//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Recon // Story: Cozy Glow: The Hero of Equestria // by Betty_Starlight //------------------------------// Breathe in! Breathe out! I’m finally breathing now, but it’s dark and I can’t see anything… You know, it’s really strange to not breathe for centuries! Um, I think it’s been that long? I don’t know? Breathe in! Breathe out! I finally open my eyes and look around… I see a decrepit old stone centaur to my right and to my back left, I can’t help but notice an enormous stone changeling queen there! Breathe in! Breathe out! “Oh, golly!” I whisper to myself before looking around the darkened courtyard… I see the pale moonlight coming down from the sky and I see how it shines on the grass here in this desolate park… Breathe in! Breathe out! I glance around and wonder just how much security this school has at night? I blink and decide not to chance it! I look up at the sky and find the right star… Once I see the one that will guide me north, I squat and take off with my wings to fly towards it! I know that direction will take me to the Everfree! <*****> I’m not really sure what time it is or how long I flew? I spotted a road earlier and simply followed that, because I know the road leads north out of Ponyville and into the forest… I see a treeline and I keep flapping! Even after all that time, my muscles seem to be in good shape? I guess they don’t really atrophy in stone? I’m breathing heavily by this point and taking in every precious gulp of air I can get with my snout! I cross the treeline and begin flying into the forest… It’s even darker here and underneath the tree cover, the moon doesn’t penetrate it much… I can only see spots and splotches of moonlight on the forest floor, but that doesn’t concern me right now. I need to hide! I look and I spot a darkened opening some distance to the side of the trail… I veer my course in that direction as I continue flapping through the air! I see a gray stone cliff face approaching me through the trees as I continue going that direction and I eventually land right in front of it… I look forward to see a darkened opening, roughly 7 or 8 feet high and maybe 5 feet wide… I blink and think that’s probably a good spot? So, I begin trotting inside… Since it’s dark, I don’t think flying in here is a very good idea… I trot in and see the stone floor and as my eyes slowly adjust to the darkness, I begin to notice that this cave just keeps going back… I also don’t think going too far into this place is a very good idea? I trot into what I’m guessing is an antechamber and then, I turn my body around to stare outside… I hear crickets chirping and I think I heard an owl hoot at another point? This is so disorienting! I turn my body to stare outside into the darkened forest…. I wonder how much longer before the dawn? <*****> I don’t know how long I waited… I just sat there with nothing to do… It was a lot like Tartarus, except this time, I didn’t have Tirek to talk to… That’s both good and bad, actually… Finally, I see the first slivers of sunlight coming into the forest… I know the sun rises in the east and I know it’s coming up, right where I can see it outside the cave… This cave must face to the east! I turn my head right, now knowing that direction will take me towards Ponyville again… I suddenly wonder if I should go back? Well, it’s the morning, so surely they know my statue isn’t there, right? I begin to look around thinking that a disguise might be the best idea here? I blink when I can’t find anything but rocks in the cave and then stare back outside… Well, if I’m going to learn anything, I’ll need to head up there! I think to myself before taking the first few tentative steps outside the cave with my hooves… I hear birds chirping and I feel the warm morning sun beaming on my face… I smile when I suddenly think about how wonderful it is to be alive again! I sigh and turn my body to the right… Okay, here I go! I think before launching myself into the air and flapping with my little wings again! I see the ground underneath moving the opposite direction as I flap through the forest toward the other side of the treeline… I cross it and suddenly see lush bright green grasslands below me in the early morning light… I smile as I feel the wind on my face… This is so great! After all this time, I’m finally free! I think as I continue heading towards town… I need to scope out that courtyard! I want to know what they’re doing! I see the town approaching on the horizon and I know the school is just a little distance inside. I also know that they might be searching for me by now, so I’d do well to keep a low profile! I look below me and see streets busy with different ponies heading this way and that. I also see many other pegasi in the air with me now, but none of them seem to be paying me any mind? I stare further into the city when I see the gray structure that I know is the School of Friendship! I begin flapping harder thinking that the sooner I get the information I want, the sooner I can get out of here! I see the side of the school approaching and I slow my flapping so I begin to lose altitude and get closer… I eventually land on the side of the school and I trot on the top of it to make my way to the courtyard… I look down and I see a tall purple alicorn and several smaller ponies all around the platform that holds Tirek and Chrysalis and once held me… I see Twilight speaking to a tan earth pony with a brown mane… I don’t know what she’s saying, but she seems to be yelling or barking orders? Then, I saw something I never thought I’d ever see… I saw Twilight’s horn glow and the earth pony lift off the ground! I saw him get thrown through the air in her magical grasp! I also saw that brown stallion crash into the stone wall… I heard a sickening crunch… I cringe when I think of the pain that pony must be in! My eyes are wide when I see the purple alicorn turn towards me and take off to flap my direction! I duck behind the stone railing so she doesn’t see me! I blink and think to myself as I begin to process what I just saw… Twilight just threw that poor pony into the wall! I wonder if he broke anything? I soon see the purple alicorn flying overhead and away from the school as she continues flapping… I see her disappear in a flash of purple light in the sky… She didn’t even check to see how that pony was… I get up and look again over the railing… I see a red unicorn stallion there now, wearing a white coat… I see his horn glowing white and the brown stallion’s body soon rises and then floats over to an awaiting stretcher on the grass… Okay, so he’s seriously hurt! I think to myself before deciding that there’s not much else I can learn here… So, I turn my body back towards the north and take off to begin flapping that way! I need to make it back to the cave! <*****> I land just outside of the entrance, with my new findings inside my floof… I found two apples that will help me as I know I need to eat, and I also saw a stream to the west… This information is almost a side note in my mind at this point, though… I thought about that earth stallion… I wondered what he could’ve said or did to make Twilight do that? I… I blink for a moment as my mind processes everything for the umpteenth time… I let out a sigh as I turn towards my inner monologue… I spent a very long time in stone… I don’t really know if the ponies were justified in what they did, but I do know one thing… You can’t be bad and not expect the rest of the world to fight back… I don’t know if anypony is fighting Twilight right now, but I do know that there soon will be… That’s not how a good ruler acts and I’m not going to accept that… I need to overthrow Twilight Sparkle! (To be continued…)