The Ghost of Cozy Glow the Third Story

by SapphireRose87

23) The Heartbreak

{Norman}

In light of the recent events with Sunset and Robert, Jasper and I agreed to go to a family counseling session. We left Cozy Glow, Norman Jr, and Jacob out of it because they had nothing to do with the problems that have been happening lately. We chose a therapist that was the best in the business, and it wasn't the same one that me or my mom went to, thankfully. This therapist only deals with matters concerning the Royal Family, and they're pretty good at what they do.

As soon as we entered the therapy room, Jasper and I turned off the alarms on Sunset and Robert’s watches. After Jasper and I did that, we sat as far away from them as possible. We had extra security measures by having a couple of the guards with us in the room in case things get out of hand.

The therapist sat in the middle of the room. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

"Oh, I don't know," I said, practically glaring at Sunset and Robert, "why don't you start by asking Sunset and Robert what the problem is?"

The therapist looked at Sunset and Robert. "Okay, what's the issue?"

Sunset sighed, "I slapped Norman sometimes because he didn't give me what I wanted."

The therapist looked shocked. "Oh, really? How do you justify that?"

"Well, I had to get his attention somehow," Sunset growled, "and it's his fault in the first place that I had to slap him!"

"Oh, hell no!" I snapped. "Really? It's my fault I got slapped? You can't always expect your way on everything, Sunset!"

At this point, I wanted to go over to Sunset and start slapping her around just so she could see how it feels. Jasper must've picked up on how I was feeling so he put a hand on my shoulder and shook his head. So I stayed where I was and crossed my arms. I realized that slapping Sunset around would be stooping to her level and I needed to be better than that.

"I agree with Prince Norman," said the therapist, "and not because he's the ruler of Equestria. Abusing someone because they don't give you what they want is just plain wrong."

"You want to know something, Sunset?" I said. "The only time I've ever hit someone is if they challenge me to fight, and it's always with consent. Although I did make the mistake of sending Jasper flying into a wall when we first met, and I realized that I was wrong and never did it again."

Robert nodded. "He's right, Sunset, back before Norman became the ruler of Equestria, he challenged me to a lot of fights and I always said yes. But sometimes I said no, and Norman respected that."

Sunset opened her mouth to say something but she didn't because, from the look on her face, I could tell that she knew Robert was right. But I knew she would never admit it because it would bruise her big ego. Of course, she decided to deflect Robert's statement by pointing the finger at him. "But what about you, Robert? You're the one that pesters Jasper and Norman for sex every day!"

"Yeah, so?" Robert said. "Your point?"

"You're just as bad as I am!" Sunset growled.

"Okay, calm down, you two," said the therapist. "As you can see, if one side of a relationship refuses to see their partner as equal, then that makes for a bad relationship. I've seen this type of relationship lead to divorce very quickly. It's always a nasty divorce when it deals with any one of the Royal Family. I take it Prince Norman and Prince Jasper, you two feel that you have been abused and don't feel like you're Prince Robert and Princess Sunset's equals?"

Jasper and I didn't say anything. We just nodded our heads.

"So, that's why you put the alarm watches on us and have guards blocking us from approaching you?" Sunset asked.

While I glared at Sunset and Robert in response, Jasper pretty much rolled his eyes and gave them a look as to say 'duh!'

"Well," said the therapist, "what do you say, Princess Sunset and Prince Robert? Do you two think you need to change? Or is it Prince Jasper and Prince Norman that need to change?"

Sunset and Robert exchanged a look and hung their heads.

"It's me and Sunset that need to change," Robert said.

"Okay," said the therapist, "what I'm recommending is family therapy once a month. If Prince Jasper and Prince Norman don't want to talk during the session, that's fine, and the same thing goes for you, too, Princess Sunset and Prince Robert. The silent treatment between the four of you can happen. Actually, as a matter of fact, I've seen this happen with plenty of other couples that come into my office. If that happens, I'll just sit here, drink a cup of coffee, and get caught up on my reading, while you four sit there glaring at each other.

"However, I do suggest that you talk about your problems at length, and then you can figure out where your anger towards each other comes from. That, to me, is the only way to move forward and make things better.

"Now Princess Sunset and Prince Robert, if you're serious about moving forward, then I think you should tell Prince Jasper and Prince Norman something. Actually, it's two things, if you please."

My heart broke as the only thing Sunset and Robert did was exchange a look. After that, there was nothing but silence for the rest of the session, as the four of us sat there glaring at each other. It was kind of comical because the therapist must've known we weren't going to talk to each other anytime soon, so she got a cup of coffee and, after offering some to us, she just sat there reading her book. The funny thing is, the book she was reading was Betty's history book. Honestly, I think the next therapy glare-off session, I'll bring Betty's history book and read it just to be spiteful. I think I'm going to suggest to Jasper to do the same thing.

After the session was over, Jasper and I turned on the alarms on Sunset and Roberts watches, and parted ways with them.

* * *

{Betty}

At the next family dinner, it was a gloomy atmosphere at the dinner table. Everyone sat at the dinner table with somber looks on their faces. Everyone knew why Sunset and Robert weren't there. Dae and I also informed Otis what was going on. Otis understood the situation perfectly.

At the dinner table, everyone sat and ate in silence for the most part. I felt heartbroken for Norman and Jasper given the current situation.

"I still can't believe that Dad Robert and Mom are acting this way!" Norman Jr growled. "I mean, who abuses someone they care about just to get what they want? Even I have enough sense not to do that with Bubbles! I mean, getting someone to go out on a date with you is one thing, but this? I don't get it."

Jasper shook his head. "I don't know. Honestly, I don't even think they knew what it meant to be married to someone in the first place. I can't believe that they're acting this way myself! They sent guards to apologize for them, but they didn't send a letter either. The guards just came up to us and said Princess Sunset and Prince Robert said they are sorry. When we asked the guards what they were sorry about, the guards had no response for us."

Norman Jr scoffed, "If they can't apologize either in person, or at least by sending a letter, then it doesn't count as an apology! The fact that they did it that way makes my blood boil!"

Cozy Glow nodded. "I agree with Junior, I have half a mind to shoot my arrows at them to snap them back to reality!"

Norman and Jasper laughed at the thought that Cozy Glow wanted to use Robert and Sunset as target practice.

"Uh, Cozy Glow?" I said. "Even if that is effective and all, that's not possible, unless you want to go to jail for murder."

Cozy Glow sighed. "Yeah, you're right, Aunt Betty. I already got turned to stone for declaring war on Equestria. I don't want to make another blunder like that again."

Even though Norman and Jasper were laughing at this, it didn't erase the heartache that loomed in the air. We ate the rest of dinner in silence. After it was over, things went back to business as usual.

* * *

In the following days, Sunset and Robert were starting to get on my nerves. They summoned me and wanted me to tell Norman and Jasper that they did nothing wrong.

Sunset wanted me to agree with her the most. She wanted me to tell Norman that she had every right to slap Norman around if he didn't give her what she wanted. I responded in kind by telling her that's abusive behavior, and she knew it too.

Robert wanted me to tell Jasper and Norman that he had every right to harass them for sex. He said that if they loved him that they would give him that. I told him that if they don't want to have sex then he should respect that. Jasper and Norman have just as much of a right to refuse sex as he does.

Once again, I spent three hours giving them sound advice on how to move forward in fixing issues in their relationship with Norman and Jasper. I told them it was simple, the next therapy session they could start by saying two words—'I'm sorry'---and then follow that up with 'I love you.'

Instead of listening to my advice, they wanted me to see that they were right and Norman and Jasper were wrong. They even tried to point out that it wasn't necessary for Norman and Jasper to put the alarm watches on them.

I looked into Equestrian law, and most of the time those watches are issued in a marriage when there's a form of abuse going on. The guards that protected Jasper and Norman were the ones that filed for the watches to give them extra protection from Robert and Sunset. That's because the guards saw everything that was being done. So, yes, it was necessary for the watches to be put on Sunset and Robert.

Sunset and Robert really wanted to be around Norman and Jasper again, and they wanted things to go back to the way they were before. I told them that they can't go back to the way things were because that's what got them into this mess in the first place.

They also wanted me to tell Norman and Jasper to take the alarm watches off them because, and I quote, 'they hurt like crap.'

I told them that I know abuse when I see it because I was abused growing up. I got a chance to kill my abuser, and I didn't find out she was a serial killer until after I killed her. I'm not going to suggest that Norman and Jasper kill Sunset and Robert because I know that they are deeply in love with them, and that's against the law in Equestria.

However, I did see that Norman and Jasper had taken off their necklaces that held all four of the main branch of the family's wedding rings. Now, Norman only wears his wedding ring and Jasper's wedding ring on his finger. Jasper wears his wedding ring and Norman's wedding on his finger. They told me that they weren't going to wear Sunset and Robert's wedding rings until they act like they know what it means to be married. The only way they are able to confirm that Sunset and Robert are willing to change is at the therapy sessions they're going to. So far, it's been nothing but the silent treatment.

Today, after spending another three hours trying to reason with Robert and Sunset, I had enough, and I was fed up with them. I told them to never summon me again, and if they do, I have every right to ignore it. Most of the time, I don't ignore a summons but in seeing the current situation, it's going to depend on who's summoning me.

I could tell I was getting nowhere trying to reason with Sunset and Robert, so I ended the conversation. When I left the room, I slammed the door shut so hard that I was surprised it didn't break.

After I left, I decided to get some fresh air to clear my head before I went back home so I could summon six hundred of my soldiers to use as moving punching bags. I went out to the garden out behind the castle and I picked the first table I found and sat down. I took a couple of deep breaths to calm myself down but it wasn't working. I was about to go back home when I saw Norman and Jasper walking around the garden. They paused when they saw me and they had looks of concern on their faces.

"What's wrong, Betty?" Jasper asked.

"Your two idiot spouses, Robert and Sunset, summoned me today," I said.

"What for?" Norman asked.

"They wanted me to convince you two that their abusive behavior was correct," I responded.

"What?!" Norman and Jasper gasped.

"Yeah, I know," I said, "those two just don't know how to listen to reason. I don't know what happened to those two, they weren't like this before you guys were married. Well, when they threw you two into a room and locked the door until you confessed your feelings for each other. Dae said even with just doing that, you two should have ran from the altar."

"And they still haven't apologized for it!" Jasper growled. "Their reasoning on that was, 'well it worked, didn't it?' If you ask me, we should probably lock those two in a mental asylum. I think they need more help than therapy."

"You can say that again," I said. "At least I got to kill my psychotic mother, but I suggest you not do that to Robert and Sunset. Maybe you two should let Cozy Glow use them as target practice, after all?"

Jasper chuckled, "Good idea, but I doubt that would work. At least I gave Sunset a taste of her own medicine before I put the alarm watch on her. I tied her to a chair and slapped her a couple of times like she did to Norman."

"Wow," I said. "At least you got closure on that one. I told them to never summon me again! If they do, I'm not coming. I have every right to ignore a summons, and normally I don't, but given the circumstances, I will. It's going to depend on who's summoning me."

"I don't blame you," said Jasper. "Let's hope they don't use Cozy Glow or Junior to get around that."

"Yeah, I hope not." Even though I was talking to Norman and Jasper, I still hadn't calmed down much. I sighed, "You know something? I would love to stay and chat, but I feel like I need to go home so I can summon six hundred of my soldiers so I can use them as moving punching bags."

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

Norman smiled. "Yeah, Betty can take on six hundred of her soldiers and not even break a sweat!"

"And that's with my wings tied behind my back," I added.

"Seriously?" Jasper said.

"I wonder," Norman said thoughtfully, "maybe I can summon six hundred of my soldiers for you to take on?"

I raised an eyebrow and then shook my head. "Are you sure about that? I don't want to damage anyone that's still alive or kill them for that matter."

"Well, they would have to be consenting, and when you think about it," said Norman, "who wouldn't want a chance to fight a legend? I take on twenty of my soldiers every week. Of course, I make sure not to use my Death Walker abilities, and some of them still end up with broken bones. It comes with the territory."

Jasper chuckled. "Yeah, I remember your first mission you went on when you first became a general. When you got back from it, it looked like you went through a haunted house and got beaten up by it!"

Norman shrugged. "Eh, yeah I just got stitches for that, and I almost got myself killed. Thanks to the magical barrier around my heart, that's what stopped me from getting killed."

"Okay, then," I said, "if you say so. Just remember to tell your soldiers it's their funeral."

Norman snorted, "Don't worry, I will."

* * *

As promised, Norman summoned six hundred of his soldiers. He even made them sign a consent form making them aware that they could be seriously injured and possibly killed when taking on a Legend. Just as Norman said, they were very eager for the chance to do that.

Like I usually do when I'm fighting someone in hand-to-hand combat, I made sure to tie down my wings behind my back. Norman, Cozy Glow, Norman Jr, Jasper, Dae, and Otis were sitting up on the observation balcony, and it didn't surprise me that the rest of the Royal Family Circus decided to show up and watch the fight.

All six hundred of Norman's soldiers surrounded me in a circle and Cozy Glow came out to help signal the start of the fight. She stood in the middle of the circle with her wings spread and a proud smile on her face. "Ready?" She let her wings down. "Go!"

That signaled for the fight to start, and Cozy Glow quickly flew back up to the observation balcony so she wouldn't get caught in the middle of it. Once she got back to the observation balcony, she chuckled when she saw Norman Jr and Otis sitting on the edges of her seats, with buckets of popcorn on their laps.

"Any popcorn left for me, by chance?" Cozy Glow laughed.

Otis pointed at the popcorn machine on the other side of the room. "Sure, there's plenty left."

"I was teasing, Otis," said Cozy Glow, "but okay."

She went over to the popcorn machine and got herself a bucket.

Dae chuckled and looked at Norman. "I don't know, Norman, it's one thing when your soldiers are willing to go to war. It's another thing when they're willing to go up against a Legend!"

"I know," Norman said, "my soldiers did agree to it, and Betty did say it's their funeral!"

"Wow! She's already gone through one hundred of them!" Jasper whistled. He looked at Norman Jr and Otis and grinned. "And Junior and Otis are loving every second of it!"

Norman looked at his stopwatch and smiled. "And she went through them in under thirty seconds flat!"

Jasper and Dae started laughing when they saw Norman's stopwatch.

"Yeah, if she were using her tracking powers, this whole fight would've been over with by now!" Dae declared.

Jasper tilted his head. "What do you mean by that?"

"The Bubble of Silence is something that a Death Walker uses to track someone down. It also comes in handy when you're in a battle, so you can see how many enemies you're fighting," Norman explained. "The only problem is that it takes extreme focus in order to be able to do it. That's proving to be very difficult for me, because I can't seem to concentrate with my eyes closed."

Jasper's jaw dropped. "Wow!"

I probably would've rolled my eyes at this conversation, but at the same time, Norman's soldiers were making this fight way too easy. I got through three hundred of them because they decided to do stupid stuff like charge at me and all I had to do was step to the side to dodge them. This made them run into a nearby wall.

I blew a raspberry at them and said, "Oh, come on guys! Why so stupid?"

Two of the soldiers tried to gang up on me, and one of them almost landed a kick to my back. I returned the favor, kicking one of the soldiers in the stomach sending him flying into the crowd of spectators.

"Oops!" I said. "My bad!"

That got a chuckle from the crowd. Before I knew it, I went through four hundred of Norman's soldiers, and I didn't even break a sweat. It wasn't long before I went through all six hundred of Norman's soldiers, and I was a little bit disappointed that the fight didn't last longer. I looked around to see that most of Norman's soldiers were lying on the ground trying to catch their breaths. I couldn't help myself, I burst into laughter at the sight.

After the Royal Family Circus cleared out of the training area Norman, Dae, Jasper, Cozy Glow, Otis, and Norman Jr came up to me.

"Wow! Norman wasn't kidding when he said you can take on six hundred soldiers and not even break a sweat!" Jasper cheered.

"Yeah, fighting demons is one thing," I said, "but fighting Norman's soldiers was child's play!"

"And you did it in five minutes flat!" Norman said proudly.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw Norman's stopwatch.

"As I said before," said Otis, "you're not a Legend because why now?"

I stopped laughing and I could feel my face turn red so I looked away.

"Wow, Aunt Betty!" Norman Jr cheered. "That was so cool!"

He started throwing punches and kicks as if he were fighting an invisible enemy. "Take this and take that!"

Otis joined in on the mock fight to give Norman Jr a worthy opponent. Everyone except me couldn't hold in their laughter at Otis and Norman Jr's mock fight even if they wanted to.

"Man, I wish I had a camera!" Jasper laughed.

"Wow, Betty, your face is as red as a tomato!" Norman teased.

Dae rolled his eyes and smiled. "Okay, guys, I think you two can stop now. You're embarrassing the Legend over here."

"I'm not-" Then I stopped myself from saying what I was going to say. "You know what? I'm not even going to finish that sentence."

"This crap again, Mom?" Otis said. "You really need to learn how to take compliments."

I growled at Dae as he couldn't stop laughing and he was laughing so hard he was gasping for air.

"I'm not going to say a word because I have no comment on that," I said.

"A four-year-old," laughed Norman, "reasoning with his mother, yup you don't see that every day!"

"Okay, I'm done laughing," Dae said as he composed himself but it looked like he was going to start laughing again at a moment's notice.

"Lair!" I growled. Of course, that triggered Dae's laughter again.

When everyone stopped laughing, Dae cleared his throat. "Well, I think it's time for me, Otis, and the Legend to go home. Thanks for supplying the soldiers for Betty to fight, Norman. They sure put on quite a show! I'm sure this will be talked about for years to come!"

Norman grinned. "No problem, I can do it again anytime you want."

Dae, Otis, and I said our goodbyes and went back home.