Drinks Are On Us

It had been three days since that intense standoff between AJ and the mare from Canterlot. Word had gotten around, and the air was clouded with speculation that the two would clash once more in the very near future. That was what Berry had told Twilight anyways.

Twilight Sparkle, walking down the street with a basket of groceries, was deep in thought. Despite being the local princess, she was not exactly able to shove and impeach someone based purely by the gut feelings of a few close friends. No matter how much she trusted those friend's opinions.

"I'm sorry girls," she had told them. "But unless the two of you can get me some hard evidence of wrongdoing, I can't even lift a finger to stop this. On the surface, it's a legitimate business. And there's nothing wrong with that."

AJ had left, grumbling compliance, while Berry restated her intention to keep her ear to the ground. And that's how it had been ever since then, with Twilight having been left in her castle, with thoughts bouncing around in her mind.

The thought that had finally drifted to the surface was ... just because they seem to be a legit business... doesn't mean I can't look into them.

And so on this third day, she had Spike send a formal records inquiry into Canterlot's business registry office via dragonflame. While they waited for the reply, she had taken the advantage of the lull to break from her spell research, to do a little shopping in town.

It was in fact during this return trip back home when she got the biggest scare she'd had in a long while.

"Pssst. Twilight?"

The words had never reached her ears. Instead, she had registered them right at the base of her horn. The words had not been spoken, but instead transmitted, at a frequency which only a unicorn's horn could capture and perceive.

Instantly she was on guard, wings flaring as she looked about. "W-Who's there?! Show yourself!"

"Twi, Twi, please, calm down, it's me, Lemon. I think I'm being watched."

The alicorn straightened herself up, regaining a measure of calm, and then lit her horn, transmitting on the same frequency. "Lemon? What's wrong? Where are you, who do you think is watching you?"

"I'm over in the alley to your right. I'd... kinda like to join you in your castle. There's something I need to show you."

Twilight looked over. Sure enough, there was a pony in the shadows there, in a hoodie with the hood drawn up and over, only a yellow horn visible. The alicorn quickly waved her over, casting her eyes about for anything suspicious, senses now on high alert from her school friend's words.

They walked together, in silence. Though nothing made a move, the shadows cast by the cloudy day overhead kept the both of them on-edge. It wasn't until they had reached the crystal castle doors and rushed inside when Lemon put her hood down, and embraced her old friend in a hug. Relieved, Twi returned it... and then found herself quirking an eyebrow as she felt two sizable masses press into her chest.

"Okay Lemon," she spoke, letting her go. "We're safe in here. Tell me, what's going on? Who's watching you?"

"Ponies from Taps, I think." she replied, hands going down to pull her hoodie off. "You know I got hired by them, right?"

"I remember hearing about that, yeah."

"Did you know that all 'waitress employees' had to undergo magic augmentation too?" The hoodie was pulled... and then caught, around her bust. The purple princess had to do a double-take, she didn't remember Lemon Hearts having been that big before. A suspicion bubbled in the back of her mind.

"No, I didn't know... are those part of it?"

"You have no idea." The hoodie was dropped onto the floor, allowing Twi to see that she was wearing a green t-shirt underneath. And even that was tight, hugging around her bosom. What were once simple Cs had suddenly become near F-cups. The unicorn knew what was being stared at, and she gestured at them.

"These, are the secret of Taps. They don't want their employees talking about it, but there's no way that I can keep quiet about this. That's why I think I was bein' watched, and why I was trying to be sneaky."

"... w-well, then, what is it? I mean... obviously they made you bigger... way bigger than before, but...?"

"It's not just the size." Lemon enthused, now proceeding to lift the shirt itself up and over her bust, treating her friend to an unfettered view of her swollen breasts. And they looked swollen. Firm, jutting out of her ribcage, with no hint of sag. No need of a bra either. "They changed them. It's their gimmick. The 'Taps' in Taps, are us. It's these. My breasts, have become taps."

And with that, she brought a hand up to stroke the side of one of her breasts. To Twilight's amazement, the darkened nipple on that breast began to leak profusely. Leaked a fluid that was a bright, sweet yellow, the aroma of lemon rising sharply in the air.

"Lemonade." the unicorn stated, before biting her lip as those yellow mounds swelled even bigger at the word. "My breasts are making lemonade."

"So THAT's the big secret!"

"That's what it looks like." Twilight answered AJ's outburst, pacing back and forth between her, Berry, and Lemon, the latter of whom was now sitting topless in the castle library with a purple glow suffused around her breasts. "All employees of Taps have undergone a magic augmentation, that causes their breasts to begin producing a beverage of some sort, set during the casting process. The waitresses then serve their clientele directly 'from the tap', as it were."

"It's a glorified titty bar." Berry exclaimed, rubbing the side of her head. "Why have a drink in one hand and a tit in the other, when you can have both at the same time?"

"Alternative experience indeed." Applejack spat, taking her hat off. "They didn't warn you about this? Nothin' in that contract you signed?"

Lemon had shrunk in on herself as the tirade had gone back and forth. "The... th-the contract was... really big, and dense. I didn't exactly read it all the way through..."

Twi's eyes narrowed. "I know that trick. More than likely they made it that way on purpose, to overwhelm signees and intimidate them into signing anyway, without realizing what all exactly they're agreeing to."

"W-well..." the yellow unicorn appeared to be fighting to defend her decision. "Once it was done, I didn't exactly mind. I kinda... found it neat, to be honest." She rotated her shoulder, looking down at her bust. "I get to see what it's like to be top-heavy, and I get to make lemonade without the need to harvest and manually squeeze the lemons. And it is my personal recipe! When summer comes back around, I'll be able to make a killing with these-"

"If, Taps lets you." AJ reminded. "Yer gonna be servin' it workin' there anyways. They could slap a big ol' fine on you if y' try t' sell it anywhere else."

She found herself wordless after that. The alicorn took the lull to speak back up again, gesturing to the display she had conjured. "There's one other thing about the nature of this spell itself, that I think you two will find interesting."

She pointed at a jagged line that consisted of many sharp dips and rises. "This waveform, is obviously artificial, trimmed for efficiency. But when overlaid with the waveform of the Wish magic that's affected the both of you..." A more fuzzy wave appeared on the screen, and was then superimposed on top of the sharper one.

"... they match up." Berry replied, impressed. "So that mare is using the same kind of magic that the well uses?"

"Almost. What she's done is made a duplication, and then trimmed it down to make it more efficient. I can see wave grafts there and there that allow her to set the produce type too... though they're a little clumsy, if you ask me."

The apple mare laughed. "Clumsy, her?"

"She may be a sharp business mare. But she obviously never attended Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns." She allowed a hint of smugness to grace her smile. "I can see other grafts here and there that seem to have been experiments, but overall don't change anything, in the area that dictates production speed."

"Speed?" Lemon spoke up once more. "Just about all of the Taps employees make the same amount at the same pace."

"Hence the theory that I'm about to put forth." The alicorn turned to face all three of them. "Vanilla Vodka has, at some point in time, run into a mare who had been 'gifted' by the well. She copied the spell waveform, customized it to an extent, made it efficient... enough so to make it cast-able by a unicorn, namely, herself. She can set the produce type, and the trigger word, but she cannot set other factors, such as the production amount whenever the trigger is spoken, or the amount passively produced over a period of time. Things which I believe she could be able to do, had she taken the time."

"However, like I said, she was a businessmare first. She took her spell, and with it, began her alternative bar experience. She's not looked back since, but I believe that she may be still on the lookout, for other mares affected by the well."

Berry and AJ looked at each other. "Natural Talent." the wine mare replied.

"Exactly." Twi continued. "As Lemon just said, and this waveform corroborates, she and presumably all other Taps employees, produce at about the same rate. Berry, you yourself, produce on a slightly higher level than Lemon does. While Applejack, compared to the both of you, produces on orders of magnitude even higher."

Lemon Hearts found herself gaping as this was said, looking back and forth between the two mares. "S-so... so that means, you two... when Vanilla said you had natural talent, she meant that...?!"

Applejack put her hat back on, tilting it to cover her eyes, allowing Berry to do the talking. "That's right. We've been producing long before Miss Goldilocks ever showed her face in this town."

"The well is the key, it seems." Twilight spoke again. "Because of it's nature, using wish magic, it can set production rates willy-nilly. And even with this copied spell that she has, she's going to be seeking out those who can make more than her spell can. Every businesspony always drives towards higher output with less cost."

"So that's why then." AJ leaned back, a hand on her hip. "And she knows ah'm one. Ah thoughts things were off-kilter b'fore, but this here takes th' pie."

"The question being, should we be worried about her coming after us?" Berry replied, looking up. "Lemon, what do you think... Lemon?"

The unicorn was not responding. She was staring down at her breasts, eyes glazed over slightly, quietly whispering 'Lemonade' to herself, and then letting out a giggle every time her bust swelled and leaked. It took Twilight placing a hand on her shoulder to snap out of it. "Wh-what?! Oh... W-well, I don't know about going after you. But this isn't all that bad, I don't think... it opens in a couple days, anyway. You could always join in!"

The apple mare made a dismissive sound, as the alicorn released the yellow mare's bosom from her magic's hold, helping her onto her feet. "Why don't you go empty in the bathroom? I've gotta talk something over with these two anyway."

She nodded, gathered her clothes, and padded out of the library. It was only after she was out of earshot, when Twilight gestured to the display again. "Miss Vanilla also made one other alteration to the spell, that's not in the original one. Rather tacked on and messy... but effective."

That got their attention. "What is it?"

"An exaggerated endorphin release, coinciding with triggered production." She pointed to a few lines in the middle of the graph. "This, simply put, makes you feel really, really good whenever your production is triggered. Enough so that I feel it may become rather... habit-forming."

"... you mean like, addictive?" Berry exclaimed, incredulous. "Why's she need to add that? I can't speak for AJ, but I admit to getting a rise every now and then out of being triggered. Why would you need to enforce it?"

"Maybe it makes 'em easier t' handle." AJ replied, a scowl on her face. "They don't read th' contract. They get th' alteration put on 'em. They're shocked, but it starts feelin' good. Pretty soon, they're thinkin' 'Oh this ain't so bad after all'. And then they carry on none th' wiser."

The wine mare made a face. "Twilight, NOW can we bring this up with the folks upstairs? All this is looking pretty shady."

"You know it, and I know it." she replied. "... I'll start making a case. This classifies as willful employer negligence, easily. I had Spike send in an inquiry earlier anyway, so whatever turns up from that end, I think I can add to the list against them. There's only one problem with filing it as such..."

"And that is?"

The alicorn looked out the door where Lemon had left. "That it needs to be claimed by an employee, under Taps. And anypony under Vanilla's spell, is probably not going to be raising any complaints..."

There was an unspoken plan in those words. It would be a few seconds before anypony spoke up next. And when they did, it was Berry who beat AJ to the punch.

"... I wanna wait and see the place in full swing first. After that... count me in."

In the end, around 12 mares from around Ponyville itself signed up with Taps. And it was to great fanfare that they all posed, outside the shop, as Vanilla Vodka herself cut the big red ribbon. "Taps Ponyville, is now open for business!"

The building had taken on a gleaming white art-deco exterior, with red trim, invoking its earlier incarnation as a soda shop. Even the mares themselves, in full uniform, were wearing short-sleeved white blouses with colored piping that were reminiscent of soda jerks, paper hats and all. Their fronts were button-ups, said buttons few in number, with telling creases from shoulder to hem on how they were to be opened. In some mare's cases, the buttons were straining obviously, as if they couldn't wait to burst free. A simple pleated short skirt, same color as their piping, completed their ensembles.

Berry shifted just a little in line as they were slowly filtered inside. There were a pair of burly stallions in black at the door, performing the age-old tradition of ID checking, visual deterrent, and if need be, bouncer. When it came her turn, she gave one of them a flirtatious wink. That they did not even twitch told her the level of their experience. Or what side of the street they prefer.

Once allowed in, she took a moment to gain her bearings. The lighting inside was dimmed, tinted a pale shade of blue. A sign right in front of the door announced cheekily 'We won't blab if you won't!' Patrons were milling about, talking among themselves, though more often than not, they were grouped up around a couple of waitresses. Said waitresses were carrying around trays of glasses, filled with ice, and nothing else. They didn't need anything else.

And there was the well. The plaster one, that she had seen those few days ago. It was sitting in the middle of the floor, and she saw now that it was a raised platform, complete with a pole that extended all the way up to the ceiling. It was attached to a runway that disappeared behind a curtain embedded in the rear wall. No prizes guessing on what that's for.

From a distance, she watched as a trio of stallions waved a mare in orange piping over. She sauntered over, traded a few words with them, and then, slowly, unbuttoned her shirt, allowing pale yellow spheres to drop into the open. They took a couple of glasses from her tray, held them under her nipples, and, she could tell from here, they started chanting something. The mare tilted her head back with a smile as her mammaries swelled, before spraying into their glasses a fizzy, orange substance. When they were full, the stallions sipped their glasses warily. Eyes lit up, they traded glances among themselves and their host, and then raised their glasses to her, each one producing a handful of bits that disappeared into a hip-purse, if not down her shirt itself.

Berry watched the mare button her shirt back up. And then she tried to not goggle in surprise as the mare turned around to reveal herself to be Sweetie Sunrise.

"Sweetie!" she called out, making her way towards the pegasus.

The aforementioned pony paused, her face lighting up as she recognized her friend, though her eyes had that same dazed look that she'd seen on Lemon a few days before. "Oooooh, hey Berry! Glad that yoooou could join us!" she greeted, her words coming out strangely slurred.

"Sweetie, hey, long time no see." She looked her over, barely noticing that she had a nametag on her uniform's left breast. "You okay, filly? You're not... erm, looking all that hot."

The mare waved a hand, tossing her red locks. "Oh I'm fiiiine. In fact, I don't think I've ever been better! This is like... wow. The stallions dig me, mare." Her smile broke into a grin as she took a glass of ice from her tray, offering it to Berry. "Hey... you thirsty? How about a nice tall glass of... Sunriiiiise Soda!" She then proceeded to giggle, as below her nose, her bust swelled up, cleavage showing between the buttons. "I know how you usually are, you naughty mare, you."

On the contrary, the wine mare was finding herself increasingly less thirsty the more of her friend's loopy attitude she observed. "That's... I-I'm fine, Sweetie. I'm just takin' a look around right now. New place and all that, you know."

"Suit yourself!" Sweetie replied, setting the glass back on the tray. "I know somepony's gonna wanna taste of me soon!"

"Sweetie... this is gonna sound weird, coming from me, but are you sure about all this? I mean... the money's one thing. But you, walking around, showing your tits off. Is this really you?"

"Berryyyyyy... I don't think I've ever been more me than I am right noooow." She bent over and pressed her arms together, treating the purple pony to a view of her cleavage, her beckoning expression marred by glazed eyes. "C'mooon filly. Dunno what you're worried about. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me~"

Berry didn't know how to respond to that. She was saved by another group of ponies waving at Sweetie. "Oop, 'scuuuuuse me Berry. Duty calls. I'll catch up to yooooou later!" And with that she sauntered off, in her own personal fog of bliss, leaving her friend in a doubtful state.

All around her, the waitresses beamed smiles, unbuttoned their shirts, and dispensed their produce. Some were brighter-eyed than others, but yet more were walking around with the same dazed expressions as Sweetie was wearing, non-the-wiser to what their work was doing to their brains. And here was Berry, a lone island in it all, for once in her life unsure as to what she should be doing...

She spied a lifeline in the form of an actual bar, aligned on the right wall of the establishment. She made a beeline for it, and took a stool for herself, investigating still. Despite the main attraction of mares that lactated beer, wine, and soda, the shelving behind the bar was surprisingly stocked with all manner of spirits and tonics, many of which were familiar to her. And even curiouser, there was a shelf that was dedicated to a long line of bottles. all with the same white labeling, all proudly announcing themselves as 'Taps'-brand refreshments, each bottle containing a different beverage...

"Hey again, Berry. Just can't beat the classics, huh?"

She looked up to see another familiar face, that of Lemon Hearts, manning the bar. Her uniform was in yellow piping, and her button was straining as well. A look revealed that she too had a nametag... a nametag that read simply 'Lemonade'.

"Yeah... was feelin' a little out of my element just standing out there." she joked, resting her elbows on the countertop. "If there was a rave, that'd be another story."

Lemon laughed. "There's supposed to be a show later tonight. Very triple-X, no-foals allowed. Y' might wanna stick around for that." She looked at her, and Berry found herself relieved to see that her eyes were not clouded at all. Even then, she found herself bracing a bit when she asked "So... can I getcha anything?"

She looked at the display shelf, back to the unicorn, back again, her brain working. At length, she decided to be polite, asking first. "I know it's the whole point of this place, but I just wanna make sure... I know, surprising, right? Is it really okay if I ordered something, from you?"

The yellow mare shrugged. "It's cool with me, Berry. I know you and AJ got some doubts, but I can personally say, it is A-okay by me if you wanted some of what I've got, right here~" She gave her bust a little shimmy.

Berry nodded, before sighing and plunging on ahead. "Think you can mix me up a hard cherry lemonade then?"

Lemon smiled, eyes lidding as her bosom swelled up a few more cupsizes. Without wasting any time, she retrieved an iced cup, unbuttoned her shirt, and let her heavy jugs spill forth, taking one and draining it with some speed into the glass. A splash of spirits and grenadine later, and the punch pony soon found herself sipping away from the glass with relish.

"Mmmm... okay, now that, is tasty. My compliments to the mare."

"Heh, aww, thank you Berry." she replied, fastening her shirt up again with only a little effort. "In case you missed it, prices are fills by the cup. That means refills too, so, just so you know."

"Noted." her friend replied, turning in her seat and watching the hubbub. It was only after a minute or so of silence when she spoke again, in a hushed whisper. "Hey... Lemon?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't wanna scare you, or anything, but... have you noticed that most of the waitresses here seem to be... not-exactly firing on all cylinders?"

There was another long pause before she got a reply. "... yeah, I have. Especially Sweetie. Ever since we got hired, she's... not exactly been herself."

"Yeah, I met her earlier. She's about gone off the deep end." She turned to look at Lemon again. "Twi said there's something extra in your 'alterations', that might be the reason why."

That got her attention. "O-oh what? Really?"

"You noticed it feels really good whenever you get triggered to produce?"

"... y-yes. Yes, it does." she replied, looking down at her straining outfit. "It feels really good. Like... amazingly so. But I don't see-"

"Listen to me, filly. I know where you're coming from. Remember, we're in the same boat." she tossed her a wink. "But you can't let it get the better of you. Keep a clear head, is all I'm sayin'."

"... alright, Berry. Is... is something going on? I-I mean, I was there when Miss Vanilla and Applejack got in that fight, and they might have sneaked the contract past me... a-and I thought that they were spying on me, but since then I figured I was just being silly... I mean, they're not really doing anything bad... are they?"

She didn't reply for the longest time.

"C'mon Applebloom, slow down!"

"Sorry sis!" the red-headed filly called out, turning around and jogging in place. "But if we don't hurry, we're gonna be late! Miss Minuette makes the best potato pouches, and they're even better when they're fresh and hot!"

"An' what, pray tell, is wrong wit' mah apple pocket pies?" AJ asked in mock indignation. All she got for her trouble was a raspberry.

The pair were heading down the street towards Berry Punch's house, for a multitude of reasons. The first and most obvious had been a dinner invitation from the wine mare herself, claiming to be in need of a good home-cooked family dinner. The second reason was that Ruby and Bloom both had yet another shared school assignment, and were going to be studying after dinner. The third, and most important reason, was that they were going to be discussing their next step.

Such heavy thoughts were not for now however, as the two mounted up the steps to Berry's house. Bloom only had to ring the buzzer once, the door opening almost immediately to reveal a young unicorn filly. "Hey Bloom! Miss Applejack! Come on in!"

"Hey Ruby!" the yellow pony greeted, stepping in and taking her backpack off. "Are you ready for tonight? Ah remembered th' books this time, and th' compass."

"Sure thing! Just take 'em upstairs, leave'em in my room. Dinner's almost ready." Ruby Pinch replied, jerking a thumb to the staircase behind her. As the filly disappeared up them, she took the time to study Applejack for a second. "... Wow."

"Huh?"

"Mom was right. You're packin' some serious luggage up top." She shifted her weight to one foot, her expression changing from wide-eyed foal, to something more befitting a mature, confident mare. "If you need t' empty, Mom's got her pumping stuff set up down in the basement, next to the wine racks."

"I-I, what?" The farmmare was finding herself taken off-guard. "O-Oh, right, she did tell me you knew... she told you about me too, huh?"

"Actually it was Bloom. Seems Mom told her about herself, and then suddenly it was like we were cousins." She rolled her eyes. "Your sister's great, but for Celestia's sake she couldn't have picked a more awkward topic to cheer about."

"I seee... ah'm gonna have t' have a talk with her 'bout that."

"That's not all you're gonna have to talk with her about."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Didja know she almost tore her shirt in class today? All she did was just bend backwards."

"Oooooh ah am not havin' this conversation."

"Yeah, I'm barely even an A. She's the one you need to be conversing with. I think she's a B, almost a C-"

"Fer cryin' out loud, yer only 7."

"Hey, I'll be 8 next month. And when my tits kick in, just you wait-"

"Okay ah'm back!" Applebloom announced as she bounced down the stairs. "Is dinner ready yet?"

"It's smelling like it!" Ruby's expression flicked like a light switch back to innocent young filly again. "C'mon, let's go check and see!"

"C'mon Applejack!" her little sister enthused, grabbing her hand and dragging. "Dinner awaits!"

Dinner was a raucous affair, made more so by the addition of the two apple ponies. Berry was in top usual form, a rosy tint to her cheeks, only flushed enough for her to laugh and snort at just about any joke or tale. Ruby chatted mostly with Bloom, though every now and then she'd join in the conversation with one of the adult mares, with a smile and gaze beyond her years.

And then, there was Minuette. AJ had only heard about her off and on, a timekeeping unicorn who traveled to and from Ponyville, to Canterlot and other places beyond. She learned later from Twilight that she was also a school friend of hers alongside Lemon Hearts. And the last thing she found out later, was that she was Berry's Marefriend.

"Gonna say." she was saying around a mouthful of perogie. "I've no idea of whether to be jealous of you two or not."

"Izzat so?" Berry crooned, leaning her head upon the unicorn's shoulder. "You seem to enjoy a few benefits every now and again~"

"Oh please." she snickered and shoved her away. "Only because I can't resist an offer coming from a pretty mare like you."

Ruby again rolled her eyes. Bloom huddled in her seat, unsure if she should be fascinated or not. AJ of course, simply continued. "Y' sayin' that if y'all had th' chance, you'd wanna 'produce' somethin' too?"

"Maybe. Like, if I woke up one morning and found myself oozing toothpaste, I don't think I'd complain."

Various noises of disgust sounded around the table. "Toothpaste, Othermama?" the smaller unicorn stuck out her tongue. "Good luck getting anypony on with that."

"Hey now." the wine mare hooked an arm around her lover's shoulders. "Even then, you could bet they'd come away with a clean smile!"

Yet more groans. The farmpony had to stifle a chuckle. "Ah don't think they'd let you serve that at Taps in any case."

"Ah-ah, she's not going." Berry waved a finger, squeezing the confused mare protectively. "I'm not letting Taps lay one finger on her. I'm the one who's marching into the lair of the beast, lest you forget."

"Oh Berry, please..." Minuette sat up straight, placing a hand of her own on the other's shoulder. "Do you really have to do this? I mean, I know Lemony's deep in it, but she's been getting her head stuck in things ever since we were fillies."

"Yes hon, I do." she replied. "It's not kosher. We've got evidence on it now too. And we're going to get more doing this. At very least, see if we can get miss balloon-bra's panties in a bunch."

"If anypony messes with her, Momma can kick their ass." Ruby announced confidently. "And if she gets her ass kicked, then Othermama'll completely screw them over. Either way, bad news for the bad guys."

"Your filly's a real firebrand, you know that, right?" AJ stated bluntly.

"Yup." Berry replied. "And I couldn't be more proud of her."

Applebloom was looking increasingly out of her field. "Uhm... A-Ah think ah'm full now. Cain't eat another bite. May ah be excused?"

There were nods, and as she stood, Ruby joined her. "Think I'm full too. We've got a long night of ancient history in store for us, anyways. Thanks Othermama, that was great, as usual~"

"Yes, that was delicious Miss Minuette! Thanks a bunch!"

The two fillies took their plates to the sink, and then headed past the table for the stairs. AJ found herself further amazed as the pink unicorn, for all her lackadaisicalness, stopped to hug both Berry and Minuette from behind, before catching up with Bloom. From there, she could just barely hear her sister ask 'What's 'Othermama?', and for the other filly to reply 'Oh I'm just getting a head start. One of them's bound to pop the question any day now...'

"... So?" Berry suddenly asked, looking at her. "What do you think?"

"... what, of yer house?"

"Kinda. I-I mean, I know you're big on family, and... w-well..." She was looking unusually bashful. The blue unicorn scooted her chair up against her lover's, and gently rubbed her back, before looking at AJ with questioning eyes of her own.

"... Well, ah cain't say it's like my family..." she began, her honest thoughts tumbling out of her mouth. "But, it don't look like a bad family. Honest... y' don't really need mah approval. Yer still hanging' together an' lovin' each other. And that, is what counts."

Both of the mares smiled at her words. Quietly, Minuette told her "Thank you."

"Y'all must get a lot of opinions from ponies... Ah didn't even realize." The blonde mare looked down at her drink. "If th' two of you ever need any help, with anything, y'all don't hesitate t' call me, alright?"

"We won't." the punch pony replied, straightening back up, before stretching. "Mmmngh... let's move onto something else. Either of you want coffee? I like to think I make a mean cup."

Before either of them could reply, the doorbell chimed again. The time pony jumped in her seat. "A-Are we expecting anypony else?"

"That'll be Twi an' Spike." AJ replied, getting up from the table. "I'll go ahead an' let 'em in. You get that coffee going. Ah take two lumps."

As Berry bustled, the freckled mare disappeared, only to return with an alicorn and a dragon in tow. They traded greetings amongst each other, as the former pony called out, "Hey you two! Coffee?"

"I'll take one, dark." Twilight replied, taking a seat and sighing. "It's gonna be a long night."

"I'll just stick with a cup of water, if that's okay." Spike added in, rubbing his neck. "Throat's kinda raw."

AJ tilted her head. "Awh, why's that?"

"It's all the correspondence that we've been having with Canterlot." Twi explained, rubbing her eyes, before spreading her arms wide. "We've been stonewalled, every step of the way. I've been form-lettered, rejected, and in one case I think, threatened. 'Cement Shoes' is not a euphemism for something, am I right?"

There was a low whistle from the kitchen. "Miss Big-Britches must have more moolah than I thought."

"That don't bode well." the farmmare rested her chin on her first, thoughtful. "That's straight-up Manehatten mob talk. You think that's where this is going?"

"I hope not." the princess groaned. "At any rate, we've not gotten anything out of the official registry and records that we can solidly add to our case. We're going to have to rely more on insider evidence instead."

"Hey, that's what I'm for." Berry arrived at the table again, with four mugs of coffee and a glass of ice water. Drinks thus arranged, she stared at her mug and then found herself wondering out-loud. "I wonder if there's a coffee pony. And if it'd come out hot. Hope she wouldn't get any burns!"

Spike opened his mouth as if to ask, but Twilight shook her head at him. Thus quieted, she then began. "So, let's go over this one more time. Berry, you plan on going in to meet with Miss Vanilla, and then revealing to her your condition as a 'Natural Talent'."

She nodded. "With me being a slight cut above the rest, she won't have any reason to lay any spells on me. Leaving me able to think clearly for myself."

"What y'all gotta find," AJ continued "is some solid evidence o' foul play. Workin' conditions. Y'all said it yerself, some of those gals ain't actin' like themselves. See if you can catch th' break lounge. Keep an eye open fer anythin' at all."

Berry nodded again, as Twilight reached into her pocket, and withdrew a multifaced gem from it. "This sapphire's been enchanted with a camera and tracking spell. Keep it on your person at all times. When you wanna take a picture, face the flat end towards the subject, and hit the red-colored facet once. Bring it back to me when you think you've got something, I'll pull the pictures off and develop them."

Minuette stuck her head into the huddle. "Are you sure you all have to do this? You're talking as if Berry's going to wind up vanishing down some pit, and I won't lie, that makes me nervous."

"Relaaax, honeybun." The wine pony stroked her marefriend's mane. "All I'm doin' is hitchin' a ride with the titty bar, sneakin' a few pics, and makin' a little extra moolah off Madam Moneybags herself. I don't think I'm gonna be in any serious bodily-"

Spike choked on his water and lurched, the mares surrounding him freezing. And then suddenly he belched out a gout of flame that swirled in the air, before congealing itself... into a folder.

With practiced expertise, Twi snatched it out of the air. "A last-minute correspondence, huh?" she murmured to herself, opening the folder. "Let's see what what we've got he-... o-oh..."

Curious, AJ got to her hooves and walked around to read over Twilight's shoulder. She was joined by Berry and Minuette a few seconds later, with Spike trying to peer in from the side. "W-what is it?... oh wow."

The folder was full of newspaper clippings. Each clipping was a missing ponies case report, all of them mares. In particular, one that was pasted front and center read...

'-MISSING MARE MAKES MONDAY MYSTERY- At approximately 1:30 Monday Morning, Canterlot local Strawberry Fields vanished off the face of Equestria. Friends of the mare said that she never arrived home last night, even though multiple eyewitnesses claimed they saw her leaving her place of employment not long before midnight...'

There was a post-it note paperclipped to the inside corner of the folder. Gingerly, the alicorn pulled it out and read it. 'Boss doesn't know I sent this. Strawberry was my mare. Do something, please. N. I. Real.'

"Oh my Celestia..." AJ breathed out, her eyes having finished the center article, now flickering to scan the others. "How long has this been going on?"

"What is it?" the dragon enthused. "What's going on?"

"Each an' every one o' them... Twi... Every one of these mares used to work at Taps."