "I placed the bet, didn't I? Let's just wait and see."
There wasn't much more to say about it than that, although Landshark was privately interested in Trixie's personality. She hadn't had occasion to get to know anyone quite like that in the past.