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In the middle of the night, with everypony sound asleep this Hearth's Warming night, the bronze Cozy statue stood peacefully, alone. But tonight, it would see two an unusual visitors.
In the distance, the sound of someone approaching could be heard.
*boing* *boing* *boing*
In the dead of the night, a hooded pony, covered in a dark cloak, hopped their way to the Cozy memorial. They stopped in front of the statue and gave it a good look.
This is the place alright. they thought. That's some expert craftsponiesship on this thing. And is this solid bronze? That stuff's expensive.
They noticed the necklace around the statue's neck, which held the only known shard of the bewitching bell.
"There's our target. Now where is he? He's supposed to meet me here." they wondered.
But they didn't need to wait for long, as their cohort would soon appear.
*poof*
They heard a pop sound. Their friend had arrived.
"Ah, right on cue, Discord." they said.
Yes, it was him. Discord appeared, and met up with this mysterious pony figure.
"Perfect, you're here. Excellent." he said. "Once again, I can't thank you enough for your assistance."
"My pleasure. Now then." the hooded pony cocked their head to the statue. "This is your plan, the execution's all on you."
"With pleasure." Discord stretched his limbs and went to work.
Discord slithered around the statue slowly, and with a delicate reach of his claw, about to snatch the piece of the bell, when he paused his motion.
"Uh... How can I be sure of your method?" Discord asked.
"I am 100% absoltootly sure this is going to work! I mean, if I wasn't sure, I wouldn't be standing here right now! Tee hee! But here I am!" the hooded pony giggled.
"I suppose you have a point." Discord said.
"Thing is, it only works if we have every piece." they said.
With his claw, Discord quickly snatched the piece of the bell, and crawled back to the ground.
"Luckily, I've been hard at work on this here puzzle."
Discord reached behind him, and pulled out (hold your breath for this), the near completed bell! It mostly cracked, showing the fractures where it originally broke apart, but it had been put back together! Almost! It just had a little chip in it, where one piece needed to fit.
"The last piece always gets lost, doesn't it." Discord commented. "But now we have the whole thing."
Discord and the hooded pony both seemed confident and nervous at the same time.
"You know, it's not the method that rustles my tummy with doubt. It's the ethics. Is this a good idea?" they asked. "Are you sure though you don't just wanna leave things off as they are?"
"But I must do this. I made a promise that I intend to keep. And so far, your method is the only way I know of to be able to keep that promise." Discord explained. "Not to mention, if you take a look around, there's definitely room for a happier ending." he added.
"I gotta hand it to you, Discord. Despite your oopsie daisies, it's pretty admirable what you're trying to do." they said. "So even though not every idea of yours is a winner, I think you're really onto something with this."
“Let’s hope you’re right.” he replied.
They both gave each other affirmative nods.
"Shall we?" Discord said.
"Let's shall! Tee hee!"
*ahem*
"So without further ado..." Discord said.
Discord, with the bell in his paw, and the last piece in his claw, slowly put the piece into place.
To be continued...?