//------------------------------// // Chapter 32 // Story: Old Scars, New Chances // by Arcticbrony //------------------------------// “I have to say, thank you again for helping me with this. I really appreciate it.” Mary Care thanked Zoey and Vernus who were both currently in her clinic. They had been spending some time in the park together, just relaxing before they stumbled into Mary. Zoey introduced them, since Vernus had never met Mary Care, or vice versa. They had invited Mary to join them, but she had tons of work to do, so she had reluctantly declined. “It’s no problem, we are happy to help!” Zoey replied from her seat. Seeing how distressed Mary had looked, Zoey had volunteered for both her and Vernus to help her with her work. And that was why all three of them were going through the small mountain of paperwork that Mary had let pile up over time. “Well, one of us are at least.” Vernus grumbled, but was quickly silenced by a glare from Zoey. “N-nothing!” “No, I mean really… I could have never managed to get all of this done by myself.” It truly was a wonder how one pony could let something get so backed up. “You really need an assistant. If it is usually this much, I mean.” Zoey said. She knew that Mary had a bad habit of putting things off, but still. What looked like a year of paperwork, was only for the last week or so. “It… has been a little but more, ever since Pokémon showed up, yeah… perhaps, I really do need an assistant.” Mary let out a long sigh as she signed and stamped yet another paper and moved it to the finished pile. “So, what were the two of you actually doing in the park?” Vernus looked up, and he was just about to answer that question, but Zoey beat him too it. “Oh, we were just relaxing a bit. Vernus thought it would be good for us to get out for a bit. Ethan and Brawly are watching over the warehouse… besides, they have been so caught up with each other lately, I'm not even sure if they will notice that we are gone.” Both Zoey and Mary started giggling and laughing at that while Vernus just looked between the two with a confused look. Wondering if he had missed something. “Oh, those two are just so cute together.” Mary clapped her front hooves together. “It's always great to see love when it's in the air.” Zoey kept her smile on, even though she let out a small sigh. “Yeah… But anyway.” She continued. “We were just relaxing in the park, catching up a bit. In fact, we were just going to go out for lunch before we ran into you.” “Oh, oh I’m so sorry, I did not mean to-” Mary began to apologize but was cut off by Zoey. “No, please don't apologize. It’s okay, it was just lunch, no big deal.” Zoey smiled, but Mary had noticed the downtrodden look that Vernus had on his face when Zoey had said that. She looked between Zoey and Vernus a few times before it clicked for her. “Y-yeah, it’s fine.” He said as he looked up to Mary and gave her a sad smile, Mary mouthing a silent “I’m sorry,” to Vernus who only nodded in return. His plans to take Zoey out on a date would have to wait. After several hours of hard work, and just a bit of goofing around on Vernus's part, the three of them finally managed to finish all of the backed up paperwork that Mary had let pile up. “Again, thank you so much you two.” Mary beamed as she levitated the last folder into its place. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.” “Well, I am certainly more than happy to have helped. After all that you have done for us, it’s the least I could do… I don't know about him though.” Zoey looked over to the chair where Vernus was sprawled out. He was laying on his back with his front and back legs stretched out and a blank look in his eyes. “So… much… paperwork…” Vernus groaned, his left eye twitching. “So… many… words.” It had not exactly been fun, but Vernus was not even trying a bit to hide his boredom. She had even caught him, trying to put himself to sleep with a Grass Whistle during the middle of it. But she had quickly slapped him out of that notion and put him back to work. Mary had just taken it in good spirit and laughed at the Leafeon's antics though. And as much as Zoey hated to admit it, that goofball had managed to raise their spirits considerably, making the boring work that much bearable. “Don’t worry, it’s all over now.” Mary comforted Vernus while laughing slightly at his antics. “But I have to do something for you, after all that help.” Mary lifted one of her hooves to her chin and seemed to be caught deep in thought before her face lit up. “Would the two of you like a cup of tea? Or perhaps some coffee?” She asked. “I know it's not much, but it's the least I could do for you.” And it truly was a tempting offer. But they had already been gone for several hours and Zoey figured that they should probably be getting home soon and- “We would love to.” Her head snapped to Vernus who had answered for them and was now sitting properly on his chair with a smug little smile on his face. “Oh, splendid!” Mary cheered, clapping her front hooves together in an excited manner. “So, what would you like?” Zoey was about to respectfully decline, it was not too long until she had to make dinner for everyone back home and… “Some tea sounds lovely.” Vernus smiled. And the more she thought about it, it did sound like a pleasant idea. Ethan would manage on his own. “Y-yeah, some coffee for me though.” She really was quite mentally exhausted after all that work now that she thought about it. A small break and some coffee sounded heavenly. “Great, I'll be right back!” And with that, Mary trotted out. Leaving Zoey and Vernus alone in her office. “Something is bothering you.” It was not a question, it was a statement. Zoey looked over to Vernus who kept his eyes on her. “I have known you long enough to tell when something is. That and ever since we arrived here you have been fidgeting, hesitating. Not acting like you at all. You even looked afraid a few times. You never look like that.” Vernus hopped down from his seat and slowly walked over to her. “I am your friend, family even.” He sat down in front of her. “If something is bothering you, please tell me. I can help, I want to help.” Vernus reached out and put his paw on top of hers. Zoey really wanted to tell him, she truly did. But she was afraid, Ethan was the only one who knew about the thing that was currently bothering her. And she had done everything that she could for it to have stayed that way. But recently, things had changed. And no longer could she ignore it. That was why she had wanted to go back home again straight after they had finished helping Mary, because she was afraid. There was something that she wanted to ask Mary of, but she was afraid of the answer. She was afraid that the outcome would be the same as it had been before. But she had to go through with it, she could ignore it no longer. But she could just not tell Vernus, she just couldn't. Not yet at least. “I-I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Zoey said as she kept staring down at the ground. “It’s just a little thing that I have to talk to Mary about… in private.” She pulled her paw away and held it close to her chest. “You know, girl stuff.” She put on a fake smile and tried to seem cheerful. But Vernus saw straight through it. Most people would, it was a poor performance. But, he did not dig any further about the subject. If Zoey did not want him to know, he would not pry. And if she wanted privacy, he would leave her alone. “Okay.” Vernus reluctantly gave in. “I’ll wait for you outside. Just… you don't have to carry such burdens on your own.” He said, giving her one last glance before walking out the door. All deal with problems in their own way. Some seeks the help of others, taking strength in their bonds to deal with whatever comes their way. Some just ignore the problems, letting them build up until they are too big to deal with, at least when you are alone. Having known Zoey for as long as he had, Vernus knew that Zoey was the type that wanted to deal with her own problems alone. Or at least she would try, and she would keep up the facade that everything was okay, up until the breaking point. She was never one to ask for help with such things. So, if she needed to ask Mary for help, then this was already something that had bothered her for a long time. Something that she could not deal with on her own. But he did not take any offence or hurt in the fact that she would ask Mary for help instead of him, or the rest of their family. Perhaps she thought that she was protecting them, shielding them from her problems. But in the end, by doing so, she was only hurting herself. But he would still be there for her, that was what a family was for, was it not? To be there for each other. No matter the circumstances, family always took care of their own. Always. “Huh, where is Vernus?” Mary asked as she came back into her office. Having missed Vernus as he made his way outside. She was levitating a small tray with three cups on it besides her. “Oh, he just had something that he needed to take care off.” Zoey lied with a fairly straight face. She really was not the best liar. But, if Mary saw through it, then she said nothing about it. “Oh… Well, I’m going to need to thank him again the next time I see him. My office hasn’t felt this organized in weeks.” She put the tray down on her desk, revealing a small cup of sugar and a small pitcher on it. “Would you like any sugar or milk in your coffee?” Mary offered Zoey with a smile. “Just a little milk, thanks.” Zoey smiled, watching as Mary did exactly that before handing the cup over to Zoey, taking one of the two cups of tea for herself. “It’s a shame that he had to leave in such a hurry though… I wanted to get to know him a bit better.” Mary said as she lifted her cup up to her lips and took a sip, only to quickly put it back down. “Oh, hot! Hot!” She waved her hoof in front of her tongue in a desperate manner. “A-are you alright?” Zoey asked, desperately trying not to giggle at the comedic sight. “Yeah…” Mary deflated a bit as she pulled her tongue back into her mouth. “Just a bit hot… But yeah. I was also interested in his anatomy. If those were actual plants or just camouflage and a lot of other things.” She let out a sigh. Zoey remembered the first few days after they had met Mary and all of the questions they had been bombarded with. “I’m sure that he wouldn't mind letting you ask him later.” Mary was a veterinarian, but it seemed that her enthusiasm for animals had carried over to Pokémon. Zoey could already vision the look on Vernus's face when Mary would ask him for samples. Vernus… really, really did not like needles. He had a bad history with them. “I'll be looking forward to that then.” Mary said gleefully, but perhaps with a bit more enthusiasm than was normal. Yeah, she was definitely going to have to warn Vernus. Zoey brought up the cup to her mouth and took a small sip. She could feel the hot coffee sting as it slid down her throat. Perhaps still a bit too hot, but it was nothing she could not handle. That and it was refreshing, filled her body with a certain warmth. But she was still afraid. She could feel herself growing more and more nervous as she thought about asking Mary about what she had been thinking about. “Just do it. Get it over with.” She kept repeating inside her head, psyching herself up to it. She had to do it… there was no backing out, she had to know. “Um, Mary?” Zoey asked, and the pony in question looked up from her cup of tea. “D-do you mind if I ask you something?” “But of course.” Mary responded with a kind smile, as if she could sense Zoey's nervousness. “I am your friend. You can ask me anything.” Hearing those words put Zoey at ease, if only a little. Friend. That was right. Mary was their friend… she was her friend. “Well, magic is pretty normal here in Equestria.” Zoey started, getting a nod from Mary who was waiting patiently to see where she was going with it. “Do you also use magic in your medicine, or medical professions?” It had certainly not been the question that Mary had suspected. And so, she hummed softly as she thought about it for a few seconds. “Well, technology has come a long way… but we do indeed mix science and magic within the field of medicine. At least to a certain degree. Why do you ask?” This was why Zoey had decided to ask Mary in the first place. She was a veterinarian so she had some knowledge about Equestrias medical advancements. “I… umm…” Zoey fiddled nervously with her paws as she looked down at the ground. After a few deep, calming breaths, she forced herself to look up at Mary once again. “Do you think that there are some things that you can do here in Equestria, that was not possible back in our world. Something that maybe can be fixed with your magic that was impossible with the technology and science we had on Earth?” With every word that left her mouth, Zoey grew more and more nervous once again and her voice was becoming quieter as a result. Mary looked upon her friend with concern. The curiosity from before was slowly disappearing and being replaced with it, instead. “Maybe?” Mary slowly said as she thought about it. “I mean… Magic is wonderful, and capable of such wonders. But, from what I heard from Ethan. We are way behind compared to the technology that you had. Why, what’s wrong?” Her curiosity was completely gone at that point, only the concern for her friend remained as she saw how Zoey was visibly shaking in her seat. “C-could magic possibly…” Zoey's breath became bore and more ragged and her eyes watery as she continued to speak. Her secret was finally coming out. “Could it fix, somemon that, was infertile?” Mary sat there in shock for a second or two, processing what her friend had just said. “Oh, Zoey…” Mary hopped down from her chair and quickly made her way over to Zoey who was quivering at that point. A few tears had already managed to sneak past her floodgates and dripped down her cheeks. “W-would anyone in Equestria be able to help her?” Zoey slowly forced herself to look up from the floor to meet Mary's eyes. “To help… me?” Her voice skipped a step as she had to force out her words. The dams had broke and her tears were flowing freely now. But Mary did not waste a single second and positively lunged forward and wrapped her legs around Zoey, hugging her tightly. “Honey… I'm so, so sorry.” Mary said softly, stroking her friends back as Zoey buried her face into her shoulder. “Just let it all out.” She cooed as she kept stroking her back. “Just let it out.” It was the most vulnerable Mary had ever seen Zoey. The usually strong and tough Zangoose was now reduced to a crying wreck, weeping into her shoulder. But she understood her pain, and she would be here for her, for as long as she needed. To be infertile… to never even have the option of having some foals of your own… it was a thought that had crossed her mind a few times, but she could not imagine how Zoey felt. To have such a thing affect her, Mary felt like she could cry on behalf of her friend as she held her. And a few tears rolled down her own cheeks too. But Zoey had asked if something like that could be fixed in Equestria, and Mary racked her brain thinking of something… anything. The body was… a fickle thing. There was so many things that could go wrong with it, and some of the inner organs were so incredibly fragile. So impossibly hard to fix once broken. Helping somepony that was born infertile was… not unheard of. Rare, incredibly rare… but it had happened. But that was often caused by some sort of birth defect. If the damage had come from something else… The more she thought about it, the less she liked the chances that Zoey had and she found herself hugging her a little tighter. Zoey was not even a pony… no matter how she thought about it, it definitely did not look good. “H-how did it happen?” Mary was not sure how long they had just stayed there, with her embracing Zoey, whose tears had stopped a while ago. “You remember when Ethan told you about how he found… rescued me, right?” Zoey sat back up, letting Mary do the same as they separated from the hug. “Of course.” Mary nodded as she listened intently to Zoey. “Well, I guess a bit of physiology explanation is needed first.” Zoey said as she started to prepare herself for what was to come. “I am a Zangoose. And we are normally immune to poison. But, there are a few of us that instead of being immune, when we get badly poisoned, we draw strength from that poison.” Zoey could see the sceptical look Mary had when she mentioned just that. “But… wouldn't that mean that you-” “We are still getting hurt from it, yes.” Zoey nodded, it was a pain that she knew well, too well. “That was the case with me. My fighting style involved getting badly poisoned, and rushing my opponents, overwhelming them with pure force.” Ethan had thrown her toxic orb away after she had been rescued. And she was grateful for it, there was too many bad memories in that thing. “But such a thing is not that rare, it's a known tactic actually… only that after the fight, usually you get a Pecha berry… or an antidote that takes care of the poison, and that's that.” “It still sounds horrible!” Mary insisted, and to someone who was not used to something like that, Zoey could see why she reacted that way. “Hurting yourself on purpose… why would anyone do something like that?” “To win.” It was a really simple logic. But many were willing to go through a lot to achieve victory. And then, there was those that took things too far. “But my…” She could not call that man a trainer. “Captor felt differently about that whole thing. I often went days without getting cured of my poison… sometimes even weeks.” Her chest tightened as she thought about it. “He would make sure that I did not die. And when he finally did give me an antidote, he would make sure to poison me as quickly as possible afterwards. It was an incentive for me to keep fighting. If I won, then I would get a potion, maybe even a antidote if I was lucky. Personally, I think he just liked to see me suffer.” She could not explain the joy that she had felt when that horrible person had been killed. “But as you can imagine… long term exposure to such a strong poison is not a good thing.” She ran her paw down across her sweater. “You have probably already guessed, but I'm not wearing this thing just as a fashion statement.” Mary already knew that she was not completely okay, that she was never at her full strength. But she had never told her why. “I… I think I knew. But I did not want to be rude.” Mary admitted as she was fidgeting slightly with her hooves, her ears laying flat down against her head. She had wanted to inquire about it before, but it had not been within her place to ask. “The poison it…” Zoey paused as her emotions flared back up within her, it was almost overwhelming. She wanted to cry again, but she felt empty, like she had no more tears to give. She felt so vulnerable, so weak as she sat there. That was why she had sent Vernus away, she did not want him to see her like that. “It wrecked havoc with my body. At first I lost patches of my fur… then some of my skin started to loose its color.” Zoey clutched the bottom of her sweater in her paws. “At the time Ethan found me, it had damaged even my internal organs.” She had considered showing Mary how she looked without her sweater, but she did not have it in herself to do that. Not yet anyway. “He tried everything to get me back to my original health. Even went to doctors and surgeons who tried to have him arrested on the spot. But there was little that could be done. The poison was allowed to do too much damage over too long a period of time. Not even the Pokémon Centers with their magnificent medical technology could do anything. The damages were simply too old. But through all their scans and things, they did find out… you know. That I could never have any babies, and that there was nothing they could do for me.” Not even their marvel of medical technology and wonders could do much for damages that were so old that most of it had already healed wrongly and become scar tissue. “I’m sorry, Zoey.” Mary sobbed. Zoey had not noticed before, but she had started to cry too sometime during her story. Her eyes were red and her cheeks wet from the tears. “Nopony should have to go through something like that… ever.” She sniffed, carefully wiping her eyes with her hoof. Zoey went over to Mary and sat down next to her before she continued talking. “It was hardest in the beginning. I refused to accept the news, I even went so far to lash out at the nurse Joy who told me then.” That had not been one of her proudest moments. But she had just been so angry, that something like that had been taken away from her and she did not even have the possibility of getting revenge from the person that did it to her. “I wouldn't even accept any help from Ethan, Vernus, or anyone.” She had originally been mad at Ethan for having killed her captor, for having robbed her of that revenge. But with time, she had been able to see more clearly and that anger had melted away too. “In time, things got easier. You already know this, but in time, I started to develop feelings for Ethan. Why would I care about my infertility when he was the one I was in love with. If we got together then… well, he could never have given me babies anyway.” She had still wanted some little ones of her own, even back then. But that had been her way of dealing with it. Her way of accepting it. “B-but after… after I got turned down. I started thinking about my future.” Zoey wrapped one of her arms around Mary and squeezed slightly. “If… if there was any chance that I could be fixed, that I could start my own family.” And even though she felt like she had cried herself dry earlier, there was still a few tears that found their way out. “I just want my own egg.” Zoey sobbed softly. “Not right away. B-but someday.” She did not even try to hold it back anymore, there was no use. “D-do you think that there is any chance for that?” “I…” Mary could not meet Zoey's eyes. Her friend had come to her, baring her soul to her, hoping that she would have an answer, a solution. How could she just tell her that there was simply nothing that could be done for her. That they simply did not have good enough medical knowledge in Equestria to even attempt something like that. She knew that she should always tell the truth, that it was the right thing to do. But she just could not crush her friends hope right then and there, especially not after she had noticed the look that Zoey was giving her. Pleading her to say that there was a chance, even if it was a slim one. “I… I'm not sure.” Mary spoke slowly, and she could feel a tightening within her chest and a bad taste in her mouth as she spoke. “I'll ask around and see if there is something that can be done. But I'll be honest with you Zoey. I… I don't think there is.” She could not bring herself to lie, it simply was not in her nature. All that she could manage was half a lie. And with the appearance of the Pokémon, maybe they would be making some major breakthrough within medicine… eventually. “I wouldn't get your hopes up… I’m sorry, Zoey. I'm truly sorry.” “No… no, it’s alright.” Zoey tried to regain her composure, but she was failing. “I just hoped, that there would be a small… tiny… chance.” And with that Zoey broke down once again, her whole body shook as she doubled over, hiding her face within her paws as she continued to cry heavily. She knew what the answer would probably be before she had even asked. But to have had the last hopes of her dream crushed like that… she just could not handle it. She was no longer the strong and tough Zangoose that she was known for. She was simply a girl, a sad girl who could do nothing but cry as her friend tried to comfort her. Zoey had no idea how long she stayed like that. But eventually the tears stopped. She truly had nothing more to give. She just felt tired, so very tired. “Are you going to be okay?” She could hear her friend, Mary ask her. And as she looked up, she noticed that she was still at her side. She had stuck with her the entire time. “No…” Zoey said as she shook her head. “Not yet at least.” Nomon would be okay so soon after something like that. “But, thank you for listening anyway.” She forced herself up, and could feel her body protesting as she did so. It was time to head out. But she did not want to head home, not yet. The others would notice easily that she had been crying and that something was wrong, no. Perhaps she would just wander a bit throughout town. Yeah, she liked the sound of that. “It’s what friends are for.” Mary gave a small smile as she followed after Zoey and led her to the door. “If you ever want… need to talk again, about anything, I’m here for you.” “I know, thank you.” Zoey kneeled down and gently embraced Mary one more time. Giving her one last hug before she was heading out. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.” It was a strange feeling for Zoey, since most of her other friends was members of their family. But she really liked the thought that she had somepony else that she could talk to, somepony else that she could trust. “So… what are you going to tell the others?” Mary asked. And that was the money question, wasn't it? Zoey could not explain how tempting it felt to simply tell the others nothing, to just hide this secret like she had done all along. “The truth? I think I’m going to tell them the truth.” Zoey admitted. She could not lie to the rest of her family. She knew that she had originally come to Mary to avoid the rest of them, but after having learned that her problem could not be fixed anyway, she saw no reason to hide it anymore. “But, perhaps not right away.” She needed time, time to think and gather herself. “Okay, that seems like a good plan.” Zoey nodded and rose back up, opening the door that led back outside. “Again, thank you Mary.” She smiled, and it was a big and genuine smile. She felt good, well, better at least. “See you later.” “Have a nice day!” Mary waved after her as Zoey left through the door and closed it behind her. As she walked out, she noticed a familiar face on a nearby rock. Vernus was laying down with his feet tucked under himself, his eyes closed and a relaxed look on his face as he basked in the sunlight. “You waited the entire time?” Zoey asked but did not get an answer in return as she walked towards him. And as she got closer, she could have sworn that the air seemed even cleaner around him. It sort of had a nicer smell to it. She knew exactly what he was doing, and while she enjoyed the sun as much as the next mon, she knew that it was something else for him and a lot of other grass types. In a way, she envied him that feeling, since she would never truly know what it was like for them. “Hey, time to wake up.” She gently shook him to get his attention. She knew that he was not sleeping, but Vernus could get really out of it when he was like that, so it was not too far off. “Hmm? Oh, hello there.” Vernus greeted her as he finally opened his eyes. “How did things go in there?” He stood up and stretched his whole body in a similar manner to how a cat would. “It went… alright. You really did not have to wait for me, you know.” She had been worrying him, that much was obvious. He had already known that something was wrong before she sent him out, and she had just brushed him off. She felt really bad about that now. “Hey, something was bothering my favorite girl. I couldn't just go home after that, even if you did not want to tell me what it was about. So, are you alright now?” Vernus asked as he hopped down from his little stone and stood in front of her. “I… no, no I’m not alright.” Zoey admitted. She really did not want to worry Vernus any more than she already had. But she did not think that she could avoid it. He always cared to much, so he would worry no matter what she did. “Oh… anything I can do to help?” A hopeful Vernus asked, his enthusiasm making Zoey smile, despite everything that had happened. She had been a fool to push him away, he deserved to know, they all did. And she swore that she would make it up to them. “Actually… I think it is.” Zoey said as she finally got an idea about what she wanted to do. “Great! What is it?” “How do you feel about going for a drink... or five?” She really was not the biggest drinker, in fact she rarely drank at all. But right at that moment, she could definitely go for dulling her senses and mind a few notches. “Um…” Uncertainty immediately lit up on Vernus's face, and she knew why. “If that is what you really want. Though you know that I'm probably not going to drink with you, right?” And that was the reason. He really did not drink, well, not anymore at least. “Of course I know that, you silly little Leafeon.” Zoey laughed. “But, I may need a friend to make sure that I don't go overboard. If that is alright with you, that is.” The truth was that she just did not want to be alone. Originally she had planned to be alone for the rest of the evening. But now, she really looked forward to spending some time with Vernus. “I think I can do that. “ “Sounds good. Let’s go then.” Zoey said as she took the lead. It did not take long for the two of them to arrive at one of the few bars in town. It was fairly quiet, still too early for most ponies to go out and enjoy the nightlife, but still late enough that they were open. The familiar smell of alcohol filled their noses as they entered. The lighting was dim, but not so dark that you could not see where you were going, just enough so that it would create a nice mood. They noticed another pony in the other end of the bar. He was sitting alone, nursing a bottle of his own. Even from the entrance it was easy to notice just how drunk he was, and both Zoey and Vernus silently decided to leave him alone. Other than him, the only other pony in the establishment was the bartender who stood by the counter, and was currently cutting up a few fruits. He was a pegasus with a bright green mane and a dark coat to match. He was currently wielding the knife in his mouth, but put it down as he noticed the new customer that had entered. “Hey there.” The barpony greeted them as they approached. It was not a pony that Vernus recognized, but Zoey was sure that she had seen him with Mignon a few times before. “You two got that translation spell on?” He asked as he glanced over both of them. “We sure do!” Vernus grinned, making the barpony let out a small relieved sigh. “Good, that makes this a lot easier. Got nothing against your kind, but I prefer to be able to talk to my customers.” Normally Zoey would have felt a little irked at that comment, but this time, she would let it slide. “So, what can I get ya?” The barpony turned around and let them see the large assortment of alcohol that were lining the shelf behind him. “Just some juice for me, thanks.” Vernus ordered, getting a nod from the pegasus. “And for the lady?” Zoey blinked at that. Not that many of the ponies she had met so far had recognized her gender, at least not before she had spoken to them. “Something strong.” Zoey said, not really that picky with what she ordered. “Oh, tough day?” The barpony asked as he reached under the counter and got a pair of glasses. “... You could say that.” It had been years since Zoey last drank, but she was really enjoying herself. It had taken a few glasses for her to get really started, she was really tolerant when it came to alcohol. But after the third of fourth, her mood had finally began to loosen up. The bar had also filled up quite nicely as the hours went past. A lot of ponies had come to unwind after a long day of hard work, or just to relax with some friends and generally have a good time. There was also a few other Pokémon scattered around the establishment. For example, the Granbull who was currently working as a bouncer. She did community service work during the daylight hours and volunteered at various places late at night. It was not a perfect solution, but it was better than to just put her in jail. Zoey and Vernus had eventually moved away from the bar counter and found a table to their own. It was a little off to the side, so they got some amount of privacy, well, as much privacy as it was possible to get in a crowded bar at the very least. “You should have seen it. The Machoke was creeping up on him and then, BAM! He did not even see what hit him.” Vernus was impressed. Zoey had remained very collected compared to the amount of alcohol that she had consumed. She only got happier and more talkative the drunker she got. “He never stood a chance. Underestimated me because I am a normal type. Pff, he was lucky that I did not kill him.” Although, some of her inner limiters had been removed as the night had gone on. “Sounds like you guys had quite the hectic battle.” Vernus laughed. He had been told about what had happened at that battle before. But that did not stop Zoey from telling it again. “Heh, yeah… shame about what happened to Jenny though.” Zoey murmured as she looked down into her glass. “She turned out to be quite nice after I threatened to end her and she came over to our side.” That was also why Vernus had found them their own table, to make it so that Zoey would not freak out anypony more with what she said. They had already had one awkward situation at the bar. Luckily, he had managed to explain it away to her just spouting nonsense since she was drunk. “Hey, at least you did not go through with it, so that’s good.” Vernus already knew how violent Zoey could be at times, so he really was not that surprised. “Yeah… but I wanted to though.” Zoey whispered in a low voice. “Hey, enough with such depressing talk, alright?” It had mostly been like that the whole night. Zoey had been in a somber mood for most of the evening and Vernus did his best to try to cheer her up. Though she still had not said anything about what she and Mary had talked about. “In the end, it turned out just fine anyway, so dont worry about it.” Zoey barely reacted with with a faint nod as she continued to stare down into her glass. “It's empty…” She mumbled. “Yeah, and I think we are going to let it stay empty this time.” Vernus suggested as he reached out and pulled the glass away from her. It was strange enough for him to see Zoey drink, but for her to drink that much… “Come oooon.” Zoey wined as she gave a halfassed attempt to grab the glass. “Give it to me, Twigs.” “You really don't want to drink this much.” Vernus told her, ignoring the terrible nickname. “I don’t know what you and Mary talked about, but you wanted me to make sure that you did not go overboard and that's exactly what I'm doing.” Vernus perfectly understood the want to dull the senses after something bad had happened, more than most probably, but he also knew that Zoey would regret in in the morning if he let her continue. “You used to be more fun.” Zoey complained as she gave up on the glass. “Hey, I am plenty of fun.” Vernus huffed. “Tell you what, you can have one more drink,” he could already see the hope in Zoey's eyes. “If you can beat me in a little game.” He grinned. “Oh, you are on!” Zoey immediately agreed. She was brimming with confidence from the alcohol, so in her mind, there was no way that he would beat her in anything. “Alright. Let’s see then… aha.” Vernus reached out and picked up a cherry that had been used as a topping for one of Zoey's drinks. “Let’s make it an easy one.” He said as he tossed the cherry up in the air and caught in again with his paw. “I'll hide this under one of my paws, and you try to guess the correct one. Win, and you get your drink. Sounds fair?” It was a game of chance, so of course it would sound fair to her. Normally it would be a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right. Or it would have been, if Vernus would have had any intention of playing fair in the first place. “Heh, that’s easy.” Zoey leaned forward to get a little closer. “So, are you going to make me close my eyes or something then?” She asked, but Vernus's grin only widened. “Nah, where would the fun in that be? Just keep your eyes on the cherry as I switch it about.” And with those words, he started. He tossed the cherry up into the air, noticing how intensely Zoey was watching it. It bounced as it fell back onto the table, and Vernus quickly snatched it up again with his left paw before tossing it right back to his other paw again. He went on like this for a few seconds, just making sure that Zoey was intensly watching the cherry as he juggled it around. And as he did, he slowly moved his tail up to Zoey and gently ran it across her legs before quickly pulling it back. “Hey, what the-?” And just like that, she looked away from the cherry. Instead she ducked down to see what touched her legs instead. When she did not see anything she leaned back up to see that Vernus had placed both of his paws down onto the table and the cherry was nowhere in sight. “So, ready to take your guess?” Vernus smiled as Zoey looked between his paws. It was a poor trick, a very poor one. Had it not been for the fact that Zoey was drunk, it would have never had a chance to work. “Umm…” Zoey continued to look between the two paws, trying really hard to notice any kind of difference. “T-that one!” She reached forward to grab his left paw, and lifted it up to reveal… nothing. “Shame, you guessed wrong.” Vernus grinned as Zoey looked disappointed by her loss. “Then it's under here.” She reached out and lifted up his right paw too, only to see that there was nothing under there either. “Hey, its not here either!” She complained as she glared at Vernus. “That’s right, because.” Vernus started as he leaned towards Zoey. “It was on my nose the whole time.” And indeed it was, on the tip of his muzzle was the small round cherry from before. “You cheated.” Zoey grumbled, annoyed that she had lost in such a way. Still, she couldn't take her eyes off that small piece of fruit. “Cherry…” “Maybe but you still… lost…” Vernus's words came to a halt as he felt something wet on his nose and his vision was filled with red and white fur, along with two familiar eyes. Zoey had positively lunged forward and had taken the cherry into her mouth, unintentionally kissing Vernus's nose in the process. She stayed like that for a few seconds longer, slowly chewing and savoring her price while her lips touched the tip of his nose. “Mmh, cherry!” A satisfied Zoey exclaimed once she finally leaned back, not noticing the empty look and huge blush that Vernus was currently sporting. “A-anyway,” Vernus started as he looked away and tried his best to hide his flushed face. He was desperately trying to come up with something to say, but his brain was still booting back up from what had just happened. “What?!” a loud voice rang through the establishment, causing several heads to turn towards the origin on the sound and Vernus who thanked Arceus for the distraction. The voice had originated from a table where Zephyr sat, and by his side was a very upset looking Manectric. “I… I need to report this.” The female Manectric quickly excused herself and hurried out, leaving Zephyr behind while the rest of the ponies at the bar went back to their own business. “She looked familiar.” Zoey commented as she looked out the door after the Manectric. She was sure that she had seen her before, but just could not remember where. “Well, whoever she was, it looks like she just ran out on Zephyr.” Vernus said, thankful that his blush had managed to calm down enough during that little scene. “Doesn't seem like he is getting lucky tonight.” He couldn't help but laugh a little. Zephyr was their friend and a very alright guy. But he was not the smoothest of ponies when it came to the ladies. “Hey, Zephyr.” Zoey yelled out as she waved at the pegasus in question. “Come over here!” She waved him over, though Vernus winced a little from how loud she was being. They had already gotten a warning earlier that evening, and it would be incredibly embarrassing if they ended up getting thrown out. “Hey, didn't see that you guys were here too.” Zephyr was not slow with making his way over to their table. “Yeah, we have been here all night.” Vernus commented. He noticed that the pegasus was already a little tipsy, but apparently not as drunk as Zoey, yet at least. “But more importantly, what was that with your lady friend.” Vernus asked with a small grin. “Something go wrong?” “Well, I guess you could say that… though I'm not exactly sure what happened.” Zephyr said as he took a seat between Vernus and Zoey. “Well she left in a hurry, that's for sure.” Zoey looked over to the door, she still could not place that Manectric. “But don't worry, you can still drink with us!” “What did you even say to her to make her run out like that?” Vernus could not help it, he was a little curious. “That's the thing, I can't think of anything I said.” Zephyr slumped down against the table. “Was just telling her some funny stories. Last one was about Ethan actually, at the party a little while back.” At this both Vernus and Zoey perked up. “Oh, please continue.” Vernus grinned, he knew from experience just how Ethan could be when he got drunk, and he could always use a little more information to tease his friend with. “Well, it did not take long for Ethan to get drunk… I mean really drunk, like, he was gone.” Zephyr shook his head as he explained it. “I was talking with him but suddenly he just started sprouting this gibberish. He asked me if I could keep a secret, then he told me that his name was that secret.” Vernus was already getting bad vibes at that point, but he let Zephyr continue. “I mean… what? I dont even think he knew that he was talking about at that point. His name was the secret, who comes up with stuff like that.” The pegasus just laughed to himself as he continued to shake his head. “Crazy. Ethan Summers, what's so secret about a name like that?” “So, um… was that the story that you told that Manectric?” Zoey asked, warning bells was going off inside her head. She remembered exactly who that Manectric was, things were bad, really bad. “Yeah, no idea why she would run out because of something like that though.” “No, you probably don't.” Zoey said as she got up. They needed to catch up to that Manectric and fast. Why could drunk Ethan just not keep his mouth shut. Without saying another word Zoey started heading for the door. “Um, I think I need to go after her.” Vernus quickly said as he got up too. “She has already had a fair amount to drink and I need to make sure that she gets home safely. Was fun talking to you, Zephyr.” “Yeah… see ya later, I guess.” And with that hurried goodbye, Vernus sat off after Zoey, leaving a slightly confused Zephyr behind. He ran past the Granbull bouncer and out into the night outside. The wind was blowing, sending a slightly chill through his body, something that he quickly shook off as he caught up with Zoey. “Hey, wait up.” Vernus breathed out as he came up to Zoey's side. “I can’t wait, we need to stop that Manectric, now!” Zoey exclaimed, putting in a little extra speed in her steps. “O-okay, I know that this is probably bad.” Vernus said, he had already been filled in on most things so he knew that Ethan had already decided to stop using his last name… apart from this apparent screw up that was. “But what is the chance that she actually know who he is? I mean… the world is a large place, right?” Zoey halted, her front paws digging into the ground as she came to a stumbling stop. She could manage to hold her balance while running despite how drunk she was, but she still had a few issues. “No, this is really, really bad!” Zoey steeled herself as she felt her stomach protest from the sudden spurt of movement. But she managed to ignore the nausea that she was feeling. “I know that Manectric. That was Olivia, a Ranger.” Hearing that, Vernus cursed loudly. “Fuck… and from the reaction she had, I think it's safe to say that she knew who Ethan was.” They had already dodged a bullet when it came to Jenny. Vernus had heard how Ethan had dealt with her, but he was unsure if the same approach would work here. Or if they could even take that chance. “Do you think she is heading to the police station?” “She said that she needed to report it… so yes.” Zoey growled as they started moving again. “That and I'm pretty sure that she actually lives at that station anyway.” She knew that Olivia had helped out the police there with several small things and were currently helping with the Jenny case. “Well we have to catch up to her in any case.” Vernus ran besides Zoey. luckily, there were very little ponies out at that time of night. “B-but what are we going to do?” “We have to stop her!” Zoey repeated and Vernus was not so sure what she actually meant by that. “Let me take care of her.” Vernus said as he took the lead. Zoey was too drunk, and he did not know if she could hold back when she was in such a state. No, he would handle things. After a little while, the two of them noticed a figure in the distance. And as they got closer they saw that it was indeed the same Manectric from the bar. She was walking in a hurried pace through the empty streets. “Just let me knock her out.” Zoey growled and was about to step forth, but Vernus cut her off. “No.” He hushed her in a quiet voice. “What if someone else hears the commotion? What if she dodges and runs… no. Just let me take care of this messed up situation.” Vernus said with a sigh. Why did something like this have to happen? He thought about exactly what he was going to do, and he liked none of the options. But… it was not like they had a choice. They could not allow her to out their Ethan. As far as Vernus could tell, there were no one else in the area around them. Or at least none that he could hear or smell. He would have to chance it. “Cover your ears.” He told Zoey before turning back around towards Olivia. Breaking out into a spring, Vernus quickly got within the range that he would need, and Olivia had not noticed him yet, it seemed. “Time to sleep.” Vernus said as he lifted up a small leaf up to his mouth and a beautiful whistle sound filled the air. That, however, got Olivia's attention and she quickly turned around to see Vernus standing there as he continued his Grass Whistle attack. “W-what are… you… doi-” But even though she noticed him, she did not get very far. Only after a few steps, she collapsed against the ground, sleeping soundly. She had tried to resist, but in the end, she had failed. Vernus let the leaf fall to the ground as he let out a long breath of relief. It had gone much more smoothly than he had hoped, and he thanked Arceus for that. Zoey quickly joined him as they walked over to the sleeping body of the Ranger. They stood over her and traded glances between each other. “So… what now?” Zoey asked as she gently poked Olivia. Sure enough, she was in a heavy sleep. “Now…” They really had not thought that far ahead. Everything had just been improvisation because of how quickly things had happened. Vernus still had no idea of what they were going to do to fix this whole situation. But at least he knew that they had to do next. “Now we move her.”