Cozy Towers

It 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."