Pop Pot. It was a name to be feared. Much as Copper's name had become, though for very, very different reasons. As Copper was somepony who could fix problems by talking things out, or maybe getting into a slight scuffle, Pop Pot was different. Pop Pot was, in all senses of the term, a killer. Of course, he had his own personal rules. No females, usually. No children. That gave him quite a bit of respect among other killers and many ponies, Copper included. But he had never seen Pop Pot before and looking at him now, really looking at him, he was almost as he had pictured him. Just a tad more wiry and he did not expect so many burns. What caught him most off guard were those eyes. Those deceptively pleasant golden eyes. “Ur ye gonnae say somethin'? Ur jist staur at me aw day?” The accent was thick and Copper only had vague recollection of hearing it before.
“I'm thinking,” Copper said, his eyes not leaving Pop Pot's.
“Thinkin' ay whit? Whit yoo're gonnae dae tae me?” His face melted into something of a smirk.
“No. Thinking of what to say to you.” Even the smirk was pleasant. As if this were all some kind of misunderstanding and that he was his friend.
“Ah, that's a lot harder Ah hink. Ah ken Ah wooldnae ken whit tae say tae somepony fa jist tried tae kill me,” he said as he nodded appreciatively.
“Yes, you would simply make them go...pop,” Copper tried to keep his tone from getting nasty and mostly managed it.
“Och aye. It makes things sae much easier. Skips aw th' arguin'.” That smirk was something that could almost be infuriating.
But Copper had to stay calm, at least for now. “I suppose that it could end a lot of trouble...but I find myself in quite a conundrum at the moment...”
He arched a brow at him and Copper noticed the wince. “Whit kin'?” he said, with his smile coming back.
“The kind of trying to figure out what to say to you. I don't want to do anything to you-”
“Nae yer style.”
“Yes. Not my style. I do not beat up someone who is defenseless...but you did try to kill me.” Copper sat down; he wondered what kind of life Pop Pot had had that made him become this way.
“Woods it be alrecht if Ah started us aff oan talkin'?” he said with a larger smile. Copper almost envied him for the joy that all this must be bringing him. He gestured a hoof to tell him to continue. “Weel, believe it ur nae, Ah was quite upsit tae hear yoo'd croaked.”
Copper arched a brow at him. “Why?”
“Aye hud a lot ay respect fur ye an' yer words. Ye got problems solved wi' words, whaur others hud failed. Gotta respect a pony wha can dae 'at.”
Copper's brow rose further. “Yet you tried to kill me.”
He waved a hoof dismissively, before speaking again, “Misunderstandin'. Ah thooght ye whaur some impostur. Yoo'd bin deid fur fower years, an' Ah thooght some dunce hud got it in their min' 'at they coods be ye. 'At dornt sit reit wi' me.”
His face became contemplative as he worked out what he had said. “So, you took it upon yourself to kill my impostor?”
“Nah. Somepony hired me fur 'at. Aot a braw discoont thocht,” he said with a grin. “But Ah ainae gonna e'en try an' tak' oan Copper. Ye didne e'en gie a scart oan ye, an' 'at was mah best shot.”
There was a moment’s hesitation, before Copper spoke. “Yes... Well, I have avoided many assassination attempts in my past...”
“Ah ken. Ah seen th' ponies who've tried. Disrespectful wark in mah opinion,” he said as his head tilted to the side slightly. “Figured it whit yoo're gonnae say tae me yit?”
He took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes. After hearing that, I think I do.” He looked at Pop Pot, trying to see if he could read anything off the pony’s face. But he was impossible. After all, he was an expert. He had stared down many ponies in court rooms and gotten off free. “I am not going to ask you who hired you.”
“Ah thenk ye fur 'at. Ah woods hate tae hae tae refuse tae teel ye.”
“Yes... I kind of assumed that. But I think first, I have to ask...why the gold armor?” It had been bugging him. He had thought it had been one of Celestia's guards, or something.
“A scooby, an' a disguise.”
“A scooby...” Copper said slowly, staring at him as his mind searched for old slang words he had heard. “A clue?”
Pop Pot's grin widened, as he nodded. “Aye.”
He thought for a few seconds and then nodded. “Thank you. Though the clue was unnecessary. I already know who hired you.”
“Och aam sure ye dae. Ye gart a bonnie powerful enemy thaur.” It was odd the way that Pop Pot's head wavered as he spoke.
“Yes, I'm aware...” He sighed softly and stared down at the ground, then looked back up at Pop Pot. He watched as his smile slowly faded as he stared him down. Finally, he spoke again, “Are you going to try and kill me again? I know there's no such thing as a failed job for you... You always get the pony you're after.”
He shook his head from side to side, almost frantically, saying, “Nae. Ah took th' job coz Ah thooght ye whaur somepony else. Ah am nae gonnae tango wi' Th' Copper. Ye awreddy proved ye coods tak' me in a fair barnie, Ah dornt want tae e'en try an shan a body.”
Again he had to pause to search his memory for a translation. “Shan a body... Unfair fight.”
His grin snapped back, as he nodded. “Yoo're bonnie guid at understandin' me. Most ponies cannae fin' a lick ay sense in whit Ah say.”
“Yes... Well, I have practice,” Copper said, staring at the floor. His mind was racing now. Pop Pot was no longer a threat. The pony may be a killer, but from what he knew of him, he was not a liar. He had stood in front of juries and told the truth. Yes I killed that pony. No I am not sorry. And somehow it worked, as if no one believed him.
“Och aye Ah ken. Ye spent quite a lang time in mah homelain.” He got an odd, far away look in his eyes before he continued, “Sometimes Ah wish Ah coods gang back thaur... See th' rollin' fields... An' th' shepherds wi' their flocks...”
“But they'd hang you,” Copper said with a slight smile. He had a great many places he'd like to go back to, but he would not be welcome.
“Aye...” He smiled a bit at Copper. “That's somethin' we hae in common.”
~
Darkness sometimes gets so thick that it gets its own texture. Its own feel. So dark that you can actually feel it, to the point where it was almost suffocating. But it wasn't all that bad. In fact, Copper found it almost soothing. Of course, the cold seemed to dull the pain of the bruises and even though the hay he was laying on did not smell pleasant, it was soft. Now if only he could find sleep. His mind fell back, trying to recount the days events. Where exactly had it gone wrong?
He had arrived early in the morning and was greeted by a rather sullen looking pony. Gray all over, but had the air of one who believed their purpose was important and planned to carry out their job. He was built quite large. “Morning,” he had said to him and...did he smile? He couldn't remember. Probably.
To which the pony had replied, after quite a long pause, “Yes I suppose it is morning.” Well, technically that's not what he said. What he actually said was, “Och aye Ah suppose it is morn.” But his mind sort of filled in the gaps and changed words around to become something more accustomed. He had spent weeks in Trotland and the accent had finally broken to him and he could follow the slang quite easily.
“Are you Mr. MacFlour?” Copper said, looking at him. Ponies had made it quite clear that it was flour, not flower. Any hint that you say flower, could get you a burst ower th' heed.
“Aye,” he said as he turned around. Copper was to follow him. That's probably when the day went bad. It had been Mr. MacFlour, but he honestly didn't know anything about the pony. Of course, now he knew that he was a criminal and that most of Trotland was run by some sort of criminal organization of some kind, which he had gotten on the bad side of apparently.
Mr. MacFlour had brought him to see the Boss. Deserving of the capital letter, Copper decided. Whether that was the pony’s name or not, he didn't know. Didn't rightly matter at the moment anyways. The Boss had wanted to see him because he had convinced quite a few ponies to side with Celestia in new trade agreements. He didn't know that Boss was the opposition. The thought dawned on him that that is what he had been doing a lot of lately. Opening trade agreements.
It had taken quite a long time to get to Boss and his mansion, though castle would be more of the proper term. Long enough, that when he finally entered the large room and saw the large built pony behind the desk, he said, “Afternoon.”
“Ah, Copper. I'm glad that you could come and see me on such short notice.” Again Copper’s internal translator was running on automatic. He rather liked it. “I do hope Mr. MacFlour was not rough.”
That had aroused his suspicions quite a bit. “Should he have been?” he said, glancing back at the empty space where Mr. MacFlour had been.
That had been another mistake, one that he should not have made. He took his eyes off Boss. His instincts had him lean slightly, which softened the blow a bit. Still hurt a lot and knocked him several hooves across the room and sliding into the wall. “You've been sticking your nose in where it don't belong,” was what he said as Copper slowly got back to his feet.
He glanced down at the front hooves which had hit him. They had metal on them, much like a horseshoe but one that covered the entire hoof. “That...was a bit uncalled for...” he managed, as he watched Boss come towards him.
“You've been pulling my business. You've got a lot more coming to you.” For somepony so large and with the metal hooves, he moved quietly. This was someone who knew how to fight.
The next blow would have left Copper short a few teeth, but instead, it forced Boss to look for a carpenter to fix the wall. Copper was accustomed to fighting, too. A return hoof to Boss' muzzle sent him sprawling backwards and Copper moved quickly away, circling the edge of the room. “So you planned to take it out on me? That's hardly fair.” He watched as he got back up, annoyingly quickly. A good fighter, strong, quiet and tough. Not a good combination with the fact that he was the leader and probably smart.
“Life ain't fair,” he said as he circled. Or, tried to. Copper had planted his back to a wall and wasn't about to circle around. A wall was a good thing to have at your back sometimes. Especially in the middle of someone else's castle.
“I know. But we're both grown adults and I think that we could solve our problems with something other than hooves,” he said as he watched Boss pace back and fourth. After a brief thought, he crouched slightly as another blow came at him and hit the wall. “No I suppose not.” He placed a blow to the knee of the leg that had slammed the wall beside him. Then a second to his muzzle again.
Again he sent him sprawling and to a slight satisfaction it took him a bit longer to get up. “I see ya got some skills.”
“Don't live as long as I have, making as many enemies as I have, without them.” He thought that had been a good line, but then Boss had called in his lackeys and several ponies had come in.
He sighed as he curled up more on the hay. One or two he could take, three was difficult and he usually ran from four or more. But there had been nowhere to go and he had gotten the hay beaten out of him. Then the Trotland Guard had shown up and arrested him. Him. Copper Feather. He was a diplomat. No one arrests a diplomat. This was going to make things very difficult for Boss. Would have been better politically to simply kill him.
Hopefully that was a thought that Boss didn't have. It would be easy to say that there was some kind of accident, a train wreck or something. His eyes closed slowly and he took a deep breath. He had been down here for quite a while now he guessed. There was no way for him to keep track of time down here, but he assumed that it was the next day.
The sudden light would have hurt if his eyes had been open, but thankfully they had been closed and all he saw was the red glare. “Gie up,” somepony said and he slowly opened his eyes as he stood up. It was a Trotland Guard. A unicorn, whose horn was glowing. He wasn't sure if it was one of the ones from the other day, but he didn't look happy to see him.
“Ya know it's a tad dark down here,” Copper said, it was worth the jab in the ribs to make some sort of joke of it. He knew a few ribs were broken. So was his wing and judging by the limp, his leg as well. Or maybe it was just sprained. Either way, he had quite a long time of healing ahead of him, unless Celestia herself was going to use healing magic on him again. “So where are we going?”
“Haud yer weesht, an' donner,” the guard said, giving him another jab.
Shut up and get going. “Hod what?” Copper said and abruptly started moving so that the third jab missed.
He was jabbed again, but it felt worth it as he was lead up towards the stairs at the end of the hall, it wasn't long before the went into a large room, where he saw a lot of guards. At least two dozen. Most of them were chatting, or sitting at desks and filling out paperwork. The room fell silent as he walked up the stairs and stared around the room. There was a harsh feeling in the air and it was all directed at Copper. Copper glared around the room, matching every stare and intensifying it. Most looked away in a hurry, though a few managed to hold it for a moment. “Gie gonnae,” the guard said and jabbed him again.
He spun and pinned the guard to the wall with one hoof. “Prod me again and I'll beat the living hay out of you.” His voice was soft, though harsh. He was tired and angry and in a hay of a lot of pain. Copper had had enough of this. “You may not care about the fact that I am a diplomat, but I swear to Celestia, I will see every last one of you hang if I even think you're going to prod me again.”
The look of panic flew across the unicorn's face and Copper let him go. “Alrecht, sorry...” he mumbled and then cleared his throat. “If ye coods please heed upstairs...”
Copper nodded and took a deep breath, feeling something crack as he did. He winced and limped up the stairs. At the top there was an open door. “Come in Copper.” Behind a desk at the other end of the room, was a pony with a dark brown, with a black mane. He stared at Copper as he entered, with pale green eyes. “Ah am th' commander ay Trotland guard. Mah nam is Arthur Guard.”
“What can I do for you, Commander?” Copper said as he took a careful seat on a cushion on the other side of the desk.
“Aam nae sure if ye ken hoo things wark aroond here-”
“I am finding out,” Copper said, frowning at him. “You let criminals run the country.”
There was a few seconds of silence, before he spoke. “Yes...weel, things coods be a lot waur.”
“I'm sure it could...but that doesn't change the fact I was nearly beaten to death,” he said as he took another deep breath, which caused another crack and a wince as he put his leg loosely around his chest.
There was a few more seconds of silence, as the Commander stared at him. “Th' most Ah can dae, is gie ye it ay haur,” he said slowly, rubbing his face slightly.
“Out... Yes. You mean you're going to kick me out?” Copper's eyes did not leave his, though the Commander seemed to want to look at everything but Copper.
“Tae be blunt, aye. We cannae hae ye runnin' aroond Trotland, upsettin' th' Boss.” He sighed softly and moved some papers around on his desk.
Copper was about to protest, but part of him reminded him that he was in no shape to argue. “Fine.”
~
“Quite... Boss doesn't like either of us,” Copper said, as he stared at Pop Pot. “So... Pop Pot...”
“Mah friends, thocht Ah hae huir uv a few, caa me Pots. An' if Ah consider anyain aroond haur a mukker, it's ye,” Pots said with a grin.
He hesitated. “All right... Pots.” Pots’ grin spread further and Copper cleared his throat before he continued. “What are your plans now? Now that you're not going to kill me.”
He waved a hoof dismissively in the air and for the first time, Copper noticed a bracelet. It was a small chain, with several little things attached to it. “As suin as aw thes is sorted it, Ah'll be oan mah way.”
“I'm afraid that it's more complicated than that,” Copper said and watched as Pots grin slowly faded. “You hurt a seapony. In the room below mine, there was a seapony who you injured.”
His grin faded slowly. “A seapony in th' room bellaw? Ah checked 'at room, an' thaur was nopony in it.”
“Well...you must have not seen him. But...down here, causing injury to a seapony is quite an offense. They tend to drown ponies who do.”
For the first time, he actually looked shocked and frowned at him. “Droon ponies? But 'at was an accident. Wa was he e'en doon thaur?”
He shook his head. “I don't know... It's so unusual for them to be alone... I will need to go and speak with him after this...but, for now...I'm not going to let them drown you.” You're too useful. “I'm sure Jeta will understand.” I have a plan now.
The grin snapped back and he nodded at Copper. “Thenk ye. Aam sure yoo've awreddy thooght ay mony ways fur me tae repay ye.”
Copper smiled slightly as he stood up, saying, “Oh I've thought of a few. But now, I think I have a seapony to go and speak with...” He turned and moved out of the door.
“Ah'll be seein' ye,” Pots said as Copper left and closed the door.
Copper looked at Jeta, who was floating a respectable distance away from the door. He didn't know if she had been listening, but he really didn't care too terribly much. “No one is to enter this room and he is not allowed to leave,” Copper said, as he moved beside her. “He is not going to be drowned... Now...I'd like to speak with the seapony who was in the room below mine.”
Jeta nodded and smiled slightly. “Yes... He's in the medical wing.”
He nodded and headed down the hallway. When he realized that she was following him, he stopped and said, “I don't need an escort. I know where it is, Jeta.” He managed to give a bit of a smile. “I'll be fine. Right now, I'm more worried about Pots... I know how protective and aggressive seaponies can be.”
She hesitated, staring at him before she spoke, “I'm worried about you...Why do you want to spare a pony that tried to kill you?”
He made a quick explanation of what Pots had said and added to the end, “And I believe him. Pots isn't really a pony to lie...” He gave Jeta a soft nudge, smiling at her.
Though she frowned at him. “I still don't like it...” she said, staring back at the door. “He's not a good pony...”
Copper straightened up a bit. “Nether am I.” With that, he turned and left. She did not follow and he was glad of that. He wasn't a nice pony. He was a pony that got things done, even at the cost of lives. Albeit not that many lives, and he had done his best to not kill, or even hurt when he could, but there was no way he could say otherwise. He was not a nice pony.
He passed a few seaponies on his way to the medical wing, which was near the front half of the castle. Castle Aquis. It was what was written on signs and tapestries. But it never felt like a castle to him. It was too alive with bodies moving about. This felt more like a town, that went upwards. Why was he thinking like this all of a sudden? He stared about as he entered what was known as the medical wing. Surprisingly, it was aired in. A few hooves of water gave seaponies freedom of movement, but there was air here. It had not been like this the last time he had been here.
~
Bright light can be just as darkness, with its own sort of texture, but it is nothing to fear. Though Copper would have honestly preferred the dark with how he felt at that moment. How long had he been out? He had left Trotland by ship. There had been a storm and now he was waking up in what felt like a hospital room. One filled with water. Slight panic jolted him all the way awake and up into a sitting position. But logic came back in quickly. He was wearing a bubble stone. Then he hurt and slunk back into the comfort of the bed.
In the distance, seeming to float through the window was the Shoo-bee-doo-shoop-shoop-bee-doo of seaponies. That was a comforting thought. He knew he was safe now. All he had to do now was wait for someone to come and check on him. Moving wasn't an option, judging by the feeling of dull pain that coursed through his body. Thoughts drifted through his mind. Then one stuck. He was almost done. Just a few more jobs. Just a few more she had said. A trip to Appleoosa. Then Griflon was next to deal with somepony called Lers and then a few more that Celestia wouldn't tell him about. A few more years and he'd be done. He had done his best in Trotland. There wasn't even a hint on the outside that some sort of underground criminal organization that ran the whole place.
A seapony floated into the room lazily, wearing a nurse’s white smock and hat. “Excuse me...” he said softly, his voice coming out far more hoarse than he expected.
She froze and stared at him. “Y-you're awake!” she exclaimed and before Copper could reply all that was left in the room was him and a bunch of bubbles.
“That was weird...” he mumbled as he got more comfortable on the bed. By what he heard, there was a lot of commotion going on. What kind of room was this? It didn't look like a recovery room. He'd been in those before and they weren't this stuffy. They were stuffy, but this room almost gave new meaning to the word. Several more seaponies moved in quickly and one pony wearing a bubble stone which he recognized. “Dr. Hive... What's going on?” It was easy to recognize him. He was, for one, completely white and wore spectacles that looked far too tiny for anypony to actually see anything through clearly.
The seaponies were starting to move the bed out of the room. He was vaguely aware of many other beds in the room. “I... Can only assume that you're confused,” Dr. Hive said, as he followed closely behind the bed. “You see, Copper... How do I... Explain this...”
“By getting to the damned point,” Copper managed to say, staring at him.
Dr. Hive cleared his throat. “You have been in a coma for three months, two... Weeks and four days.” That shut Copper up, much to the obvious pleasure of Dr. Hive. “Your ship capsized in a storm and you... Were found drifting, unconscious, by seaponies. They always swim closer to the surface during storms, as you... Well know.”
Copper managed to find his voice again. “A coma...” It wasn't much, but at least he managed something more than a wide eyed stare.
He nodded. “Oh yes. One that... We... Were quite sure you... Wouldn't come out of. Letters are already being sent out of your awakening. I... am sure Jeta... Will be here... Within an hour.” That speech impediment of his would drive somepony crazy someday, Copper was sure of it. Pausing every time before words that started with W and after his I's. Copper was sure he did it on purpose.
“What...did Celestia say about this?” Copper said. His voice felt so far away and was difficult to bring forth.
“She... Was quite worried. Unfortunately it... Was too dangerous to move you, as you… Were badly beaten. And I do not mean by the storm,” he said as he adjusted his glasses. “I...know hoof marks... When I...see them. Apparently Celestia has had some serious... Words with those in Trotland.”
“But what did she say about me being in a coma?”
“She... Was very upset and actually had plans to come down here herself next month... When she had some time to leave the kingdom,” he explained as though to a child. “I...am bothered by the fact that she thought it so unimportant.”
Copper shook his head and regretted it immediately as pain surged down through his body. “No... It's to be expected. She doesn't have time to travel the kingdom, let alone leave it,” he said softly, mostly to reassure himself. “I am surprised that she would have even considered coming down here for me...”
~
Copper realized that there was a seapony beside him, waiting respectfully for him to be given his attention. “Yes?” Copper said, looking at the seapony.
This seemed to catch him off guard. That was not something that was supposed to be said in this situation. “Uhm... Can I help you?” the seapony managed, looking at him.
He blinked. “Oh, yes. Sorry... I'm looking for the seapony that was injured last night in the explosion.”
“Ah. Tont... Yes, well visiting hours-” the words faltered under Copper's gaze and seemed to beat the hay out of the tongue on their way back down. “Of course,” he managed after almost ten whole seconds. “This way.”
Copper almost struggled to keep up with the seapony, who led him to a door, gestured at it and then quickly swam away. He hesitated at it. There had also not been doors the last time he had been here.
~
It had been almost ten minutes before Jeta burst through the doorway and she would have probably tackled Copper if Dr. Hive had not been there to restrain her. “Please, Miss Jeta. He is still severely injured and should be moved as little as possible.”
After a moment, Jeta calmed down. “Who did it to you?” she said, in an accusing way that was toned to inflect that it was Copper’s fault he was in such a shape.
It was. That was obvious, but he had hoped that she would have been a bit more comforting and less accusatory. “Honestly it doesn't matter.” And I'm fairly certain I may have killed a few of them. “I'm not going back there anytime soon.” Again he sank into the bed more. Everything ached, although the pain was not as bad as it had been before.
“Doesn't matter?” she said, pulling from Dr. Hive and rushing to the bed side. Copper wished he could sink further into the bed. Sometimes he forgot that he learned that gaze from her and this was an unwanted reminder. “You almost died!”
“But I didn't,” he said soothingly and smiling slightly at her. “And I feel a lot better.” His gaze went past her to Dr. Hive as he left the room. He wasn't sure how he felt about such a large hole for a door.
~
Now he missed the hole. It would have made it easier than it was going to be. He didn't bother to knock, but opened the door slowly instead. Inside was a seapony, who he immediately recognized as the one who had been under the rubble. He was heavily bandaged, including one over his left eye as far as he could tell from this angle. Copper was unsure what to say to the golden seapony, who was staring peacefully out the window. So he opted for safe ground. “How do you feel?”
The pony turned to look at him and Copper noticed that it was not just his eye that was bandaged, but most of the left face. Somehow he managed a smile. “Oh much better. Dr. Hive says that I'll be able to leave in a week, but I have to do my best to stay in bed until then,” he explained as he watched Copper close the door, move to a chair beside the bed and sit down on it. The seapony opened his mouth to say something, but Copper cut him off.
“Stop,” Copper said as he held up a hoof, continuing, “Do not thank me. Please. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. I don't want your thanks, for something that was my fault.”
The seapony’s smile widened a bit. “All right...” he said, as he turned back to look out the window. “I won’t say it. But you have it whether you want it or not.”
Copper couldn't stop himself from smiling. “Okay, I can accept that. As long as I don't have to hear it.” He took a deep breath, looking at him. “What is your name?”
Slowly he turned to look at him. There was a slight pause before he spoke. “Tont.”
Copper looked at him before smiling. He had heard the nurse seapony, or whatever they called themselves, mention his name, but it was polite to ask. “Well, Tont. I'm Copper Feather. Whether you know it or not.”
Tont smiled at him. “Oh I know who you are,” he said and his gaze turned once again out the window. “No seapony doesn't.”
“Yes...” Copper said, nodding slowly. “I'm aware of my odd fame around here...”
“You're the reason we have Lord Fralg protecting our waters. No one wants to bother us anymore with him around.” His voice was awfully low. Calm. Perhaps a little drowsy.
It was odd hearing JonSong referred to as Lord Fralg. He knew that it was technically his name. JonSong Fralg. But the title of lord seemed a bit unsettling. Copper wondered if he was the only pony to still call him JonSong. “Yes, I hear he does do a lot of good...”
Silence fell after that. Minutes ticked by as Copper joined Tont in staring out the window. Copper was just about to leave when Tont spoke again. “What is to happen to the pony who tried to kill you?”
Copper hesitated, before speaking, “I don't know.” That was the truth. He would try to get him out of here alive, but that may prove difficult.
“I hope he's all right...” Copper stared at him for several seconds, trying to work out what kind of pony Tont was. He was kind, soft spoken, probably quite easy going. Probably didn't have too stressful of a job. “I don't want him drowned...”
“I think that's the most important thing,” Copper said, smiling. “No one will drown him, as long as you don't want him to be drowned.”
He nodded slowly in response. “After all...it was an accident...”
Realization started to dawn on Copper as to the reason he even came to visit Tont. To satisfy his curiosity. “What were you doing all alone in that room?”
Tont did not respond, remaining quiet as he stared out of the window. Copper refused to move to another topic and merely waited. Finally Tont said, “Would it change anything if I answered?”
Copper looked at him and then sighed. “No. I was just curious.” That felt like a lame excuse for asking what apparently was a hard question. He had not expected that. “I'm sorry for asking.”
He turned to him and smiled. “It's fine, Mr. Feather. If you really want to know...I did not go in alone and I am...saddened that I was alone...but it is also a good thing. Because no one else was hurt.”
Copper’s mind went back to the pile of rubble that he dug through. The bed had been buried, but Tont had not been on it. He had been on the floor beside it. That probably saved him. Not as much rubble there. And it was also the reason Pots never saw anypony in the room. “I am still sorry for asking. It was none of my business. And it still is not.”
“It's fine,” he said again and turned back to the window.
What had happened? Copper was even more curious, though he knew ponies. Seaponies especially. Seaponies were easier because they were a lot simpler. But this seapony had hidden depths and Copper didn't have the heart to try and dig into them. “I'll leave you to get your rest,” he said as he stood up and headed towards the door.
“Thank you for visiting,” Tont said, smiling at him. Copper realized that despite everything, the seapony was truly happy. For some reason that he could not even begin to guess at, Tont was happy.
Copper gave him a nod and then left the room, closing the door behind him. He leaned heavily against the wall, taking deep breaths. Something was nagging at him, something bad. Then, an annoyingly familiar voice came up behind him, “I... See you are here, Copper. Could you please tell me... Why you are harassing my patients?”
Copper turned to look at Dr. Hive. He almost glared, but then he saw his face. He looked so much older and tired. But worst of all, he seemed a mashed together ball of emotions. Sadness, grief, anger, depression and many others. “I am not harassing anypony. I merely came to make sure Tont was all right...”
“You could have... Waited until visiting hours. There are rules you know.” He pushed the spectacles back up, they seemed a bit larger than Copper remembered. “I... Would think you of all ponies... Would know the importance of rules and how... We all have to hold to them.”
“Yes,” Copper said simply as he walked back down the hallway towards the exit. That damned speech impediment was going to drive him absolutely mad.