Oh, Nelly

Princess Twilight Sparkle sat in the royal garden, trying to enjoy the sun on her face and the sweet bird song that came from elsewhere, but the statue in front of her kept her from finding pleasure in the moment.

She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, she forced her gaze onto the intricately detailed stone. She looked first at the snarling open mouth of the former changeling monarch Chrysalis.

Chrysalis’s part in the attempted takeover of Equestria was no surprise, even if Twilight was honestly a little disappointed and tired of it. For all of Chrysalis’s failed attempts, one would think she might stop and consider if there were a better way, especially after Starlight’s own confrontation. But there was simply no reasoning with the would-be tyrant, not anymore.

Twilight spared the bug a moment of sympathy, she knew that a certain amount of it could be contributed to the old changeling ways and the way Chrysalis was raised. Changelings groomed their queens rigorously, making sure they had the strength to lead and continue the survival of the changeling race. Twilight mused that, in a different universe, she might have been in a similar situation. Could she truly say she would have reacted differently, if she felt so deeply in her bones that her and her children were superior and their ways needed no changing?

She shifted her gaze to look upon the cowering visage of Tirek. Try as she might, she couldn’t help but feel a bit of cruel satisfaction at seeing the monster who destroyed her home, drained her loved ones of their magic, and came closest to completely changing the world as she knew it looking weak and scared. His involvement was the least surprising of the three - it was just the nature of a demon to destroy. Well… She sighed, the little voice of reason breaking through the hate she still held as she thought of Tirek’s brother, who so long ago had managed to accept friendship and conquer his instincts.

What could have been, if she were able to break through to him in a similar manner? Or even if, of all creatures, Discord had? Tirek was obviously capable of cooperation, working together with the other two cast in stone with him almost flawlessly. Twilight’s eye twitched at the thought that they may have been friends, in whatever twisted understanding they had of those sorts of relationships. Something to ponder later, she decided.

That left the last, and frankly most puzzling, part of the ‘Legion of Doom’. Twilight stared at the little filly, frozen in a pose befitting her age. Her actions, however, decidedly did not. After things had settled and harmony was restored, Twilight spent every spare second combing through reports, checking homework, and talking to students at her school, trying to understand why.

As far as she could tell, Cozy had a normal and comfortable life growing up. She had some troubles at the start at the School of Friendship, but quickly found her place and almost everyone loved her. She was smart and charismatic, that little filly could have gone anywhere, done anything - the world truly was her oyster.

So then why?

Much as Celestia had with Whoa Nelly, Twilight didn’t want to believe that Cozy had simply been born…wrong and was incapable of good. It was hard to believe that Cozy might have reached the same level Whoa Nelly had, but Twilight couldn’t deny a twinge of fear that the filly wouldn’t have someday.

It was this uncertainty that brought her here, to the statue. To debate making a similar decision her predecessor had made.

It would be a simple tweak to the same spell once cast on her and the rest of Equestria to erase the filly’s involvement but leave the blame on Tirek and Chrysalis. Especially easy now that she had had access to her old research notes.

But was it the right choice?

She knew why Celestia had done what she had with Whoa Nelly, but was it necessary for her to pursue a similar path with Cozy Glow?

“You will need to make seemingly impossible choices in the pursuit of balance and harmony, and it’s important you are ready for whatever consequences may come from your decisions.”

Twilight nodded resolutely and stood up, lighting her horn and casting a spell.

~Years Later~

Nelly smiled sadly at the young unicorns before her. “So don’t you see? It’s never nice to bully someone for their interests, especially when you haven’t even tried to talk to them.”

The unicorns nodded solemnly, the one who tripped the pegasus rubbing her foreleg as she faced her victim. “I’m sorry for tripping you.”

The other one piped up, “I’m sorry for making it rain and ruining your makeup.”

The pegasus seemed to hesitate for a second before delivering a quick hug to each of them. “It’s okay, I’ve got plenty more at home.”

The unicorns looked at each other before one of them nervously asked. “Do, do you think you could show us? I actually really liked the cute designs you did on your cheeks.”

The pegasus gasped happily and clapped her hooves together. “Sure! Come on, my mom makes great after school snacks!”

“I can’t wait!”

“I love after school snacks!”

Nelly giggled as she watched the trio run off, a proud smile on her face.

“Cut! That’s a wrap folks, good work today.”

A collective cheer rang through the studio, the actors quickly leaving the stage so that the crew could begin breaking it down. Cashmere and Lilac were practically bouncing towards the dressing room, the pair excited to have finished their first acting gig.

Nelly hung back with the pegasus, nudging her playfully. “So? What did you think, Cozy?”

Cozy Glow shrugged, a small smile tugging at her lips. “I’ll need to wait until post production gets done with it but…I guess it was good.”

Nelly scrunched her nose with another giggle. “You young stars, always so critical. Do you have any other projects lined up after this?”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I’m sure my agent has something in the works.”

“Well I hope whatever it is, we get to work together again soon!”

Cozy smiled, “Me too!”