//------------------------------// // Creation of a Statue // Story: Ghosts of Cozy's Past // by LNMAnonymous //------------------------------// “Thank you for coming,” Princess Twilight Sparkle said. “I know you’re really busy over in the human world.” “Hey, it’s no problem!” said Sunset Shimmer. “I’ve been meaning to visit Equestria more often anyway. Canterlot High is my home now, but I have friends here too. Besides, it’s not every day you get summoned by the new ruler of Equestria!” Twilight shifted uncomfortably. “Yes, well, it’s not really a summon, I just thought I’d ask if you could help. I’m not quite out of ideas otherwise, but you’re the best option I can think of I haven’t already ruled out. Did you bring your geode like I asked?” Sunset held it out in her hand- hoof- for confirmation, her expression becoming more serious. “Of course. Where is she?” Equestria had more magic everywhere than even the most magic-scarred portions of Canterlot High, and it was possible the geode would have more dramatic effects. Twilight didn’t want to accidentally see something she shouldn’t, or have something be seen she didn’t want. So she had left Sunset alone in the garden. Well, not quite alone. There were three statues in front of her. Today, she was here for the smallest. Sunset stepped forwards, climbing onto the small wooden block which would give her the height she’d need. She took a deep breath. She’d seen inside the mind of villains before, but never before had it been so… calculated. It felt wrong, doing it this way. Cold, premeditated. Like something the old Sunset would have done. But no, this was really the best thing to do. They couldn’t help Cozy without knowing where she came from, what made her do what she did, and all investigations had turned up nothing. It was like she just appeared one day. Looking into her mind might be an invasion, but it was still better than leaving her trapped in stone for who knew how long. It was the right thing to do. And she wasn’t just telling herself that. Sunset took another deep breath to steady herself, and reached out the tip of one hoof to Cozy’s statue. There was a second when nothing happened, and then- Grasping the letter from Everton in her hands, shakily opening it…  scanning, not even reading… the word “accepted” drawing all her attention… Meeting her advisor for the first time, a tall man with dark skin, black hair, and red eyes… Joy giving way to frustration, then anger. She was accepted here for study! Not to clean out test tubes and sit back while Sombra got all the credit for any of the work she was actually allowed to do! Following the rumors of strange events happening, things that couldn’t be true, she opened up a MyStable video of the Friendship Games, and saw an impossible face staring back at her… Desperately showing Sombra what was going on, begging for the chance to investigate, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. His cold laugh echoing in her ears in return… Sneaking out of her dorm, determined to find out the truth once and for all, hitchhiking her way over to Canterlot High… Buying an outfit, putting pink makeup on herself and a blue wig, not wanting her true identity to cause complications… Talking to students, until a yellow girl with a bow in her hair pointed at a statue in the front of the yard… Her bags packed, stepping through into the unknown, to find the magic, find the power… Popping out in a strange world, with a strange new form, surrounded by books… Searching through the books, searching through spells, until she stumbled across one which was capable of changing form, letting her avoid suspicion… Trying to decide what form she wanted, eventually picking one that mirrored her disguise, which would let her hopefully spend enough time as a student to learn the power she needed… The panic, as she realized she’d lost her horn, that she couldn’t change back… The fear of not knowing how much being in this young body would affect her emotions, her stability… Looking in the mirror she came from at the slow smile that spread over her face, now pink instead of orange, as she realized just how much this could be used to her advantage… Stepping out and finding bizarre dopplegangers of the students she’d talked to at Canterlot High, deciding it was time to once again find that young yellow girl… Sunset gasped as she recoiled from the imagery, falling off the block as she did so. She rubbed her head. That was more images than she’d ever seen before! That might be because of the additional magic in this world, but as she processed what she’d seen more, it might also be because…  …because Cozy Glow was her? Cozy Glow was the human Sunset Shimmer? What? “Well, on the bright side, I guess we know you asked the right person for this,” Sunset said drily. Princess Twilight was busy freaking out. “THE RIGHT PERSON? I just asked you to look into your own head! I don’t- who knows what effects this could have on either of your psyches? Ponies who have tried that in the past have gone mad, started trying to gather power and- and- and no offense, of course, but-” “None taken,” Sunset interrupted. “Look, I really think you’re freaking out over the wrong thing here. Honestly, I’m the one who should be upset about this, but I’m fine. Neither of us could have known.” “I could have! I should have! I’ve met you, I know you, I should have realized she was the same! Maybe then I could have-” “Hit her with the Elements of Harmony like you did me? You tried that, and this is what they did. Besides, my days of manipulating people for popularity were over by the time you met me, you never got the chance to see it in action. So even if she did stick to the same playbook- which, given the disguise and what you’ve told me, she probably didn’t- you wouldn’t have been able to recognize it.” “But- But-” Princess Twilight stammered. “Nope! No buts about it, you did nothing wrong. But right now, we need to be worrying about her. She’s okay for now, but whatever spell she found to change herself has been slowly making her grow worse and worse over time. I think the petrification stopped it, but I can’t be sure, especially given that her subconscious was active enough for me to be able to retrieve the memories at all. We shouldn’t leave her in there for too much longer. Do you know a way of restoring a body to its original form?” “Well, I- Well, there’s the spell she used. You said the reason she couldn’t change back was because she lost her horn, not because it was one-time use, right?” Sunset smiled. What she said was true, but she was glad that talking about the magic would be enough to distract Twilight. At least some things from her days of manipulation were still useful. “Yeah, or at least, that’s what she thought. Um, I think- I think the book she got the spell from was red? Her eyes looked red after casting the spell, and it looked like it matched the color of the book. Does that help?” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Yes, I know exactly which book that would be! Wait right here!” There was a flash of light, and Twilight was gone. Sunset looked at where Twilight had been. She looked around. She didn’t particularly feel like stewing in her own thoughts right now. Maybe Twilight wouldn’t mind if she read one of the books? Ooh, or maybe she could look at the Friendship Map, see a scale model of Equestria! She wondered if it was magical enough to show individual ponies if she looked closely enough… There was a flash of light, and Twilight was back, a red book held in her magic. “I got it! I- Sunset? Why is your eye pressed against the table? No wait, never mind! We have to help Co- Su- what do we call her?” Sunset looked up. “Um, I’m not sure. She didn’t think of herself as Cozy when the memory ended, but it’s been long enough that she might have started since. I think it doesn’t particularly matter, though? I don’t think I’d care much in her shoes. She was clearly happy being called Cozy for years.” “Okay, well, Cozy then. We have to go find her and put her back to normal!”