Cozy Mark Crusadin'

by 5u0myn0n4

Chapter 7 - Part 1

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom searched the area for Scootaloo. They were worried sick for her. Not only was the bell itself dangerous, and she could do unspoken damage unintentionally, but who knows who else might be looking for such an object... So it was paramount to find her as soon as possible.

---

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle shouted. "Where are you?"

"Scoot-Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom shouted.

They peered their eyes around the landscape, but didn't see any obvious signs that any powerful angsty alicorn fillies had stormed by recently.

"We promise we're not mad! We just want to talk to you!" Sweetie Belle said, echoing into the forest.

They didn't have much luck in their search. It seemed Scootaloo was already long gone.

"Well, shoot, now what?" Sweetie Belle said, kicking her hooves in the dirt.

"Ah dunno. Go home, and wait to hear ponies cry for help at the sight of two ragin' alicorn fillies?" Apple Bloom suggested. "If she don't want our help, I'm sure Twilight an her friends will show up and take care of 'em."

Sweetie Belle thought in her head, and pictured Scootaloo and Cozy Glow teaming up as an antagonists against the mane 6. Sure it was Twilight's job to protect Equestria, but she feared the heartbreak Scootaloo could cause to her other close friends if they saw her causing havoc.

"We can't let it get to that point. Come on, she can't be too far away." Sweetie Belle said.

---

They picked up the pace in their search, when suddenly, they got a little more than they bargained for when they bumped into a different filly instead. Actually, more like they stepped on her, and it moaned when Sweetie Belle stepped on them.

"What the?" Sweetie Belle said, when she felt her hooves step onto something.

The two looked down and saw the defeated pegasus filly.

"Cozy Glow?" they asked.

Cozy Glow looked up, and groaned.

"What happened ta you?" Apple Bloom asked.

*Ugh* "Your friend is CRAZY! I thought I was insane, but she is a whole other level!" Cozy shouted. "She steals my magic, and she runs off!"

"Scootaloo did this to you?" Sweetie Belle asked, observing Cozy's injuries. "You guys didn't team up?"

"Well serves ya right fer deceivin' us. You got too close, and Scootaloo did what she had ta." Apple Bloom said.

Cozy Glow sat up, and dusted herself off, before clearing her throat in preparation for the yelling that was about to ensue.

"She betrayed me! She stole my magic, even after I offered to be her friend!" Cozy exclaimed.

"Wait, did you say, you offered to be her friend?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Yeah, friend! As in friendship! Heard of it?! You Crusaders say you're about friendship, but if that's the case, why didn't Scootaloo accept my friendship offer?!" she wept.

"Betrayal? Scootaloo wouldn't... I mean, she already did, but she wouldn't again. But, she wouldn't hurt you, or anyone else...?" Sweetie Belled wondered.

"If she still has that heirloom, it's probably corruptin' 'er mind." Apple Bloom said. "It's turned her uncouth."

"Yeah. Corruption. You sure about that? No uncorrupt mind wouldn't be foolish enough to not fall for my "fakey" sweet talk. What she did wasn't uncouth. I think she's perfectly... couth."

"...What?" Sweetie Belle scratched her head.

"Yer not makin' a ton of sense." Apple Bloom said.

"There were a few too many double negatives in that sentence for me to get." Sweetie Belle added.

*ugh* "I know you two want to find your noble friend inside, or somehow twist what she did to me into some kind of act of righteousness. Go ahead and live that fantasy." Cozy said. "If you want to believe I'm the real villain, and I need to be stopped at all costs, then sure, Scootaloo didn't do anything wrong. But if you want to hear my point of view for once, and listen to the truth, and accept the reality that Scootaloo doesn't want any more friends, you guys included, then consider that possibility for a change."

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other, bewildered.

"It's sweet that you say you wanted be Scootaloo's friend but..." Apple Bloom started.

"How can we be sure of what you would have wanted from a mutual friendship?" Sweetie Belle added.

"I guess you can't be sure. *heh* Can't take anything I say at face value. The only way to see my true colors is to observe them first hoof. But do any of you feel like taking that risk?" Cozy grinned.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom took a few steps back. Cozy seemed to be talking crazy. Even crazier than usual. She was talking so crazy, she was almost making some sort of twisted sense.

"If might isn't right, then Scootaloo is about to do a whole lotta wrong very soon. Unless somepony stops her. You want that pony to be you guys? Or the group of ponies who put a filly in Tartarus for processing too much power?" Cozy said. "You guys wanna believe your friend is good, and she's simply corrupted by power, but I think you'll find your friend is acting closer to her element than you realize."

"We'll be the judges of that." Apple Bloom said. "And... Twilight wouldn't do that to 'er."

"Well, thanks for the inquiry..." Sweetie Belle said, awkwardly.

"Twilight was myyy friend. Scootaloo was your friend. I got sent to Tartarus for my little mistakes. If Scootaloo goes too far with her alicorn powers, what's stopping them from-"

*pfft* "Come on Sweetie Belle. Don't listen to another word she says. And not another word to her." Apple Bloom said, interrupting Cozy's ramblings.

Sweetie Belle gave Cozy one last dubious look, and then started off in the other direction with Apple Bloom.

"If you want to get obliterated by your friend, she's probably already in Ponyville taking her fury out on her parents!" Cozy shouted as they walked away.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle simply kept walking, and pretended to not hear Cozy Glow.

"So-, so you're just gonna leave me here!? An injured filly in need of help!? Scratch that, let me rephrase that in Crusader language. You aren't going to bestow your friendship upon me, now that I'm defeated and vulnerable!?" Cozy asked.

They continued walking, they didn't turn around or stop in their tracks to acknowledge Cozy's rambling.

Scootaloo couldn't have been far. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom went in the direction she fled earlier.

Cozy watched them walk away, and finally leave her alone for a change. Her injuries were actually very mild. She was fully capable of supporting her own weight, and walking. Seeing them walk away made her realize, they were off her tail, and she was free to make her own choice. And she'd already made up her mind as to what her next move was going to be.

---

After a bit more searching, they were getting warmer on Scootaloo's trail.

"I have a feeling she ought to be..."

The two looked just over some brush, and saw the familiar orange pegasus.

"There ya are!" Apple Bloom said.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle shouted.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom found Scootaloo. She wasn't raiding Ponyville, or taking out her revenge on anypony. She was just sitting. Her legs were hanging over a ledge, as she was overlooking a ledge. She was still holding the bewitching bell by her side, and she was still an alicorn.

"Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked.

Author's Note:

The second half to this chapter is nearly done, but not quite, so it should be ready by Monday.