Family Begins With You

by Jmaster49

Arc XXVI Episode VIII: Kindly Interrogation

“Alright, wise guy, what’s the deal?” Fluttershy put her hands on the interrogation table as the dim light hung over both herself and Ren.

Officers Pale, Quick, and Cork had all returned to properly apprehend the criminals and to keep watch over them while the girl went to work on the criminal with hard-hitting questions.

Something Quick Draw was uncertain of.

“...are you sure she knows what she’s doing?” Quick whispered to Diamond Tiara, “She doesn’t seem like the proper type to work an interrogation. She’s not even chloroforming him.”

Tiara stared at the officer for a moment. “...you actually do that??”

Quick chuckled and shook her head. “I’m kidding. But seriously, do you think she’ll be alright?”

“...don’t underestimate the power of kindness.”

In the interrogation room…

“I am under no obligation to tell you anything,” Ren replied, “I’ve been on the brink of death and survived countless beatings at the hands of skilled professionals. There’s absolutely nothing you could do to possibly--”

Suddenly, a hamster crawled onto the table, and stared at Ren with its big, bulgy eyes, demanding his attention and his sympathy.

“...” And the young man found himself staring back through his messy head of black hair.

Fluttershy folded her arms and went on to explain herself. “I know you used to have a pet hamster that was taken from you when you were younger. He was your best friend and some bullies in your school drowned the poor thing. In your moment of weakness you were taken in by the yakuza and the rest is history. Isn’t that right?”

Tears started rolling down his face from behind his hair. Ren could no longer uphold his cold outer shell as he pet the hamster on the head. “I…don’t regret my decision to join them. This is my life now…”

“But it doesn’t have to be,” Fluttershy insisted, “You can do the right thing by serving time for your crimes and help us stop the other gangsters from causing anymore trouble. Think of all the poor, innocent animals that could get hurt if they were allowed to run amok…”

From outside the interrogation room, Quick observed her with an impressed scoff. “Heh. She’s good. No idea what sort of trick she’s pulling, but it must be good if she’s making a hardened gangster cry in front of her.”

“I told ya,” Diamond Tiara said with a shrug, “Don’t underestimate how strong kindness can be.”

“Well…I think I’m…in a bit of a bind here…” Ren muttered as he looked at the hamster, “It wouldn’t be right for me to betray them all…but I suppose I have no choice. At this rate, they’re going to destroy themselves if someone doesn’t intervene.”

“...So will you tell me what I wanna know?” Fluttershy asked.

“...I’d like it if this ‘Starswirl’ fellow was here to listen as well. They’re looking for him.”

As if right on cue, Sunset, Aidon, and Starswirl had all arrived at the police station moments later where they were quickly briefed on the situation by Sheriff Pale.

“...and to think we came back and found the station in this state,” he muttered, “they were smart to attack while we were gone, I’ll give them that much.”

“Now I see why the princesses always had a royal guard stationed around the clock,” Sunset wondered aloud, “But I guess that’s not as practical for humans, huh?”

“Not really, no.”

Meanwhile, Starswirl had entered the interrogation room and regarded the young man with a suspicious glare. “I take it your superiors wish to speak with me.”

“...something like that, yes,” Ren admitted, “They refuse to conduct any more business until they find the one responsible for bringing magic into this world.”

“Which falls to me in turn,” the old man rolled his eyes, “Of course. It’s no different from Equestria. Everyone always has to come back to me because I somehow left something somewhere.” He sighed as he scratched his head. “...don’t get old. Otherwise you’ll all end up like me, and that’s not something we need.”

“...Anyway…” Fluttershy spoke up, looking in Ren’s direction. “Are you willing to cooperate with us now? It’ll go much smoother if you simply tell us where they’re located.”

At last, Ren was willing to comply. “...alright…”

In the hall nearby…

“...Diamond Tiara?” Sunset asked with a hint of concern in her voice. “You fought alongside Fluttershy? Were you okay?”

“Uch--don’t treat me like some baby,’ Tiara huffed with a hand on her hip, “I’m more than capable of fending for myself…but I appreciate your concern either way.”

“I just wanna make sure,” Sunset continued, “I know Keiji would be devastated if something happened to you. You guys care about each other and I wouldn’t want something bad to happen, ya know?”

Tiara’s expression softened as she listened to Sunset’s words. “I see…well in that case, thanks. At this point I’m mostly invested in trying to find out who was really behind the death of Applejack’s parents. Keiji said he was working on a way to trace the chemical but…”

“He’s smart. He’ll figure out a way, trust me,” Sunset did her best to encourage her with a hand on Tiara’s shoulder. “In fact, I bet he’s already figured it out right now and is gonna congratulate you on your new powers…and take you on a quick date to celebrate--”

The pink girl blushed and stuttered. “W-wh--Sunset, quit teasing us! He’ll…do what he wants. That’s what I like about him.”

“Exactly,” Sunset replied smugly with a wide grin, “You know what I’m talkin’ about.”

Just then, Fluttershy walked out to them and spoke up.

“Alright, Sunset. We got the info we need. We mount our attack tomorrow evening.”