//------------------------------// // Subject 31: Dragon Balls // Story: Interviews With Equestrians // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// “It’s so good to see you! Ooh, I’ve missed you so much!” “Hang on,” Limestone pushed her sister away, “are you...you? You’re a bit more cheery than usual.” Marble giggled. “That’s because I’ve finally come out of my geode shell. Er, so to speak. Thanks to Diamond...hehe,” she said with a blush. “What brings you here? Oh...hello, Mr. Detective Stallion!” she waved at me, to which I responded with a wave also. “Are you on a date with my sister or is she in trouble? Hehe!” “No.” Limestone flipped her hair to hide her envy. “Hmph. Since mom’s not here, I guess I’ll be the judge of his character. Where is he?” “Liiiime, don’t start that, ya kidder!” she nudged her sister in a playful manner with a hoof. “He’s busy at work right now. I just recently opened up shop here so we can live closer to each other.” She wasn’t having it. “Where. Is. He?” Marble rolled her eyes, and pointed to a mountain with snow on it at the end of the town. We had to squint, but we could just barely make out the image of a white earth pony stallion training other adult ponies in the art of skiing and snowboarding. Must have been a bootcamp of sorts. Spectacular. “Take a left up the ridge. But if he throws you down the mountain, that’s your fault, not mine.” The aggressive Pie sister dashed off. I finally stepped forward. “...Is she always this way?” Marble sighed, “Yup. Though, I think I can venture a guess or two. Mom was always hardest on her, and telling her to ‘go find yourself a nice colt, set an example for your sisters’ and whatnot.” she shrugged with a pained expression of doubt. “It’d make anyone sour. No pun intended.” “Makes sense.” No surprises there. But I couldn’t get distracted. I had to follow Ghost’s directions. If somepony within the Agency had gone rogue, then there needed to be some consequences laid out for those who crossed us. “By the way, have you come across any...suspicious activity here, lately?” “Hm?” “Have you seen anyone possibly in a hoodie sneaking around in a weird fashion?” “Well, hoods are really in right now,” Marble said as she grabbed something from her saddlebag with her teeth, “It gets very cold up here during winter, so we need to stay comfortable, you know?” It was a slanted sort of hood that covered her ears but allowed her long mane to flow freely. “Sorry if I can’t help, though. It might be better if you ask around.” “Hold on. Before you go, can I ask your opinion on Cozy Glow?” “Oh...I’m not sure if I’m the best pony to ask. But I think there’s a chance that every pony can learn a lesson. No matter how evil they seem. Now if you’ll excuse me...I have to go make sure my sister doesn’t kill my future husband--or the reverse.” As Marble trotted away, I was only able to think to myself about what was going on here. The town as a whole was quite the spectacle to behold. But now, I needed to take a break, and think about what I had dealt with in the past 72 hours. I was knocked out, kidnapped, and taken to Limestone’s Rock Farm. One of my fellow Agents in Appleloosa needed my help with a mission, and he gave me some info regarding not only who my newest enemies are, but the fact that they may be among us. Impostors. Also the fact that a hooded pegasus apparently somehow knew that she and I had spoken about the idea of holding a trial for Cozy Glow’s case in Twilight’s private book room. I wrote all of this information down, and put it in a letter to mail off to Twilight Sparkle at the castle. I slipped the letter into a nearby mailbox, and returned to my objective. I followed Ghost’s tip, and started to carefully observe the citizens. None of them were acting out of the ordinary. In fact, all of them were acting fairly normal. I walked along the rocky pathway. Wait a second. Another hooded figure? They were walking on two legs like the figures from before. Could there be a connection to the others? But I noticed a blue tail. Hm. That looked familiar. They walked right across the street and headed towards Marble’s marble store. There were other ponies that worked there aside from the mare of the same name. Even so, I was skeptical. Time for some good ol’ tailing. I waited. The upright figure--what I assume to be a dragon due to the scales--exited the marble store, and headed down one of the alleys. With a dutiful glare I tailed them down the path which went behind a few buildings. I hid to make sure they didn’t see me, but then, the figure sprouted their wings and flew up. Directly onto the roof. Sadly for me, there were no ladders or anything to grab onto. How vexing. But then, an idea hit me. I ran over, and pulled out my Blaster. After it was charged, I pointed it downwards, and used the blast of compressed air to propel myself upwards. I gracefully landed on that roof, if I did say so myself. “Heh...guess that could come in handy later. Now…” I looked up, and saw...huh. A rather mature, curvaceous female dragon playing with the marbles. A blue one. Wait, I knew who this was. “Ember, correct?” “Ah!” My voice must have shocked her because she let out some pink fire with that yelp. “Oh it’s you...a pony. Without wings...did you follow me up here?” she clutched the bag of marbles in a protective fashion. “Ease yourself, Princess. I mean you no harm…” “Princess? Oh no, not anymore. Smolder was recently crowned Dragon Lord--er, Lady?” She tapped one of her finger-claws against her chin, “Did they ever specify? In any case, I’m kind of free to do what I want now. I only pop back in every now and again as an advisor. And...I’m finally able to pursue my passions.” She reached into the back and picked out a glowing marble. “I mean, look at how cool this is!” They weren’t my thing, but I had to admit, they looked very nice. “Indeed…” I tipped my hat, Pale Vestige. At your service.” She snapped her fingers when she heard my name. “Oh yeah...you’re the guy that’s going around talking to ponies about...a certain someone that I won’t say out loud. Never know who could be listening. But…” she leaned over towards me, her claws on her thighs and a very convincing smile to boot, “you wouldn’t mind interviewing a dragon, would you?” Made sense. Even so, the former Dragon Lord’s opinion will be invaluable. “Well, of course. I’ll try anything at least once. But not skydiving.” “Ooh! I love diving through the air! It’s how we dragons test our skills,” she chirped with a flex of her wings, eyes shut enthusiastically. She opened them with an embarrassed smile. “Oh, sorry. I’m listening.” “Thanks. Well, do you think it’s possible that she’s learned something through her punishment? I’m sure that the dragons have constantly fought among themselves and caused suffering?” “True, though, obviously not on the same level as that filly from those years ago. Still...you know what I think?” I dreaded the thought, but politely responded. “No, what?” “If she gets released, she’s going to be put under a heavy amount of judgement. If I were you, I’d ensure she has a nice pony to talk to about her problems as well,” she bent over and started to gather the marbles she had been playing with. That was my intention. Though, I wanted the perspective of the dragon woman. “Oh? Have the dragons had similar problems?” “Sort of,” she rose up as she placed the final glass ball in her bag, “before I came along, dragons used to hate sharing their feelings. Instead they just sort of lashed out and fought each other. I couldn’t stand it. So when I rose to power, I made sure everyone understood the importance of communication.” I wrote down what I heard in my notes. “Makes sense to me. If you do things without thinking...you’re not making the choice, the choice makes you.” “Exactly. That’s why I thought long and hard about making Smolder the new Lord. But she’s doing a great job. All the dragons love her! And as I said, it gives me more free time to find hobbies.” “Sounds like a good time. I hope you find what you’re looking for.” The chat with her gave me an idea. If we could all show Cozy Glow some understanding instead of immediately writing her off, it will be easier to communicate with her, and thus, give her the proper treatment she needs. “I’m actually a bit more free. Do you have any other questions?” “Yes actually. During the final battle against...you know who three--did you mobilize the dragons?” Ember nodded. “Mm-hmm. They were considered a threat to the entire world, and the safety of all dragons. We had no choice but to all go and fight back.” “Alright...and when the battle was over, were your treasures still there when you got back?” She looked away from me with a load of regret behind those red eyes. “...No. Plenty of them had been stolen by Manticores that lived nearby. I’ll admit, I should’ve told some of them to stay behind, but it was too risky. We needed everyone’s help in that battle, so our home in the Dragon Lands was left unattended. A big mistake that I’ll make sure I never repeat.” Huh. I thought Dragons were brutish and prideful. But Ember had humility. I respected that. But this unfortunately does confirm that the claim from the hooded dragon that I was abducted by was real. Looks like I would have to overcome that little issue at the trial as well. I opened my mouth to ask something, but was interrupted by a familiar Lime’s voice. “Hey Detective guy! What’re you doing up there?” “...Excuse me.” I jumped off the building, and landed in front of the mare. “Hello there. I assume you had a fun time catching up with your sister?” “Yeah. Real fun,” she said with an eye roll, “But who was that you were talking to?” That’s when Ember landed. She had more grace than I due to her wings allowing for a soft landing as she flew down. “Me. Is there a problem between you two? I learned a lot about friendship problems from Thorax and Twilight,” she stated with a grin. “No. I--wait are you Ember?” “That’s right. In the flesh,” she spread her wings to show off. “You must be one of Pinkie Pie’s sisters.” Limestone huffed, “Maybe.” I used this opportunity to ask the question I had intended to state moments ago. “Actually, now that you’re both here, I want to know. Is the legend by Holder’s Boulder real?” “Holder’s...what now?” Ember had to think about it for a moment. “He’s asking about my ancestor--Holder Cobblestone,” Limestone answered, “He found a massive boulder in a dragon’s nest.” Ember snapped her claw-fingers when it came to her. “Oh that one. It’s an old story that gets passed down through the dragons. The fact that a pony was able to strike a deal and take a huge rock from mean dragon was super impressive. We tell that story all the time to prove that ponies aren’t just cuddly little marshmallow creatures.” Limestone raised an eyebrow, then smirked arrogantly. “Damn right we aren’t. We can take you dragons on any day of the week. Right, Pale?” “Eh, what?” The fact that she used my name was nice, but in this context? Not so much. “Ahem. I appreciate the lore you provided on the subject, Ember.” The female dragon didn’t respond. Instead, she simply giggled and looked at us both. Limestone was the first to break the awkward silence. “Um...what the buck are you looking at?” “Sorry, I just--Twilight’s sister-in-law, Cadance told me all about how pony couples interact with each other. One of the things on my pitcher list,” the dragon showed us a list of things she wanted to do. On it were things such as ‘Eat pony food,’ and ‘find hobbies.’ “Studying pony culture is one of my new favorite things.” I snickered. “No way. The idea of us,” I pointed at Limestone, then myself, “a couple? That’s hilarious. We barely know each other.” “Hmph. I agree. He’s not my type whatsoever. Can’t even handle my rocks,” Limestone stated in a cold manner while she avoided eye contact with me. Ember tilted her head like she was a confused child learning a difficult math problem. “Oh? That’s strange. Whenever I see a mare and a stallion talking together, I usually assume they’re either in a relationship or siblings. But you guys aren’t?” I shook my head. “Uh-huh.” “Not a chance in Tartarus,” Limestone replied. “You think seeing a mare and a stallion together automatically means they’re romantically involved? Who thinks like that? That’s some ridiculous logic if I’ve ever seen it.” I also had to agree. “Yeah it’s kind of annoying. With so many mares around, just talking to others is a challenge if you’re looking to avoid attention.” To my amazement, Ember wasn’t disappointed or dissatisfied with our answer at all. Nay, she was overjoyed, and clapped her claw-hands. “Oooh! So you are just friends then, eh? I was always curious about pony relationships. Think you could...help me with that? Your entire job is talking to loads of different ponies, so maybe...I could learn a thing or two?” While the offer was tempting, I had to stay focused. There were still many details to uncover and Cozy Glow’s life was officially in my hooves with the upcoming trial. “I’m...not sure. I’m somewhat busy dealing with my case. Not to mention I have to attend a trial that is going to start within a few days. Not to mention, I’m currently on the hunt for some suspicious, hooded individuals.” “Oh? I think I might be able to help with that,” Ember replied with a smile as she leaned against me, “I think I may have seen some...weirdos looking like that around the town nearby.” My eyes shot wide open. “Really? I would appreciate the help. In exchange, I’ll teach you all I know about pony culture.” I made the offer because I couldn’t afford to lose out on any leads. Not this late into the game. Ember giggled as she gave me a tight, scaly hug. “Oh you don’t need to do that. But if you really want to, I won’t refuse.” I struggled to breathe against her leathery, yet soft skin. “Ngh...great...can you let me go?” During this moment, I heard Limestone grumble to herself. “Oh, sorry!” She released me, which caused me to flop to the ground. She leaned over to check on me. “Are you okay? I didn’t hurt you did I?” I stood up, and fixed my hat. “No harm done. Limestone, is there something you wanted to say?” “Nah. I’m good,” she started to walk away. I looked at the former Dragon ruler, “Excuse me for one second,” and I ran up to catch Limestone before she could leave. “Hey, is there anything wrong?” “No. I’m gonna go out with Marble for a while. If you ain’t got anything else important to say to me, then get back to your case,” she attempted to walk around me, but I stopped her. “What the--?” I pulled her in for a hug. All I really knew what to do in a scenario such as this. “Listen...I don’t have all the answers. But I’m sure your sisters love you very much for all the things you’ve done for them. You just need to let yourself be more loose. And don’t give up just because they’ve found somepony and you haven’t. You will. I know it. You’re a nice pony to be around.” I pulled back to look at her face, “Alright?” The lower eyelid of her left eye twitched as she stared at me. “Dummy...you are so lucky that I’m in a good mood or I’d...gah. Whatever. Next time I see you, you better have read the newest Power Ponies comic so we can talk about it. You understand that, don’t you, Pale? Oh and let Cheerilee know I’m gonna be helping with the Earth Pony stuff during the afternoon.” I had no idea if I played the best or worst move possible. “Heh...of course, Lime. See ya later. Have fun with your sister!” I waved as she walked off with what appeared to be a smile. But it was hard to tell with that mare. I turned back to Ember who was giggling away. I glared at the dragon. “Not a word--don’t even think it.” “Hehe! I’m not saying anything, I just...found it funny.” I rolled my eyes. Funny wasn’t the word for mediation. As an investigator, it was only natural for me to be a cunning linguist. Nothing more to it than that, really. “It’s just my job. I talk to folks, and extract information. That’s it.” She folded her arms, and looked at me with a smug expression. “I see. If that’s the case, you can start working on extracting info out of me next. Then I’ll do the same to you, and we can be extraction buddies.” I continued walking. “When you put it like that, you make it sound weird. Cease or I’ll cuff you.” “Now that sounds interesting,” she flew after me, “So where are we going?” “Nowhere in particular. Just taking a walk so I can absorb the sights of this developed town. I’ll exchange information with you when we’re closer to the outskirts. Sound good?” The dragon’s wings fluttered in her excitement. “Yes! Finally some pony knowledge! And right from a pony’s mouth too!” On a nearby cloud… “There he is. I hope I’m not too late…”