//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: The Gathering // Story: Cozy Chronicles // by 5u0myn0n4 //------------------------------// A few weeks had passed, and the town of TCGC had expanded. Tirek finally got around to putting a roof over the castle, and there were several in-progress houses for the residents of the town live in. Today however, there was important business that needed to be discussed. Inside Tirek's castle )which was unofficially dubbed as Midnight Castle) Cozy organized a meeting with the ponies she'd recently met. At a big table sat herself, Flim, Flam, Suri, Lightning Dust, Rolling Thunder, Short Fuse, and even Svengallop. "Thank you all for your attendance. I hereby call the first TCGC formal meeting into effect." Cozy Glow said. "Now, some of you may have had brief introductions to each other already, but allow me to reintroduce everyone anyway." "We have the moral ambiguous brothers, Flim & Flam." "Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Flim said. "Next, the best trio of flyers in Equestria, the Washouts! Lightning Dust, Short Fuse, and Rolling Thunder." The three sat at the table, acting too cool to reply. "The best fashion designer in Equestria, Suri Polomare." "You're too kind." she said. "And lastly, we have Svengallop. A pony whom we met in between chapters at some point..." Cozy's voice trailed off. "Pleased to be here." Svengallop said. Chrysalis came into the room with a cart full of food to serve the guests. She lifted plates of food served the ponies. "Dinner, is served. Help yourselves." Chrysalis served everpony a plate of some weird glowing mushy stuff. "Mmm, wonderful." Rolling Thunder said. "But what exactly is this?" Suri asked. "It's not meat, but it contains energy derived from creatures anyway." Chrysalis backed away slowly into the shadowy entryway, until she had left the room. "Ooookay..." Lightning said. "Mmm. Whatever it is, it tastes delicious!" Short Fuse said, as he gorged it down. "Eh. Bottoms up." Svengallop said, as he took his first bite. "I'm gonna pass for now..." Flim said, pushing away the plate. "I second that brother." Flam added. "Now that your appetites are satisfied (or ruined), let's get this meeting under way." Cozy said. "You all have been brought together by unlikely circumstances, but we all share similar ambitions." "Suri Polomare, you hate Rarity. She ruined your reputation, and stole your win at the Manehatten fashion show. Lightning Dust, you hate Rainbow Dash. She got you kicked out of the Wonderbolts reserve, and crashed your guy's Washouts show. Flim and Flam hate Applejack and the Apple family. They've ruined your business propositions on multiple occasions. And Svengalop you... um. What's your thing again?" "I don't like that Applejack either. She's the one who convinced Countess Coloratura to fire me as her manager. Hmph. And after all I did for her." Svengallop said. "I found her when she was nothing! And I turned her into a star! And I-" "Okay okay, we don't need your entire life history." Cozy interrupted. "My point is-" Cozy was interrupted by some loud chewing. "Everyone put your food away! No chewing when I'm talking!" she exclaimed at everypony. "Don't look at me. My plate's clean." Short Fuse said. "Then who is that?" Cozy asked. Everypony turned their heads to the corner, and there was an extra guest. In the corner of the room, was a pudgy green dragon, munching away on some of the mushy food. Cozy approached the stranger dragon. "Excuse me, Mr. dragon." Cozy said. "Yeah." he said. "What are you doing here?! How did you get in here?" Cozy asked. "I don't know. I saw this well crafted castle, and thought I'd check it out. Now I'm just eating whatever you guys don't want." he said. "Okay, but why are you here?" she asked. "I'm a dragon who likes castle architecture. And when I spotted this place, I had to check it out." "Did anyone invite you? Did anyone here invite this dragon?!" Cozy exclaimed. "Nope." Flim said. "Not me." Suri said. "No sirree." Lightning. said. "Who are you? Who sent you here? Were you sent by Twilight Sparkle?" Cozy asked. "Name's Sludge. And uh, this Twilight Sparkle... haven't heard that name in years" Sludge said. "Twilight Sparkle. Purple pony. She has a dragon named Spike." Cozy added. "Spike! I remember now." Sludge remembered. "I tricked her little dragon Spike into thinking I was his dad so I could stay in the princess' castle." Sludge said. "Spike, huh? That little orphan dragon? You lied that you were his dad just so you could live in Twilight's castle?" Cozy asked. "When you put it that way, it sounds pretty bad, but basically, yeah that's what I did." Sludge admitted. The sound of displeased chatter encompassed the room. "That's pretty low man." Suri said. "Orphans can be disturbed individuals. I had a little pegasus orphan under my wing. At least I think Scootaloo was an orphan..." Lightning Dust said. "Since you're clearly worthless, I want you to either get out of here, or be quiet." Cozy said. "You won't even know that I'm here." Sludge said. "Anyway, back on track. You are all a group of misunderstood ponies brought together by a common point of interest." Cozy Glow said. "You all have a grudge against either Twilight, or at least one of her friends. " "You're each very unique and talented in your own ways, and I have a feeling that there is a way for each of you to use your unique talents to benefit me." Cozy Glow said. "Building this little community is only the first phase, I have big ambitions, and you ponies are going to help me achieve those goals." Everypony in the room started chattering, to the concern of Cozy. Finally, they disbanded. Lighting spoke first. "Here's the thing, I don't own up to any pony. Not Dash, not the Wonderbolts, and not your little legion of doom. " she said. "You can't make me do somethin' I don't wanna." "There doesn't have to be a conflict of interests. Perhaps there is a way you can benefit me while staying true to your skills!" Cozy said. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen!" Short Fuse said. "When we work together (not in a gross friendship way, more of a cohorts with benefits kind of thing), I think we'll all find ways we can improve ourselves." Cozy Glow said. "Ha. You can't improve perfection." Lightning said. "I mean, we're not that good at flying." said Rolling Thunder. "That's why we do extreme sports instead of coordinated flying." "Shut up, Thunder." Lightning said. "Well, if you're looking for improvement you can start by taking a closer look at these so called uniforms!" Suri said. "These green pajamas are hardly durable or aerodynamic! Plus, the pattern is hideous!" "Hey! You take that back!" Lightning snarled. Lightning and Suri got in each other's faces and started arguing. "Now now, don't waste your anger on each other." Cozy said. "You say my clothes suck?! Well your dresses are totally wack!" Lightning snarled. *gasp* "I'll whack your face!" Sori exclaimed. Though Suri claimed to be more sophisticated than Rarity, she had just as short a temper. In the midst of the arguing, Svengallop and the Flim Flam Brothers had an awkward exchange. "So, Applejack ran you out of business too?" Svengallop asked. "You too?" Flam asked. "She seems to have a habit of doing that doesn't she..." Svengallop lamented. "The country girl despises free enterprise, and due to her connections with Princess Twilight, she always gets her way." Flim said. Meanwhile, Sludge just couldn't stay out of trouble. "Hey, can I have some of that leftover food of yours?" Sludge asked. "Claws off! Get your own!" Short Fuse snapped. "Just one bite!" Sludge said. Sludge and Short Fuse had a fall out. They slapped and kicked each other. Rolling Thunder tried to calm them down. Cozy watched the disaster unfold in front of her, stressed, and irritated. "Psst. Need me to intervene?" Chrysalis asked, peeking her head into the room. "No. I can handle this." Cozy replied confidently. Cozy took a deep breath before speaking. "Enough!" she exclaimed. She yelled so loud that her voice echoed around the cold interior of the stone castle. Everypony stopped what they were doing and looked at Cozy. "Stop this silliness right now! You're all acting like fillies!" she exclaimed. "Well, at least we aren't one!" Lightning said. *laughter* Laughter started up in the room. Cozy blushed with anger, and slammed the table with her hooves. "I'll have you know that I've spent years! in a state of suspended animation. So, if you do the math, I'm technically an adult!" Cozy exclaimed. Everypony in the room fell silent again. "You ponies are to do as I say! *sniff* And if you disagree, then I'll make you regret that decision!" Cozy exclaimed with a heavy heart. "Hey, are you feeling alright?" Suri asked. "Do I make myself clear!?" Cozy snapped. "Yes ma'am!" they all said. "Good! You folks are gonna wanna stay, because I am going to make it worth your while!" she winked. "Now, does anyone have something they want to say before I move on to the plan?" Cozy asked them. "Say, an apology?" "Um, as I was saying Lightning Dust, I'm an expert on clothing material. I could definitely make you and your team a set of outfits far more aerodynamic, while still being as cool as you desire." Suri Polomare said. "Eh, you know what? When you put it that way, that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea." she replied. "My gang and I have been planning a comeback tour anyway." "I'm glad you mentioned that, Lighting, because this is exactly what I have planned. We're going to host a Washouts show! Complete with all the dangerous feats you guys are known for." Cozy said. "If you need somepony to run an event, there aren't two business ponies more qualified than us." Flim said. "And if you're going to be expanding, you're gonna want a pony to manage the business side of things." Svengallop said. "Suri! You fit the Washouts with brand new uniforms, and create a boatload of merchandise! Svengallop! Your job is to out the logistics! Flim and Flam! Get the word out! Really sell audiences on this performance! But more importantly, sell the merchandise! Lightning Dust! You and your crew are in charge of performing a jaw dropping performance!" Cozy instructed. "We'll make so much money from the sponsors, and selling Washout merchandise!" "What if your performance doesn't go so well?" Sludge interjected. "So, here's the thing, by agreeing to have TCGC host your performance, you are sworn to servitude to me, Chrysalis, and Tirek." Cozy Glow said. "Fine, but on one condition. If our next performance isn't the biggest showcase yet, we will rat you out and tell Twilight where you are." Lightning Dust said. "...It's a deal." Cozy Glow said hesitantly. Cozy and Lightning shook hooves. "My orders are final! Do I make myself clear?!" Cozy asked. "Yes, sir!" they all said. "Good! You know what to do, now make me proud! Meeting adjourned!" Cozy exclaimed. Everypony got up and exited the room. Cozy flew after Lightning Dust. "One last thing, Lightning Dust. Meet with me in private. I have a little, um, suggestion." she said. Even after every pony left, Sludge was still in the boardroom. "And you Mr..." Cozy said. "Sludge." he replied. "Whatever. I know evil. Using magic to conquer Equestria is one thing. But lying to an orphan that you were his dad is next level sociopath stuff." "So you're gonna banish me for being too evil? Seems pretty contradictory for you." Sludge said. "You can stay in the village, (I can't risk you alerting Twilight) but if you become too much of a burden, we won't hesitate to punish you. I know Twilight didn't hesitate to punish me." Cozy said. "Whatever." he said. "Now get out of the castle! Only me and my equals are allowed here without an invitation." she said. "But can I at least-" he started. "I said out!" Cozy interrupted. With her word, Sludge flew out the window and away from the castle. Cozy watched him fly away. She didn't like him. In fact, she was considering just cocooning him in that moment. Later that night, inside Midnight Castle. After the meeting finished, Cozy met with Chrysalis and Tirek in the top floor of the castle. "Well, I think that went about as well as it could have." Cozy said. "Nice job with the fake tears swooning them over." Chrysalis said. "The what?" Cozy asked. "When they started arguing, you pretended to get all emotional to get them to conform." she clarified. "Oh right, that. Yeah, those were fake tears alright." Cozy said, somewhat sarcastically. "So, what do you think of the plan?" Cozy asked with a grin. "A Washouts performance? Seriously?" Tirek asked. "Indeed, aren't we losing focus on what's important?" Chrysalis asked. "Not at all." Cozy replied. "You wanted to get rich quick. This'll be much quicker than growing cotton." Cozy said. "Then why did we bother with the cotton in the first place?" Tirek asked. "Cotton's our long term sustainability plan. But money earned from the Washouts performance will grant us just enough money to fund our search for the Rainbow of Darkness in the meantime." Cozy said. "How is money going to help us find the Rainbow of Darkness?" Tirek asked. "You've yet to explain." "Let's just say I know how to find it, but we need some... extra tools." Cozy explained. "Using a get rich quick scheme to buy our way to power. How indirect yet clever." Chrysalis said. "Using our combined efforts for mundane tasks seems rather unconventional." Tirek said. "Sometimes an indirect path can still lead you to your goals." Cozy Glow said. "However, not all rewards come easy, this is going to take a lot of cooperation from all of us." "Hmph, fine. I'll go along with your plan." Tirek agreed. "However, you're definitely trying my patience." To be continued in Chapter 5...