//------------------------------//
// Lyra Is Missing: The Train Ride is Terrifying 
// Story: Lyra Is Crazy: Many Months Of Mommy Madness 
// by Masterweaver 
//------------------------------//

	Bonbon clutched the paper tightly, the words a spiked lifeline as she read them again and again and again.

'Not safe here...'

'Better off without me...'

'I'll tell her about you...'

She could vaguely hear words about her, the others speaking, the others speaking to each other, to her, but she said nothing. The words were all that existed, a twisting pattern of fear and hope strangling her mind through her eyes. She couldn't... she couldn't tear her eyes, she wanted, but she couldn't, her soul inverting, sinking, a pit that wouldn't stop growing--

A sudden Whi-krek jolted her back into the real world. She blinked, looking around.

"...Did you just whip my mattress?"

Bluebolt flicked the whip over her shoulder. "Thought that would get your attention."

"Why in the name of the first queen's swollen hole-riddled dripping abdomen did you whip my matress?!"

"Okay, first of all, you changelings have some really weird curses--"

"You swear by your immortal rulers! AND HAY! FREAKING HAY!"

"--and secondly, FOCUS." The pegasus pointed at her. "Have you seen Lyra off her pills for any significant period of time before?"

"Um... a few times, for... the longest has been three days--"

"Exactamundo. Now as much as I love my pet, I know she does things when she forgets her pills that she never would normally--"

"I--! Can't... exactly argue with that," Heartstrings admitted.

"--and from her stories, I know that Lyra is normally a cheery, melodramatic mare who would cling to everything in her life like a warm-hearted octopus!"

"What." Bonbon glared at her. "Are you seriously comparing my wife to an octopus."

"You know what I saw when I came here? I saw you and her, and you were doing everything possible, running yourself ragged and hiding it from her, just so she would be comfortable and cared for while she couldn't handle herself! And when I looked at her, yeah, she was going through some tough emotional breakdowns because of her disorder, but YOU. WERE. HER. LIFELINE. You were the one consistent point. You meant something to her, something so fundamental that she was willing to fight her own mental state to stay with you."

Bluebolt pointed at the letter still in Bonbon's hooves. "That would never have been written by the Lyra I've heard about, or by the Lyra I've seen. I know she's off her pills, so there's only one reasonable conclusion--that she is not in her right mind. And if she's left while she's not in her right mind, she could hurt herself--physically, mentally, emotionally! But you know what? Everyone in this house cares for her. I've seen that with my own eyes. And that care--that love--it's made a family so strong that I can't stand to see it break."

"So here's what's going to happen--you and Heartstrings are going to gather everything you need to calm Lyra down. Me and Lace are going to work together to make some lassos or nets just in case we have to tie her up for her own good. And Arsenic is going to track down whoever saw her, figure out which way she's likely to have gone, and come back so we can plan our next move."

She flared her wings. "Brace yourself, ladies and gent, cause we're getting our girl back."

There was a moment of tense silence.

"...Wow," Bonbon managed, only a twinge of pain in her deadpan voice. "You really are a dominatrix aren't you."

"I'm just a take-charge kinda mare."

Heartstrings rolled her eyes. "Well, she does have a point. Let's get moving, double eighto."

"Good girl!" Bluebolt snapped her wings shut. "Come on, Lace, we need to find out if my sex toys can be repurposed."

"Speaking as an ex-spy for a race of erovores, I'd like to say I'm surprised that you have so many devices that could seriously fit that purpose."

"DOMINATRIX!" Bonbon singsonged from down the hall.

Arsenic rolled his eyes. "I'm off to track our pregnant biopolar unicorn. I really shouldn't even be surprised anymore..."


***


Dodge Junction. Why was it always Dodge Junction? First Applejack, now Lyra...

Luckily enough, Arsenic had found out that Lyra had purchased a ticket and was, even now, riding a train to the tiny town. With a quick look at the map, a plan had been made. True, they had to cut across the Everfree and Froggy Bottom Bog to make it in time--and that hydra had been a problem until Lace dealt with it--but here they were, flying toward the Ghastly Gorge bridge, the train just now riding around the corner.

Bonbon gripped the straps around her shoulders tightly, flicking her eyes to make sure their equipment was still firmly on her back. Her wings buzzed as she strained closer, closer to the moving cars--the wind from the gorge and the motion of the train was battering against her, but if she could just line herself up right--

There was the slipstream! She flared her horn, lowering her hooves closer and closer to the roof--jumping into a gallop as she connected, just a little too fast, and skidding to a stop on the car's edge.

"WHOA! Okay. Okay, I'm good!" She turned to the other two flyers, waving her hoof. "Come on! It's a little slower then it looks!"

Bluebolt swooped into a trot, flapping her wings just a bit as she caught up to Bonbon. "Wooo. Okay, yeah, that was some acceleration. You okay pet?"

The mare on her back nodded, although her face was a paler green then usual. "Just a little queasy, mistress." She carefully slipped off, stumbling a bit before sitting down. "Okay, somepony find a ladder? I don't think I'm going to last long up here."

Lace slipped down, her wings buzzing as she landed in a standing position. "Ladders are usually on either end of the car. Let's head toward the front."

"I'll go down first," Arsenic stated as he dismounted from her. "I can smooth things over with any guards, and use my magic to keep miss Heartstrings stable as she climbs down."

"Right." Lace nodded, turning to Bonbon. "There might be some anti-changeling passengers--pegasus guises. Easier for us to explain how we got on."

With a sigh, Bonbon transformed, adding wings to her usual makeup. "I really, REALLY hate those idiots. Have I mentioned that?"

"I'm pretty sure we all do," Bluebolt replied, gently pushing Heartstrings into a standing position. "Let's just get moving. Don't worry, Pet, nopony's going to let you fall."

"It's all so fast, it's moving so fast--"

"Shhshhshh. One hoof in front of the other. Just look at your hooves and listen to me. I'm here."

Bonbon folded her ears back, looking away from the two. If Lyra had ever expressed her fear, or--no. No. She clamped down on her roiling emotions. She was here to find Lyra, and... and figure out where to go from there. She couldn't afford the distraction of regret.

Her ears perked back up as they approached the ladder and she heard Arsenic talking to... somepony.

"...is a fully authorized royal mission, sir. I understand your concern, but--"

"I know a robber when I see one, sonny! I'm not fooled by your fake armor!" A stallion stood in the open door of the car. "You aren't getting in here so long as I'm up!"

"Hey!" Bonbon waved a hoof, trying to get his attention. "Can you be a paranoid jerk somewhere else? We've got a seasick pony up here, and we need to get her down ASAP!"

The stallion glared up at her. "You really expect me to fall for that?"

"I expect you to be actually reasonable," she called back. "Do you really expect us to stay on the roof for the whole ride to Dodge?"

"I expect you to get off this train!"

"It's going at forty miles an hour! You really want us to jump off?!"

"...I'll get the conductor to stop the train! And then you'll be forced off!"

"Right, you go do that then." She waved him off. "I'm sure you'll be able to find us when that happens."

"In fact," Arsenic added, "Lieutenant Lace and I shall accompany you to the locomotive engine." He gestured toward the door. "Shall we?"

The stallion stared at him. "You're not going to knock me over the head with something, are you?"

"I am a royal guard," Arsenic pointed out.

"...that doesn't answer my--"

"There are too many witnesses," Bonbon deadpanned. "It would be stupid."

"And again," Arsenic added, "I am a royal guard."

The stallion glared at him for a moment. Then, with a snort, he backed into the car. "You and your lady friend best not be bringing any trouble."

Lace clambered down the ladder. "We are professionals, sir. We don't cause problems. Only solve them."

"Wh--who are you?!"

"I'm Lace."

"I thought she was Lace!"

"I never said that!" Bonbon pointed out. "Are we going to have to go through this whole conversation again, or are we going to get a move-on?!"

"...I've got my eye on you," the stallion grumbled, leading Lace and Arsenic into the car.

"Finally..." Bonbon turned back to Heartstrings and Bluebolt. "Change of plans. I'm going down first, then I'll shift a horn to keep her balanced. We're going to be going backwards through the train. Good?"

"Makes sense to me," the pegasus replied. "You good with that, pet?"

"Just get me off the roof," Heartstrings whimpered. "Please, get me off this roof."

Bonbon nodded, swinging over the ladder and clambering down. She braced herself, switching tribes with a flash of green fire. "Okay! Ready down here!"

She could hear Bluebolt murmuring gentle encouragements, but it took a minute before Heartstrings appeared over the ladder. Bonbon lit up her horn, gently gripping the pony's foreleg in acknowledgement before moving her magic to support her barrel. "One rung at a time, miss Heartstrings! Just focus on the rungs, you'll be safe inside in no time."

Heartstings whimpered, moving down slowly and carefully.

"That's it, that's good... Okay, you're on the deck!" Bonbon opened the car door. "You can head in now!"

The green mare opened her eyes, darting inside and gripping the first pony she found tightly. "OH SWEET CELESTIA. Train roofs are horrible places, all that speed and that, that, that moving and it's all so fast and and if you slip you die--"

"...there there, miss?" The stallion awkwardly patted her as she began sobbing into his chest, turning a concerned look to Bonbon and Bluebolt as they walked in.

"Yeah, we didn't plan this through," Bonbon acknowleged, fluttering her wings. "Miss Heartstrings? Are you going to be okay, or should I leave you with Bluebolt--?"

"No." Heartstrings pushed herself off the stallion. "No, I just... I'm fine. I'm fine. And we need to find Lyra." She cleared her throat, glancing at the stallion. "Um, thank you for, uh, being... huggable."

"....you're welcome?"

Bluebolt cleared her throat. "So, moving things along--We're looking for a green unicorn, lyre cutie mark, about eight months pregnant. Have you seen her?"

The stallion blinked. "You're not looking to hurt her, are you?"

"She's my daughter," Heartstrings deadpanned.

"And my wife," Bonbon added.

"And... wait." Bluebolt turned to Heartstrings. "If we're not legally married, can I really call her my daughter in law?"

"...And a mare that Bluebolt is very concerned about," Bonbon compromised. "So, no, none of us intend to hurt her."

"Oh. Well...." The stallion coughed. "She was sitting right next to me, up until that guard came down from the roof. And... now she's hiding under this bench."

There was a quiet moment.

And then, very reluctantly, a voice from under the bench sighed. "Well, horseapples."