“No way,” I snapped back on a dime, “This situation is too dangerous and I can’t afford to have you in harm’s way, Cozy.”
“...Pale, I’m not a kid anymore. Or rather...” she folded her wings around the front of herself, and tapped the tips of her feathers together in a nervous fashion, “I’m nowhere near as destructive as I used to be.”
I loved her, and respected her desire to fight alongside me. I really did. Which is exactly why I didn’t want her to attend any of these missions. It was a major risk unto itself. If she fell into the enemy’s clutches for any reason…
I stood firm on my stance. “...Kid, I’m sorry. But you need to understand that this is extremely risky. You’re aware of what could happen if you get hurt and they make use of your body...you described it to me, after all.”
She stomped her hoof with indignation. There was a fire behind those eyes of hers that would not be put out so easily. “I won’t stand for it. I can’t just sit back like some…” her eyes darted from left to right as she tried to gather her words, “...some overly pampered princess that refuses to do anything! Even Twilight fights for everyone, doesn’t she? C’mon, Mister Corkscrew, you get what I’m saying, don’t you?”
I looked at Corkscrew, and he shared my sentiment with a sigh. His thoughts were worn on his visage like a hat. Being the youngest of my group, he knew what it was like to be shunned until he was properly prepared for something. Just as well, I could tell he also understood my perspective also.
“See, here’s the thing…” he rubbed the back of his head, “There’s...no sorta way to tell what we’re gonna come across when we get to Las Pegasus. Heck, last time we were there, I nearly got burned alive. But that’s because I was prepared to endure the worst. Can you honestly say you’re ready to get hurt beyond what you’ve experienced before? And if you do get hurt, how do you think that will make us--and Pale feel?”
“...I’ve been imprisoned in Tartarus and have witnessed horrors that not many can come close to comprehending,” she explained as she lowered her head, “But...you have a point. If I were to get attacked because I was so foolish and callous...then you’re right. It would make Pale feel terrible.”
I stepped forward, and gave her a hug. “You’ve done more than enough, kid. Trust me. Everything from your planning to the info that you’ve given us has helped us more than you realize.”
When I let go, she looked up at me with a hopeful expression. “...Really? You...don’t think I’m dead weight?”
“...Kid, you broke me out of an abandoned asylum in the middle of the hottest region in Equestria, helped destroy a beast made of storms, and have repeatedly given us timely info.” I ruffled her mane with my hoof as a sign of affection with a smile on my face. “I think you’ve done more than enough.”
There was no time to waste. Part of me hoped that that would be enough to console her for the time being. And it worked...mostly. She was still a bit annoyed at the fact that she wasn’t allowed to play an active role in the current incident. I could tell by the way her eyes shifted away for a moment. But despite that, she accepted my stance.
“...Okay, Pale. I trust you. Just please don’t get hurt or anything…”
“I can’t promise that I won’t get hurt,” I said with a grin, “But I can at least assure you that I’ll always return in one piece. No matter what.”
Her smile was a bit more relaxed now. “Okay...good. I’ll leave you both be, for now.”
“Oh, and Neon will return to watch over you once he’s out of the hospital.”
“Thank you,” she replied as she left the office, “See you later, guys.”
Once she left, I was able to focus again. “Alright. You ready, Cork?”
“I’ve already taken the necessary precautions, boss. Let’s go.”
And so, we left to head out for Las Pegasus. We had to take the train once more since it was so far away. However, I felt a bit more confident since Corkscrew was actually by my side this time. I knew nothing would go wrong so long as we were together and could form a plan on the fly.
Get it? Fly? Pegasus?
Anyhow, the train ride itself was rather uneventful. However, once we arrived at the city itself, that was another story entirely. Though first, I had to take one of the various hot air balloons up to the entrance to the city since I didn’t have wings. My partner meanwhile, was able to fly up on his own. Lucky.
I met up with Corkscrew at the entrance to the city, and what we found gave us a start. It was twice as crowded compared to the last time we were here. If the reports were accurate, then this would be more than troubling.
“Wow,” Cork mumbled with a nervous expansion of his wings, “There are way more ponies here than last time. And a few dragons, griffons, and changelings to boot. But the point is, there’s a lot more potential damage that can be caused. A monster in a place like this would be pretty easy to spot, though.”
Easy to spot? Yes. However, the caveat was that a monster would adapt to its environment. If there was a lot of eyes here, then something threatening would likely be able to deceive those eyes.
“I actually think spotting it will be the most difficult part, Cork,” I spoke as I walked towards the resort.
“Wait...you think so?”
“You’ll see. If my hunch is correct…”
We kept going and sort of slipped through the crowd. Once we got inside, the pony at the front desk spotted us, and pointed us in the direction of Flim and Flam’s office.
Thank goodness because the bustle of the crowd had already started to grate upon me.
We took the elevator up, and when we finally got there, my suspicions were pretty much confirmed. Cork and I took seats at the brother’s office desk where they filled us in on the situation at hoof.
“Thank you so much for coming. We need the extra help,” Flim explained.
“You see, apparently we have a...shapeshifter in our midst,” Flam stated.
Corkscrew raised a brow. “But I thought changelings could--”
He was interrupted by Flim. “No no no, good sir. A traditional shapeshifting creature that wants to cause destruction from the inside. It could be anyone or anything at anytime.”
I leaned back a bit in my seat as I folded my hooves. “...I knew it.”