//------------------------------// // Dawn // Story: Dawn Adopted // by Idyll //------------------------------// Luster squinted her eyes open. Stretching her forelegs, she let out a mighty filly yawn, and let her head drop back to the pillow. Above and in front of her was an air conditioner, beside her was a table lamp, and on the opposite end of the same bed was Cozy Glow, fast asleep on cheeks—and snoring, but Luster was used to worse. She had flown for hours in the peaceful isolation of the nighttime desert skies, and fulfilled her promise to stop by Somnambula—which meant breakfast must’ve been soon. Typically Luster’s first meal of the day was lunch, so she eagerly wondered what differences there would be. The filly considered getting up, but one of Cozy’s wings was rested atop of her with the duvet between them—the other wrapped around the mare herself, stretching from behind her shoulders to her hind knees. Cozy was not covered by the covers, which was white, decorated with golden laced patterns on its outlines. It would’ve been a hassle to pull from under the mare’s weight if Luster wasn’t already hogging all of it. The filly decided to just—relax, building up her energy so she could wake up properly, but also remember the moment. Her escape plan had been in contemplation for months, and, all things considered, everything went really well! She reckoned she should probably thank Cozy once she wakes up. It was still weird to think of the supervillain as her guardian, like a fluffy pink angel, when usually that’s only what she pretends to be. After a few minutes, once the moment was properly taken in, she sat up—back straight—and used her telekinetic abilities to pinch the middle of the cover to drop on the other end in order to blanket Cozy as a kind gesture. Due to her prior living predicaments, Luster had few opportunities to practice her magic, so the simple motions of up, down, drop, resembled a claw machine in its inelegance: pulling too high, moving too forcefully—nearly knocking the mare she wanted to comfort off the bed altogether! Luster gave up, and held the covers between her teeth. As she tipped-hoofed towards Cozy, she accidentally stepped on her wing. Cozy reacted by retracting it, which tripped the filly, but she caught herself by accidentally poking her forehooves into the mare’s chest. She dropped the blanket, turned around, turned around again to make sure Cozy’s hind hooves were covered, covered them, and jumped off the bed. The room of the inn Cozy booked was square shaped, had a door down Luster’s side that led to a bathroom, and near that—on a separate wall—were the blue wooden double-doors—behind show-though curtains—that led to the balcony. It had a black plastic chair next to a frosted glass table, and a view from the edge of the town. To the right was the pyramid, which was so tall for a single structure that Luster had to tilt her head upwards to gaze at all of it. The panorama was unobstructed—illuminated by moonlight—and the visibility was perfect. Sat on the chair, she saw only a few warm lights below her, and a couple of other ponies trotting around wearing jeweled earrings and loose solid-colored garments with ribbons tied around their stomachs. Above her was the moon, which slowly fell from its placement in the sky, and in tandem rose the sun. Stars faded, and the skies shifted from hues of midnight-blue to purple to orange. The world was so vast, and she knew she was barely even in Equestria yet. Luster started to get a bit emotional. She’d never actually seen the sunrise from an angle like this before. On the chair, she got up on her hindlegs, and rested the sides of her lower forelegs as well as her chin onto the railings. Those old structures from before were shone with a new light, and revealed the colors that were hidden beneath the shrouding darkness. A bedheaded pony coughed out her morning drink from behind. “Luster!” Cozy pointed. “Your cutie mark!” Luster turned to look behind. The chair slid backwards, and she would’ve fell hadn’t Cozy caught her—cautious of what the public could see. They both went in and closed the door, and both were about to burst with excitement! “I got my cutie mark!” Luster screamed, “What does this mean?” “It means you’re coming into your own, of course! You’re starting a brand new stage of your life! The dawn of a new Luster!” “...Dawn…” Luster repeated. “What does my mark mean though!” The duo inspected the mark. It depicted the sun, orbited by streaks of light, reflected across the horizon. It matched the hue of Luster’s eyes and mane so perfectly. An abstract celestial-themed design, the mare’s mouth was at permanent agape. Cozy took a while before she spoke, which was unusual for her. "What were you doing when you got it?" "I—I was just watching the sunrise!" Luster responded. “Then—well—it’s definitely something magical!” “But I only know three spells—and can hardly move a blanket… Are you sure?” “Lustie, the—sadly—most powerful unicorn in Equestria used to be a nopony when it came to magic! She became so bitter she wrote an entire book blaming it on cutie marks! I actually own an old copy—it’s quite funny—but tangent aside—Lustie, she’s self-taught. You need to start learning how to channel the energy in that horn of yours! You’re just a bit rusty. After breakfast we’ll pick out your first spell-tome!” Cozy glanced at a clock on the wall. “Oh golly! We should get ready before the queue starts!” Because being in the eye of the public was a privilege Luster never had to worry about before, Cozy helped to comb her mane, and, with red ribbon, topped it off with an adorable ponytail! And once her tail itself was done, it was now the mare’s turn to get ready. Cozy ran her hoof down the length of her bow—and immediately combusted into light-green flames! Luster panicked and tried to extinguish it with a glass of water sat atop of a desk; she used her magic to lift it to pour on Cozy—but ended up just shattering it against a wall. What emerged from the fire unharmed was a mare who looked almost identical to Cozy in terms of physiognomy, but with a completely different color palette. She had a yellow coat and a baby-blue mane that touched only one of her shoulders. Instead of a rook on her flank, her mark was of a white mask. However, her irises had the same gradient of maroon and pink. “Cozy?” Luster called out. “Shhh! Let’s not say that name aloud.” Cozy shushed. “Call me—Butter Skies! Well, outside at least. Y’know, I had this exact same bow since I was a lil’ filly! At first, I wore it because it made me look cute, but now that it’s enchanted it helps a bit with staying undercover! Only problem is that—” Cozy fell into a coughing fit, and Luster only just noticed that the mare’s eyes looked bloodshot and her nuzzle was leaky. “—is that I don’t have an exoskeleton so doing that makes my body feel like it’s been rubbed in peppers! A milkshake ought to fix that! Come on, let’s go!” Donning a wide sun-hat—that fashionably hid her bow—Cozy opened the door and climbed over the railings of the open corridor. She carried and secured Luster by wrapping her hooves over the filly’s chest in an x-shape, and glided at a leisurely pace towards their destination. It was a small restaurant whose exterior matched the local houses with its architecture. Inside was painted wooden furniture in an open design, along with ceiling fans and cushions for added comfort. In the center of the table were some tissues, condiments, an unlit candle, and the specials menu. “The pancakes here are to die for, Lustie! Do we even have to see the menu?” Cozy said. She immediately called for the waitress and ordered: “Two plates of your famous pancakes and a milkshake,” she glanced at Luster, “and some orange juice!” Once the waitress left, Cozy asked: “Excited?” “Yeah! I've never been to a place like this before! Usually, lunch is just… slop.” Luster tried to laugh off her remark, but there was audible discomfort in her voice. Each of Luster’s individual ribs were discernible from her chest, and not to mention she still had a hardened cast around her hind leg hoof. “Well, this isn’t lunch, this is breakfast! And you need it! You didn’t have a single proper meal yesterday, you little window jumper!” Their meals arrived. “That was quick!” Cozy commented. She ate by holding the utensils in her wings, but Luster, after seeing a nearby unicorn lift her cutlery with telekinesis, tried to use her magic. An amber encompassed folk poked into the three layers of pancakes served—golden brown with a square of butter on top. Whilst Cozy was digging in, Luster was left salivating as she struggled to pull a piece off—its freshly-cooked delicious aroma taunting her. “Oops! Forgot the syrup.” Cozy said as she grabbed the little glass dispenser and poured it over both their meals. That exacerbated Luster’s desire to just make get her magic to—work! Her fork penetrated all three layers and was scratching the porcelain beneath. “You can just use your mouth, Lustie,” Cozy said. “Don’t let it get cold!” Luster looked left and right at the other breakfast-goers, and relented. She leaned forwards and bit into the soft delight. It melted in her mouth, and had the perfect amount of syrup to complement its flavors. There was a strange feeling that Cozy felt in her heart as she watched Luster stuff her face with pancakes—an odd selfless type of joy that was rare for her. But it was soon interrupted. Abrupt and loud chants of cheering came from the outskirts of Somnambula, coupled by the ruffling of palm leaves. From where the duo were seated, Cozy only had to look behind to see what it was about. “Aw Tartarus,” she sighed, annoyed. Crowds gathered to peek towards the horizon, but none of them were cheering. No, the cheers were ubiquitous, part of the chaotic package that accompanied wherever that creature went. “Co—” Luster had her sentence interrupted by a hoof to the mouth. “I mean, Butter Skies, that’s an—an Alicorn! And what’s that thing riding it?!” “Calm down! Those two idiots aren’t going to suspect a thing if we act natural…” Cozy said. “Though they might be suspicious if they see a malnourished filly! Better finish those pancakes!” Beyond the village was a—draconequus—wearing a pure white tunic, sandals, and below him was Princess—Cadance! “Get off of me Discord!” Cadance groaned, teleporting to the side to let Discord fall on his stomach on the hot sand. “And why in Celestia did you teleport us here?” “I’m hungry, it’s early, and the pancakes here are to die for!” Discord dusted off his knees and pulled out a grandfather-clock from the collar of his tunic. “It’s already been over twelve hours since that peculiar imbalance! What’s twenty more minutes?” “Yeah—it has been twelve hours. You couldn’t have said anything sooner?” “It was Tuesday! Or I call it—Teasday!” Discord explained. Cadance rolled her eyes at the pun. “Besides, who’s to say any of this even came from Cozy!" Discord pulled a chalkboard from the right—from somewhere—and jotted down several complex calculations. "It could just be some other pony that re-balanced the mathematically calculated amount of magical energy needed for her ascension.” Another Discord, dressed as Albert Einstallion, walked in from the left and flipped the board. "And subsequent undulations!” “ “Very strange indeed…" both Discords said in unison. “It’s dangerous if we don’t investigate it ourselves!” Cadance said. “You mean Flurry won’t stop nagging you?” "You haven't told her, have you?" Cadance asked. Discord physically zipped his lips. “If this is a trap, it's probably for her!” Cadance explained. Back at the restaurant, Luster was frantically finishing her pancakes, washing down each bite with orange juice. “Who’s that Alicorn?” Luster asked with her mouth full. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, it’s rude," Cozy lectured, and answered: “Flurry’s mother, Cadance—she blesses families and stuff. Nothing important.” She squinted and took advantage of her birdlike vision, which was nearly as sharp as a griffon’s. “Y’know I was really expecting Flurry to be here.” Luster swallowed. “Why?” “Because she’s obsessed!” Cozy answered. “I have to agree!” Discord admitted, appearing between the two. “She is rather obsessed, isn't she?” Luster yelped and rattled her chair backwards, but was caught by the light-blue aura of—Princess Cadance! “A little," Cadance answered, tucking in her chair. "This place better be good!” Discord teleported next to Cadance's chosen table in a waiter’s uniform, and clapped into existence lavish table cloths, golden-cutlery with mini decorative Crystal Hearts on their ends—similar to the Princess’s own cutie mark. He pulled a starry backdrop curtain around the restaurant’s premises, which made the area darker and cooler as if it were nighttime, so that the lit candles could properly convey the superb quality of these pancakes. “They are!” Discord confirmed right next to Cadance. “How’d he do that without a horn?” Luster asked. Cozy sighed. “Because he’s Discord.” Ding ding ding ding ding! Luster had to cover her last remaining pancake with her hooves as confetti fell over the two. “Just hide it under the table, Lus—” Cozy was pulled to Discord side, who had a flashy presenter’s outfit and collar mic. Upbeat ‘winners’ music blared, and to their sides: crowds of Discords—and a single confused filly—making up the rowdy applauding audience from their spectator stands. Discord pointed towards Discord in a blonde wig and dress (on the floor between them a trivial-trot logo) who presented the grand prize: breakfast with Princess Cadance and the God of Chaos himself! At the snap of his paw, both groups appeared around a single table. “But we’re almost done!” Luster argued. Discord clapped twice, and two clone waiters served a bowl of ice cream for each of them, which contained a scoop of chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, and a wafer. For Luster, the dessert was dumped over her pancakes. "Neapolitan," Discord-waiter-one chef kissed. “I really should be monitoring her suga—” Cozy’s sentence was interrupted by the filly biting into the ice-cream like feed. “Lustie, slow down! You’re going to get a brain freeze like that!” Luster held her head and winced. “Fillies, huh?” Cadance related. “How’s yours Cadance—I mean, thy majesty Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” Cozy bowed from her seat and forced an unnaturally wide smile. “Well, she definitely takes her duty of ‘protecting ponies’ very seriously!” Cadance replied. “Especially since that run-in with Lord Tirek all those years back!” “Yeah…” Cozy’s face dropped. “I mean—that’s wonderful! What she did! Defeating Tirek! And if Luna wasn’t there to petrify him, he would’ve… So, I’m guessing Chrysalis is next, huh?” “Actually, she’s more focused on finding Cozy Glow!” Cadance replied. “Why’s she so obsessed?” Luster asked. The filly slowly shut her ice-cream filled mouth and shallowed once she noticed the crossed glare from Cozy. “Why? Hwhy?!” Discord spat in emphatical disbelief. An old-timey television made of sand constructed itself in front of Luster; through it Discord spoke: “Have you been living under a rock for the past twelve months?!” The TV’s screen went blank, and reflected the filly sat atop a green armchair in similarly-colored pants that also had a purple floral patterned design. His head popped out of the screen. “Well?!” Luster turned to the side. “Something like that…” Cozy clarified: “Her situation is very complicated! Look, we should really get go—” Her protests were muffled by a flying spoonful of ice cream to the mouth! Discord knocked every item from the center of the table. Flipping a switch on his left temple, his right eye projected a blue interlaced hologram, visualizing the words he spoke. “Many, many—months—ago, after everypony—not including myself, of course—assumed the demon filly had passed, likely from an aneurysm—” “Get on with it, Discord!” Cadance rolled her eyes. Discord cleared his throat. “Cozy Glow had discovered a way to bypass every known Changeling detection method whilst giving herself the appearance of somepony entirely different!” Luster side-glared at Cozy, who was casually enjoying her ice cream. “She enlisted herself to the Crystal Air Force and quickly ‘flew’ up the ranks until she was assigned to serve as one of Princess Flurry Heart’s most personal royal guards—though I still find it hard to believe she didn’t cheat!” The hologram showed the royal family—Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Princess Flurry Heart—inspecting down a line of pegasi guards, all standing at attention to be chosen. “What about this one, Dad?” Flurry asked, and feigned a serious face. “Uhh—state your name soldier!” “Silver Seraph, your majesties!” Silver shouted. Flurry leaned and stared deeply into Silver's eyes, scowling, all while the guard kept serious. The Princess smiled. “Let’s just pick her!” “Once infiltrated, she immediately hit it off with the Princess, and it didn’t take long before she got her opportunity!” Discord curled his talons and hammed his paw. The hologram showed Silver in her armor, with a breakfast tray on her back, knocking on the door. “Come in!” “Good morning, Flurry!” Silver entered and greeted. “Good morning, Softie!” Flurry replied. “Softie?” Luster asked. “It’s a pet name, Lustie,” Cozy said. “Soft Seraph, because apparently ‘Silver’ was too cool—or so I’ve heard!” “D’aww, this looks wonderful! Thank you!” “Heh! You know I didn’t make it, right!” “I know, but you serving it adds a special touch to it!” “It’s a job. Also, I’ve been told my love tastes bitter, actually!” Flurry giggled. “Well, you added something to it!” “Poison,” Discord said. Cozy stared at the tip of Cadance’s horn—at death herself—more fascinated than she was scared. Subtle sparks emanated from it like a Tesla coil, identical in hue to the Princess’ aura. From Cozy’s evaluations, and for the Princess of Love, Cadance could be far more ruthless than ponies revered her for. She certainly never showed Sombra much clemency. But Cozy was different; Cozy only had wings. Without surprise or any artifacts, or allies, she was hopeless to defend herself. Would Cadance kill her? Well, Shining certainly wouldn’t; he'd prefer to see the mare rot. Discord continued: “And she sacrificed all that time, all that effort, all of that affection just to bring back Somb—” “Look,” Cozy interupted with an empty bowl. “I don’t want to be insensitive, but we should probably get going! It’s getting really late!” “7 AM?” Cadance asked. “You know how windy those hills are! Plus, if this little filly has one more scoop of ice cream she might be too heavy to carry!” Cozy joked. “Come on, Lustie! Let’s hit the skies!” “Wait!” Luster shouted. “Before we go, can we get your blessing?” “Certainly!” Discord responded. He pointed with his index claw, and a miniature tornado of butterflies formed around it, slowly encroaching Luster's forehead, who backed as far she could against the chair. Cadance pushed Discord’s claw downwards. “I think she meant my blessing! Princess for Family and all!” She waved her hoof. “There! Have a safe flight, and remember if you spot Cozy Glow be sure to report it! It’s very important that you do!” “Of course, your majesty!” Cozy said. She grabbed Luster’s hoof and flew back to the inn. As their pancakes arrived, Discord and Cadance turned to each other. “Did that ‘blessing’ actually do anything?’ Discord asked. “Eh, it’s more of a symbolic thing, you know?” Cadance replied, and took a bite out of her meal. “These are good!” Back at the inn, Cozy locked the door behind them and checked to make sure nothing had been moved from her satchel. "Ahem," Luster cleared her throat. "What was that about?" “It’s just a joke, Lustie.” Cozy said. “I didn’t mean to call you fat. You’re still a very skinny filly!” “No, not that!” Luster clarified. “The part about you—” "Shhh! Not so loud," Cozy shushed, and whispered under her wing: "I don't know whether a part of him is inside of here… we'll stop by a bookshop on the way." Luster narrowed her eyes. “Fine, fine! I’ll fill you in on what happened!” Cozy relented. She sat down, sloping her back so that Luster could climb on, and once she was buckled the two left though the balcony. Cozy really hates doors… Last time, they skipped take-off by means of teleportation, so Luster wasn't expecting to be suddenly thrusted into high speeds—or at least it felt fast for her. The wind caused her lips to flap wide open, and she had to tuck Cozy’s (now flowing) mane between their bodies so that it wouldn't blow in her face. “You okay back there?” Cozy asked. "Get to talking!" Luster shouted, trying to appear tough. "Fine. I admit it!” Cozy sighed. “I'm an excellent flier!" "What—" "I learnt from the best! And when I was training in those storms I looked really cool and—" "Princess Flurry Heart! You tricked her!" "I—humbled her, yes... But I was her a friend for a few months! It’s not like I took anything, besides maybe her ego." “Cozy…” “She’s a Princess! Do you know how big those birthday celebrations they hold for her are? They made her second one a public holiday and held a parade! Like she’ll appreciate or remember any of that! It’s a ridiculous waste of money! How do you think that makes orphans like us feel?” “That doesn’t mean you can poison her!” “Oh please! A fatal dose for us just means she’ll be tired for a few hours! Besides, my plan wouldn't have worked if she’d died—that early!” “Did your plan work?” “It would’ve... But somepony got cold hooves!” “I'm worried…” “Phhfff—they won't punish you, even if they knew about that fire—” “No—I mean—for you! What if she finds you?” Luster gasped. “What if she finds out that you pretended to be her in Kludgetown!” “Lustie, relax! Do you see me worried? We just had breakfast with Cadance and Klutzy back there, and they were none the wiser!” There was a moment of silence before Luster spoke: “Cozy… please don’t do that again.” “Do what?” “Villainy stuff! I—I like staying with you,” Luster admitted. “And I don’t want a Princess to take you away and do terrible things to you!” “Like put me in Tartarus? Like petrifying me? All to give somepony an ego boost? It’s far too late for me, Lustie.” “Can you at least try, for me?” “Lustie…” “Please?” “Look, I’ll take a break. Then, we’ll see—but no promises!” “Thank you… so what happens after this?” “After you get your book? I recall you not trusting me, and me saying I’d drop you off by an orphanage.” “Oh.” Luster paused. “Do you have to—you know—do that?” “What exactly do you mean?” Cozy asked, a sly smile manifesting on her face. “I mean—you know—can I—” "Stay with me? Golly, you haven't seen my new home yet!" Cozy said contentedly. “Are you sure? With a face as adorable as your, you'd surely be fought over! Think: powerful, wealthy unicorn parents! You could have your very own pick!” “I’ve already chosen!” Luster explained: “From what I heard, the normal Cozy Glow would’ve lied about keeping a promise, but you didn’t! You must feel conflicted!” “That’s… pretty keen for a filly your age… but how do you know I'm not just double deceiving you?” “Because I think you really do care about me!” “But do you really want to be known as the daughter of Cozy Glow?” “...No one has to know? Right?” “Golly, you do remind me of myself!” “You know how to treat ponies really nicely—well, when you want to. I know you’ll be perfect! Mom!” “Well then, we should probably get off this cloud! There’s still a long journey ahead of us!” Cozy got into a crouch start. “Ready Lustie?” Luster hugged Cozy’s neck tightly. “Ready!” The filly laughed as Cozy galloped to the edge of the cloud; she kicked herself forwards, and glided northwards.