Princess Twilight Sparkle could swear the stone filly's mouth had the slightest upturning trend, as though her expression of horror was completely faked.
She had been staring at the statue of the Legion of Doom for at least half an hour now, here in Celestia's royal garden. MY royal garden. Still getting used to that. It was a nice place, and always had been, as far as she could remember. Though, to be fair, she had never spent too much time here, eternally invested in her books as she was. Clear summer skies, a pleasant breeze through her mane, the noonday sun smiling down on its new caretaker. Really, all had been nice for the past few weeks of her new rule.
The transition had flowed seamlessly, barring the disastrous crowning ceremony. Twilight had been surprised to find how little there was to be done as a princess; aside from attending the royal court and spending a few hours each day with paperwork, she had few duties. She missed seeing her friends daily, but the weekly meetups were going swimmingly, so really she didn't have much to complain about. Really, everything was perfect, the 'end of an era', as Fluttershy so poetically put it.
But something had been nagging her relentlessly, and so here she was, in her royal gardens, studying a statue until she went cross-eyed. I just don't understand. She was my star pupil, practically my right hoof! How could things have gone so wrong? The stone offered no response to her turbulent mind.
"You're a criminal." She stated to the statue, this not being the first instance she spoke aloud in the time she'd been here. Luckily, there was nopony around to gawk, as she'd requested the premises to be cleared for her privacy. "But...you are just a filly, too." A small one as well. I don't recall her ever saying her age, but she couldn't be older than seven from the look of it. Twilight sighed, shaking her crowned head lightly. I wish I could see it as cut-and-dry as Celestia seems to. To her, you're a dangerous criminal who cannot be afforded to go free. Nothing more, nothing less. She stared at that wide-open mouth again, studying the slight upturn that she knew was there. I have to know.
Frowning in determination, the princess' horn lit as she channeled her vast mana reserves into a familiar spell. Any normal pony would need the power of the Elements of Harmony to pull this particular one off, and indeed Twilight herself used to as well. But she'd ascended to alicornhood since then, and with that promotion had come formidable amounts of magic, such that the reanimation spell was rendered trivial.
First, she isolated the filly completely from the other two creatures, not wanting to risk reanimating them, even partially. Then, she channeled the magic deep into the stone, connecting with the life inside and steadily teaching it to live once more. Gradually, the statue cracked and splintered, revealing splotches of salmon pink fur and baby blue hair underneath. Finally, the petrification spell was undone, and Cozy Glow, tyrannical villain and remover of magic itself, flopped gracelessly to the grassy ground. Twilight observed the filly with a steady, unreadable expression, ready to capture her should she run, as she flailed her tiny legs in the air before remembering how to stand and doing so.
"Golly!" Said she as she took to the air, hovering a few hooves off the ground and dusting herself off. "Well, thanks, princess! I didn't know if you'd ever let out such an evil, bad villain like me!" She returned Twilight's stare with a questioning gaze of her own, her pink eyes filled with curiosity. "So, what made you do it?" Twilight snorted once, her purple eyes narrowing as she puffed her chest in a commanding manner.
"How prudent, Cozy Glow, for that is the exact question I was going to ask you." The pegasus blinked, innocently raising an eyebrow and gesturing to herself with a tiny hoof in apparent surprise. Weird. Her evil, villainous demeanor is nowhere to be found. It's almost as if she's just some innocent filly asking for directions. Twilight's gaze narrowed further as she nodded in silent confirmation. Then again, she was always good at acting. It's how she fooled me in the first place. Cozy pursed her lips, letting out a chirping whistle.
"Golly, princess, I assume you mean why I went all evil and such. Well, that's quite a loaded question, and I did just get released from the same pose I'd been holding for what I guess is quite a while." She gestured to the path, smiling amiably, "So, can we walk and talk? Tee hee, walk and talk." Twilight glared suspiciously, not letting her guard down for a second, but eventually nodded in acquiescence with the request, starting down the path. The filly landed and followed on hoof, practically cantering to keep up but looking genuinely grateful for the chance to stretch. Remember, she's just a filly, not some magic-sucking demon centaur from Tartarus or a love-sucking bug megalomaniac.
"Well?" Twilight prompted impatiently after a minute of silence, dying inside from a combination of curiosity and a lingering sense of betrayal. Cozy looked up at her with what appeared to be an innocent smile.
"Golly, princess. I guess it's rather simple, but I just don't know where to start!" Twilight's frown deepened, displaying her unamused state.
"Try the beginning?" The filly giggled obnoxiously, stopping and covering her mouth with a hoof before galloping to catch up with the mare's unbroken stride.
"Yeah, I suppose. Well, it all started around a year ago, when I got my cutie mark from helping my parent stop fighting so much in a rather...unusual way."
"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Cozy winced as more yelling emanated from her parents' bedroom, intently attempting to block out the noise by focusing on her coloring page. Her daddy could be really insensitive at the best of times, and he was always raring for an excuse to get angry after bad days at work. Her mommy had always said something about how he had a hard childhood; how her grandpa had always lashed out on him so that was how he learned to 'express his anger'. Cozy knew they loved her and each other very much, but her daddy's problems made it so that any conflict was really hard.
"My Fault, is it? You know what, Sprint!? I'M UP TO HERE WITH YOU AND YOUR HORSEAPPLES!" Cozy winced once more and her crayon snapped, causing her to lay down in sorrow. Her parents' situation wasn't helped by the fact that her mommy was notoriously terrible at picking up on social cues, even when they weren't hidden away. 'This whole thing sucks. And it wouldn't be a problem if they could just talk to each other!' Cozy snorted in displeasure as another bout of baseless accusations erupted from the bedroom she was laying just outside of. Slowly, a plan began to take shape in the filly's head and a grin took over her expression. 'They don't have to talk to each other if they can talk through me!'
"Mommy, I got in trouble at school today."
The light pink mare abruptly paused in her washing of the dishes, turning to look at the filly with a worried expression.
"Oh, Cozy you're usually such a good filly! Whatever did you get in trouble for?" Cozy twiddled her little hooves, looking as cute and innocent as possible. She ensured that her mommy got a few good seconds to fully take in her adorable appearance before responding.
"Golly, well, you see, I was just having a disagreement with some other fillies, and then a teacher sent me to the principal. She said 'yelling wasn't how disagreements are dealt with.' But I know that's wrong, because yelling is how you and daddy solve everything!" Normally, her mommy would have been mad at this, but Cozy knew that it was thanks to the softening affect her cuteness had that the mare instead adopted a guilty expression.
"Oh, dear. Oh, Cozy, I'm so sorry you got in trouble from our influence, that's not right at all." Cozy performed an internal hoof-pump, greatly pleased that the gamble had paid off. 'This was one of the riskiest parts of the plan. I sure hope my good luck continues!' The filly adopted a fake puzzled expression and tapped at her chin with a hoof, her unrivalled acting skills doing their part to really sell the performance.
"But, is it really so bad to yell at ponies? Or is it okay so long as it's somepony you love that you're yelling at?" Mommy sat down, her ears falling back against her head as she studied her hooves for a while. Finally, she looked back up at Cozy and spoke once more.
"No, Cozy. Yelling is not a good thing in any disagreement, ever. I'm so sorry that I shout at daddy so often, and I really should do more to stop." She paused then, causing Cozy's ear to flick in impatience. 'Come on, I need more than that! Almost there!' "I just get so frustrated at your dad sometimes, but I suppose that's no excuse. I did know what I was getting into when I married him." Mommy glanced at the ceiling, deep in thought. "And you know what? The good times are definitely worth the hard times. I'm sorry, Cozy. I'll try to be better from now on for you, okay?" The filly nodded vigorously, nearly failing to keep her innocent smile from turning deviously eager.
"Okay, Mommy! I'm gonna go play now!" And she scampered off, already planning out what she'd say to her father.
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"And she really said all of that?" Asked the incredulous stallion, blinking in shock. Cozy nodded, smirking invisibly to herself. It was easy, really; all she'd had to do was switch her name with her daddy's, and it sounded like a sincere message and apology straight from her mommy. 'Now comes the really tricky part. I have to make daddy realize he has to take some of the blame, too.'
"Hah! I knew that that profligate mare would admit to her mistakes sooner or later. Let's hope she learns from them this time, eh, Cozy?" The filly in question nearly burst with indignation at the mean-sounding word he'd called her mom, but she contained herself and re-applied her innocent act.
"Um, daddy, you know I love you, right?" She inquired with a small frown and carefully calculated wide eyes. Daddy blinked rapidly and raised an eyebrow.
"Of course, sweetie. Why do you ask?" Cozy let out a faux relieved sigh, nervously fiddling with one of her wings.
"Well, it's just that I didn't know if I was showing you that enough. I mean, it's not like I've been yelling at you." Daddy squinted and tilted his head in confusion.
"That's not how you show love to another pony. You show it by giving hugs, or telling them you love them, or giving them gifts, or saying nice things. I thought you knew this?" Cozy brightened, raising a hoof in revelation.
"Oh! Just like how you do to mommy?" Her daddy smiled and looked ready to say something but abruptly paused in his tracks. His ears slowly lowered in realization and his gaze was drawn to his hooves as he stared at them defeatedly.
"No, Cozy, not like how I've been treating your mother. Faust, I just insulted her just now, not a few moments ago. I'm so sorry you learned to express love by shouting, that's not right at all. I'll try to do better, Cozy."
Said filly smiled in near-villainous glee before departing the room with a quick farewell. 'It's all coming together now. All I have to do is talk to mommy and sit back and watch as our family is fixed!'
Cozy Glow was pretending to focus on her history book, but really every fiber of her attention was directed on the muted conversation taking place on the living room couch in front of her. Her mommy had started in shock when she relayed her daddy's apology, filtered and changed only slightly so as to be addressed to her, of course. From there, all she'd had to do was subtly suggest that they talk it out, and here they were.
The filly smiled, for it was the first time in a while that her parents had talked one-on-one and it had not eventually devolved into screaming. She stole a peek up at them to see the two sharing a passionate kiss and knew her mission was accomplished. Cozy felt elation upon knowing her rather underhoofed approach to solving the dilemma had been so effective. 'Forcing them to talk it out would never have worked so well. It turns out I'm pretty good at this!'
A flash from behind caught her attention as magic surged through her body, and she turned her head to look at her flank, observing the new image that covered it. 'A cutie mark!' She giggled softly in glee, but quickly hushed herself. I'd better not tell my parents yet, they might find out how I-
"Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight. You got your cutie mark from manipulating your parents into liking each other again?" Twilight asked incredulously, stopping her stride in shock. Cozy giggled again, seemingly not bothered whatsoever at the interruption and taking to the air, beaming at her with an innocent smile.
"Yup! That's exactly it! Ten points to Princess Twilight!" Said pony tilted her head in confusion, any pretense of authority utterly done away with and replaced by her scholarly curiosity. The filly pointed to her cutie mark, a bronze chess piece, and continued. "That's why it's a rook! See, I use my superior intellect to manipulate ponies, just like in chess, and everypony's happier for it!" Twilight blinked owlishly, then raised a brow in confusion before replying.
"So, how'd you go from helping ponies out to removing all magic in Equestria and attempting to become its empress?" Cozy smiled softly, looking at least three times her age as she lowered to the ground.
"I never actually wanted to be an empress, princess. I don't have near the levels of leadership experience to rule a nation!" Twilight raised her other eyebrow, double-checking that the truth-only spell she'd cast on the filly was in fact functioning correctly.
"So, why, then?" She asked in genuine interest. Cozy nodded sagely and raised her pink gaze to the clear sky.
"I don't have much life experience to speak of, princess, but I do read. A lot. And one thing has always stood out to me about the nature of ponykind." The filly's eyes returned to the attentive princess before her. "We're lazy! We won't change or do anything to improve our lives unless some force compels us!" Twilight lurched back in shock, an indignant retort ready to burst from her lips, but Cozy beat her to it. "Come on, princess, can you think of one time that you did anything to improve your situation, without having some other pony make you first?" The princess stuttered, not able to do so as the filly continued, "Why, you told us all about how you would never have made friends in the first place had Celestia not sent you to Ponyville!" Twilight composed herself, sitting down in the middle of the path, ears pointed forward in rapt attention.
"Okay, you got me. But I still don't understand why you went all evil because of that. Were you so tired of ponykind from just that one trait?" Cozy shook her head, still wearing that wise smile.
"No, princess. But I did get fed up when I realized how xenophobic we are, especially that Chancellor Neighsay. Golly, what an absolute meanie he is!" The mare nodded in agreement while beckoning her to continue. "Well, eventually I came to a conclusion, studying at your school. I realized that despite our vices, ponykind is amazing at coming together when faced with a big baddie. So I came up with a plan." The filly began pacing, her tiny legs trembling with the excitement of her narrative. "I figured that all I needed to do to bring ponies and all the other sapient species together was to unite them against one big baddie! But, I couldn't just free somepony from Tartarus, they might be too strong! So, I decided I could be the baddie, Then everypony could unite against me and win and then they'd all be friends! A small price to pay for friendship, right, princess?" Cozy briefly glanced back at the shell shocked princess of Equestria before continuing.
"But, then I failed! Everypony was still xenophobic, and I was locked away in Tartarus, unable to help them anymore." The filly paused briefly before she glanced up at the sky, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I was so sad, but I hid it and pestered Tirek endlessly, trying to teach the old loaf friendship. I do think he has potential, you know." She stopped temporarily once more and lowered her gaze before lifting her face up in excitement and continuing. "But, then, another opportunity presented itself! I could be evil, and 'team up' with two other evil baddies, and then everyone would be forced to team up to survive!"
Cozy looked to the side, shamefully digging a hoof into the ground. "I guess I got a bit carried away with the evilness. I meant to stop Tirek and Chrysalis before we got too far, really I did! And I was so happy when everyone rose up into the air, united against us. I'd done it! By golly I'd done it!" She looked back at Twilight, whose face had returned to an unreadable expression. "I was so happy, right up until the moment I realized you guys were going to imprison me along with those baddies. But, hey, now I'm free, so we're all good, right?" Cozy beamed at the princess, who rose back to her hooves and started with an unimpressed tone.
"Cozy Glow, I'd have thought you'd know better than that. Your logic was so flawed as to be-"
But can you really argue?
Twilight paused in her reprimand, blinking unsurely as she thought out the logistics, Cozy watching with a patient expression.
Nocreature was hurt badly, and we did unite as one. How long would it have taken to do something like that on an international scale otherwise? Really, if I think about it, it was the most effective way to bring everycreature together. Twilight looked back down at Cozy Glow, whose innocent grin was back in full force.
"Cozy...you..." She paused, trying to come up with a counterargument. "But everycreature hates you now. They all think you're an evil villain that betrayed their trust! Hay, I thought you were an evil villain that betrayed my trust!" The filly pouted in a way that Twilight found pathetic, despite herself, and regarded the dirt path under them with a downcast expression. Many moments passed as she pawed at the ground with a hoof before she responded,.
"I know that. Golly, do I know that. And it did hurt my feelings to see all my friends look at me like I was the most evil thing in the world." The filly looked back up at Twilight, who was surprised to see tears streaming down her face and a distraught expression adorning it. "But I did do the right thing, right, princess? It was all worth it, to get them together, right?" Any remaining shreds of hesitation within the alicorn faded away in observing that depressing, genuine sight and she held out her forelegs in an invitation that Cozy gladly took. The mare didn't even mind her well-cared-for coat getting re-washed with tears, happy to see the real Cozy and to realize that she hadn't been betrayed at all, not truly.
"There, there, Cozy. While It's true you could have used better means, you did help a lot." The filly shook with the first sob of what was sure to be many, but was still able to choke out a comprehensible sentence.
"I-I-I guess I just never t-thought about what would happen after I went all evil. I-I mean, of course you guys would put me in stone. I n-nearly destroyed magic itself!" The admission seemed to destroy what restraint she had left, and she broke down in heaving cries. For a while it was all Twilight could do to stoke her curly mane and ponder what action to take next. The level of self-sacrifice needed to do something like this is admirable. But she was also really naive and made a few assumptions too many. She needs to learn there are consequences for her actions, even if she's got good intentions. Finally, Cozy's crying diminished, then faded away entirely, and the princess was able to make her proposition.
"Hey, Cozy, how about we go back to the castle and get you something to eat? You must be hungry after not having anything while in stone for so long." The small filly giggled, despite herself, and wiped at her face with a leg before glancing up at Twilight with a smile.
"That's not how stone works, silly! But golly, I guess you're right. Let's go!" And go they did.
Twilight let out a discreet sigh of relief. Her persistent scholarly mind had been mollified, and a piece of her had returned that she didn't realize was missing. Cozy Glow, her star pupil, had returned, and while there was a long way to go before she could be reintroduced to Equestria, the princess was content in the knowledge that the filly had her whole life ahead to make up for her shortcomings.
But as they returned down the path, both deciding to continue to use their legs, Twilight gazed at the other two stony prisoners a bit too long, and a new thought entered her mind, treacherous and unbidden as it was.
I wonder what their motives are?
She groaned, ignoring the questioning glance from Cozy Glow, for she knew that the question would plague her until she mollified it. Twilight gave a reassuring smile to the filly and quickened her pace past the statue.
No, maybe someday, but for now? She glanced down at her purple hooves, demonstrating the point she was making to her rebellious mind. One step at a time.
