“I guess I’ll start?” I say nonchalantly before picking up the 2 of diamonds from the pile and then discarding the 9 of clubs…
Bill smiles at me, “This isn’t just a social call, is it Cozy?” before picking up the 9 and setting down the 3 of clubs…
I look at him and smile, “Well, you are my friend and I did want to see how you were?”
He smiles, “Cozy, I’m not dumb! I saw how you teleported in and yer not the type ta do that sort of thing… Something’s up!”
I sigh and look down at my cards before collecting a card from the face-down pile and deciding I don’t want the 3 of hearts either… I discard the 3 before finally looking at Bill and saying, “She wants to know more about me…”
“Who?”
“M-my mom…”
“Ya mean, Twilight, yer adopted mother?”
I gulp and nod, “Yeah, her!” before looking down at my cards while he draws from the mystery pile and discards the 4 of spades…
Bill frowns, “Well, what did ya tell her?”
“Nothing! I kinda teleported here instead!”
“And she don’t know where ya went and ain’t gonna be bothering us, I reckon?”
I nod, “Well, you’re not wrong!”
He chuckles, “Alright young’un, but I do wanna meet yer new ma, one o’ these days!”
I blink, “Um, of course!”
He nods and then stares at me while continuing to smile, “Right! So now, I’m wonderin’… Just why don’t ya wanna talk to yer new lovin mom about this?”
“Well, I don’t like talking about that, you know?”
“Bout what?” He asks before drawing the 4 of spades and discarding the king of hearts.
I blink and sigh when I realize what I need to tell him… “About how my mother died…”
His eyes widen as he looks up at me from his cards, “Well, what about her? Why don’t ya wanna tell Twilight about that?”
I continue staring at him… “Well, she got sick and died slowly in front of me…” I look off to the right and cringe, “I don’t like to talk about it…”
He smiles at me and gently says, “Well, here’s the thing Cozy! Twilight is yer adopted new mom, right?”
I open my eyes, start breathing through my mouth, and nod, “Well, yeah, I think so?”
He nods, “Well, right! Anyway, in order to take better care o’ you, it’s in both of y’all’s best interests to have open communication!” as I see a wispy blond lock from his head go to the other side of his shoulder…
I frown, “Oh?”
His eyes widen and I can now plainly see the green of his pupils as he leans forward and affirms me, “Well, o’ course! I mean, how’s she gonna take care o’ you, if she don’t know all the facts?”
My eyes narrow, “Okay, granted! But do I need to talk to her about this?”
He pulls back and frowns, “Didn’t I just say you did?”
I sigh in resigned defeat, “Okay, fine! But I wanna finish this game first!”
He smiles again, “O’ course! I think tha coffee is brewed now?”
I smile back and place my cards face-down on the table, “Okay! I’ll go get a cup!”
“Git me a cup o’ black, would ya?”
I salute with my right forehoof, “Yes sir!”
He beams brightly at me…
<*****>
I eventually teleport back into the dining room and I see my mom there, reading a paper held in her magick off to her left before she looks up at me and asks, “Cozy! Where did you go?”
I stare at her from where I stand on four hooves 8 feet from the other side of the table, “Remind me to introduce you to Bill one of these days!”
Her eyes widen, “Bill?” as the paper neatly floats to the front of the table…
I smile, “Yeah uh, he’s a good friend of mine! I uh… “ I look down nervously…
She frowns, “You’re not ready to talk about it yet, are you?”
I look up at her with newfound resolve in my mind… “I uh, I think I’m ready now, actually?” I close my mouth and it doesn’t tremble…
“Oh?” She asks inquisitively as I trot slowly to the chair on the opposite side of the purple dinette and pull it back with my teeth before propping myself on my haunches in the seat and staring up at her somberly…
“My father left, and well, then it was just me and her… We were alone in that house… Then, she got sick…”
Her eyes widen, “What Cozy?”
I blink, “M-my mom!” I try to smile, but my snout goes back to normal instead, “My first one, I mean! I uh, I know now that it wasn’t my fault…” I blink twice and sigh... “I know that there’s really nothing I could’ve done… I-I know that now! But...she just looked so frail!” I continue while giving her a blank stare…
Twilight immediately gets off her chair and begins trotting around the table on my left as I keep talking…
I stare forward blankly while continuing to talk, “She was really all I had, you know?”
I feel hooves going over my body, although I don’t really react…
I stare at the other alicorn without an expression as she holds me from the side of the chair…
“Cozy?”
My eyes widen, “Yeah?”
“Are you okay?”
“Um, I think so?” I lie.
“Do you want to talk some more?”
My eyes normalize, “You know, I think the thing that hurt the most was being alone?”
“What Cozy?”
I blink, “Yeah, it’s just that, well, I felt so alone and I even went to her funeral and everything, but even if I was around all of those other ponies wishing me condolences and saying they’re sorry, none of it really meant much to me…” I shake my head and frown, “I mean, how could it?”
“And you felt alone?”
“Yeah, but uh, I don’t think that was really my fault either?”
“Of course not!” She reassures me while keeping me in her tight stable embrace.
I smile like a madpony, “Oh, golly yeah, but you wanna know something? That’s normal for me! I’m always alone and by myself! So uh, what difference did any of it really make, right?” I chuckle, and hope I don’t sound nervous…
I feel her embrace tighten, “It makes a world of difference, Cozy!”
By this point, I kinda lost it, I’ll admit, as I say sardonically, “Hmm, you don’t say?”
“Cozy, I want you to know that as your new mother, you can ALWAYS count on me to listen and to be there for you!”
“That’s nice!” I reply in the almost mocking tone from earlier.
“Cozy, are you okay?”
“I’m great! Why wouldn’t I be?”
She stops hugging me and stares back at me from all fours on the left side of my chair as I crane my neck her way and asks me, “Well, we were talking about your pain and I needed to know if you were alright? I mean, you haven’t so much as shed a tear or gotten flustered?”
“This is true!” I matter-of-factly state before nodding my head…
She frowns at me and stares intently, “Cozy, are you alright?”
I adjust my view to her as I said, “You keep asking me that!”
“You’re so calm!”
“Well uh, why wouldn’t I be?” I repeat!
She blinks and nods, “Well, we were talking about the awful way your mother died?”
I give a big toothy grin, “Oh, Twilight! Not everypony is a miserable sad sack like you, you know? I’ll be just fine! Don’t worry about me!”
She immediately hugs me again and for some reason, this only irritates me! “Why are you hugging me?”
“Because you need support, Cozy!”
“GRRRRRR!!!!” I growl angrily as my body begins to vibrate! “I’m not like you, okay? I don’t need all that sappy love and support junk!”
She giggles, “You’re so cute when you get flustered, Cozy!”
I frown while continuing to be hugged by this ridiculous pony…
“I love you, Cozy Glow!”
“This isn’t over!” I state lowly.
She just giggles and continues cuddling me…
<*****>
And so, after a really weird morning between mom and Bill, I eat lunch and take a nap! I cuddle my white bunny to my chest and I smile in snuggly bliss as I rest my head on a pillow…
Suddenly, I hear a filly voice from off the bed say with a country drawl, “Heya Cozy! Were here now to play and talk!”
Then, I hear a raspy tomboyish voice say, “Yeah, sleepy head! Get up already! It’s time to play!”
And finally, a feminine sing-song voice say, “We’re here Cozy! Time to get up!”
I say, “No! I’m Empress of Friendship! Come back in an hour!”
“Come on Cozy! We came all this way!” The apple filly says.
“Thirty minutes!” I say while snuggling the bunny tightly!
The sing-song voice says, “Well, she’s not really giving us much choice?”
The raspy voice asks, “Should I let her have it?”
The country voice says, “Go ahead Scoots! Give it to her!”
I open my eyes and they suddenly widen, “Oh, golly!”
And just then, the bed jolts as a russet burnt orange pegasus crashes into the bed and blankets to land right next to me quickly and I feel her bring her forehooves under my pits to tickle me!
“Ha ha ha, ho ho ho, he he he, knock it off, jerk!”
“You gonna come out of bed?” Scootaloo asks while continuing to tickle me!
My body bursts out of the blankets as I throw all four of my hooves out and force the other pegasus to back off! “Alright, fine! We can play! Uh, after coffee!” I say before suddenly wondering if I have a new addiction? *
(To be continued…)