The land of Equestria was known for many things, and magic was one of them. Its essence flowed through the very ground the ponies walked on. It gave them control over the weather, let unicorns cast spells, and allowed the country’s rulers to raise the sun and moon. Without magic, the peaceful kingdom was doomed to fall, and everyone knew it.
Now, what would happen if all the magic in the world suddenly disappeared? What if the alicorn princesses became nothing more than your average pony, stripped of all power and influence? What if one pony could rise up and lead the country through such dark times?
Cozy Glow was supposed to be that pony. She may have just been a kid, but her intelligence was well beyond that of a normal child. She knew she had talents when she managed to turn every single bully at the orphanage against each other. When a rook piece appeared as her cutie mark one day, she knew it was her destiny to control others.
Well, perhaps destiny was wrong, because everything Cozy worked her entire life for fell apart in a single night. Twilight Sparkle and her friends escaped Tartarus, and Twilight’s annoying students exposed her scheme.
Considering that her attempts to drain magic not only would have destabilized the entire country, but also may have caused deadly accidents such as ponies falling out of the sky, Cozy was promptly arrested and sentenced to Tartarus itself. That sentence was a bit extreme if you asked her. So what if ponies died, there were millions more of them anyway.
There was perhaps a bit of luck on her side, however, as she managed to slip past the royal guards. Now, as the sun rose in the sky, she was left to wander around aimlessly in a forest. Her mane was a mess, scrapes and bruises covered her body, and to make matters worse, she was pretty sure she was lost.
A small bunny poked its furry white head out of a bush to watch her quietly. Cozy stopped to glare at the little animal. “What are you looking at?!”
The bunny scurried off in fear, which made Cozy smirk. Having some sort of power over something, anything at this point, was satisfying. Her little boost of confidence was short-lived though, as her focus returned to the path ahead. There was nothing but endless rows of trees that probably stretched on for miles. She wasn’t ready to admit it, but the realization that she was in serious danger had started to creep in.
“Okay, I need to get out of this stupid forest.” With a flap of her wings, she rose into the air. She was still too young to fly above the trees, but she managed to get high enough to see the forest open out into a clearing. Beyond the clearing was a small dirt trail, so she decided to follow it, hoping it would lead her somewhere safe.
***
The trail led Cozy out of the forest, and now instead of endless trees, it was endless fields. Yellow and green grass spread out beyond the horizon, with clusters of trees planted here and there. There was no sign of a town nearby or any indication of where the dirt path led. So, with a sigh, Cozy did what she had been doing for hours, which was keep walking.
Another hour passed as she walked, and still nothing. For all she knew, the path was leading her further into the wilderness. Well, maybe that was for the best, as all of Equestria could be hunting her at this point. She imagined that before long, she would become the kingdom’s number one fugitive. The best thing she could do now was to leave the country and regroup, but that was kind of hard for a small filly with no food or money. She needed to get some supplies first, preferably from a far-off town on the outskirts.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she spotted a bipedal figure laying on the ground, clutching onto a brown backpack. Cozy froze in her tracks, fearful of being recognized, but the creature didn’t move. She thought about turning around, but the idea of backtracking after hours of walking did not sit well with her. So, after taking a deep breath, she slowly trotted up to the prone figure. Upon closer inspection, she recognized it as a diamond dog. They were a relatively sparse race of creatures who traveled through kingdoms in search of gems and other precious resources. They were also known to be aggressive and hostile towards other species and hoarded their wealth like dragons.
This particular diamond dog wore a plain black jacket over light gray fur. His chest moved up and down in rhythm with his soft breathing. Cozy didn’t pay attention to his features for long though, as her focus shifted to the backpack he held onto. Anything could be of use to her, and if the dog was stupid enough to not hide anything important, he deserved to have it taken from him.
Very slowly, she reached out a hoof to snatch the bag of items, only to freeze when two blue eyes shot open. With a yelp, she jumped back and the dog sat up instantly. With the bag still in his hands, he glared at her. “Did you just try to steal from me?”
“Oh golly, mister, I didn't mean to startle you,” Cozy exclaimed. “I’ve just never seen a diamond dog before.”
The dog eyed Cozy suspiciously before answering. “Well, you’ve seen me. Now bug off.” He turned his back to her and lied down again.
Cozy rolled her eyes and turned to walk away, but paused when the booming sound of thunder shook the sky above. Dark clouds began to form a mile off, blocking out the sun. It was clear a storm was brewing and not a small one either. Stupid weather ponies always have to be inconvenient, she thought to herself.
Cozy stood in place and frowned, she knew her options were limited. She would never find shelter in time, and as a filly with no real protection other than her natural coat, it could be a death sentence for her. Unfortunately, it now seemed that her only real option was to ask the diamond dog for help. Well, she was a master at manipulating ponies, how hard could it be to trick some grumpy mutt?
Cozy trotted back up to the dog and tapped him on the shoulder. He shifted his weight slightly but refused to sit up, so she tapped him again. “Hey mister, are you awake? Hello?”
“Go away,” he grumbled.
“I hate to disturb you, sir, but I really need your help,” Cozy confessed.
The dog finally turned around to look up at her. “Get your parents to help you.”
“Oh, uh… I don't… I don’t have any,” Cozy replied, dropping her head down. She was used to pulling out the sympathy card to manipulate ponies, but the dog’s stone-cold expression reminded her that she wasn't dealing with a pony at all.
“No parents?” The dog sat up and scratched his head. “Is that how things work here? Ponies just leave their young in the wilderness when it's time to prove themselves?”
Cozy tilted her head quizzically. “Huh? What makes you think that?”
“Because I’m talking to an annoying kid in the middle of the wilderness,” the dog answered bluntly.
That actually made Cozy laugh. “You’re not from around here are you?”
“No, I’m not. I know next to nothing about pony land, and I already regret coming here.”
Cozy sighed. “Look, I’m lost, okay. I got turned around in that forest back there and now I don’t know where I am. Also, there's a huge storm coming in case you can’t hear it, and I’d rather not get stuck in it.”
The dog glanced behind him at the darkening clouds. “Hmm, yeah I wouldn't want to either. I guess it's a good thing you woke me up. Alright, kid, I'll take you somewhere safe." He rose to his feet and stretched out his limbs. "There were some royal guards I passed up ahead. Not sure why they're -"
"Don't take me to them!" Cozy blurted.
"Why not?"
Cozy knew they were still close to Ponyville, and the chances of a nearby town knowing of her magic theft was very high. If she had any hope of escaping the country, she needed to convince the diamond dog to help her avoid the guards. Of course, you can't just tell a stranger that you're a supervillain on the run, so she needed to come up with something fast. Deciding to use his lack of equestrian knowledge to her advantage, she said, "Because the princesses who rule this kingdom are evil!"
"What?"
"They're tyrants who rule with an iron hoof!" Cozy continued. "And her guards cause nothing but trouble!"
"That doesn't make any sense. From what I've heard, the alicorn princesses are very peaceful."
"Well, you heard wrong! Believe me, I'd rather trust a criminal than a royal guard."
The dog didn't respond right away, and Cozy could tell he was taken aback by what she said. "Jeez, what kind of country did I travel to?"
"A pretty bad one."
"Yeah clearly. Uh… Alright, I guess I’ll help you get out of this storm, away from those guards"
Cozy smiled at him. To the untrained eye, her smile appeared to be bright and cheerful, but in reality, it was deeply sinister. I can't believe how easy it was to trick this fool. At this rate, I could probably convince him to take me anywhere I want!
“Thanks a lot, partner!” Cozy held out a hoof to shake his hand, but he just grunted and walked past her. Not skipping a beat, she trotted next to him. “I’m Cozy Glow by the way! What’s your name?”
“Jay,” he said simply.
“Your name is a letter?”
“No, it’s spelled J - A - Y”
“That’s a pretty short name.”
“And Cozy Glow is a pretty stupid name.”
“Hey, no it's not! My name is cute and adorable, just like me!”
“So, you're annoying and full of yourself. Great.”
“And you’re rude and irritable. Great.”
Jay didn’t bother to respond after that, and the two walked along the path in silence. Cozy kept glancing at him, hoping he might re-start the conversation, reveal more about himself, but he kept his view forward. Cozy knew the best way to manipulate people was to get them to like you, so she decided to take the initiative. “So… What do you do for a living, Jay?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Jobless, eh? I guess you’re homeless too. That sucks.”
“I’m not jobless,” Jay replied, giving her a quick glance. “and I don’t have a home because I move around a lot.”
Cozy flew up to his eye level. “Must be a cool job if it requires you to move all over the world.”
Jay’s only response was a short grunt, but Cozy wasn't going to let him end the conversation there. With her wings still flapping, she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, I bet I could guess it.”
“No guessing.”
“But it would be fun!”
Jay shook his head. “No games. We’re not friends. Once this storm passes, we’ll part ways.”
Cozy’s eyes widened in feigned fear. “You can’t leave me in this dangerous country all alone!”
“Even if these princesses are tyrants like you said, what would they want with a little kid?”
Cozy flew ahead so she could be face to face with him. “They kidnap kids all the time! I don’t know what they do with them, but it can’t be anything good!”
“Look, kid, I’m not -”
Tears welled up in Cozy’s eyes, and her bottom lip quivered as she tried to form her next sentence. “I-If you leave me out here, I’ll… I’ll die!”
Jay rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Uh, look… I know there’s a town close by, I’ll take you -”
“It’s gotta be a town at the edge of the country! The princess’s influence isn’t as strong there.”
“That’ll take forever!”
Cozy dropped to the ground and gave Jay the biggest puppy eyes she could muster. He crossed his arms and looked away. “Don’t give me that look. I’m not a nice person, okay. I don’t care if you…”
Her expression got sadder if that was even possible, she even pouted her lip out and added a soft whimper for dramatic effect. Jay clenched his fists and growled. “Fine. I’ll look for the quickest route to a far-off town, and then we never have to see each other again, got it?”
Cozy’s sadness melted away instantly, her frown replaced by a joyful grin. “You got it, friend!”
“Don't call me that.”
“Sure thing, partner!”
Jay sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Let’s just go.”
He started to walk again but stopped when he heard voices in the distance. Cozy heard them too and perked her ears up to listen. They sounded male and were getting closer by the second.
“You sure she might be here?” one of the voices asked.
“I would think so,” the other replied. “If the witness that saw Cozy was right, then she'd probably exit the forest somewhere around this path."
“It's the royal guards!” Cozy took to the air and flew straight into the forest. Not sure what else to do, Jay followed. Cozy landed on the ground behind a thick bush and Jay knelt beside her. She didn’t have to look at him to know he was glaring at her. In a venomous whisper, he let his frustrations be known. “You didn’t tell me the pony guards were already after you.”
“Okay, I may have had a previous run-in with these guys,” Cozy tried to explain. “But a lot of ponies do! These guards are monsters!” She grabbed Jay’s arm with both hooves. “You’re not going to leave me now, are you?”
“Get off me,” Jay said, pulling his arm away. “No, I wouldn’t do that. Just next time, don’t leave out important stuff like this.”
Cozy opened her mouth to respond but froze as the clopping of hooves on dirt grew louder. Two earth ponies dressed in gold-plated armor marched down the path, stopping right in front of the bush. Jay swore under his breath and Cozy bit her lip.
“This trail goes on forever man,” one of the guards complained. “You really want to get caught in that storm.” He pointed at the black clouds, which loomed over the green fields like a shadow.
“Yeah, I’d rather not.” his partner agreed. “Let’s just take a peek inside the forest real quick, then call it a day.”
“Goddammit,” Jay swore. “Alright, slowly, we move back until we’re a good distance away from them, then we can run.”
Cozy nodded. “Good idea.”
They both slowly moved back as the guards made their way towards the trees. Cozy winced at every little twig and leaf that snapped under her hooves. She began to sweat, one false move and they would be - A tree branch snapped loudly under Jay's foot, and Cozy froze in horror.
"Hey, what was that?" The guards rushed into the forest and spotted their target. "There she is!"
“Oh crap, run!” Jay yelled. He sprinted away while Cozy followed in the air. The trees around her became a blur and she flew past them, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch up to Jay. His long legs carried him far while her little wings hindered her speed. She could only push herself so far, and after a few minutes of endless flying, she had no choice but to slow down and catch her breath. She only breathed in and out a few times before one of the guards tackled her into a puddle of mud. She tried to wiggle free, but he kept her firmly in place. “I got her pinned!” he called out.
“Let me go!” Cozy screamed, thrashing and squirming under the pony's weight.
“Take it, easy kid, it’s over,” He said calmly. “Just relax and we’ll -”
“Hey!” a voice yelled.
The guard looked up, just as Jay cracked him over the head with a large piece of wood. He fell off Cozy and hit the dry part of the ground with a thud. The other guard ran into view and halted at the sight of his fallen partner. "Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"
Without even thinking, Jay hurled the wooden piece at him. It smashed right into his face with accurate precision and knocked him out cold. Cozy jumped to her hooves and looked down at the now unconscious guards. “Wow, you’re strong.”
“Not really," Jay replied. "A good hit to the head with a blunt object can knock out just about anyone.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Cozy grinned. “Good job partner, we really showed those mean ponies!”
Jay crossed his arms and frowned. “I showed them. You got knocked into a puddle like an idiot.”
“Hey! You shouldn’t speak to a child like that!” Cozy snapped.
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re all busted up about it.”
“Well… I could be!”
Jay rolled his eyes. “Yeah right.” He turned to walk away, while Cozy stuck her tongue out at him.
***
Cozy Glow stood inside the entranceway of a small cave, watching as heavy rain fell from a blackened sky. The roaring sound of thunder boomed above her while streaks of blue lightning lit up dark clouds. “Wow, we made it just in time.”
“Huh huh.”
Cozy looked over at Jay, who sat against the cave wall with his eyes closed. His backpack stood next to him, and Cozy wondered if it had any food in it. She hadn't eaten anything the entire day, and that fact was finally catching up with her. Her head felt light and her stomach rumbled loudly. Without saying anything, she trotted up the bag and reached out to open the zipper, but Jay’s voice made her freeze. “Get away from my stuff.”
Cozy slowly pulled her hoof back. “You got any food in there?”
“Nope.”
“But I’m really hungry.”
Jay opened his eyes. "So am I, kid, but we’ll have to wait until the rain clears."
"What are we supposed to do until then?" Cozy asked, her annoyance starting to slip through her tone.
Jay pushed his back off the wall to stare at her intently. "Well, why don't you tell me why those guards were after you."
"Oh, those guys? They tried to kidnap me once and I escaped," Cozy said simply.
"That's it?"
"I told you, they take ponies all the time. And they really don't like when one gets away."
"Okay, well how bout this,” Jay continued. “What were we doing wandering around the countryside all alone? You said you don't have parents, but someone must have been looking after you."
Cozy expected that question to be asked sooner or later, but she wasn’t going to reveal anything for free. "Tell ya what, I'll talk more about me, if we talk about you first.”
"Alright never mind, I'm going to sleep."
"Oh come on! I bet your backstory is super interesting!"
"It's not." Jay leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.
"Super sad?"
"Go to bed, kid."
“Oh, you’re no fun!” Cozy huffed. Her new companion was playing things close to the chest, and that greatly irritated her. The more you knew about a person, the easier it was to manipulate them. She would have plenty of time to learn more about him though, so she gave up for now and walked back over to the entranceway. She stared out at the expansive forest and watched as the trees soaked in the rain.
Her thoughts drifted beyond the forest to Ponyville, where her life got permanently ruined. She wondered what her former headmistress, Twilight Sparkle was up to, or Professor Starlight, or those annoying goody two shoe students. They were probably all hanging out together, enjoying each other's company like a bunch of losers. Cozy swore she would make them all pay, she would force them to grovel on the floor and beg for mercy, and then crush them like the insects they were. She knew it would take a while, but once the heat died down and she could come up with a new plan, Equestria would be hers for the taking.
***
When the rain cleared up, Jay stopped by the nearby town to bring back some food for him and Cozy. With a black hood pulled over his head, he slowly made his way through the marketplace, weary of any watchful eyes or royal guards. Every pony he passed gave him a funny look, but he could tell it was out of curiosity and not suspicion. He assumed most of these ponies had never seen a diamond dog in their lives. Still, those guards had to have talked to someone, so he didn’t want to overstay his welcome.
While he searched for something to eat, he passed by a pony sitting on a bench in front of an old store. He was reading a newspaper, and something about it stopped Jay in his tracks. To his shock, there was a very familiar name on the front page. In big bold letters, the title read:
Cozy Glow has escaped!
Is Equestria safe with a magic stealing lunatic out on the streets?
Jay stared at that name for a long time, slowly realizing the situation he was in. Oh man, what have I gotten myself into?