//------------------------------// // Subject 163: Inner Demons // Story: Interviews With Equestrians // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// Naturally, I went to Cozy as soon as I could. If she had something important to talk to me about something, then I had to go see her right away. But if it was in reference to Tartarus, then I had no choice but to hurry down there as soon as possible. Did she somehow know that I went down there? And if so, how? Something did not add up there. I was on my way. But before I got there, I was interrupted by Diamond Tiara who had come from the opposite direction. She looked fairly saddened by something with such a long look on her face. Though, as soon as she laid eyes on me, it dissipated in exchange for a more hopeful face. “...Oh good, you’re here.” The earth pony mare said as she pranced towards me. I raised a rightfully confused brow. “Just what’s the matter, Tiara? Is someone hurt? Did you come across anything out of the ordinary?” “Well, sort of?” she pointed a hoof towards Cozy’s home. “I passed by Cozy Glow’s house and could’ve sworn that I heard her crying. Which is super weird since we had a lot of fun together for the last few days. She even helped me learn about Maretanite--it’s a special mineral only found in Maretania.” Curious, but it was something that I needed to take care of as soon as I had the chance. “Thank you, Tiara,” I tipped my hat, and continued on my way, “But I’ll take it from here.” “No problem. Please do your best,” she replied as I went on. When I got to Cozy’s home, I heard a quiet set of sobs from beyond the door. Was it her? Why was she so sad? “...Cozy?” I called out to her, “Are you alright?” There wasn’t an immediate response. But the sniffles soon came to a stop. It took a grand total of about five minutes for me to get a verbal reply. “It’s open,” she said, “Come in.” I accepted her invitation, and trotted inside her home. I shut the door behind me, and took a look around. She wasn’t in the kitchen, dining room, living room...wait, there she was. On the floor in a fetal position, she lied on her side. I walked towards her, but kept a slow pace so that I wouldn’t startle or cause any adverse reactions. “...Erm. Is everything--no. What’s wrong, Cozy? Why are you so...upset?” “Pale, I...I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “Excuse me?” I tilted my head and took another step closer. “What are you looking to apologize for?” Her response was delayed in between her jittery breaths. “I...I didn’t know that I was...still..” “Still what?” I asked again, and took another step. “I’m still...connected to the Bewitching Bell somehow.” Okay, that was very concerning to say the least. It presented a whole new slew of questions that I needed to answer. But first, a round of sensitivity was in order. “Come on...I’m here for you.” I took a seat on the couch nearby, and invited her with my hooves outstretched for a hug. I watched as one of her eyes peered over to me, and she soon relented. The mare got up from her spot on the floor, and took a seat beside me. She didn’t respond to the hug, and merely slumped against the side of the couch. I put my hooves down, and leaned forward. “Alright. So...here’s the thing. When exactly did you find out that you still had a connection to the Bewitching Bell? I wasn’t made aware that it could establish a connection with the user at all.” Cozy sat up, and finally started to explain herself. “...when you went to Tartarus--the same place that I had been banished to when I was younger, you came into contact with Grogar--or at least some form of him. Since he was the one that created it, it resulted in the magic...fusing with me, I suppose? I don’t know how else to describe it but…” Very interesting. So this pretty much told me that she had some sort of connection to the Father of Monsters himself? Strange indeed. But what I wanted to know was just what made her so...troubled. “Okay,” I responded, “I get that, yeah. Though that doesn’t exactly answer my query. Why exactly were you in such a...pitiful state just now? Diamond Tiara approached me out of fear that something happened to you.” No reply for a moment. The pegasus blew her nose, and threw the tissue in a nearby bin. Silence was deadly, and now wasn’t the time to hold back one’s emotions. I had to be honest with her with the hope that she could be honest with me in return. “Cozy, please. I want to help you. But I can’t do that if you don’t open up for me. At least a little. C’mon. I wouldn’t dare hurt you no matter what. I promise.” At last, she took a deep breath, and gave me the time of day. “...Alright. So essentially...Grogar can’t fully return on his own. That’s why he has monsters doing the dirty work for him. To destroy everything so he can get to me.” I knew I was getting somewhere. Somewhere that I feared travelling to. “...And what is that reason, Cozy?” “Because of the fact that I was one of the three who originally found his Bell in the first place, Chrysalis, Tirek, and I were marked with magical...runes of sorts that could be led back to the real Grogar.” She turned her head to me. Her ruby red, bloodshot eyes curdled with veins of pain and uncertainty. “Since I was brought back to life, he could potentially use my body as a vessel to return in full form since I still have traces of his magic within me.” My heart sank. I could barely form a rational thought at that moment. There was no way. It had to be a joke. “I...you mean...that I…” She shook her head, and put a hoof on my shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault, Pale. You didn’t know that I could’ve been used to bring back one of the greatest evils that Equestria has ever known. Don’t beat yourself up. If anything, it’s my fault for getting that stupid thing in the first place.” Even so, it pained me to know that the main reason why such an evil was going to return was because of something I did. However, that was neither here nor there. I couldn’t afford to waste precious time dawdling about what I felt when a war was right on our doorstep. I brought her in for a tight hug. “Leave it to me, Cozy. You will never be brought down to a life of evil again. I swear it on my life.” “I...Pale…” she hesitated, but eventually returned the hug. “..thank you.” Then I heard a knock at the door. With all of my suspicions, I decided to go answer it myself. “Hello?” Starlight Glimmer was at the door with a rather worried look on her face. “Oh good. You’re here. Look, there’s no time to explain. But I need you to come with me. Right now.” Oh dear.