Cozy Hearts

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Freedom
Chapter 2 - Persuasion
Chapter 3 - Morning
Chapter 4 - Ponyville
Chapter 5 - Crazy
Chapter 6 - Confusion
Chapter 7 - Sleepover
Chapter 8 - Forgiveness?
Chapter 9 - Darkness
Chapter 10 - Discovery
Chapter 11 - Flight
Chapter 12 - Grounded
Chapter 13 - Escape
Chapter 14 - Discussion

Chapter 1 - Freedom

A young alicorn with a pink coat, crystal-blue eyes, and pink, purple, and blue curls raced through the night with grace and speed. The bright, golden light on her horn sliced through the darkness and illuminated the bushes and flowers below her. The castle garden was beautiful, yes, but she did not stop to look. She was on a mission, and she was going to complete it.

Half a minute later, a statue came into view. It was the statue, the one that nopony paid attention to anymore. A lot had happened in ten years, and almost everypony had forgotten about these three creatures, despite the fact that they had almost destroyed Equestria.

But this alicorn remembered. Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire remembered. How could she have forgotten the stories her parents had told her? She had been hearing about this trio of villains since she was a filly. The Legion of Doom, as they called themselves, was the reason she was sneaking away from the castle at three in the morning. Well, mostly the reason. The other part was more...personal.

The slightly unimportant reason she was doing this was because her parents were way too protective of her. Bodyguards accompanied her everywhere: to her meals, to her lessons, even to the restroom! They watched over her when she was sleeping, but this made her extremely uneasy instead of feeling safe. No one likes to be watched in their sleep.

So she had run away from her pampered castle life, at least for a while. Flurry had never been too much of a rebel, but she was so tired of being fussed at the whole time.

But there was another issue, too. She was sick of being ignored just because she was the youngest of the alicorns. Nopony paid her ideas any attention. She wanted to do something. She wanted to make her powerful aunts notice her. She wanted to show her parents what she could do. She wanted to make her mark on Equestria.

She would prove that she was worthy.

Which lead to the main reason for Flurry's mission. Her. Cozy Glow.

Flurry didn't know too much about the filly, but she did know that Cozy had done unbelievably evil deeds for somepony her age. First, she took over Auntie Twilight's School of Friendship by manipulating fellow students and almost drained all the magic from Equestria. After her escape from Tartarus, Cozy Glow teamed up with two of Equestria's worst enemies: Tirek the centaur and Chrysalis the changeling. The three had almost taken over Equestria, but Auntie Twilight and her friends saved the day like they always did, along with every single creature in Equestria and some badass rainbow lasers. The evil trio was stoned, Auntie Twilight was crowned the ruler of Equestria, and everypony lived happily ever after...

Well, not everypony. Flurry Heart had never thought of Cozy as an evil pony, but rather a misguided one who possibly had scars from her past. Maybe Cozy had experienced a traumatic event in her childhood, or something. Maybe that was why she was, well, the way she was.

So when Flurry was old enough and Discord and her aunts Celestia and Luna confessed to stoning Cozy, she was extremely disturbed. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’d had thoughts about freeing Cozy Glow. She hadn't realized it at the time. But she did become aware of those thoughts, later.

She had been planning this stunt for a long time, really, but it was only now that it seemed real as she faced the statue. She saw Tirek, hunched over in apprehension; Chrysalis, attempting to lunge at Twilight; and Cozy, with a panicked expression and two hooves put up to her face, as if she were about to scream or cry. She didn't give a second thought about the changeling and the centaur. They were way too evil. But Cozy, even after all she'd done, was still a filly. Twilight hadn't given her a second chance - she had sent the filly to Tartarus after her first takeover attempt. No wonder Cozy was still evil after that. Tartarus was hardly a place to feel...whatever it feels like to be reformed.

Suddenly, a thought popped into Flurry Heart’s mind. What about Cozy's parents? What had they thought about their daughter being thrown into Tartarus and turned into stone? She thought her Auntie Twilight was stupid - yes, stupid - not to look at each side of the situation. What kind of princess did that make her? Wasn't a princess supposed to be fair?

That reminded Flurry of her mom. She wasn't very fair to her, either. Whenever the princesses had a meeting, Flurry Heart was not invited. They even put up a sound barrier in case she wanted to eavesdrop!

That reminded her that she was running away and on a mission. She cleared her thoughts and got ready for what she was about to do.

Golden magic lit up her horn. With some effort, Flurry made the magic stronger and aimed it at the part of the statue that was Cozy Glow. Here goes nothing... she thought.

A blast of magic struck the statue. For one scary moment, it enveloped Chrysalis and Tirek as well as Cozy. Flurry had spread out the magic too much. She didn't want to free the others! Quickly, she pulled back the magic and concentrated only on Cozy Glow.

Slowly, very slowly, the stone started to disappear from Cozy. It didn't crack into pieces and break; the stone seemed to be melting away from her. First, her ribbons were uncovered, and then her mane, and then her face. The worried expression on her face quickly turned into a surprised and confused one. Then, when her wings were uncovered, she looked down at them with childish joy.

Flurry Heart groaned as beads of perspiration rolled down her forehead onto her face, but the spell was working. Slowly, Cozy Glow was released from her stony prison. When the stone disappeared from her hind legs, she fell to the ground. "OW!"

Flurry's eyes turned white as the magic started to disappear from her horn. It was such a big spell, especially for a younger pony like her, that the magic took a few extra seconds to be expelled. When it did leave her and her eyes were blue again, she gave a stern look to Cozy, who hadn't gotten up yet, and spread her wings out.

She was about to yell something at the filly when she heard the clopping of hooves behind her. She turned around...and saw her father, looking winded. He gasped and panted as he came to a stop beside her. She wondered why he hadn't just teleported here...

"FLURRY HEART! What were you thinking?!"

Uh-oh.

Chapter 2 - Persuasion

"Dad..." Flurry Heart started.

"Don't you 'Dad' me, Flurry. Restore Cozy to the statue right this second and then come with me. You and I are going to have a little talk, young lady!" Shining Armor blasted, his face red.

Flurry let out a huge sigh. It was all over, before it had even started! Oh, she was going to get into so much trouble for this...

But then, her eyes hardened as a thought occurred to her.

Why should she, a natural-born alicorn, let her unicorn father boss her around? She was Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire. She was just as strong as her Auntie Twilight, and her other aunts, too. The whole reason for this mission was to prove to the other alicorns that she was worthy. She wouldn't stand down. She wasn't much of a rebel; that was true. But Flurry was no quitter, either.

"...No," she said to her father.

Shining was shocked. "Did you just say-"

"Dad! I'm tired of you and Mom treating me like a foal. I don't need bodyguards, and I don't need you following me everywhere! I'm twelve years old and I'm a princess. I can make my own decisions now. And I think Cozy can be reformed!"

"Flurry-"

"I'm sorry, Dad," Flurry said, "but I have to do this. I'll see you at the castle." Her horn lit up with magic, and it surrounded Shining Armor as he looked around himself in alarm. Two seconds later, the unicorn was gone with a flash of light. Flurry had teleported him back to the Crystal Castle.

A giggly voice made Flurry turn. Cozy Glow was saying, "You just teleported your dad all the way back to - where, the Crystal Castle?! That's amazing! Golly, I sure am glad to know you aren't too much of a Goody-Four-Hooves."

Flurry sighed. "I was never the innocent little pony my parents wanted me to be." Despite her uncharacteristic show of defiance, she was still a bit nervous about the punishment she would surely receive for this. And she sort of regretted doing this whole thing. Thinking about it was one thing. Taking action was another.

But there was no going back now. She had to act confident.

"Golly! Are you kidding me? That's great! That’s what you’re supposed to do: be yourself and be the opposite of what other ponies want you to be! Unless, of course, if you’re trying to manipulate them…" Cozy smirked evilly.

"Cozy Glow, NO!"

"What? I was just trying to help you, like a friend would do," Cozy said with those cute scarlet eyes. "But I guess it doesn't matter to you-"

"That's enough, Cozy Glow! I know your ways, and you can’t manipulate me," Flurry scolded. "As Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire, I order you to stop."

Cozy looked slightly disappointed. Apparently, she had been expecting less of the princess. "Aw, whatever...Who did you say you were, again?"

"I'm Flurry Heart. Princess of the Crystal Empire."

"Oh. I guess you're a new alicorn. What's your, you know, thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, like how Princess Celestia's the sun princess, Luna's the moon princess, that sort of thing. What princess are you?"

Flurry flattened her ears. She didn't want Cozy to think she was less important than the others, but Cozy would probably see through any lies she tried to make, anyway. With a sigh, she said, "I haven't 'earned' one of those titles yet. But I will, someday—soon!"

Cozy smirked. "Sure you will. Hey, I'm kind of hungry. Can you take me to eat? Maybe at a restaurant or something?"

"Sur- Wait, what? Restaurants aren't open this late," Flurry explained. "Obviously."

"Oh, I'm sure I can pick the lock. 'Cause I've done it before in the Canterlot Archives, in two seconds!" She smiled.

"Cozy Glow, you are crazy!" Flurry exclaimed. "Although...it might be fun," she added in a strange voice.

"C'mon! Don't you wanna be bad for a change?" Cozy pleaded. "It will be fun, I promise."

Flurry hesitated. Cozy could sense it; the princess was about to say yes. She almost smirked. She hadn't even thought about manipulating anypony, and much less an alicorn princess. And yet she had just managed to do that effortlessly as if it was second nature to her. She smiled, proud of herself.

"No," Flurry said.

Cozy's mouth almost dropped open. She had been so sure. Once again, she tried to use her powers of persuasion. "Why not? If you're already in trouble-"

"I'm a princess! I'm not supposed to do stuff like that. Mom and Dad would..." Flurry stopped mid-sentence as she suddenly remembered her parents. They would ground her for life for doing this!

"Who are your parents, anyway? Shining Armor and..."

"Princess Cadence."

"Oh. Well, that means your mom is just a gushy old princess of love. Your dad is only a unicorn. You're literally an alicorn! You have powers. Why not use them?" Cozy said. "Come on! I'm starving."

But Flurry was insulted. She had been trying to prove that she was just as capable as her parents, but she didn't appreciate Cozy bad-mouthing them. "Don't talk about my parents like that! My mom is really strong...It's just that she only uses half of her power sometimes!" That wasn't exactly the truth...but whatever. "And my father defeated King Sombra once!" That wasn't true either. Auntie Twilight and her friends had done that...but still, what did Cozy know about that?

"Yeah, right." Cozy snickered. "Didn't Twilight and her stupid pony friends defeat Sombra? It's not really surprising, though. Golly, that guy was a dumb-dumb lollipop! I can't believe he was gonna be a part of our group."

Suddenly, Cozy's stomach rumbled.

"Ugh. I haven't eaten in, like...a week! Can we just-"

"Actually," Flurry interrupted, "You haven't eaten in ten years...so of course you'd be-"

"WHAT?!" There was a panicked look in Cozy's eyes.

"It's the truth. I'm sorry I couldn't come for you earlier, but I had to make sure my magic was strong enough," Flurry explained.

"Y-you mean...I've been trapped for ten YEARS?!"

"Yes. I'm twelve now. Wait, how old are you?"

"I...I don't know," Cozy said quietly.

Flurry was astonished, to say the least. "Really?! How can you not-" Then she realized. "Oh! Of course you don't know, since ponies age slower in stone. It makes sense, too; You look more like my age than...Wait, how old were you before you got stoned?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe...six or seven?" Cozy sounded unsure of herself.

Flurry almost teleported in surprise. "You almost took over Equestria when you were seven years old?!" she gasped. This was so shocking that she didn't even think to wonder why Cozy hadn't been sure of her age before her stoning.

"Yep! Golly, I guess that proves I'm an evil mastermind!" Cozy cackled. Flurry just rolled her eyes.

"O...kay, so...I guess you can come over to my castle and eat, if you want. I'm sure my parents won't mind." I'm sure they will mind, Flurry thought, but she kept that to herself. They were going to have to meet Cozy sooner or later.

"Whoa!" Cozy bounced up and down. "I get to live in a castle now?! Hah, this is amazing! I knew you ponies were stupid!"

"I'm not stupid. I'm going to make sure you don't do anything bad, or even think about it."

"Oh yeah? And how are you gonna do that?" Cozy challenged.

"I'm going to take away your beloved wings if you even do something as bad as insulting somepony. And I will put a spell on you to restrain you from leaving the castle. Like you said, I'm an alicorn. I have powers," Flurry said calmly.

Cozy's smirk slid off her face. "Don't--you--dare touch my wings," she said, her voice wavering.

Flurry shrugged. "I guess you have to be a good filly, then. I'm the one who freed you. We're going to play by my rules."

"Fine!" Cozy grumped. "But I will take over Equestria someday. You just wait and see, you prissy princess!"

Flurry's horn glowed. "Who are you calling a prissy princess?"

"Um...nopony."

"Okay." The aura of magic disappeared. "Should we go to the castle now?"

"Fine."

"We'll be flying a long way. Can you fly?"

"Of course I - whoa!" Cozy's wings were, apparently, still too stiff to fly, and she crashed to the ground the second time that night. "Okay...maybe I can't fly that well..." Cozy frowned.

Flurry sighed. "Climb on my back."

"What?! No way!" Cozy seemed embarrassed. "I would never do such a low thing."

"I guess I'll leave you here, then." Flurry rose up into the air.

Cozy stared at her for a second. "Fiiine, I'll ride on your stupid back. Hey, why can't you just teleport to the castle, anyway?"

"Too long a distance. Now let's get going. We've wasted a lot of time."

Cozy climbed onto Flurry's back and gripped her mane with her hooves.

"Hang on tight because I'm going faaast!" Without waiting for the pegasus mare's reply, Flurry spread out her huge wings and took off into the night sky.

"Whoa! Alicorn wings really are better! I sure do miss when I was one," Cozy exclaimed. She seemed delighted as she watched the ground whiz by her.

"We’re not going to talk about your evil past, okay? You need to feel like a new pony if you’re going to reform," Flurry said.

"Who said I wanted to reform?" muttered Cozy. But she didn't say anything else. She had obviously become tamer since being released from stone, though Flurry could tell she was still manipulative and deceiving.

They flew on for a few more seconds. Then Cozy asked, "So what's it like being a princess? You must gloat every day in your room, thinking about how loved you are."

"No, I never gloat!" Flurry said, offended. "In fact, I hate being a princess."

Cozy was actually speechless for once. Finally, she managed to say, "...What? Why?"

"Being a princess is so annoying. I mean, sure, you get to be an alicorn and everypony loves you, but my parents are too overprotective of me. Bodyguards escort me everywhere, and I’m never let out of the castle without one. At least you get to be free as a normal pony. Y’know, I’d love to switch places with you. Without the being-evil-and-taking-over-Equestria part, that is..."

"But you're so lucky!" Cozy exclaimed. "Not everypony can be an alicorn and be loved. Like me. Everypony hates me, and I just wish I could be...be....never mind. Remind me again why I'm talking to somepony like you."

Flurry frowned in the darkness. It sounded to her that Cozy Glow...didn't like who she was! But how was that possible? If she didn't want to be evil, why didn't she want to reform?

They were silent for a good chunk of the trip. Flurry was deep in thought. So was her companion.

Cozy Glow was a mix of emotions. She was slightly happy that a princess - a princess! - had rescued her. But she was also sad. She hadn't had a consciousness while she was in stone, but maybe that had been better. She kept thinking about her parents now. Her father would've be annoyed. Her mum would be ashamed. Cozy's parents weren't exactly kind. They'd abused her as long as she had known them, and abandoned her when she was a filly! But she missed them. They were the only family she had...

She was angry, too. There was a whole lot of anger in her heart and there had always been. She was angry at this princess, angry at her parents, angry at herself, angry at the world.

But deep inside, there was a fourth feeling, so small and tiny and covered up by her other emotions that she did not realize it. But it was there all the same. That feeling was hope.

Maybe she was evil and was doomed to be this way forever...but maybe, just maybe, that wasn't true. Maybe she could be reformed! That little spark of hope was becoming bigger at the second, and soon Cozy realized it was there. She was embarrassed and ashamed for even thinking of being reformed, and tried to put that thought right out of her mind, but the hope was still there and it wasn't going. So Cozy ignored it and pretended it didn't exist. But it consumed her. She could not stop thinking about it.

Maybe being happy would be healthy for her. Obeying orders...it sounded like a nightmare, but she used to do that every day until years ago. And that prissy princess was pretty powerful, she had to admit. She didn't want to lose her wings!

She told herself repeatedly to snap out of it, but she didn't obey herself. Cozy let out a cry of frustration. She was not going to be reformed! Never! And that princess was a weakling compared to her!

Flurry looked at her with a strange expression. "Um, am I going too fast?" she asked.

"No. Everything's fine, except for the fact that I'm riding on the back of a stupid-"

"Oh, look! It's a cute bird," Flurry said, trying to prevent Cozy from insulting her.

"Yeah, right."

"Sorry. It flew away."

Cozy rolled her eyes in the darkness.

"Well," Flurry said, trying to start a conversation, "what was it like, you know...being in stone?"

"It was strange. It was kind of like sleeping, but it felt cold. I...I'm glad they didn't leave me in there forever. It would've been like...you know."

"Oh." What could Flurry say to that? "Um, I think we're almost there. I can see the crystals - they're sparkling."

Cozy snorted. "You can stop trying to change the subject, Princess. We shouldn't even be near the Crystal Empire. It's snowing."

"What?!" Flurry was definitely sure the Crystal Empire was near. Those sparkles in the distance were not stars! She knew the difference between a crystal's sparkle and a star's twinkle. But Cozy was right: it was snowing. Not too much, but she could still see snowflakes in the air. The air was rapidly growing cold, despite the ponies' fur coats. Flurry tried to make it warmer with magic, but her horn could only spark uselessly. She gasped in alarm and tried again and again, but no golden light appeared around her horn. Meanwhile, the snowfall only grew bigger. A bitterly cold wind nipped at Flurry's head fur.

Cozy huffed. "Put up a shield. I'm getting soaked and I'm chilled to the bone."

"I - I can't! My magic...It isn't working..."

"Seriously? Golly, you sure do hate me if you're going be cold and wet to make me cold and wet too. What kind of princess are you?" Cozy scoffed and then shivered.

"I'm not doing that! Seriously! My magic really isn't working!" Flurry said, alarmed and slightly indignant. "Cozy, are you making this happen?"

"Golly, no! I don't even have magic! I've been on your back this whole time!" Cozy insisted. Flurry had a feeling she was telling the truth.

"Then who is doing this?"

"I don't know! Really! And I'm cold!"

Flurry shivered. Even though alicorns felt less cold than other ponies when it was cold, she was freezing. She imagined how Cozy was feeling and felt sorry for the filly. Pegasi were less immune to the cold than alicorns.

"I'm sorry, Cozy, but you're going to have to deal with the snow just a little longer. I'm trying to find the crystals, but I can't see them..." The snow was blowing in her face, obscuring her vision. It seemed like a full-on blizzard.

"Just land already! I'm gonna d-d-die!" Cozy's teeth chattered.

"Okay, okay! I'm trying to navigate a safe..."

"SHUT UP AND LAND! I DON'T CARE IF WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN!" Cozy screamed.

"Alright!" Flurry was uneasy and didn't know if it was safe to land, but Cozy actually might freeze to death this high in the air when it was snowing. Her wingbeats slowed, but they didn't drift down to the ground like she'd planned. Instead, the wind blew them straight towards the ground and they plummeted down.

"AHHH!" Cozy shrieked.

"I'm out of control! HEEELP!" Flurry screamed.

"We're gonna diiiiiie! I'm too young to die!" Cozy moaned. She leaped off of Flurry's back before she could warn her, and the pegasus started falling even faster.

"Cozy!" Flurry dove after the falling pony in a desperate attempt to save her, but it was hopeless. She couldn't use magic, and she couldn't control her flying. She could only watch as the ground became closer and closer. Flurry closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact...

Three seconds...

Five seconds...

Ten seconds...

This is it. Omigosh, this is it. I'm sorry for running away, Mommy and Daddy. I love you... she thought.

She kept on waiting for the pain of hitting the ground, and the peacefulness of death.

But it never came. And...was that fur she felt?

Flurry opened her eyes and saw a worried face. She realized it was her mom's face, and she was being carried like a really big foal. She was confused for a few moments as her parents asked if she was okay, but then she realized what had happened. Her mommy and daddy had come to the rescue, even after what she'd done! She felt so grateful and relieved.

But where was Cozy? Had they left her outside? Flurry needed to check on her!

She mumbled a few words about the snowstorm and falling, jumped out of her mother's arms, and raced to the door. She flung it open.

Nopony was there.

She felt like a fool.

She went back to her parents, who were looking surprised and relieved and stern at the same time. "Where's Cozy?" she asked.

Princess Cadence gasped. "Flurry, what did you say?"

"Where's Cozy Glow?"

"Did she bump her head somewhere?" Shining Armor whispered to his wife.

"I don't know," Cadence whispered back. Flurry glared at her parents. Of course she could hear them, since royals (other than herself) happen to be the worst whisperers in Equestria.

"That pony was Cozy Glow?" Cadence asked Flurry.

"Yes. You guys didn't forget about her, right? Where is she?"

"So that's why the pony's gray coat was a little pink! And I saw a yellow ribbon on the ground next to her," Cadence whispered to Shining.

"We shouldn't have saved her! She's probably the reason Flurry was unconscious and falling. You can never trust a villain!" Shining Armor whisper-shouted to Cadence, ignoring Flurry's question.

"I was not unconscious! I was seeking out death on its-" Flurry was interrupted by her mother.

"Shining, dear, I know Cozy Glow was not the kindest of ponies. But you should never leave anypony to die if you can help it," Cadence said.

"Well, I can't help it! That monster could've killed our daughter!" Shining said. "Why are you defending her?"

"DAD! Cozy didn't do a thing to me! It's my fault we were almost killed. I can explain everything. But first, you need to answer my question. Where is Cozy?"

"She's...in your bed. I'm sorry, dear, but we had to put her somewhere. Somewhere not being the table with napkins as a blanket," Cadence said, giving Shining a look at the last part.

He shrugged. "She's a villain, sweetheart! She doesn't deserve Flurry's comfortable bed."

"She does too!" Flurry said. She didn't really think so, but for some reason she felt like defending Cozy. Maybe it was because she was mad at her parents for not trusting her to be able to take care of herself and wanted to be contrary. "Well, anyway, I'm going to see her. Good-bye." And she flounced up to her room.

"Young lady, you are not going to speak to us that way!" Shining was going to run after Flurry, but Cadence stopped her.

"Maybe she needs some time alone. It's been a very scary night for her."

"Fine," Shining grumped. "But after that somepony is going to get spanked the old-fashioned-no-magic way. Maybe even two ponies."

"Shining!"

"Cozy...? Are you okay?" Flurry asked the unconscious pink pegasus.

Cozy didn't look the best, but it wasn't too bad. Her mane and tail were tangled and filthy, and her fur was so dirty it was almost gray. She had a few cuts and scratches about her body and she was shivering a little, but otherwise the pony was fine.

But Flurry needed to rouse her. Like, right now. She was going to need her opinion on an idea of hers. So that's why she splashed a big cup of water on Cozy's head.

The strategy worked, but it made Cozy grumpy. "What do you want?" she huffed.

"I want you to come downstairs and meet my parents. Can you walk?"

"Of course I can." This time Cozy was right. But instead of walking, she stomped the whole way down. Flurry sighed internally.

Shining Armor met Cozy with a glare. "Well, look who's here. What kind of punishment will it be? Magic torture? Old-fashioned spanking? Or, the worst of all: listening to my little sister's friendship speeches!"

"No, please! Not the last one! Anything but the last one!" Cozy whined like a totally different pony.

"What's so bad about my aunt's friendship speeches?" Flurry wondered.

Cadence flinched. "Flurry, trust me, you do not want to know. One time she was teaching me how to give a friendship speech and it ended up to be the worst day of my LIFE."

Flurry was going to ask why, but then she remembered the reason she brought Cozy down. "Okay, maybe you could tell me the details later. I want to tell all of you guys an idea of mine."

Cozy snorted. "Is it lighting your mom's crown on fire?"

"What?! Why would I even do that?!" Flurry yelled.

"For fun!" Cozy cackled.

"...No, that's not my idea. Not even close."

"Then what is it?" Cadence asked. "Tell us, Flurry. I'm sure it's a great idea from a smart pony!"

Cozy rolled her eyes.

"Okay." Flurry decided to get right to the point. "My idea is to...have Cozy stay with us at the castle!"

"WHAT?!" the three cried in unison.

"Why would I do that?" Cozy said shrilly.

"Flurry, this is not a very reasonable idea. What if-" Cadence was cut off by her husband.

"WHAT IF SHE BURNS DOWN THE CASTLE?!" Shining bellowed. "Or threatens the ponies! Or poisons the guards! Or harms our daughter! Or harms us! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIIIIIE!"

It was probably the only thing that Cozy and Shining had in common: They both thought they were too young to die.

"Dad, calm down! Cozy is not going to do a thing to us or anypony else. I will take away her wings if....no, actually, I'll repeat one of my aunt's friendship speeches to her twenty times if she so much as insults us!" Flurry said, a bit proudly.

Shining immediately calmed down. "Phew! Good girl, Flurry! Better have that sound spell ready, Cadence!"

"Don't you dare do that, Princess!" Cozy growled.

"Then you better behave like a good pony."

Cozy grit her teeth but didn't say anything else.

"Honey, I know you're excited about this idea. But why would you want Cozy to live with us? There isn't any reason for her to stay," Cadence said, trying to persuade Flurry that her idea was unrealistic.

"Actually, there is a reason. Cozy is already out of stone, and I'm not letting that change. We can't just let her go, free to roam wherever she wants and do whatever evil deeds she likes. So the best thing to do is to reform her. And I don't think there's anypony other than me really willing to do such a hard thing. It would be unreasonable to send Cozy to a hotel to stay, or anypony else's home, but it would make more sense to have her live with us. I promise I won't let her do a thing to anypony. You know you can trust me, right?"

"Oh, Flurry," Cadence said gently, "of course I know you can be trusted. I'm just worried about you. Are you sure you'll be safe? Cozy Glow is still a villain, or at least a former one. And we've been having enough problems without..."

"What problems?" Flurry instantly became alert.

Cadence hesitated, as if deciding whether or not to tell her daughter. "It's...nothing to worry about, dear. Shining and I will take care of that. Anyway, I just want you to be careful about this idea. Always be on your guard, and remember that Cozy will try to manipulate you at any time. And lock your door when you're sleeping. I'll also put up a magical shield so Cozy can't get into your room, if that's okay with you-"

"Mom." Flurry's voice was firm. "It's okay. I have bodyguards to watch over me when I'm sleeping! There's no need for the shield. Besides, it's not like Cozy's very dangerous now - she can't even use magic! And she's very weak and cold. We shouldn't threaten her more than we have to."

"Excuse me, she is standing right here, listening to all the bad things you're saying about her!" Cozy said hotly.

"Sorry, Cozy." Flurry turned to Shining. "Dad? Please say you'll agree to this. Please! I promise to be very careful and I'll stay safe."

"...You do have that friendship speech ready, right?"

"Yes, Dad."

...

"Alright, fine. Let's do it. If you actually reform one of Equestria's worst villains, the news is going to spread all the way to Ponyville! And you'll be famous, Flurry! Famous!"

How can I be more famous than I already am? Flurry thought. But she kept the thought to herself.

Flurry turned to Cadence. "Mom, I know you're worried. But you have to trust me on this. I know what I'm doing."

Cadence gave her daughter a small smile. "You're right, Flurry. You are doing what a true princess would do, even though it's risky. You're doing the right thing. So...I accept." She gave Flurry a hug.

"I love you, Mom."

"Me too, Flurry."

Cozy rolled her eyes. So did Shining, at the exact same time. And while Flurry and her mother were busy hugging, they exchanged glances.

Author's Note

Hi there! Twilight told me that Cozy aged half as fast in stone, so she's the same age as Flurry now. And don't doubt Twilight. ;)

Or else.

:twilightangry2:

Chapter 3 - Morning

The next day, Flurry was up early. She hadn't forgotten the events of last night, not one bit! She was so excited that she accidentally teleported into her parents' room. Thank Celestia they were still sleeping! But in her excitement, she teleported again...right in front of the guest room.

Cozy Glow was using that dusty room. Well, it used to be dusty. They had cleaned it last night. Flurry didn't feel comfortable with Cozy using her bed. Her parents agreed.

Flurry decided to wake Cozy up. They were going to do a lot of things today. She slowly opened the door with her magic. Cozy was still sleeping. Flurry tiptoed over to the bed and looked at her. For some reason, she felt like she was doing something wrong!

Surprisingly, Cozy looked kind of pretty in repose. And serene. Weird, Flurry thought.

"Wake up! We're gonna do so many things today!" Flurry shook the pink pegasus. She knew it was rude, but it was almost eight o'clock and Flurry wasn't used to doing things late.

"No...Mom...Ijustwannasleepintoday..." Cozy mumbled. Or at least that's what it sounded like.

"Um...did you just call me 'Mom?'" Flurry asked in confusion.

"Yyyeah...AH!" Cozy quickly sat up and struck Flurry in the face. "Oh, sorry!"

Flurry was surprised to hear Cozy apologize, but she said, "It's fine. Are you okay?"

"I'm..." Cozy shook her head a few times. "...perfectly fine, except for the fact that I was in the middle of a nice dream when you so rudely woke me up."

Flurry sighed internally. "Sorry about that. I was just excited. Let's wake up my parents and then we'll have some breakfast."

"Okay."

Flurry flew to her parents' room and swung the door wide open. "WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!" she yelled delightfully.

Shining Armor half-opened his eyes. "...Huh?"

"Wake up! It's time to have some fun!" Flurry marched over to the bed her parents shared and climbed onto it. She jumped up and down a few times until Shining and Princess Cadence were fully awake and glaring at her playfully.

"Oh, you will so regret that!" Shining yelled as he levitated Flurry off of him and grabbed a pillow.

"Doubt it!" Flurry laughed. She grabbed a few pillows of her own.

Her mother got some pillows in front of her as well. Soon the room was a battlefield of a full-fledged...pillow fight!

The battle lasted for around seven minutes. Flurry Heart won, just barely, and screamed in triumph. "I get to decide what's for breakfast!"

"Alright, but it better not be pancakes again," Shining said.

"Actually, it is!"

"Flurry, aren't you tired of having the same breakfast every day? Why don't we have some-"

"Mom, I want pancakes!" Flurry insisted.

"Alright, fine," Shining said.

Flurry giggled. "Thanks, Dad!" She threw a pillow at him. Shining just chuckled and ducked. Flurry laughed too.

But she stopped laughing when she saw Cozy Glow, still standing at the door, with a curious expression on her face. "So that's how a princess starts her day. Oh, golly," Cozy mumbled quietly.

Flurry pretended to not notice and hopped off the bed. "Are pancakes good for you? Or do you want something else?" she asked Cozy.

"Pancakes are fine."

"Okay, great!"

When the Crystal family and Cozy were seated around a table and happily (well, mostly) munching on pancakes, Shining cleared his throat and said, "Well, about last night..."

"Right." Flurry sighed. She knew this was coming, but not so soon!

"Can you give us the details of what really happened before your arrival at the castle?" Cadence asked. "Be honest. I can call Applejack and tell her to come..."

"There'll be no need for that, Mom. I'll explain." And Flurry did. She informed her parents about the new things she had learned about Cozy (except for her suspicion that she wanted to change - Flurry didn't want to get their hopes up) while the pegasus glared at her, and she explained about the events that had happened, from freeing Cozy to falling from the sky. When Flurry finished, Cadence and Shining exchanged glances. They had a short, silent argument. Cadence won.

"Flurry...there's something your father and I have been hiding for some time," Cadence said. "And I think it's time to tell you."

"What?"

"So, you know it doesn't snow in the Empire unless something is wrong, right?" Cadence began.

"Yes. But then why was it snowing last night?" Flurry asked.

"Well...there is something wrong. We're not exactly sure what, but your father suspects there might be an evil force lurking somewhere out there."

"Whoa! Seriously? Is it Sombra?" Flurry asked. "Wait, wasn't he defeated, like, years ago?"

"Yes. We don't think it's Sombra, not exactly, but maybe somepony who is related to him."

"How can anypony be related to him? Uh, no offense," Flurry said.

"I don't know. Your father and I are going to look into it more," Cadence replied.

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" Flurry asked.

"We didn't want to scare you. But there's no reason to be afraid anyway, so you don't have to think about this too much. Just be a little more careful and don't go out if it's snowing, okay?"

"Okay. One more question, though. Were you talking about this when you had those meetings with Auntie Twilight and you put up a sound barrier?"

Cadence looked guilty. "Ah...yes, Flurry, we were. And I'm sorry for keeping secrets from you. I know your father and I have been very protective for many years, and I'm sorry if you didn't like it, but please know that we were only doing it because we love you."

Suddenly everything made sense. The secret meetings, her parents being overprotective, everything. Flurry suddenly felt bad for running away last night, but then she reminded herself that she had only done it to save Cozy from a terrible fate. Still, she promised herself that she would never run away again.

Flurry smiled at her mother and they hugged. "I love you too, Mommy." Then Shining Armor went over and hugged both of the ponies tightly.

Cozy rolled her eyes. "Seriously? I've only been here for, like, ten hours and there's already been two of these mushy moments," she muttered to herself.

Cadence heard her. "Well, I am the princess of love," she said, chuckling slightly.

Cozy shrugged. "Still. That was sooo cringe. I'm leaving." She headed towards the exit, but a pair of guards stopped her.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Cozy squealed. Then she noticed that one of the guards was a unicorn. His armor(?) looked different, too.

What's he doing here? He looks like one of Celestia's guards, she thought.

Cozy kicked and thrashed. She smirked when she made a good-sized mark on the unicorn guard's face, but then he levitated her off him with his magic.

"DON'T USE YOUR MAGIC ON ME!" Cozy screamed.

The guard ignored her. Cozy kicked and screamed, but she was stuck in the magic. It felt so bad to be trapped and helpless like that! It almost felt like being in stone again!

"Put her down!" Flurry shouted.

The guard obeyed. He didn't set Cozy down gently; instead, he just dropped her down. Cozy hit the ground hard and groaned.

"I HATE you!" she whisper-shouted at the guard. She got no reaction from him. Stupid guard!

"I'm so sorry!" Flurry said. She helped Cozy up from the ground.

"Whatever!" Cozy stalked up to the guest room, mumbling angrily all the way.

Flurry sighed. "Poor Cozy. I guess she doesn't like magic because of...you know."

"Poor Cozy?! Did you see what she did to that guard?" Shining Armor moaned and covered his face with his hooves. "My little sister is going to kill me."

"Hey, why is Auntie Twilight's guard here anyway?" Flurry asked.

"We need extra guards to protect us from the evil creature out there, so your Aunt Twilight kindly sent us a few of her guards," Cadence explained.

Flurry almost groaned. She would probably have extra bodyguards now.

"Please don't give me any more bodyguards. Please," Flurry moaned. She covered her face with her hooves like her father.

"Alright, alright. There's no need to fret, Flurry," Cadence said. She chuckled.

"Yay!"

"So, what are you going to do today?" Shining asked his daughter.

"I'm gonna take Cozy to Ponyville and introduce her to some of my friends. It'll be a good experience for Cozy and my friends would be glad to meet her - I hope!"

"Make sure at least five bodyguards go with you," Shining said.

"No!" Flurry protested. "Why do they have to go with me, anyway?"

Cadence sighed. "Well, if Flurry doesn't want to take the bodyguards with her, that's alright. Make sure to stay safe, though, and be careful."

"What? But--the evil force! What if it gets our daughter?!" Shining exclaimed.

"It's probably not going to go all the way to Ponyville," Flurry said. "And I'll be surrounded by ponies who can help me."

"Oh... alright then. Be sure to stay safe!"

"Right, right."

A few minutes later, Flurry went to get Cozy. She hoped the pegasus had calmed down by now.

She knocked on the door.

"Who's there?"

"Flurry Heart."

"Oh. Come in."

Flurry went in. She was slightly surprised to see that the room was in good condition. No pillows were beaten up and the bed was made. Good. Cozy was not one to throw temper tantrums.

"Um...so, I thought you would like to meet some of my friends. They live in Ponyville, and they're really nice. I'm sure they would like to meet you."

"Golly! I would love to meet them!" Cozy said sweetly.

Oh, no.

"Okay, do you want to go now?" Flurry said cautiously.

"Sure!"

"Alright, then. We'll fly there."

"Can I please ride on your back? My wings aren't working well," Cozy said.

"Okay, fine. Let's go."

And off they went to Ponyville.

Author's Note

I'm suffering from a severe case of Writer's Block. Sorry if the characters don't act like themselves in this rushed chapter. Also by the way I will be getting my information from Sunny from now on. She's more reliable.........even though her speeches are so LONG!

Chapter 4 - Ponyville

"Is that who I think it is?"

"Why is SHE there?"

"I've never seen that pony before, and I know everypony in Ponyville!"

"Who is that?"

"OH MY CELESTIA! Is that - mmph!"

Cozy glared at everypony with angry, red eyes. She wanted to give somepony a piece of her mind, but instead she decided to act hurt and innocent. Her act had fooled ponies before. Why wouldn't it work now?

"Oh, golly! I'm just a poor, sad pony with no friends. But I guess that doesn't matter to anypony! Oh, boo-hoo-hoo!" Cozy sniffed and blinked back fake tears.

Flurry nudged her.

"Speech."

"Uh, you know that doesn't really scare me, right? I was putting on an act last night."

"Wait, really?"

"Obviously. Oh, golly! I can't believe you actually fell for it!" Cozy cackled.

Don't act intimidated. Keep your cool, Flurry. Just act like it doesn't matter to you, Flurry thought.

"I didn't fall for anything. I knew it all along. I was testing you to see when you would admit it," Flurry said.

"Okay, have it your way!" Cozy said in a cheerful, playful tone.

"I can still take away your wings!" Flurry said.

Cozy changed the subject. "Who are you taking me to meet, anyway?"

"Well, obviously the Cutie Mark Crusaders are my friends, but they're busy today. They're helping a filly named Mint Chip get her cutie mark. So today we'll be meeting my other friend, Rumble. He's a pegasus like you," Flurry told her.

"Oh. Golly, I can't wait!" Cozy giggled.

Flurry wished it were true.

Rumble stared intently at his brother. He tried to read Thunderlane's expression, but his face stayed blank. He chewed and made a thoughtful noise.

"What do you think? Is it good?" Rumble couldn't hold it in anymore. He zoomed around Thunderlane in circles. "Is it good? Is it good enough for the princess?"

"Calm down, bro! It's amazing," Thunderlane said.

Rumble stopped flying and crashed into a bush. He poked his head out and said, "Really? You think so?"

"Yep. Can I have more?"

Rumble sighed in relief. "Sure," he said.

The brothers didn't know this, but they were being watched by two pairs of eyes. Cozy Glow and Flurry Heart were hiding in a bush nearby and saw everything that was going on.

"I still don't know why you can't just make us invisible," Cozy hissed to Flurry.

"I told you; I can't do that yet. I never learned," Flurry whispered back.

"You can teleport your dad from Canterlot to the Crystal Empire. Why can't you do this?"

Flurry sighed. "You wouldn't understand, 'cause you don't have magic..."

Cozy turned away and Flurry immediately regretted saying that. "Sorry. I forgot..."

"It doesn't matter."

Flurry changed the subject. "When are we going to get out of this bush? Are you that shy?"

"We have to make sure your little friend is prepared to meet the pony who almost destroyed Equestria," Cozy said, with a hint of pride.

"There's no right way to prepare anypony for that."

"There is. Also, why is his muzzle like that?"

"What?" Flurry asked.

"His muzzle. It looks like a mare's, and he's not."

"I...never thought about that before," Flurry admitted. "I don't know why. Maybe you should ask Auntie Twilight."

A disgusted expression came over Cozy's face. "I would never."

"Hey! Who are you?"

Cozy and Flurry slowly looked up. Rumble had discovered them hiding in the bush.

"Oh, hi Flurry! Who's your friend?"

Flurry stood up. She brushed a few leaves and twigs off her fur and tried her best to look regal and beautiful and princess-like. "Uh...I think you've met before. Once."

"When? I don't remember."

"The Battle of the Bell."

Rumble looked confused. Then he looked surprised.

"Are you telling me that's Cozy Glow?"

"Yes."

Everypony was still and silent for a few moments. Then Rumble backed away slowly. "Oh! I just remembered that I have something to do with my brother, Thunderlane. I gotta go! SeeyoulaterFlurryyy!" He jumped up and ran for his life.

"Wait!" Flurry ran after him, and Cozy Glow was left alone.

At first, she could only stare in shock in the direction that Flurry and Rumble had disappeared. Did those idiots really just leave me alone here, just like that? she wondered. It simply didn’t seem possible. But then she remembered how dumb Flurry was, and an evil smirk slowly crept over the pegasus's face. She rubbed her hooves together.

"Oh, golly, finally! Now it's time to get to work."

She looked around.

"Hmm, where should I go first?"

Then she had an idea. "Of course! I'm going to go to Celestia's castle. The stupid old nag will never turn another cute, lovable, innocent pony to stone again after I MAKE HER PAY FOR WHAT SHE DID!"

A few seconds later, she calmed down from her outburst. There was no time to waste, so she jumped into the air and flew in the direction of Canterlot. Luckily, her wings were properly working.

Then she remembered Canterlot was a long distance away. She would have to travel by train. But no train would let her catch a ride. Unless...

Five minutes later Cozy came out of a shop wearing sunglasses, a giant hat, a fancy dress, and high heels. I'm just borrowing these for a while. Besides, sharing is caring! she thought.

Thankfully, she got a ticket for a train heading for Canterlot. But she would have to wait half an hour before it went.

Cozy's stomach rumbled. She decided to go eat something. It would test her disguise, too. So she went into the nearest shop. It was called Sugarcube Corner.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie. Wait, I've never seen you before!" The pink party pony gasped for a full three seconds. "That means we have to arrange a welcome party for you! Hmm, it's gotta be fancy and include everypony in Ponyville! I'm gonna start planning right now!" She got a piece of paper, quill, and a small bottle of ink out of her mane. She also pulled a cupcake out of her mane and munched on it while she quickly wrote down a few things.

"No, really, that's not necessary," Cozy said with a fake accent. She hoped she was looking calm on the outside, because on the inside she was freaking out. It was Professor Pinkie Pie! After all these years she was still working at this lousy excuse for a bakery?! What if she recognized Cozy? She would call Twilight, of course, and notify the princesses. Then Flurry would get into this. It would all be on the news. And the worst part? Cozy would be turned into stone again.

All these thoughts raced through her head in a second. She shook her head clear of them and cleared her throat. "I'm only stopping by from...Canterlot. My cousin lives in Ponyville. I was visiting for a few days. I'm heading back to Canterlot in a while and just thought I'd order something here. What do you recommend?"

Pinkie all but ignored Cozy. "You're stopping by from Canterlot? Rarity might know you! Do you know Rarity? 'Cause she's a fashionista! Actually, I saw Rarity a few days ago. She was designing this outfit and it looked just like yours! I guess she gave it to somepony to sell and you bought it. She's so generous! Oh, I've gotta tell Twilight about this!"

"Nonono! It's okay, you don't have to tell Princess Twilight about this. You know, I don't think I'm hungry anymore. See 'ya!" Cozy raced out the door and hoped Pinkie wouldn't follow.

"Bye! See ya next time, silly filly!" Pinkie yelled. Cozy could literally hear her voice through the glass like she was right next to her, yelling in her ear.

"Phew. Golly, that was a close call..." Cozy said to herself.

She asked somepony what time it was and realized she had twenty more minutes left before the train went to Canterlot. I guess I better get going, she thought.

She took off to the train station.

"We've looked everywhere, Flurry. And the Ponyville police have set the alarm. Don't you think we should stop now?" Cadence asked her daughter.

"No, Mom. I have to find Cozy before she gets herself into trouble...or causes trouble for other ponies!" Flurry said determinedly.

Cozy was gone. She was not in the place where Flurry had left her when chasing Rumble. Being the kind pony he was, Rumble had helped search for the missing pony, but after an hour he had to go eat lunch. Flurry and her parents were still searching. The young princess was hungry, but she would not eat (or sleep) until Cozy was found.

Cadence sighed. "Alright, Flurry, you may keep on searching. Do you think you'll be okay here by yourself? Your father and I are going to have some lunch."

"I'll be fine, Mom."

Cadence left. Flurry then searched every corner of Ponyville three more times to no avail. She sighed. I guess I'm not a very responsible pony after all. How did I let Cozy escape so easily?

Suddenly, Flurry had a weird sensation. There was something in the air, so thick she could taste it. And she knew what it was - magic.

Less than a second later, a pony appeared right in front of Flurry. She shrieked.

The pony chuckled. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

"Auntie Twilight?" Flurry gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Twilight's smile became smaller and smaller until it disappeared. "Well, I heard about a certain little pony who freed..."

Flurry groaned. She should've known her secret would get out eventually. Somepony must've notified Auntie Twilight when they saw Cozy Glow. She should have given them some disguises when they went to Ponyville.

"Okay, I admit that it wasn't the best idea. But you gotta give it a chance! Pleeease? Cozy tries to manipulate me, but I know her ways. She can't fool me. Please don't turn her back to stone again-!" Flurry begged.

Twilight smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Flurry. While I'm not 100 percent sure about this idea, I will trust you on this. I won't interfere in your matters."

"Oh, thank you, Auntie Twilight!" Flurry said in relief.

"You're welcome. Now, should we go find Cozy Glow?"

"Wait, how do you-"

"It's a long story. Maybe I can explain later."

"O...kay. Let's go!" Flurry went speeding off, but then she stopped suddenly and blushed. "Oopsie. Maybe you should lead the way..."

Twilight laughed. "Alright, then. The train to Canterlot already went a few hours ago, so we'll have to teleport there. I can do the teleporting..."

"Canterlot...? But why would Cozy..." Then Flurry realized. She gulped. "She wasn't planning on attacking the princesses, was she?"

"I'm afraid she was. Luckily, as soon as I realized, I teleported here."

Flurry sighed in relief. She loved her aunt dearly and didn't want anything to happen to her. "I'm glad you did. Should we go now?"

"Yes, let's go. We don't want to waste any time."

Flurry went right next to Twilight and made sure they were touching. She didn't want to get left behind! Twilight put one giant wing over Flurry, almost protectively. Flurry could feel the magic building up around her. It was a pleasant sensation, gently tickling her fur. She closed her eyes as she felt herself being pulled away by the magic...

Author's Note

Just to let you guys know, Cozy doesn't know that Celestia and Luna retired. Yet...

Chapter 5 - Crazy

Author's Note

C0zy @b@nd0n3d h3r c0$tum3 1n th3 t1m3 $k1p fr0m l@$t ch@pt3r t0 th1$ 0n3

Enjoy this chapter :3

Chapter 5 - Crazy

Cozy Glow looked around, perplexed. Questions filled her mind. Why did the throne room look so different? Why was there a picture of Flurry Heart on that stained glass window? And was that a picture of her on the window being hit by a rainbow laser?!

But Cozy's biggest question was: Where in Equestria were Celestia and Luna?

The thrones were empty. There was nopony in sight. It was actually kind of creepy, despite the bright colors around Cozy. She had been expecting the Sisters angry at her return and ready to fight. Instead, she got...this.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are! Or are you too scared to face me?!" Cozy yelled. Her voice echoed in the spacious room. She got no reply.

"Well, I guess I'll just go help myself to whatever I want!" Cozy felt a little ridiculous talking to herself, but she hoped somepony would hear the threat.

"Oh, I don't think so." Cozy's eyes grew wide and she slowly turned around...

To see a huge, purple alicorn with a flowing mane and tail, accompanied by a smaller light-pink alicorn with blue, purple, and pink curls.

"Flurry? P-Princess Celestia? Why are you purple?"

The alicorn looked confused for a fraction of a second, and then realization dawned on her. She laughed in amusement.

"Dear little Cozy, I am not Princess Celestia. I'm Twilight Sparkle, of course."

"Twilight?! But you're so big!"

"Alicorns grow too, you know, like regular ponies."

"Where are Celestia and Luna? I want to fight!" Cozy said, trying to sound fierce. But she just sounded like a pouty little pony.

"Auntie Celestia and Auntie Luna have been retired for ten years. Didn't you know?" Flurry said, trying not to laugh at Cozy's failed attempt of sounding threatening. She was so cute when she was like that!

Magic kindergarten cute...not cute like...! Flurry thought, trying not to panic because she thought Cozy was cute. I mean, Cozy looks cute, and she sounds cute, and she acts cute, but...

Flurry's thoughts were interrupted by her aunt saying, "I think I know why Cozy didn't realize that. She was stuck in stone for ten years, and I'm pretty sure she had no consciousness during that time. She didn't know that I had been crowned Princess of Equestria."

"Oh. That makes sense," Flurry said.

"Ha! I knew the stupid old princesses were too scared to continue their job! I did make a lasting impression!" Cozy cackled.

"That's not it at all!" Twilight exclaimed, sounding offended. Flurry knew that deep down, Twilight still thought of Auntie Celestia and Luna as princesses. Twilight was very sensitive when ponies talked about her old mentors like that. "Prin - I mean, Celestia and Luna retired because they thought I was ready for the job and because they needed a break! Ruling for millennium can have its strain, you know, even for alicorns like them."

Cozy smirked. "Ooh, don't you think you're overreacting a little, Twilight?"

Twilight knew Cozy was trying to make her mad on purpose and she forced herself to calm down. Still, she couldn't help growling a little at the odious little pony.

"You haven't changed a bit!" Cozy laughed. "You were always so stressed out before, and I guess you still are! It may look like things have changed, but really, they're the same as a decade ago! Hey, where's your detailed list of all the ways you're a pathetic pony princess?"

"Stop it!" Flurry cried. She couldn't bear to see Cozy treating her aunt like that. "You weren't supposed to insult ponies like that! Now I'll take away your wings."

Cozy smirked. "You keep on saying that, but you're not even doing it."

"Well, this time I will and you'll be sorry!"

"Flurry, maybe you should calm down. You know how Cozy's like," Twilight said, trying to prevent things from getting out of control.

"Yeah, Flurry. You're just like your pathetic aunt! Losers!"

"That's it! I've had enough of your insults!" Flurry yelled. She charged her horn with magic and blasted a spell at Cozy. The pegasus was caught off-guard and had no time to leap away.

Cozy screamed in pain. The spell lasted for several seconds. Twilight could only watch in shock as her niece performed the powerful spell.

When the magic was gone, Cozy's wings were hurting horribly. She looked down at them for any damage...and realized they weren't there anymore!

"You...you..."

Flurry instantly regretted doing what she just did. But she knew the spell lasted for twenty-four hours. She couldn't undo it until the afternoon tomorrow.

"I took away your wings, just like I said I would," Flurry said, trying to sound calm. She didn't want Cozy to know she regretted doing it. Cozy would think she was weak.

"Flurry, I think that's a little too much. Restore Cozy's wings right now."

"I can't, Auntie Twilight," Flurry said, her ears drooping at the stern tone of her aunt's usually friendly voice. "The spell lasts for twenty-four hours."

Twilight sighed. "I guess Cozy will just have to live without her wings until then."

"WHAT?! NO! No, no, this isn't happening!" Cozy screamed. "My wings..."

Flurry and Twilight exchanged nervous looks. Cozy seemed to be losing her mind. Flurry had never considered this before, but maybe Cozy had been in an accident when she was little and as a result, had a mental problem. Or something like that. A normal pony wouldn't be as...crazy as Cozy was right now.

Or maybe Flurry was thinking too hard. Cozy was probably just freaking out.

Twilight slowly walked towards the screaming no-winged pegasus. She gently wrapped a wing around her. "It's okay..."

"Get away from me!" Cozy screamed. She slapped Twilight's wing away. The princess was shocked.

"I hate you, you stupid pony princess!"

"Cozy, calm down!" Flurry said, starting to get really worried.

"You're a loser, just like Sunbutt and Moonbutt! Actually, you're even worse! You were totally fine with me being in stone, and didn't even try to say something in my defense! You ponies are all heartless!"

"I...didn't know how much it hurt you. I'm sorry..." Twilight said softly. She really did seem sorry, but apparently Cozy didn't think so.

"Oh, so now you're thinking about how your actions hurt me?! After ten years? Ugh! I just can't stand you!"

Cozy let out a crazy scream and tried to gallop out of the throne room. Unfortunately for her, Twilight and her niece quickly blocked the big doors.

"Um...Auntie Twilight? What do we do now...?" Flurry asked. She didn't want to sound dumb, but she really didn't know what to do at this point.

Twilight looked worried. "Honestly? I don't know. Maybe we should call Celestia and Luna? Or the others?" Flurry knew the others meant Twilight's seven friends: Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Starlight, and Spike.

Flurry was just considering her options when something happened, completely changing the equation. Cozy Glow collapsed in a heap on the floor. She didn't move.

"She fainted!" Flurry rushed forward and shook Cozy hard.

"Uhm. Should we dump water on her head?"

"No, I think we should leave her that way. She'll be easier to handle like this," Twilight said reasonably.

"Okay..."

"Let's get the princesses and the others. You go get your mother, and I'll get the other princesses and my friends," Twilight said, already coming up with a plan.

"Wait. What about Cozy?"

"I honestly have no idea at this point. I guess we could leave her here, but I don't trust her enough to do that. She might wake up."

"Where are your guards?"

Twilight looked embarrassed. "I dismissed them. I said they could have an early-"

Flurry sighed so loudly that Twilight flinched. "Okay. Okay. Let's consider our options. We can either leave Cozy here and get everypony. Or we can just stay here with Cozy. That's all I can think of-!"

Twilight thought for a few seconds, and then she nodded. "True. But I have another idea - do you have any friends who have already met Cozy in Ponyville? Maybe she could stay with them. If the friend agrees, that is."

"No, I don't think- oh, hey! Rumble's met Cozy. And I think he's already gotten over the shock and fear. He even helped me to try to find Cozy when we didn't know where she was. Cozy can stay with Rumble!"

Twilight smiled in relief. "That's a good idea. Let's teleport to Rumble's house and hope we don't scare him silly."

"Alright, Auntie Twilight. Remember to bring Cozy!"

They went to Cozy, careful not to wake her up. Twilight's horn was surrounded by magic, and Flurry closed her eyes. Two seconds later, they were at Rumble's house.

Suddenly, somepony screamed shrilly.

Chapter 6 - Confusion

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Chapter 7 - Sleepover

Sweetie Belle had always admired a certain pony in her life. At first, she thought she just liked him as a friend. But as they grew, she realized she didn't just like him. She liked him. She liked Rumble.

Of course, she kept it a secret. She was sure Rumble didn't like her back! Why would he, a very handsome and kind and loyal and friendly and...whatever stallion like an insecure pony like her? And confessing might even ruin their friendship. Rumble would obviously reject her!

But Sweetie thought she did a great job at hiding her feelings. She managed not to blush in front of him or stare at his cute face. She didn't say "um" too much when talking to him, either. Nopony knew the truth and she liked it that way.

Until now.

Could she risk lying in front of the Element of Honesty? She knew Applejack was right there, only a few feet away.

Sweetie Belle gulped and cleared her throat. She decided to stall. "Um...you see...oh, hey! It's an awesome day today! Wow, look at that sun!"

"Ya can stop tryin' to hold it off. And the sun ain't even up in the sky anymore," Applejack said, with a stern expression on her face. But Sweetie thought she saw a flicker of amusement in her eyes.

"O-of course I'm not doing that, I was just..."

Rarity suddenly jumped up with a start. "Oh, my stars! I forgot I was supposed to have a meeting with Silver Shine today! She is not going to be happy with me. I was supposed to meet her at sunset, and the sky's nearly dark already!" Silver Shine was somepony Rarity was going to have an interview with to join her fashion business.

Twilight looked alarmed. "You're right, Rarity! I'm sorry for-"

"Oh, it's all right, darling. And there's no time for that! I need to go right now!"

"I'll teleport with you. Where are you meeting Silver?"

Rarity gave the place. Then, she suddenly looked even more worried. "Oh, dear. I hope Silver won't be too surprised to have us just appear out of thin air."

"We'll just have to hope for the best," Twilight said, and with that and a short goodbye to everypony, they were off.

"Okay, so, what were we talking about again?" Rumble asked. Nopony seemed to remember, and Sweetie Belle sighed in relief. Saved by her sister...

Suddenly, there came a grunting sound from the corner of the room. Everypony turned at the same time...

To see Cozy Glow slowly opening her eyes, a shocked and dazed expression on her face.

"Yay! You finally woke up! Now we can PARTY TOGETHER!" Pinkie squealed.

Cozy shot daggers with her eyes at Pinkie. "Yeah, I don't think so..."

"Aw, man!" Pinkie's smile slid off her face, but she still looked pretty happy in general. It was in her eyes.

Applejack's reaction to Cozy waking up was the exact opposite of Pinkie Pie's. She glared at the pegasus and said, "Well, look who's here."

"I was here all along," Cozy replied smartly.

Rainbow Dash suddenly flew over to Cozy with a giant glare, and got right in front of Cozy's face. She was so close that their noses were touching, and Cozy could literally smell Rainbow. She smelled like clean air and rain and clouds. Better than she expected...but she still wrinkled her nose. Yuck. She'd never smelled somepony like this before, and it was weird.

"Don't you dare talk in that way to my friends!" Rainbow yelled.

Cozy remained calm. "Talk in what way?" she replied sweetly. Her "golly" act was back. "I was just stating a fact."

Rainbow Dash growled.

"Um, m-maybe you should calm down?" Fluttershy said cautiously. She didn't want to anger anypony, but she also didn't want ponies to get angry at each other...

Rainbow Dash looked back at Fluttershy. She sighed. "Okay. You're right, she's not somepony worth getting mad over."

Fluttershy sighed in relief. And then she blushed and smiled. Rainbow smiled back...

"Hey! Where are my wings?" Cozy asked, interrupting the little moment between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

Flurry grimaced. "Uh, what do you mean?"

Cozy rolled her eyes. "I mean..." Then she seemed to remember the events that had taken place earlier in the day. "Oh.''

"Um, yeah, sorry about that."

"Oh, it's fine! My wings aren't that important," Cozy smiled. But her voice was too sweet. Sometimes, Flurry actually preferred Angry and Crazy Cozy over Golly I'm Innocent Cozy. But there was an emphasis on sometimes.

Suddenly, Flurry remembered something. "Oh, no! I've been gone for a long time. My parents must be really worried about me - they don't know where I am. I have to go back to the Crystal Castle right now!"

"I have to come too, don't I," said Cozy. It wasn't even a question.

So Flurry didn't answer it. Instead, she said, "I'm sorry, but maybe we all could have another meeting tomorrow. Bye for now!"

...

"Wait, how are you going to get back?"

Flurry thought for a moment. "I mean, I can try teleporting..."

"You said your magic isn't strong enough," said Cozy. There was a hint of a mockery in her voice.

"I know, but-"

"I know! You can have a sleepover with me and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders at our place," said Sweetie Belle.

Flurry's eyes lit up. "You would let me do that?"

"Yeah! You're our friend."

Flurry smiled. "Thanks! I'll call and let my parents know where I am."

"You could have done that earlier. Then your mommy and daddy would have came running to pick you up, like they always do. Seeing as you're always so dependent on other ponies," Cozy sneered.

Flurry bit back a retort and smiled fakely. "Aw, it's okay. A sleepover with Sweetie Belle and the CMCs would be fun! And a good experience for you," she said to Cozy.

"Oh, okay. I sure am excited! Golly, do you think I'll make any new friends?"

Flurry just said, "Wings." And that shut Cozy up for a good couple of minutes.

"Hey, when do you think Sweetie's gonna be back?" Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom shrugged. "Ah don' know, but Ah expected her to be back earlier. At least before we said 'bye to Mint Chip. What is it with her and Rumble?"

Scootaloo smirked. "Are you jealous?"

"UGH!" Apple Bloom cringed at the thought. "Of course not!"

"Then why is your face turning the color of an apple?"

"'Cause Ah'm embarrassed at the thought of me an' Rumble. It's so gross! And Ah am being honest!"

Scootaloo giggled. "Are you sure about that?"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Ah'll get it! It's probably Sweetie," Apple Bloom said, happy to escape from Scootaloo and her merciless teasing.

"It better be," Scootaloo warned. "Or I'm gonna punch Sweetie's lights out when she gets back. If she even does."

When Apple Bloom opened the door, she was instantly relieved. Sweetie Belle was there! And Flurry Heart, even. Maybe they could all have a sleepover together!

But her smile slid off her face when she saw who was behind Sweetie and Flurry. There was an earth pony with scarlet eyes, a pink coat, a light-blue mane...wait, those were the colors of Cozy Glow! But it couldn't possibly be her. The evil pegasus was still trapped in stone in the castle garden, far, far away in Canterlot. And Apple Bloom was pretty sure Cozy Glow was a pegasus, not an earth pony.

"Hey, Sweetie! Hi, Flurry! And yer name is...?" Apple Bloom said, looking towards the Cozy Glow lookalike.

"I'm Cozy Glow. Wanna be friends? Friendship is power! Wait—and also magic, of course!"

"Heh, very funny. But for real now, what's yer name? And how come ya look so much like Cozy Glow?"

Flurry Heart and Sweetie Belle both sighed at the same time. Flurry muttered something like, "I don't want to explain again," though Apple Bloom wasn't sure she actually said that.

"I'll explain this time," Sweetie Belle said.

"Whew, thanks!" Flurry replied. Then she looked at Apple Bloom. "Um, would you mind if Sweetie, Cozy, and I have a sleepover with you girls? Sweetie agreed."

"Of course Ah wouldn't mind! Actually, Ah was thinkin' of having a sleepover the moment Ah saw ya gals at the door!" Apple Bloom smiled. "But Ah need to know who that Cozy Glow lookalike really is, first."

"We'll explain everything once we get inside," Sweetie said.

Flurry nudged her. "You mean, you will explain," she reminded her friend.

"Right." Sweetie Belle sighed, and once again, Apple Bloom wondered what all the fuss was over explaining...something. What could be so bad about that? But she welcomed the three ponies inside the Cutie Mark Crusaders' house (giving the Cozy Glow lookalike a suspicious glance as she went in).

Once everypony was settled in and Apple Bloom managed to stop Scootaloo from hurtling a million questions at Sweetie and Flurry, they began their story.

Chapter 8 - Forgiveness?

"And that's the end of the story," Sweetie Belle said, her eyes drooping in boredom despite the interesting events in the story. Flurry Heart nodded, and Cozy didn't say anything. The pegasus had a bored expression on her face. Neither Sweetie nor Flurry could blame her.

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom sat in shock for a few moments. The latter was the first one to recover. She shook her head a few times, and opened her mouth to say something.

Scootaloo beat her to it. "So are you all saying that Cozy Glow, Public Enemy Number One, a pony who faked being friends with the CMC and me and tried taking over Equestria two times, is sitting right here in the room as me?! Is that what your saying? IS IT?!" The orange pegasus was nearly trembling with anger.

"Whoa there, Scoots, calm down!" Apple Bloom said, trying to put her hoof on her friend's shoulder. Scootaloo pushed Apple Bloom's hoof away and started walking slowly towards Cozy. And if looks could kill, with the look Scootaloo was giving her, Cozy would've been a goner.

Scootaloo kept on advancing on the pink pegasus until she was huddled in a corner with an expression on her face that looked like fear. Sweetie Belle could've sworn she heard Cozy whimper, but she decided to dismiss the thought.

"You...you nasty little...AGH! YOU THINK YOU CAN MANIPULATE US?! Well, think again!" Scootaloo screamed at Cozy.

"Scootaloo, calm down! This is goin' a lil' too far..." Apple Bloom tried to pull Scootaloo away from Cozy Glow, but the angry pegasus didn't budge. Not one inch.

Flurry and Sweetie exchanged worried glances. Should I...? Flurry asked Sweetie through her facial expression. Sweetie nodded. Her countenance said, You should.

Flurry used her magic and dragged Scootaloo away from Cozy while she screamed, "Let me at her! Let me at her!"

"I think we should have...a talk...with Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said.

"LET ME AT THAT BI-"

"Yeah, Ah think we should," Apple Bloom agreed with Sweetie Belle.

With the help of Flurry Heart, the ponies managed to contain Scootaloo and drop her in another bedroom sort of room. Flurry shut the door behind her and heard somepony lock it. Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom, probably. And then Flurry Heart and Cozy Glow were left alone.

Flurry decided to also have a talk with Cozy, like the Cutie Mark Crusaders were doing with Scootaloo. Though she imagined it would be ten times harder and more awkward with (mostly) calm Cozy than angry Scootaloo.

Technically, she wasn't wrong...

"Um...hi?" Flurry started. Then she mentally slapped herself. That sounded so, so shy and lame. And it sounded like Flurry wasn't sure of herself. She was not a shy, unconfident pony. She was brave Flurry Heart, the daughter of two very powerful ponies, future ruler of the Crystal Empire, and an alicorn at birth. Also, she was the only pony brave (and kind) enough to free Cozy Glow. She should act more like herself. But Cozy Glow made her feel so shy and awkward. Somehow Flurry didn't think it was because Cozy was kind of a villain. She didn't exactly know why, though.

"Hi." Cozy's flat and bored voice shook Flurry out of her thoughts.

"So..." Flurry didn't know how to start this conversation. She decided to not beat around the bush and get to the point. "I've been noticing something a little weird. Sometimes you act innocent and kind, but other times you're kind of...angry and...crazy...?" she said, getting quieter with each word. Why did she say that?

"So can you please just...um...try to be more, I don't know, stable?" Flurry said nervously. "I mean, there's no need to try faking a personality. Just be yourself. Not your evil self, obviously."

Half a second later, Flurry hit herself in the head several million times. Mentally. She was such an idiot. Why the buck did she say that to Cozy? What was she even thinking? She'd explained it in such a weird way, even. Flurry wished the ground would swallow her in a giant, black void and never spit her out.

But Cozy only shrugged. "Well, golly, if that's what you want, then sure. I'm glad to do things for my very best friends. Like you!" She smiled sweetly.

Flurry giggled. She loved it when Cozy smiled at her, even though it was fake...wait, what?! What was she thinking?! Had she just giggled? That was so immature! And Cozy was trying to manipulate her.

Flurry put her hoof to her mouth. "Oops! Sorry, Cozy, I don't know why I giggled..."

Cozy just smirked victoriously. "Oh, it's fine, Flurry. I know that I'm really, really, cute."

"Magic kindergarten cute, yes, at times," Flurry admitted. She blushed. She didn't know, but she had a goofy grin on her face. Cozy noticed, though, and raised an eyebrow.

Huh. I wonder why Flurry's acting so weird around me, Cozy thought. She was an intelligent pony, obviously, and didn't take long to notice and realize things ponies might want to hide, but because she had never been shown love before her whole life, she had no idea what was going on with Flurry. So she decided to wait and observe.

"So what should we do now? Apple Blossom, Scooter Blue, and Sweetie Belle are still talking, and it doesn't look like they're gonna be finished any time soon," Cozy said.

"Um, first of all, it's Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. And second, I have no idea what to do," Flurry said. She was surprised Cozy didn't remember Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's names correctly. After all, they had been friends before Cozy became evil, or that's what Flurry heard from the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Nopony knew if she'd been evil from the start, or became evil along the way.

Cozy's voice shook Flurry out of her thoughts. "I guess we can chat."

"Good idea. We could, like, get to know each other better. So. Um...what's your favorite animal?"

"Alicorn."

"I mean, an animal that's not a pony."

"Okay, then raven."

Flurry frowned at this. Doesn't the raven symbolize pain, melancholiness, and death? she thought. "That's kind of...emo," Flurry said out loud without realizing it. Then she facehoofed. Ugh, why was she always saying the wrong things in front of Cozy Glow? She probably just liked ravens because of how they looked or something. She probably didn't even know what they symbolized.

Meanwhile, Cozy was trying hard not to laugh. Her expression read, lol wut- and her eyes actually looked bright and happy for a few seconds. But just then, the door to the room where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were flew open and instantly Cozy Glow was back to her normal, emo(?) self.

Scootaloo looked somewhere between angry and ashamed. Flurry and Cozy were both staring at her, but Scootaloo didn't seem to notice. She glared at Cozy slightly.

Apple Bloom had her hoof on Scootaloo's back, like she was trying to calm her down, and Sweetie Belle cast a nervous look at the pegasus.

There was an awkward silence as the CMC stood on one side of the hallway, and Flurry and Cozy stood on the other side. Finally, Scootaloo spoke up. "First of all, I want to make it VERY clear that I do not forgive Cozy for the things she has done, and I probably never will."

Cozy almost flinched, but managed to keep a bored expression on her face.

"But...Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom here made me realize I was wrong to lash out at Cozy, and, um..."

"Say it," Apple Bloom said.

"I'm sorry," Scootaloo choked out. Then she looked away.

"It's fine," said Cozy. "I mean, it's not like you scared me or anything. It was just surprising how easily you can get angry. Like, golly gee! You weren't like this before."

Scootaloo took a deep breath and grit her teeth. She really didn't want to get mad again, but...oh, why was Cozy so aggravating? "I, um, I...I said I was sorry!"

Cozy flashed her a bitter, sarcastic smile. "Are you, though?"

"Um, girls? Maybe we should go to sleep now," Sweetie Belle said, trying to avoid a fight.

"This early?" Cozy said.

"Yeah. Ah mean, it's healthier to sleep early and wake early, right?" Apple Bloom said.

"Sure, I guess. Good night," Scootaloo said, and stalked away.

Apple Bloom showed Cozy Glow her room, and Sweetie walked away to hers. Flurry Heart had had a sleepover with the CMC before, and knew where she should sleep.

After everypony was in bed, Sweetie magically turned off all the lights (except for the night-lights), and everypony went to sleep.

Author's Note

Is Cozy Glow emo? I wonder...
Bonus picture: The girls in the room (Ignore Cozy's wings)

Chapter 9 - Darkness

Flurry Heart tossed and turned, getting tangled up in the sheets. Her bed was comfortable and very cozy, but she was having trouble sleeping. Her brain kept on thinking random, nonsense thoughts. Plus, it was so hot.

Did somepony cast a heat spell? I feel like I'm in an oven, she thought.

I'm hungry.

Can everypony hear my stomach?

Should I use my magic to cool myself down?

Should I get out of bed?

Should I go raid the fridge?

Flurry rolled her eyes at that last thought. She turned over and checked the time.

It was three in the morning.

Oh, ponyfeathers.

Flurry hopped out of bed, swung her door open quickly (slowly opening a door caused it to creak more likely, she had learned), and crept down the hallway. She tiptoed down the stairs. The sound of somepony's snores filled the air. Flurry smirked. They would never wake up even if she jumped and screamed and hollered. Well, except Apple Bloom, who was a light sleeper, but still.

Flurry was still cautious, though. No need to take unnecessary risks.

She opened the door and breathed in the fresh air. Stars twinkled in the night sky. Flurry closed the door behind her and smiled as she looked around Ponyville. Everypony was sleeping, except for her, and there were no lights on in any of the houses. It was kind of nice, actually, and pretty peaceful. She felt like the whole entire town of Ponyville was hers to roam.

Flurry started walking around. The refreshing night air helped her cool down, and she felt better, physically and mentally. She stopped sweating, and her brain stopped asking stupid questions and thinking stupid things.

Flurry closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The air smelled sweet. She sighed happily.

Her moment of tranquility was shattered by a muffled scream. Flurry's eyes popped open and she looked around to see where the noise came from.

She didn't see anything. Strangely, though, the air near her right looked darker and more ominous. She looked there, but didn't see anything except that strange darkness...

Then, as quick as thought, everything went black. Flurry's eyes went wide, but she didn't see anything except that awful darkness, blocking out the moon and stars and sky-

Did I pass out?

No, I'm still thinking and my eyes are open.

What happened?

Where am I?

Where's the moon and stars?

Am I dead?

Flurry blinked and blinked again. She moistened her lips.

She was pretty sure she wasn't dead, and was still conscious, but...what?

Flurry could only think of one explanation: this was all a dream. But then that theory was proven to be false when she slapped herself, and cried out in pain.

She didn't even remember what had happened. All she remembered was that there was a sort of darkness next to her, and then this happened. Did it swallow her? What was the cause of this darkness, anyway?

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice. "I won't let you swallow me up, stupid dumb darkness thing!" It was Cozy Glow!

Everything and everypony hates you. Even the animals. You're a villain. The only reason that Flurry mare freed you was to impress her parents, a strange voice replied.

What? Flurry thought. No, that's not true. Well, I mean, the second part is partly true, but I also freed Cozy to...well, let her be free!

"Who are you? Who's there? And who are you talking to?" Flurry asked out loud.

The voice spoke to her. Well, well, well. Look who we have here. A young, vulnerable alicorn for me to take. And Flurry swore that it would've smirked, if it could.

Flurry flared out her wings. "I'm not going down without a fight!" She blasted magic at the darkness. It started disappearing in that area, and she saw a few stars in the night sky. But then the darkness was back.

Huh, Flurry thought. What if...what if I blast away all the darkness? She proceeded to shoot small blasts of magic everywhere around her. The darkness melted away, but only for a few seconds. But it was enough.

Flurry gasped as she saw a pony struggling against the darkness, which was swirling around her and whispering into her mind. That pony was, apparently, Cozy Glow. And Cozy didn't look scared or anything. Oh, sure, she looked frustrated, and really, really angry, but not even the tiniest bit of fear showed on her face.

Cozy thrashed and kicked and screamed and bit. She was putting up quite a struggle, but Flurry knew she wouldn't last long against this awful, magical darkness. It was up to Flurry Heart to save her.

With difficulty, blasting magic in front of her, she walked (though it was more like floating in the darkness) to where Cozy was. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered why the darkness wasn't attacking her like that. Wasn't she a better target? She was an alicorn princess, after all. And Cozy was only a half-evil, half-maybe-reformed pegasus. Also, what was Cozy doing here, anyway? But there were more important things to think about, and she pushed the thoughts away for later.

"...Cozy?"

Cozy glared at her. "Well?" she said, with the tiniest quiver in her voice. "Aren't you gonna do something, Princess?"

Flurry felt indignant. "Well, I'm trying to make a pla- AHHH!" Flurry screamed as wisps of darkness, like forelegs, almost, wrapped around her and started pulling her away. She spread out her wings and blasted magic. The darkness let go of her, but she knew it would come back soon. But she couldn't defend herself forever. Besides, she had to save Cozy.

Flurry screwed her eyes shut and surrounded herself with a ball of magic. That would keep her safe for a few seconds, maybe even a minute or two, and give her time to think. She hit her head repeatedly with her hoof. Think, Flurry, think, she yelled at herself mentally, but she had no ideas. She couldn't think straight. She was scared, confused, worried, stressed...

Then, suddenly, like magic, an idea popped into her head.

Once upon a time, when she'd been a little filly, she had read a book of spells. Most of them were impossible to learn at that age, even if the learner was a powerful alicorn like her, but there was one she liked to imagine herself performing those spells when she grew up.

One of them was a spell to transmit a portion of your strength to another pony. It couldn't be too much strength, for obvious reasons, but...still.

The spell worked best in life-or-death situations, which, more or less, described this situation.

Should I cast the spell? Flurry mentally asked herself.

She doubted she had enough strength to use more magic, let alone share enough strength to save Cozy, but she had to at least try.

Besides, time was running out. The magic was disappearing around her...

Flurry Heart's horn lit up, and she started casting the spell. She thought of Cozy Glow, and she envisioned a part of her strength leaving her and going to Cozy. Just enough to save her and get them both out of here, out of this darkness.

She channeled her thoughts into her magic and blasted it at Cozy. Cozy's eyes widened as she was filled with strength, and she managed to dispel the darkness around her. It was quickly coming back, though.

Then Flurry had an idea. Maybe, working together, they could make a hole in the darkness big enough for them to go out of! It might not work, of course, and Flurry thought it was a crazy idea, but crazy times like this called for crazy ideas.

She whispered the idea to Cozy, who seemed to think about it for a few seconds, and then nodded her head. "It's not such a bad idea. Heck, it might even work. Let's try it." She swatted away a tendril of darkness trying to wrap itself around her, and started punching at the darkness, making it disappear. Flurry also helped, blasting magic everywhere, until she realized something. They had to dispel the darkness at the same place, not at different places, or else they'd never make a hole big enough for them to go through.

She told Cozy, who nodded and facehoofed. "Stupid me. Should've thought of it earlier." And, without being aware of it, they worked as a team. It was tiring and hard work, but Flurry somehow felt really good. Finally, finally, she was kinda sorta being friends with Cozy! Or as close as friends you could be with somepony like her.

Eventually, after what seemed liked hours and hours, they created a hole just barely big enough to fit them both. Flurry smiled in satisfaction. A few more blasts of magic and she and Cozy could fit through. But suddenly, almost as quick as the darkness had came, Flurry's bright magic shut off. She gasped as a wave of exhaustion hit her. It was all she could do to stay conscious.

Flurry realized that it was the strength spell she had performed. She had forgotten something important to consider before casting the spell. Around ten to twenty minutes after you gave away your strength, you had to take on the same amount of the other pony’s burden. It only lasted a few minutes, and the spellbook had said, Flurry recalled, that it usually wouldn’t affect you. But it really depended on how much pain the pony receiving your strength had, and how much strength you had given him or her.

And Cozy Glow, apparently, had a ton of pain bottled up inside her.

Flurry could barely breathe. It felt like inhaling sharp thorns. She was too weak to even blast a little magic. She almost was too weak to think.

Also, she felt depressed, terribly angry, and so, so helpless and hopeless.

If this was only a fraction of Cozy Glow’s pain, how could she bear it all the time?

She forced herself to get up and tried to blast some magic, but she couldn’t. It was hopeless. She and Cozy were going to die out here, and it would all be her fault…

No. She couldn’t give up like this. She had to at least try. She wasn’t going to die like a coward.

“Cozy!” she yelled. “We’re going to have to jump out the hole! Now!”

She expected Cozy to ask some questions, but the brave pegasus simply nodded and attempted to squeeze herself through the hole. She barely made it. But the hole was getting smaller by the second…

Flurry leaped through. For a second, it seemed like she would make it, but the darkness started pulling her back, and she didn’t have enough strength to resist. She went limp and let the darkness take her.

At least she could die knowing she had saved Cozy. Flurry almost smiled at the thought. But then she sobered. She didn’t want to die! She’d had a whole life ahead of her. Why did her future have to be destroyed like that?!

Suddenly, Flurry felt herself being pulled away from the darkness by strong hooves. She gasped in surprise.

Cozy Glow was saving her! Slowly, painfully, Flurry was pulled out of the hole and she landed in the wet grass, panting and sweating. The darkness had completely disappeared, and Flurry wondered if she and Cozy had imagined it. But it had felt too real to be a figment of their imagination.

"Wow," Flurry said. "Um, thanks for saving me. That was really...nice."

Cozy shrugged. "Well, I couldn't just let you die."

Flurry was glad to hear that. At least Cozy wasn't completely evil. But she didn't have time to think about Cozy's progress, because there were a lot more things on her mind, and questions she had. She decided to start with the simplest. "So, um...do you know how you got that burst of strength?"

Cozy nodded. "A strength spell. It gave me some of your strength, and in return, I gave you some of my pain. Simple."

"How do you know?"

"I studied magic."

"When?"

"...At the school."

"What school?"

"The School of Friendship."

"Oh. Right. Why?"

"I needed to know stuff about magical artifacts, so when I finished learning all I could about them, I was bored and decided to read a spellbook. You know, to prepare me for alicornhood." Cozy smirked.

Flurry sighed. "Okay. Do you have any idea what that darkness thing was?"

Cozy shook her head. "No. But it was kind of giving out King Sombra vibes. Trust me, I know the guy."

It suddenly occurred to Flurry that this might be the Sombra relative her parents were talking about. She had almost forgotten about it.

This made her scared. If the Sombra-relative/darkness thing had come all the way to Ponyville to attack her and Cozy, what was stopping it from going to the Crystal Empire? Or anywhere, actually. And somehow, Flurry knew that if it attacked again, blasting magic and casting spells wouldn't work. Their magic would disappear, just like on that night she freed Cozy.

She had to warn her parents. She had to warn everypony. But she didn't want to. She knew it was the right thing to do, but if her parents found out about this, they'd never let her put a hoof outside the castle, and she'd have guards with her everywhere. Flurry shivered at the thought.

"Let's not tell my parents," she told Cozy. "Or, anypony, for that matter. Please."

Cozy shrugged again. "Okay. I wasn't planning to, anyway."

Flurry nodded.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. Then Flurry asked, "What were you doing out here late at night in the first place?"

Cozy looked like she was panicking. "Um, same as you. Just taking a walk, clearing my mind. That kind of stuff. Of course."

"Oh." Flurry got the feeling that she was lying, but didn't press her. She doubted that Cozy would actually tell her the truth, anyway. "Okay."

There was an awkward silence. Cozy lay down on the grass and looked at the night sky. Starlight shone down on her face, and Flurry couldn't help but stare. Usually, she thought Cozy actually looked adorable, but now she just looked stunning.

She's beautiful, Flurry thought without realizing it.

Cozy's eyes flicked to Flurry. "Um, like, why are you staring at me?"

"I am?"

"You were."

"Sorry."

"Okay, but like why?"

Flurry blushed. The real question was, Why did she suddenly feel so weird around Cozy?

"I don't know."

"Oh. Golly. Well, okay, then."

Another awkward silence fell over them, like an uncomfortable, itchy blanket.

Flurry lay down next to Cozy and they looked up at the sky together. It was slowly getting brighter, and Flurry could feel the dawn coming. Phew. Flurry had never been scared of the dark before, but now she sort of was. Maybe she'd ask for a night-light or something when she got back to the castle.

The sun was rising now, and it made Flurry suddenly remembered something. "Oh, no. What time is it? We should really be getting back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' house."

Cozy sprang up. "Golly! I totally forgot. You're right for once - we need to get back!" She went to spread out her wings, but realized they still weren't there, so she raced away on hoof, not bothering to see if Flurry had followed.

"Wait for me!" Flurry yelled. She flew after Cozy, quickly catching up with her.

The pair soon reached the house, and Flurry breathed a sigh of relief. But then she frowned. Something wasn't right. Why were all the lights on?

She and Cozy walked over to the door. Flurry was about to knock on it when she realized it was...open? But she'd closed it when she went out, she was sure of that!

Flurry and Cozy entered to see...chaos. Seriously, Discord couldn't have planned it better himself (or was he the one who did this?) Couches and tables were overturned, and cuss words were flying about. A glass vase had been broken, the fake flowers inside had been trampled on and spread all over the floor, and Flurry thought she saw a rock-shaped hole in one of the windows. Pictures had been knocked over, including one of Rarity and her little sister, one of Sweetie Belle's favorites.

And that was only the living room.

Flurry decided to go find the CMC and ask them why the place looked like a tornado had gone through it, but just then an orange blur flew into the room. It was Scootaloo.

When Scootaloo saw Cozy and Flurry, still standing at the door in shock, she gasped and her mouth fell open. Then she sighed loudly. In relief, probably, Flurry thought, but why?

Scootaloo yelled to the ceiling, "Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle! They're at the door!" Soon, the two ponies came running from upstairs and to the living room. There, they gaped at Flurry and Cozy. Then Sweetie Belle got up on her hind legs and crossed her forelegs.

"Okay," she said sternly, unlike the sweet pony she was. "Okay. I need you two to explain exactly what is happening and why you two were missing and what you were doing in your absence. Right now. The whole entire truth. And if Apple Bloom here thinks you're lying, or if Scootaloo does, or if I do, I swear I will go get Twilight - at five thirty in the morning, yes - and tell her to lock you up in Tartarus. Both of you. And she might even do it, because she'll be so mad for somepony disturbing her in her sleep that she'll want to take care of the problem immediately and go back to her peaceful slumber. I actually will do it. So you two better just take it easy and tell the truth. And I want details."

"Now."

Author's Note

Sheesh- calm down, Sweetie....

Chapter 10 - Discovery

They spent a good chunk of the day there, explaining to the Cutie Mark Crusaders everything that had happened. At one point, when the crusaders were discussing one event and analyzing everything, or something like that, Cozy whispered to Flurry, "Well, I guess I still can't say a word to them."

"Why not?" Flurry asked, suddenly realizing Cozy had, indeed, been silent this whole time.

"Because you told me to not tell the crusaders. And I said yes. And friends keep their promises." She grinned.

Flurry rolled her eyes and playfully punched Cozy. "Shut up. You can tell them."

Cozy Glow smirked and opened her mouth to retort, but then Apple Bloom said, "Ah don't get it. What was that darkness thing?"

"That's just it. I- I don't know," Flurry said. She had decided not to tell them about her theory that this was a relative of Sombra. That would just unnecessarily scare them, and Flurry didn't need that.

"Shouldn't we warn everypony?" Sweetie Belle asked. "What if it attacks again?"

"No! It's fine! It won't attack again, I'm telling you! It even said that to me," Flurry said quickly, her voice rising as she panicked.

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. "What exactly did it say?"

"Um, it said, 'Now, little princess, this is the only time that I will attack you and your funny little pegasus friend with no wings. I am simply messing with you. One last game before I leave Equestria...forever. So you better make it worth it." Flurry smiled internally as she praised herself on telling such a good, believable lie, but she kept her actual expression solemn. She even shivered a little, to make it even more believable. Good job, Flurry.

Cozy looked at her strangely and raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Scootaloo genuinely looked worried about them, even Cozy. Apple Bloom nodded, showing that she believed Flurry, and Sweetie Belle neighed in fear.

"What if you hadn't thought of that spell? What if Cozy didn't pull you out? What if any little thing had gone wrong and you two didn't get out?" Sweetie asked, actually shivering in fear.

"It's okay, Sweetie. It's not coming back, and what matters is that Cozy and I are fine," Flurry said, putting a hoof on Sweetie's back. "We all are safe."

"What I don't believe is how Cozy Glow saved you, Flurry," Scootaloo said, her eyes darting from the princess to the pegasus. "Or that she saved you at all."

"Well, I may be evil, but I don't want ponies to die," said Cozy, sounding offended.

Scootaloo's eyes widened with fury. "Really? Really? Yeah, sure. So I guess when you were busy draining magic from Equestria, you didn't think how it would effect the pegasi. Some of them were walking on clouds, or flying! And then they fell, hundreds of feet." She brushed away a tear. "A lot of ponies died. Because of you. You're a monster!"

"I'm not! Ponies didn't die. It was all planned without a single mistake. You're lying," Cozy said. "You're lying, you're lying, you're lying. Nopony died! ...Right?"

"Ponies did die. You're just too evil to care! Stop pretending you would!" Scootaloo yelled. "You didn't hear about Snowlight, did you?"

"Who's Snowlight?"

"Snowlight Cloudshine was my friend. She was on a cloud at that time, with her unicorn friend Galaxy Cluster. Galaxy was magically walking on the cloud. When magic disappeared, when you made it disappear...she and Galaxy fell. And nopony saw. Snowlight and Galaxy died. Because of you."

"No," Cozy said. "No, no, no. You're lying. You think that'll make me all goopy and weepy and sorry? No. I don't believe your lies. No one died. NO ONE."

"She's not lyin'," Apple Bloom said. "We saw...the bodies...at the funeral."

"YOU'RE LYING! I did not make anypony die."

Flurry squirmed. She was too young to remember what had happened when Cozy had drained all the magic from Equestria, but her parents had told her stories. Nopony had told her about this, though. Was Cozy actually a murderer?

"Um, no offense, but Apple Bloom is a terrible liar, and we'd know if she was lying. And I can tell you that she's not. Neither is Scootaloo. Besides, why would we lie about something as serious as death?" Sweetie Belle spoke up.

Cozy's eyes were on fire. "Because you're all idiots!" She suddenly pushed past them, flung open the door, and galloped outside. Sweetie Belle gasped, Scootaloo grit her teeth, and Apple Bloom shook her head disapprovingly.

Flurry was frantic. "I've got to go after her! She's my responsibility. Stay here - I'll be back in an hour." With that, she sprinted out, hooves clopping on the ground. Soon she was airborne.

"Oh, no you won't! Get your rump back here, Flurry Heart!" Scootaloo yelled. She turned to the Crusaders. "Wait here, okay? I need to go after Flurry." In a hurry, before the Cutie Mark Crusaders could protest, Scootaloo got on her scooter, the same one she'd had as a filly (which was why it barely fit her anymore). Flapping her tiny wings, she gave chase to Flurry, who she could still see in the sky.

"Flurry! Get back down here! Who cares about Cozy Glow? Just let her get lost," Scootaloo shouted.

Flurry screeched to a stop in the air. She looked down at Scootaloo. Then she shook her head. "Please go back, Scootaloo. Cozy's my responsibility, not yours. And I need to make sure she doesn't hurt anypony - and ponies don't hurt her."

Scootaloo groaned. "Come on, Flurry. She's not worth it."

"Sorry, Scoots." Flurry turned away and flapped her big wings, propelling herself forward and leaving a very annoyed Scootaloo behind.

Flurry scanned the little town of Ponyville. Cozy Glow could be anywhere. But she couldn't have gotten too far, right? She wouldn't have her wings back until...

Until around noon.

Oh, no.

Flurry checked the Ponyville clock tower.

It was 11:58. Cozy Glow would get her wings back in two minutes. Then she'd be free to go wherever she pleased.

Flurry flew as fast as she could (which was pretty fast) around Ponyville, looking into every corner, every shop, and every home. But there was still no sign of Cozy. She even dared ask a few ponies, but they all said they hadn't seen her.

That meant Cozy Glow wasn't in Ponyville. But where could she be? She probably wasn't going to go back to Canterlot again, or any other town for that matter. Flurry had a feeling she'd stay near Ponyville.

The only possible place Cozy could have gone, then, was the Everfree Forest.

And that meant Flurry had to go in after her.

Author's Note

Sorry about the short chapter.
And now my story has exactly 18,000 words. Yay?

Chapter 11 - Flight

Cozy plunged into the forest, barely able to hold it in. She let out a cry of anguish and ran faster. Tears blurred her vision, and she didn't know where she was going. She didn't care.

Unlike other ponies, Cozy Glow wasn't afraid of the Everfree Forest. She found it rather comforting, actually. When she was still a little filly running away from her abusive parents (only to return home after a few hours), she always went to her own special place deep in the Everfree Forest. It was her safe place, where she could ignore her worries and just calm down.

Without knowing it, that was exactly where she ended up when she at last could not run any longer and rested, panting and sweating.

She took a moment to realize that. Then she frowned in disapproval, despite the feeling of tranquility that was now settling over her. Why'd she run here? Yes, this little area did make her feel better, but only fillies cried and ran away like two-year-old babies when they were scared of something.

"I'm not scared of anything," Cozy said to herself.

The wind howled, as if laughing at her for trying to believe that.

Cozy grunted in response, deep in thought.

Her mom had always said, when confronted with a bad situation, cowards take flight and strong ponies fight. And Cozy had, quite literally, taken flight. Did that make her a coward? Well, golly, this was bad.

Then she got mad at herself for even caring about what her stupid mom thought. She's probably dead, anyway. Why do I care what she thinks?

Cozy sighed. This was all too confusing. She needed a moment to think. She decided to swim in that little pond near her place. She'd even drank some of its water before, and nothing had happened to her, so it must be clean. Probably.

It dawned on her that she hadn't bathed in, like, ten years. Ewww. Why didn't she bathe at the Crystal Castle? Or at the CMCs' house?

Cozy started walking. Within a few minutes, the pond came in sight. Without a second thought, Cozy dove in.

The water was colder than she expected, but she would get used to it soon. Besides, it was a sunny day. Cozy dunked her head a few times and swam further out. It was a small pond, but Cozy liked it.

The water was refreshing and cleared her mind a bit. It was time to think.

Were the Crusaders actually telling the truth? Well, I think they were. Apple Bloom kind of is a horrible liar. Why didn't they tell me earlier? Eh, probably too stupid to remember. Did I actually kill Snowlight and Galaxy? Am I a murderer? And as a filly, even! Okay, but why do I feel so bad? I'm supposed to be evil. This is weird...

On second thought, maybe Cozy shouldn't think. Too confusing. Her intelligent brain felt like it was going to explode.

Cozy sighed. She was perplexed. Why was she suddenly feeling so un-evil? Why didn't she hate the ponies as much as she should? Why did she feel bad for Snowlight and Galaxy? Why was everything so confusing?

And a million other questions.

Cozy suddenly realized she was getting a little cold, so she dunked her head one more time and trudged out of the pond.

"Cozy! Where are you?"

Cozy's eyes went wide. She turned her head left and right. Nopony was there. Then she heard the sound of flapping, and looked up.

Princess Flurry Heart was hovering in the air above her. Cozy tried to hide in the pond, but it was too late. The alicorn had seen her.

"Cozy!" Flurry said, landing next to the sopping wet pegasus. "Where were you? What happened?"

Cozy sighed. "I was right here the whole time. And nothing happened, I just wanted to, y'know, take a dip."

Flurry raised an eyebrow, about to ask more. Then she noticed the pond behind Cozy, and gasped audibly. "Cozy, that's the Good Pond!"

"What do you mean?"

"The Good Pond," Flurry said, instantly going into Twilight mode. "The Good Pond is a small yet legendary pond rumored to be in the Everfree Forest. Folks say that just being near it makes you feel better, which is what gave it its name. Um, and it said that only ponies with a pure heart can find it, and then only at times when they really need it. Not sure what that means..." Flurry looked at Cozy awkwardly. Both of them knew exactly what that meant, but Flurry continued. "Well, anyway, it said, um, if that pony with a pure heart finds it, then his or her friend can find it, too...if they're really true friends of that pony..."

Golly, this was getting more awkward by the second.

The idiot princess kept on going, though. "I thought it was just an old mare's tale. But...you found it!" She smiled. "That's amazing!"

Cozy shrugged. "It probably still is an old mare's tale. I mean, I found this old thing when I was four and a half."

Flurry actually teleported a few feet in surprise. "WHAT! You're kidding!"

"Am not."

"That is AWESOME!"

"No it's not. It's just an old pond."

Flurry shook her head. "Don't question the magic and power of the Good Pond. It's so powerful...that...um..."

"What?" Cozy asked.

"If you drink the water of the Good Pond...well, it's not really meant to be drank, and..."

Oh, no. "And what?"

"It'll turn you evil." Flurry shuddered. "Well, if the pony who drinks it accepts the evil, of course. But they wouldn't have a pure heart if they accepted it, right? But sometimes the pond allows a few ponies to find it, just because it feels bad for them, not because they have a pure heart, though they might. And that is how sometimes ponies can turn evil because of the Good Pond. At least, that's what the story said."

"It is not a real story," Cozy said, growing more scared by the moment.

"It is!" Flurry shouted.

"Is not!" Cozy insisted.

"Why isn't it?" Flurry challenged.

"Um, because..."

"It is a real story. See, the pond's glowing with magic. Like the story said." And this time, Cozy didn't even try to deny it. She knew that Flurry spoke the truth. And that bucking terrified her.

If I actually drank the water when I was four, which I did, and if that old mare's tale is actually true, which it is...

...am I actually evil at all?

For a second, Cozy thought it was a beautiful idea, a wonderful dream. Then she caught herself.

Of course I'm evil! I don't have a pure heart at all. I was just so pathetic that the pond let me find it, and then I, thankfully, drank some water from it, and accepted the evil. And that was very bad, and very evil of me to do that. Phew! Of course I'm evil. Yes, that must be it. Obviously.

But Cozy still wasn't convinced. She needed to do some research. But how could she come up with an excuse so Flurry wouldn't grow suspicious?

Then Cozy had a brilliant idea. She would ask Flurry in the name of Twilight! She knew Twilight would definitely approve of her going to the library. Twilight was a huge nerd. And she knew Flurry loved her aunt so much she would do anything that she said.

But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she wouldn't find anything more than what Flurry had told her. The feeling grew and gnawed at her so much that she decided to just call off the whole trip to the library. Besides, she didn't want the librarian to freak out over her and have a heart attack. Wait, when did she care about other ponies having heart attacks? Oh, whatever.

Cozy asked Flurry, "Okay, this is totally hypothetical. Say that I drank some of the water, and then drank more later. Would that affect me? Totally hypothetical. Just curious."

Flurry looked suspicious, but she answered. "Nope. The story says so."

"Oh, okay." Cozy almost sighed with relief. Then she became confused. Why was she relieved? She should be disappointed. Didn't she want to be more evil?

Honestly, she didn't really know what she wanted anymore.

"Well...we should be getting back," Flurry pointed out. "After we tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders what happened, we can..."

"Please, Flurry. I'm begging you as a potential friend, please don't tell the Crusaders!" Cozy blurted out, rather suddenly.

Flurry looked at her. "Um, okay. I guess, if you want to keep it between us two."

Huh. That was easy. "Golly, thank you so much, you don't know how much I-"

"That's enough," Flurry cut her off. "Now, where was I? Oh, yeah. After we, um, tell the Cutie Mark Crusaders what happened, excluding the Good Pond incident, we can go back to the Crystal Empire. Sound good?"

"Okay, but...can we get something to eat? I'm starving."

"Sure. When we're at the castle."

Cozy groaned and moaned like a zombie. "I'm hungry...feed me..."

Flurry laughed. "Shut up."

Chapter 12 - Grounded

Flurry sighed. Why oh why were her parents so mean? As soon as she'd put one hoof inside the Crystal Castle, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor had fussed over her, asking her what happened, was she okay, and rather grudgingly, was Cozy okay? After Flurry answered their questions, trying not to lie but not telling the whole truth, either, they'd grounded her. As well as Cozy.

She was confined to her room, and Cozy was confined to the guest room. Flurry's parents had locked their doors from the outside and only unlocked it when she had to use the bathroom or brush her teeth, same for Cozy. They'd even put a magic barrier - on the whole entire room - so Flurry couldn't teleport out. And they teleported breakfast into the room, as well as themselves sometimes when they wanted to "check on Flurry" and "make sure everything was okay." Basically grown-up language for "making sure you haven't escaped or done anything bad." Grrrr.

But somehow, Cozy had managed to teleport a note into Flurry's room. What the hay. Cozy was a pegasus. Flurry would have to ask her about that trick.

The note read:

Hey Flurry,
It's Cozy. When are your parents gonna let us out?
This is enchanted paper, so just write on the back and I'll get it.
And by the way, isn't this a like a crime? Like, they're trapping us in our rooms. Golly gee, if I had a lawyer I'd sue them!

Flurry frowned at the last sentence, but she did what Cozy told her to and wrote on the back.

Hey, Cozy, I don't know when. But they can't keep us in here for too long, right? I hope.
From, Flurry Heart
P.S. How'd you get your hooves on this enchanted paper? And how do you have a quill and bottle of ink?

As soon as she finished writing the last question mark, the paper disappeared in front of her eyes, leaving just the faintest sparkle on her desk. She gasped in surprise. Wow. That was some serious magic.

Flurry soon got a reply.

Flurry,
You know I'm not going to tell you how.
And also, I'm not going to stay in here forever, you know. TwT.
I'll find a way out.

Flurry wrote, Well, good luck with that. The enchanted paper soon came back, but just then, Flurry's parents teleported into her room. Talk about barging into someone's room!

Luckily, Flurry had time to hide the paper.

"Hello, Flurry Heart. How are you doing today?" Cadence asked friendlily.

Flurry gave her mother a look. She had promised herself to never talk to her parents until she and Cozy were un-grounded.

Cadence sighed. "I see you're not going to talk to your father and me. Oh, well, Shining. Let's try another time." And with that, the two ponies teleported out of the room. Flurry rolled her eyes.

She looked at the note Cozy had sent her.

Ha, ha, ha.
Your parents suck, by the way.
Glad I don't have any. Hehe.
And I know you're going to ask about that, so save your ink, 'cause I won't tell you.
Lmfo. (Laughing my flank off, in case you don't know. Because you're a goody-goody.)

For once, Flurry actually agreed with Cozy. On the first thing, anyway. Her parents did suck. So mean! They'd grounded a princess! Sure, they were a princess and a prince, but still. Flurry was no less of a princess than Cadence. End of discussion.

Poor Cozy, though. She didn't have any parents. But Flurry knew Cozy wouldn't tell her what happened - she'd said so in the note! - so she wouldn't ask.

Flurry frowned at the words "goody-goody." Actually, she thought she was the baddest (was that a word?) of the princesses, but she supposed that she kind of was a goody-goody compared to Cozy.

She levitated her quill and dipped it in ink to write back to Cozy Glow.

I totally agree with you! My parents suck so bad! I hate them! Grrrr.
Also, I'm sorry about your parents.
And I'm not a goody-goody.
-Flurry Heart

Cozy's reply:

Don't be. They were abusive. LOL.
Also, yes you are.
-Cozy

That was nothing to laugh about. That was serious. Flurry told (wrote?) her so. She didn't reply.

Suddenly, a big plate of food (mmm, there was mashed potatoes!) appeared in her room, along with an alicorn and a unicorn. It was dinnertime already?

"Hey, Flurry," Shining said. Cadence smiled at her daughter. Flurry turned her back on them and pouted.

Cadence sighed. "Flurry, won't you talk to us?"

Flurry shook her head.

"Alright, then. We'll talk to you, little daughter." Shining.

They proceeded to tell her all about some royal case they were handling, how rude the ponies involved were, and how all of them were, they thought, in the wrong, blah, blah, blah. Flurry just ate her food. She didn't try to listen. She didn't understand how her parents could keep on talking about something like that without falling asleep. Flurry knew that she would, definitely. Fall asleep, that is.

After ten minutes of blabbering, her parents said goodbye and finally left the room. Phew. Safe.

But Flurry still hadn't heard from Cozy. And despite everything, she really, really wanted to. Did Cozy forget about her? She hoped she hadn't. She really wanted to write to Cozy.

Wait, what?

She replayed her thoughts: I hope Cozy didn't forget about me. I really want to write to her. I really, really hope she writes back.

Flurry tried to convince herself that it didn't mean anything. After all, she did want to know more about Cozy, and she was unspeakably bored. That was all. Yes. That was it.

Flurry looked at the clock in her room. It was around 6:40. The eve was still young, so Flurry decided to entertain herself by doing some magic tricks. She performed all the ones she knew, in order, and then when she was done, she did them all over again. And again. And again. But it was starting to get old.

Flurry checked the time. It was only 7:32!

She sighed and closed her eyes. Was she going to spend the rest of her life like this, trapped in her own room with nothing to do and nopony to talk to? Well, her parents didn't count. They weren't her friends anymore. They were the cause of this misery.

Flurry's happiness had now ebbed to the point that smiling was an effort. She felt like yelling and screaming and punching her parents. Wait, no, that's bad! I love my parents. I just really, really, really dislike them right now.

She opened her eyes and...gasped out loud. There was a note on her desk that definitely hadn't been there before. And she recognized the hoofwriting.

Cozy Glow had finally written back!

Flurry. I need you to read carefully.
I think I've figured out a way to get out, and since you've been fine to me, I'll share it with you.
But as much as I hate to admit it, I need your help.
In order to escape, I need you to teleport me out of here. As you know, your parents didn't put up magical barriers around my walls. Don't ask how I know that.
Yes, yes, I know it sounds crazy, but it might actually work. I mean, what's the harm in trying, right?
So how, you ask?
Well, just try to concentrate on me and then think about your magic pulling me THE HAY OUTTA HERE. I don't know. I wasn't an alicorn for too long.
If you don't want to do this, well, think about it. If none of us gets about, then none of us gets out and that's that. But if I get out, you have a chance of getting out as well. And you can always hunt me down and strangle me if I don't let you come with me. I mean, once your grounding is over. Which might be a few weeks later, or several years later...
Please make a good choice. I know you can do this, Flurry. Let the bad take over you.
I await your reply.
-Cozy Glow

Flurry looked at the note. She read it again and again and again.

I need your help.

What's the harm in trying?

I know you can do this, Flurry.

I await your reply.

Cozy Glow needed her. Cozy Glow needed Princess Flurry Heart. Her.

Flurry stared unblinking at those four words. And, obsessed with those words, not considering all the other factors, like if Cozy didn't bring her and hurt other ponies out there, and if Cozy was manipulating her-

Flurry Heart got out her quill and ink.

And she wrote a reply back to Cozy.

Meanwhile, Cozy Glow was in her room, wondering if she'd just made a grave mistake. Because she wasn't lying in the note. She was going to bring Flurry Heart along. She didn't know why. All she knew was that she wanted that goody-goody with her, out there adventuring.

I must be going crazy, she thought.

But she didn't care.

Author's Note

Hmm, will they be able to pull this off?

Chapter 13 - Escape

Cozy Glow waited, and waited, and waited. When was Flurry going to teleport her? Had Flurry decided not to?

Suddenly, a short note appeared in front of her. Cozy immediately picked it up and started reading it.

Cozy,
Of course I'll do it. That's what friends are for.
-Flurry.

Cozy stared at the F-word. Friends. She groaned in disgust and made a not-so-cute face. "Yeah, yeah, that goody-goody still believes in friendship," she muttered to herself. "So what? I'll convince her. It's my destiny." She smiled down proudly at her cutie mark. Then she thought of something. "Wait, why do I care if she's good or not? She's not worth it...right?" She thought a little more. "Well, I guess it would be more fun if she was bad. Eh, guess that's all."

Suddenly, Cozy felt herself being surrounded by a very uncomfortable...thing. It was bright yellow in color. Flurry's magic.

Cozy closed her eyes and scowled at the sadly familiar feeling of being encased in magic. But strangely, Flurry's magic felt...different, somehow. It felt warm, in a good way, and made Cozy feel hopeful and even happy. Cozy's scowl softened into a smile. She hadn't felt this good since she was with Tirek and Chrysalis, working together...

And just like that, Cozy Glow was outside the castle, and the amazing feeling was forgotten. She smirked. YES! What a good backstabbing to Flurry's parents. They had no right to ground Cozy. Maybe Flurry, but not Cozy. She wasn't their daughter.

Cozy looked up at the window with a visible magical barrier around it. Flurry was up there, probably doubting Cozy would come for her.

But she would.

Cozy flapped her wings. Ah, it felt so good to fly again! She stretched in the air and raced up to the window. She, surprisingly, passed easily through the magical barrier, but didn't think about it much. Cozy looked at the window, contemplating how to open it. There wasn't a lock, not a visible one, anyway. So Cozy went with the simple way. She flew back a few feet, then rushed forward and whammed her head - literally a head-butt - against the window. The thing shattered to pieces.

A cold wind blew into Flurry's room.

"Hello," Cozy said.

Flurry peered back at her. "Wow. Um, nice job. But did you really have to break it?"

Cozy shrugged and started picking out little shards of glass from her fur. "Well, there wasn't anything I could unlock, so..."

"It's fine. I can get it fixed. There are more important things to focus on right now," Flurry said. "First of all...thanks for actually getting me out of here. I mean, 'cause you're..." She trailed off.

"Yeah."

"But you've earned my trust." She smiled. "So, um, thank you."

Cozy shrugged again. "Golly, it was easy."

"But it was the fact that you actually did it that makes me grateful."

"Well...okay, then." Cozy bit back a retort. "So. What now?"

Flurry thought for a second. "Um...I think we should go somewhere before my parents find out we're gone. We can return before sunrise and pretend we were never gone. Um. I think? Do you think that'll work?"

"Hmm...not the best plan, but it'll do. Where should we go?" Cozy asked.

"Well, I know a really nice place. I used to go there all the time when I was a filly, when I wanted to think things out or when I needed comfort. Wanna go there? We can talk about...things...there."

"I guess."

So, with Flurry leading the way, Cozy and Flurry flew off towards the "really nice" place. Eh, well, I guess I'll see if it really is a nice place when we get there, Cozy thought. Then I'll know what kind of places a Princess should like, and it'll prepare me for...

"Cozy?"

"Yes?"

"Can I please teleport us there? It's far away and I don't want to spend the whole night flying."

Cozy frowned at this. "Do you really have to teleport us?"

"I guess not, but I really want to. And I know how you feel about ponies encasing you in magic, but I promise I'll be quick. Please?"

Cozy rolled her eyes, but she said yes. And once again, the indescribably beautiful feeling came upon her, and once again, it disappeared as soon as it had come.

"We're here," Flurry said.

"Already?"

"Yes. But we're still in the air. Let's land." So they did.

"Okay, now we're really here."

Cozy Glow looked around. It was just some grassy area on the outskirts of Ponyville, the place between the little town of ponies and the Everfree Forest. She shivered as she realized she was kind of near that "Good Pond" thing.

But actually, it was a pretty nice place. There were no trees except the Everfree Forest in the distance, but there were a few small bushes here and there. Not a lot of stuff here, except for grass. It was a good place to think things out.

"Nice," Cozy admitted.

Flurry beamed. “Glad you like it. I used to go here all the time when I was…”

“You already said that before. You’re repeating yourself.”

Flurry looked slightly annoyed, but she bit back some not-so-nice words. “Right…sorry. Anyway, I really think we need to talk about some…things.”

Cozy groaned. There were too many things going on and thinking about them gave her a headache. “Fine. I guess we should have done this a long time ago. It’s just…golly, what a big mess.”

“I know!” Flurry agreed. “Okay. Okay. Let’s start from the beginning...”

Author's Note

So Flurry is breaking the promise she made in Chapter 3, where she promised herself she would never run away again. Well, technically she didn’t run…she flew…but I don’t think that matters. Golly, Flurry, I really thought you were better than that. Oh well.

Chapter 14 - Discussion

"Um, what even is the beginning?" Cozy wondered.

Flurry thought about it. "Reformation, I guess. I think."

Cozy pouted, sticking out her lower lip. "What about it? It's stupid."

Flurry huffed. "It's not stupid. You would know that if you gave it a chance!" Then she realized Cozy was staring at her. "Oh. Sorry." She took a few breaths to calm herself down.

"Whatever. I still think it's dumb. Can we skip that topic?" Cozy asked.

"No...okay, fine, I'll just ask you one teensy-tiny little itty-bitty question about your reformation." Flurry paused. What should I ask her?

"Well, get on with it, then! Golly, Flurry, we don't have all night."

"Okay, okay! Umm...do you feel better, somehow? Like, I don't know, less evil or less afraid?"

"What am I supposed to be afraid of?" Cozy laughed bitterly.

"Ugh, whatever."

"Skip?"

"Fine. But we're coming back to this later. So...what's next? Hmm...oh, it's the...d-darkness..."

Cozy frowned slightly. "Uh, not trying to be a coward, like you, but I really don't think it's a good idea to discuss darkness...in the dark. And alone, with just the two of us."

Flurry shivered, and it wasn't because she was cold. "Yeah. Good point." She was suddenly very glad to have company, even if the company was Cozy Glow, who was totally a super-duper really good pony. (Yes, that was sarcasm.)

"What's next? Snowli-"

"Be quiet," Cozy whispered. "Please...not Snowlight..." Her head drooped and her mane fell in front of her face. Flurry resisted the urge to wrap a foreleg around her.

“It’s okay, Cozy. It wasn’t your fault. We’ll skip that too, if you want,” Flurry murmured gently. She tried to sound comforting, but on the inside she was slightly excited. Was Cozy getting better if she felt shame for her actions? Maybe she could be reformed after all.

“Okay,” Cozy whimpered, her voice quivering.

This time Flurry really did wrap a foreleg around her. She was surprised when Cozy didn’t pull away or slap her foreleg away. Surprised and glad.

“Can I ask you something?” Cozy said, sounding more like herself. Less vulnerable.

“You just did. Okay, yeah, you can ask me.” Flurry chuckled. "Sorry, go on."

"What exactly made you go along with the escape plan?" Cozy asked, surprising Flurry slightly. She hadn't been expecting that question. "I mean, I thought you'd be scared to get in trouble."

Heat rushed up to her cheeks. She could hardly admit it was because - because...wait, why had she gone along with the escape?

I wanted Cozy to like me! her annoying yet truthful mind responded automatically.

Why would you want that? the other half of her mind asked.

Because I really, really like-

No, it was because I wanted to get out of that stuffy castle and have some fun, that's all! My parents don't have the right to ground a princess! It was unjust behavior!

She told Cozy the last thought, still blushing furiously.

"But isn't that encouraging bad behavior? I'm not complaining, of course. I like how you rebelled against your parents. Perhaps you're not too much of a goody-goody." Her last sentence made Flurry beam. Cozy had complimented her! Sort of, anyway.

"But is that really a good decision when you're trying to reform me?" Cozy asked.

"Hey! You came up with the plan," Flurry retorted.

"You didn't have to listen to me," was Cozy's comeback.

"I...I don't know why I did, then."

"Oh, golly! You might be on the path to evil, after all." Cozy cackled.

Flurry just rolled her eyes. "It wasn't an evil act. Disobeying your parents isn't against the law or something like that. What if your parents told you to cut off your head? Would you really do that?"

Cozy pressed her lips together in a tight line and didn't respond. It was a moment before Flurry realized that Cozy didn't, in fact, have parents.

There was an awkward silence.

"No, I wouldn't," Cozy said finally. Flurry winced.

"I'm sorry. I forgot," she said truthfully. "But...if I'm going to try to reform you, I've got to know you better. Would you mind telling me about...about your parents?"

Cozy turned away from her, and Flurry instantly knew she had said the wrong thing. Stupid, stupid Flurry! She smacked her forehead with her hoof.

But surprisingly, Cozy actually answered her. "My parents and I were originally from Manehattan," she said in an emotionless voice. "We lived in a small house. Small-ish, anyway."

"What were your parents' jobs?" Flurry questioned when Cozy stopped.

She shrugged.

"You didn't know your own parents' jobs?" Flurry hoped that didn't sound rude, but how could you not know your parents' jobs? Well, I guess not everyone has a princess and a prince for parents. Still.

"No," Cozy replied tersely.

"Oh. What were their names?"

"Rose Quartz and River Stone."

"What did they look like?"

"Rose was pale pink with a darker rose-colored mane, and River was light blue with a dark blue mane."

Flurry gave up trying to chat with Cozy. Cozy was being too evasive in her answers for Flurry to find out anything, anyway. "Okay," she said. "Thanks for telling me. I'm sorry if I seem nosy."

Cozy shrugged, which was an improvement. Flurry had expected an insult to be flung at her, but Cozy didn't seem to care. She seemed to be thinking about something else.

"Are you hatching an evil plan?" she asked, before she could stop herself. Her brain screamed, I didn't give you permission to voice that thought!

Cozy chuckled half-heartedly. "No."

"How do I know that?" She squinted her eyes at Cozy against her better judgement. Stop putting your freaking hoof in your mouth, Flurry! her brain bellowed, but she persisted. "How?" she asked again.

"You don't," the other mare replied simply.

"So you were hatching an evil plan."

"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't." Cozy shrugged. "Why are you asking me this, anyway? Do you want me to form an evil plan?" A small smile fluttered at the corners of her lips.

"But...but. No, of course not, but you've had all this time to hatch a nefarious plan and put it into action. Your wings are back and nopony's taking them. We don't even have a tracker on you! What's stopping you?" Flurry asked.

"Nothing, I guess."

"I guess I better search your mind, then, with my almighty alicorn powers," Flurry lied. She didn't even know if such a spell existed or not. She certainly hadn't heard of something like that.

Cozy's eyes widened. "You wouldn't."

"But I can."

"What's stopping you, then?"

"Nothing, I guess."

Agh! They were talking in circles. Why were they talking in circles? What was the point of escaping if they weren't doing anything productive?

"Are you tired?" Cozy asked, changing the subject.

"Are you?" Flurry stifled a yawn.

"Very," Cozy admitted. "I need sleep for my intelligent brain to function, you know!"

Oh. Perhaps that was why they'd been talking in circles. It was just lack of sleep.

"Are we just going to sleep out here?" Cozy continued.

"No. It's not safe. We need to find a better place," Flurry insisted.

"Can't you just, I don't know, conjure a tent out of thin air or something?"

"I can try." Flurry closed her eyes and tried to focus on what a tent was like. What it looked like, what it felt like, even what it sounded like (though a tent didn't really make any specific noises). She formed a strong image of a tent and turned it around and around in her mind. Warm insides. Black in color, maybe, for camouflage? No - green. The sky wouldn't stay dark when dawn came, and the grass around them was green, anyway.

"Wow." She opened her eyes at the sound of Cozy's voice. Wow indeed. There, right in front of their eyes, was a tent, already set up. Dark green, just like what Flurry had thought of in her mind.

“Did you actually just call it into existence? Or was there already a tent like this, and you teleported it here?” Cozy asked.

“There was probably a tent like this nearby. I’ve never heard of anyone just ‘calling something into existence,’” Flurry answered. But how did it look exactly as she had imagined? Was that just the magic?

"Okay, then. Come on, let's go to sleep," Cozy said, and trotted inside. Flurry followed her, and-

Oh! It was wonderful. For a tent, anyway. There weren't lights in the tent, but Flurry felt like the inside was glowing. It was warm and cozy, and she felt like this was hardly a place where it - the darkness monster - could appear, even though they were still surrounded by darkness. Outside, anyway.

There weren't pillows or blankets, but it would have to do. The tent was soft and comfortable, anyway. She and Cozy lay down next to each other. Sadly, they were both the farthest away they could be from each other inside the tent.

Wait. Sadly?!

Oh, whatever. Flurry was too tired to think about it. "Good night, Cozy," she murmured, already half-asleep.

Cozy just grunted. Soon, the two ponies fell into the dark chambers of sleep.

Author's Note

NO, I DELETED A HUGE CHUNK OF THIS CHAPTER!!! AGAIN!!! :flutterrage:

NOTE TO SELF COPY CHAPTERS :moustache:

You squirrel-brained Starflight! but it's okay now, I retyped them the best I could :pinkiesad2: