Pinkamena's Tribulation

by TheAccidentalBrony

8. Battles

Celestia’s eyes narrowed as she regarded the horizon from her balcony, a light wind flowing through her chromatic mane. The sun now set, the skies awaited Luna’s part in the daily cycle. From her vantage point, Celestia had a clear view of her sister, who was uncharacteristically pacing back and forth outside her tower. Watching her sister attend to her duties was usually a high point in her day, a daily reaffirmation that their shared suffering had ended. But today, she took a more solemn stance as she watched, waiting impatiently for the moon to rise.

They needed to talk.

Her chest shuddered as she let forth a great sigh, her shoulders slumping as it passed through her lips.

It had been five minutes since the sun had left the Equestrian sky, and yet no moon had yet risen to take its place.

Five long, expectant minutes.

“Please, Luna,” she whispered in a silent prayer to herself, “if not for me...for them.”

Her eyelids drooped until there were barely slits between them, each slow breath beating out the minutes. She should have spoken with Luna earlier. It wasn’t that she couldn’t see the signs, but all too often Celestia had found that her good intentions merely got in the way of other ponies, and it was no different with her sister.

In fact, had she been more flexible with her, more understanding, perhaps…..

She frowned.

No. It did not need to be thought of. The present time was different than those days, anyhow, a fact which had caused more than its share of difficulties for her sister since her return. Her most recent debacle in Ponyville had ended with a line of petitioners to the Day Court easily long enough to fill a week’s schedule. Disappointingly, a full half of them seemed to suggest that maybe Luna’s “vacation” hadn’t lasted long enough. In the end, Celestia found herself once again reminding Luna that while the old laws were still technically on the books, and that in this case they did permit her to assume control over the day-to-day operations of a municipality, that things just didn’t work that way anymore.

At least she’d made up for it well enough.

Celestia allowed herself a small chuckle at that. Golden Trickle, her secretary of finance, had been on the very verge of fainting as she breathlessly explained the costs of locating, purchasing, and transporting 100 pound cheese wheels to every resident of Ponyville.

So she was very unimpressed at the substantial belly laugh she got in reply. It had taken the better part of an hour to calm Golden down, though Celestia couldn't say with a straight face that she hadn't enjoyed it a bit. And she did, in fact, have a discussion with her sister about the situation. The royal treasury was, for all practical purposes, as infinite as she herself was, but that didn’t mean they could just throw bits around like leaves in the wind. And that was not to mention that her choice of compensation, while well-intended, very likely failed to have the same impact on ponies that she’d remembered.

“Forsooth,” Luna said, “have the ponies of these modern times no respect for tradition?”

Celestia smiled, “Maybe you should try a simpler approach, and give of that which is most valuable to them.”

“Oh?” Luna pricked her ears, “and what is this you speak of?”

“Time. Although we have more of it than we will ever know what to do with, it is an ever-present pressure for our little ponies. Just spend a bit of time with them, perhaps make yourself available to them for questions or grant them small trivialities, attend a party, read books to the children at the library, engage in small talk. Become...friends.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Sister, how many times must we go over this. They do not like me. I can barely tolerate them. And some of your suggestions, frankly, are no doubt even in this age unseemly for one of our rank to partake in.”

“Just...try. As a certain protege of mine will attest, friendship…”

“Fine,” Luna interrupted, glaring daggers at her sister, “but I take no responsibility for them tearing their town apart once more due to my presence.”

As pleasant as that recent memory had been, the present was far more troubling. Luna had spent the last several nights as she was now, pacing about her balcony, moonrise occurring later and later with each passing day. Celestia held her breath, pricking her ears against the flowing breeze, but there wasn’t a single sound for them to catch. For once, Canterlot was quiet enough that a flower dropping a single petal would have echoed across its entire area.

So she was not surprised, when she finally looked back up at the sky, to find nothing but a dark void.

With a powerful flap, she took wing.

Twilight. It had to be Twilight. Celestia shook her head as she beat her wings furiously, quickly closing the distance between the spires. Even with Twilight’s ascension, Luna’s skepticism towards her former student had only seemed to grow, with each of her actions judged against ever harsher, higher standards.

“Luna!” Celestia bellowed as her hooves clattered against dark blue stone. Her sister spun to face her, and she cringed at the expression of shock written on her face.

“Sister,” she said more quietly, “why do you not raise the moon?”

“I will raise the moon as soon as I feel prepared to, and not a moment before.”

Celestia raised a hoof, pointing towards Canterlot. “Sister, our little ponies are frightened. They do not understand why the great and lesser lights of the nighttime have abandoned them.”

“It is my moon,” Luna snorted, “and they shall have its light when I give it to them!”

Celestia pressed her hooves firmly against the floor, presenting herself in the most regal, upright position she could muster, even though the look in her sister’s eyes threatened to turn her insides to jelly.

“Luna, you...know how this works….” She swallowed thickly, her dry tongue straining against her. Her eyes darting across her sister’s irritated, but curious expression, she continued: “You...you set the moon; I raise the sun. I set the sun, you…”

“Enough of this! Do not tell me how to manage my charge!” Luna’s eyes blazed as her horn flared to life. Suddenly, the moon rocketed across the sky, halting abruptly approximately halfway up the black canvas. Gritting her teeth, her horn grew brighter, and every star in the sky burst forth from its hiding place in a single blinding flash. Drawing in panting breaths, she turned to face her sister, who watched her with a dispassionate glare.

“If you’re quite through, we need to talk.”

“Celestia…” the princess of the night cautioned, regarding her sister with unease, “I have the situation in hoof. Your assistance, nay, intervention, is neither desired nor accepted.”

A breathless moment bore down upon the two alicorns, almost as though the moon itself were radiating the heat of a summer’s day.

“Very well,” Celestia said crisply, the corners of her mouth twitching, “I shall not force you to endure my help. But, if Princess Twilight…”

“That filly has yet to earn that title.”

Celestia quirked her eyebrows. “Sister, have not her countless acts of bravery in rescuing Equestria from threat after threat not proven her worthiness to you?”

“Feh! They number less than five, and in all cases you might have more successfully intervened.”

“All?” a smirk began to cross the sun princess’ muzzle.

A dark hoof scraped loudly against the cool rock of the balcony. “Celestia, I well know that I am indebted to your student, of that there is no doubt. But that alone does not qualify her…”

“To stand alongside you and I?”

“That’s not the point!”

Celestia’s smile was now in full bloom, warding away the wilting glance of her sister.

“Well, then, what is?”

“She is brash, strong-willed, and thinks too much of herself and those close to her and too little of Equestria to be a responsible leader."

"Remind you a bit of somepony you used to know?" Celestia teased, winking mischievously at her sister.

"Hmph," Luna briskly turned away, choosing to gaze into the night sky instead, "even now, your student has embarked on a most unadvisable quest."

"Oh?" Celestia looked up, her face knotted with confusion. The last thing she’d known was that Twilight had been devoting substantial amounts of energy lately to finding her absent friends, but that search had seemed limited to the resources she had available in Ponyville itself.

“Princess Sparkle has...become aware that her friend and Element of Harmony, Rainbow Dash, has been jailed for certain crimes during her overenthusiastic search for the missing Element, Pinkie Pie."

“Jailed?” Celestia whipped around to face the main turret of the castle, her tail brushing across her sister’s nose. “I hadn’t been informed.”

“Well, it is my understanding that it is not the royal jails that Rainbow Dash is currently held in, but instead those of an eastern city by the name of Baltimare.”

Celestia brought a hoof to her temple, slowly grinding it’s hardened tip into the malleable flesh. Pinching her teeth between her incisors, a deep furrow began to spread across her brow. If Rainbow Dash was truly being held by Baltimare, it ensured that things had just gotten substantially more complicated.

“Sister,” Luna inquired with a touch of gentleness, “why do we permit a province to maintain their own criminal system?”

Celestia looked up, her muzzle looking worn as she exhausted a shallow sigh.

“Baltimare has a certain...independent streak. And it's current leader, Governor Public Trust, seems to take no end of joy in rubbing our snouts in it every chance she gets.” Celestia paused, her eyelids blinking deliberately. "In fact, it wouldn't surprise me at all if she knew exactly who she had rotting away in the catacombs beneath their 'Hall of Justice'."

"Hmph,” Luna’s drew her lips together sharply. “It would seem to me that the 'old laws' that you so frequently deride would have some expedient methods for dealing with rogue municipalities like this one.”

“Luna!” Celestia brought a hoof to her mouth in mock surprise, the corners of her lips peaking upwards around its edges. “Do you never learn?”

Luna frowned. “Well, one thing I’ve learned is that royalty certainly is doesn't gain the degree of respect these days as it did in our time.”

“Yes, sister, and is that not a good thing? Today, innovation thrives amongst our little ponies, but only because they are free to go about their own pursuits. We are here to provide for them and protect them, not to rule over them. Isn't it better to be loved as a benevolent leader than feared as a cruel dictator?”

“It would seem we have no choice in the matter.”

Celestia sighed. There was little use in arguing when her sister got like this.

“In any case, I assume you have plans to keep this situation well in hoof.”

“In fact, I have not.” Celestia narrowed her eyes, but Luna continued. “Though I do not necessarily trust your former student’s competence in all matters, you felt her worthy of ascention, and I did not feel it my place to question that.”

As Celestia cocked her head with confusion, Luna’s lips pulled back to expose the white enamel behind them. “And besides, it seemed a good test for your young prodigy. You’re not the only princess that can be conniving.”

“Well, I’m sorry that you feel that way, sister. But, this was a very unfortunate circumstance for you to choose to play games with. Our relationship with Baltimare is quite strained, and Twilight Sparkle, if uncontrolled, could do us much harm there. Although she has many talents, her judgment is clouded when her friends are in danger. Perhaps a sense of your argument does have merit, in that her prudence certainly does not match up with her position yet, and she must be watched carefully under such circumstances. Her dependence on her friends is absolute. If not controlled, the past has proven disaster may strike in ways as creative as they are unforeseen.”

Celestia watched as her sister slowly raised a hoof to her chin thoughtfully. “That is indeed unfortunate. It had seemed that a trial in diplomacy would certainly differ from her tasks in the past, and give her an opportunity to demonstrate a more complete understanding of the obligations of her new rank. But the risks to us, it sounds, are great. Though I must admit that I still fail to understand the matter of Baltimare itself. It would seem that we have granted them far too much privilege, and little of it seems deserved.”

"It is true that we have granted them many conceits, but I must assure you that we've had good reason. You see, it is only in recent history that we have been able to reconcile with them.” Celestia paused, looking upward absently. When her voice returned, it was barely above a whisper. “You know that I was not always the leader my….our little ponies see me for today. Once I sat alone on the throne of Equestria, well, I behaved immaturely, lashing out at any fault in my little ponies I could find, fooling myself into believing that I was saving them from...a worse fate." Celestia's eyes flicked up towards her sister, who appeared unmoved. "As I realized the...disruptive effect my power could have on our little ponies when left unchecked, I retreated to my chambers. For centuries, Luna. I suffered alone and silent, watching helplessly as the nation we built and defended from innumerable threats destroyed itself, fracturing into feudal city-states ruled by all manner of tribal leaders and warlords. As I wallowed in my own pity, the castle crumbled around me, slowly consumed by the growing wilds of the Everfree Forest and deserted by the ponies who once cared for it. Eventually, the ponies would come to believe that we were nothing more than legends of the past."

Luna's jaw unhinged as she turned, walking into her dimly lit bedroom. "They would abandon you so easily?"

"It is" Celestia sighed, following slowly, “easier than you might think. In any case, it was during this time of unrest that the city of Baltimare made their first contact with the Griffon races of the eastern continents. Founded by earth ponies, Baltimare had, over time, come to serve as a permanent refuge for weary, cast-out, or seabound pegasi. In fact, today, pegasi easily outnumber their earth pony kin. At that time, the griffons were stronger than we; they were united, but under the banner of a cruel emperor, Claudius. Though the griffons that arrived were not dispatched in sufficient numbers to constitute an invading force, their strength was clear. In the end, the Baltimareans truly didn't have a decision to make. A 'bilateral' treaty was signed immediately, granting the Griffon Empire exclusive trade rights with Baltimare in exchange for the assignment of Baltimare as a protectorate of the empire. Griffons began emigrating to the newly-available territory almost immediately, and quickly became an important minority in the state. In fact, nearly every griffon you’ll see in Equestria is descended from those who first landed in Baltimare.”

“Sister,” Luna interrupted, “while the history of Baltimare is, no doubt, an interesting tale, I cannot see how there is good reason for us to be recounting this now.”

Celestia unfurled and refurled her wings with annoyance. Political intrigue was never well-suited for her younger sister, though, who was always more attuned to the interests of the commoners than those of the elite.

“There is every reason; just because you do not see it does not mean that it isn’t there. As you will see, Equestria only gained authority over Baltimare through wartime conquest. After I finally awoke to the pains inflicted on our little ponies across Equestria in my absence, I quickly went about restoring our nation to its former glory. I had believed, at the outset, that it might be an impossible task, or at least one that would span many generations, the ponies’ belief that you and I were goddesses meant they essentially invited me back to the throne in nearly every case.

“In fact, all except for one.”

Celestia drilled into Luna’s eyes, the latter nodding slowly with understanding. “Baltimare.”

“Yes, Baltimare. The ponies there had adopted several cultural practices brought by the griffons; chiefly, the belief that all magic was fel magic, its practitioners empowered by demons from Tartarus. Prior to my arrival, they had not seen a unicorn in generations; New Amsterdameites (now Manehattan) knew better than to travel there, and it was too great a distance for any other. Even if they had, the trade agreement with Griffonia meant that if an Equestrian wished to purchase goods, they had to do so at artifically high prices set by the Empire.

“It,” she swallowed, taking a shaky breath, “it was my fault. We had already marched across the continent, east to west, north to south, my presence cheered in every town and city. I...I became overconfident. I assumed they would respond like all the others, even with the way I heard ponies speak in low, hushed whispers about the city. I made no attempt to learn anything about their culture or their government. I didn’t even know there were pegasi there, not to speak of griffons.

“They, on the other hand, were not so unprepared. When we arrived and were met not with thunderous applause but instead lances and crossbows, our small entourage was completely overwhelmed. My honor guard instantly placed a shield around us, but the treacherous griffons had obtained an elixir from a nearby zebra tribe in advance. Even dipping just the tip of one of their weapons in it provided them enough strength to shatter any shield put up by my guards. Even my own power was not enough to shield us from them.”

Celestia fixed Luna in an intense gaze. “They did not just mean to stop us, sister. They meant to kill us.”

“A-a-and their city still stands!?” Luna stammered, her voice crackling with indignance. “It should have been razed for such treachery.”

“I have learned,” Celestia nodded her head towards her sister, “that revenge does not always solve our problems. In this case, we were lucky. I was able to teleport everypony to safety, though two died from their injuries. My magic was significantly diminished from the effort, though, and our chariot deserted on the battlefield, so we had no other choice than to travel on hoof to New Amsterdame. By the time we arrived, the griffons had already declared war on Equestria.”

The princess shook her head. “The war was long, and many lives were lost on both sides of the conflict. In the end, I was forced to wield my power—the power of the sun—over them. The griffon lands wasted away in darkness for over 7 months, never seeing more than a shade of twilight. Finally, the emperor himself came begging for peace, which we granted, with one condition.”

Celestia paused again, her sister’s blank stare eventually turning to an unimpressed scowl. “Yes, we get it. Baltimare.”

“Baltimare, indeed. But annexation did not mean it was over. In fact, decades were spent quelling rebellions, enforcing law, and wasting millions of bits on misguided re-education attempts. We took over the all the schools, in an attempt to educate both young and old about a number of things, not the least of which was magic. Especially after we found out about what had happened to the unicorns that lived there previously.”

Celestia’s face faded into a peculiar shade of turquoise, and she raised a hoof, shaking her head gently.

“But it never took. Eventually, we learned that co-existing in relative peace was better than as state of constant strife. This has meant that Baltimare, even though technically a part of Equestria, has spent essentially the latter half of the millenium developing their own society, quite separate from the rest.

“And they never did get over their aversion to magic. Even today, aside from the Guard that we intentionally station there, you’ll rarely find a unicorn there.”

“Do you believe Twilight’s safety to be at risk?”

“That is one of my concerns, yes. As the embodiment of magic, she is not shy about its use, and there are likely to be some that will not respond well to it. But...greater than that are my concerns about Baltimare itself. Though our peace treaty with Griffonia forbade any contact between their nation and their former protectorate, we have eyes and ears throughout the Baltimarean government…”

“And….you permit this?” Luna scowled, tapping a hoof impatiently.

Celestia’s head drooped. “We do what we must to maintain Harmony, sister. But yes, our relations with the city-state are still fragile, and if Twilight were to have one of her...less proud moments, it could be to the detriment of us all.

“But...that is enough about Baltimare.” Celestia’s voice hitched slightly as she spoke. “What of the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie? Is there any trace of her?”

Luna bowed her head.

“I…I fear I have failed, sister. I believed that even if I could not find her in the dreamstate, attaching a bit of my own magic to her essence would surely allow me some measure of connection, by which I could hope to find her.”

“Without her, the Elements of Harmony can no longer defend Equestria against harm. Luna—”

A midnight hoof snapped up, stopping Celestia in mid-sentence. “Sister, I of all ponies know the cost. Trust me when I say: I have done everything I know how to do. I can find no trace of her in this world.”

“So you think…”

The night whistled outside for what seemed to Celestia to be ages, until Luna finally raised her head to look her in the eye. Slowly, her head began to bob.

“Yes, I do.”

“Then we, indeed, have all suffered a loss,” Celestia said gravely. “We will have to make preparations. But, the night isn’t getting any younger; such things will have to wait until the new day comes.”

Celestia spread her wings, walking out towards the balcony, looking high at the moon that was no longer her sister’s captor.

“As for Baltimare—”

“Let that be my task, sister. Besides, I think I may know just the mare…”

---

“Bon Bon!” Lyra’s eyes shone as she burst through the door, “You’ll never guess—”

An ivory hoof instantly turned her excited ejaculations into a string of muffled sputterings.

“Lyra, please,” Bon Bon frowned, waiting until her marefriend’s mutter had ceased to remove her hoof, “just, try to keep it down.”

“So,” Lyra hopped from hoof-tip to hoof-tip, her body practically quaking, “y-you’ll never guess what happened today…”

“You inherited a million bits from some irrelevant uncle?” Bon Bon’s mouth barely moved as she spoke, watching Lyra from despondently-lidded eyes.

“Better! Luna—”

“...not this again…”

“—asked me to help her with a super-secret really-important mission in—”

“...I swear, this time…”

“—Baltimare! Isn’t that great?”

Lyra blinked, her goofy ear-wide grin melting slowly as the only response she received was the indifferent silence of the living-room couch.

“Bon Bon?” she swallowed audibly, a nervous titter shading her voice. “Are...you...okay?”

In place of an answer, her marefriend walked across the spartan room, her lips moving silently, and a small smile began to work its way back across Lyra’s face. It was always like this; Bon Bon just worried too much. But, Lyra told herself with a smile, she also always said yes, too.

“Bits,” Bon Bon finally growled, “We need bits.”

“Yes, but, working with the Princess…”

“Lyra…”

“And I get to be a spy!”

“Lyra!”

Lyra frowned, looking down at the floor.

“She taught me a new trick today,” she muttered, rubbing her hooftip in a crack on the floor.

“Who?”

“Luna—Princess, Luna, I mean.” Lyra looked up, eyes bright.

“Gah! Have you even landed any gigs this week? This month?”

Lyra’s face tightened, pinching her bottom lip under one of her incisors.

“Uh,” she hummed, trying to buy herself time. “Yeah! I played at ‘Crumbs and Coffee’ on Tuesday.”

She looked up hopefully at her marefriend, but it was clear that she was having none of it today.

“Lyra, today is Tuesday.”

Lyra blinked. Had it been that long already?

“And besides,” Bon Bon continued, the slight quaver in her voice increasing, “you did that show for free!”

Lyra flattened her ears against her skull. She needed to figure out some kind of angle on this one, or she’d be in the doghouse for sure. “Well...I got tips?”

Bon Bon glared.

“Fifteen bits, Lyra. Fifteen whole bits. Rent is due tomorrow.”

Lyra licked her lips, looking down toward her hooves. Not only had she lost track of the last week, it seemed, but the last month as well.

“You forgot again, didn’t you?”

Lyra’s eyes suddenly became cold and glassy, her voice locked in her throat as she watched Bon Bon’s expression slowly mutate from anger to disappointment.

“I’m sorry...the shop…” she finally managed to cough out.

“Yes, Lyra, the shop,” Bon Bon paused to roll her eyes, “The shop will save us, just like it always does. But it can’t support both of us forever, not in the state it’s in.”

Bon Bon walked toward her marefriend, taking Lyra’s hooves in her own.

“Lyra, honey, I have dreams. Dreams where we’re not scraping by every month to make rent or buy from the discount shelf at Barnyard Bargains. Dreams where we keep ‘Sweet Nothings’ profits at the store, so I can grow that little candy shop into something known throughout all of Equestria!”

She paused, dramatically, her eyes pleading with her partner.

“And we can get there, Lyra, but I need bits to do it. I need new equipment, new decor. The stove barely runs as it is; we’ll be lucky if it makes it through the year.”

She sighed, shoulders slumping.

“But, yes,” Bon Bon conceded, opening the small box in front of her, “I did bring home all of this month’s profits, because I figured we’d need them. I wasn’t really counting on you, even though I was hoping.”

Lyra cringed, her mouth growing drier with each word Bon Bon spoke.

“But even with that,” Bon Bon added, “it’s going to be tight.”

The box slammed shut again with a clatter.

“And that means you’re going to need to start pulling your —”

A loud rap at the door interrupted the candymaker’s soliloquy, her partner leaping at the opportunity to escape the situation.

“Lyra!” a pleasant voice called out, “Just the pony we were looking for!”

“Uh, who exactly is that, Lyra?” Bon Bon asked accusingly, head tilted as she struggled to peer around her marefriend to identify their unwanted houseguests.

“Oh, uh, wrong….apartment!” Lyra’s horn flashed, and the door instantly slammed shut behind her.

“Lyra,” Bon Bon said to the mare, who had stepped away from the door and was now heading in her direction, “They asked for you. By name.”

“Uh. Wrong Lyra?” Lyra looked hopefully at her marefriend with a too-wide, toothy grin, eyes darting from side to side.

Bon Bon opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, the grey door to their apartment came crashing down with a loud bang.

“Lyra, we need to talk to you!” Applejack burst in, galloping towards the pair.

“Hey! You’re going to have to pay for that, you know.”

“Oh, yes,” Fluttershy peeked in, her mouth drawn in a tight circle, “I’m sure, uh...we’ll find the bits...somewhere.”

Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Uh huh...Hey—watch the furniture!”

At that moment, Rarity finally managed to squeeze her way into the already bursting apartment, her jaw dropping as Applejack made a hairpin turn in the living room and flung herself off the couple’s couch in a flying leap, her target gaping helplessly from across the room.

“Applejack! What in Equestria are you doing!?”

An aquamarine glow appeared around Applejack’s tail, stopping the mare in mid-air. She grunted loudly in dissent as her body swung downward, her nose grazing just inches from the kitchen table Lyra had shrunk behind.

“Applejack….” Rarity’s eyes widened as unladylike beads of sweat squeezed out of her pores, staining her alabaster fur, “when….oof….did….you get so….heavy?”

“Uh, Rares? Mind gettin’ me down from here?” Applejack turned her head towards her friend, whose legs were visibly shaking from the effort.

“I….um….ah,” she moaned through clenched teeth, “Fluttershy, darling, would you mind, ah, lending a hoof here?”

Fluttershy gingerly removed her hooves from atop her eyes. “O...okay.”

Carefully, she lifted off the ground, looking back towards Rarity hesitantly.

“Oh, for buck’s sake!” Bon Bon blurted out, eyes burning. “Can’t you see she’s about to drop her!?”

“Oh...oh,” Fluttershy stammered, slowly backing away from the angry mare, “I...I’m sorry.”

“Fluttershy! Oh, dear—watch out!” Rarity shrieked as she scrambled against the wall, her horn flickering out as the distraught pegasus tumbled into her.

“Ayiieeeeeee!”

Bon Bon opened her mouth to speak when a loud crash jerked her head to the left. Where there had been a table only moments ago, an orange farmmare now rubbed her head on its cracked top, the legs buckled and twisted beneath it. She bit her bottom lip to dam the emotion welling up in her throat, invoking all of her willpower to maintain her well-practiced prickly persona. In the background, she could vaguely hear an excitable conversation, but it just seemed to emphasize the disaster surrounding her. Their tattered couch sagged, the cushion torn open, the white fluffy innards spilling out to the floor. The Starry Night — just a replica, of course — lay crumpled under the remnants of the frame that had once proudly held it on display.

And then her eyes fell on a small, splintered chunk of oak, mangled beyond recovery, and her heart began pounding like a train engine. She stepped forward slowly, hardly noticing the room drawing silent around her, as she scooped up the piece of debris. As she expected, it unfolded in her hoof, the photograph revealed inside fueling both rage and sadness. For before its untimely destruction, it had existed as a small, wooden heart that she’d given as a gift to Lyra for their first anniversary. Bon Bon had secreted bits away for months to commission it from Hard Scrape, the proprietor of Toys and Treasures.

And now, it was reduced to scrap, little more than wood for the fire.

Bon Bon set her jaw, teeth grinding as she swallowed the lump that still hung in her throat. She thrust herself upwards, bleary eyes narrowed with ferocity.

“I think,” Bon Bon said with a stomp of her hoof, “you all should leave.”

She hesitated, turning towards the mint-green pony splayed out on the floor. “That includes you, Lyra.”

“Wh-what?” Lyra struggled to her hooves, the fur on her spine pricking sharply.

Bon Bon coughed, shaking the remaining bleariness from her eyes, “I...I need some time without…well, without this. You’re an amazing mare, Lyra, but you’re irresponsible, and one way or another, things always seem to go haywire when you’re around.”

“But…” Lyra bumped her snout against her marefriend’s muzzle awkwardly, but the mare on the other side of the gesture was stiff, as though she had just nuzzled up against a stranger. Bon Bon began to shy away, but Lyra gently placed her hoof under her chin, her breath catching in her chest as she tried to speak.

“We…”

“We, what, Lyra?” Bon Bon sighed exhaustedly, “No, Lyra, there’s no we here. Now...really, I need you to go. I’ll...let you know....”

Bon Bon clamped her muzzle shut, thrusting a white hoof at the gaping doorframe. Despondent, the other ponies locked their muzzles, slowly dragging their hooves towards the opening. Applejack hesitated at the egress, eyes filled with regret as she turned her head back towards the home’s lone resident.

“Bon Bon, Ah just...hope ya know none of us meant for this to happen...”

Bon Bon turned away wordlessly, her tail flicking furiously. Applejack hung her head, following the rest of her friends out of the apartment. Her hoofsteps crunched as they punched through the wood of the door, eventually disappearing out into the hallway beyond.

The room finally still, Bon Bon collapsed into a pile, her stiff body melting into the cold, emotionless floor as the hurt puddled out of her.

---

Outside the apartment building, the four mares stood, three of them silently scuffing their hooves in the dirt.

The last had her head buried under her foreleg, soft sputtering sounds escaping.

“Oh…” Fluttershy mumbled, eyes fixed on Lyra as she rolled her hooves together. As the breath whistled lightly through her teeth, she slid gently beside the mare, draping her wing over her back.

“Shhhh…” she crooned, “It’ll….” her eyes darted to her friends for support, “be alright.”

As a gentle smile began to cross her muzzle, the body pressed against her seemed to stiffen.

“Alright?” Lyra sniffled, rubbing her nose with a fetlock. “Alright? How can you say it’ll be alright?”

“Oh...um…” Fluttershy looked back again at Applejack and Rarity, slowly backing away from the mare, who was now rounding on her.

“What Fluttershy meant to say,” Applejack coughed, “is that...well, shoot, Ah don’t think you can rightly forgive us for what happened back there, but you should know how sorry we all are.”

Lyra’s voice burbled out like a crow's call, her eyes beginning to water all the more. “Sorry? Bon Bon...she was everything, I don’t know….how….? Sorry...doesn’t fix anything.”

“No, you’re right, dear,” Rarity said, carrying a tissue to the mare, “but we will!”

“Yeah...right.” Lyra frowned. “You don’t know Bon Bon. You don’t know how angry she gets, how…”

Placing a hoof under the mare's chin, Rarity nudged her mouth closed with a gentle click.

“You’re right, I don’t know that much about her. But,” she beamed triumphantly, “just because we don’t know her yet doesn’t mean we won’t.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Lyra shuddered, looking Rarity in the eye. “I...don’t think Bon Bon wants to see any of us ever again. Not you, and not me either. And if...if...if that h-happens, I just…”

She trailed off, her tongue thick and heavy as drops streaked down her cheeks.

“Y’all….I don’t mean to be rude, but—”

“Hush, Applejack!” Rarity glared at her friend as she absently stroked the green mane of the mare beside her. “Can’t you see the poor mare is suffering! We must help her! We must win back her beloved Bon Bon! Isn’t that right, dear?”

Lyra turned to Rarity, her damp eyes reduced to narrow points. “W-what is it with you ponies, anyway? W-w-why do you ah-ah-always try so hard for?”

“Well, shucks, sugarcube, I guess it’s just the way we are,” Applejack trotted beside her friends. “Maybe Rarity’s right; give us a chance to make it up to you.”

“Although,” she said as she tapped her chin, “we do still gotta find Twi’, too. Heck, if there’s anypony who can fix this for you, it’s her.”

“T-Twi?”

“Yeah, you know, Twilight Sparkle, princess an’ all—”

“Oh, buck me!” Lyra spat, her eyes widening.

“H-huh?” Fluttershy licked her lips nervously, looking around for the easiest escape route, quickly deciding on one particularly open-open spot in the sky.

“Lun-Princess Luna—duh, what am I doing, I can’t tell you of all ponies!?” Lyra began thumping her hoof into her head. “Stupid, stupid, stupid Lyra! Why are you always so...so….impulsive!”

Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack all turned to each other, each reflecting the concerned, but confused, expression of the other. With a nod, Rarity stepped forward, placing her hoof atop Lyra’s.

“Dear,” she said gently, “please, you must stop beating yourself up like this. If it sets your mind at ease, though, we’ll swear to never tell another pony of your secret. We’ll even Pinkie Pie promise it, right, girls?”

Applejack nodded, with Fluttershy eventually following with timid assent.

“C-c-cross my heart….” she stammered as the three of them synchronously performed the requisite actions for the promise, Lyra watching with curious interest.

“An’ if it sets your mind at ease at all, I’m sure we can replace all yer stuff in there.”

Slowly, a scowl drew itself across Lyra's muzzle, causing Applejack’s face to become a mask of bewilderment.

“Yeah, ‘cuz it figures you all would be rich.”

“Oh, um...no…” Fluttershy said from under her forelegs, “I….I’m not rich at all.”

“Neither are us Apples,” Applejack nodded, “though we certainly do alright for ourselves. But I could call in a few favors with the clan in Appleloosa ta’ get the table replaced, an’ I’m sure Rarity could getcha hooked up with some fancy pony in Canterlot for a bran’ new couch, right Rares?”

“Oh!” Rarity blushed, her eyes quickly darting side-to-side, “Um, yes, certainly...I could….do that.”

“You-you’d do that...for me?” Lyra removed her head from her hooves, her bleary eyes red with exhaustion.

“Sure as sunshine!”

Slowly, the corners of Lyra's mouth began twitching as she peered hopefully into Applejack’s eyes.

“Y-you know,” she said, a fresh tear running down her cheek to the tip of a fragile crescent, “maybe—maybe you are the ponies that could just do it. I-I guess I’ve never known ponies like you before.”

“Well ya do now, sugarcube,” Applejack grinned.

“U-um,” Fluttershy coughed into her wing, “I-I’m sorry, but it’s getting really dark out here...maybe we should...um, get going, you know, if you want to?”

Lyra sighed, her head drooping down again.

“Darling, what is it?” Rarity’s voice squeaked with concern as she looked proddingly at the mare.

“It’s just...Princess Luna wanted me to go to Baltimare to check up on Twilight—”

“See, I toldja she was there,” Applejack cut in, her grin growing wider.

“Applejack,” Rarity chided, ignoring a persistent cough in the background, “it was I who told you Twilight was in Baltimare.”

“Now wait just one apple-pickin’—”

“Ahem!” Fluttershy glared at the two scoldingly, both immediately shrinking back, tripping over each other in frantic attempts to apologize.

“Oh I’m dreadfully—”

“Sorry, Rares…”

“I just became so—”

“plum caught up…”

“...that I forgot to listen to Lyra!” the two concluded in unison, turning to face the mint-hued unicorn.

“Oh, yeah, so, anyway, I was supposed to get on the last train out of Ponyville so I could make it there by Wednesday, buuuuut,” her eyes flicked up to the pitch-black sky, “I get the feeling it’s more than a little too late for that.”

“Oh, that is quite the dilemma, darling,” Rarity nodded, flicking a glance at Applejack. “But...why is it so urgent that you need to be there by Wednesday?”

Lyra met her gaze, biting her lip gently, “Well, you see,” she said, rolling her hooves together, “that’s when Rainbow Dash’s trial is…”

“What the hay do you mean, ‘trial’?”

“She’s in jail, in Baltimare.”

“Well, shoot, why didn’tcha say so! No wonder Twi’ shot outta here so quickly!” Applejack shouted, “I reckon we oughta do the same—”

“Now, Applejack, don’t you think it would be just a little bit too obvious if all of us just suddenly disappeared?” Rarity placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, looking her in the eye.

“But—”

“What about Apple Bloom? Or Sweetie Belle? Not to mention Carousel Boutique, itself. Certainly, somepony would notice our absence.”

Applejack sighed, stepping backward. “I suppose you’re right.”

“But,” she grinned, “that isn’t to say that one of us couldn’t go. One of us who mightn’t be missed at all.”

Two pairs of eyes turned towards a twitching ball of pink and yellow fuzz.

“O-o-oh...um...mm-m-me? I-I-I...don’t think you want me…”

“Sure we do, sugarcube,” Applejack said, lifting the mare by the scruff of her neck and setting her down again, “Besides, you’ve got them feathery things on your back. Ah’m sure you could catch up with that train at the next station.”

“Uh….do...um, you mean...my wings?” Fluttershy cocked her head, unfurling and refurling her wings uncomfortably.

“Sure do! It’s just a shame we don’t have RD here to fly Lyra…”

“I…” Lyra piped up suddenly, thin wisps of dark magic spiraling out of the tip of her horn, “think I might have a solution for that...”

Author's Note:

As always, preread and edited by Orlunu, without whom this fic would be much poorer.

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