Chapter 17- ...
He had never felt his heart beat so fast. He was a nopony, there to fill out the background for legendary figures like Twilight and her friends. Ponies like Rumble were a dime a dozen; ordinary ponies with ordinary lives! So how did it happen that he was now sneaking through Canterlot with a criminal only he could see? This was not supposed to happen, not to him!
But what choice did he have? Twilight clearly was not the right pony to reform Cozy Glow. So he had stepped in where he felt he could make a difference, with or without Twilight's consent. This was about Cozy and what was best for her.
Twilight wanted that too, deep down.
At least the potion worked wonders. Cozy stuck to the shadows, and Rumble could not notice one pony even looking at the pace where she was. It was only due to his enhanced vision he could follow her movements, and even to him she melded well with the background, almost like one of those strange lizards Fluttershy once had talked about.
Curio had said the potion let Cozy meld with the shadows around her, so reasonably it did not work if there were no shadows to hide in. Still ,most of the journey down to the train station was uneventful, as long as they were a little careful to stay out of the patches directly underneath the streetlights. But Rumble began to feel optimistic. They could do this!
After some twenty minutes they came within view of the Canterlot train station, and Rumble's felt his heart sink. Canterlot was Equestria's central hub for administration, commerce and legal matters; a lot of ponies came and went here every hour of every day. Even now, in the middle of the night, the train station bathed in light as hundreds of ponies went in and out of the three ogival arched gates that admitted them to the departure hall. The large building was nearly triangular, with the central gate towering above the two others. Both him and Cozy stopped across the street, and looked at ponies coming and going.
"Should we wait? It's got to slow down some time, right?" Rumble suggested.
"More than in the middle of the night?" Cozy said sarcastically. "Besides, if the potion effect runs out then we can't try again for twenty-four hours at the earliest."
"And we can't leave your hoof unattended that long," Rumble filled in. "Right. Uh... just sit tight, okay? I'll scout ahead inside. This is gonna be hard enough without going in blind."
Cozy nodded and backed away.
Rumble made his way up to the gates. He had actually never been here before. He most often flew to and from Canterlot. No point in paying for a train ticket when his wings could get him here for free.
A great many ponies milled about in the departure hall, hastening to the different platforms or sitting by the restaurants for some food while they waited. A generous amount of lanterns hung from the roof, showering the entire hall in light. The only shadows he could see were from the many moving ponies, but that as not going to help.
"Excuse me," a stressed earth pony stallion said and nearly stepped on Rumble in his haste to get thought the gates and up to the table detailing incoming and leaving trains.
No way Cozy would last long if she went this way. Even if she somehow got the invisibility to work, somepony was going to step on her.
Rumble took flight to try and find an alternative. The lights hung from the roof a little way down, so closer to the roof was a shadowy area. But without her flight, Cozy could not get up here alone.
Could he carry her? He had done so during their outing together. But then he had caught her already in the air, and he just needed to fly her straight forward, and just for a little while. Even if he was a strong flyer for his age, starting from the ground and ascending while holding a pony just a little younger than him was not realistic. And if he dropped her…
No, he was not going to try that.
"Tsk…" he scoffed and flew back out the building. Going through the departure hall was going to be risky. No point in committing to that idea before he had explored all options.
It struck him that perhaps he should consider this from the opposite angle: if she needed to get to the trains, then he could start by looking at the depot and see if there was a service entrance or something.
He zipped over the roof of the building.
He did not have to look for very long. One street down from the train station an earth pony with a reflex vest was just approaching a wire mesh back door to the depot. Perfect, all they had to do was to wait for somepony else to get in or out, and Cozy could follow them in, with or without her flight.
The two of them doubled back from the train station and made their way around the train depot until they came to the fence at the end of the street. Cozy pawed the mesh fence with her good hoof. "This could take forever though. Isn't there some faster way?"
"None that's safer," Rumble said. "Besides, I saw one pony arrive just now. Maybe that means somepony else will be leaving? In my kitchen, we sometimes work in shifts like that. For Twilight's coronation for example, when one pony rested, another took over."
Cozy glared at the fence door. It was locked with a small padlock and a chain. It was such a trivial obstacle! It was more of a warning than a way to keep ponies out. Every other day she could have flown over! And with her hoof still bleeding magic, she did not feel like waiting around here for who knows how long! But it was not like she had any better idea either.
She backed against the wall and waited.
She did not know how long it was, but it felt much too long for her liking. Rumble sat down next to her, but neither of them felt like talking. The worry for her flying came back. As long as she had something to do, it was manageable, but now that she just had to sit still and wait, the nagging worry came back.
How could she even live without her flight? Pegasi were supposed to fly. She could never visit Cheerful Sun again. She could not even reach Cloudsdale, her tribe's capital. She opened her wings a little and huddled up as if she was cold. She wasn't really cold, but it did make her feel a little safer.
"It'll be fine," Rumble said. She wanted to believe it, but she could hear a twinge of doubt even in his voice.
She was about to answer, but a small sound reached her ears.
Hoofsteps were coming. She jolted up and backed away further into the shadows. Rumble took flight and disappeared.
Another pony was coming, wearing a vest and trotting fast. He passed just next to Cozy, so close she could smell the shampoo he used for his tail. Cozy bent down and prepared to bolt. The moment he opened the door, she was going to dash between his legs, into the depot and hide underneath a nearby train car.
Her ears flicked when she heard the padlock click open. She heard the rustle of the chain being pulled away.
"Oh, hello, Mr. Train Worker!" Rumble practically shouted from the other side of the pony, causing both Cozy and the worker to startle. "I think I dropped my train ticket someplace here. You haven't seen it, right?"
"What?" the train worker asked, dumbfounded. "What are you even doing back here? This isn’t how you get to the trains!"
Cozy took a calming breath and crept forward. The gate was just a little open, and the worker was distracted. Quick as can be, Cozy rushed underneath the other pony, pushed the door open just a little more and ran through.
"What was… No, I haven't seen your ticket! Get out of here!"
Cozy threw herself underneath the train car and spied back. Rumble took flight again and the stupid worker closed the door. She waved quickly at her accomplice and crept forward underneath the train.
Rumble reappeared some minutes later, landing quietly and crawling in under the car. "I think I've spotted a way out for you. Come here."
"Thanks for the distraction," Cozy said. Rumble winked back mischievously.
Darting from from shadow to shadow, they came to a train being loaded. A couple of trolleys with crates and sacks stood nearby. A postal train by the looks of it. And Cozy recognized one gray pegasus who was helping with the bags. It was the mailpony who had crashed into her window that one time! She had seen her in Ponyville! This train was going to take her exactly where she needed to go!
"Perfect," Cozy whispered. "We'll sneak on board and hide until we're in Ponyville! Easy as pie!" Only one train car was open- the one they were loading. She had to distract the workers for a few seconds for her to safely get in.
Luckily, she had an idea for that.
She picked up a piece of rock from the ground and tapped it silently to one of the nearby driving wheels with a metallic "clink". "I'm gonna need you to throw this at the wheels, okay? To get their attention."
"Gotcha." Rumble even made a mock salute. Cozy ran a little while away, ready to jump out when she was safe.
She signaled Rumble, and he threw the stone as hard as he could, safely hidden on the other side of the train. He then immediate picked up another stone and threw it the same way.
"What's that? You guys hear?" one of the loaders said. It was not the gray pony.
"Weird…" the gray pony answered. The two of them went to check, leaving only one behind.
"Come on! Never mind that and help me here instead," the last worker sighed and glared after her two colleagues. With her attention diverted, Cozy ran forward as quick and as quiet as she could and turned the breaks on the trolley from closed to open, before quickly running back to her hiding spot.
The trolley started to move.
"Hey? Wait!" The remaining worker shouted, but to no avail. The trolley rolled down the tracks until it hit the bumper at the end of the railway yard and fell over, all three workers rushing after it. Cozy grinned in satisfaction. All too easy… She crept out from underneath the train and jumped up into the car.
"I made it!" she all but squeed! "And without my flight too!"
"With a little bit of help, right?" Rumble said with a confident grin.
"Oh golly yes!" Cozy beamed. "When I'm princess again, I'll make you a duke! I'll keep Canterlot, of course, but you could have Cloudsdale! Arn't I kind?”
"Well…"
"But we can talk more on the way to Ponyville! Are you coming?" Cozy asked. He had not made a move to enter the train with her. "Before those clowns come back."
"I don't think I can come any further," Rumble said. "I've got work tomorrow, and I can't be in Ponyville then or Twilight would understand that I helped you. But you should be safe now, right? Ponyville is deserted at this hour… do you know where Rarity lives?"
"No," Cozy said, trying to keep her disappointment out of her voice. Nopony had ever done something like this for Cozy before. She was sad to hear he'd not be with her for the final part of her daring escape, even if she understood why.
"Just follow the largest street from the station to the market, up to Town Hall. Then take to the right. Her house is a round, white building."
"Forward, then right. A white building," Cozy said.
"Right. I'll come visit as soon as I can… and try to keep an eye on Twilight for you."
Cozy nodded. "Thanks… really, thanks for everything. It… oh golly, you con't understand how much this means to me. Nopony have ever stuck up for me like you have. I didn't think anypony would willingly help me escape.”
Something in his glance shifted from the easygoing look he almost always wore. There was something sharp in his look now. Cozy flicked her ears backwards by instinct. He glanced over to the post workers, but they were still busy picking up the spilled letters. Then he jumped up into the train car with her, looking sternly into her eyes.
"No, Cozy, listen to me." He took a deep breath. "What I did was helping a friend find a better life, okay? I didn't help a criminal escape. Don't make me have helped a criminal escape, okay? Promise."
"But I must be a princess. I've told you." Cozy said, confounded. He knew that, so why was he having second thoughts now?
"Can't you at least try to earn it?" Rumble asked. "Twilight did, and I'm sure she wants you to become a better pony too, even if she is really bad at doing it. Really really bad."
Cozy smiled at that, despite everything. "I don't trust her. I think she'll hurt me, no matter what she says... I don't think I can ever go back..."
Rumble leaned just a little closer. His lilac eyes glittered in the moonlight. "You don't get it, silly. It doesn't matter if you can or not, 'cause I know we can. Friendship, real friendship, makes you able to do things you never thought possible before. If you try, I'll be there to help. Okay? If Twilight want to get to you, she'll have to go through me first. But if you want to get to her, then you'll have to go through me first too."
"I don't know if I can…"
"Then, can you at least promise that you think about it? You're still going to Rarity's for help, so I'll come visit when I can. You can think of it for as long as you like. But if you do come after Twilight, then you'll have to do it without me."
"Okay… I'll think about it," Cozy said, and she meant it too. "But only because you're the one asking. Golly, I think you're a bad influence on me."
Both of them smiled a little at that.
"Finally. Let's just get this loaded already."
"Got to go! Be seeing you!" Rumble said and took flight before Cozy had a chance of protesting, not that she really wanted to protest.
She slunk back into the shadowy interior and climbed up on the sacks of letters to hide.
Clonk!
"Mmmm…" Rarity groaned and rolled over, still more asleep than awake. Her ears subconsciously flicked upwards. She had always been cursed with an all too light sleep, and needed absolute silence to be comfortable.
Clonk!
She groaned again and sat up. Whatever it was, she was not going to sleep through it. She magicked off her blindfold and rubbed her eyes, trying to figure out what had woken her up.
Clonk!
That was a rock. Somepony was throwing rocks at her window.
"Oh, the nerve of-!" she sputtered angrily. She flicked on the light in her room and went up to the window. She all but threw the curtains open, ready to deliver a scathing (but by no means inelegant) speech on the lack of respect of today's ponies.
There was nopony there. There was… something, though. A shadowy lump that seemed a little darker than its surroundings, vaguely the size of a foal. The little shadow seemed to freeze up. Somehow, Rarity imagined it was looking at her. It had rust-red eyes. She was so surprised that she even forgot she was supposed to be angry.
"Hello? Rarity?"
She knew that voice. "…Cozy Glow? Is that you?"
"Yeah! Can I come in?"
Rarity balked, momentarily stunned. "Of course, dear! Just a moment!" Pausing only to grab a dressing-gown she quickly went downstairs and unlocked the door. There was something strange about Cozy when she stood on the porch. Her mane was in disarray, no longer propped up with her ribbons. Her hoof seemed to be steeped in an angry red mist, almost like a unicorn horn using magic. Those were the obvious changes, but there was also something with how the light fell on her… everything not in direct light seemed unnaturally dark. Around her neck she wore a new silver necklace ending in a small two-colored ornament, the lower part deep purple.
The two ponies looked at each other for a moment.
"Please come in, Cozy. Would you like some tea, perhaps?" Rarity said and moved out of the doorway.
"I would really love some hot chocolate, please?" Cozy answered and stepped inside. She even gave Rarity a little bow at the request.
"But of course," Rarity said. "I imagine you will spend the night? Sweetie Belle is with our parents, so you can have her room. Up the stairs, directly to the right. I'll come up with your chocolate."
"Don't you want me to explain myself? Why I'm here and… stuff?" Cozy asked. She sounded confused.
"Very much so, dear," Rarity answered patiently. "But when a foal knocks on your door at three A.M, there are some things that must be addressed before anything else. And if you paid any attention to our classes in school, then you know what my element is."
"Generosity… right."
"Indeed, Cozy. Now, up to your bed. I will just be a moment."
Cozy went up the stairs. As she stepped into the dimmer light of the stairs, her form seemed to blur inexplicably. Rarity discreetly stared after her, a hundred questions swirling in her head. How did she get out? Why was she hard to see? What had happened with her hoof? Had Twilight freed her? Where did she get the necklace? What was it?
And why did she come here? Why did Cozy Glow come to Rarity in the middle of the night?
The questions continued to bombard her as she prepared a cup of cocoa for Cozy and some green tea for herself. Odds were she was going to need something to keep her awake for a while.
A few minutes later the cocoa and her tea was ready. She warmed up some scones too. She had thought of saving them for her breakfast, but they'd probably do better now. With the two cups and a small tray of scones, butter and honey, she went up the stairs to her little sister's room. Cozy laid in the bed, propped up against some pillows with the glowing foreleg clearly visible on the blanket in front of her.
She looked nervous, eyes snapping towards Rarity the moment she entered.
"Some hot cocoa and scones, dear," Rarity said and sat the tray down on Cozy's side. Normally, she'd never let anypony eat in the bed and get crumbs and honey all over the blankets, but tonight she could make an exception.
"Thanks a lot," Cozy said and took a sip of the warm drink. Rarity sat down on the floor, next to Cozy's bedside and sipped her tea in silence, waiting for Cozy to say something.
"Are you gonna tell Twilight that I'm here?" Cozy asked quietly. She looked down into her cup.
"Hmm… I suppose that depends on you, Cozy," Rarity said. Cozy was a smart and paranoid little filly. If Rarity was to gain any clarity as to what she was playing at, she had to be careful with what she said. "Eventually Twilight will figure it out, I'm sure. But I will admit you have piqued my curiosity by coming to me in the middle of the night. Will you be so kind as to tell me why?"
"You're the only unicorn I know who's been kind to me… I had to come to you."
Rarity took another sip of tea to buy herself some time for thinking. Why did she need a unicorn? "Well, I'm flattered you'd say that, considering our… history. But why not my little sister? Surely she is a better friend than me? Or did you try her window first?"
"No. I wanted to see you. There… there is something wrong with me," Cozy whispered. "When I escaped… I did something, a-and now I can't… can't fly." She said the last two words very fast. She moved her strange foreleg a little, for emphasis.
Rarity gasped and put a hoof in front of her mouth. She looked down on Cozy's foreleg. She reached out to touch it, but hesitated. "Do you mind?"
Cozy shook her head. "So what are you going to do? How long until I can fly again?"
"Pardon?" Rarity said. Cozy's hoof did not feel strange in the slightest. "What do you expect me to do?"
"Cure me, of course," Cozy said. "You're a unicorn, so you know magic stuff, right?"
"Cozy, sweetness, I don't know the first thing about magic, more than what my mother taught me when I was little," Rarity said. It was not the first time ponies seemed to make the assumption that she was a better mage than she was. Probably because everypony knew she was friends with Twilight.
"What!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Cozy roared, causing Rarity to flinch back. "WHY DON'T YOU KNOW!? YOU ARE MY ONLY CHANCE! I CAN'T LOSE MY FLIGHT!!" Cozy screamed on. She still looked positively livid, but there was an wavering undertone in her scream that reminded Rarity all too much of when Sweetie Belle was younger and upset.
"Hush now, little miss Glow," Rarity said and magicked over a napkin. "Listen to me." Her voice was silent and tender, but still with some authority. Motherly, almost. "I am not a nurse, and I certainly don't know anything about pegasi. But, if you want, I can ask nurse Redheart to come and have a look."
"Nopony else would help me," Cozy said and fell back against the pillows. Her voice sounded empty. "I thought… since you are the only grownup pony who has been kind to me… that maybe you would help."
"I would, but I don't know how," Rarity said. "And I promise, Redheart will help you. She's very kind. I will even stay with you when she is here, if you want."
"But she'll tattle to Twilight," Cozy said. "I'm not going back. I'd rather…" She silenced. Rarity nuzzled Cozy a little. While her worry about Twilight sounded so very silly to Rarity, it was a real fear for Cozy. And Twilight's late friendship report had shown her to always take a friend's concerns seriously. Especially since Cozy clearly was contemplating giving up her flight for her freedom. While she did not say it, this time, Cozy clearly was thinking about that choice.
That must not happen. Not only would she be condemned to the life of a cripple, but it would also forever ruin any chance for Twilight to earn Cozy's trust.
"She won't tattle, Cozy. Redheart, and all hospital personnel, can be asked for an oath of confidence. And I can promise, Redheart would never go back on her word. That's not the type of pony she is."
Cozy bit her mouth and looked down on her hoof.
Then she nodded once, hesitantly.
"Stay here," Rarity said. "I will go find her."
"Now?" Cozy asked.
"This is nothing that should wait." Rarity said. "I will be right back. You try to rest now."
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I must say, Rumble must have been reading the friendship journels himself because he seams to know a lot about friendship, good on him. And good on Rarity for handling Cozy so well. Now if only she could find a way to get Cozy back to Twilight without damaging her relationship with her.
I loved the part with Rarity, and I'm happy to say that was very in-character for her to take care of Cozy - even if the poor filly admitted she escaped from Twilight.
10053326
Even suggesting to send Cozy back to Twilight would damage the relationship with her. Cozy escaped Twilight's prison and her attempts to make the filly start obeying and liking her. If Cozy won't decide to talk with Twilight by herself, it's pointless to force her. I think it's Cozy who should make that decission.
10053334
I know, but the problem is the longer Cozy stays with Rarity like this the bigger the chance that some random pony will recognize her and all of Equestria might folllow suite and considering her reputation, I fear for her safety. Imagine that a random group of angry pegesai decide to enact their own justice on her, or a potential overzealous guard who doesn't know that Twilight is intending to reform her. At least in the tower she was safe and Rumble was nearby and while progress was slow, it's not like no gains were made in her reformation.
Honestly Twilight should have just announced some sort of rehabilitation program like I'm sure Celestia did with Discord.
Please tell me that Rarity is going to inform Twilight that a prisoner (guilty of treason against the crown, too) has escaped lawful custody.
There is must be a reason why Rumble just can't get Cozy a ticket on a passenger train, but okay.
This story is very quickly becoming annoying. Characters are beginning to slide out of their normal personas to fit the plot points better.
This whole sneaking arc was just... weird, to say the least. It felt so forced and deus ex machina'd that I honestly just skimmed most of it.
I hope this story finds itself again soon, it was for the longest time, one of the best Cozy fics and I would hate to see it fall off.
10059746
Well, would you look at that! A reader who offers constructive criticism; I thought they were just a myth! Thank you ever so much for notifying me. And don't worry about the sneaking; it got much longer than I realized. Too long for this type of story. But it's done now, at least. I hope that you will give my next chapter a chance, and we will see if it's better than the last few.
10055534
Cause he doesn't have money and buying a ticket would raise suspicion?
10059746
Didn't feel that annoying to me (maybe because I'm mostly used to reading stories that can't hold a candle to this one), but I see where you're coming from. Perhaps, that potion could've been a little more useful?
Or was it even necessary? Of course, it states in the story that Cozy's disguise is quite poor, but it's not like anyone knows she's free. If anyone saw her coat, they would just assume that it's a random filly (they might not even point out in their mind that she kinda looks like Cozy), unless her disguise is non-existant. Though I guess that getting inside the train would be harder without being invisible.
Also, I just thought: why won't Rumble just fly above, carrying Cozy? Is there no other way to get to the train from above? Or did I miss the part where it said that it was the only way? I will re-read everything closely once I'm done with the rest of the story.
10193924
Perhaps it was parked on roofed trainyard, then it was only way to infiltrate. That was common with oldschool train, to have locomotive and opulent carriage carts ( although Equestria apparently uses openspace carts) to be sheltered for storage and maintenance