“Cozy...Glow?” They all spoke in unison.
The pink mare rubbed her left hoof against her right. “Um…”
The earth pony mare--Applebloom spoke up first. “So yer back after your trial, huh?”
Cozy nodded in silence.
“And you’re trying to just live life now?” the white unicorn mare asked.
Another nod.
“And you’re worried that it’s going to take forever for anypony to trust you?” the orange pegasus mare asked.
Cozy let out a sigh. “Listen...please. No amount of words will ever make what I did okay or disappear. I know that. And it’s fine if you don’t trust me. I know I wouldn’t.”
“Pfft,” Applebloom scoffed and waved her hoof, “That’s exactly what we used to say about Diamond Tiara. But she’s cool with us now, cuz she earned it. Don’tcha wanna earn it too?”
“Well…”
Sweetie Belle was next. “Besides. When you’re a kid, you make idiotic decisions. I still remember when I nearly went crazy thinking my sister was trying to be better than me at everything so I sabotaged one of her outfits for Sapphire Shores.”
“Hah!” Scootaloo laughed. “Oh man. I still remember the time I nearly let Lightning Dust trick me into doing a stunt that nearly killed me. If I could go back and time and throttle my stupid filly self…”
Cozy tilted her head. “What about you, AB?”
“Two words, sista: Chimera attack,” she said with a shudder, “brrr...I still be gettin’ goosebumps from that delivery and Applejack was mighty ticked.”
“The point is,” Sweetie explained, “when you’re a child, you make dumb decisions. Yeah, some of them aren’t excusable, sure. But as Rarity used to say, ‘hindsight is twenty-twenty, darling,’” she said with a mock of her sister’s accent.
“Exactly. Rainbow Dash usually scolded me when I did something stupid, but it helped me realize what I did wrong so I didn’t repeat the same mistake.” Scootaloo looked down. “I...don’t suppose you had anypony to guide you?”
Cozy shook her head. “No…”
“I can relate,” the orange pegasus mare walked up and put a hoof around her neck. “My parents are so darn busy all the time, and my aunts...ugh. I love them, but they barely watched out for me either. I was super lucky to get Dash watching out for me. So I know what it’s like to have nopony there. If anything...I could’ve easily turned out the same way.”
A scary, but true thought. One could only imagine what the children of this world were capable of doing if left unattended for too long. And Cozy Glow was one of them.
“So come on, then,” Applebloom offered, “If you wanna make up fer whatcha did, I say we letcha.”
“I…” Cozy pushed Scootaloo’s hoof away, and backed off. “Thank you, but no. If you started hanging around me, there could be rumors. I don’t want that for you.”
Sweetie Belle dismissed this immediately. “Pfft. Who gives a hoof? If anything, it’ll make you look better since three of the best young mares in Equestria are willing to hang out with you. Doesn’t that make sense, Mr. Detective sir?” she addressed me.
I wasn’t entirely sure how to answer that. Yes, the logic was sound, but I couldn’t help but wonder if that would solve things any faster. “I...suppose. But right now, Ms. Glow wants to get settled in and work on her efforts to regain public trust naturally. She appreciates the offer, but doesn’t want your reputations impacted.”
Scootaloo, however, wasn’t satisfied with my response. “You serious? We’re teachers at the School of Friendship. We’re more than qualified to teach her in the ways of treating others properly.”
“Oh? You’re offering her a teaching session now?” I looked at Cozy. “Does this make sense to you? Would you like to learn from the best? After all, they were taught by Ms. Cheerilee herself.”
“Hm…” Cozy tapped the ground with her hoof. A worried expression on her face. “I...I’ll consider it. Right now, I’m a bit busy thinking about the Running of the Leaves and--”
The yellow earth pony’s eyes brightened. “Oh yeah! I remember that! It’s been a while since we participated, wasn’t it?”
“But I heard a rumor that Canterlot just wants us to use magic to make it more efficient,” Scootaloo said, “I think that’d be pretty cool, right?”
“To watch, maybe,” Sweetie Belle refuted, “magic can’t solve all your problems, Scoots. Tradition is important too, ya know.”
Cozy wanted to say something, but didn’t want to be rude. “I...may have a few ideas…” she said in a barely audible tone.
“You do?!” All three shouted at once, which caused the pink pegasus to flinch.
“Whew, then that means I don’t have to try any silly stunts to catch attention for the event,” Scootaloo commented which made her friends laugh.
“HA! When’s that ever worked out fer ya, Scoots?”
“Twice, Bloom! Twice!”
Sweetie Belle giggled, and spoke up. “Alright. I think we should give Cozy some space. But think about what we said, okay?”
“Mm-hmm…”
“Granny Smith used to love that ol’ leaf race,” Applebloom said with a sigh as she referenced her deceased grandmother. “She’d be tickled pink if she heard yer idea--whatever it may be.”
“...You think so?”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo chirped, “Yeah! I’m sure you could come up with something that’ll show the folks in Ponyville that the old days still matter!”
Cozy blushed. I suppose that the sheer amount of support she had gotten overwhelmed her. “Well...thanks.”
I spoke up on her behalf. “As she said, she has some ideas. So it would be beneficial if you all gave her some room to breathe. And please, keep your eyes open for anypony that wants to cause her harm.”
All three nodded firmly.
“No problem, sir. C’mon guys. Let’s go get our lesson plans ready for tomorrow,” Sweetie said as they took off.
“Alrighty--we’ll see ya around, Cozy!” Applebloom yelled out.
“We’re here for you if you need us!” Scootaloo cried.
How nice of them. Though, given they were related to half of the current Elements of Harmony, I expected them to be more understanding than the average pony. Even so, it was nice to see somepony that was reasonable.
“What’s your plan, kid?”
Cozy looked up at me, and trotted to her house. “I...have an idea or two to help advertise the Running of the Leaves. But I need to be able to brainstorm it alone...if that’s okay.”
Fair enough. The last thing I wanted was to be overbearing on the kid. Plus, if she worked on it in solitude, there was very little chance she could be interrupted or sabotaged by...unsavory individuals. “Very well. Do your thing, Cozy. I’ll be on my way,” I said with a tip of my hat.
“Okay...and thank you for showing me around today. I have a better idea of what I need to do. Goodbye for now, sir,” she replied before she went into her house.
Well then, now I was on my own. Maybe I could put that out of my mind for a while, and focus more on the suspicious actions of those in charge.
I walked back towards my own house. All the sudden, my thoughts were interrupted by a gray earth pony mare who rounded the corner. “Um...hello. Are you Pale Vestige?”
“Yes,” I turned to face her. She wore glasses, and had a pearl necklace. That cutie mark was familiar...ah, Silver Spoon. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah I...sort of overheard you talking with the Crusaders and Cozy Glow. If possible, can I...meet with her? There’s some things I’d like to explain. Diamond Tiara’s a bit busy so she can’t really do much right now.”
I had to think about it for a moment. It would make sense given how she treated everypony else at that school when they were little. But beyond that, I actually didn’t know much about this one. “I see...well, if you want to speak with her, it’s going to have to wait. She’s somewhat busy with a plan she has to rebuild a proper reputation.”
Her eyes were downcast, and disappointed by my denial. “Oh...okay. Well, whenever she’s not busy, I’d like to talk to her. As for you, I’ve heard some...rumors. About missing parents.”
I took a look around to make sure no one else was listening. “Just what have you heard?”
Silver Spoon went on to explain. “Well...this is just based on rumor mills. But I’ve heard that some ponies have been lured into the idea that they could become stronger if they abandoned their families and underwent certain...procedures. They were fed up with the idea that all they could do was sit back and rely on the Elements Some of them survived, and some didn’t. But...they all thought it was for a just cause,” she looked down at the ground.
Curious indeed. This was a lot of heavy information that I was quite surprised that a young mare such as herself could simply stumble upon. “I see...and just how do you know about this, Ms. Spoon?”
“My dad was one of them.”
Well, that's two for two. Glad things went well between Cozy and the Crusaders. 😟 And, whoa...Silverspoon's dad is one of the willing participants in Neighsay's cause? And who's spreading rumors about this just cause that led to parents abandoning their families? Again, the mystery deepens.
Ooh boy
10455878
Yup. They were willing to hear her out.
And we never see Silver Spoon's parents so who knows what she's been through...
Well that makes sense for them. Nightmare Moon spread eternal night as soon as she appeared; citizens panic as guards were beaten easily, Discord freed and transformed Equestria into a Chaotic Mess, Chrysalis and her Changeling Army attacked Canterlot, easily capture the city and the Princesses with the Mane 6, Sombra’s return that reclaim the Crystal Empire and took over Canterlot, Tirek absorb all the Pony Tribes magic along with Discord’s and sent Celestia, Luna & Cadence to Tartarus, Cozy Glow erasing all the Magic and her, Chrysalis and Tirek’s major conquer. Let’s face it, anyone with a brain can see the Pony race is pathetic and weak without the Magic of Friendship and Alicorn leaders. I mean they show bravery when one hero and heroic group saves them but after years of peace, they need a hero to save them because they literally choose to not fight or prepare themselves for any attack.
10455959
Yeah it's pretty sad. In a way, Neighsay isn't entirely wrong for wanting to create stronger warriors...
10455974
More like creating a stronger kingdom. Also makes me wonder? With the powerful magic of princesses and heroes through their history, maybe Cozy sees it as a corruption because its mostly everything in their history for victory? I mean if Magic is their answer to solve everything, will erasing it show their weakness for it? That they need it without depending their own ideas and strengths (My theory for Cozy’s actions from her first crime)
10455981
Exactly.
And who knows? You'll have to wait and see...
Quite heartwarming to have the Crusaders be so friendly to Cozy. It would be ironic if they were the ones to tutor her on missed subjects.
Interesting how its Silver who knows all of this even if they are rumors. I'm not sure weather or not to be suspicious or impressed.
10456098
That could happen in the future, you never know!
And well, we never see Silver Spoon's parents or anything, so it fit perfectly.
10455878
I strongly suspect it's that one racist earth pony from The Ending of the End, Part 2.
10456140
🤔 Maybe, I don't know. But if what you're saying is true, what's the gain here from spreading these kinds of rumors? What's he or she after?
10456174
Maybe the same reason Mengele wanted to experiment on Jews? Or maybe there's an Equestrian version of Elizabeth Bathory?
10456295
Well it could be anything. XD
10456303
And that's why Nothing...Is...Scarier.
10456345
10456303
😱
10456174
Probably greater respect for Earth Ponies, being seen as the "Plain" pony tribe instead of just as special as Unicorns and Pegasi. The irony being Pale is taking them right path to achieve that goal, showing how special earth ponies really are to themselves and we'll as others by expanding the study of Earth Pony magics, with out tearing down the other tribes or performing risky eugenics experiments to try to make "super" Earth ponies.
10456466
😕 Wait, Super Earth p--Dude, this is MLP, not Dragon Ball Z or Super.
10456478
Your remember the Twilight vs Terik fight right? Or Twilight and Starlight fighting? "Super" Ponies are not really that farfetched
10456498
Well, yeah, you got me there. But experiments to make super-earth ponies? Sounds like something out of Captain America.
10456504
10456498
What Xander is trying to say is that Pale is trying to help Earth Ponies reach their highest potential to unlock their powers naturally like the School for Gifted Unicorns and Wonderbolt Academy. With ponies like Cheerilee, Limestone, Tree Hugger, Spoiled Rich, the Mayor, Sandbar, and so on, they have the ability to teach everyone that Earth Ponies have the capacity to be more than just farmers like Applejack and her family or their Earth Pony ancestors.
The experiments aren't exclusively for Earth Ponies. They're for anyone that Neighsay deems worthy.
10456572
Oh, ok. 🤔 So logically speaking, that would make Pale the Charles Xavier to Neighsay's Magneto.
10456572
Gotta experiment on not just earth ponies, heck even gotta experiment on non ponies to get the data you need.
As to showing Earth ponies their natual power Applejack is a great example too, she is much more than just a farmer, she's a hero and she's really strong one fic writer used a term I liked that some earth ponies have "Giga Strength" meaning they are much more physically strong than normal. Like the background filly from On Your Marks who lifted the school yard carousel with one hoof she clearly was born with that ability.
10456839
I suppose that's one way to look at it? XD
10456995
That's right. You make good points. Also, that sounds kickass