“You’d be surprised how much chocolate Chrysalis keeps hidden in her pantry,” Cozy said, sitting on the couch next to Hope who was spoiling herself with her slice of cake. “It turned out to be perfect, right?”
Hope knew the mare was fishing for praise, but she couldn’t lie. She swallowed. “This is amazing.” But then she noticed something peeking out from under the couch. It had spilled along with a few other sundries from Cozy’s satchel. “Is that my jet injector?” Hope asked.
“Definitely not,” Cozy said as she bent down to kick it deeper under the couch. “But even if it was, it’s not like you need it or anything with all that magic or yours.”
Hope said nothing, instead giving her the side eye whilst taking another bite from her slice. Cozy watched her, amused by how a unicorn could stain so much of her lips with chocolate. What does Sombra see in this mare?
Luster teleported in front of the two to the side of the couch’s arm.
“You teleported again!” Hope praised. “How’d you learn that so quickly?”
She really was impressed by the rapid pace at which Luster picked up such a complex ability. Sure, a baby teleporting was a common-to-uncommon phenomenon, but those abilities almost always diminish once a unicorn becomes anything more instincts. Hope herself only really learned how to teleport when she entered Celestia’s School, but her talents were in healing magic anyways. The relationship between cognition and magic precocity has a long and wordy chapter in the textbooks.
Luster looked back at the door and rubbed the back of her head. “Mom, uhh—”
“Ah, don’t need to ask me! You can have one more slice before we put this all in the fridge—actually, does our fridge still work?” Cozy peeked behind at a metal block of melted plastics.
Luster cleared her throat. “Actually, it’s about—”
“Oh, just tell those creatures my grumpy ol’ Mom told them to go away! They won’t blame you.”
“But Mom… Discord and Flurry Heart are at the door.”
Snow had piled over the branches of Equestria’s northernmost boreal forest, despite the volunteers’ best efforts. Located only twenty miles away from the Crystal Empire, normally it would be under the rule of a storm, especially so close to Hearth’s Warming. But today, the Sun could be seen, and the sky was clear except for a few heavy clouds.
Next to a narrow stream that conveyed chunks of slush down from the Crystal Mountains, a bush rustled. A few drops of snow fell off its frosted leaves. Muffled hoofsteps grew louder. Scarlet berries soon turned dark as a shadow towered overhead.
The bush twitched. The guard pounced.
It was only a critter. The dark-magenta mare’s predictable failure won her laughter from the other members of her search party group. She peeked out of the bush with a furrowed brow and a snow pile over her trooper hat to glare.
“You actually thought she’d be hiding in a bush?” asked one earth-pony stallion. “With your wings, you’ll probably be more useful joining the aerial search.”
A unicorn mare joined in. “Yeah, but to be honest, I doubt there’ll be any trace of her here. They say she’s a pretty durable flier, granted she didn’t cheat in her exams and all.”
“Cozy Glow cheating? Don’t be ridiculous!” joked the pegasus guard, flying out of her nest of branches to kick a few twigs off her tail.
Each of the three, as well as every other creature involved in this expedition from Canterlot, wore a thick cargo jacket, and a hat with flaps that fell over their ears. The pegasi scouts of the group, part of the Royal Air Force, had regional attire more decorated compared to their peers from other tribes, personalized by patches either ironed on or sewn, bought from shops in the locations they’ve visited. With so many known different kingdoms and Twilight’s doctrine of Friendship, they end up being thrown to quite a lot of places.
However, they only got their snow gear after completing basic training because they had to be toughened up first, so Cozy only got hers after she got assigned to be an interior guard. It would’ve been an embarrassment to wear amongst the crystal ponies, even if she had the opportunity to do so; Shining would’ve killed her if she took off her metal.
The weather’s only force was a breeze. Volunteers led by soldiers cleared out most of the clouds, but a few were kept to be used as outposts. They had tents, supplies, and equipment to subdue the scourge: nets, crossbows loaded with potion-laced arrows, a bridle and chains and a cage and a bit, plus spares.
The unicorn of the group levitated out a pocket watch from a compartment in her jacket and checked the time. “Looks like it’s about… three hours since sundown,” she said.
Yet the Sun still flared from above, reminding the soldiers without goggles not to stare directly at the ground for too long, unless they wanted to be snow-blind for next week. Flurry had requested for the Sun not to be lowered so they could focus on finding Cozy Glow before she gets away too far. Twilight said she’d put it off for only an hour at most.
The earth pony sighed. “Should we just head to camp already? We barely had anything for lunch and Cozy’s probably waiting for the Sun to set.”
“And she'll probably fly out.” The pegasus sighed. “Might as well eat before then. Yeah, let’s go.”
The unicorn turned off her horn’s torch and followed the others as they made their way towards a grounded outpost. She looked up at the hovering pegasus and asked, “Mind fetching us something from one of those cloud camps? I always feel like they get the best—”
There was a yellow flash in front of them. The three had their hooves on their crossbows. Then they saw her: Flurry Heart, standing in a circle without snow. She wore no regalia, no crown, and without introduction, asked, “How’s the search over here?”
The three bowed and earth pony said, “Your Majesty, Princess Flurry Heart—” Flurry rolled her eyes. “—we…” He looked at his partners. “We haven’t found—”
“You’ve found nothing?” Flurry finished, not very surprised yet disappointed nonetheless. “And why aren’t you in the sky?”
The pegasus guard gulped. “I’m usually a guard, not really a scout. I’ve been assigned to this grounded group, and I really couldn’t disobey Gallus’ orders.”
“Well, how about the orders of a Princess? Fly around the area, find Cozy, then you can chat with your friends. Equestria can’t sleep until she’s brought to justice. You get what I’m saying?” Flurry asked.
The guard bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty.” She flew to the left between pointy trees to fulfill her directive.
A bush in the distance rustled, far enough for the two remaining soldiers not to hear. Flurry shot a silent beam towards the movement. It exploded on impact. For a brief moment, hues of oranges fell over the backs and faces of three ponies.
Behind a flat pile of crumbling twig ash, a squirrel took a moment to process what had happened, and slowly walked away empty-clawed.
There was another sound, closer, but shrouded by trees. Flurry shot another beam. The spell went forwards, then upon passing the stream sharply curved leftwards. It struck something—metal.
“Hey, who shot that—oh.” Gallus hovered, holding his front-melted shield, its design now obscured. “It’s you.”
“Any good news?”
He landed between the two soldiers in front of the Princess. “None, I'm afraid. We’re not even sure she’s here.” He looked back at the crater where a bush once stood and said, “I know you’ve been through a lot, but Twilight told us not to destroy any of the forest. She was hesitant to even touch the clouds…”
Flurry’s horn made a sound and she stomped one of her hooves. From that spawned an aura-hued fire that melted inches of snow off the ground as if it were lit cotton, spreading outwards in a circle. The flightless soldiers sank a few inches and fell onto soil that had not seen light in years.
“Flurry!” Gallus shouted.
“What? Cozy has light colors. She’ll stick out more this way. Plus, it’ll be easier for your troops to get around. Once we capture her, we’ll leave and a storm will flood this whole place white again.”
“Or she could cover herself in dirt and become super camouflaged,” Gallus said. “Or maybe she has a cloak?”
Flurry closed her eyes, sucked her lips, and sighed through her nostrils. “You know, I regret asking Twilight for your help. All you’ve done is make the place more hospitable for that scum. Why don’t you gather your soldiers and leave, because I know a spell that’ll surely freeze Cozy in whatever hole she’s hiding in. I don’t want anyone caught in the crossfire.”
“No!” Gallus nearly grabbed her horn but realized how disrespectful that would’ve been. “Just leave it to us, Flurry.”
“Leave it to you?” Flurry scoffed. “What have you ever accomplished? Do you even know what you’re looking for? What Cozy’s wearing? Her style of flight? Did I tell you she’s carrying the statue of one of her friends?”
“Statue? That’s new,” Gallus said, and Flurry smirked. “But Twilight never gave her Tirek.”
“That’s because it’s not Tirek,” Flurry said. “It’s some mare. We’re still investigating it. As you can imagine, it’s really difficult to do so with what Cozy’s left behind, but from what I can infer based on our conversations, her petrified friend is more familiar with Sombra than that coward.”
Neither of the two soldiers knew what to do. It felt awkward to stand there listening, but it seemed that Captain Gallus and the Princess Flurry Heart had different ideas on how things should be done. They were supposed to aid the Crystal Empire in recovery, so while they were to listen to their captain, overriding Flurry’s instructions felt to be at odds with their mission’s purpose.
Flurry's head turned upwards towards the side. A pink pony was flying towards her, but it wasn’t Cozy.
Cadance landed. She glared at the Flurry. “There you are! What are you doing out here? And where did all the snow go?”
Gallus pointed at Flurry with his thumb in a tired expression.
Cadance continued, “Twilight only allowed the Sun’s setting to be late by an hour. She’s been trying to lower it for the past two. Celestia, Luna, Discord, and I haven’t done anything—”
Discord appeared. “Honest!” He disappeared.
Cadance looked back at her daughter.
“You think I’ve been stopping the Sun from setting?” Flurry asked. Cadance held her glare. “...I might’ve been—but it’s important! But, but—now that I’ve talked to a few of Twilight’s soldiers, I realized that there’s no need for a marehunt. We should all just leave and let the ‘forces of nature’ take care of that psycho.”
The two Princesses flew away, Gallus let out a, “Yeah. Bye to you too, Cadance.” He looked at the group of soldiers, now joined by the guard that Cadance found and talked to and gestured for them to move. “Not sure if I can stop her at this point. You three should head to camp. We want everyone to be close by in case she goes through her plan.”
Gallus went towards the clouds whilst the three ponies headed deeper into the woods. The pines could now be seen as Flurry’s spell left not even a layer of frost and seems to have affected every square mile of forest.
“You’re still going to go grab us a drink, right?” asked the unicorn soldier. “I’ll be upset if it all gets taken. I heard those scouts only pack enough for a day.”
“Fine,” the pegasus guard said, before splitting off and heading backwards towards the camp that housed most of her flier friends.
She glided at a leisurely pace between the trees, though leisurely for a pegasus meant near, often beyond the speed of a gallop. Her route brought her to a turn, then flying parallel along the stream.
Might as well keep a lookout for Cozy, she thought. Catching her would bring a generous promotion.
The Sun started to set. Now they entered the domain of darkness.
From a tree to the side—she attacked. A figure kicked against the stump she clung from and dashed towards the guard. Their speed went from zero to a blur.
The guard’s back struck a tree at the opposite end. The base of her wings took most of the shock. Hollow bones had the tendency to shatter and splinter over producing a clean snap.
Cozy hovered as the guard dropped to the floor. The former wore a face paint of mud and a dark cloak. The latter's wings were no longer strong enough to parachute or glide. When the guard tried to catch herself, she twisted her pastern against a protruding rock.
Logic dictated that she should’ve screamed, but Cozy had swept down and covered her mouth. She grabbed her victim across her gargled-up stomach and dragged her to the stream, where she towered over her body desperate to limp. She shoved her victim's head into the icy waters.
Pain inclined her to pant. She tried to push herself free against the ground, but Cozy would trip her hooves. Her wings were useless but the fugitives’ were free. Her plea for pity was to thrash and produce a violent show of bubbles. What hope did it have to change Cozy’s guiltless mind?
Maybe it did; moments before she would’ve been choked to the point of unconsciousness, Cozy pulled the guard’s head up and sighed. “She'd be very upset with me if I drowned you…”
The guard coughed out a lungful of water onto Cozy’s chest.
“Yuck,” Cozy said.
Once her sight returned, she rolled onto her back and bucked Cozy in the stomach—tapped; her body was too weak. The guard tried to get back up but fell.
“Okay?” Cozy said. “Well, when you wake up, you better not say I’m merciless.” She stood over the guard and took off her hat. With her wings holding the guard’s head in place, she reached for a nearby slab and placed it under her victim’s forehead. “Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a tight spot. Flurry’s always so tough with her stuff. If she kept me as furniture I’d be puzzle pieces before next the hay season! Hopefully, you’re one of those creatures that understands.”
Cozy jumped and with the side of her leg, she slammed the back of the guard's head before she could respond. The victim went out cold.
The fugitive grabbed a crossbow attached around the other’s side and shot a unicorn spying through the bushes. It struck her leg. The potion on the arrow’s tip made her stumble unconscious, but her eyes remained wide open.
“Seriously?” Cozy flew over the stream to the other body. “Why would you lace your arrows with a paralyzing agent instead of a tranquilizer? Because I’d hate it more? You’re all a bunch of jerks!” She held the unicorn’s head up by the mane with a wing as a deterrent. Somepony was nearby.
Head still in grasp, she ducked and kicked against the ground, jolting towards the earth pony. He dodged to the side. Cozy’s wings clutched onto the branches of the tree she landed on. The unicorn’s crown struck the stump. That solved the ‘conscious’ problem.
Cozy’s legs were bent like a swimmer’s on the side of the stump. Soon, she mimicked the movements and pounced. But the stallion had sharp reflexes; he caught the fugitive’s hind legs between his forehooves.
She trashed her wings, trying to fly away from his grip, but a slam to the ground had her stunned. The stallion took out his crossbow. He aimed it at the fugitive's forehead.
Cozy took a deep breath. She straightened her wings and feathers.
Her eyes met the stallion’s.
She sliced her feathers across his knee.
Her speed rivaled a mantis shrimp's punch. It left no chance for reaction. The barbs of her wingtips acted as hooks that made the cut less clean. Her position made her only able to use the duller side of her feathers. She still managed to snap a tendon and muscle. Four of her ten primaries contracted a bend, but she got her chance.
Cozy bucked the stallion up the jaw. He fell to the floor with a thud.
She rubbed her sore back as she dragged the earth pony and the unicorn to a pit and covered it with shrubs. The pegasus guard, her only intended target, had a jacket that fit her perfectly, as she expected. She wore it and tied her cloak, which had no wing slots, over her waist like a sarong to hide her rook and tail.
Once she let the guard join her friends in a hopefully long snooze, she traveled towards a different stream.
It flowed through a depression that needed a ladder of three ponies to climb out of, but the channel of water itself hardly reached up to her fetlock, at least not now.
Cozy slid down and crept along the trench-like riverbank until she found a congregation of snow-furred bunnies, to where, inside their den, she hid Hope: petrified for now.
She knew they wouldn’t have found her hiding spot, so she didn’t sigh with relief. Losing Hope would’ve dealt a deep blow to any potential plans, so she made sure to pronounce her promises clearly.
“Well Hope, I best be off. For all I know Flurry might make it daytime eight hours early, and it’s easier for me to escape under the shadows than stick out in the Sun.”
“…”
“Gallus showed up. Good thing he did. Flurry was at the edge of my ears, but he drove her away. Cadance too. Mr. Chaos, you know who, for a brief second. She wanted to re-freeze this place, so I assume she’ll turn it into a glacier if Cadance can’t stop her, but at least I’ll remember where you are.” Cozy looked up to the stars. “Don’t worry, they taught us celestial navigation during basic training. I’m one hundred percent certified!”
“…”
“She also called me a coward. Not sure what part of slipping through a thousand ponies authorized to shoot you makes you timid.”
“…”
“Don’t give me that look. If I left you there, Flurry would’ve knocked your body over before lunch. But I’m sure that if I fail then eventually after a month or a year somepony will discover you and you’ll be pampered by Twilight. Celestia’s probably confused and doesn’t hate you, right? She’ll let you out and pat your back and you’ll apologize and cry into her chest and—ugh! But of course, my apologies are fake.”
“…”
“I’d love for you to be out too.” Cozy pulled back her jacket to show a side of her chest and wings—completely scorched. “Flurry got a shot at me before I pulled you out of the Empire. Scorched a few of my secondaries.” She looked at her other wing. “That’s just berry juice on my left tip… Anyways, better bounce! Hope you don’t lose your mind by tomorrow because that’s when I hope to see you again. Bye bye, Hope!”
“You really risked that the last words I might've ever heard were two puns of my name?” Hope asked.
“At least it’s not laughter. Also, it was only four-and-a-half days, not a week,” Cozy responded as Hope hyperventilated. “My mind went to that speech Flurry made where she swore to deglove my hooves and have them carved into a stamp of her mark.”
Hope wasn’t who they were searching for, but she knew a considerable lot about the pony they were, but also she had many blank spaces of her own. Not even Sombra believed at first that she wasn’t a subservient puppet to Cozy, a pawn to her shrouded agenda. But she could forget to expect sympathy from a Princess, especially not Princess Flurry Heart, and not if they found her in the fugitive’s adobe, chattering and eating cake with an unknown, malnourished filly. That couldn’t have looked more suspicious.
All Hope wanted was to free Sombra, but Cozy went along and kicked the flash bees’ nest to do it, acting superfluously cruel for her own twisted amusement—like that time with the pies. Discord would’ve found that funny; he was at the door too—Cozy’s executioner in the past.
Hope got up from the couch, dizzy, circles flashing over her sight, and patted a hoof around Cozy’s neck. “Good luck,” she said, and teleported off.
Luster felt bitter that Hope didn’t offer to bring them along, but didn’t know the full context, so she held her judgment. At least she didn’t foalnap her. Then Mommy would’ve been left to deal with the two visitors by herself.
Cozy, still in her buttery disguise, only reacted a second after Hope had left. She smirked. “Some friends I have, huh?” As calm as she appeared outside, unlike the encounter with the pancakes at Somnambula, she was terrified. Why is Flurry here? Cozy thought. And why’s it her, not Cadance or a Canterlot agent?
She went to peek through the window, and there she was: Princess Flurry Heart, sitting grumpy on a retractable chair with hooves against her cheeks. To her side lay Discord whose head stuck out of a tent. There also had a bonfire and a mini fridge, as if both were camping for the latest flip phone.
She sensed that Luster might’ve gotten a garbage idea when the filly headed towards the couch’s arm closest to the sliding doors. Cozy’s satchel lay near that corner of the wall, which held the Alicorn Amulet.
Cozy grabbed the Luster’s side—Golly, she’s sweaty—and said, “That’s a really lousy idea, Lustie,” forgetting her consciously-controlled inhibitions which she very well needs if she doesn’t want to be a coat hanger for the rest of eternity.
Luster breathed heavily under her mother’s shadow as she tried to come up with a plan. She felt a sense of responsibility to safeguard her mother as the one with the horn.
A similar feeling in Cozy gave her the strength to say, “Why don’t you teleport yourself out of here, Lustie?” She felt around the filly’s mane with her eyes closed and willed to soak in her warmth and touch before walking towards the door.
Luster ran along beside her mother. “Why don’t I teleport us both?” she asked.
“Flurry picked up a few investigation spells over the past few months,” Cozy said. “It’ll doom us both—and I guess Hope too—if I leave her with the suspicion to use ‘em.”
Luster blocked the door, and proposed in a loud whisper, “Maybe I can beat them?”
Cozy silence revealed her thoughts on that plan.
“…My magic’s getting really good now.”
“I know it is, dear.” Cozy bent down and kissed her daughter next to her eye on the temple, held her head an inch away for a second, and sighed before heading back to the door. “I want you to keep working on your magic. For now, why don’t you go check up on River? She’s probably really worried after that whole supermarket incident, or maybe she’s wondering why our house caught on fire.” She paused. “Well, she probably knows why.” Cozy winked.
Luster didn’t argue, not since Discord or Flurry could be eavesdropping outside. But she refused to leave her mother all by herself and instead backed up in front of the kitchen to physically give Cozy some space.
Cozy never felt the compulsion to obsessively check her feathers or coat for splotches of pink. She thought of herself as beyond such irrationalities, but fear grips the heart quite tightly, and can mold the mind in curious ways. Once she knew her flank was rook-less, she opened the door ajar and peeked through.
Discord slammed his cards onto the floor: a Royal Flush. “I win again,” he said, tallying up his score from thirty-one to thirty-two on a small blackboard. Flurry’s score was four.
“You’re definitely cheating,” Flurry said.
Oh, gosh. There she is.
The Princess noticed the mare at the door, and uttered, “Finally!” She wore her silver horseshoes today, a tiara, and a broad collar embellished with a miniature of the Crystal Heart. Her cutie mark also depicted the Heart, outlined by spikes of gold. When the Alicorn got up, she stood about as tall as Cadance, but not as lean. Her physicians predict she’ll rival Twilight’s height in due time.
Cozy let out a deep breath and opened the door fully. She bowed, her forehead a pebble’s length from the ground. “My Majesty, Princess Flurry Heart of—”
Her formality was intercepted by a yellow hue around her body, as yellow as the Sun, as tight as a cave, yet gentle enough to be cold. The sound of the Princess’ metal steps as she approached caused Cozy’s heart to drum against her ribs. Her shadow soon enveloped the measly pegasus pony.
Their eyes met. Cozy lips reclined and revealed her rows of teeth, clenched with the force to sever joints. She wondered if fate had given her a daughter only so she’ll have a regret when Flurry re-completes Harmony’s agonizing trophy.
Royalty stood still—and let go. “Yeah, no need for that,” Flurry said.
Cozy landed on her hooves. Yes, she knew, ‘No need to bow,’ meant, ‘I want to appear humble, but if you actually don’t bow I’ll be pretty upset.”
Flurry walked to Cozy’s side. Whilst she checked out the mare’s cutie mark, she laid out her business. “We’re only here for a couple of questions. Nothing serious.”
Cozy stopped breathing as Flurry dropped her heavy leg onto her back. The muscles underneath her skin had the vigor of an earth pony and the strength of a star, though the Princess probably meant it to be ‘casual’ with her subjects.
Discord followed suit, his talons landing on top, and Cozy could feel her legs start to cry under the weight.
Discord spoke. “I mean, we are searching for the stone-hearted Cozy Glow, so it’s kinda serious.” He patted and smacked down on Cozy’s withers.
Flurry put an end to that: she lifted the draconequus’ arm. Cozy caught her breath but was hesitant to label Flurry her savior just yet.
Without feeling the need for permission, Flurry went inside. “No wonder you took so long…” Mostly the color black presented itself as the Princess fidgeted and scratched ash off the walls with her magic. But sensing (disguised) Cozy's stillness, she clarified, “I mean, who am I to judge? I’m sure you’ll work very hard to fix this mess—well, mess is subjective. Personally, I wouldn’t present this to Twilight, but we came unannounced so I can’t really hold it against you.”
Once he was satisfied with his wall scratch painting of the Archangel Flurry overthrowing Cozy, and Luster saw her mother’s trampled-up depiction, Discord asked, “What exactly caused this?”
“…I did,” Luster said, head down to her hooves. “I’m… pretty good at starting fires.”
Discord pulled out a poster and compared it with Luster. Then he rolled it up and shoved it into one of his ears. His fingers formed a rectangular shape and produced a flash as he snapped a photo of Luster that got printed out from under his wrist. He ate the photo. “Computer, analyze this filly!”
Everypony else stood confused whilst he tapped his hoof, arms crossed.
Flurry rolled her eyes and headed to the living room.
Cozy flew over to her daughter. “Come on, babe. Flurry and Discord aren’t interested in you. It’ll probably be for the best if you leave the grownups to talk.”
An oven timer dinged. Discord spoke. “Actually, it does involve you.”
Luster looked sideways, then up to her mother, then behind her back, then pointed to herself.
“Yes, you, the filly whose face is on a wanted poster!”
A phantom organ produced: “Dun dun duuun!” A flash of lightning followed.
Discord said, “They’re offering a very generous amount for that horn of yours.”
Luster covered her horn.
“And I have been meaning to treat Fluttershy to vacation for quite some time. Your bounty would surely cover a week’s long cruise. Perhaps two.”
Luster glared her teeth, pressed her hooves against the ground, and channeled her magic until her amber aura turned her horn into a bright white.
Discord scowled with a smirk, while Cozy stood in between, expressionless. After a moment, Discord fell into a fit of laughter.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”
Luster sighed and lowered her horn down to idle.
“But no, we do have a few questions, and we really shouldn’t leave Flurry waiting. She has a frighteningly short fuse.”
“I heard that!” Flurry shouted.
Discord teleported the two to the living room, where they caught Flurry eying the remaining five-eights of Luster’s cutie mark cake.
The two mortals would’ve ignored it had Discord not cleared his throat and asked on Flurry’s behalf, “Neither of you would mind if she has a slice? She’s a growing Princess, after all.”
A subtle string of droll fell from Flurry’s mouth onto Cozy’s couch.
“…I kinda do…” Luster murmured, but Cozy overrode the special filly’s decision.
“Of course, we wouldn’t!” She tapped Luster and grabbed the cutter and placed two of the pre-cut slices of eighths to Flurry. “It’s a life-defining honor to feed you, Your Majesty.”
“Wonderful!” Discord said. “I’ll have two slices as well. Two-thirds of the remainder, or a quarter of the original, in case you didn’t know.”
Cozy’s smile twitched. “I knew.” She presented Discord with his request.
Discord levitated the final slice onto a plate and kept it floating in front of Luster.
He looked at Cozy and poked the side of her tummy. “You clearly didn’t need it.” He pitched Cozy’s chubby cheeks, and she closed her eyes. It took all her willpower not to react.
Flurry grabbed a fork and hovered a bite into her mouth. Her telekinesis was silent, elegant, and tight enough to restrict the strongest monsters known to Ponykind. Any mage that aims to replicate her style should instead expect to fall like Pony Icarus.
The moment the taste hit Flurry’s taste buds was visibly evident to everyone else in the room. She moaned in delight at the soft, sweet delicacy. Cozy was unsure whether to be actually honored or bitter that two beings of the highest level that wanted her worse-than-dead loved her the cake made for her daughter.
Flurry noticed a vivid liquid on the prongs of her fork. She swallowed. “Is this liquid love?”
Cozy inspected her knife. Sure enough, a few of the crumbs along its side were soaked with sparkling pink. “My baker’s a changeling,” she said.
“Mind telling me the name?” Flurry asked.
Luster groaned. “Can you two please just ask Mommy your questions already?”
Flurry kept chewing but her eyes shifted to the filly along with a face that looked confused and concerned—not angry though, and Cozy wanted to keep it that way; she bowed.
“Please don’t mind my daughter,” Cozy said. “She’s just a bit grumpy today and agitated by Discord’s prank. Lustie, don’t you have something to say?”
The filly had her hooves crossed on an almost broken wooden chair but relented to not disappoint her mother. “Sorry Flurry.”
Cozy said, “Don’t you mean Princess Flurry of the—”
“Didn’t I say there’s no need for that?” Flurry asked.
“Y-Yes, you did,” Cozy said. “Sorry.”
Discord teleported beside Luster, fork pinched between two of his paw’s digits. He patted the filly on the shoulders, not deliberately weighing her down like Cozy before. “Don’t worry, I’m finding myself a bit grumpy today too, and perhaps a little bored. Why don’t we finish our meals someplace more… fitting! Anypony up for another pop culture reference?”
He snapped.