LOLO Fillydelphiaby Joshua CrapoChaptersTeaser/Cold OpenAct 1Act 2Act 3Teaser/Cold OpenEvery day since everyone’s moving plans were finalized, things have been slower than I could have imagined. Waiting for Celestia and Luna to write back was something I was never accustomed to. But I honestly couldn’t be happier where I am now than before. I can only imagine what my life and wellbeing would be like if Carina and Carve were never there to change me. I would never have considered gathering my remaining changelings, never regained my subjects' trust and wouldn’t have befriended Equestria. For all I know, I could’ve been turned to stone for all that did do before and would’ve gone on to do. But today… today is different. Carve has adopted a weekly visiting schedule for me and Patch, mostly the latter. She’ll usually arrive at the throne room to talk to me right before spending the night, but this time, she does it in the morning, immediately as she entered the hive. When she comes into view, I hover up to her and give her a small hug. “Ah, good morning, Carve. It seems someone’s become an early bird this week.” “Yeah. Celestia’s been overseeing a school to the east lately. Neither of us could figure out what was going on, but the EEA seems to be up and legs over it.” “Hm. Perhaps Manehattan being Manehattan,” I reply. “Carina had always avoided the real world’s counterpart for a reason. So, is Rusty faring the same as usual?” Carve nods yes. “From what I know, yeah. He’s still doing fine.” Suddenly, I hear a shimmering sound coming from above. Carve freezes and looks up at my crown. “Um, Chrysalis? Why’s your crown glowing?” “Oh my! The map! I’m so glad you came up when you did. You can handle my duties from here, correct?” Carve gives me a confident salute, assuring my duties are in the right hooves. “I got you covered!” “Good. I might not be back for a while.” After racing to Twilight’s throne room, I can see a hologram of my crown floating with one of Aita’s stylus. She and I watch them circling around a downtown area in the east coast of Equestria on the map. Aita turns to me. “I’m so glad Twilight had me stay after the incident. This probably wouldn’t have been viable if I still attended school.” I smile at her. “But still possible? Surely Cheerilee would’ve understood if you had to skip school for this. We finally get to collaborate.” Twilight races into the throne room in excitement. “Oh my gosh! This is amazing! Aita and Chrysalis on a friendship mission together?!?” She gasps when she sees where we’re headed. “AND you get to go to Fillydelphia?!? AND to a rich area?!? Somepony touch me!” Aita proceeds to hug Twilight to actually test what she was thinking. “Nope. I’m pretty sure you’re awake. I’ve never been to Fillydelphia before though.” “Neither have I, Aita,” I say. “Who knows what problem we have to solve.” “But whatever it is, we got this, right Chrysalis?” Aita and I bump hooves. “Agreed.” Author's Note Insert opening theme here. Act 1When Aita and I arrive in downtown Fillydelphia, Aita with a saddlebag that contains her DS as well as some money, we start by looking at the skyscrapers from about five blocks away. Somehow, they are still highly apparent. But as we walk, I notice a two story brick structure across the street. It has picket fencing surrounding the yards sandwiching the building on its sides, and a playground in the backyard. Up front, there is a sign against the sidewalk. “Happy Foals Schoolhouse…” I read, crossing the street. I attempt to open the front door, but it appears to be locked. “Strange. Is there a field trip underway?” “I think so,” Aita says as I come back to her. “Why else would the main entrance be locked?” As Aita and I continue our walk, she stays pretty close to me. Obviously she seems unfamiliar with the area. I don’t blame her. I can’t help but think of when I sent my own search party. “Last time I had any interaction with this city, Celestia met two of my top drones here during the search party.” “Huh. I do remember that. I was with Mom and Pinkie when that happened. Were Cilia and Seta the ones that set hoof here?” “Well, they were the closest.” After a brief verbal pause, Aita looks up at me. “Hard to believe our hopes are actually coming true right now. Everything we’ve done is now building up to something.” “I wouldn’t have any other way, Aita. You’ve accomplished truly remarkable feats nopony could ever fabricate.” While we have our tender moment, we hear the faint sound of colliding pins coming from one of the buildings next to the skyscrapers from earlier. The sign above the front doors appears to alternate for four characters between a pin and a bowling ball. “Do you remember what that is?” I ask Aita. “Is it a bowling alley? I have done a couple of games on my seventh birthday back home.” “Correct you are.” Entering the bowling alley fills the air with the ambient rumbling and crashing I could only imagine Aita was used to before moving to Equestria. To our left, there appear to be twelve bowling lanes to our left. There aren’t any lights on in that area, so it’s rather hard to tell all the littler details. Just that each lane has a table up front for resting and dining. Closer to me and Aita, tables of higher elevation host appropriately elevated seating of its own for spectators. Farthest to our right, I can see presumably twelve more lanes, this time with their lights on. Fillies, colts and baby dragons come into view every so often and promptly leave, probably playing games typical of young children to play. In between those areas, there are two entrances to what looks like a bar. And in between those is the front counter. At the front counter across the entrance, a dragon greets us. Her scales are mostly a dark tan with purple spines and a golden underbelly. “Oh hey! Chrysalis! Aita! Welcome to the Fillydelphia location of LOLO.” Aita looks around, confused why this dragon knows us. “Greetings, young drake. We’ve been called by the tree of harmony, so we arrived to scout for a friendship mission to fulfill,” I explain as I approach the dragon. “You wouldn’t mind us spectating, would you?” “Knock yourselves out. We have a full house on the north side of the building - the twelve lanes on your right. Mostly just kids, but Pinkie Pie was apparently also here as one of the chaperones.” Without another word, Aita and I move to our right to see a crowd of foals and baby dragons. And like the dragon at the counter said, there are a few mares chaperoning them, one of them appearing to be Pinkie Pie. The fillies and colts appear to be just unicorns and pegasi sitting on all the front chairs with their dragon classmates. The five chaperones are seated at the closest table to what seems to be a snack bar across from the farthest lanes to the back. “Why would a school plan a field trip here?” I ask. “I know Cheerilee took my class to LOLO at the end of last semester as a reward. Not sure why a school would open with that.” When we sit at the adjacent tables to the chaperones to see the student body, Pinkie Pie soon spots us and cautiously approaches us. She holds her hoof out, her look suspicious of me. I chuckle at the act, thinking she was just playing around. I then meet her hoof with mine. “It’s okay, Pinkie. It’s just me and Aita.” “Aita? W-who’s Aita?” Oh. This doesn’t appear to be the Pinkie I was thinking would be here, based on the relatively deep but tenorish voice. I tilt my head in confusion. Aita appears to recognize the voice though. She pushes the chair back and waves at this peculiar Pinkie. “Ah, so that’s who. Um, what brings you two to Fillydelphia?” “Friendship mission,” replies Aita. “So, Universe A, right? I hope I’m remembering that correctly.” “What? H-How did you know where I was from?” “Aita comes from the real world,” I explain. “so her knowledge of our respective worlds is kind of extensive. So, Pinkie Pie of Universe A, what brings you chaperoning?” “Oh that? I was living in Manehattan for a while until one of the fillies here asked me to fill in for Sunspot while he’s in Sire’s Hollow.” While Pinkie is explaining why she’s here, I notice one of the pegasus fillies is wearing a violet bandana. She has a pink coat, a neatly curled turquoise mane and tail tied by ivory ribbon, and a rook as a cutie mark. I point to the filly. “Would that be her?” Pinkie looks in the direction I point. “Um, I think so.” The dragon Aita and I saw at the counter from earlier suddenly races to the lanes the children are occupying. She lands next to the ball queue farthest to the back. “Hello, students of Happy Foals Schoolhouse. Smoulder here. Hope you kids have a good time bowling. I’ll be at the counter up front if you need anything. The snack bar is behind you if you’d like to buy some lunch. Also behind you are the chaperones if you need them, Pinkie Pie, Radiance, Espresso, Air Whiff and Interpolation. We also have Queen Chrysalis now if you need her or Aita; they’re on a friendship mission anyway.” Aita and I wave hello upon Smoulder introducing us. “It’s really cool the school board planned this in the middle of the opening assignment I’ve heard about from the chaperones. Now, I’m sure you all know how bowling works right?” Everyone nods at Smoulder. “Good. Behind me is one of the ball queues. Just make sure not to pass the foul line when you bowl. The lanes are slick, which could cause you to slip, and I will know about it when that happens. And you certainly wouldn’t want to get lectured by me. Well, I think that’s everything I need to cover. Have fun everyone, and good luck.” Smoulder then leaves to return to the front counter. The rest of the children glare at the filly I spotted earlier as if Smoulder was referring to her during the introductory speech. The filly looks around until she sees me as some of the other children begin their games. The unicorns use their magic, pegasi use their wings, and dragons use their claws to play. She then flies up on top of the table Aita and I are sitting at, and lies down on the table. “Are you okay, little one?” I ask her. “No…” she answers, prompting concern from Aita. “But why not?” “My class found out I’ve been behind everything about this field trip. I liked it last semester, but now I’m having second thoughts about going again so soon.” I tilt my head again. “Everything? And that includes Universe A Pinkie Pie? And the school board?” The filly nods. “Planning a fun field trip was pretty nice of you to do, little one. I can’t imagine why everyone would be so up and legs about it.” Pinkie taps the filly out of nowhere while I realize exactly what I just said. “Um, Cozy Glow, I think you’re up.” “Oh, golly. We’ll have to talk more in a bit, Chrysalis.” Cozy Glow, as she’s called, jumps down off the table. “No worries. Go take your turn.” I turn to Aita, who is confused by the name a little bit. “Cozy Glow? I guess that’s what Dr. Immunity meant when she thought I sounded cozy to her.” “Well, you two do sound alike,” Pinkie notes. “Maybe it was just a coincidence.” At the snack bar, Aita and I share a plate of hay fries together as we give ourselves time to chat away from the crowd. “Well Aita, I believe we’ve found our friendship mission.” Aita nods. “Yeah. Cozy Glow lobbied for an opening field trip to the school board just so she and her classmates could bowl together again. And everyone seems to take that for granted.” “Perhaps you could ask the children why. If I’m right, Happy Foals might be the school Carve was referring to back at the hive. Do you think you can do that while I talk to Cozy?” “Sure do, Chrysalis.” Aita gets up off her seat and starts for the crowd. But it appears she’s forgetting something, so I momentarily hold her tail with my magic to stop her. At the same time, Pinkie jumps onto the other seat next to me. “Hold it, AIta. Aren’t you going to bring our snack?” “Oh, that’s right. The snack.” “THE SNACK!” Pinkie instantly replies. “THE SNACK!” Aita replies back. The rapid-fire exchange between the two leaves me a little confused as Aita walks back to the crowd with our fries in her magic. “What was that?” I inquire. “Oh our interaction? Seems AIta was somehow able to watch The Snack.” “The Snack?” “THE SNACK!” Pinkie repeats. Dumbfounded by the whole snack bar experience, I simply return to the table I assigned myself before. Thankfully, Aita appears to’ve successfully dropped our fries off. I’m caught off guard when I spot Cozy Glow scoring a strike, the best result of throw one in bowling. No one seems to’ve turned their heads to see her though. She pulls down the air above her in accomplishment and races to me and Aita’s table in the air in excitement. “Did you see, Chrysalis?!? Did you?!?” “Patience, Cozy. Yes, I arrived just in time to see your strike. I can at least see why you enjoy yourself here if you manage to accomplish that on a regular basis. I sure hope you’re feeling better after that.” All the hype contained within Cozy quickly dissipates as she sighs and slumps midair in disappointment, an obvious sign my calm tone was not what she was expecting. I alternate my gaze between Cozy and the plate of hay fries. Making my decision on how to respond, I float a fry in front of her, getting her to look at me. “Here. Enjoy a hay fry. You’ve earned it after that strike.” “R-really? B-but that’s yours.” “It goes without saying, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy the plate all by myself. Good deeds can be rewarding after all.” Cozy still looks unsure whether or not she should take the fry I’m offering her. “You really think I should eat this?” “Absolutely, Cozy. Now, go on.” Cozy reluctantly holds out her hoof under the fry for me to rest it onto. I watch as she consumes the fry, savoring every last bit before gulping it down. “Golly. That was a good hay fry. Thanks, Chrysalis,” says Cozy, hugging me. “Anytime, little one. It looks like you’re up again to bowl now.” I watch as the filly flies back to her lane. Act 2With Chrysalis off to talk to Cozy Glow, I take it upon myself to talk to the rest of the student body of Happy Foals Schoolhouse… at least whoever was available. Any of the kids will do. Looking around, the seating area isn’t as crowded as before as the students take their turns bowling. I then close my eyes and tap the nearest child on the shoulder. Opening my eyes back up, I can see a baby dragon turn around. He has a similar coloration to Mangle - grey scales with green spines and eyes, only with a thinner version of Spike’s body shape. “Oh, Aita! What’s up?” he greets, holding out his claw for me to shake with my hoof. “Chrysalis and I noticed the student body was glaring at that one filly. Pegasus, has a bandana, neat curls, chess piece for a-” I am interrupted when I hear a loud crash of pins. There’s a brief bit of wind as Cozy breezes by. Half a good thing it seems he knew who I was talking about. “Cozy Glow? Don’t let her innocent demeanor fool you. She has no sense for others’ wellbeing,” the dragon warns, pointing his thumb to Cozy. “That’s not true from what I noticed. Would you be bowling right now if all she was thinking about was herself?” My question stumps the dragon, prompting one of the unicorns to come to his side. She has a blue coat, lavender mohawk and tail, and three lily pads for a cutie mark. Based on the unicorn’s voice and appearance, I can only guess that her name is Lily Trail. “Hey! You leave Smoky alone! Cozy dragged ev’rypony here and blew the school budget just so she can bowl!” “’Course it doesn’t hurt that Heavenly Luck is president of the school board,” Smoky - as he’s called - adds, seemingly echoing Apple Bloom from during the election between Diamond Tiara and Pip. In direct response, I look back to Chrysalis - who Cozy Glow is hugging at the moment, then look on the floor below to see my saddlebag. I float the DS out of the bag and over to me. “Well, I think I just saw Cozy hugging Chrysalis, so talk to the DS.” During my funny order, the DS levitates up close to Smoky’s face, who guides it down to half its previous elevation. “Besides, anything Cozy’s done is nothing compared to Chrysalis’ past.” “Okay, nymph,” the unicorn replies. “But don’t say we didn’t warn ya.” “Yes, and Lily Trail and I will laugh once you fail to steer her straight.” With that, Smoky and Lily Trail head off to their lanes to start bowling again, prompting me to sit at a nearby empty table to think out loud to myself. “So, I guess that explains why the students don’t like Cozy Glow. But what did Chrysalis mean about Carve referring to Happy Foals Schoolhouse back home?” My thought process is interrupted when I hear another loud crash of pins on Cozy’s lane. Yay! Another strike!!! I hear Cozy Glow shout, seeing her rush back to Chrysalis and hug her again. Chrysalis happily motions afterward for Cozy to go tell the chaperones. “That’s it! That’s the connection!” I exclaim. “What is?” I hear Pinkie Pie say from behind, startling me. She blushes with embarrassment. “Whoops. Didn’t know you were in the moment. What’d you want to talk about?” “I’m kind of lost about higher up stance on the field trip. Chrysalis says Carve might’ve mentioned Happy Foals before we were called by the map.” “Oh.” Pinkie inhales through her teeth. “Yeah, you’d have to ask the other chaperones.” “That’s what I thought.” When I see Chrysalis again, a dragon walks up to her from the snack bar. She points to our plate, prompting the dragon to pass behind the chaperones back into the snack bar. I now look to each one of the chaperones, each one giving Cozy Glow a hoof bump from left to right, everypony at the table with a empathic beam on their face afterward as she leaves to wait her next turn. I take off over to the four mares at the high table, Chrysalis joining me. The mares wave hello to us, and each one I point to in the same order nods as I guess their names correctly. “So, Radiance? Espresso? Air Whiff? Interpolation? Okay good. Universe A Pinkie wanted me to talk to you all.” “Yes?” says Radiance. “What about?” “Just so we’re sure,” Chrysalis explains. “my stand-in, Carve, mentioned something about Celestia monitoring a school to the east. Would that be yours?” The chaperones look at each other, Interpolation nodding. “The Equestria Education Association has been lecturing school board president Heavenly Luck about the liberal use of field trips and the expense it all incurs on the school budget. But she’s insistent about paying for it out of pouch.” “This is a wealthy area of Fillydelphia after all,” Espresso adds. “Like all the other ones, the budget will not be affected by this field trip.” This explanation doesn’t appear to involve Cozy at all, even though I inferred she lobbied to go bowling with her friends. “Wait, so Cozy Glow isn’t responsible?” “Not financially,” Air Whiff replies. “But she clearly likes coming here to LOLO. Who wouldn’t? And as long as all parties can accommodate, she should be fine.” With the final answer, I can see that the school staff have the opposite problem the students have. Great, it’s one of those missions. Sitting back at our table, I notice there are two plates for the hay fries now instead of just one. Chrysalis floats half of what’s left onto the second plate. At that point, we begin eating again while conversing. “So Aita, what have you learned about our mission?” “When I was talking to the student body, I sure was proven right about the students taking this gift for granted. They all think this was just for Cozy, not to mention Lily Trail thinking this came from the budget.” “But now we both know the latter at least isn’t true,” Chrysalis states, rubbing my back. “I noticed after both her strikes, Cozy went straight to me. I thought she would start with one of the chaperones. Why is that?” “Well, with her first strike, she obviously wanted to see you impressed.” “But that’s the thing, Aita. I was impressed. I just didn’t let adrenaline overshadow my thought process is all.” I look at our plates, and just past Chrysalis’ are bits of the seasoning that come with the hay fries. I fly over the other side of the table and see a little bit on the floor too. “But you still rewarded her for those strikes, right?” “Of course I did… well the first one anyway. But what made you-” Chrysalis realizes exactly what’s going on and smiles when she sees me across from her. “Very good, young Aita. I knew I can always count on you. So what did I do differently than the other mares?” “I think I know… all the school staff were babying Cozy, but you were assertive with her. And the student body was biased against her, but I was impartial. I think we should start solving the problem by revealing the truth.” As Chrysalis and I finish our hay fries, we hear Cozy Glow cheering. Turning around, I can see her score is finalized at one twenty five, as portrayed by a projection above her lane. She quickly approaches me and Chrysalis, excited about the score. “That was my personal best! No gutters!” shouts Cozy. No gutters? I could never do that at such a young age. That is pretty impressive. “That’s amazing, Cozy!” I say with enthusiasm, hoof bumping with her. “That’s usually something only the grownups could accomplish!” “Golly! Was I really that impressive?” Cozy laughs. “That’s so sweet, Aita! I really wish others our relative age responded the way you and the chaperones have.” “Actually Cozy, there is something about your school Aita and I need to tell you before you go on to game two. Accompany us at the main entrance.” So, Cozy and I follow Chrysalis as she heads to the front, taking the right, then the left to the main entrance. Once we’re outside, Cozy Glow looks a little scared of Chrysalis, pupils shrunken under a stiff standing posture. Chrysalis immediately notices and lies down on her belly. “Cozy, it’s okay. This has nothing to do with you, influences aside.” “What?” Cozy shakily says. “When Chrysalis and I were called here, we discovered you were in an unsuitable school environment.” “Your prejudicial student body and lackadaisical staff led to how you managed to convince Heavenly Luck to personally fund the field trips you go on. Are we right?” Cozy confirms Chrysalis’ guess by nodding. “I had been so used to getting what I liked. I felt on top of the world, living in the developmental community. It’s the richest area in Fillydelphia. But then I heard what happened to Canterlot City Spitfire…” Chrysalis sees Cozy starting to tear up and turn away from her, so she walks over to Cozy and drapes her wing over her. “I remember that too. Seeing Aita broken up like that certainly wasn’t easy.” “The way you and the Princess of Friendship went to CHS to defend Aita helped me see it’s not just about me. But when I started planning field trips with the school board, my classmates put two and two together and just started… well…” “Denouncing you?” I finish, Cozy nodding yes and burying her face in Chrysalis’ side. Chrysalis looks to Cozy, and closes her eyes. “I know what it’s like, losing the trust of everyone around you who realized what you did. But you’re just a child. Nopony your age should be going through that, even among their peers. And the way those chaperones have been treating you has to stop too.” When Chrysalis opens her eyes back up, Cozy looks up at her. “A field trip wasn’t what you needed… it was a friend, wasn’t it?” Cozy tearfully gives us a silent yes at Chrysalis’ final guess, prompting me to walk closer to her. “Well, you have two right here, Cozy Glow.” “...Thank you, Aita, Chrysalis. Both of you,” Cozy says, hugging me and Chrysalis, accepting our hooves in friendship. “Without you, I wouldn’t have realized just how lost I felt.” “Any time, Cozy,” Chrysalis says. “If you’d like, you could visit Ponyville or the hive during the weekends.” “Or… what if I moved to Ponyville? That way I can see Aita every day, and you whenever we visit each other.” Hmm… I don’t see Chrysalis’ crown glowing, so we aren’t quite done with Cozy yet. “Maybe give this school one more shot before we think about moving. We aren’t quite done with the problem after all.” So, after that emotional scene, Chrysalis, Cozy and I walk back into LOLO, but before we talk to the crowd, we go through the pub to reach the snack bar and see Universe A Pinkie again as we pass. She apparently had some lunch while Chrysalis and I were busy, but her plate still has some potato chips left. Nearing the crowd, I see most of the projections hanging from the ceiling are full now, only a few dragons going up to bowl the last frame or two of their first game. The rest of the kids stop and turn their heads when one of them spots Cozy Glow next to us and points. Of course, because I haven’t talked to any of them again since I shoved my DS in Smoky’s face, they still look bitter at Cozy from getting dragged here to bowl when they probably could’ve spent that time getting school work done. Not going to lie. I can at least see how someone dedicated to school may find it annoying, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Cozy looks to both of us, wondering who should be defending her. Both Chrysalis and I pat her on the back, letting her know we’ll do it, but also encouraging her to forward. Act 3Cozy Glow looks one last time at AIta and I, and finally beaming for us since we first pulled her away. “Classmates… I guess I have a little explaining to do. This field trip is not what you all think. Ever since the news with Canterlot City Spitfire first spread a year and a half ago, I’ve been wanting you all to enjoy the same stuff I have, mostly just living a comfy lifestyle. This field trip was never about me. Yes, I enjoy bowling, but I wanted us to enjoy it together… and now, I realize I was going about that all wrong. It was Aita and Chrysalis that taught me that it wasn’t a field trip I needed. It was a friend. I’m sorry about dragging you guys to LOLO. I hope you can forgive me for having done all this.” Within the front of the crowd, a unicorn voices her confusion. That looks like the one Aita called Lily Trail earlier. “Wait… this field trip… was for us? But what about the school budget?” “That was untouched, Lily,” Cozy says. “We both know that money is for educational purposes ONLY.” A dragon besides Lily Trail crosses his arms. “Yup. Not gonna fall for it. We’ve gone bowling too many times to think this was remotely for the student body.” The dragon’s comment to Cozy enrages me inside, but I have to stop myself this time. He is a child after all, and he could also be dangerous in combat if I’m not careful. In fact, this is a new situation I’ve never faced before: an offender being an actual child. I grit my teeth and close my eyes. I then take a deep breath before looking at Aita. “His name is Smoky,” Aita whispers, allowing me to finally approach this drake. “Smoky, was it?” Smoky hurriedly nods to me. “Charmed meeting such a delusional drake!” I stop and take another deep breath, trying to calm down and think. “It is with gargantuan effort that I simply relay to you my experience with Cozy Glow and nothing more. It would certainly be a different story on a level playing field. Think about what happened to Cozy when news broke out about Canterlot High School’s former superintendent. Now, I believe Aita talked to you and Lily Trail soon after that first strike. So, what did you tell her about Cozy?” Smoky thinks over what happened a year and a half ago like I ordered him. However, the way I conveyed the message has him thinking longer than I expected. “Smoky…” I startle him, getting his attention. “I would appreciate an answer. What did you tell Aita about Cozy Glow?” “Um, that she didn’t have any s-sense for others’ w-wellbeing?” I sigh relief that he managed to say something at least. “Good, he admitted,” Aita remarks before walking by my side. “What you said to Aita, Smoky, was highly inaccurate. In fact, the exact opposite was true. Cozy started planning field trips after hearing of me and Princess Twilight’s actions against Canterlot City Spitfire.” “I wasn’t trying to do this for me. I could just go alone if I was only thinking of myself. I just didn’t realize I was distracting you all from school by planning all these field trips, and I’m sorry. I promise I won’t plan anymore like this. Whatever I do next for everyone, it could something more manageable, like a class party?” The students initially consider forgiving Cozy Glow until she gives them the idea of a party, returning to a collective expression of distrust. “That apology doesn’t hamper the fact that you haven’t learned a thing!” Lily Trail shouts. Upon hearing this, Universe A Pinkie Pie zips over to the crowd, specifically to Lily Trail. “Wh- hey, hey! That’s not how you treat a fellow classmate! A party sounds like a great idea! I know somepony who knows ALL about parties, as much as I hate to say it.” “Our Pinkie Pie,” I guess. “She planned my son’s reconciliation party.” “Yep. That’s the one,” confirms Pinkie. “For now, Cozy, why don’t we start smaller, something you could manage by yourself,” Aita suggests, getting Cozy to think. “What about… bringing in sweets? That should be easy to do, right?” Hearing her idea, I float Cozy and hug her. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Cozy, exactly as I taught you.” “So, you did learn?” Lily Trail asks Cozy. “I’d love to see the way your food turns out.” The rest of the student body sans Smoky begin murmuring with positive tones. Unfortunately, he’s really conflicted. Lily Trail wraps her hoof around him. “Hey, come on, you silly dragon. She ain’t gonna bite.” “He doesn’t need to, Lily. I know it’ll take some knee grease for him to like me again, so you shouldn’t pressure him. He’ll come around when my actions speak for themselves.” As Cozy gets her friend to relax, everyone hears the same shimmering sound Carve and I heard back home. Aita takes the saddlebag and removes the DS from inside. The stylus is glowing yet again. She then looks at my crown which is glowing too. Ooooh! everyone exclaims in awe. “Your crown can glow?” Cozy asks, to which I nod. “What does that mean?” “It means we’ve accomplished our mission. It won’t be immediate, but Aita and I will have to return home.” “I’m glad we gave this a shot. You should have new friends here in no time, Cozy,” Cozy Glow and Aita hug each other. “Thank you, Aita, Chrysalis. Thank you for believing in me. I’ll visit as soon as I can.” “So, would you like to participate in game two with your peers?” I ask. “Actually, mind if I join you two for a bit?” With my crown and Aita’s stylus still glowing as we stay in LOLO, we allow Cozy to bowl by our side on the south half of the building once we order two games for each of us. After we select a ball for each of us, we arrive on the second farthest lane from the entrance, Lane Eleven, I think. I know the lane Cozy bowled on earlier was Lane Twenty One, which was fourth farthest, just on the north side instead of south. “Are you sure you didn’t want to bowl with your classmates?” I ask Cozy, who nods. “I’ll always have time for my peers, and that will be easily doable, but for now, I just want to spend a quiet moment with the two best friends I ever knew.” “After all that you’ve been through today, Cozy, that might be for the best,” says Aita. “She’s not the only one, Aita.” Aita and Cozy look at me as I walk to the ball queue, taking the marker and dry-erase bowling sheet to the table. “After a friendship mission like this, a relaxing couple games of bowling is everything we need. So, who would like to go first?” Cozy immediately raises a hoof, prompting me to sign her name on the far left of the first row on the sheet. “It’s been a while since you last bowled; is that correct, AIta?” “Yeah, I last went to LOLO in May, and that was the Ponyville location.” I sign AIta’s name on the second row and mine on the third. “No worries then. I’ll go last. That way horn memory will cover for you.” Cozy Glow looks back at me in front of our lane, waiting for me to cue her to start. I raise my hoof a little and nod, giving her affirmation that she can bowl now. I watch while putting back the sheet and marker on the ball queue as she takes the ball in her wing, gives it a good swing, and sends it speeding down the lane in an arc to her right. The ball manages to hit the one-three pocket and send all ten pins careening into each other. Yep, Cozy got yet another strike. “So that’s how you keep getting those. You are an innovative filly, I see,” I comment, rubbing Cozy’s mane with affection as Aita trots past. “Whatever happens next in school, I know it’s going to be perfect.” “How do you know that, Cozy?” “With you and Aita as my friends, how could it not?” With Chrysalis and Aita gone to Fillydelphia, and Starlight and Twilight gone to run some errands here in Ponyville to pass the time, I invited Kevin, George, and Big Mac to play O&O with me. After a good six hours, the map glowed, signaling everyone to return home. So, as Aita heads back to the throne room, I’m in the middle of cleaning up after the session. “Oh! Hey Aita. How was your mission with Chrysalis?” Aita looks around and asks “Where’s Twilight and Starlight?” “Oh, they’re just running some errands around Ponyville.” “Think you can gather them while I summon some pears? I’d like to tell the whole family, and I wouldn’t want Chrysalis left out. She might still have Carve up there too.” “You got it, Aita. After six hours of gameplay with Big Mac, Kevin and George, I’m ready to do anything.” And so, I leave Aita to begin her pear-summoning spell while I go find Twilight and Starlight, the latter of whom once told me it was the same one Cervix, Brand and a few others used one time to call Chrysalis from here a couple years ago.
Teaser/Cold OpenEvery day since everyone’s moving plans were finalized, things have been slower than I could have imagined. Waiting for Celestia and Luna to write back was something I was never accustomed to. But I honestly couldn’t be happier where I am now than before. I can only imagine what my life and wellbeing would be like if Carina and Carve were never there to change me. I would never have considered gathering my remaining changelings, never regained my subjects' trust and wouldn’t have befriended Equestria. For all I know, I could’ve been turned to stone for all that did do before and would’ve gone on to do. But today… today is different. Carve has adopted a weekly visiting schedule for me and Patch, mostly the latter. She’ll usually arrive at the throne room to talk to me right before spending the night, but this time, she does it in the morning, immediately as she entered the hive. When she comes into view, I hover up to her and give her a small hug. “Ah, good morning, Carve. It seems someone’s become an early bird this week.” “Yeah. Celestia’s been overseeing a school to the east lately. Neither of us could figure out what was going on, but the EEA seems to be up and legs over it.” “Hm. Perhaps Manehattan being Manehattan,” I reply. “Carina had always avoided the real world’s counterpart for a reason. So, is Rusty faring the same as usual?” Carve nods yes. “From what I know, yeah. He’s still doing fine.” Suddenly, I hear a shimmering sound coming from above. Carve freezes and looks up at my crown. “Um, Chrysalis? Why’s your crown glowing?” “Oh my! The map! I’m so glad you came up when you did. You can handle my duties from here, correct?” Carve gives me a confident salute, assuring my duties are in the right hooves. “I got you covered!” “Good. I might not be back for a while.” After racing to Twilight’s throne room, I can see a hologram of my crown floating with one of Aita’s stylus. She and I watch them circling around a downtown area in the east coast of Equestria on the map. Aita turns to me. “I’m so glad Twilight had me stay after the incident. This probably wouldn’t have been viable if I still attended school.” I smile at her. “But still possible? Surely Cheerilee would’ve understood if you had to skip school for this. We finally get to collaborate.” Twilight races into the throne room in excitement. “Oh my gosh! This is amazing! Aita and Chrysalis on a friendship mission together?!?” She gasps when she sees where we’re headed. “AND you get to go to Fillydelphia?!? AND to a rich area?!? Somepony touch me!” Aita proceeds to hug Twilight to actually test what she was thinking. “Nope. I’m pretty sure you’re awake. I’ve never been to Fillydelphia before though.” “Neither have I, Aita,” I say. “Who knows what problem we have to solve.” “But whatever it is, we got this, right Chrysalis?” Aita and I bump hooves. “Agreed.” Author's Note Insert opening theme here.
Act 1When Aita and I arrive in downtown Fillydelphia, Aita with a saddlebag that contains her DS as well as some money, we start by looking at the skyscrapers from about five blocks away. Somehow, they are still highly apparent. But as we walk, I notice a two story brick structure across the street. It has picket fencing surrounding the yards sandwiching the building on its sides, and a playground in the backyard. Up front, there is a sign against the sidewalk. “Happy Foals Schoolhouse…” I read, crossing the street. I attempt to open the front door, but it appears to be locked. “Strange. Is there a field trip underway?” “I think so,” Aita says as I come back to her. “Why else would the main entrance be locked?” As Aita and I continue our walk, she stays pretty close to me. Obviously she seems unfamiliar with the area. I don’t blame her. I can’t help but think of when I sent my own search party. “Last time I had any interaction with this city, Celestia met two of my top drones here during the search party.” “Huh. I do remember that. I was with Mom and Pinkie when that happened. Were Cilia and Seta the ones that set hoof here?” “Well, they were the closest.” After a brief verbal pause, Aita looks up at me. “Hard to believe our hopes are actually coming true right now. Everything we’ve done is now building up to something.” “I wouldn’t have any other way, Aita. You’ve accomplished truly remarkable feats nopony could ever fabricate.” While we have our tender moment, we hear the faint sound of colliding pins coming from one of the buildings next to the skyscrapers from earlier. The sign above the front doors appears to alternate for four characters between a pin and a bowling ball. “Do you remember what that is?” I ask Aita. “Is it a bowling alley? I have done a couple of games on my seventh birthday back home.” “Correct you are.” Entering the bowling alley fills the air with the ambient rumbling and crashing I could only imagine Aita was used to before moving to Equestria. To our left, there appear to be twelve bowling lanes to our left. There aren’t any lights on in that area, so it’s rather hard to tell all the littler details. Just that each lane has a table up front for resting and dining. Closer to me and Aita, tables of higher elevation host appropriately elevated seating of its own for spectators. Farthest to our right, I can see presumably twelve more lanes, this time with their lights on. Fillies, colts and baby dragons come into view every so often and promptly leave, probably playing games typical of young children to play. In between those areas, there are two entrances to what looks like a bar. And in between those is the front counter. At the front counter across the entrance, a dragon greets us. Her scales are mostly a dark tan with purple spines and a golden underbelly. “Oh hey! Chrysalis! Aita! Welcome to the Fillydelphia location of LOLO.” Aita looks around, confused why this dragon knows us. “Greetings, young drake. We’ve been called by the tree of harmony, so we arrived to scout for a friendship mission to fulfill,” I explain as I approach the dragon. “You wouldn’t mind us spectating, would you?” “Knock yourselves out. We have a full house on the north side of the building - the twelve lanes on your right. Mostly just kids, but Pinkie Pie was apparently also here as one of the chaperones.” Without another word, Aita and I move to our right to see a crowd of foals and baby dragons. And like the dragon at the counter said, there are a few mares chaperoning them, one of them appearing to be Pinkie Pie. The fillies and colts appear to be just unicorns and pegasi sitting on all the front chairs with their dragon classmates. The five chaperones are seated at the closest table to what seems to be a snack bar across from the farthest lanes to the back. “Why would a school plan a field trip here?” I ask. “I know Cheerilee took my class to LOLO at the end of last semester as a reward. Not sure why a school would open with that.” When we sit at the adjacent tables to the chaperones to see the student body, Pinkie Pie soon spots us and cautiously approaches us. She holds her hoof out, her look suspicious of me. I chuckle at the act, thinking she was just playing around. I then meet her hoof with mine. “It’s okay, Pinkie. It’s just me and Aita.” “Aita? W-who’s Aita?” Oh. This doesn’t appear to be the Pinkie I was thinking would be here, based on the relatively deep but tenorish voice. I tilt my head in confusion. Aita appears to recognize the voice though. She pushes the chair back and waves at this peculiar Pinkie. “Ah, so that’s who. Um, what brings you two to Fillydelphia?” “Friendship mission,” replies Aita. “So, Universe A, right? I hope I’m remembering that correctly.” “What? H-How did you know where I was from?” “Aita comes from the real world,” I explain. “so her knowledge of our respective worlds is kind of extensive. So, Pinkie Pie of Universe A, what brings you chaperoning?” “Oh that? I was living in Manehattan for a while until one of the fillies here asked me to fill in for Sunspot while he’s in Sire’s Hollow.” While Pinkie is explaining why she’s here, I notice one of the pegasus fillies is wearing a violet bandana. She has a pink coat, a neatly curled turquoise mane and tail tied by ivory ribbon, and a rook as a cutie mark. I point to the filly. “Would that be her?” Pinkie looks in the direction I point. “Um, I think so.” The dragon Aita and I saw at the counter from earlier suddenly races to the lanes the children are occupying. She lands next to the ball queue farthest to the back. “Hello, students of Happy Foals Schoolhouse. Smoulder here. Hope you kids have a good time bowling. I’ll be at the counter up front if you need anything. The snack bar is behind you if you’d like to buy some lunch. Also behind you are the chaperones if you need them, Pinkie Pie, Radiance, Espresso, Air Whiff and Interpolation. We also have Queen Chrysalis now if you need her or Aita; they’re on a friendship mission anyway.” Aita and I wave hello upon Smoulder introducing us. “It’s really cool the school board planned this in the middle of the opening assignment I’ve heard about from the chaperones. Now, I’m sure you all know how bowling works right?” Everyone nods at Smoulder. “Good. Behind me is one of the ball queues. Just make sure not to pass the foul line when you bowl. The lanes are slick, which could cause you to slip, and I will know about it when that happens. And you certainly wouldn’t want to get lectured by me. Well, I think that’s everything I need to cover. Have fun everyone, and good luck.” Smoulder then leaves to return to the front counter. The rest of the children glare at the filly I spotted earlier as if Smoulder was referring to her during the introductory speech. The filly looks around until she sees me as some of the other children begin their games. The unicorns use their magic, pegasi use their wings, and dragons use their claws to play. She then flies up on top of the table Aita and I are sitting at, and lies down on the table. “Are you okay, little one?” I ask her. “No…” she answers, prompting concern from Aita. “But why not?” “My class found out I’ve been behind everything about this field trip. I liked it last semester, but now I’m having second thoughts about going again so soon.” I tilt my head again. “Everything? And that includes Universe A Pinkie Pie? And the school board?” The filly nods. “Planning a fun field trip was pretty nice of you to do, little one. I can’t imagine why everyone would be so up and legs about it.” Pinkie taps the filly out of nowhere while I realize exactly what I just said. “Um, Cozy Glow, I think you’re up.” “Oh, golly. We’ll have to talk more in a bit, Chrysalis.” Cozy Glow, as she’s called, jumps down off the table. “No worries. Go take your turn.” I turn to Aita, who is confused by the name a little bit. “Cozy Glow? I guess that’s what Dr. Immunity meant when she thought I sounded cozy to her.” “Well, you two do sound alike,” Pinkie notes. “Maybe it was just a coincidence.” At the snack bar, Aita and I share a plate of hay fries together as we give ourselves time to chat away from the crowd. “Well Aita, I believe we’ve found our friendship mission.” Aita nods. “Yeah. Cozy Glow lobbied for an opening field trip to the school board just so she and her classmates could bowl together again. And everyone seems to take that for granted.” “Perhaps you could ask the children why. If I’m right, Happy Foals might be the school Carve was referring to back at the hive. Do you think you can do that while I talk to Cozy?” “Sure do, Chrysalis.” Aita gets up off her seat and starts for the crowd. But it appears she’s forgetting something, so I momentarily hold her tail with my magic to stop her. At the same time, Pinkie jumps onto the other seat next to me. “Hold it, AIta. Aren’t you going to bring our snack?” “Oh, that’s right. The snack.” “THE SNACK!” Pinkie instantly replies. “THE SNACK!” Aita replies back. The rapid-fire exchange between the two leaves me a little confused as Aita walks back to the crowd with our fries in her magic. “What was that?” I inquire. “Oh our interaction? Seems AIta was somehow able to watch The Snack.” “The Snack?” “THE SNACK!” Pinkie repeats. Dumbfounded by the whole snack bar experience, I simply return to the table I assigned myself before. Thankfully, Aita appears to’ve successfully dropped our fries off. I’m caught off guard when I spot Cozy Glow scoring a strike, the best result of throw one in bowling. No one seems to’ve turned their heads to see her though. She pulls down the air above her in accomplishment and races to me and Aita’s table in the air in excitement. “Did you see, Chrysalis?!? Did you?!?” “Patience, Cozy. Yes, I arrived just in time to see your strike. I can at least see why you enjoy yourself here if you manage to accomplish that on a regular basis. I sure hope you’re feeling better after that.” All the hype contained within Cozy quickly dissipates as she sighs and slumps midair in disappointment, an obvious sign my calm tone was not what she was expecting. I alternate my gaze between Cozy and the plate of hay fries. Making my decision on how to respond, I float a fry in front of her, getting her to look at me. “Here. Enjoy a hay fry. You’ve earned it after that strike.” “R-really? B-but that’s yours.” “It goes without saying, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy the plate all by myself. Good deeds can be rewarding after all.” Cozy still looks unsure whether or not she should take the fry I’m offering her. “You really think I should eat this?” “Absolutely, Cozy. Now, go on.” Cozy reluctantly holds out her hoof under the fry for me to rest it onto. I watch as she consumes the fry, savoring every last bit before gulping it down. “Golly. That was a good hay fry. Thanks, Chrysalis,” says Cozy, hugging me. “Anytime, little one. It looks like you’re up again to bowl now.” I watch as the filly flies back to her lane.
Act 2With Chrysalis off to talk to Cozy Glow, I take it upon myself to talk to the rest of the student body of Happy Foals Schoolhouse… at least whoever was available. Any of the kids will do. Looking around, the seating area isn’t as crowded as before as the students take their turns bowling. I then close my eyes and tap the nearest child on the shoulder. Opening my eyes back up, I can see a baby dragon turn around. He has a similar coloration to Mangle - grey scales with green spines and eyes, only with a thinner version of Spike’s body shape. “Oh, Aita! What’s up?” he greets, holding out his claw for me to shake with my hoof. “Chrysalis and I noticed the student body was glaring at that one filly. Pegasus, has a bandana, neat curls, chess piece for a-” I am interrupted when I hear a loud crash of pins. There’s a brief bit of wind as Cozy breezes by. Half a good thing it seems he knew who I was talking about. “Cozy Glow? Don’t let her innocent demeanor fool you. She has no sense for others’ wellbeing,” the dragon warns, pointing his thumb to Cozy. “That’s not true from what I noticed. Would you be bowling right now if all she was thinking about was herself?” My question stumps the dragon, prompting one of the unicorns to come to his side. She has a blue coat, lavender mohawk and tail, and three lily pads for a cutie mark. Based on the unicorn’s voice and appearance, I can only guess that her name is Lily Trail. “Hey! You leave Smoky alone! Cozy dragged ev’rypony here and blew the school budget just so she can bowl!” “’Course it doesn’t hurt that Heavenly Luck is president of the school board,” Smoky - as he’s called - adds, seemingly echoing Apple Bloom from during the election between Diamond Tiara and Pip. In direct response, I look back to Chrysalis - who Cozy Glow is hugging at the moment, then look on the floor below to see my saddlebag. I float the DS out of the bag and over to me. “Well, I think I just saw Cozy hugging Chrysalis, so talk to the DS.” During my funny order, the DS levitates up close to Smoky’s face, who guides it down to half its previous elevation. “Besides, anything Cozy’s done is nothing compared to Chrysalis’ past.” “Okay, nymph,” the unicorn replies. “But don’t say we didn’t warn ya.” “Yes, and Lily Trail and I will laugh once you fail to steer her straight.” With that, Smoky and Lily Trail head off to their lanes to start bowling again, prompting me to sit at a nearby empty table to think out loud to myself. “So, I guess that explains why the students don’t like Cozy Glow. But what did Chrysalis mean about Carve referring to Happy Foals Schoolhouse back home?” My thought process is interrupted when I hear another loud crash of pins on Cozy’s lane. Yay! Another strike!!! I hear Cozy Glow shout, seeing her rush back to Chrysalis and hug her again. Chrysalis happily motions afterward for Cozy to go tell the chaperones. “That’s it! That’s the connection!” I exclaim. “What is?” I hear Pinkie Pie say from behind, startling me. She blushes with embarrassment. “Whoops. Didn’t know you were in the moment. What’d you want to talk about?” “I’m kind of lost about higher up stance on the field trip. Chrysalis says Carve might’ve mentioned Happy Foals before we were called by the map.” “Oh.” Pinkie inhales through her teeth. “Yeah, you’d have to ask the other chaperones.” “That’s what I thought.” When I see Chrysalis again, a dragon walks up to her from the snack bar. She points to our plate, prompting the dragon to pass behind the chaperones back into the snack bar. I now look to each one of the chaperones, each one giving Cozy Glow a hoof bump from left to right, everypony at the table with a empathic beam on their face afterward as she leaves to wait her next turn. I take off over to the four mares at the high table, Chrysalis joining me. The mares wave hello to us, and each one I point to in the same order nods as I guess their names correctly. “So, Radiance? Espresso? Air Whiff? Interpolation? Okay good. Universe A Pinkie wanted me to talk to you all.” “Yes?” says Radiance. “What about?” “Just so we’re sure,” Chrysalis explains. “my stand-in, Carve, mentioned something about Celestia monitoring a school to the east. Would that be yours?” The chaperones look at each other, Interpolation nodding. “The Equestria Education Association has been lecturing school board president Heavenly Luck about the liberal use of field trips and the expense it all incurs on the school budget. But she’s insistent about paying for it out of pouch.” “This is a wealthy area of Fillydelphia after all,” Espresso adds. “Like all the other ones, the budget will not be affected by this field trip.” This explanation doesn’t appear to involve Cozy at all, even though I inferred she lobbied to go bowling with her friends. “Wait, so Cozy Glow isn’t responsible?” “Not financially,” Air Whiff replies. “But she clearly likes coming here to LOLO. Who wouldn’t? And as long as all parties can accommodate, she should be fine.” With the final answer, I can see that the school staff have the opposite problem the students have. Great, it’s one of those missions. Sitting back at our table, I notice there are two plates for the hay fries now instead of just one. Chrysalis floats half of what’s left onto the second plate. At that point, we begin eating again while conversing. “So Aita, what have you learned about our mission?” “When I was talking to the student body, I sure was proven right about the students taking this gift for granted. They all think this was just for Cozy, not to mention Lily Trail thinking this came from the budget.” “But now we both know the latter at least isn’t true,” Chrysalis states, rubbing my back. “I noticed after both her strikes, Cozy went straight to me. I thought she would start with one of the chaperones. Why is that?” “Well, with her first strike, she obviously wanted to see you impressed.” “But that’s the thing, Aita. I was impressed. I just didn’t let adrenaline overshadow my thought process is all.” I look at our plates, and just past Chrysalis’ are bits of the seasoning that come with the hay fries. I fly over the other side of the table and see a little bit on the floor too. “But you still rewarded her for those strikes, right?” “Of course I did… well the first one anyway. But what made you-” Chrysalis realizes exactly what’s going on and smiles when she sees me across from her. “Very good, young Aita. I knew I can always count on you. So what did I do differently than the other mares?” “I think I know… all the school staff were babying Cozy, but you were assertive with her. And the student body was biased against her, but I was impartial. I think we should start solving the problem by revealing the truth.” As Chrysalis and I finish our hay fries, we hear Cozy Glow cheering. Turning around, I can see her score is finalized at one twenty five, as portrayed by a projection above her lane. She quickly approaches me and Chrysalis, excited about the score. “That was my personal best! No gutters!” shouts Cozy. No gutters? I could never do that at such a young age. That is pretty impressive. “That’s amazing, Cozy!” I say with enthusiasm, hoof bumping with her. “That’s usually something only the grownups could accomplish!” “Golly! Was I really that impressive?” Cozy laughs. “That’s so sweet, Aita! I really wish others our relative age responded the way you and the chaperones have.” “Actually Cozy, there is something about your school Aita and I need to tell you before you go on to game two. Accompany us at the main entrance.” So, Cozy and I follow Chrysalis as she heads to the front, taking the right, then the left to the main entrance. Once we’re outside, Cozy Glow looks a little scared of Chrysalis, pupils shrunken under a stiff standing posture. Chrysalis immediately notices and lies down on her belly. “Cozy, it’s okay. This has nothing to do with you, influences aside.” “What?” Cozy shakily says. “When Chrysalis and I were called here, we discovered you were in an unsuitable school environment.” “Your prejudicial student body and lackadaisical staff led to how you managed to convince Heavenly Luck to personally fund the field trips you go on. Are we right?” Cozy confirms Chrysalis’ guess by nodding. “I had been so used to getting what I liked. I felt on top of the world, living in the developmental community. It’s the richest area in Fillydelphia. But then I heard what happened to Canterlot City Spitfire…” Chrysalis sees Cozy starting to tear up and turn away from her, so she walks over to Cozy and drapes her wing over her. “I remember that too. Seeing Aita broken up like that certainly wasn’t easy.” “The way you and the Princess of Friendship went to CHS to defend Aita helped me see it’s not just about me. But when I started planning field trips with the school board, my classmates put two and two together and just started… well…” “Denouncing you?” I finish, Cozy nodding yes and burying her face in Chrysalis’ side. Chrysalis looks to Cozy, and closes her eyes. “I know what it’s like, losing the trust of everyone around you who realized what you did. But you’re just a child. Nopony your age should be going through that, even among their peers. And the way those chaperones have been treating you has to stop too.” When Chrysalis opens her eyes back up, Cozy looks up at her. “A field trip wasn’t what you needed… it was a friend, wasn’t it?” Cozy tearfully gives us a silent yes at Chrysalis’ final guess, prompting me to walk closer to her. “Well, you have two right here, Cozy Glow.” “...Thank you, Aita, Chrysalis. Both of you,” Cozy says, hugging me and Chrysalis, accepting our hooves in friendship. “Without you, I wouldn’t have realized just how lost I felt.” “Any time, Cozy,” Chrysalis says. “If you’d like, you could visit Ponyville or the hive during the weekends.” “Or… what if I moved to Ponyville? That way I can see Aita every day, and you whenever we visit each other.” Hmm… I don’t see Chrysalis’ crown glowing, so we aren’t quite done with Cozy yet. “Maybe give this school one more shot before we think about moving. We aren’t quite done with the problem after all.” So, after that emotional scene, Chrysalis, Cozy and I walk back into LOLO, but before we talk to the crowd, we go through the pub to reach the snack bar and see Universe A Pinkie again as we pass. She apparently had some lunch while Chrysalis and I were busy, but her plate still has some potato chips left. Nearing the crowd, I see most of the projections hanging from the ceiling are full now, only a few dragons going up to bowl the last frame or two of their first game. The rest of the kids stop and turn their heads when one of them spots Cozy Glow next to us and points. Of course, because I haven’t talked to any of them again since I shoved my DS in Smoky’s face, they still look bitter at Cozy from getting dragged here to bowl when they probably could’ve spent that time getting school work done. Not going to lie. I can at least see how someone dedicated to school may find it annoying, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Cozy looks to both of us, wondering who should be defending her. Both Chrysalis and I pat her on the back, letting her know we’ll do it, but also encouraging her to forward.
Act 3Cozy Glow looks one last time at AIta and I, and finally beaming for us since we first pulled her away. “Classmates… I guess I have a little explaining to do. This field trip is not what you all think. Ever since the news with Canterlot City Spitfire first spread a year and a half ago, I’ve been wanting you all to enjoy the same stuff I have, mostly just living a comfy lifestyle. This field trip was never about me. Yes, I enjoy bowling, but I wanted us to enjoy it together… and now, I realize I was going about that all wrong. It was Aita and Chrysalis that taught me that it wasn’t a field trip I needed. It was a friend. I’m sorry about dragging you guys to LOLO. I hope you can forgive me for having done all this.” Within the front of the crowd, a unicorn voices her confusion. That looks like the one Aita called Lily Trail earlier. “Wait… this field trip… was for us? But what about the school budget?” “That was untouched, Lily,” Cozy says. “We both know that money is for educational purposes ONLY.” A dragon besides Lily Trail crosses his arms. “Yup. Not gonna fall for it. We’ve gone bowling too many times to think this was remotely for the student body.” The dragon’s comment to Cozy enrages me inside, but I have to stop myself this time. He is a child after all, and he could also be dangerous in combat if I’m not careful. In fact, this is a new situation I’ve never faced before: an offender being an actual child. I grit my teeth and close my eyes. I then take a deep breath before looking at Aita. “His name is Smoky,” Aita whispers, allowing me to finally approach this drake. “Smoky, was it?” Smoky hurriedly nods to me. “Charmed meeting such a delusional drake!” I stop and take another deep breath, trying to calm down and think. “It is with gargantuan effort that I simply relay to you my experience with Cozy Glow and nothing more. It would certainly be a different story on a level playing field. Think about what happened to Cozy when news broke out about Canterlot High School’s former superintendent. Now, I believe Aita talked to you and Lily Trail soon after that first strike. So, what did you tell her about Cozy?” Smoky thinks over what happened a year and a half ago like I ordered him. However, the way I conveyed the message has him thinking longer than I expected. “Smoky…” I startle him, getting his attention. “I would appreciate an answer. What did you tell Aita about Cozy Glow?” “Um, that she didn’t have any s-sense for others’ w-wellbeing?” I sigh relief that he managed to say something at least. “Good, he admitted,” Aita remarks before walking by my side. “What you said to Aita, Smoky, was highly inaccurate. In fact, the exact opposite was true. Cozy started planning field trips after hearing of me and Princess Twilight’s actions against Canterlot City Spitfire.” “I wasn’t trying to do this for me. I could just go alone if I was only thinking of myself. I just didn’t realize I was distracting you all from school by planning all these field trips, and I’m sorry. I promise I won’t plan anymore like this. Whatever I do next for everyone, it could something more manageable, like a class party?” The students initially consider forgiving Cozy Glow until she gives them the idea of a party, returning to a collective expression of distrust. “That apology doesn’t hamper the fact that you haven’t learned a thing!” Lily Trail shouts. Upon hearing this, Universe A Pinkie Pie zips over to the crowd, specifically to Lily Trail. “Wh- hey, hey! That’s not how you treat a fellow classmate! A party sounds like a great idea! I know somepony who knows ALL about parties, as much as I hate to say it.” “Our Pinkie Pie,” I guess. “She planned my son’s reconciliation party.” “Yep. That’s the one,” confirms Pinkie. “For now, Cozy, why don’t we start smaller, something you could manage by yourself,” Aita suggests, getting Cozy to think. “What about… bringing in sweets? That should be easy to do, right?” Hearing her idea, I float Cozy and hug her. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Cozy, exactly as I taught you.” “So, you did learn?” Lily Trail asks Cozy. “I’d love to see the way your food turns out.” The rest of the student body sans Smoky begin murmuring with positive tones. Unfortunately, he’s really conflicted. Lily Trail wraps her hoof around him. “Hey, come on, you silly dragon. She ain’t gonna bite.” “He doesn’t need to, Lily. I know it’ll take some knee grease for him to like me again, so you shouldn’t pressure him. He’ll come around when my actions speak for themselves.” As Cozy gets her friend to relax, everyone hears the same shimmering sound Carve and I heard back home. Aita takes the saddlebag and removes the DS from inside. The stylus is glowing yet again. She then looks at my crown which is glowing too. Ooooh! everyone exclaims in awe. “Your crown can glow?” Cozy asks, to which I nod. “What does that mean?” “It means we’ve accomplished our mission. It won’t be immediate, but Aita and I will have to return home.” “I’m glad we gave this a shot. You should have new friends here in no time, Cozy,” Cozy Glow and Aita hug each other. “Thank you, Aita, Chrysalis. Thank you for believing in me. I’ll visit as soon as I can.” “So, would you like to participate in game two with your peers?” I ask. “Actually, mind if I join you two for a bit?” With my crown and Aita’s stylus still glowing as we stay in LOLO, we allow Cozy to bowl by our side on the south half of the building once we order two games for each of us. After we select a ball for each of us, we arrive on the second farthest lane from the entrance, Lane Eleven, I think. I know the lane Cozy bowled on earlier was Lane Twenty One, which was fourth farthest, just on the north side instead of south. “Are you sure you didn’t want to bowl with your classmates?” I ask Cozy, who nods. “I’ll always have time for my peers, and that will be easily doable, but for now, I just want to spend a quiet moment with the two best friends I ever knew.” “After all that you’ve been through today, Cozy, that might be for the best,” says Aita. “She’s not the only one, Aita.” Aita and Cozy look at me as I walk to the ball queue, taking the marker and dry-erase bowling sheet to the table. “After a friendship mission like this, a relaxing couple games of bowling is everything we need. So, who would like to go first?” Cozy immediately raises a hoof, prompting me to sign her name on the far left of the first row on the sheet. “It’s been a while since you last bowled; is that correct, AIta?” “Yeah, I last went to LOLO in May, and that was the Ponyville location.” I sign AIta’s name on the second row and mine on the third. “No worries then. I’ll go last. That way horn memory will cover for you.” Cozy Glow looks back at me in front of our lane, waiting for me to cue her to start. I raise my hoof a little and nod, giving her affirmation that she can bowl now. I watch while putting back the sheet and marker on the ball queue as she takes the ball in her wing, gives it a good swing, and sends it speeding down the lane in an arc to her right. The ball manages to hit the one-three pocket and send all ten pins careening into each other. Yep, Cozy got yet another strike. “So that’s how you keep getting those. You are an innovative filly, I see,” I comment, rubbing Cozy’s mane with affection as Aita trots past. “Whatever happens next in school, I know it’s going to be perfect.” “How do you know that, Cozy?” “With you and Aita as my friends, how could it not?” With Chrysalis and Aita gone to Fillydelphia, and Starlight and Twilight gone to run some errands here in Ponyville to pass the time, I invited Kevin, George, and Big Mac to play O&O with me. After a good six hours, the map glowed, signaling everyone to return home. So, as Aita heads back to the throne room, I’m in the middle of cleaning up after the session. “Oh! Hey Aita. How was your mission with Chrysalis?” Aita looks around and asks “Where’s Twilight and Starlight?” “Oh, they’re just running some errands around Ponyville.” “Think you can gather them while I summon some pears? I’d like to tell the whole family, and I wouldn’t want Chrysalis left out. She might still have Carve up there too.” “You got it, Aita. After six hours of gameplay with Big Mac, Kevin and George, I’m ready to do anything.” And so, I leave Aita to begin her pear-summoning spell while I go find Twilight and Starlight, the latter of whom once told me it was the same one Cervix, Brand and a few others used one time to call Chrysalis from here a couple years ago.
