The Night Janitor

by Knox Locke

Chapter 16: White Knight

[Cozy's Perspective]

Cozy Glow looked up at Knox.

"Oh, great, my knight in shining armor."

Her voice dripped with insincerity as she knocked the friendly hoof off of her shoulder. She'd been expecting that weak-minded Twilight to free her, not the stallion she now saw before her.

"Now I'm going to get turned back to stone, and you're probably going to be locked up in Tartarus. Here I thought Twilight might be giving me a second chance like she did with so many others, but..."

She trailed off when she noticed the saddened expression on her old friend's face.

"I'm sorry," she said, now done with her tirade. "I just... haven't had the best time lately," she gestured up towards the two remaining stone figures, "if you couldn't tell."

"I know, Cozy," said Knox. "I'm just sorry I couldn't come get you sooner."

"It was sweet of you to try," said the filly, now on the verge of crying. She really had thought Twilight was freeing her.

She was about to speak again when she heard a familiar voice coming from behind Knox.

"Hello, Cozy Glow," said the princess as she reentered the clearing.

'Wow,' Cozy thought, 'I knew I wouldn't be free for long, but this is ridiculous!'

"I know this is probably as unexpected to you as it is to us," Twilight started, "but I've decided, as ruler of Equestria, that you deserve a second chance."

The princess walked forward and placed a hoof on Knox's shoulder.

"And," she continued, "Knox here has agreed to act as your legal guardian until the time comes that you can be trusted on your own. Understand?"

Understand? She was still trying to comprehend the fact that she could feel the ground beneath her hooves. Was she really out? And why had Knox felt the urge to act like some kind of white knight, swooping in to save her from her horrible situation. Nothing was making sense, but she was slowly starting to piece together the fact that she was actually being given a second chance.

'How long was I gone?' she asked herself. To her, it had felt like years were passing by.

She looked up at the two ponies standing over her. They seemed to be speaking sincerely.

"Really?" she asked sardonically, but the overwhelming excitement she felt inside was real. This was it. She was free.

"Yes, really," replied her new legal guardian.

She was overjoyed to the point that she threw herself joyfully at Knox and gave him a big hug as she had done so many times before her imprisonment in Tartarus. She felt him lightly nuzzle her mane in response.

'You're mine now,' she thought to herself.

Comments

[Yosh-E-O]

It seems we've reached the real crossroads in the story. Will Knox be able to bring out the kinder, gentler, and friendlier Cozy glow? Or will she end up returning to her manipulative ways?

I'm hoping for the former as, honestly, I want cozy Glow to get her second chance. I like Knox, how he came to be with Cozy, and how this could be what both of them need.