Spike's Sacrifice

Chapter 8: Forgiving Cozy Glow

TWO DAYS LATER

Cozy eventually was released from the hospital after a few more tests. She was eager to meet up with Twilight outside the hospital to help start a new, better life. The moment a nurse came in to escort her out, Cozy was out of bed like a rocket, with Cobalt Blitz hot on her tail. She was given a drug prescription for her meds at the front desk and stepped outside followed by her best friend. There, she was greeted by the Lavender Alicorn herself.

"Hello, Cozy," Twilight said sweetly.

"Hey, Twilight," Cozy replied shyly. She was a little scared at being outside again. Although it felt good to be out of that stuffy hospital room, she felt a like an outcast in Equestria. She was worried what everyone would think of her being out again instead of rotting in jail.

Twilight could sense Cozy's uneasiness, scooped her up, and placed her on her back. Cozy buried herself into the fur on Twilight's back and used some of her mane to cover herself. She didn't do a good job, though and she could feel other ponies looking at her. However, they weren't glaring at her. Instead, they were giving her looks of sympathy and sadness. News of how Cozy had her head injury and how Tirek had manipulated her spread like wildfire and everyone now knew why this little Pegasus was the way she was. The sad looks were worse than glares in Cozy's opinion, it just reminded her of how she'd never be a normal pony like everyone else. Cobalt reached up and rubbed her back comfortingly. He could tell she was trying to hide from everyone and he hated seeing her like this. Cozy felt a little comfort knowing that her friend was beside her no matter what.

ONE HOUR LATER

After what seemed like forever, Cozy, Twilight, and Cobalt finally arrived at the castle. Cobalt decided to head into the living room to hang out with everyone else, while Cozy was escorted upstairs by Starlight Glimmer. The second she was inside, Cozy now felt safe again. No one was looking at her and no one was judging her. She felt calm and at ease as she was slowly led to her new room by Starlight Glimmer. At Spike's request, Cozy would be given a room in the castle because she had nowhere to go after she'd leave the hospital. Cozy couldn't be happier. She now had a place to call home and she had ponies she could call not just friends, but family as well.

As she left the staircase behind and walked down the long hallway, she spotted a door that was ajar. Her curiousity overtook her and she creaked open the door and stepped into the room. Instantly, she wished that she didn't, but she couldn't help to look around. The room behind the door turned out to be Spike's room. It had a new shelf on the wall that was the farthest from the door. On that shelf were several Power Ponies comics that seemed to be on display and there was a banner above that read, "SPIKE'S FAVORITE COMICS". On the bed were several boquets of flowers. there was a small crown made of tinfoil resting on a stand inside a glass display case and it had a wooden base with a golden plaque that had cursive letters carved into it. The plaque read, "SPIKE: FOREVER THE WINNER OF THE SIBLING SUPREME". There was another wooden stand that held a large book on top of it. It had a medium thickness and the cover read, "THE ONE WHO TAUGHT US EVERYTHING: THE LIFE OF SPIKE THE DRAGON". Cozy began to flip through the pages. She teared up as she made her way to the middle of the book, reading how he saved the Crystal Empire twice, how he befriended a changeling named Thorax, and how he competed in the Gauntlet of Fire just to ensure the safety of his friends, family, and home. Then she gulped as she neared the end, knowing full well what would be waiting for her. She decided to suck it up and read the end of the book. Sure enough, the end of the book went into detail about how the final battle went down as well as Spike's fatal injuries. Then something in the middle of one page caught her attention. There were two lines with bold text in quotation marks that were inbetween two paragraphs. Cozy began to read them over.