Cozy was released from the stone, but for a completely different reason than she expected.
Story takes place after events of the main series. Cozy Glow has been released from her stone prison. However, instead of redemption she was given a new position for which she was completely unprepared.
The steel blade sliced through the air, forcing timberwolf to rebound. The tall pink pegasus clenched the blade between her teeth, looking back at her ally. Fighting side by side with a centaur again was unaccustomed. However, it wasn't to say he was bad at fighting. With every swing of his warhammer, he crushed tree monsters to splinters. Yellow eyes of timberwolves burned between the trees. Suddenly, a shout came from deep within the forest.
"Chrysie!" Cozy turned toward the source of the sound, ready to tear into the darkness, as suddenly there was a thud. Deep and short, it seemed to come from all directions. Then another, and another, and another. "Tirek, cover me!" Pegasus rushed forward, flying past the monsters. She dashed swiftly among the trees, leaving her comrade behind. Another second and she jumped out into an open clearing.
"Chrysie!" She was here. The beautiful changeling princess lay on the ground, tied up, with seven kidnappers standing beside her. The gang known as the Elements of Lawlessness.
"Oh, dearie, it looks like a hero have come for you, oh-ho-ho-ho!" The white unicorn dressed as an aristocrat laughed. Rarity, the element of patronage. Owning a network of brothels in Canterlot, she used them to cover her criminal activities and launder the loot. "In battle, she can only talk you to death. Zero threat." Cozy thought.
Knock
"Um... guys... can you get over with her quickly and help me kill that centaur... please... I don't know how long the timberwolves can hold him..." Fluttershy, the element of support. Her yellow body was covered in a web of ritual tattoos, and a necklace of bones dangled from her neck. She stood at a distance, swinging her hooves. Though she was a pegasus, she possessed some magical power, and with preparation she could control mystical animals.
"I need to eliminate her first, then Tirek could come to my aid." Cozy clenched the blade in her teeth. A tug. A whistle of wind. A blow. A dull pain ran down her face. Blow knocked Cozy into the ground faster than she could realize what happened. A moment later, she jumped up, dodging a second attack.
Knock
The blue savage pegasus was advancing, grinning viciously. Rainbow Dash, the element of cruelty. A native of the snowy lands of Cloudsdale, the embodiment of brutality. They say she didn't even take a cut from the robberies, she participated in them for the sake of the process. Dash roared forward. Cozy swung her sword. Too slow. Hoof flew into Glow's stomach, forcing her to retreat. Another swing. Dash dodged, flew away, landed, and made another dash. Cozy slashed her sword across the ground, raising a club of dust.
"What the?!" Dash growled, covering her eyes with her hoof. Slash. In a split second she reacted, ducking. Cozy swung again. BAM. The shot stunned both of them. Glow fell to the ground, holding onto her back paw.
"That's it, sugarcube, played out." Applejack. Devil of Ponyville. Element of power. Pony so unprincipled that even Apple's crime family kicked her out because of fear. She hung her gun on her back, approaching Rainbow Dash and Cozy Glow.
"How dare you. My prey. I handled it," Dash backed up, huddled on the ground like an animal. She was ready to lunge at ten royal guards, but even she recognized Applejack's authority and had respect for her.
Knock knock
The earth pony sat down next to Cozy. "Well, sugarcube, you're out of luck. I'd have shot you in the head if I had my way. But you raised the dust yourself. Now I have to give you to Pinky. She's gonna to go completely wild in the next few days without torture material." Perhaps Applejack was the scariest of the elements. Even the crazy Pinkie Pie, the torture element or the head of the group, Twilight Sparkle, the strategy element and her pet dragon weren't as frightening as Applejack. She just acted too normal. Cozy shuddered.
"Well, well, sugarcube, don't get so upset." Applejack wanted to put a hoof on her shoulder, but froze the moment she saw a smile on the pegasus' face.
"I was able to distract you idiots enough." Applejack turned around at the yelling.
"You take one step freaks, and I'll break her neck!" Chrysalis called out, holding Fluttershy with her telekinesis. The remaining elements stood around her, ready to attack.
"Oh you-" Applejack reached for her rifle, but immediately fell from a hoof blow to her back. Cozy grabbed the gun and tossed it aside. Chrysalis needed help now; she would not escape them alone. Cozy ran toward the princess.
"Freeze. Mine," Rainbow landed right between Glow and the elements.
"I can barely beat her on my full, and with a shot leg..." Cozy frowned, reaching for her weapon and... yelled in anger. "Where's my sword!?" She turned around, seeing Applejack pick up the blade she had forgotten. "Great. Now I'm wounded, unarmed, and surrounded."
A roar from the thicket pulled her out of her thoughts. Tirek jumped out from behind the trees, landing next to Cozy. "Did I make you wait?"
"Make more jokes, asshole," Glow chuckled, crunching her neck. "We need to help Chrysalis and run."
"Going to leave already? The fun's just beginning, silly filly." Pink pony in the gypsy dress cackled, pulling out a bent dagger. Where did she come from?
Knock, knock, knock.
"Don't discount me, partner." Applejack approached from the other side, holding Cozy's sword in her teeth. Somewhere in the background, energy attacks of the changeling princess and the underworld genius collided.
Knock, knock, knock- what was that sound?
The tension between the parties was building. Tirek took his hammer and-
Knock, knock, knock. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere. It seemed too loud, too real. Real?!
"Stop the game!" Cozy yelled, and the imaginary forest disappeared.
Glow opened her "eyes," gazing into the surrounding abyss. Golly, so much time had passed... she had almost forgotten that none of this was real. Cosy had almost forgotten that... well... she and Tirek and Chrysalis were villains, turned to stone, who had begun to tell each other stories to keep from going crazy.
"What happened?" Tirek asked. His voice seemed annoyed at the interruption of the story.
Knock, knock, knock. That sound, so familiar. It was the sound of... rocks breaking. It gradually shifted, rising from the very base of the statues and concentrating on the spot where Cozy and Tirek's sculptures were stapled together.
"Vandals?" Cozy squeaked questioningly.
"Let them try to pull something, and I'll-" Chrysalis roared, about to shout a threat, but given their position, an ex-queen could at best accidentally fall on her opponent.
"Perhaps we are being transported to another location again?" Tirek suggested. He tried to sound calm, though Cozy and Chrysalis sensed that he was as tense as they were. "Or we got stolen, like last time." Last time was not pleasant. So many slimy liquids on the surface of the statues...
Suddenly all three of them felt something. It was as if a crevice had appeared in their dark dungeon. And the closest it came was to Cozy. Of course, they couldn't see it for real, but all three of them could feel how a little pegasus slowly separating from the rest of the stone mass. "Am I... am I being set free?" a thought flashed through Cozy's mind. An absurd, stupid thought. Who would want to free one of the worst villains of the century? She didn't see the point in it. No, no, she didn't care. She should have rejoiced. Freedom, FREEDOM, without those two-
...
"I don't want to leave." What? How dare she think that? She wanted to leave, more than anything! Freedom, revenge... loneliness. Who cared about those two?
...
But maybe it wasn't release? What if someone just decided to try to break the statue so villains would never escape? Yes, that must be it! No. If they wanted they would do it long ago... Thoughts were confused by panic. What panic? She has a chance to free herself, she should be happy! But why she, she, no, I-.
"Cozy, listen to me." Chrysalis' voice drowned out her thoughts. "You have a chance to be free. And set us free. Don't even care about revenge. Find a way to set us free. I know you can." The changeling queen almost whispered the last sentence. Even in half a century, she could hardly show her sympathy. Cozy mentally sighed.
"Alright bastards, I'll get you out. By the way... don't continue this story without me, okay?"
The pounding of the stone became deafening. If the two villains responded anything, they could no longer be heard. Something had to be thought of. She is Cozy Glow, the pony who without magic almost took over all of Equestria. The pony who with magic almost took over Equestria. Almost, always almost. No, no, no time to reminisce about the past, she had to come up with a plan. She had to be prepared for any conditions after her release. For one thing, she could be released to be "redeemed." Then she could escape, find the right spells, and free others. In the second place, she could have been released for another punishment. Maybe society remembered that it was illegal to turn children into stone.
Were there even laws about turning to stone in Equestria? She wasn't shure. Or maybe she was set free for a show of execution... then the plan remains the same, only a little more complicated. Maybe some rich pony took a fancy to her and wanted to free the little villain for his own purposes. That's the worst case scenario. From what they might do to her, to the fact that escaping from the rich guy would be the hardest thing to do. Although there is also the possibility that they really have been stolen again, or her parents have remembered their daughter, or-
A bright light made little pegasus squint.
A tall purple figure looked down at her. "Cozy Glow," said the princess of friendship. "From now on, you will be my general."
"А?" Cozy turned her head questioningly, getting up on her hooves "Golly, you really have an -UAH!" The second she tried to take a step, Cozy fell to the floor. Her legs buckled and her lungs began to burn from the air. Countless forgotten sensations filled every cell of her body, as if a bomb had exploded in her head. After all, she had been a rock for half a century, and her body was obviously affected.
Twilight Sparkle looked at the helpless pegasus with disbelief. She knew what Cozy Glow was capable of, and she knew she could not trust a word or action of hers. It was entirely possible that she was faking it to elicit pity.
"Heh... how... dear princess. have I earned this honor?" Cozy said, trying to catch her breath.
"I'll explain along the way."
Walking again was unaccustomed, but once Cozy got used to the new sensations she was able to adjust relatively quickly. However, she still continued to limp, causing the Friendship Princess to stop every few seconds. At times it seemed to Twilight that Cozy was purposely starting to walk even slower to get on her nerves.
"Equestria has been at war for over five years. The enemy has managed to reclaim a third of our lands, build defenses, and impose a protracted guerrilla war. Our generals have proven unable to stand up to the enemy, and so I have found someone in whose organizational abilities I am confident. You." Twilight spoke without stopping to walk down the long hallowed corridor.
"Trying to suck up to me, are you?" Flashed through Cozy's mind. "Hmm, so who is this adversary?"
"The Crystal Empire," the princess said, averting her eyes, seeming almost ashamed.
"Golly, that old king seems to have turned out to be a real pain, doesn't he?" Cozy said, raising her right eyebrow.
"During the last victory over King Sombra, our magic destroyed his innermost essence. He can no longer be revived. Not even by Discord. Our adversary is..." Twilight closed her eyes and sighed. "The first empress of the crystal empire, Flurry Heart."
Cozy froze. Flurry Heart? The first born alicorn? How could she declare war on Equestria? Didn't her mother rule the empire? Given that she's also an alicorn, it's unlikely she died of old age. Perhaps her daughter overthrew her? Or was it some global event that led to her death that also prompted Flurry Heart's actions? The gears in Cozy's head spun, trying to create a rough picture of what had happened. She had a myriad of questions about the causes of the war, about how it was going, about the weaponry and economy of both sides, but among these questions, Cozy chose the easiest one. "What about Discord? I'm sure he can just snap his fingers and turn her brains into carrot soup or something."
Twilight looked away. "Discord... is no more."
"Oh... oh..." Cozy stumbled back. Discord is gone? Discord? The almighty god of chaos? "What about pr-"
"Princess Celestia is missing. Princess Luna is missing. Cadance and Shining Armor are being held captive by their daughter, Starlight and Trixie are in a besieged city right now and we can't get to them. The Pillars ceased to exist after the death of Starswirl the Bearded in the battle of Cloudsdale, the dragons have been driven west and cannot help us, the Thorax's hive has broken up, one part has gone under our banners, the other has volunteered to become part of the crystal empire, the friendship school is closed due to lack of funds. Did you say King Sombra? Do you know who else is on the Empire's side? The umbrum race, from which this thrice-damned king sprang. Any creature with powerful magic is either destroyed, out of touch, or on the side of the enemy. Any more questions, Cozy Glow?!" The princess almost growled the last sentence. It was obvious how hard she was taking the events that were going on. And it was obvious that this could be used as a way of pressure on her. Cozy smiled mentally. Twilight sucked in air loudly. "I'm sorry, I don't get to talk about this very often."
"Golly, that's okay. I understand how hard it is to experience someone else's death. However, still, what about the other six?"
Twilight closed her eyes. "There are only four of us left."
They walked the rest of the way in silence.
After walking down the seemingly endless white corridor without windows, the alicorn and the pegasus came to a large black door. Twilight's horn glowed, and the door's intricate mechanism began to slowly open. "Here is your new home. This door is the same as the one in Tartarus. That is, you need magic to open it. The room has no regular ventilation system, no windows, it's completely soundproof. And even if you somehow get out, there will be four royal guardsmen at the door hourly who are allowed to attack to kill."
"Gee, Twilight, aren't you overdoing it? What if I need something?"
Twilight's horn glowed again, and out of nowhere a bell appeared around Cozy's neck. "If you need anything, ring it."
"Wow, you've really thought this through, Twilight. You've grown a lot." The princess pretended not to hear this obvious manipulation.
The two entered the room. Its walls were black, upholstered with some kind of material. Cozy thought it was probably the one that insulated the sound. The room's decorations were modest: a bed, a chair, a closet, and a large desk. Yet despite its poverty, the room was large, with high ceilings. About forty feet by forty, Cozy thought.
"Settle in. Make a list of the things you need. And don't try to do anything to escape."
"Would I think to go against the princess of friendship, who freed me from a horrible stone prison, and now asks me to protect my beloved homeland?" Cozy opened her eyes wide, giving Twilight the kindest smile she could. The princess sighed and disappeared in a flash of light. Left alone in the closed room, Cozy began to shake her hair. Small objects began to fall out of her lush curls. Tweezers, wire, needle, scissors... Cozy always carried a few tools with her, for you never knew when you might need them. She was leaning over the items when suddenly a voice came from behind her.
"I was expecting something like that from you, Cozy Glow." Twilight was back in the room. She picked things up with her telekinesis and teleported them away. Cozy backed away, trying to think of a convincing excuse. Suddenly she herself rose into the air, surrounded by a purple aura. Twilight pulled her face to her own. "Is there anything else you have that I should know about?"
"No, no, it's all-" Cozy didn't have time to finish her sentence before Twilight pulled a small folding knife from her tail. "Hehe, oops." Pegasus smiled guiltily. Then Twilight carried the rest of her belongings, and finally disappeared.
Once back on the floor, Cozy grumbled. "Good Twilight, good. You've thought things through a few steps ahead." Pegasus opened her mouth, extended her tongue, and pulled out a small, sharp black stone from beneath it. It shimmered in the light of the two ceiling lamps. An evil spark flashed in Cozy's eyes. "But I'm still one step ahead."
Cozy sat at the table, staring at the black stone. "Before our defeat, I persuaded Tirek to help with this. He was able to seal its effect, but now I need a powerful pulse of magic to activate it again..." the pegasus rested her face on her hoof, wondering where she could get something like this. Her gaze traveled over the maps of Equestria that covered the wall in front of her. Countless dot-cities, arrows showing troop movements. Maybe she should have lost a couple of times to lead the ponies into rebellion, and escaped during it. Hearing the click of the lock, she hid the stone in one of her curls.
Princess Twilight entered, surrounded by the many things Cosy had asked for. Of course, not everything was there, for example Twilight deemed "anything that could fire magic, for self-defense," unnecessary, but she-
BAM
Sparkle flew out into the hallway a second before a huge closet fell into the passageway. When she looked around, she realized Cozy had used strings for maps to tie the closet to the door, causing it to fall when someone opened it.
"Oh, good morning, princess! How did you sleep?"
"Cozy Glow!" Twilight entered the room and approached quickly.
"You're not very happy. Do you think I should have built a ballista out of the closet? I was hoping some guard would come in here."
Twilight lifted Cozy up with her telekinesis "The guards won't interact with you. I'm working on your project personally, all your tactics will come out on my behalf."
"Golly, don't tell me that... no one else knows that you set me free? What about honesty, what will Applejack think?"
"Applejack won't think anything anymore."
"Yeah-yeah-yeah, all your friends are dead and your people are terrified. But don't worry, Miss Princess, you found a good pony to steal her glory!" Cozy flipped in the air with her back down, looking up at Twilight from below.
Twilight smiled slightly. "If I wanted your glory, I'd have turned myself to stone by now."
Cozy's right eye quivered, and her smile became much more feigned. "Good one."
"Get dressed, we're going to the front." Twilight set Cozy on the ground, beaming a white robe at her.
"What's that for?"
"So no one will recognize you." with these words, the princess began to magically straighten Cozy's curls. She cried out, clutching at the place where the stone was wrapped.
"Wait! I... а... this haircut has religious significance to me!"
Twilight squinted. "I didn't expect you to be religious. Unless you're going to bring your god to their knees and take their powers for yourself."
"Of course I am! I'm from a small village, and only its inhabitants have the right to touch each other's hair. Sooooo.... I have to untangle the curls myself. Yes."
"Okay..." said Twilight, not letting her guard down. "Actually, we never could find out where you're from. Your name wasn't mentioned in any registry."
"Of course. You thought Cozy Glow was my birth name? I've used a huge number of names. ColorBell, Puls Star, PearCake..." Cozy covered her mouth with her hoof, putting a rock in it until Twilight could see, "I don't think I can even remember some of them anymore."
Twilight sighed. "Okay, get changed, we have a lot of work to do."
The new outfit was uncomfortable. The hood almost covered her eyes, and her loose hair kept falling over her face. Cozy had forgotten how long her hair was.
Twilight looked at her plan with horror. "You're going to use the locals!"
"Of course, we need as much military force as we can muster before the coming attack. I'll write you a rousing speech and you'll read it to the crowd. I assure you they will be ready to behead themselves."
"But you put them in the vanguard, where the enemy will just blow them away."
"That's the point. The enemy will break in, and our main forces will surround them."
"It will cost us thousands of lives."
"Without that, we'll lose the whole town."
"Even forgetting how horrible it is, the people might revolt when they find out we're sending women and children to the slaughter!"
"Ugh, where's your lauded equality when you need it so badly." Cozy tilted her head back with a mutter. This discussion promised to be a long one.
Cozy and Twilight walked down from the meeting room to the barracks. Several hundred soldiers were preparing for the coming battle, cleaning their weapons or training. Another hundred were resting, talking.
The princess walked to the center of the room, beginning some sort of speech. Cozy wasn't listening; she'd spent three hours arguing with the most impenetrable, morally correct idiot in her life. She took a seat next to some soldier, a red colored stallion, she think.
"Bad day?" he asked in a calm voice.
"You bet it was," Cozy muttered back. "Had to argue with my... ahem... guardian."
"Problem child?"
"Well, as long as I'm not trying to take over the world, I'd call myself an angel incarnate." The stallion laughed, and Cozy smiled as well, more at his laughter than her own joke.
"I don't see a lot of kids here. You must be her "special student," right?"
"You could say that. And you just got caught up in this army, just like the hundreds of thousands more stallions who were rounded up to be used as a living wall."
The stallion frowned. "You know, I had connections in the government. If I had wanted to, I wouldn't have gone to the front lines. But when my sister died in the siege of the city, I just couldn't sit on the sidelines anymore. She was the best sister ever."
"Are you here for revenge?"
"I'm here for this war to end soon. I want my grandchildren to see a peaceful sky."
"Heh, you seem like the romantic type."
The stallion smiled sadly. "Yup."
The beginning of the battle was hard. The barracks were set up in an old church, and Cozy and Twilight watched the battle from its tower. Directly behind them was a huge golden bell, which swayed now and then in the cold and sharp wind.
Cozy had to compromise. "Cannon fodder" was assembled from local factory workers, police, and volunteers over the age of 16. The rest of the residents were gathered at the other side of town to evacuate in case of defeat. Twilight could not use teleportation on them all - it would have created a large magical trail that would have been seen by enemies, and the railroad tracks had been destroyed by a recent diversion. Basically, the plan was that if the fight was lost, the inhabitants would rush into the nearest forest where they might not be found. Not the most reliable plan, but they had nothing better.
Alicorn and pegasus watched as the enemy swept away the vanguard, and the blood under the Imperials' hooves turned red. Cozy clenched her teeth. The flanks began to converge, closing the enemy on both sides. "Come on, just a little more..." no, there was a hiccup. They started closing too early, and a third of the Imperials were left free. "That's okay, it's fixable, they're about to break up the rest," Cozy reassured herself. "Come on, come on." Sweat began to run down her face, immediately becoming icy under gusts of cold wind. Every muscle on her face seemed to tense when finally, after an hour from the start of the battle, the enemy was completely surrounded.
"Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping up, and in the same second the ground shook. Twilight managed to catch her before she fell over the railing. "What's going on?" shouted Cozy, her voice barely audible behind the deafening rumble.
"I... I don't know!" Twilight replied, teleporting herself and Cozy not far from the church. The building continued to shake, its walls covered in cracks.
No, not just the building, the whole earth shook, forcing even the armies of Equestria and the Crystal Empire to stop their fight. Huge crevasses opened like jaws, and the mountains trembled as the huge green mass burst from beneath them. A colossal river of slime covered vast areas before forming into a vaguely spherical shape. A mouth appeared on the giant slime's body, and somewhere in its mass a bow tie and a cylinder hat could be seen.
"W-what is that?" Cozy cast a questioning glance at Twilight. There was a mix of fear and annoyance in her voice. After all, their warriors had almost defeated the Imperials before this thing appeared out of nowhere.
"Smooze," Twilight said. Her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open, her mane fluttered in the wind. "We told you about him at Friendship School when you were still there," the princess continued without taking her eyes off "however after Discord passed away, we didn't know where he had gone. We thought he had disappeared for good, but it seems that this slime had gone underground, and over the years it had been growing, feeding on minerals."
"Good report, Mainstein, but what do we do with this monster?"
Twilight averted her gaze from her old acquaintance, shifting it to Cozy. "I don't know. However, the last time we saw each other, Smooze wasn't really a villain. Perhaps we're still friends?"
Somewhere in the distance, a group of Imperials activated a device that looked like a black cube with a camera on top. It released a beam of light into the sky, that then turned into a huge hologram of a golden cup.
Twilight reacted too late. The green mass moved, the mountains shook, and Smooze began to approach toward the hologram. Cozy stumbled back, grasping the alicorn's wing. "Okay princess, this is DEFINETLY a problem." The cyclopean slime was stalking an image of a cup that was also moving away.
"They're trying to take him away. But where?" Twilight asked. The realization hit like a shot of thunder. "They're trying to lure him to the city! Even if he doesn't want to destroy it, Smooze won't leave anything of it just by rolling around!"
Sparkle spread her wings, threw Cozy on her back. "Hold on." Second. With a whistle and filly's scream the pair dashed across the fields, catching up with the slug. Right, left, down, and up! Twilight flew close to the ground, veering from side to side, dodging sparse trees. Cozy clutched at her hair, trying not to fly off. The princess lunged upward, twisting in the air - BAM. The energy beam smeared the group of Imperials, leaving only a crater with a repeater in the center. Princess landed next to it, lifting the device with her telekinesis.
"They used it to bait Smooze... it doesn't sound like that was their original plan. More like an improvisation."
Cozy touched Twilight's shoulder. "They've used these before to send messages or exert moral pressure... never could recreate that effect" Cozy rubbed Twilight's hair. She kept twisting the device, examining it from all angles "maybe with the original artifact I can... I'm not sure how it turns off. And it's sturdy, too, since it withstood my attack. Apparently the switch is inside, and unicorns activate it with telekinesis. That way they can be sure that falling into the wrong hands the device will be u-" Cozy tugged Twilight's head to the side, reminding her that a huge slime swallowing shiny things was coming at them, and they were holding the golden cup's hologram. "BAH-" Twilight screamed, and the cube flew out of her hooves, waving the picture of a cup across the sky. Smooze braked, confused by the movement of it's prey. Cozy tumbled to the ground. A little while later she rose, holding a hoof to her head, determining if she had broken something.
Twilight flailed from pegasus to cube. She lifted them both up with her magic, turned around. "Okay, we need to get him away from the city." Without waiting for an answer, she galloped around Smooze, forcing him to turn around.
"And where are you taking him?" Cozy yelled, trying to free herself from her telekinesis. "And why the hell you taking me too..."
"Ah, I... to the mountains! Yeah, if we lure him back up there, we can collapse the passageways. He won't get out. For a while..."
"That's a great plan, Twilight. Just freacking ingenious, if I understand it correctly. It's a Sw... oh... oh" Cozy suddenly stumbled over her own thoughts, remembering something. "Yeah, actually... actually it might work. Magic can't hurt him, but you've never tried heat. One of the caves here leads to place where the lithospheric plates collide, opening an underground crevice right into the magma."
"I didn't have a plan, but let's just say I was thinking the same thing." Twilight shouted, continuing to run. A gurgling sound of slime echoed behind her. "Where did you even learn that?"
"Uh, wanted to be a geologist before decided to take over the world."
One of the mountains appeared on the horizon. The slime was getting closer and closer, gradually catching up. Twilight sped up, approaching the entrance to one of the caves.
"Wait, you're going to GO into the caves?" Cozy waved her hooves sharply.
"Huh?" the passage kept getting closer, as did Smooze behind them.
"I thought you were just going to throw that damn box in there! There... I remembered, there might be poisonous fumes!"
"My barrier will protect us."
"And there are dangerous animals in there, too!"
"I'm more than capable of fighting off some bats."
"We can't go in there because... because... ah... Ah!" a second and unicorn and pegasus dove into the passage, finding themselves in pitch darkness. Twilight put Cozy on her back, rushing through the tunnels. Caverns alternated, illuminated by the faint light of Sparkle's horn. Right. Left. Forward. Right. Right. Left. Princess lost her sense of direction, beginning to stumble with fatigue. With a puff of breath, she slowed her run, shifting to a step and eventually stopping.
Twilight turned around. Smooze's slime remained in place. Even he seemed tired from such a chase. "Now we... need to..." Twilight felt something shaking on her back. It was Cozy. She clawed at Twilight's back, it seemed, not only with her hooves, but even with her teeth. "That's it... phew... you can get off now. He seems tired. And so am I. We need to... phew... rest for a minute." There was no reply. The princess turned her head questioningly, trying to see what was happening on her back. Cozy continued to shiver, tucking her face into her hair.
"Um... is something wrong?" Twilight hadn't expected to see her in such way. She seem... frightened? It could still be an act, but Twilight doubted that even Glow could play the part after being nearly crushed by a huge slime.
"...m afd f dks..." Cozy muttered to herself under her breath.
"Pardon?"
"Imfraid of thdark," said Cozy, poking her eyes out of Twilight's hair.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear-"
"I'M AFRAID OF THE DARK, YOU STUPID HORSE!"
- UNKOWN TIME BEFORE MAIN EVENTS -
"Why are you doing this?!" Twilight kicked her hooves against the crystal floor. A web of small cracks spread out from beneath them. The Princess of Friendship stood in the middle of a large room, right in front of the throne where the new ruler of the crystal empire sat, hidden in the shadows. Her silhouette was tall, elongated, elegant. She was not as tall as the other Alicorns, but still taller than most ordinary ponies. The silhouette moved slowly, shrewd blue eyes flashed in the shadows...
"Oh, Aunt Twilight!" Flurry leapt across the floor of the room, knocking Twilight off her feet, enclosing her in a tight hug. "Oh, oh, I haven't seen you in over a month! How have you been living? I hear you've had a lot of new work since the war was declared. Come, come, I'll set the table!" The Princess of Friendship was at the table before she could say a word. There was a mug of tea and cookies in front of her, and across from her sat Flurry Heart, with a look on her face like a happy puppy.
"Why are you doing this?" Twilight repeated the question.
"Because you're my favorite aunt! How could I not buy you tea? You know, I've set up a great tea production, if it weren't for the current world situation, I'd start exporting it to the rest of Equestria. But let's not talk about that, I don't really like discussing politics in my spare time. Although I would be interested in discussing one of our generals. He has such a cool mane, absolutely loooove it!" Flurry stretched out in her chair and closed her eyes, remembering the general. She definitely wanted to call him out to dinner someday.
Twilight bent down. She looked at Flurry with her eyes wide open, full of incomprehension. Her eyebrows rose and her mouth dropped open. How? Why? She was ready to see that Flurry had turned into a monster, or gone crazy because of some dark magic, or... or... Twilight clutched at her head with her hooves. "She's exactly the same. Like always"
"Uh-oh, Twilight, is everything okay? Are you not feeling well? I can call a doctor." Flurry looked at her aunt worriedly. She was about to leave the table when Twilight yelled.
"OKAY? AM I OKAY?! YOU STARTED A WAR! FUCKING WAR! A GODDAMN FUCKING WAR! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?! HAVE YOU SEEN THE BATTLEFIELDS?! HAVE YOU SEEN CITIES FILLED WITH CORPSES?! HAVE YOU SEEN THE VILLAGES BURNED TO THE GROUND?! I SEE!" Sparkle coughed, trying to catch her breath. She'd been holding those words to herself for a month, ever since war was officially declared. "But... I don't understand... why?"
"Aunt Twilight, because you're a bad ruler," Flurry replied with her usual smile.
"W-what?"
"Well, you know, I looked at the economic reports for the last few years, and woo-hoo! Inflation has tripled since Celestia's retire. Equestria has already met two crises during your reign. I understand that this is the result of moving to a more "open economy" and "less government control over industries", but you could have done it better. By the way, we've been through this conversation before. I have been writing you letters for the past six months with various offers of help, but you dismissed them as ineffective. But they are effective! Yes, we would have had to restrict public freedoms a bit" Flurry swiped a hoof in the air "but it would have had a positive effect on living standards in the end. King Sombra used these methods during his reign. And they are effective, look!" Flurry stood up, placing one hoof on the table and raising the others to the sky "I was able to turn the Crystal Empire into a force capable of going to war against the rest of Equestria! A tiny empire that lived off of tourism and small household goods!" A childish pride gleamed in her eyes.
"Sombra?! You used his-"
"Of course I did! You were always too scared to really investigate his writings - no offense." At these words she winked, leaning on the table. "But I reread everything of his study. Woo-hoo, that dude was a GENIUS. Maybe not the best pony, but his military and economic knowledge was astounding. Oh, and he was handsome as hell, too." Flurry covered her mouth with her hoof, averting her eyes. On her cheeks came a... blush? "Well, yeah, between you and me... don't get mad, but I...tried to bring him back a couple of times...?" Flurry turned away, tapping her hooves against each other.
Twilight had nothing to say. Literally. She just heard this stream of words, and she didn't know what to say. She just... what... how... what she... what anypony could answer on that? It's... damn it... it's... "You. Tried. To revive. Sombra."
"Aha! Imagine that: the evil King returns to learn true love and become good! Oh, and he's not the only "villain" I want back. You taught me - everyone should be given a second chance. And I want to give a second chance to everyone. I'm sure I could get the sirens back. Oh, and I've already started releasing the umbrum. By the way, did you know that vindigos still exist, too? Well, certainly not in the same form - you vaporized them with a magic beam after all, but I think I could pick them up piece by piece with enough time." Flurry's smile slowly began to diminish "but it's not like I can bring Sombra back. I tried to use his horn, but from whichever side you look, it turned into a mere piece of stone. Ahem..." she coughed before returning to her usual role, "but there's nothing friendship can't handle! When I topple you, I'll make everyone live well, and bring back all the villains so they can be good too!"
"You can't." There was no emotion left in Twilight's voice. She seemed devastated by this speech, which she could not characterize in any way other than "a stream of nonsense." "Not all creatures can become good. You're going to run into some that just won't want to change no matter what you do."
"Twiliiiiiight! You have redeemed Discord! God of chaos! Twice! Your school is run by the pony who almost destroyed the universe as we know it! Everyone can get better if they just try. And I will help them."
"The war you made is evil."
"A necessary sacrifice."
"I will stop you."
"But good always wins. And now the good - Flurry put her hoof on her chest - is me."
Twilight walked away in silence. That was the last time she spoke to Flurry. The Empress of the Crystal Empire stared after her with a piercing gaze. The Princess of Friendship disappeared in a flash of magic, and Flurry's smile only grew wider. "You can come out now," she said.
Second of silence, and a small body emerged from the shadows of the dark corner. The almost perfectly black body of a fairy-like creature with elongated paws, large wings, and long tendrils. It seemed to be covered in resin, slowly shimmering and trembling. A moment more, and two completely white eyes appeared on its head.
"So, did it go well?" the creature asked, flying up to the alicorn.
"Oh, Twilight was so cranky today. I guess I should have suggested she take the cookies home." Flurry shook her head. Her long hair, forming messy curls here and there, straightened out, becoming even more lush. "And how was your day Pony... hmm, I thought, looking at you now, that name doesn't seem very appropriate to me. Oh, can I call you Breezie of Shadows!? Please-please?" Flurry stretched her neck, almost touching her guest with her nose.
"Pfft! That's an even sillier name for an incarnation of darkness. I'll revolt," the creature lay down on Flurry's hair next to the crown. The one seemed ready to start begging for it. "However, I have something more interesting than a new name."
Pony of Shadows clapped his hooves. There was movement in the corner from where he came out, and a black tentacle came into the light, encircling a small purple star-shaped crystal.
Flurry rushed toward the tentacle, taking the artifact. Bringing it to her face, she almost squealed with delight, shifting from foot to foot.
"Thank you-thank you-thank you-thank you!" she rushed back to the throne. A second and her eyes glowed green, releasing clots of dark fire, and a beam of energy burst from her horn and flew into the crystal on top of the throne. It responded by changing its color to black, casting a shadow that replaced the floor with a deep stairway. Flurry jumped down, flying dozens of flights of stairs in a second, landed at the bottom of the stairs, and ran through the door that stood there. A study opened before her - bookshelves, boxes of artifacts, desks. This was where she had once studied; this was also where she work now. She remembered the first time her mother had shown her this place. She remembered seeing Sombra's portrait looking down on her. Majestic, monumental. She remembered the first time she had come here on her own, not knowing why. How she had breathlessly read the old King's journals, how she had immersed herself in his reflections, how she had learned from his books, and how she had begun to finish them herself. Even now she could feel the burning thrill that enveloped her heart when she found Sombra's horn. Even years later, those memories almost threw her into an embarrassment.
But none of that mattered now. She jogged past the shelves, to the open area of the room. Previously a large statue of Sombra had stood here, but now in its place were six large stones. They were cracked and chipped, damaged, broken, and then held together by a dark sticky mass. On one of the stones lay a small purple star like the one Flurry was now carrying.
The Empress of the Crystal Empire was burning with delight as she placed the second artifact in its place. The two stars glowed with a faint purple light. "Too bad one of the stars was destroyed. If I had them all, I wouldn't have needed Ponhenge."
"Then you wouldn't have needed me, either." The Pony of Shadow's eyes appeared in the darkness between the stones, much larger than on the breezie's body. The stars began to shine stronger, filling the room with their light.
"I would have freed you from Limbo anyway. Perpetual confinement in a world of stopped time... brrrrrr! No one deserves that. Just like no one deserves eternal confinement on the moon, or in a rock, or anywhere else."
The stars released two beams that struck the floor, releasing a scattering of pink lightning bolts accompanied by gusts of wind. Flurry's hair was fluttering, raging like waves in a storm. Her smile grew even wider, exposing snow-white teeth. A map of Equestria appeared in front of her, and her cutie mark glowed over three different places. "Two down, three more to go. Soon my part of the bargain will be done, and it will be time for yours, Cosmos!"
- W-what? How? - Twilight looked at Cozy. That was the last thing she wanted to hear in this situation - you literally said you wanted to be a geologist! Geologists work underground, in the dark! "There's still a chance Cozy's just lying. But why would she do that, in such a critical situation?" Sparkle thought.
- Duh, for that reason I didn't. Cozy lowered her gaze again, wondering. "Does Twilight believe me? She might well come to the conclusion that I'm lying. But even if she does come to that conclusion, she'll have no reason to talk about it now."
Twilight noticed that the offshoot of Smooze in the cave had moved slightly.
- Let's go. If your assumption is correct, we should reach the magma springs sooner or later.
She went forward, illuminating the passageway with the glow of her horn.
Flurry Heart was flying high in the sky. Below her was a canvas of clouds, with green land between them. Above her was only the dense darkness of space. All around her was cold and rarefied air. But there in her hair was still the Pony Of sh...no. Breezie of Shadow...? Flurry still wasn't sure what to call him now. She had released the Pony of Shadows from Limbo only a month ago. Anyway, the little tarry creature peeked out of her hair, speaking.
- Here. Come down, we will soon reach the place where the second star is.
The crystal empress obeyed. She dived like a meteorite, landing at the large entrance to a cave. As she got closer she noticed something strange on walls of the cave.
- Is this... slime? In some places the stone walls were indeed covered in a moist green mass. Flurry tried to tear some off with her telekinesis, but her magic seemed to melt away when it touched this substance. Then she pressed on it with her hoof. It made a clucking noise and... stuck. Flurry yanked back. Once more. She's stuck.
She put three of her hooves on the ground and pulled the fourth one up.
- Come on.... come on... ngh! The slime stretched and pulled the hoof back with a crack, causing Flurry to fall.
- Let my dark arts help. Something of Shadows flew up to the stuck hoof. A dark tentacle emerged from its back. With the speed of a cat jumping on a mouse, it streaked across the slime. And with the grace of a cat falling off the couch, it stuckted in it. - No! What a mighty force! It must be a trap left for us by the enemies of the empire!
And so, the first test on the road to bring back of Cosmos has begun!
At first, Pony of Shadows was about to make the great sacrifice of cutting off one of his tentacles. But then he remembered that it was made up of magic and he could just dematerialize it. As he got out, he began to look around, looking for something useful. A twig, a sprouted flower... a couple of rocks. Sharp enough to try and cut something. Gathering them into tentacles, the Shadow Pony turned back to the Empress. She stretched the slime with her hoof, about to lick it.
- What?
Pony of shadows sighed irritably.
- Keep your hoof up, Empress, I'll try to cut through the slime with this stone.
And he tried. It was long and hard and painful. The stone got stuck in the slime, and Pony of Shadows flailed around it, trying to use it as a saw.
- Right, left... come on... come on... Pony of Shadows clenched his teeth, his voice shifting to something between a squeak and a grunt.
- Come on... a little more... he pressed, yanked, circled the slime on the other side, began to press the stone against himself with his tentacles. The slime stretched, and Pony of Shadows flexed, tentacles slipped, and it flew into the wall.
- gruh, that... Ahem! My Empress, the power of this slime is incredible, but even in this weak form it is incapable of resisting the power of darkness.
The Shadow Pony looked deep into the tunnel.
- But to break through it, I must gather the power of the shadows within this network of caves. I will gather the greatest despair, and this green something has paid for what-
- Yeah, okay, I get it - Flurry yawned - and in the meantime, I'm gonna... I'm gonna sit here.
- Soon the forces of darkness will set you free, and the whole world will know your glory! Said Pony of Shadows, flying off into the depths of the cave. Flurry flopped down on her stomach, looking at her hoof stuck in the slime.
- Yeah, how did I end up in this situation?
Pony of shadows advanced deep into the caves. "Hmmm... how do I free Flurry Heart? This slime has absorbed her Alicorn magic, even if I sit here for a month, I'll never gain enough strength with this little body! I need to find something-"
- Are you sure this is the right way?
- Of course not! I know a thing or two about mountains, but I don't have a sparkly horn that would allow me to magically sense the right passage. Though I would always be glad if you could give it back to me.
Pony of Shadows's voice died down, and he ducked around the corner with a squeak. He looked out carefully, only to duck back in when he saw a tall purple alicorn walking through the cave. "Princess Twilight?! What is she doing here? Did she find out about our plans and come to stop us? And who's that on her back? A little... pegasus...?" The Shadow Pony tried to get a better look, but accidentally hit a cracked corner of the wall. The rock from it fell off, Pony of Shadows tried to catch it, got tangled in his own tentacles and the pebble fell against the floor, draw attention of Cozy and Twilight.
- Aaah! Pony of Shadows shrieked, pulling in the light along with the air, plunging everything into darkness.
Twilight tried to turn on the light again, only to feel that Cozy had disappeared from her back. The princess tried to feel for her, but couldn't.
"I have to run before they realize what happened!" Pony of shadows raced back through the cave, but Twilight heard the flapping of his wings and ran after him!
Pony of shadows flew as fast as he could. His little heart was pounding like never before.
- Cozy, wait Cozy! Shouted Twilight, continuing to run.
"Cozy? I'm not cozy, I'm epic and menacing!" Thought Pony of shadows, then remembered that he was very small now, and just huddled up against the ceiling. Twilight, seeing nothing, ran on. Pony of shadows stayed still for a while, huddled against the ceiling, trying not to even breathe. Eventually he slowly peeled away from it, flying away from the passageway where the princess had fled. He continued on his way until he came upon a pink pegasus with a match in its mouth, the same one that was on Twilight's back. "A child, then?" A smirk appeared on Pony of shadows's little face. He approached, and with maximum pathos said:
"Girl, are you afraid of the dark?"
Flurry sat with her face tucked into a hoof. The other hoof, wilted in slime, was moving in the air, stretching the slime and squeezing it again. Back and forth back and forth. Up and down up and down. Her eyelids slowly began to droop. She spread her hooves, yawning, and cracked violently on the floor.
- Ouch! Flurry rubbed the back of her head irritably. You could break something like that. After a second she realized the hoof was free. The empress looked at the lump of slime that had let her go. It seemed noticeably smaller than the one she had stepped in.
- Dried out in the sun? Hmmm. When Flurry was 14, Celestia had taught her an banishing spell, and told her that any problem will solve itself if you just lock it away and forgot about if for enogh time. That seemed to be true. It was her birthday, though, and Cadence was very angry afterward that Celestia allowed herself to be drunk in front of the baby.
Flurry stood up and started walking into the depths of the cave.
- Pony of shadows? Pony of shado-o-o-ows?
She missed Celestia. She was that one cool aunt for her to talk to as a friend. Although her aunt was Twilight, who had always been a walking moral compendium. So Celestia is her... great-aunt? Step-grandmother? Wasn't Cadence Celestia's niece or something? Flurry shook her head. The royal family's genetic tree was so complex that there were jokes between courtiers that an Alicorn born was the result of the most epic magical incest in history. Thinking, Flurry didn't notice a familiar figure running out at her. She jerked at the last moment, dodging a horn that flew into her stomach, but she didn't dodge the hoof that flew into her face.
Flurry flew a few feet away, but immediately jumped up, glaring at her adversary.
- That's not a very polite greeting, Aunt Twilight. Talk of the Discord and he is sure to appear, huh?
Twilight was the first to attack. A blob of magic ripped through shield, sending rancid dust flying in all directions. There was a sprinkle of dust from the ceiling. A soft pink barrier glittered in the dust, and behind it, Flurry Heart's smile doubled over. Zero damage. Twilight took a step back.
"Lucky to have fallen for that fool," the thought flashed. "Okay, chances are not so bad. For starters, the shield can be bypassed-"
BAM
Flurry flunged forward with a lightning bolt, sending right-hooved hook into head.
Twilight created a barrier, blocking the attack. A drop of sweat rolled down her face. Too close, she needed to speed up.
Flurry - kicked with her two hind legs, and in a jump, and into the barrier! The shockwave bellowed in a way that made ears pop. The barrier burst - only splinters flew in all directions.
Twilight used her telekinesis to fling the shards at the enemy.
Flurry - stll falling - flipped through the air, flew up, and with a flick of her wings, blew the magical glass back at Twilight.
She opened a portal in front of her, and the shards flew in, flying out behind Flurrys's back.
She's got Twilight in front of her, and the splinters in the back. So she jumped aside and let them keep flying. Twilight sighed. She should've seen it coming.
Dianys-matiki . allagi! Her horn sowed, distorting the space in front of her, twisting the very fabric of existence into a pipe. Shards flew into one hole, Twilight grabbed the distorted space with her bare hooves, yanked as hard as she could, and pointed the second hole at Florrie. With a screech of wind, splinters flew at her like a machine gun! Did this flip still make tactical sense?
Flurry fell to the ground and smacked it with her hoof. A shock wave rose, stopping shrapnel in midair.
"She's open!" Twilight arched her back, jumped up on her hind hooves, and immediately struck the ground with her front ones, releasing a stream of roaring magic from her horn.
Flurry lunged to her right, but the shot wasn't aimed at her. It flew into a shard hanging in the air, reverberated into another, jumped to a third, and darted to a fourth!
The laser kept flitting around Flurry, going from one deflector shard to the next, casting a bright purple glow over everything. That bought Twilight enough time. She sighed intermittently, sweat dripping from her face. Wasting too much energy.
[Twilight's point of view: I needed to know her fighting style. We haven't faced each other in combat in about twenty years, and the way I see it, her methods haven't changed. She's faster (can we answer that with passive spells? They're harder to cast right in the middle of a fight, but I can hardly block a few more of those lunges with barriers). She's stronger (this can be answered with spells that bypass brute force. Mental, for example. Maybe want-it-need-it? Either that, or try to draw her power). She hits with all her might, trying to finish the fight faster than she needs any tactics. Or does she pretend that she does? Better to overestimate your opponent than underestimate them. I've already spent some of my energy distracting her and catching my breath. If I don't do enough damage, I'll try to make her lose interest in fight.]
[Flurry's point of view: I can't see anything because of this flickering laser. Was that your plan, Aunt Twilight? I didn't come here to fight you, but since you're here, you probably want to stop me from taking the star. I don't know how you found out about it. Note to self: there must be a spy in the castle to deal with. In the meaaaaaantime. I might just go deeper into the caves, but Twilight seems to be serious about this fight. So I won't disappoint her - I'll fight, maybe get her to give up, yeah, that would be nice. Even if she runs away, it'll definitely break her spirit, showing her how much stronger I am. And then it wouldn't be long before she'd have to surrender in the whole war. Yeah, good plan, well done Flurry]
Twilight relaxed her iron-filled muscles a little, and she gritted an "okay," through her teeth, and walked toward Fluryy, and was each step twice as fast as the last, flowing into a run, her horn shone with magic. "Let's freaking go."
"Are you afraid of the dark?" the cold, clammy voice made Cozy twitch. All she had was the little light of a match. Lucky to took it.
Cozy looked around. Everything beyond half a meter was covered in a blind dusk. Her eyes narrowed as the monumental shadow, cast by something that could be mistaken for something slightly looking like stalactites of unconverted caves, rippled, twisted inward at murky angles, grew a multitude of columns with a sonorous chuckle. Cozy stepped back frightened as the mass tilted as if its legs had been chopped off, and fell with a matte slap, spreading oily peat across the floor. And that peat, smelling of ruined sublunar kingdoms, looked, it seemed, not at herself, but somewhere behind her, into forgotten thoughts, with its white eyes. God, how bright they were. The eyes curved upward, the peat mass dripping upward, forming a body upward. A vaguely elongated, half-shapely muzzle, you'd think, to the point of ridiculously bad, unsophisticated imitation of a pony head, emerged from the puddle of slime, planted on a fat neck that flowed into a heavy belly on broad, powerful legs. This mass was perishing and enormous, as if something that should not be described had cast a shadow from beyond the borders of the interstellar void, stretching it through hundreds of thicknesses of earth. It spread bony, vein-filled wings that had no webbing or feathers. The mass opened its mouth, ranting, or babbling, or growling something crumpled, like words that Cozy seemed to understand when she heard the painfully clear repetition.
"Are you afraid of the dark?"
She pressed her tongue to her palate, seemingly trying to swallow her saliva, but her constricted throat pushed out even air.
[Cozy thought: I'm alone, in an incomprehensible cave, in front of me is this, whatever it is. It looks like the Pony of Shadows we were told about in school, but too deformed. Perhaps something of a similar nature. This creature is clearly trying to look threatening-and it's succeeding. I have two choices, depending on what it wants. The first is for me to be the victim, and beg for mercy. Then, if it wants something from me, it will tell me what, and I'll probably survive - take that as a 100% success rate. And if he's just some monster who likes to scare kids, I'm dead, 0%. Second - I'll act defiantly without showing fear, and then at worst he'll get angry and kill me, 0%, or just get angry and I'll have less chance, 50%. Either way, playing the victim is more effective as a percentage].
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Screamed Cozy, covering her face with her tiny hooves and wings. "Please don't touch me!!!"
[Pony of Shadows thought: thank the blessed other gods, that scared her! God, I can barely hold this huge body, it's about to fall apart. Ok, ok, OK. Whoever this girl is, she must be connected to Twilight. Why else would she be here. Her new apprentice, perhaps? But she's a peg-oh my Grogar my face is melting! . . . Whew... Uh... I held it in. I need to find out everything I can from this girl before she realizes I'm weaker than a fly right now, and before this inflatable body falls apart].
A mass of liquid malice approached Cozy, oozing oil slick. The monster continued:
"Girls like you shouldn't be left alone."
[Cozy's thoughts: does he know who I am? Even with this disguise? If so -> change the plan. Or by "girls like me" he just means little girls]
"You came here with Twilight, didn't you? Decided to get the star before we did?"
[Cozy's thoughts: new macguffin: star. I don't know what it is, but he has a different opinion. It's worth playing along with him to get more information]
Cozy babbled frightenedly: "A star? How w-would you know?!"
[Pony of Shadow thoughts: I was bluffing about the star, and they really came for it! Hell, I need to warn Flu-]
BAM. The murmur of battle coursed through the cavernous veins, alerting Pony of Shadows and Cozy Glow to the battle.
[Pony of Shadow thoughts: it's definitely Flurry and Twilight! I have to . . . Do I have to? I may be dragging myself around with Fluryy, but it's only because I'm too weak. She underestimates me, the strongest monster Equestria has ever seen! My goal of plunging the world into darkness hasn't evaporated, and I seem to have a potential key to it]
"We have our methods" said the monster, grinning a skewed smile "but you know, I can turn a blind eye to our meeting, in exchange for something."
The Pony of Shadows moved closer to Cozy's face.
[Cozy's thoughts: I need an adult.]
"I need to get into your lovely capital, Canterlot. And plunge it into chaos."
[Cozy's thoughts: Phew, it's better than I thought. We're on the same page. I'll give him what I know, he'll cause a commotion and I can escape. But problem: if I start telling him the minimum that Twilight gave me, he might get suspicious. He probably knows who I am, and he won't believe that Twilight would tell a lot of interesting things to the villain who almost destroyed Equestria. Twice. Only if he does know that I became her general. But with that level of knowledge, he'd know why I'm here and wouldn't start talking about some star. The pattern would be that he either doesn't know who I am (+1) or he does (-1). If he knows, then-]
"I won't wait!" bellowed the Pony of Shadows, making Cozy shriek.
[Cozy's thoughts: (speed boost) he interrupted me. I'd forgotten what logic I was using. Playing off the fact that I'm afraid of him and don't know much, and he knows who I am but doesn't know I've become a general]
Cozy yelled: "excuse me please! I-I don't know much! I've only recently been freed!"
The Pony of Shadows wobbled slightly. "Fre...? KHM-tell everything you know, as if your life depended on it. For it does."
[Pony of Shadowes thoughts: Freed from where? I... а... ah, lost a thought! Apparently she meant that she had recently graduated from magic school, and was only now a student of Twilight, and got her words mixed up with fear. But why would Sparkle drag a trifle on such a dangerous mission?]
"I-I..." began Cozy, seemingly ready to cry "there are statues of Tirek and Chrysalis in the royal castle, that's all I know!"
[Pony of Shadows thoughts: Tirek and Chrysalis? Who's that, and why would I want their statues?]
"And why should I care?" replied the Pony of Shadows.
[Cozy's thoughts: He can't get enough of Tirek and Chrysalis. I almost took over the world with those two. Raise the degree]
"P-because these are the strongest villains in Equestria, and if released from the stone, they'll wreak havoc on the whole town! I can help too!"
[Pony of Shadow thoughts: oh how! And it's not just statues, but the villains themselves turned into them?!]
The monstrous shadow swelled and rippled, and from its nasty belly, through its neck, a rasping cackle crawled to its throat. "You interest me. Just remember for the rest of your life, unless you want to shorten it - the strongest villain in Equestria is me." With those words, the monster blurted out into the darkness, leaving Cozy alone.
[Pony of Shadows thoughts: Stupid Girl. She even offered her help at the end. How could an ordinary pony, not even a unicorn, help? But these Tirek and Chrysalis ones got me interested. Wait, Flurry Heart, my turn is about to begin]
[Cosy Glow thoughts: Stupid Monster, or what it was. Now I have someone powerful enough to know about my return, and willing to free my team. True, I had to offer my help in creating chaos. Anyway, once I meet up with Tirek and Chrysalis, it won't be hard to escape there. Wait, Twilight Sparkle, my turn is about to begin. Whell, not the turn, more like I'm fiding the pices, to send them on board, and reading the roolbook and...
Cozy was walking down another dark, overly drawn-out, damned curve of the cave when something new flashed in the fire of her match. A green, jelly-like mass. A stupendoshuddering, gooey something. Smooze. [Too many slime-like monsters in one day. If I make it out -> ask Twilight for a shower].
Quietly, carefully, Cozy went through the chain of actions:
Twitch - recoil - turn around - stop. It's not like she has anything shiny, why run? Cozy exhaled. And as she noticed, Smooze themself still hadn't moved. Apparently it hadn't recovered from the chase. Unfortunately, the fact that she'd run into it meant she was probably going the wrong way. Nor did it make things better that she was about to run out of matches.
[Three outcomes: bad, neutral, good. Bad - I'm stuck here in the dark and I'm unlikely to get out on my own. Neutral - I'll meet Twilight and everything will go back to normal. Positive - I'll get out before she does, and go somewhere else.]
Cozy rustled onward when she heard a scream. Not a shriek, a squeezed one, a weakened one, as if someone's chest had been pinned to the floor.
- HELP!
- Eh? Cozy shook her head toward the sound. Slap - the loose curls smacked her in the nose. The pegasus swore, parting her hair, searching for the source of her voice. The cavernous moisture caused her mane to slip from her hooves back onto her face. Cozy took it again, tried to pull it apart -no, the hair fell back - let's... just a little, maybe put it behind ears?
- I can see you, please help! The exclamation was repeated, by the last word torn two notes up.
Let's try... No, to heavy, her ears would rather fall off. She can't braid a braid with her hooves, and a match almost fell out of her mouth, and - damn it - in her eye... hair... ARGH!
- Please! The voice shuddered waterily and bounced around, getting louder and quiter.
Cozy barked. The hell with it. One roll up, two roll up, three roll up. She twisted her hair like a rope around her neck, leaving the end of mane dangling just above the ground. Now it was time to go to the screamer.
She walked a few more meters, and a voice brought her to... a bad discovery.
A particularly bloated mass of slime, and in it a body. (The smell of unwashed flesh) Alive? It speaks. Screaming. It's alive. Pony - lying on his belly, mired down in slime. (shuddering sounds of faint breathing, fading into the darkness of the cave) Male, blue dirty hair. Helmet with flashlight on his head. Still working (pulse beats overlapping each other, tossing heart up and down).
Cozy stumbles backwards.
The pony raises his head, and his fur is left in the slime. And his skin is left in the slime. And his cheek is left in the slime.
- Wait! Don't go, please, please, STOP!
Cozy curls up, coughing. Her cavernous throat burns with a caustic sensation that reaches her mouth and hits her nostrils. She holds back. [I've seen worse than that. Vomiting can create a negative first impression]. Her throat had been dry for a long time, both from wandering around the cave and from all the vaguely almost un-earthly horror she'd encountered along the way. Because of this. The pegasus takes a deep breath. Camera, action.
- Oh, golly, mister! - The little pony runs up. A white hood fell off her head, revealing a look full of worry - how did you end up here?
- I - sniff - I was a miner, I went down into the mines, and while I was working, I was digging g-. go-gold, this, this thing went through the cave, and I stuck to it! God, I want to go home. I don't know how long I've been here. I don't remember. This thing has carried me through so many caves. I-I, please... W-Wait. You, you're a child!?
- Yes, mister! My guardian and I were exploring the local rocks, but when Smooze showed up we... we had to split up, and... - she sniffed. What else she had to do? Lifted my lip, yanked it a little. Gosh, it's been so long since she used real facial expressions. Even days later, her face feels like a rock. Thank goodness they're in a cave. Darkness - unprepared actor's best friend.
- No, no... if we're stuck here together... you can't find anyone in the dark by yourself! You poor little filly. And even if you do, I'll stay here and Smooze will drag me away again! Sweet Celestia, I'm so glad my helmet still works... I'm so scared to stay in the dark. I've never been afraid of it, but these days, t-th-these days!
The pony's eyes distorted, seemingly almost ready to burst into tears. His teeth trembled with cold, in fact, his whole body clenched in spasms. Smooze's slie was clearly not warm.
- Oh, mister, you must be so cold...
His eyes gleamed. Somewhere on the other side of his skull reflected that awful, frosty feeling that had held him for so long.
- Y...y -
- It's all right, don't worry.
She pulled off her robe, spreading the garment. In her hooves was a rectangular white cloth. A second. The moisture of the cave crept over her body, lifting her hair. Sigh. The pegasus approached Smooze's captive, gently the cloth touched the slime, covering the pony's body.
- Oh, t-t-thank you, but I don't think that will hel-
- Shhhhhhhh.
Cozy moved closer to his face. It was only at that moment that the pony could see the growing smirk on her face.
- W-what?
Click. Somewhere beneath his lower jaw, a mechanism holding the helmet on his head clicked. Cozy yanked the headgear upward, rising into the air with it. The rest of the robe fell carelessly over the captive's face. He wrapped his head around, throwing it off his face, only to see Cozy in his helmet move away.
- Wait, where are you going? Wait a minute!
Somewhere in the back of the aisle, a distant reply echoes:
- Dear mister, the best way to conquer fear is to face it.
