I sat on the chair in Zecora’s shack, with a red book on crystals that I found in her library…

I thought it looked interesting, and I had nothing to do while Zecora was in town, so I thought I’d read!

I flipped to a random page towards the back, to the section labeled rose quartz…

I smile as I begin to read about the heart chakra and how the crystal can benefit it…

When suddenly, I hear a familiar voice in my head, Ophelia? Can we talk?

I roll my eyes, when I think that there’s probablyno way I can get out of this conversation, “Yes, what do you want?” I whisper…

There’s silence before I hear it say, You aren’t the same as before, and I get that now. I finally understand… Um, can we be friends?

I sigh and stare blankly ahead, “You already asked me that!”

Yeah, but you never gave me a response…

My eyes widen as I stare at the far wall, adorned with the spooky mask, before murmuring, “Okay, I guess that’s technically true!”

The voice is silent, while I continue staring at the far wall, and not the book…

Well?

I finally whisper, “If I say yes, will you just shut up already?”

The voice is silent for another moment, before saying, Well, I guess? I mean, it might be nice if uh, you know, you actually WANTED to be friends with me, though…

I sigh, and angrily cry, “Oh, for pony’s sake!” before putting the book down, and taking off to fly towards the door…

<*****>

I stand on Zecora’s wooden porch, underneath the shanty awning, and start breathing mindfully again…

In breath…

Out breath…

Golly, that filly is annoying! I think to myself in my head, before taking off to trot down the woodland trail, there in the Everfree…

I decided to trot with my hooves and take my time, just like Zecora showed me earlier…

No need to rush! Just enjoying a pleasant trot in the woods! Nothing more!

I continue trotting, when I suddenly think that maybe I should’ve smoked before I left?

And sure enough, I hear the voice again, Ophelia? Can we talk, please?

I continue trotting, while I whisper back, “What now? I’m busy!”

Okay, I’m just gonna be blunt! Who are you, and what did you do with the filly from before?

I stop trotting, and stare at the ground, and see all the twigs and rocks in the dirt, as clouds lazily float overhead, blocking the sun out in spots further down the trail, and I decide to take the offensive! I angrily grumble, “You know, it might be easier to share with you, if you at least told me your freaking name?” as my head tilts left in irritation!

The voice is silent…

“Well?” I growl as my head normalizes.

I… I don’t know, okay? The uh, the other filly never wanted to know my name…

I turn my face diagonal the other way in irritation, “What do you mean, ever wanted to know your name? How the hay did she address you?”

She didn’t…

Diagonal, the other direction now, “What do you mean, she didn’t?”

The voice sighs… I mean, I only spoke to her when I wanted her to do things… I remember the rush of power so well, when she put that crown on her head…

My head centers as my eyes widen, “Oh, golly! Uh, what happened?”

You know, I think that maybe telling her to do all those things wasn’t exactly the best thing I could’ve done? I mean, I did get her frozen in stone!

I think for a moment, before finally muttering, “Frozen in stone? So uh, wait! That platform I woke up on! I remember, it was cement and very hard!”

That was probably the same platform where they froze the other filly!

I nod, “Okay uh, well, what happened to the other filly? The one they called Cozy Glow? Because I uh, I don’t think I’m Cozy Glow? I think I’m Ophelia?”

Gee, that makes two of us! Look, Ophelia, since I guess that’s your name, I’m trapped in here… Can we please just well, I don’t know? Get along, maybe?

I sigh, “Alright, but I’m still smoking devil weed!”

I can almost feel the voice feel better when it suddenly replies, Deal!

“And poison joke, too! Uh, whenever that happens… “

I can almost feel the strange voice grinning at me…

“Also, your name is Rowan is now!”

Rowan? Why Rowan?

“Well, it’s unisex!”

You know, my gender is probably female, right?

I turn my eyes skyward, “Can we tell for sure?” I ask the voice before re-centering my gaze, and suddenly wanting a joint…

The voice is silent… Okay uh, I guess, maybe you got a point there? You know what? Rowan is fine! Idiot!*

“Moron!” I whisper back to the voice as I begin trotting down the trail again…

Jerk! The voice retorts…

“Dummy!” I mutter back…

The voice is silent for a moment, before finally saying, You know, you never told me what happened to Cozy Glow?

I continue trotting towards a rope bridge as I say, “So, Cozy Glow the name of the other filly you keep talking about, huh?”

Yes, that was the name she was using when she went to Ponyville, to infiltrate the school…

“But she’s had many names before, you say?”

Also true! But uh, where did she go?

I honestly don’t know what to say to this strange voice, so I finally just admit, “I uh, I don’t know, okay?”

The voice is silent… So that’s it then? You just woke up on a platform in the midday sun, escaped here to the Everfree, and you’re hiding out now?

“Hiding out? What?”

Rowan is silent… You know what? Never mind!

This pretty much continued, on and off for the rest of my hike, but still, I got to see lots of pretty birds and trees and I liked the way the sun was partially covered up by the clouds!

You know, I remember learning the weather in the Everfree wasn’t controlled by pegasi…

I’m not really sure where I learned that?

I finally decide to trot back to Zecora’s, because this filly needs a smoke!

<*****>

I trot down the woodland trail and the forest begins to grow dark, underneath the treetops…

I breathe, in and out as I continue trotting down the trail… It’s just kinda dark and spooky! No problem!

Gee, this forest sure is scary around here, huh? The voice chimes in, both breaking my concentration and bringing up the one thing I was trying not to think about!

I grumble back to it under my breath, “Yeah, it’s scary! But I can totally get through this!”

You sure? You should be careful!

I continue trotting past a gnarled oak tree on the left side, that looks ancient, enormous, and probably quite dead…

I murmur under my breath, “Are you okay, Rowan?” before suddenly wondering if I truly care?

Oh, yeah! I’m good! I’m just fine! Keep looking around though! I’m not sure if it’s safe?

I whisper back, “And the dark forest scares you?”

No! Uh, okay! Maybe a little bit? Look, we’re both in this body now, so don’t get hurt, alright?

I keep trotting towards the bright opening I see in the leafy canopy overhead, maybe a hundred yards away, “So you do care about me?”

Considering we’re in the same body for uh, some reason, you could say I’m invested, yes!

I smile, “I love you too, Rowan!” sarcastically.

The voice is silent… What? The other filly didn’t even give me a name, and now you’re saying that you love me?

I’m not sure Rowan understands sarcasm, but at the same time, they sound very hopeful? I decide not to fuck it up! “Yes, Rowan! Now that I see who you really are, I think we could probably get along? I mean, beats having an angry voice in my head, right?”

I’m almost to the opening and can almost feel the heat of the sun as Rowan says, So you don’t want me mad at you, huh?

I nod as I trot out into the sunlit trail ahead, and the treetops no long obscure the sky, “Well, you’re inside me, right? We’re both connected, yes?”

Rowan is silent… Alright Ophelia, I’ll do my best to be nice to you, and you do the same for me, alright? Let’s try to get along! Or uh, whatever!

I chuckle at this confused voice in my head as I continue to trot down the bright forest trail, leading towards the clearing some distance away…

<*****>

The rest of the day was just swell! Rowan didn’t really bother me, and I have a yummy dinner with Zecora, before I happily took the dishes back to the sink and wash them!

I don’t mind helping out around here now. Well, not after everything…

I hear Zecora say from the foyer, “When you’re done Ophelia, I have a blue lotus joint for us to smoke! Do a good job now, and then we’ll share a toke!”

Oh, golly! I wanted to smoke poison joke, earlier!

Suddenly, I hear Rowan again, Do you think that’ll make me go away?

I scrub off the white plate in my right hoof, using the scrub brush in my left, while I whisper, “Probably? I mean, me becoming stoned, seems to make you go away, right?”

I set it aside on the left of the sink, on the awaiting folded blue towel, before picking up the other plate to wash it…

Since I’ll be forced to go away anyway, I’m gonna take a nap!

“Sweet dreams, Rowan!” I whisper, mostly to myself, and I set the plate on the left towel, next to the other, before raising my neck and shouting to the foyer, “Alright Zecora! Here I come!”

<******>

I sit on the blue beanbag chair as Zecora smiled at me from the other side, sitting on a neon green beanbag and bringing a freshly rolled joint to her face, with a visible blue end, before taking the hoof lighter in her off-hoof and igniting it, before she leans forward, to inhale, causing he flame to kiss the end and ignite it into a bright cherry, that glows as Zecora takes the first drag…

She soon takes the joint out of her snout, and exhales a stream of smoke, before staring at me and matter-of-factly stating, “So in Ponyville, I just learned that the statue of Cozy Glow is missing from the courtyard at the School of Friendship!” and then bringing the burning cigarette to her lips once more.

I widen my eyes, “Oh? Who’s Cozy Glow?”

She exhales a big cloud of smoke to my left, and stares at me intently, “Do you mean to tell me that you do not know, truthfully child? You say you have amnesia, but I don’t know if it’s severe or mild?”

“Zecora, until today, I had no idea who Cozy Glow was!”

Zecora hooves me the joint, and says plainly, “Cozy Glow was an evil pegasus filly who tried to take over the land! They froze her in stone as punishment for her crimes!” and then lowers her gaze, “But it appears Cozy hasn’t served all of her time!”

“Her statue is gone?” I ask before bringing the joint in for a HARD drag…

I need some cushioning for this one!

Zecora nods somberly, “Cozy had a neatly curled mane and tail! Not unlike the way yours were, before the curls unraveled and failed! You never put your curls back in, so you could remain unseen, isn’t that how you’ve sailed?”

I exhale a BIG puff of smoke, and stare at this zebra with hazy eyes as I try my best to stay composed and do my best to tell the truth! “I uh, I don’t know?” I say, before bringing the joint to my snout for another pull…

This stuff seems to be mellowing me out?

“Yes, and Ophelia, answer me true, so I know! Are you really Cozy Glow, yes or no?”

I exhale a steady stream of smoke to the right of this curious zebra shaman, before staring at her directly and telling her the truth! “I… I don’t know, okay? I don’t know anything! I just woke up and now, everypony seems to want to get me?” I adjust my gaze to her and hope for the best! “Please Zecora! If I turn out to be Cozy Glow, please don’t kick me out!” I say before widening my eyes in fear!

Zecora smiles sedately and says, “Calm yourself, Ophelia! Tell me, now that we know where you came from, do you wish to keep your new name, or should I refer to you as Cozy Glow again?”

I hoof her the joint, because I think I’m done and breathe heavily, in and out of my snout…

In and out…

I see the zebra taking a drag, before adjusting my gaze to her and saying, “Oh, golly gee! I don’t know who Cozy Glow is, okay? I uh, “ and smiling. “I like Ophelia! Can we just uh, please keep calling me Ophelia, please?”

She casually smiles and says, “Of course little filly! Respect is given and received! Cozy is likely gone if what you say is true, although you don’t seem bereaved?”

I smile at this wonderful and kind zebra, while she holds the joint to her mouth, and inhales, causing the cherry to glow, and I nod while some ash falls off the front, to say, “I already told you Zecora, Cozy Glow is a mystery to me! Just uh, please keep calling me Ophelia, okay?”

Zecora simply smiles and nods, as her lungs hold the smoke…

(To be continued…)

Author's Note

*Now introducing Rowan, the reformed genderqueer super-villain living inside Ophelia’s head!