• Published 14th Aug 2020
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Interviews With Equestrians - Jmaster49



A look inside the hidden perspectives of the average pony by your average joe. Starting with the imprisonment of Cozy Glow, this pony sets out to expose the hidden problems of Equestria that its residents have a right to know.

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Subject 89: Mandated Reporter's Honor

It was a bit of a wait, but the former princess of an alicorn finally returned with a dusty...book of some sort. There were no words on the cover, so I could only assume that the book was ancient or important. Regardless, I watched as Celestia dangled the book over Twilight’s nose via her yellow magical aura.

Twilight sniffed at it before she clutched the book between her hooves. “Mine!” she squealed as her eyes shot open. Her face became a shade of crimson when she laid eyes on her former mentor. “Oh...hehe….sorry.”

Celestia couldn’t help but giggle at this. “Hmhmhm. No trouble at all. Now, was there something you wanted to see me for, Twilight?”

“Oh...yes, actually.”

We all gathered around in the living room to hear her explanation. First and foremost, was the fact that Celestia would need to undergo a sort of friendship training? I didn’t quite understand the details since “friendship” as a concept wasn’t in my skillset. But I did make sure to take notes on the subject for future reference. The plan was fairly simple. My crew, Cozy, Moondancer, Tempest--we’d all try to make some time to spend with Celestia at some point so she can have friends to hang around. Not very complex, I’d say.

“...If you’re sure, Twilight. I can’t believe that I’m the one who needs to learn the magic of friendship. But I guess the student has surpassed the mentor, hm?”

Twilight reacted with what I can only call a sporadic series of laughs while she blushed. “He-heh...ah-haha--ahhh...r-really? Aw, you don’t have to say all that…” her wings fluttered with pride. “But you can if you want-”

She rubbed her hoof against Twilight’s mane. “Though, I am surprised that you’ve decided to use magic to alter your appearance to reflect that of the average pony. You didn’t like being as tall as me?”

The purple alicorn’s response was swift. “Nah.” But then she quickly retracted it under the pretense that she may have offended her former teacher. “I-I mean, n-not that being tall like you is a bad thing! But it really messed with my coordination and flying capability. Not to mention the longer horn kinda messed up my magic casting. Hehe...heh…” she said with a nervous smile as she tapped her hooves together.

“Well then I suppose bigger isn’t always better,” Celestia looked up at me, “Wouldn’t you agree, Pale?”

I looked up from the notes I wrote, pencil’s eraserhead clenched between my teeth. “Hm?” I slipped it between the rings of the notepad, and answered. “Um...well, it depends. If some parts of your body are too large, they can cause pain and--” That’s when I realized what she was playing at. I slapped my hoof against my forehead. “Seriously?”

The sunny alicorn giggled. “Oh lighten up, officer. I’m simply trying to make things more casual among us.”

Almost too casual if you asked me. But anyhow. Next on the agenda was facing the press. It was a good thing that we had both arrived there, because Twilight would want us to explain to the public what happened on that Night. As well as the reasoning behind Svengallop’s sudden death with no need for a trial. It would be...a difficult thing for me to explain. As much as I despised Neighsay, he was right in some capacity. I did indeed go along with what Twilight’s order was. Should I have? I can’t answer that. The past was in the past. And beyond that, this list of individuals who he had runes planted on...hrm…

“Does that sound reasonable?” Twilight asked once she finished her explanation.

“Of course,” Celestia replied, “I was in your position once, Twilight. So I know how stressful this job can be. I recommend getting to bed a bit earlier so that you can tackle the problems of tomorrow with more energy. Leave dealing with the newsponies to us.”

Twilight used her left hoof, and tapped the wrinkles beneath her eyes. “Yeesh...they’re getting heavier. Yeah, you’re right, Pr--er, Celestia. I can’t just keep going forever. I may be a god-like alicorn like you now, but I still have mental limits.”

Celestia put a hoof around Twilight to bring her in closer. “We all do. Especially me. You know good and well about what happened that night…”

“And that’s why my plan is to help you through it all. But first, you two need to get ready to face the news...are you ready?”

I got up from the couch, and stretched my legs. “Ready as always. The public has the right to know about what happened. No more deception. Celestia. Whenever you’re ready.”

I heard her get up, and follow me from behind.

And just outside of the castle itself, newsworkers from all over Equestria had gathered outside with cameras and ready to take notes for their papers and other news media outlets. I stepped outside first, and was immediately hit with a barrage of questions as I trotted down the castle’s outer steps.

“Pale Vestige!” a pegasus mare reporter cried out, “Is it true that you were the one who killed Svengallop?”

“Do you know who was responsible for making everypony become their costumes on the recent Nightmare Night?” a unicorn stallion asked.

“Did you really have to kiss Daybreaker?” an earth pony mare questioned, “What are Celestia’s thoughts on that?”

I looked around at all the reporters and sighed with my hoof against my head. Alright, how to begin? Well...okay then. I put my hoof down, and addressed the crowd. “One at a time, please. Now first. In reference to Svengallop. Princess Twilight ordered me to execute him in private. Why? She considered a trial unnecessary.”

That pegasus asked another question. “Why is that? Didn’t you want Cozy to get a fair trial?” she asked.

“The difference is that Cozy was a child at the time in which she committed her atrocities, and has learned from them,” I explained to her. “Svengallop meanwhile, has been dealing in unethical substances, using his mob to kill others, laundering bits, and manipulating mares for his own personal gain for the last two decades after he left Coloratura.”

“He’s right.” Another mare spoke up from the middle of the crowd. A light blue one wearing shades and a straw hat to cover up who she was. “I thought Svengallop was just an annoying stallion, but if that’s what he did...not just to me, but to loads of other mares, then I won’t be afraid to come forward.”

The pegasus mare that had asked me about Svengallop tilted her head when the newcomer arrived. “‘Me’? And just who are you?”

The shades and straw hat came off. Coloratura revealed herself to the public, right then and there. She didn’t have anything else on either. As casual can be.

The reporters nearly lost their marbles when she exposed herself. “COLORA--”

She interrupted their excitement with a plea. “Ahem...please not now. Anyway...I fully support Svengallop’s execution. I couldn’t stand to hear about what he’s been doing in the past 20 years. And honestly…” she looked down at the ground, “I feel like part of it is my fault.”

“AH!” The crowd of reporters gasped.

Coloratura rose her head up, and waved her hoof in denial. “Well, hold on. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t feel a shred of sympathy for what he’s been doing. But part of me feels like that this could’ve been avoided if I let him down a bit more easily…”

The crowd mumbled amongst themselves for a moment. Even Celestia was surprised, unable to say anything as she stood behind me.

I was first to break the awkward mutterings. “Don’t feel that way, ‘Tura. That guy deserved to be straight up fired after what he did to you and Pinkie back then. It’s his own fault that he chose to become even more despicable instead of trying to become better. Don’t ever feel like you were somehow responsible in any way, is that clear?”

“I…” Her eyes slowly evolved from a look of shame, to pure tenacity as she looked up at me. “You’re right. Like I said before, he got what was coming to him.”

I gave a satisfied nod, and looked at the unicorn stallion next. “You sir, yes? You asked about who caused the costume calamity on Nightmare Night. Well, it’s a bit difficult to explain. But what we know for the moment is that Neighsay was using some sort of...runic engine to advance pony magic. But it has unforeseen side effects which caused everypony in Ponyville to become their costumes. His current sentencing is being judged by Twilight, and my team and I are currently looking into who else was affected.”

“Will you kill him as well?” the stallion questioned me in a concerned one.

“No. Not unless I am given the order,” I replied, “Svengallop was considered a waste to us all. But Neighsay holds valuable information that we may need for the future. Therefore, he is to be imprisoned until further notice.”

Last was the earth pony mare. She spoke up again about her previous statement. “Okay, but was kissing Daybreaker really necessary, or did you just wanna sneak a bit of romance on an evil goddess? Are you currently in a relationship? Wouldn’t your partner find that scandalous?” she asked with a determined, curious smirk.

I nearly choked on my own spit. “A-ahem. Um. First off, who I’m in a relationship with, if at all, doesn’t factor into my work. As for that kiss, it was non-romantic. Daybreaker is far from my type, and I only did it to help her come to her senses.”

That’s when Celestia spoke up. “It’s true, honestly. I wouldn’t date him if I had the option. His job is too dangerous. Any mare that hooks up with him has to have nerves of steel. Literally and figuratively if you catch my drift, hmhm,” she added a satisfied chuckle.

While I appreciated her words, why did it feel somewhat embarrassing?

Anyhow, we continued to answer the questions to the best of our ability. The rest of them weren’t very difficult from then on. Stuff such as ‘how do you like your job?’ and ‘do you think Tirek and Chrysalis could be redeemed?’ Basic things. I wasn’t too concerned about these questions. No. Instead, I was focused on the list of names that Neighsay had given us in reference to those he had experimented on. Hopefully Moondancer was capable, and had already cured Blossomforth…

Anyhow, once my interview with the press was over, I bid Twilight goodbye. Not because I wanted to get away as fast as possible (though that was indeed part of it), but mainly due to the fact that Celestia had come to visit her, and their relationship had evolved from mere teacher and student. Now they were just friends. Friends with a lot of catching up to do. Far be it from me to be the type of pony that interrupts things like that, especially since I knew that they didn’t get to see each other often. But I promised her that I will complete my mission to the best of my ability. Thankfully, she did say that Moondancer would come visit me if anything else arose.

So I took the train back home to Ponyville. Things seemed normal as always as I trotted through the small town. Though, I came across something interesting as I neared my house.

“...Kid? Decorating already?” I walked over to Cozy’s place, and saw her already begin to hang lights from off the side of her home. “Um...isn’t it a bit early for that?”

“Pops!” she chirped, and flew down to greet me. “So glad to see you! Whatcha think of my decor so far?” she pointed a hoof at her home.

I raised an eyebrow. Something about this was off. “Seriously, kid? Nightmare Night was just a few days ago, but you’re already prepping for Hearth’s Warming? Not you too…”

She nudged me with her hoof, “Ah, lighten up, pops. It’s a matter of getting ready before they raise the prices on the lights. Rumble and his brother Thunderlane gave me some ideas when they passed by the other day.”

“Oh, nice--wait.” I blinked. Did she just say who I think she just said?

“Hm? What’s wrong? Everything alright, Pale?” she asked with worried eyes.

“...Thunderlane came by, huh? I...see…” I turned around, and started to mumble to myself.

She trotted over, and put one of her wings around my neck. “...If there’s something wrong, you can tell me. Does it have to do with the storm beasts?”

How nice of her. Well, I suppose it wouldn’t do any good to hide it from her, would it? “Well…”

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