The Social Rejects Squad: Loose Ends

by Betty_Starlight

Chapter 2-1: A Changeling's Lament

Twilight Sparkle faced the statue of Queen Chrysalis frozen there with the panicked expression not far from the centaur lord and where Cozy Glow once was… She smiles as she casts the spell to unfreeze the changeling and her horn begins to glow with potent purple magic as the changeling’s flesh turns from stone grey back to it’s original black color.

Chrysalis's body lowers to an almost prone position when she turns her head left to face Twilight, 10 feet from her and she takes a few panting breaths before saying, “Change me back!”

Twilight frowns as she stands and looks at the changeling, “What? What do you mean?”

Chrysalis raises her head and neck halfway as her legs begin to raise her body, “Change me back! I don’t belong in this Equestria! I don’t want to be here!”

“You’ve been frozen for ten years Chrysalis!”

“So what?” Chrysalis raises her head completely and glares at Twilight sternly, “In fact, do me a favor when you freeze me again please…" She turns her body to Twilight, "Smash the statue to dust! I don’t ever want to come back!”

“Well, don’t you think we should talk about this?”

Chrysalis frowns, “What is there to discuss Twilight? Everything is gone now! My hive has betrayed me, my home is destroyed, and there is nothing for me anymore…” She closes her eyes and shudders, “I don’t want to do this again…”

“I’m sorry Chrysalis…” Twilight says before she leans her head towards the changeling queen and her horn glows with purple magic and for the second time, she watches as the changeling’s flesh shifts from its normal black elasticity to hard stone.

As Chrysalis changes back to stone, she says, “Don’t be Twilight… We fought and you won… Now destroy me!” and stone overtakes her as she shouts to freeze her mouth into a demanding and open state with fire in her slitted eyes.

Twilight turns around and sees the magenta unicorn standing some distance behind her. Starlight trots forward as her purple hair sways in the breeze and the sunlight causes her lavender highlights to glisten. She looks up at Twilight with her blue eyes, “What do you think the problem is?”

“I think she’s lost her way and hope Starlight… What do you think we should do?” Twilight says before facing the unicorn curiously.

“I think it’s because we’ve destroyed everything she’s ever known and held dear…" Starlight says before frowning, "We need to give her something to make her want to live again! Hmm?” Starlight scrunches her mouth before a wry smile forms, “I think I have an idea!”

<*****

“My turn?” Cozy says as she sits on her haunches on the other end of the Oops board in the living room on a red pillow.

Starshine magically floats the dice to the left side of the board near Cozy, while saying, “We agreed to go clockwise remember? And Little Snack already went!” before nodding to the orange earth filly to her right.

Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door to Cozy’s left. She looks at her friends and says, “Golly! Who could that be?” Before slowly getting to her hooves and squatting to take off with her wings and fluttering over to the front door. She lands in front and reaches up with her left forehoof to open it… And screams, “AAAAAHHH!!!!”

Starshine and Little Snack both look over to see a purple haired magenta unicorn say, “Sweet Celestia! Calm down Cozy!” while standing next to a tall purple alicorn to the left.

Cozy points out the door with her right forehoof, “Why did you bring HER here!?”

Starlight smiles with a glint in her blue eyes, “Because she needs to meet you!”

Twilight smiles down at the pink filly, “Cozy, at this point, you’re literally living proof that there is life after reformation… Would you talk to her please?”

“Um… Could you give me five minutes please?” Cozy says while smiling dimly and then shutting the door before Starlight or the princess could respond.

She turns back to her friends and says, “Guys! Chrysalis is back!”

Little Snack gets to her hooves and widens her eyes before saying, “She’s the changeling queen who was with you when you tried to take over Equestria ten years ago!”

Starshine looks at Little Snack, “So that’s why she’s nervous about it!” She gets to her hooves and turns to Cozy, “Uh, what should we do?”

Little looks at Cozy with her green eyes, “You think they could come back in a week? Or at least tomorrow?”

Cozy squints her eyes at the earth filly, “Well, they moved a huge statue here to talk with me! What do you think?”

“Oh gosh!” Little Snack says as she lightly paws at her pillow.

Cozy looks down and sighs, “I gotta do this now, huh?”

Starshine frowns at the pegasus, “What do you mean?”

Cozy looks at the deep purple unicorn filly and says gravely with wide eyes as Little looks on, “Well, think about it! Ten years ago, I teamed up with that changeling and attempted to take over Equestria and do bad things! Talking to her again is something I need to do now…”

Starshine frowns and says, “I guess that makes sense… But you’re not doing it alone!”

Cozy smiles, “I never am huh?”

The Little Snack looks at the pegasus and swishes her long green tail back and forth, “Not in this squad!”

Cozy chuckles and nods before saying, “Right! So, you fillies will come with me when I talk to her! Uh, hang on!” before turning her body to the door and leaning up to open it with her mouth before looking up at the alicorn and saying, “I’ll do it! But I have two stipulations!”

Starlight starts wide-eyed, “What?”

Twilight smirks at the unicorn at her side, “Well, we did kinda spring this up on her. Give her this much okay?”

Cozy smiles at the alicorn and nods, “Thank you! One: we will unfreeze her after lunch at 1 o’clock this afternoon! You know, she’s been frozen for ten years! Is a couple of hours really gonna matter?”

Twilight looks down at the pegasus and says, “Well, that sounds reasonable!”

Cozy continues smiling, nods, and says, “Good! And two: I want my two best friends, Starshine and Little Snack to be there with me…” She smiles brighter while looking up at Twilight with big sparkling eyes, “You know? Cause with the Magic of Friendship, I can overcome ANYTHING right?” before she stands there nervously in front of the Princess of Friendship.

Twilight giggles at the pink filly and says, “Okay, now you’re just laying it on thick little filly!” before trotting up to and looking down at her, “But yes Cozy… I understand that you might need some more time and yes, we will give you everything you need.” She looks up past Cozy into the room with the other two fillies staring out the door at her as she smiles and says, “Even your two friends…”

“Oh gosh!” Little Snack says before pawing at the ground with her left and then right forehooves.

“You got it Cozy!” Starshine shouts as she lifts her chin and looks out the door.

Twilight smiles down at Cozy, “I’m so glad you found the Magic of Friendship in your life Cozy!”

“Well golly gee, that’s just swell Twilight! But um, did you really have to spring this up on me so suddenly? I mean, she’s been stone for a very long time now! Would a few days really make that big of a difference?”

Twilight smiles wider, “Well, would you have done it if I had asked?”

Cozy looks up at the alicorn with wide auburn eyes, “Okay! You got a point there, princess!” before Twilight softly snickers at her.

Twilight says, “When I was teaching Starlight, I quickly learned to stymie procrastination. So, I never told her what tomorrow’s lesson would be, so that she’d learn to adapt to new situations in friendship and in life!” as the unicorn on her left flank stares up at her.

Cozy says, “Okay, that makes sense, I guess? “

Twilight says, “Good Cozy! We’ll be back at 1 o’clock and unfreeze her for your conversation then. We’ll leave the statue here!”

“Well gee, that also sounds swell Twilight! But golly gee, I sure am hungry! (She rubs her belly with her left forehoof) I’ll see you later princess!” Cozy quickly says before rapidly shutting the door.

Starlight looks at Twilight to her left outside and says, “I think it went well!”

Twilight looks back over and downward at the unicorn, “She seemed in a hurry to get rid of us?”

Starlight frowns, “Well, you’re the Princess of Equestria now! It’s not like she can say no to you?”

“Point Starlight!”

Starlight smirks, “Of course!”

<*****>

The three fillies finish eating at the table and they’re sitting in front of their now empty plates and partial glasses of purple grape juice. Cozy sees that it’s 12:42 on the wall clock behind Starshine on the right and Little Snack is sitting to the left, both across from her. She sighs and says, “Well, I got about 18 minutes before I talk to bug horse… Uh, what should I say?”

“Um…” Little Snack says as she stares down before looking up at Cozy and widens her eyes as she leans forward and says, “Wing it!”

Cozy stares at the earth filly, “Uh, what?”

“Yeah! Whenever I’m really nervous about something, I always just wing it! Because I know that if I think too much about anything, I’ll only make it more complicated and mess things up. They want you to explain to Chrysalis why being reformed is better right? Then just do it!” Little Snack says while her pigtails shake, and her ears perk in the direction of the pink filly.

Cozy narrows her eyes, “You know Little Snack, that almost sounds like good advice?”

Little Snack frowns as her ears fall to the sides of her head, “Almost?”

“Well golly yeah Little Snack! Don’t you think I should have a plan or a step-by-step explanation or something like that?” Cozy says with an inquisitive look in her eyes.

Little Snack smiles as her ears perk back, “Naw! Too complicated! You’re reformed now and you like being reformed right? Why not just speak from your heart? You know, from your own experiences? I think that sounds like a better plan to me!” and then nods her head as her green pigtails bob back and forth.

“I could write down a list?” Starshine says while looking at Cozy seriously.

Cozy closes her eye, sighs, and then opens them again at the unicorn, “You know, I think Little Snack is right, here?”

Both Starshine and Little Snack stare at Cozy with wide open mouths and eyes while saying, “Huh?” in unison.

Cozy giggles and stares at them, “Golly yeah! I mean, I’m reformed right? Am I happy like this, girls?”

Starshine says, “Absolutely!”

While Little Snack says, “I think so?” and squinting her left eye.

Cozy smiles, “Exactly! I just need to tell her that it’s better being reformed!”

Starlight looks back at the clock while turning body to the left in her chair to gaze behind her, “Uh, you got like, two minutes Cozy!”

Cozy grabs her half full cup of purple juice in her mouth, gulps it all down, and then sets it down with her neck before saying, “Alright! I’m ready!” wipes her mouth with her right forehoof, “Let’s golly well do this!”

<*****>

Cozy stands outside her door with Starshine to her back left and Little Snack to her back right. She stares up at the statue of Chrysalis while Twilight stands 7 feet beyond her on the left with Starlight on her left, slightly closer to the changeling statue. She says, “Golly gee! Uh, there she is! Um, how do you want to do this?” before looking to the alicorn and scrunching her mouth.

Twilight stares to her right down at the pegasus, “Well, I’ll unfreeze her whenever you’re ready?”

“Golly!” Cozy says before she gulps, closes her eyes, “Okay Twilight… “She opens her eyes and nods at the changeling with a blank expression, “I’m ready…”

Twilight turns to face the statue and makes her horn glow with a formidable purple glare and Cozy then beholds the former changeling queen slowly become animate once more as her stone-grey flesh becomes black.

Chrysalis takes a few panting breaths before looking down at Cozy and saying, “YOU!”

Cozy smiles up at the changeling, “Yup! I’m me and you’re you! Hiya Chrissy!”

Chrysalis’s mouth grows small as her left eye twitches. “What is this?” She asks.

“Well golly gee! I’m Cozy Glow and over here (nods to the left) is my best friend Starshine the unicorn and over here (nods to the right) is my other best friend, Little Snack!”

“Gosh! Uh, hi! I’m Little Snack!” the earth filly says before pawing at the ground with her left and then right forehooves and staring up at Chrysalis.

Starshine smiles at Chrysalis, “And I’m Starshine!”

Chrysalis says, “Ugh! That’s not what I mean!” while bringing her right forehoof to her face. She lowers it to the ground, “I expected a Royal Guard contingent or maybe a princess greeting! But instead, I get…” She stares down at Cozy, who’s still smiling at her. Chrysalis widens her eyes, “Three fillies! I get three fillies! And don’t ever call me Chrissy!

“Yeah, life sure is weird sometimes, huh?” Cozy says as she looks up and smiles dimly at Chrysalis.

“Life! Ugh!” Chrysalis groans while closing her eyes.

“Yeah um, so have you thought about being reformed at all Chrysalis?” Cozy says while leaning forward with a wide expectant look in her eyes.

“I would sooner die!” Chrysalis angrily yells at Cozy with an outstretched neck and a severe look in her eyes before turning around and saying, “They fear my strength!”

“Um” Cozy says before trotting forward a few paces, “I don’t think your power is the problem Chrysalis? I mean, many changeling hives exist all across the world, but we don’t seek those out to destroy them, do we?”

Chrysalis looks back to her right and sneers, “What would you know of the changelings, you weak foal?”

Cozy steps forward two more paces, “Well golly gee! Not a whole lot. But I do know when you threaten to take over Equestria, the ponies aren’t very happy about it!”

Chrysalis turns back to the pegasus, now a mere 5 feet from her and says, “Of course, I should’ve expected that you would crack and become reformed! You were always the weakest of us three!”

Cozy brings her head back and smirks, “Oh, please! At least I had a better plan than 'attack Canterlot with my changeling swarm!' And might I add, I did get a lot further than you in just one try!” Cozy says as the smile begins to widen on her face, “Face it, Chrissy! I’M SMARTER THAN YOU!”

“Oh, you arrogant little brat!” Chrysalis says as her body begins to glow with an eerie green light and Cozy’s friends both backstep two paces while Cozy stares at her beaming brightly as her bluish white curls sway from the immense power before her and auburn eyes gleam with madness.

Suddenly, she’s engulfed in a pale blue forcefield as Twilight starts and looks at her while saying, “That’s enough Chrysalis!” and the green glow around her body begins to fade and disappear.

Chrysalis soon flails wildly with all four of her legs inside the forcefield as it floats up about ten feet from the ground.

Cozy raises her left forehoof to her side, signaling Twilight to stand down as Chrysalis furiously screams, “You demonic little monster! I never should have trusted you or that centaur! I swear with every fiber of my being that you, Starlight Glimmer, Discord, and Twilight Sparkle will all pay very dearly for what you have done!”

“Golly!” Cozy says as she chuckles lightly and continuing to grin brightly, “Are you done yet?”

Chrysalis stops flailing in the air and pants as she stares ominously at the pegasus, who’s still just standing there and smiling up at her.

Cozy continues, “I’ll make a deal with you Chrysalis! Call it a wager, if you like!”

Chrysalis takes a few more breaths as she stares down at the pegasus for a moment before muttering, “Go on?”

“Thank you!" Cozy nods and stares back up at the changeling, "Okay Chrysalis! You try being reformed! Just try it out! I mean, golly! You still have the rest of your life to be evil, if you don’t like it you know?”

Twilight looks at the pegasus, “Cozy, I don’t know if that’s a very good idea?”

Cozy continues smiling as she looks at Twilight, to her left, “Well, I’m reformed, and I like it! Being reformed is just swell after all Twilight! I’m sure she’ll love it!”

Twilight frowns at Cozy, “You know what? You really are a demonic little monster!”

Cozy sneers, “I play chess Twilight! Besides!” Cozy’s mouth straightens, “You know, this is probably the best deal you’re gonna get?”

Twilight straightens her face and says, “You uh, actually have a point there!”

Cozy smiles again, “Exactly!” She nods and shifts her body to the alicorn, “You know, I used to tell myself the same thing whenever I was trying to be reformed. I used to say to myself, 'Well golly gee Cozy! You can always just be evil again if you don’t like it?' And uh, I guess it’s kind of a transitional phase for recovering villains?” *

Starlight looks at the pegasus as she flattens her brows, “I never told myself that?”

“Ugh!” Cozy sighs before turning her body to the unicorn, further on the right, “I meant REAL villains Starlight! You know at first, you just had a questionable ideology! But once you went back and looked at what made you that way, you saw how you were wrong! Me and Chrysalis here have both been more or less, rotten from the start!

“Uh, that’s not entirely true Cozy Glow…” Chrysalis somberly says while looking down at the pink filly from her bubble.

Cozy turns her body to the changeling and looks up at her while squinting her right eye inquisitively and leaning forward slightly, “What do you mean?”

“Ugh! I already told you that you know nothing of the changelings foal!” Chrysalis says before looking to her right at Twilight, “In the beginning, I was master of a changeling hive. We were a fierce tribe of warriors, not to be trifled with! But we needed love to maintain our power!”

Cozy says, “You know, the changeling kingdom to the west doesn’t need to take in anymore love?”

Chrysalis looks back at Cozy and says, “Exactly you incredulous little twerp! I just didn’t know!” before closing her eyes.

Twilight looks at the changeling curiously and cranes her neck that direction, “About what Chrysalis?”

Chrysalis stares at Twilight, “When you’re stone, you have a lot of time to think… I eventually realized that since my former hive doesn’t need to take in additional love at this point, that I was probably wrong…”

“So, golly Chrysalis! Will you give it a shot?”

Chrysalis looks back down at Cozy, “After my hive betrayed me, revenge was all I had left. It was the only thing that drove me…” She looks to Starlight, “Getting even with you was all I had to do…”

Starlight looks to Chrysalis, “But you never did?”

“Oh, how I tried Starlight! You don’t know the entire story!”

Starlight scrunches her mouth, “Well look! One thing I learned when I reformed was, while it’s important to look at yourself and see what went wrong, you eventually need to put everything behind you…” She turns her body to face the changeling before taking a step to her, “I want to be your friend Chrysalis… I don’t want to fight you anymore…” before smiling dimly.

Chrysalis is silent for a moment before finally saying, “We’ll talk more about this later Starlight…”

Starlight nods her head, “Very well Chrysalis… Until next time…” and then takes a step back.

Chrysalis looks down at Cozy, “I’ll try being reformed! After all!” She says before smiling back down at the Pegasus, “I can always just go back to being evil if I don’t like it?”

Twilight looks to the changeling seriously, “Okay Chrysalis. I’m going to lower you down now and then turn you back to stone. I’ll unfreeze you at the castle later and then we’ll discuss this more now that you’ve talked to an ahem, recently reformed villain…” before raising her neck back all the way with ears perked in the changeling's direction.

Chrysalis sighs, “I agree to your terms Twilight…”

Twilight smiles dimly as her horn is encased in a purple glow to lower the forcefield to the ground before it disappears and gives a resounding pop upon reaching the surface. The changeling drops a foot from the air to her hooves on the ground causing her body to lower slightly with a small thud before she corrects herself and stares at the pegasus before her, “Eventually, while encased in stone, I began to question a lot of things… I started to wonder about the things I had done and how I had gotten myself trapped there…”

“Golly gee Chrysalis! I did the same thing! Eventually, I started to wonder if there was something else I could be doing?”

“Yes Cozy! I started to wonder if there was something else I could’ve done…" Chrysalis smiles dimly, "Thank you for talking with me Cozy… I never knew I wasn’t alone…”

“Oh golly, Chrissy er, Chrysalis! It was nothing!” Cozy says while smiling at the changeling and twisting her right forehoof on the ground.

Chrysalis turns her head to Twilight, “I’m ready!”

Twilight nods her head, and her horn is once again sheathed in a purple glow. The bottom of the changeling’s hooves soon begins to become encased in stone, which soon spreads higher on her body to her shoulders. She says, “See you soon Cozy!” as the stone overtakes her face, now stuck in a somber expression to the pegasus.

Cozy looks at Twilight and says, “Uh, she wasn’t serious about that whole 'see you soon' thing was she? I was actually kinda hoping never to see her again?” before tilting her head to the right with a disturbed look in her eyes.

Twilight smiles at the Pegasus filly, “Whenever you’re ready!”

<*****>

The three fillies are all sitting at the table after Twilight and Starlight have departed with the statue. Cozy looks at her two friends sitting across from her, Little Snack on the left and Starshine to the right and says, “Golly, that was a strange afternoon!”

Starshine says with narrow eyes, “I know! Of all the things they could’ve done to reform Chrysalis, why did they want to talk with you?”

“I’m not sure Starshine? Uh, I hope they don’t expect me to be friends with her later? You know, I was paired with you, but afterwards, well…” She looks at Little Snack, “I kinda made my own friend as well!”

Little smiles as she swishes her green tail in the chair, “Yup!”

Starshine asks Cozy, “So, I guess you want snuggles now?”

Cozy looks at Starshine wide-eyed, “What do you mean?”

Starshine smiles and says, “You just had a harrowing adventure with Chrysalis and now you need comfort!”

Cozy scrunches her mouth, “I don’t think so?”

Little Snack looks at Starshine to her left, “Hey, isn’t it your turn to hold her next?”

Starshine smiles, “That is correct!”

Cozy starts, “Hey, wait a minute!”

Starshine says to Cozy, “Cozy snuggle time nap now after lunch like usual!”

Cozy frowns, “Do I get a choice?”

Both Starshine and Little Snack say to Cozy in unison, “NO!”

(To be continued…)

Author's Note:

*I used to tell myself that I can just try living! Just try it out! I mean, golly gee! If I don't like it, I can always just kill myself, right?