Chapter 7
In the Canterlot courtyard, in the center sat Twilight Sparkle, with Cozy Glow wrapped tightly around her hooves.
"I'm so sorry, Spike. I didn't mean to..."
Twilight opened her eyes and realized she wasn't hugging Spike. Instead she was hugging-
"Cozy Glow?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, but, why'd you stop hugging?" Cozy asked.
"Uh... no reason." Twilight replied.
"I must've snapped, and gone into this dreamlike state. I had this dream, I was about to do something bad, but then I saw Spike, and then I woke up and it's you instead of Spike." Twilight explained.
"Holding you, gave me the same feeling as holding Spike. It's almost like... like-"
"Twilight Sparkle." Celestia said.
*gulp* "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna?" Twilight said, intimidated.
"No need for the titles any longer. Equestria is yours now." Luna said. "That is unless..."
"Did you see all of that?" Twilight asked.
The two former princesses nodded.
Twilight got worked up and embarrassed that the Princesses who trusted her to lead Equestria witnessed her breakdown.
"You don't understand." Twilight said.
"Then explain so that we may understand." Celestia said.
"I-I..." Twilight closed her eyes and suppressed herself. She couldn't think of the words to say.
However, Twilight's friends were nearby, and were ready to defend their friend.
"Hey! Before you banish Twilight, or lock her in a dungeon, listen here." Rainbow Dash said.
"And don't even think about banishing her, then locking her in a dungeon in the place she's banished." Fluttershy added.
"It's not fair to fire Twilight before her first full day has even begun." Rarity said.
"No... girls, I-" Twilight tried to say, but found it difficult to say the words.
Twilight's friends huddled around Twilight and Cozy.
Celestia and Luna chose to observe the scene and not interject just yet. To see how Twilight and her friends handled it themselves.
"You alright, Twi?" Applejack asked.
"You can tell us what happened. Don't be ashamed." Starlight said.
Twilight's eyes watered and sparkled before she thought of how to explain things.
"I guess I just let my emotions get the better of me..." Twilight wept. "This whole princess thing got to my head."
"It's not your fault. The Tantabus was looming inside of you the whole time." Pinkie said.
"The Tantabus may have cursed her, and made her extra volatile. But, I have a feeling it goes beyond deeper than just pressure from the upcoming responsibilities." Spike said.
"Correct. The Tantabus may have caused a knee jerk pain reaction that sent me into a nightmare state, but I don't deserve a pardon. I can say that for certain because I've had these thoughts since before our trial run with Tantabus. All the hardships I've been going through have been real. My actions have all been my own. My emotions were real. My question to you girls, was a real opportunity." Twilight said.
"Oh, Twilight..." her friends said simultaneously
"I guess it was just a combination of everything bad coming together. I've been so stressed off getting ready to be princess. Everything kept bottling up until it led to that." Twilight said.
"But what specifically is bothering you?" Fluttershy asked.
"Mainly, I'm still fixated on that one day. Thinking about how it didn't come naturally to want to reach out and help Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis. Seems silly to still be fixated on something that happened weeks ago, but it really had a confound impact on how I view myself. I realized how cruel we could be, and it really felt like some element of friendship was lost... and we were all blind to it..."
Twilight held Cozy tighter.
"So basically what you're saying is-" Rarity started.
"This is all Discord's fault." Rainbow Dash added.
"OH COME ON!" Discord's voice echoed.
They heard a snap, and suddenly Discord appeared from a puff of smoke.
"AH!" Cozy pressed her face against Twilight and embraced her tighter.
"How is it that you ponies always seem to find a way to blame everything on ME!?" Discord asked.
"You did stage a pretty big debacle to say the least." Fluttershy said.
"Something so big that could've resulted in either the physical destruction of Equestria, or the complete destruction of all the values of friendship that Twilight spent nine seasons buildi-" Starlight added.
"Alright, I get it! I made a big mistake! I'm sorry!" Discord apologized.
"How humble of you, Discord. Now, why don't you go sit in the corner while the responsible ones talk it out." Applejack said.
*Hmph* "Very well, but only because I'm busy fixing the Bewitching Bell." Discord said.
"What's the matter with you?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just, I saw him in a dream recently. it wasn't pleasant." Cozy explained.
"Oh, you poor thing." Twilight said, embracing Cozy tighter.
"You thought you were giving her a confidence boost by staging a final battle, but you ended up destroying her confidence, and tainting the good name of friendship!" Cozy exclaimed.
Every creature looked at Cozy.
"At least, that's what I think..." Cozy said, softly.
"I refuse to let friendship die like this. "I'm going to do what I do best, and be kind to every creature." Twilight said.
With Discord in a corner, they attempted to get back on topic.
"Anyway, Twilight, you can't let this hang over your head and prevent you from ruling Equesetria." Starlight said.
"I know. I've let it get to my head, and I've been acting so lousy to you girls lately. I'm sorry." Twilight apologized.
"No, Twilight. We're sorry!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Don't put the burden of responsibility onto you. You don't have to apologize. None of this is your fault!" Twilight exclaimed back.
"That doesn't mean we shouldn't have done more to help you!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
"We'll come with you to Canterlot!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"We'll take your offer! We can have a Friendship Counsel just like you wanted!" Fluttershy said.
"Oh, right... that..." Twilight said. "Let's not worry about that. I'm feeling much better now. Really."
"But, isn't that what ya wanted?" Applejack asked.
"You don't have to worry, girls. You don't have to drop your lives and come to Canterlot with me." Twilight said. "Girls, it's okay. I was just being a little irrational earlier. This isn't doom and gloom." Twilight assured.
"It really wouldn't be all that inconvenient, darling. Moving to Canterlot means I'll be closer to Rarity For You, which is our busiest shop. It'll give me a great opportunity to..."
Everypony looked at Rarity awkwardly.
"And I... am totally missing the point, aren't I?" Rarity said.
"But if you move apart from your friends, wouldn't the magic of friendship be lost?" Starlight asked.
"Of course not. I love you girls more than anything. Just moving apart isn't going to change that. But to demand that you come to Canterlot with me would be selfish and possessive. I shouldn't have asked if you wanted to drop your lives and come to Canterlot with me. It was selfish and possessive of me. I was so concerned, thinking that if you didn't want to come with me, somehow that meant you girls didn't love me any more, when really I should have asked you if you girls still loved me, which now that I say it out loud is silly. There's no doubt." Twilight said.
"Of course we love you, Twilight." Pinkie Pie said.
"Just because we're moving apart, doesn't mean our friendship will get weakler. Our physical proximity isn't what makes our friendship strong, it's our love for each other." Twilight said.
Twilight's friends all grouped around her and gave her a big hug. Cozy Glow cringed slightly as she was surrounded by so much mushy friendship sap. And yet, their friendly aura was having an effect on her. It mellowed her out, and comforted her. She hadn't been forced to endure so much friendship concentrated in one place before.
"We're glad you're feelin' better, Twi." Applejack said.
"So what made you change your mind?" Rarity asked.
"If I'm being honest, it's this little filly right here." Twilight replied. "Let's just say I finally learned something from this little filly. I felt the magic that made friendship so special receding away, but then Cozy Glow saved me. Of all ponies, Cozy reminded me why friendship is important, and why it is so special." Twilight said.
Twilight hugged Cozy close, and she accepted it.
"Cozy, I missed you. Why'd you run away?" Twilight asked.
"Well... the truth is... I was worried... that... *sigh* Even if I were able to control my magic, I was worried the sight of me using my magic might've... intimidated someponies, causing them to revolt... sort of like what happened just earlier.
Twilight's friends kicked the ground nervously, thinking about how rude they were to Cozy earlier.
"So I guess I was right, Equestria isn't ready to accept me..." Cozy concluded.
"Oh. I didn't mean to put so much pressure on you, Cozy." Twilight said.
"Like just imagine, a laser light show by me going great, but all it would've taken would be one creature to shriek in fear to send the crowd into panic. At least that's what I think could've happened." Cozy said pessimistically.
"You know, in hindsight, I suppose tasking you with lighting up my coronation wasn't, shall we say, the most foalproof plan. I just didn't want to disappoint you by telling you that you weren't ready to be have access to your magic." Twilight explained.
"But it's obvious I wasn't ready. Why'd you do it?" Cozy asked.
"I guess I wanted to show you a sign that I trust you. I trusted you would use your magic responsibly, and while you didn't do what I told you to do, you didn't take advantage of my offer and cause havoc, so I think you deserve credit for that."
"I just wanted you to show everypony how much you've changed. And while you can't show everypony right away, since most ponies have gone home, I think you've just shown these ponies here how much you've changed." Twilight said.
"I think you've already done a great job showing everypony how much you've changed." Twilight said. "You saved me Cozy Glow, because you knew just how to reach me. You recognized friendship and applied it to me. I think you deserve credit for that."
"Well, I couldn't have done it without..." Cozy paused. She wasn't ready to tell everypony about Diamond Tiara or Pipsqueak,
I-I couldn't have done it without Spike." Cozy said.
Spike walked up and Twilight wrapped her hooves around him.
"But it seems rather random. Why bring up Spike in relation to any of this?" Rarity asked.
"I think I know why Cozy here has such a fascinating with Spike. It's because at some point while Cozy was my assistant at the school, I told her she reminded me of Spike. And, there's a few different ways to interpret that. Spike was my first real friend. At a time I was so frustrated with studies, I felt I was leagues ahead of Celestia and wanted to show her I could be a better princess to her. I was almost about to repeat the mistake of Sunset Shimmer and King Sombra, by letting my great magical power go to my head. But I had something they didn't. I had a foal. I had Spike." Twilight explained. "My love for Spike, and the responsibility of raising this little guy basically by myself was the thing I needed to keep me grounded to reality, and keep me in check. Spike made me happy, and reminded me why I shouldn't do anything terrible."
"The way Spike's been my assistant for so long, Cozy being my assistant at the school, she really did remind me of Spike. And I have a good feeling that Cozy here will play a similar role when she comes to Canterlot with me." Twilight said.
Cozy Glow was surprised by what Twilight had just said. Come to Canterlot?
"You want me to come to Canterlot with you?" Cozy asked.
"Mmm hmm. Your magic training isn't complete after all. We've still got plenty of subjects to cover." Twilight said. "And there'll be plenty of time to do it in Canterlot."
"That is, if you're still allowed in Canterlot..." Cozy said.
That's right. There was still the matter of Celestia and Luna.
Celestia and Luna were still here, observing the scene. They stood tall, they seemed impeding, and intimidating.
*sigh* You saw what just happened. I already buckled under the pressure. When it comes to solving actual disputes, or leadership, I'm sorry to break it to you, but I don't think I have what it takes to do this..."
Twilight closed her eyes and looked the other way, bracing for the worst. She expected to have a Royal Canterlot Voice come pounding her way.
Celestia trotted up slowly and put her hoof to Twilight's chin. Twilight opened her eyes and looked up at her mentor. Her eyes were watery. She wrapped her front limbs around Celestia's hoof.
"Twilight Sparkle. My star pupil. Princess of Friendship." Celestia said.
"Oh please. My list of accomplishments is dwarfed by yours. You've been my hero and inspiration for as long as I can remember. To live up to that, to inspire others to the same pedigree... You two make running a nation seem so effortless. You two are literally perfect. There's no two ponies more qualified to rule than you two." Twilight said, hanging her head.
"Us, perfect, you say?" Luna asked.
Twilight nodded.
"HAHAHA" Celestia and Luna started laughing. Even Pinkie Pie put her arm around the former princesses and laughed with them.
Everypony besides Pinkie was slightly disturbed. Seemed like an inappropriate time to laugh.
"Did you just say we were perfect?!" Celestia joked.
Pinkie Pie joined in the laughter.
"Twilight. Did you honestly think that the time I was banished was my only time turning into Nightmare Moon?" Luna asked.
"Luna became Nightmare Moon on a moonly basis! That's how we decided how much time a moon is!" Celestia said.
"Oh please, don't forget to mention your alter ego." Luna said.
"Oh course. Believe me, Twilight. Daybreaker must've come out many times in the 1,000 years I ruled alone." Celestia said. "It took ages to mellow down, then it became much more seldom."
Twilight looked down. If her idols had such a rough time being rulers, then how could humble her go through with it?
*"All of this is to say, there is no need to put us on a pedestal higher above you." Luna said.
"We never said that this role wouldn't be difficult." Celestia said. "And that is precisely why we have faith in you. You've learned so much since your adventures began.
"You had faith in me this whole time?" Twilight asked.
"We never had a shadow of a doubt about you." Luna assured.
"But the real reason we felt now you were ready to lead Equestria, is that you've done such a spectacular job spreading the magic of friendship, and making the lives of so many creatures across the land better. I'd argue you were already doing our job better. Being supreme leader would allow for more opportunities to meet more creatures, make bigger decisions. That is why we ultimately decided it would be best for you to be ruler." Celestia said.
"So then, I never should have doubted your trust in me!" Twilight wept.
Celestia and Luna hugged Twilight, and in the center remained Cozy.
"Cozy, you're coming with me to Canterlot, as my protégé!" Twilight said.
"So then, what exactly happens to me next?" Cozy asked.
"Well, Spike said he'd rather be my Royal Knight instead of Royal Advisor, that leaves the occupation open for the taking." Twilight said.
"Me? Royalty?" Cozy asked.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Twilight said.
"But, how am I going to explain this to-" Cozy started.
Suddenly, a unicorn with a fiery mane was at the scene.
"Ah, like teacher, like student. How precious." Sunset Shimmer said.
"Sunset Shimmer!" Twilight greeted. "So glad to see you again. I thought you would've headed home by now."
"Nah. I told you, I have something important to show you tonight." she said.
"Oh, right. Well, what is it?" Twilight asked.
Sunset paused for a moment. Her eyes and horn glowed green.
"...This!"
Sunset's eyes glowed a deep green, and her horn lit up the same color.
Sunset hissed and lashed towards Twilight.
She transformed raveling-
"AH!" Twilight screamed.
"HAHA! Gotcha!" said the Queen of changelings.
The Sunset here turns out to be Chrysalis.
"What the?"
"Queen Chrysalis?"
"Of course. You thought old Bacon Hair would actually journey all the way to Equestria? Haha..." Chrysalis asked.
"I only journey to Equestria for important things, like coronations of new princesses named Twilight Sparkle." said the real Sunset Shimmer, who snuck up on Twilight.
"Wait. What's going on?" Twilight asked.
Not only that, but Tirek and Thorax entered the courtyard.
"What is going on here around here?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"You needen't worry about a thing, Twilight. They've calmed down considerably." Sunset said.
"But, how?!" Cozy asked.
"Oh, not that things weren't going swimmingly at the Changeling hive with just me-" Thorax said.
Thorax had a traumatic flashback to him and the Changelings trying to reform Tirek and Chrysalis themselves. It was a complete disaster. The centaur consumed the energy from the Changeling subjects, and Chrysalis used her magic to destroy their decorations. The only thing preventing them from escaping was a mostly impenetrable bubble surrounding the hive, but that proved to be a double edge sword.
"-but it was clear I was going to need some help, and that's when Princess Celestia recommended I seek the help of Sunset Shimmer." he concluded.
"Thorax needed extra help, and who better to help change the minds of a couple of grumpy heads than ol' Shimmy?" Sunset grinned.
"Of course. Leave it to Sunset to talk sense into a couple'a knuckleheads." Applejack said.
"Yep. My experience from your first visit from Canterlot High really taught me something, and I've been able to share that knowledge with plenty of people, from Crystal Prep Twilight, Gloriosa Daisy, Juniper Montage, Wallflower Blush, and now, these two." Sunset explained.
"Sunset Whatever here helped me get in touch with my more hobbyist side. Taught me there's more to do in life than conquest." Tirek said.
"Now that we've surrendered, I mean, learned the something of something..." Chrysalis said.
Chrysalis wasn't very convincing, but at least she was no longer a threat(?)
Cozy stood up, and hovered her large wings in place.
*phew* "That's a relief. I thought I was going to have a field day explaining to you guys how much I've changed." Cozy said.
Chrysalis was quick to notice something about Cozy that surprised her.
"Wait a minute! Why does she get to keep her magic?!" Chrysalis snarled.
Cozy scratched her head, nervously. There really wasn't a good reason. It was sort of just the way it happened.
Sunset looked at Chrysalis, and raised her eyebrow, so the Changeling queen revised what she said.
"Uh, I mean, Cozy, surprised to see you filled with so much power. How'd you achieve that?" she said.
"We didn't really have much choice." Luna said.
"The bell was destroyed during the incident after all." Celestia explained. "So all magic distribution is the way it is for now."
"And so far, Discord's only about 24% of the way to fixing the bell." Fluttershy said.
Discord was still at the scene. He was sitting at a table in the corner of the courtyard. He had the partly assembled bell, and its pieces were inside a glass jar. He wore a monocle, and was carefully rebuilding the bell with tweezers. He made one mistake, and loads of pieces fell out of place.
*Oh* "Make that 14% of the way there." Discord said.
"But once it is complete, you will put everything back, right?" Tirek asked.
"That is..." Twilight started.
Twilight looked at Cozy, who by this point had become quite acquainted to her immense magical abilities. She seemed disappointed at the thought of undoing it.
"...That is to be decided." Twilight said.
Discord slithered around and wrapped himself around the shoulders of Tirek and Chrysalis.
"However, if any of you have any objections to the distribution of power, then you're welcome to lend an appendage and help out." Discord said.
He held the jar with the bell inside in front of the two.
"That's a hard pass from me." Chrysalis scoffed.
"Hmm. I have always wanted to build a novelty ship in a bottle. And that looks to be what you've set up here." Tirek said.
Tirek and Discord began their meticulous bell building project.
*ahem* Sunset cocked her head at Chrysalis. She almost forgot the main reason why they came here.
"And uh, Cozy Glow... I'm sorry for double crossing you earlier." Chrysalis apologized. "Could you ever forgive me?"
"I forgive you, Chryssie." Cozy said.
"To be honest, I'm not looking forward to having to deal with the bell again, but we can't leave it in pieces." Twilight said.
"Don't worry. Once that bell is complete, we'll make sure it's used for nothing malicious." Cozy said. Besides. Why go down that path again?"
"Don't worry, Twilight. We beat the bell, we can beat anything!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah. Heh heh heh. How do you top Grogar's magic bell?! The Rainbow of Darkness?!" Twilight joked.
"HAHA- The Rainbow of what-now?" Cozy asked.
"Oh nothing. It's just an old mare's tale. It's not actually real... at least I haven't seen it." Twilight said.
Later that evening:
Twilight's friends were giving her friends their final goodbye.
"Well, I suppose that's it. That's every creature for coming, but it is really late, and we best wrap things up and head home." Twilight said.
"We're sorry this has to be goodbye, Twilight." Rarity said.
"It's better this way. After all, you all have important lives of your own to live." Twilight said.
"Fluttershy, you have the animal sanctuary to watch. Rainbow Dash, you ARE a Wonderbolt. It's everything you ever dreamed of. I'm not gonna keep you out of the sky, and keep you from living your dream. Rarity, your shop, Rarity For You. I wouldn't want to keep you from your dream either. Applejack, the Apple Farm needs you. Pinkie Pie, you and Cheese Sandwich better put on one heck of a party for all of Equestria."
Twilight smiled and was getting emotional. It was bitter sweet. She was going to miss her friends, but now she was convinced things were going to be fine.
"And me, it was always my destiny to spread the good word of friendship, because leader isn't the end, it's only the beginning of new exciting opportunities. And with this mane, and these responsibilities, I'll have more opportunity than ever to help more creatures than ever." Twilight said, in good spirits. "This isn't the end. This is only a new beginning."
Twilight's friends teared up.
"Oh, Twilight." Fluttershy said.
"We- we-" Rainbow Dash said.
"We love you!" Pinkie exclaimed.
The mane 6 all went in for a group hug.
"We're gonna miss ya, Twi." Applejack said.
"I'll miss you too, but this isn't goodbye. This is a new beginning for all of us." Twilight said.
Meanwhile, the two former Princesses had a little talk with Cozy Glow.
"You don't have to tell Twilight about your friends if you're not ready, Cozy." Luna said.
"What? How do you know?" Cozy asked.
"How else do you think they were about to reach you in your dream?" Luna winked.
"We can tell she still has what it takes to spread friendship, judging by how she's gone about caring for you." Celestia said.
"How she treats me now, but, don't forget, she and you two were okay with me..." Cozy started, but was interrupted by Luna, who put her chin to the filly.
"For that we sincerely apologize. It was a rash decision, and one we now regret ever thinking of." she said.
"It's alright to be fixated on the past, or even alternate scenarios, but if you want to be positive, it might be best to move forward, now that you have the opportunity to." Celestia added.
Cozy Glow looked on. Spike walked up to her and put his claw to her hoof.
"This is friendship, Cozy." he said.
"Yeah. I know how it feels now..." Cozy added.
Even later:
Cozy Glow waved goodbye to Chrysalis and Tirek. Sunset and Thorax still had a long list of tasks ahead for them.
Twilight's friends waved goodbye, as they headed home for Ponyville.
Celestia and Luna handed Twilight the amulet that would allow Twilight to raise and lower the Sun and Moon. They patted her head, and took off into the night sky, leaving Twilight and Spike to themselves.
"So, from two main princesses, down to one." Spike said.
"Don't worry, Spike. Equestria won't just have one princess for long..." Twilight said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Spike asked.
"In due time, Spike." Twilight said, smiling.
Twilight looked at Cozy Glow giving a friendly goodbye to her (maybe) friendly pals Tirek and Chrysalis. She felt likea proud mare. Proud of the little filly she'd helped, and made happier.
"In due time." she repeated.
Stats
Page generated in 0.013 seconds
Total duration
1,114 users online
1,719,868 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Okay so apparently Twilight plans on making Cozy a princess.
I’m okay with that.
Isn't Pinkie Pie the only pony who breaks the 4th wall.
Also I was kinda hoping that Twilight make Chrysalis and Tirek, Discord's personal punishers for his crime and all future mistakes that affects all😈.
You say that, but the quality here says otherwise. Regardless, it does feel like a blooper reel rather than a touching moment. Something like an April fool joke. But don't get me wrong. I understand it just fine.
10724788
I’ve been told I have a very informal writing style, but if it’s to this point where it’s not as effective as I wanted, then I frankly am disappointed in myself.
To be honest I wasn’t sure about this chapter in its current state. There’s a lot of refining I still could’ve done, but I thought it was far enough along to publish. But I guess not. These past few days have been incredibly stressful, and this was the best I could do, while still having it out on Monday.
Delaying the chapter wouldn’t have allotted much more time anyway, and frankly, I wanna start working on the last chapter(s) and be done with the story.
(Sorry if I come across as cynical. I’m just going through a rough time right now. I’m gonna continue to write this story cause writing is fun, but my mind is in a big slump.)
Nice to see everything get cleanly sorted out.
This should be fun...
10725149
It's wrong for me to tell anyone what they should do, so you do what you think is best.
10725186
Okay I know this is from a few months ago but I think I’ve figured out the explanation for Chrysalis’s behavior.
They told her they’ll consider letting her be queen again as long as she’s good.
If you ask me, this story would be fine without the romance tag. We've had one or two chapters with hints of Diamozy so far and the rest of the story was about Cozy trying to find her place in Equestria.