//------------------------------// // Subject 3: Citywide Administrator // Story: Interviews With Equestrians // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// The Mayor’s office. This will indeed lead to some progress, I thought. Yet again, the hat and coat was on, but before I headed out, I was stopped. “Sir! I ran the files. Turns out she did have parents but they went missing years ago!” Another one of my deputies. A young Pegasus stallion by the name of Cathartic Corkscrew. Around here, we call him CC or Cork because that’s much easier. Still a nice name, though. He’s a rookie, but his heart is in the right place, that’s for sure. Burnt orange coat, blue mane, and a pair of glasses over his gray eyes to assist his blindness. “Any names?” “None. No idea of their identities or where she was even born. I think something must be locked up somewhere.” I rubbed the youngster on the head with a hoof, “Now now, young man. Nothing’s ever truly locked. It’s simply misplaced. The key to the truth lies within your capability.” He pushed me away with both of his hooves, “Yeah I know. You always say that, sir.” “Because it’s true!” “Not.” Quick Draw had rounded the corner of the office towards her station. A sarcastic comment made in jest against my efforts as usual. “There’s no way you’re gonna convince the public that Cozy Glow deserves another chance,” she commented while she poured her usual cup of jet black coffee. “While it may be unlikely,” Cork would speak next, flying over to her, “several other individuals have already been forgiven in the past. If logic stands to reason, then we do have grounds for bringing her back.” Quick Draw simply scoffed and sat at her desk. No longer even giving us eye contact. “I don’t see why you’re so fixated on this. Nopony ever questions the guidance of the Alicorns. It’s an uphill battle that you can’t win.” “From one perspective, yes. But I already have a handful of key witness accounts that think negatively of the decision,” I held up some documents, “and they’re gonna be the match that lights this powder keg.” “...Don’t start a fight that you can’t win, boss,” she had already looked over her notes and rose from her seat again. Guess she already found the assignment. “I’ll see you guys later. And try not to blow the place up.” Corkscrew made a face behind her back, so I nudged him. “You heard her. Don’t do anything foolish.” “Right, sir. So you’re off to the Mayor’s office then?” “That’s right, my friend. I’m going to see if there’s any further details regarding Cozy Glow’s parents that I can find.” Then he presented an interesting proposition, “What about questioning her?” “The Mayor? I suppose it wouldn’t be an issue, but given how busy she is, I might be lucky to get three minutes of her time, let alone a whole interview. But who knows?” The young stallion flashed a smile while holding a set of cards. Magic tricks were always a little pastime of his that I...endured for the sake of his happiness. “You know what they say: Never play your hoof unless you can win? Pick a card, any card! Just one before you go? C’moooon!” I could feel my eyeballs roll in their sockets. But I refused to disappoint the youngster. So I drew a card with my hoof. “Okay, I got it.” “Alright…” he was in his ‘concentration’ mode, aiming to guess what card I was holding with his eyes closed and wings fluttering heavily. “Three of Hearts.” I took a peek at my card, the Ace of Spades. “Nnnnnope.” “King of Spades!” “Incorrect,” I headed towards the door, yet he continued to rattle off guess after guess. I had to admit, it was quite amusing. “Uhh, uhh...Seven of Clubs!” “Negative.” “Three of Hearts!” “Wrong.” “Three of--” “No.” “Two--” “No.” “Joker!” I put my hoof to my forehead, and showed him my card. He reeled back in disappointment but quickly played it off. “....that was gonna be my next guess I swear!” “Hahaha, don’t quit your main job, Cork,” I flung the card back to his desk as I exited the door. The bell behind me almost drowned out his final words. “The expression is DAY job!” Well, I officially had my laugh for the day. But it was time to get back to work. My next objective was the Mayor’s office. Twas a quiet day in the town. Sure, few ponies were out and about, but nothing too crazy. On my way, I spotted a pair of ponies playing with their child, and I started to think about the possibility of who Cozy Glow’s were, and why they weren’t around for her. I had also wondered what it’d be like to settle down and have a child one day. My workload would increase tenfold, the amount of stress would increase, I would need a wife… Yeah it wasn’t looking like something for me. At any rate, the Town Hall was straight ahead. Hopefully the Mayor wouldn’t be too busy to assist me. I stepped in, “Hello?” and laid eyes on the secretary mare at the front desk who was busy filing papers. “Ah, would the Mayor be free right about now?” The look of uncertainty on her face said it all, “I’m not sure. But nobody’s with her right now. You can check for yourself,” she gave a swift answer and resumed her work. Admirable to not let anything cause distractions, I say. “Thank you,” I replied, and trotted down the hall to the Mayor’s office. There was a deafening silence behind those doors, so I decided to knock carefully. “Ahem--Ms. Mayor?” No response. But upon the third tap of my hoof, the door would come ajar. It wasn’t locked, but it was left halfway open? Curious. I took a peek into the office and extended my hoof to open the door with a long creak noise. “Oh.” There she was. At her desk, fast asleep. The Mayor was overworked with a load of papers just recently signed. Yet again, I could relate. I didn’t want to disturb her, so I would attempt to close the door again...only for that squeak of the hinges to result in her waking up. “Hm..huh?” The Mayor stretched from her seat with a yawn. “...Is someone there?” “Yes, it’s--ahem. Terribly sorry to trouble you, Ms. Mayor. But would you be so kind as to assist me?” It took her a moment to fully recover from her rest. A stumble out of her back corner of the room followed by a minute or two of her searching for her glasses. “Now where are those troublesome...ah!” Once she had them on, she returned to her jovial self. “There we are. Hello, are you Mr. Vestige?” I was surprised. I didn’t expect her to say my name so readily, “Yes I am. But how did you?” “One of your companions let me know ahead of time that you would be visiting. Something about someone’s parents?” It had to have been Quick Draw. Always thinking two steps ahead. “Yes. I’m looking for information regarding Cozy Glow. I wanted to see if there was any documentation of her parents living here at one point?” “Ah...her. Unfortunately, I do not. There’s nopony related to her in any of the records. See for yourself,” she pointed me in the direction of the filing cabinets. I took a crack at it, sifting through each file to no avail. No records of anyone related to Cozy Glow or having a child named Cozy Glow. Just who was she? Why did any of this happen? My head started to ache once more. It had been a full hour of searching only to turn up nothing. Dammit all. “Seems it’s true. Nothing in here regarding her past, nor any relations. Looks like my trail has run cold…” I slumped against the cabinet in defeat before I felt a tap on my shoulder. “If you don’t mind me asking, just why are you invested in such a topic? Wasn’t that child evil beyond comprehension?” “There’s something more than that. Something...deeper. Everyone deserves a second chance. But if they aren’t given that opportunity, then we are no better than they are. I know how it feels...personally.” While the Mayor seemed to understand my perspective, she kept her inquisitive gaze of doubt, “Forgive me for saying so, but you do realize that the ideals behind such a decision are...unbreakable? The rule of Twilight Sparkle is a fair, but stubborn one. I don’t think she would give up on that so easily. What Cozy did was so...damning that I can’t see her going back on it. You’d have better luck suggesting that to literally every other major official before she would accept that.” Then it came to me. ‘Everyone else important.’ There it was. My ticket to shut this case down. But first, I had to get something clear. “...I see. Sounds complicated, but doable. Though, my next question, Ms. Mayor is a more direct one: What is your opinion of her imprisonment?” “Mine? Oh I don’t think she deserved it at all,” the Mayor answered in a rather candid manner. I appreciated that compared to the slower responses I had gotten previously. “It confuses me how Discord gets a second chance and not her. It really is rather confusing if you ask me. But I’m not the princess, so maybe my feelings are invalid.” My eyes narrowed. I utterly despised the idea of someone doubting themselves over their opinion--especially a rather valid one such as that. I had gotten up from my spot on the floor near the cabinets. “Hey now, don’t say things like that. You have the right to feel however you want about a certain topic. The only way we can make progress is if we’re all open with each other. Even if it is risky.” “If you say so…” she didn’t seem convinced by what I had said. I didn’t blame her, though. Staying silent on one’s outlook was a fairly common thing. “Regardless, there are some things that I would rather keep to myself for the sake of my sanity. I’ve got too much going through my mind to fret over things like this.” She sat down at her desk, looking over another document, “My apologies if I wasn’t able to help, sir. What shall you do next?” “I think...I’m going to take a little trip.” “Oh? Where to?” I had already started to make my exit. “Someplace crystal clear,” and I left with that vague little anecdote. It was somewhat obvious where I intended to go next, but I liked the idea of sounding ominous. But in all seriousness, I would need to catch the next train soon. I had something important to take care of.