It is so good to fly over the Crystal Mountains of the Frozen North. It should be chilly but, for some reason, it does not bother Cozy.
She used to wonder why it felt so nostalgic and just breathtaking, but the realization that she might have been Sombra in a distant past life gives this area new meaning for her.
It's funny because, when she gazes at the white, snowy peaks of the Crystal Mountains, she is getting conflicting information about this place. Her brain is telling her, “Past life? I don't know what you are talking about. I've only seen this area a few times. Every time I do, I wish a pony's fur is thicker.” However, her heart is telling her, “This place feels familiar. I've been here before but I can't put my hoof on why this is so.”
Mixed with those feelings is a sense of ownership as well as relaxed enchantment. Just flying up here and gazing upon the sights invigorates her somehow. Her theory puts this whole situation in an interesting perspective. Most of her heart is now pointing towards it, but she wishes there is a way to be sure. After all, it could merely be her recent association with that spirit as well as visiting a few of his past memories.
Her counterpart went a lot further in this regard. Is that more evidence of destiny?
The sound of thunder draws her attention further north. There, she sees dark billowing clouds that flash with lightning. Within them, she hears a ghostly whinny sound.
She smiles at those clouds because she finds them relaxing.
She decides to change course and head straight for those clouds. Every weather pony she's ever known would have heavily cautioned against that unless they are trained professionals, but Cozy does not care. For some reason, she just knows she can hoofle it.
When she gets close to the clouds, she notices there is an opening. This excites her, so she flies towards it. Once she arrives, she notices that it is a spiraling tunnel of clouds. The spinning seems segmented. About every four horse-lengths, the tunnel is spinning in the opposite direction of the one before and after it. This causes the entire tunnel to be a dizzying spiral of motion that gives her vertigo in a hurry.
“Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooa! I feel dizzy!” Cozy mirthfully cries aloud to nopony as she attempts to fly through the tunnel of spinning clouds, but she does not make it. She grows so dizzy that she ends up plunging into one of the cloud walls. Once she does, she ends up spinning along with it. That does not help with her equilibrium.
“Cozy,” a ghostly whisper echos through the tunnels, catching her attention. “Cozy Glow.”
“That's my name. Don't wear it out,” Cozy calls back to the distant voice.
On the other side of the tunnel, Cozy notices the strange sight of the moonlight intensifying. For some reason that does not frighten her, but she is perplexed. This is interesting, so it nabs her attention.
She attempts to focus on the bright moonlight beyond the other side of the spinning tunnel. Doing so restores some of her equilibrium. She resumes her journey to the other side with limited success. By keeping her eyes locked ahead, her sense of vertigo does not get too severe, but the spinning motion around her peripheral vision causes her flight to be somewhat awkward. She keeps curving back and forth along her way through the tunnel, but eventually, she reaches the other side.
What greets her eyes is a mountain top near the edge of a cliff. Around the area is a bunch of flowers that glow softly in the moonlight. At first she thinks the flowers are mildly reflective, but closer inspection reveals that the rose petals are indeed emitting their own bioluminescence. The area must have a strong magical charge. She wishes she had one of those communication crystals hoofy. She could use that to identify how strong of a magical ley line is in the area.
Upon landing, she notices some of the lights in the area take off and fly from the flowers. They look like colorful butterflies, but their wings are also luminescent.
“How pretty!” Cozy coos softly under her breath. “A mare can get used to this.”
“Cozy Glow,” the ghostly whisper picks up again. This time it sounds much closer. It sounds like it is coming from all around her, and now she can definitely identify that voice as coming from a fellow mare. It even sounds a tad familiar.
Where have I heard that voice before? Cozy wonders to herself. Hmmm.
“This meeting is long overdue,” the ghostly mare says around her.
“Who are you?” Cozy calls out cautiously. She tenses up. Her wings spread to her sides and the feathers of her wings stand on edge. “Show yourself.”
“You have but to ask,” the voice replies before the light of the moon above grows brighter still. Cozy looks up and notices there is a column of moonlight beaming down to her area, but there is no logical explanation for this other than magic.
Or maybe . . .
Up above, the image of a mare coalesces inside the moonlight beam as if formed from it. A mane and tail grow from her that appears to be a window to living star lights. Her hide is very dark gray which twinkles with very small specks of light. This mare trots down the moonbeam as if it is solid ground.
I get it, Cozy thinks as her eyes sink halfway. This is Princess Luna, and I must be asleep.
“Greetings, young one,” Luna greets upon arrival. “I hope I'm not intruding.”
“Well, your arrival is unexpected,” Cozy says coldly as she sits down and wraps her curly tail around her. “I heard you retired. Prior to that, I heard you worked to dispel nightmares, not cause them with your presence.”
Luna appears disappointed but not surprised at that reaction. She says, “I deserve that.”
“No, you don't!” Cozy barks harshly with a look of intense rage. “You deserve far worse than you're getting. You locked me in living stone. You and your sister and Discord. Prior to that, you locked me in Tartarus! Me! A little filly!” Cozy settles back as her face sinks back into a cold mask. “I won't say I didn't deserve some of those things myself, but I hope you weren't expecting a warm welcome after what you pulled on me. Now, please leave. This is my dream, and you really are intruding.”
Luna lifts a hoof as she says, “I shall leave forthwith if that is thy wish, but I urge thee to hear me out before I go.” She returns her hoof to the ground. “For I have come here to apologize for my past transgressions to thee, and I have also come to make amends.”
Cozy opens her mouth the moment Luna said she came to apologize. She was about to yell at Luna and once again harshly order her to leave, but the moment she added the fact that she also came to make amends, all of the sudden Cozy smells an opportunity. At that point, she becomes intrigued.
“Go on,” Cozy says with a narrow-eyed stare at the former Night Princess. “I'm listening.”
Luna cannot meet Cozy's sharp, judgmental stare for long because her own feelings of shame, so instead she gazes out beyond the cliff of the mountain as she reminisces.
“I've trot in thy horse-shoes before,” Luna begins. “In another age. Practically in another world. I, too, was locked in stone. From there, I could only gaze upon this world that was out of my reach for an age. There, I seethed. My hatred ever festering.”
Luna looks back at Cozy out the corner of her right eye as she says, “Back then, I could not control myself. My rage, fears, and jealousy controlled me. It turned me into another mare entirely. For me, it is like another life. I suppose now you can somewhat relate.”
“Blah-blah!” Cozy says in disgust. “So your life sucked as well. Boo-hoo. I guess we're both sad and pathetic little mares, aren't we?
“Get to the point! My patience is thin with you.”
Luna meets Cozy's eyes a little more as she says, “My point is, based on my past experience, I should have pitied you. I should have helped you, but instead, I judged and condemned you. I was like my sister when she judged me. I had hoped I had risen above such temperaments. My ego demanded no less of me, but in the end . . . I found myself with the same failings as my dear beloved sister, and it has wrought the same consequences for Equestria. One could even argue that the results were far worse.”
Luna faces Cozy fully as she goes on to say, “My reaction to you wasn't without cause. You threatened the magic of this world, threatened to rip apart everything I held dear, you destroyed my home, you drained my magic, you turned ponies against each other, and worst of all . . . your actions brought back the windigos. Had that pattern continued, we would have all shared a bleak fate of a wintery apocalypse.”
Luna's head shifts back as she asks somewhat sharply, “You've seen them before, haven't you? Not just personally, but from a vision of a bygone age. You saw the winter storms and what horrors it brings with it.”
Cozy frowns and looks down. She can't deny that, and that fact honestly haunts her.
“I've seen them too,” Luna points out. Now it is her turn to narrow her eyes. “I've lived it. I also grew up in those wintery storms. My sister and I both. The days of yore were dark and tragic. There was no room for hope when all was strife.”
“I forgot about the fact that you must have seen it too,” Cozy says as she looks back at Luna far more sympathetically. “I have only seen it in a vision and that brief moment on top of the ruins of Canterlot Castle, but you were there! You lived it! How did you all survive that age?”
“It wasn't easy,” Luna says as she shakes her head while looking down. “Back then, we grew accustomed to expecting loss. We numbed ourselves to everything. We fought against forming attachments, for what was the point? By learning to care about anything or anyone was simply setting us up for disappointment, for we would surely lose that thing shortly.
“Every day seemed an endless night. Every day was a struggle to survive, and our only reward for our struggles is for our bleak existence to continue. Back then, there was no end to the bitter and unforgiving chill of the night.”
“You really were there,” Cozy agrees as she also looks down. “I saw it. I felt it. The chill of it still clings to my soul. Maybe it was always there, deep down.”
Luna leans forward as she says emphatically, “Learn from this lesson well, young one, for that is the kind of disaster that looms above us all. By accepting chill within our hearts and souls, we invite it into our environment as well. Pony kind has always had a deeply intrinsic connection to nature. We are its stewards. We are its guardians. If we fail at that job, well then . . .” She waves a hoof at Cozy exactly one time. “You have seen the results for yourself not once, but twice.”
“I didn't mean it,” Cozy says sadly. “I was horrified when I saw the windigos. I thought they were an old mare's tale before I saw them, but afterwards . . . I could not help but wonder if we really did doom the world.” Her eyes look back up at Luna. “My aim was to conquer, not destroy. In pursuit of that goal, I guess I lost control of myself, too. I guess,” she shrugs, “I can relate to you and Nightmare Moon.”
“Such a threat dwells within us all, little one,” Luna lectures. “Why did I forget that? Even when Princess Twilight set you free, I still questioned her.” She sits very straight. “My faith in Twilight has always been on more shaky ground compared to my sister. Time and time again she has proven capable of sound decisions and she works hard for the benefit of all, but after all this time . . . I still found myself questioning her. By freeing you, she also freed Chrysalis and Tirek. I cannot tell you how horrified I was when I received that news. I truly did question Twilight's sanity.
“But my sister, as usual, had more faith in Twilight, and she urged me to have faith in her as well. Reluctantly, I obeyed, but I still monitored you all from afar. Both in the physical world and in the dream world.”
Cozy narrows her eyes at Luna as she accuses, “In other words, you were spying on us.”
“Do you blame me?” Luna questions. “If our positions were reversed, wouldn’t you do the same?”
Cozy's expression softens somewhat as she admits, “I suppose I would.
“So . . . based on the information you have gathered . . . what conclusion have you reached?”
Luna looks to the side as she says, “To date, Chrysalis and Tirek still concern me . . . especially Chrysalis. All of her days are spent seething and scheming. On top of that, her sanity has been sharply deteriorating as of late.
“Tirek, on the other hoof, is just depressed. He isn't scheming, or at least . . . not too much of it. Instead, he's just wallowing and . . . I don't know. Waiting for something, maybe? He still concerns me, but not as much as the former changeling queen.”
Hmm. Now there is a note to self, Cozy inwardly decides. I should pay my old comrades a visit before I take off on my journey. I'll see if there is anything I can do to help them.
At the very least, it might give me closure. I might need that so I can remain focused on the journey ahead. Considering how dangerous it could be, perhaps I can afford no less.
“Now you, however, I have found to have astounding progress,” Luna announces, “especially after your last visit with your human counterpart. You trotted away from that a changed mare. Ever since, you seemed broken, but not scheming. I did sense bitterness and anger in you, but it is reserved, like hot coal that's gradually cooling off.
“But the most startling thing I've discovered was in some of your dreams. Within them, I saw glimpses into your past. I saw why you became the mare you are today. When I saw that and realized what your motivations were, my heart finally plunged into shame over what I have done to you. Furthermore, the more evidence I've gathered at your slow but progressing redemption, the worse I felt. I've actually been where you were before, and yet I had the gall to condemn you. My shame knows no bounds. It sank deeper and deeper within me as time moved on. At the same time, I became more and more determined to seek a way to redeem myself for my actions against you. I must make amends.
“As I have observed you in your recent journey, as well as the one you're about to embark upon, an idea occurred to me.” Luna looks at Cozy squarely. “While it is unlikely that anything I can do can make up for what I've done to you in one stroke, I sincerely hope that my plan will feel like a step in the right direction.”
“Finally! Now you're getting to the good part!” Cozy exclaims. “So out with it! How do you intend to make up for your grievous transgressions against me?”
“By granting your recent heart’s desire,” Luna answers. “I believe I have a way to awaken your counterpart.”
Cozy gasps, choking, then coughs in astonishment. During that whole time, her eyes are stuck wide with shock, then she proclaims, “If you can do that, then you can consider your debt to me totally clear!”
Luna shakes her head as she explains, “Sadly, you misunderstand the depths of my powers, for I can only awaken her in the dream realm, and only for this one night.”
“What? Why?!” Cozy whines sadly. “Why just this night?”
“Actually,” Luna looks up at the moon, “I should clarify.” She looks back at Cozy. “My powers are at its height during a full moon, such as tonight. Those are the only times I can pull off this trick, and even then . . . I am expecting it to cost me an enormous amount of power. I'm not sure how long it will last, but I know for sure it will only last within the dream world. As soon as either of you awaken, things will return as they were until the core problem that caused this is solved.”
“Oh.” Cozy looks down as her expression falls in disappointment. This news, after the height of her excitement earlier, she finds devastating. There is nothing more hollow than receiving one's heart's desire within a dream, only to lose it again when one awakens. It's such a taunt.
Luna trots next to Cozy. Once there, she lifts Cozy's face with the tip of her left wing. Once their eyes meet again, she says, “If I do this, you will get to see her. The real her.” She folds her wing on her back again. “Isn't there anything you wanted to say to her? Something you wanted off of your chest?”
“I suppose I do,” Cozy accepts with a bittersweet sigh. “I guess.” She focuses on Luna. “If you can do this, I would appreciate it. I wouldn't call us even yet but it's certainly a start.
“Plus, if we do this, it gives her a chance to voice her opinions too. I certainly want to hear that.”
“As do I,” Luna agrees. “Your counterpart is clearly a victim in this. For her own sake alone, I would be willing to do this.”
“So . . . how do we proceed?” Cozy asks curiously with rising hope.
“For that, we are going to need one more participant,” Luna says as she looks over her left shoulder. When Cozy follows that gaze, she is surprised to notice there is now a door near them, but that's it. Just a dark blue, mostly featureless door that hangs on nothing in particular.
Remember, Cozy, this is a dream, she reminds herself. Logic has no place here.
The door she is looking at opens. From it, Sombra trots through. Cozy notices that, with his red scarf on, he seems to be engaging “Crystal Sage” mode for the moment. That means he's calmer and more reasonable to talk to.
Behind him, Cozy notices some movement. Focusing on that, she widens her eyes in astonishment when she notices yet another copy of Princess Luna behind the former Dark King. Feeling shocked, Cozy whips her head to look at the other Luna that's standing here. When she does, she sees the local Luna snicker slightly and gives Cozy a mischievous wink.
Feeling bewildered, Cozy stares straight forward at nothing in silence for a few seconds, then shakes her head in an effort to clear it. By the time she does, Sombra joins them near her, and the door he came from shuts and vanishes.
“Greetings, Your Majesty,” Sombra says as he bows to Luna after his arrival. “We meet again.” He rises from his bow. “Short time, no see.”
“Does that happen to you often?” Cozy feels like she has to ask Princess Luna. “Meeting another copy of yourself, I mean?”
“I am the Princess of the Night!” Luna announces as she spreads her wings for a second with that regal declaration. “My powers in the dream world carry with it certain abilities which would be highly unusual in the waking world.” She folds her wings again. “Dreams are not linear, and they don't share the same limitations one is imposed with in the waking world. By several methods, I can make copies of myself and often do so. Do you think I, as merely one pony, can see to the protection of the entire dream realm? I think not.
“However,” her eyes grow suddenly dull upon this new declaration, “I have seen other dream copies of myself that is not of my own creation, but rather that of the dreamer I was visiting.” She closes her eyes with a wince of disgust, twists her head to her right side sharply, and cuts a hoof across the air while spreading her wings a bit as she declares, “I shan't discuss that detail any further, for I am a dignified royal princess.” She looks back at Cozy, folds her wings again, and returns her hoof to the ground. “Retired, perhaps, but still . . . I have my standards.”
“Uhhhhhhhh.” Cozy blushes. “Yeah. That's . . . probably a good idea. Let's change the subject.” Still blushing slightly, she turns to look at Sombra and was about to ask him something, but he interrupts her with a raised hoof.
“There is no need for a recap, for I have already been apprised by Her Majesty of our situation,” Sombra informs Cozy. He returns his hoof to the earth. “I'll tell you what I told her; and that is the fact that if she can make this transition permanent, she is more than welcome to do so.”
“Transition?” Cozy asks with a wince of confusion. “What transition?”
“You didn't explain that part to her yet?” Sombra asks Luna.
Luna shakes her head, then says, “No, but I was about to. However,” she waves a hoof at him, “I'll go ahead and let you fill her in.”
He nods his head low to her as he says, “As you wish, Your Majesty.” Lifting his head and returning his gaze to Cozy, he announces, “Long story short, your counterpart and I share the same existence, but our egos conflict; accordingly, I will have to return to unconsciousness to permit her the opportunity to arise.”
“Whoa!” Cozy looks amazed. “So . . . if that happens, how much will she know about what's going on?”
“That is not known at this time,” Sombra admits. “It might be nothing. If such is the case, I'll leave it to you to apprise her of the situation. Do not tarry, however. I fear your time with your counterpart may be limited. Luna has warned me, under no uncertain terms, that maintaining this transition may be strenuous for her. As a result, it would be wise to make haste.”
“Then let's hurry up and get to this,” Cozy encourages. “I want to finish this encounter before I wake up in the morning, or somepony else wakes me up.”
“I have used some of my powers to deepen thy sleep,” Luna informs. “Nevertheless, it would be prudent to proceed with all due haste, for there is little I can do if somepony else forces you awake.”
“And doing so may break the transition,” Sombra warns. “Luna said that you share her existence too. While our connection may have some doubt, the latter does not, so it is unnecessary to question it.”
“Why is that important?” Cozy asks.
“Sombra will be likened to a door she must pass through,” Luna informs, “and you will be a bridge with which she must cross to arrive here. You shall be a lure to pull and keep her here. If you awaken, that connection will be severed, and she'll return to the state from whence she came. As such,” she spreads her wings towards them as if to wave to indicate them both, “I have brought together the minimum party necessary to facilitate this joint operation. Rest assured that I have thought this through very thoroughly, and I shall endeavor my best to see it through to the end.
“Now, with that said,” she looks back and forth between Sombra and Cozy, “art thou both ready?”
“Indeed, Princess of the Night,” Sombra declares with determination as he closes his eyes. “Let it begin.”
“In that case, keep thy eyes closed and surrender thyself to sleep when thou feelest inclined. By surrendering to this process, thou shalt facilitate a smooth transition.”
“I understand, Princess,” Sombra acknowledges with a subtle nod while keeping his eyes closed. “Proceed.”
“Uh, wait!” Cozy calls as she lifts a hoof. “Is there anything I should do?”
“Bear witness as these events unfold,” Luna declares as she lifts off the ground with a few slow flaps. In fact, she does not seem to flap enough. It's more like she's floating off the ground. As she does, she is raising her forelegs above her head fairly dramatically. “And speak thy mind upon her arrival. This is key, Cozy Glow, else there would be no point to her arrival.
“Now I must concentrate so that our efforts bear fruit.” When next she speaks, her voice echoes across the sky. “By the powers invested in me as the Princess of the Night, behold! Thy counterpart shall return!”
Luna shoots a beam up at the dream image of the moon above. It flares brightly. After that, she seems to steer its course across the sky by about thirty degrees. As a result, the moonbeam adjusts as well. It casts down, engulfing Sombra. When he is struck, he falls over backwards in slow motion. The more he falls, the slower he falls. As he nears the ground, mysterious mist grows around him which obstructs Cozy's view of him. Eventually he seems to vanish within it entirely.
Cozy continues to observe with bated breath, feeling desperate hope that this might work. That she'll finally encounter her other self again.
As she continues to watch, the mist gradually fades away. When it does, Cozy can no longer see Sombra anymore, or indeed, nary a pony entirely. In his place is a late, teenage human girl in a one-piece pink dress that is the same salmon-pink color as Cozy's own hide. This is secured by a white belt at the waist. She is also wearing black, shiny shoes with a tiny silver buckle at the top. White socks are beneath that which is pulled up a third of the way to her knees. Her other self has the same teal curly hair with a red hairband on it. On both sides of that hairband is Cozy's cutie mark.
Interestingly enough, Cozy also notes that her other self is wearing the red magic geode on her neck which also has the symbol of her cutie mark.
Cozy flares with inward excitement when she sees her other self open her eyes.
This is working! She's finally going to meet her again at last! An event that hasn't happened in years, and even then, that was the first time.
“Cozy Glow?” Cozy asks her other self. It feels weird to call someone else with her own name, but such is her unusual life.
Cozy sees her other self yawn and stretch, then she sits up. Her human counterpart looks around for a moment. She appears enchanted by the beautiful sight around her, but when her eyes meet up with pony Cozy, it locks on her.
“Hello, Cozy,” her human self greets. “It's good to see you again, and better still to be able to talk to you this time! If you recall, that was quite the problem last time.”
Cozy gains a slightly strange look to her pony face as she says, “Yeah, that was weird. I understand you went through some trauma before, but why would it rob you of your voice?”
Her human self shrugs, then guesses, “Guilt, perhaps?
“Ultimately, I don't know. It might have been indicative of the escalating problem that later accumulated in my comatose state. At first, I had all of Sombra's memories and it might have been messing with my head. There was possibly also some physical damage because of it. I'm not sure, but ever since then, I had aphasia.
“Fortunately for me, I was able to more than make up for it with this geode here.” Human Cozy lifts it up between two fingers. “However, I received that only after our encounter together. The frustrating thing about that is I knew Equestrian script, for Professor Sunset taught me with my encouragement. However, I only learned to type in Equestrian script. Writing it was another matter entirely. I could only write in human script, and you, darn it, couldn't read it.”
“Oh yeah!” Cozy recalls as she looks up. “I remember that now.” She looks back at her human self. “Your little notepad had these weird chicken scratches that I couldn't make heads or tails of. The cruel irony of our situation is I might be able to read some of it now after I inherited some of your memories.
“Oh, and by the way,” she tilts her head at her somewhat older human self, “why did you give me those memories?”
“Because I did not want you to repeat my mistakes,” human Cozy answers her pony self. “You came to me bragging about the fact that you would avenge us both and take over the world or something. I was frightened when I heard that.”
Cozy grins coyly at her human counterpart as she says, “So . . . I managed to fool you after all. I was bluffing, I'll have you know.” She looks off to the side for four seconds as she amends, “Well . . . sort of.” She looks back at her other self. “It's complicated.”
Human Cozy rolls her eyes as she says, “Isn't it always in our lives? I don't know about you, but that seems rather typical of us to me.”
Cozy takes a single step forward as she asks earnestly, “Back then, your eyes flashed green, just like King Sombra does when he initiates his fear curse. How did you do that? You didn't even have your geode back then. You shouldn't have had access to any magic to pull that off, and how would you even know how to do that anyway?”
Human Cozy sighs as she is still sitting down. She leans forward and pulls her knees close to her chest and wraps her arms around them to hold them in place. After that, she says, “I can't say for sure, but Sunset told me that I've been enchanted with Equestrian magic twice. It happened when I was fooling around with a flash drive which, unbeknownst to me at the time, had Sunset's magical geode hidden inside of it. I used that flash drive to hack into her computer so that I could uncover any data she might have known about me. At the time, I was concerned about my friends and family judging me for what you did in Equestria.”
Cozy lifts a hoof as she declares, “No need to explain this part. It's among the memories I've inherited from you.”
“Then you should know how I came into contact with Equestrian magic,” human Cozy points out with slightly narrowing eyes. “Why ask me this if you're already aware of that part?
“As for Sombra's curse, I wasn't really thinking about it. I grew afraid of you because of what you were telling me, and somehow that fear coalesced inside of me into some kind of spell. My guess is that is typical fuel for his dark magic. Since I recently inherited his memories, I somewhat knew the process by heart. That is the fuel for magic, by the way. Our emotions are key to the process.” She narrows her eyes at her pony self further. “But you should know this. I taught you this as Sombra.”
Cozy widens her eyes at her human self as she exclaims, “Wait a second! You remember our time together as Sombra?”
Human Cozy nods, then says, “Just as he has inherited my memories, I have inherited his. Apparently it works both ways. As a result, I'm well aware of what has transpired around me while I was unconscious, or at least . . . I know as much of it as he does, but I strictly know it from his perspective. The only difference is now I can look back upon it and evaluate it with my own ego instead of his.”
“Interesting!” Cozy says with strong fascination. “Tell me, then . . . does your ability to think with your own personality drastically change how you feel about his memories?”
“Uh . . . yes and no,” human Cozy answers. “Some things we agree upon, and others I would have felt or made a different decision.” She shrugs. “It all depends upon the situation.” She shrugs again. “We're always changing and evolving, so that's kind of normal. I mean, you don't think or act the exact same way compared to the way you were as a foal, right?”
Cozy waves a hoof at her human self as she says, “Touché.” She sighs, then says, “So . . . what do you want to do now? If you're already aware of the situation, then that spares me the effort of . . . of . . .” Cozy trails off as she recalls something, then says more urgently. “Ooo! By the way, there is something I wanted to tell you for years since our last encounter.”
“Oh yeah? And what's that?” Human Cozy grows a coy smile. “I know myself pretty well, though, so I have a strong feeling what you are about to say.”
Cozy briefly closes her eyes as she shakes her head, then opens her eyes again at her other self as she says, “Even if you do, I feel I need to get this off my chest. The thing is . . . I never thanked you before for helping to convince Twilight to free me from stone. I remember how much that meant to you when you visited Equestria, and I just . . .” She trails off with a brief sigh, then regathers her courage. For some reason, this is difficult to admit, even to, or especially to, herself. “I just need you to know how much that is appreciated. Thank you.” She bows her head as she closes her eyes. “Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. That fate was . . . it was indeed awful.” She looks back at her other self. “I wasn't aware of you at the time because I couldn't sense anything beyond the stone aside from very dim tactile sensations, but through your memories, I know you were there and I know how much it meant to you.
“I also want you to know that that appreciation has done nothing but fuel my determination to free you in return. I will not stop until I've returned the favor to you.”
“Thanks, Cozy!” human Cozy says to her counterpart with a bright, warm smile. “That means a lot to me.
“And yes, I can certainly sympathize with your plight. When I saw you trapped in stone, all of a sudden the charming magical world behind me became black and bleak. It felt like such a betrayal to the innocence that was hidden within me. For as long as you were trapped, I felt like a part of me was as well.”
“That's how I feel about you!” Cozy exclaims.
“That does not surprise me,” human Cozy declares. “We are one and the same. I think we literally share the same soul, and as such . . . we can feel each other deep down. A lot of our trials and tribulations mirror each other too to an uncanny degree. Shades of it are quite different, of course, because we live in very different worlds, but still . . . we share the same lessons on a fundamental level. The biggest difference is I seem to be ahead of the curve, but it also looks like you're catching up fast. I'm aware of the time differentials between our two worlds which would help to explain how you're catching up so fast. And, of course, I shan't be advancing my own lessons much while I'm comatose, so the advantage is temporarily in your corner right now.”
Cozy looks down and to her right as she says nervously, “Believe me, I'm well aware of the burden of that responsibility.” While her face remains directed the same way, her eyes shift back to her other self. “But still . . . know that I will do everything in my power to help you.”
“I know you will,” human Cozy agrees softly. “And I know you'll succeed, too. With that much determination, drive, and resources that you have as well as others you shall accumulate later, success is only a matter of time. The future only increases the odds.”
“I'm glad you think so,” Cozy says with a nervous half-smile. “Personally, I'm terrified of failure.”
“That's because of what you went through,” human Cozy suspects. “The consequences of your previous actions have made you aware of them and very terrified. Meanwhile, I think you should use those lessons as a guide for a more positive influence in the future, not as an excuse to paralyze you into inaction. There is too much for you to do, Cozy, and you have too much potential to allow it to waste.
“You,” she points her entire left hand at her pony self, “are a pony in Equestria, which means you have an important destiny which is symbolized as a mark on your flank. That is your proof that you have a valuable place in this world.” Her left hand grabs her left knee again to help hold it in place against her chest. “Take it to heart. You can be just as positive of an influence in this world as you were its deterrent.”
“Is that what you think I should do?” Cozy checks.
“Frankly, yes,” human Cozy answers bluntly. “But, ultimately, it does not matter what I think. It matters what you think, because this is your life, Cozy. Live it and cherish it.”
Cozy looks down as she gets lost in thought with a slightly melancholy expression.
“Um,” human Cozy looks off to her side. When she spoke, pony Cozy looks back at her other self. “There is something I want to ask you.”
“Ask it,” Cozy invites.
Human Cozy only briefly looks back at her other self with her eyes, but looks away again very quickly. Oddly, she's suddenly afraid to look at her other self in the eyes.
“I just . . . I wanted to ask you . . . Umm . . . how . . . how is my friends and family back home?” human Cozy asks very timidly. “I wasn't aware of that while I was comatose, and Sombra wasn't aware of that situation either. His mind was out of focus until you and Sunset showed up to talk to him. In terms of clarity, that is where my memories coherently begin from his perspective.”
“Uh, well,” Cozy gulps nervously because she's aware that this news will hold a lot of weight to her counterpart. After all, she partially felt the same way when she last encountered them.
“Very worried,” Cozy answers honestly. “Most, if not all of your friends and family showed up.” Cozy looks up as she thinks back, trying to recall the list. “There was your mother, Sunset Shimmer, and your adopted sister, Diamond Tiara, along with her friend Silver Spoon. All three of the CMC's were there.” Sigh. “Let me think. There was also . . .”
Cozy trails off when she hears her counterpart sniffling and crying. Feeling startled, she looks at her counterpart as she tries to bury her face into her knees.
“I can't believe it!” human Cozy wails. “Why are they so good to me? Why do they care so much? I was so awful to them! You might not believe it.”
“Uh . . . well . . . I do have some of your memories,” Cozy reminds her other self. “Your ambitions were focused against Diamond Tiara in particular.”
“YES!” Cozy cries out. “And in doing so, I hurt a lot of other people in the process. I feel so guilty for mistreating them. These are my friends! My friends and family. I need them to nourish my soul!”
Cozy grows startled when her counterpart suddenly vanishes and reappears right in front of Cozy. Her human self grips both of Cozy's shoulders tightly as her eyes bore into her pony self as she cries out desperately, “Don't do what I've done, Cozy Glow! Don't take your friends and family for granted! We need them . . . so much more than we can possibly know! They are a part of us just as much as we are to each other, and they . . .” She sinks to her knees as she whimpers strongly. Her shoulders bob in the process. “These are such very good people. Cherish them, Cozy! I beg of you. Pleeeeeeeeease!”
Cozy is stunned! She just stands there, unmoving and unblinking. To hear this passionate declaration from her other self moves her more than she can possibly realize at that moment. More than likely it will take her a long time to probably digest her reaction properly, but for now, she feels woozy, like she's on the verge of fainting.
But she cannot let that happen! She must not fall unconscious, if there is such a thing in the dream world. If she does, her encounter with her counterpart will terminate.
“Okay, okay!” Cozy cries out to her human self. “I'll think more about your words later. I promise. But, for now, let’s change the subject.
“Hmm.” Pony Cozy looks around as she thinks. “Well . . . you're back in Equestria . . . sort of.” She looks at her counterpart. “Is there anything you wanted to do when you return here? Anything at all?”
It takes a while for her human counterpart to settle. Until then, she cries and sniffles as she gradually winds down. For now, Cozy takes that as an encouraging sign because it means her other self is trying to cooperate.
“There is one thing that I can think of,” human Cozy proposes with a grin while a few tears sparkle in her eyes in the moonlight.
“Name it!” Cozy gladly invites in an effort to change the subject and focus her mind again.
Human Cozy smiles more brightly, but Cozy grows nervous to see a twinkle of mischief in her eyes and the crook to her smile. Cozy has seen that devious look in her own face plenty of times in the mirror. Enough to recognize it in the human face of her counterpart. Frankly, that makes her nervous.
“I want . . .” human Cozy begins, gives a short pause for suspense, then quickly declares, “I want to ride you!”
“What?!” Cozy screeches in shock, severely taken aback. “Are . . . are you serious?”
“Well,” the devious look in human Cozy's eyes sinks even deeper. “You are a pony, are you not? In my world, they used to be the most common mounts.
“You remember, don't you? You have some of my memories. Think back.”
Cozy feels almost reluctant to cooperate, but she does. She thinks back. In doing so, she realized that her human self is correct. Ponies, or more commonly known as “horses” in the other world, used to be common mounts, and they are still just dumb animals who can't talk.
In fact, the memories go even further. Her human counterpart actually rode on a horse before during a visit to a ranch. The really strange thing about it is it was originally Sunset Shimmer's idea, and she used to be a pony!
Yeah. Sunset took human Cozy there alright, and her counterpart dearly loved it. She fell in love with ponies even more ever since that day. It also caused her to look forward to visiting Equestria and find out what it's like to be a pony in that world. She also wanted see how adorable the rest of her race is.
“OH MY CELESTIA!” Cozy cries out with wide eyes in shock. “You really are serious!”
“So, can I?” human Cozy pleads with a giddy look to her face. “Pleeeease?”
“Geh . . . weh . . . um . . .” Cozy stutters, hunting for an excuse to shoot this one down. “It's . . . it's just so . . .”
“Pwetty pwease with sugar on top?” human Cozy presses with an adorable flutter of her eyes.
“Don't give me that look!” Cozy barks back to her other self. “I practice that look all the time in the mirror!”
“Pweeeeeeeese?!” human Cozy begs with wide, shining eyes.
“Pony Feathers!” Cozy curses. “Foiled by my own tricks. You . . . you . . . um . . .” She suddenly widens her eyes. “You're too heavy!”
A dark look suddenly sinks into her human counterpart’s eyes as she asks in a gravely offended tone, “Excuse me? I beg your pardon!”
“It's not you!” Cozy nervously assures with a desperate wave of both of her hooves wiping back and forth ahead of her. “It's me. I am a little pony. Horses are bigger in your world.” A dull look sinks into her eyes as she declares, “I guess it's because the stupid animals are built for such things, but don't lump me in with their lot! I am a smart pony!”
Now her human self has a dull look as she points out, “We're in a dream, so you can take any shape you want. Just make yourself a little bigger.”
“Oh!” Cozy blinks. “Well. I . . . guess that could work, but,” she looks down at her human self, “why don't you reflect your own advice and simply take pony shape yourself? Then I can ride you!”
“You asked me what I wanted,” human Cozy reminds. “Are you refusing my request?”
Cozy squirms as she admits, “It's just so . . . weird. Believe it or not, ponies are not mounts in my world. At least, not usually. We have more dignity than that.”
Human Cozy just silently stares at her pony self with shining, pleading eyes that is on the verge of tears. Pony Cozy knows that look all too well. She can turn on the waterworks too whenever she wants. She's certainly had enough practice with her primary weapon.
But the odd thing is it's finally being used against her, and the really odd thing is it's working!
“Oh . . . pony feathers! Fine!” Cozy cries out, relenting.
Human Cozy passes her counterpart a strange look as she asks, “Is that what passes for swear words around here? That’s the second time you said that.”
“I . . . guess?” Cozy says with an innocent shrug and a raised left eyebrow.
“Pony feathers? Oh! That's so adorable!” human Cozy squeals in delight. “I wonder if I use the curse words native to my world, I'd get a censor bleep here.”
“A what?” Cozy asks with a confused tilt of her head.
“Don't test me,” the voice of Princess Luna scolds as it echoes around them.
“You still good up there, Luna?” human Cozy checks as she calls up to the sky.
“Hurry!” the ethereal voice of Luna echoes around them. “Whatever you two plan to do, make it fast! Maintaining the power of this dream has been more challenging than I previously thought.”
“Then we have to hurry,” human Cozy agrees as she looks back at her pony self. “Well, how about it? Are you in, or out?”
“Is this really how you want to spend your limited time in existence?” Cozy asks with a final thread of reluctance.
“Yes,” human Cozy assures. “You said you were grateful to me, yet you deny me this one favor?”
“Emotional blackmail! Pony feathers!” Cozy curses which cracks her human counterpart up in amusement for saying those words again. “You really are me. I can't believe I'm suffering the consequences of my own weapon here.
“Okay, fine! You win. Get on my back.”
“Yippee!” human Cozy cries out in child-like delight.
As weird as this is, Cozy finds her counterpart's delight infectious.
“Ouch! Ouch! Hey! Watch the wings, you dolt!” Cozy complains as her human self climbs on her.
“Well, what else am I supposed to grab?” human Cozy asks. “You don't have a saddle here to sit on. That's a new one on me.”
“A saddle,” Cozy echoes with a dull look on her face then slaps her face with a hoof. “I really can't believe I'm doing this. This is so humiliating. If it wasn't you requesting this, I never would consider it.”
“Maybe . . . if you crouch down?” her human self proposes. “It might be easier to climb on if you're lower to the ground.”
“Huh.” Cozy blinks. “I guess that could work. Let's try it.” She kneels down. “Better?”
“Much better,” human Cozy agrees as she climbs on with ease. “Especially since you are a little pony.” Now sitting on Cozy bareback, human Cozy leans forward and hugs the back of Cozy's neck gratefully. “And you are my little pony! You're so adorable, Cozy Glow! I love you!”
“Eh . . . thanks, I guess,” Cozy returns. “But coming from you . . . that's still pretty weird. I mean, you're basically complimenting yourself and saying you love yourself.”
“What can I say?” human Cozy reflects. “I'm often selfish like that, and so are you! Don't insult my intelligence by denying it.”
Cozy shrugs, then struggles to stand up with her passenger on her back. As suggested, she grows her size just a little bit after standing to give her the strength and girth she needs to support her passenger better. After that, she admits, “You know me well. I suppose I can't deny that.”
“Now come on, horsey!” human Cozy encourages as she squeezes Cozy's back with her legs. “Yip-yip.”
Another dull look sinks into Cozy's face as she freezes, then she growls the words, “You . . . are going . . . to refrain from referring to me with such indignity! I already told you . . . I'm not some stupid animal! I insist you treat me with respect, or I am going to buck you off!”
“Sorry! Sorry!” human Cozy quickly apologizes. “I should have known better. I am you, after all.
“Now, please do what horses do best. Run! Run like the wind, Bullseye!”
Cozy pauses for a moment, then looks over her shoulder at her other self as she asks, “Is that a reference to something? That sounds strangely familiar.”
“Just go!” human Cozy urges. “We're running out of time.”
“Run like the wind? Huh.” Cozy muses that point. “Actually, you know what? That's a great idea!
“Hang on, you weird, bi-pedal human thing. I'm going to take you for a ride!”
Cozy rises up on her hind legs for a moment as she spins her forelegs in a rapid circle while she whinnies, then lands on her four legs again as she practically leaps forward. As suddenly as she could, Cozy launches to her full galloping speed, thus skipping the trot and canter phase. Her passenger did indeed have to cling tightly to her neck and mane to avoid getting launched off due to the sudden acceleration.
Along the way, Cozy notices a curious sensation that feels alien to her. The feeling of having legs and arms clinging to her back and neck feels very strange indeed.
As Cozy gallops hard across the beautiful glowing flowers of this midnight meadow, some of the flower petals break loose like dandelion petals caught in the wind. As she proceeds to race through them as fast as she can, they spiral behind them.
Her human passenger gasps at this, enchanted with child-like delight.
Cozy grins at this, then spread her wings and gives a hard flap at the flowers. This causes a gust of wind to shoot up even more glowing rose petals in the air which spiral around them. At that moment, they are surrounded by beautiful spinning light.
“Cozy, this is amazing!” human Cozy cries out in delight. “Thank you! Thank you so much.”
“We're just getting started!” Cozy assures her passenger as a wicked look spreads on her face. “Hang on back there, because you haven't seen anything yet! Just watch.”
“I am watching,” human Cozy assures. “And I assure you that I'm growing steadily alarmed at the closing proxy of that cliff! Watch out!”
“Hey!” Cozy calls back then lifts her pegasus wings for emphasis, then she says, “Duh!”
“You're not serious?” human Cozy asks with a nervous gulp.
“You wanted me to ride like, and I quote, 'the wind'. Well, it's time you see what I can really do!”
“No! Cozy, I take it back! You don't have to show me. You . . .”
“Too late!” Cozy cries back deviously. “Hang on.”
“No, Cozy! You don't understand. I'm scared of heights!”
That comment almost causes Cozy to flat out stop. She fights through that impulse as she asks back at her passenger, “Really? Are you serious?”
“I had a complicated history with an abusive parent,” human Cozy admits sadly.
“You flew all the way down from the heights of Canterlot to Ponyville!” Cozy reminds her counterpart.
“No, I didn't fly,” human Cozy corrects. “I merely glided down from Canterlot to Ponyville, or as I like to put it . . . falling with style! I didn't make it all the way, either. I had to trot the rest of the way to Ponyville. Despite gliding most of the way, that still cost me the rest of the remaining daylight back then.”
“Well, still,” Cozy shrugs, “you asked for this. You should have been careful what you wished for.
“Now, cling on and watch a real pegasus at work.”
Human Cozy sighs, then hugs Cozy's neck tightly as she braces herself for this.
There we go! Atta girl! Cozy thinks to herself wickedly. You're not the only one who can be stubborn. Ponies in my world are the ones who choose their direction. You climbed on to me, so I am the one in charge of our destination. I'm the ship and the captain here. Welcome aboard, mate! If you don't like it, then you'll think better about your decisions next time.
In the meantime, here . . . we . . . go!
Cozy spreads her wings wide as she leaps over the cliff. As they fall, human Cozy clings so tightly it almost chokes Cozy, but then she forces herself to remember that this reality is just a dream. Technically, she doesn't really need to breathe here. That's important to keep in mind right now.
In addition to clinging tightly, human Cozy gives a very high-pitched, shrill scream of terror. It is so loud and painful that, for a brief moment, Cozy doubts herself. She starts to wonder if this was such a good idea after all, especially now that she recalls the fact that her mother warned her, before they went to visit the human world, that her counterpart's mind was not stable even before she went comatose.
At first Cozy is diving to pick up some speed, but after noticing her passenger’s panicked reaction, she curves to level off. As she does so, gravity shifts from falling back to pressing down hard for a second as she levels off.
But, after that, she glides through the air softly and gracefully, doing her best to keep herself steady and calm in the air.
Her passenger gradually notices. Her shrill scream stops. For a moment she does not move at all. She doesn't even seem to breathe. Then, after a while, she bursts out in delighted laughter as she relaxes her grip. She starts to pick herself up.
“So, uh . . . what do you think?” Cozy asks her passenger nervously, fearing to provoke another panicked reaction.
“Cozy, this is . . . wonderful!” human Cozy cries out in delight. “The view is amazing! It's fantastic! We're really flying!”
“No, I'm flying,” Cozy corrects insistently. “You are merely the puny and pathetic human passenger who was foolish enough to climb onto a ponies back. But, since you went that far, I figured I'd show you what I can really do.”
Cozy gazes around across the sky. Down below, much of the terrain is caked in shadow despite the full moonlight above, but certain things stand out like the snowy peaks of the mountains or the mist that blows over them. There is also the shining glow of a large lake as it reflects the moonlight.
Around their area, puffy clouds glow softly in the moonlight. They gradually pass some below and above them.
“For the longest time, earlier in my life, I was born into slavery,” Cozy announces solemnly. Her passenger looks at her on her back but keeps a respectful silence. “For most of that time,” Cozy goes on, “I was owned by a disgusting mole-like creature who called himself Verko. He put a magic shock collar on me to punish me at his whim, and the device also shocked me if I strayed from him too far.”
Cozy looks down as tears drip from her eyes. When it falls off her face, it glistens in the moonlight as it descends out of sight.
“I was born a pegasus,” Cozy continues. “We're supposed to fly wild and free, but back then . . . I couldn't. I actually didn't know what it was like to really fly. I did, however, spend many cold and shivering nights in my cage, even as it rained upon my naked body. During that time, I desperately tried to imagine what it would be like to fly free in the skies. Free as a bird. I kept trying to tell myself that, no matter what he put me through, he couldn't take the sky away from me.”
From behind, human Cozy hugs her counterpart tenderly. Cozy can also feel soft tears drip onto her hide.
“Do you think we've come a long way?” Cozy asks her counterpart with worry. “Sometimes I worry that we're not making progress at all. That we're just stagnating.”
“We have been through a lot,” her human self agrees. “But the important thing is to keep picking ourselves up and get back in the saddle.”
“Huh?” Cozy asks with a blink.
“It's an expression in our world,” human Cozy explains. “It's about our attitude when we face a challenge. In olden times, we might get bucked off a horse or bull. This is especially common in an event we call a rodeo.”
“You humans also try to mount a bull?!” Cozy asks incredulously. “Oh my Celestia! You all are just begging for trouble! Remind me . . . which one of us is the stupid animal here?”
“The point is, it's a challenge,” human Cozy explains.
“I'll say!” Cozy strongly agrees.
“So as the old saying goes, if you're bucked from the saddle, get back on. Another more common phrase that means the same thing as: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.”
“Huh.” Cozy is thoughtful, then says, “I'll keep that one in mind.”
“And of course we made progress,” human Cozy reassures. “We're here, aren't we? I used to be a child who lost her parents and was cast into the orphanage, and you were a pony who was straight up born into slavery.
“Now look at us! Flying free in the air. Having a wonderful time. You are the adopted daughter of the Princess of Equestria, and while my new mother doesn't have titles that lofty, she's been a constant blessing in my life, almost to an inhuman degree.”
“Inhuman, you say?” Cozy asks with a grin. “Maybe because her heart and soul is part pony. We ponies have a natural thing for friendship, by the way.”
“I've noticed,” human Cozy agrees, “and that is not the only thing. There are many qualities about your race and your world that I am jealous of.”
“You know, it's funny . . . there have been times in the past when I felt the same way about your world,” Cozy admits.
“Oh?” human Cozy asks with sudden interest.
Before Cozy answers, she flies up to a large cloud hanging softly in the sky. Feeling delighted, her passenger finally lets go of her “mount” and reaches up into the cloud as they glide below it. In doing so, human Cozy can feel the cool mist pass through her hands. Looking back, she can also see a swirl as the clouds spiral behind them.
Both of them smile softly at this, then Cozy ascends further. She lifts them through the clouds then eventually breaks through to the other side. At that point, she changes her pattern by galloping on the clouds themselves, or more akin to gently hopping on it with moon-like, anti-gravity jumps. The softly glowing translucent clouds jiggle slightly as she hops on it.
Gradually her speed sinks to a stop. When that happens, she just stands there near the edge of a cloud cliff which opens to a vast expanse down below.
They stand there in silence for a moment, then Cozy grows startled when her passenger starts to slide off her back.
“Wait! Cozy, no!” Cozy cries out in alarm.
Then, mysteriously, human Cozy lands on the clouds as if it is solid ground to her, too.
“Huh?” Cozy wonders, perplexed. “Can you humans stand on clouds too?”
“Sure we can,” her counterpart answers then knocks on Cozy's forehead once. “In our dreams.”
“Oh!” Cozy blinks, then sinks into a sheepish grin. “Right. I forgot about that.”
“Anyway,” human Cozy says as she sits on the edge of the clouds, “you were saying something about feeling jealous of my world too?”
“Partially,” Cozy admits as she lays beside her human self, tucking her legs beneath her in the process. “I was jealous of some of your social connections to your friends and family. They were really worried about you in the hospital waiting room.”
Noticing her counterpart's eyes tear up again, Cozy decides to move on quickly from that point.
“I have to admit, the technology of your world intrigues me too,” Cozy goes on. “In this world, I was not born with magic, or at least . . . not the kind that can cast spells. I did, however, encounter one society that blended science and magic. It was fascinating to me because it was power I could manage and wield. I knew that was something I could potentially get good at. Ironically that knowledge almost aided me in the destruction of all of the world's magic, because it taught me how to network magical items.
“But, in your world, it didn't have magic in the first place, yet your species adapted so well that what you have is like magic. It's so tempting to call it that because I can't otherwise explain it. You’ve got these tiny devices that are like magic windows which draw in information from uncountable number of sources. Do you realize what I could do with that kind of knowledge?”
“I definitely can figure out what you can do with it,” human Cozy says to her counterpart emphatically.
“Oh. Right.” Another sheepish grin. “I suppose you would.”
Cozy thinks on that, then gets a sudden bright idea.
“Hey!” Cozy cries out.
“Hay is for horses,” human Cozy returns reflexively.
“Huh?” Cozy queries. “Uh . . . right. We do eat hay, as well as do other things with it.”
Human Cozy giggles a bit as she shakes her head, then says, “Go on. What's your idea?”
Cozy brightens again as she says, “Well, I was thinking that, after we free you from this sleep curse, maybe you and I should switch places for a while to see what it's like.”
“Huh?” Human Cozy looks confused at first, but she quickly reasons it out. “Oh! You mean live in each other's world for a while?”
“Right!” Cozy agrees excitedly. “We switch forms in each other's world. You get to stay here and live as a pony for a little while. You'll get to see our magic and stuff. Meanwhile, I'll stay in your world and immerse myself in your marvelous technology.” Cozy's expression shifts to devilishly devious. “Oh, the things I can do with that kind of knowledge! Knowledge that hardly any other pony in my world has access to! When I master this knowledge, I'll be as a goddess to these lowly and pathetic mortals! Mwa-ha-ha! It's the perfect plan!”
Cozy looks to her counterpart as she asks excitedly, “Wadda ya say?”
Human Cozy beams at her counterpart in amusement, then reaches forward to pinch Cozy's right cheek since she's sitting on her right side.
“Ow! Hey, quit it!” Cozy complains.
“You're so adorable, Cozy,” human Cozy coos in amusement.
“So you have said,” Cozy recalls with a frown as she rubs her now sore cheek with a hoof. “Since you have avoided answering my question, does this mean your answer is no?”
“How about we concentrate on that later?” human counter proposes. “That might be a long way off. We have other objectives between now and then, many of which are of vital importance. I suggest you focus on them for now.”
Cozy's ears fell flat as she looks down and moans, “Yeah, I guess.”
Feeling unable to resist the urge, human Cozy reaches forward and presses a finger into Cozy's nose. The moment she does, she hears two squeaking sounds that are much akin to a rubber duck losing and gaining air back.
“Oh my goodness! Your species really does do that!” human Cozy squeals in delight.
“Yes!” Cozy growls, “and we generally consider it rude when others do that to us uninvited!”
“Sorry, sorry,” human Cozy apologizes while still brimming with giddiness. “I couldn't help myself. And besides, I'm unfamiliar with pony customs and etiquette, though I must admit . . . I am interested to learn someday.”
“Then you should totally say yes to my plan!” Cozy cries excitedly, seeing those words as an opportunity to pounce and drive her words home.
“As I said, maybe,” human Cozy partially accepts, “but there are some logistical problems with that. I have my friends and family in my world, and I've been studying in preparation for college. Moving forward with your plan would suspend all of mine. It's basically like putting my whole life on hold so I can gallop off to do some other crazy adventure.”
“Yeah, but it would be crazy worth it, right?!” Cozy asks excitedly.
“I said maybe,” human Cozy reminds. “Don't ask me again.”
Right after she says that, she grips her head as human Cozy suddenly becomes woozy.
“What's wrong?!” Cozy asks her counterpart in sudden, sharp alarm.
“I'm afraid you have just about run out of time,” the ethereal voice of Luna explains in an apologetic way. “I am so sorry, my friends . . . but I cannot hold up this dream state any longer.”
“Nooooooo!” Cozy whines sadly. “A little longer! Just a little longer! Please!”
“Hurry!” Luna urges in a strained voice. “Time is short.”
Cozy looks at her counterpart as tears quickly rush to her eyes. She tells her sadly, “I don't want you to go.”
“Alas, it can't be helped,” human Cozy laments as she lies down on the glowing cloud. “I'm fading.”
“Noooooo!” Cozy whines again. “Don't go! I'll miss you!”
“Remember that feeling,” human Cozy urges. “That's how you should feel with your friends, Cozy.” She applies a hand to Cozy's side which ends up touching her right wing. “Promise me . . . that you won't forget to cherish your friends. Dark magic is not the only source of strength we can draw upon. There is so much more. So much that we need, Cozy Glow. Don't abuse them like I have.”
Cozy presses her face into her counterpart's chest and nuzzles her gently. Her tears soak her human self's pretty dress. She chokes back a sob, then mumbles softly, “Okay, Cozy. You win. I promise.”
“Thank you,” human Cozy whispers softly as her eyes grow heavy. “Your life can be a wonderful dream, too. If you keep your word, you shall discover what I have. We need this to grow. Maybe it will even break this curse.”
“I hate goodbyes!” Cozy cries. “I despise them! I had to say goodbye to my first friend, too! He waved at me at the train station as my train took off. I raced to the back of the caboose as fast as I could just to maintain eye contact with him as long as possible.”
“If he is a true friend . . . you shall see him again,” human Cozy promises as she continues to fade away. “That is what friendship is, Cozy. It is a magical connection between us all. Once the link is formed, the chain can be followed back to its source.”
“How?” Cozy asks sadly.
“You'll find a way,” human Cozy says confidently. “Here.” She reaches to her neck and pulls off her magic geode. Despite the fact that she's addressing her counterpart's dream body, she still puts it on her counterpart's neck for symbolic purposes.
“The geode is yours now,” human Cozy bids as she continues to fade. “It is composed of light magic. Use it, Cozy. This is your power too. Our power! And we are! We are powerful. Our friends make us stronger still. Don't forget that . . . ever.”
“I won't. I promise,” Cozy expresses sincerely.
“It is time, my friends,” Luna warns sympathetically.
Cozy's wrinkled chin quivers with pain, but then she says, “In that case, I'll go first.
“Wait for me, Cozy Glow!” she urges her human counterpart. “I'll save you. I promise.”
“I know you will,” human Cozy uttered very faintly as she closes her eyes for the last time in this encounter.
Feeling determined not to see this conclusion, Cozy closes her own eyes and wills herself awake.
With tears soaking her eyes, Cozy Glow wakes up. She is once again staring up at the roof of Flurry Heart's bedroom.
Cozy turns her head to her left. There she sees Flurry Heart sleeping soundly on her soft, silky pink pillows that are shaped like hearts. Funny thing is, Cozy has them too in her bedroom. Some of them were gifts from this side of the family.
Slowly and carefully, Cozy slides her way out of the bed. She emerges from the blankets gradually, but she's not too cold because she is still wearing her pink pajamas that have her cutie mark symbol splayed all over them.
Just when she is nearly out, one of Flurry's hooves flops over to her side of the bed as if subconsciously trying to grab Cozy and prevent her from leaving.
Cozy smiles fondly at this then stealthily sneaks one of her pillows into Flurry's grasp. Taking the bait, Flurry pulls that pillow back and hugs it to her chest.
As for Cheese Pie, she is sleeping at the foot of this king-sized bed. There is plenty of room on it for three sleeping fillies. However, Cheese seems to have slid out of her blankets about halfway. This, in turn, reveals her left leg which is twitching every few seconds. She's also snoring the loudest, but remarkably does not awaken any filly in the room.
Having won her freedom, Cozy trots her way to the outside balcony next to Flurry's room. She opens the double glass doors and steps outside. Once there, Cozy trots up to the rail of the balcony and views the Crystal Empire down below.
In the light of the full moon, the crystal buildings of the Crystal Empire glows and sometimes glistens. Everything is peaceful and quiet except for the sound of Cheese’s loud snoring and the wind which gently brushes through Cozy. Upon doing so, it rustles through her mane, tail, and pony feathers.
As she gazes at the city from above while gently brushing a hoof through her mane for a brief moment, she thinks back to Sombra's vision of the city’s citizens all locked below in a long chain gang. They were so miserable. She is especially haunted by the image of one pony who looked up in desperate hope for some pity or mercy.
This vision is a stark contrast to this beautiful night. Tonight everypony is sleeping peacefully. They don't just feel safe, they are also downright happy. They sing in the streets and embrace their friends and family with warmth and love. The joy in their hearts at being alive in this wonderful city is exactly what empowers the Crystal Heart so much which, in turn, shares its glorious bounty right back at its donors. It is a virtuous cycle that ever provides and grows off each other.
It's funny for Cozy to think that these are the exact same ponies from Sombra's vision other than the fact they are now a few decades older and had some foals who never knew the bygone age of the past. She's been told that most of these citizens have forgotten the troubles of their past anyway. It's a side effect of Sombra's curse, but in a way, it's a blessing, for they get to frolic and prance in this wonderful city without the burdens of the past. They happily lift up their foals and spin them in the air.
Everywhere in this city is pure joy incarnate.
Cozy smiles at this. Considering the darkness that they have endured, it feels so good to her to know that at least this story has a happy ending. The proof is before her. In a way, it feels like closure to a very dark chapter of her very soul. For some reason, knowing that settles her heart with a sense of peace and contentment. A distant shadow of guilt melts off her heart.
She looks over her shoulder at Flurry's room and her friends on the bed in particular.
“That's how you should feel with your friends, Cozy.” her counterpart's words echo in Cozy's mind. “Promise me that you won't forget to cherish your friends. There is so much more. So much that we need, Cozy Glow.”
“I promise,” Cozy says softly in the present.
Cozy shuts her eyes as tears squeeze up them. She can feel the warmth of her tears contrasting sharply next to the chill of the night.
She really does hate goodbyes, but what was said in the dream needed to be said. It is still comforting to know that some part of her counterpart is now aware that she will be rescued.
“Thank you . . . Luna,” Cozy says softly under her fluttering breath as she looks up at the full moon. “And . . . I want you to know that . . . I forgive you.”
Up above, a phantom image of Luna's shadow could be seen smiling and winking at Cozy before fading away back into the light of the moon.