//------------------------------// // Subject 150: Witness Protection // Story: Interviews With Equestrians // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// After the riveting tale I heard, the walk to the hospital had essentially been completed. As soon as we got there, the first thing we saw was the pink pegasus herself who trotted into the waiting room. To say that she was delighted to see us would’ve been an understatement since she nearly bowled me over when she flew up to hug me! “Pops! You’re okay…” she mumbled as she nuzzled my neck. It was a bit awkward at first, but I accepted, and returned the embrace. “Me? I’m more worried about you, kid. Are you feeling alright?” “Mm-hmm. Thank you,” she let go of me and looked up to see her best friend Flurry Heart beside me. “Ah! Flurry! I didn’t see ya there. Thanks for coming to see me!” Flurry had a bashful grin on her face as Cozy came up to hug her. “Aw, shucks. Why wouldn’t I wanna come see a friend who just got out of the hospital? You mean a lot to me, you know.” “Hehe. Yeah, I know. But what made you both come to me so soon? I could’ve just walked, you know.” Oh yeah. About that. “...The thing is. Your safety is paramount to us. I want to at least walk you home so we can keep a close eye on you. You don’t deserve to live in fear just because some other individuals don’t like you.” Surprisingly, she took this a lot better than I expected which unnerved me a bit. “Honestly? I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. I’m always gonna have some enemies in the world...enemies that don’t forget the past so easily.” My heart sank when she said that. But I had to be true to myself and acknowledge that she had a point. Enemies would always lurk in the shadows as they awaited the opportune moments to strike. But no more. I wasn’t going to stand idle and just allow these things to happen before it was too late. Though that did beg the question: Why didn’t they kill her if they had the chance? They must have wanted her to stay alive for some unspecified reason that would most likely come up later. Regardless, I did my best to console her. “Even so, you have a wonderful family behind your back. You won’t have to worry about anything else with us around.” “Yeah!” Flurry added with a flap of her wings, “And great friends too!” Then her face went from excited, to inquisitive, and back to excited in less than two seconds. “Ooh, I just had an idea!” Cozy took a nervous step backwards. “Er...what is it?” “Let’s have a sleepover!” she put her hooves on her fellow mare’s shoulders, “Nopony’s gonna wanna mess with you if they know you’re besties with the strongest alicorn around!” Cozy had a happy glint in her eye, but glanced at me for guidance. “...would that be okay, Pale?” A rather tactical move. The young alicorn was smarter than I gave her credit for. But there was a small issue with this idea. “Erm, would your parents be okay with that? In fact, do they even know that you’re here right now?” Flurry scoffed at me and brushed my concern aside. “Pfft. I got this no problem.” With a flash of her horn, she conjured up a magical screen of sorts. What? Apparently it was connected to the television that she played video games on back home. It activated, and we could see into her home where Shining Armor was busy getting ready to make dinner. “Hey dad! Uh...where’s mom?” The unicorn stallion poked his head out of the kitchen, and walked into view of the screen. “Oh. Hey, Flurry. Your mother is busy dealing with a meeting. Something about the Yaks, I think. What’s up?” “Oh, that sounds cool. But I called to ask if it’s okay that I have a sleepover with Cozy Glow tonight.” He shrugged with a rather comforting grin on his face. “Well, if Mr. Vestige is okay with it, then it’s fine with me.” That caught me off-guard. I nudged my way into view of the screen to get some clarity. “Wait, for real? You’re alright with this.” His response was nonchalant. “I don’t see why not--oops,” he stopped, and turned to keep a pot stirred via his magic. “You’ve honestly proven yourself to be more than trustworthy. Even if I don’t agree with everything you do, you’re an alright guy. With that being said, Flurry’s free to sleepover if she wants.” “Thanks, daddy!” Flurry chirped as she shoved me out of the way via magic-- --To which I yelped, “Yie!” and took a tumble into the lobby’s carpet. “Bye!” Flurry said before she deactivated the magical screen. “And that’s all she wrote!” Cozy flapped her wings with excitement. “We could invite Pumpkin Cake, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon as well! We can have a mare’s night!” “Yooo, that’s totes a great idea!” Flurry replied. Even though we hadn’t even left the hospital yet, Cozy was already her cheery self again. It was honestly an adorable thing to witness. Wait a minute, I didn’t authorize such a large event! I got up, and dusted myself off after I stumbled. “Hey now. Wait a sec. I didn’t sign off on something so massive. You ladies better keep yourselves in control this evening, okay?” “Oh of course, dad,” Cozy replied. Not with sarcasm, though. That was a genuine response to my status as her parental figure. “We’ll be extra good. Right, Flurry?” “Oh yeah, for sure! You won’t even know we’re all together!” she said with a little snicker into her hoof. Yeah, that wasn’t going to last. Anyhow, while they went off to do whatever it was that young mares did, I had to get back to work. Was I worried about another attack? Yes--but actually no. It would honestly be foolish for an enemy to strike once more due to the fact that our security was heightened much more heavily now. Of course, I still monitored the place. I wasn’t going to let anything slip through the cracks this time. Once the two mares arrived at Cozy’s home, I waved as they left to head inside. But before they did, the pegasus stopped to tell me something. “...Pale. One more thing.” I lent her an ear. “Hm?” “This is just conjecture, but I think the reason that Grogar may still be alive is that he’s somehow found the secret to immortality via his Bell. It would explain why he never bothered to come back for it. It’s like he knew that somepony else would…” “...I see.” A very valid, yet curious point. I’d have to consider that for my notes when I went back to my books later. For the moment, I simply nodded, and sent her on her way. “If you happen to remember anything else from your imprisonment, then please speak up about it. For now, go on and have fun, okay?” She nodded, and trotted into her house. “Thanks, Pale. I appreciate that…” She shut the door once she and Flurry were inside. They were bound to start inviting the other mares they had mentioned earlier. I was on my way home, but then I noticed Cheerilee come down the road. She was carrying a basket of goodies and had bags beneath her eyes. “Woah, Cheery. Everything alright?” “Hm? Oh yes. I’ve just...ahh,” she paused to yawn, “...been up all night worry about Cozy. But when I heard she was being released from the hospital today, I decided to come and bring her a few things. I didn’t visit sooner because I’d be a nervous wreck in front of her in the hospital.” “Oh. Well I suppose that makes sense. But if you need help with anything, don’t be afraid to ask.” She shook her head, and placed a kiss on my cheek. “Don’t worry about me. Get yourself some rest, okay? I need some too, honestly.” I chuckled with her for a moment, and turned to head home at last. “Okay then. Well, try not to stay long. Cozy and some friends are going to have a sleepover.” “Ooh, that sounds fun. Oh, and one more thing, Pale. I think I saw Babs at your house when I turned the corner. I think she’s looking for you, so you might want to go see her.” Hm? Strange. I wondered what she could want. But there was only one way to find out. “Thanks Cheery. I’ll see you later, yes?” “Absolutely, my dear,” she said with a wink. I won’t lie, that kind of ruffled my mane a little--in a good way. And so, I made it back to my house. Sure enough, the light hazel earth pony mare was outside, and waited for me. “Ey, Babs,” I greeted her, “Everything okay? You weren’t hurt from being captured by that changeling were you?” She turned her head towards me, and smirked. “Heh. Not at all, bud. Gonna take more than suckin’ muh love out to bring me down. But naw, I wanna talk to ya about somethin’.” The smirk went away as she led into the next bit of what she wanted to say. “...It’s about Sven’s gang membahs.” Wait what? I thought they had been arrested!