“The sun is set, the moon is raised, and the duties I have for today are all complete.”
Twilight Sparkle stared up at the moon for a little while longer, sighing contently. She felt that her life has been nothing short of incredible ever since she ascended to the throne in Equestria, often times reflecting on how she got there in the first place; her days as a unicorn, all the way to her future days as an all-powerful alicorn. Deciding to turn in for the night, Twilight turned around, reentering the throne room, making her way through it to her room in one of the other spires of the castle.
Lined up along the throne room were window panes of some of the most historical moments in Equestrian history. Twilight noticed a few that reminded her of her adventurous times – her and her friends defeating Nightmare Moon and freeing Princess Luna, the defeat of Discord, her coronation in the days following her transformation into an alicorn, among others – and smiled softly at the memories that they all provided.
Towards the entrance of the throne room, there was a pane that depicted the defeat of the Legion of Doom. Twilight slowed down as she approached it, looking at it with heavy eyes. Of all the events she and her friends experienced, this particular event – all the citizens of Equestria and beyond coming together and using the magic of friendship to defeat a trio of devastatingly powerful villains – was one that didn't quite fill Twilight's heart with glee like the other stained glass windows that were depicted.
Twilight stopped in front of the window and faced it, staring at it intensely. She shifted her views from one Element of Harmony to the next, making their way to the bottom of the glass where the three villains stood. Twilight shifted her glance from Lord Tirek to Queen Chrysalis, only stopping at the final villain. She stared at her depiction with a heavy heart, recognizing who the pony was and experiencing mixed feelings about them.
Cozy Glow, the Pegasus pony who absorbed magic that was stored inside the mysterious Bewitching Bell, was the pony that Twilight had once tried to teach friendship to. Even though she was a villain, Cozy Glow was still a pony. To make matters even worse for Twilight, Cozy was not only a pony, but also a child; a filly. For Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis to be imprisoned in stone was something Twilight was okay with – she remembered how Discord once was a stone statue – but when it came to Cozy Glow, Twilight couldn't find it in her heart to convince herself that being turned to stone was the correct decision.
She continued staring at the stained glass, remembering the good times she experienced with Cozy Glow at her old School of Friendship. Eventually, Twilight felt a tear escape from her eye, so she wiped it away in the hopes that nopony had seen it. Once the doors to the throne room opened up, Twilight stood back up straight, wondering if the guard that opened the door had seen her in this state. She heard a set of paws entering into the throne room and nothing else.
“Your Highness,” they called, “I'm here to escort you to your room.”
Twilight didn't respond back, feeling her gaze shift back down and stopping once more on the image of Cozy Glow. She wondered what more could have been done to push and steer Cozy Glow in the right direction, causing some self-doubt to settle in about her initial teaching attempts long ago.
“Is everything alright, Princess Twilight?” The guard asked, noticing that the glass she was staring at was captivating her for the wrong reason. He slowly started to approach Twilight.
Still, Twilight did not reply to the diligent royal guard. She continued staring at the image of an angry Cozy Glow and tried to tell herself that it was for the greater good, but couldn't even think that phrase at all. She knew that Equestria was better off now than it was during the threat that the three villains posed long ago, but wondered if things could be amended and, if so, in what way.
When the guard reached Twilight's side, he followed her glance and stopped his sights on Cozy Glow. He remembered who she was and remembered his own experiences with her when he still attended the School of Friendship with his own set of friends. He sighed, then tried to get Twilight to talk about it.
“She was an unusual character,” the guard spoke, “wouldn't you say?”
Twilight felt her head shake itself slowly, answering the question the guard brought up. She didn't realize it and did this motion simply out of instinct. The guard noticed and tried the direct approach on the princess.
“Something on your mind, Princess Twilight?” He asked her. “You've been staring at this image for a while now.”
Twilight sighed briefly, feeling as if the answer was being dragged out of her involuntarily. She didn't lift her sights, nor did she shift them elsewhere, but still answered the guard.
“I'm just reflecting over things in the past, Gallus.”
“Really?” Gallus responded, looking up at the tall alicorn doubtfully. “It doesn't seem like that, you know.”
Twilight rested a hoof on the glass gently, covering up the images of Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis, while still leaving the image of Cozy Glow out. Gallus saw this and began to understand what was going on inside Twilight's mind. He rested a claw on her hoof and smiled softly at her, watching her shift her views from the glass to his claw.
“Can I tell you something, Gallus?” Twilight asked softly, hoping she actually hadn't said that aloud.
“Of course,” replied Gallus, smiling slightly at Twilight.
Recognizing her own mistake now, Twilight collected herself and took a breath, similar to how Cadence showed her when she was frazzled herself. Twilight nodded to herself, then looked back down towards the image, telling Gallus part of what was on her mind.
“Long ago,” she said, “when Discord was still evil, he too was a stone statue.”
“I know,” answered Gallus, looking back at the image with Twilight, “and you and your friends were responsible for helping him become what he is today. You told us that back at school.”
“Right,” smiled Twilight, “but what I never told you was that Princess Celestia was the one who wanted to help Discord, not us.”
“What do you mean?”
“When Princess Celestia told us of her plan to free Discord,” continued Twilight, “she added that she wanted to use Discord's magic for good instead of evil. Were it not for the fact that Kindness is an Element of Harmony, I don't think Discord would still be with us today.”
Gallus nodded slowly, looking back at Twilight in the process. He understood that what Twilight was telling him was hard for her, recognizing the trust she had for him.
“I'm just wondering if what was done to Cozy Glow was the right thing to do,” Twilight muttered quietly.
Processing what he heard, Gallus widened his eyes, carefully shifting his glance between Cozy Glow and Twilight a couple of times. The experiences he had with Cozy Glow were not all pleasant ones, especially when she put down all types of creatures besides ponies. Gallus was the type to forgive and forget now, but back when he was a student at the School of Friendship, that wasn't the case.
“I think things have worked out well since those days,” he told Twilight, “Equestria is one of the most diverse places to live now, thanks to the efforts you and the other professors had.”
“Maybe so,” admitted Twilight, still focused on the image of Cozy Glow, “but she is still just a child. Her mind is easily influenced.”
“Was, Your Highness,” Gallus instructed, “not 'is.' She was just a child.”
“I would agree with you,” Twilight said, “were it not for the fact that Discord himself said that he could still hear everything Princess Celestia said during his time as a statue. Time still progresses for those trapped in stone, but in what way, I'm not sure.”
“Do you feel that things could have been different?” Gallus asked, trying to get to the root of the problem for Twilight.
Twilight sighed slightly, “Maybe, perhaps. I just wish I could have helped her more than I did.”
At that moment, Gallus stood silent. He tried forcing an answer to come out for Twilight, but staying silent was the better option. He had his own thoughts on Cozy Glow and knew how manipulative she was while she was still free, but he also knew that Twilight's insight and thoughts were powerful ones and – often times – correct ones. He stared back at the image with Twilight, wondering what could have been if Cozy Glow was influenced to pursue friendship for the sake of making friends instead of power.
Twilight felt a tear escape her eye once more as she glanced at the image some more. She couldn't find strength to wipe it away, allowing it to travel down the side of her face and, eventually, on top of Gallus. Looking up, Gallus flew up towards the princess and wiped it away for her.
“One day,” he told her, “perhaps then she'll be ready.”
“I sure hope so,” Twilight replied, smiling softly at Gallus, “thank you.”
Twilight felt comfort in Gallus' answer, knowing that her lessons impacted a significant change in the life of at least one creature. She heeded Gallus' words and took them to heart, knowing that everyone in the world deserved at least a second chance to prove themselves.
One day, Twilight repeated, Maybe then you'll be ready.
Author's Note
This is an idea that popped into my head while I was writing my previous work, The Alicorn Matchup, a story that's posted on my Fanfiction.net account (link to it is in my profile). While I won't be posting that story here, the idea for this drove me to wanting to put it here. This is something that I don't have a definitive answer for - Cozy's fate - but I figure that the fandom has plenty of reasons to wanting something or nothing done, and I respect that. I wanted to share this story here because it's something that all followers and readers should ponder, not just the ones I've accumulated on FF. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I wanted to write this.
--Daniel
