Ordinarily, the occupants of the Heartstrings Manor all had smiles on their faces as they went through their daily life. In a house occupied by a family that valued the joys of friendship as highly as they did, it was almost impossible to be unhappy within those great walls.

Yet today, every single one of the Heartstrings languished in their various rooms, each and every one the image of unhappiness and concern. Clover Step and Rose Jig sat in the main sitting room; Clover was nursing a shot glass of hard cider at the bar, his head in his hooves. Rose was sitting at the table, holding a rosary in one hoof and a photograph of a filly Lyra sitting on her favorite swing set in the other.

"Please, God, please bring my baby home," she whispered, her grip on the necklace tightening. The sunlight streaming through the window caught the silver dove medallion, making the purple gem in the center sparkle.

Her prayers were interrupted when Tootsie Flute trotted up, holding a dish of fresh-baked oatmeal cookies. "Here, Grandma," she said, pushing the plate over to her. "Momma Bon Bon taught me how to bake these. She said they always make ponies feel better."

Rose wiped at her eyes and managed a watery smile. "Thank you, dearie," she said, accepting a cookie and biting into it. The cookie was warm and sweet tasting, and her spirits lifted involuntarily at the taste.

"Don't worry, grandma," Tootsie cheerily declared. "Bon Bon will find Lyra and bring her home safe, I'm sure of it!"

"Oh, honey, I wish I had your faith," Clover moaned, lifting his head up to reveal his red-streaked, joyless eyes. Tootsie floated a cookie over to him, but he dropped his head back down into his hooves and ignored the treat.

Seeing Rose's rosary, Tootsie's smile fell rapidly. "Grandma, should I pray?" she whispered.

"Yes, dear," Rose said, lifting her granddaughter up into her lap. "You should pray very hard."

The Guards had set up an impromptu command center in the village square, from which Lieutenant Ford ran their operation, marking up a map of the village with a pen. The villagers were questioned throughly for any statements, but so far, nopony could tell them anything encouraging.

"This is pointless," Bon Bon complained as she followed Phillip out of the milliner's shop. "At this rate, we'd get more information out of those ****ing cows over there than these ponies!" She jerked her head back at the pastures of Skim Milk's farm in the distance, where a collection of cows could be seen grazing.

"Careful," Phillip said, nodding towards a small foal sitting outside a cottage, watching them with wide green eyes. The boy was a unicorn with turquoise coat and a scruffy straw mane that hung down over his eyes. Bon Bon cringed at her outburst, quickly smiling at the young colt. "Hi, there, little guy," she said to the youngling. To her surprise, the colt flinched away from her, averting his gaze as though ashamed.

Bon Bon frowned. "Hey, it's okay," she cooed, crouching down so that her head was at the same level as his. "You don't have to be scared of us."

The colt glanced at her with a fearful expression. "Boss Milk says I shouldn't be talking to strangers," he mumbled.

"Boss Milk?" Bon Bon asked in confusion.

"I think he means Skim Milk," Phillip explained. The colt nodded quickly.

"Well, he's right," Bon Bon answered with a reassuring smile. "It's not safe to talk to strangers normally." She took a slow half-step forward. "My name's Bon Bon. What's your name?"

The colt examined her for a few uncertain seconds. "Hay Barn," he answered.

"Nice to meet you, Hay," Bon Bon said. "See? Now we're not strangers anymore." She smiled warmly at the youngling, who hesitantly smiled back. "Listen, Hay, maybe you can help me. We're looking for my friend. Her name's Lyra; she's my best friend in all of the world."

"I have a best friend," Hay Barn said. "His name's Shamrock."

"If Shamrock went missing, would you want ponies to help you find him?" Bon Bon asked. Hay Barn thought for a moment, then nodded. "Well, we think Lyra was brought here, but we don't know for sure. I'm really scared for her; I want to make sure that she's safe, just like you'd do for Shamrock." She affixed Hay with a pleading gaze. "Please, Hay Barn, can you help us find her?"

Hay Barn licked his lips, his eyes darting to and fro as he thought. Finally, his eyes settled on Bon Bon's face. "Boss Milk and his friends would know," he spoke softly, nodding towards the milk farmer's cow pastures.

"Why do you call him 'Boss Milk?'" Bon Bon asked.

"That's what he tells us to call him," Hay Barn answered. He glanced around, as if to make sure that nopony was watching, then beckoned Bon Bon closer. She leaned in and allowed him to whisper into his ear. "He and his friends are bad, bad ponies. Everypony in the village is scared of him."

"Well, we're not scared of him," Bon Bon lied through a fake reassuring smile. "Are we?" Phillip nodded in reply.

"Thank you for the help, dear," Bon Bon thanked Hay Barn, reaching into a small bag around her shoulder. She plucked out a candy wrapped in rainbow-colored paper and gave it to the colt. "Your favorite flavor's caramel, right?"

"Wow, thanks!" Hay Barn cried in delight, plucking the candy with his magic and admiring the little sweet. But almost immediately, his face fell into creases of worry and he hid the treat guiltily. "Don't tell Boss Milk I told on him," he whimpered.

"We won't, I promise," Bon Bon patted him on the head reassuringly. "And don't spoil your dinner!" she called after him as he ran off, clutching his reward.

"Well, let's go take a look around," Phillip said, leading Bon Bon towards Skim Milk's farm. Passing through a low wooden fence, the pair proceeded across the pastures towards the flock of grazing cows. One of the larger cows looked up and smiled in greeting, swallowing back a mouthful of cud.

"Watch your step, dearies," she cautioned. "We try to keep most of our, er...indiscretions in one place, but they have a tendency to spread around."

"We'll keep that in mind, thanks," Phillip said. "Where's Skim Milk?"

"He's in the barn, doing some repairs," the cow answered.

"Thanks," Phillip said, turning and heading towards the rickety brown barn nearby.

"You have a plan?" Bon Bon asked him, hurrying up after him.

"Working on it," Phillip answered, pushing the barn door open. The dark, musty interior of the barn was filled with hay bales and stacked crates of dairy products prepared for shipping out of the village. Various tools hung from pegs on the walls and the wooden floor creaked beneath their hooves. The sound of a hammer striking wood guided the two ponies towards Skim Milk, who was hammering a board into the wall.

"G'day," Phillip greeted the farmer from a distance. Skim Milk turned and recognizing them, greeted them with a nod. "Can I help you?" he asked, bending to retrieve another nail.

"You run a tight ship here," Phillip complimented him. "These villagers are some of the friendliest ponies I've ever met, and they all seem to think pretty highly of you."

Skim Milk grinned at the praise. "Well, keeping them all in line can be tough," he admitted, plucking out another nail and setting it in place. "But it's not that different than taking care of the cows. Just gotta know how to talk to 'em."

Couldn't agree more, mate. "Those are some nice horseshoes you've got there, mate," Phillip continued, looking down at Skim Milk's hooves. "Perfect for mucking around, eh?" He could feel Bon Bon behind his back, staring at him as though he'd gone crazy.

"Eh, they're not much," Skim said, lifting up his right front horseshoe to examine it. "I get 'em from Pint O'Gat, the smithy down the road from here. Ossified all the time, but he knows his way around an anvil."

"Too right," Phillip agreed. "This seems like a small village; it'd be easy to spot any strangers coming in, right?"

"Pretty easy," Skim Milk shrugged.

"You sure you haven't seen anypony new in town recently?"

"Besides you? Nah," Skim said, returning to his hammering. "But kidnapping is a dead serious thing. As long as you're here, we'll be more than happy to—"

Exactly what the villagers would be happy to do was to remain unknown, however, because at that moment, a loud, pained mooing could be heard coming from outside. "That's Blue-Eyed," Skim said, dropping his tools. "Sounds like that calf is coming early!" He rushed out of the barn, leaving Bon Bon and Phillip behind. As soon as he was gone, Phillip bent low and began examining the hay-covered floor of the barn.

"What the ******* was that all about?" Bon Bon asked him in furious bewilderment.

"Needed to stall him so I could take a look around," Phillip answered without looking up.

"What do you mean?" Bon Bon raised an eyebrow.

"You see his horseshoes?" Phillip replied. "Wide base, well-worn, two nails recently replaced with square-headed ones. That was one of the tracks we followed here. G'day," he muttered, pausing to examine a faint square outline in the wood. Digging his hoof underneath the faint line, he slowly lifted the false floor up, revealing a dark underground tunnel beneath. For a moment, the two ponies could only stare at their unexpected discovery.

"Great," Bon Bon said, glancing up at the barn door to make sure that Skim Milk wasn't coming back. "We can go get the Guards and then we—" She turned back just in time to see Phillip's tail disappearing into the tunnel. "Or we can just go right in. Why the **** not."

Phillip paused, then turned around in the tunnel to look back up at her. "I'm going to recon ahead, see if I can't find Lyra," he explained. "You go back and get the Guards to—" He stopped suddenly, looking towards the barn door. It took a moment, but then Bon Bon heard it too: rapidly approaching hoofsteps. Before she could blurt out a startled curse, Phillip grabbed her tail in his teeth and yanked her into the tunnel with him, closing the door behind them. Both of them held their breath as hoofsteps clomped on the floor above them, then a heavy weight dropped right onto the trapdoor.

"Deep breaths there, sweetheart," Skim Milk's muffled voice cooed to the panting cow. "We'll take good care of you, now." The cow's reply was to let out a loud moo of pain as another contraction hit her.

"Now what?" Bon Bon hissed.

Phillip fished his flashlight out of his vest and clipped it to his shoulder, turning it on to it's lowest setting. "Stay here. I'll be back."

"Oh, hell no, you are not leaving me alone down here!" Bon Bon hissed furiously, chasing after him. Phillip looked back at her, but did not argue. The two began to walk down the dark tunnel, the mud squishing beneath their hooves and the rough, cold stone walls brushing against their coats. The thick air stank of mold and filth, becoming harsher with every step so that the two had to fight the stench to make their way forward. Eventually, the tunnel began to climb upwards at a steep pace.

"We must be going up into the hills around the village," Phillip whispered.

"Great," Bon Bon grumbled, tightening the strap of Lyra's shillelagh around herself as she began to climb. "As if the mud wasn't enough—ow!" she cried out as she bumped into Phillip, who had suddenly stopped.

"Shh!" Phillip hissed. Up ahead, a slow, rhythmic rumbling sound could be heard. Tiptoeing forward, Phillip peeked over the crest of the tunnel. The tunnel mouth opened into a small cavern, lit by a lantern hanging from a chain on the ceiling. The rumbling sound was coming from a sleeping pegasus sitting at a chair next to the tunnel mouth, drool dribbling from his gaping mouth as he snored. Spread across the table in front of him was an open flask that smelled of cheap whiskey, a wrinkled pornographic magazine, a box of tissues, and a bottle of hoof lotion.

Carefully, Phillip crept up to the guard. "You awake?" he whispered into his ear. The sleeping guard's response to snort, turn over and resume snoring even louder. "Wanker," Phillip snorted. Gesturing for Bon Bon to follow him, he crept down the cavernous hallways, silently trekking through the wet mud as he darted around corners and hid behind stalagmites. Bon Bon stayed close behind him, doing her best to stay out of the lantern lights. The shillelagh slapped against her back with every move she made.

Suddenly, there came the sound of voices up ahead. Instantly, both of them fell back, pressing themselves up against a stalagmite as a pair of mobsters walked around the corner up ahead. "You see that little bird we captured?" one of them asked his companion, passing him a hoof-rolled cigarette.

"Sure did," the thug laughed, lighting the cigarette and sucking on it. "Pretty little thing, isn't she? Green as a shamrock."

"Bet she's a screamer," the first one chuckled. "Too bad the boss won't let us touch her."

Realizing who they were talking about, Bon Bon growled quietly and almost leapt at the passing thugs, but was stilled by Phillip's hoof. The mobsters passed by, never noticing the two intruders. As soon as they were out of sight, Bon Bon and Phillip continued down the cave. The two of them continued to sneak down the twisting tunnels of the cave, turning left, right, left, left again, passing by several more caves filled with cots, weapons, stockpiles of food, chemical labs...everything that an army would need to hide out from the Guard. More than once, they had to hide behind stone formations or crates as roving thugs passed within inches of them.

They entered a wide-open cavern. Phillip peeked around a corner to another tunnel, then held up a hoof to stop Bon Bon. Up ahead was a pair of bored-looking mobsters, leaning against the wall outside another cavern entrance. Signaling Bon Bon to stand back, he whistled quietly. The sentries looked up in confusion at the voice. "I'll check that out," one of them said, pulling out a serrated knife and heading down the tunnel towards Phillip. As soon as he was within range, Phillip grabbed his arm and swung him around to smash him facefirst into the stone wall, then knocked him out with a kick to the jaw when he collapsed.

"Hey!" the other guard shouted, running up only to receive a baton strike to the temple. Moving past the unconscious bodies, Phillip and Bon Bon hurried over to the cavern entrance. Inside was a tied up mint green unicorn sitting on a stack of packages of brown and white powders. Her eyes widened in delight when she saw them. "Bonnie!"

"Lyra!" Bon Bon cheered, running up and hurriedly untying her wife. As soon as she was free, Bon Bon swept her wife up in a hug.

"I knew you'd come for me!" Lyra said.

"Of course I wouldn't leave you," Bon Bon said, hugging her back.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here," Phillip urged them, moving ahead to clear out a path back to the exit.

Bon Bon swung the shillelagh off her back and handed it to Lyra as they followed. "Thought you'd want this back."

"Thanks, hon," Lyra said, taking the shillelagh and swinging it a few times. A tingle traveled down her foreleg, as if limb and weapon were rejoicing at their reunion. "Now those gobdaws have really—"

Her boast was interrupted by the sound of a hard blow. Phillip flew back down the tunnel, skidding across the ground for several feet before coming to a stop at the mare's hooves. Several mobsters flooded into the cavern, all of them armed. Right behind them came a huge dark green pony with flaming red hair and burnt orange eyes blazing with hatred, thumping the knob of his huge shillelagh against the floor with every step. Bon Bon's eyes widened when she saw this giant and her lips formed a curse, although no sound escaped her lips.

"Well, lads, looks like we've got visitors," he sneered, glaring at Phillip.

"And whom do I have the honor?" Phillip growled, rubbing his jaw as he stood up.

"Blackwater Thorn," the thug leader introduced himself. "I lead the Mareish Mob here, and what I say goes." He lifted his shillelagh and pointed the weighted end at the three friends. "And I say that none of you get out of here alive."

Author's Notes:

It's the first day of spring break, and to celebrate, here's the next chapter of the story, in which our intrepid trio finds themselves cornered.

Will they be able to fight their way out? Stay tuned!