In Search of Truth and Justice 1
“Morning, sleepyhead.”
Lyra stood in the kitchen’s doorway, rubbing the sleep out of one eye with a foreleg. She yawned, then inhaled deeply, the succulent scent of heated sugar filling her lungs.
“Morning, Bonnie,” she said as she trudged towards the pot of coffee and the mug waiting for her on the counter. “How’s the candy going today?”
“Same as every morning,” Bon Bon said, picking up a whisk in her mouth and vigorously stirring one of the steaming pots sitting on the stove. “Jush need to make a few more Sherbert Shurprises, and then I’ll be shet for the next few daysh…”
“Cool.” Lyra took the coffee pot in her magic, pouring herself a mug. Levitating it up to her muzzle, she took a deep gulp. Almost instantaneously her ears, which had been hanging limply at the sides of her head, perked up. “Ah…”
Bon Bon danced between three different workstations, cooking with an early morning enthusiasm that Lyra could only envy. “I put toast on for you. It’ll be ready in a minute.”
“You’re too good for me, Bonnie.”
“I know,” she said, grinning. Lyra stuck her tongue out at her before weaving past Bon Bon to get to the toaster, her coffee floating along behind her.
“Anything in the paper today?”
“Just the usual.”
Lyra paused. “Good usual or bad usual?”
“Good usual, for once.”
“Well that’s nice. Hey, do you smell burning?”
Bon Bon stopped abruptly in her flurry of motion. “Burning—Lyra, the toaster!”
“I got it!” Lyra slapped her hoof on the toaster’s lever, springing the charred bread up—along with something else.
She sighed, levitating the little pink envelope up to her face. “Pinkie…”
“What—that was in the toaster?” Bon Bon asked, incredulous.
“Yep. Looks like Pinkie has a job for me.” She tore open the top and pulled out the message inside. “Or, uh, both of us, I guess.”
“But… how…?”
“Dunno,” Lyra said. “Anyway, she says she wants us to meet her at Sugarcube Corner. Is your candy gonna be okay, or do you need some time to finish up?”
Bon Bon didn’t answer, instead snatching the envelope from Lyra’s telekinetic grasp. “This wasn’t there when I put the toast in!”
“I’m guessing you’ll need a minute?”
“It’s… It’s not even burned!”
Lyra took another sip of her coffee. “Take your time.”
─────
The door to Sugarcube Corner swung open with a ding as Lyra pushed her way into the bakery, Bon Bon following behind. They had to push their way through the afternoon crowd to get to the counter, behind which Pinkie was frantically taking orders.
“Three lemon poppy muffins and a strawberry cupcake. Coming right up!” She drew a forehoof across her forehead. “Phew! Oh, hey Lyra, Bon Bon! I’m a little itty-bitty bit busy right now, but you can go on into the back!”
Lyra nodded and slipped around the side of the counter, heading for the back. Bon Bon trailed behind, fixing Pinkie with an odd look until she was out of sight.
The door to the backroom was as assuming as ever as the two entered. Lyra made sure to close it behind her, then turned around. A changeling in a white ten-gallon hat sat at a card table that had been erected in the middle of the spare room, idly playing with its black-plated hoof.
“Sea Swirl?” Lyra asked. “What are you doing here?”
The changeling looked up at them with its big buggy eyes. “Do I look like my cousin to you?” she drawled.
Okay, not Sea Swirl, then!
“Sorry, uh, my bad!” she said. “I’m Lyra, this is Bon Bon.”
“Name’s Fiddlesticks,” the changeling said, standing up and shaking Lyra’s hoof. “Pleasure to meet you!”
“You too! You’re from Dodge Junction, I’m guessing?”
“What gave it away?”
Lyra chuckled. “Oh, just a hunch.” She glanced over at Bon Bon, who was looking somewhat perturbed. “She’s a changeling, Bonnie.”
“Oh.”
Lyra patted her on the shoulder. “C’mon, Bonnie, be nice. Pinkie wouldn’t have let her in if she was dangerous.”
Bon Bon sighed. “You’re right.” She held her hoof out and shook Fiddlesticks’. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Likewise,” Fiddlesticks said. “And your friend there’s right, I’m about as dangerous as a twittermite in winter. I hear you’re pretty tough, though!”
Bon Bon’s brow knit. “From who?”
“Oh, word travels fast in the Owls. Gotta know who to call on, after all!”
“Are you an Owl then, Fiddlesticks?” Lyra asked.
Fiddlesticks chuckled. “Not officially, but I do my part helpin’ out Silver and Scout. Mostly I just keep my ear to the ground for ‘em, seeing as they spend all their time out in the desert and all.”
“Why’s that?”
This got a proper guffaw from the changeling. “Well, it’d be a bit silly if Silver just trotted into town one day! Everypony’d be swarming him, asking him how he did it!”
“Did what?” Lyra asked.
“Cheated death!”
Before either of them could say anything, the door swung open. Octavia filed in.
“Hey, cousin,” Fiddlesticks said.
“Hello, ‘cousin’,” Octavia replied. “I see you’re still borrowing my face.” She turned to the others. “Hello, you two.”
They all said their hellos, and then sat down around the table.
“So, as y’all know, mid-July’s coming up, and we’d be mighty pleased to have your help this year. And yours again, Octavia.”
“I’d be delighted to.” Seeing the looks of confusion on the other two’s faces, Octavia explained. “Mid-June is when the Stampede happens. Nopony knows precisely why, but every year around this time, a flood of malformed monsters emerge from beyond the Macintosh Hills and stampede their way north.”
“Wasn’t so much of a problem back in the day,” Fiddlesticks cut in, “but now that Appleoosa’s in the way, we need all the help we can get!”
“That is a problem,” Bon Bon said. “What exactly do you mean by ‘malformed’?”
“Horrific abominations of nature spawned by the wild magics of the Mysterious South. Lyra, do you remember the creature we encountered in the Everfree when you were still new to the Owls?”
Lyra shuddered. “Yeah.”
“Much the same idea, though that one looked to have crawled out of the Haysead Swamps. In any case, the nature of the creatures is entirely unpredictable.”
“Couldn’t’ve said it better myself,” Fiddlesticks said. “We’ve had all kinds. Some of ‘em come out with weird powers, too. Invisibility, teleportin’, you name it.”
Bon Bon’s brow furrowed. “I’ve never heard of any of this.”
“Well, that’s a good thing! Means Silver’s been doing his job right.” Fiddlesticks leaned back. “From what he tells me, it’s usually one or two come crawling out of the hills or the swamp every so often. But every June they all come rushing out like mice in a rainstorm!”
“So,” she said, putting her hooves on the table, “Y’all willing to help?”
“I’ll help,” Bon Bon said, “but it sounds like you need mine more than Lyra’s.”
“Aw, come on, Bonnie!” Lyra said, leaning over and wrapping her leg around Bon Bon’s shoulders. “We’re a package deal, remember!”
Octavia smiled. “Excellent. I’ve always wanted to see the skills of the famed agent Sweetie Drops for myself.” On spying Bon Bon’s sour look, she politely coughed. “Ahem. We should only be away for about a week. You’ll be reimbursed for your time away from your shop, of course.”
“No need,” Bon Bon said, “I’ve made arrangements after last time.” Her eyes narrowed. “Where do you get your funding, anyway?”
“Oh, you’ll be meeting her soon enough,” Octavia said. “I’ll bet she’s just dying to meet you, too.” The derisive tone in her voice made Lyra raise an eyebrow.
“Well, looks like we’ve got us a full party, then!” Fiddlesticks said, standing. “I’ll head on back to Appleoosa, make sure we’ve got all the supplies ready. Y’all can join us in a week’s time!”
The changeling left the room with a “Pleasure to meet y’all.” Octavia got up to leave shortly after, leaving just Lyra and Bon Bon.
Bon Bon turned to look at Lyra. “You know, you really don’t have to come—”
“Ap ap ap!” Lyra said, shushing Bon Bon with a hoof. “I’m your senior, remember?”
“Lyra, it’s going to be—”
“Dangerous, I know.” Lyra put her hoof down firmly on the table. “Bon Bon, this is my job too! I know you’re Tartarus bent on protecting me—and I appreciate it, you know I do—but I didn’t join the Owl to keep myself safe.”
“And anyway, like I said,” Lyra finished, “we’re a package deal. Pinkie’s orders.”
“And when that order expires, it will make it a lot easier for me to sleep at night.”
Lyra laughed. “Aw, it’ll be fine! You’ll get to kick some monster butt, I’ll get to hang back and watch you kick some monster butt, it’ll be a win for both of us! Think of it like a vacation!”
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Am loving this, keep updating it
Just found this story, read every bit of it, and I'm hungry for m thanks for the great story.
I look to the chapter, the story, and I wonder. Oh how I wonder. But thanks for the fun start to this arc.
Worst vacation ever? At the gery peast, I'll be surprised if it doesn't crack the top ten.
Also, intriguing additional members of the Owls. I look forward to meeting them. And the malformed monstrosities.
Good to see this is still updating: adding it to tracking, let's see where this goes.
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And I have spent the last two weeks wondering what it is you wonder, and I have decided I can wonder no longer. So I ask you now, passing wanderer, what is it you wonder about?
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I shouldn't have laughed at this, but I did, and I feel so much the better for this little comment to break the funk I had been in. No disparaging in the laugh, but the idea you lodged in there with it.
I'm wondering, just how much"Science! albeit mad" by some folks, we are getting to see in the upcoming chapters.
That thought decided to mollywhop me in re-reading this again. Just the kind of transient folks or natural animals that someone has picked up trying to perfect a particular bit a la mureau, or whatever the beastie doc was called. And this is him more or less cleaning his pens for trying again.
I'm thinking lyra here is going to see what they are, not what they've been transmogged into, but getting the rest (especially octavia) to curtail, (and excusing that bad pun) what she had been doing.
I will automatically correct this to: “Ap ap ap!” Lyra said, shushing Bon Bon with a hoof. “I’m your senpai, remember?”
30 chapters in, and this is a great read.
It's Pinkie Pie, don't question it. Especially half Eldritch abomination Pinkie Pie.
Ironically, she wouldn't have confused the two if she hadn't been blessed by the god of Truth.
Lyra, you idiot. YOU’VE INVOKED THE WRATH OF MURPHY
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At least it won't be boring now! Or at least as boring as a monster hunt with randomized horrors can get.