Chapter 1: A Hot Day in the Park
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The gardens of Canterlot shimmered from the heat of the sun that was particularly merciless on this hot and dry day in July. The white buildings of the serene, but busy, mountain city were glowing in the sunlight like it was their goal to blind the citizens that trotted in the streets between them. Ponies all throughout the city sought coolness and refreshment in pools or in the chill water of one of the numerous mountain lakes that surrounded Canterlot. Others were chilling in the shadows under trees, licking on ice cream and having cool drinks next to them. Those who could not afford such luxury, because of jobs and other obligations, trotted around with sweaty coats and waved giant fans in front of their faces to get at least a moderate amount of relaxation from the unrelenting heat.
On one of the more remote streets, a pair of ponies was trotting towards a little park in the northwest corner of Canterlot. They trotted through the front gate leisurely, although, the stallion of the duo was panting and his tongue was hanging out. Sweat that formed on the forehead underneath the purple strands of mane that hang into his face trickled down over the dark, blue coat. It stopped at the tip of his nose, right under a small pair of black glasses, where it dripped off and landed on the ground. The hot stones made the little bead instantly evaporate.
The stallion stopped for a moment. He took off his glasses and, reaching under his mane, wiped off the sweat with his right forehoof. One of his leathery wings was stretched out and he held it protectively over the head of a small, young mare, who was clinging to him tightly at his left side. Her pink coat and the feathers of her wings were glistening with sweat, too, but she seemed to endure the heat better than her batpony companion. Slightly worried, red eyes looked at him from under her curly, light blue mane.
“Are you okay?”
The stallion put his glasses back on and looked down at the smaller mare. He gave her a smile. It was strained, but friendly. “Other than this heat nearly killing me, I'm fine.”
The worry in the eyes of the young mare became deep concern upon hearing these words. “Then we need to cool you off,” she said. The pink pegasus slipped out from under his wing and took position in front of him. She pulled at one of his legs. “Come, Bitmaker, we have to bring you under a tree!”
Bitmaker obeyed. He let his younger companion take the lead and guide him. Her movements were brisk and she trotted fast as she aimed for a tree near a little pond not far away from the park's entrance. His heart made a little jump as his eyes fell on the shadow the tree was casting. He preferred cool places on such a hot summer day and the only reason why he was out and about was because of the insistence of his younger marefriend, who did not want to waste a sunny day like this inside. Her mood was contagious and he rarely ever managed to say no if she proposed an activity. “A trait she always had,” a thought went through his head. He saw a picture flashing up in his mind; his friend standing in front of a homey, yet impressive, purple building, between two small ponds. She looked younger and was surrounded by many other ponies as the doors of the building opened and she headed inside. The picture left his mind as quickly as it had entered it.
They arrived under the tree. She guided him gently down on the ground. He felt the temperature dropping by a few generous degrees and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Cozy!”
The young mare beamed and shot him a smile. She leaned in and placed a kiss on his sweaty forehead. “I go and get us some cool drinks!” she said then. The sentence had barely left her lips as she already zipped away and headed for a small refreshment stall opposite of the tree. Bitmaker looked after her, his eyes focusing on the white ribbons in her mane and tail that bobbed up and down while she galloped through the park. His lips formed a smile, before he brought himself into a more relaxing position and rested his head on the cool grass. He groaned in comfort.
Meanwhile, Cozy Glow, such was the young mare's full name, had arrived at the stall. A bulky, brown stallion stood inside, casting down a stern glance at her. The shelves behind him were filled with bottles and cans, which were placed inside tubs that were filled with ice cubes. A cooling fan was standing to his right, constantly running and producing cold air inside the stall. Cozy Glow looked at the stallion expectantly, a sheepish smile in her face.
“What do you want?” the stallion grunted. His eyes did not become friendlier.
Cozy pointed a wing at two yellow cans with an orange painted on them. The stallion huffed and got up, glaring at her before he turned around and took down the cans. With a thud, that made Cozy twitch slightly, he put the cans down on the counter. “Makes five bits,” he grunted again.
Cozy fumbled the amount out of the saddlebags she was carrying on her back and put them quickly on the counter, then grabbed the cans with her wings and left the stall, zipping out of the stallion's view as fast as she could.
Back under the tree and at Bitmaker's side, Cozy opened one of the cans and put it down in front of her friend's face. Bitmaker took notice of it with a thankful smile. He unfolded one of his wings and reached for the can while Cozy Glow sat down next to him and opened hers. Together, they took their first sips of the cool lemonade.
When Cozy set her can down again, her ears were hanging a little and a trace of sadness was in her face. In a few short words, her voice slightly timid now, she told Bitmaker about the reaction of the salespony inside the stall.
The older stallion listened silently. As Cozy was finished, he nodded. “There might be a few ponies who still haven't forgotten what happened.” A picture of a younger Cozy Glow flashed up in his mind, the filly hovering in the air, with a devilish smile and glowing, red magic around her alicorn horn.
Cozy Glow eyed Bitmaker sadly. “Will they ever forget it?” she whispered.
Bitmaker noticed the decrease in volume immediately. It was a sign to be alarmed. He put the can down and wrapped his left wing around Cozy's small, slim body instead.
“Not everypony will,” he said. His voice sounded very soothing now.
Cozy Glow's ears drooped completely. “Why am I even still going then?” She dropped her can and it landed on the side, spilling its sugary, yellow content into the grass between her hindlegs. Tears collected in her eyes and she started sniffing.
“Hey, hey!” Bitmaker removed his wing from her back and shifted his body to turn around at her instead. He held his forehooves at her armpits and gently pulled her closer, until he could feel the warmth of her face. “Remember what we said about a return of the depression. Not everypony will accept and forgive you, but not everypony has to. You have a lot of ponies who believe in you, Cozy.”
“Yeah? Who?” Cozy did not look up at him. She cast her eyes on the ground instead and followed the trail of lemonade that made its way between the blades of grass.
“I do,” Bitmaker countered.
Cozy didn't look up.
“And Princess Twilight does, she has forgiven you a long time ago.”
“Princess Twilight hates me.” Cozy Glow kept looking down.
“No, she doesn't.” Bitmaker leaned in and gave his marefriend a hug. “She wouldn't have agreed to it that you become a teacher at her school if she would hate you.” He retreated again and looked into her face. “And Starlight Glimmer does not hate you, either. She was the one who made you a teacher, remember?”
“Yeah, I guess.....” Cozy gave him a sideways glance, but only for a short moment.
“And Trixie says she really likes you, don't forget about her.” Bitmaker nuzzled her cheek. “And then there are all your students who love you.”
Cozy rested her eyes on him again, this time permanently. “And what about you? Do you love me?”
“More than you know, Cozy.” He delivered his proof promptly after finishing his sentence. Leaning in once more, he pressed a kiss on the small mare's mouth. Cozy's eyes widened in surprise, then she joined in and started playing with his lips.
Bitmaker could feel how her breath became stronger, because of how close they were to each other. Their bodies almost touched. He wrapped a wing around her and bridged the last gap between them. Now he could feel the pounding of her heart.
“You love me,” she said as they separated, a smile on her face again now.
“Um-hm,” Bitmaker nodded. He sat up and grabbed his can again.
They sat for some more minutes in the shadow of the tree, with new drinks that Bitmaker had gotten this time, after they had emptied their first two cans, then their legs felt stiff and they decided for a trot in the park.
The path that was winding away from their place under the tree led them into a more cultured part of the park. Statues were lined up next to the path, some of them showing ponies in intricate, artistic poses, some others modern and abstract pieces of art. Behind them, in the grass, they could see hedges that were beautifully cut to form similar forms and figures.
In front of Bitmaker, Cozy Glow rushed to a particular statue and began inspecting it with great interest. It was a statue of three singing fillies, one of which stood at the front of the socket and was facing them, while the other two were looking to the left and right. Their eyes were closed and their mouths puckered.
It was when Bitmaker noticed that the filly on the front had a curly mane that wasn't unlike Cozy's own mane, that he stopped dead in his tracks. A smile built on this lips and he suddenly felt his mind drifting away, like it was separated from his body and being pulled to a different place. Cozy shrunk in front of him, her legs and mane becoming shorter and her face transforming into a more youthful version. A second later, the environment around Cozy changed and he saw her standing in a large hall. There were statues, as well, but these statues showed the Pillars of Equestria. And to his surprise, Cozy Glow was not alone anymore. She was surrounded by many ponies, as well as five other creatures. A voice suddenly caught his attention and he looked ahead and behind Cozy, to the spot it came from.
There had been a slight murmur in the crowd, but it ceased as the mare he looked at now began to talk. “Good morning, friendship students!” Headmare Twilight spoke. “I am happy to see so many of you again and also so many new ponies who decided to attend the School of Friendship for its second year! For those of you who are here for the first time, please follow Guidance Counselor Starlight, who will give you a tour of the school and then lead you to your dorm rooms.”
As she had finished talking and left the podium, Cozy Glow lowered her head and a smile appeared on her lips. It looked vicious now, but hadn't looked like this to him when he saw Cozy for the first time, when he was a new student at the friendship school himself.
“And yet.....” he began to mumble. “And yet you already were–”
“Bitmaker?” A new voice, more distant, found its way into his ears, and it brought him back to reality. The vision broke apart and vanished, slowly revealing a worried face in front of his own.
“Bitmaker?” Cozy asked. “Are you okay? Should we return home?”
He looked at his companion a little dumbfounded for a moment, then shook away the cloudy feeling in his head. “No, it's fine Cozy, I'm doing okay. I was just in thought for a moment.” It wasn't typical for him to lie, but there was no need to remind Cozy on a dark past she had long since left behind. And he was in thoughts, wasn't he? A special kind of thoughts, but still thoughts, so he wasn't really lying.
“Let's keep going.” He nudged Cozy and they continued their trot through the park.
When they left the park, it was early in the evening. They had admired all of the statues, played catch in a corner of the park, to satisfy one of the sudden, childish urges Cozy so often had, then cooled themselves off with ice cream they were eating on a bench. Eventually, it was time to return home, though.
The sun had nearly set as they were back at their home, a mansion Bitmaker owned and was a luxury his successful business allowed him to afford. The air was still hot and humid, though, so they decided to relax with night swimming in the pool. As none of them felt much like swimming anymore, though, being tired from the long, hot day and their activities, both of them just hang out in a corner of the pool, enjoying the cool water.
Cozy had herself tightly clasped around Bitmaker, keeping him in a snuggly embrace. Occasionally, she rubbed his head against his chest and coeed slightly. It sounded like she was close to falling asleep, yet her near constant snuggling made clear to Bitmaker that she was still awake. Bitmaker lifted his hooves out of the water and placed them on Cozy's back. Gently, he moved them over her wings.
“Your wings seem sore,” he said. “How do they feel?”
“Um-hm,” Cozy responded. “They hurt a little.” She rested her left cheek on his chest and looked up at him, giving him a tired, but dreamy look.
Bitmaker nodded. “You shouldn't fly so much when playing catch. Seems like you went a bit over your limit.” He brought his hooves together at one of her wings and began to knead it. Cozy immediately became a little limp and a sound of pleasure left her throat.
“Is that okay?” Bitmaker asked.
“Just right. Hmm.....” Cozy closed her eyes and enjoyed the treatment. His hooves felt soft, it was just what her wings needed after a day like this.
Bitmaker was thorough with his massages. Normally, wing massages like this were a thing only pegasi did. The membranes of his bat wings were too fragile to be massaged like that, so he had never learned to massage wings like pegasi did. But since he began working with Cozy years ago, it was a necessary skill for him to acquire and he was an expert at it by now. Slowly and with the needed care, he massaged each part of Cozy's wings, even the tiniest, down to the very base of the wings. With each kneading, the wings of his marefriend became a little less stiff and her body relaxed more and more.
As Bitmaker's job was done, Cozy stretched her wings and folded them out. She flexed them, looking over her shoulder to observe the movements.
“How does it feel now?” Bitmaker asked soft.
Cozy flexed her wings a few more times, then she flashed him a smile. “It's perfect!” Showing her gratitude, she wrapped her hooves around his neck and planted a firm kiss on his mouth.
Bitmaker chuckled, after she let go of his lips. “Everything for you, Cozy.” He moved a hoof through her mane and caressed it gently. “Do you want to head inside or still stay? It's getting a little chill now.”
“Let us stay a little longer, it's just getting comfy.” She gave him a pleading look, then rested her head on his chest again.
“Okay, a few more minutes then.”
“Half an hour?” Cozy's voice piped up.
He was going to say no, but the cute, pleading tone was too much to resist. “Fine..... Half an hour. But then we go inside and I'll carry you, too, if I have to. I don't want you to get a cold out here, Cozy.” He booped her nose, playfully.
“Um-hm.....” She nuzzled his chest in response.
The minutes passed for the two of them, filled with more snuggling and a few, gentle kisses here and there. As Cozy's proposed timeframe was over, Bitmaker found that she had fallen asleep. As gentle and careful as possible, he slipped out of the water while holding the small mare close. He placed her on his back and carried her into the house and into their bedroom.
“Good night, Cozy,” he spoke softly and kissed her forehead. Then he turned off the light and quietly shut the door.