“You heard me right,” Twilight went on, “I don’t want you involved with the situation of this new changeling queen for various reasons.”
That was unexpected on numerous levels. I thought for certain that Twilight had placed enough trust in me by now to handle any situation. Something else had to be going on for her to say that. “I...will respect your decision, but I have to ask: Just what are the reasons behind not wanting my involvement?”
I could hear her sigh from the other end of the room. Whatever it was must have been rather painful if she wanted to temporize for a moment or two. “I’ve been speaking with my advisors about the decisions I’ve made. And the decisions I’ve had you make. Firstly, the fact that you failed to capture her lets me know that her ability to manipulate ponies is extreme. If faced with her again, you would end up a victim of psychological torment, and wouldn’t be able to complete your task.”
I remained silent. There was no reasonable way for me to refute her point. Lady Elytra, was it? Her. She already seemed much stronger than Chrysalis but in a completely different way. The ability to set up various traps as well as taunt me based on my past and trying to goad me into killing her. It was...yeah.
Twilight continued. “Secondly, I have come to realize just what you’re capable of. You’re a very talented detective with the capacity to follow any given order, and execute someone if necessary.” She got up from her throne, and trotted down the steps as she explained herself further. “But...that’s not what we need for this mission. If you snap and do end up killing her...that could jeopardize everything. And...we need her alive for prosecution.”
Another good point. Now was not the time to fall into my old habits. I suppose this meant that she had second thoughts about what I had done towards Svengallop. If that was indeed the case, then my entire reputation was on the line now. Normally, I didn’t pride myself on what others thought of me. But the last thing I wanted to do was sully my own name and discredit all of the work that I had done for Cozy so far. Even still…
At last, Twilight stopped in front of me. “And lastly, this is a delicate situation that needs to be handled by changelings--the good ones. King Thorax and his kind are going to be more than willing to help us in locating, and putting a stop to Elytra before she gains any ground.”
“And you don’t want me to assist them, because I lack…” I already knew the answer. However, I wanted to hear it straight from the pony’s mouth herself on why I shouldn’t be involved.
“...You lack the skills required to deal with them, unfortunately,” she said as she put a hoof on my shoulder, “Thorax and his kin are easily able to tell apart a real pony from a changeling. That’s something that we regular ponies just can’t do. So I need his help in order to track her down for the good of everypony. But your time is better spent elsewhere. We still need to find out who else has been involved with Neighsay, and how it factors into what’s happened behind the scenes all this time.” She tilted her head with a concerned expression. “You understand, don’t you?”
I had no choice but to. Part of me still felt responsible for the fact that she got away in the first place, and still wanted to set things right. But I also had to reel it in, and comprehend the fact that I just wasn’t cut out for this particular scenario--even if I was still somewhat upset about it.
“...I understand,” I replied, “But in the event you need my help--”
She cut me off. “No. We don’t want to risk the situation getting any messier than it already is. I hereby ban you from being involved with it. I’m sorry, but...it’s for your own good. As well as Cozy. You’ve been on too many outsourced missions as of late, and watching over her should be your top priority.”
Cozy finally spoke up. “...She’s right. We don’t want to cause anypony any trouble, so from here on, we’ll stay behind at home.”
I hung my head with dread as I mused over the possibilities of the worst outcomes in a situation such as this. I was boxed in. My keenness to follow orders had subjected my sense of reason, and now I was being benched. At times, I wished that I wasn’t as willing to fight as I often was. But at any rate, this was how things would have to be for right now. It was getting late, I was tired, and most of all, Twilight was right. Keeping the kid safe was my main focus above all else.
“You don’t need to stay cooped up in your houses like me--er, like chickens--” Twilight stumbled over her words and cleared her throat, “Ahem. Just take time and interview those who have been affected by Neighsay’s craft. After that, let Moondancer do the rest. Understood?”
My head rose, and I faced the alicorn with a stern expression. “On one condition: If we get trouble--that being Cozy and I--if she’s attacked by any rogue changelings, we won’t hesitate to fight back.”
“I never said be totally helpless.” Twilight raised a brow and shot me a suspicious look. “So long as you don’t go picking fights with those stronger than you, then feel free to defend yourselves when necessary. I’m only trying to be cautious because this particular state of affairs requires...caution. By tomorrow, Elytra could have a small army ready to infiltrate certain cities or she could be sending out spies. We won’t know for sure until I consult King Thorax. He is the highest authority on the matter as of now.”
“Understood,” I responded swiftly, “We will take our leave, and head home for the night. Tomorrow, I’ll continue my interviews and send anypony with odd conditions to Moondancer.”
“Good,” the princess replied with a smile, “And one last thing. If you’re approached by the media, tell them what I told you. You have no involvement in the situation, and thus, are unable to comment.”
That was a surprise. Leave it to the purple bookworm of an alicorn to predict the next move of the newscasters. “You think they’ll catch wind of it by tomorrow?”
“Information like this passes through thin walls. Especially since I have to contact Starswirl now in order to verify what he knows about that lake. That alone is going to cause a media outbreak.”
I suppose that was true. The old unicorn was one of the most famous in the known world for having saved Equestria in the past. His mere name being mentioned could draw the attention of anywhere from dozens to hundreds of ponies. On the whole, we were very...drawn towards anything popular. It was our nature. So the precaution about the media from Twilight was a surprising one to be sure, but a welcome one all the same.
“Got it. Goodbye for now, princess.” I turned to take my leave with Cozy.
“See you both soon,” she waved as we walked off, “Do your best out there.”
As we left, I walked towards Moondancer’s home with my head drooped down, lost in thought.
Cozy--ever the valiant one--chose to motivate me. “Let’s check in with Moonsy, pops. Then you have to head home to work out with Cheerilee. You promised.”
Hehe. Sweet kid. There was no way I could be a model example to her by breaking a promise. Plus, Cheerilee would be upset at the fact that I couldn’t apparently take time out of my schedule for her, and that wasn’t going to fly either.
“Yeah you’re right,” I said back as I held my head up, “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna start falling behind now. But first, we need to check up on what Moondancer has found regarding Caballeron…”
I trotted up to the reclusive unicorn’s home, and tapped on the door.
After a moment or two, the yellow unicorn finally answered the door in her pink pajamas that had mathematical symbols patterned all over. Her mane was down and in a messy set of tatters and split ends. Despite this, she appeared to be slightly less annoyed than usual, which was always good. “What’s going on?” she asked, “Oh, you’re here about what I’ve found on Caballeron and Blossomforth, yeah?”
I nodded. “That’s right. We would like to inquire on the situation regarding the rune on his body. What have you found?”
“Alrighty, I’ll keep it simple. The rune that Neighsay applied feeds off of one’s natural magic pool, and enhances is. More strength and durability for earth ponies, more speed and flexibility for pegasi, and more room to cast heavy magic for unicorns.” She explained while she used her magic to lift up a messy, ringed binder that contained all of her notes, as well as her glasses onto her face so he could read.
That didn’t sound so bad on paper. But if there was something I always knew that played a factor in enhancements such as these, it was the side effects. That is what I was most interested in.
“And what are the long-term effects of such a rune?” I questioned.
Moondancer flipped to a certain page. “Hrm...still doing tests. But it reminds me of the old runes that ponies would use to delay curses and other hexes so their victim wouldn’t suspect it until it was too late. This seems to operate under a different principle,” she flipped the binder around to me with her magic. In it, I saw a diagram of the rune, some math symbols, a clock, and what looked like a Ponezilla monster.
“Um…” I raised a hoof to point at the diagram, but to be quite honest...I had absolutely no idea what I was looking at. Was this a mentally advanced thing that I wasn’t able to understand? “In Ponish, please?”
“After a certain amount of time, the subject enduring the procedure will either be enhanced beyond their normal physical means, or be transformed into demonic beasts,” she explained as she closed the binder, “Don’t worry. I’ve already taken care of both Caballeron and Blossomforth. The former still needs rest, but the latter has been cleared.”
Well that was good to hear. But all I could do at this point was focus on finding the rest of the individuals who had undergone the same procedure, and bring them back to Moondancer so she could work on them. After that...I suppose all I could really do would be to focus on keeping Cozy Glow safe during the rise of Elytra or whatever her name was.
This job pained me sometimes.
“Thank you, Moondancer,” I replied, “I’ll be on my way. Have a good night.”
“Alrighty. Night or whatever,” she shut the door.
I checked my watch, and it was about 6PM. As expected with the change in season, the sun was setting a bit sooner than usual. But I had about two hours before I had that scheduled meetup with Cheerilee. That’s when I heard the kid speak up.
“Um...Pale-Pops?”
Pale-Pops? What the--
“Oh, uh,” I turned to face her, “What’s up Cozy?”
She rubbed one of her hind hooves against the other. “Well...it’s not exactly super late yet, so I was wondering if you’d wanna get some food?”
Food? Here in Canterlot?! Shit, first my sanity was starting to break, and now my wallet. Just how could I afford anything here without spending hundreds of bits for a tiny speck of food. “Um...is that a good idea?”
“Oh don’t worry. There’s a place in Canterlot’s Restaurant Row that offers amazing food without cutting too deep into your money,” she suggested with a peppy little grin on her face. “And don’t even worry about it, because I’m buying.”
Now there was something you didn’t hear everyday. Even if it wasn’t expensive, just how was she already working on making money? “Wait, really now? Just how have you come into money?”
“I’ve been doing a few odd jobs here and there,” she explained, “kind of like what Lightning Dust has been doing. It’s stressful, but it’s worth it. Because I’ve finally saved up enough to pay you back for what you’ve done for me.”
Oh goodness. Didn’t she know that I didn’t like being praised for my work? But regardless, it was a sweet gesture. And I had some time free to spend, so I wasn’t going to say no. After all, some bonding with her would do some good for the both of us. “Oh you…” I rolled my eyes to feign annoyance, “Since you’ve made such a generous offer, I guess I can’t refuse.” I beamed at her with a smile. “So where exactly are you taking me?”
Cozy pointed ahead, and fluttered her wings with excitement. “Follow me!” she squealed, and zipped ahead of me towards the commercial district of Canterlot. Her enthusiasm caused many of the nearby nobles to scoff and turn their noses up at her actions. I could hear them think, ‘how uncouth!’ and whatnot.
“Hey, slow down!” I called out as I followed her. It was a weird feeling. I was only in my mid-thirties, and Cozy had just entered her twenties. But I already felt like a father chasing down his unruly kid through a crowded area.
When I finally caught up to her, she had led me to a rather colorful eating establishment that was tucked away between some others. I read the sign up above. “‘The Tasty Treat’? Sounds pretty...tasty.”
“Pops! Over here!” Cozy called out to me as she waved, and trotted inside.
I followed her, and my nose was punched with a variety of exotic spices that I had never smelled nor tasted before. Wow. This suddenly became more exciting than it should have been. The establishment wasn’t very crowded either, which allowed us to be greeted fairly quickly.
An orange unicorn walked up to us, and spoke with a rather interesting accent. “Hello there! I am Saffron Masala, and welcome to The Tasty Treat. Today is your lucky day, my friends. In honor of my father’s business running for a strong 30 years, he and I have decided to hold a Father-Daughter special for all stallions--or other adult males--who bring their daughters and get 20% off!” she proclaimed with a wide grin, and looked at the both of us.
Cozy shot me a smirk, and giggled into her hoof. “Yup! This is my dad alright.”
“Oh my,” she was taken aback for a moment, and looked me over. “You look so young, good sir. You must tell me your secret for keeping your skin looking that beautiful.”
I coughed, and forced a laugh out of it. “Ah-heh! Hehe! Um, no...I’m actually in my mid-thirties. She’s...my adopted daughter, heh...” I responded nervously, and tried to take a step back.
As soon as I said that, I regretted it. Not because I denied being her caretaker, but because of Ms. Masala’s reaction.
“Ah!” she squealed with sparkles in her eyes, and put a hoof around my neck, “Adorable! We need more stallions who are willing to be good fathers! Please have a seat at the finest table we have!”
I shot Cozy a somewhat amused, yet knowing glare. All she did was snicker once more.
This life was never uneventful.