“Party streamers,” Cozy says quietly to Cheese beside her in such a way that it does not seem like she moved her lips. As she spoke, she is smiling and waving at the crowded streets around them while they ride a float off to the airship docks of Canterlot. “Confetti, giant balloons, fireworks, I think I even saw some T-shirts with our faces on it . . . How did your folks set all this up in one . . . day?! I swear these streets were clean of all this activity yesterday.”
Cheese grins coyly at her friend as she reminds, “My mother can set up an entire party in a few seconds by blasting it out of a canon. If she can do that, then do you really think she can't set this up with an entire day to work with?”
“And your father?” Cozy asks curiously while seeming not to speak to Cheese at all. Instead, she just continues smiling and waving.
“My father? Um,” Cheese thinks about that, then answers, “Typically he needs more time to set up his parties but, after he does, it's epic in scale.”
“Which, of the two, do you think set this up?” Cozy probes.
Cheese looks around at the decorations and the rain of confetti showing down on them from above, then says, “Probably both, and I think both of my parents will meet me at the docks.”
“You weren't involved with this, were you?” Cozy figures.
Cheese shakes her head, then says, “No, but I suspected they would be here since this is their last chance to see me in quite a while. Plus, I know they have a penchant for setting up surprise parties.”
“So you were expecting to be surprised?” Cozy snickers then passes her friend a brief grin. “Is it still really a surprise if you predicted it coming?”
“I can expect a surprise and still be unaware exactly what form it will take,” Cheese says with a shrug. “Besides, I wasn't totally sure that they would do this. I was only ninety percent sure.”
In response, Cozy briefly rolls her eyes then goes back to smiling and waving.
At first Cozy is flattered at all this celebration and positive attention towards her, but she's fairly certain that her mother is drawing in the vast amount of the true admiration. A mother who is in another float behind them.
But then something occurs to Cozy that disturbs and depresses her. That is the theory of; what if these ponies are celebrating the fact that Cozy is leaving? What if they're happy to see her gone?
Cozy does not consider herself a “reformed” villain, but ponies, in general, tend to be a very forgiving race. Even if she did consider herself to have turned a new leaf, she wouldn't be the first. Trixie had some issues in Ponyville, but with one magician stage show later, almost everything was copacetic. As for Starlight, she was forgiven in her old village almost immediately.
But neither Trixie nor Starlight damaged the world as severely as Cozy once did, let alone did it twice. At her mother's behest, Cozy has made some public appearances with the intent to apologize to the masses, but it seems to Cozy that it takes much more to truly patch things up. She needs to be there in front of others and interact with them on nearly a daily basis. She has to become the norm before ponies can trot past her and give her a smile and a wave from a place of authenticity. Instead of that, she thinks most ponies will seem openly friendly, but inwardly they still feel guarded.
Or, at least, that is Cozy's theory.
If it's true, that is a painful realization for Cozy. She wants friends, but it puts her mind in a dark place to think that everpony else is looking forward to her departure just to be rid of her.
I feel tired, Cozy thinks to herself. Smiling and waving is so painful when it doesn't come from the heart, and I don't want a party when I feel sad.
But, as a Princess of Equestria, I have an image to uphold.
She sighs to herself.
I have to be strong.
Cozy hears Prince Salizar's voice long before she spots him because he uses a trick that seems to be somewhat common among unicorn, or especially alicorn, royalty, and that is a spell that magically projects their voice. However, Cozy has a hard time understanding him due to the bouncing echoes of his voice. It is not until she draws much closer to him, close enough that he is within sight of her, that she finally understands the tail end of his speech.
When she spots him, she is surprised to notice that there is another spell he is maintaining. It kind of looks like human Rarity's gem shield spell except it is closer to a golden transparent force field. This force field he has shaped into a disk wide enough for him to stand on and he is levitating that above his ship and a few feet forward from it which would actually make him stand on a floating platform that is hovering over a very massive drop.
“So that is why, when I leave you all, I know some part of you is with us on our journey,” Prince Salizar's voice booms across the massive crowd ahead of him. “I know I can count on each and everyone of you to prepare for what it to come, come what may.” He dramatically lifts a single hoof up. “The boundaries and boarders of our understanding are expanding each and ever single day, and new maps must be drawn to account for this. As this knowledge expands, so too will we encounter new life and exotic civilizations. Civilizations which, I have no doubt, will be equally curious about us.
“So . . . prepare yourselves, my friends, for they are coming. The world is rapidly changing, and we shall . . . Nay, we must all do our part to welcome them with open hooves as well as shower them with the light and warmth of harmony that we all share.”
Next, he bows in Cozy's direction as he calls out, “Welcome, Your Majesties. Welcome aboard the Flying Carpet on the day we set sail for ADVENTRUE!”
A massive cheer rose from the crowd.
Meanwhile, Cozy's float continues to approach until they reach the docks. Cozy and Cheese disembark their parade float at that point then trot across the docks by hoof until they reach the ship.
“Aye-aye!” Rockhoof, who apparently boarded the ship earlier this morning, cheers at Prince Salizar as his glowing, floating disk hovers back to the ship then vanishes, dumping him a few inches down until his own hooves reach the deck. “That was a heroic speech, laddie!” Rockhoof continues to cheer. “I'll make ya a member of me ol' Mighty 'Elm sailing crew yet. Aye, 'tis true.”
“No thank you,” the prince rejected. “I'm already quite settled on my profession but thank you for the compliment. Also, one profession that your old comrades and I have is that we are adventurers.”
“An ah fine one they be at that. Aye,” Rockhoof announces proudly.
“Permission to come aboard?” Sunset Shimmer requests politely at the base of the plank that leads to the top deck. As for the other plank, the one that leads directly to the third deck, it has been closed already.
Captain Tidus glances at Prince Salizar for a second after Sunset requested that. When he nods, Tidus looks back at Sunset and waves her board with a wave of a talon. As he did that, he said, “Permission granted. Welcome aboard, Sunset Shimmer, Cozy Glow, Miss Cheese Pie, and-”
He gets cut off by a sonic boom that is accompanied with a roaring voice of a mare, “DON'T FORGET TO WRITE!!!”
Everyone present painfully winces at the intense volume of that request. They quickly trace the speaker back to a bouncing pink mare just to the side of the docks. She is yelling her request at the top of her voice through a comically giant, oversized loudspeaker that she is somehow carrying with one hoof.
“Um, I'm sorry, Captain, but you're going to have to excuse me for a few minutes,” Cheese requests. “I don't think my folks are prepared to see me off until they bid me goodbye in person one last time today.”
“Please do,” Tidus requests as he jabs his left talon into his left ear and wiggles it. “I don't think my eardrums can take another outburst like that.”
Cheese laughs nervously, then admits in embarrassment, “Heh-heh, yeah. My parents can be quite excessive sometimes but they mean well.”
“Considering how many times your mother and her friends helped to save Equestria, I have no doubt of your claims,” Captain Tidus agrees. “Just make it quick. We're scheduled to set sail within the hour.”
Cheese salutes him as she says, “Aye-aye, Captain. Be back in a few minutes. Chou.”
Following that statement, she zips away as a yellow blur, racing towards her folks.
As Cozy Glow trots up the ramp, she gazes over her shoulder at her retreating friend. She witness Cheese leap into both of her parent's forelegs as they all hug each other. Pinkie Pie's head momentarily grows three times its normal size due to the tightness of that initial squeeze.
Cozy used to wonder what it feels like to be loved like that. In a way she still does not know because her own mother is rarely that excitable unless the subject matter has something to do with a rare book.
In thinking of her mother, she glances back to her after she is aboard the ship.
Princess Twilight steps aboard the ship while flanked by a pair of pegasus guards. Since the plank is two thin to allow them to trot up beside her, they simply flew to her sides until she reached the ship. When that happens, they land on the deck and continue flanking her in a guarded pose until she spreads her purple wings for a moment in a silent request for more space. Without a word, they sidestep away from her a few paces as requested.
Twilight smiles proudly at Cozy for a moment, then she, too, looks over her own shoulder at Cheese Pie embracing her parents. She glances back at Cozy once and nods to indicate that Cozy should follow her. When she does, Twilight trots to the rail on the port side of the ship. From there, both of them can not only continue to gaze at Cheese and her parents, but everyone else assembled in this area.
“I know how they feel,” Twilight says at last, finally breaking the silence between them that lingered for about half a minute. “It can be hard to let go sometimes. I remember how I felt that way just before I moved from Ponyville.”
“That reminds me,” Cozy looks up at her mother, “why did you move to Canterlot? You had a castle all set up for you in Ponyville. You could have simply ruled from there, and that, in turn, could turn into Equestria's new ruling capital.”
Twilight shakes her head as she says, “It's not that simple. The ruling government has been in Canterlot for more than a thousand years. It would be extremely disruptive to change all that on multiple levels.
“Besides, changing Equestria's ruling capital city to Ponyville would ruin the charm that it has built.” She shakes her head again. “It isn't meant to be a major capital city. It's meant to be a small town where everypony knows each other's names. That is one of Ponyville's most important resources.” She looks down at her daughter. “That made me who I am today.”
Cozy sighs, then says, “I guess.” She shrugs. “Besides, I like things the way they are. Canterlot has such an elite, royal flair. I'd hate for it to be undervalued just because the ruling body of Equestria's government happened to move to it's next door neighbor.”
“If you had to take over for me as Equestria's new ruling princess, is that what you'd do?” Twilight checks with her daughter. “Rule here from Canterlot?”
Cozy shrugs again as she replies, “I don't see why not. As you said, a lot of systems are already in place here. It would probably be very disruptive and inefficient to move all of this to another source.” Cozy waves a wing. “I'm sure Ponyville will be regarded as a national treasure in many ways for generations to come, but as Equestrian's legitimate government body . . . why change what works fine?
“The reason I ask, though, is because Ponyville has such sentimental value for you, and it also has a castle which miraculously grew out of the ground. After all of that, it just seems a little out of character for you to leave that town and all of your dear friends there.”
Twilight half shrugs as she views across the crowd, then says, “I see what you mean, and I understand how that can be confusing. I assure you, though, that even if I had stayed in Ponyville and ruled from there, it doesn't mean I'd see my old friends all the time like the good old days. They moved on as well.
“For instance, Rarity travels abroad a lot these days in order to care for her fashion empire.
“Things change for many reasons, Cozy. Plugging one hole in a dam doesn't prevent cracks from spreading into other areas. Instead, I learned that it's important to accept change when it happens. While that occurs, try to hold on to the most important things of our past while also being ready to accept new things. For instance, my old friends have moved on with each of their lives, yet we all take the time to share some time together once a moon. That was very hard for them sometimes because they have to move around a lot of other obligations, but they still do it because that is how important our friendship means to them.
“And . . . Cozy, I dearly hope that this experience will create lasting bonds for you as well. I remember the days when I moved from Canterlot to Ponyville. I used to be so annoyed, but that is because I underestimated the value that would come about that journey. The journey I made outwardly,” she waves a wing across the air, “and, most importantly, the journey I made inwardly.” She covers her chest with both of her wings.
“I do want friends,” Cozy admits with a lonely and thought filled voice. “I guess I always have, but part of me feels unworthy of it. I-”
“Don't you talk like that, Cozy!” Twilight scolds lightly. “Your as worthy as anypony of love and friendship. I really do think that friendship is in the nature of us all.”
“Yeah. You would think that,” Cozy scoffs.
“Do you think I'm wrong?” Twilight reflects.
In response, Cozy just holds her silence.
Twilight drapes a wing over Cozy's back and uses it to pull her daughter a little closer to her side. After she does so, she says warmly, “You will find your way, Cozy, if you let it. Friendship will always shine in our hearts if we let it. We simply have to be willing to open ourselves to the experience. In doing so, it will teach you more magic then I could ever show you with the arcane.”
“Magic which you used to beat me and my old allies?” Cozy figures.
“That can your power too,” Twilight assures, then encourages, “and I think it will be. I really do.”
Cozy looks up at her mother off the left corner of her eye with hope that seems to ask, “Do you really mean it?”
“You've had a very rough life, Cozy Glow,” Twilight says to her daughter. “I really pity you for that, but I also think they were all important lessons for you. You've been shown over and over again what doesn't work in life. Since it is come to that, why not try something new? Why not give friendship a genuine chance?”
“I already have,” Cozy reminds. “I got a few friends like Cheese Pie and your niece Flurry Heart.” She rolls her eyes. “Even though I tried to reject that one, but Flurry Heart was surprisingly instant.”
“And this is enough for you?” Twilight checks. “Do you feel that you have totally filled out your friendship quota for your lifetime?”
Cozy frowns as she says, “No. Not really. I want more, Mother. I want a whole army of friends!”
“Then do it!” Twilight drives in her point. “Make more friends, then keep on doing it. Become the Empress of Friendship like you always wanted. I welcome it as long as it is genuine, and that means your relationship must be shared together. Do you understand what I am saying?”
“Kind of,” Cozy says with a shrug. “I suppose I do mentally, but in my heart . . . I'm doubting myself. I guess I didn't know as much about friendship as I originally thought.”
“Of that, I personally have no doubt,” Twilight agrees, “but neither did I at first. Friendship is just like any skill. You get a little bit better at it each time. Diligent practice is key to your success here. Just keep working at it. And, if you need any help, I'm just a crystal call away.”
“That might work sometimes, but I know you're busy,” Cozy figures. “I'd expect delays from you.”
“This is true,” Twilight laments. “But I will always eventually answer your call because I want to hear from you. I want to hear every day how much you learned about friendship.
“In fact, why don't we make that official? Princess Celestia once ordered me to write her letters about what I've learned about friendship. You can do that same, except the crystals will allow us to talk to each other. In fact, if what Sombra said is correct, we can even kind of see each other.”
“Do you really think I should do that?” Cozy asks.
“Mind you, you can't force friendship lessons,” Twilight points out. “Especially on a daily basis. Sometimes you'll have nothing to say on the subject, and that's fine.
“However, contacting each other each day I think is a good idea, at least in principle. Sometimes I'll be too busy and sometimes you will be. That isn't the fault of either one of us, but the idea of attempting to contact each other each day seems like a good idea to me.
“What do you think?”
Cozy thinks on that for a moment, then replies with a bright smile, “I think I'd like that. I'm still getting used to both of us being on good terms for a change and I'd like to see that continue to develop.”
“I'd very much like that too,” Twilight agrees as tears rise into her eyes. “In fact, you don't know how long I desperately wished to hear that from you.”
“I'm sorry I was such a pain,” Cozy mopes.
Twilight bends down to kiss her daughter's forehead, then rests her head sideways on top of Cozy while still hugging her with a side wing.
“Better late than never, I suppose,” Twilight accepts. “I'm just glad that you and I finally came to terms. I can rightfully claim to be your mother, but I know that parents aren't always also considered friends with their offspring. Sometimes family can be your worst enemies. It's so sad when that happens.”
“Aside from you, I never had any family,” Cozy says with a frown. “So I didn't know what that was like.”
“I hope you do now.”
“I'm beginning to.” Cozy closes her eyes. “For a long while, I had this pony skull which my former master, Verko, claimed was the skull of my mother.”
Twilight gasps in shock.
Cozy shakes her head as she says, “I don't know for sure if it's true, but I did talk to the skull at times as if it was my mother. I guess I was just hoping that she'd hear me . . . and that she cared.”
“I'm sure she did,” Twilight consoles.
“How do you know that?” Cozy challenges.
“Because I know what motherhood feels like now,” Twilight answers, “and I think it doesn't matter if the experience is wanted or not. It changes a pony to know that a life depends on you so much. I haven't been the same pony since this experience.”
Twilight lifts her head off her daughter and looks down at her as she asks, “By the way, how come I never hear you talk about your father? Aren't you curious about your birth father too?”
“I guess . . . a little,” Cozy says in a bit of an empty tone as she turns her head away from her mother a bit. “However, I suspect that he was a pony who raped my mother. There is a lot of awful things that go down for slaves and . . . if one is capable of creating life then, sooner or later, it becomes something of an inevitability for our kind in that situation.” Cozy turns her head back towards her mother halfway. “However, I'm also pretty sure there were a lot of various species around us, back then, who are incapable of breeding with us even if they tried.”
“Well, you're traveling to the lands beyond Equestria soon,” Twilight reminds. “While he possibility is very remote, maybe you'll find out more information about your parents during your voyage. Also, if you'd like, I can try to find out everything I can from my end. As a matter of fact, I already did do some research before I even attempted to adopt you because I wanted to test how much somepony might object to it, but everything I found is inconclusive so far.
“In fact, pretty much the only thing I know about your parents is the fate of their human counterparts, and that story isn't too pretty. They aren't dead, at least, but their somewhat inaccessible.”
“You don't have to remind me,” Cozy says a little bitterly. “I think about it a lot when I review my counterpart's memories of those moments. A lot of it is still hazy and I think it's that way for her too.”
Twilight shrugs as she says, “Well, still . . . knowing their fates in the human world teaches us very little about their fate in this world. The signs, of the few I could find, are pretty grim, but that's about all I can tell you.”
Cozy takes in a deep breath then slowly exhale it before saying, “As Sunset is fond of telling me, my past does not need to define me because my past is not today.”
“I'd call it optional. There is a lot of things about my past that I'd want to help define me, but it's also true that who I am today depends upon what I choose to be today.” Twilight rolls her eyes. “And you know me. Who I am today depends much upon my plans for the future. That is the point of all those checklists. I like to stay organized.”
Cozy giggles a little, then says, “It's made you a pretty good ruler, too. When I become in charge, there is a lot of things I've learned from you that I think I will emulate, or at least adapt to my system.”
“You're welcome to it,” Twilight invites. “Everypony has to find their own place in the world. You are no different. We all have a special little light and song in our hearts.”
Cozy's head and ears perk up a little when she sees her friend, Cheese, bounding away from her parents. A short distance away, she pauses to wave back at them one final time which they gladly and proudly reply. Cozy also notices that Cheese is now wearing a new party cone hat. As she looks upon it, it occurs to Cozy that the hat might have been a mandatory experience for Cheese.
Since Cheese is on her way back, Cozy realizes that this conversation she is having with her mother may have to terminate soon. No doubt the ship will be departing shortly after.
Cozy looks up at her mother as she realizes, for the first time, how difficult it is to say goodbye to her.
In response, Twilight lifts Cozy's face with a wing and lowers her own forehead down on top of her daughter's.
“I know, Cozy. I know how hard it can be to say goodbye. Believe me, I had painful experiences like this before.” She takes a deep breath, lets it out, then says, “If there is one thing that I want you to remember about me before you go, it is this; I love you, Cozy . . . and I will be thinking about you everyday in a fond way.”
Cozy opens her mouth for a moment, but says nothing. Slowly she closes her mouth again. For some reason it is still hard for her to say that she loves her mother too. Maybe it isn't pride anymore that's holding her back from saying it. Maybe it's just a habit, and it definitely feels weird to stop thinking about Twilight as her enemy.
From a strategic standpoint, this relationship is useful, but with true love involved . . . if feels so much more complicated. More so than she'd care to dwell on right now.
While it is true that she has very mixed feelings about her mother still, they are starting to lighten up. There is hope for a brighter future, too. In addition, there is still a very desperate child within her that needs this.
The End