“I, too? What are you on about, bird?” Neon asked the damaged unicorn.
Cozy leaned in close to me and whispered, “She’s a pony, not a bird.”
I gave her an explanation. “Oh no, it’s a Trottingham expression. Bird is the same thing as a young girl, right Drive?”
“Huh?” he responded half-heartedly due to being distracted with whatever he head on his desk, “Yeah yeah, bird means lady. Now shush.”
Cozy looked over at the unicorn, and back at me. “What’s he doing?”
“If I had to venture a guess, I’d say he’s working on his Nightmare Night costume.”
Anyway, Tempest responded with a somber tone. “...I, well. As you can see, I lost a part of myself also. But you...managed to come back from it just like your pegasus friend.”
“Ah…” the blue bat pony rubbed his fake leg with the coiled tubes. “I understand. It wasn’t an easy thing to deal with. But I managed. And hey, maybe you can also.”
Tempest rubbed her broken horn nub. “...You think so?”
The bat pony took a closer look at it.
Wait a second, could it be possible that he was considering a prosthetic attachment for her body? But that wouldn’t exactly be feasible...would it? I mean, the Batling family was known for more basic things such as simple limb replacement. Only just recently did they venture out into wings for both pegasi and their own bat-kin. But a unicorn horn? I wasn’t sure. I’m no doctor, but my knowledge of the pony biology was pretty extensive. A horn was made up of several different magical fibers of DNA that allowed magic to be cast from it.
Every single one was different from each other, as well. Because no two were alike, creating a prosthetic horn to channel magic through would be a daunting challenge in and of itself.
But Neon? That batty brother was off his rocker!
“I’ll see what I can do for ya, birdie,” he responded in a slow, careful sort of way, “But I can’t make no promises. A hoof and a pair of wings are easy. But a horn? Not so much.”
Tempest shut her eyes and took a deep breath as if she had been prepared for the uncertain answer. “I understand. Thank you.”
“Yes, well then. You all should get a move on. I hear Madam Cadance is free around this time.”
“Perfect. Thank you for your time, gents,” I said with a tip of my hat.
We bade my comrades goodbye, and set out for the Crystal Castle in the middle of the Empire. Though, as we trotted along those shiny, gem-like roads, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. That feeling. As if we were being followed. Maybe I was overthinking it, what with how lively and active the crystal ponies were, but I knew something was up.
I stopped in my tracks, which caught the attention of both mares.
Cozy was first to notice. “Is there something wrong, sir?”
Tempest also turned to face me. “Do you feel a disturbance?”
Now wasn’t the time for distractions. Those two needed to keep going and meet with the princess and her daughter. Any and all threats to their safety--Cozy’s especially--needed to be dealt with.
I shook my head. “...No. I’m alright. I just remembered something I need to check up on,” I chuckled and rubbed the back of my head to make it sound convincing, “hehe. Uh, I’ll meet you girls there, alright?”
Cozy raised a brow. I could almost hear her dubious thoughts as she looked at me with a concerned, yet non-believing expression. But sheh must have gotten the hint since she didn’t argue nor debate with me on the subject. “I...see. Well, if you’re sure. Come on, Temp,” she said as she walked onward.
“...will he be alright?” Tempest asked as she followed.
“Oh yeah, he does this all the time. You know how overprotective legal guardians can be.”
That was the last I heard of them before they were out of earshot. But I kept my eye on them as they made their way to the Crystal Castle. I watched the two trot all the way there as they talked. They were greeted by the Crystal Guards, and were subsequently let inside. Whew. Okay. No longer had to worry about that.
But now, I had to focus my attention elsewhere. This new presence was...odd. Not hostile, but potentially dangerous all the same. I felt its aura, and wanted it to get no closer. If we were truly being followed, then it was time to act.
I thought about it for a second, and chose not to isolate myself this time. I passed by a few shops within the Empire Square. Yup. It was still there. Okay then, time to keep going. I stopped at the local cafe. I was a bit parched, so I figured it would be a nice way to kill two birds.
So I took a seat, and ordered some tea. Guess the crystal theme was heavily ingrained. All of the seats, the paint on the walls, even the flooring. All crystal. Even the menu had geode, and gemstone, items. It was no surprise that dragons would frequent this place. I even saw an orange one at a table with her friends. Smolder, was it?
“...!”
My eyes narrowed down. That deadly presence hadn’t left. Alright then. If they wanted a fight, then a fight they would get.
Shockingly enough, that’s not even close to what happened.
“Hey.”
“Aie!” I nearly fell out of my chair. Dammit all. All of that buildup for somepony to nearly give me a heart attack. Great.
When I looked up, they were gone, but a note was left on the table next to my teacup.
‘Meet me outside behind the cafe.’
Huh. Well, whoever this was, they certainly didn’t have good taste in scenery. But of course, I chose to honor the request...for now.
I finished up my tea, and exited the crystal cafe. When no one was looking, I slunk into the alleyway behind the place. Behind the little eatery was a dumpster and a few crates, but nothing out of the ordinary. Until…
Something was flung towards me from behind.
“...!”
I sensed it and reacted.
“Hmph!”
I spun, and kicked the deadly weapon away. It clattered to the ground next to me. Now it was the time to speak out. “Alright, enough games. Show yourself.”
“Sorry about that,” a familiar, commanding voice of a mare spoke out to me as she dropped down from the next door building. “I had to make sure you were you. It’s been a while, ain’t it PV?”
I scowled, and huffed a bit. “Are you mad? You could’ve killed me!”
She pointed a hoof to the ground nearby. “Aw, lighten up. It was just a wooden dagger, bud. Not even close enough to cause damage.”
I looked over at the weapon, and sighed. Of course she would do something like that, what with being the leader of SMILE and all. “Luna-dammit. What can I do for you, Major Drops?”
At last, she lifted her head. Despite the wrinkles under her eyes, she looked just as she used to all those years ago. It was uncanny, but I suppose most mares aged like a fine wine. Cheerilee certainly did, that was for sure.
“We’ve been reviewing your situation regarding Cozy. First off: Good job on watching the young lady. She can learn a thing or two from you, I’d wager,” she said with a teasing sort of smirk. “Even a former SMILE agent like yourself has some of the skills that were taught to us. I mean, you joined us when you were fifteen, completed your first solo mission at sixteen, and slaughtered your first monster at seventeen. And then at eighteen you went ahead and ventured out on your own to start your own agency. Lyra and I were in our twenties at the time, so you can imagine how surprised we were.”
Yes, it was true. Right after Miranda Rights pushed me on the right path, I decided to join SMILE. However, going after just monsters and big creatures got boring to me after a while. A bugbear here, a hydra there, cerberus every so often. It wasn’t fun anymore. That’s when I decided to devote my life to dealing with the truest, and scariest monsters of all.
Us.
“Yeah, yeah. We all just love a good trip down memory lane, don’t we” I scoffed, and rolled my eyes at this. Drops knew how much I hated being praised for my work, and she took full advantage of it. “Hmph. Get to the point, madam.”
She let out a quick giggle, and cleared her throat before she started to explain what the situation was. “Ahem. Of course. I spoke to Agents Flim and Flam about what went down with the Kirn and Svengallop’s goons the other day. Remember?”
How could I forget? The image of that kirin’s dead body splattered all over the dirt from thousands of feet in the air still haunted me. “...Yes. I know,” I replied with a slow nod, “have any developments occurred?”
“Quite a few, actually. After rigorous interrogation of the remaining members of Svengallop’s captured group, we’ve deduced that something big is happening today.”
“Oh?”
She nodded, and took out a document for what looked like a plastic clay explosive. “Very much so. According to what they’ve gotten out of the mob ponies, a bomb has been planted somewhere in the Empire.”
Okay. Concerning. But we had squads designated to handle that, didn’t we? “Alright. I’ll be on the lookout and let you know if anything happens.”
“About that…” she continued. That clearly wasn’t all she had to say. Sweetie Drops looked down at the ground for a moment. Then she fixed her eyes on me with a strained sort of glare. “The bomb isn’t planted just anywhere. It’s planted in the Crystal Pony Retirement Home.”
I froze. Visions of my past started to flood back to me.
“Wh...what?!”
Drops sighed, and broke eye contact with me. “I feel bad for telling you like this. But you’ve got experience with these types of things. Don’t worry. I’ve got other ponies in the Empire also on the case, so don’t feel like the weight is entirely on your shoulders. I just want you to figure out who planted it so we can interrogate them further, and find out where Svengallop’s gang is located. Alright?”
My head. It hurt. The pain and the sounds of screams from elderly ponies, helpless as something dangerous goes off from inside where they can’t escape. Just like...what I...no. Not here. I won’t allow it.
“I’ll see to it,” I responded with a painful creak in my voice. I coughed. “Ack! Sorry. That tea went down strangely. I’ll keep you posted if anything occurs.”
“Good.” Sweetie Drops handed me the document, and tilted her head back down to conceal her face. “And if you’re ever in the neighborhood, PV, don’t be afraid to help us out when you can. Bye for now,” she trotted off into the alley, and seemingly disappeared as soon as she rounded the corner.
That mare and her cryptic ways. I couldn’t stand it. That’s one of the main reasons why I left SMILE in the first place. It was all too pedantic for my taste. But that was beside the point for the time being. For now, I had to place my concern on the local retirement home in the Empire.
But first, I needed to check back in with Cozy and Tempest. They were likely concerned about my whereabouts by this point.
So I went to the Crystal Castle. I checked in with the guards, and was allowed inside. I memorized the layout of the place from the last time I was here, so I took the staircase to the right that led to the residence of the royal family.
Sure enough, I was greeted by the youngest living alicorn.
“Aw damn, it’s Pales in the house!” Flurry Heart cried out as soon as I walked through the door to their home. She and Cozy were working on a model train set in the living room together. “What’s up P-to-the-V?”
That speech pattern. Just what was she on about nowadays? “Oh, well, a...few friends of mine are here and I wanted to check up on them,” I watched as the pink pegasus mare used her wings as finger-like appendages to connect the train track pieces. Absolutely brilliant. “What’s going on with you, Flurry?”
“I’m on top of the world!” she shouted and flew up to me with a flyer in her hooves. “Tonight, I’m gonna do a pre-Nightmare Night charity show for the Crystal Ponies in the Old Folks’ Home!”
I stared at the flyer, and felt my heart drop to my gut. ‘Flurry Heart’s Charity Show! Tonight at 6PM! It’ll be spooooky!’ And it had an image of a jack-o-lantern directly in the middle.
“Isn’t that cool?!” Flurry asked while she hovered in front of me with sparkles in her eyes. “You’ll be there, won’t you?”
I froze once again. I could’ve sworn I had a heart attack in that moment. I suddenly fell over, and onto my back with my hooves pointed straight up to the air.
Flurry landed, and poked me with her hoof. “...sir? You okay? Um” she paused, and looked around with a nervous, fearful expression, “...dad! I need your help!”