Epilogue:
“Happiness...I’m Glad”
“So Hoofcuff, that’s the whole story as far as you know it?” The short blond earth pony asked, eyeing her with suspicion. Next to him stood a much taller unicorn with a brown coat and a darker brown mane. The unicorn held a notepad in his magic, jotting down whatever Hoofcuff’s responses were.
Hoofcuff let out a tired sigh, shifting slightly and pulling the shock blanket a little tighter around her body. “I’ve already told you at least five times that yes, that’s the whole story Agent Winchester.”
“I see” The earth pony nodded, turning to look at the unicorn. “Well Sammy, do ya believe her?”
The unicorn shrugged. “Yeah Dean I do. I mean she’s been nothing but honest to her own mistakes the entire time. Not like Iron WIll…”
“Wait… You talked to General Iron Will already?” Hoofcuff asked, raising an eyebrow. The blond earth pony nodded.
“Oh yeah. Talked to him about an hour ago. Tried to blame it on basically everypony but himself. Even tried to get us to detain you for treason.” The pair of agents then snickered, obviously amused by what the general had said. “But don’t worry, he’s currently under investigation.”
“In fact, we’ve basically interviewed everypony but you,” the unicorn chimed in, flipping through his notepad. “Let’s see we’ve got statements from Miss Tree Flower, Miss Fluttershy, Dr. Cheerilee…”
“Wait why are you telling me all this? I mean why would you give me all these details to an ongoing investigation?” Hoofcuff asked, cutting the unicorn off. She was instead greeted by Dean laughing.
“Told ya she’d ask Sammy! That’ll be five bits.” he chuckled, extending a hoof. Hoofcuff simply blinked.
“Okay what the buck is going on here?” she asked incredulously, and the tall unicorn simply rolled his eyes before answering.
“Well, actually it’s pretty simple Agent. If you couldn’t already tell, this whole little fiasco would probably mean you’d lose your job. Now what our boss thinks that this was a total waste of material, especially on your part, since, according to your record, you’re on the best we’ve got.”
“What are you saying?” Hoofcuff asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. The shorter pony answered her this time.
“What Sammy is trying to say is that our boss has authorized us to offer you a position as a…watcher over two new entries to our witness protection program. They’re a mother and daughter I think you’ll love ‘em.” he finished, a big, cocky grin on his face.
Hoofcuff blinked, stunned into silence at the proposition. She leaned back slightly, trying to weigh the pros and cons of the situation. On the one hand, saying no would probably mean she’d be roped into another, mind numbingly long series of questions by even more government agents, and not only that, but her entire career would most likely go down the drain. On the other hand, saying yes not only meant keeping a job, but it also meant she’d still be able to pursue the job she had signed up for, which was finding Equestria’s worst. She nodded slightly, arching an eyebrow.
“What do I get if I say yes?” she asked, looking towards the pair of agents.
“Our boss will make sure that nothing from this fiasco gets on your record and you’ll only have to answer to him.” The short blond one replied.
Hoofcuff smiled. “Alright then. I’m in. But one thing. Just make sure that that poor mare is safe okay? Last thing the poor mare needs is to be left alone or something.”
The unicorn nodded. “Oh don’t worry, she’s fine. We’ve got her being looked after by one of our top agents.”
Hoofcuff raised an eyebrow. “Who?”
“Exactly what I said. Top. Agents.”
///////////////////////////
“So do you two like the cake I made ya?” The bright pink mare asked, sliding the humble, yet still wonderfully tasty looking red velvet cake. “Sorry if it’s not up to standards, but I really didn’t have much time to plan for anything really, and especially not a cake!”
Fluttershy simply smiled gently. “It-It’s good...I just not use to ha-having a normal meal with others I guess.” she said simply, hiding behind her mane again. Tree Flower smiled warmly, reaching an arm around to give her a gentle, supporting hug. The older mare still had several bruises from their recent brush with death, but otherwise looked fine.
“That’s okay dearie,” she said, “I understand.” she turned to look at the pink pony sitting opposite from them. “And thank you very much Agent Pie, I can’t thank you enough for making us this delicious cake. I mean, how did you know that red velvet was the family favorite?”
“Oh I just made a shot in the dark! And please, call me Pinkie.” The pink mare replied, smiling broadly. “Granted I really, really wish I could have thrown a big welcome party for you, but things have been really busy and everypony’s a tad stressed lately and on top of that the ice cream probably melted and it’s not even soup day.” she took a deep breath, regaining all the air she must have used for her long unbroken sentence. “So I guess this’ll have to do.”
There was a pause between the three. Fluttershy took a moment to just simply appreciate the feeling of peace that pervaded the small cabin. However, from underneath her mane, she could tell that the expression on the agent’s face was somewhat somber, as if the idea of not being able to make anything more than the cake made her depressed.
“Hey are you alright?” She asked, looking towards Agent Pinkie with concern. Almost instantly, Pinkie seemed to notice her dourness and sat up straight.
“What? Oh I’m fine, just fine. Just happy to see you happy ya know.” she said, running a hoof through her mane. “Just kinda wished I could make something better than just a cake. For a friend ya know.”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “You consider me a friend?”
Pinkie nodded, her face noticeably brightened. “Oh for sure you are!” she chirped, her smile genuine. “I mean, I have my own meanie little grumpy pants I have to deal with up here.” she tapped her forehead slightly. “So I know what it’s like to have a lot of red in my ledger.” she leaned forward, putting a supportive arm on Fluttershy’s shoulder. Fluttershy looked down, a sad look on her face.
“Yeah but...I’ve hurt so many...caused so much pain…” she sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye.
“Oh dearie,” Tree Flower said, pulling Fluttershy into a gentle hug. “It’s all over now, you’re safe now and away from anypony who wants to hurt you.”
Fluttershy sniffed, clutching her mother tightly. “I know...I know...I’m just...I don’t know what to do you know?”
“Oh don’t worry dearie, we’ll get there. We’ll get there.” Tree Flower cooed, “Just take it a day at a time.”
Pinkie meanwhile, simply felt a warmth go through her at the sight of Tree Flower comforting Fluttershy. “I’ll just show myself out then.” she said quietly, making her way to the door.
“A-Agent Pie…” came a frail voice and Pinkie turned to see Fluttershy looking towards her, her previous sadness now looking tired, yet content. “Thank you so much.”
Pinkie simply smiled, tipping her head towards the other mare as she stepped out the door.
“You’re welcome...friend.”