There comes a time in every foal's life when they realize that grown up ponies are not always as smart as one would think they are. For Flurry Heart, that insight came in the form of Starlight screaming like a possessed pony and leaping over her desk, scattering every paper on it in the process. Her banshee-wail also spooked Flurry into dropping her items, including the plant. Starlight caught it narrowly, but the hard landing brought tears to her eyes. Suffice to say, Flurry decided to leave Sunburst and Starlight alone after that. They probably needed some time to reorganize their office.
Besides, it was about lunch time anyway, so hopefully her new potential friend was soon free to come see her. She decided to wait outside the schoolhouse, watching the leaves from the nearby trees float down into the water outside the school entrance.
As she followed the leaves in their flight, she spotted a pegasus in the sky behind them. He was gray and coming towards her. She rose from her haunches and waved to catch his attention. Rumble stalled in the air and dropped down on the stone path. He had a pair of saddlebags with him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. My brother had a breakdown in the middle of our training," Rumble said, blushing and scratching the back of his head.
"No, it's fine. I didn't have to wait long at all," Flurry said. "So… what do you think we should do? Eat something? We've got several hours before I have to take the train back to Canterlot."
"Okay, you tell me when you have to leave. I'll stay here tonight and return tomorrow," Rumble said. Flurry felt a small sting of jealousy. She had never gotten to have a sleepover. Her parents didn't want her to know, but Flurry had heard no parent dared to be responsible for having a princess for their foal's sleepover. It wasn't fair.
She beat those thoughts out of her head. She still had a few hours here and she was going to have fun!
Rumble suddenly brightened. "Hey, I know what to do!"
"What?"
"In Cloudsdale, colts and fillies who behave well get candy one day a week, on Saturday. And Ponyville just so happens to have a really nice confectionery."
"I don't think Twilight Velvet is going to like it if I eat candy for lunch though…" Flurry said.
"But she isn't here, is she?" Rumble asked. "Besides, what she doesn't know doesn't hurt her."
Flurry was about to protest, but then she thought about it. Her granny had caused her a whole lot of grief with her doting, and while she always strived to be a good little filly, she was not above taking out her annoyance with a little bit of rebellion. Also, eating candy for lunch was definitely not something a little princess should do… which was exactly why she really wanted to! She felt like she had butterflies in her stomach when she nodded, a huge grin on her face.
"Okay, let's do it!" Flurry said. They started walking side by side, even if she went just a little bit behind him, since he knew the way. "You're only allowed candy once a week? Why?" Flurry asked. She could eat a little whenever she wanted, but mother always glared when she tried to take more than a few pieces.
"Old pegasus thing," Rumble explained. "Back before the unification, Saturday was when every soldier in Hurricane's army got their salary. To mold their foals into fine soldiers, they also got their 'salary' on saturday."
"Huh… I didn't know," Flurry admitted. "I should buy some for Cozy then. Maybe that'll make her warm up a little to me."
"Good call," Rumble agreed. "Don't tell her I tipped you off, but she really likes sweets… and mischief."
"Sounds exciting," Flurry admitted. "I never do mischief... I don't think mom and dad wants me to."
"It's fun. Sometimes. Except for when Cozy makes you her scapegoat," Rumble said. "She is really smart when she wants to be. And pretty silly at other times, but don't tell her I said that."
Flurry made a zipping motion over her mouth with a hoof. "I won't tell. But does she really scapegoat you? That's not really kind, is it?"
"I… guess not," Rumble said. "But it's not like she does it to be bad. It's more like she just wants to cause some mischief to see if she can. And it's not like her pranks are anything dangerous, just some harmless fun."
"But… is she really kind?" Flurry asked. "She was mean to me, and she doesn't seem too nice to you either… sorry I've got to ask that, but I don't get it. But I really want to get it though.”
"I mean…" Rumble rubbed the back of his head with a tentative expression. "I see where you're coming from. When I first met her, we didn't really start out great either… and I'll admit she has a nasty temper. But she's got good sides too. I don't think I've ever seen a braver pony than her. Even with the entire world against her she doesn't give up! And when she has set her mind on something, she'll never stop trying to get it, no matter how many setbacks come in her way! She just gets up and tries again, even more determined! She is really smart too. I promise, once you get to know her a little, she is really fun to be around! Even if I've had to take a tongue-lashing for her sometimes, she makes every day exciting!"
Flurry looked quizzically at Rumble. He was really excited about defending his friend. And he looked happy when he continued to talk on and on about all the things they had done. As she listened, she felt her resolve strengthen. She had seen that Cozy Glow could be a mean pony when she wanted, and Rumble too testified to her nastier sides.
But he also talked passionately about a pony Flurry found herself wanting to spend time with. The Cozy Glow he described was brave and exciting and determined, like a little hero-princess from one of Flurry's fairytales. Flurry wanted to be like that too!
A warm feeling washed over her as she listened to Rumble talking.
Hearing this from somepony close to Cozy, Flurry did not want to befriend her because Twilight had said she should. No, she wanted it for herself too. She wanted Cozy as a friend because she seemed fun to be with.
Rumble guided them through Ponyville, talking about some of Cozy's more memorable antics. Once, she had somehow managed to sneak through the castle and into Twilight's throne room and then slather glue all over the seat. Another time she switched the salt on Twilight's table with some of the white sand used for the castle garden paths.
Flurry was not sure if it was okay to giggle at Twilight's expense, but she could not deny it was funny to hear. Her own greatest act of mischief was that she had sometimes not cleaned up her room. Flurry didn't even know if she could find it in her to do some of the things Cozy had.
"Ah, here we are," Rumble said and nodded to a building on their right. A sign in the shape of a candy proclaimed in elegant, blue and pink letters: Bon-Bon's Confections and Sweets. Flurry had never been here before, but now that she thought about it, there was an unmistakable scent of sugar in the air.
They stepped inside the shop. Several ponies were already there, browsing the delicacies on display behind the glass counter, or picking up neat arrangements of chocolate and candy. The heavenly scent was even stronger in here, making Flurry's wings twitch with delight.
The two of them moved over to the back of the queue. "Which ones are the best?" Flurry asked. There were a lot of options behind the display case. Gumdrops, colorful jawbreakers, lollipops, chewing gums and several pieces of chocolate. Much to Flurry's displeasure, most of the chocolate was of the dark, bitter kind that her parents liked so much and that Flurry did not like at all.
"Since you like oranges, I'd recommend the orange gumdrops and some chocolate. Also, get the watermelon gums; they're just the best. I know I'll take some of the mint chocolate, gums and a cherry-lollipop. Other than that… we'll see. But if Bon-Bon made it, you can be sure it's the best candy bits can buy, and that's a fact."
"Orange chocolate sounds nice," Flurry said. But then again, everything she saw in the glass display case looked wonderful. Her eyes fell on a tray filled with chocolate roses. Every petal looked thin enough to break from just the slightest breeze. It was just like the real flower, only rich brown. She wanted one of those, just for how pretty they were!
"Next! Oh, Hello, Rumble! Long time no see!" Flurry tore her look away from the flower-chocolates and instead concentrated on the cream earth pony mare behind the counter. She had a neat, two-toned mane and kind, blue eyes.
"Hi, Bon-bon. Yeah, I live in Canterlot now," Rumble answered. "Got the weekend off and came to help my bro train for the Wonderbolt tryout."
"I heard he was going to participate," the store owner said. "Tell him I wish him luck. But what can I get you today?"
"It'll have to be the usual," Rumble said and produced some bits from his saddlebags. Bon-Bon nodded and picked out an assortment of sweets for him and put them in a colorful paper bag. Rumble took it and stepped aside. It was Flurry's turn to order now.
"I'd like... the same as him, but also some orange chocolate, and one of those pretty chocolate roses you have there, please. Oh, and one other bag too, just like Rumble's." The extra candy would be a small present to Cozy. Her master plan to enlist Rumble's help to get close to her was already paying off!
"Princess Flurry Heart?" Bon-Bon asked. "Are you here with Twilight, or…?"
"No, with my new friend," Flurry explained and pointed at Rumble. "We met in Canterlot."
"Oh, right," Bon-Bon said. "It's an honor!" She ducked into the counter and began picking out her candy. Her motions looked quicker than before, like she was stressed about something. Flurry rolled her eyes. Why did ponies always bend over backwards for her like that? It wasn't like she would dislike them for being themselves. She picked out the right amount of bits and pushed them up on the counter, then took her bag of sweets before Bon-Bon could offer them for free. Flurry did not like it when ponies gave her stuff for free. She was royalty; if anypony should be paying for something, it should be one with many bits.
The two of them left the shop. Flurry magicked Cozy's candy into her saddlebags, but kept her own out. "Say, Flurry, have you ever gone bowling before?" Rumble asked.
Flurry shook her head. "We don't have an alley in the Crystal Empire. But I have seen it in the newspapers and stuff."
"I'm not very good at it either," Rumble said. "But if you want to learn, we have an alley here in Ponyville."
"I'd like that very much," Flurry said. She opened her candy bag and magicked up a gum in the shape of a small watermelon. Shrugging, she plopped it in her mouth. It was fresh and fruity, but still much sweeter than a real watermelon. Then she fell in after Rumble.
This was fun!
Spying was not something new to Cozy. Already before the orphanage she had learned to always keep an ear open to anything ponies said around her. There was no such thing as useless information. Eventually, when she got older, she refined her passive listening into actual eavesdropping and sneaking. That was how she found the way down under Twilight's Friendship School, and that was how she and her "friends" Chrysalis and Tirek had stolen the book that taught them how to use the Bewitching Bell. In fact, Cozy considered herself pretty good at sneaking and spying.
So why didn't Sweetie Belle listen to her when she told her to remove those cheap glasses and mustache!? How could anypony think they made for a good disguise, and what dimwit would not recognize Sweetie Belle in them?
Cozy had asked those exact questions, and Sweetie Belle's only answer had been that she had adopted her "Shimmering Spectacles" persona before when spying.
Once.
In the end, Cozy just shook her head and decided to let Sweetie Belle play dress-up if she wanted. At least with her silly "disguise", nopony was going to notice Cozy Glow doing the actual spying. She did borrow a pair of binoculars though. That might be useful.
Thus equipped, the two fillies left Carousel Boutique in search of their quarry.
"Do you know where Flurry and Rumble might be?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Cozy thought. The only thing she knew Flurry was here for was to see Rumble, but he might still be practicing with his brother, and Flurry was probably not with them then. Other than Rumble, Flurry was Twilight's niece, and Twilight was from here. So maybe she would be with Twilight's friends?
Starlight Glimmer. Flurry probably wanted to brag about her magic lessons to her.
"Do you know where Starlight Glimmer is?" Cozy asked back.
"She lives in Twilight's old castle and works in the school. I guess we could check them, since they are just next to one another."
Cozy nodded and started off to the school. She didn't know most of Ponyville, but when she was a student she had lived in the school, so she knew the way there perfectly well. They went on in silence. Cozy looked down on the street, mulling things over. There were too many questions for her liking.
Why did Flurry even want to steal Rumble from her anyway? Just to spite her? Maybe, but it didn't match well with how meek Flurry had appeared. Did Twilight set this whole thing up? No… She knew that much, at least. Twilight wouldn't do that.She would never try to use Cozy's friendships against her.
That felt good… she felt a little safe, knowing that.
"Ohmygosh! Look!" Sweetie Belle squeaked and bodily tackled Cozy Glow off of the road and in between two houses. She landed hard on her back before she bounced back to her hooves and glared at her friend, wings raised. Sweetie Belle, however, didn't look back. She was, in fact, peeking around the corner, up the street they had just been walking on. "Cozy, you can fly, right? Get up on the roof, they might have seen me before I got you in. And we can't let Rumble spot you!"
Cozy didn't stop to consider, she spread her wings and quietly fluttered up to the roof. The thatched straw crunched under her hooves, but felt stable. She tucked her legs in under her body and started to carefully drag herself forward.
Clearly, Cozy had misjudged how soon Rumble's brother would be done with his practice. It must be Rumble and Flurry coming down the street right now! If so, Cozy would be hidden from them by the side of the roof until they passed her. So she made her way forward, but did not peek out. She laid herself flat against the straw and looked straight ahead.
There they were.
They were walking side by side at a leisurely pace. Cozy narrowed her eyes and picked out her binoculars.
They were walking close to each other… if he wanted, Rumble could hold his wing over Flurry. He was looking away, so she could not see his expression. But his head was turned towards Flurry, and his ears were perked up and attentive, wholly focused on her.
Then they suddenly broke off from the street and went into a building. A large sign with a bowling ball striking some pins sat over the door. Cozy fluffed up her wings irritably. Now she couldn't see what they were doing, and going inside the bowling alley was out of the question. Somepony would comment on Cozy Glow coming inside, and then Rumble and Flurry would know she followed them. No, she had to find another way to keep track of them. Maybe Sweetie Belle could go inside and then report back?
She stowed her binoculars and hopped down from the roof. Sweetie Belle still had her silly glasses on her. She saluted Cozy. "We've lost visual contact with the target. Primary objective is to reestablish visual and resume intelligence gathering operations. Failure is not an option."
"Don't you think I know that?" Cozy snapped. This was not some silly game, so why did Sweetie insist on treating it like one? "They went inside the bowling alley. Think you can go inside and spy on them? They'll see me for sure if I try."
"Uh…" Sweetie Belle fidgeted. "Negative. I've been sort of… banned from the bowling alley."
"Banned?" Cozy deadpanned. "How did you even do that?"
"Cutie mark crusade," Sweetie Belle said, as if that explained anything to Cozy. She continued to deadpan and waved her hoof encouragingly. "We were trying to get our cutie marks," Sweetie Belle clarified.
"In bowling? You must be really lousy if you got banned for that," Cozy said.
"Oh, no, we weren't trying to get a bowling cutie mark... well, not that time. We wanted to use the bowling balls as ammunition for our catapult. Cutie Mark Crusaders siege engineers!"
Cozy looked for signs that Sweetie Belle was joking with her, but could not find any. She shook her head. All the questions about Sweetie Belle's life prior to their meeting (and her sanity) were going to have to wait until later. Right now they had to figure out how to get more info.
"Hey, I know!" Sweetie Belle chirped. "The alley has roof windows! I bet you could spy through them!"
Cozy thought about that. She grinned. "I've got a better idea…"
A few minutes later, Sweetie Belle crouched on the roof and peeked through the window while Cozy sat on the solid part of the roof a little bit away. "Can you see them from there?" Cozy asked.
Sweetie Belle nodded. "Uh-huh, but why do I have to be the one looking? If anypony spots me they'll tell mommy I climbed up on the roof and I'll be grounded."
"Golly, how about because spying was your idea in the first place?" Cozy suggested. "Or because you are an amazing friend who agreed to help another filly with her troubles?"
"I like that last explanation more," Sweetie Belle said. She looked down through the windows. "Uh… they look like they have just selected bowling balls… Rumble is starting… he is throwing… He hit a few of the pins. Second throw… some more, but I still see some of them standing."
"Then it's the orange lover's turn," Cozy said.
Sweetie Belle nodded. "She is using her magic- no, wait, Rumble stopped her… She is lifting the ball with her hooves instead now… Rumble is showing her how to throw."
"He is touching her?!" Cozy growled and moved to look for herself.
Rumble stood with his back to her, seemingly explaining something to Flurry, who was listening intently. Then he took her hoof and held it out in front of him. Then he let go, lifted the ball and placed it in her hoof. She kept it steady with her other foreleg, flapping her wings for balance.
Cozy narrowed her eyes and focused on Flurry, willing her to drop the ball on her hooves.
"Cozy? Are you okay?"
"Yes, peachy, why do you ask?" Cozy hissed.
She heard Sweetie Belle approach and felt a hoof on her wing. "I don't think we need to spy more. I've learned all I need."
Cozy didn't move. She felt like she was rooted to the spot… like if she let them out of sight, Flurry might try to… do even more. Cozy didn't really know what she'd do, but she would not allow it!
"Come on, Cozy. Let's go. I think I get it!"
Cozy still didn't move. Flurry moved to throw. It was a pretty slow, weak attempt, but the bowling ball did stay on the lane and hit a few pins at the edge of the formation. She didn't get to see anything more before Sweetie Belle pulled her away from the edge with her magic.
Cozy nearly felt like she was waking up. When she was glaring like that, everything around her seemed to disappear. She knew that feeling.
It was her legendary rage. It was worse than her easily agitated anger. Her tantrums may be loud and sudden, but they were often brief. Her rage though… that was the emotion that had led her to plan and execute her scheme to wipe out all magic. It had led her to ally with some of the most dangerous villains the world had ever known and stand with them as an equal.
Her rage was dangerous because it was cold and calculated. It was not impulsive, and it was not brief.
Cozy shook her head and shoved the darkness within her back into a closet before throwing away the key. She did not want to become like that again. She was not going to become an alicorn through hatred. She knew that now.
Giving in to her rage would only lead her to despair and, most likely, death.
The first time she gave in to her rage she got jailed in Tartarus, never to get out if not for Discord's prank.
The second time only Sweetie Belle's unfailing belief saved her from an eternity in stone.
She was not going to get lucky a third time.
Cozy grabbed Sweetie Belle's hooves and lowered her down from the roof. They went in silence back to the boutique. Sweetie Belle was skipping happily though, and she kept looking back at Cozy with a glint in her eyes. Cozy could not quite read what it meant, but it was a happy type of look.
"Okay, Cozy," Sweetie Belle said with a mature voice once they were back in her room. She started pacing, while Cozy laid on the bed, watching. "You said you wanted to get your feelings straightened out. Well, thanks to our thorough research of all the objects, my great understanding of friendship and my friends, as well as having lived with Rarity, I can now ask you the final question that will determine everything!"
Cozy nodded apprehensively. Somehow she had a feeling whatever Sweetie Belle said was going to miss its intention completely, but she had gone to Sweetie Belle to get another perspective on things, and she was definitely going to get that, at least.
"Here is the question," Sweetie Belle all but sang happily. "Do you like Rumble?"
Cozy sighed and planted her face into the bed. "Well golly, I don't know? Do you think I like one of my two only friends? The one I came for advice about?"
"Nonono, you don't get it," Sweetie Belle said. "Do you like Rumble? As in, do you like him like him? Or do you just like him."
Cozy looked up again. "Huh?" was all she could say.
Sweetie Belle skipped over to her and looked up at her from the floor. She was smiling with her whole face, from the pistachio-green eyes, through the upturned lips to the perky, attentive ears. "Do you like Rumble, Cozy? Is that why you are so mad at Flurry? You're just jealous she will take away the colt you like."
"No! Or… I don't… know?" Cozy finished lamely. "How would I know? He's my friend! I don't know what it's like to like like somepony."
"And that's where having lived with my sister comes in handily," Sweetie Belle said. "Rarity says that when you are just friends with a pony, then you like to spend time with them and you feel comfortable with them. But when you love somepony, Rarity says it will feel like you both want to be with that pony forever, and yet it also feels like you want to run away and hide when he is near. Whenever you are with that pony, you never want to leave! Whenever you are not with that pony you wonder what they are doing! Love can drive you mad, in the best way possible!"
Cozy shook her head. "Doesn't sound like what I think about Rumble."
"Oh…" Sweetie Belle sounded disappointed. "What do you feel when you think about him then?"
Cozy had to think about that.
Well… he made her feel relaxed. That was the most important thing. A pony who thrived on manipulation could never feel entirely safe. All her life, Cozy had looked over her shoulder for somepony to stab her in the back. So she walled her feelings for other ponies off and made sure not to let anypony come close enough to hurt her.
Not anypony, aside from one. Rumble was the first pony she dared to be just herself around… the first pony who she had let see Cozy Glow, rather than one of her many masks.
That made him special. But did it mean she loved him?
Probably not… but around him, she felt soothed. Around him, her rage was further away.
"He makes me a better, happier pony, just when he is around," Cozy mumbled. It was the closest way she could describe it. "Even if I wronged him once, when I met him, he really gave me another chance… even when he had to choose between Twilight and me, he still chose to help me. I didn't think… anypony would do that to me. It felt nice, knowing he was looking out for me. It still feels nice..."
Sweetie Belle cocked her head, then she smiled bright enough to light up the entire room. "Cozy… you're blushing!"
Cozy's first instinct was to hide behind her hooves. But Sweetie Belle had already seen. There was no point in hiding it. So she nodded instead, a part happy, part embarrassed smile growing on her lips. "Golly…"
"Golly indeed," Sweetie Belle said. "Now we just need to figure out how to get him to say yes when you ask him out. Fortunately, I already have a couple of ideas…"