So anyway, then I woke up from my nap…
What do you mean I was having a Princess Luna dream?
Oh, golly! FINE!
So, I stood there in the darkened forest, looking at the smiling alicorn and finally asked her, “What do you mean concerns with Twilight Sparkle?” before raising my right eyebrow.
Her eyes widen as her face raises, “You’re worried that you’re getting too close to your former enemy, is that not so?”
“NO!” I yell back at her!
Her face lowers, “Methinks thou doth protest too much!”*
I squint my eyes and frown at this other alicorn, “What’s it to you?”
“I care about the lives of all my subjects!”
“I’m not your subject!”
She giggles, “Have it your way, Cozy! But back to Twilight!”
“What about her?”
“How do you see her?”
My eyes widen when it occurs to me that I never really considered that? “I see her as my faithful assistant! Nothing more!”
Luna’s smirk grows to a full smile, “Is that so?”
“YES!”
Her right eyebrow raises, “But you’re hugging her?”
“So? You don’t hug your assistants?”
She gives a long sigh, “Not usually, although I normally work alone… ”
“Well, I do!” I nod. “And THAT’S why I’ll always be a better ruler than you!”
“You are obfuscating from the fact that you care about her.”
“No, I’m not!”
“But you DO care about her!”
I’m silent for a moment… “Okay, yeah! Kinda, maybe, a little bit?”
She giggles again, “You are SO stubborn!”
“I’m not stubborn! Your stubborn!”
“Surely though, you’re aware that she makes you a better pony?”
My eyes widen, “What?”
She nods, “By making you second guess yourself, you become a better ruler with her at your side.”
“Oh, golly! What does that have to do with anything?”
“It’s the affect she’s been having on you, coupled with the rise of goodness from the crystal, it makes you into a better pony…” Her view lowers again, “But how do you see her?”
I squint again, “Just what are you getting at?”
Suddenly, the wind picks up and blows the trees to my right and as the branches sway, Luna continues, “I don’t think you’re entirely honest with yourself on this matter, Cozy Glow… I think you see her as more than just your assistant…”
“You and the amethyst both!”
“I think she’s currently taking the place of somepony who was very dear to you… “
My eyes widen when a horrifying thought suddenly occurs to me, “Taking the place? You can’t mean…”
Her own eyes widen while her wings fan out to her sides, “Oh, I don’t mean Twilight is your mother now, Cozy! I’m just saying that she’s filling some roles for you now in your life…” her wings go back down…
I finally ask what’s been on my mind this whole time, “How would you know about any of this?”
She nods, “I can see your dreams!”
I blink when remembering that I don’t usually remember my dreams. I ask her, “Well, what do I dream about? What do you see?”
“I see many things, Cozy.” Her gaze goes upward, “But my favorite is definitely the one where you’re snuggling Twilight in bed.” before she smiles again and stares back down at me sweetly. “You just look so cute there in the fetal position with your big teddy bear!”
“Why would I dream about that?”
“Because you need comfort and you’re beginning to realize that Twilight can provide that to you on some level… It’s purely psychological!”
By this point, I’ve had enough. I just shake my head, turn around, and hop into the air with my hooves and begin flapping my little wings to fly away from Luna!
In the beginning, I don’t want to look down! I just keep flying as I’m trying to get away from this obstinate alicorn!
I breathe in and out through my mouth as I keep flapping, Why is she saying these things to me? For what purpose? What does she want me to do?
I close my mouth and look down and I see the darkened forest floor and the treetops. I then adjust my gaze ahead and see woods and forest as far as I can see.
I suddenly hear a familiar feminine voice resonating through the woods, “You cannot escape your dreams Cozy! You dream of something much greater than what you have!”
“I dream of nothing!” I shouted back as I continued to flap forward with all of my might! You know, as I flew, I wasn’t really sure how fast I was going and the trees kinda disappeared in a dark green blur beneath me!
“You have many hopes and dreams, Cozy!”
I continue flapping as the green blob continues to undulate in my perception below and shout into the air with my eyes now closed, “I’m Empress of Friendship and ruler of Equestria! What could I possibly have left to dream about?” before opening them again and widening when I see the cliff face approaching me!
I smack into it, although for some reason, I feel no pain… My body is now flat against the side and stationary as I stared up at the night sky above me with it’s many twinkling glows and wondered just where in the hay I am?
“You’re in your mind now, Cozy! It is a forest maze at night currently because you have many more questions than answers… “
I grimace while continuing to sit on the cliff face as I move my wings lower to ready them, “Okay, Miss Smarty Smart Hooves! Just what does this cliff represent?”
“Your stubbornness and inability to change!”
My eyes widen when I then think about just how large this cliff actually is. I then think about all the observations I’ve been making, “But I have changed! I’m a better pony now!”
“You haven’t investigated this cliff fully Cozy… If you get off and fly lower down, you’ll find something you don’t know about… “
As I peeled myself from the cliff and caught myself in the air with my wings to fly away from the cliff while facing that direction, I then turned to face it and hovered…
I stared at it from about 15 feet away and suddenly wondered why I’m following orders from an escapee when I began to slow my flapping so I got lower and watched the cliff face before me lower as well…
Suddenly, I couldn’t help but notice a particular black spot on the cliff face, just below me and on the left side!
I’ll admit I was interested, so I adjusted my body and flapped further that direction to see just what this spot actually was!
When I got closer, it grew very dark… I suddenly remembered that I was an alicorn now and could use my horn!
So, I made my horn glow bright white and saw that the spot was actually a cave!
My eyes widen again when I think it’s either investigate or go back down…
And so, I flew towards the cave and went the necessary 12 feet to enter it before landing on the small ledge and stared inside.
My light illuminates some of the path in front of me, but I can only see so far in, so I decide to explore it further by trotting inside…
I look at the gray cave walls and stare up at the ceiling to see it’s roughly 12 feet high and maybe 10 feet wide…
It’s not a small cave! I trot further in because I can only see so far and I don’t think flying here would be a very good idea…
I trot further in when I suddenly notice a glintroughly 12 feet in front of me…
The glint is the light reflecting off a restraining ring, currently being worn by a purple alicorn who now stands on her hooves staring further into the cave, away from me, with her wings relaxed at her sides…
She turns and looks at me with her purple eyes before widening them and saying, “Welcome to the path to yourself, Cozy Glow!”
<*****>
I wake up with a start while clutching my big stuffed dog to my chest and widening my eyes in a cold sweat… Oh, I screamed too! Should probably mention that? “AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!”
Then, I just laid there, clutching my stuffed friend to my chest and breathing as a drop of sweat went down the left side of my face and below my snout…
“What does that mean?” I whisper to myself while my breathing begins to slow and I stare there at my purple room… I look around and see it’s the same as it always has been with my violet desk towards the left and the only door in front of the bed…
Suddenly, the door opens and I see a purple alicorn standing there with a ring on her horn… “Cozy! I heard screaming! Are you okay?” Twilight asks me…
I stare back at her and I can’t help but notice her eyes, “I’m fine!” as they stare at me with genuine confusion and empathy.
Her eyes widen with concern, “Cozy! Would you like a…”
Again, I don’t let her finish! “Yes please!”
She trots in the room 15 feet towards my bed and begins to circle around the right side to where I’m sitting up on my haunches with the light purple blankets sprawled out on the bed to my left and many stuffed friends scattered throughout the bed and floor…
As I hear the clip clopping of her hooves, I thought about what Luna said to me… I thought about that cave and seeing Twilight there… Welcome to the path to yourself? What the hay does that mean?
I hear her clopping closer to me, when suddenly, I’m scooped up in a strong purple forehoof that brings me into soft wonderful chest floof!
I grumble while my face is encased, “Stupid, muffin-brained, idiot alicorn!”
“Shh!” She soothes me while caressing the top of my curls with her off-hoof and clenching onto me with her left…
I then mutter something incoherent with my mouth as I go further into her…
She whispers to me, “So, I take it you had a nightmare?”
“Maybe!” I angrily retort with my face buried into her chest.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
And then, I surprised myself when I said something I didn’t think I would at that point… “Actually, I would… But I want coffee first!”
(To be continued…)