Spyra, part four

Lyra trotted at a steady pace along the pathway that led from Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres.

It was early morning: the sun had just risen from the horizon but had not yet taken its uppermost position in the sky. The air was pleasantly warm, with little to no wind.

Her wordless encounter with Berry Punch had put her on edge for the remainder of the party last night, though it had not swayed her from her mission. She had managed to confirm that Carrot Top was targeting Noteworthy, though the reason why was still unclear.

There was a chance she could find that out this morning.

Lyra was an observant sort and she had learned the daily habits of many of the residents of Ponyville. Noteworthy was an early riser and was keen on keeping himself fit – he earned his money through manual labour. He also had a bit of an ego and an eye for the ladies, so making sure he remained buff was a priority.

He always took the same route – first along the path to the Apple family's farm, then left at the crossroads to loop back to the east entrance to Ponyville.

And he always set off at the same time. Lyra had begun her run several minutes earlier than his normal routine and was trotting at a slower pace than normal to make sure he would catch up to her.

She was in good shape and, thanks to her training under the Canterlot guard, was capable of fending for herself if necessary. Running a few miles like this was no problem.

Soon she could hear a second set of hooves behind her – a quick look back revealed Noteworthy making his way along the path.

She maintained her pace and waited for the stallion to catch up to her. When he did so, he slowed down to stay alongside her and flashed a smile.

"Good morning," he said, his breathing steady, "Good to see another fitness fanatic out bright and early."

Lyra looked at him briefly, gave a polite hello, then focused her attention back on running. She waited a couple of seconds, then pretended to suddenly recognise him.
"Hey, weren't you at the party last night? I think I saw you at the bar," she said.

"Oh, I caught your attention, did I?" he said, smiling, "You should have come over to chat. I'm always willing to make time for a pretty mare such as yourself."

She raised an eyebrow: "Yes, I did see you. And you seemed to be getting on pretty well with that mare with the orange mane."

He blushed slightly. "Oh, you saw that? I'm… it's not like I'm in a relationship with her. We'd just met that night," then he chuckled, regaining his composure, "If you had approached me earlier, perhaps you would have been the lucky one."

"So, what're you saying? You're taken?" Lyra asked, leaping over a pothole in the path, "Because it'd be a shame if you took yourself off the market just because you have a date."

Noteworthy focused his attention on the route ahead, thinking. Two mares paying attention to him within the same 24 hours? That was unheard of. He normally had to do the chasing, and even then he tended to be unsuccessful.

"Well, I have no interest in two-timing anypony," he said, "And I'm afraid Golden Harvest asked first. I'm sorry."

"But if it doesn't work out?" she asked, not looking at him. She hoped her discomfort didn't show – she had no experience when it came to romantic matters.

Noteworthy increased his pace to keep up with her as she subconsciously increased her speed.

"That would be another matter entirely," he said, "We would both be two single adults, nothing to tie us down."

"So it all depends on tonight," she said, "Can't say I'm thrilled to be your back-up plan, but what the hay. What did you guys have planned, for tonight?"

"Horte Cuisine's restaurant, of course. Nothing but the, best, for a stallion like me," he said, his speech pattern now interrupted by the rhythm of his breathing.

Lyra let out a short laugh, stifled slightly by her exertions, and said: "You realise now, if you take me out, you'll have to, find something to top that?"

The pair of them were now running at a gallop but had not yet hit top speed.
"You do realise, you're running a little fast, to hold, a conversation?" asked Noteworthy.

Her eyes widened as she realised that, on some level, she had been trying to escape from their discussion.

She flashed him a grin, determined not to let her awkwardness show: "See the crossroads up ahead? Left to Ponyville. I get back first, you give me your address. You get back first, I give you mine. Go!"

With that, she rushed ahead and left Noteworthy eating her dust. He was surprised, but quickly recovered and soon the pair of them were racing neck-and-neck back towards the town.

****

Lyra closed her front door behind her, feeling much fresher after having taken a long, cold shower. The morning's run had done her good – it had been a while since she had given herself a proper workout.

She made her way through town towards Dr Whooves' house. He wasn't working at the surgery today and she wanted some company for her next job. Today was market day and Carrot Top would be selling her wares. Lyra wanted to keep an eye on her and she reckoned two ponies hanging around her stall would be less suspicious than one.

The race had been a close one but she had taken the prize. She now knew for certain where Noteworthy lived and where he was taking Carrot Top tonight.

She had briefly considered warning him that the mare had ulterior motives, but if she had done so it would probably have scuppered her mission. It was a far better idea to scout the restaurant so she could work out what she was up to. Lyra would be able to step in to defend Noteworthy if there was any chance of him being in danger.

He came across as quite the gentlecolt, although perhaps a little too proud of himself. If given a chance, he would probably turn out to be a nice guy.

But she wasn't interested. Once this job was done she would be leaving Ponyville, so there was no point in starting anything here.

Whooves' home was quite small, considering the importance of his job. He was lead doctor at the Ponyville surgery and was responsible for its day-to-day management, along with Nurse Redheart.

But then, he never had been interested in material comforts. This little cottage was all he needed. Lyra knocked on the door and he answered swiftly.

"I thought I'd be seeing you at some point today," he said warmly.

Lyra grinned widely, flashing her teeth: "I want to hear all about last night. How'd you get on with Twilight Sparkle?"

"I'll admit, it took me longer than it should have to realise you were trying to set us up," he said, "Come on inside."

"Do you mind if we talk on the way to market? My larder's just about empty and I want to make sure I get the best stuff. Unless, of course, the details of last night are too sordid to be aired in public?"

"Oh, not at all," he said, closing his front door, "Let's be on our way."

Lyra took to his side, stepping slightly too quickly for a walking pace due to her excited anticipation.

"So, go on," she said, "You two seemed to be getting on really well when I left you. What happened? Do you like her?"

"Twilight is… a very attractive pony. She's intelligent beyond her years, far more skilled than she gives herself credit for and has a kind of charming awkwardness about her. In all, she was good company and I greatly enjoyed our conversation."

Lyra slowed right down, her mouth curved down in disappointment. "There's a 'but' coming, isn't there?" she asked.

Whooves sighed. "I know you meant well, but it's just not going to happen. If the circumstances were different then perhaps I would be interested, but what with my work at the surgery and my other commitments… I'm afraid I just don't have time for a relationship."

"What circumstances? I mean, there's no reason why you shouldn't give it a go. Twilight's busy too but you're not at work all the time. Come on, doc," she nudged him in the side.

He wouldn't be swayed. He simply shook his head and apologised. Lyra frowned, upset, feeling she had let Twilight down somehow for even arranging their meeting.

"I hope you didn't lead her on," she said, "She's my friend and I don't want to see her getting hurt. If you didn't tell her last night that you're not interested, then you'll have to do it soon before she gets any ideas into her head. And let her down gently."

That last sentence had a warning edge to it. Whooves smiled, trying to alleviate the mood.

"You can rely on me. She'll be okay, don't you worry. When she grows a little more self-confidence, she'll have no end of admirers."

Lyra still wasn't happy but there wasn't much she could do about it. She sensed there was something more behind his reasons for not wanting to go out with Twilight, but he wasn't willing to reveal it and she wasn't going to press the matter.

Little did she know that part of the truth was there in plain sight, hidden in his cutiemark. The hourglass – he had always told everypony that it represented the old saying that time can heal all wounds, hence his chosen profession as a doctor. Its true meaning was far more complicated, and there was an added significance to the fact that the top half of the hourglass had almost drained completely dry of sand.

They arrived at the marketplace, which was busier than usual. Ponies milled around the various stalls selling all types of goods. Sugarcube Corner had a stall set up, with Mrs Cake offering out free samples to advertise its wares. Pinkie Pie had been trusted with the stall once, but never again – she had come back with an empty cart but had only sold half of the produce.

Other stalls included the one belonging to Bon Bon, a sweet store owner who was a casual acquaintance of Lyra's. The pair of them got on okay most of the time, but sometimes the white-coated mare had a bit of an attitude problem.

Carrot Top was set up alongside the Sweet Apple Acres stand, with her little sister Noi helping her for the first time. Unusually, the apple stand was being watched over by Big Mac and Applebloom. Applejack, the usual salespony, was nowhere in sight. Luckily, her younger sister was plenty loud enough to make up for her absence.

"Apples! Get yer apples here!" she cried, "We've got all kindsa apples! We got red ones, green ones, yellow ones, even a brown one – ah. Ew."

She picked up the rotting fruit by the stem and discreetly threw it away before launching back into her sales pitch.

"Fresh picked from the farm this morning, get 'em while they're juicy! Can't have a healthy diet without Sweet Apple's finest!"

Noi, a slightly younger filly with a yellow coat and an orange mane, stepped out into the street.

"Vegetables. Vegetables for sale." she said, slightly nervous at the prospect of shouting out in public.

Applebloom was just about the only pony who heard her, and she took pity on the little pony.

"No, no, no. Yer doing it wrong," she said, putting a hoof on Noi's shoulder, "Ya gotta shout so y'can get everypony's attention. Like this. APPLES! GET YER APPLES HERE!"

The younger filly winced and put her hooves over her ears. Applebloom tilted her head and looked at her, perplexed.

"You're never gonna sell anythin' if ya can't shout. Go on, just give it a go," she said.

Noi put on a look of determination and trotted over to the nearest pony, who just so happened to be Lyra. She looked up at the older pony and said: "Vegetables. Um, would you like to buy some vegetables? They're very tasty."

"Aww," Lyra said, smiling, "Of course I will, little cutie."

A beaming smile slowly spread across Noi's face as Lyra trotted over to the stall. "My first sale! Yay!" she cried, rearing up on her hind legs, "Sis was right, this is easy! Vegetables! Get your vegetables here! They're yummy, and nutritious, and they were grown by the best pony in the whole of Equestria, my sister!"

A number of the ponies within earshot made a variety of "d'aaw" sounds and headed over to Carrot Top's stall.

Applebloom looked on in astonishment as the tide of customers turned away from the Sweet Apple Acres booth, then put her 'game' face on: "So ah've got competition now, is that it? Well bring it on, ah'm ready!"

She dashed over to Dr Whooves, who was just behind Lyra, and shouted: "You, sir! You look like you could do with some more apples in your life! Come on over to our stall!"

"You again?" he said, having been a previous victim of her aggressive sales tactics, "Well, okay then. Anything for an easy life."

He began walking over to the apple stand but a newly-confident Noi rushed up in front of him, holding up her hoof. "Wait, mister. Are you sure you wouldn't like some vegetables instead?"

Whooves hesitated, then said: "Ah… well, why not? Lead the way, little one."

Applebloom's mouth gaped at the sheer cheek of it. She had helped the little filly become a better salespony and now she was stealing her customers? This would not stand!

She grabbed Whooves by the leg: "Hold it right there! Y'all were comin' on over to our stand first!"

He began to turn round, then Noi grabbed another leg: "He wants to buy vegetables, because he knows vegetables are the best. My sister grew them, after all."

Applebloom gasped: "Your sister? My sister is the best grower in all of Equestria! He wants to come to my stall!"

Lyra chuckled as her friend got pulled this way, then the other by the two overeager fillies. She left her place in the queue – besides, there was no chance of her being able to talk to Carrot Top with this many ponies around – and walked past him.

"Come on, let's go buy some apples," she said.

"Aaw," Noi moped for a moment, then ran back out into the street, "Vegetables! Vegetables here!"

****

Lyra walked back to the marketplace a couple of hours later, after the area had calmed down a bit.

She had bought enough apples to keep her going for a couple of days, then headed back home with Dr Whooves. They'd chilled out for a bit and spoken a bit more about Twilight Sparkle, though he'd made it clear he wasn't interested. Lyra wanted him to go and tell her so, but he was reluctant. At no point in their conversation last night had Twilight actually spoken about her attraction to him, which made him unwilling to raise the matter just so he could dash her hopes.

Applebloom and Noi were chatting together in front of the stalls. The apple stall had sold out and there were only a few vegetables left.

"Ah'm telling you, apples are better. There are so many varieties and y'can do so much with them. Y'can juice'em, make cider outta them, turn 'em inta pie…"

"But we've got lots of different vegetables here and they all have their own flavour," said Noi, "And there are many varieties of each vegetable too."

Applebloom looked skyward, annoyed the other filly wasn't seeing sense: "But you only sell one type of each vegetable, so how's that make any difference? Besides, a lotta our apples taste different from each other, and some are real special. Ya never heard of Zap Carrots, have ya?"

Noi giggled. "That'd be silly. Just imagine if you bent down to pick one and it wasn't ripe yet. You might get struck by lightning!"

"Oh yeah! And then your mane might turn rainbow coloured! Imagine that…" she trailed off, her eyes widening as she was struck by a 'eureka' moment.

Carrot Top chuckled to herself as she listened in on their conversation, then called over to Big Mac: "I must say, it was so much easier having the young ones along today. They drew such a crowd that the food practically sold itself."

"Eeeyup," replied the stoic red stallion, busily packing away his stall.

"I've never seen you running the stall before," she said, looking up as Lyra approached, "Applejack's normally in charge."

"Eeeyup," he said. Lyra paused at Carrot Top's stall, scrutinising the leftover produce.

The orange-maned mare continued her one-sided conversation: "What's the matter with her? Couldn't she make it today?"

"Nope," Big Mac replied, his stall now fully packed up and ready to be taken away.

Carrot Top frowned. "Do you ever say anything other than 'yes' or 'no'?"

"Only when 'eeeyup' and 'nope' won't suhffice," he replied, "Applejack ain't here acuz she spent alla yesterday recovering from her hangover. That meant we had to do all her chores, so today she's doing ours."

"Oh yes, I heard about that," interjected Lyra, "The party at Canterlot. I don't think she was the only one suffering the next morning."

"Come along, Applebloom," said Big Mac, hooking his harness up to the stall so he could wheel it away. The young pony waved goodbye to Noi, promising that they'd find time to settle the apples/vegetables debate later.

Lyra looked over the meagre offerings that were left on Carrot Top's stall. "Is this all you have left?" she asked, putting on her best 'disappointed' face.

"I'm afraid so," she replied, "Though I do have another crop coming in a couple of weeks time."

"A couple of weeks? Really? That's an awfully fast turnaround," said Lyra, "How will you manage that? It looked like your garden had been picked clean this afternoon."

"Trade secret," she said with a wink, "But rest assured it's all natural and all grown by yours truly."

The green mint-coated pony regarded her with a suspicious eye and said: "Are you sure? Seems to me you'd have use magic to get your vegetables to grow so fast."

"Not a bad guess," she admitted, "But no – I have a small section of land in the Everfree Forest where I can grow a lot more than my garden allows for."

Lyra pretended to be surprised, though it was no great shock to her – Carrot Top had been employed by Celestia to keep watch over the forest, to ensure the creatures within stayed under control. It stood to reason she would have taken advantage of her position.

"But wouldn't the animals there eat them all?" she asked, "You couldn't tend to the crops all the time and it's dangerous out there, too."

"I have some help in that regard. You know that zebra who occasionally comes to town? When Ponyville opened up trading links with her, I noticed the opportunity to expand my business operations and struck up a deal. She uses her skills to keep my crops safe in exchange for a share of the profits."

So she's working in partnership with Zecora, thought Lyra. That's something to follow up on later – perhaps that zebra's also involved in whatever it is she's planning.

She bought a selection of vegetables and set off home to check them out. The thought had suddenly struck her that they could have been altered in some way, either through poison or magic. She intended to analyse them to ensure the residents of Ponyville were in no immediate danger.

Meanwhile, Carrot Top began to pack away her things. Noi hopped over to see if she could help.

"It's alright, I have it covered," her big sister replied, then pulled her close for a hug, "Thanks ever so much for your help today. You did a great job."

"Yay! I did, didn't I?" she cried, "I'm a vegetable seller now, just like you."

The older pony smiled happily, carefully stacking the remaining vegetables to one side as she dismantled the upper part of her stall.

The filly looked around furtively, hopped in close and whispered: "Are you still going on that date tonight? With that bad pony?"

The smile froze on Carrot Top's face. This was a part of her life she didn't want her sister involved in but felt she had to keep her informed about, even if she was twisting the truth when she did so.

"That's right, Noi," she said, her voice low, "But don't worry. I'll be safe."

"I hope so," the filly replied, "I don't want anypony messing with my big sister."

"Now don't you worry. I'm going to fine. I'll stop that bad pony and Equestria will be safe," said Carrot Top, feeling a pang of guilt, "Everything will be alright."

****

Horte Cuisine's restaurant was busy tonight, which suited Lyra's purposes perfectly. She took a table tucked away in a corner of the room, partially obscured by a plant but offering a good view of the entire restaurant. From here, she would be able to spy on Carrot Top and Noteworthy's date.

The vegetables that she bought earlier had been totally clean – there were no signs of any contamination. Whatever Carrot Top's plan was, it obviously centred on Noteworthy in some way.

A waiter walked up to her table – it was the proprietor himself. He was in his usual attire of a collar and bowtie, with his dark blue mane slicked back with gel and his eyebrow permanently arched in a show of assumed sophistication.

"A menu, madame?" he asked, handing one over as Lyra nodded, "And will you be having anything to drink tonight?"

"Just a glass of water please," she said, half-heartedly scanning through the fare on offer.

"A glass of water. Of course." It was difficult to tell whether he was speaking with contempt or if that was just his natural tone of voice.

The unicorn spy set down the menu and looked out across the restaurant. She had arrived early and her targets hadn't arrived yet. That was fine, she could wait. She'd taken some reading material with her to pass the time.

But the minutes rolled on by without any sign of the ponies she was looking for. In the time that passed, she ordered soup, waited for it to almost go cold, drank it at such a slow pace that it was cold by the time she had finished, then stayed reading at her table until Horte Cuisine began showing signs of impatience.

"Will there be anything else, madame?" he asked, "Or would you like the bill?"

Lyra opened up her saddlebag and paid him for the soup, then asked to see the dessert menu.

She was worried. She should probably have lurked around Carrot Top's house beforehand but she had worried that would have been too conspicuous. It was getting late now and it seemed more and more likely that Noteworthy and his date would not be coming here tonight.

Horte Cuisine passed her the dessert menu and she looked through it. There was a selection of mouth-watering treats but she had no appetite for them. What if Carrot Top had invited him inside first? Why exactly had she been so interested in him?

Her thoughts were interrupted as another pony took a spot opposite her on her table.

"Hello, Lyra."

The mint-green unicorn gasped at the sound of her true name. Everypony in Ponyville only knew her by her assumed name of Heartstrings.

She put down her menu to see Berry Punch, who had a confident smile and a look in her eyes that betrayed her dark intentions.

"You thought your identity was safe, didn't you? Don't answer – I can see it in your face," she said, "I've been keeping tabs on you for days. I know everything about you."

Lyra recovered from her surprise quickly. She wasn't one to be intimidated so easily. She narrowed her eyes and leaned forward: "Berry Punch. What do you want? What are you doing here?"

The purple earth pony laughed. "Well, dinner for one thing. This is a restaurant, after all. I saw you over here all on your lonesome and thought you could do with some company. So, let's talk."

"There's obviously something you want to say, so why don't you just get to it?" she said carefully, determined not to give anything anyway.

"Ooh, I like a pony who knows what she wants. Straight down to business, no small talk or anything" said Berry, licking her lips, "I can be direct too."

She put her front legs on the table and pulled her face close to Lyra, her voice lowered to a harsh whisper: "I know what you're doing here. I know what your mission is. And I'm telling you now, I'm giving you only one warning – back off."

She allowed some time for her words to sink in then settled back into her original position, aware of the fact that Horte Cuisine was walking over.

"Miss Punch! Always a pleasure to see you," he said, "I was unaware that you two were friends."

"Hey, nice to see you," said Berry, her expression suddenly lightening, "Yeah, we were catching up on the latest gossip. I've just let Heartstrings here in on a particularly juicy secret."

Horte Cuisine allowed himself a grin, aware of the shenanigans Berry usually got up to. "Nothing too scandalous, I hope?"

"You know a lady never tells," she said, holding a hoof to her chest. She spotted the wry look in his eye and took on an expression of mock indignity. "I saw that. I hope you're not implying that I'm not ladylike."

"The thought never crossed my mind, I assure you," he said, "Would you like anything to order?"

"Oh, I think I'll go for the ice cream sundae with a splash of brandy," she said with a wink, "I'm feeling naughty today."

The waiter smiled, gave Lyra a look that said 'good luck', then took her menu and walked away.

Berry Punch's expression darkened again as the two new-found enemies stared each other down across the table.

"If you think you can frighten me, you're mistaken," said Lyra, "I've never backed down for anypony, least of all a drunken lush like yourself. I don't care what you know."

"So we're trading insults already? You wound me, Lyra, really, you do," she said with a smile. Then her eyes narrowed again and she spoke with a growl: "You don't really think you'll win, do you? Ha. Princess Celestia's best against the forces of Nightmare Moon. There's only one way this is going to turn out. We always win in the end."

The young unicorn struggled to prevent herself from revealing her emotions. Her last major mission before coming to Ponyville had set her against Nightmare Moon and her memories of it still affected her.

"You don't frighten me," she repeated, keeping her voice calm, "You say you're watching me? Well, now you've got my attention. You'll regret that."

She left the table and marched out of the restaurant, keeping her pace steady so as not to betray any sign of weakness.

Berry Punch watched her leave. Her warning had gone unheeded – she had expected that would be the case.

Despite herself, she had to admit that Lyra had hidden her identity well. She would never have suspected her true intentions without the information she had gathered from an inside source.

She was pretty good-looking as well, Berry thought. Why did the cute ones always have to pick the wrong side?

****

Noi was still awake. It had been dark for hours now but no matter how hard she tried to clear her thoughts, she couldn't help but worry about her sister.

The way she had described it, this Noteworthy character sounded really dangerous. A super-intelligent inventor who cared only about himself – he might even be too much for her to handle.

She spent a few more minutes staring at the ceiling, then decided it was no use. She had to do something, play a game, read a book – anything to keep her mind occupied.

Noi hopped out of bed, her hooves causing the wooden floorboards to creak. The house was eerily quiet whenever she was alone at night, which was thankfully rare. She was big enough to take care of herself now – well, at least for a few hours – but the silence still creeped her out.

The light switch was too high for her to reach without stretching up on her hind legs and she lacked the energy. Instead, she made her way through the dark and into the upstairs hallway, where she met with a shock.

There was a light on downstairs.

Her sister always made sure to turn the lights off to make sure they didn't waste energy. 'Always leave a room as you found it' was one of her mottos.

Nervous now, Noi slowly took the steps down, eyes focused on the source of the light – the kitchen. As she neared the end of the stairs, she poked her head round the banister and saw a pony – still, unmoving – with her face down on the table. A pony with an orange mane and a yellow coat. Carrot Top!

Noi gasped with shock and rushed over to her sister's prone body…

And Carrot Top raised her head, slightly bleary eyed, a wine glass still in her hoof and a half-empty bottle next to her on the table.

"Oh. Noi. What are you doing up?" she asked, her voice holding a tone of tired indifference.

"Me? What happened with you? Did you see the bad pony?"

A guttural growl rose from her throat and she stood up straight, albeit a little tipsily. "Noteworthy," she said, her voice rising in pitch as she continued talking, "Noteworthy! He stood me up! Me! Can you believe it?"

Noi gasped: "He stood you up? How dare he?! How could he… um, wait. What does that mean?"

"He never turned up! I was here, dressed up to the nines, and he had the gall, he had the nerve, to not show up. So I waited, and waited, then I got bored and decided to have a little something to drink. Time passed, he still wasn't here and I'd finished the first bottle so I cracked open another and, well, here you find me."

She began pacing the kitchen, anxiously flicking her mane. "How could he do this to me? I'm an attractive mare, aren't I? He couldn't possibly have found a better offer, could he? Oh Noi, I'm simply in bits!"

The filly tapped her chin thoughtfully for a moment, then said: "Maybe he knew you were after him."

Carrot Top stopped dead in her tracks. "No," she shook her head, trying to laugh off the idea, "No, not possible. I've given him no reason to suspect anything."

"But you said it yourself, you're a pretty pony. The only reason he wouldn't show up is if he knew you were out to get him."

Her older sister paused to think. Perhaps there was something in what she was saying. Given his background, he had to have some degree of intelligence. But if he did suspect the truth, it was likely that he would do anything to stop her mission.

Which meant that Noi could be in danger. If it came to that, Carrot Top might be left with no other choice than to abandon her cause – and she couldn't do that. She couldn't fail her leader.

No, she would have to rethink her strategy. Her prerogative now was to find out if Noteworthy suspected her and, if so, neutralise him as swiftly as possible. She would have to keep him under surveillance, but how…

Wait! His home was close to Twilight Sparkle's library. Carrot Top had business to carry out there as well. She would have a clear view of his house through one of Twilight's windows.

If all went well tomorrow, she would be able to kill two birds with one stone.