• Published 27th Mar 2013
  • 9,561 Views, 797 Comments

Lyra's Ultimate Item Emporium - Thunderbug80



Lyra, with some help from Bon Bon, converts her home into a shop in Ponyville to pay off some debts. But who knew running a shop could be so difficult?

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Chapter 23 - Trust

"What's going on?" Scootaloo asked as she approached Bon Bon. She had just finished a small contract for the guild and was reporting in with the results, but the look on Bon Bon's face had piqued her interest.

A small bead of sweat ran down Bon Bon's brow as she stared intently ahead at Lyra, who was currently with a customer.

"She's negotiating a massive multi-sale," Bon Bon whispered.

Scootaloo glanced over at Lyra. "Oh, okay," she said. She looked back up at Bon Bon. "What's a multi-sale?"

Bon Bon looked down at Scootaloo, but didn't otherwise move a muscle. "It's any sale that involves more than one item. It's a natural way to increase bits per transaction, thereby increasing profit margins, but in this case the customer isn't entirely certain that they want to buy everything they need in one go. Lyra's going to convince him otherwise."

Scootaloo blinked, looked back at Lyra, then scratched her head with a hoof. "I'm not sure I understood all of that," she admitted. She decided to sit and watch with Bon Bon. While the intricacies of retail sales may have eluded her, she was wise enough to understand that if Lyra was successful in whatever she was doing, it would probably mean a lot of bits. That was good enough for her. She listened to what Lyra was saying.

"So with the pitted pot and accompanying pot stand, plus the I Love Cooking book, it only makes sense to grab some secret mix and the blue teacup to complete everything you need to make and enjoy top-quality tea every morning. Otherwise you'll have to wait to make full use of your purchase, and who wants to do that?"

The customer, a young adult earth pony with a peach-colored mane and blue spectacles, sized up the items and seemed to make a quick mental calculation.

"I still don't know," he said. "I mean, I'd love to get it all now, but I still need to pick myself up a scarf and some toys for the little ones, and I just don't think I have enough to get everything."

Though unnoticed by everypony else, Scootaloo saw Lyra's eyes narrow ever-so-slightly. She had seen the same look before in Rainbow Dash's eyes just before she attempted a new aerial trick.

"You can take it all now," Lyra said firmly. Bon Bon let out a low gasp, but Scootaloo was too enthralled to notice. She leaned closer to listen. "You get the pot, pot stand, cookbook, herbal mixture, teacup, plus you pick out any scarf you want and I'll give you a fifteen percent discount on the total price, which should place this all within your budget. In addition, you may choose three toys from the bargain bin for free for the children. I'm sure we have something they each will enjoy."

"No way, she's going for it!" Bon Bon whispered. "That pot and its stand are extremely rare and are often found separately, but almost never found together, and both he and Lyra know it! If she pulls this off, we're going to rake in over a thousand bits in one sale, even with the discount!"

Scootaloo's eyes widened. She could buy all kinds of stuff with that many bits. The possibilities were endless!

"Hm, that's certainly a generous offer," the customer said. He thought it over for another moment before finally giving in. "Oh, what the hay. Ring it up!"

Once the items were paid for and the customer had left the store, Lyra hopped over to where Scootaloo was sitting with Bon Bon.

"Yayness!" she cried. "That sale is going to go a long way toward this week's payment!" She stopped hopping and scratched her mane sheepishly. "I was going to only offer a ten percent discount since I'm pretty sure he would have taken it anyway, but with three foals to feed I figured he could use the extra savings, plus it guaranteed we'd make the sale."

"Wait, so you could have charged him more, but you didn't?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well... yeah. I know we need a lot of bits, but I figured—"

"Cool!" Scootaloo interrupted. "You're awesome, Miss Heartstrings!" She ran over to the door and opened it, then turned back, eyes wide with wonder. "I'm gonna go take on another contract for the guild. There's no way I'm gonna let you lose your shop. I guarantee we'll succeed!"

With that, Scootaloo bolted out the door, leaving Lyra and Bon Bon to stare after her in bewilderment.


The trip to Canterlot was rather uneventful for Iron Will. He had been hoping to see signs of monsters along the route there, but if there had been any near the railroad tracks, they were already cleared away by the time the Friendship Express arrived.

Under normal circumstances it might have been quite difficult for a minotaur to gain an audience with the captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, but it turns out that Lyra was friends with somepony who was related to him and had managed to pull some strings. The captain, a white unicorn stallion with a wavy blue mane, was already waiting for Iron Will when he arrived at the Royal Palace.

"Welcome to Canterlot. My name is Shining Armor," he said. He then turned to the guards who had accompanied him. "I will meet with our guest in my office. Make certain that we are not disturbed."

The guards saluted an acknowledgement and escorted Iron Will and the captain to his office, then took up posts on either side of the door. The captain led Iron Will into his office and shut the door behind him.

Though small, the room Iron Will found himself in was a testament to efficiency. A desk, a few chairs, and a bookcase full of military and history books were the only furnishings. A large map of Equestria covered nearly the entire far wall, and a single high window let in some light. The captain made to offer a chair, then seemed to realize it was far too small for Iron Will and simply took a seat himself.

"So, let's get right to business," the unicorn said. Iron Will noted that a small placard on the desk indicated that his name was Shining Armor. That's right, the unicorn had already stated his name. Iron Will hadn't been paying attention.

"I hear word that the Adventurer's Guild is looking to offer some assistance to the Royal Guard with handling our little problem." He shook his head slightly. "I won't ask how you know about the monsters. What I do want to know is what, exactly, Flim and Flam have to gain by sending guild members on a mission that, for one, hasn't even been contracted; two, could prove to be incredibly dangerous; and three, is already being handled by the Royal Guard."

Iron Will crossed his arms and raised one eyebrow. "If the pony guards could handle the problem, there wouldn't be monsters just outside of Ponyville."

Shining Armor's training was too thorough to allow him to flinch, but Iron Will could see the expression in the captain's eyes alter ever-so-slightly, and knew that he was on to something.

"There have been no public reports of any such thing in Ponyville!"

Iron Will leaned forward. "Because the pony guards are the only ones who have spotted any, and pony guards don't make public reports."

Shining Armor snorted and changed the subject. "Even if monsters could, theoretically, reach Ponyville, you still haven't answered my question. What does the guild have to gain? We know the details of every contract put out for them, and there certainly isn't one concerning this. Additionally, I doubt I need to explain the difference in training between an adventurer-for-hire and a member of the Royal Guard. This task is dangerous enough for my soldiers. What makes you think any of the guild members could be of any use?" He raised a hoof up at Iron Will's low grumble. "Look, I don't mean to imply that the guild is useless. I know for certain that it serves many purposes, but I also know Flim and Flam, and the last thing I need is for them to start sending adventurers on some crazy monster hunt only for them all to injure themselves. Maybe even severely."

The room was silent as Iron Will pondered the captain's words. This pony was tasked with defending those who couldn't otherwise defend themselves, so it was only natural that he should be concerned with anything that could be considered dangerous. Then again, if the pony didn't have that magical horn of his, Iron Will was certain that he was far more qualified to smash monsters than the captain was. That wasn't the point, however. He decided to just be direct.

"The guild wants the Royal Guard to issue a contract," he said simply. Shining Armor raised an eyebrow, but Iron Will continued. "What's in it for the guild? Bits, of course. Glory too, perhaps, if some want to see it that way. What the guild gains is of no consequence. What you have to gain is a chance to get the situation under control before it does go public. Because if that happens—" Iron Will's eyes grew fierce "—the guild will get its contracts from them instead of you."

Shining Armor looked down at his desk for a moment, clearly frustrated. He looked back up and caught Iron Will's eye. "So what do you get out of this?" he asked. "Are you just in it for the bits?"

Iron Will made to answer and was prepared to say 'nothing,' but stopped himself and thought – really thought – about the answer before he spoke.

"Iron Will does this because if he doesn't..." he trailed off, but was determined to be truthful. "Iron Will must do this, or else he does not deserve a friend like Lyra Heartstrings."

Whatever answer Shining Armor had been expecting, it clearly wasn't what had just come out of Iron Will's mouth. It was obvious that Iron Will had some explaining to do, so he told the tale of how he had first met Lyra as an agent of Can't Run, Can't Hide, and how he had seen her grow more and more determined to succeed in the face of almost certain failure. He spoke of how Lyra had hired the entire Adventurer's Guild, and how he had decided to re-join as a member in order to directly support her.

When he had finished, Shining Armor stared at him. Just before things began to get uncomfortable, the captain grinned and leaned back in his chair.

"So my sister's old playmate is running the guild now, huh?" Iron Will guessed this was a rhetorical question and didn't answer. "I have to say, I never saw that coming." He looked at Iron Will and leaned forward again. "Listen, I can see that you're passionate about this, and I trust that you're doing it for the right reasons." He chuckled. "I'm also certain my sis would be pretty upset if I were to refuse to help her friend out. But—" he crossed his forehooves "—this puts me in a bit of a bind. Tell you what. I'll speak with my sister and get some strings pulled so we can get an off-the-records contract made up. But only on two conditions."

"What're those?"

"One, this," he said as he opened one of his desk drawers, withdrew something, and placed it onto the desk, "stays between us. Two, I'm coming with you," he finished.

Iron Will stared wide-eyed at the object on the desk. The card had Shining Armor's name on it, and he would have recognized its design anywhere.

The pony captain was also a member of the Adventurer's Guild!