A Test for Aitaby Joshua CrapoChaptersChapter IChapter IIChapter IIIChapter IVChapter IWhile in one of the suites in Canterlot, I’ve cast a spell to go into Cozy Glow and Chrysalis’ dreams after alerting my former caretaker, Twilight, about their nightmares. While in Cozy’s, I’ve ended up having to lay low, that is until one point, where I find Twilight in the middle of a lecture at this school Cozy’s been dreaming about. Strangely enough, Twilight never transformed a second time here like she did when Chrysalis befriended her. As I look through the door, a drawing of the tree of harmony is on the chalk board on the left facing the students straight ahead. Some of them I recognize through pictures Starlight sent me from Sire's Hollow, like Ocellus (even in her pro-Thorax form), Gallus, Sandbar and Yona. I’m never going to learn pony history! Gallus shouts when the bell rings. That’s my cue to retreat. In the library, I hide in the corner on the left as you’d enter until Cozy Glow comes into the scene. As she passes by, I walk through the aisle and peek while she heads into the very back aisle on the same side as me. Before I have the chance to follow her, I droop my ears to a loud clanging sound. Unfortunately, as soon as I try to find out where she went, a mix of hoofsteps and wing flaps causes a quiet whinny out of me as I zip over to the far corner of the library. There, across the bookshelf lays a metal grate, which would explain the clang from earlier, and why Cozy Glow is no where to be seen now. The next few minutes consists of indistinct chatter from six of the students from that class from earlier. One of them is actually Smoulder from LOLO in Fillydelphia. Not much harm in taking a quick peek at whom they are… until I see Cozy Glow emerging from the grate and carefully replacing the cover, without even looking in my direction. You guys! Check this out! That’s not a voice I would’ve recognized. That’s a plumbing diagram on how to fix a sink, Gallus says. As the first voice lets out a laugh, the coast is at least clear corner to corner. I might as well see what the fuss is about. Nothing. I just can’t believe that’s how sinks work! Where’s Yona? Yona’s a part of this group as well? Wasn’t she the one that watched over Stellar Flare when she was initially arrested? As I peek across from the entrance, Smoulder is accompanied by Sandbar, Ocellus, Gallus, and one creature I’ve never seen before. She’s like part pony, part griffon. Who is that? Apparently, YAKS NO LOVE STUDY GROUPS, Smoulder jokes. I blink a few times before lowering my ears again. SPIDER!!! No!!! shouts Yona. I retreat to the corner when everyone laughs off what was a prank. That is because Cozy Glow is laughing too. After a somewhat long zoneout, I startle to a clanging sound similar to what I heard earlier. I’m still in the dream library, and in fact, in the same spot I retreated to earlier. The only difference is that the group of creatures are in front of me, in shock of what they’re seeing, especially Ocellus. Between me and them is the grate, but a glowing crystal root has displaced the cover by wedging into it. Smoulder is the first of the group to clear her mind and look into the cave beneath. “What’re you doing?” I ask her. “Dragon, strange magical cave, what do you think I’m doing?” she says, leading the rest of the creatures into the cave. The first to follow is the pony-griffon hybrid. Yona ends up stuck, but is pushed through by a descending Ocellus. I hover into the line behind Gallus, though he cuts in front of Sandbar, making him whinny in exclamation. Sandbar and I are the last to follow. As we wonder around the cave below, the ponygrif is the first to break silence. “Did we know this was down here?” “I don’t think anypony knows this is down here,” answers Sandbar. All of us turn our heads to the sound of hooves clipping across the cave. The source of the sound is the familiar projection of Twilight provided by the tree of harmony. She lifts a hoof to the side with her unnatural sounding Welcome. “Headmare Twilight?” Sandbar says. “Astral Twilight…” I correct. Yona tilts her head. “Um, Yona confused.” The unreformed changeling is correct. But I can sense something is wrong, as I have feared; you are not one. What has happened? The tree of harmony’s observation catches me off guard. “What? I don’t get it. They were doing fine before I zoned out.” “We were studying on friendship’s effect on history, but then…” Ocellus starts to the tree, at least before Gallus finishes. “Since friendship just ‘isn’t in our nature’, what’s the point?” Gallus’ sentiment has me glaring at him, due to my experience that’s led me to believe otherwise. You do not believe friendship is in your nature?!? That is NOT ACCEPTABLE! The tree flares alicorn wings in agitation as she now glows and sets off a strong breeze. The ponygrif puts her claws on her mane, alerted by the spiritual anger of the tree. “Our headmare is glowing you guys! What is going… on…?!?” “Um, if it makes you feel any better,” I hesitantly reassure the tree. “I do. I’ve been trying to help out my advisor and organizer in the waking world.” “We should probably get back to studying for the test,” adds Ocellus. The tree perks up at the sound of… A test, yes. The wind subsides, but in place, the roots glow and move to crowd the grate above us. By sunrise, this door will be closed. Finish the test before then and you may go. Fail the test and here you will stay. A blinding light emanates from the tree, causing the other seven of us to glow. Everyone is shocked by the turn of events before being transported elsewhere, separated from each other. Great, I think I hit a snag with Luna’s spell. Chapter IIThe next moment of serious consciousness, I find myself in a somewhat familiar scene. I remember this exact setting from just a month or so ago: the final battle with the sirens, Svengallop and CHS Spitfire. “The field between Ponyville and Canterlot? Is this even the same day?” As I scan the area, no one is even in my sight. That is until a portal opens up thanks to Grogar’s bell when I face a destroyed Canterlot. Stepping through is Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow. While Tirek appears no different from when he drained the villains’ magic, Cozy and Chrysalis have considerable changes. Chrysalis resembles herself from before befriending Twilight, only with full regalia, wider wings, green tinted horn and her pro-Thorax eyes, and Cozy is an alicorn, but unlike during the battle, she also wears a chestplate. “W-what? Tirek, what happened to my castlemates?” Tirek extends his arm halfway to the side, cueing Cozy and Chrysalis’ response. “Castlemates? Do we know you?” Cozy suspiciously asks. Chrysalis smirks and laughs like her old self. “Don’t pretend you don’t know. We’ve been buffed by the bewitching bell.” I gasp at this behavior. Chrysalis hasn’t been like this since she first lost her hive. And… they don’t know me? “Are you serious?!? But… but Chrysalis, Cozy, we’ve been through so much together! You can’t let all that growth go to waste!” Tirek cackles at me. “Silly nymph. We’ll always prevail, despite what those pathetic ponies say.” As I crouch in front of the trio before me, I turn around to a screech from behind that resembles a chicken cluck, but at half the speed. I gasp at the monster standing opposite Tirek, Cozy and Chrysalis, the head of a chicken with the body of a snake. “A cockatrice!!!” I look away for a few seconds, tears starting to stream from my eyelids. I only stop once crackling sounds come from behind. Moving my tail and back legs are still perfectly easy, but turning back around, the trio is now turned into a stone statue. “Chrysalis! Cozy! NOOOO!!!” I scream, getting on my hind legs before falling forward. Having just solved and escaped a claustrophobia puzzle, I’m free to roam the caves to get back to the library. On my way over through, there’s some sobbing going on. Sure doesn’t sound like any of my friends. To my left, bright doors appear, so going through them, I’m greeted with the meadow between Ponyville and Canterlot. Front and center is the “dream walker” in front of a stone statue of Tirek and Chrysalis alongside fellow student Cozy Glow. She’s the source of the sobbing, given how broken down she looks. I walk through the door and approach the unreformed changeling, calmly breaking conversational ice. “Hey… what’s wrong?” She pauses before answering and pointing to the statue. “It’s my castlemates…” “All of them are?” The changeling shakes her head. “Where I come from, Tirek went back to his land a better centaur. The other two went on to live with me at Twilight’s old castle.” With a face of confusion, I take a closer look at the statue. “I didn’t know Cozy would become a princess. Did she and Chrysalis ascend or something? Awfully weird to see Cozy and her side by side like that… and turned to stone? What did happen? And what’s your name anyway?” As she tries to explain her story to me, she becomes more hysterical. “Aita. It’s just… I ended up here, and none of those three recognized me; Cozy, Chrysalis, not even Tirek! Then a cockatrice turned them to stone like Cozy described when I woke up and-” “Whoa whoa whoa,” I interrupt, putting a claw on Aita’s mouth. “One thing at a time. I think I know what’s going on. If it’s anything like I went through, this is just a test; it’s not real.” “But it will be!” she counters. “I could very well lose them to insomnia! I don’t wanna live alone so young!” As Aita lays on her stomach in tears, I hold her shoulder. “I understand. It’s like being trapped. Truth be told, my test involved a room that kept shrinking. But then I solved the puzzle and found the way out; I had to face my claustrophobia.” “Wha… really?” Aita and I lock eyes with each other before I nod. “Aita, everything’s going to be fine. You know Twilight, right?” “She used to be my caretaker until she moved back to Canterlot to rule Equestria.” Aita’s answer surprises me a little. Twilight? Ruling Equestria? Who will run the school when that happens? I pull through though with a poker face. “Well, in this ‘dream’,” I air quote. “she made sure the school of friendship happened regardless of the EEA’s objections. So, regardless of what you see while dream walking, Aita, your castlemates are going to be okay… I just didn’t expect one of them to be Chrysalis.” Aita lets out a smile. “It’s okay, Gallus. I come from a present where Chrysalis reformed because Carve and Mom survived and lived with urban explorers.” “What about Cozy and Tirek?” “Tirek lost his magic, and me and Twilight’s friends were able to convince him to help them escape the caves of Canterlot. As for Cozy, she was one of my friends… the map sent me and Chrysalis to Fillydelphia to help her before that.” After mentioning all three in the stone statue, that statue fades with an slow, elegant, white shimmer. The door behind us magically opens on its own once the statue is out of our sight. Aita hugs me, realizing she passed her test with my help. “Thank you, Gallus. I guess I just needed to look at my friends’ contributions instead of worrying about their futures.” “Hey, what are friends for?” Aita and I exit the field, and back into the cave beneath the school. “Okay, Aita. We’ll split up and see if anymore of our friends need help.” Aita nods yes to my command, and we diverge. Chapter IIIThroughout the caves, as I search for any of the students who need help, Smoulder is helping out Ocellus, so they’re alright. Yona sounds like she’s befriended something that squeaks, so she doesn’t need help. As for Sandbar, he’s only worried; it’s nothing too escalatory. Just in case though, I decide to enter, only to find him in the distance, running away with Rainbow Dash and Rarity. I sprint to catch up to Sandbar and talk. “Sandbar! What’s going on?” I ask in a rapid pant. “Oh! The dream walker!” Sandbar exclaims, turning his head to me while running. “I’m so glad you’re here! Where’re my friends?” “They’re still in the cave! Do we need them?” I say, to which he nods. “That’s what I’d prefer, if they were here. My professors and I on a really important friendship mission!” Okay, I can instantly see what Sandbar fears: having to decide between his friends and his role models. I gasp. “I recognize this situation! Rainbow Dash has had the same dilemma several times regarding the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts!” Sandbar sighs and facehoofs. “Of course! She always told us stories like that in class!” He and I now stop as he stamps his hoof on the ground. “Okay!!! Enough!!! I’m not going anywhere without my friends!” Rainbow Dash and Rarity turn around, the former zipping to face us as we begin to head the other way. “So you don’t care about anypony but your friends?!? Are you REALLY that selfish?!?” “Honestly, you really are such a disappointment,” adds Rarity. I don’t think that’s how Rainbow Dash and Rarity would act, and neither does Sandbar. “I’ve always looked up to you,” he scolds. “You would never turn your back on each other, and that’s what makes you strong. Now I have a group of friends that I think is every bit as amazing as yours. If I have to give up on them to make you proud, then you aren’t the ponies I thought you were. I don’t care if I disappoint you; you disappoint me.” With Sandbar’s speech, Rainbow Dash and Rarity let out a warm smile before flashing out of sight. I rub my eyes, trying to process what just happened. “That illusion really needed work. Something tells me that didn’t sound anything like Rainbow Dash or Rarity.” “Couldn’t agree more. Besides, they tried to get between me and my friends. Thanks for the help, uh…” Sandbar pauses when he draws a blank on my name. “Aita.” “Right. But now,” he continues. “we have to get out of here before the grate closes.” When Sandbar and I finally make it to the cave directly beneath the library, everyone else is already there, although Yona is surrounded by spiders. Wait, I thought she- oh, whatever. That was probably her test. Sandbar is the first to try and get out, but he stops when we all see a glow from behind. It’s the tree of harmony again. “You! You’re not just a mirage of Twilight, are you?” Sandbar questions, to which she shakes her head. “The tree of harmony…” I confidently clarify. The tree nods at my answer. Like all living beings, I change as I grow. As I have grown, so have my abilities. “I’m a bit rusty on pony history,” Gallus prefaces before his expression sours. “But since when does the tree of harmony trap creatures in a cave with their biggest fears?!?” You chose what you saw in my roots. Not me. Sandbar gasps at the tree’s revelation. “Our friendship got us past our fears!” The tree nods. You were more concerned for each other’s wellbeing than your own. You were strong when your friends were weak. You let each other in, and showed that you would be there for each other no matter what. Friendship IS in your nature. Unfortunately, the grate isn’t freed just yet, and the tree is still here. This is starting to feel a bit awkward. However, there is a concern that needs to be known: the dream walking changeling known as Aita. The group of friends next to me share their confusion. She expresses origins where she has befriended those who, here, pose an endangerment to friendship. All of us gasp, surprised at the tree’s words. How were they not where you come from, little nymph? What happened differently? I look at Sandbar and his friends, then back to the tree. “To summarize, Chrysalis’ research made her think of Carve and my mother. And because of her and Twilight’s defense of me against human Spitfire, Cozy Glow altered her way of thinking out of inspiration, but needed us to set her on the right path.” I see… Unfortunately here, the changelings you mentioned were thrust into another world and never returned. As a result, Spitfire’s human counterpart is still free, and Chrysalis never received the spark that you described. While in this dream, Aita, be weary of Cozy Glow’s behavior, but don’t hesitate to intervene if you believe her behavior goes beyond what you think she was like before your influence. “Well, how am I supposed to do that?” I ask. Wait. Isn’t that exactly what Cozy said to Scootaloo during her assignment? The tree closes her eyes. If you remember why your old caretaker first ascended, there is something similar to what she did that you could try. This dream is set to play identically every time it starts, locking Cozy Glow in it until she’s freed of this linearity spell. Remember her for who she is in the waking world, and rest assured she is safe in your hooves. One last time, the tree flashes white before disappearing. And instead of taking us to another test, she actually releases the roots from blocking the grate, which means we can all get back to the library. On the way up, Gallus looks behind at me. “I can’t believe all that just happened.” I hold back laughter as he and I make it into the library. Chapter IVBack up in the library, I can immediately tell Cozy Glow is waiting for the students, so I bolt up on top of one of the bookshelves to hide before she can see me. “You’re alright!” she exclaims with relief. “I came back with my notes and saw this and didn’t know WHAT to think!” “We’re better than alright!” the ponygrif cheers. “We just got tested by the tree of harmony! And we totally passed!” She comes up nose to nose with Cozy momentarily. Cozy pauses for a second. “The tree of harmony? Here?” “Yeah! Well, below here, under the school! We met a dream walker, and found this, and went down, and met the tree, and Gallus was all ‘friendship is not in our nature’, and the tree and the dream walker were like ‘WHAT?!?’, and the tree tested us!” The ponygrif’s explanation about our adventure makes me laugh on the inside. Honestly, the only tests I at least heard about were Sandbar’s and Gallus’. Smoulder joins the ponygrif’s side. “Long story short, friendship is in our nature; the tree said so.” “I guess we should tell somepony there’s a giant magical whole in the lib'ary,” says Ocellus, at least before a root closes the grate as everyone watches. “Or maybe just the dream walker in our school.” All eyes are all on Ocellus, except for Sandbar, who raises his head back up. “We have to tell our professors about this. They won’t believe that-” “YOU CAN’T!” Cozy interrupts. I’m not sure whether it’s because of the cave, me, or both, but she’s panicked at the thought of our adventure catching wind. “Why no?” asks Yona. “Because it’s my fault!” Cozy sits down and droops her wings as everyone looks at her before her explanation mirrors the tone of mine from my test. “You were all getting along so well and I felt left out. I was jealous, and it upset you so much the tree of harmony had to test ALL of you! Oh! I’m gonna get expelled for sure!” She now covers her eyes as she cries briefly. “Please don’t tell anypony about this, especially the professors! Please, please, ple-” Smoulder shoves her claw in Cozy’s face. “Okay!” she yawns. “I’m actually too tired to do anything right now.” “Yeah,” agrees Sandbar. “But we can’t go to sleep; we’ll miss the test.” Following a yawn of his own, Gallus’ eyes widen. “The test! I almost forgot!” Ocellus sighs as one by one, she and her friends begin to lay on the floor and fall asleep. “We’re all gonna fail.” I look to Cozy, who taps her chin with her hoof, which then lands back on the ground as her irises shrink momentarily. “What if I tell Prof. Sparkle I needed help organizing these books and you were kind enough to pitch in? I’ll get you an extension!” That would be a lie. Sandbar raises his head to a potent yawn, the last to lie down with his friends. “Thanks, Cozy. That’s nice of you.” And they’re gonna accept that? I understand covering for someone - I did it with the meeting with Amber and Tight Knit, but for a simple test extension… that feels wrong, especially if she was the source of those students’ doubt. Then again, that is probably something Cozy would’ve done without meeting me and Chrysalis. Better safe than sorry though; there’s a better way to go to Twilight. When I enter the headmare’s office, Twilight is glued to the scroll she’s reading. So, I stay at the door and knock, diverting her attention to me. “Good morning! You’re the headmare right?” I ask Twilight, although I already know from Sandbar mistaking the tree for her. “Oh, hello,” Twilight awkwardly says. “Are you a new student here?” “Well, no. But I did get wrapped up in an adventure with some of your students, and they got exhausted. Sandbar and his friends? They fell asleep in the library.” Twilight’s lips and irises shrink from my explanation for why I’m in front of her. “What? You mean all the non-ponies attending the school? Are any of them gonna make it to the test?” I sigh. “Afraid not. Do you think you could give them an extension?” Twilight quietly chuckles as she takes a paper and quill out of her desk. “Of course I can. I’ll just need one thing about you. What’s your name?” “Aita… Aita Bagley-Handy.” Twilight is left perplexed at the name. “Really? Quite an unusual name for a changeling,” she comments. “But I don’t think anypony would’ve made something up like that on a whim.” I hover and watch as Twilight signs my name on the extension form. Our dear student, ________________, An examination extension has been granted at the request of Aita Bagley Handy, effective upon recipiency. Review this form and specify the day below within the next week you wish to reschedule your exam. Please return the form to the headmare’s office when filled out. You may also visit said office for any questions you have. Yours truly, Headmare & Professor Twilight Sparkle. __ Monday __ Tuesday __ Wednesday __ Thursday __ Friday Twilight takes the form and makes five copies so that she can write the names of those who went through their tests by the tree of harmony. When she finishes, she tucks the forms under her wing, making her way out of the office. “Thank you for informing me, Aita. I’ll have to swing by the library before I make it to my classroom.” I nod to Twilight as she vanishes from view. I think about leaving the headmare’s office as well, but stop when something surprising comes to my mind. “I think I’m getting pretty good at this. I just out-Cozy-Glow’d Cozy Glow, and the one with her attitude from before I moved to Ponyville! Just wait until Chrysalis hears about this!” I giggle and make my way out of the headmare’s office. So while the tree of harmony only specifically said to stop Cozy Glow if she’s out of line with her past self, nothing stops me from intervening if it tickles my ideals like it did earlier. But nothing could prepare me for what the dream realm version of Cozy would go on to do.
Chapter IWhile in one of the suites in Canterlot, I’ve cast a spell to go into Cozy Glow and Chrysalis’ dreams after alerting my former caretaker, Twilight, about their nightmares. While in Cozy’s, I’ve ended up having to lay low, that is until one point, where I find Twilight in the middle of a lecture at this school Cozy’s been dreaming about. Strangely enough, Twilight never transformed a second time here like she did when Chrysalis befriended her. As I look through the door, a drawing of the tree of harmony is on the chalk board on the left facing the students straight ahead. Some of them I recognize through pictures Starlight sent me from Sire's Hollow, like Ocellus (even in her pro-Thorax form), Gallus, Sandbar and Yona. I’m never going to learn pony history! Gallus shouts when the bell rings. That’s my cue to retreat. In the library, I hide in the corner on the left as you’d enter until Cozy Glow comes into the scene. As she passes by, I walk through the aisle and peek while she heads into the very back aisle on the same side as me. Before I have the chance to follow her, I droop my ears to a loud clanging sound. Unfortunately, as soon as I try to find out where she went, a mix of hoofsteps and wing flaps causes a quiet whinny out of me as I zip over to the far corner of the library. There, across the bookshelf lays a metal grate, which would explain the clang from earlier, and why Cozy Glow is no where to be seen now. The next few minutes consists of indistinct chatter from six of the students from that class from earlier. One of them is actually Smoulder from LOLO in Fillydelphia. Not much harm in taking a quick peek at whom they are… until I see Cozy Glow emerging from the grate and carefully replacing the cover, without even looking in my direction. You guys! Check this out! That’s not a voice I would’ve recognized. That’s a plumbing diagram on how to fix a sink, Gallus says. As the first voice lets out a laugh, the coast is at least clear corner to corner. I might as well see what the fuss is about. Nothing. I just can’t believe that’s how sinks work! Where’s Yona? Yona’s a part of this group as well? Wasn’t she the one that watched over Stellar Flare when she was initially arrested? As I peek across from the entrance, Smoulder is accompanied by Sandbar, Ocellus, Gallus, and one creature I’ve never seen before. She’s like part pony, part griffon. Who is that? Apparently, YAKS NO LOVE STUDY GROUPS, Smoulder jokes. I blink a few times before lowering my ears again. SPIDER!!! No!!! shouts Yona. I retreat to the corner when everyone laughs off what was a prank. That is because Cozy Glow is laughing too. After a somewhat long zoneout, I startle to a clanging sound similar to what I heard earlier. I’m still in the dream library, and in fact, in the same spot I retreated to earlier. The only difference is that the group of creatures are in front of me, in shock of what they’re seeing, especially Ocellus. Between me and them is the grate, but a glowing crystal root has displaced the cover by wedging into it. Smoulder is the first of the group to clear her mind and look into the cave beneath. “What’re you doing?” I ask her. “Dragon, strange magical cave, what do you think I’m doing?” she says, leading the rest of the creatures into the cave. The first to follow is the pony-griffon hybrid. Yona ends up stuck, but is pushed through by a descending Ocellus. I hover into the line behind Gallus, though he cuts in front of Sandbar, making him whinny in exclamation. Sandbar and I are the last to follow. As we wonder around the cave below, the ponygrif is the first to break silence. “Did we know this was down here?” “I don’t think anypony knows this is down here,” answers Sandbar. All of us turn our heads to the sound of hooves clipping across the cave. The source of the sound is the familiar projection of Twilight provided by the tree of harmony. She lifts a hoof to the side with her unnatural sounding Welcome. “Headmare Twilight?” Sandbar says. “Astral Twilight…” I correct. Yona tilts her head. “Um, Yona confused.” The unreformed changeling is correct. But I can sense something is wrong, as I have feared; you are not one. What has happened? The tree of harmony’s observation catches me off guard. “What? I don’t get it. They were doing fine before I zoned out.” “We were studying on friendship’s effect on history, but then…” Ocellus starts to the tree, at least before Gallus finishes. “Since friendship just ‘isn’t in our nature’, what’s the point?” Gallus’ sentiment has me glaring at him, due to my experience that’s led me to believe otherwise. You do not believe friendship is in your nature?!? That is NOT ACCEPTABLE! The tree flares alicorn wings in agitation as she now glows and sets off a strong breeze. The ponygrif puts her claws on her mane, alerted by the spiritual anger of the tree. “Our headmare is glowing you guys! What is going… on…?!?” “Um, if it makes you feel any better,” I hesitantly reassure the tree. “I do. I’ve been trying to help out my advisor and organizer in the waking world.” “We should probably get back to studying for the test,” adds Ocellus. The tree perks up at the sound of… A test, yes. The wind subsides, but in place, the roots glow and move to crowd the grate above us. By sunrise, this door will be closed. Finish the test before then and you may go. Fail the test and here you will stay. A blinding light emanates from the tree, causing the other seven of us to glow. Everyone is shocked by the turn of events before being transported elsewhere, separated from each other. Great, I think I hit a snag with Luna’s spell.
Chapter IIThe next moment of serious consciousness, I find myself in a somewhat familiar scene. I remember this exact setting from just a month or so ago: the final battle with the sirens, Svengallop and CHS Spitfire. “The field between Ponyville and Canterlot? Is this even the same day?” As I scan the area, no one is even in my sight. That is until a portal opens up thanks to Grogar’s bell when I face a destroyed Canterlot. Stepping through is Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow. While Tirek appears no different from when he drained the villains’ magic, Cozy and Chrysalis have considerable changes. Chrysalis resembles herself from before befriending Twilight, only with full regalia, wider wings, green tinted horn and her pro-Thorax eyes, and Cozy is an alicorn, but unlike during the battle, she also wears a chestplate. “W-what? Tirek, what happened to my castlemates?” Tirek extends his arm halfway to the side, cueing Cozy and Chrysalis’ response. “Castlemates? Do we know you?” Cozy suspiciously asks. Chrysalis smirks and laughs like her old self. “Don’t pretend you don’t know. We’ve been buffed by the bewitching bell.” I gasp at this behavior. Chrysalis hasn’t been like this since she first lost her hive. And… they don’t know me? “Are you serious?!? But… but Chrysalis, Cozy, we’ve been through so much together! You can’t let all that growth go to waste!” Tirek cackles at me. “Silly nymph. We’ll always prevail, despite what those pathetic ponies say.” As I crouch in front of the trio before me, I turn around to a screech from behind that resembles a chicken cluck, but at half the speed. I gasp at the monster standing opposite Tirek, Cozy and Chrysalis, the head of a chicken with the body of a snake. “A cockatrice!!!” I look away for a few seconds, tears starting to stream from my eyelids. I only stop once crackling sounds come from behind. Moving my tail and back legs are still perfectly easy, but turning back around, the trio is now turned into a stone statue. “Chrysalis! Cozy! NOOOO!!!” I scream, getting on my hind legs before falling forward. Having just solved and escaped a claustrophobia puzzle, I’m free to roam the caves to get back to the library. On my way over through, there’s some sobbing going on. Sure doesn’t sound like any of my friends. To my left, bright doors appear, so going through them, I’m greeted with the meadow between Ponyville and Canterlot. Front and center is the “dream walker” in front of a stone statue of Tirek and Chrysalis alongside fellow student Cozy Glow. She’s the source of the sobbing, given how broken down she looks. I walk through the door and approach the unreformed changeling, calmly breaking conversational ice. “Hey… what’s wrong?” She pauses before answering and pointing to the statue. “It’s my castlemates…” “All of them are?” The changeling shakes her head. “Where I come from, Tirek went back to his land a better centaur. The other two went on to live with me at Twilight’s old castle.” With a face of confusion, I take a closer look at the statue. “I didn’t know Cozy would become a princess. Did she and Chrysalis ascend or something? Awfully weird to see Cozy and her side by side like that… and turned to stone? What did happen? And what’s your name anyway?” As she tries to explain her story to me, she becomes more hysterical. “Aita. It’s just… I ended up here, and none of those three recognized me; Cozy, Chrysalis, not even Tirek! Then a cockatrice turned them to stone like Cozy described when I woke up and-” “Whoa whoa whoa,” I interrupt, putting a claw on Aita’s mouth. “One thing at a time. I think I know what’s going on. If it’s anything like I went through, this is just a test; it’s not real.” “But it will be!” she counters. “I could very well lose them to insomnia! I don’t wanna live alone so young!” As Aita lays on her stomach in tears, I hold her shoulder. “I understand. It’s like being trapped. Truth be told, my test involved a room that kept shrinking. But then I solved the puzzle and found the way out; I had to face my claustrophobia.” “Wha… really?” Aita and I lock eyes with each other before I nod. “Aita, everything’s going to be fine. You know Twilight, right?” “She used to be my caretaker until she moved back to Canterlot to rule Equestria.” Aita’s answer surprises me a little. Twilight? Ruling Equestria? Who will run the school when that happens? I pull through though with a poker face. “Well, in this ‘dream’,” I air quote. “she made sure the school of friendship happened regardless of the EEA’s objections. So, regardless of what you see while dream walking, Aita, your castlemates are going to be okay… I just didn’t expect one of them to be Chrysalis.” Aita lets out a smile. “It’s okay, Gallus. I come from a present where Chrysalis reformed because Carve and Mom survived and lived with urban explorers.” “What about Cozy and Tirek?” “Tirek lost his magic, and me and Twilight’s friends were able to convince him to help them escape the caves of Canterlot. As for Cozy, she was one of my friends… the map sent me and Chrysalis to Fillydelphia to help her before that.” After mentioning all three in the stone statue, that statue fades with an slow, elegant, white shimmer. The door behind us magically opens on its own once the statue is out of our sight. Aita hugs me, realizing she passed her test with my help. “Thank you, Gallus. I guess I just needed to look at my friends’ contributions instead of worrying about their futures.” “Hey, what are friends for?” Aita and I exit the field, and back into the cave beneath the school. “Okay, Aita. We’ll split up and see if anymore of our friends need help.” Aita nods yes to my command, and we diverge.
Chapter IIIThroughout the caves, as I search for any of the students who need help, Smoulder is helping out Ocellus, so they’re alright. Yona sounds like she’s befriended something that squeaks, so she doesn’t need help. As for Sandbar, he’s only worried; it’s nothing too escalatory. Just in case though, I decide to enter, only to find him in the distance, running away with Rainbow Dash and Rarity. I sprint to catch up to Sandbar and talk. “Sandbar! What’s going on?” I ask in a rapid pant. “Oh! The dream walker!” Sandbar exclaims, turning his head to me while running. “I’m so glad you’re here! Where’re my friends?” “They’re still in the cave! Do we need them?” I say, to which he nods. “That’s what I’d prefer, if they were here. My professors and I on a really important friendship mission!” Okay, I can instantly see what Sandbar fears: having to decide between his friends and his role models. I gasp. “I recognize this situation! Rainbow Dash has had the same dilemma several times regarding the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts!” Sandbar sighs and facehoofs. “Of course! She always told us stories like that in class!” He and I now stop as he stamps his hoof on the ground. “Okay!!! Enough!!! I’m not going anywhere without my friends!” Rainbow Dash and Rarity turn around, the former zipping to face us as we begin to head the other way. “So you don’t care about anypony but your friends?!? Are you REALLY that selfish?!?” “Honestly, you really are such a disappointment,” adds Rarity. I don’t think that’s how Rainbow Dash and Rarity would act, and neither does Sandbar. “I’ve always looked up to you,” he scolds. “You would never turn your back on each other, and that’s what makes you strong. Now I have a group of friends that I think is every bit as amazing as yours. If I have to give up on them to make you proud, then you aren’t the ponies I thought you were. I don’t care if I disappoint you; you disappoint me.” With Sandbar’s speech, Rainbow Dash and Rarity let out a warm smile before flashing out of sight. I rub my eyes, trying to process what just happened. “That illusion really needed work. Something tells me that didn’t sound anything like Rainbow Dash or Rarity.” “Couldn’t agree more. Besides, they tried to get between me and my friends. Thanks for the help, uh…” Sandbar pauses when he draws a blank on my name. “Aita.” “Right. But now,” he continues. “we have to get out of here before the grate closes.” When Sandbar and I finally make it to the cave directly beneath the library, everyone else is already there, although Yona is surrounded by spiders. Wait, I thought she- oh, whatever. That was probably her test. Sandbar is the first to try and get out, but he stops when we all see a glow from behind. It’s the tree of harmony again. “You! You’re not just a mirage of Twilight, are you?” Sandbar questions, to which she shakes her head. “The tree of harmony…” I confidently clarify. The tree nods at my answer. Like all living beings, I change as I grow. As I have grown, so have my abilities. “I’m a bit rusty on pony history,” Gallus prefaces before his expression sours. “But since when does the tree of harmony trap creatures in a cave with their biggest fears?!?” You chose what you saw in my roots. Not me. Sandbar gasps at the tree’s revelation. “Our friendship got us past our fears!” The tree nods. You were more concerned for each other’s wellbeing than your own. You were strong when your friends were weak. You let each other in, and showed that you would be there for each other no matter what. Friendship IS in your nature. Unfortunately, the grate isn’t freed just yet, and the tree is still here. This is starting to feel a bit awkward. However, there is a concern that needs to be known: the dream walking changeling known as Aita. The group of friends next to me share their confusion. She expresses origins where she has befriended those who, here, pose an endangerment to friendship. All of us gasp, surprised at the tree’s words. How were they not where you come from, little nymph? What happened differently? I look at Sandbar and his friends, then back to the tree. “To summarize, Chrysalis’ research made her think of Carve and my mother. And because of her and Twilight’s defense of me against human Spitfire, Cozy Glow altered her way of thinking out of inspiration, but needed us to set her on the right path.” I see… Unfortunately here, the changelings you mentioned were thrust into another world and never returned. As a result, Spitfire’s human counterpart is still free, and Chrysalis never received the spark that you described. While in this dream, Aita, be weary of Cozy Glow’s behavior, but don’t hesitate to intervene if you believe her behavior goes beyond what you think she was like before your influence. “Well, how am I supposed to do that?” I ask. Wait. Isn’t that exactly what Cozy said to Scootaloo during her assignment? The tree closes her eyes. If you remember why your old caretaker first ascended, there is something similar to what she did that you could try. This dream is set to play identically every time it starts, locking Cozy Glow in it until she’s freed of this linearity spell. Remember her for who she is in the waking world, and rest assured she is safe in your hooves. One last time, the tree flashes white before disappearing. And instead of taking us to another test, she actually releases the roots from blocking the grate, which means we can all get back to the library. On the way up, Gallus looks behind at me. “I can’t believe all that just happened.” I hold back laughter as he and I make it into the library.
Chapter IVBack up in the library, I can immediately tell Cozy Glow is waiting for the students, so I bolt up on top of one of the bookshelves to hide before she can see me. “You’re alright!” she exclaims with relief. “I came back with my notes and saw this and didn’t know WHAT to think!” “We’re better than alright!” the ponygrif cheers. “We just got tested by the tree of harmony! And we totally passed!” She comes up nose to nose with Cozy momentarily. Cozy pauses for a second. “The tree of harmony? Here?” “Yeah! Well, below here, under the school! We met a dream walker, and found this, and went down, and met the tree, and Gallus was all ‘friendship is not in our nature’, and the tree and the dream walker were like ‘WHAT?!?’, and the tree tested us!” The ponygrif’s explanation about our adventure makes me laugh on the inside. Honestly, the only tests I at least heard about were Sandbar’s and Gallus’. Smoulder joins the ponygrif’s side. “Long story short, friendship is in our nature; the tree said so.” “I guess we should tell somepony there’s a giant magical whole in the lib'ary,” says Ocellus, at least before a root closes the grate as everyone watches. “Or maybe just the dream walker in our school.” All eyes are all on Ocellus, except for Sandbar, who raises his head back up. “We have to tell our professors about this. They won’t believe that-” “YOU CAN’T!” Cozy interrupts. I’m not sure whether it’s because of the cave, me, or both, but she’s panicked at the thought of our adventure catching wind. “Why no?” asks Yona. “Because it’s my fault!” Cozy sits down and droops her wings as everyone looks at her before her explanation mirrors the tone of mine from my test. “You were all getting along so well and I felt left out. I was jealous, and it upset you so much the tree of harmony had to test ALL of you! Oh! I’m gonna get expelled for sure!” She now covers her eyes as she cries briefly. “Please don’t tell anypony about this, especially the professors! Please, please, ple-” Smoulder shoves her claw in Cozy’s face. “Okay!” she yawns. “I’m actually too tired to do anything right now.” “Yeah,” agrees Sandbar. “But we can’t go to sleep; we’ll miss the test.” Following a yawn of his own, Gallus’ eyes widen. “The test! I almost forgot!” Ocellus sighs as one by one, she and her friends begin to lay on the floor and fall asleep. “We’re all gonna fail.” I look to Cozy, who taps her chin with her hoof, which then lands back on the ground as her irises shrink momentarily. “What if I tell Prof. Sparkle I needed help organizing these books and you were kind enough to pitch in? I’ll get you an extension!” That would be a lie. Sandbar raises his head to a potent yawn, the last to lie down with his friends. “Thanks, Cozy. That’s nice of you.” And they’re gonna accept that? I understand covering for someone - I did it with the meeting with Amber and Tight Knit, but for a simple test extension… that feels wrong, especially if she was the source of those students’ doubt. Then again, that is probably something Cozy would’ve done without meeting me and Chrysalis. Better safe than sorry though; there’s a better way to go to Twilight. When I enter the headmare’s office, Twilight is glued to the scroll she’s reading. So, I stay at the door and knock, diverting her attention to me. “Good morning! You’re the headmare right?” I ask Twilight, although I already know from Sandbar mistaking the tree for her. “Oh, hello,” Twilight awkwardly says. “Are you a new student here?” “Well, no. But I did get wrapped up in an adventure with some of your students, and they got exhausted. Sandbar and his friends? They fell asleep in the library.” Twilight’s lips and irises shrink from my explanation for why I’m in front of her. “What? You mean all the non-ponies attending the school? Are any of them gonna make it to the test?” I sigh. “Afraid not. Do you think you could give them an extension?” Twilight quietly chuckles as she takes a paper and quill out of her desk. “Of course I can. I’ll just need one thing about you. What’s your name?” “Aita… Aita Bagley-Handy.” Twilight is left perplexed at the name. “Really? Quite an unusual name for a changeling,” she comments. “But I don’t think anypony would’ve made something up like that on a whim.” I hover and watch as Twilight signs my name on the extension form. Our dear student, ________________, An examination extension has been granted at the request of Aita Bagley Handy, effective upon recipiency. Review this form and specify the day below within the next week you wish to reschedule your exam. Please return the form to the headmare’s office when filled out. You may also visit said office for any questions you have. Yours truly, Headmare & Professor Twilight Sparkle. __ Monday __ Tuesday __ Wednesday __ Thursday __ Friday Twilight takes the form and makes five copies so that she can write the names of those who went through their tests by the tree of harmony. When she finishes, she tucks the forms under her wing, making her way out of the office. “Thank you for informing me, Aita. I’ll have to swing by the library before I make it to my classroom.” I nod to Twilight as she vanishes from view. I think about leaving the headmare’s office as well, but stop when something surprising comes to my mind. “I think I’m getting pretty good at this. I just out-Cozy-Glow’d Cozy Glow, and the one with her attitude from before I moved to Ponyville! Just wait until Chrysalis hears about this!” I giggle and make my way out of the headmare’s office. So while the tree of harmony only specifically said to stop Cozy Glow if she’s out of line with her past self, nothing stops me from intervening if it tickles my ideals like it did earlier. But nothing could prepare me for what the dream realm version of Cozy would go on to do.
