Q&A and Cozy, Yay!
Twilight has a headache the next day. Putting off her royal duties the day before, not just for the dual, but also directing her investigators to expand their search to include an additional filly's origin, then trying and failing to calm down, meant she had to do a lot of catching up now. And her left eye still having trouble focusing is only compounding the issue.
Doing paperwork all morning, then court for several hours left her wanting to do nothing more than to chug a kettle of chamomile tea and take a nap, but her friends showed up wanting to discuss the previous day's events, even while she wishes she could pretend they never happened.
"Dang, she really messed your eye up," Rainbow says eloquently. "That filly can scrap."
"If I'd known it was so bad, I'd have brought a makeup kit," Rarity adds, wincing as she looks at the puffy black eye of her friend.
"If you're just going to make comments about my face, I could be using this time for better things," Twilight grumbles.
"Sorry, Twi, we all get you're probably a mite bit upset right now-"
"A mite? I'm furious!" Twilight snaps at Applejack. "Not only did I get humiliated and tricked by a foal, but she managed to make me look like I was the one in the wrong in front of the whole town!"
"And now we've got to let Cozy Glow free, too!" Pinkie chimes in. "Boy, I don't think I've ever been so conflicted on what kind of party to throw before. Congratulations on being freed, or sorry we had to free a baddy?"
"It's not so bad," Fluttershy mumbles, getting all eyes to turn to her, causing her to blush and shrink into herself. "Um, Anon was in the park all morning, answering questions, and I sort of listened."
"She was?" Twilight asks, surprised as she looks around the room, getting shrugs.
"I was doin' chores," Applejack says.
"Breakfast rush at Sugarcube Corner," Pinkie says with a grin.
"Why would I get up before noon on my day off?" asks Dash skeptically
"And a mare needs her beauty sleep," Rarity agrees.
Twilight rolls her eyes at her friends' poor prioritizing skills before she looks back at Fluttershy and asks, "What kind of stuff was she saying?"
"Well, a lot of ponies were sort of upset about Cozy Glow being freed too, but Anon wasn't mad. She talked about how, even though Cozy Glow is disturbed, that doesn't make her a monster, and, um, that foals need to be taught to be good, not punished and never given a chance." She starts tapping her front hooves together. "She started talking about something called brain plasticity and how it's actually easier for foals to change than adults, and that if ponies like Princess Luna and Starlight Glimmer can reform, then Cozy Glow definitely can. Nurse Redheart even showed up and agreed about the science stuff, which got a lot of ponies to start listening to what Anon had to say."
"Well that's a load of hooey," Applejack comments confidently, then starts to look uncertain. "... Right?"
Twilight rolls what she's just heard around in her head for a few moments, then sighs. "It's true that foals can learn and pickup skills far faster than adults."
"Oh..." is all Applejack can say in response to that, causing Twilight to hastily continue.
"But I don't know if that applies for behavioral alterations. It's not like I've studied foal psychology in depth."
"I'm sure we don't have anything to worry about," Pinkie says. "Back before we locked Cozy up in Tartarus and threw away the key, I bet Twilight and the other princesses consulted an expert of foal psychology, right?"
Twilight's ears pin to her head. "Um, actually, Princess Luna is the one who pressed forward with that decision on the spot. We just sort of... went along with it."
Pinkie blinks a few times, smile lessening, but it quickly returns in full force. "Of course! Luna must be an expert, then! Who'd of thought psychology stuff was so well known a thousand years ago!"
"Actually the field of psychology is relatively new, only really getting attention in the last hundred years. I, ah, remember having a talk with Luna about how, had they had psychiatrists a thousand years ago that she could have talked to, that she probably wouldn't have become Nightmare Moon."
"Oh... But she's really into it now and has been reading up lots because of that!"
"... She's been mostly catching up with all the things she missed... And getting together an Equestrian Postal Service fanclub."
"She even sent me an invite to that... Oh! But Celestia's an expert, right?!"
Twilight feels like if her head drops any further, her chin will be touching the floor. "She's actually come under fire since stepping down from the throne about the practices of her School for Gifted Unicorns. The entrance exam was designed to stress applicants, usually under the age of eight, to see how they handle it. Many of those ponies, especially those who didn't get accepted, have stepped forward and claimed that taking the entrance exams has become a traumatic memory for them in their adult lives."
"If I recall, wasn't there some articles suggesting your, ah, particular neuroses are a direct result of Celestia's teaching methods?" Rarity adds uncomfortably. "And the name of her previous student was being thrown around as well with her still being officially missing..." At Twilight's flinch, she quickly adds, "Not that I or any reasonable pony would believe such rags! Who even reads the New Yoke Times?"
"I'll admit, there's been some policy reforms to her school in the last few years," Twilight confesses. "And there has been a noticeable reduction of mental breakdowns and burnout as a result among the students."
Pinkie re-enters the conversation with, "Alright, so the other Princesses aren't the best ponies to ask about foal brain stuff, but at least YOU'VE talked to experts since turning her to stone and they agreed that it was the right call!" Twilight remains silent, and Pinkie's smile strains. "Right, Twilight?" When Twilight still doesn't answer, Pinkie's ears droop and she turns to Fluttershy. "I don't suppose Discord is super knowledgeable about foals, is he?"
Fluttershy looks away, and Pinkie slumps, smile wiped from her face. "Are... Are we the baddies this time?"
Rainbow opens her mouth to shout a retort, but a knock at the door stops her. Twilight calls for them to enter, and the door opens to reveal a guard. "What is it? If it's a petitioner, tell them they'll have to come back tomorrow when court reopens."
"No, Princess, it's the one calling herself Anonymous, she's come wishing to speak with you," he answers. "I know you asked not to be disturbed, but-"
"No, you were right to tell me. Send her to the throne room and I'll be there momentarily."
"Of course, your highness."
As the stallion makes his leave, Twilight looks to her friends in determination. "I think it's time I get some answers. You girls in?"
Of course they are, and soon the six mares are sitting in the large seats within the throne room Twilight had set out for them, all thrones in their own right as Twilight saw her friends as equals. They have barely settled in when the guard reappears, little Anon trailing behind him.
Anon nods at the guard, who returns the gesture before taking his leave, and the filly is left to be looked down upon by six pairs of eyes. "Sup?" she asks with a lazy wave, posture relaxed. "Didn't think I'd be seeing the whole crew."
"Whatever you need to say can be said in front of them," Twilight explains evenly. "And besides, I know we've all become very curios about you, Anonymous, if that is your real name."
"Oh, it's not, but I haven't settled on a name I like yet," Anon says with a shrug. "I've been thinking Green Hornet, what do you think?"
Twilight absently runs a hoof under her black eye and grumbles, "Fits pretty well, I'd say. You're a violent little thing."
"What about your real name?" Applejack cuts in with narrowed eyes. "The one yer parents gave ya?"
Anon, or Green Hornet, Twilight supposes, shrugs. "Don't know it. Never met 'em and they didn't leave a note with the orphanage. The matron calls me Green Bean, but that doesn't fit."
Fluttershy looks at the filly in sadness and asks, "You're an orphan?"
"No, I just volunteer there on the weekends," Anon says snarkily. "Of course I am."
"Which one," Twilight asks. "I hope you don't take offense, but I want to confirm your story."
"I'm hurt that you think I'd lie to you," Green responds in a completely unbothered tone.
"You said just a couple days ago that you wanted to eat my wings," Rainbow Dash points out angrily. "We aren't even sure you're actually a pony yet."
Green rolls her eyes. "Of course I'm a pony, I was just saying stuff like that to make sure Twilight would be the one who would fight me. She might not have the best moral compass, but I know she's a good friend and would rather put herself in danger than one of you. If she believed I was some sort of monster in disguise then she wouldn't want to risk one of you fighting me."
Twilight's eyes widen a little, then scowls. "Honesty is one of the Elements of Harmony for a reason, you know."
"Well, you weren't giving me a lot of options," Green shoots back. "You made it pretty clear you weren't going to free Cozy Glow any other way, and my best chance of winning a duel with an adult was tricking you like I did. I'd say it was justified."
"Why do you even care so much about her?" Twilight snaps. "Who is she to you?"
"An acquaintance."
The glib reply only deepens Twilight's frown, already anticipating the run-around the filly is going to put her through. "From where?" she asks tightly.
"We both lived in the Bright Side Orphanage in Hayseed Junction."
That causes Twilight to lean back in surprise. "Um, what?" she begins then shakes her head and narrows her eyes. "That can't be the truth. I've had letters sent out to all orphanages in Equestria asking if a pony matching Cozy Glow's description was familiar, and they all said she wasn't."
"Don't know what to tell you, except that maybe I'm not the only one who apparently needs a refresher about the importance of honesty."
"But why would any pony lie about that?!" Twilight nearly yells.
Green merely rubs her chin in thought. "Well... I do remember the matron acting pretty nervous for a couple weeks after Cozy Glow ended up in the newspapers. I never bothered talking to her about it, but if I were to make an educated guess, I'd say she was afraid that she and the orphanage as a whole would be held responsible for Cozy's actions."
"Why would she be afraid of something like that?" Rarity asks. "As long as there was no actual wrong doing on their part, I doubt this matron would have been arrested or any such thing."
Green looks at her and answers, "Sure, but ponies do tend to let their worries get the better of them and blow things out of proportion. Besides, she might have been afraid that ponies would think it was how the orphanage raises the foals in its care that led to Cozy turning out the way she did. If that ended up being the case, and considering that they rely on donations for everything beyond the bare minimum provided by the crown to operate, the orphanage might have ended up closed down, or needing to try and send extra foals out to other places. Now that I'm thinking about it, potential parents looking to adopt might be worried about getting a foal from a place Cozy was raised at, too, making it harder for the other foals there to be adopted." Green shrugs. "I'm just speculating, but it makes a certain amount of sense, doesn't it?"
Rarity nods slowly, looking concerned. "Yes... yes it does."
Applejack rubs the back of her head and looks away. "Ah'll admit ta thinkin' somerthin' similar in the past. Ah remember askin' myself how a filly the same age as ma sister could turn out like that, and eventually settled on it bein' the fault of whoever raised her. Figured if'n Ah ever found whoever that was, I'd give 'em a kick for it, too."
Green huffs a short laugh. "Matron Kettle might be kinda strict at times with the chores, but I wouldn't say she's a bad caregiver."
As Twilight listens, she tells herself that she'll be sending out a letter to confirm the filly's story as soon as their talk is over, and yet she finds herself believing Green all the same. Even the logic provided makes sense to Twilight the more she thinks about it, and she's embarrassed she never thought of that possibility to explain just why she was having so much trouble tracking down Cozy Glow's origins. "So you two grew up together, became friends, and now you're trying to help her," Twilight speculates, but Green shakes her head.
"Nah, I already said we were acquaintances, not friends. Sure we grew up together, and Cozy tried a few times to butter me up, but Cozy Glow isn't really one for making friends, not real ones, anyway. She'd rather have minions." Green sighs a bit dejectedly, a wry smile on her lips. "It always bugged the crap out of her that I saw through her cutsie shtick. All the other foals in the orphanage thought she was their best friend, but in reality they were just a source of extra dessert and hooves to pawn her chores off on. The fact that I never joined that fan club caused me all sorts of headaches if I'm being honest."
"Did she bully you?" Twilight asks with a furrowed brow, now more confused on just why Green seemed so intent on helping the other filly.
Green shakes her head. "She didn't have to really do anything when her little cult was more than happy to ostracize the odd one out. From their perspective, Cozy was the nicest pony there was and was friends with everyone, and so her not being friends with me must have meant I was bad, right?" She smiles sardonically as she says, "The apology card they all signed after Cozy got turned to stone was a nice gesture, and the bits from their pooled piggy banks is what got me a ticket here, so I told them they were forgiven."
"Wait, if Cozy Glow caused you all these problems, why are you here trying to free her now?" Dash asks, voicing the same question they all have. "Shouldn't you be happy she got what was coming to her?"
Green frowns at her and answers, "Would you be happy if you found out Gilda got turned to stone?"
Rainbow Dash's wings flare as she leans back, eyes wide, then narrows them. "Of course not! She's my friend."
"Sure, she is now, but I remember reading in that friendship journal you all published about when she came to visit you and ended up leaving on bad terms. What about then? Had something terrible happened to her back before you made up, even if she brought it on herself, would you have been happy to hear about it?"
"No!" she answers automatically, then looks uncertain. "I mean, I was really mad at her back then, but, like, I knew her since we were little and It's not like she was all bad even before we made up, and just..."
She trails off, and Green picks up, "If anything, even if she was bad then, she's better now, and it's because she got that chance to change. I want Cozy to have that chance, because just like with you and Gilda, I've known her long enough to know she's not all bad." The filly looks up at the ceiling as if remembering back. "Even if she was only using them, it doesn't change the fact that she made the other foals at Bright Side happier. She was a shoulder to cry on, someone who would listen to their problems and give advice. Honestly, I even think she saved a life back then for one of the other fillies by being there when they needed a friend." She looks back at them with a lopsided grin and adds, "I think she deserves another chance for that alone, wouldn't you say?"
The girls all share a look, long years of friendship allowing them to come to an agreement without words, and with a subtle nod, Twilight stands and descends the stairs. Green raises a brow, but gets to her hooves just in time for Twilight to lay a gentle hoof on her shoulder. "Green, since I've met you, I've been nothing but surprised, and I've been made to question myself and my beliefs more than once. Truthfully, I'm not fully comfortable with freeing Cozy Glow, but considering how many times you've proven my assumptions wrong so far, maybe I should put some faith in you."
Green looks surprised a moment, then smiles. "Yeah, that'd probably be for the best. I wouldn't want to give you another black eye, after all."
Twilight's soft smile drops as her friends snicker behind her. "Let's just work out what we're going to do with Cozy Glow already."
"Good idea, and the first order of business is the budget I'll be working with."
Twilight tilts her head in confusion. "Budget? Why would you need a budget, and how much would you even need?"
"Oh, not too much. The land we'll be using is probably dirt cheap I imagine, if not free, and we only need a house big enough for two ponies built. All in all a drop in the bucket for the crown."
Twilight already feels her headache coming back on as she imagines the disgruntled nobles lined up to complain about misuse of the tax payers money while asking for bits themselves to pursue their own vanity projects. She sighs and gestures for the filly to follow her to her office.
They're going to need lots of stationary.
Cozy Glow watches in horror as that traitor, Discord, whispers into the princesses' ears moments before they decide to fire a stream of magic at her and her comrades. The sensation of her body becoming stone is like ice crawling up her limbs, then her torso, and she looks up in terror one last time to see the cruelly smiling faces of Equestria's supposed heroes.
As the petrification makes its way up her neck, all she can think is, "Please, don't do this!" Her granite vocal cords don't allow for a single sound as darkness overtakes her, and her mind slowly goes blank.
Then, with the sound of cracking rock and blinding light piercing her eyes, she's collapsing onto the ground in a heap of trembling, but soft and warm flesh. She takes several deep, heaving breathes as she tries and fails to scramble to her hooves, her wings flapping uselessly at her side.
"Wow! Wow! Calm down, Dimples! You're gonna hurt yourself!"
"W-what?" she manages through numbed lips, blinking her rolling eyes as the strange sensation overtaking her body scrambles her thoughts. It's like the feeling of a limb falling asleep, but everywhere. The touch of two hooves on her shoulders feels like static, but they help her into a seated position and slowly she begins to regain control of herself.
As her eyes finally settle in their sockets, they fall upon a green and black blob. For just an instant, she thinks she's looking at the belly of Chrysalis, but soon she realizes it's a filly a bit younger than her. Despite everything, she scowls upon realizing which filly in particular, and she shirks away from the hooves holding her.
"Green Bean," she slurs. "What are you...?" Her words are cut short as her front legs cross and catch, toppling her over onto her chest. The impact slams her mouth shut, rattling her skull, and when she opens her eyes, it's to see Green sitting there, hooves up in a shrug as she simply stares down at her impassively.
"Would have caught ya, but you didn't seem to like me touching you, so..."
"Smart aleck," she grumbles, pushing herself up and rubbing at her jaw. Her body is already beginning to feel back to normal and the fog is leaving her mind, allowing her to think more clearly on her situation. They're in a bare room with a window set in one wall allowing sunlight to filter in.
For some reason, when she looks down, she expects the hardwood floor to be littered with stone chunks, but she berates herself for the stupid thought. If the floor was covered in rocks, she'd be missing her skin. There is however, a gem covered in glyphs, roughly the size of her hoof next to Green, and her interest is instantly peaked.
She tries to divert her eyes in a way that's natural, brushing imaginary dust from her coat, but she frowns when Green picks up the gem and holds it up with a smirk.
"Curious what this is?" she asks, getting Cozy to scoff.
"Golly, I'm sure it's nothing special if you have it. Not like boring ol' Bean would ever have anything fun or interesting."
Green chuckles. "Right you are, this thing is practically worthless now. Doesn't even have its luster anymore without the magic inside." She tries to spin it on the tip of her hoof, but it topples off and bounces across the floor. The klutz ignores it after a glance and goes on. "A couple of minutes ago, however, and you'd have done anything to get your hooves on that hunk of rock. It was full of Celestia's, Luna's, and Discord's magic."
"What?! Why?! And why would a loser like you have something like that?!" Cozy blurts already looking down at the crystal and mourning the lost possibilities.
"It was basically the key to freeing you," Green explains as if discussing the weather. "The writing there is an unpretrifying spell-"
"Soft spell," Cozy corrects.
"Yeah, that, but since two alicorns and a spirit of chaos cast the initial petrification, only that kind of magic combo could undo it, but I figured you wouldn't appreciate the first thing you saw when you got out of there to be the faces of the ones who turned you to stone in the first place, so we settled on this instead."
Cozy shakes her head, trying to process this. "Wait, who's we, and why are you even part of this? Did you join some sort of villain group while I was away?"
"Nothing that exciting," Green says, standing to move towards the door while waving Cozy to follow her. "After you got yourself turned into a lawn ornament, ponies were pretty content to leave you that way, which I thought was pretty messed up." Green passes through the door, and after some thought, Cozy decides to follow. As she's led down a short hallway, Green continues, "So I decided to do something about it."
"Like what? You went and broke me off from the other two and dragged me to some secret hideout?" Cozy asks skeptically. "Pretty sure you're too lazy to go through the trouble."
"Would someone lazy challenge Twilight Sparkle to trial by combat to save your sorry butt?" Green snarks over her shoulder. "And as your current not-stone state should clue you in on, I won."
Cozy stops just as they enter what appears to be a small living room, gaping. "You're lying," she manages, causing Green to smile a little wider and move to the center of the room, gesturing out around her.
"Nope. I gave the book princess a black eye, and even had her pay for this house. Welcome to our new home for the foreseeable future." She points off to the side, adding, "Kitchen's over there, fridge and larders stocked."
Cozy looks to see a kitchenette. Green points behind the pink filly. "Our bedrooms are down that way; we're rooming together for now, just so you know, until we get your room set up the way you like it. That's the empty one you woke up in. Bathroom is down there, too." She directs a hoof opposite to the kitchen to a door. "And that's outside. We've got a pretty big yard for you, but don't go too far."
Cozy's brow furrows. She has so many questions, and no idea where to start. That part of her that hates being bossed around makes the decision for her as she asks, "Yeah? And why can't I go too far? What's stopping me from just leaving you here and going to figure out a way to take my proper place as Empress of Equestria?"
"Should I go down the whole list?" Green asks with a quirked brow, pointing at Cozy. "Or just the main thing. Surprised you haven't noticed your new necklace yet."
Cozy's hoof comes up to her neck and her eyes widen upon feeling a chain there. Her other hoof comes up and starts feeling around the whole thing. Small links of cool metal encircle her neck just tight enough to be pressed flush against her flesh on all sides. There are no clasps that she can feel which leads her to be believe it must have been welded closed on her while she was still stone.
"What is this?" she demands.
"Arcanum necklace with a tracking spell forged into it, along with another that will make the chain grow heavier the further you get from the parameter encircling the house," Green explains. "It was the only way Twilight would be willing to unpretrify you."
Cozy feels her rage boiling up inside. "What is this, then? A prison?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"And you put me here?" Cozy growls, stalking forward to stand in front of the smaller filly.
Green simply looks up at her. "Hmm, I'm sensing some hostility here," she says, causing Cozy's eye to twitch.
"Ya think?!" she screams, a vein bulging in her forehead. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't buck you in the head right now!"
"You might get turned back into stone," she answers as she heads towards the exit. "There's also the fact that, well, just come look..."
Cozy is grinding her teeth as she follows the filly with stomping steps outside. She looks around, trying to spot just what Green wanted her to see, but as far as she can tell, it's just grass for a ways, then a dense treeline surrounding the small abode. "What? Trees? So we're in the forest?"
"The ones surrounding the base of the Appleachian Mountains, yeah, but that's not what I want you to see," Green responds, looking upwards and waving. "Yo! Anyone awake up there?"
Cozy steps out further and looks up. Directly above them floats what appears to be a cloud home, and over the edge peeks the head of a stallion wearing a familiar, and still very gaudy helmet. "Is everything alright, Ms. Hornet? The inmate hasn't harmed you, has she?"
"Nah, but she really wants to," Green calls back. "Figured I'd let her know you were here, though, so you could tell her what you thought of that."
The guard frowns and levels his steely gaze down at Cozy, who gulps despite not wanting to appear weak. "That would be... ill advised," he finally says. "There will always be two guards stationed at this post to keep the pair of you safe, and serve as messengers in the case of emergency. We also have strict orders to report any violence committed directly to Princess Twilight after detaining the assailant in the holding cell up here."
"Golly mister, I'd never hurt my best friend here!" Cozy shouts up at him, smiling wide as she pulls the other filly against her side in a hug. "She was just joking!"
The guard doesn't look at all convinced, instead looking over to Green, who nods. He returns the gesture and says, "Alright then. We will be checking in on you two periodically, but as long as you aren't committing any crimes, there won't be any trouble."
"You don't have a thing to worry about! Green and I are just going to be playing fun games and stuff, right, Green?" Cozy asks, tightening her forearm around the other filly's neck.
Green grunts, but nods. "Of course. Not like there's much else to do," she replies, looking back up. "I'll talk to you guys later!"
The guard nods and disappears back into his post, leaving Cozy to drag Green back inside and slam the door. "What the buck, Green Bean?!" she shouts as she reels on the smaller filly. "You've got your own guards, too?! What? Did you become Twilight's new patsy while I was stoned?"
"Me? A patsy?" Green repeats, actually looking offended.
Cozy smiles, glad to finally get a rise out of her. "Yeah, or do you want me to use the official title of personal student?"
Green snorts. "What would even be the point?" She taps her own forehead. "Magic is the only thing I think she could teach me, and I don't have a horn. And as far as friendship is concerned, I think I've got the gist of it already."
"Golly, you do? Then why did I have all the friends at Bright Side and you didn't have any?"
Green holds up a hoof as if giving a lecture. "I said I understand, not that I applied what I knew. I was fine being by myself, so I didn't bother trying to be all buddy buddy with the other foals. Plus I didn't intend to stay there much longer and didn't want to leave friends behind. Oh, and in case you didn't hear the guard, I'm going by Green Hornet now, not Green Bean."
"You can't just change your name because you feel like it."
"I totally can, and Twilight agreed it fit after that mean elbow drop to the face I gave her." Green counters, yawning as she heads towards the kitchen. She says over her shoulder. "Anyway, I'm going to make myself a snack. You want a PB&J? There's a furniture magazine on the coffee table there you can flip through while we eat. Twilight wants you to choose what you want for your bedroom and she'll order it."
Cozy takes a deep breath through her nose and lets it out slowly. Green was always an enigma to Cozy that she was never able to figure out, much to her frustration. She's smart, Cozy knows, but doesn't ever seem to do anything with it. She's a klutz, as many have often teased her about, but she's never cared about their opinions. Out of all the ponies she befriended at Bright Side, Green was the one that would never accept her invitation to be her friend, no matter what she promised. It stung, but she always told herself that it was the lack of a valuable pawn, not the pang of rejection that upset her.
Considering what the other filly has apparently accomplished on Cozy's behalf, that's apparently more true than she thought.
"I don't get you," she finally says. "What was the point of this? Some sort of elaborate revenge for me making your life worse before? Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life here until I go insane from boredom?"
"That could make for good revenge," Green acknowledges as she hops up onto a stool and gets to work. "It's even a real possibility. Though that depends on whether or not you can ever convince Twilight to let you go. But no, I'm doing all of this because I think it's right." She gestures around herself with a butter knife. "Plus I got a free house out of it. Beats sharing a bedroom with eight other foals."
"Right?" Cozy repeats.
"Yeah, right for you to get a chance to turn your life around. You're just a kid, after all, you still have your whole life to change. Maybe you'll change into something better?"
Cozy pouts. She'll change alright. She's going to become stronger and smarter than ever before, so that when she escapes, she'll take over Equestria for sure. And this filly is not going to stop her.
There's a loud growl from the pink filly's abdomen, and Cozy feels her cheeks heat up. "Um, can I get one of those sandwiches?"
"Already making you one."
"Oh, good."
"Can I get a thank you?"
"Not on your life."
"... I'm giving you grape jelly."
"Grape?! I hate grape! Don't you have strawberry?"
"Of course, that's what I put on mine."
"Then I want that one!"
"Even after I lick it like this?"
"Ew! You're so gross!"
As the two fillies bicker, one of the guards checking in by the window to ensure the prisoner hadn't attacked her warden yet can't help but chuckle. He hadn't been sure at first with the decision to let Cozy Glow go, but seeing her act like a foal, albeit a bratty one, did make him question Equestrian's initial choice of how to handle her.
Only time will tell if the decision was truly right or wrong, though he thinks he might just be rooting for little Green's success, even if that means facing the uncomfortable possibility that the rulers he's sworn absolute loyalty to aren't as infallible as he wished.
Stats
Page generated in 0.025 seconds
Total duration
981 users online
1,659,540 hits today, 2,244,100 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.®
Goddamn, that's the most Rainbow Dash thing I've ever read.
Mooooooooooooooore.
This is fire. this cozy redemption story is straight up my alley.
Its okay. A proper set up and premise. I can see this being a good opening to either a slice of life, or more conventional story. I hope you keep writing. Also
includes an extra >. Contact me if you want a proof reader.
I wonder how will Green Honest will react to learn that Cozy tells her that the one who got her Tirek, Chrysalis & Sombra together was Discord who disguise himself as The Father of Monsters, Grogar and falsely promise them to work together to defeat Twilight and her friends?
Will Cozy stay a filly all throughout this story?
11669112
Discord definitely still needs a butt whooping!
HE'S BACK
HE'S FUCKING BAAAAAAAAAAACK
You got to finish this story. It is too good!
Wow, this is actually pretty good, hopefully there is more, I assume green is a former human that reincarnated into a filly and was left at an orphan.
I'm loving it so far. Can't wait to see more.
Kind of Brony came back!
So, is this Anon a human fan of the show who was transformed, or just an incredibly enlightened but regular foal?
Alright, alright, you've got my interest with this one.
it's too bad.
First. Twilight in this work is definitely OOC. Why the f*ck would she suddenly fall for such an open amateurish provocation of some petty trash? You are the sole monarch any word you say is subject to immediate execution. Just send this filly to her parents and forget about her. And so, not only did you undermine your authority, but also because of your idiocy, a small speculator returned to Equestria, who now also has a "smart" ally.
Second. This Anon is rushing on f*cking grand pianos, which are apparently hidden for him behind every bush. Some kind of "old law" that for some reason was not leveled by the constitution of the unified Equestria state. Also, a direct challenge to the decisions of the monarch can be interpreted as high treason. Therefore, the only way this filly could leave the hall is in shackles with a referral to a penal colony.
in general, I think that this story is not worthy of the praises that are sung to her in the comments.
Nonny should just teach Cozy how to got all benefits without responsibility.
Lifestyle paid by royal treasury but without royal duties.
11669264
I'm not saying it as a bad thing, I'm saying she put Twi in a lose / lose situation.
Funnily enough, Green Hornet is very similar to Cozy Glow.
You know with cozy redemption fics I always feel bad for tirek and chrysalis, because cozy get second chance because she a pony and young and they get left to rot without even a second thought
This was a pretty fun Fic, I would love to see more in this vein of content, Cozy always was an interesting character to me and this just shows the potential that they carry for a good story.
Go girl, you can do it!
I for one also think Cozy Glow deserves more fics, and I loved how much logic punched Anon against Twilight and her friends
This is the goofiest thing I've read in awhile. I don't like Anon's character at all, I think she's an overpowered lil asshole, BUT I can see that this fic has potential and I'll be tracking it to see where you go with it.
Oh and please proofread! This fic is riddled with grammatical errors and I found it difficult to understand at times.
Well this is funny. Either anon is a real kid or another one of those anons is up for debate. It's kind of funny most folks forgot the twilight is a giant neurotic mess and can easily fall to tricks. Specially for someone who's read her book.
Great story! I particularly like how Anon essentially got Cozy out of stone with logic and smarts. Twilight really can't argue back against the points that she made. I can't wait for more!
This story has potential I'd like to see it continue
Definitely loving everything so far, so be proud of what you have done hope to see more but don't feel pressured by us. hers hoping for more!
11669361
I know what you mean, though I'm sure Anon is going to address this in conversation, probably with Cozy who will wonder why they helped her but not her friends. The difference between them and Cozy is that they're adults. More than adults, they're hundreds, if not thousands of years old. They've had a very long time to change their ways, and have chosen to remain on the path of villainy the entire time.
As far as Anon's concerned, they made the bed they're sleeping in, and it's not her responsibility to drag them out of it like a disgruntled parent trying to get their NEET adult children out of the house and get a job. Her real concern is basically what she said in the first chapter. Leaving them as stone is just kicking the can down the road. Eventually they'll get out and cause trouble, so they should be dealt with sooner rather than later, whether that's reforming them or killing them.
I've noticed some comments accusing the protag here of being a Mary Sue and overpowered, but literally her only power is some common sense, which admittedly is pretty strong in Equestria. She's the kind of person who, in a horror movie where the group of teens enters a haunted house, packs her bags and leaves as soon as the scares start happening instead of sticking around to be killed.
11669237
It honestly sounds like your version of Twilight is the OOC one. Why would Twilight ever have a filly shackled just for speaking out against her? Treason or not, she's not a mad tyrant. She doesn't like throwing her weight around and solving every disagreement with, "Well I'm the princess, so shut up!"
Twilight isn't evil, cruel, or arrogant. She just tries to do what she thinks is the right thing, and sometimes this leads her to make mistakes, like when she tried to steal that pearl from the seaponies.
11669214
11669237
Agree with you guys, and VERY disappointed at the high praise given to this work by some seemingly respected writers here. Have standards really slipped that much on Fimfiction while I was away? (Judging by the dubious 'quality' of some of the stuff that gets featured these days, I'm gonna have to say... yes ).
11669459
Reread what I wrote better. I said that Twilight is OOC because she fell for such an undisguised provocation. This behavior is more typical of the boisterous Applejack or expressive Rainbow, but not the collected and calculating Twilight. I also said that it would be better for Twilight to give the filly to her PARENTS, and not to jail.
Also, please note that in this case, the use of royal power in favor of ignoring certain laws is not tyranny, as it benefits the country and the citizens who inhabit it.
The second part only stated the fact that Anonfilli directly opposed the royal authority of her country, which can be regarded as treason. However, the above punishment is more typical of our world than the "good" Equestria.
In any case. I have expressed my opinion. If you disagree with him, it's up to you.
11669459
I think this is a totally reasonable view for Green to have herself. But I'd suggest that maybe later on, once the Mane Six have had time to think and realize what they did wrong, maybe they should decide on their own to give Tirek and Chrysalis a chance too? They are adults, sure, but the Mane Six have reformed adults, including 1000+ year old ones. I think they deserve a chance at least as much as Discord did, especially so considering Discord's involvement in not only the whole Season 9 fiasco, but their punishment too. All while Discord himself got off completely free for it. That feels like a big failure of justice to allow things to go down like that.
Green's stance feels alright because she's consistent. With the others though I still can't help but feel just leaving them to rot without trying to reform them would feel hypocritical.
That said, usually I prefer in fics addressing the finale for the canon characters to realize their mistakes on their own. But this fic has been fun so far and I've enjoyed it. So I'll keep an eye on it.
Hey look its me!
No seriously I AM ANON WITH THE IDEA OF FREEING COZY!
infact did it already!
It was hard but I did it!
11669459
while that true, discord was also a adult but he got a second chance, and they look the other way every time he slipped back into being a villain, and he was the mastermind behind the last diaster, in the first place, so the circumstances should give them a chance at least, if for no reason other then to prevent future trouble as anon pointed out earlier they not stay stone forever
I think this is the only fanfic that has filly anon be an actual legit child instead of some rando grown@$$ man trapped in a little girls body.
Kudos to you!
I need more!!!
This is interesting... I know it's been brought up a few times before, but it was pretty messed up what happened to Cozy. And this manner of "correcting" her is something I haven't seen before. I'm looking forward to seeing just how this little sitcom will play.
Also, considering Cozy and Green's... not personalities, but mental talent? I wonder if Twilight will muse on how unlikely it is for two, so morally different, geniuses to come from the same orphanage.
Lastly, below are two typos for your editing pleasure. Considering how heartwarming and funny the scene is, it just felt like a shame to not mention them.
did make him question Equestrian's initial chose of how - did make him question Equestria's initial choice of how
11669461
why do i get the distinct vibe that you're being sarcastic?
is it because i'm too used to people fervently, vociferously, and frankly quite rudely disagreeing with me on this hellsite?
oh buddy with the amount of times celestia and luna messed up in there rule we have a list as big as the grand canyon.
also wonderful story honestly could see this as the real ending of the show.
11670072
Usually I am (hence my username, if that wasn’t enough of a clue) but in this case, definitely not.
I tend to LOVE Cozy Glow stories, and am the author of quite a few myself (heck, I wrote one with nearly 1k followers, so i must have done something right) so I was looking forward to reading this, but…
Everything about it is off, from the unbelievably clunky way the author assembles the spare parts of the plot to reach their chosen scenario, Twilight acting like an idiot for the sake of it, countless spelling and grammar errors but by FAR it’s biggest problem is the most annoyingly smug, insufferably arrogant OC in Fimfiction history who I wanted to punt out of the nearest window every time they opened their stupid mouth (not a nice way to talk about a filly true, but this callous individual NEVER felt like a filly, more like an rather ingratiating adult masquerading as one in a Scooby-Doo type disguise so I didn’t feel too bad about it).
I must give the original MLP writers more credit, as despite her psychotic hatefulness I NEVER felt this way about Cozy Glow in the show itself. Maybe because she was also amusingly cutesy and hilariously over-the-top evil in a way which ‘Anon’ or ‘Green’ or whatever the heck that obnoxious creature is called… isn’t. Perhaps there’s a hidden art to writing fillies into being endearing despite being dislikable in every other way I wasn’t aware of. I mean, just look at what they did in the space of one episode with Diamond Tiara, and the way she subsequently became my favourite. Of course, after that she didn’t have a single line in the show and became a mere background character instead of fully utilising her massive potential, but that’s a discussion for another time.
Basically, what I’m saying about this story and didn’t want to type about in this extended fashion (but you HAD to ask, so here I am again) is if the main character makes me want to throw rocks at them every time they utter a single sentence, why should I care what happens to them? I don’t give a sh*t where they came from, what their gameplan is, who their parents are etc: (which the story seems to be setting up) I just want them to go away. Or get boiled alive in cooking oil, either one is fine (okay,I’ll stop with the bizarre revenge fantasies now, but my GOD does this wretched individual deserve it).
The story has numerous other faults (as mentioned above) but this is the Big One which will keep me from venturing beyond the initial three chapters. I don’t comment much on stories, but in this particular case when I saw how popular this one was doing compared to how lacking I thought the end product was, I had to say SOMETHING. I appreciate that not everyone will agree with what I think (judging by the amount of downmarks I got for my last comment) but ah well, live with it.
That’s it. I genuinely hope the author makes a great success of this story, makes lots of readers very happy and goes onto develop something they’re truly content with. It’s just I won’t be contributing towards it, not when the structure and personalities are this broken from the off. It’s unsalvageable, in my view. I genuinely don’t like criticising others works, but honesty is the best policy, so… 🤷♂️
11670104
I don't know what you mean, Anon is likable in this. She tricked Twilight in a pretty believable way and, while cocky, not all characters need to be perfect saints (See Rainbow Dash). But if you don't like her for your personal reasons, that's too bad
She's not wrong
No, but she did become your parole officer... or something like that
Yeah, it was a bit of a knee jerk reaction
This seems interesting
11670238
I completely disagree, both with your individual points and also the premise of your argument about me not liking Anon for 'personal' reasons, but that's fine. I was expecting pushback from my mini-review, so was ready for it. Hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
11670251
I didn't think you'd go as far as claiming that you dislike the character for objective reasons. I would personally not say that my reasons for liking the character are anything but subjective, so I suppose I lose to you in this. If your reasons are objective and mine are subjective, perhaps your opinion is objectively correct and mine is objectively wrong. Regardless, I will probably keep reading this story, even if I am wrong to do so
11670256
It doesn’t matter what I think of your reasons for wanting to carry on reading this story, or mine for deciding not to, or what is objective, subjective or who’s ‘won’ this argument, whatever that means.
Both of us will do exactly what we want, and we don’t owe the other person any explanation. I’ve been perfectly clear what my opinions are, and do have you.
There really is nothing else to say here, until you have something you’d like to add. Have a great day, and peace.
11669237
in the real world it sticks, where magic rules and friendship is something that hurts like a powerful ray of light? this is not sticking...
11669736
Hey, we don't know for sure yet! Maybe Green's Super Power of Common Sense is actually her memories of her past life!