Crystal Heart: After the Swarm

by Betty_Starlight

Chapter 12: And Then, She Finally Started Talking To Me

“I still can’t believe I’m actually doing this!” The filly squealed while staring at me with panic in her brown eyes.

I frowned and prayed I didn’t need to help her more as I stood there on my hooves and stared down at her in her room, “Are you alright?”

She blinks, “Oh, golly! Um, I think so? Uh, you’ll be there, right?” before smiling up at me hopefully…

My eyes widen, “Of course I’ll be there! Why wouldn’t I be?”

She blinks and frowns, “Um, right! Golly right! Of course! Yes!” and nods.

I stared at the filly blankly, “Um, you’re sure you’re okay?”

She starts and stares up at me, “Well, golly right! Why wouldn’t I be? I’m just fine! Yes!” and smiles meekly…

I narrow my eyes, “Cozy, what’s up?”

Her eyes widen, “What do you mean?”

I smile, “You’re scared of Twilight!”

She frowns, “No, I’m not!”

“You’re scared of Twilight!” I repeat myself.

“Am not!” She squeals!

I lower my gaze, “Am I gonna have to tickle it out of you?”

She suddenly stares at me horrified, “W-what?”

I chuckle slightly, “Do I need to tickle this out of you?”

Her neck moves back an inch, “Uh, what are you talking about Crystal Heart?”

My eyes widen all the way as my neck lowers, “Here we go!” before I leap at this filly with my forehooves sprawled out in front of me to catch her!

She giggles vivaciously! “Stop tickling me, you evil pony! He he he ho ho ho ha ha ha!”

“Are you still scared of Twilight?” I ask as I dig my forehooves into her front pits!

“He he he he, ho ho ho, ha ha ha, I already said I’m not! Ha ha ha, he he he, stop it!” She manages to get out in between giggles of delight at my onslaught!

“I don’t believe you!” I say as I continue tickling this helpless filly with my right forehoof while finding stability with my left…

“Ahem!” I hear Starlight say from behind the now open door 5 feet behind me. “Good to see you two are getting along!”

“Cozy Glow is scared of Twilight!” I yell robotically while continuing to torment the foal.

“Am not!” She manages to gasp out in between chortles.

“Oh, Cozy Glow! If you’re scared, you should know we’re here to help you!” She says as I hear the clip clopping of her hooves behind me as she walks in.

“I, he he he he, don’t need help, ha ha ha ha!” She manages to stammer out…

“Stop tickling her already, Crystal!” Starlight finally yells as she trots in the room closer to us on my left…

I stop moving my right hoof under the filly’s pits, “Aww! You’re no fun!” and move it back to the floor next to the other one.

She stops giggling and shakily brings herself back to her hooves in front of me, “Th-thanks Starlight! Um,” she shakes her head. “I’m not scared of Twilight Sparkle!”

I frown at this, “Cozy, I’ll tickle you again!”

She lets out a long sigh with her mouth as her face moves forward and eyes widen, and she adjusts her gaze to both of us, “Okay, fine! I’m kinda nervous about meeting Twilight! But uh, I do have one question!”

My left eyebrow raises, “Oh? What’s that?”

She blinks and stares up at me, “Well, golly gee! I’m an escaped convict! Why didn’t she immediately teleport over the moment she knew I was here? What could be so pressing that it’s keeping her, anyway?”

I stare at the filly as I’m suddenly perplexed myself, “I’m uh, not sure? But you should know that you have no need to fear Twilight, okay Cozy Glow?” I smile down at her. “I’ll be right there!”

She stares back up at me and gives an unsure smile, “W-well, yeah!”

I then trot over to her three paces and embrace her in a tight hug, “I love you!”

“Oh, golly!” The filly suddenly squeals before tentatively returning the hug…

<*****>

“So, Tirek escaped his stone prison!” Twilight Sparkle said from her side of the table as me, the unicorn mare on my left, and the pegasus filly on my right all stared at her.

“Oh, golly! And now you don’t know where he went, huh?”

Twilight turns her head left and down to Cozy, “Actually, we know exactly where he is! He’s in the containment room I had built!”

“What’s wrong with a regular cage?” I ask the purple alicorn.

She turns her blue eyes to me and says, “Well, this cage is special! It prevents magick thievery and keeps power contained!”

Cozy blinks up at Twilight, “So he’s totally powerless inside there, huh?”

Twilight turns to Cozy, “Yeah, pretty much! That was the idea!”

“Obviously!” Cozy says before nodding.

I sigh, “So, now I guess you want me and Cozy to talk to him about being reformed?”

Twilight turns her neck back to me and frowns, “What? No! Why would I want that?”

My eyes widen, “Oh? Well, I thought you wanted us to reform Tirek?”

Cozy nods at Twilight, “You gotta admit, it does sound like something you’d want us to do!”

Starlight finally chimes in, “She’s not wrong!”

Twilight stares at all three of us blankly and blinks before saying, “It’s like the ponies around me know me better than me?”

I frown, “I don’t know? Probably? So uh, have you talked to him? What is he saying?”

Twilight blinks at me, “Well, he doesn’t really know about you or your reformation, and he also doesn’t know about little Cozy here!”

Cozy nods, “Right! And you’re gonna keep it that way!”

Twilight turns her neck left to the filly, “What?”

Cozy frowns, “I don’t want him coming after me, Crystal, or Starlight! The less he knows about us, the better!”

I turn my head right towards the filly, “You’re really worried about Tirek?”

Cozy turns her head to me and says with all earnestness in her auburn eyes, “Crystal, I’ve stared into the eyes of this monster and so have you! You should know that we don’t want him around here!”

I gulp, “Well, right!”

Twilight stares at me, “Don’t worry! We won’t tell him anything about you or Cozy Glow! You’re safe!”

I smile at the alicorn, “Well, right! What else did he say?”

Twilight slowly frowns, “Well uh, he’s kinda depressed now?”

My smile lowers, “Depressed? What do you mean depressed?”

Twilight stares at me and gauges my frame with her azure eyes before finally uttering, “He wants to die, Crystal Heart…”

My eyes widen, “Oh? Well, then it’s simple! Grant him his request and be done with it! Honestly, you made me think this was complicated for a moment there!”

Twilight widens her eyes in shock, “What? No! We can’t kill him!”

“Who said you have to? Just give him the means and let him commit the act himself! If he truly wishes to die as you say, that should provide ample motivation!”

Starlight stares at me with a wide gaze, “Crystal!” while the foal on the other end of the table does the same, but remains silent…

Twilight sighs as she takes over, “Look Crystal! We can’t kill Tirek, nor can we, in good conscience, give Tirek the means to end his own life!”

This honestly confuses me, “Well, why not? I mean, you’re not killing him yourself!”

Starlight sighs, “No, Crystal! We just can’t do it!”

I sigh and roll my eyes, “Fine!” and then I stare back at the alicorn. “So, just what are we to do in the meantime, anyway?”

She sighs and frowns, “Well, nothing, I guess? I mean, Tirek escaped on his own and knows nothing about you, nor does this really even involve you.”

I nod, “Well, right! That does make sense, your highness!”

She smiles at me, “Please Crystal, if you’re going to be dating my former pupil, I’d like you to just call me Twilight, okay?”

I grin back at her, “But of course!”

<*****>

I lay there on my left side under the covers in the dimly lit room from the moonlight coming out of the window to the back of me, as the magenta unicorn held onto me lovingly with her hooves from behind underneath the plush red velvet covers as I whispered back to her, “You like holding me, don’t you?”

She whispers back, “You’ve yet to say no!”

“W-well, I know you like doing it and I love you, and so I won’t deny you this pleasure!”

She’s silent for a moment, “You like being held!”

“N-no I don’t! My heart is filled with rage and hate!”

She giggles, “Of course!”

I sigh, “I keep thinking about Tirek… I mean, what happened?”

She’s silent for a moment, “Why are you so concerned all of a sudden?”

“I don’t really know? I mean, I keep getting the feeling there’s more to this than meets the eye…”

“Well, do you want me to talk to Twilight about seeing him later?”

“No! Uh, I don’t think that’ll be necessary…”

“So are you ready to just trot away and leave all this behind now?”

I smile, “Y-yeah Starlight… I think that’s what I should do? Thanks for talking with me about this!”

She holds me closely, “That’s why we love each other, baby!”

<*****>

The filly uses her forehooves to munch her toast, now lovingly smeared with apple butter by yours truly, before setting it down the half slice on top of the other, finishing chewing in her snout, visibly swallowing in a mighty gulp, and saying to me, “Golly, this toast sure is yummy Crystal Heart! Thanks for making it for me!” and smiling at me…

I smile back at her, “But of course, Cozy Glow! You need me and I’m going to take care of you!”

Her eyes almost close as she squints in a happy grin and tilts her head to the right slightly, “Gee, that sure is swell!”

I sigh and narrow my eyes, “Cozy, what’s up?”

Her eyes widen as she starts, “What? Oh, n-nothing’s the matter Crystal Heart!”

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

Her eyes narrow as she scowls, “Am I really THAT easy to read?”

I sigh, “You are to anypony who truly knows you…”

She sighs and looks up at me, “It’s about Tirek!”

My eyes widen, “Well, what about him?”

She eyes me very carefully before finally saying, “Well, you know how I usually sleep late?”

I nod, “Well, right! Except that one time when you were sleeping with us, you’re not usually up until about nine or ten or so!”

She nods, “Well right…” she stares at me again as she carefully gauges me… “I have nightmares… Well, usually!”

I frown and stare at this filly intently, “Nightmares? Nightmares about what?”

She sighs again and asks, “Well, do I really have to tell you? It’s kinda personal… Um, what I can remember, anyway! You know, it’s almost like my brain doesn’t like to think about it?”

I blink, “Well, okay Cozy Glow! But what has that got to do with Tirek?”

(To be continued… )