I feel the air rush out of me as I slam into the ground. A huge blue-feathered predator has me pinned down, his giant wings mantled over me - I should be shoving him off me, or kicking his belly with my hind legs, or lunging with my horn, but I'm just... frozen. My alicorn duels with Twilight and her friends had been drawn-out, full of posturing and telegraphed attacks. Suddenly I realise how stylised, showy, flippant ponies are when we fight. Because usually we don't really want to hurt each other, we want to establish dominance, or just show that we're right.

Predators aren't like that: they go for the kill, fast and brutal. Oh sure hippogriffs have their pretty buildings and fancy accents and most of the time they could fool you into thinking they were pegasi with beaks and silly tails. Underneath though... they're as wild as griffons. I have no doubt Pacific could kill me if he wanted to. Why do I find that so exciting?

Another part of me is screaming, not out of fear, but because immediately turning on my best ally is exactly the kind of stupid, cartoon villain behaviour that Twilight Sparkle would expect from me. Pacific Dream just gave me everything I ever wanted, and he's... he likes me, why on Equus would I want to want to betray him?

"I... I..." I stutter. His claws are on my forelegs, and it's hard to think. "I'd never do that! I was just playing around, I swear! You- you have to believe me!" I say desperately, forcing my lips to curl into an awkward smile. "Please Pacific, I..."

Pacific Dream reaches down with his beak. I shiver as the tip pushes through the curls of my mane. I feel the smooth maxilla on my skin... he's, uh, he's stroking my neck with his beak? Is that supposed to be reassuring, or- Something slippery brushes against my hind legs - his tail fin? -and I kind of squirm involuntarily.

Then suddenly he pulls back. His beak is open... returning my smile? I shudder and exhale deeply: I didn't even realise I'd been holding my breath.

"Understandable... think nothing of it." Pacific says firmly, in that smooth, slightly clipped accent. With a couple of strong flaps the hippogriff rises into the air, landing a short distance away. The golden bird has disappeared into his back, and he looks like a regular bird-horse-fish again. I'm still staring with wild eyes as he cocks his head then adds: "It's ok, Cozy. I believe you."

I'm left a little stunned, lying on my back on the forest floor after Pacific Dream releases me. Those simple words - 'I believe you' - are such a relief. After three years of random ponies - not to mention a freaking alicorn princess - lecturing statue-me on how awful and evil I am, I'd lost hope that any creature would treat me otherwise. Again I just... can't understand why Pacific is doing all this for me. I'm glad he isn't mad, at least. I get to my hooves again, my heart still hammering in my chest.

"One has to imagine gaining the magic of the Qi-Lin is rather intoxicating," Pacific says, as he watches me get up. "Though I must insist that you refrain from firing off any death rays while you are on board the Dauntless."

"S-sorry! Yeah I um, I wasn't really thinking straight." My legs seem to move of their own accord as I trot closer and brush my wing against his flank. I need... I'm not even sure what I need. Reassurance, I suppose. "I'll be careful! I mean, I won't damage your ship. Promise!"

"It's just... golly, it feels great to be so powerful. But not as powerful as you! You just utterly blitzed me there, huh? I bet you could take down Twilight Sparkle herself, easy as pie." If only Pacific had been on our team, that day on the Canterhorn Plains: we wouldn't have ended up as lawn ornaments, for sure.

Pacific tilts his head in acknowledgement. "Time manipulation is something of a trump card. Though I fear it might not be the silver arrow you desire: not against the Element of Magic, that is. Twilight is known to have dabbled in temporal magic and may possess counter-spells. Her arsenal is enormous, while I am something of a two-trick pony." He snorts. "No offense."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short!" I object. "You can mess with time and make objects out of thin air. Those powers have a ton of potential!" Plenty of creatures have done amazing things with a lot less - myself included. "And you're made of clockwork, so you're like immune to sleep spells and... probably all kinds of stuff. You've just gotta get creative."

"Creativity - yes, that is the key." Pacific cocks his head, considering my words - I love that he's actually listening to me. If Chrysalis and Tirek had taken me seriously, maybe we wouldn't have lost.

"Were I to face the Element of Magic, I suspect surprise, confusion and misdirection would be essential. Make the enemy panic, undermine their situational awareness. That's how Admiral Seaspray destroyed the Storm King's fleet at Canterlot." The stallion's gaze goes to my horn. "Ah... that looks uncomfortable. My apologies."

Pacific Dream reaches out with a claw: I flinch, but then give a little nervous smile and dip my head, holding my horn out for him. The hippogriff's talons dig in and he squeezes: whatever material he'd coated it with earlier cracks and crumbles away, releasing my magic once more. "Right as rain. Or perhaps I should say 'right as flame'. Because you're half-kirin now..." Pacific seems pleased with his cheesy wordplay.

"Ha, yeah..." I sigh with relief and smile, even at the bad joke. Then I let a little burst of magic play over my horn: I feel kind of... protective of it. The feeling of losing my horn, having my hard-won alicorn status ripped away by Twilight and her friends: the worst feeling of my life, even worse than being frozen as stone. The sensation of having some creature's claw close around my horn - if it had been anyone else but Pacific, I'd hate it, but...

I'm still flustered by being taken down so easily. Overconfidence had nearly lost me the battle in the throne room - if Chrysalis and Tirek hadn't shown up Twilight would've had me - and made us stand our ground against her army when we should've teleported away and come up with a new plan of attack. Pacific just taught me that lesson all over again.

"Surprise, confusion, misdirection... I like the way you think." That's how I'd done it when I was just a little pegasus filly, before I gained supreme power. My legs are moving of their own accord again as I sidle up and press my flank against the stallion. It's not just that Pacific is being nice to me - plenty of clueless ponies did that, because I'm irresistible when I want to be - he actually gets it. Maybe even gets me.

"Y-yeah, you're right. Twilight's like, a total nerd. If you give her time to research, to gather allies, she'll drown you in some crazy magic. So you've gotta screw up her perfect princess world. Take away her flunkies and her sense of order, then she'll totally fall apart."

As I'd hoped, Pacific extends his wing and wraps it around me: his feathers blanket my form and I'm pulled against his body. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Cozy. You've been through a lot. You know, you don't have to fight Twilight Sparkle. There are so many other things we could do... erm, that is to say, things that you could do. Possibly with me. If we do indeed travel together." The stallion clears his throat awkwardly. "Though if you do feel compelled to confront the Princess of Equestria once again... you have my support."

I just... melt, closing my eyes and smiling as Pacific's huge pinion surrounds me. Sure I'm tough and powerful now, but the feeling of being wrapped in somepony's warm, protective feathers is... like something I've been missing my entire life. I could stay under here forever - well not forever, but for the next hour at least.

"Thank you..." I open my eyes and look into that intense face, glassy eyes framed by his steel-grey beak. Things are moving so fast. I'm supposed to keep a distance, aren't I? Physical and emotional, so I can't get hurt. But this just... seems like the right thing to do. I'm not ready to trust it, but I've got to give it a chance. To give him a chance.

"You're... amazing, you know that? You know about history and magic and fighting and airships and... you just rescued me from being murdered by Twilight's goons and turned me into like the most awesome alicorn princess ever!" Celestia, I sound like a little filly, and not on purpose this time - but I can't help it. I can feel my face blushing bright red: at least the bits that aren't covered in scales now. But even if I'm a little embarrassed, I still feel good. Safe.

"Twilight Sparkle... see, here's the thing. I was cooped up with that crazy changeling queen for a year, and she was constantly ranting about Starlight Glimmer. Uh - this overpowered unicorn who nearly destroyed the world, one of Twilight's lackeys, it's not important." I shake my head. "My point is... uh... Tirek said that Starlight was 'living rent-free in Chrysalis's head'."

"Which is a weird metaphor, but he was right! That bug pony was totally obsessed, and it made her stupid. Reckless. Sounds like something similar happened to Twilight after we got put in stone: she got crazy-obsessed with me! No way I'm gonna be like her. We're gonna have a good time, see the world, come up with an awesome plan and then - when we're completely prepared and she least expects it - we'll take down Twilight Sparkle. Make her beg for mercy... and her pathetic friends too!"

Pacific Dream does that bird-like head tilt again... then grins and hugs me a little tighter. "A fine adventure! A grand voyage terminating in the toppling of a tyrant. Just promise me that you won't try to destroy the world this time."

The combination of physical affection and somepony actually agreeing with my plans is... bizarre. Oh sure Tirek and Chrysalis agreed to work with me, but only because they knew I could help them defeat Twilight! For a moment on the mountain it seemed like we might be real friends, but the idea of that had freaked out queenie bug so much she made us promise to be 'frenemies' instead. The Cutie Mark Crusaders hugged me a couple of times, but only because they had no idea what I was plotting.

"Ok, I promise to stop at world domination." I say dreamily, then I give a cute little chuckle. "Look, I just wanna give Equestria the real leadership it deserves. And pay that bitch back for trying to smash me into gravel! Can't blame a filly for that, right?" I lean into Pacific's flank: there's something cold and hard pressing against me. It takes a moment for me to realise that it's the glass dome of clock face on his hip.

Can we actually be equals? Somepony who I'm not trying to dominate or manipulate, and who isn't trying to dominate or manipulate me? Can I afford to let my guard down like that? I really wish I could, just for a while. We're a strange pair, that's for sure: a pony and a hippogriff transformed into unique creatures by misuse of magical artefacts. Almost like we were made for each other.

"Best we get airborne then," Pacific says, withdrawing his wing and taking a few steps towards the waiting Dauntless. "I daresay that transformation produced a substantial magical signature. If we tarry, we may find ourselves tangling with would-be investigators, to say nothing of manavores searching for a meal."

I frown as Pacific steps away, momentarily annoyed that the feeling of warmth and security is leaving me. He's right though: we did just blow a hole in a kirin temple and steal their carefully hoarded magic. Which was a thrill and I don't regret it one bit, but standing here is like staying at the scene of a crime.

"Oh, um yeah we'd better get going!" I call out as I hurry after the stallion. "You know Twilight has this enchanted map that locates magical anomalies and 'disharmonious behaviour'? It even recommends which of her agents she should send to deal with the problem." I'm half expecting some gullible young ponies to show up and be all 'oh no, it's Cozy Glow, and she's a hot dragon-alicorn now! The princess never told us how to handle this!' and I'd be like 'oh, the princess can't help you now, but we don't have to fight. Let's be friends...'. I shake my head, dismissing the scenario.

"I assume you mean the 'cutie map' Twilight referred to in her diary? Curious name for a strategic surveillance tool," Pacific Dream replies. "The Admiralty would kill for an edge like that."

"Yeah, the cutie map..." What a stupid name! An artefact of great power that the Princess of Friendship found and decided to use for her own ends, and she names it like it's a kindergarten toy. No wonder everypony around her acts like a clueless foal most of the time.

Pacific's airship is even more beautiful in the daylight. A fluted teardrop of glistening pearl, the size of a house and flanked by golden spars. As for the hippogriff himself: I want to trust him, really I do, but I still don't understand why he's done all this for me. He seems so realistic, so alive, but he's not, is he? If I can understand him, then maybe... maybe all sorts of things could be possible.

The hippogriff manipulates a control panel set into the flank of the ship: a hatch pops open and a ramp swings down. I spring up and follow him into the interior.

"We begin in the cargo hold: workshop against the starboard wall there. Engine room is aft, through that hatch. Dauntless carries all her armament forward: two beam cannon and two torpedo tubes, in the crawlspace under the flight deck."

The stallion trots up the stairs, half a story into a short corridor. I duck under a support beam and follow, looking around with wide eyes. It seemed spacious enough before, when I was a statue, but now I'm so much bigger, with such generous wings that the little hallway feels almost cramped.

"Bridge deck: bridge itself forward of course, radio room to port, head on the starboard there. That is to say... the toilet, in groundside terms." The 'corvette' may be old and small as hippogriff airships go, but everything inside is elegantly made and decorated with art noveau flourishes.

The more I see of hippogriff construction, the more I like it. Twilight's royal airship is all plush furnishings, velvet carpeting, cutesy decorations... and it's as slow as a pig and completely unarmed, save for the unicorns who can do combat spells. This is all practical, efficient and usable by any trained creature, but still civilised and elegant: a far cry from the Storm Kingdom's brutal galleons.

I want to bounce around and run my hooves over everything: get Pacific to explain how all the magic and machinery works. The ship practically screams 'adventure'. A mobile base to explore, or begin subverting Twilight's kingdom: I can't imagine a better place to stay. "She's incredible. And hippogriffs have a whole fleet of these?"

"The Royal Navy has about two dozen corvettes - primarily as scouts and armed couriers. Fourteen destroyers - which focus on torpedo attacks - and nine cruisers, which carry marines, provisions for extended cruises and a heavy broadside. Finally there are the pride of the fleet: Implacable, Indomnitable and Invincible. Our battleships - oh plus Illustrious if you want to count the Queen's ship. They say she had the entire rear armament removed to make space for a day spa and personal kitchens." Despite being an outlaw, Pacific Dream still seems proud of the hippogriff fleet.

"Great names! Ponies call our ships wimpy things like 'Lavender Spirit' and 'Reconciliation'. A spa, huh? I guess your royals are just as bad as ours! Acting like a vain fashion diva when the Storm King was about to conquer the world!" But she still had enough of a head on her shoulders to keep a strong military - unlike our princesses. "Everything looks shiny and new! Why was she stuck in a storage yard?"

"The peace dividend," Pacific explains. "After the defeat of the Storm King, a third of the fleet was laid up, or scrapped outright. Queen Novo wanted the crowns and the griffpower, for the restoration of Mount Aris. Victory was turned into a museum while old Valiant was sunk for target practice. As for the shine, I confess I applied a little spit and polish in advance of your arrival."

Stallions and their toys... The bird-pony leads me up another short flight of stairs: I have to stifle a laugh as his fish tail swishes in front of my face. We emerge into a room brightly lit by a domed skylight. The space is dominated by a table covered in a map of Equus: the walls are lined with books, scrolls and assorted instruments: telescope, sextant, more I don't recognise. "The chart room. Captain and officer's quarters to starboard, crew bunk room to port, galley and mess aft."

My eyes move hungrily over the scrolls and books. I've always thought information is power, and this was a good start. And the map! All those countries, towns and cities: all the potential for chaos and manipulation. It's no cutie map, but I don't care: in fact I'm cackling with glee, anticipating all the plotting and scheming we're going to do here. "So, uh, I guess you've got the captain's quarters then?"

"I do indeed." Pacific smiles, presumably taking my cackle as a sign of approval for his ship. "I find myself no longer requiring food, but I do still sleep: or at least, shut down and restore my energies. I've prepared this room for you."

He opens the door to the 'officer's quarters': presumably it held bunks before, but now it's a single bedroom. Walls panelled with glossy wood, a circular window showing the jungle outside, a writing desk and a large soft bed. The blankets and pillows- that's my cutie mark! Huh, I guess Pacific must have created them between our first meeting and the rescue?

"Rather Cozy, wouldn't you agree?" Pacific says with another of those goofy bird smiles.

"Golly... you thought of everything." His pun barely registers: actually I have to turn away, because my eyes are starting to tear up. Cutie marks are a big deal for ponies: they represent us, a sort of visual summary of our identity. It's always a little thrill to see another pony use yours, and receiving a gift with your cutie mark on it is the universal sign of appreciation from a parent, or a friend, or a special somepony.

Except no one ever did, for me: not at the orphanage, not at the school, certainly not in Grogar's cave. The only time I ever saw my cutie mark, except in a school register, was when I drew it myself. Until at last a hippogriff, a creature that doesn't even have a cutie mark, does all this for me.

My knees are weak as I trot over to the comfortable bed, with its warm colourful blankets... and a tiny part of me is actually angry, because am I really this easy to manipulate? I keep waiting for the other horseshoe to drop - Pacific must be doing all this to butter me up into doing something for him, right? Right? ...but so far, nothing.

"It's... wonderful." I say quietly. "Thank you." I don't even recognise my own voice: I sound so sincere.

Pacific dips his head, seemingly embarrassed. "Oh, it's nothing really. I was just practicing with the Genesis Bird, and I thought... anyway, I'll get us airborne and then we can see about brunch. I imagine you might appreciate some privacy: I'll be on the flight deck if you need me."

The stallion turns and leaves, the hatch closing behind him with a clunk. Maybe it's paranoia but I actually dash over and check he hasn't locked me in; no, it's unlocked. I'm left to my own devices for the first time since the rescue. A minute later the engines begin to hum and whir as the airship comes to life. The view of tropical vegetation gives way to mountains and clouds as the Dauntless rises into the sky. Bright sunlight streams through the window, warming the fur on my muzzle.

All the tension I've been carrying begins to ebb away, and I immediately lose all semblance of self-control. I launch myself onto the bed, bouncing on the soft mattress like a hyperactive foal. I grab one of the pillows and rub it against my face, giggling. I prance over to the window and stare out at the forest and mountains beyond. All of this is so... amazing... and I still can't quite make sense of it. Despite myself, I feel tears starting to trickle down my cheeks again.

I spend the next twenty minutes investigating my new body in detail. I use my magic to open the desk, testing my fine telekinesis. Notebooks, pens, hankerchief... a razor and a hoof mirror in the bottom drawer. I levitate it over and inspect my face: it wobbles a bit, as I never had the chance to practice much when I had a horn before.

There's a line of purple scales across my forehead and down my snout. They accentuate my huge horn, which is deep purple and three-tined, sort of like my cutie mark. It has chevrons that glow when I use my magic. My whole face is framed by my enormous mass of copper curls - I'm relieved to see I still have my cute freckles. I look... beautiful. Striking, exotic, alluring, powerful. Wow. I wasn't sure about the kirin thing but it really works.

I'm not entirely a kirin, or qi-lin: that's what Pacific said their alicorn-equivalents were called, right? I'm really glad I didn't lose my wings: they look like they did when I was an alicorn the first time, fading to a darker pink at the tips, except twice as big. Pegasi stallions will go absolutely nuts when they get a look at me. I run my hoof over my smooth back scales, then check underneath: huh, yeah, I'm definitely older now. The whole area is sort of plumped up a bit. I note my back hooves are still normal, only the front ones have split in two. Kirin have cloven hooves all around don't they? I do have the flag-like tail though.

I admire my new body for a little longer. The fetlocks are cute and my tail is amazing: it's so expressive, swishing around gracefully even when I'm not consciously moving it. I'm still getting used to being so tall: taller than an adult pegasus and I'm still a teenager. I've spent my whole life staring up at ponies: now they can stare up at me.

I toss the mirror back into the desk and try to get myself together. I can't be like this: all weepy and emotional and vulnerable. Even if Pacific Dream is really, genuinely on my side, I don't want him seeing me like that. I stare out the window, wondering about the whole 'nirik' thing. Kirin turn into fire beasts when they get angry, right? I... have a bit of a temper, so that's probably gonna happen. What will it feel like? How easy is it to change back?

I sink down onto the bed, my excitement slowly subsiding. Not just excitement: so much has happened in the last few hours that I'm kind of drained. The room isn't cold, but I snuggle under the blanket anyway, like I'm back in the School of Friendship. It feels so good to just be... soft, warm, safe. Not frozen in stone, not being gawked at by horrible strangers, not about to be smashed. I'm free to leave, but I'm happy right here. Later there will be scheming and magic and manipulation and all kinds of fun, but for now I just stretch out and relax.

I lie there for a long while - an hour maybe? - but eventually I start feeling restless... and hungry. I have too much energy to sit in bed all day! I bounce to my feet and use my magic to open the hatch, emerging into the chart room. I check out the map of north-western Equus spread on the table: there's a tiny brass model of the Dauntless that I didn't see earlier. If its position is accurate then we're over the Hoofantan Peninsula, heading west towards the Tenochtitlan Basin.

I make a pit stop in the 'head' to freshen up, then head onto the 'flight deck'. Pacific Dream is there, with one claw on the controls and one eye on the bank of dials. The windows show a beautiful view of puffy cumulus formations, with the jungle below peeking through the gaps in the clouds. I put on my best smile.

"Hi there, Pacific!" I say cheerfully. "How's it going? Actually... where are we going?"

"Ah Cozy Glow, a welcome ray of sunshine. I trust your quarters are satisfactory?" Pacific says smoothly. "We're cruising at seven thousand feet ASL, holding just over ninety knots. No destination set, as yet: I was waiting for your return before discussing it."

I almost purr at Pacific's compliment. "Golly, my cabin's just great, thanks!" I should probably stop taking these things to heart, but being flattered like that is a new thing for me and... I just eat it up. Sure Pacific's lines are kind of corny, but his voice is so mature, like he has... gravitas? It's like... if Button Mash said I was 'a welcome ray of sunshine' I'd know he was teasing me, or just being an idiot, but when Pacific says it, it's true. Heh, Button Mash... I wonder what happened to him.

"You said that you lived in Las Pegasus for a while?" Pacific interrupts my musing. "Casinos, wild parties... fitting place for a celebration of your successful ascension. Perhaps you could give me the tour?"

"Las Pegasus sounds just swell. I'd love to show you the sights." Being among crowds of ponies does appeal: I've been on my own for so long, and my special talent needs other creatures to work on. The pegasus resort town was where I'd first came into my own: a tourist trap full of gullible adults who never suspected a sweet little filly was about to steal their wallets. "But we can't just go showing ourselves in public without a plan!"

I strut over to the controls, inspecting them carefully: throttles, field bias, altimeter, compass, attitude... I probably could figure this out, but maybe not before I crashed the ship. I can get some flying lessons from Pacific later: not like he could resist me if I rubbed up against him and gave him an opportunity to show off his ship some more.

"Pacific, I've been thinking about this, and I realised our real problem is not Twilight, it's Discord." In fact my subconscious had been churning away the whole time I was in my cabin, assessing threats and opportunities.

"The self-proclaimed Lord of Chaos? Indeed: his power is legendary." Pacific admits. "I daresay the entire Royal Navy would be helpless against his wrath. Though... is the draconequs really on such a tight leash, and Twilight Sparkle so paranoid, that she would send him to detain a mysterious winged kirin? He didn't even bother to save Canterlot from the Storm King, or intervene when you began to drain Equestria's magic."

I huff and roll my eyes. "You should've seen him at the final battle. He was desperate to get back in Twilight's good books. After he screwed up and let us get the power of the Bell. I bet he's still acting like her lapdog."

I can't help but sneer: Twilight is at the top of my hit list, but Discord is a close second. He was the one that turned me into stone, and he forced me to be his minion for a whole year, just so he could pull the rug out from under me in his make-believe attack on Twilight.

"Sure, Discord's fickle, but if anything that makes him more dangerous. Discord can teleport anywhere on the planet in a flash. He just has to think 'oh I'm bored - I know, I'll go taunt Cozy Glow' and bam, he'll appear right here on your ship. Then he'll turn us into a piñatas. Pacific... even your time magic won't be enough. We've gotta take him down, or if we can't do that yet, find a way to hide from him."

"Is that likely? Deciding to pay you a visit, I mean." Pacific asks.

"Ugh, not really. He only came once, like he popped in and spouted some nonsense and disappeared again." I'd been surprised and disappointed that he was still free: up until that point I'd hoped Celestia or Twilight had done the smart thing: petrify him and shove the statue into an active volcano. I try to remember what he'd said... something about fate? Uh... let me think... a lot of self-serving nonsense, except: 'Those who try to cheat fate best be assured in their power, for they will surely draw its wrath'. Better than 'friendship and catchy songs solve everything', I guess, but what was that even supposed to mean?

"If Twilight's paranoid enough to try and secretly murder me, she's plenty paranoid enough to send that crazy overpowered noodle after us. Don't let his silly antics fool you: he can get deadly serious when he wants to."

Sure, I could hide my cutie mark and act all friendly, but there's no guarantee Twilight would buy it. She knows about the theft of the Genesis Bird and her agents are probably on the way to investigate the kirin temple. When they discover that it's been busted open, she'll be on high alert. The princess is delusional, but she's smart enough to put two and two together.

"I suppose a confrontation is inevitable if we stand in opposition to the Princess." Pacific concedes. "What are our options? To my knowledge the Lord of Chaos has only been defeated by the Elements of Harmony, the Bewitching Bell, and... the centaur Tirek. Your former comrade?"

"Oh yeah, Tirek." My feelings about my old mentor are... complicated. He'd taken me seriously when nopony else did, showed me things about magic I'd never dreamed of. He had been a useful ally when we'd tried to take over Equestria. But he's also an egotistical monster who doesn't care about anything except being the strongest creature on Equus.

"He convinced Discord to team up with him, and then he betrayed him and took his magic! Brilliant move, right?! Buuuut... it only worked because he'd already drained the magic from most of Equestria! That's the thing about betrayals, you have to time them juuuuust right. Um, not- not that I'd ever betray you, Pacific!" I gulp and bat my eyelashes at the stallion, trying to dispel any suspicion.

Pacific just chuckles. "My dear, I do hope such treachery never becomes necessary."

Gosh, why does he have to be so... so... I blush and look away. Ponies talk about 'kindness and tolerance' but really they mean 'join the herd and sing the songs, or else'. As far as I can tell, Pacific is actually tolerant of my scheming and it's throwing me for a loop. I don't know what else to do, so I giggle back.

"In any case, my rescue took advantage of both Twilight's intentional weakening of the imprisonment spell, and the Stair of Quao-Tshun to depetrify you. Advantages we would not have when attempting to free either of your former allies. As for the Bewitching Bell... obtaining what may be the most powerful artefact in history certainly does appeal, but I saw no trace of it when I raided the Canterlot Castle vault."

"Figures. Even Twilight's not naive enough to toss it in with the rest: not after Discord stole the Elements right out from under Celestia's nose." I remember the feel of the Bewitching Bell in my hooves. It was alive, in its own way: it had a kind of allure, tempting you to use it, almost gleeful when it got a chance to steal magic from the 'great and the good', and eager to empower those who would challenge them.

"The Elements are gone: at least, the tacky jewellery is. Sombra smashed them, before he got friendship lasered. Didn't stop them from doing the rainbow thing again to beat us, but it's all about the 'feelings' now." I make air quotes with my hooves.

I'd seen the whole thing play out in Grogar's creepy scrying orb. It didn't occur to me before, but now that I think about it Discord must've planned for Sombra to destroy the Tree of Harmony, or at the very least stood by and let it happen. It's ridiculous and kind of suspiscous that the princesses didn't put him in stone for that, which makes me wonder if Celestia was in on the whole thing from the beginning.

"Do you think Twilight Sparkle destroyed the bell?" Pacific asks.

I shake my head. "The bell cannot be destroyed," I say distantly, echoing something Grogar once said... well, Discord pretending to be Grogar, but having held the Bell myself I believe him. There was something eternal about it, like it was contemptuous of time and anything else that might threaten it. Like I was touching something that existed for thousands of years before I did and would for eons after I'm gone... and wanted me to know it.

"She's hidden it somewhere... but where. If I was a neurotic pony princess, where would I hide an artefact of doom..." I can think of several possibilities, but the longer we spend searching, the longer we're at risk of a visit from Discord. "There's gotta be another way to keep the chaos noodle off our back."

A lightbulb goes on in my head. "Hey... Chrysalis had something like that! Her throne absorbed magic. Like all magic, even Discord's and Grogar's. It was made of like this special black rock, and somehow they tuned it so that changeling magic still worked." Maybe the same way I'd adjusted the magic draining ritual to leave wing magic alone?

"At least until Starlight Glimmer blew it up. Chrysalis must've kept some of the pieces, 'cause she used them when we trapped all of Twilight's friends."

"Ah, that was most likely Negavite," Pacific Dream says. "The Storm Beasts use an alloy of it in their weaponry, chains and cages. That's what pushed the Navy to develop the beam cannon, and why the Pearl was required to liberate Canterlot. The raw crystal is rumoured to be much more potent, but hopelessly brittle. I fear that the only known deposit is deep within the Storm Kingdom - and the secret of working it is closely guarded by their smiths."

Negavite, huh...? I file the information away for future use. "Gosh. We don't have time to learn how to make a... a hiding device from scratch! Somepony's got to have made one already, that we can just steal." Unicorns have made so many magic artefacts over the years that you can't trot through Canterlot without tripping over one... but most of them were for materialising the perfect Cute-ceñeara cake or some junk like that. The princesses locked up all the truly useful ones.

"Hmm. The Admiralty did experiment with a destroyer that was covered in millions of illusion-casting pearls," Pacific mused. "Capable of vanishing from sight: the Spectre, intended for special operations I believe. The only one of her kind, as I understand the expense was frightful."

"Golly, I bet they were planning to assassinate the Storm King. Smart move, 'cause his kingdom totally collapsed without him." For a teenager, Pacific is full of useful info. I guess he's kind of a nerd, but... I spent all those sleepless nights sneaking into the library and reading forbidden books, so maybe I am too.

"A regular old invisibility spell isn't gonna cut it though. This is Discord we're talking about. Some creature out there must've been in our position... like some lich trying to hide her tower from Celestia, so she can raise her skeleton army in peace."

Pacific Dream nods. "Your thesis is plausible. However, an artefact of concealment that powerful would necessarily be hard to locate. The only object that comes to mind is the Talisman of Mirage, and that is said to create illusions, not conceal creatures completely. I suppose we could visit the Canterlot Archives, search for references to your 'hiding device'?"

The idea of exploring the archives with Pacific does appeal. He could use his time acceleration to get us past the guards, and... "No: that's it! Talisman of Mirage: that was the changeling cultural exchange artefact! The magic-absorbing throne, also made by changelings. You know they used to capture ponies and keep them in icky pods, while some bug pretended to be them, sucking up all the love?" I stick my tongue out: reformed or not, changelings are kind of disgusting.

"Sure the hive was protected by the throne, but that's waaaay out in the badlands. They must've had bases in Equestria itself! Like, they didn't fly all the way to Canterlot to attack the royal wedding without a staging area, right? So they must've had some way to keep that base hidden from the princesses!"

The hippogriff looks skeptical. "One would think Changelings are the species least in need of a 'hiding device'. Their natural shapechanging ability already provides for near-perfect disguise and concealment."

I shake my head, grinning madly. Pacific Dream might be an expert on all kinds of things, but he doesn't understand creatures the way I do. "That's the thing: when all you have is a hammer, not only does everything look like a nail - you put an even bigger and better hammer at the top of your Hearth Warming list!" Heh, he looks confused. "I guess what I'm saying is that creatures think about building up their strengths more than covering their weaknesses. Like, your average earth pony wants to be stronger, a pegasus wants to fly faster and a unicorn wants more powerful magic."

"I see." Pacific stares into space, lost in thought for a moment. "Chrysalis was your ally, was she not? If such an artefact exists, she would surely know of it. If you were both in my field of view, I could establish a three-way mental link. Even petrified, she might still aid us."

"Eh... we didn't exactly part on good terms." I wonder what Chrysalis was thinking as she watched Twilight pronounce a death sentence on my head. We could try saying that we needed this artefact for a plan to free her but I don't think she'd buy it. Like Twilight, Chrysalis is crazy but not stupid. I could work the 'better in our hooves than in Thorax's' angle, but most likely the bug queen would insist on being released before she'd aid us in any way.

I take a step closer to the stallion, tossing my mane and then whispering: "Say Pacific, when you do that mind link thing, do you have to appear as yourself? Or could you be somepony else?"

"Are you saying I'm not the griff of your dreams?" Pacific says in mock disappointment. "In principle... yes, one's residual self-image could be overridden."

I giggle, both at the cheesy line and the mischief I'm planning. "Then it's time we paid a visit to an 'old friend'."

Author's Note

It's one of those interludes where you just wander around the ship, talking to the characters hanging out in each room. Except that it's the start of the game so there's only one other character on board. Fear not, the next chapter has more action. Cozy is instantly enarmoured of hippogriffs in general and Pacific in particular here - of course they have their flaws and weaknesses too. She's just high on acceptance, magical power and a massive rush of puberty hormones.

Cozy Glow is somewhere between antivillain and antihero in this story, but that doesn't mean that I reject stories where she's a total monster. For example A Night In Tartarus is a great reminder of how chilling trying to help an actual child psychopath would be.

That said, versions of Cozy where she's a mass murderer inherently require a huge departure from the 'noblebright' tone of the canon, moreso than having the regular villains be absolute monsters. Even when she is irredeemable, it's hard to ignore that Twilight & co were seriously negligent in dealing with the situation. The Trial of Cozy Glow is funny because, in large part, it's true.

P.S. I'm trying to keep it down to one ellipsis per paragraph, but as a chronic ellipsis abuser it's a real struggle.