After Equestria almost fell at the hooves of Cozy Glow, Twilight Sparkle visited the filly in Tartarus multiple times. She had been talking to her, tried to get to the bottom of why she almost singlehoofedly brought down Equestria by manipulating her fellow friendship students and attempting to banish all of its magic into another realm.
But no matter how often she asked or how much she probed for an underlying reason behind all this, Equestria's youngest enemy only kept reiterating that friendship is nothing but power for her.
Cozy Glow was a special case. But she wouldn't be the Princess of Friendship if she were to give up on a struggling friendship student. Maybe she really was not able to teach Cozy Glow the true values of friendship and neither were her five closest friends. But maybe others could succeed where they have failed.
And so, Twilight goes and assembles a team of ponies and creatures to teach Cozy Glow about Friendship, Villainy, Betrayal and the struggle to choose between Good and Evil.
The only catch was that Tartarus' security level has been increased.
But that's what letters are for.
Set between Season 8 and Season 9.
Interesting idea, this is will be a really effective thing! Nice story, waiting continue)
Ooh! This is an amazing start! Definitely exceeded anything I could have imagined for such a story!
I like how you chose each creature for the tale and how you did a great job of explaining to each why they were chosen to assist. It's certainly a strong team that could definitely make a difference.
I'll look forward to following this one. :)
Be interesting if Chrysalis is the one who breaks through her.
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Thanks, you two!^^ This is a passion project of mine and I'm highly interested in Cozy Glow's mind and personality, so I'm very excited to explore her thoughts and feelings here.^^
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Chrysalis? Very interesting thought. What makes you think Chrysalis could be the right one to bring Cozy Glow to the good side (as opposed to putting even more questionable things into her head)?
It's an unusual idea, but I like to hear those.
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She refused to accept Starlight's offer and opted for a ridiculous vendetta.
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I see. That's definitely something she and Cozy have in common, the refusal to give up. Though, that's more suited to drive Cozy even further to the dark side, if Chrysalis and her would bond over that.
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Literally all Twilight would have to do is bribe the love bug with love... No way the Queen refuses
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Chrysalis would bite out her teeth on Cozy, I fear. And lack the necessary social and therapeutic skills needed. But, thankfully, we already have a team of experts here.
I can see a lot of potential in this! Can't wait for more!
The story is amazing
I can’t wait to see what happens next! 
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Thank you!
You won't have to wait too long anymore, the first letter will come out today!
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Here, hold my apple cider.
Nicely done. I wondered how you would handle each letter. Would it be just the letter? Would it be the letter and a brief description of Cozy's feelings? Lots of possibilities here.
The direction you took, to me, was more immersive. You go from seeing the letter and hearing Starlight's voice to returning to reality with Cozy as she is being, well, Cozy.
You also did well to keep her in-character for receiving the first letter. She'd definitely have this reaction. However you also showed that it did have a hint of positive impact on her. Slight but it s there.
It will be neat to see how this story finishes. Since Season 9 has her working with Tirek, Grogar, and Chrysalis, it could aid in leading to some sort of positive impact. However one that won't show in canon until later.
I, unless the writers are really trying to be sneaky, think Cozy is going to turn on Grogar. The friendship lessons seem to have sunk in. Now it's a matter of waiting for them to give her the opportunity to see them as less a method of manipulation and more of how to make a more pleasant life based on non-tangible nor conditional friendship.
Now, as a side thought, there is the possibility they'll really throw us off by making Cozy out to be some 'secret agent' who was meant to get into this situation. Princess Celestia has done some really weird things to prep Twilight to take over while having a talent for never putting herself in any true danger. If we find out Cozy is a kind of 'Agent' I would be a bit annoyed. Though it would better explain why you'd send a filly to Tartarus instead of someone like Starlight, a full-grown mare.
I just hope for a happier ending for cozy. I like her and feel she made a poor choice to be a villain. We have no real back story as to 'why' she'd be power hungry. She, if she's truly a filly, hasn't even lived long enough to be truly deemed a bad guy over needing some extreme therapy and/or medication.
I guess we'll find out soon enough.
In the meantime, I look forward to more of this tale. :)
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Thanks! Writing this letter happened surprisingly fast, but only because of its short length. Putting myself into Starlight's horseshoes and thinking how she would write such a letter took more time than writing it all down.
It's the first time I'm writing a long and on-going story only with letters, so I'm not sure how future letters will look like, but I imagine they will become longer over time the more they talk to Cozy.
I'll also keep the style of showing how Cozy reacts to certain parts of the letters she receives.
Hmm. And what part do you think shows that?
Strangely enough, I had this thought myself, after watching the Season 9 Opener. A very crazy thought, since there's nothing pointing to it, but I have a very wild imagination.
The observations I made about Sombra in the Opener have led my thoughts into that direction; basically, I am wondering if even Cozy herself is part of a big plan to test Twilight and her friends and if everything we've seen her doing in the Season 8 Finale was a preparation for that plan in the way that Celestia sent Cozy as a student at Twilight's school with the task of pretending to be a villain, to make her look more believable later on.
But, as I said, nothing points to that, so it's really just my wild imagination. On the contrary, there is a lot pointing against that, such as that Cozy even acted ominous when no one else was around. No, a spy or just a villain for pretend is something we can definitely rule out.
There was no need to send Starlight to Tartarus. She wasn't a villain anymore after Twilight got through to her and no danger for Equestria anymore, so nopony had any reason to lock her up.
Cozy, however, is an active threat and she did not show any signs of changing, so they didn't have a choice but imprisoning her for the safety of Equestria.
She is a filly, as she told Grogar that she failed with her plan because she's "just a kid" (although, said that in a very sarcastic way, she clearly knows her abilities and what she is capable of). More subtly, this also got further confirmation by her acting around Tirek like he's her dad.
Hiding behind him in fear, constantly trying to get his attention, feeling cheered up by him explaining her something after she got scared, she definitely sees a father figure in him.
But I feel the same sentiments for her. She is definitely a threat and it would be too dangerous for Equestria to simply let her run free in the kingdom, but she is not evil and has mental issues, likely caused by some heavy trauma prior to her time at Twilight's school, that make her act like this.
If you can navigate to my blog entries, you can read the theory I wrote about Cozy after the Season 8 Finale in which I detailed what I think happened to her.
Before I read this, I must know: How is this a problem? Twilight and Celestia are tight, she can just ask her.
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The way I imagined it for this story, Celestia says no. Twilight and her are tight, yes, which is the reason why Celestia let her into Tartarus to talk to Cozy. But she doesn't let anypony/creature else in. Such frequent visits of thirteen people is simply too high of a risk.
Tartarus is a high-security prison for Equestria's most dangerous enemies for a reason.
Interesting idea, had read it sooner hadn't work kept me busy. and I like how you added Tempest, given she's only seen in the comics but I like the idea of her being in the Royal Guard. And something I noticed
Isn't there a space missing?
Short but good. Frankly, I can't imagine cozy's evil, but misguided
Maybe you should have just read the letter completely and slowly. SHort but good work, as always.
And you seemed to have a period too much at the end
Ooh! Someone is getting quite defensive. Cozy doesn't even realize how she is showing how out-of-control she is.
What I gather from her letter reactions is that there is some small part of herself that is trying to keep up an image that isn't truly hers. She's in that 'Negative Attention' phase. Perhaps her parents sent her to the school Of Friendship with hopes she would become more kind to others?
I do believe Luna is on to something as the letter certainly struck a nerve. Maybe Cozy will begin to gradually consider all that lead her to be where she is now? Maybe she really does need help? Maybe she isn't a lost cause nor destined to be eternally viewed as a villain?
This letter and reaction really makes you think about how little we know about what short life Cozy has had. Perhaps she even resents her name because she, like Diamond tiara, was forced into acting a certain way? Maybe she never felt truly 'loved' but more like a tool to be used?
Lots of possibilities to work with from here. Definitely looking forward to more. :)
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It definitely would have been good for her to read it all the way to the end. But such is the power of anger.
No, that's intentional. It follows the same pattern as "everypony".
I rechecked each sentence, no, there is none with a redundant full stop.
9579927
Okay, but what is that then?
That second period after tempo.
9579829
Defensive, you could say that is Cozy's forte.
She does not realize this and I think there are a few things Cozy does not realize about herself.
I can see many good ideas and guesses in your comment. It will be a while until it all comes to light, but one thing is clear: Cozy really doesn't like Luna.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I enjoy reading such attempts at guessing what's going on with Cozy and hope more will join in over time. The short chapters might not look like much right now, but I will dive ever deeper into Cozy's mind here and things will get more complex in due time.
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Wait, you can see this? This is actually an invisible dot that I put there to create some more distance between the text of the chapter and the Author's Notes, since one of knighty's recent updates brought it uncomfortably close to the text. I used the new color codes that were implemented a while ago for that. Since the dot is white, you shouldn't be able to see it.
Do you see this dot in the first chapter of "Dreamwalker Dash" too?
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Yes, I do.
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Are you using FIMFiction.net with Night Mode?
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Yes, because its 2 am in Germany at the moment
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That explains it then. There's nothing I can do about it, unfortunately, no matter which color I'd choose for the dot, there will always be readers who can see it, no matter if they use Night or Day Mode.
But it looks definitely better when the Author's Notes aren't creeping up on the text like that.
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I see.
Wow, obnoxious little thing she is.
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Indeed. She can certainly be if she wants to.
Short, but good, as always!
I guess Cozy Glow doesn't understand that Luna has power in the dream realm.
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Does she not understand it? Or is she maybe so caught up in her rage that she is willing to try against all odds? That is a mystery right now, like many things are a mystery about Cozy.
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I know one thing that isn't a mystery. Cozy Glow is the most adorable villain ever!
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Indeed. An adorable world conqueror and mastermind she is. And, most importantly, breaking the preconceived notion that children can't do the same things as grown-ups. Cozy gave a few villains quite a run for their money.
Oh, wow! I never thought of how Cozy's lessons from Twilight's school would have this kind of backfire on Luna. Yikes!
Though... I still see a filly who's underdeveloped, young mind is simply going through a tantrum. She has no pony to lash out at and, when younger and even older, it is much easier to divert blame and troubles upon someone, or something, else instead of taking genuine personal accountability.
Maybe Cozy never was made to know accountability? The closest we saw was when she felt bad about making things worse for the CMC. Even then she didn't exactly know how to really come out and admit what she did without Starlight helping her along. Cozy herself didn't make everything better. Instead, it was Twilight and Starlight that set her up, like parents making a child apologize for something they may not fully understand what they are apologizing for.
This series has gone to a new level, in my opinion, on child psychology. Cozy's response is a typical, immature response to not wanting to have to face her own troubles. Children tend to find it easier to blame someone else over admit they were the ones who caused something bad to happen. Digging into Princess Luna's psyche like that was certainly cruel but, again, Cozy's is too young to really understand the impact of what her words have on those who hear and/or read them.
I bet, if Luna did visit Cozy's dreams, the lil' Pegasus would be scared out of her wits. Especially if Luna were to arrive dressed as Nightmare Moon. If Luna, for quite a long time, could control The Tantibus she could easily manipulate the dream in which Cozy, having no real magical ability, could not.
I wonder what would happen if Luna did appear as Nightmare Moon to her? Have a discussion from tyrant to tyrant? She could even draw in some Daybreaker to drive home the point on how all ponies have good and bad inside. It's all a matter of balance.
This little filly is whacked.
The idea was good, pointing the Nightmare Moon to Luna, but the execution was not that good
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I like that. Very sharp observation. So sharp, that even I did not catch this yet. This makes a lot of sense in a seamless way.
It would be an interesting moment. One that would bring a revelation and a realization for one of them.
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Please be more detailed if you leave feedback on one of my stories.
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What I mean is that mentioning Nightmare Moon to Luna could hurt, but the way she talked about it, it could be better as she sound a little spoiled and like a whinny kid, maybe if she was more calm it could had been more insulting and hurt more
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I did not plan to write her as calm, that wasn't the intention I had. The entire point of her reaction was that she became furious and mad because she interpreted Luna's words as Luna calling her "insane" and insulting her that way. This also reflects her personality of having a tendency to get mad very easy and spontaneously, as we saw in the Season 8 Finale.
A calm and threatening demeanor would be ill-fitting here.
A important lesson you Show, moondancer. Its Part of Life, difficult to Control.
Very nice. I am particular fond of the line of how we lash out in anger as a result of wanting to purge ourselves of an ill-feeling. This opens a lot of possible doors for Cozy Glow.
The first could be her own parents. They didn't know what to do with her and just sent her to Twilight's School Of Friendship to 'fix her'. Her age may make her think her parents, or parent, got tired of her and felt she was just being dumped on someone else so they didn't have to put up with her anymore.
Perhaps, and I doubt Hasbro would go in this direction, Cozy may be on the Spectrum? Lots of parents with children on The spectrum tend to not do so well in accepting, working with, and/or finding ways to help a child like this.
I had a father lash out at me for trying to be friends with his son on the spectrum because, for simplicity sake, he noted how he had to "Deal with this for X years". What kind of parent says "Deal" with their child? It makes it seem like being a parent is a chore.
Cozy could be a Spectrum Pony and, as a result, not have the right internal wiring to be like other ponies. She sees things differently as, in lots of Spectrum situations, the one on The spectrum can't help how they perceive the world. People can help to show acceptance along with better ways to interact with mainstream society. However it isn't going to happen without support and there could be a lot of resentment if Cozy felt like she was just tossed due to her parent(s) not wanting to "Deal" with her condition?
Being on The spectrum could also explain cozy's ability to learn and remain hyper-focused. Many I know on The Spectrum are amazing when it comes to absorbing material that they find interesting. Cozy caught onto friendship super-ultra-mega fast. She then may have thought putting herself in a position of power would ensure that she'd never be judged as a result of how society sees those on The Spectrum? If every pony is your friend, even if through fear / over-reaction to maintain what has finally been achieved, you can feel safe. You can 'control' your environment and ensure routines you rely on are as they should be.
Now I'm really thinking there is a possibility to see Cozy as being a Spectrum Pony. Some of her behavior and mannerisms could easily put her there. This isn't bad as, honestly, we need more positive, albeit they made her villain, examples of Spectrum.
Those with special needs, be they physical and/or mental, are often perceived by a stereotype that is far from the honest truth of the individual. Perhaps Cozy always had non-societal norm behavior and, rather than working with her, she was shipped away to be 'fixed'? I don't know many, if any, humans on The spectrum who feel they need 'fixed' or 'cured'. They want accepted and understood.
The above could be what brought Cozy to lash out and continue to be who she is. She wants to fit in but she is always acting a bit 'different' based on the situation and goes a bit crazy when things aren't going as she would like them.
I'll stop here. It's just a thought this chapter made me think on.
It's definitely an interesting extra factor having Tirek there. I don't know if he would deliberately sabotage any progress, but it feels like his presence will make it much harder for her regardless. One of the reasons juvenile hall was originally created was the idea that putting in kids with career criminals in regular prison just turned the kids into more hardened criminals than when they went in.
How about that. Somepony got through!
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Great comment again! This time I can't comment much on it without giving something away, but very nice thoughts!
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I think with all that happened, Tirek could hardly make it worse. But who knows, maybe his presence alone could hinder progress..... We'll see.
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It seems like that, isn't it? Just how far through is the question.
Nice work as always! I wonder what the CMC would write to her.