The Life of Cozy Glow

by Pastelglitches

Rating: mature
Tags: Profanity, Non-consensual, Violence, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Twilight Sparkle, Tirek, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Spike, Other, Cozy Glow, Sex
Length: 5880

Cozy Glow was very good at manipulation and lying. She played mind games on foster families. She liked it when she saw another pony broken. She made it happen, all with just words. She was the boss, even if her pathetic puppets didn’t know it...

Harmonyverse AU! As stated by the title, this tells the tale of Cozy Glow's life before, during, and after the events of canon, with many things changed to fit my AU. She's thrown into a world that was always, always changing, with nothing to keep her grounded, from a young age. It's no wonder she turned evil. What led her down this path? How did she make contact with Tirek if he was imprisoned? What would have happened to her had she not been turned to stone?

Includes Cozy Glow (she/her) as a panromantic, demisexual, polyamorous transgirl with HPD and a wing disability. Cozy x Button Mash x Babs Seed romance. Background pairings are; Spike x Thorax, Tempest x Twilight x Discord x Tirek x Cosmos, Chrysalis x Celestia x Novo.

Warning! Take note these things are mostly in the beginning and largely written in passing.
Transphobia, homophobia, child abuse and neglect and forced labor, non-explicit/mentioned CSA and "corrective" rape, abuse idealization, psychological manipulation, racism, classism, method writing told from the perspective of a filly with abusive coping mechanisms, those general themes. None of these are supported by the narrative nor explicit or glorified, Cozy is an abuse victim and is treated as such, but the abuse isn't all her life is; vics deserve to grow up safely and lead a happy adulthood, so that's what Cozy gets. This is not porn. I would never write that.

Published 2021-02-07 04:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-02-07 04:00:00 UTC

The Center of Everything

Meet Cosabella Spur, or “Lady Cozy Glow.” Born to happy Apploosian couple Deputy Star and Professor Spur, Cosabella was their beloved baby, the young sibling of Fish Spur. From a young age, Cozy Glow exhibited… uncomfortable traits, for the town of Appleloosa at least. I mean, sure the colt was never the dirtiest of foals, but that didn’t mean it was a girl. No matter what the dumb kid said. The boy was just fussy. Needed a biology class. All the nonsense their supposed “daughter” was spewing got to her parents, especially after she started insisting to be called “Cosabella.”

They saw her as a shameful, disgusting tribute to their own failure. There was gossip of the Deputy being replaced. Neither Spur could allow that idiot kid to ruin their lives. Pretty soon, they simply… gave her away, and never looked back.

The tiny transgender filly was thrown into the foster system. Cozy Glow jumped around from home to home for many, many years. If any of you know what the foster system is like, you know the system is heavily, terribly broken. Children are given to unsafe homes with dangerous people, and Cozy knows this better than most. In many of her foster families, she was abused in more ways than one. Most of the time, she was beaten as punishment for talking back, or for forgetting a chore, or because she was “breathing too loud.” From this, she learned to be quiet and do what you’re told. Not to speak up when deadnamed or misgendered. She learned to pretend to be stiffly, strictly straight. In most unicorn homes, she was punished by the clipping of her wings, leaving her wings under-grown and somewhat disabled in that area, due to the bones not healing properly. Sometimes, she was even used as a toy for much, much more disgusting things, to “correct” her into the right gender, the right orientation. From everything she’d endured, she learned that it was better to create a new foal catered to the environment’s needs, and thus changed herself for everypony, most of the time in the same home. Maybe the foster dad thought she was a dinky boy who loved getting his hooves dirty, while the mother thought she was an ultra-clean girlie. It all depended on who needed what persona to ensure the less confrontation.

Through this, she learned to be very good at manipulation and lying. Sometimes, she even played mind games on foster families for entertainment, if she was sure she would not be the target of their rage. She… liked it when she saw another pony being yelled at, scolded, even sometimes… hit. Beaten. Clipped. Broken. She had the power here. She made it happen. All with just a few words… she was more powerful than anypony could see, wasn’t she? Her experiences had taught her to lack things like pity and pesky little emotions, both subconsciously and non. If she played her cards right, she was the boss, even if her pathetic puppets didn’t know it.

But she was starting to get… bored. With the games and the tricks. She needed a new thrill to sustain her.

Then she landed by chance with two Canterlot elites, who couldn’t have a child of their own. These unicorns spoiled her rotten. They viewed her as a god-send. Cozy Glow played the part of a happy, dinky, obedient kid. They didn’t understand why she flinched away from their touch, or always had an excuse not to spend time with them, or why she preferred to dust the shelves and clean the kitchen instead of playing tag with the other foals. She’s been doing the labor and bottling everything for so long that she… doesn’t really understand the kindness of this pair she’s been stuck with. Her new mom loves entering her in beauty pageants, showing her off to the world, her brilliant little ball of pink. She’s loud and flashy and sophisticated. She immediately becomes the life of any room she enters into. This... a quality Cozy Glow had always admired from afar. She didn’t know how to attain it herself, so seeing this woman do it effortlessly was… impressive. The dad was gentler and quiet. He wasn’t as proud as his wife, but was much more wise. He was the one to teach Cozy Glow how to play chess. Just be the one to say checkmate, sweetie. The ends justify the means, darling Cozy. No matter what, come out on top, dearest. You’ll make your family regret giving you away when you’re a star! Whether it be smarts, looks, or both, we’ll support you, our lovely little daughter.

He was so engrossed in talking down to her, he didn’t realize she had internalized every word. She was advancing. He didn’t think to look for a strategy in the inexperienced child’s moves. Her new father is left mouth-agape, when the barely nine-year-old foal holds his queen, a cheeky smile on her face. His astonishment doesn’t end there. When her cutie mark appears, it becomes clear to the foster parents that Cozy Glow is going places. Not only that, but that they wanted to be with her every step of the way. Even if someone like her wasn’t their first pick at adoptive children… she was unbelievably smart for her age, for what she was. And that helped them. So why couldn’t they give her a leg-up in the world, and she them? It’s only fair, after all.

Cozy Glow overhears them talking. She sees this ‘adoption’ thing being waved around her as a trick, a ploy-- she’s sure that if she makes the wrong move, says the wrong thing, doesn’t do the chores on time… they’ll show their true colors. They have to. It’s how the script always goes. She couldn’t mess up again. And she finds she’s right.

The next day, she runs out of soap when scrubbing the bathroom unsolicited. She attempts to use her weak wings to get a new soap bottle on a higher shelf. Cozy Glow’s face collides abruptly with the floor. Her foster parents race to the sound of the noise and help her up, accidentally grumbling “stupid overgrown bird!” in their worry.

Ah. There it is, Cozy Glow, the advantage they have over you. The problem wasn’t that you’re trans or like fillies.Your kind is below theirs, you see. They pity you. You’re pathetic to them.

They rush her to the hospital, Cozy Glow slipping in and out of consciousness. When she wakes up, the fosters are right there; watching over her, arguing passionately with her doctors, voices raised in concern. Hmm. Cozy Glow finds it… strangely fascinating. Her foster mom rushes over to her when she realizes Cozy’s awake, gives her a great big hug, and softly asks if Cozy Glow would consider becoming their adopted child. Cozy decides that, yes, these two are total hypocrites. They say they hate pegasi, and yet ask to be the parents of one. How traitorous. How stupid. How entertaining. Oh, this is going to be fun.

This’ll be the best experiment in Equestrian history! A pegasus rises to power among all the snide remarks of the horn-heads that suffocate her, and transforms into something more powerful than ever… Cozy could very well be the next Princess Cadence-- hell, the next Luna. If she just accepts this deal. If she plays her cards right, if she simply… is the one to say “checkmate.” Then everything will be hers, she’ll never be stolen from her bed in the night by another dreaded social worker, she won’t ever be phased, no creature would dare hurt her. Nopony would judge her. Let’s just say, she couldn’t wait.

Immediately, Cozy Glow went to the most prestigious elementary school in Canterlot. She took part in Gifted Kid programs. She had an army of rich foals that hung on her every word. She wasn’t just Cozy Glow Spur anymore--no, no. She was the Lady Cosabella, daughter of Canterlot. Her doting parents shaped her into their own image. A traitor to her winged sisters. A smiling, racist, ambitious and power-hungry filly with two-faces. Little did they know, she was already most of this. She certainly had a grudge against unicorns, which she easily hid. Other species, though, she truly didn’t mind persay. But if she got a leg-up at their expense, then it was only fair, wasn’t it? That’s what Mommy and Daddy said, and they wouldn’t lie. I mean, she was a Lady of Canterlot at age nine! She deserved the top. Cozy Glow capitalized on fear-mongering and propaganda, sewing honey into her words with a charming, innocent face. She acted scared whenever a different creature was in public. She hid under her Momma’s legs and made a scene, until the elites threw the creature out of town. Less newcomers meant less new businesses, meaning there would be no one to confront her Daddy’s company! In the big picture, that would make the ponies working for him unable to find other jobs in town. Ones that paid higher, or at all. Daddy got to keep his money, and Cozy could continue getting everything she wanted. Rooms would keep looking at her like a goddess when she entered. Friends would beg for her attention. She was the center of everything.

Then Princess Twilight Sparkle announced she was opening a boarding academy. All ages, all creatures, all inclusive. A strict no-bullying or hate-speech policy. Amendments for the disabled. She called it Academia of Magicks, or “School of Magic.” Cozy Glow was enrolled almost instantly. This was the Princess of Friendship, Knight of Harmony, Element of Magic, Celestia’s personal pupil, Empress Cadence’s sister-in-law, friend of the dragons, griffons, Changelings, hippogriffs, everything in between, the myriad savior of Equestria. If Cozy Glow worked her way into Twilight’s good graces, who knew what could happen? She could very well be Twilight’s next star pupil!

And so, Cozy was shipped from Canterlot. Forced to live in the nowhere town of Ponyville. After she begins flunking, Cozy Glow went searching for a way home, back to her tasteful city. Away from all these uneducated, underfunded imbeciles. Maybe if they didn’t want their town to have nothing to it’s name but constantly being the center of terrorist attacks, they should have tried not being poor! Ugh. And this homework the school gives them! Disgusting. It’s times like this Cozy wished she could pawn the papers off to the nearest sucker. When she gets lost in never-ending apple trees, she decides to just sit for a minute and try to fill out the forms.

That’s when she happens upon a small treehouse. Three excited fillies were trying to find ways to convince her principal to enroll them. Apparently, they had already received private lessons from Princess Twilight prior to the school opening. The personal connection meant they were too educated for the academy. Twilight valued them too highly... A plan stitches together in Cozy Glow’s mind. Without the CMC, Twilight won’t have any other individual pupils. She’d be in the market for a replacement. And who better than the innocent little girl they manipulated into failing? The ends justify the means, after all. Besides, who would believe three nobodies? Oh, this will be just delicious! A little time-consuming, sure, have to make their mentoring of her believable… but in the end, Cozy would be the one holding the princess.

The days she spent with them weren’t… entirely unbearable. The fact that the three shared eerily similar cutie marks was interesting. Apple Bloom was… awfully cute, with that accent and Apple strength and pretty red mane. She got an A on her assignment! Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou, CMC, you don’t know how much this-- this, uh, means… to her. Ahem. Control yourself, Cosabella. Now that there are plenty of witnesses, it’s time to strike. She purposefully fails her exam, and Twilight calls Cozy’s familiar tutors into her office. All according to plan.

… But, Cozy wonders, is this really the best course of action? Being the reason Twilight cannot support her friend’s sisters could… well, it could plant a seed of resentment for her. Wouldn’t it be better if Cozy Glow was trying to do this big gesture for her new ‘friends,’ to show she is truly a selfless pony? Risking expulsion from the most popular school in the country, just to make her friends happy students? Wouldn’t that simply melt the Princess of Friendship’s heart?... Maybe the plan needed to change.

She goes to counselor Starlight Glimmer and confesses she failed on purpose. Starlight tells this to her superior. Cozy Glow gives her sorries to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Twilight forgives them at once, even rewarding them with honorary diplomas and giving them permission to tutor other students. They weren’t even punished! Being their friend was exactly the advantage Cozy Glow needed.

Cozy Glow introduced herself to the entirety of the school. Being a Lady of Canterlot didn’t get you very far in a country bumpkin town, so she was Cozy Glow, close friend of the CMC. She got along with everyone, played teacher’s pet, sucked up to Apple Bloom, leader of the Crusaders. Twilight intrusted her with important tasks, like helping out in the library. Clearly, it wouldn’t be long before Cozy ran the place.

After a long day, she decides to play with the Student Six. A tiny, cheap thrill for the day. What’s the harm? She hasn’t ruined someone’s life in a bit. She hadn’t realized how weary she was of this lifestyle she’d been enduring. Cozy Glow was fueled by people bowing to her. She makes them doubt their friendship, all under the guise of well-meaning charm. They come to her about the Tree of Harmony, explaining their journey in full. As the older students form an exhausted dogpile, Cozy glares into the vent that hid the Tree of Harmony. Maybe she’d matured past running the school. Perhaps it was time she ran the world, and the magicks within it.

Carefully, the pegasus enters. The Tree of Harmony saw the darkness inside the little filly, the cosmic force that fueled her-- Order. So, the Tree, ever-neutral, connected Cozy to another creature rottened by Order. What she stumbles on is a portal. A tiny, invisible portal that blazed in a certain tyrant lord’s prison. The hole was too small for Cozy Glow to fit through, so instead, she wrote a letter and slipped it inside. She didn’t know what to hope for. After a few days, Cozy Glow mused that the portal didn’t go anywhere important… until she heard paper swiftly fall on the cave ground.

The letter she got back explained that the portal was equally small, so small no one had noticed it. It must have only opened when she entered the Tree’s hiding place. It also explained that it led to Tartarus, directly into Lord Tirek’s cage. Tirek says that he is terribly lonely and would greatly benefit from a sweet pen-pal! In truth, he was going to manipulate her into using her community influence and rich parents into getting him out of prison. But Cozy Glow is no idiot, and easily sees through these lies. He is surprised with what she writes him back, but hey, Tirek can’t deny an offer for world domination!

Their plan inevitably fails. The Mane Six rise against them, and the tables are turned when the school sides with their Princess. Cozy Glow is briefly placed in Tartarus while the Princesses try contacting her parents and work out a plan to reform her. Cozy Glow was nine at the time, after all, it’s not like they were permanently placing a child in hell/prison. When Cozy’s fosters don’t respond, it’s found that they were arrested on accounts of tax evasion and money laundering. Apparently, Canterlot police were tipped off by a mysterious letter that seemed to appear out of nowhere…

Princess Twilight offers to take Cozy Glow under her wing. Before the matter is settled, Tirek and Cozy Glow are teleported from Tartarus, nowhere to be found. The Princesses believe that Tirek somehow stole Cozy’s pegasus life magic to escape and kidnapped the child’s near-dead body. In reality, “Grogar” assembled the four villains together. In my AU, Discord’s plan here wasn’t to set up already-defeated criminals for the Mane Six to knock down, but was instead a poorly-conceived plan to reform them. He would force them on missions together, throwing away Sombra to teach the others to play nice, and eventually, the three would discover that they really did enjoy being friends! Discord thought he could get Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow to finally, finally admit that they were all lonely kids on the inside, hurt by the unforgiving world. Why would Tirek decide to steal from the ponies if he wasn’t hurt beyond repair by his brother’s betrayal? Why would Chrysalis go to such lengths to save her colony if she didn’t love her subjects? Why did Cozy Glow choose to confess she failed her exam on purpose if she didn’t honestly want real friends? And maybe, bitterly, they could form a family. They could choose not to contribute to the terribleness of the world that had hurt them so. As we know, this plan goes terribly wrong, with Cozy stealing his life-magicks and all, but eventually, it does succeed.

Many things happen differently in turn of the three being made stone. Instead, Chrysalis proposes a political marriage to Princess Celestia and her newly-returned wife, Queen Novo. To the shock of all their kingdoms, they accepted, and with time, fell in love. Having escaped Tartarus once, Princess Luna advised that Tirek is turned to stone until the dust settles. When what happened has fallen out of public concern, Princess Twilight will be allowed to present Lord Tirek of Labyrinth as a candidate for Reformation, if she so desires. If the Princesses agree on Twilight’s chosen plan of action, he will be turned back. Cozy, though, needed an entirely different direction. She wasn’t even a pretreen, and she almost took over the entire country.

Twilight doesn’t bother much in the “how.” That’s for Celestia and Luna to figure out. She is trained in the “why.” So, with the eventual approval of Luna, Cozy Glow’s reformation was put in Twilight’s personal care. Meaning Twilight decided to house the depressed, power-hungry kid who almost destroyed the world.

Cozy Glow was extra bitter. Chrysalis wasn’t even punished, but Tirek was trapped in stone for the same crimes, and now Cozy was forced to live with a stranger. So she did what she always did when she was dropped in a new home. Play her part, and play it well. Twilight wanted her to be sweet and kind? Fine, she was great at faking it. The only downside, Twilight knew she was faking it. No one had ever found out before. This would be a challenge. Surely it wasn’t anything a Lady of Canterlot couldn’t handle?

She forgot that Twilight was also raised by unicorn elites. Twilight wouldn’t have that “holier than thou” bullshit. The Princess decided that there was something more going on here. Twilight took her to a doctor, who theorized Cosabella was experiencing symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. But a declaration of misdiagnosis became almost frequent. Many years later, this diagnosis would prove wrong and she would be named as having Histrionic PD. Therapy began immediately. Cozy Glow was homeschooled. She was temperamental and hotheaded, and didn’t trust anyone in the house even a little. But Spike coaxed her into playing a video game. She couldn’t refuse the chance of winning. Throwing back banter with Spike gave Cozy a new thrill in life. Suddenly, life wasn’t so bad. As long as she could absolutely destroy older boys at Mario Kart. She and Spike formed a fickle friendship, that eventually blossomed into an overprotective siblinghood. They quickly became inseparable; playing pranks on Twilight, chasing Owlicious, snarking back at the Mane Six. Together, they made the other feel confident, less alone in their lonely little worlds; Spike as a dragon, and Cozy as someone who had a Cluster B disorder. Twilight saw this and despite the pranks, she knew it was something good for both her children.

Hmm. Both.

… Adopting Cozy Glow isn’t a bad idea.

But, in the midst of everything, the dust had settled. And yet, if Tirek rose from stone, would it interrupt Cozy’s progress? What if she wanted to be with him instead? What if? Turns out Twilight slept on it for a little too long.

Suddenly, a figure from myth returned to Equestria. Lord Scorpan, Tirek’s young brother. The very gargoyle who had foiled Tirek’s plans in the first place. Scorpan was welcomed back with open arms. He brought news of his kingdom’s death, of long traveling to find any speck of his people. It seemed that he was the last gargoyle, and Tirek was the last of his kind, too. Scorpan came for Tirek, and quickly made noise vouching for his brother. Cozy Glow took note of this. Scorpan and the little pink demonspawn his stepbro had surprise-adopted teamed up to make a point on Tirek’s behalf. Reluctantly, Luna approved Tirek’s release from stone.

Twilight, with bated breath, let the centaur loose. He was entered into the Reformation Program, stationed under Ponyville authority. Awkwardly, Twilight let them see each other. Cozy Glow was over the moon that her mentor was back. Finally, they could wreak havoc again! She tried not to think about how she no longer excited at the thought. The world would fall prey to them, they could be the best royal duo on the planet-- right, Tirek?... Tirek?

The Greater Centaur shrugged at her sadly. Hey, kid… perhaps reaping vengeance isn’t for us, huh? We’re not exceptional at villainy. And we have been given a second chance here. Just... let it be, little pony. Make good, kid, alright? If not for your new princess-mom, then, uh… for me. Okay, Cosabella?

.... Only if you’re there, Tirek.

Twilight’s worst fears are realized. Tirek invites her over to talk. He asks how Cozy’s been. He asks if its allowed for two Reformees to live together. He asks if it’s legal that a creature in the Program fosters a child.

Surely it’s not allowed. It can’t be. When Twilight vents this to Celestia, she expects motherly advice and quiet outrage. Instead, Celestia advises that Tirek simply moves in with Twilight. This way, she could keep an eye on their time together, keep Cozy Glow close to her heart, and still give the pegasus what she wants. So, Tirek moves into Twilight’s treehouse. Cozy’s happy, Spike is happy, Tirek’s happy, Twilight’s…. getting by. Her girlfriend Tempest despises the arrangement. Their boyfriend Discord can’t wait to seduce Tirek. So, Discord hatches a coap; time to play matchmaker!

Discord plays prankster with Spike and Cozy, forcing Twilight and Tirek to bond over their trouble-making kiddos (and their shared stupid sexy chaos god). He makes plans to meet up with Tempest and Tirek, then leaves them alone, forced to fill the air while they wait. He brings Tirek on their throuple dates, musing that his boyfriend (“I’m not your boyfriend, you overgrown horse”) should befriend the mares. The real set-off is when Scorpan marries Grubber and King Rutherford, and Scorpan invites his family to the royal wedding ceremony. Tirek is allowed to leave the country for Yakistownbul, Yaksia, provided he is accompanied by Princess Twilight. Twilight obviously asks Discord and Tempest to come with to relieve the awkwardness. Cozy and Spike are super excited to wreak havoc on another continent, so of course they have to come. It’ll just be like a family trip, Cozy says! Complete with a chaos god dragon-horse, an ancient centaur, an alicorn princess, a disabled unicorn, a chubby dragon boy and his dinky heavily traumatized stepsister! What a beautiful family.

Well, the day after the wedding, the four act super weird going home. When Cozy questions this, Discord tells her they did the “noodle dance” and didn’t know how to cope with their feelings being out in the open. What the fuck are you talking about Discord I know what sex is I’m literally a csa survivor you dramatic fucking threatre kid

Anywho Cozy Glow advises Tirek to be honest. Tirek relents that perhaps being married off to such powerful beings could prove beneficial, among other things. He definitely wasn’t in love with them. If that’s what you need to tell yourself, Tirek. And so, the four began dating publicly. And eventually, Cosmos fell from the stars and was lovingly reformed as well. The five married, manifesting about Prince Twilight Zone and Princess Amityville.

Babs Seed visits Apple Bloom, and suddenly Cozy Glow discovers, yup, she definitely has a type; what is it with big Apple ladies that made them so pretty? It certainly doesn’t help that Babs has stolen the attention of Spike’s friend, Button Mash, who was her only real competition during playthroughs. Hmmph! It wasn’t fair! I’m not jealous, Spike, shut up! At first, it was just teasing… but Cozy became more and more defensive, more and more angry whenever Spike joked about it. It made him suspicious, and accidentally hyped his protectiveness into overdrive. I imagine that when Spike found out Button Mash had a crush on his sister, he was NOT happy. I know I said Spike's all about friendship bracelets and emotional support, but as one of the only creatures who know her full history of abuse and mistreatment (along with watching her distasteful personality traits, destructive coping mechanisms and mental breakdowns himself many times over the course of being adopted siblings), he has become extremely protective of Cozy Glow. Spike knows things that not even their parents know. Cozy is his baby sister, she has been thrown away like trash and used as entertainment, a toy, a punching bag and someone to pawn the labor on too much in her young life. When he saw the way his friend blushed when she snickered at their gameplays, Spike got so mad that he scratched up his controller, accidentally broke the TV with the abrupt opening of his wings, and yelled at Button to get the hell out of his house.

Of course, his family was super confused about why Spike made Button leave, springing his first real fight with Cozy Glow in a very long time. Twilight was especially worried, given that Spike had never really acted this way before. Sure, he threw tantrums and did childish things, but that's because, y'know, he was child then. By the time of this, they were getting close to their legal adult years.

Spike didn’t want Cozy Glow to be with Button Mash. And Cozy needed to know why. So, she went to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Scootaloo gave her a painful story about when they were children… Button Mash had fallen into a bad crowd, much like Scootaloo had, along with Rumble. When Scootaloo was going through her stint as a troubled bully many years before, she befriended Button Mash and Rumble, who were sifting through similar situations. They bonded over the phase they shared. Swiftly, it turned into underage drinking (fueled by, Scootaloo hated to admit, mutual peer pressure) until they attempted to amp it up with drug use. Scootaloo’s bad trip is what scared the boys into cleaning up their acts.

Oh.

Why would she care about that?

If Button Mash liked someone who had once been a terrorist and personally attempted to destroy his hometown, then Cozy could find it in herself to like his shortcomings, too. She reasoned this to her old friends, who were happy if not wary for her.

“How ya gonna deal with Spike?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah? And ain’t Button into mah cousin, too?” Apple Bloom worried.

Before Cozy Glow can answer, Babs Seed stumbles in. And Cozy Glow reacts. And flirts. And is clearly, hopelessly, helplessly crushing on Apple Bloom’s city cousin.

“Oh,” Sweetie Belle says. “Of course.”

Over the next few weeks, Spike pushes Cozy Glow toward Babs Seed. Cozy begrudgingly goes along with it, because Button seems to be avoiding her and he hangs around Babs. So, in secret, Babs and Cozy sort of fake-date to Spike. All while Button, Babs, and Cozy are awkwardly, anxiously falling for the other two. But Barbara “Babs” Appleseed is bold and brave, and will not have that will-they-won’t-they crap her crushes are trying to pull. So, one day, after what totally was not a date to the movies, Babs just… kisses them, one for each, simple as that. They walk around the town that night, laughing and talking and blushing and most importantly, hand in hand between themselves.

Cozy Glow can’t take hiding it anymore. So, she convinces Spike to go visit Thorax. While he’s away, she brings her boyfriend and girlfriend to meet her six parents. Twilight is polite and kind toward them, though she keeps putting great emphasis on communication and boundaries; Tirek is much more imtimintiding, but he only really frightens Button; Discord has a knack for getting along with kids; Tempest glares them down; Cosmos threatens to ruin their lives if they hurt her daughter. So, normal meeting-the-parents events. Dinner was going perfect!

But something happened with Thorax that night, and Spike brought them back home to announce the official start of their relationship. Spike stared, mouth agape, at his sister, whose hands were held by Babs Seed and Button Mash respectively, Spike’s own claw wrapped around Thorax’s shoulders, and the tables turned.

Cozy Glow was furious. How dare somebody come to take Spike away? I know I said Cozy’s reformed herself and deconstructed her possessiveness, case in point: starting a polyamorous relationship, but as one of the only creatures who know his fully history of mistreatment (along with watching his distasteful outbursts, procrastinating coping mechanisms and meltdowns herself many times over the course of being adopted siblings), she has become extremely protective of Spike. Cozy Glow knows things that not even their parents know. Spike is her big brother, he has been thrown away like trash and manipulated as if all he’s good for is war and child labor too much in his young life. So, when she saw the way his “friend” blushed with Spike’s arm over him, Cozy got so mad that she tripped on the table cloth with her abrupt thrust forward, accidentally making it fly off with all the dishes and food.

The two siblings watch the other with shocked eyes. Nobody moved. Then, in the silence that dawned the room, somebody laughed.

If anything, Cozy would have expected it from Discord or likely Babs, hell even Twilight wouldn’t be that out of the ordinary, if not a rare occurrence (though what was normal about their situation anyways?). But it didn’t.

Tirek was bellowing genuine, hearty laughter.

Twilight startled. Cosmos crossed her arms. Discord immediately laughed, too. Tempest looked back and forth between them all. Then, Button forced an awkward giggle, that Babs followed with a true chuckle, that made Thorax smile doofishly and made Cozy and Spike melt.

In the end, Spike gave them his blessing, not without echoing Cosmos’ warning, and Cozy did the same in turn.

Spike eventually left to become a Harmony Scout after Scootaloo, and Babs was stepping up her game to snag a hairdresser mentorship with a fancy Canterlot pegasus, and Button Mash was taking classes on computer coding and game design. Cozy Glow began to feel like… maybe being a three-time international chess champion wasn’t all she wanted to her name. University years were closer and closer, tugging at her stronger with every passing moment. What did she want to do with her life, her future? Something important, she knew that. Helping creatures. Near-constant stimulation, problems to solve. A workplace environment that would be comfortable and safe for someone with her disorder.

Perhaps she needed to understand what that meant first.

Cozy Glow decided to go to university majoring in psychology, with a minor in business ethics. She focused on what people around her needed, rather than assuming what she wanted trumped everything else. It was tricky, as she had a disorder that was invisible to other ponies, but she tried putting her best hoof forward. The therapy helped, and Twilight was very good at getting Cozy to remember the rules of healthy communication. It’s not like Cozy’s partners were too shy to put down their own boundaries, nor too quiet to leave room for misunderstandment. It was a common joke between Babs and Button that their ADHD hyped their specific tendencies. During the years it took to earn her degrees, Cozy even began tutoring her mother’s students on the side, becoming even more familiar with the school council. She enjoyed helping out, it gave her something to stir on; it wasn’t a game, but it was still a puzzle, needing to be figured out. It worked for her. Wasn’t that something?

After finishing school, she began working as a teacher’s aid. Then as a teacher. Then as a council member. She even rose the ranks outside the school walls, and was hired as a royal advisor. The sweet, forgiving, accepting, diverse community Ponyville cultivated had given so much to Cozy Glow. She honestly believes that if she hadn’t been sent here, she would have never escaped herself. Because of Ponyville, Cozy had not one, but three amazing mothers, a supportive father, a parent who would stop at no expense to see her smile, a brother who would do anything for her, two little siblings that adored her, and who could forget the loves of her life? She would marry those two in a heartbeat. And she did. And they had two beautiful daughters, the proud Final Boss and quirky Rookie, everything she ever wanted. Fuck, it really couldn’t get better than that, could it?

They’d done so much for her. It was time she returned the favor.

After all, Lady Cosabella should know something about tyrants who want to take over the world, right? Or should I say, villains who hate themselves more than they could ever hate the world?

Author's Note

It's finally finished!! After half a year of letting it sit in my drive!! cELESTIA this was hard to write. Don't get me wrong, I like method writing, but fuck is it hard when you mostly write dark, trauma-filled dramas. I really should write some fluff after I'm done with all my other projects. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!

Also, I've been receiving lots of downvotes for the simple reason of showing or mentioning a character is transgender. Any hate speech commented on this work will be deleted and the perpetrator will be blocked immediately upon my being informed. I will not waste more of my time attempting to reason with or reply to anybody harmful. Unrelated, but if a commenter attempts to justify Cozy Glow's abusers' actions, they will receive the same treatment. Cozy Glow is a survivor of terrible, terrible things that can never be excused and should not by any means be supported. Anyways have a nice day!! :)