Wicked Games: Rookery

Chapters

Fighting Fire with Fire ~ I
Fighting Fire with Fire ~ II
Fighting Fire with Fire ~ III

Fighting Fire with Fire ~ I

Author's Note

FOREWORD:
Keep an eye on the red tags for this story, as each new 'chapter' may include some new tags. Also, as here, there will be content warnings before each part of this story, to keep you informed.

Also, as some people seem to overlook this in the tags, this story is ANTHRO. If that's not your thing, that's fine, just please be respectful.

Anyway, enjoy! Harmonia Invictus!

CONTENT WARNING:
Profanity, the nickname "Twinkie" and Cozy Glow being a flirtatious minx.

Fighting Fire with Fire ~ I

The Princess sat, not in her throne, but behind a desk in her private study, fingers steepled in front of her as she stared from lavender eyes at the pair of ponies seated opposite. One was Doctor Sound Mind, one of Equestria's top psychiatrists, her greying auburn mane standing in contrast with her magenta coat. Intelligent, sapphire eyes stared out from behind her spectacles, as she straightened her suit jacket with one hand.

Beside her sat her number one patient, a pony whom the Princess was all too familiar with. who was watching the proceedings with thinly veiled humour behind her scarlet eyes.

"Your Majesty? Are you listening to me?" the doctor said, and the Princess blinked, turning her gaze to the mare, whose mouth was a thin line.

"Sorry, Doctor Mind, I was just thinking." She said, softly, looking the mare over. Everything about the doctor's posture screamed that she was nervous, unhappy about being here, and unhappy about being kept in the dark as to why she was here.

"Princess, I do wish you would tell me why you have called us here-"

"To be fair, Doctor, I didn't."

"What?" The doctor asked, struck silent in shock. "Yes, you did! I received the letter myself!"

"Yes, just as you receive all of your patient's mail, isn't that correct?"

The doctor blinked. "What? What has that to do with anything?"

"The letter in question was not addressed to you, nor did it mention you. I did not call you here. I wanted to see your patient. Alone."

"What?!" The doctor exclaimed, immediately shaking her head. "Out of the question! My patient is still in a very sensitvie place in her recovery-"

"Your patient has recovered about as much as I expected her to, in that she has sworn, for what it is worth, to not hurt anypony, again. That aside, I would expect a psychiatrist of your reputation to know very well that there is no cure for psychopathy, and as such might be inclined to believe by your insistence on continuing to 'treat' her, that you are either an idealist who thinks she can change the nature of things . . . or a greedy fool, trying to play the system to increase her bank account." The Princess had leaned forward in her seat, maintaining eye contact throughout her diatribe. Now, as the Doctor sat, pale and shaking, the regal figure sat back, turning her gaze to the paperwork in front of her. "Either way, I have no need of your presence here. You may leave."

The Doctor's mouth worked, like a fish out of water, before she shook her head. "I . . . I have never been so insulted! You think I would-"

"Shut up, Doc." Came the sardonic, calm voice of her 'patient', leaning back in her seat, one hand coming up to brush her short, powder blue curls out of her eyes as she grinned. "Get the fuck out."

The mare gaped, looking between the two, before she stood with a huff and stormed out of the room. This left the Princess and the Psychopath sitting, silently watching one another. It was the latter who broke the silence, as she often did, still grinning.

"You know, you're really hot when you're being bossy."

The Princess didn't flinch, but a slight heat rose in her cheeks, which made the Psycho's grin get wider.

"I'm old enough to be your grandmother." The Princess said, narrowing her eyes.

"Mm-hm. You were only old enough to be my mom, when I went into Stone Sleep." The pegasus replied, leaning back in her seat and crossing one leg over the other. "And you know what? You were still hot, then, when you were bossy."

"I can do without your attempts to make me feel guilty. It was not my choice to cast that spell, and I am the one who freed you." The Princess said, gritting her teeth.

"I know. I just like twisting that knife a little, when I get the chance." The Psycho said, breathing out a short laugh. "Not that you give it to me, often. Thanks, by the way, though I could have done without the self-righteous bitch trying to make me see the light of friendship."

The Princess frowned. "I was not going to let you go on as a threat to society. But, likewise, I could not live with myself, leaving any of you imprisoned."

"That reminds me, how are my fellow former statuettes?" The mare asked, brushing a wrinkle out of her sleeve while her foot twitched.

"Fine. Chrysalis has adjusted nicely, to life with Thorax, and Tirek is proving to be quite the capable diplomat."

Cozy Glow snorted, smirking as she shook her head. "I'll bet he is." She said, licking a tooth, before tilting her head and sighing. "Much as I love the pleasantries, Twinkie, what the fuck do you want?" She asked, stretching slightly. Much as the last five years had been less than comfortable for her in many ways, she had to admit, it was quite nice, being free of that stone prison. Not that she really remembered it, much. The spell was called 'Stone Sleep' for a reason. She had memories, flickers of dreams, nothing much else. Perhaps the best part, though, was not being a kid anymore. She had never really been much of a kid, mentally, which had made it fun to mess with ponies, back in the day, but now . . . She ran a hand up her stomach to her breasts, feeling them through the fabric of her blouse and smiled. Now she had much more fun ways of messing with ponies.

Twilight Sparkle, High Princess of Equestria, flinched slightly at the pink pegasus' language, but simply let her mouth thin to a line. She knew what she'd been doing when she freed the filly from stone, years ago. She knew it was a risk, and that Cozy would likely never be able to embrace friendship in the same way as another pony. As a pyschopath, Cozy Glow lacked empathy, or a well defined sense of right and wrong. She might know something was wrong, on a conscious level, but would not really care, nor would she be bothered if she had to hurt somepony in order to get what she wanted. However, after having been brought out of Stone Sleep, the filly had been almost desperate to not be put back, and Twilight had, much to her own displeasure, made use of that fear to help build an understanding with Cozy: Be good and do as your told, and you won't go back to Stone Sleep.

She hated it, but she'd had to resort to the filly's own form of mind games to win any kind of real, meaningful victory with her. And now it was time to see if she could perhaps push that victory a little bit further.

"As I told the good doctor, Cozy, your 'treatment' has progressed about as well as I could have hoped." Meaning not much at all. She thought to herself.

The pegasus smirked. "Why'd you bother sending me to her if you knew it wouldn't work?"

Twilight took a breath, folding her hands on top of the desk. "Because I wanted to give you the chance. You deserved that much, Cozy, the same as anypony else." The pegasus' only response was a snort and a roll of her eyes. Twilight continued. "However, it is now time to face reality, Cozy. You've been living fairly comfortably, with the stipend that the REHC has given you."

At this, Cozy actually barked a laugh. "Ha! If you want to call that hovel of an apartment 'comfortable'! But, I forget, you used to live in a *tree*, didn't you?"

Twilight took a breath through her nose, and let it out slowly, eyes on her desk, before she looked up at the mare. "Yes, I did. That stipend will be running out in a month." She said, bluntly, and watched as the Pegasus froze up, the smirk slowly dying off of her face.

She blinked repeatedly, opening her mouth a couple of times, before snapping it shut and frowning, eyes narrowing as she looked up at the Princess. "So . . . What is it, then? What do you want?"

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"What the fuck do you want to keep giving me my money?!" She demanded, pupils dilating, which caused her eyes to seemingly turn a much deeper, almost crimson color.

Twilight took a breath and let it out slowly again, and nodded. She had expected such a reaction from the mistrusting, calculating pony. "I want you to get a job." She said, simply, and watched the pony's eye twitch, before a cold, harsh laugh echoed from her throat.

"Ha! You're joking? Right? You must be! What, you think I'm just gonna . . . wander down to the post office and get a job? Oh, I know! Maybe if I dye my mane and tail blonde and cross my eyes, they'll accept me! Do I LOOK like the sort of pony that just . . . gets a JOB?!" She demanded, by now up out of her chair, wings flared as she glared daggers at Twilight.

The door burst open, and in stepped a deep blue griffin in armor painted a light fuchsia color, a star, similar to Twilight's cutie mark, emblazoned on his chest. Gallus of Griffinstone, Captain of the Stellar Guard and Twilight's personal bodyguard, took his duty quite seriously. The glare he had on his face showed that quite well, even as Cozy spun around, eyes burning, matching his eyes with her own.

"Enough!" Twilight snapped, voice echoing through the room, enough to bring Gallus to attention, and make Cozy spin around to face her. The Princess was still seated behind her desk, hands calmly folded in front of her, but her flowing mane was beginning to sparkle as static energy flowed through her, small lavender arcs of lightning flaring off of it and her horn to touch on the room around her, while her eyes glowed. "Gallus, you may return to your post. Cozy Glow . . . you will return to your seat." She said, voice still calm, soft, belying the power that was rolling off of her, enough that small objects on the desk were beginning to lift off, floating lazily up off the wooden surface as though gravity no longer mattered. . . .

"Yes, Princess." Gallus said, bowing, and stepped back, out of the room. He took his duty seriously, and rightfully so, but in the end his was a largely symbolic station. Anycreature that tried to lay a threatening hand on the ruling Alicorn of all Equestria would quickly find why that was a horrible idea.

Cozy Glow stood, glaring daggers at the Princess still, even as her own mane and tail began to frizz and flutter from the amount of raw magic rolling off of the Alicorn. Grinding her teeth, she stiffly sat back down in her seat, face clearly showing how much she loathed having to bow before the power before her. Twilight saw it, and her magic dissipated almost as quickly as it had appeared, leaving them once more, seated opposite each other.

A long silence ensued, interrupted only by the ticking of the clock, and the breathing of the two ponies, one sitting patiently, waiting, and the other glaring at the desk in front of her, fingers gripping the edge hard enough to turn her knuckles white, even through her fur.

Finally, the pegasus broke the silence, voice soft. "I do not like that."

Twilight took a breath and nodded, frowning. "I know. I'm sorry, I simply wanted to calm the situation before either of you did something you might regret." Her only reply was the pegasus rolling one crimson eye up to look at her, and the Alicorn's mouth thinned. "You've never told me why you hate magic so much, Cozy-"

"And I'm not likely to, now, am I?!" The pegasus snarled, albeit softly, turning her gaze away from the Alicorn again.

"No. No, I suppose not." The Princess said, taking a breath and letting it out in a sigh. The silence descended again as the two sat, waiting. Finally, the pegasus' wings settled a bit, although they still looked a bit ruffled, and she straightened up, mouth twisting as she swallowed and rolled her neck.

She glanced back to the Princess, eyes once more their usual scarlet hue, though they remained distant and cold as she locked eyes with the Alicorn. "So . . . What job am I supposed to get?" She asked, voice calm, removed. "Who . . . Who would even hire me?" She continued, a hint of despair slipping into her tone.

Twilight wondered how honest that tone was, and hated that she had to think that way, with Cozy Glow. The pegasus was a habitual liar, often to serve her own needs, but sometimes simply because she found it amusing. As such, trusting anything she said was difficult, even at the best of times.

Twilight nodded slowly, lifting her eyebrows and smiled slightly, gently. "I do have . . . one idea, Cozy Glow."

Cozy gave a suspicious glare, and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. Twilight wondered if the pegasus would do so if she knew it was a sign of defensiveness. Probably not. "What is it?" Cozy asked, staring at the Princess before her, who took a breath and looked down, frowning again.

"Ponies are a peaceful race, by nature . . . And for some time now, Harmony has ruled. This doesn't mean that there aren't outliers, however; criminals. Crimes of passion and greed still happen, in spite of our best attempts." She said, looking up at the pegasus who quirked an eyebrow.

"Really? Ponies giving in to their baser instincts? Who woulda thunk." The pegasus said, clearly unimpressed.

"I know, Cozy, to you this is nothing new and . . . you are right. Ponies have always done such things, to one degree or another, whether they are right or wrong."

"Right and wrong are a matter of opinion, Princess." Cozy said, leaning back in her chair. "What you say is wrong, I say is right. So long as someone disagrees with someone else on what constitutes right and wrong, it will continue to be a matter of opinion, not objective fact." She said, a small smirk coming over her face as she saw the frown that crossed the Princess' face.

Twilight took a breath, looking away, and slowly nodded. "I won't argue matters of philosophy with you, Cozy Glow. What I will say is, right or wrong MAY be opinion, but the law isn't. What is legal and illegal is objective fact, and I doubt even you can make a compelling argument against that."

Cozy's mouth twisted and she shrugged. "I could, but you're on a role, so I won't bother." She said, smirking. Clearly she was starting to relax again, now that she felt like she had a bit more control over the conversation.

Twilight took a breath and nodded. "Fine. There are ponies our there who, right or wrong, break the law, endanger themselves and others . . . and get away with it." She said, grinding her teeth slightly at having to admit to the last. "I have been trying to improve law enforcement around the kingdom but, to put it simply, most ponies are honest, hard working, decent folk. They have no idea how to find or deal with those who are not." She said, slowly lifting her eyes to look at the pegasus.

Cozy, for her part, sat very still in her chair, eyeing the Princess as though wary of some trick or trap. Spying none, she blinked, frowning and a small smile curled up her lip. "You . . . have to be joking, now." She said, and when Twilight shook her head, the pegasus' eyes went wide and a short, surprised laugh escaped her. "Really?! Me?! You want me to be a . . . a guard?!"

Twilight shook her head again, smiling slightly. "No, Cozy, I don't want you to be a guard, I want you to be a . . . consultant, working with a member of the Guard, on My commission, to look into those cases that the Guard themselves are coming up short on." Her mind turned to a book series she used to love, and her lip quirked. "A 'Consulting Detective', I suppose."

Cozy stared at her for a minute, before her eyes went lidded and she leaned forward. "Did you . . . DId you just make a Sherclop Pones reference?"

Twilight blushed, having forgotten that the Psychopath was nearly as well read as she was. "I . . . Maybe." She said, and Cozy burst out laughing. Twilight sat, blushing, letting her laugh for a moment, before she crossed her arms over her chest . . . and immediately dropped them back to her desk again and sighed. "Look! Okay, I get it, maybe calling it that was a bit silly, but the point remains the same, Cozy: You need a way to fit into society and actually be constructive and helpful. Given your . . . unique skillset and experience, I feel that this would be the best way."

Laughter still dancing in her scarlet eyes, the pegasus looked at her and chuckled. "You mean 'lying' and 'manipulating'?" She said, smirking at the Princess.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "You have an insight into the mindset of a criminal that most would not, you could be a real help!"

"You've forgotten a couple of things, Princess, the first one being . . . I don't particularly want to be 'helpful', do I? What's in it for me?"

Twilight nodded slowly, having expected this. A pyschopath rarely did something from the kindness of their heart, preferring to work solely for personal gain and cold logic. Twilight reached into a folder nearby, withdrawing a piece of paper, and sliding it across the desk to Cozy, who frowned suspiciously, before leaning forward and taking it from her.

Cozy's eyes moved down to the piece of paper and saw that it was a check, unsigned. Then, she saw the amount written on it, and her eyes widened, and she glanced up. "That . . . is a lot of zeroes."

Twilight nodded slowly. "Twice your monthly stipend, and the payments would continue, every month, so long as you were doing your job correctly."

Cozy frowned. "And who decides if I'm doing it 'correctly'?" She asked.

"I do." Twilight said, simply, pursing her lips as Cozy's face showed what she thought of this. "So long as you are giving results, doing your best and not using . . . let's say 'unnecessary means', you will receive your payment. You have my word, Cozy, and of the two of us seated here, we both know who can be trusted to keep her word."

Cozy slowly leaned back, pursing her lips and looking at the check in her hand with a careful expression, clearly thinking. She glanced up at the Princess and narrowed her eyes. "And if I say no?"

Twilight took a breath and sighed it out. "Then you go home, your stipend runs out in a month, and you are left trying to find some other way to make money. And you will be watched, carefully, Cozy Glow." She said, sadness in her heart that she couldn't trust this mare to follow the law unless made to.

Cozy clenched her jaw, looking back at the check in front of her, before looking up again, narrowing her eyes. "Who is it?" She asked, making Twilight frown.

"What?" She asked, cautiously.

"You said I'd be working 'with a member of the Guard'. Who is it? Your little birdy blue back there?" Cozy said, pointing to the door with her thumb, and Twilight took a breath.

"No. Though I've no doubt he'd do it if I ordered him to, Gallus would not be happy about being removed from his position as my guard, and furthermore . . . he's never really approved of my decision to free you." She said, taking another breath as a smirk crawled over the pegasus' face.

"Noooo, ya don't say?" Cozy said, sneering, before glancing over her shoulder. "See, if it HAD been him, I'd've said yes just to annoy him. As it is. . . . " She looked again at the check in her hand, and then back up to the Princess, an unreadable look on her face as she stood up, leaning forward and placing the check on the desk in front of Twilight. "I want to meet whoever it is. Until then, I won't do it." She said, breathing a little quickly, a thing which Twilight noticed, though she chose to ignore.

Instead, the Princess nodded, slowly. "Alright, Cozy. I can agree with that. I want them to meet you first, as well. To make sure there won't be a problem."

Cozy blinked, slowly stepping back from the desk, and nodded. "Okay. Okay? Just like that?"

Twilight took a breath and slowly stood up to her full height, stepping around the desk, noting how the pegasus mare stepped back to keep some distance between them. The Princess sighed, stopping and smiling down at the mare softly. "Yes, Cozy. Believe it or not, I do want to help you. No, I don't trust you, because you've shown me over and over that you can't be trusted without somecreature there to keep you in line. But, I also am not going to force you to do something you're not comfortable with. So, you can meet him, and decide for yourself." She said, nodding.

Cozy took a breath, glancing around and nodded slowly. "So . . . Is that all? Can I . . . Can I go, now?" She asked, looking a bit like a trapped animal, and Twilight frowned again, sadly.

"Yes, Cozy, that's all, for now. I want to see you again on Friday, alright? I'll have your potential partner here, for you to meet, then, alright?"

Cozy, already turning to head towards the door, glanced over her shoulder, pausing midstep. "Yeah, sure." She hesitated, a strange looking coming over her face and her mouth working for a moment, before she snorted, turning and walking to the door. "Ya know, Princess," she said, pausing with her hand on the knob. "We've been in here about twenty minutes, now . . . Somepony might think we were doing something dirty, especially with you treating me all nice and friendly." She said, before giggling and slipping out the door, leaving Twilight blushing, her mouth a thin line, shaking her head in a mix of consternation and frustration, even as (though she would never admit to it) the corner of her mouth tipped up slightly in a small smirk.

Fighting Fire with Fire ~ II

Author's Note

Content Warning: Pipsqueak, Exposition, A small reference to (possible) child abuse, sexual tension and Cozy Glow being a flirtatious minx . . . Again.

Fighting Fire with Fire ~ II

Pipsqueak straightened up, clearing his throat as he ran his hands once more over the velveteen face of the lavender shell jacket he was wearing. The dress uniform of the Stellar Guard was an impressive thing, and something he'd not actually had on since his graduation from the academy, four months ago. A summons from the Princess herself, however, would warrant no less.

As such, he had spent his Thursday night brushing and cleaning the fine cloth of the uniform, and his Friday morning showering, thoroughly, combing his mane and tail, both kept cropped short, in true guard style, trimming his fingernails and toenails. He then proceeded to brush the entire uniform off once more, before donning it, taking his time to make sure that each button was impeccable.

Normally, for a trip to Canterlot, he would not have bothered as the two hour long train ride would have ruined most of these preparations. However, the Princess had stated in her letter that she would be sending a small airship, which would arrive at ten o'clock in the morning, exactly, and ferry him back to her castle directly, in Canterlot.

The eighteen year old pinto colt looked over at the clock on the wall of his room and swallowed. Still forty minutes to go. He took a breath and turned, looking back at the full length mirror on the back of his door and taking a breath. His russet eyes scanned over his figure, and he felt once more that little feeling of surprise that he had actually made it, that he was now a member of the Royal Guard. And he wasn't just some showy ceremonial guard, either; no, he had refused such a posting, preferring to be somewhere he could actually do some good. He had trained for the investigative squad, and as such had already seen more than his fair share of how ugly ponies could potentially be to one another. One of his teachers had enjoyed slideshows, and there had been something of a running bet in the class how long new ponies would make it through her classes before they had to throw up.

Pip had made it nine minutes, a fact he was rather proud of, considering the rather gorey crime scene she had been showing them.

All his life, Pip had been the runt, and even now he was barely over five and half feet tall. When he was a foal, back when he and his mum had first moved to Ponyville, he had been the brunt of many pranks and jokes, about his size and his odd coat color. But Pip had persevered, keeping his chin up and taking it all with a smile.

A knocking on his door brought him out of it, and his mother's voice called through. "Pip, sweetie? Are you about ready? You don't wan' t' be late!"

Pip rushed over and opened the door, smiling at his mother, who stood at eye level with her son. At forty-three, she looked several years older, at least. His father having left them when he was so young had left her with a lot of strain on her shoulders, and it showed in the lines on her forehead and around her eyes. Still, she was smiling when she looked at him, and she stepped back, looking at him. "Oh, don' you look just grand, Pippy."

"Mum, I told you not to call me that! And I'll be fine, I've still got . . . " He paused, glancing once more at the clock, and then looked back at her. "Half an hour. It's only a five minute walk to the airship dock." He said.

She sighed, shaking her head. "I know, I know, I'm sorry. You're just . . . You've just grown up so well. And now, to be invited to a private meeting with the Princess! Oh, I'm just so proud of you, son!" She said, smiling up at him with a tear in her eye, and the young stallion matched her expression, smiling back and reached out, pulling her into a hug, in spite of the wrinkles it might put in his uniform.

She was his mum, and that was more important than a first impression.

"Come on." She said, patting his back, stepping away with a smile. "I've got you some breakfast." She said, and he smiled, following her out to the kitchen where a proper Trottingham breakfast, haysausage, toast and eggs was waiting for him.

They ate together, perhaps a bit too fast, talking simply over the morning, and their plans for the weekend. WHen it was finished, he helped her clean the dishes, before glancing up at the clock. Fifteen minutes left. He took a breath, turning to look at her, and she smiled at him, walking over and dusting the front of his jacket off, smoothing the sleeves.

"You'll be fine, Pip." She said, leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. "Your my colt, and I know, whatever the Princess wants, it can only be something good."

Pip had perhaps dallied a bit much, but a quick walk through town saw him at the airdock with four minutes to spare. Since her coronation, Princess Twilight had encouraged both the arts and sciences to flourish. As such, arcanotech, the practice of combing science with magic to power devices such as radios, televisions, autocarriages (or 'cars' as most ponies referred to them), airships, new, faster trains and numerous other things, had blossomed throughout the kingdom. Of course, these had been common enough in Equestria before her coronation, but Twilight was such an avid proponent of the whole thing that they had even found their way into the smaller towns of the country, like Ponyville.

The big wooden and steel construction that was the new Ponyville airdock had been completed last year. While it was expensive to use the airship, which meant that many ponies still preferred taking the train, the speed with which the ships covered ground still made them a popular method of travel.

Pip glanced up from the bench he was sitting on in the covered waiting area as he heard the engines of the ship begin to break through the hubub of the town marketplace behind and to his left. The ship that came into view was typical of those in use by the Stellar Guard for light transport, these days; sleek and streamlined, with the arcane sail glowing lightly, flickering with the magical charge that helped the ship stay afloat. The engines were not that loud, but Pip had learned to recognize the sound, while at the academy. Twin VR-S-53 Arcanotech engines, running at 54 thaums per second, gave the ship enough charge to outrun a Wonderbolt at full throttle, and yet at slower speeds could be almost imperceptible to ears not listening.

Pip stood as the ship pulled into dock a bit faster than was strictly smart, coming to halt almost perfectly aligned with the gangplank, which automatically lowered, responding to a magical signal sent from the ship itself.

The earth pony headed up the ramp, not wanting to delay any longer than necessary. Halfway up, he met a pony on the way down; a deep, navy blue pegasus with stormy gray mane and tail and sky blue eyes. Of course, she was also several inches taller than him. She stopped as she saw him, and he noted the uniform of a Stellar Guard Aircaptain. He stopped, went to attention and saluted, and the pegasus, smirking, returned the gesture.

"You must be Lieutenant Pipsqueak." She said, a slight Detrot accent shading her words. "I'm Captain Black Hawk, of the Aileron." She gestured up towards the ship above. "I'm due to pick you up and bring you to the castle. Meeting the Princess, personally? You must've impressed somepony."

Pip blushed, shaking his head. "Oh, no, no . . . I don't think so, at least."

She lifted an eyebrow, falling in beside him as she led the way up the ramp. "Well, evidently the Princess does. She made it clear, she wants you there by ten after, and no later." She said, shrugging.

"Really?" Pip asked, taken aback. "Ten minutes to Canterlot from here? I knew Arctos class ships were fast, but is that . . . safe?"

She chuckled, mouth turning up in a smirk. "Oh, don't you worry your spotted little head, Lieutenant. I'll get us there, and in one piece." She said, laughing as they made their way up to the ship.

Nine minutes and some change later, Pip found himself staggering off the gangplank and onto the relatively stable platform of the royal airdock at Canterlot. He clutched at one of the steel supports, leaning over the railing until he was sure he wasn't going to empty his stomach. He had trained on *Arctos* class before, at the academy, as it was required training. However, the pegasus, Black Hawk, flew in a far less . . . safe way, than the pilot at the academy.

"You alright, Lieutenant?" She chuckled as she passed him, patting him on the back. He turned, swallowing hard as the world spun, and opened his mouth to reply. Instead, his stoamch rebelled and he turned, bending over the safety railing and praying in the back of his head that there wasn't anycreature walking by below.

Ten minutes later, after a hasty cleanup in a public restroom, Pip hurried into the waiting area outside the Princess' study, spying her personal secretary, the aged but still quite sophisticated Raven Inkwell. There was another pony sitting in a chair, face buried behind a newspaper, and a pair of guards, both ponies, standing alongside the door into the study itself.

Raven glanced up, spying him and waved him by. "Go right in, Lieutenant." She said. "Her Majesty stated you were to be given priority, when you arrived." Pip hesitated, for a moment, glancing to the other pony, seeing that she still had her face buried in the newspaper, well manicured, pink furred hands gripping the pages loosely, while one sneakered foot bobbed.

"But-"

"No 'buts', Lieutenant, it was a direct order from the Princess." Raven said, quirking an eyebrow at him, and he smiled awkwardly, bowing to her.

"Sorry, miss." He said to the pony, who barely even glanced up, giving him a glimpse of a scarlet eye under powder blue bangs before she waved her hand at him and buried her face back in her newspaper.

He turned, making his way to the door, pausing briefly as a thought struck him. Something familiar about the pony in the waiting room. However, Raven and the guards both ushered him inside before the thought could properly form, and so he found himself standing in the Princess' study, blinking as he saw her glance up from the papers on her desk, gracing him with a smile.

"Pip, or should I say, 'Lieutenant Pipsqueak'?" She said, standing up and stepping around her desk. Pip bowed from the waist, hands at his sides.

"Your Majesty." He said, before she scoffed, waving her hand at him, and gestured to one of the chairs in front of her desk.

"Please, Pip! None of that. Just Twilight, is fine, or if you must, Princess. I've never been too fond of all that stuff, and you know it." She said, and Pip smiled slightly, already feeling a bit more relaxed. He stepped forward, looking around the room, at the warm, earthy tones and wooden textures, the shelves filled to bursting with books and scrolls and the open doors leading out onto a balcony, which allowed in a cool, early morning breeze.

Funny, how the 'Princess of Technomancy', as the Ponyville Gazette had labeled her a few years ago, surrounded herself with such simple, earthy things. And yet, thinking back on the first time he'd met her, how happy she seemed living in the little Golden Oaks library in Ponyville, it didn't really surprise Pip, all that much.

"I'm very honored, Princess. It . . . It surprised myself and my mum, when we received your invitation." He said, as he sat down in the char she had offered, while she perched her tall, graceful frame on the edge of her desk, looking ever so much like a teacher or librarian still, in spite of everything.

"Yes, well. All of the students who pass through my Stellar Guard Academy have their records pass over my desk at some point, and yours was . . . rather impressive. Your mum should be proud." She said, smiling at him while he blushed.

"Oh, I . . . Don't really feel like I did anything all that special, Princess." He said, waving it aside while glancing down at his lap.

"Nonsense, Pip. Well, you struggled a bit on the physcial trials, but you pushed through and still passed on them, which is an achievement in and of itself. Not to mention your, heh, 'Stellar' grades, on the written lessons." She said, smirking at her own little pun, which had him smiling in spite of himself.

"So . . . Sorry, Princess, but, all that aside, I know I didn't do better than many in my class. Why'd you call me, here?" He asked, pushing through to the root of his confusion. Of all the ponies in *Equestria* to be called for a private interview with the Princess of Friendship, Pip felt he was the least qualified. So, why had she called him?

She pursed her lips, nodding slowly. "Putting everything else aside, I found your dissertation on the importance and necessity of the Second Chance Program to be interesting. Your faith and belief in the idea that ponies, and anyone for that matter, can better themselves if given the chance is . . . inspiring, or should be."

Pip blinked, thinking back on that dissertation. He remembered that it had been specifcally aimed towards those with mental conditions and illnesses that made them potentially dangerous towards society in general, and spoke at length, perhaps too much so, he now thought, on how important it was to give these creatures the chance to improve themselves, and the help they needed to do so.

"Well, Princess, such things have always been of interest to me. Many of those that society labels as 'monsters' are just . . . troubled creatures who need help, not to be punished further for their mistakes. Look at Queen Chrysalis or Tirek, formerly violent, anti-social villains, who are now leading safe, respectable lives."

"And what of Cozy Glow?" Twilight asked, and Pip blinked, mouth opening slightly. "She was a . . . subject of interest, I take it? You mention her and her case repeatedly throughout the dissertation."

Pip blushed, reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, you see, Your Maj-er . . . Princess, I, um . . . It's just, psychopaths are such a rare thing, in Equestria. Like, a true, archetypal psychopath, and possibly one who was born that way! She is truly a fascinating subject!"

"Awww, Princess! You didn't tell me he was a fan!" Came a smooth, chipper sounding voice from the front of the room, and Twilight's eyes snapped up, going wide. Pip had to push himself up and twist in his seat to see who it was.

She was leaning against the wall by the door, a hair above five feet in height, wearing a pair of jeans, t-shirt and tennis shoes, all in shades of soft yellow and blue. Her pink fur was clean, well groomed, her hair a fine powder blue, tail long and free, unadorned, while her mane, worn in shoulder length curls, was held back by a thin piece of yellow ribbon. Her eyes were most striking, as she pushed off the wall, stepping into the light, a soft, pastel scarlet color, that seemed to drift between amber and crimson red, depending on the light.

"I didn't ask for you to come in, yet, Cozy." Princess Twilight said, stiffly, and the mare laughed, wings shifting against her back.

"I know, I know, but I was getting bored. You can only re-read the same newspaper so many times before it stops being useful for anything more than a screen to hide behind." She said, glancing at Pip, who was staring at her with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Careful, colt, or you might trip over your jaw." She said, reaching out a hand to touch his chin. He snapped his mouth shut and jumped up out of the seat, taking a step back from her while glancing between her and the Princess.

"Awww, golly, that's adorable! Big, strong guard pony like you, scared of little old me?" She said, putting a hand to her breast and batting her long, soft eyelashes, and Pip cleared his throat.

"I-I'm . . . I'm not scared. Why are you here?" He asked, frowning again, and Twilight sighed.

"Cozy Glow and I have an agreement." She said, and the pegasus pony lifted her hand.

"Possible agreement. I haven't said yes, yet." She said, glancing at Twilight, before turning her attention, unwaveringly, back to Pip.

"Either way," Twilight continued, "Cozy Glow needs to find a way to . . . fit into society, somewhere she can help and do some good. I . . . was originally going to build you up for this a bit slower, but Cozy's taken that away from me. How did you get in here past the guards and Raven?" Twilight said, frowning at the pegasus again, who lifted her eyebrows, looking absolutely guileless.

"Oh, dear, well I had a bit of a feinting spell, you know, and the guards went to get help." She said, stepping around the chair Pip had been sitting in, moving closer to him. He unconsciously backed up, until his tail was pressed into the desk behind him. "While they were gone, I came to but was awful thirsty, and Miss Inkwell was kind enough to go and fetch me something to drink . . . " She said, turning her eyes away from him for the first time to fully look at Princess Twilight, who was frowning in annoyance. "Oh, don't go too hard on them, Princess, it's not their fault."

"I'll be having a word with both the guards and Raven about this. If nothing else, one of them should have stayed behind, rather than both of them going." The Princess said, concern and anger warring in her tone. Cozy Glow simply shrugged.

"Well, what do you expect? I mean, honestly, it's just nice for me to see that the Stellar Guard is continuing the fine and upstanding traditions of being a royal guard in Equestria."

Twilight frowned, and Pip stood up a bit straighter, feeling the uniform he was wearing as though it was tighter, suddenly, heavier. "Hey! That's not fair! The Royal Guards have a long history of loyal service to the Princesses of Equestria!" He said, voice firm.

Cozy looked at him and gave a tittering laugh, hand in front of her mouth like a schoolfilly. "Oh, my! So stern!" She said, taking another step towards him and leaning forward, eyes locked onto his. "I think I like you." She said.

Pip tried to step backwards, but the desk blocked him, leaving him uncomfortably close to her, looking down into those big, scarlet orbs. He'd fantasized before, about meeting her, talking to her, perhaps even getting to know her. All perfectly academic of course, she was a fascinating subject of study, just as he'd told Princess Twilight. He certainly would not call himself a fan of somepony like her. Who had done the things she had done. In spite of all this, he had certainly never imagined he would really get the chance to meet her, not like this, so suddenly and in such an . . . uncontrolled circumstance.

Nor did he ever imagine she would smell so nice.

He felt a blush rising in his cheeks as she leaned in a bit closer, feeling her breath washing over his face, and he began to stammer, though in an attempt to say what, exactly, he had no idea, when he was saved by the Princess.

"Cozy." She said, voice firm, and the pegasus frowned, happy-go-lucky, teasing expression faltering, revealing a look of annoyance and vague digust underneath. She shot a glare at the Princess, but stepped back, huffing out a breath as she crossed her arms over her breast, defensively. Just like that, Pip found himself able to breathe again, and nearly fell, bracing himself against the edge of the Princess' desk.

"Ugh, fine." Cozy muttered, licking a tooth. "You're not much fun, today, Twily." She said, a smirk crawling over her face, but not quite reaching her eyes.

"Please, don't call me that, Cozy." Twilight said, taking a breath and shivering slightly, before shaking her head. "And please, do your best to respect the lieutenant's personal space? Please?"

"Okay, okay, I said fine!" Cozy said, throwing up her hands, before stepping back and flopping into the chair that Pip had vacated. "So. I met him . . . Now what?"

"I'm sure that Pip is wondering what, exactly, this is about. Especially as you've not given me much chance to explain things, to him."

Cozy's smirk grew a bit wider, and started to really touch her eyes with a spark of humor, although it had a dark edge to it. "Oh, so sowwy, mommy." SHe said, rolling her eyes up to look at Twilight, whose mouth thinned. "Oh, I know, I know! 'Don't call me that, Cozy'! Jeeze, you're a bummer!" Cozy said, even as her smirk grew into a leer.

It was at this moment that the door burst open, revealing Raven and, right behind her, both guards. Cozy sat up, twisting in her seat much as Pip had done upon her entrance, and simply held up a hand, waving mockingly at the trio.

"You majesty! I'm so sorry!" Raven said, a blush on her face, as Twilight held up a hand.

"It's alright, Raven! We'll . . . talk about this, later. For now, you can go back to your stations. Make sure we're not disturbed." She said, the last with a stern tone and glare, and the trio all bowed, stepping back, shutting the door behind them.

Cozy turned back around, sliding down until she was slouching in the seat, one leg casually thrown over the other, as she held up her hand, pointing idly at Twilight. "Bossy." She said, before licking her lips. Pip looked between them in confusion, as Twilight's eyes went wide and a blush crept onto her face.

"Cozy!" She said, anger beginning to color her voice, and the psychopath gave a laugh, head tilting back, exposing the slim lines of her neck. Twilight shook her head, sighing. "I swear . . . Pip, I am sorry, for this. Cozy Glow has a knack for . . . putting a wrench into anything." She said, and the pegasus looked at her, grinning, and nodded, as though accepting a compliment.

Pip, his breathing more controlled now, bowed his head. "It's alright, Princess. I have read her file. I know how she tends to be . . . I just . . .Never thought I'd-"

"Get to meet greatness in the flesh?" Cozy said, waggling her eyebrows at him.

"Something like that." He said, frowning at her, before turning to look at Twilight. "What is this about an . . . 'agreement'?"

"Possible agreement." Cozy slipped in, earning her another glare from Twilight, at which point she sat back, running a hand over her mouth as though zipping her lips shut.

Sighing, Princess Twilight walked back around her desk and sat down, slightly heavily, leaning over her desk and putting her head in her hands, before straightening up and looking at him. "Pip, as I'm sure you're aware, aiming as you did for the Investigative Branch of the Guard, crime is still an ongoing issue, here in Equestria. Even with our current state of Harmony, ponies, and other creatures, are still stealing, kidnapping and . . . Well, murdering, one another." She said, frowning and looking down at her desk. After a moment, she took a breath and looked back up at them. "As you may . . . also be aware, the various law enforcement agencies around the kingdom are having some . . . difficulty, in apprehending some of these criminals. That is what the I.B. was formed for, after all. It is simply not in a pony's nature to be able to think like a criminal. Or at least, not most ponies' natures." She said, turning an eye to Cozy, who sat up, smiling as Pip turned and frowned at her.

She smiled slightly and lifted her eyebrows. "Princess Twilight thinks I'd make a great . . . Heh. 'Consulting Detective', to help the Guard out with those sorts of crimes. Her words, not mine."

Pip sat ,staring at her for a moment, then glanced over at Twilight. " . . . Is that a Sherclop Pones reference?" He said, shaking his head slightly with a grimace.

"That's what I said!" Cozy exclaimed, giggling, which made Pip doubt his own opinion, while Princess Twilight buried her head in her hands.

"Nopony likes the classics anymore . . . " She muttered, before putting her palms down on the desk and setting up. "Okay, look, as I've already said, that was perhaps not the best correlation, but I believe it's a good idea! It will give Cozy a paying job, that will also allow her to be a useful and productive member of society!"

"'Cessy Twily still thinks she can rehabilitate me." Cozy said, smirking with her eyes lidded, looking like a cat lounging on a chair after eating a canary. "And you get to be my chaperone, Pippy." She said, turning those dark, smoky eyes on him, and he felt his throat constrict. He looked to Twilight, and the Princess, though she was looking at Cozy in annoyance, nodded.

"Much as I wish it were otherwise, Cozy Glow has proven she cannot fully be trusted to do things in a . . . safe, legal manner, without supervision. Given your good marks at the academy, your belief in the Second Chance program and your detailed, academic understanding of psychopaths in general, and Cozy Glow in particular, I felt you were the best choice to act as her . . . well, her chaperone, I suppose." The Princess said, turning an eye on him wit ha sorrowful look. "I, of course, understand if you don't want to do this."

Cozy held up a hand. "I'll say, right now, that I agree to do this . . . only if it's him. He looks like fun, and I haven't had any real fun in ages. Doctor Stable Mind was waaay too tight assed for me to get a rise out of her. But little Pippy here seems like a treat!" She said, grinning at him.

"Cozy, I will not force him into this, and I will not allow you to-"

"I'll do it." Pip said, before really thinking about it. Cozy's face lit up like a Hearth's Warming bonfire, while Twilight looked over at him, concern plain on her face.

"Are you certain, Pip? You don't have to, and you don't have to decide now. You can go home and think about it, if you'd like." She said, getting up and coming around the side of her desk, putting a motherly hand on his shoulder.

He took a shaking breath, glancing up at the Princess standing above him, before turning and meeting the gleeful gaze of the psychopath who was sitting across from him, staring at him like a Timberwolf looks at a doe. "Thank you, Princess, but . . . I don't need to think about it. This is . . . this is something I've wanted for a while, academically."

Princess Twilight took a breath and nodded slowly. "Just remember, Pip . . . Life isn't an academy, and things rarely work the way they do in books. This is something that will require you to think, not just with your mind, but with your heart, as well."

Cozy's face twisted, and she started clapping her hands, sarcastically. "Yippee! Such a pretty little sentiment, Princess, but clearly, he's made up his mind! And, good thing for you, too, because I wouldn't have agreed if he didn't." She said, leering at the Alicorn.

Twilight shot the mare a look and pursed her lips. "Good for you, too, then, isn't it?" She said, quirking an eyebrow, and the mare lifted her chin, narrowing her eyes at the Princess.

Pip cleared his throat. "When . . . When do we start?" He said, glancing at the Princess, who looked down at him. She stared at him for a long moment, thoughts drifting behind her eyes, as though second thoughts and ponderances of the ways this could go wrong were dawning on her.

For his part, Pip was still partly in shock, unsure really as to what he'd just agreed to. He had no training for this sort of thing, outside of a few details of playing prison guard. That said, none of those prisoners, mostly petty criminals, could hold a candle to Cozy Glow or the things she was capable of. The pegasus had played everypony in Equestria and had almost succeeded in completely erasing magic from the entire world, all before she was 14 . . . twice. And now he was agreeing to be some sort of chaperone? To keep her in line and under control? He'd be lucky if she didn't play him right into helping her do it all over again!

But something about her, when he looked into her eyes, there was this feeling of wanting to be closer to her, wanting to talk to her, get to know her, find out . . .

Find out why. He knew it was foolish, but it was the one question that nopony had ever really gotten the answer to. Cozy had made statements before, about her childhood, about why she did what she did, but they were contradictory, at best. Sometimes, they simply made no sense, period. From her claim that she wanted to be 'Empress of Friendship', to the story of her uncle molesting and abusing her as a filly, none of them had been proven. There was also the fact that the name 'Cozy Glow' had never been found in any registry in Canterlot or any other city, nor was there any record of her particular Cutie Mark on file.

Cozy was an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, and given a cute yellow bow to tie it all off, and Pip, more than anything, wanted to unwrap her.

In a purely academic sense, of course.

And so it was that Pip reached up, laying his hand gently on the Princess' hand, and smiled softly at her, in as reassuring a way as he could. She blinked, as though coming back to herself, and matched his smile, after a moment, patting his shoulder before stepping back. "Well . . . I have something I think will make a good starting point. For now, both of you go home, rest, and meet me back here after the weekend, same time, Monday morning."

"Wow, imagine! Me, working a nine-to-five, Monday thru Friday . . . Ugh." Cozy said, face twisting into an exaggerated shudder of disgust at the end, before she went right back to smirking. She stood up from the chair in a fluid motion, looking again like a cat as she stretched, her t-shirt riding up and exposing a flash of soft, pink-white belly fur.

Pip caught himself staring, and blinked, turning his head away. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that Cozy was doing it on purpose, but that didn't seem to matter to his damned hormones, which had started making their presence known since the mare had stepped into the room.

WIth a hard swallow, he pushed off the desk, clearing his throat and smiling at the Princess. "Will do, Princess Twilight." He said, and she nodded at him.

"Thank you, both of you . . . And, Pip, if you could please send Raven and the guards in, as you go, please." She said, her voice getting a bit stern as she walked back around to sit behind her desk. Cozy's smirk grew, and she licked her lips.

"Ohhh, can I stay, 'Cessy Twily?!" She asked, leaning forward with her hands interlaced behind her back. Twilight shot her a glare, and the pegasus rocked back, giggling again, a cute little tittering sound as she turned on a heel, wings ruffling. As she stepped forward the door opened, the guards standing stoically on either side of it.

She spun again as she went through, walking backwards so she could look at them both. "So, so sowwy, boys! I guess I was just feeling a little tired! Buh-bye!" She said, turning and waving at Raven before trotting towards the door to the stairs.

Pip stepped out behind her, opening his mouth with an apologetic expression, but Raven was already standing, eyes down as she walked around her desk towards the doo. She looked up, meeting his gaze as she passed him, and frowned. "Be careful." She said, softly, before passing him, gesturing to the guards who fell into step behind her as they walked into Twilight's office, the doors closing behind them, enveloped in the pink glow of Twilight's magic.

He could hear her speaking in a raised voice as he turned away, frowning as he saw the petite, pink pegasus waiting by the door to the stairs, leaning up against one and smiling at him. He cleared his throat and walked over, coming to a cautious halt about eight feet from her, and her smile turned a bit sharp at the edges. "Scared?" She said, one eyebrow quirking at him.

He clenched his jaw, and stepped forward, reaching out and gripping the handle of the door. As he did so, she slipped her hand out, laying it over his, and he froze. Her touch was warm, palm soft and gentle on his knuckles. He felt his throat tighten up as he glanced over at her, eyes wide. She was standing, head tilted to the side, scarlet eyes locked onto his, chest rising and falling softly as she breathed. "Brave." She said, softly, leaning forward, never breaking eye contact. "A bit stupid, probably." She said, and he blushed, going to step back, but she put her other hand on his arm, above the elbow, stepping forward so that she was partially pressed up against him. "Probably. But also . . . not too bad. The way you turned her to what you wanted was quite sweetly done." She said, leering up at him.

He frowned, shifting around and putting his free hand against her shoulder, pushing her back firmly. Surprisingly, she acquiesced without much fuss, stepping back, though her hand shifted up to take hold of the one he was using to push her with. "What are you talking about?" He asked, pulling his hand away from her, and she pouted at him, before smirking.

"In there . . . That little smile and puppy dog eyes? Usually wouldn't work too well, somepony your age, but you're kinda like me. Small for your age, so you can still pull it off." She said, tucking her hands behind her back and rocking forward on her toes.

He hesitated, breath catching. Had he . . . really been doing that? And it had worked? He shook his head, sharply. "I don't know what you're talking about." He said, turning and opening the door, quickly, stepping out onto the landing. However, his mother had raised him to be polite, and so he found himself standing, holding the door for her without thinking, and she followed him through, reaching out and brushing one hand down his chest as she passed. She turned as he stepped back, letting the door swing shut again, and smirked at him.

"No need to play coy, Pippy. You won't find any judgemental bullshit, here. You wanted something, and you played Twily to get it, just like me." She said, and he clenched his jaw, standing up straighter.

"I'm nothing like you." He said, voice low, and she giggled putting one hand over her mouth again, eyes shining.

"Oh, that's funny! I knew I liked you, Pippy! I think, this may be the start of a BEE-yootiful . . . Heh . . . Friendship." She said, exaggerating her words, before her visage turned a bit dark, smile taking on a sharper, more sinister edge as she said the last word. She giggled, the sound turning to a cackle, as she turned on her heel, wings flapping slightly to keep herself balanced as she practically skipped down the stairs, soon disappearing from sight, and left Pip standing, wondering what, exactly, he'd gotten himself into.

Fighting Fire with Fire ~ III

Author's Note

Content Warning:
Mentions of child abuse and domestic violence, Pip being annoyingly relatable and mildly ADHD, a vent about people who shop at retail stores, and Cozy Glow being highly antisocial, manipulatively flirtatious, teasingly flirtatious, musically bopping and disturbingly relatable.

WARNING: This chapter is where the story earns it's "Dark" tag, as far as I'm concerned. You've been warned!

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.