Harmannoyed

by Tirimsil

Ch. 12 :: Have You Seen These Lots Of Things?

For the third time in the last few weeks, a cute creature ran from a pursuer down the dirt roads along the quietly murmuring coast. For the second time, this cute creature was Izzy Moonbow. But this time, although a very tired pegasian princess followed, that was not quite a chase per se; no, Izzy Moonbow was clueless that she and Zipp had completely lost their real pursuer at least five times on their journey.

Intuitively taking a turn, Izzy abruptly paused and visibly wilted, recoiling and backing into Zipp on her way back to the crossroads.

"Aagh!" Zipp bounced off of her and scowled. "What's the big idea?"

"Wroooong way!" Izzy beamed, perky again, and took the other route. Zipp glanced down the path, turning her head up to follow the goat-trail zig-zagging along the hill, and curtly nodded, recognizing Sunny's lighthouse. Then she twirled in midair like a parade dragon to follow Izzy.

Their ears twitched at the sounds of bubbled discussion, and Izzy cantered into Maretime Bay, freezing mid-step as she recognized Sunny and Hitch at the front of the crowd, staring at another Harmonoid digital display. Then she set her jaw in a determined pout and, silently weaving through the crowd, stood right behind them and craned her neck to read.

HARMONOID™

We're terribly sorry to inform our Best Friends that HARMONOID™ is unable to perform the remainder of its scheduled live performances in Maretime Bay.

Following the disappearance of her Twin Soul, whom we are obliged to concede is the inimitable Princess Pipperoni Petals of Zephyr Heights, Generous☆Harmonoid™ has fallen into an unresponsive fugue state. She thus cannot perform her duties in our intended programming, nor will she be able to record any new music or videos.

HarmoSync stands in firm support of the ongoing investigation to find Princess Pipperoni and we hope for her quick and safe return. We are currently re-evaluating our security to ensure the safety of the other Twin Souls' identities.

"Kind of a cringy way to announce someone's disappearance, isn't it?" Hitch critiqued.

Sunny nodded glumly. "I shouldn't have gone overboard."

"Hey," Hitch put a hoof gently on her shoulder. "I'm sure Izzy will accept our apology."

"'Our' apology? You didn't go nuts at her."

"I think we both let her down."

Izzy's lip trembled and her eyes watered. She looked over her shoulder, carefully backed away a step or two, and weaved back through the crowd and away, heading towards the town market, sniffling.

As soon as she was out of their earshot she burst into tears in the middle of the street and stamped her feet. "They're so saaaaaaaaad!" she cried. The ponies around her jumped back and walked around her in a wide berth, staring at her with outraged eyes.

"They-feel-awful-and-I-feel-awful-and-I-gotta-find-Pipp!" she hiccuped. "I gotta fix it! I'll fix it so good because right now everything is so baaaaaaaad!" She jumped into the air with her legs waving and continued on, staring at the ground with giant round watery eyes and a huge pout.

"There you are! Why does everyone think it's 'Pipperoni'?!" Zipp complained upon catching up to her outside the coffee shop, then double-took. "Whoa! What happened?!"

"Aw it's nothin' I'm just heartbroken," Izzy sniffled and waved off. Then she tossed her head and went back to smiling. "Anyway let's start pentagulating!" She chirped brightly.

"What. Let's start what. Are you okay?"

"Excuse me, miss," Izzy gave a little bow to a random mare nearby, "Do you know where HayBurger's main factory is?"

"No way, I don't live near the industrial sector," the young mare shook her head. "Sorry."

"That's okay, thank you for your time." Izzy walked about ten steps away. "Excuse me miss," she bowed again, "Do you know where HayBurger's main factory is?"

"That old belcher!" the plump mare wrinkled her nose. "It's just down Excelsior Way -- actually, do you have a map?"

"I sure do," Izzy beamed, fishing it out of her mane. The two of them huddled briefly as the mare marked the location.

"There you are, dear," she smiled. "Don't stay long, it'll ruin your vibrant health."

"Oh I'm sure it would! The price we pay for hedonistic convenience," Izzy made a sour face, then beamed. "Thank you very much!" Izzy walked another ten steps. "Sir!" She called. "Sir, do you know where Hay -- no, wait, I just got that one." She consulted her notes. "Uhhh... Secretary@! Do you know where the main Secretary@ factory is?"

"Uuugh," Zipp groaned. She flittered to a nearby stand and took the opportunity to sit down, laying against it. "I have no idea what's going on."

"Yes, that's Princess Zippy-something, she's my parole officer, I'm technically in the custody of the pegasian state, but I didn't do it and I'm gonna catch the guy who did," Izzy technically told the truth with a big, never-stabbed-anyone-but-kidnapped-a-mare-once smile.

The crowd ooh'd and aah'd and moved closer, eager to be part of a crime thriller.

"Maybe she ought to do our PR," Zipp mumbled, fanning herself with a magazine that had Loyal's face on the cover.

"Princess or not, that magazine's five bits, lady," the vendor protested, leaning over the counter to stare at her, his mustache twitching indignantly. His eyes widened and he became all smiles when Zipp tossed fifteen over her head onto his counter.

"Sir!" Izzy continued shouting, running around with all the energy in the world. "Sir, can you tell me where Warhorse Electronics's main factory might be..."

---

Knock knock knock.

Sunny pulled her head up from her living room table. "Huh..?" She furrowed her brows and yawned. "Hiiiitch? Is that you?"

"I'm with the Zephyr Heights Royal Guard, ma'am," came the gentle reply through the door. "I need to ask a few questions..."

"Zephyr Heights?" Sunny tightened her face a little further, her eyes darting in thought and worry. "Uh, just a second," she called, rapidly dashing around her house to straighten up, before answering the door.

"Hello," the guard beamed, waving. "I'm so sorry to bother you so close to dusk. You must have heard about the disappearance of Princess Pipperoni."

"Princess what?" Sunny blinked. "Oh. Pipp." She swallowed, looking down. "Yeah. We're good friends..." She sighed.

"In response to her disappearance, it seems her sister, Princess Zephyrina, has gone looking for her..." the guard tilted her head. "Have you seen her recently?"

Sunny's eyes flitted back up to the guard and widened, her whole body freezing for a second as she realized the guard's face was ever-so-slightly flickering. "She hasn't been here!" she answered, trying to make it seem as though the question was ridiculous to account for her reaction. "She rarely comes all the way down to the Bay. She definitely hasn't been staying with me."

"Really?" the guard raised her chin a little bit. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, officer."

"Hmm..." the guard tilted her head and considered her. "What about the infamous unicorn... Izzy Moonbow? She's also a friend of yours, isn't she?"

"Izzy visits more often, but she hasn't been to my home since the Princess's disappearance, officer." Sunny replied firmly.

"Hmm. Thank you for your time," the guard frowned, then beamed again. "Have a great day!"

"You too," Sunny returned, smiling and closing the door. Then she scowled and shuddered, leaning against the door with a hoof to her chest. "Izzy was right," she realized in a whisper. "I gotta warn Hitch."

The guard turned and walked back down the path from the lighthouse to Maretime Bay, frowning to herself. "Why did she try to mislead me?" she mumbled to no one in particular. "Meep!" She tripped on her spear again.

---

"Izzy," Zipp groaned, stumbling through the air after her. "Where are we going? It's getting dark."

"Not much farther," Izzy muttered to herself with wide eyes and a manic smile. "Almost there. Then the plan will be laid bare. All the beans, exposed, in their unfettered profanity. I love beans. Do you like beans?" She suddenly shot a crazed look at Zipp.

Zipp fell out of the air and stared back. "You're a crazy bean," she eventually responded.

"Oh ho, you flatterer, two can play at that game," Izzy mumbled nonsensibly, then turned her attention back to her map, not looking where she was going. "Yes, carry the two, round up. The ley line has been seen. And what has been seen can't be unseen. I can see forever."

"I told you you were having too much coffee," Zipp frowned. She would've had more herself, but she was afraid she'd just add "jittery" to "tired" and would end up... well, end up like Izzy.

"Coffee! The best bean," Izzy cackled. "They laughed at it in school. 'Loser! Go back to your video games!' Well who's laughing now."

"The coffee beans like video games?" Zipp dared to try to follow.

Izzy turned to her with a huge scowl. "Don't you know how competitive gaming started?" she turned her face back forwards and walked into a pole. "Awk!"

"Whoa! Izzy!" Zipp cried, rushing over to her as she stumbled back. "Are you okay?"

"Yuh-huh," Izzy winced, holding her nose, her eyes squeezed shut and watering. "Dibbit bob muh horb."

"What?" Zipp blinked, staring intently at her for signs of serious injury.

Izzy lowered her hoof and gently wrinkled her nose. No bleeding. "I didn't bonk my horn," she repeated, "So it's fine! You don't wanna see me bonk my horn. I might go into a mad dancing frenzy."

"Mm," Zipp nodded, glancing up at the extremity. "Must hurt like heck... Do you smell blood?"

"Nah," Izzy grimaced. "I think I'm okay. Ooouch ouch."

"Um, maybe you shouldn't walk and read the map and say crazy things all at the same time. Also, I think competitive gaming leans more towards carbonated beverages..."

"You can carbonate coffee. And don't worry, we're already here!" Izzy snarled and then beamed, blinking the tears out of her eyes and gesturing. "Ta-daaaa!" She pouted and felt at her neck. Definitely need to stop doing that, she decided.

Zipp took one look at the crumbling, silent mess of concrete and metal and, after looking down to make sure she wasn't about to poke herself with the get-sick, stamped her hoof. "Izzy Moonbow," she grumped, "If you set one hoof in this abandoned, incredibly unsanitary, already-very-dark property I'll charge you with trespassing. Or if you find a way to levitate over it as a loophole."

"You can't charge me with trespassing in another city, you're not the boss in Maretime Bay, Hitch is," Izzy protested. "And aaaaalso abandoned factories are public property in Maretime Bay and I can go in and get tetanus if I want." She stuck her tongue out.

"I could tell Hitch what you did, 'n' I'm still your parole officer..." Zipp grumbled. "... or more like your foalsitter..."

"Which means you get in big trouble if I get hurt," Izzy inferred. "So I guess you better follow me!" She skipped lightly into the wreckage and carefully stepped around the loose rusty metal.

"H-hey!" Zipp yelped, and flew after her, losing sight of her instantly. "Izzy?" Zipp called impatiently. "Izzy."

"Uh oh, I guess we're both trespassing!" Izzy's voice teased from around a corner. "Better keep our secret together like good friends doooo!"

Zipp growled. "I'm gonna make my musical comeback with a song about how wonderful every friend is except you," she threatened, flying after the voice.

---

Night fell upon the abandoned factory.

The flickering guard arrived, frowning. She stopped to stare at the pole Izzy had bumped her nose on, leaning in with a squint. Then she began to remove her armor, hiding it within a group of bushes near the factory, along with most of her weapons.

With a crackle, her visage returned to that of the yellow pegasus with the pink hair. Tucking only a dirk under one wing, she strode with purpose and direction into the abandoned factory.

Comments

[Tirimsil]

This was another hard chapter to flesh out but I hope I've enriched it enough by now.