One Thousand Years Ago, Book 2

by Scroll

Chapter 5: The Tooth Fairy

Cozy does eventually spot Rumble. He is on the second deck going from room to room doing what Cozy can only describe as maid service. She observes him from a distance as he performs this chore while singing a jaunty tune. It is at this moment when she decides that he really does look busy so she'll bother him later.

But that leaves a question of what to do instead. At that moment it occurs to her how displaced she is on this ship. There is no reason for her to be there or role on the ship until they land and find one of Sombra's past artifacts. Even then, she's basically just a translator for some internal ghost.

Thinking about this makes her more depressed because it occurs to her that has been the theme for the majority of her life. She's always been this outsider who has to fight to assert her place in Equestria. She had lofty goals a few times but they keep backfiring in her face.

With a sad sigh, she decides to check on Sunset in Sunset's room but Cozy does so quietly and carefully because she fears she might end up disturbing Sunset as well.

Cozy winces when the wooden door to Sunset's room creaks a bit in the process of opening it. She opens it only a few inches. It is enough to peek through the crack. What she sees confirms the fact that it was wise for Cozy to be cautious, for Sunset does indeed appear to be busy pouring over piles of books. Judging from the condition of the book's cover from this angle, she estimates that the books focus is on arcane study.

Judging from the slight shagginess to Sunset's mane, it indicates to Cozy that Sunset has been a little frustrated with her progress, or rather lack thereof, so far, but she is also very focused and determined at the moment.

Cozy slowly and carefully shuts the door before leaning her head on it.

Now what? She asks herself. This could be my life for days, weeks, or even moons. Normally I like being a spoiled princess but this journey . . . it feels important. I want a role in this affair. One that is important, and one that strictly belongs to me. I don't want to simply be Sombra's shadow anymore.

“I agree,” Sombra mentally asserts to her. “I won't be staying in this world so it is important to assert your own independence.

“One thing I can offer that may help you in your journey is more spellcraft study, but I am intrigued by a proposition you made a week ago while on the tour of this ship. During it, you demonstrated some interest in the engineer's profession for the sake of learning. I'm curious . . . does that interest still hold?”

“Golly! You're right!” Cozy thinks as she lifts her head again. “I completely forgot about that.

“Thank you, Sombra, for the reminder.”

Cozy gets a mental image in her head of him bowing to her gracefully before silently fading away.

---

On her way through the cargo section of the third deck in order to get to the engineering section in the back, Cozy Glow notices how the terrain has changed somewhat due to all the extra stuff packed on the third deck. She sees the total of six canons, three on each side, parked a bit away from the shut wooden windows while sitting on a track to help move the canon back and forth. Between that and all around the third deck are many piles of wooden crates and barrels which are secured by hemp nets. The pile is especially high at the bow of the ship. The only section that is mostly open is the middle of the deck which is probably kept deliberately clear as a trot-way.

Cozy knows that most of the food and water for the voyage is stored here, but there seems to be too much here for so simple of an explanation. Canon balls and explosive powder are probably also here. Likely many other tools and supplies to help repair the ship.

Along the way, Cozy passes a very interesting and amusing sight, but the primary reason it is amusing is only because of the knowledge that she has of her counterpart's world. The sight she sees is the three diamond dogs, plus Blaze, gathered around a crate while sitting on some other crates. They are all playing cards with each other and apparently using bits of gems to tally the score.

Dogs playing cards. Cozy wonders where she saw that before.

From the looks of it, Blaze is easily dominating this game, for most of the bits of gems they are using are gathered in a pile closest to the dragon. To Cozy, this isn't too surprising. Blaze seems to have the most wits, and maybe also luck, of the bunch. As for the diamond dogs, she'd be surprised if they can count at all.

“Did anypony ever tell you that it's rude to stare?” Blaze asks aloud, presumably to Cozy, but she isn't certain because the dragon isn't looking at the pegasus. Instead, her eyes are concealed behind a claw full of playing cards.

“Ah . . . are you talking to me?” Cozy asks with uncertainty.

Blaze's eyes peek at Cozy over the edge of her cards as she asks, “I don't know. Are you the one currently staring at us?”

“Want us tah beat her up, Boss?” Biggs offers as he sets down his cards and smacks his left paw with his closed right paw. In the process, he ends up revealing his entire paw of cards because he set it on the crate facing up.

Seeing that, Wedge sighs in distress and throws his cards down on the crate as well, only this time the cards are facing down. After that, he declares, “Well . . . I fold.”

“Nah. Settle down, big guy,” Blaze commands Biggs. “I'm pretty sure there would be consequences if we gang banged one of Equestria's princesses.”

“Duuuuuuuuuuh.” Bigs scratches the side of his left saggy cheek in confusion, which Cozy privately determines is very easy to do with this guy. “What you want us do with her, Boss?”

“That depends on her,” Blaze answers as her look transfers from Biggs to Cozy. “Care for a game?” she offers.

Cozy takes a moment to privately debate this. She was on her way to the engineering section of the ship, but she smells an opportunity to gather information on this group. The cunning strategist in her finds it difficult to avoid an opportunity to gather useful data which may aid her in manipulating this group later on. It also occurs to her that she has no deadline or fixed appointment with Gizmo, so she says, “Okay, sure.” She approaches. “Deal me in.”

“My gems!” Wedge practically barks in objection as he pulls his meager pile close to his chest. Although, to be fair, he has the second-largest pile of the four. “Mine! Pony get her own.”

“Tell you all what,” Blaze brings up. “We'll finish this round. After that, we'll deal cards to everyone here, including the new player, but we won't use the gems at all.”

“Won't use gems,” Maul echoes then giggles hysterically.

“We aren't?” Wedge asks in confusion. “But . . . how we know who wins?”

Blaze shakes her mostly bold red-scaled head as she declares, “The gems won't be important. We'll just play the cards together and have some fun.” Blaze smirks at Cozy. “Personally, I'm looking forward to having more of a challenge than you lot.”

“Sorry, Boss,” Biggs apologizes as he picks up his cards again even though it's moot at this point. “Me dumb. Me no play no good.”

“Me dumb! Me dumb!” Maul echoes again followed by yet another round of unnerving sounding giggles.

“Yes! Of course you're dumb!” Wedge agrees irritably to his fellow diamond dog companions. “Half the time I have to prevent you two from outright eating the cards! Boss does not want dog slobber on her precious cards.”

“Precious cards! Precious cards! Yep-yep!” says Maul.

“Must he always do that?” Cozy asks while looking at Maul with a wince of irritation.

“Unfortunately I can't get him to stop,” Blaze growls. “It seems to be an uncontrollable reflex for him.”

“I bet Sunny would know the medical term for that,” Cozy figures.

“Who is Sunny?” Wedge asks Cozy curiously.

“The affectionate nickname for Sunset Shimmer,” Cozy answers honestly.

“Oh.” Wedge blinks. “She the unicorn with the bright golden and fiery red mane and tail?”

“Yes,” Cozy confirms simply.

“And is she the one with the weird picture on her flank of a sun thingy?” Wedge double checks.

“Yes,” Cozy agrees a little more irritably through gritted teeth. She felt that the question did not need to be that specific enough. “And it's called a cutie mark. That is what the picture on our flanks is called.”

“Oh.” Wedge blinks again as he thinks about that, then asks, “Why for ponies get butt pictures? What purpose does it serve?”

Cozy sighs because she figures that explaining such a complex and somewhat philosophical concept to these three diamond dogs would be like trying to pound a newborn chick back into its egg using a sledgehammer while trying not to kill it in the process.

“We don't need to get into that,” Blaze says. “Suffice it to say, it is a pony thing.”

“I'm just confused,” Wedge complains to Blaze, then looks at Cozy as he asks, “Who put on your butt picture, and why did you choose that particular image?”

“I said we don't need to get into that,” Blaze reminds firmly. “Drop it.”

Wedge sighs despondently, but obediently says, “Yes, Boss.”

“Read 'em and weep, boys!” Blaze triumphantly declares as she drops her cards on the crate face up at the conclusion of this round of the game. Doing so reveals her winning claw of cards.

Obediently, Maul really does weep, but it is unlikely over his understanding of the game itself. He did so simply because he interpreted Blaze's words as a serious command. Far more disgusting than that is when he blows his nose on his paw of cards.

“I told you not to do that!” Wedge yips at his companion irritably. “How many times must I tell you?”

“I withdraw my earlier offer to join this game,” Cozy says while looking at Maul with a straight face.

“Understandable,” Blaze says while glaring at Maul and blowing black smoke out of her nostrils.

Wait! Is that what's missing here? Cozy wonders to herself. Was some of the dogs smoking while playing cards in the picture?

Gah! I can't remember.

“Pardon me, but would it be rude of me to inquire about your villainous past?” Cozy asks Blaze while cutely batting her eyes at the dragon. “I'm a connoisseur of fine tales, you see.”

“Bogus,” Blaze rejects. “You just want some ideas to refine your own attempt to take over the world.”

“A girl needs a hobby,” Cozy proclaims with a playful roll of her eyes. “You should be flattered that I'm interested in your tale.”

“I don't give a flying tail flick what your interest is. I don't give services for free,” Blaze declares.

Irritation shows on Cozy's face briefly. It is severe enough to make her veins bulge for a moment, but she swallows her anger down in an attempt to regather her composure.

“Look, we're both business creatures, right?” Cozy asks while adopting a slimy grin. “Maybe we can exchange information, or better yet . . . it might not be such a bad idea to have a princess aboard this ship who owes you a favor.”

“Okay, now you're talking,” Blaze says with rising interest. “Since we are on the subject of exchanging information, first tell me why you're so interested in my past.”

“You do know who I am, don't you?” Cozy checks.

“Not well,” Blaze answers. “I know you're the daughter of the princess of Equestria. I guess that makes you next to ascend to the throne or something if your mother passes away, which might be a very long time indeed. After all, the only kind of creature who might be able to outlast a dragon is some creature who truly never dies of old age. That is not immortality, that is simply agelessness.”

“Well, you're half right,” Cozy says as she collects her forward hooves in front of her mouth. “I'm also secretly a magical tooth fairy that flies about collecting loose teeth in exchange for precious gems.”

“Really?” Biggs asks Cozy in amazement. “Oh wow! What you want all dem teeth for? Also, you're rich!”

“You bet your bottom I am,” Cozy agrees as she peers narrowly and sharply at Biggs.

“What a coincidence,” Blaze says as she narrows one eye at Cozy. “I was a fairy godmother before I assumed this draconic form, and I have to say that I that I don't recognize you under my employ.”

“You are?!” Biggs asks Blaze with wide eyes in astonishment.

“That's because I wore a different form as well back then,” Cozy explains to Blaze. “A form that most ponies did not approve of. I wanted friends, but the form I had scared all my potential friends away, so I had a choice . . . I could keep my previous form and remain alone, or adopt a new disguise and fit in. Eventually, I chose the latter.”

“Interesting,” Blaze says since she interprets Cozy's true meaning which went way over the heads of her adjacent underlings. “Do you regret your new form? It can't be easy trying to fit into society while knowing you're not being true to yourself.”

“Wait! This is not your true form?” Biggs asks in awe.

Cozy shrugs as she says, “My days now are much like the ones I had before. I still have ups and downs. The only difference is it's provoked by different reasons.”

“Do you miss your previous form?” Blaze asks shrewdly.

Cozy does not answer right away. Instead, she slowly looks down at the crate between them as if deciding the answer to that question right now, to which she eventually declares, “I suppose I do very often, but I know I can never go back to the fairy world. I wouldn't fit in there anymore.”

“Ah! Because the door is now too small,” Wedge realizes with a knowing nod of his head. He looks proud of himself for figuring that out. “Sad, but true. Ponies are much larger than fairies.”

“Too big! Too big! Yep-yep!” Maul puts in.

“Besides, there is a lot I've gained as a pony that I wouldn't want to give up,” Cozy continues, mostly to Blaze directly. “But, in my heart, I guess I'll always be stuck between two worlds.”

“Then use a crowbar to get unstuck,” Wedge suggests. “Although, if you are like us, you can just dig your way out using our sharp paws.”

“I know what you mean,” Blaze says to Cozy. “It seems that, to gain something in this world, it must always cost something. To change forms is to grow and become something different, but one loses the world we had before. It's just like those hippogriffs that don't have a magical, transforming pearl. To live on the land or sky, they must give up their magical life under the sea. I think we can both sympathize with the weight of that decision.”

“The land of fairies is underwater?” Biggs asks in confusion. “Wow. Won't they drown?”

“Some of us did drown, I suppose,” Cozy agrees as she looks at Biggs. “Life can get pretty dark while deep underwater. If we're not strong enough to navigate those deep ocean currents, we just get swept away or consumed by some larger fish.”

“Wow!” Biggs says in awe.

“Wowie-wow-wow!” says Maul.

“Wait a minute,” Wedge says with a suspicious look. “Are you two talking in metaphors?”

“Meta-fours is a language?” Biggs asks in confusion. “Wow. I can't speak that. You two are soooooo smart!”

Blaze looks at her lackeys in amusement, then looks at Cozy while shaking her head. After that, she waves a claw at Cozy as she says, “We'll talk more about this later. Perhaps even in privacy. I don't think I want to give away everything about me in one sitting anyway. I like the idea of being a bit mysterious.”

Cozy shrugs lightly before she warns, “Okay, but two can play at that game.”

“What game?” asks Biggs. “Can we play?”

“Yeah-yeah!” Maul yaps. “Can we? Can we? Huh-huh-huh?”

“No,” Cozy answers as she stands up from the crate she was originally sitting on. “I don't think you three have the capacity to play our game.”

“Oh.” Biggs lowers his ears in disappointment. “That's not fair.”