Whew. Back to the old grind. Now the true test begins. The Chancellor was the key to all of this. Up until now, the detail regarding Cozy Glow’s first offense that caused her a sentence to Tartarus completely evaded me. No one had told me that, nor did any of the records in Ponyville explain such a thing. Why? Well I was about to find out.
The exact location of the Equestrian Education Association wasn’t really known to anypony either. Respectable, but suspicious. Why go to such great lengths to hide something that everyone probably openly knows about?
My wheel was spinning again. Alright. The plan was simple. I would need to head to the School for Gifted Unicorns. They were probably located somewhere around there, right? So that’s where I went.
I trotted up the steps and entered the magical academy. It was late in the afternoon, so most of the students were likely off on a lunch break. Which meant the teachers were probably on a break.
Stellar.
I approached the front desk where a secretary stallion was busy filing some papers. “Howdy my good man. I wish to know if Chancellor Neighsay is available.”
“Sorry, he’s on break, and doesn’t wish to be disturbed.”
“This is in regards to Cozy Glow. If he’s available, I think he needs to hear what I have to say.”
That certainly got his attention. Nervous as can be with a sweat drop down the side of his face, he rose from his seat, “I’ll...see what I can do,” and took off.
Just my luck. Seemed like he was here today. Maybe I would get lucky and find out more of the EEA’s juicy secrets regarding their...secrecy. Didn’t sound very epic when spelled out like that, though. Hm.
“Alright, uh...he’ll see you now. But a word of advice...try not to set him off. He’s very tense as of late due to his ahem--age.”
Heh. I’ve seen and dealt with worse. I pat the secretary on the back as I went through the door, “Relax, I’m a professional.” And I was now in the hallway, heading towards the end of it for the office. I could easily see where the inspiration for the School of Friendship came from. Although, the Unicorns school was more rustic in its style with more drab colors in the gray carpeting and cream walls. I appreciated a taste for the older times.
I noticed an office marked for Twilight Sparkle. But obviously, she wasn’t here. I’d be able to sense her enormous...magical presence by now. So I trotted past it until I found the Administrator office. “Aha,” I pushed it open, and found myself in a rather dimly lit room. The windows were shut, and all that provided light was a single candle on a desk.
At that desk was the Unicorn in question that I was looking for. “Are you going to stand there all day? Or are you going to enter?”
“My apologies,” I stepped inside and took a seat across from him at the desk.
“So...you’re here in reference to Cozy Glow, are you?” His nose was buried deep in a book. Every moment or so, his eye would come back to me for a side glance. It was like he expected me to do something, anything wrong. Why the suspicion?
“That’s right. Moreover, I want to ask another question: what was she sent to Tartarus for and why?”
His book shut with the heavy force of his magic. The sound caused an echo across the room. This topic wasn’t something he was fond of discussing. But that wouldn’t deter me. “Cozy Glow was sentenced to imprisonment in Tartarus for the heinous act of stealing and absorbing the magic of Princesses Celestia and Luna.”
Sounded simple enough, but there had to be more. So I pressed on, “Oh, really? Any idea what happened once she got there?”
He leaned forward and put both of his hooves together, “It was later found that Cozy Glow had allied herself with Tirek, Queen Chrysalis and Grogar. Soon after, it was revealed that Grogar was Discord and thus, was not tried.”
Discord? The god of chaos himself was involved?! Just what is going on here?! I was about to lose it. I had to mentally relax. Calm. Okay. First thing’s first. “So...you sent her to Tartarus without questioning her parents?”
“There were no records of her having any relatives at all. She simply showed up one day to the School of Friendship, and was accepted.”
Absolute pony dung. There was no way someone’s parents are that hard to find. Not unless they were killed beforehoof. “I see...so instead of stripping her of her power and attempting to reform her, she was cast to the absolute depths of the underworld?”
“Fool. She expressed no desire to recuperate her losses, nor display any remorse for her actions. The entire Association agreed that she deserved the maximum punishment for someone of her age. A threat that great to Equestria has no right to exist!” The headstallion glared at me, his eyebrows were like heated daggers that threatened to leap from his forehead and skewer me, “Are you questioning the actions of our princesses? Something like that would paint you as an enemy of society. Tell me, what is your name?”
“Sapphire Shores.”
“Hmph,” his response was a half hearted growl mixed with a chuckle, “You had best not toy with me, young man. Should you stick your nose in where it does not belong, your life could be forfeit.”
This gentleman was irritating me. Best to stack things in my favor before I get too deep. “Pale Vestige.”
“Ah yes...now I remember you. You were that vagabond from the streets of Manehattan. Tell me, how do you think the public would react to know their current Detective nearly killed a bunch of innocent elderly ponies in his youth?” He said with a smug, snake-like expression.
Wow. They really knew everything. They wouldn’t be the EEA if they didn’t, I suppose. But Cadence-damn it all. I felt my blood boil just listening to this guy. “Just how much do you know?”
He gave a proper chuckle this time, and used his magic to procure a file from underneath his desk, “The EEA knows everything about every foal enrolled into the education system. No matter where in the world you are. You routinely got into delinquent activities such as property damage, bloody battles, and nearly harming the defenseless elderly. Such a swine you were. And before you ask, the School District Manager of Manehattan reports every incident to me. I don’t recall every detail, but I have not forgotten you. What would your father think?”
“...” It was all laid out by now. So they really did know everything. If that was truly the case, then there truly was no record of Cozy Glow’s parents. My trail was officially cold. I had no hooves to stand on here. “...is that so?”
“Word of advice, child. Don’t try to outsmart the smartest pony in a village. It leads you in circles,” he reopened his book, “and beyond that, if you continue questioning the natural order of the way our ruler has done things, I’ll have no choice but to detain you. Perhaps banish you Tartarus myself, hmhmhm.”
I grimaced. My teeth ground into each other like nails on a chalkboard. The threats made against me in particular were of no power. But the arrogance. The arrogance on this stallion was a foul stench of controlled chaos that knew no bounds. And yet, I had no case. However, there was still one final question up my proverbial sleeve.
“So you’re okay with this? You’re fine with letting Discord roam free after manipulating a filly in Tartarus? A place that she probably shouldn’t have been in in the first place? You’re fine with knowing that there could have been something done to prevent this? And doing nothing about it?”
His book lowered just enough to expose his turquoise eyes, “Child. I know you may often witness ponies randomly break into song and dance to wistfully cast away their problems. But that’s not how it goes all of the time. Only a fool would be delusional enough to think it would be so easy.”
My head hung in defeat. There was nothing left to say. But yet, I felt that there was still hope to be had in my case. “That young ruffian is long gone, sir. You’d do well to acknowledge that,” I got up and turned to leave. Just before I stepped out of the office, the Chancellor would speak one last time.
“Take care and watch your back, Blood Viper. Nopony else is going to watch it for you.”
That was a name I had hoped to never hear again so long as I drew breath. Was that a threat? A declaration of war? Just what was this old stallion planning? I shut the door and ran out of the school, much to the confusion of students returning to class as well as the secretary stallion.
All the sudden, I felt my hooves dragged beneath me by force. “Wh--?!” I was pulled into the bushes by a magic aura that kept itself hidden the entire time. And it seemed that I too, was caught in this suppressive aura. An unfamiliar dull pink one.
“Shh.”
I couldn’t see who had captured me, but I remained quiet. If this was to be where I laid down to rest permanently, it would be too soon. Fortunately, it seems that my captor removed all suspicion of her presence.
“Good. I caught you at the perfect time.”
In a flash, we were both teleported. To a house. One that was far messier than my own. Books all over the place, a mess of quills and ink in one corner near the front door, and a disorganized shelf full of rare items.
“Don’t get used to this,” it was a mare. That was for certain. Her magical aura dropped me like a sack of potatoes. “I’m only doing this to ensure a good result on my research. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
“Ow.” A minor sting upon landing, but I would be fine. I rose to my hooves to see a dull yellow unicorn with a messy mane and tail that had red and two shades of purple. She also wore a pair of glasses that were held together by tape. “I...thank you? But why did you--?”
“Moondancer,” she stated rather abruptly. That must’ve been her name, “And I already know who you are, Vest. Your name’s been churning around the rumor mill lately.”
Rumors? In Canterlot? Typical.
She was at a blackboard and used her magic to write something with chalk as she spoke. “Neighsay thinks what he’s doing is for the good of Equestria. Been that way for the last few years. With the entire EEA on his side, he acts like he has nothing to fear. The geezer.”
I knew it. He likely hid behind the protection of those stronger than he was while he remained in power. Reminded me of those black and white Manehattan gangster movies. “I see, so--”
“Shh,” she interrupted me, “so you...you want to try and find out whether or not you can bring back Cozy Glow, huh?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re an idiot.”
I gave a proud grin, “Thank you--whaaaa?” and my jaw hung out. I didn’t expect that response, that was for certain. “How come?”
“Because, no sane pony is gonna support such a ridiculous idea. If I were you, I’d have given up a long time ago.”
“I see…” She was an odd one for sure. Didn’t like to make eye contact, nor speak more than necessary. I almost liked it. “How come?”
After she finished writing whatever it was on her chalkboard, she lazily flopped down on her living room couch, “I’d have given up because that’s an uphill battle I couldn’t be bothered dealing with. But you? I dunno if you’re brave or just plain foolish for it. But hey, it’ll be cool to see if your name goes down in history or in Tartarus flames, I guess.”
“Listen, there’s a whole lot of things wrong with Equestria that many a pony don’t realize,” I pleaded, and took a seat on the floor. I felt like I would destroy hundreds of hours of work if I took one wrong step.
Moondancer was keen on simply levitating popcorn into her mouth as she read through a book. Both held aloft with her magic. “Uh-huh.”
“If I can somehow just...tap into what’s caused this, I can maybe expose a fatal flaw in the justice system of the world! Don’t you think something like that is worth looking into?”
She stopped. “Tap, huh? Alright...I’ll help you on one condition,” she sat up, and put the book down. Her facial expressions had been rather unamused for the last few moments. But now? Now she had a deranged, twisted grin on her face while looking at me. Like I was food for a hungry griffon.
“A condition…?” I dreaded the thought. “What sort of condition are we talking about?”
“Just a bit of poking and prodding...so I can run some tests on you. Then and only then will I consider helping your sorry flank.”
I was out of options. This mare was my only ticket to escaping this high class city without suspicion. “...fine. How do we begin?”
“Take off that case and that vest for one thing, then follow me.”
That sounded way odder than it needed to be. But I removed my uniform and slipped into the case before I followed her into a deep, dark area of her home. “...You do lots of experiments, huh?”
“You could say that. I’m busy working day after day. When your best friend becomes the Princess of the world, you start to slump back into old habits,” she pushed a door open and it led to a small, round room with many devices, notes on whiteboards, and scattered papers. “Now look. I can sense strange magic within you. In your case, it’s Earth Magic.”
Magic? Me? Despite being an Earth Pony, there was indeed hidden potential we had. I knew it. But hopefully this little experiment didn’t take too long. I had to prioritize Cozy Glow after all. “I see...will this take much time?”
My face turned to a look of subdued horror when I witnessed Moondancer grab a set of what looked like electrical clamps! One red, one black. I could feel my pupils shrink into the back of my head. Maybe it wasn’t too late to try my hoof at running away.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” she scoffed and levitated them towards me, “this won’t hurt. Just a minor tickle at most.”
The researcher in me couldn’t resist the idea of finding hidden potential. So I went along with it. “Okay. Go ahead,” I flinched when I heard each clamp grasp my mane and tail. The red for the former, and the black for the latter This felt so foolish. All this time, I didn’t think to see what she had them connected to! My eyes traveled along the wires until they stopped at a device that looked like an analyzer of sorts. It had the appearance of an old printer with a layer of dust, which indicated it hadn’t been used in a while. “Um, what is--”
“Shh. Don’t talk. Just focus on your magic,” she went over to the device. It would appear that she was expecting some results rather quickly. Maybe this wouldn’t be so--
“GEH!” I felt some sort of controlled stimulant enter my body. It didn’t hurt much. Rather, just a minor tickle like she said.
After a moment or so, she had a printout ready for her from the device. The paper had details of just what I had been capable of, and so the clamps were removed from my body with her magic. “Uh-huh. I see…”
I wiped a bit of sweat from my forehead and leaned over her shoulder, “So...what did you find?”
“In a nutshell, your Earth Pony abilities aren’t geared towards plants like someone like Applejack. But rather, towards sensory magic. According to the notes, it says you’re able to sense magic from within the Earth itself and that allows you to not only sense magical buildup, but predict when it’s going to be expelled, and avoid it. This ability even works through walls and can potentially go for miles if you focus hard enough. Fascinating. Unicorns and Pegasi can sense magic as well, but not to this extent.”
Surprising. I always knew I had some sort of skill as a tracker. It was how I landed this job, after all. But as she herself said--not to this extent. I wanted to know more, but now wasn’t the time. “Okay, good. So do you think you can help me now?”
Her muzzle contorted away from a stoic frown to more of a disappointed one. “I was hoping you’d be willing to offer me some samples of your DNA so I could study it more. But a promise is a promise.”
Before I could get another word in, she teleported us both in a flash.
We were now in a remote location. Sprawling open fields with lots of trees all around. We couldn’t be that far from Canterlot, actually. “What are we…” I turned my head left, then right. And finally, I gazed upon something extraordinary with a gasp, “What?!”
The statue itself. Of Cozy Glow with a shocked expression while Chrysalis defiantly reached out and Tirek slumped over the bug Queen in defeat.
“But how...who?”
“Shush,” Moondancer stood in front of me, “If your magic is as strong as I think it is, then you should be able to tap into the petrification spell.”
I shook my head. Her explanation fell on deaf ears. “Wait…’tap into’ the spell? I can’t do anything about that.”
“No. You can’t undo it, nor can you activate it. However, you have a stronger connection to their auras than I. Can you feel them from where you stand?”
I closed my eyes. Yes I could. Their auras were still active and...wait a second. “I can, but...are they still alive? And fully cognitive?!”
“Yes, unfortunately. They can see us, but they can’t hear us. Only their own thoughts and each other. Think of it as an advanced form of solitary confinement or something,” she explained in a rather disgusted tone. It was hard to tell if she was annoyed with the spell, me specifically, or everything in general. Some ponies are just hard to read. “Anyway, if you want to hear Cozy Glow’s thoughts, try using your magic and feeling her aura. Focus on it like it’s the only thing left in the universe.
I nodded, and kept my eyes shut. My hooves firmly planted into the ground, I could sense a rather somber aura of magic. Regretful even. Being stuck in place for so long with nothing to look at but the endless horizon was a level of torture I simply could not fathom.
I vaguely felt the auras of the two tyrants beside her, but I did my best to push those away. My brain was entirely focused on homing in on Cozy Glow’s magic through the ground. Despite my eyes being shut, I could begin to see something. A faded image of the filly, sitting alone in an empty abyss of nothingness.
The harder I focused, the clearer her image became. Was this an illusion? A part of the spell placed on them? I wasn’t entirely sure, but pressed onward.
Then I heard her voice.
“Who...? Go away…”
“...!”
“If...there, don’t...me. No matter...you won’t...trust me. What am I saying...I’m going crazy...nopony there. Forever. With...that. But....too late for me…”
“AGH!” I had gotten a headache from the amount of time I had focused into the spell’s aura. It was powerful alicorn magic, and nearly sent me for a tumble onto the ground. “Whew...hah...how long...did I last?”
Moondancer had been watching me the whole time with a stopwatch, clipboard, and pencil all being levitated. “Five minutes. That was actually pretty long. Longer than I expected from someone like you. Maybe if we worked your muscles a bit more, we could get you to last longer before you’d have to pull out.”
I nodded again, too tired to give a proper response.
“Don’t worry, bud. Your stamina should return pretty quickly. Earth ponies have faster recovery times after vigorous activity than we do.”
Also correct. I started to slowly feel my breath--and my sanity--return to me. I pieced together what I could regarding the filly’s thoughts. “Ah, that’s good. Well, once I focused, I was able to see and hear her for a bit. She seems like she’s regretful but knows she can’t be trusted so easily.”
“Yup, that sounds like an accurate thought process to have after being restrained for so long. Whatcha gonna do about that?”
“Well...I still have to rally support for her case. Now that I know her perspective a little, I think I have an idea of what I should do next. What do you think?”
She raised her eyebrow and looked back at her notes, “I still think you’re out of your mind for trying since she’s a complete nutcase and doesn’t deserve to be brought back. I mean, Discord is still quite the ass if you ask me, so I don’t think she’d be any different.”
“So you think she should stay put?”
“Yup, no hope for her.”
I nodded, “I respect that. Even so, I’ll do my best to prove she does have hope.”
“Great. Mind giving me some of your DNA?”
This mare was really fixated, wasn’t she? Oh well, it couldn’t hurt, could it?
It wasn’t that painful, but there was a decent amount of being poked and stimulated that I did not want to go into detail about.
I took the train back to Ponyville. Between the stressful talk with the Chancellor, magical experimentation, and the focus I had to apply on Cozy’s statue? I was ready to drop to the dirt and never rise. By the time I got off the train, I was ready to simply drop.
“Agh...ow....for Cadence’s sake, my flank feels like it’s gonna explode!” I took a rest at a spot near a river and some scattered trees next to a hill. My stamina would return soon, but I couldn’t bear the thought of what I had just experienced. I needed time to recover.
That’s when I heard a rather strange sound. One that sounded like traditional braying. The language of our ancestors. Was I really about to travel to the afterlife? Not here! Not now!
“Ohmmm...neee-eee-eee…”
No, it was someone else. I was alive, thankfully. I inched my way over and found a secluded area concealed by bushes. A green mare, Earth Pony, was doing some sort of...meditation? I had no clue.
“Yoooo, man,” she addressed me with her eyes closed. Guess she had similar sensory abilities to me? “Your vibes are all over the place. Come and like, chill with me, bro.”
I was in no position to refuse. I needed a moment to loosen up and...think about certain things. So I joined her in those bushes. “...thank you?”
“Peace, man. Just relax and let it aallll out…”
Wait, he doesn't know what happened the first time Cozy got sent to Tartarus? How does he not know what happened? The entirety of Equestria's magic was disappearing, that's kind of an event you don't just fail to notice.
So Neighsay went back to his own tricks and most likely did some work to make sure Cozy remains trapped. Also, it seems that the EEA also counts as the justice system for some reason. Either that or he's senile. Either way I hate him.
As for Pale having unique abilities, I found it odd at first, but considering that Pinkie exists it could happen.
So Cozy's awake in this. Thats incredibly sad and I have no idea how anyone could defend doing that to someone. I think a good way Pale could get the crowd on his side is to prove that. Although at this point I'm not sure how sane Cozy would realistically be even after being released. Still, I do hope that Pale picks up the pace. I do wonder if Twilight knows about this.
Moondancer is a bit wierd here. She seems to both agree and disagree with Cozy's imprisonment.
And it looks like Tree Hugger is next. That should be fun.
Is everypony in Equestria trying to live their lives in mindless bliss?! Maybe it was a mistake for Harmony to always win. I mean The Last Airbender had a ‘Lost the battle but not the war.’
10394958
That's the thing though. This takes place during the timeskip in The Last Problem. At the time of Cozy's attack, he was a teenager and wasn't able to understand everything going on. From then on, the details were hidden from the public. And there you go. That's why he only found out just now.
10394109
Starlight wasn't "allowed" to escape the first time, though? She just escaped under her own power into the maze-like caverns. Yeah, she got off the easiest out of all the villains in the end, but she's more the exception than the norm. I mean, let's look at the other villains and the punsihments they received:
Nightmare Moon: Got imprisoned in the moon for a thousand years and shot by the Elements of Harmony on her return.
Discord: Got imprisoned in stone for well over a thousand years, and imprisoned in stone again when he returned to continue his tricks. Was forgiven after he learned what being betrayed felt like.
Chrysalis: Got smacked half a continent away by a magic love nuke the first round, then lost everything she had the second, at which point she was offered a chance to redeem, and was imprisoned in stone the third time she tried to take over Equestria.
Sombra: Got disintegrated three times (stubborn git, that one). Maybe redeemed if you take the comics as his final fate.
Tirek: Imprisoned for life in Tartarus twice, turned to stone the third time.
Starlight: Forgiven in a desperate gambit from Twilight to stop her plan. Easily got of the easiest out of all villains.
Sirens: Got exiled to an entirely different world, lost their magic after their round two.
Sunset: Got blasted with the element, effectively exiled for thirty moons and had to fix the damage she caused. Punishment was lightened on account of good behaviour and Twilight improving the portal.
Villains in Equestria don't get off easy. What Cozy got was fairly standard for nation/world ending threats in Equestria.
10394965
Well sort of. Given that she was a child entangled in Educational system and even fought Neighsay, they had some authority on her punishment.
And yeah. When Discord was released, he awoke and started commenting as if he could always hear everything.
And don't get the wrong idea. He's not going to be as random and wacky as Pinkie. I don't like OP OCs. XD
Moondancer is playing it smart by not giving away her entire stance, but given the way Discord still acts, she has no hope for Cozy to change.
And yes, Tree Hugger will be fun! XD
10394979
Stagnation is a hell of a drug, friend. When there's no conflict, everyone dips back into old habits and doesn't think for themselves. Sucks, really.
10394995
I always attributed Discord remembering to him being a draconequis, rules do not apply and all that. By comparison, when Twilight was petrified by a cockatrice she was in perfect stasis, couldn't remember a thing about it.
10394987
Huh, why hide it? To protect Cozy? That'd mean there's actually an interesting argument to be made that Cozy's incarceration was part punishment, part for her own safety.
10395009
From their perspective, I don't think letting the general public know that a child was placed in Tartarus would be a good idea. They wouldn't want negativity to spread over the fact that "CELESTIA AND LUNA PUT A KID IN HELL OMG" and have it be taken out of context. They would want to keep her initial imprisonment a secret.
Now for her second banishment in stone, yeah they told everyone since she nearly destroyed the world at that point. But details of the first are very murky and not well known.
10394989
That doesn't neccesarely make it better. The fact still remains that Discord, Starlight, Chrysalis and Luna were given second chances while literally nothing was attempted with Cozy. Not even so much as an offer. Heck, Discord relapsed multiple times but was forgiven almost instantly each time.
Just because Starlight managed to escape doesn't mean she should get a second chance over Cozy. The fact that she got off scott-free while a normal pegasus filly didn't shows clear unfairness towards Cozy. Also, didn't Twilight say "let her go"?
As for the others, the villains that were defeated were fighting back at the time and were too powerfull to detain otherwise. Cozy, meanwhile was powerless to two mare guards leaving her imprisonment in Tartarus and stone completely unnecessary.
I know villains don't get off easily, but they are usually given second chances if the heroes are able to.
And even then, locking a filly up in a small empty cage then petrifying her all while she's utterly defenceless is more of an act of torture then imprisonment as it was utterly unneccesary.
10395015
Ehhh, the kid in question almost destroyed the world. That's a bit of an extenuating circumstance. If some kid in our world somehow got seconds away from intentionally starting nuclear Armageddon before being stopped, he wouldn't exactly get sent to just juvenile either.
That "the reputation of the Princesses" is the core reason it's a secret kinda worries me. It kinda makes it sound like you've already decided that Cozy Glow getting sent to Tartarus was objectively wrong, and that there is no moral complexity to be found in the decision for Pale to struggle with. I mean, so far the only opposition our detective has faced has been a bigot, a power-tripping jerk and an apathetic. Is anyone going to raise some good reason for Cozy being imprisoned, or this this just going to be the valiant hero Pale Vestige fighting to free an innocent child from bigots and jerks wielding terrible arguments?
10395061
That's one perspective, yes. But Pale is by no means a hero. Fleur, while a tad biased towards unicorns puts faith in the decisions made by Neighsay and the princesses. While it may not be the most convincing argument in the world, it's a valid one that represents the general population of the Canterlot nobility.
Neighsay himself is about absolute order. From his perspective, he's done what's right and feels the princesses have the moral high ground. Due to the fact that Pale was a street rat with no parents (just like Cozy was), he sees the detective as biased and doesn't want him to disrupt the natural order. To you, he may be a jerk, but he and the EEA as a whole have valid points since they value the safety of the ponies that live there. He just likes to mess with Pale and tease him about his past.
Moondancer isn't really apathetic. She's just stoic. As she said, she still thinks Discord is a bit of a dick even after his imprisonment for so long which meant he learned absolutely nothing from being in stone. To her, she thinks that Cozy Glow will also have learned nothing given how crazy she was. The only reason why she helped Pale was for the sake of her promise, nothing more. She thinks he's wasting his time and shouldn't bother because Cozy is a lost cause.
If you take time to understand, you'll find that each character does have valid points that counters Pale's. He's no hero, and the story isn't aiming to make him look like one. He's simply doing what he feels is right which conflicts with the views of others. Starlight, Trixie, and Neighsay are all watching him now to make sure he doesn't do anything funny or crazy because from their perspectives, this guy is trying to mess with a decision made by the goddesses of their land. He's got a target painted on his back now, but he's taking that risk anyways.
10395091
In the case of Neighsay he seems more like a bully to me, used to get his way and dictate terms even to Princesses. I would even say Fleur was right regarding the real reason he wants Cozy in stone, Tartarus or whatever fate worse than death: the little filly outsmarted and humilliated him.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/8/29/1819298.gif
Not so high and mighty when stripped of power, right?
Oh boi, here comes the hippie.
Really interesting as always my dude and cheers on for that!
Loved these chapters so far
10395851
Well when you're outdone so hard by someone so young who doesn't even have magic, yeah you'd be salty and want her gone. Thank you for properly understanding Fleur's reasoning.
10395853
Thanks! Glad you love it! Trust me, her interview is gonna be a real doozy!
So, Neighsay didn't say anything bigoted. That's a start, but he's still an arrogant jerkwad that shouldn't have his job anymore. Not surprised that he's still so sour about being outsmarted by a child.
Moondancer was a bit... odd, to say the least. For some reason, she makes me think of the Time Turner/Doctor Whooves guy from the Slice of Life episode. She did provide some interesting bits about Cozy Glow's current state of being, though. And shed some more light on Earth pony powers. Her stance is very straight forward too. Cozy Glow went too far, Discord-crazy far, and the thing is while Discord is like that by nature, she chose to go that far.
Pale's ability to sense things like that might give him in edge when making his case about Cozy. Tree Hugger is kind of unexpected as an interviewing subject. Don't really see a lot of her around here.
10397034
Changeling is a process, it takes time. One weakness of the show is we don't get to see many of the "reformed" characters beyond the realization they need to change. The actual process isn't usually shown.