Cold, quiet. With the shade down, the dorm room was dark. Most of the building was. Only a hand full of ponies stayed during the holiday, which was good because sneaking in a cockatrice with others around would be no easy task. More statues might just appear in the garden suddenly out of nowhere while students went missing.
Alone in her room, Astral climbed into bed. The softness of her comforter and pillow reminded her of just how little real sleep she had gotten, having been up all night in the forest, being trapped in stone, dozing on the train back to Canterlot and nearly missing her stop.
She lay on her side, peering at the make-shift cage she had fashioned out of a laundry basket and some cleverly placed furniture. The last thing she needed was to wake up and find that her new "pet" she spent all night working for had gotten away. "Are you doing ok, Monty Clukersmith?" Asked Astral. The cockatrice sat quietly in its cage. "It's almost lunchtime. We’ll eat soon. I'm just going to close my eyes. For just, a little... ...bit." A well welcome wave of comfort washed over Astral in a torrent of peace. She felt as if she were dissolving away into her bedding as it enveloped her. 'This must be what pegasi feel like when they sleep on clouds', she thought to herself. The sensation of floating brought to mind her experience from the previous night. She didn't fear it though. She knew she was safe. Her thoughts began to mix and blur out of focus as she relaxed and let go of her waking reality.
***
It was the night of a new moon, dark and quiet. Astral had managed to sleep the entire day away. Fortunately, the cockatrice was a patient one. The snow crunched under Astral's hooves as she stepped up to the statue. A fresh layer of snow decorated the top of the stone monument in a pure white, contrasting the rocky form below it. "Ok, Monty. This is it. You think I should tell her? No. let's surprise her all the way!" She held the creature up in the air, facing it towards the statue. "Ok, Do your thing!"
Astral presented Mr. Cluckersmith to the statue. Nothing happened. She brought him close to whisper in his ear, "That's your cue! Ok? Let's try again." She once again presented the creature to the statue.
Nothing.
Astral was glad for a moment that the statue wasn't alive to watch her fail. She presented the snake-bird once again, this time with a little squeeze. It clucked in her grasp and lightly pecked at her hoof.
"Please?" asked Astral.
She tried again. The cockatrice finally fixed its gaze on the statue, and a moment passed. Suddenly bouncy curls burst out of the top of the stone, scattering powdery snow all around it. "It's working!" said Astral, with excitement.
The stone began to crumble down lower and lower as the snow fell from atop it. With most of her body free, Cozy gasped for air, and with a loud "Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaa--olly!" she was free, popping out of the last bit of stone containing her. She stretched mightily with a loud yawn.
It was not possible for Astral to smile any bigger. "It worked! You're not stone anymore!" she said, out loud. "We can talk, with our voices!"
"Golly Yes! We can!" exclaimed Cozy as she stretched and brushed some of the remaining dust and snow off of herself, and out of her mane. She flew forward over astral into the garden a bit, putting a spin and a twirl into her flight path. "It feels really nice to be able to move again. To feel!" she said, performing a light flip in the air with glee, her small wings fluttering about.
"This is amazing! Thanks, Monty!" said Astral as she released it to scurry off. She turned around to face Cozy. “What should we do first? I bet you're hungry!"
Cozy rubbed her belly, "Oh, I am. But I know somepony who's even hungrier than both of us," said Cozy, growing a malevolent grin.
"What? what do you mean? Cozy? You're scaring me," asked Astral, confused, as an unsourceable fear began to grow inside her.
Cozy pointed back at the statue, "Tirek! Quickly, take her magic, and let's get outta here!"
Realizing her mistake, Astral turned around to see that she really should have told the cockatrice where to stop. She turned back to Cozy and pleaded. “No. Cozy, what are you doing? I thought we were friends!"
Cozy dusted off her hooves, "Yeah, we were friends. But meet my two other friends. I'm sure you've read about them." She flew up to Tirek and Crysalis to hover in between them.
Before Astral could run, Tirek lunged forward, pinning her to the ground with his forehooves, and proceeded to inhale all but the very last of her essence. Her eyes pale, Astral had just barely enough strength to muster a question. "Cozy, How could you?"
"What can I say? I've had a lot of time to find an even better way to be bad." Said Cozy.
Tirek facepalmed at Cozy’s remark.
Chrysalis shouted, "If we are done here, let us go before we are discovered!"
The trio of villains began to laugh maniacally as Astral struggled to keep her head up.
Suddenly, a blinding light showered in from above, a booming, royal Canterlot voice shouting down at them. "Not tonight, you don’t!" The voice echoed around the garden, shaking the ground and Astral to her very core. Never before had she heard such authority.
"Princess Luna!" the trio shouted as they cowered in her light, painfully dissolving into the air.
Still weakened, Astral looked up into the light "Princess Luna..." she said.
Once the threat of the trio of villains was no more, the light faded as Luna reached down and helped Astral to her hooves.
Astral quickly bowed down to the princess of the night, taking a kneeling position. "I was only trying to, I mean, I didn't mean to," she cried, to Luna.
"It is all right, little one. You are safe now," said Luna, in a gentle calming voice as she reached down to embrace Astral with her wing, guiding her back up to her hooves.
"But, how did you know to come here? Am I, is this a dream?" asked Astral, looking at her hooves and at her surroundings.
Luna smiled warmly at Astral as everything around them swirled away into a star-filled landscape of clouds and space. "What do you think?" she asked.
Astral looked around, "um, I hope so. Yes?"
"Yes. It is still the middle of the day. You have had a very rough night, and I thought I would check in on a particular pony that had checked out much earlier than usual. You are not the only pony that can enter the minds of others so freely at will," said Luna.
"Oh, right," said Astral, sheepishly. "So, you know? about Cozy, and ..the conversations?" asked Astral.
"I have known for quite some time now. You talk to yourself in your sleep, be it in your mind only, but in your sleep, I hear it all." said Luna.
"So, am I in trouble? Why haven't you already stopped me?" asked Astral.
"It simply is not my place. It has never been my place to interfere, you see," said Luna. "It has always been my job to guide and help those in need as they slumber. What you do in the waking world, is your choice," she explained.
“Does Professor, Princess Twilight know?” asked Astral.
“Twilight Sparkle only knows what you have allowed her to know,” said Luna.
As they talked with each other, Astral and Luna walked along a path of clouds through an endless star-filled sky. It was peaceful and quiet. Visions of ponies' dreams silently floated about along the path.
"Oh. Ok. But, I thought you retired from your job with Princess Celestia," said Astral. She looked around at the different visions as they walked down the path. “Should I be allowed to see these?”
"Protecting and guiding ponies in their dreams is something I would hardly call work. Now, care to tell me about what is bothering you?" asked Luna.
"Well. It's Cozy Glow,” said Astral. “She's not a bad pony. I know it. And if I could just show everypony else, I think she would be ok."
"I see. And do you think it wise to free her?" asked Luna.
"I don't know. Maybe? She... She doesn't deserve to be made of stone forever!" exclaimed Astral.
"Perhaps," said Luna.
"I know she can be good. I feel it in her. When I talk to her, I just know it. I'm not talking to the same pony that went to Tartarus or got frozen in that statue. That Cozy Glow is gone," said Astral.
"I too sense a change in her. A stone sleep is still sleep, after all. But I do not see all that you are able to see, how can you be so sure?" asked Luna. “It is already the second time that we have had to imprison her. Foal or not, she must be held accountable for her actions.”
"Well... I guess I can't. But isn't that what friendship is too? Believing in a pony when you have no other reason to? I might not have any real friends, but I have Cozy," said Astral. “I might not know everything about what friendship is, but I know what friendship isn’t, and it’s not keeping ponies from trying to make good.”
"If only everypony knew this and thought as you do, Astral Bell, we probably would not have ended up where we are now. We would all be better off, and those that would later observe our actions as recorded into history might also agree and not argue over what has happened in the past decade or so. Regardless, if you are wrong, you will be in a lot of trouble. Even I will not be able to help or protect you," said Luna.
"What should I do?" asked Astral.
"That is something you must decide for yourself, little one. It is something not to be taken lightly. A decision that should not be made on an empty stomach," said Luna.
"Huh?" asked Astral. As if on command, her stomach began to growl. "Oh, right," she said.
"Think it over, to yourself. You will know the right thing to do," said Luna, as she started poking sharply at Astral’s face with her hoof.
"Ow! What are you... Ow! Stop that. Ow!" said Astral, trying to wave off Luna’s hoof.
Astral opened her eyes to find herself back in her bed. The cockatrice having left its cage was pecking at her. "It was a dream." she said to herself, looking around. Luna’s advice wasn’t quite what Astral was looking for. "Gee... Thanks Luna," she said, half sarcastically.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Astral sat in her usual spot at the base of the statue, eating her lunch. She was not telepathically linked to Cozy. Looking up at the statue, she thought to herself as she chewed. 'Does she know I'm here? Does she miss me? What if it's like in my dream, and they all break free? What then?' Astral took another bite, continuing to think to herself 'What if... She really is bad? No. I would have been able to tell. ...but what if?'
Astral broke a few pieces of food off and tossed it to the cockatrice, asking it out loud, "What do you think, Monty? Can you unstone just the little one up there? leave the other two?" The cockatrice pecked happily at its food on the ground. "I hope so," she said. She took another bite, continuing to think to herself. 'To free, or not to free...'
* * *
A fresh layer of snow glistened in the light of the moon as Astral stepped up to the statue. Her horn began to glow softly. "Cozy?"
Cozy did not reply.
"Cozy, I know you're there," said Astral.
Cozy still did not reply.
"Look Cozy, I'm sorry I tried to make you promise me. You don't have to promise not to be bad. Ok?" said Astral, as she began to worry.
There was another brief moment of silence before Cozy finally responded. “Do you promise?”
Astral smiled. "I promise. But only if you promise me you will try to be good," she said.
"Yeah, I promise," said Cozy. Before Astral had a chance to clarify, Cozy beat her to the punch, “I promise I will try to be good.”
"Good! Because I still have that surprise for you! Are you ready? Here goes!" said Astral, getting excited.
Astral held the cockatrice up to the statue as high as she could. "Ok, Monty, just like we practiced. Only the little one. Got that? Good," she said to it.
The stone around Cozy began to glow and crack before slowly crumbling away. Cozy gasped for air before curling up and collapsing to the ground.
"Oh Cozy, we did it! You're free! You're... are you ok?" she asked out loud, rushing up to the curled-up pink filly on the ground. She quickly looked up at the rest of the statue to make sure that it remained solidly stone. To her relief, it did. "Um... There's no book on this. Let's get you up to my room. Come on," said Astral. She reached down to pull Cozy onto her back with the help of her own magic and carried her back to her room, the cockatrice following closely behind.
The trip back to her room was thankfully uneventful. Astral set Cozy up in her bed, watching over her closely throughout the night. 'Such an adorable little pegasus,' she thought to herself. 'So young and fragile...' She tried but couldn't imagine the stories of her past being true at all. The little filly in front of her, capable of such misdeeds? No. Impossible. That wasn't the Cozy Glow she had come to know. But she did. It's how she ended up in the garden in the first place.
Astral began to have second thoughts about what she did. She considered Luna's words. "No," she said softly to herself. "I did the right thing." She gently stroked the sleeping pony's mane and wings, straightening some feathers, "You're a good pony, Cozy. I know it, and soon, everypony else will too."
* * *
Morning. Sunlight warmly shone in through the window. The cockatrice had nested comfortably in the top bunk in the dorm room. Cozy began to stir from a deep sleep in Astral’s bed in the bottom bunk. She was wrapped up in a thick, warm blanket while Astral sat on the floor across from her, eating breakfast.
"Good morning!" exclaimed Astral, out loud.
Feeling groggy, Cozy Glow slowly opened her eyes "Wha... Where am I? Is this real? Wait, I know that voice."
"Yep! You've been asleep for quite a while now. Three days sure seems like forever, huh?” said Astral.
Cozy sat up, "Golly! It's you! It's really you! But how did you, and the stone... But I was..." said Cozy, being interrupted by her stomach rumbling very loudly.
"I thought you'd be hungry. Here, I made some for you too," said Astral, as she offered Cozy a plate of breakfast.
Cozy wasted no time in devouring her meal.
Astral continued to talk, "It's me. The one you've been talking to all this time. Do you like your surprise? I did it! You're free!! Now we can get ice cream, and hayburgers, and I can show everypony what a great pony you are!" she said, talking very fast with excitement.
"Wait, slow down," said Cozy, her mouth full of food.
"Oh, I get it. This must all be very overwhelming. Please, take your time. More breakfast?" said Astral as she put more food on Cozy's plate. "You must have a million questions. Oh, what am I saying, I know you have a million questions!"
"Um... Yeah. I--" said Cozy, being cut off by Astral.
"Just take your time, and let's talk! With our voices! Out loud!" said Astral, throwing her hooves in the air.
"Calm down, Astral," said Cozy.
"Oh, right," said Astral, struggling to sit still in her excitement.
Cozy continued to stuff food in her face, speaking crumbs at Astral, "So, where are we?"
"That's an easy one. You're in my room, at Celestia's School of Magic!" said Astral with a great smile.
Cozy nearly choked, spraying half of her food out at the same time, "Celestia's School of Magic!?! In Canterlot!!?" Filled with panic, Cozy flew up out of her bedding, frantically looking around, her plate nearly falling off the bed before Astral caught it in her magic, setting it down on a more stable surface. "I can't be here, what if they catch me? They'll send me right back, ...or worse," she said, shivering at the thought.
"Hey, it's ok,” assured Astral, “Everypony is gone right now for the holiday. Well, most of them. It's Hearth's Warming! Besides us, this floor is empty."
Cozy calmed down and looked out of the window, rubbing her eyes in the bright morning light, her wings keeping her hovered in the air. "It really is real. I'm free. Golly," she said, softly.
Cozy turned to face Astral, "And you. You're the one who's been talking to me?" she asked.
"Uh-huh! It's me!" said Astral.
"Where is the other one? The one that just watches and listens?" asked Cozy.
"What do you mean? Oh, Luna? Does she talk to you too?" asked Astral.
"No. Not Princess Luna, no. The other one. All he does is watch, and listen. Always. Even when you weren’t there. You don't know him?" asked Cozy.
"Um. Cozy, what are you talking about?" said Astral, suddenly feeling uneasy.
"He was there. Before you. He was always there,” said Cozy as she looked out of the window again."
"Tirek?" asked Astral.
Cozy shook her head, "No."
"I don't know what you're talking about. ...Is he here? Now?" asked Astral, looking around nervously.
"I... I don't think so. But everything out here feels different than in there. I can't tell. I’m not used to how being real again feels," said Cozy.
Astral hit her forehead repeatedly as she scolded herself "Stupid, stupid, stupid! Of course, I'm not the only pony with this magical ability. Who else has been listening? What do they want?"
"Um, is everything ok?" asked Cozy, turning from the window to face Astral.
"Sure! Yeah," said Astral, unconvincingly nervous. "You don't need to worry about a thing. Muffin?" Astral nervously levitated a muffin from her plate into the air with her magic, nearly throwing it at Cozy.
"Um, no thanks. I'm stuffed," said Cozy, sitting back down on the bed. "So, what now?" she asked.
"Well, I thought that maybe, I can, throw a party, for, ...you," said Astral, beginning to sound more and more unsure of herself as she continued to talk "--And show everypony, how... good, you are. Now." She looked down at the floor, "Oh, who am I kidding, I'm no good at this."
"It's ok, Cozy will help you. Just like you helped me! But um, I can't say I'm too comfortable being here in this school so close to Twilight and the royal guard. Can we go somewhere less um... Royaltylee?" asked Cozy.
"Ok! That's a good idea. We should get you a disguise first. No, wait. Nopony would recognize you now, right? How long has it been? What do you think?" asked Astral.
"...I think we'll be ok. Just don't let Twilight or the others see me," said Cozy.
"Ok. Then let's get some fresh air," said Astral, rising to her hooves.