//------------------------------// // Subject 185: Couple's Sorrow // Story: Interviews With Equestrians // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// “Anything! Yes! I swear!” Spectacle yelled. Cheerilee raised a brow and sighed with a roll of her eyes. “You can start by apologizing to my husband. From there, you can start working on the relationship you have with your own family. The Mayor and Ms. Inkwell can decide what you should endure next. That isn’t up to me.” Spectacle seemed overly nervous at the show of mercy. As if she expected something much worse to happen. But she didn’t hesitate. She ran over to me, and practically threw herself down at the floor. “I’m sorry..I know you probably won’t accept my apology, and you have every right not to...but I want you to know that I fully intend to repent for what I’ve done to you, sir. I’m just so…” I rubbed my temples to try and formulate a good response. “It’s...as long as you’re aware of the mistakes you made, and improve in the future, I won’t pass any judgement onto you. The real criminal was the monster you chose to ally with under false pretenses. You were nothing more than an ignorant accomplice--and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Don’t beat yourself up over it, please.” “Okay…” she stood up once more, “But if there’s anything I can do for you, just name it.” It was always awkward to deal with individuals who did horrid things that showed genuine remorse immediately afterwards. Mainly because of how uncommon they were. But I did my best to accommodate the situation. “Don’t ever accept the ‘assistance’ of another creature. Time and time again, we’ve come across scenarios that have resulted in damage to innocent lives when ponies try to mess with dangerous forms of magic. Why, your own daughter fell victim to this at one point.” The unicorn stared at me with a fearful gaze. “...she did?” I nodded. “Absolutely. Granted, I was much younger at the time. It was about twenty years ago when Trixie got ahold of the Alicorn Amulet. An artifact so powerful that it nearly caused her to destroy this entire town.” I pointed at the mare, “And now look at yourself. Repeating the same mistake. It’s as they say. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Are you going to allow yourself to become part of the problem or the solution?” Spectacle took a step back to think about what I had told her. “...Gosh. I never knew that she would even be capable of such things. She never told me about the things she got up to in her spare time. I suppose that’s why she’s been so...distant towards me.” Blech. I utterly despised that word when used to describe the relationship between two or more individuals. “Distant.” Not only was it a vague term, but whenever I heard it, it usually meant things were unhealthy but no one wanted to talk about them. As a result, many a conflict usually went unresolved due to how often folks tended to shy away from addressing the issues in question. Silence was deadly, after all. “Forgive me for saying this--given that I haven’t raised any children of my own,” I prefaced to avoid a counterargument, “But you need to start doing a better job of looking out for her. Nay--you both should start looking out for each other. Do you understand? If you do that for yourself, then I could start to forgive you.” There was some hesitation from the mare, but at last she saw reason and complied. “...Yes, sir.” “And one more thing.” “Yes?” “...Do yourself a favor and law low for a while,” I warned her, “There’s no telling if that monster or some similar creature will come back because they see you as an easy target. You and your family need to stay out of harm’s way whether you intend to mend your relationship or not.” “Oh...is that all?” Her eyes fell at such a notion. It was as if she didn’t want to make an attempt to reconnect with Jackpot to make up for what was lost. “I suppose I can do that. I’m not sure if it’ll help, but…” That’s when Cozy interjected to offer her own take. “Now hold on just one second. I may not be an expert in parenting...but I know exactly what it’s like to be abandoned. In fact, I lashed out just like your daughter did, but in a far worse way because of that abandonment.” She let out a soft sigh. “Sadly, I wasn’t as lucky as she was. Trixie managed to get her crap together and live out a successful life without you. I’d have done anything to still have my parents look out for me…” she looked up at Spectacle with a powerful, authoritative glare, “So you and Jackpot should at least make an effort before you give up like a lousy pair of--” Cheerilee came over and put a hoof over Cozy’s mouth before she could finish that sentence. Thank goodness too. I was just about to do the same. Great minds think alike as they say. “What she’s saying is...do your best for Trixie by trying to do your best for yourselves. Is that doable for you, ma’am?” my wife questioned her. “...I think I can.” Cheerilee nodded. “Good. And by the way, where is--” From the front door, I heard a familiar voice. “And so can I. I feel utterly terrible for what I’ve done--or haven’t done in this case. So…” I looked up to see Jackpot. “Sir? What do you mean?” “I’m going to make that effort. I’ve been so...blinded by my life as a bigshot in Las Pegasus that I never stopped to consider the weight of my actions. So to show my gratitude...here.” With a flash of his horn, a set of tickets appeared in my, Cozy, and Cheerilee’s hooves. “Free, front-row seats to my next show. And for you in particular, officer…” My wife and surrogate daughter both glanced at the tickets with awe. But I was a bit curious as to what he had for me specifically. “Er...what?” He used his horn to make a specific little item appear. An old magician’s top hat that was jet black and out of style. Signed by Jackpot himself and it even contained a magic wand?! “This was the very hat and wand that I performed my first onstage trick with. A massive explosion of ostriches that flew right out!” “I remember that one!” I blurted out, much to the surprise of Cheerilee and Cozy. I regained my composure, and cleared my throat. “Ahem...I mean, I appreciate the gift, sir. I’m honestly impressed that you’re still performing even into your sixties...ish?” He shot me a snicker. “A magician never reveals his secrets.” He then glanced at Spectacle, “Come on, hun. We have...a lot to catch up on.” She nodded, and turned back to us one last time. “I’ll be right there, Jackles. And thank you all for giving me this chance to redeem myself…” she said as she trotted over to Jackpot. I shook my head. “It was all you. Just remember what we said, and do your best. Goodbye for now.” With a puff of smoke...they disappeared. Wait a minute, did they actually perform a trick together? Maybe there was hope yet… I looked at Cozy and Cheerilee. “I suppose that went well, yeah?” “...I’ve never been to a magic show before,” Cozy stated as she looked back and forth between us, “Is it fun?” Cheerilee giggled and pet Cozy on the head with a hoof. “It’s...as fun as you make it out to be, dear.” “It surely is!” I said with a confident smile, “One time, he pulled an entire minotaur out of thin air!” “What?!” Cozy shouted, and flew into the air with newfound interest, “That sounds amazing!” “Right?!” Cheerilee simply rolled her eyes with a playful smile. “Oh you two...I’m going to go get dinner started.” As she pranced off to the kitchen, I exchanged a knowing gaze with Cozy. We were going to make her a fan of stage magic yet. For now, all I could do was pray that Quick Draw and Guttersnipe weren’t lost without me...