I'm Cozy Glow; nice to meet you.
It is an ordinary spring day just like any other. Only, you just so happen to have found your way into Equestria.
I know, I know. Now that you’re in Equestria, you probably want to do something cool, like get Rainbow Dash’s autograph or take a selfie with Derpy or take a tour of Twilight’s castle. Unfortunately, your every move is at the mercy of the author of this story. And today (and every other day) the author of this story wants to write about Cozy Glow.
So let’s set the scene. You’re walking through Ponyville, taking in all sorts of sights that feel both novel and familiar at the same time. Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique, Sweet Apple Acres—everywhere you look you find several old friends that you’ve never met before. The sunshine is warm on your face, and you can hear the sounds of birds chirping. (You wonder if they’re singing for their own pleasure or if Fluttershy is busy conducting her bird choir. You hope it’s the latter. How cool would that be?)
Before long, though, you notice the unmistakable sound of crying beginning to mix with the birds’ singing. It’s soft at first, but as you walk toward the sound, it gets louder. (Naturally. That’s what usually happens when you walk toward a sound.) Being the compassionate person you are, you know you can’t just ignore the sound. Instead, you follow it until it leads you to the source of the crying.
Sitting on a bench, sobbing loudly into her hooves, is the infamous Cozy Glow.
You freeze in your tracks. What is Cozy Glow doing out of stone? Shouldn’t she still be trapped in her statue prison with Tirek and Chrysalis? She hasn’t seen you yet; maybe it’s not too late to run to Twilight’s castle and warn her that Cozy Glow has escaped from her prison. The thought sends an excited little chill down your spine. You could help save Equestria! Maybe you would even become one of the Mane Six, or at least an honorary member. Being a brony, you’re excited by the thought. But instead of running to Twilight’s castle, you find yourself sitting down on the bench next to Cozy Glow.
“Are you okay?” you ask.
The pink filly wipes her face on her foreleg and looks up at you. “Thanks for asking, but I’m not, really.” She extends her hoof to you and you shake it, trying not to think about the fact that it’s covered in snot and tears. “I’m Cozy Glow. It’s nice to meet you.”
“I know who you are. You’re pretty notorious. Aren’t you supposed to be in stone right now?”
Cozy musters a smile. “Twilight agreed to free me for the duration of the story. For plot convenience.”
A bit of unease creeps into the pit of your stomach. “What about your friends?” you ask, wishing you’d thought to check on the status of the statue before deciding to travel to Equestria. “Did Twilight decide to free them for ‘plot convenience’ too?”
“You mean Tirek and Chrysalis?” Cozy asks. She shakes her head sadly and looks down at the ground. “No. They’re still in stone.”
You relax a little bit. Cozy Glow is just a filly. Without her friends, she can’t really hurt you. Still, for as much as you feel relieved, you also feel sad. The loneliness in Cozy’s voice is unmistakable, and your heart aches for the pink Pegasus. Judging by the lack of mention of her parents in the show, Tirek and Chrysalis were probably the closest thing to a family that Cozy ever had.
You feel yourself soften a bit towards the devious filly.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” you say, shifting your position on the bench, “how come you were crying earlier?”
Cozy folds her forelegs over her chest and keeps her gaze on the ground. “Mmmmm,” she mutters, her facial features blank and unchanging. A stone face, you might say, if the irony of the phrase weren’t so cruel.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?” you ask, cupping a hand around one ear to help you hear her better.
“Mmmmm,” she repeats, still staring at the ground.
“I’m sorry—”
“I said, EVERYPONY HATES ME!” Cozy yells. Suddenly she starts crying again, this time even more passionately than before. Tears gush from her eyes like a fountain. You feel compelled to move away so that your clothes don’t become drenched by her tears. Instead, you reach out and run a hand through her curls affectionately. She doesn’t stop crying, but she doesn’t bat your hand away either.
“Cozy, it’s okay,” you say, using the soft tone of voice that you know you would want to hear if you were in her horseshoes. “What do you mean everypony hates you?”
“I mean that I can still hear while I’m in stone, and I’ve heard ponies say some horrible things they would never say to my face.” She wipes her face again as a few stray tears trickle down her cheeks. “The first thing I heard, right after Discord turned me to stone, was him saying, ‘Together forever. I can’t think of anything that they would want less.’” She sobs loudly and buries her face in her hooves. “At least when they threw me in Tartarus, I knew it was to punish me for my actions. But it sounds like Discord just turned me to stone out of spite.”
“Oh, Cozy, I’m sure that’s not true. Discord and the princesses turned you to stone in order to protect Equestria.”
“Really? Then why didn’t they just stick me in Tartarus again? At least there I could talk. And move. And make rock sculptures. Which is a lot more fun than being a rock sculpture.”
“I don’t know, Cozy—”
“Anyhoo, they don’t need to turn me to stone to protect Equestria! I just need one pony to be my friend—my real friend—and then I won’t even want to destroy Equestria! But of course, nopony wants to be friends with me.” She begins sobbing again. Without hesitation, you wrap your arms around the filly and pull her into a tight embrace. She hugs you back halfheartedly. You can feel her entire body heaving with each sob, and your heart breaks for her. She’s made a lot of mistakes, sure, but you know that nopony can improve if they’re not given the chance. And poor Cozy never was given the chance. Unless you’d call being fossilized indefinitely without any offer of redemption being given a chance.
You look down at the heartbroken filly in your arms. Somewhere in there, there’s a good pony. A pony who just needs a friend. She may never get to have that, but you can at least let her know that she deserves it.
“You’re a good pony, Cozy,” you say, brushing her curls out of her face with your fingers. “And for what it’s worth, I don’t hate you.”
“Thanks,” the Pegasus filly says.
Her voice is flat, but underneath her emotionless exterior, you’ve just made Cozy Glow’s day. She’s wanted to hear that for a long time.
Blinking back tears, Cozy stares intently at the bench that the two of you are sitting on. “I hope you’ll come visit me and talk to me again soon. I won’t be able to talk back. But I’ll be able to hear you.”
You smile sadly at the tiny pony. “Of course I will, Cozy Glow.”
Author's Note
Thanks so much for reading my story; I hope you enjoyed it! As always, constructive criticism is welcome; encouraged, even. Blanket statements such as "This is a bad story" are not. Not only are they hurtful, but they also don't help me improve my writing at all. Everypony is entitled to their own opinion, but please be respectful about how you choose to express it! Thanks!
