Birds chirped in the low hanging branches in the small side room. The ceiling was open to the sky and sun that nurtured the plants below. Small and large bottles of strange liquids littered the ground on a mat as the long body of Lark curled around them. With her paws, she poked at some with a long, glass stirring rod. One was filled with something yellow and it foamed purple as it reached the top of the bottle. The draconequus smiled a bit. Everything is going as planned...these newly made potions will sell well at her shop.

Two hundred coins and upwards!

A soft knock at the door made Lark growl under her breath. It was probably Johnny Gold. He always requested her to look over paperwork as an “extra eye” but she thinks he was just doing it to punish her… It's a family business and you are family! He would say.

Bah!

A couple of seconds later Lark sent a snappy “what?” towards the door. The soft voice she heard was not of her brother’s.

“Are ya’ll willin’ to invite an old friend in your humble abode?”

Getting up, Lark tried not to knock anything over. “Yeah, of course. Come on in.” She sat up straight and soothed her hair. A wide brimmed hat on top of chestnut hair pushed through the door, and green eyes filled with happiness as they saw her. The pony smiled widely as she trotted over. “Lark! It’s so good to see you again!” Strong arms wrapped around Lark’s neck before she knew it, embracing her into a warm hug. Howdy Duty nuzzled her cheek and Lark felt the flick of her cousin’s ears against her face.

Howdy Duty leaned back. “How have you been, darlin’? Hope life has been kind to you and the family! We haven’t seen each other in a few years... You grew out your mane! And did you grow a bit? I missed you so much.” She moved away from Lark and adjusted her hat. “How are you brothers? And you mamas?”

The draconequus grimaced. So many questions...not unlike most of her extended family. She was a cop after all. “They’re fine.”

“Oh...okay. Well, bein’ fine is better than doin’ bad.” She looked at her strange cousin, eyes intense. Examining her. Trying to figure her out. The mare was still smiling but there was an edge to it now. To be honest, she thought Lark would be happier to see her but she’s heard from Morning Harvest that his sister has changed quite a bit since Howdy Duty last seen her.

“Why are you here, Howdy? I don’t see any bags with you.” Voice low, Lark turned away and continued to tend to her potions. Her cousin raised a well groomed eyebrow.

“I am stayin’ at Johnny’s for a bit. I was playin’ on visitin’ Ponyville again since I haven’t been here in a hot minute…I miss some of y’all. But I also came to talk to you.” The mare paused, still staring at Lark. “There’s been...odd happenin’s near home and I thought you’d know what to do.”

“Okay...why me?”

Howdy Duty’s nose wrinkled a bit. “Eh?”

“I have...work to do Howdy.” Lark turned her head to look at her cousin, rethinking on how their conversation went so far. “I am happy to see you, truly… but my shop has been doing so well and I can’t just up and leave.”

“I’m not askin’ you to.”

“Then what? What do you need me for? Last time I visited you the Appleloosa ponies suddenly decided they didn’t like me -"

“You know it wasn’t sudden darlin’...you were mighty awful that time. You also terrorized Ma Dusty's dog. You changed a lot in that year and I didn’t expect you to treat everyone like that.” Howdy Duty frowned. “But I’m sure if you come back and help us out ponies will forgive you. This situation has magic components to it, I think. Our livestock has been disappearin’ without a trace and some foals have been...taken.” She bowed her head, sadness radiating off of her. “We could hire a private detective but that is my job, and I ain’t no unicorn. I knew these missin’ kids, Lark. Kids I babysat and took care of...one of them is my cousin.” Eyes pleading, Howdy Duty continued. “I have a feelin’ the kids are out there somewhere. I just don’t know where.”

The draconequus was silent. She glared at her cousin with shrewd, red eyes.

“No. I am not going back. I don’t care.”

Heart dropping, the brown mare stared at Lark. “What?”

“You heard me.” Lark turned her back towards Howdy Duty again. “I got a life here. And I thought you had the most legendary tracking skills around those parts? Like you said, you are a detective. Or is that all bullshit? They’re not kids I know so why ask me?”

“L-Lark you - what happened to you?”

The southern drawl of Howdy Duty rung throughout the round room as her pretty face was wrinkled up with disgust. Her voice suddenly lost that soft tone and was replaced with sharp scorn. “Does family mean anythin’ to you? Do you have any compassion?” She couldn’t believe what she just heard. The Lark she knew would never say something to callous. Waiting for an answer, Howdy Duty saw her cousin in a different light for the first time. There was no convincing Lark. When she said no she meant it. Silence fell amongst them as Lark continued to play around with her new products, refusing to turn back around. A couple of minutes later the presence of Howdy Duty slowly went away.

She was gone.

---

Decided to explore these girls! Howdy Duty is actually one of my favorites.

The girls were super close as kids up into their teens. The draconequus was nothing short of excited to be able to visit her cousin! But as time went by they didn’t contact each other as often since adult life filled their schedules. Eventually Lark just stopped answering the letters Howdy sent. She didn’t have the time and she...mostly just didn’t want to answer. She knew it was wrong but just couldn’t do it.

Lark is a hard character to tackle. She is pretty awful at times and is selfish and uncaring. I don’t want to make her completely hateful, though. She was pretty neglected the last time I did next gens.. Bitterness has fouled her heart and mind. Howdy is a cop and detective in her hometown and is one of the best they’ve ever seen. She can track almost anything and anypony, but this time around she is stumped. She knows it’s some intense magic that is involved and she thinks Lark can help. Jealousy does play a factor into how Lark sees her cousin - Howdy is beautiful, even headed, respected and ...normal.

Don't worry, Howdy will try again! She never gives up. For now her and Johnny are going to have some beer and hay fries.

Howdy Duty is the daughter of Sheriff Silverstar and Braeburn, and Lark is the daughter of Discord and Fluttershy.