//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Motivation and Closure // Story: Never Lucky // by Ferris the 1st //------------------------------// The hammer blow that I'd taken to my side hadn't managed to break anything, thankfully. It had bruised me up really bad and strenuous motions made it flare up in pain. That pain was a constant reminder as to why I was still getting up after hitting the mat for the hundredth time. Every ounce of pain I was feeling was just another reminder of what had happened and I wasn't going to quit until I won. Grand Impact was my training partner today and he looked at me with a mixture of amusement and respect. As it turns out, his name was not misleading. While he'd dialed it back a bit for me, Impact had developed a technique that combined his natural weather abilities with his attacks. It wasn't as tame as Cocoa's attacks, but I wasn't giving up until I at least landed a blow on him. “Again.” I choked out as I resumed my stance. With a nod, he rose up on his hindlegs, wind starting to spiral around his readied hooves with enough force to feel like a pair of fans. There's an old saying, “it's not about getting knocked down a hundred times, it's about getting up one hundred and one.” Whoever said that was both a genius and a horrible pony... I rushed Impact again, rising up at the last second to meet him in combat. True, I was nowhere near his level, but I hadn't been at this for three hours for nothing. Parry, parry, dodge, ju-oof! I met the mat again, feeling slightly accomplished that I'd finally managed to get past the third strike before getting my flank handed to me. Impact's personal thoughts on me were also going up. As he lowered down from his fighting stance, he wiped his brow, “Well, you're making progress. On top of that, it's been a long time since I tired myself out doing this sort of thing, so good on ya for that.” Reaching down, he helped me to my hooves and patted me on the back. I nodded, panting heavily, “Any idea... how the... interrogation... is going?” I managed to ask between breaths. Impact shook his head, “Nopony has ever kept secrets from my sister for long. Top that off with the fact that he put Corium in the hospital and Glass is gonna take this one personal,” he looked at the ceiling with a sigh, “I gotta admit, Lucky, I wasn't expecting this. We've been at this for months with no luck, then you pop in and not only do we figure out how our suspects keep vanishing, but we also have one in custody.” To my chagrin, the dealer had managed to make it away while I was brutalizing the unicorn, Strict Deal. Thus far, he'd proven to be extremely stubborn in his unwillingness to talk. Glass had even gone as far as to give him an offer for leniency if he told us what we needed to know. Right now, Strict Deal's assets were being seized and Cocoa had mentioned that they had a few ponies to round up as accomplices. There was nothing to do right now except wait and continue training. The thought must have been written on my face as Impact smirked and lifted up into a fighting stance. “Let's go again!” ** Over the next few days, numerous ponies were caught by the local law enforcement. It had started small with only a few dealers making the mistake of getting caught, but as the noose tightened, more and more of them messed up. During that time, I made good progress with my hoof-to-hoof combat skills and Cocoa and Impact had started weaving in lessons with various weapons, using mock versions of each. Each of them said they were astounded by me, but I never felt like I was learning fast enough. Every wrong movement was another possible Corium and I hated it. By the end of the week, I was sore and tired, but we finally had a breakthrough. Glass called us into our VIP lounge-slash-base of operations to tell us together. The interrogations had originally been met with stubborn refusal to talk, but it all shattered like glass the moment one started talking. Spurred on by the action, others gave us everything they knew, with the exception of Strict Deal himself. He wasn't the main problem either. Strict Deal was one of several individuals smuggling various narcotics into the city. What we did learn was that only an inner ring of ponies ever dealt directly with their supplier and stories of this individual varied like crazy. Everything from Queen Chrysalis herself down to Tirek's inbred cousin was suggested to us, but they all agreed on one thing. Whomever this individual was, they went by the name Sunslayer. The name itself sent a shiver down my spine for some reason and the only other description we could get was that the leader wore a pure white mask with a black sun on it. We eventually managed to weasel out a location to catch the unaware. A large warehouse on the outskirts of town that had been rented by several different ponies over the last few months, Strict Deal included. Glass was quick to fetch a list of names that had their hooves in the building during that time and noticed a pattern. Most of the ponies on the list were high end business ponies. The kind that never really wanted for anything and had legitimate businesses so it was curious as to why any of them would be tied up in this. Everypony on that list was going to answer for their actions and one could only hope that their story checked out. This was going to be the largest drug bust the city had seen for decades and we were leaving nothing to chance. Glass contacted the local law enforcement and a strike team had been assembled and on top of that, we'd called in reinforcements for the attack since our suspects had stated that the drug ring was extremely well geared. It was with a measure of displeasure that I learned Martial Cadence had decided to lead this attack personally. Alongside nearly one hundred guards, she sneaked into the city under the guise of a tourist. She almost looked... nice in a dress. All that went out the window as everypony geared up for a fight. From an outsider's perspective looking in, there is very little as terrifying as a small army of guard ponies in full armor quietly approaching a single building from outside the city. The plan was simple. Los Pegasus tactical teams would storm the place from the front while the Royal Guard struck from the back, crushing the enemy between them. I had never been more ready to do something that the old me might have considered stupid... The drug makers and their bosses were content, thinking that they were safe in this place. They were not ready for us. We stormed the place with shouts for them all to surrender, but we weren't about to be taken out by being to relaxed. They tried to retaliate with various spells and potions, but our own mages were more than ready to defend us. Ironically enough, I found myself side by side with the lieutenant as we rushed forward. She spun her lance with all the grace of a dancer while I had found a preference for the more simple hammer hooves. As I lashed out, catching a pegasus hard in the wing as he tried to slash out with a small knife at Martial, and sending him smashing into the floor, I chuckled. “Do I make the cut, Lieutenant!?” I shouted to her. She was not as amused by the question as I was. ** I took a small measure of pride in the effect the raid had on the whole of Los Pegasus. Seeing so many criminals carted away to serve time in prisons across Equestria, the overall crime rate was at the lowest it had ever been. After so many losses in the face of alicorn-level threats, the Royal Guard was basking in a rush of renewed confidence and I heard later that recruitment offices were actually having to turn away some of the overwhelming numbers of applicants. I wasn't quite ready to rejoice though. Martial had told me to return to Canterlot as soon as I was able, but I wasn't leaving until I was sure about Corium's condition. One way or another. It had been nearly a week since the raid and I'd visited the hospital every day, hoping to see the crazy bug prancing through reception toward me. Each day had been harder than the last as his coma continued... I entered the hospital today to a rather subdued waiting area and I felt a stirring in my chest. Doing my best not to run, I hurried to the help desk and asked to see Corium only to receive two pieces of news in return. “I'm sorry, sir,” the mare behind the counter informed me, “but that patient is already being seen by a visitor. He just woke up a few hours ago and we're trying not to stress him too much until we're sure about his condition. If you'd like to have a seat, we'll let you know when you can see him.” I had to ask her to repeat herself a few times before it finally sank in. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to jump for joy. I confirmed that she would let me know when I could go see him before turning and taking a seat next to a stallion currently engrossed in a newspaper. I don't know why the stallion next to me felt familiar, so I might have been staring a little hard. He was a white-coated unicorn stallion with a multi-tone blue mane and his cyan eyes glanced at me. Seeing me staring, he quirked an eyebrow at me. I started, “Uh, sorry... you just looked familiar there for a moment.” To my relief, he chuckled, “Yeah, I get that a lot,” he stated, the tapped his newspaper, “could say the same about you. Lucky Signs, was it? It's good to see the Royal Guard back at the top these days. I used to be a part of it before other obligations came up. You here to see somepony?” I nodded, sitting back in my seat a little bit, “Yeah... a friend of mine got hurt not too long ago. Apparently he's feeling better today, but they don't want to freak him out too bad by having ponies crowd up his room. I imagine that one of the rest of my current group got here first and is up visiting him.” I'd seen enough knowing smirks to tell that this stallion knew something I didn't. He put his newspaper to one side and faced me properly, “I imagine you've been coming in every day since he was hurt, yeah,” I nodded sheepishly, “don't be embarrassed. There are few bonds stronger than the one that forms between comrades-in-arms. Your loyalty to you friends is admirable.” I sighed, “It's odd to think that I barely knew him for a couple of days and yet seeing him get hurt... it sucked...” He nodded sagely, “You blamed yourself, didn't you?” “How could I not? He got hurt trying to protect me... he deserved better than that.” “I bet he would say the same if the positions were reversed.” the stallion beside me claimed confidently. “I just wish I could have given him some peace... he opened up to me and told me something that was still eating at him to this day.” I countered and earned a cheeky smile in return. “I'm sure that you got him exactly what you were trying to get for him.” He continued to smile as he gestured with one hoof towards the elevator. Craning my head, I noted that the doors had slid open and let the pony inside step out. My jaw nearly hit the floor. An alicorn of pink fur and cheery colors in her mane was striding purposefully in our direction. It was the first time I had ever laid my eyes on Princess Cadence and even as a non-changeling, I could feel the aura of love and care that exuded from her. Instinctively, I stood and dipped into the deepest bow I possibly could. She stopped a few steps from me and lifted a hoof to her mouth to stiffle a giggle, “Who's your new friend, Shiny?” My ears stood ramrod straight as my head snapped to look at my companion. I watched him get up and step up to his wife, giving her an affectionate nuzzle as he took his place at her side. His hoof pointed to me, “This is Lucky Signs, Cady. You know, the one that wrote you that letter.” My ears burned and I was probably doing a great impression of a goldfish as I looked back and forth between them. They continued to converse back and forth while I tried to process what I was seeing. That was until Princess Cadence wiggled a primary feather against my nose, snapping me out of my moment of insanity. I blinked at her and she smiled at me, pointing to the elevator, “Go. I'm sure he wants to talk to you now.” I could only nod dumbly and follow her directions without even waiting for the go ahead from the desk clerk. Making my way to Corium's room, I nudged the door open gently and stopped. The changeling in question was sitting up, a far off look in his eyes. He didn't even notice my arrival until the door bounced lightly off the wall. His eyes met mine and he grinned at me, “There he is, the colt of the hour. I heard about the raid! I'd get up to congratulate you, but I'm still a little woozy.” I couldn't help it; I laughed, “That's what you're worried about? If I suddenly woke up days later, my first concern would be the nearest restroom.” We shared a chuckle at that one before lapsing into silence. I broke it, feeling awkward, “Listen, I, uh, I guess I should explain about your previous visitor,” he looked at me curiously, “well... I,” I sighed; this was hard, “I wasn't sure if everything was going to be okay... I started thinking about our conversation that day and I... I just wanted there to be peace for you either way... I'm sorry if I overstepped myself. I didn't expect her to show up in the flesh...” Corium chuckled, waving a hoof at me, “Lucky, if you stick around the guard long enough, you'll find that the alicorns very seldom do what you expect. I really should be thanking you. What she said is between me and her, but... I think it was good for both of us. I haven't felt this... free in years.” He did seem relaxed as he settled back in his bed, flashing a sideways smile at me, “I've been told that you've been here every day since I got hurt. If I hadn't heard from your own mouth that you don't swing that way, I'd say you were sweet on me.” The look on my face sent him into a bout of laughter. “Alas,” he stated dramatically, lifting a hoof toward the ceiling, “it would appear that I am doomed to play second fiddle to another! Pray for the poor changeling who tastes the stirrings of the heart between two others and desires it for himself. Take pity on-” he couldn't keep going before he started laughing again. I smiled in return and rolled my eyes, “I'm glad that you're feeling better. Any idea when you'll be out of here?” Corium sighed, “They want me to stay in bed for a few more days while they run tests, but my chitin is nice and healed after the princess' visit. Cotton candy. Who knew? What about you, Lucky? What are your plans?” I shrugged, lifting up my hoof to show him the locator ring, “I don't get much say in that department. For now, I'll be heading back to Canterlot until Martial finds some other mission to send me on. Then I'll somehow muck it up well enough to complete it.” Corium looked at me with a strangely sad smile, “Well, I hope that your luck continues to carry you forward, Lucky. You've been an interesting pony to meet and know. Just do one thing for me Lucky,” I blinked, giving him my full attention, “when it comes down to it, don't let fear hold you back. You're far more capable than you give yourself credit for.” He refused to comment further on that and later that day I found myself boarding a train with his request still rattling around in my brain...