Cozy Glow: The Hero of Equestriaby Betty_StarlightChaptersChapter 1: ReconChapter 2: Scarlet EclipseChapter 3: Oddity, the Security PegasusChapter 1: ReconBreathe in! Breathe out! I’m finally breathing now, but it’s dark and I can’t see anything… You know, it’s really strange to not breathe for centuries! Um, I think it’s been that long? I don’t know? Breathe in! Breathe out! I finally open my eyes and look around… I see a decrepit old stone centaur to my right and to my back left, I can’t help but notice an enormous stone changeling queen there! Breathe in! Breathe out! “Oh, golly!” I whisper to myself before looking around the darkened courtyard… I see the pale moonlight coming down from the sky and I see how it shines on the grass here in this desolate park… Breathe in! Breathe out! I glance around and wonder just how much security this school has at night? I blink and decide not to chance it! I look up at the sky and find the right star… Once I see the one that will guide me north, I squat and take off with my wings to fly towards it! I know that direction will take me to the Everfree! <*****> I’m not really sure what time it is or how long I flew? I spotted a road earlier and simply followed that, because I know the road leads north out of Ponyville and into the forest… I see a treeline and I keep flapping! Even after all that time, my muscles seem to be in good shape? I guess they don’t really atrophy in stone? I’m breathing heavily by this point and taking in every precious gulp of air I can get with my snout! I cross the treeline and begin flying into the forest… It’s even darker here and underneath the tree cover, the moon doesn’t penetrate it much… I can only see spots and splotches of moonlight on the forest floor, but that doesn’t concern me right now. I need to hide! I look and I spot a darkened opening some distance to the side of the trail… I veer my course in that direction as I continue flapping through the air! I see a gray stone cliff face approaching me through the trees as I continue going that direction and I eventually land right in front of it… I look forward to see a darkened opening, roughly 7 or 8 feet high and maybe 5 feet wide… I blink and think that’s probably a good spot? So, I begin trotting inside… Since it’s dark, I don’t think flying in here is a very good idea… I trot in and see the stone floor and as my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness, I begin to notice that this cave just keeps going back… I also don’t think going too far into this place is a very good idea? I trot into what I’m guessing is an antechamber and then, I turn my body around to stare outside… I hear crickets chirping and I think I heard an owl hoot at another point? This is so disorienting! I turn my body to stare outside into the darkened forest…. I wonder how much longer before the dawn? <*****> I don’t know how long I waited… I just sat there with nothing to do… It was a lot like Tartarus, except this time, I didn’t have Tirek to talk to… That’s both good and bad, actually… Finally, I see the first slivers of sunlight coming into the forest… I know the sun rises in the east and I know it’s coming up, right where I can see it outside the cave… This cave must face to the east! I turn my head right, now knowing that direction will take me towards Ponyville again… I suddenly wonder if I should go back? Well, it’s the morning, so surely they know my statue isn’t there, right? I begin to look around thinking that a disguise might be the best idea here? I blink when I can’t find anything but rocks in the cave and then stare back outside… Well, if I’m going to learn anything, I’ll need to head up there! I think to myself before taking the first few tentative steps outside the cave with my hooves… I hear birds chirping and I feel the warm morning sun beaming on my face… I smile when I suddenly think about how wonderful it is to be alive again! I sigh and turn my body to the right… Okay, here I go! I think before launching myself into the air and flapping with my little wings again! I see the ground underneath moving the opposite direction as I flap through the forest toward the other side of the treeline… I cross it and suddenly see lush bright green grasslands below me in the early morning light… I smile as I feel the wind on my face… This is so great! After all this time, I’m finally free! I think as I continue heading towards town… I need to scope out that courtyard! I want to know what they’re doing! I see the town approaching on the horizon and I know the school is just a little distance inside. I also know that they might be searching for me by now, so I’d do well to keep a low profile! I look below me and see streets busy with different ponies heading this way and that. I also see many other pegasi in the air with me now, but none of them seem to be paying me any mind? I stare further into the city when I see the gray structure that I know is the School of Friendship! I begin flapping harder thinking that the sooner I get the information I want, the sooner I can get out of here! I see the side of the school approaching and I slow my flapping so I begin to lose altitude and get closer… I eventually land on the side of the school and I trot on the top of it to make my way to the courtyard… I look down and I see a tall purple alicorn and several smaller ponies all around the platform that holds Tirek and Chrysalis and once held me… I see Twilight speaking to a tan earth pony with a brown mane… I don’t know what she’s saying, but she seems to be yelling or barking orders? Then, I saw something I never thought I’d ever see… I saw Twilight’s horn glow and the earth pony lift off the ground! I saw him get thrown through the air in her magical grasp! I also saw that brown stallion crash into the stone wall… I heard a sickening crunch… I cringe when I think of the pain that pony must be in! My eyes are wide when I see the purple alicorn turn towards me and take off to flap my direction! I duck behind the stone railing so she doesn’t see me! I blink and think to myself as I begin to process what I just saw… Twilight just threw that poor pony into the wall! I wonder if he broke anything? I soon see the purple alicorn flying overhead and away from the school as she continues flapping… I see her disappear in a flash of purple light in the sky… She didn’t even check to see how that pony was… I get up and look again over the railing… I see a red unicorn stallion there now, wearing a white coat… I see his horn glowing white and the brown stallion’s body soon rises and then floats over to an awaiting stretcher on the grass… Okay, so he’s seriously hurt! I think to myself before deciding that there’s not much else I can learn here… So, I turn my body back towards the north and take off to begin flapping that way! I need to make it back to the cave! <*****> I land just outside of the entrance, with my new findings inside my floof… I found two apples that will help me as I know I need to eat, and I also saw a stream to the west… This information is almost a side note in my mind at this point, though… I thought about that earth stallion… I wondered what he could’ve said or did to make Twilight do that? I… I blink for a moment as my mind processes everything for the umpteenth time… I let out a sigh as I turn towards my inner monologue… I spent a very long time in stone… I don’t really know if the ponies were justified in what they did, but I do know one thing… You can’t be bad and not expect the rest of the world to fight back… I don’t know if anypony is fighting Twilight right now, but I do know that there soon will be… That’s not how a good ruler acts and I’m not going to accept that… I need to overthrow Twilight Sparkle! (To be continued…) Chapter 2: Scarlet EclipseI slept in that cave for I don’t know how long? I don’t normally remember my dreams anymore… They’re often scary and I’d rather not think about it… Didn’t they specifically say it was a “dreamless sleep in stone” though? Well, they lied about that! Yeah uh, heh heh! I thought about things uh, pretty VIVIDLY in fact! Since uh, there’s not really anything else to focus on when you’re in stone and literally ZERO distractions! After many many years and I’m not sure how long, I finally thought about all the ponies I had hurt… I finally thought about what I had taken from them and that reminded me of why I was doing this... Why I had become this monster in the first place… I actually thought about what was like to be hurt… I don’t like to think about that… <*****> It’s almost time to begin… I need to get to Canterlot… I ate my last apple and drank some river water for breakfast! I also found some berries between here and the forest, but I know I need to head to Ponyville now! As I was flying over the grassy plains, I saw a glint in my eye coming from the left… I glanced over and saw a shack down there! I thought this would be a good chance to learn something… <*****> The magenta unicorn widened her green eyes to me underneath her stringy neon blue mane, “Oh, wow! Why would you wanna know about Princess Twilight Sparkle? She’s mean and nasty!” I smile and nod, “Well, right! I just wanted to know for sure! Now, she reigns from Canterlot Castle, correct?” She nods and I notice her watching me carefully, “Well, duh! Where else would the ruler of Equestria be?” “Okay! Good to know! Um…” I sniff the air, “uh, what are you making, anyway? That smells really yummy!” Her eyes widen again and she squeals, “Oh! I just got a brilliant idea for a chimi-cherry-changa! Or maybe I should just call it a cherry-changa? Chimichanga el cherry, maybe?” before her eyes go skyward and her snout narrows while deep in thought. I hear a timer going DING DING DING in the back and her eyes widen! “Uh, come on in and sit at a table sweetie! You gotta try this!” After a few hundred years, any sort of dessert sounds pretty good! “Um, yes ma’am!” I say before I begin trotting in and make extra sure to close the door behind me… She snickers while trotting back towards the kitchen and opening the oven with her magic, “Oh, call me Scarlet Eclipse! Well, just Scarlet is fine!” before she lowers her neck to peer into the oven and forces the metal tray inside to glow blue and for it to float out and onto the top of the stove… “Oh, golly! Uh, nice to meet ya Scarlet! My name is Cozy Glow!” She turns her head right and squints at me, “Cozy Glow, huh? Why does that name sound familiar?” I widen my eyes, “Oh, it’s really hard to tell! I mean, pony names all kinda sound a lot alike, you know?” before beaming at her in a completely non-nervous fashion… She smiles, “Well, yeah! I guess you’re right! Wanna try the cherry chimichanga thingies now?” “Don’t you think they’re still kinda hot?” Her eyes widen and mouth flattens, “Oh, yeah! Probably need to wait on that, little filly!” I smile and giggle anxiously, “Uh, yeah! So anyway, how could I get to Canterlot?” Her gaze to me adjusts, “Why do you want to go to Canterlot again?” “Well uh, I needed to get close to or near Princess Twilight Sparkle for uh, research!” Her eyes widen as she frowns, “Oh, well why didn’t you just say so? I guess this is for a class project or something?” I widen my eyes and tell a little fib, “Uh, that is correct! I need to get there and do a uh, report for my special class, uh, yeah!” “Oh, wow!” She nods. “Well, count me in! Let’s go!” I stare at her intently, “I uh, didn’t say you could come!” She stares back at me and grins widely, “Yeah, but you never said that I couldn’t come, either!” I frown when I realize that this strange unicorn is coming with me, whether I want her to or not… However, she could still prove useful? But well, first thing’s first! “Uh, I bet the cherry whatevers are cool enough now!” Her eyes widen again, “You’re probably right! HOORAY! Let’s eat!” before turning her head back right towards her stove and forcing the metal tray to glow blue and float towards us… I stare at her and so, “You know, I should probably just ask the obvious question? Why do you wanna come with me?” Her eyes widen while focusing back on me as the baking pan lands on the metal holders on the table… I’m guessing that’s so the wood won’t get burned? “Well uh, I just don’t want you to get hurt little filly! I mean, uh…” “Cozy Glow!” She nods, “Cozy Glow, you’re just a little filly and I need to protect you!” she says before forcing her horn to glow blue and plates land in front of us from the cabinets… I’m silent for a moment while glowing cherry pastry thingies land in each of our respective plates… “You don’t have a lot to do out here in the middle of nowhere, huh?” She quickly levitates her cherry-changa to her snout and takes a mighty bite of the warm pastry before humming from her lips, “Hmph hmph hmph!” and then smiling while continuing to chew her food… “I have no idea what you just said!” I say before deciding to try it myself and taking mine in my forehooves and bringing it to my snout for a timid bite… I then bite into the most delicious morsel I’ve ever tasted as Scarlet explains, “Okay, FINE! I’m bored! You’re the first pony I’ve seen in uh, two weeks I think? Maybe three?” her eyes go toward the ceiling,”I don’t know! I don’t exactly mark my calendar! That is to say uh,” and her gaze goes back to me before she blinks, “well, it’s been awhile! Yes! A LONG time has passed since I’ve seen another pony!” before smiling REALLY nervously at me… At that point, something else clicked inside me… I swallowed the scrumptious food in my mouth and smiled at this unicorn because I kinda know what that’s like! “Oh, golly gee Scarlet! I sure am sorry! You know, you can travel with me if you want! I don’t mind!” before flashing a big toothy grin at her… <*****> “So uh, I guess we’re heading to the train station to buy tickets?” I say to the unicorn at my right as we trotted towards the station away from Ponyville… “Maybe if we were gonna do it the stupid way?” She replies while continuing to trot next to me with a demented grin on her face… “What?” Her eyes widen, “Follow me!” she says before breaking into a gallop across the front of the station… The ticket pony didn’t even seem to notice her as I take off and fly closer to her with my little wings… Uh, my legs aren’t that long! She turns right quickly to begin running behind the station towards the dusty train yard on the other side! I continue following her from the sky and see her go through the opening in a chain link fence as she races across the dirty ground towards the trains and cars on the tracks some 30 feet away… I then see her gaze around to make sure nopony is around, she bounds and springs over to sets of tracks before finally hopping into a car with an open door! I turn my course in the sky and fly towards the open door of this dimly painted red wooden rail car. I start flapping away from me to slow my speed as I begin to lose altitude and I land on the wooden floor of the car with an almost inaudible clack! I see Scarlet there smiling as she turns her body around and forces her magic to glow blue and the car door slides shut behind me! The room is now illuminated by her glowing horn and I ask her, “Why are we in this car?” Her eyes widen, “Oh, this is the 109 to Canterlot! We just gotta hide in here until it stops and then, I open the door and we come out!” I stare at her intently, “How do you know which train this is?” “I just looked at the sign as I was running in! It’s the fourteenth one down!” I stare at her curiously… “So uh, too bad there’s no food, huh?” She smiles wider, “Well, I do have a chocolate pie in my floof?” My eyes widen, “How do you fit a chocolate pie in there?” She giggles slightly as I see a pie magically float out of the hair on her chest, “Well, I dunno? I somehow always find the room for whatever I want in there!” “You got anything to drink?” “Just this small carton of milk!” She says as an ice-cold carton somehow floats out her chest floof and I see the moist condensation dripping off of the glowing container… My eyes narrow… “Let’s do this!” And so, that’s how I ended up stowing away on a train to Canterlot and pigging out with a weird unicorn mare… <*****> I open my eyes, “Oh, golly! How long was I out?” I ask the strange magenta mare holding me in her hooves as lay there in the empty rail car… Scarlet gently replies, “How would I know? I don’t have a clock! Anyway, the train just stopped and when it gets to the yard in a few minutes, it’ll be time to go! “Is it really hard to sneak out of a rail car after the train stopped?” “How would I know? I’ve never done this before!” At that point I could only squint my eyes in confused befuddlement at what this strange mare had just gotten me into! (To be continued…) Chapter 3: Oddity, the Security PegasusI heard the train stop moving a few minutes ago… It’s dark in here, but I’m not scared… My friend Scarlet is here with me… I lowly ask, “Um, you think maybe we should get out of here?” She whispers back, “Yeah uh, hang on!” before her horn glows and we then see everything illuminated in the blue light… I see hay on the wooden floor that I didn’t notice earlier, but I also hear an ominous clack on the top of the car… I tell her, “Just crack open the door! We can slink out before anypony comes around and be gone!” She replies, “That makes sense!” before forcing her horn to glow brighter as the door starts to glow white and move ever so slightly to the right leaving just a foot gap now, between the left side of the door and the side of the rail car… I burst out of her hooves and say, “Thanks! Now let’s get out of here!” before trotting quickly towards the opening… I emerge in the midday sun and I quickly look around, but don’t see anypony in the dirty train station… Just some railway cars and various tracks leading from my left to my right… Or uh, maybe the other way around? I can’t tell as I continue slowly trotting and glancing around as I try to get my bearings... I soon hear the clack of Scarlet’s hooves hitting the ground behind me, before a loud thud and I look back to see a white pegasus with a wisteria purple mane going down his muscular back and matching tail, on top of my new friend with his hooves on her chest as he shouts, “Hold it right there, filly!” My eyes widen at the scene 20 feet from me before I twist and turn andlaunch myself with my hooves into the air as I begin flapping vigorously to leave the scene! “Hey! Get back here!” I hear the stallion scream as I continue flapping to get away from the station! I look down and I see a chain link fence going from top to bottom as I fly over the world and I then stare ahead to see the cityscape of Canterlot some distance beyond the grasslands in the crevice of a large mountain far away on the horizon… I finally turn right in the air and slow my flapping to lower my altitude so I’ll land in the field… I turn my head back right to stare at the station I just escaped from, where I know my new friend was just captured… Now, I know what you’re thinking… And you’re right! The old me would’ve just left Scarlet there at the station… But you know, the thing is, I’m not that filly anymore… I’m different now… And so, I already knew what I had to do… I turned to face the station before taking a deep breath in my nose and out my mouth as I try to think about this and how my best approach would be? <*****> And then, I burst through the door and use my powerful horn lasers to fry the evil pegasus and then, I use my magic to untie Scarlet there in the chair as her gag rose from her snout and she smiled at me and said, “Thank you Cozy Glow! You’re my hero!” … Okay, maybe that didn’t exactly happen… I stare at the station from the field and then, take off to flap towards the station at high speed! Yeah, the grassland kinda goes towards the station, but there’s no grass near it. That land’s all gravel and dirt around the rail yard. As I get closer I notice a big white building on the left side of the station and I adjust my course before landing maybe 30 feet away from it in the grass… Suddenly, I hate being so short as I stare up at the station building into a window and began trotting that direction… Although the one good thing about my height is that he probably won’t be able to see me here in the grass like this… I keep trotting forward with my eyes peered at the window and I can now make out a magenta unicorn there, quietly sitting in a chair… Or uh, I think she’s sitting? I can’t really tell yet… Then, I’m trotting on the gravel just outside the building as I exit the grass, and I can clearly see Scarlet there in the window… I see her snout moving as if she’s speaking to somepony else, but I can’t tell because there’s a wall there… I trot towards the window and suddenly, I hear another loud THUD behind me as hooves scrape the gravel and a masculine voice says, “Well, aren’t you the brave little foal!” I turn around and face the white stallion 15 feet away as the wind blows his purple mane to the right, “Oh, golly! What is it with you and landing behind me lately?” The other pegasus frowns and widens his eyes while retracting his neck, “I uh, don’t even know you!” I smile, “Oh, well my name’s Cozy Glow and I’m an adorable pegasus filly!” His eyes widen, “Well, I’m Oddity and I’m a security guard at the station!” before he points at me with his left wing and I notice the purple edges to the white feathers as he continues, “And you and your friend were trespassing!” “Yeah uh, sorry about that! It’s all just a misunderstanding!” He takes a few paces forward without removing his eyes from me… “Try me!” I gulp, “Well gee, uh, you know how I look like I’m maybe ten years old?” His right eyebrow raises, “Yeah?” I chuckle nervously, “Well, the thing is, I’m actually maybe a few hundred years old!” His blue eyes widen, “That’s impossible!” I nod, “Well, normally it would be, yeah! But I was frozen in stone for most of those years!” He frowns… “What?” I gulp, “Well, uh, tell me, did you ever hear of a filly named Cozy Glow?” He blinks, “Uh, yeah! I learned about her in school! She tried to take over Equestria about three hundred and ninety years ago! But what has that got to do with you?” “I’m Cozy Glow!” “No, you’re not! You’re just a ten-year-old filly!” “No, they froze Cozy er, me in stone for my crimes! I got unfrozen!” “How did you do that?” I smile nervously, “I uh, don’t know!” “And what does that have to do with the train station?” I sigh, “Look! I uh, I feel bad about all the things I did and I kinda uh, well, I wanted to make Equestria a better place!” His eyebrow raises again, “And?” I nod, “And so, I wanted to stop Twilight Sparkle!” His eyes widen again, “WHAT?” I sigh again, “Okay, the unicorn I was with was named Scarlet Eclipse and she doesn’t know that I intend to dethrone Twilight!” “WHAT?” He repeats himself. “I uh…” I blink again when I think maybe I should start telling the truth? “Get Scarlet out here, Oddity! I need to tell both of you something… “ <*****> Scarlet widens her green eyes as we all stand outside the building near the door towards the rail yard, “Wait! You’re over three hundred years old?” I smile, “Well, technically, four hundred! Uh, three hundred ninety in stone, plus the ten I was alive earlier!” She blinks, “Wow!” Oddity on the right says, “And you wanted to dethrone Twilight Sparkle?” I sigh when I realize I might be hasty here? “Well, look! I saw her abusing another pony and um, is she a good ruler?” Scarlet frowns, “Well uh,” she looks around and then back at me before leaning towards me and saying lowly, “not really! She’s uh, kind of an evil tyrant!” Oddity turns his head right towards her and widens his blue eyes, “Scarlet! Uh,” he turns back towards me, “why would you care about that?” My brow furrows as my snout frowns, “Didn’t I just say that I feel bad about what I did and I want to make Equestria a better place?” He stares at me carefully… “Do you really think you could stop Twilight Sparkle?” I stare back at him, “If any filly in Equestria could do it, it’d be me!” He frowns, “You’re probably right, actually…” before straightening his mouth... “Alright, I’m in! What’s the plan!” I widen my eyes, “I didn’t say you could come!” Scarlet turns her neck left towards the pegasus and smiles, “Hey! That’s what she said to me!” “Aren’t you a security guard?” He turns back and smiles, “Yeah, but I got like a month of vacation time! And they gotta cover me after everything!” his eyes widen. “Besides, I’m feeling uh, generous… I’m just gonna let you go if you really want to stop Twilight... And I’m coming with you!” I frown when I realize that of all the ponies I could run into, I happen to find the two with no lives! <*****> And so, me, the white pegasus with the wavy purple mane and tail, and the magenta unicorn with her neon blue hair all stood there, staring out at the large open grassland and we all saw the spired city of Canterlot some distance ahead and say, “Alright, Oddity! You put in for your time off?” He nods from my left, “I sure did… Lets do this!” Scarlet on my right says, “This is completely insane!” I turn towards her, “You of all ponies making that observation Scarlet!” Her sparkling green eyes widen, “Yeah, I know, right? You’d think that would be a sign or indication of something?” Oddity smiles, “Just an indication of how awesome we’re gonna be! Let’s go!” I turn my head back towards the metropolis in the distance and say the only thing I really can at that point… “Oh, golly!” (To be continued...)
Chapter 1: ReconBreathe in! Breathe out! I’m finally breathing now, but it’s dark and I can’t see anything… You know, it’s really strange to not breathe for centuries! Um, I think it’s been that long? I don’t know? Breathe in! Breathe out! I finally open my eyes and look around… I see a decrepit old stone centaur to my right and to my back left, I can’t help but notice an enormous stone changeling queen there! Breathe in! Breathe out! “Oh, golly!” I whisper to myself before looking around the darkened courtyard… I see the pale moonlight coming down from the sky and I see how it shines on the grass here in this desolate park… Breathe in! Breathe out! I glance around and wonder just how much security this school has at night? I blink and decide not to chance it! I look up at the sky and find the right star… Once I see the one that will guide me north, I squat and take off with my wings to fly towards it! I know that direction will take me to the Everfree! <*****> I’m not really sure what time it is or how long I flew? I spotted a road earlier and simply followed that, because I know the road leads north out of Ponyville and into the forest… I see a treeline and I keep flapping! Even after all that time, my muscles seem to be in good shape? I guess they don’t really atrophy in stone? I’m breathing heavily by this point and taking in every precious gulp of air I can get with my snout! I cross the treeline and begin flying into the forest… It’s even darker here and underneath the tree cover, the moon doesn’t penetrate it much… I can only see spots and splotches of moonlight on the forest floor, but that doesn’t concern me right now. I need to hide! I look and I spot a darkened opening some distance to the side of the trail… I veer my course in that direction as I continue flapping through the air! I see a gray stone cliff face approaching me through the trees as I continue going that direction and I eventually land right in front of it… I look forward to see a darkened opening, roughly 7 or 8 feet high and maybe 5 feet wide… I blink and think that’s probably a good spot? So, I begin trotting inside… Since it’s dark, I don’t think flying in here is a very good idea… I trot in and see the stone floor and as my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness, I begin to notice that this cave just keeps going back… I also don’t think going too far into this place is a very good idea? I trot into what I’m guessing is an antechamber and then, I turn my body around to stare outside… I hear crickets chirping and I think I heard an owl hoot at another point? This is so disorienting! I turn my body to stare outside into the darkened forest…. I wonder how much longer before the dawn? <*****> I don’t know how long I waited… I just sat there with nothing to do… It was a lot like Tartarus, except this time, I didn’t have Tirek to talk to… That’s both good and bad, actually… Finally, I see the first slivers of sunlight coming into the forest… I know the sun rises in the east and I know it’s coming up, right where I can see it outside the cave… This cave must face to the east! I turn my head right, now knowing that direction will take me towards Ponyville again… I suddenly wonder if I should go back? Well, it’s the morning, so surely they know my statue isn’t there, right? I begin to look around thinking that a disguise might be the best idea here? I blink when I can’t find anything but rocks in the cave and then stare back outside… Well, if I’m going to learn anything, I’ll need to head up there! I think to myself before taking the first few tentative steps outside the cave with my hooves… I hear birds chirping and I feel the warm morning sun beaming on my face… I smile when I suddenly think about how wonderful it is to be alive again! I sigh and turn my body to the right… Okay, here I go! I think before launching myself into the air and flapping with my little wings again! I see the ground underneath moving the opposite direction as I flap through the forest toward the other side of the treeline… I cross it and suddenly see lush bright green grasslands below me in the early morning light… I smile as I feel the wind on my face… This is so great! After all this time, I’m finally free! I think as I continue heading towards town… I need to scope out that courtyard! I want to know what they’re doing! I see the town approaching on the horizon and I know the school is just a little distance inside. I also know that they might be searching for me by now, so I’d do well to keep a low profile! I look below me and see streets busy with different ponies heading this way and that. I also see many other pegasi in the air with me now, but none of them seem to be paying me any mind? I stare further into the city when I see the gray structure that I know is the School of Friendship! I begin flapping harder thinking that the sooner I get the information I want, the sooner I can get out of here! I see the side of the school approaching and I slow my flapping so I begin to lose altitude and get closer… I eventually land on the side of the school and I trot on the top of it to make my way to the courtyard… I look down and I see a tall purple alicorn and several smaller ponies all around the platform that holds Tirek and Chrysalis and once held me… I see Twilight speaking to a tan earth pony with a brown mane… I don’t know what she’s saying, but she seems to be yelling or barking orders? Then, I saw something I never thought I’d ever see… I saw Twilight’s horn glow and the earth pony lift off the ground! I saw him get thrown through the air in her magical grasp! I also saw that brown stallion crash into the stone wall… I heard a sickening crunch… I cringe when I think of the pain that pony must be in! My eyes are wide when I see the purple alicorn turn towards me and take off to flap my direction! I duck behind the stone railing so she doesn’t see me! I blink and think to myself as I begin to process what I just saw… Twilight just threw that poor pony into the wall! I wonder if he broke anything? I soon see the purple alicorn flying overhead and away from the school as she continues flapping… I see her disappear in a flash of purple light in the sky… She didn’t even check to see how that pony was… I get up and look again over the railing… I see a red unicorn stallion there now, wearing a white coat… I see his horn glowing white and the brown stallion’s body soon rises and then floats over to an awaiting stretcher on the grass… Okay, so he’s seriously hurt! I think to myself before deciding that there’s not much else I can learn here… So, I turn my body back towards the north and take off to begin flapping that way! I need to make it back to the cave! <*****> I land just outside of the entrance, with my new findings inside my floof… I found two apples that will help me as I know I need to eat, and I also saw a stream to the west… This information is almost a side note in my mind at this point, though… I thought about that earth stallion… I wondered what he could’ve said or did to make Twilight do that? I… I blink for a moment as my mind processes everything for the umpteenth time… I let out a sigh as I turn towards my inner monologue… I spent a very long time in stone… I don’t really know if the ponies were justified in what they did, but I do know one thing… You can’t be bad and not expect the rest of the world to fight back… I don’t know if anypony is fighting Twilight right now, but I do know that there soon will be… That’s not how a good ruler acts and I’m not going to accept that… I need to overthrow Twilight Sparkle! (To be continued…)
Chapter 2: Scarlet EclipseI slept in that cave for I don’t know how long? I don’t normally remember my dreams anymore… They’re often scary and I’d rather not think about it… Didn’t they specifically say it was a “dreamless sleep in stone” though? Well, they lied about that! Yeah uh, heh heh! I thought about things uh, pretty VIVIDLY in fact! Since uh, there’s not really anything else to focus on when you’re in stone and literally ZERO distractions! After many many years and I’m not sure how long, I finally thought about all the ponies I had hurt… I finally thought about what I had taken from them and that reminded me of why I was doing this... Why I had become this monster in the first place… I actually thought about what was like to be hurt… I don’t like to think about that… <*****> It’s almost time to begin… I need to get to Canterlot… I ate my last apple and drank some river water for breakfast! I also found some berries between here and the forest, but I know I need to head to Ponyville now! As I was flying over the grassy plains, I saw a glint in my eye coming from the left… I glanced over and saw a shack down there! I thought this would be a good chance to learn something… <*****> The magenta unicorn widened her green eyes to me underneath her stringy neon blue mane, “Oh, wow! Why would you wanna know about Princess Twilight Sparkle? She’s mean and nasty!” I smile and nod, “Well, right! I just wanted to know for sure! Now, she reigns from Canterlot Castle, correct?” She nods and I notice her watching me carefully, “Well, duh! Where else would the ruler of Equestria be?” “Okay! Good to know! Um…” I sniff the air, “uh, what are you making, anyway? That smells really yummy!” Her eyes widen again and she squeals, “Oh! I just got a brilliant idea for a chimi-cherry-changa! Or maybe I should just call it a cherry-changa? Chimichanga el cherry, maybe?” before her eyes go skyward and her snout narrows while deep in thought. I hear a timer going DING DING DING in the back and her eyes widen! “Uh, come on in and sit at a table sweetie! You gotta try this!” After a few hundred years, any sort of dessert sounds pretty good! “Um, yes ma’am!” I say before I begin trotting in and make extra sure to close the door behind me… She snickers while trotting back towards the kitchen and opening the oven with her magic, “Oh, call me Scarlet Eclipse! Well, just Scarlet is fine!” before she lowers her neck to peer into the oven and forces the metal tray inside to glow blue and for it to float out and onto the top of the stove… “Oh, golly! Uh, nice to meet ya Scarlet! My name is Cozy Glow!” She turns her head right and squints at me, “Cozy Glow, huh? Why does that name sound familiar?” I widen my eyes, “Oh, it’s really hard to tell! I mean, pony names all kinda sound a lot alike, you know?” before beaming at her in a completely non-nervous fashion… She smiles, “Well, yeah! I guess you’re right! Wanna try the cherry chimichanga thingies now?” “Don’t you think they’re still kinda hot?” Her eyes widen and mouth flattens, “Oh, yeah! Probably need to wait on that, little filly!” I smile and giggle anxiously, “Uh, yeah! So anyway, how could I get to Canterlot?” Her gaze to me adjusts, “Why do you want to go to Canterlot again?” “Well uh, I needed to get close to or near Princess Twilight Sparkle for uh, research!” Her eyes widen as she frowns, “Oh, well why didn’t you just say so? I guess this is for a class project or something?” I widen my eyes and tell a little fib, “Uh, that is correct! I need to get there and do a uh, report for my special class, uh, yeah!” “Oh, wow!” She nods. “Well, count me in! Let’s go!” I stare at her intently, “I uh, didn’t say you could come!” She stares back at me and grins widely, “Yeah, but you never said that I couldn’t come, either!” I frown when I realize that this strange unicorn is coming with me, whether I want her to or not… However, she could still prove useful? But well, first thing’s first! “Uh, I bet the cherry whatevers are cool enough now!” Her eyes widen again, “You’re probably right! HOORAY! Let’s eat!” before turning her head back right towards her stove and forcing the metal tray to glow blue and float towards us… I stare at her and so, “You know, I should probably just ask the obvious question? Why do you wanna come with me?” Her eyes widen while focusing back on me as the baking pan lands on the metal holders on the table… I’m guessing that’s so the wood won’t get burned? “Well uh, I just don’t want you to get hurt little filly! I mean, uh…” “Cozy Glow!” She nods, “Cozy Glow, you’re just a little filly and I need to protect you!” she says before forcing her horn to glow blue and plates land in front of us from the cabinets… I’m silent for a moment while glowing cherry pastry thingies land in each of our respective plates… “You don’t have a lot to do out here in the middle of nowhere, huh?” She quickly levitates her cherry-changa to her snout and takes a mighty bite of the warm pastry before humming from her lips, “Hmph hmph hmph!” and then smiling while continuing to chew her food… “I have no idea what you just said!” I say before deciding to try it myself and taking mine in my forehooves and bringing it to my snout for a timid bite… I then bite into the most delicious morsel I’ve ever tasted as Scarlet explains, “Okay, FINE! I’m bored! You’re the first pony I’ve seen in uh, two weeks I think? Maybe three?” her eyes go toward the ceiling,”I don’t know! I don’t exactly mark my calendar! That is to say uh,” and her gaze goes back to me before she blinks, “well, it’s been awhile! Yes! A LONG time has passed since I’ve seen another pony!” before smiling REALLY nervously at me… At that point, something else clicked inside me… I swallowed the scrumptious food in my mouth and smiled at this unicorn because I kinda know what that’s like! “Oh, golly gee Scarlet! I sure am sorry! You know, you can travel with me if you want! I don’t mind!” before flashing a big toothy grin at her… <*****> “So uh, I guess we’re heading to the train station to buy tickets?” I say to the unicorn at my right as we trotted towards the station away from Ponyville… “Maybe if we were gonna do it the stupid way?” She replies while continuing to trot next to me with a demented grin on her face… “What?” Her eyes widen, “Follow me!” she says before breaking into a gallop across the front of the station… The ticket pony didn’t even seem to notice her as I take off and fly closer to her with my little wings… Uh, my legs aren’t that long! She turns right quickly to begin running behind the station towards the dusty train yard on the other side! I continue following her from the sky and see her go through the opening in a chain link fence as she races across the dirty ground towards the trains and cars on the tracks some 30 feet away… I then see her gaze around to make sure nopony is around, she bounds and springs over to sets of tracks before finally hopping into a car with an open door! I turn my course in the sky and fly towards the open door of this dimly painted red wooden rail car. I start flapping away from me to slow my speed as I begin to lose altitude and I land on the wooden floor of the car with an almost inaudible clack! I see Scarlet there smiling as she turns her body around and forces her magic to glow blue and the car door slides shut behind me! The room is now illuminated by her glowing horn and I ask her, “Why are we in this car?” Her eyes widen, “Oh, this is the 109 to Canterlot! We just gotta hide in here until it stops and then, I open the door and we come out!” I stare at her intently, “How do you know which train this is?” “I just looked at the sign as I was running in! It’s the fourteenth one down!” I stare at her curiously… “So uh, too bad there’s no food, huh?” She smiles wider, “Well, I do have a chocolate pie in my floof?” My eyes widen, “How do you fit a chocolate pie in there?” She giggles slightly as I see a pie magically float out of the hair on her chest, “Well, I dunno? I somehow always find the room for whatever I want in there!” “You got anything to drink?” “Just this small carton of milk!” She says as an ice-cold carton somehow floats out her chest floof and I see the moist condensation dripping off of the glowing container… My eyes narrow… “Let’s do this!” And so, that’s how I ended up stowing away on a train to Canterlot and pigging out with a weird unicorn mare… <*****> I open my eyes, “Oh, golly! How long was I out?” I ask the strange magenta mare holding me in her hooves as lay there in the empty rail car… Scarlet gently replies, “How would I know? I don’t have a clock! Anyway, the train just stopped and when it gets to the yard in a few minutes, it’ll be time to go! “Is it really hard to sneak out of a rail car after the train stopped?” “How would I know? I’ve never done this before!” At that point I could only squint my eyes in confused befuddlement at what this strange mare had just gotten me into! (To be continued…)
Chapter 3: Oddity, the Security PegasusI heard the train stop moving a few minutes ago… It’s dark in here, but I’m not scared… My friend Scarlet is here with me… I lowly ask, “Um, you think maybe we should get out of here?” She whispers back, “Yeah uh, hang on!” before her horn glows and we then see everything illuminated in the blue light… I see hay on the wooden floor that I didn’t notice earlier, but I also hear an ominous clack on the top of the car… I tell her, “Just crack open the door! We can slink out before anypony comes around and be gone!” She replies, “That makes sense!” before forcing her horn to glow brighter as the door starts to glow white and move ever so slightly to the right leaving just a foot gap now, between the left side of the door and the side of the rail car… I burst out of her hooves and say, “Thanks! Now let’s get out of here!” before trotting quickly towards the opening… I emerge in the midday sun and I quickly look around, but don’t see anypony in the dirty train station… Just some railway cars and various tracks leading from my left to my right… Or uh, maybe the other way around? I can’t tell as I continue slowly trotting and glancing around as I try to get my bearings... I soon hear the clack of Scarlet’s hooves hitting the ground behind me, before a loud thud and I look back to see a white pegasus with a wisteria purple mane going down his muscular back and matching tail, on top of my new friend with his hooves on her chest as he shouts, “Hold it right there, filly!” My eyes widen at the scene 20 feet from me before I twist and turn andlaunch myself with my hooves into the air as I begin flapping vigorously to leave the scene! “Hey! Get back here!” I hear the stallion scream as I continue flapping to get away from the station! I look down and I see a chain link fence going from top to bottom as I fly over the world and I then stare ahead to see the cityscape of Canterlot some distance beyond the grasslands in the crevice of a large mountain far away on the horizon… I finally turn right in the air and slow my flapping to lower my altitude so I’ll land in the field… I turn my head back right to stare at the station I just escaped from, where I know my new friend was just captured… Now, I know what you’re thinking… And you’re right! The old me would’ve just left Scarlet there at the station… But you know, the thing is, I’m not that filly anymore… I’m different now… And so, I already knew what I had to do… I turned to face the station before taking a deep breath in my nose and out my mouth as I try to think about this and how my best approach would be? <*****> And then, I burst through the door and use my powerful horn lasers to fry the evil pegasus and then, I use my magic to untie Scarlet there in the chair as her gag rose from her snout and she smiled at me and said, “Thank you Cozy Glow! You’re my hero!” … Okay, maybe that didn’t exactly happen… I stare at the station from the field and then, take off to flap towards the station at high speed! Yeah, the grassland kinda goes towards the station, but there’s no grass near it. That land’s all gravel and dirt around the rail yard. As I get closer I notice a big white building on the left side of the station and I adjust my course before landing maybe 30 feet away from it in the grass… Suddenly, I hate being so short as I stare up at the station building into a window and began trotting that direction… Although the one good thing about my height is that he probably won’t be able to see me here in the grass like this… I keep trotting forward with my eyes peered at the window and I can now make out a magenta unicorn there, quietly sitting in a chair… Or uh, I think she’s sitting? I can’t really tell yet… Then, I’m trotting on the gravel just outside the building as I exit the grass, and I can clearly see Scarlet there in the window… I see her snout moving as if she’s speaking to somepony else, but I can’t tell because there’s a wall there… I trot towards the window and suddenly, I hear another loud THUD behind me as hooves scrape the gravel and a masculine voice says, “Well, aren’t you the brave little foal!” I turn around and face the white stallion 15 feet away as the wind blows his purple mane to the right, “Oh, golly! What is it with you and landing behind me lately?” The other pegasus frowns and widens his eyes while retracting his neck, “I uh, don’t even know you!” I smile, “Oh, well my name’s Cozy Glow and I’m an adorable pegasus filly!” His eyes widen, “Well, I’m Oddity and I’m a security guard at the station!” before he points at me with his left wing and I notice the purple edges to the white feathers as he continues, “And you and your friend were trespassing!” “Yeah uh, sorry about that! It’s all just a misunderstanding!” He takes a few paces forward without removing his eyes from me… “Try me!” I gulp, “Well gee, uh, you know how I look like I’m maybe ten years old?” His right eyebrow raises, “Yeah?” I chuckle nervously, “Well, the thing is, I’m actually maybe a few hundred years old!” His blue eyes widen, “That’s impossible!” I nod, “Well, normally it would be, yeah! But I was frozen in stone for most of those years!” He frowns… “What?” I gulp, “Well, uh, tell me, did you ever hear of a filly named Cozy Glow?” He blinks, “Uh, yeah! I learned about her in school! She tried to take over Equestria about three hundred and ninety years ago! But what has that got to do with you?” “I’m Cozy Glow!” “No, you’re not! You’re just a ten-year-old filly!” “No, they froze Cozy er, me in stone for my crimes! I got unfrozen!” “How did you do that?” I smile nervously, “I uh, don’t know!” “And what does that have to do with the train station?” I sigh, “Look! I uh, I feel bad about all the things I did and I kinda uh, well, I wanted to make Equestria a better place!” His eyebrow raises again, “And?” I nod, “And so, I wanted to stop Twilight Sparkle!” His eyes widen again, “WHAT?” I sigh again, “Okay, the unicorn I was with was named Scarlet Eclipse and she doesn’t know that I intend to dethrone Twilight!” “WHAT?” He repeats himself. “I uh…” I blink again when I think maybe I should start telling the truth? “Get Scarlet out here, Oddity! I need to tell both of you something… “ <*****> Scarlet widens her green eyes as we all stand outside the building near the door towards the rail yard, “Wait! You’re over three hundred years old?” I smile, “Well, technically, four hundred! Uh, three hundred ninety in stone, plus the ten I was alive earlier!” She blinks, “Wow!” Oddity on the right says, “And you wanted to dethrone Twilight Sparkle?” I sigh when I realize I might be hasty here? “Well, look! I saw her abusing another pony and um, is she a good ruler?” Scarlet frowns, “Well uh,” she looks around and then back at me before leaning towards me and saying lowly, “not really! She’s uh, kind of an evil tyrant!” Oddity turns his head right towards her and widens his blue eyes, “Scarlet! Uh,” he turns back towards me, “why would you care about that?” My brow furrows as my snout frowns, “Didn’t I just say that I feel bad about what I did and I want to make Equestria a better place?” He stares at me carefully… “Do you really think you could stop Twilight Sparkle?” I stare back at him, “If any filly in Equestria could do it, it’d be me!” He frowns, “You’re probably right, actually…” before straightening his mouth... “Alright, I’m in! What’s the plan!” I widen my eyes, “I didn’t say you could come!” Scarlet turns her neck left towards the pegasus and smiles, “Hey! That’s what she said to me!” “Aren’t you a security guard?” He turns back and smiles, “Yeah, but I got like a month of vacation time! And they gotta cover me after everything!” his eyes widen. “Besides, I’m feeling uh, generous… I’m just gonna let you go if you really want to stop Twilight... And I’m coming with you!” I frown when I realize that of all the ponies I could run into, I happen to find the two with no lives! <*****> And so, me, the white pegasus with the wavy purple mane and tail, and the magenta unicorn with her neon blue hair all stood there, staring out at the large open grassland and we all saw the spired city of Canterlot some distance ahead and say, “Alright, Oddity! You put in for your time off?” He nods from my left, “I sure did… Lets do this!” Scarlet on my right says, “This is completely insane!” I turn towards her, “You of all ponies making that observation Scarlet!” Her sparkling green eyes widen, “Yeah, I know, right? You’d think that would be a sign or indication of something?” Oddity smiles, “Just an indication of how awesome we’re gonna be! Let’s go!” I turn my head back towards the metropolis in the distance and say the only thing I really can at that point… “Oh, golly!” (To be continued...)
