10 - Everywhere I Go, Everything I Do
Monday began ominous. The rain from Sunday had stopped but left the autumn sky slate-grey - a color which seeped into everyone under it. Cozy's poor sleep the night before didn't help any.
Sunset seemed upbeat despite it all. Perhaps her life's trials bouyed her... or maybe it was the extra-large coffee.
Whatever the reason, Sunset was bright where everyone else was grey. And Cozy Glow had no choice but to be dragged along with her.
There was a brief pause on the way in as Sunset waved to Wallflower Blush - the gardener was sitting with several others in a sleepy-eyed cluster near the base of the broken statue. There was no wave back, but that wasn't terribly unusual. It was Monday, after all.
But the fire-haired girl was the only bright spot in the whole school. The rest of Cozy's day reflected the weather - quiet, almost sullen. Thankfully the Crusaders' work also had taken root, which raised the younger Equestrian's spirits. When her classmates weren't talking to her it was because they were caught in the Monday blues rather than because she was an outcast. There was still hesitation but tentative acceptance was far better than shunning exile.
After classes ended, Cozy Glow headed to the detention room. A very unsubtle Mr. Doodle followed from a distance, badly faking that he was reading something on a clipboard rather than watching to ensure the troublesome student went where she was supposed to.
With the Crusaders having served theirs out the week before, Cozy Glow was the only student in the rather silent classroom. Miss Cheerilee glanced up from the novel she was reading, made a check-mark on the attendance pad and went back to her book. The blackboard made the situation clear:
- No Talking
- No Electronic Devices
- Complete Any Reading/Assignments
- No Leaving FOR ANY REASON Without Permission/Escort
Sighing, Cozy pulled out her History textbook to get started. (Grudgingly, she internally admitted that Sunset was right and History was the hardest subject. Who knew humans had so many nations?)
Twenty minutes later, the silence was interrupted by Sunset Shimmer's entrance. Cozy couldn't quite hear what she and Cheerilee whispered to each other, but it seemed to satisfy the teacher enough that Cheerilee slipped in a pair of earbuds.
A moment later, Sunset and Cozy were sitting next to each other again. A snarky sneer crossed Cozy's lips. "You got sent here too, huh," she whispered so as not to invoke the wrath of Rule #1.
"Actually," Sunset noted at a perfectly normal volume, "I stopped in for you. Since I'm in charge of you, the staff are giving me a lot of leeway and they want to keep as far from magical incidents as possible." That surprise fact sent Cozy looking around, instinctively suspecting some kind of trap. Sunset didn't seem to care. "Twilight was supposed to be here with me but she wasn't in school today for some reason."
"Is she sick?" Cozy's tone sat squarely in the land of plausible deniability between heartfelt concern and spiteful hope.
Sunset just shrugged. "Dunno. Twilight's not answering her texts. Rainbow said she'd go check on her after practice, so we'll know then. But since she's not available, I'm gonna do something I've wanted to for a long time..." She grinned with predatory intent.
As Sunset reached down to fish in her backpack, Cozy braced. She'd finally gone too far, hadn't she? It was time for the inevitable betrayal. This was all just to get her guard down so Princess Twilight's enforcer could finish the job. Get her to consider the future and get her hopes up, only to be--
The checkered cardboard slapped on the desk between them. "...Play chess against someone who's got their Mark in it." Sunset Shimmer's other hand lifted a small box full of plastic chess pieces, giving it a little shake.
Cozy Glow's heart restarted.
Author's Note: As a visual aid, you can step-by-step view the chess match here.
Completely failing to notice any of the worry, Sunset set up the board - herself as black, Cozy as white. Once it was all in place she gave a small wave to Cozy. "Sun before the moon."
After a moment's thought, Cozy made her first move - king's pawn ahead two. "And here I thought you would want the sun, miss Celestia's Prize Pupil."
Sunset countered with near-instant speed and mirrored Cozy's move. "I may be reformed but I still look damn good in black."
"Ugh." Cozy faked gagging as she moved another pawn forward to stand next to the one already out. "Reformed but not reformed all the way? You good guy types always do things halfway."
Plastic clinked as Sunset took the offered pawn with her own. "Sort of? It's a process. I like to think I'm pretty far along my path. Yours, though..."
Sliding her bishop across the board, Cozy smarmily smiled. "So your whole plan is to subject me to your friends and assume that's enough to 'it's a process' me? Well," she appended, "Your friends, their music and Tirek's Revenge."
Sunset's queen rocketed out to the right edge of the board through the gap her pawn made. "Check. And... kinda? But a lot of it's more to get you used to living on this side of the mirror." She paused, glancing up from the board to Cozy. "You do realize you're not going to go back, right? Even if you completely turn yourself around tomorrow, it's going to be years before they'll let you through the mirror. This world's your home now, Cozy Glow. Just like it's mine."
The words knifed into Cozy. Her eyes stayed on the board, a tight frown on her lips. Her king inched to the side, edging just out of the queen's path.
Sunset brought her queen's knight's pawn forward to threaten the bishop. "It was easier for me to accept, since originally the portal only opened every thirty moons. I didn't have the temptation that you do. You can't get out of this, though. This is the consequence of your actions, Cozy. Think about that."
Cozy did. She took the pawn without statement or expression.
The black king's knight jumped out into the fray. "What do you miss the most about Equestria?" Sunset tried to ask the question gently, though she knew it could easily come across accusatory. It certainly had when Princess Twilight had asked her the same thing the previous winter.
On the opposite side of the board, Cozy mirrored the move. "Flying," she answered gloomily. "I never was a really good flier, but I always liked being up in the air. Humans are so... two-dimensional. They don't even bother to look up most of the time! I don't think there's anypony I'll miss that wasn't already not speaking to me after...." She waved vaguely in the air. "You know. But being stuck walking everywhere like a dirt-stomper? Forever?" Cozy shivered with revulsion.
Sunset, in turn, retreated her queen from the knight's threat as she did her best to ignore the Equestrian slur. "I get that. We might be human in body but we're still pony in soul, after all. I know I miss my magic. Hands are nice, but levitating things is just so much more satisfying." She tapped her chin in thought. "Maybe later on I'll see what we can do. Humans have ways to fly, but they're nothing like pegasus flight. Unless you find the Magic of Friendship and pony up like we do."
The white queen's pawn advanced a space. "Oh, that's gonna happen real soon," Cozy sneered. "I'm sure I'll get infected by friendship any day now."
Looping her knight around, Sunset put it in front of her queen to protect her pawn. "You say that like you haven't already. Pinkie Pie found your laugh. And Fluttershy--"
Cozy interrupted Sunset as her own knight advanced similarly, setting it as bait. "Can we not talk about yesterday?" She hesitated for a moment before meekly adding, "Please?"
Sunset was quiet - then nodded in agreement. "My point is that if you think friendship's a disease - which it isn't - you've already caught it, Cozy. You're starting to see the best parts of it and understand why it's a good thing." She took the bait and slipped her queen out, threatening the knight.
In turn, Cozy jumped her knight to the other side, protecting it with a pawn. "Maybe I'm just biding my time and looking for a chance to strike."
Moves paused as Sunset planned her next attack. She finally settled on moving her queen's bishop pawn forward, opening an offensive on the other side of the board and endangering Cozy's bishop. "It can be both, you know."
Cozy slid another pawn forward to in front of Sunset's queen, positioning it to grab her knight. "But it doesn't have to be both. I say it's just one. And sooner or later I'm going to win, Sunset. Because you're making all the same mistakes that Princess Twilight did."
Predictably, Sunset retreated the knight again. "Not really. But even if I was there's the important difference that I know you're up to something and I'm ready for it."
A giggle slipped from Cozy. "Are you? Are you reeeeeally?" Her rook moved to cover the pawn. "Because if you're wrong? After I'm done with Equestria I'm going to come back for you and your friends."
Sunset finally got around to taking the stray bishop on the other side of the board. "For someone who doesn't want me to bring up yesterday, you're really begging me to point out the lesson Fluttershy taught you."
Cozy Glow shut up fast enough to make her jaw click.
The next few moves were made in silence.
King's rook's pawn to h4.
Black queen to g6.
Pawn to h5.
Black queen to g5.
White queen to f3.
King's knight to g8.
Cozy sprang her trap, shooting her remaining bishop out to grab Sunset's most forward pawn.
"Oof." Sunset pulled her queen back, abandoning that side of the board. "Good move, but that was a lot to commit just for one pawn."
"You know me. I like to play the long game." Cozy finally mobilized her other knight, staggering it forward.
In return, Sunset moved up her bishop to force open the other side of the board. "You do have that. Which is why I'm wondering what your back-up plan is."
Cozy paused. "My what?"
"Your back-up plan," Sunset reiterated. "Like I said - even if we're not successful in teaching you the true meaning of Friendship, you're not going back to Equestria. No matter how any of this goes, this is where you're staying."
The thought punched past Cozy's stubbornness - she mulled it over as she moved her knight up to beside Sunset's bishop.
With the opening, Sunset's queen darted down to pick off a vulnerable pawn. "And even if you managed to sneak back through the mirror, you wouldn't go anywhere. You'd just be in the middle of Canterlot Castle and without the power of the Bell this time I can't see you getting very far."
Cozy's bishop retreated to threaten Sunset's. But after? She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. "I... I didn't actually plan for that long game," she admitted. And it was true - if her current plan worked, whatever unpredictable upcoming magical disaster happened could give the chance to return. But Sunset also had a point in that it wouldn't guarantee her enough to escape the castle or evade the Royal Guard. Returning to Equestria could just put her back in the stone - or worse.
Smugly, Sunset moved her bishop out of danger by grabbing Cozy's rook beside the king. "Maybe you should." There was visible regret as soon as the words were said, however. Sunset reined her tone in from victorious to counseling. "Really, Cozy. This is home now. There's plenty to miss from Equestria but you'll find - like I did - that it isn't so bad. Especially if you've got friends to help you."
Cozy didn't hear her. Instead her eyes had popped wide once she looked at the board again, darting back and forth across it to take in the setup. Then she tapped her pawn one space closer to Sunset's king. "Um, sure! Yuppers, Sunset! I get it!"
Sunset's eyes narrowed. "You're up to something." She looked to the board. "...But is it in the game or not?"
A cheerfully smiling Cozy Glow noted, "It can be both, you know."
Her concerns were entirely un-assuaged by that, but Sunset couldn't do much about it but grumble to herself. "It's unsportsman-like to read your opponent's mind while still playing, Sunset. Remember that. Don't give in to the temptation." Her queen grabbed Cozy's rook. "Check."
Almost off-handedly, Cozy nudged her king diagonally to safety. "Checkmate in three."
Sunset recoiled from the verbal slap. The banter paused as she searched the board in front of her, trying first to find what Cozy was seeing - and then how to stop her. A good minute later, the older girl sagged. "Mate in three," she agreed... and moved her queen's knight forward.
Cozy looked between the knight and Sunset in confusion. "...Checkmate in three," she repeated.
"In three," came the agreement. "But let's play out the rest." A tiny smirk tugged at the corners of Sunset's lips. "You might still make a mistake."
With an angry huff, Cozy had her knight take one of Sunset's pawns. "Check."
Sunset moved her king to the side, pinning it in a corner.
Cozy's queen moved forward. "Check."
With only one legal move available, Sunset took the queen with her nearby knight.
And then Cozy's bishop slid into place, sealing it. "Checkmate."
With a tap of her finger, Sunset knocked her king over. "Checkmate. Good game, Cozy."
Rather than taking her victory gracefully, Cozy frowned. Without the game taking up her thoughts, what they'd discussed wedged itself back into her mind. "Yeah. Good game."
Sunset glanced to the wall clock. "Well, you're still here for another forty-five minutes. Get that history textbook out - I'll help you with some of the dumber parts of what humans have done."
As the night wore on, it got worse.
Rainbow Dash didn't text Sunset back. At first that was dismissed as just Dash being busy - but dinner came and went without word from either of the two silent students. Sunset spent the evening on her phone, texting the others back and forth with growing concern.
In the end it was agreed to not panic until the next morning. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that Twilight Sparkle got so caught up in things she forgot to charge her phone or Rainbow Dash broke hers by forgetting that not everything was as indestructible as her (or as much as she thought she was).
Cozy did her best to ignore it. But the apartment's growing aura of dread crept in. Throughout the day Sunset had been a fiery beacon against the Monday blues, and now that brightness was dimming with the daylight.
Night fell, and Cozy Glow's sleep reminded her once more that Princess Luna was far, far away.
Stats
Page generated in 0.031 seconds
Total duration
791 users online
1,172,212 hits today, 2,364,530 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
I think I can safely say I'm speaking for a fair number of readers when I say that the update schedule matters far less than the author being happy with what they wrote.
Ah, this concept expanded. Look forward to reading this, though I am wary of incomplete fics...
10048468
Good news for you then, we're getting to the climax/finale. (The other chapters are all written and just need editing/posting. This one's not going unfinished.)
Oh dear. I see those colorshifted words. We have problems other than Cozy to worry about. And what she'll do during the brouhaha...
Well, we'll find out soon enough.
TELL ME ABOUT IT. I'm studying the French revolution right now........geez those french seriously need to get their act together.
Growing more and more curious about those colored words.......first Luna, then Wallflower, now....worry? Anyway, methinks some Equestrian magic is on the warpath....
Great chapter, as usual! Even if you didn't like it, I still loved it, and I'm sure the other readers will to! This story has remained one of my absolute favorites for a long time because of the incredible attention to character depth. Everyone is so brilliantly in character, it's one of the better Cozy redemption stories out there, imho.
10048510
Yeah, I thought Glow was getting close to become worthy of a Blue Lantern Ring.
Very nice how in-character everyone was. I do hope that Cozy would someday get the chance to go back to her original home should she wish it.
Potential NMM antagonist foreshadowing is interesting.
10039037
If you observe, they share a particular trait. I know it well, I sympathize with it. I do not have the words to describe it, however...
Or alternatively, who knows how many nations humans have? Depends on who you ask.
I took a quiz to name as many as I could and managed to get about 130 out of 195. I got almost all of the Americas and Europe, and a good portion of Asia, but I fell apart with Oceania and Africa. It doesn't help that towards the end (it was timed) I started naming countries that do not, in fact, exist anymore. Yugoslavia, natch.
Ooh, I'm just starting to get into chess but I already recognize this one. Though I feel compelled to point out that the Immortal Game is unlikely to be played in a modern setting, not due to differences in rules, but differences in how the game is played. Wikipedia says:
This game is acclaimed as an exemplar of the romantic style of chess play in the 19th century, where rapid development and attack were considered the most effective way to win, where many gambits and counter-gambits were offered (and not accepting them would be considered slightly ungentlemanly), and where material was often held in contempt. These games, with their rapid attacks and counter-attacks, are often entertaining to review, even if some of the moves would no longer be considered optimal by modern standards.
Although then again I can totally see Equestria having the same sort of romantic style.
A filly after my own heart. Pegasus tribe FTW.
Sunset: "Let me tell you about the Second Pacific Squadron. It'll cheer you up."
10048628
Is it weird that my unicorn ponysona would say the same? He longs for wings of his own. And he can neither self-levitate nor cast a wing spell on himself, he'd just reabsorb the magic...10048628
I will admit that I'm a chess novice. I know the mechanics of the game but I'm entirely ignorant of the deeper strategies, history and such. I stumbled onto the Immortal Game by basically searching 'famous chess games' and trying to find one that fit the general feel and length of what I wanted. The history that you pointed out kinda sealed the deal about which one to pick and for much the same reason you suggest.
10048733
Nah, not weird at all. Flying is one of Humanity's ancient dreams, and I can't think of why it wouldn't apply to any other sapient, ground-bound creature.
Oooo chess! Can’t say I play, but your inclusion of it certainly was interesting!
Good fic, I admit it...
Reading chapter 6, I think Sunset put Cozy in the wrong place, she should be in a S&M house, but then this could be to change to M but reading chapter 9 maybe not...
I have to say that I thought a 'what if' if Cozy somehow manage to know enough about the world and go to a guard or police and say that Sunset kidnapped her... With no past from either of them, it could be hard to explain it. Of course she could still need to explain who she is, why is there no data of her (or her human self) and she could be forced to go somewhere far away from the mirror, not to say that it could not work or that even if she return, as Sunset say, there is no escape. And there is also that Sunset is known around and Cozy already have some infamy.
Ah.
Chess.
Goody.
...Read this chapter in isolation because of the chess reference. Interesting but long enough to intimidate me, but I may get back to the rest.
Regardless, ah, the Immortal Game. Wouldn't have been my first choice but it paid off.
I love a good game of chess, and loved that you referenced that match. I personally loved how you tied a bit of a lesson in with the match. 10/10
It is satisfying that Cozy still beats Sunset in a chess game. I love Sunset very much, and she's extremely intelligent and she'd probably beat any of the other characters at chess, but it feels right that Cozy would be able to beat her. As Sunset says, she got her Mark in it. I want to know what the non-chess possibility is that occurred to Cozy shortly before the checkmate. Something about living on Earth instead of Equestria...?
Anyway, this is really compelling reading.
I love that Cozy is very slowly learning lessons, subtle ones, that might help her in the end. But she's still staying very true to her character, including her stubbornness, so I'm still not sure which way she'll leap if she has to.
And it looks like the opportunity will be coming soon. My best guess about what's happening so far is that the equivalent to Nightmare Moon, in the "separate possessing spirit" interpretation, was trying to take over Vice-Principal Luna, but the meds kept it away. So it found Wallflower and has done something horrible to her (you monster). Now either that possessed villain has captured Twilight and Rainbow Dash, or the same spirit of depression is reaching out across Canterlot trying to take over other minds as well.