//------------------------------// // Excerpt 2 // Story: Glow in the Dark // by Shadow Spector //------------------------------// Excerpt 2: Cozy trembled as she bounced from within the bag. She tried her best to remain calm but that was near impossible from the image she had just witnessed. She was beginning to wonder if she would ever see Celestia’s light again, or if she would suffocate within the bag of her captor. Finally, she heard a door open and close before she was carried for 5 more seconds. The bag opened and Cozy was poured into a cage from the side, landing on her wing. “Owwie!” she exclaimed, comforting her appendage, but the sinister look of her captor startled her out of her concern. She was frozen in fear, unable to put words together, so the gray unicorn initiated the conversation. “Hi there, little one,” the stallion said. “What’s your name?” Cozy was still stunned, staring wide-eyed with short and quiets gasps.  “It’s okay,” the unicorn lied. “Don’t be afraid. You don’t have to yet. Just tell me the name of who I’m talking to.” Cozy steadied her breath, closing her eyes briefly to calm herself down before she finally spoke. “My . . . uh, my name is C-Cozy Glow?” “Was that a question or an answer?” he asked. Cozy gulped in fear. “Oh don’t worry, Cozy Glow. My name is Pent and I’ll be taking care of you now.” Cozy blinked twice, trying to get the water out of her eyes. “. . . Why?” “Well, because there is no one to look after you anymore, and certainly a little pegasus filly can’t be out on her own. That’s what I’ve been telling myself anyway.” “What happened to my parents?” “They’ve unfortunately been in an accident and they didn’t make it. I’m sorry, little one. But don’t worry. As long as you are with me, you won’t face the dangers of the outside world. I’ll protect you.”  The unicorn gave a warm grin and Cozy felt a tiny bit more comfortable, despite her condition. She gave a look at her surroundings to find herself in the back corner of a cavernous room, inside a cage with the door still open. Her cage was on top of a pedestal, propping her up to almost eye level with the robed unicorn. Around her, the room was basically empty, light only illuminating the center of the room, revealing nothing but random chairs everywhere and other pedestals along with empty cages.  “Mr. Pent? Why am I here?” “I already told you. It’s because there is no one to watch over you so I’ll take it upon myself to do that.” “I mean, why am I in a cage?” “Oh, that’s for precautionary measures.” “Is there something dangerous in this room?” “Well yes, yes there is. And I don’t think you want to upset him.” Cozy’s eyebrows raised as she pulled her head back closer to her body like a turtle hiding in its shell. “But as long as you are secure here, there’s no chance of that happening.” “But I don’t want to be here,” Cozy teared up. “I want to go home.” Pent’s solemn expression fell into an unamused look as his horn began to glow red again, causing Cozy to cower away in the back corner of her roomy cage. The door to her prison also began to illuminate in the same aura color, shutting with great force and rattling the cage.  Cozy flinched in fear as the unicorn stared at her in disapproval through the minuscule openings of the cage. “All in good time, Cozy Glow. Soon, you’ll see this as your home, and you’ll be satisfied. Perhaps a little time getting used to the scenery will get your mind used to things. I will return tomorrow to check on you.” Cozy blinked hard, realizing that she was about to be left alone. She flew to the front of her cage to the door, gripping the bars tightly. “Wait, please don’t go! I don’t want to be alone!” “I’ll be back, little one,” Pent said as he began opening the door that was on the far side of the open room. He turned back to give one last look to the trapped salmon-colored filly. “You just get accustomed.” Cozy screamed as he walked through the door, but in a matter of seconds, she was in solitude. She cried at her new position, trapped in a cage and nopony knew about her. Normally, she would wait for help, but she knew that it would never come. If she was going to escape this monster, she had to take matters into her own hooves. She looked to her nearest surroundings to see if she could spot anything that might be able to help her. She was in the very back of the room, near the wall, but as she looked, she noticed different sharp sections of the wall peeking out like a cave’s sides would be. Maybe if she could break off a piece, she’d be able to cut through one of the bars to her cage. She stretched out a hoof through the tiny openings of her cell, reaching out to the wall, but it was just out of reach.  She huffed before getting her next idea. Noticing that all the small openings in her cage were varying sizes, she set out to find an opening that might be big enough for her. She found one in the cage door itself that was facing the open section of the room and she tried reaching one hoof through. Her head pressed against the top of the cage, making her realize that it wouldn’t work if her hooves went first. With a deep breath, she peeked the tip of her head out of the opening, pressing forcefully in hopes that the bars would be flexible and move out of her way, but no such luck. After long intervals of pain, she finally called that method a lost cause. The moment she flew back to the back of the cage, it rattled on its pedestal from the sudden force. She had gotten her final idea. If she was able to knock it off its pedestal, maybe she’d be able to break part of the cage to create an opening for escape. She took a deep breath before she made her attempt. Hit the back of the cage and then hit the front, sounds easy enough. With a look of weak determination, she hit the front of the cage, causing the pedestal to rattle forward slightly. On its return trip back, Cozy hit the back of the cage with added force, causing the pedestal to increase its speed. With one more hit left to go, she zoomed ahead at top speed, aiming straight for the door for her last push of effort.   The collision immediately dazed her and the pedestal froze at an angle, indeterminate of whether to rock back or completely fall. Finally, its decision was made, and it completely collapsed to the floor with Cozy’s head still doing loops from the hit. Without being able to prepare herself for the impact, the cage fell to the floor, causing her head to hit against the side with great force and knock her out cold in the process. She stirred awake to heavy breathing that was not her own. Her first sight was that of the red eyes of an angry unicorn glaring at her through the cage that was now back on its pedestal. “Good morning, Cozy Glow,” Pent said with no hint of sympathy.  Cozy squeaked back in fear. “I-I’m sorry, sir.” “And to think I was going to give you food today.” Cozy gasped as she felt her stomach growl.  “Yes, I can tell you’re hungry, Cozy. But food is for members of this household and you can’t be a member here if you are trying to leave. But I don’t hold grudges though. I’d like to know more about you, little one.” Cozy steadied her heart rate before answering. “What would you like to know?” “Well, how old you are for starters. Maybe your life before all this as well. What you’re good at.” Cozy glanced down at her blank flank. “I don’t know what I’m good at, but I’m hoping to find out soon.” “Hmm, and what’s your age, young one?” “Um, I’m 8 and a half years old, sir.” Pent looked away in thought without turning his head. “Same age as her.” Cozy tilted her head in confusion. “Her?”  Immediately, Cozy’s eyes widened in fear that she might have crossed a line and Pent regarded her furiously, but the look of terror on Cozy’s face lit up Pent’s mood a bit. Finally Pent took a deep breath. “She was my daughter. I raised her with my wife and things were grand. Oh, they were something. I loved them both, but I wanted to go a new direction with teaching the little filly something. She would’ve benefited from it tenfold but my wife was disapproving of it, preventing me from helping our daughter in protecting herself. So I thought that one day, I’d show my wife just how important the lessons could be, and it would teach her to be ready for anything, but it didn’t go the way I was hoping it would and I lost her. I couldn’t let my daughter see what had come of her mother so I hid her away. She kept asking so many questions as to what happened to her mother. I kept this a secret from her of course. Fillies should not be exposed to such dark elements . . . most fillies, but I didn’t do a good job at it. When she saw what I did, she fled. The last thing I had of her was a note, calling me a monster and telling me that she would go to the Equestrian Police Force. Maybe if I had raised her correctly, she would have actually followed through on that threat.”  Cozy wiped a tear from her eye. “Maybe - maybe you can find her again?” Pent regarded Cozy hopelessly. “Unlikely. She’s been gone for two years. She could be anywhere in Equestria by now. She’s probably dead because I never got a chance to teach her what I know.” “You don’t know that though, Mr. Pent,” Cozy said, trying to sound hopeful. “I could help you and we’d-.” “Wait, you’re trying to get out again. You don’t mean anything you say.” Cozy tensed a tiny bit. “But I do-.” Pent, with one quick motion, slammed both hooves on each side of the cage with great force, causing it to shake violently for a split-second. “You’re not getting out of here, Cozy Glow. Accept that.” Pent released his hooves and began to turn back towards the door and this time, Cozy was silent during his entire retreat. The next day rolled around and Pent returned to the room to a sleepless and starving Cozy.  Pent smiled down at her. “Are you going to be difficult again today?” Cozy stared up at Pent with tired eyes. Pent spoke again. “You do want food, right?” Cozy began to breath harder in the cage. She didn’t think she would be able to survive much longer without food. Eventually, she gave Pent a broken nod. “Good, but we’ll have to wait and see for sure if you’re going to be good or not. I didn’t get to hear much of you yesterday. What else is there to tell about you?” Cozy rubbed her eyes. “There is nothing.” Pent frowned. Cozy was on the fine line between trying to survive and dying nobly. Either way, she wanted answers. “How did you find me?” Cozy asked. Pent was stunned before he understood. “I followed you from Trottingham. I’ve been waiting for a while, but there were a lot of ponies who knew your parents back in that city. I knew the perfect time was when you moved so there wouldn’t be anypony who was aware that you were gone when you arrived here.” Cozy looked up to Pent in a mixture of anger and sadness. “Why me?”  Pent narrowed his eyes in confusion until Cozy continued. “Why did you choose me instead of some other unfortunate filly?” Pent’s face returned to his natural, unamused face. “You remind me of my daughter. You’re the same age, same pony race, different hairstyle though, but we can fix that easily-.” “No!” Cozy screamed. Whatever self preservation she had left was replaced with her anger. “My mother did this for me! It’s the last thing I have left of her.” Cozy began to sob. “Oh, it’s okay, Cozy. We can make new memories together.” “I don’t want memories with you. I want my parents back!” Pent huffed. “Maybe you’ll be more at peace tomorrow then.” Pent turned to leave again, causing Cozy to quickly try and think of something. “Wait!” Cozy called out. “Don’t leave me again; I won’t be difficult.” Pent halted at the door, returning his gaze back to Cozy, causing her to quickly try and think of something, anything that would make it so Pent wouldn’t leave.  Finally, she spoke. “I’m really bored in here, Mr. Pent. Do you have anything I can do?” On any necessity, Pent would’ve declined, but his interest was piqued at the idea of something.  “Very well, Cozy Glow. I will get something.” Pent left but returned moments later with a box of some sorts. “Have you ever played chess, Ms. Glow?” Cozy nodded weakly. “Yeah, I’m pretty good at it.” “Then you know that it’s the most intellectually stimulating game there is.”  Pent uncovered the box to reveal the chess pieces inside, but they appeared to look homemade, and, for some reason, very shiny. “Why do they look like that?” Cozy asked. “You like them? I made them myself. There are all the normal pieces of chess but they’re all extra sturdy and each of them have blades on them. The Horse is like a scimitar. The Rook has each of its castle pieces extra sharp. The King is just two small knives crossed on a stick.” Cozy was stunned at such a dangerous feature. “Why are they all like that?” “Well, it’s just so funny when somepony isn’t paying attention and they cut themselves on these.”  Pent nearly finished setting up all the pieces, but he appeared to be missing one. He looked around in the box but it was gone. Finally, he stopped himself in realization and reached inside his robe to pull out the White King piece that appeared to be stained with some sort of red liquid. Cozy held her expressions when she realized what had happened to it.  “Do you know what my favorite chess piece is?” Pent asked. “It’s the rook. Do you know why? Because it’s a powerful piece but not too powerful. Now, most creatures would pick the queen as their favorite because it’s the most powerful piece on the board, but what they don’t realize is that the queen is under constant surveillance. The queen can never get to do its job that easily because the opponent never forgets that it is a threat. The opponent will continue to counterplay the queen, making sure it can never do the harm that it has the potential to do. But what they fail to remember is that the rook is also there, almost just as much of a threat as the queen is, but because it is not quite as powerful, it is sometimes overlooked. This leaves for the possibility of the rook coming out of the blue and no one realizing that it’s a threat until it’s too late. That’s why it’s my favorite.” Pent finished setting up all the pieces. “Now would you like to be the white pieces or the brown pieces.” “The white pieces, please.” Cozy said. “Where would you like your first piece to move?” “Um, wouldn’t it be better if I move the pieces myself?” “No, I can do that for you,” Pent declined. “But you said it yourself. It’s more fun if the player cuts themselves. You wouldn’t want to play a game if you aren’t experiencing the top level of fun, right?” Pent stared in thought for a moment. “Very well. I guess the game is more interactive if there are actually two ponies playing it.” Pent proceeded to begin unlocking Cozy’s cage. She gave Pent an innocent look throughout the whole process of opening it, but as soon as the cage opened, adrenaline kicked in and Cozy’s smile turned to a vicious glare. She immediately lunged out of the cage in efforts of aiming for the door, but her sleep deprivation messed with her coordination, causing her to ram right into Pent’s side, catching him off guard. Pent got up, but before he could turn around, Cozy rushed behind one of the many chairs around the room, trying to hide herself. “I can hear you!” Pent yelled as the chair Cozy was hiding behind lit up in a red aura and began to levitate upwards. Cozy screamed and jumped to the door but before she could reach it, Pent’s magic aura wrapped around her waist and pulled her back with great force. Cozy screamed in desperation and tried clawing at the invisible force but to no avail. Pent’s smirk became more extreme as his magic became stronger and began pulling Cozy back with additional speed. Realizing she couldn’t get out of the grip, Cozy turned her body and bared her hoof, using the acceleration from Pent’s magic for additional strength to punch him.  She landed over the chess board, scraping her stomach over the serrated chess pieces. Cozy managed a yelp before Pent turned his attention back towards Cozy. Instead of using magic to grab her, Pent lost his patience and slammed his hooves down on Cozy’s back hind leg, causing a slight crack to be heard. Cozy screamed in agony as Pent’s horn began to glow again, wrapping Cozy in his magic once more. With one last idea, Cozy quickly reached down to grab the nearest chess piece. In a fraction of a second, Cozy wrapped her hoof around a rook and slashed it across Pent’s cheek, stunning the gray unicorn and causing a deep cut but freeing the rook from the wound. Cozy clenched her saving grace in her hoof and proceeded to the door, flying at full speed as Pent screamed behind her.  From behind her, she could hear Pent bellow. “I will find you!” That line made Cozy tense up and fly even faster than she ever could before, zooming through the cold snow without stopping. After minutes of flying, Cozy’s adrenaline finally stopped and she could feel the full pain of what had just happened to her. She stopped flying and landed on the ground, unable to move her back hoof from where Pent had hit her. Looking at her injuries, she realized that she was bleeding from her stomach from where the chess pieces had gashed her, not too much to cause any form of trail though. Thank Celestia for that. Not only for making sure Pent didn’t follow her but she knew that if she lost that much blood, she probably wouldn’t be able to even survive for much longer. Cozy looked down at the chess piece she still had clenched in her hoof. She hadn’t even realized how hard she had been gripping onto it because it had caused a deep cut in her hoof from the sharp section of it. Cozy tried letting go, but the cut was so deep that it stuck in her hoof. She finally felt the full pain of what had just happened to her. She tried to continue flying, but she was too tired. She hadn’t had water in two days, and she didn’t seem to be traveling anywhere. She lay in the snow that was now covering half of her from when she first stopped. This is it, she thought.  Her eyes began closing as the pain became unbearable. She tried reaching out her hoof to go on, but it just fell into the snow lifelessly. She looked around at the sight around her, realizing that this will be the last thing she’ll ever see.  As her eyes began to close, she caught a glimpse of a bright light in the night, surrounding her for a small increment of time. A wagon was quick to arrive on the scene a few moments later. “The giant light came from this direction,” a female voice said. “Oh dear Celestia. I think I found something . . . or someone . . .” Cozy looked up at a white pegasus staring down at her. She was the last thing she saw before passing out.