Waking Upby Betty_StarlightChaptersChapter 1: In The FleshChapter 2: What I DeserveChapter 3: Sobering Up, part 1Chapter 4: Sobering Up, part 2Chapter 5: Out of the Bottle and Into RealityChapter 6: The Second StepChapter 7: FunctionalChapter 8: The ReturnChapter 9: PiecesChapter 10: TurnaboutChapter 1: In The FleshI stare up at the motley brown serpent 20 feet away from me in the darkness and ask it, “Oh, golly! So wait, what?” His misshapen eyes widen in the pale moonlight and I see the many teeth of his mouth move as he sneers and says, “I said you’re free now, Cozy! By royal decree!” before moving his lion paw before him and a piece of parchment materializes inside the claw, so he gazes at it, and continues, “By decree of none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, no less!” “Enough Discord!” I hear a familiar feminine voice say out of nowhere… Soon, an enormous purple mare swooshes down to the left of the serpent in my view… She turns her neck left to stare at the snake so that her horn now faces the direction of the moon as she slurs, “Y-you know damn well that I-I hiccup was drunk when I-I signed that decree you have and it’s n-not valid!” I smile at the new pony, “Oh, golly gee! I’m already free now! Can’t we uh, talk about this?” She narrows her purple eyes at me, “There’s nothing to talk about Cozy! You’re s-supposed to be hiccup a statue, but y-you’re not and now I have to change you back!” she nods her head, “Y-yes! Changing you back to stone is DEFINITELY what I should do here!” I raise my right hoof as I widen my eyes at her, “W-wait! I mean, you know, being in stone gives you a lot of time to think and well, I just, well, I think I might be um, r-ready for another shot? Another try? Yes?” before widening my smile as much as it will go… Her eyes narrow, “What do you mean?” I blink, nod, and sigh before giving this my best shot! “W-well, what I mean is, since um, since I’m already free anyway, I uh, I think I wanna try um, y-you know? Being reformed?” And smile widely at her… “You know? Being nice and friendly and not being all evil and malevolent?” Discord turns his slithery neck right towards Twilight, while keeping his grin and snidely saying, “What do you say, Twilight old chum? Don’t you think Cozy deserves a second chance?” “NO!” The alicorn says vehemently while staring directly at me in her violet glare! Discord chuckles as his diagonal snaggle tooth vibrates before motioning his lion paw towards me, “Look at her though, Twilight! She’s SO CUTE!” I blink and plead, “PLEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSEEEEE!!!!!” although I’m pretty sure I’m about to be a statue again? Her eyes narrow as she stares at me with malice and says, “Alright F-FINE! UGH!” her neck lurches forward as I smell whiskey and vodka on her breath, even from this distance as she regains her composure to stare at me, “Cozy Glow, you’re on house arrest in the East Wing of the Castle of Friendship!” I blink again and stare at her blankly as a befuddled frown forms on my muzzle… You know, I really didn’t see that coming! <*****> So anyway, that’s why I’m currently inside this room… They bring me food sometimes, but I don’t really talk to anypony and I stay in here most of the time… These same four walls and nothing else… I guess it’s technically still better than stone, although I gotta admit, both scenarios are pretty boring! I look up and sniff the air with my snout, “Oh, golly! I bet dinner is almost ready! They always serve me last, so that means two hours!” I whisper to myself… You know, being alone all the time makes you develop a habit of talking to yourself! Heh, I guess you might say I’m my own best friend? I blink up at the door and sigh through my nose and think to myself, Golly, it sure was swell of them to give me another chance! I’m just wondering where this will go? Suddenly, I see the door to my room open and in comes a brown serpentine creature wearing what looks like a blue bill cap and puffy looking dark blue vest while wielding a billy club with his eagle talon as he says, “Inmate 0001! You have been assigned reformation!” I stare at him with wide eyes, “Oh, golly gee! I think that was the whole point of setting me up with these ahem accommodations you’ve so graciously provided! Uh, “I smile at the snake, “if I could get some more books to read though, that sure would be great!” “Silence inmate! You are to report to the rec yard at fourteen hundred hours!” Well, I’ve been in this room all morning? “Oh, golly! Uh, what time is it now?” “Thirteen fifty hours!” I nod, “So I got ten minutes!” He frowns, “Right! So you’d better get moving!” before his body disappears! I widen my eyes, Wait! The ‘rec yard?’ Does he mean the courtyard of the castle? I stare forward at the open door and gulp… Guess I need to go to the courtyard? I squat and take off with my wings and flap them furiously as I begin to float towards the door and then turn my body left to head down the hallway… I hear a female voice scream behind me in the distance, “Cozy Glow is free!” “Oh, golly!” I say to myself as I flap harder to travel down the hallway as fast as I can! I suddenly squint my eyes and wonder, if I were a courtyard, where would I be? I decide to take a left as that direction seems good as any, and I run smack into a door! I’m sitting there, with my face against the dark hardwood of the door, and I say the only thing that can really come to mind at that point… “OW!” I feel the sudden pang of agony on my snout as I lift it from the wood, before staring down towards the right and saying, “Oh, golly, I really should operate that doorknob!” <*****> I land on the plush off-red velvet carpet and stare up at the soft looking, plush violet bed to see a smiling filly there! She is white with lavender eyes, and a two-toned half lavender, half orchid mane and tail… She also has a horn on her forehead and wings on her back! “Who are you?” She asks in a feminine, high pitched, squeaky voice. I stare up at her and say, “I’m a filly! Uh, that is to say,” I scratch the back of my neck with my hoof, “I have traveled here from er uh, a far away land! Yes, and I need to find the courtyard! Of course! Golly right!” and nod… She giggles, “You’re silly! Wanna play?” I widen my eyes at her, “I uh, don’t really have that kinda time! Can we take a rain check, maybe?” and smile… Her mouth normalizes, “Uh, sure! I’m Hyacinth! Hyacinth Hoofdrops!” she leans closer with big pinkish-red eyes, “What’s your name, mysterious filly from a far away land?” My eyes widen when I can’t believe what I just do… I tell the truth! “My name’s Cozy Glow! Uh,” I smile again, “do you know where the courtyard is?” <*****> I finally look up and begin flapping my wings to bring me through the staircase to emerge in the open courtyard of the castle… I see a stone balcony surrounding it, and I’m floating over a field as my body slowly lowers towards the grounds and my hooves find purchase on the dirt… I then notice something I wasn’t expecting… I see an enormous smiling purple alicorn, but no Discord in sight! This pony gazes at me with her purple eyes and says, “Welcome to your reformation, Cozy Glow! I’m so glad you could make it!” I say under my breath, “Oh, golly! What else was I gonna do?” (To be continued... ) Chapter 2: What I DeserveShe raises her gaze from 25 feet away from me, standing on the stone balcony as she says, “What was that Cozy Glow?” I widen my eyes, “Uh, nothing Your Majesty oh wonderful and great and powerful Princess of Friendship!” She enlarges her own pupils, “What am I? Trixie now?” her face normalizes. “Uh, now look Cozy! I admire your punctuality! I really do! I mean, I literally sent for you two minutes ago and… “ Suddenly, behind me, a white pegasus gallops up the ramp with golden armor on his body and a frantic glare on his face as he says, “Your Majesty! Cozy Glow was not in her room! I fear she may have…” before widening his eyes as he stares at me, gazing back with enormous eyes… “Oh, golly gee, no! I didn’t escape! I’m right here! Don’t worry about it!” I say before smiling sheepishly at the guard… Suddenly, we all hear a smarmy masculine voice say from nowhere, “Honestly, as far as good chaos goes, this is REALLY substandard!” Twilight squints her eyes as she turns her gaze towards the draconequus, “Discord, we don’t need you here and you need to leave!” He smiles as he peers down at her and puts his motley appendages in front of his neck, “Oh, but Twilight! Don’t you understand that I’m here to help?” I gaze at these two interacting and I gotta admit, I’m not really sure where I should stand? Twilight smiles as she dips her head slightly and curtly replies, “Yes and I thank you very much Discord, but I can take it from here, okay?” He raises his eyes skyward and says in a resigned tone, “FINE! Oh wonderful and gracious Princess of Friendship! I WON’T be bothering you again today!” before disappearing… I turn towards Twilight and ask her, “Do you think he’ll keep his word?” She turns her gaze towards me, “He has to! And he knows that I know it!” I widen my eyes, “Has to?” She smiles, “Yes! As Lord of Chaos, Discord is bound by a specific set of rules!” I frown, “Rules? That doesn’t sound very chaotic?” * Her eyes widen as she probably didn’t consider that? “I uh, you know Cozy! That’s a good point!” I widen my eyes all the way, “I thought so!” She sighs, “Anyway, Cozy Glow! You are here to learn of friendship and how to become reformed!” “I am?” “Yes! That was why I didn’t turn you back into stone, remember?” I smile, “Oh, golly gee, yes Princess Twilight Sparkle! I’ll become reformed and be just the bestest filly ever!” She smiles back at me, “Good! Now, there’s somepony you need to meet!” I enlarge my gaze again, “There is?” She nods, “Mhm! Hang on! I’ll teleport us there!” “Wait! Just give me a sec…” But I was too late and her horn was already glowing purple before the courtyard disappears in a violet flash! <*****> We both materialize inside a small den. There’s an older white unicorn there with a flowing violet mane and cup of tea on a little table beside her recliner as she laid there with a blue blanket over her body… I gotta admit, for an older mare, she wasn’t awful looking! She widens her blue eyes as the stare directly at me, “Is THAT who I think it is?” I give a reluctant half-smile, “Uh, maybe?” Twilight stares at her, “Rarity! I released Cozy Glow and she’s ready to be reformed now!” I spout out, “Of course!” as I stare at the mare blankly. She eyes me carefully before saying in a demure and skeptical feminine voice, “Are you sure, Twilight? I mean, Cozy was pretty bad!” I stare at the mare, “I wasn’t the worst filly ever, you know!” She stares at me, “Actually, you were, Cozy Glow!” Twilight adds, “You were pretty awful!” I roll my eyes, “Oh, golly!” Twilight says, “Now Cozy, the first step to earning forgiveness is to understand that what you did was wrong!” I sigh, “Uh, you know, I’d think the very fact that I’m seeking something like reformation would suggest that, you know?” Rarity adds, “You must admit, she brings up a valid point!” Twilight nods, “Okay, yes Cozy Glow! But do you understand why what you did was bad?” “Not really?” It’s Twilight’s turn to sigh before she says, “Stealing all the magic in Equestria and trying to rule it with an iron hoof is wrong Cozy Glow!” I widen my eyes to the princess, “What makes you believe I’d be a bad ruler!” Twilight says, “Well, first off, how manipulative you actually were is a pretty bad sign and it’s also important to note that you had no qualms about taking away ponies’ happiness and joy when you did it!” Rarity stares at me, “Now, Twilight has a valid point!” I look down, “Well um, I guess that’s a good point? I probably wouldn’t have been very nice, huh?” Twilight smiles, “Well, that doesn’t matter now Cozy, because you’re good now!” I look at Twilight again, “I am?” “YES!!!!” “Oh, golly!” Rarity eyes me carefully, “Cozy Glow, dearest! You seem to be in a fog? Are you okay?” I took note of the fact that she used the word dearest as I say, “Well, “I shake my head, “you gotta understand that I literally just woke up from stone! It’s very confusing, especially since I don’t really recognize or know anypony and everything looks different now… I don’t know where I am anymore…“ “Oh?” I nod, “Yeah Rarity! I mean, I’ve been evil and bad this whole time and well, that’s how I was thinking about myself and now… Now I don’t know who I am anymore! If I’m not evil, than what am I?” Rarity frowns, “How about you’re just an adorable pegasus filly?” And Twilight sees right through my facade, “Cozy, it hasn’t even been a day yet!” I flinch and say, “Right! No empathy for me!” Twilight sighs and looks down at me and says lowly, “Cozy, I just find it hard to believe that you could have so severe a reaction so quickly?” “You know how I told you, you have a lot of time to think when you’re stone?” Twilight frowns, “Yeah?” I sigh, “Well, I’ve been thinking this whole time… I really just wish I could get my mind to shut up sometimes!” ** She moves her head closer to me, “What do you think about Cozy?” I stare at her and decide to be honest, “I think about victory… I think about overthrowing the monarchy in Equestria and proclaiming myself the Empress of Friendship, the way it was supposed to be… B-but… “I look down… “Th-that’s wrong, huh?” “The way things were supposed to be?” Rarity interjects again, “Cozy Glow, sweetness! I believe what Twilight is trying to say is, that isn’t the way things are supposed to be!” I turn my head right towards the older white mare, another term of endearment? “It’s not, huh? I was the bad pony wasn’t I? I shouldn’t have done what I did?” Rarity smiles, “We all make mistakes, Cozy!” “Do those mistakes usually kill ponies?” Twilight widens her eyes, “But you technically never killed anypony, right?” I turn left to the purple alicorn and blurt out, “NO! I mean, I don’t think so, but…” “Cozy Glow!” “What? I’m not gonna do it anymore! I’m reformed, remember?” I say before smiling timidly… At that point, the alicorn surprised me… She sighed and trotted a few paces towards me before embracing me in a tight warm hug with her forehooves! “What are you doing?” She whispers, “Ssh… It’s okay little Cozy Glow… You’re not that filly anymore… “ I see the old white mare smiling at me from her chair… “Oh, golly!” Twilight smiles, “Now Cozy, after an incident earlier, I made it a point to have several good reforming spells available and memorized for just such an occasion!” “Reforming spell?” I say as I’m not sure I like the sound of this? She smiles, “Of course! I’ll use my magic to reform you and you’ll be just fine! You’ll be a well-behaved filly again, I promise!” “Assuming I was ever well-behaved…” She giggles, “Now Cozy, this won’t hurt a bit!” before lowering her head and forcing her horn to glow violet… I gotta admit, she was dead wrong on that one! I suddenly felt ALL of my muscles tense as if they had some strange energy through them and I sorta passed out right then and there! I think I hit the floor? Probably… <*****> You know, of all the times I could’ve opened my eyes, this was by far the most awkward! I feel encased in these purple forehooves as I lay there in the castle infirmary bed… I ask the obvious question, “Why are you hugging me?” She starts and I see her release me to go back to her sizable hooves on the floor as she stares at me with wide violet eyes and says, “Oh, Cozy! You’re awake! Uh, hi there!” “You were hugging me!” Her eyes suddenly grow slightly wider, “W-well, yeah! I wanted to show you uh, some affection and let you know that you’re loved!” “You just woke me up earlier this morning!” “Yes, and you need to know you’re supported!” I widen my eyes at this confusing statement, “I am?” She smiles and nods at me, “Of course!” “Why should I believe you?” Her eyes widen again as her muzzle frowns, “What?” I sigh, “Look, all I’m saying is that it’s kinda fishy that you’d be so loving and supportive almost immediately after I tell you I want to be reformed!” Her face normalizes, “Well, I did hurt you and cause you to pass out and now I just feel awful about it!” “Why?” Her eyes widen again, “Because I didn’t want to hurt you!” “What do you care if I get hurt? I’m Cozy Glow, remember? I’m the evil filly who tried to take over Equestria?” Her brow furrows, “Now Cozy, evil or no, you need to understand that I’d never want to actually hurt you!” Suddenly, the blue wooden door to Twilight’s right opens up and I see an older white unicorn mare trotting in as she stares at me with wide blue eyes, “Cozy Glow! You’re awake, darling! I’m so glad you’re okay!” “Twilight Sparkle hurt me!” Twilight adjusts her gaze between me and the unicorn as she bellows, “It wasn’t intentional!” I sigh… “It’s okay, you know?” a small smile sneaks up on my muzzle… “I guess when you’re as evil as I’ve been, you deserve to be hurt?” Twilight furrows her brow to me once more and stomps her hoof while shouting, “Cozy Glow, you are not evil anymore, and even if you were, that certainly doesn’t mean you actually DESERVE to be hurt!” Rarity stares at me and sighs, “I believe what Twilight is getting at is that um, well pain and torture aren’t exactly the ideal methods for dealing with troublemakers and miscreants!” I look at at Rarity, “Oh, so I guess trying to take over Equestria and trying to torture and kill other ponies are just minor infractions, then, huh?” Rarity keeps her gaze on me, “Cozy, we aren’t going to punish you!” “And why not?” Twilight finally stares at me and says, “Because punishment isn’t the answer!” I look at the purple alicorn and frown, “It’s not?” The alicorn takes a pace towards me and engulfs me in her forehooves tightly, “NO IT’S NOT!” At that point, I say the only thing I really can… “Oh, golly!” (To be continued…) Author's Note *Cozy Glow breaks the fourth wall in my stories again... **FYI: this is why I smoke pot! Well, I usually vape these days, but I still smoke sometimes, and I literally just rolled a fattie after writing today… Chapter 3: Sobering Up, part 1I feel the soft infirmary mattress underneath me and move the covers a bit forward with my forehooves before finally asking the big purple alicorn the burning question that’s been on my mind all day, “Who is Hyacinth Hoofdrops?” Twilight widens her eyes, “Cadance’s foal? How would you know about her?” “Cadance? I thought her foal was Flurry Heart!” “No, Flurry Heart is grown now and is the ambassador to Yakyakistan!” “Oh, golly! But Shining Armor and Cadance had a new foal, huh?” Twilight frowns and stares at me for a moment… “Shining Armor died thirty years ago in a battle with King Sombra!” I widen my eyes, “Oh, golly!” and normalize them. “I uh, did not know that! This is new information... Uh, who’s the new husband?” “Cadance married a unicorn bookseller named Gregory Ironhoof…” I suppress a smirk on my muzzle and compose myself before stating the obvious, “Wait! Cadance’s new husband is named Greg?” Twilight is silent for a moment, “Uh, yes!” I chuckle slightly… Twilight frowns and asks, “But how do you know about Hyacinth?” I gaze at the alicorn and consider my words, “Well, you remember when I had to meet you in the courtyard at the castle?” Her eyes widen while the white unicorn stares onward with blue eyes, “Yes?” “I kinda well, ran into her on my way there, completely by accident!” “Oh? Where did you meet her?” “In her room, at your castle!” She raises her eyebrow, “That doesn’t sound like an accident?” “I didn’t know what was in there!” Her eyes widen, “So, why did you enter?” I sigh in frustration, “I don’t know how your castle is laid out and I was looking for the courtyard! Now look! That’s not important right now!” Her eyes widen, “So what is, Cozy?” At this point, I slowly form a frown on my muzzle and I can’t believe the words I just say… “I kinda well, promised her a play date or whatever later and um, I didn’t want to let her down!” I say before smiling at her demurely. Twilight frowns, “Wait! You care about this other foal’s feelings?” Maybe I do? I don’t know? “Uh, maybe?” I say as I’m not sure what the safest answer is here?Maybe I justreally want a friend right now? Yeah, that’s gotta be it! She stares at me carefully before Rarity raises her head to speak between us, “I believe a play date with Hyacinth would be good for Cozy!” I stare at the wrinkled old unicorn, “It would?” She smiles somberly at me, “Yes, Cozy! It’s imperative that you have interactions with foals your own age and Hyacinth would be a good choice for you!” Twilight turns her neck right to the unicorn, “Are you sure about that Rarity? I mean, Hyacinth is kinda reserved and out there, and I don’t know if she’d be the ideal first friend for Cozy here?” I pipe up now, “Bring em on! I can make friends with anypony! No problem!” and smile at Twilight… Okay, lets give reformation and being nice a real chance here? Uh, maybe? Rarity turns to me and smiles, “See? Cozy is already enthusiastic!” I keep my wide grin in the alicorn’s direction, when she stares back at me carefully, “I think I know how you can begin?” My eyes widen as I’m not sure where this is going? “Doing what?” “Hmm…” Her eyes go skyward as she’s clearly deep in thought… <*****> Twilight smiles from her throne and I can smell the faint hint of vodka on her breath as she says, “And so, as Princess of Friendship, I have decided that you and Hyacinth Hoofdrops here should be friends!” I stare at her from my hooves in front of the throne and to the left of Hyacinth, “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that?” Hyacinth gazes at the large purple alicorn from my side, “I don’t think it works like that either?” Twilight smiles and daintily replies, “Well, how would you know it can’t work unless you two give it an honest try! I am the rightful Princess of Friendship, after all!” I was gonna be an empress, but whatever! I stare at the princess carefully and note the color of her cheeks… “You’re drunk right now, huh?” I can’t help but notice Hyacinth sniffing the air in my periphery as Twilight stares at me with a sort of daze in her eyes and says, “N-no! Uh, I need some water!” “Oh, golly! You want more vodka now!” Her eyes widen, “What? Uh, l-look Cozy Glow! You and Hyacinth are to return to her room this instant for the beginning of your play date!” and she smiles. “I’ll be up to check on you in two hours!” <*****> I’m staring at the alicorn foal on the other side of the red carpet as I stood there on my hooves, “You know she just wanted to get rid of us, right?” Her pinkish eyes gaze at me from underneath that same peculiar two-toned mane of hers, with the part just to the left as she smiles and says, “Yeah, so what? At least we got each other now!” I frown, “You’re pretty sure we’ll hit it off?” She stares back at me and her white muzzle grins wider, “Oh, I know we will!” “Why don’t they have any guards here? I mean, we’re all alone! Aren’t they worried about me, since I’m, you know, a dangerous criminal or whatever?” Her horn suddenly glows purple and my body is suddenly encased in a purple bubble that levitates me a couple of feet from the floor! “Hey! What gives?” She smiles up at me, “Why would they worry about me when you’re practically powerless in my presence?” I glare down at her smiling face as I’m helplessly encased in a blue forcefield and being levitated off the ground, “Oh, golly! You don’t say?” “Mhm!” The smiling filly nods. She stands there smiling at me for another moment before I finally break the silence, “Uh, Hyacinth?” “Yes Cozy?” “Are you gonna set me down?” “Eventually… I’m just savoring the moment… “ “The moment?” Her eyes widen, “Do you have any idea what it’s like being a princess in Equestria?” “How would I know?” She stares forward blankly, “Oh! Right!” before adjusting her gaze back up to me. “I NEVER have any power!” I’m silent for a moment, “But now you have power over me?” “Yup!” She nods, “And no worries Cozy! You won’t be hurt, as long as you cooperate!” I raise an eyebrow, “Cooperate?” “Yup!” The smiling alicorn nods again. I’m silent again and staring blankly into the abyss,before finally saying, “What could I do that you would possibly want?” Her eyes widen as her head gets closer to me, “I want you to be my friend!” I gaze into her eyes and respond, “You know, we were already heading that direction, right? You didn’t really need to force me!” She smiles and giggles, “Perhaps?” “So uh, you could just set me down and we could um, continue in that direction, right?” Her eyes widen, “Well, we could, yes?” I’m silent for a moment… “You don’t want to set me down, do you?” And then she sits down and says something I didn’t think I’d hear, “Not until you’ve heard me sing!” I stare at her wide eyed, “What?” And then, something else peculiar happened… Hyacinth opened her mouth and belted out what was perhaps the most lovely melody I’ve ever heard! The truly odd thing was, it didn’t sound like any language I knew. I know Ponish and I know several dialects south of Equestria, but this didn’t sound like anything familiar to me… She stopped singing abruptly and stood there smiling at me, while I remained trapped inside the forcefield with my muzzle wide open… “Uh, Hyacinth. What language was that?” She smiles, “Oh, I made up my own language!” I’m silent for a moment for the umpteenth time… Then I repeat myself, “What?” She giggles, “Yeah, I don’t want to be just, Princess Hyacinth Hoofdrops of the Crystal Empire and so I made a new language that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Equestria!” I’m quiet again before eventually saying, “You just hate being a princess, don’t you?” She frowns suddenly, “That obvious?” “Um, kinda? I mean, it was pretty! Uh, maybe you could teach it to me later?” Her eyes widen, “Oh, yeah! We could have our own secret language that nopony else knows about!” My own view enlarges, “Sure! It’ll be great! Um, do I have to be a prisoner here or are you gonna let me go?” She affixes her gaze to me, “You know something, you sure are whiny!” My eyes go skyward when suddenly, the forcefield disappears and I hear the clack of my hooves hitting the carpet…. I stare at her, “So, this is your room?” Suddenly, the door swings open and I see a violet alicorn there with a blue mane say to me, “Are you okay Cozy? She’s not torturing you, is she?” I turn my head right towards her and raise my eyebrow, “If you thought she might torture me, why in Equestria did you leave me alone with her? I thought you didn’t wanna hurt me?” Twilight widens her eyes, “Well uh, I didn’t think Hyacinth would hurt you, per se, no… I just want to make sure you’re safe, Cozy!” and smiles… I look at her and finally say what’s been on my mind since I spoke to her earlier this afternoon… “Twilight, are you an alcoholic?” She moves her neck back and says, “What? Me have a drinking problem? No! Never!” before casually swinging her hoof in the air… “You know, I didn’t ask if you had a drinking problem. I think you hit the sauce a lot more than you should!” Hyacinth has her gaze on Twilight as well and says what’s on my mind, “Twilight Sparkle is a drunk!” “Totally!” I say and nod my head. She sighs and says, “Look! I just like to drink sometimes, okay? It uh, it helps… “her blue eyes go to the floor… “It’s just that it’s uh, it’s kinda rough when your friends keep dying… “ I frown as I stare at the somber alicorn and it suddenly occurs to me who she is and all she’s done… I suddenly realized then and there what a curse she must have being an alicorn, and it dawned on me that I’m still fairly young, since I was you know, preserved in stone! I say the one thing that surprised even myself… I widen my eyes, “Twilight, I’ll be your friend… “ “Cozy?” Hyacinth suddenly says… I turn my neck right towards her, “Yeah Hyacinth?” She smiles, “Can I be your friend, too?” I return the grin with one of my own when I think about how 20 minutes ago, this filly was going to force me to be her friend! “Sure Hyacinth! I’d like that!” (To be continued… ) Chapter 4: Sobering Up, part 2And I turn my head back left towards Twilight, who’s currently taking a sip out of a brown bottle and say, “And uh, Twilight! I do care about you and I don’t like seeing my friend hurt themselves, so uh, could you maybe put the bottle down? At least when I’m around… Please?” The glowing bottle swivels upright on her left and she smiles as she says, “No problem!” and then turns her head back left to take another drink while the bottle floats there… “You’re drinking Royal Pony whiskey right now!” The bottle goes back upright, and she sits on her throne, and turns her head right towards me and she says, “I’ll have you know, this is not Royal Pony!” Hyacinth standing next to me casually adds, “I think it’s Pony Beam?” Twilight finally snorts, “It’s Wild Pegasus!” I widen my eyes, “Oh, golly! Wild Pegasus! You’d think the Princess of Friendship would buy better whiskey?” Hyacinth turns her head left towards me, “I know, right?” “I’ll drink what I want!” The alicorn barks at me from her throne before taking another belt! I turn left towards her, “So, you admit that you’re a drunk?” She stares at me with a glazed look in her eyes, “I am the Princess of Friendship and I will drink as much as I want, when I want!” Hyacinth giggles and starts chanting, “Twilight is a drunk! Twilight is a drunk!” “STOP IT!” I join in the chanting, “Twilight is a drunk! Twilight is a drunk!” Twilight furrows her brow, “I’m about to banish you two to the moon!” I smile at her and whimsically say, “Fine! Send me to the moon and utterly fail to reform me then! I’m sure the papers would love that! See if I care!” Hyacinth chimes in, “Yeah! Princess Twilight Sparkle, the big failure!” Her eyes narrow as the bottle turns in the air again so she can take a drink from it… “Oh, golly Hyacinth! She’s still drinking! What do we do?” “It’s fine! It’s fine! The bottle is out! I still got some vodka in the freezer for later though… “Twilight says as the bottle floats upright again… I stare at the alicorn, as a trail of spit goes out the right side of her muzzle, and say to her, “Twilight, I think you’ve had enough?” Hyacinth’s horn glows , and the bottle slowly flies to our right, and gently sets on the ground, before it finally stops glowing… Twilight wipes her mouth with her right hoof , and stares at me with disgruntled purple eyes as she says, “I didn’t come here to be judged by you!” “Maybe not, but we do care about you!” Hyacinth adds, “Yeah, Aunt Twilight! I don’t want you boozing it up! Please stop! For me?” At that point, her purple eyes grew large , and I think she realized what her drinking was doing to her niece? She stared at her , and somberly replied, “Hyacinth, little angel, what if I slowed down?” Hyacinth frowns, “I’d sure feel a lot better if you quit!” Twilight frowns as well, “But uh, I don’t want to!” Hyacinth sighs, “Okay Auntie Twilight… Just uh, slow down please , and don’t do it around me, okay?” I ask her, “Why do you drink again?” Twilight turns her head towards me, “It’s uh, the only thing that makes me feel better… “ “Feel better?” Twilight’s muzzle frowns slightly before correcting itself, “I uh, yeah… They’re dead now… All but one , and she’ll be gone soon too…”she sniffs… “Soon, I’ll be all alone… They’re all I really had , and now… Now, I don’t have anything… “ “What?” Hyacinth asks… Twilight closes her eyes, “Applejack was the first! Yeah, I kinda saw that coming from miles away, but I didn’t think Fluttershy would be next! Then Rainbow Dash died , and Pinkie soon after! , and then, many moons later, Spike went on to become ambassador to the Dragon-Lands!”she opens her eyes to us, and I witness tears falling from her eye sockets, “I am alone, Cozy! It’s just me, here!” “What about Rarity?” “She’ll be gone soon too! Soon…” Twilight closes her eyes again and I see more tears going down her muzzle… “Soon it’ll just be me…”she opens her eyes again… “If I’d known this was going to happen, I never would’ve agreed to become an alicorn!” “I uh, oh, golly!” Hyacinth says, “Twilight! We all need to die when our time has come! It’s only natural!” “I didn’t think nature would be so cruel!” I say to the alicorn, “Twilight, you’re drunk! Uh, why don’t you teleport to your room and sleep it off, huh?” She stares at me, “But I have that luncheon in the afternoon!” “Skip it!” “I can’t! Uh…” She blinks… “Equestria needs me… “ “Oh, golly! Equestria will be fine without you for a couple of hours! Now, rest!” She sighs… “Why am I giving into the demands of a filly?” I smile at her, “Because you know I make a good point and because you know that Cadance can handle your duties while you’re out?” She widens her eyes, “What makes you think Cadance has time for that?” Hyacinth turns her head towards me as I explain, “I’m sure she’ll be fine with it! Or, use a diplomat! Whatever! The point is, you’re not available!” She narrows her eyes, “I knew you were persuasive!” “But you got drunk and released me anyway! And now, I’m here to help you stop drinking!” I blink… “For some reason?” Hyacinth says, “Please Twilight?” She blinks, sighs, and says, “I-I’ll think about it…” before closing her eyes and forcing her horn to glow purple and her body soon disappears in a blue flash! Hyacinth turns her neck left to me again, “You think she’ll quit suddenly?” I frown, “Probably not, but stranger things have happened… “ She frowns too, “Well, what do we do?” “Only thing we can do Hyacinth! Be there for her!” Hyacinth stares upward, “Well, hey Cozy! I’m busy today, but you wanna play tomorrow afternoon?” I stare at the white alicorn filly and surprise myself with what I say… “Sure Hyacinth! I’d like that!” She brings her eyes to me and smiles, “Great! I finally have a friend! I mean, a real friend! Somepony who’s not just wanting me for power and influence!” My muzzle frowns, “How do you know I don’t want you for power or influence?” “Because you’re a prisoner in the castle and couldn’t have any power or influence!” That kinda stung! I grimace, “What?” She smiles, “Think about it! Twilight has you on house arrest and you’re in that room most of the time! Me and Twilight are the only two ponies you talk to!” “I talk to the maid!” “Oh? What about?” At this point, I honestly can’t think of anything I’ve talked to the maid about that wasn’t related to tidiness in my room or what I wanted to eat? “Stuff!” She giggles, “It’s okay Cozy! Now we got each other!” “And a drunken alicorn princess!” She sighs, “Yeah, uh, Cozy! Will you keep an eye on her please and make sure she doesn’t go overboard?” I surprise myself again when I smile cheerfully at the other filly! “You got it Hyacinth!” She adjusts her eyes to me, “I gotta go now! Will you be okay?” I flit my hoof in the air and nod, “Please! I’ve dealt with a lot worse than this before!” She smiles and then does the unthinkable… She trots forward a pace and hugs me with her forehooves! “EEP! What are you doing?” “Hugging you!” “Why?” “Because you’re my friend and you need to know you’re loved!” “I am?” “Of course!” I tentatively move my own forehooves around Hyacinth’s body and embrace her myself… “This is nice!” I’m still not sure how I feel about this, “It is?” She cuddles in closer to me, “Yeah, just being close to somepony like this! It’s nice not to be alone anymore!” Not being alone anymore? Is that what this is? “Oh, golly!” She releases me from her hooves and goes to all fours in front of me, “Alright Cozy! I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon for a full report on Twilight! Remember, don’t let her go too far!” before forcing her horn to glow pink and her body soon disappears in a white flash… I often wonder how that works and why they’re those colors and why it always changes like that? I decide to forget it and return to my room… I need a nap after all that! <*****> While deep in my slumber, I smell something peculiar… It smells pungent and strong… It smells like…vodka! I open my eyes to see a tall purple alicorn standing over me… She says in a slurred voice, “Cozy, I think I’m ready to become reformed?” I adjust my body to my right side to face her and bring my eyes to her, “What are you talking about? I was the one getting reformed here, remember?” “I-I know Cozy… I know this… I also know I haven’t exactly been the best pony lately… “ I widen my eyes and glower, “Huh?” She gulps, “Y-yeah Cozy… I drink a lot… I uh, I think I drink too much?” I fix my face, “Gee, what was your first clue? The whiskey in the morning, the day drinking, or the fact that you’re almost always sloshed?” She cringes, “I-I know Cozy…” she then brings her eyes to me… “Could you help me?” “You know, me and Hyacinth were already doing that, right?” “What?” “Remember when we spoke in the throne room?” “Uh, what?” She repeats herself and stares at me blankly and I can already tell I’m about to have a long conversation… “Oh, golly!” (To be continued… ) Chapter 5: Out of the Bottle and Into Reality“Oh, that conversation! Yeah, I remember now! We agreed that I needed to slow down on my drinking!” The purple alicorn explains as she’s standing over me on my bed… I nod while still on my back, “Golly right!” and continue as my curls bounce on my forehead. “So exactly where in that conversation did you hear the words, get sloshed on vodka, anyway?” She frowns, “I think it was towards the back?” I sigh, “Didn’t you just say you wanted to be reformed?” “I think so?” Her eyes go to the ceiling… I nod, “Well, right! And if alcoholism is you’re demon or you’re Tirek this time, or whatever, than so be it! I’m here for you!”my eyes go skyward. “Although I’m still not sure why?” She adjusts her eyes down towards me, “The reforming spell!” I widen mine and peal them at her, “Oh, golly! There’s a funky reforming spell basically forcing me to behave now!” She smiles, “It doesn’t quite work like that Cozy… “ I adjust my gaze to her, “What are you talking about you vodka smelling alicorn weirdo?” She giggles, “Well, the spell itself is painful yes!” “So you knew!” I cut her off! I feel incensed now, but I know I need to contain myself! I’m probably vibrating in rage though? She sighs and looks down, “Y-yes and believe me when I say that I’m truly sorry about that!” “You’re drunk!” She nods, “That too! But let me explain!” “Oh, do tell?” I inquire while perking my ears in her direction… This had better be good! She sighs, “It’s extremely painful because it brings out your true self… “* I frown and lower my ears, “Come again?” She smiles coyly, “You see Cozy, we really didn’t know that much about you at first, but I know what I saw… And so, I did some research on you!” My eyes widen and ears perk again, “What?” “We know about your mother and we know how you lost everything that was dear to you… “ “You mean the fire?” She smirks and mimics my speech, “Oh, please Cozy Glow! You and I both know the fire has nothing to do with it!” I sigh as I stare up at the ceiling… “You’re not wrong!”before turning my gaze back right to the alicorn… ** She nods, “Yes Cozy! I had been planning to release you for months now!” “But you got drunk like you always do and Discord decided to push things along, huh?” She slowly forms a smile on her muzzle, “Well yeah! Yes he did and I’m kinda glad for it too… “ I frown, “What?” She nods, “Yeah, I’ve never seen Hyacinth so alive than when she’s with you!” “What?” I repeat myself. She giggles slightly, and nods, “Sure you’re a recovering villain and sure, you’re not perfect… But that’s just part of your charm!” I stare at this other pony carefully… “You’re an idiot, you know that Twilight? Complete nimrod!” She giggles more, “Yeah, and your Hyacinth’s best friend!” “By default!” I add as my little body shakes! She shakes her head, “Be that as it may, you now have an obligation and responsibility to her!” “What?” She smiles and nods, “Yup! You need to be there for her and since the spell cleared away the evil from earlier, you’ll do just that!” I frown and study this pony very carefully… While I’m still not sure I like the sound of this, I’m aware that I have no choice… “Your breath still smells like vodka!” “And you’re still Hyacinth’s best friend!” I don’t know why this annoys me? “So uh, you got anything else to drink? I mean, are you done getting drunk for now, or?” She frowns, “Well, I got a few swigs of the vodka left, but that’s it until I make it to the liquor store, later on!” I adjust my view to her, “Which you won’t be doing, right?” “No! Maybe?” Her eyes go up, “I mean uh, probably later on, yeah?” “Oh, golly!” I exclaim! She sighs, “Look! Not drinking is a bit of an adjustment for me and well, I’d like to um, well, ease into it, you know?” “You know, NOT drinking at all, and straight up QUITTING would be a lot better, right?” She sighs, “I-I know Cozy! It’s just that, well… “she stares off to the side, “I don’t wanna!” I frown for the umpteenth time, “At least your honest! Maybe uh, not be drunk all the time, instead? How about this! You won’t start drinking again until much later on? When me and Hyacinth aren’t here?” She turns back to me, “Actually, drinking with you and Hyacinth was kinda fun!” My eyebrow raises, and I say, “What?” for what seems like the thirtieth time! She smiles and giggles, “Yeah, I like you two because you help me stay grounded!” I frown deeply as a horrifying thought suddenly occurs to me… <*****> Hyacinth stares at me from underneath her wavy two-toned mane, the left light purple, and right lavender, as she widens her lilac eyes, “So tell me Cozy! What’s been going on with Twilight?” I nod, “Oh, golly! She’s agreed to slow down on her drinking, but I don’t really know exactly how much, and I’m starting to get her to understand that she has a problem!” Hyacinth sighs and nods, “Right! But does she have anymore booze?” I frown, “Well, she mentioned a couple of shots of vodka, but I think that’s it? I don’t think she has any booze left?” and bring my eyes to the ceiling, “Although I’m also pretty sure she’s gonna make a liquor run soon?” Hyacinth frowns, “That’s not good! Can you try to convince her not to do it?” My muzzle goes downward as well, “That’s the thing! I already tried that, but she isn’t listening!” “Well, what do you think she’ll do now?” I sigh and honestly reply, “I think she’ll probably finish her daily duties or whatever it is she does, make a trip to the liquor store, and she’s probably gonna want me there when she starts drinking later!” Hyacinth widens her lavender pupils, “Uh, r-really? What makes you say that?” <*****> I widen my eyes at the sober purple princess from my side of the small purple dinette table… I think she’s got a thing for purple? “Oh, golly gee! It’s nighttime now, you wanna get drunk, and you want me here with you, because you believe my presence provides stability or whatever, huh?” Twilight frowns from the other side of the table as I see a big bottle of Pony Walker black label in front of her, “Uh, yes! Essentially! I mean, Hyacinth can’t be here, since she’s in the Crystal Empire, but uh,”she smiles, “I got you!” I stare at her with my same wide glare, “Obviously, since I can’t legally be anywhere else!” She sighs and nods, “Right! And you’ll keep me level, uh, right?” “Define level?” “You’ll make sure I won’t drink too much!” “Not drinking at all would be way better, you know!” “I agree!” Discord says from 2 feet away at my left! Twilight turns her neck right to Discord, “Get the hay out of here!” and forces her horn to glow and Discord soon vanishes in a puff of white! … Then, it was just me and her again… I can only stare at the Princess of Friendship with my enormous gaze while she says, “I’ll be careful! But I’m not letting you, Discord, or ANYPONY else tell me what I can and can’t do!” “Uh, oh golly… Right! Yes! Of course!” I say and smile at her like an idiot with a wide toothy grin… Twilight smiles, “Right!” before magically opening the brown bottle on the table and raising the bottle to tilt it back towards her muzzle so she can take a mighty belt… “And there goes round one of single malt Scotch!” I say, although I’m still not sure where Scotch comes from? I lean forward and stare intently, because despite Twilight’s problem here, I really don’t have much experience with drunk ponies! “Uh, at least you upgraded your whiskey this time! How do you feel?” She sighs and smiles… “Better” I raise an eyebrow, “Better?” She stares at me, “Y-yeah… It’s not so bad being all alone now… “ I frown, “Alone? You got me!” She stares at me intently, “That’s not what I mean.” “Well, what do you mean?” She sighs again and wistfully stares off to the side, “They’re gone now… They were here earlier and now, and now they’re not…” and forms a grimace on her muzzle. “Death sucks!” “You mean, your friends from earlier?” She turns her neck back to me, “Who else would I mean, Cozy?” “It’s part of life, Twilight!” She lowers her view slightly, “I know that, but do you have any idea how many times I’ve heard ponies say that to me?” before exhaling softly and visibly relaxing her shoulders… She then uses her magick to take another belt of Scotch… I frown while taking in this reaction, “That doesn’t really help, huh?” The bottle lowers back to the table at a perfect angle, and she sighs, “Not really, no!” as I smell the scent of Scotch whiskey on her breath now… “You know, they might be gone, but you still got what you got now, right?” Her eyes widen, “What do you mean?” I raise my view, “Well, you still got Rarity for the moment! And you got me and Hyacinth, now!” “But you’re both still fillies!” “So? You’re still gonna outlive me, you know, and eventually, Hyacinth will be a lot closer to your age! Uh,” I stare downward, “I’ll probably be dead by that point?” I stare at the table and I can almost feel her violet gaze on me while she says, “So maybe, I should treasure the time I have with you now and be ready to let go later instead?” I raise my view back up to her and while she is in fact, taking another swig of Scotch, I’m beginning to think I might see a way out here? “Well, right! I mean, sure, I’m not gonna be around forever, but I’m here now, with you, you know?” She smiles… “Thanks for talking to me about this Cozy!” and takes another, smaller swig of Scotch, before gently lowering the bottle back to the table… I stare at the alicorn princess carefully while she stares at the back wall behind me with a calm relaxed look in her violet gaze… “So uh, what are you gonna do now?” She lowers her gaze to me, “What do you mean? Get drunk, obviously!” I widen my eyes again, “Oh, golly!” And as I watched the Princess of Friendship take yet another mighty belt of Scotch, I finally began to understand her… The alcohol makes her numb so she doesn’t have to deal with the fact that her friends are gone… I began to wonder if there really was a way out or if she was doomed to be addicted for the rest of her long alicorn life? (To be continued… ) Author's Note *As a gender variant person, I can tell you that I’ve never experienced greater pain before… **Yes, my childhood home did burn to the ground, but the truth is, that has nothing to do with my pain… It was just a building by that point… Chapter 6: The Second StepAnd as I watched the purple alicorn princess take yet another belt of whiskey, I began to wonder when she stops? Then, I heard something I never thought I’d hear in a castle… I heard musical notes! The first was medium pitch, the second high pitched, and the last had a low pitch… I look up and ask Twilight the obvious question, “What the hay was that?” She smiles back at me as the whiskey bottle lowers to the table, “Uh, we installed a doorbell!” I narrow my eyes, “The Castle of Friendship has a doorbell now?” She giggles,"Uh, yeah! Yes it does! We needed a way to alert us when creatures were at the front door!” I sigh and stare back at her, “Twilight, you’re drunk! Stay put!” and smile at her… “Let Cozy take care of everything! I’ll be right back!” <*****> I widen my eyes at the small white alicorn, “What?” Hyacinth Hoofdrops smiles, “I got done early today and decided to go ahead and visit my best friend!” I frown, “But you’re supposed to be in the Crystal Empire?” She snickers, “I’m an alicorn, silly! I can just teleport wherever I wanna go!” I widen my eyes again, “Oh, yeah!” She sighs, “So, how’s our patient?” “Drunk!” I exclaim while explaining Twilight’s current condition! She frowns, “Didn’t you try to stop her?” “Of course! Uh, I mean, I think so?” My eyes go skyward. “Probably?” “Well, where is she now?” I look back at the concerned white filly, “In the backroom drinking Scotch!” “We need to stop her!” I frown again, “We do?” Hyacinth nods, “Yes!” before both of us are enveloped in a blinding flash! <*****> The purple alicorn half-stared at me as I suddenly appeared in front of her and she soon says, “Oh, you’re both back! Don’t know if I should be happy or annoyed?” before the floating bottle on the left of her head tilts so she can take another belt of Scotch… I stare at her and say, “Oh, golly! Twilight, you need to put the bottle down! Uh, apparently!” Hyacinth on my right adds, “Please Auntie Twilight? For me?” She sighs and turns her head right to take yet another swig of whiskey… I frown, “Uh, Canterlot! We’re losing her!” Hyacinth says, “Auntie Twilight, you gotta stop this!” She sighs again as the glowing bottle slowly glides back to the table… “I know… “ I ask her point blank, “I don’t get it? If you really wanna stop, then why don’t you? What’s so hard about putting the bottle down, Twilight?” I see her mouth quiver for a moment before she says in an exasperated tone, “They were all I had!” “Huh?” Hyacinth asks, “You mean your friends?” I then remember why she drank and I calmly ask her, “Well, Twilight! You said you wanted us to help you, right? To make sure you don’t drink too much?” Hyacinth turns her head left towards me and whispers, “Cozy!” I turn to Hyacinth, “What? It’s called compromise! If she isn’t ready to quit just yet, maybe we can get her to slow down?” Twilight stares at me, “Yes! I uh,” she smiles… “I admit I kinda liked having you two here the other day… Even though you can’t drink… “ I look at Twilight, “Well, we could, you know?” Hyacinth turns back to me, “Cozy!” I turn to Hyacinth, “What? Just because we’re fillies doesn’t mean we can’t drink booze!” Twilight stares at me, “No, Cozy! Absolutely not! Out of the question!” I turn to the Princess of Friendship, “So, you admit that drinking is bad then?” She frowns, “Well, it’s bad for fillies!” “It’s bad for you too, you know?” “Y-yes… Yes I know Cozy… But uh… What else is there?” I frown when I suddenly realized that she simply needs a distraction? “Well, how about a game or we could tell stories or maybe sing songs?” Hyacinth says, “How about a party? Wouldn’t Pinkie Pie like that?” “Or maybe a barn dance like Applejack would have or maybe something in the sky like Dash, you know, since we all have wings?” Twilight sighs again and turns her head right for another belt of whiskey… I frown again, “Uh, maybe we shouldn’t be talking about what she’s lost?” Hyacinth turns to me, “Um, you’re probably right? But what should we do?” “Be there for me!” We both hear the princess say as Hyacinth turns back to her… I furrow my brow in confusion, “Be there for you?” Hyacinth says, “So, you’re gonna drink whiskey and you want us to be there?” She smiles… “Yeah… I liked having you here with me earlier… It made me feel better… “ I stare at Twilight and blankly say, “She’s an anti-social social drunk!” Twilight widens her eyes to me as her mouth straightens, “What?” I smile, “Golly, yeah! You don’t like many ponies, but being around them when you’re drinking is better for your spirit… “and widen my eyes… “Quite the conundrum, huh?” Hyacinth stares at me while Twilight says, “I uh, never actually thought about it?” “Speaking of things that are out of character!” Twilight frowns, “Huh?” I shake my head, “Uh, never mind Twilight! How’s the whiskey?” She sighs, “Well, it’s better now that my friends are here… “ I widen my eyes when the implications of what she just said occur to me, “Friends?” She smiles again, “Yeah, didn’t I already tell you that?” Hyacinth asks me, “Cozy, what are you doing?” I turn to the other filly, “It’s called talking to other ponies! Uh, you know how you didn’t have any friends earlier?” “Hyacinth! How’s school going for you?” Hyacinth turns to Twilight and says, “Well, I’m having some trouble with math and science,” and smiles,” but I love my Ponish and literature courses and I like my creative writing class!” I say to the other filly, “I can help you study, you know?” Twilight smiles at me, “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Cozy!” “Well, golly gee, it’s not like I got anything better to do?” I say before wondering why I care about all of these things? Hyacinth finally turns to me, “You’d really do that for me, Cozy? You’d help me?” I blink, “Well, sure! Why not? I mean, you’re my friend, right?” and it suddenly becomes a lot clearer to me! Hyacinth smiles and then does the unthinkable… She scoots her chair towards mine and embraces me in a tight warm hug! “EEP!” Twilight grins, giggles, and turns her head to take another belt of whiskey… At that point, I knew I was one for one for the night… On one hoof, I couldn’t get Twilight to stop drinking, but on the other, I had bonded with my new friend… New friend… My friend who turns to me and says, “Hey, could you help me with just a couple of questions I had before my pre-algebra course tomorrow?” I turn to face her while Twilight kisses her bottle again, “Uh, ask away!” She frowns, “Um, I think I’d better just show you?” “But your books are in the Crystal Empire?” She sighs, “I’m an alicorn, remember?” before smiling and forcing her horn to glow again… <*****> Hyacinth frowns at me while staring with her pinkish gaze, “Wait! So X is a number?” I frown from my side of the table as she stares down at one of the two books she has over some papers, “Well, it’s a value or an integer or uh,”I eye her carefully, “you know what Hyacinth? Yes! It’s a number!” and nod! I stare at her intently as a new thought just crossed my mind, “Hey, have you told Cadance about Twilight’s alcohol addiction?” She widens her eyes as I sit there, “Oh, goodness, no! They haven’t seen each other in years and the last thing I want mom to do is to worry about Auntie Twilight!” I widen my eyes, “Wait! You were there yesterday!” She nods, “Yes, I was there, yesterday! My mom stayed in the empire!” “Oh, golly!” She gazes at me carefully, “Do you think I should tell my mom that Twilight’s addicted to booze?” “DON’T YOU DARE!” We both hear a familiar feminine voice scream from somewhere! I widen my eyes again, “Oh, golly! Uh, apparently not!” Hyacinth raises her gaze from me and says, “Auntie, please! You need help!” “I’m fine! I quit drinking for the night already, see?” I hear a voice from behind me say. Hyacinth says, “Yeah, but you finished almost all the bottle!” “Right, and I got a few swigs left for my hangover, later on! No problem!” Hyacinth adjusts her gaze, “You think maybe the fact that you’re literally preparing to be hungover on a regular basis is a sign that you might be drinking way too much?” “No!” I finally say, “Twilight, just think about this, okay? Thinking! Remember doing that a long time ago? You’re always hungover, and you regularly use cures for said hangovers!” “Where’s the problem?” Hyacinth sighs and looks above me, “Auntie, just uh, don’t drink anymore tonight, okay?” “I already said I wouldn’t! Look Hyacinth, I won’t drink anymore until tomorrow morning when I hit that whiskey!” Hyacinth teleports and I turn behind me after situating my body to the right to see that she’s there, staring up at her aunt, who’s currently smiling down at her and staring dreamily with her purple eyes… Hyacinth stares up at her aunt nervously and anxiously says, “Just uh, slow down, okay? For me!” Twilight takes two paces forward and embraces the filly in her right forehoof and holds her lovingly, while closing her eyes and whispering, “Okay, Hyacinth… I’ll slow down for you…“ I widen my eyes, “So uh, I guess that’s it huh? Twilight is gonna cut down on the booze, and we’re gonna help her?” Hyacinth turns her head right to stare at me, “Well, right! Assuming nothing else happens!” And suddenly, we all hear a buttery masculine voice say, “Like perhaps, a certain draconequus might get involved in the sobriety project?” … Oh, golly… (To be continued… ) Chapter 7: FunctionalTwilight sighs, turns her head right to take another belt of whiskey, and then, very calmly turns towards me and Hyacinth, but speaks with her gaze raised as if talking to somecreature behind us while smiling, “Discord! I was wondering when you’d be back! You’re so predictable!” “Oh, Twilight! You should know by now, that I’m anything but predictable!” We hear the oozing voice say before a distinct snapping sound and suddenly, the bottle of whiskey is a bouquet of flowers! Twilight giggles, and blinks her eyes, causing her horn to glow, and it soon turns into a bottle of Wild Pegasus! I frown at this, “I thought you were drinking Scotch?” She stares at me, “Well, I want bourbon, now!” “You should know by now, my dear Twilight that you are not to have bourbon!” We hear the male voice say, before another snapping sound… Nothing changes… Twilight giggles while raising her gaze again, “Oh, I studied your chaos magick Discord… “and widens her eyes, “And I wrote a book on it and how especially skilled unicorns can even learn to use it! You got nothing on me!” before turning her head right to take her first belt of bourbon before withdrawing her head from the impact as the bottle quickly turns upright and she screams. “Whoa, yeah! That’s the bad medicine mommy needs!” I glare at this and casually say, “Oh, golly! The Legend of Drunken Master, huh?” “This isn’t over!” I hear the male voice say before another snapping noise and then, an energy blast noise as if he had teleported… At least, that’s what I’m pretty sure he just did as Twilight stares at us and says, “Now then! Where were we?”and turns her head to take another belt of bourbon… “I hope you ate something? That’s gonna tear up your stomach, you know?” She smiles at me, “Oh, I’m counting on it… When I throw up, I’ll just drink more bourbon!” I widen my eyes, “That’s not safe, is it?” She frowns, “I dunno? Probably not?” “Do you even care?” She sighs, “Not particularly?” before turning her head to take a smaller sip, before puckering and saying, “Whew! I know you’re not expensive, but I always loved your taste!” I turn towards Hyacinth and whisper, “This might get weird?” She turns to me and smiles, “Well, still beats life in The Empire!” “Uh, I guess we’ll just enjoy the show?” Twilight suddenly burps loudly and says, “Whoa! I think it’s starting to work? I really need to go to the toilet now!” Oh, golly… She blinks at me and says, “Meet me in the study!” and forces her horn to glow violet and her body disappears! … Pretty sure I know where she went… <*****> 15 disgusting minutes later, we’re all sitting there… She has a tumbler she must’ve gotten from the kitchen along with most of that bottle of Wild Pegasus from earlier… It’s dim here and all of the old books are faintly illuminated in their myriad of dull colors by the lantern glows spread throughout the room… We can all hear the grandfather clock ticking away on the wall… Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock… She smiles and says, “I feel better!” I stare blankly and wide-eyed as I calmly state, “I have no idea what you ate?” Hyacinth turns her head left to me, “I’m just amazed that you watched!” Twilight’s smile lowers, “You didn’t have to! Uh, honestly, for future reference, I’d kinda prefer if you didn’t… “before staring off to the side pensively and calmly breathing to herself, in and out… I stare at the purple pony, “And why’s that?” She sighs and stares directly at me again with her purple gaze, “I uh, I don’t like it when ponies know about the things I do… “ “Why not? You’re an alcoholic!” I say before nodding… “Own it!” “Do you really think I have a problem?” Twilight says before staring at me and floating her glass up to her snout for a small sip… “Well, gee! You’re throwing up to make room for more booze at this point!” Hyacinth raises her hoof, “And you regularly prepare to be hungover pretty much every night now!” Twilight stares at the other filly as the glowing tumbler adjusts in the air, “Well, not every night!” “Oh, golly! Do you actually NOT drink sometimes?” She sighs and turns her gaze back to me, “Uh, no… “and smiles… “Sometimes I get so carried away with my drinking, that I forget to get ready… “and blinks… “But it’s okay, because if I just drink plenty of water the next day and pop a few aspirin, I’ll be alright!” “And you quit drinking for that period?” Her eyes widen, “Well, technically, no, not really… “before she sighs and takes another small sip of bourbon… I stare at the Princess of Friendship while listening to her speak about her addiction, and I’ll admit, I felt something strange… Something I’m not sure I’ve ever felt before? I felt a pang of sadness… I felt her regret and her misery at her new life without the one thing that made it worth living earlier… I’ll admit that I truly felt for the alicorn princess at that point… I had to make this right… <*****> I stare down at Hyacinth on her sparkly purple bedroll in the center of my room, from my perch on my bed… “Will you be okay down there?” She stands on her hooves on the blankets and smiles as she says, “Oh, I’m fine Cozy! I’m not one of those princesses, who always needs the best sorts of bedding every night! I’m okay here! I promise!” while I see the faint illumination of her two-toned mane in the moonlight from my window… I smile back at her, “Uh, there’s a perfectly good guest room with a big bed and all kinds of comfortable pillows and blankets and stuff, right next door to my room, you know?” She visibly giggles slightly in the pale light, “Oh, Cozy! I wanna be in here, with my best friend!” My smile lowers, “You don’t have a lot of options, huh?” She laughs again, “Cozy, when are you gonna understand that your friendship is worth treasuring?” I widen my eyes, “Uh, sometime between, a long time from now, and never!” She giggles again as I see her snout go towards the ground, “Cozy, you’re hilarious!” I frown, “I am?” Her eyes widen and I see them gleam ever so slightly in the light from my window, “Yeah, Cozy! I like you a lot! So, what do you wanna do now?” “How would I know? I’ve never had a friend before!” She frowns, “You haven’t?” I sigh, “Well, none that I can remember?” “What do you mean?” I close my eyes, “There’s so much of my life that I just can’t remember anymore, Hyacinth… “What? Why is that Cozy? Did something happen?” “Y-yeah Hyacinth…”I open my eyes, “I don’t like to talk about it… “* “Well, you don’t have to, if you don’t want to, Cozy?” I sigh, “Th-thanks Hyacinth… “I smile, “What about you? You’re a princess in the Crystal Empire! You gotta have the most awesome life ever!” Her eyes widen, “Hardly! I NEVER get any time to myself, and ALWAYS have to do all these annoying little things EVERY SINGLE DAY! And it’s always stupid crap, too! Who cares if I cut the ribbon at their grand re-opening? Why should I bother getting out of bed to give your stupid high school class a lecture on responsibility and being prudent? It’s just stupid, annoying nonsense, every…single...day…”she sighs…“Honestly, I’m just glad I was able to arrange for this sleepover!”she smiles at me, “What about you Cozy? I mean, sure you’re a prisoner, but it can’t be that bad in here, right? I mean, you got all of those books and everything in the castle to entertain yourself with!” I widen my eyes and laugh hysterically for a few seconds before saying, “Not really! I’m confined to this little room most of the time!”I sigh, “They bring me books, and toys, and games, and stuff, but I don’t normally see many other ponies… “I swallow… “It gets kinda lonely, honestly… “ She smiles, “Well, I typically study when class gets out at three-thirty until I eat dinner at six-thirty, you know?” I adjust my view to her, “Oh?” “Yup!”She nods, “And having my favorite study companion with me during that time, sure would be swell!” At this stage, I’m pretty sure she’s mimicking the way I talk, “You mean me, don’t you?” “Who else would I mean, Cozy?” She says while smiling… “Maybe the pegasus filly next to me?” “You’re a goober!” She shouts before using her magick to pick up the blue dinosaur plushie from the side of the room and throwing it at me! It smacks me in the face! I narrow my eyes at her, “Oh, this means war!” Her eyes widen while she keeps the grin on her muzzle, “Oh?” I quickly grab the plushie with my teeth and lift it with my snout while staring at her and saying, “Oh yeah!”between my teeth! “Oh, no!”She gives a wide-eyed shout as I leap at her from the bed while using my wings to propel me towards her to tackle her to her bedroll and begin pummeling her with the stuffy lodged in-between my teeth! All the while making sure I don’t actually hurt her of course! “EEP!” She eeps before recovering and using her magick to force several plushies from the shelf where I had them to smash into me and get me off of her! I begin flapping my wings so I hover off the ground and stare down at her a few feet beneath me and drop the dinosaur so it lands on the ground in front of Hyacinth as I say, “No fair! I don’t have magick!” “So! You got those wings!” “But you got wings too! It’s not fair!” “Oh, yeah? Well you’re a jerk!” “Am not! You’re a jerk!” “Jerk-head!” “Jerk-face!” Hyacinth giggles and says, “I can’t hear you! Because the mouth doesn’t work right on your jerk-head!” I stare at her and say back, “Oh, yeah? Well, I have no idea what you just said because the mouth is weird on your jerk-face!” We stare at each other silently for a few more seconds before we both burst out laughing hysterically! I look at her, “This sure is fun! It’s great to get this stuff now, because I’m actually not even sure if I ever had it before!”I say while gently floating down towards the ground… She looks at me, “Well uh, better late than never, right?” I land on my hooves with a soft clack! I stare at her and smile, “Yeah… Thanks Hyacinth! I love you!” She smiles, “I love you too, Cozy! Lemme go make us some cocoa in the kitchen and I’ll be right back!” I grin back, “Sure thing! And you know, my bed is pretty big!” She looks at me, “This is true!” “Between what I got and what’s on the floor here, there’s plenty of pillows too, huh?” She blinks, “Yeah, you’re not wrong!” I giggle, “Hyacinth, stop being silly! Sleep in the bed with me tonight! You can have the left!” She frowns, “Yeah, but we were gonna have cocoa?” I smile, “I meant later, silly! Cocoa now! Bed after!” She blinks and gives a startled giggle, “Oh! Right! Uh, hang on!” before forcing her horn to glow blue and soon vanishing in a blue zap! (To be continued… ) Author's Note *There’s technically several reasons I have amnesia, but we’re not gonna get into that here… Chapter 8: The Return“This is my love, preserved!” The motley brown serpent bellowed! I widen my eyes as I stare at the statue and say, “But that can’t be! She died! R-right?” “Technically, no! I snatched her just before it happened!” “Why?” “I don’t want to live in a world without Fluttershy… “ I blink at the stone pegasus and say, “Yeah, but what good is she as a statue?” <*****> I open my eyes and I feel the warmth of Hyacinth behind me! I turn my body around to glance at her and notice she’s still asleep, snoring peacefully under the covers… I decide to get out of bed and shake my head… I bring my body to launch itself and take flight, from the side of the bed… “Golly, what a weird dream!” I say to myself as I float towards the kitchen on my little wings… I arrive in the kitchen and take a glass from the shelf and hover over to the fridge to fetch the orange juice bottle and tilt it in the air over the glass, to begin filling it… Suddenly, I hear a smarmy masculine voice I was hoping I would never hear again… “It was no dream!” I frown while watching the orange liquid pour before tilting the bottle back upright and then turning to float towards the fridge again… “I said, Fluttershy is still alive!” “I know! I’m just bringing the orange juice back now!” The voice grows frustrated, “Well, aren’t you going to say anything Cozy?” I sigh as I’m putting up the bottle, “You just couldn’t stand to lose her, huh?” The voice is silent for a moment as I gently close the fridge door… “Well, no… If I’m being honest, I could never stand to lose the first real friend I ever had in all my millennia of life… “ I turn to float towards my orange juice, “She must be pretty special, right?” “Truly, one of a kind! Somepony Equestria needs!” I turn and chuckle as I witness a brown serpent, floating in the air, with misshapen horns, eyes, and appendages… “So the million bit question is, why are you telling me this?” He sighs, “Well, if you want me to be honest…” “Oh, but I do!” I nod my head. He sighs again and lowers his head in sad remorse as a frown forms on his visage, “I feel guilty!” I frown too, “Guilty?” He nods, “Yes, guilty! I cheated that poor pegasus out of the rightful death she deserved all for my selfish greed! Why wouldn’t I feel guilty about what I have done?” I stare at this serpent because after studying and learning about him, the idea of THIS particular serpent, EVER feeling anything like guilt is nothing short of remarkable! Oh, golly! Character development! “You know, you could always just release her?” He frowns and I witness his snaggle-tooth go the other direction, “Are you sure that would be wise? I also used time magick to make her young again!” My eyes widen, “You, what?” He sighs, and stares to the ceiling, “Well, yes!” and back at me, “You see, I didn’t want her to die the very moment I awakened her, assuming I ever did, and so, it just made sense to make her young again!” I frown, “How young are we talking here?” His calico eyes widen, “Well, she’s not a filly, if that’s what you mean!” and they go up, “I’d put her at young adult? Probably a few years after she would’ve graduated high school!” before centering back on me… I frown harder, “Is her mind like that of a young adult?” He frowns, “Well, it’s hard to say? I mean, her brain should be about at that phase of development, though, so she could be a tad impetuous?” I snort, “But we’re talking about Fluttershy here!” He sighs and waves his paw in the air, “Oh, right!” I nod, “Yes! So, young Fluttershy… “I’m silent for a moment… “What are we gonna tell Twilight?” His eyes widen again, “You will tell her nothing! Leave Twilight to me!” I frown at this thought… “Uh, what are YOU gonna tell her then?” He gulps and sighs as he stares at me again… “Well, if I were to tell her the truth, that would certainly make things simple, now wouldn’t it?” and waves his eagle talon in the air… I’m silent before remembering who I’m talking to… “But you don’t like simple, do you Discord?” He smiles, “No, I do not! And my apologies Cozy, but now that you know, I simply can’t have you tipping Twilight off to facts! I hope you understand?” My eyes widen as I stare down and notice my hooves beginning to turn to stone, from the bottom up! “Hey, what are you doing?” “I’m turning you into a statue! You will be roused at the appropriate time! Goodnight Cozy Glow!” And then, the world faded to black… <*****> “C-Cozy Glow?” I hear a sweet feminine voice say, although I’m staring at the back of my eyelids… I open my eyes to see that I’m inside a cave, faintly illuminated by a blue light coming from somewhere… I’m on my back and I look down to see a short yellow pegasus mare with a flowing pink mane and tail about 10 feet in front of me… “You are correct! You’re Fluttershy!” Her eyes widen, “And you’re evil!” “N-no! Not really! I’m reformed now!” She frowns… “Wait… Why is my body different like this? My legs don’t hurt anymore?” I sigh as I begin the talk, “Well, you see, you’re young again!” Her eyes widen, “WHAT?” I nod, “Correct! Discord made you young, uh, technically not a filly though, and he preserved you as a statue!” She repeats herself, “WHAT?” I nod again, “Right, so, you’re young Fluttershy, and I’m annoyed again!” “You’re evil!” “N-no! Technically, not! Look! I’m reformed now! And I promise, if you just follow me, and we find Twilight Sparkle, she’ll set all of this straight!” She frowns, “Why should I trust you?” “Look, all you gotta is just follow me, and once we find Twilight, she’ll tell you all about it!” “How do I know you’re not leading me into an ambush?” My eyes go the other direction as I whisper to myself, “Oh, golly!” before back to her, “Look! You can follow like, twenty feet back, if you want! That doesn’t matter! The only thing that is important is that we both make it to Twilight!” before going to my right, “Now, I see some light over there, and that makes me think that’s the way out of this cave!” “O-okay Cozy! I’ll follow you! Under one condition!” My eyes go to the pegasus, “Name it!” “Say you’re sorry!” I frown, “What?” She nods, “Say you’re sorry for trying to take all the magick out of Equestria and that you’re sorry for trying to take over the country! Say those things and I’ll follow you!” I close my eyes, “Oh, golly!” before opening them to the other mare, “I’m sorry I tried to take all the magick in Equestria, and I’m sorry I tried to take over the land!” “And you’re sorry for trying to kill me and my friends!” I sigh, “And I’m sorry I tried to destroy the heroes of Equestria, or whatever too!” She smiles, “See? Don’t you feel better?” I decide to lie and move this along, “Oh, golly yeah! I sure feel cleansed! A million times better! You bet!” She beams brighter, “Okay, Cozy Glow! Lets go find Twilight Sparkle!” I stare up at the stalactites and wonder what just happened? <*****> We both emerge near the blue stone cliff face and Fluttershy looks up and around before widening her eyes and exclaiming, “Oh, I know where we are! I learned about this in geography class! This type of grass only grows near the northeast mountain range of Equestria! I begin to wonder why she remembers high school so well when she looks up and glances around, before staring a direction out to the fields and away from the mountains behind us, “If we just fly that way, we should hit Canterlot in several hours!” I turn my head right towards her and ask the obvious question, “When did you get so good at navigation?” Her eyes widen as she starts and suddenly frowns… “I…don’t know? I just know the thoughts of why we need to head that way, to get back to town… “ I frown when I think that Discord probably had something to do with this? Then, I turn towards the direction she stared and sigh, “Well, we’re not gonna get there just standing here talking about it! Lets get to flying!” <*****> I see the lush rolling plains of the Equestrian farmlands beneath me as I stare off into the boundless horizon, as the sun begins to set just to my right… There’s also a yellower pegasus flapping to my right, about 10 yards I’d say… But I’m not concerned with that right now… I think about all the time I lost being trapped in stone earlier… I frown when I realize that what was left of my family is probably dead by now? And now, here I am, free at last… I feel the wind blowing through the feathers of my wings and I finally hear her yelling at me, “So, Cozy! What made you decide to reform?” I keep flapping forward, “I realized what I had done was why I got turned to stone… I understand now that I need to be a better pony… “ “Better pony?” She says as her body begins to hover closer to mine… “Yes, Fluttershy! I’m ready to be good again! I uh, I don’t want power anymore!” I shake my head, “Not really! And you know, the truth is, I didn’t really want power then either!” Her voice sounds aghast, “You didn’t want power?” I sigh, “W-well, no! Not really! It’s uh, it’s complicated!” “Well, we got several hours before we get home. Why not tell Therapist Fluttershy all about it?” I turn to gaze at this yellow pegasus, just now out of adolescence, “I wanted control… “ “Control?” She repeats me. I nod, “Yes, Fluttershy! Control! I had no control when my parents died and I had no control when I was in the orphanage! And I was miserable because of it!” She frowns, “So, you thought that if you did have control, you’d be happier?” I sigh, “I uh, I guess that’s it, isn’t it? That’s why I tried to destroy all magick in Equestria… Because if unicorns are no longer a threat, that’s less for me to worry about!” and nod… “It gives me more control!” “But now you know, that that’s not right, right Cozy Glow?” I smile, “Yes, Fluttershy! I do! I don’t necessarily need control to be happy!” Her eyes widen, “Oh?” “Nope! The truth is, if I can just have good friends and a happy life, I think I’ll be okay?” She smiles, “Well, what if I helped you Cozy?” I frown again, “Say what now?” She giggles, “I’ll be your friend, Cozy Glow!” And so, that’s how young Fluttershy became my friend, and why I have no idea what’s gonna happen when we make it to Twilight Sparkle soon! I stare forward and gulp… (To be continued… ) Chapter 9: PiecesSo I was flying out in the open air over Equestria! After all that time spent in stone, I gotta admit, it’s certainly wonderful to stretch out the ol’ wings! I continued to flap in silence, knowing I was heading towards Canterlot. I close my eyes for a moment and feel the wonderful breeze going through my fur and the feathers of my wings, in majestic wonder… After flying for I don’t know how long, I finally looked back to my right, where Fluttershy was flying… Except I no longer saw Fluttershy… I saw a brown serpent with pink hair and a pink tail, sticking out his other serpentine tail, flapping along with big yellow wings, instead… “Gee Fluttershy! You got ugly!” I exclaim! Discord frowns as his snaggle-tooth goes the other way, “Well, I’m still prettier than you!” I suddenly feel pepperoni on my face as I say, “Nice comeback! What did you want?” and two of the pepperoni slices fly off of my face, into the breeze behind me to fly away… His body goes back to normal, “I’ve come to extend an olive branch!” and he holds out a 2-foot long olive branch with his lion paw. “And to talk to you about Fluttershy… “ I frown, “What about her? And just what did you do with her, anyway?” His mouth finally normalizes, “She believes she’s still flying with you.” My eyes widen, “She’s not talking, is she?” His eyes go skyward, “Ugh! Cozy, relax! I assure you, your precious relationship with Fluttershy will not be tarnished by this little meeting of ours!” Relationship with Fluttershy? “You know, that still doesn’t tell me what you want?” He’s silent for a moment before finally asking, “What is she like?” I frown, “What?” We continue flying towards Canterlot and he scoots closer to me as we glide forward, “What I mean is, what’s talking to her like, Cozy?” I widen my eyes and glance forward to make sure before going back to the serpent, “Well, she’s very sweet, and caring, and she’s also a tad on the anxious side, but not quite as much as I was expecting. I think all the development she’s done, since young adulthood is likely still there, although there’s at least a couple of things I’m still not sure about.” I say, before wondering why I’m speaking to him. He giggles and smiles, “Oh, ho ho ho, that does sound like the sweet Fluttershy I know! She was always so considerate!” “Why are you asking me this?” He stares at me intently, “Because I need to make sure my love is alright!” “Why don’t you ask her yourself? I mean, you can talk to me just fine! Why don’t you talk to her?” “I uh…” Discord looks over to the right… I frown, “What’s wrong?” He stares at me fiercely with a scrunched, albeit oddly shaped brow, “NOTHING! Nothing is wrong!” My eyes widen, “Oh, golly! A-are you nervous?” He opens his mouth to an aghast O shape, “What? ME? NERVOUS? NO! Absolutely not! Out of the question, Cozy!” I’m silent for a moment… “You’re totally nervous, huh?” before averting my gaze back forward, so the draconequus doesn’t see the smirk on my muzzle… He’s silent for a moment… “W-well, yes! The truth is, I am nervous… Would you like to know why?” After quickly deciding that not really, was probably not the best response, I widen my eyes, sigh, and concede defeat, “Go on, Discord?” He’s silent once more… “I hadn’t spoken to Fluttershy in years when she finally passed away… “ I widen my eyes, “What? Really? I only know what I learned working at the School of Friendship, but I thought you two were close?” “Well, after you were frozen to stone, Fluttershy became one of the rulers of Equestria. Advisor to the Princess, they called her official title, and well… Well, I didn’t see much of her after that… “ “So what then? You feel guilty about not being there now, and want a redo?” “Well, uh… “Discord clears his throat, “Technically, that is to say, yes!” I sigh, “See now, my Discorded friend? Life need not be complicated!” and turn my head right to look back at him, “So uh, what did you tell Twilight exactly?” The yellow pegasus mare flapping her wings there widens her blue eyes to me and says in a squeaky, feminine voice, “Uh, what? No! I-I haven’t spoken to Twilight yet! We were just on our way there, remember?” I frown at the other pegasus, “Oh uh, yes! Of course! Right! How silly of me!” before staring back forward and frowning… I really hate Discord! <*****> We finally fly into town, over the majestic platform of a city that is Canterlot! You know, flying in like this with my new freedom makes me think about a lot of things… It makes me think about what I did… And it makes me wonder about what I’m doing now? Oh, golly! Why do I care so much? This doesn’t make sense! I blink as we cross over the platform and I can soon see my own shadow below on the streets of Canterlot just 40 feet below me and I suddenly remember the reforming spell… Makes me wonder if I’ll learn anything else new about myself? I hear Fluttershy to my right, “So um, the castle is uh, further into the city, close to the center!” Obviously! “Well, lets fly that way then Fluttershy! Uh, how do you feel?” Her voice gets slightly lower as she says, “Honestly, I’m nervous!” We fly further into the city towards the large spires in the distance as I say, “What? Nervous? Why would you feel nervous, Fluttershy? Isn’t Twilight uh, you know, your best friend or whatever?” Then, the yellow mare shocked me, “Um, n-no! Not really! We hadn’t spoken in years by the time I died!” I look back right at her and frown, “Say what now?” She sighs, “Yes, all of our friends had separated years ago… We just uh, I don’t know? Lost interest in each other, I guess?” I stare at this yellow mare flapping her wings next to me and I also remember that Discord wasn’t there… “Gee, did you have ANY friends at all, when you passed away?” She widens her blue eyes to me, “W-well! That is to say, um, I had squirrels, and birds, and beavers, and bears, and chipmunks?” I stare forward with wide eyes when I suddenly realize this mare has been deprived of genuine equine companionship! I sigh as we float over the gates and towards the large central spire of the Canterlot Castle… I land on the wooden balcony of the tower with a slight clack as my hooves meet the wood of the floorboard… I hear a similar clack right next to me as Fluttershy lands and I stare forward at the entryway into the tower… I know that if I walk into the tower and turn left, I’ll go into the castle, where I can meet Twilight… I also don’t really know what I’m trotting into… <*****> We both make it to the entryway into Twilight’s throne room in silence… Once we’re at the door, I’m floating to the left of Fluttershy as she trots on her hooves… She stares up at me and says, “W-what do I say to her?” I look back down at the other pegasus, “Well, you could try telling her the truth?” “W-well, I know that! I know, but, uh… “She gulps, “it’s been so long!” I frown down at her, “The longer we spend her talking about it, the more nervous you’re gonna be! You know, you should really just open the door and trot in, and see what’s up!”before smiling reassuringly, “It’s like taking off a band-aid! It hurts for like, a second, and then it’s over! Relax! Just a second, okay? Then, it’ll be over!”and nod to her… She smiles up at me, “Thanks Cozy! You sure are a good friend!” before turning back to the door and opening it with her right hoof, before trotting in… I float silently behind the small yellow mare as she trots towards the throne, where a silent alicorn stares on with enormous purple eyes… “I uh, what? Who are you?” She asks the yellow mare… Fluttershy looks up and barely squeaks out, “I-I’m Fluttershy… “ As I’m landing, I decide to raise my voice and head to move this along, “It’s Fluttershy, as a young mare!” Twilight blinks and frowns, “What? How can that be? That’s simply not possible!” “It is when Discord makes her young and turns her to stone!” Twilight turns to me, “W-what Cozy? Why would he do that?” I stare at her blankly when I realize that Discord never told her a golly damned thing! I sigh, “Well, he didn’t want Fluttershy to die, and so, he turned her to stone at the moment she was supposed to die! Since he didn’t want her croaking later if he let her go, he made her young! We’re talking young adult here, although my questioning would suggest some development, albeit probably not up to the level she was before Discord got to her!” Twilight’s eyes widen, “What are you talking about, Cozy?” I sigh again, “She’s a young adult and probably still has most of the social developing she did after she met you!” “Ahem!” The pegasus behind me clears her throat! I turn around to see a demure looking pegasus mare who smiles meekly, “I’m uh, I think I’m ready to speak now?” “Well, spit it out!” Twilight bellows behind me! I stare at her with wide eyes, “Uh, go as slow as you need to Fluttershy! It’s okay and we’re all here for you!” and smile at her to reassure her… Twilight starts, “I uh, I’m sorry Fluttershy… Uh, what did you want to say?” She smiles, “Um, yes! I’ve been thinking it over and I’ve decided that I’d like to start again!” she frowns and stares forward weirdly… She adjusts her gaze back up to the throne, “U-um, what I mean is, since I have to be a young adult right now, and since Twilight is immortal, and Cozy Glow is still young, that provides a good chance for me to begin once more, with Twilight and um, maybe one more friend?” before staring at me and adding to her grin… Twilight says, “Very well then, Fluttershy! Since your cottage is just a memory now, you can stay on the 3rd floor, down the hall from Cozy Glow!” “Oh, golly!” “Hey!” I turn from the purple alicorn and raise my gaze to see a white alicorn filly with a distinct two-toned mane behind the yellow pegasus… She looks up at me with enormous lilac eyes, “Where did you go?” before turning right to look at the young adult pegasus mare, “And who are you?” She’s turning her head left when she smiles nervously at Hyacinth, and squeaks, “I-I’m Fluttershy!” Hyacinth frowns, “What?” … Oh, Golly… (To be continued… ) Chapter 10: TurnaboutAnd then, after I woke up and used the bathroom, I went to do the unthinkable… I went to go check on Fluttershy! I think it might be better if this castle had room numbers, like in a hotel? I think to myself as I’m floating down the hall… She’s further in the back, away from the stairwell…. I float up to her door and wrap on it with my hoof… BAM! BAM! BAM! I hear a feminine, squeaky voice say from inside, “Uh, who is it?” “It’s me! I’m down the hall, remember?” “Oh uh um, come on in Cozy!” I sigh and again, wonder why I’m doing this, before silently gollying to myself andopening the door with my hoof to float in… I see the room is practically untouched since she started living in here yesterday. The bed isn’t even messed up as I see the yellow pegasus mare staring at me with big blue eyes as she says, “Hiya Cozy! Did you rest well?” with a concerned frown on her muzzle. I’m floating in the air and stationary, and I sigh, “Oh, golly gee, I sure did Fluttershy! You know, all that flying between cities really takes it out of me! How did you sleep?” I say, before widening my eyes and silently wondering if I truly care? I don’t know what these feelings are inside me… “U-um, mostly! I uh, kinda wish I had a stuffed friend or something to snuggle, though?” I blink, “You know, I got like, twenty stuffed animals in my room now… Would you like a couple of mine?” and widen my eyes expectantly at her… Huh? “You’d do that for me, Cozy? Really?” Wait, what? Why do I care? “Well, sure Fluttershy! I mean, you were just released from stone and uh, I kinda know what that’s like!” I nod, “Lemme guess! You feel alone and isolated, right?” She frowns, “Well, actually, yeah, I kinda do!” I move my head closer to her, “Would you like a hug, Fluttershy?” before thinking, AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Why am I talking like this? “Well um, if you don’t mind?” And then, without missing a beat, I float down towards the small pegasus and lovingly embrace her in my hooves… I suddenly start to wonder if I mind? I hear her purring… “Mmmmm… This is nice…” She squeaks… I finally release her to float and stare at her from a couple of feet away, “Alright Fluttershy, now I’ll be in my room down the hall, if you need anything, okay? The butler will probably be around to take my breakfast order soon?” “Where’s Twilight?” The confused looking pegasus asks… I decide not to tell her that Twilight is probably chugging a little vodka to take the edge off. I don’t think she got quite hammered enough last night to justify another throw up ritual though? I say,“Uh, I’m not sure? But if you just hang out here, I can go get her for you!” Her eyes widen and sparkle, “Oh, please do Cozy Glow! I really want to see my friend again!” Oh, golly! I smile, “I’ll be right back!” <*****> And so, I fly to the throne room, while muttering to myself and thinking… Okay, the spell is forcing me to behave correctly! That’s the only explanation… Still don’t know what it is I exactly feel about Fluttershy when I stare at her though? Could it be, empathy? I know what it’s like to just wake out of stone and the first couple of days are so disorienting! Oh, here I am! I stare at the door while floating there, “Twilight! Put the booze away! It’s time to go see Fluttershy!” “Uh, what?” I hear a female voice scream from the room in front of me. “I said use mouthwash! It’s time to go see Fluttershy!” “Alright! Just one more shot!” … Oh, golly… <*****> Twilight burps! And then stares at the small yellow pegasus sitting across from her at the small purple dinette set, “So uh, what have you been up to, Fluttershy?” The yellow pegasus on my right widens her blue eyes, “Oh, uh, you mean, after I came out of stone?” Twilight frowns, “Well, I’m sure your life was pretty boring before that point?” Fluttershy starts, “Oh, um, well, I had these five friends and uh, you were one of them actually… “ and kinda trails off in her sentence… “Well, I know that!” I have a song in my head about clowns and jokers when I finally open my muzzle, “Me and Fluttershy are friends now!” thinking that’ll at least get Twilight’s drunk mind on something specific and take the heat off Fluttershy… * “Twilight widens her violet eyes and lazily turns them my direction… She’s had a couple… “Oh, that’s wonderful Cozy Glow! So you have your first real friend after your release from stone!” I stare at the alicorn, “I thought we were friends?” Twilight starts this time, before saying, “Well, yes! But I meant somepony you weren’t forced to be with!” “Discord practically squished me and Fluttershy together with his selfish and reckless actions!” I matter-of-factly state! “And you know, Hyacinth also exists!” Twilight frowns, sighs, and says authoritatively, “Cozy! You are friends with Fluttershy now, and that’s a good thing! Understand?” I blink and stare at her blankly, “Oh, golly! Right! Of course!” before nodding. “So um, that is to say, I er, what did you want to do now Twilight?” Fluttershy timidly interjects. She turns her neck to the other pegasus and widens her eyes, “Well, how about a drink to celebrate?” Fluttershy frowns at the alicorn, “It’s nine o’clock in the morning!” “Nine seventeen, technically!” I say while staring at the clock across the table from me… Fluttershy widens her eyes and leans forward, “Are you okay, Twilight?” Twilight widens her eyes to Fluttershy, “What? Me? Never better! Why do you ask?” and smiles nervously… Fluttershy sighs, “Oh, uh, I don’t know? It’s probably nothing!” “What is it, Fluttershy?” “I uh, I don’t know Twilight? I mean, I know you’re Twilight Sparkle and I know you’re my friend…” Fluttershy nods, “And I like you as a friend and everything, but um, well… You don’t seem like the same mare I used to know? I can’t put my hoof on it, but you just seem different somehow?” I finally speak up, “Well, it’s been years! Uh, maybe you two should, I don’t know? Hang out and do stuff together? Uh, how about a nice quiet game of miniature golf! Yes!” and smile, “Doesn’t that sound like fun, Fluttershy?” before turning right towards the yellow pegasus, grinning at her, and wondering where that idea came from? Twilight smiles at Fluttershy, “That sounds like a lovely idea! What do you think, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy widens her eyes at the alicorn, “Oh, um, I guess that sounds okay?” <*****> So, I start to read a fantasy novel to kill time, while Fluttershy and Twilight have a day of fun together! I must’ve read the same sentence starting the first paragraph 4 or 5 times as I blinked and just kept thinking about Twilight… What if she gets drunk while they’re out? What if she goes through some kinda crazy withdrawal sickness since she can’t get to booze? What if Fluttershy catches Twilight sneaking off with some gin? These thoughts and many others kept encircling my mind and after painstakingly reading the first chapter about an earth pony stallion knight and a powerful unicorn enchantress meeting, I decided to play solitaire instead! Strange! I keep getting the ace of diamonds in the first draw! Playing the black 3 on a red 4 and then putting the ace in the bunker was a simple matter… What if Twilight screams at Fluttershy because she’s going through withdrawal? Ugh! I can’t get these thoughts out of my mind! I blink and finally just admit to myself… Gee, I sure am worried about Twilight and Fluttershy… I uh, I guess on some level, I actually do care about them? Why though? What do they really do for me? This doesn’t make sense! Why should I care about anypony? And then, without warning, the unthinkable happened… Fluttershy didn’t knock! My door swung open to reveal an annoyed looking, albeit small yellow pegasus mare behind it with a disgruntled frown on her muzzle and a somewhat disheveled looking pink mane on her head who then says at a slightly elevated volume, “I am so PEEVED right now!” before widening her azure eyes and covering her mouth with her right forehoof… I stare at her, “Oh, golly! What happened?” “Oh, we just got into an argument about Rainbow Dash! I told her she shouldn’t talk about dead ponies like that!” I frown, “Well, what did she say?” … I guess I do care? Maybe? Sorta? “She said that Rainbow Dash was always late towards the end of her life!” “Even if that’s true, what difference does it make now?” “Well, she’s dead and Twilight shouldn’t talk about her like that!” I’m silent for a moment as my mind processes this and determines what’s really going on here… This isn’t about Twilight at all! “Well um, do you need to talk about Dash or any other friends you had earlier? Uh, your dead friends uh, your friends who have passed on I mean?” before blinking at her as I suddenly go into therapy mode. Fluttershy pouts slightly, “Dash was always just, just so brash and sure of herself! And I-I wasn’t… I still miss her though… “Fluttershy blinks and that’s when it started… I take a step back as the waterworks start! “They were all so awful, but I loved them anyway!” I frown, “Rarity and Twilight are still around you know?” She stops crying and sniffs, “Um, y-yes! That’s true!” “Well, Rarity probably won’t be around for much longer, but you’ll still have me and Twilight!” Fluttershy frowns, “I don’t think I’ve spoken to Rarity since I was unfrozen?” “Uh, technically no, but we’ll have to arrange that later, won’t we? I don’t think she even knows you’re back!” Fluttershy appears to be deep in thought… I finally ask the obvious question, “What are you thinking about Fluttershy?” She frowns, “Well, we probably shouldn’t ask Discord to make her young again, should we?” My eyes widen, “Oh, golly no! Ponies need to die at their appointed times!” I blink and lean forward, “R-right?” Her eyes widen as her mouth narrows, “W-well, that’s right! It’s true that everypony has a time that they really NEED to die!” Suddenly, we both hear a whimsical masculine voice say at a high volume, “Your wish is my command!” … Oh, Golly! Me and the yellow mare stare at each other with enormous eyes… Well, on the bright side, Fluttershy still doesn’t know Twilight’s a raging alcoholic! R-right? (To be continued… ) Author's Note *I’m a classic rock fan, therefore, Cozy Glow is a classic rock fan… The only real difference between us is, one of us knows it.
Chapter 1: In The FleshI stare up at the motley brown serpent 20 feet away from me in the darkness and ask it, “Oh, golly! So wait, what?” His misshapen eyes widen in the pale moonlight and I see the many teeth of his mouth move as he sneers and says, “I said you’re free now, Cozy! By royal decree!” before moving his lion paw before him and a piece of parchment materializes inside the claw, so he gazes at it, and continues, “By decree of none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle herself, no less!” “Enough Discord!” I hear a familiar feminine voice say out of nowhere… Soon, an enormous purple mare swooshes down to the left of the serpent in my view… She turns her neck left to stare at the snake so that her horn now faces the direction of the moon as she slurs, “Y-you know damn well that I-I hiccup was drunk when I-I signed that decree you have and it’s n-not valid!” I smile at the new pony, “Oh, golly gee! I’m already free now! Can’t we uh, talk about this?” She narrows her purple eyes at me, “There’s nothing to talk about Cozy! You’re s-supposed to be hiccup a statue, but y-you’re not and now I have to change you back!” she nods her head, “Y-yes! Changing you back to stone is DEFINITELY what I should do here!” I raise my right hoof as I widen my eyes at her, “W-wait! I mean, you know, being in stone gives you a lot of time to think and well, I just, well, I think I might be um, r-ready for another shot? Another try? Yes?” before widening my smile as much as it will go… Her eyes narrow, “What do you mean?” I blink, nod, and sigh before giving this my best shot! “W-well, what I mean is, since um, since I’m already free anyway, I uh, I think I wanna try um, y-you know? Being reformed?” And smile widely at her… “You know? Being nice and friendly and not being all evil and malevolent?” Discord turns his slithery neck right towards Twilight, while keeping his grin and snidely saying, “What do you say, Twilight old chum? Don’t you think Cozy deserves a second chance?” “NO!” The alicorn says vehemently while staring directly at me in her violet glare! Discord chuckles as his diagonal snaggle tooth vibrates before motioning his lion paw towards me, “Look at her though, Twilight! She’s SO CUTE!” I blink and plead, “PLEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSEEEEE!!!!!” although I’m pretty sure I’m about to be a statue again? Her eyes narrow as she stares at me with malice and says, “Alright F-FINE! UGH!” her neck lurches forward as I smell whiskey and vodka on her breath, even from this distance as she regains her composure to stare at me, “Cozy Glow, you’re on house arrest in the East Wing of the Castle of Friendship!” I blink again and stare at her blankly as a befuddled frown forms on my muzzle… You know, I really didn’t see that coming! <*****> So anyway, that’s why I’m currently inside this room… They bring me food sometimes, but I don’t really talk to anypony and I stay in here most of the time… These same four walls and nothing else… I guess it’s technically still better than stone, although I gotta admit, both scenarios are pretty boring! I look up and sniff the air with my snout, “Oh, golly! I bet dinner is almost ready! They always serve me last, so that means two hours!” I whisper to myself… You know, being alone all the time makes you develop a habit of talking to yourself! Heh, I guess you might say I’m my own best friend? I blink up at the door and sigh through my nose and think to myself, Golly, it sure was swell of them to give me another chance! I’m just wondering where this will go? Suddenly, I see the door to my room open and in comes a brown serpentine creature wearing what looks like a blue bill cap and puffy looking dark blue vest while wielding a billy club with his eagle talon as he says, “Inmate 0001! You have been assigned reformation!” I stare at him with wide eyes, “Oh, golly gee! I think that was the whole point of setting me up with these ahem accommodations you’ve so graciously provided! Uh, “I smile at the snake, “if I could get some more books to read though, that sure would be great!” “Silence inmate! You are to report to the rec yard at fourteen hundred hours!” Well, I’ve been in this room all morning? “Oh, golly! Uh, what time is it now?” “Thirteen fifty hours!” I nod, “So I got ten minutes!” He frowns, “Right! So you’d better get moving!” before his body disappears! I widen my eyes, Wait! The ‘rec yard?’ Does he mean the courtyard of the castle? I stare forward at the open door and gulp… Guess I need to go to the courtyard? I squat and take off with my wings and flap them furiously as I begin to float towards the door and then turn my body left to head down the hallway… I hear a female voice scream behind me in the distance, “Cozy Glow is free!” “Oh, golly!” I say to myself as I flap harder to travel down the hallway as fast as I can! I suddenly squint my eyes and wonder, if I were a courtyard, where would I be? I decide to take a left as that direction seems good as any, and I run smack into a door! I’m sitting there, with my face against the dark hardwood of the door, and I say the only thing that can really come to mind at that point… “OW!” I feel the sudden pang of agony on my snout as I lift it from the wood, before staring down towards the right and saying, “Oh, golly, I really should operate that doorknob!” <*****> I land on the plush off-red velvet carpet and stare up at the soft looking, plush violet bed to see a smiling filly there! She is white with lavender eyes, and a two-toned half lavender, half orchid mane and tail… She also has a horn on her forehead and wings on her back! “Who are you?” She asks in a feminine, high pitched, squeaky voice. I stare up at her and say, “I’m a filly! Uh, that is to say,” I scratch the back of my neck with my hoof, “I have traveled here from er uh, a far away land! Yes, and I need to find the courtyard! Of course! Golly right!” and nod… She giggles, “You’re silly! Wanna play?” I widen my eyes at her, “I uh, don’t really have that kinda time! Can we take a rain check, maybe?” and smile… Her mouth normalizes, “Uh, sure! I’m Hyacinth! Hyacinth Hoofdrops!” she leans closer with big pinkish-red eyes, “What’s your name, mysterious filly from a far away land?” My eyes widen when I can’t believe what I just do… I tell the truth! “My name’s Cozy Glow! Uh,” I smile again, “do you know where the courtyard is?” <*****> I finally look up and begin flapping my wings to bring me through the staircase to emerge in the open courtyard of the castle… I see a stone balcony surrounding it, and I’m floating over a field as my body slowly lowers towards the grounds and my hooves find purchase on the dirt… I then notice something I wasn’t expecting… I see an enormous smiling purple alicorn, but no Discord in sight! This pony gazes at me with her purple eyes and says, “Welcome to your reformation, Cozy Glow! I’m so glad you could make it!” I say under my breath, “Oh, golly! What else was I gonna do?” (To be continued... )
Chapter 2: What I DeserveShe raises her gaze from 25 feet away from me, standing on the stone balcony as she says, “What was that Cozy Glow?” I widen my eyes, “Uh, nothing Your Majesty oh wonderful and great and powerful Princess of Friendship!” She enlarges her own pupils, “What am I? Trixie now?” her face normalizes. “Uh, now look Cozy! I admire your punctuality! I really do! I mean, I literally sent for you two minutes ago and… “ Suddenly, behind me, a white pegasus gallops up the ramp with golden armor on his body and a frantic glare on his face as he says, “Your Majesty! Cozy Glow was not in her room! I fear she may have…” before widening his eyes as he stares at me, gazing back with enormous eyes… “Oh, golly gee, no! I didn’t escape! I’m right here! Don’t worry about it!” I say before smiling sheepishly at the guard… Suddenly, we all hear a smarmy masculine voice say from nowhere, “Honestly, as far as good chaos goes, this is REALLY substandard!” Twilight squints her eyes as she turns her gaze towards the draconequus, “Discord, we don’t need you here and you need to leave!” He smiles as he peers down at her and puts his motley appendages in front of his neck, “Oh, but Twilight! Don’t you understand that I’m here to help?” I gaze at these two interacting and I gotta admit, I’m not really sure where I should stand? Twilight smiles as she dips her head slightly and curtly replies, “Yes and I thank you very much Discord, but I can take it from here, okay?” He raises his eyes skyward and says in a resigned tone, “FINE! Oh wonderful and gracious Princess of Friendship! I WON’T be bothering you again today!” before disappearing… I turn towards Twilight and ask her, “Do you think he’ll keep his word?” She turns her gaze towards me, “He has to! And he knows that I know it!” I widen my eyes, “Has to?” She smiles, “Yes! As Lord of Chaos, Discord is bound by a specific set of rules!” I frown, “Rules? That doesn’t sound very chaotic?” * Her eyes widen as she probably didn’t consider that? “I uh, you know Cozy! That’s a good point!” I widen my eyes all the way, “I thought so!” She sighs, “Anyway, Cozy Glow! You are here to learn of friendship and how to become reformed!” “I am?” “Yes! That was why I didn’t turn you back into stone, remember?” I smile, “Oh, golly gee, yes Princess Twilight Sparkle! I’ll become reformed and be just the bestest filly ever!” She smiles back at me, “Good! Now, there’s somepony you need to meet!” I enlarge my gaze again, “There is?” She nods, “Mhm! Hang on! I’ll teleport us there!” “Wait! Just give me a sec…” But I was too late and her horn was already glowing purple before the courtyard disappears in a violet flash! <*****> We both materialize inside a small den. There’s an older white unicorn there with a flowing violet mane and cup of tea on a little table beside her recliner as she laid there with a blue blanket over her body… I gotta admit, for an older mare, she wasn’t awful looking! She widens her blue eyes as the stare directly at me, “Is THAT who I think it is?” I give a reluctant half-smile, “Uh, maybe?” Twilight stares at her, “Rarity! I released Cozy Glow and she’s ready to be reformed now!” I spout out, “Of course!” as I stare at the mare blankly. She eyes me carefully before saying in a demure and skeptical feminine voice, “Are you sure, Twilight? I mean, Cozy was pretty bad!” I stare at the mare, “I wasn’t the worst filly ever, you know!” She stares at me, “Actually, you were, Cozy Glow!” Twilight adds, “You were pretty awful!” I roll my eyes, “Oh, golly!” Twilight says, “Now Cozy, the first step to earning forgiveness is to understand that what you did was wrong!” I sigh, “Uh, you know, I’d think the very fact that I’m seeking something like reformation would suggest that, you know?” Rarity adds, “You must admit, she brings up a valid point!” Twilight nods, “Okay, yes Cozy Glow! But do you understand why what you did was bad?” “Not really?” It’s Twilight’s turn to sigh before she says, “Stealing all the magic in Equestria and trying to rule it with an iron hoof is wrong Cozy Glow!” I widen my eyes to the princess, “What makes you believe I’d be a bad ruler!” Twilight says, “Well, first off, how manipulative you actually were is a pretty bad sign and it’s also important to note that you had no qualms about taking away ponies’ happiness and joy when you did it!” Rarity stares at me, “Now, Twilight has a valid point!” I look down, “Well um, I guess that’s a good point? I probably wouldn’t have been very nice, huh?” Twilight smiles, “Well, that doesn’t matter now Cozy, because you’re good now!” I look at Twilight again, “I am?” “YES!!!!” “Oh, golly!” Rarity eyes me carefully, “Cozy Glow, dearest! You seem to be in a fog? Are you okay?” I took note of the fact that she used the word dearest as I say, “Well, “I shake my head, “you gotta understand that I literally just woke up from stone! It’s very confusing, especially since I don’t really recognize or know anypony and everything looks different now… I don’t know where I am anymore…“ “Oh?” I nod, “Yeah Rarity! I mean, I’ve been evil and bad this whole time and well, that’s how I was thinking about myself and now… Now I don’t know who I am anymore! If I’m not evil, than what am I?” Rarity frowns, “How about you’re just an adorable pegasus filly?” And Twilight sees right through my facade, “Cozy, it hasn’t even been a day yet!” I flinch and say, “Right! No empathy for me!” Twilight sighs and looks down at me and says lowly, “Cozy, I just find it hard to believe that you could have so severe a reaction so quickly?” “You know how I told you, you have a lot of time to think when you’re stone?” Twilight frowns, “Yeah?” I sigh, “Well, I’ve been thinking this whole time… I really just wish I could get my mind to shut up sometimes!” ** She moves her head closer to me, “What do you think about Cozy?” I stare at her and decide to be honest, “I think about victory… I think about overthrowing the monarchy in Equestria and proclaiming myself the Empress of Friendship, the way it was supposed to be… B-but… “I look down… “Th-that’s wrong, huh?” “The way things were supposed to be?” Rarity interjects again, “Cozy Glow, sweetness! I believe what Twilight is trying to say is, that isn’t the way things are supposed to be!” I turn my head right towards the older white mare, another term of endearment? “It’s not, huh? I was the bad pony wasn’t I? I shouldn’t have done what I did?” Rarity smiles, “We all make mistakes, Cozy!” “Do those mistakes usually kill ponies?” Twilight widens her eyes, “But you technically never killed anypony, right?” I turn left to the purple alicorn and blurt out, “NO! I mean, I don’t think so, but…” “Cozy Glow!” “What? I’m not gonna do it anymore! I’m reformed, remember?” I say before smiling timidly… At that point, the alicorn surprised me… She sighed and trotted a few paces towards me before embracing me in a tight warm hug with her forehooves! “What are you doing?” She whispers, “Ssh… It’s okay little Cozy Glow… You’re not that filly anymore… “ I see the old white mare smiling at me from her chair… “Oh, golly!” Twilight smiles, “Now Cozy, after an incident earlier, I made it a point to have several good reforming spells available and memorized for just such an occasion!” “Reforming spell?” I say as I’m not sure I like the sound of this? She smiles, “Of course! I’ll use my magic to reform you and you’ll be just fine! You’ll be a well-behaved filly again, I promise!” “Assuming I was ever well-behaved…” She giggles, “Now Cozy, this won’t hurt a bit!” before lowering her head and forcing her horn to glow violet… I gotta admit, she was dead wrong on that one! I suddenly felt ALL of my muscles tense as if they had some strange energy through them and I sorta passed out right then and there! I think I hit the floor? Probably… <*****> You know, of all the times I could’ve opened my eyes, this was by far the most awkward! I feel encased in these purple forehooves as I lay there in the castle infirmary bed… I ask the obvious question, “Why are you hugging me?” She starts and I see her release me to go back to her sizable hooves on the floor as she stares at me with wide violet eyes and says, “Oh, Cozy! You’re awake! Uh, hi there!” “You were hugging me!” Her eyes suddenly grow slightly wider, “W-well, yeah! I wanted to show you uh, some affection and let you know that you’re loved!” “You just woke me up earlier this morning!” “Yes, and you need to know you’re supported!” I widen my eyes at this confusing statement, “I am?” She smiles and nods at me, “Of course!” “Why should I believe you?” Her eyes widen again as her muzzle frowns, “What?” I sigh, “Look, all I’m saying is that it’s kinda fishy that you’d be so loving and supportive almost immediately after I tell you I want to be reformed!” Her face normalizes, “Well, I did hurt you and cause you to pass out and now I just feel awful about it!” “Why?” Her eyes widen again, “Because I didn’t want to hurt you!” “What do you care if I get hurt? I’m Cozy Glow, remember? I’m the evil filly who tried to take over Equestria?” Her brow furrows, “Now Cozy, evil or no, you need to understand that I’d never want to actually hurt you!” Suddenly, the blue wooden door to Twilight’s right opens up and I see an older white unicorn mare trotting in as she stares at me with wide blue eyes, “Cozy Glow! You’re awake, darling! I’m so glad you’re okay!” “Twilight Sparkle hurt me!” Twilight adjusts her gaze between me and the unicorn as she bellows, “It wasn’t intentional!” I sigh… “It’s okay, you know?” a small smile sneaks up on my muzzle… “I guess when you’re as evil as I’ve been, you deserve to be hurt?” Twilight furrows her brow to me once more and stomps her hoof while shouting, “Cozy Glow, you are not evil anymore, and even if you were, that certainly doesn’t mean you actually DESERVE to be hurt!” Rarity stares at me and sighs, “I believe what Twilight is getting at is that um, well pain and torture aren’t exactly the ideal methods for dealing with troublemakers and miscreants!” I look at at Rarity, “Oh, so I guess trying to take over Equestria and trying to torture and kill other ponies are just minor infractions, then, huh?” Rarity keeps her gaze on me, “Cozy, we aren’t going to punish you!” “And why not?” Twilight finally stares at me and says, “Because punishment isn’t the answer!” I look at the purple alicorn and frown, “It’s not?” The alicorn takes a pace towards me and engulfs me in her forehooves tightly, “NO IT’S NOT!” At that point, I say the only thing I really can… “Oh, golly!” (To be continued…) Author's Note *Cozy Glow breaks the fourth wall in my stories again... **FYI: this is why I smoke pot! Well, I usually vape these days, but I still smoke sometimes, and I literally just rolled a fattie after writing today…
Chapter 3: Sobering Up, part 1I feel the soft infirmary mattress underneath me and move the covers a bit forward with my forehooves before finally asking the big purple alicorn the burning question that’s been on my mind all day, “Who is Hyacinth Hoofdrops?” Twilight widens her eyes, “Cadance’s foal? How would you know about her?” “Cadance? I thought her foal was Flurry Heart!” “No, Flurry Heart is grown now and is the ambassador to Yakyakistan!” “Oh, golly! But Shining Armor and Cadance had a new foal, huh?” Twilight frowns and stares at me for a moment… “Shining Armor died thirty years ago in a battle with King Sombra!” I widen my eyes, “Oh, golly!” and normalize them. “I uh, did not know that! This is new information... Uh, who’s the new husband?” “Cadance married a unicorn bookseller named Gregory Ironhoof…” I suppress a smirk on my muzzle and compose myself before stating the obvious, “Wait! Cadance’s new husband is named Greg?” Twilight is silent for a moment, “Uh, yes!” I chuckle slightly… Twilight frowns and asks, “But how do you know about Hyacinth?” I gaze at the alicorn and consider my words, “Well, you remember when I had to meet you in the courtyard at the castle?” Her eyes widen while the white unicorn stares onward with blue eyes, “Yes?” “I kinda well, ran into her on my way there, completely by accident!” “Oh? Where did you meet her?” “In her room, at your castle!” She raises her eyebrow, “That doesn’t sound like an accident?” “I didn’t know what was in there!” Her eyes widen, “So, why did you enter?” I sigh in frustration, “I don’t know how your castle is laid out and I was looking for the courtyard! Now look! That’s not important right now!” Her eyes widen, “So what is, Cozy?” At this point, I slowly form a frown on my muzzle and I can’t believe the words I just say… “I kinda well, promised her a play date or whatever later and um, I didn’t want to let her down!” I say before smiling at her demurely. Twilight frowns, “Wait! You care about this other foal’s feelings?” Maybe I do? I don’t know? “Uh, maybe?” I say as I’m not sure what the safest answer is here?Maybe I justreally want a friend right now? Yeah, that’s gotta be it! She stares at me carefully before Rarity raises her head to speak between us, “I believe a play date with Hyacinth would be good for Cozy!” I stare at the wrinkled old unicorn, “It would?” She smiles somberly at me, “Yes, Cozy! It’s imperative that you have interactions with foals your own age and Hyacinth would be a good choice for you!” Twilight turns her neck right to the unicorn, “Are you sure about that Rarity? I mean, Hyacinth is kinda reserved and out there, and I don’t know if she’d be the ideal first friend for Cozy here?” I pipe up now, “Bring em on! I can make friends with anypony! No problem!” and smile at Twilight… Okay, lets give reformation and being nice a real chance here? Uh, maybe? Rarity turns to me and smiles, “See? Cozy is already enthusiastic!” I keep my wide grin in the alicorn’s direction, when she stares back at me carefully, “I think I know how you can begin?” My eyes widen as I’m not sure where this is going? “Doing what?” “Hmm…” Her eyes go skyward as she’s clearly deep in thought… <*****> Twilight smiles from her throne and I can smell the faint hint of vodka on her breath as she says, “And so, as Princess of Friendship, I have decided that you and Hyacinth Hoofdrops here should be friends!” I stare at her from my hooves in front of the throne and to the left of Hyacinth, “I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work like that?” Hyacinth gazes at the large purple alicorn from my side, “I don’t think it works like that either?” Twilight smiles and daintily replies, “Well, how would you know it can’t work unless you two give it an honest try! I am the rightful Princess of Friendship, after all!” I was gonna be an empress, but whatever! I stare at the princess carefully and note the color of her cheeks… “You’re drunk right now, huh?” I can’t help but notice Hyacinth sniffing the air in my periphery as Twilight stares at me with a sort of daze in her eyes and says, “N-no! Uh, I need some water!” “Oh, golly! You want more vodka now!” Her eyes widen, “What? Uh, l-look Cozy Glow! You and Hyacinth are to return to her room this instant for the beginning of your play date!” and she smiles. “I’ll be up to check on you in two hours!” <*****> I’m staring at the alicorn foal on the other side of the red carpet as I stood there on my hooves, “You know she just wanted to get rid of us, right?” Her pinkish eyes gaze at me from underneath that same peculiar two-toned mane of hers, with the part just to the left as she smiles and says, “Yeah, so what? At least we got each other now!” I frown, “You’re pretty sure we’ll hit it off?” She stares back at me and her white muzzle grins wider, “Oh, I know we will!” “Why don’t they have any guards here? I mean, we’re all alone! Aren’t they worried about me, since I’m, you know, a dangerous criminal or whatever?” Her horn suddenly glows purple and my body is suddenly encased in a purple bubble that levitates me a couple of feet from the floor! “Hey! What gives?” She smiles up at me, “Why would they worry about me when you’re practically powerless in my presence?” I glare down at her smiling face as I’m helplessly encased in a blue forcefield and being levitated off the ground, “Oh, golly! You don’t say?” “Mhm!” The smiling filly nods. She stands there smiling at me for another moment before I finally break the silence, “Uh, Hyacinth?” “Yes Cozy?” “Are you gonna set me down?” “Eventually… I’m just savoring the moment… “ “The moment?” Her eyes widen, “Do you have any idea what it’s like being a princess in Equestria?” “How would I know?” She stares forward blankly, “Oh! Right!” before adjusting her gaze back up to me. “I NEVER have any power!” I’m silent for a moment, “But now you have power over me?” “Yup!” She nods, “And no worries Cozy! You won’t be hurt, as long as you cooperate!” I raise an eyebrow, “Cooperate?” “Yup!” The smiling alicorn nods again. I’m silent again and staring blankly into the abyss,before finally saying, “What could I do that you would possibly want?” Her eyes widen as her head gets closer to me, “I want you to be my friend!” I gaze into her eyes and respond, “You know, we were already heading that direction, right? You didn’t really need to force me!” She smiles and giggles, “Perhaps?” “So uh, you could just set me down and we could um, continue in that direction, right?” Her eyes widen, “Well, we could, yes?” I’m silent for a moment… “You don’t want to set me down, do you?” And then she sits down and says something I didn’t think I’d hear, “Not until you’ve heard me sing!” I stare at her wide eyed, “What?” And then, something else peculiar happened… Hyacinth opened her mouth and belted out what was perhaps the most lovely melody I’ve ever heard! The truly odd thing was, it didn’t sound like any language I knew. I know Ponish and I know several dialects south of Equestria, but this didn’t sound like anything familiar to me… She stopped singing abruptly and stood there smiling at me, while I remained trapped inside the forcefield with my muzzle wide open… “Uh, Hyacinth. What language was that?” She smiles, “Oh, I made up my own language!” I’m silent for a moment for the umpteenth time… Then I repeat myself, “What?” She giggles, “Yeah, I don’t want to be just, Princess Hyacinth Hoofdrops of the Crystal Empire and so I made a new language that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Equestria!” I’m quiet again before eventually saying, “You just hate being a princess, don’t you?” She frowns suddenly, “That obvious?” “Um, kinda? I mean, it was pretty! Uh, maybe you could teach it to me later?” Her eyes widen, “Oh, yeah! We could have our own secret language that nopony else knows about!” My own view enlarges, “Sure! It’ll be great! Um, do I have to be a prisoner here or are you gonna let me go?” She affixes her gaze to me, “You know something, you sure are whiny!” My eyes go skyward when suddenly, the forcefield disappears and I hear the clack of my hooves hitting the carpet…. I stare at her, “So, this is your room?” Suddenly, the door swings open and I see a violet alicorn there with a blue mane say to me, “Are you okay Cozy? She’s not torturing you, is she?” I turn my head right towards her and raise my eyebrow, “If you thought she might torture me, why in Equestria did you leave me alone with her? I thought you didn’t wanna hurt me?” Twilight widens her eyes, “Well uh, I didn’t think Hyacinth would hurt you, per se, no… I just want to make sure you’re safe, Cozy!” and smiles… I look at her and finally say what’s been on my mind since I spoke to her earlier this afternoon… “Twilight, are you an alcoholic?” She moves her neck back and says, “What? Me have a drinking problem? No! Never!” before casually swinging her hoof in the air… “You know, I didn’t ask if you had a drinking problem. I think you hit the sauce a lot more than you should!” Hyacinth has her gaze on Twilight as well and says what’s on my mind, “Twilight Sparkle is a drunk!” “Totally!” I say and nod my head. She sighs and says, “Look! I just like to drink sometimes, okay? It uh, it helps… “her blue eyes go to the floor… “It’s just that it’s uh, it’s kinda rough when your friends keep dying… “ I frown as I stare at the somber alicorn and it suddenly occurs to me who she is and all she’s done… I suddenly realized then and there what a curse she must have being an alicorn, and it dawned on me that I’m still fairly young, since I was you know, preserved in stone! I say the one thing that surprised even myself… I widen my eyes, “Twilight, I’ll be your friend… “ “Cozy?” Hyacinth suddenly says… I turn my neck right towards her, “Yeah Hyacinth?” She smiles, “Can I be your friend, too?” I return the grin with one of my own when I think about how 20 minutes ago, this filly was going to force me to be her friend! “Sure Hyacinth! I’d like that!” (To be continued… )
Chapter 4: Sobering Up, part 2And I turn my head back left towards Twilight, who’s currently taking a sip out of a brown bottle and say, “And uh, Twilight! I do care about you and I don’t like seeing my friend hurt themselves, so uh, could you maybe put the bottle down? At least when I’m around… Please?” The glowing bottle swivels upright on her left and she smiles as she says, “No problem!” and then turns her head back left to take another drink while the bottle floats there… “You’re drinking Royal Pony whiskey right now!” The bottle goes back upright, and she sits on her throne, and turns her head right towards me and she says, “I’ll have you know, this is not Royal Pony!” Hyacinth standing next to me casually adds, “I think it’s Pony Beam?” Twilight finally snorts, “It’s Wild Pegasus!” I widen my eyes, “Oh, golly! Wild Pegasus! You’d think the Princess of Friendship would buy better whiskey?” Hyacinth turns her head left towards me, “I know, right?” “I’ll drink what I want!” The alicorn barks at me from her throne before taking another belt! I turn left towards her, “So, you admit that you’re a drunk?” She stares at me with a glazed look in her eyes, “I am the Princess of Friendship and I will drink as much as I want, when I want!” Hyacinth giggles and starts chanting, “Twilight is a drunk! Twilight is a drunk!” “STOP IT!” I join in the chanting, “Twilight is a drunk! Twilight is a drunk!” Twilight furrows her brow, “I’m about to banish you two to the moon!” I smile at her and whimsically say, “Fine! Send me to the moon and utterly fail to reform me then! I’m sure the papers would love that! See if I care!” Hyacinth chimes in, “Yeah! Princess Twilight Sparkle, the big failure!” Her eyes narrow as the bottle turns in the air again so she can take a drink from it… “Oh, golly Hyacinth! She’s still drinking! What do we do?” “It’s fine! It’s fine! The bottle is out! I still got some vodka in the freezer for later though… “Twilight says as the bottle floats upright again… I stare at the alicorn, as a trail of spit goes out the right side of her muzzle, and say to her, “Twilight, I think you’ve had enough?” Hyacinth’s horn glows , and the bottle slowly flies to our right, and gently sets on the ground, before it finally stops glowing… Twilight wipes her mouth with her right hoof , and stares at me with disgruntled purple eyes as she says, “I didn’t come here to be judged by you!” “Maybe not, but we do care about you!” Hyacinth adds, “Yeah, Aunt Twilight! I don’t want you boozing it up! Please stop! For me?” At that point, her purple eyes grew large , and I think she realized what her drinking was doing to her niece? She stared at her , and somberly replied, “Hyacinth, little angel, what if I slowed down?” Hyacinth frowns, “I’d sure feel a lot better if you quit!” Twilight frowns as well, “But uh, I don’t want to!” Hyacinth sighs, “Okay Auntie Twilight… Just uh, slow down please , and don’t do it around me, okay?” I ask her, “Why do you drink again?” Twilight turns her head towards me, “It’s uh, the only thing that makes me feel better… “ “Feel better?” Twilight’s muzzle frowns slightly before correcting itself, “I uh, yeah… They’re dead now… All but one , and she’ll be gone soon too…”she sniffs… “Soon, I’ll be all alone… They’re all I really had , and now… Now, I don’t have anything… “ “What?” Hyacinth asks… Twilight closes her eyes, “Applejack was the first! Yeah, I kinda saw that coming from miles away, but I didn’t think Fluttershy would be next! Then Rainbow Dash died , and Pinkie soon after! , and then, many moons later, Spike went on to become ambassador to the Dragon-Lands!”she opens her eyes to us, and I witness tears falling from her eye sockets, “I am alone, Cozy! It’s just me, here!” “What about Rarity?” “She’ll be gone soon too! Soon…” Twilight closes her eyes again and I see more tears going down her muzzle… “Soon it’ll just be me…”she opens her eyes again… “If I’d known this was going to happen, I never would’ve agreed to become an alicorn!” “I uh, oh, golly!” Hyacinth says, “Twilight! We all need to die when our time has come! It’s only natural!” “I didn’t think nature would be so cruel!” I say to the alicorn, “Twilight, you’re drunk! Uh, why don’t you teleport to your room and sleep it off, huh?” She stares at me, “But I have that luncheon in the afternoon!” “Skip it!” “I can’t! Uh…” She blinks… “Equestria needs me… “ “Oh, golly! Equestria will be fine without you for a couple of hours! Now, rest!” She sighs… “Why am I giving into the demands of a filly?” I smile at her, “Because you know I make a good point and because you know that Cadance can handle your duties while you’re out?” She widens her eyes, “What makes you think Cadance has time for that?” Hyacinth turns her head towards me as I explain, “I’m sure she’ll be fine with it! Or, use a diplomat! Whatever! The point is, you’re not available!” She narrows her eyes, “I knew you were persuasive!” “But you got drunk and released me anyway! And now, I’m here to help you stop drinking!” I blink… “For some reason?” Hyacinth says, “Please Twilight?” She blinks, sighs, and says, “I-I’ll think about it…” before closing her eyes and forcing her horn to glow purple and her body soon disappears in a blue flash! Hyacinth turns her neck left to me again, “You think she’ll quit suddenly?” I frown, “Probably not, but stranger things have happened… “ She frowns too, “Well, what do we do?” “Only thing we can do Hyacinth! Be there for her!” Hyacinth stares upward, “Well, hey Cozy! I’m busy today, but you wanna play tomorrow afternoon?” I stare at the white alicorn filly and surprise myself with what I say… “Sure Hyacinth! I’d like that!” She brings her eyes to me and smiles, “Great! I finally have a friend! I mean, a real friend! Somepony who’s not just wanting me for power and influence!” My muzzle frowns, “How do you know I don’t want you for power or influence?” “Because you’re a prisoner in the castle and couldn’t have any power or influence!” That kinda stung! I grimace, “What?” She smiles, “Think about it! Twilight has you on house arrest and you’re in that room most of the time! Me and Twilight are the only two ponies you talk to!” “I talk to the maid!” “Oh? What about?” At this point, I honestly can’t think of anything I’ve talked to the maid about that wasn’t related to tidiness in my room or what I wanted to eat? “Stuff!” She giggles, “It’s okay Cozy! Now we got each other!” “And a drunken alicorn princess!” She sighs, “Yeah, uh, Cozy! Will you keep an eye on her please and make sure she doesn’t go overboard?” I surprise myself again when I smile cheerfully at the other filly! “You got it Hyacinth!” She adjusts her eyes to me, “I gotta go now! Will you be okay?” I flit my hoof in the air and nod, “Please! I’ve dealt with a lot worse than this before!” She smiles and then does the unthinkable… She trots forward a pace and hugs me with her forehooves! “EEP! What are you doing?” “Hugging you!” “Why?” “Because you’re my friend and you need to know you’re loved!” “I am?” “Of course!” I tentatively move my own forehooves around Hyacinth’s body and embrace her myself… “This is nice!” I’m still not sure how I feel about this, “It is?” She cuddles in closer to me, “Yeah, just being close to somepony like this! It’s nice not to be alone anymore!” Not being alone anymore? Is that what this is? “Oh, golly!” She releases me from her hooves and goes to all fours in front of me, “Alright Cozy! I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon for a full report on Twilight! Remember, don’t let her go too far!” before forcing her horn to glow pink and her body soon disappears in a white flash… I often wonder how that works and why they’re those colors and why it always changes like that? I decide to forget it and return to my room… I need a nap after all that! <*****> While deep in my slumber, I smell something peculiar… It smells pungent and strong… It smells like…vodka! I open my eyes to see a tall purple alicorn standing over me… She says in a slurred voice, “Cozy, I think I’m ready to become reformed?” I adjust my body to my right side to face her and bring my eyes to her, “What are you talking about? I was the one getting reformed here, remember?” “I-I know Cozy… I know this… I also know I haven’t exactly been the best pony lately… “ I widen my eyes and glower, “Huh?” She gulps, “Y-yeah Cozy… I drink a lot… I uh, I think I drink too much?” I fix my face, “Gee, what was your first clue? The whiskey in the morning, the day drinking, or the fact that you’re almost always sloshed?” She cringes, “I-I know Cozy…” she then brings her eyes to me… “Could you help me?” “You know, me and Hyacinth were already doing that, right?” “What?” “Remember when we spoke in the throne room?” “Uh, what?” She repeats herself and stares at me blankly and I can already tell I’m about to have a long conversation… “Oh, golly!” (To be continued… )
Chapter 5: Out of the Bottle and Into Reality“Oh, that conversation! Yeah, I remember now! We agreed that I needed to slow down on my drinking!” The purple alicorn explains as she’s standing over me on my bed… I nod while still on my back, “Golly right!” and continue as my curls bounce on my forehead. “So exactly where in that conversation did you hear the words, get sloshed on vodka, anyway?” She frowns, “I think it was towards the back?” I sigh, “Didn’t you just say you wanted to be reformed?” “I think so?” Her eyes go to the ceiling… I nod, “Well, right! And if alcoholism is you’re demon or you’re Tirek this time, or whatever, than so be it! I’m here for you!”my eyes go skyward. “Although I’m still not sure why?” She adjusts her eyes down towards me, “The reforming spell!” I widen mine and peal them at her, “Oh, golly! There’s a funky reforming spell basically forcing me to behave now!” She smiles, “It doesn’t quite work like that Cozy… “ I adjust my gaze to her, “What are you talking about you vodka smelling alicorn weirdo?” She giggles, “Well, the spell itself is painful yes!” “So you knew!” I cut her off! I feel incensed now, but I know I need to contain myself! I’m probably vibrating in rage though? She sighs and looks down, “Y-yes and believe me when I say that I’m truly sorry about that!” “You’re drunk!” She nods, “That too! But let me explain!” “Oh, do tell?” I inquire while perking my ears in her direction… This had better be good! She sighs, “It’s extremely painful because it brings out your true self… “* I frown and lower my ears, “Come again?” She smiles coyly, “You see Cozy, we really didn’t know that much about you at first, but I know what I saw… And so, I did some research on you!” My eyes widen and ears perk again, “What?” “We know about your mother and we know how you lost everything that was dear to you… “ “You mean the fire?” She smirks and mimics my speech, “Oh, please Cozy Glow! You and I both know the fire has nothing to do with it!” I sigh as I stare up at the ceiling… “You’re not wrong!”before turning my gaze back right to the alicorn… ** She nods, “Yes Cozy! I had been planning to release you for months now!” “But you got drunk like you always do and Discord decided to push things along, huh?” She slowly forms a smile on her muzzle, “Well yeah! Yes he did and I’m kinda glad for it too… “ I frown, “What?” She nods, “Yeah, I’ve never seen Hyacinth so alive than when she’s with you!” “What?” I repeat myself. She giggles slightly, and nods, “Sure you’re a recovering villain and sure, you’re not perfect… But that’s just part of your charm!” I stare at this other pony carefully… “You’re an idiot, you know that Twilight? Complete nimrod!” She giggles more, “Yeah, and your Hyacinth’s best friend!” “By default!” I add as my little body shakes! She shakes her head, “Be that as it may, you now have an obligation and responsibility to her!” “What?” She smiles and nods, “Yup! You need to be there for her and since the spell cleared away the evil from earlier, you’ll do just that!” I frown and study this pony very carefully… While I’m still not sure I like the sound of this, I’m aware that I have no choice… “Your breath still smells like vodka!” “And you’re still Hyacinth’s best friend!” I don’t know why this annoys me? “So uh, you got anything else to drink? I mean, are you done getting drunk for now, or?” She frowns, “Well, I got a few swigs of the vodka left, but that’s it until I make it to the liquor store, later on!” I adjust my view to her, “Which you won’t be doing, right?” “No! Maybe?” Her eyes go up, “I mean uh, probably later on, yeah?” “Oh, golly!” I exclaim! She sighs, “Look! Not drinking is a bit of an adjustment for me and well, I’d like to um, well, ease into it, you know?” “You know, NOT drinking at all, and straight up QUITTING would be a lot better, right?” She sighs, “I-I know Cozy! It’s just that, well… “she stares off to the side, “I don’t wanna!” I frown for the umpteenth time, “At least your honest! Maybe uh, not be drunk all the time, instead? How about this! You won’t start drinking again until much later on? When me and Hyacinth aren’t here?” She turns back to me, “Actually, drinking with you and Hyacinth was kinda fun!” My eyebrow raises, and I say, “What?” for what seems like the thirtieth time! She smiles and giggles, “Yeah, I like you two because you help me stay grounded!” I frown deeply as a horrifying thought suddenly occurs to me… <*****> Hyacinth stares at me from underneath her wavy two-toned mane, the left light purple, and right lavender, as she widens her lilac eyes, “So tell me Cozy! What’s been going on with Twilight?” I nod, “Oh, golly! She’s agreed to slow down on her drinking, but I don’t really know exactly how much, and I’m starting to get her to understand that she has a problem!” Hyacinth sighs and nods, “Right! But does she have anymore booze?” I frown, “Well, she mentioned a couple of shots of vodka, but I think that’s it? I don’t think she has any booze left?” and bring my eyes to the ceiling, “Although I’m also pretty sure she’s gonna make a liquor run soon?” Hyacinth frowns, “That’s not good! Can you try to convince her not to do it?” My muzzle goes downward as well, “That’s the thing! I already tried that, but she isn’t listening!” “Well, what do you think she’ll do now?” I sigh and honestly reply, “I think she’ll probably finish her daily duties or whatever it is she does, make a trip to the liquor store, and she’s probably gonna want me there when she starts drinking later!” Hyacinth widens her lavender pupils, “Uh, r-really? What makes you say that?” <*****> I widen my eyes at the sober purple princess from my side of the small purple dinette table… I think she’s got a thing for purple? “Oh, golly gee! It’s nighttime now, you wanna get drunk, and you want me here with you, because you believe my presence provides stability or whatever, huh?” Twilight frowns from the other side of the table as I see a big bottle of Pony Walker black label in front of her, “Uh, yes! Essentially! I mean, Hyacinth can’t be here, since she’s in the Crystal Empire, but uh,”she smiles, “I got you!” I stare at her with my same wide glare, “Obviously, since I can’t legally be anywhere else!” She sighs and nods, “Right! And you’ll keep me level, uh, right?” “Define level?” “You’ll make sure I won’t drink too much!” “Not drinking at all would be way better, you know!” “I agree!” Discord says from 2 feet away at my left! Twilight turns her neck right to Discord, “Get the hay out of here!” and forces her horn to glow and Discord soon vanishes in a puff of white! … Then, it was just me and her again… I can only stare at the Princess of Friendship with my enormous gaze while she says, “I’ll be careful! But I’m not letting you, Discord, or ANYPONY else tell me what I can and can’t do!” “Uh, oh golly… Right! Yes! Of course!” I say and smile at her like an idiot with a wide toothy grin… Twilight smiles, “Right!” before magically opening the brown bottle on the table and raising the bottle to tilt it back towards her muzzle so she can take a mighty belt… “And there goes round one of single malt Scotch!” I say, although I’m still not sure where Scotch comes from? I lean forward and stare intently, because despite Twilight’s problem here, I really don’t have much experience with drunk ponies! “Uh, at least you upgraded your whiskey this time! How do you feel?” She sighs and smiles… “Better” I raise an eyebrow, “Better?” She stares at me, “Y-yeah… It’s not so bad being all alone now… “ I frown, “Alone? You got me!” She stares at me intently, “That’s not what I mean.” “Well, what do you mean?” She sighs again and wistfully stares off to the side, “They’re gone now… They were here earlier and now, and now they’re not…” and forms a grimace on her muzzle. “Death sucks!” “You mean, your friends from earlier?” She turns her neck back to me, “Who else would I mean, Cozy?” “It’s part of life, Twilight!” She lowers her view slightly, “I know that, but do you have any idea how many times I’ve heard ponies say that to me?” before exhaling softly and visibly relaxing her shoulders… She then uses her magick to take another belt of Scotch… I frown while taking in this reaction, “That doesn’t really help, huh?” The bottle lowers back to the table at a perfect angle, and she sighs, “Not really, no!” as I smell the scent of Scotch whiskey on her breath now… “You know, they might be gone, but you still got what you got now, right?” Her eyes widen, “What do you mean?” I raise my view, “Well, you still got Rarity for the moment! And you got me and Hyacinth, now!” “But you’re both still fillies!” “So? You’re still gonna outlive me, you know, and eventually, Hyacinth will be a lot closer to your age! Uh,” I stare downward, “I’ll probably be dead by that point?” I stare at the table and I can almost feel her violet gaze on me while she says, “So maybe, I should treasure the time I have with you now and be ready to let go later instead?” I raise my view back up to her and while she is in fact, taking another swig of Scotch, I’m beginning to think I might see a way out here? “Well, right! I mean, sure, I’m not gonna be around forever, but I’m here now, with you, you know?” She smiles… “Thanks for talking to me about this Cozy!” and takes another, smaller swig of Scotch, before gently lowering the bottle back to the table… I stare at the alicorn princess carefully while she stares at the back wall behind me with a calm relaxed look in her violet gaze… “So uh, what are you gonna do now?” She lowers her gaze to me, “What do you mean? Get drunk, obviously!” I widen my eyes again, “Oh, golly!” And as I watched the Princess of Friendship take yet another mighty belt of Scotch, I finally began to understand her… The alcohol makes her numb so she doesn’t have to deal with the fact that her friends are gone… I began to wonder if there really was a way out or if she was doomed to be addicted for the rest of her long alicorn life? (To be continued… ) Author's Note *As a gender variant person, I can tell you that I’ve never experienced greater pain before… **Yes, my childhood home did burn to the ground, but the truth is, that has nothing to do with my pain… It was just a building by that point…
Chapter 6: The Second StepAnd as I watched the purple alicorn princess take yet another belt of whiskey, I began to wonder when she stops? Then, I heard something I never thought I’d hear in a castle… I heard musical notes! The first was medium pitch, the second high pitched, and the last had a low pitch… I look up and ask Twilight the obvious question, “What the hay was that?” She smiles back at me as the whiskey bottle lowers to the table, “Uh, we installed a doorbell!” I narrow my eyes, “The Castle of Friendship has a doorbell now?” She giggles,"Uh, yeah! Yes it does! We needed a way to alert us when creatures were at the front door!” I sigh and stare back at her, “Twilight, you’re drunk! Stay put!” and smile at her… “Let Cozy take care of everything! I’ll be right back!” <*****> I widen my eyes at the small white alicorn, “What?” Hyacinth Hoofdrops smiles, “I got done early today and decided to go ahead and visit my best friend!” I frown, “But you’re supposed to be in the Crystal Empire?” She snickers, “I’m an alicorn, silly! I can just teleport wherever I wanna go!” I widen my eyes again, “Oh, yeah!” She sighs, “So, how’s our patient?” “Drunk!” I exclaim while explaining Twilight’s current condition! She frowns, “Didn’t you try to stop her?” “Of course! Uh, I mean, I think so?” My eyes go skyward. “Probably?” “Well, where is she now?” I look back at the concerned white filly, “In the backroom drinking Scotch!” “We need to stop her!” I frown again, “We do?” Hyacinth nods, “Yes!” before both of us are enveloped in a blinding flash! <*****> The purple alicorn half-stared at me as I suddenly appeared in front of her and she soon says, “Oh, you’re both back! Don’t know if I should be happy or annoyed?” before the floating bottle on the left of her head tilts so she can take another belt of Scotch… I stare at her and say, “Oh, golly! Twilight, you need to put the bottle down! Uh, apparently!” Hyacinth on my right adds, “Please Auntie Twilight? For me?” She sighs and turns her head right to take yet another swig of whiskey… I frown, “Uh, Canterlot! We’re losing her!” Hyacinth says, “Auntie Twilight, you gotta stop this!” She sighs again as the glowing bottle slowly glides back to the table… “I know… “ I ask her point blank, “I don’t get it? If you really wanna stop, then why don’t you? What’s so hard about putting the bottle down, Twilight?” I see her mouth quiver for a moment before she says in an exasperated tone, “They were all I had!” “Huh?” Hyacinth asks, “You mean your friends?” I then remember why she drank and I calmly ask her, “Well, Twilight! You said you wanted us to help you, right? To make sure you don’t drink too much?” Hyacinth turns her head left towards me and whispers, “Cozy!” I turn to Hyacinth, “What? It’s called compromise! If she isn’t ready to quit just yet, maybe we can get her to slow down?” Twilight stares at me, “Yes! I uh,” she smiles… “I admit I kinda liked having you two here the other day… Even though you can’t drink… “ I look at Twilight, “Well, we could, you know?” Hyacinth turns back to me, “Cozy!” I turn to Hyacinth, “What? Just because we’re fillies doesn’t mean we can’t drink booze!” Twilight stares at me, “No, Cozy! Absolutely not! Out of the question!” I turn to the Princess of Friendship, “So, you admit that drinking is bad then?” She frowns, “Well, it’s bad for fillies!” “It’s bad for you too, you know?” “Y-yes… Yes I know Cozy… But uh… What else is there?” I frown when I suddenly realized that she simply needs a distraction? “Well, how about a game or we could tell stories or maybe sing songs?” Hyacinth says, “How about a party? Wouldn’t Pinkie Pie like that?” “Or maybe a barn dance like Applejack would have or maybe something in the sky like Dash, you know, since we all have wings?” Twilight sighs again and turns her head right for another belt of whiskey… I frown again, “Uh, maybe we shouldn’t be talking about what she’s lost?” Hyacinth turns to me, “Um, you’re probably right? But what should we do?” “Be there for me!” We both hear the princess say as Hyacinth turns back to her… I furrow my brow in confusion, “Be there for you?” Hyacinth says, “So, you’re gonna drink whiskey and you want us to be there?” She smiles… “Yeah… I liked having you here with me earlier… It made me feel better… “ I stare at Twilight and blankly say, “She’s an anti-social social drunk!” Twilight widens her eyes to me as her mouth straightens, “What?” I smile, “Golly, yeah! You don’t like many ponies, but being around them when you’re drinking is better for your spirit… “and widen my eyes… “Quite the conundrum, huh?” Hyacinth stares at me while Twilight says, “I uh, never actually thought about it?” “Speaking of things that are out of character!” Twilight frowns, “Huh?” I shake my head, “Uh, never mind Twilight! How’s the whiskey?” She sighs, “Well, it’s better now that my friends are here… “ I widen my eyes when the implications of what she just said occur to me, “Friends?” She smiles again, “Yeah, didn’t I already tell you that?” Hyacinth asks me, “Cozy, what are you doing?” I turn to the other filly, “It’s called talking to other ponies! Uh, you know how you didn’t have any friends earlier?” “Hyacinth! How’s school going for you?” Hyacinth turns to Twilight and says, “Well, I’m having some trouble with math and science,” and smiles,” but I love my Ponish and literature courses and I like my creative writing class!” I say to the other filly, “I can help you study, you know?” Twilight smiles at me, “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Cozy!” “Well, golly gee, it’s not like I got anything better to do?” I say before wondering why I care about all of these things? Hyacinth finally turns to me, “You’d really do that for me, Cozy? You’d help me?” I blink, “Well, sure! Why not? I mean, you’re my friend, right?” and it suddenly becomes a lot clearer to me! Hyacinth smiles and then does the unthinkable… She scoots her chair towards mine and embraces me in a tight warm hug! “EEP!” Twilight grins, giggles, and turns her head to take another belt of whiskey… At that point, I knew I was one for one for the night… On one hoof, I couldn’t get Twilight to stop drinking, but on the other, I had bonded with my new friend… New friend… My friend who turns to me and says, “Hey, could you help me with just a couple of questions I had before my pre-algebra course tomorrow?” I turn to face her while Twilight kisses her bottle again, “Uh, ask away!” She frowns, “Um, I think I’d better just show you?” “But your books are in the Crystal Empire?” She sighs, “I’m an alicorn, remember?” before smiling and forcing her horn to glow again… <*****> Hyacinth frowns at me while staring with her pinkish gaze, “Wait! So X is a number?” I frown from my side of the table as she stares down at one of the two books she has over some papers, “Well, it’s a value or an integer or uh,”I eye her carefully, “you know what Hyacinth? Yes! It’s a number!” and nod! I stare at her intently as a new thought just crossed my mind, “Hey, have you told Cadance about Twilight’s alcohol addiction?” She widens her eyes as I sit there, “Oh, goodness, no! They haven’t seen each other in years and the last thing I want mom to do is to worry about Auntie Twilight!” I widen my eyes, “Wait! You were there yesterday!” She nods, “Yes, I was there, yesterday! My mom stayed in the empire!” “Oh, golly!” She gazes at me carefully, “Do you think I should tell my mom that Twilight’s addicted to booze?” “DON’T YOU DARE!” We both hear a familiar feminine voice scream from somewhere! I widen my eyes again, “Oh, golly! Uh, apparently not!” Hyacinth raises her gaze from me and says, “Auntie, please! You need help!” “I’m fine! I quit drinking for the night already, see?” I hear a voice from behind me say. Hyacinth says, “Yeah, but you finished almost all the bottle!” “Right, and I got a few swigs left for my hangover, later on! No problem!” Hyacinth adjusts her gaze, “You think maybe the fact that you’re literally preparing to be hungover on a regular basis is a sign that you might be drinking way too much?” “No!” I finally say, “Twilight, just think about this, okay? Thinking! Remember doing that a long time ago? You’re always hungover, and you regularly use cures for said hangovers!” “Where’s the problem?” Hyacinth sighs and looks above me, “Auntie, just uh, don’t drink anymore tonight, okay?” “I already said I wouldn’t! Look Hyacinth, I won’t drink anymore until tomorrow morning when I hit that whiskey!” Hyacinth teleports and I turn behind me after situating my body to the right to see that she’s there, staring up at her aunt, who’s currently smiling down at her and staring dreamily with her purple eyes… Hyacinth stares up at her aunt nervously and anxiously says, “Just uh, slow down, okay? For me!” Twilight takes two paces forward and embraces the filly in her right forehoof and holds her lovingly, while closing her eyes and whispering, “Okay, Hyacinth… I’ll slow down for you…“ I widen my eyes, “So uh, I guess that’s it huh? Twilight is gonna cut down on the booze, and we’re gonna help her?” Hyacinth turns her head right to stare at me, “Well, right! Assuming nothing else happens!” And suddenly, we all hear a buttery masculine voice say, “Like perhaps, a certain draconequus might get involved in the sobriety project?” … Oh, golly… (To be continued… )
Chapter 7: FunctionalTwilight sighs, turns her head right to take another belt of whiskey, and then, very calmly turns towards me and Hyacinth, but speaks with her gaze raised as if talking to somecreature behind us while smiling, “Discord! I was wondering when you’d be back! You’re so predictable!” “Oh, Twilight! You should know by now, that I’m anything but predictable!” We hear the oozing voice say before a distinct snapping sound and suddenly, the bottle of whiskey is a bouquet of flowers! Twilight giggles, and blinks her eyes, causing her horn to glow, and it soon turns into a bottle of Wild Pegasus! I frown at this, “I thought you were drinking Scotch?” She stares at me, “Well, I want bourbon, now!” “You should know by now, my dear Twilight that you are not to have bourbon!” We hear the male voice say, before another snapping sound… Nothing changes… Twilight giggles while raising her gaze again, “Oh, I studied your chaos magick Discord… “and widens her eyes, “And I wrote a book on it and how especially skilled unicorns can even learn to use it! You got nothing on me!” before turning her head right to take her first belt of bourbon before withdrawing her head from the impact as the bottle quickly turns upright and she screams. “Whoa, yeah! That’s the bad medicine mommy needs!” I glare at this and casually say, “Oh, golly! The Legend of Drunken Master, huh?” “This isn’t over!” I hear the male voice say before another snapping noise and then, an energy blast noise as if he had teleported… At least, that’s what I’m pretty sure he just did as Twilight stares at us and says, “Now then! Where were we?”and turns her head to take another belt of bourbon… “I hope you ate something? That’s gonna tear up your stomach, you know?” She smiles at me, “Oh, I’m counting on it… When I throw up, I’ll just drink more bourbon!” I widen my eyes, “That’s not safe, is it?” She frowns, “I dunno? Probably not?” “Do you even care?” She sighs, “Not particularly?” before turning her head to take a smaller sip, before puckering and saying, “Whew! I know you’re not expensive, but I always loved your taste!” I turn towards Hyacinth and whisper, “This might get weird?” She turns to me and smiles, “Well, still beats life in The Empire!” “Uh, I guess we’ll just enjoy the show?” Twilight suddenly burps loudly and says, “Whoa! I think it’s starting to work? I really need to go to the toilet now!” Oh, golly… She blinks at me and says, “Meet me in the study!” and forces her horn to glow violet and her body disappears! … Pretty sure I know where she went… <*****> 15 disgusting minutes later, we’re all sitting there… She has a tumbler she must’ve gotten from the kitchen along with most of that bottle of Wild Pegasus from earlier… It’s dim here and all of the old books are faintly illuminated in their myriad of dull colors by the lantern glows spread throughout the room… We can all hear the grandfather clock ticking away on the wall… Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock… She smiles and says, “I feel better!” I stare blankly and wide-eyed as I calmly state, “I have no idea what you ate?” Hyacinth turns her head left to me, “I’m just amazed that you watched!” Twilight’s smile lowers, “You didn’t have to! Uh, honestly, for future reference, I’d kinda prefer if you didn’t… “before staring off to the side pensively and calmly breathing to herself, in and out… I stare at the purple pony, “And why’s that?” She sighs and stares directly at me again with her purple gaze, “I uh, I don’t like it when ponies know about the things I do… “ “Why not? You’re an alcoholic!” I say before nodding… “Own it!” “Do you really think I have a problem?” Twilight says before staring at me and floating her glass up to her snout for a small sip… “Well, gee! You’re throwing up to make room for more booze at this point!” Hyacinth raises her hoof, “And you regularly prepare to be hungover pretty much every night now!” Twilight stares at the other filly as the glowing tumbler adjusts in the air, “Well, not every night!” “Oh, golly! Do you actually NOT drink sometimes?” She sighs and turns her gaze back to me, “Uh, no… “and smiles… “Sometimes I get so carried away with my drinking, that I forget to get ready… “and blinks… “But it’s okay, because if I just drink plenty of water the next day and pop a few aspirin, I’ll be alright!” “And you quit drinking for that period?” Her eyes widen, “Well, technically, no, not really… “before she sighs and takes another small sip of bourbon… I stare at the Princess of Friendship while listening to her speak about her addiction, and I’ll admit, I felt something strange… Something I’m not sure I’ve ever felt before? I felt a pang of sadness… I felt her regret and her misery at her new life without the one thing that made it worth living earlier… I’ll admit that I truly felt for the alicorn princess at that point… I had to make this right… <*****> I stare down at Hyacinth on her sparkly purple bedroll in the center of my room, from my perch on my bed… “Will you be okay down there?” She stands on her hooves on the blankets and smiles as she says, “Oh, I’m fine Cozy! I’m not one of those princesses, who always needs the best sorts of bedding every night! I’m okay here! I promise!” while I see the faint illumination of her two-toned mane in the moonlight from my window… I smile back at her, “Uh, there’s a perfectly good guest room with a big bed and all kinds of comfortable pillows and blankets and stuff, right next door to my room, you know?” She visibly giggles slightly in the pale light, “Oh, Cozy! I wanna be in here, with my best friend!” My smile lowers, “You don’t have a lot of options, huh?” She laughs again, “Cozy, when are you gonna understand that your friendship is worth treasuring?” I widen my eyes, “Uh, sometime between, a long time from now, and never!” She giggles again as I see her snout go towards the ground, “Cozy, you’re hilarious!” I frown, “I am?” Her eyes widen and I see them gleam ever so slightly in the light from my window, “Yeah, Cozy! I like you a lot! So, what do you wanna do now?” “How would I know? I’ve never had a friend before!” She frowns, “You haven’t?” I sigh, “Well, none that I can remember?” “What do you mean?” I close my eyes, “There’s so much of my life that I just can’t remember anymore, Hyacinth… “What? Why is that Cozy? Did something happen?” “Y-yeah Hyacinth…”I open my eyes, “I don’t like to talk about it… “* “Well, you don’t have to, if you don’t want to, Cozy?” I sigh, “Th-thanks Hyacinth… “I smile, “What about you? You’re a princess in the Crystal Empire! You gotta have the most awesome life ever!” Her eyes widen, “Hardly! I NEVER get any time to myself, and ALWAYS have to do all these annoying little things EVERY SINGLE DAY! And it’s always stupid crap, too! Who cares if I cut the ribbon at their grand re-opening? Why should I bother getting out of bed to give your stupid high school class a lecture on responsibility and being prudent? It’s just stupid, annoying nonsense, every…single...day…”she sighs…“Honestly, I’m just glad I was able to arrange for this sleepover!”she smiles at me, “What about you Cozy? I mean, sure you’re a prisoner, but it can’t be that bad in here, right? I mean, you got all of those books and everything in the castle to entertain yourself with!” I widen my eyes and laugh hysterically for a few seconds before saying, “Not really! I’m confined to this little room most of the time!”I sigh, “They bring me books, and toys, and games, and stuff, but I don’t normally see many other ponies… “I swallow… “It gets kinda lonely, honestly… “ She smiles, “Well, I typically study when class gets out at three-thirty until I eat dinner at six-thirty, you know?” I adjust my view to her, “Oh?” “Yup!”She nods, “And having my favorite study companion with me during that time, sure would be swell!” At this stage, I’m pretty sure she’s mimicking the way I talk, “You mean me, don’t you?” “Who else would I mean, Cozy?” She says while smiling… “Maybe the pegasus filly next to me?” “You’re a goober!” She shouts before using her magick to pick up the blue dinosaur plushie from the side of the room and throwing it at me! It smacks me in the face! I narrow my eyes at her, “Oh, this means war!” Her eyes widen while she keeps the grin on her muzzle, “Oh?” I quickly grab the plushie with my teeth and lift it with my snout while staring at her and saying, “Oh yeah!”between my teeth! “Oh, no!”She gives a wide-eyed shout as I leap at her from the bed while using my wings to propel me towards her to tackle her to her bedroll and begin pummeling her with the stuffy lodged in-between my teeth! All the while making sure I don’t actually hurt her of course! “EEP!” She eeps before recovering and using her magick to force several plushies from the shelf where I had them to smash into me and get me off of her! I begin flapping my wings so I hover off the ground and stare down at her a few feet beneath me and drop the dinosaur so it lands on the ground in front of Hyacinth as I say, “No fair! I don’t have magick!” “So! You got those wings!” “But you got wings too! It’s not fair!” “Oh, yeah? Well you’re a jerk!” “Am not! You’re a jerk!” “Jerk-head!” “Jerk-face!” Hyacinth giggles and says, “I can’t hear you! Because the mouth doesn’t work right on your jerk-head!” I stare at her and say back, “Oh, yeah? Well, I have no idea what you just said because the mouth is weird on your jerk-face!” We stare at each other silently for a few more seconds before we both burst out laughing hysterically! I look at her, “This sure is fun! It’s great to get this stuff now, because I’m actually not even sure if I ever had it before!”I say while gently floating down towards the ground… She looks at me, “Well uh, better late than never, right?” I land on my hooves with a soft clack! I stare at her and smile, “Yeah… Thanks Hyacinth! I love you!” She smiles, “I love you too, Cozy! Lemme go make us some cocoa in the kitchen and I’ll be right back!” I grin back, “Sure thing! And you know, my bed is pretty big!” She looks at me, “This is true!” “Between what I got and what’s on the floor here, there’s plenty of pillows too, huh?” She blinks, “Yeah, you’re not wrong!” I giggle, “Hyacinth, stop being silly! Sleep in the bed with me tonight! You can have the left!” She frowns, “Yeah, but we were gonna have cocoa?” I smile, “I meant later, silly! Cocoa now! Bed after!” She blinks and gives a startled giggle, “Oh! Right! Uh, hang on!” before forcing her horn to glow blue and soon vanishing in a blue zap! (To be continued… ) Author's Note *There’s technically several reasons I have amnesia, but we’re not gonna get into that here…
Chapter 8: The Return“This is my love, preserved!” The motley brown serpent bellowed! I widen my eyes as I stare at the statue and say, “But that can’t be! She died! R-right?” “Technically, no! I snatched her just before it happened!” “Why?” “I don’t want to live in a world without Fluttershy… “ I blink at the stone pegasus and say, “Yeah, but what good is she as a statue?” <*****> I open my eyes and I feel the warmth of Hyacinth behind me! I turn my body around to glance at her and notice she’s still asleep, snoring peacefully under the covers… I decide to get out of bed and shake my head… I bring my body to launch itself and take flight, from the side of the bed… “Golly, what a weird dream!” I say to myself as I float towards the kitchen on my little wings… I arrive in the kitchen and take a glass from the shelf and hover over to the fridge to fetch the orange juice bottle and tilt it in the air over the glass, to begin filling it… Suddenly, I hear a smarmy masculine voice I was hoping I would never hear again… “It was no dream!” I frown while watching the orange liquid pour before tilting the bottle back upright and then turning to float towards the fridge again… “I said, Fluttershy is still alive!” “I know! I’m just bringing the orange juice back now!” The voice grows frustrated, “Well, aren’t you going to say anything Cozy?” I sigh as I’m putting up the bottle, “You just couldn’t stand to lose her, huh?” The voice is silent for a moment as I gently close the fridge door… “Well, no… If I’m being honest, I could never stand to lose the first real friend I ever had in all my millennia of life… “ I turn to float towards my orange juice, “She must be pretty special, right?” “Truly, one of a kind! Somepony Equestria needs!” I turn and chuckle as I witness a brown serpent, floating in the air, with misshapen horns, eyes, and appendages… “So the million bit question is, why are you telling me this?” He sighs, “Well, if you want me to be honest…” “Oh, but I do!” I nod my head. He sighs again and lowers his head in sad remorse as a frown forms on his visage, “I feel guilty!” I frown too, “Guilty?” He nods, “Yes, guilty! I cheated that poor pegasus out of the rightful death she deserved all for my selfish greed! Why wouldn’t I feel guilty about what I have done?” I stare at this serpent because after studying and learning about him, the idea of THIS particular serpent, EVER feeling anything like guilt is nothing short of remarkable! Oh, golly! Character development! “You know, you could always just release her?” He frowns and I witness his snaggle-tooth go the other direction, “Are you sure that would be wise? I also used time magick to make her young again!” My eyes widen, “You, what?” He sighs, and stares to the ceiling, “Well, yes!” and back at me, “You see, I didn’t want her to die the very moment I awakened her, assuming I ever did, and so, it just made sense to make her young again!” I frown, “How young are we talking here?” His calico eyes widen, “Well, she’s not a filly, if that’s what you mean!” and they go up, “I’d put her at young adult? Probably a few years after she would’ve graduated high school!” before centering back on me… I frown harder, “Is her mind like that of a young adult?” He frowns, “Well, it’s hard to say? I mean, her brain should be about at that phase of development, though, so she could be a tad impetuous?” I snort, “But we’re talking about Fluttershy here!” He sighs and waves his paw in the air, “Oh, right!” I nod, “Yes! So, young Fluttershy… “I’m silent for a moment… “What are we gonna tell Twilight?” His eyes widen again, “You will tell her nothing! Leave Twilight to me!” I frown at this thought… “Uh, what are YOU gonna tell her then?” He gulps and sighs as he stares at me again… “Well, if I were to tell her the truth, that would certainly make things simple, now wouldn’t it?” and waves his eagle talon in the air… I’m silent before remembering who I’m talking to… “But you don’t like simple, do you Discord?” He smiles, “No, I do not! And my apologies Cozy, but now that you know, I simply can’t have you tipping Twilight off to facts! I hope you understand?” My eyes widen as I stare down and notice my hooves beginning to turn to stone, from the bottom up! “Hey, what are you doing?” “I’m turning you into a statue! You will be roused at the appropriate time! Goodnight Cozy Glow!” And then, the world faded to black… <*****> “C-Cozy Glow?” I hear a sweet feminine voice say, although I’m staring at the back of my eyelids… I open my eyes to see that I’m inside a cave, faintly illuminated by a blue light coming from somewhere… I’m on my back and I look down to see a short yellow pegasus mare with a flowing pink mane and tail about 10 feet in front of me… “You are correct! You’re Fluttershy!” Her eyes widen, “And you’re evil!” “N-no! Not really! I’m reformed now!” She frowns… “Wait… Why is my body different like this? My legs don’t hurt anymore?” I sigh as I begin the talk, “Well, you see, you’re young again!” Her eyes widen, “WHAT?” I nod, “Correct! Discord made you young, uh, technically not a filly though, and he preserved you as a statue!” She repeats herself, “WHAT?” I nod again, “Right, so, you’re young Fluttershy, and I’m annoyed again!” “You’re evil!” “N-no! Technically, not! Look! I’m reformed now! And I promise, if you just follow me, and we find Twilight Sparkle, she’ll set all of this straight!” She frowns, “Why should I trust you?” “Look, all you gotta is just follow me, and once we find Twilight, she’ll tell you all about it!” “How do I know you’re not leading me into an ambush?” My eyes go the other direction as I whisper to myself, “Oh, golly!” before back to her, “Look! You can follow like, twenty feet back, if you want! That doesn’t matter! The only thing that is important is that we both make it to Twilight!” before going to my right, “Now, I see some light over there, and that makes me think that’s the way out of this cave!” “O-okay Cozy! I’ll follow you! Under one condition!” My eyes go to the pegasus, “Name it!” “Say you’re sorry!” I frown, “What?” She nods, “Say you’re sorry for trying to take all the magick out of Equestria and that you’re sorry for trying to take over the country! Say those things and I’ll follow you!” I close my eyes, “Oh, golly!” before opening them to the other mare, “I’m sorry I tried to take all the magick in Equestria, and I’m sorry I tried to take over the land!” “And you’re sorry for trying to kill me and my friends!” I sigh, “And I’m sorry I tried to destroy the heroes of Equestria, or whatever too!” She smiles, “See? Don’t you feel better?” I decide to lie and move this along, “Oh, golly yeah! I sure feel cleansed! A million times better! You bet!” She beams brighter, “Okay, Cozy Glow! Lets go find Twilight Sparkle!” I stare up at the stalactites and wonder what just happened? <*****> We both emerge near the blue stone cliff face and Fluttershy looks up and around before widening her eyes and exclaiming, “Oh, I know where we are! I learned about this in geography class! This type of grass only grows near the northeast mountain range of Equestria! I begin to wonder why she remembers high school so well when she looks up and glances around, before staring a direction out to the fields and away from the mountains behind us, “If we just fly that way, we should hit Canterlot in several hours!” I turn my head right towards her and ask the obvious question, “When did you get so good at navigation?” Her eyes widen as she starts and suddenly frowns… “I…don’t know? I just know the thoughts of why we need to head that way, to get back to town… “ I frown when I think that Discord probably had something to do with this? Then, I turn towards the direction she stared and sigh, “Well, we’re not gonna get there just standing here talking about it! Lets get to flying!” <*****> I see the lush rolling plains of the Equestrian farmlands beneath me as I stare off into the boundless horizon, as the sun begins to set just to my right… There’s also a yellower pegasus flapping to my right, about 10 yards I’d say… But I’m not concerned with that right now… I think about all the time I lost being trapped in stone earlier… I frown when I realize that what was left of my family is probably dead by now? And now, here I am, free at last… I feel the wind blowing through the feathers of my wings and I finally hear her yelling at me, “So, Cozy! What made you decide to reform?” I keep flapping forward, “I realized what I had done was why I got turned to stone… I understand now that I need to be a better pony… “ “Better pony?” She says as her body begins to hover closer to mine… “Yes, Fluttershy! I’m ready to be good again! I uh, I don’t want power anymore!” I shake my head, “Not really! And you know, the truth is, I didn’t really want power then either!” Her voice sounds aghast, “You didn’t want power?” I sigh, “W-well, no! Not really! It’s uh, it’s complicated!” “Well, we got several hours before we get home. Why not tell Therapist Fluttershy all about it?” I turn to gaze at this yellow pegasus, just now out of adolescence, “I wanted control… “ “Control?” She repeats me. I nod, “Yes, Fluttershy! Control! I had no control when my parents died and I had no control when I was in the orphanage! And I was miserable because of it!” She frowns, “So, you thought that if you did have control, you’d be happier?” I sigh, “I uh, I guess that’s it, isn’t it? That’s why I tried to destroy all magick in Equestria… Because if unicorns are no longer a threat, that’s less for me to worry about!” and nod… “It gives me more control!” “But now you know, that that’s not right, right Cozy Glow?” I smile, “Yes, Fluttershy! I do! I don’t necessarily need control to be happy!” Her eyes widen, “Oh?” “Nope! The truth is, if I can just have good friends and a happy life, I think I’ll be okay?” She smiles, “Well, what if I helped you Cozy?” I frown again, “Say what now?” She giggles, “I’ll be your friend, Cozy Glow!” And so, that’s how young Fluttershy became my friend, and why I have no idea what’s gonna happen when we make it to Twilight Sparkle soon! I stare forward and gulp… (To be continued… )
Chapter 9: PiecesSo I was flying out in the open air over Equestria! After all that time spent in stone, I gotta admit, it’s certainly wonderful to stretch out the ol’ wings! I continued to flap in silence, knowing I was heading towards Canterlot. I close my eyes for a moment and feel the wonderful breeze going through my fur and the feathers of my wings, in majestic wonder… After flying for I don’t know how long, I finally looked back to my right, where Fluttershy was flying… Except I no longer saw Fluttershy… I saw a brown serpent with pink hair and a pink tail, sticking out his other serpentine tail, flapping along with big yellow wings, instead… “Gee Fluttershy! You got ugly!” I exclaim! Discord frowns as his snaggle-tooth goes the other way, “Well, I’m still prettier than you!” I suddenly feel pepperoni on my face as I say, “Nice comeback! What did you want?” and two of the pepperoni slices fly off of my face, into the breeze behind me to fly away… His body goes back to normal, “I’ve come to extend an olive branch!” and he holds out a 2-foot long olive branch with his lion paw. “And to talk to you about Fluttershy… “ I frown, “What about her? And just what did you do with her, anyway?” His mouth finally normalizes, “She believes she’s still flying with you.” My eyes widen, “She’s not talking, is she?” His eyes go skyward, “Ugh! Cozy, relax! I assure you, your precious relationship with Fluttershy will not be tarnished by this little meeting of ours!” Relationship with Fluttershy? “You know, that still doesn’t tell me what you want?” He’s silent for a moment before finally asking, “What is she like?” I frown, “What?” We continue flying towards Canterlot and he scoots closer to me as we glide forward, “What I mean is, what’s talking to her like, Cozy?” I widen my eyes and glance forward to make sure before going back to the serpent, “Well, she’s very sweet, and caring, and she’s also a tad on the anxious side, but not quite as much as I was expecting. I think all the development she’s done, since young adulthood is likely still there, although there’s at least a couple of things I’m still not sure about.” I say, before wondering why I’m speaking to him. He giggles and smiles, “Oh, ho ho ho, that does sound like the sweet Fluttershy I know! She was always so considerate!” “Why are you asking me this?” He stares at me intently, “Because I need to make sure my love is alright!” “Why don’t you ask her yourself? I mean, you can talk to me just fine! Why don’t you talk to her?” “I uh…” Discord looks over to the right… I frown, “What’s wrong?” He stares at me fiercely with a scrunched, albeit oddly shaped brow, “NOTHING! Nothing is wrong!” My eyes widen, “Oh, golly! A-are you nervous?” He opens his mouth to an aghast O shape, “What? ME? NERVOUS? NO! Absolutely not! Out of the question, Cozy!” I’m silent for a moment… “You’re totally nervous, huh?” before averting my gaze back forward, so the draconequus doesn’t see the smirk on my muzzle… He’s silent for a moment… “W-well, yes! The truth is, I am nervous… Would you like to know why?” After quickly deciding that not really, was probably not the best response, I widen my eyes, sigh, and concede defeat, “Go on, Discord?” He’s silent once more… “I hadn’t spoken to Fluttershy in years when she finally passed away… “ I widen my eyes, “What? Really? I only know what I learned working at the School of Friendship, but I thought you two were close?” “Well, after you were frozen to stone, Fluttershy became one of the rulers of Equestria. Advisor to the Princess, they called her official title, and well… Well, I didn’t see much of her after that… “ “So what then? You feel guilty about not being there now, and want a redo?” “Well, uh… “Discord clears his throat, “Technically, that is to say, yes!” I sigh, “See now, my Discorded friend? Life need not be complicated!” and turn my head right to look back at him, “So uh, what did you tell Twilight exactly?” The yellow pegasus mare flapping her wings there widens her blue eyes to me and says in a squeaky, feminine voice, “Uh, what? No! I-I haven’t spoken to Twilight yet! We were just on our way there, remember?” I frown at the other pegasus, “Oh uh, yes! Of course! Right! How silly of me!” before staring back forward and frowning… I really hate Discord! <*****> We finally fly into town, over the majestic platform of a city that is Canterlot! You know, flying in like this with my new freedom makes me think about a lot of things… It makes me think about what I did… And it makes me wonder about what I’m doing now? Oh, golly! Why do I care so much? This doesn’t make sense! I blink as we cross over the platform and I can soon see my own shadow below on the streets of Canterlot just 40 feet below me and I suddenly remember the reforming spell… Makes me wonder if I’ll learn anything else new about myself? I hear Fluttershy to my right, “So um, the castle is uh, further into the city, close to the center!” Obviously! “Well, lets fly that way then Fluttershy! Uh, how do you feel?” Her voice gets slightly lower as she says, “Honestly, I’m nervous!” We fly further into the city towards the large spires in the distance as I say, “What? Nervous? Why would you feel nervous, Fluttershy? Isn’t Twilight uh, you know, your best friend or whatever?” Then, the yellow mare shocked me, “Um, n-no! Not really! We hadn’t spoken in years by the time I died!” I look back right at her and frown, “Say what now?” She sighs, “Yes, all of our friends had separated years ago… We just uh, I don’t know? Lost interest in each other, I guess?” I stare at this yellow mare flapping her wings next to me and I also remember that Discord wasn’t there… “Gee, did you have ANY friends at all, when you passed away?” She widens her blue eyes to me, “W-well! That is to say, um, I had squirrels, and birds, and beavers, and bears, and chipmunks?” I stare forward with wide eyes when I suddenly realize this mare has been deprived of genuine equine companionship! I sigh as we float over the gates and towards the large central spire of the Canterlot Castle… I land on the wooden balcony of the tower with a slight clack as my hooves meet the wood of the floorboard… I hear a similar clack right next to me as Fluttershy lands and I stare forward at the entryway into the tower… I know that if I walk into the tower and turn left, I’ll go into the castle, where I can meet Twilight… I also don’t really know what I’m trotting into… <*****> We both make it to the entryway into Twilight’s throne room in silence… Once we’re at the door, I’m floating to the left of Fluttershy as she trots on her hooves… She stares up at me and says, “W-what do I say to her?” I look back down at the other pegasus, “Well, you could try telling her the truth?” “W-well, I know that! I know, but, uh… “She gulps, “it’s been so long!” I frown down at her, “The longer we spend her talking about it, the more nervous you’re gonna be! You know, you should really just open the door and trot in, and see what’s up!”before smiling reassuringly, “It’s like taking off a band-aid! It hurts for like, a second, and then it’s over! Relax! Just a second, okay? Then, it’ll be over!”and nod to her… She smiles up at me, “Thanks Cozy! You sure are a good friend!” before turning back to the door and opening it with her right hoof, before trotting in… I float silently behind the small yellow mare as she trots towards the throne, where a silent alicorn stares on with enormous purple eyes… “I uh, what? Who are you?” She asks the yellow mare… Fluttershy looks up and barely squeaks out, “I-I’m Fluttershy… “ As I’m landing, I decide to raise my voice and head to move this along, “It’s Fluttershy, as a young mare!” Twilight blinks and frowns, “What? How can that be? That’s simply not possible!” “It is when Discord makes her young and turns her to stone!” Twilight turns to me, “W-what Cozy? Why would he do that?” I stare at her blankly when I realize that Discord never told her a golly damned thing! I sigh, “Well, he didn’t want Fluttershy to die, and so, he turned her to stone at the moment she was supposed to die! Since he didn’t want her croaking later if he let her go, he made her young! We’re talking young adult here, although my questioning would suggest some development, albeit probably not up to the level she was before Discord got to her!” Twilight’s eyes widen, “What are you talking about, Cozy?” I sigh again, “She’s a young adult and probably still has most of the social developing she did after she met you!” “Ahem!” The pegasus behind me clears her throat! I turn around to see a demure looking pegasus mare who smiles meekly, “I’m uh, I think I’m ready to speak now?” “Well, spit it out!” Twilight bellows behind me! I stare at her with wide eyes, “Uh, go as slow as you need to Fluttershy! It’s okay and we’re all here for you!” and smile at her to reassure her… Twilight starts, “I uh, I’m sorry Fluttershy… Uh, what did you want to say?” She smiles, “Um, yes! I’ve been thinking it over and I’ve decided that I’d like to start again!” she frowns and stares forward weirdly… She adjusts her gaze back up to the throne, “U-um, what I mean is, since I have to be a young adult right now, and since Twilight is immortal, and Cozy Glow is still young, that provides a good chance for me to begin once more, with Twilight and um, maybe one more friend?” before staring at me and adding to her grin… Twilight says, “Very well then, Fluttershy! Since your cottage is just a memory now, you can stay on the 3rd floor, down the hall from Cozy Glow!” “Oh, golly!” “Hey!” I turn from the purple alicorn and raise my gaze to see a white alicorn filly with a distinct two-toned mane behind the yellow pegasus… She looks up at me with enormous lilac eyes, “Where did you go?” before turning right to look at the young adult pegasus mare, “And who are you?” She’s turning her head left when she smiles nervously at Hyacinth, and squeaks, “I-I’m Fluttershy!” Hyacinth frowns, “What?” … Oh, Golly… (To be continued… )
Chapter 10: TurnaboutAnd then, after I woke up and used the bathroom, I went to do the unthinkable… I went to go check on Fluttershy! I think it might be better if this castle had room numbers, like in a hotel? I think to myself as I’m floating down the hall… She’s further in the back, away from the stairwell…. I float up to her door and wrap on it with my hoof… BAM! BAM! BAM! I hear a feminine, squeaky voice say from inside, “Uh, who is it?” “It’s me! I’m down the hall, remember?” “Oh uh um, come on in Cozy!” I sigh and again, wonder why I’m doing this, before silently gollying to myself andopening the door with my hoof to float in… I see the room is practically untouched since she started living in here yesterday. The bed isn’t even messed up as I see the yellow pegasus mare staring at me with big blue eyes as she says, “Hiya Cozy! Did you rest well?” with a concerned frown on her muzzle. I’m floating in the air and stationary, and I sigh, “Oh, golly gee, I sure did Fluttershy! You know, all that flying between cities really takes it out of me! How did you sleep?” I say, before widening my eyes and silently wondering if I truly care? I don’t know what these feelings are inside me… “U-um, mostly! I uh, kinda wish I had a stuffed friend or something to snuggle, though?” I blink, “You know, I got like, twenty stuffed animals in my room now… Would you like a couple of mine?” and widen my eyes expectantly at her… Huh? “You’d do that for me, Cozy? Really?” Wait, what? Why do I care? “Well, sure Fluttershy! I mean, you were just released from stone and uh, I kinda know what that’s like!” I nod, “Lemme guess! You feel alone and isolated, right?” She frowns, “Well, actually, yeah, I kinda do!” I move my head closer to her, “Would you like a hug, Fluttershy?” before thinking, AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! Why am I talking like this? “Well um, if you don’t mind?” And then, without missing a beat, I float down towards the small pegasus and lovingly embrace her in my hooves… I suddenly start to wonder if I mind? I hear her purring… “Mmmmm… This is nice…” She squeaks… I finally release her to float and stare at her from a couple of feet away, “Alright Fluttershy, now I’ll be in my room down the hall, if you need anything, okay? The butler will probably be around to take my breakfast order soon?” “Where’s Twilight?” The confused looking pegasus asks… I decide not to tell her that Twilight is probably chugging a little vodka to take the edge off. I don’t think she got quite hammered enough last night to justify another throw up ritual though? I say,“Uh, I’m not sure? But if you just hang out here, I can go get her for you!” Her eyes widen and sparkle, “Oh, please do Cozy Glow! I really want to see my friend again!” Oh, golly! I smile, “I’ll be right back!” <*****> And so, I fly to the throne room, while muttering to myself and thinking… Okay, the spell is forcing me to behave correctly! That’s the only explanation… Still don’t know what it is I exactly feel about Fluttershy when I stare at her though? Could it be, empathy? I know what it’s like to just wake out of stone and the first couple of days are so disorienting! Oh, here I am! I stare at the door while floating there, “Twilight! Put the booze away! It’s time to go see Fluttershy!” “Uh, what?” I hear a female voice scream from the room in front of me. “I said use mouthwash! It’s time to go see Fluttershy!” “Alright! Just one more shot!” … Oh, golly… <*****> Twilight burps! And then stares at the small yellow pegasus sitting across from her at the small purple dinette set, “So uh, what have you been up to, Fluttershy?” The yellow pegasus on my right widens her blue eyes, “Oh, uh, you mean, after I came out of stone?” Twilight frowns, “Well, I’m sure your life was pretty boring before that point?” Fluttershy starts, “Oh, um, well, I had these five friends and uh, you were one of them actually… “ and kinda trails off in her sentence… “Well, I know that!” I have a song in my head about clowns and jokers when I finally open my muzzle, “Me and Fluttershy are friends now!” thinking that’ll at least get Twilight’s drunk mind on something specific and take the heat off Fluttershy… * “Twilight widens her violet eyes and lazily turns them my direction… She’s had a couple… “Oh, that’s wonderful Cozy Glow! So you have your first real friend after your release from stone!” I stare at the alicorn, “I thought we were friends?” Twilight starts this time, before saying, “Well, yes! But I meant somepony you weren’t forced to be with!” “Discord practically squished me and Fluttershy together with his selfish and reckless actions!” I matter-of-factly state! “And you know, Hyacinth also exists!” Twilight frowns, sighs, and says authoritatively, “Cozy! You are friends with Fluttershy now, and that’s a good thing! Understand?” I blink and stare at her blankly, “Oh, golly! Right! Of course!” before nodding. “So um, that is to say, I er, what did you want to do now Twilight?” Fluttershy timidly interjects. She turns her neck to the other pegasus and widens her eyes, “Well, how about a drink to celebrate?” Fluttershy frowns at the alicorn, “It’s nine o’clock in the morning!” “Nine seventeen, technically!” I say while staring at the clock across the table from me… Fluttershy widens her eyes and leans forward, “Are you okay, Twilight?” Twilight widens her eyes to Fluttershy, “What? Me? Never better! Why do you ask?” and smiles nervously… Fluttershy sighs, “Oh, uh, I don’t know? It’s probably nothing!” “What is it, Fluttershy?” “I uh, I don’t know Twilight? I mean, I know you’re Twilight Sparkle and I know you’re my friend…” Fluttershy nods, “And I like you as a friend and everything, but um, well… You don’t seem like the same mare I used to know? I can’t put my hoof on it, but you just seem different somehow?” I finally speak up, “Well, it’s been years! Uh, maybe you two should, I don’t know? Hang out and do stuff together? Uh, how about a nice quiet game of miniature golf! Yes!” and smile, “Doesn’t that sound like fun, Fluttershy?” before turning right towards the yellow pegasus, grinning at her, and wondering where that idea came from? Twilight smiles at Fluttershy, “That sounds like a lovely idea! What do you think, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy widens her eyes at the alicorn, “Oh, um, I guess that sounds okay?” <*****> So, I start to read a fantasy novel to kill time, while Fluttershy and Twilight have a day of fun together! I must’ve read the same sentence starting the first paragraph 4 or 5 times as I blinked and just kept thinking about Twilight… What if she gets drunk while they’re out? What if she goes through some kinda crazy withdrawal sickness since she can’t get to booze? What if Fluttershy catches Twilight sneaking off with some gin? These thoughts and many others kept encircling my mind and after painstakingly reading the first chapter about an earth pony stallion knight and a powerful unicorn enchantress meeting, I decided to play solitaire instead! Strange! I keep getting the ace of diamonds in the first draw! Playing the black 3 on a red 4 and then putting the ace in the bunker was a simple matter… What if Twilight screams at Fluttershy because she’s going through withdrawal? Ugh! I can’t get these thoughts out of my mind! I blink and finally just admit to myself… Gee, I sure am worried about Twilight and Fluttershy… I uh, I guess on some level, I actually do care about them? Why though? What do they really do for me? This doesn’t make sense! Why should I care about anypony? And then, without warning, the unthinkable happened… Fluttershy didn’t knock! My door swung open to reveal an annoyed looking, albeit small yellow pegasus mare behind it with a disgruntled frown on her muzzle and a somewhat disheveled looking pink mane on her head who then says at a slightly elevated volume, “I am so PEEVED right now!” before widening her azure eyes and covering her mouth with her right forehoof… I stare at her, “Oh, golly! What happened?” “Oh, we just got into an argument about Rainbow Dash! I told her she shouldn’t talk about dead ponies like that!” I frown, “Well, what did she say?” … I guess I do care? Maybe? Sorta? “She said that Rainbow Dash was always late towards the end of her life!” “Even if that’s true, what difference does it make now?” “Well, she’s dead and Twilight shouldn’t talk about her like that!” I’m silent for a moment as my mind processes this and determines what’s really going on here… This isn’t about Twilight at all! “Well um, do you need to talk about Dash or any other friends you had earlier? Uh, your dead friends uh, your friends who have passed on I mean?” before blinking at her as I suddenly go into therapy mode. Fluttershy pouts slightly, “Dash was always just, just so brash and sure of herself! And I-I wasn’t… I still miss her though… “Fluttershy blinks and that’s when it started… I take a step back as the waterworks start! “They were all so awful, but I loved them anyway!” I frown, “Rarity and Twilight are still around you know?” She stops crying and sniffs, “Um, y-yes! That’s true!” “Well, Rarity probably won’t be around for much longer, but you’ll still have me and Twilight!” Fluttershy frowns, “I don’t think I’ve spoken to Rarity since I was unfrozen?” “Uh, technically no, but we’ll have to arrange that later, won’t we? I don’t think she even knows you’re back!” Fluttershy appears to be deep in thought… I finally ask the obvious question, “What are you thinking about Fluttershy?” She frowns, “Well, we probably shouldn’t ask Discord to make her young again, should we?” My eyes widen, “Oh, golly no! Ponies need to die at their appointed times!” I blink and lean forward, “R-right?” Her eyes widen as her mouth narrows, “W-well, that’s right! It’s true that everypony has a time that they really NEED to die!” Suddenly, we both hear a whimsical masculine voice say at a high volume, “Your wish is my command!” … Oh, Golly! Me and the yellow mare stare at each other with enormous eyes… Well, on the bright side, Fluttershy still doesn’t know Twilight’s a raging alcoholic! R-right? (To be continued… ) Author's Note *I’m a classic rock fan, therefore, Cozy Glow is a classic rock fan… The only real difference between us is, one of us knows it.
