Romance and the Fate of Equestria

Chapter Seventy-Eight

In a hotel room in Canterlot, Lyra sat upon a bed, absent-mindedly staring at a stuffed toy panda which she was levitating above her head, periodically pulling some of its stuffing out of the gash in its stomach.

The door opened only minimally, and Bon Bon slid into the room, hastily slamming the door behind her and grinning at Lyra, looking triumphant and sinister.

"Hey, babe," said Lyra. "Meeting with the princess go well?"

"Fantastic," Bon Bon growled deep in her throat, stalking around the room. "You know, I don't know why we were surprised when she asked us to produce her movie." She snatched Lyra's panda in her hooves. "Who else was she gonna ask?"

"Hey!" Lyra cried out.

"I read her script," Bon Bon went on, ignoring her. "Saw her production ideas. Here's a copy of the notes I gave her." She thrust a stack of papers into Lyra's face.

Lyra pulled them away and looked them over, frowning. She turned to Bon Bon in concern. "Is your fever worse than usual, honey?"

"I don't think so. Why?"

"These notes suck," Lyra said bluntly.

Bon Bon cackled wickedly. "Exactamundo! I've got her right where we need her: Under. Our. Hooves." She dropped the panda onto the ground and stomped it flat. Lyra winced.

"Her movie, as written, is a heartrending masterpiece," Bon Bon sneered. "But she doesn't know that. She's an amateur. She'll follow my notes. The movie will be a farce, impossible to take seriously, doomed to failure after all the hype. That's when we show the public the princess's original ideas and say they were ours!" She shot Lyra a deranged, lopsided grin. "We'll be the producers of what would have been the most important film of the decade, if not for a prima donna director who had no right—to be—in the business!"

Lyra nodded thoughtfully. "Quick question: why don't we just be the producers of 'the most important film of the decade' while it's still good?"

Bon Bon glared. "Because… it's not about raising us up. It's about bringing her down. I'm putting her in her place. I must shatter her dreams. Burn everything she holds dear down to the ground! The princess of the night messed with my territory, then dared to ask for my help? I'm going to ruin that ancient dust-covered bitch."

Lyra patted the empty spot on the bed. Bon Bon crawled in alongside her, and Lyra snuggled up to her gently.

"What about when she tells everypony that our ideas were actually hers?" Lyra asked.

"Who would believe that?" Bon Bon replied softly. "She's Nightmare Moon. Nopony likes her."

"Is it hot in here?" Lyra whispered into Bon Bon's ear. "It always seems to get hot when you talk about destroying folks…"

"Well, we'll do a lot more destroying before we're through, honey," Bon Bon said smugly. "It's a crazy world, but we'll get to the top."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Angel O'Brien opened a door leading to one of the snowy balconies of Canterlot Castle. Under the stars and moon, she spotted Princess Luna leaning against the railing, toying with an abacus between her two front hooves.

"Princess?" she whispered.

"Hello, Angel O'Brien."

The turquoise pegasus slowly approached the princess, coming up alongside her. "What's with the abacus?" she said casually.

"Oh, I use it to calm my nerves," the princess said breathlessly, sliding a few of the beads back and forth. "I'm rather tense."

"Does it work?" O'Brien asked.

"Not even a little," Luna scoffed, tossing the abacus aside. "The only thing that truly calms me when I'm stressed is primal scream therapy, but I feel like such a fool doing that, even when I'm completely alone."

O'Brien pouted, her gray eyes wide and sympathetic. "The meeting with the producer didn't go well, then?"

"Nay," Luna said, her voice breaking. "Erm… that is, no. I was told Bon Bon was the best producer of stage and screen in Ponyville. And her wife is Lyra Heartstrings, renowned actress and director. I thought they were just what I needed. But this…" She looked over the notes Bon Bon had given her, her face displaying sheer despair. "This is dreadful! I can't do this. It would kill my love letter to Snowdrop's life. But to lose the first real film producers I've gotten my hooves on…" She hung her head.

O'Brien's wings bristled nervously. "Princess… do you trust me?'

Luna nodded. "Ay… yes, fair Angel O'Brien. I do. I know that thou dost not… that you do not consider yourself an actress. So it means a lot to me that thou—you—have chosen to remain with the project even in its darkest of hours. It is a very touching display of loyalty and conviction. Yes, I trust you."

"Then I hope you can take this small piece of advice," O'Brien said gently. "See, you're right, I'm not an actress. I don't know the first thing about it. But I think that's why this whole thing is going to be great. All I know how to do is exactly what you ask me to. And it works, to the benefit of the character. Showbiz ponies like Bon Bon and Miss Heartstrings will tell you the proper way to attract audiences to your movie. But the only proper way to make Snowdrop is the way you, Princess, want it made."

The princess turned to O'Brien, moved almost to tears.

"Maybe your producers should be like me… non-showbiz types," O'Brien continued. "Rich folks with no film experience, who'll give you your funding and say, 'Go nuts. Do what you want.' Fancypants has done that for you already: he gave you your crew and your guy who knows what a crew does, but otherwise he's not involved. Find more like him. He wants to see your movie. Bon Bon and Miss Heartstrings want to see theirs. That's the last thing this movie needs. Stick to your guns and follow your vision, Princess."

Luna breathed in and out deeply. "Thank you, Angel O'Brien, for your kind words. You're a true friend."

"I feel the same way," O'Brien said sincerely. "You're the realest and sincerest pony I've ever met. I'm glad we're friends." She smiled. "I'd ask you to call me Bree like everypony else does, but I kind of like how you always say Angel O'Brien." She mimicked Luna's grandiose and articulate manner of speaking.

Luna smiled back, then sighed. "Well, I suppose I shall have to tell Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon that I have no desire for what they've offered to me. That might be difficult… they're a bit scary."

O'Brien's jaw dropped. "You think they're scary…? What in the world…?"

One of Luna's cat-eyed and bat-winged pegasus guards appeared suddenly from below, startling O'Brien as he flew over the balcony railing and landed in front of the princess, holding a scroll in his teeth.

Luna nodded to him. "Hail, sirrah. You have news?"

He bowed and presented the scroll to her upon his hoof, allowing her to take it from him with her magic.

"My thanks," said the princess, nodding to him. He nodded back wordlessly and flew off.

Luna unfurled the scroll and read it over. After a few seconds, her eyes widened and she gasped. "Oh dear!"

"What?" O'Brien said frantically.

Luna quickly rolled up the scroll again. "A most dire tragedy has struck," she said gravely. "I must wake my sister immediately. My pardons." She spread her wings.

"I'll talk to the producers for you," O'Brien offered.

"Thank you, my dear!" Luna called over her shoulder as she flew toward the castle's tallest spires.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

O'Brien knocked on the hotel door. After a few seconds, it opened just a crack and Bon Bon peered out suspiciously.

"Hello, Miss Bon Bon," she said cordially.

"Hi," Bon Bon replied, opening the door further. "Angel O'Brien, right? Star of the picture?"

"Yeah," O'Brien said, gaining confidence. "Uh, the princess… wanted to speak with you, but, um… something came up, so I came instead."

Lyra popped up behind Bon Bon, causing O'Brien a split second's hesitation.

"Uh, the princess has decided," she went on, "to proceed without your contributions. She thanks you for your time and apologizes for the inconvenience. Um… that's… that's it."

Angel O'Brien immediately understood why the princess had labeled the duo scary. O'Brien couldn't explain just what was so terrifying about the way their faces darkened, but she was overcome by a chill and the desire to flee.

"No problem," Bon Bon said tonelessly. "Thanks for letting us know."

"Sorry again," O'Brien said, attempting to smile. "And… bye."

She darted off, trying not to look like she was running.

Bon Bon closed the door. "Let it all out, babe," she said simply.

Lyra's eyes turned solid gold, and her horn sparked with electricity, which surged throughout the room, golden lightning bolts blasting in all directions, charring the walls and floors, jumping out of her horn, her sparking and crackling mane, her eyes, her teeth. She screamed raggedly in pain and rage throughout this process, screaming until her voice was completely gone.

Then it all cleared up and she collapsed to the ground, breathing raggedly. Her mane still flared up with static every now and again, and blood dripped from popped blood vessels in her forehead, jaw, and eye.

"Shhhhh…" Bon Bon whispered, stepping over to Lyra and gently kissing her forehead, then licking up the blood. "It's not over, my love."

"It'll never be over," Lyra rasped, bloody tears dripping down her face. "We have to crush her. CRUSH—" Her voice gave out, and she finished almost inaudibly, "Crush Princess Luna and her damnable Snowdrop project…"

"Trust me, we will," Bon Bon said darkly, looking out the window at the moon. "We will."