Conflicted Counsel

The door closes behind me, and I move towards my seat. Cozy is laying on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

I clear my throat. Nothing. Guess I’ll just wait?

After yesterday’s... total humiliation, I spent a few hours cooling down in my room. I uh. I needed it.

Still need to apologize to that guard for some of the things he heard.

But after all that, I was able to think a little more clearly, and I have some idea as to my game plan today. More than zero idea, anyways.

I feel like part of the problem is how many assumptions we’ve made about Cozy, and why she won’t talk to us. I tried to relate to her when I had no real idea just what I was trying to relate to, and it backfired. Hard.

Point being, today, I’m going to try and learn about Cozy Glow. Of course, the whole point is to learn about her parents, or at least where she’s from, but that’s not what I mean. I’m going to coax her (or try to anyway) to tell me anything and everything there is to tell. Her hobbies, her interests, what’s on her mind, even let her brag about her accomplishments if need be. I have to keep a conversation going and learn as much as I can about this twisted little filly and hopefully, just maybe, that will lead to learning what we need to know.

It’s a long shot, but it’s all I have, and I’m returning to Ponyville tomorrow. I know Twilight told me not to worry, but she knows I never do anything half-flanked.

“Huh.”

I’m jolted out of my thoughts, looking up to see Cozy’s finally turned her attention towards me. “...What?”

She sits up and hangs her hindlegs off of the bed. “Just surprised to see you here again after yesterday.” A smirk. “You know, considering how foolish I made you look.”

Breathe, Starlight. “I’ll admit, yesterday was a disaster-”

“That’s putting it lightly.”

“...And I can think of a million things I’d rather do right now than sit in a room with you, but,” I set the insulated bottle I’d been levitating in with me on the table, “that doesn’t mean I’m giving up.”

Cozy cocks an eyebrow, and finally hops off the bed to sit at the table. “Well, I guess you’ve at least got some backbone. All those other ponies Twilight sent to interrogate me couldn’t even last an hour.”

She looked proud of this fact. “It helps to have some idea what you’re capable of,” I replied. I twist open the bottles seal, the steaming scent of chocolatey goodness wafting over my snout. I couldn’t help but grin. With a wink, I offer, “Empathy cocoa?”

Immediately, she makes a gagging motion. “Blegh! I’ve always hated that stuff. Way too sweet.”

“Hey, you can badmouth me, but don’t badmouth my cocoa.” I take a proud sip. At least its sweetness is genuine.

Cozy rolls her eyes. “I hope your plan wasn’t to bribe me with chocolate. Even you must know better than that.”

“It wasn’t, but even if it was, I’m not about to just tell you what my plan is. Not all of us are as eager to reveal what we’re plotting as you are, Cozy,” I respond with a smirk.

She snarls. “You were trapped in an orb, you weren’t a threat. How was I supposed to know those snot-nosed crusaders were snooping around!?”

We probably could have kept this spiteful back-and-forth going for a while, but I couldn’t see it leading anywhere productive. I needed some way to derail it, but keep her talking. Thankfully, the answer was sitting literally right in front of me.

“Speaking of being a threat, they really tied those up good, huh?” I motion towards her totally bound wings, stuck to her barrel. “I can’t imagine that’s very comfortable.”

“Golly, what a great deduction, genius. No, it’s not. Got any more brilliant insight in that thick unicorn skull?”

I think I was getting too used to the snark. “Do they ever untie you, so you can... I dunno, exercise, or at least flex them a bit? Keeping them folded like that can’t be healthy.”

Cozy raspberries. “You say that as if they’d care. It’s not like I’d be able to do any damage even if I could fly anyways; they just want to enforce as much control as possible without having to question their own morality.”

I’ll take that as another no. I’ll give Twilight the benefit of the doubt here, but still... “I’ll bring it up with Twilight, that doesn’t seem right.”

She scoffs at that. “If you think doing me a favour like that will get me to tell you what you want to know, then don’t bother.”

“Maybe it won’t, but if we’re really trying to take the moral high-ground like you say, then we should at least be consistent about it. I’m gonna talk to her.”

It looks like she wants to respond, but can’t think of how. Eventually, she shrugs, “...Fine. If you really wanna waste your time, it’s not like I could care.”

For some reason, that makes me smile. I guess it’s because she’s finally cooperating with something, even if it’s out of apathy. “Okay, how about that ankle bracelet? What’s that for?”

She scoffs again. I’m getting sick of that. Maybe I haven’t grown as tolerant as I thought. “Seriously? Aren’t you supposed to be the magic user here?” she asserts.

Yep, still wanna strangle her. “Humour me.”

To my surprise, she complies. “It’s just some stupid device she uses to keep track of me. It’s supposed to alert her somehow if I leave the room or take it off.”

I grin. “I’m guessing you found out the hard way that it works?”

“You can’t blame me for trying!” she growls.

I wondered about that. “So you’re really still committed to this whole ‘taking over Equestria’ thing, huh? Failing at it twice wasn’t enough to make you reconsider?”

Her scowl slowly grows into a smile. “You bet! After all, if my mortal enemies are stupid enough to release me from stone all by themselves, then it’s only a matter of time!”

I couldn’t say why exactly, but I actually felt more concern for her than for us. “You sure it’s not getting... I dunno, tiresome, plotting all the time? You must have other things you like to do, right? Such as...” Think, Starlight, think. “Your cutie mark!”

Cozy raises an eyebrow. “You mean the one you threatened to tear away from me yesterday?” I wince. She smirks. “Why don’t you tell me what it is? After all, you must pay sooo much attention to all your students!”

As suspected, she’s already blocking it from view, so there was no cheating here. Darn it. You’ve seen it plenty of times before Glimmer, you just gotta remember. I begin to furiously rub my temples, as if that would dig the knowledge right out of the recesses of my mind. She’s staring at me with that innocent smile of hers. Cozy Glow’s cutie mark was... It was...

“A chess piece!!”

I yell so loud as I jump up victoriously that I see Cozy nearly fall off her stool. I sit back down and bashfully clear my throat. “I mean, it’s a chess piece. A rook, I think?”

She frowns with disappointment. “Lucky guess,” she mumbles, then uncovers her flanks. From my view, I was right on the money. It honestly did feel like luck. “Yes, I got my cutie mark playing chess. Turns out, I’m pretty good at manipulating pawns to outwit and destroy my enemies!” she exclaims proudly. I grimace. The obvious double meaning is not lost on me.

Despite her turning every talking point into another way to tease or intimidate me, I try to stay resolute and positive. “O-okay, so what about chess then? Why not focus more of your efforts on that?” An idea hits me. “I know! Why don’t you and I, um...” I search the room. A problem hits me.

“Yeah, sorry. Kind of hard to play a game of chess without a chess board. Or pieces.”

She knew what I was going for, at least. After triple checking my surroundings, I groan, annoyed. “Really? Not even a simple cloth board?”

Cozy shrugs. “You should count yourself lucky, really. It’d just be one more way I’d get to humiliate you.”

As much as I’d like to refute that, winning or losing wasn’t my main concern. It seemed a little ridiculous. If you’re going to make a show of accommodating a pony, then the least you could do is cater to their predestined personal interest. Prisoner or not. I make a mental note to bring this up with Twilight as well.

It was weird. I couldn’t really tell if this was pity, or pride, or what. I just know that for one reason or another, I felt Cozy deserved to be treated a little better than this. Even understanding how vile she was, and continues to be... It was conflicting, to say the least.

I glance over at the pile of bland toys, seemingly untouched from yesterday. “There... really isn’t a lot to do in here, huh?”

“Golly, you just noticed?”

“No, but- are the books even any good? You couldn’t have read them all already.” It’s certainly not the biggest bookcase in Equestria, but the only two ponies I know that could read that many books in only four days are Twilight and Sunburst.

Cozy seems to cringe at the idea. “I haven’t even opened any of them. They’re all about a bunch of boring subjects I could never find useful, or dumb stories I could never bring myself to care about.”

I don’t even bother asking about the toys. What was she doing in here all day then? Just... staring at the ceiling, like she was when I came in? I know my goal was to learn as much as possible, but I was afraid to ask.

I take a nervous sip of my cocoa. I think I added too much empathy.

“Hey.”

I nearly spit it out at hearing her speak suddenly, even if I’ve been talking with her the whole time. Now I know I’m too on edge. Once the liquid is safely swallowed, I respond, “Y-yes?”

“What are you doing here?”

A vague dread washes over me. “I’m... talking with you? What do you mean?”

She rolls her eyes, “I mean all you’ve been doing is sitting there drinking your stupid cocoa and asking me silly, obvious questions. Aren’t you supposed to be drilling me for info or something? Asking me about actually important things that will get me to ‘turn a new leaf?”

I gulp. “W-well, I figured, that if we-”

“If we what, grew some sort of emotional bond through pointless idle chitchat, then I’d feel obligated to tell you more about myself? Like if you tried to get to know me, then suddenly I’d want to spill all my secrets?”

Uh oh.

Cozy laughs. It’s not boisterous, or maniacal. It feels condescending. “Look Glimmer, this has been fun. Really. The other ponies they sent me couldn’t keep me nearly as entertained. I almost feel bad about toying with you!”

From the deep glare she gives me next, I have trouble believing that. “But I told you yesterday. There’s nothing you could say or do to get me to tell you what you want to know. No way in Tartarus will I ever be willing to work with the ponies who twice ruined what I worked for. I should know; you all sent me down there, after all!” she punctuates with a giggle.

Everything’s crumbling fast, before I even had the chance to lay a foundation. There must be something, some way to salvage this! “Cozy, please, if you just-”

“Nah, I’m done with you. I’m tired of that pathetic look you’ve had in your eyes.” She leaves her seat, hopping back up onto her bed. “Just go home, Glimmer. Quit embarrassing yourself, it’s a waste of time for both of us.”

I look desperately towards her as she shrugs me off, laying in bed exactly as I found her when I came in. I wrack my brain, trying to think of anything I could say that might change her mind, but I know it’s futile. Even if I stayed here and talked at her, I wouldn’t get anything out of it. I sigh, and stand to leave, my container full of cocoa floating next to me. It didn’t taste quite as sweet anymore.

Once I left, I gave Twilight the rundown of what happened, and apologized. She told me it was okay, and that she was sure I tried my best, but I couldn’t help feeling like I failed. I wasn’t sure who exactly I failed, even. Twilight? Myself? Cozy? All of the above, probably.

Everypony always tells me I’m too hard on myself. I do try to work on it. I knew from the beginning that it would take a miracle for Cozy to listen to anything I say. I shouldn’t beat myself up because I couldn’t accomplish a job I knew I wasn’t right for.

But...

I can’t stop thinking that I could have done more. Like there was something I could do for her that would really resonate with her. Maybe we wouldn’t be friends, but was there truly nothing I could do to get her to drop her guard? Even a bit?

I sigh ruefully. It didn’t matter. Tomorrow morning I’d be back on the train to Ponyville to return to my position at the School of Friendship. I’d just need to sit and pray that somepony else was capable of reaching her where I couldn’t.

Look at me. I’m basically the same as her right now, laying in bed, staring at my ceiling and wallowing in self-pity.

There’s a knock at my door, and I sit up. “Twilight?”

No response.

Confused, I jump off the bed and move to open the door. “You know, if there’s something else to tell me, you don’t need to-”

“Guess who!!”

As I open the door, I’m suddenly assaulted by a body of light blue fur, a pair of forelegs trying to squeeze the life out of me.

The second I get over my heart attack, I’m able to process just who was here to pay me a visit.

“Trixie!?”

The ever spontaneous magician winks. “The one and only!”