//------------------------------// // We Need to Talk About Cozy (Suggested by Animation Crusader) // Story: Scenes From a Life (Post-Villainy) // by Jade Ring //------------------------------// "Come in, Miss Shutter Bug." Mr. Chalk Dust gestured for the mare to enter with a broad friendly grin. "Thank you. And it's missus." The unicorn gently corrected the earth pony teacher. "Oh, I'm sorry." Chalk looked out into the deserted hallway. "When I didn't see Cozy's father, I assumed..." "My husband works most nights." She caught the teacher's next question before he could voice it. "At the rock farm." "Ah yes." Chalk nodded as he shut the door and made his way to the desk. "Would you believe I actually taught Gray Gravel?" Shutter Bug gasped and put a hoof to her chest. "You can't possibly have been teaching that long. You don't look a day over forty." He chuckled as he sat behind his desk, trying to ignore the creaking in his hips. "You're too kind, Mrs. Shutter Bug. Please, sit down." He gestured at the chair he'd placed on the opposite side of the desk. Once the mare had sat, Chalk leaned forward. "Now, I imagine you're wondering why I've asked you to come." "Cozy Glow isn't having trouble in class, I hope?" Shutter Bug's lower lip poked out and seemed to visibly quiver. "Oh, dear. I was afraid she would have trouble adjusting..." "No, no trouble." He smiled reassuringly. "She's really quite exemplary. You needn't worry about that." "Oh good." Like a flash, Shutter Bug's visage of sadness was gone. She raised an eyebrow. "Is she... behaving badly? Is that it?" "Again, no. Not exactly." Chalk leaned back, removed his glasses, and started polishing them. "Cozy shows extraordinary intelligence for a filly her age." The old teacher cut his eyes at the young mare. "I'm curious; where did she go to school before your family moved to Saddleburg? There are no transcripts in her files." "She was home-schooled." Shutter Bug answered easily. "By her father and myself." Chalk whistled. "You must be quite the scholars. Cozy's grasp of... certain Equestrian events is something to see." Shutter Bug smiled and cocked her head. "Mister Dust, I'm afraid I'm not following you. Exactly what is the purpose of this meeting again?" "You seem to be a learned mare, Mrs. Shutter Bug, so I'll speak plainly." He replaced his glasses and looked at her hard. "I have... concerns about your daughter." "What sort of concerns?" "Well... there was an incident just yesterday. You see, we were going over the Changeling invasion of Canterlot..." Shutter Bug's eye twitched. "You've been covering the invasion of Canterlot?" "It's a recent addition to the Equestrian history section I insisted on. Saddleburg is so far from greater Equestria... you'd be surprised at how little our populace knows about recent events." "How recent are we talking?" Shutter Bug's eye twitched once more. "Quite recent." Chalk Dust's eyes flashed. "Now, as I was saying, I caught your daughter in the act of doodling in the middle of my lecture. I asked her if I was boring her. She insisted that she was just bored because we were so far behind what she already knew. I asked her what she meant, and she proceeded to lay out the events of the invasion in excruciating detail." Shutter Bug swallowed hard. "Did she now?" "Indeed. It was very impressive. But troubling as well." "Troubling?" "Oh yes. From the way she talked about it, Cozy seemed to take a certain... joy in the moment Princess Celestia was cast down in her stand against Queen Chrysalis." Shutter Bug laughed uneasily. "Oh, you know how rebellious they can be at that age." "Yes." Chalk Dust smiled in a funny sort of way before continuing. "Well, I must confess I was curious as to how far ahead the curriculum she actually was." He looked at her over the rim of his glasses. "Did you know she's also well versed in the escape and terror campaign of Lord Tirek?" "It wouldn't surprise me." Shutter Bug laughed again, trying to keep her hoof from tapping the floor. "As I said, she's very precocious." "That's one way of putting it." Chalk Dust groaned as he settled back into his chair and looked at the ceiling. "It was the way she talked about Tirek that struck me as odd. Such a monstrous figure, but the way she talked about him?" He looked back at her, his eyes narrowing. "It was something akin to pride." Shutter Bug's hoof was now tapping uncontrollably, her eyes wide and staring. "Is there more?" "With her? No. The bell rang and I dismissed the class." The earth pony opened a drawer and removed a heavy stack of papers. He set them on the desk, trying to hide the audible grunt that escaped him from the effort. "But I was curious. You see the fun of this lesson plan is that I'm learning along with the students. I'm only reading slightly ahead of them. I'm genuinely excited to cover the return of the Pillars and the battle against the Pony of Shadows." He tapped the stack. "But my curiosity made me read along a bit further. And do you know what I found?" Shutter Bug's eyelid was now twitching in time with her tapping hoof. "No..." "Evidently one of the most recent threats to Equestria was a little pegasus filly. Can you believe that? She tried to rid Equestria of all magic at first, and when that failed she teamed up with Queen Chrysalis and Lord Tirek to mount a full hostile takeover." He leaned forward, steepling his hooves. "Do you know what this little filly's name was?" Shutter Bug was beyond speech now. She simply shook her head. "Her name was Cozy Glow. And no one knows where she is. She and her allies vanished after the Battle of the Bell." He sighed. "Mrs. Shutter Bug..." She leaned over the desk. "Mr. Chalk Dust, if you'll just let me explain..." "Mrs. Shutter Bug, I think you and your husband are in terrible danger." Shutter Bug nearly fell over. "I'm sorry?" "I believe this little monster has bewitched the two of you somehow into believing that you are her parents. Now I don't know what she's planning here in Saddleburg, but it can't be good." He reached out and patted her hoof tenderly. "I'm sure whatever magic she used to ensnare the two of you, we can find a solution." He leaned back again and smiled. "Once she's in custody, of course." Shutter Bug blinked slowly. "Custody?" "Of course. We have to move quickly, while we have the element of surprise. I haven't reached out to Canterlot yet because I needed to speak to you first. Confirm my suspicions. But now I can clearly see that you are just victim of this terrible monster." Shutter Bug lowered her head. She stared at the desk, considering her options. "You said you haven't informed Canterlot yet?" "Correct." Chalk Dust turned to grab a piece of parchment from his desk. "But I should probably do so now. It will take some time for the Princess to..." The sound of a chair scraping on wood made him look up sharply, and he watched as Shutte Bug walked slowly to the door. "Mrs. Shutter Bug?" "I need to inform my husband." She reached out to open the door. "I don't think it's wise to leave alone." Chalk Dust resumed his search for parchment. "For all we know, the little monster is already aware that her scheme..." Shutter Bug froze. "Please..." She cleared her throat. "Please don't call her that." "Why?" The old teacher scoffed. "Best to call things what they are. She's a terrible little monster and..." The sound of the door's lock clicking in place cut him off. He looked up to find the mare staring at him, her horn glowing with emerald light. "Mrs. Shutter Bug..." "I was polite." The unicorn hissed, something strange happening to her voice. "I said please. I thought that was supposed to mean something to you ponies." Chalk Dust began feeling very trapped all of a sudden. "Mrs. Shutter Bug..." "She isn't a monster." She considered, then smirked. "At least, not anymore." She took a step towards the old teacher. "Mrs. Shutter Bug, please; you have to fight whatever charm she's used on you." The old teacher started flicking his eyes around the room, looking for escape routes. Shutter Bug ignored his pleas. "No, she's not a monster." She took another step. "But do you want to know something?" Chalk Dust's eyes widened in horror as emerald flames sparked to life at the mare's hooves. "I AM!" Her chitinous black form appeared in a flash of green fire, and Queen Chrysalis leapt. Chalk Dust never even had the chance to scream. //////////////////////////////////// "Well what did you expect me to do?" Chrysalis pouted, now returned to her creamy white visage. "Not this!" Tirek gestured at the cocoon sitting in the middle of their living room. Chalk Dust floated in the fluid inside, a peaceful look on his face. "Now not only does he know about Cozy, he knows about you too." "I'm sorry." She poked at the cocoon. "I lost control." "That's putting it lightly." Tirek sighed and ran his hand over his face. "Just... You can still mind control ponies, right?" "I think so." Chrysalis looked up at her husband. "What did you have in mind?" Tirek reached for the cocoon and hefted it onto his shoulder with a grunt. "I think it's time Mr. Chalk Dust took an early retirement." /////////////////////////////////////// "Crazy about old Chalk Dust, huh?" Mustard Seed whispered so as to avoid drawing their new teacher's attention. "My dad says he had a nervous breakdown." Lily Vine whispered back. "Said she looked dazed and confused when he told everypony he was moving back to Manehatten." "I wonder what could've done that to him." Onyx Bolt looked at the pink pegasus beside him. "Any ideas?" Cozy Glow said nothing. She just continued diligently taking notes. But she did permit herself one little smirk... for old time's sake.