Drastic Measures

by Nimnul

Rating: teen
Tags: Bon-Bon, Derpy Hooves, Slice of Life, Berry Punch, Lyra, Princess Luna, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 55746

Berry Punch leads a great life. But her daughter's sire suddenly takes an interest after never before seeing the filly. Berry knows he must have an ulterior motive, so she plans to confront him and, if necessary, make sure the past stays the past.

Berry Punch turned her life around and she knows two things:
1. Her life has never been better. She has great friends, and a much improved relationship with Ruby Pinch, her daughter.
2. She grew up a petty inner city criminal. Barely anypony knows, of course. Ponyville's problems tend to get solved by friendship, weaponized or otherwise, and if anypony did need to be roughed up, Berry was probably hung over at the time.

Berry is at peace. So what if she's a little rough around the edges? She's no crazier than her friends. However, her misspent youth and early adulthood seem to catch up to her when her daughter's sire sends a letter indicating that he wants to be part of his daughter's life. That stallion has never shown an interest, and Berry can't believe things are as simple as that. With help from her friends, she intents to get to the bottom of things, and tie up loose ends, if necessary.

It's only right to confide in Bon Bon and Lyra, after all. Bon Bon let Berry in on her past as a monster hunter in a surprising gesture of trust, and the other earth pony at least wouldn't judge Berry for her past.

Published 2016-04-11 23:00:02 UTC
Last updated 2017-07-23 11:04:37 UTC

Sudden Interest

"Girls, I got a problem." Berry Punch worked her jaw. Although she no longer drank alcohol, she was forever working phantom corks out of invisible wine bottles when something troubled her. Apple Bloom had once asked whether Berry was chewing cud, only to be reprimanded by Sweetie Belle for the rudeness.

The earth pony had interrupted a slow evening. Lyra had been idly playing her instrument while Bonny was reading a newspaper she hadn't had time to finish earlier in the day. Bon Bon had claimed the music did her good.

Bon Bon yawned as she looked up from her reading, but was immediately alert. "Well, let's hear it."

Berry shifted uncomfortably in place. "Pinchy's sire contacted me." She frowned. "He's got some nerve!"

"Uh-huh." Lyra put her lyre down while Bon Bon wandered off into the kitchen, followed by her dog. The inobstrusive service animal shadowed Bon Bon at practically all times. "Well, fill us in, then."

"Pan Flash. He's the type of stallion where you tell yourself afterwards that you really should have known better." Berry scrunched up her nose. "In hindsight, I dunno how I fell for him. He fancied himself a grifter but most of his scams fell apart on him. When Pinchy was born, I wanted to get away from Las Pegasus, he refused." The memory seemed to anger Berry, and she audibly ground her teeth. "I'd burned bridges, but when Pinchy came along my extended family was still willing to help me get out of the place so the filly'd have a better start in life."

"Why?" Lyra had had a very privileged start into life in Canterlot, but knew that Berry hadn't spoken very fondly of Las Pegasus. Since they weren't pegasi, it seemed sensible to look for a better life elsewhere.

Berry shrugged, but she still looked angry. "He accused me of having no loyality to our home. Letting down the gang. Big talk coming from him, he never stuck his neck out for anypony." Stomping a hoof, she declared, "He just didn't care about me or Pinchy! He always had some scams running and he just didn't want to leave that! He didn't even flinch when I told him to get bent and that I'd leave anyway."

"I'll take your word for it. So what does he want?"

"Wants me and Pinchy to come to Las Pegasus to talk about 'our future' and Pinchy's future. It's insane! We haven't talked since Pinchy was a couple of months old! He could have maybe apologized for being a waste of skin and asked nicely to maybe see his daughter, you know, have a dialogue, but no. He doesn't take an interest for over a decade and now he feels entitled?" Berry bared her teeth. "That scumbag is workin' some kind of angle or just wants to mess with me for leaving." Exhaling slowly, she added, "I'm not a real educated mare, you know that. But I can't imagine that he has a realistic chance of getting anywhere with this. He's got no hold on her. So why's he going about it like that?"

Berry had become downright phlegmatic after she'd been sober for a while. She'd claimed that one of the reasons she drank was to numb shame she had felt over her younger years as a street tough and petty thug. Now she ambled through life slowly, taking joy in her improved relationship with her daughter, and pride in the fact that she no longer drank alcohol.

The earth pony claimed to enjoy a good scrap. Lyra didn't mind that, because she knew Berry had a good heart, and she'd had a long time to get used to the fact that some ponies had to be fighters. Bon Bon had hunted monsters, and even Lyra's mother had claimed she'd fought back during the changeling invasion, enraged by the knowledge that her daughter was in danger at the castle. That it had been largely futile didn't change anything, really.

Bon Bon returned, pushing a serving cart with three glasses of cherry juice. "Seems to me like you might want to ask Twilight for legal advice. You know she'd make time for you. She likes to avoid distance to the citizens."

Lyra was surprised at the suggestion. Bon Bon wasn't a huge fan of Twilight Sparkle, to put things mildly. The earth pony hadn't shared everything, back then, but she'd somehow been certain who to blame for the Smarty Pants doll incident, and the loss of control had left her furious. The seeming lack of consequences, doubly so.

"Plus, y'know, having the princess in your corner has to have some weight, however subtle," Lyra agreed. She was, after all, on better terms with Twilight.

"I'm not stupid." Berry scowled. "I know that's the proper way to do it. But he'll expect that. He's not as smart as he thinks he is, but he's still pretty clever. S'why I think he's up to something. If he has the means to find out where I live, he's got to know I wouldn't be afraid to ask for help." She shook her head. "I wanna nip this in the bud right away before it turns into any big drama that'll upset Pinchy."

"Well, maybe his intel is outdated." Bon Bon shrugged. It wasn't that long ago that Berry would have had difficulty working up the guts to talk to Princess Twilight. "So, you want to travel back there and give him a piece of your mind, or what? Still not quite seeing why you're coming to us with this."

Berry sighed heavily, and Lyra had rarely seen an expression quite so bleak on the earth pony. "I'm willing to be surprised. Maybe he turned into a decent stallion while I wasn't looking. But if I'm right and he's the same weaselly bastard as always, well ... the past's gotta stay the past. I don't want Pinchy mixed up in any of my old garbage and I'm prepared to tie up loose ends to make it happen."

"I see." Bon Bon nodded slowly. "Groundside, right? Might be dangerous. Heard street crime's bad in some parts."

"Maybe," the earth pony conceded. "Pissed off my share of other ponies my age, growing up. I'm not worried about some thugs having a go at me, though. Still, things might not turn out quite right." Berry chewed her lip. "Y'know, I been mulling this over. If anything happens to me ... could I name you two as legal guardians? I don't ever want Pinchy going back west. Not to Pan, not to my mom, never. This is home. Everything she knows is here."

Lyra didn't know what to say, at first. The request was totally unexpected. Ruby Pinch was a smart, pleasant filly, sure enough, and Lyra was frankly surprised her own mother hadn't badgered her about giving her grandfoals in some way, but right now, it just made her worry about Berry's plans.

Berry continued. "You're a couple, you got a good business, and you said your parents were loaded, Lyra. It might need court approval, and you're a real respectable pick." More quietly, she added, "I was thinkin' Ditzy first, but she's a single mom, and already just making ends meet. Wouldn't go over as well with the courts, if it comes to it."

"That's so," Bon Bon agreed. "I wouldn't be much of a parent, though. You know that."

That was probably true, it hurt Lyra to admit even in the privacy of her head. Whatever Bonny had experienced as a monster hunter had left its marks, saddling her with periods of emotional numbness and other difficulties, nightmares not the least of them.

"I'm honored you'd ask us," Lyra stated, before being interrupted.

Berry jabbed a hoof towards Bon Bon. "You'd care. And you'd never hit a filly."

Well, that just reminded Lyra that Berry really had never spoken very fondly of her mother. Or at all, really. "Bonny ... I think we should say yes. It's just a precaution, right?" She couldn't really believe that it would become necessary, despite her worries. Berry had sobered up and was a decent pony, if she hadn't done something to lose custody while still drinking heavily, how would she now?

"Hmpf. Knew you'd say that." Bon Bon, although looking tired, offered Lyra a fond smile before addressing the other earth pony again. "Look, Berry. How about this? We'll take a nice trip to Canterlot on the weekend, introduce you to Lyra's parents, maybe talk it over with them. You'll love her mom." She frowned in thought. "I know a guy in Las Pegasus. Old gryphon, used to work with us. He won't be cheap, but he might be able to help. I'll write a letter."

Berry appeared curious. "I don't want to get anypony – anyone else in trouble. You know this bird, what's he got to offer?"

"Information, I expect. The Baron's always worried about some vague trouble from back home catching up to him, and once the agency was shuttered, he started worrying that somepony would want to slot the lot of us, too. Unless I really miss my guess he'll have a bunch of informants to keep tabs on anything that might look like trouble for him." After a moment, she added, "I'm certain that's just him being paranoid. Us old guard types aren't important enough to get rid off."

Bon Bon's earlier smile turned into a predatory grin. "And if he can't find anything about this stallion of yours? It just means he's such a small fry that no one important will care how you deal with him, and that whatever angle he thinks he's working isn't anything that'll stand up to real scrutiny. But he'll have expenses."

"Yeah, I hate asking my parents for money, but I guarantee my mom's gonna feel invested in this, and hey, they can afford to throw some bits our way for a good cause, I guess." Lyra shrugged. "So what's your plan for Las Pegasus? You know we could probably just hire a lawyer to write a proper letter back."

"Heh," Berry snorted, but her she didn't look amused. "I've got to make sure loose ends are tied up. I gotta hear, off the record, what his angle is." She sounded tired. "Feels like I didn't run far enough from Las Pegasus. All I wanted to do was to give Pinchy a proper life. I know I botched that already, but I can't ... I won't let this touch her. Even if he just wants to get at me, he's got no right to do it that way. Rub him out if I gotta."

The statement came as a shock to Lyra. Sure, Berry used to get into the occasional bar fight, but she'd always claim that wasn't serious. Lyra didn't like the casual way Berry had responded.

Bon Bon's expression hardened as she looked Berry over. "I'll be coming with you. Assess the situation, make sure whatever needs doing is done right."

"Bonny?" Lyra wasn't at all sure she liked Bon Bon's tone either.

"Not up for debate," Bon Bon all but snarled. Lyra saw Berry flinch in surprise. "Berry, go home, get sleep, I'll write those letters, we'll hit Canterlot on the weekend, then make plans for Las Pegasus. Now get out."

"Uh, right. Th-thanks, Bon, Lyra."

"Don't mention it, Berry. Have a good night."

Planning Ahead

With Berry gone, Lyra took a drink from one of the previously untouched glasses before eyeing Bon Bon, who was still standing in place, taking several deep breaths. "What's wrong, Bonny?"

Bon Bon scowled at nopony in particular. "I'm not going to lose a friend to their own bucking idiocy again! What good is it for Pinchy, for us, if she feeds this guy his own teeth and goes to prison? She wants to track this guy down? Fine. But we'll do it right." Bonny looked away and continued more quietly. "I probably can't keep her from going, but I'll make sure she'll get to go home again." She sat down and started gently petting her dog.

The earth pony talked very little about the old job, as she referred to it, but she'd previously admitted to survivor's guilt to Lyra. "I want you to stay out of trouble, too, y'know." It hurt Lyra a little when Bon Bon got into one of her moods and found it easier to show affection to the service animal than to her marefriend, but she knew it wasn't really her fault.

"Doubt Berry's gonna try and sue me in case I gotta pin her down to keep from doing something stupid. I promise we'll be fine." Bon offered a small grin. There seemed to be something else on Bon Bon's mind, however.

"You know I trust you." Lyra grinned in return. "I'll hold down the fort, you shouldn't be gone too long, right?" She tilted her head. "Or should I come along?"

Until recently, Lyra would have assumed she'd be tagging along as a matter of course, because Bonny needed company. The earth pony hated others getting into her personal space, and could get irritable when taken out of her personal comfort zone of their home and the candy store. But as a team, Lyra could get right up into other ponies' faces, make a show of her own manic energy and generally take attention off Bonny, who wasn't always real personable. The earth pony had good days and bad ones.

"Well, you should come along to Canterlot, because otherwise your mom is going to complain again that you don't visit enough. Las Pegasus though? I wanna sleep on that one. But first, I've got to write some messages. Think Twilight's gonna send a letter to Princess Luna for me?"

"Probably, but why? Does Berry really need that kind of attention? I mean, Twilight's one thing, but the sisters?"

"It's a long shot, and presumptuous, I guess." Bon Bon admitted. "I'm hedging my bets in case I can't reign Berry in. Luna knows who I am and has some idea what I used to do, so she'll take it serious." The earth pony shrugged. "Plus, she'd know something about doing something stupid 'cause emotions are running high."

"Couldn't you say that about Twilight as well?" Lyra wasn't really sure how Bon Bon had come up with the idea of bugging Princess Luna with this. They weren't exactly pals. Sure, Lyra and Bon Bon had been part of Ponyville's communal dream to fight some dream monster, but that probably didn't count. Another time, Bon Bon had been out very late and had been startled very badly by a flying Luna, who'd been in town to visit the Friendship Castle. Lyra supposed that Luna might feel bad about that. Maybe. Apparently Bonny found flying creatures larger than normal ponies very disconcerting.

"Okay," Bon Bon scowled again. "I meant doing something stupid and actually facing real consequences. Sure would love to come out of it with Berry gettin' a gentle scolding about always thinkin' the worst about ponies or something, but you know that's not gonna happen unless we make it happen."

The dog whined at Bon Bon, and Lyra could also see that her love was unusually upset. "Why is this bothering you so much?" It was a guess based on long years of experience with their relationship. Bon Bon was awful at giving voice to her emotions and usually defaulted to just getting mad.

The earth pony thought for a few moments before answering. "Ponies got hurt on the job. You accept that. Some is bad luck, some is taking calculated risks, that's fine ... but sometimes it really is just because somepony was careless and stupid and should have known better, and a pony gets to thinking, maybe I shoulda noticed they were too green and would screw up. Maybe I could have reacted and kept the wheels from coming off. Maybe this, maybe that." A grim smile that didn't reach her eyes. "This time I'll be ready."

"You really think it'll go bad?" Lyra liked Berry Punch quite a bit. Even after the other earth pony had sobered up enough to notice such things, she had never minded it when Bon Bon had one of those days were she acted like a surly jerk at the drop of a hat.

"Nine out of ten times it's been Berry who threw the first punch in a bar fight. She'll tell Pinchy to use her words but it's a bit of 'do as I say, not as I do.'." Bon Bon shrugged. "Look, if all I end up doing is keeping her from having a drink to stop herself from worrying, that's fine."

"Yeah, I get that." Lyra smiled at her love. "I guess it is weird. I'd be pretty steamed if suddenly somepony told you you'd have to work the old job again."

Bon Bon chuckled. "Yeah, me too. But c'mon, you'd just go tattle to your mom."

Lyra had grown up with a foal's certainty that the elder Heartstrings was the world's best mom. A lot of fillies thought that about their mothers, but even as a grown mare, Lyra had felt herself justified in the belief when she found that her mother and Bonny got along very well even after a middling initial impression. "Course I would, she's the best kind of crazy. You're hers now, forever."

"I don't mind." Bon Bon smiled fondly, but changed the topic. "Well, I got some writing to do."

Twilight Sparkle frequently worked deep into the night. Local administration might be mostly handled by Mayor Mare, but the Princess of Friendship nonetheless had plenty of work to do. Additionally, her ascension hadn't curbed her enthusiasm for reading and research. She didn't usually expect visitors after a certain point, however.

"Bon Bon? What are you doing here?" On their last occasion for a conversation, the previous winter, the earth pony had made it clear that she wasn't overly fond of Twilight Sparkle, the pony. That still stung, but Bon Bon's friends had mentioned that winter generally left the earth pony in sour moods, so Twilight had made vague promises to herself to win Bon Bon over at a later date.

Maybe that later date had arrived now. While Bon Bon could be cantankerous in private, her canine companion served as a useful reminder that Fluttershy clearly trusted the earth pony - she wouldn't have agreed to help train the animal otherwise.

"Princess." Bon Bon nodded. It seemed more like an acknowledgement than a greeting. "I got a letter for Princess Luna. It's urgent." She hesitated briefly. "But I think first thing tomorrow would be alright. No need to wake Spike if he's in bed already."

"Just when she's sharing breakfast with her sister or about to get some sleep?" Twilight frowned. "I can wake up Spike."

The ghost of a frown seemed to steal across the earth pony's face before the smile Bon Bon tried to maintain in public or at work re-asserted itself. "Your priorities, Princess."

Perhaps Bon Bon found the idea of interrupting a child's sleep more objectionable than causing inconvenience to one of the Princesses. "Maybe I could help you? I'm right here."

"Why, I thought you'd be happy that somepony would confide in Princess Luna." Bon Bon grinned. "You know, more ponies trusting her?" She turned her head and stuck her muzzle into one of her saddlebags, presumably to retrieve the letter.

"Of course! I'm sure Princess Luna would be happy to help you. It's just, I thought I could help you unless you needed her unique talents, and I thought you didn't like anypony else in your head." It seemed petty and counterproductive to Twilight for a pony to decline Luna's aid with nightmares, but she supposed that a pony couldn't be forced to get help.

Bon Bon resumed eye contact with the princess, spat out a neatly folded letter, then stepped on it, presumably to keep Twilight from picking it up. "Oh, she tell you that, or did you figure that out all by yourself?" The earth pony scowled.

Twilight swallowed nervously. Sometimes she felt like Bon Bon was just looking for excuses to get angry. She watched the earth pony's dog try to nudge her. "It was an inference, okay? Princess Luna is pretty serious about dream-confidentiality."

"All I'm asking for," Bon Bon ground out, "is a favor from you. Spike, rather." She sneered. "What were you going to do if it turned out I had recurring nightmares about using my training and strength to do serious harm to regular ponies in pursuit of an ultimately pointless objective?"

Twilight managed not to flinch. Again with the Want-It Need-It spell! She wondered if Bon Bon would always see her as a dangerous loose cannon that just so happened to have the protection of Princess Celestia. That nopony had actually been seriously injured at the time seemed to offer little comfort to either of them.

Before the earth pony could take another verbal shot at the princess, Bon Bon's dog escalated his intrusive behavior, attempting to lick her about the neck and face. The canine was quite a bit taller than Applejack's Winona and managed to be quite intrusive indeed. "Alright, alright Swampy!" Bon Bon actually smiled as she gently patted the canine's head. "Good dog!"

The Princess of Friendship decided not to interrupt. 'Tasks that provide a tactile distraction are useful in emotional overload situations,' she quoted in her mind. 'They allow the pony partner to recover and sustain emotional control in settings where uncontrolled emotional reactions are unacceptable.' A lot of ponies would argue that it was unacceptable to angrily lash out at Princesses.

Training Swampy as a service dog had been primarily Fluttershy's work, but the pegasus had shared the notes she had compiled in the process and with input from Lyra, who'd been attempting to deal with Bon Bon's symptoms for years.

After a few more moments, Bon Bon sighed. She still glowered as if daring Twilight to comment, but tension seemed to have left her, and Twilight thought she could see guilt in the other mare's look. "That was a cheap shot. Sometimes it just sets me off when things don't go like I thought they would go. Swampy tries to reign me in. You can't be mad at him." She smiled at her companion again. "Good dog!" She dug out a treat from her other saddlebag, to the excitement of the mutt.

Having the incident brought up did hurt, but Twilight nodded. "Don't worry about it. It's nice to see you're working well together. Let's go wake up Spike, then."

Bon Bon scooped up the dropped letter and nodded. Speaking through her clenched teeth, she admitted, "Don't mind saying. It's good for me'n Lyra both. She doesn't have to feel so tied to me anymore."

"Please don't call yourself a millstone around her neck again. Being able to be away from you without worrying will be healthy in the long term, though, so I agree." Lyra was extremely dedicated to her partner, but the unicorn had seemed to put her own social life on hold for a time to emotionally support Bon Bon, who found it stressful not to have a trusted partner to cover her back. Lyra hadn't initially reacted in a very levelheaded manner when Twilight had raised that concern during her attempt to rekindle their old Canterlot friendship.

"No argument there. I was always telling her to live more. I wasn't going to come apart from spending an evening alone."

Spike had admittedly been a little drowsy, but sending letters to Celestia or Luna wasn't strenuous work, and, to Twilight's slight annoyance, was more ready to assume it was really important than he would have been if Twilight had woken him up for a personal message. He tended to assume Twilight overstated the urgency of her communications with Canterlot.

They watched the letter burn up. Bon Bon nodded. "Thanks, Spike. I added a line about not responding immediately if it was still night. No need to keep you up."

"Appreciate it." Spike yawned, but he had been happy to help.

The earth pony pulled a small bag of rock candy and a hoofful of bits from her bags. "Here you go. Your overtime pay. Feel free to spend at my store!"

"Overtime pay, huh?" Rubbing his chin, Spike grinned at Twilight. "Thanks."

"Great, now you've given him ideas. Good night again, Spike." Obviously Twilight had generous personal funds available as a Princess, but in the interest of teaching Spike frugality, and to avoid greed-related complications, she was careful how much money she made available for Spike to spend himself. Therefore, he appreciated the few bits Bon Bon had given him for the inconvenience.

"Heh, night Spike."

Twilight escorted Bon Bon back out. She had learned sufficient introspection to know that she tended to worry a little too much about the future, at times. Still, meetings with Bon Bon tended to leave her worrying. She'd been reassured that difficulties such as the earth pony's were anything but a guaranteed outcome of seeing too much combat, but she couldn't help but wonder.

She'd once talked to Luna of such things after the Princess of the Night had had a chance encounter with Bon Bon, and it hadn't been particularly helpful.

"It was once a sad truth that virtually none of our loyal protectors would return from fighting our battles intact, Twilight. Combat alone shatters bodies and frays nerves, but the chaos of Discord's reign, and the foul creatures from the untamed regions of the world, could steal sanity forever. Thus our veterans were left fearing the shadows, and the night, and sometimes even the nature of their friends and neighbors, for the rest of their lives."

At the time Twilight had immediately been distracted by questions such as 'Had ponies encountered changelings in those early days?' or 'Had a population of ponies incapable of appreciating Luna's work due to their own traumatic experiences contributed to her eventual fall?', but now it mostly made her worry about her friends, and try to be patient with Bon Bon. In any case the earth pony would probably have been quite upset with the supposed lack of sanity Luna's statement implied. She functioned perfectly well and wasn't a danger to anypony, after all.

To Canterlot!

Berry Punch honestly couldn't claim to have much of an opinion about trains either way. Just another way to travel quickly for ponies without wings. And even pegasi probably appreciated the convenience.

Ruby Pinch loved trains. She and Bon Bon were currently hanging out near the locomotive and chatting up the engineers preparing the train for departure. Berry wasn't sure the stallions would have been particularly forthcoming when faced with just Bon Bon, but it was much more difficult to resist when an eager young filly or colt showed an interest.

Bon Bon probably didn't really care about steam engines, of course, but Pinchy was interested in all sorts of mechanisms. She could strip down and reassemble a pocket watch swiftly and with precision. Wind-up toys, both mundane and slightly magical. Berry Punch was sure her daughter would soon discover her cutie mark – something indicating a technical inclination instead of anything related to, despite occasional tutoring by Twilight Sparkle, magic.

She was sure it would make for a nicer story than Berry's. Some ponies ended up uncomfortable whenever she shared the story of discovering her cutie mark after being taught how to ferment fruit under her bed in juvenile detention.

A lot of ponies didn't do all that well if they didn't at least find some use for their cutie mark in their life. Berry felt fortunate that her talent also appeared to cover turning fruit into non-alcoholic drinks. In any case, other ponies appreciated her fruit drinks. Going sober would have been even harder if her cutie mark had only been good for fermented fruits.

Shaking her head, Berry returned her attention to Lyra.

"We gotta remind my mom that they wanted to come visit Ponyville now that dad's finally retired. We've got a guest room, and I'd love for her to see our little shop." Lyra grinned and nodded with considerable enthusiasm. "You'll love mom. I love my dad, you know, but he can be a bit of a background pony compared to my mother. She tends to capture attention. He's cool, though. Besides, you're bringing a pretty adorable filly, which is always a plus."

"Sure," Berry agreed evenly before sparing another glance for her daughter. "Not sure how much longer until Pinchy starts resentin' being called adorable." She was surprised that wasn't already the case, although Pinchy still called her 'mommy' without embarrassment when most fillies her age had moved beyond that, so maybe Pinchy was just different. Berry leaned forward. "I'm still waiting for the bit to drop about how much of a waste of space I've been until recently."

Lyra's grin only wavered slightly. The unicorn gave Berry a playful shove. "Aw, c'mon. Maybe she'll take a cheap shot at you when she's all hormonal, but she won't really mean it. Can't be that long now, can it?"

"I guess not."

Before Berry could say anything more, they were interrupted by Ditzy, arriving with her daughter in tow. Or rather, on her back. The mailmare was used to heavier loads than a single pre-teen unicorn.

"Hey! Just wanted to s-see you off." The mailmare wrapped both forelegs around Berry's neck while Dinky hurried over to her friend.

"Thanks, Ditzy." Berry couldn't actively return the hug considering Ditzy was leaning so heavily on her, so she just lowered her head into a cursory nuzzle of the other mare's neck.

Ditzy was frequently underestimated by other ponies. She was an at times overworked single mother, slow of speech, which lead to the assumption that she might be slow of thought also, and generally not fond of being the center of attention. It was also true that she could be a little clumsy at times.

It did Berry good to see the pegasus. She'd known her for nearly as long as she had lived in Ponyville, although their friendship was more recent than the one she shared with Bon Bon and Lyra. She hadn't told Ditzy of her plan to head to Las Pegasus in the near future. That would only upset the pegasus. Nonetheless, Ditzy could seemingly tell that something was bothering Berry. She tightened her hug. Ditzy had described herself once as not very good at solving problems, but being very good at moral support, making her friends stronger.

Berry judged the current hug as sufficient proof of the claim. "I know you got my back, Ditzy, but this is just a trip to Canterlot. Don't worry."

"Oh, I know." The pegasus released the hug and stepped back. "I was wondering if ... if maybe you could take Dinky along?" Everypony present knew that the mailmare couldn't often fit something so frivolous as a weekend in Canterlot into her budget. Ditzy turned to Lyra. "If that's no t-trouble for your mother?"

"Aww, you know I'm a lunkhead. I shoulda asked you two if she'd like to tag along much earlier." Berry shook her head with a smile. "Well, Lyra, would your mom mind?"

"You kidding? Two cute little fillies are better than one." Lyra's grin, impossibly, widened. "But she'll probably insist we stay the whole weekend, not just tomorrow."

That hadn't really been part of Berry's plan. She'd meant to hit Canterlot, introduce her daughter, explain the situation, then bum some money off Lyra's mother to cover expenses in Las Pegasus.

But maybe it would be best to spend a really nice weekend with her filly and some friends before setting off to settle her accounts. Couldn't know how things would go, after all. "No problem for me. Shouldn't hurt."

There'd been a time where going to Canterlot would have made her very uncomfortable. She just didn't fit that fancy place. Getting invited to attend the royal wedding had to have been some kind of mistake. But at least after the changeling scare, there hadn't been a bartender to be found who'd cut a pony off early.

"No problem," Ditzy agreed also. Knowing her, the pegasus would probably try to get a weekend shift at the post office to make a few extra bits. She normally took great care to spend time with her daughter, but the extra money would never go amiss.

"Don't just slave away the weekend on work and chores, Ditzy." Lyra seemed to have been thinking along similar lines. "Have a drink for us at the Copperhead or something." The Copperhead was a bit of an old pony bar, in Berry's estimation, it was slow paced and somewhat respectable. In any case it wasn't frequented by any of Berry's old drinking companions, who hadn't been very supportive when she'd quit. Hopefully for good, this time. And the owner was a respectful stallion

Ditzy nodded seriously. "S-sure, don't worry. I'll tell ol' Roy you said hi."

There was a degree of mystery to the owner's name. One syllable, three letters, pony names weren't usually this short, but the stallion appeared to enjoy acting mysterious. Just another Ponyville goofball. Asking Pinkie Pie about it would have been cheating.

"Hey Dinky!" Berry took the opportunity to call out to the other unicorn filly. "You wanna tag along for the weekend? Your mom's idea." Assuming Dinky would agree, she proceeded to buy another ticket.

The idea was, as Berry expected, received well, although Dinky had apparently been worried more about having to spend the weekend without Pinchy than about not getting to see Canterlot. The filly was, Berry knew, deeply distrustful of the sort of pony who might look down on her mother. To an extend, Berry's own daughter shared such worries, but Pinchy seemed to enjoy the fact that her mother was confident enough not to care what other ponies thought.

Dinky generally thought her mother shouldn't have to put up with other ponies looking down on the mailmare, no matter how much Ditzy insisted that she didn't care what strangers thought.

Berry completely understood. Fortunately, it was in fact rare that any of the locals gave Ditzy a hard time, these days. The pegasus was just too likeable, in Berry's estimation. Still, there were always going to be a few ponies who would think that Ditzy was too slow-witted to be a primary caregiver, and who'd never believe that Berry could stay sober.

Both Pinchy and Dinky were too perceptive not to know that.

"Look, Dinky," she'd once said, "I know it hurts when ponies make fun of your mom. Always some bad apples in the bunch. Can't change that, ponies are just thoughtless." She'd huffed. "But trust me, anypony comes after Ditzy real persistently to ruin her day? I'll rip an ear off 'em, teach 'em manners."

It hadn't seemed to comfort Dinky much at the time. Berry had insight enough to know that it was a good thing that neither Dinky nor Pinchy gained particular satisfaction from the thought of causing pain to another pony, even a mean one. Not wholly surprising in Dinky's case, but apparently at least something had been done right when raising Ruby Pinch. She was growing up to be a better pony than Berry, who could absolutely take some satisfaction from making another pony swallow their teeth, when it came down to it. Only if they had had it coming, naturally.

She had more self control than that, of course. Her alcohol abuse had been harder to get a grip on than her somewhat morally unburdened approach to disagreements. Besides, forcing her body to wrestle nutrition from wine and grain alcohol for a decade hadn't exactly left her in fighting form. It was taking time to get back in shape.

If she'd had fewer doubts about her own physical condition, she probably would have argued harder against Bon Bon's plan to accompany her.

On the other hoof, Pan Flash was a unicorn, and it was always better to have a partner when dealing with a caster.

The train ride and walk through Canterlot had been uneventful. It warmed Berry's heart that the young fillies did in fact enjoy Canterlot, whatever worries they might have had about the fancy ponies there. It just was a very pretty city, and although Berry still wasn't in the habit of caring too much about her appearance, she'd brushed her own coat and mane with Pinchy's help in the morning.

That had been Rarity's suggestion, a few weeks ago. A little care for appearance was supposed to fortify her confidence, and doing it together with Pinchy was meant to improve the mother-daughter relationship. It had worked, and Berry was still grateful to Rarity for the idea.

Talking to Rarity about maybe taking a little better care of herself had been enlightening. The fashionista might be awfully fancy, but she was also so ... encouraging, Berry supposed. Another pony might have turned up her nose at the small-town earth pony asking for advice, especially a known alcoholic. Former alcoholic, of course. Rarity hadn't even looked like she doubted that Berry would stick it out, this time!

Lyra led them into a respectable neighborhood. Berry might have expected a mansion or at least a large, one-family house, but apparently they were heading into a neighborhood of old, stately apartment buildings. There were doorstallions at every building, so the residents clearly had an expectation as to who should and shouldn't be allowed entry. Lawns between the buildings and the street were well-kept. Clearly a wealthy neighborhood, but not the sort of exaggerated ostentation Berry had assumed she'd see. Maybe that was reserved for nobles.

Although Berry no longer felt like she had to care what a better class of pony might think of her, she still felt acutely that she didn't belong here, but made an effort not to be obvious about it as they passed the into one of the buildings and ascended the stairs.

"Enny's a hugger," Bon Bon spoke up. "That's Lyra's mother. Anyway, fair warning."

Lyra just nodded while knocking on the apartment's door. Since there was only one door on this level of the stairwell, Berry assumed the apartment wrapped around it to take up the whole floor they were on.

The door was opened by an enormous unicorn. Lyra's mother might be wealthy, but to Berry, she was intimidating on a physical level more than a social one.

Berry knew big ponies. Big MacIntosh was a large, powerful stallion. Easy on the eyes, too, although the monosyllabic charm didn't quite work for her. Then there was ... she couldn't recall the name. The bulky white pegasus stallion with the chin. Very memorable build, that one. And of course Celestia and Luna were very tall.

Lyra's mother wasn't quite that tall. The large unicorn had proportionally short legs, but was wide in the barrel, so despite being considerably taller than Berry, she had a low-slung, stout appearance with a wide stance and a broad, powerful back. Berry wondered if the other mare just happened to have an unusual legs to barrel ratio, or if it was normal to have more pony per pony wherever she was from. In any case she couldn't recall seeing a mare quite so stout before.

She couldn't imagine a mare like this would have ever needed to learn to step aside for anypony else, but she did have a slightly longer coat that made her look very soft and approachable.

"Come in, come in!" Enny had greeted them with barely restrained joy, despite the unannounced visit. "So good to see you two! And friends from Ponyville, I assume?"

Berry watched with amusement as the larger mare hugged Lyra and Bon Bon at the same time. She couldn't place the mare's faint accent. The shaggy looking fur suggested a northern climate, but they didn't grow them that big even in Stalliongrad, and the accent didn't fit anyway. "Uh, yeah. I'm Berry Punch. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise! Any friend of little Lyra is welcome under my roof and by my fire!" Enny grinned. There was some resemblance to her daughter in that, at least, because otherwise, Lyra hardly looked like her mother at all. The larger unicorn was extremely imposing, but the brown coat and tan mane were nothing memorable.

The great unicorn eventually released her daughter and Bon Bon to take a step towards Berry, presumably for a similar greeting. Berry tried hard to suppress a flinch as the larger pony invaded her personal space, but Enny must have noticed. Smoothly, she instead leaned down to address the fillies. "Why don't you introduce yourselves, little ones?"

"I'm Ruby Pinch, ma'am, but you can just call me Pinchy, if you want." Pinchy offered a friendly smile.

"I shall!" Enny winked. "I can see the family resemblance." She turned her head slightly to face Dinky. "But who might you be?"

"Dinky Do. My mom's friends with Lyra, too." She paused, frowning briefly. "You don't have to talk to us like we're six, y'know."

"Hahah! Of course, of course." Enny nodded firmly. "No offense was intended, my friends. Come, let's settle in. Lyra, set out some drinks? Just for us, your father is out."

"Sure thing."

Lyra went on ahead, and Enny herded everypony else after her. They settled into the kitchen with drinks and some baked goods. Berry found it to be a very nice apartment, from what she had seen on the way to the kitchen. If she had carpeting that thick and cushy anywhere in her house she'd probably just pawn her bed and her couch.

Again, Berry laid out the details. The letter from Pinchy's sire. Designating Lyra and Bon Bon as fall-back legal guardians. Her desire to speak personally with Pan Flash at the earliest opportunity. She held back on her worries that things might take regrettable turns in Las Pegasus, for the sake of the fillies. Besides, she didn't know Lyra's mother that well.

After listening to Berry, Enny appeared thoughtful. "I'll make no secret of it: I would be very happy indeed if Bonny and Lyra adopted a colt or filly. But it would be a very sad way to gain a granddaughter if anything happened to you, Berry." She tapped her chin with one of her great hooves. "I'll accept your judgement of this stallion, but a lot can happen to a pony in such a span of years. And besides, you are holding all the cards, it seems to me. I do not share your fears."

Of course she wouldn't. Enny probably had the money and the contacts to make the dice roll the way she needed. Berry didn't have that sort of luxury. She wasn't hurting for money the way Ditzy was, but she'd struggle to afford a decent lawyer all the same, if it came down to it. And there were enough details about her life that would easily serve to tie her a noose in court, she was sure of that. It wasn't something a pony of means would understand.

"I don't know what to think." Ruby Pinch spoke up. "Mom said she used to be a pretty bad sort, but ... y'know Dinky's mom said you shouldn't just see the most stupid thing a pony did when looking at them."

"Yep," Dinky agreed. "Ponies can turn themselves around."

Berry was immensely happy that Pinchy knew to listen to Dinky's mother in matters like this. She hadn't been a particularly great role model at any time in Pinchy's life. Of course, even at her worst, keeping a roof over their head and Pinchy fed properly always kept her motivated, although sometimes she probably only made it through thanks to the charity of others.

"I guess that is a pretty long time," she conceded. "But even if I'd try not to hold the past against him, then he's just a perfect stranger to both of us, Pinchy. I'm just scared," Berry finally admitted. "I can't help it."

Berry had been a delinquent long before meeting Pinchy's sire, she wasn't going to blame that on him, but with the benefit of hindsight, she had absolutely no idea what she had seen in the stallion. Of course, nopony she'd grown up with had bothered to actually plan for the future, so maybe her standards had just been low. She hadn't exactly been a pillar of self-esteem, after all.

"Can I point and say 'this is what I think is going to happen'? No. Everypony's right. I am holding all the cards. That's why I wanna know what his deal is."

"I understand." Enny smiled, still, but she seemed less joyful now. "I can see you have little faith in, let me say, the legal facts of it, whatever they may be. I am not the expert. But," she gestured with a hoof around the room, "I do have faith in Equestrian justice. I've come here as a young mare and I've raised my daughter, mostly, in the Equestrian fashion. My husband, he has a good nose for trade and we made a very good living."

Enny got up to look out of a window. "You come here and you tell me that my family should protect your filly in your stead, in case some misfortune should catch up to you. This, I understand. But you've been a friend to my daughter for a few years now and this is the first time I am even speaking to you."

Berry sighed. "Well, you gotta understand. Canterlot's no place for somepony like me. Not this end of it anyway."

"Mom didn't always look this good," Pinchy explained.

"It's not like Canterlot would be happy to see ponies like Berry or my mom." Dinky glowered at the older unicorn. "Are you going to help Berry? She was really upset about the letter and that got Pinchy upset and I don't care for that at all!"

"Let's keep it together, Dinky, okay?" It was a gentle reprimand, especially by Bon Bon's standards. But then, she'd probably had a lot of experience gently keeping children in line in her candy store. "No need to get pushy."

"So young and already so fierce, I see! Do not worry, Dinky. I will do my part." Enny turned to Berry and Pinchy with a solemn expression. "If you insist on this trip to Las Pegasus, I will give you money. I am told the city is expensive, I would not know, I try to avoid hotter climates. I know you have not come here offering friendship, but for the sake of my daughter and yours, if per chance an honest mare like you were to find an enemy, they would be my enemy, also." There was an unexpected edge of steel in the large mare's tone that got Berry's attention. Clearly, Enny considered herself a pony it would be unwise to cross.

"I could use the bits," Berry muttered, "I didn't pick Lyra and Bon to get you involved in my mess, though, honest. Was Lyra's idea to come ask for help."

"Mine, actually" Bon Bon corrected. "Enny, I don't know much about the law in this case, or if after all this time this guy could make a claim for visitation rights that had any legs. I mean, that's not like asking for actual custody, right? That's a bit more harmless."

"I haven't had occasion to educate myself on the matter, but that would be my guess as well," Enny readily agreed. "You are going somewhere with this?"

"Let's say, for the sake of the argument, that Berry was absent, or otherwise couldn't keep raising Pinchy. Could our ... what do they call that, guardianship? Our custody over Pinchy be contested, realistically? Supposed to need court approval."

The big unicorn raised an eyebrow, appearing honestly surprised and upset about the suggestion. "I am not happy to be thinking about such ideas! Again, I do not know these things. But I have the will and the means to hire ponies who know such things." She pointed a hoof at Berry. "She has chosen my daughter, my family to protect her filly. It is a good, a respectable family! And if her sire were such scum as to contest this and try to take her away from Ponyville, her home, I will see him humiliated in court and beaten like an animal in the street!"

Enny paced in agitation. "Again, I say: I have faith in Equestria. I do not think there is reason to fear." She snorted. "I wish to give everypony a chance. If Pinchy's sire turns out to be a decent stallion after all this time, good! Accept it, I say. But you say worrying things about this stallion and about that city, and I am a superstitious mare. If some unlucky accident were to occur, if you were struck by lightning or declared unfit to care for your daughter through some corruption in the system, I would not forgive it."

The statement chilled Berry for some reason, and yet she felt like a considerable weight had been lifted off her heart. She'd been told to expect something of the sort, but listening to Enny directly was different. Yes, maybe the great unicorn had a great deal more faith in the system than Berry, but she could also tell that Enny wasn't just blowing hot air. She'd known more than her share of punks who talked a good game but weren't willing to throw a punch. Berry had little difficulty believing that, if Pinchy were to become part of her family, Enny would go after anyone who objected without hesitation, fear, or pity. Just probably in a more elaborate manner than with a length of lead pipe and a bad attitude. The older Heartstrings could likely afford some pretty good lawyers.

"But now it is high time to stop upsetting the fillies!" Enny smiled again and tussled Dinky's mane. "Was that what you wanted to hear, Miss Do?"

Dinky tried to look grim, with only moderate success. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you. I wouldn't know what to do without Pinchy. We're a team." The filly sounded choked up, probably trying not to cry after declaring that she wasn't a little foal earlier.

Berry realized that her own fears hadn't just affected her daughter, but Dinky as well. Considering some of the things she'd heard other ponies whisper about Ditzy's ability to care for her daughter, this shouldn't have come as a surprise.

A small part of Berry figured this was mostly her fault for over-reacting to being contacted by Pan Flash, but mostly she was just getting angry at him again for sending the letter in the first place and kicking off this whole mess. Even if he he actually was just curious about his daughter, she'd still hit him in the jaw for this.

"Aw, don't worry Dinky, I'm sure it's going to work out. I'd never leave you hanging. You gotta trust mommy and our friends. And if you trust our friends you can trust Lyra's mother." It was a solid try, Berry thought with more than a little pride for her daughter. She herself always felt awkward when trying to comfort somepony.

Enny approached Dinky slowly and wrapped a foreleg around her. Ever so gently, she pressed the filly's head against her broad chest. "Shhh, it's alright, little one. It is permitted for strong ponies to be sad here."

That sort of hug between younger ponies and adults could be very calming, Berry knew, as long as the older pony's heartbeat was calm and their breathing even. That way it was very soothing.

Dinky pressed her face into the bigger pony's fuzzy coat for a while before turning her head slightly to speak. "Ponies always used to say my mom was too stupid to raise a foal, and or that they ought to take Pinchy away because her mom used to drink too much. I just want everyone to leave us alone! It hurts." Her voice caught. "Even some ponies who're nice to mom look real surprised when they hear I'm doin' well in school, or like to read. So they think she's slow, too! And they'll still think Berry's not right for Pinchy either."

Enny just held onto Dinky as the younger pony let go of her frustrations. "I'm not as good at ignorin' it as Berry or Pinchy, or my mom, and, and that's my fault, okay. But now they can't ignore it either, can they? It's going to be a whole official thing."

"Just because he wants to see Pinchy doesn't mean he wants to take her away, Dinky. Different things," Bon Bon pointed out. Berry was glad for that, because she'd tried to say something also, but hadn't found herself able to clarify Pan Flash's intentions while thinking that it would only go to court if she didn't manage to beat some sense into him first.

Bon Bon gave Berry a hard stare. Berry assumed the other mare knew her well enough to know that seeing Dinky so upset was mainly giving the earth pony the urge to lash out instead of offering comfort.

Chastened by her friend, Berry enveloped her daughter in a hug while addressing Dinky. "Pinchy's got it right. We're going to sort it out, you two won't get split up, no way."

She wondered how upset Ditzy was going to be that Berry had managed to make Dinky cry by getting so freaked out over the issue as to make Dinky expect the worst. Or perhaps the mailmare would understand Berry's fear?

Enny stood and used her magic to gently move Dinky onto her back. "Your concern does you credit, little Miss Do. It would be a great wrong to split up two friends such as you! Two in harmony surpass one in perfection, after all! But let us stop worrying for today." She tilted her head and addressed Berry. "Shall we go out for a bite to eat? I admit I am feeling a little too lazy to cook, just now. Let me just write a note to my husband."

"I'm hungry, yeah," Berry agreed. "I'll follow your lead, you know the local eateries."

"How's retirement treating dad anyway?"

"Oh, he is rather restless! We shall have to find something for him to do with himself, it seems. He has traveled much, so perhaps he has not had occasion to make some good local friends with which to share a drink, a smoke, and grumble about the state of the world, as old stallions should, hahah!"

The day slowly wound down as Enny led them to an uncomplicated restaurant. Berry had feared tiny portions and menus in foreign languages, but she was getting used to the idea that Enny wasn't one for the overly fancy things her money could buy. Or maybe her great physical size had caused her to favor restaurants that actually served real meals.

Said size was also useful in offering Pinchy space on Enny's back as well. While Dinky's concerns may have been overblown, and Berry could think this with barely a hint of introspection, proximity to her friend was still bound to comfort her.

Author's Note

Lyra's mother is something like an Icelandic horse. She takes after her father.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_horse#/media/File:IcelandicHorseInWinter.jpg

Shopping for Exposition

"I've received a letter from Ponyville, Tia."

The shared meal, breakfast for Celestia, was not quite inviolate, but castle staff was generally encouraged not to allow disturbances. It was, after all, the end of a long night for Luna, while her sister would get to work soon enough. Time spent together was precious.

"Oh?" Celestia gently set down her cup of tea. "From Twilight or her friends?" She smiled, apparently happy that her sister was receiving correspondence.

Luna shook her head. "That was my immediate assumption as well, but no. It's actually a request for advice from Bon Bon." The Princess of the Night took a bite from a sandwich.

It was common to want things you couldn't normally have, and especially for Celestia, the shared meal was practically the only time the kitchen could be convinced to cut back on the sort of ostentation everypony in Canterlot assumed would be right and proper when preparing a meal fit for princesses. Other meals during the day were too frequently shared by visitors who also held such expectations.

Luna was glad to sleep through most of the day, she didn't share her sister's ability to avoid ruffling feathers, but having the Princess of the Sun reject a meal would probably be a crushing blow to a chef's confidence.

She was pretty sure her sandwich was still fit to win awards, though.

Celestia seemed to wait for her to elaborate, so Luna continued. "She fears that one of her friends may mishandle a problem she is having. I would not have expected that sort of request from Bon Bon," Luna admitted. "I expect she does not enjoy feeling indebted to the crown, to use her own term. She does not wish my assistance regarding nightmares, either. Only once has she allowed an exception, and I suspect it was mostly for the sake of her beloved."

Celestia sighed. The termination of Bon Bon's employment as a monster hunter, presumably also that of her colleagues, was still a source of regret for Luna's sister. Equestria's administration was a large, complicated machine, and a lot of things were done 'in Celestia's name' without her actual input. It didn't help that a lot of nobles and bureaucrats didn't necessarily have anything but their own best interest in mind.

"Perhaps she does not associate you as strongly with that period of her life, since you were absent, at the time."

"Mhm, perhaps," Luna agreed. "Of course I might also be more inclined to be moved by the gesture of trust, since my night court is still not very well attended. Additionally, I've been known to do regrettable things when my own emotions ran high." She smiled wryly.

"You think Bon Bon is trying to manipulate you?"

"Oh no, nothing so nefarious, Tia. But if she was the sort of pony to ask for help lightly, she would not have declined a service I provide to many of our ponies each night." During their one conversation, Bon Bon hadn't complained about having been pulled into Ponyville's shared dream during the incident with the Tantabus, so her refusal likely wasn't personal. "She strikes me as a mare who tries to think carefully about her actions."

"I suppose." Celestia looked away. "Twilight once wrote me, quite upset that Bon Bon had deduced who was responsible for the incident with the Want-It Need-It spell. She took no action at the time, of course."

"Well, obviously not. She worked for the government, she would know that close connection to power trumps the law." Obviously, in hindsight, hitting Twilight with the full consequences of such a severe infringement on free will for so many ponies would quite possibly have doomed Equestria in the long run by taking Twilight out of Ponyville for quite a few years, but it would probably still sting to know practically nothing of consequence happened to Twilight as a result of her actions. "I'm sure if one of Bon Bon's peers had made a major mistake such as that, they would not have gotten away with a scolding and some extra homework for the ponies around them."

"Lulu..." Celestia seemed pained.

"I know, I owe Twilight and her friends a very great deal. More than mere words can describe, surely. They've saved me, and they've saved Equestria again and again. But you have also been lenient with their missteps, Tia. Other ponies would never expect such consideration."

"It was painful to be reminded what terror the idea of not meeting my expectations inspires in some of our little ponies, Lulu."

"I understand, sister. But I intend to offer what assistance I can to these ponies, and I suppose I would rather not be reminded that the courts exist for a reason. Besides," Luna added, "I do not feel that Bon Bon has truly been compensated in full for services rendered."

"I trust you, Luna." Celestia seemed subdued, but smiled as she picked her cup of tea up again. "Although I am surprised that Berry would not have asked for assistance herself. Twilight has mentioned her not so long ago as one pony attempting to treat her more as a pony and librarian and less as a princess. I assumed that meant the two got along well."

It was Luna's turn to sigh. She'd already caused Celestia discomfort today, and the answer she had to that remark was likely to cause further pain. "Perhaps I am still outdated, sister, but in guarding the sleep of our ponies, I am closer to them than you can be. There are parts of Equestria, thankfully they are not many, where a pony would never expect any aid from authority, only apathy or disdain. According to the letter, Berry Punch hails from the poorest parts of Las Pegasus, torn by fights between gangs of underage colts and fillies."

Luna idly turned her own cup of tea in her magic. "Nopony teaches them that you wish to love all ponies equally, and the more fortunate ponies do not remember that, either. They've forgotten that they belong to each other. Seeing little chance to escape their circumstances, without perspective, their inability to care for their own life plays itself out in the abandonment of all reason and surely all hope."

It hurt Luna as well, because she knew her sister had the ability to take delight in even the most unremarkable of their little ponies. Celestia didn't just sort of put up with her subjects, she really cared. "Even though Berry managed to succeed, she hasn't learned to trust in us or Twilight, I think."

"I know, Lulu, I know. We'd do well to remember that what seems like steady progress to us is not always visible to our ponies, in their time." Celestia shrugged, almost helplessly. "All I can do is trust that Equestria continues to mature in time, with our encouragement. I hope you can offer some comfort through their dreams, sister."

Luna certainly wasn't qualified to comment on the causes of crime and poverty in certain parts of the nation, not after her thousand year hiatus. "Of course, Tia. But perhaps you should remind this generation of our ponies that you care for all of them. I doubt they would make demands of you as the nobles do, if you were to meet them. I'd gladly take over whatever tasks absolutely cannot be put on hold, should you leave Canterlot for a few days."

Meeting Celestia personally could have a pronounced effect on a pony. Unfortunately, Equestria was a large nation, so it was easy for groups of ponies to start believing that nopony cared, and that callous local officials invoking Celestia truly were representative of the Solar Princess' stance towards her subjects. She herself had once fallen victim to the idea that nopony, least of all Celestia, cared about her.

"I'll attempt to make time for it soon, Lulu. Again, I'll trust your judgement."

"Thank you, Tia. I'll consider the situation carefully."

It had been a pretty good day in Canterlot, Berry thought. The city didn't lack in beauty and, from the right spots, the view over the countryside was quite terrific. Even Ponyville was visible in the distance, although if it hadn't been for Twilight's crystal palace, it would have been hard to identify the distant town with any certainty.

Enny's husband, lacking anything better do to, had joined the group. Mutual Advantage seemed quite a bit older than his wife. He was in good shape – he looked like the sort of pony who had lead an active life but hadn't had to do anything so punishingly stressful that it used a pony up. Still, the contrast to his imposing wife made him look rather lean. Family resemblance to Lyra was easy to detect, although his coat was notably darker in shade.

They'd even visited an art gallery, although, that visit had been a little odd. Sure enough, it had been impressive to be reminded that some ponies could paint or draw with exceptional skill, and at least she'd be able to say that she had visited a place with culture while in Canterlot. But she wasn't totally sure who the visit to the art gallery had actually been for.

Maybe one of Lyra's parents figured it would have been a good family outing? Neither of them seemed to have shown more than the requisite polite interest. Ruby Pinch and Dinky had been reasonably impressed, and being able to paint well did apparently have some attraction, but once they'd realized how much practice went into honing such a skill, their enthusiasm had been somewhat reduced. Portraits and landscapes hadn't really seemed fit to spark their interest, although they had occasionally pointed out a funny manestyle or especially ostentatious dress.

Certainly wasn't looking like either of the fillies was going to look for a cutie mark in art.

It was hard to tell whether Bon Bon enjoyed herself, as was often the case, and Lyra's energetic mood wasn't out of the usual.

That wasn't to say anypony had had a bad time. Lyra's parents clearly enjoyed one another's company, and they'd trailed along behind the fillies, watching them with great fondness. This had made perfect sense to Berry, of course. Anypony who didn't take a liking to her daughter and Dinky clearly had something wrong with them.

Berry figured she could at least cross this off the parenting list. 'Get your filly to take in some culture, maybe she'll want to try her hand at art and find her mark'. Job well done, Berry. And Ditzy would probably be happy to hear it, too.

There'd been shopping, too, although Enny's husband had been visibly relieved when the rest of the group had collectively decided not to shop for clothing. Berry wasn't a major fan of getting all dolled up, and the fillies seemed to feel similarly. Enny herself had claimed she was sufficiently unique that she didn't need any help to draw attention, which was probably true, considering some of the downright fragile looking unicorn mares in Canterlot.

There didn't seem to be much point buying something here when Ponyville had Rarity.

They'd also hit some toy stores, and although Enny had requested Berry's permission to spoil Pinchy every time, the filly had still ended up with half a dozen new toys, a mix of mundane wind-ups and mildly magical clockworks. Berry didn't expect any of them to survive more than a day after they returned home. Pinchy had a strong drive to see all the moving parts of a mechanism. However, she never took anything apart carelessly, always with the intent to understand, and if possible, reassemble. She seemed to be getting better at that last step, at least.

Dinky hadn't shown any particular interest in anything as they'd been browsing, or at least hadn't said anything. "What's up, Dinky? Nothing here for you?" It had seemed wrong to Berry that her daughter should get free stuff and her best friend nothing. She thought Pinchy had seemed glad that Berry had said something.

"There's some cool stuff," Dinky had conceded. "Nothing I really need. You know mom, she'd probably feel bad that she can't afford to buy me things like that."

Being a mailmare didn't pay spectacularly well, and it was unfortunately true that Ditzy's expenses tended to be a little higher due to various minor misfortunes. Ditzy normally tried to save money so she could buy her daughter gifts for special occasions, but their budget was generally tight.

Berry had thought Lyra's parents were about to say something or protest, but she'd silenced them with a stern glare. They didn't know Ditzy and it certainly hadn't been their place to comment. "I know what you mean, Dinky. She'll tell herself that you deserve all sorts of good stuff, but she can't give you all that much. But even if that happens, I promise we'll straighten her out, okay? Just enjoy a freebie."

Ditzy and Berry had helped one another out before. The mailmare had never really seemed to doubt her ability to raise Dinky to be a good pony, but occasionally, financial concerns could get her down, because it was easy to think that her daughter deserved more than they had. Berry herself had rarely worried about mere things, Pinchy had a much better home than her mother had had, but Berry had been prone to self-doubt when it came to her ability to actually raise her filly into a decent sort of pony.

Berry and Ditzy complemented each other pretty well that way, with a little help from their mutual friends. They were good at pulling one another out of the occasional funk. "C'mon then, let's have another look around. We got practically all day."

In the end Dinky hadn't gone for toys or comics or even books, but a chemistry set. It was rather expensive too, as if the little filly was daring the older unicorns to say anything. There'd been no real objection. The money was probably just a drop in the bucket for Lyra's parents, and Dinky was clearly not the spoiled type of filly.

"Aw, don't worry about it," Mutual Advantage had smiled warmly. "Old ponies get to spoil young ones every so often, that's how it works." The old stallion wasn't nearly so exuberantly affectionate as his wife, but he was clearly enjoying himself.

Dinky and Ruby Pinch were both bright, inquisitive ponies. Although Princess Twilight infrequently offered magic tutoring to young unicorns, perhaps to stay connected to the citizens, neither of the fillies seemed to have any particular enthusiasm for magic scholarship. Instead, they were curious about how the world outside of magic worked, although their approaches were different.

As far as Berry could tell, her daughter preferred to learn by doing. She had a small set of tools and a very gentle magical touch with which to feel out the way mechanical forces worked in a device. Fortunately, the filly had the good sense to allow other ponies to explain things when she was curious about something she didn't own. After all, unlike certain crusaders, she wasn't related to any sort of local hero, if she broke something carelessly, her mother would be the one to pay, and Berry didn't have reputation to spare.

Dinky was okay with just reading about things, which was probably for the best. The filly had taken a liking to chemistry. She'd had adult supervision for a thermite experiment which had looked very impressive even to Berry.

Neither her daughter nor Dinky had particularly strong telekinesis for their age, she'd been told. Berry did sometimes wonder why they weren't more interested in magic beyond the basic horn use. Did they worry that they wouldn't be good at it? Sure, Pinchy wasn't the bookish sort, but she passed tests she did study for. Maybe they were worried about being magically weak? Obviously not all unicorns were created equal.

Maybe the fillies just enjoyed being able to share new things they learned with Berry and Ditzy, anything they learned could also be explained to their mothers. It wouldn't be that easy with magic, because of the obvious lack of horn.

As long as the two were happy, it didn't really matter, Berry figured. There were plenty of unicorns who didn't end up going to that fancy school for the gifted. Lyra had apparently never graduated before moving to Ponyville.

Now the lot of them were having dinner at the same restaurant they'd visited the previous evening.

"If you're unsure what to pick, I do recommend the black salsify with béchamel sauce. A lot of ponies will turn up their nose and go for asparagus instead, but to each their own." Enny didn't seem like the sort of pony with really outlandish tastes, so the recommendation seemed safe enough.

"I'd like to recommend the salad too," Enny added, "Alas, the leaves don't store nearly so well as the roots out of season."

"It's me, I'm the one turning my nose up," her husband admitted. "Although I've never been a big friend of asparagus either. Whenever my parents had asparagus, I'd have about two token stalks and then fill up on potatoes with the white sauce. That's good eating."

Berry had to grin. "Now you're speaking my language. Still, I figure I might as well give Enny's suggestion a try while I'm here."

"Curried red lentil soup? I think I want to try that." Pinchy closed her menu. "If I keep looking I'll just keep changing my mind."

"That sounds real good," Bon Bon nodded and closed her own menu. "Good call."

Dinky scratched her head. "How's their chickpea stew? I like chickpeas a lot."

"We've not been disappointed here yet. If you like them, the stew's probably good. If not, you can just order something else." Mutual Advantage shrugged. "As for me, I guess I'll take the three-bean chili."

"That's probably not as good as my mom's chili," Dinky claimed.

"Probably not," the stallion agreed diplomatically. "Good enough to pass muster, though."

"I'll have the same," Lyra concluded.

After ordering, Enny's husband shared stories from his travels. He'd apparently made his fortune in trade and shipping, having also met Enny in her tiny hometown in the frozen north. Before finding success, he'd apparently tried his luck overseas as well.

"My parents knew I was a pretty good negotiator and wanted me to get into politics, but I really didn't care to. I was practically still a colt when I hired on as a deckhoof on a ship bound for Zebrica. Spent a couple years there. Not a lot of unicorns to go around, so getting hired on with various caravans was never hard. I know a spell to chill drinks, which turned out real popular. It's damnably hot over there."

He ended up describing encounters with elephants, rhinos and other large beasts, as well as a bewildering range of tropical diseases.

"I won't elaborate over dinner, but that was a big factor in deciding to go back to Equestria. I guess I had to admit I wasn't really cut out for Zebrica. I did a lot better in the north, here."

"We got a zebra living in – well, near Ponyville. You ever learn their language?" Their initial treatment of Zecora hadn't been Ponyville's proudest moment, and Berry regretted being swept up in everypony's fear.

"Oh, no. I was honestly just doing scut work most of the time, and we had interpreters. There's a lot of languages over there. Most ponies don't realize how bloody big Zebrica is. It's a continent, not a country." He shook his head. "Honestly only saw a small part of it, but some of it was really beautiful. I guess financially I could have worked any sort of menial job here to save up money, but I wouldn't trade in the experience."

"We'll take your word for it, husband." Enny grinned. "I simply get miserably sweaty in hot weather. I could not stand Zebrica, I wager."

"Yes, we've been over this, love." He winked at their guests. "She's too vain to get her coat shaved down."

"I will not deny it, and I make no excuses."

Apparently that was the end of it, because the stallion changed the topic without further comment. "Have you spent any time at sea, Berry?"

"N-no. I think I'd remember that. Where'd that come from?" Berry really hadn't seen that much of Equestria, let alone the world. She didn't think she looked like any kind of sailor.

"Hm." The stallion raised an eyebrow. "I guess you just got a peculiar way of walking then."

"I got a funny walk? That's rich. You do know Lyra, right?" Sure, Lyra Heartstrings didn't constantly bounce about, or call time and space into question the way Pinkie Pie did, but when the mood struck her, she'd bound and jump with barely restrained energy where another pony would walk or run.

"My daughter's endearing quirks aside," Lyra's father spoke with obvious fondness. If Lyra's minor oddities had ever bugged him, they certainly didn't now. "I was reminded of sailors when they return to land. Some of them seemed so used to the pitching and rolling of a ship on the waves that on solid ground, they didn't seem quite at home. They tend to have a wider stance. You don't sway, though."

Irrationally, Berry felt like she'd been caught at something. "I still do that, huh?" There'd been quite a few times where Berry couldn't take walking without falling over for granted. "When Pinchy was younger, there weren't a lot of times where I wasn't at least a little buzzed."

It'd probably be too charitable to describe herself as 'high-functioning', but she'd managed to keep her life together adequately, more or less just for the sake of her daughter. "I got to moving about carefully. Little foals cause enough chaos without having me stumbling all over the place."

Enough time spent with a diminished sense of balance mandated a little care and deliberation when moving. That wasn't to say she'd never gotten really hammered. Sure, and those occasions were probably the most memorable to ponies who knew her. But when there was a social event to attend, Berry had generally remembered to organize a foalsitter or sleepover to square her daughter away for the night.

In hindsight, she'd felt rather rotten about foisting her daughter on Ditzy so often. They hadn't been close friends back then, only connected by the friendship of their fillies. She'd only later wondered if dinner and breakfast for a second young pony hadn't been a strain on the mailmare's budget.

Likewise she'd apologized to Pinkie, the mare put so much effort into her parties, and for too long, Berry had only been interested if there was free alcohol involved.

Both of them had told her not to worry so much. She tried not to. Sure would be nice to have Ditzy here, though. That mare had a way of smiling, half encouraging and half proud, that could really calm a pony down. Sort of a 'I know you can do it, but I'll still be here if it doesn't work out' thing.

Life seemed a little less scary, and various self-doubts a little more silly when you had Ditzy in your corner, Berry felt.

Sure, Bon Bon and Lyra were great friends, and good with the fillies, but, well, in the past, they'd been more occupied with Bon Bon's problems than with Berry's.

"Been nearly a year now since I had my last drink." It had been pretty miserable at the start, but she'd had more support than she thought she would have. She still got thirsty, now and then, but surprisingly, Spike had shown the most empathy of anyone outside her normal circle of friends. He'd claimed that he would always have to keep watch on himself to avoid another catastrophic growth spurt due to greed.

Of course Spike couldn't help being a dragon. Berry had caused her own problems herself.

Both Ruby Pinch and Dinky seemed to watch the older unicorns for any sign of derision. They'd both immediately bought into some notion about how praiseworthy it was that Berry had finally tried to fix her own mess and their patience for ponies thinking little of their respective mothers had been worn quite thin from exposure to certain bullies at school.

Lyra's parents didn't seem entirely comfortable, probably didn't have anypony in their own circle of friends or family who'd overdone it like Berry had.

Enny surprised Berry by getting up from her spot, approaching her and giving her a quick hug. Despite Berry's apprehension, she had to admit it was rather comforting. Maybe that was a default reaction when the big mare didn't know what else do to. "Good job. I am sure your friends and family are very happy." At least she sounded honest about it.

"Nothing to add to that," Enny's husband shrugged.

Pinchy and Dinky seemed appeased by the response, at least. They smiled, then proceeded to cast impatient glances towards the kitchen, waiting for food.

"Uh, well, thanks, Enny." Berry wouldn't really describe herself a hugging sort. It wasn't really her first response, unless it was between her and Pinchy. She didn't mind the contact, though.

"Speaking of family," Bon Bon hadn't been saying much all day. Probably a bit mentally exhausted. "Didn't you want to tell your family when you'd been dry for longer than last time?"

Berry had been drinking frequently even as a youth, but she hadn't had a drop while pregnant, and in any case her really problematic heavy drinking had only started after that, she figured. "It's coming up on that, true." She fidgeted a bit. "My cousin and his parents, they're running a vineyard out northwest, not quite all the way to Vanhoover. My granny lives with em, too. I owe 'em big time, 'cause they took me in and later practically funded me getting set up here in Ponyville when I told em I was expecting Pinchy. They'll probably be happy to hear from me."

That was another item she was going to have to put on the list. Have more contact with the family. Easy to forget ponies cared for her while she was being a sack of self-loathing.

"What about your parents? You mentioned them like ... " Lyra paused. "Once?"

"I think I remember that. Told you and the gang they were happy I moved away to raise my daughter?" That Lyra had remembered Berry's decision to not tell her family she'd quit drinking until she'd made it longer than she had been pregnant wasn't totally surprising, that she'd brought it up again was unexpected. Berry didn't think she had ever heard a single mention of Bon Bon's family and perhaps had assumed that family wasn't a topic much talked about by the couple.

"Well, I think my dad was glad enough anyway. He's so henpecked it's hard to tell sometimes."

"I don't like grandma," Pinchy suddenly cut in. She looked a little conflicted about the admission, perhaps due to the presence of ponies who were still relative strangers. "She was nice to me, but she was always being nasty to mommy. It was confusing, when I was little."

Berry would have preferred if her daughter hadn't remembered. "My mother's a miserable, bitter nag, but I don't like talking about it because whenever you tell ponies that you cut your parents out of your life they look at you like you're just the most ungrateful pony they ever did meet." She sighed. "I guess it sucks I'm not talking to dad either, but she wore him down to a shadow of a pony, which just hurts to see."

"Well, we wouldn't want to spontaneously summon up Applejack to give us a lecture about family values, right?" Leave it to Bon Bon to make a crack like that. Occasionally Berry wondered if there wasn't some resentment on the other mare's part towards the local heroes.

"Don't even joke about it. Wouldn't know how to talk about that sort of thing with any of the Apples, seeing as their parents are, y'know, no longer with us." And a real shame it was, too, Berry was sure. Apples were solid sorts, and she really felt for Applebloom probably not really remembering her parents well at all. Still, the filly's older siblings seemed to do a good job as parental substitutes.

"No reason to dwell on such unpleasantness!" Enny's smile was encouraging. "Or shall I hug you again, perhaps?"

"No, that's okay. I guess Bon did warn me about you being a hugger." Berry was happy about the suggestion not to elaborate on the topic. She wasn't going to budge on not liking her mother, but she didn't really have a counterargument in case somepony brought up that she must have been pretty disappointing in the first place, juvenile delinquency and all.

"Hah! It is true. In seriousness, though," the large unicorn continued, "I am inclined to accept your judgement, if even your little daughter noticed that your mother has not been good to you."

"Food's coming, I think!" Pinchy probably didn't mind dropping the topic either.

"Alright. Remember, mind your manners in public, Pinchy."

"Took long enough," Dinky observed quietly.

"Should be worth the wait, Miss Do!" Enny grinned eagerly herself.

In Dreams

Despite her long hiatus, the dreams of ponies were still familiar to Luna. Indeed, in the details they might be unfamiliar, but in general, it seemed that most ponies still held similar hopes and fears as they did a thousand years ago.

When they weren't just dreaming incomprehensible nonsense. Not every dream had to be significant.

Ruby Pinch was dreaming of adventure. She and her friend were creeping through a forest, loaded down with saddlebags and bandoliers, both unicorns streaked with mud to mute their colors.

Luna didn't know much about the dreamer's waking self, but she was reasonably sure Ruby and her friends were older in this dream than they were in reality, both young adult mares here.

They were hunting. Dreams held few secrets for Luna, so it was no difficulty to gain insights into the truths of this dream.

Agent Pincer and her partner Double-Down were trained as well as any pony could be trained, but they were green. This was their first hunt without direct supervision. The rogue timber wolf was far from the Everfree and confirmed to be alone, but normal forests and the average pony weren't wholly capable of handling a predator that could magically recover from terrible damage. Still, the animal was just living, too. It wasn't really malicious.

"Remember, agents. Live captures are good, surviving is better."

Facing a timber wolf would be frightening, of course, but every good hunter had to acknowledge fear, examine it, then set it aside. Being scared was normal, acting on it would be disappointing. Retreating could be a necessary choice, but it shouldn't be done out of emotional weakness.

Wrangling wild beasts wasn't as glamorous as saving the world, but the job needed doing.

They had line of sight on the cave said to be the creature's lair now. A sudden rustle of leaves and a half-alert growl from the cave warned Agent Pincer that the wind had shifted and carried their scent right to the creature.

So much for surprise. She checked on Double-Down, who was already grabbing one of her flash-bangs from a bandolier. Of course Double had noticed the change in wind condition sooner. Her mother was a pegasus, after all.

They appeared to be in silent agreement: It was time to go loud.

They lowered their protective goggles onto their eyes as Double hurled her grenade into the cave entrance. "Fire in the hole!" The loud whisper was mere formality considering they were the only ponies anywhere nearby.

Pincer readied her net-caster. Ideally, they'd capture the disoriented wolf as it staggered out of the cave and that'd be that.

Luna was sure that Ruby Pinch hadn't had a large crossbow a mere moment ago, but that sort of non-linear thing was par for the course in dreams.

Both unicorns ducked and flattened their ears just before a deafening blast and bright flash of light filled the cave. Sure, both of them could technically recreate the disorienting attack by magic, but why waste their limited energy when they could store the same effect in convenient portable form? Pincer didn't know the chemistry of it, but Double-Down rarely mixed up duds.

The timber wolf loudly communicated its pain and anger, yowling and growling. It didn't stagger, however. It exited its lair, nose to the ground, apparently following their scent. Details of the beast were sufficiently indistinct to inform Luna that the dreamer had likely never seen one of the creatures up close, at least not in a calm state of mind. Hopefully, Ruby Pinch only knew timber wolves from pictures and stories.

Agent Pincer took aim with her crossbow and fired. Luna noted that the windlass-pulled design was specific enough to indicate that the dreamer had a pretty clear idea how crossbows could be built. Watching the bolt expand into a weighted net and trap the monster also told her that the projectile itself probably had been dreamed up on the spot. It lacked in detail.

The hunters didn't waste time celebrating, it seemed immediately obvious that the net wasn't going to hold the beast. It was chewing on ropes and in general straining hard enough against its bindings to snap off some branches. Maybe a creature of flesh and blood with more regard for its own body would have been trapped more effectively. The timber wolf didn't have to care.

"So much for Plan A," Pincer grumbled.

"Good shot, though. Time for B. I'm lighting a blue flare."

As the two unicorns turned to flee, Double-Down produced what appeared to be a firework rocket and lit it with her magic. Then she held it steady in her magical grip until it launched.

Luna doubted that this method of launching fireworks would meet parental approval.

The blue firework, Luna gleaned from the dream's reality, was an indicator that the first attempt to trap the wolf had failed, but that the hunters didn't think themselves in immediate danger.

Nonetheless, they were racing through the undergrowth, pursued by an angry timberwolf. Its sight still seemed to be impaired, slowing it down, but it tracked them well enough.

Suddenly, Double-Down caught her leg on something and crashed to the ground with a yelp of surprise and pain. Pincer knew that few unicorns were as surehoofed as her partner, but everypony got unlucky sometimes. The unicorn was already scrambling back onto her hooves, but she was clearly favoring her right front leg.

Double-Down frowned. "Maybe we should have burned it in its cave. Can't risk a forest fire now."

Pincer shook her head. "C'mon, lean on me and we'll make it. If not, fire it is."

Fire didn't have to be magical to hurt timber wolves, which was good, because neither unicorn was particularly skilled at creating fire beyond what was needed to light a fuse. Thanks to one of her mother's old stills, flammable liquid was never difficult to get, and neither were empty bottles, oil-soaked rags or matches that wouldn't go out if the bottle they were attached to was hurled forcefully at a target.

A little basic ingenuity went a long way.

Obviously someone close to the fillies had no real kind of filter regarding what was and wasn't appropriate to teach children. Bon Bon would likely have the same knowledge, but hadn't seemed like the type to teach it to minors.

Pincer ditched her cumbersome crossbow. She could always build another one. It was a little awkward to support her partner, but nothing too bad. Maybe she wasn't as hard to shift as her mother, who really could take a hit and keep on going, but Pincer was still a sturdy pony, and in any case, ponies were never stronger than when they had to help out close friends and family.

It was easy to be a more pleasant pony than her mother, Pincer admitted. She felt she had a pretty reasonable estimate of Berry Punch's flaws. Still, if she had learned anything from the earth pony, it was that no amount of personal pain or weakness was an excuse for letting a pony you loved down in a crisis.

She'd known Double-Down since before the two of them could spell their names. The other unicorn was practically a sister to her, and she could no more imagine a life without at least the occasional dose of Dinky in it than she could imagine life without her magic – she saw ponies managing either scenario perfectly fine every day, and she'd experienced both as a little foal, but she couldn't really relate now that she was older. And if she had to pick between the two, she'd give up her horn before her friend.

Still, she supposed the second thing she'd learned from her mother was to consider the feelings of kinder ponies. Double-Down might be wishing they'd done the low-risk thing in hindsight, but neither one of them would have felt right just burning out the beast without trying to capture it alive, even if it might have spared them some danger. The critter was just living too.

Luna wasn't sure a pair of unicorns would move quite this quickly through a dense forest if one of them had hurt their leg, but apparently the dreamer considered her ability to coordinate with her friend to be beyond compare.

The dream seemed to be coming to an end as the two unicorns successfully lured the timber wolf into a trap, snaring it in a net of heavy chain links. Although Luna thought this would have been a better Plan A, dreams were by nature not planned ahead. It merely showed that the dreamer was confident they could solve problems even if the first try didn't succeed.

It was a magic net, of course. Far too heavy to be launched from a portable net caster, it had been built into an elaborate trap mechanism of Pincer's invention. The timber wolf surely wouldn't escape this time.

"It's quite fitting that spell energy should be entombed in cold steel, so it can be put to use by anyone, not just unicorns."

Considering Pincer clearly wasn't strong enough to have grabbed the animal in her magic and carried it around, the magic item was pretty nice to have for the average unicorn, too.

After lighting a green flare, the captured wolf was being relocated to the Everfree by indistinct pegasi and the two unicorns praised by friends and family for a job well done.

Luna ceased her observation. Whatever worries her mother had, they hadn't disturbed Ruby Pinch's sleep this night.

The dream Luna was observing now was understandable enough. A mare fearing for her foal, in essence, perhaps mixed with a fear of inadequacy.

Obviously, dreams weren't often realistic. They were constructs of emotion, not cold logic. Ponies often took their opinions for facts in the waking world, and some simply weren't well educated regarding the functioning of the Equestrian government. Luna herself was far from caught up on every single thing that changed during her absence.

Therefore, Luna knew not to take details that were unfamiliar to her as in any way educational or indicative of reality, although they could serve as prompts to make her educate herself in yet another facet of civil government, once awake.

Right now, the dreamer was being condemned by a panel of imposing judges, cold and faceless representatives of an Equestria that could not possibly care less for the pony in question.

"In light of these findings, the court judges you unfit to care for a minor."

At least the mare didn't seem resigned to that fate, which meant her self esteem was at least still present, if diminished. She seemed almost baffled, perhaps actually having held some hope the ruling would be in her favor. "This isn't fair! I did my time and went legit before she was born! I quit drinkin'! I got a house an' all. Always made sure Pinchy went to school!"

There was an audience present as well. Again, most of them were indistinct, but their murmuring seemed to generally be in support of Berry, with few exceptions. An older mare with a distinct family resemblance merely scoffed and muttered about Berry being a terrible mother. Perhaps that voice had been louder, once.

"We've determined that custody of one Ruby Pinch will go to her sire, Pan Flash."

There was a stallion now, looking smugly self-satisfied. He seemed barely more than a colt, perhaps because the dreamer hadn't seen him in a very long time.

"What? You can't do that! He doesn't know my filly! He's worse than me!" The mare seemed angry now, but as if by magic, guards materialized to restrain her as she ranted. Still, she wasn't quite as furious or desperate as Luna might have expected. It was measured anger and resentment, as if part of her had already resigned herself to being cheated, despite some small measure of hope to the contrary. "You - you can't tell me I'm no good and then give her to a stranger to drag off into the same slum I crawled out of!"

Her dream was unmoved by the claim. The only apparent response was the wail of a filly. "Mommy! I don't wanna go! I don't wanna leave you and Ponyville!"

The mare seemed certain that she was now a good parent and that her filly loved her, and yet, if the dream was any indication, she had no faith that this would be recognized, as Luna had predicted.

Remaining unseen, the Princess of the Night attempted to comfort and empower the dreamer to steer the dream into a less troubling conclusion. "Do you truly think it will end like this, Berry Punch?"

The mare shook her head. "No, it won't, not if I've got anything to say about it. Can't say I understand why he got the job when I got friends in Ponyville I named as back-up, but ..." She trailed off, then shrugged. "If that's how it's going to be, it shouldn't be hard to do away with Pan for good. Give my friends another chance to fight for Pinchy."

Berry actually chuckled. "He's not gonna expect it, so I should be able to get close enough. Quick jab to the horn, most unicorns don't magic so well with a headache. Pan's a weakling, won't be a problem to do him in."

Although Berry Puch wouldn't be the first pony to enjoy some catharsis through violence in a dream, in this specific case the threat was probably a bad sign. Luna took a little more direct control of the dream and dismissed the other ponies, or what remained of them. "Berry Punch. Nothing has happened yet. This is merely a dream."

This seemed to confuse Berry momentarily. "Wha-what? Oh no. You can't – dreaming ain't evidence! Uh, or confession. It's not that either. You can't lock me up based on this!"

"I won't," Luna reassured the mare. "But tell me, do you truly think yourself capable of such a crime?"

Berry frowned, briefly. "Dunno. Jury's still out on that. I mean, normally I'd worry about getting into trouble, and I don't usually wanna see ponies hurt. I mean, look at a pony and you figure, well, he's probably got parents or friends or foals who'd be awful sad if you do him in. That ain't right. Wouldn't wanna chance making a colt or filly like Pinchy sad."

"Plus, it sets a bad example," she added as an afterthought.

"Most ponies have an aversion to the act itself, in my experience. Most violence, really. An inhibition that is usually only overcome in extraordinary circumstances, or through training." That did feel like a silly thing to point out, but a lot of ponies would have responded with a scandalized denial instead of explaining their reasoning why they wouldn't normally just kill somepony.

Berry suddenly looked proud. "I think Pinchy's like that, too. She doesn't pick fights much. Well, last time she did she tried to shut up some bullies – but only once they started going for her friend. I made her do chores with me. It's no good to just fly off the handle over words. She was losing when Cherilee broke them up, anyway."

She shrugged. "Sometimes I do feel kinda rotten about, feelin' so little about fightin'. Look at Bon Bon, she's a pretty great pony, but she's just messed up from stickin' her neck out. Y'know, always keyed up, survivor's guilt, nightmares, the whole mess. Me? Between goin' sober and Pan's letter, I slept pretty well every night."

"I know of Bon Bon. Her trust is not easy to win, yet you have done so." Luna decided against mentioning that she had only investigated Berry's dreams due to Bon Bon's request. They weren't pleasant dreams, by any measure, but she might have overlooked them while helping ponies whose dreams caused them more visceral terror or despair.

The earth pony smiled fondly. "Yeah. And that – that really means something. We're different sorts, she did government work and protected her fellow ponies. I robbed liquor stores as a teenager and got into fights. But if there was real trouble, you'd have to kill us both to get at our friends. And we got great friends. Wish I'd seen that sooner."

"Would you mind telling me a bit about your life in Ponyville?"

Berry's expression soured into a frown again. "Beg pardon, Princess, but I dunno what that matters. I tried my best, I really did. Never did anything serious to anypony, 'cause bar fights don't count, and my filly grew up right, 'cause of all the nice ponies around her. That Cherilee is a saint, for instance."

Luna tried to offer an encouraging smile. "Please, humor me. Why did you decide to move to Ponyville?"

"Ponyville worked out great, but back then, it wasn't the important part. I didn't mind having a foal. But I didn't want her to be poor, or have ponies look down on her just for bein' from the bad part of town, y'know?" As an afterthought, she added, "Or, y'know, skipping school all the time an' growing up getting into fights. I didn't want that for her either."

"A laudable sentiment," Luna agreed. She conjured up a vision of Ponyville for a more pleasant backdrop. "Walk with me. What did you do?"

"Well, Pan didn't have a job and I didn't wanna do anything to risk getting locked up, so when Pinchy was born I went behind mom's back and begged Granny for help. She lives with mom's brother, his wife and my cousins." Berry paused, sucking on her teeth. "They treated me like I was somepony, just 'cause I was family. Took a chance on me, set me up in Ponyville sellin' wine, later making my own drinks. They took a huge risk for a lowlife like me. But Pan wouldn't leave Las Pegasus, and mom was mad I went to the family for some reason. I was cranky 'cause I wondered why she never asked for help and got us a better life. We had a huge fight."

"That is ... unfortunate. I am sorry." The situation wasn't new to Luna. Although in the waking world most ponies would still rather deal with her sister, some ponies seemed willing to share a great deal of themselves with her in their dreams.

"Maybe Pinchy just charmed the lot of 'em, cause I sure wasn't much to look at. It wasn't goin' to be easy, but at least Pinchy's mom was going to be a workin' pony, and nopony was gonna stop me. At least dad seemed proud of me. He wasn't my sire, but he'd been in my life since I was five or six, I forget. He visited me every weekend the time I was in lock-up. Good sort. Dunno what he saw in mom but I'd probably be a worse mess if she'd raised me by herself."

Perhaps the mare had experienced a need to just tell the story to somepony else. As it stood, it seemed fortunate that one could not really run out of breath in a dream.

"There is, I think, no accounting for taste. It isn't my place to guess at such. But you mentioned Ponyville working out well?"

"Sort of." The earth pony worked her jaw idly for several moments before explaining. "Everypony was really patient with me, but it kept gnawin' at me that I didn't belong. It didn't feel good bein' around all these respectable ponies, so I got to drinkin' again, cause it helped me not worry so damn much about screwing up Pinchy, or my finances, or slipping up and getting busted for, I dunno, threatening to cut somepony. Which just meant whenever I was sober I had another thing to worry about. So I ended up not being sober that much. And eventually, well, that was the new normal, and I had a rep for it."

Berry sighed. "Maybe if I'd stuck closer to Ditzy. She's pretty good at chasin' that sort of thinking away. I guess I feel pretty foolish in hindsight," she all but whispered. "I'm real good at bustin' myself down when left alone. S'horrid."

"I am well familiar with regret, I fear."

Luna was considering her next words of comfort when Berry Punch took a few steps away and squared her shoulders. "Now wait a second, Princess. It's nice of you to drop by, but I'm not real comfy comparin' notes. It's true I ain't gonna win any parenting awards but I think I at least earned a passing grade."

Berry seemed to realize she was about to tell Princess Luna that at least she hadn't failed so completely as to become a world-threatening tyrant, but she braced herself, snorted and kept talking. "Course she isn't perfect, but Pinchy's got a good heart. She knows to share. She's not spoiled, she's never been a bully. She's knows the world is a nasty old place unless ponies are good to each other."

Her voice grew thick with emotion and she lowered her head. "I'm a real blunt instrument, princess, but even at my worst I always had a hug for my filly. I was embarrassing, but I was always there, and I never, ever hit her. Nopony's going to take that away from us. Th-that's the one thing I did more or less alright. I – I didn't do as good a job as I meant to do when I left the city behind. Known a lot of ponies with broken homes, and mom was no picnic to be around. I meant to do better than that for my filly. But she's still going to be a good pony. I haven't completely botched raising her yet."

The implied 'at least I'm not as bad as you' wasn't very pleasant for Luna, but she wasn't wholly surprised. A life like Berry's didn't lend itself to much respect for authority. Perhaps the mare just assumed she was about to be judged by an authority figure?

"I shan't take anything away from you, Berry. We shouldn't dwell on the mistakes of the past. As long as we do not repeat those, t'is quite alright to focus on our successes."

"Tch. Can hardly keep calling it a mistake if I did the same dumb stuff year after year. But there was good parts too, of course." Berry smiled a little and closed her eyes. "I learned to give myself some credit. Help me out here, you're already in my head."

The earth pony obviously wasn't any kind of gifted lucid dreamer, but with Luna's help, she managed to call up a scenario based on a memory.

A sleeping Berry Punch, uncomfortably draped over a couch in the living room – too out of it the night before to get all the way up the stairs and into bed. The morning sun shining onto her through a window. "Ugh. Curse the sun." The earth pony squinted, then covered her head with a pillow, too miserably hung over to want to get up.

A light scrapping sound and the patter of tiny hooves. Ruby Pinch, perhaps five or six years old, nosing a plate along the floor. "Mommy! I heard you wake up. I made you hangover breakfast!"

Berry raised her head from under the pillow and blinked blearily. Hangover breakfast was just bread and honey. Honey was soft, soothing, and usually helped settle her stomach. "Morning, Pinchy," Berry muttered. "You're the best."

She took a quick bite while Pinchy went back to the kitchen for a large glass of water. Getting rehydrated was important, after all. Berry, ignoring her pounding headache, slid off the couch to give her daughter a hug and a kiss. "Should you be tastin' like honey, Pinchy?"

"I made a mess," the filly admitted, ears flattened to her head. "Sorry."

"Hrmm." The earth pony just grumbled and started licking the filly about the head and face. Yep, still tasted like honey.

"Eww, mommy!"

"Yer own fault, silly filly." Her voice still felt rough from the night before. "'m not mad. I'll help you clean up ... later. Mommy needs a little more rest after breakfast."

"Okay! I already ate. I'll get my crayons!" Pinchy was a clever pony. Coloring was her favorite option for fun when her mother had a headache, because it was quiet.

"Sure. Love the company." She had her breakfast, then went back onto the couch, facing the other way to keep the sun out of her eyes and let it warm her back instead. Dozing for a little longer while her filly kept her company with a coloring book sounded just perfect right now. "Wake me in an hour so we can clean up the kitchen. Then we can head to the park to check in with your friends." Napping under a tree while Pinchy played with her friends also sounded perfect. By then, she'd probably be able to handle the noise of multiple foals at play without wincing in pain. After a quick drink to steady her hooves, anyway.

"The park was always nice. There were usually other parents watching too, so it was no big deal to take a nap." Berry watched the recreated scene dubiously. "Not sure Pinchy could tell time by that age, but even before I could just say 'when the short pointer on the clock is on the nine' or something."

Luna smiled. "It is well that you have not lost sight of your achievements in the shadow of your flaws. You've raised a very considerate little pony." She watched the earth pony wander through the scene and point at a misshapen lump of clay on a shelf.

"Check this out. Pinchy made that in pre-school. It's a hayburger made of clay. A clayburger!" Berry looked at Luna expectantly for a moment. "Eh, they probably don't serve hayburgers in Canterlot. Now that she's a little older she asked me to take down some of the pictures she drew for me – a little embarrassed, now. But I ain't budging on the clayburger. That's still on display."

Sentimental value could turn the most common items into treasure. Another truth that hadn't changed during Luna's long absence.

"Are you a good pony, Princess? Do you feel like one?" Berry Pinch was giving the princess a curious look.

"I suppose my sister would say so. Sometimes the weight of regret makes it difficult to agree. It is a hard thing to forgive myself, although I think accepting the forgiveness of others is a start." Luna offered a wan smile. "I have read that if you wish to be good, first believe that you are bad. I suppose all we can do is try to do right."

"Huh, yeah," Berry nodded. "I guess I always used to be worried about not measuring up, y'know. In hindsight that was silly, cause even if it doesn't come naturally, as long as you go through the motions, everypony else will just assume you're a good pony. Fake it 'till you make it. Even managed to do it enough to teach Pinchy right."

Luna wasn't entirely convinced they were talking about the same things, now. "You mentioned your own regrets?"

"I got plenty of those, Princess. For instance, they say the first, what, five years are really important for a foal's development? I can't really recall if I was real good company during that time. Would Pinchy be even brighter if I'd been more intellectually stimulating? Should I have tried to make some unicorn friends sooner just to get somepony with magic experience into Pinchy's life? Y'know, that kinda stuff." Berry rubbed the back of her neck. "I get along well with other ponies, but regret's always good for bein' horrible to myself."

Berry shrugged. "Yet I just don't care that much about ponies I don't know. I've been in a lot of fights, I've been in robberies, and if you ask me about them I just kind of mentally shrug. That's just how it was. I did my time, though!" After a moment, she added, "As I said, I'm glad Pinchy's not like that, because I love her. And when I compare myself to Bon Bon I do feel a little bad about the indifferent attitude – but only because I care about Bon Bon."

"There are a great many ponies who do not readily care about the fates of other, more distant ponies. You are certainly not unusual in this. Not measuring up to the Elements of Harmony in your thoughts does not make you a bad pony." Luna took note of the fact that Berry had only mentioned regrets tied to ponies she valued. She really didn't seem directly remorseful about her past, apparently only having been afraid of discovery and how it would affect her daughter.

The earth pony nodded along. "I'll take your word for it. I guess I used to be worried somehow ponies would figure out I was some kinda criminal or whatever they'd call it and it'd reflect real badly on my daughter." After a pause, she added, "I'm technically just a juvenile delinquent anyway, right? Anything they managed to connect to me, I did time for before I was old enough to go to real prison. Never been tried as an adult!"

"Y'got any idea how much Ponyville is worth? What Pinchy's got there, a friend like Dinky, a great teacher, adults who care ... can't be measured, Princess." Berry rubbed her chin. "Friendship was always real conditional, back where I grew up. Not the genuine article, really. You don't back up your pals one time on account of conscience or fear, or you make a mistake, it's real hard to drop the rep for bein' unreliable, and then nopony backs you up in a pinch. My friends here care about me, not just about what I can do for them. Kinda wish I'd figured that out sooner, too."

The earth pony sat down heavily. "I was doing so well, Princess! I finally wasn't afraid anymore. I'd never been better than the past couple of months. Maybe my past wasn't going to cause any kinda problem for Pinchy after all!" She took a shuddering breath. "Then Pan sends me his stupid letter and now I'm watching myself fall apart. That it doesn't make sense just scares me more. S'like Las Pegasus is makin' a grab for my filly and I gotta know why and put a stop to it. I hate that place so much."

Berry flopped down all the way onto her stomach. "You seen me dream. I got no fears 'cept for my filly and I don't know what I'll do, but I've never been real creative in my problem solvin'."

Luna could feel the desperation with which the earth pony just wanted things to be alright for her daughter, and how little she worried about herself. She resolved to try and influence the situation into the proper paths. With any luck she could be, if not a calming, then at least a restraining presence all around. Night Court business would keep for a little while, in any case. It would feel good to try and directly help a common citizen.

The alicorn approached and sat down next to Berry. She wasn't quite so adept at comforting grown ponies as her sister. "Could you do your Princess of the Night a favor? Should you go to Las Pegasus, try to do something pleasant first. I know you do not seem to have any great affection for your mother, but perhaps visiting your father figure would do you good. He'll be glad to know you've been doing well, surely?"

The earth pony nodded slowly. "Yeah ... yeah. I'll bring a new picture of Pinchy, he'll like that. I suppose that way the trip won't be all bad."

"Exactly. And remember, Berry, trust in your friends. They know what kind of pony you are, even if you cannot see yourself in the shadows of your faults." Luna stood again. "T'is time for this dream to end. Farewell, Berry Punch."

Inauspicious Beginnings

It was a long, over-night train ride to Las Pegasus, and Bon Bon had never been there but briefly, so it was essentially new ground for her. Luck of the draw, that. She'd never been there on business.

Las Pegasus, as the name seemed to imply, was originally a pegasus cloud city, but it had grown to be much more than that. Tourism, apparently one of the city's major draws, occupied a middle tier below the clouds, casinos, hotels and other entertainment options constructed in, on and immediately around a series of small mesas. As long as you had money, you didn't need to walk on clouds to have a good time, it seemed.

Everything else of little interest to visitors sprawled to fill the spaces between mesas and spread out around them. Residential areas of varying affluence for people without wings, administrative districts, important infrastructure, all the unexciting things that kept a population center functioning.

It had been impressive to look at as they approached by train, but she assumed that if it hadn't started out as a pegasus town, the whole thing would be a little flatter. Exceedingly low cloud cover surrounded some of the rises, perhaps so tourists wouldn't have views on some unsightly parts of the lower city. Or perhaps those clouds were sculpted decoratively on top? Pegasi could get real creative.

It had been a pleasant surprise when Berry stated that she was going to visit her parents, claiming that meeting her father should be worth being exposed to her mother. It'd been a bit of a walk from the train station to the part of town where Berry's parents still lived. Getting something positive out of the trip might get Berry to take a measured approach to the reason for her stay in town. It had nearly been a full week since the earth pony had approached Bon Bon and Lyra late at night, and the couple hoped there'd been time enough for Berry to get used to the idea that Pan Flash's inquiry might be mostly innocuous, if unwelcome.

"Are we sure that your mom isn't the abominable Bighoof or something?"

"You been working on that joke since Canterlot? They were pretty big hooves, I guess," Lyra allowed with a giggle. "But that's normal where she's from. Anyway, should we worry about anyone recognizing you and being difficult?"

The narrow streets were alive with ponies clustered on corners or sitting on stairs outside of ailing two-story brick row houses, apparently with nowhere important to be during business hours. Mixed in with earth ponies and unicorns were rare pegasi, gryphons and smaller numbers of other creatures. Bon Bon was good at sort of melding into crowds, but there wasn't really anything going on here. It just seemed depressing.

"I used to dye my mane back then, and anyway we should be alright here." Berry occasionally craned her neck to check behind them as they walked. "You see anypony with faces covered up, lemme know. They might be from another neighborhood lookin' for trouble."

As an explanation, she offered, "Most folks here know at least one story of somepony who made it out only to be seen by the wrong ponies, jumped and beaten down when they came back to check in on friends or family. So, your question wasn't stupid or anything."

"I'll keep that in mind." Bon Bon was habitually alert, but it would help to know what to worry about. Her dog, as always, was quietly attentive.

As they were walking along, they were accosted by a trio of ponies, teenagers probably, in a variety of muted colors. The leader, a black unicorn, scowled at them and, by the tone of it, issued a challenge. "Hey. Where you from?" They were frankly a little hard to take seriously for Bon Bon. One of the other two ponies, although scowling, was small for a stallion, as though he'd been underfed as a foal. Both of the silent cronies were earth ponies. The third, a mare, seemed skinny and awkward, probably still on the wrong side of fully grown.

"Nowhere," Berry snapped back. "Just visiting somepony."

According to Berry's own explanation, the question had a whole host of wrong answers, naming any number of 'enemy' neighborhoods would have been especially stupid, but 'nowhere' or variations on it was usually the answer with the highest chance of dodging trouble, it usually implied one wasn't in a gang and hoped to mind one's own business.

Unfortunately, Berry's own hostile glower ruined the delivery.

The unicorn cocked his head. "You lookin' for trouble?" His scowl intensified. Maybe they'd expected easily cowed targets.

"No." Berry appeared to calm herself and offered a placid smile. "I'd rather just keep walking. You've got to work on pickin' your targets, pal. We really look that harmless?"

The unicorn seemed to take this into account. Bon Bon knew without conceit that she was in great shape, and both her friends looked healthy. Her dog had been drilled to be calm and well-behaved towards other ponies, but the other party wouldn't know that.

"Look, kid. I grew up here, too. Let's just go our separate ways," Berry continued reasonably.

The earth pony mare in the background finally spoke up. "You gonna let'em brush you off like that, Tar? C'mon."

So she was one of those types, then. Hang in the back and egg on the stallions. Probably caused a share of fights that could have otherwise been avoided. Bon Bon glowered. You got those types anywhere teenagers clustered together, but they were probably more harmful here. If Berry was any indication, the locals were already short on self-respect, they probably weren't keen on looking weak in front of their peers.

Before the unicorn could react, another voice distracted them "Hey, yo! Nines, izzat you?"

A diamond dog had gotten up from his perch in front of a door and sauntered up to the group, a cigarette hanging from his lips. Berry squinted at the canine, momentarily confused, but not confused enough to spare an annoyed sigh. "... Yes? Do I know you?"

The dog made shooing gestures towards the local ponies. "Lay off'er, she cool. Grew up here. Don't remember her bein' real patient with ponies getting on her nerves. Remember Tatters? Was Nines who took his ear. She don't let go once she clamps down."

Berry pouted as the three other ponies exchanged worried looks and left. "You didn't have to make it sound like I kept it, y'know. That's how rumors start. I just tore it up a bit." She kept staring up at the dog, recognition finally dawning. "Juju? Damn, you were like what, eight when I left?"

"Aww, don't call me Junior. I go by Lucky now." He rubbed the back of his neck, then checked to see whether the departing ponies had heard what Berry had called him. Apparently he was in luck, though.

"Well, then just call me Berry, a'ight? I been off the streets for longer than you been on them. How's your brother doin'? He was Lucky, back in the day." Berry included the last remark for the benefit of her friends.

"They sent him to the pound some time after you left. Busted him on possession with intent to sell or something. Was a sham anyway, I'm sure he was planning to fly solo. He never dealt." Lucky grinned. "Still, he went clean and got released a couple years ago, actually made it out of here. He's working warehouse security on the other side of the city. Married and got his third whelp on the way."

"Woah." Berry appeared genuinely impressed. "Somepony hired his ugly mug and he actually found a lady diamond dog? That's got to be like winning the lottery. Here's hoping the name works for you, too."

"I'm thinking so!" Lucky seemed excited. "I got some janitorial work lined up. S'only part time for now, but once you got a foot in the door doin' the scut work for the tourist traps, you're usually set if you don't screw it up. When my brother's third kid arrives, they'll get to meet their uncle – a workin' dog!"

Berry grinned. "Happy for you. Keep yer nose clean, then. Me and my friends here, we're just passin' through to see my parents."

"Ooh, ouch. Good luck with your mom, then. Uh, no offense, I just remember you not getting along with her from back in the day."

"S'cool, same as always." Berry kept on walking. The diamond dog fell in with the group naturally enough.

Bon Bon nodded at him. "I'm Bon Bon, that's Lyra. Didn't expect to meet a diamond dog here."

The larger creature chuckled. "Las Pegasus don't care what the scum at the bottom looks like, most times."

"Huh." Lyra seemed to feel a little uncomfortable, but didn't want to be left out of the conversation. "So what's the story with Nines?"

"It was a dumb joke," Berry claimed. "I got two nubby lil' canine teeth, which isn't too common for mares. I don't even remember how that came up in conversation. One of the comedians I was hanging out with felt real clever for knowing that dogs are canines, and here we are. Canines, Nines, you follow?" She snorted. "Nevermind that most stallions got those teeth too."

"Well," Lucky chimed in, "I been told by my brother that you tended to bite folks at the drop of a hat, that mighta had something to do with it?"

Berry shrugged, soundlessly working her jaw, which usually meant she was thinking. After a few moments, she seemed to have found her answer. "Young ponies are sturdy, y'know. Bounce back from injuries pretty well. Watching the cutie mark crusaders at work told me that's a very good thing. Reckless foals."

She shook her head. "So on account of young folks still feelin' indestructible and most of us not bein' so good at handling ourselves in a mature fashion, there was a lot of brawls. Y'know, ponies knocking one another around until the other guy gave in. Not as vicious as when you're dealin' with ponies from other neighborhoods. Fightin's a thrill, sure, but I wasn't notably strong or tough then, so I needed it to be on my terms. I decided that pickin' a fight with me I didn't want ought to come with a cost. I mean, ponies were less keen on havin' a fight with a dog or gryphon, I figured it was on account of all the pointy bits."

"Huh." Bon Bon made a noncommittal noise. "Did you just come up with that?"

"Pretty much," the other earth pony conceded. "We weren't notably, uh, introspective back then, either. Maybe I was just a petty jerk. Still, I mostly bit ponies that came after me, not the ones I decided to have a go at. Mostly." Berry grinned a little awkwardly. "Hey, I bet you wouldn't need to bite."

That was probably true. She'd faced monsters, and she knew her way around pony anatomy, too. Wouldn't be any trouble to subdue most equines. "I try to avoid getting in fights with ponies. Sure, most don't know my story, but still ..."

Maybe that was a silly worry, but sometimes she feared that ponies who'd seen combat didn't have as much leeway in these things. Other, more sheltered citizens would assume being trained to fight had made them uncontrollably dangerous. Bon Bon hadn't been real popular with her family after she quit hunting monsters. Supposedly she'd turned into an emotionally distant jerk compared to the young mare that had left home to keep ponies safe.

"Aw c'mon, you can't be that worried about public opinion." Berry snorted a dismissal.

"I gotta side with Bons here. I don't know your story either, but some folk do have to think about it." Lucky nodded towards Bon Bon before continuing to address Berry. "You gotta look at it from the perspective of a respectable type up high, yeah? You're just another psycho, the projects spit out hundreds of 'em. No pony cares if you bite another thug, they probably imagine you done worse. But they hear about a dog or gryphon bitin' some pony and they'll nod all thoughtful-like and think about how they never figured we ought to be allowed in the same town as ponies. A real charitable one might think you can do your time and be a useful pony what doesn't bite anypony else, but I can't stop bein' a dog, right?"

He shrugged. "Better not get into the habit, anyway. Mom didn't raise any savages."

Berry seemed to mull this over, emitting a low, rumbling grumble before eventually chuckling. "I guess that makes some sense. I just make myself look bad if I don't meet pony standards, you make dogs look bad?" With a nod to Bon Bon, she continued, "Or in any case make ponies think you ain't as much of a pony as you were, once."

"Pretty much," Lyra agreed with a bit of a scowl. The unicorn was generally quick to trust and it upset her to talk about ponies who might not be. She took after her mother that way, much to the older Heartstring's happiness.

"Anyway, we're here. You three just stay clear of the blast zone in case it's my mother answering the door. If I'm not out in thirty minutes, avenge me." The building didn't look appreciable different from any of the other row houses. Not quite dilapidated, but still in shoddy repair.

Bon Bon and Lyra took their cue from the diamond dog and maintained the same distance as Berry knocked on the door.

After a momentary wait, the front door opened to reveal a mare with an obvious family resemblance to Berry, although her coloration seemed more washed out. The pony scowled at Berry, then peered around searchingly.

"You lose Pinchy on the way here, or did Foal Services finally come for her?"

The blunt attack didn't seem to surprise Berry, but she visibly squared her shoulders and lowered her head. "Stayin' with a friend."

No wonder Pinchy didn't like her grandma.

"Anyway, I'm just here to check in with dad, then I'll get out of your mane." Berry sounded strained but seemed to be trying to stay calm.

"Cedar Chip's not your sire, y'know." It was said with real venom, but that didn't make it sound like any less of a non-sequitur.

It hadn't been entirely easy to tell, but Bon Bon had used what she knew of Berry to assume that the mare would be angry about the jab her mother had taken at her, yet obviously trying to stay somewhat civil. Now she just sounded confused. "Y-yes? I know that, mom. You goin' senile on me already?"

The older mare seemed more worn out than actually old, she'd probably had Berry pretty early in life.

"He left town and he ain't coming back," Berry's mother snapped. She obviously hadn't taken it well.

"Huh," the younger pony appeared truly surprised. "Well, good on him, I guess. Wonder when he was going to tell me."

Probably not the most diplomatic thing to say. Still, Berry had explained that she had gotten along a lot better with her mother's partner than with the mare herself, so the sentiment seemed natural.

"Well, where'd he move to?"

"Dunno. Now get lost. Bring my granddaughter next time." The older earth pony made to close the door, but Berry stepped forward and forced it open again.

"Dunno?" Berry was getting annoyed again. "Y'can't just drop this on me and then shut me out. How long ago did he leave? He's got to have left an address or something. He wouldn't just vanish on me." She'd said it evenly, without special emphasis. That this Cedar Chip character wouldn't just drop out on her was the most obvious thing in the world, it seemed, so the statement needed no special vehemence.

The old mare scowled. "I don't owe either of you any favors. Why would I help you stay in touch?"

Lucky leaned down to Lyra and Bon Bon to whisper, "because that'd be the decent thing to do?"

Berry tiredly rubbed at her face before approaching her mother. Bon Bon couldn't see her expression, but the older pony seemed to blanch.

"Mom, I'm tryin' very hard to be reasonable, y'know, but I'm under a bit of stress." She gently placed a hoof on the older mare's chest. "I got business in town. I'll check back with you before heading home, and when I do, you better have something more informative to tell me, or I will beat it out of you," she concluded with a sudden snarl, giving her mother a hard shove, sending the older mare sprawling to the floor with a yelp.

"Let's go," she addressed her friends and Lucky as she strode past them. It didn't look like she had left her mother inclined to get in the last word. Perhaps the older pony wasn't used to thinking of Berry as a physical threat. "What a waste of my bloody time. Well, almost," she amended, giving Lucky a nod. "Give my regards to your family."

"Sure, sure." He appeared to be feeling a bit awkward for having witnessed the exchange between the two ponies. He started wandering after Berry.

"I think your mother's got something wrong with her. Still, that escalated fast." People generally didn't become this unpleasant by choice, Bon Bon knew. It wasn't an excuse, but there was probably some manner of explanation. She'd side with her friend, of course, but ponies generally didn't handle their parents that way.

Lyra appeared upset. "That was terrible. I don't know what I'd do if my mother talked to me like that."

The idea was completely laughable, of course. Bon Bon was pretty sure Lyra's mother was literally incapable of feeling the sort of contempt for a pony which had been audible in the first words she'd heard from Berry's mother. The unusually large unicorn liked to act uncomplicated as a way to be disarming. She could dislike someone, sure, but not in such a toxic way.

"You're too soft. I got enough wrong with me, don't need to be worrying about what her problem is." Berry suddenly sounded morose. "Ugh, but if I beat her, I'd just be her."

The first comment was a fair point. Berry had been busy enough working on herself, she couldn't be expected to do anything to make her mother more pleasant to be around. Bon Bon found the comment about 'being' her mother curious but it didn't seem sensible just now to quiz her friend further on her relationship to her parent.

"Well if you started taking her kinda tone with Pinchy, I'd knock some sense into you while Ditzy held you down," Lyra joked.

"I guess if you got Ditzy to help you, I'd deserve it."

"I'd expect your father to get in touch with you sooner or later. You made him sound more reasonable than your mother. My folks barely like me and they still write," Bon Bon tried to offer reassurance.

"Yeah, I guess." Berry audibly ground her teeth as they walked, head hung low. It had been a considerably worse start to her stay in Las Pegasus than she had hoped for.

Bon Bon was left with a bad feeling. A glance exchanged with Lyra told her that she wasn't alone in this. Berry had been looking to get at least something good out of Las Pegasus and instead she'd apparently found reason enough to get physically rough with her own mother, as well as to explicitly threaten her. Berry would often grumble under her breath about teaching another pony some manners, but Bon Bon hadn't previously witnessed her approach anyone else and deliberately menace them to get them to comply. She'd seen her impulsively lash out to kick off a bar fight, but the mare had never been a bully since the Bon Bon and Lyra had known her.

"C'mon, let's take a break." They hadn't really gone far, but she didn't know how long Lucky would be tagging along with them. She wasn't entirely clear at what point he'd rather not keep walking into a neighborhood he wouldn't be welcome in. When the idea had struck her, she'd decided to act on it immediately.

They probably looked not much different from any other group of locals hanging around. "Lyra, let's see that picture of Pinchy we brought. Lucky ought to see."

Berry herself seemed more withdrawn now, with no one around to really vent her frustration on. Lyra reached into her saddlebag by magic.

Lucky made a grab for the picture to take it from Lyra's magic. "Looks cute. She do alright in school?" Although he hadn't interacted with Berry Punch in many years, he seemed to know a good question to ask, perhaps from listening to his brother talk about his previously mentioned offspring.

"Yes," Berry simply replied. After a moment, she elaborated. "She doesn't skip classes and she does good when she works for it."

"Yeah," Lyra added. "She and her best friend took to Bonny and me right away. Joy to be around."

"Y'know," Berry mused, "I don't recall Pinchy complaining about wanting her cutie mark in ages."

"Alright?" Like any young pony, Bon Bon had caught Pinchy and her friend occasionally glancing at their flanks whenever they'd done or experienced something new. It was natural. "Where you going with that?"

"Uh-huh," the dog agreed. "Let's hear it."

"It's kind of a big deal, is all. Especially since she and Dinky are a bit late compared to the average around them, I think. At her age, I used to talk to Dad about it, sometimes."

"I'll take your word for it. I picked up makin' candy from mom, although it was just a hobby for her," Bon Bon supplied.

"I think she didn't wanna lean on me," Berry muttered despondently.

That probably made some sense in her mind. There wasn't much doubt that Berry loved her daughter very much, but the mare probably hadn't seemed all that reliable until recently.

Bon Bon shrugged. "Might still be getting used to the fact that you're a lot more solid these days. I mean, she grew up knowin' you love her, but, uh, maybe she didn't figure she could bug you with little kid problems when you were miserable?"

"Can't help ya with with that." Lucky pocketed the picture. "I've gotta split, but I'll show this to my brother, he'll like hearing things went good for ya."

"See, that's two in town who'll be happy for you. Just put that latest worry on the list and we'll figure it out when we're back home. Maybe it'll just be a question of time." Bon Bon had little idea about child development or how having a frequently drunk Berry Punch for a mother might have affected Ruby Pinch. Of course, the filly seemed considerably more well-adjusted than her mother or grandmother, so perhaps Berry's own childhood would be more enlightening to hear about at some point.

"I guess." Berry was seemingly making the effort to appreciate the gesture. "Yeah, keep the picture. But give it back a second, let Lyra write my address on the back. Maybe one of you wants to write sometime."

The picture changed hooves again. "My horn writing isn't even that neat," Lyra groused as she wrote.

"I'm just lazy," Berry admitted.

Calling An Expert

Finding a cheap place to spend the night wasn't any great difficulty, and it still was a considerable distance from the less savory parts of town, which hopefully would do Berry some good. They didn't have a lot of funds – Lyra's parents hadn't wanted to send them across the country with a sack of bits, and the local office of their bank had been closed by the time they were done visiting Berry's old stomping grounds. Enny and her husband had assured them that the money would be waiting for them, promising to send a message ahead. Mutual Advantage had also prepared a letter with his signatures, both written and, it seemed, magical. A unicorn perk, Bon Bon supposed.

Bon Bon wasn't used to quizzing other people about their past. She wouldn't have appreciated that sort of thing herself. You judged a pony by what they put in front of you and how well they did their jobs. But it seemed relevant now.

"You ever hit your mother before?" They all shared a two-bed hotel room. Berry had raised a questioning eyebrow but Lyra had decided not to let her stew all alone.

Berry had been settling in to sleep, but cracked an eye open. "Only one time."

"Huh." Not a topic fit for the usual suspects in Ponyville, Bon Bon knew.

"Yeah. When I told my parents I was leavin' town, me'n mom had a huge fight while dad tried to keep Pinchy distracted. She was less than a year old." The other earth pony sneered. "Guess in the heat of the moment the old nag forgot I wasn't a filly half her size anymore. Popped me one right in the jaw, split my lip open."

She seemed to experience some conflicting emotions about the memory. Her grin was downright nasty as she continued. "Bounced her face offa the ground a few times. It wasn't real personal. S'just what happened to anypony layin' a hoof on me. So I haul her up, and I tell her – I can take my licks, no hard feelin's. And I told them both – I didn't wanna cut off dad from my daughter, then – but if mom ever treats her like she did me, I'd break her in half."

"Well," Lyra carefully offered, "Pinchy did mention the other day that her grandmother had generally been nice to her, the few times she remembered."

"Heh, maybe it did work, at that." Whatever measure of satisfaction she'd drawn from the memory was replaced with regret. "But right in front of my foal! I didn't wanna be like mom, but just the same, I sure didn't want Pinchy to grow up bein' anything like me. And here she got to watch me, acting like, well, myself. That ended up hurtin' a lot worse than the split lip."

"She wouldn't even remember that," Bon Bon pointed out.

"No, that's not the point, Bon. Mom's an awfully angry pony but she's basically a coward. She wasn't fit to raise a filly into a functional adult and I wasn't feelin' too confident then either. First, cause I get just as angry, and I had a sneakin' suspicion that folk in Ponyville would actually call the cops if you made a habit of acting like a thug to get your way."

Berry looked away. "I think I did do better than her, but just that time it hit me that I seriously didn't know if you could trust me to raise a reasonably good pony. It wasn't right of mom to hit me, but I hit her back a lot harder. What's that say about a pony?"

"Well, you know, maybe it's an iterative process. You don't bang two rocks together and get a crossbow, you use crude tools to make better tools and then you use those to make precise tools and so on. Each minor refinement is a step in the process, you gotta take all the steps." Lyra shrugged. Bon Bon wasn't sure the unicorn was being serious. "I mean, you're a better pony than your mother, and Pinchy's a real nice filly, so, y'know. Seems to be going the right way."

"Are you messing with me right now? I seriously doubt that's how it works." Berry sounded annoyed. "Bon's an artisan You wouldn't expect anyone in her business to run off and set up their own shop before they know the ins and outs, or if they did, they'd be awful and anything they taught their next apprentices would be awful, even if ponydom technically knows all the steps to decent candy. We don't need iterative progress! Ponies know how to raise ponies right already, except mom screwed it up, so I didn't have a real clue either! I guess I just cared enough about, uh, catching up on my homework and making sure Pinchy turned out a little better."

"Fair enough." Lyra wasn't bothered by the rebuke. "You ever figure out why your mom's so hard on you?"

Bon Bon wasn't the type to flinch, but she had to credit Berry for a pretty impressive glare. "No, I didn't, and that's the most useless question you've asked in weeks. Who cares? Maybe I remind her of my sire, maybe she thinks getting knocked up made him run off and she blames me."

Berry scoffed, resentment clear in her voice. "You gotta be the most rock-stupid mare on the planet if you think 'Why do you suppose you got a history of acting like a stone cold psycho to your young daughter?' has any answer that'd make a pony go, 'Ah, yeah, that makes sense, do carry on.' There's no excuses, and an explanation won't go back in time and make me a well-adjusted pony, so I ... don't ... care." She punctuated the final statement with a hoof on the mattress, which didn't really add to it.

That seemed a little uncalled for, and Lyra lowered her head. "Didn't mean it like that. Just curious how she ticks. Pinchy ever remind you of her sire?"

"Nah." The answer came promptly. "She don't look much like him. And anyhow – doesn't really matter. What's it to you?"

"We're just concerned for our friend," Bon Bon pointed out. "There's no call to snap at us."

"I guess. I'm sorry, Lyra, I just hate all'a this. Anyway, no. I got over Pan quickly and he was rarely ever on my mind until he wrote." She snorted. "Really wish he hadn't written, and I aim to make him see it that way, too."

After a few minutes of silence, Berry spoke up again. "What'd you do if I went off the deep end and started mistreatin' Pinchy?"

"Hm, probably get Lyra to zap you with one of those changeling counterspells, just in case."

"I'm bein' serious, Bon."

"Yeah, so am I." She literally couldn't imagine a scenario involving Berry being abusive towards any child. "I like my contingency plans as much as the next paranoid retiree, but that seems a little too far-fetched. Plus, do I look like some kinda parenting counselor? What should I do?" Dredging up the past really wasn't doing Berry any favors if she was entertaining these kinds of notions. "I'd just as soon expect you to grow wings and move to Cloudsdale, makes as much sense."

"You kiddin'? It's probably worse than Canterlot. Even the snobbiest unicorn doesn't have the option to go their whole life without layin' eyes on the other two pony types, or in any case it'd be real impractical to pull off."

"You'd be surprised," Lyra muttered tiredly.

"Isolation breeds contempt, you figure? Doesn't really answer my actual question." It wasn't the first time she'd heard a less than glowing review of Cloudsdale, but in this case, Berry was probably just being cynical without a factual basis for it. At least when Ditzy spoke about the bullies of her youth or the way some ponies looked at them when she carried up her unicorn daughter to to see her family, she spoke from personal experience.

"Okay, here's what you'll do. You get a good, sturdy chain, drag me out to the Whitetail Wood and chain me up."

"I already don't like where this is going."

"Righto. Once you got me secured properly, just beat the stuffin' outta me for a while. Crack a couple ribs, maybe." The mare might as well be reading off her grocery list for all the emotion in her voice. It was weirding Bon Bon out. "Cause obviously if that happens I'll have somehow forgotten how bloody awful it feels to be too little or too weak to stop somepony from hurtin' you, and I'll need a reminder what it's like to be completely helpless." She shrugged. "Well, you know, and if it turns out a changeling replaced me, that'll still be better than what I'd do to 'em for layin' a hoof on my daughter."

"I'm really starting to worry about the state of your mind here. I can see where you're coming from, I guess, but there's probably better ways to handle any issues you may or may not have." Lyra frowned. "I'm gettin' real tired of all this self-doubt. Some ponies, they experience pain, and they turn around and pass it on. You got a raw deal and you try to keep others from having to feel the same way. Say something positive about yourself before going to sleep, because this is wearing pretty thin."

Wasn't too often that Lyra made a point so forcefully outside of a shouting match with Bon Bon, but she couldn't help but nod along

"Alright, fine." Berry seemed to have difficulty settling on something to say, so her self esteem was obviously at a low ebb, currently. "I never really hurt anypony who couldn't, or wouldn't, hit me back. I provoked lots of ponies and I was easy to rile up myself, but that always takes two ponies lookin' for trouble. When I was fightin', it was mostly the same type of angry losers I was. I was a real mean pony but I always kept to that standard."

"Hmpf. That was sufficient, just about. Goodnight."

Bon Bon wasn't entirely certain how bullying her own mother fit into that standard, but she didn't want to unnecessarily harpoon Berry's selfimage just then. Berry's mother had seemed like a real jerk, anyway.

"Night. Thanks for listenin' to my whining."

Certain dreams were at first glance somewhat mundane. Outlandish or bizarre details would creep in, but the dreamer was primarily concerned with some normal task they would be performing in the waking world as well.

Ditzy Do was The Mailmare, the first one, from which all lesser messengers were hewn. No, that was bad. She didn't want to be attacked with a chisel, or whatever tool you generally hewed with. The first one, the mold from which all other messengers were cast! Much better.

Well, it was heartening to see a pony take pride in her work.

Even if Celestia prepared a package so heavy that She Herself couldn't lift it, the mail would still have to go through.

As Luna watched Ditzy coordinate a team of mailponies struggling with a monumental burden, she considered that her sister probably would not start mailing palaces to other ponies. She squinted. Judging by the postage, it would be cheaper to just build one where she wanted it, in any case.

Communication connected communities and helped societies run. Proper communication was important for Harmony, just as much as the Elements. Fact was, a lot of problems could be, and could have been, nipped in the bud if ponies just communicated better.

Not everypony was a big talker, Ditzy knew that better than most, for sure. But there were other ways to get a message across. Letters were just one of them, but where other ponies saw a dead-end job for wages nopony could get excited about, Ditzy sometimes felt humbly proud to be doing her part.

Princess Luna watched Ditzy go about her job, performing increasingly protracted deliveries, occasionally dealing with bizarre office politics and impossible deadlines. On top of that, some of the weather conditions the mailmare dreamed up might as well have been invented by Discord.

Some ponies would have stranger dreams than usual when they ate or drank the wrong thing. Maybe that was a factor here.

To Luna it seemed that Ditzy was being assigned a series of thankless, demanding duties, and though she plodded through each one successfully, all that resulted was that the pegasus was hoofed another equally unattractive task in turn.

Yet the dream never began feeling like a nightmare. Fire rained from the sky, the mail sorting room was in utter chaos, and linear time seemed to be fraying at the edges, but none of it seemed to touch the dreamer.

'The mailmare did not accept this reality. Where another pony might be bewildered by the dismerit of her eyes and ears, the mailmare was born to this task. Though she possesses reason, she is ultimately enslaved to the performance of her duties, and thus as she bears witness to time itself bending to her detriment, she pushes forward with a certain faithfulness entirely her own.'

The mail had to go through!

Luna idly wondered if Ditzy often narrated to herself while at work in the waking world.

"You are truly dedicated to your task, I see."

The mailmare snapped to lucidity with surprising speed, and instantly seemed embarrassed. She bowed to Luna, perhaps to hide her blush. Ditzy probably wasn't much for extolling her own virtues in the waking world, so having anypony else witness her heroic mail delivery dreams was likely uncomfortable. "It's a good job, Highness, and I think I do it well." She rose before Luna could tell her to. "Is there anything you need help with? Are you okay?"

"I'm quite fine, thank you, Ditzy." It was unexpected to be asked that question. It wasn't usually the first one a pony asked when Luna appeared in their dreams, but maybe Ditzy had thought back to the Tantabus incident.

"Alright." Ditzy smiled softly and settled down on the floor. After a moment's thought, she summoned a cold mug of cider. "Sure would love to be able to do this trick while awake," she commented with a giggle before meeting Luna's eyes, as well as she could, apparently waiting for the princess to explain her presence.

"Do you know what Berry Punch plans to do in Las Pegasus?"

"No." The admission evidently didn't make Ditzy happy.

Luna raised a brow. "No? I had hoped she would have told her friends."

Ditzy frowned and shook her head. "And then I'd be sitting here having to decide whether to betray her trust or to lie to you? I think we're looking at a 'the less you know, the less you'll have to deny later' situation. I'm sure she only did it that way by instinct. Probably didn't actually expect me to be visited by authorities."

"Besides," she added, "I didn't get the feeling she was real sure how it would go."

So maybe Ditzy had been unhappy to be asked the question, not that she couldn't answer it. The pegasus clearly was loyal to her friend, even though the lack of clear communication might have hurt her. "She seems to think very highly of you."

Ditzy grinned. "Well, I happen to think she's pretty swell, herself."

"Do you think she's capable of violence?"

The pegasus rolled her eyes asynchronously, but she was smiling warmly all the while. "She's a mother. I'm sure the authorities in Las Pegasus might have something to say about her youth, too. Can you rephrase the question?"

"Ah, of course." Perhaps Luna had expected Ditzy to be uncomfortable with the topic. A lot of ponies didn't care to think about such things. Too civilized for violence, they'd assume of themselves and their peers. There didn't appear to be any need to beat around the bush here, however. "I'm speaking of planning to do serious harm to another pony. I've seen her dreams, but there is a difference between the way a pony dreams themselves to be, and how they act in reality. You know her, however."

"Well," Ditzy hesitated, perhaps not willing to be entirely candid about the topic. "Berry spends more time convincing herself not to hurt someone than others, when things don't go her way." Ditzy looked away. "I don't see it that way, but to hear Berry tell it, violence is still entries one through five on her problem solving list. She's always adding to it, because she wants to set a good example, but the first entries are always there."

The mailmare stood up and squared her shoulders. "Berry'll tell you she wasn't a real friend to me until recently. That's just her regrets talking. We're much closer now, but I always thought of her as a friend. Our fillies been friends since before they could spell their names. We're both single mothers, we helped each other out. Maybe she doesn't remember, but when she was sad-drunk, I'd listen to her ramble. When she was partying, I looked after Pinchy."

Every so often the mare would fall into an peculiar rhythm of speaking, sticking to shorter statements lined up to get the point across. Luna was mildly curious what it indicated, for it didn't seem to be an issue of confidence.

Finally, for the first time, Ditzy displayed some embarrassment. "I'm a bit uncoordinated. Some accidents can get expensive to repair. When money was tight, she'd float me a few bits. Tell Pinchy to invite Dinky for dinner at her place while I did a double shift. She did care, y'know? She's just so bad at giving herself credit. For a lot of things from before she quit drinking, I mean."

Luna nodded along, but was surprised by the follow-up question. "You think Berry's going to hurt somepony? She's got Bon and Lyra along, doesn't she?"

"I'm afraid so," the Princess agreed regretfully. "Certainly she might try. I am not certain your friends understand her feelings on the issue completely."

The pegasus grimaced and began pacing. "Stupid. Stupid. This is really bad. I gotta talk to them. Her. Talk to Berry I mean! Oh, this might be bad. I love those three, but Bon and Lyra are always busy with each other. They don't know Berry the same way."

Truth be told, Luna had held out some hope that the situation would resolve itself peaceably. Berry herself, for all her flaws, still was a good pony, in her way. Bon Bon and Lyra should be able to influence her positively as well, she thought. Celestia might say it was better to trust ponies too rashly, and regret, than to trust too little. "You don't trust your friends?"

"I know my friends." Ditzy seemed exasperated. "Berry's not scared of anything. If she got the crazy notion that it's best ... she'd do just about anything. She said she's okay with herself - but she doesn't value herself. Won't care too much what happens to her. Am, am I making sense?"

The mailmare had really built up steam. "I can't believe this. I'm – I'm disappointed. Maybe I like to keep things simple," she allowed, "but I'm not fragile. I should've been kept in the loop. I should be there with Berry. I feel like an idiot for not realizing. She never talked about this guy before. She seemed pretty together when she left."

"I regret burdening you so, but-"

"No!" Ditzy had stopped her pacing and snapped at Luna, to the surprise of the princess. "You're not burdening me!" Squinting her uncooperative eye shut, she demanded, "Look at me! I told you I'm not fragile." More softly, she continued. "I never felt any weight when ponies I like - when they lean on me. Never!"

"I'm always there for my daughter and my friends. I've dried Dinky's tears, and Pinchy's, sometimes." She conjured up images of the young fillies, upset over some small wrong or hurt they experienced. "I listened to Berry when she was drunk. Rambling about her past, and her fears. It's okay if she doesn't remember." An image of the two mares sitting side by side, Berry in the midst of a slurring, resentful rant about something, Ditzy nodding in sympathy, occasionally lightly touching Berry with a wing. Contact was important, it reminded ponies that they weren't alone.

"Even my newer friends know it. I'll listen, or just sit with them. Bon doesn't talk much and," Ditzy looked briefly uncertain. "She sometimes can't help being angry. She's so grateful when somepony sticks around anyway. I can tell. Or Lyra might spend some time with me. Bon can be exhausting, on bad days." The uncertainty gone, the pegasus perked up with pride.

"Trust is so powerful, Princess. It's never a burden. It makes me feel stronger and lighter, both." She glared, without real heat. "My friends are in for an earful! Leaving me out like that. I accept it from Bon, but somepony else should have talked to me."

"It was Bon Bon who wrote to me, asking for my intercession. Now, I'm turning to you." Not having had the situation clearly communicated to her obviously hurt Ditzy, she seemed sure that she should have been involved much sooner.

Expelling a heavy sigh, Ditzy nodded. "Okay. That's good. At least Bon realized something needs done. She reads ponies pretty well. I'm not happy she kept her mouth shut, but," she smiled a little, "at least she got help." The mare gave Luna an unexpectedly appraising look before her gaze softened. "Bon must have been really worried if she went all the way to the top. Makes me worry, too. Let's not let her down. You've got to get me to Berry."

"That can be arranged," Luna agreed. "What do you intend to do?"

"Remind her," Ditzy stated simply. "That she'd hurt us, if she got in trouble. That I, uh," she frowned a little, "I know my friends are a weird bunch. I expect them to have some standards in dealing with problems. The mare my daughter looks up to can be rough. But she can't be a bad pony."

"You find that ponies meet your expectations?" Luna supposed it made sense. If Ditzy drew such confidence from the trust others placed in her, she might expect that in turn reminding her friends that they had her trust would help them as well.

"Sure, they're not so high. Berry's better than - than what you think she might do." She meant it. Luna found herself searching her face for any doubt, for the tiniest indication that she didn't think it possible to just confront Berry and remind her to be a good pony and everything would be solved. All she saw was certainty. A complete faith in her friend. And she saw that Ditzy believed it would be enough. "I've just got to remind her, that's all."

"Very well! I shall contact you tomorrow and ensure your employers will accept your temporary absence." She'd accept Ditzy's optimism, of course. She was a Princess, if that optimism turned out to be misplaced, who better suited to take alternate measures than herself?

"Thank you. I'll have to ask ... hm. Gotta get the fillies squared away." Ditzy hesitated. "Just ... I don't talk so well when I'm awake. Sorry in advance."

"Nonsense! Who do you take your Princess for, to think such things required apologies? Now, sleep well!"

An Alleged Expert

Cash in pocket after a pleasantly smooth visit to the bank, they prepared to meet Bon Bon's local contact. As an entertainer for hire, the gryphon's home wasn't hard to find. It was located in an unremarkable residential part of town, and a somewhat more respectable one compared to Berry's old home.

The gryphon in question was apparently renting a small storefront. Faded with age, the sign praised 'Baron Chook – Master of Mindgames'. Other signage in the window described various shows for different age brackets of colts and fillies along with some quotes, praise from allegedly satisfied customers.

"Until further notice, I'm going to assume 'Chook' isn't a real gryphon name," Berry commented. She had a suspicion that the guy had taken on a new name if he'd once been in the same line of work as Bon Bon.

"So noted," Bon Bon nodded, but stopped walking towards the little store. "Why, though?"

"I think that's a chicken word in some parts. No sane gryphon would go around letting others call them Chook. Some nicknames, you just know they're trouble."

"You gotta explain that to me." Lyra sounded genuinely inquisitive.

"Well, it's like this. Back in the day, there was talk of a stallion everypony called the Ostrich. Now at first I'd figured he was some weirdo egghead type ponies put the name to as a joke, but in hindsight, s'probably not mean enough. Was no egghead anyway, hung around on the streets same as us."

The earth pony paused to gather her thoughts. "What kinda name is Ostrich then, right? Does he run fast or kick kinda hard? Ponies do that already, and we're less flimsy than a bird."

"I guess," Bon Bon allowed. "Even when you don't know what it's about, the imagination might take it the right way? Implied menace and all that." She grinned. "So where's this story going?"

Berry chewed her lip. "If ponies started calling me something real stupid, I'd shut that down fast, either way. You don't hang a dumb name on somepony what hits back." She raised one of her forehooves to underscore the point. "Not to their face, anyhow."

"So because this guy didn't have a problem with being the Ostrich, he was weirding you out?" Lyra raised an eyebrow.

"Ostrich was touched in the head, that's for sure." Berry shuddered at the memory. "Kinda friendly and non-abrasive, not because he was a nice guy, you generally just felt like he enjoyed you as a toy. Rumor had it that even bein' on his good side didn't mean much, he might just start hittin' or cuttin' you for any stupid reason or no reason at all." She shrugged. "And you wouldn't see it comin', cause he never got angry. S'was just how he interacted."

"Hm. I've worked with some real characters, but most still had some notion of how ponies work. You don't need to worry about Chook on that front. What happened to the guy?"

Berry hesitated, but there really wasn't any harm in finishing the story. "Picked on the wrong ponies once too often. I was in lock-up at the time, heard he broke some young colt's leg. The locals took exception to deliberately going after kids that young, so they tracked him down and punched his clock. Probably wouldn't have gone that far if everypony hadn't known that the Ostrich was a freak."

"I get it," Bon Bon agreed. Berry had half expected disapproval for that bit of street justice, or the question why they hadn't involved the police. "A communal beating like that lets everyone involved tell themselves they weren't the ones who got the kill, and it wasn't their idea alone. Better for the conscience than planning an execution."

Lyra frowned, but said nothing.

"Great, now you're bein' weird." Berry sighed. "Maybe that's true. Told you none of us was real introspective. Anyway, that was the Ostrich. Dangerously detached until the neighborhood got tired of him. We liked our violent psychos at least a little predictable."

"I suppose I appreciate the anecdote, but Chook plays by the rules, in his way," Bon Bon insisted. "Cash, no credit. Always been a mercenary."

"You might be right," Berry nodded slowly. It was perhaps a bit silly to assume everything went by the same rules she thought they had played by in her youth. "So what's your take on the name?"

"Hm." Bon Bon had the look of one trying to come up with a satisfying answer to a question she wasn't particularly invested in. "He's an entertainer, he probably didn't wanna pick something scary."

"Suppose so." Berry peered sideways at her friend. "Trixie turned out mostly okay when she wasn't in performance mode." She paused and decided to take a chance. "Don't suppose I'll ever hear your real name?"

The other earth pony narrowed her eyes, scowling in sudden anger. "I'm Bon Bon. I made Princess Twilight call me that even after she got the scoop from Celestia, what chance d'you think you have?" She ground her teeth before adding. "That mare ain't coming back."

"Alright! No need to bite my head off! I was just asking." You kind of had to get used to Bon Bon's occasional mood swings, and the mare talked so little of her past it was not easy to know what might set her off.

Lyra nuzzled her marefriend gently. "Take your breaths, Bonny. She didn't mean anything by it."

Berry watched the other earth pony take several slow breaths, which did seem to help her calm down again. Bon Bon didn't say anything, but Lyra spoke up again, stroking Bon Bon's mane.

"Her parents don't know the story - and they're still waiting for her to get over it, so they can have the young mare back who left home to see the world. You've got to know how it is, from living in Ponyville." Lyra shrugged and put on a wan smile, much different from her usual manic grins. "Lots of ponies don't know that life can mark you in a bad way."

"Still better than your mother," Bon Bon ground out towards Berry. "At least we get along in writing. And lucky thing, I got to know Lyra's parents after the damage was done."

Berry took no offense to the first part of the comment.

Although she continued stroking Bon Bon's mane gently, Lyra's tone turned lightly scolding. "You know that wouldn't have mattered. Dad's seen more of the world than most, and life's harsh where mom grew up. She'd treat you right either way."

Bon Bon grunted what might have been an agreement and started off towards the entrance to Chook's little storefront.

Baron Chook seemed friendly enough when he talked, but on the whole, Berry found him to be just a little creepy, and it wasn't just because gryphons had a sharp beak and claws. After all, Chook had clearly gotten on in years and seemed a bit fragile, and the threadbare tuxedo he wore didn't exactly say 'menace'. Yet the guy seemed to remain near totally motionless when not talking. Not tense, or stiff, but poised, as if he was just waiting for the right moment to spring for her throat. It was difficult to relax while having his attention, and Berry found herself trying to act slow and deliberate, perhaps subconsciously hoping to avoid accidentally triggering an attack.

She was going to assume he was just messing with her, and didn't act like that on birthday parties. Although maybe kids aged ten and up might get a thrill out of it. Berry did know a lot of skittish ponies, though, so she hoped gryphons weren't generally like that.

"Welcome, strangers, to the demesne of Baron Chook! To whom do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

Bon Bon took the initiative in introducing the ponies. "Bon Bon, Lyra, Berry." She pointed at each one in turn. "Nice to meet you."

Baron Chook cocked his head. "My sources tell me you've come all the way from Ponyville! I hope you're not here in service of the newest princess?"

"We're here to buy information, nothing more, sir," Bon Bon stated evenly.

Chook cackled "Every so often I permit myself to consider the notion that upon the dissolution of my employment with the crown, I slipped through the cracks, as it were." He shook his head. "Foolish, of course. Princesses never forget. They merely ... prioritize, eh?"

Berry suspected that Bon Bon might have underplayed the Baron's paranoia. Or perhaps he was just putting on a grandiose act, some folk liked to feel important. She supposed that explained why the two of them had acted like they didn't know each other. "We're not with the crown, pal. Let's just get down to why we're here, alright?"

"Absolutely," the gryphon agreed readily. "I'm listening."

"Huh? Kinda figured Bon mighta at least set you workin' on what we need?" Berry narrowed her eyes. More delays!

"That would've been foolish. I'm glad she was more circumspect than to trust these things to the mail." The old bird scoffed.

Berry leaned forward with a scowl. There were some things she found hard to not bristle at. "She's probably just humorin' you, ya clown." It was stupid to lash out about it, and she didn't really understand her friend Ditzy's enormous pride in the Royal Equestrian Mail Service anyway, but she was already on edge and she wasn't going to sit here and listen to this fool make implications about something that mattered so much to Berry's friend, just to play secret agents.

Not that she was going to explain this in so many words. "Ugh, fine! We need to find out what a stallion called Pan Flash's been up to. And it ought to be fast."

"It'd be nice to know something about him we could use to make him see things our way," Bon Bon agreed. She shot Berry a reproachful look, but she couldn't find it in herself to care just now.

"It won't be cheap to hurry this kind of work along without compromising quality," Chook cautioned. "I'll have to put a few of my associates to the task in parallel, which runs up expenses. But I would have a preliminary assessment two days from now. Based on that, you can decide how to proceed. A more thorough observation is a good place to start, and my rates are reasonable, believe me." His voice took on a note of seemingly genuine regret. "The Henches and Minions guild has been tightening the screws, lately, so I'm afraid my hands are somewhat tied. The rates are fixed, as it were. I'd be happy to offer you a greater discount. Out of the goodness of my heart." He minutely inclined his head towards Bon Bon.

Bon Bon really could have been a little clearer on what a barrel of crazy this guy was going to be, Berry thought. She tried not to roll her eyes.

They hadn't had any choice but to accept the rates the gryphon had quoted, at least not for the initial job. It wasn't like they had any clue what 'reasonable' meant. They were hardly in a position to shop for a deal.

"Pretty sure we just tossed a couple hundred gold bits down a hole, there."

"Yeah, but they weren't really our bits, anyway," Bon Bon stated evenly. If she had an issue with frittering away her prospective in-law's money, she wasn't showing it.

That just made it worse, and Berry said as much. "I'm not fond of wastin' other ponies' money."

"Enny gave us the money specifically to use here in Las Pegasus. I never cried about using up gear I got for a mission." Bon Bon glowered. "I trust Chook to deliver."

That caught Berry off-guard. The gryphon had been weird but she hadn't left with a particularly good impression. Sure Bon Bon knew him from her old monster hunting days, but it seemed to Berry that there wasn't much overlap between that and being a low-rent information broker. "You've got to be joking. Did ya look at this guy? He's a nutter, probably just knows how to spin a tale. We might as well have hit a casino and played the slots."

"I disagree." Lyra shook her head. "Well, he may be a little odd, that just happens. But a normal guy, or a fake, they would have focused on me, because I got the horn and the money. Non-ponies can be skittish about magic. He watched all three of us. I'd bet you the guy could deliver a real good description of any of us, if you paid him. The way you look, the way you carry yourself, the tone you take, your manestyle."

"I'll take your word for it."

"Could have taken Bonny's word for it," Lyra pointed out.

The reproach was gentle, but it did make Berry feel a little bad. "Yeah, I could have, huh? Sorry, Bon. You're creepy good at the gormless shopkeeper act in public most days, so I guess this guy gets to decide how he comes across, too. Think this city's getting to me, anyway."

"Don't worry about it," Bon Bon dismissed the topic with a shake of her head. "Speaking of the city, how're we going to kill time until Chook delivers? Casinos, maybe?"

"We are not going to be gambling. That's worse than drinkin'."

"How's that?" Bon Bon seemed genuinely curious. As far as Berry knew, the other mare had never taken to drink in any harmful way even when she'd been doing a lot worse.

"When you're drinkin', you can still hold a budget together. When you're gambling, y'can't tell how your money's gonna last. Fun either stops early or you start usin' up money you actually need for something else. Worse than drinkin'."

Bon Bon turned her head to give Berry a long, searching look. "Did you actually manage your budget, or did you just get cut off before you could spend more than you had?"

"Well, I guess some of the barkeepers did know me pretty well," Berry allowed. "Way to take a tiny achievement away from a mare, pal." She shook her head. "No, really, money wasn't a real problem. We always had food and I tended to have a couple spare bits to toss Ditzy's way whenever she had to pay for breakin' something. Least I could do for foisting Pinchy on her so often." She shrugged. "Booze was my job, maybe it was easier to keep a tiny bit of control 'cause I always knew I wasn't gonna have to look hard for the next drink. Easier to put it off if you're dead certain it's still there later, maybe."

"I see. Maybe some other time, then. Still a couple patrons back at the Copperhead who'll play poker with us." When the whole group was together, including Ditzy, they usually stuck to shedding games, or just board games. Ditzy was terrible at poker and everypony else felt bad about taking money from her.

The Copperhead was one of the few watering holes in Ponyville Berry hadn't really frequented until recently. It was a pub for old ponies, in her view. She suspected she and her friends were about the only regular patrons under the age of fifty. The proprietor had no use for ponies who got enthusiastically drunk instead of a nursing a beer or three and having a smoke to close out a tiring workday. Good way not to run into the types Berry used to get smashed with on the weekends.

Some of her old drinking partners had developed a case of tall poppy syndrome and not been very supportive about Berry trying to quit, so it was nice to not run into them at the Copperhead, she supposed.

"We'll see what we'll see tomorrow." Truth be told, Berry herself didn't really know her way around the better parts of town, and it had been years since she'd last been here. They'd all be on unfamiliar territory.

In Transit

Berry Punch could act like kind of an idiot, sometimes. That didn't make Ditzy like her any less, but it could seem very silly. For example, it was a fact that a pony could get away with a lot of stuff in Ponyville so long as they were properly sorry about it. Plus, it was this very town where Discord had been turned good. Supposedly that had mostly been Fluttershy's work, which Ditzy found very easy to believe.

Yet for some reason Berry seemed self-conscious about her past. As if she was a bad pony just playing at being good, and managing only just so. Completely silly! Ditzy didn't doubt for a moment that every pony had to struggle to be good sometimes. If Princess Celestia came down from Canterlot and told her she managed to be a wise and kind ruler with no particular effort, Ditzy would have to tell her to quit fibbing.

Of course, there where a lot of ponies who probably had to believe that the sun princess was flawlessly good. If they figured Celestia was more like them, they'd be worried all day and wouldn't get anything done. There were a lot of ponies who seemed a little angry about having to make the effort to act reasonable around other ponies.

That's why Ditzy knew Berry wasn't a bad pony. She'd never known the earth pony to want power over anypony else. Bad ponies wanted power so they didn't have to put in the effort of being nice. Even if they didn't get nearly as much power as they wanted, they'd still use what they could get. Ditzy knew their type. Bitter flight coaches who thought they should've been Wonderbolts and made their students pay for that injustice. Unreasonable supervisors at the mail processing centers, drunk on a few drops of petty power, engaging in mindless bad behavior, however minor.

No, Berry wasn't a bad pony. But Ditzy suspected by the time somepony had finally gotten around to telling the earth pony that she wasn't, she'd been too damaged to really believe it. She was an adult, but she still carried around that little filly who knew that mothers should love their daughters, but who only got indifference or hostility from her own.

Bad parenting of that magnitude was one of the few things that could really upset Ditzy. She liked to think she was otherwise pretty stoic, although she could get a little too nervous for her own liking when put on the spot. Or when she screwed up badly, but most ponies would probably react that way.

There wasn't much to do but think on the train. She supposed it had been a little silly to expect a royal chariot ride all the way out to Las Pegasus. Instead, Princess Luna and a pair of guards she'd brought along apparently got a whole train car to themselves.

"Something on your mind?" Princess Luna hadn't been saying all that much, but her guards had been quietly conversing, which had surprised Ditzy. The daytime guards in Canterlot were always so inanimate.

Ditzy found herself less shy around Princess Luna than she might have expected. She wasn't in the business of rubbing shoulders with royalty. Even Twilight had left her a little nervous, although perhaps that had its roots in the piano incident.

"Just thinking. How's a little pony learn to, to like themselves, if th-they don't get any love from outside?"

Ditzy hadn't been popular with many of her peers in school, Cloudsdale pegasi seemed to expect a standard in weather manipulation or athletics that Ditzy simply hadn't been able to meet, and children could be cruel. But she'd had ponies who loved her, and realizing that not everypony got to be a Wonderbolt hadn't been nearly as painful as it could have been. When it came down to it, Ditzy simply just liked herself, and life in general. She had her faults, of course, but what pony didn't?

"It is difficult," Luna nodded. "Ideally, a young pony is loved by those they look up to. Evidently deserving of love, they more easily come to love themselves. No pony is an island," she added, "just the same, no pony should exist only for the sake of others. Each of us must look to our own happiness. Our well-being, in turn, makes those who care about us happy."

"Makes sense," Ditzy agreed. "Good thing being nice feels good. Makes me happy, anyway." That probably was the rub. Even after Berry stopped drinking she was prone to talking about how it was all for the sake of her daughter or friends. The mare had real trouble looking to her own happiness. She was too convinced she had to work harder than other ponies on being 'good' to allow herself the occasional selfish moment.

She was extremely concerned for her friend, but she was a little hurt, too. She liked to trust ponies, because good ponies liked to be trusted and usually made sure not to disappoint. Trust and communication were incredibly important in holding ponies together.

But she suspected the others had been intentionally vague about their plans when talking to her because they knew Ditzy wouldn't worry what they'd do. She didn't like it when ponies made things complicated or confusing to exclude ponies who didn't know any better, or were naive, and she wasn't going to put up with it from ponies she usually respected. "My friends ... they're in for an earful once we're done."

"Rightly so," Luna nodded severely.

Conversation trailed off. Ditzy found that she wasn't a big fan of the train ride. She didn't mind the enclosed space, and it wasn't as if she would be faster if she flew on her own, but sitting here and doing nothing felt wrong. She was too used to flying nearly all day, every day, delivering mail and parcels. She idly flexed her wings, hoping whoever was filling in for her didn't make a mess of it.

"Excuse me, ma'am," one of the bat ponies addressed Ditzy unexpectedly. She didn't yet know what to make of the guards. They were pegasi, she supposed, and the mailmare generally had some idea what to expect. Pegasi living on or near the ground were usually okay. Rainbow Dash might have been exceptional both as an athlete and regarding how quickly she could complete weather work, but even as she boasted, she didn't belittle others for being less gifted, not usually. Rainbow Dash usually wanted to make other pegasi excited for what was possible, not envious about things they couldn't do. At least that's the way it seemed to Ditzy, otherwise Rainbow Dash wouldn't be such good friends with Fluttershy.

Cloudsdale pegasi were more likely to cop an attitude and try to give her grief about her eye or sometimes graceless flying. That was an unfair generalization, but Ditzy couldn't always quell a sense of unease when meeting a pegasus from Cloudsdale. They didn't usually have much patience for a pony like her.

These, though? Who knew? She wasn't even real sure if they were only disguised for the job. She hadn't delivered mail to any bat ponies in the past. These two were young and looked really in shape, as she expected from guards. On top of that, the two of them were hard to tell apart. She was pretty sure she'd been addressed by the one who'd introduced himself as Wrench without mentioning any sort of rank. His name had just seemed the tiniest bit odd, since the other guard had introduced himself first as Ebonclad, which certainly seemed like the sort of name a guard for Princess Luna would have.

Of course she was being silly. Most night guard probably had completely normal pony names instead of spooky or dramatic ones.

"Just wondering if you've ever been in the guard? Or any other service branch, really."

"No." That seemed like a pretty silly question, especially considering her wandering eye. She didn't want to seem curt, though, so she inclined her head and smiled patiently, maybe he'd explain how he got that idea.

"Just looked like you could've been flying in armor, ma'am." He seemed slightly embarrassed for having noticed.

As much as possible without getting up, Ditzy puffed out her chest proudly. "Ten-plus years, Royal Equestrian Mail Service. Letters and parcels. Strongest back in Ponyville." For honesty's sake, she added, "for a pegasus mare." She certainly wasn't going to claim she was sturdier than somepony like Applejack.

Anyway, it made sense that members of the royal guard would recognize a pegasus who did most of her flying loaded down with additional weight, they had their armor, after all. Everypony knew that there was quite a bit of magic involved with flight, but the wings still had to work hard. "Not a flashy flier, but strong."

Some might claim that 'not flashy' was an understatement, but she got where she needed to go. It wasn't even always necessary to fly. Groundside mail offices assigned workloads appropriate for pony ground speed. Not every mailpony was a pegasus, after all. Suited her pace, anyway. She liked to be unhurried, it prevented mistakes.

"Ah, big fan of the mail service," the other stallion, Ebonclad, smiled. "Me mum's sending me cookies from back in Hollowshades every few weeks."

Ditzy couldn't help but smile brightly in return. Nopony really liked delivering bills or other tedious bits of everyday life, however important they were, but helping ponies who meant much to one another stay in touch, that always felt great. "Well, how d-does the poem go?" 'While the breath's in her m-mouth, she must bear without fail, in the name of the Princess, the Equestrian Mail.' It's longer, but I like the line."

"Yes," Wrench nodded. "Spent some time on the southern frontier. Even most of the outlaws will tell you, you don't mess with the pony bringing the mail."

"Glad I don't work there," Ditzy stated openly. "Have a daughter." Some parts of Equestria where wild and unsafe. Getting anything delivered out there was dangerous, and therefore expensive, but the mailponies plying those routes were resourceful and sneaky. That was learn-able, and the extra pay had always been tempting, but the trips were long, and it would have been irresponsible to try and get such risky work while raising a filly.

The conversation meandered along with stops and starts. While these guards seemed a bit more lively than the typical Canterlot guard, they still seemed entirely comfortable with long stretches of silence. Still, that meant there was plenty of idle time for Ditzy's thoughts to turn back to her friends. Maybe Bon Bon and Lyra were so used to dealing with one another's quirks they had a hard time telling when Berry was in a bad place. They'd need looking after if they didn't expect Berry to do something stupid. Like children, sometimes.

She didn't much like thinking like that of her friends, but seemingly neither Berry nor Bon Bon was familiar with the ways reasonable ponies dealt with problems, or their own emotions. Or maybe they did, but they'd learned some really bad behavior and whenever they slipped up it ended up worse compared to when somepony who'd been raised better slipped up. Lyra was the wild card, she was generally really good at handling Bon's hang-ups but maybe she couldn't, or wouldn't, extend that to a pony who was merely a friend and not her romantic partner.

She was convinced that, should Dinky ever get into a real bind, violence, 'travel across the country' pre-planned violence wouldn't even be on the first page of her daughter's list of options.

"I'm glad that life is unfair," she blurted out. She'd need to explain that. "Well, anyway, I think Bon's convinced that the world is this big unc-caring, unfair thing. Well, I think that's alright."

"Care to explain your reasoning?" Luna seemed to be confused by the assertion, and her guards were obviously surprised by it, as well.

Ditzy blushed, feeling put on the spot. "W-well. Bad things happen to good ponies. Good things happen to bad ponies. Random, it looks like." She shrugged. "It has to be unfair. If it was f-fair, I'd have to think th-that, think that we, we deserve all this. Berry's bad childhood. My eye. Bon's issues."

"You can't make me think that," she concluded. "It's unfair, and I can, can keep th-thinking that ponies deserve better, and be nice to th-them."

"That's ... one way to look at it," Luna commented vaguely.

Wrench seemed much more convinced. "Yeah. World's random enough. Not much pattern to it, the way I see it, might as well be ponies, and thinking critters like that, who put something nice there."

"We're guards. The more ponies we keep safe, the more ponies might get to enjoy this whole mess we're stuck with," Ebonclad agreed. "No point to it if we weren't around to enjoy it, I figure. Might as well look out for each other."

Ditzy didn't have much experience with this sort of conversation, just as she was relatively new to pondering that sort of thing in the first place. Ponies had a tendency not to take her seriously, and in any case most of them liked to image that the world was basically good, and didn't draw connections between that thinking and the bad things that did happen. Then they got really complicated about it. She didn't think her stance was so silly. The world didn't have to matter or make any sense, as long as she did right by her daughter, and the ponies who trusted her. Wasn't that enough?

She wondered if bat ponies in general looked at the world a little differently after a thousand years of essentially being the orphaned followers of a banished Luna.

Or maybe this, too, was just random chance. She was happy either way.

"I wouldn't presume to know how their Majesties look at it, different perspective, but," Ebonclad pointed at Ditzy. "You have a daughter. Pick any moment of real happiness you shared. Any or all. It took all of eternity, all this random, uncaring mess, to get to that point. And to you, it was worth it. You put that meaning there."

After a moment, he continued. "Not really a lot of ponies going around saying life's meaningless. Most of those that do, look to the future, see that most things end and stop being remembered, and they don't much care for the idea. Well, I think it's better to claim that we made the past worthwhile by enjoying life, and let somepony else worry about the future."

"That's what Princesses are for," Wrench commented. "No offense, Highness."

"None taken," Luna stated neutrally. "Is this way of thinking common among the nocturne enclaves?"

"Well, can't speak for other places, right, but it's not uncommon 'round Hollowshades, least with us common riff-raff. You never know what the elite thinks, anyway." Wrench shrugged and looked embarrassed. "Before you came back, well, my pa taught us that there's no real point to us – other ponies barely put up with us, our Princess was never comin' back. If you got nothing, it's worth even more if you act like a reasonable sort. After all, it works just fine for folks who aren't ponies. Just be good to others and be happy and you make your small share of the world worth it."

"I guess that's a bit silly now that you're back," Ebonclad commented. He nodded at Ditzy. "But as she said, it's more comforting to think nothing makes sense until we do something nice with it, than to think life is fair and we deserved to be, well, not real popular with the rest of Equestria even generations after your banishment."

"I shan't speak ill of your approach to life's mysteries, my friends," Luna finally offered a smile, but didn't comment further, or share something of her own.

Ditzy thought maybe she was being coy because she had a special insight she wasn't sharing, or maybe she just didn't want to risk influencing the two. Ponies tended to take things said by the Princesses very seriously, after all.

Really, at the end of the day, Ditzy was pretty sure that being raised with enough love and care meant that a pony would turn out good in most cases. All this deep thinking was a kind of luxury for her. She was happy with her lot in life, but didn't normally have hours of time away from work or her daughter to spend just thinking.

Her life was good, it hadn't been particularly pressing to think about it beyond that. She supposed the bat ponies might have more of a motivation to be concerned about making sense of the world, if life hadn't been real good to them. If a pony felt like they got a raw deal a lot, they might start looking for a good excuse to keep acting as nice as they'd been raised to act?

Maybe that's why she had never been particularly worried about how Dinky or Pinchy would turn out. The fillies were being raised pretty well, either way. Didn't it take a village to raise a kid, or some such saying? Ponyville was a great place for that.

"It's funny. We always teach foals, teach them that the world is fair. Implied. Happy endings in the stories. Moral victories. Things getting better. I think th-that's important, too. If they think that's how th-things sh-should be, they get mad at bad stuff."

"Well, that's the rub," Wrench grinned. "Some folks only say 'well, life sucks' when somepony gets mad about some disaster or tragedy, like it's a waste of time to worry about it. That's cynicism. If you believe life is unfair, then you gotta go ahead and do work, not just shrug and muddle along."

Ebonclad nodded his agreement. "It's an ego thing. You can't fail at defeatism, y'know. The trick is to think the world is random and unfair, but staying optimistic about what ponies can do with it. That does take work and it does carry risk. Cynicism is nice and safe – trust me, anyone from Hollowshades is bound to know loads of cynics."

"Idealism is critically important," Luna commented. "What would we alicorns be without ideals? Immortal tyrants, ruling over mayflies for us to shuffle around as pawns on a board, as we deem best. It is ideals which ensure that we do not grow too distant from our ponies as their generations rise and fall around us. We must guard against cynicism at all times."

"You're the best example," Ditzy smiled brightly. "Happy endings take work. But they're possible."

Luna probably had some nagging self-doubts remaining from the whole Nightmare moon thing, Ditzy figured. Some ponies tended to be afraid that they'd always be judged by the worst they did.

That thought did bring her back to the problem at hoof, however. "How will we find them?"

"We are resourceful," Luna sounded confident, returning Ditzy's earlier smile. "Additionally, the cooperation of local authorities is assured, should it be necessary."

"Good." Ditzy didn't ask further than that. She could trust the princess, after all.

Bon Bon would certainly have to return to Las Pegasus one day with Lyra. Sure, there'd probably be some Las Pegasus wedding jokes, but you had to take your licks, sometimes. It'd be nice to take the trip together without worrying about a third pony slowly driving herself crazy with worry. Berry Punch clearly in no way enjoyed the visit. She wasn't at ease in the poorer parts of town, and she seemed to feel vaguely resentful in the areas that were middle class and up.

So Berry had slept in, mostly because she hadn't really wanted to go out and try to kill time. Truth be told, Bon Bon was usually operating on a sleep deficit, so she'd tried to do the same, with limited success, until Berry had woken up and gotten ready to head out into the city again.

"So what would you have done if you hadn't had a way out via your extended family?" Lyra would, of course, be curious. She didn't really have an extended family the way some earth ponies had, but Bon Bon supposed that the older Heartstrings probably counted for two or three regular ponies. Lyra rarely doubted that she'd have family back-up when it was needed.

"Hrm." Berry grunted, then seemed to think for a while. "Tough call, in hindsight. I guess I woulda stayed with Pan, at first. Imagine he woulda gotten locked up eventually, though. There's government aid and housing so I wouldn't have been in the gutter without him, even if the officials tend to act like prison wardens."

She was quiet for a minute, working her jaw. "I wanted Pinchy to grow up a good pony, and not be poor, but getting both woulda been a real outside chance. I wasn't all that employable. If all your previous experience amounts to 'hired goon', there's not much room on the legit workplace. City only needs so many bouncers."

"Beating up people for money?" Lyra kept her voice neutral.

"Well, sure, did a bit of that around the time I got to know Pan. Not full-time, but in a city like this, somepony always owes money to the wrong sorts – and those sorts pay to communicate their, uh, displeasure. Impatience. Or maybe somepony needs help breaking up with a pushy partner. Never run out of work." Berry shrugged. "Steady pay, but most of it is bein' a bully for hire and that woulda been a pretty bad example for a foal. Not totally without risk, either, no matter how small-time we're down here. Wouldn't have liked to get back into it, but I think I mighta done so anyway. I had offers."

"S'not real satisfying if it's not personal, though," she admitted.

"I gathered that a lot of ponies in the big cities just kind of muddle through their jobs to make ends meet, not because they particularly enjoy it," Lyra suggested. "Well, I am happy for you, since you had help."

Berry didn't respond to that. She'd been rather sullen all day. Eventually, she spoke up again. "I'm hungry. Let's go buy a bag of oats or somethin'."

Seemed like a monotonous meal, but cheaper than eating at a restaurant. Bon Bon had experience with monotonous meals, anyway. The next store likely wouldn't be far, in any case.

The small corner store was surprisingly tidy. A grey stallion with a vest and nametag was straightening out the contents of the shelves and restocking where necessary. A yellowish mare with similar apparel was working the single cash register.

There was a bit of a line. Perhaps some ponies used their lunch break to grab a bite to eat from here instead of an eatery – it didn't look like anyone ahead of them had a particularly large mass of items to purchase.

The pegasus ahead of them seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. He was wearing a collar and a tie, looked like some kind of office worker. Wasn't the part of town to expect a musician like Octavia, anyway. The stallion sighed, looked back at Berry and rolled his eyes.

Bad move, apparently. Berry scowled. "Eyes ahead, buddy. We ain't bonding over this great injustice of waitin' in line."

Lyra snickered. "Bit surly today, huh?"

The pegasus in question apparently wasn't up for a verbal confrontation and kept to himself for the rest of the wait. Bon Bon had thought she'd heart a quiet chuckle or laugh elsewhere in the line.

Berry herself just shrugged.

"Punch? Is that you? I'd recognize that attitude anywhere!"

Ears flattened to skulls all around her, and Bon Bon was no exception. Whoever had called out to Berry had a voice like a bandsaw. It was followed up with a shrill cackle that would make any wicked witch envious.

It was an ancient unicorn mare, coat the color of nicotine-stained teeth and white mane. She was wearing something like a large saddle blanket, long enough to cover up her cutie mark.

"You've got to be joking." The muttered comment expressed Berry's surprise.

"Well, come on back and bring your friends. Got to be time enough to catch up, right? I thought you were dead!" More cackling. If Granny Smith back in Ponyville was slightly decrepit, this lady seemed positively desiccated, a pony hide stretched over nothing but bones.

Bon Bon decided not to comment that nobody around here looked as much like they ought to be dead as this unicorn. Berry just heaved a sigh and left the queue to follow the old mare to a door marked employees only, friends in tow.

"You're one to talk, Ma. How old are you?"

"Only the good die young, Berry. Bad weeds thrive anywhere, you ought to know that!" Now that she didn't have to raise her voice, it still sounded like the lady had smoked a pack of cigarettes per day for approximately the last hundred years, but it at least didn't seem physically painful to listen to as she turned to face Bon Bon and Lyra. "Madame Madeline Marmelade, although most ponies just call me Mama these days."

"Pleasure to meet you," Lyra smiled readily. "I'm Lyra, this is Bon Bon, we've known Berry for years now."

"Ma, what happened to your old store? Didn't figure on finding you here."

"Pah. Burned down, it did." The old mare shrugged in a creaky sort of way. "I figure I got on the wrong pony's nerves and got a message about it. After makin' the insurance agent see things my way, I decided to set up in a better part of town. Back when I set up the old shop, that was a respectable neighborhood!"

"Like what, eighty years ago?" Berry scoffed, then grinned at Bon Bon. "Ma's shop was real popular with the oldtimers."

"Yeah, because whenever one of you mugs tried to shoplift or empty the register, I'd hire a couple more of that sort to break their legs! The youngsters knew to behave around my place." She snorted and cackled again. "That's why I figure someone got their tail in a knot and set the place on fire one night."

Shaking her head, she added, "Not necessary round here. The cops'll actually show up here when you need them. So if you're lookin' for that sort of work, I gotta disappoint you."

"Nah, I'm not sticking around. Just here on some personal business, then I'm goin' back to Ponyville. I got a daughter now, y'know. And real, legit work, too."

"Good, good." The unicorn nodded. "Seen too many promising young ponies never get to achieve anything. Maybe that's part of why I moved, too. Maybe one of my useless grandkids tipped over the box I kept my conscience in and it came back, huh?" She grinned. "You just take good care of yourself and that filly then, right? Just do me a favor and don't mention me in Ponyville."

"I don't talk much about Las Pegasus anyway, but why? I mean, I didn't figure an ancient shopkeeper to be worth talking about anyway." Berry grinned as she teased. "Wouldn't you wanna meet the Bearers and Princess Twilight before you crumble into dust? I know her personally, y'know."

The old lady shuffled uncomfortably. "That's what I'm trying to avoid, in fact. No need for all that excitement at my age."

For all that she looked old, the unicorn didn't move like an old pony. She seemed a bit creaky now and then but had generally moved with the unthinking certainty of a much younger or healthier creature. "Besides, before your time, I ran into some trouble with the law back east, and well, the government has a long memory. Wouldn't do to spend my last few years in prison."

Lyra shook her head. "And here I naively thought we might be the weirdest ponies you know, Berry."

The earth pony sighed in exasperation. "I wish."

Bon Bon frowned, but didn't say anything. She was retired and in any case, pony crime had never been her business. At this point, she'd accept anypony who treated Berry halfway decent, maybe it would improve her friend's mood.

"Hey now," the unicorn joked. "I've always been professional with you, Berry. No need to get personal." She scrunched up her nose. "I'm serious though, I'd really rather not run into the element of magic. I hear she's nosy. Anyway, I got work to do. You kids scram now, alright? And Berry, it was good seeing you. Remember, don't mention me!"

"Yeah yeah. Hey, can I just leave you the bits for these oats?"

"No. Get back in line, ya lout!" The unicorn kept grinning, then started herding her 'guests' back into the shop proper with a wide broom.

Berry grabbed a bottle of cheap rotgut before getting back in line. The store had thinned out a bit during the conversation, so the three of them soon found themselves back on the street.

"This is my life, ladies." Berry sighed. "The most normal folk I knew growing up were my mom's coltfriend who never stood up to her, a diamond dog kid, and a unicorn who used to hire me to beat up ponies and looks like she ought to chase around Daring Do for cracking open her crypt."

"Well, to be fair, that kid's older brother seems to have done alright for himself, too, according to Lucky," Lyra pointed out.

"Yeah. And apparently Ma' switched to proper legal recourse for shopliftin' these days." Berry grunted. "Why's it always feel so hard for me, then? S'not fair. I made it out, too. Why can't I just feel okay?"

"Afraid I'm the wrong pony to ask." Had taken Bon Bon quite a bit of time to feel okay with herself more often than not. Survivor's guilt wasn't fun, but it also wasn't real applicable to the situation at hoof.

Berry grumbled, sitting down. "And I dunno why I feel like this, but I move away, and suddenly Ma' no longer needs to hire goons to keep the locals in line 'round her shop? I know the two aren't related, but it feels like she moved on better than I did, and she looks like she's two-hundred bloody years old! I thought old folks don't like change!"

"Not needing to hire legbreakers on account of the cops actually doing their jobs around here isn't that big a change, I expect. Saves her money, too," Lyra reasoned.

"Well, here's to everything being garbage and me whining about it." Berry started opening up her bottle of booze before sighing again. "You two just gonna watch me?"

"We can sit down, too." So they did. "S'your choice."

"Come on, Bon, have an opinion."

"Fine." She tried to sound gentle. "Seems a bit stupid to throw the hard work away. I read that kicking the habit gets harder every time, too." She shrugged. "I'd rather just keep on spiting those ponies who expect you to crack and start drinking again any day, if I was in your place."

"And you know Pinchy and Dinky wouldn't much like it, either," Lyra concluded. That was probably a better note to end on, anyway. Most ponies didn't improve themselves just to prove other ponies wrong.

"I just wish everything didn't feel so complicated." Berry looked miserable, but at least she seemed to have decided not to drink, for the moment. "Suspectin' like it's only complicated in my head just makes me feel worse."

"Well, tomorrow we'll hear back from Chook and then we can get to straightening things out."

That was just how it went. Ponies couldn't properly concentrate and didn't act like themselves if they had trouble back home. Serious trouble, in any case. Sometimes loose ends needed to be tied up, one way or the other. At least so far, Berry had been willing to keep things low-key instead of just confronting Pan Flash at his home and doing something stupid. Ideally they would find a course of action they wouldn't get in trouble for.

Getting Results

Baron Chook paged through a sheaf of papers. "Hm. Yes. I'm afraid most of what you may have heard about your target is true."

"I knew it!" Berry nodded, even though she had really heard nothing about Pan Flash that wasn't at least ten years old by now.

"He killed the operative known as the Red Boa in a five hour duel and it is true that he brought down the airship 'Amber Wings' after his entire team lay dead around him." Chook clicked his beak. "By all accounts he is fast, brutal, and without remorse."

"If your eyebrows go up any higher they'll pop off your face, Berry," Lyra joked. Bon Bon seemed amused, as well.

"I would not willingly oppose this gryphon," Chook concluded.

"Wait, what? We're lookin' for a unicorn stallion!" Berry felt like her composure was slipping.

"He is also a master of disguise."

"He sired a unicorn filly, you two-bit clown! What'd we even pay for?"

"There's no cause for being hurtful." Chook made a disapproving sound, clicking his beak. "Hm. Ah, wrong dossier. My mistake. Wonder how those got mixed up."

Bon Bon rolled her eyes, then rubbed her forehead with a hoof while Lyra snickered.

He proceeded to pick up a single sheet of paper. "This is your stallion. He's nobody. Finished a prison sentence about a year ago, works for the Silver Lining Bakery, some pet project of the crown that hires former convicts since they're not particularly attractive on the open market."

Berry was quite disappointed, but remembered Bon Bon's request to be nice to the gryphon, so she didn't lash out verbally, much. "Hm. What a waste of time. You got an address at least?"

"Certainly, as well as a list of his activities. Please keep in mind that my associates haven't been able to observe him for long enough to conclusively establish patterns of behavior."

Lyra nodded along before frowning . "That's well and good, but can we go back to the other guy? A five hour duel? If somepony is that tedious to kill, maybe it's time to just wire a bomb to his cupboard. Next time he makes breakfast, problem solves itself."

"It's not as easy as all that, Lyra. I'd probably try poison," Bon Bon remarked.

Berry inspected the single-page dossier. "He's got a marefriend? That doesn't even make sense, why'd he want to dig up this stuff if he's got a new relationship?"

Chook waved a claw dismissively. "Completely unremarkable mare. Tried to shoplift mane care products at age thirteen, never got into any other noteworthy trouble. Works as a mane stylist." He shrugged. "Civilian. Doesn't even bear wasting a sheet of paper on."

"Ugh, well, fine. Barely seems like it was worth the money." She really wasn't happy about the expense, but it was a 'buyer beware' thing, and she tried to give Bon Bon enough credit to assume if there had been something interesting, this gryphon would have dug something up.

"For a very modest additional fee I can have some of my associates secure this stallion for a conversation in a private location, if you wish." Chook regarded Berry expectantly, predatory smile playing around his beak.

Berry noticed Bon Bon leaning forward, presumably to indicate her interest, but she dismissed the idea. "Pff, nah, we'll just grab him ourselves, since we know when he comes off work."

"You sure?" Bon seemed like she disliked the idea. "Baron Chook's people know the area a lot better. Discreet option."

"We're done spending money here, girls. Let's pay up and get going. It's time to get this over with. Trust me, he'll fold."

"If you say so." Both of her friends frowned, but didn't argue.

The three of them were strolling along a reasonably busy street, morning traffic, ponies going to work, same as any other city, and certainly a better part of it than Berry's old stomping grounds. They were going to check out the bakery Pan Flash supposedly worked at, then find some way to pass the time until he got off work. According to their meager intelligence on the topic, the stallion started work early, as befitted a bakery.

At least, that had been the plan. Bon Bon knew that plans rarely lasted long until you had to start improvising.

"Hey, look at that. He's off schedule." Berry nodded towards a stallion hurrying in the same direction on the other side of the road. Orange coat, white mane, the horn seemed a little short to Bon Bon, maybe it had been broken off and was regrowing? All sorts of things could happen in prison. "Wonder what he's up to."

"Maybe he overslept? Happens to the best of us," Lyra ventured.

"Comes with being able to turn off the alarm without movin' a muscle. If it wasn't for me, Lyra'd sleep in all day," Bon Bon teased. She was a little jealous, in truth. She didn't usually manage much restful sleep herself.

"Har har, let's get him!" Berry was off before she could say anything, trailing the stallion until they passed a convenient narrow alley. "Yo, Pan, wait up!"

The stallion slowed down and turned his head to check who was calling out to him. Recognition dawned, along with fear. "Oh, uh, didn't expect to see you, Berry." Neither Bon Bon nor Lyra were used to that sort of reaction directed at Berry.

"Well, you got some explaining to do," Berry stated reasonably. "Hope you didn't expect to be writing that kinda letter and then, you know, not have me track you down."

"I can explain! But I'm already running late for work, and I can't afford that. Maybe some other time?"

"I won't take but a moment of your time." Pan Flash wasn't a real impressive specimen of stallion, and Berry hustled him into the alley with no particular difficulty. "No need to make a scene in public."

Bon Bon was starting to have a bad feeling about this.

"Not gonna lie," Berry claimed, "I really wish you hadn't written."

"Me, t-" He didn't get any further than that before Berry's hoof connected with his head near the base of his horn. Forehead wounds could bleed impressively without necessarily being all that threatening. In any case Berry's hoof must have split the guy's forehead open pretty well.

The blow to the head had rendered him unconscious immediately, it seemed. Probably, hopefully, really, not for any length of time. Still, Bon Bon knew that this was a worse sign than any of the blood.

"Hm. S'not what I meant when I said he'd fold. That's just sad," Berry commented idly.

"Why'd ya have to go and be so bloody unprofessional about this, Berry?" Bon Bon used a harsh whisper, trying to keep it down. "You told me you wanted to talk first! You think no one saw you pull this guy in here? You've got blood on you! You really want this guy dead so badly?"

"Bah. Not my fault the guy's such a house of cards. Just wanted to make my position clear, y'know, start negotiations." Berry shrugged. "I guess we should drag him off somewhere, see about waking him up?"

Lyra finally spoke up, whispering as well. "Drag him off, in broad daylight? Don't be stupid. This seems a nicer part of town compared to where you learned to solve problems. Plus Swampy's gonna draw some attention, not a lot of ponies in town with dogs."

Sadly true. The dog was steady and loyal and even now stuck to Bon Bon's side, albeit restlessly. But it was still a dog, and Lyra was right about not many ponies keeping their own carnivores.

Berry scoffed. "Not that nice. It'll take ages for cops to show up, this far from the tourists. Trust me, it's gonna work out."

On one hoof, Berry knew Las Pegasus better than Bon Bon did. On the other, it seemed doubtful to her that the other earth pony's experiences in her poor neighborhood extended over much more of the town. She also didn't much care for the impulsiveness of the attack when there had been better options. "This is stupid. We could have had a nice plan, something to account for different outcomes, anything from 'he backs down and apologizes' to 'take a hacksaw to him and dig a shallow grave'. Well, neither of those are real practical in the middle of town after you started in on him like that!"

Berry glowered, first at her friends, then at the unconscious stallion. She sounded mostly resigned, however. "Just walk away. Never shoulda gotten you involved, anyway. Just lemme deal with this, don't care what happens then. If we're both out of the picture, Pinchy's gonna be okay anyway, and the book's closed on Las Pegasus."

"This is not the sort of conversation a princess should walk in on." It seemed as if the alicorn had simply stepped out of shadows too light to have obscured her. She was accompanied by two of her night guards and one Ditzy Do.

Berry reacted, not instantly, but quickly, trying to lunge for Pan Flash again. If she was busted, it appeared that at least she wanted to have actually done extensive harm to the stallion.

Bon Bon was quicker. Berry wasn't the fastest of ponies, too used to taking it slow and trying to remain steady, but she had been working out. Bon Bon had been a professional, however. She drew back her left foreleg and hooked it forward so swiftly, the strike would be measured only by its aftermath. It was a quick lashing out, but she hadn't dared to put all her strength into harming her friend.

She might as well have punched the brick wall for all the good it initially appeared to do. She caught Berry square in the jaw and the other pony barely flinched.

Lyra gasped, yelled for them to stop, which distracted Bon Bon. In sober truth, she wasn't real comfortable fighting another pony. She'd fought literal monsters, not so much the figurative 'ponies are the real monsters' type. The distraction and hesitation had a cost. Fortunately, it wasn't Pan Flash who paid it.

Perhaps luckily for all involved, Berry wasted precious moments lashing out at Bon Bon. She hurled her full weight against the cream colored mare, and Bon Bon reacted imperfectly. Both tumbled to the ground.

At least Lyra had the good sense to try and calm down Swampy. Poor critter must be frightened and confused. Trained to be harmless to ponies, and having known Berry as a friend and mother to a filly who was quite affectionate, the tussle was riling him up bad.

For good measure, Berry managed to slam the back of Bon Bon's head into the pavement before the former monster hunter managed to throw her off. That just seemed petty, but given the choice of finishing off an unconscious guy, and making a target that actually hit her regret the move, Berry seemed to have picked retaliation without a moment's thought.

The pain wasn't the worst that Bon Bon had experienced, but she'd be nursing a headache, and her wounded pride. Bowled over like a green rookie. At least they hadn't decided to bring along any of Chook's cronies, the old bird'd never let her live it down. Berry didn't even look real mad. Maybe she'd just wanted to underline that nopony got to just hit her without expecting a beating, that'd be just like her.

Before the fight could really start, Luna restrained Berry and lifted her up by magic. "CALM YOURSELF!"

Berry momentarily ceased her struggles against the restraints, stunned by the Royal Canterlot Voice used in the cramped confines of the alley. "Lemme go! I didn't come all the way back here jus' to do nothing!" After that plea she recognized the grey pegasus Luna had brought along. Ditzy was cowering on the floor, obviously startled by the voice.

"Y'know what, maybe you ought to hold on good and tight." Her voice quivered with sudden fury. "Cause once you let go I'm liable to try and tear one of your ears off for getting Ditzy involved in this. Highness." She started struggling again. She'd been aggressive with her mother, and she apparently hadn't held back when hitting Pan in the head, but she hadn't seemed really angry either of those times, not like this.

Bon Bon had caught on that Berry didn't think highly of the ponies she was surrounded by in her youth, but Ditzy probably counted as an uninvolved innocent, not to mention a good friend.

The earth pony's strength was, of course, entirely useless compared to Luna's magical might, but the boiling rage with which Berry glared at her was probably somewhat unexpected. The princess helped up the pegasus. "I apologize for the volume."

Meanwhile, her guards were checking on Pan Flash, Lyra hovering around them, concerned herself. Bon Bon wished she had some task to focus on. "Can't say I'm a big fan of it, either." She was feeling pretty annoyed herself, even though she should probably be glad the princess had arrived when she did. Better her than the cops.

"He'll probably be alright," one of the guards remarked as they worked with a first aid kit. "Might need a couple stitches, though. We're just glueing him shut for now."

Berry worked her jaw, then spat out a tooth. It was cold comfort to Bon Bon that the blow she'd landed had at least left some mark. Her friend seemed to have gone from struggling to quietly fuming. "Consolation prize. You lock me up, my filly goes to better ponies than I. They got money, they got connections, Pan's got no chance." She grumbled. "Biggest mistake was dragging them along. It's all on me, Princess."

She suddenly chuckled. "Y'know what, you can let go. I'll do my time for attacking him. Pinchy deserves better than me, yeah, but she sure deserves better than Pan. So long as he keeps away from her, I'm willing to let him be." Berry glared again. "But if he's serious about advancing some sort of claim, you better put me on the moon, Princess. Ain't no hole in the world deep enough to put me in."

There was quiet menace in her voice. "The less Las Pegasus she's got in her life, the better."

"I think we're past the point of making threats, Berry. They got us, fair and square, now let them get in a word edgewise," Lyra tried to scold gently, and Bon Bon recognized that tone of voice. It usually worked when she herself had been unreasonably riled up about some nonsense. In all honesty, she was feeling pretty angry herself.

"You shut up!" Berry snarled. "It's your fault, too! If you two hadn't distracted me I coulda put an end to this. You and your stupid conscience." Still, despite her anger, she turned to yell at the guards. "You better treat her nice! She didn't do nothin' wrong."

"We were trying to help you get this sorted like an adult, you dumb goon!" Bon Bon had snarled before managing to check herself. It was all going wrong again, she hadn't been alert and quick enough to safe her idiot friend from herself. She ground her teeth and snorted. Before long she felt both her marefriend and her dog try to comfort her.

"Are you quite finished?" Luna gently set the mare down, but the shimmer of her magic remained. Clearly she wasn't too trusting.

"Heh. Smart mare." Berry eyed Luna's ears meaningfully. The sudden calm probably had to be carefully maintained.

"Yes, quite. If you're done ranting and posturing, perhaps you should listen to your other friend."

Ditzy, stepped forward, seeming on the verge of tears. "Berry, ... " she all but whispered before raising a hoof and slapping the earth pony. It wasn't much of one, Berry probably barely felt it.

Bon Bon hadn't much cared for the consequences of hitting Berry, but she didn't think anyone had expected the current reaction. To her knowledge, Ditzy just didn't resort to hitting other people unless someone else started it. And even then, she was so non-confrontational, it practically never happened.

Berry seemed shocked, completely stunned. All her anger appeared instantly extinguished. There was only room for surprise. Surprise and concern. "What'd ya go and do that for, Ditzy?"

The mailmare hugged Berry. "S-sorry, Berry, I'm s-sorry, it's-it's j-j-just, it's just ... " She frowned in concentration.

"Shhh, c'mon Ditzy, barely even felt it. Take it slow, always time for that, hey?" Berry, self-described blunt instrument when it came to emotions, gently stroked Ditzy's mane. Although, at the same time, she spread around a glare that seemed to promise enduring, patient hate for any pony fool enough to try and rush Ditzy along.

"It's just ..." Ditzy took a deep breath. "It's just, you're such a stupid, insensitive meathead."

Berry didn't respond beyond looking sheepish. Another pony might have defended herself, but she'd told Ditzy to take it slow, and she knew there'd be more coming. You could accuse Berry of a lot of things, but she had all the patience in the world for her friends.

"Do you not think that it will ruin Pinchy's life? If you go to prison? Why-why won't you believe anypony? When they say that nopony can take your daughter away. You've done ... done good enough. Not great, good enough. She needs you." Ditzy held her eyes closed, that seemed to help her concentration, perhaps because she couldn't see the audience.

"I'm not sure that's true," Berry quietly replied. "She never wants to lean on me. She'll worry about being a blank flank – to anypony but me. Help with homework? If Dinky can't help her, she'll ask you, or Lyra, cause Lyra's smart, too."

The earth pony's voice grew thick with emotion. "Her first heartache? She'll go to you, or maybe even Bon or Lyra, cause she knows I'm a screw-up that way, too, and she doesn't want to embarrass me. Yeah, she loves me, I know. But I think it's too late to get her to trust me with her hurts and problems. She grew up watchin' me barely able to deal with my own, y'know. Formative years seein' me weak, that'll settle under your brain, stuff ponies act on without thinking, cause it's just how the world works to them."

She rubbed at her eyes. "So if I can just make sure my problems don't get to be her problems, that'll have to be good enough."

Ditzy took a step back and inspected Berry critically. "Spending time in the library?"

"Lyra's always reading about how ponies tick, and Spike likes helping somepony who tips."

The pegasus dismissed the topic with a shake of her head. "I'm not done yet. What about Dinky? She loves you, I think. You're not just Pinchy's mother to her. She's known you - known you as long as I have. Likes what you've done with yourself."

Conversing with Ditzy did seem to have a calming effect on the earth pony, despite the situation.

"Aw, you know she thinks I'll be useful in case somepony actually gets under that thick hide of yours." Berry scratched her head. "I guess she didn't figure on it bein' me. I knew you'd be the only pony who could get away with layin' a hoof on me, but I didn't figure on bein' the only pony who'd get you to do it."

Ditzy, for all that she was physically toughened up by years of carrying heavy loads, hated violence. Feared it, perhaps. Most ponies did. Even Berry would know that the light slap the earth pony had barely felt might hurt Ditzy for a while yet.

"It's more than that. You never, ever, treat me different from other ponies. She'll credit you that forever. But it'll break her heart, if I lose my best friend. She won't forgive you that." As she talked in that slow rhythm, Ditzy always carefully enunciated every word.

"Aww, you know that's a cheap shot, Ditzy." Berry tended to claim she hadn't been a real friend to Ditzy until recently, but obviously the pegasus didn't see it quite the same way.

"It's the truth. I'm tired ... I'm really tired of you thinking ... thinking you matter so little to ponies around you." Ditzy squared her shoulders and squinted her wandering eye shut. "You say Pinchy doesn't trust you. She's at home, thinking – thinking you'll get this sorted out reasonably. You know what she says about you?"

"It's easy to be a better pony than me?"

Ditzy sighed in actual annoyance. "Yes, that too. She says you'll do it right, because you're being a good pony for her. Here you are, risking prison. Talking about foisting being her mother off – off on our friends." She bit her lip before adding, "You want her to f-feel betrayed? Knowing you can't trust, can't trust your f-family messed you up! Don't do it to her! You're better than that."

"Damn," Lyra muttered under her breath while leaning against Bon Bon.

Berry Punch, the mare who'd been seriously considering taking another pony's life, who'd threatened violence against an alicorn and probably meant every word, flinched and seemed stunned into silence. Far from resenting the pegasus, the fact that she'd done something to deserve having Ditzy hit her right in the heart like that just seemed to drive home the point of how much she'd screwed up.

The earth pony seemed on the verge of tears, but apparently wouldn't permit herself to cry. "Don't matter what my excuse is, does it. Only how it makes her feel." She swallowed thickly, then snorted in annoyance. "Tch. I'm an idiot, like always." She lowered her head and fell silent, except for audibly grinding her teeth as she struggled with her emotions.

Ditzy hugged Berry again, who allowed it with little reaction. The mailmare wrapped her wings around her friend as she addressed Princess Luna. "I've known her f-for g-going on ten years. Ups. Downs. Listened to her ramble when she was sad-drunk."

She grimaced, then made soothing noises at the earth pony. "Berry's never been afraid for herself. Never. No matter what happened in Ponyville, she only worried for her filly."

"Fear comes from uncertainty. When we're absolutely certain, whether of our worth or worthlessness, we're almost impervious to fear." Luna seemed quite uncomfortable, watching the internal turmoil of this mare who, moments ago, seemed ready to take a life.

"Well, you know, for some ponies it's a neurological condition," Lyra offered. Probably something she'd read while trawling the head shrinker's section of the library while trying to get a grip on Bon Bon's bad moods.

"I take it you have nothing of real value to contribute?" Luna looked at the unicorn crossly.

"That's about the size of it."

Bon Bon did feel a measure of pride that Lyra maintained her calm at the moment.

The brief diversion seemed to have been used by Ditzy to line up her next statements. "Sometimes I think the idea that she'd turn out anything like her mother ... even by accident ... scared her into drink. Made it worse, anyway."

Berry appeared totally defeated, but was getting a grip on herself. "Was a time when I was a little filly, elementary school, I got sent home for something, I forget what I'd done. So mom asks what happened, and knowin' her, I made her promise, promise not to kick me if I told her."

"So she smiles and takes this kindly sorta tone with me. 'I'm your mother, of course I won't.' So I tell her. She promised!" Berry couldn't quite choke back a sob. "She ... she beat me ...with a pipe. With ... a ... pipe."

That would teach a developing mind all kinds of bad lessons, Bon Bon knew. She saw Lyra looking ill at the idea. "You drag me all the way out here to jump this clown on some real specious reasoning and yet your mom's still alive after that? Any time I think I got you figured out, I swear."

"Yeah, I suckerpunched Pan, but I never promised anypony not to hurt 'em and then weasel around it to beat 'em down anyway. Day I do that is the day I toss myself down Ghastly Gorge." After a moment, Berry added, "I guess dad saw something in her, and I couldn't bear taking that away from him, even if I thought it was idiotic. Still," her voice turned thoughtful, "I guess he did leave her now, didn't he?"

"Although I might read the relevant obituary with a measure of satisfaction, I must ask you not to plan your mother's demise in front of me, Berry." Luna took a reasonable tone with Berry. Perhaps she really wasn't joking.

Before Berry could respond, one of the guards called out. "Highness, the victim's coming around."

Princess Luna had apparently decided to take charge of the situation and verbally roll over the stallion. "Pan Flash! You are safe now, and your grievance shall be addressed. However, in the interest of clarity, you should explain your unexpected interest in your previously neglected progeny."

Funnily enough, the guy wasn't nearly as cowed by Luna as he'd been afraid of Berry. "Let a pony wake all the way up, will ya? My head's killing me." Taking stock of the situation, he sighed. "Uh, no offense, Highness. Didn't expect to wake up to a Princess." He glowered at Berry. "I really could have done with the past staying the past, y'know? I didn't really want to write the letter, didn't want to give her ideas that I might have money to spare."

Berry scoffed, but there was no real feeling to it. "Yeah, like I ever expected to be able to squeeze blood from a stone. We got along fine."

"Yeah, well, I was hoping you'd just tell me to get bent and leave it at that, but apparently I hadn't counted on you still being the same type of psychopath you were when we were younger. Guess whose face is red now! Oh wait!"

"At least I never went to prison."

"Big deal," the stallion sneered. "Only because they tried you as a minor. You always were a dumb thug, Berry. You seriously telling me I'm the first pony you brutalized in over a decade? I'm so honored right now." The guy didn't seem particularly pleasant, but that was understandable after being dragged into an alley and laid out in one hit.

Being hit in the face once hardly counted as brutalizing in Bon Bon's book, anyway. She knew Berry had gotten into fights since then, but they'd been brawls, she'd mostly stayed out of trouble.

"Sir, I'll ask you to keep a civil tongue in your head in the presence of the Princess," one of the guards remarked. Maybe he felt inclined to be sympathetic towards Berry after her heart to heart with Ditzy.

Although she hadn't been addressed, it was Berry who looked chastened. She extracted herself from Ditzy's hug and approached the stallion slowly, as if to reassure the present authority figures. "I kept out of trouble, Pan. Had a daughter to raise. I really, really tried. So why'd you write? You don't want me in your life any more than I want you in mine. I know you got a new marefriend."

The stallion seemed to despair. Since he'd woken up and apparently taken heart from the presence of the authorities, he seemed vulnerable for the first time. "Please don't tell her about this. I'm trying, too, y'know. Stay legit, be a better partner."

"Then why? Explain yourself." Luna had stepped forward. She didn't seem particularly impressed with this stallion's claim that he'd have preferred that Berry and the filly he'd sired stay out of his life, but perhaps she'd decided not to address the point, since it was what Berry wanted, as well.

"It's ... it's her mother, your Highness."

Now Bon Bon had a really bad feeling about this. Lyra uttered a tiny "Uhoh."

"When I got out of prison I ran into her by accident, once. She gave me a hard time about bein' a deadbeat, but y'know, everypony knew Berry's mom's psychotic or something, so I just walked away. I guess I expected if she felt that way, Berry would probably feel, y'know, the opposite."

"I'm with you so far," Berry agreed, sounding vaguely confused and uneasy.

He shivered. "Never paid it any mind for months, except a while ago she tracked me down again. Starts bloody blackmailing me about taking responsibility, threatening to tell my marefriend if I didn't get things squared away with Berry. She must have followed me home or something! That mare is nuts." After a moment, he added, "Well, first she threatened to tell my boss that I'm an ex-con, which would usually work except that's sort of the entire point of Silver Linings, you know? So she changed tracks."

"Oh no." Ditzy's comment seemed to sum up the mood among most of the listeners.

"So you're telling me," Berry's voice was dangerously quiet, "I'm not calling you a liar, mind you. You're telling me that my mom went off the deep end, probably after my dad left her, which you wouldn't have known, and she got her tail in a twist about, I dunno, stallions running off on their mares? So she just had to meddle in our lives, even though I ran off on you, and I don't bloody want you back in the first buckin' place."

Berry leveled an unsettling stare at Princess Luna. "Are you absolutely sure we can't plot my mother's demise while we're here? It seems like the thing to do."

"I'm afraid I must insist," Luna allowed some regret to color her voice. She really wasn't quite as good at loving all of their little ponies as her sister was, Bon Bon suspected.

"This is quite a pickle," Berry stated evenly. "It seems I got so worried about my stupid past catching up and ruining my life, I just about ended up doing that to you, Pan. My apologies." The earth pony trembled faintly. "I'm in a bit of a bind here, Ditzy."

"Huh?" Even Ditzy wasn't quite sure what to make of Berry's reaction.

"I wanna save up all my yelling for my mom, see, but I'm so angry it hurts. I think my heart's gonna burst." As if to forestall the mailmare's reaction, she ground out, "Please don't touch me right now."

Berry stood in place, swaying, occasionally twitching or trembling. She seemed to be experiencing an unprecedented, titanic rage, with absolutely nothing to vent her towering fury on. All things considered, she was displaying a downright heroic level of control. "I'm not even real surprised," she whispered, mostly to herself.

It was worrying, to say the least. Berry generally seemed pretty placid. Sure, she'd been a bit more annoyed lately, pushing over her own mother to threaten her hadn't been particularly level-headed, and yeah, she'd occasionally casually threaten a beating she never went through with, but she hadn't ever been truly enraged as far as Bon Bon could remember. She probably wasn't practiced at it, not like herself, who could get raging mad about the stupidest things, but knew how to handle it. Even the hateful look she'd given Princess Luna earlier seemed downright harmless now.

Berry's mother had crossed some kind of line by kicking off this whole mess which might well have ended quite poorly and separated Berry from her daughter. Obviously this wasn't at all acceptable to the pony when it was engineered by someone else and didn't stem from her own mad notion that it would be best for the filly.

Apparently Ditzy wasn't in the mood for over-thinking things. "Oh, n-nonsense."

The pegasus rushed to comfort Berry. The earth pony flinched and tensed, for a worrisome moment Bon Bon wasn't totally sure that Berry wouldn't snap and drive the pegasus into the ground like a tent peg, for no reason other than the fact that Ditzy was the first thing that got too close.

Nothing happened, and she felt a little foolish. Berry wouldn't hit Ditzy any more than Bon Bon would. Berry didn't hit ponies who'd done nothing to her, she'd claimed so herself, mentioned it as one of her good points even while in a dark mood. Although obviously Ditzy currently had more faith in that fact than Berry herself. "It's okay to be angry. I'm upset too. Anypony would be, now. But you don't have to lash out. You're not your mother. Trust yourself a little. Or trust me, if that's easier. I know you."

"I hate all of this. But, I got this. I'm not gonna do something stupid. I'm not." After a moment, Berry added, almost pleading, "I just wanna be home. Ponyville doesn't make me so angry. Not gonna do something stupid. Just lemme not do something stupid, please. I can handle myself."

"I know you can," Ditzy agreed. "You're not stupid. Okay? You're not stupid. What you have in your heart or head, it may not mean a lot to a lot of ponies, but it's still yours. And maybe you haven't heard that enough, so I'll say it again: I care about you. You mean something."

Luna weighted in as well. "I strongly suggest that you trust your friend enough to believe her in this."

"Fine. Whatever." Berry didn't seem wholly convinced, but nodded, slowly. "It's got to stop. She went too far, I won't let this go." She took on a musing tone. "Y'know, I only ever hit her back the once, mostly reflex. She's a coward, stopped tryin' to 'discipline' me once I was coming up to her size and I spent as little time as possible at home to stay out of her way. I was too patient."

Maybe her self-esteem problems had kept Berry from properly motivating herself to try and solve the problem. Bon Bon thought back to what little she'd seen of Berry's mother. Implying that the authorities might take her child away had been both cruel and, in hindsight, kind of bizarre. Perhaps the older pony figured she'd gotten away with her awful treatment of her daughter and could invoke the specter of government intervention without introspection.

She found herself taking slow, controlled breaths, because the whole thing was really making it hard to stay calm. She felt Lyra lean on her hard and whisper into her ear. "I wanna tell mom on this lady. She'd crush her for this."

The thought did serve to lift Bon Bon's spirits. The older Heartstrings fancied herself a friend to all children and generally found something to appreciate in anypony, and the large, shaggy unicorn was ever ready to make peace with ponies as they were, not with ponies as she would like them to be. Bon Bon appreciated that greatly. Enkindle Heartstrings was also immensely strong by Equestrian standards and while realistically, she would not lower herself to beating up some other pony over this, the mental image was satisfying.

Bon Bon had learned that some ponies, even when confronted with someone genuinely troubled, expected them to act as if they were living in a safe world, where ponies were pleasant, trustworthy, or in any case consistent. Little of this seemed to have been true in Berry's childhood, and that was generally a good way to set up expectations the other pony was bound to fall short of. Bon Bon was thankful every day that even at her worst, both Heartstrings had been extremely patient with her. Fortunately, neither Ditzy nor Luna seemed the type to think like that, either.

"I could take the way she talked to me, y'know, I got thick skin, and she was nice to my daughter the time or two I could stand to visit for my dad's sake. That's all I ever wanted." Berry took a shuddering breath, squinted her eyes shut and continued with comparatively little inflection. "Fine. It's my fault too, for worryin' myself off the deep end over this. Pan coulda just written me and started off with 'Help, your mom's crazy' and I woulda been on his side, kinda, but I'll take responsibility. He just wrote wrong, I came unglued. Shoulda known you'd be too dumb to know to write 'visitiation rights' on your own."

"For that, I'm sorry," she eventually ground out.

"Okay, Berry, alright. I coulda done that better." Pan seemed to look for something else to say. "I don't hate you, you know that? I was a different pony back then and it was stupid not to go with you, but that was another life. For the record though, I worked on my education while in the joint." He hesitated. "I don't have a lot of cash, and as I said I'd rather we get out of each others' manes, but ..."

"Stow it, Pan," Berry snapped. More evenly, she explained, "I probably make more than you do. Besides, I got a friend whose parents are real smitten with my daughter and they're loaded. Also, for your information, the old lady in question is huge. Never seen a mare that big, I swear. Made me feel like a little filly." Something in her tone, tightly controlled as it was, suggested that she hadn't much cared for being made to feel small. Maybe she was just trying to make smalltalk to distract herself from her anger.

"Lady Heartstrings is, indeed, a very large mare," Princess Luna agreed. "I suspect making a friend of her was your one sensible decision in this entire fiasco."

Pan had seemed doubtful until Luna's comment. "Huh. Well, good for you." He started to turn. "I guess I'll be going?"

"Hold." Luna shook her head. "You've been wronged here, and we will see to that. Besides, you will have to see a medical professional. Surely, you will miss work over this. We will make an appearance and appease your superiors. You were on your way to work when you were assaulted by an old associate, only to be saved by my vigilant guards. The best excuses are the true ones."

Pan's reaction wasn't unexpected. He'd been the victim here, but his trained response would still be to get some distance between himself and authority figures while they weren't looking for an excuse to make trouble for him. Beyond the certainty that their presence would keep Berry from doing him harm, he probably had no conception that they might actively care enough to right wrongs he'd suffered.

"I won't press charges," Pan stated quietly. "You figure where to go from here with Berry. I just want to carry on with my life." He gingerly touched his forehead. "Would really appreciate if you could tell Berry's mother to stay away from me, though. Please? This is all her fault, anyway." He turned to Berry one last time. "Life's a series of closing doors, Berry. Types like us don't need to go out of our way to shut more of 'em. Go back to your daughter."

Berry just nodded. Bon Bon would have felt better if the stallion had turned out to be as bad as Berry had seemed to remember him.

"We will see to that," Luna agreed. Taking charge of the situation again, she pointed at her guards. "You see to it that he gets medical attention. You stay with Berry Punch. I shall briefly visit your place of employment and excuse you."

With a smile, she added, "I shall be most cross if my guard is not returned to me intact, my friends."

The stallion remaining behind rolled his eyes. Refreshing to see that Luna's guards were a little less stoic and staid than their counterparts serving other princesses.

"We promise, Princess." It was Ditzy who had spoken first, but Berry nodded.

"Yeah. Promise. I'm not hitting anypony else today." Unbalanced though she was by the events, she wouldn't make a liar out of her best friend.

"Good on him for goin' legit. Wouldn't have liked to cause that new mare of his grief, either," Berry commented quietly as Luna, Pan and one of the guards were leaving.

"Or wouldn't like to have have a murder on your conscience?" Bon Bon was pretty happy that the bloodshed had been minimal. She would perhaps have accepted doing away with the stallion if he'd actually been up to something nefarious, she hadn't expected Berry to just start improvising without so much as talking it out. Foolish in hindsight, she should have known better and cursed her own complacency.

After several long moments, Berry merely shrugged lamely. "Wouldn't have liked to keep a secret from the fillies."

Occasionally she wondered if there really was so little more to Berry's conscience beyond a list of things Ditzy, Dinky, or Ruby Pinch would disapprove off, or shouldn't learn from the earth pony. Maybe she just got into moods of self-loathing where she figured her own conscience didn't much matter. Besides, perhaps she subconsciously kept Pan in the same category as herself, distinct from more valuable 'good' ponies.

She'd previously encountered that manner of thinking in ponies with similar backgrounds. You'd ask them about family, siblings perhaps, and they'd rush to assure you that those others were good ponies, as if the speaker's own petty crimes had permanently diminished their value compared to their family.

It didn't feel all that fair to be analyzing Berry like that, however. Once she'd calmed down and had a chance to reflect, she'd be glad that she hadn't hurt Pan more seriously, and not just because other ponies would expect her to feel that way. Right now she was probably too busy trying to keep her anger stowed away for later use to engage in introspection.

Ditzy leveled a disapproving frown at Bon Bon and Lyra. "Oh, so now, now you know this was all wrong? Not good enough," she stated. "I expect more sense from you. More sense than to just, just let it happen."

The disappointment stung, all the more because it was so difficult to upset the pegasus normally, but was understandable. "No excuse. Shoulda grabbed hold of her soon as she saw Pan."

Ditzy's frown deepened. "I'll go easy on you, Bon. Getting the Princess involved was good. But I've known B-Berry longer, longer than any of you, even before Bon and Lyra moved to, moved to Ponyville. Nopony thought to, to t-talk to me properly?"

"Now I just f-feel gullible," she concluded. "You knew I'd just assume you guys were, were going to do this right. I'm silly like that."

"Well, you are friends with a bunch of nutjobs," Lyra agreed. "I think things worked out comparatively well, though."

"I'm real sorry, Ditzy. You know I know you ain't thick. I feel awful about makin' you feel that way. I wasn't thinking right. I knew you'd trust me," Berry admitted. "And I just figured that way you'd not get dragged down with me."

"I know how you tick," Ditzy agreed with a sigh. She still glowered at Lyra, though. "Com-comparatively well?" She evidently wasn't at all convinced. Still, she sighed, shook her head and addressed Berry again. "You're like a sis ... sister to me, but ..."

"But sometimes I need adult supervision?"

"Yes," Ditzy sighed. "Sometimes you need, need a friend to n-nudge you the right way." She placed a hood on Berry's shoulder. "I'm here for you. Maybe we can talk to your mother together. I'll be angry, too, b-but I'll keep you from doing something stupid. Then, we'll go home, and give our daughters hugs, and things go back to normal." She shot Bon Bon a look. "With some improvements."

Berry tried to smile, but it was more of a pained grimace. "Tall order. Doubt I'm off the hook for busting Pan open. But thanks, Ditzy."

"Trust," Ditzy reminded Berry. "Maybe you'll be in some trouble. But I'm s-sure Princess Luna can fix it so you can be ... you can be in trouble in Ponyville."

"Well, they let Twilight and her friends get away with stupid stuff all the time, or so I'm told," Lyra remarked. "Still, you actually intended wrongdoing, they might say that makes a difference," she cautioned with a frown.

"You wouldn't have to worry ... to worry about this if you'd talked to me," Ditzy pointed out. "You got a favor from a Princess and all she did was ... all she did was what you should have done. Talk to me. Could have avoided trouble, maybe."

"I'm sorry Ditzy. I thought I had it in hoof," Bon Bon explained. "I was sold too quickly on not, not burdening you with this nonsense. I shoulda known better." Had been a disservice to the pegasus, really. Ditzy had a calming presence that really could have helped Berry when things had started out on the wrong hoof in this city. Lyra probably paid all her attention to Bon Bon out of habit and hadn't noticed quite how much Berry had been fraying round the edges.

"That's fine," Ditzy said gently. "You've got to do better, from now on." More sternly she added, "I'll be paying more attention."

Settling Things

Ditzy hadn't really been sure it had been a good idea to visit Berry's mother again. She'd never seen her friend so angry before. Berry could be a bit of a sad sack when she'd been too drunk, and she could get frustrated and annoyed about problems in daily life just like anypony else, but Ditzy had never thought of her friend as somepony who was constantly mad at the world and other ponies. Even when provoked into a bar fight, she'd never held a grudge. Ponies were sturdy, a little tussle among drinking buddies rarely escalated, especially not in a town as nice as Ponyville.

But now? Ditzy was glad she'd been asked to come along. Berry had appeared to calm down, but the pegasus wasn't fooled. That fury hadn't gone anywhere, the earth pony had just sort of balled it up and sat on it.

The guards were along, too, and Ditzy had a very real suspicion that Princess Luna wanted to hear their impression of the mare that raised Berry without coloring the meeting with her own presence.

Berry had knocked, and her mother had opened up. The older mare had seemed a little timid at first, but seeing Berry accompanied by guards appeared to please her.

In fact, the older mare was acting downright pleasant. "Oh my, how unexpected. I hope my daughter isn't in too much trouble. Anypony care for something to drink? Tea, perhaps?" She bustled ahead into a tiny living room. It seemed tidy enough, and not altogether unpleasant. Ditzy herself didn't have a whole lot of bits to go around, and she saw the signs of a household led with little money but a reasonable amount of care.

The guards merely shook their heads. Ditzy followed suit. It was strange, though, how pleasant this first impression seemed. If she hadn't known Berry for years and listened to some of her gripes, she'd never suspect that this other earth pony might have a really nasty side to her.

Well, the attempt wasn't strange, she was dealing with guards, after all, she should be polite. But she was really pretty convincing.

"We've got to talk, Holly," Berry spoke up, her tone measured and polite. It was the first time Ditzy had heard her friend use her mother's actual name, or part of it. "I hear you've been hassling my ex. I'd like you to stop that."

"Oh yeah?" The older mare sneered. It was as sudden as it was jarring after the pleasant greeting. "He can't just leave you with a foal and then get a new mare. He's got to take some responsibility." Well, that would seem like a reasonable concern to a pony who didn't know the whole story. "Besides, somepony's got to do something before you drag Pinchy down with you." That was a lot less reasonable, and it hurt Ditzy to hear it.

"Holly, listen to me. I left him, years and years ago. I don't care what he's doing with his life now. At least, I shouldn't. But I got so worked up about the letter you had him send, I nearly put him in the hospital." Berry lowered her head. Some regret crept into her voice. "He didn't deserve that. I think he's a better type of pony than he was."

She seemed to ignore, momentarily, the insult regarding her parenting performance regarding Pinchy, but Ditzy could tell by the way her friend tensed further and perhaps slightly flinched that it had hurt.

"Tch, I shoulda known you'd be a psycho about it. Threats and violence, is that all you know?" Holly actually affected a disappointed tone. A parent scolding a misbehaving daughter. "I thought I raised you better than that."

Again, Berry ignored her mother's claim that Holly might have raised her right. She shot Ditzy a brief look, and the pegasus could tell it was costing her friend dearly not to lash out.

"Yes," Berry agreed, voice strained. "That's all I know. I don't know what I'm doing, half the time. I grew up here, and I used to love fightin' and breaking stuff. It got me respect, you know? Nothin' made me happier than beating down ponies that get under my skin. It's killing me how useless that is anywhere but here." She grimaced. "At least I know I can't teach that to Pinchy. I mostly behave myself in Ponyville."

"Well, I hope the poor filly has a better life once you're behind bars." Holly nodded towards the guards. "I suppose I could look after her."

That idea really seemed to strain Berry's self-control. After all, the fear that her daughter might get dragged off to Las Pegasus was what started her whole chain of stupid behavior. The earth pony stared at the ground and took a deep breath before responding. "Listen good, Holly. I been sober for a year now. My daughter is a very nice pony, and pretty smart, too. Maybe she doesn't trust me with real difficult stuff yet, but she at least trusts me to keep her safe, and to be safe. Our life is good. We have wonderful friends." Maybe she was saying that more for her own sake. "If something happens to me, she'll be taken care of."

"Hard to believe you could find any sort of respectable friends. Who's this, then?" Holly glowered at Ditzy. "Don't tell me you're a fillyfooler now, too?"

Ditzy shook her head. "Just friends."

"Don't change the topic, please," Berry asked softly. Her mother seemed to finally notice that it was unusual for her daughter to appear so even-tempered and restrained. "You're just as much to blame for how I turned out as I am. You beat me, and you bullied me, and I was never good enough. Whatever. I don't care anymore."

"She's lying," Holly stated flatly, apparently addressing the guards. "I've never done anything to you! Where'd you pick up this dishonesty? This is the thanks I get for sacrificing the best years of my life to you?"

The guards said nothing. They stood as frozen as any Canterlot guard might.

Ditzy wasn't buying it, of course, and she was sure Wrench and Ebonclad would take her opinion over that of this mare any day. Berry wasn't cunning enough to try and get her mother in trouble with such a lie. If she were capable of that, she probably would have had a cleverer reaction to Pan's letter than traveling all the way to Las Pegasus just to hit him in the face. And 'sacrificing'? It left a bad taste in her mouth. Raising a foal was by no means easy, but Ditzy couldn't imagine herself, or for that matter Berry, thinking in those terms. She didn't much care for it, but she was beginning to feel real disgust for another pony.

Berry reached out gently to close her mother's mouth with her hoof. "Shh. Doesn't matter. But you crossed a line. You meddled, and it nearly got between me and my daughter. We're done. You'll never see Pinchy again, and I never want to see you again."

"Miss Punch." Wrench didn't say more than that before Berry took a step back again. It might not be their main reason for being here, but they'd prefer if Berry didn't suddenly lose it and start beating on the older mare.

Berry nodded slightly and said nothing.

"You can't do that! I got a right to see my granddaughter."

"It was a privilege. You lost it," Ditzy couldn't help but comment, earning herself a scowl.

"You stay out of this!"

"Now, Holly. Don't take that tone with my friend. You're really testing my composure here. She's a hundred times the mother you ever were. She picked up and moved – for the good of her filly."

Wasn't much of an achievement, of course. It wasn't like Ditzy could have raised her unicorn daughter in Cloudsdale. She also honestly hadn't had much of a plan for her life at the time. Maybe Holly had been ambitious once, and resented having had to raise a foal. Even if that was so, she'd apparently been a terrible pony about it.

"You kept us here," Berry continued. "Poorest part of town, no perspective, no future. And honestly, it's a bit hard to forgive that, seeing how easy it was for me to move away just by asking Granny, your mother, for help. Doesn't matter anymore, I guess. I made it."

"That's the rub, isn't it?" Berry smiled, an ugly one full of contempt. "I made it. I'm better than you, and you just can't stand it, huh? That's why you've been on my case about screwing up my daughter from day one. That's why you still won't believe I'll stay sober. That's why you lost it when you heard I'd gone begging, begging, no shame at all, to Granny, to help me get away from here. Maybe if you hadn't taught me I wasn't worth anything, I mighta had some pride to keep me from doing that, funny how that works." Berry shrugged. "You can't admit to yourself that I got away from you, and that I'm better, and my daughter is better still."

"Get over yourself, Berry." Holly scoffed. "I just know you better than anypony else does. You're nothing. You got no brains, no pride, nothing. You're a disgrace. You'll crawl back into your bottle in no time at all."

Ditzy started fidgeting in place. She so badly wanted to tell this pony to shut up, to stop being so petty and cruel to her own daughter, to Ditzy's friend. But Berry had insisted that she didn't need any help beyond company. She'd promised that she'd stay calm, and she was making good on that, even though it probably took a lot of effort.

"Nonsense. Ditzy knows me better than anypony else. You don't know me. Perfect strangers know me better than you do, 'cause most of them expect other ponies to be more or less decent sorts. You probably suspect everypony else is as spiteful as you. And I'm really not. Despite your best efforts."

"I tried my best to raise you right," Holly claimed, indignant. "I don't have to listen to this! Get out of my house!"

"Did you really make yourself believe that?" Berry sounded almost worried for a moment that her mother might really be that delusional, or that her best might really have meant so little. She seemed to recover quickly, however. "Anyway, you're wrong, you gotta listen to this. I don't ever wanna see you again, not without ample warning. I'm being serious. I'll never be back, and I better never see you in Ponyville unannounced."

"Or what?" The older mare looked at Berry with disdain. Still, Ditzy thought she could tell that the older pony wasn't quite used to being spoken to in that manner.

Berry barred her teeth. Venom laced her voice. "Use your imagination. You know me so well, right?" She narrowed her eyes. "But you need to remember, you nearly took something from me that I could never get back. Something that means so much more to me than you can imagine. You're worth nothin' to me. Nothing. Don't test my patience."

"You were my mother," Berry continued with a sigh. "I didn't have a choice in that. I needed you. Little foals need help finding their way in the world, 'cause it's hard and confusing to try and be a good pony. You did nothing like that. You took a foal's trust, smashed it, and then kept grinding up the pieces, telling me it's my own fault."

"I don't know what's wrong with you," she concluded. "Don't care, either. Gotta focus on myself and my daughter, not your baggage. I'm going home to ponies who treat me like I matter."

That seemed to confuse the older pony, probably because she had assumed Berry was in the kind of trouble that wouldn't just let her go home. Before she could demand clarification or any such thing, her guests left at a brisk pace.

Once they'd left, Berry expelled a heavy sigh and simply leaned against Ditzy. Fortunately, the mailmare had very steady footing. "That sucked. Don't think I ever wanted to hurt another pony so badly. Just break her legs and leave her." Having had the impulse seemed to cause her new grief.

"But you didn't. I'm proud of you."

"Easy to be nice with guards lookin' over your shoulder." Berry remarked, but she shot the stallions a quick smile. "No offense. You guys seem pretty alright."

"No worries, ma'am."

"Yeah. If I wasn't a guard, I might have cheered you on," Ebonclad commented.

"Guess it was nice to just put it all on the table for once," Berry muttered. "Y'know, I just wanna feel normal, some day."

Ditzy liked that Berry hadn't said she wanted to be a good pony. After all, the earth pony was just fine, she just needed to change some of her behavior and the way she felt about herself. That could be learned. Perhaps Berry's self-esteem was on an updraft, for now.

And yet Ditzy just didn't feel all that happy. She couldn't understand what had to happen to a pony for her to turn out as mean as Berry's mother had. She felt like she might cry. "How c-can she t-t-talk to you like that? It's ho-horrible."

"Aww, Ditzy, you know I dunno what to do with cryin' ponies." She was quiet for a moment. "Thanks for comin' after me. You know," Berry mused, "the rest of the gang, they're just fine with the way I am. That's good!"

"I'm n-not crying. Just sad," Ditzy corrected her friend. Nothing wrong with a few tears, of course. Ditzy wasn't ashamed of her feelings, although it was a little harder to wrangle her verbal tics when she got too emotional. Right now it was more important to remain steady for her friend. "Most ponies are f-fine with you. Just another pony. Who cares?"

"Yeah, probably right," Berry conceded. "You make me wanna feel good about myself, not just sort of put up with myself for the sake of my friends and my daughter," Berry concluded. "That make any sense?"

"That'll be hard. But you know I'll help, if I can. Or just be there. You can do it." And she'd have to keep an eye on Berry so she didn't do something too silly in the future. Pretty sure it was going to gnaw at her that she had been able to think it would be a reasonable outcome to lose custody of her daughter as long as other 'good' ponies would finish raising her. Stupid, but she figured Berry hadn't been taught real confidence while growing up, or how to trust other ponies.

Ditzy was sure she'd risk her own life to protect ponies close to her, but she valued herself enough to explore other options when possible, she thought.

"Hard? Pff." Berry ground her teeth. "Hard's not goin' back and layin' out the old nag for makin' you feel so bad. I figure what I really need is bein' stubborn and lots of time, and that's not so hard so long as I got you and the other two for support."

"I guess that'll work." Ditzy figured that even learning some proper self-worth wouldn't make her friend be anypony other than Berry Punch. She just made threats the way other ponies gave dirty looks. As with other ponies, most of the time, nothing came of it. "You have to start sending the right signals. Don't let failure defeat you. Never, ever. It's alright to cry, b-but cry while standing up and moving forward."

Ditzy couldn't actually recall a time when Berry had cried while sober. Not in her presence, anyway, but that didn't have to mean much. "Might be Pinchy thinks you c-can't, can't hold up under p-pressure. Prove her wrong. And maybe it's, maybe it's t-time to tell her a little more about, a-about her grandmother. For context."

There was a real possibility that Berry's frequent drunkenness and low self-worth had had negative effects on Pinchy, even though the filly seemed usually cheerful. That would be a topic to broach at home, though.

"Anything to report?" Princess Luna addressed her guards after they'd all reunited.

Both shook their heads. "No, Highness. No incident."

"Delightful. It seems we are ready to return you all to Ponyville." The princess nodded towards Berry. "We may discuss the consequences for your foolishness en route."

"Of course, Princess." Berry lowered her head and didn't meet anyone's eyes, although she suddenly ground her teeth and stamped a hoof. "Aww, no, I forgot to ask my mother where my dad moved." She shook her head. "Well, her ex, anyway." She sounded defeated.

It didn't seem likely to Bon Bon that Berry wanted to immediately turn around and talk to her mother again. "We could just hit up Chook before we leave, I'm sure he could track down this stallion for a sensible fee."

Ditzy leveled a glare at her. "She said he moved," the pegasus enunciated very carefully. "Not foalnapped. Now we go to the next post office. Then, we check if he left ... if he left a forwarding request. Probably doesn't want Berry's mother to ... doesn't want her getting his mail. We can do this like normal ponies. No need to play secret agents."

"That does sound like the more sensible plan," Luna agreed. "The Night Guard is aware of 'Baron' Chook, there is really no need to throw bits at him, as they say." She smirked at the title. "Will they just give us the new address, should this forwarding request exist? We are not, after all, sending a letter."

Ditzy modded with a smile that seemed almost smug. "I'm sure they'll help a fellow ... fellow mailmare. I know the secret hoof shake."

"Alright, fair enough." Bon Bon shrugged. She wasn't hugely invested in meeting Chook again, but she might send him another letter, for old times' sake. "Shouldn't it be enough if a Princess showed up and asked for the info, though?"

One of the guards grinned. "No way. The mail service never parts with information without making you jump through a million hoops. They practically resent being a government agency, you'd think."

His partner snickered. "Every post office comes standard with the kind of soulless bureaucrat who'd throw the book at Celestia herself without blinking."

"Ponies are entitled to ... to privacy for their mail," Ditzy patiently explained, seemingly unfazed by the attitude of the two guards. "If the Guard needs our help, they need ... they'll need a real good reason." She stuck out her tongue briefly, obviously not taking the guard's opinion hard. "I'm a mailmare in good standing. I'll just ask for an address. Won't be a problem."

Luna shot her guards a quick look, apparently to quiet them. "The Royal Equestrian Mail Service has always believed that reliable, trustworthy communication was key to the lasting nature of the unification. Their internal culture reflects this. They'll bend the rules for a mailmare, but any cooperation with other parts of the government requires that all the forms be filed, all the Ts be crossed and all the Is be dotted. That is what they say these days, is it not?" She smiled. "As the guardian of dreams, I understand the position."

"Well, it's nice to hear you think you need a good excuse to poke about in our affairs instead of us having to think of reasons why you should leave us alone." Bon Bon snorted, but Lyra gave her a brief, scolding look. Probably didn't think it was a good idea to act too surly.

"Your endorsement is appreciated, however unnecessary," Luna deadpanned.

"Tch, well, let's go, then," Berry snorted. "Never woulda thought of that without you, Ditzy. Bloody obvious."

"My other suggestions would have been to ask Luna for help," Ditzy nudged Berry gently. "Or just go home and ... and assume he'll eventually write. This is faster, if it works."

"Yeah, dad wouldn't just forget about me," Berry allowed. "Still, I ... I could really stand to see him again." She sounded a little choked up on the last part.

As the group set out to locate the nearest post office, Bon Bon mused that it was, at least, a good sign for Berry to concede that her father figure would eventually get around to contacting her, regarding his relocation. Even if a lot of other things had gone badly wrong, she seemed to be able to trust in that much.

Getting Emotional

Locating the new address of Berry's stepfather had fortunately been as simple as Ditzy had predicted. Apparently, the stallion had moved into a tiny village called Haybarrow. Berry had ventured, without real certainty, that she seemed to recall him mentioning growing up there before moving to Las Pegasus, where he failed to make his fortune.

The region around Las Pegasus was not particularly fertile, and it wasn't immediately obvious what had once prompted the founding of Haybarrow. If it hadn't been within reasonable proximity of a water and coal supply stop for the railroad, its isolation would be nearly total.

Nopony had said anything of substance during the trip, nothing beyond sluggish small talk in attempts to pass the time. Berry's foolishness seemed to weight heavily on her, in Luna's estimation.

It seemed to Princess Luna that the community had been larger, once. Quite a few empty buildings could be seen. Perhaps over the years, young ponies had moved away to bigger cities instead of taking the place of their parents in making whatever living could be had out here. Naturally, their little group drew attention, although it seemed that the Princess of the Night and her two guards caused a degree of trepidation in these ponies, so far, none had stepped forward to interact with them.

She didn't expect the stallion Berry wanted to see to be prepared to play host to a group of ponies. It would be a better idea to give her guards some time to themselves, hopefully to find some manner of tavern or similar establishment. Their entire group appearing outside his home in full would probably be overwhelming. That reasoning also appealed to Bon Bon and Lyra.

"We're gonna stick with the guards," Lyra declared. "Gotta be a greasy spoon around here somewhere, right?"

Bon Bon merely grunted an affirmation. She hadn't been any more talkative than Berry had been on the way here. Luna found it impossible to tell whether the mare had grown uncomfortable in her presence, or whether she felt guilty for not having advocated for a sensible approach to Berry's problems more strongly.

Turning back to face Berry, Bon Bon spoke up after all. "Take all the time you need. Don't let us rush you."

"Sure, Bon. Don't worry," Berry agreed.

"Tell me of this stallion, if you would?" There were some questions she might have asked about Berry's family life, but some of them would have been less than diplomatic to bring up, Luna assumed, even now that their group was smaller.

The earth pony turned her head to give Luna an oddly calculating look before speaking up. "Decent enough guy, I guess."

"You guess?"

Berry slowed to a stop and stood there for a time, chewing her lip. Eventually, she shook her head. "I don't wanna discuss his merits as a pony, alright? Or his faults, or what he saw in my mother. I don't wanna think about that right now. He treated me like I was somepony even when he wasn't real happy how I spent my time. He patched me up or got me to a doctor when I got busted open in a fight. Y'know, like a normal adult pony would with a younger relative." She spat. "I got questions, too, sometimes, but that's not why I wanted to drop on by."

Ditzy merely gave Berry a reassuring pat with her wing as they walked. "He'll be happy to see you. I bet."

"Very well." Luna knew there were too many broken, chaotic families where Berry had grown up, so she supposed it was reasonable for the mare to cling to a sliver of normalcy, even as she implied that she thought this stallion could have done better in some way.

They arrived at a small, dusty store front with dirty windows. The off-center signage over the door read Chip's Carpentry, although the discoloration of the wood still easily revealed that it had previously been 'Western Red & Pine Chip's' before somepony had removed most of the letters.

Still, Berry knocked at the door to the little shop almost eagerly, while the rest of the group kept a bit of distance.

"Coming!" The voice was rough, teetering somewhere between a debilitating throat injury or a truly upsetting smoking habit. The unicorn stallion who opened the door wasn't tall, but seemed to have spent his life doing hard labor, with a coat the color of sun bleached lumber. A bushy, unkempt beard hung off his jaw, and his face seemed deeply lined, either by age or hard living. In other circumstances, he might have seemed menacing despite not being particularly tall. The smell of stale tobacco smoke escaped the building along with the stallion. Saw dust dirtied his mane, and upon a second glance, much of his coat as well.

On seeing Berry, his expression spread into a smile. That didn't make him look any better, Luna suspected that nothing could, but one could perhaps see a certain gnarled attraction, as that of a weathered tree. "Little Bee! Been a long time." He seemed about to pull the younger mare into a hug when the rest of present company registered.

He bowed low. "Princess Luna?" His vocal timbre wasn't much suited to trepidation, but gave it a solid try.

Luna got the distinct feeling he was expecting trouble. "Please rise. There is nothing to fear. We shall explain our presence soon enough. But first -" She extended a wing to point towards Berry.

To his credit, he barely hesitated in nodding and turning his attention back to Berry. "Tell ol' Chip what's wrong, Bee."

Berry suddenly seemed quiet and vulnerable, as frightened as a foal left alone in the dark. She didn't look up. "Dad ... Chip. You know how I always saw you as my father, ever since I was little?"

"U-huh. You didn't take long to start calling me dad when I moved in." The stallion seemed fond of the memory, but evidently somewhat caught off guard by the situation. "Not long at all."

"Well, I gotta ask." Berry paused to draw a shuddering breath. Her voice wavered and crumbled as she continued. "Have I ... I've been your daughter, right?"

"'Course, lil' Bee." There hadn't been any hesitation that Luna could detect. Perhaps a hint of bemusement about the odd question. He reached out a hoof to brush through Berry's mane with a tenderness most ponies probably wouldn't have expected from a stallion with an appearance so rough before pulling Berry into the hug which had been his initial reaction.

"Good." Berry Punch exhaled, then started sobbing gently. "'m sorry ... for cutting you out. I missed you."

Chip shook his head. He didn't seem like the sort of stallion who would have a lot of experience in emotional matters. "No worries, I'm still here." He seemed suddenly sheepish. "I woulda sent you a letter soon, I swear. Had to hustle pretty bad 'round here to get some work, on account it's been so long since my folks ran this business and I'm practically a stranger to the ponies 'round here."

Luna didn't think the stallion quite appreciated how much Berry's question, and the swift answer, had meant to the mare. She hadn't needed a reminder that she had a father figure. She suspected that Berry had needed to be told that she'd been a daughter worth having, to hear at least some affirmation from an adult pony who'd known her in her youth and childhood.

"So, anypony want to let me in on why my filly's showin' up here all broke up?"

Before Luna could respond, Berry groaned. "Stupid story."

After the four ponies had situated themselves on the building's back porch for a bit of privacy, the story thus far had been shared with the stallion.

"I remember that colt," Chip commented. "Face begging to be hit, that one." Turning serious, he continued. "Berry, you gotta be honest with me here for a second. I'm not gonna give you a hard time, but I gotta ask."

He paused, evidently grasping for words. He absentmindedly ran a hoof through his messy beard. "I'm proper terrible at this. Do you appreciate other ponies? Are you okay if they look to be doin' better, even when you're down on yourself?"

"Uh ..." Berry didn't seem entirely sure what to do with that question. "I feel like I do pretty good, all things considered? I went off the rails about Pan, ... " She shrugged. "Hm ... I got to know some ponies who're loaded, but y'know, I don't begrudge 'em that. I try to act on what ponies put in front of me. What's this about, then?"

"I don't know, Bee," Chip shrugged in turn. "S'just, I think your mother's thinking was always so poisonous. She couldn't look at anything even kinda nice without wanting to ... make it less, somehow. Envy is easy in Las Pegasus. You look at the clouds and wish you had a slice of something better. Most of us get over it and muddle along. But your mother, she never looked away, not for long. Always wanting something better, never getting it the way she liked."

"She coulda just gone home," Berry mumbled. "Nopony was forcing her to live in the city. Life on the vineyard had to have been nicer."

Chip sighed. "Maybe that sort of thing hollows a pony out, until they gotta look to the bad in everything. If you can't have nice things, they can't be all that nice anyway. Always belittling or scolding. Eventually, you run into a pony having a good time an' you just hate them, for being happy or just content, not for really doing anything to you."

"Uh-huh." Berry didn't comment further. Her patience for discussing her mother was limited.

"Berry's not like that," Ditzy spoke up with a small smile. "She doesn't think enough of herself, but ... but she doesn't tear others down."

Luna had to restrain herself from asking what had initially attracted Chip to Berry's mother, and what had made him stay around if he thought like that, but if neither him nor Berry were about to discuss it, it clearly wasn't her place.

Still, she well knew how resentment could twist a pony, however fumblingly this stallion had talked about it. A petty criminal went out and satisfied their desires – they stole, or took revenge on their enemies, and that was that. It was not in any way agreeable, but it brought some measure of emotional resolution to the pony in question. Festering resentment about things that seemed forever out of reach could destroy ponies, and all they saw and did would be colored by it. Most ponies, of course, did not have particularly much power or influence, and only hurt those immediately around them.

"Well, anyhow," the stallion changed the topic. "Must have been one crazy favor that Bon mare called in to get a princess movin' to help out the likes of us!" He grinned. "Y'sure it weren't blackmail?"

"Nah. C'mon dad, you know some ponies are above bein' annoyed. This is about my daughter, she wouldn't take a risk like that." Berry rubbed one of her ears. "Guess it would be one of those things you don't tell your pals so they don't get caught up in it, though. Not my place to talk about Bon Bon, anyway."

"I assure you, there is no blackmail taking place." It didn't sit quite right with Luna that ponies assumed that extraordinary measures were necessary to gain her support, although realistically, her time was as limited as anypony's, and there were a great many ponies in Equestria. Her trip would already seem like a personal indulgence to the ponies of Canterlot.

"Alright, I'll drop it, your Highness." He chuckled roughly. "Well, who said the crown don't look after us, eh?"

"That was you, dad."

The old stallion gave Berry a playful shove. "C'mon, that's one of them theoretical questions. I also told you to snatch up whatever freebies you can get, so long as the hidden hook don't seem too bad."

"Or seems like I could squirm out of it, yeah."

"Well, look, I don't want you getting in your own way for pride but you also ought to be careful accepting charity from folks who'll tell you that one day they might call on you for some vague favor. Down that road you just get regret and hard time, eh?" He grunted. "Ah, but listen to me ramble. Berry, you know I just want you to be happy."

"I know, dad. Lyra's folks aren't gonna lean on us for the money."

The earth pony did seem more at ease now, although the reunion seemed almost like a let-down to Luna, outside of Berry's initial tears.

"So, how'd that fight with Pan go?"

"He folded right away." Berry at least sounded contrite about it in hindsight.

"Glass jaw, huh?"

"I was expecting to take some licks of my own, now it just feels like bullyin' instead of winnin'."

Chip gave his daughter an encouraging pat on the withers. "Hey, at least you went out and did somethin' about it if you're upset. Better than stewin' in it 'til it warps you."

Luna could see Ditzy trying to hide a disapproving frown. She obviously didn't share the stance that anything was better than inaction.

The stallion was scruffy, unkempt, smelled like a long-standing smoking habit and his moral center didn't seem particularly impressive, and yet getting to visit here had evidently been something of a victory for Berry. A trifling victory, but a victory nonetheless.

"Can I say something, dad?"

"Sure?" Chip cocked his head.

"Stop smoking in that workshop! I saw the ashtrays, I can smell it, and I don't wanna hear about how you burned this place down around you!"

"Pff." The stallion rolled his eyes, but before he could say anything more, he caught a withering glare from Ditzy, its effect somehow undiminished by the condition of her eye.

Luna cleared her throat and frowned. There had been quite a bit of sawdust in evidence as they passed through the building. Berry's concern was valid enough.

"...Alright, lil' Bee," Chip conceded. "If it's peace of mind for ya, I promise I'll keep it outside."

The trouble with being sober was that it wasn't easy to stop thinking about stuff you didn't feel like thinking about. It had been good for her to meet her dad, but it didn't change the fact that she'd gone completely off the rails. And she did feel a little silly about crying like a filly. She was going to have a long talk with Ruby Pinch about this. A pony ought to have some warning about what a mess her family was.

"You're doing it again, Berry. Beating yours-self up," Ditzy scolded as they were heading to meet back up with the rest of their group.

"Well, yeah. We're gonna need to assess the damage to Pinchy at some point. Sure, I wasn't as bad as my mother, but ... ponies need strong parents, not depressed drunks."

"True," Ditzy allowed. "But I was there. She trusts me." The pegasus shrugged. "We'll talk to her, together. St-stop worrying."

Ditzy had once claimed that it was normal in pegasus communities for single mothers to help each other out. Took a village, maybe a cloud village, to raise a pony, anyway. Berry's mother probably wouldn't have had any part of something like that even if she had been a pegasus, or somepony would have noticed what a horrible mother she was.

Still, with the benefit of clarity, Berry could see that Pinchy probably had been better off due to Berry's friendship with Ditzy. Maybe Dinky had been better off, too, and not just because Berry had been generous whenever Ditzy's funds had come up short. A statistically relevant number of fights Berry had gotten into over the years had started when somepony at a bar or party had started talking to the two of them, only to then roll their eyes at whatever friends they had along, with that stupid 'I'm talking to an idiot!' pause ponies sometimes had. Ditzy wasn't a fast talker, that didn't make her stupid, and there weren't a lot of faster ways to get Berry mad.

That wasn't constructive, but it had earned Berry some credit with little Dinky.

"I'll try, Ditzy." She shook her head and addressed the Princess. "I gotta apologize for the tone I took with you back in the city, uh, Highness."

Luna smirked. "You do not sound exceedingly sorry."

Berry slowed her pace momentarily. "Huh. Well, I'm not. Just bein' polite, I guess."

Berry hadn't been happy to see Ditzy pulled into the mess, but it was pretty hard to be unhappy about her company.

"Y'know, when I was swinging by their place, I wasn't expecting Bon and Lyra to get involved like this. Honest, I didn't."

"It was for the best that you did," Luna assured her.

"I guess." Obviously it would have been better to just talk to Ditzy, but Berry hadn't wanted to trouble a good pony with the problem, and Bon Bon had probably not wanted to pull in another 'civilian' or whatever. They had both been stupid, that way.

They'd gotten some fairly good directions to the only real eatery in town, and that had obviously been where the others had gone, because they could hear Lyra yelling somewhere around the next corner.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Bonny? What does any of this have to do with your old job? Don't turn this trip into a bucking travesty just as we're about to close the book on it!"

Berry heaved a sigh. "Oof. This again."

"Everything! It's got everything to do with it, you can't toss this out with 'oh, Bonny's being a crazy pony again'!"

They came into view of the other ponies. The stallions were in full on stoic Canterlot guard mode while the mares were up in each other's faces. Berry hoped they'd started the argument outside the local diner and weren't just standing outside as a result of it.

"I mean, has the whole world gone crazy? Am I the only one who gives a damn that we're tossing a bunch of civilians at problems, just because they bumbled into fucking destiny, while the royal toy soldiers practice the regulation spit-shine on their parade armor? Am I wrong?"

"I hate this magic destiny crap," the earth pony groused. Her dog was pawing at her for attention to no real effect. Bon Bon seemed to to avoid looking at Lyra.

"Look, Bonny -"

"Am I wrong?"

Luna didn't interrupt the two, instead lowering her head and speaking quietly. "Is this common?"

Ditzy grimaced. "Not in public."

"I guess that doesn't matter, this far from Ponyville," Berry shrugged. "Usually the dog keeps Bon from boiling over. And usually Lyra can keep her cool. I expect breakin' from routine like this is bad for Bon Bon."

Of course, usually Bon Bon got riled up by something seemingly trivial. Maybe she took this one personally.

Didn't seem like Lyra was keeping her cool today, either. "You're right! I wouldn't wanna get my life hijacked to be one of Twilight's troubleshooters, alright? You're right, but you're being a jerk about it! Get to the point, Bon! The connection! We are not just going to sit here to listen to you spew bile at the Guard!"

Seemed like Ditzy wanted to say something, but Berry shook her head. "Lemme handle this." She approached Swampy to give the poor beast a comforting pat as he whined.

Bon Bon reacted immediately with a curt demand. "Hooves off, that's a workin' dog."

"Well then pay some bloody attention to 'im doing his job, Bons." Berry offered a grin. "Sorry for bouncing your head off the paving back there, by the way."

The other earth pony scowled, but at least had the sense to toss her dog a treat. The critter had done his level best to do his job. "You got lucky, Berry." She glared like she was trying to hate Berry to death. Apparently it was just Lyra she hadn't wanted to look at directly. Berry supposed that part of her didn't want to direct her anger at her marefriend.

"Maybe that's so," Berry conceded mildly. "I'll do it again if I catch you goin' off like this t'wards the kids."

"You're welcome to try," Bon Bon snapped before turning her attention back to Lyra. "Fine, maybe there's not a literal connection. I'll paint you a picture. The bloody miracle gang has everything work out for them and they get away with everything, 'cause we're pretending that consequences don't happen to heroes. You think I'd get away with giving half the town food poisoning out of my kitchen?" She laughed bitterly. "But whatever. The poor girls are going to be stuck with the job 'til it kills them, may as well give 'em some perks. Besides, they're heroes! We aren't. None of us fit the picture of Equestria the princesses are painting these days. I'm a pain in the flank to be around, Berry's a thug, you're a mare-child and loafer."

"Not a literal ... there's no connection, Bonny." Lyra rubbed her forehead with a hoof. She suddenly looked very tired. "Please calm down."

Well, it was true that Lyra didn't really do much, which was unusual in an earth pony town. She'd play some music for the general public, occasionally had a gig somewhere, but not enough to live off. Bonny was a real workaholic and needed everything to be just so, as a result, the most help Lyra contributed to the candy store was sometimes managing the register whenever Bon Bon couldn't for some reason.

Luna shifted her stance, and Berry assumed that the Princess wouldn't be best pleased with the topic at hoof, seeing as she owed Twilight and her friends. Everypony did, really. The Tirek thing had just been a reminder.

Really, this was a pretty horrible time for Bon Bon to go off on some resentful tangent. Still, she did appear to try to take a couple deep breaths to calm down.

"Point being, maybe we're a bunch of disposable ponies ... we're noponies, statistics. So if I point at one of my friends and say 'I want things to turn out alright for her. I want her to get away with acting like a nutjob this once,' I don't need to be told that I'm acting entitled. I know! Nopony owes us a damned thing! We're not the heroes!" She cleared her throat and spat. "Berry, you're my friend, but sometimes you're a grade A moron and I wasn't sure I could keep you out of trouble on this. So I sent a letter to try and get Princess Luna involved, make you into a pony instead of a statistic. And if these clowns here want to compare me to your common Canterlot parasite 'cause I went all out for a friend, they can just fuckin' get bent! I watched ponies die out there, you think those benchwarmers lookin' down their noses at me means fuckin' anything?"

She'd gotten pretty steamed for supposedly not caring, but if she thought now that the problem could have been better resolved with considerably less escalation, that probably wasn't great for her mood.

"Are you quite finished?" Credit to Princess Luna, at least she hadn't started yelling, too. It probably wasn't real impactful for somepony her age to watch some random pony lose her composure like this.

Bon Bon didn't say anything at all. She opened her mouth like she'd meant to, but merely shook her head and turned her attention to her dog.

Lyra sighed. "Just a misunderstanding, Princess. Won't happen again."

Luna raised an eyebrow and regarded her guards. "Anything further to report?"

"No, your Highness."

The guards had seemed like pretty reasonable sorts, and Berry was willing to give ponies credit who got on well with Ditzy, so she was going to assume Bon Bon probably had blown some conversational comment out of proportion and then completely lost it when Lyra tried to reign her in.

Bon Bon was a bitter sort, in some ways. Berry figured the other earth pony had started out as a perfectly ordinary citizen, and Bon Bon had never spoken in detail about her previous work. She hadn't been supposed to tell anypony about it, after all. But she had mentioned that Celestia had demanded complete deniability. It probably wasn't entirely easy to live in the same town as the bunch of ponies the Princess regularly showered in praise.

Berry had been taught from the start that ponies with authority didn't normally care about her, so she didn't have that vulnerability, but for a normal pony, it probably wasn't healthy to feel like they hadn't been good enough in Celestia's eyes.

So Bon Bon resented the secrecy and the fact that Twilight and her friends tended to be given quite a bit of leeway. The changeling invasion hadn't helped at all, since Lyra had been in considerable danger, which probably bottomed out whatever regard Bon Bon had had for the Guard. Unfairly so, perhaps, but there it was. Not that Berry had been raised with any great respect for authority, of course.

Berry snorted. "Let's just get you home, Bons. Before you get yourself in more trouble than I'm in."

"Agreed," Luna declared. "It would be best for everypony to keep their peace while I discuss Berry Punch's immediate future with her."

Wrapping Up

Princess Luna's opinion of Bon Bon had soured somewhat after the mare's diatribe. She wouldn't let that affect her decision regarding Berry Punch, however. Apparently the mare had previous experience in doing menial community service around Ponyville, to make up for damages caused by excessive revelry without taking her away from her foal.

Berry Punch had practically begged that the matter be managed by Mayor Mare rather than Princess Twilight. Although peculiar, Luna hadn't seen any reason to object. Maybe the mare was past fearing the mayor's judgement, while Twilight's disappointment might be fresh. Pan Flash had declined to press charges, but his attacker shouldn't go on entirely without consequences. Luna would contact the mayor of Ponyville about it.

The ride back to Canterlot had been significantly more tense than the original trip towards Las Pegasus had been, the group of four friends now obviously uncomfortable about conversing in the presence of Luna and her guards.

They had arranged for the children to be watched over by Lyra's parents, whom Ditzy knew by reputation and trusted as well as Berry did. The young ones had been enthusiastic about the idea, as it had also meant getting to skip a few days of school, albeit with the promise of additional work to make up for the absence.

Luna had previously met Lyra's mother, but not frequently. If the mare hadn't been so eyecatching, Luna might not have remembered. She had an imposing physical charm that fixed her in the mind easily, without having to actually know much about the pony. The unicorn's thick coat and stout proportions marked her as a northerner, a primitive, warlike breed of equine. Although they'd found their own unity among the three tribes, they'd been so averse to being ruled from afar that they hadn't even managed to form any kind of political unity between their settlements, let alone consider being part of the newly formed Equestria, if memory served.

Beyond the formidable stature of her lineage, the great unicorn had the appearance of one who enjoyed food a great deal. She moved with an easy grace which suggested that her weight was in no way a hindrance to her.

Enkindle's presence among Canterlot's high society was refreshing. She'd learned all the foibles and conventions of the upper class and ignored them as it suited her. According to Celestia, and some of Luna's own observations, the mare tended to act as anything from a charming foreigner to an uncouth barbarian, seemingly for her own entertainment.

Luna thought that the unicorn was a ruthless savage at her core. She'd adopted the trappings of civilisation and culture, of course. The mare's unusually long coat was impeccably groomed, for one. She recalled that the majority of Canterlot citizens had been deeply unsettled by the changeling invasion. Enkindle Heartstrings had likely managed to earn herself a starring role in the nightmares of several changelings. She'd been subdued, of course, but not before bringing her barbaric strength and fury to bear on the invaders. She'd gained a modest degree of notoriety among the guards who'd swept the city after the invasion and freed her from her restraints.

Of course, she'd required Luna's services after Tirek's attack. The theft of her inborn magic had frightened her as much as any Equestrian. In addition, most ponies in Canterlot did not have semi-regular nightmares about the sort of cataclysmic feral storm that simply wasn't allowed to happen in the heartland of Equestria.

Luna knew ponies by their fears, in a way.

Presently the great unicorn was standing in the doorway to her apartment, coolly regarding the ponies crowding the stairwell. "Berry, did your trip conclude to your satisfaction?" The question had been asked without preamble, the mare had barely exchanged a nod with her daughter in greeting.

"Eh, I'm not out of the woods, but I am taking my daughter home. Nothin' to worry on that front."

"Good, good." She spared a smile for Ditzy Do as well. "Your trust was a great gift. Whenever either of you find yourself in Canterlot, you will be welcome here. Now go on, help the fillies collect their belongings."

It was a bit of an awkward shuffling of ponies for Ditzy and Berry to ascend the rest of the way and squeeze past the larger mare. The stairwell was generous but still not meant for crowds to stay on the landings.

Enkindle Heartstrings sought eye contact with Luna. Although the stout unicorn was large, she wasn't nearly as tall as an alicorn. "I assume by your presence that it would be preferable for Miss Punch to be returned home swiftly. There will be no more reason for her to fear for her daughter?"

"No more than any mother worries for her young," Luna stated evenly.

A minute frown creased the unicorn's brow. "Who will pay the price of your involvement, Princess?"

"T'was a favor, freely done for one who has served my sister ably," Luna declared regally. She was not entirely sure why the other mare would ask such a question. "T'is a pity that it appears difficult to believe."

"Yeah," Bon Bon spoke up. She'd been sullenly quiet thus far. "I sent her a letter through Princess Twilight."

"Well ..." The big mare hesitated briefly. "To one such as I, that seems very foolish. However, I am willing to be enlightened," she claimed readily. "Perhaps you could explain later over supper?"

"We're gonna head home with Berry," Bon Bon stated flatly.

Lyra nodded along. "That was the plan." It sounded like a question, she appeared obviously uncertain of her mother's approval of the idea.

The older unicorn shook her head. "There will be more trains tomorrow." She regarded the smaller mares with great fondness. "See to your own needs. Be sheltered by my hearth, yes? Tell me of your travels, the good and the ill. Your friends will still have need of you, and you should be well rested for them."

Bon Bon hesitated, perhaps she did not want to be seen to immediately acquiesce to the other pony's idea.

"C'mon, Bonny. It'll be nice to see dad tonight, too." Lyra stepped forward. As she passed her mother, she muttered, "be nice to the Princess." It might not have been intended to reach Luna's ears.

"Ugh, fine," Bon Bon ground out roughly. "In that case, I'm taking a nap."

The earth pony didn't make it past the unicorn without being gently nuzzled on the way. Seeing the ill-tempered mare being treated so tenderly may have caused one of Luna's guard some amusement at the seeming embarrassment. Luna was not certain of this, and was herself glad to see ponies treat one another in such a way.

There was nothing gentle about the unicorn once the others had left. Her expression was impassive, yet there was something unyielding in her eyes. "You've done a service for one my daughter holds dear. You have my gratitude, but this does not entitle you to future consideration in my eyes."

"What is it you fear about my involvement?" There had been a time when ponies had occasionally whispered about fearing Luna, wondering whether she would turn into the Nightmare once more. Luna didn't know this mare particularly well, of course, so perhaps she shared similar concerns.

It took a few moments for Enkindle to answer. "I find myself conflicted, Princess. As a unicorn's mother, I shall always be grateful to your sister and now you. Your duty is a burden no mother would wish for her foal, I think."

Moving sun and moon was of course extremely draining for unicorns, even when they worked in concert to make it possible at all. It simply wasn't at the forefront of the common Equestrian's mind that it had once been necessary, before Celestia and Luna. "Your gratitude is appreciated. But please, continue."

"When Lyra was born, she seemed so tiny and fragile to me. She takes very much after her father, I suppose. I grew afraid for her, and in that state of mind I agreed to raise her in Equestria. She would not be the runt of the pack, here."

Considering Lyra Heartstrings appeared to fall squarely into the Equestrian average, this seemed to have worked out. "Do you regret this choice?"

"No." The unicorn pursed her lips. "Yet it was hard work, at first. I was a foreigner and my husband continued to travel often and at length for his work. My Equish was flawed, I had no friends." She bared her teeth. "And I was young to be a mother. Too young to be away from my elders, I would say. But the hearth was mine to tend, and my family's interests mine to defend. I had my little daughter and the luxury of money." She chuckled with a predatory glint in her eye. "I feared nothing, least of all your squirrely little summer ponies. I grabbed your city by the throat and subdued it. Made it mine, learned its ways. My daughter grew up knowing she belonged, because I made it so!"

It seemed like a very peculiar way to to boast of the process of learning to be a well-spoken, well-connected member of the upper class to Luna, but she could follow the reasoning. Many newcomers to Equestria wished the best for the young, but not many had the wealth and resulting idle time to learn how to confidently guide their offspring in a society still unfamiliar to themselves.

Also, not every individual passed through life with confidence as though they were the indispensable bedrock of the world.

"Quite admirable, I would say, but it doesn't answer my question."

The unicorn shrugged. "Princess Twilight has achieved greatness on a path she has been set upon from an early age. We all owe her much! I know for a fact that her mother's pride is great, I would never dare argue against it. But in her place I would struggle to feel the same. My kind distrusts notions of destiny and fate and the machinations of immortals have that smell about them. Part of me would always resent it."

Suddenly the mare smiled, brightly and with such delight it seemed to light up the area. "I tell ponies of my daughter and they nod politely, secretly thinking that I am a simple-minded foreigner and cannot see that she is a layabout without ambition. So few can see what I see! She has a house, it is modest, but it is a place of shelter and of plenty to her lover and her friends. She has chosen her path and found a place of happiness. She adds joy to the life of others. She is aware of her flaws without despairing over them. She can tell when a soul is in need of kinship. Perhaps not as well as I, but she is still young. These things are worthy of esteem to any of my kin. I am proud!"

"I see." The attitude left a sour taste with Luna, but she tried to reassure the other pony nonetheless. "The issue in question was ... modest in scope. I involved myself to ensure that Miss Punch would not simply be a statistic, as Bon Bon so charmingly claimed." She frowned. "Is this attitude common among your kind?"

"I think so." The great unicorn shook her head. "True, we have our seers and sages and we do appreciate raw power in our kin, but magic on your scale only causes disquiet for most of us, not wonder or tempting appeal. We would not be very comfortable with its influence in our life. That is why I said I am conflicted. I very much appreciate all your services! But it is the way I was raised. I regret if this offends you."

Such superstitions were not uncommon, of course. Celestia had been around for long enough to seem perfectly normal to most Equestrians, even if they would ordinarily be fearful of powerful magic entities, they wouldn't conceive of their Princess as anything but benevolent. Perhaps in a few generations' time, they'd view Luna in the same way once again, and not just because Celestia asked it of them.

"Think nothing of it, Lady Heartstrings. I appreciate your forthrightness."

The fillies had been spoiled a little more than Berry would ordinarily appreciate, but she decided not to comment. Maybe it had served to distract them from worrying.

Besides, both of them had been so happy to see her return, she didn't want to say anything to diminish that. Even Dinky had rushed to hug her first before breaking away to properly greet Ditzy.

There was a considerable mess of comics and some board games. The comics they would probably share with Spike. No additional toys for Pinchy, which was probably for the best. Her daughter's room was the sort of place toys had nightmares about. The toys she'd gotten on her previous visit to Canterlot were certainly not long for this world, and Berry would feel a little bad to see such generous gifts reduced to their component parts. In the name of science, she supposed. There was also some sort of mechanics made easy set with all sorts of metal bits, nuts and bolts and things of that sort to build working models and mechanisms.

Seemed squarely aimed at inquisitive kids like Pinchy and Berry felt regret that she hadn't been aware that sort of thing existed. She should have made more of an effort. Maybe she should talk to the Doc, the guy was also tinkering with weird stuff beyond watchmaking. She'd have to convince him that Pinchy was a careful sort and not a Crusader.

"I hope you were proper grateful for all this stuff. This is exceptional, and that's pro'ly gonna be literal."

"Sure! Kinda weird to get so much stuff. It's like Hearth's Warming." Dinky had been the one who needed convincing to accept a gift last time around as well.

"Is everything going to be okay, mom?" Pinchy stuck close to her side, as though worried Berry might vanish. "Are you in trouble with the Princess?"

"I'm gonna have to work for the Mayor for a while, Pinchy." Wouldn't be the first time. Despite Bon Bon's meltdown about consequences, Berry knew that the Mayor and the Ponyville cops had been more lenient with her than they'd needed to be.

"Oh." It was a tiny sound of disappointment, and it stung. She'd rather be nailed in the jaw by Bon Bon again, and the mare was stupid strong for just spending all day in the kitchen or behind the register. She raised a hoof to rub the bruise.

"I didn't get in trouble 'cause of drinking, Pinchy, y'can ask the others." She sighed. "It was kind of a mess. Turns out your sire only sorta recently was outta prison and didn't want any trouble. My mother was giving him grief. Damn the crazy old nag." She bit her lip. "Makes me so angry."

"Okay." The filly hugged her, and it made Berry feel like a million bits. Still, now that it was over she couldn't help but wonder if Pinchy hadn't learned the wrong lessons in life. She was such a good filly, but maybe she'd only been good because her mother was a headcase who couldn't handle disappointment? The Crusaders constantly got into trouble. She didn't want that for her daughter, but at least those other fillies had experienced again and again that their screw-ups couldn't do any lasting harm to the love of their family.

Meanwhile Pinchy knew perfectly well that Berry and her mother hated one another, so she'd probably have picked up the awful notion that a pony could gamble their mother's love away. Berry didn't want her daughter growing up to live like Fluttershy. If the world-saving business hadn't been dropped on that mare, she'd hardly leave her house for fear of ruffling feathers. Regular ponies went nowhere in life with an attitude like that.

Dinky at least gave her mother a bit of sass now and then. Pinchy was probably still worrying about her mother backsliding into drink. Berry expected that the filly might one day take an interest in meeting her sire, but she probably wouldn't say so until she trusted her mother not to come completely unglued about it.

"We got hard work ahead of us, Pinchy."

"Huh? Like what?"

"Your mother's a headcase, Pinchy, there's no way around it. Everypony is a little weird, but most ponies are better at filterin' it and acting like normal." She sighed. "I gotta learn to sort myself out. I gotta learn to be okay with myself, and not just muddle along for your sake. D'ya understand? I love you more than anything else in the world, but I gotta learn to do what's right for me, too, else I can't be strong and healthy for you. Not for long, anyhow."

"Berry is right," Ditzy cut in, with that slow and steady rhythm of hers. "She m-may need real help." The pegasus squinted one eye shut and fixed the other on Ruby Pinch. "We're in this together. All th-the way. Family doesn't have to ... doesn't end with blood. Trust us."

"Yeah!" Dinky nodded with enthusiasm and rushed back to hug Berry again. "C'mon Pincer, with mine for back-up, your mom can stand up to anything." She took a step back again and gave Berry a cheeky sort of look. "If she'll remember that mom is there!"

Berry shook her head. "You got me there, Dinky, I'll try to remember when the going gets tough." Probably helped Pinchy a lot to hear it like that from her friend. Dinky hadn't any more real reason to think that Berry could get herself sorted out than Pinchy had, but Dinky trusted her own mother easily and didn't seem to have any trouble sharing whatever faith Ditzy had in her.

"I'm just glad you're back," Pinchy muttered, but she smiled. "Tell us how it went?"

"Sure I will, but first you gotta help pack your stuff, maybe tell us how things went here?"

"Oh, it was great," Dinky claimed with enthusiasm. "Enny and M, I mean, Mr. Advantage, taught us how to play bridge, and poker!"

"Yeah, and they took us to a gryphon restaurant! It was really cool!"

Berry frowned. She supposed that maybe there was a market for that sort of thing for embassy staff or something. "So how'd that work out for you?"

Dinky didn't look entirely happy about the memory. "Some weird smells, but I had a pretty good salad."

"I had some fried eggs with pickles and onions. I didn't want to get too crazy, but I had a sardine from whatever Enny had. She likes fish a lot."

"Sardines are good," Ditzy stated happily, although her daughter didn't seem convinced.

Neither filly were real fussy eaters, but fish wasn't exactly a popular mainstay at home. There really wasn't much reason to include it in the grocery budget, in any case. "Now you're making me hungry."

Fried eggs sounded good. She'd made eggs a regular part of her little family's diet, especially since the one bit of parenting advice she'd gotten from her dad was that little unicorns could waste a lot of energy trying to do magic and needed to be fed properly to grow up healthy. Eggs were full of useful stuff and were cheap. Berry had known lots of ponies who grew up real scrawny, from being poor or from being raised by young parents who barely knew what they were doing. Often both.

"Lemme know if you wanna try more fish at home sometime, Pinchy. For now, let's get ready and say goodbye to Lyra's mother." She considered her surroundings. "Well, let's do one more sweep. This place is too big."

It was an awfully large apartment. She was pretty sure the lower floors had one on each side of the stairs, so Lyra's parents must have knocked down the wall to the neighboring apartment and merged them at some point. It seemed too large for only two ponies, or even three. Lyra had been an only child, after all. Still, plenty of room to have guests over, and it allowed Berry not to worry whether it had been an imposition to look after the fillies. Maybe having all this space was to Enny's preference. Perhaps a city like Canterlot could feel constricting to a large pony who'd grown up in some wild region of the world.

Berry would absolutely not want to be the one responsible for keeping dust from gathering on the furniture here.

Finally ready to depart, and having been informed that Bon Bon and Lyra would stay the night, they intended to say their goodbyes to Enny. Her friends staying behind made sense to Berry, Bon Bon would probably tell herself that she'd been largely useless or even made things worse by causing a scene, but she was in good hooves with the two Heartstrings.

Apparently the older mare had at least invited the Princess inside and out of the stairwell.

"Thanks for watching the fillies. Ditzy made the right call, asking you. I owe ya."

"You are not in my debt," Enny declared firmly. "I say again: Trusting me with your daughters was a gift to one such as I. Perhaps you only involved my family to calm your own mind, but it has been done."

Well, it was true that naming Lyra and Bon Bon as legal guardians if anything happened to her would likely be a moot point now. She'd been majorly off-kilter at the time. Of course, accidents could happen at any time, so making sure Pinchy got to stay in Ponyville should the worst happen at some point wasn't a bad thing, but Berry decided not to dwell on it.

"I don't regret that part, if that's what you been wondering."

"Good, good!" Enny sighed "I will speak candidly, yes? You are one who has been made to feel unwelcome in her own life. It is a grave wrong to inflict upon a pony. You are a mare of worth, and I will trust my daughter's judgement, and that of your daughter, over your own."

The big unicorn took a deep breath. She looked pained, and Berry thought she saw tears forming in her eyes. It was deeply uncomfortable. Enkindle Heartstring was an enormous, obviously strong pony, and it seemed wrong for such a mare to be moved to tears for somepony she hardly even knew.

"Back north I would say this among my peers and our elders, but this will do. Princess Luna, take heed and bear witness. I, Enkindle Heartstrings, born in Iceclad, home in Canterlot, matriarch of my line, lay claim to Berry Punch and Ruby Pinch. I will treat them as kin, no better and no worse. We may disagree fiercely and I need not understand their choices, but they will belong here as they are, not as I wish they were."

She cleared her throat and regarded Berry warmly. "Please remember this. Under this roof, failure need not be accompanied by shame. When misfortune finds you, as it sometimes will, you will find aid and shelter here."

"So it is witnessed," Luna intoned grandly, smirking all the while.

Berry felt a little ganged up on by a princess who was still centuries out of date and Lyra's weird mother. "Uh, alright then. I'll keep that in mind?" There really wasn't much of a line to the Heartstrings, at least not in Equestria proper. The mare also didn't seem that old. If anypony asked Berry to imagine a family matriarch, she'd imagine a rickety old pony like Granny Smith or her own grandmother.

"That's a good thing, Berry." Ditzy nudged her. "Mrs. Heartstrings just wants ... she wants to help."

She felt herself glowering dubiously. It was unnatural enough for Princess Luna to take an interest in the situation, whatever the reason. She didn't want to be ungrateful or anything of course, not to Luna and even less to Bon Bon, but the Princesses had to manage the whole bloody country, Berry couldn't imagine that the alicorn could really afford to let themselves care about individuals.

Normally it wouldn't have made particularly more sense for a rich Canterlot pony to care about what happened to her sort, but being friends with Lyra was a good enough excuse for her mother to take an interest. If Dinky, or really anypony Pinchy was friends with, were in trouble, Berry would probably want to offer what help she could.

Berry swallowed and glanced down at her daughter. "Alright, fine. I'll call on you if we ever need help again." Life was pretty stable, but everypony's luck ran out sometimes, and if Berry ever had to pay some major unexpected bill, Lyra's mother could probably help out. At least the mare seemed to understand that sometimes life just landed a cheap shot and broke you down. You couldn't take that for granted with wealthy ponies, they usually got to thinkin' that anypony who hadn't made it very far had something wrong with their moral character, too. "Your husband gonna be okay with this?"

"My house, my rules." Enny smirked a little, but didn't explain more.

Well, it wasn't Berry's place to worry about that, she supposed, and she didn't want to stick around to argue. She wanted to go home. Still, there was something else she wanted to say, and Enny seemed to sense that, looking at her expectantly.

Berry had to look away. "Maybe I wanna talk to a professional about ... myself sometime. I don't even know where to start." Needing a proper counselor or whatever was never really a topic for conversation among ponies and it made Berry uncomfortable just thinking about it. She didn't want to give ponies more reason to look down on her, but considering her recent emotional state and actions, she was willing to give it a try.

Enny smiled encouragingly, but she spoke sternly. "If there are costs beyond your means, you will tell me. If you need recommendations, I will procure them."

Didn't seem real fair to have Enny fussing over her like that, especially with Ditzy, who had less money to go around, right there. Of course Ditzy was pretty well put together mentally and would probably just tell her to care more for herself or something. Berry glanced over at her friend. Ditzy was smiling, too, she seemed grateful that Berry was being offered the help.

"That might be good," Berry allowed. "I'll keep you in the loop."

Pinchy took a step forward. "Thank you for worrying about my mother, Enny. And thank you, Princess Luna."

It was so odd watching her filly talk to these large ponies. Luna was very tall and graceful, and she had seemed to stride confidently whenever she moved. She had a weird way of looking at ponies which maybe came from just being really old. Berry didn't know. Besides, alicorns tended to have that mystery about them still, and loomed over regular ponies. Although maybe that was just Berry feeling vaguely guilty around them by default.

Lyra's mother had no special mystery about her. She was just big. Not as tall as Princess Luna, of course, but she was wide and took up more space. Berry hardly knew the older mare, but if you could know ponies by the kids they raised, Enny had to be a solid sort. Lyra wasn't odd by Ponyville standards, but she had some quirks that growing up in Canterlot would probably have sanded down, if she hadn't had parents who taught her that she was fine being herself. The mare did seem to be good with children. She'd also been extremely generous to Berry.

Enny knelt down and regarded Pinchy seriously. "It is my pleasure, little one. A pony such as I is suited to large families, I have love and concern to spare. My heart is very big, in every sense. Please make sure your mother stays in touch. I will have Lyra remind her, also."

"I will," Pinchy nodded severely.

Ponies were laying it on real thick today, it seemed. Berry shook her head. "Yeah, thank you both. Tell Bonny not to beat herself up too much."

At least doing community service in Ponyville wasn't new for anypony involved, although it was too bad that it was probably going to lead to some ponies thinking she'd been drinking again.

"Very well," Luna declared in that princess-type way she had. "Let us return you home and to normalcy at once."

Berry supposed things could be a lot worse. She'd have an uncomfortable time sorting through her baggage so she could be a better mother, of course, but she had good friends. Maybe Ditzy would argue that some of her friends hadn't acted the best way they could have, but nopony was perfect.

Plus, she was back in touch with her dad, and Lyra's mother was a good contact to have.

Normalcy was a tall order, but life wouldn't be so bad.

"Sounds good."

Author's Note

Thanks for reading. This is it, for now.