The Wily Filly
The last of the stone cracked away, releasing the small pegasus filly. She dropped to the plinth and into a pile of pillows that had been prepared for this moment.
In a panic, she scrambled to her hooves and attempted to take off. Approximately six feet later the dog's leash she was tied with ran out of space and brought Cozy Glow back to the ground.
Patiently, Discord waited for the panic to pass and his last charge to get a hold of herself.
Her rapid panting gradually slowed - and she spun around to him with wide eyes and an innocent smile. "Oh dear! Why did a cute lil' filly like me get left by a mean ol' draconequus like you for so long?" She batted her eyelashes, hoping that someone else was nearby to defend her against Discord.
There was not.
Discord was more than happy to respond, however. "Oh! I know this one!" He reached into the air and pulled down a chart. It handily organized things on a moral scale with Discord at the top, Princess Twilight right below him, and then a long list. Cozy Glow herself was at the very bottom, ranked right under Pinkie Pie's Baked Bads. "It's because you're the worst!"
Predictably, Cozy Glow's saccharine expression morphed into wild-eyed anger. "The worst? How am I the worst, you dumb old goat?"
"Because you're a pony." Discord teleported a few feet away, picking up the end of the leash. "Chrysalis was a monster who led a race of emotion-consuming habitual liars. Tirek was a musclehead who's closest buddy was his brother a thousand years before. But you?" He jerked the leash, pulling Cozy to him. The filly hovered eye to eye with the draconequus. "You're a pony. You were born into friendship. You spent your entire life surrounded by it and understanding it. Unlike those other two, you rejected it." Discord released the leash and dispelled it with a snap. "That's why you're the worst. They were ignorant - you chose this."
Cozy stared at Discord for a few long heartbeats. Then - her lower lip trembled. And she burst into tears. "But-- but-- but you make it sound like I'm evil or somethin'!" She snuffled loudly, cowering on the pillow-covered plinth. "I'm just--"
"An innocent little filly who never learned better and needs a helping hoof to blah blah blah blah." Discord held up a poorly-made Cozy Glow sock puppet to mimic her sob story. "But on the plus side, that's why this is going to be the easy one. You already know friendship so I just have to show you it's value! Plus I already know all your tricks."
A sly little smile crossed Cozy's lips. "Not aaaaaall of them."
Discord squinted at the tiny pegasus.
"I mean, um." Cozy Glow beamed. "I can hardly wait for you to teach me about friendship, Mister Discord!"
"You're not fooling me one bit." The draconequus glowered at her.
Cozy Glow smiled impossibly wider and fluttered her eyelashes at him.
"....Fine, we'll start." And then - he snapped.
"Your problem," Discord commented as they crossed the town, "Is that you understand friendship but you only see how it benefits you. It's a tool to get what you want, and you don't care about what happens to or what it costs others."
Cozy flitted alongside him, simply looking confused. "So you brought me to... a book store?"
Discord waggled a finger. "Not just any book store."
The bell over the door rang as they entered - and a half-dozen others looked their way. The group was clustered around the table with a pile of books and papers. The gang's leader peered up from behind a cardboard barrier that proudly displayed the Ogres & Oubliettes logo and squinted at Cozy. "Discord, when you said you were bringing something small? I didn't think you meant somepony small."
"Ah ah! You know you're not supposed to call me Discord." He reached down and yanked upwards - pulling off the draconequus skin to reveal the green tunic and blonde hair underneath. "But Captain Wuzz the XVIIth admits that he may have mis-spoke slightly."
Cozy Glow gawked in disbelief that this was actually Discord's plan.
"So my character's name is Princess Pricilla Rosegold, and she's a half-griffin half-hippogriff who's five hundred years old and--"
The teenage mare sitting on Cozy's other side leaned over. "You're a level one bard."
Cozy pouted.
"And now that I've incapacitated the rest of the party, I swear fealty to the commander of the Kraken Guard in exchange for the gold and access to the Sphere of Nightmares!" Cozy continued to beam happily, even after having betrayed the entire rest of the table to their arch-nemesis.
The party was silent, unsure at first how to respond to the new player at the table doing this. Then, they understood. And as a group they all turned and glared at Discord.
Sheepishly, the flaxen-haired draconequus shrugged and shrunk into his chair. "Um. Oops?"
"Okay," Discord admitted as they walked away from the game store, "Maybe cooperative non-zero-sum games wasn't the best way to start."
Despite the catastrophe of an O&O session they had just endured, Cozy still seemed quite pleased with herself. "Gee Mister Discord, I didn't think it went that badly."
"They banned me for a month," Discord sourly noted.
"And not a year!" Cozy cheerfully no-sold Discord's angry glare. "I'm sure you'll have fun when you get back there. Anyway, bye!" And she flapped away.
She made it about twenty feet before Discord used a giant magnet to pull her back. "And just where do you think you're going?"
The mask cracked again as Cozy raged. "Oh come ON! You told the other two that after you made your attempt they could go free! So I'm leaving! And you can't stop me!"
Discord glanced from Cozy over to the magnet that was holding her and back again. "Yes I can," he confirmed. "And I'm not done with you." Then Discord tapped his chin in thought as Cozy flailed and swore and struggled. "How can I show you that you should work together with others and not just use them for personal gain. So maybe if I... Oh yes, let's start with the basics."
In a snap, the two were in a plain beige room with no features beyond a chair for Cozy, a panel with two buttons and a small slot in the wall.
"Now I'll make this quick since I can already feel this room eating my soul." Discord pointed to the buttons and their labels of TRUST and BETRAY. "This is a classic called The Prisoner's Dilemma that Twilight's lectured about too many times. You have those two buttons, and somepony in the other room has an identical pair. Each round, you pick one without knowing what the other is picking. If you both pick Trust, that slot over there? You each get a piece of candy. If you Betray and they Trust? The one that Betrays gets two and the Truster gets none. If you both Betray, nopony gets anything." A shudder ran across Discord's body as the room's bland mundanity started to dis-incorporate small parts of his chaotic form. "I'll be back in an hour, bye!"
"One hundred and thirty seven times," Discord said with disbelief. "You chose Betray one hundred and thirty-seven times in a row."
Cozy popped another butterscotch candy into her mouth. "Yuppers! And the other pony kept choosing to Trust me!" Even with her childish mask on, she couldn't fully hold back an evil chuckle.
"Twilight insisted this was basic math. That anypony with even the slightest bit of intelligence would see that both choosing Trust was the only long-term viable option." Discord could feel himself crumbling, and not just because of the room.
"Well," Cozy helpfully pointed out, "That just meant I could rely on the other pony to pick Trust so I could win the most." She dug briefly in her candy pile before finding another peppermint and tossing it aside. "Besides, why did you think this was gonna be good to teach me about friendship, Mr. Discord? I can't be friends with somebody I don't know and can't communicate with." She jovially held a piece of her candy pile out to offer Discord - it was black licorice.
Slumped over in the palace's kitchen, Discord cradled his tea. Singing ginseng - he needed the comfort. "I just don't understand why it's not working, Twilight. Cozy Glow was supposed to be the easy one. Everypony kept saying that she's just a foal and misguided. Even I thought it wouldn't be this hard - she gave up friendship, so it shouldn't be too hard for her to take it back. I just needed to find something to show her that she could get those rewards by working with friends instead of using them."
Twilight sipped her cocoa. She knew she had to listen to Discord and help him through this, because otherwise he wouldn't get out of her kitchen and let her go to bed. "And it isn't so easy."
"No," was the gloomy response. "It really isn't."
"So you're saying that six different actors of yours all broke limbs in freak accidents, leading to Cozy Glow performing all of the play's roles herself? And that then she hired a lawyer to get the pay for all the different parts?"
"How could she bet against the buckball team she was playing for? They're not even professionals! She's a foal, why did anypony let her gamble in the first place?"
"And while Cozy was acting as the teacher's assistant, she swayed the students to her side, promised them rewards and overthrew the teacher? She led a proletarian revolution in a schoolhouse?"
"It really, really isn't." The Lord of Chaos fell back onto a vintage fainting couch that gave Twilight a nostalgic pang. "The worst part is that every time I think I'm making some progress, it turns out to be one of her plans! I thought I could see them coming, but she blindsides me every time!" A train roared in out of nowhere, slamming into Discord while he wasn't looking.
The Princess sipped her cocoa. "I understand, Discord. I really do. What you're going through now is a lot like what I did when Cozy was at the School. I tried everything - all of the girls did. But none of us were able to get through to her, and that's how we got to this sad state."
It was quiet in the kitchen, and for a moment Twilight hoped Discord was done. Then his head turned into a lightbulb. She shielded her eyes with the mug.
"I think I get it," he proclaimed. "And it means Tirek was right!"
Twilight reached out with her magic and turned Discord's head off so she could see again. "You're going to have to explain that one."
Cheerfully, Discord snapped and turned into an off-color copy of Tirek. "And the Lord of Chaos actually admits there's something he isn't capable of. I never thought I'd see the day you had personal growth." Then he was himself again in a snap. "Do you remember when you freed me, Twilight? And tried to teach me friendship? You couldn't. Celestia and Luna couldn't. Your friends couldn't." An involuntary smile came to Discord's snaggletoothed lips. "Only Fluttershy could."
The Princess considered - then nodded. "You can't do it."
Discord smirked. "But I know who can."
It was a statement on how things were going that Cozy Glow was looking outright smug as they walked through the halls of Canterlot Castle. She didn't even feel the need to put on her cutesy game face anymore.
If she had been smarter, the fact that Discord looked just as smug would have been a tip-off.
Passing by the guards, Discord led the little filly into a disused hallway. One without ornamentation and ending abruptly in a rather solid door. Whatever was behind it pulsed gently with hints of magenta light. And the draconequus smiled. "Here we are. Last stop."
Only at that moment did Cozy's self-superiority crack. Her expression faltered before - true to herself - she put on her best look of innocence. "Golly Mister Discord, what do you mean by that?"
Discord leaned in, putting his face right up to hers. "This is is where we part ways, Cozy. I've gone as far as I can and I've failed. You've got a choice - go back into stone, or go through that door. Princess' orders."
Cozy didn't hesitate this time and flew off as fast as she could. Like every other time she'd attempted it, she didn't get far. Cause of capture this time: butterfly net. She cowered in it as Discord pulled her back. "W--w--what's through the door?"
"Far better than you deserve." Discord plopped her out of the net and pulled out a weird-looking mechanical gadget. He pointed it down the hallway away from the door - it beeped rapidly and loudly. Then at the door - and it was silent. "Through there is just the sort of world you tried to create with your little stunt, Cozy. One without magic. I've got a friend there who can help you - someone who understands you and might be able to do what I can't." He paused. "The downside is that this is one-way for you. If you go through, you don't get to come back to Equestria. But that might be a good thing."
He opened the door to a blinding magenta wall of energy. Cozy looked at the draconequus and considered her options. Only one had any appeal - and so she gloomily flitted through the doorway.
Slowly, Cozy Glow rose up again. Everything felt so weird. Passing through that door made it feel like her entire body had been yanked and pulled and shifted in ways that weren't painful but certainly weren't pleasant.
That thought processed just enough for her to open her eyes and look at her hooves. Which weren't hooves anymore. A scream of terror rose in Cozy's throat - and was only stopped because somepony spoke up first.
"Hey."
The filly looked up to the speaker, even as fear rampaged through her. It was some sort of weird minotaur - bipedal and freakish - who was leaning over her. An amber claw (?) reached down to Cozy.
Cyan eyes in a flat face framed by red-gold hair peered down to her. "You must be Cozy Glow. Hi - I'm Sunset Shimmer."
Cozy looked at the claw and at the one at the end of her own foreleg. "Are you my jailor?"
And Sunset Shimmer shook her head. "No. I'm someone who was a lot like you once. And hopefully your friend."
"Mail call, your Highness."
Princess Twilight nodded, taking the envelopes and package in her magic. Most were set aside - some for official action, others to give an autograph or two - but the package was a priority. She recognized the return address (not necessary but certainly cheeky) as being on the other side of the mirror portal.
Tearing away the brown paper, Twilight found the latest gift from her friend: a Canterlot High yearbook.
On page 53 was the picture she had been hoping to see. The Canterlot High Big Brothers/Big Sisters club. And sitting on the right side of the group was Sunset Shimmer beside a smiling pale pink girl with baby-blue ringlets. Under that was written in red pen: 'Second chances aren't easy, but they are worth it'. And in red and blue they had signed - Sunset + Cozy Shimmer.
Princess Twilight Sparkle allowed herself a minute of quiet, smiling tears.
"Dad?" The colt tugged at his father's saddlebag. "What's that statue supposed to mean?"
The stallion turned and smiled. "That, son? That one's titled Love Will Set You Free. It's the Caretaker's favorite."
Moving closer, the colt examined it. He didn't see anything to suggest freedom in it. It was just a pegasus mare laying curled up with the Caretaker, both of them asleep. "I don't get it."
Leaning close, father hugged his son. "Some day, I hope you will."
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This... this is so sweet...
Speaking personally, because I couldn't really enjoy the ending while wondering about the temporal logistics involved in that solution. "Because chaos" isn't enough for me to accept a time abyss on the scale of centuries. Of course, this is coming from someone who believes there's no such thing as too much technobabble, so take that with a grain of salt.
My gripes aside, brilliant conclusion. Thank you for a fantastic read.
Makes sense for Sunset to be reforming Cozy and I liked how Discord couldn't do it, a nice way to differentiate her reformation from the other two. Overall I'm just happy all three of them got a happy ending.
That last statue was also really sweet.
good job
I think this is my favorite chapter. The way Cozy acted was just great, and I like how Sunset came in. It was unexpected but welcomed.
I am now happy.
Been following since the first chapter. Brilliantly executed.
Okay. I'm mad we didn't get more from Sunset and Cozy together.
But I'm crying because of that ending.
I think the problem resided in her cutie mark. Once she had that Cozy was done. What I would have done with Cozy is regress her back to a foal to learn how to be a pony from scratch.
This was great
This is the best chapter of all of them. I would have liked to see more Cozy Glow in the human world, but this is good.
Brilliant work and story.
Now i want to see how Sunset Shimmer befriended her.
Better than the show, and a good story. But that being said...I do have some gripes. I’ll wait ‘til I get home From work to type them up.
How sunset alive is she immortal!?! Is she an Alicorn and thus immortal even as a human and and why is she still in high school?
First off, that statue ending was epic platinum as was how she finally found friendship as well as family
Second, I could not help but laugh with how Cosy kept running the market, granted in the end she lost because of it but it was still hilarious in a way
I think I've missed something. What's the final statue supposed to be?
9905644
Discord and Fluttershy, one imagines. And just a statue, not a pair of petrified creatures.
I loved this! This story was an awesome redemption arc for all the villains!
Pfft, I love how long it took for Cozy Glow to change though, and all the dastardly accomplishments she made on the way
Well, this is very good fix-fic, literally what should have happened
Thank you for writing this story, it's was a pleasant read, with a good bit of humor mixed in with the feels.
Okay, so like I said, I did enjoy this fic. But also like I said, there are some gripes. But first...
Discord
I liked Discord in this. No, really! The biggest thing that pissed me off about the character in the show is that he's a selfish, self-centered prick with no maturity whatsoever. He's not really notably grown all that much in Season 9, Episode 25 compared to Season 2, Episode 1, he had just acquired a Fluttershy-shaped obsession that held him in check. And in the majority of his appearances he's not only the cause of the problem going on, but the deliberate cause; compare to, say, when Rarity or Rainbow Dash or whoever messes things up, it's not usually because they're trying to make things difficult for people.
But, in this fic, he evinced a good deal of maturity and growth as compared to the series. Like late-TNG or Voyager-era Q, he's clearly undergone actual character growth that I badly wish he had gotten in the show. And actually come to think of it had gotten in the show by Season 7 ("Celestial Advice" with him ribbing Twilight a bit is hardly the most malicious thing he's ever done, and in "Discordant Harmony" he is genuinely throughout the whole thing thinking about Fluttershy, rather than his personal feelings for Fluttershy). Then the new writing team came aboard for Season 8, and...ugh.
But anyway, yeah, I liked Discord in this.
Chrysalis
So...here there's something of a problem. See, you correctly identify the main problem Chrysalis faces on the road to redemption: she's lost things. For her, friendship is largely something that takes and never seems to give to her. So, yes, she becomes obsessed with revenge, but...I can't help but feel that Discord mostly only got lucky here, because his solution mostly involved taking still more from Chrysalis, first her time, and then even her revenge. He did show off the changelings as still remembering her in some form, but it would have been incredibly easy - and in-character - for Chrysalis to focus her vitriol onto Discord. After all, she does know that there are ways to bring even him low out there somewhere.
So I like that she got a happy ending. I just feel like that happy ending is based fundamentally on luck, a gamble on Discord's part that even though a lot of her rage is built on having things taken from her, if he took everything else she had left, she'd self-examine rather than turn her anger on him.
Tirek
Having finally gotten around to reading the rest of FIENDship is Magic (I'd previously only read #3 and #5), I actually think that between that, "Frenemies", and "Summer Sun Setback", there's actually a fair bit to work with insofar as Tirek's deeper character is concerned. First, he's clearly got family issues. I'm almost getting a Greek myth vibe from him, in that Vorak feared Tirek would unseat him and subsequently voicing that fear - when he thought Tirek couldn't hear - made Tirek believe that his own father was basically out to get him and didn't actually care for him. Couple with Scorpan's later betrayal, it's easy to see how he's hiding a lot of hurt, even if he expresses it mostly in rage.
Oddly both "Frenemies" and "Summer Sun Setback" actually do suggest a slightly different side to Tirek, though. When alone in the woods, he has no problem setting up a comfortable campsite for himself, working with practiced ease and familiarity with the task. Second, there's an odd "pet the dog" moment for him in "Summer Sun Setback" where a bird is tossed aside by the protections around Canterlot Castle; Tirek catches the falling bird and then helps it fly off. If he was truly vicious or sadistic you might think he'd crush the bird or toss the bird aside, or not even bother to catch it in the first place. Basically I actually think that he might kind of like just hanging out in the woods with nature, as odd as that sounds. Given FIENDship #2 shows the centaur lands as sort of being something of a desert, I almost think you could draw on Wind Waker Ganondorf, by far the most nuanced and sympathetic version of the evil sorcerer.
Oh, right, as for the path to redemption...yeah, I guess it works. My own thoughts lie in a somewhat different direction related to that whole family issue that I think he has, but I guess this can work for him too.
Cozy Glow
My main issue is that I really don't think it should have taken a thousand-plus years to release Cozy Glow. I can totally buy your reasoning for why Discord is not himself capable of helping her - and I think it's a great moment in the fic when he finally has that moment of self-realization and so looks for another way - but the fact that Twilight or, indeed, no one else seemed to step in to get Cozy free of the stone prison earlier than that speaks pretty poorly of them.
Other than that Sunset does seem like a natural choice, although I can't say I'm keen on the idea of forcing Cozy into permanent exile. Sunset chose to live in the human world - Forgotten Friendship really makes it plain that Celestia still loves her and would probably be glad to have her back at any time - but Cozy being exiled there just feels...wrong. Especially since, again: child.
But yeah. No real problem from Discord's perspective and no real problem with the solution, I just find it wrong that it took more than a millennium to deal with her, and weird that Twilight, or someone else, wasn't able to make the obvious Sunset connection.
This story was a ride man. Thank you for writing it.
9905414
I actually originally did have a section explaining the time difference. It got ripped out in the first revision - it was bad. The problem was that it made the story come to a halt either in the middle of the climax or in the denouement to spend several paragraphs on magic technobabble. It absolutely killed the pacing and tone, so I tossed it.
For what it's worth, my answer was a combination of the second two - some mirror time dilation and I have always been on board with making Best Human/Pony a princess.
9905644
9905656
Correct - Fluttershy and Discord.
Story behind the scenes on that: the intent was a reflection on Discord's perception of the reformation process. He watched characters like Starlight work for theirs - he was simply given it because of Fluttershy. Part of his subtext in this tale was paying what she did forward. By the end, he had earned his reformation - and the statue was a bit of a tribute to the one who got him there. (Unspoken addition: he has quite a few statues of her around the Sanctuary, because Discord is a sentimenal softie.)
9905873
First off, thanks for the feedback. It's good to get other angles on what's written. You're a writer who's work I rather like, so your takes hold weight to me.
That said! I do disagree (obviously) on a few of your points, but I won't drag things down to hash back-and-forth in a lot of what amounts to opinions. Some of them (like that I do probably under-sell Tirek's motivations) are things I'll take into account in future works.
Past that? I'll hold to the Dinobot code of writing:
I shall tell my tales to those who read; tell them truly, the bad along with the good, and let my writing be judged accordingly. The rest is silence.
This was a great story, and something I might even accept as headcanon from now on.
I liked that you weren't spiteful or childish about the series finale like a lot of other so-called 'fix-fics' tend to be, or undersell just how evil these three villains are. The redemptions really did work for their respective characters, as it really did take a lot out of Discord to do it...though I really would have liked to see how Sunset managed to get through to Cozy Glow...and now I'm also curious how a chapter like this would have worked for King Sombra too.
Anyway, great story.
9906262
I’ll say the same thing that I just said to someone else recently when they brought up Beast Wars:
i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/236/841/075.jpg
Aww, that was a really sweet ending scene. I like Discord's solution here, too.
I'm on the whole redemption story rounds as they come out and I rather enjoyed this one
Including Sunset in this as the one person who could understand Cozy Glow better than anyone was a smart choice.
9908439
I say you should still attempt the writing project. No guts. No glory.
Fantastic read. I loved every chapter, surprisingly though, Discord was my favorite character here; with the few references to Fluttershy being bittersweet buy very loving.
On a side note, I had a game like Cozy's O&O adventure. It's by far one of my most favorite D&D memories. I played an assassin working with the big bad and the DM, that had infiltrated the party. Slowly I poisoned and pressured the party to make things more difficult while trying to actually subvert the others at the table. In the end I killed 3 but had my head punched off from a monk with a natural 20.
Very interesting way to redeem Cozy. I like to believe that Discord reversed time to allow Sunset shimmer to be given a chance to redeem her. Them again I hate the human world even if it is canon. Still not bad.
9916233
Well, I mean, it is a kid's show and she seemed to have some sort of grudge against Twi. Like, did Twi give her a bad grade or something?
A perfect and wonderful story. Love how you framed each character and such. And now that you pointed it out, I guess Cosy is kind of like sunset shimmer
I love this story from the start to the end!
I feel like posting this after this chapter:
Hhmm, I actually agree with Discord that Cozy is the worst. Chrysalis had her changeling biology that set her down the path she went on. To survive as a changeling you have to take and take and take. Caring for others means giving away that precious love you need to survive, so you can't afford to care. Yes, when Thorax broke the cycle Chrysalis had no more reason beyond selfishness to want to destroy what is objectively a better life for changelings, but at the very least the origin of the road she went down is understandable.
Similar for Tirek, he is a centaur. A creature that has no magic and will never be able to do magic, living in a world filled with magic. To see something you want and have it forever be beyond your reach because you weren't born the right species is bound to be frustrating. He wants magic, he craves it, and in the end he ventured out to take it. Selfish? Certainly, but it is a motivation that even if you consider it abhorrent, can at least be understood. Even Sunset had a motivation for her actions in the first EQG movie, even if it was just envy for someone else gaining what she craved.
Cozy glow? She wants power because... well, because. The greatest flaw in how the staff wrote Cozy Glow is that we never given either a background or motivation that explained why she wanted power. She just wanted it. Chrysalis has a background, Tirek has a motivation, Cozy glow has nothing. And that's why she's the worst, both as an in-universe character and out of universe as the worst written villain of the three.
9936385
Why didn't you mention King Sombra?
9937295
Completely forgot about him, to be honest. Here we go then: Sombra is interesting because there are two Sombras, show Sombra and comic Sombra.
Show Sombra is just as bad as Cozy Glow. He's a big, scary evil unicorn because reasons. Comic Sombra on the other hand has a background that explains why he is how he is. Now the quality of that background is something we can debate about for hours on end, but by sheer virtue of having one comic Sombra is already better than show Sombra.
Much better then the actual show.
9936385
Eh, I love Cozy because of the fact she's a psychopathic child and we don't know why, so it's really a matter of preference. Motivation could be expanded and that could be interesting, but past that I think Cozy's character works well the way it is. She's this shock factor villain, just a regular pony who's actually more twisted and less straightforward to deal with than the rogue's gallery of dark sorcerers and monsters we've faced the seven seasons prior.
--
Great tie-in with Sunset, definitely an approach I could see working on the long-haul for Cozy.
Really good writing. Gonna have to follow.
A very loveable story, whatever nitpicks one might possibly have aside. Thank you for writing it
Mighty fine story.
Lightning Dust didn't really need a reformation. Her second appearance was pretty perfect. The only people involved in her dangerous stunts are ponies that want to be there for fame and glory, when her big issue was that she couldn't see how her recklessness endangered others.
The episode probably would have ended a lot sooner if Dash had simply admitted that she couldn't keep up with Dust, and that Dust's way of doing things ended up getting Dash injured. Everything stemmed from Dash not saying anything- and that was the real point and resolution of the episode.
Other than that, very nice show all around.
While I have difficulty understanding how Sunset can redeem Cozy Glow (well, apart from Sunset being like Cozy pre-redemption) but, other than that, I really liked this story. Keep it up.
...That... Is unique. I never would have thought to hand Cozy Glow over to Sunset. Granted, I don't know much about Sunset... Or Cozy Glow, to be fair. Never seen any Equestria Girls and haven't watched an episode past the S3 finale. It makes sense, though, explained as it was. Nopony is equipped to deal with Cozy Glow. Sunset Shimmer and the world beyond the mirror, however? Technically not ponies, and exactly what was needed.
Sunset is alive after generations upon generations have passed? An’ they’re still in ... high school.
Oh golly.