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// You never go at night to the kitchen if you hear noises coming from there! 
// Story: What makes a villain, a villain. Cozy Glow. Manipulation. 
// by Ryoup 
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I was sleeping peacefully, can’t tell exactly if I was dreaming or not, but a loud noise woke me up. Scratching my eyes I yawned, my wings and back a bit sore due to basically sleeping on the ground.
Another burst of sound echoed through the half-open door of my room. Frowning my face I get up and start flying towards the hall. I slowly open my door and peek out of it.
This time the cacophony of sound could be more translated to a laugh than a new hole in the house where a current of wind would, believe or not, create loud noises.
When I approached the stairs I could see that the lights were still on. Did I… Did I forget to turn it off? I hope some of them are awake or I’m gonna have some serious problems.
I noticed too that the daddy room’s doors were half open too. I tried to peek in it a bit but the angle just allowed me to see daddy's desk. shrugging I continued flying towards the stairs and I stopped atop it.
“I did it, Wheel your old morsel! I did!” I heard daddy's voice! Though the sound of something hitting wood caught me off guard and I squealed a little. I put my two hoof’s over my mouth hoping that nopony has heard it.
Slowly I hand off my hooves from my mouth and peek at what's happening in the kitchen. Dad's sitting together with mister Wheels around the table, three heavy books in front of them.
“This is dope, you did it ya son of a respectful mare.” Mister Wheels chuckled gazing at the books.
“I know! I mean, I finished the third one a couple of hours ago and I can’t believe dude, I… I did it.”
“Yeah, and to tought you were just a homeless foal while a child and now look at you, a roof over your head, a beautiful wife, dude, you grew up in life!”
“Slow down there mister gangster, my roof got a bunch of holes and I work fourteen hours a day, there’s a long, long street to trot yet.”
“Yes but, I mean, you literally searched food in trash cans and alike, I mean, you did pretty well!.”
“Kinda, if I work until death maybe I can furnish half the house, then my daughter would have to work half her life to finish furnishing it all. Maybe my grandchildrens have a normal life, dunno, like some fancy pants I know.”
“Ohh no! Cursed be the universe! I wasn't born in an alley!” Mister Wheels raised his hoof’s in the air dramatically and dad started laughing.
"Cease your frivolities, I don’t want to wake up the entire house.” Daddy said, putting his hoof over the books. I thought about trying to lean over to get a better look at the books, but they were too far away from me to even read the title.
Mister Wheels sighed and leaned his body over the table.
“I read the first one, kinda… dunno, not gonna judge you, but damn, I wanna read the sequels!” He extended his hoof to grab the book in the middle, but dad stopped him.
“No!” Mister Wheels blinked surprised. “I mean, the second book has a… sad ending.” Daddy handed to his friend the 	third and biggest of the books.
Mister Wheels just shrugged and grabbed the book.
“Lemme see here… hmm… Hi cozy! This book will teach you how to behave and react to some of the problems you may face in the noble court! It is… a humble and direct title.”
“There is no reason to pamper the title.'' Dad shrugged and to my enormous surprise grabbed a bottle of wine from the floor and started drinking! I thought dad hated, dislike drinking.
“Personally I like the first one more.” Mister Wheels put his strange hat on the table and also grabbed a bottle of wine from the floor! They banged their bottles and cheered softly.
“I think I remember the title… ahmmm. Don’t say! It was… Maybe you’ll hate me in the future, but I did what I did for your best. Ohhh, the drama! No really, you gotta start improvin’ your titles.”
“Who cares? Those books aren’t for random ponies, it's for my daughter.”
“And your best buddy!” Mister Wheels chuckled, drinking a sip of his drink and opening the book on a random page.
“Lemme… how to behave in a mask- masqueri- masquerade ball? What?”
“She needs to be prepared for everything.” Dad takes a sip of his bottle. It’s weird seeing him drinking. I tried to get more comfy on the stairs, so I stopped flying and stood atop the stairs. Happily our old stair didn’t make a sound.
“I know, but damn! How do you react when your father-in-law dies? That's… she is nine dude!”
“As I said, everything.”
F-father-in-law?
“Mmkay, but, have you ever talked to her, like, explained your plan?”
“Actually no, I don’t think it’s necessary, that's why I ask for her forgiveness in the first and second book. But hey! I 	filled the gaps in the first book!” Dad said, handing the first and thinnest book.
"Really? So, what’s she gonna do?”
“She is going to Bighorns School.”
Mister Wheels choked and started coughing on his drink. He punched his chest some times and gazed perplexed at dad. Bighorns School? I never heard of that school, I touch my forehead unconsciously for a bit.
“That's a unicorn scholl!”
“I will find my way.”
“S-she is a pegasus! They're gonna eat her alive!”
“It is… a necessary burden she’s going to face. I prefered Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, but I prefer not messing 	with our beloved princess.” Dad chuckled, he always does when talking about the princess. I don’t know why, but he 	dislikes her.
“B-but the fee! I mean, that’s a lot of bits per month.
“As I said, I will find a way, maybe another job?”
“c’mon bro, I can give you some bits.”
“No. Your bits are dirty.”
They gazed at each other for a few seconds in a awkward moment. 
“If you say so.”
"T-that’s not what I meant! You know what I was trying to say!” Dad said, shaking his bottle and blushing. I didn’t get it.
“Well, ya earned a lot of bits workin’ for my pa, then a good sum more from me since my beloved pa finally found his 	end. That he forever trot in the Evergreen. But heck, destroyin’ more than four thousand bits ‘cause it was tainted was 	savage! ya could just have given me that!”
“Tainted, tainted bits could ruin everything, besides that, I must do it. Nor you. Nor my father-in-law. Me.”
I tried to get closer, I could barely hear them since they’re starting to basically gossip! For every step I descended from the stairs, a part of me said it would be the last, that they would see me, or that the stairs would creak like it never did 	before. Even so I descended a good five steps before I started to understand them more clearly.
“Well, if you ever need some help, ya know, just kick mah door and I'll get some nice  jobs for you in my workshop.”
“Pfff, workshop, that's how you’re calling it now? You pa had more crativite calling it a post office.”
“Welp, what am I gonna say? The guards have become a heckin’ smarter since you worked for us, but hey, you didn’t get the nickname neck-N-string for makin’ silly-dilly friendship-collars, did ya?” Dad rolled his eyes and continued drinking.
They continued chatting for a bit, mister Wheels just bracking how they had a hard childhood. I heard carefully some parts dad never told me. When I ask about his childhood he normally vaguely answers or bribes me off with ice cream. I try every time I can, talk about his childhood.
“Ballet!” Mister Wheel yelled!
“Shhh dude! You’re going to wake the whole block!”
“Sorry, but, really? Ballet?” Wait, am I going to do what?
“What am I going to say to you? He always wanted a daughter to have ballet classes and become a famous ballet dancer. Just joining the useful to the pleasant.”
“And who is he?” Dad smiled smugly, opened the second book quickly, grabbed a photo and throwed it to mister 	Wheels while closing the second book.
“A fan of yours, Fancy Pants is his name and he has a newly born son who is, fortunately, not betrothed. Yet.”
“Well, not wantin’ to dump your dreams, but there are a lot of young fillies who also dance ballet, and… does classic poems and play piano?”
“His wife likes poems and he likes piano. But that's not the grant prize. Its Cozy inheritance that will grab his attention.”
“I… sorry I didn’t get it.” Dad sighed.
“You were always slow weren’t ya? My wife's dad got lots of land, and farms, like, a lot. When he passes away or suffers, 	don’t know, an accident.” Mister Wheels grinned. “My wife is going to inherit that, and so does Cozy. Tell me, what kind of 	noble don’t want free land?”
“Wow, that's dark, almost like you just married Sprint for her inheritance!” Dad just smiled. A strange and dark smile. I-	I-I didn’t like that!
“Don’t start with your wow’s, mkay? Everything I did, do and will do is for her! I mean, c’mon dude! I literally searched for food in trash cans when I was a child!”
“Yeah but, she's gonna be mad, what if she doesn’t want it?”
“Oh, believe me, she will. The only thing I can’t control are what kind of cutie mark she is going to have, but I can put her in the right direction and wait, hoping for the best.”
Mister Wheels raised his bottle of wine.
“For the best. And that healthy be Cozy Glow!”
“She is going to be the best, ya gonna see it, I’ll make sure of it, she will be such a good damn gift that Fancy Pants 	gotta accept the deal and BAAAM! She got a new life.”
I stood gazing at dad for a few seconds. Then I sobed. I froze, put both my hoof on my mouth and I flew towards my room.
I carefully closed the door and threw myself on my pseudo-bed. I gaze at my bedroom roof for some seconds before 	some tears start forming.
“A gi-gift. Am I a gift? J-just a mere pawn?” I mumbled.
I turn my body and see a chessboard on the ground with some pieces on it.
“Mate in four.” I whisp, moving the black rook to be sacrificed and destroyed by the queen. Then I froze and wiping my tears I got up. “No.” I said, smiling a bit.
I move the queen instead. “Mate in six.” I smirked grabbing the same black-obsidian rook and gazing at it.