//------------------------------// // A Few Laps More // Story: Cozy Zurg's Adventures! // by Ultimus Pendragon //------------------------------// Cozy Glow awoke in her bunk, hopping out just before the whistle that would have caught her unaware close to a week ago. Her time being in Mr. Zurg's ship and memorizing the routine only served to help make her a better worker. An Evil worker, Mr. Zurg put it best. ''Good morning!'' Cozy shouted, managing to wake up before the whistle that would go off every morning to alert her. It had caught her off guard the first few times, but being the smart pony that she was, Cozy managed to beat it a few times without the need for a clock. ''How's everypony doing? Huh? Where did you guys go?'' Cozy looked about the assortment of pods, only to see that she was the only one still sleeping. ''Did I accidentally-AH!'' the sound of the whistle scared her to the ceiling. ''Surprisingly quick,'' Zurg looked at the stopwatch, then to Cozy on the ceiling, shivering as if she was in the middle of an intense blizzard, watching her eyes being as wide as saucers. ''Come down Private Glow; not like you can stay up there for long, anyways.'' With her entire mood changing, Cozy looked to see Mr. Zurg. Did he have another mission for her? Maybe she could help bring some of her friends to meet Mr. Zurg! ''Private Glow reporting!'' Cozy flew down, standing at attention. ''Sigh; You need not report when you wake up, you marshmallow pony,'' Zurg said, paying little attention to the fact that her uniform was put on haphazardly. ''Unlike the first time you ended up staying in the barracks, you seem to be more accustomed to the way things are run here,'' Zurg began to shuffle to the hallway, Cozy following close behind after fixing her uniform. ''Given your. . .initial mission in the town of Ponyville, and though the results were not quite what I expected, the time for us to strike is nearly upon us.'' ''What does that mean?'' ''Evil, you twat!'' Zurg picked up Cozy with a singular hand, his red eyes gleaming. He craved it, wished for it, needed it for him to be seen. His desire to conquer this entire world and beyond would be quick, it would be glorious, and it would be a real kick in the pants for Buzz Lightyear; if only he could see it! ''You, Aura, and Button Mash have been gathering information about this so-called 'Friendship School', so the time for you to brief me has come.'' Zurg took Cozy to the bridge, where Aura and Button Mash were waiting, looking expectantly at each other before walking over to Cozy. ''Time now.'' ''Yes, Lord Zurg,'' Aura brought the young cadet over in front of a standing board with a projector. ''From the data we received on all of our ends, we have reason to believe the best time to strike would be during this time next week as Twilight Sparkle will be up to her ears in trouble.'' Aura activated a clicker, which displayed a crudely drawn chicken scratch picture of Twilight and her friends, surrounded by flames, with Cozy Glow's name written in pink crayon. ''The drawing here was not made with everypony's likeness in mind.'' ''So I see,'' Zurg rapped his fingers on the armrest, slowly beginning to mull over Cozy's creative talents. ''And you are so sure about this, why?'' ''According to Cozy Glow, she's been gathering artifacts that can help initiate, what would be the starting point for your conquest of this side of Equestria, my lord.'' Button Mash used the clicker next, showing Cozy Glow gathering various artifacts, without a care in the world. ''We expect everything to be in motion and done by this time next Tuesday.'' ''Really now, and how did you come to that conclusion, Private Glow? Been holding out on me, have you?'' Zurg sneered as he went over the following projector slides that detailed Cozy Glow's plan in greater detail, yet the whole thing seemed to lack vision; that evil flair Zurg was looking for. ''And how sure are you of your plan working? We are on a tight schedule.'' Perking up, Cozy zoomed off to her bunk before coming back, nearly crashing into Mr. Zurg's chair before she presented her paper to him. ''I know! That's why I had Guidance Counselor Starlight give me advice on even tell me about some of these neato artifacts! I have almost all of them, I just need one more.'' Cozy said, watching the small smile on Emperor Zurg's tell her everything. ''Then my conquest can start? At long last?'' Zurg asked to himself, Cozy, Aura, and Button nodding in unison. ''Excellent! About time too; all of this brooding and waiting around, you'd think the author forgot to continue the story.'' ''What?'' the trio asked with confused looks on their faces. ''What?'' Zurg parroted back. Nonsense; probably. It was time for evil! ''Prepare the mechanized infantry!'' ''Flamethrowers too, my lord?'' Aura felt the need to ask for clarification. ''Does Buzz Lightyear irritate to me no end? Then you answered your question, dimwit!'' Next Tuesday. . . Zurg sat on the top observation deck of his cloaked flagship, admiring the subtle view of the city of Canterlot in the distance. For a bunch of pansy ponies, they sure knew how to build structures with shape, but the color wasn't there. He would rectify that issue before long. This was the moment that he always enjoyed when subjugating a planet; it built the most power in a short amount of time, and it allowed him to sample the feeble strength of those who dared to raise a hand, hoof, claw, or whatever pathetic upper or lower extremity in protest of their new lord and savior. He had the attention of his loyal minions, the additions of the new Diamond Dogs, who seemed keen on following Cozy Glow out of pure fear at this point, and now the Dragons. It turns out having the use of the Mind Control Device only applied for some of them, at least the now dethroned Dragon Lord Torch and his daughter Ember, the rest followed suit swiftly after. The skies were at their clearest, at least for now. In but a few moments, time would the greatest invasion of the single greatest mind in all the galaxies descend upon these lands with great fury, evil, and anger with even more evil! It would be- ''Emperor Zurg? The troops are uh, waiting for your speech.'' Button Mash came up to greet his lord, followed by a small group of Brain Bots who worked tirelessly to ensure no last-minute surprises came out of left field on the one day when it would be very unfortunate for anything to disturb the flow of the cosmos. ''Private Glow is currently on the ground, attempting the final phase of her plan, whereas you-'' ''-Whereas I what?'' Zurg waved the Bloodstone Scepter in front of his subordinate's face. ''I suggest you speak quickly before the main event.'' Clearing his throat and stepping back, Button Mash did just that, anything to avoid being shackled up with Emperor Zurg for too long. There was evil to do, and not enough time in the day as his lord would always tell him. ''The moment we see our opposition drop to the ground, that will be the time to strike.'' ''That's the plan. I know the plan, Button; it's MY plan; I made the plan, what I don't understand is why you are telling me the most important part of my plan! Making these mindless fools fall under the Zurg Empire is not up for debate; they will learn or they will perish!'' Zurg clutched his free fist, his cape billowing about in the wind as a strong gust came in. ''Your point in that is, what exactly?'' ''No, I meant that when the magic of Equestria gets drained, our enemies will, at least the Pegasi at first; they won't have the magic to fly, followed by the rest of the creatures that depend on Equestrian magic before long.'' Oh. ''Oh, yes; right. Well, even though you lot of you would love to have a speech, I speak for us all here when I say this. Evil rules; good drools, and Buzz Lightyear is a fool! HAHAHAHAHAHA!~'' A massive rumbling, followed by a magical explosion sounded from below ground, smack dab in the center of the so-called School of Friendship. ''Zurgification has begun,'' Emperor Zurg's eyes beamed red, his ship uncloaking. Evil would be good.