You had returned home after meeting with Mr. Rich, not wanting to spend the night on anything else. You had to plan out your day accordingly, as you had a lot more to do than you initially realized. You have to get up, go see Scootaloo, go to the hive and check on the changelings, and then to add to all that, you had to see Diamond. And you realized you should see Bonbon. Why did you have to see Bonbon? Because she probably may have some insight on whatever the fuck that Neighsay guy was going on about. You didn’t know if she’d have any information, but if she did, you had to know so you could act accordingly. You’re the hero colt after all, so if you could squash the problem yourself, then you should make doing that a priority.
You had the day in the bag, it shouldn’t be too hard to pull off if you don’t fall off track.
When you woke up, you gave your head a gentle rub as you yawned. No distractions, just focus and get it over with and… Oh hey! There’s a couple of tickets floating over your bed for some reason, and a note. Might as well see what that’s all about. “Ok Discord, what’s all this then?” You say to yourself as you lean up and grab the note to take a closer look see. “Lesse, hmmm…”. It was an invitational letter to the ‘Basement Theater’ for a screening of Twilight’s surprise. Oh shit! The madman actually did it! Well then, hmmmm. It seemed the premiere is tonight… And to bring a friend? He wants you to bring someone over? Diamond? No, Diamond wouldn’t appreciate seeing Twilight being shocked, especially if it was worthy of being this grand. Ah! But Starlight might get a kick out of it! And she’s been in the house before, so no problems there. You wondered if Discord wouldn’t mind Trix… Oh, suddenly a third ticket? Heh, looks like Trixie is coming too. Seems dear old Dad was giving you ample time to set up a group to watch Twilight’s… Whatever. Man, it has to be good to be this elaborate. Alrighty then…
You slip the tickets into your saddle bag as you get off your bed for a stretch. “Ok, let’s see, should still be set for Ponyville… sooooo.” You go over to your portal door, swing it open, and step through. But when you do, you end up tripping over something… or someone. You land directly, face first, into the grass. Well, at least the ground was soft.
“Owie! Owie! Ogh…” You hear behind you, the adorable whines of some unknown filly. You get up, shake your head to remove the loose grass and dirt, and turn around. Behind you, rubbing her right foreleg, was a small and adorable pegasus filly. She was pale pink in color, with brownish eyes, and a poofy mane, curled into circles every which way and topped off with a cute little yellow bow. Her cutie mark, oddly enough, was a red rook… Like chess? Poor thing, you didn’t mean to hurt her. You didn’t even see her.
“OH shi-, I mean, you alright?” You ask, before making any physical movements.
“Mhmm, I’m ok mister… Oh.” When the filly turns to you, her eyes light up as her mouth forms a rather lively grin. She then puts her hooves to her cheeks in surprise as she stammers “A-are you, Anon? W-wowie! I didn’t expect to run into a hero today! Or…” She lets out an adorable little giggle “really, him running into little tiny me.”
D’awwww! You've never seen this pony before, but you could already tell she was super cute and innocent, and she seemed rather happy just to be in your presence. A fan maybe? Well, maybe you could hang around a little and brighten up her day. “Y-yeah! Haha! Sorry about that, erm…”
“Oh!” The filly gasped in surprise “You actually wanna know my name?”
Geez, was she that starstruck? Well, it’s super cute, that’s for sure. unlike the dumb duo. “Mhmm” You reach over and give her a boop on the nose, causing her to let out a cute squeaky giggle. “I always want to know the names of all the good little ponies I meet.”
“Oh gosh!” She blushed, grabbing her cheeks and swaying her head about “You’re so sweet. Ummm… Oh!” She lets out another giggle, and gives you a sunny smile “My name is Cozy Glow! It’s very very nice to meet you, Anon. I feel so very honored that’d you’d speak to me so suddenly. Erm…” She looks down, and gently kicks her hoof at the dirt, feeling shy about your presence “I hope I’m not bothering you.”
Your heart! Aww! This poor little thing. Ok, Anon, relax. Just really, make sure she has a nice and shiny day. “Oh no no, always nice to meet a fan. I assume you saw the exam yesterday? Pretty cooooool, right?”
“Mhmm!” She nodded “It was so amazing! And looked so dangerous! How ever did you manage to get out of it ok?” She asked, looking absolutely enthralled.
“Oh, you know.” You snickered as you stood tall and arrogant “I’m just good like that.”
And she buys it! Oh man, she’s just too cute. “Gee whiz! It was all scary and stuff and you don’t look like it worried you at all. But I guess that’s why you’re the hero, huh?”
You give her a gentle pat on the head, in which she actually nuzzles under your hoof for the affection. D’AAWWWW! “That’s right! Though anypony can be a hero. Even you” You give her another boop “Being a hero isn’t just about beating baddies, but just being there for your friends and stuff. That makes you a hero in their eyes, and it’s just as important.”
“Golly, that’s really inspiring! In fact, that’s why I’m enrolled in Princess Twilight’s school! So I can learn all about FRIENDSHIP!” She says that last word rather darkly, and you could have sworn her eyes went red there for a moment. But you are just still waking up, so probably just a trick of mind. With all the possible dangers going on, it’s no wonder you’d think such a thing. “Oh! Anon, are you enrolled too? Oh! Do you think we’re going to be classmates? I’d think that’d be really nice. You seem so smart about friendship, I’d love to be your study buddy!”
Ogh… Here we go. Poor thing, you didn’t want to disappoint her, but… “Cozy, erm. I’m not going to the school, I kinda already know everything there is to know about friendship. At least, in my eyes. Princess Twilight’s way is… erm… just not the way I do things.”
“What?!” She seemed utterly surprised, to the point that her adorable tone broke into one that sounded like frustration. Then she just kind of froze there for a moment before she giggled, hovered upwards, and tapped on her forehead. “Oh! I get it! Oh boy, I sure do feel like a wittle dumb dumb not realizing just how great you really are. Of course you’d know everything about friendship already. You helped that pony that was working for that mean ole Storm King, right?”
Oh, so she knows about that? Heh, well given that Neighsay had heard things about you, it shouldn’t be of any surprise. “Yeah, even helped another pony named Starlight. I’m pretty good at things like that. I mean, anypony can be good at making good friends and even helping those who initially seem bad. Even you, Cozy Glow. You want to learn about friendship, but I think you’re pretty friendly already. You must have lots of friends!”
“Erm…” She suddenly floats down to the ground, looking pathetic and depressed. “Actually, I’m not really good at friendship at all. I don’t really have any friends…”
She has no friends? This adorable little thing? WHAT?! Well, you hope Diamond doesn’t get jealous, because this little filly needed your help! HERO COLT POWERS, ACTIVATE! “Well, that’s just not true” You tell her with a soft smile.
When she looks up at you, she has tears in her eyes as she lets out a small sniffle “W-what do you mean?”
“I mean, you have a friend right here! Because, well…” You move in and give her a gentle hug “I’ll be your friend! I’m not always around too much, but when I am, and you see me, I’ll always be willing to talk. And heck, I have other friends you could meet in case you get lonely, and they can be your friends too. Doesn’t that sound awesome?”
“W-wow…” She says, utterly stunned “Y-you’d be my friend? Weeeeaaalllyyy?” She says, her smile returning as she adorably holds her cheeks again.
“Yep! I mean, I’m kinda busy right now, but I’d like to meet up later at some point. I go to Cheerilee’s school, so, y’know, you know where to find me.” Actually, that was really odd, you have never seen this filly before. Maybe she’s from out of town? Twilight’s school was nearly built, and there has been a lot more ponies in Ponyville lately. So, yeah, that could be it.
“Ok! But I thought of an even better idea! It makes me so excited to even think it!” She starts hopping left and right, trying to contain whatever grand thought she had in her head.
A thought? Well, if she was that excited to think it, might as well hear her out. “What’s that?”
She hops up onto the fountain and point towards the direction of the school “Well!” She starts to hover as she speaks, looking directly at you “Since you’re so super knowing about friendship! Why don’t you become a professor? I’d weally love learning about friendship from you. I bet you know things Princess Twilight and her friends don’t at all.” She lands, then shakes her head left and right disapprovingly “Mmm mmm, no sireee. Nopony has what you have, and I’d love to be your first student… erm…” She giggles shyly, blushing “If you’d have me.”
This adorable pony, she’s so… Well meaning. Fuck, and those words. Her belief in you. You just met her and it’s like she put her entire soul into you just now. You, a professor of friendship? Professor Anon, has a nice ring to it actually. It really put you in deep thought too. Despite you telling Twilight her school was pretty dumb, this actually might be something you’d want to try. It’d let you keep an eye out for whatever the fuck is scaring that Neighsay guy, possibly get you out of Cheerilee’s school, and let you actually show other ponies how to do friendship right, the human way. But most of all, you could show Twilight what you’re truly capable of in the art of friendship. Hmmm… You’ll need to see if she’ll even accept you though. She should, you’ve done enough to prove you’re capable. “You know what, Cozy Glow? That really isn’t a bad idea. I do happen to know a lot about friendship, I’m sure I could convince Princess Twilight to let me become a professor at her school. Heh, I’d probably be the youngest professor in Equestria too.” You chuckle as you give it some thought. Eat that, Starswirl!
“Ooooh! That might very well be true! I’d really like that, you being a professor I mean. Do you really think you can become one?” She asks, intent on hearing your answer.
You probably could, especially if you had Spike backing you up. You both were bros at this point. Top that with what you have done for Equestria and it’d be a done deal! Heh, you wonder what being a professor of friendship would actually be like. Eh, probably super easy shit, whatever, still good. “Yeah, convincing the princess shouldn’t be too hard. Considering everything I’ve contributed to Equestria so far, convincing her should be cake.” Oh man, wait til Discord finds out. He’s gonna slap his knee and die laughing when he finds out you plan to outdo Twilight at her own fucking game.
“Oh, I’d like that very much. You’re so nice and sweet, Anon… Erm, Professor Anon, sir.” She did a cute little bow along with that title drop.
“At ease, my student” You strike a rather snooty pose as you pat Cozy on the head “For I am a merciful teacher.”
Cozy Glow had a giggle at that “You’re so silly, Anon. And… Oh!” She gasped in surprise “Weren’t you busy with something? You said you had to go, right?”
Wut? Awww, she was worried that she was taking up your time. Cute, but you didn’t mind hanging out with her. “Yeah, but I don’t mind hanging out with you a little longer. I want you to know that I really care about you, you know?”
“Oh, ummm. I’m really glad to hear that, Professor, truly I am. But I don’t want to take up your time, no I don’t. And besides, I was actually going home right now to get some bweakfast… oooohhh” She whined as she rubbed her adorable tummy. “But if we could meet up later, would that be ok? I don’t mind finding you.”
“Well, I don’t want to hold you from breakfast, and nah, we'll meet up soon. You run along, Cozy Glow. Oh! And for your first lesson, I just want you to stay optimistic, ok? Because I already know you’ll do ok. You’ll have a lot of friends before you know it.”
And then you saw it again, a quick flash of an evil glare. “Oh, I know I will, all thanks to you, professor!” She says as she gives you a gentle hug. “Bye bye!” and with a wave, she was off, skipping along happily on her way.
That glare, did you really see it? Or was your mind really that muddled? Nah, she was just a poor little filly looking for friendship, and as usual, you made another pony happy just by being yourself. Humans one! Twilight zero! Too easy! And Cozy Glow herself? Ogh, you were glad you were able to hold in any sexual feelings about her. Either you were getting better, or you just didn’t even want to risk making such an innocent little pony uncomfortable. As for Twilight, you’ll deal with that when you can, right now you had to get to the clubhouse.
OK, I honestly can't believe Anon would just glance over something like this as someone who has watched the show, as well as simply being a human, who is paranoid; extremely so by pony standards, would just give two separate evil indications a glossing over.
I'd imagine he'd act the same as he did in this chapter, but he'd be almost 100% sure she was evil by the second evil glare, even if it only lasted a few seconds, especially if it was long enough for him to contemplate it like that.
In fact, a lot of the fans of the show believed she'd be evil as well just from her overly sappy personality. Even if Anon is used to ponies acting in such a way, I'd think he'd realize when a pony was overselling it, especially a pony that was being so literate 90% of the time like in that conversation.
It just feels like he's out of character in terms of his paranoia.
Granted, he did relent it to him maybe being tired, and that's valid excuse if nothing else, even if the second time is pushing it, however, if she gives him one more indication after he's gotten rest, there's no way he wouldn't be as paranoid of her as he is of Discord, Celestia, Twilight, Chrysalis, and Scrappy.
*Edit* I decided to spoiler the whole thing because it may be, well, a massive spoiler.
Still, super happy about two chapters in such a short time, thank you for that.
9162529
I don't think Anon saw the more recent episodes, since he was transported to Equestria before season 8
Plus I would think he would miss something like that, coming from the previous story
9162545
I know he hasn't seen the newest episodes, I've been here since book 1, but even then, the point I was trying to make was subtle villain hinting tropes that occur in TV shows should just outright trigger Anon, in my opinion. IN fact, I'd say they should trigger anon even more than in your face jerk face stuff like Chrysalis/Cadence disguise.
The facial expressions alone are something Anon should be able to read super easy, and I can't remember a time where Anon questioned them.
9162551
Point taken
9162529
Also, he might be giving the pony the benefit of the doubt, considering it could be chrysalis in disguise. Everything that he's said and given outwards could actually also be for chrysalis, as well as, her admirable acting skills.
I have just this subtle inkling that that just might perhaps maybe be possibly Chrysalis or something like that.
Edit: Nope, I'm just a huge big giant ol' dummy. I hadn't seen some of the more recent episodes and forgot about her. Well. We'll see what fresh hell awaits our dear protagonist with this new development.
9162551
You have to remember that Anon has a weakness to the adorably cute or sexy, and that his mind is muddled on other things. Wait for him to get out of his haze to check his map which he finds out it isn't Chrysalis
Anon done fucked up if he thinks human intuition isn't something to trust. Cozy just flashed an evil glare twice now, not to mention she said things like "wike this" or "my pwescious tiawa" (which nobody does in Equestria, aside from Chryssi a few times).
cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/436520358242418688/490221074466865152/image0.jpg
Anon at the moment. (Replace Cozy with Diamond)
Woo, I'm caught up again.
I'm pretty happy with how things are going with this story at the moment.
I would say more, but I'm lazy.
Go anon!
The fact that she replaces "r" with "w" had me wishing I could punch her right in the chops!
9360981
I have big plans for Cozy Glow...when i eventually get to it
Oh, that little sociopath is going to wrap him around her little hoof.
9459217
I was thinking the same thing
9162813
Neither of which apply to Cozy Glow.
9360981
You mwean wight in the chwops meester?
Oh, no! This is about to be great! Wait... Why did I say oh no? This is about to be great!
NAW! this is too perfect! like... Damn.
NOOOOOOOOOO! Friendship is subjective!!! Unless it’s Twilight’s friends teaching because.......... Magic.....
11726380
Welcome to the story's overarching nightmare zone. I have spent an ungodly amount of time making sure her story involvement leaves bread crumbs for the finale.