Left in the Dark
We had done it.
We managed to overthrow “Grogar.”
Discord had thought he was in control.
But the Bell and its magic – powerful magic – was under our control.
My control.
I managed to overwhelm the Royal Guard by myself, I made the plans that allowed us to gain control of the entire nation.
I overthrew the princesses of Equestria.
So, how did everything go so wrong?
How was I in this situation?
“... the more who understand how powerful friendship is, the stronger we will all be.” Twilight Sparkle hovered above me. Her eyes blazed an ethereal white, mane flowing with the sheer amount of magic she emitted.
Why did I feel so powerless?
Floating slightly below her – and enveloped in magic – were the Pillars, the Elements, and those creatures I once called my classmates. They all glowed a radiant white, a color that shined through the dark, frosty clouds of the Windigos.
“Together,” Twilight Sparkle stated.
Prismatic streams of magic shot out from the three groups, flowing freely towards Twilight Sparkle, merging into one. The purple princess acted as a conduit, and the magic gathered within her.
Chills ran down my spine, my hooves curled in front of me, stiff, difficult to move. My wings began to flap faster and faster, yet I wasn’t moving from where I hovered.
It was like I lost control of my own body.
I saw a piercing beam of magic blaze out of Twilight Sparkle’s horn, making its way to the heavens. The dark, gloomy clouds faded away, replaced by the shimmering sun and pure white clouds, letting the sunlight through. My pupils shrunk as I hovered beside Tirek and Chrysalis.
“This is bad, isn’t it?” I asked, staring at the rainbow beam that shot through the sky.
For a brief moment, I thought of flying away, of trying to save myself. I screamed at my body to move, for my wings to flap, to escape and fight another day. Overwhelmed by panic, however, my body refused, and all I could do was stare as the rainbow arched and began to fall down onto us.
I squeezed my eyes shut as the blinding beam of magic shot towards me. A cruel warmth began to pervade through my small form, draining away all the magic I had, draining me of the power I had. I clung to it, but nothing I did changed anything. Power was sapped from me, and I could feel my wings shrinking, my horn receding back into my body, slowly fading into my curled, mint mane.
I vaguely heard something crack, the ring of Grogar’s Bell fading. They were taking away all I had worked for, all the power that belonged to me.
They were taking away my control.
Still, there was a nagging feeling of reassurance that everything would turn out for the best. I could feel magic coursing through my form. Maybe it would stay, maybe I would become even stronger! Hope filled me.
I hated that.
In no way, shape, or form would there be anything left for me after this. I had given it my all this one, last time. And for what? To be beaten by what was rightfully mine?
The beam faded, and I fell onto the ground, wings numb from what I was subjected to. I glanced up with wide eyes. I raised a hoof to my forehead, checking for any signs of a horn. No, it was gone, taken away. Shifting my gaze, Tirek’s large, powerful form had disappeared, reduced to a shriveled caricature of a centaur. Chrysalis’s regal look – well, as regal as a bug queen could be – had faded, too.
Shakily, I stood up, staring ahead.
In front of me, the Elements, Pillars, my former classmates, and whoever was beyond the horizon had gathered, stepping – marching ever closer like an army come to crush us. I reflexively took flight, fluttering my wings until I was as tall as the other two beside me. Tirek took multiple steps back, while Chrysalis kept up her false bravado. Couldn’t she see?
We were powerless.
I was powerless.
Weak.
Again.
My forelegs curled in front of me, chest heaving with shaky breaths, body trembling. I was a filly, a small helpless filly. All my strength was taken from me, all my magic… no wit would save me from whatever they had planned. Wings beating faster yet with nowhere to run, all I could do was stare back at my greatest enemies with shrunken pupils.
We had reigned above them, but now... they reigned above us.
Above me.
I had no control.
“You think friendship will save you?!” Chrysalis snarled while I continued to back away. “We will always return! Nothing will ever stop—”
A shadow loomed over me. I looked up, only to be slammed into the ground. The object was strangely soft yet heavy. The voices of the ponies were muffled, my ears finding it difficult to move while my eyes were pressed shut, and I squirmed around with barely moveable legs. I pulled on a spongy substance, pushing it out of the way while my hindlegs struggled to push me forward.
Heart beating faster and faster, I wrestled with what had me pinned. All I could see was black. Nowhere could I see the light.
I was trapped.
I hated it.
I needed to get out!
“Hm...”
I gazed over the stack of textbooks to my side. Math, Science, History, and that doesn’t even include our take-home worksheets. I sighed and leaned against my seat. Glancing to my right, my curtain was closed, as usual. Apparently Mom and Dad thought it was a safety hazard.
Safety hazard, how?
My parents always told me to finish my homework, study in advance, and bring out the most of my potential. Well, I guess that was fine, but I was just… here, in my room, studying for hours on end. Mom would always check up on me every hour, making sure I was studying, and that I was still in the house.
It wasn’t like I had anywhere to go.
“Might as well.” I sighed, slumping over my desk. I picked up a pencil with a hoof before flipping open my math book. Our teacher said to do pages a hundred to a hundred-and-one, so I guessed I’d do that first. I took sparing glances at my window. Yes, the curtain was always closed, but it was the closest thing I had to entertainment. The gentle breeze in my room kept me company, and it made my purple curtain dance while hints of moonlight seeped through the window.
Close enough to freedom, I guess.
I gave my math book one last stroke of my pencil, and that was math done for the day. I pulled over my science book with a grunt, followed by a heavy thump. Honestly, the first thing I’m told to do when I get home is to lock myself up in my room to study? My wings fluttered while I double-checked the instructions our teacher made us write down – Page fifty, time to start with that.
My ears twitched. I heard the soft beats of hooves ascending the stairs. I quickly narrowed my eyes at my book, doing my homework as if I had all the motivation in the world. Really, I’d rather flop onto bed for a while, maybe come up with a few stories about being outside in my head.
That was the most enjoyable thing I could do.
Two knocks echoed in my room, and I heard my door open with a click. I didn’t mind it, I didn’t stop to look. Instead, I focused on finishing this assignment. Seeing me like this usually made them happy. Though they tried to be quiet, I still caught the soft hoofbeats that approached me. Two forelegs wrapped around me, my mother nuzzling my mint mane lovingly.
“How’s the homework going, dear?” she asked, planting a soft kiss on my forehead.
I giggled playfully. “Mama, I’m trying to finish it!”
“So hardworking,” my mom cooed. “Dinner’s ready, do you want to come down or finish that first?”
I hummed in thought, glancing between my mom and my book. “Maybe… ten more minutes?” I asked with puppy-dog eyes.
“Alright.” She nuzzled me again. “I’ll call you again later, dear.”
“Okay!” Don’t leave me here...
She flashed me a smile before leaving my room. The bright smile I gave her slowly faded as I turned back to face my desk. I could hear nothing in my room, not even the swaying of my curtain, or even the soft voices of the characters in my head.
I was alone.
Nothing new, though.
I dragged my forehooves down my face, groaning, before I gingerly picked up my pencil again. I continued to circle my answers among the choices of each question. I rested a foreleg on my desk, leaning my cheek against its hoof while I blanky gazed at the page. What more could I do? My parents don’t even let me play with other foals. I was always the one listening to them; I had no say in anything.
I had no control.
Not to mention, my ‘home’ might as well be this room. After all, they’d just buy book after book after book. To my left, my bookshelf was filled with ones I had used since my younger years. Going from the bottom to the top, the books were older or newer respectively. Schoolbooks, of course. Not one of them were stories, the closest thing to that were my history books.
They were preparing me for my future, apparently, and they wanted to let their ‘star filly’ shine.
They called me a star?
I must’ve burnt out.
In class, I don’t even get praised for being one of the brightest in the room anymore. Instead, I would be chided for raising my hoof to answer questions on the board. The other foals look at me not as inspiration, but as if they were offended. I wasn’t trying to prove anything, I just wanted to put what my parents made me do to good use.
Sighing, I closed my book and waited silently for the next five minutes to pass. I folded my forelegs in front of me, gently resting my head on top.
The stars might as well be my parents. Dad boasts about how he raised his filly right, about how he does everything for me. Mom, for the most part, tells others that I’m a sweet little angel, sometimes chiding my dad for his exuberance. Whenever I’d walk alongside them in the streets, I was always in their shadow, trapped between them.
I had to follow them.
I had nowhere else to go, after all.
I felt something run down my cheek. I sat up straight and raised a hoof to touch where I felt it. Smushing my hoof against my cheek, I felt moisture. I gasped, swiftly rubbing my eyes with my forelegs, staining my fur with my tears.
I was crying? Again?
They were doing what’s best for me, I shouldn’t be crying.
I was their sweet little angel Cozy Glow.
I made them happy.
My chest heaved as I made to get off of my seat. I had to sniffle and wipe away another tear while my wings steadied me.
But was I happy?
Mom and Dad were, so I should be too, right?
Walking towards my door, I looked over my shoulder, checking if I had put away everything neatly, and, with a nod to myself, I left my room.
I glided down the stairs, humming cheerfully to myself when I succeeded. Wings got better! I made a soft bank to the left, towards the dining table where my parents were seated, talking to each other with smiles on their faces.
“Mama, Papa,” I called to them, landing beside my chair. “I finished it early!”
“Did you finish everything?” My dad’s deep voice echoed in my ears.
I nodded. “I finished my math and science.” My seat squeaked as I jumped onto it up.
My mom reached over to pass me my utensils. I smiled thankfully as my dad hummed in thought.
“So you’re not done with everything, yet?” he asked.
I winced. “I’ll finish everything before I sleep.”
“You should also start with the new books we got you.”
The smile faded as my gaze fell over my plate of hay, a simple dinner, but Mom knew I liked it, which made her cook it more often. Dad really couldn’t go a day without pushing me forward, can he? It’s… all the time, he tells me to keep on going, to not look back, to keep on advancing. I was under his watch, always. Every plea, every word I said would be denied if it wasn’t for my studies. Cooped up in my room, that’s the life I lived.
I was powerless.
I had no control.
Hearing a sigh opposite to me, I feigned a happier expression.
“You know we’re doing this for you, Cozy,” my dad said. “We only want you to be ready for your future.”
“I know, Papa,” I whispered. “It’s just…”
Mom chimed in, “I know what’ll make you feel better.” She smiled and got up. “Wait for a moment…”
I silently nibbled on my food while my mom disappeared into the living room. Dad just ate, too, neither of us speaking a word. The crumpling of plastic made my ears stand to attention, while I saw the smallest hint of a smirk on my dad’s muzzle.
Mom walked back in with a bag around her wing. She gingerly placed it on her seat while I shoveled the rest of my food into my mouth. My eyes sparkled with interest, Mom smiling at me for being eager. She pulled out a book – which almost made me pout – but what followed it was something like a thick, wooden rectangle. It had a checkered pattern, too.
“What’s that, Mama?” I asked.
“That,” my dad started, “is something we got for you.”
“Believe me, it took a while to convince your dad–” my mom giggled “–but, you said you wanted a hobby, right?”
My mom placed her hooves around a crack along the rectangle and pulled it apart, revealing what looked like small figurines. She carefully placed them aside before flipping the wood now-square over, while my eyes widened and my heart beat grew louder.
“Is this…?” I squeaked.
My mom beamed in response. “It’s a chessboard, dear, and we bought a guide book along with it.”
I squealed. “Can I read?!” Bouncing up and down in joy, I pleaded with my parents, “Then can we play?! Can we, can we, can we?!”
My mom laughed. “Sure, dear. Read up for a bit, though.”
“I’ll have you know”– my dad smirked –“I was a chess player in my younger days.”
“You’re just old, honey,” my mom cooed.
My dad huffed and kept on eating, while I buried my muzzle into the chess guidebook. It gave me a basic outline of what chess was: a strategic board game for two players. There were so many pieces, too! The king and the queen – two of the most important pieces – the knights, bishops, pawns, and rooks! Oh, and they had different moves, huh? And the goal of the game was to corner the opponent’s king with your own pieces.
I sat back on my chair and pulled over the board. Arranging the pieces according to what the book said, the pawns went in front and the rest behind them. I had the white side, while the black pieces faced me along with Dad.
“Can we play?” I asked with a bright smile.
My dad raised an eyebrow dubiously. “Did you memorize all the rules and patterns?”
“Nope!” I giggled. “But I wanna try!”
My mom chuckled, standing beside me and giving me a nuzzle. “Just let her play, honey, with the book open, just in case.”
I turned back to face my dad with a bright smile.
He chuckled and nodded. “Alright, I’ll allow that.”
Using the white pieces, I got to make the first move. I gingerly pushed a pawn forward, to which my dad responded with moving his knight. We exchanged a few moves, my singular goal being to eat all his pieces. Though, it wasn’t an effective strategy, since he had taken four of mine while I only had one of his. I glanced back to my book, double-checking which pieces can move where, as well as rereading what the main objective of the game was: make their king unable to move.
I had to get to the king on his side of the board.
I had to take it over, make it cower.
I needed a strategy.
Instead of going for his pawns and other pieces, I tried shifting around my own to ready myself for pushing towards his backline. Before every move I made, I thought ahead, thinking of how my dad could or would respond to my own moves, predicting the movement of his pieces. I heard him gulp as sweat dripped from his brow. I didn’t have him tell me what to do.
Is this...
A knight rushed ahead.
Is this how it felt to be in control?
My rook darted forward.
It felt amazing.
“That’s checkmate...” My mom's wide-eyed whisper reached my ears.
My dad reclined onto his seat. “I… wow… okay…”
I smirked at his reaction. I made him feel that way. I may have been new to chess and messed up every now and then, but I still managed to beat him. I controlled my pieces – my pawns. I wasn’t trapped in my room, listening to everything they said.
I felt powerful.
A bright light shined from below me. I looked down into the light, and saw my cutie mark. It was a rook piece, the piece that won me that game. My parents cheered and hugged me, while I basked in the feeling of power.
For once, I had power.
I had control.
Shoving aside my memories, I heard the muffled but booming voice of that annoying pink pony. My hooves hastily dug through whatever I was under, following the nauseatingly cheerful sound. It probably was my only way out. When my forehooves felt the prickly grass, my hindlegs gave one more bated push, and I popped out headfirst, taking in a fresh breath of air, though it was stained by a sugary waft. My eyes shot wide, revelling in the light, heedless of its sting.
By my side, Tirek and Chrysalis had managed to dig themselves halfway out as well. I glanced up, taking in the fact that I had been slammed to the ground by a... cupcake. A giant cupcake.
A gold-clad hoof stomped on the ground in front of me. Princesses Celestia and Luna towered above.
“There isn’t a punishment worthy of all you’ve done!” Princess Celestia exclaimed, glaring at us.
I could tell I wasn’t in control anymore. I wasn’t the one with power, it was all taken from me. Despite it all, despite being weak, I needed to fight back, needed to escape.
I had to live.
The king can only move one square.
Out of nowhere, Discord began to whisper into Princess Celestia’s ear, while another copy of himself did the same to Princess Luna.
“Oh, that does seem fitting,” Luna agreed, and her sister let out a small smile.
I gulped. What did he tell them? I tried to flap my wings, hindlegs trying to push my barrel out of the cupcake, but I couldn’t get it out. My heart began to beat faster, blood pulsing through my body.
“May I help?” One Discord asked.
“Please?” the other pleaded. Both had puppy-dog eyes as they cupped their claws around their paws.
“No…” I whispered. “I need to…” I grunted and tried to push myself forward once more.
I needed to get out.
Celestia’s horn blazed, followed by Luna’s, and ending with Discord’s appendages. Chaos magic crackled in harmony with the Royal Sister’s, and a beam shot directly at us.
I gasped as the cupcake we were under exploded. I was free, my body was free, but I wasn’t. It was just a reminder of what my parents had done to me. I never wanted to experience that again. Magic crackled around me as a sharp pain crawled through my body. I tried to move my hindlegs and run, but I couldn’t feel anything. I felt stiff, paralyzed. With gritted teeth, I glanced down at myself.
My eyes widened as I saw stone crawling up my form, enveloping me in a stagnant prison. I wanted to flinch, but that was stopped short as my back and wings were transformed next.
My forelegs shot in front of my muzzle. I looked at them for a moment, pleading, hoping that what I thought was happening wasn’t. Any hope I had left was shattered, ignored, as my forelegs were petrified almost instantaneously, my light pink legs stuck in a sullen shade of gray. I tried to scream, but my voice didn’t work. Couldn’t work. Stone had crept up my neck, air had been sapped from my lungs, leaving my body empty, a husk of the life I had.
Tears began to well in my eyes. The moisture disappeared just as it came, though, and my vision began to fade into a hazy black. I couldn’t move.
No…
All I’d remember were my final thoughts. My first and last thoughts.
Don’t leave me here!
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Maravilloso. To finally see it on the site makes my heart sing. Swell job.
Cozy Glow.... ;-;
It's utterly despicable, what they did to that poor filly.
I maintain this was one of the worst decisions ever made on the show. In this instance, the ponies themselves came across just as vindictive as the villains they were supposedly better than.
This is a sad little story. Cozy Glow needed serious counseling, but the ponies didn’t even try to help her. I’m still upset about that finale, and it was well over a year ago. I hope season 10 fixes things, but I’m not holding my breath.
Do you have a sequel planned?
Truly a work of art. Wonderful job!
I really do love the raw emotions portrayed in this beautiful piece. Great work!
Aw, that was a heartbreaking read...
Truthfully I think she got what she deserved she sided with the enemies of her nations on 2 occasions perverted what might as well be the state religion frankly I think people are just using the fact she is a kid to treat her like she is some tragic figure but if she existed in are realty her actions would have seen her tried as an adult and she would have faced a far worse punishment then an overglorified stasis spell
Your characterization of Cozy Glow is something that rings so true it's headcanon-worthy. Definitely worth a read.
10654647
Agree with you about that decision being the worst idea. I mean they did it to Discord and he thought of his own punishment to make others suffer. I hoping the Spirit of Friendship becomes the main villain for a good reason; even a creation of good can become evil.
yay
10654730
Even though "Others" were Villains themselves. And have caused the real innocence of Ponykind, and other Creatures as well?
But, the Spirit Of "Friendship", becoming corrupted, and was a major consequence for not reforming Chrysalis, Tirek, and especially Cozy Glow? Sure, their terrible Villains. But, Twilight and her Friends DIDN'T worked hard enough to try? So, this is "Punishment " or something?
Why didn't the Reformed ones like Luna, Discord, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Stygain, Tempest Shadow, and even mini villains like Gilda, Diamond Tiara/Silver Spoon, Flim and Flam, or even Neighsay try to help as well? Sense they did got a chance to be reformed?
10654698
The problem with comparing this to "Our world" is that Equestria clearly is not our world and doesn't operate under the same rules as us. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure characters like Starlight and Sunset would have been put on trial and locked up too, no matter how "Sorry" they are, and Discord would also have probably been imprisoned again after his betrayal in Season 4. The problem is that Cozy's fate doesn't match up all that well with the show itself. Over the show's run, our heroes had increasingly trended towards redemption and forgiveness, but that hit a brick wall when it came to Cozy, that's the problem.
An engaging read, even if its inherent inflammatory nature was (and is) rather unalluring.
I can't say I "liked" this story, per se, but nonetheless, my compliments must go to the author. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to run as far away from here as possible.
EDIT: Why are y'all booing me? How am I the bad guy for not wanting to partake in your screaming matches?
10654730
I doubt the Elements would become “evil.” Rather, it would either choose not to work for them any longer, or simply make reforming them a friendship mission.
As I said, I hope the season 10 comics address this. I’ve also heard that Series 5 will occur in the same continuity but in the future, so there’s an avenue there.
10654740
I say personal vendettas and here's the reasons
Queen Chrysalis: Locked away Cadence, made Twilight the bad mare in the wedding, attacking Canterlot, kissed Shining Armor, Capture her friends, princesses and niece.
Lord Tirek: Absorb magic from all Pony tribes, locked Celestia, Luna, & Cadence in Tartarus, destroy Twilight's library, held her friend hostage, deceived and betray Discord.
Cozy Glow: Betray Neighsay in a coup de grâce against him, deceive the students of the friendship school, tricked Twilight and her friends to get trapped in Tartarus, drain Equestria of all its magic, captured Starlight to prevent her from ruining her plan, nearly got the Young 6 captured and insult Twilight's believe in friendship as its a power to rule all.
Have I left anything out? Please comment me.
10654784
All the villains can have vendettas against them, so I don't think this makes sense.
Look at Starlight. She literally stole Twilight and her friend's Cutie Marks and nearly annihilated Equestria itself.
10654784
Touche. But didn't Luna, Discord, Sunset, Trixie, and even Starlight and Tempest hurt the Main Six as well? Then again, it's hard to forgive someone like Chrysalis or Tirek. While Cozy Glow is the Wild Card here.
ayo Xrevias poppin' off
Mrm
There soo many question on Cozy Glow that Hasbro did'nt answer like what her backstory,how she meet and join Tirek,and most important of all her parent.Like why that everyone think of this.
A very cool interpretation, it’s always cool to see the directions writers take Cozy Glow’s past.
The finale never bothered me, as it was clear Cozy was happily going along with the villains and showed no remorse when trying to take over. With this origin it’s a really suitable way to show Cozy’s power obsession and having the chess bored be the way she discovered it was a really good touch.
I do hold onto the idea that turning them to stone is a way to reform them later, like discord,so I wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel where your version of the character handles that.
10654774
To be honest the Elements prefer frankly monstrous torture to remotely fixing things in most of their uses.
And to that-Harmony had no part in their petrification, it's purely Celestia, Luna and Discords undeserving existence as a sapient entity doing so.
Which points to them being arrogant, lazy, cruel and frankly unconcerned with the consequences of their actions.
Well, that was mildly painful....well done.
2 years later and the finale still brings a bad taste to my mouth.
I reviewed it here, nice writing btw :)
10654645
You mean the "poor filly" who freely engaged in lies, manipulation, betrayal and attempted conquest? Who gleefully tried to murder Twilight and her friends?
Cozy made her own bed here. Being a filly does not excuse her actions in the least. It just makes them worse, if anything.
10655297
Maybe someday they’ll be able to redeem her I mean look at starlight she removed her villagers cutie marks and replace them with equal signs and then try to rewrite history and kill everyone
10655297
As opposed to Discord, who did almost all those things and even succeeded in his conquest? Or Starlight, who actaully did try to murder three ponies who couldn't be a threat to her in a fight? Cozy was neither better or worse then those two yet no one tried to rehabilitate her or give her a second chance despite her showing potential for it when she decided to confess to lying about the CMC's lessons on her test and in Frenemies. And if she had to be imprisoned, why not a mental institute or a normal prison? Why a small empty cage in a giant cave followed by being turned to stone? It was overly cruel and unnecessary.
It was partially the fault of Discord, who further feuled her desire for villainy with threats and false promises, paired her up with Tirek and Chrysalis (both of whom also deserved better) and showed them where the bell was. Sure, she's not completely innocent, but she's no more guilty then any other previously reformed villain and still deserved a better fate.
I'm not sure how being young makes her actions worse. If anything, the added maturity of the adult villains makes their actions even worse. Her being a filly just makes her punishent seem all the more excessive.
10655310
Discord showed regret for his actions on several occasions, and made amends of his own free will. Several reformed villains did the same. Cozy has never shown any regrets about any of the things she did.
Cozy used and betrayed everyone around her, and was willing to let Starlight and the Young Six be lost with all of Equestria's magic, all so she could get to be the "Empress of Friendship".
Being a filly makes it worse because kids aren't supposed to have such twisted thoughts and actions.
10654740
I agree.They can reform discord why not a filly who might have a mental problem or stuff
They didn't think of her story or her parent about this.Like how her parent feel about this must be soo heartbroken to think about it.
10655317
Only after he and the rest were given the chance and help to do so. When Discord broke free from stone he went back to doing what he did before and even after his second release, he still mocked the ponies for trying to reform him and even after that, he still did horrible things. Starlight had a similar situation, where she lost, came back for revenge and required plenty of help and talking down to finally concede.
Cozy, by contrast never got any of these. She was immedietly given up on. How can she show regret if she doesn't have a reason to? Heck, it took Discord far after his reformation episode to actually start feeling regret for his actions.
Starlight lied, manipulated and practically threatened her villagers into joining her supposed utopia while acting as their dictator and lying about her own cutie mark and Discord manipulated, threatened and used false promises on the trio to get them to attack Equestria for him. Both of their end goals were selfish and just as evil as Cozy's.
As opposed to adults with thousends of years to mature or those who at least have loving fathers? If anything, trying to help Cozy early could make it easier to eventually reform her and make the attempt much safer.
10655343
Not sure if this was mentioned in the thread already, but something people seem to ignore is the fact that Discord performed an act of entrapment, which is an illegal and incredibly messed-up act. For those reading who do not know what entrapment is, it is the act of setting somebody up or coercing/ forcing them to commit crimes with the intent of having them arrested for the acts you forced them to commit.
Discord, under the guise of being the new "big bad" Grogar, exhibited terrifying power and dominion over the three villains, and commanded them to carry out various missions to further their badguy-ness. Then, they get punished, and screwed-over for it by Discord and everyone else. They were set up, and nobody seems to really care or regard this in the slightest. You could argue they would've done bad-guy things on their own, and of course they would. But in this scenario they do it out of fear of Grogar and serving as his underlings, and to my recollection (correct me if i'm wrong), but this isn't even so much as brought up and turned against Discord in any way.
Additionally, the fact all three villains were depowered and harmless, surrounded by many beings MUCH more powerful than they are, and then petrified with no way to defend themselves while everyone cheered is pretty messed up as well. I'm not going to go as far as saying petrification is the same as killing them, but it's a very eyebrow-raising moment.
10655317
Seriously? Some of the most heinous thoughts come from children because they don't understand the full extent of what they'ee doing to others so long as they themselves enjoy it. The worst are the ones that because of how they're treated never mentally grow up or are giving more mental issues.
"There is nothing more atrociously cruel than an adored child.", Vladimir Nabokov
The problem with Cozy Glow in the show is that they never revealed anything about her background to determine it and no one tried either. That's what weakens it and makes both of the last two finales weak and leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. And don't even try to talk about Discord being reformed, if anything we've been shown that he really isn't reformed over and over. So long as something seems likes it will be entertaining he'll do it regardless if who it hurts. For exanple did he do anything after Sombra seemingly killed the 'sapient' Tree of Harmony? No he sat back with his popcorn to enjoy the show.
10655343
Starlight believed she was acting in Equestria's best interests. Cozy wasn't thinking of anyone but herself. She knew her classmates would be at Cloudsdale during her magic-draining scheme, which would cause them to drop out of the sky and fatally crash into the ground. And she just didn't care. To say nothing of her manipulating her fellow Pegasi to turn against the other tribes, all in pursuit of destroying friendship in Equestria for her own gain.
Cozy was literally taught everything about friendship, but she took none of the positives from those lessons, only her own ideas of power. No-one made her reach that conclusion but herself, and no other student (several of whom were the same age as her) reached that same conclusion.
Honestly, I don't have the time or the mood for another prolonged back-and-forth where you insist I'm wrong, in spite of the facts. You have your opinion, I have mine, so let's just leave it at that.
10655365
You're conveniently overlooking the fact that Cozy and the others came up with their own scheme, one that was far worse than what Discord had planned for them. Discord's intent was for them to launch one attack, at Twilight's coronation, which he fully intended for them to lose.
10655365
To be fair, I'm not sure much of the "Ending of the End" can count as entrapment since they depower Discord pretty early. Discord has no real power over their actions at that point and it's all pretty much just their own choices from then on. That said, what Discord did is still pretty awful, and him being allowed to decide and even help carry out their punishment is a complete spit in the face of any kind of justice. The show and characters don't even at any point call him out on it. Sure, they get mad at him for being a moron and putting Equestria at risk, but nobody ever takes any issue with him manipulating and using a bunch of people as pawns. Just because they're unrepentant villains doesn't mean he should be able to treat them however he likes.
It'd be like if somebody busted a bank robber out of jail and started forcing them to commit other crimes, then the bank robber getting the upper hand and backstabbing them and going onto commit some more crimes on their own. Sure, the bank robber's crimes after the backstabbing are their own and they should be judged for that, but what the other guy did is still wrong and he should face some consequence for it. He certainly shouldn't be allowed to pick the robber's punishment.
Here's your reminder that what Discord did was literal entrapment, and that Elements only disarmed the three, not turn them to stone. Then Discord got to choose the apparent extra-judicial punishment for the people he entrapped.
10655452
When her villagers rebelled, she lemented the loss of HER life, not THEIR life and was later willing to attack said rebelling villagers. Even later, she saw the village and its system as something that was HER loss and not the others'. She also lied about her mark and personally punished those that strayed away from her ideology in the slightest while also forcing others to follow it. Everything points to her doing the village dictator thing for herself rather then others.
Discord knew that thousends of ponies suffered under his reign, but he just didn't care, he knew his scheme with Sombra at least would have innocent ponies be brainwashed, but he didn't care that time either. Starlight didn't care when she tried to kill three of her villagers nor when she froze Twilight and Spike in the sky and even when she saw all the destruction her scheme would cause still almost ripped the scroll.
Manipulating others for personal gain isn't new, especially with Starlight and Discord.
Since when does a friendship school count as a reformation program? Why should learning words suddenly make you good? Did we ever see Cozy outside of extracurricular activities outside of helping Twilight and Starlight? How was she supposed to be taught anything while none of her teachers knew about her true intentions and while she was writing to Tirek? Plus, if you recall Discord also betrayed Fluttershy once.
Because she came in with her plan even before she started learning at the school and already had her opinion about friendship.
Why did you reply to me then?
Or where you insist I'm wrong, in spite of the facts.
Alright, don't reply to me then and don't be surprised if such things may come up if you comment. That is always a risk.
10655365
Truth. The trio may have made their own plans, but Discord willingly gave them all the means to do so and encouradged them to do it. And frankly, he wanted it anyway.
10655577
What Discord did could be seen as entrapment, and in court that could potentially get them off scott-free. You have to ask, was it certain they would have done what they did had Discord not gotten involved? I say it wasn't, I truly believe that things could easily have turned out differently if Discord had never gotten involved...hell Discord even brought Sombra back to life with plans to use him, how is that ever a good idea?!
The facts obviously show in this situation that Equestria was negligent in their treatment of Cozy Glow...I mean sure Cozy did a lot of bad, but when is it considered a good idea to send a child to what is effectively Maximum Security Prison(Tartarus) on their first offense? They never even once tried to reform her, and quite frankly Diamond Tiara deserves prison time by the logic used in the show with their draconian punishments for those that treat others badly instead of reaching out in friendship. But when it came to Luna, she got off with time served, when she failed in her plot as Nightmare Moon to do something, that could have caused an extinction event.
10655667
While Diamond did nothing close to get her to be considered a supervillain, I do agree that no one ever tried to rehabilitate Cozy. She certainly deserved better and its terrible how Discord got away with everything.
10655667
Whether they "Would" have done what they did without Discord, they literally couldn't have. Discord is the reason Tirek and Cozy are even out of prison, he's the reason they met up with Chrysalis, he's the reason they even knew where to find the bell and learned how to work as a team. Sure, they betrayed him and everything they did after that was purely their own choices, but they never would have even been in a position to make said choices without his "Help" in the first place.
Just a quick correction on one point you made though, we do know that Nightmare Moon's "Eternal Night" wouldn't have been an extinction event because we see plenty of ponies still alive just fine even years after her taking over in her alternate timeline in the Season 5 finale.
Bleh bleh poor Cozy. Grind the statue into dust and send the dust to the Moon.
This version flows a lot better than the original prompt. Great job on revamping this, and congrats on the Feature!
10655682
Diamond was a bully, Cozy stole all magic, started a race war twice(to..take over a school, then to take over equestria), and joined a group to take over equestria as its princess.
10655838
As I said, Diamond did nothing to be considered a supervillain. Still, Cozy deserves a second chance when compared to other similarely major villains.
While I’ve never exactly seen the episodes with cozy in them I think it’s messed up that they threw her in near the end and stoned her
10655667
"Did a lot of bad"
Thats a light way of saying attempted mass murder, attempted murder of a princess, attempted murder of the rest of the m6, attempted murder of school staff, attempted murder of fellow students through starvation one of the worst ways to die as well as the total collapse of Equestria and most likely destruction of the entire planet since the day and night cycle would no longer happen.
Luna was "forgiven" because she was made good again by the Element of Harmony. You are intentionally ignoring that major fact in Luna's redemption and forgives.
What Cozy did was beyond evil by any metric as her actions would lead to mass famine and mass death and when she lost she attempted to flee stating she was going to try again but was captured immediately and sentenced for her crimes.
Her being a child in this case is irrelevant when compared to ehr crimes same as when we try minors as adults IRL for some crimes.
And before you bring up Starlight as everyone who think "poor little cozy didn't deserve what happened to her departed her monstrous actions" Starlight was doing what she thought was best for everyone, it was an ideology and then with her time traveling she was unaware oof the damage her actions were having and when confronted she reached with horror and only got angry when twilight started talking about friendship again and showed her and was willing to try to be good but doesn't change the fact she thought she was good at the start.
10655310
Oh, my friend, starlight didn't 'try' , she succeeded in Excess.
Six people and millions more dead, but it's alright, because your timeline went well, because she said she was sorry, their lost lives, their misery don't matter.
I'm not angry, oh no I am, I am both angry and disappointed.
Listen ho, all ye who scorn a child but defend evil given form,
Preach forgiveness when you like, but scorn it when your pariahs fail to abide by their own dogma, no matter how outlandish the action you defend, how thoroughly nauseating.
10656173
Starlight’s crimes weren’t even that bad, the timelines were erased after the episode ended. So no one got hurt, and don’t you dare give me that “Many Worlds Interpretation” theory, time travel is portrayed many different ways.
10656188
You are kidding right? Those timelines don’t exist anymore.
10656223
In what world have we received any hard evidence they ceased to exist?
It's time travel, for all we know they split into parallel timelines because every time they changed the Rainboom there were deviations in the pattern and timing of the failure.