“Who let you into my home?” I asked them all as I closed the door behind me. I put my coat and hat on the rack next to the front door, and went to the living room.
Flash Drive got up from the couch, and retrieved a chair from the kitchen to take a seat in. “Have a seat on the couch, friend. We all read the newspaper and wanted to come see if you were alright. Then we heard about the fact that you apparently needed therapy, so we waited here until you got back home.”
I took a seat, and looked around at my friends. “I see...you were all so worried that you decided to come see how I was doing.”
Corkscrew spoke up next. “We didn’t realize what was going on at first, but then it hit us--you’d essentially been put through the wringer for what you’ve done, and we...wanted to come offer our support.”
As she lied across one of the nearby chairs, Guttersnipe would offer her words next. “I won’t beat around the bush, bud. You’ve done a lot of crazy crap that I never would’ve done myself. And I’m all about that crazy lifestyle. Granted, you can take that either way. Regardless, we all think you need a break.”
From the other side, Neon would reply as he nibbled on a peach. “She’s right. Mate, you and I have been through loads of trenches together. But ya gotta know when to stop and think about what ya doin’. We don’t want ya to waste your life over something...so trivial.”
“My brother’s right,” Flash Drive added, “Svengallop honestly wasn’t worth dedicatin’ no time to. He was already a dead stallion walking. And I have absolutely no clue why in Tartarus’ name why Twilight would give you that order.”
Next to me, Quick Draw nodded. “Agreed. Part of the blame is on her for giving out such a crass order in the first place. But ultimately, you’re responsible for yourself, bud. And...I know what it’s like to make mistakes thinking you’re doing the right thing.” She sighed, “By the time you realize that you’re the one being controlled like a puppet, it’s already too late. You’re neck-deep in hatred that doesn’t even belong to you. And...we don’t want that for you. I mean, I’m an idiot, but not you.”
Ah...I understood now. Honestly, it was rather comforting to hear them criticize my approach to things. It showed that they cared and wanted me to improve above all else despite coming down on me. And it was also nice to know that they weren’t afraid to throw criticism at the princess herself. Yes, Twilight was in the wrong for ordering me to do such a thing. But ultimately, I was responsible for how I acted--and reacted--to those types of orders. To be guided by emotion...that wasn’t something a good officer needed to be.
“Absolutely,” I replied, “I agree with you all. Mainly because I already intended to stop and take a break from my job. I need...to reevaluate some things about myself and how I carry out my actions as an officer. If I can’t do that much, then I don’t deserve this position.”
Guttersnipe leaned forward on the chair. “By the way, what sorta therapy did they have you go through? Did they actually shock you or were you just...shocked by what you had to say?”
“Definitely the latter,” I said with a sigh, “In the end, most of my anxiety comes from my fear and confusion regarding not knowing what to do. As a result, I made a pretty callous choice when it came to killing Svengallop.”
Corkscrew put a hoof around my neck. “But boss...you’re not gonna give up, are you? Like...we’ve spent too long together for you to just walk away from this forever. After all, what did you, Quick, and I even go to the Officer’s Academy for?”
Quick Draw would answer that first. “We went to the Academy so we could become better ponies with sound concepts of justice and fight for those who could not fight for themselves.” She folded her hooves, and leaned back into the couch, “It’s not an easy thing to do, and yet we manage regardless.”
Being my childhood friends, both Quick and Cork knew me best out of our group. And they were both correct. We went to the OA for training and other arts that would aid us in becoming officers who could uphold the essence of the law while doing our best to punish those who deserved it. Was it a simple job? Absolutely not. There were so many gray areas and logical fallacies that prevented us from getting the answer right one-hundred percent of the time. Then again, who could? Mistakes were always going to be made. No matter how old you were, professional you were, or how many other folks followed your word or loved you--you, I, and everyone else could, and will, make mistakes.
To learn from those mistakes, however, was another pony of a different color.
“That’s right. Despite our troubled backgrounds, we all work to grow, don’t we?” I looked over at Neon in particular.
The bat pony nodded once as he rubbed his real left hoof against his fake, right one. “Aye, mate. Gettin’ to where I am now was hard as utter bunk. And yet, whenever I recede back into my violent ways, my brother is always there for me.”
“Hehe.” Drive chuckled. “Come now, bruv. Don’t put me on the spot like that. You know you’re always welcome in my home where there’s plenty of fruit.” He looked up to the ceiling, “And Pale, we’re always here for ya. Whether ya need a shoulder to cry on or just a mate to see ya through.”
Guttersnipe looked down at her mechanical wings. “But don’t go off to do anything stupid,” she commanded in a grave tone. An oddity for her, that was certain. “You don’t need to play the solo hero that tries to save everypony. If you continue and do what you did with Svengallop, you may lose more than a part of your body as a result.”
“Of course,” I replied solemnly, “Never again will I accept an order that seems too chaotic or unreasonable. My life is my own. And I will choose to live it as I see fit.”
Quick sighed. “Even so...the way you live shouldn’t cause harm to others. Again, I know that very well due to the mistakes I’ve made. Above all, you need to consider how you approach every situation from now on. How you act is going to reflect how others view Cozy as well as Cheerilee given that you two are together now. You can’t act carelessly--even if you think you know what you’re doing.”
“Too right,” Drive jumped in, “One time, I thought I did the right thing by ignoring what I thought was an innocuous individual that moved into the Empire. Turns out, it was a griffon assassin from outside of Equestria who wanted to steal Flurry Heart’s horn and wings.” He let out a shameful sigh. “Gah...if I could’ve turned back time…”
But Guts, like clockwork, wouldn’t allow the black unicorn to speak lowly of himself. “Hey now. You did what you could, and in the end, we sent that criminal to prison where he still rots to this day.”
“I know that, yeah. But if I could just go back in time and throttle my buggerin’ self for forgettin’...” He shook his head. “Gah, but it’s under the bridge now. From then on, I knew to keep a closer eye on who enters and exits the Empire. Right, Gutsy?”
She giggled. “Hehehe! That’s right. You and I have never had a problem with anyone in the Empire since!”
Neon smiled as well. “Indeed, chaps. So for Pale--we need to do all we can for him so he doesn’t bungle off something else. Savvy?”
I scoffed, and rolled my eyes. “Wow. You must think very highly of me, Neon,” I retorted with sarcasm and chuckled. “But seriously, thank you.”
Drive was the first to offer help. “I’ll work with Moondancer so she can make sure you get the results of her findings. She should be almost done.”
Neon was next. “During the night, I’ll be keeping watch over the town when I’m up. My mates in Trotland Yard can keep tabs on Trottingham while I help ya.”
Cork let go of me, and took out a stack of files. “I’ll be working on witness interviews and protection. I’ve got tons of dates lined up so I’ll be working ‘round-the-clock to gather info on Neighsay’s death and other suspicious activity.”
“Dates?” Guttersnipe asked with a teasing smirk, “Ooh, lookit you! Already got yourself a harem like in those Japonese comics you read?”
“I--wh--NO!” The young pegasus blushed, and stumbled over his words. “Calendar dates, you silly filly! To interview individuals throughout the month for questioning about what they’ve seen! Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday--already got--”
Guts put her hooves up to get him to stop. “Woah, woah, pard. It was just a joke! I’m actually impressed that you’re getting so much work done.”
“Oh,” he relaxed with a proud flap of his wings. “Thank you.”
This caused Neon to laugh a little, and his brother Flash nudged him via using magic to levitate, and prod him with a nearby book. “Stuff it, bruv. Now ain’t the time.”
“But it was funny as all heck!” Neon complained.
“Anyway,” Guts drew attention back to herself after the distraction she had caused, “I’m gonna look more into this changeling and Elytra situation myself. King Thorax has been a bit mysterious about how he’s going about this, so I need to hear it straight from the pony’s mouth.”
Lastly, Quick offered her help. “And I...will make sure no harm comes to those you’re close to. I can’t afford to lose you to insanity, Pale. None of us can.”
The other four ponies in my group nodded in unison. “Mm-hmm!”
I sniffled. I felt so...proud to have a group of friends that stood with me through the good and bad. I made a promise to myself that I would make them proud. “Thanks guys...I’ll be taking some time off, so do your best out there.”
For that was all I could ask.