//------------------------------// // Excerpt 11 // Story: Glow in the Dark // by Shadow Spector //------------------------------// Excerpt 11: Cozy gripped the rook in her hooves, still shivering from what she had just been through. She welcomed any pain that the chess piece would bring her. Anything to get her mind off what had just happened, but this wasn’t possible for her. She wiped another tear from her eyes, shaking her head rapidly to get her mind off the memories, but they invaded anyway. She was losing her focus on flying. Even though she had been soaring for hours, she was still crying as if the events had just happened immediately prior.  She looked into the distance of the desert she just surpassed to view the beautiful sight of the sun just coming up over a city, the false promise of hope. The sight made her realize that she had been up all night, constantly doing laborious tasks, and she immediately felt exhausted. She finally decided to rest, landing behind a rock to shade her.  It was then that she decided to collect her thoughts. She removed her saddle-bag, opening it up carefully with her good hoof before digging inside. Surrounded by the many palace bits that Cozy looted was the fragmented skull of her friend. Normally, the severed remains of a pony would frighten a filly, but Cozy managed a weak smile before reaching inside and carefully taking Troth’s head out. She smiled at the skull. “Hey. The fight is over. We’re safe now.” The soulless eyes of the former pegasus just stared back at her. “I don’t think I ever got to tell you how much your loyalty meant to me. You chose to support me through everything, and I barely asked you to do any of it. Especially back there with . . . them.” Cozy averted her eyes as a zap of pain entered her memory.  She looked down at the cut hoof that carried the rook, the only injury she received. “I - I barely got hurt from what happened there, and I lost both you and . . .” Cozy touched her forehead in realization as she did the impossible and felt even worse. “I . . . I don’t deserve to be here . . .” Cozy sniffled before her eyes fluttered down to the rook in her hooves, her mind overcome with a thought. “I need to make things right . . .” Cozy stared down at her sharp rook in hesitance before lightly brushing her hoof on the sharp edges. She then brought the rook closer to her neck. She didn’t know exactly what she was doing, but she knew what she was trying to go for. She looked back at the still widened eyes of Troth. “I’m sorry.” As the rook barely touched Cozy’s neck, she was immediately startled by one of Troth’s eyes falling from its widened socket. She stared at the skull of Troth studiously as she realized what really needed to be done.  “I don’t deserve to be alive . . . but I’ll earn it . . . for you.” Cozy was about to continue until she heard two voices begin talking in the distance behind her. Instinctively, Cozy grabbed her bag and Troth’s head before jumping behind the boulder to hide. Cozy heard the voice of a mare talk. “And then I told her ‘there’s no need to be afraid. The changelings have been gone for a while now.’ But she was convinced that they were back.” The other voice responded. “Well, today is the mail delivery day so maybe we will actually get some answers if there is a reason to worry or not.” Cozy waited until the voices got a safe enough distance away before she peeked her head above the boulder. She noticed the two mares, one pink and one dark, laughing it up as they traveled to the city in the distance. When the two were a safe distance away, she returned her attention to what she was originally doing. The first thing she noticed when she looked back at the severed head was that the second eye had come loose, leaving behind an eyeless Troth. Cozy sighed in sorrow. “You supported me even when I tried to name myself leader, and you ended up dying for it. I won’t let that be for nothing. I promise I’ll make sure that I actually become the ruler. But not over some silly community. Over something bigger.” Cozy’s face lit up slightly as she got her idea. “Over Equestria.” The more she thought about it, the better of an idea it sounded. If Friendship was the strongest power in Equestria and Twilight was the Princess of Friendship then if she replaced Twilight, she would officially be the strongest being in Equestria.  It was perfect except it wasn’t. She couldn’t just pay Twilight a visit and say that she’s ruler now. She lost her last chance at power before from improper planning, so if this was going to be any different, she had to make sure every little detail was full-proof.  What could she do against a princess? More specifically, an alicorn princess. She knew that alicorn magic was stronger than unicorn magic, and she was barely able to handle that. Now that she was on her own, she couldn’t stand a chance against Princess Twilight’s magic. If only there was some way she could take it all away.  She was instantly struck with a solution. The creature she heard about back at her community. Some monstrous being that could steal magic away from any creature, even alicorns as she remembered hearing. What was his name? Derek? T-rex? No, it was Tirek. Deep down, Cozy knew that he was her best chance, and she set out to get a hold of him. Cozy gave a hopeful smile before turning back to Troth. “I’m going to make you proud. Don’t worry, we’ll be okay.” She hugged the skull, squishing the rotting flesh against her skin before placing the head back in her bag.  Before she could fully take her gaze off her inventory, her eyes landed on the blue horn she had taken as her trophy. She still felt the guilt of the event, but she needed to remember at least one victory, even if it was pyrrhic.  The memory replayed in her head.  From below, Cozy could hear the broken calls from her former tyrant. With the rook still in her hoofs and her emotional scars fresh, she decided to swoop down to view a sight that might raise her spirits. Contume coughed. “You actually went ahead and did it.” Cozy was stirred out of her anger into confusion as she walked over to the blue unicorn. “What do you mean?” Contume raised his head, his horn cracked at its base from the impact. He gave an injured laugh. “The light show. I thought I was the only one other than Princess Twilight Sparkle who could figure out how to use that. I’ve been trying to see that power again for years, until you did what I could not for so long.” “Of course I did,” Cozy said, getting more agitated. “Because I’m better than you.” “No,” Contume smirked. “Because you are me.” Cozy winced in confusion. “What are you talking about?” “Everything you’ve done is the same thing I’ve done. I used to have friends too, but it didn’t work out. Now you’re alone, aren’t you? You’re going to live out the rest of your days alone.” Contume coughed again. “Like me.” “I’m nothing like you,” Cozy tried to reassure herself. “Not yet. But you found out how to use Equestria’s strongest magic. You’re on your way.” Contume readjusted his position to stare Cozy in the eyes. “Times will be dark, lonely. You’ll be desperate to get power. Desperate to feel that high from being the strongest being in existence for a short duration. You’ll view your own life above anyone else’s. And you might even take another’s life just so you can feel safer.”  Contume smiled before reaching out a hoof to grab Cozy by the leg, causing Cozy to flinch and back up.  Contume smiled at her. “You’re not leaving.” Contume’s horn sparked yellow. Cozy’s reflexes kicked in as she gripped her rook and brought it down onto Contume’s horn with all her might, directly on its fracture.  Contume’s eyes widened into full moons as his horn fell to the ground. “What did you do??” Cozy scrambled to grab the horn as Contume shot out his arm to grab Cozy, but he immediately fell back to the ground in pain as an audible crack was heard from the blue unicorn, dropping him on his side. The tiny pegasus, startled by the sudden outburst, jumped back out of reach with the blue unicorn horn still in her hooves. Finally, the hornless unicorn bellowed. “You can’t get away from me! My guards will find me soon enough, and we will come after you. I won’t stop until you’re dead. I will find you!” I will find you! The familiar words of those from her former captor from long ago rang in her ears once more. But she didn’t feel afraid. Pure rage surged throughout her entity, angry at the fear that encapsulated her long after she was caged. With pools of water in her eyes, she turned back towards Contume and readied her horn in her hooves. In a matter of seconds, she flew at full speed towards Contume, driving the horn into his gut. Contume flinched and spit up blood. He looked surprised for a moment before his face turned into a smirk as he whispered one final word. “Checkmate . . .” Cozy blinked again, snapping out of her rage to see Contume’s eyes fall shut as his head thudded against the ground. Cozy was stunned, shaking violently as tears entered her eyes. She backed up from Contume with the horn still in full grip, pulling it out of the carcass. She would’ve stood there, speechless, all night if a light from above hadn’t shone on her. “There!” a voice yelled, shocking Cozy from her torment.  Cozy panicked at the realization that she was about to have more unwanted company. She immediately placed the blue horn in her bag before flying away from the community to not be seen. Cozy shuddered violently, trying desperately to rid her mind of the memory. She hated that things ended that way, but she couldn’t just sit by and let fear overtake her again. Thanks to the incident, she no longer felt her fear of unicorns, allowing for her to be comfortable enough to place her rook in her bag without much reluctance. Cozy emerged from her hiding place, attempting to let go of the past and embrace the future. She was planning to free Tirek and let him steal Princess Twilight’s magic so Cozy could walk in and claim her position as the Princess of Friendship. “No, that sounds lame. I’d view myself more as . . . the Empress of Friendship.” Cozy began to laugh quietly to herself in confidence at her plan until the harsh revelation set into her mind. How was she going to get a hold of Tirek at all? She didn’t know where Tartarus was. Before Cozy could plot ahead further, a gray pegasus zipped by her with immense speed, nearly crashing into her. The sudden gust of wind knocked Cozy off balanced and pushed her to the ground, but before she could look up to scold the pony, the fluctuating voice of the mare sounded. “Oops, my bad.” The gray pony stood up and brushed herself off before grabbing a letter off the ground. She then turned towards Cozy. “Are you okay there, little filly?” Cozy frowned before pulling herself off the ground. “What was all that about?” “Oh gee, I’m sorry. I’m just running a little late to do my rounds. I accidentally flew to the wrong city again to deliver the mail.” Cozy’s face loosened when she heard that, struck with a solution to her problem. She peeked at the attire of the older pegasus, noticing the mail saddlebag wrapped around her and the “I heart muffins” apron peeking out. “You’re a mail pony?” “Oh, no, I’m a female pony, I think.” “No, I meant you deliver mail.” “Indeed I do. I deliver mail all around Equestria.” “Oh golly yes. I’ve been looking for you. If it’s not too much trouble, would you be able to deliver a message for me?”  “Oh sure thing there, filly. Where would you like it delivered?” Cozy took a deep breath, worried of what answer she would be met with. “Um, if it’s not too much of a trip, I was wondering if you could deliver a message to a special someone in Tartarus.” She blinked with her cutest smile. The gray pegasus was taken aback. “Tartarus?” She repeated for confirmation. Cozy nodded, trying to maintain her confidence. “Oh, no can do there, filly. Tartarus deliveries were outlawed a while back. Ponies were aiding creatures in escape through methods written on the messages.” “Oh, I see,” Cozy began, trying her best hurt impression. “I just thought it wouldn’t be too much of a bother because I have a friend I need to hear from down there.” “You make friends with Equestria’s most wanted?” “Um, yes?” “You’re bad at friendship.” Cozy tilted her head before the pony continued. “I’m sorry, filly. It’s Celestia’s orders. No more mail in or out of Tartarus.” “Oh, but you don’t understand. Don’t you remember what happened with the Princess of the Night? She was feared for a long time, but then Twilight and her friends helped her see the good in her, and now she’s princess of Equestria again. Then there was that being of chaos that had terrorized ponyville, but through the magic of friendship, he was reformed and now protects Equestria. I believe the same thing can be done for my friend down in Tartarus. I’m sure that through the use of letters, I can help him see what he was doing. Don’t you believe that there’s no one that’s beyond help?” The gray mare stared emotionally at Cozy. “I do believe that.” “Then you’ll help me. You will be doing a lot if you help me send letters to him.” The mare’s eyes drooped apologetically. “I’m sorry, little filly.” Cozy glanced at the mail mare’s apron again before saying “you’ll get a muffin for every letter you send.” “It’s a deal!” The gray mare agreed immediately. “When would you like your message delivered?” “If you could stick around for a little bit. I may have multiple things to send.” Cozy looked at her small saddle bag where she kept the coins from Contume’s throne room. Her master plan was now in motion.