[BONUS CHAPTER] Consolation
“A magical talking horse,” Cozy Glow said skeptically, tapping her fingers on the side of her milkshake. “From another dimension.”
Sunset nodded mutely. The two of them were sitting on the patio of Joe’s Malt Shop just outside the park grounds. Cozy wiped her hand on a napkin and reached across the table.
“Can I see that photo again?”
Sunset produced the picture of Cozy Glow (the other Cozy Glow, she reminded herself) from the folds of her journal and handed it over. Cozy studied the image thoughtfully.
“And where you’re from, I’m a magical talking horse too?”
“Not magical,” Sunset explained. “Just flying. And she’s definitely not you. I know she has your face, and name, and… probably all your issues, but she’s not you. You’re you.”
“Uh huh.” Cozy set the photo on the table and slid it back towards Sunset. For a few seconds, neither spoke. Cozy’s eyes, residually puffy from her meltdown, were still narrowed at Sunset. Cozy could affect a lot of airs, but her features were just a little too soft to make her attempt at a hard-boiled detective stare convincing.
“Are you suuuuure you’re not one of my hallucinations?”
Sunset groaned, exasperated.
“I know it sounds nuts, but I promise it’s the truth. I can’t prove it, right now at least, because all I have on me is the photo and this journal, and I already showed you both-“
“Hey,” Cozy interrupted. “Calm down, horse lady. That was a joke. I know you’re real.”
Sunset blinked, unsure what to say. Cozy Glow fished a cherry out of her shake, popped it in her mouth, and continued.
“The stuff you say is next-level ridiculous, and I gotta be wary cuz I am off my meds right now,” She had swallowed the cherry, but was still rolling something around on her tongue. “But that’s why I had you pay for my ice cream. I knew you were a solid, flesh and blood person after the cashier talked to you.” Cozy stuck her tongue out, presenting the cherry’s stem, successfully tied in a knot. “Plus I got a free milkshake out of it. But what I still don’t get is... even if that picture is real and everything you told me is true… why would you help me? What’s in it for you?”
Sunset folded her arms apprehensively. “The truth is... the pegasus who looks like you, she... she tried to hurt a lot of ponies. I only know about her secondhand, but when Twi... when my pen pal back in Equestria explained how dangerous she was, I...” Sunset was burning with shame. “I was worried that you were dangerous too.”
Cozy Glow stirred the remains of her shake, looking nervous. “And are you still worried about that?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I think you’re hurting-“ Cozy snorted at the understatement, but let Sunset continue. “-and I think maybe you really are as messed up as the other one. But to tell the truth I don’t know a thing about either of you.”
Cozy downed the rest of her shake and wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand. “Oh, I can promise you I’m plenty messed up, Sunset. But just cuz I’m a kid with a few screws loose doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I’m still a human being, and maybe things are different for you horse people, but us human beings don’t like being lied to.”
Sunset blinked uncomprehendingly. “Lied to?”
“I felt something when you touched me earlier. After you got me to pitch that shit-fit at the park.”
Sunset winced at the harshness of Cozy’s choice of words.
“But whatever. There I was, lying on my side, thinking I’d finally gone fully crackers, and you put your hand on my shoulder and... did something. I didn’t know what it was at the time. Hell, I wasn’t really focused on anything at the time, but I think I know now. You used your horsey magic to peek inside my head. And don’t try to deny it, because when I tied that cherry stem in a knot with my tongue earlier, you didn’t bat an eye. That’s a party trick that starts a conversation every time, except when someone’s already seen me do it. So don’t gimmie that ‘I don’t know a thing about you’ junk when you’ve obviously already leafed through my brain as if it was your journal over there.”
Cozy Glow leaned back, looking rather satisfied with her sleuthing abilities.
Sunset meanwhile, was sweating again. “Dangerous or not, you’ve got a special talent for playing people,” she observed. Cozy laughed darkly.
“Don’t try to distract me with compliments, Miss Shimmer. If you really wanna win me over, come clean and explain what you saw in my head.” Cozy Glow snapped her fingers a few times to accentuate her demand while Sunset glanced around the malt shop’s patio.
“There’s nobody else here, horse lady,” Cozy Glow continued impatiently. “I wouldn’t be openly yapping about my problems if there was.”
Yet again, Sunset found herself wishing Princess Twilight was present to tell her what to do. This version of Cozy Glow seemed open to advice, (which was impressive, given how badly Sunset botched their initial confrontation), but it was entirely possible this cocky but vulnerable persona was an act. There was an old Equestrian fable that recounted a pony who saved a cockatrice from freezing in the snow, only for the ungrateful creature to immediately turn him to stone for his act of charity. It was possible the human version of Cozy Glow was a metaphorical cockatrice in the snow.
Then again, Sunset herself had once been shown mercy by a stranger, being spared by Twilight and given the chance to take a better life path. Sunset felt it was her responsibility to pay that kindness forward. A cockatrice could theoretically learn thankfulness, right?
“Yes, okay, I admit it. If I put my hand on someone, I get a psychic reading from them. But it’s not usually a clear picture. Just a bunch of vibes and sometimes a key memory.”
“Key memory, huh?” Cozy Glow’s indignation had been replaced with amused interest. “Tell me miss psychic horse, what key memory do I have that involves my cherry stem trick?”
Sunset raised her head again and met Cozy Glow’s composed glare with her own fiery one.
“How about practicing the trick in the mirror for weeks before school started because you were desperate to make friends in the lunch room?”
A tendon in Cozy Glow’s neck tensed noticeably.
“Yeah,” she confirmed cooly. “Yeah okay, that’d be one. A key memory, I mean.”
“But your vibes were what made me drive you here for ice cream,” Sunset quickly added. “I mean, I gathered by your cherry trick you liked milkshakes, but I would have taken you with me even if I hadn’t guessed that.”
“Mm. Of course. My ‘vibes.’ And what did you get from those?”
“I got that you’re lonely. And sick. I don’t know which of those came first, but I think both of them have been feeding into each other for a very long time, and luring in Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with that fake-crying gambit was you finally looking to get away from both.”
“Ah, there it is. Ya know, it took…”, Cozy glanced at the clock on her cell phone, “twenty minutes, but you’ve finally started to sound like my therapist.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” Cozy said icily, “that Doctor Cadence has been chipping away at me for about five years now, trying to help me figure out why I’m the way I am, and neither of us have made any progress since like, year two. So I don’t know what you expect to accomplish talking to me for just one afternoon.”
Sunset tried to say something, but Cozy Glow interrupted by dropping her voice an octave, apparently doing a spiteful impression of the aforementioned ‘Doctor Cadence.’
“Good evening, Cozy. Have you been taking your anti-batshit pills? Good, good. Oh, what’s that? You say that despite your meds, you’re still feeling all the same violent urges you always do?” Cozy Glow’s speech wavered slightly on the word ‘urges’, but she recovered. “Well, as long as you aren’t acting on them, your parents will continue to pay me for your overpriced counseling sessions, so I guess everybody wins. See you next week, you adorable, rosy-cheeked time bomb.”
Cozy Glow returned to her regular tone of voice, though it had far less energy than before.
“She’s a nice lady, but really naive. She and my parents think love and care are the only things needed to fix me. Oh hey, and while I’m shamelessly pouring myself out here, I might as well tell you something else.” Cozy Glow leaned forward. “Last night I had this dream where a flash of light came down from the sky and started turning me into a statue. I woke up right before the petrification was complete but I started crying anyway because I knew I deserved to be turned to stone. I deserve to be locked away before I hurt somebody. Because as hard as I try to be good, someday all the terrible things I fantasize about doing to other people are gonna spill over-“
Sunset stood up, crossed the table, and wrapped her arms around the trembling tween. Cozy Glow was caught completely off guard by the affection, and could only bite her lip as she buried her face in the leather of Sunset’s biker jacket, gratefully returning the hug. The two held each other silently for a few seconds.
“How legible is your handwriting?” Sunset asked without breaking the embrace.
“It's fine as long as I’m not doing anything in cursive.” Cozy replied quietly. “Why?”
Sunset glanced back at her Friendship Journal, sitting expectantly on the table.
“A certain somepony needs to hear what you have to say.”
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9748348
9749035
Ya’ll asked for it. Deleted scene has been added in between Chapter 2 and the Epilogue. Apologies for the lateness.
It was asked for, and it's an excellent addition.
A letter to one's alternative self.
Surprisingly heartwarming.
Damn, I wasn't expecting this, but the added scene definitely works and helps a lot with regards to Cozy's character. Thanks for writing it out and adding it in.
It's a very nice continuation. I'd really like to see the pegasus Cozy respond to this whole thing from her perspective. Or at the least Twilight getting informed by Sunset on human mental illnesses that Cozy might have a pony version of. Just might be nice for a possible sort of sequel.
10062277
There’s absolutely a sequel in the works.
I currently have the first two of its chapters done out of the projected five. Writing from human Cozy’s POV is tricky, but I’m getting it. My goal is to drop the perfected sequel on the anniversary of the first fic.
Quote me on that one when the time comes.
Good fic and good chapter.
Whoa. That... would actually explain a lot about canon Cozy.
Took me a moment to realise that the new chapter was actually the one already marked as read. That was odd.
It's a decent scene in isolation, though when inserted in the correct place chronologically as you've done here, I do think that the actual final chapter loses some of that punchiness you were originally going for. Personally, I'd have kept the bonus chapter as the last one, since that's what it is - extra bonus content to read after finishing the main story.
Also, geeze, I was bothered enough by what a raw deal Equestrian Cozy got back when she was just thrown in Tartarus. Reading this again after seeing what happened to her in the finale makes it all so much worse.
10067569
10064117
Chewed on your advice for a week, and decided you were right. I’ve swapped the deleted scene and the epilogue.
And yeah, there really wasn’t any clean way this fic was gonna address the whole “mentally ill child sent to Hell” plot point in such a short runtime. Hopefully I’ll figure out a good angle of attack for the sequel.
10074988
Glad you found it helpful. And I hope you do. I have many, many criticisms of the final few seasons, and Cozy's entire character and storyline is a big part of that, but you already did a pretty good job here with making something workable out of that, so I'm interested to see what else you can do with it.
I repeatedly misread the title of this story as "Innocent Until Proven Crazy". The real title is better, but the misreading is surprisingly apropos.
"Confrontation" describes Cozy Glow as a "teen" whereas "Consolation" describes her as a "tween". So is she 12 or 13? Literally unreadable.
The premise of this story is fundamentally interesting, and yet I dislike that it suggests lesser moral responsibility for Cozy Glow (the pony version). I like Cozy Glow because she's a rare example of a child character in fiction who's an outright megalomaniac. She isn't just misguided, nor does she benefit from some other excuse, like a bad childhood, and she's not evil in a small way like a schoolyard bully. At the same time, she's not the Card-Carrying Villain, Doing It for the Evulz type. She's the Lex Luthor of kids.
10082055
Well, keep in mind that this fic never portrays Pony Cozy directly; it’s only EqG Cozy who is explicitly revealed to be mentally ill. Pony Cozy could very well read the Note To Other Self and think “What’s this crybaby schizo banging on about? She’s not like me at all!”
Sunset does very early on consider the personality differences between the two Twilights. The Cozies could be just as divergent.
Also, I gotta update the tween thing. As an incoming Freshman, EqG Cozy would have to be around 14, I guess.
10082238
I guess, but Equestria Girls always have essentially the same personality as their original selves despite different circumstances (Twilight is no exception), and isn't the whole point of this story to provide a reason that the real Cozy Glow is the way she is?
Lovely
I honestly think Pony Cozy Glow is a grade A sociopath, but I like what you did with EG Cozy Glow.
And like so many deleted scenes in films, I think this was needed. Gives us an important look into Cozy Glow, so thanks for posting it.
10261649
I originally did have the chapters in chronological order, but per an older comment exchange (linked here: 10074988) another reader persuaded me to tack the malt shop scene onto the end so the Note To Other Self maintained its punchiness.
As for “Doctor“ Cadence, I admit I spent a lot of time thinking about who EqG Cozy’s therapist should be. I eventually went with Cadence because if anypony could’ve pierced the canon Cozy’s hardened shell, it probably would’ve been her. I think in this fic’s sequel there’ll be a dialogue exchange explaining that Cadence bowed out of her administrative job to pursue social work.
It’s all extraneous details, really. If the fic was emotionally compelling and true to the characters featured, that’s both my goals met.
10262043
I got one and a half chapters out of the projected five written for Innocent 2 (placeholder name). After I wrap up my ongoing Snippet Series with a season finale entry, I’ll pick up this fic’s story in earnest.
My goal is to publish the entire thing on July 24th, the anniversary of this fic.
Fantastic, hopeful, and horrifying all at once. It manages to make turning children to stone even more horrifying than it already is. I can't wait to read the sequel. I would suggest moving the chapter order around, though.
10261969
Her, Luna or Fluttershy would've proberbly been safe bets if they had been made aware of her issues and were working with her one on one.
We've already talked about your story, so I don't know what else to say other than great job.
9747852
Not one that was ever shown. Given Celestia's cavalier attitude towards the whole thing though, I highly doubt it.
10062277
10070148
10262043
Mia Culpa
What was that Paarthurnax quote again? Anyway rad story. I really should stop cutting onions while reading.
10508667
Another commenter left a quote whose feel is very similar:
“Evil isn’t something a person ‘is.’ Evil is something a person does.”
Lightning Dust is the another character I’ve explored through the lens of mental illness, and it’s no coincidence that fic is my most upvoted. Of all nine conflict types, the one with the most room for pathos is Man vs Self. Here’s hoping this fic’s eventual sequel will be just as good.
10509039
I'll be looking forward to the sequel.
Early onset Schizophrenia, scary shit, I’m currently in the normal age range where hallucinations appear (16 to 24), while there is no family history, the possibility that it just hasn’t stated showing yet terrifies me. To have it from such a young age, along with violent tendencies, this version of Cozy is living one of my nightmares. Great story, did you come up with that poem or did you find it somewhere .
10580386
The rhyme is an excerpt from Antigonish by Hughes Mearnes. He was one of the first college academics to push children’s mental health research. So it seemed appropriate that EqG Cozy would cling to Mearnes’s poetry for comfort.
My most high-traffic fics all seem to star someone battling mental illness. This story nearly doubles the upvotes of any of the vanilla stories I’ve written, and The Lightning Dust Trilogy nearly doubles this fic’s hits. I like to think it’s cuz my narratives neither praise nor condemn any character for being mentally ill. They simply show someone doing the best they can to cope with their affliction, and the reader makes their own judgement.
10544641
Human Cozy is isolated, and probably gets treated like some kind of monster by other kids.
She wants to be decent, but if someone gets treated like a monster long enough, well...
Well, then...
Schizotypal personality. Pretty consistent with that cluster.
Histrionic and Narcissistic to lesser degrees.
Psychopathic. That is a definite. It's consistent in both versions of the individual. It's mild to moderate now...but later...
She presents with a lot of outliers that make the "THAT'S IT!!!" single diagnosis much harder. The histrionics to get SB and Scoots on her side. The narcissistic "Look how smart I am!" she displays. Then, the schizotypal "I think I see things"...
I really don't want to know what happened to the cat. Zoosadism is a gigantic red flag with warning sirens and flashing lights, complete with thirty-foot letters informing the reader that the referenced individual is just a tiny distance away from becoming a homicidal maniac...
I read a story. "A Night in Tartarus" by sockpuppet.
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/455036/a-night-in-tartarus
In it, Cozy Glow has the distinction of being the WORST mass-murderer in Equestria...
"Seventy-four," said the earth pony guard.
"Seventy-four what?" Minuette asked.
"Seventy-four premature infants died in hospitals around Equestria when she drained the magic from their incubators."
And she didn't care...
That's the budding monster you have here...
10626770
There are two wolves fighting it out in Cozy. One wants her to become a monster, like her pony counterpart. One wants her to be good.
Which one will win? The one that she feeds.
It's actually not unusual for a Schizophrenic's auditory hallucinations to tell them to do bad things, but it's rare for them to act on it. At least if they're getting treatment.
10629568
That's basing a conclusion on that she WANTS to be decent...
When she took over from Starlight, I direct you to the items she put on the desk...
Token representations of the Mane Six...
And a younger pony skull...one with a fracture of the parietal...
The tokens are highly suggestive of her need to direct and manipulate. To MAKE THEM do what she wants them to do. Consistent with her sociopathic behavior...
The skull?
Before you answer that...how many eight year olds do you know with a younger child's fractured skull??
I submit to you, with the psychotic and megalomaniacal behavior, sadism and complete lack of empathy, as well as the pattern of using techniques and behavior to appear weak and disarming, dear little Cozy Glow is a equuicidal maniac of the very worse kind...
10629602
You're talking about Pony Cozy. This is a possible version of Human Cozy. The author never says anything about a skull in this story, or any of the other stuff Pony Cozy has The closest we really get is a stuffed toy in the teaser chapter for the sequel that she kinda gouges the eyes of. Then immediately feels ashamed. Human Cozy has a conniving, manipulative side, but still has a conscience.
Pony Cozy has no conscience. That's a key difference.
I read this, and I think about how Season 9 forgot how people like Sunset were. Saving others even if its risky, rather than turning them all to stone.
Read your story and enjoyed it. I thought it was interesting how the parallels matched between human Cozy and pony Cozy's strategy for meeting with the CMC. i also identified with Sunset's frustration and suspicion of figuring things out.
After the way Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle left, I couldn't help but wonder if that plotline was building to "Anon-A-Miss" story. I have read that story but I heard bits and pieces of it.
If you're interested, I wrote one story that focuses on human Cozy too. I'm not totally sure, but I think those are rare on this site and it's among the reasons I checked out your story. Mine is far longer, but if you enjoy it, there is more to enjoy. If you are interested, it is "The Shadow Queen".
Also wrote another fanfic about the backstory of show-canon pony Cozy written from her perspective. This one was a one-shot written for a contest that I suspect was impossible to win because it is rigged. The contest prize money didn't actually exist, I think, which is why it was given to what is probably one of the contest owner's friends. Anyway, if you're interested in that, it is called "Here I Am".
10629602
How many kids that you know could find Dino Bones in their backyard?
11071254
Believe it or not...most first discoveries happen exactly like that...
Here in New Mexico, there is a place called Cabezon Peak, in the northwest part of the state. I used to take Cub Scouts to a place nearby, and let them dig, (or frequently, just pick up) shark teeth from Shark Teeth Ridge; The Mancos Formation, which was laid down about 80 to 95 million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period, in the Western Interior Seaway. The Western Interior Seaway was what geologists call an epicontinental sea, which is a shallow sea located over continental crust.
NEVER does a kid just wander around and pick up a recent skull...
11073923
I believe it, but that isn't my point. My point is that if you can uncover dino bones, you can certainly uncover other types of remains.
Actually children have (at times) found skeletal remains, as these articles attest.
(https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/children-find-bronze-age-corpse-grave-while-playing-in-sandpit-23070) (https://www.wcbi.com/children-discover-skeletal-remains-in-itawamba-county/) (https://who13.com/news/children-discover-human-remains-in-polk-county/)
For what it's worth, the two versions of Filthy Rich are very different: The pony version is overall a nice guy, but the human version (featured in "Legend of Everfree") is more or less a garden variety rich asshole (because the writers needed one to do the "pave paradise and put up a parking lot" plot they wanted).
So the behavior of pony Cozy is not, in and of itself, probable cause to assume that human Cozy is capable of the same horrible things.
This was good the first time I read it.
The bonus chapter makes it even better.
I actually forgot about this. How fucked up is that?
I even forgot if the sequel plans were in place (or at least announced) when I first read this.
I feel like this chapter undermines the previous letter.
So the meds that Cozy enclosed might actually not work…
11719203
Fair I didn’t think of that but also I think that was just coping
Awesome story