//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: Second Chances // by Mediocre Morsov //------------------------------// Twilight oversaw the arrival of refugees with a growing sense of dismay, though she didn’t let it show on her face, cultivating an air of graceful confidence she didn’t feel. She needed to be strong for her subjects, to curb their panic with her serenity. They looked to her for assurance, and she delivered, as was her duty. Still, she was uneasy for many reasons. First was the fact refugees from Ponyville were arriving in Canterlot. Even during takeovers and the usual attacks on the town in the past, ponies would simply entrench themselves, cower in fear, hide in their homes, or fought back. To see them driven from their homes, and driven towards Canterlot was chilling, especially since Ponyville had grown and improved in the time since Twilight had become Princess. It had a militia – a nominal branch of the Royal Guard made up of locals to help the random (though oddly frequent) dangers that beset Ponyville now that the Elements of Harmony were largely away. That a larger, better defended Ponyville would see its citizens running for the capital of Equestria was disturbing enough. Second was the fact that Discord, whom Twilight had sent out as soon as she’d sensed the disruption, had yet to return. Canterlot was close to Ponyville, within sight, but still several days’ travel on hoof – which was how most of the refugees were arriving. She hadn’t heard from him since he’d disappeared, and despite the best efforts of her, Tirek, and the most promising magic students of her academy, she couldn’t scry his location. Discord had simply vanished, and the fact she couldn’t sense such an ancient and magical entity within the darkness she saw to the west was terrifying. Finally, perhaps the most chilling factor eating away at Twilight’s nerves, was how few creatures were arriving. Something had happened that had forced ponies and other creatures to flee Ponyville, but even after several days, only dozens of the hundreds of citizens had arrived. Twilight scanned the refugee camp in the courtyard of her castle, feeling a ball of ice in her stomach at the fact there were so few tents. The citizens of Ponyville hadn’t been able to shed much light on the situation, only that there was a foul star in the center of the city, and a creeping shadow was reforming the buildings and landscape into a sinister realm of black glass. All reported that being in the parts of the city reformed by the shadow filled them all with powerful negative emotions, and that many ponies and other creatures had devolved into bouts of aggression, turning on each other. It was as if harmony was coming undone. “Hiya, Twilight!” a shrill voice made the princess go rigid, her wing feathers puffing in shock. She turned to see Pinkie Pie beaming at her. Pinkie Pie had made it to Canterlot, leading some of the first refugees along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. With them were the Cakes, Big Mac and his family, many of the Wonderbolts, and the largest grouping of creatures. They’d only number two dozen, and every group that followed had been smaller and smaller until there were barely any. Rarity was out of Ponyville, touring her fashion empire, though once word reached her about Ponyville she would no doubt rush to Canterlot. Neither Pinkie Pie nor Applejack had been able to located Fluttershy before they left, and all of them were on edge due to being ignorant of her fate. “I sent word to the School of Friendship yesterday,” Twilight said, more to remind herself that she was leading her subjects than anything. “We should be getting students soon. They’re far enough ahead of… whatever this is that they can still take the train.” “It’ll be good to see all those old friends,” Spike noted, never far from Twilight’s side, especially in a crisis. He began counting off names from his claws, “Starlight, Sunburst, Ocellus, Smolder, and Luster Dawn.” Twilight spared a look at her Captain of the Guard, Gallus, who was overseeing the other Royal Guards on how to distribute supplies amongst the refugees. Mention of the other ‘Student Six’, as newspapers called them back in their youth, reminded the princess that not all of Gallus’ friends had arrived yet. “Any word about Yona and Sandbar?” she asked, then more quietly, “Or Silverstream?” Spike was about to deliver the bad news that there wasn’t any news when Pinkie jumped in and pointed towards the gates at a new flux of refugees. “Ooo! Who’s that?!” Twilight turned to look and immediately felt a wave of relief wash over her at the appearance of Sandbar, Yona, and Silverstream leading the latest grouping of refugees, which was larger than all except the first delivered by Pinkie, Rainbow and Applejack. Her relief was hindered, slightly, by the realization that Fluttershy was still not among them. Twilight passed on orders to Gallus to see to the latest arrivals which – upon seeing Silverstream was a member – he saw to himself. The princess watched her Captain of the Guard greet the refugees, exchanging embraces with his old friends, and an affectionate beak-nuzzling with the hippogriff. Never one for formality above friendship (or romance), Twilight smiled at the unprofessional display. The rest of her former students should arrive within hours, the train set to leave any minute. A burst of magic caught everyone off-guard as Starlight Glimmer appeared in their midst, a panicked look on her face. Such was the severity of the expression, the depth of emotion, that Twilight was momentarily speechless. Not that she had a chance to speak, for Starlight spoke immediately. “I can’t find my daughters!” A second wave of shock stole the words from her friends as they tried to process that. “Luster Dawn wasn’t with the other students?” Twilight asked, concerned. “I asked around, but Flurry Heart hasn’t seen her since all of this began, apparently,” Starlight moaned. “I hope she didn’t sense the magic and immediately try to go study it… she has no sense of danger sometimes.” “Takes after you, huh Star?” Spike joked to try and lighten the mood, but the mare glared at him. “Sorry.” “Is Rainbow Dash here?” the Headmare of the School of Friendship changed tact. “I can’t find Cozy Glow, either, so I figured she might be with Rainbow.” Twilight had a pegasus Royal Guard flag Rainbow Dash down. In moments the Wonderbolts officer joined them. “No, I didn’t have practice planned,” Rainbow looked similarly distressed, “I let the recruits have Sundays off. I thought Cozy usually spent them working at the school?” “I heard from Flurry Heart that Cozy Glow left early,” Starlight tried to reign in her panic. “I had hoped that she was hanging out with you, at least… Oh, Twilight, what am I going to do?” The princess tried to find a positive outlook on the matter, something to give her friend hope. “Fluttershy hasn’t arrived yet, either,” she said, adding a confident smile that was completely false. “Maybe she and Cozy Glow are traveling together with other refugees. I mean, other fliers could have gotten here sooner, but they stayed with each other to make sure they got here safe. That sounds like the kind of thing Fluttershy and Cozy Glow would do, doesn’t it?” “Yeah,” Starlight nodded, her tension unwinding visibly as the words uplifted her. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” “I know you’re going through a lot right now,” Twilight placed a hoof on her former student’s shoulder, “but so are many of those students. I think they could use some of your strong leadership right now, in the face of this crisis.” Starlight took a calming breath, fixed the princess with a stoic look, and nodded once. She gave her farewells and promises to see them soon, then disappeared in a zap of magic, teleporting back to the train station near the School of Friendship to help guide her students. “Do you really think Fluttershy and Cozy Glow are guiding more creatures here, Twi?” Applejack asked as she joined the group, having caught the last bit of conversation. “Honestly, Applejack?” Twilight let out a sigh. “I don’t know, but it’s a hope I’ll cling to.” … Cozy Glow wandered the changed streets of Ponyville in horrified fascination. After she’d escaped Shadow Dawn, she’d cried on a cloud until she passed out, then milled around the surrounding area in a sense of loss. Unable to fully process the depth of Luster’s betrayal and corruption, or her own failure to prevent it, Cozy had wound up wandering back into town after it had been mostly deserted. Detached, she had noticed the changes to Ponyville, and the changes to the creatures who had stayed behind. They’d become violent, selfish, and condescending to one another. Something about the black glass of the new city seemed to bring out the worst of them, she noticed in her fugue, but she felt oddly unchanged. Just as empty as before. She looked at her reflection in the black glass, seeing it warp and flex with conniving, evil grins and sinister looks of malicious ambition. She’d seen it before, on her much younger reflection. It sickened her, made her wonder if she had failed because of some moral flaw in her character, but the promises in the glass and whispers on the wind did nothing to sway her to selfish or hateful action. She’d drunk deep from that well ages ago and found it wanting. So she moved through the mostly-deserted streets of the only town she’d called home, unchanged. She avoided the other creatures, who were slowly establishing something akin to a hierarchy as the strongest and most ruthless of them beat the others into submission. What had begun as wild street brawls had, over only a few days, developed into roving street gangs fighting each other. Anarchy had turned into warlordism, and soon there’d only be one warlord ruling over the others, though every creature beneath them would be sharpening their teeth and waiting for the slightest sign of weakness so they could seize power for themselves. Watching the spectacle, Cozy felt a new sensation enter her heart: disgust. Part of it was from self-loathing, for she had been just as conniving and self-serving in the past, but most of it was from the fact she had learned the folly of such thinking. The whispers on the wind became more insistent, encouraging her to abandon love, loyalty, and kindness in favor of greed and ambition; the reflections in the glass were more vibrant with their visions of her as a warlord supreme, second only to her sister. She was blood with the dark alicorn, and had a sharp mind of guile and wit. She could be a queen beneath a goddess. In the past, even only a few months ago, such promises may have found purchase. Instead, Cozy spurned them. What was the point of outwitting a mass of selfish creatures with no vision? What was the merit in unifying all the violent and hateful gangs together? What empire could she forge from creatures that only looked after themselves, plotted against each other, and plotted her downfall? To rule over them would be a never-ending game of political and military chess – entertaining, perhaps, but ultimately fruitless. What Celestia and later Twilight had accomplished, now that was worth replicating, worth fighting for: a better realm of mutual aid and respect, of friendship and compassion, of learning and understanding. Under Twilight, Equestria had advanced technologically and socially. Illiteracy, poverty, hunger, homelessness… all were practically nonexistent. Health and education were high, and ponies and all creatures worked closely together to innovate and improve conditions. It wasn’t a utopia, but it was as close to one as Cozy had ever thought possible. The whispers grew furious and cursed her for thinking such things. The visions presaged violent retribution against her for her “weakness”. Cozy sneered at them, feeling even greater disgust. But, she also felt pity. She knew these promises for the poison they were, for she had experienced them, but most creatures likely had never felt such strong ambitions and prejudices. Perhaps more than a few harbored some, in some small part of their hearts, but they knew better than to act on them. Something Shadow Dawn had done had unleashed and amplified the taboo feelings, and no creature seemed prepared to deal with the closeted feelings. But Cozy did. The realization she knew how to cope with the strong emotions made her ear twitch in contemplation, her sense of uselessness fading away at the idea that, perhaps, her unique life experiences could actually help these creatures. She turned away from the strange glass of the buildings and stopped short at the wolf growling in the street. It looked half-mad, eyes bloodshot, frothing at the mouth. Cozy finally noticed, through the whispers on the wind, that creatures were screaming in panic, the gangs and warlords breaking before this latest invasion of wildlife, turned crazy from the dark magic. Fighting other creatures was one thing, but fighting wolves, bears, and the myriad monstrous creatures of the Everfree Forest was something else. The selfish soldiers abandoned their warlords and the gangs disintegrated. Many creatures who couldn’t escape, surrounded by fangs and claws, submitted in fealty to some approaching figure Cozy couldn’t make out yet. Slowly the figure approached, quickly resolving as a pony. Creatures who had, only moments before, been fighting for rival gangs kowtowed in the presence of this new power, some forced to do so by the powerful paws of massive wolves and bears. Cozy realized the mare was approaching her directly, likely because she still stood while others fell to their bellies in supplication. Even without unicorn magic, Cozy could taste the dark magic rolling off of the approaching mare – a metallic flavor in the back of her throat. Whoever it was, they had fallen harder than the others, breaking totally and drinking in the dark ambition. It spoke of untold depths of negative emotion that had been repressed for some time. When the mare resolved as Fluttershy, part of Cozy Glow wasn’t surprised that a mare so kind, who had been exploited most of her life, would have such a wellspring of untapped negative emotion she didn’t know how to handle. The majority of Cozy, however, was shocked senseless at the sight of Fluttershy, dressed in a panoply of wooden armor and war paint, leading her half-crazed animals into the town. With a sinking feeling, Cozy realized Fluttershy would be the warlord to unite the rest. In the absence of the other Elements of Harmony, Discord, or alicorns, she was the most powerful creature in Ponyville: an Element of Harmony with a long list of victories and adventures that honed her skills in strategy, diplomacy, and combat; and with the added benefit that she could communicate with animals and bend them to her will if she wanted to. Cozy realized she must have been in the town when Shadow Dawn had corrupted it, then returned to her cottage to gather her animals as an impromptu army. “Oh, if it isn’t little Cozy Glow,” the mare held her nose up, looking down at the younger mare with a critical eye. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you’d be here. Or that you refuse to kneel to your betters.” “Fluttershy?” Cozy scanned the mare, horror filling her chest. “What happened to you?” The question caught the other pegasus off-guard for a second. “You can’t be serious, surely?” Fluttershy scoffed. “Can you not feel it? Do you not hear the whispers in the wind, or see the visions in the glass?” she stopped to look at a glassy wall, though all Cozy could see was a reflection of Fluttershy looking back at herself. “They show what’s truly in our hearts and give us the strength to express it, to chase our most forbidden fantasies.” “Your fantasy is to sic wolves on creatures and be a tyrant?” Cozy found herself resorting to a sarcastic smirk, just like she’d done when she was terrified of Shadow Dawn. Starlight was a bad influence, she guessed. “Tyrant?” something flashed across Fluttershy’s eyes and was gone. “I am no tyrant! I am a liberator! These creatures destroy the forests and pollute waterways, disrespecting nature and all its bounties! I am taking the city back, for nature!” “Fluttershy, you helped with the layout of the city and have given plenty of support for environmentally friendly advances,” Cozy frowned, “you’ve helped make it so that so many creatures can live in one place without it hurting nature. Hay, you even encourage every creature to explore nature and learn from it.” Fluttershy’s eyes flashed again – with uncertainty, Cozy was now sure – but the darkness reasserted itself just as quickly. Cozy decided to take a chance and address the issue at the heart of the problem. “I think you’re scared,” she said before Fluttershy could speak. The shock on the other mare’s face made it seem as if Cozy had just kicked her pet rabbit into a lake. “Scared?!” Fluttershy flexed to her full height. Even petite as she was, she was taller than Cozy and surprisingly intimidating in her current state. “For the first time, I fear nothing! I don’t care what others think, or how I’ll be perceived! I can act on my dreams!” “You can act on your impulses, you mean,” Cozy found heat entering her voice. Frustration she felt at herself was bleeding into her words. “You’re not afraid to act cruel and aggressive because you’ve stopped caring, and the fact you don’t care worries you. You’re scared of yourself, that something’s not right. You’re scared that you’re broken or unusual, that because you don’t see a problem with what you’re doing, you’re evil.” Fluttershy twitched, her expression becoming doubtful, her posturing diminishing. Cozy pressed on. “But, you do care. You can recognize how your actions hurt others, and you know it’s wrong, even if you can no longer feel it’s wrong. You don’t want to hurt others, do you?” “…No… not really,” Fluttershy confessed, looking back at the other creatures she had surrounded by animals, as if seeing them for the first time. “I just want to be heard, for them to understand what I’m afraid of. I want them to agree with me.” “Sometimes,” Cozy felt a sad smile tug her lips, “sometimes creatures don’t agree. I thought I was the rightful ruler of the world, that ponies were superior to all other creatures. I wanted to be special by making others less than me, and to make ponies special by making others less than them. I was wrong, and creatures disagreed with me, but I didn’t listen. You can’t force others to agree with you, and lying will only trick so many.” “No one else cares about the animals in the forest,” Fluttershy felt her rage rekindling. “Why shouldn’t I be angry?” “It’s okay to be angry, especially at injustices,” Cozy noticed other creatures were listening to her now and felt embarrassed. “You’re probably right that nature is suffering as Ponyville expands, but you’ve also overseen solutions that make sure Ponyville’s growth doesn’t hurt the surrounding area. You’ve pushed for more education about nature, and inspired dozens of creatures to become naturalists. I should know, I’ve helped teach a lot of them.” Cozy turned her attention to the creatures as a whole, not just Fluttershy. “Just because you have dark thoughts doesn’t mean you have to be that creature,” she said. “Whether you dream of world domination, or are you’re fixated on something or someone you shouldn’t be, or you’re really interested in a taboo subject, that doesn’t mean that you are inherently bad. Recognizing bad behavior means you also recognize you shouldn’t do it.” The creatures shifted anxiously, casting doubtful looks at one another as Cozy’s words penetrated the buzzing whispers. She could imagine their various follies that had led to their corruption: the pony constable who perceives criminals aren’t being punished enough for disrespecting her; the dragon whose customs get mocked and dismissed; the unicorn who is uncomfortable around griffons; the changeling who is tired of being nice… Dozens of creatures who, before Shadow Dawn, could suppress the darkness inside them through simple daily interactions and lessons imparted from youth. They had never explored the darkness inside them, secretly afraid it was a fault that would come to define them… Cozy made the connection. “You hid from these thoughts, thinking they were your true thoughts and feelings, but they aren’t,” the pegasus stepped forward, looking stoic in her slightly-ruffled Wonderbolts flightsuit. “I never hid from my dark thoughts or desires; I embraced them fully, just as you are now, and you all know where it led. I was friendless, surrounded by enemies, and I nearly destroyed all of existence with my hate and lust for power. It was only when I explored my darkness, when I reflected on it, when I looked around and saw the world for what it was, only then did I realize that those feelings and thoughts didn’t define me. I don’t have to be friendless and alone, and I’m not better than any other creature. I don’t have to be the villain, and neither do you guys. You just… don’t know how to process these thoughts because you’ve never wanted to acknowledge there was darkness in your hearts. You thought it made you marked for evil, but it doesn’t.” She smiled invitingly at the creatures as the darkness visibly ebbed from them, almost pleading looks for forgiveness overcoming their features. Cozy held a hoof out in greeting to them, inviting them to follow her out of the city. A few bravely stepped forward, growing more confident as they neared her. The majority were reclaimed by darkness and slunk away into the alleys of the tainted Ponyville. “Thank you, Cozy Glow,” Fluttershy said when the last of the corrupted creatures had fled to rebuild their gangs and continue fighting for power. “Most of them left,” Cozy noted, sadly. Out of the dozens of creatures that had been her captive audience while Fluttershy’s animals held them prisoner, only five remained. They looked guilty, but meditative, as if they were finally processing their emotions as Cozy had suggested, rather than ignoring or blindly embracing them. That was a good sign, at least. “You can’t help every creature at once,” Fluttershy said with a guilty expression, “but you helped us.” “What happened, Fluttershy?” the Wonderbolt asked. “I know you don’t explore your darker emotions that much, but I didn’t think you would have been corrupted so far.” “It may surprise you to know I’ve been corrupted by other forces in the past,” the older pegasus blushed. “This time, I was weaker. I came into town looking for my husband because he’s been missing for several days. A lot of things make me mad, but I usually have a better reign on my temper. With Discord missing, though… I lost control.” Cozy only nodded. The unlikely romance and dedication between Fluttershy and Discord was legendary, a popular one that had already spawned countless fairy tale adaptions with various moral lessons about second chances and seeing the best in creatures. It wasn’t too surprising that Discord’s disappearance would unhinge Fluttershy so much. Cozy wondered where her mythic husband had disappeared to in this time of crisis and hoped he hadn’t become corrupted. That would doom them all, most certainly. “We should get out of here,” one of the creatures suggested, a griffon that was casting nervous glances around. He had several bruises and scratches, having been one of the warriors in the ongoing street battles before he’d regained his senses. “I’ve already willed the animals to return to Everfree Forest,” Fluttershy frowned, “though I fear some of them might have fallen under whatever’s causing this.” “We should probably leave, then,” Cozy agreed, leading the five through the streets and away from the city. She felt relieved that Fluttershy hadn’t asked for opinions of what was causing the crisis, for the Wonderbolt wasn’t sure she could lie to the Element of Kindness, and the truth of the situation wasn’t one she wanted to face just yet. High, high above in the dark castle tower that had formed in the center of the city, Shadow Dawn watched the event unfold. … Shadow Dawn was now independent of her corrupted sun, able to leave the artificial body unattended and enjoy her dark kingdom. She had spotted Cozy Glow a while ago and had watched her walk around aimlessly with mild amusement, savoring her sister’s torment. Fluttershy becoming the preeminent warlord of Ponyville had been a delicious irony, too. However, when Cozy had begun her soapbox preaching, Shadow Dawn’s amusement dwindled. At first, it had been funny – a little, dramatic appeal to basic decency that would fall flat on its face and leave the curly-maned mare in despair. Instead, Cozy’s words had given all the creatures doubt. Even when the whispers had reasserted themselves, rather than attack the weaklings who rejected the darkness, the corrupt creatures slunk off like whipped dogs. It was, Shadow decided, quite annoying. Cozy Glow might be a problem, she determined. After all, she had no doubts that Princess Twilight would see her way of thinking when she was exposed to the whispers and the visions, just as every other creature had when they entered the darkness. The reformed villains were a factor she hadn’t considered, though. Discord was out of the way, so she hadn’t had time to experiment and see if he were able to be… enlightened. But now, witnessing Cozy Glow, she was curious if Chrysalis, Tirek, or Sombra were also resistant to being re-corrupted. Could Discord be corrupted now that he was ‘good’? Shadow looked down at the retreating form of Fluttershy and felt a malicious smile crease her lips. Of course, even if the reformed villains were immune to the whispers and visions, they had other levers that could move them. The beginnings of a contingency plan were forming in her head, but she pushed that aside. It wouldn’t be long until Princess Twilight visited Ponyville, and she needed to be ready to bring her into darkness’ embrace. … Flurry Heart was relieved when Starlight Glimmer returned in time for the last train to leave. The School of Friendship had been emptied, every student being rushed to their respective homes – from Griffonstone to Saddle Arabia, the students were returning to the safety of their parents. Only locals were heading to Canterlot. Flurry had stayed behind, unsure if she should go to the Crystal Empire with the crystal ponies, or to Canterlot to see her aunt. The fact her two best friends were both missing gave her the inspiration to stay and help look for them, then to stay and offer emotional support to the grieving Starlight. “I’m sure they’re fine, Headmare Starlight,” the alicorn consoled. “Cozy is a Wonderbolt, and Luster is the most powerful unicorn I’ve ever seen, even stronger than you. I think they can take care of themselves.” “I know, I just… ugh, it’s a lot to process,” Starlight allowed herself to be a little unprofessional now that the bulk of her students were gone. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were keeping an eye on the remaining students, leaving her largely undisturbed. Only Sunburst, Trixie, and Flurry Heart stayed close. “Our daughters are strong,” Sunburst assured the stressed mare, putting on an expression of such warmth and bravery that Starlight and Flurry Heart swooned a bit. “Trixie can see why you like him,” the magician-turned-guidance counselor quipped as much to the filly as to the mare, earning a scathing look from Flurry. Before the filly could recover, Trixie added her own reassurances. “If there’s one thing you can be sure of, it’s that your daughters are doing fine, Star. Luster’s great and powerful, just like her aunt, and Cozy’s a fighter – also just like her aunt. And both are sharp as tacks, just like-” “Her aunt?” Starlight guessed in a deadpan. “I was going to say, just like you.” “Thank you, all of you,” Starlight offered a smile with a bit more confidence than earlier. “Who knows? They might already be in Canterlot by now.” The others smiled, too, and moved into embrace Starlight so she couldn’t see any of the doubt in their own eyes. Sunburst hid it well from his wife, but he was just as anxious as her, and none of them truly believed the missing ponies would just magically be waiting in Canterlot, but to point that out was harmful. The embrace ended and Starlight turned her attention to the mountainous city growing steadily closer. At least if her daughters weren’t waiting for her, the Princess of Equestria and all the resources at her disposal were there, and she was certain Twilight would stop at nothing to help find Luster Dawn and Cozy Glow. A trickle of doubt in the back of her mind amended, Luster Dawn, at least.