“This is my love, preserved!” The motley brown serpent bellowed!
I widen my eyes as I stare at the statue and say, “But that can’t be! She died! R-right?”
“Technically, no! I snatched her just before it happened!”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to live in a world without Fluttershy… “
I blink at the stone pegasus and say, “Yeah, but what good is she as a statue?”
<*****>
I open my eyes and I feel the warmth of Hyacinth behind me!
I turn my body around to glance at her and notice she’s still asleep, snoring peacefully under the covers…
I decide to get out of bed and shake my head…
I bring my body to launch itself and take flight, from the side of the bed…
“Golly, what a weird dream!” I say to myself as I float towards the kitchen on my little wings…
I arrive in the kitchen and take a glass from the shelf and hover over to the fridge to fetch the orange juice bottle and tilt it in the air over the glass, to begin filling it…
Suddenly, I hear a smarmy masculine voice I was hoping I would never hear again… “It was no dream!”
I frown while watching the orange liquid pour before tilting the bottle back upright and then turning to float towards the fridge again…
“I said, Fluttershy is still alive!”
“I know! I’m just bringing the orange juice back now!”
The voice grows frustrated, “Well, aren’t you going to say anything Cozy?”
I sigh as I’m putting up the bottle, “You just couldn’t stand to lose her, huh?”
The voice is silent for a moment as I gently close the fridge door… “Well, no… If I’m being honest, I could never stand to lose the first real friend I ever had in all my millennia of life… “
I turn to float towards my orange juice, “She must be pretty special, right?”
“Truly, one of a kind! Somepony Equestria needs!”
I turn and chuckle as I witness a brown serpent, floating in the air, with misshapen horns, eyes, and appendages… “So the million bit question is, why are you telling me this?”
He sighs, “Well, if you want me to be honest…”
“Oh, but I do!” I nod my head.
He sighs again and lowers his head in sad remorse as a frown forms on his visage, “I feel guilty!”
I frown too, “Guilty?”
He nods, “Yes, guilty! I cheated that poor pegasus out of the rightful death she deserved all for my selfish greed! Why wouldn’t I feel guilty about what I have done?”
I stare at this serpent because after studying and learning about him, the idea of THIS particular serpent, EVER feeling anything like guilt is nothing short of remarkable! Oh, golly! Character development! “You know, you could always just release her?”
He frowns and I witness his snaggle-tooth go the other direction, “Are you sure that would be wise? I also used time magick to make her young again!”
My eyes widen, “You, what?”
He sighs, and stares to the ceiling, “Well, yes!” and back at me, “You see, I didn’t want her to die the very moment I awakened her, assuming I ever did, and so, it just made sense to make her young again!”
I frown, “How young are we talking here?”
His calico eyes widen, “Well, she’s not a filly, if that’s what you mean!” and they go up, “I’d put her at young adult? Probably a few years after she would’ve graduated high school!” before centering back on me…
I frown harder, “Is her mind like that of a young adult?”
He frowns, “Well, it’s hard to say? I mean, her brain should be about at that phase of development, though, so she could be a tad impetuous?”
I snort, “But we’re talking about Fluttershy here!”
He sighs and waves his paw in the air, “Oh, right!”
I nod, “Yes! So, young Fluttershy… “I’m silent for a moment… “What are we gonna tell Twilight?”
His eyes widen again, “You will tell her nothing! Leave Twilight to me!”
I frown at this thought… “Uh, what are YOU gonna tell her then?”
He gulps and sighs as he stares at me again… “Well, if I were to tell her the truth, that would certainly make things simple, now wouldn’t it?” and waves his eagle talon in the air…
I’m silent before remembering who I’m talking to… “But you don’t like simple, do you Discord?”
He smiles, “No, I do not! And my apologies Cozy, but now that you know, I simply can’t have you tipping Twilight off to facts! I hope you understand?”
My eyes widen as I stare down and notice my hooves beginning to turn to stone, from the bottom up! “Hey, what are you doing?”
“I’m turning you into a statue! You will be roused at the appropriate time! Goodnight Cozy Glow!”
And then, the world faded to black…
<*****>
“C-Cozy Glow?” I hear a sweet feminine voice say, although I’m staring at the back of my eyelids…
I open my eyes to see that I’m inside a cave, faintly illuminated by a blue light coming from somewhere… I’m on my back and I look down to see a short yellow pegasus mare with a flowing pink mane and tail about 10 feet in front of me… “You are correct! You’re Fluttershy!”
Her eyes widen, “And you’re evil!”
“N-no! Not really! I’m reformed now!”
She frowns… “Wait… Why is my body different like this? My legs don’t hurt anymore?”
I sigh as I begin the talk, “Well, you see, you’re young again!”
Her eyes widen, “WHAT?”
I nod, “Correct! Discord made you young, uh, technically not a filly though, and he preserved you as a statue!”
She repeats herself, “WHAT?”
I nod again, “Right, so, you’re young Fluttershy, and I’m annoyed again!”
“You’re evil!”
“N-no! Technically, not! Look! I’m reformed now! And I promise, if you just follow me, and we find Twilight Sparkle, she’ll set all of this straight!”
She frowns, “Why should I trust you?”
“Look, all you gotta is just follow me, and once we find Twilight, she’ll tell you all about it!”
“How do I know you’re not leading me into an ambush?”
My eyes go the other direction as I whisper to myself, “Oh, golly!” before back to her, “Look! You can follow like, twenty feet back, if you want! That doesn’t matter! The only thing that is important is that we both make it to Twilight!” before going to my right, “Now, I see some light over there, and that makes me think that’s the way out of this cave!”
“O-okay Cozy! I’ll follow you! Under one condition!”
My eyes go to the pegasus, “Name it!”
“Say you’re sorry!”
I frown, “What?”
She nods, “Say you’re sorry for trying to take all the magick out of Equestria and that you’re sorry for trying to take over the country! Say those things and I’ll follow you!”
I close my eyes, “Oh, golly!” before opening them to the other mare, “I’m sorry I tried to take all the magick in Equestria, and I’m sorry I tried to take over the land!”
“And you’re sorry for trying to kill me and my friends!”
I sigh, “And I’m sorry I tried to destroy the heroes of Equestria, or whatever too!”
She smiles, “See? Don’t you feel better?”
I decide to lie and move this along, “Oh, golly yeah! I sure feel cleansed! A million times better! You bet!”
She beams brighter, “Okay, Cozy Glow! Lets go find Twilight Sparkle!”
I stare up at the stalactites and wonder what just happened?
<*****>
We both emerge near the blue stone cliff face and Fluttershy looks up and around before widening her eyes and exclaiming, “Oh, I know where we are! I learned about this in geography class! This type of grass only grows near the northeast mountain range of Equestria!
I begin to wonder why she remembers high school so well when she looks up and glances around, before staring a direction out to the fields and away from the mountains behind us, “If we just fly that way, we should hit Canterlot in several hours!”
I turn my head right towards her and ask the obvious question, “When did you get so good at navigation?”
Her eyes widen as she starts and suddenly frowns… “I…don’t know? I just know the thoughts of why we need to head that way, to get back to town… “
I frown when I think that Discord probably had something to do with this? Then, I turn towards the direction she stared and sigh, “Well, we’re not gonna get there just standing here talking about it! Lets get to flying!”
<*****>
I see the lush rolling plains of the Equestrian farmlands beneath me as I stare off into the boundless horizon, as the sun begins to set just to my right…
There’s also a yellower pegasus flapping to my right, about 10 yards I’d say…
But I’m not concerned with that right now…
I think about all the time I lost being trapped in stone earlier…
I frown when I realize that what was left of my family is probably dead by now?
And now, here I am, free at last…
I feel the wind blowing through the feathers of my wings and I finally hear her yelling at me, “So, Cozy! What made you decide to reform?”
I keep flapping forward, “I realized what I had done was why I got turned to stone… I understand now that I need to be a better pony… “
“Better pony?” She says as her body begins to hover closer to mine…
“Yes, Fluttershy! I’m ready to be good again! I uh, I don’t want power anymore!” I shake my head, “Not really! And you know, the truth is, I didn’t really want power then either!”
Her voice sounds aghast, “You didn’t want power?”
I sigh, “W-well, no! Not really! It’s uh, it’s complicated!”
“Well, we got several hours before we get home. Why not tell Therapist Fluttershy all about it?”
I turn to gaze at this yellow pegasus, just now out of adolescence, “I wanted control… “
“Control?” She repeats me.
I nod, “Yes, Fluttershy! Control! I had no control when my parents died and I had no control when I was in the orphanage! And I was miserable because of it!”
She frowns, “So, you thought that if you did have control, you’d be happier?”
I sigh, “I uh, I guess that’s it, isn’t it? That’s why I tried to destroy all magick in Equestria… Because if unicorns are no longer a threat, that’s less for me to worry about!” and nod… “It gives me more control!”
“But now you know, that that’s not right, right Cozy Glow?”
I smile, “Yes, Fluttershy! I do! I don’t necessarily need control to be happy!”
Her eyes widen, “Oh?”
“Nope! The truth is, if I can just have good friends and a happy life, I think I’ll be okay?”
She smiles, “Well, what if I helped you Cozy?”
I frown again, “Say what now?”
She giggles, “I’ll be your friend, Cozy Glow!”
And so, that’s how young Fluttershy became my friend, and why I have no idea what’s gonna happen when we make it to Twilight Sparkle soon!
I stare forward and gulp…
(To be continued… )