> My Filly From Tartarus
>  by 5u0myn0n4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a blissful morning in Ponyville. The sun hadn't yet risen, so most ponies still lay asleep in their beds. Even still, anticipation was buzzing as everypony was excited for today's coronation of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Tonight, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would step down, and pass the responsibility of ruling Equestria to Princess Twilight Sparkle.





Inside Twilight Sparkle's Ponyville castle, housed the soon to be ruler of Equestria herself, along with her now loyal knight, Spike the dragon, the new Headmare of the School of Friendship, Starlight Glimmer, and lastly, inside a lonely chamber, underneath thick sheets, asleep in her bed, was the newest resident of the castle. She was one sleepy alicorn filly, snoring the morning away. At least until a voice came echoing into her room.

"Cozy Glow! Wake up!" Twilight's voice echoed through the halls and into the room.

Cozy Glow put her pillow over her ears. Nothing was more irritating than the sound of Twilight's voice in the morning.

"Oh, Cozy!!" she repeated.

*GROAN* Cozy Glow let out a hearty groan. In her mind, nopony commanded her when to wake up. She'd sleep the whole day if she wanted to.

"I made pancakes!" Twilight exclaimed.

*rumble* Cozy's tummy growled. As it turned out though, she was hungrier than she was tired. So she slowly crawled out of bed. She rolled off her bed, and unraveled herself from her sheets, revealing the alicorn filly, with some... extra attachments.

She stretched her limbs, which mildly hurt because of the attachments around her body. But why was this the case? 

Well, in the previous story, Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow's attack on Canterlot played out differently than expected, resulting in Cozy Glow NOT being left frozen in stone. She did however end up destroying the bell before relinquishing her magic, so she remained as a powerful alicorn filly. But that's not such a bad thing right?  

Well regardless, the princesses weren't taking any chances. So in order to inhibit Cozy's magical prowess, the leaders of Equestria had attached a metal device over her horn, preventing her from using her alicorn magic. Not just that, they had also wrapped a thick leather belt around Cozy's wings to prevent her from flying. Twilight would only undo either of these restraints under special circumstances, such as magic training. It only made sense to keep Cozy's powers under control, even if their method was a bit crude.

The filly was always uncomfortable from all this gear, but it sure beat an eternity in stone. At least that's what she thought at first.





Cozy Glow had trotted out of her room and to the kitchen area, where Twilight and Spike were there to greet her.

"Good morning, Cozy!" Twilight greeted.

"He... uh buh buh..." Cozy was groggy, and had trouble speaking. She was not a morning pony.

Spike was already at the table, chowing down on Twilight's pancakes. Cozy trotted up slowly and joined him.

"Pancakes again? Do you serve anything besides pancakes?" Cozy asked. "This is like the third morning in a row."

"Why would any creature need anything else for breakfast?" Twilight asked.

"The key to a healthy mind, is a varied diet." Cozy said. "Ever try making quesadillas for breakfast? They're pretty easy, and taste great." she suggested.

Spike gestured to Cozy to drop the conversation. Cozy caught on, even if she didn't know why.

"What? What's wrong with quesadillas?" Cozy asked.

"Nothing. They're just cheesy..." Twilight answered.

"Okay. Maybe at least try making waffles? They're literally just pancakes but shaped differently. Shouldn't be too hard to make." Cozy said.

"Normally you'd be right, but Twilight doesn't own a waffling iron." Spike said.

"Well, don't let that stop you. Might I suggest you unlatch me from these restraints, so I can grip that batter with my magic, and compress it with immense pressure and heat!! Thus creating delicious waffles!" Cozy exclaimed in a devious tone.

Her comment was followed by an awkward silence in the kitchen.

"Not that I've tried it, nor am I positive that it'd work. I'm still new to this magic thing after all, but you've seen what I'm capable of. So-" Cozy said.

"Uh, thanks, Cozy. But I'll pass on the offer." Twilight said, interrupting. "After all, I've seen what you're capable of. Anyway, once you've finished eating, you've got an intense day of magic practice  if you want to perform at my coronation tonight."

"Of course. I'm ready to get started." Cozy said.

"Good. So let's begin." Twilight said.

"Oh, and Twilight. If you don't think I'm ready by the time we're done, then that's alright. I gotta know my own pace." Cozy said.

"How honest of you to say." Twilight said, raising an eyebrow.

And you read that right. Twilight Sparkle had promised Cozy Glow that she could use her magic to create a spectacle at tonight's coronation, but only if she could prove that she had full control of her magic, and wouldn't go ballistic.





Soon after breakfast, it was time for one of Cozy's practice sessions. Twilight had temporarily removed Cozy's horn restraint so that she could practice magic. For this lesson, Twilight had tasked Cozy with something relaxing, and that was setting the table for tea.

"Now, Cozy. Levitation is a cornerstone of practical magic applications. It's about putting your mind into an object, and concentrating on moving it. Not in a destructive way, but a deliberate way. But in your case, you have the magic, but being deliberate can be hard, and what you deliberately want to do isn't the outcome. The easiest way to be deliberate, is to be precise. I want you to be precise." Twilight said.

"Precision, got it." Cozy replied.

Cozy very carefully moved one tea cup with her magic.

"Careful." Twilight said.

"Easy does it." Spike added.

Cozy placed the teacup onto the big table successfully.

"There you go." Spike said.

"Nice job." Twilight said.

*phew* "So is that it?" Cozy asked.

"Far from it. Next, I want you to set the plate." Twilight said.

"If you say so." Cozy said.

Cozy used her magic on the plate, and began to move it.

"Almost there." Spike said.

Cozy was almost there, until...

"AH!" Cozy concentrated so much, it hurt, and she had an impulse.

Cozy let out a jolt of magic and flung the plate against the castle wall, shattering it.

"I can't do it!" Cozy cried.

"It's okay! You nailed the first step. You clearly have it in you." Spike said.

"I tried concentrating, but even the slightest thought sent that plate flying!" Cozy cried.

Twilight looked at the damage. Her supply of tea ware was limited, and those shards on the ground looked sharp.

"Tell you what. Let's have a crack at something else." Twilight said.





For Cozy's next lesson, Twilight had her move things less... shatterable. Books! Twilight tasked Cozy with organizing books using only magic. She had already explained to Cozy the system at which the books are organized, so it was up to Cozy to put them in place.

Cozy picked up a copy of Myths & Legends: An Illustrated Guide with her magic.

"There you go. That's it. One book at a time." Twilight said.

"I'm doing it!" Cozy said, excitedly.

Cozy Glow was getting energetic and excited, but with excitement her magic glowed brighter.

"Careful. Don't concentrate too hard, or you might-" Spike said.

The book Cozy was holding with her magic got too hot from the intense magic, and suddenly burst into ash.

Book burning made Twilight cringe, but she tried to keep her calm.

"T-That's okay, I can just get another copy." Twilight said, irritated, and eye twitching.

"I personally didn't care for that book anyway." Spike said, deadpan.

After just a short couple of lessons, Cozy Glow was already losing her cool.

"UGH! I'm an alicorn! I have alicorn magic! I have enough power to move earth! So why am I setting tea parties and organizing a lame library?!" Cozy asked.

"Magic isn't just shooting beams of energy." Twilight scolded. "It's a well understood, and studious discipline. Sure, you have the raw magical capacity, but the point of these lessons is to help refine your abilities, and make you more precise."

"I can shoot powerful beams of magic and bring destruction, but you expect me to be precise?!" Cozy asked, angerly.

"Cozy, I'd like you to calm down." Twilight ordered.

*exhale* Cozy took a nice relaxing breath. "Whew. Right. Relax..." Cozy said, softly.

Surprisingly, at Twilight's command, Cozy calmed herself down.

"Wanna take a break, Cozy?" Twilight asked.

"I'd like that." she replied in a soft voice.





The group took a break, and rested on top of Twilight's castle. Although today was a busy day, Twilight had no issue taking time out of her day to relax. Half of magic was in the mind, so Twilight wanted to make sure Cozy's mind was in a good place.

Twilight and Cozy each laid back on separate lawn chairs on top of the castle, while Spike was sitting in the pool.

"How are you feeling, Cozy?" Spike asked.

"Shh..." Twilight shushed. "Try not to disturb her. She's relaxing." she whispered.

Here was a rare sight. Cozy Glow was calm, laying with her eyes closed, and feeling the wind against her curly blue mane. Her round little belly gently lifted up as she breathed in, and lowered slowly as she breathed out. She'd never really taken a moment to just take a breath. In spite of the uncomfortable restraints, she managed to relax.

She opened one eye lid and gazed at the landscape below. From the top of Twilight's castle, you could see so much more of Equestria than you could at ground level. From the serene plains, the mountain which Canterlot was built next to. It was all so wonderful.

It felt so good to see the world. The world she almost lost forever...

.

.

.

"Cozy Glow?" Twilight asked.

"Wha...?" Cozy Glow awoke abruptly.

"You fell asleep." Spike said.

"Oh. Whoops..." Cozy said, pressing her hoof against her cheek, embarrassed.

"I almost didn't want to wake you, you were so cute." Twilight said, jokingly.

"Yeah. Imagine if I didn't wake up. Equestria wouldn't miss a beat..." she said, deadpan.

Cozy got up and trotted downstairs.

Twilight and Spike looked at each other, confused.





Cozy Glow continued her way downstairs, when-

*poof*

Twilight Sparkle reappeared in front of Cozy, grinning.

"Ready to resume your practice?" Twilight asked.

"No." Cozy replied.

"No?" Twilight asked. "But you're full of so much potential!"

"No. I'm full of someone else's magic! It's not my magic. It's not the same as having true potential." Cozy said.

Cozy trotted faster, but Twilight appeared in front of her again.

"Where are you going?!" Twilight asked.

"My room!" Cozy replied.

"Nuh-uh! This is my castle! They're all my room!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yeah, well I'm going to occupy this room, ALONE!" Cozy exclaimed.

"Not until you apologize!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Me apologize? You're the one being rude." Cozy said.

"I'm not-" 

Twilight paused and thought her words through, to be careful not to say anything that would tick her off more.

"I'm not trying to be hard on in an effort to be rude. It's just, magic is a really tough discipline. But even more important than the discipline, it's the morality, and what to do with the magic." Twilight explained. "Magic isn't about being the most powerful. If too much magic goes unhinged, that's how you end up with King Sombra." Twilight said.

"And Sunset Shimmer." Cozy said.

"And Sunset Shimmer, sure." Twilight affirmed. "So-"

"And Starlight Glimmer, Tempest Shadow, Trixie with the alicorn amulet. Oh, and Discord of course. Need I go on?" Cozy went on.

"Cozy, I-" Twilight said.

"How come THEY DON'T HAVE ALTERNATE TIMELINES OF AN ETERNITY IN STONE?! WHAT MAKES ME SO BAD?!" Cozy exclaimed.

"...You don't know they don't have bad timelines. I mean, if the many worlds theory is to be believed, then they do have bad timelines, because every possible future already exists." Twilight explained.

"Okay, okay, smarty pants!" Cozy sassed.

"As I was saying, I studied magic for years, and it was only after I completed Starswirl the Bearded's unfinished spell, did Celestia trust me with wings, and the duty of bearing both my horn, and a pair of wings. With you, we're working backwards. You're already an alicorn, so we just gotta make sure you live up to such an important title. And what separates us even further, is you were born a pegasus, so you have next to no experience with conducting magic directly."

Cozy felt that Twilight actually made a compelling argument. So she chose to sidestep the subject.

"Hmm. I see what you mean. You do make an excellent point, Sparkle. You possess a large reservoir of magic, and you're very skilled at magic. But allow me to ask, why aren't you, as you put it, evil?" Cozy asked.

"Me? Evil?" she asked.

"Why, if you wanted the throne sooner, I'm positive you could've just taken it from Celestia." Cozy said. "And you probably would've been just successful."

"Absolutely not. Because I learned early on that magic is in the responsibility of the beholder." Twilight explained. "Magic is a very powerful tool, and it feels rewarding to use it to help other ponies."

"You say that now, but Spike, remember how Twilight was before moving to Ponyvillle? The bitterness? The anxiety? I guarantee at this point in time she'd be a villain if she didn't move to Ponyville and never meet her friends." Cozy said.

Spike crossed his arms and didn't reply to her.

"Who am I kidding? Maybe even before that. If it wasn't for the help of your first friend grounding you, you would've just been Sunset Shimmer 2.0." Cozy said.

"Cozy!" Twilight exclaimed. "Enough of this! I thought you said you wanted to change!" Twilight shouted.

"I just wanted to NOT get turned into stone for 1,000 years!" Cozy exclaimed. "I could care less being a privy alicorn princess like you!"

"Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, Cozy, but if you're going to be free and live in Equestria, then you're going to have to learn to behave!" Twilight exclaimed.

"You call this free?" Cozy asked, pointing to her restraints. 

Twilight took a look at Cozy. The alicorn filly all covered in scuffs and restraints. The leather belt wrapped around her wings, and the headband wrapped around her horn.

"I'm like some restrained freak." Cozy said.

"You'll be free once I can trust you!" Twilight exclaimed.

Twilight's exclamation echoed through the castle, and when the echo ceased, a deafening silence filled the hallway instead.

"So, this isn't even about improving my magic skill, this is just about building trust, because you still view me as a threat. I can past your ruse, Sparkle." Cozy said, deadpan.

Cozy was done with this conversation. She turned the other way and walked past Twilight and into her room, 

"Cozy, wait!" Twilight said.

Cozy was about to close the door, but halted to hear what Twilight had to say.

"I know I may not be the right kind of teacher you need, but, I thought you'd be a little more grateful. Would you have rather we left you in stone?!" Twilight asked.

"You know, now that I've seen both, I don't know which is worse." Cozy said.

Cozy slammed the door, leaving Twilight very frustrated.

"Geez. Cozy Glow is right. She glows like a little ball of sunshine. Am I right, Twilight?" Spike held is fist out expecting a hoofbump from Twilight, but instead she just trotted the other way, grumpy.

"Twilight?"





Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth in the library, kicking the ash from the burnt book she hadn't cleaned up yet. Spike stood in place and was there trying to see the light in the situation.

"Don't beat yourself up, Twilight. Cozy's just being stubborn." Spike said. "Which frankly isn't unexpected of her."

"Was I wrong? I saw the future, but all I saw was the statue. I don't know how her punishment would have affected the rest of Equestria versus not punishing her. So... maybe we were supposed to put her in stone, and this is the incorrect outcome." Twilight said.

Spike was surprised to hear Twilight be so pessimistic.

"Don't say that, Twilight." Spike said. "You're the Princess of Friendship! What kind of Princess of Friendship intentionally turns ponies to stone?"

"Yeah, well she's a... a-" Twilight said, but couldn't muster to finish her sentence.

"A what? What, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"She's difficult! Okay!" Twilight shouted. *sigh* "I wonder if Thorax is having an easier time with Chrysalis and Tirek..."

Twilight had almost had it with Cozy. And with a few hours before her coronation, and Cozy's still far behind on magic studies, things did not line up the way Twilight had hoped. In spite of the chance she took, so far it mostly amounted in frustration for both ponies.

"She isn't ready for tonight. And she's only going to be more furious when I tell her that." Twilight said.

*sigh* "I had to jump through so many hoops to make this happen. Celestia and Luna urged me to put her back in Tartarus, at least until after my coronation. But I fought against that. I argued that a moment more in Tartarus was too long, and I promised I'd watch her myself. I gave her a chance, so I just wish she'd give me a chance." Twilight said.

"Maybe she still will. C'mon, Twi. Let's check on her." Spike said.

"It's so hard for us to see eye to eye. I wonder if somepony else would've been better off in charge of her..." Twilight said, as her mind wandered and ignored Spike.

"Twilight." Spike said, to get her attention.

"What does she mean by my first friend? By what definition is she using? Who could she be referring to..." she pondered.

Spike looked... disappointed. He thought the answer to Cozy's riddle was obvious. But, that was something to talk about later.

Twilight looked at Spike.

"Are we checking on her, or what?" he asked.

*sigh* "Alright. No time like the present." Twilight said.
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starlight Glimmer was out and about in Ponyville taking care of important measures, when she ran into a familiar face.

"You there. You're the consoler of Twilight's school. Correct?" they said.

"Yeah?" Starlight replied. "Who wants to know?"

Starlight turned around and saw her standing there. She was a little pink filly with a diamond encrusted tiara.

"You're uh... the rich filly who goes to school with the Cutie Mark Crusaders... Sorry, I guess we haven't spoken to each other much. I'm Starlight Glimmer, in case you weren't aware."

"I'm Diamond Tiara. And I came to you wondering. Um..."

"Go on. You can ask me anything." Starlight said.

Diamond Tiara reached into her saddlebag, and pulled out an issue of the Foal Free Press.

"Please tell me this is fake." Diamond Tiara said. 

Starlight simply nodded her head saying no.

"Cozy Glow wouldn't attack Equestria like this, would she?" Diamond Tiara asked.

Starlight hung her head and replied reluctantly. *sigh* "I'm afraid so..."

"So did they put her back in Tartarus?" Diamond Tiara asked, worried.

"No. In fact, we almost did her one better. Err, worse I should say. Much worse..." Starlight mumbled.

"Could you speak up? Where is she now?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"She's not in Tartarus. She's staying with Twilight and I at the castle." Starlight replied.

"Well, I guess it's a relief that the Princess of Friendship is watching over her. I can only imagine the turmoil she must've gone through that would have driven her to try to take over Equestria twice." Diamond Tiara said.

"Yes, well, she'll be under the tight care of Twilight Sparkle until she's ready to migrate back into society." Starlight explained. "She just needs a little time before she's ready to see anypony else."

"You know, I was really disappointed when I found out that Cozy was responsible for the magic almost disappearing, but more disappointed when I found out how the Princesses handled things. It all happened so fast, I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to her." Diamond Tiara wept. "Since when does Celestia put fillies in Tartarus? And no supervision? Isn't it like your guy's thing that you make friends with everypony? What's different about her?"

Starlight bit her lips and looked the other way. Diamond Tiara ask the tough questions.

"Well, sometimes, when you're the Princess of Friendship... see sometimes you..." Starlight was having difficulty explaining things to Diamond Tiara. "It isn't until you see the full implications of your actions that you realize what you're doing is a terrible idea. We're stuck in the present for the most part, but it's only when you take that rare glimpse into the future do things become clear. Otherwise, your biggest mistakes can turn into even bigger mistakes."

"Ooookay?" Diamond Tiara scratched her head.

"All of this is to say that, Twilight regrets how she treated Cozy in the past, and she promises not to harm her anymore. She sees the error in her ways now, and realizes now that everypony deserves another chance." Starlight explained.

"Well, that only sounds like a good thing. So, I guess all is well. Huh. I wonder if Twilight learned a thing or two from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, since it sounds like how they helped me. They gave me a chance when I needed it the most." Diamond Tiara said.

As pleasant as their conversation was, time was short, and Starlight had to get a move on.

"Well uh... I suppose that's it. Sorry to cut it off here, but I'm very busy." Starlight said.

"The coronation is tonight?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Is Cozy going to be there?"

"Yes, and yes. Why? Is that a problem?" Starlight asked.

"No. I mean, it's unlikely that I'll be going. There's a rare astronomical event tonight only that I wanted to witness. But tell Cozy Glow I wish her well." Diamond Tiara said.

"I will." Starlight said.

The two headed their separate ways, when Diamond Tiara felt a nerve impulse, and had a change of mind.

"Actually, wait! I changed my mind! DON'T tell Cozy I said anything about her!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed, nervous.

"Whatever you say, kid." Starlight said, confused.





Twilight Sparkle and Spike stood at the front of Cozy's room. They were unsure if they should knock, speak out, or what.

"Should we knock?" Spike asked.

"I'm just going to walk inside." Twilight said, stern.

The two peeked their heads into the unlit room.

"Cozy Glow, are you...?" Spike asked.

Spike flicked the light switch, revealing Cozy Glow playing chess by herself. They noticed that her pieces had been decorated by herself, in a very peculiar way.

Cozy moved her queen piece, which she had put little purple wings on. 

"I win again! Hehe." she grinned.

"Is that supposed to be Twilight?" Spike asked.

Cozy had just noticed they were watching, and greeted them nicely.

"Oh, golly. Didn't see you come in. I see you noticed my little custom chess pieces." Cozy said, gleefully. "I've been working on this here little arts and crafts project since I've been staying here, and I'm quite pleased with it." she boasted.

Cozy had made Twilight was the queen piece. Twilight wondered what the significance of that was. Seeing the pieces representing her friends knocked over seemed symbolic somehow.

"You made me the queen." Twilight said, ears drooping.

"Of course. You'll be ruler of Equestria soon. Even though the goal of chess is to go after the opponent's King — well, Kings are seldom in Equestria — The Queen has ALL the power!"

*gulp* "I see..." Twilight said, anxious.

"You know, if you think of the Bishop and Rook as unicorns and pegasi respectively, then the Queen is sort of like the alicorn of the chess board!" Cozy said.

As for the other pieces, on both sides, the pawns were decorated to be Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Celestia, Luna, and Starlight Glimmer.

"Please don't read into this too deeply, Twilight." Spike said. 

If only Twilight had adhered to his advice.

"But you made all my friends the pawns? Why?" Twilight asked.

"Because, Twilight Sparkle, I'm just going be blunt and say it, you've been a complete jerk to your friends lately." Cozy said.

Twilight stomped her hooves and was shocked.

"WHAT?" Twilight exclaimed, her horn sizzling with magic.

"Just think about it for a second. They're busting their flanks off to get your coronation ready, and all you've done for them is complain that you don't think they'll miss you enough. Like, of course they'll miss you! You guys are like best friends or whatever!" Cozy exclaimed.

"Cozy, I-" Twilight started, but was interrupted.

"Why the farewell anyway?! I get you're being promoted to supreme ruler, but it's not like you're being turned to stone. You're just moving to Canterlot! It's a short train ride from Ponyville! And even though you'll be super busy, plan some weekends with them!" Cozy exclaimed. "And if that's not good enough for you, then why not promote them? How's it fair that they lifted you up, and are partly the reason you've been half as successful as you've been, but yet it's only you and Spike who are being promoted to royalty?!"

Twilight and Spike's were completely stunned by Cozy's rant.

"Or um, at least that's what I think..." Cozy said, smiling, and pressing her hoof against her cheek.

Twilight started to fume on the outside. But inside, an even worse storm was brewing in her head.

"Um, hehe, just a moment." Spike said.

Spike pushed Twilight out of the room, and quickly closed the door.

*hehe* Cozy giggled. "Oh, Twilight. It's so easy to get under your skin." she said, with a snarky grin, and eyebrows bent inward.

In the hallway, Twilight was frustrated. Cozy pressed her ear against the door to listen to Twilight's outrage.

"Say something, Twilight! Snap out of it!" Spike said.

"She's... *huff* she's... *huff* " Twilight's horn glowed an odd dark purple.

"Before you say anything, please think it through." Spike suggested.

"She's... *sigh* she's not... wrong..." Twilight said, calming down, and magic dissipating.

"W-what?" Spike asked.

"Huh?" Cozy hadn't expected Twilight's mood to shift in this direction.

"It's so strange. Celestia asked me to move to Ponyville to make friends, and experience friendship. So... why does she want me to rule Equestria alone? I thought my castle sprouted six and a half thrones for a reason, but Canterlot will only have one throne."

"...Did you just call my throne a half throne?" that was Spike's main takeaway from the first part of Twilight's thoughts.

"So am I done learning about friendship? No. Preposterous. I still have so much to learn. After all, I did almost let Discord turn a filly to stone."

"You're taking crazy, Twilight! Of course you won't rule Equestria alone! You have me, Spike, your royal knight. Plus, who says your friends can't help you out?"

"Yeah.... why can't they?" Twilight said. "Celestia and Luna appointed me ruler, so what's stopping me from appointing my friends?" 

"Yeah. I suppose you're right?" Spike said, unsure.

If Twilight had refused to swallow her pride in this moment, she may have just plain exploded. But oddly, by showing a hint of humility, and expressing her gripes with the current situation, it felt a lot better than expected, and allowed the princess to calm down. Cozy's plan to make Twilight her own worst enemy hit a standstill, because this Twilight was smarter than the Headmare who put the filly in Tartarus.

*exhale* "I feel much better. Anyway, what were we doing?" she asked.

*ahem* Spike tilted his head at Cozy's door.

"Oh. Right." Twilight said to him.

Cozy was spooked by Twilight turning the doorknob. She immediately rushed back to her chess board.

Twilight walked back into Cozy's room.

"Cozy Glow, I would like to-" 

"Shh..." Cozy shushed her, as she was pretending to concentrate on her chess game.

"I just wanted to say that you've done an excellent job this past week refining your magical abilities." Twilight said.

"Uh huh. I'm awesome. I get it. What's new?" Cozy asked, trying to focus on her chess game.

Twilight realized that simply complementing Cozy on her progress wasn't enough, so she took a different approach.

"You know, Cozy. It's not everyday that Equestria has the honor to welcome in a new powerful alicorn." Twilight said.

Cozy wasn't interested in having an honest conversation, so instead she tried to change the subject.

"What even are alicorns really? I mean, you, me, and Cadance became alicorns, but my dear Flurry Heart was born an alicorn. Were Celestia and Luna born alicorns?" Cozy asked.

"Alicorns are very mysterious, and rare creatures. You're one of only around half a dozen examples known through Equestrian history. Being an alicorn means you have lots of power in you, but more important than that, I know you possess great talent inside." Twilight said. "Magic isn't just about sheer strength. It's about control. Starswirl the Bearded wasn't the most revered magician because he was the most powerful. Rather, because he used his knowledge to write spells that helped many ponies. And I know for absolute certain you have the potential to do that too, Cozy."

Somehow, something Twilight had said this time hit Cozy differently.

"...I have the potential to help ponies?" Cozy asked, surprised.

Twilight nodded affirmatively.

"That's why I've been taking time out of my super busy schedule to help you." Twilight said. "You're already very talented with magic, so I'd love to see you apply that and do great things with it. Which leads me to my next point — Tonight's my coronation, and as I said earlier, I was hoping you could use your magic to make tonight more of a spectacle, however..." Twilight said.

"However..." Cozy said, raising an eyebrow.

"However..........." Twilight bit her lip and started to sweat.

"You hanging in there, Twilight?" Spike asked.

Twilight Sparkle took a moment to think. Her gut told her that Cozy should absolutely not be allowed to use her magic tonight. She wasn't ready. Her raw magical prowess could destroy the whole castle. However, her gut also almost told her to let Discord turn her to stone, a gut decision she now regrets. With that in mind, and in an attempt to amend her bad habits, by doing things a bit differently. She already promised Cozy some more freedom, and to backpaddle now wouldn't help anyone.

Twilight took a big gulp, and conjured up something special for Cozy.

"Now, Cozy. This is a special key I'm holding here. This is the key that will undo your restraints, and allow you to use your magic and flight." Twilight said.

"So I earned my magic back?" Cozy asked.

"Sort of. I'm not giving it to you yet. Here's what I have in mind — I'm going to give it to you at the start of my coronation — At the end of my speech when I say and now to usher in a new beginning, unlock yourself, and show off your magic, and surprise every creature with a magical light show!" Twilight explained.

"Sounds... neat." Cozy said. "But, why does it have to be a surprise?"

"Let's just say, I'm not so sure Celestia and Luna would approve, and for now, what they say goes still." Twilight said.

"Oh, right. They're probably still peeved about the whole takeover thing I suppose..." Cozy said.

"Mmm hmm. But don't let that dissuade you from the idea. Every creature's going to love it." Twilight said.

"Are you sure everypony will be happy to see me? Aren't they still mad at me? And You expect me to win over their respect with a magic light show?" Cozy asked, skeptical.

"I mean, as long as you show every creature that you mean well, then I'm sure they'll learn to accept you." Twilight replied.

"But, what if I mess up, and hurt somepony. Equestria's leaders may lock me away again..." Cozy said.

"I won't say the word until power is handed over to me, by which point, what happens to you will be 100% up to me. Even so, I know you can do it." Twilight said.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Twilight." Cozy said, unsure.

"Mmm hmm. And I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't believe in you." Twilight said, assuring. "I trust you to do the right thing tonight."

Huh. It's been a while since I had Twilight's trust. Feels weirdly nostalgic. Cozy thought.

Cozy looked unsure. Twilight couldn't possibly trust her to not misuse her magic, right? And with all eyes on tonight's event, the opportunity to exploit Twilight's trust seemed extremely limited. But impossible?

Whatever the case may be, Twilight seemed confident in Cozy, which filled the filly's stomach with an odd fuzzy feeling.





The sun was getting low, and it was almost time to head to Canterlot for the ceremony. Twilight was already putting on her Princess dress, with Spike there for assistance.

"You sure you're not going to be overwhelmed once you take responsibility?" Spike asked, whilst helping her put on the dress.

"Believe it or not, the responsibility is the least of my worries." Twilight said.  "There's a lot on my mind, but you know, I'm not too worried. After Cozy's performance, and once I ask my friends an important question, I see things going just fine... I hope."

Spike had noticed that Twilight had calmed down when she explained her plan, but less calm at the end when she trailed off, expressing doubt. This wasn't her usual blend of Twilighting. Twilighting is Twilight stressed out, but still her normal element. Lately during her moments of stress, she seemed really out of element.

Still, everything would turn out just fine, so long as the day goes exactly as Twilight has it planned. But as the Princess is about to learn, it pays to have a backup plan.
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the ceremony for Princess Twilight Sparkle's coronation. Everypony gathered in the Canterlot garden to witness the 
coronation of Twilight Sparkle, the new crowned leader of Equestria. There she stood, on the balcony, in her lovely princess dress.

It was an exciting moment. Truly a turning point in history.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gently lowered onto Twilight's head a new crown, officially ringing her in as their successor. There was a massive applause in the crowd as they welcomed their new leader.

And then there was Cozy Glow, who stood in a dark corner, dressed in a beautiful hoof stitched dress, yet was hidden from everypony else. Nopony was expecting her to be here, except for Twilight and Spike, who knew of the plan.

The plan was that at a particular part of Twilight's speech, Cozy Glow would appear, and dazzle everypony with her magic. Thus winning over anypony who doubted her sincerity, and just overall setting a good mood for the future of Equestria.

But what if it went wrong? This was far from a foalproof plan. Even if Cozy didn't mean harm at this time, her magic was unpredictable, and could cause harm. And even the slightest mishap could send her flank back to Tartarus.

"Together, all creatures untied, will build something stronger." Twilight's speech went on in the background as Cozy Glow went through some difficult thoughts, such as the thoughts listed above, and some more written below.

It was impossible to separate the idea of her using magic, with her being evil. No matter how much she wanted to change. Did she want to change? Even if she did, would other ponies believe she wanted to change? If they didn't believe she could be good, then why would she believe?

"Okay, Cozy. Think. Positives. This could be your best chance to change what everypony thinks of you. If this goes well, then everypony will love you. At least, I think they will." she said to herself. "You'll have lots of friends again, right?"

But then Cozy thought of something. 

"Twilight said she didn't trust me. Why would she trust me to use my magic now? And during her coronation? The most important moment of her life! Unless she really doesn't trust me after all..."

What if this was an intentional trap set up by Twilight, in order to send Cozy back to Tartarus after she allegedly attacks the coronation?

Cozy had lost her carefree evil attitude. Before, she enjoyed being manipulative, and working her way to the top. But now that Equestria's leaders have seen how far she'll go, and reacted in such a drastic way, she couldn't not think about the consequences of butting heads with Equestria's leaders once again. If she was caught being a threat again, what would her next punishment be? How do you top an eternity in stone? Stone was now outlawed anyway, but there were no rules against banishing ponies to the moon (as far as Cozy was aware).

For these reasons and several others, Cozy, ultimately decided, that the responsibility was too much to bear.

*sigh* "I can't..." Cozy said to herself.

Cozy Glow could have unlocked herself and unleashed her magic and derailed Twilight's coronation. But for some reason, it didn't feel right.

"I don't deserve these powers..." Cozy said to herself, weeping.

Twilight's speech was almost done, but Cozy had decided to go forward with her own plan instead. Cozy used the key and unlocked herself, allowing her to finally stretch her wings, and use her horn without supervision under Twilight.

"You want magic? I'll give you magic!" Cozy said. "I'll use my magic to give everypony what they want!"

"Send this filly to where she belongs!"

*ZAP*





Back on the balcony, Twilight Sparkle was just about finished with her speech. The crowd watched in amazement, about to welcome their new ruler.

"And now to usher in a new beginning, I give you..."

Twilight had reached the end of her speech, and gave a nice long pause for Cozy to appear, but the key words were met with no response, leaving only an awkward pause in the air. The crowd started to chatter, wondering about the awkward pause.

*ahem* "...I give you all my commitment to ensure safety for all creatures." Twilight finished her speech, somewhat awkwardly.

"What happened, Twilight? Where's Cozy Glow?" Spike whispered.
"I don't know." Twilight replied, in a whisper.

As a backup plan, Twilight lit up her horn, and sent a little orb of purple magic into the air. It exploded into a nice little pretty burst.

The crowd was dazzled, and everypony cheered for Twilight Sparkle. Their new leader.

"You worried, Twilight?" Spike whispered.
"Maybe just a little." Twilight replied.





After the ceremony, it was time for festivities in the Canterlot courtyard! Everypony was enjoying Pinkie Pie's after party party. A royal sized party if you will. Everypony except for Twilight, who in between meet and greets with old friends, was a moping mess.

"So, I guess she decided to just quit. We gave her an escape route, and she took it. Now she's off, potentially posing danger to Equestria again." Spike said.

"I sure hope not." Twilight said. "If she's out there causing havoc, then, I guess I did misread her all along... How foolish of me..." Twilight said, looking down.

"Congratulations, Twilight!" her Canterlot friends exclaimed. The greeting startled her, and snapped her to normal.

Twilight's Canterlot friends were comprised of Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, and Moondancer, and Lyra with her fiancée Bon Bon.

"We've been trying to tell everpony here that we've known you since you were your old grumpy isolated self-" Twinkleshine started.

"-But nopony will believe us!" Minuette exclaimed.

"Yeah. It's amazing how far we go back. After all we... what adjectives did you use to describe me?" Twilight asked.

"It's just, you were notorious for always pushing other ponies away. Myself included of course. You rarely had any creature besides Spike by your side. And that's only because, you know, he's your family." Moondancer said.

"Not that we mean any offense." Lemon Hearts said.

"Not that that matters anyway! You've come so far! You're so good at making friends!" Twinkleshine said.

"I am I guess..." Twilight said, sounding sad.

"You make friends with just about anyone! Even those baddies who tried to divide Equestria! You didn't even think twice. How bold of you to show friendship to even Equestria's most formidable foes!" Moondancer said.

*gulp* Twilight gulped, and had a flashback to her battle with Cozy Glow. In which, Cozy altered time to show Twilight the bleak future where she allowed Discord turns Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow to stone for a long time.

"Yep. *nervous chuckle* making friends just comes soooo natural to me." Twilight said, anxiously. "I mean, look around, even creatures you wouldn't expect are good now. From Gilda, to Garble, even "fictional" characters like Caballeron, and Ahuizotl as seen in the final Daring Do book are good now! Is there even a sour soul left in Equestria!? HAHAHAHA!"

The end of Twilight's laughter left an awkward silence in the air.

"I haven't finished reading the last Daring Do book. Thanks for giving me a preview..." Moondancer said.

"Anyhoo, I know you'll do a great job ruling Equestria!" Lyra said.

"Alone..." Twilight added.

"...You'll do a great job ruling Equestria!" Lyra repeated.

"But I just said-" Twilight tried to say.

"Shh... nopony likes a pessimist." Lemon Hearts said.

"I'm sorry it's just-" Twilight started, but was interrupted.

"Yeah yeah, we can talk about it later. Smile! You're on camera!" Minuette exclaimed.

*snap*

Twilight and her friends took a load of pictures together. One of the pictures showed Minuette wearing a "I've known her before she was a Princess" shirt.

"Oh, by the way, we brought you gifts!" Lyra exclaimed.

Lyra and Bon Bon handed Twilight a couple boxes.

"Imported oats?" Twilight asked.

"Expensive imported oats." Bon Bon specified.

"Savor them." Moondancer said.

"Savor the flavor! AH HAHA!" Minuette exclaimed.

Her friends all laughed together.

*giggle* Twilight laughed nervously once again.





Hours went by. Slowly as time went on, the crowd got smaller as ponies went home. But still no sign of Cozy Glow.

Spike looked at Twilight. She looked miserable. Seemingly not happy about her coronation.

"Um, Twilight. Maybe this isn't the best time to bring it up, but didn't you say earlier that you didn't even want to accept the crown?" Spike asked. "Does that have anything to do with why you're uh..."

Twilight took a deep breath before she explained.

"So, here's the thing about that, Spike. I almost didn't want to inherit the duty to rule Equestria. Not after I saw what my rule would potentially look like. However, Celestia and Luna were pretty adamant about retiring, and I already told them I'd do it. I don't think they'd appreciate me backpedaling. Even still, I wouldn't have accepted the responsibility if I didn't think I was capable of helping creatures of Equestria." Twilight said. "But, I clearly didn't help Cozy. Even after I tried once again to show her compassion. I couldn't change Cozy alone, and now I'm expected to change Equestria alone? I don't know if I... if I..."

Twilight's melodramatic moping was interrupted by a familiar fiery maned unicorn.

"Congrats, congrats, congrats!" said an excited unicorn with a red mane and coat.

*gasp* "Sunset Shimmer!" Twilight and Spike exclaimed.

"What a surprise to see you here!" Twilight said, excited.

"I had to come as soon as I heard! Oh my goodness, this is great!" Sunset exclaimed. "You're like, in charge of everything now!"

"I know. Celestia and Luna put their utmost faith in my ability to lead Equestria." Twilight said.

"What an honor. You deserve it, Twilight. You earned it." Sunset said.

"So what happens to Celestia and Luna next?" Sunset asked.

"That's a very good question." Spike replied.

"I see. Well, anyway, we have so much to catch up on!" Sunset said, excited.

Sunset's excited demeanor was a bit overbearing during Twilight's difficult time.

"Indeed we do, but uh... I don't mean to come across as pushy but, let's save the deeper talk for later." Twilight said.

"Understood. You need time to process everything." Sunset said. "Well, I'll be enjoying the festivities. It's been so long since I've just spent some quality time in Equestria."

"It's always a pleasure to see you, Sunset." Twilight said.

"Same here. And by the way, I have something exciting to show you later. I think you'll be pleased." Sunset grinned.

"Of course. I have no doubt anything you show me ought to be... exciting." Twilight said, unsure. "Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I was wondering if I could ask you..." Twilight said,

"Yes, Twilight?" Sunset asked.

Twilight paused. "...Uh, never mind! Lost my train of thought! Enjoy the party."

Sunset went off to partake in festivities.

"What did you want to ask her, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Something that probably would have offended her if I actually asked." Twilight replied.

"Now if I can just get some peace and quiet." Twilight said, harkening back to Pinkie's party from episode one. Everyone was celebrating, but Twilight wanted quiet. And speaking of Pinkie...

"Now presenting, Princess Princess Twilight Sparkle!!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Twilight was surprised as she was swiftly approached by her friends.

"Princess Princess?" Twilight asked.

"A bit of a redundant title." Rarity said.

"Why not just Queen at that point?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight had a flashback to Cozy's customized chess board. The image of the Queen piece with Twilight's wings haunted her.

"Queen's uh... too commanding sounding. I prefer Princess... Thanks, girls." Twilight said.

"You alright, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"Is all of the attention too much to handle?" Fluttershy asked.

"No. It's not the attention. I'm flattered by it actually. It's just..." Twilight paused. "This evening hasn't gone exactly how I expected..."

Starlight had a hunch she knew what was troubling her, judging by a certain filly's absence.

"Where's Cozy Glow?" Starlight asked.

*sigh* "She couldn't make it." Twilight replied, looking down. "She um... wasn't ready to appear I guess..." 

Twilight didn't want to lie, so she just didn't tell the complete truth. The truth that Cozy was supposed to appear, but chose not to. Instead she made it seem like she never came in the first place.

"We're terribly sorry to hear that, Twilight." Rarity said.

"No no. No need to apologize. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised..." Twilight said, as her heart clouded up.

Spike and friends patted Twilight on the back. 

The Cozy Glow thing was a bust, however, that was only part one of Twilight's important things to take care of tonight. Twilight took a deep breath, and had remembered what she wanted to ask her friends.

"Remind me girls. After everyone goes home from this party, there's something important I need to ask you." Twilight said.

"Very well, Princess. But until then, I have something very important to ask you now!" Pinkie said.

*gulp* "What is it, Pinkie?" Twilight asked, worried.

"Mind if I snack on some of those imported oats?" she asked.

"Help yourself." Twilight replied.

"Many thanks." Pinkie thanked.

Pinkie Pie proceeded to chow down on Lyra's imported oats.

They're your closest friends. Of course they'd want to join you in Canterlot, right? Twilight thought. I'll ask them when everyone leaves.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cozy Glow walked through a forest alone. She'd left everyone behind, and had even left her dress behind. Eventually she settled down in front of a calm lake. She held in her hoof the key Twilight gave her that would undo her restraints allow her to use her powerful alicorn magic again. She'd already used it to to unlock her horn to able to use magic, but the only spell she'd done was a teleportation spell to send her to the deep murkiest woods she could think of. Just some place far away from any pony at all. And that was the last spell she intended on doing for now. She went through the trouble of locking her horn and wings back up.

Her powerful magic was difficult to master. However, she managed to teleport away just fine. She thought about how she probably could've pulled off a pretty spectacular light show. When she pondered what every creature's reaction might've been, she had dramatic flashbacks to her final battle with Twilight Sparkle. Every creature in Equestria was so furious. Why would tonight have been any different? It wouldn't have, at least that's what Cozy thought.

"Please, even if I escape, I have nowhere to go now..." Cozy's voice echoed.

"Then you should have picked a side." Chrysalis' voice echoed.

"Now what? Whose side are you on now?" she wondered.

Cozy clenched the key in her hooves.

"I don't deserve these powers. If all I'll ever be as an alicorn is a threat, then I denounce my alicornship!"

Cozy tossed the key into a pond.

*errrgh*

*splash*

Cozy had worked so hard for her freedom, yet here she was throwing it away. There was no point in having power if she had no friends. Real friends or not, it felt like she had zero of either.

Cozy Glow was upset, so she leaned over and laid on her back in the dirt, in an attempt to connect with nature.

"Gee, this kind of reminds me of the time I cried outside the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. Except, this time, the tears are real..."

The powerful filly let the tears seep from her eyes and slide down her face, and into the soil. 

.

.

.

It was refreshing to enjoy some time alone, except it became clear that Cozy was not alone. She heard some bustling in the bushes.

"Who's there!?" Cozy snarled.

The bushes rustled, and slowly emerged another filly.

"You?!" Cozy exclaimed. "What are you doing here?! Are you stalking me?!"

"What? No. You wandered into White Tail Woods, which just so happens to... I just so happened to already be camping here tonight." Diamond Tiara said.

"Well, I'm here because I thought of the deepest loneliest and murkiest place in Equestria to hideaway, and I wound up here. Figures I'd find the likes of you here." Cozy said.

"Is that so?" Diamond Tiara asked, irritated.

So much for Cozy's alone time. Now she was stuck with one of the most talkative fillies she knew.

"Why are you camping on the night of Twilight Sparkle's coronation anyway?" Cozy asked. "Isn't anypony who's anypony supposed to be there?"

"Nopony invited me or anyone from my family." Diamond Tiara replied. "Besides, I'm not very interested in politics. I didn't even know her coronation was today until Starlight mentioned it to me earlier."

"What could be more interesting than the coronation of a princess?" Cozy asked. "Besides, you know, everything."

"Plenty. I came out here to observe tonight's conjunction of planet 5, and planet 6. You see-" Diamond Tiara said.

Here we go. Cozy thought, while also rolling her eyes.





Diamond Tiara proceeded to geek out about planets, and the startling evidence that Equestria is a round planet. She may be a rich girl, but she was fascinated by nature. Both terrestrial, and beyond.

"So you're here observing a once in a lifetime planetary phenomena, rather than witness the coronation of a princess. Good call." Cozy admitted.

"So what about you? I was out here stargazing when I heard you crying. I was worried about you." Diamond Tiara said.

Cozy was embarrassed, and thought about how Diamond Tiara may have seen too much of her vulnerable self. She wondered how long exactly Diamond Tiara was spying on her.

"Worried about me? Pfft. Why bother?" Cozy asked.

"Well, you know, I'm actually kind of glad to see you here. I've been thinking about you lately. Worrying. And now that I've seen you, I have more questions..."

Diamond Tiara pointed to Cozy's horn, referencing the fact that she's now an alicorn.

"What? This? Heh. Well, let's just say I'm too awesome for Twilight to handle. So she wrapped me up with these rather crude restraints in an attempt to contain me." Cozy said.

"Yeah. I think I have an idea as to why Twilight would feel the need to contain you." Diamond Tiara said.

Diamond Tiara held out the foal free press. Cozy was offended when she saw the image of herself in the paper.

"Where'd you get that?" Cozy asked, irritated.

"It's a newspaper. Everypony's seen it." Diamond Tiara said.

"You just so happen to carry a newspaper around?" Cozy asked.

The front of it depicted Cozy Glow with Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis, in a fierce battle with Twilight and friends (even though that's not quite what happened this time around, it made for a nice artist rendition)

"How could you? Even after I warned you, you went ahead and tried to take over Equestria twice!" Diamond Tiara said. "Why'd you do it? Even after I warned you not to the first time, you went ahead and came up with an even crazier scheme!"

"Put that thing away right now!" Cozy exclaimed.

"Are you offended to see this? I just thought I ought to give you a taste of what everypony thinks about you. It reads: I had the fortunate to witness the final battle first hoof. I recall Princess Twilight Sparkle was trapped in a magic bubble with a deranged alicorn maniac. But with the collective strength of enough creatures, it went pop!"

*POP*





The moment Cozy Glow heard Diamond Tiara say the word pop, the sound of her magic bubble popping echoed through her head, and she had a flashback to the previous story's ending.

Twilight Sparkle and Spike huddled around a crying Cozy Glow, as every creature in Equestria fell around them.

"Uh. Heh heh. Don't worry every creature. I caught her. We win. Everything's just fine." Twilight said.

*stomp* Celestia and Luna stepped before Twilight and Cozy.

Every creature backed up to make way for royalty.

"There isn't a punishment worthy enough for what she's done!" Celestia said.

"No. No there isn't." Twilight said back to them. "It's highly unusual for a filly to commit treason of such a high level. I'd be very curious to find out what led her to do such a thing..."

Twilight held Cozy tight, and thought about what she'd said previously, and decided to act accordingly.

"Which is why I shall keep a watchful eye on this filly in the mean time. At least until a fitting and deserving punishment is decided." Twilight said.

"Isn't that right, Cozy?" Spike asked.

Cozy nodded without speaking.

Cozy felt... safe, in Twilight's grasp. A feeling she misses, sitting alone.

"But what of your coronation?" Celestia asked.

"It is fast approaching after all. You sure you would want to watch her yourself?" Luna asked. "She likely to be a hoof-full."

"I'm positive. I'll find the time." Twilight replied.

"Very well, Twilight. I trust you know best." Celestia said.

"There hasn't been any foe proven to be too irredeemable yet with enough coaxing. And Cozy Glow shall be no different different different...

Twilight's words faded slowly...





Back in the present, Cozy paused, and held back her tears.

"Is this the pony you want to be?" Diamond Tiara asked, pointing to the newspaper.

"It's the pony I wanted to be, at that time." Cozy replied. "With my new... teammates by my side, and access to so much power, it just felt so right to try to take over Equestria. But now I have no idea what I want to be, other than invisible honestly. Twilight Sparkle wants me to make friends the traditional way, but that's never worked for me! The only time anypony even pays attention to me, is when I lie to them. But now that everypony has seen the real me, they all hate me." Cozy said.

Cozy stared at her reflection in the lake, when she saw Diamond Tiara's reflection come closer.

"Well, I don't hate you." she said. "I don't think you're all bad. I think you're pretty neat."

Cozy continued to mope, and did not entertain Diamond Tiara .

"I know that that raging alicorn isn't you. You're better than that. I've seen you be better. I know you can do better."

Diamond Tiara sat close to Cozy, but surprisingly she didn't push back.

*sigh* "You know, when I tried to warn you not to pursue anything mischievous, I never could have imagined the scope of your ambition. From depleting all the magic, to now harnessing all this magic for yourself, it really goes above and beyond what any other filly could ever do. But that's what I like about you. You aim high. I only tried to warn you because I knew that any sort of evil plan you could come up with, whether you were successful or not, would eventually result in your own misery.

"You don't know half of the misery. I narrowly escaped an eternity of infinite suffering..." Cozy said.

"I don't like to see you in pain. I'm glad you're here, but you're in pain right now anyway. I can tell, even if you don't tell me. I used to be a lot like you. Manipulating everypony to do what I wanted. I thought I was happy having everypony doing my bidding. But, it wasn't sustainable. Even my best friend Silver Spoon turned on me when I mistreated her. I was devastated, but then the Cutie Mark Crusaders reached their hooves out during my moment of greatest sorrow, and it worked. Despite all the horrible things I did to them, they were willing to be my friend."

Cozy Glow tried to not let her emotions show.

"I take it you're in a similar boat. You want ponies to like you, but you're scared everypony hates you after what you did." Diamond Tiara said.

"Humph. I could care less what everypony thinks." Cozy said.

"Maybe so, but you do care what they do to you." Diamond Tiara said. "You're still hurt from the incident. You almost had nopony reach out to you. If Twilight Sparkle didn't miraculously reach out in the midst of battle, then you probably wouldn't be here right now..."

Cozy's nerves tensed up as Diamond Tiara poked deep into her.

"So what? What difference does it make if I'm here or not..." Cozy said. "Equestria seemed just fine without me. They'd be fine for another 1,000 years without me..."

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you're here." she said.

*sniff* "You are?" Cozy asked, choked up. "You're not lying, are you?"

Diamond Tiara nodded affirmatively. "I wouldn't want anything bad happening to you again. I care about you, Cozy." she said.

"Well, that's nice I guess..." Cozy said. 

It became harder and harder to suppress her feelings. Cozy looked at Diamond Tiara. Cozy's eyes shimmered when she looked at Diamond Tiara.

"I hope I'm not being too bothersome. I'm not here to boss you around. I'm here to listen to you." she said.

"Well, okay. I hope you're ready to listen. It's just, they put me in Tartarus. Then They were going to turn me to stone for a very long time. I was so close to a terrible fate, that I thought I'd never see Equestria again. *sniff* Why are you the lucky one? Why'd they help you but not me?" Cozy cried.

"Well, I didn't do anything catastrophic or world ending, but uh, you have a point. I'm not sure what kind of pills Celestia and Luna have been taking lately, but you're lucky that Twilight is helping you at all. But I think a few more friends couldn't hurt."

"Heh. Finally, some creature that gets me that isn't some horrifying world ending demon." Cozy said. "But uh... no offense to Lord Tirek or Queen Chrysalis of course."

*giggle* "You're so funny, Cozy." Diamond Tiara said.

Cozy Glow was starting to ease up.





The two fillies laid on their backs and looked up through a clearing in the forest, and watched the stars.

"Ah... I love coming out here and viewing the stars. You may not know this, but I am a bit of a nature conservationist at heart. I used to love spending time at my Great-Grandma's old cabin out here."

Normally Cozy would be bored by such tales, but she was starting to get into it.

"You know, they say these woods are enchanted. Protected by the Spirit of the forest, or at least, that's what my Great-Grandma used to tell me and my dad." Diamond Tiara said.

"Neat, I guess." Cozy replied.

"So what do you think of tonight, Cozy?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Well, if you asked me while I was in Tartarus what I missed about the outside world, the stars wouldn't have been on the top of my list at the time, but it feels nice to see them again." Cozy said, amazed.

"The stars are very nice. And they look just like they did when I was a little filly." Diamond Tiara said.

"Yeah, stars don't change much over time, but they do change based on geography. And you know what? The stars look so different here than they do..." Cozy said.

"...Than they do where?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"...Than they do at my birth home." Cozy replied. "I'm from far away. Nopony practiced friendship where I'm from. So I enrolled myself into Twilight Sparkle's school to learn what this friendship stuff was about. But when I got there, the school was just teeming with magic, and uh... I made my own avenue... as you might've heard about."

"Anyway, stars. Since my home was at a different latitude than here, so these stars are strangers to me." Cozy said.

"Well, I'll be your guide to all things unfamiliar." Diamond Tiara said, affirmatively.

Diamond Tiara's openness made Cozy... smile.

"I didn't really expect us to connect on any level, but you know what, it's nice speaking to another powerful filly." Cozy said.

"Me? Powerful? Come on. The power I have compared you is miniscule!" Diamond Tiara said.

"Oh please, you're rich. Money is plenty powerful. You should know that." Cozy said.

"Can money persuade ponies to bend to your will? Can money overthrow Equestria? Can money... Oh, I guess it can do all those things. hehe." Diamond Tiara said.

The two fillies shared a playful laughter.

"I can tell the two of us are gonna get along just fine..." Cozy said, laid back and relaxed.

"Yeah. I think I'm a much better match for you than Pipsqueak. Frankly I'm surprised you dated Pipsqueak for as long as you did." Diamond Tiara said.

"Heh, right. My boyfriend Pip. We were never really a thing. I just sort of really felt bad for the loser, that I couldn't help but give him some attention. I don't even really know if he really thought of me as anything. I certainly never felt much for him." Cozy explained.

Cozy relaxed some more, but the more she thought about what Diamond Tiara said, she realized something.

"...Wait. What do you mean when you say a better match?" Cozy asked.

"Uh... I just meant, uh you know, I don't know why you bothered dating him if you didn't like him. Not that I'd ever think to, do anything like that with you heh..." Diamond Tiara said, nervously.

Cozy looked at Diamond Tiara, strangely. 

The two fillies laid back and relaxed, and enjoyed their company. She felt good. It felt good to be with a friend, but she had the sinking suspicion Diamond Tiara wanted something more... and her suspicions were soon backed up by what happened next. (except not really) 

Her tranquility was interrupted by someone breathing into her face.

*groan* "Would you take a step back?! Is this what you really wanted from me?! HUH!? And quit breathing and drooling on me! We barely know each other!" Cozy exclaimed.

"Cozy! That isn't me!" Diamond Tiara said. Her voice was clearly not emanating from the source of the breathing. So what was it?

Cozy opened her eyes and saw-

"Oh." Cozy said, unsurprised.

*ROAR* A vicious Timberwolf was suddenly directly above Cozy. It had roared in Cozy's face.

"Golly, a Timberwolf!" Cozy said, sarcastically.

"In the White Tail Woods?!" Diamond Tiara asked.

The Timberwolf turned and and roared at Diamond Tiara.

"AAHH!" Diamond Tiara screamed.

Diamond Tiara's scream caught the attention of the Timberwolf.

"Get away from me! AH!" she screamed.

"Look out!" Cozy exclaimed.

Cozy pushed Diamond Tiara out of the way, and put herself in the Timberwolf's sight

"Get your claws away from her!" Cozy exclaimed.

Cozy smacked the Timberwolf with her hooves, which made it very angry.

"Cozy Glow!" Diamond Tiara screamed.

"AAHHH!"

*gulp*

Cozy Glow was swallowed whole by the Timberwolf.

"COZY!" she screamed.

Suddenly Diamond Tiara was surrounded by multiple Timberwolves. They circled around her and trapped her at the scene.

"Somepony help!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed.





Meanwhile, Cozy sat in the belly of the wooden beast, unable to use her own magic to escape.

"Humph. Yeah, some protector of the forest." Cozy sassed. "Good job, Spirit! You caught the worst filly in Equestria. You saved the day. Woo hoo..."
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the previous chapter, Cozy Glow was swallowed whole by a Timberwolf. She now sat in the belly of the wooden beast.

With her magic locked down, there wasn't much she could do to escape.

"EERGH! If it weren't for these restraints, I could just blast my way out of here!" she exclaimed.

But there was something she could do after all. There was a way out. Inside the belly, Cozy found the green orb inside keeping the Timberwolf form in tact.

"Hmm." Cozy wondered if there was a way to use the Timberwolf's magic to her assistance.

How did Headmare Twilight escape Tartarus despite the fact that so much magic had been depleted? Tirek told me that she gathered droplets of magic from every corner and every creature she could in order to escape. I wonder if I can pull off something similar... she thought.





Meanwhile outside, Diamond Tiara was being rounded up by a team of Timberwolfs. They surrounded her, and terrified her.

"Somepony help us!" she exclaimed.

Diamond Tiara braced for the worse, when a bright red glow shined onto her. She opened her eyes, and saw that suddenly, one of the Timberwolves started glowing red on the inside.

*BOOM*

The Timberwolf burst apart, and pieces expelled from all directions, and where it once stood, was Cozy Glow. Free from her restraints, she was now hovering with her large wings, and her horn poised and glowing.

She saw Diamond Tiara surrounded by a group of Timberwolves.

"Get your paws off of her you Timberfreaks!" Cozy said aggressively.

Cozy Glow charged her magic. The glowing orb on the end of her horn was massive, it was as bright as the sun, and lit up the forest.

Cozy Glow looked at Diamond Tiara. As the light radiated from her horn, and cast stark shadows on the filly, she could see how terrified she was, but it wasn't because of the Timberwolves, and Cozy knew why.

Cozy was ready to blast those Timberwolves, but all of the sudden, for some reason, it didn't feel right. Upon realizing who the real monster in the scene was, Cozy realized she had to change her plan.

She powered down her magic, and began to think more... thoughtfully.

"Starswirl wasn't admired because he was the most powerful. It's because he created spells to help ponies." Cozy said to herself, repeating what Twilight had told her.

Cozy lit up her horn once again, but this time, it was a lot less furious, and more... deliberate.

"You want me to perform, Twilight? Well here's my magic performance." she said to herself.

Cozy decided the best way to handle the situation was not to destroy the Timberwolves, but instead to dazzle them.

She began her performance by flying higher into the air. She then dove down and flew around with her horn lit up. Her magic traced a trail of light, which traced the path she took through the air. The magic stayed in place. She flew in a swirl and flew circles around the Timberwolves. The trails of magic light glowed a dazzling light red. The glow dazed the Timberwolves, their eyes dilated and they stopped in their tracks. Diamond Tiara was also impressed. So much so she was frozen and didn't think to try to run away.

With the Timberwolves distracted, Cozy Glow swooped in and scooped up Diamond Tiara by her hooves.

"I got you." Cozy said.

The Timberwolves were not pleased, and started to growl at Cozy.

Diamond Tiara was visibly worried, but Cozy assured her she had a plan.

"Alright, I'm gonna need your help to finish this off." Cozy said.

"Me? But how? I don't have any magic to lend you." Diamond Tiara said.

"I don't need you to lend me unicorn magic per se. Instead, I would like it if you lent me some...thing else." Cozy said.

"Whatever you need from me, I'd be happy to oblige." Diamond Tiara said, pressing her face against Cozy's face.

Cozy Glow pressed her forehead against Diamond Tiara's forehead, and her horn lit up even brighter. Diamond Tiara gasped, and knew exactly the kind of magic Cozy needed to get them through this.

"Hold on tight." Cozy said.

Cozy, holding Diamond Tiara, flapped her large wings and flew around the forest once more, and again tracing beautiful trails of magic.

The trails of magic glowed extremely bright, thanks to Diamond Tiara's aura helping Cozy. Cozy deliberately traced circles around the three Timberwolves, and with the loop complete.

"That should do it." she said.

Her horn lit up extra bright, and BOOM!

Her magic sparkled into a sparkling light show, and ceased the Timberwolf magic, turning them to a pile of twigs. 

Diamond Tiara opened her eyes,  and saw she had wrapped her hooves around Cozy as she heroically rescued her.

"So beautiful..." Diamond Tiara said, blushing.

"...Huh?" Cozy asked.

"The uh... the light! The burst of light was pretty beautiful." Diamond Tiara said, blushing.

"Thanks. Huh, I'm glad you think so." Cozy said, looking down.

"What's wrong?" Diamond Tiara asked.

*sigh* "I knew I had it in me, but I... still, even if it went perfectly, I'm just anxious that ponies won't be pleased to see me." Cozy said.

"Then wouldn't that have been the whole point of dazzling them?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Win them over with a light show? As if. Takes more than that to change their minds." Cozy said.

"Well, I was impressed. It definitely swept me off my hooves." Diamond Tiara said.

"Yeah, I guess I did." I wonder what everypony would have thought of it. Cozy thought.

"You know, I couldn't have done it without your support." Cozy said.

"But how exactly did I enhance your magic?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Let's just say..." Cozy blushed. "I found uh... inside I... with you... you um..."

The two fillies were getting cozier with each other. But the moment was interrupted.

*clap* *clap*

"Pip pip, hooray!" somepony exclaimed.

"Who's there?!" Cozy exclaimed.

"AH!" Diamond Tiara screamed as Cozy dropped her.

Cozy Glow dropped Diamond Tiara when she heard the voice of a foal squeal out.

Cozy lit up her horn, and panned her head around the scene.

Emerging from the twigs was none other than.

"Pipsqueak!?" Cozy and Diamond Tiara said simultaneously.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Cozy asked.

"I don't exactly know. I don't know how it happened, but it sorta did. I was compelled to follow this sinking feeling, and suddenly I'm here with you. The rest was a blur." Pip explained.

Diamond Tiara noticed he was covered in leaves and twigs.

"You were a Timberwolf?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"What a twist." Cozy said.

"No, not Twist. I'm Pipsqueak." Pip said. "Wow, long time no see, Cozy Glow. I'm so glad to see you. I was worried about you, Cozy. After you disappeared after the magic incident, I was worried I wouldn't see you again."

"You were worried about me?" Cozy asked.

"Yeah, I'd have been really sad if I never saw you again." Pip said.

"Yeah. Well, kid, you're lucky you live on this timeline. And, I'm glad to live here too..." Cozy said, smiling.

Pipsqueak ran up and hugged Cozy Glow.

"And may I say, I'm happy to see you not only free, but now you're a princess!" Pip said, rubbing his face against Cozy.

"I'm a what?" Cozy asked, surprised.

"You've got both wings and a horn now. Like Princess Twilight, or Princess Luna." Pip said.

"But, Pip, not all alicorns are princesses." Cozy explained, while also pushing Pipsqueak off of her.

"But all princesses are alicorns. So if what you said rings true, then you're the only alicorn who's not a princess." Diamond Tiara said.

"I mean, there's a very good reason for that. And that isn't likely to change." Cozy said.

"Well, Princess of Equestria or not, you're a Princess to me." Pip said.
"And me too." Diamond Tiara added.

The two foals put their hooves onto Cozy, and comforted her.

Cozy was comforted by her two... I guess they're truly her friends. They were both worried for Cozy Glow after she was sent to Tartarus. Tonight made for a sweet reunion. They were relieved to see Cozy okay.





The three fillies looked through Diamond Tiara's diamond encrusted pink telescope to observe the conjunction of the two planets.

"I thought planets were just stars that moved around funny." Pip said.

"Well, if they are stars, then they must be relatively close, which is why they move through the sky much faster than distant stars." Cozy said.

"What if distant stars are just other suns, but super far away, and planets are like other Equestrias." Diamond Tiara speculated.

"I find that unlikely, but that would be pretty out of this world." Cozy said.

The three of them enjoyed the stargazing, but it was getting late, and little Pip could only keep his eyes opened for so much longer.

"Well, *yawn* It's getting awfully late." Pipsqueak said.

"So do you guys want to camp with me? I have a tent set up, and plenty of extra sleeping bags." Diamond Tiara said.

"Why sure. I've never gone camping before, but I've always wanted to." Pip replied, softly.





Diamond Tiara led the two to her little tent she'd set up. Cozy used her magic to lift Diamond Tiara's heavy telescope and carry it to the tent.

"Nice tent you have set up." Cozy said. "But I'm confused. Why are we camping here? Haven't you had enough of the forest?"

"You know, aside from the Timberwolf attack, this place is actually quite tranquil. Besides, you defeated all those Timberwolves. It's definitely safe now. I trust these woods." Diamond Tiara said. "I always believed the Spirit of the forest would protect me. And now I have you to protect me too."





Inside the tent, Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak were snug in their own sleeping bags. Cozy Glow was sitting down next to her friends. The only source of light was a dim red glow emanating from Cozy's horn.

"You need sleep, Pip. A big boy needs his eight hours of sleep." Cozy said, rubbing her hoof on Pip's hair.

"Will you be staying over for the night, Cozy?" Diamond Tiara asked. "We have an extra sleeping bag."

Cozy looked around, unsure. It would've been nice to sleepover with her friends, but she couldn't help but think of Twilight. The new ruler of Equestria probably would have been really pleased to see her magic show.

She really did have it in her after all. She was just afraid to show off to every creature.

"I don't think so. I'll stick around for a little bit longer, but there's somewhere I gotta be... there's someone I have to apologize to..." Cozy said.

"Well, you do you, Cozy. Right whatever wrongs you feel need to be corrected." Diamond Tiara said.

"Right..." Cozy said, doubtfully.

Cozy realized the importance of. She'd hardly ever felt guilty for anything, but now she felt guilty for leaving Twilight the way she did.

"So, how does it feel to have real friends now?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"What do you mean by 'real friends'?" Cozy asked.

"You know, not just pawns or tools to use in your games. Like, real friends who help you out, and make you feel good." Diamond Tiara elaborated.

"It feels, sure... good, as you say." Cozy replied. "I like how it feels." she added, smiling.

Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak closed their eyes, and Cozy merely sat there watching them, and thinking out loud to them.

"I didn't think anyone would be happy to see me like this, but you two seemed impressed, which kinda felt nice... Felt really nice actually. To be admired for who you are, and not having to hide away. But also, being adored because you helped somepony in need... Maybe this is what it really means to..."

Having them as company felt nice.

It had seemed like Pipsqueak and Diamond Tiara had fallen fast asleep. Having their close friend Cozy next to them made them both feel warm. Her presence relaxed them, and they fell to sleep swiftly.

"You two sleep well." Cozy said.

Cozy Glow slowly dimmed her horn, and then the scene was pitch as dark.

Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak were now sound asleep.

"You two have some sweet dreams." Cozy said, softly.





Cozy walked out of the tent, and looked at the sky. She thought about Twilight, and how best to apologize to her, but couldn't think of an appropriate way yet.





Meanwhile, back in Canterlot, the festivities were just about done. Pinkie Pie waved goodbye to each of the guests one at a time. But in Twilight's mind, she couldn't say goodbye fast enough. She was eager to have a private conversation with her friends.

"I can't believe Cozy Glow just left like that." Twilight said to Spike.

"You can't just sit and be upset about it. What are you gonna do, Twilight?"

*sigh* "I don't know. I am just so fed up right now. I haven't wanted everypony to leave one of Pinkie's parties so badly since... since..." Twilight said.

"Since your very first party? Pinkie's Welcome to Ponyville Party?" Spike asked.

"...It's been a long time." Twilight said.

Fortunately, she didn't have to wait much longer.

Pinkie Pie waved goodbye to the last guest leaving, which left just Twilight, Spike, and the rest of the mane 6 in the courtyard.

"Alright. It's time to ask that important question." Twilight said. "Let's see if any of them are interested in coming to Canterlot with me."

Twilight walked up to her friends.

"You were great, Twilight." Starlight said.

"I suppose..." Twilight said, looking down.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"Aside from Cozy Glow walking away from my coronation..." Twilight took a deep breath before continuing her thought. "Girls... I've been wondering..."

"Yes, Twilight?" Rarity asked.

"Girls... would you..." Twilight bit her lip. This was harder than she thought it'd be to ask. "Would you like to join me in ruling Equestria?" Twilight asked swiftly.

She closed her eyes, preparing for her friends to revolt. But instead, there was a pause in the air.

"But why, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Because... I could use the extra help?" Twilight said. "We can have like a friendship counsel. The seven of us will be in charge of Equestria. That way, we minimize the chance of-"

"You sure 'bout that, Twilight?" Applejack asked.

"So is that a no?" Twilight asked.

"It's just, Princess Celestia appointed you, not us." Rarity said.

"And now that I'm ruler, I can appoint you to any role you want! It's just, we're the mane 6! Not the Twilight 6! I've never saved Equestria alone! I've always done it with my friends!" Twilight said.

"Twilight. We're humbled by your offer..." Rarity said.

"But..." Twilight said.

"It's just, if I move to Canterlot, who's going to watch my animal sanctuary?" Fluttershy asked.

"Just because you're risin', doesn't mean you're leavin' us behind." Applejack said.

"That's exactly what it means! I'm being crowned princess of everything, while the rest of you are stuck living your same old lives!" Twilight exclaimed.

Her friends were silent. What she said came across as very harsh.

"Not that your lives aren't worthwhile of course, it's just..." Twilight said.

"Okay, so maybe that's exactly what it means. But it doesn't have to be so bad." Rainbow Dash said.

"But-" Twilight started. "I can find things for you all to do! Originally I made Spike Royal Advisor, but he complained saying that wasn't a real role, so I appointed him my Royal Knight instead, giving him an actual title with actual purpose." she explained.

"Twilight." Pinkie said.

"I just, I don't want you girls to feel like your lives are unremarkable compared to mine. I'm sorry." Twilight wept.

"But, Twilight. We already have purpose in our day to day lives." Rarity said.

"Being us ain't so bad." Pinkie Pie said. "We don't need to be royalty to be happy."

"But being me, now it doesn't get more awesome than that." Rainbow Dash said.

"I see. So being royal isn't awesome..." Twilight said.

"Wha? NO! She didn't mean it like that, Twilight." Applejack said.

"I see how it is..." Twilight added.

Applejack went in to try to explain things better.

"Look, we'll always be friends, Twi. And we'll always be a team. But royalty, rulin' the land, that's your thing." Applejack said. "We'll be fine, Twilight. And that's the honest truth."

"So the next time King Sombra decides to awaken, you know exactly which ponies to round up." Rainbow Dash said.

"Thanks, girls." Twilight said, looking uneasy. "YOur words really *gulp* mean the world to me..." 

So, this is what it comes to. My friends are totally fine abandoning me. Heck, Celestia and Luna up and abandoned me, and their duties to project Equestria by putting me in charge. And then Cozy Glow goes and abandons me. Who hasn't abandoned me by this point?! Twilight thought.

"You alright, Twilight?" Starlight asked.

"Hello!? Equestria to Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Twilight?" Spike asked.

Inside Twilight's mind, her mind spiraled out of control, and externally, her horn started to glow in an unstable fashion. She felt her mind being overwhelmed, clouded up by a dark magic. She felt an unexplainable compulsion, and just so happened to shout.

"If my friends will not join me—if this is truly goodbye—If I am to be the one to rule Equestria—then I shall rule Equestria the way Celestia did for 1,000 years! ALONE!"
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside, Twilight looked stressed. Like, really badly. Her eyes were glowing, and her horn was glowing uncontrollably.

Twilight backed away from her friends. She was worried, and didn't want to hurt them.

"I-I'm so sorry,. I didn't mean, I-I just-" Twilight closed her eyes and looked away to hide her tears.

"Twilight? Are you okay?" Spike asked.

"It's okay, Twilight." Rainbow Dash said.

"Don't worry. We'll always be your friends." Pinkie Pie said.

"Come on, Twilight. Whatever's bothering you, just talk it out with us." Starlight said.

Twilight backed away from her friends, quivering her legs.

"No. Get away from me. You're not safe from me!" Twilight exclaimed.

Her horn lit up and threatened her friends. They backed away from her. She immediately felt remorse.

"GAH!" Twilight exclaimed.

Twilight snapped.

"Twilight!!" everypony exclaimed.

Her horn lit up even brighter, and Twilight surrounded herself in a big magic bubble. Twilight encased herself in a large magic forcefield to hide herself from everypony else.

"Oh dear!" Fluttershy worried.

"What do we do?" Rarity asked.

"What did we do to cause this?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm not sure. But whatever it is, we can solve it, right?" Starlight asked. "Any ideas?"

"It's not so much a full plan, but I have a general idea on what we should do." Spike said.

But before they could do anything about Twilight, a familiar filly paid a visit to the scene. She looked from the entrance of the courtyard, and watched the events unfold.

"What kind of friendship conundrum did I just walk into?" Cozy Glow asked herself.

Another magic bubble? Seriously? How many of these am I going to have to deal with before I can just relax?she thought.

What is a powerful alicorn filly to do when they see the ruler of Equestria in a vulnerable state? Probably not this.

She walked up to Twilight's friends.

"W-What's going on here?" Cozy Glow asked, in an innocent tone.

*gasp* "Cozy Glow!" everyone exclaimed.

There she was at last. Cozy Glow, wearing a black cloak to hide her unrestrained wings and horn.

"What's with the cloak?" Rarity asked.

"I uh... it's cold. Okay? Equestria hasn't exactly warmed up since the Windigos were banished." Cozy said.

Cozy looked at the sight. Half surprised, but also half pleased? Maybe it was amusement.

Heh. Looks like I've gotten under Twilight's skin after all. I never could have imagined it would've been this effective. Cozy thought in her head, but externally, she acted innocent.

"I-I just came back to apologize about earlier. What's this about?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. We just told Twilight we'd rather not move to Canterlot, and then she up'n flipped out." AJ explained.

"We have to try to reach her!" Starlight said.

Cozy Glow looked at Twilight surrounded in the magic bubble.

If I were still the old me, I'd say something like 'Twilight is unfit to rule', and have her thrown into Tartarus. However, I'm a changed filly. So instead, I should probably just try to talk to her. Cozy thought.

Cozy had an important decision to make. What did she want for the future of Equestria? It all came down to her actions from this point, and she knew what needed to be done.

"I'm going in!" Cozy said, determined.

"What?" everypony exclaimed.

"Are you sure you want to go in there?" Starlight asked.

"The only way we can undo this is to get through to her." Cozy said.

"Shouldn't we be the ones to help Twilight?" Rarity asked. "She's our long time friend after all." 

"Uh, I'd hold off on that. You guys did kinda set her off by rejecting her offer at royalty." Cozy said.

Her friends scratched their heads nervously.

Cozy Glow stood in front of everypony. She walked up slowly and touched her hoof against the bubble. It was a solid forcefield for sure. It was clear she was going to need some extra oomph to get through.

Cozy threw off the cloak, revealing her magic and wings were free and unbounded.

*gasp*

"Cozy, your magic!" Starlight exclaimed.

"What about it?" she asked.

"Careful! She's free!" Rarity said.

Cozy was surprised at the cold reception. Maybe she made the right call by skipping her magical showcase after all. Just seeing her in control of her horn made them wince.

"What's the matter, ponies? Are you intimidated by my awesomeness?" Cozy asked, sassy. "Scared to see the real me?"

"This ain't the real you! You're just a fake alicorn who got'a hold'a Grogar's bell, and fudged herself to be an alicorn!" Applejack exclaimed.

"Oooh..." everypony said.

"Ouch." Cozy got stuffed up."Oookay... That was harsh."

"But am I wrong?" AJ shot back.

Don't argue back. Arguing only makes things worse. Cozy thought.

Rather than listen to her own advice, she couldn't keep her thoughts bottled up.

"Then what do you think the real me is? HUH!? I'd like to hear your thoughts!" Cozy said.

"Calm down, Cozy." Spike said.

But she continued to argue.

"What about Twilight? Twilight wasn't born an alicorn. What makes her alicornship more legitimate than mine?" Cozy asked.

"Well for starters, Twilight earned her abilities at the moment she was ready, and-" Starlight started.

"And you up an stole magic to make yerself powerful for evil intents.-" Applejack added.

"Pfft. Forget about the semantics!" Cozy said. "You guys have serious trust issues. Now if you don't mind, I would like to speak with my mentor."

"Nuh-uh. You step away from her. For all we know, you may be responsible for this!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Blaming Cozy on everything again, huh? It's all Cozy's fault! That proves it. You guys don't trust me." Cozy said. "If that's what you believe, then shouldn't I be the one to fix my mistake? You guys have such double standards. You trusted Discord to undo his mistake by turning me and the legion to-" Cozy started, but was interrupted.

"-Would you quit bringing up that sob story! We get it! We almost stoned you! It could've happened, but it didn't!" Rainbow Dash said.

Everypony paused for a moment. Rainbow Dash came across as overly harsh. She even took a step back, not realizing how loud she was.

"With that attitude, I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet." Cozy said.

"You wanna try us?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Rainbow Dash got in Cozy's face.

"Hey hey, take it easy now. Let's just stop before somepony says something they'll regret." Spike said, but Cozy was in the heat of arguing, and blurted out anyway.

"I'm not surprised you guys sent Twilight into a spiraling state of solitude! You guys barely radiate any friendship at all!!" Cozy exclaimed.

*gasp* Everypony backed away, and was shocked.

*AIR HORN* Suddenly a very loud air horn went off and startled everyone.

"What the?!" everypony exclaimed.

The loud horn scared everypony. They covered their eyes. But who made the noise? It was-

"Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash scolded.

"Who's side are'ya on?" AJ asked.

"What side? I'm just trying to get Twilight's attention. Geez." Pinkie said.

She blasted the air horn once again, but this time, Cozy snagged the air horn with her magic, and crushed it, and tossed it carelessly on the ground.

"Where were we?" Cozy asked.

"You were about to apologize to us." Rarity said, firmly.

"Apologize for what?" Cozy asked. "For exposing the hypocrisy of your so-called friendship?!"

*gasp* everypony gasped again. (everyone's going to be out of breath at this rate)

"Cozy Glow!" Spike exclaimed.

Cozy looked at Spike.

"You are... you are... *sigh* You're not wrong." Spike admitted.

"What the-" Rarity exclaimed. 
"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Spike?! How could you?" Starlight asked.

"Just listen. I mean, she isn't totally right. I wouldn't go that far. But, she are onto something. We haven't exactly been on our A-game with friendship lately." 

The ponies shook their heads, and realized Spike had a point. They thought about recent times friendship gave conflicting messages. Namely how they had to save the legion... from themselves.

"You know, you guys haven't exactly given our new friend the warmest reception." Spike said.

"New... what?" Cozy asked, under her breath.

"Here comes Cozy Glow offering to help Twilight, but then here come you guys who flip out when you see she has full access to her magic. You lashed out before she even did anything with her magic." Spike said.

The ponies scratched their heads in shame. They were a bit quick to react to Cozy's presence.

"You can't expect Cozy to change if we don't first set an example." Spike said. "We've all learned and grown so much by solving friendship problems, so it's only fair to give Cozy a chance to solve one too." 

Spike reached and held Cozy's hoof and looked at her, giving her his support.

"Are there still any objections?" Spike asked.

Everypony shook their heads, unsure.

"Thanks, Spike."Cozy said under her breath.

"We're sorry, Cozy." Starlight apologized. "I guess some of us have just been a little paranoid lately."

"I guess we're the ones who haven't learned anything. Twilight gave you a second chance, and here we are denouncing it." Rarity said.

"She wouldn'ta done it if she didn't have her reasons, so it's only fair we give ya a chance jus like she did." AJ said.

Nopony had ever really apologized to Cozy before. She wasn't sure how to accept it.

"Uh... thanks I guess." Cozy said. "All this friendship stuff is still so foreign to me, so forgive me if I come across as ungrateful. Really I appreciate the honesty..." she said quietly.

"We're sorry, Cozy." everypony said together.

"Can you ever forgive us?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, I gotta start somewhere..." Cozy said.

"Anything we can do to make up to you?" Starlight asked.

"All I can ask from you guys for now is a moment to speak with Twilight. I have something I want to tell her that I think she'll be pleased to hear." Cozy said.

If I tell Twilight that I made two new friends, will that be enough? Will she be proud of me? Or is she too upset that I ditched her? Cozy wondered in her head.

"Sounds like a plan to me. So, Cozy, ready to solve your first real friendship problem?" Spike asked.

Cozy stood up and leaned her hoof against the magic forcefield casually.

"Come on guys, this'll be easy! Don't worry, I've had weeks to practice magic. How hard could this be?" Cozy asked.

Cozy leaned against the forcefield, but suddenly her horn glowed, and suddenly everypony noticed her hoof sink into the magic field.

"WOAH!" Cozy phased through the bubble's wall unexpectedly and she fell inside.

"Cozy!" everypony exclaimed.

Starlight fired a blast of magic at the forcefield, but could not break it.

"I still can't get through." Starlight said.

"Then how did Cozy just waltz in there?" AJ asked.

"I'm not sure. It's like Twilight sort of just invited her inside." Starlight replied.

"We can't just sit here and wait for something to happen. We gotta do something." Fluttershy said.

Spike looked inside. "Come on, Cozy. You know how to reach her. I know you do."





Cozy was now within the magic bubble. The magic inside was so strong, she levitated without even thinking, almost like gravity had shut off, or was being counteracted. She looked up and saw Twilight Sparkle floating in the center of the bubble. Her eyes were glowing and were completely white.

"Twilight!" Cozy exclaimed. "Twilight! Can you hear me!?"

Cozy Glow was overwhelmed by the magic surrounding her.

"I can't get through..." she said to herself. She was confounded by the force inside and could barely move.

"Oh, Twilight! I have something to tell you. Not to inspire you with some inspirational friendship story, but instead I'm here to rub it in your face!" Cozy exclaimed.

Cozy concentrated her magic very hard to try to reach Twilight, but it was extremely difficult. Her face scrunched and she became frustrated, and overwhelmed by the magic inside.

"Would you just listen to me, Twilight Sparkle!!" Cozy exclaimed.

"AAHHH!!!"

Cozy was pushed back by a thrust of force. She fell over and lost her sense of orientation. She couldn't tell up from down. As she struggled to regain balance, it felt like she was fighting through a fluid. Before she knew it, she literally was submerged in a fluid. It really felt like she was under water. She held her breath. She looked up a saw light peeking through, and swam to the light. She made it to the "surface" and gasped for air. Thankfully, she found a solid ground to stand on. She climbed up, and laid on her back, as she gasped for air. The bright sun glared onto her face, as she squinted.

"I'm so done with this. I'm... I'm..." 

*RING*

"I'm late for class?"

Cozy looked over, and saw she was in front of Twilight's School of Friendship. That's what it appeared to be, but she couldn't believe it.

She went inside, but it was completely empty of any other creatures.

She'd wondered how she got back here. She figured she ought to check out Headmare Twilight's office for answers. Thankfully no other ponies meant no lines to see Headmare Twilight.

Inside Twilight's office, there she was. Twilight sat in her chair, facing opposite the entrance.

Cozy walked in slowly, unsure what had happened or why she was here.

She noticed that on Twilight's desk, was a stone bust of Cozy's head. Odd decoration...

"Um, Twilight?" Cozy asked.

"Hello, Cozy Glow." Twilight said, still facing away.

"Are you upset with me?" Cozy asked.

"Where have you been, Cozy Glow? You wandered off without permission, and unsupervised." Twilight said.

"I know, but I think you'll be glad when I tell you what I did while I was gone. See, me and some other ponies we-"

"Do you have any idea how much trouble I could have gotten into?! Imagine if Celestia or Luna had found you first. MY student! Equestria's biggest threat, gone rogue under my supervision! If anypony else saw you and reported it, the commotion that could've ensued! Do you have any idea how bad that would've been?!" Twilight exclaimed.

Twilight apparently knew how to strike it where it hurt. Cozy took a step back, and wept as her mentor scolded her for what she did.

"I-I'm sorry Twilight. I-it's just-" Cozy said, sympathetically.

"Even if you weren't comfortable showing off, then you should have just told me instead of pretending and then changing your mind at the last minute without telling me!" Twilight said.

Cozy choked up at hearing her Headmare berate her so harshly.

"Just tell me how I can make Equestria better, Twilight." Cozy wept.

"You already know how you can do that." Twilight said, except that Twilight's voice had changed completely. She sounded just like...

"Discord?" Cozy asked.

The chair turned around revealing that Twilight's eyes were yellow with red pupils, and one pupil larger than the other. She looked very unnatural and scary looking. But those eyes were an exact match for-

"Discord!" Cozy explained.

"As I was saying, you already know how you can make Equestria better." Discord said, putting a single finger of his talon on the Cozy Glow bust. He slowly dragged his finger and scraped it. "So why don't you just drop like a stone?"

Cozy looked at the bust of herself again. It now looked much more distressed.

*gasp* Cozy put her hoof to her mouth.

"Don't worry. I don't turn ponies to stone." Discord said. "Just like how I would never betray, or lie to my friends." 

Discord's talon emanated charges of lightning. Discord held out his talon and fired at Cozy.

*ZAP*

"AH!"

Cozy just barely jumped out of the way.

"Leave me alone!" Cozy cried.

Cozy flew out the door, but when she did, the hallway stretched in front of her.

"What is going on?!"

Suddenly, she was now in the school's underground caverns. She flew around searching for an exit or something, when suddenly she encountered a familiar sight.

"WOAH!!"

She skid her hooves on the ground, and came to a stop right before she collided with a familiar sight.

*gasp* "But how? What?"

In front of Cozy, in the basement below the school, was none other than the spell she had previously created in School Raze. In front of her were the Six Items beaming to a big orb in the center of the room, as the magic in the land was presumably being drained.

"Oh no. Not this! Not again! I gotta stop it!" Cozy said to herself.

She tried to use her magic to move the Talisman of Mirage, but her magic grip on the talisman was fizzling out as her magic weakened.

"Oh no! It's happening!" she said.

Cozy rushed over and tried to pull out the item with her bare hooves, but even that approach wasn't going to work.

*gasp*

A ghostly hand reached from the orb in the center and tried to grab her horn. Cozy flapped her wings and lunged away from the circle.

"AH!" Something else interjected in Cozy's way.

She bumped into an object that gave a hollow rang when she hit it. Behind her was another familiar and unpleasant reminder of the past.

"Need some magic, Cozy Glow? Well I'm right here for the taking." Grogar's bell said.

"NO! I don't need you!" Cozy denounced. "I don't want any of this!!"

"Okay then." it said.

*RING* *ZAP*

The bell took her word literally, and zapped Cozy Glow with a powerful beam, and started to drain her magic.

"NO! I didn't mean it like this!"

Cozy flew away as quickly as she could to get away. She kept flying through the confusing catacombs beneath the school, when suddenly she flew into a giant cupcake that was just sitting in place. Thankfully it was thick enough that she came to a slow and safe stop. She pummeled around a bit until she popped out from the base, and found herself on the ground.

"How does this keep happening?" Cozy asked, exhausted.

Cozy reached her forehead. And she couldn't feel her horn.

*gasp* "No no no! Not now!" 

Things were only about to get worse however.

The silhouette of Discord's claw shrouded Cozy. Discord's claw cast a shadow that laid on top of the pegasus.

"There you are." Discord said.

Twilight and Discord had caught up to her.

Twilight looked odd. Her horn was emanating night magic. She almost looked like Nightmare Moon. A Nightmare Twilight.

"May I, Princess?" Discord asked.

Twilight nodded. "It is what she deserves after all."

Both of Discord's hand appendages glowed and emanated lightning.

*ZAP*

The cupcake exploded, and Cozy lost sensation in her hooves, and then her hindlegs. She looked and saw indeed, her worst nightmare. Cozy started to turn to stone from bottom to top. She laid on the ground, in defeat, as she let it overcome her body.

"I'm sorry, Twilight! I made so many mistakes!" Cozy cried. "Twilight, please!"

"Everything's going to be just fine, now that you'll be unable to cause any harm again." Nightmare Twilight said. "Equestria shall be safe for at least another 1,000 years!"

"Twilight! Please! There's something I wanted to tell you!"

Cozy looked at Twilight, who showed no remorse.

"Forget it... there's no point. I'm sorry you couldn't teach me. I'm sorry that I ended up being the one pony you couldn't teach. Guess I really am unteachable... *sob* I thought that I finally found it. I thought I finally found some real friends who loved me... but in the end I just couldn't run from my past... If you could just extend the slightest ounce of forgiveness. Just show me the Princess of Friendship one last time..."

Cozy felt as she lost sensation in more parts of her body.

"This is exactly what I was afraid of..." Cozy wept.

Cozy closed her eyes, and let it happen.

.
.
.

Except it was taking longer than expected? Cozy opened her eyes in confusion. The stone spell had stopped about halfway up her body.

"Huh? Did I pass the friendship test? Is that what this is? What's going on?"

No, this wasn't a staged test. She was really in danger. Sort of. Either way, help was here.

"You don't have to be afraid, Cozy." somepony said.

"We got you, Cozy Glow." some other pony said.

Two ponies held on to each of her hooves.

"Who's there?" Cozy asked.

Cozy looked to her side and saw-

"Diamond Tiara?!"

Diamond Tiara looked at Cozy and nodded.

"And I'm here too!" Pipsqueak exclaimed.

The two fillies both held on to each of Cozy's hooves.

"What? What's going on? How are you guys here?" Cozy asked.

"I'm not sure. I just went to sleep, and now I'm here." Diamond Tiara explained.

"Same with me." Pip said.

Last time Cozy had seen them, they went to sleep...

"Huh, a shared dream realm? You guys are dreaming, so I'm dreaming too?" Cozy wondered. "Well regardless of how, it's a good thing you two are here. I'm going to need your support."

"Say no more. We're with you, Cozy." Diamond Tiara said.

Diamond Tiara held Cozy's hoof tighter, and Pip held on tighter too.

"We got you, Cozy." Pip said. "I'm not really sure what's going on here, but it is clear that you need our help."

"So just say the word, and we'll do it. We're right behind you, Cozy." Diamond Tiara said.

Cozy was overcome with joy to see her friends by her side at her darkest moment.

"Just keep doing what you're doing. I can use all the support you can give!" Cozy exclaimed.

Cozy held both of them close and hugged both Diamond Tiara and Pip.

"I'm so glad to see you guys!" Cozy smiled, which made her glow. Her horn reappeared, and lit up.

*BURST* In a magic explosion, Cozy freed herself, and turned back to normal, escaping the stone spell.

Nightmare Twilight and Dream Discord (Dreamcord?) were astonished by the sight.

Cozy continued to hold onto her friends. Their warmth and support gave her  the strength she needed to overcome her nightmares.

"What?! How are they helping you? They're not magic!" Nightmare Twilight exclaimed.

Cozy held onto Diamond Tiara and Pip and flew high up and hovered in place.

"Just because they're not unicorns, doesn't mean they're not magic! They're my friends! And their friendship is what makes me stronger!" Cozy said.

"It is friendship that makes magic more powerful! It's a lesson you learned on your very first mission with your friends when you stopped Nightmare Moon! And now it's a lesson I'm just learning. So, I guess I got quite a lot of learning to do before I'm up to your speed."

Diamond Tiara and Pip gave Cozy energy, and it all charged up in her horn. Cozy charged up and blasted Nightmare Twilight and Dreamcord.

The magic was so intense that the illusion was shattered. and Cozy broke free from her nightmare. The surroundings crumbled and shattered, and they were back in the magic forcefield, and could see the real Twilight in the center of the magic bubble. Her eyes were blanked out and glowing. Presumably she was enduring a nightmare of her own.

"So now what? We defeated Nightmare Twilight, but what do we do about the real Twilight?" Pip asked.

"We broke through my nightmare. Now we have to break hers." Cozy said.

Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak looked at Cozy affirmatively. They were there to help her through anything.

Cozy got much closer to Twilight Sparkle. She used her magic to peer into her mind.

"AHH!"

Cozy initiated her spell and she, along with Pip and Diamond Tiara, they spiraled into Twilight Sparkle's mind.





In a little Canterlot suite, there was one angsty unicorn who was about to commit treason.

"I'm so fed up with everything!" Twilight said.

"Are you sure we can't go further? These spells are too easy! But I've already mastered this. I'm ready for my exam!" words echoed in the unicorn's head.

"I'll go at my own pace, Celestia. I'll show you what my own pace looks like." 

Twilight grabbed her saddle bag, and put on her serious face. She was ready and walked out the door.

Suddenly Cozy Glow, Pipsqueak, and Diamond Tiara appeared in the room Twilight had just left. Cozy and Diamond Tiara landed softly, but Pip fell on his face. He was okay. Cozy and Diamond Tiara lent their hooves to lift Pip up.

"Where are we?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Definitely Canterlot." Cozy replied.

"Is this a flashback to something that happened? Or is this an exaggerated apparition?" Pip asked.

"Well, considering what I went through, I would guess the latter." Cozy said. "But who knows. It's tough to say."

"Whenever we are, we're too late! Twilight left, and I have an itching feeling Princess Celestia is in trouble!" Pip said.

"We have to stop Twilight before something bad happens." Cozy said.

"How are we gonna do that? We'll have to check all the variables, and search the area for stray pixels!" Pip exclaimed.

"You guys are overcomplicating things. The solution is pretty obvious, and is right over here." Diamond Tiara said.

Diamond Tiara opened the door leading to the nursery room.

"Of course. Just like what Spike told me." Cozy said. "We have to remind Twilight of her first friend."





Twilight was at the entrance to the throne room, and was about to enter.

"Now to finally... huh?"

But suddenly someone grabbed her leg. She looked down and saw-

Baby Spike!

"What the? Spike?" Twilight asked. "How'd you open the door and find your way here?"

"Where's Mama going?" Spike asked.

"Spike. I'm just going to... see Celestia. Now's not the time to speak with me, now just-"

She shook her leg, but Spike held on.

"Why are you so angry?" Spike asked.

"I'm not angry, Spike. I have something important to take care of." Twilight said.

Twilight went through her saddle bags.

"Where's my spell? Spike! Did you take my spell?!"

Spike was holding the piece of paper that had written on it the power spell.

"Give me that!" Twilight yelled.

"No!" Spike yelled back.

"Why not?! Spike asked.

"Because Mama is bad right now!" Spike replied.

"Me? Bad!?" Twilight?

Twilight ripped the spell from Spike's claws, and pushed him away from her leg. The spell was originally used by Gusty the Great to slay a dragon. It depicted an illustration of the dragon being slayed...

Twilight looked quickly and saw Baby Spike's sad face. His eyes twinkling, and pouring out tears... Ignoring Spike's sad face was impossible.  And the effect it had on her, we'll you're about to see.

"Spike, listen. I'm just... It's just..." she said. "Oh..."

Twilight realized something important. "I'm am the bad drag..."

*sigh* "I'm not angry Spike. How can I be angry when I have a friend like you? Someone so precious and perfect such as you."

Twilight hugged Spike tightly. The warm embrace made the baby dragon feel better.

"What am I doing? I already have everything I need right here. I-" she couldn't get her words out.

"Twilight?" somepony had said.

Twilight turned around and saw Princess Celestia.

*gulp* "Princess Celestia?"
"Pwincess." Baby Spike said.

"Is everything alright here, Twilight? There's quite a mess of paper here." Celestia asked.

"I'm fine. Really I am." Twilight replied.

"Are you sure?" Celestia asked.

Spike nudged himself against Twilight.

"Why wouldn't I be? I have Spike after all. But, Princess. If I may ask, now don't take this the wrong way, but, I know I hatched Spike during my entrance exam, why'd you assign me to care for Spike?"

"Well, I was hoping you'd eventually realize, or form your own idea as to why. But if you want my personal opinion, it is because although you are an excellent student, all the knowledge in the world means very little without friends to share it with." Celestia explained. "The best way to learn is by doing. And I thought what better way to learn friendship than by raising a baby dragon. I hope that the extra responsibility has taught you the real reason to obtain knowledge."

Twilight got choked up as her mentor explained her reasoning.

"Thank you, Princess." Twilight said, choked up.

Celestia hugged Twilight, and Spike hugged Twilight.

Cozy, Pip, and Diamond Tiara watched the tender moment unfold. Their eyes dilated and pupils sparkled at the sheer adorableness in front of them.

"Daww..." Diamond Tiara said. 

"What a touching moment. But, what's Spike got to do with any of this?" Pipsqueak asked.

"Plenty, Pip." Cozy replied, smiling. "Plenty."

Cozy's horn lit up, and Spike started to glow a matching color. Twilight's horn also started to glow, as she embraced her young drake.

The scene became brighter, until everything was bright white.





The dark bubble shrunk, and got smaller and smaller, and also became less opaque as it lost power. Inside everypony could see Twilight wrapping her front limbs around Cozy Glow, and embraced her in her grasp.

Finally the magic had condensed, and fizzled around Twilight and Cozy's horns.

Twilight had returned to normal.

"Oh, come here, Spike..." Twilight said, hugging Cozy Glow. *sniff* "You're my best friend." she said.

Cozy wasn't surprised by the gesture. In fact, it's like she was expecting it, and was glad.

"Uh... Twilight. That's-" Starlight said.

Spike put his hand against Starlight and looked at her without speaking. His expression basically said 'let them have this moment'.

Their horns continued to glow, until they shot out a spurt of dark looking magic. The dark magic squirmed as it had become weak.

"The Tantabus!" everypony exclaimed.

It tried to squirm away, but suddenly, somepony caught the little Tantabus in a glass jar.

"Sister, you told me you removed all of the Tantabus from Twilight already." Celestia said.

"Well, some of it appears to have evaded me. My sincerest apologies, sister." Luna said.

"Wait, what?" Spike asked.

*ahem* Sorry everypony for any recent nightmares. There's a chance it was caused by the Tantabus. See, we put the Tantabus in Twilight on purpose earlier as part of her training, and it appears part of it had leaked out, and has been causing havoc again. I hope nopony here has had any nightmares lately." Luna said to everypony.

"Uh... nope."
"Nuh-uh."
"None here."
The mane 6 and Spike said collectively.

"Uh... nope! Or at least, nothing too severe..." Cozy said, anxiously.

Twilight opened her eyes and realized herself what was happening. She was surprised to see the two princesses in front of her.

"Twilight. A word." Celestia said, firm.

*gulp* "Uh.... hi Princess Celestia and Luna..." Twilight said, nervously.
> 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.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the top of a tower in Canterlot, there was a suite with three rooms. The double door led to the princess's suite. The other two doors were rooms belonging to Spike and Cozy Glow respectively.

"Here we are, Cozy. This is where we'll spend every evening sleeping." Twilight said.

It was just starting to occur to Cozy Glow. She was going to live in Canterlot, and live with the ruler of Equestria.

"Wow. I really get to live in Canterlot, huh..." Cozy said.

"Mmm hmm. We'll be spending a lot of time here in Canterlot. But also abroad, as there is still a lot of work to do to manage the land." Twilight said.

It was also just starting to occur how busy their day to day life might be. Would their lessons continue? Or did Twilight think Cozy was sufficient in magic and friendship? Would her focus drift from the filly to the kingdom?

Cozy was lost in her thoughts, but Twilight caught her attention by opening one of the doors.

"This room's just for you. It should have all you need. Spike and I will be in the other two rooms, so just knock if you need anything." Twilight explained.

Cozy entered her room. It was a nice place inside.

"And to prove this place is yours, as well as to show your status, I'd like you to have this." Twilight handed Cozy Glow something special. It was a royal crest, with a purple ribbon wrapped around it. Cozy held it with her magic.

Spike showed off his similar crest, which denoted his status as Twilight's personal Royal Knight.

"So, officially your Royal Advisor, huh." Cozy said.

"Yep. That's you, Royal Advisor Cozy Glow." Twilight said.

"The Princess's Royal Knight, and Royal Advisor. Both by her side." Spike said, holding his crest next to Cozy's.

And Twilight's crown completed the trinity.

My first friend, and my latest friend, both by my side, as we get ready to tackle Equestria, together. Twilight thought.

"Together, we'll be Team SParkglow!" Spike exclaimed.

"S-Sparklow?" Cozy asked.

"You know. Spike-Twilight Sparkle, and Cozy Glow." Spike said. "The three of us spread friendship farther than any one has before!"

Well, it was good to see that Spike still retained his playful spirit.

"I think that's a pretty fun sounding name." Cozy said.

*giggle* "We'll sleep on that name. And speaking of sleep, it's time for all of us to have some." Twilight said.

"Agreed." Cozy said, yawning.

Cozy glow flew onto the bed, and laid on her back. Twilight used her magic and lifted up the blankets and sheets. She slowly wrapped them around Cozy, until she was snug in the bed.

"There we are. Warm and c-"

"Don't say it." Cozy said.

"Warm and... comfy." Twilight said.

"There you go, all tucked into bed." Twilight said.

Cozy however did not reply.

"Not very talkative tonight?" Spike asked.

"I know all of this is pretty overwhelming, and it's been a really long day. You'll feel better in the morning." Twilight said.

Twilight patted Cozy on the head and turned down the lights. She and Spike headed for the door when suddenly-

"Twilight?" Cozy asked.

"Yes, Cozy?" Twilight replied.

"It's just... it's my first night in an unfamiliar place. I uh..." Cozy said. She held back her words.

"It would be nice if you... stayed with me, uh, just until I fall asleep. That's all..." Cozy said.

Twilight paused, but smiled.

"Oh, Cozy. Of course. It'd be my pleasure." Twilight said.

Twilight rubbed her hoof along Cozy's face.

"You really are the most precious little filly in all of Equestria." Twilight said, endearingly.

"Oh, stop it, Twilight. You're making me gag." Cozy giggled.

Twilight pressed her hoof against the bed and poked Cozy. Spike sat on the bed as well.

"So, the most evil filly in Equestria, huh?" Spike asked.

"Where? I don't see them." Cozy replied.

The three of them all laughed together.

"So, Cozy. Wanna explain why you keep mentioning me in the context of Twilight?" Spike asked.

"The thing is, is that, Twilight told me that I reminded her of you, Spike. And, to be honest, it resonated deeper than that." Cozy explained. 

"I wonder if I could've been reformed sooner if you gave me that sort of love to the real me, not the façade I put on at the school." Cozy said.

"Is that so?" Twilight asked.

"You know, if I'm being totally honest, I've always been sort of envious of what you and Twilight have, Spike." Cozy said. "Each of you without the other would be totally different creatures. Spike would not have even been born without Twilight. And after you imprinted yourself onto him, you raised him as if he was your own foal. And Twilight, if you had not had such a loving baby dragon to call your son, you might not be the resonator of friendship you are today. It's something I always admired. Even during my time at your school, separating you two seemed too cruel.. That's the reason why I sent Spike with you to Tartarus..."

"Uh... thanks, Cozy? For being considerate?" Spike said.

"The love between you two is just something so precious, and special. If you had just shared with me a fraction of that love, or just a little bit more... who knows, maybe I wouldn't have paved my own path at the school..."

"I admire Mama Twilight, because I've never known motherly love like that fist hand, as you could probably guess." Cozy explained.

"Oh, Cozy..." Twilight said.

"So, since you're a bigger fan of Mama Twilight than Princess Twilight..." Spike started.

*giggle* "Well, I can be any Twilight you want." Twilight said.

Cozy was touched by Twilight's generosity towards her. Not too long ago, such a thing seemed impossible.

But not everything was at ease. The past still haunted the three of them.

"But lately I've been sort of confused. It's almost like Mama Twilight and Princess Twilight aren't even the same pony. How could a pony be so kind to her surrogate foal, yet simultaneously so cruel to a young member of your own species?" Cozy asked.

"Cozy. My job first and foremost is to protect Equestria. If any creature is willing to make friends, I'll definitely do it. But when it comes to you, you..." Twilight didn't know how to complete her sentence.

"So then, where does that leave me? If I'm like Spike, then who's my Twilight? Growing up, I never had a Twilight to tell me how to use my wits. I had to figure everything out myself. Then with my cutie mark, that's when I discovered how much I loved manipulating my way up the ranks, which ultimately culminated in... you know. But I never could have imagined that Twilight Sparkle, the pony I had admired for only one quality alone, and that's your kindness towards Spike, was almost so unremorseful towards a little filly after her big mistakes. I still can't believe it almost happened. That you would stand there and do nothing and let Discord seal me away forever. I don't even know really what I changed in your mind to stop that from happening, other than reminding you of the values you spent your Ponyville years cherishing."

Twilight and Spike paused. There was a lot to take in. Neither one knew really how to follow up that thought, but Twilight was the first to speak after the silence.

"When you were my assistant at the school, I told you that you reminded me of Spike. And that wasn't an off the cuff thing I said. I really did appreciate you, and I was personally devastated when I found out you would try to deplete all the magic in Equestria, and went so far as to trap my friends and I..."

Cozy's eyes shimmered as Twilight reminded her of her unsavoury past and regrettable actions.

"Anyway. Don't think that putting you in Tartarus was an uncontroversial decision." Twilight affirmed.

"Sure doesn't feel that way. Why didn't you stop Celestia or Luna from locking me away?" Cozy asked.

"If I'm being honest, it's because that is what they advised. I trusted their judgement. It's what they decided, and I felt I had no authority to uphold their decision. But deep down, it didn't sit right with me." Twilight said.

Cozy was dubious of Twilight's claims.

"I don't know if I buy that explanation. If you really were concerned about me, then why did that almost happen?"

"I-I... I don't know. The more I think about it, it just doesn't add up." Twilight wept.

"Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Starlight was right. Intentional or not, Discord did almost destroy our ideas of friendship. If he had his way and the ending proceeded as originally intended, we were ready to do something so regressive and backwards. Lately, Celestia had made it a point to not imprison any pony or creature if we can help it, but we almost lost that sense of courtesy, and values we cherished in the first place. That wasn't Friendship or acceptance, it was inclusion and cynicism. We almost weaponized friendship against three creatures who definitely had it in their hearts to change. It would have been a disaster. I can only imagine that my rule from that point on probably wouldn't have been sustainable. Friendship and Harmony probably would have been replaced by paranoia and mistrust after just a few years." Twilight wept.

"Are you okay, Twilight?" Cozy asked.

"I don't know. I really don't know. I'm still bothered by it. I would never wish such a thing upon my worst enemies. So why did I wish such a thing upon my enemies?" Twilight asked.

Cozy wiped away Twilight's tears with her hooves.

"Hey. I wouldn't dwell too much on something that didn't actually happen. Or at least, didn't happen to us. It's still weird to think about..." Cozy said. "What matters now is what you, you Princess Twilight Sparkle, of the present, of this timeline -- It matters only what you think."

*sniff* "You're right, Cozy." Twilight said. "And you know what? Thinking about what Celestia said earlier, maybe they don't know what's best. Earlier, Celestia told me that I knew better than they did, to the point where I was doing their job better than them... and I think  you're the reason why. They were referring to you."

Twilight's words touched Cozy closely. 

Did Celestia and Luna decide to step down because they were ashamed of how they dealt with Cozy Glow? Not likely, but not totally impossible. That doesn't mean that it wasn't relevant though.

Twilight's recent treatment of Cozy Glow was the reason why Celestia and Luna believed Twilight would be a better ruler than the both of them. The two older princesses could not reach through to Cozy Glow. Here was a friendship problem that only the new princess could solve. And this was just one example of such a scenario. Promoting Twilight to ruler was a no brainer, and after seeing how she helped Cozy Glow, they knew for certain that she was ready.

"You of all ponies reminded me why the magic of friendship matters." Twilight said. "Only I could reach out to you. I was finally able to teach you an important lesson, and in the process, I learned a little something too. Celestia was right about one thing. I can make friends with just about any pony. And I was right about you, there really is a soft side to you." Twilight said. "And all I had to do was believe you could change, and then I found somepony brand new. The kindness you exuberate right now. I haven't felt this way since Spike became my responsibility."

Twilight and Spike wrapped their arms around Cozy on the bed, and they snuggled together, and it felt warm and nice. And just like that, it literally felt like their warmth patched a whole that'd been in her heart for years. Rather than trick other ponies so she could be an Empress, Cozy had found something better than any status or rank. 

Finally... she had a family.

"Is that all you wanted, Cozy?" Spike asked.

"Not at first. At least, not when I first enrolled in your school. But now that I've experienced it, I wouldn't want anything more or less." Cozy said. "Thank you for believing in me, Twilight. Thanks for giving me another chance."

"This never would have happened if you weren't willing to change." Twilight said.

"All I needed was somepony to believe in me... and somepony who liked me, cared what happened to me, and wished the best for me." Cozy admitted. "Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis were almost that for me. And I clung to them, because they were the only creatures who were willing to team up with me, even after seeing the real me. But also, I clung to them because I never thought you'd show me any sign of kindness again."

"It wouldn't be right if I didn't. Things are going to be different now." Twilight said.

"Well, not that different. I think you already know a thing or two about raising fillies, or even dragons." Spike said.

"It's true. Raising Spike in his early years was some of the happiest years of my life that I cherish. As time went on and Spike became more independent, and I was able to focus more on studies, you're right, I did sort of shut the door on other ponies. Until I moved to Ponyville and was able to invite my friends into my life. Celestia wanted me to learn the value in making friends. A value I almost lost sight of on that fateful day. But it's alright now. I think we've more than made up for our mistakes by now."

Twilight rubbed her hoof in Cozy's mane.

"Thank you, Twilight. For believing in me when nopony else did. Not even me." Cozy said.

"And thank you Cozy Glow, for reminding me what the Princess of Friendship is supposed to do." Twilight replied.

"But how could I remind you if I was such a troublemaker?" Cozy asked.

"Just because it was difficult to talk sense into you, doesn't mean it was impossible, or that I shouldn't have tried. Besides, that's all the more reason to keep going. I wouldn't have been reminded if you didn't warn me of what was to come." Twilight said.

"So you needed me to remind you about friendship, but I needed you to be willing to listen to me, and that wouldn't have happened if I didn't break the rules of the time continuum..." Cozy said, bewildered.

"Eh, whatever it takes. Though it sort of makes your head spin thinking about it..." Spike said.

"It's so confusing *yawn* it makes me awfully sleepy..." Cozy said, her voice trailing off to sleep.

Cozy closed her eyes, and Twilight patted her head one last time before climbing out of the bed.

Twilight and Spike got up and walked to the doorway. They looked at the alicorn filly one last time for the night. Twilight used her magic and turned off the lights in the room.

"Good night, Cozy Glow." Twilight said.

The door closed, but she didn't hear it, for the alicorn filly was already fast asleep.




.
.
.




It was already morning time. It was a short night, as everypony stayed up late with the coronation, and then the little fiasco that same night. Despite that, Cozy had one good rest. Sure beat sleeping in a cage in Tartarus, or even Grogar's lair, or... the eternal sleep. But waking up in a big comfy Canterlot bed, now that felt nice and relaxing.

Cozy Glow slowly started to awaken. She rubbed her eyes, and gave out a big hearty yawn. She looked outside, and the Eastern sky had a tint of bright orange. That meant it was time for her favorite time of day. She crawled out of bed, and moseyed her way out of the room.

She looked out to her balcony, and saw Twilight Sparkle and Spike standing at the edge of the balcony. She could see Twilight Sparkle holding the talisman that was linked to the Sun and Moon.

Twilight calmly used the talisman to gently lower the Moon, and rise the Sun. The balcony faced the East, and beamed directly in front of Twilight, and into the room behind her. The Sun's light hit Cozy's face. Seeing her new caregiver raise the Sun was a spectacular and beautiful sight to see. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Twilight put away the talisman, and turned around. At the entrance to the inside stood her filly, Cozy Glow.

"I can see why so many ponies love watching the Summer Sun Celebration." Cozy said with a warm smile.

"Well, there's plenty more where that came from, Cozy." Spike replied. "The Sun is supposed to rise every morning after all."

"So, Cozy Glow, for your first day as royalty, what would you like to do first?" Twilight asked.

"Me?" Cozy asked.

"Yes. Our first activity shall be decided by you. So, Cozy, what's on your mind?" Twilight asked.

"Hmm..." Cozy thought hard. What could a filly with near limitless magical power want to do? And then she realized the perfect activity to do this sunny morning. Cozy realized she had unfinished business to wrap up.

"I know exactly what I would like to do." Cozy replied. "If there's enough time, I have something fun in mind."

"Let me run it by Spike first." Cozy said.

"Secret SParglow meeting. Minus the spark." Spike said.

Cozy whispered into Spike's ears.

"That sounds like a perfect idea for you two to indulge in!" Spike said. "Cozy told me she has something special she wants to show you." Spike said.

Cozy kicked her hooves, shyly. It was true, but spelling it out embarrassed her.

"It's true, Twilight. I think you'll have fun." Cozy said.

"That's so sweet, Cozy. But, just two of us? What about you Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Well, one of us has to stay behind and take care of morning duties until you two get back. It's the least I could do for you as your Royal Knight." Spike said. 

"But, missing out on my first morning as ruler?" Twilight asked.

Cozy was second guessing if her idea was that important or not...

"Cozy explained to me that today's the only morning to do this right. So I think you two ought'a get a move on." Spike said. "Part of Team SParkglow, is that each one of us is self-sufficient. Besides, you won't regret it. This'll be special."

Twilight was eager to see what Cozy was so excited to share, yet too shy to just say out loud.

"Alright, Cozy. What did you want to show me?" Twilight asked.





In a little tent in the White Tail Woods, Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak were just waking up from their sleep.

*yawn* "...Good morning, Pipsqueak." Diamond Tiara said, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning... *yawn* Cozy Glow?" Pip asked.

"She left last night, remember?" Diamond Tiara said.

"But she came back, remember? We helped her and Twilight overcome their fears." Pip said.

"That was just a dream, Pipsqueak." Diamond Tiara said.

"But it couldn't have just been a dream. It felt so real. Why, I betcha more than anything that Princess Luna connected all three of our dreams together. That's what she does after all." Pip said.

"Heh. Sure, Pip. I suppose that's possible." Diamond Tiara giggled.

The two foals heard voices from outside the tent. But they also heard lots of wind and rustling of their tent.

"Did you hear that?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Hardly. It's so windy outside." Pip said. "It's almost like perfect weather for..."

They exited the tent, and were surprised at what they saw.

They saw Twilight and Cozy sitting in a clearing in the forest. The grass was short, it was like a serene meadow. Together they were flying kites, using their hooves, not relying on the aid of their magic.

Twilight's kite crashed onto the ground.

"Oh, darn it." Twilight said.

Twilight started to use her magic to get it in the air, but Cozy urged her not to.

"Come on Twilight. Try again. And remember, no magic." she said.

"Heh. Of course, Cozy." Twilight said.

Twilight reeled in her kite to try again.

"Cozy Glow?" the foals asked together.

"Hey guys." Cozy greeted in return.

Pipsqueak and Diamond Tiara walked up slowly to the royal alicorns. They seemed a little intimidated by their importance, but Cozy and Twilight urged them that there was nothing to be nervous about. They were still ponies, just like the two of them.

"So, you must be Cozy Glow's friends." Twilight said, eager to learn about their interactions with Cozy.

"That's us. I know we've already met, but it's always an honor to be in the presence of a princess." Pip said.

"I had no idea Cozy had made friends all on her own, though I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Twilight said, rubbing Cozy's mane.

"Yep. You know, manipulation isn't that different from cooperation. She was surprisingly natural at helping us out." Diamond Tiara said. "I'm glad we ran into each other when we did. Not to brag or anything, but I feel like Pip and I were the two ponies she needed the most."

"Well, I'm more than glad that Cozy Glow has two sweet little fillies to call her friends." Twilight said, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

Cozy made these friends all on her own. Just more anecdotal evidence that Cozy Glow had what she needed to make friends in her all along.

"So, not that we aren't pleased to see you, but, what are you doing out here?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Just a little something to connect back to nature. Plus, Cozy wanted me to meet her friends. And I am over the Moon happy that Cozy has two little friends like you guys." Twilight said.

"So... you're flying kites?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Yeah. Wanna join?" Cozy replied.

"Do I? But of course!" Pip said.

Pip was more than excited to jump in. But the rich girl was... less than enthusiastic about kites.

"How about you, DT?" Cozy asked.

"Well, I don't know..." Diamond Tiara replied.

"What's the matter, DT?" Cozy asked.

"It's just, I've never flown a kite before." Diamond Tiara said.

"WHAT?" Pip was somehow surprised.

"No worries. I'll show you then." Cozy said.

Diamond Tiara was still unsure, but Cozy seemed friendly and excited to help, so she went for it.

Diamond Tiara sat next to Cozy. Cozy handed her the kite she was currently flying. Immediately the kite tumbled in the air.

"It's gonna crash!" Diamond Tiara cried.

Swiftly, Cozy wrapped her arms around Diamond Tiara, and held the kite's spool with her.

"Now, just hold the spool steady. Don't let it control you." Cozy explained.

Diamond Tiara took her advice, and concentrated on keeping the kite stable.

"The key is to make sure you catch enough wind." Cozy explained.

Diamond Tiara held the spool, and got a sense of how much string to release, and how to control the kite.

"We're doing it, Cozy!" she said, excited.

"Correction, you're doing it." Cozy said.

Diamond Tiara looked down, and she was the only pony holding the kite's spool. At this moment she realized she had learned something new.

"I think I got the hang of it!" she exclaimed.

"Just because you haven't done something before, shouldn't intimidate you or deter you from trying." Cozy said.

But just as one filly was flying their kite, another hit a snag.

*pompf*

"Oh no. My kite got stuck in that tree." Pip cried.

"It's okay. One of us can fly up and get it." Twilight said, readying her wings. But Cozy had something else in mind.

"You know what? I have a better idea." Cozy said. "Afraid of heights, Pip?"

"Not so long as you have a firm hold of me." Pip said.

"No worries, Pip." Cozy said.

Cozy used her magic to lift Pipsqueak into the air. She drifted him to the tree, so he could reach his kite.

"Careful." Diamond Tiara said.

Pip grabbed a hold of the kite, and pulled it out of the tree.

"I got it!" Pip shouted. "WOAH!"

Pip fell suddenly, but Cozy caught him in her arms, and he hugged her tightly. She flew down gently to the ground with Pip in her grasp.

Pip noticed the crest wrapped around Cozy's neck.

"Wow, Cozy! Now you're a Princess!" Pip said, excited.

"What? This thing? Uh... nuh uh. I'm just a Royal Advisor." Cozy said, rubbing her head, blushing.

"Oh come on. Royal Advisor? Alicorn? You're practically a Princess." Pipsqueak said.

"Heh heh. I guess... Princess, minus the whole crown thing." Cozy said.

"Crown or not, we still love you, Cozy." Diamond Tiara said.

Cozy's eyes watered and shimmered. *sniff* "...Thank you guys, for everything..."

Diamond Tiara and Pipsqueak both wrapped their arms around Cozy Glow and gave her a big hug. She wrapped her arms around them both. Having normal friends felt really nice. Not tools to manipulate. Not disposable pawns. But real friends that she really cared about, and who really cared about her. It was a feeling she held tightly to her heart, and never wanted to let go of. They were her friends, and she loved them both. But deep down, she loved one of them especially.

Twilight looked at her filly with her friends. She smiled.

She was proud of her filly. She was nothing like the filly who lied to her at the school. For once, she was genuine, and so were her friends. And she was all the happier for it.

"That's my girl." Twilight said to herself.





The End (for now)
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Twilight Sparkle had now been ruler of Equestria for a number of years. She's well acquainted to the throne, and had been warmly accepted by most all creatures of Equestria. Thanks to her experience and leadership, the land felt more closely connected than ever.

Today was a special day, as Twilight's throne room was being visited by a group of three energetic ponies of a new generation. The three were tight friends, and their names were Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, and Pipp Petals.

The three of them, having recently met in a unified and peaceful Equestria, were making the rounds as some of Equestria's biggest influencers. Thus, Twilight invited the group into her throne room to give them an insight into how Equestria's highest authority operated, but more importantly they could teach Twilight how to connect better with today's youth.

The rambunctious yet collected group were greeted by Princess Twilight. The three were curious and asked numerous questions. Most of their curiosity was piqued by the numerous stained glass windows that decorated the throne room. From windows depicting the mane 6's defeat of Discord, as well as windows dedicated to each of Equestria's six princesses. Everypony in Equestria already knew the story of the former princesses, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadance. Very few questions came up about them. They seemed like old news. It was Equestria's three current princesses that perked the curiosity of the EUP group, Sunny in particular.

They wanted to know about Equestria's latest princess, so Twilight Sparkle had spent the last hour or so telling the story of the Princess of Leadership, Princess Cozy Glow.

"And that, girls, that is why Equestria's sixth princess, Princess Cozy Glow, is older than Equestria's fifth princess, Princess Flurry Heart." Twilight explained. "Flurry Heart was born into royalty, but Cozy Glow had to earn it. Even though Flurry Heart has technically been a princess since birth, she took control of the Crystal Empire pretty much when she became of age, which just so happened to be just a little bit of time after Cozy Glow's coronation."

Sunny was frantically taking notes about Twilight's tale.

"So Cozy Glow was made Princess around the time she turned 18. Then later, Flurry Heart became in control of the Crystal Empire when she turned 18, which would have put Cozy in her 20's at that point." Sunny said.

"You must be so proud of her, Princess." Pipp said. "From what you described, considering where she came from, how she started, to where she is now. And it's all thanks to your guidance and leadership."

Twilight blushed, fondly recounting the fond memories of her time raising Cozy Glow to be a perfect mare.

"Well, Twilight was guided by the Princess Celestia herself. I'm sure her lessons rubbed off on you, and you can guide anypony to greatness." Izzy said.

"Oh please. It never would've happened if Cozy wasn't willing to change her ways." Twilight said.

Twilight was delighted to see such an enthusiastic group of young ponies.

"I'm glad I could inspire you three, and fill you all with hope. Just seeing you guys together fills me with hope as well. Seeing an earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn as a trio of friends. It reminds me of the first Hearth's Warming, where the EUP tribes united for the first time."

"The EUP?" Sunny asked.

"EUP. Standing for earth, unicorn, pegasus. But, *giggle* that's a story for another time." Twilight said.

"Sorry for all the questions. This is just so cool." Sunny said.

"It's fine. Ask away." Twilight assured.

With Twilight's okay, Sunny went ahead and continued to ask away.

"I just want to know, when exactly did you decide that Cozy Glow was ready to be a princess?" Sunny asked.

With such a loaded question, this meeting could have gone on for another hour easily, but Twilight had explained so much already, so she summarized things up.

"The thing about that is, it was something that'd been on my mind for years. Cozy Glow had been an exceptional Royal Advisor. She's exceptionally skilled at getting a group of ponies going. Sure she used that ability at first for her own gain, but as soon as I gave her a more serious chance, I saw how her natural talent could be used for the better of Equestria. It could have tremendously helpful applications. I wanted to promote Cozy Glow because, well, Princess Celestia wanted me to be Princess so I would have more opportunity to use my talent to assist more creatures, so it only made sense to allow Cozy Glow to have the same reach. That is once she became of age of course, as we went over already."

"Wow. So she went from a mischievous filly from some obscure town, to a full fledge alicorn Princess herself." Sunny said. "Sort of reminds me of Princess Cadance. A pegasus from nowhere turn alicorn Princess."

"Interesting observation, Sunny. I hadn't thought of it that way before. Huh, no wonder Cozy and Flurry Heart get along so well." Twilight said.

"Was Cozy nervous?" Pipp asked. "About the transition I mean. It seems like such a big responsibility."

Twilight nodded. "Tremendously." she replied. "Why don't I tell you all about that now."





Twilight Sparkle proceeded to tell the tale about the time she presented Cozy Glow with the biggest opportunity of her life.

Cozy Glow had been Twilight's royal advisor for a few years by this point. She matured a lot in these past years, and was even more well versed in friendship and harmony than ever. She was a welcome member of the royal court, nay, the royal family. With Cozy Glow's 18th birthday fast approaching, Twilight Sparkle felt that Cozy had outgrown her role as royal advisor. Twilight felt that Cozy had the potential to be much more.

On a quiet night, Twilight and Spike met with Cozy Glow inside the observatory.

"You wanted to speak with me, Twilight?" Cozy asked.

"Yes. Take a seat, Cozy." Twilight replied.

Cozy sat on a cushy pillow across from Twilight and Spike.

"Cozy Glow. As your 18th birthday fast approaches, I have been thinking a lot about your role here in Equestria. You have done a tremendous job as my royal advisor for the past few years."

"Thank you, Twilight." Cozy thanked.

"Which is why there is no doubt in my mind that once you turn 18..."

Spike whispered into Cozy's ear the rest of Twilight's proposal. It was something surprising, and shocking. Cozy gasped.

Cozy was shocked. She gave a look of befuddlement. Twilight nodded to affirm it was serious.

"Listen, Royal Advisor is already such a tremendous honor. But, Princess? For real? Does this mean you're stepping down?!"

"No, I'm not retiring. We'll rule together. That, or we can find a stretch of land for you to lead, akin to Cadance and Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire." Twilight explained.

Cozy was flattered. But deep down, the idea didn't seem right to her. Or at the least, the role didn't seem right for her.

"But... I'm just a pegasus who robbed an old goat's bell to become an alicorn. Do I really deserve this?" Cozy asked.

"I believe you do. It matters not where you came from, but that you're here now. I believe you'll feel right at home as royalty, and I think you have just the right qualities to do even more good for Equestria." Twilight said.

Cozy looked quite nervous.

It was then that I remembered the time that Celestia and Luna announced their retirement to me. I don't recall having much say in the matter, at least not until push came to shove, and the pressure really started to set in. I wouldn't dare burden her with a lack of say in the matter.

"Do keep in mind, Cozy, that the choice ultimately is yours." Twilight said. "If you're content with where you are, don't feel pressured by me to uphold more responsibility."

"I um..." Cozy said, softly, and unsure. "I'm gonna have to sleep on this one, maybe for a couple of days."

"That's fine, Cozy Glow. There's no rush. I'm not retiring, I'll still be ruler. It's just a matter of if you feel like you're ready to bear more responsibility and do a lot more on your own." Twilight said.

Even though I'd been hinting at it for years, and she'd been by my side for so long, part of me thought I was being a bit pushy. I saw little reason why she should be nervous, but it turns out being nervous is just a natural part of reacting to change. 





Back in the present, Twilight capped off the story.

"Later down the line, Cozy Glow affirmed to me that she was ready. She told me she was ready to take charge and make changes for all of Equestria." Twilight said.

"So if she's good now, then why do you keep this stained glass window of her defeat?" Sunny asked.

"Funny you bring that up, Sunny." said somepony at the entrance to the throne room.

Everypony looked and saw-

*gasp*

The three young horses shrieked in excitement and jittered.

"It's her!"
"Oh my goodness!"

"Princess Cozy Glow!!!" they exclaimed together.

At the doorway stood Princess Cozy Glow. She was adorned with her own crown, and golden slippers.

"That's my name. Don't wear it out." Cozy said, cheerfully. "See, we keep the stained glass window of my defeat because, well, it's not a bad thing to leave it up. It's to help remind me of my mistakes, and remind me where I came from. Besides, it's a nice piece, it'd be a shame for it to go to waste."

The trio of newbies surrounded Cozy Glow.

"Wow!" Pipp said.
"You're so cute!" Sunny said.
"You're WAY cooler than Princess Flurry Heart!" Izzy exclaimed.

The three of them crowded Cozy closely. In the excitement. Izzy's radiant horn came a little too close to comfort for Cozy.

"Watch where you're pointing that thing." Cozy said, nervous. Somepony put a tennis ball or something on that horn.

Cozy Glow was nevertheless humbled by their enthusiasm.

"Gosh, I'm humbled by your enthusiasm, gals." she said.

"Twilight says you were REALLY nervous about the prospect of being a princess." Pipp said.

"How'd you muster the confidence to do it, Cozy?" Sunny asked.

Cozy looked at Twilight, but Twilight turned her eyes away, embarrassed.

"Well, I don't have all the answers. But uh... it just sort of came to me a few nights later." Cozy replied. "I was assured that there was nothing to worry about. Besides, with Twilight's guidance, I had nothing to worry about."

"Cozy Glow has been an exceptional Princess, teaching creatures what they could do for Equestria, and teaching them how to be leaders themselves. I've never seen Equestria so unified, and frankly, I attribute that mostly to Cozy Glow." Twilight said.

Cozy Glow was flattered by Twilight's compliments.

"I'm so glad we made this change. Cozy Glow's redemption almost didn't happen, and I can't imagine Equestria being this peaceful without her." Twilight said.

Pfft. "You're such a great Princess already though, Twilight. What's the worst that could've happened?" Sunny asked.

*giggle* "Nothing too bad I suppose. Still, it helps to have a friend by your side." Twilight said.





Later:

Cozy Glow was escorting the three ponies out of Canterlot castle as she finished up her story.

"It really does warm my heart to have such adoring fans such as you three." Cozy said. "Believe it or not, in spite of my sheer adorableness, my coronation was met with a little... skepticism..."

"WHAAA??" the trio exclaimed.

"I mean, maybe ponies are sick of new princesses, but sometimes it feels like someponies still haven't forgiven me, and I don't think I'll ever have a 100% approval rating..." Cozy wept.

The three looked at each other, and thought about how to cheer Cozy up.

"But like, who does? No one! Why strive for perfection?" Izzy asked.

"Most ponies are nice to me now, but I still feel bad about what I did. Many creatures still remember what happened, and some insist on reminding me." Cozy said, looking down.

"Sometimes I feel like what Princess Luna felt during her first Nightmare Night back in Equestria."

Cozy was suddenly hugged by an apologetic Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp.

"Well, for what it's worth, you're our favorite princess." Izzy said.

"Besides me of course." Pipp added.

"Twilight told us all about your history. The school. The bell. The weird time paradox thingy that didn't make a whole lot of sense to us. The time you saved Twilight on the night of her coronation." Sunny said.

Cozy's eyes watered up. She was filled with joy by the aura of the young ponies.

"It's always a pleasure to make a good first impression on any creature I meet. It feels nice to act like me, but now this me is so warmly accepted by every creature." Cozy said.

Cozy exhaled in relief. She was enjoying her time with the ponies, however, it was getting late, and Cozy had business to attend to soon.

"Well, I think you three have a lot to share with your peers." Cozy said. "Looks like it's time for us to part ways for now."

"But we still have so much we wanna ask you!" Izzy said.

Cozy, not being one to want to disappoint anypony, allowed them to ask one more question.

"O-okay. I'll answer just one more itsy bitsy question." Cozy said.

"What happened with you and Diamond Tiara?" Sunny asked.

"And what about Pip? Pipsqueak I mean, not me." Pipp asked.

"...Well, that's not an itsy bitsy question." Cozy replied. 

The three looked down in disappointment. It seemed like Cozy wasn't interested in telling this story yet. But why keep such a good story bottled up? So Cozy thought about how to best summarize the tale of her and her special somepony, and she came up with a creative and fun angle to tell it.

"I tell you what. You guys wanna hear about the time I stole Twilight's crown?" Cozy asked.

*gasp*

"You did what?!" they exclaimed.

"I thought you were a good girl now." Sunny said.

"It's not like that. Allow me to explain." Cozy said.





Cozy Glow began to explain how she borrowed Twilight's crown, and later discovered who her special somepony was. A few years ago, years before her coronation, maybe a year after Twilight's coronation.

Cozy Glow met with the foal who would become her special somepony. She invited them to a little private picnic because that's what she wanted to find out.

As they snacked on sandwiches, and drank juice, Cozy was growing eager, and so she came on strong.

"Notice anything differently, Diamond Tiara?" Cozy asked, smiling, and posing as if there were cameras pointed at her.

Diamond Tiara noticed a golden tiara on Cozy's head.

"That's a nice crown on your head?" Diamond Tiara complimented, feeling unsure.

"Why yes it is. I'm glad you noticed." Cozy said. "I've uh... I wear this now. Are you impressed?"

"So you finally made it? Twilight made you a princess now?" Diamond Tiara asked.

Cozy didn't want to lie. But she pretty much was already lying by wearing the crown, so she ended up taking long pauses between her answers.

Diamond Tiara noticed something didn't add up. When probed and pressured that Cozy should be a princess in the past, she would use the excuse that she wasn't old enough, or that she didn't deserve it for whatever reason. So why would she be a princess now? Not to mention, that crown sure looked familiar, and a tad large for Cozy's head. Diamond Tiara had figured out what was going on.

"Okay. So Why'd you steal Twilight's crown?" Diamond Tiara asked.

Cozy's ears drooped. Steal was a strong word.

Cozy didn't want to admit the real reason she stole the crown. So she came up with an alternative reasoning.

"I thought I'd sort of bring back mischievous Cozy for a bit." Cozy said. "I mean, sure it's nice to be liked by everypony for a change. But don't you miss mischievous Cozy? I'm just so likeable for real now, it's almost a little boring."

"Hmm. I do miss having an edge sometimes..." Diamond Tiara said. "But, don't you enjoy having real friends now?"

"I mean, of course I do. It's just-" Cozy bit her lips, and started to sweat.

Lying just wasn't as much fun as it used to be, especially not to a close friend like Diamond Tiara. So she came clean.

*sigh* "Okay. I only stole the crown because... I thought you'd only like me if I was actually a Princess..." Cozy confessed.

"What made you think that?" Diamond Tiara asked.

What did make Cozy think such a thing in the first place? Well, Cozy got a tip from one of her most reliable sources. Pipsqueak told her to. Or at least, said it might work.





Earlier in the week, Cozy met with Pipsqueak on a picnic to find out if he was her special somepony. 

As their time went on, she didn't feel it in her heart. She liked spending time with him, but she didn't like like him. 

"Listen, Pip, I don't know how to say this, but..."

When Cozy paused, Pip interjected and spoke.

"Oh, by the way. I can't believe I almost forgot. I have something to give you." Pip said.

Pip handed Cozy Glow a piece of paper. It was a letter.

"I found this letter at the school of friendship. I think it's for you, from Diamond Tiara." Pip said.

"Diamond Tiara wrote me a letter?"

Cozy read the letter. 

"She wrote you several letters.  She was the one writing you all those letters while you were tutoring at Cheerlie's school. Not me." Pip explained.

Cozy skimmed through the letter quickly, and made it to the bottom.

At the bottom it wrote: "Love, Diamond Tiara"

"L-Love?" Cozy said aloud.

"Very peculiar choice of words she made." Pip said.

Turns out this was a productive picnic. Cozy did find out who her special somepony was. Except it wasn't the colt in front of her.

"Well, if that's how she feels, then, why try to hide my feelings any longer?" Cozy wondered.

"Go out and tell her, Cozy." Pipsqueak said.

"And you don't mind? Since we um... we had that little phase for a while." Cozy asked.

"Hey, you follow your heart, Cozy." Pip said. "You weren't interested in being more than friends, but that's fine. I don't hold that against you. Everypony has their special somepony, and everypony deserves to find them. Don't miss out on this opportunity."

Cozy's eyes shimmered at the thought of finding her special somepony.

"Okay, I will." Cozy said, optimistically.

Cozy hugged Pipsqueak, and thanked him for his support.

Saying was one thing. Doing was another. And Cozy quickly became nervous thinking about how to actually tell her.

"But, if I'm going to close the loop, I'm gonna have to impress her. She's already seen me at my full power. How do you think I can still impress her?" Cozy asked.

Pipsqueak recounted his first time seeing Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Well, I still remember the first time I saw Twilight as a Princess. Gosh, every filly in Ponyville was chasing her down in excitement." Pip said.

"Every filly?" Cozy asked.

"Yes, even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." Pip said.

"Hmm. If that's the case, then I wonder if... wait. Who's Silver Spoon?" Cozy asked.

Suddenly it seemed like things were going to get more complicated.

"She's Diamond Tiara's best friend. She's been awful busy lately, so I suppose that's why we haven't seen much of her lately." Pip explained.

"She already has a best friend?" Cozy asked.





Back at the picnic, Cozy stared into space. Diamond Tiara tried to get her attention.

"Cozy? Cozy?" Diamond Tiara waved her hoof in front of Cozy.

Cozy shook her head.

"Oh, right. See, Pipsqueak told me about the time you first met Princess Twilight Sparkle. You were so excited. Somepony you already knew of, elevated to such a level of importance."

As Cozy explained, things only got more awkward.

"I just thought you'd be impressed. But there's nothing to be impressed about. I'm just a naughty filly who stole her caretaker's crown..." Cozy said, removing the crown from her head and setting it down in shame.

Diamond Tiara noticed that Cozy looked very sad. So she did what she was best at doing, and attempted to cheer her up.

"Cozy Glow, I like you for who you are." Diamond Tiara said. "Whether or not you want to be a princess, or if Twilight thinks you're ready, that's your family matter. But as for me, I like you no matter what. Doesn't matter to me whether you wear a crown or not. You're still the same cute filly who I can't stop thinking about." 

"Yeah, and I like you whether you have a million bits, a thousand bits, or not a single bit." Cozy said.

"Let's not get crazy." Diamond Tiara said.

Cozy giggled a tad. Then she took a deep breath.

Diamond Tiara mentioned that she couldn't stop thinking about her? Was this another hint? Cozy Glow figured it was. If her suspicion was correct, then that meant it was time to admit to Diamond Tiara the truth.

"You can't stop thinking about me? But like, you already have Silver Spoon. I just don't wanna make things awkward..." Cozy said.

"Oh. Right. See, Silver Spoon and I go way back. She's sort of like a sister to me. She's definitely one of my closest friends." Diamond Tiara  explained.

Cozy looked down again.

"J-Just one of. I mean, I don't mind having more friends, or even, being more than friends with you..." Diamond Tiara said.

Cozy Glow looked at Diamond Tiara nervously. She didn't seem to mind exploring with other friends. Were their feelings mutual? There was only one way to find out.

"Um... Diamond Tiara?"

"Yes, Cozy Glow?"

The two fillies exchanged looks.

"T-There's something I've been wanting to tell you." Cozy said, rubbing her shoulder.

"What is it, Cozy?"

Cozy gritted her teeth and sweated. It was too difficult to speak the truth aloud.

"So uh, first I want you to close your eyes." Cozy said.

"Alright. If you say so." Diamond Tiara closed her eyes and put her hooves over them. "My eyes are closed, now what?"

Cozy Glow was shivering in place. This was her moment. With Diamond Tiara open, and waiting, Cozy Glow she... she...





But all of the sudden, Cozy realized that she didn't want to finish her story to these three strangers. Cozy abruptly ended her story.

"You know what? Don't you ponies have somewhere to be?" 

"Aww...."
"Oh come on!" 
"What happens next?"

The three ponies stomped their hooves.

"Heh. Maybe I'll tell you guys next time." Cozy said.

"Aww man...."

"Well, we are running late. Hitch and Zipp are waiting for us at the train station." Izzy said.

"Well, thanks for the meet and greet, Cozy Glow." Sunny said. "We look forward to seeing you again soon."

Right as they were about to head out, Pipp got an idea.

"Oh, before we go, selfie!!" Pipp exclaimed.

"Self-what?" Cozy asked.

Pipp reached into her mane and pulled out her cell phone.

Izzy used her magic and held the phone far enough in front of them.

The three crowded around Cozy Glow and posed for a picture.

"Smile!" Izzy exclaimed.

*click*

The bright flash dazed Cozy. The three others seemed unaffected.

"Now that one's a keeper." Pipp said, looking at her phone, excited.

Cozy Glow shook her head and reoriented herself. "There's so much I don't understand about this generation's youth." Cozy said.





Cozy waved goodbye to Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp.

As they were leaving, between the three of them, they exchanged some fun little gossip.

"I'm calling it now. They totally kissed." Izzy said.

"Well, through deductive reasoning, I suppose that's one of the more likely outcomes." Sunny said. "What do you think, Pipp? Pipp?"

Pipp was barely paying attention, or watching where she was flying. She was so engrossed in her phone.

"I'm totally gonna post this, so everypony can see that we met the Princess of Leadership." Pipp said.

As the three trotted away, Cozy shook her head. "Sometimes it feels like even I don't understand today's youth."

As Cozy watched them walk away, she felt really good. She was happy to have ponies like them who admired her so much, and she hoped that their paths would cross again soon.

Telling this story brought back fun memories.

*giggle* "Good times..." Cozy said to herself.

Although story time was done, Cozy continued to reminisce about the fondness, and thus the flashback continued in her head.





The flashback resumed. Diamond Tiara sat with her eyes closed.

"Alright, Cozy. My eyes are closed. What was it you wanted to-"

Suddenly, she felt a little something warm touch her cheek. Diamond Tiara opened her eyes, and noticed Cozy Glow swelling up with blush. She sat down and rubbed her forelimb in embarrassment.

"Cozy... I...?"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to invade your personal space..." Cozy apologized.

Cozy teared up feeling a pinch of remorse. Diamond Tiara put her hoof to Cozy's shoulder. The sensation eased Cozy's nerves. She eased the alicorn filly. Cozy Glow closed her eyes and laid on her back in the grass. Diamond Tiara ran her hoof through Cozy's messy mane, which further served to ease her tensions.

"You know, I've had a hunch for a while now." Diamond Tiara said. "You always act sort of funny around me. *giggle* You're a very special pony, Cozy Glow."

"Yep... *sigh* The filly from Tartarus. What a strange and evil case I am." Cozy said.

"I don't think you're strange. I don't think you're evil. I don't think you're uncool cause you're not a princess. You're perfect, Cozy. You're perfect the way you are, and I love just how you are." Diamond Tiara said.

*sniff* "I love you too, Diamond Tiara!" Cozy cried.

Cozy felt tears run down her face. Diamond Tiara wiped them away and... and...





In the present time, Twilight found Cozy Glow laying on a patch of flowers, daydreaming.

"There you are." Twilight said. 

Twilight appeared and flew by Cozy's side.

"I wonder if we should have made you Princess of the Sky. You always got your head in the clouds." she teased.

"Very funny, Princess." Cozy replied.

"Ready to continue your duties, Cozy?" Twilight asked.

Cozy nodded. "Alright. Let's make it swift though. I have some fun plans for this weekend."

Cozy stood up and stood besides Twilight. They both flapped their wings and lifted into the sky above Equestria.

The Princess of Friendship, alongside the young Princess of Leadership, were ready to continue their work in making Equestria a better place for every creature. Twilight taught everyone that friendship is magic, and Cozy Glow taught everyone how to lead and unify.

Cozy Glow had changed so much, she was almost unrecognizable from the filly who lied in Twilight's School of Friendship, or the alicorn filly who tried to take over Equestria. No longer was she seeking power for the sake of having control. Her desires were changed, thanks to Twilight's kindness, and forgiveness.

In the end, Cozy Glow had everything she could have ever wanted, plus a lot more. She didn't have to steal it, or lie to make it happen. She earned it all just by being nice. And all Twilight had to do, was to give her a chance.



The End


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