Ponyville Derpy Hooves In: Mystery of the Lost MacGuffin (Bellosh101 & StaticPinks: PM for Invite)

[Bellosh]

“Helloooooo! Has anyone seen a MacGuffin lying around somewhere? Hellooooooo???” For the last half-hour, Derpy Hooves transversed up and down Ponyville, asking everypony she saw that same question. Where, oh where could her MacGuffin be hiding? For ponies not in the know, MacGuffin was the titular earth pony hero of a series of hardboiled detective books, set in the dark mysterious nooks and crannies of Manehattan. In an archetypical MacGuffin story, the grim, emotionally-detached private eye would have to navigate webs of intrigue and unseen hazards to recover something valuable for a client, oftentimes getting on the wrong side of the law. Many literary critics convincingly claim that MacGuffin is the urban version of Daring Do, his name virtually synonymous with Contemporary Mystery.

MacGuffin novels were favorites of Derpy’s, religiously buying all the new releases. She remembered buying the latest book at a Ponyville train station stand, two hours ago. Ninety minutes of doing business around town later, Derpy returned home and moved to set her purchase down on her bedroom nightstand when she made a horrifying discovery; her MacGuffin was nowhere to be found!

In a blind panic, the googly-eyed pegasus flew out of her open bedroom window, distraught over its disappearance. Not thinking straight, Derpy Hooves searched fruitlessly without any leads to follow. In desperation, the young mare returned back to the train station, thinking she may have somehow thrown away her MacGuffin along with the receipt for it. Without a second thought, Derpy grabbed the nearby trashcan and dumped all of its messy contents onto the station platform, not caring for the inconvenience she caused for others. After sorting through the pile of garbage, no MacGuffin was present at all! Oh NO!!!

“WHERE IS MY MACGUFFIN?” Miss Hooves screamed to the heavens, her arms dramatically outstretched to plead with Celestia’s Sun.

​

[StaticPinks]

Fable Weaver

Fable Weaver was feeling imaginative the moment he woke out of his bed at the hotel he was staying at while visiting Ponyville. It was of the adventurous sort, and the vastly expansive kind at that. He felt like he had a million ideas in his head for books that waited to be plastered to paper and sent to his publisher. Fable had to find some sort of outlet, something to catch the ingenious topics of mystery, crime, and suspense from leaking out of his ears and soaked up in the floor where he could never recover them.

It was times like these that Fable was glad he was of the organized, "think-ahead" type of pony, as Fable quickly shaped up his mane, applied his glasses and bow-tie to his being, grabbed his saddlebags, notepad, pencil, and trusty sidekick and pet mouse Winston, and stepped out the door to greet the wondrous world around him with a smile.

The day couldn't have been more perfect. The birds were chirping, the sun was bright and happy, and ponies milled about and made about their day as if it was their last day alive, making the day count by greeting their friends and sometimes total strangers, and carrying out their work like it wasn't that at all. Fable nearly smacked himself upside the bespectacled head for not choosing to live here in the beginning. Alas, there was no space in the small town whatsoever for the pegasus to put down his roots, and had to settle for the next best thing.

Fable hurriedly trotted down the street towards a particular cafe he enjoyed when it came to breakfast, and was a nice spot to jot down some ideas that had been bursting to come out. A nice relaxing time, sipping some iced tea and letting his imagination let loose was a perfect way to start the day! There was certainly nothing that could spoil this glorious-

“Helloooooo! Has anyone seen a MacGuffin lying around somewhere? Hellooooooo???”

Fable had heard this cry from roughly the next block over, and a pegasus mare with a blond mane and tail zoomed past the cafe, all the while asking everypony in her path where the so called "MacGuffin" was. Fable had little to no clue what she was looking for, but the only thing he could come up with was a slightly more popular mystery novel series that always seemed to beat his by some kind of margin. Fable nearly considered brushing off the mare and leaving her to her own devices due to that fact, something else stirred him deep within his bowels.

This mare had lost something dear to her, something she held in high regard, and it was Fable's right, no, his DUTY as a mystery novelist and wannabe detective that made him throw his bits across his table, paying for his tea, grabbing his notepad and furry friend, abandoning his bursting ideas of mystery to pursue the real thing, and chase after the mare to solve this mystery as Fable Weaver, Private Eye!

------------------------------------------

It took Fable a bit to keep up with the flustered pegasus, as she kept zooming from pony to pony, asking the same question of her lost novel, before settling at one destination, the Ponyville train station. Fable knew that she must have purchased her book here, or had some sort of business in the area to zero-in on that location.

Fable came to a stop, as did the mare who had grasped a nearby trash bin and dumped out its contents on the ground, not caring about the safety of others, as she only had one goal: to find her missing MacGuffin novel.

“WHERE IS MY MACGUFFIN?”

Like if Fable was in some sort of dramatic play, the mare threw her hooves in the air to plead with Celestia and pray for her mercy upon her soul. It was there that Fable knew he had to help this mare, as she was clearly distraught beyond reason over something she cared about deeply. Fable cleared his throat, made a heroic stance with his mouse Winston on his head doing the same thing, and spoke up in the most masculine voice he could muster towards the yelling mare.

"Dear madam, do not fret about a missing MacGuffin, for I am the pony to aid you in your time of need! I am Fable Weaver, Private Eye, along with my intrepid assistant Winston, and I will use all of my detective prowess to help you find your MacGuffin! Now, tell me the whole story, would you miss? Did you lose it, or is there anypony out there that has a grudge against you and wants to see you suffer by taking something you hold dear?"

[Bellosh]

An assertive voice answered Derpy’s skyward prayer, and boy was this not just any answer. Materializing right next to the young mare was a stallion who might very well be the famous MacGuffin himself, give or take a few major details. The tie looked appropriate enough for a Manehattan detective, and his cutie mark left no doubt that this pony’s job involved solving mysteries. Plus the Private Eye had a mouse too; clearly somepony could be trusted to the utmost if a loyal animal companion felt like hanging around him or her, even if they appeared a little bit inexperienced (Derpy pictured somepony less energetic and more worn-down).

Left with no other logical choices, Derpy Hooves abandoned her hunt through the garbage to comply with Fable Weaver’s request. “Well Mister Weaver,” she started on a downcast note; “I’m pretty sure I lost my MacGuffin on the way home from the train station, although I can’t imagine how that happened. I don’t think anypony would ever have a grudge against me at all; I don’t believe in grudges.” Resting a hoof on her chain, the pegasus pondered; “What sort of thing could anypony hate me for, Mister Private Eye sir?”

​

[StaticPinks]

The mare with the blonde mane had looked up to meet Fable's eyes after he volunteered to aid the mare, abandoning her recently acquired taste for dumpster-diving. The wannabee Private Eye finally had a good look at the pony now that she was there. Her depressed look in her eyes along with a very downcast feeling about her, as if she had lost her puppy, made Fable's heart twitch in shared pain for her lost MacGuffin. She had a grey coat, a blonde mane like he thought she did, and a very peculiar set of eyes that didn't bother Fable whatsoever, his trip to Manehatten and the mare known as Maud Pie still fresh in his mind.

“Well Mister Weaver, I’m pretty sure I lost my MacGuffin on the way home from the train station, although I can’t imagine how that happened. I don’t think anypony would ever have a grudge against me at all; I don’t believe in grudges. What sort of thing could anypony hate me for, Mister Private Eye sir?”

Fable nodded to the mare, taking his trusty pencil and notepad and wrote down what she said, while Winston carefully scampered over to the mare, not wanting to spook her, and lightly caressed one of her legs with a fuzzy paw, showing his understanding and doing what he can to help out.

"I see, I see, so I'm assuming that the lost MacGuffin is a mystery novel you cherish very much, and you bought its latest addition at the book stand directly across from us over there, I presume? ...Most likely where my novels are, no doubt..." Fable added that last part under his breath, still slightly ticked at the mare not knowing who he was or at least interested in his novels instead of that one other author. The thought made Fable's blood boil and his eye gave a sharp twitch before switching back into his helpful, detective persona.

"That was why I rushed over her, hoping you dropped it after you spent your bits," Fable assumed, flipping to another page on his notepad and adding his observations. "Now, I may not be a tried and true investigator, but I am a mystery novelist myself and I happen to have picked up a few things over the years since my first series, 'The Closed Cases of Prof. Hoof Print.' Maybe you have heard of it...? ...Anywho, I know that if somepony took it, it most certainly has to be somepony who wants to make your life miserable."

Fable then regarded the question the mare asked about earlier about any potential suspects and why they might want to see her suffer. Fable really had no clue, only have known this mare for a few minutes, only garnering the fact that she was more scatter-brained and energetic than he was, if her frantic flying had any indication. There was another thing, however...

"Now, I do have one observation that may or may not be news to you, so I'll make it quick. It might be about your strabismus, the way your eyes are. Now, I personally have no problem with that, but others might be. Perhaps you get special treatment and someponies despise that, I wouldnt know, I have only met you a few minutes now. What exactly do you do miss? Do you have a job with some bad coworkers or any neighbors that might dislike you in any way?"

[Bellosh]

OOC: Ugggh, didn't mean to neglect this thread for so long. X_X

"I see, I see, so I'm assuming that the lost MacGuffin is a mystery novel you cherish very much, and you bought its latest addition at the book stand directly across from us over there, I presume?"

“Yeah, that’s right,” Derpy Hooves nodded her head; “I purchased the newest MacGuffin over there at the stand.” The pegasus swore she heard Private Eye mutter something under his breath, but the young mare didn’t take any heed of what he actually said. If it was something important, he’d have spoken out loud for Derpy to hear.

​

"Now, I may not be a tried and true investigator, but I am a mystery novelist myself and I happen to have picked up a few things over the years since my first series, 'The Closed Cases of Prof. Hoof Print.' Maybe you have heard of it...?"

A half-remembered memory from earlier in the day came to the forefront of Derpy’s mind, this realization hitting her like an avalanche. “Wait a minute... I think I saw a Professor Hoof Print book also being sold at the stand today! And YOU wrote it!!! I’ve always wondered how your books were like, but every time I’ve thought about reading one, I’d hear that a new MacGuffin had just come out, and I’d always get that book instead. I guess there’s something comforting about brand familiarity, I guess.” Miss Hooves gave an embarrassed cheeky grin.

​

"Now, I do have one observation that may or may not be news to you, so I'll make it quick. It might be about your strabismus, the way your eyes are. Now, I personally have no problem with that, but others might be. Perhaps you get special treatment and someponies despise that, I wouldnt know, I have only met you a few minutes now. What exactly do you do miss? Do you have a job with some bad coworkers or any neighbors that might dislike you in any way?"

“I’m an Electrical Weather Specialist, First Class!” Derpy proudly proclaimed; “It’s my job to handle all the electrically-charged clouds kept by the local weather team. Whenever we need to schedule a big rainstorm, I direct the release of lightning bolts to let ponies know that they need to stay outside under the storm ends.”

The blonde-maned pony’s exuberance shortly came back down to earth. “Nopony does any special favors for me because of my eyes,” Derpy lightly tapped the side of her head, causing her crooked eyes to switch between the high and low position. “I don’t ask anypony favors anyway. And I never really looked into finding a way to change my eyes; it’s just who I am.

At work, my supervisor is Rainbow Dash; you know, that pegasus who can zip around really fast and make sonic rainbooms? Whenever I mess up something, it’s usually her who ends up groaning and explaining how I screwed up. Then there’s Flitter and Cloudchaser; personally, I don’t think they don’t have anything against me per say, but I always see them in crowds laughing at other ponies. Again, they’re super nice the rest of the time, so maybe I’m seeing things that aren’t really there. Happens to me all the time.

Across from my house live Bon Bon and Lyra Heartstrings. I do remember one time when I accidently destroyed Bon Bon’s market stand. I’m almost 100 percent certain though that we buried the hatchet, since all three of us are friendly with each other again. There’s the Mayor; I accidently destroyed her Town Hall too, but she’s on holiday far away from Ponyville right now. Then there’s Twilight Sparkle; I keep forgetting whenever I have to return one of her books. Oh, I almost forgot that one odd doctor pony that I used to assist, before I wrecked one of his special device thingies, I think. But he’s on holiday too I believe. He’s practically always on holiday, come to think of it.

And that’s all I can think of off the top of my head. If you give me more time, I’m sure to give you plenty of more names to work with!” Miss Hooves cheerfully nodded her head to signify that yes, that indeed was possible.

​

[StaticPinks]

[OOC: It's all good, no problem! ]

“Yeah, that’s right,” the mare nodded her head; “I purchased the newest MacGuffin over there at the stand.”

Fable had suspected as much, nodding to the mare while scribbling more notes down, as there was really no other logical reason for the mare to be at the train station digging through the trash. If she were to buy it at a local bookstore, she would be no solid motive to search the train station like she was now unless she was from out of town and picked to book up as she entered Ponyville. In hindsight, that was kind of a moot point to Fable is it didn't contribute much to the mystery, but at least he knew where the trail started. Fable doubted that the book was anywhere near the train station unless she never even bought the book, which was unlikely. No, in reality, she lost it or had it stolen during her day. Where exactly that happened and how, Fable had to gather more information from the wall-eyed mare.

“Wait a minute... I think I saw a Professor Hoof Print book also being sold at the stand today! And YOU wrote it!!! I’ve always wondered how your books were like, but every time I’ve thought about reading one, I’d hear that a new MacGuffin had just come out, and I’d always get that book instead. I guess there’s something comforting about brand familiarity, I guess.”

Fable once again had to curse the author of the MacGuffin novels, stealing away his fans like that. The thought boiled him up on the inside, his mystery rival always seeming to put out a new addition to his or her novels when Fable did. The nerve of some ponies! Still, he was taken aback by the fact that the mare HAD known about his books, she just preferred... his rival's... mystery novels... although she did think of reading his someday, which perked Fable up a bit. Now, Fable really didn't care about how "popular" or "famous" his books or himself were, he just enjoyed writing and making a small living off his talent, as much as anypony should. Still, he had to rearrange his schedule and hopefully release his new books far away from when MacGuffin did in hopes of having other ponies recognize his work.

Fable still beamed at the mare when she mentioned Hoof Print, his own detective hero, albeit still feeling the pain of having another pony writing the same genre be more well-known than him. At least talking about it makes for a good icebreaker to get to know her a bit better, makes the poor victim more at ease during an investigation and more likely to give sharper details, if he recalled his sources correctly.

"Oh, so you have heard of my work! Shame that you haven't the time for them, but at least somepony is giving you your mystery solving kick! I've taken a gander at his novels, as a natural competitor, and as much as I hate to admit it, he does write the genre a smidgen better than I do. Regardless, I love what I do and still have a lot to learn to write even better than I do now. Pray tell, what do you see in his books that draw you to them so much, miss? Is it the characters, plot, style of writing?"

When answering his questions about who might target her for a theft and who might have a grudge against her, Fable was taken aback by the... history she had with a fair number of ponies in town. Thankfully she doesn't seem to get any flak for her eyes, but by what she was telling Fable, she seemed to get into trouble another way. Perhaps it was how she was or what her eyes made her do, but she seemed very keen on accidental destruction or generally being scatter-brained, something that Fable could relate to. He was often a very distracted pony who focused more on one thing than multitasking, it was a trait that allowed himself to compare with the mare in front of him. Perhaps something like that could be useful in their investigation for the lost MacGuffin, putting himself in the horseshoes of his 'client'? Fable would have to think it over when he got more info from the Pegasus.

Fable recounted the list of ponies on his notebook, perhaps as a list of possible suspects for the theft. He reviewed the papers and crawled deep into his subconscious to find a motive. He was only vacationing in the town, so he had no idea who half of the ponies were. He knew who Rainbow Dash was, hearing of her individual and group accomplishments in the newspaper over the years, and didn't think a pony who was an advocate on friendship and harmony would go as far as steal something from somepony just because she messed things up. In all honesty, it was a list of ponies who really didn't seem capable of such a crime if the mare didn't think of them as possible suspects, so the thought of it being a theft was looking to be a pretty unlikely case. Although she did say there might be more ponies she was forgetting, if no ponies who really went out of their way to ruin the mare's day didn't immediately jump to her mind, it wasn't a point worth pursuing. That said, with Fable scribbling away at his notepad and pulling at his mind for the past few minutes, he had to tell her what he thought. He put his notepad away in his saddlebags, along with giving a short grin at his pet mouse who was still trying his best to help with the investigation, digging in the trash bin the mare was in not moments ago, before speaking up to her.

"So sorry about that, my dear, I tend to lose myself quite often when I'm dead set on something, something that you might be familiar with, if what you told me was the truth. It seems that a theft is falling down the list of possible fates that might have befallen your novel. None of the ponies you mentioned seemed to have a strong vendetta against you, which points me to say that the 'crime' is more of a lost item cause. Nevertheless, as Fable Weaver, Private Eye, I swear to you and Celestia herself that I will help an adorable damsel in distress such as yourself, and recover your beloved novel! Now, first off, tell me what exactly you did today, when you got up and left your house, to the moment I spoke to you. Did you have work today? Anyplace where a lot of ponies might be gathered or where you might have left your book for a short while?"

[Bellosh]

".....Pray tell, what do you see in his books that draw you to them so much, miss? Is it the characters, plot, style of writing?"

What was with it with these questions? Derpy Hooves was no literary critic; how was supposed to know what to tell the private eye/author? “Errrrrr, I wouldn’t know,” the pegasus glanced off to the side, scratching the back of her head; “I just remember the first time the first time I saw a MacGuffin, it was at the bookstore, and they had a flashy display thing near the checkout. Since the gals over in the Weather Team liked talking about those books, and I wanted mysteries to read, I figured ‘why not’? And that's how I've been buying MacGuffins ever since, to always know what happens next! So... how’s this supposed to help us find my MacGuffin again?”

​

".....Now, first off, tell me what exactly you did today, when you got up and left your house, to the moment I spoke to you. Did you have work today? Anyplace where a lot of ponies might be gathered or where you might have left your book for a short while?"

And now Fable Weaver was back to asking questions that Miss Hooves could easily answer. Derpy could swoop in to the rescue with her exceptional memory! “Right, when I left the house this morning, I did what I usually did and went to work. However, there wasn’t much that they needed me for today, so they let me have the rest of the day off. First I bought the MacGuffin, then I spent maybe an hour and a half doing other errands. So I was going to all the market stalls... the first one I went to was......... hmmmmmm. Give me one moment please; I’ll remember what that stall was.” Ugggh, never a good time to have one’s memory fail.

​

[StaticPinks]

“Errrrrr, I wouldn’t know, I just remember the first time the first time I saw a MacGuffin, it was at the bookstore, and they had a flashy display thing near the checkout. Since the gals over in the Weather Team liked talking about those books, and I wanted mysteries to read, I figured ‘why not’? And that's how I've been buying MacGuffins ever since, to always know what happens next! So... how’s this supposed to help us find my MacGuffin again?”

Sometimes, Fable's enthusiasm when somepony had heard of his books made him go on a short tangent, wanting to be an author who got constructive criticism from his 'fans' or at least fans of literature as a whole. In hindsight, it wasn't really the best time to go on such a minor thing, but he did want to have a closer relationship to the pony he was trying to help. It was sort of unprofessional, but when was Fable Weaver ever a professional at this sort of thing? He was only wanting to try out his detective prowess for the first time, taking slight inspiration from his characters and his studies.

Fable blushed slightly and coughed into his arm, realizing this, and tried to explain his reasoning behind to why this might help her find her MacGuffin.

"...Ahem, w-well, you see, I-I was trying to make you more at ease with me and maybe get you to trust me more if I tried some casual banter between us, make you feel safer around me.. Maybe then you would be more forthcoming with key facts to my investigation, at least that's what I hope I was doing... I'm no professional at this, so just tell me if we should keep this investigation strictly for business sake, without the pay, of course."

Fable was now a bit fidgety and slightly unsure about himself, sporting a small frown on his features, hoping he was even doing the right thing and going through the proper steps of being a good enough detective for the poor pegasus. Fable Weaver was sure he was doing alright so far, and it was too soon to really tell how much good he was doing, but there was still that part of him that doubted his acquired skills of mystery solving.

“Right, when I left the house this morning, I did what I usually did and went to work," the mare continued, answering his question on her past whereabouts, "However, there wasn’t much that they needed me for today, so they let me have the rest of the day off. First I bought the MacGuffin, then I spent maybe an hour and a half doing other errands. So I was going to all the market stalls... the first one I went to was......... hmmmmmm. Give me one moment please; I’ll remember what that stall was."

So that crossed one possible location off the list, the novel was not at her workplace as she stated, she had bought the book after leaving early for the day. That left the next place they could visit in Fable's investigation, at the Ponyville market stalls. Fable took his notepad and pencil, along with his mouse, and stuffed them in his saddle bags. He straightened his glasses and announced where they would go first to the first and only lead they had.

"Well, no use standing around and letting the MacGuffin get even more lost the longer we wait here. You said the first place you went with the book was the marketplace, so that's where we will officially start this mystery in the making. Come along, miss, off we trot to the stalls and on the way you can think up anypony's stalls you may have visited, or any other place you might have gone before you noticed the MacGuffin missing."

Fable started off in a well-paced trot down the road from the train station, before it hit Fable like a ton of bricks. Grinning sheepishly, Fable turned around back to Derpy Hooves and spoke up with embarrassment clearly in his voice.

"...Ahh...I just remembered I don't actually live here, haha...Oh, how embarrassing...I'm actually just taking a needed vacation from my home in Fillydelphia, so I don't really know where much is in this town. You just lead me in the right direction I'll follow suit, is that alright with you, miss?"

[Bellosh]

"...Ahem, w-well, you see, I-I was trying to make you more at ease with me and maybe get you to trust me more if I tried some casual banter between us, make you feel safer around me.. Maybe then you would be more forthcoming with key facts to my investigation, at least that's what I hope I was doing... I'm no professional at this, so just tell me if we should keep this investigation strictly for business sake, without the pay, of course."

Derpy Hooves provided Fable Weaver a blank stare. “So let me get this straight; you use casual banter to make ponies feel safer around you because they don’t usually trust you? .....Fair enough.” The pegasus rubbed her neck in embarrassment; “Ponies don’t tend to trust me either.”

​

".....Come along, miss, off we trot to the stalls and on the way you can think up anypony's stalls you may have visited, or any other place you might have gone before you noticed the MacGuffin missing."

Silly Fable; that path led outside of the town. Thankfully, the stallion recognized his grave error before it was too late and he found himself lost in apple orchards. “Come on then,” Derpy waved Fable on over; “Let me show you the way to the market!”

Because the author/investigator was new around here, Miss Hooves provided one first lesson about navigating the treacherous streets of Ponyville; “Just to let you know, if you ever get lost, try to see if you can find Town Hall.” Derpy pointed to the tall building they were slowly heading towards. “That marks the center of Ponyville, and you can figure its position relative to you so you can learn in a split-second where you are. According to my uncle, the proper name for that sort of landmark is a 'weenie'.............. yeah, I don’t get it either.

So, you wanted to know what I did after I got to the market. First thing I did was listen to Lyra play some music; she always performs in the marketplace. After a few minutes, I gave her some bits and moved on. In fact, that's her you're hearing off in the distance!” Derpy was right; they were close now to reaching Lyra and hopefully, the pair's first clue too.

​

OOC: Lyra may enter now

[RarityDash]

"Let us now recall the not so long ago day~♪
Celestia's sun shone bright as the ponies did play~♫
Yet from the deep Everfree evil was grown~♪
Born from dark seeds long ago sown~♫
Equestria was locked between day and night~♪
As the wrath of the vines brought a great plight~♫
Ponyville's bravest rushed to battle this threat~♪
Deep in the forest tough choices they met ~♫
But courage and light did persevere~♪
And Equestria was freed from all of its fear~♫"

Lyra Heartstrings was in the marketplace strumming her lyre and singing off a quick ballad about something she remembered happening in the not too distant past, as she was one to often do. On this particular day, her ballad was on the subject of the last Summer Sun Festival, that weird day when the sky went all weird and crazy evil vines began attacking everyone. Like usual, and like so often it was in Lyra's ballads, the story ended with the same ponies going off and fixing things. Her lyre's melody was gentle and sweet, and she did her best with the singing. Next to her was a little cup for anypony who wanted to give her some bits. She never made a lot from her busking, but she still was sure Ponyville appreciated her songs.

As she ran out of lyrics, she changed her playing up, making it jazzier and more playful as she thought back to her recent time with Bohemian Club in Canterlot. It was during this that she first saw Derpy approaching. Derpy Hooves. Lyra happened to have a bit of history with this pony. For most of her life in Ponyville, Lyra had considered her a menace, a clumsy fool who ruined everything around her. It came to a head when Derpy inadvertently ended up completely obliterating Bon Bon's chocolate stand. This lead to a deep vendetta against the mare for a while, which lasted until Nightmare Night. That night had started with Lyra trying to get Derpy good with her amazing costume, but they were all in for a fright when Fluttershy suddenly turned into a changeling and threw them all into cages. It was only through both of their efforts then, that they were able to break free and then ultimately capture the changelings in their own cages. Lyra had let things be cool between her and Derpy after that, and enjoyed a banquet with her in Canterlot. Seeing her now, Lyra smiled a little; just earlier that day the mare had given her some bits.

"Heya, Derpy!" Lyra called out to her, with a wave. "Come back to hear more?" she asked.

​

[StaticPinks]

“So let me get this straight; you use casual banter to make ponies feel safer around you because they don’t usually trust you? .....Fair enough.” The pegasus rubbed her neck in embarrassment; “Ponies don’t tend to trust me either.”​

Fable felt one of his eyebrows go up in curiosity. He wouldn't have been one to accuse the mare of being untrustworthy, mostly because he just met the poor lass, but as far as her record goes with a few of her friends, he had a better understanding of why that was the case. She seemed a bit...clumsy or scatter-brained by what she recounted to Fable earlier, but that shouldn't be why ponies won't trust her. It wasn't like she was obviously doing it on purpose, it was just who she was. She seemed like a very friendly, upstanding young mare to the young detective.

Fable turned back to her, ready to throw his two bits at the mare in question. "To be frank with you dear, I wouldn't see how being a little ditzy at times could cause other ponies to distrust you. Sure you made a few mistakes, but who hasn't? I've certainly caused a few problematic affairs in the past that caused others to distrust me, but it wasn't for long. Honestly, I would think you would be a very trusting pony, but that's neither here nor there, your here for assistance, not casual talk, haha..."

Speaking of which, it was high time they got on with their investigation of the nabbed novel, the longer they wait, the more lost the MacGuffin could be. Fable started on his way down to what looked like an apple orchard, when the blond mare pointed out where they were actually meant to be going. With a sheepish grin, Fable turned around to follow her. "Ehehe, of course, I really should leave directions to the professionals," Said Fable as they walked down the correct path towards the heart of the town. "Anyways, on we trot. We've got suspects to question!"

As they wove through the roads and past houses, the mare pointed out a very obvious tactic to anypony who finds themselves in a new place. “Just to let you know, if you ever get lost, try to see if you can find Town Hall.” Derpy pointed to the tall building they were slowly heading towards. “That marks the center of Ponyville, and you can figure its position relative to you so you can learn in a split-second where you are. According to my uncle, the proper name for that sort of landmark is a 'weenie'.............. yeah, I don’t get it either."

Fable groaned at his mistake, slightly embarrassed that he didn't realize his mistake sooner, only saved by the fact that he was simply new to the town and didn't even know there was a Town Hall. Shaking his head, he listened to the rest of the mare's conversation, learning that not only the Town Hall was a directional landmark, but also that they were called "weenies", to Fable's amusement. Fable chuckled like a colt at the word, before clearing his throat and trying to keep a professional air about him, glancing at his notepad like there was some interesting evidence to be studied. Fable didn't believe the mare would even believe it, let alone care, but his ego and desperation to be a good private investigator was hanging in the balance. After all, professionalism was key to being a good detective.

After that was all said and done, Fable and Derpy had finally made their way to the location of their first pony-of-interest, which the mare promptly explained a little about her, giving him a small piece of what she did exactly during her day. "So, you wanted to know what I did after I got to the market," Derpy started, making her way to the first chords of music down the street. "First thing I did was listen to Lyra play some music; she always performs in the marketplace. After a few minutes, I gave her some bits and moved on. In fact, that's her you're hearing off in the distance!”

"Let us now recall the not so long ago day~♪

Celestia's sun shone bright as the ponies did play~♫

Yet from the deep Everfree evil was grown~♪

Born from dark seeds long ago sown~♫

Equestria was locked between day and night~♪

As the wrath of the vines brought a great plight~♫

Ponyville's bravest rushed to battle this threat~♪

Deep in the forest tough choices they met ~♫

But courage and light did persevere~♪

And Equestria was freed from all of its fear~♫"

The cross-eyed filly was right, they could now clearly hear plucking strings and a feminine voice singing out to the world and anypony who cared enough. The lyrics sounded a little familiar to Fable, but he couldn't quite place it. Vines, heroes, locked in day and night? It was a hunch, but Fable thought it sounded a lot like when vines from the Everfree attacked Ponyville and Fable had to waste his bits on getting his eyes checked earlier than normal when the sun and moon stayed in place. A cold shudder ran through the bespectacled pony at the thought of that day.

Getting closer to the Marketplace, the two ponies were able to see who they were after. Lyra was a teal-coloured unicorn holding what seemed to be a lyre in her magical grip, looking as if she was having the time of her life. She looked pleasant enough, but Fable knew better. Sometimes the most innocent of them all could be the most dastardly of ponies, and Lyra was no exception. Courtesy and friendliness were still key, of course, but he was here to do a job, and get a MacGuffin back. If she had any information, or her alibi fit, Fable was ready at any time to grill her as much as he needed to, if his books were what he was going by. In the end, though, he had to remember that every suspect was always innocent until proven guilty, so some friendly chatter couldn't hurt before they reveal the purpose of their visit.

Lyra then noticed the two, or rather, only Derpy, after she ran out of lyrics and changed up her tune a bit. She looked almost happy to see the mare, which lowered Fable's guard only slightly. Perhaps they really were on friendly terms and didn't take the novel out of anger for the cross-eyed mare.

"Heya, Derpy!" Lyra called out to her, with a wave. "Come back to hear more?"

This was their cue to walk up to the mare, stopping in front of her makeshift stage, with a small cup filled with bits. Out of courtesy, Fable dug into his saddlebags and placed three shiny bits into her cup, pleased by her music that he heard while walking over. He beamed at Lyra with a friendly smile and gestured to her lyre.

"Your music was quite lovely, where exactly did you learn to play that well, if I must ask, Miss Lyra? I don't know many ponies who would choose the lyre, over, say, a flute or violin."

[Bellosh]

Oooh cool, Lyra was doing one of her ballad thingies. They always sounded so mythical, or whatever term one used to describe the sound of a historic bygone age. What was that term.....? Oh yeah, ‘old school’. Lyra was kicking it old school with her lyre playing. After a time though, the lyrical portion of the unicorn musician’s song ended, so she switched over to a more modern playing style, which also pleased Derpy’s ears just fine.

Unsure of how to inform Lyra that she needed to be questioned, Derpy Hooves tepidly attempted to start off with a “Welllllllll ummmm...” However, Fable Weaver decisively beat Derpy to the punch... by complementing Lyra’s musical talents. Very well then, the cross-eyed pegasus would stay silent with a smile as the private detective started his work. Lyra normally would have perceived Fable as an untrustworthy fellow, so the stallion is using his sneaky casual banter techniques to win Lyra over. It made Derpy wonder however whether a private eye would be more effective if they didn’t have to build rapport like this first.....

​

[RarityDash]

“Welllllllll ummmm...”

"Your music was quite lovely, where exactly did you learn to play that well, if I must ask, Miss Lyra? I don't know many ponies who would choose the lyre, over, say, a flute or violin."

While Derpy failed to reply, Lyra was soon made aware that she had returned with somepony else. She looked this pony up and down and quickly realized it wasn't anypony she knew. He was a pegasus stallion with a brown coat and red and gray mane. He was distinctive, with his thick glasses and bowtie, so Lyra could only assume he was from somewhere else since she hadn't seen him around before.

She grinned at the compliment. Complimenting her music (and giving her bits too!) was one of the absolute best ways to get on her good side when making a first impression. It made her feel good to know what she did was was appreciated.

"Ooh, thanks!" Lyra said, positively beaming. She gave a small bounce and a goofy chuckle. "It's always just awesome to meet new ponies who appreciate what I do! Lyra Heartstrings commends you on your great taste, sir!" she added irreverently, grabbing and shaking the stallion's hoof forcefully.

Bouncing back then, she gave a nod. "As for Lyra's lyre-y tale, it goes a something like this-this!" Lyra stomped her hooves and then gave a cough, before starting to strum her lyre and sing a new

"Young Lyra Heartstrings was a cute little filly~♪

Sweet, beautiful and smart and just a touch silly~♫

She didn't know quite yet what her future held~♪

Until came a school trip to a particular weald~♫

Deep in the Whitetail Wood, while chasing a bird~♪

The most magical of sounds fair Lyra heard~♫

There she met the roaming bard, at his lyre~♪

His sweet melodic sounds, Lyra did admire~♫

Bright Lyra knew her destiny she had found~♪

In the form of the lyre and its wonderful sound~♫

So Lyra did train herself to sing and to play~♪

And became the talented pony before you today~♫"

Lyra gave a showy twirl at the end of her song and then smiled. "Oh, and while I don't know how to play flute or violin, I can play a few other instruments--harp and guitar mainly," she said, nodding. "Lyre is definitely my main deal though, because it's awesome!"

​