Crystal Heart: After the Swarm

by Betty_Starlight

Chapter 15: And They Started Talking To Cozy...

The pink filly stares at us all blankly with her auburn pupils and says, “You know, for most of my life, I never really had any control.”

Apple Bloom on the right pipes up as her bow vibrates slightly, “Well, what do you mean? Yer just a filly! You shouldn’t have any power or control or anythin’ just yet!”

Cozy smiles at her and replies, “That’s not what I mean! No uh, well, growing up in a Fillydelphia orphanage, you kinda live a very regimented life, you might say? All of my days were planned for me and I would just go through the motions…”

Sweetie on the left chirps up in her melodic tone, “Well, what about recess and playtime and things like that? I mean, they got a playground and toys and games and stuff, don’t they?”

Cozy turns her neck right towards the white filly, “Do you have any idea how many games of Connect-Five I’ve actually played in my short life?”

Sweetie frowns and blinks, “Um, no?”

Cozy vibrantly replies as her little body shakes, “Neither do I, but I assure you, it is a very high number! Golly gee, every day is exactly the same! Wake up, brush teeth, eat breakfast, go to class, lunch, recess, homework, alone-time, sleep, and repeat! Over! And over! And over again!” she blinks. “After awhile, you start to wonder, what’s the point, you know? Why should I bother getting out of bed today? Why even continue at class? What’s the point of brushing my teeth before breakfast again? Nothing else was there! It was all I had and I just…” she blinks. “I just wanted another way…”

Apple Bloom lowers her view at the pink filly, “And Tirek offered you that, huh?”

Cozy looks at her and solemnly replies, “Well, if we’re being honest, not really? I mean, that just got me turned into bird holder!”

Sweetie blinks with a start, “You mean a statue?”

Cozy nods at her, “Well, right! Whatever!”

Apple Bloom asks, “Well, there’s other paths than just what Tirek was talking about?”

Scootaloo in the middle finally says, “Yeah! Why didn’t you try to get some friends in the orphanage? I mean, I’m sure it would be easier if you weren’t alone all the time?”

“I-” Cozy blinks. “I had friends… They were kind and helped me sometimes but…”

The yellow filly on the right leans forward and asks, “But what, Cozy Glow?”

Cozy blinks, “But I left… I did what Tirek told me to do and well, I never saw any of them again…” before sighing out her mouth.

The violet maned filly in the middle asks, “How did you get out? I guess you were quickly adopted, being cute as you were?”

Cozy grins and giggles, “Well, you’d think so, huh? But you see, when you pull pranks and make fart noises and continuously poke them with your hooves and do your level best to be super-annoying, they don’t usually want you anymore!”

Sweetie asks, “What? Why would you do that, Cozy? Don’t you want to be adopted?”

She sighs, “I don’t think you’d get it? It’s just that, well, nopony could replace them… They were all I had and that rotten fire had to come and…and take them away from me…” and blinks with a blank expression on her pink face…

The apple filly on the right says, “Oh, gosh Cozy! I am so sorry!”

Scootaloo adds, “Yeah, that’s rough! I” she blinks. “I don’t know what to say?”

Cozy nods, “Well, right! So on one hoof, nopony can really replace them! On the other, I have no parents in the meantime! I’m kinda stuck!”

Sweetie interjects, “Well, Cozy! That’s not true! You just had to make a choice!”

Cozy turns her head to the unicorn, “Yeah! I made a choice! I made the choice to escape and do a lot of bad things after talking with that centaur and that got me turned into a statue!”

Sweetie lowly replies, “That’s not what I meant!”

Scootaloo adds, “Cozy! I think what Sweetie is getting at is, when you’re stuck like that, you kinda gotta just weigh your options, you know? I mean, you could’ve gotten adopted and yeah, sure! They could never be your original parents! But it’s still kinda, I don’t know what I’m trying to say here? Better than nothing!”

Apple Bloom turns her head left to her cohorts, “Now look y’all! I don’t think it really matters anymore what Cozy should’ve done! The only thing that is important is that she’s here now!” she turns to Cozy and smiles. “And about to tell us exactly why she wanted power so badly!”

Cozy narrows her eyes, “Well gee, isn’t it obvious? I needed to break free from where I was! I needed out!”

Sweetie frowns, “And you thought power could do that for you?”

Cozy smiles, “Of course! The Power of Friendship can do anything!”

Scootaloo widens her purple gaze, “Um, I don’t think that’s how friendship works?”

The other pegasus shudders and stares back at the flightless pony before her, “Well, okay, maybe not! But that’s why I thought I’d want a lot of friends!”

The apple filly asks, “Well, what do you want now, Cozy?”

She raises her view and asks, “Do you really want to know?”

Sweetie replies, “Of course!”

Scootaloo nods, “Definitely!”

Cozy takes a long breath in through her nose and breathes it out before saying flatly, “I want out…”

Sweetie asks, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to live anymore, guys…”

The Crusaders all widen there eyes as Apple Bloom asks loudly, “WHAT?”

Cozy smiles, “Well, it’s not that I want to die! I mean, I don’t know what’s gonna happen to me after that! But well, I don’t want my life anymore Crusaders… I just wish it was over now…”

Scootaloo asks, “Well, what do you mean? Wasn’t it pretty much over when you were turned into a statue earlier?”

Cozy looks at the other pegasus, “Uh, does it look over to you? Golly gee, I’m still here! I’m alive!”

Apple Blooms says, “And I think you should celebrate that!”

Sweetie adds, “Sure beats being mopey all the time?”

Scootaloo cheerfully says, “And we can help you with that too, Cozy!”

Cozy stares back at the Crusaders with fire in her eyes, “I don’t want your help!”

The red maned filly on the right asks, “You ever think maybe that’s your problem, Cozy?”

Sweetie solemnly adds, “Yeah, I mean, you admit that what you did earlier wasn’t correct, right? Well, we can show you a better way!”

Scootaloo pipes up, “The friendship way!”

Apple Bloom adds, “The wholesome way!”

Sweetie smiles and calmly says, “The right way, Cozy…”

Cozy stares at these three other fillies with her enormous brown eyes and notices me behind them all, smiling from my hooves on the floor as she finally says, “You fillies aren’t gonna give up until I say you can be my friends, huh?”

Apple Bloom cranes her head left to the others and asks, “I don’t know girls? Was that the plan?”

Sweetie stares over back at her, “Sounds about right to me?”

Scootaloo turns her head left to Sweetie and says lowly, “Not helping!”

Cozy grins and giggles, “Alright by golly! Fine! Sure! Whatever! We can try again and start over if it’s really that important to you! Yes! Of course! Now get the hay out of here already! I was gonna do a lot of stuff alone and by myself today!”

I raise my gaze towards the pink filly and finally say something right after clearing my throat, “Um, Cozy! You realize they’re here for you, right?”

Cozy lowers her view to the three smiling fillies on the other side of the table, “Oh, golly! You are? Gee, you’re not very bright, huh?”

I shake my head and roll my eyes, “Cozy! Go be with your NEW FRIENDS!”

She cringes, “Ugh!” her face normalizes and she says, “Fine! But we’re doing what I wanna do!”

Sweetie cheerfully replies, “Whatever you want Cozy!”

Scootaloo adds, “We’re here for you!”

Apple Bloom nods, “Anythin in particular you wanna do, Cozy?”

Cozy stares at the other fillies intently, “Anything, huh?”

<*****>

“And so, that’s why Cozy went swimming with the Crusaders in the royal pool at The Castle of Friendship!” I say to my love over the phone…

“Oh, gosh! Yeah, I don’t usually use that place unless I’m dealing with royal official business because…”

I cut her off, “Because you don’t like the largeness of the castle and the more you think about it, the more it freaks you out?”

She lowly replies, “We don’t talk about that!”

My eyes widen as I start, “Oh! I mean, because you don’t like large houses and prefer a smaller quieter life! Yes! Of course! That!”*

“Thank you!” She cheerfully replies! “Anyway, I’ll be home later! Let me know how everything goes! Love you!”

“Will do sweetie! Love you too!”

“Love you more!”

“Yeah, probably?” I say before I snicker…

“Jerk!”

“Turd!” I gleefully reply!

“I love you so much!”

“I know babe! You’re my world!”

“I know I am! See you soon!”

“Until then, babe!”

I hear the phone go click to indicate she hung up the line and set it down with my right forehoof on the table in front of me, as the three fillies on the left all vibrate and stare at me with ecstatic expressions, while the pink pegasus on the right starts to make vomiting noises from her throat.

Scootaloo says from the far left, “That was adorable!” with wide violet eyes.

The white unicorn filly in the center’s cerulean gaze seems to sharpen on me as she nods her head and says, “I sure am glad Starlight Glimmer has you!”

I raise my left eyebrow at the three fillies and say, “You are?” while the pegasus on the right continues to act like she’s regurgitating something…

Apple Bloom on the right, towards Cozy says, “Well, yeah! I mean, you’re so nice and caring about her! I think it’s really wonderful!”

“Oh, wow!” I reply with a frown. So uh, how did your date at the pool go?”

Sweetie smiles up at me brightly and says, “Well, I taught Cozy how to breast stroke!”

Cozy looks over, “Oh, golly! I wasn’t that bad!”

Scootaloo turns her head left towards the pink filly, “You looked like a wounded poodle!”

Apple Bloom turns her head to Scootaloo, “Kinda like a poodle with broken legs?”

Scootaloo turns adjusts her neck to the apple filly, “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking! Like a poodle desperately trying to walk, but it can’t because it’s got a broken leg or something!”

Cozy pouts, “I still wasn’t that bad!”

I giggle at the small pegasus, “But you do admit that you’re better now, yes?”

Cozy stares up at me with bright brown eyes and nods while cheerfully exclaiming, “Oh golly, yes mom! Sweetie taught me that timing is the real trick and how you gotta sync up your breathing with your strokes!”

Sweetie looks over at Cozy and says melodically, “Right! So you don’t look like an injured chihuahua!”

Cozy stares at the music filly, “Wait! I thought I was a poodle?”

Scootaloo says, “I said you were a poodle!”

Apple Bloom adds, “She seemed more like a Pomeranian to me?”

Cozy asks, “Wait! Why am I a small dog now?”

I shake my head and giggled at this sight because I knew at that moment, my filly finally had friends, despite her earlier resistance… And then, I began to wonder just what being a Crusader would mean for her?

(To be continued…)

Author's Note:

*There! I finally explained it!