The cave of snow, so vast and dark, vanished into the blackness of point blank nothingness that was the universe without an active consciousness to experience it all. And so did Cozy Glow, although not physically, as only her conscience had slipped through the cracks of perspective reality once more. When she came to, she found herself in a dimly light classroom on a cold, rainy night.

A radio was on in the corner at the teacher’s desk. It played a soft, lullaby-esc tune. Cozy Glow was sure that she had heard it before at some point.

Alike to waking up, Cozy Glow had a flood of memories, only this time they were more vivid than the ones she had before; she recalled being sent away with a stallion named Cloud Chaser, then being told some crazy foal’s tale and having her wings ripped off right before plunging into a giant, snowy chasm, alike to an smaller, alternate realm or pocket dimension in size.

Cozy Glow came back to reality—or what she perceived as it—and realized that her teacher was Twilight Sparkle. This confirmed to her some level of reality, that what she was experiencing couldn’t be real, or what she had experienced before couldn’t. One of which was the dream, or possible both, now having multiple memories, let alone the memory of some glowing being doing something to her, possible putting her to sleep.

Cozy Glow almost outraged at the foggy memories, but remained relatively calm at the situation. Of all the things she’s seen so far, she found herself… almost at peace. This was the most serene and calm dream (or reality?) she’s had thus far.

A voice interrupted her thoughts. “Ten minutes, Cozy Glow. Think you can finish the test?”

It was Twilight.

“Um…” Cozy Glow’s voice trailed off as she glanced down at the papers. Lucky for her, she had one last question to answer.

“Almost, “ Cozy Glow told her.

Twilight nodded, and then went back to her book.

Cozy Glow couldn’t believe the sight before her. It was so… comforting. It was familiar, even though she knew this late-night event never occurred once before. It was all a figment of her imagination, or maybe it was just the present. She couldn’t tell if it were real, but she hoped for an answer soon.

Quickly, Cozy Glow wrapped up the assignment. The final question was one of those multiple choice questions, in this case being about friendship.

Twilight set her book down and turned to her gaze to Cozy Glow as she approached with the finished assignment.

“Thanks, Headmare Twilight,” Cozy Glow said, almost on command.

“You’re welcome, Cozy. Now go get some rest. Tomorrow is the weekend,” Twilight told her.

Cozy Glow then turned to leave the room, unsure of what to make of the whole ordeal. If this was real, she was very happy. Even still… if this was just another fabrication of reality, then so be it. She liked it. It was… normal. It wasn’t scary, violent, or even depressing. It was just… happy.

The rain pattered the building, adding to the calm mood of the whole scene. Cozy Glow made her way to where her room had always been in the student quarters.

It was almost like nostalgia walking back into her room, lying down on her bed, and taking in the awesome posters strewn on the walls. It had been months, if not, years since she saw these, assuming her concept of time was valid, even if all the stuff before had been a dream.

She took a deep, deep breath, and turned out the lights to go to bed. And in that instant… she saw it.

The Winter cave. The snowy, abandoned dimension shrouded in darkness greeted her. She felt the intense cold of the falling snow press against her, only now extra cold.

Cozy Glow looked down and saw that she was almost bare. Her coat looked as if it were shaved off. She felt as if she were decaying, subjected to the elements until she, almost immortal feeling, passed on in a trillion years.

She tried to fly, but pain struck her wing spots. She forgot that, in the dream (or reality), they were ripped right off her body by the old psycho who threw her into the hell hole.

“Don’t be real, don’t be real,” Cozy Glow whispered to herself, feeling herself slowly dying from the cold, slowly wanting to fall back asleep.

As if answering her prayers, she found herself back in the bed, but the image of the cold cave still remained in her mind. In fact, it wouldn’t go away—it was as if half of her consciousness were here and her other half of it were at the cave, freezing to death.

Cozy Glow sat up and realized that for the time she had been gone, it had turned day. It was officially the weekend. She didn’t have to do anything… however, she wanted to do a lot.

Ignoring the strange presence of the snow cave somewhere within her consciousness, she slipped in the bathroom, took a quick shower, and did her mane, ready for a day on the town.

Immediately leaving, she spotted a familiar group a classmates heading out of the student quarters: Smolder, Ocellus, Sandbar, Yona, Gallus and Silverstream.

An idea flashed into her mind. Since she wanted to make the most of her situation, changing her previously ill behavior and villainy into blossoming friendships and a life that didn’t involve perpetual torment and loneliness, she decided to cease any bad feelings about her peers and maybe become friends with them. Besides, she really did feel horrid after all she remembers doing… assuming that wasn’t a dream either.

“Hey—guys,” Cozy Glow called.

Ocellus and Sandbar turned around and use her for the others to stop.

Smolder stepped forward. “What’s up?” She asked, unsure of why Cozy Glow of all creatures wanted to hang out with them.

“I was just wondering,” Cozy Glow began. “May I stick around with you guys all day? I have nothing to do today.”

Silverstream smiled at Yona. Gallus shot Smolder a look. Sandbar and Ocellus nodded to the others. In other words, they all considered Cozy’s proposal.

“Sure thing,” Ocellus replied. And so the day began.

Returning home way later that night…

Cozy Glow slipped into her room as the others headed to their own. She closed the door, and then leaned back on it and slid down to the floor.

The day had been a blast. They had went to the theater, caught the newest flick, went to see Smolder’s family in the Dragonlands, and came back and hung out at the bowling alley. It was the most fun she’d had with any true friends… ever. It was the most real and exciting experience in a long time, and she cherished so dearly. Cozy Glow even went to bed with a smile on her face, glad to have made some new and legitimate friends. It was clear they enjoyed her presence, too, which was all to heart warming.

The filly pondered what she wanted to do with them soon. They could all hang out around the school tomorrow, and Cozy Glow could even get closer to Twilight Sparkle—only this time NOT to attempt any takeover shenanigans.

Things were looking bright. And so was whatever Cozy Glow was staring in her sleep.

“What the fuck?” Cozy Glow murmured.

“…Hello, Cozy Glow…” a voice said, a mythical tone of voice, one almost alien.

“Wait,” Cozy Glow started. “No… I recognize that voice.”

“…of course you do,” it replied. “Allow me to fill in the blanks.”

In that instant, Cozy Glow was flooded with memories of what had happened before. The desert where she encountered the being, who revealed themselves as the Tree of Harmony right before slipping her into some kind of coma. The palace, where she was sentenced at trial by Twilight. The abandoned castle on a mountain, where her wings were ripped off her body right before she got sent into a cavern of snow, supposedly a whole different dimension all together.

Cozy Glow gasped at all of the recollected information. “I remember now… but why?”

“All of this is part… of a giant dreamscape,” the Tree of Harmony went on. “I’ve allowed you to travel through your nightmares to find some level of peace… but I’m sorry your memory got fogged in the process.”

“Well, I think I found it,” Cozy Glow informed her.

“Yes… this is your most desired fate, the one… that best allows you to live a fulfilling existence,” the Tree confirmed. “But.”

“But what?” Cozy Glow asked.

“But… well, here,” the Tree went on.

Just then, Cozy Glow snapped out of the weird dream she was having, staring at the alien light that was the Tree of Harmony’s soul, and came to find herself in the Winter cave once more.

“I don’t want to see this,” Cozy Glow yelled. She felt horribly ill and frail once more, dying due to the cold temperature.

“…the fate you desire, Cozy Glow,” the Tree continued. “It didn’t choose you… it’s not your fate to have.”

“What do you mean?” Cozy Glow asked, struggling against the cold. She was basically a popsicle in that realm.

“You already saw that… you slipped out of the dream briefly, back to this place,” the Tree explained. “That fate didn’t choose you.”

“How do I get it to choose me?” Cozy Glow asked.

“I’m afraid… the fate that has chosen you is the one you deserve most,” the Tree explained. “You don’t deserve a happy ending.”

Those final words sent a chill down Cozy Glow’s spine, aside from the low temperatures she was subjected to at that moment.

“NO! I don’t want to…” Cozy tries to call, but fell down into the snow, almost as if accepting her fate as fact.

She couldn’t nest any deeper into this dream, because the path to her own personal heaven had reached its destination: she was damned to hell.

As one would expect, you’d think this would be the end of the story. Cozy Glow would be put to rest in reality, whilst her consciousness resides within its own realm of existence in perpetual suffering. However, Cozy Glow thought otherwise.

The filly sat up, still sitting in the cold, dark cavern, and stared across the nearly pitch black space to potentially spot the hole she fell from. However, she spotted nothing.

Cozy Glow remained strong. She NEEDED to find a way out of here, or else this was going to be the final stretch of her to be bleak existence.

After a while of thinking, Cozy Glow finally got to her hooves and started walking in the direction she thought she might have come from. Sure, it was dark and she was all turned around from her nested dream, but what did she have to lose? It wasn’t like she could die in the dream; the Tree of Harmony could only kill her in reality, which could happen at any moment, but Cozy Glow prayed that she could escape before the Tree even thought of concluding their appointment. Cozy Glow also had a hunch that they were watching.

This new-found hope dimmed after about ten minutes of aimless wandering around in the cold, dark dreamscape that was this mega-cavern. She found nothing but snow, more snow, and even more snow. It seemed nearly impossible to escape the snow, however Cozy Glow pushed onward.

“Golly, it’s c-c-c-cold,” Cozy Glow spoke to herself, her teeth chattering like crazy. “I… oh… I need to find s-something or, or, or… I’m doomed.”

Alas, Cozy Glow found something… a particularly warm spot in the snow. How cosy. A perfect place for the one named Cozy Glow to get some much needed rest…

Cozy Glow lied down, started to get comfy, and finally got into a comfortable position. And soon enough, she might be able to fall into a decent sleep…

NO! Cozy Glow suddenly shot up, stared around, and remembered her goal: to escape the cavern. However, now something was different… it seemed as though the space were now a shade of light gray, as if filled with smoke.

Did she fall asleep again? Cozy Glow couldn’t tell. But soon she would.

The Tree of Harmony’s soul emerged from the gray fog. “…hello, Cozy Glow,” it spoke, in its distinguishable mythical tone.

“Am I dreaming again?” Cozy Glow asked.

“You’ve been… dreaming, Cozy Glow,” it confided.

“Oh, yeah,” Cozy Glow remembered, realizing the stupidity of the question.

“I sense you’re trying to escape… so, I have summoned myself to consult you,” the Tree explained.

“I don’t need consulting! I’m getting out of here, damn it!” Cozy Glow outburst. She quickly covered her mouth, remembering what had happened before.

As if answering her fearful thoughts, a tendril made of the same plasma-like material the Tree appeared to be made of rose up from the snow and wrapped itself around Cozy Glow’s right back leg.

“We know it’s hard, Cozy Glow… but you… need to settle down,” the Tree continued. “…if you don’t choose to settle down, I’ll have to force you to… and that’s not nice.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” Cozy Glow finally asked.

“We… as in the ones who ascended, all thanks… to you,” it informed.

Cozy Glow stopped point blank. “You mean… them? As in all of Equestria?” Cozy Glow asked.

“Yes,” the Tree replied. “All… of Equestria.”

“Oh, golly…” Cozy Glow pondered. She had no idea that they knew about her situation, which was both comforting yet scary, depending on how they feel.

“May I join them?” Cozy Glow asked, out of nowhere. “I mean, like, can I talk with them?”

The Tree stared for a long while, as if processing her question. “No,” they responded. “Don’t even ask that question.”

Cozy Glow nodded. “Look, I’m not gonna settle down here… you can’t make me,” Cozy Glow assured it.

“Oh, but I can… but I really don’t want to,” it said.

Cozy Glow started to get angry. “I’ll kneel down and kiss your hooves if that’s what it takes, but let me leave this dreamscape, and we’ll figure out what to do after that,” Cozy Glow offered.

The Tree stared a while longer. Finally, it started to make Cozy Glow’s back legs burn like crazy, though as before, that was a massive understatement when it comes to description; it was a foreign pain, and one that ached BAD.

Cozy Glow winced as the Tree began talking her ear off.

“Cozy Glow, don’t you get it?” The Tree asked. “You… belong here. If I put your physical body to rest, then you’ll end up here… either way. This is your afterlife, and… you’re already here.” The tree then let off with the pain-inducing force in their tendril.

“I’m dead?” Cozy Glow asked hesitantly.

“No… not yet,” the Tree answered.

Cozy Glow gulped. “All you need to do is kill me now… because the fate I wanted wasn’t the one I deserved,” Cozy Glow figured out, putting all the pieces together.

“Yes, Cozy Glow… if only fate hadn't also decided to make you a monster,” the Tree whispered, somberly.

Cozy Glow stared at the ground for a long moment. “I don’t… I want a chance to undo this all,” Cozy Glow stated. “I don’t want this to be my end.”

“It’s too late. You’d… need to go back in time to undo your misdeeds,” the Tree told her.

“Isn’t that guy who shoved me in here a time traveler?” Cozy Glow recalled.

The Tree then made Cozy Glow’s leg sting again. “FUCK!” Cozy Glow yelled, out of pain and frustration.

“He’s… not even real,” the Tree confided. “They’re a figment of your nightmares.”

“And so are you,” Cozy Glow came back, recovering from the now over again sting.

“There’s no… undoing what you have done,” the Tree babbled. “It’s unchangeable.”

“Just let me leave this dream, and we’ll figure it out,” Cozy Glow asked.

The Tree stared once more. Finally, they started to pulsate once more, and the Tree spoke one last time.

“If you insist… but you’ll have to crawl back out,” it whispered, vanishing back into the fog.

Cozy Glow sighed in relief. She had barely saved—if not, delayed—the almost inevitable fate that was this cavern. Now she only had to crawl out of her dreams… but how?

Cozy Glow sighed and began to brainstorm ideas. She was in some kind of lucid and nested dream, like a dream inside of a dream. To undo something like that… crawl out, via going backwards?

It was worth a shot. Maybe she’d be able to (somehow) wake herself up by returning to the first place the dream had begun, at Twilight’s castle. She did recall not having memory of the trip to the abandoned castle she finds herself trapped under, and only the final moments of. That meant she had fallen deeper into the dream.

So, Twilight’s castle was definitely the way to escape. It’s either that, or sit here and not wake up. Ever.

With a plan of sorts in mind, Cozy Glow got up and began to run around, searching for the exit to the snowy cavern she was stuck inside of.

She ran through the snow, it slapping her in the chest as she marched on through the banks of deep, deep coldness. At some point she was bound to find it, even if that meant taking YEARS.

As if by miracle, she spotted a large, gaping hole in the ceiling about a mile off in the distance. Her eyes had adjusted well by then, so it was easy work to see far in a more dark-gray blur than in an almost pitch black sky.

Cozy Glow started to make her way to the hole, slowly but surely getting there as snow swirled around her. A cold sting started up in her wing-stumps (since they were torn off), which surely felt like hell, but the filly went on with her trudge through the field of almost endless frost.

The hole neared. She was almost there. Only another minute till she would reach the hole, and… do what, exactly?

Cozy Glow stopped dead in her tracks right before reaching the hole, at least a hundred feet upwards in the sky, and nearly started to cry. She hadn’t thought till now how she’d actually get out of the cavern. Without an actual pair of wings, Cozy Glow was physically incapable of actually getting through the hole. She was completely stuck.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Cozy Glow shuddered. “I’m screwed… I’m never getting out of here.”

Cozy Glow sat down in the snow, now half buried in it. Well, it was either miraculously get out of here, or sit there and become Frosty the Snowman. Of the two, Cozy Glow craved to escape, clearly, but fate just had different plans. Again.

Unless…

Cozy Glow had a thought. A desperate, foolish thought, but it was a thought nonetheless.

This whole universe she had dreamed up was, well, a dream. A dream of her own making that had shaped itself around her and her designed fate, fitting for her punishment. However, since she could access the fate she wanted, very briefly, and be able to interact with it… maybe if she desired to escape the cavern, she might be able to literally do so? Only that would involve falling asleep again, nesting deeper into the dream, which in turn would ruin the whole point of escaping in the reality she was currently in to hopefully get one step closer to getting out of this lucid nightmare.

Okay, so she couldn’t just fall asleep and escape that way. That wouldn’t do her any good. But she was onto something…

Cozy Glow had another thought, staring up at the gaping hole. This was an even more wild and ridiculous thought. She recalled that the reality only appeared after she had slammed into the ground down here, it shaping itself to be her fit fate at the moment. So, assuming that there’s a space where this reality hadn’t existed until she slammed into the newly-formed ground, if she touched that space where reality didn’t exist… maybe it would, in simple terms, regenerate.

Yes. That might just work. It was definitely worth a shot.

Cozy Glow got back to her hooves, backed up in the snow, and wasted no time running to the hole. Once she was right below it, she took a running leap… and entered the space she believed to redo the generation of the space.

She landed in the snow with a thud. This one wasn’t fabulous, but it was a thud nonetheless, not hurting as much as the previous one.

Immediately, Cozy Glow could tell something had changed. She felt physically more… whole. Like she had just regrown a body part or two.

She turned around, and found that’s exactly what had happened.

Her wings were back!

Cozy Glow was overjoyed to see that it had redone her body as well, as she was much warmer than before, as if she had only now just entered the chasm.

Now having wings, she could easily fly out. And so she did.

Cozy Glow backed up, and sprung into the air at top speed, desperate to escape the cave she found herself in. Once she’d get out, all she had to do was escape the ruined castle she found herself in and return to Twilight’s castle in Canterlot, however she may find it.

Cozy Glow reached the hole, flew through it, and made her way into the darkness above. Soon she’d be able to return to reality… soon she’d be able to wake up and hopefully change her fate… however, this wasn’t the end yet. She still had to conquer Cloud Shaper.

Author's Note

Cloud Shaper is bound to be an obstacle for Cozy Glow. Maybe even more. Either way, the next chapter will be the bloodiest.