Cozy Towersby 5u0myn0n4ChaptersPart 1 -- Let the Games BeginPart 2 -- Trials and SituationsPart 3 -- The Magic DuelPart 1 -- Let the Games BeginIt was a day known in Equestria as the Ending. It was the day that all of Equestria came together to stop the combined forces of three of Equestria's most sinister villains. Well, two sinister villains, and a peculiar filly. The trio of Cozy Glow, Lord Tirek, and Queen Chrysalis were turned to stone by Discord, aided by Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. A few days later, the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle was held in Canterlot, ushering her in as Equestria's new ruler. The very next day, the statue of the trio was hauled to Canterlot Gardens, where they were to remain. All seemed well, until Twilight Sparkle was inundated with letters questioning the strange new statue in the gardens. They were concerned with why a young pegasus filly was a part of the statue. Most ponies knew that the statue used to be actual creatures, and filly rights activist groups were concerned for the filly in stone. Twilight at first brushed aside these concerns, as she had her own plans in mind, but the letters didn't stop. Things started to escalate, as furious protests from the activist groups started appearing throughout Canterlot, demanding Princess Twilight free the filly. Her royal advisor Spike speculated that the statue might be hurting Twilight's image and reputation as a bringer of friendship. With that perspective in mind, Twilight decided to give into the demands of everypony, and release Cozy Glow from stone. This action by no means signified the reformation or forgiveness of Cozy Glow however. Cozy still needed to be kept in check, however, reasoning with Cozy Glow was still very far down Twilight's agenda, so she was put on parole, and ordered to pick up every broken brick in the still destroyed throne room, and rebuild it, brick by brick. Cozy wasn't sure what was worse. Being made of stone, or being ordered to lift all this stone. One day, Cozy Glow overheard Spike and Discord yelling about something in one of the castle's rooms. She followed the sound, driven by her curiosity. Cozy found the room where the yelling was taking place, and slowly opened the door. Inside, she saw Spike, Discord, and Big Mac playing some kind of table top game. "Critical hit!" Spike exclaimed. "Oh no, the Squizard's dark magic activated!" Discord shrieked. "If we use our team attack we should be able to finish him off though!" Spike said. "Eeeyup!" Big Mac said. The three of them held their appendages above the table in formation, and together exclaimed- "SUPER DUPER MAGICAL TEAM STRIKE!" *ahem* Spike looked over, and saw Cozy Glow standing at the doorway. "Oh. Hey, Cozy Glow. Nice to see you stop by." Spike said. "Yeah. So, why are you all yelling so loudly at this board game?" Cozy asked. "It isn't just a board game. This is Ogres & Oubliettes. The action packed fantasy role playing game where you control your destiny, and venture through dangerous and perilous adventures ." Spike explained. "Hmm. Control your own destiny, you say?" Cozy said, intrigued by the description. "Eeeyup." Big Mac said. "Sounds neat. I'd uh, like to know more. But, you know, I still have a lot of work to get done tonight." Cozy said. "Those bricks aren't going to lift themselves." "Not that we'd spill the secrets of Guy's Night to an outsider like you." Discord said. "What's that? You'd consider letting me play?" Cozy asked. "Nnnope." Big Mac said. "Well, hang on, guys. Guy's Night only comes along every so often these days. And she seems genuinely interested. Why not extend a reach?" Spike said. Cozy smiled. Touched by Spike's considerate nature. "Hey, Cozy. I tell ya what, we just finished one of our quests. Come here, and we'll explain our game and ease you into it if you'd like." Spike said. "Me? Playing... um, whatever you called this game. Sounds enticing. But I don't know. I still have lots of construction work to complete." Cozy said. "Don't worry about that. I'll cover for you tonight, and make sure your brick quota is met." Spike said. "Alright. Thanks, Spike." Cozy said. Cozy picked out a seat for herself, and overlooked the board. There were so many parts to this game. There were stacks of cards, and all kinds of little plastic pieces. "So, where do I start?" Cozy said, unsure. "So, you start off by making a character. They can be like you, but not quite the same as you." Spike explained. "Alright. I'll be Cozy... Coz... Cozella?" "Okay, Cozella. Next, you pick out a class. And then, we decide what quest we want to go on, and so on, and so on, and so..." Spike explained more of the rules. But his voice drowned out the longer he went. Fortunately, Cozy was a quick learner. "You get all that, Cozy?" Spike asked. "I sure did! I wanna be the most powerful spellcaster in Spiketopia, and show that Squizard what for!" Cozy shouted, proudly. "Then, I think you're ready!" Spike said. "I sure am, Spike!" Cozy said. Cozy Glow joined Spike, Big Mac, and Discord on their O&O quest. She joined them on their quest to defeat the Squizard, and free Spiketopia. Cozy was getting the hang of the game. She was leveling up, learning spells, defeating foes on her own, and gaining experience points. But unbeknownst to them, Cozy was formulating her own plans. Later that evening, Twilight had just finished her princess duties for the day. Another satisfying day of Princess work. But then, Twilight heard loud yelling from the Canterlot rec room. "OH COME ON, COZY!!" "NNNOPE!!" "YOU'RE NOT PLAYING FAIR!" "YOU'RE JUST SAD 'CAUSE YOU ALL GOT DESTROYED!" Twilight opened the door, and saw Cozy Glow arguing with Spike, Big Mac, and Discord, in an imaginative world conjured up in the rec room. "What is going on!?" Twilight asked everyone. "Hmm?" Discord snapped his fingers, turning the room back to normal. "She's a little cheater!" Discord shouted. "Hey, I didn't break any rules!" Cozy shouted back. "It's not my fault that the Squizard was a big pushover, and that it was so easy for me to take over Spiketopia!" Cozy said. "Again. What is going on!? One at a time, please." Twilight said. "So it all started with us inviting Cozy Glow to join our game of Ogres & Oubliettes." Spike explained. "Uh-huh. Got it. Even though she's supposed to be repairing the throne room, I got it. Then what?" Twilight asked. "So then, we all went out on a quest together. We as in me, Discord, Big Mac, and Cozy Glow, to destroy the Squizard once and for all. We succeeded, but in the process, Cozella betrayed us, and captured Sir McBiggin, and Captain Wuzz. I was the only one lucky enough to roll high enough to escape." Spike said. "Eeeyup." Big Mac said. "Uh huh..." Twilight said. "But that wasn't the end of it. Spiketopia is now known as New Glow City! She rules over the whole land. It's truly horrific." Spike explained. "What are you gonna do? Disqualify me? Banish me? I played the same game you guys were playing. I won the land fair and square." Cozy said. "But, why would you betray us, Cozy? We trusted you." Spike said. "Eh. You've got to watch your backs, and trust no one." Cozy said. "And quit whining. You invited me. I didn't necessarily ask to join, so don't cry about how I chose to play!" Cozy said. "Oh yeah?" Discord said, lighting up his hands. "Don't you dare!" Cozy exclaimed. "Every creature, pause!" Twilight exclaimed. Everyone paused and looked at Twilight. Twilight weighed her options in her head. Overall though, she was just surprised to see Cozy take up any interest in this game in the first place. "You know, I never expected you to take up interest in the Guy's Night signature activity, Cozy." Twilight said, smirking. "...Whatever. It's just a silly game. It's not like I'm really passionate for the game itself." Cozy said. "If it's just a silly game, why are you so into it?" Spike teased. "It's kind of like chess, with an extra hint of imagination. Strategizing and defeating you all has been kind of fun so far." Cozy said. With that, Twilight got an idea for a bit of extra fun. "You think so, Cozy? Well, how about you face a new opponent? Because you can count me in." she said. "Wait, what?" Spike asked. Twilight sat down at their table, and inserted herself into their O&O game. "I'll play your little game. I'll continue this quest from where you left off, and help you to defeat Cozy Glow." Twilight said. Cozy laughed at Twilight's idea. "Hahaha. You're kidding right?" Cozy asked. "I've observed enough Ogres & Oubliettes to have a grip on the game." Twilight said, smirking. "Alright. I'm game. I'm game. But don't think it'll be easy. I'll come up with some nasty traps, and make things a living Tartarus for you!" Cozy said, with a devious grin. "I'm ready for it." Twilight said, with a determined look. "First thing's first, you need to create a character. Who are you gonna be, Twilight?" Spike asked. *ahem* "I am-" "Wait! Discord, take us back into the game world, please." Spike said. "Of course." Discord snapped his fingers, and everypony was transported into the world of Ogres & Oubliettes! In the world of Ogres & Oubliettes, Cozella the Empress ruled over New Glow City, formerly known as Spiketopia. She lived atop her floating castle, while her citizens below were impoverished, and hungry. There were few brave enough to challenge her might, but there was one wizard who was up for the task. Her name was TwiShine! A skilled and powerful spell caster! But few ponies were aware of her prowess. She had kept her life's work a secret from everypony. TwiShine did studies on the outskirts of New Glow City, in a broken down shed. She kept her lips tight, and her thoughts to herself. She was secretly researching a way to overthrow the tyrannical rule of Cozella, as impossible as it had seemed. "We're doomed. Her flying fortress is impenetrable! What can we do to stop Cozella?" But then, on this fateful day, there was a knock on the door. TwiShine was anxious to open, but she needed to make haste. She opened the door cautiously, and was greeted by the renowned wizard, Garbunkle. *gasp* "Garbunkle the famous and utmost respected. It is an honor to welcome you to my humble shack. What brings a wizard of your knowledge to a humble pony like me?" "I come seeking assistance. I seek your knowledge in my quest to overthrow our tyrant. I have tried once already, but... it came at the great loss of my closest friends, Captain Wuzz, and Sir McBiggun..." Garbunkle said, with a hearty tear in his eye. TwiShine closed the door, closed all of her drapes, and lit a lonely candle. The lit candle illuminated her detailed, but incomplete schematic of Cozella's castle. "Excellent timing, Garbunkle. I need assistance myself with the same goal. And I feel our strong, but unique skills will be the key to overthrowing our tyrannical leader." "Excellent. Since I've already been to her castle, I can guide you through the flying fortress. And, although my magic is undoubtedly the best, having a magical sidekick can't hurt." "...Right. Anyway, I've been making careful observations of Cozella's castle. The flying castle floats above the northernmost point of the town. She's able to see everything from above, making it impossible for any pegasus, or flying contraption to reach the top. "It's far worse than you think. Twishine." Garbunkle cried, trembling to his knees. "You must beware of... the Super Weapon!" "The Super Weapon?" "Cozella is building a weapon capable of pointing, and shooting down any target below! It's only a matter of time before the weapon is complete! And when it is, who knows what she intends on doing with it!" TwiShine's jaw dropped in horror at the mere thought of such a device. "This is bad, Garbunkle." "Cozella must be stopped immediately!" "But, are the two of us really capable of handling this quest on our own." "Mmm, probably not. But, you needn't worry, Garbunkle, the great and honorable. I have connections." TwiShine pulled a lever, causing the floor beneath to open up. They fell a short ways down to a secret basement. Sat around a big strategy table, sat five more mares. "Garbunkle, meet my friends." The mares turned and faced TwiShine and Garbunkle. They leapt up and introduced themselves. "I am Raremare. A divine cleric, and gem collector." "I am Ranger Dash! The fastest, sharpest, most accurate Ranger in all of Spiketopia!" "A'hm the Applebarian. The strongest physical attacker you can add to your party." "...Oh. It's my turn? Well, I'm a druid. And my name is um, is um..." "She's Beautyshy! She's totally in touch with nature and whatnot." "Yeah. What she said." :) "And that leaves me. Ponkmo the bard! ~~And I'll string you a merry tune~~ on our path to victory~~!!" "And of course, there's me. TwiShine! The greatest undercover magician in Spiketopia! And together, we form a dynamic team of the Mage 6!" Garbunkle took a step back in amazement, and kneeled down before the mares. "Dearest mares, will you accept my quest, and join me to raid the castle of Cozella, and free Spiketopia from her tyrannical rule?" "I thought nopony was going to ask. You can count us in!" Dash said, cocking her crossbow. "Garbunkle the skilled and intellectual will be of the utmost value to us on this quest. He was captured by Cozella, but escaped her tower. He knows what to expect. His knowledge will be an invaluable asset in our quest for justice. With his knowledge, and our teamwork, I believe that Cozella is going down!" "That brat in the flying castle is definitely going DOWN!" "But how will we get up to the flying castle?" "Leave that to me." Meanwhile on the castle rooftop of Cozella's castle, the empress was torturing Captain Wuzz. Captain Wuzz was tied down to a large wooden platform, with all of his limbs stretched out and bound. "So, Captain Wuzz, you're not all you claim to be. You appear to only be an averagely intelligent archer, but I know your true identity. You hold the key to unlimited chaos magic, Discord. And you're going to tell me how to control your magic, so I can use it to rule the cosmos!" Captain Wuzz's magic was already drained by a draining spell, and put into a magical music box. "I'll never tell you my secrets, Cozella!" "Is that so? Well, you might want to reconsider your stubbornness, Captain Wuzz." Cozella conjured up a 20 sided die, and gave it a roll. It landed with 13 facing up. "Thirteen. Bad luck. For you." Cozella turned the wheel of the torture machine, stretching out Captain Wuzz. "Go ahead. There's no use torturing me this way. I'm infinitely expandable!" Cozella smirked. "Is that so? Well, fortunately, I have several contingency plans in the event that I grow bored of torturing you." Cozella let out a wide heartless grin. Torturing Captain Wuzz gave her the utmost pleasure. "Oh, this is ridiculous, I'm getting us out of here." Captain Wuzz managed to snap his fingers, but nothing happened. "Oh, I guess you can't send us back to reality without your chaos magic!" Discord winced, realizing the sticky situation he and his friends were now in. "I don't need to wield your chaos magic myself to do damage. See this big laser turret up here on the castle roof? This is what the ponies down below fear. My so called Super Weapon! I can aim this baby at any spot beneath my castle, and deliver a heated beam of energy powerful enough to obliterate anything I wish! I'd simply hate to find out what'll happen to Beautyshy's sanctuary if it got in the way of my laser." Cozella said, pressing her hooves against her cheeks. *gasp* "You wouldn't!" "Oh, it's not up to me. I'll let her fate lie with the roll of the dice. It doesn't have to be this way though. Just tell me the key to chaos, and I'll disarm my weapon, as I'll have no need for it at that point." "You monster!" "Hehehehe! HAHAHAHA!!" Garbunkle explained to the Mage 6 his experience with Cozella's castle, and his theory on the super weapon. "Any kind of weapon like that needs a source of power. And I think I know how she's channeling energy. Cozella talked about seeking six powerful artifacts, so I reckon a weapon of that magnitude is powered by the six powerful objects she seeks, or may already possess. "Very intriguing, Garbunkle." "And knowing the clever strategist Cozella is, I highly doubt she'd put all her eggs in one basket. The power sources must be scattered throughout the castle." "Sounds like we're plenty up for the task. Six artifacts. Six of us. I say we get inside that castle asap. and disarm that weapon before it has a chance to fire." The Mage 6 and Garbunkle snuck themselves through town discreetly, and were now directly below the castle, in its blind spot. They had a hot air balloon which they planned on using to get up to the flying castle. "We need our hot air balloon to ascend nearly perfectly vertically up, so as to stay out of her sight. "The balloon's speed is determined by our roll. The odds are in our favor, but on the low end, we might not make it." "Then we'll have to go airborne soon. Every moment wasted is a moment she can spend charging the weapon. We need to go now." Everypony nodded affirmatively. TwiShine rolled the 20 sided die. She rolled a 7, setting the balloons upward speed to 7. Not great, but it would have to do. Another roll would cost too much MP, and they needed to have as much ammunition as possible going into Cozella's fortress. Everypony climbed aboard. TwiShine hastily pulled the lever, igniting the flame, and so the balloon took flight. And it's a good thing it did, as there were already signs that the Super Weapon was gearing up to fire. At this very same moment, atop the castle, Cozella rolled her own 20 sided die. She rolled a... 18! Plenty high enough to unleash her weapon. "Oooh. An 18! That's plenty enough to unleash my super weapon upon Spiketopia! Hmm. But what to destroy? What could possibly hurt you the most, Captain Wuzz?" "I know! Now's the time for me to turn Beautyshy's animal sanctuary into a crater!" *gasp* "You wouldn't!" "I don't have to. Just tell me how to use your chaos magic, and I'll spare Beautyshy's pitiful sanctuary." Discord winced really hard, as he stood at this difficult crossroad. Risk the fabric of reality? Or risk his friend's sanctuary, and the animals who lived there? Back in the hot air balloon, our heroes were making good ascent. "We're making good speed, everypony." But there was an uneasy aura in the air. They all had a sneaking suspicion that something bad was about to happen. "Do you hear that?" A powerful source of energy was glowing atop the castle. "We're too late! She's gearing up to fire her super weapon!" "But at what?" The laser set its sights on an area below. And everyone came to a horrific realization, when they saw where the sights were pointed. "My Sanctuary!!" The Sanctuary heated up, and glowed red from the laser's sights. Every critter and creature imaginable fled from Beautyshy's sanctuary as it was apparent that doom was coming. Cozella's super weapon finished charging up, and then FIRED A FULL BLAST AT THE SANCTUARY!!! *BOOOM* "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Beautyshy cried her heart out. Ponkmo held and patted Beautyshy. "Cozella! This is the last time you fire that laser! YOU HEAR ME!!??" A devastating loss! Everyone teared up. But in spite of that, they couldn't afford to look back. Cozella had to be stopped! The balloon made it up to the same height as the floating castle. Fortunately, it seemed Cozella hadn't noticed their ascent whilst using the super weapon. Luck continued to be on our heroes' side, as the drawbridge leading inside was already open, making for an easy and safe place for them to land, which they did do. The hot air balloon landed on the drawbridge, and our heroes cautiously climbed out, and proceeded inside, one at a time. TwiShine stopped in her tracks and looked back. She had many things on her mind. Chief among them, she wondered about the true nature of Cozella. An enigma that still evaded rational explanation. "You coming, TwiShine?" "...Coming." She followed her friends inside. Inside the castle, it was rather quaint, but foreboding. It was a cold and dark stone interior. Not very decorative, which hinted that perhaps Cozella was more about getting down to business, than spending time on being decorative. Our heroes quickly found exactly the place they were looking for. They found themselves in a large cylindrical room, with six doors, and a spiral staircase in the center. Above each of the six doors, there were symbols that had been scratched off, making it difficult to tell what those symbols were. "This is where you come in, Garbunkle, the brave and glorious. This room is certainly very noteworthy, but what should we know about this castle before we tread farther, Garbunkle?" "Well, as you can see in front of us, there are six doors, leading to six different chambers. I suspect this is precisely where Cozella has split the power source of her weapon. Splitting it in six parts would make it more difficult for intruders to come in and disable it. "Shame she didn't count on six magical friends storming her castle then." "That's just the thing. This place almost seems built for you all. I fear you may be stepping into Cozella's trap." "We'll haf'ta take that chance. An' besides. Ain't no challenge she can come up with we can't overcome." "She's right. You needn't worry about us, Garbunkle." The mares looked at the doors, thinking over which ones they should each enter. But it wasn't immediately obvious where each of them should proceed. "How do we know what's on the other side of each door? How do we plan this optimally?" "We can't. Just pick a door, based on our best intuition, and be prepared for whatever lies on the other side." Our six heroes ultimately did pick out a door. Before entering, they all gave each other one more affirmative nod before entering the trials. "Where will you tread, Garbunkle?" "Me? I will carve my own path. You all go ahead and proceed, I know what I'm doing." The Mage 6 all opened their respective doors. Each door was enchanted, and was glowing pure white on the inside. Garbunkle stood and watched the Mage 6 enter the mysterious doors. Embarking on their road to triumph? Or marching to their destruction? It was hard to say, but Garbunkle was optimistic. "Alright. I'm coming for you, Cozella." Garbunkle ran up the spiral staircase in the middle. TwiShine trotted through the magical room. Nothing had formed yet, though she saw the glowing tunnel come to an end at a point ahead. She made her way through, and made it to the other side. The horrible challenge she found herself in... was a rather unremarkable and empty room. Well, almost empty, aside from a chair facing opposite of Twishine. Very ominous. Especially considering that it was clear that there somepony sitting on the chair, waiting for her. TwiShine trotted carefully. One hoof step at a time. The chair swung around and faced her, revealing the filly on the other side. Cozella. Cozella sat on the chair, looking quite pleased to see her guest. Sat in her lap, was a blindfolded cockatrice, whom she held, and stroked. “Hello, Twilight Sparkle." "Cozy Glow. We're roleplaying. You're not supposed to use real names." "But, I know exactly who you are. You're not TwiShine the expert wizard. You're Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. You've been hiding the truth from everypony. But you can't hide from me. You can't surprise me." She knows this is just a game, right? Why is she blending roleplay with the real world? "Oookay? So, what do you want... Cozy Glow?" “Right now your friends are entering my trials. But they'll never succeed. Y'all never succeed in your mission to disarm my super weapon, and take back Spiketopia.” "I wouldn't be so sure. My friends are capable of pulling off miracles. I seriously doubt anything you can come up with can overcome them." TwiShine said, proudly. "Are you sure? I designed these rooms especially to trip up and defeat each of your friends." TwiShine started to worry somewhat. Cozella seemed really confident. “So what’s my trial?” "Oh, you don't get one. I honestly couldn't come up with a puzzle that I thought you couldn't solve. So, I'm cutting straight to the chase. I want you to suffer like how I suffered!" "What's that supposed to... mean?" Cozella took off the blindfold of the Cockatrice, and held it in front of TwiShine. "NO! Cozy you can't!" TwiShine closed her eyes and looked away, but it was too late. She'd already glanced at the piercing red eyes of the Cockatrice, and her body started to turn to stone. First from the hooves up. And then her torso. "I should've known. You're just as conniving as you've always been! Why when I get out of here, I'm going to-" Twishine's body was now completely turned to stone. Cozella wrapped the blindfold back around the cockatrice, and released it. Cozella flew up to TwiShine. “Oh, Twilight. I had no idea you had such a colorful opinion of me. I know that because desperation always brings out the truth. But no matter.” Cozella undid TwiShine's hood, revealing her crown. Cozella swiped the crown from the top of TwiShine's head. "Goodbye, Twilight. Hello Element of Magic. Now for the remaining Elements of Harmony." Part 2 -- Trials and SituationsRanger Dash emerged from the door, and found herself on some kind of mountainous pasture. It was dim, so it was presumably evening time. But it was difficult to tell, due to the dense fog that surrounded her. There was some kind of glowing object in the sky. Perhaps the full moon, blocked mostly by the fog. "Alright. I see what you're putting down. These doors are like portals that magically bring us to some kind of mini world of your conjuring up. So... where the heck am I?" "Hehehehe..." A faint, but eerie laugh could be heard in the dense fog. "What? Who are you?" A pony stepped out of the fog. A pegasus filly, actually. They wore a uniform that looked like the Wonderbolts uniform, but much more... shadowy. A Shadowbolt! "Me? I'm only just the best flier in all of Equestria! I mean, Spiketopia." "What? No way. I'm the best flier there is." "You think so, Rainbow Dash? Puh-lease! You'll never reach your full potential. You're soooo weighed down by your friends." "THAT'S NOT TRUE!" "Face it, Rainbow Dash. If you're having to split Wonderbolts training with friendship time, it's going to take so much longer to reach your peak. Take it from me. I had no friends, and no family I left behind when I went to the School of Friendship. And what happened? In just a matter of days I formulated a plan and had you and your friends all trapped in Tartarus, and I nearly succeeded in draining all the magic from Equestria! And it's all because I never let friendship distract me from my goals." "Twilight was right. You really don't understand friendship. Friendship isn't a distraction!" "Oh yeah? Prove it! Let's race! And see who's the better flier!" "You're on!" Rainbow Dash and the dark filly stood behind a white starting line drawn in the ground. They were nearly geared up to race, but it was so foggy, that it wasn't clear exactly what lay ahead of them. "So uh, where's the finish line?" "You don't know? HA!" They heard a bang sound, and suddenly the dark filly was off to the races! "Hey! Wait for me!" Rainbow Dash flew after her, but she couldn't keep pace with her for long. Shortly after, Dash lost sight of her, and couldn't see anything besides the surrounding fog. Dash nearly hit a large pointed rock, but she reacted in time and weaved around it. Dash had done so many zigs and zags though, that she couldn't even tell which way she'd just come from. She was totally lost! "Oh no. I lost. But even worse, I'm lost!" Ponkmo made her way through the portal in the door. A scene started to form, and she was back in Ponyville. Nothing too out of the ordinary yet. That was until she heard the sound of somepony crying. That pony turned out to be Cozy Glow. The sad filly was sitting sad and alone on the grass. “Cozy Glow?" “That’s me... and... *gasp* You’re Pinkie Pie!” Cozy came to life when she saw it was Pinkie Pie in front of her. "Hold yourself, Cozella. I'm on a mission to infiltrate your castle and disarm your lasery weapon of destruction!" “But, Pinkie Pie, I mean you no harm. I only wanted to say... it’s my birthday!” “...It is?” “Yeah. And I was hoping the most awesome super duper party pony would plan for me a spectacular birthday party!” “Well, why didn’t you say so? Leave it to Pinkie Pie to plan you a super duper party you won’t soon forget!” “Oh, but I have some very specific requirements.” "Oookie-dokie... lokie." Pinkie said, raising her eyebrow. "Such as what?" "Oh, not much. Except I want everypony in Ponyville to come. I also need streamers, balloons, a large birthday cake, my own special birthday dress, and... lots of fun activities. And it all has to be tailored specifically for me." But Pinkie had never planned a party for Cozy Glow before. She didn't really know much about Cozy Glow to begin with. Planning a party especially for her might prove difficult, but she believed she was up to the task. "That'll be no trouble at all!" Raremare stepped out of the light, and found herself inside of Carousel Boutique in Ponyville. She quickly heard the bell ring, and in came a familiar pegasus filly. *gasp* "Cozy Glow!" "Golly, you must be Rarity. Just the mare I wanted to see." "It sure is. And though I have no idea how I got here, or why I'm here, I am sure as Celestia NOT providing you with any service." Cozy started to tear up. "But, Oh golly. You're really going to deny me your service because of our past encounters?" "Past? Darling, you took over an entire sovereign nation of Spiketopia! You're charging some kind of giant laser beam nonsense as we speak!" "I-I just wanted a nice dress." Cozy teared up some more. Rarity reminded herself that any crying from Cozy was likely all just a ruse. But it couldn't hurt to at least hear her out. *sigh* "Well... what do you want?" Cozy sprung to life at the question. “Make me a dress I like. That's all you have to do to pass your trial. Fail to do so, and I lock you in the dungeon.” "I accept your challenge, Cozy!" "It won't be easy. I'm a very picky client. My dress has to be perfect! I'm a cute and lovable angel, so my dress should say as much!" "Got it!" The Applebarian stepped out of the light, and found herself outside, in front of some important but boring looking building in Manehatten. "Now what in tarnation has that filly come up with this time?" A voice called out for our apple pony. A familiar looking blue maned pegasus filly with glasses, and a collared shirt flew up to Applebarian. "Excuse me, are you Applejack?" "I'm not Applejack. Mah name's The Applebar-" "No, you're Applejack. And I think you better come with me." they said. Cozy Glow led Applejack into the building. Inside was a big courtroom, with a jury of angry looking Cozy Glows. "What in tarnation is going on?! I'm a barbarian, not a lawyer! And I thought we were playin' Ogres & Oubliettes, not a courtroom simulation." “Applejack! You are on trial for the stoning of Cozy Glow!” “Wha? Why me?” “My plaintiff, Cozy Glow, is proposing that you willingly lied about her nature, and made up defamatory statements, which led to her being turned to stone!” “How in Equestria is that possible? I've hardly said a word about Cozy!” "That's what we're here to find out, as you defend yourself in trial." Applejack was seated in the defendant's chair. To her right, at another table, sat a stone statue of Cozy Glow. The jury box was filled with many Cozy Glows, and the judge was another Cozy Glow, with a powdered wig, and a long black gown. "This is ridiculous. Y'all got nothing on me." "Then I suppose this should be easy. Shouldn't it?" Cozy said, with a cocky looking grin. Beautyshy's door led to the top the castle. It appeared to actually be Cozella's castle, and not an illusion. Beautyshy saw her friend Captain Wuzz tied to Cozella's torture device. *gasp* "Captain Wuzz!" "Beautyshy, please! Keep back!" "It's no use, Beautyshy. Right now your friends are dealing with the most devious scenarios I could come up with for them!" "So then, what's my test?" "Well, to be honest, I couldn't come up with anything for you. I mean, what was I supposed to come up with? Fluttershy has to overcome her stage fright? Bleh! So, like with Twilight, I'm cutting to the chase with you. Give me your Element!" "My what?" "I mean. *ahem* That special necklace of yours." Beautyshy looked at her necklace. The jewel was indeed butterfly shaped, but she wasn't aware it had any power. "No. You can't have my Element, Cozella!" "I see. Well, either it's your Element, or Discord's magic. Either way, I'm not afraid to make a mess out of things!" Cozella dialed the laser to its lowest setting, which created a small but piercing beam right besides Captain Wuzz. She was threatening to cut him in half. "This is your final warning! Tell me how to control your chaos magic, or I'll dissect the answer out of you! "NEVER!". "I see. Well, let's see what fate has in store for you." Cozella conjured up her 20 sided die yet again, and gave it a throw. The die landed face up with a 9. "Errgh. Not enough for a clean laser cut. Guess we'll have to go old fashion for your torture." Cozella turned the wheel, stretching out Discord more. "Did you say you were infinitely expandable? Or that you were expendable? I guess we'll find out! HEHAHAHAHA!!!" "Leave my friend alone, you fiend!!" "Never, Beautyshy!" "Um. I didn't say anything..." "Huh?" Cozella turned around, and saw the wizard Garbunkle standing atop the castle roof as well. "Ah. Garbunkle! So you've returned to try to save your friend? How commendable. But I'm afraid it's too late. He's as toast as Sir McBiggin is." "Why, Cozella? Why go to all this length?" "I don't know. Something about the Squizard's powerful beak was compelling me towards it. And I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity at that sick power grab!" "Why would you betray your allies just for a grab at power?" "I didn't betray you. You refused to be my servants under my new rule as Empress." "This land doesn't belong to you! The citizens of Spiketopia deserve better than to live under your tyrannical rule!" "I see. I see. Well. If that's what you think, then come and take Spiketopia back from me!" "You're on!" "I can be on too." "It's a one on one magic duel!" Garbunkle and Cozella challenged each other to a magic duel, and the battle immediately commenced. It was Garbunkle's turn first. Garbunkle rolled his die, but it was a mere 6. "What's the matter, Garbunkle? Can't roll a double digit number?" Garbunkle attempted to cast a zap attack on Cozella, but its effect was negligible. "Let's see how a real O&O champ does it." Cozella rolled her dice, and rolled a 14. "Ooh. Another high roll! Golly, how does she do it!?" Cozella put a magical binding spell around Garbunkle. "Please stop this!" "Stop!? I can't stop. You can't stop me! NO ONE CAN STOP, EMPRESS COZY GLOW!" Cozella cast a powerful magical beam attack, dealing a critical blow to Garbunkle. "As if you ever stood a chance." A trap door opened beneath Garbunkle, and he fell down a long vertical shaft. "So much for your Spike in shining armor, Captain Wuzz. Now, about your chaos magic!" "Stop! You can't do this!" "Why? What would be lost?" "He's my friend! I can't stand the thought of losing him! Surely you don't know what it's like to lose a close friend." Cozella weighed the situation carefully. "Will you promise to spare my friend if I give you my Element?" "Hmm... You're not bluffing, are you?" Beautyshy undid her necklace, and held it out. "Here. Do we have a deal?" Cozella turned off the laser, and dialed back the wheel, releasing the tension stretching out Captain Wuzz. She then swiftly swiped the Element away from Beautyshy. "It's a deal. And now that makes for two Elements." Cozella detached the jewel from the necklace, and held it up to her crown. She held the Element of Kindness up to her crown, and it became magically infused with the crown. "Your friend is spared. And I promise my laser will bring no harm to Captain Wuzz. However, he is still my prisoner. And he won't get his freedom until he tells me how to control chaos magic! And until he does, TwiShine's shack is next on my laser's hit list." Cozella held her crown in her hooves, and was in disbelief that these powerful artifacts were now in her possession. "That's two Elements down. Now I only need four more. And I have a special feeling that the remaining Elements will be delivered to me very soon." Back in Rarity's trial, she had finished fitting Cozy with an exceptionally well detailed dress. A pink princess dress, bedazzled with sparkling jewels. But would it pass the test? Cozy stood in front of the mirror, and assessed her dress. "So, what do you think?" Cozy carefully thought about the dress. She smiled at her image, and things seemed to be going well. But suddenly, she nodded in disapproval. "WHAT!? I put all my heart and soul into it!" "I'm more a fan of things woven with blood, sweat and tears." "So... you don't like it?" Rarity asked, breaking into tears. "It's... fine. It's just missing something. That cherry on top. I need..." Cozy looked at Rarity and her necklace. “I want THAT gem!" Cozy pointed at Rarity's Element. “This?! Oh, but, darling. This one I simply can’t give up.” “Then I guess you won’t pass the test then.” Rarity thought long and hard about this one. Give up her Element to Cozy Glow just to pass this test? Was it a worthwhile sacrifice to make? Well, there seemed to be no other way out of this situation. Rarity caved in, and outfitted Cozy Glow with her Element of Generosity. "OoooOOooh. So shiny and sparkly!" Cozy said, grinning. "So what do you think now, darling?" "I love it!" Rarity beamed with excitement. "But you still fail." Rarity's mood immediately went into shock and horror. "WHAT!? But you said make a dress you like. I succeeded, no?" "The dress? Oh no, this thing's still a wreck. I was talking about this Element. So shiny, so powerful! Rarity gasped. She'd fallen right into Cozy's trap. And now, she was about to fall through Cozy's trap door. "And since you failed to make a dress that I liked, you failed the test. So..." A trap door opened underneath Rarity, and she fell way down. Pinkie Pie had decorated the entire park for Cozy's birthday. Pink table covers, with gift bags, balloons, and a ginormous cake, big enough to feed every filly in Ponyville for a week! That wasn't all. There was a bouncy castle for fillies to bounce around and play in. Cozy Glow inspected Pinkie Pie's work. "Impressive work, Pinkie Pie." "Thanks." "There's just um..." "Did I forget something, Cozy Glow?" "Maybe. I don't know. I guess I was maybe expecting a bit more of a... fun factor?" "Oh there's lots of fun to be had. Every filly loves a good bouncy castle. Later we can play musical chairs! Oh! And then-" "I got it! I know what's missing!" "You do? What is it?" "There's one party game missing." "There is? What is it? I'm teeming with excitement!" Cozy put a blindfold over Pinkie. "Oh. I see. Wait, never mind. I don't see. I can't see anything right now! So let me guess, we're playing that sensory game where you place something in my hoof and I have to guess what it is. No wait. Even better, it's, it's-" Cozy removed the blindfold, revealing that Pinkie Pie was tied to the side of a tree. "Um, Cozy. This doesn't look like much fun." "Oh, but it is! Everypony get ready for Pin the Tail on Pinkie Pie!" Cozy blindfolded the filly in front, and Pinkie Pie, and then swiped Pinkie's Element away from her and flew away. Pinkie Pie fidgeted around, and broke herself free, and rushed over to Cozy. "Give me that back!" "AAH!!" Cozy flew into the large bouncy castle. Pinkie followed her inside, cornering her. Pinkie bounced up and down, causing Cozy to drop the element. Cozy and Pinkie bounced up and down, trying to catch the Element, which was also bouncing. "Mine!" "No, it's mine!" The two frantically fought for the Element in the bouncy castle. But eventually, Pinkie caught the Element. "I got it!" *pop* The ground underneath Pinkie popped. "Oh, Pinkie. Don't you know these things are rated only for fillies?" Cozy flew past Pinkie, swiping the Element, and swiftly exiting the deflating bouncy castle. "Wait! Don't leave me!" Pinkie tried to escape, but the castle was deflating too quickly. The bouncy castle collapsed, and deflated, trapping Pinkie Pie underneath a heavy layer of nylon. Outside, Cozy looked at the Element of Laughter in her hooves, and laughed at Pinkie's misfortune. The fillies all looked at Cozy with disbelief, and disappointment. "Oh, grow up, kiddos. This party is over, however, help yourselves to some cake." Back in the courtroom, Applejack was getting grilled by the lawyer Cozy Glow. "Now then, I have a statement prepared that will utterly blast your flank into pieces." "I'd like to see you try." "Very well. Allow me to begin. *ahem* "Our defendant, Applejack, touts herself as being the Element of Honesty. Therefore, we can safely assume that anything she believes must be the "objective truth". Let's see how she holds true to that. On the day of the Ending, you clearly did not do anything to stop Discord from turning Cozy to stone. Now, let me ask all of you. Is it fair to say that Cozy Glow is undoubtedly different from Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis?" "Well, ...I mean, she's shorter than them." "Because she's a FILLY! And to be honest, I don't think it's fair to treat Cozy Glow, with the same standard as those OLD villains! Therefore, I state that her punishment is unfair!" The jury nodded and chattered in agreement. "And so, by allowing Discord to turn Cozy Glow to stone, and laughing at her defeat need I add, you were making a firm statement that Cozy deserved it. Which I just reasoned with you, is objectively NOT TRUE! She's a filly! She didn't deserve to be turned to stone! Therefore, you acted dishonestly! Any honest pony would've objected to the horrific thing that happened. But you didn't! GUILTY!" "...Say what now? I'm not followin' yer circular reasonin'." "I've presented my evidence, and the jury is nearly ready to make a verdict. So, one more time, Applejack. How do you plead?" "Fer the last time, NOT GUILTY! I didn't say anythin' dishonest about Cozy Glow! You can't make all these stretches and assumptions about me. I only spoke about Cozy Glow, on account of what EVERYPONY could plainly see! An' if anypony was responsible for her gettin' turned to stone, it's HERSELF!!" *gasp* The entire jury of Cozy Glow's let out an immense audible gasp. Even Lawyer Cozy was in shock, and had to readjust her glasses. "The defendant has spoken, has the jury reached a verdict?" "We have, your honor. “We, the Cozy's, find Applejack GUILTY of misusing her element of Honesty! Therefore, she doesn’t deserve it. Seize her Element!” Lawyer Cozy swiped Applejack's necklace from her, and hoofcuffed her hooves together. "Well, hang on! This ain't a fair trial!" “Life's not fair. Applebrain. Now imprison her!” A trap door opened beneath Applejack's seat, and she fell down a vertical shaft. Rainbow Dash frantically flew through the fog, but it was no good. She was hopelessly lost. She eventually gave up, and landed on the ground. "It's no use. I've failed. And if I failed, then that means Spiketopia is doom!" She pressed her hooves to her face, and started crying. But suddenly, Garbunkle fell from the sky, and landed in Dash's grasp. "Garbunkle! What are you doing here?" "Never mind me. We need to stop Cozy and her pursuit for your Elements of Harmony." Dash checked herself, and indeed her necklace was missing. Cozy must've swiped it sneakily at some point. "Our Elements? I thought she already had the Elements, errr, something." "I'm still not sure of all the specifics yet, but what I know for certain is you must beat Cozy Glow in this race!" "But I can't. I can't see through this thick fog. I don't know where I'm going. There's no point." "You must go, Rainbow Dash. You must fly and win. I know you can do it." "But Cozy is probably already at the finish line!" "Or, maybe she isn't. You ever hear the story of the tortoise and the mare? I reckon Cozy might be resting on her laurels. You're more than fast enough to catch up and win! "You're right. I'm not letting myself be out done by that bratty filly. I'll show her how fast I can really go!" Rainbow Dash revved up her wings, and took off flying at great speed. Which direction was she going? It didn't matter. She just needed to build up speed. "Woo hoo! Where am I going? Doesn't matter! Because I am Rainbow Danger Dash!" Rainbow went so fast, she broke the sound barrier, and created a Sonic Rainboom! The gigantic boom blew away the fog layer, and cleared up the area. Dash could now see the finish line atop a hill, and Shadowbolt Cozy Glow simply lounging around. Shadow Bolt Cozy heard the sound of something rushing through the air, and opened her eyes. She panicked when she saw Dash speeding to the finish line. She tried to get herself going, but before she could even leave the ground, Dash zipped through the finish line. "Oh yeah. Uh-huh!" Dash suddenly heard some crying. She looked over saw Cozy crying in frustration. "Hey, don't sweat it, squirt. You gave it a good go." *sniff* "I did?" "Yeah. You're a good flier, kid. Keep it up, squirt." Cozy hugged Rainbow Dash. Dash embraced her as well. Cozy then smiled, and flew away. Dash felt pretty good too. She didn't seem so bad. "Wait, did she just congratulate me?" The scene started to fade away, Dash and Garbunkle wound up back in the castle foyer. "So now we're back here?" "Cozella got what she wanted, so the illusion spell has dissipated, and we're back in the castle. Come on, let's see how the rest of our friends are doing." Dash and Garbunkle exited the chamber, and checked in on TwiShine's room. And what they found inside shocked them. *gasp* "TwiShine! Oh no!" "That fiend got to TwiShine! What do we do?" "Hmm. I have an idea. Maybe I can peer into her mind and find a way to undo the curse. I don't have much magic left, but I have to do it." Garbunkle rolled a double lucky 14. With his role, he cast a mind reading spell, to peer into the mind of TwiShine. Inside of Twilight's mind, she envisioned herself sitting on the stairsteps of her castle, arguing with herself out loud. "What is it with Cozy Glow? What is it with everypony? I'm doing my job as Princess just fine. What do they know? Cozy got what she deserved! I don't recall her asking for my forgiveness at any point. I only recall getting yelled at, and having lasers fired at my face!" Twilight saw Cozy Glow walking up and approaching the castle. "Oh, this is rich. The little trouble making filly thinks she can challenge me all by herself. I'm ready now, Cozy, because I know to expect the worst from you." Twilight said. Cozy stood just a few meters away from the stairsteps, and stared at Twilight, anxiously. "Welcome, Cozy Glow. What brings you to my former home?" Twilight asked. Cozy simply stood, and didn't reply. "You know, I don't care if ponies complain that a filly was turned to stone. I don't care if that somehow tarnishes my image. And besides, the reason I released you from stone had nothing to do with the complaints. I freed you from stone, because I knew it didn't make a difference either way. There really was no point in turning you to stone in the first place. Face it. Now everypony knows you for who you are. Your manipulation tactics won't ever work again. So what are you left with without that, huh? Nothing. You really think you can stand up to me? I don't need much to defeat you. I don't need powerful magic, or lucky dice rolls. I can defeat you all on my own." Cozy still kept silent, and stood firm. "Not backing away? I stand corrected then. Seems to me that you simply can't go unchecked, and I must deal with you for good." Twilight said. Twilight gripped Cozy Glow with her magic, and held her upside down. "Twilight!" exclaimed a voice. Twilight turned around, and saw it was Spike who had appeared. "Spike. Excellent timing." she said. "Twilight, listen. This isn't what it seems. Your mind is trapped, and you need to approach this very delicately in order to escape." Spike explained. "Right. Now, help me to deal with Cozy Glow, Spike." Twilight said. "What? NO! Twilight, this isn't what it seems!" Spike said. "No, of course it isn't! She's the most dangerous evil force in Equestria! If we don't turn her to stone, she'll fry our brains with her big ol eyes! Now help me to finish her off!" Twilight exclaimed. "Twilight, please! I know she's done bad, but she doesn't deserve this!" Spike exclaimed. "She hasn't just done bad. She's the baddest bad! " Twilight exclaimed. "Lest we forget we left her in stone for a reason! It's because we never intended on reforming Cozy Glow! We were just going to leave her in stone for eternity!! WAHAHAHA!!" Spike flicked Twilight's horn, which caused her binding spell to dissipate. "What are you doing, Spike? Are you going against a direct order of mine?" Twilight asked. "What has gotten into you, Twilight!!?!!" Spike exclaimed. "I'm just setting things right. We should've kept to our word, and left Cozy Glow in stone for forever!" Twilight exclaimed. "Is that what you think, Twilight? Is this how you really want to deal with Cozy Glow?" Spike asked. Twilight looked at Cozy, laying upside down on the ground. Something which now seemed especially... helpless. Twilight's angry expression faded, as she started to feel pity for Cozy. "...Spike? Oh gosh, Spike. What am I doing?" Twilight asked. "I believe you were about to have totally rational conversation with Cozy Glow." Spike said. "Right. I'd be glad to." Twilight said. *ahem* "Cozy Glow. I know you're probably none too pleased with me right now. For how I just treated you, as well as the other two times where we punished you, and essentially left you behind. But I assure you, it isn't as it appears. I... Cozy Glow, there was a time where we were friends. And for some reason you threw it all away. That's why I figured you didn't understand friendship, or simply didn't want it. And the raid on Canterlot further confirmed that to me." Cozy turned her head away from Twilight, and started to tear up. "The truth is, we don't know much about you, Cozy. But if you were willing to open up, and show me the real you, I'd be more than happy to listen, and see the best in you. I hope that eventually you'll decide that friendship is something you'd want to embrace." Cozy still didn't speak a word. "I promise, once this little game is over, things are going to be different. I'm not going to make any assumptions. I'm going to see you for the real you, and do my best to show you why friendship might be something you'd wanna embrace for real. And I promise to be there every hoofstep of the way." Twilight said. Twilight extended her hoof to Cozy. "There's still the opportunity to forgive you, Cozy. But it has to be something you want. So what do you say, Cozy?" Cozy paused, but soon lunged forward and Twilight. Cozy said something verbally with her mouth, but Twilight didn't hear her voice. It seemed like Cozy was thanking her. "You're welcome, Cozy." Twilight said. But suddenly, Cozy started to glow, and fade away. "Wait, Cozy Glow? Where are you going?" Twilight asked. Cozy Glow had fully faded away, leaving something behind... "Woah..." Spike said. Twilight trotted up slowly, and picked up the artifact. "So, not exactly what you expected to see from Cozy, huh?" Spike asked. "Actually, this is perfect." Twilight said. "Huh?" Spike asked. "Upon closer inspection, the artifact looked just like one of Twilight and her friends' Elements. But its color was unique, and hadn't formed into the shape of a cutie mark yet. "I don't think the stuff we said will necessarily be lost on her. I have a really good feeling for the future." Twilight said. The scene started to dissolve, and Twilight could feel herself awakening. Back in the castle, TwiShine's stone curse had been undone, and she turned back to normal. "TwiShine! You're okay!" "I sure am. Thanks to your reasoning, Garbunkle. Thank you." "No problem." "I knew I made the right choice appointing you as Royal Advisor." Garbunkle smiled. "Um. What's that?" "What's what? *gasp* The stone that once covered TwiShine dissipated, and collected together and formed something. "What's happening, TwiShine?" "Something's forming." The rock layer broke, and inside was a gemstone. It appeared to be the same mysterious artifact TwiShine saw in her dream. "What exactly is it?" "I'm not totally sure yet. But I have a strong hunch about it. We should hold onto it." TwiShine put the gem in her inventory bag. TwiShine, Dash, and Garbunkle exited the door, and were back in the main room. They heard some rumbling, and suddenly, their friends Raremare, Applebarian, and Ponkmo tumbled out of their doors. "She took my Element!" "Mine too!" "I argue that I succeeded in my assignment, and she still took it from me! "I'm not really sure what to make of my trial. But it sure wasn't fair!" "But did we succeed in disarming the super laser?" "I didn't see any sort of power source." "Me either. In fact, those rooms are just empty rooms armed with magic illusion spells!" "Could it be...?" "I think we did fall into Cozella's trap. She lured us here, knowing we'd be searching for a way to disarm the weapon. But in actuality, she was after your powers. And now she has them!" "But she doesn't really have the Elements of Harmony. They're just imaginary, and are just part of the game world. Her having them doesn't have any impact on the actual Equestria, does it?" "Hmm... Wait, where's Beautyshy?" Everyone heard a loud booming sound above them. "Something big is happening on the castle rooftop! We need to get up there! NOW!!" Our heroes rushed up the big spiral staircase to the top of the tower. They busted through a locked trap door at the top, and leaped up to the castle roof. "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" They all shouted simultaneously. Part 3 -- The Magic DuelThe Mage 6 all finally arrived at the top of the tower. Cozella had been eagerly awaiting for their arrival. "Oh goodie! You all finally made it!" "Stop this, Cozella! Let our friends go!!" "Golly. I suppose I should deactivate my giant laser. But, Discord still hasn't yet told me the key to controlling chaos magic yet. I'm still itching to know!" "Leave him alone! "Well, I can't harm Discord, since I promised I wouldn't. But he is still my captive. Either it's the chaos magic, or it's the citizens below! 'Cause this laser is going to fire if you don't tell me your secrets!" "You can't do this, Cozella!" "Call this off! You're taking this way too far!" "Oh, but blowing Spiketopia to bits will be just too much fun to pass up. But let's hold off on that for now. My laser still needs some time to charge up, and I already possess the keys to world domination as is. Because while you six were busy searching for power, so was I!" Cozella held Twilight’s crown above her head, and put it on her head. The crown was decorated with all six Elements of Harmony. “My crown! I mean, Twilight’s crown!” “Oh please. You think everypony hasn’t figured it out by now? You’re not a humble mage. You’re the Princess of Equestria! But now, I’ve got your crown, along with the rest of the Elements of Harmony!" "But I thought you already had the Elements. Err, somethin' powerin' that laser!" "You all thought my weapon was powered by six powerful artifacts, but Garbunkle fell for my fake schematics! The laser has its own internal power source. The real power was inside you six all along. But now that power belongs to me!" "You could've told us we were already equipped with the Elements of Harmony! That would've made wiping the floor with you from the beginning easier!" "But, Cozella. Only the Element bearers can wield the Elements! They are of no use to you!" "Oh, I don't need to wield the Elements! I just need to make sure you DON'T wield them against me! Same idea behind taking Discord's chaos magic! And now that you guys are powerless, allow me to reap the reward!" Cozella opened a hatch on the side of the laser turret, and inside was the real source of its power. *gasp* "The Squizard's beak!" "Yes. But now the Squizard's dark magic shall be wielded by me directly! HAHAHAHA!! Cozella cracked open the Squizzard's beak, like a walnut, and absorbed the dark energy that flowed out of it. The extra magic made Cozella grow more powerful! "Not that I need the stat buff anyway. Without your special powers, you seven don't stand a chance against my superior intellect!" "You know, Cozella. Seven heads are better than one!" "Is that so? Well, in that case, I challenge you to a magical duel!” “We accept!” “A full party of heroines versus one big boss? Oooohh. I love a good climax. Alright, Twilight "TwiShine" Sparkle. Prepare to meet your game’s end!” "Less talking, and more dueling!" "As you wish. Let the mayhem begin." Epic final boss music commences Screen transition Cozella versus TwiShine's full party, consisting of Garbunkle, Raremare, Ranger Dash, Applebarian, Beautyshy, and Ponkmo. “I lead with Beautyshy and Garbunkle by my side!” And indeed, out stepped Beautyshy, and Garbunkle to TwiShine's side. “It’s my turn first.” Cozella conjured up a 20 sided dice, and rolled. Cozella rolled a 16. “A 16! Higher than average, well, slightly below average for somepony with my amazing luck.” "What’s she going to do?" "I'll show you!" *poof* Garbunkle turned into a frog. "I curse you with a frog stasis spell!” "Oh *ribbit* come on! I haven't even gotten to do anything *ribbit* yet!" "I'll keep the suffering to a minimum for now. I end my turn." It was now the Mage 6’s turn. TwiShine rolled her die, and got a 6. "Now what, TwiShine?" "I switch out Garbunkle for Ranger Dash!" "Are you sure, TwiShine? I think I'm still quite capable of *ribbit*-" Garbunkle was interrupted by the party swapping, and replaced by Ranger Dash! “I enchant Ranger Dash with a Sharp Shooter enchantment, to boost her attack, and accuracy! Beautyshy also casts an enchantment on Ranger Dash, this one boosting her defenses!" I can see clearly what you're planning here, TwiShine. You're relying on Ranger Dash to do massive damage. Let's see how successful you are with that plan. It was Cozella’s turn again. Cozella rolled an 11. Not particularly high by her standards, but plenty enough to do some damage. "It's all in the wrist. Now, it's time to do some damage!" Cozella cast a powerful shock wave attack, damaging all three party members at once. Beautyshy and TwiShine lost nearly half their health points, while Ranger Dash took reduced damage thanks to the guard spell. "It's my turn again! And it's time we retaliate! Ranger Dash, take her out!" "With pleasure." Ranger Dash loaded her crossbow, and fired at Cozella. The arrow *twing* bounced right off of Cozella. *gasp* *gasp* *gasp* "What? I just had a really high defense stat. That's all." TwiShine and co still had their jaws dropped in disbelief. "Anyway, now it's my turn again!" Cozella rolled a 14, allowing her to cast powerful magic. Cozella cast a lightning bolt down upon Ranger Dash! A critical hit! Piercing her defenses, and knocking her out! "NOO!!!" "NOO!!!" TwiShine and Beautyshy ran to Dash's side. "Ranger Dash! Speak to us!" "C-C-Clobber that brat!!" "Will do." *nods* "I switch out Beautyshy and Ranger Dash, for Applebarian, and Raremare!" Raremare and Applebarian appeared by TwiShine's side, ready to do battle. TwiShine rolled a 14! "A fourteen! Perhaps luck is on my side this time! I use this roll to boost Applebarian's attack power, and enchant Raremare with extra sparkly enchantment!" "Okay. What are you gonna do? Sparkle me to depletion?" "These sparkles, darling, allow me to cast more intricate spells." *Pfft* "Intricate spells. Like what?" Raremare increased the attack and speed of Applebarian. Applebarian ran up to Cozella with her ax ready. Applebarian swung the ax at their opponent. It was a direct hit, however, the only effect it had was leaving a Cozy Glow shaped indent in the blade, whilst Cozella remained unscratched. "You know this duel isn't very exciting if nothing we do does any damage to you, Darling." "I don't know what you mean. I'm having a blast with this breezy battle." "But, Cozella. What's the point of winning if it's easy?" "Just watching you ponies struggle to take me down is plenty enough amusement for me." The ponies scoffed at Cozella's dark heart, twisted amusement. "And besides. It's not like this was easy for me. The real journey started way before this. I played my cards right, and I wound up as the leader of Spiketopia! I even managed to outsmart all of you, and take your Elements away! It took hard work, and good planning." With the beginning of Cozella's turn, she rolled a 12, and swiftly performed a wave attack. The attack miraculously missed TwiShine, but Raremare and Applebarian weren't as lucky. They were taking down with a one hit wonder! TwiShine swapped her fainted party members for Ponkmo and Beautyshy. "We're running low on options, TwiShine. What do we do?" "Let's see um. I could have you cast a um... no. What if I... no." "Step aside! I got this!" Ponkmo pulled out her lute, and started strumming and singing. "We may be a fightin'~~ But that's no excuse for tryin'~~" "To eliminate your so-called foes~~!" *epic lute solo* "I just wanted to say ~~ we can still come together and play!" "So, disarm your super laser of destruction, release Captain Wuzz, and we won't have to lay down the hurtin'~~!" *dun dun dun* Ponkmo finished strumming, and concluded her song. Everypony's jaw, even Cozella's, was wide open in shock. What the heck did they listen to? "Oookay? If you're done messing around, prepare for-" And then, all of the sudden, the song gave Ponkmo a massive stat boost! "WHAT THE?!" "My enchanted song boosts my stats all around, and I get an extra turn! So therefore, I unleash-" Ponkmo ran off screen, and reappeared, with a- "Super duper laser, meet the Super Duper Party Pony Cannonball Surprise!!!" Ponkmo fired her cannon at Cozella, and then- *KA-BOOM* A large explosion emanated from Cozella's side of the battlefield. Her side was left clouded with smoke. "Did we do it?" As the smoke cleared up, they saw Cozella on the ground, panting for air. Cozella did actually take damage! Only partial damage though. "Wow! That hurt. I'll give you credit, Ponkmo, you're by far the strongest member of the Mage 6. But, you're still boned." Cozella waved her hooves, casting a dark magical spell around Ponkmo. "Beak of the Squizard! Clamp down on the bard!" The Squizard's beak was conjured up, and it chomped down on Ponkmo, greatly damaging her, and knocking her down in a single hit. With Ponkmo fainted, TwiShine swapped her out for Garbunkle, who was still a frog. Cozella had a huge advantage over TwiShine. Her party's health was dwindling, whilst Cozella remained almost untouched. "It's not looking *ribbit* good, TwiShine. Our party members are knocked out. We're low on items. Our own health points are low too." "Um. I'm not fainted yet. I might be able to come up with something." "We can't give up, Garbunkle. There's so much that's at stake." "I don't want to give up, but I simply don't see a winning avenue for us." TwiShine examined her inventory one more time. There was still her special held item. "That's it! Garbunkle, I think I know how we can still win! And it's not going to take any luck or special dice rolls. Just a little convincing." "Huh?" "Cozy Glow! Why are you doing this?" "Why am I doing what?" "Why go to all these lengths to take over the land, and seize all this power?" "This isn't just about winning the game. Once I win, I will be in control of Discord's chaos magic, AND the six Elements of Harmony. I'll be powerful enough to reshape reality!" "Is that really what you want, Cozy? Is this really the path you still want to take?" "What do you mean? I thought we were just playing a game." "We're still just playing the game?" "What, did you think this whole life-like game of Ogres & Oubliettes was a scheme to steal your powers and use them to take over the real Equestria?" "...Maybe?" "Silence! I'mma let you find out the answer to that conundrum, once you're defeated!" "That's not going to happen, Cozella! I have something that is the key to your defeat!" TwiShine pulled out her special held item. "What the?! What is that? Another Element?! But I have them all! There's only supposed to be six!" "There are more, Cozella But new Elements can still bloom when they are earned!" "What? That's nonsense. And what is that anyway? The Element of Forgiveness? I already have your Element! You can't have two!" "Oh, it's not my Element. It's yours!" "WHAT?!" TwiShine passed the gem over to Cozella. The gem magically bonded itself to Cozella, and formed a necklace, and the gem stone itself had changed its shape. It was now shaped like a little rook. Cozella was stuck, magically bound in place by her own Element. The magic sent shockwaves through Cozella. The rest of the Elements flew out from Cozella's saddlebag, and attached themselves to their Element bearers. Being reunited with their Elements fully restored everypony's health points, and healed all status ailments. Garbunkle was also restored to his normal form. "NO! What is happening?!" TwiShine and all her friends held hooves, and charged up their Elements. Their stats climbed to unbelievably high numbers! Each of the six Elements beamed out, and latched onto Cozella one at a time, and wrapped her in a laser rainbow swirl. The rainbow Cozella was impacted by the powerful rainbow blast! "You see, Cozy, friendship is powerful, but power isn't the reason we're friends. We're friends because of special spark!" The power of their friendship was so great, it had pierced all her defenses, and her life points were depleted. Cozella lay defeated on the ground. Everypony looked over at the fallen filly, and approached her slowly. "So, Cozy Glow. What'll it be this time?" Cozella sat up. She held her Element in her hooves, and looked at it. "Where did this come from?" "It appeared after I turned back to normal. While I was in stone, I had a vision of you and I became friends." "We did?" "Mhm. You reformed, so I think this Element is linked to your reformation. It's your Element, since it's bound to you." "Why in Equestria would I have my own Element though?" "Even I am not totally sure. There are many mysteries pertaining to the Elements of Harmony. But I am willing to help you seek the answers you have. "...Are you offering for me to be your magical apprentice?" TwiShine nodded. "But, after all I did. The tyrannical rule. The robbery of your Elements! The near destruction of your friends. Why would you forgive me?" "Because if that Element formed upon the vision of your reformation, then I know there is good inside you after all. You may have been turned to stone, but there may be a heart of gold inside after all. What do you say, Cozy Glow?" TwiShine extended her hoof out to Cozella. Cozella was hesitant at first. But, TwiShine's offer seemed genuine. She'd already passed up friendship a couple times, and this may be her last chance. Cozella accepted Twilight's hoof. The two came together and hugged. "Woohoo!" "Yay!" *sniff* "Alright. I think that's enough play for now." "I agree. Discord, take us home." "That's not my name, you know." "Okay, Captain Wuzz." ;) "With pleasure." Discord snapped his fingers. The game was over, and everypony found themselves back in the Canterlot rec room. Cozy started laughing uncontrollably. But it wasn't a sinister laugh. Her laughter was joyful. "Are you kidding? Cozy Glow earns her own Element? Ridiculous!" Cozy said, laughing. "It is kinda silly when you get down to it. Elements of Harmony are old news anyway." Twilight said. "Realistic or not, that's the fun of Ogres & Oubliettes. You can pretend to be somepony you're not, and can even roleplay as something you'd want to be." Spike said. "And you know, for all the underhoofed tactics you did, Cozy, you were actually a really smart strategist. You should consider joining us again next time." Spike said. Cozy thought back on her time playing the game, and how it felt getting lost in the imaginative aspect. "Hmm... Nah. I'm good." Cozy said. "You sure, Cozy? You looked like you were having the time of your life coming up with those scenarios." Spike said. "Eh. It was fun for one night, but I can't see myself sticking with this nerdy game." Cozy said. Spike looked at Cozy, with a sneaky grin. "Okay. Maybe I did have a little bit of fun. But, it's just a phase, I swear." Cozy insisted. But the truth is, Cozy couldn't wait to do it again. Maybe she'd leave dungeon master duties in charge of somepony else. Maybe she'd try to be a hero, rather than a villain. "Alright. It's getting way late, everypony. Let's all head home and get some shut eye." Twilight said. All of Twilight's friends nodded in agreement. "Oh, but because of this game, I'm way behind on my reconstruction work." Cozy said. "Don't worry, Cozy. I'll make an exception for tonight." Twilight said. Discord was kind enough to open portals for Twilight's friends to make it home quickly. He, and everypony else left the scene, leaving Twilight, Spike, and Cozy Glow to themselves. Twilight led Cozy Glow to her room. But there was something from the game that Cozy couldn't stop thinking about. "...So, Twilight. Do you think I'll actually find my own Element?" Cozy asked. "I can't promise anything, but I also can't count anything out." Twilight said. "If you stay on the right path, who knows how you might be rewarded in the future." "And about all that stuff we said in the game, did you really mean it?" Cozy asked. "As long as you did. I'm willing to forgive you, and teach you about friendship, if you're willing to listen." Twilight said. Cozy nodded. "Okay, Twilight." She was starting to warm up to the idea of friendship under Twilight's wing. And that, was not just a phase.
Part 1 -- Let the Games BeginIt was a day known in Equestria as the Ending. It was the day that all of Equestria came together to stop the combined forces of three of Equestria's most sinister villains. Well, two sinister villains, and a peculiar filly. The trio of Cozy Glow, Lord Tirek, and Queen Chrysalis were turned to stone by Discord, aided by Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna. A few days later, the coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle was held in Canterlot, ushering her in as Equestria's new ruler. The very next day, the statue of the trio was hauled to Canterlot Gardens, where they were to remain. All seemed well, until Twilight Sparkle was inundated with letters questioning the strange new statue in the gardens. They were concerned with why a young pegasus filly was a part of the statue. Most ponies knew that the statue used to be actual creatures, and filly rights activist groups were concerned for the filly in stone. Twilight at first brushed aside these concerns, as she had her own plans in mind, but the letters didn't stop. Things started to escalate, as furious protests from the activist groups started appearing throughout Canterlot, demanding Princess Twilight free the filly. Her royal advisor Spike speculated that the statue might be hurting Twilight's image and reputation as a bringer of friendship. With that perspective in mind, Twilight decided to give into the demands of everypony, and release Cozy Glow from stone. This action by no means signified the reformation or forgiveness of Cozy Glow however. Cozy still needed to be kept in check, however, reasoning with Cozy Glow was still very far down Twilight's agenda, so she was put on parole, and ordered to pick up every broken brick in the still destroyed throne room, and rebuild it, brick by brick. Cozy wasn't sure what was worse. Being made of stone, or being ordered to lift all this stone. One day, Cozy Glow overheard Spike and Discord yelling about something in one of the castle's rooms. She followed the sound, driven by her curiosity. Cozy found the room where the yelling was taking place, and slowly opened the door. Inside, she saw Spike, Discord, and Big Mac playing some kind of table top game. "Critical hit!" Spike exclaimed. "Oh no, the Squizard's dark magic activated!" Discord shrieked. "If we use our team attack we should be able to finish him off though!" Spike said. "Eeeyup!" Big Mac said. The three of them held their appendages above the table in formation, and together exclaimed- "SUPER DUPER MAGICAL TEAM STRIKE!" *ahem* Spike looked over, and saw Cozy Glow standing at the doorway. "Oh. Hey, Cozy Glow. Nice to see you stop by." Spike said. "Yeah. So, why are you all yelling so loudly at this board game?" Cozy asked. "It isn't just a board game. This is Ogres & Oubliettes. The action packed fantasy role playing game where you control your destiny, and venture through dangerous and perilous adventures ." Spike explained. "Hmm. Control your own destiny, you say?" Cozy said, intrigued by the description. "Eeeyup." Big Mac said. "Sounds neat. I'd uh, like to know more. But, you know, I still have a lot of work to get done tonight." Cozy said. "Those bricks aren't going to lift themselves." "Not that we'd spill the secrets of Guy's Night to an outsider like you." Discord said. "What's that? You'd consider letting me play?" Cozy asked. "Nnnope." Big Mac said. "Well, hang on, guys. Guy's Night only comes along every so often these days. And she seems genuinely interested. Why not extend a reach?" Spike said. Cozy smiled. Touched by Spike's considerate nature. "Hey, Cozy. I tell ya what, we just finished one of our quests. Come here, and we'll explain our game and ease you into it if you'd like." Spike said. "Me? Playing... um, whatever you called this game. Sounds enticing. But I don't know. I still have lots of construction work to complete." Cozy said. "Don't worry about that. I'll cover for you tonight, and make sure your brick quota is met." Spike said. "Alright. Thanks, Spike." Cozy said. Cozy picked out a seat for herself, and overlooked the board. There were so many parts to this game. There were stacks of cards, and all kinds of little plastic pieces. "So, where do I start?" Cozy said, unsure. "So, you start off by making a character. They can be like you, but not quite the same as you." Spike explained. "Alright. I'll be Cozy... Coz... Cozella?" "Okay, Cozella. Next, you pick out a class. And then, we decide what quest we want to go on, and so on, and so on, and so..." Spike explained more of the rules. But his voice drowned out the longer he went. Fortunately, Cozy was a quick learner. "You get all that, Cozy?" Spike asked. "I sure did! I wanna be the most powerful spellcaster in Spiketopia, and show that Squizard what for!" Cozy shouted, proudly. "Then, I think you're ready!" Spike said. "I sure am, Spike!" Cozy said. Cozy Glow joined Spike, Big Mac, and Discord on their O&O quest. She joined them on their quest to defeat the Squizard, and free Spiketopia. Cozy was getting the hang of the game. She was leveling up, learning spells, defeating foes on her own, and gaining experience points. But unbeknownst to them, Cozy was formulating her own plans. Later that evening, Twilight had just finished her princess duties for the day. Another satisfying day of Princess work. But then, Twilight heard loud yelling from the Canterlot rec room. "OH COME ON, COZY!!" "NNNOPE!!" "YOU'RE NOT PLAYING FAIR!" "YOU'RE JUST SAD 'CAUSE YOU ALL GOT DESTROYED!" Twilight opened the door, and saw Cozy Glow arguing with Spike, Big Mac, and Discord, in an imaginative world conjured up in the rec room. "What is going on!?" Twilight asked everyone. "Hmm?" Discord snapped his fingers, turning the room back to normal. "She's a little cheater!" Discord shouted. "Hey, I didn't break any rules!" Cozy shouted back. "It's not my fault that the Squizard was a big pushover, and that it was so easy for me to take over Spiketopia!" Cozy said. "Again. What is going on!? One at a time, please." Twilight said. "So it all started with us inviting Cozy Glow to join our game of Ogres & Oubliettes." Spike explained. "Uh-huh. Got it. Even though she's supposed to be repairing the throne room, I got it. Then what?" Twilight asked. "So then, we all went out on a quest together. We as in me, Discord, Big Mac, and Cozy Glow, to destroy the Squizard once and for all. We succeeded, but in the process, Cozella betrayed us, and captured Sir McBiggin, and Captain Wuzz. I was the only one lucky enough to roll high enough to escape." Spike said. "Eeeyup." Big Mac said. "Uh huh..." Twilight said. "But that wasn't the end of it. Spiketopia is now known as New Glow City! She rules over the whole land. It's truly horrific." Spike explained. "What are you gonna do? Disqualify me? Banish me? I played the same game you guys were playing. I won the land fair and square." Cozy said. "But, why would you betray us, Cozy? We trusted you." Spike said. "Eh. You've got to watch your backs, and trust no one." Cozy said. "And quit whining. You invited me. I didn't necessarily ask to join, so don't cry about how I chose to play!" Cozy said. "Oh yeah?" Discord said, lighting up his hands. "Don't you dare!" Cozy exclaimed. "Every creature, pause!" Twilight exclaimed. Everyone paused and looked at Twilight. Twilight weighed her options in her head. Overall though, she was just surprised to see Cozy take up any interest in this game in the first place. "You know, I never expected you to take up interest in the Guy's Night signature activity, Cozy." Twilight said, smirking. "...Whatever. It's just a silly game. It's not like I'm really passionate for the game itself." Cozy said. "If it's just a silly game, why are you so into it?" Spike teased. "It's kind of like chess, with an extra hint of imagination. Strategizing and defeating you all has been kind of fun so far." Cozy said. With that, Twilight got an idea for a bit of extra fun. "You think so, Cozy? Well, how about you face a new opponent? Because you can count me in." she said. "Wait, what?" Spike asked. Twilight sat down at their table, and inserted herself into their O&O game. "I'll play your little game. I'll continue this quest from where you left off, and help you to defeat Cozy Glow." Twilight said. Cozy laughed at Twilight's idea. "Hahaha. You're kidding right?" Cozy asked. "I've observed enough Ogres & Oubliettes to have a grip on the game." Twilight said, smirking. "Alright. I'm game. I'm game. But don't think it'll be easy. I'll come up with some nasty traps, and make things a living Tartarus for you!" Cozy said, with a devious grin. "I'm ready for it." Twilight said, with a determined look. "First thing's first, you need to create a character. Who are you gonna be, Twilight?" Spike asked. *ahem* "I am-" "Wait! Discord, take us back into the game world, please." Spike said. "Of course." Discord snapped his fingers, and everypony was transported into the world of Ogres & Oubliettes! In the world of Ogres & Oubliettes, Cozella the Empress ruled over New Glow City, formerly known as Spiketopia. She lived atop her floating castle, while her citizens below were impoverished, and hungry. There were few brave enough to challenge her might, but there was one wizard who was up for the task. Her name was TwiShine! A skilled and powerful spell caster! But few ponies were aware of her prowess. She had kept her life's work a secret from everypony. TwiShine did studies on the outskirts of New Glow City, in a broken down shed. She kept her lips tight, and her thoughts to herself. She was secretly researching a way to overthrow the tyrannical rule of Cozella, as impossible as it had seemed. "We're doomed. Her flying fortress is impenetrable! What can we do to stop Cozella?" But then, on this fateful day, there was a knock on the door. TwiShine was anxious to open, but she needed to make haste. She opened the door cautiously, and was greeted by the renowned wizard, Garbunkle. *gasp* "Garbunkle the famous and utmost respected. It is an honor to welcome you to my humble shack. What brings a wizard of your knowledge to a humble pony like me?" "I come seeking assistance. I seek your knowledge in my quest to overthrow our tyrant. I have tried once already, but... it came at the great loss of my closest friends, Captain Wuzz, and Sir McBiggun..." Garbunkle said, with a hearty tear in his eye. TwiShine closed the door, closed all of her drapes, and lit a lonely candle. The lit candle illuminated her detailed, but incomplete schematic of Cozella's castle. "Excellent timing, Garbunkle. I need assistance myself with the same goal. And I feel our strong, but unique skills will be the key to overthrowing our tyrannical leader." "Excellent. Since I've already been to her castle, I can guide you through the flying fortress. And, although my magic is undoubtedly the best, having a magical sidekick can't hurt." "...Right. Anyway, I've been making careful observations of Cozella's castle. The flying castle floats above the northernmost point of the town. She's able to see everything from above, making it impossible for any pegasus, or flying contraption to reach the top. "It's far worse than you think. Twishine." Garbunkle cried, trembling to his knees. "You must beware of... the Super Weapon!" "The Super Weapon?" "Cozella is building a weapon capable of pointing, and shooting down any target below! It's only a matter of time before the weapon is complete! And when it is, who knows what she intends on doing with it!" TwiShine's jaw dropped in horror at the mere thought of such a device. "This is bad, Garbunkle." "Cozella must be stopped immediately!" "But, are the two of us really capable of handling this quest on our own." "Mmm, probably not. But, you needn't worry, Garbunkle, the great and honorable. I have connections." TwiShine pulled a lever, causing the floor beneath to open up. They fell a short ways down to a secret basement. Sat around a big strategy table, sat five more mares. "Garbunkle, meet my friends." The mares turned and faced TwiShine and Garbunkle. They leapt up and introduced themselves. "I am Raremare. A divine cleric, and gem collector." "I am Ranger Dash! The fastest, sharpest, most accurate Ranger in all of Spiketopia!" "A'hm the Applebarian. The strongest physical attacker you can add to your party." "...Oh. It's my turn? Well, I'm a druid. And my name is um, is um..." "She's Beautyshy! She's totally in touch with nature and whatnot." "Yeah. What she said." :) "And that leaves me. Ponkmo the bard! ~~And I'll string you a merry tune~~ on our path to victory~~!!" "And of course, there's me. TwiShine! The greatest undercover magician in Spiketopia! And together, we form a dynamic team of the Mage 6!" Garbunkle took a step back in amazement, and kneeled down before the mares. "Dearest mares, will you accept my quest, and join me to raid the castle of Cozella, and free Spiketopia from her tyrannical rule?" "I thought nopony was going to ask. You can count us in!" Dash said, cocking her crossbow. "Garbunkle the skilled and intellectual will be of the utmost value to us on this quest. He was captured by Cozella, but escaped her tower. He knows what to expect. His knowledge will be an invaluable asset in our quest for justice. With his knowledge, and our teamwork, I believe that Cozella is going down!" "That brat in the flying castle is definitely going DOWN!" "But how will we get up to the flying castle?" "Leave that to me." Meanwhile on the castle rooftop of Cozella's castle, the empress was torturing Captain Wuzz. Captain Wuzz was tied down to a large wooden platform, with all of his limbs stretched out and bound. "So, Captain Wuzz, you're not all you claim to be. You appear to only be an averagely intelligent archer, but I know your true identity. You hold the key to unlimited chaos magic, Discord. And you're going to tell me how to control your magic, so I can use it to rule the cosmos!" Captain Wuzz's magic was already drained by a draining spell, and put into a magical music box. "I'll never tell you my secrets, Cozella!" "Is that so? Well, you might want to reconsider your stubbornness, Captain Wuzz." Cozella conjured up a 20 sided die, and gave it a roll. It landed with 13 facing up. "Thirteen. Bad luck. For you." Cozella turned the wheel of the torture machine, stretching out Captain Wuzz. "Go ahead. There's no use torturing me this way. I'm infinitely expandable!" Cozella smirked. "Is that so? Well, fortunately, I have several contingency plans in the event that I grow bored of torturing you." Cozella let out a wide heartless grin. Torturing Captain Wuzz gave her the utmost pleasure. "Oh, this is ridiculous, I'm getting us out of here." Captain Wuzz managed to snap his fingers, but nothing happened. "Oh, I guess you can't send us back to reality without your chaos magic!" Discord winced, realizing the sticky situation he and his friends were now in. "I don't need to wield your chaos magic myself to do damage. See this big laser turret up here on the castle roof? This is what the ponies down below fear. My so called Super Weapon! I can aim this baby at any spot beneath my castle, and deliver a heated beam of energy powerful enough to obliterate anything I wish! I'd simply hate to find out what'll happen to Beautyshy's sanctuary if it got in the way of my laser." Cozella said, pressing her hooves against her cheeks. *gasp* "You wouldn't!" "Oh, it's not up to me. I'll let her fate lie with the roll of the dice. It doesn't have to be this way though. Just tell me the key to chaos, and I'll disarm my weapon, as I'll have no need for it at that point." "You monster!" "Hehehehe! HAHAHAHA!!" Garbunkle explained to the Mage 6 his experience with Cozella's castle, and his theory on the super weapon. "Any kind of weapon like that needs a source of power. And I think I know how she's channeling energy. Cozella talked about seeking six powerful artifacts, so I reckon a weapon of that magnitude is powered by the six powerful objects she seeks, or may already possess. "Very intriguing, Garbunkle." "And knowing the clever strategist Cozella is, I highly doubt she'd put all her eggs in one basket. The power sources must be scattered throughout the castle." "Sounds like we're plenty up for the task. Six artifacts. Six of us. I say we get inside that castle asap. and disarm that weapon before it has a chance to fire." The Mage 6 and Garbunkle snuck themselves through town discreetly, and were now directly below the castle, in its blind spot. They had a hot air balloon which they planned on using to get up to the flying castle. "We need our hot air balloon to ascend nearly perfectly vertically up, so as to stay out of her sight. "The balloon's speed is determined by our roll. The odds are in our favor, but on the low end, we might not make it." "Then we'll have to go airborne soon. Every moment wasted is a moment she can spend charging the weapon. We need to go now." Everypony nodded affirmatively. TwiShine rolled the 20 sided die. She rolled a 7, setting the balloons upward speed to 7. Not great, but it would have to do. Another roll would cost too much MP, and they needed to have as much ammunition as possible going into Cozella's fortress. Everypony climbed aboard. TwiShine hastily pulled the lever, igniting the flame, and so the balloon took flight. And it's a good thing it did, as there were already signs that the Super Weapon was gearing up to fire. At this very same moment, atop the castle, Cozella rolled her own 20 sided die. She rolled a... 18! Plenty high enough to unleash her weapon. "Oooh. An 18! That's plenty enough to unleash my super weapon upon Spiketopia! Hmm. But what to destroy? What could possibly hurt you the most, Captain Wuzz?" "I know! Now's the time for me to turn Beautyshy's animal sanctuary into a crater!" *gasp* "You wouldn't!" "I don't have to. Just tell me how to use your chaos magic, and I'll spare Beautyshy's pitiful sanctuary." Discord winced really hard, as he stood at this difficult crossroad. Risk the fabric of reality? Or risk his friend's sanctuary, and the animals who lived there? Back in the hot air balloon, our heroes were making good ascent. "We're making good speed, everypony." But there was an uneasy aura in the air. They all had a sneaking suspicion that something bad was about to happen. "Do you hear that?" A powerful source of energy was glowing atop the castle. "We're too late! She's gearing up to fire her super weapon!" "But at what?" The laser set its sights on an area below. And everyone came to a horrific realization, when they saw where the sights were pointed. "My Sanctuary!!" The Sanctuary heated up, and glowed red from the laser's sights. Every critter and creature imaginable fled from Beautyshy's sanctuary as it was apparent that doom was coming. Cozella's super weapon finished charging up, and then FIRED A FULL BLAST AT THE SANCTUARY!!! *BOOOM* "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" Beautyshy cried her heart out. Ponkmo held and patted Beautyshy. "Cozella! This is the last time you fire that laser! YOU HEAR ME!!??" A devastating loss! Everyone teared up. But in spite of that, they couldn't afford to look back. Cozella had to be stopped! The balloon made it up to the same height as the floating castle. Fortunately, it seemed Cozella hadn't noticed their ascent whilst using the super weapon. Luck continued to be on our heroes' side, as the drawbridge leading inside was already open, making for an easy and safe place for them to land, which they did do. The hot air balloon landed on the drawbridge, and our heroes cautiously climbed out, and proceeded inside, one at a time. TwiShine stopped in her tracks and looked back. She had many things on her mind. Chief among them, she wondered about the true nature of Cozella. An enigma that still evaded rational explanation. "You coming, TwiShine?" "...Coming." She followed her friends inside. Inside the castle, it was rather quaint, but foreboding. It was a cold and dark stone interior. Not very decorative, which hinted that perhaps Cozella was more about getting down to business, than spending time on being decorative. Our heroes quickly found exactly the place they were looking for. They found themselves in a large cylindrical room, with six doors, and a spiral staircase in the center. Above each of the six doors, there were symbols that had been scratched off, making it difficult to tell what those symbols were. "This is where you come in, Garbunkle, the brave and glorious. This room is certainly very noteworthy, but what should we know about this castle before we tread farther, Garbunkle?" "Well, as you can see in front of us, there are six doors, leading to six different chambers. I suspect this is precisely where Cozella has split the power source of her weapon. Splitting it in six parts would make it more difficult for intruders to come in and disable it. "Shame she didn't count on six magical friends storming her castle then." "That's just the thing. This place almost seems built for you all. I fear you may be stepping into Cozella's trap." "We'll haf'ta take that chance. An' besides. Ain't no challenge she can come up with we can't overcome." "She's right. You needn't worry about us, Garbunkle." The mares looked at the doors, thinking over which ones they should each enter. But it wasn't immediately obvious where each of them should proceed. "How do we know what's on the other side of each door? How do we plan this optimally?" "We can't. Just pick a door, based on our best intuition, and be prepared for whatever lies on the other side." Our six heroes ultimately did pick out a door. Before entering, they all gave each other one more affirmative nod before entering the trials. "Where will you tread, Garbunkle?" "Me? I will carve my own path. You all go ahead and proceed, I know what I'm doing." The Mage 6 all opened their respective doors. Each door was enchanted, and was glowing pure white on the inside. Garbunkle stood and watched the Mage 6 enter the mysterious doors. Embarking on their road to triumph? Or marching to their destruction? It was hard to say, but Garbunkle was optimistic. "Alright. I'm coming for you, Cozella." Garbunkle ran up the spiral staircase in the middle. TwiShine trotted through the magical room. Nothing had formed yet, though she saw the glowing tunnel come to an end at a point ahead. She made her way through, and made it to the other side. The horrible challenge she found herself in... was a rather unremarkable and empty room. Well, almost empty, aside from a chair facing opposite of Twishine. Very ominous. Especially considering that it was clear that there somepony sitting on the chair, waiting for her. TwiShine trotted carefully. One hoof step at a time. The chair swung around and faced her, revealing the filly on the other side. Cozella. Cozella sat on the chair, looking quite pleased to see her guest. Sat in her lap, was a blindfolded cockatrice, whom she held, and stroked. “Hello, Twilight Sparkle." "Cozy Glow. We're roleplaying. You're not supposed to use real names." "But, I know exactly who you are. You're not TwiShine the expert wizard. You're Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. You've been hiding the truth from everypony. But you can't hide from me. You can't surprise me." She knows this is just a game, right? Why is she blending roleplay with the real world? "Oookay? So, what do you want... Cozy Glow?" “Right now your friends are entering my trials. But they'll never succeed. Y'all never succeed in your mission to disarm my super weapon, and take back Spiketopia.” "I wouldn't be so sure. My friends are capable of pulling off miracles. I seriously doubt anything you can come up with can overcome them." TwiShine said, proudly. "Are you sure? I designed these rooms especially to trip up and defeat each of your friends." TwiShine started to worry somewhat. Cozella seemed really confident. “So what’s my trial?” "Oh, you don't get one. I honestly couldn't come up with a puzzle that I thought you couldn't solve. So, I'm cutting straight to the chase. I want you to suffer like how I suffered!" "What's that supposed to... mean?" Cozella took off the blindfold of the Cockatrice, and held it in front of TwiShine. "NO! Cozy you can't!" TwiShine closed her eyes and looked away, but it was too late. She'd already glanced at the piercing red eyes of the Cockatrice, and her body started to turn to stone. First from the hooves up. And then her torso. "I should've known. You're just as conniving as you've always been! Why when I get out of here, I'm going to-" Twishine's body was now completely turned to stone. Cozella wrapped the blindfold back around the cockatrice, and released it. Cozella flew up to TwiShine. “Oh, Twilight. I had no idea you had such a colorful opinion of me. I know that because desperation always brings out the truth. But no matter.” Cozella undid TwiShine's hood, revealing her crown. Cozella swiped the crown from the top of TwiShine's head. "Goodbye, Twilight. Hello Element of Magic. Now for the remaining Elements of Harmony."
Part 2 -- Trials and SituationsRanger Dash emerged from the door, and found herself on some kind of mountainous pasture. It was dim, so it was presumably evening time. But it was difficult to tell, due to the dense fog that surrounded her. There was some kind of glowing object in the sky. Perhaps the full moon, blocked mostly by the fog. "Alright. I see what you're putting down. These doors are like portals that magically bring us to some kind of mini world of your conjuring up. So... where the heck am I?" "Hehehehe..." A faint, but eerie laugh could be heard in the dense fog. "What? Who are you?" A pony stepped out of the fog. A pegasus filly, actually. They wore a uniform that looked like the Wonderbolts uniform, but much more... shadowy. A Shadowbolt! "Me? I'm only just the best flier in all of Equestria! I mean, Spiketopia." "What? No way. I'm the best flier there is." "You think so, Rainbow Dash? Puh-lease! You'll never reach your full potential. You're soooo weighed down by your friends." "THAT'S NOT TRUE!" "Face it, Rainbow Dash. If you're having to split Wonderbolts training with friendship time, it's going to take so much longer to reach your peak. Take it from me. I had no friends, and no family I left behind when I went to the School of Friendship. And what happened? In just a matter of days I formulated a plan and had you and your friends all trapped in Tartarus, and I nearly succeeded in draining all the magic from Equestria! And it's all because I never let friendship distract me from my goals." "Twilight was right. You really don't understand friendship. Friendship isn't a distraction!" "Oh yeah? Prove it! Let's race! And see who's the better flier!" "You're on!" Rainbow Dash and the dark filly stood behind a white starting line drawn in the ground. They were nearly geared up to race, but it was so foggy, that it wasn't clear exactly what lay ahead of them. "So uh, where's the finish line?" "You don't know? HA!" They heard a bang sound, and suddenly the dark filly was off to the races! "Hey! Wait for me!" Rainbow Dash flew after her, but she couldn't keep pace with her for long. Shortly after, Dash lost sight of her, and couldn't see anything besides the surrounding fog. Dash nearly hit a large pointed rock, but she reacted in time and weaved around it. Dash had done so many zigs and zags though, that she couldn't even tell which way she'd just come from. She was totally lost! "Oh no. I lost. But even worse, I'm lost!" Ponkmo made her way through the portal in the door. A scene started to form, and she was back in Ponyville. Nothing too out of the ordinary yet. That was until she heard the sound of somepony crying. That pony turned out to be Cozy Glow. The sad filly was sitting sad and alone on the grass. “Cozy Glow?" “That’s me... and... *gasp* You’re Pinkie Pie!” Cozy came to life when she saw it was Pinkie Pie in front of her. "Hold yourself, Cozella. I'm on a mission to infiltrate your castle and disarm your lasery weapon of destruction!" “But, Pinkie Pie, I mean you no harm. I only wanted to say... it’s my birthday!” “...It is?” “Yeah. And I was hoping the most awesome super duper party pony would plan for me a spectacular birthday party!” “Well, why didn’t you say so? Leave it to Pinkie Pie to plan you a super duper party you won’t soon forget!” “Oh, but I have some very specific requirements.” "Oookie-dokie... lokie." Pinkie said, raising her eyebrow. "Such as what?" "Oh, not much. Except I want everypony in Ponyville to come. I also need streamers, balloons, a large birthday cake, my own special birthday dress, and... lots of fun activities. And it all has to be tailored specifically for me." But Pinkie had never planned a party for Cozy Glow before. She didn't really know much about Cozy Glow to begin with. Planning a party especially for her might prove difficult, but she believed she was up to the task. "That'll be no trouble at all!" Raremare stepped out of the light, and found herself inside of Carousel Boutique in Ponyville. She quickly heard the bell ring, and in came a familiar pegasus filly. *gasp* "Cozy Glow!" "Golly, you must be Rarity. Just the mare I wanted to see." "It sure is. And though I have no idea how I got here, or why I'm here, I am sure as Celestia NOT providing you with any service." Cozy started to tear up. "But, Oh golly. You're really going to deny me your service because of our past encounters?" "Past? Darling, you took over an entire sovereign nation of Spiketopia! You're charging some kind of giant laser beam nonsense as we speak!" "I-I just wanted a nice dress." Cozy teared up some more. Rarity reminded herself that any crying from Cozy was likely all just a ruse. But it couldn't hurt to at least hear her out. *sigh* "Well... what do you want?" Cozy sprung to life at the question. “Make me a dress I like. That's all you have to do to pass your trial. Fail to do so, and I lock you in the dungeon.” "I accept your challenge, Cozy!" "It won't be easy. I'm a very picky client. My dress has to be perfect! I'm a cute and lovable angel, so my dress should say as much!" "Got it!" The Applebarian stepped out of the light, and found herself outside, in front of some important but boring looking building in Manehatten. "Now what in tarnation has that filly come up with this time?" A voice called out for our apple pony. A familiar looking blue maned pegasus filly with glasses, and a collared shirt flew up to Applebarian. "Excuse me, are you Applejack?" "I'm not Applejack. Mah name's The Applebar-" "No, you're Applejack. And I think you better come with me." they said. Cozy Glow led Applejack into the building. Inside was a big courtroom, with a jury of angry looking Cozy Glows. "What in tarnation is going on?! I'm a barbarian, not a lawyer! And I thought we were playin' Ogres & Oubliettes, not a courtroom simulation." “Applejack! You are on trial for the stoning of Cozy Glow!” “Wha? Why me?” “My plaintiff, Cozy Glow, is proposing that you willingly lied about her nature, and made up defamatory statements, which led to her being turned to stone!” “How in Equestria is that possible? I've hardly said a word about Cozy!” "That's what we're here to find out, as you defend yourself in trial." Applejack was seated in the defendant's chair. To her right, at another table, sat a stone statue of Cozy Glow. The jury box was filled with many Cozy Glows, and the judge was another Cozy Glow, with a powdered wig, and a long black gown. "This is ridiculous. Y'all got nothing on me." "Then I suppose this should be easy. Shouldn't it?" Cozy said, with a cocky looking grin. Beautyshy's door led to the top the castle. It appeared to actually be Cozella's castle, and not an illusion. Beautyshy saw her friend Captain Wuzz tied to Cozella's torture device. *gasp* "Captain Wuzz!" "Beautyshy, please! Keep back!" "It's no use, Beautyshy. Right now your friends are dealing with the most devious scenarios I could come up with for them!" "So then, what's my test?" "Well, to be honest, I couldn't come up with anything for you. I mean, what was I supposed to come up with? Fluttershy has to overcome her stage fright? Bleh! So, like with Twilight, I'm cutting to the chase with you. Give me your Element!" "My what?" "I mean. *ahem* That special necklace of yours." Beautyshy looked at her necklace. The jewel was indeed butterfly shaped, but she wasn't aware it had any power. "No. You can't have my Element, Cozella!" "I see. Well, either it's your Element, or Discord's magic. Either way, I'm not afraid to make a mess out of things!" Cozella dialed the laser to its lowest setting, which created a small but piercing beam right besides Captain Wuzz. She was threatening to cut him in half. "This is your final warning! Tell me how to control your chaos magic, or I'll dissect the answer out of you! "NEVER!". "I see. Well, let's see what fate has in store for you." Cozella conjured up her 20 sided die yet again, and gave it a throw. The die landed face up with a 9. "Errgh. Not enough for a clean laser cut. Guess we'll have to go old fashion for your torture." Cozella turned the wheel, stretching out Discord more. "Did you say you were infinitely expandable? Or that you were expendable? I guess we'll find out! HEHAHAHAHA!!!" "Leave my friend alone, you fiend!!" "Never, Beautyshy!" "Um. I didn't say anything..." "Huh?" Cozella turned around, and saw the wizard Garbunkle standing atop the castle roof as well. "Ah. Garbunkle! So you've returned to try to save your friend? How commendable. But I'm afraid it's too late. He's as toast as Sir McBiggin is." "Why, Cozella? Why go to all this length?" "I don't know. Something about the Squizard's powerful beak was compelling me towards it. And I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity at that sick power grab!" "Why would you betray your allies just for a grab at power?" "I didn't betray you. You refused to be my servants under my new rule as Empress." "This land doesn't belong to you! The citizens of Spiketopia deserve better than to live under your tyrannical rule!" "I see. I see. Well. If that's what you think, then come and take Spiketopia back from me!" "You're on!" "I can be on too." "It's a one on one magic duel!" Garbunkle and Cozella challenged each other to a magic duel, and the battle immediately commenced. It was Garbunkle's turn first. Garbunkle rolled his die, but it was a mere 6. "What's the matter, Garbunkle? Can't roll a double digit number?" Garbunkle attempted to cast a zap attack on Cozella, but its effect was negligible. "Let's see how a real O&O champ does it." Cozella rolled her dice, and rolled a 14. "Ooh. Another high roll! Golly, how does she do it!?" Cozella put a magical binding spell around Garbunkle. "Please stop this!" "Stop!? I can't stop. You can't stop me! NO ONE CAN STOP, EMPRESS COZY GLOW!" Cozella cast a powerful magical beam attack, dealing a critical blow to Garbunkle. "As if you ever stood a chance." A trap door opened beneath Garbunkle, and he fell down a long vertical shaft. "So much for your Spike in shining armor, Captain Wuzz. Now, about your chaos magic!" "Stop! You can't do this!" "Why? What would be lost?" "He's my friend! I can't stand the thought of losing him! Surely you don't know what it's like to lose a close friend." Cozella weighed the situation carefully. "Will you promise to spare my friend if I give you my Element?" "Hmm... You're not bluffing, are you?" Beautyshy undid her necklace, and held it out. "Here. Do we have a deal?" Cozella turned off the laser, and dialed back the wheel, releasing the tension stretching out Captain Wuzz. She then swiftly swiped the Element away from Beautyshy. "It's a deal. And now that makes for two Elements." Cozella detached the jewel from the necklace, and held it up to her crown. She held the Element of Kindness up to her crown, and it became magically infused with the crown. "Your friend is spared. And I promise my laser will bring no harm to Captain Wuzz. However, he is still my prisoner. And he won't get his freedom until he tells me how to control chaos magic! And until he does, TwiShine's shack is next on my laser's hit list." Cozella held her crown in her hooves, and was in disbelief that these powerful artifacts were now in her possession. "That's two Elements down. Now I only need four more. And I have a special feeling that the remaining Elements will be delivered to me very soon." Back in Rarity's trial, she had finished fitting Cozy with an exceptionally well detailed dress. A pink princess dress, bedazzled with sparkling jewels. But would it pass the test? Cozy stood in front of the mirror, and assessed her dress. "So, what do you think?" Cozy carefully thought about the dress. She smiled at her image, and things seemed to be going well. But suddenly, she nodded in disapproval. "WHAT!? I put all my heart and soul into it!" "I'm more a fan of things woven with blood, sweat and tears." "So... you don't like it?" Rarity asked, breaking into tears. "It's... fine. It's just missing something. That cherry on top. I need..." Cozy looked at Rarity and her necklace. “I want THAT gem!" Cozy pointed at Rarity's Element. “This?! Oh, but, darling. This one I simply can’t give up.” “Then I guess you won’t pass the test then.” Rarity thought long and hard about this one. Give up her Element to Cozy Glow just to pass this test? Was it a worthwhile sacrifice to make? Well, there seemed to be no other way out of this situation. Rarity caved in, and outfitted Cozy Glow with her Element of Generosity. "OoooOOooh. So shiny and sparkly!" Cozy said, grinning. "So what do you think now, darling?" "I love it!" Rarity beamed with excitement. "But you still fail." Rarity's mood immediately went into shock and horror. "WHAT!? But you said make a dress you like. I succeeded, no?" "The dress? Oh no, this thing's still a wreck. I was talking about this Element. So shiny, so powerful! Rarity gasped. She'd fallen right into Cozy's trap. And now, she was about to fall through Cozy's trap door. "And since you failed to make a dress that I liked, you failed the test. So..." A trap door opened underneath Rarity, and she fell way down. Pinkie Pie had decorated the entire park for Cozy's birthday. Pink table covers, with gift bags, balloons, and a ginormous cake, big enough to feed every filly in Ponyville for a week! That wasn't all. There was a bouncy castle for fillies to bounce around and play in. Cozy Glow inspected Pinkie Pie's work. "Impressive work, Pinkie Pie." "Thanks." "There's just um..." "Did I forget something, Cozy Glow?" "Maybe. I don't know. I guess I was maybe expecting a bit more of a... fun factor?" "Oh there's lots of fun to be had. Every filly loves a good bouncy castle. Later we can play musical chairs! Oh! And then-" "I got it! I know what's missing!" "You do? What is it?" "There's one party game missing." "There is? What is it? I'm teeming with excitement!" Cozy put a blindfold over Pinkie. "Oh. I see. Wait, never mind. I don't see. I can't see anything right now! So let me guess, we're playing that sensory game where you place something in my hoof and I have to guess what it is. No wait. Even better, it's, it's-" Cozy removed the blindfold, revealing that Pinkie Pie was tied to the side of a tree. "Um, Cozy. This doesn't look like much fun." "Oh, but it is! Everypony get ready for Pin the Tail on Pinkie Pie!" Cozy blindfolded the filly in front, and Pinkie Pie, and then swiped Pinkie's Element away from her and flew away. Pinkie Pie fidgeted around, and broke herself free, and rushed over to Cozy. "Give me that back!" "AAH!!" Cozy flew into the large bouncy castle. Pinkie followed her inside, cornering her. Pinkie bounced up and down, causing Cozy to drop the element. Cozy and Pinkie bounced up and down, trying to catch the Element, which was also bouncing. "Mine!" "No, it's mine!" The two frantically fought for the Element in the bouncy castle. But eventually, Pinkie caught the Element. "I got it!" *pop* The ground underneath Pinkie popped. "Oh, Pinkie. Don't you know these things are rated only for fillies?" Cozy flew past Pinkie, swiping the Element, and swiftly exiting the deflating bouncy castle. "Wait! Don't leave me!" Pinkie tried to escape, but the castle was deflating too quickly. The bouncy castle collapsed, and deflated, trapping Pinkie Pie underneath a heavy layer of nylon. Outside, Cozy looked at the Element of Laughter in her hooves, and laughed at Pinkie's misfortune. The fillies all looked at Cozy with disbelief, and disappointment. "Oh, grow up, kiddos. This party is over, however, help yourselves to some cake." Back in the courtroom, Applejack was getting grilled by the lawyer Cozy Glow. "Now then, I have a statement prepared that will utterly blast your flank into pieces." "I'd like to see you try." "Very well. Allow me to begin. *ahem* "Our defendant, Applejack, touts herself as being the Element of Honesty. Therefore, we can safely assume that anything she believes must be the "objective truth". Let's see how she holds true to that. On the day of the Ending, you clearly did not do anything to stop Discord from turning Cozy to stone. Now, let me ask all of you. Is it fair to say that Cozy Glow is undoubtedly different from Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis?" "Well, ...I mean, she's shorter than them." "Because she's a FILLY! And to be honest, I don't think it's fair to treat Cozy Glow, with the same standard as those OLD villains! Therefore, I state that her punishment is unfair!" The jury nodded and chattered in agreement. "And so, by allowing Discord to turn Cozy Glow to stone, and laughing at her defeat need I add, you were making a firm statement that Cozy deserved it. Which I just reasoned with you, is objectively NOT TRUE! She's a filly! She didn't deserve to be turned to stone! Therefore, you acted dishonestly! Any honest pony would've objected to the horrific thing that happened. But you didn't! GUILTY!" "...Say what now? I'm not followin' yer circular reasonin'." "I've presented my evidence, and the jury is nearly ready to make a verdict. So, one more time, Applejack. How do you plead?" "Fer the last time, NOT GUILTY! I didn't say anythin' dishonest about Cozy Glow! You can't make all these stretches and assumptions about me. I only spoke about Cozy Glow, on account of what EVERYPONY could plainly see! An' if anypony was responsible for her gettin' turned to stone, it's HERSELF!!" *gasp* The entire jury of Cozy Glow's let out an immense audible gasp. Even Lawyer Cozy was in shock, and had to readjust her glasses. "The defendant has spoken, has the jury reached a verdict?" "We have, your honor. “We, the Cozy's, find Applejack GUILTY of misusing her element of Honesty! Therefore, she doesn’t deserve it. Seize her Element!” Lawyer Cozy swiped Applejack's necklace from her, and hoofcuffed her hooves together. "Well, hang on! This ain't a fair trial!" “Life's not fair. Applebrain. Now imprison her!” A trap door opened beneath Applejack's seat, and she fell down a vertical shaft. Rainbow Dash frantically flew through the fog, but it was no good. She was hopelessly lost. She eventually gave up, and landed on the ground. "It's no use. I've failed. And if I failed, then that means Spiketopia is doom!" She pressed her hooves to her face, and started crying. But suddenly, Garbunkle fell from the sky, and landed in Dash's grasp. "Garbunkle! What are you doing here?" "Never mind me. We need to stop Cozy and her pursuit for your Elements of Harmony." Dash checked herself, and indeed her necklace was missing. Cozy must've swiped it sneakily at some point. "Our Elements? I thought she already had the Elements, errr, something." "I'm still not sure of all the specifics yet, but what I know for certain is you must beat Cozy Glow in this race!" "But I can't. I can't see through this thick fog. I don't know where I'm going. There's no point." "You must go, Rainbow Dash. You must fly and win. I know you can do it." "But Cozy is probably already at the finish line!" "Or, maybe she isn't. You ever hear the story of the tortoise and the mare? I reckon Cozy might be resting on her laurels. You're more than fast enough to catch up and win! "You're right. I'm not letting myself be out done by that bratty filly. I'll show her how fast I can really go!" Rainbow Dash revved up her wings, and took off flying at great speed. Which direction was she going? It didn't matter. She just needed to build up speed. "Woo hoo! Where am I going? Doesn't matter! Because I am Rainbow Danger Dash!" Rainbow went so fast, she broke the sound barrier, and created a Sonic Rainboom! The gigantic boom blew away the fog layer, and cleared up the area. Dash could now see the finish line atop a hill, and Shadowbolt Cozy Glow simply lounging around. Shadow Bolt Cozy heard the sound of something rushing through the air, and opened her eyes. She panicked when she saw Dash speeding to the finish line. She tried to get herself going, but before she could even leave the ground, Dash zipped through the finish line. "Oh yeah. Uh-huh!" Dash suddenly heard some crying. She looked over saw Cozy crying in frustration. "Hey, don't sweat it, squirt. You gave it a good go." *sniff* "I did?" "Yeah. You're a good flier, kid. Keep it up, squirt." Cozy hugged Rainbow Dash. Dash embraced her as well. Cozy then smiled, and flew away. Dash felt pretty good too. She didn't seem so bad. "Wait, did she just congratulate me?" The scene started to fade away, Dash and Garbunkle wound up back in the castle foyer. "So now we're back here?" "Cozella got what she wanted, so the illusion spell has dissipated, and we're back in the castle. Come on, let's see how the rest of our friends are doing." Dash and Garbunkle exited the chamber, and checked in on TwiShine's room. And what they found inside shocked them. *gasp* "TwiShine! Oh no!" "That fiend got to TwiShine! What do we do?" "Hmm. I have an idea. Maybe I can peer into her mind and find a way to undo the curse. I don't have much magic left, but I have to do it." Garbunkle rolled a double lucky 14. With his role, he cast a mind reading spell, to peer into the mind of TwiShine. Inside of Twilight's mind, she envisioned herself sitting on the stairsteps of her castle, arguing with herself out loud. "What is it with Cozy Glow? What is it with everypony? I'm doing my job as Princess just fine. What do they know? Cozy got what she deserved! I don't recall her asking for my forgiveness at any point. I only recall getting yelled at, and having lasers fired at my face!" Twilight saw Cozy Glow walking up and approaching the castle. "Oh, this is rich. The little trouble making filly thinks she can challenge me all by herself. I'm ready now, Cozy, because I know to expect the worst from you." Twilight said. Cozy stood just a few meters away from the stairsteps, and stared at Twilight, anxiously. "Welcome, Cozy Glow. What brings you to my former home?" Twilight asked. Cozy simply stood, and didn't reply. "You know, I don't care if ponies complain that a filly was turned to stone. I don't care if that somehow tarnishes my image. And besides, the reason I released you from stone had nothing to do with the complaints. I freed you from stone, because I knew it didn't make a difference either way. There really was no point in turning you to stone in the first place. Face it. Now everypony knows you for who you are. Your manipulation tactics won't ever work again. So what are you left with without that, huh? Nothing. You really think you can stand up to me? I don't need much to defeat you. I don't need powerful magic, or lucky dice rolls. I can defeat you all on my own." Cozy still kept silent, and stood firm. "Not backing away? I stand corrected then. Seems to me that you simply can't go unchecked, and I must deal with you for good." Twilight said. Twilight gripped Cozy Glow with her magic, and held her upside down. "Twilight!" exclaimed a voice. Twilight turned around, and saw it was Spike who had appeared. "Spike. Excellent timing." she said. "Twilight, listen. This isn't what it seems. Your mind is trapped, and you need to approach this very delicately in order to escape." Spike explained. "Right. Now, help me to deal with Cozy Glow, Spike." Twilight said. "What? NO! Twilight, this isn't what it seems!" Spike said. "No, of course it isn't! She's the most dangerous evil force in Equestria! If we don't turn her to stone, she'll fry our brains with her big ol eyes! Now help me to finish her off!" Twilight exclaimed. "Twilight, please! I know she's done bad, but she doesn't deserve this!" Spike exclaimed. "She hasn't just done bad. She's the baddest bad! " Twilight exclaimed. "Lest we forget we left her in stone for a reason! It's because we never intended on reforming Cozy Glow! We were just going to leave her in stone for eternity!! WAHAHAHA!!" Spike flicked Twilight's horn, which caused her binding spell to dissipate. "What are you doing, Spike? Are you going against a direct order of mine?" Twilight asked. "What has gotten into you, Twilight!!?!!" Spike exclaimed. "I'm just setting things right. We should've kept to our word, and left Cozy Glow in stone for forever!" Twilight exclaimed. "Is that what you think, Twilight? Is this how you really want to deal with Cozy Glow?" Spike asked. Twilight looked at Cozy, laying upside down on the ground. Something which now seemed especially... helpless. Twilight's angry expression faded, as she started to feel pity for Cozy. "...Spike? Oh gosh, Spike. What am I doing?" Twilight asked. "I believe you were about to have totally rational conversation with Cozy Glow." Spike said. "Right. I'd be glad to." Twilight said. *ahem* "Cozy Glow. I know you're probably none too pleased with me right now. For how I just treated you, as well as the other two times where we punished you, and essentially left you behind. But I assure you, it isn't as it appears. I... Cozy Glow, there was a time where we were friends. And for some reason you threw it all away. That's why I figured you didn't understand friendship, or simply didn't want it. And the raid on Canterlot further confirmed that to me." Cozy turned her head away from Twilight, and started to tear up. "The truth is, we don't know much about you, Cozy. But if you were willing to open up, and show me the real you, I'd be more than happy to listen, and see the best in you. I hope that eventually you'll decide that friendship is something you'd want to embrace." Cozy still didn't speak a word. "I promise, once this little game is over, things are going to be different. I'm not going to make any assumptions. I'm going to see you for the real you, and do my best to show you why friendship might be something you'd wanna embrace for real. And I promise to be there every hoofstep of the way." Twilight said. Twilight extended her hoof to Cozy. "There's still the opportunity to forgive you, Cozy. But it has to be something you want. So what do you say, Cozy?" Cozy paused, but soon lunged forward and Twilight. Cozy said something verbally with her mouth, but Twilight didn't hear her voice. It seemed like Cozy was thanking her. "You're welcome, Cozy." Twilight said. But suddenly, Cozy started to glow, and fade away. "Wait, Cozy Glow? Where are you going?" Twilight asked. Cozy Glow had fully faded away, leaving something behind... "Woah..." Spike said. Twilight trotted up slowly, and picked up the artifact. "So, not exactly what you expected to see from Cozy, huh?" Spike asked. "Actually, this is perfect." Twilight said. "Huh?" Spike asked. "Upon closer inspection, the artifact looked just like one of Twilight and her friends' Elements. But its color was unique, and hadn't formed into the shape of a cutie mark yet. "I don't think the stuff we said will necessarily be lost on her. I have a really good feeling for the future." Twilight said. The scene started to dissolve, and Twilight could feel herself awakening. Back in the castle, TwiShine's stone curse had been undone, and she turned back to normal. "TwiShine! You're okay!" "I sure am. Thanks to your reasoning, Garbunkle. Thank you." "No problem." "I knew I made the right choice appointing you as Royal Advisor." Garbunkle smiled. "Um. What's that?" "What's what? *gasp* The stone that once covered TwiShine dissipated, and collected together and formed something. "What's happening, TwiShine?" "Something's forming." The rock layer broke, and inside was a gemstone. It appeared to be the same mysterious artifact TwiShine saw in her dream. "What exactly is it?" "I'm not totally sure yet. But I have a strong hunch about it. We should hold onto it." TwiShine put the gem in her inventory bag. TwiShine, Dash, and Garbunkle exited the door, and were back in the main room. They heard some rumbling, and suddenly, their friends Raremare, Applebarian, and Ponkmo tumbled out of their doors. "She took my Element!" "Mine too!" "I argue that I succeeded in my assignment, and she still took it from me! "I'm not really sure what to make of my trial. But it sure wasn't fair!" "But did we succeed in disarming the super laser?" "I didn't see any sort of power source." "Me either. In fact, those rooms are just empty rooms armed with magic illusion spells!" "Could it be...?" "I think we did fall into Cozella's trap. She lured us here, knowing we'd be searching for a way to disarm the weapon. But in actuality, she was after your powers. And now she has them!" "But she doesn't really have the Elements of Harmony. They're just imaginary, and are just part of the game world. Her having them doesn't have any impact on the actual Equestria, does it?" "Hmm... Wait, where's Beautyshy?" Everyone heard a loud booming sound above them. "Something big is happening on the castle rooftop! We need to get up there! NOW!!" Our heroes rushed up the big spiral staircase to the top of the tower. They busted through a locked trap door at the top, and leaped up to the castle roof. "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" "Cozy Glow!" They all shouted simultaneously.
Part 3 -- The Magic DuelThe Mage 6 all finally arrived at the top of the tower. Cozella had been eagerly awaiting for their arrival. "Oh goodie! You all finally made it!" "Stop this, Cozella! Let our friends go!!" "Golly. I suppose I should deactivate my giant laser. But, Discord still hasn't yet told me the key to controlling chaos magic yet. I'm still itching to know!" "Leave him alone! "Well, I can't harm Discord, since I promised I wouldn't. But he is still my captive. Either it's the chaos magic, or it's the citizens below! 'Cause this laser is going to fire if you don't tell me your secrets!" "You can't do this, Cozella!" "Call this off! You're taking this way too far!" "Oh, but blowing Spiketopia to bits will be just too much fun to pass up. But let's hold off on that for now. My laser still needs some time to charge up, and I already possess the keys to world domination as is. Because while you six were busy searching for power, so was I!" Cozella held Twilight’s crown above her head, and put it on her head. The crown was decorated with all six Elements of Harmony. “My crown! I mean, Twilight’s crown!” “Oh please. You think everypony hasn’t figured it out by now? You’re not a humble mage. You’re the Princess of Equestria! But now, I’ve got your crown, along with the rest of the Elements of Harmony!" "But I thought you already had the Elements. Err, somethin' powerin' that laser!" "You all thought my weapon was powered by six powerful artifacts, but Garbunkle fell for my fake schematics! The laser has its own internal power source. The real power was inside you six all along. But now that power belongs to me!" "You could've told us we were already equipped with the Elements of Harmony! That would've made wiping the floor with you from the beginning easier!" "But, Cozella. Only the Element bearers can wield the Elements! They are of no use to you!" "Oh, I don't need to wield the Elements! I just need to make sure you DON'T wield them against me! Same idea behind taking Discord's chaos magic! And now that you guys are powerless, allow me to reap the reward!" Cozella opened a hatch on the side of the laser turret, and inside was the real source of its power. *gasp* "The Squizard's beak!" "Yes. But now the Squizard's dark magic shall be wielded by me directly! HAHAHAHA!! Cozella cracked open the Squizzard's beak, like a walnut, and absorbed the dark energy that flowed out of it. The extra magic made Cozella grow more powerful! "Not that I need the stat buff anyway. Without your special powers, you seven don't stand a chance against my superior intellect!" "You know, Cozella. Seven heads are better than one!" "Is that so? Well, in that case, I challenge you to a magical duel!” “We accept!” “A full party of heroines versus one big boss? Oooohh. I love a good climax. Alright, Twilight "TwiShine" Sparkle. Prepare to meet your game’s end!” "Less talking, and more dueling!" "As you wish. Let the mayhem begin." Epic final boss music commences Screen transition Cozella versus TwiShine's full party, consisting of Garbunkle, Raremare, Ranger Dash, Applebarian, Beautyshy, and Ponkmo. “I lead with Beautyshy and Garbunkle by my side!” And indeed, out stepped Beautyshy, and Garbunkle to TwiShine's side. “It’s my turn first.” Cozella conjured up a 20 sided dice, and rolled. Cozella rolled a 16. “A 16! Higher than average, well, slightly below average for somepony with my amazing luck.” "What’s she going to do?" "I'll show you!" *poof* Garbunkle turned into a frog. "I curse you with a frog stasis spell!” "Oh *ribbit* come on! I haven't even gotten to do anything *ribbit* yet!" "I'll keep the suffering to a minimum for now. I end my turn." It was now the Mage 6’s turn. TwiShine rolled her die, and got a 6. "Now what, TwiShine?" "I switch out Garbunkle for Ranger Dash!" "Are you sure, TwiShine? I think I'm still quite capable of *ribbit*-" Garbunkle was interrupted by the party swapping, and replaced by Ranger Dash! “I enchant Ranger Dash with a Sharp Shooter enchantment, to boost her attack, and accuracy! Beautyshy also casts an enchantment on Ranger Dash, this one boosting her defenses!" I can see clearly what you're planning here, TwiShine. You're relying on Ranger Dash to do massive damage. Let's see how successful you are with that plan. It was Cozella’s turn again. Cozella rolled an 11. Not particularly high by her standards, but plenty enough to do some damage. "It's all in the wrist. Now, it's time to do some damage!" Cozella cast a powerful shock wave attack, damaging all three party members at once. Beautyshy and TwiShine lost nearly half their health points, while Ranger Dash took reduced damage thanks to the guard spell. "It's my turn again! And it's time we retaliate! Ranger Dash, take her out!" "With pleasure." Ranger Dash loaded her crossbow, and fired at Cozella. The arrow *twing* bounced right off of Cozella. *gasp* *gasp* *gasp* "What? I just had a really high defense stat. That's all." TwiShine and co still had their jaws dropped in disbelief. "Anyway, now it's my turn again!" Cozella rolled a 14, allowing her to cast powerful magic. Cozella cast a lightning bolt down upon Ranger Dash! A critical hit! Piercing her defenses, and knocking her out! "NOO!!!" "NOO!!!" TwiShine and Beautyshy ran to Dash's side. "Ranger Dash! Speak to us!" "C-C-Clobber that brat!!" "Will do." *nods* "I switch out Beautyshy and Ranger Dash, for Applebarian, and Raremare!" Raremare and Applebarian appeared by TwiShine's side, ready to do battle. TwiShine rolled a 14! "A fourteen! Perhaps luck is on my side this time! I use this roll to boost Applebarian's attack power, and enchant Raremare with extra sparkly enchantment!" "Okay. What are you gonna do? Sparkle me to depletion?" "These sparkles, darling, allow me to cast more intricate spells." *Pfft* "Intricate spells. Like what?" Raremare increased the attack and speed of Applebarian. Applebarian ran up to Cozella with her ax ready. Applebarian swung the ax at their opponent. It was a direct hit, however, the only effect it had was leaving a Cozy Glow shaped indent in the blade, whilst Cozella remained unscratched. "You know this duel isn't very exciting if nothing we do does any damage to you, Darling." "I don't know what you mean. I'm having a blast with this breezy battle." "But, Cozella. What's the point of winning if it's easy?" "Just watching you ponies struggle to take me down is plenty enough amusement for me." The ponies scoffed at Cozella's dark heart, twisted amusement. "And besides. It's not like this was easy for me. The real journey started way before this. I played my cards right, and I wound up as the leader of Spiketopia! I even managed to outsmart all of you, and take your Elements away! It took hard work, and good planning." With the beginning of Cozella's turn, she rolled a 12, and swiftly performed a wave attack. The attack miraculously missed TwiShine, but Raremare and Applebarian weren't as lucky. They were taking down with a one hit wonder! TwiShine swapped her fainted party members for Ponkmo and Beautyshy. "We're running low on options, TwiShine. What do we do?" "Let's see um. I could have you cast a um... no. What if I... no." "Step aside! I got this!" Ponkmo pulled out her lute, and started strumming and singing. "We may be a fightin'~~ But that's no excuse for tryin'~~" "To eliminate your so-called foes~~!" *epic lute solo* "I just wanted to say ~~ we can still come together and play!" "So, disarm your super laser of destruction, release Captain Wuzz, and we won't have to lay down the hurtin'~~!" *dun dun dun* Ponkmo finished strumming, and concluded her song. Everypony's jaw, even Cozella's, was wide open in shock. What the heck did they listen to? "Oookay? If you're done messing around, prepare for-" And then, all of the sudden, the song gave Ponkmo a massive stat boost! "WHAT THE?!" "My enchanted song boosts my stats all around, and I get an extra turn! So therefore, I unleash-" Ponkmo ran off screen, and reappeared, with a- "Super duper laser, meet the Super Duper Party Pony Cannonball Surprise!!!" Ponkmo fired her cannon at Cozella, and then- *KA-BOOM* A large explosion emanated from Cozella's side of the battlefield. Her side was left clouded with smoke. "Did we do it?" As the smoke cleared up, they saw Cozella on the ground, panting for air. Cozella did actually take damage! Only partial damage though. "Wow! That hurt. I'll give you credit, Ponkmo, you're by far the strongest member of the Mage 6. But, you're still boned." Cozella waved her hooves, casting a dark magical spell around Ponkmo. "Beak of the Squizard! Clamp down on the bard!" The Squizard's beak was conjured up, and it chomped down on Ponkmo, greatly damaging her, and knocking her down in a single hit. With Ponkmo fainted, TwiShine swapped her out for Garbunkle, who was still a frog. Cozella had a huge advantage over TwiShine. Her party's health was dwindling, whilst Cozella remained almost untouched. "It's not looking *ribbit* good, TwiShine. Our party members are knocked out. We're low on items. Our own health points are low too." "Um. I'm not fainted yet. I might be able to come up with something." "We can't give up, Garbunkle. There's so much that's at stake." "I don't want to give up, but I simply don't see a winning avenue for us." TwiShine examined her inventory one more time. There was still her special held item. "That's it! Garbunkle, I think I know how we can still win! And it's not going to take any luck or special dice rolls. Just a little convincing." "Huh?" "Cozy Glow! Why are you doing this?" "Why am I doing what?" "Why go to all these lengths to take over the land, and seize all this power?" "This isn't just about winning the game. Once I win, I will be in control of Discord's chaos magic, AND the six Elements of Harmony. I'll be powerful enough to reshape reality!" "Is that really what you want, Cozy? Is this really the path you still want to take?" "What do you mean? I thought we were just playing a game." "We're still just playing the game?" "What, did you think this whole life-like game of Ogres & Oubliettes was a scheme to steal your powers and use them to take over the real Equestria?" "...Maybe?" "Silence! I'mma let you find out the answer to that conundrum, once you're defeated!" "That's not going to happen, Cozella! I have something that is the key to your defeat!" TwiShine pulled out her special held item. "What the?! What is that? Another Element?! But I have them all! There's only supposed to be six!" "There are more, Cozella But new Elements can still bloom when they are earned!" "What? That's nonsense. And what is that anyway? The Element of Forgiveness? I already have your Element! You can't have two!" "Oh, it's not my Element. It's yours!" "WHAT?!" TwiShine passed the gem over to Cozella. The gem magically bonded itself to Cozella, and formed a necklace, and the gem stone itself had changed its shape. It was now shaped like a little rook. Cozella was stuck, magically bound in place by her own Element. The magic sent shockwaves through Cozella. The rest of the Elements flew out from Cozella's saddlebag, and attached themselves to their Element bearers. Being reunited with their Elements fully restored everypony's health points, and healed all status ailments. Garbunkle was also restored to his normal form. "NO! What is happening?!" TwiShine and all her friends held hooves, and charged up their Elements. Their stats climbed to unbelievably high numbers! Each of the six Elements beamed out, and latched onto Cozella one at a time, and wrapped her in a laser rainbow swirl. The rainbow Cozella was impacted by the powerful rainbow blast! "You see, Cozy, friendship is powerful, but power isn't the reason we're friends. We're friends because of special spark!" The power of their friendship was so great, it had pierced all her defenses, and her life points were depleted. Cozella lay defeated on the ground. Everypony looked over at the fallen filly, and approached her slowly. "So, Cozy Glow. What'll it be this time?" Cozella sat up. She held her Element in her hooves, and looked at it. "Where did this come from?" "It appeared after I turned back to normal. While I was in stone, I had a vision of you and I became friends." "We did?" "Mhm. You reformed, so I think this Element is linked to your reformation. It's your Element, since it's bound to you." "Why in Equestria would I have my own Element though?" "Even I am not totally sure. There are many mysteries pertaining to the Elements of Harmony. But I am willing to help you seek the answers you have. "...Are you offering for me to be your magical apprentice?" TwiShine nodded. "But, after all I did. The tyrannical rule. The robbery of your Elements! The near destruction of your friends. Why would you forgive me?" "Because if that Element formed upon the vision of your reformation, then I know there is good inside you after all. You may have been turned to stone, but there may be a heart of gold inside after all. What do you say, Cozy Glow?" TwiShine extended her hoof out to Cozella. Cozella was hesitant at first. But, TwiShine's offer seemed genuine. She'd already passed up friendship a couple times, and this may be her last chance. Cozella accepted Twilight's hoof. The two came together and hugged. "Woohoo!" "Yay!" *sniff* "Alright. I think that's enough play for now." "I agree. Discord, take us home." "That's not my name, you know." "Okay, Captain Wuzz." ;) "With pleasure." Discord snapped his fingers. The game was over, and everypony found themselves back in the Canterlot rec room. Cozy started laughing uncontrollably. But it wasn't a sinister laugh. Her laughter was joyful. "Are you kidding? Cozy Glow earns her own Element? Ridiculous!" Cozy said, laughing. "It is kinda silly when you get down to it. Elements of Harmony are old news anyway." Twilight said. "Realistic or not, that's the fun of Ogres & Oubliettes. You can pretend to be somepony you're not, and can even roleplay as something you'd want to be." Spike said. "And you know, for all the underhoofed tactics you did, Cozy, you were actually a really smart strategist. You should consider joining us again next time." Spike said. Cozy thought back on her time playing the game, and how it felt getting lost in the imaginative aspect. "Hmm... Nah. I'm good." Cozy said. "You sure, Cozy? You looked like you were having the time of your life coming up with those scenarios." Spike said. "Eh. It was fun for one night, but I can't see myself sticking with this nerdy game." Cozy said. Spike looked at Cozy, with a sneaky grin. "Okay. Maybe I did have a little bit of fun. But, it's just a phase, I swear." Cozy insisted. But the truth is, Cozy couldn't wait to do it again. Maybe she'd leave dungeon master duties in charge of somepony else. Maybe she'd try to be a hero, rather than a villain. "Alright. It's getting way late, everypony. Let's all head home and get some shut eye." Twilight said. All of Twilight's friends nodded in agreement. "Oh, but because of this game, I'm way behind on my reconstruction work." Cozy said. "Don't worry, Cozy. I'll make an exception for tonight." Twilight said. Discord was kind enough to open portals for Twilight's friends to make it home quickly. He, and everypony else left the scene, leaving Twilight, Spike, and Cozy Glow to themselves. Twilight led Cozy Glow to her room. But there was something from the game that Cozy couldn't stop thinking about. "...So, Twilight. Do you think I'll actually find my own Element?" Cozy asked. "I can't promise anything, but I also can't count anything out." Twilight said. "If you stay on the right path, who knows how you might be rewarded in the future." "And about all that stuff we said in the game, did you really mean it?" Cozy asked. "As long as you did. I'm willing to forgive you, and teach you about friendship, if you're willing to listen." Twilight said. Cozy nodded. "Okay, Twilight." She was starting to warm up to the idea of friendship under Twilight's wing. And that, was not just a phase.
