Touch and Move
Today
“He used me,” Cozy growled as she finished explaining to Tirek, while she looked at the paper in her hooves, whole body trembling. “He’s always been using me. He always just wanted Daddy’s money ‘cause he’s too lazy and stupid to make his own so he just worked for Daddy. And I knew that and I didn’t really mind ‘cause he let me do whatever I wanted while Daddy was away. But he messed with our game. Uncle Fork…he m-made me think…”
She shook her head, and looked up to Tirek as she folded the paper. “So he deserved to have his magic taken! He deserves to suffer! This is just going to be the start. I wasn’t going to do anything today but you came and Discord came and presented the perfect opportunity! It’s only for now…but I’m going to take Uncle Fork apart. This is just the start.”
Tirek crossed his arms, brow raised. Well. He had sorely underestimated this little hellion, hadn’t fully appreciated how her intuition and intelligence would clash with the very real fact that she was still just a foal. But her reason for turning on her uncle…
Tirek grunted, thinking of Scorpan, his brother. Of Vorak, his father. Both had turned on him, betrayed him, Scorpan out of weakness and soft-heartedness towards ponies, Vorak out of fear and jealousy towards the magic power Tirek had possessed, greater than any other centaur’s. Tirek had been betrayed before…and he knew how to respond to it: overwhelmingly.
Cozy Glow hadn’t betrayed her uncle. She’d been betrayed by her uncle, and now sought retribution. Tirek could understand that perfectly.
Tirek found himself grinning. His horns glowed, and he waved a hand over the chess board. The pieces started re-arranging themselves into their starting positions. “Very well, Cozy,” he said. “I sympathize with your reasoning. No…I empathize. I too have been betrayed before. I can hardly blame you for wanting revenge.”
The little filly smiled sweetly up at him. “Aw, thanks, Mister Tirek!”
“Lord Tirek.”
“Mm-hmm. Anyway, I’d super appreciate it if you didn’t tell anypony.”
“Small chance of that,” Tirek chuckled. A part of him wondered why it was that Cozy seemed to still think that Equestria as a society would still exist in any meaningful for once he and Discord were through with it. But even that small part didn’t write it off as foolish naivety, not now that she’d shown him her true face.
He frowned. “Who would I tell, anyway?” He asked. He clenched a fist, and flexed his muscles. “Do you really think your Princess Celestia can save Equestria now? I have already taken the power of more than half of Equestria. Celestia and Luna are no match for me! And with Discord aiding me I’ll soon have all the magic in Equestria! Who could stand up to me then?”
Cozy shrugged, leaning against the chess table. She flicked a knight with one hoof, setting it wobbling. “Golly, I don’t know. You do sound really strong! Then again, it’s not like Nightmare Moon wasn’t strong…”
Tirek scoffed. “One overly emotional alicorn whining about not getting her way cannot compare to my power.”
Cozy giggled. “Okay, that’s true. But I’m just saying, Equestria’s been through a lot lately.” She laughed again, but the way her wings flexed and unflexed betrayed the nervous tension within her to Tirek. “But, it’s still here! Things just work out a whole bunch. Something-something Magic of Friendship.”
Tirek scoffed. “A cute sentiment. No wonder you ponies adore it.” And soft-hearted gargoyles like his brother. “But that so-called ‘magic’ pales next to true power. When you rely on friendship you’re only allowing yourself to become dependent upon others.” He lit up his horns like he was about to begin taking Cozy’s magic. “True power is power subordinated to nothing but your own will!”
Cozy didn’t even flinch, though her grin did drop. “I sure wish I could do magic like that,” she said, looking down. Her wings were spread wide. “When Nightmare Moon came back I just hid under my Daddy’s desk. The same when Discord turned the world literally upside-down. And when the Plundervines attacked…I tried making all the friends I could but it never did anything. All I did was waste a whole lot of time and effort and it didn’t even keep a few stupid weeds away!”
She shifted, then looked back up to Tirek and smiled again. “But…I’m kinda’ glad I wasn’t hiding under a desk this time. And not just ‘cause I was able to get back at Uncle Fork. This time it just wasn’t so bad ‘cause I could talk to the monster. Maybe…we could even be friends?”
Tirek blinked…and then threw his head back and laughed, hands clutching at his stomach as he did. “Friends!” He exclaimed, and looked down at Cozy Glow. “Did I not just finish telling you how friends are a weakness?”
Cozy Glow pouted, and she crossed her hooves. “You don’t have to laugh, you big meanie! You’re friends with Discord.”
“I am allies with Discord. Our interests align. He is aiding me in gaining all the magic in Equestria, and once I have it, the havoc he will wreak upon your kingdom without Celestia to protect it…” He grinned down at her. “You have grasped that I am granting you the last moments of relative kindness in your life, haven’t you? That after the two of us are finished, your world will be at Discord's mercy forever?”
Cozy Glow shrugged. “Like I said: Equestria’s been through a lot lately. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m sure you’ll be defeated in the end.” She grinned at him. “Maybe it’ll be Discord. If you’re not friends, then why shouldn’t he betray you?”
Tirek leaned down over the table, still smiling a smile full of fangs. “I’m sure that he will try.”
Cozy matched the gaze, and her grin returned. “Ooh…devious! I knew you were good at chess! You’re already thinking ahead, aren’t you?”
Tirek shrugged, leaning back. “I intend to give Discord every opportunity to honor our bargain. But should he prove to be less than trustworthy, I see no reason to be so myself. A creature should not be held to a bargain that is neither made nor kept in good faith. And expecting loyalty from Discord would be a foal’s errand.” He considered, and eyed Cozy. “No offense.”
“None taken!” Cozy laughed.
The centaur glanced up at the sky and the position of the sun, considering. The game with Royal Fork hadn’t taken very long, he still had more than an hour before Discord returned. He looked back to Cozy.
“Another game?” He ventured, and gestured to the chess board. “Now that I’ve seen what you’re like when you’re trying to lose, I would know how well you play when trying to win.”
Cozy Glow brightened further, though she soon checked herself. “I don’t wanna bet my magic,” she said.
“Of course not, child,” Tirek agreed. He stroked his beard once more, and grinned as he remembered Cozy’s earlier wish. “But to motivate you to play to your utmost ability…if you do manage to win, I will teach you a simple spell.”
The filly blinked, eyes growing wide. “But…I’m a pegasus…”
“Unicorns do not have a monopoly on magic among your race.” Tirek countered immediately. “It is harder for pegasi and earth ponies, perhaps, but not impossible.” He wave a hand nonchalantly. “The spell will be a very simple one, allowing you to burn paper in order to send it almost instantly to a creature of your choosing whose location you are aware of.”
Cozy’s eyes grew even wider. Apparently despite the basic nature of the spell, the full implications of its utility weren’t lost on her. “Okay!” She said. “You’re on!”
Tirek nodded, and indicated the chess board. “White or black?”
“Black! If you want me at my best, then I’m better with black.”
“Very well then.” Tirek once again stroked his beard, which also allowed him to hide a smile at how the filly practically trembled in place with excitement. She was quite endearing, for a pony.
Tirek selected his king’s pawn, and moved it forward – two spaces, as per the modern rules for chess. He looked to Cozy.
“Your move.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.065 seconds
Total duration
998 users online
69,134 hits today, 2,561,572 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 you did a good job dancing around Twilight's existence. And yes that's a big plot hole in the show.
I bet that's a standard for Celestia's students.
Also, the Cadance/Twilight thing isn't hard; at some point, Cadance had to go into Tartarus and saw Tirec. She's a princess, so she's allowed; just say she had an adventure and had to ask him about ancient stuff. Boom, we're done.
Leave it to Cozy Glow to turn a terrifying situation into a perfect opportunity for revenge. It'l be interesting to see how this match will play out.
If thats how the letters got to Tartarus then I wonder why Derpy/Ditzy/Muffins was needed to deliver them back to Cozy. Also, I wonder if thats the same spell Spike used just cast differently.
10204293
I have a better idea. Tirek learned about the Crystal Empire and Cadance when a young detective from the Imperial Bureau of Investigations sought his advice in order to catch a magical serial killer.
And that fills in that plot hole.
I always figured Tirek just thought there were 3 Princesses and thought the third, pinkish purple one was the one who saved the day all the time and also ruled the Crystal Empire.
10204420
It need not have been Tirek she learned it from though. After all, Spike has that very same ability and it is implied to be a pony spell.
10204533
Why not? They retconed nearly all of the mechanics to Discord's powers in Twilight's Kingdom With The Ending of The End, so this is nothing new.
I feel for you. I had to tie myself up in knots to explain Celestia's disappearance during the events of Friendship is Magic (I guess she was sealed away in the moon, but why was that never established in the show itself?) and her apparent refusal to tell Twilight or anypony about it.
10204307
Probably, honestly for something like this to be cannon it seems more likely she picked it up form hanging out with Spike or Twilight.
Seeing how we never actually see those letters being delivered, it's just as likely that they were written for another purpose. As for a real world explanation? Season 8 writer's weren't thinking that far ahead; anymore than when they made the other numerous convoluted leaps in logic that they did.
10204307
Maybe Tartarus blocks outgoing magic but not incoming?
I am a bit conflicted on why of all things Tirek would offer her this spell. From Cozy's perspective it's convenient because she can hide her chess game, but she did not make the offer, or even influence it. Still props for fixing these blatant plot holes. As for Cadance, one way to solve it is by having Tirek and Discord formulate a plan of attack, including the Crystal Empire. While Cadance is by all means more obscure than Twilight, the Crystal Empire could come into consideration regardless: seeing how quick the Princesses were to respond, Tirek would at least have looked at a map of Equestria.
10205199
The idea is that it’s an extremely simple spell, one of the most basic that Tirek knows, and as such will be relatively quick and easy to teach her or at least show her how to do so she can start practicing it.
It's possible that Cadance is a lot older than she looks. Her only canonical relative is pre-Sombra, and it's not like her failure to be mentioned prior to her first appearance isn't already a plot hole even if she's the same age as Shining.
10204307
Prison security is pretty consistent with stopping things from getting out but not doing as much as it could to stop things from getting in.
Well, at least the spell explains how in the world Cozy was able to get mail to and from Tartarus.
10204489
He could've been lying. After all he didn't want to reveal the name of his penpal until fluttershy convinced him to.
Yeah, that's one of the annoying parts of the S4 finale that I'm determined to fix if I ever rewrite it. (Appropriate you struggle with it in a chapter that patches a similar hole in the S8 finale.)
Mlp has plotholes you can drive a star destroyer through? Perish the thought!
10614400
Hay, Celly hasn’t had that much cake. This century, anyway...
I can see where that spell is going to go...