Chapter 18- The Party
One week later, everything was ready. An official holiday had been declared all over Equestria so every foal could go out with their parents. Twilight did not have the details, but her advisors had told her that every big city had followed her instructions and arranged a variety of activities. Just like she had hoped, the spirit of community in Equestria had also inspired individual ponies to set up their own events related to their trades. Today carpenters, candlemakers, farmers, secretaries, smiths, mages, brick makers, masons and just about every other conceivable trade had opened their doors to fillies and colts alike.
Her own castle was no exception. She had seen a few foals earlier together with the groundskeepers. They were going to plant some of the bulbs and prune some of the trees. Apparently trees that were cared for by earth ponies had to be pruned in fall for them to keep their shape neat. Ramson had opened his kitchen for those who wanted to try some simpler recipes and, even more impressive, he had managed to keep most of his acrid temper in check. She hoped it would continue like that.
So far so good. Really, the idea of everypony banding together to help foals finding their cutie mark made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Also, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had spoken of trying to make the Cutie Mark Crusaders a proper organization all over Equestria with branches in every major city. Slowly but surely, they too were growing up and the organization they had started as fillies would evolve with them.
There was only one problem.
Twilight peeked out underneath the curtains that had been put up in front of the castle main entrance, and could see a veritable sea of ponies waiting, huddled close and dressed up in scarves and earmuffs for the first snow of the season. She had hoped that scheduling this right as the weather office started their snow might deter some ponies, but it didn't seem to have worked very well.
"How does it look?" Flurry asked nervously, shifting on her hooves between Shining Armor and Cadance. She had a long scarf wrapped several times around her neck and a pink jacket. It was stuffed with phoenix down and it was probably more expensive than all other articles of clothing in the crowd put together.
"There are a lot of ponies out there," Twilight said. "But there's nothing to be nervous about, I promise. Everypony just wants to take a look at your new mark is all."
"It'll just take a minute or two," Cadance soothed. "Just say what you practiced yesterday, and everypony will be happy. And both me and daddy will be there with you. We'll handle the magic part. Just concentrate on your speech, I'm sure it's great."
"I still don't get why I have to do this," Flurry huffed. "It's not like I'm… special. Ponies get their cutie marks all the time, but nopony wants to listen to them speak in front of everypony."
"But not everypony is my beautiful daughter either," Shining Armor said. "Besides, the ponies of Canterlot have not seen you in years. You can't blame them for being curious."
"And most ponies don't make everypony in town leave their homes when they get their cutie marks," Cozy chipped in, standing a bit off to the side. Twilight could hear a small twinge of jealousy in her voice. "Golly, it's not hard! They are all here because they love you right? No matter what you do, they will like it! Just go out there and get it over with. Then we can go back to our own party! Rumble even said he'd make chocolate, and he makes the best chocolate."
"Okay," Flurry said and braced herself. "Okay."
She swallowed once more and then lifted her ears a little so as to not appear intimidated. Then she went through the curtains, flanked by her parents. The curtains fell closed behind them, leaving Twilight and Cozy alone. They heard the cheering from the other side though.
"I suppose we might watch as well, right?" Cozy said and pointed up to the battlements.
"Well… if anypony sees me peeking, it might look a bit weird," Twilight said.
Cozy rolled her eyes. "It's not like anypony down there is going to notice anything but miss perfect-" She caught herself. "…but Flurry. Golly, even if Chryssie dropped in with a changeling army, nopony would notice until Flurry's speech was done. I'm going. You can come if you want."
Twilight shrugged and followed. She had to admit she was curious.
They both took position at the battlements and peeked down. Both Cadance and Flurry had their wings lifted, as was common for grand occasions like this. Her parents stayed slightly behind, and Flurry proceeded up to the edge of the platform. The cheering died down.
"Uhm… hi!" Flurry said. The tradition was that she should be using the Royal Canterlot Voice, but none of the younger princesses could do that. Instead, Twilight had developed a spell to let voices travel far without increasing the volume. It was not as awe-inspiring as Celestia and Luna's technique, but it was convenient. This way everypony could hear Flurry as if she was standing next to them. "Nice… nice weather we're having? I like the snow."
A murmur of agreement came from the crowd.
"Uh… I know you are here to celebrate my cutie mark, but I don't want you to think about me right now! It's better if you give some help for everypony who hasn't found their mark yet! It was a really great day for me, and I want everypony to have a day like that! And to get that, ponies will need help! I would never have gotten my mark if it weren't for my friends, Cozy Glow and Rumble! And to all other ponies who need friends to find their mark, I hope that all of you can be those friends! And to everypony who doesn't have their mark yet, I just want to say that sometimes, it will take others around you to help you. You can't always find your mark on your own. My friend Cozy actually told me last night that there are some ponies in Ponyville who are trying to help ponies find their marks. And they always work together. Because it's easier with friends!"
"I… think that's all. I hope you all have a nice day."
She stepped back and waved, somewhat awkward. The crowd stomped their hooves in approval. Flurry looked like she wanted to beat a hasty retreat, but didn't quite know how. She just stood and waved, at least until Cadance stepped up next to her and put a wing over her to start guiding her back behind the curtains.
"Well, that's it," Twilight said. "It was a nice speech. But why did you tell her about the Cutie Mark Crusaders? They never helped you with your mark."
"Sweetie Belle is my friend, so I figured I could try to give them some exposure," Cozy shrugged. "And it seemed to fit with what she wanted to say anyway."
"Huh," Twilight was a bit taken aback. She had thought Flurry had decided on her speech herself. This revelation made her wonder just how much of the speech Cozy had come up with and what was Flurry's own words. She also had a feeling that if asked, Cozy would not answer. Maybe she could ask Flurry later?
"Well… enjoy your party," Twilight said instead. "Pinkie's set up all sorts of fun and games for the three of you up in my wing, and she even strong-armed Ramson onto giving Rumble the afternoon off."
"Aren't you coming?" Cozy asked, tilting her head slightly. "Pinkie is your friend, not ours. She'll want to see you… and you want to see her too, right?"
Twilight nodded. "Yes, I want to. But the Canterlot nobility expects me to join their 'soirée'," Twilight frowned just mentioning it.
"… and if you don't they will complain and compare you to Celestia and things will be a mess," Cozy filled in. "Golly gee, you should abolish them."
"I suppose being a Princess isn't all it's cracked up to be," Twilight mused.
Cozy's only answer was an cold sort of stare. "Well, I'll wait for Flurry up in the tower, I think. It's a bit chilly," she said. Cozy extended her wings.
"I'm sorry, Cozy," Twilight said. "I spoke without thinking! Really, I didn't mean anything by it."
Cozy huffed. "Good. Because I will never stop trying. Never ever."
Twilight tried a small smile. "And I will never stop watching your progress."
Cozy's chilly stare softened, just a little. "Hope the nobleponies don't take too long. I'll... save you some cake." With that, she fluttered off towards her room. Twilight sighed in relief. More than anything, that little exchange had reminded her that Cozy was still completely unbending in her pursuit of her dream. If there was one thing that would never change, redeemed or no, it was her lust for power.
It was all Twilight could do to turn that lust and that drive into something productive. Wanting power was not a bad thing, in and of itself. Twilight just had to make sure Cozy turned her lust into something productive and, if that time ever came, she used her power for good.
"Was it good?" Flurry asked, anxiety coloring her voice. "Didn't it sound boring?"
"It was fine, Flurry. Don't worry." Shining Armor said. "It was way steadier than my first formal address as Prince. You did great," he said the last part with a radiant smile.
"And now your friends are waiting," Twilight reminded. "I don't think you have been to a real Pinkie Pie party before, so prepare to be amazed."
Flurry's anxious ruffling of her wings under her jacket gradually stopped. "You're coming too, right?"
"As soon as we can, Flurry, I promise," Cadance said. "But Pinkie will look after you. She helped out with mom and dad's wedding party, you know."
"Oh… you look like you had fun on the photos of that," Flurry reasoned. "Okay. But don't wait for too long."
After a brief hug from her mom and dad, she took off into the castle.
Cadance chuckled. "I wonder how long she will want her parents to be with her at her parties. Especially you."
"Hey, I can be fun at parties," Shining Armor said defensively.
With a small smirk, Cadance lifted her eyebrow. "You cried yourself to sleep at our wedding night."
Time always went faster when you were having fun. Everypony knew that, including Cozy. By that reasoning, she supposed she shouldn't have been so surprised when she looked out the window after an hour or so and it was, in fact, already dark and the clock said it was evening. How did that make sense? Pin the Tail on the Pony, Pinkie's juggling act, the cake, the hot cocoa, the board game tournament, the card game tournament, the other cake and then finally the charades couldn't have taken that long, could it?
Or maybe it actually had. The last party she attended was at the orphanage, so long ago it felt like another life. Maybe all that fun really could take that long? Stepping into her room, alone for the first time since the party started, she found the quiet, darkened room soothing. She scooped up what she had come to collect and stashed them into her mane. Three things: two gifts and one thing for herself.
Her eyes wandered over to the mirror. She had actively avoided it since she saw her evil side in it that one time, but now, she almost felt ready. She had played with Flurry for hours on end and she wasn't bad. She had even lost a few of the games to her, and she didn't feel angry at all!
She hesitated for a moment before she resolutely went to stand in front of the mirror, keeping her eyes on the hooves of her reflection for a moment and only then slowly lifting her head.
Cozy looked back.
Her coat appeared almost gray in the gloom, and her mane was silvery. On her face was etched a slightly wary look, for a second before she breathed a sigh of relief. She stared at her reflection and gave it a confident smile. It smiled back.
"I wasn't afraid of you," Cozy said to the reflection. "I know I still have it together in the head." She turned away from the mirror and slapped the pane with her tail for good measure.
Of course she didn't have to be afraid. She could become better. She could even be forgiven. She knew, because just hours earlier she had received a letter back from Ocellus the Changeling where she said she wasn't angry at Cozy anymore. While she knew Ocellus was the meekest of that gang of students, it still warmed her heart just a little to hear that one of them had forgiven her. Maybe, with a little bit of work, the rest of them could be won over too?
Now that there was nothing to worry about, Cozy went to rejoin the party.
"Allright everypony!" Pinkie chirped when she came back. "It's time for the bestest of the bestest parts of every party…!" a drumroll sounded, though Cozy had no idea who was playing. "The present opening!"
"Did I get presents!?" Flurry asked with glee, jumping on the small sofa where the three foals sat.
"Pfff, of course you did!" Pinkie said. "Your parents had loads of stuff, but I confiscated it until now! And my Pinkie sense told me that both your friends also have presents for you!"
Cozy and Rumble both nodded. Cozy did her best to quash the unworthy feeling of jealousy. She knew that Rumble's present to Flurry wasn't meant like that, but… her heart didn't listen to logic.
"Help yourself! I'll take a cupcake while I watch!" Pinkie chirped and pulled the colorful cloth away from the gift table which Cozy could not remember seeing before, which was strange since it was pretty large.
Flurry didn't need to be told twice. She flew at the pile of presents and started tearing into the colorful wrapping with all the grace and subtlety of a raging minotaur. Even Cozy couldn't help but to be overcome with her sheer enjoyment. In the end, she opened up a large set of tin soldiers, a quartet of new winter boots, several books, a red and pink striped plush snake (already dubbed Sir Snaky), a box of chocolate pralines, a model of Canterlot Castle, some dolls and a building kit depicting a windmill.
"And now it's your friends' turn!" Pinkie said. "And friends' presents are the most precious of all!"
"You… didn't have to…" an overwhelmed Flurry said quietly.
"You're my friend," Rumble said. "It's not a commitment to do something nice for a friend. Right, Cozy?"
Cozy took a deep breath and nodded. "Especially me. I didn't treat you well and I wanted to… to try and make up for it. A little bit, at least."
"You don't have to do that," Flurry assured. "I'm just happy you are my friend now."
Cozy shook her head, even if she felt warmth spreading in her chest. "But I'm not happy with just that! I want to make it up for real… so I have a small gift, for both of you."
She combed through her mane and produced a pair of thin, long presents. They weren't very nicely wrapped, but it was as good as she could make it. The red one for Flurry, and the green one for Rumble.
"Thank you," Flurry and Rumble said and tore away the wrapping, revealing two of her self-writing quills. Flurry's was made from a fledgling Phoenix feather that alone had cost half her savings from Curio's shop. But she was happy with it, especially since she had managed to harness the natural heat to make it not even need ink! It could just carefully sear the letters into the paper!
Rumble's quill was less extravagant in its construction, using a blue macaw feather, but if just a fraction of what she felt when she made it had found its way into the finished artifact, then she knew it would still be a small masterpiece.
"Oh… I had completely forgotten that…" Rumble mumbled. "And now I feel like a jerk for not having something for you."
"Don't worry," Cozy said with a smirk. "I have something in mind…" she murmured more to herself, with a blush.
Flurry's eyes sparkled with joy, as she looked at her fire-orange feather from every angle. "So nice! I love phoenixes! They are so cool!"
"Yeah… it's really more than I ever thought, Cozy," Rumble said. "Thank you… like, really, thank you." Cozy felt her heart swell in her chest.
"Well, so then it's my turn," Rumble said. "It's not as good as Cozy's but-"
"STOOOOP!" Pinkie shrieked, making every other pony in the room jump out of their skin. In a blur of pink she was standing in front of Rumble, flipping frantically through a large, pink book that smelled strangely like cake frosting. "That's not how you present a gift! It says right here in the Party Planner's Compendium that you should say how great it is! You can't give a bad impression right from the get go! Now do it again and do it right!"
"Uh… okay, here is my gift! It's… great?" Rumble said quizzically, looking back at Pinkie.
Flurry giggled and took his small, square present. It was neatly wrapped with blue ribbons on pink paper. Flurry tore it open. Cozy looked too.
It was a book. Or more a booklet like what students use to copy down notes in. Only this one was filled with what Cozy recognized as recipes. "When we first met, you said everypony always looks up ahead of time what you like to eat so you never get to try anything new. I figured I'd copy down some recipes for you, so you can have the ponies back home give you some new stuff for a while, at least. Uh, most of them are focused on oranges, since you said you like that."
Flurry grinned. "Thanks. You have no idea how boring it gets to always have variations of the same stuff."
"Golly-" Cozy began, only to be drowned out completely by the loudest party favor she had ever heard, courtesy of Pinkie.
"Both of them were great gifts!" Pinkie chirped. "A+ to both of you! Have you been talking to the Gift Givers of the Grove? They give the best gift advice, even the yaks said so!"
All three foals shook their heads. Cozy didn't really know what she meant, but Pinkie had always been a bit random even during their friendship lessons at Twilight's school.
"Uh… if it's not too much to ask, could you two leave us for just a minute?" Cozy asked Pinkie and Rumble. "I'd… like to say some things to Flurry, alone, if that's okay."
"Ohh! A fillies-only secret! I get it!" Pinkie said. "Okay, Rumble, let's go. And no eavesdropping, that's rude! Don't worry, you two, I'll keep an eye on him!"
Rumble glared at the pink pony. "I wasn't going to-" the rest of the sentence was lost when Pinkie scooped him up and left them behind in a pink flash.
Cozy took a deep breath. "It's not anything serious, but do you… do you think you could… just help me with something really quick?"
"With what?" Flurry asked.
Cozy combed through her mane and retrieved the sprig of mistletoe she got from Cadance. It had dried, but the fresh green color still remained. "If you could just hold it over me… when Rumble comes back…" Cozy said. Suddenly she felt like not only her cheeks, but the whole face was burning.
To think she would ask Flurry Heart about this. But then again, without her, Cozy might never have realized her feelings for Rumble in the first place… so in a way, it was very fitting too.
Flurry grinned and lifted her wings excitedly. Then she magicked up the sprig and held it over Cozy.
Cozy took another calming breath. Her heart beat hard and fast and her wings felt itchy. "Okay, we're done!" she called.
Pinkie was first through the door, cast one eye on the hovering mistletoe before flashing Cozy a lightning fast grin and then she dashed out again. "MORE CHOCOLATE!!!" she screamed.
Rumble came after, looking after the running Pinkie.
"That was weird, even for her."
He seemed to turn like in slow motion. Somehow, everything around Cozy seemed to slow down. Everything but her heartbeat, which sounded like a heavy drum in her ears.
His amethyst eyes found hers. At first, he seemed confused. But then his glance found it's way upwards, to the mistletoe. Understanding lit up like a torch in his beautiful, endless gaze.
He approached her, still otherworldly slow, until they were just a hoof's width from one another.
Cozy didn't know what to do! The vastness of his eyes had caused her brain to short-circuit! She just stood there, and stared!
But he did not. He approached, slowly, leaning forward.
His lips brushed against hers.
And her paralysis disappeared. She leaned forward too, pressing lightly against him. He smelled so nice… refreshing like a spring shower.
Their lips met.
Cozy had read somewhere that you were supposed to open your mouth and stuff, but right now she didn't need to. In her mind, this was good enough. Just the closeness, the warmth from his body, and the way he looked at her.
Nopony had ever looked at her like that.
Rumble… liked her! He wanted to be together with her in a way no other pony ever had. She was loved. And that was enough for Cozy.
She felt her eyes mist, just a little, but she was determined to keep her emotions in check. She was not going to make this awkward. Not when it was so perfect.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome," she heard his gentle whisper.
She smiled, and broke the kiss.
He smiled at her and put a wing over her back. They went back to the table together. Flurry was almost as pink as Pinkie from her blush, but she nonetheless looked happy.
"Daaaaaaw!"
All three ponies looked back and saw Pinkie peeking from behind the door frame. "So sweet!"
"Who's eavesdropping now!" Cozy said, even if she was far too happy to put any anger in her voice.
"Weeell, it's not just me you know," Pinkie said. "Cause I stopped these ponies from interrupting you! And I got the chocolate!"
Pinkie stepped out from behind the door. Behind her followed Twilight, Cadance and Shining Armor, and a fourth pony. She was bright blue and lacking both wings and horn with a neutral white mane. She wore a black-and white dress with a large pink bow by her chin. Most notorious however, was her large, pink-and-black designer sunglasses. Photo Finish. The same pony who had taken the class picture for Twilight's school.
"Und you zay I can find ze magics here?" The blue pony asked while looking about the room. Even hidden behind her glasses, the critical look in her eyes was somehow clear to see.
"We wanted a picture of our big daughter's cute-ceañera," Cadance explained. "Would that be possible?"
Cozy found the blue pony looking directly at her. "Ja, zhat iz well und good."
"Great! Sorry for interrupting, but could you all switch places?" Cadance asked. "So Flurry is in the middle?"
Cozy didn't like the idea of giving up Rumble's soft wing, but decided to play along. She did not want to bicker. She went around the table. Pinkie handed out a mug of hot cocoa to everypony.
"Ach ja, perfect! Zhat is she magics I zeek!" Photo Finish declared and snapped a photo.
Cadance looked at the camera. "Oh… Flurry, you blinked. Let's do another one."
"Nein. Ze magics has been captured." Photo Finish said, packed up her camera before turning around. " I go." And she did, nearly straight over Cadance.
"Wait, Miss Finish," Cozy said and fluttered over to the departing pony. "Can we all have a copy of the photo? It'd mean a lot for us."
Photo Finish stared straight ahead for a few seconds.
"Ja, sehr gut."
Hours later still, Cozy was supposed to be asleep. But she wasn't. Her own enchanted quill flew over a small paper, jotting down her own declaration.
She was content. She had a special somepony, and a brand new friend. Months ago, she had only herself. Now she had so many other ponies she could respect and care for and… love. She had come far, and she had so much further to go. But she had no doubt she could and would go the distance.
One day, she was going to reach her ultimate dream. Together with her friends.
Her quill finished with a tiny heart above the "i".
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YES! Thank you for writing this Silver, and thanks to Vito for the nice heartwarming drawing at the end
Daaaaw that picture at the end. Very well done.
...and butt.
Also, little disappointed that the CMC didn't make an appearance in this chapter. I wanted to see Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's reunion with Cozy Glow and perhaps their reaction to her having Rumble as her coltfriend. It's a shame Sweetie Belle didn't appear too, she had only a small role in this story only to never appear again and being replaced by Flurry Heart in Cozy's circle of friends.
Regardless, it was a very sweet chapter.
Great way to wrap up the story. The party was nice and its good to see Pinkie being so forgiving of Cozy. The kiss was very nicely done.
I'm willing to bet that Flurry came to Cozy for help in that regard. At this rate Cozy will be a second mentor of sorts to her.
Damn, don't mess with Pinkie...
It's nice to see a bit of a pay off to the letters mentioned earlier. It makes sense that Ocellus would be the first to forgive.
Overall, this was one of my favourites, just like with the first one. I loved reading every chapter.
10645885
Yeah, I thought about involving them, but I had already delayed this chapter/ the end of this story twice, and I felt like devoting a chapter to the CMC would just drag out the ending of this story obnoxiously much. But fear not... I have something in mind for the future where the CMC will get to have a bigger supportive role. To a degree, Sweetie Belle is replaced by Flurry as "closest filly friend", since Flurry lives in Canterlot. I't easier to let Flurry and Cozy interact rather than sending Sweetie Belle to meet her every chapter.
But Sweetie is not forgotten, I promise.