“So that’s where her cutie mark came from?”
Sitting at the ancient stone table, Cozy Glow excitedly reviewed what she had just learned with Faust. “Oh yes, I thought it was a fitting symbol to remind her of her promise to me.”
Cozy Glow took a sip of her apple juice and replied. “Ohhhh, I always wondered why her cutie mark never matched her fashion sense.”
The celestial alicorn gingerly sipped her tea. Her response was warm. “Mmmm yes well, that would be because her talent for fashion was an act of goodwill on my part.”
“Faust, could I ask you a personal question?”
Setting the tea cup down, Faust replied softly. “About what Hazel showed Rarity, is it?”
“-Erm.”
Thinking about it for a moment, Faust blinked and nodded. “Alright then, I’ll show you. Hiding this from you would just undercut the lesson I am trying to bestow.”
Cozy Glow looked excited for just a moment before Faust’s voice adopted a toneless expression. “Understand this though; I am neither what you would call good, nor am I what you believe to be evil. I maintain the balance of the two within the entirety of the existence in which you ponies and my other children tread.”
After those words, Faust’s horn glowed a bright golden and a door appeared before Cozy Glow. “Go ahead, peek inside and see the result of the one and only time I let my arrogance and rage run wild.”
The door swung open and Cozy stared in disbelief. Inside the opening a swirling vortex of varying shades of black, orange, and green swirled. It was sickening, pulsing and bubbling like liquid magma. “What poor world is this?”
The young pegasus turned to stare at Faust, who gave a mirthless laugh. “World? No...this is no world. This is the very first sentient universe I ever created.”
The tiny pegasus stammered in mortified horror unable to believe such a thing could have been caused by the celestial alicorn. “B-But why? Wh-what happened?”
“Arrogance is a devastating flaw, my child. As you know I wield untold power, however, back then the wisdom of humility was lost upon me.”
Faust’s words carried no sorrow or guilt. Instead, she spoke warmly. “Even we sisters, needed to mature. I was the youngest of us two.-”
Cozy’s eyes grew wide. “Wait really? Hazel is older than you?”
Covering her muzzle with a feathery wing to stifle a laugh, Faust nodded. “Oh my, yes. By a few thousand years, actually. While we both came into existence at the same time, she opened her eyes before I did.”
Faust’s horn glowed and the door shut once more as she spoke in a balanced voice. “She was always rather protective of me, as you may have noticed. She has always been rather proud of my abilities. Though back then only one of us had wisdom, while the other simply had knowledge.”
A swirling window appeared showing two, very filly-like, alicorns. Cozy Glow watched as a simple argument turned into an ever escalating domino effect until...BOOM! “Oh wow…”
“Insane isn’t it? What arrogance and refusing to heed advice can bring? Because of that...all life perished.”
The window vanished as Faust concluded. “The unfortunate result was preserved by my sister, to remind me of just how much destruction arrogance can create.”
Cozy Glow seemed to ponder this as she sipped her juice. “But if Hazel is proud of you why are you two always fighting?”
Faust let out a loud snort of laughter. “Fighting? Oh my daughter, you’ve got it all wrong. We don’t fight, we simply can’t stand to be in one another’s presence.”
Slowly unfolding her wings to their full length, Faust smiled sweetly; though Cozy could only see part of it. “My Aura of Purity burns her flesh, while her Aura of Seduction causes me to...become rather incapable of controlling my actions around her.”
“But the wars-”
“Wars?”
Looking confused for a moment, Faust laughed. “Ah you mean our arguments. Don’t siblings argue in your realm as well?”
“So, those tablets we learned from about the war between you two recorded by our wisest of sages back during the reign of Discord….?”
“Oh yes, we couldn’t agree on how the Kirin should look. My sister and I have rather similar aspects in our methods, though she was able to master the craft first. She just lost hope in our creations.”
Another window appeared as gruesome and horrific images of Hazel watching scene after scene of the worst crimes ever committed; tears coursing down her muzzle.“Her heart was broken.”
The window closed, and Faust glanced at Cozy Glow. “And so, with occasional advice from my big sister, the weight of managing everything fell to me.”
Her eyes brightened a second later. “Tell me, what of my face can you see?”
The tiny pegasus had found herself chewing on the bendy straw again in thought. “I can see the right side of your smile and your right eye, your majesty.”
Staying silent for a moment, Faust spoke in a warm voice. “Your spark is growing, how wonderful! Perhaps if you take a look at the story of the most notoriously arrogant of souls ever to have trotted through my gates, you’ll see even more clearly.”
"Just an arrogant soul, your majesty?"
Spreading her wings wide, Faust spoke in a rather amused voice. “Not just any soul, young one, but the only one to ever challenge my sister and I directly. You know her for her kindness and her affinity with animals.”
Cozy Glow stared in disbelief. No way, it couldn’t be. “However, she didn’t start out that way. Her name was Futtershy.”
The little pegasus was in shock. “You mean the same Fluttershy, the one with the bunny rabbit?”
Nodding, Faust’s voice took on an excited tone. “Oh yes, the very one. Now go, your next lesson awaits.”
***
Cozy Glow lay on her side, staring at the cover of the leatherbound book entitled Fluttershy. She was anxious to read it and learn but also nervous about it as well. What Lovecraftian horrors awaited her this time? The other two were touching but truly dark. She simply couldn’t bring her hooves to listen to her, and she trembled and lay there helplessly trying to will her hooves to open the book. It hurt. Cozy Glow didn’t know why but it hurt so much. These were her heroes. Equestria’s heroes. Yet now she found herself conflicted on that view. While it’s true she had taken their lessons to the extreme, she still deeply admired them, not these villains she was reading about. It was simply too much to bear. She began to cry and looked down in defeat. “I can’t do-”
She stopped as she felt something on top of her still outstretched hoof. Glancing up she saw a golden horseshoe attached to a white furred foreleg. Following it, she found herself staring into the semi-obscured face of Faust. “You can. Though, perhaps not alone.”
Cozy Glow opened her muzzle to speak only to find Faust shaking her head slowly. “No. No words.”
Faust continued in her pleasant tone. “Now is the time to listen, my child. I understand it can be rather unnerving to see some creature you’ve aspired to be like, suddenly become an enigma. It’s strange to find out that someone you know so well, carries scars you knew nothing of.”
Faust’s voice grew softer in tone, almost like that of a mother chiding her child. “Harder still, is seeing yourself within their flaws, wouldn’t you say Cozy?”
“S-seeing myself?”
Her tears streamed down her muzzle, causing her to stutter in confusion. The alicorn stared down at her young charge. She’s about to break, this needs to be handled delicately. Changing the subject quickly she asked her. “Why don’t you and I read this one together, my daughter?”
Cozy Glow’s tears stopped falling, the trail down her muzzle still visible as she sniffed. “R-r-really?”
Faust's horn had already begun to glow as the book hovered before the two of them. Lifting Cozy Glow to sit in her lap, Faust smiled. “As it should be, together. Mother and -”
Gently nuzzling the young soul, Faust concluded as the leatherbound cover slowly opened. “Her precious daughter.”
***
Cozy Glow’s eyes widened. The scene before Faust and her was rather explicit. The young filly glanced up and saw Faust eyes were averted from the sight. “Such a pretty young foal.”
In the hooves of the head nurse lay the tiny unicorn, crying and screaming. Nearby lay her ticket into this world, the unlucky mare completely cut stem to stern, thanks to an emergency C-section that had taken her from this world. The doctor had hung his head as the nurse turned her back on the scene; determined to spare the foal the sight of her now deceased mother. A nearby nurse calmly pat the doctor on the back. “You did everything you could, Doctor. At least you managed to save the child, sir.”
The doctor, a stallion with dark black hair and blue fur, began to cry laying himself across the form of the mare. “You’re right, we saved my daughter.”
As the nurse continued to console him, the other nurse was busy rocking the crying foal. “There, there, little one.Shhhh, it’s alright.”
“BUT WHY DID SHE HAVE TO PERISH?"
Cozy Glow’s cheeks flushed a bright red with embarrassment as Faust suddenly hugged her tightly and whispered. “I promise you; it’s her.”
The little filly had been staring nonplussed at the tiny filly and hadn’t been aware just how obvious those thoughts of hers had been. “I promise, Cozy, this is no joke. That really is her. Watch.”
The alicorn pointed a wing towards the nurse as Cozy heard the following, hours later. “Sir, would you like to hold Fluttershy?”
The head nurse stood rocking the peacefully sleeping unicorn foal in her hooves. The doctor didn’t seem to understand.He just stared at her expressionless. “What’s a Fluttershy?”
“Your daughter, sir.”
His expression changed to one of anger. “Daughter? You mean the reason my wife is-”
The nurse’s muzzle adopted a frown. “You know very well it wasn’t her fault.”
“YES IT WAS!”
With that outburst he stormed out the door screaming. “I have no daughter. Just a demon that took my angel away! Put her up for adoption; I refuse to be that thing’s father!”
Years passed as Cozy Glow and Her alicorn guardian watched the tiny unicorn be placed in an orphanage. She was very straight-laced. Polite and rule abiding, she was perfect. Except she never smiled. Many looked at her, but her lack of emotion always caused them to pick another. As time went on her eyes went dark from being swallowed by her own despair. Until one day a new filly arrived.
Fluttershy stood with the other fillies. A new addition to the orphanage was being brought in today and the grown-ups felt it important to welcome her. Everypony had been instructed to smile and they all did. Every single one except Fluttershy. “Welcome to your fam-”
The headmare was interrupted by the filly as she spat out. “Such fake smiles. Save your lies. Welcome? I never had a choice you hag. Where’s my room?”
The aged mare flinched as she was called a ‘hag’ though she kept the smile on her face as she said. “Adorable. Children, who would like to have this...lovely...young lady as their roommate?”
Nopony said a word. Then Fluttershy spoke up with a grin, surprising them all. “I do.”
She had been quietly observing the angry filly. She felt there was more to her than simple anger and rather offensive speech. The headmare looked at her in shock. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, ma’am. I am.”
The angry filly looked stunned and blushed in embarrassment for a moment as Fluttershy stared piercingly into her eyes with a smile on her muzzle. “My name is Fluttershy, or so I have been told. Nice to meet you.”
***
“Quit staring at me like that!”
The new filly sat cringing on her bed as Fluttershy stared into her eyes, as if seeing into her very soul. Fluttershy was quiet for a moment and then she smiled. “I like you.”
“You don’t even know me!”
Placing a hoof to her chin in deep thought, Fluttershy spoke her thoughts out loud. “You are right I don’t. And neither do the others here. Yet, I feel something from you that I don’t around them. I want to know more. Can you tell me about yourself, Bittersweet?”
The light yellow pegasus filly blinked, taken aback. “W-what? What are you talking about you stupid unicorn?”
Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed. “Alright then, let’s start by adjusting that attitude.”
As her horn began to glow a bright blue, Bittersweet began to tremble. “What are you going to do-Wait what’s that?”
Cozy Glow’s eyes were as wide as dinnerplates.Both Faust and her watched the ‘attitude adjustment’ unable to look away. Cozy Glow turned to Faust whose cheeks had taken on a crimson hue. “What are they doing?”
Faust simply responded. “Well- Currently Fluttershy is asserting her position as an alpha and the pegasus is being shown her ideal position isn’t the top.”
“I don’t understand, is this important in some way?”
Faust hugged Cozy Glow and nuzzled her whispering. “Your innocence is very refreshing, my daughter.”
3 hours later, the two sat on their respective beds once more. Fluttershy smiled at the now rather timidly shaking form of Bittersweet. “Let’s try this again, tell me more about you. Now.”
Sitting on her bed trembling, Bittersweet carefully measured her words as she told Fluttershy her entire past, afraid of upsetting her again. Fluttershy watched her intently staring into the eyes of the now cowed and submissive pegasus, listening to her every word. She stayed silent as the young pegasus spoke of her family disowning her for her disruptive behavior. When she had finished Fluttershy spoke to her in a firm, yet surprisingly caring tone. “I see. So you’ve been acting that way to protect yourself have you?”
“Er-yes…”
Fluttershy’s eyes narrowed. “Ahem.”
“I mean yes ma’am!”
Fluttershy’s eyes softened. “Come here. Now.”
Though her gaze had softened, something about her tone made Bittersweet uneasy and feel she would have to comply. As soon as the pegasus came close enough, Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around the trembling filly in a warm and gentle hug.
Fluttershy's tone shifted from earlier to a more sincere and sweet one. “I’m sorry.”
Bittersweet was a bit surprised and it showed in her voice. “What?”
Gently rubbing the pegasus’s back, almost like how a mother would to her children, Fluttershy spoke softly. “I know I can be very...commanding...when it comes to getting what I want."
She giggled, before her tone shifted once more.
"Don't get me wrong, I am keeping you under my hoof. I want you. And yes, you DO belong to me. However-"
She grabbed Bittersweet’s muzzle with her hooves and stared into her eyes. Her voice was remorseless yet filled with sunshine. “I don’t want your beautiful sky blue eyes to be filled with fear when they gaze upon me.”
Bittersweet’s eyes sparkled at the comment. Fluttershy slowly dragged a hoof down the side of her neck and whispered softly. “No, that would not do at all would it?”
Turning away, Fluttershy trotted over to a small box by a desk on her side of the room. As she leaned down to rummage through it, Bittersweet’s curiosity had gotten the better of her and so she asked. “But if you hate me so much-”
Taking a moment to raise her head Fluttershy responded in an icy tone. “If I didn’t find a redeeming quality in you, you would have ended up like the others. Now then...hmmm red? No...Maybe this pink...Who am I kidding that won’t match at all. Perhaps... yes green works best for your fur tone I do believe.”
As Fluttershy Leaned back down to nose through the box, Bittersweet spoke in confusion. “The others?”
The blue unicorn had turned and begun trotting towards Bittersweet levitating what looked like a green dog collar. “Disappointments. Failures. Fillies who wouldn’t change their attitude. Those- Hold still.”
The pegasus stood stock still as Fluttershy used her magic to place the collar upon her neck. Stepping back, Fluttershy smiled. “Good girl. Yes, green is definitely your color.”
As she admired the pegasus as if eyeing a prized trophy, Fluttershy frowned as Bittersweet spoke. “What happened to them?”
“Usually it is customary to show appreciation for such a thoughtful gift.”
Backtracking quickly, the young pegasus blurted out. “Thank you very much for the collar, I’ll-I’ll treasure it always.”
“I know you will. Now then you asked what became of those who failed to meet my standards. I can’t be certain-”
Fluttershy raised a hoof to her chin in thought. “I’ve heard they ended up in the local sanitarium, though.”
The sound of sniffling above her caused Cozy Glow to look up and discover that Faust was trembling with tears welling in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
The regal alicorn winced as if in actual pain. “It hurts, Cozy. It hurt me so much then and it hurts me now to rewatch it. I can still feel the searing, ripping pain it caused me.”
Cozy Glow was nonplussed. “What’s so bad about two fillies in love?”
Faust froze. Her eyes no longer filled with tears and instead ignited with a burning fire. “She wasn’t in love with that pegasus, Cozy! She was in love with her dog!”
Faust’s voice lowered and the tone became deadpan and soulless. “She never saw Bittersweet as anything but a mutt; to be disciplined and tamed.”
The horn on her head glowed a bright red and the pages of the book rapidly turned until Cozy Glow and Faust found themselves staring at the sobbing form of a blue unicorn mare standing over the still form of a pegasus mare, that had a dog’s tail, ears and paws. Cozy Glow watched in shock as Fluttershy slowly removed the ears, the tail and the paws from the dead pegasus. It was then she saw it. The demeanor of Fluttershy changed from one of mourning to one of rage as more and more of the pegasus began to show. “Worthless pony. Go ahead and rot.”
“No value for life other than the animals. That’s the only time she loved others. When they were animals not when they were sentient. She broke that poor pegasus and others. She made them into animals no longer letting them ever be themselves. She had no value for a life.”
Cozy Glow’s mind flashed back to what Hazel had told her: “Because you live, we live. Your kind was made of our flesh. Your emotions, our blood. My sister takes great pride in all of our creations.”
As Cozy Glow watched in shock, a rather stern-looking ashen gray alicorn appeared behind the hateful unicorn. “So much arrogance, from one so ignorant.”
The words were dripping with venom and caused Fluttershy to turn and tremble in fear as she looked upwards into the pitiless eyes of Hazel. “Who are you? How did you get in my house?”
“I go by many names, Queen of Pride, the Warden of Tartarus, or Empress of Lust, to name a few. Though, I suppose you may call me Hazel. I am one of two beings you owe the very breath you draw to. I am the sister of the one who brought you into this world. As to how I can be in this domicile of yours-”
Fluttershy began to shiver as the air around her turned icy. Hazel’s words conveyed her rage though her tone strangely never changed. “You made my sister cry.”
“Y-your sister?”
Looking her dead in the eyes, Hazel explained. “You know her by the name of Faust in your realm. The Mother of all Life.”
Cozy Glow looked up to see Faust smiling. The tears were gone and admiration for her sister shone in her eyes. Turning back to the scene, she watched the unicorn scoff. “So what?”
Hazel seemed taken aback by this response. “Excuse me?”
Fluttershy’s voice was of complete contempt. “You appear and claim to be a so-called Celestial. Sister of Faust, my plot!”
Hazel’s eyes narrowed. “How dare-”
Letting out a bout of derisive laughter, Fluttershy continued her mocking tone. “Honey, I don’t know what your little cultist friends have been telling you at whatever weirdo church you attend but-”
Flipping her mane, Fluttershy glared. “Faust doesn’t exist, and you are no sister of hers. Now get out before I call the authorities.”
Staring at the unicorn in silence, the amethyst eyes of the ash gray alicorn, momentarily flashed to crimson. The sultry voice of Hazel was then heard. “Alright then, let’s tell the authorities. I’ll even make it easy for you.”
With a flash of light, Cozy Glow found herself in a building filled with frozen ponies in police uniforms. Hazel stood before Fluttershy amidst the frozen officers. “Go ahead, report me, mortal.”
Looking around her in a frantic panic, Fluttershy saw the various positions of the frozen officers. It wasn’t just them; one had been pouring a coffee and the stream was frozen in mid-pour. “W-what’s going on?”
Hazel flared her wings, an amused look upon her muzzle. “Well child, I would say that this fake deity before you, stopped time. Or perhaps that is just what my 'cultist friends' have told me I have the power to do.”
Fluttershy stood stock-still, staring open-mouthed at Hazel. The alicorn’s amethyst eyes sparkled. “Perhaps now, mortal, you will listen to what I have to say.”
As Fluttershy just stared, Hazel continued in a soft, grating tone; as if trying to maintain her calm. “Now I may not be as…patient or kind...as my sister, though I do believe in her system of second chances. That said, this is what is going to happen.”
Pointing a wing at Fluttershy. “You are going to pull that arrogant head out of your flank and listen to the wisdom I’ve possessed for far longer than you have numbers for. And I-”
Pointing at herself with the same wing, Hazel continued in the same grating tone. “Am going to pretend you did NOT insult me or my sister with such an attitude.”
Staring pointedly at the blue unicorn, Hazel spoke in a dangerously silky tone. “Am I understood, child?”
“I understand-”
Hazel nodded. “Good now-”
Fluttershy’s next words though soft-spoken, cut through the air like a knife. “My position I mean, your majesty. I get it; you are real and I was wrong. Why, though? Why, if you’ve been around this entire time with all the power of the cosmos, didn’t you help us?”
As the blue unicorn spoke, she turned her head to look at Bittersweet’s corpse. “Why couldn’t you save her?”
Hazel’s horn glowed crimson and a stick of ignited ash appeared in her hooves. As she inhaled, she softly snorted. Her eyes flashed red and her fur slowly shifted from gray to black. “Here we go again.”
“You could have stopped this! You could have saved my dog!”
The crimson eyes narrowed in disgust. “Saved...Your...Dog?”
With those three words, the air went from frigid to beyond chilling. “How dare you.”
“It’s your fault she died!”
Cozy Glow watched as Hazel went from annoyed to actual rage. “You SELF-ENTITLED, INSOLENT LITTLE FOOL. How should I have SAVED her? Should I have TAKEN the whip from YOUR hooves, or perhaps GIVEN her ACTUAL FOOD instead of dog food? Perhaps I should have made her FIGHT BACK when you BROKE her FEATHER-FLIPPING MIND? Would that have helped, YOU FALSE MISTRESS? YOU stole her life. Not ME!”
Fluttershy shouted back in an outraged tone. “Dogs eat dog food!”
Cozy glow shivered as Hazel’s rage actually manifested itself as literal flames covering her body and felt Faust hold her close to her chest. “It’s alright, I’m here, you’re safe. I promise.”
Hazel’s body erupted in flames. Her voice was harsh and seemed to inflict actual cuts upon the flesh of the unicorn. “Dogs eat...COME HERE, YOU!”
The crimson magic of Hazel enveloped the blue unicorn, and she was flung to her knees.”You are without a doubt, the most vile, despicable creature in all my time alive I have had the displeasure of meeting.”
Using her magic, Hazel forced the unicorn to gaze at the pegasus’s corpse mere inches from her snout. “SHE ISN'T A DOG YOU ARROGANT SASSAFRASS!”
Using her wing to close the eyelids of Bittersweet, Hazel continued. “She was a pegasus. A PEGASUS! BUT NO! You couldn’t see the forest for the trees. SHE NEEDED YOU! Your only potential friend in life, she was crying out for help and how did you respond to her? You forcibly and AGAINST HER WILL demanded her submission. LOOK AT HER!”
Fluttershy’s fur was streaked red from the harsh words of Hazel. She raised her voice as if to overcome the pain. “If I’m the most vile anything it’s because you created me this way!”
Hazel looked as if she was about to destroy everything. Suddenly however, her flames went out. Her fur was bright red, and her wings were draconic in nature; no longer feathery. Her thestral form had emerged as her voice dropped to a sinisterly hateful and grating tone. “My fault. I...see. You existing, because my sister and I lovingly crafted your body is my fault.”
“Yeah it’s-”
Hazel’s eyes narrowed. “Shut up. The amount of garbage spewing from your mouth right now...Such insolence. Oh wait, that’s my fault. Letting you live your life according to your beliefs, your thoughts, and your desires is my fault. Your decision to push a poor pegasus past her physical limit with abuse because you saw her not as a partner but a dog, is my fault.”
A new cigarette appeared already lit in Hazel’s hooves to replace the other; having been incinerated upon Hazel’s fiery transformation. As she slowly inhaled the calming smoking ash, Hazel spoke softly. “You know it’s funny. My sister would surely listen to your rederick about it being my fault or hers, for centuries on end with loving patience.”
In a flash of light, Hazel and the unicorn known as Fluttershy found themselves in an empty space of stars. “I however, am neither patient nor as benevolent as she. In fact I can be quite petty and vindictive and you, my vile friend have triggered my inner malice.”
Her wings flared wide as Hazel continued before the flabbergasted unicorn. “And here we are about to play a simple game. You seem to think being all powerful is simple and easy to handle-”
“I never-”
“Speak again and I remove your tongue, viper. Now where was I? Oh yes, a game. You’ve shown such arrogance for a mortal that I am truly offended by your existence but I’ll let you see hooves-on why you are wrong.”
Hazel’s horn began to glow a harsh crimson as a maliciously seductive smile appeared upon her muzzle. A sphere of blue appeared in the middle of the space, the same size as the planet Fluttershy called home. She began to explain, Her words were spoken with a grating menace. “My sister and I had to learn, so we spent eons practicing. After hundreds of thousands of millions of combinations...we determined only one size of a planet would support our needs for life.”
With that the sphere increased in size. Hazel continued as the world became decorated with trees and soon sentient life-forms and animals.Too big, and the life flourished out of control….”
Time was sped up and cities grew and in just 10,000 years the trees were gone and the cities were gridlocked. Eventually, too many resources were used. And the planet…”
The life of the planet slowly declined. Food was scarce and then...there was none at all. The unicorn’s eyes widened in surprise. “Too small….”
The planet was reset and shrunk. Once again the planet had been decorated with resources. Time once more sped up and though they tried their hardest all sentient life was gone by year 250. “There simply wasn’t enough to sustain life.”
Once again the planet had been reset to the same size as Fluttershy’s home planet of Equestria. “This was, as we discovered the perfect way to maintain the life we desired to create. Though we encountered a problem. One that lasted through hundreds of millions of tries. You see we weren’t quite sure how to sustain the life on the little ball.”
The planet was decorated with trees and sentient creatures once again. “The problem was…”
Time sped up and the sentient creatures began die out. “Fully mature creatures that never grew...had a certain...attitude about them. They thought themselves the greatest…As did the others with them. And so they…”
The planet was lifeless. “Destroyed everything in their superiority complex trying to prove this to each other. Not very productive.”
Hazel turned to look Fluttershy in the eyes. “Oh my, will you look at me? Explaining the inner workings of your universe to a silly unicorn who doesn’t even believe my sister and I exist. How silly of me. Obviously you don’t wish to listen to anything I have to say. I clearly have no clue what I, the Goddess of the Underworld to you ponies, know what I’m talking about. Let’s get back to why you’re here.”
A template appeared before Fluttershy’s eyes. “You want control? You think you could do a better job? And yes, you ignorant being, I CAN read your mind.”
As The unicorn before her blushed, Hazel continued. “You have gotten your wish. You are going to be the goddess of your own little utopia. Amazing right? Start by designing 7 sentient species to inhabit the world of your dreams before I explain further. One male and one female of each. Use the template you see before you. And think carefully, every decision has a consequence.”
Watching the scene with great interest, Cozy Glow looked up to see Faust chuckling softly. “That’s my sis. Always the teacher.”
“Teacher? Her?”
Faust laughed out loud. “Oh don’t let that fierce snarl and pointed fangs fool you. She cares far more than anyone would expect her to. Just watch.”
Turning back to the scene with this in mind, Cozy noticed Fluttershy had finished with her designs. Hazel glare pierced Fluttershy. “Are you sure these are what you want?”
“Humph of course I am. Creating them wasn’t so hard, you are such a drama queen.”
Ignoring the insults, Hazel smiled and a replica of Equestria’s homeworld appeared minus any sentient life. Trees and oceans covered the expanse as well as deserts and mountains. “Place one race in each climate. We will call this…”
She looked at the clearly poorly designed creatures. “Your tutorial.”
After Fluttershy had placed the different species, Hazel spoke softly. “Are you satisfied with your placements?”
“Ha, this is so easy. I am!”
Hazel smiled softly after a single tear fell. “Indeed. Well then, the rules are simple. Your homeworld consists of 6 billion sentient creatures. The first sentient being appeared no more than 30,000 years ago. It all began with two of each; one stallion, one mare. One dragoness, One bull...You get the idea. The objective is simple, reach 30,000 years, with 6 billion sentients. The rules: You may not, alter the personality, free will or destroy any living creature. You may, however, help anyone at anytime. After all, you have the power.”
As Fluttershy cringed slightly, Hazel flashed her fangs. “Isn’t that right?”
Her horn began to glow and time sped forward only to stop seconds later. Just five years in, all 7 of the species had gone extinct. As the mouth of the unicorn dropped open in disbelief, Hazel spoke sikily. “Completely easy, isn’t it? Perhaps now you will lose the arrogance because the tutorial is over.”
Cozy watched as Hazel looked at Fluttershy. “This isn’t a race. Take as long as you wish, we are outside the realm of space and time here. Take centuries, eons, even eternities if you desire...This is a delicate-”
“Done!”
Hazel’s eyes darted to the template for less than a second before looking away.”You’ve chosen an aquatic race, have you?”
Eyes sparkling in excitement, Fluttershy exclaimed.“Yes!”
“Do you expect them to live on the landmasses?”
Fluttershy snorted. “That’s stupid, of course not! They live in the water.”
Hazel’s eyes narrowed. “And you feel that-”
Hazel pointed at the template with her hoof. “This is the best design for that?”
Cozy Glow tried to examine the design; streamlined for travel through water, eyes to see in the water with protective lids, cartilage to provide a strong pressure capacity and finned limbs for mobility. What’s so bad about it?
Irritation showed on the unicorn’s face and it showed in her words. “Of course I do! These are designed by an animal expert; you drama queen.”
Hazel lowered her muzzle in a loud huff. “I cannot allow this.”
Fluttershy’s tone was indignant as she attempted to respond. “How dare you! You said this was my creation and-”
The unicorn found her words interrupted as Hazel roared at her. “AND YOUR CREATION WILL DIE WITHOUT GILLS IN THE WATER, YOU IMBECILE!”
Hazel’s eyes were alight in anger. “I will NOT allow you to butcher innocents out of sheer stupidity! Add some blasted gills and stop arguing!”
“Why are you so mean? I’m doing my best!”
“NO. You aren’t! You are rushing, trying to show me up with such cockiness it has blinded you to the task at hand!”
Fluttershy began to cry. The tears streamed down her muzzle. “Then why are you asking me to do this, knowing i’ll fail? Why not just destroy me instead of torturing me like this?”
Hazel’s reply finally left the blue unicorn speechless. “BECAUSE I CARE!”
Everything vanished, as Hazel’s horn glowed a bright crimson, leaving Hazel and Fluttershy in a void of nothing. As Fluttershy stood there in silence, Hazel closed her eyes and appeared to be saying a prayer. Opening her eyes again, the thestral spoke in a gentle voice. “I don’t want you to waste your life and end up in my domain for eternal reparations for your actions.”
The voice of the Underworld Queen seemed to echo in the empty space. “My sister and I didn’t just throw you or any other together in moments; it took decades, centuries even. We considered everything we knew, we slowly built the you that you would become. Like every other living creature you were precious; nothing like the others and a vast, bright opportunity to grow, from the beginning. You mattered. You always did to us, and you still do. That is why I am harsh on you, that is why I still care.”
The look on Fluttershy’s face was one of pure embarrassment. She cared for her? Even after her disgust at her, even after her anger at her for making those... ponies her pets? Part of her wanted to say that she was lying; it's all just nice, but empty words. However, somehow, Fluttershy could tell that she was sincere. The thought that Hazel could just turn her to ashes right there, but didn't, spoke something to her. Her words are true, she thought. Somepony cared for her, for once... Her face was flushed, a bright red, while her fur seemed to go completely pale. Her tone had shifted, her attitude completely gone. “I-I am so sorry for my behavior, y-your majesty.”
Hazel gave a small smile. Dropping her newly materialized stick of ignited ash, Hazel crushed it beneath her fore-hoof as her voice echoed through the space; strangely warm and gentle. “That’s better, now we are getting somewhere.”