Strung up against the wall by several pieces of tape were all the photos of Cozy Glow that Celestia had managed to find within the castle. She wore her sunflower dress as usual, and had just put up the very last picture with her magic. "There," she said tiredly.
Underneath it all was Celestia's new journal that Twilight had just gotten her as a gift. However, within only an hour or so, Celestia had already filled it thoroughly with many entries detailing her life, and she was just about to write down her overall thoughts on Cozy Glow.
"The best way to summarize what went wrong with Cozy Glow," Celestia thought to herself while staring at the photos in front of her. "Is that... she, uh... I suppose one could say that she had at one point gotten confused with what friendship really is, and how it greatly differs from manipulation, only in the worst way."
She flipped the pages, and wrote that down while continuing, "Also, it's not like anypony even attempted to do any proper counseling with her after the fact. According to the reports, they just sent her to Tartarus without much waiting around."
She laid the pen down within the crease between the pages, and lipped, "Come to think of it..."
She watched as Starlight Glimmer walked on by, and called out to her, "Say, Starlight?"
"Hmm?" She turned around. "Yes, Celestia?"
It had been about a month or so since Celestia had officially moved in, and anytime she needed counseling, she always turned towards Starlight whenever she needed to talk to somepony about something. Although, she had thus far neglected to talk to Starlight about Cozy Glow. So, while breathing in deeply, she asked, "Did... you do anything to try and help Cozy Glow out?"
Starlight came closer towards the window, and said, "No, actually... because when I did, she refused to talk to me about Friendship. You have to remember what she did to me, too, but she... actually said that she could understand friendship better than anypony else, and that's when Luna made the suggestion to escort her to Tartarus."
Celestia blinked, and asked timidly, "Wait a minute... Starlight, you're saying that it was Luna's big idea all along?"
Starlight nodded, and said, "I was right there when it happened. Celestia... That is... You were hesitant to go along with it back then, but at the time, it seemed like the best thing to do." She looked at the photos, and said, "Uhh, although... You know what? You probably still shouldn't fall for those kind smiles, by the way. That's what almost messed up Twilight's School of Friendship."
Celestia looked from the photographs on her wall to Starlight, and said, "Don't worry." She looked back at the photos, and said, "She's not smiling the way Pinkie does. You see? That's how I can tell... I've been practicing just imagining Pinkie in my head, and then, I can see right through Cozy Glow's mask."
Starlight smiled, and asked, "Despite that, what I'm getting from this is that you think she didn't deserve it, huh? You're not... planning anything, are you?"
Celestia looked at Starlight, and said, "Not really... Not yet, at least."
Starlight laughed, and looked around to make sure Twilight wasn't nearby, and then said quietly, "Right, because you don't have enough to go on."
Celestia smiled back at Starlight, and said, "Something like that. Still... I've... got to ask you something, Starlight."
"Hmm?" Starlight had started to leave, but before going, she asked, "What's up?"
Celestia sighed, and said, "I've been wondering how you felt about this, actually." She looked at Starlight seriously, and asked, "Do you think she deserved it? Being sent to Tartarus, I mean."
Starlight's eyes dilated in a way that was far too obvious for Celestia to ignore. She then looked away, and didn't say anything for a long time. When she did, all that came out at first was, "Uhh..."
Celestia waited for that answer patiently, but in time, Starlight would say, "Of course not, your Highness... S-she was just a filly. I, uhh..." She even began to tear up a little as she spoke, but she continued, "I maybe should've told Luna... to..."
"To just be quiet?" Celestia offered.
"To just... shut... up...!"
She had this real serious gaze in her eyes all of the sudden, and as she looked off towards the floor, she moaned stressfully. "She, uh... ensnared a few ponies. Myself included, and I'm sure you've researched what she did, but at the time, it just..." She then looked up at Celestia, and said, "It had been a rather upsetting time for me, too, so I just went along with whatever the sentencing might've been." Then, she turned back around, and said, "Sorry, Celestia, to be so conflicting. To answer your question, though... Well, that's not what happened to me or Trixie. Why did a filly have to be banished to Tartarus?"
Celestia suddenly felt a sense of guilt wash over her, and said, "I'm sorry."
Starlight shook her head, though, and said while smiling, "Mmh, no, your Highness... You've given me a lot to think about. Thank you..."
She walked off slowly, and then to the right of her as she headed out the doorway came Spike. He greeted Starlight as he hastily went by her, and then quickly made his way towards Celestia. As he did, he noticed all of the pictures dangling in front of her, and asked teasingly, "Thinking about Cozy Glow again, huh?"
Celestia sighed, and said, "If it wasn't for the fact that I'm the one who ultimately made the call, Spike, we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now. I just found out from Starlight that it was Luna's suggestion all along, but again, ultimately... it was totally my call to make." She shook her head while chuckling morbidly, and commented, "You'd think I would've been more willing to give friendship a try, but apparently not. Isn't that just so lazy of me?"
Spike rolled his eyes, and said while poking her slightly with his claw, "Things were complicated back then. That's why it turned out the way it did, but does all of that really matter now? There's nothing that we can do about it. She's in Tartarus, and we're here in Equestria. I just..." He looked away, and then looked back at Celestia to say, "I care about you a whole lot, and I'm worried that you're stressing yourself out over something that you have very little control over."
Celestia nodded at that, but then said, "Spike... Things weren't just complicated back then... Things, I think... have always been complicated in Equestria."
Spike tilted his head at her, and asked, "What do you mean?"
She pulled out a few books, and said, "Well... for starters, let's take a look at the stars, and what we know of them thus far. From a scientific point of view, stars start their lives as clouds of dust and gas. We've seen that they can have planets orbiting them, and most stars don't orbit planets. The planets orbit the stars... It's not the other way around like it is for Equestria, Spike."
She looked at Spike, and he looked at her cluelessly. Then, she pointed out, "Has nopony noticed that our sun is literally the only star in existence that moves only because it requires some magic in order to do it?"
Spike's eyes went wide with an odd sensation of realization, and he slowly voiced, "Uhh..."
"Gravity has been proven, but it clearly works differently here in Equestria. Our star is different. Why? Nopony can accurately explain that. Not only that, but I've been researching, and researching... I asked Twilight, and Starlight a while ago, and they couldn't answer me, either... What's magic?"
Spike looked away, and said, "Uhhhhh..."
"Like, I know that it's some kind of energy, but where in the world did all of this random, and amazing energy come from?! It just poofs right into our beings, and determines the way we develop. Unicorns have the most magic because of the fact that they can actually summon it in the form of mystical aura, and they can do even more things with it, and pegasi are built lighter for better speed... Finally, earth ponies are the strongest physically. All of these things have to do with magical influences. This much has actually been scientifically proven. Now, why does it seem to only accumulate onto this planet? The other suns in the sky don't require magic in order to work! Theoretically speaking, that means that magic is an odd, and mysterious type of energy that we literally are just playing around with... and... and... we don't even know where it comes from, Spike!!!"
The dragon was suddenly being grabbed by both of her hooves, and as she shook him back and forth, he could only respond by saying, "Uhh..." He laughed once she seemed to have finished, and said, "Well, eh heh... It's n-not like it hasn't been noticed. Pony scientists all over the world are looking into these sorts of things as we become more and more aware, so relax! Although, I've gotta congratulate you, Celestia. I, umm... certainly haven't ever considered all of this up until just now. It's... rather impressive."
He seemed distant now, so Celestia decided to drop it by saying, "Look, whatever..." He looked back at her, and she continued saying, "Equestria is complex; plain and simple. Let's not dwell over it too much, I guess..."
She hopped out of bed while Spike said to her, "Sounds good to me, but you're definitely onto something, I think."
She nodded, and said, "I think I might be over thinking it... Anyways, hey, look... Twilight and Luna both have been talking, and Luna thinks it might be a good idea for me to go to a more general, public school instead of Twilight's special friendship academy. I'm... thinking we may not get to hang out together as much as we used to once that happens, so..."
Spike finished for her, "You want to go play some more before you have to go to some boring school, huh?"
She smiled, and blushed. "What do you say?"
Spike merely grabbed hold of her hoof, and said with the dorkiest accent he could muster, "Of course, your Highness... Anything for a fair Princess like yourself!"
Celestia laughed as Spike brought her away from her window, and out of the castle. Along the trail, she shouted out to him, "You can be such a dork sometimes!"
The two of them ran through the streets of Ponyville merrily while trying desperately not to run into any of the ponies that were in the middle of their every day activities. They were in the middle of a friendly game of tag when Spike finally started to feel fatigued, and chanted to Celestia, "Hey, wait!" He huffed, "Let's take a break."
As they did, Celestia noticed a small shop that they could peruse while cooling off. "C'mon," Celestia said to spike as he caught up to her. "I've been inside of here once before with Twilight. They might give us drinks again!"
While they wandered in, Spike questioned, "Do you think they might also feed us while they're at it?"
Celestia came up to the counter only to see two other adult ponies next her, and she rang for the cashier. After that, the Princess then overheard the two of them talking to one another. To Celestia's great surprise, it turned out that they were in fact discussing Cozy Glow. Spike gasped once he realized this, and looked away while Celestia listened in on their conversation bravely.
"I believe she's better off where she is now," a stallion wearing a top hat said with a raspy voice.
"Oh," the mare grumbled, the feather on her bonnet wiggling with her every movement. "But, she's just a filly after all. If anything it's the parents who should be blamed."
"If that were true, rest assured, they would've been involved. I'm telling you, that Cozy Glow was a hopeless case, and you know it."
Celestia cut in then and there, and asked, "What makes you think so?"
"Huh?" the stallion said while looking around, and then looking down. "Oh, Princess Celestia... Well, to put it bluntly, she was a brat!"
"Oh come now," the mare pleaded. "She just needed some help."
Celestia nodded, and said, "I agree with her, actually. Why should she be in Tartarus?"
The stallion leaned down before leaving, and said something that Celestia simply couldn't bring herself to accept. "Because, my dear... She was just that evil. Alright? She was so, very relentless, and cunning, and disturbing that nopony felt any sympathy after the fact. Oh, but now that it's all said and done with, she deserved some compassion?" He got back up, and said in a distasteful way, "My dear... Something like compassion can be rather expensive. That's why she couldn't be trusted." He looked away for a moment, and then said, "Then again, she might've changed by now. Perhaps she has reflected on her misdeeds, and then again, what if she hasn't?"
He then saw that the cashier had arrived, and tipping his hat to the other ponies in the store, the stallion took off with his set of groceries. Celestia had been watching him the whole time, thinking deeply about his words, and the way he saw things. Still, she couldn't bring herself to disregard Cozy Glow as a true, hopeless villain even with all that she had heard about the pegasus. With all of her strength, she told herself to stay true to her beliefs. Then, the cashier startled her by asking all of the sudden, "Bottled water???"
"AH!" Celestia shouted suddenly while backing up. "Oh, sorry... Y-yes, we'd, uh, love some water please."
The mare behind the counter nodded kindly, and as she went back behind the store once again, the other mare that had still been standing closely next to Celestia said, "I don't care what that nut says." She looked towards Celestia, and said, "Now you, however... You seem to have the right idea. After all, Tartarus is a place for monsters... not little fillies, no matter how monstrous their behaviors may be."
As she walked out, Celestia said to Spike, "Everypony has some good in them. Right?"
He just looked at her blankly at first, but then, he closed his eyes while answering, "I've always thought so. With Cozy Glow, though... Somepony like that, you see... If you were really wanting to be her friend, and have her be a friend back to you... Well, it would've been challenging. I mean, like... really challenging, Celestia."
Celestia then asked, "But not impossible, right?"
Spike breathed while the cashier gave them their bottles of water, and said, "Nothing is impossible."
As they walked out of the shop that day, rather than playing more games with Spike, Celestia thought long and hard about what Spike had said to her back at the store. They sat together under a nice, shady tree enjoying their drinks, and with the wind breezing on by, Celestia said aloud, "If anything is possible, then there has to be a way into Tartarus."
Spike looked at her with wide eyes, but then, he relaxed himself all of the sudden. "I suppose... it's unavoidable, huh?"
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked.
Spike put his claws together tightly, and spoke silently, but loud enough so that only Celestia would know what he was actually saying. "There used to be a physical opening to Tartarus located here in Equestria, but it was closed off forever right before Cozy Glow was imprisoned. I remember hearing that Luna has the power to go to and from Tartarus freely, but there's rules..." He gulped, and said, "You didn't hear it from me, but Twilight just so happens to own a book that'll tell you everything you need to know about Tartarus, and what the rules are. Rule number one states that only alicorns may freely summon portals to and from Tartarus."
He then got up rather nervously, and said, "I... don't know anything else, and I don't really even know where Twilight might be keeping that book. Also, I've never actually read it all that much. I've only ever glimpsed at it, and I've seen Twilight holding onto it with her magic, like... once or twice. I know I can't stop you, too, Celestia. I've been watching you perfecting your magic while training with Twilight, and I don't think that even Twilight could stop you. Just... y'know? I-if you have to do something crazy, make sure that you know that it's the right call to make."
Celestia had been looking into Spike's eyes the whole time, and she had been paying attention to what he had been saying very closely, and didn't look away for a second. "I promise... I know what I'm doing," she said. "I just... can't do it yet. I'm not ready, but eventually, I think I will be." She exhaled some air, and said, "Thank you so much, Spike... for the information."
Spike nodded with doubt in his movements. He then began leaving her, and said to Celestia, "I'll see you back at the castle."
Celestia smiled at Spike while he took off, and she then yawned. She eventually would begin thinking for a little while longer about the three main mysteries that had started to encompass her entire life. Firstly, there was the haunting puzzle involving Everly Free and the Everfree Forest. Secondly was the conflict between real science and all of the magical properties that had somehow taken hold of Equestria, and the third thing was whether or not it was a good idea to attempt to rescue somepony like Cozy Glow from the formidable clutches of Tartarus.
Finally, soon, Celestia was also supposed start going off to school everyday.
"Ugh," Celestia grunted while she scratched the back of her head. "I'm only a filly...! I don't know what to do. Hmm..." She began thinking to herself, "Maybe I should go back to Starlight for more advice."
Then, out of the corner of Celestia's eye, she spotted three other fillies playing happily together just off in the distance. As she watched them all busy at work fixing up their tree house, Celestia wondered if she might see them at school someday soon. "Come to think of it... Perhaps that's what I need, actually," she thought leisurely. "More fillies roughly around my own age and height that I can talk to about all of this might actually turn out to be really beneficial!" She smiled while she allowed her thoughts to wander, and looked down while remarking, "Or, maybe they'll end up helping me take my mind off of everything instead. That would be nice, too, I suppose."
Celestia would spend the next few minutes underneath that tree, but eventually, she'd be on her way back to the castle. On her way back, she gulped just before coming up the stairs, and a strange thought happened to loft into her head. "I wonder what the other kids at school are going to be like."