//------------------------------//
// The Useless Jury 
// Story: Dawn Adopted 
// by Idyll 
//------------------------------//

Cozy and Luster walked out of the bathroom and towards Discord’s spatial anomaly. They no longer felt the Sun’s warmth as they stepped into what was once their living room, now covered by a cloud of darkness that seemed to be a gateway into an expansive pocket dimension. 

Before they did, however, Luster looked under the sofa and pulled her mother’s satchel lying on the other end. With her eyes towards the muffled sounds of Discord, Flurry, and Fluttershy quarreling, Cozy rummaged through the bag and pulled out a small vial of purple, hiding it under her left wing.
 
That wasn’t what Luster expected. “What’s that?” she asked, whispering.
 
Cozy looked forwards. “Just don’t breathe it in. Remember that.”
 
Luster followed her mother into the darkness. The sounds of the three creatures and a critter grew louder as they did. The table came into view and soon the two could make out what had happened since they left.
 
“You couldn’t have mentioned it earlier?” Discord asked the critter, foreparts crossed.
 
The mouse squeaked, and Fluttershy translated, “Mr. Mouseington says he’s very sorry for misleading you, but you and Flurry seemed so excited. He didn’t want to let you down.”
 
With a glare at the critter on the yellow mare’s hooves, Flurry scolded, “Do you have any idea how—” She noticed the suspect at the side of the table.
 
“What happened?” Luster asked.
 
Discord clutched a deck of color vision tests in his talons; they busted into flames and fell between his grip as black sand. “Somecritter turned out to be completely colorblind! Bit of an anti-climax, wouldn’t you agree?”
 
Neither of the two responded.
 
Discord groaned. “No matter.” He picked up his notepad. It had no words; instead, a sketched up design for a room that won a wow from Fluttershy when he showed her. “Don’t be too relieved, you two. We’re not done yet!”
 
A string from the ceiling fell and dangled. Discord pulled it; it made a click, and the lights of the courtroom turned on. Modeled after the Canterlot’s Royal Courts, Luster had never seen a room so grandiose: spacious with high ceilings.

Flurry sat in the judge’s seat. Discord had a purple suit, acquiring the role of the prosecution's attorney. Fluttershy and the critter made up the jury. Cozy still had her suit on, and was seated next to Luster as Discord made his opening statements.
 
“Your honor, BFF and critter of the jury, I’ve gathered us all here today to suss out the truth about Cozy Glow’s whereabouts. Specifically, an article reeled in from her last suspected known location. Exhibit A, our only exhibit.” He pulled from under his collar: “Seraph’s signed copy of Twilight’s Journal of Friendship!”
 
Phantom gasps filled the room.
 
“Yes,” Discord continued. “This book right here contains her very most personal thoughts on the Twilight’s messages and each of the Princesses.”
 
Flurry got up from her high-up seat. “Wait, what? You have that?! Why didn’t you mention any of this earlier?!”
 
“Well, I thought we had a witness,” Discord said, glaring at the critter. “I had no intentions of sharing this treas—atrocity! But things were getting stale. Now, let us continue.” He teleported on top of the table in front of Cozy and Luster. “Ms. Butters, does this book look familiar to you?”
  
Cozy leaned forwards. “I recognize Twilight’s Journal, but this specific one and all that vandalism... not so much.”
 
Discord squinted at Cozy. “Well, perhaps these passages will evoke a few memories.” He flipped through a myriad of bookmarks, none of which Cozy remembered placing. “Ah, here’s a good one!” He placed a crystal speech device to his neck that sounded exactly like Cozy.
 
“On the Great Galloping Gala: ‘Golly, what a joke that was! If you’d’ve told my filly self in Tartarus that she’d be paid to attend a concert of snobs and carry around sleepy fatty, I might’ve reformed right then and there! How can a Princess be so incompetent talking to her own kind… Was it always this way or did Twilight ruin another good thing? Used to dream of attending the Gala… and Flurry was so clingy. I almost feel pity that I’m considered her best friend, but really what does she have to complain about?’”
 
Luster looked up to the judge’s seat at the Princess, a frown staining the latter’s lips. Cozy, on the other hoof, feigned shock.
 
“How could anypony write that?” Cozy asked, holding a hoof to her mouth.
 
Flurry sighed.
 
“…Here’s another one,” Discord said. “‘How pathetic can you be to buy a self-proclaimed Stoic’s book on how to control your emo—’”
 
“No!” Flurry slammed her judge’s shelf. Discord hugged the evidence between his limbs, but failed to protect it from Flurry’s pinpoint-precise blast.
 
Discord’s head slowly twitched downwards to stare at what was now nothing. He fell to his knees and caressed the ashes. The Princess had obliterated the most valuable exhibit they had of Cozy’s thoughts.
 
Flurry rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Nothing of value was lost...”
 
“Nothing of value?!” Discord got up. “That book was priceless evidence!”
 
Flurry asked, “What were you gonna do? Ask the suspect, ‘Do you recognize this?’ for the next hour?”
 
Discord leaned the tips of his digits together. “Perhaps…”
 
Flurry teleported to the floor and looked at the suspect and her filly. In silence, she walked over to the two, her horseshoes producing louder and louder clanks as she neared. “You know what I thought of Seraph during her first week?” she asked.
 
Cozy looked around, unsure whether Flurry wanted a response or not. “No…” she replied.
 
“Guess.”
 
“...She was too friendly?”
 
“I thought she was a suck-up,” Flurry revealed. “Too many apologies: so desperate for approval, and a submissive mess, but at least—for a time—her loyalty was to me and not my parents. She was very good at what she did, and she never seemed to be tired of my presence. We… even when we talked about our lives. I’m tempted to believe her responses were genuine, because a lot of what she said could’ve gotten her in serious trouble.”
 
A desk stood between Flurry and Cozy as they stared at each other. The Princess continued, “She vented to me about how stubborn the two creatures she considered her adoptive parents were, how she discovered that one of her biological parents had died whilst she was ‘incarcerated’, and how her caregiver nearly got her to join Starlight Glimmer’s old cult. Looking back, a cutie mark of a dagger was a bit on the muzzle. Any one of those secrets could’ve gotten her into a lot of trouble...”
 
Cozy remained calm. Suspiciously calm. Any normal pony would've at least sweat if Princess Flurry Heart implied accusations towards them, but Cozy couldn’t force herself to cower. If she started, she wasn't sure she’d be able to control herself. And if she allowed herself to be manic with fear, and the vial under her left wing broke without a proper plan… hopefully Luster hadn’t grown too attached to her magic. Cozy could survive without her main means of escape, but the risk of getting caught afterwards guided her brain towards forming a less desperate plan.
 
“Yellow compliments Cozy’s colors, don’t they?” Flurry asked.
 
Cozy looked at her lemon-hued disguise. “Ponies come in all sorts of different coats.”
 
Flurry tilted her head. “You know what else compliments Cozy quite well?”
 
“…”
 
“Her red eyes.”
 
Cozy took four seconds to respond. “Yeah, plus my turquoise mane and you roughly get the primary colors. Sorry if you find it garish, Princess, but it’s not something I can control.”
 
“It isn’t?” Flurry asked.
 
“...This is my body? Wait, you’re accusing me of being fake?! Please, Your Majesty,” Cozy said, “I’m not her!”
 
“You’ve been bowing and scraping since I got here,” Flurry said, twirling Cozy’s tie.
 
“I wanted to be respectful to my Princess. Is that wrong?”
 
“Cozy was eager for approval too. At least when she attached herself to somecreature, she cared—obsessively.” Flurry paused. “Why does she do that?”
 
“Why does she care?” Cozy held a hoof to her chest. “How would I know? I have friends and a job and a family, Princess. I couldn’t force myself to imagine what I’d do if Cozy had hurt one of those creatures I care about the same way she hurt you.”
 
Flurry turned to Luster, who kept her gaze at Discord out of intimidation. “I’m guessing your family is a single filly you adopted a day ago?” Flurry asked.
 
“Two days,” Cozy corrected. “But I have other ponies in my life. They’re just a bit difficult to get to. Some of my relationships are… complicated.”
 
Flurry stared at Cozy's eyes, and while charging her horn. Cozy clutched the vial tighter against her body and curled the assigned wing discretely to catch a better grip.
 
The Princess’ horn flashed, and Discord’s chaotic courtroom became undone. They were all back in the burnt living room, without their fancy clothes (except for Flurry’s regalia). And without a desk between the two, Flurry took a step forwards. “Prove it,” she said. “Show that you have a parent or an uncle or anypony else.”
 
“...I—”
 
“Don’t tell me you’re adopted too. So many similarities. You’re losing your touch.”
 
“My touch?” Cozy backed further into the couch. “Princess Flurry Heart, how could you say that, I—”
 
Right before Cozy could give her excuse, two creatures walked in from the hallway: two ponies. A mare and a stallion, orange and a duller yellow; both older pegasi with shares of Butter’s physical characteristics, dressed in modest clothes.
 
“Honey, what’s going on?” asked the old pegasus. “Why are Discord, Fluttershy, and Princess Flurry Heart in your living room?”
 
Who are they? Cozy played along before she could make sense of the situation. “Oh, they’re just asking a few harmless questions, Mom.” She smiled. “Actually, you couldn’t have visited at a more perfect time! These are my parents, Princess Flurry.”
 
Flurry inspected the older duo. “You both look… tired.”
 
“Oh, forgive us, Your Majesty,” the stallion said, bowing. “We overslept, but had only recently got the letter that our little filly had decided to become a mother of her own and adopted her a daughter. It was all so sudden! Kept us up at all night.”
 
“That’s…” Flurry paused.
 
The older mare walked and wrapped a hoof around Cozy’s neck. “Oh, we’re so proud of her! I know she’d be the most perfect parent there could be for—well, a pretty feisty young unicorn by the state of this place. Goodness!”
 
Luster asked, “You have parents?”
 
Cozy glared for a second but shifted back to happy. “Surprise, Lustie!” She turned back to her folks. “Sorry, about the mess. And the lack of cake… I’m sure you’d be happy to know that Princess Flurry Heart adored what would’ve been your slices.”
 
“Uhh…” Flurry looked at Discord on one side, Fluttershy at the other, and looked at a melted clock on the wall. “Maybe your colors are genetic… Everything seems to be in order. Perhaps we should get going—”
 
“Oh, no, really?” Cozy said. “But my parents only got here! Perhaps you could show my daughter a spell or two? She’d be honored.”
 
“I would?” Luster asked.
 
“Maybe some other time?” Flurry suggested. “We’re a bit busy… Aren’t we Discord?”
 
Discord didn’t respond.
 
“Discord?”
 
The God of Chaos watched Butter Skies and her parents—and smirked. “How adorable! Did you actually think we’d leave so soon?”
 
He teleported between Luster and Cozy on the couch, a talon wrapped around the latter. “I may be a laid-back Bringer of Mayhem, but there are matters I do take very seriously.”
 
Discord’s talons brushed off Cozy’s back and went towards her chin, propping her face towards her accuser. “You haven’t outsmarted me,” Discord said.
 
An amber ring of magic appeared around Discord’s body, tugged on by a filly. “Get your paws off my mom!” Luster shouted.
 
“I only have one paw.” Discord used the index claw of his paw to pop Luster’s hold as if it were a balloon. “It is a shame that young Lustie here will have to live the rest of her life knowing that her mother is a crook, one that thinks she can get away with robbing a Princess.”
 
Luster tried again to fight the God of Chaos. She shot a bolt of flames towards the back of Discord’s head, but he turned around and returned a spray from a fire extinguisher, neutralizing the flames.
 
Shacking foam off her coat like a puppy, Luster aimed to try again, but before she could, Discord snapped. Two giant pieces of tape forming an ‘X’ shape glued the filly to the wall.
 
“Discord, come on,” Cozy said. “What you even—”
 
“Don’t play games with me. Really, as if I wouldn’t have caught on to the glaringly obvious.” He cracked his knuckles and flew in front of Cozy, his shadow enveloping her narrow pegasus frame.
 
There’s no other choice, Cozy thought. She eyed Fluttershy. She always was the best of the worst. Shame she had to associate with a heartless God, but it’s not as if she cared about my petrification. So no, not really much of a shame.
 
Cozy looked around the room, calculating the best course of action. Flurry and Discord were close enough together. If she threw her vial against the two, they’d be stunned.
 
As for those two drones… not sure if they’d be worth a rescue. Too heavy, and ascending into an Alicorn after the vials breaks it would be plain ol’ stupid.
 
Despite Cozy’s internal willingness to ditch her ‘parents’, those two stood by her side as Discord towered above them. They glared their teeth, ready to fight.
 
If only they knew, Cozy thought, as she tensed her muscles and prepared to sprint.
 
Discord grew to a gargantuan size and looked down at Cozy. He spoke. “You. Will. Pay.”
 
Cozy flew off the couch towards Discord’s face–but was halted midway. A long strip of paper blinded her, tangled around her wings, and caused her to tumble to the corner of the room. The position of her body made her able to snatch the vial that rolled out of her wing before Discord reappeared at a normal size next to her.
 
He grabbed one end of the paper and pulled, causing Cozy to spin like a top. When Discord tapped the mare to make her stop, Cozy found herself on her hoofs, staring directly at—a bill.
 
“Honestly, just because her Crystal Castle is the only building in the Empire taller than three stories does not give you the permission to make Cadance pay for your pancakes.” Discord crossed his hooves, the bill remaining in place. “The nerve of you! I expect an immediate payment.”
 
Cozy rubbed her eyes and looked around the room. Everycreature seemed as confused as she was.
 
Cozy took another moment. “Oh, right, of course,” she said.
 
Discord gently tapped the side of his forehead.
 
“What does it say? Nineteen bits? I’ll pay right away,” Cozy promised as she left the room.
 
She walked between her confused parents, who followed her into the kitchen, and Discord joked loud enough for her to hear, “I thought your filly attacking me was a quirk of her time at Kludgetown, but now it seems to me that she adopted that quality from you!” He chuckled.
 
“Maybe so…” Cozy said, checking through the burnt pantry. “Look, I’m sorry! Really, it was self-defense because I thought you were going to—”
 
Discord's head popped out of a cupboard. “Treat you as if you were Cozy Glow?” he said, smug.
 
“Haha…” Cozy stepped back.
 
Flurry looked outside. “We should get going. Maybe we’ll be able to interview the next suspect on our list. Thirty-third time’s the charm, right?”
 
Cozy’s ‘parents’ couldn't force a natural laugh, so Flurry sighed and walked towards the foyer. “I’ll be outside, Discord. This place is so cramped. I don’t know why other ponies build their houses so small, like they’re cats or something. Come on, Fluttershy. You too… mousy… whatever your name was.”
 
Golly, she knows nothing about the housing market. 
 
After Flurry and Fluttershy left, Cozy said, “Lustie, can you look around my bag for my spare pouch? Our friend must’ve accidentally kept my main one. Told her to buy a few things and take what I owed her, but apparently she wanted interest too. It’s red and heart-shaped. I made the ‘zipper’ on the bag a bit friendlier for you.”
 
The filly teleported out of her trap and pulled out Cozy’s satchel from under the couch. She rummaged her forelegs through the top and felt around for what Cozy described. After a few attempts—“I found it, Mom!”
 
Discord teleported to Luster’s side and snatched the pouch. Flipping it upside down and tapping the top, exactly twenty-four bits fell to his paw. “I believe I deserve a small interest fee as well.”
 
A floating bank vault door appeared in the air. Spinning it open, Discord revealed an ocean of doubloons and other golden treasures inside, and tossed the twenty-four bits to join the pile. After dusting his parts and returning the pouch to Luster, he smiled and shook her hoof excessively.
 
“What a blast!” he said. “This was the most fun interrogation I’ve had all day!” He whispered, “Don’t worry, I made an extra copy of Cozy’s journal,” winked, and shushed.
 
He looked through the counter at Cozy, who had dinner’s ingredients on her counter. “Does your stove even work?”
 
“I have a fire-breathing filly, Discord,” Cozy said. “I can cook without a stove. These are enchanted as well, but—”
 
Discord snapped. The whole house looked as good as new, including all the appliances.
 
“Woah,” Lusted muttered. “But I thought magical fires couldn’t be fixed?”
 
“The chaotic side of Magic is a pathway to many spells some consider to be unnatural,” Discord revealed. “I believed I’m owed something?”
 
Cozy sighed from the kitchen. “Thanks Discord…”
 
The Sun started to set. A loud groan could be heard from outside.
 
“Discord!” shouted Flurry. “Hurry up!”
 
“Alright, alright. Sheesh! Anyhow, I’m off!” Discord said.
 
With Cozy preparing dinner, her parents watching from the side, and Luster fiddling with her mother’s satchel, Discord conjured himself a warm coat and hat, and left the room. 

But he watched Luster as he left, and as he entered the hallway, he spotted something.
 
A rook symbol on the satchel Luster was playing with, illuminated by special embroidery. He paused.
 
Was that… Discord thought. He listened as Cozy turned on the stove and started to cook her dinner. Using X-ray vision to spy through the walls, he noticed an odd object under one of Cozy’s wings. Though he was unsure what exactly the liquid inside was, he swapped Cozy’s vial with a harmless identical fake, and held the real deal.
 
“What’s taking you so long?!” Flurry shouted, appearing in front of Discord. The God of Chaos teleported Cozy’s vial to a drawer in his dimension.
 
“Oh, nothing,” he said. “Making sure you didn’t make the suspect cry this time.”
 
“Well… Are you done?!” Flurry said.
 
Discord peeked at Cozy through the entrance of the kitchen. He thought of raising the suspicious object to Flurry but felt a strange reluctance.
 
There’s no rush, he thought. Plus, Princess over here did destroy my—her journal. He looked back at Luster, who immediately hid her head behind the wall. She seems pretty happy with her arrangements...
 
“Discord?” Fluttershy said. “Are you feeling okay?”
 
“Hm? Oh, of course!” he said. “Right! Let’s go! To the next creature on our list?”
 
“...I’m sure they wouldn’t mind a nightly visit,” Flurry said.
 
“Got it! Bye, everypony,” Discord said. “You’ve been a terrific audience!” He snapped; the three were gone.
 
After two minutes with only the sounds of food frying on the pan, under the warm-hued glow of the kitchen lights, Cozy released her stress. “Wow! What a nightmare, huh Lustie?” She turned to her ‘parents’. “Let’s keep our ‘forms’ on in case somepony’s peeking through a window. But uhm… I appreciate your help.”
 
The two drones smiled.
 
“Well,” Prety, ‘Cozy’s mother', said, “we heard that last part of your conversation and weren’t sure if we should intervene but—”
 
“Yeah, yeah, I can guess,” Cozy said. “We didn’t tell Mom about you two but in case you have doubts, you will die if you go ‘there’ ever again.” She stirred her vegetables. “Hey, have I smelled any different recently?” Cozy asked.
 
“Uhm, a bit happier?” Atty said.
 
“I have to do something about your rebellious elder sister, Ocellus,” Cozy said.
 
The two drones went wide-eyed at the seemingly random mention of her name.
 
Cozy continued, “But in the meantime, I—” She yawned. “—might have an early lie in tonight. A homemade meal, candled bath, then I’ll barricade all my windows and tuck myself in. I’ll send Hope a letter tomorrow. Lustie, do you want to have your bath before or after mine?”
 
“Didn’t I already take a bath this week?” Luster asked.
 
“Oh golly,” Cozy sighed. “You’ll go after.”
 
Prety rubbed the side of his leg. “So can we stay here, or…?”
 
Back turned, Cozy responded, “I have rugs for you two to be snug in.”
 
“…”
 
“For a while, you’ll stay, in case bratty shows up again.”
 
“And what’s in that vial?” Atty asked, pointing to what Cozy had placed on the counter so her wings could be free to fly.
 
“...If I had broken it,” Cozy said, “Flurry and the God of Chaos would’ve been sick for a while.”
 
“A while?” Atty asked.
 
“For three days. Maybe a week,” Cozy said. “Alicorns are pretty resistant.”
 
“What would’ve happened to us?” Prety asked.
 
“...Optimistically, we could’ve only lost our magical organs,” Cozy admitted bluntly to gasping faces. “Heard that Lustie? Be careful around my stuff, please. You’re too old for me to have to foal-proof the house. When I was your age I… burnt down my orphanage… We’re a lot alike, aren’t we?”
 
Luster yawned. “I guess we are…”
 
“Sweetie, how are you always so sleepy so early? I forbid you from sleeping until you’ve had dinner and cleaned yourself up!”





Cozy cooked a sauce for her vegetables and prepared enough wraps that even the drones could have a few. Though she was one who told them to keep their disguises on, at least until morning, Cozy would be lying if she said she didn’t find it eerie.

Their designs weren’t shoddy, which made her feel more uncomfortable around the table. Traces of sadness and anger found themselves emerging from the bottom of her mind, but she wouldn’t take it out on the drones. At least not today. 
 
Luster’s head kept lolling to either her mother’s side or that of the closest drone’s, and after essentially force-feeding her—“Dear, you have to eat something before you go to sleep.”—Cozy compromised on her mandatory bath and settled for brushing her daughter’s teeth. She used a splotch of Hope’s floral concoction and tucked Luster into, what was for now, their shared bed. Leaving a glass of water and a lamp by her side, Cozy intended to leave the room so she could unwind for the rest of the cold autumn night, but as sleepy as she was, Luster didn’t want her mother to leave.
 
“You’re going?” Luster asked. 
 
“Golly, I thought you were asleep,” Cozy said. “I had to carry you up the stairs, you cheeky foal!”
 
Luster giggled. “That flower thing had a terrible taste. It woke me up.” She looked nervously at her covers, and on a bed that was as soft as a cloud, she asked, “Can you stay here for a few minutes? Bad things always happen when you leave.”
 
Cozy kept the door ajar so the warm hallway lights could provide enough brightness that she wouldn’t have to turn on the bedroom’s, and walked towards her filly. Luster budged up so her mother had space to sit. The filly hadn't gotten used to the cold yet, so she really clung onto the blankets. But under those covers, she tried to get closer to her mother, who had plenty of warmth to spare.
 
Luster placed a leg around her mother’s tight; Cozy realized her fate. 
 
“You two handle yourselves for the rest of the night,” Cozy shouted as swiped her wings, creating a gust that closed the door and delved the room into darkness, illuminated up only by slivers of moonlight seeping between the walls and the curtains. 
 
Now alone in the dark, Cozy asked, “Today was scary, huh?”
 
“I really thought she was going to take you…” Luster said, eyes watery on the prompt of her recollections. 
 
Cozy saw her daughter's tears scatter light through her visual acuity. “Oh, babe.” She laid down fully and took off her, undoing her disguise, and caressed her daughter. “You don’t have to be upset now. I doubt they’ll bother us, at least not for a good couple of weeks.”
 
“Oh…” Luster murmured. “Weeks?”
 
“Could be months. I’ll try to get my ear out and have a few of my friends alert us in advance whenever Flurry decides to feed into her unhealthy habits, but by the looks of it she doesn't feel comfortable anymore having personal guards following her around so–I’m sure I’ll find a solution.”
 
Cozy got herself under the covers, and remarked, “No wonder you wanted me here. You’re cold! I’ll have to teach you an anti-freeze spell without my unicorn assistant, won’t I?”
 
“...Were all those things Flurry said about you true?” Luster asked. “About how you hid her away from her parents?”
 
“Oh…” Cozy rubbed the back of her disheveled curly mane. “She’s exaggerating, Lustie. I… got angry maybe once or twice. Maybe a bit more than that. But she wouldn’t listen, and her life is so extravagant and lavish, a couple of weeks in a different bedroom isn’t all that bad. It’s a lot better than how any alicorn ever treated me. That’s how they all are. I don’t know what about ascension makes them remorseless, but the ones that were naturally born seem to be the worst.”
 
Cozy continued, “Do you know why she released me in the first place? Back when we were both fillies?”
 
Cozy felt Luster shake her head and answered, “She wanted to slay me. I guess I’m sort of an easy target. Defeating wasn’t a power fantasy—unique—to Flurry, actually, but she was the only pony privileged enough to get away with it. Even socially, all the creatures forgave her. She ended my confinement and I felt moist flesh return and warmth for… well, I don’t really remember much of it. My psyche took a while to regather itself, so I wasn’t what Flurry had prepared for. I might’ve died if it weren’t for Chrysalis. Tirek couldn’t be rescued though.”
 
Luster only heard surface-level tales of Tirek’s rampages, but she could sense her mother’s sadness. Cozy’s muscles relaxed and now she wanted to fall asleep. Recalling the memories she had of that grumpy centaur at night wouldn’t do her any good.
 
“What happened to him?” Luster asked.
 
“...He’s alive–I think–in a room in Twilight’s dungeon. Even if I broke him out I… I don’t know what I’d do after that. Do I transfigure his body, so he can escape easier? Apparently, he was delirious when he was released… Most of my problems stem from Flurry’s Empire. I don’t want more Canterlot involvement… Difficult decision, aren’t they?”
 
“What exactly would Flurry do to you if she...”
 
Cozy filled in the blanks. Staring at the ceiling, she responded, “I don’t know. Dear, don’t worry about it, please. Trust me, it’s nothing you should lose sleep over.”
 
“…Okay. I trust you,” Luster said, hugging her mother’s side, who reciprocated by wrapping a wing around her daughter’s.
 
In reality, Cozy was pretty sure she knew what Flurry would’ve done, but there was no point scaring her daughter. She hoped that Flurry would get over her obsession soon, but the realist corner of her mind begged to differ. 
 
Luster fell asleep quickly, but Cozy with her head under her wing, she wouldn’t risk waking her up by moving. As Cozy lay with her thoughts in silence—she heard a noise. 
 
Her head jerked up, and she turned towards the window. Luster hadn’t been disturbed but… Must be another rat, Cozy thought. Or maybe I’m that tired… Really should’ve installed that security system already.
 
Occasionally sighing, and tuned the metronome of her daughter’s breaths, Cozy dozed off to sleep.
 
The God of Chaos heard her snores. He never thought he’d feel weird spying on Cozy, though perhaps that was mainly due to Luster's presence. With chemical test results fresh from Canterlot between his talons, he pulled his ear from the wall. 

 If that mare’s only housing that filly for a revenge plan Flurry would surely… 
 
Chrysalis had children too. Discord knew Cozy hadn’t become another Starlight, especially without a Twilight to guide her… The idea that Cozy was even neurologically capable of such emotions surprised the draconequus.
 
Cozy's annotations on the Journal of Friendship had many rambles between the profanities, and on the pages of Tirek and Chrysalis, a common theme could be discerned. He expected those three to hate each other, reluctantly working together only to achieve their own evil ambitions. And if given the chance, Cozy would've been the first to obliterate him from existence, but Discord still felt... 

I might’ve said 'together forever', but I would’ve released her eventually… probably. Well, Luna and I had to suffer a thousand years, so... If this is her trick to get me to back off, then—honestly, why do I bother? It's not my job to be Equestria's hero! And she's far too weak now for her defeat to be satisfying. Now, if she got a power-up, then the fun will ensue! For now, I’ll consider the joys of her journal an unintentional apology.
 
One of the lights in Autumn’s house flicked on, and Discord saw directly inside, which meant he wasn’t hidden either. He saw no point in turning invisible now. 

He threw away the thought of the fact that Cozy had held onto a vial of potent poison earlier today—the one that she used on Flurry before no less—and flew away from the house. 
 
Done with his secret check, he held up his paw and snapped.