The following morning had seen Drill sleep in far past his usual waking hour, and demolishing the vegetable bowl he received for breakfast.

Who could blame him? After the ordeal at the prison he would’ve eaten wild grass and flowers if there were any. As it stood though the stallion was busy taking full advantage of his day off, and that meant cleaning himself up.

Which naturally led him to one of the city bathhouses.

It was a dome like building with a large external boiler that had its own cabin, with the pipes running between the two big enough to crush a pony. Upon entry Drill was hit by a wave of pleasingly hot, humid air that sent him right back a decade or two to an indoor swimming pool.

The first place he went to was the laundrette, where he found several tables of ponies (and in some cases kirins) sorting through mountains of clothing. Putting them through a series of machines that did all the washing and drying for them, the kirins would then put on some kind of horseshoe with a strap and flat metal edge and use their powers to heat it up, flattening the creases.

Drill didn’t realise it but a smile had crept across his face as he disrobed himself, giving his clothes over to the staff to be washed.

Part of him shuddered at considering how dirty said clothes were given the previous day.

Next he went to the bathrooms and found the place surprisingly empty. It was a hall full of differently sized tubs with many of them unfilled, likely waiting until the work day ended.

But he still managed to find one he could creep into and tested the waters slowly. He could feel the steam wafting off the water before he’d even entered and when he did, it was like he could feel himself melting, his limbs relaxing as his head rested on the edge.

“Oh I needed this! I should’ve come here more often, how long are they open for?”

Drill relaxed and began scrubbing himself as best he could with a nearby brush, bit by bit colour returned to his coat and pieces of grime fell off in droves, even if there were only so many places he could reach. it was almost a shame he had to leave the dirtied waters afterwards, he could’ve used an extra five, maybe ten minutes of bliss.

After he dried himself off there was one last place he wanted to go to complete his little tour.

Funny enough he’d never been to a spa in his life, sure he’d heard of them but for one reason or another never got around to it.

“Better late than never, right?”

Drill Bit pushed through the double doors and into a room full of long spa beds covered with blankets. The pleasant smell of lavender caught his nose and he turned to the sole occupant of the room.

She was a kirin with a mustard coat and brown mane, with emerald scales that covered her back and ran the length above her muzzle.

She quickly spun around to meet Drill with a smile. “Oh! Good afternoon, sorry, I wasn’t expecting anycreature here right now.”

“It’s fine,” Drill replied, “As rare as it is, someponies get days off.” He then rubbed the back of his neck and glanced around the room. “Do you mind uhm…helping me out? I’ve never been to a spa before.”

“Oh of course! Please, lay down.” She gestured towards one of the beds, which Drill laid down upon. “And please call me Ember Glow.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Ember, I’m Drill.”

Ember nodded before taking her place beside the proned stallion. “So, this is your first time?”

“Indeed it is.”

“Okay, how do you feel starting with Moxibustion?”

Drill looked at her curiously. “Uh, I’m not exactly sure. Mind explaining? First time and everything.”

“Oh it’s simple, I just heat up parts of your body to help you relax as I work.” As she said that, Ember flicked one of her hooves and a plume of dark flame sprang off its center.

Drill’s eyes went wide as he gazed at her, “Uhm…”

“Oh don’t worry!” She assured him, before pulling out a thin sheet of fabric. “This should protect you, I’ve done this many times.”

Drill was a little hesitant, especially at the should part of that sentence, but shrugged. “Okay, I guess I’ll have to trust you!”

Ember giggled before laying the sheet over him and starting her work, engulfing her hooves in a thin layer of flame before digging them into Drill’s joints.

As somecreature not used to messages or spa treatments, it took an embarrassing amount of effort to stay still from the sudden shots of pain, an entire photobook could’ve been filled just with the various faces Drill made whilst the kirin worked. It was worth it though, ironing out all the knots in his body sent shivers up his spine, and her warming touch made it all the better.

“My my you were locked up! I’ve never met a pony so stiff before.”

“You could -ugh- say that again!” Drill laughed, still a little hazy from the treatment.

“If I may ask, what brought you here? If you never chose before, why now?”

“Oh well I’d -eck!- just had a bath and -agh- thought I’d give it a try.” He nervously answered, not wanting to go into too much detail.

“Is that so?” Ember asked, “Mr. Drill, our tribe spent a long time hiding from ourselves, until the frost forced us away and like them, I can sense you too have buried something.”

Drill craned his neck to look at her. “Why would it concern you?”

“Because I’m here to help you relax, in both body and mind. It’s okay to let go of your woes here.”

He paused and let his head back down, remaining quiet as he thought about it. Normally Drill went to one of his friends when he needed to uncap his bottled emotions, but they were still at work and truth be told, his experiences would likely catch up with him sooner or later.

With a deep sigh Drill retold the events of the past several days. How it started with the kids at his job, cutting Comet’s wing off, the petition he’d made and the jail time he received.

All throughout Ember Glow nodded and allowed him to continue, being surprisingly candid about the whole thing.

“I-it’s not right, it just isn’t. There was one guard who helped me get back home but I can barely remember his name, Smoke…something.”

“I am afraid we live in an age of sacrifice and compromise Mr. Drill, I have a sister who works the coal mines. I initially wanted to take her place so she could see the sun, but I was denied because of my skills here.”

“Yeah, I’d heard your kind got the short of the stick in the city, I’m sorry about that.”

Ember offered Drill a grateful smile as she continued to work on one of his knots.

“It’s okay, back at our home we had to take an oath of silence. As you can imagine, being able to spontaneously combust when your village is made of wood…isn’t good.”

“But you ponies…” Ember then turned to view something off to the side. “You take things too far sometimes.”

Drill curiously turned around and saw what she was looking at, it was a bright red fire safety container like the one back at the plant, but instead of a fireaxe and other equipment, it simply housed a trio of bright blue glowing crystals, the glass inside icing up despite the room’s warmth.

They were cooling crystals, shards of enchanted ice that detonated on impact, freezing everything around them.

It might not have been as sophisticated as an extinguisher, but anycreature could use them and they were easy to produce. But the thought of using it on a live creature? It was something none would’ve considered a few years ago.

Drill sighed deeply, “You’re right, it’s because we’re scared, I think.”

Ember turned to him. “Are you scared? Of me?”

“No, I mean, you did startle me earlier but you’ve got a good heart.”

“Then I have nothing to fear.” She smiled, “As long as this city has good ponies like you, there will always be room for us.”

“...Thanks.” Drill said simply, sharing her smile before Ember Glow resumed her treatment in silence.

Walking away from the bathhouse Drill almost felt like a colt again.

His body was clean, his clothes were washed, and the massage from Ember had really loosened him up. Now instead of a simple walk, he was striding down the streets, his limbs still occasionally popping and cracking as he experimented with his movements.

It was an experience he’d have to come back for, he simply felt wonderful!

But there were other matters he had to attend to, things like…”Oh for buck’s sake.”

“There was something else I had to do today, what was it?”

Drill’s eyes scrunched in concentration as he searched his mind for the information.

“Let’s see, have breakfast, go to the bathhouse…what am I missing?”

It was always frustrating when his memory failed him and he mentally retraced his steps from the days before. There was the incident, his talk at the pub, being warned by that Diamond Dog, going to the hospital-

“Comet Trail! He’s likely out of the hospital by now! Maybe he’s resting at the orphanage? I should talk to him again and try making amends, hopefully he’s calmed down.”

He made way to Vallery Row where he remembered it was located and after a short while came upon a building vaguely resembling a schoolhouse, with an iron fence and miniature playground inside. Its walls and rooftop painted a bright sunny yellow much like the play equipment.

Though the rocking horse confused him…

“Why is there a Diamidian plaything in here?” He asked himself.

He brushed the thought aside and knocked on the front door, at first he heard nothing but right as he was about to knock a second time, several increasingly loud, frantic hoofsteps signalled the presence of sompony not just running, but galloping towards the door.

He took a cautious step back just in time for the door to swing open, narrowly avoiding being smacked by it.

The cherry red mare on the other side had just enough time to spout- “Hi there how are you doing I’m-” -before the door bounced off the wall and back into its frame, likely slamming into her in the process.

Drill took a deep breath before letting out another long, exaggerated sigh.

“Is the youth these days that bad?”

With a step forward Drill pulled on the handle and pushed the door away to reveal the unicorn mare rubbing her nose.

“Are you okay there miss?” He asked

“Mhm” She mumbled, “Shorry.”

Drill smiled as she ushered him inside away from the cold. The inside of the building was uniquely colourful compared to the rest of the city, a combination of greens, blues and yellows depicting Equestria as it was before the Frost, when it wasn’t just snow and ice.

But despite all the signs of life the building remained worriedly lifeless, devoid of any others besides the two ponies.

The cherry mare wiped a speck of blood from her lip before turning to Drill with a forced smile. “Anyway, I’m Rose Symphony, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yes, is there a colt here named Comet Trail? Lost his wing not long ago and I wanted to try making amends.”

“Oh, you must be Drill Bit! He came back from the hospital last night and mentioned you.”

“Y-yes! Is he here?”

“I’m afraid not,” She said through gritted teeth, “He’s at work but I’m sure you can talk when he comes back!”

“Wait WHAT?! He’s back at the ore plant?!” Drill exclaimed, anger immediately erupting from inside.

Rose shrank under his voice and talked quickly. “As bad as it is, there’s not really much I can do about it. Without parents, it’s up to the city to decide where they work, and nopony would send their child to such places sooo…” She grimaced.

Drill shut his eyes and facehooved. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.” After a moment he returned to Rose with a scowl. “At least tell me he has a decent life here.”

The mare’s already shrunken posture lowered even further as Drill asked the question, but when his glare hardened the mare snapped back.

“Look, I already have it hard enough around here, okay? Do you think I’d be able to pay enough attention to their friendship circles when I’m pulling voluntary overtime around the clock?”

Drill opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to come up with a counter argument until he realised it was for the wrcong reasons, so he conceded his pride. “You raise a fair point and I’m sorry if I came across as insensitive. Can I see his room at least?”

Rose nodded and led him through the orphanage, past classrooms and nurseries, a kitchen and lunch hall, before arriving at the bedrooms which in truth were more like bunkrooms with the beds stacking as high as the ceiling.

It made Drill’s apartment seem like luxury by comparison.

“His bunk is on the left.”

With a nod, Drill approached and found…very little, just a mattress with some sheets and a pillow. He then glanced around and saw the same thing with the rest of the beds, something was missing from them, something important.

“Where are all the toys? Shouldn’t this place have toys? Stuffed animals, letter cubes, stuff like that?”

“About that…” Rose rubbed the back of her head as she entered the room herself. “Remember what I said about voluntary work? Well there’s not a whole lot of amenities to go around, the city provides us what it can afford and little else, I guess they’d rather have the kids working.”

Rose then reached behind one of the beds and took out a worn, hoof repaired violin, its previously polished surface now marked with cuts,dents and fadded portions from use. “There’s no story books so I put them to sleep with this, it works well enough.”

Drill stood speechless, unable to respond as Rose played a few strings which to her credit, were well practised.

“Did you know the violin’s Professor Fire Heart’s favourite instrument?” She asked, sounding almost proud about the little detail.

“N-No, no I didn’t and I don’t think I needed to.” He finally spoke.

But Rose scowled at that. “What is your problem?”

“I’m sorry I-” Drill fumbled, trying to sort through his words. “I did it, okay? I’m the one that cut his wing off, I-I tried apologising at the hospital and he…he…”

His shoulders slumped and Rose moved to comfort him. “Yes…he talked about the accident, I take it it’s weighing on you?”

“It’s been on my mind ever since.”

“Well, what do you think would help you earn his apology?”

“I..I don’t know, that’s at least partially why I came.” Drill thought for a moment, trying to draw on threads of thought. “Do you know anything about his parents? Maybe I could…make something?”

Cherry’s expression turned somber. “From what I could gather, they both passed away while the generator was being built, fire apparently.”

Drill winced and shut his eyes as distant memories came flooding back, those of panicked shouts and alarm bells, rows of stretchers and bodybags in equal measure.

An unnecessary day of suffering and chaos in the name of progress.

“Bucking safety policies, why does this world have to be so damn cruel?” breathing deeply, he took a step back and looked around, hoping to draw upon his environment.

He looked to the wardrobes and shook his head, then to the ceiling with its colour patterns painted on, but had similar results.

It was when he stared at the beds that a thought crossed his mind.

“What age do we live in that kids don’t get toys…” And it was at that exact moment that Drill had an epiphany. “Wait, wasn’t Toy Chest a toymaker before the frost?”

Drill immediately snapped back to Rose Symphony with a grin.

“I think I know how I can make it up to Comet!”

Author's Note

At first, many in New Canterlot saw the Kirins as dangerous creatures, walking fire hazards that were barred from many buildings and establishments. It took time for the neighbourhood watch to re-focus their efforts into de-escalation as before that point, they’d prioritised direct action and conflict resolution.

After the inclusion of the Kirins, New Canterlot developed self-sealed chambers nicknamed "Hotboxes" to give the Kirins a safe place to vent their frustrations whilst dumping their fiery anger into the city's heating network.