Komm, Süßer Schein

Silence, only interrupted by the occasional chirping of birds, and darkness. She could try to see if she really wanted to, but it was such a struggle. She'd much rather sleep. It wasn't hard, it came almost natural at that point. And it certainly was better than trying to listen to the other two. But she didn't like the idea of giving into it completely. She wouldn't. No matter how much it took, things would change one day. The hunger inside her hadn't stopped burning, and she would never let go of it.

She was aware of how long it had been, somewhat. Years, she knew for a fact. It hadn't felt like years. Things had a tendency to blur at times, either when she chose to or when nothing worth noting was happening outside. She could slow it down, of course, but why bother? As much as it angered her, all she was left with was waiting for things to change. She hated it, but at least she could make the wait go by quickly.

The silence was broken. Hoofsteps. Probably the gardeners, even if weirdly off-schedule. They came closer. Without a doubt, she could tell they were moving towards her now. Perhaps a class of foals? No. Only two sets of hooves, and the sound was that of adult ponies. Perhaps some guards had gotten curious? One certainly did sound heavier, while the other's steps were hesitant, uncertain. A scholar's steps, someone who had done enough research to fear what they were going towards and lived outside of books too little to hide it. That was probably what it was. A scholar and a guard.

They stopped in front of her, and made no sound. Perhaps admiring her and the other inmates. She didn't bother to check, but she did once more regret the position she'd been in when it had happened. She had to give Chrysalis some credit, she'd at least gone out fighting. Not looking scared like she had, not looking full of herself like Discord originally had. Probably the best way to get turned to stone.

There was a sound from the two ponies in front of her. A cough, to be exact. Coming from the heavy one. What sounded like a female voice. That was odd. No female guards were patrolling that section of the gardens. Had someone been replaced? Even then it didn't quite fit for her. Those had sounded like tall steps, and she'd assumed they belonged to a stallion, a mare wouldn't... Unless... Cozy would have smiled, had she not been encased in stone. A mocking smile, but still a smile. The Princess had grown since the last time she'd come to visit, she hadn't recognised her at first.

Now though, it was evident. The cadence of her steps, the subtle ruffling of her feathers if she listened closely. The small sounds of her mane flowing in a breeze that wasn't there. Cozy could even feel an electric tingle over her skin, the air around the Princess was that charged with the magic radiating from her. The power that should have been hers, the filly thought to herself, full of venom. Whyever had she chosen to come there, she wondered. And with Sunburst, most likely. Maybe a sting of guilt? She didn't really care.

A sigh from the Princess' lips. A resigned sigh, tired, somewhat annoyed. That was strange. She didn't want to be there. Maybe Sunburst, or whoever else was with her, had asked to be brought to see them? He hadn't seemed too enthusiastic about it either though, less than Twilight in fact. Maybe-

Cozy's train of thought was interrupted. Magic, reaching out towards her. Wrapping around the statue. The others felt it too, and their shouts became impossible to ignore. They were lifted from the ground, then suddenly, they were not there anymore.

The statue touched the ground once again. A different ground, as the sound of the impact suggested. Stone, most likely the castle's interior. Why had they been moved there? Would they be sealed away in some hidden warehouse inside the palace? Cozy dreaded the possibility. It was fine in the gardens, she could hear ponies, entertain herself. Alone with only Chrysalis and Tirek? She hated the idea. She hated them. If only she'd been able to control Discord's magic, she would have drained them as well. She'd been so close to winning.

Magic reached out again. It was different this time, very unlike the teleportation or the telekinesis they'd grown accustomed to. And it felt as if it was reaching towards her specifically. Passing through the stone walls of her prison, flowing deep into her. Changing her. Had Twilight decided they were too dangerous? Did she fear a repeat of Discord's escape? Were they being turned to stone in mind as well, or perhaps worse? Cozy couldn't know, much to her frustration and anger. And so she had to wait, and hope, as disgusted as she was with herself for hoping a pony who should have been crawling beneath her would show mercy.

A flash of light went off in the small pegasus' mind. Then, darkness no more.

Cozy slowly opened her eyes, shielding them from the artificial white light of the magical lamps lining the throne room's walls. She stumbled around on shaky legs, painful jolts shooting up through them, and took her first breath in years. That hurt too, the air burning into her throat and lungs, and she coughed out what appeared to be some leftover grey dust. She turned around to face her old prison, now only housing Chrysalis and Tirek, and she smiled to herself as she looked at it. They were most certainly furious.

Then she turned around. Sunburst, she'd guessed correctly, and Twilight by his side. She had grown considerably. She looked unmistakably like Celestia, and Cozy wondered just how much power she had inside her, if she'd already surpassed Luna in stature at such a relatively young age. It made the filly boil with rage. That should have been her. She should have been wearing that crown, she should have ruled Equestria, she should have had that magic. But she kept it hidden, bottled up inside. It would do no good to show it there.

Cozy sat down, feigning confusion, looking around with wide, innocent eyes. "Oh, golly. Where am I? How did I get here? I don't remember anything, what-"

"Spare us this farce, Cozy Glow," Twilight said, forcefully closing the filly's mouth shut with her magic. At the stern look Sunburst threw her way, she muttered, "Add it to the list." Then she let go of the pegasus' mouth.

Cozy stood back up, studying the two before her. Neither seemed like they wanted to be there. Sunburst looked somewhat frightened, Twilight mostly annoyed. She rubbed a hoof over her mouth, pretending the alicorn's magic had hurt her more than it had, and started to think through her options. She was out, but not because they wanted her out. Running wasn't an option. Find out what was happening. Use it to her advantage. They most likely wouldn't send her back if they needed her, she could use whatever leverage she had to her advantage.

Anticipating the filly's incoming why am I out and by the way that place was horrible and those two were awful with me and actually they were forcing me to attack Canterlot back then and you should feel awful about doing anything to me because I'm cute speech, Sunburst swallowed the lump in his throat and stepped in. "You're probably wondering why you were freed from stone. We have come across an old but still valid piece of Equestrian legislation and it appears that due to your, hmm... Your peculiar conditions, your imprisonment was unlawful."

She knew ponies were dumb, but she wouldn't have guessed they were that dumb. Though it did make her feel a little worse about her talent, if a lifeless piece of paper was enough to manipulate them. Still, good news, though not too good. She had no real leverage as far as she could see, they would probably just send her to Tartarus again, they didn't seem to have a problem doing that to a filly. How stone was worse than prison for the youth she wasn't quite sure.

Running was beginning to look like an option. Still, it wouldn't hurt to try to move things in her favour a bit first. "My peculiar conditions?" she asked in an innocent tone, tilting her head to the side, wearing a curious expression on her face. It was always good to remind them that she was a filly after all. Sure, it probably wouldn't work on Twilight, but it was worth a shot. If she couldn't see the Princess crawl beneath her hooves where she belonged she could at least haunt her nightmares and flood them with regret.

"Uh, yes, you see, uh..." Sunburst bought some time by cleaning his glasses. "It's an old piece of law, see, the ponies back then had a tendency to define things in a more practical way, and basically, uh..." He looked down and cleared his throat, all too aware of Twilight's gaze on him. "Having been an alicorn means you're legally a Princess," he finished.

For one of very few moments in her life, Cozy was left with nothing to say. Princess. That was good. Sure, Empress would have been better, but Princess was a start. Maybe. She wasn't quite sure of what that meant, nor of what would happen next. It would be a good idea to study those laws the two were following, if they felt such an obligation to obey them she could use it to her advantage. Rebuilding her facade, she began, "Oh, golly. Me, a Princess? What does that mean? Do I get a crown and a castle?"

Sunburst swallowed, and it felt painful. "You do, actually."

Cozy almost couldn't stop a grin from splitting her face in half. That was ridiculous. And great, absolutely great. But ridiculous. She'd come a hair's breadth away from conquering Equestria, twice in fact, and now she was being gifted something like that without having to lift a feather. "Oh. And what else do I get?"

"A number of things," Twilight said, stepping in, "and I'm sure we'll have time to discuss everything later on. For now, I will just give you the short version of things. According to the Codex Solaris Lex Æquestrian, having been an alicorn at one point grants you your status as Princess, yes. However, you are still an enemy of Equestria, as far as I'm concerned. You will be crowned, you will be compensated for what has been deemed an unjust punishment, you..." Twilight sighed, bringing a hoof to her face and looking down. "You will get to rule over a town, yes."

The alicorn took a deep breath, looking up and blinking a couple of times. She spoke again, more determined, "Then, you will be put on trial. And rest assured, I will make sure you are put back where you belong. I am willing to put up with this little play, it's the law, but don't think you'll get a chance to make anything of this. This is purely a formality. I suggest you treat it like a small break and enjoy it as that, better don't get your hopes up after what you have done already. I believe the laws of this country are right, and this will not change things much at all."

Cozy looked up at Twilight, cocking her head to the side. They would see about that. But first, something had caught her interest. "Why are you choosing to go through with this if you think things won't change? I'm sure your life as a Princess is very busy, why waste time on little old me?"

Twilight pursed her lips for a moment. "The Codex Solaris Lex Æquestrian is an ancient, rather important piece of literature. And it was approved by Celestia herself. While I find its procedures perhaps a bit archaic, I do think it is right to follow through with them."

An idea began to form in Cozy's mind. A suspicion of something. She had gone through every single book of law she'd found in Ponyville after all, yet never heard of that one. "And why is it not well known by ponies? I have never heard of that name, is it not taught about in schools?"

Because it was a mess. A disastrous mess, the creation of which was something Discord had probably had a claw or talon in, something that any sane pony would have burned. It was unfortunately fireproof. However, Twilight couldn't tell that to Cozy.

She hesitated for a moment. "The Codex is old, and mostly concerned with the higher layers of government. It would be pointless to teach it to foals, not to mention how complex it is."

The purple pony had never been a good liar. Unable to suppress a smile, Cozy asked, "May I see it for myself?"