"Mutiny, huh? Well, I guess I'm a psychic now!" Pinkie giggled and spun her chair away. "I saw your answer coming from miles away!"
"Must've been difficult," Lyra rolled her eyes.
Like I've got tons of options.
She flashed a dry grimace at that thought.
Talking about options... how would I even get started? Big words are easy, but I'm kind of on my own against two princesses.
Quickly recounting her 'transportation' from Ponyville to Canterlot, Lyra had to revise her statement right away.
...two princesses and a whole frigging army, she added as a darker frown crept onto her face.
Even if incompetent and flighty, the Guard was a factor she simply couldn't ignore. It didn't matter if the individual troopers were worthless, not when there were so many of them. 'Quantity has a quality all its own'; that was a bitter lesson Lyra had learnt well, back when she was almost gobbled up by a changeling horde.
Staring at the trapdoor and imagining the world beyond, her situation felt quite reminiscent. She was surrounded by thousands of angry no-gooders who all wanted her head, simply because their Queen had decreed so.
The tactic she had abused the last time wouldn't work now either - she couldn't imagine the princesses doing her the favour of showing up in person, just so she could beat them in front of their army.
I'm so screwed if they have even half a brain, Lyra thought, giving her head a mighty rub. I'm going to be a pike-pincushion before I get even halfway to the palace.
"So? Are you going to go back to the palace now?" she heard Pinkie's voice ring from behind.
Blowing hot air out her nostrils, Lyra bit her lip. That was some unnerving question, eerily predicting her thoughts.
"What other choice do I have?" she squeezed the words out. She gulped and took a deep breath, continuing in a calmer tone. "My chances won't get any better no matter how long I wait."
"Awww. But Luna's in there... and Celly too." Pinkie hummed. Crying in a faint metallic voice her chair kept swivelling on, slowly bringing the pink pony around, away from the fireplace. "Be careful! They might throw you a whole banquet when you arrive. All those dreadful Canterlot banquets with all those fake smiles, ugh..."
"Well, I s'pose having a whole army over might help livenin' up things a little," Axiom folded his front-most legs in front of him. "Nothing spells party better than a thousand armed soldiers."
"A thousand armed ponies!" Pinkie whistled admiringly, and pushed her nose up by pressing a hoof against her chin. "I wonder how many orders that'd be. I mean, those colts are wearing that bulky armour, right? Wouldn't they be hungrier than usual? Maybe I should get Mrs. Cake-"
"Okay, so could we PLEASE stop arranging my funeral party for a moment?" Lyra snapped her gaze back to the two. "I'd deeply appreciate if you put all that energy into coming up with ways I could meet those alicorns... and live to tell the tale."
"Tell the tale... and perhaps eat some cake?" Pinkie put the question forward with open curiosity. "I'm just asking because I'd hate having to leave you hungry when everything's done!"
Glaring at the pink pony and the fireplace behind, Lyra idly wondered whether Pinkie could function as a marshmallow.
"Pffft. Yer' askin' the impossible!" Axiom chuckled sombrely. "Ya' can't just walk into someone's turf on yer' own, challenge them and expect to win. Seriously, are ya' stupid or what?"
"Master's not alone," Snowy spoke up firmly, taking a step toward the spider. "I am with Master, and shall remain so."
"Yea, yea. And ya' know what? Yer' hardly any help, Nix." Axiom waved with one of his hairy legs. "How are ya' gonna' stop ponies from gettin' in yer way, huh? What are ya' gonna do, keep all of 'em soldiers forgettin' if they so much as look angry? Or better yet, would ya' get to the root of the issue straight away? Make everypony forget who the Princesses are?"
Lyra's face stiffened for a moment. The idea did cross her mind, briefly.
"The Princesses are too ingrained into everypony's mind... and the daily customs, too. Erasing them completely... there's no telling what would happen," she shook her head, her voice thick with the ire that she had to side with the spider. But that was the uncomfortable truth. She could make the whole place descend into chaos and anarchy in the worst case; and that didn't sound any safer than a traditional battle.
Besides, even if she could restore everything with the servants later, she didn't really want to see her home burn up in the process.
"Even so, I'm sure I'll be useful in some way." Snowy held her head high, her triumphant smile unfazed. "Me and Master have come so far on our own, after all! Even if I do not recall much of the journey, I still remember how arduous it was... and yet, here we are! Surely we can go farther, as long as we trust each other!"
"Where there's a will..." Lyra recalled the idiom with a tired chuckle. She loved - and perhaps needed - Snowy's sentimentalist attitude; the same kind of stubborn belief had kept her going as well.
Stubbornly happy thoughts had never triumphed over reality, however. Coming from that angle, Axiom's concerns were valid. Snowy was powerful indeed - but she was best used as a scalpel, performing small and neatly guided cuts. There was little point in causing mass amnesia, especially considering the backlash of such reckless actions.
Though then again, as far as Lyra went, charging an army on her own was no less reckless than turning everypony's memories upside down.
I may just have to try it. Who knows, I may recall bits of myself after the dust settles! She frowned, grimacing in earnest. I could also ask Pinkie to have Axiom restore me again. I mean, I did come out alright this time... well, more or less.
The contradictory memories in her head made Lyra lean towards the 'less' part.
"So it's only the army you're worried about?" Pinkie hummed, waking the other pony from her worry-filled thoughts.
"Only...!" Lyra chuckled with a hollow tone, snapping her head to the pink baker. "Yeah. It's only the few thousand, blindly loyal and highly armed idiots I'm worried about."
"That's not a nice way to think of them," Pinkie made a half-hearted grin, then turned her swivel chair until she faced the fireplace. "I'd rather think of them the same way I do of us - as ingredients."
Cocking her head to the side, Lyra worked her mind to decipher that phrase. But no matter how she tried, she couldn't imagine the soldiers being ingredients of anything. Theoretically speaking, there was no way they could all be stuffed into a cauldron, for starters.
"I can't imagine them being useful that way," she finally mumbled out loud.
"Shows you're not at home in the kitchen!" Pinkie giggled, peeking back over the chair's headrest. "Imagine the Guard as baking powder!"
"Baking... powder." Lyra muttered, squinting in earnest. For a brief moment, she saw stacked rows of baking powder packets marching down the avenue... and then she stopped the mental image. This was obviously beyond the limits of her feeble mind. "Uhh... what? Say what?"
So utterly lost, she quickly looked at her servant, hoping the windigo would provide some sort of help. No such luck; Snowy was simply staring with her mouth hanging wide open, so dumbstruck that she forgot about her usual habit of adding to the nonsense.
Not sure whether I should be disappointed or grateful over that, Lyra rolled her eyes.
"Tee-hee! Baking powder! White, sour like you wouldn't believe... and gets your innards moving like you absolutely wouldn't expect!" Pinkie snickered, the fireplace creating a bright outline around her face. "Nopony sane would eat that stuff."
"True that," Lyra nodded, a part of her wondering how Pinkie knew what raw baking powder tasted like.
"And yet, baking powder is absolutely invaluable. So many cakes and sweets make use of it... it's no exaggeration to say that Equestria wouldn't be the same without baking powder." Pinkie carried on in a touched voice. Her head retreated from sight, returning into the cover of the chair. "It only depends on how you put baking powder to use. If you're careful, that raw, acidic stuff can be turned into your best friend."
Lyra grimaced, furrowing her brow. She hated to admit, but she may have underestimated Pinkie. Once the baker began explaining, all the earlier nonsense turned into a pretty thoughtful - and very well hidden - message.
Oi, oi... is she a master of double-talking? Lyra squinted at the back of the swivel-chair. How is a baker this smart? Or rather... why is she a baker if she's this smart?
Pinkie didn't add anything further, though; and the protracted silence left Lyra with a bugging feeling that it was her turn to say something.
"You want me to... turn the Guard?" she asked, meekly and powerlessly as if she was making a clearly impossible proposal. Which, in all fairness, she actually did.
"You wouldn't put raw powder into your cake, would you?" Pinkie giggled briefly, turning the chair around slowly. "Assuming you're a decent baker, tee-hee!"
"Well, then I failed your exam." Lyra shook her head with a sour grimace. "I can't even imagine how I could do that! All Snowy can do is make those soldier forget about things."
"I can do that very well, though!" Snowy raised her a hoof into the air - only to retreat to hiding when her master gave her a piercing glare.
"But being amnesiac won't make anypony like or follow me!" Lyra growled, still chasing the windigo with her fiery gaze.
"Recognizing a shortcoming doesn't make you a bad chef." Pinkie shrugged and raised her eyebrows. "It only says that your kitchen may be a bit under-equipped."
Yanking her gaze back to the pink pony, a sarcastic grin was all Lyra had to offer.
"Hardy-har. Aren't you the funniest baker in town!" she rolled her eyes. "You enjoy yanking on my chains or what?"
"A little! But I enjoy making you laugh a lot more." Pinkie winked mischievously, just before her chair turned back towards the fireplace again.
"Ha! Let me guess - you'll buy me a kitchen!" Lyra cackled dryly, smacking her hoof against her forehead. "Pinkie, enough with the nonsense. This isn't helping-"
"But I am giving you a better kitchen!" The pink pony raised a hoof into the air. "Or an appliance you seem to lack, rather."
"Appliance, huh." Lyra frowned, then sighed as she rubbed her temple. "What, you have a Make-Ponies-Loyal-o-mat lying around?"
"Uh-huh! I'm a superb chef! I have every tool a baker might need!" Pinkie giggled, the chair's rotation carrying her back into view. "I have Axiom, for example! He can make everypony believe you're a princess yourself. Wouldn't the Guard follow you then? I mean, it's not like anypony could know who you really should be, right?"
Dumbstruck, Lyra felt her jaw dropping towards the floor.
When put like that, it did sound rather simple.
Lyra paced around in circles. It became easy after a while; she had walked in the same pattern for so long that her hooves had swept the dust away. It was as if her legs and the cogs in her head had become connected, only moving at the same time.
Realising that, she stopped for a moment. She had never had this habit before - she was always more of a 'sit down and think' type.
Is this another thing that Axiom mucked up in my head? she pondered, giving the spider an overt glance. Or am I just anxious? I mean, I am planning some pretty heavy stuff...
She shrugged the topic off and continued to walk, returning to the previous issue. Whether she walked while thinking didn't really matter, after all.
"Yeah, they wouldn't harm me if I were royalty... under normal circumstances." She finally spoke up, no longer able to keep her thoughts to herself. Switching from thoughts to loud speech didn't stop her from making her circles though, so she also continued to pace around. "But once I arrive to the palace, things will be anything but normal."
She turned her eyes to the swivel chair, where Pinkie was trying to play solitaire on the armrest.
Oi, oi, oi... I wasn't thinking for that long, was I? Lyra went wide-eyed, then squinted as she focused on the image. And just how does she get all those cards to balance on there?!
"Why not? You could act normal... it's not that hard! Just nominate a pony who you then dump all your work on. You'll be a fine princess as long as you don't do anything yourself." Pinkie answered rather absent-mindedly, staring at the laid-out cards with steely eyes. "Oh! And get some wings. Wings are also important for a princesses."
Lyra chucked sombrely. Somepony was clearly not paying her enough attention.
"Sure thing. I'll just pick you then." She smirked evilly at the pink baker. "Pinkie Pie, my least faithful but only student! Would you terribly mind doing my job and snap the neck of Luna and Celestia?"
"Oh!" Pinkie tore her gaze away from the cards. "The mutiny thing."
"Yeah, the mutiny thing." Lyra echoed hollowly, burying her face in her hoof.
"The rank and file troopers won't cause ruckus. They're like thugs in a gang," Axiom spoke up. He was sitting in the least dusty spot of the whole room: on top of a table from which Pinkie had pulled the cloth. "They simply do things how the others do. They ain't fighters - they're just in there 'cause it's the job that gets them paid. They won't be makin' decisions... they'll stick their heads low and follow the herd, wherever that may get 'em. It's those who ain't in for the money you need worry about."
"That'd be the personal units of the two Princesses, right? The Palace Guard and the Nightguard," Snowy hummed, keeping a hoof on her chin. "Though the Nightguard are a very recent invention. I doubt they could have fanatical devotion to a pony who was the Nightmare Moon a few years ago."
Haha! You can barely remember anything of our time together, yet you still remember the irrelevant stuff we've mentioned in our planning sessions, Lyra smirked at the windigo in her utter disbelief. She was quite impressed by how well Snowy was taking the effects of a fragmented mind; she had a brief taste earlier, and she was far from being that composed.
Considering what her adventure to the palace promised to look like, she was in for some serious memory damage again.
She could only hope she would take it so well as her servant.
You eccentric bastard... you don't even know how much I envy you.
"Yeah, I agree. It's only the Palace Guard that should cause issues," Pinkie said as she shuffled the deck together, creating a big lump of cards on the seat of her chair. "They aren't numerous compared to the other Guards in the city either... but they ARE die-hards. I can tell because they wear golden armour of all things! Seriously, that's like the worst metal you can make armour out of! Even bronze offers better protection! Anypony wearing golden armour is guaranteed to be absolutely bonkers!"
Pushing thoughts of her impending memory loss to the back of her mind, Lyra turned her gaze back to the pink pony.
"What if I made the Palace Guard also forget who Celestia was?"
"That'd make them quite confused I guess. But I doubt 'Tia would sit back and just watch as you turned her whole army against her," Pinkie mused as she organised the pile of cards into an orderly deck. "Besides, we're still talking about the order of thousands of soldiers or so. I don't mean to be rude, but... can you even muck with so many heads at the same time?"
Pinkie raised the deck high, balancing it on her hoof.
"Would be a darn shame if you forgot about your big plan," she giggled and threw all the cards into the air. "I mean, all that effort for nothing."
Standing in the shower of cards, Lyra held her head low and bit on her lip.
That was a valid concern. She did forget about the big picture once already - she recalled having no idea about her grand goal the time she was in jail. Though then again...
"Couldn't you remind me again?" she looked at the pink pony, studying that undecipherable face. "I mean, aren't we a team?"
"I would, but I won't." Pinkie dropped her hoof back on the chair. "You've probably noticed, but using Axiom carries... certain side-effects. Too many reminders, and you'll certainly go insane. Which is fine for a loony baker, but for the hero saving all of Equestria... weeeeell..."
Lyra nodded soberly. Yeah, I did notice that much. Still, if given two flavours of insanity, her pick was clear.
"Messing up my memories... well, I can deal with that! Being a little insane is still better than not knowing anything."
Sitting in the chair with her front legs folded on her chest, Pinkie gave that exclamation a curious glance.
"So says the pony who aims to get all the servants," she raised her eyebrows. "So what will happen once you become God, if you go insane in the process? Will you make us prefer salty pretzel over delicious sweets? Make rivers flow backwards? Turn the sky pink?"
Lyra opened her mouth, but no words came out. The gears churned away in her head, but ultimately failed to provider her an answer. That question belonged to the time after she had won, and she had never thought that far ahead.
"I didn't help you to give rise to another Discord," Pinkie hammered the point home, her naturally cheerful expression becoming gloomy as if a switch was turned off. "So do me a favour and stay true to yourself. That's all I ask."
Her mouth pulling to a small grin, Lyra nodded curtly.
"Of course," she giggled and scratched the back of her neck to deal with her building embarrassment. "I'll be careful."
Pinkie's face immediately sprang back to the smiling variant.
"Then it's fine!" she exclaimed cheerfully, throwing her hooves into the air, rocking the chair around. "All is fine as long as you keep that in mind!"
Lyra wasn't that happy - she was pretty torn, actually. While it was nice to see the pink pony being so confident in her, she had a hard time processing all the extra things she had to be careful about.
All the extra things she should have kept in mind for the whole time, apparently.
I'm such a ditz, she sighed loudly, feeling her constant doubts re-emerge. Why is it me doing this? It's obvious I'm no hero... I'm just not the right material. Argh...
"No turning back now," she mumbled to herself, then cracked her eyes open and turned her voice up. "Right... this only means we need to plan our moves carefully. What do you say we go somewhere more comfortable? Sunbutt and Luna have no idea about me right now, so we have the time."
"I wonder about that," Axiom grumbled, turning all his eight eyes to the pink baker. "Guess it's time ya told her, Boss."
Blinking in open confusion, Lyra stared at Axiom and Pinkie in alternation. The spider sounded quite ominous - a fact that was further stressed by the protracted silence of Pinkie. Watching the two figures while listening only to her heavy breathing and the crackling of the fireplace, Lyra gulped nervously. She didn't need to be a psychic to be able to tell: something heavy was about to go down.
It was the first time she saw Pinkie being at a loss for words.
"Yeah... about that." Pinkie glanced to the side. Her usual upbeat tone was gone - her voice was weak, almost trembling. "I was thinking about this, and... well... this is going to be one messy party. No matter what you do, there's going to be some chaos. And to keep that in check, you'll probably need to do some split-second decisions. So I, uh... I don't think that making long and complicated plans with me is going to help you."
Lyra wrinkled her eyebrows. She could have understood if the pink pony wanted out. Could have - if they were still at the beginning of this conversation.
"Didn't you offer your help a moment ago?" she asked extra-cautiously and took a step towards the pink baker, squinting and trying to decipher this sudden wavering attitude. "Or are you saying that we should just go in and hope for the best?"
"You're always missing the most obvious answer," Pinkie shook her head, a tired grin on her face. "All I've said is that I'm not going. I didn't say that my offer is null."
Lyra felt her grip on the conversation loosening again. She scratched her head and wished she could see that 'most obvious answer' - because she couldn't, and that hopeless search was driving her irritated.
"You can't just send Axiom on his own!" she finally put her frustration into physical words, her hoof banging on the floor. "He hates Snowy and I can't give him orders... and I'm not even sure if he can stray that far from you in the first place!"
"Still missing the most obvious solution," Pinkie slumped down in the chair, her head propped against her hoof. "Haaa-aaah... seems I gotta' spell it out for you."
Her eyebrow twitching, Lyra puffed hot air from her nostrils.
"I'm all ears," she furrowed her forehead.
"And isn't that a good thing!" Pinkie laughed. "You don't hear something like this all the time!"
The pink pony yanked on her upper torso, making her chair rotate until she was facing the huge spider on the table.
"Axiom!" she declared, so loudly that the cellar boomed with her voice. "I hereby order you to take orders from Lyra in the future!
The crackling of a few thin branches of firewood had never been more deafening than in the following moments.
"Heh. Ya've really gone and done it," Axiom shook his head, then placed all his legs back onto the floor. "Very well... as you wish, Boss. Uh, ex-boss. Ugh, that sounds really weird."
"You... what?" Lyra echoed hollowly, then turned her head to the windigo next to her. Snowy didn't offer anything constructive; she simply returned the questioning glare with a blank expression.
For all this time, Lyra had no idea that masters could give servants away on a whim. Given the life-and-death nature of the Game, this seemed like an absurd concept.
"The easiest solution," Pinkie threw a wink at the flabbergasted unicorn. "Now you can go in and make all the decisions. No middle-pony required!"
That answer did not help making Lyra's mind-gears move any faster.
"But..."
"There ain't no going back now," Axiom turned away from the pink pony. His words were slow and drawn-out, filled with bitterness. "Stop makin' this harder... Boss. Let's get goin'. There ain't no point in stickin' around any longer."
Snapping her head to the spider, Lyra couldn't help but be outraged.
"What do you mean there's no point! This isn't something I can just accept so easily! I mean.. uh..."
I did want to get all the servants, in the end.
Holding a hoof to her aching head, Lyra had to admit: she had no idea what the proper reaction should have been. She had made a step toward her goal, but the whole thing was so sudden and unexpected...
"I have no idea what Axiom could've just told you... but I have a hunch and I can tell you he's right. I've given you all the help I could offer," Pinkie sighed and turned swivel-chair around completely. She was facing the fireplace, her back to Lyra and the servants. "It's up to you from here on out. Go and save Equestria now!"
I have no idea what Axiom just told you...? Lyra balked for a second - then yanked her hoof to her mouth once realisation struck. She's got no servants.. so she's no longer a master! And as a regular pony, she can't see Axiom or Snowy any more...
Trying to inch her head so both the spider and the baker were in her view, that sudden severance of ties made Lyra the most heartfelt. It didn't seem fair, having a friendship break up with so little fanfare. One curt command and poof - everything was over.
Though then again, the Game had never been particularly kind to begin with. This kind of departure was almost the perfect kind of closure to such a wicked play.
"R- right. I won't make you disappointed," Lyra nodded curtly and turned around, headed to the stairs. "Snowy, with me! We're leaving. And... uh, Axiom, you too."
She prowled through the old cellar in utter silence. She was shaken, and her emotions made it difficult for her to think. The most obvious solution, as Pinkie had called it... well, Lyra would have never thought of it. She wouldn't have even considered it.
Loud creaks startled her from her thoughts. She glanced down, by reflex; and was surprised to see the old stairs under her hoof. She had crossed the cellar and was making her way out - so absent-mindedly that she didn't even realise the fact until the noise hit her ears.
She turned her head, slowly and quietly. Glancing behind her, she saw the servants staring at her questioningly... and far back, in the back of the cellar, was the swivel chair, still turned towards the fireplace.
"Bye, Pinkie." Lyra sighed and pushed the trapdoor open.
She was still struggling with the heavy door when the pink pony's reply reached her ears.
"Tee-hee! We'll see each other soon... much sooner than-"
Lyra couldn't hear the end of that sentence. The door opened with a creak and the air around her exploded with the tavern's loud noise, drowning out any other sounds.
Pulling herself onto the wooden floor and carefully placing the trapdoor back, Lyra took a careful look at the innards of the inn. She had no idea how long she had been in the cellar, but it must have been quite a while. The inn was almost empty when she went down, and now was full of various ponies and gryphons. Most of the tables were full, and the noise reached deafening levels now and again.
"Didn't know this place was so famous," Lyra muttered to herself and steeled her nerves for cutting through the crowd.
"Cause it ain't," Axiom snickered as he scurried ahead, inspecting the nearby tables and the ponies drinking there. "Boss... I reckon it'd be wise to disappear from this 'ere place. Expeditiously."
Lyra didn't really understand the sudden haste, but she had little willingness to stay in that sorry excuse for an inn. She nodded after a moment of hesitation and followed the spider.
It was much more difficult to navigate the place than the time she had arrived, though. There was little space between the tables to begin with; now, with the inn being full of guests, even that little space was gone. The guests themselves didn't help either; most of them were past the first bottle... some of them way past. Only her quick reflexes saved Lyra from having a gryphon fall onto her; the poor thing fell from his table like a sack of rocks, crashing onto the floor with a painfully loud thud.
Nopony seemed to mind - except that one colt who quickly rushed to the suddenly free spot.
"Whoa," Lyra mumbled, with shock and thinly veiled disgust. "Yeah, you weren't kidding... we need to get out of here."
Axiom was still a few tables ahead of her, but he still managed to pick up the faint words. He gave his sightseeing a pause and turned around, waving a hairy leg around the busy inn.
"This ain't the problem, Boss. In fact, if ya' wanna' disappear... this'd be a pretty ideal crowd." He pointed at the loudest bunch. "Ordinarily, that is. But rite' now? I think the State is hot on yer' tail... so hot that in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they had followed ya' 'ere. We need to scram and lay low, unless you fancy another round with them officers."
"Oh come on. They don't even know who I a- OOF!" Lyra cackled, right until an earth pony fell on her. "Get off me, you creep!"
She yanked the stranger with her magic and tossed him to the ground.
"Boss, I saw yer' memories." Axiom crossed two legs below his face. "Luna may not know who ya' are, but she ain't stupid either. Sure, she let ya' run away... but she's got a pretty long reach, ya' know what I mean? Ya' ain't in the clear yet... and if yer' ain't careful, ya' may find yerself sleepin' with the fishes before long."
"Pfuh-lease. She's got no reason to suspect me," Lyra inched her way through tables, carefully stepping over a few sleeping patrons. "She was the one who let me go, for Equestria's sake!"
From the corner of her eye, Lyra saw a few drinkers measure her up with suspicion.
Yeah, right. I'm talking to myself, she reminded herself. Better keep my voice down. Axiom and Snowy will still hear me anyway.
"Ugh. Boss... takin' everything at face value is the best way to get yer' own face shot. Luna let ya' go 'cause she really needs a spotless reputation... she's walkin' on thin ice, Nightmare Moon and whatnot." Axiom groaned wearily, rubbing his face with another of his legs. "That don't mean yer' off the hook - just that she's gonna' have to make ya' disappear quietly. Get a few thugs bash yer' head in a shady alley or something."
Lyra, in the process of evading yet another drunk, gave the spider a piercing glare. She opened her mouth to complain; she really didn't need this extra paranoia. Her mind had moved on before she got her chance to speak though, changing the question from 'WHY' to 'WHY NOT'.
It didn't take a lot of brainpower to see: Axiom's theory had a lot of merit.
Now that I think about it... it WAS a little surprising how easily I was let go, Lyra rubbed her filthy, dusty-sticky hoof against her chin. Don't think there are many ponies released from jail just because they were put in the wrong cell.
"Well, if that was Luna's plan, then it has two obvious issues!" Snowy declared triumphantly from the top of a table, her leg sticking into a bowl of food.
"Do explain," Axiom raised his eyes to the windigo.
"Us!" Snowy gave a curt bow. "There's no way anypony can get the drop on Master - for Master has two extra sets of eyes! We can keep watch over her day and night, scouting every room and alley should the need arise."
Lyra couldn't help but chuckle at the remark. She wanted to burst into a laughter actually, but she had to tone her reaction down - she didn't want to appear too suspicious.
"Good one!" she muttered, still fighting the urge to giggle like a foal. "But really, I'm counting on you two. Let me know if you spot anything that's-"
Axiom cut her off. All of the spider's eight eyes went wide, and he raised a leg, pointing directly at Lyra.
"Be...hind you, Boss." The spider spoke, in such a thin voice as he was running short on breath.
Limited by the space, all Lyra could do was turn her head to peek behind her back. A unicorn was approaching her, moving with steady and determined steps, following the path Lyra had cleared between the tables.
Why was Axiom bothered by this colt? Lyra raised her eyebrow. There isn't anything wrong with-
She ran her gaze down the colt, carefully measuring the pony from head to hoof. Then she noticed it.
Something glittered on the colt's right front leg. It was a strange device - a long piece of metal, strapped to the leg with a black bracelet. It served no obvious purpose, and looked quite awkward for a simple fashion accessory.
What the heck is that, Lyra wrinkled her eyebrows. At this point the colt was almost next to her.
"I dun' like how that thug looks," Axiom growled. "Boss, ya' may wanna' get outta' his way-"
"Who are you?" Lyra turned to the strange pony, ignoring the spider's advice. "Why are you follow-"
It was over in a second.
The unicorn flung his hoof at her. Lyra could briefly see that strange metal thing again; it was like a flash, a sleek silvery line that appeared and disappeared in the same moment. Then she felt a hot sensation. She didn't need to glance down to know: she had been stabbed.
That little piece of metal was... a weapon?!
She promptly discarded all manners and twisted around completely, knocking at least three other guests away in the process. She wasn't bothered by making a scene; she barely even noticed the loud grumbling that suddenly surrounded her.
The wound, while painful, didn't truly impede her. She had endured worse against the changelings.
I'll be fine once I get to use Snowy's powers, Lyra reminded herself of the servants' regenerative side-effects. Provided I don't let this psycho stab me to death first...!
"THE HECK IS YOUR PROBLEM!" she burst into a loud yell and used her magic to throw a random glass at the unicorn.
The assailant wasn't bothered by the attack; he stood his ground, swatting the glass out of the air with a well-timed slash of his armed leg.
What in Tartarus! Attacking me unprovoked... Lyra retreated a step. Space was no longer an issue; most other guests had retreated a half dozen steps, staring at the fight from afar. The fact didn't escape Lyra's notice. They don't want a fight, a huh? So it's not that I'm an outsider violating their circles. So what caused this? Did he simply try to mug me, or-
She didn't get to further explore that idea. A gryphon fell on her - and this one was clearly no drunkard. Lyra tried to shake him off, but the gryphon grabbed her and hold onto her tight.
"Let go...!" she sneered, but the brown-feathered gryphon didn't comply.
He did quite the opposite, in fact.
He kicked Lyra's leg, bringing both of them to the ground with a loud crash. Lyra tried to spring up, but more legs began pressing down on her; there were at least six hooves squeezing her against the wooden floor, with two paws also resting on her neck. She was held so tight that she couldn't even move her head.
It all happened so fast - way too fast. Huffing as she squirmed against her attackers, Lyra became absolutely convinced that these were no drunkards. The whole attack was too precise... too organized. She was struggling on the ground for a while before the noise began settling down; it took the remainder of the guests that long to take notice and begin spectating.
So the real drunkards aren't taking a side... these guys are no friends of the locals, huh? Lyra tried to smile. That quickly proved impossible; her face was squeezed against the ground. There's still like a half dozen of them ganging up me though. Ugh... girl, how are you gonna' get out of this one?
"Don't move, Boss!" Lyra heard Axiom from behind her. "There's two colts on yer' back, and one gryphon's holding yer' neck. Let's not tick 'im off... he may just snap ya' like a twig if ya' make him angry."
"Even better yet, let's not even give him the chance! I can make this three forget what they were planning to do... and then Master can shake them off," Snowy hopped onto the ground, staring at Lyra from between a table's legs. "Master should just give the signal."
Unable to open her mouth with her head smeared against the floor, Lyra blinked twice. She had meant to convey that she had understood, but Snowy mistook the cue - and flashed brightly before Lyra had a chance to protest.
Ehhh! Might as well! Lyra growled internally. There was no time to waste - she could feel the push on her back lifting as her captors became confused. She threw herself to the side, crashing into a table and breaking its leg. The table collapsed on her, spilling glasses and bottles on the floor; but more importantly, while Lyra had wound up below the table, the other three were on the other side. Using her fleeting advantage, she sprang up; her sides hurt, but that was practically nothing compared to the earlier beatings she took. She turned around, towards the door to the outside-
-and something tackled her. She was struck in the middle of her torso, and the impact had left her winded; she staggered to the left, finally bumping against the counter as she tried to catch her breath.
Out of instinct, she glanced back, trying to see her attacker... and was surprised to see the room continuing to spin around her. The violent move was a little too much for her stomach, and for a brief second she was fighting the urge to throw up.
"Guh...!" she grit her teeth. Getting her bearings was difficult, but she was still quite certain that the armed unicorn was approaching her again. "Get away from me!"
"I'm surprised you can still talk," the unicorn wondered aloud and cleared his throat, carrying his gaze around the many shocked guests surrounding him. "Everypony! There's no need to worry! We're not police. This is a monster hunting unit! And that pony-shaped thing has been marked for capture."
"You should be glad that... augh, that thing hasn't done anything to you," the brown gryphon rattled from behind the overturned table.
"Monster hunting unit...?" Lyra echoed with great difficulty - her tongue wasn't rolling as easily as it used to. Snapping her hoof to the ground to keep herself upright in the wobbling room, a horrible suspicion was dawning on her.
That blade... it was poisoned, wasn't it?
The unicorn didn't notice his advantage or felt no need to press it. He was standing a few steps away from Lyra, still addressing the crowd around him.
"All of you stay still and nopony gets hurt!" she shouted and turned back to Lyra. "Don't you move either. You'll be safe and asleep in a few minutes... so don't move, m'kay? Just relax until sleepy-time comes."
It's just like in the hills, Lyra grit her teeth. She had a flashback of lying behind the firewood with a her blood trickling to the floor... hiding, hoping the armed thugs wouldn't notice her. It was the same scene all over again. Squinting to lessen the afterimages, she snarled at the approaching unicorn.
You were sent by the princess, weren't you. Even if they don't know who I am, there's still no respite. I'm fair game as long as I have a servant.
She tried to move away from the counter, but quickly pedalled back. The room was spinning around her even more wildly as soon as she wasn't touching a fixed object.
Guh! This is... alright, this is pretty bad. I was quite naive to think I'd be let go just because nopony knows who I am, huh...
"Lost yer' marbles, Boss?! Don't just sit still!" she heard Axiom shout. "These ain't no monster hunters - they gotta' be the thugs sent after ya'! Are ya' seriously just gonna' sit still and let 'em get ya?!"
"I concur with Axiom, Master." Snowy rose from behind the broken table. "We've tried compliance already, and it didn't get us very far. I don't see a reason we should repeat that experiment... if our choices boil down to submission or confrontation, then we should really try fighting this time."
I know that much! Lyra tried to say, but only growling noises left her mouth. She couldn't speak; the sick feeling in her stomach forced her to keep her jaws flexed.
Can't even call for help, huh.Lyra drew a ragged breath as the unicorn walked closer to her. Oh, come on! All you did was stab me with that freaking needle. Howcome that's all it took...?
"Enough foolin' around!" Axiom growled. He reached behind his back and whipped a blank sheet of paper out of nowhere, a quill materializing in his other leg. He spun around, hastily scribbling onto the scroll as he carried his gaze across the room.
"Axiom, you can't just act on your own!" Snowy yelled at the spider. "You will mess up Master's head!"
"She's messed up quite enough already! I'm only stirrin' the soup now!" Axiom shouted back, then wrote the last few words with such force that his quill tore through the paper. "My Boss gave up on the game just to give this dunce a chance... so I ain't lettin' it end this easily!"
He was barely in time.
"Don't do this," Lyra managed to squeeze a few words out her mouth. She had figured that was wasting her breath; her broken voice didn't convince anypony. But she had to at least try; her legs and neck were numb, and she could barely move. "You've... ugh, you've no idea who you're serving. This... agh. This is the worst you... you can do."
"You were not given permission to speak," the unicorn snickered. He held his leg high, the sharp metal rod glittering in the weak light. "I was promised a promotion for taking you in... don't think I'm passing up my chance!"
Promotion? Lyra drew a ragged breath. All this for a promotion...?
She had no idea how to react to that. She immediately understood: that wasn't a mistake, nor a misunderstanding. This was something more fundamentally tragic.
It was greed, plain and simple.
You're delivering me, who saved an entire town, into the clutches of the monster who had enabled that very attack to happen? Just so you can get an extra medal?!
Her entire body began burning. The numbness was letting up, replacing by the sensation of a thousand pins pricking her everywhere. Lyra didn't terribly mind; the room around her began calming as the numbness receded, the wobbling world settling back into its usual place.
This allowed her to take one good look at the unicorn's face up close.
"Sorry dude," she gave the unicorn a dry smirk. "I'm not letting you screw everything up."
"As if you had a say in the matter," the unicorn frowned and swung with his hoof.
Out of time, Lyra began moving. She obviously could have used a little more rest - her legs still felt as if she was dragging them around with strings. This was still better than lying and awaiting her fate, though. She grunted hard, pushed herself against the counter and kicked with her free leg.
The strike was unexpected and fairly powerful, but lacked in precision. The blow glanced off the unicorn's head; he crouched down, visibly dazed but otherwise unhurt. It took him a few breaths to pull himself together, the exact moment marked by his horn flaring up with a yellow colour. A knife appeared in front of him - he probably had a cleverly disguised holster on him.
Lyra didn't enjoy that development. Blades still got her somewhat nervous - especially when she was barely able to move.
"The real monster here is the one you're serving," she wheezed and rolled around, onto her hooves. She didn't have the time to actually get up; the unicorn was already preparing to strike before she could get that far. All Lyra could do was grab a table with her magic and yank it between herself and the pony. All while screaming at the top of her lungs. "LOOK IN THE MIRROR! YOU'RE THE MONSTER! YOU'RE MURDERING A PONY FOR A MEDAL!"
A loud thud rang out. The dagger pierced the thin wood of the table, running as deep as the crossguard let it; the blade stopped mere inches short of Lyra's face. She could clearly see the small chips in the metallic surface - and a thin layer of liquid, even more disturbingly.
Does this colt only carry poisoned stuff?! Lyra scampered onto her hooves, recoiling from the deadly weapon. Bet this one isn't just some sedative either.
She glanced at the tip of the blade again, then chuckled darkly.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I see such underhooved weapons... not even the changelings sunk this low.
But there was no time for her to get shocked. The table swayed wildly and was flung aside, revealing a quite furious unicorn, the dagger still in his magical grasp.
"That's it. You had your chance," he rattled and thrust with the small blade.
Lyra lacked the response to that attack. She broke into a cold shiver and rose a leg to protect her face; but it was all in vain. It didn't matter if she got stabbed in the neck, the torso or the leg if the strike was poisonous.
Time seemed to slow down as her mind raced high on adrenaline. She couldn't think of anything to do; so all she did was to stare at the blade as it sailed through the air. It was such a mesmerizing sight, too... she couldn't break her gaze away.
And as the tip of the blade approached, a single word jumped to her mind.
"Sno- SNOWY-!"
As expected, the miracle came. The unicorn faltered; he lost his momentum and almost held still, a vacant expression on his face. His focused slipped and his magic broke, the yellow aura disappearing from around the blade. The weapon fell and clattered uselessly on the dirty floor.
What- Lyra blinked at the unexpected chance. Even if it was at her order, the unexpected chance still took her by surprise. It didn't take her long to recognise the expression though; quite many changelings looked like that before she pummelled them. She glanced to her side and indeed, her windigo was fading back to her usual colours.
Last second save, Lyra took a quivering breath. Now, I need to take this crazy out of commission before-
Someone else capitalized on the opening that Snowy had made. A bottle appeared out of nowhere and landed right on the monster hunter's head, shattering into two, spewing red wine and twinkling glass-shards into the air. The impact visibly rocked the pony; he staggered and fell to the ground, landing heavily like a freshly cut tree.
The fight was over so abruptly that it took Lyra a while to register the danger was gone. The unicorn was lying limp at her hooves, out cold or barely conscious; and going by the slowly ebbing noise, the other 'monster hunters' had also been subdued.
Lyra closed her eyes and winced, gritting her teeth. This was close- very close. Up until this point, she had never seriously toyed with the idea of fighting other ponies. She had always assumed she'd manage to 'subdue' her opponents in some way, but she never gave the actual process much mind. She was absolutely unprepared to deal with a pony who was about to skewer her.
She had let her guard down and almost suffered the ultimate price for the mistake.
It may be fighting... but it's so different from the changelings, she giggled dryly. That lot actually fought for their food. But these guys... for a medal? Seriously?
A chill ran down Lyra's back; the image of the unicorn swiping the poisoned blade at her sprang into her mind. Such a cowardly and cheap attempt at her life... her blood boiled the moment she was done shuddering.
And I didn't even poke the hornets' nest yet... threatening the princesses. I can't even imagine what kind of hell is going to be set loose.
"¿Está bien?"
Cracking her eyes open, Lyra saw the barkeep talking to her. The gryphon extended one paw to her, still gripping a bottle of wine with the other.
"So it was you," Lyra mumbled, darting her eyes between the unconscious unicorn and the barkeep.
"De nada," the gryphon shrugged. "Menos que puedo hacer, compañero."
Lyra wrinkled her eyebrows at that word.
Compañero?
Turning her head a bit, Lyra saw Axiom in the corner of her eye.
Right... you used your powers on your own. They remember me as some old pal now, huh?
"Good going there, you two." She mumbled with a tiny shake of her head. The tingling was dying down; she felt normal. Or whatever passed for normal. "Saved my butt."
"Tee-hee! We did GOOD!" Snowy giggled and spun around her hind hoof like a ballerina.
"Yea', sure dodged the bullet 'ere." Axiom shrugged and folded two pairs of legs in front of his face. "But Boss... do try not get yerself' into these tight spots, m'kay? I ain't no bodyguard... there's only so much I can do to help, ya' know."
Lyra nodded and hunkered down to the base of the counter. She fiddled until she sat comfortably and pulled a bottle close to her; whatever that drink was, she really needed it. She popped the cork and stared at the sloshing liquid; then she chuckled absent-mindedly and took a deep gulp.
That thing was so acidic it could barely be called wine; but Lyra didn't feel picky at that very moment. She shuddered at the sour taste, but the drink made her comfortably numb mere moments later. She needed that feeling; she needed to wind down. It was over... even if only for the time being.
Rising the bottle to take another sip, a soft moaning hit her ears. Looking around with the bottle glued to her lips, she saw the unicorn twitch a little. The pony was coming to, but only very slowly; he was still simply whimpering.
Lyra reared her head back and downed a mouthful of the vile booze; then she sipped the sweet, cold air and gave the defeated monster-hunter a wicked grin.
"So much for your medal," she frowned and kicked hard with her hind leg.
Lyra watched the limp pony knock a table aside and land like a ragdoll, all without the slightest emotion. If actually felt fair more than anything - she was made suffer so much more. It was only because of her all-permeating weariness that she didn't get up to scream, shout and deliver a resounding beat-down. For the sake of justice... for the sake of vengeance. For the trust she was rapidly losing in her own kind.
Being as drained as she was however, all she felt like doing was to shake her head and take another gulp from the bottle.
"Guess I owe you colts a thanks anyhow," she grumbled and took another sip. "Thanks for waking me up."
Settling the bottle down, she narrowed her eyes and pulled her mouth to a smirk.
From now on, anything goes.