//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: Spyra 
// by angelofrombelow 
//------------------------------//

Silence pervaded the cellar as the two ponies awaited Berry Punch's return. Ruby Pinch stood as rigid as possible as she stood guard at the foot of the steps, while Lyra tried to make herself as comfortable as she could. Her forelegs were starting to ache in their position behind her back and the pipe she was tied to was pressing awkwardly against her.

The young filly flicked a nervous glance at her. Their eyes met briefly, and she quickly went to back to staring dead ahead of her.

Lyra sighed. Now she knew Berry was on her side, the problem was convincing them she was on theirs.

"So how long has your mum been working for Princess Celestia? What does she do for her?"

Ruby's gaze didn't flicker. "Mum says I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Well, I'm not a stranger, am I?" she said, full aware this was a long shot, "You know my name. I'm Lyra."

"Mum also said I'm not supposed to talk to strange ponies."

"I'm not a strange pony," she said. Ruby looked her up and down, clearly unconvinced.

"If you're not a strange pony, then why the heck are you dressed up like that?"

Lyra looked down at the black lycra suit she was wearing and was forced to concede, yet again, that Ruby had a point.

The door at the top of the steps swung open and Berry made her way down. Moving past her daughter, she walked up to Lyra, her face flushed with embarrassment.

"I, I don't really know what to say," she said, looking at the floor, "That was Noteworthy at the door. Turns out he and Golden Harvest just had a similar confrontation to the one we had, only they found out they were working for Celestia before they knocked the snot out of each other. What, what I'm saying is – it turns out you're telling the truth."

Lyra smiled in relief. "Thank goodness. I thought I was going to be stuck down here all night."

Berry lightened up a little upon seeing her captive wasn't angry with her. "Yep, you're lucky alright," she said, "Relatively speaking, I mean."

She clicked on the main light switch, the sudden brightness forcing Lyra to blink, and walked round to her side to check the rope. It was tied tight, with no give.

She grimaced apologetically. "I'm afraid untying you might not be as easy as I hoped. You see, Pinchy used her magic to tie the rope and I pulled it as tight as I could. Her magic's not going to be strong enough to undo it and I can't get myself in a good enough position to get at the knot."

Ruby Pinch strolled over to see what was going on. "So, she's working for the princess?"

Berry nodded. The young filly looked up at Lyra with a dispassionate expression, and then moved her head in to take a closer peek at the rope. Suddenly she leaned forward and bit down hard on it, then tugged and shook her head in an effort to pull it free.
No luck. She sat down and pouted for a moment, then sparked up as an idea struck her.

"I'll go get a knife!" she cried, running away and up the stairs.

Berry trotted after her a short way, then held her hoof to her mouth and called out: "Hold the blade away from you! Away!"

Lyra squirmed nervously, wary of the fact the rope was tied tightly against her skin and would not be easy to cut safely. Berry noticed her discomfort. "Don't worry about it, we know what we're doing," she said.

There was a clatter of hooves as Ruby Pinch trotted down the stairs again, a dangerously sharp-looking carving knife levitating about a foot in front of her.

"Pinchy! Walk, don't run," said Berry, and the filly did as she was told.

Lyra's eyes widened and she clenched her teeth as Ruby came closer, ready to cut through her bonds. The green mint-coated unicorn reached out with her magic and took the knife from her.

"I'll handle it from here, thank you," she said before the filly could protest. She carefully started to pull the knife back and forth against the rope in a sawing motion.

"I'm really sorry about this," said Berry, "I mean, I'm sure you can forgive me because you'd do the same thing if somepony broke into your house and you had a filly to look after, but still... that looks really uncomfortable."

Lyra paused a while to consider – she had been forced into a squat, her hindlegs stretched out in front of her as she sat on her tail. Though most ponies found it strange, this was actually her favourite way to sit.

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to this position," she said, "And besides, I've always been kinda flexible."

Berry couldn't help it. Her dirty mind immediately picked up on an alternate meaning for those words and she made a noise that was a cross between a snort of laughter and a lascivious smirk. "Snrrrk."

Lyra stopped what she was doing and noticed the look on her face. "Oh, what? Seriously? Don't be so childish. Besides, there's a filly present."

She closed her eyes and smiled. "Pinchy, could you repeat the house rule for our guest?"

"Oh, ok," Ruby said, then recited, "Whenever mummy goes 'snurk', that means I shouldn't ask any questions about what just happened."

Lyra hesitated, then shrugged and cut through the last strands of the rope. She let out a sigh of relief as she stood up and stretched her aching forelegs.

Berry scratched her face, feeling awkward. "So, we kinda got off on the wrong hoof, didn't we? How about we reintroduce ourselves?" She raised her hoof. "I'm Berry Punch. Good to meet ya."

Lyra raised her hoof and pressed it against Berry's. "I'm Lyra, but everypony else calls me Heartstrings."

"And I'm Ruby Pinch!" cried the filly, standing up on her hind legs so she could partake in the triple hoofbump.

The two mares chuckled, any tension from their previous encounters now forgotten. Lyra moved her head from side to side, trying to ease out the crick in her neck, then looked back at her rather dusty black outfit.

"I suppose we should get going to see Noteworthy and Carrot Top," she said, "I should really get out of this thing first."

"Aw, but it looks so good on you," said Berry, giving her a nudge, "Lyra in lycra. Not many mares have the body to pull that off."

Lyra ignored the compliment. "I'm not going over there like this. Besides, I'm starting to get tail cramp. I'll see you upstairs."

The other two ponies didn't shift straight away, causing her to frown. "Could you guys give me some privacy? I want to get changed."

"But we're naked anyway…" Berry's voice trailed off. "Ok, fair enough. Come on, Pinchy."

The pair of them headed up the steps. All they could hear for the next couple of minutes were Lyra's grunts of exertion as she tried to remove the form-fitting outfit. Berry was about to go down and offer her assistance when the door opened and a flustered unicorn emerged, levitating a black bundle in front of her.

She left it there and the trio went out of the house and into the night. The only light was provided by the stars – it was now past two in the morning and almost everypony else in Ponyville was sleeping soundly.

Lyra led the way, as she was most familiar with where Carrot Top's house was. Ruby started to fall behind, partly because of her shorter legs but mostly because she was starting to get tired – it was very late, and now the adrenalin had worn off the events of the day were catching up with her.

Berry lowered herself to the ground and Ruby hopped up onto her back, then wrapped her front legs around her mother's neck and nestled against her mane. The three of them continued their journey, with Berry carrying her filly the rest of the way.

Lyra smiled at the sight of them, felt a twinge of regret, then whispered: "Berry, I just want to say I'm sorry. Sorry about what I said in the library. Now I've seen the two of you together and how much she dotes on you, it's clear that you're a great mum."

"Ah, don't worry about it," she said warmly, "We both said things we'd rather forget about."

They reached Carrot Top's home, which was the only place in Ponyville where the lights were still on. Berry nudged Ruby with her head to rouse her, but the filly just let out an unwilling moan. The purple earth pony decided to leave her be and knocked on the door. Carrot Top answered and let them in.

Lyra was about to follow but hesitated when she sensed something on the periphery of her vision.

Brow furrowed, she peered into the shadows between a nearby pair of houses. Nothing. No movement, no sign of anypony. She could have sworn she had seen something.

No matter. Probably just somepony's pet – there were a few nocturnal animals in town.

Pushing the matter out of her mind, she followed Berry Punch inside.

****

Ruby Pinch became a bit livelier when she met Noi. The two fillies quickly became friends, with Ruby's inquisitive nature helping the shyer pony come out of her shell, and they were soon chatting away.

A few feet away from them, the adults were having their own discussion while standing around the kitchen table. Carrot Top had opened a bottle of red wine and poured everypony a glass except for Lyra, who politely declined.

"I'd say a few introductions are in order, wouldn't you?" said Noteworthy, "I'll start. As Carrot Top has already surmised, I'm loosely related to Prince Blueblood and grew up in Canterlot. I used my royal connections to help fund my sideline as an inventor."

He tapped the metal hands he had invented, which were resting on the table. "Blueblood himself cast the spell that gives these things the energy to work. They've proved remarkably helpful in improving my ability on the piano, which is my chief talent. My friends call me Blues because I'm such a skilled player – I really put my soul into it, you see. You should hear me play some time. I'm sure we could make beautiful music together."

He addressed those last two lines seductively to Lyra, who didn't welcome the attention but tried not to make that apparent in order to keep the peace. She looked at the metal hands he had invented. They seemed kind of interesting but were obviously of no use to her, seeing as telekinesis was much more practical.

"So what made you come to Ponyville and what did you do for Celestia?" she asked.

"I used to travel a lot and found this place a few years ago. I decided I could make a home here. After all, there's always work in a town such as this for a strong stallion like myself."

"I suppose the high female to male ratio didn't go unnoticed either," Berry said dryly.

Noteworthy blushed but continued regardless. "As for my work for Celestia, I became a spy after my inventions were noticed by the princess. She felt I could put them to good use. Admittedly, I have only been active for a short time. I had already been in Ponyville for a long while when she finally contacted me – she asked me to keep watch over her student, Twilight Sparkle."

Lyra gasped. "That's the same job she gave me! I've been watching over Twilight for years now, though obviously most of that time was in Canterlot. You must have been asked to look out for her during the time I was away."

"Away?" asked Carrot Top, "You mean you took some time out from being a spy? What did you do?"

"Celestia had another mission for me, to prevent Nightmare Moon from becoming too powerful and breaking out of her confinement early," said Lyra. She changed the subject quickly. "I've always wondered who filled in the gap while I was away. I knew she wouldn't leave Twilight unguarded."

Noteworthy swept his mane back with his hoof, basking in the attention. "So what do you do around here? I tend to help around Sweet Apple Acres – in fact, I have a second home near there. It's one of the buildings for the part-time workers but it's in a lovely spot. Beautiful surroundings, nice and private."

"I just do odd jobs, anything that'll keep things ticking over," said Lyra, "So you were looking after Twilight, eh? You know, it's strange. I've never seen you around her that much and she's never mentioned you."

"I prefer a hooves-off approach. There are subtler ways to keep tabs on somepony," he said.

The three other ponies shared a look, intrigued. Carrot Top spoke up: "So are you going to tell us your methods, or keep us in suspense?"

Noteworthy flinched but recovered from it well. "I'm afraid not. I have to keep some secrets to stay ahead of the competition," he said with a wink.

There was a momentary silence as the three mares processed this information, but it quickly passed.

Berry Punch went next. "I'm from Canterlot as well, but I moved out of there as soon as I could. No offence to anypony here, but I couldn't stand all the airs and graces of all the upper class ponies who live there. Ponyville was far more my scene – the folk here know how to party!

"I did visit Canterlot from time to time and I was surprised to find out my name was being mentioned in some of the higher social circles. I was friendly with one of the palace guards, you see, and he suggested I get in touch with his bosses. I was sceptical at first, but when I found out about the spy biz I thought it made sense. After all, I know just about everypony and I wanted to do my bit for my country. Sense of duty and all that." She held her hoof against her chest in a mock-solemn pose.

"I was quite active for a while, keeping watch on Ponyville and the surrounding area, but then Pinchy came along."

At the sound of her name, the young filly poked her head up from her spot on the mat she and Noi were sitting on. The adult ponies looked at her, and she waved "hi" and went back to chatting quietly with her new friend.

"I had to cut back on the work I was doing then, for her safety. Had to cut down on the parties, too, which made my job more difficult. I went into the family business full time, selling our wine in Ponyville, but there was one last job Celestia had for me.

"It was a couple of years before Twilight came to town. The princess had a few ponies in mind to become the Elements of Harmony but she wanted me to judge their character and make sure they were suitable. I reported my findings to her, she came to her own conclusions and then put her five choices in charge of organising the Summer Sun Celebration, knowing Twilight would have to talk to them. I've been keeping an eye on the five of them ever since."

She chuckled. "You know, it's funny. I actually had you marked down as my choice for the element of generosity, Carrot Top. Celestia obviously decided to keep you on as a spy."

"Oh my!" she replied, "Imagine that. Mind you, I don't fancy having to go and fight Nightmare Moon or any other super-powered villain who rears their head. Dealing with the Everfree Forest was quite enough. Were there any other choices that Celestia disagreed with you on?"

"Not really, though I had my doubts about Fluttershy being up to the job and I wondered whether Applejack would be too busy on the farm to be available all the time. I had Derpy Hooves and Bon Bon pegged as possible back-ups, though I guess they were both unsuitable for whatever reason."

"Hmm," said Lyra, "Derpy could certainly be a dangerous weapon if you pointed her in the right direction, though Bon Bon can be a little too bluntly honest, if you know what I mean."

Carrot Top sniffed haughtily. "I do. She's incredibly rude and never has a nice word to say about anypony."

"Ah, she's not so bad. Once you get used to her mannerisms she can be good company," said Lyra, "Anyway, tell us about yourself. You were watching over the animals of the Everfree Forest, weren't you?"

"Yes, that's right. I still do, actually - I keep the princess informed if there's any sign of danger or extra activity going on in there. She has a live and let live philosophy, so I'm here to act as an early warning system.

"I came to Ponyville shortly after my training and I've stayed here ever since. My family has always grown vegetables, so I established a business here fairly quickly. Noi ended up living with me when she started school here.

"It sounds like I've been less active than the rest of you but I'm quite happy with that. When I first qualified to work for the princess I was raring to go and the Everfree Forest was a dangerous place to be, especially in the years before the return of Nightmare Moon. But I've become used to a quiet life in Ponyville now.

"I was most surprised when I received that letter from the princess. I'll admit, I was concerned, too. I have a little sister to look after and I hated the idea of putting her in harm's way."

The two fillies were still sitting on the mat at the other side of the room and were starting to fall asleep. Carrot Top and Berry Punch smiled at each other – both had a younger pony in their life that they would do anything to protect.

Lyra was thinking over what her colleagues had told her. They shared several things in common and the question now was why Celestia had chosen to trick them into spying on one another.

"So going by what you've all just said, I was the only pony who was actually in Canterlot when Celestia sent out those messages," she said, "That goes a little way to explain why we didn't find out the truth sooner. I spoke to the head of the palace guards to get more information about Carrot Top. Now, if all of you had the opportunity to speak to him then he would have figured out something was going on."

"Unless he was in on it as well," said Berry, "I mean, any chance of keeping us fooled was bound to fall apart as soon as we had the chance to question each other. If Shining Armour wasn't aware of what she was doing, this whole thing would have been uncovered the instant another one of us spoke to him."

Carrot Top and Noteworthy looked at each other, slightly confused as to why their counterparts were taking this all so seriously.

Noteworthy spoke up: "Does this all really matter? We figured out what was going on and that's the end of it. Do we have to work out how she pulled it off, too?"

"We don't know why she did it," said Lyra, "Why would she fool four of her spies into thinking they were enemies? It doesn't make sense."

Carrot Top tittered. "Oh darling, come now. The princess has been ruling over us for hundreds of years and maintained harmony in Equestria for almost as long. Surely you can forgive her for a harmless, little prank?"

Lyra didn't respond – her side still ached from her fight earlier that night. Berry Punch hadn't fared much better and had a puffy eye from the unicorn's haymaker.

"She does have an odd sense of humour, I'll grant you that," said Noteworthy, "But look at it another way. Nightmare Moon is gone, Discord has been defeated. We've been living peacefully alongside our neighbouring countries for centuries. Maybe this was her way of getting us to find out about each other. Maybe she did it this way, giving us all one last mission, because she just doesn't have a need for spies any more."

The other three went quiet as they considered that thought. They had all been proud to serve their country but if this was the end of their mission, they all had a reason to welcome retirement.

Lyra broke the silence. "In any case, we need to speak to the princess. Just to find out the truth."

"There's plenty of time for that tomorrow," said Carrot Top, finishing the last of her drink, "But for now, I think I'm going to follow my sister's example and go to bed."

She indicated towards the two fillies, who were lying next to each other, fast asleep.

"Aw, that's so cute," said Lyra, moving away from the table to take a closer look.

Berry walked up beside her, looking fondly at her daughter. She chuckled. "They grow up so fast. I remember the days when I used to wake up next to somepony I'd just met the last night."

She nudged Lyra, a devilish smirk on her face. "Of course, I'm not totally past those days yet."

The unicorn looked shocked for a moment, then broke into laughter. "Honestly, Berry. You're incorrigible."

The purple pony smiled, then turned to Carrot Top. "Have you got any blankets? I haven't got the heart to wake her, but I'm not leaving her without any bedding."

She nodded and the pair of them went upstairs. Lyra wandered back to the table, where Noteworthy was still standing.

She yawned. "It's probably time for me to go to bed as well. It's been a busy night."

"Surely you're not going to go without a nightcap?" he replied, pouring another glass of wine for himself and filling up Carrot Top's glass, which he pushed towards Lyra.

"No, that's alright," she said, shaking her head, "I want to keep my head straight for when we talk to Celestia, and I'm not a big drinker anyway."

"I don't know why you and Miss Punch are so concerned about the princess. I, for one, think we should thank her. After all, we would never have found out about each other if not for her."

The green mint-coated unicorn looked down at her glass, then back at the stallion, slightly perturbed.

He smiled nonchalantly. "We've both been doing the same job for some time. I'm sure we've got lots of stories to share, and we'll have plenty of time to talk now."

Berry Punch came walking down the stairs with a blanket, which had a couple of pillows wrapped up in it, balanced on her back. She shared a glance with Lyra and noticed the worried look in her eyes, then headed straight over to the fillies to tuck them in.

Lyra, meanwhile, had noticed the twinkle in Noteworthy's eye and was starting to feel uncomfortable. The thought of receiving romantic attention from anypony was an anathema to her.

Noteworthy moved round the table to get closer to her. "I'm sure you remember the first time we spoke. You said if things fell through between me and Carrot Top, you'd be interested in a date."

Lyra attempted a smile, trying to ignore the prickling feeling on her forehead. She used her magic to raise up her wine glass, then accidentally-on-purpose spilled a small amount on the table.

"Oh no, how clumsy of me," she said agitatedly, "Butterhorn. I should really get a cloth to clear that up."

She shot an anxious look in Berry's direction before heading to the kitchen. The earth pony had finished taking care of the fillies, carefully placing a pillow under each of their heads, and was ready to come in to the rescue.

She strolled over to Noteworthy and nudged him gently in the side. "I think you might be wasting your time with that one," she whispered.

"What do you mean?" he asked absently. He was watching Lyra, who was taking her time in finding a cloth and pretending she couldn't hear their conversation.

"How do I put this gently?" Berry said, paying lip service to the notion of tact, "She's not interested in stallions."

His eyes widened as the realisation hit him. Lyra also had difficulty hiding her surprise, though she didn't say anything.

"It was on the night of the Ponyville party. Once Rarity gets hold of a piece of gossip, it's impossible to keep it a secret for long. I was there when she told Rainbow Dash about Heartstrings' sudden crush on Carrot Top."

"But wait," said Noteworthy, "That's easily explained. Lyra was spying on her."

The unicorn's face had turned a deep scarlet and she was thankful he couldn't see it, otherwise he might have guessed Berry was lying. She couldn't believe he still wasn't giving up.

Berry said: "That's true, but why do you think the rumour seemed so plausible to everypony? They all had their suspicions already, and this just confirmed it."

He thought it over, then slowly nodded his head, finally convinced. Lyra decided it was safe and went back to the table, a cloth levitating in front of her.

Noteworthy coughed to gain her attention. His tone was apologetic. "Lyra. Miss Punch here has informed me of your, um, orientation. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable just now."

"Oh. Uh, no bother," the unicorn replied, hurriedly cleaning up the spill so she could leave as soon as possible. She waited for the stallion to avert his attention, then mouthed the words "thank you" to Berry.

"I'm off to bed then. See you in the morning," said Lyra. It took some willpower for her to not run straight up the stairs.

Noteworthy looked down at the table, feeling dejected and embarrassed in equal measure.

"Seems like you kinda struck out there. Sorry about that," said Berry, pouring herself another glass of wine.

"You win some, you lose some," he said, pushing his failure to the back of his mind. He then realised that Berry had been showing quite an interest in the mare as well. "You seem keen on her, actually. She caught your eye too?"

She looked up the stairs Lyra had climbed up just a few moments ago, a sly smile on her face. "She's an attractive mare. Now I know we're on the same side, so to speak, there's nothing to stop me putting the moves on her."

She turned to Noteworthy and leaned forward. "What about Carrot Top, though? Do you like her?"

"Well yes, she's certainly easy on the eye," he said, grimacing a little, "But I fear that ship has sailed. I've already laid all my cards on the table, so I have nothing else left to impress her with."

Berry frowned. "Hmm. If you don't mind me asking, what have your past partners been like? Who do you tend to go for?"

"I wouldn't say I really have a type, though there's one type that always seems to go for me. Attractive, but not much beneath the surface. Every mare I end up with is just so shallow – it's great in the beginning, but then I realise again that she's not really interested in me. She just wants a handsome stallion to show off to everypony."

"I think I know what your trouble is," she said, swirling the wine round in her glass, "You don't take the time to get to know anypony before you come onto them. Like just now – you wouldn't have made that mistake with Lyra if you had just given it a bit of time. You seem to be looking for a long-term partner rather than just a fling, and there's no need to rush when it comes to something like that."

He took a swig from his own glass. "What about you and Lyra? What do you want to happen there?"

She shrugged. "Haven't decided if I want anything to happen just yet, but I'm certainly interested. If nothing comes of it, it's no big deal. That's something else you could stand to learn – it's not all or nothing. A mare can change her mind."

She finished off her glass, then pointed a hoof at him. "You know, I've got a few friends I could introduce you to, if you want."

"You do?" he asked, suddenly alert, "Who are they? Are they good-looking?"

Berry pulled her head back in surprise, then let out a disappointed snort. "Noteworthy. Come on," she said disapprovingly, "You just said a few minutes ago that you don't like shallow ponies. Don't act like one yourself."

He looked away briefly, suitably chastised. "Ah. Sorry. Would you believe me if I blamed it on the wine?"

"Not unless you get another few glasses down you," she said, setting her empty glass on the table. She wandered over to the kitchen, found another bottle and cracked it open. "Come on. The night's young."

Noteworthy raised up a foreleg, uncertain. "It must be near 4am now. Are you sure we should…"

She had already poured a couple of glasses. "It's not like we have anything important to do tomorrow, is it? The case of the quartet of spies is closed – all that's left is to report to Celestia. Besides, I can tell you more about these mares I have in mind for you."

That was all the encouragement he needed. "I suppose it would be ungentlecoltly of me to leave you to finish this bottle by yourself."

"I'll drink to that," replied Berry, and they chinked their glasses together in a toast. "To new friends. And new romances."

****

There was an insistent knocking at the front door that went unnoticed for several minutes at first.

Then there was a rustling of activity upstairs as Carrot Top realised somepony was calling for her. She trotted down the stairs, shaking herself awake and tutting at the mess that had been left on the table in her main room – three empty wine bottles and two glasses, one still full.

She almost tripped over Noteworthy, who was fast asleep on her floor, and opened the door to find Applejack waiting for her.

"Phew! Finally! Ah was beginning ta think you weren't in," said the farm pony, "Ah'm here to pick up that consignment of ginger."

Carrot Top looked at her blankly. Applejack raised an eyebrow. "The ginger we ordered from you. Ya remember?" she said patiently, "Ta give our apple juice a bit of a kick?"

"Oh, yes! Of course," she replied, flustered, "I'm ever so sorry, I'm a bit out of sorts. I've just woken up, you see."

"Just woken up? It's past ten o'clock," said Applejack. She looked past the vegetable seller and noticed the state of her house, "Y'all been having a party in there?"

"No, no," she said, "Well, yes. I mean, no – just a small get-together. Close friends only."

"Is that Berry Punch? Ah didn't know you two got along," the farm pony replied, moving her head to get a better view, "And Blues? Now how the hay do y'all know each other?"

Carrot Top eyes flicked upwards for a moment as she thought quickly, then a smile came to her lips as she worked out the perfect excuse. "We all come from Canterlot – that's where we know each other from. Last night was one of our little reunions that we have from time to time. Now, let's get that order filled."

Applejack nodded and was just about to comply when Lyra started coming downstairs, woken by their conversation but too drowsy to think about exercising discretion. She paused halfway down the steps when she noticed the earth pony.

"Oh. Hi there," she said, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Howdy. Say, you're one of Twilight's friends, aren't you?"

"Yeah, that's right. My name's… Heartstrings," Lyra blanched as she finished her sentence, remembering too late the rumours that were flying around town about her and Carrot Top.

A flash of recognition passed over Applejack's face. She didn't say anything, but her amused smirk spoke volumes. Carrot Top hurriedly ushered her out of the house, both to deal with her order and to deny that anything untoward was going on.

An embarrassed Lyra walked down into the main room and suddenly noticed what a mess it was in. She tutted, then used her magic to start clearing away the bottles, which tinkled as they knocked together.

The noise roused Berry Punch, who let out a groan that sounded like something out of a horror story. Lyra yelped and jumped about half a foot backwards, almost dropping the glassware in her fright. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

"You scared me half to death," she said, "Wait, why you under the table? And why is Noteworthy there with you?" Her expression turned wary. "Just what were you guys doing last night?"

Berry let out another groan as she stood up, then arched her back and cricked her neck to work out the aches and pains she had earned from sleeping on the floor. "Nothing much. Just talking about which girls we like, mostly. I ended up drinking Noteworthy under the table, then I couldn't find anywhere else to sleep so I decided to join him."

Lyra accepted that explanation and started clearing up. She used her magic to turn on the sink tap, then called back to Berry while she washed the wine glasses: "I think we're going to have to move out of here fairly quickly. Applejack came knocking and she was a bit suspicious. If we stay here and more ponies come round, we're going to have a lot of awkward questions to answer."

Berry was starting to wake up now, with only a mild hangover from her drinking the night before.

"You're right," she said, "The four of us aren't known for hanging out together."

She noted the time on the kitchen clock, then wandered over to Ruby Pinch and Noi to wake them up.

The front door opened and Carrot Top let herself in – the noise of her arrival stirred Noteworthy from his slumber, and he stood straight up and smashed his head against the underside of the table.

Carrot Top winced and trotted over to him. "Oh my. Are you alright?" A muttered "ow" was all the reply she got in return.

She helped him to his feet and got him out from under the table, torn halfway between making sure he was alright or admonishing him for drinking her out of house and home.

"As wonderful as it is having visitors, I don't think you can stay here," she said, "The four of us move in completely different social circles, and if we're suddenly seen to have become the best of friends then ponies are going to be asking why."

"We have stuff we need to talk about, though," said Lyra, still washing up, "What we really need is somewhere private, without customers calling round all the time."

Noteworthy blinked blearily, in pain from a combination of lack of sleep, too much alcohol and a heavy blow to the head.

"I have a solution," he said, "I'm pretty sure I told you last night that I have a hut at Sweet Apple Acres, as part of my contract with them? We should head out there."

"That sounds like a good idea. It should be quite secluded," said Carrot Top, "Let's meet on the path just out of town. I have a few bits of business to take care of first – can't leave my customers wanting."

"Need any help?" asked Noteworthy, "I can be quite the persuasive salespony."

"No, no, it's alright," she replied hastily, "Besides, you need to freshen up first. You look like you've, ah…"

"Been for a night out with me," said Berry.

The stallion coughed, then wiped his eyes with his hoof. "Fair enough. I'm going to head out for a run, shake the cobwebs out." He turned to Lyra. "Fancy a rematch? I'm a bit shaky at the moment, but I should still give you a good race."

She hesitated, unsure. Then Berry gave her a nod of encouragement to tell her that he'd behave himself, and she relented.

The pair headed outside, while the purple earth pony stayed behind to keep watch over the two fillies.

But there was someone else outside, keeping watch over all of them. She had overheard their plans, and they fitted in with her own perfectly.

Noteworthy's hut. Yes. That was where she would attack them. It wouldn't matter who she hit. She didn't give a damn for subtlety. All she wanted was a distraction, something so big that it would destroy any thoughts of returning to Canterlot and talking to Celestia.

Of course, there would be the added pleasure of getting some payback on ponykind for the pain they had put her through. These four weren't the ones responsible but that hardly mattered – all ponyfolk were guilty, in her eyes.

This afternoon, they would all suffer. This afternoon, one of them would die.

****

"Hey! Who won?" Berry called out, with Carrot Top and the two fillies beside her.

Noteworthy trudged sullenly towards them, while Lyra had a significant spring in her step. "I did," she said with a smile, "And by quite a way this time."

"Yes, yes, well done," he said, "I told you I was shaky before we set off. You should have given me a headstart."

"Aw, don't be grumpy, Noteworthy," said Berry teasingly, "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. Lyra's younger than you, after all – you should be pleased that you could even keep up."

He pointedly ignored her, while Lyra's grin grew even wider. Then he saw Carrot Top smiling sympathetically at him and his mood brightened.

"Follow me," he said, leading them away from the path and along the large fence that enclosed Sweet Apple Acres farm. "The workers' huts aren't far from here."

Carrot Top fell in step beside him, leaving Lyra and Berry Punch to take up the rear. The two fillies, both full of energy, spent most of their time somewhere in the middle – sometimes catching up to the ponies in front, other times getting distracted by something and falling behind.

"So, Lyra," said Berry, "What are your plans after we've spoken to Celestia? Got anything in mind?"

"Back to what I was doing before she set me on Carrot Top, hopefully," she replied, "Leave Ponyville and go to travel the world."

Berry stopped in her tracks, forcing Lyra to halt as well. "Wait, you're leaving?" she said, visibly disappointed, "But why? What are you going to do?"

"I had a life before I came to live here. I want to reconnect with some friends, catch up on old times, that sort of thing. I've also got a need to go out and, well, find myself, if you know what I mean. Work out what it is I want to do for the rest of my life, find something that makes me happy."

"Wow, heavy stuff," said Berry pensively, "Well, the friends thing I can understand, but why do you need to travel the world to find yourself? Going to different places won't help you with that. You should already know who you are, and where you are. You're Lyra. You're here."

She poked the unicorn in her side to demonstrate. Lyra just smiled.

"I'd made my mind up about this a long time ago. I'll probably be back in Canterlot by this time tomorrow."

Berry pouted. "Well, that sucks. I was hoping I'd get a chance to get to know you better." She forced herself to cheer up. "You'd better come back and visit us from time to time. Don't forget about your friends in Ponyville."

"I will, don't worry," she replied.

Before she could say anything else, Ruby Pinch and Noi rushed over. Berry and Lyra had fallen some way behind the others.

"Come on, mum! Everypony's waiting for you guys," said Ruby, bouncing up and down.

The two older ponies started walking again, while the two fillies ran on. Noteworthy's hut was not far ahead.

"Come on Noi, I'll race you there!" cried Ruby, picking up her pace.

The two young ponies galloped straight past Noteworthy and Carrot Top, with Ruby just ahead. Race won, she waited outside the hut's front door for the adults to reach them.

"Excitable little fillies, aren't they?" said Noteworthy with a smile, "I'll go let them in, you wait here for the other two."

Carrot Top nodded and he trotted towards the two youngsters, who were arguing about whether Ruby had cheated.

It was only by chance that Noteworthy noticed something out of the ordinary. Whether it was a flicker of movement on the periphery of his vision or an unconscious instinct on his part, the thought suddenly struck him that something wasn't right.

He looked up – and then several things happened in the space of a couple of seconds.

Something large and heavy was falling out of the sky. He couldn't make out what it was because he didn't have time to – he could see where it was headed.

Noteworthy didn't hesitate.

Heart pounding, he leapt forward and pushed the two fillies as hard as he could, sending them sprawling backwards and out of danger.

But he didn't have time to get out of the way himself.

With an explosion of splinters and sawdust, the falling object reached the ground and shattered on his back.

The noise was as loud as it was unexpected, momentarily shattering the peace of the countryside.

The silence that followed was unearthly.