//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Mixed Messages // Story: Another Side of the Story // by 5u0myn0n4 //------------------------------// It was the last day of the school's semester. Students were chattering and saying their goodbyes. Maggie herself couldn't wait for the day to be over. After today, Maggie was expecting that she and Cozy Glow would split off onto their own separate paths. And although that is what will technically happen, neither of them would be heading down what was at the time their intended destinations. Cozy Glow was anxious about the future, but she was nevertheless optimistic because she had her 'friend' to help her. "Brenda! Brenda!" Cozy came rushing to her classmate with something exciting to share. "I figured out what my cutie mark means!" she exclaimed. Unfortunately, Maggie still did not consider Cozy Glow to be her friend. She wanted to have as little interaction with the energetic little pegasus as possible before day's end. "Ugh. Can't this wait until after today?" Maggie asked, irritated. "But we may not see each other again after today." Cozy said. "My point exactly." Mag said, tapping her cranium. "Well, anyway, it's my cutie mark. I don't think it's Chess necessarily. I think it could mean, leadership. Like how the Rook's the quiet one in the corner who's really the master strategist. Sounds a bit like me. I have some big ideas going through my head." she said, with a flitter of glee. Cozy thought she was onto something, but Maggie couldn't care less. "You? Quiet!? Might want to refine your theory." Mag said. Cozy looked down, but she picked her head back up and spoke again. "I know you're not always the most open, but I think you're really pretty, and I've had a fun school year with you. Lastly, I just wanted to say that I'm going to miss you." Cozy said, with a big grin and a little sparkle in her eyes. Maggie stared at Cozy. She fought against her any urge she may have had to open herself to the filly, and kept her heart cold. "Hmph. NOT likewise." she replied. To Maggie's surprise, Cozy giggled at her response. "That's funny. Exclaiming 'not' like that." *heh heh* This filly's nuts. I've done nothing nice for her since we met. Yet she's been so nice to me. How? It doesn't make sense... Cozy tilted her head. "Hello, Brenda? Thinking of something? Here. Let me lend you a hoof." Cozy held out her hoof. Reluctantly, Maggie held out her hoof, and gave Cozy a hoof bump. Maggie felt sick, while Cozy gave her a warm smile. I guess if nothing is she is sort of cute, if anypony's into that sort of look of hers... Maggie thought. As if that wasn't enough, without warning, Cozy hugged Maggie. She tried her best to not flip out. Just keep your cool, Magnolia Maggie Mag Brenda Valentina. It'll be over in just a sec- She felt something warm press against her cheek. She knew it was Cozy, and it made her mad. "That's it, squirt!" she exclaimed. Maggie flipped, and shoved Cozy away from her. When Maggie pushed Cozy, she unexpectedly landed against the bookcase, and had a rough landing. *gasp* Every pony in the classroom gasped. Cozy on the ground hid her face from everyone else. "Uh, I-I. I didn't mean it, kid! I-" Mag said. "ARGH!" Cozy exclaimed. Cozy leaped up and tackled Maggie to the ground. The two of them traded punches and got in a big fight. The teacher rushed in and pulled them apart. "STOP IT YOU TWO! STOP!!" they exclaimed. "I don't care which one of you started it! To the office, now!" "But teacher, she-" Cozy and Maggie said simultaneously. "I don't care! NOW!" In the detention room, Cozy and Maggie sat at desks at opposite corners of the room. They were both filled with lots of mixed emotions. Why'd she do that? What's wrong with her?! Mag thought. Maggie could only imagine what Cozy was thinking in her head. She wondered if Cozy regretted her actions as well. Cozy, in her frustration, could only relieve her stress by scribbling some notes directly onto her desk. Maggie was upset at Cozy, but nevertheless curious about what she was doing. "What'cha writing in there? You know if you press that pencil any harder into that paper, you'll go through to the center of the..." Cozy didn't reply, she only kept scribbling. Maggie caught herself and didn't say another word. Their time had lapsed, and Maggie's mom was outside. The filly grabbed her bag, and left the room. She gave one more glance at the pegasus Cozy Glow, before turning her head. On her way out, Maggie just so happened to overhear the conversation between Cozy and the teacher. "Aren't your parents coming for you Ms..." "Trust me. They've never picked me up for school, and they ain't gonna start today!" That night, Maggie had explained to her mother what had happened, and broke the unfortunate news that she would not be moving onto the next grade level. Her mom was disappointed, as expected, but tried her best to still be supportive and understanding. Rather than take the teacher's recommendation of summer school to make up for it, Maggie and her mom both agreed it was probably best to take a break from learning for now. Maggie was so smart anyway, she didn't really gain anything productive from typical school. It was just busywork in her view. Although her mom wasn't upset, that didn't stop Magnolia from being grumpy at dinner that night. "You're not going to eat your oats?" her mom asked. "Not hungry, Heather." she replied, staring at her food. "I mean, mom..." "Don't beat yourself up, Brenda. I know you're disappointed that you have nothing to show for those months spent at school, but I'm not mad. You've still more than proven yourself to be a smart little cookie to me." she said. "Hmph..." Maggie mumbled. "You know, there's plenty of other districts to enroll in. Plus, you were the head of the class. Just think of the opportunities waiting for you." her mother said. Maggie's future was no doubt bright, but at this moment, it wasn't that that was bothering her. In spite of her initial plans, she couldn't stop thinking about that one pegasus filly. Maggie had planned to forget about her after today, but now she couldn't stop thinking about her. Maggie couldn't even stomach the idea of eating, so she stood up and headed for the door. *sigh* "I'm going to take a walk outside." she said. "It's dark outside!" her mom exclaimed. "So what? I'll be fine." she replied. Maggie walked through the dark woods alone. She kicked rocks out of anger. "Stupid girl. Stupid school. Why does everything have to be so stupid?" she said under her breath. Maggie wasn't careful watching her step, until she noticed the ground changed texture. "Eugh. What'd I step in?" she wondered. She looked down and was horrified when she saw- "What the?!" Magnolia had found Cozy Glow's unconscious body and her saddle bag in the woods that night. She had a large gash on her head. In a panic, she rushed back home to tell her mom of the horrifying discovery. The two of them brought the filly to the town's medical center for the urgent care she needed. The pegasus filly spent the course of several days there. She spent most of the time sleeping while she recovered. Despite staying at the hospital for a week, nopony came by claiming to be her guardian to pick her up. So for the time being, she was effectively an orphan. When Maggie's mom Heather was made aware of this, she felt they had to do something. Maggie had mentioned that she knew the filly while in school, and with nopony to step forward to help her, she felt there was no other choice than to help her themselves. One morning in the hospital room, Cozy woke from one of her many naps, and was greeted by her former classmate Magnolia, and her mother. Although, they may as well have been strangers. Cozy didn't seem to recognize Magnolia. Despite mentioning their time in school, and the recent fight, Cozy appeared clueless. Maggie couldn't tell if she was for real or not, since she couldn't conceive of how she would lose those memories so suddenly. Heather wrapped a blanket around Cozy, and fed her some hot cocoa. She appreciated their kindness. It was this day where the filly was referred to as 'Cozy Glow' for the first time by anyone, during a conversation where she thanked Maggie and Heather for the cozy blanket, and warm welcome. Once Cozy Glow was well enough, and could walk again, she agreed to stay under the supervision of Heather and Maggie for as long as she needed. One of the items in Cozy's saddlebag was a notebook mentioning that she wanted to enroll in Twilight's newly opened School of Friendship. Mentioning this to Cozy seemed to spark something in her mind, because just like that, enrolling at Twilight's school was all the filly ever talked about. Although Cozy was excited, and her health seemed well enough, there was something undoubtedly different about her compared to before. She was a lot more talkative, and expressive, but there was something different about the way she smiled compared to before. Maggie's guard was constantly up every moment she and Cozy Glow occupied the same vicinity. Cozy Glow was a lot more inconsiderate than before, and that only begins to explain it. One day, Maggie confronted Cozy Glow to try to see what was up with her. "Something's changed about you. Did some of your brains fall out when you hit your head?" Mag asked sarcastically. "You think you're so slick. But frankly, you're losing your edge." Cozy said. "Okay, what's gotten into you? Besides, whatever parasite entered your brain at that gash mark?" Mag asked. "Oh, nothing's entered my brain like that. Let's just say this experience have given me a chance to look at things with a different perspective. Such as..." Cozy trailed off, looking at her cutie mark. "Why are you staring at your butt?" she asked. "Isn't it just wonderful?" Cozy asked. "I'd rate your flank a 6 out of 10 honestly..." Maggie said, awkwardly. "I think I have a pretty good idea of what my cutie mark is for." Cozy said. "And that's...?" *boop* Cozy touched Maggie's muzzle with her hoof. This made Maggie very irritated. "Mom! She's touching me again!" Maggie exclaimed. "Sweetie, I know you don't like our guest, but that's no reason to be so rude!" Heather yelled from the kitchen. "What but I didn't-" Mag said. Cozy smirked. "That." "Hmph. Brat." Maggie said. The maniacal filly was at work at last. The simple acts of mischief were hardly the end. In fact, Cozy Glow was just getting started. After waiting a week or so for a reply letter from Twilight's school, today was the day. Heather looked in her mailbox and saw an envelope with a seal in the shape of Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark. Heather opened the envelope with her magic, and started reading the letter inside. She wanted to read the news for herself before getting Cozy Glow excited. But thankfully, there was good news. "Cozy Glow! We received a letter back from the Princess of Friendship." Heather exclaimed. "Coming!" Cozy came rushing to the doorway. "Golly. You don't say. What'd Twilight Sparkle have to say?" she asked. "It says that there are no requirements to enroll, other than a desire to learn about friendship! It say she'd be more than glad to welcome a young pegasus such as yourself to her parameters." she paraphrased. Cozy Glow grinned and beamed with excitement. Princess Twilight's School of Friendship. What an opportunity! "I can't wait to go! Quick, let's start packing!" Maggie's mom Heather was helping Cozy to get ready for her departure. Cozy didn't have much to pack, just a few essentials in her saddle back. "I'm so excited for this! I'm going to be learning about friendship from Princess Twilight Sparkle directly!" Cozy said. "All we have to do after packing is sign both our names on her acceptance letter." "I've never seen you so excited. Is this what you really want, Cozy?" Heather asked. "Yes. Things are finally going my way." Cozy said. Cozy was pretty determined to go to that school. But during the time she'd spent under Heather's watch, she'd been thinking of something else Cozy might want instead. Heather had plans to offer Cozy Glow something special. "Well, I know you're excited about enrolling into Twilight's school. But, allow me to offer you something." Cozy already decided she wasn't the least bit interested. She couldn't imagine anything more that the mare could've offered that would've been relevant. Regardless, Heather put a different piece of paper on the table. Cozy took a look at the she had presented. "A-D-O-P-T-I-O-N? That's not how you spell Acceptance letter." Cozy said. "Cozy Glow, I'll be honest. Moving to Ponyville and enrolling into a big school like that all by yourself has got me a little nervous for you." Heather explained. "No one came to claim you from the hospital besides us. It'd be a shame to send you off, and leave you with no supervision once again." "What are you getting at?" Cozy asked. "Cozy Glow, would you like to officially be Brenda's sister?" Heather asked. "WHAT?!" Cozy furiously exclaimed. "I know Brenda hasn't been the friendliest to you, but you two do share a lot in common, and I think you have a lot to learn from each other." Cozy's eyes twitched as she was irritated. "You're seriously suggesting I spend the rest of my life with your sorry flanks instead of enrolling into my dream school!?" "Well, if you're not interested then..." Heather said, attempting to keep calm. "This paper is utterly irrelevant! I want you to never mention this again!" Cozy said, pushing the paper off the table. "Cozy Glow. If you don't want us, that's one thing. But I simply can't send a filly to a far away town all by themselves! At the very least you need a chaperone to look after you." she said. "Yeah, that's not what's going down, lady." Cozy said. Cozy removed Heather's blindfold, and the mare discovered she was tied to a chair. Cozy was in full psycho mode. However, Heather wasn't too worried because she couldn't imagine a small filly being the least bit threatening. "This seems a little... excessive. If you disagree with something I said, all you have to do is-" Heather said, but was interrupted by Cozy. "Listen, Heather. I have very lofty goals on my agenda. And spending more time than I need to with you and your daughter, or finding a suitable chaperone is not on my list." Cozy said. "But, I thought you'd be thrilled by the news. Maybe a bit anxious, sure. It's a lot to take in I understand. But, I didn't think you'd react with such hostility. Cozy, I thought you'd be glad to have a family..." she said. Cozy wore a confused expression on her face, which quickly morphed into an even angrier face. "I don't care about family! Or feelings! This is merely a liminal stage! I'm not in this to have a family! I'm in this for power! I have a clear and direct plan, and that requires that I attend Princess Twilight's School! No family! And no chaperone!" Cozy exclaimed. Cozy put the acceptance form on the table in front of Heather. "But you know what? Who am I to force a mare to do something she doesn't wanna do? You have the choice. Sign this form to send the little orphan filly to Twilight's school. But if you sign this other form, then there will be two orphans." Cozy said. *gulp* Maggie was about to knock on the door where the two were packing, when suddenly Heather opened the door. She trotted out of the room with an uneasy fast walk. "Cozy Glow leaves by the end of the week." she said, deadpan. Heather had looked like she'd seen a ghost, or like she had flown to the sun and back. "Really? What happened to the...?" Maggie asked. "You know, Cozy's a smart filly for her age. She's capable of making decisions for herself, and she decided that there was no place in Equestria more suited for her than Princess Twilight's School! She won't need us because she'll be making so many friends. Heh Heh..." Maggie was concerned for her mother. She'd never seen her look so spooked. "You upset? Disappointed? Or..." Maggie asked. "I uh... I don't feel like talking about it right now..." Heather said, with a nervous haste. The mare walked outside, presumably for some fresh air. Cozy walked out of the room, looking very pleased. It was very unnerving. "What'd you do to her?" Maggie asked. "What? All I did was explain to her what I wanted to do with my life." Cozy said, sounding innocent. Maggie stared at Cozy Glow discontent. Cozy had been acting intolerable ever since they started looking after her. "What in Equestria happened to you in those woods?" she asked. "It's an interesting story you've told to me, Maggie, but I told you, my life began anew just a few weeks ago. I can't for the life of me remember any such fight we were in prior." Cozy said. "That's impossible." Mag said. Cozy shrugged. "Golly me. Sounds to me like you have some issues." "Oh that's it!" Maggie pinned Cozy against the wall and made her horn glow. "I'm not afraid of you. I pummeled you once, and I'll do it again if you do anything to my Mom!" Maggie exclaimed. Cozy laughed at Maggie's threats. *giggle "You've got that magical horn, Brenda. You could probably cast some horrible curse onto me. But even with all that magic, you'll never be as powerful as me. Even if anything catastrophic happened to your Mom, killing me wouldn't bring her back. And killing me now certainly wouldn't bring back your Dad." *gasp* Now this conversation was personal. "If you're not afraid, why are you sweating? I'm not afraid of you, because I know that there's nothing you can do to stop me." Cozy said. Maggie's horn glowed brighter. But no matter how much she threatened Cozy Glow, the filly didn't so much as flinch. "How can you stare at an immanent threat and not show any fear?" Maggie asked. "It would take something truly terrifying to happen to me for me to be scared." Cozy replied, confidently. "What happened to you?" Maggie asked. "Who did this to you?" Cozy shrugged. "I'm just an opportunist, and I'm very excited to learn Friendship from one of the most powerful alicorn princesses in the land." she said deviously. Maggie concentrated her magic harder, but by this point, she was depleted of energy, and ceased her magic. "I give up..." Maggie was out of breath, and released Cozy. Cozy walked off, confidently. "Knew you'd crack before me." she said. The devious filly trotted off, to continue her packing. "I'll be glad when you're gone, you little monster." Maggie whispered under her breath. At week's end, Heather and Maggie were at the train station to say goodbye to Cozy Glow. They waited patiently for the train to come and pick up Cozy. Cozy had her bags with her, and was ready to attend Twilight Sparkle's School of Friendship. Cozy was as joyful as ever, but both the caretakers were exhausted. Heather tried her best to put on a smile, but Maggie didn't bother. "Golly, I can't thank you two enough. I don't know quite what happened before just a few weeks ago, but thanks for setting me on my desired path." Cozy said. "Our pleasure, Cozy Glow." Heather said. Maggie was silent, so Heather nudged her daughter to say something. "Sure thing, Cozy." she said, deadpan. The train had arrived and Cozy stepped aboard with her luggage. "You sure you'll be okay on your own? Heather asked. "I'll be fine. I'll make so many friends while I'm there. I'll have more friends than any other pony in Equestria!" she exclaimed. "That's the spirit!" Heather said. "And once I've made all the friends, there will be no one to stop me as I'll be the Empress of F- *door slam* The door closed before Cozy finished her speech. The train chugged, and was on its way for the far away town of Ponyville. "Are you worried about her?" Heather asked. "Leaving her out in the big wide world alone?" "Not one bit. I could care less what happens to her next." Maggie replied. Watching the train leave the station, the two of them felt a huge sense of relief. The past few days were miserable thanks to that crazy filly. Although they weren't sure what Cozy was going to do about her living situation, she expressed little interest in returning, so for all intents and purposes, they were done with her. "Well, that's a relief. Finally we got her out of our manes." Heather said. "Relief barely begins to describe it." Maggie said under her breath. "So then, what are we gonna do about you, Brenda?" Heather asked. The filly thought for a moment. Now that she was out of school, and had Cozy Glow out of her mane, now seemed like the time to start a new chapter. "Mom, call me Magnolia, like father called me. And you know what? Speaking of him, I think I know what I want to do. Mom, I wanna be a royal guard, just like dad." Heather paused. It wasn't too surprising a thing for Maggie to say, but this time, she seemed serious. "Sweetie that's... sweet." she replied. "It's just that, um, it could be dangerous." "But I really want to do it. I can't think anything else that'd be more fulfilling." Maggie said. "Well, if that's what you want. You know there's lots of vigorous training involved." her mother said. "Mom, I'm up for it." she replied. And that was that. The two filly's paths had officially diverged. Cozy Glow was on a train to Ponyville, and would soon begin learning at Twilight's School of Friendship. And Magnolia had every intention of training to become a member of the Royal Guard. One of the two fillies would grow up and save the lives of many, and the other would not. Back in the present: It was night time at the royal guard training camp. Inside the lake observatory, Maggie looked through the big telescope, and jotted the stars in the sky, tracing their path, and estimating the location they would have been all the way back when she said goodbye to Cozy Glow at the train station. "Who would have thought you'd go to such lengths. Who could have seen this coming? And how did you do it?" she wondered out loud. "My research so far is drawing a blank. In fact, what I've uncovered is startling, and the conclusions reached based on my personal experience with Cozy Glow paints a horrifying picture. But hopefully when I finish this chart, things will start to make a little more sense."