Mirror Mirror Memory Mare
The school wasn’t quiet. The rumble of hoofsteps echoed through the walls and muddied Headmistress Starlight’s otherwise coherent thoughts. She got up from her desk, leaving the litany of notes, diagrams, and magical formulae on her table as she paced around the homely, cluttered office, clearing her muddled thoughts.
Outside, the chatter of her students as they headed home distracted her. She couldn’t afford distraction right now; distraction meant loss of control. Right now, control was something Starlight felt in desperate need of.
Starlight was not comfortable around children. They brought back… unpleasant memories from before she had left to found her town, such a long time ago. She didn’t understand how to take care of them, and it made the reality of being in charge of them much harder.
She could cast a little spell to quieten the entire school, yes… but then again, she had been trying to learn not to overly rely on magic. Advice from Twilight. When she began to use something as a crutch, even if it was great and mighty, it would begin to only hold her back. Instead, Starlight paced. She liked pacing. Putting her body into motion gave her trigger-happy neurons something to fire at. It also stopped her from thinking too much about foals, her responsibilities, and the past, which were things that would all-too-often consume her thoughts.
The spell should work, she reassured herself. Backfires had been accounted for. Even if Cozy did have some hidden trick up her sleeve… which she might… She would still be trapped and unable to escape.
She would…
Starlight heard a knock at her door, and nearly jumped out of her skin. She should really install a ‘do-not-disturb’ sign on her door for when she was in the middle of an intense thinking session…
“C-come in!” she said, collecting her scattered thoughts. Her horn flickered to life and she threw levitated the many magical formulae into her drawers, stuffing them in without any care for whether they’d be wrinkled or not. Some of them didn’t quite make it in.
Her office door opened, and a semi-familiar face peered inside. Starlight breathed out.
“Ah yes,” she began, beckoning to the middle-aged mare to enter. “You’re the new teacher here, is that right?”
The mare… a unicorn, by all appearances, and with a particularly vibrant white coat and pink mane, trotted inside. “That’s correct.”
Starlight nodded, and trotted to her desk. “I… almost remember. Hang on, I have the documents in here somewhere… oh…”
Starlight began to rummage around in her desk, but in her haste to put away her notes she had made a real mess of things. No wonder Twilight kept Spike around… she could do with having an assistant as well. Trixie? No. That was a terrible idea.
The new teacher levitated one of the stray papers up from the ground, glancing at it momentarily. Starlight plucked it out from her grasp with her hoof and quickly put it away.
“Don’t mind those… just little scribbles.” She opened her last drawer. “Sorry, remind me what I’m supposed to call you?”
“Sunbeam will be appropriate,” replied the unicorn mare.
“A little on the nose, no?” Starlight sighed. “It’s fine.” She glanced at the mess she had made in her desk. “Oh, where is it...?”
Sunbeam trotted over to a large mirror in the corner, looking at it quietly before leaning down and picking up a small folder on a chair next to it. “Would this happen to be it?” she asked.
Starlight trotted over. “Yes, that’s it!” She began flicking through the pages. “Thank you. You haven’t caught me at my best, ha ha…”
Sunbeam glanced back at the mirror. “It’s all fine. Running a school is quite difficult business.”
Starlight sat down at her desk and flicked through her papers. Yes, Sunbeam Scribe… that was the name of the new teacher at the Friendship School. History teacher. How very fitting.
“Let me give you your schedule,” Starlight said. “These are your classes… four times a week, all afternoons. Does that suit you?”
“It does indeed,” Sunbeam said. She sat down opposite Starlight. “You have a very nice school.”
“Y-yes, thank you.” Starlight twitched nervously. “It always seems on the brink of getting out of control at times, but I’m told I run it quite efficiently.” Starlight clicked her tongue. “Actually, speaking as a historian…”
“Yes?”
“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about Equestria’s latest little… crisis?” Starlight asked. “I only ask because, well, it’s been quite a thought consuming thing… windigoes, chaos magic, and forced alicornisation of all things…”
“Yes, those are all exceptional things,” Sunbeam said. “I confess there’s a lot I don’t understand about it all, though I’d be happy to shed some light on the matter if I can. This is, however, quite recent history, so I’m not entirely sure what you expect me to say…”
Starlight leaned forwards. “I want to know where in Equestria Cozy Glow came from.” She tapped the top of her desk. “No matter who I ask it’s as if she didn’t exist before enrolling at the school. It… alarms me, honestly.”
To think; out there, in the big wide world, there could be something worse than Cozy. A place that made her, a pony who moulded her… to not investigate further would be to accept that something like Cozy could happen again. Did Cozy have a family? If so, what would they do? Were they more powerful? More dangerous? Starlight didn’t know, and it haunted her.
Sunbeam tapped her chin. “Equestria in the past was full of blind spots. It’s entirely possible that she might have originated from one of those. Many orphanages were haphazard and didn’t communicate with Canterlot for centuries, for example. Many old knightly orders as well.”
Starlight frowned, her expression darkening. “We should find that blind spot, then. Who knows what they might be capable of if they raised… her.”
Sunbeam tilted her head. “I can only speculate. I suspect, however, that you might be worrying over nothing. Cozy seems to be an anomaly. I’m not even sure if she was a child, or if Cozy is her name.”
Starlight glanced towards her notes, and back to Sunbeam. “Yes, well… I still intend to do some digging. If you have any information about such things in the past, I would like you to tell me.”
“I will consult my sources,” Sunbeam replied with a warm smile. “I expect you have work to do.”
“As do you, miss Scribe,” Starlight said.
As Sunbeam got to her hooves, she turned back towards Starlight. “Myself and my sister are quite new to town. Would you like to join us for an evening out? To familiarise us with Ponyville.”
Starlight’s eyes flickered towards the grand, ornate mirror behind Sunbeam. She then nodded. “Yes, that’ll be great. I’ll tell Trixie!”
Sunbeam nodded, and opened the door to leave. “Oh, and do let me know how your little magic spell works. It looked quite fascinating.” She tilted her head back to the Headmistress of the Friendship School. “Reflection as a form of abstract memory storage? The places your mind goes.”
Starlight swallowed. “Yes, I… I’ll be sure to let you know, Miss Scribe.”
Sunbeam then left. Starlight sat down again heavily. She looked at the mirror and levitated her scattered notes back onto the table.
She shouldn’t put this off. She would just keep going on in circles and her nervousness would only get worse.
It was time to call in her assistant.
Starlight had no more patience to be nervous. She was a master of magic, potentially outstripping even Twilight in terms of sheer knowledge of spellcraft and innovation in the field of thaumaturgy (friendship magic notwithstanding). She was a titan in her field, and it wasn’t befitting of her to tiptoe around a spell, no matter how complex, just because she was nervous about tampering with one of Equestria’s most volatile threats.
Behind her, a somewhat less magically knowledgeable unicorn, Trixie, peered over her friend at the large mirror Starlight had left leaning against the wall of her office.
“That’s quite an impressive piece of furniture,” Trixie said. “Remind me, what is it I am supposed to do?”
“Watch,” Starlight said. “Watch and if something bad happens… like a rebound, or if for instance something escapes, you’re to act appropriately.”
“Drop a smoke bomb, run away and tell Twilight?”
Starlight clicked her tongue. She had been hoping for something that specifically didn’t involve her mentor, but, well, admittedly if Starlight couldn’t handle it, running for help probably was the smartest option.
“Yes, that would be perfect,” Starlight said.
Trixie flashed Starlight a confident grin and stepped back to admire the headmistress’s handiwork. Around the mirror were glowing runes, letters, and numbers, each drawn from a variety of cultures and dialects… only a novice would restrict themselves to one society’s worth of magical meaning. By the mirror was a small table, upon which was laid a modest bowl containing several locks of hair, a few scraps of what appeared to be old homework, and dust.
“What’s that powder?” Trixie asked.
“It’s from the latest addition to Canterlot Castle Gardens. A rather morbid piece, but historically relevant.”
Trixie couldn’t help but swallow anxiously. “I am not certain it is very proper to joke about villains trapped in stone.”
“Well… I am something of a former villain myself,” Starlight said. “It’s in my nature, I suppose.” Trixie rolled her big, elegant eyes. Starlight snorted, a chuckle escaping her. “Point is I can make those jokes and other ponies can’t.”
“Naturally.”
Starlight turned back to the mirror, and focussed. She needed to concentrate. This was a difficult procedure, an amalgamation of several spells rolled into one. There were elements of the cloning pool, a process that Pinkie had once used to… problematic effect. There were strong aspects of the mental projection spell, and there were bits and pieces drawn from changeling mental manipulation magic as well as Starlight’s own extensive expertise on that field of spell. Naturally, because this involved reaching into the recessesses of Cozy’s mind, which was currently trapped in stone made from friendship magic, Starlight also needed to use friendship magic to work the material. This was the part she was most concerned about. Despite her time being mentored by Twilight, despite learning the value of friends and love, none of it came naturally to Starlight. It was always an effort, even if it was a worthwhile one.
That was another reason why it was a good thing Trixie was there with her. It wasn’t just a precaution. Due to the forces at play, Starlight may very well not be able to perform this spell without support from her closest friend.
Magical energy swirled around Starlight’s horn. The delicate balance of the forces she conjured were interwoven around her like a braid. First, to infiltrate the memories within the dust…
Trixie glanced at her friend, noting the intimidating, blinding glow that emanated from Starlight’s horn like a solar flare. She took a cautious step backwards. Trixie might not be close to Starlight’s level, but she knew dangerous power when she saw it. Trixie dealt in illusions, misdirection, reversal. Raw power, the kind that could pulverise rock and melt the sun, made her blood run cold.
Trixie’s ear flicked back. She could swear she heard voices… shrill and on the very edges of perception, intermingling. Coming from Starlight? Yet her lips weren’t moving.
The mirror shone, seeming to bulge and warp under the eldritch weight. Starlight gasped, and Trixie, in a rare moment of concern, felt herself move an inch forwards… but then Starlight went still, sweat forming on her brow, but a look of confident concentration etched onto her face.
The light began to dim. The bowl containing the ingredients rattled and shattered. The mirror became flat once again, and Starlight collapsed, panting for air.
“Glimmer!” Trixie exclaimed, lowering herself to examine Starlight. “Gimmer?”
Starlight rolled onto her side, her face red from all the blood rushing to her head. “That… was a complicated spell.”
Trixie raised her eyebrow. “Did it work?”
“Yes. I… may have forgotten to account for the distance between here and the Canterlot Castle Gardens… might have made it a bit harder for myself than I needed it to be.”
Starlight, with Trixie’s help, got to her hooves and examined her handiwork. Inside the mirror, standing perfectly still, was the image of a pony. It overlapped with the reflections of Starlight and Trixie uncomfortably, the light struggling to both indicate reality and accommodate for the strange interloper upon the physical world.
Starlight stood up as tall as she could, emitting an air of authority… or at least, as much authority as she could muster.
“Cozy Glow?” she asked.
That’s me. Hello there! replied the reflection.
It was a perfect recreation of the Cozy Glow Starlight had known. Small, uncomfortably saccharine in appearance, a broad smile and sporting eyes glittering with intelligence. There was no malice in her gaze… not right now.
“What is it? Can you see her?” Trixie began.
“Yes. Just her reflection.” Starlight’s brow furrowed. “...I hope.”
Starlight leaned closer towards the image of Cozy. It was… perfect. Eerily so. The curls, the pastel pink, the round, expression-full eyes… The only thing that was off was the face she was making. There was no malice, no hint of manipulation. Just a simple, honest expression.
“Hello, Cozy,” Starlight began. “Do you remember me?”
Of course I remember, Principal Starlight! Cozy exclaimed. Her tone was absent of resentment or haughty arrogance. That was consistent with the objective.
“Cozy Glow, I have some questions for you.” Starlight paced around the mirror a bit, collecting her thoughts. For the past few days her attention had been consumed by the actual casting of the spell, not the questions she’d be asking afterwards. “Can you answer my questions honestly?”
Well, gosh, of course I can! So long as I can remember them, of course.
Trixie shuddered. “I don’t see anything in there… can you hear that little vicious piece of work?”
Starlight nodded. Interesting that Trixie couldn’t see Cozy in the mirror… a quirk of reflection magic, perhaps. “That’s good, Cozy,” she said. “Let’s start with an important question.” Starlight tapped her chin. “Before the final confrontation between us and your group of villains, you turned yourself into an alicorn. I do not understand how you were able to do this.”
Oh, that! Cozy smiled broadly. It wasn’t that hard! I had the bewitching bell. I read all about Twilight and the other princesses! It’s possible to become an alicorn when you combine an awful lot of magic with enlightenment!
Starlight frowned. She had heard this, but that didn’t make sense. Cozy hadn’t been enlightened, and by Starlights estimation, raw power alone did not make a true alicorn.
“Were you a real alicorn? Were there any differences between you and, say, Princess Twilight?”
There was a slight blip, a twitch in Cozy’s composed expression. No, none I’m aware of.
Starlight glanced over at Trixie. She raised her eyebrow at her friend. In response, Trixie only shrugged. “Don’t look at me. Trixie is a master of the stage, not… alicorn magic.”
Starlight examined Cozy. She leaned in. “Is there anything you’re not telling me, Cozy?”
A hint of Cozy’s intelligence flashed through her eyes. Well golly, of course there would be! We’ve only just met!
Starlight ground her teeth. Despite having her former foe trapped in two-dimensional space, Starlight felt uncomfortably out of control. This, despite that Cozy wasn’t even the real Cozy, just a shade transported and visualised using light through the medium of a simple reflective surface.
“Where did you come from?” Starlight asked, seeking to regain a sense of control and command over the situation.
I don’t come from anywhere, really. Nowhere special.
Trixie glanced at Starlight. “Dear Glimmer, perhaps we should put this to one side for now? You wanted to take me to see the new teacher, yes?”
Starlight glanced over at Trixie. “I’m perfectly in control,” she told Trixie. “This is just a reflection.”
“It’s clearly doing something to you. You’re sweating.”
Starlight raised her hoof to her forehead. It was wet. Huh. It must be exertion from the spell…
Is something wrong? Was it something I did?
“V-very well.” Starlight turned to the reflection of Cozy Glow. “Don’t go anywhere!”
Where could I possibly go? Cozy asked. Does this mean we get to be friends?
Starlight clicked her tongue. “Sure. Whatever.”
Oh, that makes me so happy! Cozy grinned. I always wanted to be friends with a villain.
Starlight went cold. Trixie took a hold of her hoof.
You know, I always liked you. I'm so happy you're going to talk to me from now on!
“Come along now, let’s not let the evil filly in the mirror get under our skin!” Trixie declared. “We have a bar to attend!”
The little drinking den, slotted neatly between the market and town hall, was run by Carrot Top. It had once sold carrot wine only sporadically, but with the influx of ponies from across the world to visit the Friendship School, it had expanded to become an actual regular bar.
In the cramped but comfortable seating area were four ponies. Starlight was sandwiched between Trixie and the former Princess Luna’s impressive bulk. Across the table from her was ‘Sunbeam’, who had at least been considerate enough to wear a form that took up a lot less space.
“It is Trixie’s opinion,” Trixie began, “That if laying low was your goal, madam, ah, ‘Sunbeam’, then it has been somewhat undercut by your sister refusing to wear any kind of disguise.”
Luna took a sip of her carrot wine. “That sounds to me like a Celestia problem.”
“It sounds to me like a me problem,” Starlight wheezed. Luna was much too big for the small cramped tables.
“I like this form. It speaks of power and regality!”
“It’s a very nice form,” Sunbeam pointed out generously.
“You’re my sister,” Luna grumbled. “You saying that doesn’t count.”
Starlight chuckled.
Are these your friends too?
Starlight sat up with a jump, startled. Luna and Sunbeam looked at her, curiously.
“Are you all right?” Sunbeam asked.
“F-fine.” Starlight glanced around her, and then looked down into her drink, peering at the faint outline of her own reflection. “I must simply be imagining things.” She looked up at Sunbeam. “Did you find any information like I asked you?”
“You have the former ruler of Equestria doing homework?” Luna asked, aghast.
“It’s quite alright. As you remember, Luna, I had always wanted to be a teacher before being put in the position of princess of Equestria. This is exactly where I want to be right now.”
Starlight chuckled. “Before I worked at a school, I… um, actually, perhaps that’s something I had best not go into?”
“If we’re sharing, Trixie wanted to go to space!” Trixie took a sip of wine. “I grew out of it.”
“Yes, I heard you had set up a rather… unique village,” Luna said. “Of dubious ethicality.”
Starlight sucked the air in through her teeth. “Yes, it wasn’t… great. In my defence, the villagers all did sign up willingly, though!” She swallowed. It’s just that I then lied to them and used them… a lot, which, uh, ruffled feathers so to speak…” She breathed out. “It wasn’t all bad, though. I had some… interesting relationships, back then, when I was still studying magic.”
Trixie rolled her eyes. Starlight giggled, causing the unicorn illusionist to glower at her.
“I’m sure they’ve forgotten all about me. Those aren’t ponies I’m interested in seeing again, so your friendship position is secure,” Starlight added.
Luna sighed. “Perhaps I am too old-fashioned. All this talk of what we wanted to be once is not something I feel comfortable with. I for one am quite content with who I am.”
Sunbeam smiled. “I fear my nature is a bit too old-fashioned as well to be what Equestria needs right now. I, too, am quite content with who I am now as well.”
Starlight cracked a small smile. “I know a thing or two about trying to overcome one’s own nature. I don’t think I’m a very good pony by nature.”
“You are better than some,” Trixie pointed out. “At least you don’t want to be bad.”
Starlight nodded. She supposed that was true, at least. It came less naturally to her, being nice and understanding and, in general, good, but what mattered is that she took the steps to make it come to her.
“Anyway, with regards to your problem…” Sunbeam leaned in. “Largely, in preparation for Twilight’s rule, I had made a point of scouring Equestria of places where hidden evil could hide. I didn’t want to leave things to chance.” She tilted her head. “There were some regions I did not look into, however. The Everfree was one such place; there was still a significant aura of superstition around it, and although my bravest agents were comfortable to take the risk, they were too few to explore it thoroughly. Outside Equestria’s borders was another place.”
“Silly nonsense,” Luna declared, taking a swig of wine. “The Everfree is harmless. I would go on strolls there during the night when I was younger. You only have to be careful of a few manticores, hydra, poisonous plants, and other things.”
“Yes, that sounds positively safe,” Trixie muttered.
“I doubt Cozy would have survived there as a young foal, though. I suspect she would have originated from an organisation that remained somewhat… opaque to me.”
“Old knightly orders, vestiges of the old times, that sort of thing,” Luna explained.
Sunbeam nodded. “There were regions far to the north, near the borders of the Crystal Empire, which had old unicorn sects that resisted my attempts to bring them into the Equestrian fold. Additionally, many old monasteries insisted on their independence. Many of these formed orphanages and places to rear lost foals.”
Starlight darkened, and peered into her glass. “I’ve been around orphanages before. A long time ago.”
Sunbeam raised her eyebrow at that. “They are not all pleasant. I wish they had not been so stubborn in their attempts to remain independent.”
Golly! It looks like your friends are all pretty villainous too.
“What did you say?” Starlight asked, her eyes flashing.
Sunbeam frowned. “I said that—”
“Not you, sorry…”
Nopony ever cared about me before I arrived in Ponyville. Nopony cares about anyone until it affects them, you know! I guess you could say I was just trying to make a difference in ponies' lives, like you. Was that so wrong?
Starlight glanced around and found her eyes drifting back to her glass. There, shimmering in the reflection, was the faint-yet-unmistakable outline of Cozy, replacing Starlight’s own reflection. It was distorted from the shape of the glass, but that didn’t make it any less frightening to Starlight. She put the glass down hard, causing some of the carrot wine to spill out onto the table.
We’ve got the illusionist liar who only thinks about herself and what makes her look good, the manipulative schemer who had all of Equestria in a stranglehold and is now playing teacher in a tiny town, pretending to be nice, and the vicious two-faced monster who wanted to drown Equestria in eternal night! They look like they’d get along with you really well, Starlight!
Starlight felt Trixie’s hoof on her own. “Glimmy, you’re not looking well at all.”
You're the worst, though! You were pretty awful back then. It's just you started lying to yourself about it. Is that why you don't like me? Because I remind you of you?
Starlight realised she was panting. She wiped her hoof on her forehead. “Sorry. I don’t know what’s come over me.”
It couldn’t be that she was losing control. These must be hallucinations brought on by fatigue from the spell, and all this talk about their pasts and… orphanages, of all things. She grit her teeth. Those were not memories she wanted to recall.
What's wrong? Is my friend unhappy about something? What could it be...?
Sunbeam’s horn glowed bright across the table. She wore a serious face, more serious than Starlight Glimmer had ever seen before. Instantly a ray of white light flashed across the surface of the glass Starlight had dropped.
“Reflection magic is a complex thing,” Sunbeam said, and looked up at Starlight. “I would recommend you stay with Trixie for the evening.”
Luna narrowed her eyes at Starlight. “I sense something is troubling your thoughts. Was it something we said?”
Sunbeam looked at Luna. “Starlight attempted a complex spell earlier. I have confidence that she will have taken all necessary precautions, and I have no doubt that she has thoroughly estimated the benefits and risks, however as with all things, at times things can slip through the cracks.”
“I can tell that already, sister. I meant something else.”
Starlight got to her hooves abruptly. “I would like to go home. I don’t feel well.”
Sunbeam nodded to Trixie. “You know what to do. I expect a close friend will be more supportive than us.”
Starlight glanced at the glass of carrot wine, holding it in her gaze for a moment. She could still feel… something. Something uncomfortable in her head, in her heart. An aching she hadn’t felt since before she had left to found her Town…
Trixie downed the remainder of her wine and then, for good measure, finished Starlight’s as well. “There,” she said. “Whatever you saw in there has been consumed by none other than I, the great Trixie. Consider it vanquished.”
Starlight flashed Trixie a grateful smile, and allowed herself to be led away from the table. “I think a good night’s sleep will do me good.”
“Of course. You shall naturally be staying in my mobile home.”
“Excuse me?”
“I intend to keep an eye on you as instructed. And I do not intend to sleep on a meagre couch! Therefore, I shall sleep in my bed at my home and you shall be on a roll I shall set up for you.”
Starlight sighed. “I… of course.” She smiled. “Thank you.”
The pair of them exited Carrot’s bar and began walking through the streets of Ponyville. It was a quiet evening, as most ponies had work the next day, Starlight included. She hoped that whatever was going on in her head wouldn’t disrupt her sleep.
Perhaps she should have questioned Cozy more thoroughly before leaving for the evening. At least then she would have a little more to show for her efforts than a potential spell rebound and fatigue. Not to mention, she would barely be able to rest with all the unanswered questions floating inside her mind…
“I believe her former Highness Luna had a point,” Trixie said as they trotted through the streets. “You seemed upset when talking about orphanages.”
Starlight bit her lip. “I was just remembering my years before leaving to… well, try and eradicate cutie-marks in my own little corner of the world.” She shrugged. “It was a stressful time in my life. I didn’t really know what direction to go in, only that I needed to make a change somewhere. I made a few mistakes back then.” She breathed in. “They had made sense at the time. Not any more.”
“As large and consequential as founding your cult of equality, lying to them and manipulating them for your own gain?”
“... Perhaps.”
“Well, you can tell old Trixie all about it.” Trixie patted Starlight on the back. “I don’t judge.”
Yup! I’m always happy to listen to all your secrets.
Starlight didn’t even react to the voice this time. She blinked, and behind Trixie, she could see her. Cozy, flying on her stumpy little wings comfortably. Her expression was just as absent of malice as ever.
What was it about the filly that made Starlight so uneasy?
“It’s rather embarrassing. I mostly just… you know. Went through a rather wild phase.” She blushed. “Did whatever I wanted with whoever I wanted. That sort of thing.”
Trixie went bright red. “Oh good.”
Scandalous!
The floating image of Cozy held her hooves to her pudgy cheeks. Starlight couldn’t tell if she was faking it or if she was really surprised. Wasn’t Cozy inside her head anyway? Starlight frowned. Interesting. Just a hallucination?
“I made some mistakes. Um… big ones.” Starlight breathed in. “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s not something I ever thought I’d bring up again.”
Trixie nodded after a moment’s hesitation. “Very well, Glimmer. You can continue when you are comfortable and not a second before.”
Starlight nodded.
Together they reached the little mobile home that Trixie lived in. Starlight had visited many times before, and whilst it was small, it was cosy and homely. Inside was a vast array of tricks, tools and spell components. Starlight sometimes felt more at home in Trixie’s parlour of illusions than her own office.
Trixie jumped onto her tiny, slim bed. There was no point even offering to share. No matter how cosy they got, there simply wasn’t a possibility of one of them not falling onto the wooden floor throughout the night.
Cozy Glow trotted around the tiny interior with a curious look. Ooh, it’s so homely!
Starlight didn’t reply. She still wasn’t certain whether she was hallucinating or not. If she was, it wouldn’t do to worry Trixie. If she was real, then there also wasn’t much Trixie could do, and Starlight didn’t want to potentially endanger her friend.
“Here, let me get out a small mattress for you,” Trixie began, working away as Starlight acquired a glass of water.
What’re you thinking about? Cozy looked over at Starlight. You got real nervous when they talked about an orphanage. I saw everything!
Starlight didn’t reply. Rather, she racked her brains to think. This was one of those times when her feelings wouldn’t help her. She couldn’t afford to feel things like guilt or shame. They would get in the way of analysing the situation at hand.
Why’d you get all sweaty when they mentioned that, Glimmy?
Starlight closed her eyes. Still she could see the dancing vision of Cozy, taunting her.
Starlight held the side of her head as if nursing a headache. She felt Trixie’s hoof on her back, supportive.
“Are you sure there’s nothing you want to tell me?” Trixie asked. “Not past related, of course. Purely… spell related.”
Starlight put her hooves together, thinking. It felt horrible to admit, but perhaps she had made a grave mistake.
It’s really not very fair. We’re basically the same, Glimmy! We both pretend to be nice when it’s convenient, right?
It was true, Starlight thought. Perhaps there was a version of events where Cozy, like Starlight herself, could have been coerced to see the value of friendship in its truest sense and overcome her innate need for power. It had been hard enough for Starlight to overcome.
The similarities between Cozy and Starlight were undeniable to Starlight. Perhaps that is why Starlight found her so… uncomfortable. So unnerving. So similar it was as if they were made from the same stock…
Starlight’s eyes snapped open. No, she thought. It couldn’t be possible. Or at least, shouldn’t be…
She got to her hooves, brushing Trixie’s hoof off of her.
“I’m sorry, Trixie. There’s something I need to finish,” Starlight declared, and with a flash of her horn, disappeared from the little mobile home in the blink of an eye, leaving the illusionist pony alone, confused, and concerned.
In a blinding explosion of pale blue light, Starlight erupted into her office and whirled towards the mirror she had attempted to trap Cozy inside.
Oh, no! You wouldn’t want to trap your own daughter, would you?
Cozy emerged from the corner of Starlight’s eye, holding her cheeks and putting on the most sinister-sweet look she could.
Starlight didn’t show any hint of even having heard Cozy. Any other pony might have flinched. Any other pony might have at least hesitated upon coming face to face with the realisation that the foal they had refused to take care of, the one they had thrown away to an orphanage in the middle of nowhere because they were too consumed with thoughts of control, of domination, had come back to haunt them in the most literal of senses.
I figured it out! You’re dearest mommy Starlight! You’re why I got sent to the orphanage and left to fend for myself, aren’t you? Cozy giggled. Does that mean you can help me? I just want to be set free!
Starlight was not just any pony. She was a pony who was naturally inclined to cruelty and mean-spirited behaviour. It had taken effort to turn that around. It had taken sweat to force herself to learn how to trust, how to abandon control, how to adapt to others and listen and be kind. Any other pony would have been helpless, the effort of forcing themselves to put down the dangerous monster in their heads too much for them, the strain of hurting others too difficult to bear. Not so for Starlight.
All she needed to do was stop trying.
Her horn flashed and her eyes boiled. A mistake on Starlight’s part. She hadn’t made sure that the reflection of Cozy’s spirit and memories couldn’t take up residence upon the reflective surface of her own eye. It wouldn’t be hard to burn her out again. Painful, but not hard.
No! I don’t want to go in the mirror!
Starlight was still utterly silent. To Cozy, she must have looked as lifeless as a stone statue. As cold as the day she had abandoned the tiny foal.
It had been the best decision, at the time. She was going to attempt great things, to bring true equality to ponies, to wrench back the control cutie-marks had taken from her. To force ponies to her side, to a place where even destiny couldn’t touch her! There was no place for a tiny foal in that world.
A mistake, in hindsight. Cozy must have had the same cruel and controlling streak as Starlight. What lessons must Cozy have drawn from being abandoned by her, Starlight wondered? Cozy wasn’t normal. She would have taken the abandonment personally, and like Starlight, would have drawn very dark conclusions from it.
The pain in Starlight’s eyes was excruciating. Cozy had infested every cell of the surface of her eyes, and each cell had to be seared clean of her taint. Starlight cleansed every single one, until the job was finished.
“Back in the mirror with you,” Starlight growled.
You’re a monster!
“Takes one to know one.”
Starlight shot the shade of Cozy at the mirror, and with a grunt, she cast the spell sealing the path back shut. Cozy erupted into unspeakable fury, hammering her tiny two-dimensional hooves against the apparent surface of the mirror, to no avail. A creature with no mass could not shatter anything, and even if she could, the spells that held her put were strong.
Starlight wiped her eyes with the back of her hoof. That had been harder than she expected.
“I see now where you get your manipulative streak,” Starlight snarled. “I never considered we might be related, but now that I know it makes perfect sense. Of course it would run in the blood.”
Nopony wants to be related to something they hate. So they don’t think about it!
Starlight needed to be sure. “Madam Taskmistress’s Home for Youngsters. That was where you came from, yes? A small little orphanage near Fillydelphia?”
Golly, only just now figuring it out? Cozy’s face was contorted with contempt. You’re pathetic. Maybe if you had actually taken care of me, you wouldn’t have nearly doomed your friends.
Starlight shook her head. “If I had raised you, you’d have turned out worse.” She stepped forwards to the mirror. “It’s time you learn that I am not nice.” With a swift kick of her hoof she rattled the edge of the mirror, and inside the reflection, Cozy stumbled.
Hey! Cut it out!
“Tell me what power you used to become an alicorn. I need to know.”
Poor Starlight Glimmer! You’re so afraid of me being right that you can’t even admit that I reached enlightenment and you couldn’t!
Starlight huffed. “I very much doubt that you are enlightened. Delusional, perhaps. Otherwise, I’d be in your position and you’d be in mine.” She leaned in. “What enlightenment?”
You’ll have to figure it out yourself.
Starlight moved backwards. She breathed in, and then slowly, mustering all her strength, breathed out again.
“Very well. I’ve learned enough, anyway.” She turned around to levitate a large, thick blanket. “I don’t need your enlightenment. I have everything I need.”
You need me! We’re family. The same. Golly, you wouldn’t hide me away in a mirror like this?
Starlight threw the blanket over the mirror, covering it up. It was just a reflection of Cozy, after all. Yes, it could speak and act like it was real, but it was, at the end of the day, just an illusion. The real Cozy was still stuck in stone, all the way in Canterlot.
Hey! Let me out!
Starlight grit her teeth. Illusion or not, Cozy felt real enough to her.
I’ll be your friend!
The headmistress sucked the air in through her teeth. She would keep the mirror, she thought. Perhaps, if she could teach Cozy the true meaning of friendship, make her into a good pony… even if she was just a shade… it meant that there would still be hope for Starlight, too.
They were the same, after all, right?
Starlight opened the door to her office and walked out. She soon found herself stumbling, the weight of countless regrets causing every muscle to ache.
She forced the darker, crueller side of her away. It had perhaps saved her from Cozy’s maddening reflection, but in the world of Equestria today, it was just a weakness. She began trying to be good again, and it was hard.
She gasped for air. Her eyes still stung, not just from the pain of extracting Cozy from them, but also from the burning of tears welling up inside them. If only, she thought… if only she had tried to be a good pony sooner. Years sooner… before she had contributed to setting all this in motion. Perhaps things would have been different then...
Struggling with the regret of her past actions had never been as hard as it was now.
Twilight stood in front of the School as Starlight arrived. Starlight’s eyes were red and puffy, and her expression was pained and fatigued. She approached Twilight belatedly. “Hello, Twilight…”
Twilight offered Starlight a small smile. “Hello, Starlight. I… Luna sent me a message from Celestia. Something about you trying to explore Cozy Glow’s memories? Discover where she came from?”
Starlight nodded. “That’s correct.”
“It looks like it… um, did a number on you.” Twilight tilted her head. “What happened?”
“I found out.” Starlight walked past Twilight unhappily. “A long time ago I didn’t care about anything. Only power and control and magic. You know that better than anypony. I am afraid that Cozy was just one more mistake that I had made when on that path.”
Twilight put her hoof on Starlight’s side. “It’s all right. You’ve changed. Do you want to talk?”
Starlight didn’t feel like she’d changed. If she had been working to be a better pony now, why did it still feel so hard? Why did she feel so empty?
You’re just like me, really.
“Yes.”
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This definitely got dark during the end. The fact that Starlight realizes Cozy Is her daughter yet shuns her anyway displays how sociopathic Starlight really is. Indeed, she seems more worried about how this realization affects her, and takes no responsibility for it. I think Cozy’s “enlightenment” was concluding that the ponies are actually self-righteous.
The writing is mostly good. There was a paragraph near the beginning that just ended, paragraph 3 to be precises. I think you meant to finish that thought, but overlooked it during the editing?
Hope to see more work from you!
10414252 Lol, quite right. Looks like a mistake made when copy-pasting from gdocs. How embarrassing! And on the third paragraph too!
Cheers. I actually really like Starlight; I'm a big fan of the vibe that she's not really a good pony by nature, but wants to be one anyway. May sound like a weird reason to like something, but yeah, I think she's great fun.
Damn, Starlight is horrible here. Not only to the real Cozy but also this shade.
Actually, the friendship magic attack only depowered Cozy. It was Discord, Celestia and Luna's personal magic that petrified her.
10414265 Might be me misremembering or misinterpreting the whole petrification deal.
I'm a big fan of moral ambiguity in general. One of the most interesting aspects of Starlight is that she was introduced as a villain (and not like Discord, either, who was much closer to a cosmic prankster) and I find it super interesting to see the show lean into her villainous traits. As the show progresses she becomes increasingly good-aligned, but it never really drops the vibe that being good is just a bit harder for her than it is for other characters. It's a struggle that I enjoy loads.
This was a nice read... I did have a cat with me... x.x
10414364 Nice, cats are the best.
Mine doesn't like to sit on me because I'm super bony and wiry, but he often naps near me on a cushion next to my chair.
Really nice story. Well done.
Though, I'm terms of the contest, I'm not totally sure how much it's a Cozy Glow story. It's a Starlight story that has Cozy as a cameo.
All that aside, it's always fun to see Starlight's old personality come out again, and an analysis of who and why she is. The idea of being good not coming naturally to her is great. We all kind of seemed to forget she was one of the show's villains at a certain point. Good show.
10414366
Yeah, he doesn't sleep on me or anyone. He rather sleep near them or against them. The later is only with my father.
Fun fact my room has to exterior wall (south wall (more than nord since the nord is kind of diagonal ok that's a tangent.) In bref there's an empty space between my dresser and one of the wall so he sleep there. And yes the radiator in the winter. I can understand during winter, but summer. Sorry got to hurry or I'm going to be late to school.
10414460 It is a risky game I am playing, yes.
I personally view Cozy as very central to the story; it's her actions that cause the fallout that drive Starlight to wanting to find out about her, and the story itself revolves around her origins and informs what her mentality is. I do not think the story would work without Cozy. That said, it is certainly true that a safer bet would have been to make Cozy the PoV of the story. That would be the sensible play.
I do not like safe very much, though. We shall have to see if I've rolled high or low. Besides... at least this way I'm pretty sure nobody else would have tried it.
Glad you enjoyed it nonetheless. It was interesting to write, even if it's a little out of my comfort zone.
Woah I mean really woah! Seriously a heck of a twist right here with Cozy Glow being the daughter Starlight abandoned, LOVE IT! Any chance of this getting a sequel because really think this idea has a lot of potential to be explored with.
10414475
Fair enough. Nothing wrong with thinking outside the box and taking a risk. Great story either way.
10414605 Probably not, but you never know! I've not done many sequels, but you are right, this could be fun to revisit; I actually want to do more with Starlight as a headmistress, and it might be a fun vibe to have her try and do stuff with a reflection Cozy Glow perched on her shoulder, so to speak.
I'm very glad you enjoyed the story regardless, though! It was interesting to write. : )
Cozy Glow was always a bizarre character. His end game made too sense. The show is full of character who appeared out of the void, but being a child it makes a lot less sense for Cozy. The show's 'remember the new guy' traits remained a blight on the show until the end.
I admire your herculean effort to make sense of the character!
10414828 I like the word herculean.
Nice.
One of the most interesting things about Cozy was her inspiration, which were quoted (at least according to the wiki article) as being Mary Dahl (of Batman TaS fame). Just knowing she was inspired by, basically, an insane woman trapped inside a child's body trying to use other people as set-pieces puts this really uncomfortable vibe onto her character, which I am there for.
I think that part of her appeal is that Cozy is kinda creepy. Like there's something wrong with her, and has this big disconnect between how she appears and what she is inside. It may not be nice but it is interesting.
Glad you enjoyed yourself!
I found it kind of... odd that Sunburst was never seen or mentioned in this story, between Starlight musing about having an assistant, when he's supposed to be the Vice-Headmare, and how Starlight's dabbling in complex/unusual magics, here.
...but anyway, that
nitpick(?)aside, I think it's interesting to contrast Cozy and Starlight, for all their similarities.Starlight did believe her own BS, and while not completely uncharismatic, it's notable that pretty much all of the Mane Six barring Fluttershy were off-put by her and her town, and that she, presumably attracted fellow misfits, and had to try to psychologically break those who disagreed down... after removing their talents, and another contrast would be that Cozy's emotions seem to be significantly more shallow than Starlight's, while the latter feels them thoroughly to a fault. Granted, was it all ultimately self-serving, partly motivated by envy in her warped perspective, because she thought Sunburst was too good for her at that point because of his special talent? Yes.
For the ones that came back from it, if Sunset fell due to pride and ambition, Starlight fell due to envy (regardless of if it was misplaced) and wrath (the latter of which is really noticeable for her second S5 appearance).
The closest she really got to real charisma as a villain was convincing two bullies not to bully Fluttershy, and it's probably easier to count the episodes she isn't insensitive without trying post-reformation, even if she could be astute at times.
Starlight became a villain because she cared too much, and has cognitive empathy troubles, misses social cues on a regular basis (even if she might have some psychology knowledge to help compensate), whereas Cozy was rather good with cognitive empathy... not so much affective empathy, though. (for what it's worth, I find some aspects of Starlight's personality as kinda correlating to autistic traits, relatable in that regard, and for something that isn't quite relatable to me, some Borderline traits [intense emotions, abandonment issues, impulsivity, dissociation when stressed])
...anyway, I think to put it short, Cozy in my eyes is what happens if Starlight traded her inherent power and what qualifies as a conscience/empathy (particularly pertinent for S5-S6) for natural charisma, shallow emotions (from angry, to cheerfully gloating again, and she didn't really seem to care about being thrown in Tartarus), and not needing validation.
...In hindsight, that was some rather good foreshadowing that Sunbeam is Celestia, and it flew over my head, lol. Well done, truly. You got me there.
It really is an interesting thought though, her working as a teacher at the School.
I think Starlight honestly did have a point here: she would not have made for a good parent back then, if Cozy's upbringing was particularly a factor for how she turned out. She may not be as inherently awful as Discord (he seems to be more of a natural sadist than her) and/or possibly Trixie ("Okay, I know history is important, but I never learned any of it, and look how I turned out."), but still.
All in all, it's a pretty interesting idea, this... and maybe I'm just not doing well enough in not being as angry as possibly intended with Starlight here... I dunno.
I think one of Starlight's biggest saving graces is that she tends to look up to others for advice when she feels she's failing, as a way to reign herself in, post-reformation, in this case, talking to Twilight at the end (their relationship is intriguing, in that she's willing to get on her case for not being her best self), but it could be a downside (Twilight, at least, thought that Trixie could be a negative influence on her, even if in the end, she helps Starlight confront her worst self; it can't be denied she had a point, after what happened when Discord made the wrong "friend").
Cozy... doesn't really seek someone to look up to, by contrast, kinda defied it at multiple points throughout. She seeks to be on top, no questions asked, and she will manipulate you into giving her the opportunity, as naturally as drinking water, or walking, even if she'd be good at actually being a friend. She tricked Chrysalis and Tirek into giving her a possible opportunity, even if she miscalculated the "control chaos magic" aspect.
I believe someone else mentioned that they weren't turned to stone with Friendship Magic.
...sorry if I was kinda overwhelming with my rambling, especially if I'm being pushy, kinda find it interesting.
10414865 No no, it's all good. I actually didn't write this story to call Starlight out or to take sides on whether she's evil or not. I genuinely really like her; I think she's great fun.
I view Starlight's flaw mainly as being a need for control (and I lean into that a few times in this story, actually). I think that's the only thing that really makes sense given her backstory with hating cutie-marks, and a lot of her tics and relapses into bad behaviour seem to stem from similar needs to be in control (such as when she mind-controlled her friends and tried to literally wipe out cutie-marks because they were something she had no way of controlling). This is also why even if she could remove her own cutie-mark in the name of equality, she wouldn't. It'd mean giving up control over the ponies around her. We also see what happens when that control is taken away from her; she goes slightly apeshit.
A user named Crimmar had a pretty good insight as well in that he suggested that she (at the start of the show) viewed ponies as replaceable, and when she made her town she effectively made each and every one the same so that even if they did leave her, it wouldn't matter; she could replace them with a pony functionally exactly like them, so it didn't matter. This would also play into her struggling with dealing with Sunburst leaving. This was also why she wouldn't realise that maybe making the main cast not be friends would have terrible repercussions for the timeline; it wouldn't occur to her that only they could have saved the world, or that they could possibly be so special. Her arc afterwards involves her learning that other ponies are special and unique and that makes them worth more, and so on.
This is part of why I really like Starlight; she's a very complicated pony and even when she does bad things, it's usually for very interesting reasons if one looks into them close enough. I'm very interested to read your own interpretations on the matter, even if they do differ slightly from my own.
...oh, right, forgot to say, regarding Cozy's "enlightenment," I suspect Cozy (or her shade) is messing with Starlight for her amusement, because unlike other alicorns, when the power boost went away, so did her horn, unlike other alicorns that lost their magic, as far as anything we saw.
Would that be an easy conclusion for Starlight to make, though? Another question entirely, with that insidious seed of doubt being what it is...
10414883 That I prefer to leave to reader interpretation.
I know what I think, but this is something left rather vague by the show. I like the vibe that there's more than one kind of enlightenment, and some of them may not be nice, but I also like the vibe that Cozy would absolutely just lie to make others feel weaker compared to her, and so on.
You decide!
and now starlight's failure is complete.
Where did you come from, where did you go? Where did you come from Cozy Glow?
10414875
Yeah, that's one of her notable flaws, overall. With Every Little Thing She Does, when the prospect of a social situation freaked her out, fear of disappointing others... she fell back on doing something she felt comfortable with, magic, to get by, as a means to retain a measure of control.
While she was rather tamed by the time of A Matter of Principals, and she was definitely the more sympathetic party (especially considering it was Discord's fault entirely that it was happening, her filling in), Starlight made a promise to Twilight not to let her down, running the School, and so she blew off Discord because of that, with him escalating as a result of her telling him not to get involved, when the best approach would've been to trick him into getting bored until he left.
She non-lethally blasted/banished him in the wake of him endangering students, specifically after he called her an "incompetent, power-hungry unicorn." (neither Spike or her acted like he was dead/gone)
In the end, with the mindset she was working under in S5, if every pony had no special talent... you're probably right, she probably wouldn't have given up her own in the end, the way she was going. She'd tell herself it would be necessary, but it would mostly tie into a need for control. It was a recipe for creating a true monster, the way she was going.
That's actually an interesting way to put it: the way her cult was, it tied into her abandonment issues, by being pretty much indescript, interchangeable, losing them (if it came to that, which hopefully it wouldn't in her eyes, for forsaking their individuality would make their purpose to be her friends, her "creating Harmony") would be less consequential as a result.
And yeah, she had big trouble back in S5 understanding how despite differences, those particular friends could truly matter in the grand scheme of things, with the Mane Six, which is why it's great to contrast S5 Starlight with her S9 self that would decline to save herself, in favor of saving the Mane 5 + Spike, even if they just told her it's acceptable to escape herself, because they mattered more.
I think it's kinda unfortunate how some people tend to ignore nuance in some cases due to possible bias, in their recollections of Starlight's actions. For a couple examples, switching the Princesses' marks in A Royal Problem wasn't her first resort (which is visible progress since S6, and she isn't trigger-happy with magic after that point), but an action taken out of panic for tensions between them escalating, and Trixie didn't tell her not to sell her wagon in Road to Friendship, but in her mind, it'd be a win-win gift, to get her a bigger and better one, than one she assumed Trixie didn't like, because the latter didn't make it clear she possessed sentimentality for it, and Hoo'Far waited until Trixie stormed off to approach Starlight for the trade.
(You can also argue that in part, regarding the wagon trade, Starlight personally doesn't seem to be attached to where she lives per se, so much as she'd care about it being where her friends are, seeing as she didn't seem to really miss living in Sire's Hollow much, or her old village [she was far more pissed about losing friends], and she was projecting herself onto Trixie)
Overall, her most notable flaws are her impulsivity, her need for control, and her proclivity for anger, the last of which remained her biggest flaw to the end of the series. Starlight as a villain was, ultimately, a child that didn't properly grow up, and it shows.
...I do tend to think it's interesting if Starlight would be more ready than average to resort to lethal force, and I've been surprised by some people saying she wouldn't. I like the thought of her being rather violently protective of those she cares about, since I believe that's ultimately a natural extension of "hates abandonment," and her having quite the temper.
(for what it's worth, by all appearances, she did likely kill those flash bees, even if it was what I'd consider a valid response [that goop wasn't there before])
I also find it interesting that despite her thought process likely being on the organized side, Starlight tends to be a straightforward thinker, in comparison to Twilight. A tactician to Twilight's strategist (which had led to at least one of her plans falling apart, in that she doesn't always think it through thoroughly).
I think that gingerninja666 said it pretty well, regarding her character (pretty sure they have a Fimfiction account, anyway):
(that kind of thing is also likely why multiple comedy stories... probably aren't the truest to her character)
...and it took me a long time for me to put it into words, but I'm not sure Starlight's a bad person deep inside, per se, so much as she's a wreck trying to stop being one... if that makes any sense. ...I'll let you be the judge on if it's a distinction without a difference.
I think if there was a case of a character that's possibly an inherently (or at least, more deep-rooted) bad person trying to be good, on more than one occasion, with all of their ingrained tendencies, a great example would be Discord. He's regularly selfish, he has enjoyed bullying others, even in seasons past S4 (trying to banish Tree Hugger to another dimension in S5, Dungeons & Discords in S6 [making Spike and Big Mac feel pain out of amusement], A Matter of Principals in S8...), he's narcissistic, he's manipulative, affective empathy, with few exceptions, just doesn't seem to come easily to him, and his signature flaws have utterly devastated him multiple times, to the very end.
10414988
Completely fair answer, good points.
If she is telling the truth... she is still messing with her head, in the end, by not telling her everything, so it would be true to Cozy's character no matter what, probably.
10414835
Baby Doll remarked how her TV Show it turned out was the only time she was happy, thus why she kidnapped her costars and intended to murder-suicide with them. She was likewise truly happy with Croc, they were kindred spirits, both sideshow freaks, but when rejected, she repeated her impulse to commit murder-suicide, this time with Croc and most of Gotham! Baby Doll was an severely emotionally damaged woman.
Personally what I find jarring is how DISCORD was given to Fluttershy to redeem, and SUCCEEDED, and yet they never did that again with any of the villains! The real reason is of course that Discord's star power insisted he be brought back, but him repeating the same plot over and over would have been boring... but in universe this creates a unhealthy sense of dissonance with me.
I feel Starlight in and out of universe being considered "utterly evil" before surrendering to Twilight as jarring... when before she was something far more dangerous than evil, she was well meaning, well intentioned, and believed she was saving Equestria from mind-control butt tattoos and thus was justified in everything she did to free ponies of the mind control butt tattoos.
Wasn't a satisfying read. I don't think Starlight compares to Cozy in terms of being evil/wanting power. After all, Starlight only wanted revenge (to make ponies equal after a cutie mark took away her only friend, and later to take away Twilight's friends because Twilight ruined her plans). She was never truly evil (even though she used manipulation a lot and mentioned how important it was that a Princess 'joined her cause'), because she almost immediately gave up after seeing that her actions would cause an apocalypse. Also, I don't remember anyone calling Starlight Glimmer simply "Glimmer", ever.
AND the magic that Celestia, Luna and Discord used to turn villain trio into stone was NOT "friendship magic".
By the way, this story is not about Cozy Glow.
Yeah, I can see that the darker stuff isn't your usual thing. Though if you ask me, you did very good, I rather enjoyed it.
A Spider-Man reference, then a race joke? Oh sir, you do tickle my funny bone, even in this morbid story.
Honestly, makes me dislike the ending even more.
Discord sure didn't deserve an ounce of sympathy or redemption and he's literally part of the ending fiasco, had Twilight bold face lie to protect him when he teamed up with Tirek and is arguably the most successful villain of the group.
Starlight might be trying but I frankly wouldn't trust her, or any of the Element Bearers for that matter with the constant special treatment and free passes.
I can't feel bad for Starlight. She screwed up, someone else is paying the price and I doubt she'd ever do anything to fix it-and if anything is it'd be centuries down the line.
And then when Twilight find the mirror and use a spell to see is magical and find Cozy, she reveal what mommy Starlight did and is banished to Tartarus
No, she hasn't. She's just gotten better at manipulating you and you're completely oblivious to it.
Good story.
Not a fan of all the Starlight-bashing in this story. Not to mention she's nowhere near old enough to be Cozy's mother.
10417811 I mean, in my opinion, Starlight did pretty much everything right, from trying to find out where Cozy came from to realising that the reflection was trying to manipulate her and responding firmly and decisively, to refusing to let fear and guilt stop her from investigating talking to the reflection and potentially finding a way to turn it to good like she was...
That said, looking at some of the other comments I have I'm a little nervous to voice those opinions, lol...
10417864
The thing is it's a reflection.
It's not a living creature, it's at best a construct.
The real person is still a statue for arguably less then what Starlight did and the one that led them there is still free.
In the end it doesn't matter how bad Starlight feels, nothings changed as far as the status quo is concerned.
That's been my biggest issue with the show since it's inception, the two faced holier then thou approach and the clear bias in the treatment of characters.
The amount of selfish, shortsighted actions taken by Celestia and others would make them untrustworthy at best and down right international criminals to be brought before a court at worst.
But never once is anyone shown being fed up with it.
A very interesting read, to say the least. This the first fic I read that portrays Starlight as a bad person who was always consciously manipulative and cruel and selfish, but after her reformation forced herself to be kind and selfless in order to maintain, well, the magic of friendship.
It is quite a step from the usual genuinely good person who was simply misguided or delusional in the past but thinks of herself as evil due to self-esteem or identity issues while her questionable choices post-reformation are made connected to something of an autistic behaviour or similar mental disorders.
One could still apply the latter interpretation to this fic to an extent, though. They are not entirely different perspectives, after all, but rather two points in the complex spectrum that is her potential personality and nature, and yours is very interesting. Very good story, sir.
10415241
As a big Starlight fan, this conversation was such a delight to read! It's not common anymore that I see a brand-new insight about her that turns out so... right. "She desperately wants to be in control" is something that went completely over my head, both in this fic and since I first saw her character, but it fits her past motivations and flaws that she struggles to overcome so darn well.
10439408 This is the sort of nuance I find very interesting in characters. It's something that is pretty absent from the rest of the main cast, and whilst I do like them loads, even the meanest of the main six kinda have this inherent goodness to them and, even if they can lose sight of it, have a strong sense of right and wrong (except maybe Fluttershy, depending on your interpretation, but that's a Hot Take and Controversial Opiniontm for another day, I'm sure).
Very glad you enjoyed the story! It was a risky one to stick in a Cozy Glow contest, but I'm rather glad I did it anyway. : )
10415338
I agree well intentioned is more dangerous then evil which is why starlight was such a threat/ villain
Don't go anywhere, story. I may do a mini review after I read
10417864
I usually don't read stuff tagged as 'dark'. 'Cause I'm a little mimi and reality sucks enough as is, these stories are my way of fleeing from stuff. However, in my brain, your name is synonymous with quality writing and so far, this included, you never disappointed me.
I tend to agree with your opinions here. She did good and I don't consider it 'Starlight-bashing'. I never really gave it much thought how old Starlight is, in relation to others, so I don't have any strong opinion on if she could be related to her like that or not. It works out in the frame of the story, which I suppose is the important part.
Your incredibly satisfying writing aside (sneaky praise), I can't help but draw comparisons between mirror-Cozy and the Tantabus. Or at least, right now, I'm thinking about it. Obviously, Luna and Starlight are two very different personalities... depending on the author's interpretation, I suppose, but still. I just... she's keeping the mirror. She might tell herself that she'll try to reform her, but I'm asking myself if, perhaps, she's just doing the same thing to herself Luna did when creating the Tantabus. Maybe mirror-Cozy will just be a tool of sorts for her to use, so she could punish herself.
While she doesn't seem this auto-aggressive, she still struggles with 'being good' and she obviously has more than enough regrets. Honest regrets that still hurt. That's potent soil to foster such behavior.
While it might be a poor choice of words to say that I 'enjoyed' your story, I did enjoy your writing, as usual, and I don't regret giving this a try.
Thank you.
11099324 It's interesting you bring up Luna and the Tantabus since I've actually been mulling some stuff regarding that over myself. I've not wanted to put it in a story yet because Luna fics are very well-trodden ground by this point, but there are ideas I might want to recycle into other stuff later.
I actually wondered if it would be cool if the Elements, when they 'reformed' Nightmare Moon, actually just repressed the parts of her that made her into Nightmare Moon; jealousy, anger, spite, ambition, and all that kind of good stuff... deep into her brainy-parts, and the tantabus could have been a manifestation of that. I wondered if it might be cool to do a story hook along those lines. We'll see, I guess!
Glad you enjoyed the story. Sometimes contest stuff can be a little hit-or-miss, since I have been known to over-extend concepts in order to get them finished in time. I'm somewhat fond of this one though, and of Starlight in general.
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Certainly an interesting premise. I mean... it brings up all kinds of questions about how the elements actually work, what they actually do. Supposedly, this is the 'good guys redeem you via laserZ'-thingy, so I find it hard to imagine that it would actually 'destroy' anything.
Luna became Nightmare Moon because her jealousy got the better of her. So, to put it into other words, something in her emotional landscape got horribly out of balance. The elements might be just 'correcting' that balance, then. Dampening the overgrown jealousy back to a more moderate state, like trimming weeds in a garden.
Still a scary thought, that something might just 'change' you on such a fundamental level without your consent, but that's a wholly different can of worms.
Also makes me think about other emotions getting out of control. Would it make any difference if it weren't jealousy, but, let's say... anger? Greed? Lust? Eh, got a little too much of a 'seven sins'-vibe.
But yeah, if the elements don't 'destroy' anything, that path would still be open to be trodden again, if she isn't careful. What was rebalanced, can get unbalanced again. Maybe the Tantabus isn't even the 'old' Nightmare Moon we knew, the one driven by jealousy.
What would a god-level powerful villain driven by guilt even look like? Is that even a possibility? Hm. Maybe it's more of a 'I will make you hurt'-villain - on a very personal basis - than one that seeks to conquer/destroy the world.
I'm looking forward to this story of yours. Any story of yours, really, and I'm quite sure I'll come around to it eventually.
I enjoyed this one, thanks for a nice read!
11197665 Cheers, glad you enjoyed it!