//------------------------------//
// A Secret Chronicle, Chapter Five: Dirty Feathers 
// Story: Bizarre Happenings 
// by Art Inspired 
//------------------------------//





Shortly following the incident that Cozy Glow had gone through with Sweetie's close friends, the pegasus laid in her room all alone. Her mane remained a thorough mess as did her tail. She sighed and got up only to look around. Her window curtains brushed lightly against her left flank, and she considered leaving through the window, but that wouldn't work.

"I... can't fly," she said sadly to herself. "I don't know how to... I don't really remember doing it, so if I want to be alone... more alone than just being inside my bedroom like I am now, I'll have to-"

She gasped and peered out her window. Just in the distance, and as if she couldn't be any luckier, a single, lone cloud had started to drift itself loftily towards her, and it was headed right for Cozy's window that morning. She gingerly opened it up for the cloud, and waved to it, saying, "C'mere little one! I'd love to catch..." She reached for it, and said mostly without thinking, "A ride...! Hah!" She felt herself grasping it tightly. "Gotcha... Now then... up I go!"

Tediously, she used both of her front hooves to keep it in place, and then, she used her lower frame to hoist and climb the rest of herself up and onto the summit. "Whew! I'm on."

She looked back at her window, and watched it get smaller and smaller, and further and further away. Cozy Glow was at the moment fairly aware of what she was doing, but just shrugged, and said, "I need time alone... where I c-can..." She looked down at her bitter looking wings, and confessed, "Where I can fix this... My mane, and my tail... That's one thing, but I've got to figure out how to clean my wings."

She rubbed one, and said, "I certainly can't fly if they're absolutely filthy the way they are right now... What do I do? Pick at them with my hooves or something?" She tried, but her tiny body was far too short to do the job adequately. "Ugh! I can't even reach! I'd ask Sweetie, or maybe even Rarity to help, but... they're unicorns." She shrugged, nibbled, and then hastily spat, "Yuck! That can't be the way to do this..."

After a while, she curled into a ball, and gave up while groaning, "It's helpless! This'll take me forever to fix at this rate. I'm starting to doubt that I ever even took very good care of them in the first place."

The filly stayed in the sky for hours that day trying to figure out how to clean and take care of her wings with outstandingly minimal results. Eventually, she started to look around, and could just barely spot Ponyville still slightly visible far off beyond the distant horizon. She thought about calling for help, but sighed instead, and said glumly, "The cloud will go down eventually, but I had hoped to figure out flight by now. I guess... I'll have to walk home... and it's getting late..."

She gulped, and whispered, "Help?" She then chuckled while tearing up, "I, uh, didn't think this move out very well, did I? Anypony...?"

She just drifted further, and further away from town until at last, the sun died, and the moon had taken its place. Still, her little cloud hadn't descended a bit.

She was falling asleep, and as she blinked tiresomely, she felt the hooves of somepony gently grabbing hold of her.

Cozy Glow felt lighter than air.

She rustled around in the puffy, cloudy blankets and sheets, and then, she thought that she had fallen off.

"Ah!"

She landed, but it didn't hurt in the slightest. That wasn't to say that she wasn't startled. She got up and looked around slowly. The room she was in was large and was made completely of fluff and vapors. "Huh... Wow," she voiced loosely, and then, she saw a pegasus rounding the corner only to enter into the room.

Cozy asked the spectrum pony, "Who're you?"

The mare said, "I'm Rainbow Dash... and you're... Cozy Glow." She didn't seem too awfully angry towards Cozy, but she didn't seem too much like a hostess, either. "Can't believe you're in my house, but... you must've really lost your memory, huh?"

Cozy just nodded, and looked down, and then all around again. "Yes, Ms. Dash, I have."

Rainbow scoffed, and laughed, "Miss??? Oh, wow, you've convinced me! That's... hehe, funny, kiddo... Now then, what were you doing up on that micro-nimbus? You know those things never float down, right?"

Cozy gulped, and asked, "What?"

"Yeah... I thought you had lost it or something, and that you were, like, running away from home, but then I saw how bad your wings were. I don't even think you could get yourself up and off of the ground like that." She scratched the back of her neck, and said forwardly, "I know you've been being parented by Rarity, so, what? Do I have to tell her what you tried to do?" There was silence. "What's really going on here, Cozy? Enlighten me a little bit."

The bottom lip of Cozy's mouth trembled, and she said, "I don't... rem- remember..." She began to cry her eyes out. "I don't... I c-can't remember how to fly, or how to take care of my own wings...!"

"Whoa, there," Rainbow said as she approached the trembling filly. "Ease up on the water works. You'll make my home start to rain."

"Huh?" Cozy asked with a sniffle, "W-we're inside... of a cloud right now?" She looked around again. "Oh, woah, I didn't even realize..." She blinked, and then felt Rainbow's hoof on the back of her shoulder. 

"You... can't fly?"

Cozy looked into Rainbow's eyes, and she then realized just how much danger she had been in.

"You..." She told Rainbow Dash, "You saved me back there... Right?" Cozy Glow next hugged Rainbow tightly. "Th-thank you..."

"Oof, oh, uh... N-no problem..."

She was released, and Cozy then said, "Please, don't tell Rarity. I was only supposed to be gone for about an hour or two."

Rainbow asked, "So, were you trying to learn how to fly or what?"

"Not exactly..." Cozy explained, "I was just trying to figure out how I'm supposed to clean these darn wings of mine. I didn't get very far with that, though." Rainbow Dash invited her back up, and onto the bed, and looking back at Rainbow, Cozy told her, "I felt like... I couldn't go and talk to anypony about this. It's weird."

Rainbow shook her head, and said, "No, it's not." She extended her wings proudly. "The most important thing to a pegasus should be her wings. I have to be loyal to my feathers before I can truly be loyal to anything else."

"Oh," Cozy said.

"Look," Rainbow said while relaxing the filly, "I know what you're going through. Thank Celestia I happened along. I thought you were Discord's cotton candy cloud at first."

"Heh..."

"Now..." Rainbow very lightly tapped Cozy on her muzzle, and offered, "Why don't I show you what to do? It only seems right since I just so happen to be a pegasus as well."

Cozy sat still, and just nodded while voicing sheepishly, "Well... a-alright, I guess since you, uh... probably know what you're doing."

Rainbow gladly boasted, "It'll be a piece of cake. I won't tell Rarity that you were up to anything by the way. If I tell her that we were just preening our wings, she'll understand. Afterwards, we'll also do some flight training. Sound good?"

Cozy nodded, and replied, "Absolutely, Rainbow!"

"Go ahead and lie down on your belly. I'll get the feather cream and brush. You don't just start picking all that stuff out of there like a bird!"

Cozy blushed, and then Rainbow came back holding a tube. While uncorking it, she asked Cozy Glow, "Go ahead and extend your wings for me, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Don't worry," Rainbow voiced calmly as she began. "My mom was the best at this, and I learned everything I could about preening somepony's wings from her. That way, whoever helps you do this will learn how to do it even better from you, too."

"Oh," Cozy said. "I thought I could do it myself."

"You can," Rainbow assured, "but not until you're much older. Your body just hasn't grown into that yet."

"Mmh..." Rainbow plucked away and brushed lightly the whole time. "Say Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

Cozy asked, "Who does your wings?"

"A pony named Fluttershy. She's been my go-to for years! She lives in that cute, little cottage just outside of town. If I'm ever unavailable, feel free to ask her for help. If you haven't met her yet, she might be... a little bit shocked to see you, but she'll be more than willing to help preen your wings for you." Rainbow huffed, and said, "There you go, good as new."

Cozy checked, and sighed, "Oh, golly, Rainbow Dash... This feels way better.  Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

Rainbow got onto the bed, and said, "There sure is! It's my turn." Cozy once again blushed. "Like I said, you're supposed to be learning how to do this."

"Right..." Cozy Glow slowly picked up the brush, and then asked Rainbow Dash, "So? Uh... What'll I do first?"