A box of fish candy, two lollipops, and a bag of assorted taffy with other sweets.
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A box of fish candy, two lollipops, and a bag of assorted taffy with other sweets.
It was a dull day so far in Pony-Ville and Lyra, the monster of the week had been dealt with two days ago, the town had rebuilt itself from the usual damage that had ensued, and apart from a reminder of some rain tomorrow there was barely anything happening for now. Pony-Ville remained, much to the gratitude of it's residents, the sleepy rural village it was once known for. Something that brought endless boredom for Lyra as she watched the counter as a favor for her close friend Bon-Bon.
Bored, she recounted to herself why she was here and with a smile remembered her promised prize, a case of candy of her choice. That and the gratitude of her close friend Bon Bon, but for her the prospect of a mixed box of chocolate and licorice seemed more attractive to her at the moment than simple gratitude. A sweet tooth needed to be fed after all.
“Mhmh,” she mumbled to herself with a smile and faintly chewed her mouth in imagination as she looked at the nearby case to decide her choice in advance. “I wonder what I'll get. Watermelon? Strawberry? Maybe just cherry and cotton candy if I can’t decide. That or I could go for the mystery stuff Bon Bon’s been making. I’m sure she’ll be happy to know that someone is buying the stuff finally oh-?” The sound of her friend's store bell ringing attracted her attention and with a flick of her head she twisted her muzzle to see who it was.
A moment later upon seeing them, she felt her ears fold back in momentary fear as she saw who it was. It wasn’t someone that she recognized or knew, but it was someone that she could tell was certainly bad news. Because she noticed the heavy gladius that her new patron had strapped to their flank and the eternal frowning dispositions that they both had; one that seemed to be almost engraved on both of their faces.
They were a duo, a dark gray furred earth pony stallion with gray, and a similarly colored pegasus mare with the former being somewhere in the age of 50 while the latter was in her early 20s. They were both heavily clothed with the stallion wearing a simple dress shirt that was dyed black and a dull white and gray jacket with black pants, and the mare wore a dress that Lyra suspected belonged more in a church than anywhere else that covered her from head to tie and that was finished with a tall hat. To any pony within Pony-Ville or out, they stood out immediately to the average creature's eyes and were labeled outsiders within seconds, especially in Lyra’s mind.
But yet they did not seem to mind or care about it, as the two simply walked through with the stallion taking the lead while the mare followed close behind. The sound of their hooves clacking against the tiled floor as they made their way to the counter. Lyra meanwhile only fumbled her mouth as she failed to greet them as they approached, any thoughts of her redeeming the licorice that she was waiting for having long dissolved by now due to their sudden intrusion and strange appearance.
“Ahh, hello miss,” the stallion said in a gravelly voice as he neared the counter. “Me and my,” he hesitated for a moment as he looked for a word to describe what his relationship could be with the pegasus.
“Daughter?” Lyra said her thoughts out loud as she recovered. Looking at them she could tell that they were close, close enough that they carried a sort of resemblance to one another that could be mistaken for family.
“No no,” he said adamantly with a shake of his head. “She’s a friend. A close one, but nothing more than that.”
The pegasus simply hummed and gave a nod before walking over to the counter and casting her eyes toward the nearby cases of assorted candy.
“Oh uhm, alright,” Lyra said with a quizzical look as she noticed the pegasus’s stare towards cases. “Are you looking for something in particular?”
“Yes,” the pegasus replied with a dull and tinny tone and with glazed-over eyes that set Lyra on edge. “Charon needs to decide which is best for her and Mephi at the moment.”
For her and Mephi? Lyra mumbled to herself somewhat confused. Who names a kid Mephi?
“Well, “ Lyra said, looking over the counter and remembering the sample policy her friend had set forth. “You can always try a few if you want before making a decision.”
“Oh?” the stallion said, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. “You give out free samples?”
“We do,” Lyra answered with a smile before backpedaling with, "well my friend does. She runs the store at the moment. I’m just keeping an eye on the shelves while she’s gone.”
“I see,” the stallion said with a nod as he awkwardly twisted his head to look at the display. “Do you have any lollipops?”
“Not many, but I think my friend has a few?” Lyra answered the stallion as she flicked her horn’s field and reached for a nearby jar that was set behind her. “She hasn’t been making much money these days since ponies prefer drops, but I know we keep a few just in case for a certain dragon. Do you have a flavor in mind?”
“Do you have anything bitter?” the stallion said his answer with a snap and a curious eyebrow as he watched her levitate the jar to her side. “Something sour would also work.”
“I uhm, I’m not sure if we have that,” Lyra mumbled to herself as she brought out handfuls of the lollipops and sorted them with her field while looking for one that could match her customer's request. “Sour and bitter flavors aren’t exactly popular to say the least. Ponies tend to like sweet things around here. Stuff like strawberries, bananas, roses, watermelons, and apples. Not many Griffons or anyone else around here in Pony-Ville has a sour preference to change the stock we have.’"
“Dandelions?” the stallion mouthed out somewhat surprised. “You eat flowers?”
“I do, well we do,” Lyra stuttered out as she pointed her hoof at the stallion and herself. “We’re ponies you know. We eat grass, flowers, and that kind of stuff.”
Moving her gaze she pointed to the pegasus for a moment to continue. “I know pegasus's eat fish, but if I remember correctly it isn’t really common for a lot of them. Just a quirk that some of them have when they live near a town with a source of fresh fish.”
Continuing to search through her field, she found one that piqued her interest before levitating it over to the stallion.
“Here,” she said, handing the stallion a pair of white-colored lollipops, “dandelion flavor. I think it’s the closest that you’ll get for now in the range of lollipops.”
“Thank you,” the stallion said with a nod as he awkwardly grabbed the lollipops with a hoof before handing the pegasus one. “Do you have anything else that could work?”
“Mhmh, Not really?” Lyra mumbled to herself turning in her seat as she browsed the wares with an inquisitive eye. “We do have a few things for griffons, but uhm,” she drawled off unwilling to say what she knew could happen when a pony tried them.
“We’ll take them,” the stallion said with the lollipop now in his mouth, noticing her gaze was drawn towards a set of fish-flavored candy. “I’m sure that we’ll be fine.”
“I dunno,” Lyra said, remembering the scene of a pony trying out the vinegar and fish-flavored candy for the very first time. “Only griffons like the stuff and you don’t-”
“I assure you, we’ll be fine,” the stallion answered Lyra, cutting her off before awkwardly raising a hoof towards himself and the pegasus. “If it helps, we’re from somewhere that has…different tastes than the people around here.”
“Mhmh, I guess, you two ponies certainly don’t look like you're from anywhere around here,” Lyra relented as she grabbed a small box of them and levitated them towards the counter. “No samples this time though. I don’t want to mop up the floor again like the last time someone tried these under my watch.”
“Understandable,“ the stallion said with a nod and a small smile as he looked around for a moment and turned towards the pegasus. “Charon, do you see anything that catches your eye?”
“Mhmh, yes Verg,” she said, pointing absentmindedly with a wing towards a set of taffy barrels wrapped on display “The red ones and the pink ones will do, and black for Mephi.”
“Alright then,” the stallion now known as Verg to Lyra said with a dutiful nod. “We’ll take a handful of each then in addition to the box.” Turning towards Lyra he then said, “Is there anything that you would want to recommend to us as well?”
Lyra tried her best. Recommending to the pair sour gums, spiced gumdrops, and the various experiments that Bonbon had tried in the past and had put up for sale rather than throwing them away. And rather than responding with a sense of offense that she might have expected from a pony being recommended for things they were known to biologically dislike, the pair responded instead with quiet neutrality.
In time everything was packaged together in a small bag and Lyra had just begun to ask the two for the bits when she heard the door open behind her and revealing a frazzled bonbon.
“Thanks for manning the counter Lyra,” she said with a heavy breath while patting down a bit of ash that had on her shoulders. “There was a bit of an incident with another friend of mine and I had to help them out. Anyway, you can go now you can just come back when-” Her eye by mere chance met the stallion and on habit looked him up and down to see if he was a threat.
The stallion noticing her gaze raised an inquisitive eyebrow, this time revealing within his eyes a red hue that Lyra had failed to notice until now that glowed a crimson red.
For a moment there was only silence, but in that silence, a conversation began and ended within seconds. Communicated only through the simple gesture of one’s eyes. It began with a question of if they were a threat and an acknowledgment that they were. One that Bon Bon confirmed with a look upon the stallions' heavy Gladius that they carried and the many scars upon their hide.
“I see,” Bon Bon muttered to herself as a bead of nervous sweat trickled down her face while her hoof reached towards a panic button. “Are you going to-?”
“No, we won’t be staying here for long,” Verg answered Bon Bon as he clumsily tried to reach one of his pants pockets with a hoof. “We plan to leave this place after we make our purchases.”
“I see...and your not from around here are you?” Bon Bon asked them again while she watched the stallion awkwardly fumble for his left pocket.
“Yes, but were nobody that you should concern yourself with,” Verg answered her as he eventually took out his wallet, placed it on the counter, and opened it clumsily with both of his forehooves. “It would be best if you stood down and waited for us to finish before you made any kind of report or move against us.”
“Or,” he said, turning his attention to Bon Bon as he began to fish out a few coins, “you can do something foolish we’ll both regret Officer. I'm willing to accommodate whichever option you choose, but I leave the decision to what happens here to be yours," he finished as for a moment his eyes began to glow a deep red.
Thinking about it, Bon Bon hoof hovered over the panic button that would seal the office shut and ward it with magical seals before sending out an emergency request for aid from S.M.I.L.E. She could apprehend them here, trap them long enough so that S.M.I.L.E could deal with them, but what then? What could they do? Imprison them as though they were Discord? Possible, very possible, they’ve done that before with other entities, but could they do it this one?
She looked at the stallion again. With the ordinary suit that they wore, the heavy gladius that they had, and the strange eyes that they had. Something about them was off. They were ordinary, very ordinary, but something about them was off that she couldn't tell. How could they know that she was an officer? How could he know with only a few seconds to look at her that she was poised and ready to deal with any threat that came through her doors?
She looked at Lyra who seemed oblivious to the situation and who was idly eying the coins at the table. If she sealed the officer now, would it be worth it? She would be willing to accept herself as a casualty in dealing with what she believed to be a dangerous entity, but could she accept her friend?
Her hoof continued to hover over the button while the stallion waited for a reply.
“Well?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “What will your decision be agent?”
She thought about it. She ruminated over the possibilities of what could happen if she sealed the shop shut, the casual threat that the stallion carried, the possibility of what could happen if they were to let someone like him go, and she moved her hoof off the button.
“Good,” he said with a smile as he took out a set of glass-like coins before placing them on the counter. “Hopefully this should be enough.”
“Well uhm,” Lyra said looking at the strange coins that were on the table before picking one of them up in her field and inspecting it while noticing the symbol of an eye stamped on it. “This isn’t exactly Equestrian bits, so I don’t think that it’ll-”
“It’ll be fine,” Bon Bon interrupted Lyra with a haggard look on her face as she brushed them all into a small pouch that she brought out; one she never intended to open if she could. “Is there anything else that Sweetie Drops Candies can do for you?”
“No that should be enough for now,” the stallion said as put his wallet back into his pocket before he began to rifle through it for something else. “Thank you for the service.”
“Good, good,” Bon Bon mumbled to herself as she looked away for a moment to point towards the train. “The nearest train should be leaving in about twenty minutes or so, so feel free to grab that while you still can. I can get you free tickets if you need-” The chime of a bell interrupted her thoughts and sent her back to reality. Looking around she noticed that the two were already gone from the store, the only signal of their departure being the store's bell.
“I uhm,” Bon Bon stammered out as she quickly poked her head out of her store, looked left, looked right, saw nothing, even walked for a minute to look, and eventually walked back to the store to ask her friend a question. “Did you see where they went by any chance?”
“Hm?” Lyra said as she still held the strange coin in her field. “No, not really. I was just busy with one of the coins they gave us. I’ve never really seen it before.”
Continuing to hold it in her field, Lyra brought it to her eye and watched as through the glass-like material of the coin, the world's colors shifted into a prismatic and vibrant glow. One that Bon Bon noticed showed minute versions of her friend in various outfits, places, and time. The coin had to be magical and maybe even a trap, because no coins on Equestria simply showed a reflection of themselves wearing a set of guard armor one moment, a police officer the next, and an element bearer the one after. It was dangerous and it had to be sealed.
Acting on impulse Bon Bon leaped towards it, grabbed the coin that was held in her friends field, and yanked it with all of her might.
“Hey that’s mine!” Lyra barked out as Bon Bon began to open the pouch that she had to put the coin away with the others.
“No it isn’t!” Bon Bon seethed with a worried look on her face as she fought against the stubborn zipper that the pouch had. “It’s mine because the customer paid for what I made. You don't even know what it is, it could be dangerous for all you know!”
“Dangerous?” Lyra asked Bon Bon, somewhat puzzled. “How would you know something like this could be dangerous? It’s just a coin after all, a weird one, but still a coin? What’s the worst that can happen?”
Bon Bon made to answer her, to tell her friend of her past experiences with anomalous materials, of how they could ruin ponies the moment they touched them, of how she saw it happen in front of her time and time again through her experience as a S.M.I.L.E agent, but the moment that the first letter left her mouth she realized the consequences of revealing herself to her friend and stopped. The fear of the agencies promise of deep and terrible violence to anyone that knew them stopping her in her tracks and rooting Bon Bon to the ground. With that moment being just long enough for Lyra to yank the coin out of her stunned grasp.
“Got it!” she said triumphantly as she spun the coin in her grasp again before turning towards her dear friend. “Look Bon Bon, if the coin’s just rubbish, you can take what they owe you from me alright? You did promise me a pick of whatever I wanted for holding the counter for a bit, remember?”
“I…did,” Bon Bon muttered out bitterly with a huff as she tried to clear the fuzz out of her mind from what she knew of S.M.I.L.E.
“Good, then that should cover it I think. If not, then all they got if I'm being honest was just some candies that nobody would buy in the first place,” Lyra chirped out happily and somewhat ignorant to her friend's sudden downshift in demeanor as she slipped out of her chair and onto her four legs and stretched. “It'll be fine alright?
“Well alright,” Bon Bon bitterly breathed out as she held the pouch that she had in her hoof. “At least I have the rest of these to do what I want with them.”
“Yeah, you have the rest of those to do what you want with them!” Lyra said with a nod as she made her way in front of the stall before opening the door, the coin still held in her grasp as she eyed it again. “I think I might see if someone can make this into a necklace or something. It's honestly pretty cool once you look at it.”
Bon Bon only gave a nod to her friend as she left before moving towards the storefront and flipped the sign from open to closed.
“Great, just great,” she muttered to herself as she held the coins in her grasp. “Just finished handling a request from S.M.I.L.E and the minute I get back to my ordinary life I’m face to face with…that…that…thing.”
A shiver ran through her as she remembered the stare that the stallion gave. One that seemed to pierce not only through her and scan her with impudent scrutiny, but that promised untold amounts of violence and bloodshed if she stepped out of line. Bloodshed she suspected that the stallion was more than willing to partake in if things were not in his favor and if he was threatened.
What could make them want to act like that, she thought to herself as she held the pouch in her hooves. Had they done it before? If so how many people and how many times? They were questions that she didn't want answers to as she suspected they were a number that could shock even warlords.
So putting the thoughts from her mind she made her way to a small back room to a safe. A safe that she knew was warded against magic and violence and in a moment she opened it and deposited it in so that it could hurt no one.
But before she could a ray of light from a nearby window shone through the pouch and displayed an image of herself, one that seemed remarkably different to her as it showed a vision of her wearing a pendent of harmony. Looking through it and noticing her that image smiled and waved towards Bon Bon with a smile.
But the image didn’t last long as Bon Bon sealed the pouch tight and slammed the safe shut; only muttering a prayer as she did in the hope that nothing bad would come out of her decision.
Author's Note
This is technically canon.
