Fighting Fire with Fire ~ III
Rather than take the . . . express route with Captain Black Hawk, again, though it was offered, Pip chose to walk down the mountain to the train station at it's foot, and go home that way. It would take him longer, and he took advantage of an arcanophone in the Castle's foyer to call home and let his mum know he was alright. She had questions, but he told he'd tell her about it when he got home.
He needed time to think.
Not only did he have the events of the meeting to deal with, the notion that he had not only met one of the most notorious villains in Equestria's history, but that he would be working with her going into the future, in an attempt to put a stop to criminals too violent or too cunning for normal police to deal with. But, added on to that now was one simple question that made things feel so much more complex: What was he going to tell his mother?
Aside from the obvious fact that she, as any sane mother should, would likely be concerned about the idea of her son working alongside a convicted criminal, there was the fact that this was Cozy Glow. A mare whose crimes far surpassed those of even a run of the mill murderer. A lot of ponies had died due to Cozy's actions and, by Equestrian law, as she had known her actions would lead to deaths, she was as culpable as if she had directly killed them with her own hands.
And one of those ponies had been his father.
Pip had not been fond of his father, to put it lightly. Timber Heart had been an abusive drunk who had beaten his mother. Finally, however, Silky Weave had put her foot down, and Timber had left. Not long after, Silky had packed up her and Pip's things and moved them out of Trottingham, to Ponyville.
Pip had never really missed his father. In fact, he could barely remember him, beyond a few flickers, shadows in his mind, and his mum's stories, none of which were good. And so it was with some hesitation that he had agreed, when his mother told him his father was coming to visit.
Apparently, Timber had been through a support group, had been sober for a couple of years and was wanting to see them again. His mum, ever the kind hearted sort, agreed, without really asking Pip first. Pip had not wanted to see his father. He had prayed that something would happen, that would keep him from showing up and ruining Pip and his mum's new life, just like he'd ruined their old one.
In order to make the trip as fast as possible, his father had booked a ticket on a new airship coming from Trottingham that would make a stop over in Ponyville on the way, which was powered by twin arcanotech engines, running 80 thaums per second of channeled unicorn magic to keep the ship aloft and moving.
And, when his ship was halfway to Ponyville, flying by at over 5,000 feet above the ground, Cozy Glow flipped the switch.
She walked through the streets, a pep to her step as she smiled and nodded to those she passed by, and they returned it, polite gazes and upturned lips belying what lay underneath, but she knew; none of them really cared. She was just a face in the crowd, to them, that they saw for only a moment, before she was gone and they would not think of her again. They would smile and nod, perhaps offering a polite greeting. "Good morning" or "How are you?" The last was the funniest, to her, a question they asked without expecting or waiting for the answer, showing plainly the truth of their 'Friendship': It was a word they threw around, to make themselves feel better, and to fit in, just like their false smiles and polite nods.
In truth, they were no different than she was, wearing a mask to fool one another into thinking they were 'normal'. Whatever that was supposed to be.
She was hungry. A moment's thought had her decision made, and so she headed for the supermarket, on Cavesson Street. She hated the supermarket, but it had the freshest produce in Canterlot, so it was that or not eat tonight.
She stepped through the automatic doors, hearing music piped in through speakers overhead, and smiled, while inside she groaned at the choice. Some pop song by some fake, plasticy bitch who thought makeup and flashy lights would substitue actual talent. Of course, they were apparently right, judging by their popularity, so it was just one more clue as to how shallow ponies really were.
She grabbed a small buggy and wheeled it around, glancing at all the ponies, and occasional zebras or hippogriffs, that milled about, trying to find what they wanted. Goodness, they were all so . . . ugly. She honestly hated looking at people, for the most part. There was little to see about them that was attractive, and hearing them was worse. The constant, inane drone of mindless conversation or stupid outbursts of uncouth idiocy made her want to vomit.
And then, there were the children. One particularly loud brat was screaming about something it wanted, while it's parent simply ignored it, or occasionally looked over and shushed it, to no effect. She paused at the end of the aisle, tilting her head slightly, smile turning to a smirk as she pondered.
It was much easier than many thought to crush an adult's trachea, only requiring about the same amount of force as it took with an aluminum can. Children, however, were notoriously tough, in many respects, something about nature's way of ensuring they could survive. Would it be harder, then, to crush a foal's throat in her hand? Or easier? About the same?
She blinked as the child let out a particularly loud wail and sighed, turning and heading on her way towards the produce section. She really should have brought her Walkpone and earbuds. Then she could just turn on her music and drown out all this . . . madness.
She made her way to produce, heading down the wet wall to find the fixings for a salad. She still marveled at how far along Arcanotech had come. It had been a mainstay in Equestria for decades, but Princess Twilight had really let it take off. She smirked, thinking about how things would have played out, if she'd waited until now to steal the magic from this world. It had been awe inspiring enough then. Now? She couldn't even imagine, and that was saying something.
She came to a halt, jarred out of her thoughts as she looked up, seeing a pony who must've weighed in at 300 pounds, if not more, sitting in an arcanotech powered scooter, which seemed to be creaking under her weight. She shifted, the fabric of her shirt straining against her girth as she tried to stare at the shelves. She was sitting in the middle of the lane, between the shelves of the wet wall, where the lettuce was, and the dry shelves, which held the onions, potatoes and other such things that did not need to be kept cold. There was, maybe, a foot or so of space on either side of her, meaning there was no way to get past.
With a heaving breath, the pegasus turned, looking about, and found her way around to the dry goods she needed, and stopped, grabbing an empty plastic bag off a nearby hook, which she struggled for a moment to open,and picked up an onion and dropped it inside. She pursed her lips, thinking, while glancing over to the land whale from the corner of her eye; Still no decision made. She clenched her teeth, trying to think of something else that could keep her occupied while waiting, and, after a moment, decided that a baked potato on the side might not be bad. She milled over, taking her time, and began to sort through the root vegetables, looking for the best one. In reality, she was simply killing time, while feeling the frustration beginning to press on the sides of her head, leaving it throbbing with a dull ache.
She'd really enjoy killing something other than time. How much fat would she have to slice through to even reach anything vital on the heap of flesh lingering about over there?
Finally! She thought, watching the bitch pick up a lettuce that looked much the same as the others on the shelf and begin to put-put away on her scooter, which groaned and complained about the load it was being forced to bear. Poor little thing. She grabbed up a potato without really paying much mind to anything other than the size, sliding it into the bag with the onion, and made way for the lettuce and salad fixings.
A head of lettuce, carrot, green pepper and she was on her way. After thinking a moment, she decided she had enough dressing at home, and so made her way to the registers. As usual, though there were twenty registers in the store, they only had four open. What was the point of having so many if they weren't going to use them? She blew a breath out of her nose as she slid into place at the back of the shortest line, which was already six people long.
A moment later, someone stepped up behind her. Glancing back, she saw a rather dirty looking earth pony, clearly a worker, based off of his high vis vest and tool belt. He was carrying a small basket with a handful of food items in it, a bag of potato chips, a soda pop and a cheap, pre-made meal. Buying lunch, then, most likely.
He stank. He had also stepped up far too close behind her, and she shuffled forward, seeing her cart come to a stop less than a foot behind the pony ahead of her, and frowned. The frown turned to a scowl as she felt the stallion sidle up behind her, pressing in just as close as he had before. Her jaw clenched and she felt the throb in her head spike. She squeezed her eyes shut, blowing a breath out through her nostrils as she reached up, putting a finger agaisnt her forehead, right in the center, where it felt like someone was slowly driving a steel spike through.
She felt her smile starting to curl her lip up again, a bit sharp at the edges, as she wondered how he might react if she elbowed him in the diaphragm. She could feel his breath on the back of her head. It wouldn't take much. Elbow back, then maybe snap her hand down to his groin, take a firm grip of his pride and joy and pull him forward off his feet. Maybe kick him while he was down. Oh! Or maybe, she could turn and punch him in the throat! That might be fun, to watch his eyes bug out as he gasped for wind.
"Excuse me, the line's moving." A voice came from behind her, accompanied by a tap on her shoulder, and her eyes snapped open. She turned, shooting him a look that made him shrink back away from her. Without a word, she turned around, sighing with a frown, and stepped forward, smoothing her face out and smiling again by the time she looked up to address the cashier. She paid for her goods and walked out, face not faltering, even when she took her bags and headed out into the street.
She had another stop to make, a few more things to get to make tonight's dinner complete.
The train rattled over the tracks as the sun neared its zenith, the station at the foot of Mount Canter disappearing behind them. Canterhorn Station was one of the busiest in Equestria, if not the largest; that honor went to Hoofton Station, in Manehattan. Nonetheless, the Station had been bustling at this time of day, and Pip had to wait nearly an hour before the next train to Ponyville was scheduled to depart. Now, he sat on the window side of his seat, a mare in business attire sitting next to him, scanning through the Ponyville Gazzete, while the train rocked back and forth.
Pip had spied a few ponies he recognized, most notably Lyra Heartstrings and BonBon, who were sitting a few booths ahead of Pip, cuddled close and talking softly, probably having been to Canterlot to visit Lyra's family. Pip smiled softly, watching them a moment, thinking on how wonderful it was to see two ponies so totaly in love with each other. He wondered idly if he'd ever find that kind of relationship, before his mind turned once more to the issues that he faced, and he turned to look back out the window.
Pip had not grieved much, when his father had died, as he was still young enough to not really feel the affect. It had still been a shock, however, especially on his mother. Clearly, she had loved him once, and part of her still cared enough about him that his death, especially so suddenly and violently, had affected her strongly. Still, she had believed, as Pip did now, that Tartarus had been far too harsh a punishment for the young filly, Cozy Glow. He still could not really fathom why the Princesses would have done such a thing, when with the right care and treatment, she could have been reformed easily enough. Especially when compared to somecreature like Discord, who still liked to cause a panic around Ponyville every weekend.
He was sure part of her would be proud that he was now the one responsible for trying to help the poor mare, but . . . still, he fretted. He knew she would worry, and why wouldn't she? Her son would be spending time in close proximity to one of Equestria's only known psychopaths, and one who had knowingly performed acts of terrorism and murder. He also worried that hearing about Cozy would bring up the old wound of his father's death, and put her back in that headspace. It had been a dark period for them both, with her battling a harsh depression, and Pip having to grow up rather fast, in order to help take care of her and help take care of the house, which was in some need of repairs, after what happened. . . .
"Would you like some refreshments?" A voice asked, breaking him out of his reverie, and he glanced up, seeing the smiling face of a pretty unicorn mare, probably in her mid-twenties, with a lavender mane and tail and pink fur. She was wearing the uniform of an attendant, and pushing a trolley full of snacks and drinks. He blinked a few times and then shook his head, glancing down without meeting her eyes.
"Um, n-no, thank you." He said, before looking up at her and smiling slightly. She returned the smile, wishing him a pleasant ride, and moved on, and he sat back, sighing. He was always so awkward when confronted like that, especially when he was preoccupied with something else. He felt lucky to have heard her, even. Most of the time, when his mind was elsewhere like that, if somepony spoke to him he'd have to ask them to repeat it, at least once, before his mind would register what they had said. It used to give Miss Cheerilee such a hard time. . . .
Pip sat, nervously shaking, on the floor of the Ponyville Town Hall. One of Princess Twilight's newly formed Stellar Guard, face pale with shock and fear, left leg wrapped in a sullied bandage, stood up, slipping the barrel of his wheellock musket out the cracked window. The gun fired with a puff of smoke from the flashpan, and the crack of a shot. Outside, a yelp of pain could be heard, followed by a snarl, and the pounding on the door got louder, as the young guardspony fell back onto the floor, cursing and scrabbling for the bag that held his ammo.
Pip looked over to the left, seeing Miss Cheerliee, brow bleeding from an injury, turning this way and that as she tried to keep all the civilians and children calm, while behind her Nurse Redhaeart was moving with calm efficiency, even as her eyes were wide and mane a bit wild, as she tended to a group of ponies who were all laying out under blankets, some writhing in pain, others laying unnervingly still.
He looked around, wrapping his arms around his knees. He wanted his mum! Where was she? What was going on? Why were the Diamond Dogs here? And so angry? And what was happening up at the School of Friendship?
Pipsqueak came back to himself with a bit of a jerk, blinking rapidly. He glanced over at the mare beside him, who had shifted in her seat, and was now staring at him. "Are you alright?" She asked, softly, eyes wide, and he swallowed, clearing his throat.
"Um, ye-yes. Thank you. Sorry . . . Bad dream." He said, and she frowned, but nodded, and he internally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he hadn't been asleep, but had rather simply zoned out, staring out of the window while his mind was elsewhere. Specifically, his mind was in the past, on that day, twelve years ago. He had been six years old, scared and alone, or so he felt, without his mother there with him, not knowing if she was alright, or what was happening.
It had been three days, at that time, since Cozy pulled the plug on the drain, and the magic of Equestria began to disappear, being absorbed into the ritual she had started. And then the Diamond Dog pack, which had been terrorizing Equestria for over a year at that point, had attacked Ponyville, just shortly after Chancellor Neighsay had come to claim the school for his own. The Dogs, it turned out, were following Cozy's orders, as she had managed to make herself their Alpha, by defeating the old Alpha in a challenge of wits.
It was all a distraction to keep everypony in town too preoccupied to stop her. Fortunately, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with Sandbar and few others, had managed to slip through to the school, thinking that Neighsay was the one responsible. Once there, they discovered the truth: Neighsay was dead, and Cozy was dangerously close to sending all the unicorn magic in Equus into the Ether, permanently.
They had stopped her, broke the ritual and returned the magic to the world, and the guard had rounded her and the surviving Diamond Dogs up, and took them to Canterlot to face Judgement. What followed was the trial of the century, with Cozy Glow manipulating her lawyer and through him the media, and, through that outlet, she got into the heads of everycreature in Equestria and beyond. There were riots in the street, with some demanding justice for loved ones lost during what had quickly become known as 'The Crisis'. However, so many, arguably the majority, were all in favor of giving Cozy a second chance, and Pip and his mother had been in that group.
He still remembered the rage that had swept the crowd, on their side, when news of the verdict had been read out, on the street in front of the Canterlot Judicial Courthouse, where the trial had been held, and the Princesses had passed judgement. Anger, dissatisfaction and shock had swept through the ranks of those who had been on the filly's side in the trial, while on the other side of a narrow divide, kept safe by members of the Solar and Lunar Guards, there was the opposite, as cries of 'Justice' and 'Monster' echoed about the street.
Then the guards, accompanied by Princess Luna, had come outside, escorting Cozy Glow, wearing an orange jumpsuit, wrists handcuffed in front of her and wings strapped to her back by a canvas band, towards the portal building, where she would be taken to Tartarus. And, somewhere in the middle of it all, something was said, and something was thrown, and then the two sides were trying to rush each other, shoving against the strong arms of the guards while screaming hate and obscenities at one another.
His mother tried to usher him out, shock on her features at how quickly the two opposing sides had turned violent. Somehow, she slipped and fell, and Pip went down with her, quickly scrambling up and trying to help her to her feet, and in the midst of it, he felt something ,a prickling on his neck, and looked around to see her. There, through the madness of shuffling feet and flailing limbs, in the midst of the guard detachment that was protecting her, while Princess Luna shouted in her best Royal Canterlot voice for the crowd to disperse. There was Cozy Glow, watching all of it with wide eyes, and a wider smile, the filly practically giddy at the sight of the chaos that was all happening because of her, hands held in front of her as though she would have been clapping, were she not bound.
His focus had been broken by movement, as rioters sprang out of the circle of guards, trying to rush against another group, and he and his mother were caught in the middle. The young colt had leapt over his mother, trying to shield her from the trampling feet and angry shouts of the ponies.
He felt the tingle, but thought nothing of it, such was his focus on keeping her safe. After a few moments, the guards, a fesh company pulled forward from the nearby guardhouse, pushed into the fray, unicorns using magic to get the rioters under control and forcing them to dissperse. Silky Weave had sat up, looking at her little colt, tears in her eyes and had taken him into her arms, holding him tightly. And later, when they got home, he found he now had a cutie mark, a shield with a white cross on it, reflecting a projectile back.
That was when he decided he wanted to be a guard, after watching the Guards working during the riot, quelling it without harming anypony, and with the knowledge that he was meant to protect others.
It was also when he found his absolute fascination with aberrant psychology in general, and Cozy Glow, very specifically. He wanted to know what caused this sort of mind to develope. What would cause a seemingly normal, harmless looking filly to do the things she had done? To stand in the middle of a raging riot, and grin like she was watching the best show on Equus?
What made a psychopath?
Canterlot was a magical place to behold from a distance; a pure, ivory white city climbing up the side of Mount Canter, with the shining, gilded spires of the new Castle resting just below the summit, jutting out from the side like the muzzle of a proud unicorn. The castle itself, backed up by the royal gardens, sat at the center of the Nobles District, the highest, and richest, DIstrict in the city, which flared out along the magically supported platform which surrounded the castle walls. This section itself was walled in, and sported several bridges, spanning the crevices in the side of the mountain, and connecting it to the Upper Merchant's District, where all the richest of the middle class merchants and shopkeepers lived.
Moving on down the mountainside, the main City Centre spread out in a semi-circle around the girth of the mountain, and was home to the majority of the city's population, the middleclass store owners, blacksmiths, gemcutters, tailors, etc., as well as the city's Restaurant Row, the Aerial Race Track, and so forth.
And then you hit the foot of the mountain, where Canterhorn Station sat like a gleaming, marble door atop the filthy welcome mat that was Downtown. The Downtown District had been the oldest, lowest, largest and *cheapest* DIstrict of the city for as long as nearly anypony could remember, the gathering place for the poor, the desperate and the outcast. While it had seen much in the way of quality of life improvements in the decade or so since Princess Twilight had ascended to the throne, she had been quick to realize that it would take a LOT of work, and a LOT of bits, to fully restore the District to something resembling the rest of the city.
It was a part of the city that blended into the mountain, until you got right up on it, and, while it had some decent areas, especially along the main thoroughfare heading up the mountain to the City Centre, the majority of Downtown was characterized by peeling paint, or else slapdash patchwork and repairjobs, ramshackle buildings, many of which overhung tight, narrow alleys and passageways, seeming as though they were leaning on one another for support, like a group of friends on the way home from an all night drunk.
The Epona River wound it's way down from Platinum Park, where the many waterfalls that came down the side of Mount Canter met, twisting through and, in some places, beneath the streets of Downtown on its way towards Ponyville, to the southwest.
The Griffin DIstrict was unofficial, meaning it would not be found on any map of Canterlot that you happened to read, but it was very real, having sprung up in the last eight years or so, since Twilight had opened the borders up, more. It sat, clinging to the south side of the Epona like a leech to an artery, and at it's center was Greytalon's Emporium, a shop run by an old Granny Griff and her grandson, Gulliver. They were considered cornerstones of the little community, providing a much needed resource for the more predatory griffins who had made their home in a city of predominantly vegetarian ponies.
Red meat.
It wasn't that ponies didn't eat meat on occasion, in fact they're biology, different from that of their four legged ancestors, had evolved to require a larger, steadier supply of protein than plants alone could give. However, ponies tended to prefer using beans, nuts, fish and, occasionally, poultry or even pork, to provide this. Eating red meat, from something like, say, a cow, while not strictly illegal, was considered culturally taboo and morally ambiguous, at best.
Griffins, however, had a fondness for such red meat, and so a market for it had grown in the District, a market that was quickly monopolized by Greytalon's Emporium. It was not unheard, sometimes, for the occasional pony, daring or foolish, to come knocking on the door, looking for a thrill. Most did not return.
One, however, was a repeat customer, much to Gulliver's delight.
The young Griff, who had turned twenty the spring before, stood behind the counter, eyes moving over her figure as she walked towards the counter from the door. He had been in the process of butchering a side of beef when she walked in, and had nearly nicked his thumb. THe pegasus was . . . fascinating, to say the least. She wasn't gorgeuous or anything, more a sort of 'mare-next-door' kind of pretty, in her t-shirt and jeans, wearing sneakers and with her blue curls held back by a simple yellow ribbon.
She walked up, a smile coming over her face, making her scarlet eyes twinkle as she leaned forward over the counter, and his eyes darted down to the neck of her t-shirt. Of course, it was too tight to offer any sort of view, but it was the way she leaned, her arms crossed, seemingly framing where her cleavage would be, in a different shirt, that made him look. The things it made him imagine were probably better than the reality would be. Probably.
"Hey, Gully." She said, in that cute little falsetto of hers that did all kinds of things to him, when he imagined the sorts of sounds she might make in certain circumstances.
"H-Hey, Rook!" He said, smiling and licking his beak lightly. "Um . . . SO! What can I get for you?"
"I'm thinking a cut of steak, prime, preferably. Something I can eat rare, without too much problem." She said, biting her lip lightly while looking down at what he'd been working on, before turning her eyes up to him, looking at him from behind her lashes.
He gulped harshly, and smiled wider at her. "Of course! I know just the thing!" He said, turning and heading into the back, to the meat cooler. Sometimes he thought he imgained how she acted with him, how she seemed to flirt with him. Surely she didn't realize she was doing it? Or, maybe she just acted that way with everypony. Was she that kind of pony? Who always flirted with people? More importantly, did he care? Not really. And so, he returned a few moments later with a prime cut of steak, which would have been sold for a good thirty bits, at least.
He found her leaning up against the counter, idly playing with his butcher knife in her hand. He stopped, eyes going wide, and then rushed over. "Oh, be careful, Rook! That's sharp!" He said, and she glanced up at him, smiling innocently.
"Oh, I know that, Gully!" She said, leaning over and gently placing the knife back where he'd had it. "I just . . . Like sharp things." She said, smirking. "Like your beak, for instance. So . . . Powerful, isn't it?" She said, batting her eyelashes at him.
He gulped again. Gods, if she didn't know, she must be totally clueless! She never seemed like that kind of ditzy girl, though. No, not Rook; she always seemed to know what she was doing, what she was saying. She was smarter than him, he was certain of that, and that only made her more attractive to him.
"Uhh . . . S-S-So! Rare, huh? That's a little daring, for a pony, isn't it? I figured you all didn't care much for blood." He said, trying to change the subject, and saw her smirk slightly, while she shrugged.
"Well, for most, sure. Me? I kinda like . . . blood." She said, reaching out slowly and picking up a piece of raw beef from the pile he'd been working on when she came in, just a little bit that probably would've gone into a pack of ends and pieces, to be sold in bulk to somegriff too poor to afford a better cut. "Is it true, that griffins will eat raw meat, to impress a potential mate?" She asked, looking up at him as he bagged the steak for her, quirking an eyebrow.
He stopped, opening his beak as she slowly raised the beef to her mouth, pressing her lips against the bloody piece of flesh, giving it the smallest of kisses, almost . . . chaste somehow, before popping it into her mouth and starting to chew. He stared, wide eyed as she ground it down, and then swallowed it slowly, licking her lips.
He felt his breath catch, and come back in a small gasp, and he blinked back to reality, from the fantasies his mind had conjured up, watching her, and looked at her, laughing nervously. "You . . . Rook, you're not like any other pony I've ever met!"
She laughed, a joyful giggle, hand coming up to cover her mouth. He breathed out in relief, finishing up bagging her purchase and passed it over the coutner. He charged her fifteen bits for it, and she put a hand on his, smiling at him, crimson eyes twinkling. "Oh, Gully . . . You've got no idea." She said, before taking her steak and walking out, leaving him staring after her, heart beating and blood rushing in his ears, and in desperate need of a cold shower.
The boards of Ponyville Station's platform creaked lightly under his shoes as Pip stepped off the train, stretching. It was good to be back, and he looked around, smiling at the other ponies getting off the train, and breathing in the cool air of the spring evening. Cloudsdale had outdone themselves on this one, it was almost too perfect. Although, perhaps that great floating city could not take all the credit. Much of what made this evening so perfect was Ponyville itself, the quaint thatched rooftops gleaming lightly with an early dew under the light of the many, arcanotech streetlamps, which retained their old, gas powered design, in spite of the technological upgrade.
Pip turned as he heard a voice call out, and smiled, seeing his mum, Silky Weave heading towards him. She was wearing a light jacket over a t-shirt and jeans, her boots tapping on the wooden platform as she came up to him and pulled him into a hug. He returned it, holding her close, swallowing slightly as he smelled the perfume she wore, that she'd always worn, the scent of childhood, of safety and love.
She pulled back, blinking at him with soft, olive green eyes as she smiled at him, but with a worried tinge to it. "So? What did the Princess want?"
He nodded slowly and cleared his throat, taking her hands and took a breath. ". . . Let's go home. I'll tell you there." He said, swallowing again as she frowned, looking around, and then nodding slowly. He knew that bit of evasiveness would not sit well with her, but he didn't feel like telling her out in the open, where anypony could hear.
And so they walked, standing close, shoulders touching as they made their way through the streets. Their home wasn't that close to the train station, in fact it was across town, but it wasn't the first time they had made the walk, and it wouldn't be the last, he was sure. They walked down the street, passing through the Element's Square, where the statue of Princess Twilight and her friends, along with Town Hall, typically referred to as the Pavillion stood, and turned to the south, walking across the great Ponyville bridge. The moved through the Merchant's District, with its many tents and stalls, mostly all closed for the night, and passing the Carousel Boutique, Pip waving at Sandbar, who smiled and waved from the window, as he was closing the shop down.
Down the southern path they walked, the Ponyville Clocktower coming in to view over the rooftops at the edge of town, but they stopped, turning off before actually leaving town, and walked down to a small, but comfortable looking single story cottage. A small, motorized scooter sat outside, there to help SIlky when she needed to go to market and he wasn't at home. However, she had walked, tonight, as they both could not fit on the scooter, and she enjoyed walking with her son. There was a comfortable, companionable silence they often shared, where neither felt the need to speak, but knew they could, if they needed to.
She could tell that her son needed to talk about something, she just wasn't certain what.
Pip had tried to come up with a way of telling his mum, the whole way home, he'd even rehearsed what to say, several times over. But, now that they were here, Silky opening the door to their house and leading the way in, he wasn't sure how to progress. He felt like the right words just wouldn't come to him. His head hurt, and his heart was in his throat every time he thought about what he had to tell her.
"Do you want something to eat, love?" She asked him, and he swallowed past the lump in his throat.
"N-No, mum, thanks." He said, sighing. "I'm just gonna go change, real quick."
"Alright, Pippy." She said, and Pip blanched, remembering Cozy calling him the same thing, earlier. "Once you're done, you come back here and tell me what happened, though! I'm all sorts of curious!"
"I will, mum!" He said, sighing again as he headed for his bedroom. He shut the door behind himself, locking the knob, then took off his jacket, tossing it onto his bed as he sat down on the edge of it, heavily. As he bent down ,untying his shoes, he felt the exhaustion from the day start settling in on him, like a wet blanket, trying its best to press him back into the mattress behind him. He slipping out of one shoe, and then the other, kicking them across the room to lay by the door, and somehow found himself laying on his back on the bed. Just for a moment, he needed to rest his eyes. . . .
"Pip! Are you alright!?" His mum's voice, accompanied by the sound of her knocking on his door, jarred him awake, and he sat up, still basically dressed. He staggered to his feet, rubbing his eyes.
"Y-Yes, yes, mum! Sorry!" He walked over, unlocking the door and opened it up, blinking blearily at her. She looked at him, worriedly and put a hand on his chest.
"Are you alright, Pip? You came back here half an hour ago." She said, and he sighed, reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck.
"I . . . Sorry, Mum, I'm just . . . more worn out from today, than I thought." He said, blinking at as she stepped in and hugged him. He put his arms around her, feeling the safet in the embrace, the love and care, and sighed , leaning into it. After a moment, Silky stepped back, meeting his eyes.
"What is it, Pippy?" She asked, face serious, and he took a breath, feeling his facade crack, and he stepped back away from her, turning and looking into his room.
"I . . . I don't know how to say . . . It's not . . . bad, really, just . . . Maybe a bit . . . worrisome?" He said, glancing over at her. She looked at him for a moment, before smiling softly and walking over, sitting down on the edge of his bed and patting it, telling him to sit by her. He walked over, sitting down with her, and she put a hand on his, meeting his eyes.
"I promise, Pippy, I'll only be worried if it's something to genuinely worry about. Now . . . Tell me!" She pressed, smiling, but still serious. He knew she was right, he needed to just tell her, and he also knew that she knew he knew that. ANd so, with a sigh, he did. He told her all of it, everything that happened since he left that morning, leaving nothing out. He even went over the hellish flight to Canterlot, and how he threw up over the side of the walkway, which had her chuckling.
He told about meeting with Princess Twilight, her praise of his performance, and then . . . he told her about meeting Cozy Glow. Silky went very quiet, and still, but her attention never left him. She listened as he explained what had followed, blushing intensely while relaying how flirtatious the mare had been, of how she had acted with him, and spoken to him. He told her about the Princess' intentions, the idea of Cozy helping the Guard to track criminals of a similar nature to herself, and how he was the first one Twilight had contacted regarding it. He also told her of how Cozy had seemed smitten with the idea of working with him, and had made his participation a requirement for her to agree to the task.
He thought of not mentioning the final confrontation with Cozy, after leaving the Princess' office, but, finally, he let it out, as well. Mentioning how she had touched him, spoken to him. What she had said, about him manipulating the Princess, and how it had made him feel conflicted. About how her entire presence made him feel conflicted.
As he finished speaking, he simply sat, staring at his lap, feeling her hand on his, gentle and warm and as familiar as his own. He slowly looked up at her, to find her looking thoughtfully across the room, bottom lip held gently in her teeth, a habit she had when she was thinking.
Finally, she glanced over at him, eyes meeting his gaze. "The Princess asked you to this?" She asked him, calmly, and he swallowed, nodding.
"Yes, Mum." He said, feeling like the sweat on his brow must be visible.
SHe took a breath and patted his hand, smiling at him a little tightly. "I'm not going to lie, and say that I'm not worried. But . . . The Princess asked, and if she thinks this might help that filly heal whatever wounds she has, then . . . Well. You've got my support." She said, leaning in and giving him a light kiss on the cheek, and he smiled, leaning in as she pulled him into a hug.
"Thanks, Mum." He said, softly, sighing in relief.
The Downtown District was split into two halves by the River Epona, the North side and the South. Of the two, the South was perhaps the better off, though neither were particularly pleasant to live in. The North side was like a gutter, collecting all the refuse and castoffs from the rest of the city and hiding them in the shadow of the mountain, and the city that clung to it's southern face, overhanging the squalor of the District below.
Crime was still quite the problem, in either side of Downtown, with gangs owning swathes of territory along either side of the river, their members fueld by a long born hatred of those who lived high above in the gilded city. They knew no mercy towards those who weren't their own, and they knew no fear of the Guard, who had fought with them for ages.
There was an uneasy truce, between the gangs and the Guards, which had been ongoing for over eight years, and had been brokered by Princess Twilight herself, who had shown little fear in stepping into the filth and depravity of the District. She had shown kindness to the ponies there, helped them and fed them, clothed them and gave them shelter. Her only request, was that the violence, towards her GUard and each other, end. For the most part, it had, but the gangs refused to give up their territory, even with the Princess promising them peace.
As such, Guards still tended to feel uneasy, when sent into Downtown for anything other than a run of the mill patrol. That was why the young Thestral, Steel Wings, kept shifting uneasily, his ears twitching as he listened for any sign of threat while he sat on the North side rooftop, trousers slowly soaking through under the light rain that had started falling half and hour ago, in spite of the light tarp they had put up.
The other half of his team, a unicorn mare named Violet Star, was sitting on a low stool, looking through a short range telescope at the building across the street, specifcally watching the third story window, though she occasionally would lean back from the telescope to watch the street below.
It should not have taken the subject this long to get back from the morning meeting, but Steel WIngs had been in contact with other members of the guard, who said that apparently, she had taken the opportunity to go shopping, including another stop by that thrifty little griffin shop on the other side of ther river. Which meant she'd be cooking up meat, tonight. The thought of a nice, juicy piece of red meat set the thestral's mouth to watering, and he had to lick his lips, for the tenth time since he found out.
The little mare's cooking seemed almost good enough to die for. Almost, not that he was crazy or suicidal enough to want to try it.
VIolet Star, on the other hand. . . . The mare bit her lip as she looked down at the street again, before glancing back at him. "Hey, you think she's single?" She asked, for the twelfth time since they'd started this op, and Steel Wings sighed.
"For the last time, Star, I don't know, and, also for the last time, I don't think you'd wanna try your luck with that!" He said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.
"You keep saying that, but I don't see why not! She's cute, is obviously a good cook and has excellent taste in music! So she maybe used to be a terrorist, so what? One of the Princess' best friends used to run a freakin' cult for Harmony's sake!" The unicorn said, clearly serious, and so the thestral laid his head back on his pack, which he'd been using as a makeshift head rest against the low barrier wall that encircled the building's rooftop.
"Star, that 'cute' little mare is freakin' Cozy Glow, okay? She didn't just used to be a terrorist. She was, and potentially still is the most dangerous pony in Equestria, maybe most dangerous creature period."
"What, even more than a dragon?!" Violet Star asked, disbelief written plain on her face.
"Look, think about some of the other villains that Twilight and her friends once faced, right? Sombra? Came really, really close to taking over the kingdom, the second time around. Tirek? Nearly had victory, if it weren't for the Elements rewarding Twilight and the others. Chrysalis-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. She came close three or four times! What's your point? Cozy only came close a couple of times, right?"
Steel Wings chuckled and shook his head. "You really don't read, do you? Weren't you paying attention, when she was on trial?"
"Pfft, no! I was, like, ten." The mare replied, quirking an eyebrow.
"Well, if you had, you'd know . . . Cozy came just as close, maybe closer than some of them . . . and the first time? She didn't have any magic powers. Just her brain, and the help of others she had manipulated or tricked into working for her. She nearly destroyed the entire world, not just this Kingdom. And, in the process . . . a lot of ponies died. And, let's not forget, she was only thirteen, then."
"Right. I see." The unicorn said, chewing her lip, before smirking a little. "Ya know, a mare that smart and dangerous is . . . kinda hot."
"Oh, fuck, Star, you're incorridgeble!" Steel WIngs said, shaking his head and facepalming, while the mare just chuckled.
"Look, man, she's cute! What can I say!"
WIth a clench of his jaw, Steel Wings nodded. "Well, maybe then you'd like to know the other reason that I don't think it would work out well, between you two."
VIolet Star looked over at him, rolling her eyes. "Oh, yeah? What's that?"
"She hates unicorns." The stallion said, simply, and the mare blinked, surprised.
"What? Why?"
He shrugged. "Nopony knows. She never said, and they've never been able to find out anything of real substance about her past. But, the fact that she hates magic users in general, and unicorns especially, can't be denied. The first time, during the Crisis? She targeted unicorn magic, specifically, with her ritual, tried to neuter them all. There was also . . . what she did to any unicorns she captured. . . . " He said, biting his lip.
"What?" Violet Star asked, frowning at him. "What did she do?"
He looked up at her and swallowed, shaking his head. "Look, you've got access to her file, same as me. It's all in there, so maybe you should just, you know . . . fucking read it, this time, and pay attention. Kinda like you should be to the scope?"
WIth a jump, the unicorn turned, looking out over the street and spotting what the older, sharper eared thestral had already heard. Cozy Glow was walking down the side of the street, bags in both hands, shoes tapping on the pavement as she headed up to the door of her building, and headed inside.
Steel Wings sat up where he could keep an eye on the bay window of the mare's apartment. If she stuck to her usual routine. . . .
A few moments later, the lights came on in the apartment, and the curtains for the window were pushed open, showing the mare standing, looking out on the night. She leaned up, loosening the latch to the windows and pushed them open, leaning out and smiling. The two guards sighed, the unicorn snickering a bit when the pink pegasus looked right over at their rooftop and gave a little wave.
Of *course* she knew they were there. They had realized that a week into their 'stake out', when they had arrived at their post a bit later than usual and found a prepared meal and a thermos of coffee waiting for them, along with a rather snarky letter wishing them a comfortable night. She had even signed it, and left a little smile face and a line of Xs and Os.
The mare turned away from the window and the thestral turned away, slumping back down into his seat. The unicorn, however, pressed her eye to the scope, leering. Steel Wings glared up at her. "You fucking pervert." He said, shaking his head.
"What?" THe unicorn mare said, glancing down at him. "She's the one stripping off in front of an open window when she knows she's being watched. Besides . . . it's a hell of a show." She said, turning back to the scope with a smirk.
The thestral just shook his head, sighing and glancing up at the darkening sky above, wishing he had any other pony for a partner but this weirdo.
Coming upstairs, she noticed Ms. Flint, the landlady, pounding on a door down the second floor, and quickly headed up before the mouty cunt could notice her. On her third floor, an Mrs. Tender, the old mare who lived in 301, was poking her head out of her door, staring down the hall, but spared the pegasus a passing glance and a smile, which she returned.
Looking down towards what had the mare's attention, the pegasus saw him, a big burly dragon, who standing over an earth pony mare, who had back up against the door and was tearfully shaking her head, while he loomed over her, smirking.
The pegasus idly watched as she walked past 301 and turned, stopping and setting her bags down in front of her own door, 302, and digging for her keys. In Ponyville, nopony ever locked their doors, and she was certain that had not changed in the last decade. Here, though, in Downtown Canterlot, nopony ever left their doors unlocked, and for the pegasus, this was doubly so.
Two deadbolts and the doorknob, she had to unlock, so she had plenty of time to watch the mare tearfully arguing, but slowly being pushed down and back by the dragon, until, finally, she relented, nodding and forcing a smile as she turned, opening her door. The drake, a burly sort, with dark amber scales and a black crown of headspikes, followed her in, leering. A moment later, a young earth pony colt, perhaps around ten years old, walked out, hurrying down the hall, frowning, a box in his hands. Mrs. Tender stepped aside, letting him into her apartment without complaint, while throwing a disapproving, and slightly frightened, look down the hall towards 304.
Door unlocked, the pegasus opened up the portal and stepped inside, picking her bags up as she went. She sat them down on the floor, turned and shut the door, turning the locks, then sliding the chain lock into place, along with the boot she had purchased which she jammed into place under the knob, the foot of it resting against the floor.
Then, she sighed softly, closing her eyes and stretching her body out, hands above her head, and smiled. She turned away, ruffling her wings, and left her face in the jar by the door. She chuckled at the thought, rolling her eyes, and turned, looking at the window as she flipped on the lights.
Of course, she knew they were there. Had known from day one and at first, she had been, in her mind, understandably furious. However, after throwing a tantrum to both her therapist, who gave approximately zero shits, and even to Princess Twilight, who gave maybe an ounce more of shit than Sound Mind had, she had decided that if she couldn't be rid of them, she'd have to deal with it herself.
Her home was a safe place, for her. A place where she didn't need to pretend to care, and she valued that. A place where she could lock the doors, turn on the music and pretend that the rest of the world did not exist. She absolutely despised the invasion of her privacy that the Guard stake out constituted, and may have considered a few . . . less than smart possibilities, in the early days, to try and get rid of them.
However, smart was something she had always been, and so she eschewed those dangerous plans, sure to backfire, fairly quickly. Which had left her with a conundrum; how to deal with them, if she couldn't get rid of them? At first, she had simply kept her window shut and ignored them. But, over time this grew stifling. She enjoyed opening the window up, especially during the warmer months, and hated not being able to.
Finally, a thought occurred to her. If they were watching her, then chances were good they already knew exactly who she was, and what. No doubt, Twilight had put them on her, personally, probably gave them a nice thick file to read, beforehand, too. So, if they knew, already, there was no point in pretending. After that, she had the thought that maybe, she could have some fun with them.
So, she cooked them dinner. She knew where they watched her from, had even found where they'd been camping out in the rain one morning, when she flew up there before going to her appointment with Sound Mind. So, it wasn't hard to fix up a big dinner one night, and the next night, she came home early, after slipping the group that had been tailing her through the city. Seriously, if that was as good as the Stellars could do at tailing somepony, they needed her help.
She had pulled out the leftovers from the meal the night before, heating them up and putting them in a to-go bowl, and had flown them, along with a thermos of coffee and a little hello note, up to the stake out post and left it there for them.
Since then, she'd come up with ever more creative ways of messing with them, most recent being stripping off in front of the window. She was pretty sure one of them kept watching, and the thought made her smirk. She loved knowing that one of Twilight's precious Guard was a fucking pervert.
After stripping, though, it was time to properly relax. So, she went to the hook by the door and fetched down an oversized t-shirt, which came down to mid thigh on her, and pulled it on, then walked over to the kitchenette, turning on the lights. Her bags were already sitting on the bar counter, nearby the record player. She bent down under the bar, to the crate of vinyls, and sorted through them, smiling and pulling out a personal favorite, and putting it on.
Hailstorm, a pegasus rocker from Manehattan who got her start back in the mid '90s of Celestia's Rule, around the time of her own birth, started belting one of her covers, in this case a Coloratura hit, Bad Romance. The pink pegasus tilted her head back, closing her eyes and letting the tune drift over her. Maybe it was a little cliche, for someone like her to listen to hard rock, she wasn't sure. All she knew was it spoke to her, and so she listened to it.
She took a breath, turning to the bags and began pulling out the things she had bought. After all, a bit of work to do, if she wanted to eat tonight. Out came the salad fixings, the potato and the steak. The meat was opened up and placed in the refrigerator on a plate until it was needed, and she put the salad fixings in a strainer, and washed them thorougly in the sink.
She prepared the potato next, wrapping it in aluminium foil and sliding it into the over in a small pan to bake, and then she turned her attention to the salad. Lettuce, was easy, she tore it up, placing it in a large bowl, before bringing the carrots over to a cutting board. Two or three, would be plenty, the rest went in the fridge. She walked over to the wall at the end of the kitchen, where a bull's eye had been crudely drawn. A chef's knife was stuck into the wall, near the center, and she pulled it out with a smooth motion.
The album switched over, to an original song, Freak Like Me. She smirked, running the fingers of her left hand lightly over the edge of the knife, admiring the way the light glinted off of it. It was expensive, probably the most expensive thing in the apartment. She turned, walking back to the cutting board, and leaned over, beginning to work, chopping the carrots smoothly, picking up small piles using the flat of the blade and her fingers, dumping them off in the salad bowl with ease.
Next up, celery, which met a similar fate to the carrots, as did the peppers. THe knife was laid aside and she turned her attention to tossing the salad a bit, then turned and put it into the fridge, and out came the meat. She took it over to the cutting board, slipping the steak off onto the wooden surface and picking up the knife. WIth a few deft movements she began to slice the meat into thin slivers, which she then sliced in half.
She stepped back, tilting her head to admire her work. Eight perfectly sized, symetrical strips of steak lay on the board, and she felt a wave of satisfaction wash over her. She turned, walking over and got out a skillet, which she prepped quickly and set on the stove, before going back for the meat. She slipped the steak off into the pan and, grabbing up a wooden spatula, let it begin to grill while she kept an eye on it.
Her hips bopped back and forth to the tune of the music, tail shifting side to side. When the song ended, she checked the steak, smiling at the state it was in, and decided to let it go for a bit longer. THe next song came on, and she took a breath. Another cover, this time one of Trot Guitar's hits, from back in 970s. Hell is for Children.
She took another breath, motions slowing as she let the hard rock guitar wash over her. The lyrics kicked in and she turned, smoothly, on one heel, walking over and raching for the record player. She paused, as the song thrummed into her head, into her bones, and she felt it, all the way down to her toes. . . .
The record scratched as she took the needle off, and she flinched slightly, picking up the disk in the sudden, jarring silence and checking it over, making certain that it had suffered no permanent damage, before sighing and lowering it. She picked up its sleeve, sliding it back inside and putting it away, before turning back to the stove.
She finished cooking her food, laying it out ina deep plate ,the salad with the steak laying on top of it, a thin coating of vinaigrette over it, and the baked potato to the side, buttered and seasoned. She paused on her way out to the living room, glancing at the record player. She sat the plate down, and walked over, bending down and looking at the records in their box. SHe reached out, picking another, and set it to play.
It was a personal mixed recording of some of her faves, and Transform, a swingy hit with a jarring break into rock in the middle, by the band Steam Powered Giraffe, began to filter through the room, and she took a breath, letting it wash over her and turn her lips up into a smile as she picked her plate back up and walked to her chair in the living room. She sat down, kicking her bare feet up on the coffee table, because fuck it, and started eating.
She glanced over at the side table, nearest her, at the game of chess that was half finished, and pursed her lips, sitting up once more as she looked at the layout of the pieces. She'd been playing herself for a few weeks now, taking her time and thinking each move through as though her success depended on it. Playing yourself in Chess was difficult, mostly because it was very hard to avoid choosing which side would win ahead of time.
She found it a useful practice, though, to learn to focus on what was right in front of her, and to think as two separate people, a skill that was rather important when a voice in your brain perpetually wanted to kill anypony who got too close to you. She took a breath and smirked as she spotted a move that could gurantee black a victory in four moves. She reached out, moving her king side knight forward, and sat back, taking another bite, closing her eyes as the steak felt like it melted on her tongue, just the slightlest bite of blood texturing it.
Perfection.
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Nice chapter. Interesting how Pip and her mother were among those who wanted Cozy to get a second chance despite what she did. If nothing else at least she got an actual trial here.
10772487
In my headcanon, she did in the show, too, they just cut it out for time.