Yummy mango hibiscus! I think to myself, as I held the roach in one hoof, with the lighter under it, and ignited, so the flame danced underneath, to start causing the end to smoke, as it ignites…

“Golly!” I hear the other pink filly in the room say.

I then bring the roach to my snout, to clamp and inhale, to taste herbal joy on my tongue, finally, after all the ultra-stressful chatting with that purple alicorn!

“Are you okay, Ophelia?” I hear Cozy ask…

I take the joint out, and exhale smoke and stare at her from 10 feet away, “Yeah, I’m fine! Why?”

She frowns, “Well, you seem kinda stressed?”

I let out a big sigh and feel my lungs empty, before staring at her, “Cozy… I get nervous! You know that!”

“Well, I just wish you wouldn’t smoke so much!”

I blink, “Y-yeah… Tell you what Cozy! After this whole Twilight thing, blows over, I’ll cut back! I’ll only uh, use at certain times, okay?” and smile… *

She smiles back, dimly, “Okay, Ophelia… That works… “

Yay! I won again! I think to myself, while bringing the burning roach to my snout…

“So, when do you think this whole Twilight thing will blow over, anyway?”

I exhale warm smoke and feel it exit my lungs, before turning to the other filly, “Oh, golly gee, Cozy Glow! How would I know?” and then I bring the joint to my mouth for another pull!

She smiles and giggles, “Oh, yeah! You’re just like me, huh? Well, I love you, Ophelia!”

This causes me to cough! COUGH! GAG! CHOKE! I sputter, as the smoke comes pouring out of my snout, and the other filly stares at me with huge brown eyes!

“Golly! Are you okay, Ophelia?”

I stare up at her, with my snout towards the ground, and watery eyes, “Yeah, I’m fine! Whoa!”

She frowns, “The idea of being in the same boat as me, freaks you out?”

I stare up at her, with wide watery eyes, “NO!”

Her eyes widen, “What’s wrong?”

I breathe out of my snout, and feel the wind exit my body, before I stare at her again, and I wipe my eyes with my hoof, “This is all so weird! I mean, I see Twilight as a potential threat, and I know I get that from you!”

“Are you sure?” She asks, while I inhale from the partial joint again…

I feel the heat in my lungs, before it goes back up my esophagus, and after the smoke is out of my snout, I look at her again, “Well, why else would I see her that way?” before taking another drag…

There’s only a little bit, but I’m gonna get all I can from this thing!**

Her frown increases, as her eyes grow wider, “Well, she’s a big scary alicorn, that you don’t know!”

I exhale a big cloud of smoke, and look at the other filly, “She’s literally the Princess of Friendship! How scary do you think, we can get here?”

“She did turn you to stone, you know?”

“No! She turned YOU to stone! I wasn’t awake!” And I move my forehoof to my mouth, for another pull…

Her gaze raises an inch, “You sure about that?”

I cough slightly, as my snout goes up and down, and smoke exits from my mouth, and I look at the floor, while breathing, to compose myself…

Breathe in… Breathe out…

I raise my gaze to her, before widening my eyes, with the sudden heat on my right forehoof, and I look at the ashtray on the right and move my forehoof over there, to snuff the joint out…

Cozy frowns, “Golly! Are you okay, Ophelia?”

“Y-yeah… I’m starting to wonder though… “ I say, before turning my gaze back to her, and frowning…

Her eyes grow, “About what?”

I breathe in and out, again… “I’m starting to wonder just how asleep I really was, in the before-time?”***

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I think that was at least, partially me… I think… “ I raise my body, “I think, I tried to take over Equestria, too!”

She blinks, “If that’s the case, then how did we separate?”

“I uh… “ I blink too, “I don’t know, okay? It’s like, I was there, but uh, but not, really there… “

Her eyes widen, “You were half awake!”

My own gaze enlarges, “What?”

Her mouth forms an O, “What I mean is, you were sorta there, but not really!” as her right hoof wiggles in the air. She sets it down, “Your voice, was just one of many in my head!”

“And Rowan is also such a voice?”

She sighs, “Well, yes and no! I mean, he’s from Sombra, remember?”

I smile, “Right! The alien voice, and then, there’s us!”

“So the real question now is, when did you become you, and why?”

My smile lowers, “I uh, I’m not sure? What do you know about where we were, before we went to The School of Friendship?”

Cozy frowns, “Well, I remember I had just escaped that awful orphanage, in Cloudsdayle, and we flew into town… I remember staying with that old earth mare, on the North end! Remember that Ophelia?”

I frown again, “No!”

She breathes in and out, before looking at me again, “Well, she gave us the cot in her backroom, and we stayed there, until well, that voice showed up… Remember, we didn’t even know about The School of Friendship, until Rowan started talking about it!”

My mouth opens, “Oh!”

She nods, “Yes, by golly! Then, Rowan started talking to us about Tirek, and saying he could help us…”

I frown, “By teaching us the necessary magic!”

Cozy gulps, and almost smiles, before saying, “Yup! With that knowledge, and Rowan’s knowledge of the school, it was a simple matter, to get rid of all the pony’s magic, so we could reign as The Empress of Friendship!”

I sigh to the side, “But that didn’t work out, huh?”

Cozy frowns, “Well uh, no! Not with the Tree of Harmony in place!”

Wait, why does Rowan know so much about The School of Friendship?With all of these revelations, I can’t help but stare at her, to ask the burning question in my mind… “Are you glad it turned out, like this Cozy?”

She smiles back at me, “Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“W-well, releasing me was pretty painful?”

She sighs, “Yeah, that is true! But here’s the thing, Ophelia… If I hadn’t, I don’t know what I would’ve done with myself? We’re sisters, and we need each other… “

My eyes widen, “What do you mean?”

She exhales from her nose, and her muzzle forms a half-smile, “Well,” and it goes to a full smile, “ you complete me, I mean… Yeah, we’re kinda related, and I think it’s neat now, because I’m not alone anymore!”

I widen my eyes, because nopony has ever told me that they actually need me before, but then again, nopony has ever told me much of anything! I finally widen my eyes to her, “Uh, I gotta meditate now, Cozy! Can I be alone in my room, again?”

She smiles, “Of course, Ophelia!” before trotting a few paces to me, and embracing me in her forehooves! “I love you!”

<*****>

Breathe in….

I feel the oxygen flowing up my nose, and down into my lungs, as my mind finally begins to clear itself.

She loves and cares about me as a sister… I think to myself, when I suddenly wonder what she’s reading about in the other room?

Just where the hay, was I? Was I real, back then?

I feel the air leaving my lungs, as it flows out my nostrils…

Nothing makes sense…

I don’t know where I came from?

I feel the oxygen enter my nostrils again, as I inhale…

My lungs expand again…

Was I part of her?

Is that what really happened?

My lungs deflate, as air flows out of my nostrils…

I just don’t like that purple alicorn…

I think about that wicked looking pony, as more air enters my body through my nostrils…

The more I think about it, the more I think I shouldn’t trust her…

Who should I trust?

I compress my stomach again, to force air out of my nostrils…

I open my eyes… “I gotta get out of here!”

<*****>

I step off the worn wooden porch, out from under the overhanging awning, and onto the dirt below, and feel light bits of grass, on my hooves, as I trot across Zecora’s yard, to reach the trail, beyond the meadow…

Yes! That’s a good plan! Go outside, get some air, and clear my noggin!

No thinking about where I came from…

I suddenly realize that I’m doing it again, and blink my eyes to refresh my mind, as I see the end of the meadow approaching, maybe 30 yards away…

Does it really matter, where I came from? I mean, I’m gonna die anyway!

Oh, golly! That’s a morbid thought!

I see I’m just a few yards away, from the treeline, and a kinda cave takesshape inside heavy wall of wood…

Death is The Great Equalizer…

I decide to clear my head again, as I march past the trees, and head deeper into the woods, on the light brown dirt trail…

It’s not so bad during the day, and I see the rocks and pebbles on the ground, as my hooves glaze them, and I keep trotting…

I look up at the cloudy, overcast sky, and I feel the humidity on my skin, as a light breeze blows through the trees, to graze my body…

Golly, that wind feels nice! I think to myself, as I begin to trot over the dead grass…

Strange that there would be a single patch of dead grass, right here… I think to myself, before the ground underneath gives way, and I tumble and fall into the pit, below!

<******>

“Hey, there’s a filly down there, man!” I hear a gruff, masculine voice say…

I open my eyes, to discover I’m on my back, with my forelegs sprawled over my body, and my hind legs, down at my sides…

I move my legs, and I see a clear sky, with a single pony head there, staring back at me…

This head is dark green, with a long wisteria purple mane, flowing out on either side of it…

“What are you doing down there, little dude?”

I widen my eyes at this curious earth pony, “Oh, you know! Just hanging out! Uh, hang on! I’ll fly out!”

I flip my body around, and feel the bruise on my right foreleg, as I lift my body up…

I crouch, to launch myself in the air, and I feel a pang, in my right wing, that causes me to stop flapping, and my hooves, go clop down in the dirt again!

I stare up at the weird pony, “Uh, hey friend! I uh, kinda hurt my wing, and I need to get out another way! Can you uh, maybe lower something, like a rope or vine, that I can grab onto, heh heh!” and smile nervously at this strange pony…

His blue eyes widen, “Whoa, yeah, hang on, little dude! I got just the thing!” and his head moves out of view, while his mane flows with his soon hidden head…

Oh, golly!

(To be continued… )

Author's Note

*I’ll only get high during certain times, during “sessions”. The point is to limit and control my use, so I don’t go overboard. THC is a habit, and like any habit, I find it’s necessary to keep it in it’s place.

**Speaking of my habits, and tendencies!

***This is really me examining my own psychology… Remember that at one point, “Ophelia” did try to kill me… Several times, actually, but my amnesia prevents me from recalling a lot of details…