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// Do You Remember That 
// Story: Never Alone 
// by SoloBrony 
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I wasn't sure that would work, but I guess it was worth the risk. Better than letting the others hit her with the Elements of Harmony, at least.

I sighed and held the crying filly tight, letting her vent her feelings. I wasn't even sure she realized she was doing so.

She still seems a little out of it. Then again...

I'd seen some of her nightmare when I'd channeled my powers of empathy outwards, reaching out to show her that I cared for her. It was risky trying to use my power that way; I hadn't ever really tried it.

I definitely didn't expect it to come out as an Element of Harmony. Then again, it doesn't seem to have hurt her.

If anything it seemed to calm her down. The signs of her black magic were all but gone; there were still black streaks through her wings, but her eye and mouth seemed back to normal.

She snuggled against my barrel and let out a contented sigh, hiccuping slightly from her crying jag.

What a day she's had. Things were going so well, too!

I suppressed the flicker of anger I felt towards Starlight for having facilitated this mess.

It's not really her fault. We'd have had to deal with Bree eventually. Still...

I looked down at Cozy, and gently brushed her mane with my hoof. "Cozy, do you think you'll be alright?"

She shuddered against me, sniffling. "I-I dunno. Do I... can I stay? Do I have to go?"

I wasn't quite sure what she meant, but I kept brushing her reassuringly. "You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to. It's all okay. It was just a nightmare, okay?"

Cozy pushed hard against my barrel. "I don't really get it, but... okay."

I thought over it as I brushed her mane. "No one's mad at you, Cozy. You're still just as welcome as you were yesterday."

It took her a little while, but she nodded against me. "Alright. T-thank you."

I think Luna's preference for formality is rubbing off on her a little.

I waited a little while before speaking up again. "I'm sorry you had to deal with all of this today, Cozy. I'm sorry you had to see her again."

She took a sharp breath, and I worried for a moment I'd made a mistake before she spoke. "It's not your fault. I... I just don't want to see her again, ever. I almost..."

She seemed lost for words, and choked down a sob, pressing against me. I wavered a moment, then reached out with my magic.

I felt the rage, the hate, the sheer sense of wrath that had overtaken the filly when she saw her birth mother again, and I gasped lightly at the intensity of it.

Even when I was a demon I didn't feel that kind of malice. But then again, Twilight and her friends just seemed like an irritation and an obstacle... this was a lot more personal for her.

Cozy sniffled. "You saw, didn't you? You know how horrible I am. The real me is... just like Tirek said, the real me is ugly."

My mind was still reeling from what I'd seen, but I brushed her reassuringly anyway. "I did see. But... you also didn't act on your feelings, and that says a lot. I can't believe you held all of that back."

I was being literal. Even though I had felt what she felt in that moment, I still had trouble believing she hadn't attacked her mother immediately. Cozy laughed softly – a hollow sound that was entirely wrong for her.

"I let my fear get the better of me. It's not like I was heroic or anything."

I struggled for a moment to understand what I'd seen and reconcile it with what she'd said.

"Fear of losing Luna," I breathed, "fear of losing your mother, and me. That's what you held onto, and that's what triggered your nightmare."

Hatred for Bree, fear of losing her new family... no wonder her dark magic went out of control.

She just laughed again, entirely devoid of mirth. "Tactical cowardice, I guess."

I rested my head against hers, and I shook it in disagreement. "Your fear was motivated by love. You knew that was more important to you than your hatred. That's why you let it take over."

Cozy sniffled. "That would be nice, but I don't think I even know what love really is."

I fished a hoof under her barrel, and I brought up her pendant. "Think so?"

She cracked an eye open, and gasped. "It's glowing!"

I huffed a small laugh against her. "It's been lit up this entire time. I guess you never noticed."

Cozy took the pendant in her hoof and stared at it for a few seconds before letting it rest and leaning into me. "Do you really think... that love was what stopped me?"

I groaned playfully. "What is it with ponies and not trusting my magic? I know it was love that motivated you."

I've never heard of anypony using dark magic to restrain darker impulses before, and definitely not alongside love, but... well, if anypony out there had a messed-up enough background to make it happen, I guess it would be Cozy Glow. Poor filly...

She nodded against me. "Sorry, I guess I just... don't really think of myself as loving."

I tousled her hair. "I know. You're always attacking yourself in your head, doubting your own intentions and judging everything you do."

Cozy stiffened. "So I guess you can see all of that, too, huh...? I'm sorry I'm so..."

She sniffled and shook her head. "I'm sorry I'm so fucked-up."

My ears burned slightly, but I scoffed anyway. "Cozy, everypony has thoughts like those. It's normal. You might take it farther than most, but you shouldn't think of yourself as crazy just because of that. Y'know, I think it might be that you're harder on yourself because you're a lot more perceptive than most ponies... you know how to lie, so you know how to tell when you're trying to lie to yourself."

"Really? It's not... I'm not a freak?"

I winced. I really want to buck Bree right in the face right now.

"No, Cozy. You're fine. I mean... you're hurt, and you're still recovering and learning a lot of things that you ought to know, but you aren't a monster, and you aren't crazy. You remember your time as a hero, right?"

Cozy nodded slowly. I squeezed her gently.

"Without your memories – or without the full force of them, at least – you didn't have too much trouble being a great pony. This is harder, because you have to carry the weight of everything with you, but it proves the potential exists. That's why Discord wanted you to live that life; so you'd always believe in your capacity for good."

We were silent for a little while, just holding each other. Cozy eventually snickered. "So he showed me my capacity for evil, then my capacity for good, huh?"

I didn't quite get the humor. "Uhh... yeah?"

Cozy looked up at me and stuck her tongue out. "Laaaaame. That's just parallelism. That's not chaotic at all!"

I groaned and rolled my eyes, and then laughed. "Leave it to you to find split-timeline reformation therapy to be insufficiently wacky!"

She cackled, which was an oddly reassuring sound, coming from her.

"What can I say? I'm a perfectionist. Veeery high standards."

With that, she yawned. I glanced at the sky; today's sunset had lasted unusually long. I started slightly.

Twilight must be keeping the sun up for the search for Cozy! That means she's here!

"Cozy? I think we need to head back, now. Everypony is worried about you."

She stiffened, but then relaxed, and I realized she thought I meant they were scared of her before parsing my words. She nodded. "Okay... I think I'm ready."

We stood up and began making our way through the woods. I could still sense my old beacon spell, so it was fairly straightforward. After a short distance, it became clear that Cozy's hooves were aching terribly, so I lifted her up onto my back and carried her the rest of the way.

As we approached the edge of the forest, I slowed down and looked through the trees carefully, overhearing the sounds of an argument. I stiffened and came to a stop.

"Err... Cozy? Bree is still out there. If you want, I can take you around to your house without passing by her."

Cozy, who had been dozing, snapped awake. She took a sharp breath, and let it out slowly. She slowly climbed off of my back.

"No, I... I think I should say something to her. I can't keep letting her scare me forever. But, umm..."

She looked up at me sheepishly. "Could you maybe... go first? I don't want everypony freaking out..."

I nodded, thinking quickly. She still thinks there's a ponyhunt for her. And... I guess there sorta is. Well, here goes, Sunset...

I strode out of the treeline, and overheard what was being discussed. Bree was staring down Celestia – she's got more guts than sense – and it was clear from their expressions that it wasn't a pleasant conversation. Bree huffed.

"I wouldn't expect YOU to understand. You don't know the importance of a child to their mother. Not all of us are as cold-hearted as you are, you know. You remained single and solitary on your throne, and we all respected you for it, but when fate delivered a talented orphan foal to your doorstep – as clear a sign as you can get without a mark appearing on your flank – you shrugged her off. Oh, what a surprise she turned on you; only a conscious pony with a pulse could have seen that disaster coming. So I guess it's no wonder a princess whose heart stopped when she exiled her own sister couldn't."

Celestia's jaw dropped, and as Bree went on I could see the pain in her expression. Luna looked absolutely furious, and Twilight and the others just looked distinctly uncomfortable. I winced, too, but strode up regardless, whistling to get everypony's attention.

Here's hoping all these ponies aren't too much for Cozy to handle right now...

I cleared my throat. "Nopony bother listening to this one; she's got less room to talk than she has in her heart, which, trust me, is basically nothing."

Bree whirled on me, eyes furious, but I just held her muzzle shut with my magic and narrowed my eyes at her. I walked up and leaned in close enough that only she could hear me.

"Use me against Celestia like that again, and I'll make sure the authorities know every single detail of every dirty thing you've ever done. I've already seen inside of your head once, I can do it again whenever I want."

I'd sooner toss myself off a cliff than look in her head again, but I'm not going to tell her that.

Her eyes went wide, and I released her muzzle and irritably made my way to Celestia, brushing up against her gently. "Just so everypony knows, I found Cozy, and she's alright. We can call off the search."

I met Luna's eyes carefully, and she nodded subtly. Good, so she understands why she shouldn't demand to see her right away.

I wasn't sure if Cozy was going to actually come out, or if we needed to get rid of Bree first, so I'd decided to get all eyes on me, just in case. Bree visibly bristled, her wings flaring out.

"Well, where is she?! Don't tell me you're still going to try to keep my daughter from me!"

Cozy's voice called out to everyone, and I saw her stride out of the treeline, jaw set. "I'm over here, Bree."





Don't freak out. Don't attack her. I can do this.

Luna's right there! She's going to see what you really are!

Bree turned around to see me, and I squared off my stance instinctively, recognizing a threat. She started in towards me, and my eyes shot wide. My voice came out level and clear, from practice as a hero.

"Keep your distance."

She got closer.

"Last warning."

Bree's voice came out at that perfect saccharine tone that told me she was putting on a show. It made my skin crawl. "Oh, sweetie!"

It would have been fine if she had tried to hit me. But no, she tried to hug me. I couldn't control the sheer revulsion, the sheer rejection I felt; I knew her too well, I could feel the manipulative intent, the poison coming off of her, the need to control me and claim me.

I could see myself through her eyes; the target, the victim, the tool, the property I was to her. I could read her intention; to give one of her special hugs, used in public places, where she leaned over to discreetly speak in my ear and put pressure on my neck, just enough to hurt and make me obedient.

I hit her. Not gently, not reflexively, but with the precision of a warrior and the force of one, too. I felt the damage ripple through her head, every little gut-wrenching detail, and I knew I'd gotten her good. She went sprawling with a yelp, staggering to her hooves and whirling on me with a look of disbelieving outrage.

Damn. Looks like I didn't dislocate her jaw.

"How DARE you?!"

"Do you remember that?"

She stopped short, confused.

"What?"

I struggled to keep my voice level as I started to snarl at her.

"It's the same way you hit me the day I ran away. And just so we're clear, I hate you. I don't like a single thing about you. I've been to Tartarus, so I'm going to tell you from experience that it's too good for you. I wouldn't spit on you if you were on fire. I'd say that you're dead to me, but that would sell short how much I look forward to the day you make Equestria a better place by dying for real; in the meantime, I'll settle for just never seeing you again, but only because the ponies I care about would be angry with me if I bucked in all of your teeth! But I'll take my chances if you ever, ever try to touch me again, you horrible, heartless BITCH!"

Bree reeled in shock at that, lost for words, and I strained to push down the anger I felt, to not just pounce at her and tear off an ear right then and there. As that thought occurred to me, I sucked in a breath and walked past her, adding, almost as an afterthought, "Oh, and if I ever hear you've gone near Olive or Fuchsia again, I will kill you."

I was still straining to get my breathing under control as I made my way past her, to Mom. She had watched the exchange with a neutral expression, but there was a glint in her eye I couldn't quite identify. She turned and fell into step next to me as we made our way away from that place, away from that mare.

Away from that chapter in my life.

Once we had gotten out of earshot, Mom leaned down, and I reflexively prepared to apologize for going too far.

"Well put."

Mom nuzzled me gently, and I felt a wave of relief. I started laughing, bleeding off the tension, and I felt like a tremendous anchor had just been cut free from me.