Chronicles of the Reformed

by The_Darker_Fonts

Chapter 7: Who You Are

There was a long, harsh moment of silence as Cozy stared in horror at Star Scout, her jaw agape. He had found her out! She was going to be turned in, kept here for the night only to be shipped back to the Canterlot Gardens. He would tell his parents who would call for the Princesses and then she’d be back encased in stone for all eternity! Her heartbeat spiked at the thought, her breaths becoming short and quick as panic overwhelmed her. Without thinking, she turned and raced towards the window.

“Whoa whoa whoa,” Star exclaimed, catching Cozy by the tail right as she was about to leap out the window. She glanced behind her, yelping in pain as the much stronger tugged her by the tail in his mouth. Looking her in the eyes, he managed to grunt around her tail, “Can’t we please talk about this?”

“What’s there to talk about,” she shrilly protested, unable to keep her voice down. “You wanna ask what it’s like to be stone?”

Unfortunately, she realized too late that he had asked the question to get her to stop struggling. Another yelp escaped her as she was suddenly pulled into the nearby room, the door shutting as Star used one hoof to tug her in. With the door shut, he let her go and turned to look at her again, panting a little from dragging her around. Plucking a strand of hair from his mouth, frowning at it, he asked the frightened filly, “Can we please talk now? I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you already did,” Cozy noted sourly, rubbing the sore spot where her tail met her rear. Her eyes darted instantly to the window in the room, wondering if she would be able to make another wild dash to break out.

Star noted where her gaze went, sighing with disappointment as he moved between it and her, keeping an even space between the door and window. Cozy took a step back, bumping into a bed, as she was cornered by the colt. However, now that they were alone and he wasn’t shouting for his parents or something like that, she wondered if she could take him. He was bigger and had just roughly overpowered her, but maybe if she got the jump on him now, she would be able to escape him. Her ears perked up as Star mumbled something to himself, looking away from her for just a second.

“Look, Cozy, I’m not gonna do anything to you,” he tried assuring her again, sitting down. “I’m just very curious. I mean, I’ve heard a lot about you and everything, but so much of what ponies hear and say is misinterpreted and exaggerated that I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be friends with Cozy Glow herself! You’re a villain certainly, but at the same time, you’re back, so Princess Twilight must trust you enough to not be afraid to have you running willy nilly!”

“Hold on, you wanna be my friend,” she asked, concerned.

“I mean, who else to be friends with other than the Empress of Friendship,” he said with a wink.

Cozy was taken aback by the joke, something way too personal and equally jocular for such a situation. He had just met her, as well as that, he had revealed he knew she was the Cozy Glow, a feared, powerful filly that had almost conquered Equestria twice. How could he be so frank and calm with her even after telling her he knew her secret? After throwing her around like a sack of hay and imprisoning her in his home? Then, a very random, disturbing thought crossed her mind.

“This isn’t your room, is it,” she questioned accusatively.

“What in the hay, no,” he exclaimed, his brown fur going beet red in an instant as he looked away flustered. “Why in Equestria would you even think that? You’re just a filly!”

“Actually, I- ,” she began, before catching herself. “I’ve heard that far more times than you can guess. Quirks of being a villainess, I guess.”

“No no no,” Star declared, his eyes sharply returning to her. Instead of being flustered still, he had a curious spark to his eyes as he scanned her face for a moment. Unexpectedly, a smile broke out on his face. “You’re lying about that too, I can tell. That little stutter there, you were trying to cover up, weren’t ya? You’re not a filly, though Celestia knows you're not a mare at all. Your voice is way too shrill to be an adult’s but far too mature to actually be a filly’s. You're in between fillyhood and adulthood, so probably around my age, right? Makes sense why you’re so smart but letting independence cloud your judgment. I mean, honestly how could you expect nopony to know who you were with one look! You’re real lucky my parents don’t really pay attention to anything that happens outside the forest, otherwise you’d be in a lot of trouble.”

“How could you just figure all that,” Cozy challenged nervously. This colt was astoundingly astute, picking her apart in front of her very eyes like she was just a simple children’s puzzle.

“Oh, I’m just… y’know… I see things…” he answered uncertainly, glancing away again.

Frowning at his sudden lack of confidence, she grumbled, “You’re one weird colt.”

“Yeah, everypony says the same thing,” he sighed, rolling his eyes. “They always say I’m too smart for my own good or that my kindness is too unconditional. Everypony at school is… well, they certainly know how to be cruel…”

Cozy felt a jab of pity staring at the colt, whose ears had flattened against his head in shame. Some ponies really were the worst creatures in Equestria, rude, obnoxious, and cold. For once in her life, she had met somepony who didn’t have at least one of these traits, and seeing him distraught, in spite of what he had done, made her blood boil. “There’s no reason you should be listening to whatever idiots are being mean to you. You’re frankly better than any colt I’ve ever met before, and trust me, there have been quite a few. Idiocy seems to be a common trait you managed to avoid.”

“I knew there was good in you,” Star replied simply, looking at her with a small smile. “Ponies just haven’t given you a good chance.”

Cozy inhaled sharply at his words, her chest tightening as he said exactly what she had felt all her life. His knowing eyes, kind smile, and peaceful stance left her without anything to fear from him. Looking at her, he had known exactly what she was, but instead of running or leaving her, he had decided to help her. Why? Why, when everypony else had dismissed her as some filly or a completely corrupted pony, had this colt seen through her? It was unfair. It should have been the Princess of Friendship, or one of the Elements, or even one of the other students at the School of Friendship that saw the truth. Not some random colt who had found her in the middle of the forest, disgraced, exhausted, and weak!

As she stared at the colt, their eyes met, and it was only then that the last of Cozy’s fear melted away, removed as her heart trembled. Her breath left her completely, a blush rising to her cheeks as she realized that, undoubtedly, she had met somepony important. Before she could let her emotions fly off the handles, though, she forced a scowl on her face, trying desperately to focus on the anger behind his statement.

“You’re right, nopony’s ever given poor little Cozy Glow a chance,” she snarled, tearing her eyes off of him. Plopping herself on the bed, she grumbled, “Your parents will probably be suspicious with you being here so long. Even though you’re a ditzy, naive colt, your parent’s oughta be a little worried about why you brought home a filly.”

“I thought we already determined you’re not a filly,” Star protested. “What are you, fourteen, fifteen?”

“You were right the first time,” she sighed, not wanting to lie. He had picked apart enough of her lies anyways. Maybe if she told enough of the truth, he would never question the one big lie… “And you?

“Fifteen,” he replied, shrugging. “Most ponies say I look eighteen and act eight.”

“Most ponies are wrong,” she stated matter-of-factly. Glancing at him again, she added, “About the acting eight part. You do look… meh. You could be anywhere in your teens. Impossible to tell.”

“Yeah, says the girl who looks ten,” he joked with a wry grin. Sobering, he asked, “That’s not because of a… uh, problem… or- or past trauma or anything, right? I’m not being insensitive.”

“Yep,” Cozy answered tightly, her heart aching painfully as his unknowing comments struck home. “Nothing at all. I’m a normal midget!”

“Doesn’t sound like it,” he muttered to himself, his brow furrowed. He blushed as he realized she had heard him, the room too quiet for whispering to oneself. “Y-y-y-you’re right, though. Mom and dad will be a bit weary of me being, y’know… um, I’m going. Goodnight? Unless, I don’t know, you wanna still talk or something…”

“I’m tired, Star,” she replied. “Tired and dirty. So, unless you wanna talk while I’m in the bath…”

She smiled as he turned red and stood up, practically rushing out the door. Halfway out, however, he turned and poked his head back in, and even with his face terribly red, he asked, “You won’t leave, though, right? We won’t wake up and find you… not here? At least say goodbye if you’ve gotta leave…”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” she agreed halfheartedly. Star tensed up as she approached, smiling like a vulture as she stopped a hair away from him. He gulped nervously, fear in his eyes as he stared down at her, obviously unsure of what the villainess was about to do. Narrowing her eyes at him as she grabbed the door handle, she softly asked, “Is this the door to the bathroom?”

“Oh, yeah,” he replied with a very obvious sigh of relief. “There’ll be any toiletries you need in there already. G’night!”

Cozy smiled as soon as the door was shut. It was sort of funny that she could intimidate the colt still, even though he knew the truth about who she was. That thought gave her pause as she entered the bathroom. He was intimidated by her being flirtatious and complimenting him, but not by actually being in the presence of the infamous, evil Cozy Glow? She saw her face scrunch up in the mirror at her confusion. She blinked, watching herself, taking herself in, realizing only as she stared at the filly in the mirror that this was the first time since her stone imprisonment that she was seeing herself.

She was an absolute mess. Her curls were almost completely undone, she was dirty with her one muddy hoof, and the bags under her eyes rivaled those Twilight Sparkle’s. She chuckled at the thought, relishing in how distraught and exhausted the Princess had looked from time to time while heading the School of Friendship. Sighing, she had to admit it wasn’t even a cute-ish look on her, just straight pathetic. It was no wonder Star and his family had taken her in so willingly. She looked halfway dead, and now that she wasn’t panicking about being sent away or turned in, she felt the part too. She felt a bit indignant at the appearance and quickly prepared her shower. The sooner she stopped looking like a pathetic, halfway wild pony, the sooner she would feel more herself again.

Her mind flitted back to what she’d been thinking before as she began washing herself. Star Scout was certainly a… kindhearted pony, one that she genuinely didn’t want to take advantage of she didn’t need to. He gave her so many opportunities, though, especially with how trusting he was. It was probably still in his mind that, in spite of Cozy Glow being older than she let on initially, she was still at least partially innocent. It was a dangerously powerful delusion for him to maintain if that was the case. Powerful for her, of course. He was also incredibly skilled with his apparently vast knowledge of the Equestrian woodlands with how easily he navigated them. Pursing her lips as she struggled to get a mat out of her hair, her mind wildly came up with an absurd plan.

Given she still probably needed to be on the run, she would have to leave sometime soon, though with the comfort of hot water easing her aching muscles, she didn’t have the willpower to set a date. When her mind was clearer, she would decide whether or not to leave tomorrow or the day after. For now, she relished the comforts of modernity after a whole day stumbling through the untamed woods. However, if she were to somehow be able to convince him to run away with her to at least guide her through the forest, it would be much easier than today was. In fact, she liked the idea more than she would admit. She’d never had a henchpony of any sort, as Tirek and Chrysalis were strangely her equals when it came to the plans and attacks. Besides, Starlight would certainly be horrified by the prospect of her young charge running off with some colt into the woods for a few days.

She grinned wryly as she finished up washing, for the first time really feeling like herself again. It was strange with her hair uncurled and somepony knowing half of the truth, but she almost wanted to thank Star for listening and being himself. Why, she hadn’t realized until now how utterly exhausting her time with Starlight had been, struggling to save face while recovering. Hiding the truth from her and perpetuating every lie she had lived by before being turned to stone. Now that she no longer had to worry about hiding some of the truth from Star, she felt relaxed, able to sleep comfortably. Yawning, she carefully got into bed, tucking her wings around her as she pulled up the blanket. She was asleep before anything else came to mind.

Author's Note:

SO not a complete catastrophe, but also a strange predicament to be in regardless. As always, questions, comments, and concerns are welcome and wanted.

Comments

[Wild Stallion]

“Yep,” Cozy answered tightly, her heart aching painfully as his unknowing comments struck home. “Nothing at all. I’m a normal midget!”

Poor thing. I wonder if this plays a role in her insecurities.

He was intimidated by her being flirtatious and complimenting him, but not by actually being in the presence of the infamous, evil Cozy Glow?

He's a guy and you're cute. Kind of a foregone conclusion.

Sighing, she had to admit it wasn’t even a cute-ish look on her, just straight pathetic.

You're still cute though.

Star Scout was certainly a… kindhearted pony, one that she genuinely didn’t want to take advantage of she didn’t need to. He gave her so many opportunities, though, especially with how trusting he was.

Will she, won't she?

However, if she were to somehow be able to convince him to run away with her to at least guide her through the forest, it would be much easier than today was. In fact, she liked the idea more than she would admit.

Really? I never would have guessed.

She’d never had a henchpony of any sort, as Tirek and Chrysalis were strangely her equals when it came to the plans and attacks. Besides, Starlight would certainly be horrified by the prospect of her young charge running off with some colt into the woods for a few days.

That's going to be interesting if it turns out that way. But I could see quite a few things going wrong with this plan. Not that Cozy Glow has many other options.

Why, she hadn’t realized until now how utterly exhausting her time with Starlight had been, struggling to save face while recovering. Hiding the truth from her and perpetuating every lie she had lived by before being turned to stone. Now that she no longer had to worry about hiding some of the truth from Star, she felt relaxed, able to sleep comfortably.

Aww! She feels safe now! That's good. For her at least.

[The_Darker_Fonts]

11588922

He's a guy and you're cute. Kind of a foregone conclusion.

More the fact that she looks five years younger than she is, but yeah.

[Wild Stallion]

11588983
I mean it's kind of implicit. Guys usually want to protect girls, and being small and cute and having the world against her doesn't really hurt Cozy's chances in this instance.

Half the reason I wound up liking the character is because her punishments were so disproportionate compared to all the other major MLP villains.

[The_Darker_Fonts]

11588989
Yeah, lol. Tryna fix Hasbro canon is the best thing about FimFic

[Prol]

Does Cozy have a growth problem or has she seen too much in her life?

[The_Darker_Fonts]

11589412
Growth problem.