Near the entrance to the Everfree Forest, a deep, dark, highly vegetated area on the outskirts of Ponyville, a pony-shaped figure comes out. This pony is a female adult unicorn, covered in silvery lilac fur, possessing a mane and tail of a dark purple colour with a vivid cyan ring on both. Her cutie mark is a dark blue blanket. She walked on the path with a look of relief.
"Thank Celestia, at long last. Ponyville." said the unicorn. She took a good look at the pleasant town ahead, inspecting the activity going on there from a distance.
The unicorn walked further until she set foot on the edge of Ponyville. The first thing she got a close look at was a bunch of earth ponies, pegasi and other unicorns going about their days. None of them seemed to notice the new face. The unicorn passed through, not minding the lack of attention in the least.
"Now this is refreshing, walking around a friendly environment for once." the unicorn remarked. "All those moons spent surviving the realm of those nasty cacosaurs has made me weary of desperate survival." For a moment, she stopped to think about the fact she was talking out loud to herself, and how it could make others look at her. She turned her head.
"Hello." said a big, yellow male earth pony with a purple mane and tail, plus a five-fingered hand coming out of a hole for a cutie mark. He looked at the unicorn with his gigantic eyes.
"Oh, hello." greeted the unicorn politely. "Lovely day."
"Yes it is." the earth pony responded back. "It's so lovely... I want muffins." Suddenly, the earth pony was swiftly crawling along the ground, distancing himself from the unicorn.
"Huh? Did you say muffins?" the unicorn called out. "I could go for some of those!" Like her life depended on it, she chased the earth pony as fast as she could.
The earth pony stopped for a moment, turned his head back and said "Keep up, I know just the place."
Moments later, the two went to Ponyville's local bakery and confectionery store, Sugarcube Corner. They grabbed a ton of muffins to take on the road. The earth pony handled payment.
"Thank you, sir." said the grateful unicorn, eating a blueberry muffin. "I don't know how I would've gotten sustenance without you."
"You're welcome." the earth pony responded, standing up tall on his hind hooves, eating a chocolate chip muffin and holding a bag of other muffins with toe-like appendages on his right fore hoof. "I've never shared a big bundle of muffins with anypony else."
"Really?" the unicorn wondered.
"Well, except for this one pegasus girl I know." the earth pony stated, holding up one of the toe-like appendages on his left fore hoof. "Say, are you new here?"
"Yup. Just came into town a few minutes ago." the unicorn answered. "I've had a long trip."
"Well, let me be the first to welcome you properly to our humble home sweet home." said the earth pony warmly. "I'm Clutch Forward."
"I'm Toasty Blanket." said the unicorn, holding out her left hoof. She and Clutch had a friendly hoof shake, assuring trust in one another. "I'm here to find someone."
"Oh? Whom?" Clutch asked, his interest piqued.
"My child." she answered. "Someone I sent here many moons ago, and haven't seen since. So, i'll catch you later, Clutch."
"Later, Toasty." said Clutch, walking off with his muffin bag. "I hope you find your kid."
Toasty happily waved good-bye to Clutch, then continued on her way through the town with her own muffins.
Toasty walked all the way to the other side of Ponyville. There she spotted a beautiful building surrounded by a lustrous lake.
"That must be the School of Friendship." Toasty said to herself. "If I hadn't gotten sidetracked and cut off from the rest of the world, I would've come to see it sooner."
She approached the front doors of the school. She eyed the place inquisitively, when just before her the front doors opened, and out came another pony. This time, it's a pale, light grayish heliotrope unicorn, possessing a moderate purple mane and tail with pale light, grayish aquamarine highlights. She was dressed in formal attire.
"Oh, geez. Sorry." muttered the dressed unicorn. "Didn't see you there."
"It's alright." Toasty said. "Hey, do you know who runs this school?"
"Why do you ask?" inquired the dressed unicorn.
"I wish to know the head of this establishment." Toasty answered. "I believe they know of the child i'm looking for. I'm their guardian."
"Oh, well, maybe I can help. I'm Headmare Starlight Glimmer." the dressed unicorn formally greeted. "I was about to go get something to eat on my break, but I can take a little time to help with your troubles. I did used to be a guidance counselor."
"I'm Toasty Blanket. I sent my kid to your school a long time ago, and... some complicated stuff happened in my life." Toasty started.
"Well, I believe that kid has long since graduated." Starlight said, her look turning confused. "I wish I could tell you where they've been, but i'd need identification of the subject."
"I don't have a photo, unfortunately." Toasty admitted, scratching her hooves together.
"Just give me a name." laughed Starlight, rolling her eyes with a smile.
"Oh, it's the most beautiful, sweet name in the world." Toasty fondly recalled. She happily spoke the name of the child to Starlight. But when she did, it transformed Starlight's smile into a frown. Suddenly, the atmosphere between the two unicorns was getting uncomfortable. There was eerie silence for five seconds.
"Uh, Headmare Starlight?" Toasty worriedly said. "Are you OK?"
"Oh yeah, nothing wrong." Starlight lied, sweating a little. "I think you'll want to take that one up with a higher power."
"Why?" Toasty wondered, raising her left eyebrow innocently.
"It's a long story." Starlight responded. "I better get some food before... I get too hungry. Take the train to Canterlot, you'll meet the princess there." She bolted off from the school.
"Well then..." Toasty said, confused. "I better seek Princess Celestia. If she can't help me, who will?" She walked away from the school in the same direction Starlight went.
Starlight looked back at Toasty. Her expression, as she watched the silvery lilac unicorn walk towards the train station, was filled with unease. "That poor girl's got no clue what she's in for."
Fortunately, Toasty didn't have to wait long to catch a train to Canterlot. She rode the Friendship Express all the way to Canterlot. She didn't interact with anyone on the train. All she thought about was the child she so badly wanted to see again. Before arriving at the Cantelot train station, Toasty had a pretty painful cough. This actually got people looking in her direction, which she responded to with gestures to move away from her. Finally, the Friendship Express stopped and some fresh air could be had again.
"Headmare Starlight had to have suggested coming here for a reason." said Toasty, stepping out of the train and looking upon the beautiful, lively sights of Equestria's capital city. "Before this day is over, i'm going to find out why."
Toasty walked through the city, looking left and right. She noticed something that felt rather surreal to her. There weren't just ponies gathered in this place, but also dragons, griffins, yaks, creatures of all kinds.
"Gosh, i've been gone from Equestria far too long." Toasty remarked. She continued down an open pathway, where none of the surrounding creatures got in her way. Just then, a crystal ball rolled in her way, and out of the crowd came three small figures. One was a young male yak, one a young female dragon and the other a young female griffin. "Oh, excuse me."
"Don't think of touching our crystal ball, ma'am." growled the female dragon, baring her empty claws. "We claimed it first, so it's rightfully ours to play with."
"Easy, children." said Toasty, raising her hooves. "I'll leave your ball alone."
"You can try to compete for it, though." the female griffin added. "Unicorns like you are a challenge we welcome."
"Right. But I've got business to take care of, so if you don't mind..." Toasty continued.
"Yak like speed! Race sometime!" shouted the male yak. Then he heard the sound of an angry old lady yelling out for her crystal ball. "Make haste!" He, the dragon and griffin ran back into the crowd with the crystal ball. The old lady, a fortune teller unicorn, chased after the kids with a cane.
"Weird kids." Toasty muttered. She shrugged and continued on her way. She looked up towards the royal castle, eagerly awaiting the moment she could speak to the most important figure in all of Equestria. She was nervous, but determined to see her little one.
Inside the throne room of the royal castle, a tall, lanky alicorn with a pale, light grayish mulberry coat, a waving dark sapphire blue mane and tail with moderate purple and brilliant raspberry highlights and a pink six-pointed sparkle for a cutie mark sat on her royal seat, bearing some golden attire. She was reading a gargantuan book she couldn't take her eyes off of.
"Careful, Twilight. Any longer now and you're going to drift off to dreamland reading that thing." teased a big, winged light mulberry and light spring budish gray dragon with moderate harlequin spikes.
"Tch, Spike, you act as if i'm getting bored." Twilight laughed. "This book is too gripping."
"Exactly." Spike said. "That hypnosis will make you miss the whole day."
"I'll have all the time to tackle this monster, as long as nothing comes through that door." Twilight said confidently.
"And three, two..." Spike started counted. Before he could say "One", a blue male griffin in golden armour burst through the doors on the other side of the throne room.
"Princess Twilight!" hollered the armoured griffin.
"Ah, mistimed it." Spike growled, snapping his claws.
"Captain Gallus, come in!" Twilight shouted to the griffin.
"Somebody wants an audience with you, your majesty." Captain Gallus explained.
"Present the visitor to me immediately." Twilight ordered.
"Here she is." said Captain Gallus, moving aside to show Toasty into the throne room.
As she nervously stepped into the presence of Princess Twilight, Toasty stumbled a bit, almost like she was going to collapse. Captain Gallus quickly came to her aid.
"You good?" the griffin asked, looking at the unicorn with concern and helping her keep her balance.
"I've been better." said Toasty, wearily. "I've had the longest trip." She rubbed her head with her right hoof and proceeded forward. She stood tall in front of the majestic royal alicorn sitting upon the elevated throne. Her expression changed to one of confusion. "Hey, you're not Celestia."
"Of course i'm not." Twilight stated. "I'm Twilight Sparkle. Celestia has stepped down."
"What about Luna?" Toasty asked, tilting her head to the left.
"She has joined Celestia in retirement." Twilight answered. "I am the princess of Equestria now, so you may address me as such."
"Where was she during the coronation?" Spike whispered into Twilight's right ear. Twilight gave him a stern look and motioned her right hoof as if to say "Sit down, Spike."
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, my name is Toasty Blanket." Toasty formally greeted. "Sorry for my rudeness. It is an honour to be standing before you today. I've come to ask you about something. Recently i've escaped from a realm disconnected from our natural reality - a realm filled with deadly beings called cacosaurs."
"Did you say cacosaurs?" Twilight wondered, raising her right eyebrow. "But those have only been recorded in horror stories. Nobody believes them to actually exist."
"Well, I have met them face-to-face." said Toasty matter-of-factly. "For many moons i've fought for survival, all because I made a wrong turn. I was supposed to be enjoying a good exhibition, but I got lost and met those awful creatures. Before my horrific trials began, I left one of my own in the care of those who worked at the School of Friendship."
"Did you discuss this matter with Headmare Starlight Glimmer?" Twilight asked.
"I did, and she told me to consult you." Toasty explained. She sat down and put her fore hooves together in a pleading position. "You may be my best hope in finding my child. I miss her so much. I trust that she was taken good care of at the school, but I also know that she'd want us brought back together."
"Well, I don't have any important royal duties or friendship reunions to attend to right now, anyway." said Twilight, stepping down from her throne and approaching Toasty. "I'll help you and your child reunite any way I can, because helping others, well, it's what we do. So, let's start with her name."
"OK, name." Toasty replied. "Headmare Starlight got a little spooked when I mentioned it to her, but perhaps you can understand?"
"I'll understand, Toasty." Twilight assured the unicorn. "Maybe Starlight thought you were talking about some delinquent who trashed one of her plant friends." She joked.
Meanwhile, at the School of Friendship, in Headmare Starlight's office...
"Huh. I don't know why, but all of a sudden I feel like I need to sass Twilight." Starlight thought out loud. "You feel that, Dentro?"
Her potted plant, Dentro, stood silently next to her.
"Yes, I know, that falafel stunk." Starlight grumbled.
Back at the royal castle in Canterlot...
"Jokes aside, we'll make sure to seek her out. Now let's hear that name." Spike said, walking up to Toasty.
"I'm glad I could count on your guidance, your highness." Toasty thanked, bowing. She stood up, faced the alicorn and dragon with a smile and put her right hoof to her chest. "Her name is..."
Twilight and Spike lent their ears down to Toasty's mouth.
"Cozy Glow."
"WHAT!?" Spike shouted after hearing the last syllable of that name. He jumped back in fright and bewilderment.
"Oh boy." Twilight mumbled as she raised her head and put her left hoof up on it, rubbing against her forehead. She slowly shook her muzzle back and forth in doubt. The atmosphere around everyone, just like with Starlight earlier, became bleak and awkward.
Toasty wasn't smiling anymore. She had faith that the princess would understand what she was seeking. But after her and Spike's reaction, great doubt grew in the silvery lilac unicorn. Unaware of what happened so many moons ago, Toasty could only wonder "What happened with my little girl? What did she do while I was away from home?"