//------------------------------// // Making amends - part one // Story: Redemption chance for Cozy Glow // by NoOneKnown //------------------------------// The next day - early morning. *knock* *knock* - this was the sound on Cozy's room doors. Immediately after them, Twilight Sparkle opened them with her magic. "Rise and shi..." - she greeted and stepped inside but stopped when she saw Cozy Glow reading a book. She was sitting on a beanbag and covered with an orange, sun-patterned blanket with yellow edges - "Oh - I see you woke up early" Cozy turned her head to Twilight - "Yeah, I didn't want to wake up anyone, so I started reading this book" "Anyway, today is a very busy day for you, Cozy." - Twilight informed - "that's why I told you to get some more sleep" "Um...what am I going to do?" - she asked "First, you will have a private talk with Starlight in the afternoon, once the classes are over. We have been thoroughly thinking about a plan for your further reformation and I think it will be fitting" "Sounds good for me" - Cozy said boldly "That's the spirit! It's scheduled for 4 PM, but for now, you're free. Just don't leave the castle without asking anyone" Time skip - School of Friendship Twilight, Spike, and their 5 closest friends were in Canterlot, testing a defense system in the Castle. Twilight asked Starlight to look after Cozy, but she had work in the school, so they both asked Trixie to look after her in Ponyville's Castle until the scheduled time - she agreed since she didn't have anything to do that day. Eventually, Cozy Glow and Starlight Glimmer were in the Guidance Counselor's office. Starlight wanted to go straight to reformation but she also needed to ask the filly some questions before she proceeds. "Cozy, sit down. I should talk with you for a while before we get to the next part of your reformation" "Ask me anything. I have to cooperate with you after all" - Cozy reassured - "And by the way - sorry for pushing you to this orb of magic. I hope you didn't suffer while being there" "Well, I didn't. And I accept your apology - in fact, I've already forgiven you, but I want to know more about you." - Starlight takes a sip of coffee - "After your plan to destroy all the magic was foiled, you said that friendship is power. Why did you say so?" "Umm...I saw what I can get ponies to do for me. So I thought that friendship was perfect for it - they do whatever I want them to do, so I started using it like that. I guess it was not good, right?" "Yes, Cozy. That's called tyranny. Friendship can be considered as a power, I'll give you that, but it needs to be used responsibly. It's 'give and take' - friends aren't your slaves. Also, friendship isn't a tool or weapon you wield to get whatever you want - it's a special and wonderful, but also really strong bond between creatures" "Now I know that. And I promise I will change" "To be honest - I can relate to you. I created a village where everypony had the same Cutie Mark because I was upset that my best friend - Sunburst, left me when he got his own. And when Twilight and her friends took that away from me, I wanted revenge, so that's why I nearly destroyed the world...multiple times." "And what was your punishment? Of course, if you don't mind me asking?" - Cozy asked "Well...none" - she answered, making Cozy widen her eyes in disbelief - "I was getting dirty looks for some time, also I had to work for forgiveness in my old village and sometimes my friends remind me of my past actions, but except that - none. Do you know why?" "Umm...I...I don't. It's so confusing - they didn't punish you, but they threw me to Tartarus" "Because I stopped what I was doing, accepted Twilight's friendship offer, and apologized - that's the difference." "But...I also did surrender after my plan failed, didn't I?" - Cozy asks "Yeah - when Royal Guards surrounded you and you had no way to escape. That's a bit too late, don't you think?" - Starlight asked with a soft smile, but then resumed - "And even after that, you refused to cooperate with Twilight and the guards, even more - you kept on calling them and Twilight really mean stuff while you were in the detention room. If you did cooperate, your punishment would be much more lenient." - she grunts - "anyway, the present is what matters now - we have to reform you" "And I'm willing to be good - now I know that it's a better way" "Good. Before we move on..." - Starlight puts some box on the desk - "It's your stuff. Chancellor Neighsay told us about one thing." "Which one?" "This" - Starlight uses her magic to grab a skull - "Cozy, why do you keep this in your stuff?" - she asks scared "This isn't real skull, you know? It's made from clay" "It...really? But...it looks so realistic. Why do you have it anyway?" "Do you really want to know?" - Cozy asked "I guess I do" - Starlight replied uncertainly. Cozy explains - "I made this to perform. I had to say that famous poem, you know - "To be, or not to be - that is the question", and art teacher in my previous school advised me to make a skull, so I did" "And...that's it?" - Starlight asked - "Nothing more?" "Nope - only to perform this play" "Nice" - Starlight whispered - *ahem*, "I think we are getting off the topic of this meeting. As I said before, I have an idea for your further reformation" "What idea?" "The six students - Yona, Sandbar, Smolder, Gallus, Ocellus, and Silverstream are ready to meet you after your release from Tartarus. I know this might be difficult for you, but they aren't going to yell at you - they just want to talk with you. They've been asking for it since your release, and now it's the time" Cozy became fearful because she was going to meet her friends (or now rather former friends) she hurt a month ago - "I-I'm ready" "Alright. I will go to them to come here" - she walks to the door - "and I hope you won't try to escape" "I'm not that stupid - Cutie Map tracks me" - Cozy replied while Starlight was walking away Okay, calm down. Starlight will be here with me... - the filly thought 3 minutes later The seven creatures entered the office. As soon as they did and Starlight closed the door, Cozy turned around. "H-Hi everyone. Been missing you" - she greeted. This six had mixed expressions. "Yona missed Cozy too" - a certain young yak greeted back "Sup Cozy!" - now it was Gallus "Hi!" - Silverstream said. Ocellus, Smolder, and Sandbar remained silent, all of them having suspicious frowns, but they weren't glaring at her. "Before we start, I need to tell you all something" - Cozy said "Sure - what is it?" - Starlight asked Cozy Glow takes a deep breath and begins - "So I wanted to say sorry. I also want to say that the main reason for what I did was wanting more power. I wanted it, because I was jealous, that unicorns and alicorns have magic, which makes their lives way easier. That's why I tried to wipe out all the magic in Equestria, if not the world and betrayed you in a very awful way. If I could go back in time, and stop myself from doing this, I promise I would - but I can't. I know there is no way you can ever forgive me, but I needed to tell you anyway" The room was filled with silence after Cozy's speech. That completely wasn't what the six students expected. It was silent until Yona spoke up "If princesses trust little pegasus to release her from Tartarus, maybe she worth another chance" "I get Yona's point" - Sandbar said - "You tried to take our magic, but now you regret it - so I think it's fair to let you show us you can change" "You know what Cozy?" - now Gallus spoke - "if you prove that you can change, or at least won't try to destroy the world again, then I'm fine with giving you another chance" "What about you guys?" - he said to Smolder, Silverstream, and Ocellus "My opinion is simple - if ya want forgiveness and a second chance, ya gotta work for it, kid" - orange dragon bluntly stated "I guess you can become a better version of yourself" - Silverstream said - "but if you could do a little favor for me, I'd be awesome" "What do you mean?" - Cozy Glow asked "I saw you playing chess multiple times, and you were almost always winning, I just wonder if you could show me how to play it" "Sure, no problem" - Cozy said, making Silverstream smile. Then the filly turns to Ocellus and asks - "What about you?" "I'm not sure. I don't know what to think about it" - Ocellus muttered "Speaking of you, Ocellus" - Starlight said - "You had trouble in Twilight's class and got a "B" mark, instead of an "A". You also mentioned that you need that "A" to have all "A's" on your final report card. We've been thinking with Twilight about the solution, and here's a chance for you" "Anything" - the changeling stated "What if you wrote an essay about the importance of friendship and the consequences of using it as a tool?" "That's...an interesting concept. Any details?" "You may not like it - it was mostly Twilight's idea for it - double-space, 2500 words" - said Starlight - "And Twilight mentioned that it would be great if your essay was based on Cozy's case" "I understand. I have an idea - I can interview her and use her story for my essay." "Great idea!" - Starlight exclaimed - "Just let me write a letter to Twilight if she agrees" "Speaking of Twilight" - Cozy asks - "where is she?" "She's in the Canterlot, testing newest defense system in the Castle" - Starlight explains Then she uses her magic to write a letter and send it to Twilight. After a while, the letter with Twilight's reply appeared. Starlight reads it and after a while, she said. "She writes that it's an awesome idea and she can't wait to read it" "How much time do I have?" - Ocellus asked "It's due tomorrow, 8 AM" - she answered "B-but...How am I supposed to write that much that quickly?" - Ocellus was panicking "I know that it's going to be difficult, but keep in mind that we also have to make other students' report cards, and we don't have that much time. I'll ask Twilight to let you write a shorter essay, like 2000 words or something, but I doubt she'd budge" "I think I can do this!" There was a brief moment of silence until Cozy Glow spoke "If that's everything, I think we should start doing what we have to" "Right!" - Starlight confirmed - "what would you like to begin with?" Cozy thought about it for a while "I think I should start with Ocellus since she doesn't have that much time." - she turns to Silverstream - "Are you okay with that? After I'm done with her, I can teach you how to play chess" "Sure!" - hippogriff stated Ocellus and Cozy Glow opened the door of an empty classroom with keys they got from Starlight and stepped inside. "Alright - all I want is to ask you a few questions, so I can use your answers in my essay." "We can proceed" - the pegasus stated "So the first question is...why did you think of friendship as a power?" "Well, it's a long story, but I'll try to make it short - I saw that some ponies will do what I told them just because they liked me. I found out that with my manipulative talent I could use them as my servants, without even thinking about the potential consequences or how their might feel - it felt really good to have ponies do anything I ordered them without having to care about them" Ocellus was writing down everything Cozy said in so aggressively fast tempo that she barely could hold a quill with her magic - she wanted to write down everything the little pegasus was saying, and the fact Cozy was also speaking quickly didn't help much either. "Mhm..." - Ocellus hummed - "Next question is: why did you try to wipe out entire magic in the world?" "It seemed to be the reason of my jealousy, so that's why I began writing with Tirek" "And how was it possible for you to activate the device" "Tirek instructed me how to do it with a scroll he enchanted. He wrote that it will only destroy unicorn and alicorn magic, not from other non-spell-casting creatures. I would inform Twilight if I knew what this spell was really for" "And now you regret trying to destroy our magic - can you tell me why?" - Ocellus continued asking "Headmare Twilight had a private talk with me yesterday and there she told me in detail what could happen if my scheme was successful - no more day/night switching, no more weather control, and so extreme weather anomalies, or even no more food because earth ponies can't do it without their magic." "Oh, that will be a good question - was that worth it? Was taking a chance on world domination worth losing trust in creatures that trusted you?" - she asked somewhat sadly "Absolutely no" - Cozy replied mournfully - "I tried to do a really bad thing, and it cost me everything, but I regret that. I will regret that till my very last day" Interesting - Ocellus thought 15 minutes later Ocellus asked Cozy way more questions than they both expected. After finishing, they simply stayed there and were talking about things unrelated to Ocellus's essay, asking how each other were doing and stuff like that. Eventually, Phew, that was tiring. Who would know that describing your past motives can be this exhausting Cozy thought Now Silverstream Suddenly, she bumped into this pink hippogriff at school's main hall "Here you are!" - she exclaimed - "Come to my room. I have chess set there" 5 minutes later they both were in Silverstream's dormitory. Cozy noticed a chessboard and pieces lying on the floor. "So...this is my set - it's pretty basic, but it should be good, right?" Cozy quickly examines the completely disorganized set, but answers - "It's enough to play with it, but it needs to be organized" She places the board in the correct direction and separates white pieces from black ones. "Which color do you choose?" - Cozy asked "I want black ones" - she replies. Cozy gives her a pile with black pieces "Before we set our pieces on a board, you need to know basic rules, and what does each piece do" - Cozy picks up a pawn from her pile of these pieces and starts - "this piece is called a pawn. It moves only one square either forward or to the side square, but attacks diagonally; like this" - she shows the move on this board. Silverstream just stared at it - "It can move two squares forward, but only at its first move. Also, it can't move or capture backward" Cozy takes another piece and explains it - "And this one's my favorite - it's called a rook. It moves horizontally or vertically through every unoccupied square. However, it can't jump over other pieces. With a king, it makes a special move called castling, but we'll get to it later" It took a while for Cozy Glow to explain the basics of chess. Once she was done with it, she "I think we can start a game Silverstream" - she stated - "I didn't tell you where to put the pieces on purpose because it'd be better if I showed you how to do it, and right after that start the game. Simply follow my lead" Silverstream nods "First, we place our pawns in the second row from us" - Cozy places her pawns in the correct place and Silverstream does the same. "Then put your rooks in the corners..." - rooks were placed - "after that, knights go next to them, then our bishops..." Cozy kept on speaking - "And finally Queen and King - Queen goes on the square with its matching color, and that leaves us with only one free square for King" "These positions are easy to remember" - pink hippogriff said "They are" - Cozy replied - "Alright, let us start the game, you first" Around 10 minutes later, they both finished the game. Cozy won by a checkmate. "That was interesting" - Silverstream said - "What do you think?" "It was nice, though you need a bit more practice." "Was it that bad?" - Silverstream asked somewhat sad "No - it wasn't." - Cozy reassured - " All you need is practicing. You tried to move your knight like a rook a few times, but besides that - it wasn't that bad for your first time playing chess" "Thanks..." - she looks around for a moment before resuming - "wanna play another game?" "Sure" - Cozy stated. They both 30 minutes later It occurred that Cozy and Silverstream were having so much fun playing chess that they both lost track of time. When they were about to begin another match, a knocking on the door was heard "Ohhh Cozy" - Twilight cheerfully called - "We have to go back to the castle, Cozy. It's getting late, and so - your curfew is soon" "Sorry Silverstream - gotta go" "It's alright - we can play more tomorrow if you can" - Silverstream stated "I need to ask headmare" - Cozy said "You can - but Silverstream after her classes, and you after things from my reformation to-do list for tomorrow" "Alrighty - let's go!" - Cozy said as she was flying away from the room, following Twilight Another 30 minutes later - Twilight's Castle Cozy was flying towards her room and going to hit the hay, completely exhausted from that day's activities. She stopped when Twilight called her "Cozy, wait!" "Yeah?" - she turned her head to where Twilight voice came from "I just want to say that I'm pleased by how your reformation is going" - Twilight said smiling "Really?" "Of course. And I have an idea for tomorrow" - Twilight states while holding some paper with her magic "I'm listening" "I want you to face the certain group of ponies you also hurt. I'm talking about Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo" Cozy Glow's heart began thundering after processing Twilight's idea. It was already difficult to face Young Six, and now she was supposed to face ponies who were her very first friends, who helped her with understanding the friendship yet she once let down by failing her test on purpose. "A-are you sure it's a good idea" - Cozy asked, looking at her with wide eyes as if trying to plead her not to. "Cozy, I know this is tough for you - and you have every right to feel like that, taking your past actions into account, but that's what comes with reformation. You can't change the past-" - she stops for a brief moment - "-well, unless you have modified spell of Starswirl the Bearded, but-" - Twilight realized that she was getting off the topic - "nevermind - all I'm saying is that you can't change the past, but you can change the future - it all depends on you. And I believe you can change" "Um...thanks..." - she murmurs "I guess I should let you go to sleep - it was surely a busy day for you" "It was" - Cozy confirmed Twilight unfolds her wings preparing to fly away - "I'll leave you alone for now. Good night Cozy" "Good night for you too!" - she said walking into her room. Cozy quickly jumped onto the bed and covered herself with a quilt. She was asleep in no time.