//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Cozy Chronicles // by 5u0myn0n4 //------------------------------// In the majestic Canterlot garden, Princess Twilight Sparkle was ready to teach her student, Luster Dawn, about different sides of a story. And today in particular, Twilight was prepared to enlist Luster with her toughest challenge yet. But in the end, it wouldn't be Luster who would learn a valuable lesson. Instead, there was someone else who needed to learn a far more important lesson, she just hadn't realized it yet. "How do you like Canterlot gardens, Luster Dawn?" Twilight asked. "It's beautiful, princess." Luster replied. "This garden is home to many species of plants. Some, more understood than others, but analogies aside, Luster, you've been so great as my student. What I have next for you isn't going to be easy, but I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't believe you could do it." "Gosh, princess. The anticipation is killing me! What is it?!" "Well, first, let me introduce you to some old... adversaries of mine..." Twilight used her magic to move aside some vines and brush, revealing one mean looking statue. Luster's jaw dropped in terror. "Luster Dawn, I'd like you to meet Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Cozy Glow." the princess introduced. "You mean, THE Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow?!" her student exclaimed. "Yes. These three were my final opponents before I was officially coordinated and made ruler of Equestria." she said. "Wow. The last of the original love hungry changelings. The evil centaur himself. And... Cozy Glow. Stuck together in one place." she admired. "Stuck together, until now that is." Twilight said. "Wha-? Why? Is the spell going to wear off?!" Luster panicked. "Not quite. I had something else in mind." Twilight looked at Luster closely in the eye. "Luster, this is no small feet, but I trust you by this point. I'm enlisting you to convince these three to use their powers for good instead of evil. Princess Celestia tasked my friends and I with a similar task to reform Discord, and we did it in the end. I have no reason to believe that you can't do the same with these three." "But uh..." Luster froze. "Don't worry. I'll add a little extra spell so that they can't hurt you." Twilight assured. Twilight cast some kind of spell around the statue. "They're covered in a suspension spell to prohibit their abilities. It's up to you to activate my spell to set them free." Twilight said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to elsewhere." "Wait, you're not going to supervise me while I talk to these really evil creatures?" Luster asked. "Nope. Like I said, I'm busy, plus they can't hurt you. You'll be fine. I believe in you." Twilight said. Princess Twilight Sparkle flew away. "Well, that makes one of us who believes..." Luster said. " Some magic aura surrounded the statues. All Luster had to do was add her own magic for it to activate. Before she did, she made sure she was ready. "Hmm, I'm going to place you here." Luster re-positioned the statue in what she deemed a safer location. *sigh* "Guess I'm ready as I'll ever be..." she said. Luster used her magic, and performed the spell. The statue began to disassemble from top to bottom, unfreezing the three trapped within. When Chrysalis unfroze, and her forward momentum continued to carry her forward. "GAH! *bonk* Ow! My cranium!" Chrysalis hit her head on a tree. The other two, who were more timid when they froze, looked at themselves in amazement. "We're... we're free?" Cozy Glow couldn't believe it. "Yes! Finally! I am free!" Tirek exclaimed. *ahem* Luster coughed. "What? Who's there?" Tirek asked. "Hello, you three, my name is Luster Dawn." she introduced herself. "I'm Twilight's student. And I'm here to teach you about friendship so that hopefully you do good instead of evil." she said. "Ha! Preposterous!" Chrysalis said. "In your wildest dreams, filly. As if we're ever going to give in to friendship!" Tirek said. "Twilight may have been able to manipulate Discord, but we will not give in so easily." Chrysalis added. "That's okay. It doesn't have to happen immediately. But Twilight put a spell on you three, so Tirek can't absorb magic, Chrysalis can't transform, and Cozy can't fly." Luster explained. "We may not have magic..." Chrysalis started. "But I still have my hands." Tirek threatened. "And I still have my teeth!" Chrysalis added. The two lunged forward after Luster. She braced for impact. "Wait!" Cozy interjected. "Is this any way to make first impressions on our savior? No it isn't. I'll go first." "Why, Lusty, thanks for the thought unfreezing us." Cozy thanked. "Well, it was Twilight's idea, but she wanted me to be the one who convinces you three." Luster explained. "Interesting..." Cozy said. "Not unlike what she did to Discord." Chrysalis added. "And like with Discord, I hope that you three come around and see how your unique abilities can be used to better ponykind." Luster grinned. "And we couldn't be more excited to get started." Cozy grinned. "Really?" Luster asked. "Why, yes of course. I'm so grateful that Twilight eventually decided to give us another chance. And believe me, we're down for anything you have in mind. Isn't that right fellas?" Cozy winked. "Uh... yes! But of course!" Tirek said. "Yes, we're all ears to any friendship lesson you have in mind." Chrysalis said. "Why thank you, Twilight's going to be so proud of me." Luster Dawn said. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get started!" "So when do we double cross her?" Tirek whispered. "On my mark, and no sooner." Cozy replied. The three went through a long day of tedium with Luster, but what's most important for this story's purposes, is when Luster brought Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chryslis to Canterlot library to check out books. "Well, like Twilight tells me, there isn't anything you can't learn from a book. I'm sure you three will find some great resources here." Luster said. "Why don't each of you pick out a book, and bring it to the reading table?" "That sounds like an excellent idea." Cozy said. "Since there's only one exit out of here, I'll let you three go your separate ways." Luster said. The three got up and wandered through the maze of books. "Is there anything we should be looking for in particular?" Chrysalis asked. "Definitely. First, Tirek, find a book on suppression spells, and Chrysalis, a book featuring Changeling and Centaur abilities would come in handy." Cozy replied. "And then what are you going to look for?" Tirek asked. "That's all I can think of, but if I find a book that looks useful, I'll be sure to grab it. Just stick to your missions, and do what Lusty says for now." Cozy ordered. After several minutes, the two came to Cozy with their finds. "How about these?" Chrysalis showed the books she and Tirek picked out. "Perfect!" Cozy exclaimed. "So what is the plan?" Tirek asked. "Assuming these books have the information we need... *whisper*..." Cozy whispered her plan to the two. "Do you think I can do it? Magic spells aren't exactly a Changeling's forte." Chrysalis said. "The point is, it's not impossible, and that's all we go to work with." Cozy replied. Some moments later, the three met back up with Luster Dawn at a reading table. "So, what did you three find?" Luster asked eagerly. "This one here is called, Why Are Changelings & Centaurs Always So Sweaty?" Chrysalis said. "Oh... I see. You wanna connect with your species more?" she asked. "Uh... sure. Let's go with that." the changeling queen replied. "And Tirek, you have uh..." Luster started. "Confinement Spells of Restraint - And How to Tear Them Down." he answered. "Uh..." Luster wondered. "Tirek just wants to learn about unicorn magic spells. That's all." Cozy said. "Yes! It is a topic I have always wanted to delve deep into I admit." Tirek said. "That's fantastic, and what have you got Cozy Glow?" Luster asked. "Relics of Equestria Through Time. Featuring Mage Meadowbrook's eight enchanted items, additional information on Grogar's Bell, and more!" "That's uh, fantastic Cozy." Luster said, trying to sound enthusiastic to encourage her. When really, she was nervous. And rightfully so. The three spent the afternoon reading their respective books. Cozy looked at Chrysalis, and she gave a firm nod. She turned her head to Tirek, and he nodded as well. Cozy gave a suspicious grin. She knew they were ready. "Golly, these books are so insightful." Cozy said. "I'm so happy to hear that." Luster said. "You know, I just wanted to say, I'm pleased with you three. You did great today in Ponyville, in the castle ground dusting, and here in the library. It's been a long day, but I feel like I've really gotten to know you three." "I'm glad you really think so, Lusty." Cozy Glow said. "Which is why it'll be such a shame when this over." Cozy winked. "I agree. But it doesn't have to end now." Luster asked. "NO! It ends when I say it does!" Cozy exclaimed. Tirek's horns lit up. "And I say, this ends now!" *shatter* Tirek managed to circumvent Twilight's spell and destroy it. The magic locks that inhibited the three was gone. Cozy could fly again, Chrysalis could transform, and Tirek, well, he demonstrated his abilities right then and there. "Oh shoot!" Luster exclaimed. Luster's heart sank in terror. Tirek grabbed Luster, pulled her in, absorbed all her magic, and grew slightly more powerful. "NOOOOOooo..." Luster slowly lost her energy. Tirek dropped her like a stone when he was done. Next, Chrysalis bit Tirek to absorb some of Luster's magic and enhance her own magic capabilities. *AAH!* Tirek grunted at the pain. "I can feel... the magic... flowing through me!" Chrysalis said, absorbing Tirek's magic. "That's enough! Now Chrysalis!" Cozy commanded. Chrysalis' horn glowed, and just like that... *poof* They were gone! "Oh no no no no no no!" Luster panicked. "This is bad. Real bad! Twilight's going to kill me! If they don't kill me first!" *poof* Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis reappeared outside Canterlot. "Huzzah! We escaped!" Chrysalis exclaimed. "Please never say huzzah again." Cozy said. "What's wrong with huzzah?" "Everything." "Quit your bickering and take a look around! The plan worked! We escaped!" Tirek beamed. "Yeah, yeah you're right. We did it! That was amazing! Breaking Twilight's spell really was that easy!" Cozy said. "And then how Tirek stole her magic, and then we teamed up so I could harness enough magic to teleport us away!" Chrysalis cheered. "And it's all thanks to the stuff we learned from those old books!" Cozy said. "I even managed to snag this book while doing it." "Where are we anyway?" Tirek asked. "We're..." Cozy wondered. They could still see Canterlot castle from where they were. "Shoot! We're not actually that far away!" Cozy exclaimed. "Give me a break! Magic's hard!" Chrysalis said. "What now?" Tirek asked. "Let's just make a run for it!" Cozy exclaimed. The three started running or flying away. "We'll never get anywhere on foot!" Tirek said. "Can't you transform into something to get us out of here quicker Chryssie?" Cozy asked. "I suppose I can." she replied. Chrysalis transformed into a roc. She used her talons to grab Tirek and Cozy Glow, and carry them through the air. "Where are we going?" Tirek asked. "That's a good question. Where to?" Chrysalis asked. "As far away from Canterlot as possible!" Cozy Glow commanded. The three villains flew far far away from Canterlot. They didn't look back, only forward, as they begun their long journey into nowhere in particular, other than far away from Twilight Sparkle.