//------------------------------//
// Button's Late Reply 
// Story: Cozy Glow’s Diary Entries of Love 
// by HAKDurbin 
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A light brown unicorn filly with thistle hair and a propeller hat was sitting on a bench playing on her joyboy in the Canterlot Gardens. Beautiful flowers of various colors surrounded the area, the birds were chirping on the tree branches, and the river was flowing down the stream behind the bench, but the filly was too focused on her video game to notice any of those things. She was sticking her tongue out from the side of her mouth as she glared at the screen while rapidly hitting the controls. 

"Pixie Belle!" 

The filly jumped in alarm and almost dropped her game before turning her head to see Sweetie Belle in her mid-twenties looking at her disapprovingly. Pixie Belle opened her mouth to speak before she heard the sound of her avatar dying in the video game.

"Aw, mom, I was almost done finishing the quest," Pixie Belle whined. 

"You shouldn't have brought your joyboy to begin with," Sweetie Belle rebuked. "We're trying to enjoy the sights of the gardens as a family, not find a spot for you to play your game."

"But I just had to kill four more ogres," Pixie Belle protested. 

"Ugh. You're just like your father," Sweetie Belle said. "If you don't put away your game, we won't go see the Legion of Doom statue."

The light brown filly gasped before turning off the game and shoving it inside her backpack lying next to her. Sweetie Belle smirked in satisfaction before she gestured her daughter to follow her with her head. They walked to the center of the gardens, where Button Mash was waiting for them beside a fountain. 

"Where did you find her?" He asked. 

"She was sitting on a bench playing The Art of Legends VII again," Sweetie Belle replied.

"Of course, she was," Button said, rolling his eyes. "You need to listen to your mother when she says you can't bring your game with us, Pixie. The ogres of Zygnicra aren't going anywhere."

"I know, but I can't help it if I want to save that family that lives in that farm out in the Kavish Mountains as soon as possible," Pixel Belle said. 

Sweetie Belle shook her head and gave Button a look that said, "She's your daughter." Her husband chuckled and scratched the back of his head before he cleared his throat.

"Okay, now that we've found you, let's go see the Legion of Doom statue," he said.

"Yay!" Pixel Belle cheered.  

Button and Sweetie Belle smiled at their daughter's enthusiasm as the three of them walked together down a stone pathway. Pixel Belle was walking ahead while her parents walked side by side. But as they walked down the path, Button's smile faded, and he sighed with his head down, which Sweetie Belle quickly noticed. 

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" She asked. "If you want to talk to her some other time, that's okay. I'm sure she would understand."

"No, I'm ready," Button said. "It's not going to be easy, but I've put this off for too long. She needs to know, and I want to have closure."

Sweetie Belle gave him a sad smile and put her front leg around him. He smiled and stared deeply into his wife's emerald eyes to express his gratitude for her support. They broke their gaze just in time to see that they reached their destination. 

Pixie Belle was looking at the statue of the Legion of Doom in awe. Her eyes were on Tirek and Chrysalis, amused with the way the centaur was looking away in fear and the changeling looking like she was about to pounce like a snake. But, while the filly looked at two of the most powerful enemies of Equestria, her parents were looking at the youngest member of the Legion of Doom. Cozy Glow was standing above her companions, her eyes wide open, and her front hooves on her cheeks. If it weren't for the terror in her eyes, she would look like she was about to say "Golly" like she used to whenever she pretended to be innocent and naive. Pixel Belle looked away from the statue to notice her parents having crestfallen looks, and her smile turned into a look of confusion. 

"Mom, Dad, what's wrong?" She asked. 

Button and Sweetie Belle snapped out of their gaze and chuckled nervously before Sweetie Belle said, "Sorry, Pixel. We were just looking at Cozy Glow."

"Oh, yeah. The so-claimed Empress of Friendship," Pixel Belle said, glancing at the little pegasus. "Ms. Cheerilee mentioned her in class. She said something about how she tried to take away magic before she became a part of the Legion of Doom. I didn't find her to be as interesting as Tirek or Chrysalis, to be honest."

"Well, would it interest you to know that Cozy Glow used to be our friend?" Button asked. 

The little unicorn looked at her father, dumbfounded as if he sporadically spoke a different language and asked, "Seriously? How were you friends with a member of the Legion of Doom?"

Button hesitated before he said, "This was before she tried to steal magic. We would play video games and get milkshakes at Sugarcube Corner with her. She used to watch me play the original Art of Legends game too. In fact, the toy sword that's up in the attic was a Hearth's Warming gift from her."

"Wow. So, do you think she was doing those things for her evil plan to get every pony to follow her?" Pixel Belle asked. 

Button flinched as though his little daughter slapped him and said, “Honestly, honey, I hope she wasn’t.”

“Huh?” Pixel Belle asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Button took a moment before he said, “You see, Cozy Glow was the very first friend I ever had. Before I met her, I didn’t interact with anypony apart from my family. I wanted to have friends, but too much of my focus was on playing my games.”

“Like a certain filly I know,” Sweetie Belle added with a motherly look that made Pixel Belle chuckle.

“Exactly,” Button said with a cheeky grin. “Anyway, she was the only pony who would listen to me when I talked about games, and she was the one who asked if we could be friends. Even when she tried to steal all magic in Equestria and was sent to Tartarus, I wanted to believe there was a part of her that was still genuinely my friend.”

Pixel Belle looked at her father strangely. She had always perceived the Legion of Doom as pure evil to the core, so the idea of either of them having genuine care for another creature was inconceivable. She then looked at the floor, contemplating the brand new information before she gave her parents a shrug.

“Well, there are a lot of other creatures that were reformed back in those days, so maybe the Magic of Friendship did affect Cozy Glow in a positive way for just a little bit,” she guessed.

Button and Sweetie Belle smiled at Pixie Belle, and the latter said, “Maybe, Pixel. Maybe.”

The family became silent as the filly turned back to look at the statue again, with her eyes focused on Cozy Glow. After another minute, Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and said, "Alright, time for us to go, Pixie."

"Aw, Mom, can't we stay just a little longer?" Pixie Belle begged.

"No, you know we're meeting Twilight for lunch soon, and we need to make sure we see everything before we do," Sweetie Belle answered. "Besides, Dad needs a moment with Cozy Glow."

Pixie Belle turned to Button and asked, "You do?"

Button gave his daughter a nod, and the little filly said, "Oh," before she reluctantly walked over to her mother. Sweetie Belle smiled at Button before she and Pixie Belle walked away. The stallion smiled back, grateful for his wife's support before he frowned and walked closer to the statue. He stared into Cozy Glow's petrified eyes and sighed before he spoke as if he was standing in front of her tombstone.

"Hi, Cozy," he said. "I heard from Discord that creatures turned into stone can still hear everything around them. I hope you can because I've wanted to talk to you ever since the day you tried to take over Equestria with Chrysalis and Tirek. I'm sorry that I took this long, but I've been unsure of what to say."

Button paused for a moment, thinking of the right words before he continued. 

"The thing is, I didn't know what to believe between what you said in your letter and what the three of you did," he said. "You said you changed and wanted to save Equestria, and yet you caused ponies to not trust each other and brought the windigos back to Equestria. I want to think that there was a reasonable explanation, that maybe you tried to take down Tirek and Chrysalis and failed, and so had to play the part of being part of the Legion of Doom until you got another chance. I know that's not what happened, because all of our friends have testified that you were eager to rule Equestria, but I wanted to believe that what you said in the letter was true somehow. Then there's the other thing you said in the letter…"

Button looked away from the statue with a hesitant look. Even though Cozy Glow couldn't see, he felt like he was about to dump someone in public after they had just asked to marry him. He took a deep breath and put on a brave face before looking at the petrified pegasus again. 

"The thing is, Cozy; I never saw you that way," he said. "You meant a lot to me as my first friend that I could talk to and play with, but I never felt that way about you. I had no idea that you had a crush on me, and I was shocked that you thought I played my video games because I wanted to actually go into the world and kill monsters in real life. I play video games because they're fun and challenging, not because I want to destroy things. Maybe I was too passionate about winning certain video games that you took it that way, and I'm sorry if you did."

Button then turned his head around where he could see Sweetie Belle and Pixie Belle several yards away, waiting for him. He smiled at them before he turned back to face Cozy Glow.

"I imagine that you noticed that Sweetie Belle and I came with our daughter," he said. "Pixie is eight years old just like we were, and she loves her video games. Sweetie Belle and I have been married for almost ten years now. She knows about the letter and that I needed to talk to you, by the way."

The moderate orange stallion was silent again, imagining what Cozy Glow would say about his wife and daughter. His face fell before he finished.

"The truth is I love Sweetie Belle. I think I can say I've loved her ever since we met," he said. "She and Pixie mean more than all the video games in the world. I can't imagine what life would be without them, and I don't ever want to find out. I could never feel the way you did for me, but I would have liked for you to be a part of our happiness. If things were different, you and Sweetie Belle could have been better friends, you would've been an aunt to Pixie Belle, and we would have found somepony special for you. I like to think that's possible. Either way, Cozy, I want to let you know that no matter what you did, you will always be special to me as my first friend and that I'm happy. If you truly love me, I hope knowing that will be enough for you."

Button let out another heavy sigh, feeling as though a weight was taken off his chest. He gave Cozy Glow a sad smile and said, "Goodbye," before he turned around and walked toward his family. Sweetie Belle gave her husband a concerned look, but he smiled and placed his hoof on her cheek to let her know that he's okay. Sweetie Belle smiled back, and the two of them kissed, making Pixie Belle gag in disgust.

"Do you have to do that?" she whined.

"Of course, we do. It's what moms and dads do when they love each other," Button answered.

"But it's gross!" Pixie Belle complained.

"Then consider it payback for disobeying me and bringing your joyboy with you," Sweetie Belle said. 

"Ugh, does that mean you're gonna kiss every time I disobey you?" Pixie Belle asked.

"Well, I like kissing your mom, so if that's the case, then you can disobey her as much as you like," Button said.

"Button!" Sweetie Belle shouted. 

"I'm kidding. I'm kidding," Button chortled. 

Sweetie Belle gave Button an unamused look before she rolled her eyes and smirked. Button gave his wife a toothy grin before turning to Pixie Belle and said, "Anyway, it's getting close to lunchtime, so let's head back to the castle. Twilight is probably waiting for us."

"Okay," Pixie Belle said obediently. "Do you think they will be serving hayburgers like last time?"

"With Twilight's love of fried food, I think it's a safe bet, Pixie," Sweetie Belle said.

"Yay!" Pixie Belle cheered. 

Button and Sweetie Belle chuckled as their daughter started walking ahead of them again. While they followed Pixie Belle down the stony path, Button wrapped his front leg around Sweetie Belle and pulled her close to him. The white unicorn smiled and rested her head against Button, and he rested his head on top of hers. The moderate orange stallion squeezed his wife as he felt complete after getting the closure he wanted for many moons. Nothing else mattered to him now but to live happily with his precious queen and his video game-hungry princess.

With the family gone, nothing but the soft breeze and the water gently flowing down the stream could be heard around the Legion of Doom statue. A little red bird landed on top of Cozy Glow's statue and started singing without a care. But as the bird sang, a small crack appeared in the corner of Cozy Glow's left eye. The crack grew until it was the size of a jellybean, and after a moment of pause, a single tear came out. It ran to her hoof on her cheek to her foot, and then fell onto the stone floor before evaporating instantly.

Nothing ever came out of the statue again.






The end