Chapter 20: Hero's Ceremony

In one guest room of Canterlot Castle, Aaron, Gallus, Sandbar, Hitch and Sparky were all preparing themselves for the ceremony in their honor for defeating the villains they faced.

"I can't believe we're actually being honored by the ponies of this time," Hitch said. "I'm sure that one day, Sparky will grow up and ask me about this moment."

"This happens a lot more than you think," Aaron said. "Mostly around Twilight and her friends. We'll see how this goes."

"Yeah, that stuff happens a lot around here," Gallus said. "I can't wait to see what they'll do when they put us on stained glass." He then looked towards Aaron. "We are going to be on stained glass, right?"

"Oh, I've seen it in the future when Twilight was bigger than she is now," Aaron said. "A stained glass window of you, Sandbar and the girls taking on that Red Beast, Crunch."

"But not you?" Sandbar asked.

"I wasn't involved with that fight," Aaron said. "Perhaps I'll be getting my own glass window for taking down three of Equestria's villains, with your assistance, Hitch. That also goes for the other futuristic ponies." Just then, there was a knocking at the door. "Who is it?"

A Royal Guard came into the room. It was the stallion that happened to be Cozy Glow's father. He then said, "The Ceremony is about to begin. You all better prepare. I don't know why the Princess would honor insignificant creatures."

Aaron gave off an angry expression and asked, "What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing," Strict Order said, trying to get Aaron to drop it. "Just... get ready." He then left the room.

"Something was up with him," Aaron said.

"Yeah," Gallus said. "Strict Order was always like that with all of us." Aaron and Hitch then went wide eyed at the name of that guard. "I still don't understand why he doesn't seem to enjoy working with certain individuals."

"Did you say Strict Order?" Hitch asked.

"Yeah," Gallus answered. "Why?"

"That dude is Cozy's father!" Aaron said. "Apparently, Cozy was supposed to be sent to her relatives in Hayseed Swamp after her Mom passed away, but Strict Order sent her to a military school for bad foals. And he didn't even care about that. That was before Cozy showed up at the School of Friendship."

Gallus then got angry and asked, "Why would he do that to his own daughter?"

"He was hoping to get a foal who was born a unicorn since he was a pegasus born in a family of unicorns," Hitch said. "Cozy's mom's family always had a strange family lineage since they change different pony types every generation."

"And Cozy's father was expecting a unicorn foal instead of Cozy Glow," Sandbar said. "That's cold and heartless." He then thought about it. "So that's where she got it from."

"We gotta tell Twilight about this," Aaron said, the other boys nodding in agreement.

In the throne room of the Castle, a lot of ponies were waiting for the heroes to come in. Including the G4 Mane 6, Spike, Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie. The doors to the room opened up and coming into the room were Aaron, the Young 6, the New Mane 6 and Sparky.

They all headed towards the throne where Twilight was waiting to award them. They eventually made it to her and the others where they would reward them for their actions.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts of Equestria, as well as creatures of other species, may I give you... the heroes of Equestria!" Twilight announced. Nearly every creature applauded towards the heroes. "For defeating the Red Beast known as Crunch, a demon created by the infamous villain, Grogar, these six young creatures will be rewarded with these Gold Medals for their bravery." The G4 Mane 6 presented the Gold Medals, which were all round with the Elements of Harmony emblems going around in a circle. Magic on top, Generosity on the bottom, Loyalty on the top left, Kindness on the top right, Honesty on the bottom left and Laughter on the bottom right. Twilight put one of the medals around Gallus's neck, Rarity put another one around Ocellus's. Applejack, Yona. Pinkie Pie, Silverstream. Fluttershy, Sandbar. And Rainbow Dash, Smolder.

"Wow," Smolder said, looking at her medal. "This is sweet. And pretty heavy."

"As well, as being remembered in glass," Twilight said. She then looked towards something that was covered, and there were a couple of guards next to the covered object. They removed it and it showed a stained glass window of the Young 6 defeating Crunch.

"Whoa!" the Young 6 all said in unison.

"Okay, that's awesome," Gallus said.

"It sure is, Gallus," Twilight said. "In fact, Gallus, your bravery against Crunch and your training here, you are hereby now a member of the royal guard." Just then, some guards came in and put custom-made royal guard armor on Gallus. He looked down at it with a big smile.

"This is awesome!" Gallus said, flying up. "I made it big time!"

"WHAT?!" came the voice of Strict Order. He came through the crowd and towards the throne. "He's been in training for only a year and you're making him a guard?! I've been training my flanks off to be in the guard for four years! Why is he special?!"

"Because he went above and beyond to protect his friends and the kingdom from villains," Twilight said. "He's a very special griffon willing to sacrifice himself to keep his friends and home safe."

"That's not good enough!" Strict Order shouted. "He shouldn't even be in the guard! He's a freak to the Royal Guard!"

"Like your daughter was a freak for being born a pegasus?" Aaron asked, making Strict Order gasp. "You might have come from a family of unicorns, but that doesn't mean you know what's best."

"How do you know that?!" Strict Order asked.

"You were hoping for a foal that was born a unicorn, but you got a pegasus daughter instead," Aaron said. "Your late wife loved her so much and wanted what was best for that little filly. She was supposed to be sent over to her relatives in Hayseed Swamp for a happier life. But you decided to send her to a military school for bad foals. And that led for her to becoming a villain."

"Wait, what?" Twilight asked. "I've read his file. It doesn't say anything about having a daughter."

"So you lied on your résumé, huh?" Gallus asked. "You are so low."

"So where is his daughter now?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight, his daughter is Cozy Glow," Aaron said, making everyone look at Strict Order. Mostly in shock.

"You treated your daughter like a monster before she even became one?" Twilight asked.

"She was the reason my wife got sick in the first place!" Strict Order shouted. "I don't know why she was happy with the reason why she was sick in the first place?!"

"I looked into her medical files, and it wasn't because of Cozy's birth that made her sick," Zipp said. "It was because of some heart problems that she inherited from her father's side of the family, and it was too late for her to get it fixed. No doubt Cozy will go through the same once she gets older, but that can be stopped when the time comes."

"Yeah, no doubt about that," Twilight said. "But now, you on the other hoof, Strict Order..." Then a bunch of guards surrounded Strict Order. Then a unicorn guard removed the armor off of Strict Order.

"WHAT?!" Strict Order asked. "You're firing me?!"

"And punishing you for every bad thing you've done to your daughter!" Twilight said. "And for that, let's see how you like it being a clone of your own daughter and taking her place in the statue of the other villains."

"What?!" Strict Order said. Twilight's horn was already glowing and she shot a beam towards Strict Order. He was surrounded by a puff of pink smoke. When the smoke cleared, he was now a complete copy of his own daughter. He looked down and saw his new form. "What?! No!" He then noticed his voice changed as well. "What? My voice, too?!" Strict looked towards Twilight and said, "Change me back now!"

"You will be in that form for the rest of your life, Strict Order," Twilight said. "Even if you find a way out of your stone state." She then fired another blast towards the stallion turned filly, and then he was turned to stone and stuck in the position Cozy Glow was when she was turned to stone with Tirek and Chrysalis. "Make sure he joins the other villains." The other guards nodded and took their former fellow guard and took him away. "Now, let's move onto the rest of the heroes."

Then another guard came in and held out a velvet pillow with seven kite shaped shield like medals on them. The medals were also adorned with the Elements of Harmony on them. The center had the Element of Magic, the top left had the Element of Loyalty, the top right had the Element of Kindness, the Element of Honesty was to the left of the Element of Magic while the Element of Laughter was on the right, and on the bottom was the Element of Generosity.

Twilight had placed one medal around Sunny's neck, Fluttershy had placed a medal around Hitch's, Rainbow Dash placed a medal around Zipp's neck, Rarity put a medal around Pipp's neck, Pinkie Pie put a medal around Izzy's neck, Applejack put a medal around Misty's neck and Starlight put a medal around Aaron's neck.

"Give a round of applause to our heroes from another point of time and space!" Twilight announced. "Sunny Starscout, Hitch Trailblazer, Zipp Storm, Pipp Petals, Izzy Moonbow, Misty Brightdawn, and our legendary jade dragon hero, Aaron Blazer!" Everyone in the room applauded the heroes for what they've done for their time. Twilight then leaned towards Aaron and quietly asked, "Where is the real Cozy Glow?"

"In another guest room being watched by your brother, Cadance, Flurry and the Crusaders," Aaron responded, quietly.

Up in one of the guest rooms, Shining Armor and Cadance were standing at the door to make sure Cozy Glow didn't get out while she was having a chat with the Crusaders. Flurry Heart was being held back by Apple Bloom.

"Seriously?" Cozy Glow asked. "You three made yourselves older?"

"Biggest mistake of our lives," Scootaloo said. "Especially when we gave a couple of ponies a little older than us some bad advice."

"Really?" Cozy Glow asked. "What happened?"

"The colt wanted ta bring their pet to the animal showcase in the Appleloosa County Fair," Apple Bloom said. "The filly wasn't on board with it. We were currently adults at the time and we told them to bring their pet to the fair."

"And it turns out that their pet gets really stressed when it's in a big crowd," Sweetie Belle said. "Luckily, Fluttershy came in and calmed the creature down."

"What happens if that creature get's stressed?" Cozy Glow asked.

"It becomes a living cyclone," Scootaloo said. "It tore up the entire showcase. That little purple... whatever it was. I don't know why they named it Bloofy."

Cozy Glow gave a shocked expression and asked, "Bloofy?"

"What's that look about?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Was this creature purple and fluffy?" Cozy Glow asked, the Crusaders nodding. "And their owners. Was the colt a red earth pony with a blue country styled brushed mane and the filly a brown Pegasus with a turquoise mane styled similar to mine and had a yellow neckerchief?"

"You know them?" Apple Bloom asked.

"They're my cousins, Biscuit and Spur," Cozy Glow said. "I was supposed to be sent to them after my Mom died. But my dad sent me to a military school instead."

"If you were sent to military school, how did you end up at my sister's School of Friendship?" Shining Armor asked.

"I slipped out of there without them noticing," Cozy Glow said. "In a way, I was assisted by Lord Tirek."

"That makes sense," Princess Cadance said. "Let me guess, they had their magic drained when that happened?"

"That was the only way for me to get away," Cozy Glow said. "I was gone by the time they recovered. I've been living with a foster family in Baltimare for a year. But the school I was attending had a lot of bullies that got away with everything. They had rich family and said that they had all the power in the school. Made me so angry. Makes me wish that... I'd get back at them by having more power."

"So that's why you wanted all that power," Shining Armor said. "If you had all that power, you would show those bullies that they would regret pushing you around. Plus your dad's bad behavior had gotten into you and you were acting like him."

"I... guess I was," Cozy Glow said. She then sighed. "I... accept my punishment for what I've done." Just then, there was a knocking at the door. Everypony in the room looked towards the door and it opened up. In came Twilight and Aaron.

"Well, you won't have to worry about your dad anymore, Cozy," Aaron said. "He was exposed for what he did to you. He was one of the guards here in Canterlot until we exposed him."

"Strict Order was fired, turned into a copy of Cozy Glow and now is punished to be the statue with Tirek and Chrysalis," Twilight said. "He'll be punished for everything he did to you, Cozy."

"He is?" Cozy Glow asked. She then sighed. "I guess... I'll accept any punishment you'll give me." She then shut her eyes tight. When nothing came, she opened her left eye and looked towards Twilight, who wasn't even flinching. Cozy then opened up her other eye and looked up at Twilight. "You're not doing anything. How come you're not doing anything?"

"Well, after what you've been through before coming to my school, you had a right to be angry," Twilight said. "Not at me or my friends, not at the other students, not at the bullies who picked on you, but at your father. Your mom would've wanted what was best for you. So that's why... we're bringing your family to you, and you all can live someplace that's both calm and not very crowded. There, you'll be forced to wear a magical ankle monitor that informs us of your actions in case you try something bad again."

"That's... a good idea," Aaron said. "Better to have her kept watch on her own actions than to lock her up." He then checked his phone. "I should get to the restaurant. My friends and I have reservations."

"Go on," Twilight said. "You deserve it."

"I still don't know what's going on about that dragon," Cozy said. "Who is he?"

"He's actually from another dimension where there's a show based on this world," Twilight said. "Focusing on me and my friends."

"Seriously?!" Cozy Glow asked.

"Yeah," Twilight said. "Aaron is actually good friends with the six students that originally stopped your plans at the School. In fact, he and Smolder are dating."

"Who knew I could hit it off with a tough girl from here," Aaron said.

"Awww," Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle said in unison.

"Eww!" Scootaloo said.

"Oh, grow up," Aaron said. "And I mean mentally, not physically." He then jumped off the railing and started flying towards the restaurant to meet with the Young 6. That made all the ponies in the room laugh.

Author's Note

Well, to be clear with this, there will be one more chapter, and then the epilogue of this story. Hopefully things will be better from there on for the heroes. See you all next time.