To Regain What was Lost

“Sorry you had to see that…

If you saw that…I really don’t know when you passed out.

Hopefully you missed the…well never mind.

…

I should probably deal with your wounds before I move you.

You are bleeding quite a bit, nothing life threatening though.

I’m sorry you got involved in this.”

Viola’s eyes opened wide and she bolted right up. She looked around the room she was in with its mess of discarded sheet music that was piled on a desk right next to half empty bottles of whiskey and brandy. The walls were bare except for a single picture of an elderly black mare that hung next to the cracked open closet door. She could spy a few bow ties hanging through the crack. She looked down at herself and saw that she laying in a king size bed and was wrapped up in a light red blanket that was faded from all its repeated washes.

“My room? How did I…was it just a dream?” she silently muttered to herself.

She untangled herself from her blanket and gave her body a once over.

No bruises, no cut’s, no lingering soreness in her body.

“Yes, a dream. That has to be it, it was all a dream. There is no way… that could have been real. It was all just a really bad dream,” she reassured herself.

Viola smiled and hopped out of her bed. “Yes after my private concert for Lord Storm last night I must have been so exhausted that I walked home half asleep and immediately passed out when I got in. Yes that’s it, and that dream was just brought on by all those silly rumors my friends kept telling me about him. He was such a gentlecolt to me there is absolutely no way he’s a psychotic rapist like all those rumors say,” she thought to herself as she made her way to her bathroom. She turned on her faucet and splashed some water on her face to help wake herself up. She noticed the distressed state of her mane in the mirror. She grabbed her brush and gave it a few runs through her hair to straighten it out. Content with her appearance she flashed a small smile at her reflection before she left the bathroom in search of some breakfast. She walked down the short hallway that connected her bedroom and bathroom with the rest of the small apartment in which she lived. She rounded the corner into her small living room and stopped.

Lying on her worn red couch with its back turned to her was a black coated, brown maned Earth Pony stallion. On his flank was a picture of a pint glass filled with a yellow cloudy liquid with a healthy head of foam on top. Viola stood and stared at the stallion as he silently snored into the couches upholstery. Gathering her wits she loudly cleared her throat, “AHEM.”

The stallion did not stir.

Frowning she walked up to the snoring stallion and poked him rather hard in the side.

“Five more minutes,” he mumbled into the couch.

Viola rolled her eyes. “You will either get up now. So you can tell me who you are, or you can tell me when the Guard drags you off,” she spoke loudly as she poked him hard in the side again.

The stallion groaned and rolled over. He opened his eyes. His brown irises stared into Viola’s green ones. “They call me IP” he offered her a friendly smile.

“Okay IP, why were you asleep on my couch?”

“Well it was pretty late once I finally got you home and into bed, so I thought you wouldn’t mind if I crashed on your couch for the night.”

Viola gave him a confused look. “You brought me home last night?”

“Yea, you must have drank pretty hard last night. Cause I found you passed out in an alleyway a couple blocks away. Luckily I found your saddle bag nearby and was able to figure out where you live thanks to your ID. Sleeping off a night of hard drinkin in an abandoned alleyway is never fun. I should know,” he chuckled.

“Drinking? Passed Out? I…I don’t remember doing any of that.”

He sat up on the couch and shrugged. “Not really surprising. I mean like I said, you were pretty far gone when I found you. You were even mumbling in your sleep every now and then. It was something about magic, and a unicorn, or something like that.”

“Unicorn? Magic?” Viola’s blood went cold.

“Yup, so how are you feeling? Hungover at all?”

“No…I don’t have a hangover,” she absent mindedly said as she walked over to the other side of the room and turned on a small T.V. set.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, nothing… Nothing… So umm IP why were you wandering around the streets of Cloudsdale last night?” she asked as she fiddled with the TV’s remote.

“Well actually I had just gotten into to town last night. I was looking for an affordable hotel room when I stumbled on you.”

“I see, I see.”

“Yea, I gonna be in town for a couple of weeks for business purposes. You see I run a small…”

Viola’s eyes were wide.

Her mouth shut into a thin line.

Her ears were perked up in attention, but she did not hear what IP said.

She could only hear the TV and the mare reporting in front of a statue that was covered in blood.

“It has been confirmed by the Council and the Guard that the stallion that was found pinned to the Council Statue earlier this morning was indeed Council Member Lord Storm. There is no mentioned on how or why such a crime was committed, but the current theory is terrorism. But the investigation is still ongoing. The Council has stated that they currently have no comment on the situation.  More on this story as it develops.”

“Hey are you alright? Hey answer me,” IP said as he shook Viola knocking her out of her stupor.

“Ah not a dream… Really happened… Oh God… ” she babbled. Her eyes went wide and she looked around frantically, she tried to bolt but IP grabbed onto her and held her in place. “I have to get out of here! I was the last one who saw him alive. Oh God I’m probably a murder suspect!” she yelled, trying to break away from IP’s grasp.

“Wow calm down you are making no sense, just calm down,” IP said as he gazed intensely into Viola’s eyes. Viola slowly felt herself relax and she let out a light whimpering sigh. IP let go of her. “Alright now, start from the beginning.”

“I was there last night. With him when he died… he was going to…”

Viola told him everything, everything she could remember. About her mad dash through the night from Lord Storm’s manor, her failed attempt at hiding behind the Council Statue, and even her beating she received from the smiling Lord Storm. When she got to the white Unicorn she was trying to fight back tears and failing.

“I think he was using magic. I know it sounds crazy but that’s the only way I can explain what I saw. I don’t remember anything after that. I’m guessing that’s when I passed out,” she sniffed out.

IP handed her a box of tissues and uttered out an, “I see.”

“Thank you.” She grabbed a tissue and tapped at her eyes with it. “We should probably get out of here before the Guard shows up. They would never believe a crazy story like that. Just let me grab a few things.”

“I really don’t think you’re going to have to worry about that,” IP said.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well just think about it. According to the news cast they found his body hours ago. If the Guard or anypony knew you were with him last night, they would of already have come and arrested you.”

“But…”

“Did anypony last night see you together at all?” IP interrupted.

“Well no, like I said it was a private concert. The only ponies in his manor were him and I. There were no servants or anything, and the streets were deserted.”

“Therefore no pony of importance knew you were there, also if you were saying was true he probably didn’t have anything written down about you visiting him last night for deniability reasons,” He reassured Viola.

“So I’m in the clear?”

“Well since no pony is currently trying to kick down your door, I think it’s safe to say that you are,” he chuckled.

“I… I…” Viola sniffed and tried to straighten herself out. “Thank you IP, I feel more relieved now. I think you are right if I was going to be arrested I already would be by now.”

“Yea, but you should still probably lay low for at least a day or two, Just to be safe.”

“Yes, thank you IP.” Viola smiled.

“No problem. Hey why don’t I make us some breakfast? You know as a thank you for not calling the Guard when you found a strange stallion sleeping on your couch,” he joked.

“Well that would be lovely,” she chuckled.

“Cool, hey do you got stuff to make pancakes?”  IP asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“Hmm I think I do,” Viola said as she made started to make her way to the kitchen.

A knock on the door stopped her.

Viola gulped and looked to IP who stuck his head out the kitchen’s door. He nodded to her and pointed a hoof at the door. Viola nodded in return and shakily walked up to the door. “Who is it?” she asked with fake confidence, she was terrified.

“Viola it’s us,” a female and male voice answered back immediately.

Viola faintly smiled and opened the door. A panicked looking Pegasus and Unicorn rushed in and tackled Viola.

“Viola are you okay?” asked the Pegasus a little more loudly than he probably should as he shook Viola. He was a dull yellow color with a two toned mane of blue and black, he had no cutie mark. His wings were the oddest thing about him for they were fully developed, uncommon for this day and age.

“Not so loud Sparky. We have no idea who could be listening,” said the Unicorn. Her fur was a teal color with light sea foam green hair, her horn almost nonexistent. Her cutie mark was a mask with one half smiling and one half frowning. “Go on Sparky secure the perimeter or whatever it is they taught you.”

Sparky nodded and turned around. He was met with the image of IP sitting behind the closed apartment door. He had his head tilted to the side and was curiously watching them.

Sparky flared out his wings and crouched into an attacking position. “Who are you?” he growled out.

“IP,” he calmly replied

“What kind of name is IP?”

“I don’t know, what kind of name is Sparky? Well anyway I hope you two like pancakes.” IP then got up and walked back into the kitchen.

Sparky turned around and looked at Viola, who had her face pushed into the Unicorns chest in a protective embrace. “Who was that Viola?” he asked.

Viola broke free from the Unicorns grasp. “He’s IP. Well he’s the one who found me last night and brought me home.”

“Well Storm was a pony with many enemies.”

“Indeed he was.”

“Should we inform the High Council about this Dragon nonsense?”

“And let them think that we don’t know how to handle our own state, I say no!”

“I agree. I say we just bury him and start on finding his replacement.”

“I concur, and hopefully our new associate will be more discreet in their other activities.”

“Indeed, he always did enjoy seeing his name in the news. No matter what the situation was. He was just lucky that he always had a way to hide the truth.”

“That didn’t help him in the end though did it?”

“No it did not, but let’s discuss other matters now. Is the facility still on schedule?”

“Yes.”

Spark “Sparky” Light left the bar and breathed in the fresh night air. He had been following IP for the last two hours, ever since the pony had left Viola’s apartment. “Well it looks like Aqua and I were just being paranoid. It seems he is just here on business… I wonder how his beer tastes. Those pancakes he made were good and he said he poured some of his beer into the batter…I’ll have to get a sample the next time I see him,” Spark silently thought as he walked down the deserted street.

Spark slowly smiled and let the tension he didn’t even know he was holding roll off him. Ever since he first woke up this morning and turned on the news all he had been doing was worrying about his good friend Viola. It was he who first called Aqua, Viola’s co-worker and best friend, about the murder of Lord Storm. They both knew that Viola was supposed to have given him a private concert that night. And they both knew that Lord Storm wanted more than a private concert. You know a lot of things when you’ve lived in Cloudsdale your whole life. They have both begged for her to not to do it. But Viola can and was stubborn on that matter. She was never one to believe rumors even when those rumors were generally proven to be true. He had spent most of the night worrying about her, but now none of that mattered. She was safe, and that’s all that mattered.

Spark rounded a corner and stopped.

A light brown unicorn was crawling out of an alleyway. He tried to scream for help, but an unseen force clamped his mouth shut and pulled him back into the alley.

Spark didn’t hesitate. He rushed toward the alleyway and swerved into it so fast that he almost crashed into the wall. He did not crash, but he did stop.

For sitting in the alleyway was a snow white unicorn with a dark red mane and eyes. He was intently inspecting a fore hoof that was covered in dust. In fact there was dust all around him, on the ground, even in the air. His gaze looked up and spotted Spark staring dumbfounded at him.

“Well hello there.” He said waving his dust covered hoof.

“You…you’re…the unicorn Viola mentioned.”

“Viola?” He blew the dust off his hoof. “Oh you mean the mare from last night. Is she alright? I did what I could for her… magic can be an iffy thing sometimes Sparky.”

“Well she seems to be fi…” Spark stopped. “Wait how do you know my nickname?”

The Unicorn tapped his horn and uttered “Magic, Spark… Magic.” He smiled.

“Right… so umm what’s your name anyway?”

“Well… you can call me Drake if you want.” He shrugged.

“Drake? Is that your real name?”

The Unicorn did not answer.

“Well then Drake…why did you kill Lord Storm?”

“Why? Are you really asking me that question? He was about to rape your friend you know? And besides we all know that’s not the only reason why he should have died.” He smirked.

“Well that may be true, but….you should still be brought in,” Spark said advancing slowly towards the Unicorn.

“Oh? And are you the one who’s going to bring me in? I’m pretty sure you’re physically capable in doing so, but…” He tapped his horn again.

Spark stopped his advancing. “I could always call the Guard, you know?” he said, but he still didn’t move.

“Oh yes that’s a fine idea.” he jovially replied, but the enthusiasm didn’t stay. His face quickly changed to a stern one. “This isn’t really dust I’m sitting in you know? But by all means if you want to call the Guard on me please do so. Just keep in mind that I would like to keep my identity a secret in this town for the time being, and I would do anything to keep it that way. And I do mean anything.” He glared at Spark.

Spark sighed and sat down. “Message received,” he muttered. “And I’m well aware that, that’s not dust. It may be faint but I know what a burning body smells like…” he said sadly.

“You do?” Drake tilted his head puzzlingly. “And where perchance did you learn of that smell? Most try to avoid it all costs.” He raised an eyebrow.

Spark didn’t answer, and he refused to meet Drake’s gaze. He tensed up. Drake didn’t care though he got up and walked closer to Spark. “Don’t feel like answering?” he said as he began walking around the dull yellow Pegasus, inspecting him. “That’s quite alright. I think I know where.” He stopped and leaned in close to the Pegasus’s ear and whispered.

“Did their thoraxes crackle in the flames?”

Spark flinched as he pulled his head away, and he started to slightly shake. “Did you learn that from your magic too?” he asked shakily.

Drake stopped and sat down again in front of Spark. “No, it was partly body language, but mostly it was a hunch,” he absent mindlessly remarked.

They sat there in relative silence. While Spark tried to reclaim his composure, Drake just continued to study him. “You know,” Drake said. “You look a lot like her.”

“Like who?”

“Spitfire.”

“Spitfire?”

Drake nodded.

“Spitfire? The Pegasus that betrayed the Wonderbolts and led the first assault on the Sun Castle against her own husband, that Spitfire?”

“Yup.”

“She’s just a myth, a legend. A tale we tell little foals for entertainment.”

“Ahh but what is a legend but the truth with a bit of misinterpretation. I mean after all I’m not really a dragon now am I?” Drake smiled.

“Wha…what are you…”

“Tell me, you’re the first Pegasus I’ve seen since I came to this town that has fully developed wings. So can you fly?”

“What? No…no pega…”

“Do you want to?” Drake asked with a sincere smile.

Spark just sat there with his mouth hanging open. He stared at the Unicorn who just continued to smile at him. “My god he’s being completely serious right now,” he thought. After a moment Spark closed his mouth and uttered a single word.

“Yes.”

Drake’s smile grew bigger and his horn lit up. He levitated Spark into a standing positioned and released him from his Magic. “Why don’t we get a drink Sparky?” he said walking past Spark and out of the alleyway.

Spark nodded his head and followed him into the night.