I don’t even remember how we got home, but I do remember waking up to the strong scent of alcohol and Shoeshine’s snores. I just wish I’d also forgotten the part where we got tricked into joining some alcoholic lunatic on a quest to acquire more alcohol.
“Mmmm…tell me more...tell me more…” she sung softly. Shoeshine always had the unique ability to dream in a musical format, complete with dancing donkeys and maybe even a hydra.
“Just my luck.” I rose up, stumbling my way to the kitchen. Carrot Top was already awake and flipping what I could only describe as a distinctively orange pancake.
“Mornin Silverspeed! I figured you two were out late so I cooked up breakfast!” Carrot Top passed me a cup of coffee. “You two have fun?”
If you consider getting drugged by the same thief twice in a night, I suppose I’ve had better. Although it was a little heartwarming to hear I had fans in the criminal underworld.
“From what I remember…” I chuckled. “You celebrate with Post Haste?”
“Oh him?” Carrot Top shook her head. “I’m sure Shoeshine told you about my crush, but I’m long done with mailponies. I met this really nice....”
I tuned out the rest of her speech and decided to focus on getting some grub in my stomach. How in Equestria was I going to explain my absence to Mother? On top of that, I had to make sure she didn’t connect me to Barnyard Bargains, assuming Pinot Noire didn’t just give my name to the guards anyway.
Why did I go back? I could be spending this morning sleeping in my own cozy bed, worrying about the next delivery or some other mundane thing ponies worry about. Instead, I’d just walked back into the mess I’d gotten out of.
“I hope those pancakes are for me.” Shoeshine’s voice trailed from the room.
“I figured we were sharing with Carrot.” I passed her a cup. “I hope you still remembered last night.”
“Oh yes, we made a new friend, Carrot Top.” Shoeshine chuckled. “I think she’s from Canterlot. Very energetic. Know anypony like that?”
“No, I’m afraid you’d have to ask Lyra ” Carrot Top just shook her head.
“Lyra?” I took a sip.
“Oh don’tcha know? Lyra Heartstrings is that musician—”
“Lyra Heart-Stings is too busy hanging out with her cool friends.” Shoeshine interjected. “And we don’t need to worry-”
“Now that’s hardly fair, considering how much Lyra still asks about you.” Carrot Top crossed her forelegs. “And Bon Bon is the most patient mare I’ve ever-”
“Mhmmm, and Lyra must be so understanding, right?” Shoeshine took a swig from her cup before plopping down on the sofa. “You can pretend we’re still friends but I think I’ll stake my claim with Silverspeed here.”
Now I could tolerate a lot of Shoeshine’s attitude, but for one thing she hadn’t even said thank you and for another she was dodging the question. “Why don’t we meet her together, Shoey?”
“Are you serious?” Shoeshine raised a brow.
“Come on Shoeshine, it’d be good of you to have some quality time with her.” Carrot Top protested. “You can be so grumpy in the morning.”
Grumpy was one way of putting it. Shoeshine was a jerk almost all year-round. And to be honest, the fact that anypony would want to friend somepony like her always got me thinking.
Sure, I was her friend, but only because of the circumstances.
-------------------------------------
To be honest, I was expecting Shoeshine to drag me back home. Instead, she followed quietly behind, not even making idle chit-chat. It was...creepy. If I wasn’t sure, I’d almost say she was a changeling.
Carrot Top seemed to notice as well since she turned to me with an uneasy smile. “So how did you know Shoeshine? Like...before?”
“Oh, we met in Manehattan.” It was around the time I was just picking up the trade. Before, I’d just been scraping bits from a few pickpockets, or con artists every now and then.
“Really? What was it like?”
“Big city. Lot of competition.” Back then, cat burglars were haughty socialites that often bragged about their latest jewel heist. For petty thieves like me, getting a job was about as likely as pulling off a heist. So at the end of the day, your best ticket to getting a job was stealing the item before the fence even asked for it.
“Ahhh, so you and Shoeshine must have worked together, right?”
“Yeah, we sort of met at the interview.” Shoeshine didn’t bother to confirm it. She was too busy staring at some empty wine bottles by a trash can.
In truth, I’d been slipping my way through a penthouse window, trying to locate a set of pearls. I’d heard a shout and nearly shot a pony I would later learn was named Shoeshine.
To be fair, we were both green and when we figured out that we’d tried to rob the same house, we decided to split the bits. As it turned out, Shoeshine was an excellent planner but when it came to working locks, I had a hollow hoof as they called it.
“She always did have a Manehattan personality to her, you know?” Carrot Top giggled. “But I guess that explains quite a bit.”
We didn’t even reach the door before a mint-green unicorn swung it open “Carrot Top!”
“Lyra!” Carrot hugged her. “I know it’s been ages but this is Silverspeed-”
“I know you!” Lyra gave me a good look over. “You were at Derpy’s last night, right?”
“Yeah,” To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention to all of Derpy’s guests. But I did recall seeing her with somepony else talking to Derpy. “I’m her co-worker. You must be part of her route.”
“Mhmmm.” Lyra looked over my shoulder, her grin vanishing. “Shoeshine?”
Shoeshine narrowed her eyes, and honestly I was wondering if she was going to punch her. “I see you’ve been doing well for yourself.”
“It’s been a while. Carrot Top was worried-”
“Carrot Top didn’t convince me to come here.” Shoeshine laid a hoof over me. “Silverspeed’s an old friend and she was...curious.”
“Oh cool!” Lyra didn’t look too dismayed, but even I could sense the tension between them. “Anyway, why don’t you come inside? Bon Bon is making some peppermint patties in the kitchen!”
“Too good for carrots now, are you?” Shoeshine plopped herself on the couch.
“Hardly, I still keep a cake in the fridge” Lyra hopped onto a chair, sitting in a rather unusual position with her back against the rest. I wasn’t weirded out, but well...I also couldn’t help but stare.
I’d heard of a few ponies sitting like that, sometimes referred to as a ‘human’ position, whatever that was. “So anyway, I heard that you’re friends with-”
“Was.” Shoeshine hissed the word.
Lyra dropped her head at that comment, and I couldn’t help but feel a tad sorry. Shoeshine was being especially venomous and Lyra didn’t seem to have a clue as to why that was. Maybe she was stupid. But she looked pretty happy to be catching up..
“I used to live with Carrot Top in Ponyville.” Lyra chuckled. “Shoeshine came a few weeks later and we were roomies for a while until I met Bon Bon.”
As if on cue, a mare came from the kitchen, balancing a tray of peppermints on her head. “Hey Lyra can you…”
“Sure thing, Bon Bon.” Lyra lifted the plate with her magic, setting it down. Shoeshine leaned over and sniffed at the confections with a disapproving huff.
“Oh Lyra, you should have told me we were having guests!” Bon Bon turned red. “I was just expecting Carrot Top-”
“And I suppose expecting two more was overwhelming?” Shoeshine stood up. “I’m so sorry I can’t fit into this little picture of yours.”
Turning to me, Shoeshine tossed me a peppermint. “Come on Silverspeed, we’re leaving.”
She didn’t even wait before marching out of the living room. I quickly rushed to my hooves and ran after her, Lyra right behind my tail.
However, Shoeshine was already galloping down the street. I would have left her to her own devices, but at the moment I was too pissed off with her attitude to just let this slide. Lyra must have had the same thought because we both went after her.
Shoeshine’s pretty fast when she wants to be, but it wasn’t hard to keep up with her. By the time we caught up to her, she was at a park bench, burying her face in her hooves.
“What the hay, Shoeshine?” I yelled, running up to her. “You can’t be civil for ten seconds?”
“Civil?” Shoeshine looked up, and that’s when I saw that her eyes were red and streaming tears. “I’ll tell you civil!”
She turned to Lyra, before suddenly slapping her across the cheek. There was no warning, and Lyra fell back, her hoof nursing the red area.
“Shoey, what’s the matter?” Lyra looked just as confused as I was. Shoeshine never got this angry, not even with me.
“Oh you never did get it, did you?” She rolled her eyes. “You really are an idiot sometimes.”
“What are you talking about?” Lyra stood up. “I’m the unreasonable one? You cut me off the moment I moved out! Didn’t even have the gall to answer my letters or my knocks!”
She shook her head. “I did everything I could, Shoeshine. But sometimes, you can be a real jerk and it pisses me off that you always want to be the victim.”
Shoeshine just ignored her, continuing to cry into her hooves as Lyra tried to avert her eyes from the onlookers passing by. For once, I wasn’t the center of some Shoeshine dilemma, but even I was feeling a bit anxious. This wasn’t her at all.
Lyra merely shook her head. “I’m sorry, Shoeshine. That was uncalled for. I’m just...it’s just so frustrating, alright? I think you and Bon Bon would be great friends if you gave it a try! She can impersonate all sorts of-”
“I don’t care.” Shoeshine marched off. At this point, there was nothing that could reason with her.
“Come on.” I took Lyra’s hoof. “You look like you could use a hayburger”.
----------------------------------------------
“So you’re originally from Canterlot, right?” I asked, munching on a steaming pack of hayfries. “Why the move?”
“I guess I wanted something new.” Lyra sipped her smoothie. “Carrot Top offered me a place to stay and I found a small musical assembly that could get me gigs.”
Turns out Lyra attended The School for Gifted Unicorns before dropping out after repeated attempt to prove Starswirl the Bearded was in fact an alien. With no degree, she spent most of her time playing for events and honing her skills as a musician.
All in all, I actually liked how setback she was. She seemed fairly relaxed, and the hayburgers certainly brought her cheerful mood back after Shoeshine’s outburst.
“What about you?” Lyra questioned.
“Me?” Well other than being a cat burglar, bank robber, former fugitive, and underworld expert... “I’m just a mailmare.”
“Heh, you say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It’s not exactly as exciting as playing an instrument?”
“I dunno, I always thought it’d be cool to do what Derpy does. Meet and greet ponies everyday. I guess, you just gotta do what you wanna do in the end.”
“Heh, you know we’re hiring.” I chuckled.
“Really?” Her eyes widened. “I’d totally pay you back. Do you work on the Weather Team too?”
That was a bit off-topic. Working as a mailmare ensured you had just enough time to sleep and maybe do chores. Sure, there were a few days that I could theoretically have volunteered to go on, but sometimes a mare needs a day for herself.
“Ummm...not really.” I mumbled
“Oh, that’s cool too. I'll tell ya' this much, life in Ponyville really beats that magic school trash.” Lyra chuckled. “I remember when Twilight Sparkle was just another student with Moondancer. Heck, Twinkleshine and Minuette visit me here all the time. Though I guess it does pay off since Lemon Hearts holds some serious government clout. Can't blame her though, what with all the talk of Tartberry Reserves and whatnot.”
I froze, my body rigid. “What did you say?”
“Serious government positions?” Lyra tilted her head. "If you want I can-"
“You mean...” My heart was racing.
Lyra chuckled. “It's not that important. Well technically, Lemon Hearts is like an event planner and inspector but-”
“Sorry, umm, I need to find Shoeshine.” I stood up. “Sorry to leave you on such short notice.”
“Was it something I said?” Lyra tilted her head. Honestly, if I had any time, I would have told her some reasoning for my exit but this wasn’t just big news.
This was Huge Bucking News.
I’d probably knocked enough times to break down Carrot’s door before she opened it. “Silverpseed? Did Shoeshine come back yet?”
“What? She’s not here?”
“No,” Carrot Top shook her head. “Honestly do you-”
“Hey,” Lyra was panting across the fence. “What gives?”
“I need to find Shoeshine right now! Where would she go?” My eyes were scanning the houses, looking for that annoying blue speck.
I suppose my tone was a lot more uptight and businesslike when I panicked because both mares took a few steps back.
“Well, I don’t...maybe the park?”
That couldn’t be. I’d just left Shoeshine there, but perhaps she’d stayed longer? I didn’t even bother to see if the two were catching up when I flew towards the park. By now, most of the fillies and colts had gone home, with only a few stragglers staying behind to watch the sunset.
I began to dig through the bushes, and even turned over some rocks. Where would she go?
It wasn’t until I turned around and saw Silver Spoon that my questions began to truly pile up. “Sis, what’s going on?”
“Mother wants you back now, it’s an emergency.”
“What do you mean?” Did Mother find out? Did Filthy Rich put two and two together?
It wasn’t until I followed my sister home did Carrot Top and Lyra spot me. Although this time, their faces were filled with worry.
“I just checked with Bon Bon, she hasn’t seen anything.” Lyra shook her head.
“And Medley told me her weather patrol didn’t spot anyone leaving town that matched her description.” Carrot Top answered. Although to be perfectly fair, Shoeshine would disguise herself if she truly wanted to vanish.
Mother was waiting at the porch. If she was surprised to see the extra company, she didn’t show it as she pointed to a rather crude drawing on our porch.
Or rather, a pawprint. A dog’s paw to be fair.
“Diamond Dogs?” Carrot Top gasped. “I don’t-”
“What’s it say?” I interjected.
Mother held up the note.
“Blue pony for gems”