//------------------------------// // Somepony Saved My Life Tonight // Story: Somepony Saved My Life Tonight // by AlwaysDressesInStyle //------------------------------// History had taught Sunset Shimmer that there was a correlation between ponies and their human counterparts. While she’d never met her own double, a fact that troubled her periodically, she had a fairly decent sample size. So when there was trouble on one side of the portal, news was quickly spread to the other, so the troublemaker’s counterpart could be observed. The latest Equestrian criminal was a filly named Cozy Glow. She was now serving time in Canterlot Castle’s statue garden, with an expected parole date of ‘never’. Sunset hadn’t been there, and she had no point of reference for Cozy Glow, but she did know Twilight pretty well, and figured that once things had settled down, the princess would reevaluate that. If Discord could be more or less reformed, redeeming a filly should be a breeze in comparison. That mattered little to Sunset. What did cause her concern was that somewhere in her own world, there was another Cozy Glow. She knew for a fact the girl didn’t attend Canterlot High, so she started investigating other schools. She wasn’t particularly surprised to find Cozy Glow at Crystal Prep. While Sunset didn’t attend Crystal Prep, she had friends who did. Twilight had once been a student there, and between the two of them they had excuses to visit their rival school periodically. Keeping an eye on the girl wasn’t difficult. Cozy Glow didn’t hide. To the contrary, she seemed to relish being the center of attention. That certainly aligned with her pony counterpart, and while neither Sunset nor Twilight had observed anything suspicious, there was still something unsettling about the girl. ‘Fake’ was the word that immediately jumped to mind, but insincerity and dishonesty were hardly uncommon in high schoolers. There was no evidence she was leading a militia to overthrow the government. Part of Sunset was relieved by that. The rest of her was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Perhaps Cozy Glow was biding her time, waiting for the right time to strike. Or perhaps she was innocent; a completely normal, but shallow, teenage girl. Of course, that still meant that Cozy was just one errant bit of Equestrian magic away from going crazy. Just like everyone else. Sunset sighed. Sometimes life was complicated. Thankfully, Cozy Glow was connected on social media – it wasn’t challenging to find her on the internet. They had a few friends in common, and Cozy accepted Sunset’s friend request immediately. That made it immensely easier to keep tabs on her, and Sunset could do so from the comfort of her own home. As could the other four hundred and eighty-seven people the young girl was ‘friends’ with. SunsetAndTheRainbooms: Heard ur good @ chess. Would <3 to play u sometime. CozyGlow4President: Challenge accepted. Cozy Glow sent Sunset a link, which she clicked to find an online chess site. Cozy had already chosen black, leaving Sunset with white, and the opening move. Sunset wasn’t horrible at chess, but Cozy quickly demonstrated her superiority at the game, winning the game in less than twenty moves. Cozy then spent the next five minutes gloating over her win. As Sunset perused the girl’s social media accounts, the first thing she noticed was that Cozy had a cat named Snuffles. It was apparent that she was particularly fond of her pet, if the number of kitty selfies was anything to go by. The rest of her feed tended to be cute and cuddly things that any self-respecting teenager would cringe at and then mock mercilessly. Considering her counterpart’s favorite manipulation tactics involved being adorable, it was another reason to watch the girl. Sunset spent half an hour digging through Cozy’s profile, discovering she was captain of Crystal Prep’s chess team, and freshman class vice president. It was enough that Sunset made a mental note to check Cozy’s feed every time she logged onto the site from then on out. So it went for months. The extent of her interactions with Cozy were periodic games of chess, and the younger girl defeated her soundly every time. For the most part, Cozy seemed like a typical teenager, but more intelligent and mature than most of her peers… even if her taste was a bit childish. But there were no signs of scheming, and so Sunset let her be. Her task was to observe, not harass. One day without content from Cozy wasn’t abnormal, and Sunset didn’t even notice. After the third day with no update, Sunset decided to investigate further. Most likely, she and her family had gone on vacation, and Cozy was smart enough not to broadcast to the whole world that she’d be gone for a period of time. Criminals loved social media, as people often shared more information than they should. From Cozy’s page, Sunset found her mother’s page. She’d updated several times over the past few days… from the hospital. Cozy’s kidneys had failed. Now her mother was currently under the knife, donating a kidney to try and save her daughter’s life. Sunset continued watching for updates, and was relieved to discover that the operation was a success. Cozy’s life went back to normal, and Sunset didn’t even give it another thought; she just went back to passively monitoring Cozy’s activities. She also made a note of the girl’s mother’s name. Equestrian authorities had never located the filly’s parents; maybe this would be the lead they needed to track them down. A month later Cozy’s feed abruptly stopped again. This time, Sunset zipped over to the girl’s mother’s page as soon as she noticed. It was as she’d feared: Cozy’s body had rejected her mother’s kidney. Her mother’s post was begging for another volunteer to come forward, because the waiting list was too long. Cozy had been put into an induced coma and wasn’t expected to live long enough to get a donor organ. Sunset sighed. There was a way… Sunset drove to the hospital and requested to see Cozy Glow. She was directed to the room, and found the girl’s ‘mother’ weeping in the corner. Heartlight introduced herself as the director of the city’s orphanage, and revealed that Cozy was her charge, not her daughter. Cozy had taken to calling her ‘mom’ and Heartlight had never discouraged her from doing so. Even if she wasn’t Cozy’s biological mother, the woman’s tears were real – she cared for the girl, more than just duty would dictate. Sunset’s heart went out to her. Sunset quickly introduced herself as one of Cozy’s friends, and moved a chair over to the bed, next to the hemodialysis machine. She sat down and grasped the comatose girl’s wrist. The moment of truth – had this Cozy also been plotting to take over the world? …She had. Her plans were still in their early stages, nowhere near as developed as her Equestrian counterpart’s. That Cozy had had Tirek’s experience to draw from to expedite the process. This one had not. Like her pony self, this Cozy was also not a very good person, scheming and manipulating her way through life. With Cozy Glow’s most private thoughts laid bare, Sunset could see how the girl’s world view had warped slowly over time. Her adorable persona was her shtick for trying to find a home. Prospective parents wanted cute kids, and with each passing year she found herself at a disadvantage to the younger, cuter children available to adopt. People were more likely to adopt babies, and she was currently eleven. Eleven and a freshman in high school. That denoted the girl had skipped two, or possibly three, grades along the way. Cozy had come to view the adoption process as a competition. A competition she was determined to win, no matter the cost. So she acted younger and made herself look cuter. But every time prospective parents passed her by, she took the rejection personally. It made her bitter as she watched other children get adopted, but no one wanted to be stuck with her. Cozy didn’t like being a loser. As bad as Sunset felt after discovering Cozy’s past, none of that excused her actions. Cozy was a highly intelligent girl – she knew better than to do things like this. Cozy had no remorse for her actions in the least. As much as she hated thinking about her own past, Sunset reminded herself that she’d also felt no remorse until she was zapped by a rainbow laser beam. It was simultaneously a horrible feeling as she regretted everything she’d ever done wrong, and an amazing, overwhelming feeling of acceptance and forgiveness. Such was the taste of the rainbow known as the Elements of Harmony. Yet… Cozy’s life was on the line. Could she just leave the girl to die? Would Twilight Sparkle? No, she’d just turn the poor kid to stone and be done with it… Kick the can down the road and deal with it in the future, or better yet, never. Sunset reminded herself that wasn’t an option. She weighed the options in her mind. The easiest course was to do nothing. The girl would die, and there’d be one less problem to deal with in the future. No one would ever know that there could have been a way to save her. No one except Sunset Shimmer would know, anyway. Could she live with the guilt if she turned a blind eye to a fellow human being? The thought weighed heavily on her mind, and instead of returning home, she detoured to the orphanage. After introducing herself to Heartlight’s husband, Sunset was given the tour. Cozy Glow shared a room with another girl, Rose Dust. Rose had a nasty shiner, and Sunset immediately reached out a hand to greet the girl. Instead of shaking her hand though, she gripped her wrist to see just what had blackened her eye. She’d been hit by one of the boys in the orphanage. Sunset had a sinking suspicion what she’d discover if she read his memories, and confirmed it a few minutes later upon meeting him. Cozy had bribed him with a week’s worth of desserts to hit Rose. Sunset glanced back at Rose – she was a few years younger than Cozy, and definitely adorable. Cozy considered Rose her biggest rival and had acted accordingly. Sunset sighed. It wasn’t quite the same thing as trying to drain all the magic from Equestria, but there was no denying this Cozy also had questionable morals. But there was something else she’d seen when scanning Cozy’s memories that she wanted to find. “Does Cozy have any belongings?” Rose pointed to a beat-up chest at the foot of Cozy’s bed, and Sunset opened it. “Cozy dun like people going through her stuff, lady.” “It’s okay, Rose. If I’m going to adopt her, I want to know her.” “Does that mean she’s gonna be okay?” “I like to think optimistically.” Sunset smiled at the girl. “Good. Cozy Glow is amazing. She oughtta be President.” Even without finding the item she was looking for, that made Sunset pause. “You think Cozy would be a good President?” Rose nodded. “She’s so smart, and she’s always nice to everybody. An’ she wants to be President. She’d be really good at it.” Sunset pulled a plush horse out of the chest of Cozy’s belongings. Pink with curly blue hair, it had a rook prominently featured on it’s flank. Sunset hadn’t seen any pictures of Cozy Glow’s pony counterpart, but she wouldn’t be surprised if she looked identical to the stuffed animal in her hands. There was a string on the pony’s back and Sunset pulled it. “Golly, Cozy Glow sure would make a swell President.” Rose nodded. “See! Even her little pony thinks she’d be a good President.” “So I see…” Sunset tucked the plush toy under her arm and continued rummaging in Cozy’s toy chest. A battered chess set was the only other thing of interest, but she left it behind. Sunset said her goodbyes, then started walking. The orphanage was only a few blocks from the city park, and Sunset sat on one of the benches to help clear her mind. She idly pulled the string on the pony toy. “Hi! I’m Cozy Glow!” Cozy had spent years looking as cute as possible, competing against the other orphans. Years of taking each and every rejection to heart, and becoming more and more bitter with each passing year. No one wanted her. It made her wonder what was wrong with her. Eventually, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy. If there’d ever been a point in the girl’s past when she was normal, it had long since passed. There was definitely something wrong with her now. “Wanna be friends?” Sunset pulled the cord again. “Friendship is power!” “Yeah, I see where you’re going with this, kiddo. You’re a very naughty little pony.” She booped the plush toy’s nose. “All right, let’s go see your namesake.” She returned to the hospital once again to check on Cozy. There’d been no change in her status, and she continued clinging to life. The constant beeping of the machines monitoring Cozy was Sunset’s only companionship as she sat there by the girl’s bed, holding her wrist and reviewing her memories once more. With the added input of what she’d observed at the orphanage, the complete picture of just what this girl had done and had been planning to do was clear. Having all the pieces to the puzzle didn’t sway her in the least. Sunset had made her decision, and it felt right. She’d been forgiven for her own transgressions. Should she not extend the same courtesy to someone who hadn’t even had the chance to set her plans in motion? Someone she could possibly help nudge in a better direction before she crossed the point of no return? Sunset patted Cozy’s hand and stood up. Heartlight was pacing up and down the hallway and Sunset stopped her. “I… I’m going to make some inquiries. I make no promises except this one: I’ll do everything in my power to help her. If she makes it, I’d like to adopt her. I know I’m still rather young myself, but I think I might be able to relate to her better than most. She’s a very smart young lady.” Cozy’s caretaker thanked her and Sunset went on her way. Instead of going to her apartment, she texted her friends, then headed for the school. She was going home. Again. Not that Equestria really felt like home to her anymore. She’d made a new life for herself on Earth, but that didn’t stop the occasional pangs of homesickness. She missed having magic at her command 24/7, not just when she was ‘ponied up’. She missed daffodil and daisy sandwiches and the taste of dew-covered clover on a summer morning. Not to mention she missed her family and pony friends. On the flipside, she couldn’t really imagine giving up the life she’d built for herself on Earth. Human technology might not be magic, but was amazing in its own way. Not to mention she’d made more friends on Earth than she’d ever had in Equestria. But there would be no time for pleasantries this time around – not with a life hanging in the balance. She barely had enough time to notify Princess Twilight she was coming before she crossed through the portal to Equestria. Starlight was waiting for her when she arrived, and had already made travel arrangements for her. Once in Canterlot, Sunset waited in the statue garden until Twilight had a break in her schedule. It was Sunset Shimmer’s first time seeing the statue, and she couldn’t help but cringe at it. She trusted Twilight, or else she wouldn’t have come to her, but a look at the terrified expression on Cozy’s face made her doubt that this was the best possible solution to dealing with the villainous trio in front of her. Twilight eventually joined her, and the two ponies sat in the grass looking at the statue. “I’m really uncomfortable with your request to free Cozy Glow.” Sunset looked at Twilight, then returned her gaze to the petrified villains in front of them. “And I’m really uncomfortable with this.” She motioned to the statue. “That could just as easily be me. It could be Starlight. It could be your human counterpart, after the whole Midnight Sparkle debacle. This isn’t right, Twilight. We need to fix this.” Twilight sighed. “I’m open to suggestions. They’re not exactly repentant for their crimes.” “How many of us were, at first, really? Maybe she doesn’t give a rat’s tail about her fellow ponies. But her human self needs her help. If she has any compassion in her, at all, she’ll help. If she can’t find it in her heart to help ‘herself’, then perhaps she really is a lost cause. But if she decides to help her counterpart, then she proves that there’s something in her worth saving. As for the other two… there has to be something they care about other than power. Find it. Use it. Save them from themselves. I don’t know either of them. I never found their human counterparts, if they even exist on Earth at all. I’ll help you any way I can, because this? This can’t stand – it goes against everything you ever taught me, Twilight.” Twilight hung her head in shame. She hadn’t been the one to make the decision, but she hadn’t lifted a hoof in protest. Her mentor had made the call, and Twilight couldn’t fathom going against anything Celestia had decreed. But maybe that had been the older mare’s point – to do something so despicable in her final act as princess that Twilight would have no choice but to defy it. One last lesson she needed to learn, and it was a doozy: stick to her convictions and be her own mare. It was certainly easier for her to believe that than the alternatives: that either Celestia was vindictive, or the calm and collected former ruler of Equestria had been blinded by rage at the time. Twilight berated herself for needing an outsider’s perspective to open her eyes to the reality of the situation. But Twilight wasn’t stupid. “I agree that we need to do this. But not here. Not in Equestria. Ponies remember their misdeeds. Furthermore, this one can absorb magic…” She pointed to Tirek, then she pointed to Chrysalis. “…And this one can shapeshift into any other creature she chooses. Any redemption for them needs to be away from here, in a place where their natural abilities can’t be used against the rest of us.” “Someplace with limited magic. Like Earth.” Twilight nodded. “Exactly. But that’s a challenge for another day – maybe Cozy can help you with it when the time comes. For now, let’s just free her and then get both of you back to Earth. But keep this in mind – Cozy Glow is your responsibility from now on. Are you still sure you want to do this?” Sunset nodded. “It’s the right thing to do, and deep down inside you know it too.” Freeing Cozy without releasing the other two prisoners required help from Starlight as well, so Twilight teleported the statue, Sunset, and herself back to Ponyville. “We’re really doing this?” “Yes, Starlight. You gave Stygian a chance when the rest of us were blinded to his despair. You tried to get Chrysalis to join the rest of the changelings in changing.” “Which she rejected.” Starlight tapped a hoof on her chin, contemplating. “Divide and conquer, then. Starting with the least dangerous, and the one who already knows friendship.” Twilight huffed. “I taught her everything she knows, but she completely missed the point.” Sunset rolled her eyes. It wasn’t the time for dramatics or sarcasm. “She’s about to get a practical application in the point soon enough. So how do we do this?” Twilight’s purple aura glowed over the statue, analyzing the spell that had petrified the trio. “We just need to reverse the work of two alicorns and Chaos incarnate.” “Piece of cake.” Starlight grinned. “We only need to let one of them out, so if we focus all our magic on Cozy, we don’t have to unravel the spell at all. We just need to open a filly-sized gap in it. It’ll be more challenging if you decide you want to reform the others one at a time, because freeing either Tirek or Chrysalis individually won’t be nearly as easy as this will be.” Starlight unleashed a blast of magic directly at Cozy, and Twilight and Sunset quickly joined her. Crack. Sunset opened an eye to see if it was working. It wouldn’t do the other world’s Cozy Glow any good if they inadvertently killed the only one guaranteed to be able to save her. The stone flaked off the nefarious filly, and she turned her head as more of her body was released from confinement. Confusion turned to hope, then quickly turned to fear as she saw just who was releasing her. As her wings were freed, she started flapping them to little effect, since her tail was still connected to Tirek. Starlight grasped her in her aura and pulled, yanking some of the filly’s tail hairs free in the process. Cozy shrieked in pain as she was pulled free from the statue, which immediately started sealing the tiny hole that remained in her absence. Starlight kept Cozy levitating in front of them. Cozy looked from them to her still petrified coconspirators. Either Twilight was planning to redeem them one at a time… or she was the first in line for a more permanent execution. She did what she did best – she tried to read the room. Their faces were determined, not angry. That gave her some hope, it meant they probably weren’t there for vengeance. Cozy had learned some valuable life lessons the hard way – she’d learned not to swear revenge after her failed bid to take over the School of Friendship. Something she wished desperately that Chrysalis had learned previous to their combined defeat… however long ago it had been. She had no allies, no artifacts, and no alicorn magic. She didn’t even have information, so her best asset, her mind, was in the dark about everything. In chess terms, she was down to just her king, facing an opponent who had yet to lose so much as a pawn. If she had to guess, Cozy figured she’d been sealed in stone less than five years – Twilight hadn’t gotten much bigger, and Starlight hadn’t noticeably aged. The silence was awkward. Were they waiting for her to say something? Was there anything she could say? What was the word ponies used when they wished to express remorse for their actions? Regret was a concept Cozy Glow didn’t believe in, but saps like Twilight Sparkle just ate it up. She finally remembered the word she was looking for – a word she’d last used when she was caught with her hoof in the cookie jar as a foal. “I’m sorry.” She stared at the ground and folded her ears for maximum effectiveness. Sunset placed her hoof on Cozy’s and quickly saw through the insincere apology. “You’re not sorry in the least.” “What?!? How dare you accuse me of lying! If I say I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” “I can read your memories.” Cozy laughed, but it was a bitter, resigned laugh. “Fine. Like anypony needs a living lie detector to know that. Just tell me what I have to do to not end up back there.” She pointed to the statue and shuddered. “You come with me and help save a young girl’s life. I think you’ll find you have a lot in common with her.” Cozy blinked in surprise. “Me? Save a life? How?” “I’ll explain what you need to do after we introduce you to her.” Sunset led the way through the portal, followed by Cozy Glow, with Twilight and Starlight bringing up the rear to make sure the filly didn’t try to bolt. Three of them had gone through the transformation process before and had an idea of what to expect. The fourth had not, and once she landed back on solid earth she screamed for two full minutes about the changes to her body, especially the loss of her wings. Cozy was also decidedly less enthusiastic about seeing the human versions of Twilight’s friends… including another Twilight Sparkle. Cozy was herded into a car, and found herself sitting between Rainbow Dash and Applejack for her first ever car ride. She had many questions, but didn’t trust anyone around her enough to ask them. Once they got to the hospital, Twilight’s friends distracted human Cozy’s caretaker, and Sunset ushered Cozy in to meet her comatose counterpart. “Golly.” Once she’d seen there were two Twilight Sparkles, she’d quickly surmised that she was on her way to meet her own duplicate. “What’s wrong with her? What can I do to help her?” “Her kidneys have failed, and her body already rejected the one that was donated to her. As you can probably guess, you’re an exact match. Her body won’t reject your kidney. If you don’t do this, she’ll be dead by the end of the month.” Cozy gulped. “They’d have to…to…cut me open to do that. Don’t I need my kidneys?” “Just one of them. You’d keep one, and she’d have the other.” As much as Cozy was attached to her internal organs, her mind was already putting together an exit strategy. She could swap places with the girl, and let her go back to Equestria to be sealed back in a statue, go through friendship reeducation, or whatever else they were planning for her. But she couldn’t do that if her counterpart died. Likewise, the thought of collaborating with herself was appealing. If she could figure out some way to be alone with her duplicate, the two could be twice as effective as either of them could ever hope to be solo. “I… I’ll do it.” Sunset smiled. “I’ll go make the arrangements. In the meantime, since it’s going to come up eventually, you’re her twin sister. The two of you were separated at birth and have never met each other. I’ll let you come up with your own name.” Sunset left the room and Cozy climbed into the bed with her counterpart. As a rule, she abhorred physical contact with other ponies, or worse yet, other creatures. But this was herself, the only pony she’d ever loved. She snuggled against her, wrapping an arm around her. Which is how Twilight found her a minute later. “Cozy.” She looked up. “Yes?” “We need to talk. You’ve done a lot of very bad things in your short life.” Cozy smiled. “Golly, Twilight, I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” Twilight groaned. “The cutesy act isn’t fooling anypony ever again. You’re a criminal, and as the ruler of Equestria, I’ve chosen your punishment.” “Let me guess, I have to go back and take all the classes in your stupid friendship school over again, on account of failing out the first time?” “No. Cozy Glow, from this day forward, you’re banished from Equestria.” Cozy gulped. “What? But… but… where am I going to live?” Her words were only an act. Internally, she was jumping for joy at the prospect of being left here with her clone/twin/counterpart/duplicate/whatever she was. “Sunset has agreed to take care of you. She’s been living here for years, and she’ll help you get set up too. Maybe at some point in the future, if Sunset thinks you’ve made enough progress to completely leave your old ways behind for good, I’ll reconsider your banishment.” “I used to be a villain too.” Sunset had reentered the room without Cozy having seen her. “I can help you. That is if you want to be helped. I can’t force you to do anything. But I can offer you my friendship, and from what I’ve heard, I might be the only one from Equestria willing to give you that chance.” Cozy hated to admit that Sunset had a point. She’d sacrificed a lot of pawns, and there’d be no army of ponies backing her up if she made another power play. That ship had sailed and sank. Without an incredibly powerful magical artifact of some sort, she didn’t have much going for her. Grogar’s Bell was by far the most powerful artifact she’d ever gotten her hooves on, and it hadn’t been enough. Despite having been confronted with the proof that it was naught but a fool’s errand, Cozy still desired power. That brief taste of having been an alicorn only whetted her appetite for more. But she wasn’t welcome in Equestria anymore, anyway, so now the pieces had been reset and it was an entirely new game. There would be time for scheming later. Right now though, she couldn’t bear to look at her other self in such a distressed condition. She motioned to her counterpart. “When do we do this?” “As soon as the doctor is ready. Considering this is an emergency, it won’t be much longer.” Cozy nodded, but never relinquished her grip on her duplicate. The longer she stayed in this new body, the more she came to appreciate her new limbs. Cozy Glow was adaptable. She’d long ago learned that plans were prone to change on the fly. A nurse entered the room. “I need the patients for surgery.” She looked at the two Cozy Glows laying in the bed in shock. “She’s my long-lost twin. I’m the donor. I should be a perfect match so her body won’t reject it.” The formerly equine Cozy Glow woke up hours later. Her part in the procedure was over, and they’d left her in a room to recover. Thankfully, they’d also provided her with painkillers, so she didn’t really feel like part of her was now missing. “Hey kiddo.” Cozy didn’t have the strength to groan. Her new adoptive ‘mother’ who wasn’t even close to being old enough to be her mom was in the room with her. Of course they wouldn’t leave her unguarded. So much for slipping away while their attention was elsewhere. “How you holding up?” “Peachy-keen, jellybean!” “That’s the morphine. You did good today. I’m curious if that’s the first time in your life you did something nice for someone other than yourself… even if this was technically for yourself. Or at least, if that’s the first time you did something for someone else without getting or expecting something else back in return.” Cozy shrugged. “Who said I didn’t get something out of this. I’m not locked in stone anymore, and I guess I’ve got a new ‘mother’ now too. Though I get the feeling you don’t want me calling you that any more than I want to.” Sunset chuckled. “Very astute of you. How about we call me your older sister from another mister.” The morphine was really good, because Cozy didn’t even feel an urge to mock that. “Sister, got it. How’s the other Cozy doing?” “She’s doing well. The surgery was a success. As of the last update she’s still sleeping. Considering you just woke up, and your surgery was over sooner, that’s to be expected.” “Can I see her?” Sunset shook her head. “You need to stay here and recover your strength just as much as she does.” Rainbow Dash entered the room quickly. “Cozy’s still asleep and… Oh! Your Cozy’s awake. Awesome!” She zipped over to the bed in a rainbow blur. At first Cozy thought it was her imagination, but a second glance confirmed the girl somehow had pony ears and a tail like her equine counterpart. “How’re you doing? Does it hurt?” Rainbow fired off questions so quickly that Cozy’s brain couldn’t keep up. There was no sign of animosity from the rainbow-haired woman, which confirmed Cozy’s suspicions that the rest of Twilight’s friends in the human world were all natives. It made sense, and dashed Cozy’s plans of a team-up with her human counterpart. Two Cozy Glows could conceivably take over any world they set their mind to conquering. But if all the heroes had duplicates too, they’d be right back at square one. “That was a brave thing you did.” Rainbow’s hand was patting Cozy’s knee. “Oh! I need to go tell everyone else the good news that you’re awake!” She zipped out of the hospital room as quickly as she’d entered it. “They don’t know what I did, do they?” Sunset shook her head. “They know you did something bad, but with our group that’s not exactly a deal breaker. You’ll get to start here with a fresh slate – how you proceed is up to you. Feel like making some friends for real?” “I want to make friends with this Cozy Glow. I felt a connection with her I’ve never felt in another pony before.” “There’s just one little problem with that. You know there are two Cozy Glows, but she doesn’t. We’re not telling her that just yet. I’m adopting you, but officially I’m adopting her. You’re assuming her identity here on Earth. Believe me, you’re getting off easy. You don’t want to know what a pain it was to create a new identity from scratch here. This world’s Cozy, however, is being adopted by Twilight Sparkle, and returning to Equestria with her. There, she’ll have to deal with the tarnished public image you left in your wake. Perhaps seeing the mess you left behind will prevent her from moving forward on schemes of her own.” “What if she doesn’t want to go?” “She doesn’t have much choice in the matter, I’m afraid. She also has schemes. Fortunately for you, she never had a chance to set any of them in motion. Besides, she’s an eleven-year-old girl. She’s going to be absolutely giddy at the thought of living with pastel colored ponies, especially when she finds out she gets to be an adorable little pegasus. Imagine if you suddenly had the opportunity to live in a world of amazingly cute kitties or bunnies. Would you take that opportunity?” Cozy nodded. “So will she. You grew up as a pony. Humans find us as adorable as we find kittens cute. Your counterpart made this.” Sunset placed a plush toy on Cozy’s hospital bed. The filly-turned-girl gasped as she got a good look at it. It was a near perfect copy of pony form. “That’s me!” The stuffed pony was impeccably stitched together. The quality was on par with that of the best toymakers in Equestria. “I thought you said she doesn’t know about me?” “She doesn’t. But the two of you must be on the same wavelength. It’s not all that surprising.” Cozy found herself idly petting the plush pony. “Are you on the same wavelength as your counterpart?” Sunset shrugged. “Dunno, I’ve never met her.” “Oh.” Cozy’s finger accidently snagged a loop. “What’s this?” She pulled the string, and the pony plush talked to her. “Wanna be friends?” “Uh, sure.” Cozy picked up the stuffed animal, inspecting it from every angle. It seemed like a simple children’s toy. Perhaps there was an enchantment on it that made it talk. She pulled the string again. “Golly! It sure is swell to be your friend!” Not only did the toy look like her, it even sounded just like her. She pulled the string again. “With Cozy Glow by your side, anything is possible!” “Can I keep this?” Sunset nodded. “There’s no telling what might happen to it if it went through the portal. I’m sure she’d want you to keep it for her. For safekeeping.” She neglected to tell Cozy that her counterpart had been planning on manufacturing them in bulk in an attempt to brainwash people. What Cozy held in her hands was the prototype. Cozy pulled the string yet again. “Don’t worry about a thing, Cozy will take good care of you!” “I wonder how many different things it says.” “Nine. I listened to them all earlier.” It had originally been more than that, but most of the lines had been removed due to subliminal messages. As funny as it would be to see one Cozy Glow fall victim to a different Cozy Glow’s schemes, it wasn’t worth the risk. Fortunately, the voice box was easily modified. Sure, the creator was a genius, but she was still a child. There was only so much she could do with the limited supplies available to her. Instead of being the vessel of the enslavement of the human race, the little plush filly could instead comfort its creator’s pony doppelganger. “Golly! It sure is swell to be your friend!” Cozy pulled the string again. “You’re my very best friend!” “What’s going to happen to me now?” “For now, you’re going to recover in the hospital until they clear you to go home. When that happens, I’ll take you to your new home. Which is of course my place. It’s not much, but I’m happy to have anything at all. At least you don’t have to start from scratch like I did when I crossed the portal years ago. From there it’s up to you. I’d like to show you a better path. If you truly turn over a new leaf, I’m sure that you’ll be welcomed back to Equestria with open arms. Uh, forelegs. Er, something like that.”