Glowing in Everglow

by Darkmoon9

Chapter 26: Bound by Destiny

Diary of Cozy Glow

After the attempted assassination of the King and his Queen, it was discovered that they were not the assassin’s only target. The library had been ransacked, books containing information about the Foundation Stones missing. I didn't know what reason our enemies could have for searching for the Foundation Stones, but I knew it couldn't be good. Still being out of commission from my injuries, I had no choice but to form a new team to find the Foundation Stone our enemies were after before they did, it did not take much to figure out which one was the target. The stones to the south and east were in the middle of military encampments, but the one to the north had been abandoned since the start of the Gem Gnoll war. Time was of the essence. Sunset, Aurora and Darkmoon were busy aiding King and Queen in recovery, Night's Blessing busy with dealing with matters of her clan. This left only Twilight Sparkle and Silverwing. Of course, I also had the recruit, Crackle Cosette (Who I was rather certain was Chrysalis in disguise.)

Another option would soon present itself as another pony arrived in Vil. Whispers were heard among the people before I even had the pleasure of meeting her in person. An Alicorn, who was assumed by the populace to be the Chosen of the Gods, the mythical Great Uniter destined to rule all of ponykind. Of course these rumours had to be exaggerated, nopony here had ever actually seen an Alicorn before. Which was why the arrival of this one was such a novelty and why she was subject to such fanciful rumors. But I was curious and summoned this Alicorn to the hospital wing were I had been residing since the assassination attempt, under heavy guard of course, I was still vulnerable from my wounds and the remains of the poison, and I was no fool.

The alicorn was tall and pink, with a mane that looked like toothpaste, yet she was little more than a child. But I knew better than to underestimate her because of that, after all, I was either her age or even younger when I managed to become one of Equestria’s most infamous villains, and this girl radiated power beyond anyone I had ever met. The alicorn arrived in the company of both Twilight Sparkle and, curiously enough, Crackle Cosette. As soon as she arrived, my mark of destiny started to glow with golden light, and so did hers, that was quite curious. This kind of phenomenon didn't usually occur unless involving two ponies connected by destiny. Who was this girl? Her mark of destiny was that of a blue crystal heart, with that of a darker blue heart at its center, surrounded by what appeared to be a royal banner.

I would soon find out, as she introduced herself as Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire. Of course she was, while I had never met her I had heard stories of the miracle birth at the Crysal Empire, the first naturally born Alicorn in over a thousand years . Flurry quickly followed up her arrival with a demand to join the Knights of Taralos, to Twilight’s protests. I could only laugh; the girl was quite eager to prove herself. Yet I could see a deep ambition in her eyes, an endless thirst for glory. I had not seen eyes like that in years, other than the last time I looked in the mirror. Such people could be dangerous, yet I could also see Flurry being a great asset for Taralos. For those reasons I agreed to her demand to be knighted and put her in charge of tracking down the Foundation Stones before Cipher's cronies could. I dearly hoped I was not mistaken for putting my trust in a child, but then again, I of all people shouldn't underestimate someone because of their age. For in the past, I always hated it when others underestimated me.

For that reason, I was glad to give Princess Flurry Heart a chance to prove herself, but I dearly hoped I wouldn’t regret that decision. Not only because she might fail and get hurt, and in that case, Twilight would blame me, but because, if she succeeded, it might inflate her already large ego. I knew better than most that ambition like hers couldn’t be constrained, would she really be willing to serve the king, or would she seek to be named the monarch herself? An Alicorn like her certainly had the power to take the throne for herself if she so wanted. I wished I had that kind of power as a young filly, and for a short time, I did. When I wielded the power of the Bell of Grogar I had powers beyond anything I had before, and I have hadn’t found a way to match that power since. Yet I could sense Flurry had magic beyond what I thought possible, beyond what I processed at my most powerful while I used the bell, she could only channel a fraction of her true power, as of yet. But if Flurry Heart managed to reach her full potential, she would easily be the most powerful being in Taralos, and such power could be harnessed for the good of the kingdom, if only I could find a way to keep her in check.

Diary of Flurry Heart

After auntie Twilight visited our cottage, I begged Tirek to let me accompany her back to the city of Vil, for I had long longed to meet this Cozy Glow I heard so much about. Reluctantly, she agreed. Little did she know I had more than one intention of coming to the capital. Ever since I first arrived in this world I have been trained in the arts of combat by Chrysalis and the magical arts by Tirek, preparing for the day I would have to face Midnight and reclaim my kingdom. But I didn’t see why I couldn’t use these skills to earn a name for myself here in Taralos, if Cozy could do so, so could I. After all, she was only a humble Pegasus I was the first Alicorn born in over a thousand years.

Once in Vil I noticed that the people were staring at me as I entered through the gate, this was expected, it didn’t seem like anyone in this place had ever heard of Alicorns. While I was special back in my homeland, here, I was truly unique and more powerful than even the monarchs of the realm. Wouldn’t it then stand to reason that it was my birthright to rule over the regular ponies of this kingdom? I could feel it, it was my birthright to rule Taralos, but to claim my kingdom, I needed to be patient. I needed to grow more powerful and make a name for myself here in Taralos. After a couple of years as Cozy’s number one knight, I would be so notorious that the king would willingly abdicate the throne and sign over rulership to me, because I would be his superior both in power and in popularity. After all, he was a weakling, and I was a goddess. This was the true reason I needed to see Knight Commander Cozy Glow, I needed to become one of her knights. And of course, I was curious to meet the pony who Tirek, Chrysalis and Aurora thought of so fondly. I had never met Cozy in my entire life, yet she somehow felt like family.

Soon, we approached the castle, the curious ponies that had been gathering around me kept at bay by the guards at the gate, the presence of Twilight easily granted me access, yet even the guards were staring at my magnificence. The guards informed her that Commander Cozy Glow wanted to see me and currently resided in the hospital wing as she was horribly wounded fending of assassins who tried to kill the king and queen. I thought that was quite heroic of her, putting herself in harm’s way like that, all for an unworthy ruler that wasn’t even an Alicorn, quite unlike the Cozy Glow of which Chrysalis and Tirek told me of, but quite on the mark for the stories Aurora told me about Cozy. I wondered if she could be taught to be just as loyal to the one true ruler of these lands, the Alicorn Princess Flurry Heart.

On our way to the hospital wing, by chance we ran into Chrysalis, still in her guise as Crackle Cosette. She was at first disapproving of me, putting myself in harm’s way like this, telling me that she promised my mother that she would keep me safe, no matter what. Given her reputation, I wondered why she cared so much, according to my understanding, before the war against Midnight, Princess Cadence and Queen Chrysalis had been enemies with a long history. Maybe that was exactly why she was so intent on keeping her promise, Chrysalis respected my mother both as a foe and later as an ally. I told her that as long as she and Twilight were by my side, I was not truly in danger, despite, I could fight, she taught me well, and I was currently just as powerful as her, which seemed to placate her.

Once we reached the hospital wing, I found myself in the presence of a salmon colored Pegasus lying on a hospital bed, a bandage covering her torso. Her mane was artic blue with elaborate curls unlike any I had ever seen. My mother and my aunt’s friend Rarity also had quite some style, but it paled in comparison to Cozy who seemed to take great care of her mane, despite her current role as a military commander. She wasn’t physically imposing, but I could see a gleam of intelligence in her eyes, and ambition, however it seemed a bit faded. Like someone who had once desired to rule but had since become content in her current position. Which I guess was proper for a normal Pegasus, she never really had any claim to rule and therefore she would always be a usurper. As soon I laid eyes upon her, both our cutie marks started to glow for a moment, before the glow faded away. This seemed to take everyone by surprise, especially Twilight, I wondered if she knew what it meant. Cozy’s mark, like the stories suggested, was that of a single red rook.

I was quick to get to the point with Cozy, I wanted to become a member of the Defenders of Taralos. Which took Twilight by surprise, but Chrysalis didn’t seem shocked at all. With some reluctance, Cozy agreed, and told me about my assignment. Cozy told me the story of the Foundation Stones that marked the borders of this kingdom and magically bound it together. There were still strong garrisons that defended the stones to the south and east, but the stone to the north, one made of ruby had been abandoned since the conflict known as the Gem Gnoll War. Cozy promised me she would tell me the story about that conflict later. My mission was to find this Foundation Stone before an enemy agent known as Cipher could and bury it at a different location where Cipher could never find it, but we better hurry as Cipher had quite a head start, but fortunately none of the books at the library revealed the Foundation Stone’s exact location, just it’s general location, so we still hopefully had some time. On the other hoof, we did have more precise information given to us by a sage known as Fazban. The Foundation Stone was located in a cave to the north, close to Gem Gnoll territory. Cozy marked the location on the map and told me to seek it out as fast as possible, bringing with me any companions I wished for the mission.

In order to keep me safe, Twilight and Chrysalis both volunteered to accompany me, and when we went back to the cottage to tell Tirek of our endeavor, he volunteered to accompany me as well. So began my first mission as an official Knight of Taralos, I hoped I would be able to prove my worth during these escapades, and the mission wouldn’t disappoint, as we would fight many dangerous creatures on our way.

Comments

[Communist_Egor]

It's nice to see Chrysalis and Tirek becoming Flurry Heart's allies. The main thing is that Cozy finds a way to control the vanity of her new alicorn friend.
Looking forward to the continuation!