Being trapped in stone doesn't give a little filly much to do. She has a lot of anger and regrets over her situation, but the one thing she misses the most was the love and comfort of her first, and perhaps only, friend.
This story is posted for Short Story Cozy Glow contest of 2020.
Additional Genre Tags: Slice of Life, Drama, Tragedy,
Note: as of 7/15/2021, there is now a reading by a youtube named Anthropomorphic Nerd who read this story >here<. Go check it out and give him some love if you're interested.
Chapters (1)
Good backstory for Cozy. I liked the use of Scorpan, although it me despise Discord and the rest for torturing her like this. Poor filly.
10385205
As for the torture, it's kind of what happened in the show. The only thing this fic added is the fact that they are sentient during that time.
As for Scorpan, it made sense to me because it leads to a connection to Tirek. Why does Cozy know Tirek? Maybe Scorpan introduced her first, in a way, although the method is incidental.
The main thing I wanted to showcase here is a firm reminder to everyone that, regardless of what else Cozy has done, she is just a filly! She'll have emotional needs as such.
asdtroi8895, you do have the honor to be the first one to comment on this story, so congratulations.
Jurassic Park
Firefly
Flippin' loved this story. It has heart, it has dedication, and most importantly, it has Cozy Glow.
10385225
Yep! 😊 You got the references, and they were put in there on purpose. I was hoping somebody would notice.
Cozy Glow..... ;-;
It's just.... not fair for the way Hasbro abused and treated her unfairly in the last two seasons. ;-;
10385300
Wow! I think this is the first comment I got from you in any of my stories, and I have you a follow many months ago. Glad to see I finally wrote a story worthy of your attention.
But as for your points, yeah. I can't believe what happened in the show. They freed Discord. They redeemed Starlight. They tried to redeem Chrysalis. From season 8 on, it was like it was another reality of the show. The school gets started, the Student 6 show up, and the mane 6 are much more callous. In any previous season, they would have tried to redeem Cozy, but likely with reasonable caution.
When I look at the other creatures in Tartarus, however, I give the justice system of Equestria a very hard look. Whatever they are doing, it's working for the most part. Equestria is mostly a paradise, but at what cost?
This story is meant to hold up a dark mirror to the events that took place in the show towards the later seasons. I'm going like, "Okay. If I accept that reality, then the following consequences also took place."
10385386
Plus I really don't accept the way Season 9 turned out for Twilight. :/
10385472
You mean like Twilight now ruling in Equestria and moving away from her friends in Ponyville?
10385475
Yes.
Besides.... Twilight didn't even clearly wanted it. She was perfectly happy with her life in the first place. :/
10385516
Yeeaaah. Twilight was under a lot of pressure through season 9. That kind of makes me feel sorry for her, especially when she left Ponyville during last episode. Back then, however, i also thought, "Why can't you rule Equestria from Ponyville? You could just make it the new capital of Equestria." But I already foresee some problems if they did that. Ponyvllie is the way it is being a friendly, small town village. If it became the new captial, it would quickly change the town.
I'm...... At Loss for words....... Splendid work.
10385532
Aw! Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Now how about helping me start a fundraising campaign to free stone imprisoned orphans?
10385553
sure thing! Love to help!
10385526
I mean... well..... Celestia clearly sent Twilight to Ponyville to get her out of her studies and make some friends at the beginning of the show. Yet by the end of the show, Celestia had to take that all away from her. :/
10385569
Yeah, it seemed like reaping an investment. I think I agree with the theories that say Celestia pushed for Twilight's promotion from the very beginning in the hopes that Twilight could take over and Celestia could retire, but only if she left it in very capable hooves.
If true, I can't entirely blame Celestia. She's shouldered this burden for sooooo long! Over a thousand years of selfless sacrifice, meetings, smiling, and waving. If you could imagine yourself in her hooves and actually care about the welfare of Equestria, it adds up.
All of that burden is shifting down to Twilight now, except she has some help with her friends. Celestia didn't for the most part. Luna was in the moon for most of her reigne.
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Speaking of Luna.... need I say more on how wrong her retirement is? I mean.... it's so dumb given that she hasn't ruled long enough and given her whole Nightmare Moon stint. :/
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I imagine her time in the moon could have been quite stressful. Retirement would be useful to her, but here's what I'm really wondering: Did anypony take over her job as guardian of the dream realm afterwards?
Twilight gained a mechanical amulet to handle the day/moon cycle. I think Twilight should just insert that into a machine to turn that amulet for her. Put that in a clock and she's done. Just keep it well guarded and well maintained.
But, as far as I know, there is no substitute for Luna's original job, but it's fun to contemplate an organization of unicorns, or perhaps some other breed, with similar cutie marks that all ban together to be sacred guardians of the night. They could be the dream warriors who keep chasing away Friedie Couger. On-screen, however, they got nothing. No defense that I'm aware of.
So, without an adiquite replacement, half of Luna's job is still in demand.
Hi! Glad to see you've entered this into the contest. Just one thing - don't forget to add it to the contest folder (see contest announcement for the link).
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And I know this might be basis.... but...... -shudders- I really prefer Twilight's Original Alicorn Design rather than the one she got in the future. It's so tacky that Hasbro made her a complete Celestia recolor though. :/
10385663
That was in my head earlier, too, but slipped since then. Thanks for the reminder.
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Yeah, I think that one caught most off-guard. That, and super buff Spike.
Both both aspects make sense in a way. I guess Twilight was filling into her role as Princess more during the future. She was missing three things. The height, the wavy mane, and sparkles of some kind. I squinted at that redesign and I immediately thought, "That's Celestia recolored." I know what they are going for, but this design does not fit my "little" pony. If ponies like her were the only ones in the show, the opening theme song would go like this;
(singing) "My HUGE ponyyyyyyy, my HUGE ponnyyyyyyyy. Ahhhhhh-ahhhhhhhhhhh-ahhhhhhhhhhhhh-"AHHHHHHHH!"
As for Spike, I credit all that heavy luggage he was forced to carry about all the time.
Jimmy, it's been great talking to you today!
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Besides though... Twilight's smaller Alicorn design made sense given that... well... she was the only Alicorn to have a normal mare muzzle rather than the square muzzle on the other 3 and the Stallions. X3
Same here. :)
My heart really went out to Cozy Glow in this story. You gave her a legitimate backstory explaining why she is the way she is, and that was an interesting read. I may actually like Cozy after reading this story.
Dang.
Very good story. But holy crap, that ending is a knife in ones heart... Well done.
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(Cozy cheers, for she loves having more friends)
Thank you. This means I have achieved my aim with you. I figured Cozy needed to be fleshed out so that everyone can understand why she was the way she was, and through it all (as it fic itself is oft to remind us) she is just a filly with very strong emotional needs. I added the genre tag "tragic" because that's how I feel about the show's story writing her off as a lost cause.
I do, however, suspect the company has plans for Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy in gen 5. The method that they were dealt with reminds me too much of a time capsule.
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😊
10386098
To help explain this, here is a quote from the contest itself:
How many of those checkmarks would you say this story accomplishes?
I wanted to make a story with a sharp bite to it so it would be emotionally impactful and memorable. Part of me is also hoping that a lot of my readers are already writing a better ending for Cozy in their heads, but it takes place after where the story left off.
I don't think Cozy is a lost cause. She is a young and impressionable child with very strong emotional needs which should not be forgotten. Abuse to someone this young is disgusting.
Words cannot describe how beautiful this is...
Here, just take my upvote and let me cry in peace, you absurdly brilliant author!
10386700
OMG! this is the most flattering comment I received so far. Well done yourself, sir (or mam?). Also noticed you stored it in the bookshelf entitled, "Most Beautiful Stories Ever".
Wow! That's . . . wow! Thank you!
I would love a sequel of Scorpan coming back to Equestria and finding cozy and reforming her.
This was an amazing story and is now my head canon
10387016
You think he'd stop there? His brother is right there with Cozy Glow. Furthermore, Scorpan would be in luck because Tirek did display some subtle signs of affection for the little filly, so Scorpan could get a two-for-one deal.
I always aim to inspire with my stories. I consider it a triumph if the readers can and do continue the story in their own minds because if feels believable and is just that good.
You might also appreciate my other story "The Shadow Queen" for more context on my new story.
10386706
Dishing out compliments is what I do! Glad I made you happy. And itʼs “Miss”. The “Most Beautiful Stories Ever” is the most bookshelf where I store the stories where there is a strong message and where words were so impactful that it hit me.
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You certainly succeeded in that goal.
That's what drew my curiosity to it. I may have to check out some of the other stories on that bookshelf someday.
This was definitely worth the read. Although I was already quite sympathetic to Cozy Glow before, this story made me feel even more sorry for her (or your version of her, as the case might be). :)
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Thank you for; A) Your kind words in this comment, B) the follow, C) the like you posted on this story, D) for storing this story in two versions of your bookshelves which include Favorites and one dedicated to Cozy Glow.
This is among the major reasons why I write and post my stories on this site. Thank you so much!
10388062
You're welcome. :) By now I have nearly 40 stories in Cozy Glow bookshelf, so you might be gathering that I like reading stories about her. ^^
10388074
I don't blame you. She's a very interesting character to write for and read if she's done well. I think it's the sympathy that I feel for her which ends up my primary draw for her. A drive that compels me to either explain or to fix her situation.
Btw, have you story the story "Casteling Cozy Glow" yet? This is one of the better reads I have encountered for Cozy. That writer inspired me to write for this contest.
I also have "The Shadow Queen" if you can handle the M rating and red tags. That one is a full-length novel, although it focuses more on her human counterpart. Even now, I'm working with the writer who originally inspired that story with "Scars to Her Beautiful". He's helping me to edit the story to make it better and more consistant with his story.
10388087
I have "Casteling Cozy Glow" in my tracked stories, but I haven't started reading it yet. I have many stories in the tracked and it will be quite a while before I clear my pile of shame. Hay. I haven't even finished watching the series yet, as I got into it about two years ago.
10388109
Oh my goodness! Then you've been spoiled some on what happens in the show later.
Know that "Casteling Cozy Glow" has my endorsement. That one is really good.
10388117
No worries. I have been spoiled on that for quite some time, due to fandom cultural osmosis (your story is not to blame for it). :D
Then that's one more reason for me to get around to reading it some day. :)
My mistake. I actually read this last weekend during a long car ride, but since I didn't have any internet connection I forgot to comment.
I like this on several levels actually. Even if it uses some unconventional characters in both Scorpan and that mole fellow. But this is actually a pretty believable, and tragic, scenario for How Cozy's relationship with Tirek began. Since Scorpan was the first one to ever be kind to her, it makes sense that she would have a lot of respect to Tirek right from the get-go. And with how conniving Tirek is, it can't have been too hard to twist Cozy's views to his own ends (even if that didn't really work out too well for him).
Cozy is adorable throughout, both when she is in peril and when she is happy. It's always a pleasure to read segments like that. Some parts reminded me of FoE- Murky Number Seven (the best or maybe second best story on the site btw).
There are some minor things I can nitpick on, but I see no reason to bother you with them (it will just sound petty). Instead I will just say that I liked this story for what it is and the backstory it establishes. Good job, and best of luck in the contest now.
10396041
Thanks for responding and the feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Also, thanks for the follow.
I can't tell you how much this story means to me. I had been away from the fandom for a couple of years, and when I tried to get back into it, all anyone was talking about was Cozy Glow. Ultimately, what I understood about her was that she was a filly, she was a villain, and she was turned to stone. I never really meant to watch the last two last seasons, but I was intrigued, and I ended up binging seasons 8 and 9 in a single, 24 hour stint, just last week.
For a bit of context, I'm a school counselor with a bit of background in child psychology. Not a proper expert, but I do okay. Which is probably why the situation with Cozy Glow devastated me. I mean, like, actual, physical reactions, like nausea and anxiety, which has *never* happened to me as a result of fiction before. I was bewildered and upset, and have even been having trouble sleeping since.
I was excited in season 8. Having had her eventual villainy already spoiled, I was able to pick on all the subtle hints and foreshadowing that I probably would have missed otherwise. Like mistaking "friendship" for "control", bursting into the room as soon as Twilight asked how Flim and Flam could have gotten her lessons, stuff like that. A villain who was actually learning about friendship, was was going to use it against the mane six? That's pretty interesting and outside the box. Also, it would be a perfect way to lead to a satisfying and inevitable redemption arc.
Finally, her plan was unraveled, and she was flying around, screaming that she would have all the friends, and that she would just go make friends somewhere else, and I was like "Yes! Twilight can use that!" Hell... I have dealt with children *just like Cozy* so many times before, and rarely do they ever make it easy for me by literally shouting exactly what's bothering them. This should be a piece of cake for the Princess of Friendship, surely all of these characters, who have been defined for nearly a decade by their endless capacity for forgiveness, kindness and, yes, *friendship*, would take pity on this confused little girl and seek to understand why she acted the way she did.
Instead. They literally locked her away in a tiny cage in in a hole in the wall, and forgot about her. That is, unless they needed a straw-man or a punching bag to feel better about themselves. "At least we're not Cozy Glow! Wasn't she awful, lol? Worst pony ever!" The cracks were starting to form, and my desire to see her redeemed became all the more pressing. Okay, great, so maybe the ponies are going to learn that you don't deal with a problem child by locking her in the closet? It seemed weird, and really fucking dark for a kids show about happy dancing unicorns.
Well, you know what happened, obviously. That lesson never came. None of the characters ever, for example, looked into her past. Tried to contact her parents or guardians. No one ever just *talked* to her or tried to counsel her. Why bother? It's not like she's a literal fucking child who is clearly in desperate need of unconditional love and support. Let's just toss her into pony hell so she can hang out for eternity with the most powerful, dangerous, and evil creature to ever face Equestria. That would be like punishing a child by putting her in solitary confinement with Ted Bundy. It didn't make any sense, and it flew in the face of the message of the show! "Everyone deserves a second chance, to love and be loves, and to discover the true meaning of friendship. Except this kid, Fuck that kid."
I started to feel like... her imprisonment wasn't allowed just because of what Cozy Glow did - and she was clearly guilty - but because the pony who should have tried to help her resented her. For Twilight, it was personal. She trusted Cozy Glow, and was betrayed, and lied to. So then... a lesson about forgiveness? Nope! Even better, lets turn her into stone. Because no punishment could ever be enough for what she did. And there's certainly no irony that it was Discord who suggested turning her into stone in the first place.
Okay. That was long, and I'm sorry. In short, i was devastated. This show that I had loved was irreversibly tarnished by the mistreatment of Cozy Glow's character, and frankly, it feels like a betrayal, to me, and to the messages the show itself had been teaching children for nine years. What was the point of everything, if the power of friendship was conditional, all along?
Anyway, I like this story, because it attempts to humanize Cozy Glow. You know, so t speak. It shines her actions (which in the show were clearly poorly thought out, almost like she was a child or something) and makes them make sense, at least from a filly's point of view. It reminds us that she *is* a filly, who likes to fly, and play, and feel loved, whose understanding of the world and friendship was tarnished by circumstances. And the catharsis this gives me is palpable. Incomplete - because she is still trapped, and losing her sense of self, and desperate to be free - but it gives me hope that when the Princess of Friendship finally does come to her senses and realizes how monstrously Cozy Glow was treated, that she really can be redeemed.
Tl;Dr: Show's handling of Cozy Glow = bad. This fic = good. Me = feeling better.
10417710
From the first sentence I read from your comment, I immediately realized that this is important. In order to help me read it better, I tried to zoom the text using the internet options. What ended up happening is the text of the story itself ended up getting bigger but, oddly, the comment sections text seemed as small as ever. What I ended up doing was copying your entire text and pasting it to Open Office document just so I could clearly read every word more clearly.
I must say, I was moved by your words, and intrigued about the fact that you're a trained child psychologist, so that quickly made me realize why subject matter like this would be valuable to you. After that, I was even more glued to your words.
Returning the favor, allow me to share my experience about Cozy Glow.
To be honest, when she first appeared in "Marks for the Effort", I did not think much of her at the time. I wrote off that episode as just another standard slice of life episode until I watched other people's reactions to the show and noticed how everyone was almost immediately suspicious of her. I overlooked the dark hints myself in that episode and just saw a normal child, but nobody else trusted her smile. I even heard one reactor call her, "A powder keg getting ready to explode".
For me, it wasn't until season 8, episode 22, "What Lies Beneath" when it finally became clear to me which direction the show was going with Cozy but, at the time, I actually thought it was the audience's reaction to Cozy's earlier appearance why they "suddenly" changed her narrative direction because I really did miss all the earlier hints. So, when she became a villain, at first I thought it was the fan's fault for turning her into this.
But, later on, I wised up in two ways. I finally detected the subtle hints in future rewatches, probably because of what I learned about her later on, and also realized that since she appeared midway through season 8 for the first time, it isn't likely that they had time to rework the story and draw everything just to match the audience's expectations (which is the opposite of what Ryan Jonnson did to Star Wars on purpose). It was then when I finally realized her ultimate fate was planned all along.
Something died in me when I realized that, and I began to wonder if I was the only one who felt that way. As you said, on the one hoof, it seemed out of character for the mane 6 to not attempt to redeem her, and on the other hoof, this was a filly. Where are her parents in all of this? She gets no trial? Does nopony realize that someone that young could easily be moldable back into the light?
Her fate in the end of season 9 felt even more grim, so ever since I wrote a few fanfics, like this one, to hold a dark mirror back at the show to reveal what I now see when look at this one aspect of the show. It has plenty of innocent charm left in it in other regards, but in this one thing . . . guilty. There are some other crimes too, but this one stands out to me the most. No backstory for her, and no realistic outcome considering the characters involved.
Do you remember when Starlight Glimmer reached out a hoof to try to help Queen Chrysalis at the end of season 6? That was the same mare also stood up to her new mentor, Twilight, about the fate of Stygian within the Pony of Shadows. In hindsight, that was the last time the heroes were in character when it came to their reaction to the villains. That is character regression.
I even felt Discord was out of character, for he should have sympathized with them too much to suggest turning them into stone, not to mention it was of his fault for putting them in that position in the first place. That, in turn, also betrayed the one he loved, Fluttershy. That's actually the second betrayal from him since the end of season 4.
If you're interested in more of my stories involving Cozy Glow, I do have "The Shadow Queen" which focuses on Cozy's human counterpart, but it is also a crossover into the pony universe so you can imagine how that goes down. Don't be too scared of the M rating, for only one chapter caused that, and you can skip it if it makes you too uncomfortable. There is plenty of warning for that, even in the title of the chapter. Aside from that, the heaviest aspect about it is "profanity" because it takes place in the human world and first-person perspective (which is a first for me for an mlp fanfic), which means the story is always inside her head, and one's own thoughts is less filtered. This story also takes place when she's older, so both she and everyone else is more mature.
If you're still hungry for more, I'm working on another fanfic right now that basically continues the story of all my previous fanfics for this franchise except for "My Little Pony: The Next Generation". This time pony Cozy is the main character for the most part, but the story also revolves around Sombra's past and his unwritten history. Since you gave me a follow for this fic, in addition to a like, posting this story in favorites folder, and giving this fic a long comment (which is all really appreciated, btw), then you'll be in the know when I post the next story.
I'm also collaborating on another project which is "Scars to Her Beautiful" by Flutterjackdash. I wrote some of the scenes in that story recently with the author's permission and encouragement, and also writing some scenes together as we each write for specific characters within it, kind of like role-playing. That's really fun! Incidentally, "The Shadow Queen" is based on "Scars to Her Beautiful" as it is the same world and characters. It is what inspired me to write my fic.
Ultimately, one of my biggest goals for my stories is to not only entertain, but also to inspire. My hope is to carry my readers through a journey and help them to feel like they've grown when they complete it.
I haven't lost hope for Cozy Glow because I see the true potential not just in her, but others who should be in more heroic roles. This isn't meant to be a show where Might makes Right. The core concept of this show is about friendship. I think that, more than anything, was the show's strongest draw in the past. Now that the show is over, it is up to us to continue its heroic example in everything we do. That way we, too, can shine like rainbows!
10417965
Thanks for the reply!
I do really quickly want to clarify, when I said I had a bit of background in child psychology, I really only meant that I'd taken one or two courses on the subject, not the full doctorate that would be required to call myself a child psychologist. Just enough to land myself a job as a school guidance counselor, which is where most of my expertise comes from. I just wanted to clear that up in the name of professional honesty.
I do intend to start reading the Shadow Queen, though I admit, at fifty chapters, it's going to be a bit of an undertaking! Especially with the school year starting after Covid, I have a tremendous amount of work to do. I've been tasked with creating a post-pandemic action plan geared towards counseling children who were effected negatively by the pandemic, with a student body of more then 600 children. It's going to be a fiasco, but I'm going to have some help from the local outreach team, so that's nice.
I can't say weather or not I would have noticed anything wrong in "Marks for Effort" if her arc hadn't already been revealed to me to some extent. Her (Cozy's) difficulty in learning the basics of friendship were fairly consistent with the typical episode, although when she thought Twilight's element was "control" that probably would have been a red flag. I also thought her overly cute voice might have been telling, but again, it's hard to say. But... this *is* fiction. I like to think that if somebody had noticed the signs early on, they might have been able to help her. Which, come to think of it, you addressed in your story as well, with the Flim Flam situation.
I never fully addressed the eventual petrification of Cozy Glow, which to me was the more massive blow to the shows message. In particular, when Celestia and Luna state that no punishment would be to great. What a disturbing thing to say! Especially right before taking an action that is the in-world equivalent to a summary execution, which they did with twisted glee. It wasn't even done in order to contain some great power, as was the situation with Discord - all three villains were drained of their power and helpless, *especially* Cozy Glow, who had no power to begin with! And Celestia is herself not only a teacher, but a headmistress of her own school. Her own unrestrained anger towards, and decision to give up on a young child might be the most disturbing aspect of her actions.
Anyway, this post doesn't need to be as long as my previous comment, as I feel I've said everything else I needed to. Thanks again for Validating my rant! I appreciate the great writing, and look forward to reading your other projects! And hopefully, Hasbro will do something to address the situation properly, which I feel was the writers original intention. I keep thinking back to when the villainous three *almost* became friends, so I think there could be some hope there.
10419320
When it comes to your job and the challenges therein, my heart goes out to you, because that sounds like the kind of work that would be far more than a mere paycheck. Being exposed to the vulnerabilities of so many young minds might take anyone into their own headspace of when we used to be like them. That alone is challenging enough, but with everything else that has happened across this yeah . . . Well. Let's just say it is likely that there will be a lot of opportunities for your growth as a direct result of the challenges involved.
Fiction is a work of art. Over the years I have noticed how art changes depending who is the artist. One could have a TV series or a movie franchise that was once successful, but change the artist behind it and the end result can be a massive difference. Even as a kid, I noticed these things, but I did not know why because I never got a glimpse behind the curtain. I never saw what was behind the camera. So, at the time, I couldn't imagine why quality can change so much from movie to movie, book to book, episode to episode.
The strongest hope I can see when it comes to the episodes "The Ending of the End" about the three major antagonists is to remind myself that there is a difference between what happened and just straight-up shooting them in the head. What happened to them makes them a time capsule, and I think it's the point. I think their story is meant to be continued in G5 My Little Pony. At the very least, they wanted to keep that option open.
In the meantime, there are fanfiction writers out there like me who present their own story. Their own art.
I'm glad you followed me on this journey so far, and I'm glad to learn you gained something from it. Some meaning which you might use to enhance your own life somehow. If you continue the journey, there is more to be seen. For now, for me, it is enough to know that I have your appreciation, and I return it with full measure.
Reviewed!
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