Sweetie Belle had always admired a certain pony in her life. At first, she thought she just liked him as a friend. But as they grew, she realized she didn't just like him. She liked him. She liked Rumble.
Of course, she kept it a secret. She was sure Rumble didn't like her back! Why would he, a very handsome and kind and loyal and friendly and...whatever stallion like an insecure pony like her? And confessing might even ruin their friendship. Rumble would obviously reject her!
But Sweetie thought she did a great job at hiding her feelings. She managed not to blush in front of him or stare at his cute face. She didn't say "um" too much when talking to him, either. Nopony knew the truth and she liked it that way.
Until now.
Could she risk lying in front of the Element of Honesty? She knew Applejack was right there, only a few feet away.
Sweetie Belle gulped and cleared her throat. She decided to stall. "Um...you see...oh, hey! It's an awesome day today! Wow, look at that sun!"
"Ya can stop tryin' to hold it off. And the sun ain't even up in the sky anymore," Applejack said, with a stern expression on her face. But Sweetie thought she saw a flicker of amusement in her eyes.
"O-of course I'm not doing that, I was just..."
Rarity suddenly jumped up with a start. "Oh, my stars! I forgot I was supposed to have a meeting with Silver Shine today! She is not going to be happy with me. I was supposed to meet her at sunset, and the sky's nearly dark already!" Silver Shine was somepony Rarity was going to have an interview with to join her fashion business.
Twilight looked alarmed. "You're right, Rarity! I'm sorry for-"
"Oh, it's all right, darling. And there's no time for that! I need to go right now!"
"I'll teleport with you. Where are you meeting Silver?"
Rarity gave the place. Then, she suddenly looked even more worried. "Oh, dear. I hope Silver won't be too surprised to have us just appear out of thin air."
"We'll just have to hope for the best," Twilight said, and with that and a short goodbye to everypony, they were off.
"Okay, so, what were we talking about again?" Rumble asked. Nopony seemed to remember, and Sweetie Belle sighed in relief. Saved by her sister...
Suddenly, there came a grunting sound from the corner of the room. Everypony turned at the same time...
To see Cozy Glow slowly opening her eyes, a shocked and dazed expression on her face.
"Yay! You finally woke up! Now we can PARTY TOGETHER!" Pinkie squealed.
Cozy shot daggers with her eyes at Pinkie. "Yeah, I don't think so..."
"Aw, man!" Pinkie's smile slid off her face, but she still looked pretty happy in general. It was in her eyes.
Applejack's reaction to Cozy waking up was the exact opposite of Pinkie Pie's. She glared at the pegasus and said, "Well, look who's here."
"I was here all along," Cozy replied smartly.
Rainbow Dash suddenly flew over to Cozy with a giant glare, and got right in front of Cozy's face. She was so close that their noses were touching, and Cozy could literally smell Rainbow. She smelled like clean air and rain and clouds. Better than she expected...but she still wrinkled her nose. Yuck. She'd never smelled somepony like this before, and it was weird.
"Don't you dare talk in that way to my friends!" Rainbow yelled.
Cozy remained calm. "Talk in what way?" she replied sweetly. Her "golly" act was back. "I was just stating a fact."
Rainbow Dash growled.
"Um, m-maybe you should calm down?" Fluttershy said cautiously. She didn't want to anger anypony, but she also didn't want ponies to get angry at each other...
Rainbow Dash looked back at Fluttershy. She sighed. "Okay. You're right, she's not somepony worth getting mad over."
Fluttershy sighed in relief. And then she blushed and smiled. Rainbow smiled back...
"Hey! Where are my wings?" Cozy asked, interrupting the little moment between Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
Flurry grimaced. "Uh, what do you mean?"
Cozy rolled her eyes. "I mean..." Then she seemed to remember the events that had taken place earlier in the day. "Oh.''
"Um, yeah, sorry about that."
"Oh, it's fine! My wings aren't that important," Cozy smiled. But her voice was too sweet. Sometimes, Flurry actually preferred Angry and Crazy Cozy over Golly I'm Innocent Cozy. But there was an emphasis on sometimes.
Suddenly, Flurry remembered something. "Oh, no! I've been gone for a long time. My parents must be really worried about me - they don't know where I am. I have to go back to the Crystal Castle right now!"
"I have to come too, don't I," said Cozy. It wasn't even a question.
So Flurry didn't answer it. Instead, she said, "I'm sorry, but maybe we all could have another meeting tomorrow. Bye for now!"
...
"Wait, how are you going to get back?"
Flurry thought for a moment. "I mean, I can try teleporting..."
"You said your magic isn't strong enough," said Cozy. There was a hint of a mockery in her voice.
"I know, but-"
"I know! You can have a sleepover with me and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders at our place," said Sweetie Belle.
Flurry's eyes lit up. "You would let me do that?"
"Yeah! You're our friend."
Flurry smiled. "Thanks! I'll call and let my parents know where I am."
"You could have done that earlier. Then your mommy and daddy would have came running to pick you up, like they always do. Seeing as you're always so dependent on other ponies," Cozy sneered.
Flurry bit back a retort and smiled fakely. "Aw, it's okay. A sleepover with Sweetie Belle and the CMCs would be fun! And a good experience for you," she said to Cozy.
"Oh, okay. I sure am excited! Golly, do you think I'll make any new friends?"
Flurry just said, "Wings." And that shut Cozy up for a good couple of minutes.
"Hey, when do you think Sweetie's gonna be back?" Scootaloo asked.
Apple Bloom shrugged. "Ah don' know, but Ah expected her to be back earlier. At least before we said 'bye to Mint Chip. What is it with her and Rumble?"
Scootaloo smirked. "Are you jealous?"
"UGH!" Apple Bloom cringed at the thought. "Of course not!"
"Then why is your face turning the color of an apple?"
"'Cause Ah'm embarrassed at the thought of me an' Rumble. It's so gross! And Ah am being honest!"
Scootaloo giggled. "Are you sure about that?"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Ah'll get it! It's probably Sweetie," Apple Bloom said, happy to escape from Scootaloo and her merciless teasing.
"It better be," Scootaloo warned. "Or I'm gonna punch Sweetie's lights out when she gets back. If she even does."
When Apple Bloom opened the door, she was instantly relieved. Sweetie Belle was there! And Flurry Heart, even. Maybe they could all have a sleepover together!
But her smile slid off her face when she saw who was behind Sweetie and Flurry. There was an earth pony with scarlet eyes, a pink coat, a light-blue mane...wait, those were the colors of Cozy Glow! But it couldn't possibly be her. The evil pegasus was still trapped in stone in the castle garden, far, far away in Canterlot. And Apple Bloom was pretty sure Cozy Glow was a pegasus, not an earth pony.
"Hey, Sweetie! Hi, Flurry! And yer name is...?" Apple Bloom said, looking towards the Cozy Glow lookalike.
"I'm Cozy Glow. Wanna be friends? Friendship is power! Wait—and also magic, of course!"
"Heh, very funny. But for real now, what's yer name? And how come ya look so much like Cozy Glow?"
Flurry Heart and Sweetie Belle both sighed at the same time. Flurry muttered something like, "I don't want to explain again," though Apple Bloom wasn't sure she actually said that.
"I'll explain this time," Sweetie Belle said.
"Whew, thanks!" Flurry replied. Then she looked at Apple Bloom. "Um, would you mind if Sweetie, Cozy, and I have a sleepover with you girls? Sweetie agreed."
"Of course Ah wouldn't mind! Actually, Ah was thinkin' of having a sleepover the moment Ah saw ya gals at the door!" Apple Bloom smiled. "But Ah need to know who that Cozy Glow lookalike really is, first."
"We'll explain everything once we get inside," Sweetie said.
Flurry nudged her. "You mean, you will explain," she reminded her friend.
"Right." Sweetie Belle sighed, and once again, Apple Bloom wondered what all the fuss was over explaining...something. What could be so bad about that? But she welcomed the three ponies inside the Cutie Mark Crusaders' house (giving the Cozy Glow lookalike a suspicious glance as she went in).
Once everypony was settled in and Apple Bloom managed to stop Scootaloo from hurtling a million questions at Sweetie and Flurry, they began their story.