“Andddd—aha!” Slam! went Cozy, Butter’s, red board piece, climbing up a ladder to knock Starlight’s lilac one. “At long, long last! I’ve finally gotten back at Starlight Glimmer! That’s even with all the snakes and ladders shifting like a wizarding school’s staircases. Guess my keens eyes are just too good at snuffing out the worst of it!” Cozy said, standing upright on her seat, smirking at Discord who was seated right next to her.

Cozy bragging to her enemies so directly was one of many actions Ocellus found odd. She would’ve thought Cozy would be more calm. Guess losing so many rounds to Starlight must’ve gotten on her temper. Then again, Cozy was here of all places, willingly. So, it wasn’t sudden.

Ocellus was seated next to Starlight, opposite Cozy. Rainbow Harmony, another potential teacher, was intimidated. She thought this would only include her; her outgoing new friend, Butters; and Starlight Glimmer, who she knew from her school days.

Then, Starlight started suggesting Princess Twilight Sparkles would come by. Now Discord and Ocellus are here: The God of Chaos and another one of Equestria’s heroes? It was a social nightmare! Worst of all: they were fighting.

Even when Cozy was on her hind legs, Discord had to tilt his head down to look at her. He returned an unimpressed, tired-looking face.

“Well, congrats Skies,” said Starlight, smirking as she fidgeted with her board piece. “You’ve won one round of Snakes and Ladders. Must’ve taken a lot of skill.” Rainbow Harmony silently clapped to feel involved.

“Oh, don’t be so sore, Ms. Glimmer,” said Butters. “There is a technique to throwing die, and it can be learned. I’m pretty good if I don’t say so myself, modestly of course! We can play a different game if you—” She looked down at the board to re-admire her strategic brilliance, only to find… “Hey! Discord!”

“What?” Discord said, eyes turning from his book ‘How to looked bored.’ He continued, “Oh dear, looks like you’ve misread a snake for a ladder.” Cozy’s piece had won by climbing up a ladder which went right to the finishing square. “How embarrassing. My turn!” He levitated the die and spun it with his claw till it reached hoof-carving speeds. Then it shot across the room, shattered large plant pots, left dark circles on wall posters, and landed finally, right in between Cozy’s hooves resting on the table. The die emitted pale fumes and made a crater and a burning smell and read:

“Lucky seven!” Discord moved his piece seven places and knocked Cozy’s out of existence. Her mouth was agape. Not one from amazement, but from shock of his audacity. “Oh, don’t be sore, Ms. Butters. It’s just a game.”

“It’s a cube-shaped die! There are only six sides, you’re cheating!” Cozy retorted. “And I already won, and I know there used to be a ladder there, cheater!”

“Perhaps another round will settle this? I’ve got this three-dimensional board of Snakes and Ladder and it uses a fourth-dimensional die. It takes real talent to throw one of these. Not sure your brain could even comprehend nor interpret it.” Discord smirked.

“Play a game you’ve chosen? What do you take me for?” Cozy crossed her upper legs.

“I’m not sure I’m permitted to say that aloud.”

“Flatter me.”

Their faces were inches away from each other. Cozy, flying up to his eye level, had blood bubbling under her grin: so wide it looked painful. “Put. It. Back,” she said, and to everyone (but Rainbow), she had all the ferocity of a rudely-awaken kitten. At any second, Ocellus expected to watch Cozy smack Discord’s face with her paw.

“Why don’t we play, uh, Uno?” Ocellus suggested. Once she realized what she had done, she banged her head against the table. She only brought it up because Discord was carrying a pack of those cards on his tail.

“Oh yes, we should, shouldn’t we?” he agreed.

Cozy scoffed. “Sure. You must love losing, huh?”

“Such game,” Discord said. “Would you rather shuffle?”

Cozy snatched the pack of cards being offered and she fell into her chair—hard, as if magnetized. The small box weighed as much as a crystal mare and pulled her downwards. Luckily Discord placed a booster cushion underneath her. Ocellus thought she heard the rhythm of a gravelly “Golly!” come out from her throat.

“Uno, yes! I’m good at this,” Starlight said, trying to place herself between the two conversation-wise.

Ocellus chimed in before Rainbow could. “So, Ms. Skies, seems you’ll be becoming a teacher.”

Cozy knew a bunch of ways to shuffle a deck of cards. “Yep. I’ll finally be able to make money using my experience dealing with troublemakers. You won’t believe some of the things I’ve had to deal with.”

“Sounds like you’ve had a pretty eventful life. I know what that’s like,” Starlight said before giggling. Cozy smirked. The Headmare continued, “Wanna share some of it?”

Cozy started making five suits of seven. “Uhmm… It’d be wrong to gossip about others.”

Ocellus rolled her eyes. She noticed Discord’s head underneath the table. He motioned with his finger for her to lean closer. Then, he whispered under his paw, “Perhaps you should ask her what she thinks about changelings? I have my hunches. She has surely interacted with a few.”

Ocellus nodded. “Definitely.”

Cozy, listening but not catching their words, looked under the table—only to find a mirror reflecting herself: looking under the table.

“Did you drop something?” Discord asked.

Cozy got back up, not to respond.

“So, Skies,” Ocellus said, “did you have any friends growing up?”

The three ponies looked at Ocellus blankly.

Why’s she raising her eyebrow? Did I sound insulting? She continued, “I meant as in if you had any foalhood experiences that might’ve brought you here, becoming a teacher in general, maybe, or specifically this school? Or just also anything else interesting in general? How’s your parents?” Ocellus chose not to acknowledge Starlight’s own questioning look.

“Oh, they’re both dead,” Cozy stated.

“Oh,” Ocellus replied. She noticed a cold tin-can thrown between her legs, attached to a string.

“Ptz! Pressure her more about changelings!”

Ocellus took a breath. “We’re you an only child or...? I mean I have a bunch of siblings so, heh.”

Cozy bit her tongue, as if she wanted to share some aspect of her life, but—“It wasn’t a typical household structure, not for a pony at least. A bit of a touchy subject, actually.”

“You wouldn’t by any chance happen to find changelings a repulsive species, would you?” Discord asked.

“Discord! Why would you ask that?” Starlight said.

Cozy had a look of real confusion but also a spec of nervousness.

“Oh, it’s just a random question,” he elaborated. “But I have however heard in passing a few… anecdotes, suggesting things.”

“Anecdotes?” Cozy said, ready to roll her eyes and scoff at whatever Discord was about to say.

“Why yes, I’ve heard from two creatures about you once getting lost in a cave for three days.” He crossed his arms smugly.

“Don’t make stuff up,” Cozy said, passing out cards.

“So you never had to ignite your own… to cook a bunch of mushrooms deep down below in a cave, which turned out to be psychedelics?”

“I have never!” Cozy asserted. She wanted so much to punch off his smuggness. Still, she passed Discord his seven cards which he swapped for Starlight’s, to the Headmare’s annoyance. “Anything else you want to add to your tall tale?”

“Nothing, nothing! They’re a rapacious pair with details. They told me only that,” Discord said.

Cozy took a sip of her cocoa cup and sighed. “How does your story make me a changeling disliker?”

“It doesn’t,” Discord said. “I heard you were actually quite agreeable that day. Hugging creatures, crying. Eating well.”

“...I did not know I was going to walk into an interrogation!” Cozy said. “Is this usual staff chatter in this school?”

Starlight could see the validity of her concern. “Yeah, Discord. Maybe don’t do this before she’s even had her first day.”

“Don’t do this ever, you mean, to anycreature,” Cozy corrected.

Discord’s stomach grumbled. “Excuse me. I was in such a rush to fill in for Twilight, I hadn’t eaten anything after this restaurant I brought Fluttershy to for lunch. They had this dessert: a scoop of strawberry ice cream, one of blue bubblegum, two wafers sticking out—drowning in dark-red sauce.” From behind Cozy’s ear, he pulled out his lunchbox. Opening it, he held up—a plate of green jelly.

Butters cringed as Discord started devouring his snack messily. She budged up closer to Ocellus. But she blinked, and when she reopened her eyes, she saw Discord between them. And he was holding a spoonful of slimy gelatin.

“Want some?” he asked. Cozy turned her head. But Discord kept trying, his airplane-themed plastic spoon for foals looping around in front of Cozy’s mouth. “What’s wrong? Any particular facet of your upbringing expose you to experiences causing this to be evocative of something nauseating, more than would be typical for pony households?

To her rescue, Starlight magically pulled away Discord’s claw. “Discord, please.”

Cozy hovered steadily to a new seat at the head of the table, opposite a furtive Rainbow Harmony, closer to Ocellus, further away from Discord.

“Oh, whatever,” Discord commented, biting into his jelly. Ocellus was apparently wearing an earpiece, as Discord communicated, “She must’ve grown up with changeling who used their muzzles like glue guns to mend broken stone. There’s no other reason!” He brought the plate nearer to Ocellus. Though she wasn’t receptive to much disgust, she could get why a pony, especially one as squeamish as Cozy, would find it evocative of certain changeling nasal secretions.

Modern changelings had very hygienic nests, but unreformed ones could be… But where old Chrysalis have found unreformed changelings? Unless she… Did Cozy live with, and grow up with… Could she have stolen larvae from Thorax’s egg chambers or… Sweet Celestia!

“Or it could’ve just reminded her of her daughter on sick days,” Discord added through the earpiece. Then his cards levitated to his paw and he said aloud, “Butters, why don’t you start?”

Cozy’s competitive side came back. She placed a normal red three. Then it was Discord’s turn. If game nights with Luster, Hope, Suri, drones, or whoever else in her tightly-knit circle meant anything—Cozy could be loud. Discord placed a red one, a blue one, a yellow three, a plus four, “Green,” a plus two, a reverse card, “Uno. Your turn Ms. Butters.”

Cozy’s nostrils flared. “Somepony pass me the rule sheet,” she said. Discord groaned. “Yes, Discord?”

“Consulting the rule book in between a game? Really?”

“What? Scared you can’t cheat no more?”

“Oh please. The ‘rules’ of any game are a choice of dialects. You treat it like it’s math. This game is 90% luck, 100% sacrifice!” Discord humphed.

“Wow, that is insightful. You’ve really changed my mind,” Cozy said, plopping a reverse card on the table. “I’m a changed mare, really.”

Discord smirked and placed his last card on the table. “Game!” he said, and confetti fell from the roof, and party poppers popped from every wall.

“Uhm,” said Rainbow Harmony, which caught Discord’s attention. “I know what you said about rules but… I’m not sure if those two cards match.”

“What? They’re…” Discord blew and wiped his glasses with his shirt. His memory couldn’t have been wrong. The Universe was wrong. The last card he had should’ve been a green number one, unless—

“Oh gosh! Maybe you should get a colorblind test, pal. That’s not green.” Cozy grinned, passing the stack of extra cards he’d have to draw from. Discord scoffed. By sheer misfortune or shuffling by Cozy, he had to add fourteen cards to his suit before he pulled a card he could play: a reverse. Cozy played a plus-four wild card. “Y’know what… green is a pretty color…” she said, spinning a reverse card.

Discord looked unamused and yawned. “I can’t care for card games.” He leaned back and stroked his bread. Then a light bulb materialized above his head, and a smile lit his face. Cozy grabbed a card with her teeth and, like a shuriken, threw it at Discord’s visual manifestation of his plan. The bulb might’ve fallen out of place and fall and bumped Discord on his head, but his idea persisted.

“Why don’t we do something more… active?” The room dimmed as he spoke. His eyes windowed chaotic flames. He clenched his claw tight.

Cozy was unimpressed.

“Thank you for all this, Starlight,” she said, flying over the table to shake the Headmare’s hoof thoroughly before grabbing her bag. “But I think I’ll be heading home now, before it gets too cold.”

Starlight held out her hoof. “But what about din—”

There was a clap of thunder. Everycreature turned to a window. Outside was a battlefield of wind and snow, covered in trenches and flashes. They couldn’t see ten meters ahead.

Last Cozy had looked, all she saw were clear skies, pegasus ponies, dragons, griffons, etc. flying home. The night was young enough for most houses to have their living room and kitchen lights on, but not those for their bedroom. She was sure no blizzard was forecast for tonight. This morning she bumped into a few workers on her flight to Ponyville. Unless couldn’t tell her nimbuses from her cumulusi, they were going to ease into spring. What could have caused this other than…

“Will you look at that!” Discord emphatically said. “Seems you’ll be waiting in here for a while, huh, Butters? Well, you walk out before dinner anyways. Nocreature could survive such a blizzard.”

Cozy weighed her options. “Nah. I’ll take my chances. Bye everycreature!”

“Butters, in those skies?” Starlight said, unable to stop herself from gentling tugging on Cozy’s satchel strap. “Are you sure?”

Cozy smirked. “I’m actually a pretty good flyer. Me and my friends would spend weekends in an abandoned outpost near a spring north of the Crystal Empire. We’d wake up to Yak battle cries, poke at our mage buddy to heat up breakfast. We even went swimming in those warm lakes, with a lot of pulling. Those were… days. I can handle a storm!”

“I could try teleporting to your house,” Starlight offered.

“It’s fine, Ms. Glimmer. Really, it is. Enjoy your adventure!”

Discord whispered to Ocellus, “You have to stop her.”

Before Ocellus could contemplate her next move, she was thrown right in front of Cozy. She hadn’t even thought about whether she wanted to go on an adventure herself when she blurted, “Are you sure you want to go?”

“I’m pretty sure,” Cozy replied, trying to squeeze above her.

“But how can we know you’re really who you say you are?” Ocellus said.

Cozy paused and flew back down. “What?” she asked, half-laughing, but her eyes felt piercing to Ocellus.

Ocellus gulped. “Well, I just feel we hadn’t really done much to know your… qualities.”

“What are you even suggesting?” Cozy said, flying over to Starlight. “You just weren’t here early enough. Ms. Glimmer has done a wonderful job organizing all this! I wouldn’t let her down for all of Equestria!”

“Sure you won’t.” Ocellus rolled her eyes.

“I completely agree Ocellus,” Discord said. “Snakes and Ladders does nothing to prove a teacher’s capacity to guide and protect Equestria’s youth.”

“I have a lot of qualifications,” Cozy said.

“It’s suspicious how against this you are.” Discord snapped a file into his paw. “You have a degree from Friendship U? Please. They practically—no, literally sell those things. Meanwhile, Harmony over here is an alumnus of this very school.”

“There’s more than one position open,” Harmony meekly interjected to Discord’s deaf ears.

He was too busy flipping through the papers. “Previous jobs… I forgot you worked for Flim and Flam. That only really makes your credentials more credible… Date of birth… interesting. You look much older than that…”

Ocellus noticed Cozy’s pupils shirk as Discord got closer to the latter pages. Out of nowhere, she flew up and said, “You know what, I mean, maybe one, small, quick trip to someplace outside and quiet wouldn’t hurt. But only a quick one!” she added grumpily.

“Of course,” Discord said.

“Wait, are you reading—” The papers he was holding turned blue as Starlight snatched the file. “Discord! Those are confidential!” Starlight as she turned to Butters. “I’m sorry. Trixie must’ve forgotten to lock these. It’s just—I’ve been stressed these past few weeks, so I had to—”

“It’s fine, Ms. Glimmer. I know what stress is like,” Cozy said. “I mean, I am a bit hurt somecreature would go through those personal personal pages of mine without permission...”

What were in those last few pages? Ocellus wondered. The section telling applicants to describe themselves was usually placed near the back. Could she have revealed her real identity? Maybe there’s something private in her medical history, or Starlight’s notes during her interview, or whatever details she put for her family… Ocellus doubted she’d write any drones as her siblings.

“Excellent!” Discord said, slithering to behind Rainbow Harmony. “And I know just the place to visit! This will surely bond and unite us as arbiters of friendship and proponents of—”

“Oh, get it on with it already,” Cozy said as she dropped her bag and took a final sip of her cocoa.

“Of course,” Discord said. Claws protruded out of his lion’s paw, and with one long vertical slash, he ripped a hole through space. The portal created was solid blue. Cozy had no clues as to what she was walking into. Rainbow Harmony was sucked in as it was made.

Her face had a look of, “Gosh, am I really doing this? Walking right into Discord’s portal. Should I back down now or… can’t really…”

Discord was guiding Starlight like an elder mare to jump in.

“You’re not putting my new teachers in danger, right?” Starlight asked.

“I swear on Fluttershy’s favorite incubating critter. I really have a real motive for what I’m doing. You’ll be surprised at what you might discover about your new employee—s.” He teleported beside Cozy. “Now’s your chance to show your true self, Misses Skies.” He popped back next to Starlight, startling her. With a light nudge of his pinkie, Starlight fell right in.

Ocellus had gone to close the door. Really, to buy herself a moment to wonder, Does Cozy know what’s happening? She herself wasn’t sure what the Chaos God had in mind. Flying back, she saw Butter’s legs firm against the floor. One of her hind hooves quaked up and down.

The pegasus turned to her. “Well, Celly,” she said, extending a wing. “Let’s go.”

Does she want me to walk her to the portal? Ocellus thought. It took a few seconds of awkward staring before she was sure. She reached out and grabbed Cozy outward wing. The yellow-hued underneath of her disguise wings were lighter and softer than those feathers on top. Yet underneath her coat, her bones and muscles were surprisingly firm. Maybe Cozy hadn’t cheated on those guard physicals. She let herself go a bit since then but…

The tip of Cozy’s wing folded slightly to clutch Ocellus’ hoof. Then she started the walk around the table, to the portal, never looking away from the changeling, as if she feared if she blinked, Ocellus would disappear. Then she’d be alone without anycreature besides Discord, who was still here, leaning on his portal. The tip of his tail swirled ripples into his magical tear like a bath.

“Do you… want me to go first, C—” Ocellus coughed. “—Butters. Ms. Skies. I mean, what should I call—”

“On the count of three maybe?” Cozy said. Ocellus nodded. She continued, “Okay… One, two—”

“Three!” Discord shouted, bumping both creatures into his portal with his tail before he himself donned snorkels and, as if gravity flowed sideways, stood up and dove inside.

Author's Note

Trying to get back on track with this. Sorry I haven't been replying to comments but I really do appreciate them <3