The Reasonable Reformation

It was the next morning. The sun began to rise, as it did every morning. Inside the castle of friendship, Cozy Glow laid asleep in her little room. The bright sunlight came through the window woke her up slowly. She let out a hearty yawn, and opened her eyes.

"Eergh. What a night." she said to herself.

Cozy stepped out of her room, and was immediately greeted by Twilight Sparkle.

"Good morning, Cozy Glow." Twilight said, with a large grin.

"Um, good morning, Twilight." Cozy said, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Everything alright, Cozy?" Twilight asked.

"I think so. Though, I just had the craziest dream last night. I dreamt that we went to Mount Aris, and you guys sparked all these deep emotional connections within me... and I gave in and reformed." Cozy explained.

"But, Cozy, it wasn't a dream. It was real." Twilight said.

"It was?" Cozy asked.

Twilight nodded.

Cozy shook her head.

"Oh. Thank hoofness. I was worried it was just a dream, and that it wasn't real." Cozy said. "Or worse, that this whole thing is still another delusion dreamt up while I'm in stone."

Cozy clapped her hooves together to make sure things were real.

"Well, we're glad you're here, and that you're our friend for real." Twilight said.

"Thanks. And you know, I'm glad too. I truly am. I uh... I look forward to working alongside you, and not having to resist your kind gestures." Cozy said.

"I'm glad to hear, Cozy. And I'm looking forward to having you under my wing, as we work towards making more friends." Twilight said.

Cozy gave a light smile. She was just relieved to have Twilight be a little less of a nuisance, but it did feel nice.

Twilight and Cozy entered the library, and saw Starlight stood atop a tall ladder, organizing books. Cozy was excited to speak to Starlight, and tell her about her day yesterday.

"Good morning, Starlight!" Cozy said with a cheery tone. "How are you doing?"

Starlight looked at Cozy for a moment, but turned back around, and didn't reply back.

"I see. Well, I can't wait to tell you about yesterday. Oh, we had the most fun day ever yesterday! I wish you were there. Me, Twilight, and her friends we all..."

Despite Cozy's speech, Starlight seemed tuned out of the whole thing, which served to sour Cozy’s mood slightly.

"Is she even listening to me?" Cozy asked.

Twilight looked at Cozy nervously.

"Maybe we should leave Starlight be for now." Twilight said.

"But... I wanna tell her about our beach day. I wanna tell her how I felt becoming friends for real." Cozy said.

Twilight thought about it.

"Alright, Cozy. Just, be mindful." Twilight said.

Cozy nodded.

"Starlight. Can you please come down from the ladder and talk?" Twilight asked.

Starlight still insisted on keeping herself quiet, and did not come down.

"Is she alright?" Cozy asked.

"I think so." Twilight said.

"Well, I'm not so sure." Cozy said. "Can you talk to her for me?"

"I'll do it. I'm wondering what Starlight's thinking myself." Twilight said.

"Starlight! Would you please come down and talk, Starlight?" Twilight asked.

Starlight didn't seem up to it, but she did finally decide to come down.

"Is everything alright, Starlight?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. Everything’s fine.” Starlight said.

"Would you like to talk, Starlight?" Twilight asked.

"Um..." Starlight looked at Cozy.

"Mind if we talk some other time?" Starlight asked.

Cozy looked down. Twilight wasn't having it though.

"Would you be more comfortable if we talked in private, Starlight?" Twilight asked.

"Sure, Twilight." Starlight said.

Cozy left the library so they could chat on their own. But she stayed close, and listened through the door. Even though they were in the other room, Cozy could hear their conversation quite clearly.

"What did you want to say, Twilight?" Starlight asked.

"Well, as you might've noticed. Cozy Glow's been acting a little friendlier this morning. There's a whole story behind that she began to explain."

"That's good." Starlight said.

"So, what do you think?" Twilight asked.

"About what?" Starlight asked.

"About Cozy? Have you come to accept Cozy?" Twilight asked.

"...So, is that really it?" Starlight asked.

"Is what it?" Twilight asked.

"You think she's completely reformed now? Do you fully trust Cozy Glow now?" Starlight asked.

"Of course. We had so much fun with her yesterday." Twilight said.

"I see. Well, that's... I suppose that's good." Starlight said.

"You don't sound so sure." Twilight said.

Starlight bit her lip, and was starting to look visibly frustrated.

"Starlight. Spit it out! Do you trust Cozy, or not?" Twilight asked.

"No! No I don't. Okay? Is that what you want me to say?" Starlight asked.

*gasp* "Starlight..." Twilight said.

"I hate to break it to you, Twilight, but how do you know you can really trust her? How can we know that everything she's said about redemption so far is for real, and isn't part of her latest scheme?" Starlight asked.

"What? No way. You should've been there on the beach getaway. I think something really clicked in her." Twilight said.

"Or, that's just what she wants you to think, and this is all just part of her latest scheme." Starlight said.

"Starlight, please listen. She's good now. She's sweet, and she's my friend." Twilight said.

"She was sweet before, and she was our friend before. She was your right hoof pony in the School of Friendship. And you saw as well as I did how that turned out." Starlight said.

"Of course I saw, Starlight. I was there in the School of Friendship. I saw what her make-believe demeanor looked like, and I saw her on Mount Aris yesterday. She's a totally different pony now. I highly doubt she even could be pretending at this point." Twilight said.

"Well, I still have my doubts." Starlight said. "She misused our trust in her, nearly drained all the magic from Equestria, nearly destroyed me, and nearly had you trapped in Tartarus forever. Her weapon of choice was deception. Why should we trust her ever again?!”

Cozy gasped upon hearing this. Cozy looked down, and then looked quite peeved. After hearing Starlight say that, Cozy left, and tuned out the rest of their conversation.

Twilight took a long pause before replying.

"Because... look, I completely fully understand why you'd be so skeptical. But I promise you, I've seen some truly meaningful growth and development within her. She's truly starting to see friendship in a brighter light. And I believe it isn't for pretend." Twilight said.

"Do you really think so, Twilight?" Starlight asked.

"I know so. She's a totally different pony now. Look, she caught us by surprise with her insincere soupy sweetness before. But we've seen the real her now, and this is a new her. I understand the hesitancy, but I don't think you should write her off, or just keep continue too be cautious. I think she'd be grateful if you listened to what she had to say. And I think you'd very soon see for yourself the progress she's made."

"Hmm... *sigh* Look, Twilight. You had trust in her before, and we all got burnt for it. I just don't want that to happen again." Starlight said.

"I see. But look, Cozy is capable of learning. She has her own issues, and we've been working through those with her. You trust me, don't you?" Twilight asked.

"Of course I trust you, Twilight." Starlight replied.

"Then please join me in giving Cozy Glow a chance." Twilight said. "You know as well as anypony how hard it can be to be forgiven. It all starts with opening up and giving her a chance. Me and the rest of the girls already have. So please, I ask you nicely."

"...Alright. But I'm keeping my eyes peeled." Starlight said.

"Whatever it takes for you." Twilight said.

Twilight and Starlight exited the room. They made it out soon enough to see Cozy in the distance trotting away.

"Cozy Glow!" Twilight called out.

Cozy turned her head around.

"Where are you going, Cozy? Starlight would like to speak to you." Twilight said.

Cozy Glow nervously approached Twilight and Starlight.

"Um. Heya, uh, Starlight. Is everything alright?" Cozy asked.

"Yeah. Everything's fine. What's on your mind, Cozy?" Starlight asked.

*ahem* "Well, as you might've heard, me, Twilight, and her friends, all went on this amazing beach journey yesterday. Wish you could've been there. We all had so much fun on the sand, and then we all went to the top of Mount Aris, where we..." Cozy said.

"I see." Starlight said.

"But, before I explain any more, there's something more important I need to get out. *ahem* Starlight, I'm sorry. I-I'm... sorry that I tried to drain all the magic... and that I pushed you into the spell... and I'm sorry for... what I did to Canterlot. It was wrong for me to do those things, and I'm just grateful that you're okay."

Cozy was choked up apologizing to Starlight. She turned her head away in shame.

"...It's okay, Cozy." Starlight said.

"It's okay? So uh... do you forgive me, Starlight?" Cozy asked.

"It's fine, Cozy. Don't sweat it." Starlight said.

"Don't... sweat it?" Cozy replied.

"Yeah. Everything's cool." Starlight said.

Starlight then left.

Cozy went into her room alone.

"Cozy?" Twilight asked.

Cozy then closed the door to her room.

Twilight wanted to say something more, but she didn't want to be too pushy, so she left Cozy to herself.

Cozy Glow was laying on her back on her bed, alone in her room, still frustrated with Starlight.

"Don't sweat it? DON'T SWEAT IT?! What's that supposed to mean? How can you be so nonchalant about this whole thing!?"

*Grr* "What's her problem?" Cozy asked herself.

"What's your problem?" Cozy replied to herself.

"I said I was sorry. My spell was stopped, okay? The magic didn't go away forever. Y'all got the last laugh after my Canterlot attack. What more does she want!?"

Cozy sat up, but only let her anger swell up even more.

"You don't trust me Starlight? Well, maybe you're right. I'll show you. You're afraid, of me? I'll give you a reason to be afraid!"

"I'll show her. I'll show her something to fear! I'LL-"

Cozy was then startled by some knocking on her door.

"AH!" she exclaimed.

The knocking startled her, which caused her to back up, and accidently bump into a bookshelf, knocking down some books.

"Don't come in, Twilight! My room's a... a mess!" Cozy exclaimed.

Cozy picked up everything, and tried to reorganize.

"It's me." said the voice. And it wasn't Twilight's voice.

"Spike?" Cozy said.

"Yeah. Can I come in?" Spike asked. "I just want to talk."

"Uh..." Cozy looked around, and everything seemed fine. "...Sure, come in."

The door opened, and in came Spike.

"Hey, Cozy. Woah! What happened in here?" Spike asked.

"Nothing." Cozy said, hiding her guilt.

"You alright, Cozy?" Spike asked.

"I'm fine. What do you want, Spike?" Cozy asked.

"Twilight told me about what happened, and I wanted to make sure you were okay, Cozy." Spike said.

"Oh, that? Don't worry about it. It's not like I'm bothered by what Starlight said." Cozy said.

Spike looked around at the sudden mess in her room.

"Right..." he said, doubtfully. "Listen, it's alright. She'll come around in time."

"Hmph." Cozy pouted.

"Twilight's speaking to Starlight again. She'll probably come around much sooner than you think. Would you be interested in apologizing again? Spike asked.

"Why should I have to apologize again? If she doesn't want to forgive me, then that's an issue she needs to overcome on her own." Cozy said.

"Can't you approach this with an open mind? I mean, that's what we're asking of her." Spike said.

Cozy looked down, still pouting. She then looked up back at Spike.

"Please just leave me be for now, Spike." Cozy said, who was starting to weep again.

Spike nodded, and granted what Cozy requested.

Spike exited the room. But he was surprised by Twilight and Starlight standing right outside.

"Is Cozy Glow inside?" Twilight asked.

"She is. But, um..." Spike wasn't sure how to explain Cozy's predicament.

"Should I come back later?" Starlight asked.

"No. Don't go just yet. See-" Twilight started to say, before Spike spoke up.

"Actually... yeah. I don't think Cozy's ready. I think you should come back later, Starlight." Spike said.

"Ookay. Well, just let me know when you're all ready." Starlight said.

Starlight trotted off, leaving Twilight and Spike on their own.

"So, any progress with Starlight?" Spike asked.

"Not sure if I'd call it progress, but I think I understand more of what Starlight's going through." Twilight said.

"Yeah. Same with me and Cozy." Spike said.

"Starlight said she'd be willing to hear out Cozy, though I suppose the damage has been done?" Twilight asked.

Spike nodded.

*sigh* "If only there was a way for them to come together and reconcile." Twilight said.

"Let's just give them time." Spike said.

"Alright. Poor Cozy. I didn't think talking to Starlight would be this difficult for each other. I just want to help her." Twilight said.

"I know you do." Spike said.

Twilight and Spike left Cozy to herself for now.

Inside Cozy's room, Cozy laid on her back on her bed, thinking about today's events, and arguing with herself.

"Just admit it. There's nothing you can do to win her over. She'll always think you're a liar, and a deceiver. She'll never trust you. Nor will Bon Bon, or Mrs. Cake, or..."

*gasp* "Not even the... the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

*Cozy nodded no*

"So then what about Twilight and her friends? They seem to trust me now. Are they the fools?"

"You're the fool for thinking you can be anything other than you're meant to be."

"But, we had so much fun together on Mount Aris. They seemed so inviting to me."

“Face it. Twilight and her friends are a bunch of weirdos who will forgive anyone, no matter the severity of what they did. Starlight’s setting your expectations correctly. Even if you maaaybe could convince her to trust you by making her question her logic, why bother? Do you really want to go through that song and dance for everypony in Ponyville? What’s the point of making friends if you have to trick ponies into liking you? Isn’t that what you were doing before anyway?”

Cozy stressed out, and was not looking forward to trying to make any more friends.

"Why is this so hard still!? Things were looking g up after yesterday, but, Starlight raises an excellent point. You can never be fully trusted."

"And if I can't be trusted, then I'm just playing Twilight and her friends for fools once again. What good am I to them here anyway?" Cozy looked out her window.

"Forget this. Forget them. This just isn't going to work out..."

Cozy opened the window, and climbed onto the window sill.

"Hmm. Shouldn't you tell Twilight about your plan?" Cozy tapped her chin and thought about it.

Even if Twilight could figure it out where Cozy was going, she figured she would write a little note explaining her reasoning for her following actions.

Some time later, Twilight knocked on Cozy Glow's door.

"Cozy Glow? You in there? Is it alright if I come in?" she asked.

But she was met with silence.

"Cozy?"

Twilight opened the door, and went inside, but Cozy Glow was not in the room. Instead, there was just an open window.

"Oh no..."

Twilight then discovered a note on the bed.

Thank you so much for all that you've done for me, Twilight Sparkle. I've thought a lot about what I've learned, and I've learned a lot about friendship because of you. However, I feel as though this whole 'make new friends thing' isn't going to work. You've done all you can for me I feel. So I felt it best to use my newfound friendship skills, and continue where things left off for me, and make friends with ponies my own size at the place where it all began.

Twilight met with Spike and discussed what to do.

"Now what do we do?" Spike asked.

"We look for her, obviously." Twilight replied.

"Why do you think left?" Spike asked.

"We could probably make an educated guess, but let's not waste time thinking about that." Twilight said.

"I hope Starlight doesn't find out about this." Spike said.

"Find out about what?" Starlight asked, who walked in on the two of them unexpectedly.

"GAH! Uh... no we were just um..." Spike tried to hide what was happening, but Twilight figured she'd may as well say.

"Cozy left the castle on her own." Twilight said.

Starlight paused, and then responded.

"Oh. Well, I hope she's okay." Starlight said.

"Hope nothing! You're coming with me to help find her, Starlight!" Twilight said, sternly.

Starlight pouted her lips, but quickly quelled herself.

"Very well." she said.

Nerves between the two unicorns was getting tense, so Spike interjected with something to ease the nerves.

"Hey, um. We still have her records in the School of Friendship. Maybe if we study them close enough, it could give us some clues on where she'd go." Spike said.

Neither pony had much to say at this moment though.

"Great idea, Spike. You always come up with the best ideas." Spike said with his best Twilight impression.

"I'd be happy to help you with this friendship problem, Twilight ol buddy. I’m glad we’re such good friends." Spike added, with his Starlight impression.

"What are you doing?" Twilight asked.

"Just lightening the mood.." Spike said.

In the School of Friendship, Twilight, Starlight, and Spike entered into the room of the Headmare, and found a strange surprise. A blue unicorn magician giving a practice speech.

"And that is why as Vice Headmare, I shall-"

"'Vice Headmare'?" Starlight asked, interrupting Trixie.

"What? It could still happen." Trixie said.

"Whatever. I need to see my student records." Twilight said.

"Fret not. I haven't touched a thing in here. Your records are all-"

Before Trixie finished her sentenced, Twilight opened a tall filing cabinet with her magic, and pulled out Cozy's student folder.

Twilight and Spike shifted through Cozy's records. They found information in regards to her supposed tastes, as well as where she came from before moving to the School of Friendship.

"...Um, Spike. How upset was Cozy when you spoke earlier?" Twilight asked.

"...I think based on what she wrote in her note, she definitely went back to her home town." Spike said.

"Then that's where we're heading. Immediately. You me, Starlight, and all our friends. We're all bound for-" Twilight said, before Trixie interrupted.

*ahem* “I don't suppose all your friends includes the Great and Powerful-" Trixie said, but was interrupted by Twilight.

"Yes, you can come. We could use some pony to make sure Starlight doesn't try any more funny business." Twilight said.

"Any more?" Starlight asked, raising her eyebrow.

"What did Starlight do this time?" Trixie asked.

"We'll explain everything later. For now, just get ready. We're about to head out soon." Spike said.