Food. That was what was on Copper’s mind as he walked the halls. He had hoped to find something, anything to eat or drink besides the local water. Hours earlier, when his stomach had growled at him, he had made attempts to wake Chrysalis. The only thing that managed to do was leave him with a sore side from where it made contact with the wall. Next time, he would not be gentle about it. But since he had already been out of the room due to this, he decided not to press his luck any further. So he had walked, or to be more accurate limped, down the halls.
He turned a corner and to his amazement, saw a large group of ponies. They were milling about in the center of a large room, talking, with all sorts of colors, mane styles and cutie marks. Copper stared for several minutes, before one of them spotted him and pointed him out to the rest. Everything went silent. He cleared his throat. “I was wondering if you would know where I could possibly get some food?” There was a muttering between them and Copper sighed. “Pony food? Something that I could actually eat? And maybe something to drink?”
There was silence again for a moment, before one of the ponies leaned towards a female pegasus and said, “Go and fetch Ellis.” She nodded and flew off.
Copper stood looking at the group, watching them with interest. They returned his gaze, though theirs was of suspicion and caution. He guessed that they all must be changelings who had taken on the form of ponies. After all, changelings all looked almost identical and it was easy for them to take any pony shape they had seen, or could think of apparently. Copper actually recognized a few of them. “I see some of you have been to Griflon...” he said slowly as he sat down.
“And other places.” It was a female earth pony that spoke. She was a light chestnut brown all over: body, mane and eyes.
He nodded slightly. “Yes, as I can see. I recognize a few of you...or the ponies you look like anyways...” Some of them looked panicked and a couple changed the color, or shape of their manes in a lot of little bursts of green flame. Copper put up his hooves. “Please, it doesn't matter.”
“Yes it does,” said the chestnut brown one. “We are trying to not look like other ponies.”
Copper blinked. “Well good luck with that. There are only so many colors and ponies in all shapes and colors. I have met ponies clear across the world who look exactly the same.” There were a few gasps from behind the pony and the changelings began to talk amongst themselves at this. She was glaring at him. “I have walked down a street and passed multiple ponies of the exact same color.”
The discussion from before began to escalate into an argument at this. “Down...the same street...” she said, staring at him. Her expression had softened slightly, to become more thoughtful.
He nodded. “Oh yes. Usually there are little details that are different, eye shape, mane length, tail details...stripes...and type. Unicorn, pegasus, earth pony. Though those are a bit more of a major detail.” The argument was dying down a bit as they seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion.
“I...see...” She looked at Copper, as if she could peel away the outer layers and expose him for what he was.
“What's your name?” he said, looking at her. He wasn't sure if changelings even had a name, but he had to ask. It was only polite and a good way to find out.
Though there was a bit of a hesitation and another argument that started up about names behind her, she finally spoke, “Chestnut.”
Copper smiled at her. “Glad to meet you Chestnut. I'm sure you know my name, but I am going to give it to you anyways. My name is Copper Feather.”
She nodded slowly, staring at him. “Yes. We all know who you are.”
“Another thought,” he said, addressing the whole group as he held up his right hoof, showing the scars. “Details like this. Scars. Spots. Stripes even. That sort of thing can really single a pony out and make them unique.”
“Yes well those are a bit more difficult.” She spun around to the group. “Will you knock it off? Try and at least act appropriately near him!”
He arched a brow at them and opened his mouth to speak. “Are you causing problems, Copper?” He looked to the side to see Ellis walking down the hallway. Well, more swaying down the hallway. But he knew it had to be Ellis from the way she spoke in that soft, light tone.
“Not problems, per se... Just, giving a few pointers?” He gave Ellis a smile, which she did not return. He quickly removed it and put in place an impassive look.
“It looks like you're causing problems,” she said as she watched the ponies arguing. A few had gotten a tad physical.
“Yes...well...with this evidence... I can see how you would think that...” He watched as Chestnut took out three ponies who were fighting, each with a single hoof. He made a mental note not to get on her bad side.
“So, you were looking for food?” Ellis said as she turned away. “This way. There is food in the castle, though probably not as extravagant as you're used to.”
He arched a brow at her. “Dear Ellis, I have eaten maggots and worms. And a dozen other things that were foul and I can't even describe. Even the local water is better than some of the things I have eaten.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I see...well then, this will be a feast. We get food shipments every few months...so we only get things that are meant to last.”
“Mhm.” He took a deep breath, the air was starting to grow on him and he didn't even cough anymore. “Well, at the very least, it'll be the best thing I've eaten in four years, besides dirt.” That comment caused him to pause. “Was I buried?”
“No. You were taken to special chambers once you arrived and partially frozen to keep you from rotting.”
“Uh...good...” That had kind of worried him a bit. He had hoped that he hadn't and it was a slight comfort. Though being frozen was not. “So they froze my corpse...”
She nodded. “Yes. I am surprised Queen Chrysalis had not explained to you what happened. I would have thought she would love the look on your face.” She looked back at him and Copper immediately tried to look impassive.
“Yes...well...it was probably enough for the look that I had when I found I'd been dead for four years.” He sighed, shaking his head. “But...how exactly was it done?”
“That, I do not know. You would have to speak to Queen Chrysalis for it. I know some sort of dark Magic was used, but more than that I do not know.” She turned down a hallway that lead to a staircase going down.
“Dark...magic...” he said slowly, staring at her from the top of the stairs before following her. “That is some serious food for thought... Doctor Whooves must have been desperate if he resorted to Dark Magic.”
“Extremely,” she said, looking back at him. “And time will tell if it was worth it.”
His brow wrinkled slightly. “That's a tad harsh, Ellis... I was...kind of hoping that we could be friends.” She gave him a look that was far more harsh than her words. He sighed and shrugged. “All right...not friends then... It's just hard to not have friends anymore.”
“I can only imagine.” It was at this point Copper realized something. She was a lot like how he used to be. Purposefully distant. Calculating. Knew how to get a job done and didn’t want any friends. She was a bit ruder than him though; he at least acted friendly.
“So what exactly do you do around here?” It seemed like a harmless question.
But the way she faltered slightly and nearly took the last few steps in a tumble made him realize that it probably wasn't. She looked back at him and he put up his hooves. “I do a lot of things.”
“All right.” He guessed that would be the best answer he got out of her, at this point anyways. Then he looked around at the huge room they had just stepped into. The first word that hit him, was kitchen. The second was ginormous. Thoughts raced through his head. “Why...would changelings need a kitchen...” he mused, staring around.
“I don't know. Queen Chrysalis never told me. And I never asked.” Ellis set off down a row of ancient ovens.
“How...” he hesitated and then sighed. “You're really not a questions type of griffon, hm?”
She looked at him, frowning slightly. “No. I'm not.” Her demeanor seemed to sour the more time Copper spent with her and talked with her.
So he decided that he wouldn't speak with her unless she prompted him. He had dealt with ponies like this before.
Odd... There should have been a flashback there, shouldn't there? He stopped, staring into nothingness. When had he dealt with ponies like her before? He couldn't remember. The fact was, he had not had a little flashback episode since he woke up. Nothing. Not even a flicker. He had gotten used to them in his down time. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember Aquis, or Jeta until he had mentioned them to Luna. His mind was in more pieces then he had even guessed. “Are you coming?”
He looked up to see Ellis a ways away, glaring at him. “Ah. Sorry...” He trotted up. “I...” He hesitated. “I wasn't lost in thought. And that caused me to think.”
She stared blankly at him. “You weren't lost in thought...” she repeated, staring at him.
“No. It's...” He looked at her and remembered the type of griffon she was, then waved a hoof. “Not important. You wouldn't care.”
There was hesitation. Was she interested? “All right...” she said finally.
He decided to see if he could push his luck a bit. “It's probably just something to do with the spell and me not all being back... Anyways. Where's the food?”
She stared blankly at him. “Not all back?”
Gotcha, that was easier than he thought it would have been. “Yup. The spell only brought part of me back. But Doctor Whooves said it was enough...” He sighed, shaking his head. “I know it's not. And I'm going to have some strict words with him tomorrow.”
“So you're not all alive?” Her interest obviously annoyed her, but she couldn't help it. It looked to Copper that she was fighting on whether to stare him down to make him shut up, or ask another question.
“Technically, as the Doctor put it...” Crud, now he was calling him the Doctor like other ponies did. How long had he been doing that? “He said technically I'm alive. But I'm technically still dead, because not all of me is here.”
The look she was giving him now was a bit uncomfortable. He looked around quickly for something else to look at and caught his reflection. “So you are some sort of undead?”
But her words were lost on him, as he moved towards the reflective surface, which was an oven that had been shined, recently. “Is...is that really me...” He looked, in a word, dead. His eyes were not copper, but completely black, the pupils red. His hair was matted and torn. Burned in many places and he could see his skin underneath in several places. The bone of his missing wing was showing again. Most of his feathers where burned away and bone was showing in that wing as well. He looked battered, beaten, bruised, burned, slashed, smashed and broken.
She looked at the reflection and then at him. “Yes.”
“I...” He tried to think of the word for it and then slumped to the ground. “I look absolutely awful... I mean, I never looked too good before, but now... I look like a chewtoy in a Diamond Dog nursery...”
“So you didn't always look like this?” She moved towards him, though was keeping a respectful distance.
He looked at her, trying not to glare at her. “Of course not.” He looked back at the reflection. “Now I see why Luna thought I looked like Nightmare. If I look this bad outside... I can't imagine how I look in my own head...” He took a deep breath and then slowly stood up. “All right... Food. Food will make me feel better.”
And in all honesty, it did. He didn't look good; so what? That would make things a bit difficult, but who cared? He was full now and the food was actually pretty good. Ellis had left him to it and he spent the entire day down in the kitchen exploring. It was ridiculously large; it would take an entire town just to staff it and it could probably feed an entire empire. After exploring for a bit, he went and found the exact center. And that's where he spent most of his day. It seemed completely unused. There, he curled up and let the misery take him.
~
The next day found Copper sitting beside the pond in the garden. He had not been able to find his room and so had slept in some hallway. But the garden had been easy to find for some reason; it was probably because it was outside and a lot of doors lead out to it. Copper was enjoying an oddly comforting breeze blowing through the garden when he heard somepony call to him from one of the doors. “Copper!” Doctor Whooves did not sound happy.
He looked back at him, giving him a blank expression. “What?”
“Don't 'what' me,” he said, practically stomping the whole distance to him. “What in Tartarus were you thinking?”
“The buck are you talking about?” Copper didn't really feel like he deserved to be yelled at right now.
“You...” Doctor Whooves seemed to collect himself a bit, though he continued to glare at Copper. “I told you to rest and not be recognized. And here I found out that you contacted Luna. Luna of all ponies! She is a direct link to Celestia!”
“She's my friend," Copper said bluntly, finally returning Doctor Whooves' glare. “And I trust her.”
“Oh? Is that so? Well then, what makes you think she hasn't already told Celestia?”
“Because I would have known.” The air seemed to heat up under the force of their glares. “I know Celestia-”
“You know nothing! What do you think she would do? Run down here to check if it's true? She's not stupid Copper.”
He turned fully to face him. “No. She's not stupid. But she's cocky. She would have tried to contact me. She would have sent me a letter, trying to tell me everything's okay and I should come back.”
“Why in Tartarus did you need to speak with her?”
“Because I needed to make sure. Make sure that she was still on my side. And it was worth letting Celestia know to find that out.”
“No it was not!” He stomped his hoof down and something made an unpleasant crunch. Doctor Whooves ignored it.
Copper stood up now. “It was for me! You have no right and no say in what I do, who I talk to, or where I go.” It was hard not to strike him.
“I have no right? You and your little plan could cost us everything!”
“It's cost us nothing. It's not my fault you couldn't handle things. That you had to bring me back from the dead with some sort of Dark Magic that's not even brought me all the way back and turned me into some undead monstrosity. What nerve you have. I chose to die. You had no right to bring me back!”
There was several seconds of silence, as Doctor Whooves stared at him. “Copper, I-”
“No. Buck you. I didn't ask to be brought back. I didn't want to be brought back. Back into a world where everyone puts everything on me. Where I can't get the rest I want, or the rest I deserve. I chose to let myself die, because I was sick of it. Sick of ponies like you!” He shoved Whooves hard, mostly to get him away from him. “Sick of ponies who can't just do things for themselves! Who need ponies like me to do the things they should do for themselves!” He took a few deep breaths. “But no. You brought me back. So we're going to do it my way, my way do you hear me? My way. Not yours. We're following my plan. Not yours.” He grit his teeth as a thought struck him. “Do you even have a plan?”
The Doctor was picking himself up after the shove with slow purpose. “No. I do not have a plan. But any that I was trying to come up with, you've already ruined...”
“Good!” Copper said and pushed passed him, moving back to the path.
He glared at Copper. “You just have to have it your way, don't you.”
“My way works,” he snapped, looking back at him. “And obviously things didn't go your way. Otherwise I'd still be dead. Four years you had to try things and you just kept me as a backup plan. And don't even try to say it took that long for the spell. I know there is no magic that takes that long to take effect. Four damned years.”
“You have no idea what it's been like-”
“Oh? Don't I? I've seen tyrants, I've seen murderers, I've seen ponies being used and abused for no other reason but for the fact that they were there. No, you have no idea what it's been like. Not you. How many days have you spent among ponies? Tried to ease their worry? Tried to tell them that everything is okay, that things would turn out right. That you could bloody well fix things.”
“Every day,” Doctor Whooves said, glaring at him. Daring him to say anything otherwise. “I have spent every day trying to make things better. Trying to find ways to beat her. Yes, you were a backup plan. One that I had hoped to not use.” He took a deep breath. “So what's the first step in your plan?” The tone of his voice made the hairs on Copper’s neck raise up.
He grit his teeth to not scream at him again. “First step is already done. Now I just need to get to Aquis before Twilight.”
“What makes you think she'll be there?” Again with that tone, Copper had to grind his hooves into the gravel to keep from striking him again.
“Because I asked Luna to.”
His eyes narrowed at Copper. “What makes you think she's on our side?”
“Not our side,” Copper snapped and stood up a bit straighter. “My side. Not ours. Not yours. I am not on your side.”
“And what if you're wrong?”
“If I'm wrong, then things go back to how they had been for the last four years. Me dead and you failing.”
Copper saw him snap. He took a few steps towards him, before Chrysalis stepped in front of him. “Enough. Do you realize how hard it is to sleep with you two screaming?” She yawned, covering her mouth with her hoof, which wasn't very effective. She looked over at Copper. “Why'd you not come to bed last night?” she said in that sultry voice of hers.
But Copper was in no mood for it. “I did not want to.”
She frowned a bit, but the Doctor beat her to a response. “And why would you be so interested in his bed habits Chrysalis?”
Her gaze moved to him and she smirked. “Oh Doctor, surely you are not that naive.”
There was a few seconds of silence as he glared at Copper. “You have been...” He hesitated. “Feeding her?”
“Yes.” The look on his face made it all the more pleasurable to admit.
“I... How could you be so foolish?” He stepped slightly to the side to get Chrysalis out from between them. “She is...she is just using you.”
Copper looked at him and then at her. “I know.” He looked back at Doctor Whooves. Chrysalis actually seemed surprised. “I am not an idiot. I know that the feeling isn't mutual, nor is it probably healthy. But...it is still nice to love somepony.” There was silence before he continued. “Besides. I am used to being used.” He stood up and turned away. “Now if you'll excuse me... I need to get to Aquis.”
“You can't be serious,” Whooves said, staring at him.
“Serious? Of course I am. I doubt somepony like you could understand it Whooves...but somepony like me takes what they can. Especially when they're the kind of pony I am.”
~
Havel Beach is quite a beautiful place. There are a few towns scattered along it and it hardly rains there. It stretches from the Havel River down to the Corter River and lots of ponies like to spend long days there. But what surprised Copper as he walked along the Havel River towards the beach was the seaponies. A lot had happened in four years apparently.
The river had dozens of them, talking with ponies on the land. There were even some sort of floating shops that moved a bit up and down river, run by seaponies. Copper wondered whether or not this had been his doing. But that wasn't important right now. The world looked a bit darker than he would have liked through his goggles. He had had to tint them to hide his eyes. Ponies would be frightened of them. He had been heartbroken to find that the cloak Rarity had made him had burned up, but they had somehow gotten his old cloak. It didn't feel as nice or as warm, but it hid him.
Nopony paid him any attention, which was how he liked it. It annoyed him how good it felt to be walking the street like this. Back doing a job. If only he had been able to go alone. “So this is Havel?” He looked over at Chestnut, who was staring at everything wide eyed.
He sighed a bit and nodded. “Yes. This is Havel. Of course, it wasn't this big last time I was here... It was just- Ah. There it is.” There was a building, almost right on the edge of the river just before the beach.
“Seas Ponies?” She read the sign hanging over the door aloud.
“Mhm. It's been here for a very long time. It was a bar and looks like it still is.” He looked around to make sure they were not being followed. But he was sure they weren't. That was almost a disappointment. He couldn't wait till ponies knew he was alive again. He couldn't wait to be all the way alive again.
“It sure looks old...” she said as she followed him up the stairs and onto the deck. Copper had explained that the buildings by the river and the beach had to by raised, in order to avoid flooding problems.
“It is.” He pushed open the door and peered around the gloomy interior. It was almost exactly like he had remembered it. The only difference was the pony behind the bar. He walked towards the bar, ignoring the ponies that watched him. He waited till the barpony looked up at him.
“Afternoon, can I get you something?” he said, with an almost annoying cheerfulness. He was a brown color, with golden colored eyes and mane.
Copper guessed his cutie mark was drink related, but he couldn’t tell from this side of the counter. “Yes...where's Coaster?”
The young pony blinked and he was indeed young. “Whacha want with the old pony?”
He smiled a bit at him. “I'm an old friend. Really old. I needed to ask him something.”
“I don't think I know you.” The voice was deep and came from at least a foot above Copper. He turned slowly to see the large, very large and fairly old, pony. He had golden eyes and mane, but the rest of his body was a grayed black.
“Oh really?” Copper said with a slight grin. “Well then, how's all that money you're making off of my scuba helmet?”
The large pony stared at him for several seconds and then blinked. “Well blow me down! I thought you were dead!”
They both laughed slightly. “Yes well...can't really talk about it yet and it'd be best if ponies still thought that I was. For now.”
“Aha. On one of those jobs, eh? Well...damn pony. What can I do for you?” He turned to the younger pony. “Chives, go and see how your mother is.”
Chives nodded and practically ran out of the room. “Your colt?”
Coaster nodded and laughed. “Damn right. By Celestia it has been a long time, hasn't it Copper? He ain't old enough to drink yet, but the colt's got more talent in him in his left hoof than I've got in my whole body.”
“Well, many fish could also make that claim,” Copper said with a smirk.
There was a silence and then they both laughed. “Celestia it has been such a long time since anyone's had the nerve to make jokes at my expense. C'mon, let me buy you a drink.”
“Sorry Coaster, you know how it is. Work and all.” He hesitated. “But I'll be sure to come and have a drink with you when I get the chance.”
Coaster nodded slowly. “All about the business...” He looked at Chestnut, as if seeing her for the first time. “And who is your lovely friend here?” He smirked and nudged Copper. “Finally get yerself a girl?”
Copper shook his head. “This is Chestnut, my current associate. Not out of choice,” he added, with a look at Coaster.
“Ah, babysitter, eh?” He laughed again and moved over behind the bar. “Well then, what can I do for you?”
“I need two sets of scuba gear. And if you know where she is, I need to speak with Jeta.” Copper moved to the side of the bar, glancing back around the room. Nopony was paying any attention. Again the feeling of disappointment.
“Oh? Well, you're in luck then. She's actually in town right now meeting some diplomat from Canterlot tomorrow.” Copper went rigid, his mind racing. He had not realized that they would send someone to meet her this far from Aquis. “Not good news I take it?” Coaster said frowning, guessing from his expression.
“Just...unexpected... Do you know where she is?” This could actually be a good thing.
“Oh she's over in the Under Pony. It's a seapony bar a ways up the river. You probably passed it on your way here.” He started to pour a drink. “You probably won’t have trouble getting in. They're starting to let other ponies in their places now. But things are pretty unstable right now...”
He nodded slowly, Chestnut was staring at the drink he had poured. “Yes... Thank you. Will I need anything to get under there?”
“Nah.” He pushed the drink to Chestnut. “On the house,” he said with a wink, before turning to Copper. “They've got an air bubble under there, with one of the stones we use with the scuba stuff. A big one. Just gotta hold your breath for a bit till you get in.” He chuckled softly.
Chestnut sniffed at the drink, nudging it gently. “What is this?”
“It's a trotch. On the rocks,” he said laughing. “Not much of a drinker?”
She shook her head slowly and then drank the whole thing in one go. Both Copper and Coaster exchanged glances. “Hm. Not bad,” she said, smacking her lips.
Coaster opened his mouth to speak, but Copper cut him off. “Well I hate to ditch you so soon, but we'll catch up next time I'm by and have more time. Come on, Chestnut.” He pulled her gently towards the exit.
“But I want another trotch,” she said, looking longingly at the bottles on the shelf.
“We can get you something at the Under Pony. Thanks again Coaster.”
He laughed. “Anytime Co-” he stopped and cleared his throat. “Anytime. Come and see me again if you get the chance.”
That was a nice save, Copper had to admit. “I thought you couldn't eat or drink anything?”
“We can,” Chestnut said, there was only the tiniest hint of stumble in her steps. “We just don't gain sustenance from it.”
“But apparently you can get drunk,” he said as he looked up the street and began walking.
“I've never had alcohol before,” she said happily.
“I can tell from the way you downed that trotch. You're supposed to sip trotch. Not down it one go... Otherwise you can't enjoy it.” Copper was searching for something, but he wasn't sure what it would look like.
“Oh but I enjoyed that quite a lot.” She smiled at him.
He sighed and shook his head. “If you're going to start drinking, you need to appreciate it. Especially a good trotch whisky.”
“If it means I get more, I'm all for it,” she said through a bit of giggling.
He sighed softly and then spotted the sign. “Ah. There it is.” Over the side of the river was a sign that said Under Pony, with an arrow pointing down into the river. He wasn't surprised he missed it, he hadn't been looking for it. “Now, c'mon. I'll buy you a drink.”
It was a quick swim down into the depths and then they were suddenly through a bubble. There at the bottom of the river, was a bar. It was much dimer than Seas Ponies, but that was mostly because it was lit by glowing coral. There was a few hooves deep of water filling the place and a lot of seaponies. Some of them looked at Copper and Chestnut as she made her way in behind him. “So...drink?” she said hopefully, looking around.
He looked around and there, in a corner table, floated Jeta. She floated, staring at a drink which had probably been sitting there a while. He made his way slowly over to her, trying not to splash too much. A few hooves away from her, he couldn't help but smile. She hadn't changed at all, but that was to be expected of a species that ages so slowly. “Mind if we join you, Jeta?”
Jeta sighed and shook her head. “No...go ahead.”
Copper moved over and sat down a seat away from her and Chestnut sat even further away. “Anything you would recommend?” he said, looking at the menu that was sitting on the table. “Try not to pick something too expensive Chestnut...”
“I don't know... First time I've come here.” Jeta said, her gaze hadn’t moved from the glass since they had arrived.
Copper moved over beside her and picked up her drink, taking a sip of it. “Yuck. How long have you been sitting here Jeta? The ice has all melted into your drink.”
Her face scrunched in annoyance as she looked up at him. “Hey that's my drink. Who do- … You...” Her eyes widened and she lept at him, wrapping her flippers around him. “Copper!”
He put his arms around her, smiling. He could feel tears splashing onto his shoulder. “Hey now. What's up? Why are you so miserable?”
She pulled back, staring at him. “But wait...you're dead.” She suddenly looked panicked, frantically looking around the bar. A waiter came over to them. “You can see him right!?” She accidentally slapped Copper with her flipper.
The waiter hesitated, looking at Copper, who nodded slightly. “Yes Lady Jeta...” he said and cleared his throat. “What can I get you?”
“Trotch please!” Chestnut said with a grin.
Copper sighed softly and chuckled. “Make that two.” He looked at Jeta. “Actually, three.”
The waiter nodded. “Yes sir, three Trotch's.”
Copper nudged Jeta slightly, smiling at her. “Now come on, why are you so depressed? I haven't seen you this depressed since the day I had to leave Aquis.”
Her cheeks puffed up slightly and she smacked him across the shoulder. “You have a lot of nerve showing up now. Four years I thought you were dead. Do you know how much I cried?” She was crying now. “And then you just...show up out of nowhere, with some...drunk pony and ask me what's wrong?”
“It's a long story Jeta, but I was dead.” Her eyes narrowed at him. “I'm telling the truth.” He pushed up his goggles and back his hood at the same time. “I wouldn't lie to you.”
She gasped and covered her mouth with her flippers. It was a long stare, filled with a lot of tears, before she clung to him again. “Oh Copper... I'm so sorry...”
He smiled a bit as he put his arms around her again. “Hey now. It's all right. Now, surely you can't still be upset over me after four years. At least not this depressed. What's wrong?” He caught Chestnut's look and frowned at her. “Seaponies are very physical,” he said defensively, she put up her hooves.
“It's this whole diplomat thing...” she said with a sigh. “I just... I don't know how to treat a diplomat...you don't count...she and her friends are coming to tour Aquis and try and negotiate a more stable peace between Aquis and Equestria...and I'm supposed to be there for everything and make sure her stay is comfortable...and...and...” She started to sob.
“Oh come now, Twilight isn't that bad,” he said, smiling at her.
“You...you know her?” Her eyes widened, staring at him.
“Yeah. I'm the reason she's coming to Aquis at all.” Smack.
“Damn you Copper!” She sat down in a huff and Copper chuckled. “I have been panicking over this for days. And then the day before she arrives, you pop up and tell me that it's your fault? Gah!” She slumped over the table.
Copper rubbed her back gently. “Hey now. She doesn't know I'm here. And I didn't realize she'd bring her friends...” He glanced at Chestnut, who had, while he was distracted, drank all three trotch's and was swaying slightly. He sighed. “But what I need is for you to arrange a meeting between the two of us. Just the two of us. I need to talk with her.”
She looked up into his eyes and he saw her shudder as she looked away. “Why?”
“I...” He thought on how to word it. “I need her help to fix me.”
“Is that why you look so awful?” She said, looking down at her empty trotch glass and her frown deepened.
“Yes. I'm...broken. And she's the only one that can help me.”
She looked up at him and took a deep breath. “All right. What can I do to help?”
He thought about it for a little bit and then smiled at her. “Everything.”