It’s been a week since the issue with Discord. I’m walking along the streets of Ponyville, it seems the ponies have gotten used to me, as I’m not even turning any heads. Speaking of, the ponies don’t look as happy as they usually are. Some look depressed, others look worn out. They aren’t exactly sluggish, but there’s a distinct lack of energy from them. Strange.

I head down the road, and come to a few ponies who don’t seem too affected. I wave to them, but they just ignore me. The ponies are usually a little more friendly. I mean, I’m not a pony, but come on!

I decide to visit Cotton Cloudy. At least she likes me. I head to the hospital and ask to see Cotton. The doctor looks puzzled. “Wait, is she still here?” He flips through some papers. “That’s strange. She’s been listed as healthy since two days ago, but nopony’s come to pick her up...”

That pushes a button in my head. “Take me to her.”

“Uh, s- sure.”

Given his reaction, I’m probably glowing. I look at my arm, yep, glowing. I’m too riled up to care though. I can’t imagine such an irresponsible parent.

I walk in and see Cotton Cloudy reading a book. It’s Daring Do, of course. I speak up. “Come on, Cotton, put down that drivel. I’m taking you home.”

“Anthony!” There, that’s exactly what I needed, someone happy to see me.

The doctor interjects. “I’m sorry, but unless you are a legal guardian of hers, I can’t let you take her.”

“But how do we find her mom, then?”

“I don’t know, but those are the rules. We can’t let someone take home a foal unless they are registered as their legal guardian.”

“I am not a foal! I’m six!”

“Perhaps she would prefer to be referred to as a vertically-challenged young mare.” I suggest.

Cotton obviously doesn’t understand what some of the words mean, but the doctor just gives me a strange look. “Yes, well, either way, I cannot allow this filly into your custody. She must wait for her mother.”

I cover Cotton’s ears with my hands. “That’s a load of bullshit!”

Despite my attempts to prevent my language from affecting the kid, I am ejected from the hospital anyways. I need to find her mom and smack some sense into the bitch.

I head to the Town Hall. I approach the grey-haired mayor, she greets me in the usual Ponyville way. A bit of a shock, but eventually smiles. “Hello there, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yes, it’s a rather pressing legal matter.” I hate politics and the like more than anything else, but this is the only way.

She gives a rather cursory glance at me. “And what is this matter?”

“I need help locating the residence of a negligent parent.”

“Oh my. What is the name of this parent?”

“I don’t know, but I know the child’s name.”

“I see, and what is the manner of this negligence?”

“One week ago, a pegasus filly named Cotton Cloudy was admitted to the hospital after an incident where she nearly drowned. She was listed as healthy two days ago, and yet her mother has yet to retrieve said filly.”

“Oh dear. I will see what I can do.”

“If only to assure me that this matter is being addressed, I request that I be involved.”

“Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt.”

She goes over to a few filing cabinets, and rifles through various leafs of paper. Eventually she pulls out a folder, handing it to me.

I open the folder and take a look. I see two pictures. One of Cotton Cloudy. The other shows a mare. Her name is Lightning Bolt. Her coat is white and her mane is a light shade of blue. Definitely genetically related, if genetics work the same way in this place, that is.

Anyway, I copy down the address and excuse myself, thanking the mayor for her help.

I make my way through Ponyville, and after a while, I find the house. Compared to the other houses of Ponyville, it’s rather nondescript. Usual thatch roof, brown wood siding, all that junk. But it’s definitely the house, if the address I have is accurate.

I knock on the door. There’s no answer. I knock again. No answer. I’m getting angry. I knock harder. Still nothing. That’s it, I’ve had enough. I prepare to ram my shoulder into the door, knocking it down, but I stop. I decide for a more subtle approach.

Once I make sure the door is locked, I pull out some coal, pushing some of the dust into the keyhole. I then have the dust expand and solidify, making it fit the exact shape of the lock. I grin at my little trick as I turn my custom-made key, unlocking the door. I search through the house, and eventually I realize that there’s nobody here. I turn off all the lights so it’s dark, then place a chair pointing toward the door and sit down once I’ve relocked the door.

When this bitch gets home, I want her to know exactly who she’s pissed off.

My mind races, thinking about what I’m going to do to this mare. I’m so angry I might do anything. I could give her a flaming bitch-slap. I could pluck the feathers out of her wings, and see if a pegasus can still fly like that. As I sit here in the dark alone, I’m so angry, it feels like my silent rage is seeping into the room itself, surrounding me in my own anger. It makes me think of more awful things to do. Set her on fire and watch her writhe until she turns to ash. I could slice open a major artery and see how long it takes for her to bleed out. But another part of my mind stops me. With each new form of torture my sick mind designs, I imagine how Cotton Cloudy would react. I can imagine her crying over her mother’s lifeless body, the mare’s blood on my hands. No matter how bad of a mother she may be, I’m sure her filly loves her all the same.

I can’t do it. I can’t hurt this mare no matter how much I want to. I want to kill this bitch for how little she cares for her daughter, but... it’s that daughter that prevents me from deciding to follow through. I yell as I hold my head. Too much confliction. My sense of justice demands this mare face her comeuppance, but my conscience demand I let her go for Cotton’s sake. I can’t separate a mare from her daughter but I want to make this mare pay... my inner demons and angels in a struggle match, trying to wrestle for my mind.

Suddenly, the mare walks in the door. I’m acting without thinking, as if I’m just watching from the sidelines as I walk towards Lightning Bolt. Tears cloud my vision as I lift her above my head by her neck, squeezing hard. Then I black out. Next Chapter: Chapter 22 Estimated time remaining: 32 Hours, 2 Minutes