After Mrs Glow's closure, and after accepting that her daughter's toxic behaviour was far beyond her help, Starlight Glimmer chooses to get an overview of Cosy Glow's past and discover where Mr Glow stood in the picture of her life. However, her mission proves to become difficult when Mr Glow doesn't answer all her questions straight forwardly. Starlight feels impatient and so, naturally, as any pony would, she challenges him to a game of chess.
This is a Sequel to my comic, 'A Dim Glow' which can be read here: https://www.deviantart.com/lunarcakez/art/A-Dim-Glow-Page-1-833070074
Chapters (1)
Loved the story, don't see any issues in the writing besides a nit-pick, and I'm glad you found the energy to write it~
Yeah, this seemed about right for how the brief glimpses of the father seemed in that comic (which I really enjoyed, including the symbolism at the end of her mother leaving the key on Cozy's statue, as if to leave the key to her future in Cozy's hooves, someday, perhaps, if she takes that hypothetical future chance).
For someone like him, there really is not any realistic chance of "winning" the game, as he sees it; Starlight runs hot, is driven by emotion, sometimes to a fault, compared to his coldness, her volatility being the reason Twilight could reach her in the way she did, while he's resolute. The fact she lost composure so severely is the certainty to his mind that he "won," just as he won the chess game. He's done nothing wrong, after all, if you ask him.
Sometimes the only thing you can do is cut them off and move on, no neat bowtie for anyone, and you're left wondering on some of the exacts in the after.
...anyway, her father was kinda disturbing as a whole, I mean to say. It's unsurprising that he's like this. She definitely took after him in both the comic and the show in behaviors (gaslighting, manipulation, deflection of blame)... and he's a King to her Rook.
I remember reading your comic on DeviantArt a long time ago. How Cozy managed to make her own mother mad and she needs to love herself to let go of the pain of Cozy Glow did to her. Also I wonder what happened to her father in the comic and he still has the same personality since in the comic. Also I wonder if Cozy ever loved her father?
Dont worry
i can make him DISAPPEAR!
just all i ask is a pardon from twilight and 10 mins with the pony alone in a sound proof room
And Perhaps a bit Of Bleach for the Potential stains
...i know i need to control my anger at times but...not this time
Heh
No wonder
hope he knows that place is being investigated for the disappearance of several fillies
Oh and another thing?
I've seen other rainbows that are so black and white
It's really surprising
you'd think all companies would know what happens when bad reputation gets out
And your past shall be your today forever
Question here,
From reading the comic and from what Twilight said about Cozy having all the time in equestria for change, would that mean they are waiting to see if her behavior changes or if to see if she regrets what she did and wants to change for the better. How would they even know if she wants to change if no one is trying to communicate with her from within the statue. Would Luna talk to her in the dream realm and if so would Dim Glow be there with her as well to see if cozy has decided to change her ways. She obviously still loves her daughter and did hold out hope she would see reason someday, so wouldn’t she want to be able to see her again. The scene would probably end up something like Luna takes Dim to see Cozy in the dream realm just to check on her to see if she wants to change her behavior or not. Cozy would probably play the part of a scared filly who doesn’t want to be there anymore but when realizing she can’t fool either she’d resort to anger and lash out at them. Mostly Luna for playing a part in turning her to stone and then bring up nightmare moon just to remind her she’s no better than her. Luna would retort saying she chose to seek friendship while she didn’t and that’s what makes them different. Now it’s Dim’s turn to talk but seeing how her daughter is still acting how she did before she was petrified. She wouldn’t have anything to say. She’d just stand there with a look of sorrow on her face for Cozy because she is how she is because of her father and she will always believe that Mr.Glow turned Cozy against her because Cozy watched how her husband treated her and knew she could use her to get what she wanted. That would hurt her more than anything cozy could of ever done to her. The two would then leave realizing cozy is still her same manipulative self but dim would not leave before saying she is still her mother and will always love her right before leaving. That’s how I think the scene would play out.
Now there might actually be something they could do in the dream realm that might actually change the way cozy views things. She wasn’t born a narcissistic, Dim Glow said when Cozy was born she was innocent and only developed her manipulative behavior over time. So what if Luna turned Cozy into a baby again and Dim can get the chance to teach her better and remind her that there was a time where they were very close. Cozy would at first not like this idea because she wouldn’t want to be a baby again but her being a foal again could also bring back some very bad memories of her father. How he actually treated her when she was young. Maybe Cozy only did what she did because she feared her father’s wrath and did everything to stay on his good side. These memories might actually be the thing that changes how she views her mother. All that time she protected her from him when she was younger because she loved her. Cozy might then realize what she had done to Dim Glow and actually apologize for how badly she treated her. It would end with Dim Glow hugging Cozy Glow who has been turned back into a filly.
After their hug, raises the question of whether Cozy should be freed from the stone. It would ultimately be up to Twilight since she now rules equestria so she is the one who decides if Cozy should be freed or not. While it is great Dim and Cozy could reconcile and Cozy apologizing to her mother is certainly progress it still doesn’t mean she’s necessarily sorry for trying to take over equestria. So for the time being she would stay a statue but Luna would allow Dim to visit Cozy every night in the dream realm both to comfort her and second to help her understand why what she did was wrong. Twilight would be told of Cozy’s progress by Dim herself since she knows if cozy is being honest of not. It would take time but as long as progress is still being made Cozy would eventually be freed by Twilight and allowed to live with Dim. Mother and Daughter brought back together again. The Comic and this fanfic makes me feel their needs to be a reconciliation between Cozy and her Mother since it seems like Dim still wants to have Cozy in her life. Still wants to hold and love her baby. It’s Cozy’s manipulative nature that keeps Dim away from her. It’s for the best for her mental health and she knows that but she still misses her daughter. She still longs for the day Cozy will finally understand why her crimes were wrong and feel remorseful. Only then can she have her baby back. Until then she is just waiting to see if she improves but also allowing herself to live without Cozy’s manipulative influence in her life. She left Cozy’s teddy with her along with that key for two reasons. One because it reminded her to much of Cozy and two because she also knows how much Cozy used to love that stuffed bear so it’s possible she also gave it back to Cozy as a way to comfort her in her new situation but also remind her of the past and how she used to be. The key was a symbol of releasing Cozy’s hold over her but also as a symbol of choice. A choice to either stay as she is or use the key to free herself. The bear was a symbol of Dim’s love for her and that it was still unchanged since they last spoke in person.
That’s it for my scenario of how Cozy could be redeemed. I know the comic is written in a way to make it seem like she can’t be saved since you got almost every reformed villain saying she can’t be helped even though their all hypocrites for saying that. They acknowledge the wrongs they have done but still act morally superior to her and better than her even though they let the man responsible for her causing so much destruction go free. They all did things worse than her but think they are better than her because they said sorry. They have no right acting like Cozy is worse than them. Damning her when they don’t even acknowledge Discords role in her attempted takeover. Yes Cozy is still responsible for what she herself did but completely overlooking Discord and him telling her where to find the bell was just hypocrisy. They could of at least told Dim how Discord not only used her daughter for his own ends but also threatened to kill her if she didn’t go along with it. Dim would still not like what Cozy did but not being told someone threatened to harm her child and forced her to takeover equestria would probably piss her off. I think there’s always a way to reform Cozy if you know how to reach her.
“Cozy may one day get out”. Does this mean Starlight has some hope Cozy will one day see the error of her ways and be freed after seeing what a bastard her father is. Realizing Cozy did become a monster but it wasn’t her own fault. This needs a sequel with a conclusion with Dim and Cozy if not reconciling then at least having a conversation about the events that lead to this point. Be nice if they could reconcile though. Dim still loves her but does Cozy or does she wonder if Dim really loves her or not. Dim seemed to spend more time telling everyone how manipulative Cozy was then letting her daughter know she still loved her. She still does so she needs to let her actually know that if she ever gets the chance to talk to her in the stone. She said she loved Cozy to her face but there’s a difference between saying and showing. Have Dim hug Cozy reassuring her that her father cant hurt her and she at least still loves her.
I remember reading A Dim Glow on Deviantart awhile back. I recently gave it a read again and I came across this follow up fic. My God was this story handled well! At first, I thought it was just Cozy Glow that had everyone fooled, and her father was swept up in it, but now after reading this and seeing the implications that her father was the one who started it, and Cozy Glow simply adopted most of his behaviors, even though she still had some troubling behaviors. These stories really remind me of the movie and book “We Need to Talk About Kevin” which has a similar premise of a mother that struggles to raise her troubled son who manipulates her and everyone, including the father. Is it wrong that I can imagine Mr. Glow eventually doing something so heinous such as sexually harassing or abusing one of his co-workers, and then manipulating them and everyone else to believe it’s their fault? Given that his secretary/receptionist seems to be wrapped up in believing in his facade, delusions, and lies he spread about his family, I can imagine that being the case at some point. He is a chess master just like his daughter after all, but unlike his wife, who tried to do good and use her special talents to help, he used it for his own self gratification and narcissistic delusions. But whatever happens, sooner or later, Mr. Glow’s facade of a perfect life will come crashing down. Most ponies now realize the truth about Cozy Glow and how her mother, Curly Whirl (interesting name for her mom BTW) was the real victim, so it won’t be long before more ponies start to realize that her father was the catalyst for tearing the family apart and allowing Cozy to go down the path she chose. Keep up the good work! I’d love to see you do more stories with Curly Whirl or the others in the future!