The Social Rejects Squad: Little Adventures

by Betty_Starlight

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Trixie, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Cozy Glow
Length: 16967

Little Snack has a secret for Cozy Glow!

Little Snack has had these strange feelings about the pegasus former villain she's been hanging out with. She's not sure what to do about it, but is approached by Princess Luna in a dream later and confronted. The following is what transpires.

Published 2021-09-07 15:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-12-21 05:17:11 UTC

Prelude: Filly Friends!

Cozy Glow:

Cozy sat on her bed on the second day of being grounded for two days. She read the book that she hid from her mother and thought to herself, This is book seven! You know, the Dragon-Corn series shouldn’t be too much longer? When suddenly, she hears the front door open.

She hears the masculine voice of Tasty Snack, Little Snack’s unicorn father, begin speaking to her mother in the distance. She can’t really make out what’s said from her bed and so, she quietly gets out and thinks, Should I be eavesdropping like this? Then again, nopony has to know I heard them? Before silently trotting to the door and cracking it just barely open with her right forehoof to hear better as she places her head near the wall.

She overhears Tasty saying, “Yes, I wanted to talk about Little Snack!”

Trixie frowns, “What about her?”

Tasty smiles, “Well, she has had a hard time making friends and I honestly believe knowing Cozy is good for her!”

“And?”

Tasty sighs, “And, I’d like her and Little Snack to become filly friends!”

Trixie widens her eyebrows, “Filly friends?”

“Yeah! Like, best friends, only as fillies! Would it be okay if our darling angel came by to visit everyday after class and before dinner?”

Trixie smiles, “Oh, okay! Uh, sure! I’ll run that idea by little Cozy soon! She’s still grounded for cursing earlier and she’ll be out in another day! Does Friday sound like a good time to start?”

Tasty smiles, “Sounds good to me!”

<*****>

Little Snack:

Little Snack emerged in the fog and began to scream, “AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!”

“Calm down child!” Says a soft, but firm feminine voice from behind the orange filly.

Little huffs and paws at the ground, left and then right before turning around. She sees she’s still in her room, but no longer in her bed and the dark imposing alicorn shape of Princess Luna stands there next to her door. She smiles from across the room and says, “Oh, sorry! That’s just how I usually wake up a lot of times!”

“Uh,” Luna shakes her head to compose herself at this unusual orange filly with her long green ribboned pigtails and freckles, before smiling and saying, “I assure you that you are still very much asleep foal!”

“Oh, okay! Why am I in my room then?” Little says as she looks up to her right.

Luna smiles, “I wished to speak with you!”

Little leans forward with her green eyes wide open, “About what?”

“Well, you and Cozy have gotten close, yes?”

“Well um… “ Little looks down and paws again, left, then right. She looks at the princess, “Not as close as I’d like? She’s just well…” she looks down at the floor.

“She’s what?” Luna asked perplexed while craning her neck to the young orange pony.

Little looks back up, “She’s so pretty and smart and nice and well…”

Luna trots to Little and uses her right forehoof to raise Little’s chin to face her as she looks into the filly’s eyes, “Follow your heart Little Snack!”

Little narrows her eyes, “That sounds like pretty generic advice, but okay!”

Luna starts at this before chuckling slightly and putting her hoof down, “Well, there’s often no easy way to approach these things… You just have to do what you believe you need to and trust that things will work out fine… But nopony can really tell for sure!”

Little nods her head, “Oh okay! That makes sense! Yes!”

<*****>

That Friday, in Cozy’s room…

The pink curly haired pegasus filly stands near the wall with her door and stares back at Little Snack, “Oh golly! So, what now?”

“Filly friends! That’s what my dad said we should be!”

Cozy raises her left eyebrow, “What’s a filly friend?”

“Oh, well it’s like we’re fillies and we’re also really good friends!”

Cozy normalizes her eyes and scrunches her mouth, “But, we’re already fillies and good friends!”

“Yup! And now, we’re filly friends!” Little says excitedly while nodding.

“But we were already good friends and fillies, Little Snack? I don’t see how this changes anything?”

“Well, now we get to be filly friends, so it’s different!”

“How is it different?”

“Well, we’re filly friends now!”

Cozy looks skyward and whispers, “Oh golly!” to herself before lowering her eyes back at Little, “Um… But we were already, uh…” A daze look goes over Cozy’s brown eyes as she widens them, “You know what Little Snack? That’s great! I love you filly friend!”

“Aww! I love you too!” Little exclaims before trotting over to Cozy and hugging her tightly!

“EEP!” Cozy says as she’s held firmly in the earth filly’s hooves! She soon composes herself and returns the hug with her own forehooves.

Little disengages from Cozy, back to her hooves on the floor, “So uh, what do you wanna do now, filly friend?”

Cozy scratches the back of her head with her right forehoof, “Oh golly, I dunno? Whatever you wanna do is fine!”

Little scrunches her mouth, “That’s okay! You can decide!”

“Um, no Little! Whatever you want is good! I just got up and don’t really have any plans!”

“Oh gosh! No, you decide for us Cozy!”

Cozy narrows her eyes, “We’re not gonna get anywhere doing this, you know?”

Little giggles slightly and looks off to the lower right side, “Uh, yeah…”

Cozy notices something ‘off’ about the freckled orange earth filly in her room, so she leans towards Little slightly and narrows her eyes, “Are you okay, Little?”

“What? Me? Oh, I’m fine! Everything is just fine! Why wouldn’t I be okay?” She says while nervously smiling at the pegasus and staring at her with bright green eyes.

Cozy leans back slightly, “You’ve just been acting weird! I mean, is something bothering you?”

At that point, something snaps inside the orange filly. She stares back up at Cozy with her green eyes and does the unthinkable… She kisses Cozy Glow on the lips!

Cozy’s eyes are as wide as saucers while the earth filly’s lips are on hers.

Little brings her head back and smiles at Cozy.

Cozy, who promptly screams, “AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!”

Little begins screaming with her, “AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!”

Cozy stops screaming shortly before Little and pants before saying, “Y-you kissed me!”

Little nods, “Um, that’s true! Yes, I did!”

“Why did you kiss me?”

“Because I love you!”

“Well, I love you too! But I won’t kiss you!”

Little narrows her eyes and says, “Aww! Now you’re just being mean!” before staring at the floor.

Cozy’s eyes widen as her mind begins to process all of what just happened. She stares at Little, “Uh, I mean, um… If you wanted to?”

Little looks back at Cozy, “Um, yeah! I liked kissing you! I also liked screaming with you! Can we do that again?”

Suddenly, Cozy’s doorknob glows blue and her door swings open to show a blue unicorn pony with a white mane and tail. Trixie stares at Cozy, “What’s wrong? Why are you two screaming?”

Cozy turns her body to Trixie, “Oh, I’m fine! Everything is fine! We’re all fine!” before smiling nervously.

Trixie smiles and leans forward, “And how was your first kiss?”

Cozy’s eyes widen as starts, “What? There was no kiss! Why would there be a kiss? I don’t know what you’re talking about mom?” and a big smile slowly begins to form on her face.

Trixie snickers and looks at Little, just beyond Cozy on the floor, “So, you like my daughter?”

Little’s eyes widen as she nervously looks at Trixie and nods her head, “Oh, yes ma’am! Cozy is smart, and pretty, and funny!” She stops nodding and looks intently at the unicorn and says wide-eyed, “She’s just the best!”

“Okay! You two little fillies have fun! I’m so glad you have somepony to play with and have fun with Little Cozy! Dinner will be ready in about an hour!” Trixie says before using her magic to shut the door and both fillies can hear hoofsteps getting fainter as she trots away.

Cozy stares back at Little, “Why did you kiss me?”

Little smiles, “Because I love you!”

Cozy blinks at this confusing little earth filly staring back at her happily with her big green eyes. “This is gonna make snuggling awkward!”

Little blinks, “I don’t think so? Now I get to kiss you too!”

“ACK!” Cozy replies. “

“Something wrong?” Little asks while leaning forward curiously.

“Um,” Cozy blinks and says, “I just never really thought of you, like that, you know? I mean, with everything I did, nopony should wanna be with me…” before looking down at the floor.

Little corrects her neck and smiles, “Then call me, Nopony! Nopony McGee! Yes!”

Cozy raises her head at the earth filly and lifts her left eyebrow, “What?”

“I wanna be with you, Cozy!” Little says while continuing to smile nervously.

“Why?”

“Well, you’re smart and pretty and funny and cute and…”

“Okay, stop right there!” Cozy says while putting her right forehoof up. She lowers it and glares at Little carefully, “Uh, you really think all those things about me?”

“Well, yeah!” Little says before nodding and widening her eyes to the pegasus, “Are you surprised?”

“Well, um…” Cozy says before looking down and scanning the floor with her eyes. She looks back at Little, “I just uh, never really thought of you, like that! You know?” She looks to the lower right, “Actually, I’ve never felt that way about anypony, I don’t think??

“Well, how do you feel about me?” Little asks curiously, leaning forward with her big green eyes in full view of the pegasus.

Cozy looks back at Little, “I uh, never really thought of you, like that, Little Snack…”

“No no no!” Little says before shaking her head. She leans forward with open interested eyes, “I mean, what do you think about me?”

Cozy Glow stares blankly at Little Snack, “I think you have a good heart and are nice and friendly and I think you’re in pretty good shape…”

“Probably cause I stay so active?” Little says while looking at the lower left. She looks back at Cozy, “So um, wanna be filly friends now, Cozy?”

Cozy narrows her eyes, “This includes kissing, doesn’t it?”

“Hopefully!” Little says exuberantly while nodding. She stops and leans forward, “I really like you, Cozy!”

Cozy widens her eyes, “You don’t say?”

“Oh yes! I do say!” Little says before nodding.

At this point, Cozy can only shrug and smile as she says, “You know what? Sure! Why not?”

“Hooray!” Little Snack shouts before kissing Cozy again on the lips!

Cozy’s eyes widen again as they tremble. This time, it’s different. Somehow, electric and going through Cozy as she stares at the closed orange eyes of this other filly that apparently loves her.

Little stops kissing and draws back, “How was that?”

“You know, I was more ready for it that time, and yet, it still took over…”

“What took over?”

“Uh,” Cozy shakes her head, “Nevermind!

“Okay!” Little Snack says before vibrating slightly. She stares at Cozy, “So, what do you wanna do now, filly friend?”

“Well, I usually take a nap about now?”

“Yay! Cuddling and kissing in Cozy’s bed together!”

Cozy gulps, “Oh golly!”

Little glares at Cozy’s bed to her right, “Uh, I know you like to be held, and so I guess I should get in first, right?”

A startling thought suddenly occurs to the pegasus filly’s mind as she opens her eyes wide and says to Little, “Uh, sure! Go ahead!”

“Okay filly friend!” Little says excitedly before she trots over to the bed and hops onto it. She messes up the covers a bit as she digs in deep and plants her head on the far pillow, with her body laid open to Cozy and on her left side, she says happily, “Okay Cozy! You come on in, and I’ll hold and love you! There’s also your dolphin to hold so you can feel safe and warm and happy! Now come on in!” before patting the bed with her right forehoof.

“Golly!” Cozy says before squatting and taking off with her wings to flitter over and land on the bed, opposite to Little and then goes prone before shifting her body to lay on her left side with Little behind her.

Little holds her and asks, “Aren’t you gonna get your dolphin?”

Cozy smiles, “No… Just pull the covers over us and hold me and I think I’ll have everything I need!”

“DAWW!” Little says while using her right forehoof to pull blankets over Cozy first and then, her own body. She then begins to hold Cozy in her hooves and kisses her softly on the back of her neck at the start of her curls. This tickles Cozy slightly and she giggles while Little Snack happily whispers back to her, “I love you filly friend!”

“I love you too, Little Snack!” Cozy says before smiling and snuggling deeper into Little behind her while she’s being held.

<*****>

Cozy emerges in a fog, once more in the same open field, now just empty pastures. As she looks around the grasslands and can’t help but think to herself that cows should be out here. She looks up to the sky and sees that it’s very cloudy and the sun is nowhere in sight. Suddenly, a soft feminine voice says from behind her, “So, you found love!”

Cozy turns her body around to see Princess Luna there, her energetic mane dancing off to the left side and a smile on her face, underneath cerulean eyes. Cozy raises her head to say, “This was all part of your plan, wasn’t it?”

Luna snickers, “Why, what ever do you mean, Cozy?”

Cozy rolls her eyes, “Oh please! You get me to find love with another filly, so I stay good and reformed! I can smell this setup a mile away!”

Luna giggles more, “No Little Cozy! I just arranged for you to meet Little Snack! This was actually all her idea!”

Cozy scrunches her mouth and narrows her eyes, “So, her kissing me earlier was all her then?”

Luna nods, “Correct!” She leans forward while grinning, “Now, what are you gonna do about it?”

“Oh golly!” Cozy says while leaning back slightly, “You know, I’ve faced evil unicorn magicians, a wicked draconequus, changeling queens, and a malevolent old centaur! But this!”

Luna laughs, “Love is the most difficult monster to face, isn’t that right?”

Cozy narrows her eyes again, “You sure this wasn’t a plan of yours?”

Luna shakes her head, “No!” She stops, “Little Snack has actually had a crush on you for some time now and her dreams about you are surprisingly romantic!”

Cozy widens her eyes, “W-what? She’s been dreaming about me too?”

“That is correct Cozy!”

Cozy starts as once again, thoughts of a certain freckled orange filly and who she is, begin to enter her mind.

<*****>

Cozy wakes up being lovingly held in the hooves of Little Snack, but she feels different somehow… She opens her eyes and sees a smiling blue unicorn with white hair staring at her as she’s being held. She says, “Uh, mom. Why are you staring at us like that?”

Trixie shakes her head and looks at Cozy, “I’m sorry! I just can’t get over how cute and adorable you two are together! And now, you’re filly friends!”

“Oh golly, mom! I don’t need this!” Cozy stammers out while shutting her eyes. She opens them at Trixie, “I just wanted to live my life!”

Trixie frowns, “Well, love is part of life, Cozy Glow!”

Cozy opens her eyes at the unicorn and narrows them, “That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

“Oh gosh!” says a timid voice from behind Cozy. “I’m sorry! Uh, do you want me to go now?”

Cozy widens her eyes and says, “No! You stay!” while bringing Little’s forehooves around her with her own. She looks at Trixie with big sad brown eyes and says, “Uh, mom! I’m not grounded anymore! Can my new filly friend please stay the night?” before frowning pathetically.

Trixie snickers, “Sure! Just fly over to her house and nicely ask her parents!”

(To be continued)

Chapter 1: Caring For Your Filly Friend

Cozy feels the warm embrace of the earth filly behind her as she’s gently held in her hooves and she wrinkles her nose as the events of yesterday fill her head. The whole time, she can’t help but think that it’s strange that this crazy little orange pony would adore her so much… She opens her eyes and sees a purple unicorn filly staring at her with blue eyes, underneath the white mop of her mane, that’s accentuated by hot pink highlights as it glistens in the light of the rising sun from her bedroom window… She sees Starshine standing on her floor from underneath the wavy bluish white locks of her mane and stammers out, “You know, I really should put a lock on my door! Golly! Doesn’t anypony know how to knock?”

Starshine continues smiling at Cozy Glow.

“Uh, what are you so happy about?”

Starshine’s grin widens, “Cozy and Little, sitting in a tree!”

Cozy’s eyes go towards her mane, “Oh golly!”

“K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

“Stop it!” Cozy blurts out as she leans forward, towards the unicorn, but is held back by the orange hooves of the other filly.

“First comes love!”

“I’m serious Starshine!” Cozy yelps!

“Then comes marriage!”

“TERRIBLE VENGEANCE! FIERY RETRIBUTION!” Cozy blurts out as she begins to angrily shake!

“Then comes Cozy in a baby carriage! Ha ha ha ha haa!” Starshine starts to giggle and guffaw!

Cozy closes her eyes and sighs, “I’m guessing mom told you about what Little did yesterday?”

Starshine nods, “Yup! And I think it’s sweet!”

“So, um…” Cozy frowns and looks down, “You’re not mad?” She glances back at Starshine, “I mean, we’ll still hang out and do stuff together, no problem!”

“Naw!” Starshine says before shaking her head and causing her white mane to flail somewhat. She looks back at Cozy, “Honestly, I’m just glad you found somepony to be happy with! I mean, gosh! You’ve been through a lot, you know?”

Cozy closes her eyes, “So I’m told!”

Little Snack suddenly tightens her grip on Cozy with her forelegs and says emphatically, “MINE!”

“EEP!” Cozy yelps as her eyes pop forward and she’s yanked back towards the earth filly!

Starshine giggles, “Besides! You two are adorable together!”

“MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE!!!!!” Little says vigorously as she nuzzles the base of Cozy’s head with her snout and hangs on to the pegasus tightly!

“Knock it off Little!” Cozy squeals as she’s being bombarded by affection from behind her!

Little stops forcefully nuzzling the pink filly before saying, “I’m sorry Cozy! I’m just so glad I was not only able to get that out yesterday, but you’re mine now! You’re actually mine! My very own Cozy Glow! Hooray!” and then tightening her grip again somewhat.

“Oh golly! Are you gonna be like this, all the time now Little Snack?” Cozy stammers.

Little loosens her grip somewhat and looks up as she says, “Um, maybe?” She straightens her head forward, “It might settle down, but don’t you EVER think I’ll not show you my love Cozy! MINE!” before tightening again!

“EEP!” Cozy squeaks again as she’s pulled back to the earth filly once more in front of the giggling purple unicorn.

“I love you Cozy!” Little cutely says.

“I love you too Little!” Cozy barely manages to mutter out as she’s hugged insistently from behind.

Starshine widens her eyes, “So um, filly friends?”

Cozy looks at the unicorn as Little loosens her grip, “Golly yeah, her parents said she needed a close friend and apparently, I’m it!”

“And there’s kissing too!” Little happily exclaims before nuzzling Cozy at the base of her mane again.

Cozy widens her eyes, “Um yeah, that too!”

“DAWW!” Starshine says as she giggles slightly.

Cozy narrows her eyes to the unicorn, “So, did you come here to gawk at me and the crazy filly who apparently loves me, or?”

Starshine shakes her head again, “Oh! I wanted to see if you wanted to scope out something in the Everfree Forest with me!”

Cozy closes her eyes, “Oh geez Starshine!” She looks back at the unicorn, “How about something that’s not a forest?”

Starshine frowns, “Well, we were there at your old hideout earlier and everything turned out just fine?”

Cozy widens her eyes, “I was launched into space!”

Starshine widens her eyes, “Okay but uh, what are the odds that we’ll run into Discord again, anyway?”

Cozy narrows her eyes, “Celestia knows, Starshine!”

Starshine nods, “Exactly! You know, you don’t have to be in a forest for him to bother you! He could show up right now if he really wanted to!”

Cozy widens her eyes, “Oh golly! I get it! Please shut up about Discord now! Uh, what did you want to check out there anyway?”

Starshine smiles…

<*****>

Cozy looks up as she stands next to Starshine in the hospital room, “Uh, was this my room?”

Starshine glances at Cozy from the right, “No Cozy! This is room four! You were in room three, across the hall, remember?”

Cozy looks down and at Starshine, “Um, right!” She looks up, “They all look the same though!” before looking to the bed on the other side of the room and the mound underneath the covers just to the left of a big brown teddy bear, slightly smaller than a filly, “Well, there she is… Uh, I guess we shouldn’t wake her?”

Suddenly, Little Snack rises from the covers and screams, “AAAAAAAHHHH!”

Starshine flinches and puts a weak forcefield over her front while Cozy flitters back with her wings!

Cozy is prone on all fours and now across the room as she looks at Little, now to her left, before asking, “Little Snack! Are you okay?”

Little looks down at Cozy, “Oh I’m fine! That’s just how I usually wake up!”

Cozy raises her body halfway and frowns, “You took a hit from an ursa minor! Are you sure about that?”

Little looks left and then right as she stretches out her forelegs and then, stretches her hind legs further into the bed covers, “Uh, I think so? All my legs feel okay and I don’t really have a horn or wings that could get hurt… Uh,” she looks down at Cozy, “How are you baby?”

Cozy rises completely, shakes her head, and says, “Oh, I’m fine! Uh, why did you scream?” before turning her body to the earth filly and leaning forward with an interested look in her eyes.

Little smiles, “That’s just how I usually wake up!”

“Golly! You never woke up like that with me?” Cozy says before frowning.

Little nods, “Well, holding you seems to keep me calm… I feel at peace with you Cozy!”

Cozy leans back with her neck and widens her eyes, “I-I do that for you?”

Little smiles bigger, “Yup! My wonderful Cozy Glow! Who’s also pretty and smart and cute and…”

“Okay okay! I get it! You love me!” Cozy says with a start as she shakes her head. She normalizes it, “I still can’t believe you actually did that for me! You know, I have wings! I can get away just fine!”

“Well, right Cozy!” Little says before nodding, “But I didn’t want you to get hurt!”

“Right!” Cozy nods and looks at Starshine to the right, “How did you find that cave, anyway, Starshine?”

Starshine glances at Cozy, “I was at the library and found a book about ancient caves of Equestria! I thought it would be cool! But uh, the book didn’t say anything about an ursa minor!”

“Well, it doesn’t matter what it says or doesn’t say at this point, Starshine!” Cozy looks back at Little on the bed, “There was one there and it hurt my Little Snack!”

Little looks at Cozy and grins, “YOUR Little Snack?”

“Oh golly!” Cozy widens her eyes while Starshine grins and giggles at her from the other side.

“Can I have a kiss, Cozy? Those always cheer me up!” Little says while leaning forward with a wide-eyed hopeful expression.

Cozy leans towards Little and says lowly, “But Starshine is RIGHT there!”

Little frowns and says, “Don’t’ you want the world to know you love me?” before looking down and frowning pathetically while Starshine continues to giggle.

Cozy grimaces and says, “Fine!” before looking at Starshine, “This isn’t over!”

Starshine smiles at the pegasus, “I’m not scared!”

Cozy harumphs before looking back at Little and trotting to the earth filly from the left side of her bed, opposite the teddy bear and gently giving her a light peck on the left cheek before bringing her neck back to her body.

Little frowns, “What was that?”

Cozy glances around nervously with her eyes, “I-it was a kiss! That’s what you wanted!”

Little looks at Cozy and frowns with big sad watery eyes, “B-but! Aren’t you gonna kiss me on the lips like before?”

Cozy shakes her head while Starshine looks on and continues to snicker. She cranes her neck back to Little and kisses her on the lips softly.

Little feels this and moves her head forward to get all the Cozy she can get while Starshine purrs out, “AWWWWW!!!!!!”

Cozy disengages and looks at Starshine while still craning her neck, “I’m serious! You’re gonna pay!”

Starshine just smiles and giggles back.

<*****>

Cozy and Starshine trot to the south after leaving the hospital exit as Starshine looks at Cozy on her right and says, “Little Snack defended you from the ursa minor!”

Cozy looks back, “I was there, remember?”

Starshine frowns while both fillies keep walking, “Are you surprised?”

Cozy turns left to start home and Starshine reciprocates, “Well um, actually I kinda am!”

“Why? She said she loves you and now, and now, she actually proved it!”

Cozy flinches, “Yeah, I know!” She opens her eyes, “So uh, what now?”

Starshine smiles, “Well, you’re gonna have to check on her periodically and you should probably let the school know what happened and bring her homework to her!”

Cozy starts, “Well, right!” she looks forward and whispers to herself, “Don’t give it another thought Little Snack! Just let Cozy take care of everything!”

<*****>

Cozy lands in front of the office door and knocks with her right forehoof while leaning up slightly.

“Come in!” says a feminine voice from behind it.

Cozy operates the knob with her mouth and swings the door to her right as she trots in.

Starlight frowns from behind her big wooden desk as the pink filly trots in, “Cozy Glow! Haven’t seen you since the apology! Did you need something?”

Cozy looks to her right and shuts the door with her right forehoof before adjusting her body to the magenta unicorn in front of the door, “Uh, golly yes Starlight! You remember Little Snack? The orange earth filly we got enrolled in here earlier?”

Starlight frowns, “What about her?”

Cozy nervously fidgets her forehooves, “Well, she was hurt by an ursa minor earlier in the Everfree Forest! I needed to let you know that she’s gonna be in the hospital for about a week and I wanted to bring her homework to her! You know? Since I’m gonna be heading up there anyway!”

“Oh wow! Is she okay?” Starlight says as she starts and leans forward wide-eyed.

Cozy smiles, “Yeah, she’ll be just fine! After she was knocked away, I flew back and helped her hide under a log in case the monster came back and then, I flew to the hospital to get a pegasus team to help her!”

Starlight straightens her face, “Since you knew where she was!”

Cozy rolls her eyes, “Obviously!” She looks back at Starlight and frowns, “Anyway, do I need to go visit her teachers or?”

Starlight frowns, “Don’t worry about that Cozy! I got her class schedule and I’ll send a memo to her teachers! Just come by this afternoon after class and I should have everything ready for you!”

Cozy smiles, “That’ll be just swell! Thanks Starlight!”

<*****>

The door opens as Little Snack bounces the ball on her chin and Cozy flies in laboriously with a brown leather satchel on her back. She huffs as she lands there, while Little continues to dribble her ball. Little knocks the ball to her left side by swinging her chin that way and trots to Cozy, now huffing on her hooves after setting the bag down just to her right on the hospital floor.

“Hiya Cozy! What’s up?” Little says on her way to the other filly.

Cozy turns her head to Little, “Your homework is kinda heavy, Little Snack!”

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry Cozy Glow!” Little says while frowning.

Cozy catches her breath, “Think nothing of it! Uh, Little?” before rising and turning her body to the orange filly.

“Yes, Cozy?” Little says while tilting her head slightly to the right.

“Why did you defend me back there? You must really care about me, huh?”

Little normalizes her head and frowns, “Why do you act so surprised?”

“Oh golly, well uh…” Cozy looks down before back at Little, “Let’s just say, when you’re a villain, things are very different! I mean, I know Chrysalis and Tirek would’ve helped me too, but they’d only be doing it because they’d know I could help them later…” She leans forward with a piercing expression in her brown eyes, “But it’s not like that with you, huh? I mean…” She flinches, “You actually care about me for me, don’t you?”

Little smiles, “Of course Cozy! You’re my filly friend!”

Cozy frowns, “Well um, right!”

Little leans forward, “And you care about me too, right? I mean, who led the pegasus team to find me?”

Cozy smiles, “Well, of course, Little Snack! I mean, golly! I’m not gonna just leave you there!”

Little nods and smiles, “Right, because you care about me! See how this works?”

Cozy smiles wider, “Well uh, right!”

Little frowns, “So I guess we learn about friendship in and out of the classroom now?”

Cozy nods, “I guess so Little! I guess so! Uh, hang on!” before looking back to the leather bag on the floor and reaching there to grab papers with her mouth after opening the clasp with her lips. She sets down a stack of neatly arranged papers, roughly an inch in height onto the shelf at her right, just beyond the book bag. She stops leaning up to it and returns to her hooves before turning her body back to Little and smiling, “There’s all your homework, filly friend!”

Little looks up at the papers on the counter and widens her eyes, “Gosh! That’s a lot!”

Cozy giggles, “Well golly! I guess now you won’t be bored anymore, huh?”

Little nods, “Well, right! Um…” She leans back before looking down and pawing at the floor with her forehooves, left and then right.

Cozy narrows her eyes and frowns, “I know what that means! You’re nervous about something, huh?”

Little starts with a wide-eyed frowning expression of surprise at Cozy, “Uh, well kinda, yeah?”

Cozy smiles, “You wanted to ask me something, right?”

Little shakes her head, “Oh gosh! Um…” She blinks, “Cozy uh, would you uh…” She looks down and paws again, left and then right.

Cozy frowns, “Would I what?”

Little looks up, “Would you help me study Cozy? I uh, sure would like that…” before nervously smiling at the pegasus and staring on with hopeful green eyes.

“Sure! Uh, were you having trouble?” Cozy says while leaning forward with an interested look in her brown eyes and a frown on her face.

“Um…” Little says with another start, “It’s just that well… You’re so smart and uh, I like you and wanted to uh, well…”

Cozy sighs as she suddenly realizes what this is really all about, “Sure Little Snack! I’ll be happy to spend some time with you and help you study!”

Little smiles exuberantly, “Great!” before trotting the rest of the way to Cozy and embracing her in a tight warm hug!

“Urgh! You’re pretty strong Little!” Cozy manages to grunt out before returning the embrace with her own forehooves.

Little disengages and returns to her hooves on the floor, “Oh uh, sorry Cozy! You’re just so wonderful that I guess I just get carried away?”

Cozy looks at Little carefully, “You keep telling me how great I am? You don’t scream when we wake up together and you’re always talking about how smart I am…”

Little frowns and looks at Cozy, “Well, it’s true! I don’t scream with you and you are pretty smart! You almost took over Equestria, remember?”

Cozy grins and giggles, “You know, from here, I can almost laugh about it? I mean, that was a long time ago and now, I can’t help but think about how wrong I was! Golly! And I would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those meddling ponies!” before bending her right forehoof upward in front of her.

“Yup! You failed! And now you got a Little Snack!” Little exclaims while lightly jittering.

Cozy lowers her hoof and says, “Yeah…” while continuing to smile…

Little suddenly leans to the pegasus and kisses her on the lips! She closes her eyes while her lips lock with Cozy before leaning back a few inches and smiling at the pink filly…

Cozy stares wide-eyed at the earth filly and growls, “I wasn’t ready, jerk! GRR!”

“You’re cute when you growl!”

Cozy’s cheeks redden slightly as she looks off to the right side, “No U!”

Little giggles softly.

Cozy stares at the hot steaming bran cake in front of her before looking at Trixie across the table from her, “Uh, mom? Me and my friends went to the Everfree Forest and um, Little Snack got hurt!”

Trixie starts and stares at the pink filly, “W-what? What happened? Is she okay?”

Cozy stares at Trixie intently, “Yeah, she was hurt by an ursa minor and now, she’s in the hospital for about a week… Um,” she frowns, “she wanted me to help her study while she was away from school and um…”

Trixie frowns, “Well, yes Cozy! Of course! You’re very smart and if anypony in Ponyville can help Little Snack…”

Cozy shakes her head, “Right! It would be me!” She looks back at the unicorn intently with her large brown eyes, “So uh…”

Trixie looks at Cozy, “So, you’re going to the hospital everyday after school and a snack to help your filly friend!”

Cozy gulps, “Oh golly!”

(To be continued…)

Chapter 2: Teaching Your Filly Friend

Cozy lands in front of the hospital door and looks up with her auburn eyes as she knocks with her right forehoof.

She hears Little Snack’s excited voice from inside should, “HOORAY!”

Cozy starts as she retracts her neck and stares blankly forward with wide eyes.

She then hears hoofsteps approaching the door from behind before it opens to reveal a smiling orange earth filly with a long green mane around her shoulders, freckles on her face, and striking green eyes. Little Snack smiles at her as her body and hair shakes, “It’s my filly friend! Yay!”

“Golly, Little Snack! You sure seem happy?”

Little frowns, “Why wouldn’t I be happy to see you, Cozy?”

Cozy blinks, “Oh, right! You love me! Uh…”

Little stares at Cozy blankly while she falters.

Cozy finally says as she stares blankly, “Can I come in?”

Little frowns, “Well, isn’t that why you came here?”

Cozy stutters, “Uh, right! Golly yes! That’s why I’m here! To see my filly friend, Little Snack!” before trotting into the room past Little, as the orange filly backs away to the left. Cozy looks and sees a retractable buckball hoop in the center of the room. The stalk is dark gray plastic and looks like it’s designed to withdraw and expand with foot and a half long spacers to raise a basket roughly 8 feet from the floor. The basket is wooden, about a foot wide at the top, and roughly 14 inches deep with a red stripe below a white one, which Cozy thinks is just for decoration, but she doesn’t know sports and so she’s not sure as she frowns at the contraption. She looks at Little standing there just to the left of it, “You know, these rooms sure are high!”

Little smiles, “Lucky me, right? Now, I can practice my buckball baskets!”

“Well golly, that’s just swell, Little!” Cozy exclaims before fluttering her wings.

Little leans forward as she happily says, “Yeah, and we can play against each other too!”

Cozy frowns, “Say what now?”

Little smiles, “Yeah! I found some rope to tie up your wings in the closet! There was a note with glitter all over it and bright stars, hearts, and smiley faces. It said, ‘In case of rope emergency’”

Cozy lifts her left eyebrow as she starts, “WHAT?”

Little nods before trotting to her closet on the right, near the entryway as she says, “Oh yeah! Hang on! I’ll get you fixed up!”

<*****>

Cozy stares up at the high 8-foot tall buckball basket in front of her as the red rubber ball, roughly 5 inches in diameter sits on the floor in front of her. She stares back down at Little Snack on her left and tries to ruffle her wings, but can’t as the rope holds them securely in place as she says, “Okay so you have three points and I have none…” She frowns, “Golly, I’m not very good at this!”

Little smiles at Cozy, “Well, you’re not gonna be at first! I mean, I got this ball kicking cutie mark!” Little frowns, “I don’t think chess pieces play ball very well though?”

Cozy giggles, “Well, yeah! They don’t!” She looks back up at the buckball hoop, “Okay, the last time, I threw with too much force!”

“So, you wanna use less force this time! Come on Cozy! You got this!” Little cheers before nodding.

Cozy blinks, “Um, right! Yes!” She lowers her head to move her snout to pick up the 5-inch-wide red rubber ball there and balance it on her nose before she raises back up. She balances the ball as her eyes stare forward.

“Okay, eyes on the basket when shooting Cozy, just like I taught you!” Little shouts from the side.

Cozy gulps, “Here I go!” before hopping up and launching the ball by flicking her head up so the ball flies at the basket! It glances around the right side and circles the basket to fly off the left back towards Cozy!

She ducks as the ball hits the floor just behind her and bounces to slam into a wall and bounce back towards her.

Little holds out her left forehoof while staring diagonally at Cozy and the ball so that the ball smacks into her hoof and lands on the ground before bounding up and Little just moves her forehoof forward so that the ball bounces back down to the floor, where it rolls a few inches back towards the wall and stops. Little looks at Cozy and says, “Mulligan! Try again, Cozy!”

Cozy stares at Little wide-eyed and frantic, “You sure? I don’t think I can make it Little Snack?”

Little smiles, “You just need more practice! Besides, it’s fun to try, right?”

Cozy smiles, “Yeah…” before trotting to the ball on the floor just to her left, lifting it up with her snout, and then turning to face the basket.

Little cheers, “Come on Cozy! Show that basket who’s boss!”

Cozy giggles slightly as she looks up at the basket and then lowers her snout slightly before lifting it quickly, so the ball launches forward. It careens on the left side again and Cozy frowns before it circles back to the right, only it sinks into the basket this time!

“Hooray!” Little cheers while bounding up and down! “Okay, so that makes the final score three to one, Little Snack!”

Cozy looks over at Little and smiles, “Golly! I’m not very good at this, but I sure am better than I thought!”

Little smiles, “Well, you never know what you can do until you try!”

Cozy gives a wide-eyed start before nodding once, “Right!”

“So, what do you wanna do now, filly friend?”

Cozy frowns, “You know, we were supposed to be studying, but we haven’t done that yet? Uh, any areas you were having trouble in?”

Little frowns, “Oh gosh! Yeah, I failed my Loyalty quiz yesterday when the teacher came by!”

Cozy leans forward, “Well, what areas did you have trouble in?”

Little shakes her head and says, “Well, the teacher said my biggest area was caring for friends. You know, I’m supposed to make sure my friend is safe before heading out for help! I uh, forgot that part…” before looking dour at the ground.

Cozy widens her eyes, “We literally just had an adventure that covered this lesson a few days ago…”

Little looks up at Cozy and blurts out, “I’m not smart, okay?”

Cozy frowns more and leans forward, “Uh, what?”

Little flinches and opens her eyes to the pegasus before sighing, “You and Starshine are really smart! And… I’m not…” and then she blinks.

“Aww, Little! You’re just smart in different areas!” Cozy says soothingly.

Little starts and leans forward as she asks inquisitively, “Oh? Like what?”

“Well…” Cozy blinks, “You sure know a lot more about buckball than me or Starshine!”

Little smiles faintly, “Well, yeah…”

“And you can shoot a ball better than either of us!”

Little’s smile grows, “Yeah… So uh, I guess I’m just good in different areas?”

Cozy shakes her head and leans forward emphatically, “Well, right! You really shouldn’t call yourself dumb Little Snack! You have a lot going for you!”

Little leans back and frowns, “But I never called myself dumb? I just said I wasn’t smart!”

Cozy’s eyes widen, “Well, whatever! You’re smart enough Little! Stop doubting yourself! And don’t worry about the stuff you’re not good at either, okay?” Cozy smiles, “I got your flanks!”

Little smiles, “Thanks, filly friend!”

Suddenly, there’s a knock on the door.

Little looks up at it with bright green eyes, “Come in!”

The door then glows blue and opens to reveal a blue unicorn in magician’s attire. Trixie looks at Cozy to her left as the pink filly turns to face her, frowns and says, “You know Cozy, you were supposed to be home 45 minutes ago…”

Cozy starts and stares at Trixie wide-eyed, “Oh golly! Uh, what time is it?” She glances to the clock at her far left to see the little hand just past the 6 and the big hand pointing towards the 3. She looks back at Trixie, “Sorry mom! I was playing with er,” she flinches, “helping Little Snack here and I guess I lost track of time?” before smiling broadly with her eyes wide open expecting damage.

Little turns her orange body to face Cozy to the left, “So uh, you gotta go now? See you tomorrow?”

Cozy turns her body to Little and smiles, “You bet, filly friend!”

Little trots to Cozy and gives her a big hug with her forehooves!

Cozy give a loud, “EEP!”

Little whispers in Cozy’s left ear, “I love you filly friend!”

Cozy barely manages to gasp out, “I love you too! Please don’t suffocate me!”

“Oh gosh! Sorry!” Little exclaims as she releases the pegasus in front of a giggling blue unicorn.

Cozy huffs, “We really need to work on your hugging later!”

<*****>

Cozy sits at the dinner table and looks at Trixie on her left, “So uh, hiya mom!” before smiling nervously.

Trixie smiles down at Cozy, “So, what did you and Little do?”

“Oh golly gee mom, she has a buckball hoop and we practiced baskets today! You know, I was a lot better at that than I thought I’d be?”

Trixie smiles, “Well Cozy, you never know what you can do (Cozy chimes in) until you try!” Cozy stops talking while Trixie giggles and says, “Uh, right!”

“You know, she taught me about buckball shooting and I went over a friendship lesson we went over earlier! Now, I’m sure she’ll remember it!” Cozy says before smiling and looking pleased with herself as she tilts her head slightly to the right.

“Wow! You really are a good filly now, Cozy! And yes, that’s something they’ll go over with you in class later! We each help each other by talking and interacting and we’re all better people because of it!”

Cozy starts and leans forward, “Golly! So, we’re all better together then, huh?”

“Exactly Cozy! Now, another lesson you need to know is that hay cakes and syrup doesn’t eat it itself!”

Cozy smiles and giggles, “Oh uh, right mom!”

<*****>

Cozy leans back on her haunches on the far wall while sitting on the pillow at the head of her bed. Her long wavy bluish-white mane falls on her shoulders as she looks down and props book 9 of the Dragon-Corn series and thinks to herself, Golly, this series sure is long! Suddenly, she hears a loud CRASH come from the direction of Ponyville!

Cozy raises her head from her book, “Oh golly! What was that?” before getting off her bed and trotting to her window to open it, so she can hear better.

She leans forward and hears a loud crunching noise coming from town and frowns before thinking I should go see what that is!

She climbs out of her window and drops to the ground to land on her hooves before crouching and flapping her little wings. She soon levitates off the ground before turning her body left towards Ponyville in mid-air and leaning forward as she flaps forcefully to fly that direction.

She gains speed en route and narrows her eyes as she looks towards town. The sees darkness there with a faint blue glow on the west side of town, near the hospital! She thinks, Oh golly! I sure hope Little Snack isn’t involved in this!

As she flies over the empty shops and buildings, she sees the empty darkened streets passing by below, but she also can’t help but notice a large dark form near a building just to her right in the distance. She sees the hospital coming up on her left and swoops left to land in front of the doors, about 100 feet from the entryway, when she turns her body left on her hooves to face north and looks on as a large clear blue bear-like creature tears at a building on the left side of the street, when suddenly, she hears a familiar squeaky feminine voice coming from behind her.

The voice yells, “Hey! You’re a jerk! Stop tearing up the city, you jerk!”

Cozy’s brown eyes widen before she looks back on her left to see an orange filly there, with green hair on her shoulders staring at the scene defiantly! She screams at Little Snack, “That monster can rip your face off! Get back to the hospital, NOW!”

She hears the bear creature roar and looks back to the street to see it beating its chest as it howls at the sky!

Cozy widens her eyes, “Oh golly gee! I gotta keep that thing away from the hospital!” before squatting once more on all four of her hooves and flapping her little wings. She levitates to the air once more and leans forward to fly towards the ursa minor while gaining speed!

The ursa growls at her and takes a swipe with his left paw at Cozy, as the pegasus zings past her right and narrowly misses the undone fluffy bluish white tail.

Cozy moves her head to the right and says, “You’ll have to do better than that! Come and get me, ugly!”

The ursa screams angrily again and goes to all fours to begin running and bounding the direction Cozy flew as Cozy stops and turns her body in the air to look back at him.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! Come on, you overgrown teddy bear!”

The ursa manages to get closer to Cozy so Cozy turns her body to her right and leans forward while flapping her wings vigorously to glide down the street that way to the east. As she flies, she can hear the beast roaring and snarling as it does it’s best to keep up!

Cozy turns left to head north, further towards the forest when suddenly, there’s a bright flash of light in the air on her upper right!

She glances that way as she passes to see a purple alicorn there with her horn glowing with violet magic.

Twilight Sparkle shouts at Cozy, “You can stop flying now! I’ve contained the ursa minor!”

Cozy stops in mid-air near a large brown building as she glides forward with momentum, before turning her body back to face the ursa and she sees it contained in a large blue forcefield 50 feet before her on the ground, some 60 feet below as it yells and attempts to scratch at the field with it’s claws. She looks up at Princess Twilight, high to her left now, “Why is it here?”

Twilight looks down at Cozy, frowns, and says, “I was afraid this might happen! The ursa has your friend’s scent now and was trying to find her. That’s why I set an alarm spell to notify me if an ursa came to this town!”

Cozy starts and stares blankly at the street as she mutters to herself, “Oh golly! Well, that makes sense!”

Twilight smiles at Cozy, “Don’t worry Cozy! I’ll lull the ursa to sleep and Equestria will not see him again for centuries!”

Cozy starts wide-eyed, “Okay uh, you do that Princess! I gotta go check on Little Snack!”

<*****>

Cozy lands in front of the glass hospital doors and trots that direction. Soon, an orange earth filly emerges from the doors, and she witnesses the familiar form of Little Snack galloping towards her! She has enough time to brace herself this time and only moves back a few inches when Little grasps her in her forehooves for a big hug, although she still lets out an “EEP!”

“Oh gosh Cozy! Are you alright? It didn’t get you, did it?”

Cozy can only stammer out, “I’m fine!”

Little lets Cozy go and returns to her hooves as she stares at the pink filly from the front of the hospital, “Yeah, but you actually flew at it! I mean, it could’ve gotten you!”

Cozy stands there and smiles at the orange filly, “Naw! He was slow and I’m fast!”

“Wowie Cozy!” Little says as she jitters, “You sure are incredible, you know that?”

Cozy blushes and rubs the back of her neck with her right forehoof, “Yeah…” she looks back up to the orange filly, “Are you okay?”

Little frowns at the pink filly, “Why wouldn’t I be okay, Cozy? It never got anywhere near me!”

Cozy smiles, “Well, yeah! But you were there!”

Little smiles, “Yeah! Make sure your friend is okay, right?”

“Exactly!” Cozy answers.

“I love you Cozy Glow!”

Cozy suddenly hears flapping coming from behind her and she turns on her left at the back of her to see the large lilac form of Princess Twilight there, 20 feet away from her as she retracts her wings back to her body, looks at the pegasus filly and asks, “Are you alright, Cozy?”

Cozy starts as she vibrates lightly, “Golly gee, I’m fine! The bear never touched me!”

She hears Little chime in from behind her, “Right, but it’s always important to check on those you care about!”

Cozy’s eyes widen and she says, “Uh, right!” to the princess as her little body jitters slightly.

Twilight Sparkle smiles down at the filly as she trots closer, “Now, we have to decide how to reward you for your heroism!”

Cozy frowns, “Say what now?”

Twilight stops about 7 feet from Cozy while continuing to smile down at her, “You protected a hospital from an ursa minor! That was very brave of you Cozy!”

Cozy smiles dimly at the princess, “Well, I was just doing what I was supposed to! I mean, golly gee! I wouldn’t want sick and injured ponies to get hurt, right?”

Twilight smiles broader, “You were doing it mostly for Little Snack, weren’t you?”

Cozy’s eyes widen and mouth shrinks as she says, “Hey! I’m a good filly now, remember?” before she smiles broadly up at the princess.

(To be continued…)

Chapter 3: Reassuring your Filly Friend

Cozy could only stare at the massive plate with all the food on it with her wide brown eyes… It has two large slices of French toast on the left, arranged diagonally on top of each other, and a big mass of hashbrowns with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers on the right… Her mouth grows small, “Uh, mom! This is a lot of food!”

Trixie smiles at Cozy from the other side of the breakfast table, “Well, you earned it after all the heroic things you did last night!”

Cozy’s mouth grows smaller as she looks up at the unicorn, “Yeah uh, thanks for letting me sleep in!”

Trixie nods, “Well, of course! You were really busy being a big hero the night before and you need your rest!”

Cozy timidly replies, “Yeah um, I guess I’m not going to school today?”

Trixie smiles wider, “Take a day off my sweet hero foal!”

Cozy can only whisper to herself, “Oh golly!” as her eyes descend upon the big plate of food before her and she hopes to herself that this doesn’t last too long… She then sighs and begins to pick up a slice of French toast in her forehooves before bringing it to her mouth to begin eating the morsel as the blue unicorn watches her and smiles.

<*****>

Cozy Glow lays with her head on her pillow at the head of her bed, slightly crushing her bluish white curls behind her noggin as her two plush toys sit on the other end. Starshine stares from the floor with her blue eyes and asks, “Are you okay, Cozy?”

Cozy scrunches her mouth while staring at the blank white space of her ceiling, “You know, I really don’t remember having a mother being this nuts?”

Starshine snickers, “Well, Trixie is a character!”

Cozy turns her head left to face the unicorn, “Um, golly yeah! We’ll go with that! You know, she bought me three more Dragon-Corn books just this morning alone, before I even woke up? Yeah, she didn’t wake me this morning! I slept until about 9:30!”

“Well, you weren’t at school, and so I thought that I should at least check on you!”

Cozy giggles slightly, “Right! Friendship!”

Starshine smiles, “Yup! Uh, what do you wanna do now?”

Cozy frowns with her head still down on the pillow as she stammers out, “Well, golly gee Starshine! If I set hoof out there, she’s gonna shower me with praise and affection again and I kinda got hours of that earlier!”

Starshine scrunches her mouth, “Well, there is your window right there?”

Cozy smiles, “I’ll meet you outside?”

<*****>

Cozy grunts as she flitter-hops out of her window with her little pink wings. Once her hooves are on the ground, she flutters and fluffs them to get out excess debris. She then turns her head left to see a purple unicorn filly trotting her way from the other side of the cottage with her white-mop mane bouncing with each step., “Hiya Starshine!”

Starshine smiles as she takes the final three steps to Cozy, “Hey Cozy! Uh, what do you wanna do now?”

Cozy looks up at the sky to see it overcast and dreary with her brown eyes before affixing them back down to the unicorn, “Well, it’s not a bad day out, really? Kinda gloomy, but I still think a trip to the park could be fun?”

<*****>

The two fillies trot west towards the Ponyville Market Square as Starshine looks at Cozy on her right, “So, what’s it like being a hero?”

Cozy looks over at Starshine and sighs, “Oh golly! Its actually a lot more annoying than you’d think! I mean, the breakfast was yummy and I’m sure I’ll like my new books, but geez! I just did what I thought I should do! I didn’t think it was really that great?”

Starshine frowns, “Well, you did protect a hospital full of injured and sick ponies from a bear creature?”

Cozy starts and widens her eyes after stealing a quick glance forward as their turn is coming up, “Well, golly gee! What was I supposed to do? Let the monster attack the hospital where my friend was staying?”

Starshine scrunches her eyebrows, “So your desire to protect your friend, Little Snack was the primary impetus behind your act of heroism last night?”

Cozy’s eyes widen slightly more before she shakes her head and says back, “Well, I mean, I wouldn’t want the other sick ponies to get hurt either!”

Starshine stops trotting and Cozy reciprocates. They face each other on the market street as ponies trot back and forth behind the pink curly haired filly and Starshine asks, “Cozy, you’re my best friend and I love you… I know you wouldn’t lie to me… Would you have saved the hospital if Little Snack wasn’t there?”

Cozy swallows a gulp into her throat and stares back solemnly, “I uh, I believe I would actually? But you know, we have no way of knowing for sure!”

Starshine curves the left side of her mouth, “Well, this is also true… But Cozy…” She straightens her mouth and stares into the pegasus’s brown eyes.

Cozy starts and looks back at Starshine’s blue eyes while leaning forward slightly with expectation, “Um, yeah Starshine?”

Starshine smiles, “You should know that you’re the best filly I know!”

Cozy’s eyes widen even more, and she corrects her stance, “B-but I stole all the magic and tried to take over Equestria! I attacked the Castle of Friendship!”

Starshine nods, “Yeah, and then, you saved Ponyville from Sombra, reformed Chrysalis, got Tirek to go away, and now you’re preserving a hospital full of invalid ponies from an ursa minor!”

Cozy glances off to the left while squinting her eyes and narrowing her mouth, “I-I guess I’m a hero now?” She looks back at Starshine, “But you didn’t have to be so blunt about it, you know?”

Starshine widens her blue eyes and says loudly while her mop-mane shakes, “Yes! Yes, I do! Because on top of that, you’re also the most stubborn filly I know!”

Cozy narrows her eyes and giggles slightly while smiling softly, “Yeah, I guess I can be kinda hard-headed, huh?

Starshine smiles and chuckles, “Yet another reason I need to keep reminding you!” before trotting forward to embrace the pegasus in a tight warm hug!

The two fillies begin trotting west again and soon turn left down the market intersection while Starshine stops for a blue earth stallion who’s almost to the other side and Cozy stops with her. After he passes, the two fillies quicken their pace to head south towards the park.

<*****>

The two fillies trot towards the park coming up on their left while they head south, although this area of town seems more desolate this time of day. They see no ponies while trotting towards the stone picnic tables to their left when Cozy sees an orange form out the corner of her left eye.

She turns her head that direction to see the ginger body of an earth filly with a green mane set into red-ribboned pigtails bounding up and down as she attempts to shoot a red rubber ball with her nose into a hollow buckball hoop, held onto a steel pole. She scrunches her mouth and widens her brown eyes, “Golly! Is that Little Snack over there?”

Starshine looks to her side to witness the same earth filly. “Uh, actually, I think it is?” She says before scrunching her mouth.

Cozy stops trotting while Starshine does the same, before turning her body to face that direction and she lifts her head to shout, “LITTLE SNACK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

The filly suddenly looks at Cozy to her right as her pigtails fly the opposite direction and she shrieks, “AAAAAAHHH!”

Cozy squats and then flutters her wings to quickly fly-hop 30 feet to get close to her as Starshine runs and bounds that direction with her streaky mane bouncing behind her.

Cozy looks at the green-eyed orange filly, “Seriously, shouldn’t you be at the hospital?”

Little Snack gulps and says, “Well uh, they let me out! Yeah!” before smiling widely with her eyes wide-open, not knowing what’s coming.

Cozy looks at the stammering earth filly, still in her hospital gown as she smiles nervously back at the pegasus, “You escaped, huh?”

“Um,” Little looks off to her right side before staring back at Cozy with shaky green eyes, “no?”

Cozy smiles and giggles, “Yeah, you escaped!”

Little stares back at the pegasus with wide shaky green eyes as she stutters out, “Well, I was really bored in there and I’m not gonna get hurt going to the park like this!”

Cozy frowns, “Probably not, but you’re taking it easy!”

Little gulps again, “Uh, yes ma’am!”

Starshine frowns, “So uh, what did you wanna do here, Little? I see you brought your ball!”

“Um…” Little frowns, “Well, I was gonna bounce it around like I used to do by myself out back at my house, but since we’re all here, m-maybe we could play catch?”

<*****>

Little bounces the ball to Cozy, currently flapping in the air to her left as she says, “So, Cozy! How you been?”

“Oh golly!” Cozy exclaims while catching the red ball in her forehooves. She cringes while saying, “My mom has been excessively nice to me, ever since the hospital incident and I kinda just escaped out my window to play with Starshine out here!” before throwing the ball to Starshine on her left.

Little smiles and giggles, “Hey, we’re all escapees now!”

Starshine looks at the ball and causes it to glow blue before it stops and swoops in the air to fly towards Little on her left, “How did you escape, anyway?”

Little bounds the ball with her forehead back to Cozy, “Well, the nurse can’t be there all the time! I just gotta wait for her to go to the bathroom or something, and then bail!”

Cozy catches the ball in her forehooves as she floats and flutters in the sky, “Well, that’s true! But you’re going right back there, when we’re done, okay?”

Little smiles up at the pink pegasus, “You got it Cozy! Uh, should Starshine be allowed to use her magic?”

Cozy tosses the ball back to Little, “Well, golly gee Little Snack! That horn looks pretty sharp?”

Little bounces the ball right to Starshine with her forehead after it flies to her, “Uh, okay right! Starshine can use her magic and you got your wings!”

Starshine magically swooshes the ball back towards Cozy, who catches it and says to Little, “Right! But you know, your body is pretty neat too!”

Little widens her eyes up at the pegasus, “It is? But I don’t have gnarly wings or a funky horn?”

Cozy smiles, “Yeah, but you’re definitely the toughest one here!”

Cozy tosses the ball at Little while Starshine looks on from her right and says, “Yeah, and you’re undeniably the bravest one here too!”

Little bounces the ball to Starshine with her forehead, “I am?”

Cozy smiles as the ball magically swooshes towards her, “I don’t know any other filly crazy enough to call an ursa minor, a jerk!” before catching the ball in her forehooves.

“Yeah uh, you know, we haven’t kissed in awhile?” Little says before Cozy tosses the ball at her, and she bounces it at Starshine on her right.

Cozy frowns while fluttering in the air, “Yeah, I know!” she frowns, “It’s like, I just don’t want to?”

Little nods, “Yeah, me neither! I just uh, well you didn’t seem comfortable the last time and it seems like I don’t really need to do it anyway?”* Little looks down, “I just read about kissing in romance novels and really wanted to try it out!”

Cozy tosses the ball towards the unicorn, “Well golly gee, I guess we can do it again later? Well, when we both feel up to it?”

The ball glows and magically swoops towards Cozy as Little looks up at her and smiles, “Yeah! Later!”

Cozy catches the glowing ball, which promptly stops shimmering blue in her hooves, “Yeah… I guess what we have is purer than just kissing, huh? I love you Little Snack!”

Little smiles up at Cozy, “I love you too, filly friend!” before Cozy tosses her the ball.

Little bounces it to Starshine with her forehead before the purple unicorn catches it in the air with her magic, causing it to glow. Starshine looks over at Cozy, “Yeah, but the sun is going down. You know, Trixie is gonna get you for dinner soon. You should probably go now?”

Cozy widens her eyes and stares westward to see the setting sun, “Oh golly! Uh, you’re right Starshine!” before swooping down to land near Little Snack and trotting to her to embrace the earth filly in a tight warm hug. She whispers, “I love you, filly friend!” in Little’s ear.

<*****>

Cozy stealthily crawls in through her open window. Her hooves all make a slight tapping noise as they each land on the floor, below the pane, when suddenly, she hears a familiar feminine voice say from her right, “Well, about time you decided to show back up!”

Cozy’s brown eyes widen as she freezes on her hooves and slowly brings her little pink wings to her sides and turns her head right to see a blue unicorn laying on her left side on the bed and staring back at the pink pegasus with her head on the pillow, at the head.

Trixie smiles and says, “Why did you leave, precious daughter?”

Cozy gulps, “Oh golly! Well, I mean, the affection and admiration is nice! Don’t get me wrong but uh…” She stares at the ceiling before turning her body to face Trixie, “I just got tired of it and wanted to get away for a few minutes! I uh, I mean, I came back, didn’t I?” and then timidly smiles back at the unicorn with wide-open eyes, expecting damage.

Trixie lowers her body from the bed and gets to her hooves on the side, before turning to Cozy and trotting to her to embrace her in a big warm hug, “Yes daughter! But if I’m ever being overbearing, you need to be honest with me about it, okay?”

Cozy gasps, “Golly!” before tentatively returning the hug with her own forehooves. Trixie let’s the filly go, and once back on her hooves, Cozy looks up at her and says, “Well, it’s been awhile since I had a mom, you know?”

Trixie shakes her head and smirks down at the filly. “Anyway, you weren’t here to talk about dinner with me, and so I ordered us Ponese take-out!” She frowns and looks lower at the filly, “I hope you like veggie pone mein with fried rice?”

<*****>

Cozy emerges in a fog. This time, she awakens on her haunches with her forehooves over her hind legs as she stares forward with her wings behind her in a big open field, surrounded by fog. She can’t help but smile at the peaceful serenity, when a soft feminine voice says from behind her, “So, what did you learn, filly?”

Cozy’s eyes widen, “Uh, I was learning stuff?”

She hears the voice snicker as she gets to her hooves and turns her body behind her to face Princess Luna, standing there 10 feet from her in front of a forest treeline. The alicorn smiles down at the filly, “You’re not sure if your act of heroism was really that great, since you believe Little Snack was the only reason you did it, correct?”

Cozy gulps before she looks down, “Y-yeah…”

“Cozy!” Luna says louder before the filly looks back up at her, “The why is never as important as the result! And” the alicorn continues, “friendship can cause us to do great and amazing things!”

“Golly!” Cozy gives a wide-eyed exclamation while leaning towards the princess, “So uh, I did that, huh? I protected a hospital?”

Luna smiles, “You certainly did little filly! And you should be proud of that!”

Cozy corrects her eyes and posture, before frowning, “Still, I just did what I thought I should do! I didn’t really think it was all that great?”

Luna lowers her gaze at the filly as she says, “And that’s exactly what makes you a hero!”

(To be continued…)

Author's Note

*While Little Snack has led a very lonely life, this has also left her mostly untainted by the world at large. Starshine has done research and Cozy Glow has a sordid past, whereas Little has mostly kept to herself. As such, she has a childlike goodness about her and is probably one of the purest hearted fillies in all Equestria. She is genuinely a good filly! What she feels towards Cozy is what the ancient Greeks called “agape.” It is pure love. It is not sexual, nor is it conditional. Little Snack truly believes Cozy is the most amazing filly ever and she admires her for it.

Chapter 4: Helping Your Filly Friend

“Cozy Glow!” The squeaky voice chimed in the distance, as Cozy laid on her side underneath the dark purple covers in her bed with her head on the pillow. She clutches the shimmering gray stuffed dolphin to her chest with her forehooves and wrinkled her nose.

“Um!” Cozy says while she stirs and then, clutches the dolphin closer.

“Cozy Glow!” The same squeaky voice says from somewhere not in Cozy’s bed.

Cozy opens her auburn eyes and whispers, “Oh golly!” before saying at a louder volume, “Uh, yeah?” before looking at her door in the far corner of her room from her head.

The squeaky voice then says, “It’s me! Little Snack! They let me out of the hospital and I’m free now!”

“Yeah, hang on Little!” Cozy calls out before rolling to her belly, so the blanket falls off to the side, halfway off the bed, squats, and takes off with her little wings to flitter around her room and over to the door, where she flies into a vertical position to open the door with both her forehooves and then, hovers back to open the door to her left side before floating gently back to her hooves on the ground. She looks at the pigtailed freckled filly before her and smiles, “Hiya, filly friend!”

“Gosh!” Little Snack says while widening her green eyes, “You sure are cute when you open doors!”

Cozy wrinkles her nose, “Oh yeah, well you’re cute when you run and bound across the field with your pigtails streaking behind you!”

Little leans forward fiercely, “You’re cute cause you got freckles and dimples!”

Cozy leans back slightly, “Wait, didn’t we already have this conversation?” she corrects her posture. “Also, that doesn’t count because you also have freckles and dimples!”

Little blinks, “Actually,” she looks up, “I think we have had this talk before?” she looks back down to Cozy, “But Cozy?”

Cozy blinks, “Yeah, Little Snack?”

Little smiles and takes two paces so that she’s just inches from the pegasus, “You’re cute because you go ‘EEP’ when I hug you!”

Cozy blinks, “W-what?”

Before Cozy can say anything else, she’s immediately embraced tightly by the earth filly!

“EEP!”

“Ha ha! There it is!” Little happily chimes before nuzzling Cozy’s nose affectionately with her own. Her green eyes widen, and she lets Cozy go from her forehooves to go back to her hooves just outside the door, “I-I’m sorry Cozy! I didn’t mean to nuzzle you there!”

Cozy shakes her head slightly and blinks, “Uh, that’s okay Little!”

Little blinks while staring back, “So um, is nuzzling, okay?”

Cozy relaxes her body, so her shoulders fall, and her blueish-white wavy mane slides down her back, “Uh, yeah Little Snack! It’s alright to nuzzle me…”

Little has an exuberant smile on her face, “YAY!” as she trots forward and aggressively nuzzles Cozy’s nose with her own!

“Hey! What the?” Cozy exclaims as the orange nose rubs against her snout. “Cut it out already!” She squeals with her eyes squinted and nose scrunched up.

Little stops and smiles at Cozy, “Sorry! I like nuzzling you!”

Cozy widens her eyes as she says in a whimsical tone, “You don’t say?”

Little nods her head, “Oh, but I do say! I love you, Cozy Glow!”

Cozy smiles and chuckles, “Obviously! Uh, so what did you wanna do, Little Snack?”

Little widens her eyes, “How would I know? I just came down here to see you as soon as my parents saw me this morning! You sure slept a long time!”

Cozy looks down, “Well, it is Saturday?” she looks back up, “But uh, I didn’t really have any plans or anything like that…”

Little straightens her eyes, “Well uh, we can always play kick ball?”

Cozy leans forward slightly, “But, there’s only two of us?”

“Okay, you got a point there! Uh…” Little looks down, unsure of what to say.

Cozy picks up on this, “Well uh, you’re here now! Surely, we can think of something to do, right?”

“Sure, Cozy Glow! But uh, don’t call me Shirley!”*

<*****>

Both Cozy and Little sit on chairs on the front porch to Trixie’s cottage and they take in the view of the meadow as Little stammers out, “There’s uh, nothing to do…”

Cozy widens her eyes as she replies, “I-I know! Oh golly!”

“Well, I mean,” Little begins to say as her head turns to the left towards Cozy sitting on the wooden bucket, “why don’t we go to Starshine’s and see what she’s up to?”

Cozy narrows her eyes to the orange earth filly in the metal fold-out chair, “She’s at that astronomy retreat, remember?”

“Oh yeah!” Little exclaims while she narrows her eyes, “Well, what about breakfast?”

“Didn’t we just eat pancakes that my mom made for us?”

Little starts, “Oh yeah! We did, didn’t we?”

Cozy stares at Little intently, “You got a bottomless pit for a stomach, huh?”

Little blinks and nods, “Yeah, pretty much!”

“Oh golly!”

Little perks up her ears and widens her eyes, “Hey, I got an idea!”

<*****>

Cozy trots on the left of Little Snack as they walk into the woods together, south of Trixie’s cottage. She looks at Little, “So uh, we’re walking in the woods now!”

Little looks back and smiles, “Yup!”

Cozy narrows her eyes, “We don’t really have a destination here, do we?”

“Nope! Just exploring, Cozy!”

Cozy looks ahead as the fillies keep walking, “Didn’t do much of this earlier, either!”

Little looks over, “You never explored the Everfree Forest? If I lived up there, I couldn’t stay away!”

Cozy frowns, “That’s kinda dangerous, Little!”

“Well, yeah… So, like I was saying, there’s a difference between cuteness and adorableness!”

Cozy’s eyes widen, “Those are the same thing!”

Little nods, “A laypony might think so, but the truth is, adorableness is snuggly while cuteness is more AWW related…”

Cozy frowns again as they keep trotting, “What?”

Little nods as they trot, “Yeah, so whenever me or Starshine is holding you, that’s adorable! But whenever you smile and tilt your head with your curls, that’s just cute!”

“It’s the same thing though! Do I need to get a thesaurus?” Cozy barks out while leaning her neck towards the earth filly.

“No, it’s not!” Little says at a higher volume while widening her eyes.

Cozy sighs, recoils her head, and decides to let this one go too, as she stares forward and suddenly sees a streak of smoke coming out of the sky in the distance to the south. She widens her eyes, “Oh golly! What’s that?”

Little looks and sees the same streak a few seconds before it hits the ground, “I don’t know, but it landed out that way!”

Cozy says at a lower volume, “Yeah, maybe we’ll get lucky and it’s an alien invasion that’ll give us something to do!”

Little stares slightly to her left, “What was that Cozy?”

“Oh, nothing! Come on Little! Let’s go check it out!” Cozy says excitedly as she begins to pick up her pace.

Little reciprocates.

As the two fillies reach the edge of the forest, they stop to see smoke rising just beyond the lake in the meadow to the south of Trixie’s Woods. Cozy stares on and says, “Pretty sure it’s there!”

“I think you’re right!” Little exclaims from Cozy’s right.

<*****>

Both fillies see a smoking crater near some flowers in the meadow, with a treeline behind them and wide-open rolling hills every other direction.

The two fillies hurriedly gallop to around fifteen feet from the smoldering crater. Little says, “I think that’s it, right there?” while leaning towards it.

Cozy rolls her eyes from her left, “Obviously!”

Little frowns as she stares at it, “Well, I’m gonna go check it out!”

“Wait!” Cozy barely manages to stammer out before Little takes off at full running speed towards the roughly two foot wide hole.

Suddenly, a bolt of pink light shoots from the hole, 5 feet away, to strike Little Snack with a blinding flash and a loud zap that knocks the earth filly back several feet onto her back just as Cozy manages scamper to her sprawled out body on the ground with her little hooves.

Cozy is standing 3 feet from the dazed orange filly, who slowly gets back to her hooves and turns to face Cozy. The pink pegasus suddenly widens her auburn eyes and stutters, “Oh golly! Um, Little Snack?”

Little blinks her bright green eyes as she looks at the pegasus, “Yeah Cozy?”

“You have a little um, oh golly!” Cozy stammers out before contemplatively looking to the left.

“What?” Little says wide-eyed while leaning towards the pegasus. Suddenly, her green eyes begin to climb skyward as she notices the new orange horn, now jutting 4 inches from her forehead. “Well!” She exclaims with her eyes trained on the new protrusion, “That’s unusual!”

Cozy looks back at Little and frowns, “We need to get mom for this, don’t we?”

Little looks down and blinks again, “Probably?”

<*****>

Trixie sits on her beanbag couch in her foyer, with her back to the door and a cup of cocoa on the table and sitting just to the left, a magazine showing the routines of Hoofdini, when suddenly, there’s a knock on her door! Who in Equestria could that be? Trixie thinks to herself as she gets off the couch and trots around the left side as she shouts, “Hang on! I’ll be right there!” to the door.

The doorknob glows blue and it swings inside, to the left to reveal a smiling pink pegasus filly with neatly arranged bluish-white curls on her head. Cozy stammers out, “Uh, hiya mom!”

Trixie narrows her eyes down at the filly, “Cozy Glow! Uh, why did you knock? You live here! You can just come in?”

Cozy’s brown eyes widen, “Um, yes! Yes, I can! Of course! But uh, mom?”

Trixie narrows her mouth, “Yes, Cozy?”

“I uh, think you need to come with me!”

Trixie raises her right eyebrow and narrows her mouth, “Oh-kay?”

<*****>

Trixie trots to the left of Cozy as they both exit the forest into a clearing on the South end. They stop trotting and Cozy looks ahead to point with her right forehoof at the smoke in the distance and says, “Well, me and Little found a smoking crater out that way! Um…” and she turns her head to the left.

Trixie looks over to the pegasus, “That still doesn’t explain why I need to see it or why we need the cloak from my closet?”

Cozy calls out, “Hey Little! It’s okay! It’s just me and mom! You can come out now!”

Suddenly, a small pile of brush to Trixie’s left, 10 feet away, that she didn’t notice earlier begins to rise and leaves and grass fall to reveal an orange filly standing there… An orange filly with a horn…

Trixie blinks when she stares at the filly, “Um, Little Snack has a horn now…”

Cozy smiles nervously as both ponies stare at the new filly, “Uh, golly gee! About that!”

Trixie’s violet eyes take on a wide-open dazed look as her mouth tightens, “Why in Equestria does Little Snack have a horn?”

<*****>

Trixie leads the two fillies across the plains as she trots towards the South Exit to Ponyville. Little is on the back left and Cozy, to the right as all ponies soon see a brown dirt road in the distance. Trixie says, “Well, there’s the entryway to Ponyville! We just need to turn left there, to get to the outskirts region where Starlight lives! Uh, “she leans over her left shoulder, “you holding up okay, champ?”

Little stares at Trixie from underneath the dark blue shimmering magicians’ cloak that now forms a hood over her head (and her horn) to fall behind her shoulders as her pigtails bob on her back with each step. “Oh, I’m fine! Having this hood over my head with the horn is a little weird, but it’s not awful!”

Cozy turns her head left to face the earth filly, “You know, sometimes I think you’re a little too brave, Little Snack?”

Little smiles as she turns her head to the pegasus, “Oh, yeah! I’m always getting hurt because I’m so gung-ho about everything I do!”

“You should take it easy!” Cozy chimes back.

Little blinks, “Yeah, I know!”

As the ponies continue to trot across the grass, Trixie says, “Okay, the road is right there! Left coming up, girls!” as her white mane blows to the left of her face while staring down that direction, Cozy’s locks are immobile while Little’s pigtails are kept underneath the cloak along her back.

The ponies all trot onto the road from the grass and turn left in front of some brown houses sitting there. They all curve to go left and trot down the path as more brown cottages appear on the right as they trot south…

Cozy turns her head left again, “You know, when I had a horn like that, I shot magical bursts everywhere and couldn’t control it! You’re not doing that Little?”

Little blinks at the pegasus, “I don’t know why? I mean, shouldn’t there be Little bursts now, or whatever?”

Trixie says from the front, “Well, do you ever focus on things Little Snack?”

“Um, not usually, no? Focusing on things makes me sad!”

Trixie frowns, “I see… Well, here’s her cottage! I guess we need to explain to her what happened?”

Cozy chimes in from the back, “Isn’t that why we’re here?”

Trixie nods, “Right! Get help from my best friend Starlight to figure out why Little has a horn and how to fix her, so she doesn’t!”

“Can I even do magic?” Little asks from her side.

Cozy looks left again, “You know, I don’t think I’ve seen you do magic since you got that thing? You seriously never focus on anything?”

“Not if I can avoid it…” Little says before blinking.

“I uh, had no idea Little!”

“I try not to think too much because that only makes me sad. It’s better to just go with things, I find…”

Cozy leans towards her friend and pauses before asking, “Why do you get sad?”

“Um,” Little begins as her green eyes go to the heavens before back down at Cozy, “can we talk about something else, please?”

“You don’t have to!” Trixie exclaims from the front of the pack. “We’re here!”

All three ponies stare up at the little cottage with a worn wooden porch and landing. Cozy says, “Wait! So Starlight Glimmer just lived two doors down from Little Snack, this whole time?”

Trixie smiles, “Yeah, she doesn’t like living in town!”

Cozy starts and widens her eyes in surprise before shaking her head, “Well um, how do you wanna do this?”

Trixie looks back over her left, “You girls, just wait here! I’ll walk up and knock to see if she’s home!” before looking back to the house, taking a deep breath, in and then out, and trotting up the three steps to get to the landing and knocking on the door with her right forehoof.

All three ponies hear a feminine voice yell from a distance, “Hang on! I’m coming!” After another moment, the door swings open, out and to the left to narrowly miss Trixie, who knows exactly where the door will go and they all behold a magenta unicorn there, with blue eyes and a pale wavy violet mane featuring lavender streaks. Starlight frowns, “Trixie! You haven’t been here in a couple of weeks! What’s up?”

Trixie widens her eyes and smiles nervously as she stammers out, “Yeah, well, I’ve been busy with little Cozy Glow! Um, “she looks down to the left, “can we come in? We need to talk about Little Snack!”

Starlight’s eyes widen slightly, “Oh-kay?”

Trixie looks up at Starlight, “Actually, it’s probably better if we all three come in? I uh, have something I need to show you!”

(To be continued…)

Author's Note

*Yes, I admit that I “borrowed” this joke from Airplane. It’s a good comedy film featuring Leslie Neilson! But don’t go in expecting anything serious…

Chapter 5: Supporting Your Filly Friend

“So uh, we saw a light in the sky!” The curly maned pegasus says to Starlight Glimmer as she sits on her haunches on the red couch.

The orange filly on her left wearing the dark blue magicians’ cloak over her head stammers out while nodding, “Yeah! A light in the sky!”

Cozy continues, “And well, it landed some distance to the south!”

“Not very far though!” The orange filly adds.

“Yeah!” Cozy nods, “And well, we walked to the edge of the woods that way!”

“The edge of Trixie’s woods!”

“Right!” Cozy nods.

“And well, we saw where it landed!”

“Yeah! We trotted out there and well, Little Snack here kinda ran to it really fast!” Cozy says while motioning to the left with her forehoof.

Little’s eyes widen and she says while jittering, “Yeah! I wanted to see what landed!” Little nods.

Cozy nods, “Right! And well, a pinkish whitish light kinda zapped Little Snack!”

“It knocked me on my back!” Little says emphatically with wide eyes before nodding slightly.

“Right!” Cozy nods, “And well, she got up and looked at me and well, uh,” Cozy turns her head to Little on the left and uses her left forehoof to lift Little’s cloak from over her head to reveal her horn, “she had that when she got up…”

Little’s eyes widen as she starts, “Yeah, I have a horn now!”

Cozy turns her head back to Starlight before the two fillies, “So uh, what do you think?”

Starlight’s eyes widen as she stares at the two fillies in her living room along with her best friend off to the left side, “I uh, think I’m gonna need some empathy cocoa!”

<*****>

Little sits on her haunches in the chair before the magenta unicorn standing on her left. Starlight widens her eyes as she asks, “Okay, so you say you were zapped by a strange beam of light?”

Little smiles dimly as she turns her eyes to stare at Starlight, “Yup!”

Starlight frowns, “And you have a horn now! Um, can you do magic?”

Little chuckles lightly while staring forward blankly, “Uh, funny true story! We don’t know!”

“I see…” Starlight frowns and furrows her brow. “Little! Look at the blue vase over on your left!”

“Over here?” Little asks when she turns her head to the right.

Starlight chuckles, “That’s your right, Little!”

“Oh! Sorry! I get those two mixed up sometimes!” Little says before looking to her left and seeing a blue vase there on the far table.

Starlight turns her body to the vase with a smirk on the left side of her mouth, “Now, see if you can lift it up with just your mind, Little!”

Little’s green eyes widen, “Oh, right! Magically use my mind, or whatever! Right!” before scrunching her brow and focusing on the vase.

The vase soon levitates three inches off the table as Starlight’s eyes widen, “You’re doing it, Little Snack! You have magic now! Real magic!” She looks back at the orange filly, “Okay, lower it down lightly, Little! We know you have it, now…”

Little tries to focus and scrunches her brow, as she lowers the vase, but she loses focus at the final split-second and drops the vase, causing it to chip on the bottom. She widens her eyes before turning to the unicorn, “Oh gosh! I’m so sorry, Starlight!”

Starlight flicks her right forehoof in the air, “Don’t worry about it! Those are just two bits at the market!” She lowers her hoof and stares intently at Little, “But you have magic now Little Snack! Real magic!”

Little widens her eyes, “Oh! Um,” her eyes widen more, “oh gosh! Uh, wow! This is, uh… Magic…” before scrunching her brows… She looks up to Starlight, “Why do I have it now, though? I mean, where did this horn come from?”

<*****>

Cozy sits on the red couch in Starlight’s foyer with her little hind legs dangling and forehooves together at her front when she looks at Trixie sitting on the couch to her right, “Hey mom?”

Trixie’s eyes widen as she turns to the pegasus, “Uh, yeah Cozy?”

“Remember when I had magic and we were practicing my destructive forces to the south from your house?”

Trixie’s eyes widen somewhat, “What about it?”

Cozy sighs, “Well, you remember when I shot that energy bolt into the sky, and we were both hoping it wouldn’t come back down?”

Trixie’s eyes widen all the way, “Wait! Are you saying that that beam of light was caused by the energy you sent up all that time ago?”

Cozy frowns, “Well, maybe? I mean, what if it finally came down? Uh, eleven days later?”

Trixie looks forward wide-eyed and frowns, “Oh dear!”

<*****>

Trixie and Cozy both trot into Starlight’s dining area as Trixie says, “Hey, Starlight?”

Starlight dismounts her chair from the left to her hooves and turns to Trixie excitedly, “Little Snack has magic now, Trixie!”

Trixie nods, “Yes, you remember when Cozy was turned into an alicorn?”

“The Cozycorn!” pipes up Little Snack from her chair on the other side of the table with a grin on her face.

Trixie widens her eyes to the orange filly as Starlight stammers out, “Well, yeah. What about it?”

Trixie looks back at Starlight, “Well, I took little Cozy here out back from the woods to practice her destructive magic, so she wouldn’t randomly blow things up anymore…”

Starlight nods, “Oh-kay? Uh, go on?”

Trixie nods, “Right! Well, she sent one particularly powerful bolt of pinkish-white energy up into the sky at one point… She was startled by a farm pony who kinda, snuck up on us, you know?” Trixie frowns, “Anyway, we think that same bolt of light is what she and Little saw when they were hiking earlier?”

Cozy chimes from Trixie’s back right, “Golly! All the crazy stuff that happens when me and my friends go hiking! I’m honestly starting to think it’s just not worth it?”

Trixie turns her neck to the pegasus, “We’ll discuss this later!” and then back to Starlight, “Do you know exactly what Discord did to Cozy or what sort of magics were involved?”

Starlight scrunches her mouth as her eyes widen blankly, “How would I know?”

Trixie frowns, “Well, right! And we can’t bloody well just ask him either, now can we?”

Starlight smiles, “Nope! But I know who can!” She closes her eyes and teleports out of the room in a bright purple flash.

She teleports in a moment later, with a big purple alicorn standing to her left.

Twilight smiles when she gives a sudden wide-eyed start and asks, “Uh, yes! Can I help you?”

Trixie’s eyes widen as turns her head to the alicorn, “Uh, Princess Twilight! You remember that orange earth filly you got admitted into the School of Friendship?”

Twilight lifts her left eyebrow, “Yes?”

Trixie nods, “Right well, she has a horn now…”

Twilight widens her eyes and narrows her mouth, “What?”

Little Snack stares at the princess from her chair with wide green eyes, “I have a horn now!”

Twilight frowns at the orange filly, “Why does Little Snack have a horn?”

Cozy trots over to Twilight and looks up at her, “Well, right! She has a horn now! Um, you remember when I had a horn and all kinds of magical power?”

Twilight looks at Cozy and narrows her eyes, “Right! The Cozycorn 2 incident! How could I forget?”

Cozy widens her eyes, “Uh, right! That! Well,” she normalizes her eyes, “my mom here taught me how to control my destructive forces!”

“No more Cozy bursts!” Little happily chimes from the other side of the table.

Twilight raises her right eyebrow as she scrunches her mouth unsure, “Well, okay?”

Cozy nods and stares at Twilight with wide eyes, “Well, a farmer startled me and I sorta, shot a super-powerful bolt of energy into the sky and well, we’re thinking it eventually came back down and somehow infected poor Little Snack here…”

“And now, I have a horn!” Little exclaims with wide eyes while jittering.

Twilight frowns, “So I’m guessing you want me to call Discord and have him dispel this since this originated with him and his magic?”

Cozy nods, “Well, golly right! That was the idea behind uh, Starlight contacting you!” she stares up at Starlight on her right, “Right?”

Starlight stares at Cozy, “Well, right!” before turning her head to the princess, “Ahem, if you don’t mind, princess?”

Twilight smiles, “Well, this seems simple enough?” she looks up and says at a higher volume, “Discord!”

Suddenly, the motley form of a familiar draconequus pops into view near the entrance of the dining room, dressed in a tuxedo with a monocle on the smaller left eye and a top hat. Discord looks up with both his yellow and red eyes to Twilight as he says, “I do wish you’d warn me before you do that! They were having a particularly good get-together in the 23rd dimension and I was just about done getting ready!”

Twilight looks at Discord and calmly says, “Discord! Some of your chaos magic has infected this orange earth filly! We need you to dispel it!”

Discord looks at Little Snack as the earth filly stares up at him with wide green eyes and a big smile and he frowns as his snaggy teeth go different directions. He snaps his lion paw in the air and Little’s horn visibly disappears. Suddenly, the draconequus looks at Little intently as he scrunches his eyes around the monocle and snaps his lion paw in the air again, before bringing the paw to his chin and curving downward to frown and saying, “Okay, this is strange…”

Twilight looks at Discord and frowns, “What do you mean?”

Discord turns his head to Twilight as he floats and says, “Well, most of her horn is gone, but…” he floats to the right side of the orange filly and puts the index claw of his eagle talon on her middle-forehead and says, “there’s still some left…”

Little widens her eyes, “Oh no!”

Trixie turns her body left to face the orange filly, “Wait! This might not be bad?”

Little looks up at Trixie and says excitedly, “How is this not bad, Miss Trixie? I’m not supposed to have a horn, but I do! Oh gosh! This is bad! This is very bad!” before looking down at the table and pawing there with her forehooves, right and then left, and then bringing her forehooves in and looking back at the blue unicorn.

Trixie smiles, “Both of your parents are unicorns, correct?”

Little blinks, “Well um, yeah?”

Twilight widens her eyes and exclaims, “A late bloomer!” to the middle of the room.

All ponies and the draconequus turn their attention to the alicorn as Cozy asks, “What?”

Twilight looks at Trixie frantically, “I read about this! Sometimes, when a unicorn is born, they’ll believe they’re an earth filly until they hit puberty!” she turns to Little, “This is nothing to worry about, Little Snack! You’re just growing up!”

Little frowns, “So uh, I have magic now?”

Twilight nods, “More than likely!” she leans to the orange filly and asks, “Okay, go ahead and concentrate now! Let’s see what you can do!”

Little narrows her eyes and scrunches her brows as she grunts, “HNNG!” and suddenly, a bright light shines up from her green mane. She looks up at it with her eyes and says, “Hey! I got a light now!”

Cozy is watching this intently with her head turned to the right and says, “Golly! So Little Snack has magic now?”

Twilight smiles at the pegasus, “Well, with a horn that small, I doubt she’ll ever be any sort of powerful wizard? She just has a light and probably some modest levitation abilities? But late bloomers seldom have very powerful magic…”

Little turns her head left to Cozy, “Yeah, I’m an earth-icorn! Uh, no! I’m a unith pony! Yeah! Or uh, wait…” she furrows her brow as she tries to think of a name for her species…

Twilight snickers and shakes her head before looking down at Little, “Right! Something like that!”

Discord straightens his back and sighs, “Well, if we’re through here, I simply must be going now! I don’t have time to dilly dally!” before snapping his eagle claw in the air and vanishing in a puff of smoke.

<*****>

Trixie, Cozy, and Little Snack all stand on Little’s 10-foot-wide by 5-foot-long front porch. Trixie is closer to the house while Cozy stands at her right on the left side of the porch while an orange filly faces them from the other side and says wide-eyed, “Okay, so the plan is, you guys tell them I have magic now and I don’t say anything!”

Cozy leans forward with open brown eyes, “Golly! Are you nervous?”

Little looks over to Cozy with a start, “Um, I don’t know? Probably?” before looking down and pawing at the porch with her forehooves, right, and then left, and then looking back at the blue unicorn in magician’s attire.

The pegasus and unicorn both turn their heads to each other as Cozy says, “Yeah! She’s nervous!”

Little looks at the pegasus, “Well, wouldn’t you be nervous too?”

Cozy smiles as she trots forward to get close to Little and says with her face close to the orange filly, “Hey, relax filly friend! We’re all here for you and this is gonna go well!”

Trixie trots to the door just 3 feet to her front left, faces it, and knocks with her right forehoof.

Little looks Cozy in her auburn eyes and says, “Uh, thanks! I guess I’m not really alone anymore?”

Cozy widens her eyes as she grins slightly, “That’s new, huh?”

Little giggles, “Yeah! I thought I’d have to tell my parents by myself!”

“No filly friend of mine is doing something scary like that alone!” Cozy exclaims before she takes the final pace with her left forehoof and embraces Little in a tight warm hug.

Little smiles, “AWW! I love you too, Cozy! Um…” she works her forehooves out and begins to hug Cozy back, “There we go!”

Soon, the door opens to reveal a tall brown unicorn stallion with a wavy blond mane and tail. He looks at Trixie, “Oh no! Is everything okay with Little Snack at school?”

Trixie’s eyes widen as the fillies disengage and turn their bodies to the door and Trixie says, “Oh, we’re all fine! Everything is fine! But uh, there’s something you should know about your daughter!” before giving a wide, nervous grin…

Tasty raises his left eyebrow, “Oh-kay? Uh, what did you need to tell me?”

Trixie stammers anxiously, “Well uh, that is to say, I uh, er…”

Little suddenly looks over at her dad, smiles, and says, “I got magic, and a horn now!” before scrunching her face and grunting, “HNNG!” before a small light shines from her mane. She opens her green eyes wide to her father as she smiles proudly with her mouth open.

Trixie turns her head back to the orange unicorn before swinging it back left to Tasty and widening her eyes, “Yeah! Apparently, she’s a late bloomer, and didn’t get magic and a horn until puberty! Go figure, right?” and then grinning mechanically as her eyes stare forward intently.

(To be continued…)