My gliding strategy helps me to make it eighty percent to my destination. I have to admit, it felt liberating and exhilarating while it lasted despite my initial fears.

However, that last twenty percent is slow going by hoof. That activity alone consumes most of the remaining daylight hours in Horse-Land.

Before the light fully fades, I lift my locket with my left wing and gaze fondly upon it. As I press onward, my eyes glaze over due to the happy, nostalgic memories I have with my mother.

For instance, there was this one time I was busy washing dishes at the sink. My mother sneaks up behind me like a ninja then suddenly embraces me from behind.

“Hey!” I cried out, startled.

“Gotcha!” my mother tells me playfully and triumphantly. “Sneak attack hug mission successful! I have gained a level! That's at least a plus five to my 'love' stat for you.”

“You also almost knocked me over and made me drop the dishes!” I had complained to her.

“Mmm!” My mother pressed her face into my back and wiggled it from side to side. Since I stood on a small stepping stool, my back was nearly to the level of her face but she still had to stoop down a little. “Oh Cozy, I love you so much! You really do make my life complete.”

Warmth filled my heart as well as an aching degree of gratitude.

I told her, “Please, Mom. Please squeeze me tighter.”

“Gladly!” she said happily then proceeded to do so.

I clasped her clasped hands on my chest, squeezed it, and pressed it into me further. As she squeezed me, it felt like she squeezed warm tears from my body which leaked up to my eyes due to the increased pressure.

Please let this be real! Please don't ever wake up from this wonderful dream!

My mind turns to another fond memory with my mother, this one very early in our relationship together.

I yawned and stretched as I walked into the kitchen while still wearing my pajamas. Back then I was still only eleven years old. I almost said something as I walked into the kitchen, but I got distracted by my mother's singing as she watered the plants in the kitchen.

“Give a little and you . . .

get a little and you . . .

give a little and you . . .

get a little and you . . .

“Oh my!” My mother gasped and blinked at me in surprise when she finally noticed me in the kitchen. “Good morning, Honey! Did you sleep well? I made you breakfast!”

“I noticed!” I told her happily. “Something smells gooood, and I am starving! What's for breakfast, Mommy?”

“OH!” My mother suddenly turned to me with a start and placed her hand in front of her mouth. She almost dropped the can of water that she was using to hydrate the plants in the kitchen.

It quickly dawned on me that something I said startled her, but I wasn’t sure what. I even asked her back then.

“What?” I asked her in a little alarm. “What did I say?”

Please don't tell me I offended her already! Please don't tell me she's about to kick me out!

My mother just stared at me for four seconds of silence. After that, happy tears leaked from her eyes. She set the water can aside then raced to me a bit urgently. Once she arrived, she knelt in front of me and fondly kissed my forehead.

I appreciated the gesture, and it was reassuring, but I was also still confused. What did I do to deserve this? Whatever it was, I wanted to know so I could keep on doing it!

Leaning her head back enough so that I could see her teary, happy face, she reached a purple hand beneath her glasses and wiped her tears away one side at a time. She sniffed a bit as she finally said, “I'm sorry, Cozy. It's just that . . . this is the very first time you called me 'Mommy'!”

“Oh!” I blinked, realizing that she was probably right.

“When you said that, that fact suddenly hit me so hard.”

My mother suddenly embraced me.

“And it's true!” my mother said with explosive joy. “I am your mother from now on, and I will always be your mother! From here on, we're on the same team.

“My Cozy! My special, special little girl!”

I embraced her in return. Moisture rose to my own eyes. My thoughts kept cycling on how amazing it felt to have a mother once again. To be the center of attention once again. To be hugged, loved, and told that I am special.

I had doubted it for so long at the orphanage.

I bawled on her shoulder, releasing years of pent up pain and pressure.

I needed this so badly! I kept getting surprised to discover how much I needed that.

My eyes focus back in the present as I lower my locket and tuck the wing that held it on my back again.

“I am your mother from now on, and I will always be your mother! From now on, we're on the same team,” my mother repeats in my mind.

Never again! Never alone again!

My pace increases from a trot to a canter. My face becames focused and determined.

It is dark when I make it back to Ponyville, which serves to my advantage. With the sun set and the moon up, most of the ponies in Ponyville do not roam the streets anymore. The few who still do are easy to hide from due to the darker lighting conditions.

Still, I'm in a very bad mood. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm cranky. My legs feel as heavy as iron.

I cannot recall when I last felt this exhausted.

The interesting thing about it is, I seem to have a naturally higher constitution as a pony. I imagine it could be higher still if I were a full-blown earth pony but, even as a pegasus, my heart beats as strong as horses, which is a whole lot stronger than my normal human heart.

Despite this, I am still exhausted! The ordeals of my day pushes my higher limits far beyond comfortable capacity!

On top of that is all of my draining emotional stress. I wish I could dismiss that, but it is still among the reasons that cracks my sanity today.

Nevertheless, I think I did pretty well for myself after considering all the facts. I leaped in mostly unprepared to an alien world and explored it in an adorable alien body. I managed to penetrate a royal castle to find out the truth then later escaped while the castle was on high alert.

I had no allies and very few resources, and yet I managed to outmaneuver all of my opponents so far.

I only have a few more moves left to go before I can checkmate this particular game.

I would have chosen to wait for nightfall before sneaking back into the college dormitory anyway, but it turns out that nightfall descends before I arrive back in town regardless.

As I approach that building, I get an opportunity to examine it more carefully despite the lower lighting conditions. That makes me realize that the building is actually a giant purple crystal tree.

Huh. Maybe it really did grow straight from the ground.

Judging by the architecture of the rest of the buildings in this town and the city of Canterlot, I determine that there is an eighty-nine percent chance that the purple crystal tree is a rather unique building in Horse-Land. For it to stand out as much as it does, it must have a fascinating origin story.

Unfortunately, I do not have time to explore that story. I need to get back home.

The front door of the giant crystal tree appears quite heavy. This is why surprise claims me when it opens rather easily upon my attempt. It's not even locked.

But a part of me expected that, just like how I expect an ambush waiting for me near the portal.

Entering into the building, I find no other creature roaming the crystal hallways. All doors are shut. It's too quiet here, but again . . . I expect this. There is a genuine possibility that the entire building is indeed evacuated of every creature except those waiting at the portal, else every creature inside has been told to remain quiet when I pass by.

Whatever. I'll let them think I am oblivious to this fact. If every creature decides to stay out of my way, so much, the better.

Although I seem to focus exclusively on my destination, my ears keep swiveling every which way. I secretly remain on high alert, just in case any creature decides to ambush me in the hallways. If they do, I decide to resist. I won't make my final stand until I'm closer to the other end of the chessboard.

Thankfully, nobody dares to oppose me.

I make it all the way to the storage room. When I arrive, I glare at my old nemesis.

Hello Doorknob, my old friend!

Remember me? You almost broke my neck last time we met, but ah! I've learned some neat new tricks since last we crossed paths! Say hello to my new little friend, Miss Right Wing.

Without any trouble, I grasp the doorknob with my right wing, turn it, then push it open.

“Knock-knock!” I call inside with a sinister, playful tone. “Golly, I sure hope no pony is in here waiting to ambush little ol’ me, because I am so off my guard right now.”

No answer to my sarcastic comment.

I shrug carelessly then stroll in.

I only make it eight steps into the room when I hear a magical tingling sound behind me. I look back and see my old friend, Mr. Doorknob, glowing with a magenta glow. Not only does the door shut, but it sounds like it locks seconds later.

I roll my eyes.

Of course.

One thing that does surprise me, however, is when I get snagged by a yellow rope that wraps around my body and pulls my wings tightly to my side.

“Ouch!” I exclaim.

“If you were expecting an ambush here, why did you come back?” asks a purple mare that I cannot identify. Whomever this is, she is a unicorn. Unlike Twilight, the purple hide of this mare is a much lighter shade. Similar to Twilight, this mare also has a different color streak running through her mane and tail, but it's teal.

For a second I am about to open my mouth to ask who she is but I hesitate as I sense more movement around me. Looking back, I see another mare emerge from hiding. This is an orange mare who is holding the other end of the rope with her mouth. She's apparently an earth pony. Unlike the other purple mare, I do kind of recognize the second mare.

“Applejack? Is that you?” I ask her in astonishment and recognition.

The orange mare wearing the brown cowboy hat spits out her rope which she quickly coils around her left hoof.

“Darn tooten!” Applejack confirms. “I see ya met my human counterpart, else ya wouldn't have recognized me. Too bad she didn't tell ya about the importance of honesty.”

I briefly struggle within the ropes until I hear more movement in the room. First my ears flick in that direction, then my gaze. I see two more emerge behind large, scattered objects in the room. One of them is Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the other seems to be some kind of dragon . . . maybe? Whomever he is, he's standing upright. He appears to be a teenager in general appearance, much like me. Unlike me, he has a purple hide, green spikes descending from his head and down his spine, and he is very buff, especially in the upper part of his body. It's as if he is used to carrying lots of heavy luggage with unusual frequency.

“Any more of you ready to spring on me in this little surprise party of ours?” I ask while I droop my eyelids halfway. “You do know my birthday is not until late December, right?”

“No. It's just the four of us for now,” the unidentified purple mare announces.

“And we're all we need to keep a tab on ya,” Applejack assures. “Though we can call upon our other friends if need be, so don't ya give us any more fuss.”

“I still can't get over the fact of how much more adorable you all look as ponies!” I say in a bit of a giddy way. “Except . . . I never met the two of you.” I look back and forth between the purple mare and the dragon.

The unidentified purple unicorn gestures to herself with a hoof. “I am Starlight Glimmer. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of me, but I am surprised you don’t recognize my good friend here, Spike.”

I look at the dragon in shock. “Wait! Spike? Did you say Spike?”

“I see you heard of me!” Spike brags as he puts his claw fists on his hips in a bold, heroic pose. “Then again, I'm not too surprised. Old Spike the Brave and Glorious is hard to forget.” His expression dissolves to a more normal level. “Having said that, I guess I'm not too surprised that you don't recognize me. I am a dog in the other universe, after all, but my voice, at least, is a dead giveaway, right?”

I shake my head at him. “No. This is the first time I've ever met you in any form.”

“Really?” Spike squints his left eye at me in suspicion. “But . . . you do live with the other Twilight, don't you? She has a pet dog that looks like me whenever I cross over to the other side and, unlike other normal dogs, he got zapped by something that helps him to talk too.”

“I have seen a few video footages of your counterpart on a computer,” I admit honestly, “but . . . I'm sorry to tell you this, but the Spike from my universe passed away before my mother adopted me.” I look down sadly. “I still can't shake the feeling that's precisely why my mother adopted me. She wanted to fill the hole in her heart that losing her old friend had caused.”

Spike's eyes exploded wide open as he exclaimed, “WHAT?! Are you being serious right now?”

I eye him sadly. I'm not even faking.

“So you are telling me that I'm dead in the other universe?” Spike asks in utter astonishment and horror. He then looks at his friend, Twilight. “Did you know about this too?”

Now it is Twilight's turn to look down sadly, but she otherwise doesn't have the heart to say anything.

“How did this happen?!” Spike asks me in a somewhat demanding tone.

“I don't know,” I reply sincerely. “I never had the heart to ask my mother. Every time something brings up the subject, she gets all sad, and I hate to see my mother sad.”

“Spike,” Applejack began in a sympathetic tone, “maybe ya other self simply passed away from old age. While it's true that dragons can live for ages, dogs are another story entirely. They don't have the lifespan that we ponies do, or probably even humans, for that matter. When I buried Winona, that was the gosh hardest thing I ever had to do.”

“I, uh . . .” Spike rubbed his left arm with his right claw, “. . . think I need a minute to process this. I kind of feel like someone stepped on my grave.”

“Take all the time you need, Spike,” Twilight sympathetically invited.

Spike leaves the room a short while later. No pony spoke until then.

Thinning out the number of opponents working against me may work in my favor, but I meant every word I said to Spike. It honestly does feel kind of good to finally meet the one my mother adored before me, in a way.

“I repeat my question, if you expected to be ambushed here, why did you return?” Starlight asks me firmly.

“I expected the ambush because I knew that you all knew that I had to come here to get back home, which is precisely what I am here to do,” I answer. “Also, I learned earlier that Princess Twilight can teleport. Failing that, she can fly, so there is no way in hell that I could beat her to this destination. Once she's here, I figured she'd recruit at least some of her minions to prepare for my arrival.

“Nevertheless, I had to come since I am desperate to get back home.” I look down a bit. “I want to be with my mom again. I want to go back to my world. Horse-Land is a neat place to visit but it's not where I belong. That much is very clear to me now.”

“I couldn't agree more,” Twilight concurs. “That said, there are a few things I need to make clearer to you.”

“Save your breath, Twilight!” I spat. “I won't believe a word you say! Why should I believe you when I'm still under duress? You show up, spring upon me, and have your minion here throw a rope on me!”

Applejack winces in annoyance. “Dang it! I am tired of hearing ya call me that! I am her friend, dagnabbit, not her 'minion'.” Applejack lifts her head up high. “But I s'pose ya never understood something like that? Our Cozy Glow never did either.”

“Applejack, enough!” Twilight commands. “This Cozy is not our Cozy. She was raised in another world, and she's a much sweeter girl.”

“You sure about that, Twilight?” Applejack asks Twilight skeptically.

Twilight places a hoof on her chest as she declares, “Believe me, I was skeptical too at first, but she's done nothing other than trying to make her mother very proud of her. She gets lots of good grades, she studies very hard, has lots of hobbies, and surrounds herself with many wonderful friends.”

“Sounds like you in a nutshell,” Starlight realizes with a grin. “Wow. She really is your daughter in that universe. Oh, I mean . . . her daughter. The other you.”

“I know what you meant,” Twilight said to Starlight with a bit of a fond smile, then resumed speaking to the rest of her present minions. “She even helps out her school as Student Council President!” Twilight announces excitedly. “That's a lot of work for a growing young girl, especially when it's tacked on top of her own work in school, but she hoofles it very well! She does this so she can help lots of students at a time and make her world a better place, just like we are doing with our own world right now.”

“Student Council President?!” Applejack balks incredulously. “Can't you hear yourself, Twilight? She went straight after power, just like she did in our universe!”

“I'm a leader too,” Twilight reminds Applejack. “There's nothing inherently evil about that.”

“Yeah, but this is Cozy Glow we're talk'n about, Twilight! Open ya eyes! Ya can't seriously be this dense!”

“You didn't seek out power, it was thrust upon you,” Starlight points out. “I seriously doubt that one can become ‘Student Council President’ by accident, though. Just like in our world, one has to choose to be in the running for that. As such, this was a conscious decision on her part, and that suggests ambition at the very least. Does that sound familiar?”

“Gals! This is not the same thing!” Twilight insists as she spreads her wings for a moment. “This is Cozy Glow, but not our Cozy Glow. It's no fairer for us to judge her based on the decisions of her pony self than it is for us to judge ourselves based on what our human counterparts do. They may be very similar, but they live vastly different lives. We need to be fair and reasonable about this!”

“Like you were fair and reasonable with my pony self!” I bark harshly. “You talk about fairness and equality, Princess of Lies, yet you have me tied up right now. I bet you're irritated as hell that I'm still flesh and bone right now.”

“Our Cozy was more dangerous than you can possibly imagine!” Applejack argues. “You have no right to condemn us until you fully understand what crimes she was guilty of.”

“Still, you didn't give her a choice before turning her into a statue, did you?” I ask back at Applejack in a harsh tone.

“We will,” Twilight suddenly assures which catches me off guard. I look upon her in shock.

Even her “friends” are stunned.

“Twilight, you . . . you can't be serious!” Starlight exclaims in shock.

“I am!” Twilight assures firmly. “I've thought long and hard about this for years. Those three being stoned have always bothered me, and Cozy Glow is a pony. A pony citizen of my country, and I've let her down for all these years. I've been a terrible princess!”

“Need I remind you, Twilight, she and her 'companions' tried to wreck all of Equestria!” Applejack brought up. “They stole Discord's magic for a short while there. They ruined your first coronation. They put every pony against each other. Why in the world would you give them another chance to ruin our lives?”

“Because I am not like Lord Tirek, nor am I like Queen Chrysalis, or Cozy Glow, or King Sombra, or even Princess Celestia. I'm not any of those. Instead, I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Equestria and of Friendship. I don't rule my land with fear and tyranny, I rule through kindness, generosity, honesty, loyalty, joy, and hard-working leadership. All of you taught me that!” The princess gestures back and forth between both Applejack and Starlight. “Imagine what our world would be like if I was always as judgmental as some of the other rulers. Imagine if I never gave Starlight Glimmer a chance!” She gestures to Starlight which made Starlight look down thoughtfully.

“Like it or not,” Twilight went on, “Cozy Glow is one of my citizens, but I didn't give her a chance. We just encased her in stone. No trial. No second thoughts. We just washed our hooves of the whole affair ever since then, except it kept me up many nights thinking about this and wishing there is a better way to hoofle this.”

“If you free Cozy, you'd be freeing all of them,” Applejack warns.

“I know,” Twilight says in a tone of acceptance. “I intend to help them, too.”

Is this conversation seriously happening right now? Why would-

I narrow my eyes a bit.

I get it. Twilight is trying to catch me off guard. She knows me and knows what I want. She'll say anything to get me to drop my defenses! Perhaps that is required to erase my memories of this place. Maybe I have to sort of be willing.

Well I'm not buying it! I'm not a fool! This whole debate is clearly staged.

However, it might be to my advantage to pretend to be convinced.

“If you're seriously considering this, at least take a few precautions,” Starlight advises as she looks back at Twilight. “Maybe we can construct an anti-magic collar for them to wear made of Queen Chrysalis's former throne.”

I raise an eyebrow at that suggestion because I'm missing too much context to understand how that might help.

“I am thinking the same thing,” Twilight agrees. “Just because we're willing to rehabilitate them, doesn't mean I'm also willing to risk the security of the rest of my citizens. Aside from keeping them trapped in stone, I fully intend to take all reasonable precautions and I want them all set up before we free them from stone.”

“Do you really think we can do this, Twilight?” Applejack asks with doubt twinged with a bit of hope.

“We should look into the history of all three first,” Starlight advises as she rubs the bottom of her chin with a hoof in a thoughtful pose. “Cozy is probably the easiest of the three to deal with in this regard. We just have to research where in Equestria she came from. She's young so her history is probably not too long or difficult to track down.

“With the other two, however, we quickly run into monumental problems.

“Lord Tirek is downright ancient. Older, even, than Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. Traces of his history probably have gone cold a long time ago. Most of that time he spent in Tartarus. That much we do know, but there is not much we can usefully glean from that.”

Starlight looks at Twilight. “If you are really serious about redeeming Tirek, the best lead we have is to find his brother, Scorpan. Him, more than any other, might offer us valuable insight into Tirek's mind. Scorpan may also help us find a motive that will cause Tirek to listen, and it should also be very easy to convince Scorpan to help us redeem his brother. He tried to do that himself a long time ago. I'm sure he'd gladly welcome more allies to the cause.

“As for how to find Scorpan, I suggest we ask Discord. Discord seemed to know a thing or two about Tirek's past. He may offer us valuable leads. Discord could even instantly teleport us to Scorpan directly, or vice versa . . . but something tells me that Discord won't make it that easy for us.”

“These are great ideas!” Twilight says brightly. “Good thinking, Starlight!”

Starlight gazes forward as she continues her thoughtful look. “With Queen Chrysalis, we have a different problem. She's not nearly as old as Lord Tirek. About three centuries seems to be a rough figure.

“Her trail may not be as old, but the problem with her is her shapeshifting ability. Any time she didn't spend with the changeling hive is almost completely lost to us. Not even Thorax's pack knows much about her, and this is likely on purpose. Chrysalis was constantly paranoid, even with her own hive. It seems to me that she was always on her guard in case her hive ever betrayed her, which they did.

“From what little we can gather about her, she was most likely a unicorn before her transformation into a changeling. That was the form she took the most whenever she disguised herself as a pony, probably because it is the one most familiar to her. She also knew better how to manipulate that breed more than the other two.

“Also, we know she was way better at magic compared to nearly every other changeling in her hive. That is because she saw magic as a path to power, and that is a power she did not willingly share, even among her own kind. All the better to keep them in line.

“Dark magic was likely involved to cause her initial transformation into a changeling, and from there she laid a clutch to spawn the others.

“As for her initial motives for the transformation, it seems as if she was betrayed by somepony she once deeply cared about, and she despised love and friendship ever since except to feed upon it.

“I also have a strong hunch that she was always arrogant, even as a former pony. We might want to look carefully among past unicorn nobles from around three centuries ago. That may provide us hints to her true origin story.

“Of course, most of this is speculation. Queen Chrysalis's history is quite elusive, and it is likely she'd not be honest and/or forthcoming if we ask her directly. More than anyone else, she seems determined to bury her past because of shame? Humiliation? Anger? Bitterness? All of the above?”

Starlight looks back at Twilight. “If you recall, I tried to reach a hoof out to her myself, attempting to convince her to change. She slapped my hoof away from her and swore vengeance instead.

“Not an encouraging sign to be sure, but a lesson we should remember nonetheless. If you really wish to redeem her, expect similar resistance from her in the future, at least at first.”

“I think humility might be the best path for her, regardless of her history,” Twilight suspects. “She doesn't trust others because she'd never put herself in anypony's mercy in the first place, but what if she had no choice and it turned out everypony is kind to her when they don't have to be?

“It may take a while to thaw the ice around her heart, but we'll give it time. It takes however long it takes.

“We can't trust her with power, obviously, at least not at first . . . but in time she may come to see the error of her ways and the advantages of Thorax's pack's way of living. There is always hope if we don't give up on them.

“As the Princess of Friendship, it is my mission to spread friendship to anyone who needs it, and these three have needed it most desperately for a long time now.”

“It kind of makes me wonder.” Starlight looks thoughtful. “King Sombra destroyed the Tree of Harmony when he attacked Equestria. Sure it's reborn, sort of, but it doesn't seem the same ever since. It's almost as if it forgot the knowledge it had before.

“If King Sombra hadn't destroyed it, do you think the Cutie Map would have warned us of potential friendship problems between Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis?”

I feel dizzy. So much of this information is going over my head, and I despise this fact.

“It's hard to say right now,” Twilight laments.

“What are your plans for Cozy anyhow?” Applejack asks which attracts my attention as well. That's probably why she refines her statement with her next sentence. “I mean, our Cozy. The pony Cozy. What's your plan for her?”

“That depends on what her parents or family say on this matter, if we can find them,” Twilight answers. “If it turns out they are not available, like they aren't for this Cozy, then I'll follow my counterpart's heroic example and adopt Cozy Glow myself.”

Everyone in the room is stunned at that announcement, including me.

“Adopt Cozy Glow? That seems extreme even for you, Twilight,” Starlight says in astonishment.

“It worked for my counterpart with her daughter,” Twilight returns. “You don't know this Cozy like I do. My counterpart showered this Cozy with love and affection, and she turned out way better in life than ours ever did. What if that was our Cozy's problem to begin with? What if she simply needed loving guidance to be a better pony?”

Twilight looks forward blankly. “Back at Canterlot Garden, this Cozy accused me of not knowing a thing about her counterpart's history which caused her to be such a monster. Later on, it occurred to me that she's right. I don't know why our Cozy went mad with power but, if I learn the answer to that question, maybe I can help her. Maybe I can redeem her.”

Talk-talk-TALK!

I'll admit that you're good with pretty speeches that makes others feel all warm and fuzzy inside, Twilight Sparkle, but how good are you with actions? Until you can prove your words, you're just spouting a bunch of useless nonsense!

Don't try to con a con, Twilight Sparkle! You're really not as good at it as you think, especially when compared to me!

“Such nice, pretty words!” I spat acidly. “It makes me feel a cozy glow inside my chest. It almost makes one forget all the crimes you have done, but this one is kind of personal to me.

“Don't think I have forgotten that you're holding me back against my will," I continue. “Deceive your 'friends' all you want, but you are not going to get me to drop my guard!

“I see into your mind! You seek to turn me into stone as well, and you plan to tear my mother's love away from me. Well I WON'T LET YOU!” I screech.

Twilight tilts her head at me as she asks, “Now how do you think I could possibly tear your mother's love away from you?”

I shift my head back as I say, “Isn't it obvious? It's written all over your ugly little face! You seek to tell my mother about all the bad stuff my pony self did in this world. You wish to tell her not to trust me and that I'm unworthy of her love!”

“Your mother already knows all of that,” Twilight informs me.

My eye pupils shrink to the size of pins. Once again I am stunned, and I am not faking.

“I know this because I'm the one who told her this,” Twilight goes on. “That happened shortly after her Spike died. Sunset Shimmer used her computer to share with me the tragic news, so I paid her a visit to offer my condolences.

“While I was there, I happened to stumble upon a newspaper article that said something about you and your abusive parents.”

“What?!” I ask with a tone thick with ice.

“Your parents got arrested for acts of violence, and there were no relatives to take care of you, so you went to the orphanage. I am very concerned that I'll discover a similar pattern with the Cozy in our world.

“Back then," Twilight continues. "I was stunned at this news I received in your world, and your mother noticed my reaction. She asked what was wrong.

“Imagine, she just lost her long time friend, and then she asks me what was wrong! I couldn't believe the irony. I came there to comfort her!

“But, since she asked, I told her everything. Everything I ever knew about you which, in hindsight, is much less than I previously thought.”

Twilight looks to her side at nothing.

“I told her about everything that happened with your pony self in Equestria and that she should be aware that a similar danger might rise in you as well.”

Twilight looks back at me. “But where I saw only danger, she saw a lost child who desperately needed a good home with a warm and loving parent.”

Twilight places a hoof to her chest as she says, “I was stunned! I asked her why she would even consider adopting a child who could turn out to be a vicious monster like the one in my world was.

“Her reply was, 'Because, Twilight, unlike you, I almost became a monster too. In fact, I did for a short while. She was called Midnight Sparkle, and she was power-hungry for magic, but someone offered their hand to me in friendship and showed me there is a better way.

“'What if that's all this Cozy needs too? What if that's all your Cozy ever needed as well?

“'We may look and act very similar, Twilight, but I think our methods differ quite a bit. I'm a scientist at heart. Always have been and I always will be. I like to test my hypothesis before leaping to conclusions.

“'So my mind is set. I'm going to adopt this child and shower her with all the love and attention that I think she needs. Moreover, I'll shower her with the affection that I think I need to express as well. I can think of no better way to honor Spike's memory than by being supportive and loyal to someone else.

“'Then, instead of her growing up as a monster, she'll be a hero instead . . . just like me and my friends.'”

Okay, this is getting to me hardcore for one very specific reason . . . it really does sound like my mother.

Moreover, it also makes sense when I add up all the anomalies I detected about my mother in the past.

For example, why the sudden interest in me? That came out of nowhere! Sure, I was desperate for that attention, but I didn't seriously expect to receive it. I was abandoned not long before that. I thought it was my fault. That I did something to be unworthy of love. That there is something inherently wrong with me. That I am some irredeemable monster.

I close my eyes when I recall the first time she showed me to my bedroom.

“Keep them closed!” my new mother instructed as she led me by the hand to somewhere. “No peeking! I'm warning you, I can see you.”

“I'm not going to peek!” my eleven-year-old self insisted. “Please don't lead me into any walls or something. I'm trusting you. That does not come easy for me.”

“Don't worry. We're almost there.”

I heard a door open. I felt myself pulled through the threshold. There was a bit of a temperature difference. The air was a bit warmer. Also, there was a curious smell in the air. It was sort of like some kind of perfume. Bubble gum scent was the closest comparison I could make at the time.

“Okay then . . . we're here! You can open your eyes now.”

Finally!

I opened my eyes, then I gasped in astonishment as I beheld my new room for the first time.

“What do you think?” my mother asked in delight as she twirled happily to the cloudy-looking bed in the center of the room. She grasped one of its poles as she sat down on the corner of the bed. “Do you like it?” she pressed. “Be honest now. Miss Winda told me that you like childish and cutesy things, so I did my best to accommodate you with this. What do you think?”

I was speechless! My wide eyes swept through the room in heavy shock, absorbing all the details I saw before me.

“Everything you see here is all for you!” my mother told me cheerfully. “Everything, including me.”

I focused on her.

“Here.” She stood up while she pulled one of many pillows from the bed. This one was (and still is) shaped as a red heart symbol. It looked like the kind of gift one buys on Valentines Day. She approached me with it until she stood before me. She thrust the pillow to my chest. “Take it,” she commands softly. “It's all for you. You hold everything in your hands now, Cozy Glow. All that I am. All of my heart. Take it. I give it to you freely.”

I numbly and obediently grasped the red velvet pillow. I squeezed it absently, then closed my eyes in pleasure.

It's so fluffy and soft! I love it! I love it! I love it!

Then I collapsed to my knees and bawled over my pillow.

This reaction alarmed my new mother. She immediately knelt in front of me and asked in concern, “Honey, what's wrong?”

“EVERYTHING!” I cried loudly at her. “The pillows, the blankets, the room, you . . . everything!

“Why are you being so nice to me? What did I do to deserve this? What's in it for you?”

“Your love, I hope,” my mother answered simply.

I bawled even harder. I crouched low over my new heart pillow while I squeezed it tightly to my chest.

I was no longer capable of talking at that moment.

My new mother embraced me.

“I know, Cozy, I know. Coming from your background, I know this is all going to take a lot of adjustment. For the both of us, actually. But we'll get through this . . . together. You and me.”

Her embrace tightened around me, almost to the point of desperation, but she did not harm me. Mother could never harm me.

“It doesn't matter what you think you deserve or not, my dear Cozy. This is your fate from now on. I give it to you of my own free will. This I promise!”

With a shaking hand, I reached back to her.

This felt too good to be true. This felt too likely that she'd fade away and I'd wake up from this wonderful dream.

But if that really was a dream, I didn't ever want to wake up!

I open my eyes slowly back in the present.

It is true that my mother seemed unusually desperate to please me. If she was doing it in the hopes that I would avoid the fate of my pony self, as well as a fate she nearly succumbed to herself, then all of this almost adds up.

Almost . . . except for one major flaw in Princess Twilight's story.

My parents, as in my birth parents, have never abused me. In fact, I can't recall a single moment when they did something even close to such a thing, ever! They were literally perfect in every possible way.

But, in a way, that was the precise problem. In addition, outside interference compounded this issue that drove my original parents away.

Instead of them, it was I who was flawed. I was never good enough to justify their love. I suppose that was inevitable, for who can possibly compare to true perfection?

This is why I struggle to become and remain a perfectionist. If I can become as perfect as my original parents were, then maybe my new mother won't see my flaws and abandon me as well.

I struggle with this every single day of my life. I need to at least appear to be a good girl in order to keep all that I've gained.

Anger seeps deep in my soul. I am secretly livid with fury that Princess Twilight DARED to talk shit about my birth parents! She doesn't know how good they were to me, but I did not know how to properly play the game of affection back then. Because of that mistake, it cost me everything I had before. That is a mistake I am determined not to repeat.

However, despite my fury, I have to play my hand carefully right now. I'm so close to check-mating this game. I can see it. I can feel it.

“If everything you say is true, then prove it! Let me go home!” I demand. “Step aside and let me use the portal so I can return to where I belong.”

“You can't use the portal,” Starlight Glimmer corrects. “It's keyed to only respond to unicorn magic, and even then . . . one has to know the right spell to operate it.”

I feign a shocked expression, then look crestfallen. “Wow. You ponies really have thought of everything.”

I glare at Twilight. “I guess you are holding all the keys to my fate, Twilight, so what will you do with me?

“I dare you to show me your true colors! I dare you to reveal to all of your so-called 'friends' what you are really made of! Show me, and them, what you really planned for me all along.”

My accusing tone causes Twilight to pretend to stiffen in pain, but a look of fake acceptance settles into her face a moment later.

I know what is really going on here. Both of us are bluffing each other. The only question is, who will come out on top? She does have more pieces on the board than me for the moment, but her problem is she worked herself into a corner. In order to maintain that fake “friendly” persona that she has fooled everyone else with, she needs to pretend to be merciful.

And that plays her right into my hands!

“Very well, Cozy. If you wish to go home, we have no right to stop you,” she says.

shadow queen advances from C-4 to C-6, check

Last move. Make it count, Twilight!

“Twilight, are you sure this is the right thing?” Applejack asks in doubt but she at least sounds hopeful. She's skeptical but she wants to believe that I can be ‘redeemed’. I think I'll need to give the apple farmer a little credit. Her caution is well warranted considering the history that she knows of, but her foolish hope is proving to be her undoing right now.

I won't make that same mistake!

Twilight merely nods in confirmation.

Applejack sighs. “Alright. I'll trust ya. I don't trust Cozy, but I trust ya. You've never steered us wrong, Twilight.”

Applejack approaches and finally unties the rope.

It's about damn time, you filthy peasant!

Of course, I'm one to talk right now. When I get back, I am in desperate need of a shower.

And food.

And sleep.

And crying. Oh my god, there will be plenty of that tonight! This journey is so stressful! Productive, but still stressful.

“Cozy, I want you to know something,” Twilight began, drawing my attention back to her. “You weren't some random name drawn from a hat. Your mother chose you for a very specific reason, and she has been nothing but proud of you ever since. I,” she placed a hoof to her chest, “was the one who was skeptical, but that is only because of what I went through in this dimension with our Cozy . . . but you have shown me the error of my ways as well.

“Because of you, I have realized I made a grave mistake with one of my own pony citizens, and I'll correct that oversight very shortly.”

Twilight places a hoof to my shoulder. I flinch at it, feeling like I'm being violated, but I grit my teeth and bear it . . . for now.

“I may be the Princess of Friendship, but there are always more friendship lessons for me to learn,” she expresses to me warmly.

Yeah. Keep telling yourself that, bitch! Maybe if you do it enough, you'll even deceive yourself.

“Today, you have taught me a valuable lesson about love and forgiveness. I need to always remain vigilant to see the best in other creatures where nopony else does. This is why I have such a great track record of turning my enemies into friends, but I can always use a reminder that I need to improve that habit even more.

“Thank you, Cozy, from the bottom of my heart. You've given me something today that I can never repay, but I'll do my best to make sure your counterpart's life benefits from this newfound wisdom. Her, Tirek, Chrysalis, and any other creature that is lost and needs our help.”

“You're all talk, Twilight,” I say bitterly. “I'm still standing here in your world when I told you where I wanted to be. If you want to continue your conversation with me, do it in my room where I can at least feel safer.

“Are you brave enough to step into my arena, Twilight?” I dare her.

Also foolish enough?

Twilight nods in acceptance. “Sure thing, Cozy Glow. Let's get you home and back to your mother.”

Twilight turns to face her machine but, as soon as she makes a few steps towards it, Starlight places a hoof on her friend's chest to halt her. That causes me to focus on Starlight as well, a potential obstacle in my path.

“Hold on, Twilight,” Starlight says in a cautious tone. “Something is not right here.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asks her purple friend innocently.

“I believe we should really think this through,” Starlight advises. “Pony or not, this is Cozy Glow we're talking about. She's at least capable of being as devious as her pony self, and yet she's suddenly cooperative?

“Something about this does not add up.” Starlight looks at her friend. “She's the one who kept suggesting, multiple times, that you take her home. The important question right now is . . . why?”

I narrow my eyes at Starlight a bit, but the truth is I'm starting to respect her. Finally one pony in this room who is not a complete moron.

Twilight spreads her wings a bit in offense as she says, “Because she's in an alien world, using an alien body, and surrounded by aliens who could potentially mistreat her. On top of that, she already is aware of what happened to her pony self. We told her that we plan to free her pony self soon, but she's got no proof of this.

“She's just scared, Starlight. She just wants to go to the comfort of her own home and mother. Can you blame her, especially after everything she learned today?”

Starlight squints as she says, “Normally I wouldn't blame her, but I have to factor in everything else I know about her.

“Twilight, this one is actually good at deception. She's at least as good at lying as Applejack is at honesty, if not more so. On top of this, she's a calculating and manipulative genius. We fell for her tricks before and it put Equestria on its knees . . . twice! I think danger on that kind of scale warrants at least a little bit of caution on our part.”

“Then what are you suggesting, Starlight? That we keep her here as our prisoner?” Twilight asks with rising fury in her voice.

“Not forever!” Starlight strongly assures. “Just until we know it's safe to release her.

“I think we should reverse our strategy. Instead of taking her home, I think we should bring her mother here to help console her, then we'll all talk about everything and put every card we have on the table in plain view of everypony. Complete transparency for all to make sure no wrong decision is made.”

“Starlight, they have lives of their own to lead back home,” Twilight argues. “Keeping her here is already causing her to fail her duties both as a student and Student Council President. She not only has responsibilities to herself, but to others as well. Now you are asking to make the problem even worse by inviting the other me into this world? For how long? She has a job to do in her world as well, just as I do here in Equestria.”

Starlight closes her eyes as she sighs for a second, then opens her eyes and says, “I know this situation is not entirely ideal, but it is an emergency. A lot might be riding on this one. We need to be careful and examine all of our options before we leap into action.

“Look. I, of all ponies, would be the last one to argue against giving other former villains a chance to redeem themselves. I offered that myself to Chrysalis, and I talked you into giving Stygian a chance when even Starswirl rejected me. Don't go thinking that it was easy for me to stand up to either of you. He is a legend, and you are my dear friend.

“I want to believe this Cozy has turned a new leaf. I really do, but one of her greatest talents is deception, Twilight. I just need to make sure we're not all being manipulated here. Just . . . give this a little bit of time to make sure everything will work out.

“We won't do anything to harm her while she stays here. We'll even treat her as a valued guest! We'll show her Pinkie Pie's parties and pastries, and we'll teach her how to fly using those wings.” She looks at me and asks, “Doesn't that sound nice?”

Actually, it does.

Well played, Starlight Glimmer. Very well played. You've even got me tempted for a brief moment.

Okay, that's it! Note to self: Find Starlight Glimmer's human counterpart. I don't care how long it takes or what I have to spend to do it. This girl is just too intelligent to be a useless resource. I have rarely encountered someone I actually respect on this level, so that is not someone I will soon ignore or forget.

“Starlight, why should she trust us when we don't give her the benefit of the doubt? How would you feel if you were condemned to an alien world against your will? Would you really feel that much better if they promised you that you will be well treated when they have already broken their word?

“I gave her my word that I'll take her home, and that's final!”

“Twilight, please!” Starlight begs. “Please think this through! I'm warning you, you're about to make a big mistake!”

“STARLIGHT GLIMMER!” Twilight's voice booms so loudly for a moment that I suspect all of Ponyville hears her. Standing at the epicenter of that sonic boom forces me to wince tightly.

After Twilight says that, she closes her eyes, sighs, and looks down. She pauses for a moment like that, then looks back up at her friend as she speaks. “Starlight . . . you are one of my dearest friends. Trust me on this! Please . . . please don't make me pull rank on you!”

Starlight squints her face in a painful wince, but her hoof slowly lowers from Twilight's chest.

“Thank you, Starlight!” Twilight says to her gratefully before moving past the other purple mare.

“Oh please, Cozy. Please.” Starlight Glimmer looks at me with eyes shining with tears due to the stress of her worry. “Please don't be lying to us! Not again! My friend is placing a lot of faith in you, so I am forced to as well. If you really are a good girl like she has been saying all along, then prove it to us. Validate our faith in you. If you do, then it will show us there is hope for your pony self as well.”

I am indeed planning a betrayal at the moment, but the desperate and pleading look on Starlight's eyes actually succeeds to make me hesitate.

Plus, the threat of them losing faith in my pony counterpart is also something to think about. Knowing her freedom is also at stake is establishing a consequence to my potential betrayal.

Starlight didn't just succeed to make me feel guilty over my plans but also gave a valid reason why I should reconsider my actions.

Cornered as she is, she still did everything she could to make sure their plans do not go awry with just a few simple but powerful words.

Goddamn, she's good! I really need to get the human version of her in my pocket pronto!

My eyes shift to look at Twilight as I watch her horn light up with a magenta glow. Similar magic is copied onto various parts of the machine. This starts a chain reaction which eventually leads to two probe things shooting energy at the mirror. When that happens, the mirror changes from a reflection to a magical portal of rippling light.

I narrow my eyes slightly at the portal in smug victory.

“There you go, Cozy. Portal open, just like I promised,” Twilight says to me happily. She stands before me. “I told you I keep my word. I want to show you that you can have faith in us, too.

“I want no hard feelings between us. I never wanted to be our Cozy's enemy, and I certainly have no wish to become yours. That is antithetical to my nature as the Princess of Friendship.

“I know your mother loves you dearly, and I'm starting to see why.

“So, from now on, let's forge a new, prosperous, and bright future . . . together.”

At the conclusion of that short speech, she offers a hoof to me. I still don't know what I should do with it. Hoof bump, maybe? Skeedaddle seemed confused when I did that to him.

I look up at her eyes which are bright and shimmering with happiness and hope. I feel disgust to see it other than admitting that it is pretty good acting. A nine point five out of ten. If she hadn't made the mistake of insulting my birth parents, of whom I personally know and therefore have proof that her claims are false, then even I might have fallen for her act. It is just that good.

I fake a worried but also hopeful look on my face as I shakily lift a hoof up in preparation to bump it with hers. Meanwhile she beames at me.

Until I drop my act first by slapping her hoof away and giving a half-close eyes expression to her.

“Go fuck yourself, Twilight!” I spat in her face. After that I lift up my left wing then chuck down one of Trixie's hidden smoke bombs I had tucked away all along.

I have just a split second to absorb the shock of her expression before it's wiped away in a puff of blue smoke.

Since everypony in the vicinity suddenly lost line of sight, I hope that's enough to prevent either a telekinetic or a rope lock on me.

Just in case, I knew I quickly had to shift positions.

The blue smoke also blinds me for a moment, but I remember where the portal is. It's straight behind Twilight.

I leap up into the air and flap both wings down simultaneously in order to sort of simulate a double jump. This gets me over Twilight's body, although I'm uncertain by what margin. I then charge forward into a hard gallop.

“Cozy, NO!” Twilight cries out, but it's too late for tears at this point.

I charge through the portal.

Checkmate, Twilight!

As dizzy, tired, hungry, and flustered as I feel on the other side, I waste no time grabbing a nearby folding chair then use it to smash my mother's portal machine to pieces on the human side. I scream with all fury as I bash at it over and over again. Sparks and parts fly everywhere until I exhaust myself enough that I just can't move anymore, not to mention how out of breath I am.

I collapse to my knees. I may be physically tired, but my mind is running a mile a minute despite my angry tears.

Sparing a quick glance at myself, I notice my clothes are back on. For what it's worth, they are just as clean as they were before I stepped into the portal.

More importantly, my locket is still here. With my human hands, I am able to open it much more easily. Seeing it establishes that it is, indeed, undamaged.

I hug the locket to my chest. As I do so, I look at the wreck around me.

There is no way I can hide any of this. My mother is going to know that somebody was down here, but she won't know who. All she'll know is it's someone with good hacking skills. She thinks I'm with another student, however, so that already exonerates me.

I think this through.

Best I can figure, my mom is going to think that the damage to her portal is probably a hate crime from those who fear the usage of magic and Horse-Land in general. There are plenty of narrow-minded bigots who have the motive to do so but, of those people, the ones who also have the means to get past all the security lockouts are somewhat thinner.

I wish I could pin all the blame on Superintendent Neighsay, the lousy bastard, but something tells me he could too easily establish a solid alibi. It would take too much work to dismantle that. Besides, Neighsay as an expert hacker? That might be pushing the envelope of believability too much even for this crazy world.

My best option is not to point the finger at anyone. Just leave this one as a mystery. Without any useful clues, they'll just keep chasing their tails forever, and I have my ways to clean up some of the mess as time goes on.

I really hate to admit it, but my biggest problem now is Sunset Shimmer and her damn Horse-Land connected laptop. Even if I steal the computer itself, one touch from Shimmy while using her magic crystal could put all of my plans in shambles, and now I have even more skeletons to hide in my closet. I need to silence her for good in such a way that she can't threaten me anymore.

I think the magical laptop's link to Horse-Land is temporarily cut off due to the damage to my mother's portal, but that's an easier obstacle to overcome compared to repairing the entire portal.

Just to make sure that the portal remains down, I'll need to give it a quick inspection and remove any component in it that's obviously magical. Such a component is likely irreplaceable in this world. The only reason my mother gained it in the first place was by walking through the portal to Horse-Land in Canterlot High before shutting that portal down.

Besides, with a magical component in my hands, I might find other ways to make it useful to me later on.

I sigh.

There's a lot to do. No rest for the wicked, I guess.

It's time to accelerate my plans.

So this completes the Horse-Land mini-saga for now.

In case any of you are wondering, I don't have much follow planned about Twilight's announcement for the fate of the three stoned villains. So, if you want to use this chapter as the basis of your own spin-off fanfic, you go right ahead if you're determined to see some follow up on this. Starlight seems to have some good startup plans about how to proceed. That can be your launching premise. How that works out is up to you. There is only one part about that discussion I will be making a little bit of follow up late into this story.

If any of you do resort to this option, I would like to become aware of it, at least with a PM message. If you have questions that might help to inspire you, I'd be happy to answer them.

For instance . . .

If anyone does want to write their own story on this premise, just know that this version of Twilight Sparkle is very haunted by the pain she saw in Cozy in Chapter 12: Heart of Stone. In this version of the story, Twilight was already asking herself for years, "Did I do the right thing?" Then, when she saw Cozy rolling in mud and screaming in raw agony, her answer got changed to, "No! I have definitely wronged some of my citizens. I have to fix this!"

There are times when Twilight can be slow on the uptake, especially when she gets highly emotional, but when she does realize that she made a mistake and she emotionally recovers, she can be unstoppable.

Knowing how a story like this would play out requires a close examination of the character's motives, background, and personalities. Not all goals align. Some of them are bound to clash, especially when heroes and villains meet face to face.

That, too, can be a complex and subjective subject as well, just like our definition of what is considered beautiful. Not everything is black and white. There is room in life enough for shades of gray. The yin/yang might be a perfect analogy here. The heroes are noble, but they make mistakes. The villains are cruel, but they may not be entirely beyond redemption, especially with this shows track record combined with "Equestria Girl's". Why draw the line and say, "Okay, now these villains are definitely irredeemable, so let's not even try to give them a chance."

As fans writing fanfics, we choose the ending. If we don't like the original ending, then let's make it better.

One way, or another.

On another note, the next four chapters will be the first in this story to be in multiple parts. As such, they are sort of one chapter but talk about different branches of the chapter. Accordingly, I plan to publish all four of them in a row, starting with chapter 15 on Sunday, March 22, 2020, so stay tuned and let me know what you all think. I welcome all of your comments.