I don’t know how long I was out of it, but I knew it must have been severe. One of the perks of being an earth pony allowed me to quite literally muscle through pain and suffering. The only problem is that it came back to bite me in the ass later. But everything came back to me. Svengallop, a mob that he apparently had control over, and a kirin that would rather end her own life than give up any information about him.
And to top it all off, the Flim-Flam brothers were actually doing honest work now. You couldn’t make this crap up, people.
I had a lot to think about. But luckily, I was able to recover thanks to the hospital within Las Pegasus. God, another one? My medical bills would be through the roof. Luckily, this job has the added perk of paying well enough.
My eyes slowly flickered and fluttered open. They felt heavy. As if I had consumed an entire bottle of Applejack Daniels or something. I found myself in quite the soft hospital bed surrounded by loads of medical equipment. As usual, my vest and hat were placed on a coat rack next to me. Barely any burns on them. Hm.
“Ugh...ow…” I had bandages wrapped around my midsection where I was stabbed. I also felt loads of oils and compresses that seeped into my skins to treat the burns. Thank goodness they took time to treat me properly. “Wait…”
Then I came to realize something. Where was Corkscrew?!
“Cork?!” I looked around and saw the privacy screen next to me get pushed aside to reveal a patient in a bed next to me.
He let out a groan of pain. “Right here...boss...aggghhh…” I was utterly relieved to see he had survived. But his condition was worse for wear. The young stallion was covered from head to hoof in bandages. Only his mouth and eyes were exposed. “Heh...told you it was the greatest plan.”
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I would’ve reached over and hugged the guy, but my injuries prevented me from doing so. “Holy shit...you’re alive. But what you did was careless, foolish, and most of all...downright amazing. I respect your bravery. But please don’t ever do that again. And...thank you.”
“Understood boss,” he replied with a slow nod. That youngster had guts, but I didn’t want him to start spilling them needlessly. The look in his eyes hid the fact that he was disappointed in himself. He put on a brave face and responded with that innocent, yet broken smile of his. “No matter what, I’ll always be able to depend on you, Pale. Don’t forget that. Or me.”
I nearly teared up. Cork may have been foolish, but his heart and mind were both in the right place. I couldn’t fault him for being himself. “Heh...with how much you shout and care for me, I couldn’t forget you if I tried. Hehehe...oooh…” I tried to laugh, but felt strain in my lower body, so I lied back down.
I heard the same from Corkscrew. Laughter followed by a small groan.
A nurse pony entered the room to reprimand us. “Try not to do so much movement, sirs. You’re both in loads of pain, but you’ll be able to leave by tomorrow.”
Wait. Tomorrow. Was this still the same day? I didn’t intend to miss the trial that was being held against Neighsay. “Wait. How long have we been here, ma’am?”
She looked at me, and responded, “Only a few hours, dear. It’s about 9PM. And you have some visitors. Try and get some rest after you speak to them, okay?” she said before she took her leave.
Okay, so I hadn’t missed the trial against Neighsay. Good. I intended to be there tomorrow afternoon. But I wondered just who could have come to visit us at this hour of all times?
To my surprise, Lightning Dust appeared through the door first. “Hi, um...I just wanted to see if you guys were okay.”
I chuckled, “I’ve been through far worse.”
“Yeah,” Cork replied, “Nothing I can’t handle.”
She trotted over to the orange pegasus. “That’s good. But uh, I’d like it if you could show me that move you did?”
He tilted his head. “What move?”
“The thing you did where you swooped in and dropkicked the nirik off of your friend. It’d be sick if you could teach me that.”
“Oh that? I don’t have a name for it but--wait a sec,” he paused for a moment, and pointed weakly at her wing and hoof that had tracking devices placed on them. “Aren’t you still under arrest?”
Lightning shied away, and rubbed her hoof against the floor with a frown. “Yeah...but aren’t you an officer? Can’t you just say you’re watching over me or something?”
I chimed in. “Well now. I see you haven’t given up your desire to fly greatly, have you?”
She shook her head. “Of course not. I still wanna be a great flier despite what I did all those years ago to Dash and Scoots. And I know I’m getting older, but I’m still more than capable of flying,” she said with a proud flex of her wings. “Besides, I think I can offer Equestria something that Dash can’t.”
Cork spoke up. “And what’s that?”
Her wings retracted. “Well...she’s an Element of Harmony and such. She was always going to be faster, stronger, and better than me in every way. I realize now that that’s why I tried so hard to outdo her and show off for Scoots. I was jealous that she was some lucky chosen one and I was a nobody…”
“And yet…?” I asked with a bit of curiosity in my voice.
“Despite that, I wanna be the best version of myself. So I’m looking into flying again once my sentencing is over. Though I’ll be honest, it hasn’t been that bad.” She looked at Cork once more. “So I’d appreciate it if you could show me that move you did along with any others you might have--oh, once you heal from your injuries of course.”
I shrugged. I suppose it wasn’t a bad idea. But it was largely up to him if he wanted to go through with such a thing.
After a moment of thinking, Cork nodded. “Alright. I’ll let you know when we can begin. So long as you don’t quit halfway through.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she responded with a proud, relieved sort of smile, “thanks--Mister uhh…?”
“Cathartic Corkscrew,” he answered, “But just Corkscrew is fine. That’s what everyone calls me.”
“Corkscrew...alright then. Thanks again. I hope you guys get better soon.” The pegasus mare trotted towards the door, “See ya.”
We both waved as she left.
“Not bad,” I shot a rare smirk at the stallion.
“Huh?”
I couldn’t help but giggle a bit. “Once again, you came to Las Pegasus only to wake up and speak with a mare you barely know.”
He scowled, which only made me laugh harder. “Real funny, old-timer! Real funny!”
“Yes, yes it is. And I’m only 10 years your senior, far from old, dear friend.”
I cherished moments such as these. But not having Quick Draw retort with a snappy comment felt off. I sincerely hoped that her therapy sessions went well these past few days so that she could find herself again. She was a great friend before the fangs of manipulation dug their way into her neck.
But before I could finish that thought, the door to the room we rested in flew open again. This time, the yellow unicorn twins would be our visitors.
I looked up at them both. “Brothers? What’s going on?”
Corkscrew fell silent so he could listen in.
“Well, suffice to say,” Flam explained, “We have good news and bad news.”
Flim nodded. “Let’s start with the bad first. Unfortunately, Svengallop got away. There was no evidence of his retreat either. And...we confirmed that the body of that kirin mare was found dead on the ground below the city.” He closed his eyes and shuddered out of fear and disgust. “Brrr...gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. Sorry...this never gets any easier for me.”
I noted the tension in his eyes as he looked at the floor. Could it be possible that the two brothers had been through a sheer plethora of scenarios that I simply was not privy to? I couldn’t imagine…
Flam comforted his twin by putting a hoof around his shoulder. “It’s alright, brother. Anyhow. That’s all of the bad news. Onto the good news. The good news is that we’ve successfully captured a few of the members of Svengallop’s little group. And...one other thing. We reported to Sweetie Drops about the situation, and she looked into it.”
That certainly caught my attention. “What did you find out?”
“Well…” Flam let go of his brother, and opened up a file with his magic. “These are...the death certificates as well as official wills signed by her parents. They did indeed lose their lives in the final battle against...you know.”
“Excuse me,” Flim choked up, and stepped out of the room. “I...I just need a moment.”
Flam let out a sigh. “This always happens when we look through old files. I can’t blame him. But now isn’t the time for emotional slippage.”
“I see…so there’s proof that her immediate family Is dead then, huh?” I felt my mind drop. I didn’t know whether to feel guilty or relieved in that moment. “Damn…”
“The cause of death is rather unfortunate as well. Apparently, they were leading the kirin’s charge against those villains,” Flam explained as I read the document. His words lined up exactly with what I could see for myself. He continued. “Rain Shine and all of the kirin were surrounded by Tartarus monsters summoned by Tirek. They became niriks in order to fight them off, but they could only hold out for so long. Autumn Blaze wanted to stay and fight, but Freeze Flame’s mother, Winter Flame, held them off just long enough for the rest of the kirin to escape. Freeze Flame’s older sisters were also there.”
I felt an extreme weight on my body when I got to the last line of the certificate. I froze. I didn’t know what to say, so I allowed the yellow unicorn to speak it.
But even he was saddened by it, given the nervous way he rubbed his hoof behind his head. “They...weren’t killed. They fought the monsters off for as long as possible within their nirik forms until they died out. Both figuratively, and literally.”
“I...I didn’t…” My lip quivered, so I bit down to keep myself from losing my emotions. “I didn’t...know that that was possible.”
“Nopony else did either,” Flam said with a sigh, “My brother and I took part in that battle. We were actually the ones to find their bodies. From then on, we decided to be a part of the solution and fight for what was right--so others wouldn’t have to die for us.”
Wow. I couldn’t believe what I heard. These brothers really wanted to keep each other a live, so getting back into SMILE was the best option. I respected the heck out of it. “I see…” But there was something that still confused me. “But she said that they were killed in the battle, didn’t she?”
“...The autopsy report was changed,” he broke eye contact and looked out of the window, “If everypony knew that kirins/niriks could fight forever until they died, that would make the average citizen scared of their power.”
“...and you let this happen?”
Flam turned to face me with a strained expression in his eyes. “I didn’t agree with it. But Celestia didn’t want them to be seen as forceful. Stating that they gave their lives in battle is more noble than revealing the true extent of their power. I didn’t think it was right, but there was nothing I could do to stop it.”
I looked down. As much as it hurt, it made sense to alter the report. Ponies were nowhere near as accepting back then as they were now. But maybe… “Understood.”
Flam nodded. “After we explained the situation, Madam Drops offered us a job. To go down to the Peaks of Peril and assess just how Freeze Flame grew up without her parents as well as the issue regarding their dwindling numbers.”
I could already see where this was headed. “You guys are too busy trying to clean things up here, and you’d rather me go down there instead?”
“Heh, saw right through me did you?” Flam replied with a nervous grin, “Yes, it’s true. Flim and I are going to be rather backed up as we interrogate the members of Svengallop’s gang. If you would be so kind as to investigate the state of affairs with the kirin, we’d appreciate it.”
Hm. I didn’t have a choice. As much as I didn’t like it, I somewhat felt obligated to find out more after what Freeze Flame had told me. I couldn’t simply leave it on the table and not find out more. Plus, maybe I could help them come out to the public so they wouldn’t be demonized for being so strong. Whether they would be accepted was something else, though. “Alright. But not tomorrow. I need to attend the trial against Neighsay and find out more about what his little schemes entail.”
The mustached unicorn nodded with full understanding. “No rush, sir. I’m sure you’re in pain after that battle. Get to it whenever you can. I’ll inform Drops of your….assistance in the matter at hoof.”
“Anything else?”
“That is all,” Flam said as he walked towards the door, and opened it with his magic. “I’ll keep in contact with you in case anything develops. See you later, Pale.”
From outside, I heard Flim sniffle. “Ahem...goodbye, good sir. We have work to do,” he looked back at me one last time before he left with his brother.
Unbelievable.
“Wow...that was a lot to take in,” Cork commented, “Are you gonna be alright, boss?”
I flopped back into the hospital bed. “I will be. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow...now get some rest. We’ll need it.”
Understatement of the year. Given all those cameras, I had no idea what sort of twist the press would put on this story.
Hopefully they caught my good side in those shots, though.