"So... I was looking, and I found this spell, and I was wondering, I mean... if you are interested, if you could learn it," said Cozy, hoofing over a scroll from the library to Astral.
The two were at home in the early evening. It was the start of a special weekend: The new year was starting that very night. A festival in the middle of Ponyville's town square was already well underway.
Astral took hold of Cozy's scroll with her magic, "Cozy! You're not supposed to take these from the library!"
"I know! It was really hard to sneak out of there. I'll bring it back when we're done with it... I promise!"
Astral unrolled the scroll and looked it over. "'Your Eyes', huh?"
Moondancer said it allows you to see through somepony else's eyes, but only advanced unicorns, or... ponies like you can do it."
"Ponies like me?" asked Astral with a raised brow.
Cozy nodded, "Because you can read minds and stuff."
"Hmm... I don't know, Cozy. What good could I use a spell like that for?"
"Because I want to show you something tonight. Something special," replied Cozy.
"I don't know, Cozy. This seems kinda like dark magic. We were warned about that at Twilight-- Celestia's school. It can be abused, and corrupt the user."
"You don't have to use it all the time, just when I want you too!"
"Oh, only when -you- want me to?" teased Astral with a wink.
"On me. Please? you won't regret it. I Cozy Promise."
"Cozy Promise, ok. Let's give it a try," said Astral, warming up her horn in a soft glow. She gave the scroll another look over before rolling it back up and setting it aside.
Cozy closed her eyes tightly as Astral cast her spell. Astral's eyes went blank white in a creepy stare into space.
"I... I don't see anything," Said Astral. "...Just a faint shade of pink.
"Oh, really? Maybe it's because my eyes are closed?"
"Well open them, you silly filly!"
Astral's vision slowly flooded with light and colors that began to take form as Cozy opened her eyes. 'oh, pink eyelids. that makes sense,' thought Astral.
"Can you see?" asked Cozy.
"I can! Can you?"
"yes. everything looks the same, except for... a little hazy? I can't describe it."
"Look around!"
Cozy shook her head about, giving Astral a streaky view of the room."
"Woah, slow down, you're making me dizzy! Stop. Look at me," said Astral.
Cozy looked over at Astral.
In Astral's vision, stood a purple unicorn, with a purple and white mane and tail and a yellow bell for a cutie mark, lines radiating from it as if it were ringing. Her eyes were a creepy solid white. "That's me? you're so short, the view is practically from the floor!" she said.
Cozy pouted. "Ok, that's enough, then, or I'll show you real close, what's under your tail! I know I won't like it, but I bet you won't either!" threatened Cozy.
Astral broke the spell and shook her head. "That was so weird! So, what do you want to show me?"
"Tonight," said Cozy. "At the New Year's celebration in town. We're going, right?"
"We're going. Pinkie Pie is putting it on, everypony will be there!"
* * *
Astral opened the door and stepped inside. "Cozy? are you ready to go? The sun is beginning to set, and I hear a lot of ponies are already out there!"
There was no response. The house was quiet.
She looked around, spotting a folded note in Sandra the life-sized plush’s mouth. "Is that for me?" asked Astral, gently taking the note from her mouth with her magic. She opened it and out fell a pink pegasus feather. Astral caught it as it fluttered to the ground.
"dear astral," she read out loud. "please dont wait up for me. i already headed out so i can be at the rite place at the rite time. i hope you can find me. look through my eyes when the fireworks start. i gave you one of my best feathers if that will help. dont worry, it didnt hurt to much, and it will grow back, i hope." She looked the feather over "Best feather, from best filly."
* * *
The festival was in full swing. Everypony was there. The ground shook with bass as music was played by everypony's favorite DJ. The streets were crowded, lined with vendors selling all sorts of carnival fare. Astral worked her way through and opted for the quieter hillside overlooking the lake. Luna’s moon reflected clearly in the softly rippling water. there were few clouds surrounding the area, no doubt strategically placed for the event. Ponies on picnic blankets littered the lawn in a peaceful chatter. Astral found a quiet secluded spot under a tree.
The music stopped as the last song concluded, exciting the crowd. Some announcements were being made, though the lake was too far to hear anything more than smeared echoes. What was clear, however, was the sound of everypony cheering, and beginning to count down from 10.
Astral looked around, but Cozy was nowhere in sight. She leaned back against the tree, closed her eyes and began to concentrate, her horn starting to glow.
Nothing.
"7! 6! 5!"
She pulled out Cozy's feather, holding it close, and giving it a deep whiff. It smelled like Cozy. She closed her eyes and tried again. "There!" She found her.
Dark... A tint of pink. Cozy had her eyes closed.
"1! Happy New Year!" Everypony was shouting at each other while hugs, kisses, nuzzles and boops went around.
The fireworks started, and Astral's vision flooded with bright exploding colors. It was the most amazing, beautiful sight she had ever seen. Her view panned around to see pegasi rushing around, loading cannons and lighting fuses. Others were holding balls with fuses, lighting them and tossing them into the sky below. Cozy was sitting on a cloud. The view stood up and moved to the edge of the cloud, looking down. Astral yelped out, waving her hooves around.
The sky was full of dancing lights and sparkles of all colors going every which way. It was something she never thought in a million years she would ever get to witness, a privilege only for those gifted with flight.
Tears ran down Astral's face.
Fireworks and sparkles were everywhere! It was so beautiful, Astral was seeing and she still couldn't believe. No other pony, earth or unicorn could ever get that close yet here she was with a dynamic front-row seat. Her camera operator bound from cloud to cloud, hanging in the air in the spaces in between. She could almost feel like she herself was floating along. Every once in a while, she would look down and see a set of small pink hooves stepping on pillowy white fluff. For a moment, she wished she was born a pegasus, envying their true freedom. She was growing stronger in her telepathy, but she knew she would never be strong enough to levitate more than an object half her size, let alone herself. She might be able to pull off teleportation if she tried hard enough, but that still came with risks for the average unicorn who didn't specialize in it.
Astral's view then went up to a pyrotechnic pegasus, up into his ear real close. "Huh? Why is she showing me that?" The view backed off and the pony nodded to her. "Oh, she was telling him something. I must find a version of this spell that includes hearing."
The view continued to hop around from cloud to cloud and spin and look at the fireworks. Astral was finally getting used to the disconnect of not feeling motion matching up with her borrowed sight.
Worker ponies began to line up around the edges of the clouds, each strapped with mounts where instead of saddlebags were stacks of tubes. One pegasus few out to the middle, holding colored flags. He waved them around in a fancy pattern at the other worker ponies and then brought them up high. A moment later, he brought them both down quickly, and each pony on the edge of the clouds fired in unison down towards a central space into the sky below.
A huge eruption of brightly colored stars exploded and spread out, some spawning smaller explosions and bursts of their own. It was the big finale.
The lead pegasus looked over at Astral- at Cozy, and circled a flag overhead, then brought it down low quickly.
Cozy took her cue and flew out into the center of the mess of magical stars, diving straight down through it toward the lake. She spun a little bit as she dove watching the stars swirl around her until she had passed them all; the lake was coming up pretty fast.
At the last moment, Cozy pulled up and leveled off, hooves splashing and dragging through the water as she glided over it through the air; too close for comfort. Cozy could fly, but she was nowhere near as skilled as any pegasus athlete. She could very well have made an unexpectedly big splash.
Flying away from the center of the lake, she scanned the shoreline, looking for Astral. There she was, screaming out and hugging the ground; bits of torn-up turf all around her. 'oh, right. this must be terrifying to a pony without wings!' thought Cozy.
She slowed down and glided up to the pale unicorn.
Astral shook her head, breaking the spell. "WOW!" she exclaimed, out of breath. Ponies around her stared at the spectacle. "Cozy, that was amazing!"
"I know!" agreed Cozy. "Did you like it?"
"Cozy, I loved it! Thank you so much! But I thought I was going to die there for a minute."
"Oh," laugh Cozy. "Sorry. It's not scary when you have wings, though. Did my feather help?"
"It was perfect. And it looks like you won't be missing it, either."
"I won't. It's for you! So you can always find me when you need me."
"Aww thank you, Cozy. I'll be sure to keep it somewhere safe," said Astral, pulling Cozy in for a hug. "Happy new year."
"Happy new year, Astral. Maybe we can go flying again sometime."
"You know, I think I might like that. It's too bad I can't share my magic with you."
"I already had magic once. I'll keep my wings."
"Ok, well I'll tell you what. Next time I am feeling too happy, I'll be sure to save some and give it to you when you're down, ok?"
"Ok."
"Let's go home."
"My wings are tired. Can I ride?"
"Yeah."
* * *
Cozy laid on Astral's back as they made their way home. She wasn't used to being so active all the way up in the clouds.
Astral made light conversation with the sleepy filly. "Were you really going to show me my butt?"
"...Maybe." Cozy was too tuckered out to put too much effort into her side of the conversation.
"That's gross, Cozy. My poop comes out of there." A passing pony gave her a strange look.
Cozy laugh, tiredly. "...but why? I poop from there too."
"You poop from my butt?"
Cozy laughed again. "No! Why are you talking about pooping?!?"
"You're the one who wanted to see where it comes from!" teased Astral.
"No I didn't!"
"You were gonna show me!"
"Only because you... Shut up!"
"You shut up!" said Astral, playfully as she shouldered up, nudging Cozy's face that was resting on it. "You're a poop."
"You're a poop!"
"A stinky smelly, wet poop."
"Eww. I only poop ...normal. It doesn't even... stink." Her words were getting quieter and slower.
"Oh, it doesn't now?"
"I used to be conceded, but now I'm perfect," yawned Cozy.
"Cozy, that doesn't even... Cozy?" Astral could feel the filly shifting and sliding to one side. "Hup!" She shifted her over so as to not fall off.
Cozy snored softly on Astral's back. Astral was glad she was a unicorn after all. Levitating Cozy into her bed was going to be a lot easier to do without waking her. She wasn't even sure how the other races did such a thing; if they ever did it at all.
* * *
"Goodnight, Cozy Glow."