Cozy Glow zipped around her room, giggling and chuckling with Glee as she packed her things. After months of waiting she was finally going to get what she most desired. All of a sudden however a knock was heard at the door and Cozy paused giving off a short and sweet "come in!"
As the door opened Cozy saw Willow enter the room. The young unicorn's hazed over eyes looking a tad more sad then usual. "Good morning Willow, how are yea!?" Cozy greeted her friend as she fluttered over her.
"Oh, I suppose i'm fine" Willow sighed as she looked down at the floor causing Cozy to raise an eyebrow.
"Fine huh, then why do you sound sadder then a platypus who lost her egg!?" Cozy inquired looking down at the young unicorn filly.
"Well, I suppose I guess i'm just thinking about how much i'll miss you" Willow softly smiled as she began to levitate something towards the curly haired Pegasus. "I mean I know I shouldn't be sad, it's good to get out of a place like this, and my visions have told me we'll meet again someday when we're grown, but still..." Willow began to pout as her magic wrapped the small band around Cozy's arm.
"I-is this a friendship bracelet?" Cozy asked in surprise.
"Um, yes" Willow blushed as Cozy swooped down and hugged her.
"Oh thank you willow, I love it!" Cozy squeed.
"I'm glad" Willow chuckled. "Now how about I finish helping you pack those saddle bags so you'll be ready in time.
Cozy Glow paced back and fourth frantically as she waited by the front entrance of the clinic. he fast and nervous steps reverberating throughout the first floor. "Calm down youngling or you'll burn a hole in the tile" Fritz joked with a chuckle as he looked over at his wife. "Now now dear Ms. Glow has been waiting quite some time for this, it makes sense she would be a bit antsy" Dula chuckled looking down at the anxious foal.
"Nervous, what me..pfft. No way!" Cozy rebutted. "I mean it's not like i'm afraid Starlight's not gonna show-up because she decided I wasn't worth the hassle or anything, or that she might get eaten by a Bugbear on her way her or...." Cozy began to hyperventilate as Dr. Dula her hoof on the filly's back in an attempt to calm her down.
"Now now, no need for such forlorn fantasies Ms. Glow. I am sure Starlight will be here any minute now" The Doctor Smiled giving Cozy a reassuring wink.
"T-thanks i'm sure you're right" Cozy nervously chuckled as she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. Just then however the automatic doors at the front opened as the usual ding went off and the three looked forward to see a very familiar sight.
"Starlight!" Cozy exclaimed with excitement as she quickly flew towards the older unicorn mare and hugged her tightly burying her muzzle in Starlight's chest fur, tears of joy rolling down her cheek.
"It's good to see you too cozy" The voice softly rasped. This caused Cozy to look up and see that Starlight looked rather worse for ware. A frizzled mane, bags under her eyes and her eyes a bit bloodshot.
"Oh good golly, what happened to you!?" Cozy asked in a panic as she released herself from Starlight and fluttered up towards her face.
"I'm fine Cozy, realy, just a little worn out from going so long without magic." Starlight chuckled as she tried to tidy her mane.
"Oh, yea that....sorry" Cozy apologized as she awkwardly rubbed her hoof against her shoulder.
Starlight just looked at the young foal and chuckled. "It's no big deal really now let's get whatever we need to get signed signed and get you outta here!" Starlight exclaimed as she began to trot towards the doctors.
"OK!" Cozy happily exclaimed as she followed behind.
On the train from Manehatten to Ponyville an eerie and unnatural silence seemed to settle throughout as the usually busy caravan was near empty save for a few older mares, a diamond dog , and a lone griffon that seemed to have fallen asleep as it was sprawled out along the entire seat. And near the back of the car set two ponies that despite being very happy to see one another again, didn't quite know what to say.
"So, um....I bet you're glad to be out of there and headed back to Ponyville, right!?" Starlight nervously chuckled looking down at the young foal.
"Yea, and I bet you're glad to be done with all that community service or what not." Cozy awkwardly replied back. Starlight just quickly saying "Yep" with an awkward chuckle. Eventually however the tension got to both of them and the damn broke. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble Starlight. I was so worried about you this whole time and I feel bad that I got your magic taken away from you even though you probably have it back now, I understand if you hate me now and wanna throw me right back into Tartarus!" Cozy quickly exclaimed with a deep breath afterwords surprisingly glad to have gotten her worries of her chest. Starlight just looked at the young foal and chuckled.
"Cozy, I don't hate you" She laughed. "I told you I did what I did because my gut told me it was right. And hey you're better now aren't you?" Starlight noted pointing at the foal. "Plus I guess four months of hard labor really helps you appreciate the endurance of Earth Ponies. I don't know how Applejack works from dawn till dusk like she does, I got winded after just an hour!" Starlight joked.
"Still though, if it weren't for me you never would've gotten in trouble in the first place" Cozy pouted.
"Maybe, but if there's one thing I know to be true, friends are worth getting in trouble for" Starlight winked as she ruffled the young Pegasus's curly hair. "But enough talk of the past, I wanna look forward to the future." Starlight smiled. "I just know you're gonna love our new place!"
"New Place?" Cozy asked somewhat confused.
"Yea, well Celestia felt it might be a bit....dangerous for you to live in Twilight's Castle with all the rare books and magical artifacts and all so Twilight and I decided it was for the best that I get my own place." Starlight awkwardly admitted.
"Oh no, now I've gotten you kicked out of the castle too!?" Cozy pouted looking even more distraught.
"No, no it's not like that" Starlight tried to reassure her. "I mean maybe technically it kind of is, but honestly even I knew I couldn't live in Twilight's castle forever and the place Trixie and I rented out is pretty nice, I think you'll like it" Starlight softly smiled.
"Trixie?" Cozy asked uncertain if she remembered the name.
"Yea, she's one of my best friends. You remember, the blue unicorn with the silver hair from that time I had to hire substitutes when Discord tricked Twilight and the others into going on that fake friendship mission." Starlight explained.
"Oh, you mean that loud magician with the annoying kinda scratchy voice!?" Cozy replied.
"Hehe, yep the one and only" Starlight exclaimed. "But don't worry, she's not that bad." Starlight teased.
Cozy quickly pranced along behind Starlight as the two continued walking through the town. Admittingly being back in Ponyville made Cozy nervous, she was afraid any second now that she'd run into one of her old classmates or some pony or creature that recognized her and be part of some big awful scene that she did NOT feel like dealing with right now.
"Calm down" Starlight stated as she looked down at the anxious and nervously shaking filly. "I know you're nervous, I was when I first moved to Ponyville too" Starlight explained. "But trust me when I say the ponies here aren't the kind to hold grudges, and hey if anyone does want to mess with you, they'll have to get through me first!" Starlight exclaimed giving Cozy a confident wink. The girl just nervously smiling and shaking her head in agreement. "Now c'mon we're almost there!" Starlight happily exclaimed as she began to prance faster.
At the most western edge of town the two mare finally reached there destination. Cozy looked up and saw a typical two story pony home, a thatched hay roof and wooden beams on the side, it looked like near every other house in the slowly growing town, save for the fact it was painted part blue and part purple with Starlight and what she was guessing her friend Trixie's cutie mark symbols near the top instead of the usual heart shape most other houses had. All of a sudden Cozy heard a rustling in the bushes in the nearby woods as she and Starlight looked over to see a familiar blue unicorn mare angrily trotting out of the woods spitting leaves out of her mouth.
"Stupid woods, it's fall there should be pine cones everywhere!" She grunted.
"Trixie, what happened to you!?" Starlight asked doing her best to hold back her laughter.
"Ugg" Trixie huffed. "Trixie was looking in the woods for pine cones to put in our centerpiece for the living room but all the good ones are already gone!"
"I didn't know pine cones just dissipated like that" Starlight teased.
"They don't" Trixie huffed once more "But obviously the shopkeeps in this po-dunk town already came and took all the good ones to make their own overpriced decorations with!" Trixie began to rant before noticing Cozy fluttering nearby.
"Oh, is that her?" Trixie asked pointing to Cozy, Starlight just shaking her head. "Well then, The Great and Powerful Trixie welcomes you to her, er our humble abode Ms. Glow" Trixie exclaimed as she quickly opened the door. "TA DA!!" Cozy slowly fluttered in and looked around. In the living room she saw a bookshelf on the left most wall and in front of it a small table with the decorative centerpiece Trixie had been talking about, a small burgundy rug underneath. Next to it was a medium sized couch and behind it a red chair. The wooden floors looked old but sturdy and near the back of the room a long dining table with exquisite silver ware placement, to the right side a small kitchen area with a fridge an island a sink and of course cabinets hanging above for storage. back to the left there was a large oval opening that Cozy imagined led into a study and in the back right stairs that most likely led to the second floor.
"Well c'mon in and lets take the grand tour!" Starlight happily exclaimed as she began to trot towards the stairs.
And this is the bathroom" Starlight stated as she opened the door to a rather small but homely looking room with blue tile a medium sized tub, a toilet a sink and a mirror that seemed to open and have a small bit of storage inside as Starlight noted putting Cozy's medication inside before trotting out and continuing along her way to the very end of the hall. "And this is the master bedroom where Trixie and I will be staying" Starlight stated as Cozy looked in the room, wooden floors a queen sized bed and a dresser with a mirror on top to the left, two small night stands on each side.
"So, you too are sleeping together in the same bed....did you get married or something?" Cozy bluntly asked causing the two mares to blush.
"Pfft, no...I mean, we could, someday...maybe...not that we would, or not that we wouldn't" Starlight began to fumble her words as she attempted to nervously explain.
"It was simply much cheaper to buy one bed then two is all" Trixie bluntly stated looking down at the inquisitive little foal. "But i'm sure we could find a way to make it for more then just sleeping" Trixie teased the already flustered Starlight.
"OK, LET'S GO SHOW COZY HER ROOM!!" Starlight loudly exclaimed as she trotted back towards the front of the upstairs hall. Trixie and Cozy just chuckling at the unicorn mare's flustered state.
Cozy looked around in awe at the room that Starlight had prepared for her, a nice comfy twin sized bed with a blue covers and a star print on it. A bookshelf full of classical literature a closet pre-filled with some of the most adorable outfits the filly had ever seen, courtesy of Rarity apparently, a beginners magic kit sitting in the corner, from Trixie no doubt and for some reason a bunch of kites pinned up on the wall.
"Do you like it?" Starlight asked.
"I love it!" Cozy exclaimed. "but, what's with all the kites?" She curiously inquired.
"Oh, well ahh...they're mine, you see, I ah..." Starlight blushed agian.
"She really likes kites" Trixie finished with a chuckle. "I mean if you think this is alot you should see the attic, its filled with boxes of em!" Trixie teased.
"Yea yea we can talk about my kite addiction later, right now let's focus on the task at hand." Starlight stated.
"And what task is that?" Trixie asked.
"Why playing the traditional housewarming game of Dragon Pit!" Starlight happily exclaimed as she made her favorite board-game magically appear in front of Trixie.
"I don't think that's a real tradition" Trixie huffed.
"Well it is now!" Starlight smiled. "Now c'mon, let the games begin!" Starlight cheered. Cozy and Trixie just rolling their eyes and chuckling as they set down next to Starlight as she set up the game board.
You removed Starlight from the castle and I am not okay with that.
9248223
Good thing this is just a fanfiction then and not the actual show.
9248407
Which is why I will put up with it. But I won’t like it.
""Yea, she's one of my best friends"
yeah Starlight, she is your VERY best friend *wink wink*
I think Starlight and Trixe should adopt Cozy as their Daugther. ^_^
When you're bowing to your new evil overlord
Oh, very well-placed strategical guilt-trip!
Why nervous or scared? It's a wonderful opportunity to say how very sorry she is!
Well, this far into the story I must say it seems we have a problem: Cozy is returning to exactly the same environment she started from, and we already know how that ended. She has learned that her enemies are vulnerable, but she's just a child and is yet unable to control her anger properly (which got her to Tartarus). Next she'll return her cool, learn from her mistakes and then second world domination plan will be incoming.
Now I'm finally caught up! This was a very good read so far!
Your description of emotions and emotional moments is deep and touching, I almost had to cry more than once while reading this. And the way you write Starlight, Twilight, Cozy and Trixie is spectacular, it feels so natural like watching an episode of the show! It can be seen that you studied their personalities and mannerisms very thoroughly.
The only real criticism I have here has almost become dissolved in the last three chapters; there used to be a lot of typos, awkwardly-structured sentences, missing words and overly long sentences, combined with a lack of general punctuation, in the first chapters, but beginning with Chapter 5, I noticed these errors appearing less and less, so I can see that you got better at that a lot. There is a very visible learning curve here throughout this story.
Other than that, I only wish there would be shown even more about Cozy's time in the hospital, I bet there are still many interesting things that happened in the three months before she could leave it, but that's more a sign of appreciation than it is criticism, as your story is so good that I simply crave to read more about Cozy's recovery in the hospital.
You a very talented author, this story is very good for your first one, I can see that you have a great future ahead of you if you keep working on your skill and technique. I hope you will write more stories once you have wrapped this one up!
9258009
Thank you for the input. I will attempt to go back and fix the errors as I am able. Glad that you are enjoying the story overall so far.😊
9248643
Again this is a story about her reformation so no world domination plans. Sorry.
9258887
Well, yes, of course.
The point is that world domination (and revenge on those who has thrown her in hell) is immanently present in the story about reformation as an alternative course of action for Cozy. Or, actually, it's more likely reformation is alternative course of action for these things. She needs some motivation to be "reformed": everyone just being nice to her realistically isn't gonna work because previously everyone was nice to her too, but it didn't stop her from throwing that away for her plan in the slightest. To really change her behavior either causal reason behind that behaviour should be addressed or some opportunity cost (from her point of view) on being a dick should be instated (or, better, both things). From S8 we know that she's manipulative, power-hungry, has little regard for her collateral damage and can't control her anger too well, but actually almost nothing apart from that, so writing around these thing would be difficult, but far from impossible. Give her instrumental incentive to want power because of horrible things happened with her and others around that made her think that current government is inadequate (and write collateral damage off as her being just a child)? Throw her into bad place with other other more helpless children and make her protect them first out of boredom and desire to exercise her power, and then discovering that she actually likes to do it?
9259583
Buddy, I think you're sliding a bit into territory where you try to influence the course of this story so that it is to your liking. I'm sure the author has it all planned out for how the big picture of Cozy's reformation will look like at the end of the story and that it will be satisfying.
Let them write what they have planned and make your judgement once this story is complete.
9258885
Certainly do! I can't wait for more!
9259705
You mean two examples in the end? They are there just to illustrate the point: I've crafted them deliberately in a way that already diverges from the story just to avoid "telling what to do" stuff.
9259743
The entire comment overall. As well as the rest of your comments here, as you seem to complain about the overall plot of the story and the story's direction a lot.
You should just lean back and enjoy what's coming.
9259750
Well, comments are kinda there for discussing what one liked/didn't like/found interesting about the story. I assume insulting someone or directly telling someone what to do is not nice, but I don't see anything inherently wrong about saying what I didn't like. Granted, I don't have anything really important to protect here, so if someone says that my comments bother him/her really much and asks me to stop, I'll stop. Obviously, no one is obligated to change his/her behaviour on my comments.
And I didn't complain until current chapter: everything before "Well, this far into the story I must say..." is just highlighting a few moments I found interesting and cracking a few jokes (and most jokes are carefully marked with "" to not be mistaken for something else)
UPD: and mistypes. I forgot about mistypes
I'll miss Willow. Her character definitely shall always have a special place for me as, well, not many blind characters with positive portrayals are out there. You didn't stereotype her. She was 'normal'. She also does what, I believe, most of us blind people do which is have a strong sense of imagination to make up for the inability to genuinely see.
Points for remembering how Cozy would still need to take her medication. Lots of people feel medication keeps you from being your true self. However, in truth, some can help you in not being so physically impacted by traumatic memories. (I know this first-hand in many ways.
This point also makes me note how Cozy, without her trauma-pain understood nor managed would be very inclined to outburst in such ways. You truly need a combination of moral support and medication to recover from the nightmare scenario of Cozy Glow's childhood.
I will never understand why they ship those two together. Yeah they get along it doesn’t mean love
Then again this fandom tends to ship ponies as soon as they hug or hoof bump
Yeah, I don't ship Starlight and Trixie, but this chapter was so cute! I love how Cozy is so happy to see Starlight.
I just realized that you used the wrong dam.