Waking Up

by Betty_Starlight

Chapter 2: What I Deserve

She raises her gaze from 25 feet away from me, standing on the stone balcony as she says, “What was that Cozy Glow?”

I widen my eyes, “Uh, nothing Your Majesty oh wonderful and great and powerful Princess of Friendship!”

She enlarges her own pupils, “What am I? Trixie now?” her face normalizes. “Uh, now look Cozy! I admire your punctuality! I really do! I mean, I literally sent for you two minutes ago and… “

Suddenly, behind me, a white pegasus gallops up the ramp with golden armor on his body and a frantic glare on his face as he says, “Your Majesty! Cozy Glow was not in her room! I fear she may have…” before widening his eyes as he stares at me, gazing back with enormous eyes…

“Oh, golly gee, no! I didn’t escape! I’m right here! Don’t worry about it!” I say before smiling sheepishly at the guard…

Suddenly, we all hear a smarmy masculine voice say from nowhere, “Honestly, as far as good chaos goes, this is REALLY substandard!”

Twilight squints her eyes as she turns her gaze towards the draconequus, “Discord, we don’t need you here and you need to leave!”

He smiles as he peers down at her and puts his motley appendages in front of his neck, “Oh, but Twilight! Don’t you understand that I’m here to help?”

I gaze at these two interacting and I gotta admit, I’m not really sure where I should stand?

Twilight smiles as she dips her head slightly and curtly replies, “Yes and I thank you very much Discord, but I can take it from here, okay?”

He raises his eyes skyward and says in a resigned tone, “FINE! Oh wonderful and gracious Princess of Friendship! I WON’T be bothering you again today!” before disappearing…

I turn towards Twilight and ask her, “Do you think he’ll keep his word?”

She turns her gaze towards me, “He has to! And he knows that I know it!”

I widen my eyes, “Has to?”

She smiles, “Yes! As Lord of Chaos, Discord is bound by a specific set of rules!”

I frown, “Rules? That doesn’t sound very chaotic?” *

Her eyes widen as she probably didn’t consider that? “I uh, you know Cozy! That’s a good point!”

I widen my eyes all the way, “I thought so!”

She sighs, “Anyway, Cozy Glow! You are here to learn of friendship and how to become reformed!”

“I am?”

“Yes! That was why I didn’t turn you back into stone, remember?”

I smile, “Oh, golly gee, yes Princess Twilight Sparkle! I’ll become reformed and be just the bestest filly ever!”

She smiles back at me, “Good! Now, there’s somepony you need to meet!”

I enlarge my gaze again, “There is?”

She nods, “Mhm! Hang on! I’ll teleport us there!”

“Wait! Just give me a sec…”

But I was too late and her horn was already glowing purple before the courtyard disappears in a violet flash!

<*****>

We both materialize inside a small den. There’s an older white unicorn there with a flowing violet mane and cup of tea on a little table beside her recliner as she laid there with a blue blanket over her body… I gotta admit, for an older mare, she wasn’t awful looking!

She widens her blue eyes as the stare directly at me, “Is THAT who I think it is?”

I give a reluctant half-smile, “Uh, maybe?”

Twilight stares at her, “Rarity! I released Cozy Glow and she’s ready to be reformed now!”

I spout out, “Of course!” as I stare at the mare blankly.

She eyes me carefully before saying in a demure and skeptical feminine voice, “Are you sure, Twilight? I mean, Cozy was pretty bad!”

I stare at the mare, “I wasn’t the worst filly ever, you know!”

She stares at me, “Actually, you were, Cozy Glow!”

Twilight adds, “You were pretty awful!”

I roll my eyes, “Oh, golly!”

Twilight says, “Now Cozy, the first step to earning forgiveness is to understand that what you did was wrong!”

I sigh, “Uh, you know, I’d think the very fact that I’m seeking something like reformation would suggest that, you know?”

Rarity adds, “You must admit, she brings up a valid point!”

Twilight nods, “Okay, yes Cozy Glow! But do you understand why what you did was bad?”

“Not really?”

It’s Twilight’s turn to sigh before she says, “Stealing all the magic in Equestria and trying to rule it with an iron hoof is wrong Cozy Glow!”

I widen my eyes to the princess, “What makes you believe I’d be a bad ruler!”

Twilight says, “Well, first off, how manipulative you actually were is a pretty bad sign and it’s also important to note that you had no qualms about taking away ponies’ happiness and joy when you did it!”

Rarity stares at me, “Now, Twilight has a valid point!”

I look down, “Well um, I guess that’s a good point? I probably wouldn’t have been very nice, huh?”

Twilight smiles, “Well, that doesn’t matter now Cozy, because you’re good now!”

I look at Twilight again, “I am?”

“YES!!!!”

“Oh, golly!”

Rarity eyes me carefully, “Cozy Glow, dearest! You seem to be in a fog? Are you okay?”

I took note of the fact that she used the word dearest as I say, “Well, “I shake my head, “you gotta understand that I literally just woke up from stone! It’s very confusing, especially since I don’t really recognize or know anypony and everything looks different now… I don’t know where I am anymore…“

“Oh?”

I nod, “Yeah Rarity! I mean, I’ve been evil and bad this whole time and well, that’s how I was thinking about myself and now… Now I don’t know who I am anymore! If I’m not evil, than what am I?”

Rarity frowns, “How about you’re just an adorable pegasus filly?”

And Twilight sees right through my facade, “Cozy, it hasn’t even been a day yet!”

I flinch and say, “Right! No empathy for me!”

Twilight sighs and looks down at me and says lowly, “Cozy, I just find it hard to believe that you could have so severe a reaction so quickly?”

“You know how I told you, you have a lot of time to think when you’re stone?”

Twilight frowns, “Yeah?”

I sigh, “Well, I’ve been thinking this whole time… I really just wish I could get my mind to shut up sometimes!” **

She moves her head closer to me, “What do you think about Cozy?”

I stare at her and decide to be honest, “I think about victory… I think about overthrowing the monarchy in Equestria and proclaiming myself the Empress of Friendship, the way it was supposed to be… B-but… “I look down… “Th-that’s wrong, huh?”

“The way things were supposed to be?”

Rarity interjects again, “Cozy Glow, sweetness! I believe what Twilight is trying to say is, that isn’t the way things are supposed to be!”

I turn my head right towards the older white mare, another term of endearment? “It’s not, huh? I was the bad pony wasn’t I? I shouldn’t have done what I did?”

Rarity smiles, “We all make mistakes, Cozy!”

“Do those mistakes usually kill ponies?”

Twilight widens her eyes, “But you technically never killed anypony, right?”

I turn left to the purple alicorn and blurt out, “NO! I mean, I don’t think so, but…”

“Cozy Glow!”

“What? I’m not gonna do it anymore! I’m reformed, remember?” I say before smiling timidly…

At that point, the alicorn surprised me… She sighed and trotted a few paces towards me before embracing me in a tight warm hug with her forehooves!

“What are you doing?”

She whispers, “Ssh… It’s okay little Cozy Glow… You’re not that filly anymore… “

I see the old white mare smiling at me from her chair…

“Oh, golly!”

Twilight smiles, “Now Cozy, after an incident earlier, I made it a point to have several good reforming spells available and memorized for just such an occasion!”

“Reforming spell?” I say as I’m not sure I like the sound of this?

She smiles, “Of course! I’ll use my magic to reform you and you’ll be just fine! You’ll be a well-behaved filly again, I promise!”

“Assuming I was ever well-behaved…”

She giggles, “Now Cozy, this won’t hurt a bit!” before lowering her head and forcing her horn to glow violet…

I gotta admit, she was dead wrong on that one! I suddenly felt ALL of my muscles tense as if they had some strange energy through them and I sorta passed out right then and there!

I think I hit the floor? Probably…

<*****>

You know, of all the times I could’ve opened my eyes, this was by far the most awkward!

I feel encased in these purple forehooves as I lay there in the castle infirmary bed…

I ask the obvious question, “Why are you hugging me?”

She starts and I see her release me to go back to her sizable hooves on the floor as she stares at me with wide violet eyes and says, “Oh, Cozy! You’re awake! Uh, hi there!”

“You were hugging me!”

Her eyes suddenly grow slightly wider, “W-well, yeah! I wanted to show you uh, some affection and let you know that you’re loved!”

“You just woke me up earlier this morning!”

“Yes, and you need to know you’re supported!”

I widen my eyes at this confusing statement, “I am?”

She smiles and nods at me, “Of course!”

“Why should I believe you?”

Her eyes widen again as her muzzle frowns, “What?”

I sigh, “Look, all I’m saying is that it’s kinda fishy that you’d be so loving and supportive almost immediately after I tell you I want to be reformed!”

Her face normalizes, “Well, I did hurt you and cause you to pass out and now I just feel awful about it!”

“Why?”

Her eyes widen again, “Because I didn’t want to hurt you!”

“What do you care if I get hurt? I’m Cozy Glow, remember? I’m the evil filly who tried to take over Equestria?”

Her brow furrows, “Now Cozy, evil or no, you need to understand that I’d never want to actually hurt you!”

Suddenly, the blue wooden door to Twilight’s right opens up and I see an older white unicorn mare trotting in as she stares at me with wide blue eyes, “Cozy Glow! You’re awake, darling! I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Twilight Sparkle hurt me!”

Twilight adjusts her gaze between me and the unicorn as she bellows, “It wasn’t intentional!”

I sigh… “It’s okay, you know?” a small smile sneaks up on my muzzle… “I guess when you’re as evil as I’ve been, you deserve to be hurt?”

Twilight furrows her brow to me once more and stomps her hoof while shouting, “Cozy Glow, you are not evil anymore, and even if you were, that certainly doesn’t mean you actually DESERVE to be hurt!”

Rarity stares at me and sighs, “I believe what Twilight is getting at is that um, well pain and torture aren’t exactly the ideal methods for dealing with troublemakers and miscreants!”

I look at at Rarity, “Oh, so I guess trying to take over Equestria and trying to torture and kill other ponies are just minor infractions, then, huh?”

Rarity keeps her gaze on me, “Cozy, we aren’t going to punish you!”

“And why not?”

Twilight finally stares at me and says, “Because punishment isn’t the answer!”

I look at the purple alicorn and frown, “It’s not?”

The alicorn takes a pace towards me and engulfs me in her forehooves tightly, “NO IT’S NOT!”

At that point, I say the only thing I really can… “Oh, golly!”

(To be continued…)

Author's Note:

*Cozy Glow breaks the fourth wall in my stories again...

**FYI: this is why I smoke pot! Well, I usually vape these days, but I still smoke sometimes, and I literally just rolled a fattie after writing today…

Comments

[Killjoy1221]

I bet Twilight's reforming spell works like the Robot 1X update in Futurama.