Magic… Friendship…
Cozy despised both all her life.
She was a small Pegasus, incapable of the magic feats of a Unicorn, and too weak to be of any worth to others. Her only real talents were in observing the world and the ponies around her.
What friends she tried making? Even before becoming known as a villain the world over, they would always look to her last, think of her least… She never had a real friend. Never somepony who she knew she could trust.
For a time that was fine. For a time she was content with life. But each time a friend forgot her, each time she was left behind, a crack appeared, and out fell more of her trust in others.
Eventually, she only had enough trust left for one pony. Herself.
She was the only one on her side. She was the only one who truly understood herself and what she needed. She was the only one who she could trust.
Everypony else? They lost any special place they might have had in her heart. Her trust fell away from them.
And without that trust, she had no reason to keep staying in that life. So she cast it aside and left. She cast aside the world she knew. She cast aside the small school, the small orphanage, the pity filled looks, the narrowed eyes-
Ah, sorry. A bit off the main goal of this, hmm? No, right now we’re not supposed to be speaking of the journey that took Cozy here.
We’re talking about where Cozy Glow is now...
Cozy knew how the magic of friendship worked. She knew how the Elements worked. She had been at the school of Friendship for months, taught by the ponies who once bore the Elements themselves!
And with that knowledge, she knew: Everycreature who stood against her together was a threat. They were all a part of the whole, ants banding together to become a giant. She’d just have to remove as many ants as it took until they weren’t a threat anymore, and squash them into the ground.
With everything that happened in the last weeks, from the fake Grogar to her newfound partnership with the changeling queen Chrysalis and the tyrannical centaur Tirek, and even to how far they had already conquered Equestria, an idea had formed in her mind, and she prepared accordingly.
So even as she saw the army approaching, even as she saw the six disgusting paragons of friendship at the head of the crowd that stood against her and her allies, Cozy knew what her plan was.
The Elements of Harmony? They were powerful things, and their power still coursed through the veins of the ponies leading the charge.
But it only worked with all six ponies there.
‘A chain is only as strong as the weakest link’, as they say. Cozy would say something different.
‘Friends are only as good as they are at their weakest’.
It wasn’t some giant display of magic that she unleashed to dispose of them. No giant destructive beams, or waves of scorching fire. It was but a simple grip of telepathy as she pulled out the secret weapon of hers, howling and writhing in her magic.
And as the others stared in confusion, Fluttershy was the first to notice what it was. And Fluttershy was the first to bolt for it.
And following shortly after, Fluttershy was the first to die before she could even touch the broken dog Cozy had lured her with.
Drained of magic and emotion from Tirek and Chrysalis simultaneously, the dog from Sweet Apple Acres howled in despair as Fluttershy hit the ground. Lying there, she wasn’t even a quarter of the mare she usually was, bereft of her usual beauty and grace, Fluttershy was now a ragged grey mess of fur and bones, occasionally twitching as she stared up at the villainous trio with ragged breaths.
The pitiful display was put to an end by a quick stomp from Tirek’s hoof.
The dog's howls were silenced similarly.
Cozy Glow reveled in the feeling of power she had as the army gasped in horror, Fluttershy’s closest friend’s shocked into stillness with their mouths agape, the blue pegasus and orange pony pushed back by a blast from Cozy's horn. The old pillars of Equestria were the only ones unaffected as they rushed to the front of their group, though their faces had turned stoic and dark.
The Bewitching Bell made short work of them all.
The thing that had given her the power she wielded so casually, stole Discord's chaotic strength, and left Celestia and Luna, the supposedly immortal rulers of Equestria, weak and powerless...
All gathered in one place, facing against the three creatures able to use the Bell and take all their strength away from them? It was foolishness to think it would end well.
The pegasi fell, the earth ponies stumbled, and the unicorn’s horns ceased to glow.
Every bit of their power? Gone.
The following battle was a violent, brutal one, screams filling the air and blood spilling the ground. But if there was one mercy there…
The battle itself was short.
Cozy Glow had decided to wear a thick coat to the celebration feast. The Windigoes were still lurking around, making the whole of Equestria all too chilly.
With the main rebel force dispelled and beaten, the three ruling creatures had little to worry about in their immediate future as they drank, ate, and reveled in their victory.
They had to keep a few of the ponies alive, of course. They couldn’t very well be forced to make food themselves, to clean up after themselves, or to do menial chores with the power they now held.
They owned Canterlot. They owned the Crystal Empire. They owned all of Equestria!
Maybe for today, Cozy and her Cohorts would be content with that. Maybe for today, they would be satisfied with their feast and their victory.
But the next day? The day after that?
Who’s to say that Griffonstone wouldn’t be better ruled by them.
“…perhaps you might even decide to take the Hippogriffs next.”
Cozy flinched, jumping in surprise before looking around her room, horn glowing as she narrowed her eyes, growling in anger, “Who’s there?! Show yourself!”
”Ha! Perhaps that would be a simple task for you, but for me… Not as much.”
Cozy flipped around, but couldn’t see anyone or anything there. The glow didn’t leave her horn but she slowly sat back down, “You’re not anywhere near me…”
”In a way… Yes. In a way… No. I’ll let you decide which is more fitting for this situation.”
“Discord is dead,” she said flatly, “So this isn’t one of his tricks. I can’t sense anycreature around me either. What are you?” She looked up to the ceiling, trying to find the source of the voice again, though she knew it was in vain.
”I’m an interested party. Someone very keen on finding out about you, Miss Glow… About what you truly want.”
Cozy sneered, “You’re a therapist?”
”Ah… No.”
Cozy growled out her next words, “Whatever you are and whatever you want, you can go buck yourself! I’ve finally won! I can do whatever I want, and I don’t have to answer to you!”
”As is your right. You’ve won. The world is your oyster. You can do or say whatever you want to whoever you want whenever you want, and they can do nothing about it.”
She grinned, preening at the praise.
”And not a friend in the world to share it all with…”
The smile dropped from her face, a scowl tainting her young face.
“I don’t need friends! I don’t need anypony! You hear me?!”
But the voice didn’t answer that night. It wouldn’t answer her for many days to come.