Nosey blinked blearily as she staggered into the street, giving a half-hearted wave to the ponies behind her as they bid her farewell.
Stifling a yawn, she walked with no particular destination in mind, glancing around as she did. The city-wide party that had broken out in Tall Tale had been a great way to forget her current financial problems. Despite her no longer having a bit to her name, there’d been plenty of celebrating ponies who’d been eager to buy food and drink for everyone around them, allowing her to eat better than she did even when she wasn’t broke.
She’d spent the remainder of the day just taking it easy, content to have a mini-vacation from work or pesky problems like figuring out where she was going to sleep. But now it was well after midnight and she felt exhausted, which meant that it was time to deal with those lingering details.
Stumbling over a loose cobblestone, Nosey couldn’t help but chuckle. This had been almost exactly how she had first met Lex. He’d been blundering about in the pre-dawn twilight, and Nosey had been following him, having happened to overhear his altercation with Tender Tree while she’d been out looking to, er, “borrow” an early edition of the local newspaper. It was important to check out the local talent-slash-competition, after all.
That had been a lucky break, and she kept glancing around, sure that there had to be another one forthcoming to solve her current housing situation. After all, a reporter’s instincts were never wrong…although, this didn’t really have anything to do with reporting, so maybe they wouldn’t help now? Yawning, she glanced around again as she passed another group of ponies gathered around what looked like a nightclub-
“Nosey!”
Caught by surprise, Nosey nevertheless grinned as she looked over at the crowd and spotted a familiar face coming out to greet her. “Hi Fireflower. What’s going on?” Inwardly, she rejoiced at her good fortune. Surely one of the main characters in her forthcoming book wouldn’t leave her out in the cold…well, actually it was a rather warm evening, but the principle was the same!
“Oh, you know, nothing.” Despite his feigned nonchalance, Nosey could tell that he was nervous, glancing behind him quickly.
“Hmm?” Her reporter’s instincts flared at the signal, and she reflexively reached for her pencil and notepad. “You sure everything’s alright? You seem a little tense.”
“Wh-what?” he scoffed, or at least tried to. “No. Not at all. I just thought that, um…” he paused to glance over his shoulder again before turning back to her. “I just thought that, ah!” He perked up as an idea occurred to him. “That I should give you an exclusive interview about, um, everything that’s happened since the dragon was killed. Why don’t we go somewhere and-”
“Fireflower!”
The pony in question winced as a voice called his name, and a moment later a pony with a white coat and pink mane and tail came out, throwing a leisurely arm around Nosey’s would-be interviewee. “What’re you doing out here, little brother? The girls were asking about you.”
“Girls?” asked Nosey, causing Fireflower to cringe and the newcomer to look her over. Nosey frowned as he did. He seemed rather familiar…ah! “Hey! You’re that guy that healed Lex! And, wait, hang on.” Through her drowsiness, Nosey put the pieces together. “You said Fireflower’s your brother, so that means that you’re one of those spider-ponies, right?”
“Araneas,” he corrected smoothly, removing his foreleg from around Fireflower and closing the distance between Nosey and himself. “My name is Brightrose. And you are?”
“Nosey Newsy, ace reporter,” she replied, unable to keep a trace of pride out of her voice. “I’ve been following the story with Fireflower and Lex and the dragon for a little while now. In fact, your brother here was just about to fill me in on some key details.”
“Was he now?” Brightrose seemed inordinately pleased with the news, flashing a grin towards Fireflower, who bit his lip at the sight. “In that case, you two should retire to more comfortable surroundings. Why don’t we head back towards Busy Bee’s?” He started to herd the other two down the street, deliberately not pausing long enough to let either get in an objection. “Have you been there before, Miss Newsy? It’s a lovely little bungalow, perfect for the sort of intimate one-on-one you’re looking for.”
Fireflower cringed at that, but Brightrose ignored him as he continued to chat up Nosey. He’d dragged his brother out for some celebrating in hopes of fixing him up with a nice girl that could help him put down the torch he was carrying for Sonata. It had been going rather well, or at least it would have been if Fireflower hadn’t been vacillating between embarrassment and depression. But despite his brother’s attitude, Brightrose had just managed to chat up a cute pair of mares who seemed interested when Fireflower had excused himself in what was pretty clearly an attempt to make a run for it.
Brightrose had gone after him only to find, much to his surprise, that his brother was talking to another mare, not quite as cute but still what Brightrose would call acceptable. Moreover, he seemed more comfortable with this one. Not willing to miss an opportunity to help his brother get over his crush, Brightrose had mentally bid farewell to the pair of pretty ponies he’d been speaking to in the nightclub. Ah, the sacrifices one had to make for family…
Expertly guiding the pair back to their current lodgings, Brightrose led the two of them toward a booth in the dining area. The kitchen wasn’t open at this hour, but that was fine. What these two needed was some privacy.
“Hey! I was hoping I’d catch you here!”
“S-Sonata?!”
Fireflower went rigid in surprise, and Brightrose blinked as he saw a familiar mare waving at them from across the room. What was his brother’s crush doing here of all places at now of all hours? The only reason she could possibly be looking for Fireflower alone in the middle of the night was…was…
Fighting down a grin, Brightrose immediately switched gears, turning to Nosey. “You know, it occurs to me that I’ve never gotten to tell anyone my part in the story of what happened here. It’s really a gripping tale, and I bet it would make for a fascinating story. Shall I tell it to you?”
“Uh-”
“Great! But not here. There’s too many, um, prying ears around.” Ignoring the fact that the four of them were the only ones around, Brightrose forcefully guided Nosey upstairs, pausing just long enough to shoot his brother an encouraging wink, seeing Sonata lead him to an out-of-the-way booth. Finally, Fireflower could put this issue – and that cutie he was pining for – to bed. Of course, there was the whole matter with her wizard boyfriend, but hopefully they were smart enough not to kiss and tell.
And of course, that meant that the blonde mare beside him was his for the evening.
“Wait a sec, if I remember right, didn’t one of your siblings say that you were being held hostage by the dragon to make the rest of them do what it said?” Nosey frowned as she flipped through her notepad, adjusting her glasses in hopes that it would clear up her bleary vision.
Brightrose gave an embarrassed chuckle. “Well, yes, but I was hoping I could give you some background material.” He stopped in front of the door to their room. Busy Bee had given them two, one for the stallions and one for the mares. As he opened the door to the one he was sharing with Fireflower and Rockwood, Brighrose cheered internally at the sight of it being empty.
“Background material?”
“Certainly,” he lowered his voice to a husky pitch that he knew the ladies loved. “For example, have you ever wondered just-”
“There you are!”
Both ponies looked over as they saw a pegasus mare in an apron marching over to the two of them, a peeved look on her face. Confusion crossed Nosey’s face at the sight, but Brightrose looked slightly nervous as he spoke up. “Why, if it isn’t our lovely hostess. Nosey, allow me to introduce Busy Bee, the proprietress of this fine establishment. Busy, this is Nosey Newsy, a reporter.”
Nosey was about to correct him that she was an ace reporter, but Busy spoke up before she could, giving Nosey a curt “hello” before turning her gaze back to Brightrose, her stern expression not softening at all. “You and your siblings owe me some money and the bill is due!”
Brightrose blanched. “But…I thought our bill had been waived after an impassioned plea from your sister, gem that she is.”
Busy leaned in, eyes narrowing. “Tender said that you lot were having a hard time of it, so I agreed to let you stay here for free. But nopony never said anything about letting you all eat for free while you do.” She poked him hard in the chest. “You owe me for all of those pancakes you and your family were scarfing down all day, and I aim to collect!”
Brightrose’s ears folded back, even as he gave a shaky smile, stepping back from the intimidating aura Busy was giving off. “Well, er, I’m afraid to say that our current prospects are such that gainful employment is still proving itself elusive. However, I can speak for my brothers and sisters when I say that we’re all fully aware of just how much we owe you, and we’ll absolutely repay you in full just as soon as our fortunes turn around.”
Off to the side, Nosey was watching the proceedings unfold with an amused look on her face. Flipping through her notepad to where she’d made her notes about the “araneas” – she’d written the term down this time – she quietly scrawled “deadbeats” next to it.
“Oh no,” spoke Busy, continuing to advance on the cringing Brightrose. “You’re going to pay me back right now.”
“But-”
His excuses were cut off as Busy pulled a dishtowel from one of her apron’s pockets and tossed it in Brightrose’s face. “Now get moving!”
“Huh?” Brightrose removed the towel and looked at Busy in confusion, clearly not comprehending what she was telling him to do.
“You’re on kitchen duty,” explained Busy sharply. “I’ve already got most of the rest of you lot scrubbing dishes, and you can get down there and join them. We’re going to start serving breakfast in a few hours, and I want each and every plate, bowl, cup, and utensil to be sparkling clean before then.”
Brightrose sputtered. “But, but I-”
“No but’s!” growled Busy. “The name of this place isn’t Busy Bee’s just because I own it, but because everypony who works here works hard to make sure that our guests have a pleasant and relaxing stay!”
“But we are guests!” protested Brightrose.
“Not until you pay off your debt you’re not! Until then you’re employees! Now get your rear in gear!”
Brightrose was clearly trying to think of a way out of the situation, but Busy didn’t give him a chance, leaning up and biting his ear, earning a yelp from him as she began to pull on it, dragging him towards the back stairs. As Nosey watched them go, he kept up a steady stream of dialogue, his protests and yelps audible even after she’d dragged him out of view.
Snickering at the sight, Nosey looked towards the room that Brightrose had been taking her to, the door still open invitingly. Smiling, she put her notepad and pencil away as she stepped in, closing the door behind her. After taking a moment to wash up, she tossed her things on a nearby nightstand before sliding into the nearest bed, giving a sigh of contentment as she did so.
It was always so nice when these little problems worked themselves out.