The Biography of Cozy Glow
Starlight's Preamble
The following is an excerpt from Cozy Glow's biography, released some time after her release from her stone prison. It has been banned in multiple cities due to its controversial nature and disrespectful tone towards the Equestrian authorities, as well as choosing to include instructions to dangerous spells. But I urge you, Princess Twilight, please make a decree to allow for its distribution across your kingdom. Each and every pony has the right to freedom of speach and I fear by censoring her words, you prove Cozy right by depicting in describing your regime as totalitarian. Plus, I used to write and publish similar material back in by Equalist phase, and despite her obvious disrespect, I find Cozy Glow quite Insightful on occasion.
Signed Starlight Glimmer, Headmare of the School of Friendship.
Foreword
I bet most citizens of Equestria knows my name, a name that will forever synonymous in the minds of many as villain and manipulator. In the minds of others my name has become synonymous as a victim of the worst excesses of Equestria's antiquated justice system.
But few know the full story of my life, after all, history is written by the winners. I would be even willing to say that there is a possibility that information about my life has been willingly suppressed by Equestria's totalitarian rulers. But more likely the Princesses were not able to uncover much information about my life, as much of it is unknown even to me. Let me tell you my side of the story.
Early Childhood
My earliest memories were of my time in the Sunrise orphanage in Manehattan. I won't bother you with the details as I have described this time of my life elsewhere. But what's important is that, at this time I was a shy and withdrawn pony, and I was close to a pony named Aurora, who was more than a friend to me, she was my sister in all but blood. Neither of us knew our true names as we were given over to the orphanage anonymously, so we came up with our own names, sharing the last name Glow to reflect our bond, we named ourselves Cozy Glow and Aurora Glow. The yellow maneband I still have in my possession was a gift from her, the color matching her mane, I treasured it my entire life, especially after her death, but I am getting ahead of myself.
Aurora's death was entirely on my hooves, and I always knew it deep down, however much I would try to deny it. While we had been inseparable during our early years, we were both social outcasts, after I won the Annual Manehattan Chess Tournament for Colts and Fillies and got my cutie mark, I suddenly became popular with the very crowd that once treated us like outcasts. But while I become popular, Aurora didn't, so social pressure dictated I needed to break our bond and only hang out with the cool kids. Without me being there for her, Aurora took her own life in a matter of months after I abandoned her. The strange thing was that one of my former bullies went missing during mysterious circumstances, Solar Justice, who became an associate, even if I would hesitate to use the word friend, after I got my cutie mark. The only trace he left behind in his room was a hint of sulphur, which I knew thanks to my habitual reading to be an indicator of the presence of demons.
From that point onwards I would become obsessed with forbidden knowledge, trying to understand what happened to Solar Justice, he was clearly involved with a demon somehow. I was starting to wonder if malicious powers had taken an interest in my life and were intentionally pushing the trajectory of my life in a certain direction. I would soon be adopted by a stallion named bishop, a professional chess player who had taken an interest in my skills during the tournament where I got my cutie mark. But he wouldn't last land, passing away of terminal cancer about 6 months after adopting me. I could feel the demon's influence hanging over the whole thing, like it intentionally set up events so I could inherit Bishop's fortune. I was starting to wonder if the demon was here to help me succeed in life, after all, it had made the person who used to make mine and Aurora's life a living hell and was indirectly responsible for her death disappear, and it made sure I acquired a fortune which would further fuel my research into daemonology so that I could figure out the identity of the demon who had taken such an interest in me.
Starlight note: Did Cozy kill Aurora, Solar Justice and Bishop? It is completely possible, even if Cozy had always denied it. After all, she did stand to inherit a fortune once Bishop passed, but on the other hoof the medical records show Bishop did indeed have terminal cancer. Cozy's biography claims these events were covertly manipulated by a mysterious demon that pushed her towards the path of villainy. Is it possible Cozy suffers from dissociative identity disorder? The "demon" being a manifestation of Cozy's darker impulses. I have evaluated Cozy both in my time as a counsellor and after she was freed from her stone prison. During her time at school, she seemed quite unproblematic, if maybe a little devious, a trait I picked up on early but didn't think was concerning, as I share the same trait. But this personality seemed so much at odds with the personality she would later display when she revealed herself as a villain. I now suspect the two sides of Cozy might be different personalities altogether. It is also possible that Aurora did indeed kill herself and it was this trauma that caused Cozy's dissociative identity disorder to manifest. When evaluated after her stone imprisonment, she also shows signs of severe PTSD, the mere sight of a statue can drive her into a panic attack. She has an even more extreme reaction to creatures like the Cockatrice that can turn a pony to stone. Maybe she has a point about the use of Petrification in the Equestrian justice system being morally questionable.
School of Friendship Phase
For all my money, I missed Aurora's companionship, and the loving care of Bishop which he showed me during our short time together. All that kept me from ending it all was my frantic research.
I started to hear a voice in my head from time during study sessions, in the form of quiet whispers that would guide me towards the right books. The subtle influence of the demon. It would guide me towards a ritual that would allow me to establish contact with Tirek, the infamous warlock. Tirek finally was able to give me some of the answers. He could not identify the demon, but he told me he believed I had unintentionally made a pact with a powerful entity, perhaps during the seances the cool kids used to throw during parties had attracted its attention. The entity in question had taken an interest in me due because I had the potential to be great, Aurora had been the sacrifice so I could obtain power and glory. Tirek told me I could as well embrace the pact, after all, my soul was already forfeit.
A combination of the whispers of the demon, Tirek and my own knowledge allowed me to create a ritual that would drain all magic to Equestria, sending it to the Abyss, the realm of demons. Tirek claimed that the magical energy would be devoured by the demon, who would then reward me with ultimate power. But some of the artifacts required were held at Twilight's school of friendship, so I decided to enroll as a student. My time at the school was wonderful, I finally found the companionship I had lacked since Aurora's death, I even developed a crush on a young changeling named Ocellus. Yet it wasn't enough to sway me from my course, blinded as I was by promises of power. I told myself that my friends at the school only liked the mask I wore to gain their trust, that if they knew my true self they would abandon me. I would later be proven right. Instead, I told myself that once I was the ruler of Equestria, I could have all the friends I could ever want, and they would adore me for me.
I covertly collected the artifacts I needed from the school, with the addition of one additional artifact I found in the Everfree Forest. When the time came to put my plan into action, I think everypony knows how that went. When I finally managed to get Twilight and the other professors out of the way, including Starlight, I was almost undermined by Chancellor Neighsay, making my plans to take over the school alot harder. My ritual would then be foiled by the very people who had called me a friend the week before. I was especially hurt by Ocellus working against me, but it was exactly what I expected, as I said, they were never friends with the real me, just my facade. I would then be taken to Tartarus in what I would consider the first of many judicial mismanagements in dealing with my case, I wasn't even given the courtesy of a trial.
Starlight note: As I stated before, I do not believe the demon ever existed, rather, my theory is that Tirek simply took advantage of a mentally ill child to take revenge against Equestria. While I will not completely absolve Cozy of responsibility. It is fully possible she was just a pawn in a larger scheme. As such I believe it was a mistake to imprison her together with Tirek, as he would only continue to fuel her delusions.
My Time in Tartarus
My time in Tartarus was quite uneventful, not to mention agonizingly boring, I could do nothing but mark each day that passed on the wall and spend time talking to Tirek. By this point we started to get close. I at least considered him a friend, but I didn't know if he viewed me the same way. The whispers of the demon stopped during my imprisonment for whatever reason, and I wouldn't hear it again for many years, I thought that perhaps due to my recent failure, it had lost interest in me.
With little else to talk about from this time period, I will address the appalling prison conditions. Prison cells in Tartarus was nothing more than small cage located in a massive cave complex, food was only delivered to us once a day and that only in inadequate amounts. If my cage wasn't next to Tirek's I would have been driven insane by sheer boredom, and I was only imprisoned for a couple of months. For all the talk of kindness, mercy and empathy, the way Equestria treats criminals is woefully inadequate, it is almost like the moment you commit a crime you lose the right to be treated like a sentient creature with thoughts and feelings of your own. This is when I knew that the rulers of my homeland were hypocrites who didn't practice what they preached.
Formation of the Trio
When I least expected it, me and Tirek were broken out of Tartarus by a figure to claimed to be the ancient Archvillain Grogar. The Father of Monsters and the Necromancer were only two of his many titles. As you could expect from someone who called themselves the Necromancer, he brought Sombra back from the grave, but Sombra, the foo should l he was wasn't willing to cooperate, so he left shortly after his resurrection. This was when Grogar gave us an ultimatum, we could either assist him against Equestria by working together, or he could send us back to Tartarus. This wasn't much of a decision. It was true I wanted revenge against those that had imprisoned me, but I didn't like being told what to do or doing the bidding of another villain. While Tirek and Chrysalis were reluctant to cooperate, especially Chrysalis, I saw that we had little chance for success alone, but a greater chance if we stood united, after all, Friendship is Power. But that didn't mean I would do the bidding of Grogar forever, after all, he was always using his superior magical might to push me and my companions around, he reminded me of the bullies who used to push me and Aurora around back at the orphanage. This was why I was biding my time to overthrow Grogar and take control of the entire operation.
Mount Everhoof
I would soon get my chance to get back at Grogar after he sent us to retrieve his bell on top of Mount Everhoof. The bell was surrounded by a forcefield none of us could breach with our own power. But working together we were able to breach the barrier and accomplish our goal. But during this assignment, something happened that I did not foresee, I was truly starting to enjoy relying on Tirek and Chrysalis, when we helped each other, when I used my power to help others it felt better somehow, for the first time since the death of Aurora, I felt happy. I knew that the other two felt is as well. Of course, that happiness was short-lived, as Chrysalis brought us back to reality. Twilight and her pesky Magic of Friendship was powerful indeed, powerful enough to infect even the most hardened villain. Like Chrysalis put it, friendship is a disease. Yet some part of me could not fully embrace her words, after all, I relied on the power of friendship in my own schemes. I always knew friendship was powerful, but I had forgotten how good it felt to help another creature. It helped me remember my time with Aurora, a time before the demon sank its claws into my soul. Yet for all my doubts, I dared not voice them, Chrysalis and Tirek could destroy me in an instance if I expressed a sentiment that went against the group. Despite, I still wanted revenge against Equestria for imprisoning me in Tartarus and Grogar for pushing us around for months.
Starlight note: This is certainly interesting, what transpired on Mount Everhoof was unknown to all in Equestria, if we had known just how close those three came to understanding the Magic of Friendship, maybe our final judgment of them would have been different. This story seems to continue to support my theory that Tirek was a major enabler of Cozy's villainy, it seems like Cozy finally understood friendship, if only for a moment, only for her to be swayed by peer pressure by the other two villains. I wonder what would have happened if Chrysalis didn't push the other two back into villainy. But maybe it was already too late at this point. Would we have believed it if the Trio came to us and told us that they had a change of mind? I would like to think so, given my own past, but I can never be sure.
The Ultimate Betrayal
We decided to hide the bell from Grogar to ultimately use it against him, I considered it payback for his lousy treatment of us as underlings. It was only once we turned the bell against him that the truth was revealed. Grogar was a fake, all we had been told since we were freed from Tartarus was a lie. Grogar was in reality Discord in disguise, we had all been pawns, a test Discord had been preparing for Twilight where we were expected to take the fall. Being used on such a profound level made me unreasonably angry, and what’s worse is that Discord was probably acting with the approval of the monarchs of Equestria. All the happiness I had gained from my newfound connection with my fellow villains was drowned out by hatred and my desire for revenge increased tenfold. I wouldn't rest until Equestria had been burnt to ashes. To say that I couldn't think straight was an understatement.
Me and Chrysalis easily turned Equestria against itself, too easily, I wondered if there was already strong tension between the three tribes bubbling under the surface, just waiting for an excuse to show itself. The divided tribes led to the return of the Windigo's, which surprised me. While I had read about them in fictional stories, I never believed them to be real, I thought they were just an old filly's story. They would present a major obstacle for my plans, even if we were victorious. For how much I would have liked to burn Equestria down in my anger at Discord's betrayal, I realized that when I eventually calmed down, what I really desired wasn't wanton destruction, but rulership, and I didn't want to be the Empress of a frozen wasteland.
Another problem was my companions, while we shared the same common enemy, we didn't have the same ultimate goal. Once Equestria was defeated, we would inevitably turn on each other and each of us knew it. The kinship we shared on Mount Everhoof was gone, replaced only by a mutual hatred, the bond between us would crumble when our enemies were gone. I think it was that lack of unity that led to our defeat. For however we tried to utilize friendship for our own ends, the friendships of our enemies were stronger and we didn't stand a chance. I blame our defeat on both our lack of unity and the fact that I simply didn't have enough friends. After all, Twilight had countless friends and I was not even sure I could count Tirek and Chrysalis as friends anymore. But there was also a part of me that suspected a deeper reason. As long as I pursued friendship for power rather than for its own sake, I would always be weaker.
Petrification
We were shown no mercy by the monarchs of Equestria, me, Tirek and Chrysalis sentenced to eternity as a stone statue. I didn't know what I expected, but it wasn't that. What made things worse was that the one to both suggest carry out our punishment was none other than Discord, who tried to use us for his own ends. He who was in my eyes just as responsible for all that transpired as the rest of us, if not more so. After all, without his interference me and Tirek would have likely still be trapped in Tartarus. I even heard that thanks to Discord resurrecting Sombra, the Tree of Harmony was destroyed, an act neither me or my co-conspirators had anything to do with. If the world had any justice, Discord should have served his time as a statue right next to the rest of us, not decide our punishment like this whole thing was not at all his fault.
Being petrified was awful beyond words, but I will try to describe it to the best of my ability anyway. Picture your body frozen in time, unable to move a muscle, unable to speak or socialize with anyone. You are aware of the area around the statue, but few ponies ever visit you, so you are mostly just left alone with your own thoughts, it was like solitary confinement, but worse. I have read that petrification was supposed to be like a deep sleep, either the ponies who wrote those books were wrong, after all, it was unlikely any of them ever experienced being petrified. But it was also possible Discord did something to mess with the spell, I wouldn't put that past him.
While in stone, I had a lot of time to think. I imagined what would become of me over the years, a thousand years later, when all of Twilight's friends were dead, I would still be here, trapped with my own thoughts. Heck, after the sun expired and all creatures on our world were gone, I would still be here, a stone statue on lifeless planet. I could not believe the Princesses would do such a thing to a young filly. I hated Celestia and Luna for approving my punishment and I hated Twilight just as much for just standing by watching instead of doing something about this act of cruelty. Her friends were laughing...laughing. These ponies were supposed to be better than me and my co-conspirators, I see now that I was mistaken. They were nothing but self-righteous hypocrites, all of them. Yet I also recognized my own fault in these events, if only I embraced what felt so right to me for a moment on Mount Everhoof, things might have been different. My blind rage and desire for revenge played as much of a role in trapping me here as the cruelty of Equestria's monarchs. If I could go back and do things differently, I would.
I would give anything to escape my fate, well...almost anything. It was at that point the whispers of the demon returned, more powerful than ever. It promised to free me from my stone imprisonment, it promised me vengeance. I would have taken it up on that offer if not for my newfound realisation of how embracing these feelings screwed me over last time. In fact, come to think of it, my life has been nothing but misery since the demon came into my life. I rebuked it, told the voice to go away. It did, but only for a time, the whispers would always come back. It promised me everything I ever wanted, freedom, revenge, rulership over the entire world. But there were things I wanted more, things the demon could never understand, I wanted to feel what I did back on Mount Everhoof again, feel for someone the way I felt for Aurora, for Ocellus.
I realized that I had many chances to turn back. I should not have abandoned Aurora, she would have been alive if I made different choices. I should not have pursued forbidden knowledge in pursuit of the demon, I would have never met Tirek if I just let things be. I could have just stopped my foolish plan when attending the School of Friendship, been just a regular student and make real friends, maybe even ask out Ocellus like I always wanted. Most of all, I should have given more pushback against Chrysalis back on Mount Everhoof, maybe it would have been enough to convince Tirek, if so our ultimate fates would be different. But I could not change the past, what I could change was the future. Never again would I give in to the demon. What it offered was always a trap, I could see that now.
Starlight Note: While her time in stone seemed tortures and I don't think we should inflict this fate on anyone, it can be argued that it did ultimately help Cozy realize the error of her ways. I see Cozy's ultimate rejection of the demon as a rejection of her darker side, and for that I am happy for her. It is true that after release Cozy could still be seen as a troublemaker who didn't get along with Equestria's monarchs, but she did stop being a villain after that point.
Post-Petrification
I would eventually be freed by a orange unicorn with red and yellow mane, by that point it had been many years since my imprisonment. After all this time it was strange to finally be able to walk again. The unicorn introduced herself as Sunset Shimmer, she told me she used to be a villain like me, and had therefore pushed for my release ever since she found out about me. Sunset told me she believed every creature deserved a second chance, it had been difficult, but she had eventually convinced Twilight to let me go.
But the ponies were not stupid enough to let me go unsupervised. For the first several years of freedom I was constantly observed by the royal guard. They were always expecting me to try something, but I never did. Even if I still had a strong distaste for Princess Twilight Sparkle and an outright hatred of Discord, I spent the first several years of freedom writing a treatise accusing the previous regime under Celestia and Luna to have consistently violated the 8th amendment of the Equestrian Constitution against cruel and unusual punishment by its use of both petrification as a punishment and the appaling prison conditions in Tartarus. Not to mention I never received a trial either time before my punishment was carried out. I argued for Twilight's regime to institute judicial reforms. While my arguments often fell on deaf ears, I did manage to gather a small group of supporters. When my probation period was finally over, I was already an adult, and I decided to make speeches across the nation in favor of judicinal reforms. During these tours, I ran into Ocellus again I finally asked her out, we have been a steady couple ever since.
Starlight Notes: I have read some of Cozy's treatises on judicial reform. They have impressed me. I think you should reconsider some of her propositions Twilight. I know you are still skeptical of Cozy, given her past, but I also have a dark past. Shouldn't we give her the benefit of the doubt? I think she was a point; high level criminals have been so rare in Equestrian history that we don't really have an established ethical way of dealing with them. Tartarus especially is a relic of a past age, as it was created over a thousand years ago to house some of Grogar's most dangerous creations, and the prison conditions reflects the standards of the time rather than more modern standards. Not to mention it is better suited for containing animals than people. Tartarus has been used as a prison too seldomly, it just never been modernized because so few ponies has ever been incarcerated there. To my knowledge Tirek and Cozy are the only prisoners that wasn't one of Grogar's hybrid beasts. In my humble opinion Cozy should have never been sent there in the first place.
Zephyr Heights
Despite my best efforts, Twilight would never institute the reforms I demanded. Tired of being ignored. I gathered a group of likeminded followers, mostly pegasi, and founded the city of Zephyr Heights, soon seceding from Equestria to make a society where we could make our own laws. In Zephyr Heights I would make sure we had decent prison conditions and petrification was abolished, together with other abominable practices like banishing ponies to the moon. Ocellus ascended together with me as queen and we ruled together for many years. Equestria was at first hostile to this new city state, but their stance softened over time as it became clear I did not intend to attack them. Peace reigned until I started having reoccurring nightmares, Equestria in flames, ponies turning against one another, alot like they had during my final coup, this time being led by a purple alicorn wielding demonic flame. A familiar demonic voice taunted me in these dreams, telling me that Equestria was ultimately doomed to fall. I believed these dreams were a vision of the future, and as such it was up to me to prevent them from coming to pass, it was the least I could do after all the grief I did cause in my younger years. I used all my forbidden knowledge and my knowledge of magical artifacts to create four Foundation Stones, huge magical gemstones that could absorb negative energy, promoting harmony all across the land. I planted them around the borders of Equestria. I just hoped they would be enough. Little did I suspect at the time that I was being deceived.
Twilight Years
Only decades later did I find out the truth. The dreams were sent by the Whispering Demon and they had deliberately coaxed me into acting. It wanted me to create the Foundation Stones, for unbeknownst to me at the time, once they were filled with negative energy they would burst and spread that dark energy across the land, turning ponies against eachother. Making the very visions I wanted to avoid come true. I could not even safely destroy the stones by this point, for that would assure the dark energies within would be released. Ever since I started having visions I have felt a great shadow come over me, sometimes it feels the the demon is lurking in my peripheral vision and I get a hint of the smell of sulphur. I fear I do not have long left. I will leave you all with this final warning and hope that future generations would be able to fix my mistakes. I dread where I will end up in the hereafter, for I fear the demon still have a claim on my soul. But I will make one more act of defiance. I plead with the rest of Equestria, please, once the horrific events of my vision come to pass, please use my old magic draining spell to disapate the negative energies. I have provided instructions within this book to replicate it. It will remove all magic from the lands and absorb it in three magical crystals, only when the three tribes are once again united can magic return to Equestria. Know this demon, as I pass from this world, I will have the last laugh, you will not destroy my homeland.
Starlight Note: While this sounds alarming, Twilight, please keep in mind that Cozy was mentally ill and suffered from hallucinations all her life. I am sure this demon is nothing more than a ghost from Cozy's own dark past and as she grew older she sank deeper and deeper into this delusion. I don't think Equestria is actually in danger, but just in case, I did send you the instructions for Cozy's magic draining ritual, which has otherwise been edited out of this book for security reasons. May it never be needed, but in case Cozy is right, you know what to do, Princess.
Pipp Petals Note: Not many things have survived from before the cataclysm that ripped Equestria asunder. Of my Great Great Grandmother Cozy Glow, founder of Zephyr Heights, only one thing survived that was penned by her direcly, this biography. Cozy's villainous past is not known by many in my time, only members of the family, and I think it is better it remains that way, however tempting it might be to produce a vlog telling the world the story of my ancestor. Firsthand accounts from her time depicts both her and her partner Ocellus as just and fair rulers and I don't want to shatter that reputation. While I don't know what to think of her past, especially her involvement with this unknown demon, it seemed she turned it around towards the end of her life, I am proud to call myself a descendant of Cozy Glow.
I believe Cozy spoke the truth about the demon and the visions she had during the latter parts of her life. While she was not believed in her own time, I live in a time period where the things she predicted already came to fruition. It is likely it was the shattering of the Foundation Stones that led to the Tribes of Equestria turning against eachother during the time Opaline re-emerged, likely having picked up Cozy's old pact with the unknown demon. Opaline was likely much stronger at the time compared to the version me and my friends faced, further strengthened by her pact with the demon. She could only be stopped when Twilight decided to use my ancestor's spell and seal away all of Equestria's magic. Let it be known to all who read this book during future generations, whoever she once was, Cozy's act of supplying the very ritual Twilight used to defeat Opaline and save the day makes her a hero in my eyes.
I have been told I inherited much from Cozy Glow, including my natural charisma, which I use in my career as an influencer. But also my constant need to be in the spotlight. For these reasons I feel myself drawn to Cozy Glow and the stories about her. If she was alive in my era I think we could have been close. I wonder what she would think of the amazing technology we have in my time, would she like my friends? I guess I will never know. But I believe Cozy Glow would love to live in the world she helped create.
