Chapter 5
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Pear Butter’s heart leapt as Ponyville came into view from the window of the train. She so desperately wanted to hold her foals in to her again.
A murmur from her side made her look down.
Autum had fallen asleep on the way, using all that magic had clearly drained her and she was laying against the Apple parent, nuzzling against her in her sleep.
Her mumbles were intelligible, but it both made her feel warm inside as well as sad for the things the poor little one had gone through.
She hoped they’d be able to find a way to switch Autum back with Cozy Glow, returning to their real home… though part of her was also saddened by that idea.
Autum was so sweet, when all she’d heard about the filly who’s mind had occupied the body leaning against her prior had been anything but.
She looked away, closing her eyes. She wasn’t sure she’d want to be there when the switch happened. After having gotten to know Autum for about a week, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to bear seeing a face so kind twisted by the evil of its original host upon its return, or to hear that sometimes snarky, but also kind voice replaced with a maliciousness so dark.
Though, that was even provided the spell could be reversed. What would Autum have to live with if they couldn’t reverse it?
She couldn’t live with Cozy Glow’s original family, it would be too awkward for her.
Could she live with them on the farm? She certainly would not object, as Autum had proven herself willing to work hard and stand up for those she cared for.
But what would their family’s reaction to such an idea be? From what they’d learned, their own family had been directly affected by Cozy’s actions during her and her cohorts’ invasion of Equestria.
Could their family be reasoned with to understand the filly as she is now was not that same vile pony who’d attacked their homeland?
Pear Butter looked back to the slumbering filly, her face mournful. The poor thing. If only there was something she could do. It wasn’t right for Autum to have to pay for Cozy’s crimes.
“Ya know, Ah just realized somethin’,” she turned to her husband, who was staring out the window with a slightly shocked look on his face. “Ah know we don’t really remember when we were trees, but d’ya remember feelin’ some kinda connection at one point? Kinda like a dream?”
Pear Butter rubbed the little filly’s cheek, causing her to snuggle closer and mumble something about getting five more minutes.
She looked up, trying to remember, before looking to Bright Mac, nodding. “Ah do. Ah remember feeling a pull o’ some kind. Ah don’t rightly know where it was, but it was somewhere on the farm.”
“An’ then there’s a dream Ah swear Ah had,” Bright Mac shakes his head. “It’s fuzzy, but Ah remember seein’ two ponies standin’ afore me and then a weddin’ happenin’ not long after.”
Pear Butter looked down at Autum. “Maybe some other ponies wan’ed t’ get married with our blessing, what with thinkin’ we were dead an’ all.”
The two turned their attention to the window as Ponyville came closer and closer.
Just how much had changed since they’d been gone?
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“Nice goin’, Sugar Belle,” Apple Bloom cheered as the unicorn bucked a tree.
A small cascade of apples tumbled down into the baskets bellow.
They were in the orchard, towards the area where it joined with the Pear’s orchard.
Sugar Belle blushed, wiping sweat from her brow, smiling sheepishly. “Thanks, Apple Bloom… but I know I’ll never be able to buck the apples like the rest of the family. Earth Pony strength does factor in there.”
“Still, yer doin’ pretty good fer yer first time,” Granny Smith said, walking in their direction.
“I think I’m better off helping Grand Pear bring down the pears, honestly,” the unicorn laughed lightly.
“I wouldn’t refuse the help,” Grand Pear’s voice called from a short distance away in the pear orchard.
The three mares had a good laugh.
“Ah wonder what’s takin’ Big Mac so long,” Apple Bloom asked, glancing towards the barn. “Him an’ Applejack shoulda been back by now.”
The three packed the bushel onto the cart, Sugar Belle hitching it to herself and they headed off to store the apples.
As they neared the barn, they noticed the front door to the house was open. Odd. If Big Mac or Applejack had left the house already, they wouldn’t just leave the doors open like that.
Sugar Belle and Apple Bloom heading towards the barn to store the apples while Granny headed inside.
Once the apples were stored, the two headed for the house themselves, only to be taken aback when they heard… sobbing?
Glancing at each other, they hurried inside, worried something was wrong.
What they saw caused them both to skid to a halt in the walkway to the living room.
Granny Smith was hugging two ponies, crying, while Big Mac and Applejack were holding each other, warm smiles on their faces despite the tears streaming down their cheeks.
The ponies in question… Sugar Belle couldn’t believe her eyes, her gaze darting from the ponies held in Granny Smith’s grip to pictures on the wall showing the same ponies.
“M-ma?” a quivering voice next to her made Sugar Belle look down to see Apple Bloom staring in awe and hope, her mouth quivering as tears welled in her eyes. “Pa?”
The other ponies all turned, the ponies who looked undoubtedly like Bright Mac and Pear Butter turning to look at her, the latter’s eyes filling with new tears.
“Mah little Apple Bloom?” she ask.
The filly barely waited. She ran forward, slamming into the tan coloured mare and began bawling.
Sugar Belle looked from the mother and daughter embracing to her husband and his sister, her expression dumbfounded. “I… I don’t understand. I thought you said… How are they here?”
The two just shook their heads. They didn’t know any better than she did.
She walked over to Granny Smith, who was trying to stop the flow of tears. “Granny, how are they here? I don’t understand at all.”
“Me neither, young’n,” she sobbed happily, sniffling as she looked to the unicorn. “Ah doubt know, but Ah honestly don’ think Ah care right now.”
“Yer mah new daughter-in-law?” Sugar Belle turned to see Pear Butter standing by her, Apple Bloom now being held in a loving embrace with her father as the waterworks continued.
The unicorn looked to her mother-in-law and nodded, becoming sheepish and rubbing her legs together.
She was taken aback when the mare pulled her into a tender hug. “Welcome t’ the family. Ah’m glad mah Mac could find a pony t’ share his life with. Take good care o’ him, now, ya here?”
Sugar Belle hesitated, before slowly pulling her own limbs up and returning the embrace. “I’m glad to be a part of your family, Mom.”
“How’re ya back?” they turned to Apple Bloom, still held by her father, as she looked around at the room at large. “Where’ve ya been? How come ya only comin’ back now.”
“We don’t know the full story, ourselves, t’ be honest,” Pear Butter says sheepishly.
“But we’ll be happy t’ tell you what we can,” Bright Mac said, ruffling his daughter’s mane.
“I thought I was getting held in the orchard,” a jokingly angry voice said from the hall. “Where’s that help I was prom—?”
His voice cut off as he entered and his eyes fell upon his daughter.
“Ah think we all should sit down,” Applejack said, moving away from her brother and putting a leg around her stunned grandfather, “let ma and pa explain.”
Suddenly, a scream of fear rang out through the air, causing them all to jump, and Bright Mac and Pear Butter’s eyes to widen. “Autum!”
The two rush passed the rest of the ponies, whom look to each other in confusion, before hurrying after then.
Big Mac and Applejack catch up to their parents first.
“Ma, Pa, what’s wrong?” Mac asks as they thunder down the path towards the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres.
“Who’s Autum?” Applejack asks.
“A filly who helped us get back t’ ya,” Pear Butter says, her voice anxious.
They passed through the gates and hurried up the path they’d left Autum on, slowly down when they saw the filly seemed fine. In fact, she wasn’t alone.
Another little Alicorn, who looked a surprisingly about like her, was there too. This one was clearly a baby and she was flying around Autum happily, cooing and making happy baby noises, while Autum just watched her darting back and forth in a mixture of amusement and confusion.
Before either of them could speak, however, their two eldest shouted in anger.
“Cozy Glow?!”
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“Ya sure?” Pear Butter asks as we stand a little away from Sweet Apple Acres.
I nod, looking down. “It’s better I not be there when you reunite with your family. I’ll just wait around here outside farm until after.”
The two parents look like they want to argue, but can tell I’m not going to budge on my choice, so nod and head off towards the house.
I walk a little further away into the trees and settle down in the grass, just watching the farm.
Well, here I am. Ponyville, the place where my fate is going to be met.
What that fate is, I honestly don’t know anymore. The fact Tirek and Cheese Legs got turned to stone gives me the sinking feeling that’s what’ll happen to me before I can even argue my case.
I extend my wings and give them a good look over. The darker pink is more noticeable to me now than back when I first found myself in this body.
Glancing up, I see my horn.
I look down, frowning.
Something is puzzling and worrying me. Back in Somnambula, I used my magic, a lot. That being the case… why was Discord not immediately on my tail after that?
I’m certain Celestia and Luna put him to the task of locating Cozy Glow the moment she’d not been punished… but then there’s what both Meadowbrook and Somnambula said.
The petrified form of Tirek and Cheese Legs has a Cozy Glow with them. But, how? I’m here. I avoided the Rainbow Laser, so how is there a shape of a stone Cozy in the statue. I was outta there back when Pinkie got Discord’s magic.
I shudder. Even thinking about that concept is terrifying.
I shake my head, returning to my previous train of thought. Discord should know I was in Somnambula. I’m pretty sure my magical signature is easy to find considering the magic in this body is merged with a third of Grogar’s... so why hasn’t he found me yet? I should easily have popped up on his radar after that.
Though, if he did find me, maybe that would be better than somepony else finding me.
I mean, if any creature in this world would believe me about Cozy switching bodies with me, it would be the Lord of Chaos himself. He knows about other worlds, so he’d definitely be the easiest to convince and he could probably reason with everypony and every creature else about it.
Suddenly, something grabs me from behind, something covering my eyes.
I yell in panic, leaping up and start flailing around, bucking hard, trying to shake whatever is attached to me off… before a rather familiar laugh catches my attention.
Calming down a little, I rest my hooves on the ground and realize whatever is on me feels close to my size, but is still smaller. As for what’s covering my eyes… feathery wings? And I know that laugh.
Lifting my forehooves up, I take the wings and pull them away from my eyes, craning my next back.
Flurry Heart’s big eyes and smile stare back at me.
I just stare at her, not really sure how to react.
After some time, I finally am able to come up with something to say.
“What’re you doing here?” I ask, cocking my head to the side. “Why aren’t you in the Crystal Empire?”
She just garbles at me happily, pushing off from me and hovering next to me, before she whirls around me excitedly, darting back and forth.
I cock my head again, not sure why she’s so excited, before I blink and glance down at my wings, then up at my horn and it clicks.
We’re about the same size despite her age and we… kinda look alike, now that I stop and think about it. She probably thinks I’m either family or somepony dressed up as her and she finds it funny.
“Cozy Glow?!”
The angry and confused cries make me jump and my eyes widen as I turn to see Bright Mac and Pear Butter standing there with their oldest children… and the latter do not look happy to see me.
Shit!
Pear Butter’s eyes widen and she turns to her son. “Wait. Ya don’ understand—”
Big Mac doesn’t wait, charging at me.
I cry out, turning to run.
Flurry laughs, seeming to think it’s a game and starts clapping.
Running to escape was in vein, as I’m slammed to the ground within seconds, wincing at the pressure put on both my wings and back by the much larger stallion.
Curse Cozy’s tiny legs and my inexperience with flight.
“What in tarnation?!” Granny Smith’s voice says from somewhere I can’t see due to the mass of red stallion lying atop me, pinning me to the ground.
“No, ya don’ understand!” Bright Mac’s voice says, sounding worried.
“Get back, both o’ ya!” Applejack’s voice says sternly. “Ya don’t know what that filly is capable of.”
“But how’d she get outta the stone prison Discord an’ the Princesses put her an’ her cohorts in?” Apple Bloom’s voice says, sounding confused. “An’ why’ she an Alicorn again?”
“If’n ya’ll let us explain—” Pear Butter tries again.
“An’ what did you do with the Autum filly who was with our parents earlier?” Big Mac demands from atop me. “Where are they?”
I could answer if I could fucking breathe!
Suddenly, an unhappy sound comes from above and I hear Big Mac yell in shock as I feel his weight removed from me, letting me gasp in much needed oxygen.
Looking up, I see Flurry Heart glaring at him, her horn glowing with its golden aura.
I slowly get up, wincing with every movement. Crap, Big Mac, what the fuck? I know Cozy’s a bad guy and you think I’m her but what were you trying to do, crush me to death?
Flurry Heart comes down, giving me a worried look.
I give her a pained grin. Fuck, my body aches.
“Get away fr’m the princess!”
An angry yell makes me turn to see Big Mac getting back up before he charges towards me.
Flurry makes a scared sound and I hear her aura, before feeling magic grabbing me and realize she’s pulling me into a teleport.
“No, Flurry, wait—!” I try to yell, before the spell blinks us out of existence.
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We reappear, myself feeling woozy from the sudden shift in my molecules, before I yell as I fall, us having teleported from outside Sweet Apple Acres to somewhere in the air.
I give a loud grunt as I hit a hard floor, whimpering a little from the pain. Right after having Big Mac lying atop me and crushing my bones, this was not helpful. Not helpful at all.
A concerned sound from above me make me look up through half open eyes to see Flurry fly down and hover in front of me, looking worried.
“I’m okay,” I lie, pushing myself up and failing to hide the pain of my aching everything from showing on my face. “That just hurt a bit is all.”
“What in Equestria?!” a male voice shouts.
Looking up, my eyes open wide as they fall on Shining Armour, who’s standing in front of… Cadance’s throne in the Crystal Empire.
Well, fuck.