> Flurry Heart's Story: Dream of Alicornication
>  by AleximusPrime
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 1. Cozy's Revenge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was early morning when Zecora awakened to pick berries in the Everfree Forest.  The door to her tree hut opened and she walked out gracefully.  She took a deep breath of fresh air and then closed the door behind her.  She did not bother to lock it since she wouldn’t be far away nor would she take that long to find a good batch of berries.
“Ah, what a lovely morning to behold.  The berries grow ripe at this time of year I am told.”
She began her walk and continued to speak to herself in her signature rhyming.
“I shall gather these small fruits and then be out of sight, for I have a tasty concoction in mind tonight.”
After she disappeared beyond the trees in the forest, a small creature in a black hooded robe snuck around through the bushes nearby.  It zoomed over to the front door and quietly opened it up to enter Zecora’s domain.  This small intruder was none other than Cozy Glow.  She was the pegasus filly who assisted Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis in an attempt to overthrow Equestria over eight years ago. Cozy immediately began to search for something among Zecora’s belongings.  She started by looking inside the large cauldron in the middle of the room.  Next she searched some of the boxes and urns on shelves and tables all over the place. After a few minutes of rummaging through all of Zecora’s belongings, she began to lose her patience until she noticed some stairs.  She quickly flew up them and found even more items to search.  She checked every nook and cranny but could not find what she was looking for until she noticed something peculiar.  There was a large tapestry on the wall, but a bookcase was blocking most of it.  The naughty little filly pushed against the bookcase with all her might until it crashed onto the ground.  It was loud, but she no longer cared if it could be heard or not.  She put her hooves against the tapestry and felt around. Her hoof kept pressing against the wall on the other side until it felt as if there was a hole in the wall behind it. She tore the tapestry down.  Sure enough there was a hole and inside was a small wooden chest.  She reached inside and pulled out the chest, but it had a lock.  Thinking quickly, she took a nearby decorative axe next to Zecora’s bed and used it to chop the chest until it broke open.  Sitting on the floor before her was the artifact she sought: the Alicorn Amulet!
“There you are,” she whispered.
Suddenly, she heard the door open downstairs.  Zecora had returned to her house and already noticed the damage.
“NO!  How did I not think to lock!  This untidiness gives me quite a shock!  Who could have gotten in here?!  When I am through with them, it is my wrath they shall fear!!”
Zecora began to pick things up until she heard something upstairs and quietly tiptoed her way up.  This room had also been trashed and now she was very angry.
“Reveal yourself, intruder!  Do it now!  You cannot hide from me!  I shall find you somehow!”
“Looking for this, Zecora?” said a sinister voice from the shadows.
Zecora turned around and saw a dark cloaked object with two large wings flapping about.  It hovered closer to her until Zecora could see it.  Cozy threw back the hood to reveal her head, which now had a large alicorn horn growing from it.  She was wearing the amulet and her eyes were glowing red.  Already she used the power of the Amulet to turn herself into an alicorn once again.  She took off the cloak and began to laugh maniacally.





“NO!  Little Cozy Glow!  That amulet is far too dangerous for you, you know!” Zecora cried in fear.
“Now that I have what I want, I can finally get on with my plans for ultimate revenge!  HAHAHA!!”
“Please do not use it!  You know not what you do!  It will cause nothing but pain and suffering for you!”
“Oh please.  Rhyming? Really?  If’ you’d ask me, I’d say it’s time for a change of style!”
Cozy charged up her horn and zapped Zecora with a red bolt of lightning.  Zecora’s eyes shone brightly and then she fell to the ground.  Nothing seemed to be wrong with her; she was only a bit dizzy from whatever Cozy just did.
“Ugh…huh?  You little fool, what have you done!  I shall…uh…um…”
“Ooh ooh, let me finish!  Run?  Fun? Sun?  Pun?”
“Wait…you…YOU TOOK AWAY MY ABILITY TO RHYME?!?”
“Hehehe!  That’s not all I can take away!  With this amulet, nopony will stand in my way now!  TIME FOR PAYBACK!”
Cozy zoomed past Zecora like a red glowing bullet and bursted through the wall, creating a large hole with burning edges.  She flew on through the forest until she had gotten past the canopy and too far away for Zecora to see where she had gone.  Zecora was so worried.  She had no choice but to tell Princess Twilight Sparkle.
“This is so terrible!  I…I must let the princess know!”
She rushed back downstairs, opened the front door and took off, running to Canterlot.
“I do hope Princess Twilight can help.  Otherwise, if Cozy does not give up the amulet, we are all…uh…doomed?  Oh that mischievous little filly!  I simply must get my ability to rhyme back!”



A few hours later, Ponyville was experiencing an average, beautiful day with ponies out and about.  In a small park, Starlight, Sunburst, and Trixie were seated next to a playground, watching as Flurry and her friends had fun.  Spike was away on important duties with Twilight in Canterlot and asked the three unicorns if they could watch the kids for the day.
“Gosh, these kids sure grow up fast, don’t they?” Sunburst told Starlight. “Especially Flurry.”
“I still remember back when she was born and all the trouble she caused,” Starlight replied.
“Eh, aside from the jacked-up alicorn powers, she still had more restraint as a baby than that Storm Streak,” Trixie said, sarcastically.
“You’d be surprised at how well Rainbow Dash has handled him,” Starlight replied just as Stormy flew right over them, causing Sunburst’s hat to fall off.
“HA!  Told ya you’re too slow, Pound!” Stormy teased as Pound trailed behind him.
“Phew!  I give up. Flurry, you wanna take a shot at it?” Pound said, trying to catch his breath.
“Hehe, don’t worry, Pound.  I have a plan,” Flurry said, mischievously as her horn began to glow.
Stormy looked behind him and stuck his tongue out, spitting, until he noticed a flash on the ground where Flurry had been standing.  He turned his head and saw she was now there instead.  She had teleported herself right in front of him.  Stormy’s eyes widened and he came to a screeching halt in midair.
“Tag!  You’re it!” Flurry said, poking his snout.
“Hey, no alicorn magic!  That’s not fair!” Stormy ranted.
Flurry took off, laughing as she went, while Stormy chased her around.  The others giggled as they watched from below.  Chip and Annie rushed over to a nearby swirly slide and lined each other up. They went down together, whooping with their hooves in the air.  When they got to the bottom, Pumpkin was hanging upside down with her magic right in front of them.
“BOO!” she shouted.
“AGH!  Darnit, Pumpkin!” Chip said, laughing.
“You and your pranks!” Annie laughed.
As the kids continued to play, the three adult unicorns continued talking amongst each other.
“So what was it Spike needed to do today again?” Trixie asked Starlight.
“Something about scheduling to go meet with King Scorpan,” Starlight answered. “I guess the council at Midnight Kingdom has agreed to lift Tirek’s ban and arrest him once they spot him in their territory. They’ll transfer him safely to the castle prison where he’ll get a proper talking to.”
“That’s gonna be a full-time job,” Trixie said, rolling her eyes and taking a sip out of a smoothie.
“Now are we really sure Tirek doesn’t remember that spell at all?” Sunburst asked.
“Yeah, Discord erased the whole thing.  Trixie and I saw him do it.  Tirek even admitted he couldn’t remember it right before running off. If he’s still out there in the wild, he’s most likely heading right for the Midnight Kingdom to get revenge like he said he would.”
“Not that the ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’ is prone to such nonsense anymore, but if I were out for revenge, Scorpan would be the place to start,” Trixie added. “I’ve never met Scorpan before, but I’m hoping he’s ready for his brother.”
“Well at least Tirek’s in his hands now,” Starlight said, cautiously. “We still have an evil changeling queen out there with an army and a kid with seemingly no responsible parents and a bad attit-“
“RUUUUUUNNN!!!” shouted a random mare, rushing by the playground at full speed.
“SHE’S BAAAACK!!” shouted a stallion after her.
“What the hay is everyone squawking about?” Stormy said, watching as several more ponies ran by.
“Did they just say she is back?” Flurry said, concerned.
“Oh no, please don’t tell me it’s Chrysalis!” Starlight said as she, Sunburst and Trixie turned around to look in the direction the ponies were all coming from.
At first they could see nothing until a few of the running ponies were out of the way.  They were expecting to see Chrysalis and army of changelings, but thankfully there was no sign of them.  At some point, they looked harder and noticed a little peach pink filly with blue curly hair walking along.  It immediately hit them that this was Cozy Glow.  She had her alicorn wings and horn back, but the worst part was that she was wearing the Alicorn Amulet.  She kept walking while smirking devilishly.  To her left was a tall, beige mare with purple hair, sporting a silver royal collar and anklets.  She wore a crown that resembled a queen chess piece.  The even taller stallion on Cozy’s other side was spring green with light blue hair and a moustache and beard.  His royal regalia was golden and his crown resembled a king chess piece. Both of them had unusually long horns for unicorns, but suddenly they opened up a large set of wings along with Cozy. They all stopped walking and the two alicorns next to Cozy turned to the side to allow their cutie marks to be shown. The stallion had a king chess piece while the mare had a queen.  Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie’s worst fear had come true: Cozy had returned and she had brought her parents!





“Cozy Glow?” Sunburst exclaimed. “How…how did you…are those your parents?”
“And is that the Alicorn Amulet?” said Trixie, even more horrified than the other two.
“Golly it’s great to see you losers again!” Cozy pompously told them.
“Greetings, peasants,” said the stallion in a snobbish, high-class accent.  “Yes, we are her parents.  I am King Kriegspiel, and this is my lovely wife Queen Kriegspiel.”
“So good to see you,” the queen said in a very deep and sultry voice. “Cozy Glow, darling, are these the other ponies who turned you into stone?”
“No Mother.  They aren’t exactly on my side either, but we need not bother with them.  Besides, I have a strong feeling Chrysalis is going to want Starlight over there.
Starlight took a big gulp and laughed nervously as she looked back and forth at Sunburst and Trixie.  Flurry and her friends rushed in next to the unicorns to see what was happening.
“Who are these guys?” Pumpkin asked.
“How many alicorns are there in Equestria exactly?” Pound said, noticing the apparent royal family before him.
“That’s…that’s Cozy Glow?!” Flurry shouted as she began to leaf through the pages of her Journal of Friendship to a spot that had photographs of Cozy when she was first arrested.
“Aw, you’ll have to excuse me, princess,” Cozy said in a fake apologetic tone. “When we first met, you were just a baby.  We’ll I’m actually supposed to be a full grown adult now…that is, if it weren’t for these two jerk-faces!!”
Cozy’s face went from mischievous to angry as her horn glowed red and two flashes of light appeared over her.  Everyone looked up to see two bubbles in the air with alicorn fillies inside of them.  The first one was white with pink wavy hair and the other was blue with lighter blue hair. They both had the cutie marks of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna respectively.





“WHAT?!” Starlight shouted as her glasses fell off without her noticing.
“Celestia?!  Luna?!” Flurry said, terrified.
“Flurry!  Everypony, get away from her!  She’s too powerful!” said Celestia in a very young female voice that no one was accustomed to hearing her speak in.
“FOUL AND UNGRATEFUL WELP!!  PUT US DOWN THIS VERY INSTANT OR THOU SHALT SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!!!!!” shouted Luna in her ‘Royal Canterlot Voice.’ Unfortunately she could not make her voice sound low and booming; she just sounded like a whiney little girl throwing a temper tantrum.
“SHHHH!  Luna stop! Do you wanna get zapped aga-AAAAAGH!!”
Two bolts of lightning shot at the princesses.  Their bodies flashed with their skeletons visible underneath until they were black and cindered.  King and Queen Kriegspiel laughed wickedly as Cozy blew on her horn.
“You have no idea how good that feels,” she said.
“Cozy!  You can’t just…that amulet, you need to take it off!” Trixie said, bravely stepping forward. “Seriously, I put it on once and it turned me into a pony I never thought I’d be!  Please!”
“I put it on once and bla-bla-blah pony I never wanted to be!” Cozy said, speaking in a mocking tone.  “Gosh you ponies are no fun!”
“Watch your tone, pathetic little worm!” bellowed the king, putting his large wing around his daughter.  “Our daughter is more capable than anypony in all the land of handling this amulet!”
“Just because you may have failed to wear that amulet properly does not mean our precious little Cozy Glow cannot do it!” said the queen, getting up in Trixie’s face as she backed away.
“What I want to know is where these two came from!” Sunburst added. “You two were alicorns this entire time and no one knew about this?!”
“I’m the one who’s been an alicorn this entire time, fool,” the king explained. “My queen used to be a unicorn.  She earned her right to be an alicorn just like our daughter did.”
Just then, little Storm Streak completely lost his head.
“But I thought only good ponies could become alicorns,” he interjected.
“STORMY!!!!” shouted all his friends in unison as they surrounded him.
“What?!?  Isn’t that what Princess Twilight and your mom did, Flurry?”
Flurry then landed next to him and covered his mouth with her hoof as she looked back at Cozy and her parents with a big, nervous smile on her face.  King and Queen Kriegspiel growled like angry dogs until Cozy stopped them.
“Now Mother, now Father.  Let’s not worry about this mouthy little colt.  After all, he didn’t turn me into stone now, did he?” Cozy said before turning back to Stormy, “Let me guess: Rainbow Dash’s son?”
“Yeah, you got a problem with that, Faker?!” Stormy said as he broke free of Flurry and flew over to meet Cozy face-to-face with his snout pressed firmly against hers.





“Listen pipsqueak, I suggest you bugger off…or I’ll TURN YOU INTO A NEWT!!!”
Cozy hollered loudly right into Stormy’s face.  He went from angry and determined to intimidated. He took a gulp, and zoomed back behind Flurry, shivering in fear.
“Anyone else wanna back-talk your new royal empress?!” Cozy asked everypony else as they backed away.
“Cozy, we’re just trying to help!” Starlight said, frantically.
“Yeah, that things gonna get to your head before you know it!” Trixie added. “I swear, when I put it on, I wasn’t planning on taking over Ponyville and enslaving the entire population, I just wanted a rematch with Twilight after the first time we met!”
“Well it’s a good thing I’m not as much of a loser as you, Trixie,” Cozy said, smugly before walking back to her parents.
“What are we going to do, Starlight?!” Trixie said, grabbing her friend and shaking her a little.
“I have no idea, Trix.  We’re gonna have to just leave her alone for now.  Maybe we can talk some sense into her later if we just-“
Starlight stopped as a bright orb began to shine over her. Everyone aside from Cozy and her parents scattered.  The light burst and the Lord of Chaos himself, Discord appeared with his arms crossed.  There was fire surrounding him and he stood taller than normal to look intimidating. He stared Cozy down with a very serious look on his face.  The flames finally died out.
“Cozy Glow,” He said, menacingly.
“Discord!” Cozy responded.
“It’s him!” shouted the queen. “He’s the other one who cursed our beloved daughter!”
“Oh, why that brute!” the king added. “Have at him, Cozy!”
“I see you’ve found your parents,” Discord told Cozy.
“Yeah, took some time but they’re finally here,” Cozy said, proudly. “I’ve been looking for you, you BIG, DUMB, SNAGGLED-TOOTHED, HORSE-HEADED, BAT-WINGED, GOAT-LEGGED JERK!”
“Discord, run!” Celestia shouted in her bubble.
“We didn’t stand a chance!” Luna added.
“Tia, Luna, don’t worry.  I’ve got this.”




> 2. Next Stop: the School of Friendship!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discord took a few steps back.  He cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms.  Cozy just hovered around, smirking and flipping her hair.  Discord stood with his legs further apart and his arms outward as if they were about to duel in the Wild West.  Cozy made a similar stance.  They stared at each other for a few seconds until finally Discord lifted up his lion arm, opened his palm and shot a multicolored beam at Cozy. At the exact same moment, she shot a red beam at him.  Their beams met in midair and pushed against one another.  Discord gritted his teeth and looked as if he was having a very difficult time using his powers for once.  He lifted up his other arm and tried to use more chaos magic to overpower Cozy, but the Alicorn Amulet started glowing and Cozy’s eyes turned red.  It was now apparent that the power of the amulet was too much and even his own powers could not stop her.  She looked like she was showing effort at first, but now she had a wide grin on her face.
Her beam pushed forward as Discord’s beam shrank.  The red beam finally reached Discord and enveloped him with a magic aura.  His mouth suddenly opened up and his chaos magic spewed out into a small portal that Cozy created to trap it.  She had absorbed his magic in the past and knew how dangerous it could be; she wasn’t going to risk taking it for herself again.  The only option was to put it somewhere safe.
“DISCORD!!!” shouted everyone behind him.
“HAHAHAHA!”  Cozy laughed wildly. “Well Golly, that was fun, but I’m afraid I can’t allow the Lord of Chaos to persist like this!”
Cozy then zapped a beam of lightning at Discord.  His entire body seized up and a bright light shone around him.  His arms and legs morphed into the hooves of a pony and his wings were now small, grey pegasus wings.  His horns disappeared and a unicorn horn appeared on his forehead.  As this was all happening, his entire body also shrank and his facial features morphed into that of a young colt’s.  The only thing that didn’t change was his coat color and his black Trojan horse mane-cut running down the back of his head.  His flank bore a cutie mark of a set of scales. Discord had been transformed into an alicorn colt!
The light died out and he plummeted to the ground, not having enough strength to use his tiny wings.  He landed with a thud and riled up some dust.  He coughed a little and stood, groaning in a much younger tone.

“Ugh…what…WAIT…YOU…YOU TURNED ME INTO A COLT?!?”
Flurry and all her friends stood with their mouths hanging wide open.  While Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst seemed to already know, all of the kids except Flurry were not aware that this is what Discord actually used to look like.  He was not always a ‘draconequus’.  He started off as an alicorn thousands of years ago before he eventually became the Lord of Chaos and took over Equestria in his villainous days.  Not having his magic anymore and Cozy obviously using an aging spell was what had caused him to revert back to this form.  Discord no longer resembled the Lord of Chaos even one bit.  He was probably the same age as Flurry.





“Daaaw, ain’t you a little cutie!” Cozy said, making her face look all enamored before it returned to her usual mischievous grin. “How does it feel now to be the weak and helpless kid, oh mighty Lord of Chaos!? How does it feel to be pushed around and bullied!  HUH?!”
“I don’t get it.  Discord used to be an alicorn?!” Chip asked.
“I forgot you guys didn’t know that,” Flurry told him. “He wasn’t always the Lord of Chaos or a draconequus for that matter.”
“What about his cutie mark?  What does that mean?” Pumpkin asked.
“I…uh, it’s nothing, Pumpkin!” Discord said nervously as he covered his flank with his tail.
“Looks like somepony’s got a bit of a dark secret about their past,” Cozy teased.
“Cozy, please!  There’s something I need to tell you!” the little alicorn colt begged. “There’s a reason I turned you into-“
“SHUTUP!”
Cozy used her magic to float him over to Celestia and Luna. Their bubbles popped and all three of them were pushed up against each other tightly with Celestia in the middle.
“Hey ladies.  How’s it hanging?” Discord said, anxiously.





“We finally have them!” the king exclaimed. “Our revenge is complete!”
“But we’re not done yet, Father,” Cozy said, turning away from the others and walking towards the School of Friendship. “I still have a few other little things in mind.”
“Cozy Glow!  Wait!” shouted Flurry behind her.
“And just what do you think you are doing?!”
The queen turned to Flurry and stood tall over her as her horn glowed the same color as Cozy’s.  Cozy turned around and walked over to her mother.
“Don’t worry about her, Mother.  She can’t stop me.  How could she?”
“Cozy, I know we haven’t met yet, but I’ve read the Journal of Friendship and I know all about you.  I’m trying to help.  Please let me help you,” Flurry begged.
“Look Princess, you don’t know a single thing about me. I know you’re learning about friendship and whatnot and you really wanna try and ‘reform’ me, but I’ve got my own agenda.  I’m only going to say this once: do not get in my way.”
Cozy leaned in close to Flurry’s face.  She stopped smiling and her tone was threatening as she spoke through her teeth. Flurry stood there, feeling completely helpless. Her friends walked up behind her and Pound put his hoof on her shoulder.
“It’s okay, Flurry.  We’ll try again later,” he told her.
Cozy turned around and walked back to her parents with the three helpless alicorn children still floating around in midair.
“What’s on our list first, oh beloved daughter?” the king asked.
“Well, I gotta be honest, I was missing the School of Friendship a little,” Cozy said, stroking her chin.  “I think I might go on in there and do a little renovating.”
“What?!  NO! NOT THE SCHOOL!!!” Starlight shouted as Trixie and Sunburst held her back.
“Aw sorry, Starlight, but I’m afraid I’m gonna have to shut the school down,” Cozy said. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get a full time job at some hayburger joint in town.  Father, Mother, let’s go have some fun!”
Cozy and her parents walked off proudly, carrying Discord, Celestia, and Luna with their magic as they went.
“Princesses, Discord, don’t worry, we’ll get help! We’ll find a way!” called Sunburst.
After a few seconds, ponies in the area began to open the shutters to their windows and come out of their front doors.  The others just stood there with their heads down.  Starlight was especially stressed now that her own school was being taken over.  She had her face buried in her hooves as Sunburst had his hoof on her shoulder.
“This is bad!  This is very bad!” Trixie said, frantically tapping her hooves on the ground.
“She really is as scary as they said she was,” Pound commented.
“You have no idea,” Stormy said, still shuddering as he huddled up on the ground.
“How do we stop her?” Annie asked Flurry.
“I don’t know.  She just overpowered the three of the most powerful magic-users in Equestria and now they’re her prisoners,” Flurry said, gloomily.
“FLURRY!” called a familiar voice in the sky above.
“Spike?!”
“Flurry, there you are!” Spike said, landing and panting a little as he rushed over to her. “Did you…was…Cozy Glow…was she here?!”
“Well right now she’s in the School of Friendship doing who-knows-what to it.” Flurry responded.
“And she’s taken Celestia, Luna, AND Discord!” Trixie said.
“WHAT?!”
Behind Spike was Zecora who had just arrived with Twilight and several guards flying behind her.
“She has already taken the princesses AND Discord?!” Zecora exclaimed.
“You think that’s bad enough, she also turned them into kids!” Pumpkin added.
“That wretched little girl!  She needs to be…uh…stopped!”
“Zecora, you’re not rhyming.  What happened?” Flurry asked.
“The child has taken my ability to rhyme!  I have never felt this terrible in years!”
“So she did go after Celestia and Luna after all,” Twilight said as she landed next to Zecora.
“Twilight!” Flurry said as she ran in to give her aunt a hug. “I tried talking to her, Twilight.  She wouldn’t listen.”
“I didn’t think she would.  I thought it would be a lot easier to get to her, but I didn’t expect she would go after the Alicorn Amulet.  Now we’ve got a real problem.  If only I could find her parents and ask them to talk some sense into her.”
“Twilight, her parents ARE here!” Starlight exclaimed.
“What?  They’re here already?!”
“But they’re helping her out!  They’re just as bad as she is!  Oh, and if that isn’t bad enough, they’re both alicorns!” Trixie added.
“ALICORNS?!  No…no that can’t be possible!”
“Well her father was born an alicorn and her mother became one,” Pound told Twilight.
“So they say,” Flurry added.
Twilight began to pace around as she spoke.
“This doesn’t make any sense.  We would have known about her father years ago if he was born an alicorn. If her parents are as bad as you say, there’s no way her mother could have ascended the way Cadance and I did. Ponies don’t just become alicorns if they have such malice in their hearts.”





“I’m betting neither of them are alicorns, even her dad,” Spike said, crossing his arms.
“I’m with Spike on this one,” Sunburst added. “Cozy obviously used the amulet to make herself an alicorn, she probably did the same to them.”
“Or they aren’t her real parents.” Pumpkin added.
“Then why would they say they are?” Chip asked.
Twilight then heard footsteps to her right and looked to see Gallus, Silverstream, Sandbar, Yona, Ocellus, and Smolder with the new Elements of Harmony.
“Princess?” asked Gallus.
“We heard everything about Cozy,” Silverstream told Twilight. “Gallus suggested we get these things ready.
“Should we use them?” Sandbar asked.
“I’m not too sure we should,” Twilight responded.  “Cozy’s very powerful with that amulet, but…well, I was going to see if I could track down her parents to see if they could talk some sense into her, but now that I know about all this…”
“Bad ponies can’t be Cozy’s real parents.” Yona said, firmly. “Real parents out there somewhere.  Maybe we use Elements on them.”
“They could even be the real villains,” Smolder added.
“Well I’d rather we not use the Elements on Cozy Glow unless it gets bad enough,” Twilight continued as she looked back to the School of Friendship.  “Discord and I had plans for her, it’s just too bad she escaped too soon.  Maybe she’ll change her mind if he talks to her in there.”
“What plans?” Flurry asked.
“I’ll explain later, but right now I need to see if I can talk to Cozy.  I just hope she listens.”
> 3. Ultimate Power!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The doors to the front entrance of the school slammed open. Cozy walked in, carrying Discord, Celestia and Luna with her magic.  She threw them off to the side in a heap as King and Queen Kriegspiel stood watch over them.
“Ah, feels so good to be back!” Cozy said after taking a deep breath.
“So this is the School of Friendship,” said the king as he walked over to a pillar with a bust of Starswirl the Bearded on top.
“It will be the perfect place for our precious little daughter to reign supreme!” the queen added as she took the bust of Rockhoof and transformed it into one that resembled Cozy’s head.
“NO!  Please, not the Pillars!” Celestia called before getting zapped by Queen Kriegspiel.
“Silence, fool!” she scolded.  “The Pillars of Equestria are old and outdated.  It’s time we started making statues of a pony that actually matters.”
“Aw, thanks, Mommy!”
Cozy walked up to her mother and nuzzled her as the queen wrapped her arm around her and they both giggled.  King Kriegspiel started transforming more of the busts into Cozy’s head with different expressions.  Luna stood next to Celestia with rage in her eyes.  She looked like she was about to explode in anger until her sister put her hoof on her shoulder to calm her down.
“Cozy, can we talk please?” Discord asked, carefully.
“Oh sorry, what’s that?” Cozy said, putting her hoof to her ear.
“Um, I said can we-”
“I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THAT DUMB VOICE OF YOURS!” she shouted in his face as his lips stretched back and his mane blew around in the wind.
“Ugh…no Cozy, really, I need to tell you somethi-”
A red aura appeared around Discord’s face.  A zipper moved across his lips and zipped his mouth shut.
“Can it, will ya?!  And while I’m a it, why don’t you three go make yourselves useful and clean up!”
Cozy’s horn glowed and flashes of light appeared over the three alicorn children.  They were now wearing French maid outfits with feather dusters and cleaning spray on the ground next to them.
“OH COME ON!” Luna shouted.
“MMMMPPPFH!” Discord said in a muffled voice.
“Cozy, the year just ended.  They’ve already cleaned the school,” Celestia tried to explain.
“Yeah yeah, whatever.  Clean it again!” Cozy barked back.
The three alicorns reluctantly flew off to go do their chores. Cozy walked over to join her parents.
“I’m loving the busts so far!” Cozy said, gratefully.  “I think every room in this building is going to need an adorable picture of me to remind everypony who’s watching them.”
“I’ll get to work on that right away!” said the king.
“How about a statue of you right over there, dear?” the queen asked Cozy.
“Oh I’d love that!  This place is going to shine by the time I’m done with it…or rather, by the time we’re done with it.  Hehehe!”
With a sinister grin on her face, Cozy flew around and used her magic to make changes to the school with her parents following closely behind.  They began to sing as they went about their dark deeds.


Cozy:
Golly it feels great
To be back in charge again
With this amulet around my neck
Reality’s mine to bend
No more wimpy centaurs
Or psychotic changeling queens
This time I’ve got mom and dad
To help me pull some strings


Queen Kriegspiel:
Oh the things we’re going to do
With this lousy friendship school
Nopony will question us
Or we enslave those fools


King Kriegspiel:
Our daughter reigns on high
So meet all her demands
Everypony here at her commaaaaaaaaand


King, Queen, and Cozy:
Ultimate power doesn’t
Come for those who sit and wait
Only the strong shall rule
So take it before it’s too late


Cozy:
I’ll have that ultimate power
I’ll be seated on the throne
I’ll make them bow to me
And this time I am not alone


Queen Kriegspiel:
So much to redecorate
So much time to spare
Everypony will adore
This precious little mare


King Kriegspiel:
And those who oppose her
What good will that do?
Our little Cozy has the
Power to overthrow you


Luna:
Oh the things I’m going to do
When I get my hooves on that welp!


Celestia:
Sister please, I think we should wait for heeeeeeeelp!


Discord:
MMMMPH!


King, Queen, and Cozy:
Ultimate power doesn’t
Come for those who sit and wait
Only the strong shall rule
So take it before it’s too late


Cozy:
I’ll have that ultimate power
I’ll be seated on the throne
I’ll make them bow to me
And this time I am not alone



Cozy laughed wickedly as her parents kept using their magic to make alterations to the school.
“Mom, Dad, I’m loving what you’ve done with the place!” she told them.
“Anything for our precious Cozy!” the queen said.
“Now just what do we plan to do to everyone else aside from our prisoners, daughter?” the king asked.
“Eh, we won’t worry about them right now.  It’s not like anyone can stand up to us really.  I guess eventually they’ll all just give up and crown me their next princess.  All in due time.”
“Hehe, oh that would be just wonderful!” the queen laughed.
Cozy looked out a nearby window to gaze upon Ponyville and Canterlot in the distance as she finished her song.


Cozy:
Look at all these ponies
They lack a proper leader
Someone oughta step up and help ooooooout
They seem so lost and helpless
Just like I once was
Perhaps I should show mercy and cut baaaaaack?
Hehe…NAH!

King, Queen, and Cozy:
Ultimate power doesn’t
Come for those who sit and wait
Only the strong shall rule
Just take it before it’s too late
I’ll (We’ll) have that ultimate power
I’ll (We’ll) be seated on the throne
I’ll (We’ll) make them bow to me (us)

Cozy:
And this time…

King and Queen:
This time…

Cozy:
I’m not…

King, Queen, and Cozy:
ALOOOOOOOOOONE!
MUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!


Just as they finished singing, a loud, booming voice could be heard echoing all around them.  It was loud enough to hear from any angle, but sounded like it was coming from outside.
“COZY GLOW!!!” shouted the voice.
“AGH!  What the!?” Cozy said, putting her hooves up to her ears.
“Who dares interrupt our dark business?!” shouted King Kriegspiel.
“THIS IS THE VOICE OF PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE!  I DEMAND TO SEE YOU NEAR THE FRONT ENTRANCE OF THE SCHOOL OF FRIENDSHIP AT ONCE!!”
“Oh plllllease,” groaned the queen as she buried her face in her hooves.
“Would you like for us to take her on, daughter?” the king asked.
“Don’t worry Father, I’ll take care of Princess Twilight.”
Cozy opened a nearby window and flew outside with her parents following her close behind.  Down on the lawn between the castle and the school were Twilight, Flurry and Spike.  
“Gosh Twilight!  Nice job with the Royal Canterlot Voice!” Spike told Twilight.
“I’ve been practicing,” she responded, proudly.
They waited patiently for Cozy and her parents to land. This was the first time Cozy had seen Twilight since her last defeat over eight years ago, though for Cozy it was just over a week, so she still had the event fresh in her mind.  With a calm yet foreboding look on her face, she landed daintily and walked forward.
“Yes, Twilight?  Or should I just call you ‘princess?’  Congratulations by the way,” she said, smugly.
“Cozy, I’m here to make amends with you,” Twilight began, firmly. “I know you’re upset about what happened in Canterlot, but you need to let this all go.  Equestria has suffered enough.”
“Yeah, yeah, I don’t think so.”
“Is there any way I can get you to let Celestia, Luna, and Discord go?”
“No, I don’t think there is.”
“And the School of Friendship?”
“Nope.  All mine.”
Cozy answered Twilight while refusing to make eye contact and instead just using a hoof-filer to polish her hooves.  King and Queen Kriegspiel looked proudly at their daughter and scowled at Twilight.  Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath.  She was already getting impatient.
“Look, Cozy, I know you’re powerful with that amulet, but if this keeps up, I’m going to have to call the new wielders of the Elements of Harmony to take that magic away from you.  I don’t want to, but I will if I have to.”
Cozy started to look a bit confused and then thought hard. She stroked her chin with her hoof and her eyes and horn started to glow red like she was already using magic. Twilight wasn’t sure what was happening, but she seemed to be casting a spell that was meant to see from a great distance or sense something.  Cozy finally looked back at Twilight and began to speak with a smile on her face once again.”
“New wielders?  Oh that’s right!  You mean these new wielders?”
Her horn glowed again and six bright lights flashed above her head.  Twilight looked up, horrified to see all six of the teachers, no longer wearing their Element of Harmony necklaces.



“HEY!” shouted Gallus.
“The…THE ELEMENTS!!” Silverstream gasped as she looked at her neck to see her necklace no longer there.
“What the?!  Oh come on!!” Smolder screamed as she shook her fist.
“Cozy, put us down!!” Sandbar joined in, trying to break free of the magic aura surrounding him by wiggling his legs about.
“NO!!!  Cozy, please!” Twilight begged.
“How bratty little pony know teachers were New Elements?!” Yona bellowed.
“I may be a kid but I’m not stupid!” Cozy responded. “I already knew you guys were the new Elements of Harmony.  I knew somebody had to be.  Tirek, Chrysalis and I saw that big column of green energy over by the old castle ruins the other night.”
“You…you saw that?!  What about the changeling?” Ocellus asked.
“What was his name…I think Scutellum or something? Yeah, he found us a few moments later and then made right off with Chrysalis, leaving me and Tirek behind. Anyway, it wasn’t hard figuring out who did that.  Everypony knows how to read a random newspaper on a doorstep.”
“Cozy, that’s enough!” Twilight shouted.
“Sorry Twilight,” Cozy said as she allowed her parents to use their magic to hold the teachers while she continued to speak.  “I wasn’t planning on doing anything to these guys, but you left me with no choice.  You shouldn’t have threatened a poor little girl like that!”
“That’s right, foolish princess!  If you even deserve to be called that!” said the queen, petting her daughter.
“Why don’t you just toddle off and mind your own business,” the king added.
“And just who are you two? What took you so long to reunite with her?  And…and how are you both alicorns?!” Twilight asked.
“Again, mind your own BUSINESS!”
The king walked to Twilight and got right in her face, speaking in a very sinister, deep voice.
“Don’t worry about it, Twilight,” Cozy continued. “Those three brats get what they deserve and I only want the school right now you know. As for the teachers, you can just tell everypony that’s your fault since you threatened me.  This is just going to be the new normal.  You wouldn’t want to disappoint a poor, little girl…who’s happy now that she’s reunited with her loving parents, would you?”
“Awww!” said the king and queen as they giggled and snuggled up to Cozy.
“Cozy, are they your real parents?” Twilight asked.
The smiles on their faces suddenly turned to shock, which then turned into rage.  Cozy marched toward Twilight with her horn glowing intensely.
“YEAH THEY’RE MY REAL PARENTS!!  DON’T EVER ASK ME THAT QUESTION AGAIN!” she hollered.
She shot a beam at Twilight, turning her into a unicorn filly. Twilight was standing in her anklets and was still wearing her necklace and tiara, though they were far too big for her now.
“Wha…HEY!!” Twilight shouted in her younger voice.
“AHAHAHAHAH!!!” the king and queen laughed wildly.
Cozy was still panting from all the anger, but then calmed herself down, closed her eyes and smiled.  Spike and Flurry were both horrified to see what happened.



“Oh my sweet Celestia…” Flurry said as Spike fainted.
“Daaaw, you should keep this look, Twilight!  You’re almost as cute as I am!” Cozy teased.
“COZY, TURN ME BACK THIS INSTANT!!!” Twilight said, leaping in the air.
She expected to keep herself afloat until she remembered she no longer had her wings and plummeted back to the ground.
“Alright, alright, fine.  Just consider that a little taste of what’s to come if you ever say a harsh word about my parents again!  You hear?!”
Cozy zapped Twilight again and Twilight turned back into a grown alicorn. Her anklets had rolled away and her tiara was elsewhere on the ground.  She still had on her necklace, but it was crooked.  She was lying on the ground and her eyes were spinning.  Flurry and Spike rushed over to help her up.
“Not cool!” Spike said, angrily.
“Cozy, come on!” Flurry added.
“Later, losers!” Cozy said as she walked back to the school with her parents and the teachers.  The teachers kept shouting at her to let them go, but it did no good.
“Twilight, are you okay?” Flurry asked.
“I’m fine,” Twilight said as she got up and put her regalia back on.
“Well, that went swimmingly,” Spike grumbled.
> 4. Why We Turned You to Stone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Cozy, come on!  This isn’t right!” shouted Gallus as he grabbed the bars of the cage he was in.
“Let us out now!” Ocellus chimed in.
“Blah blah blah.  Look, I don’t have time to talk.  I’ve got some important renovations to work on,” Cozy replied.
“Renovations?  You’re just turning the whole place into a statue garden of yourself!” said Sandbar.
“I know.  Isn’t it just lovely?  By the time I’m done, everyone in this town will appreciate me!”
“Cozy, if you don’t let us out of here, we can still use the power of the Elements of Harmony without the artifacts,” Smolder explained.
“That’s right, haven’t you learned anything from the time we last defeated you?” Silverstream added.
“Yeah, we still able to stop you!” Yona hollered, head-butting the bars of her cage, which made her dizzy momentarily.
“Then why haven’t you done it yet?” Cozy asked, staring at them suspiciously.
“Well…I dunno, have you guys been trying?” Gallus asked his friends.
“I have been.  What about the rest of you?” said Smolder.
“Is it even working?” Sandbar asked.
There was a brief pause as all the teachers closed their eyes and tried to feel the power of the Elements, but there was nothing.
“Yeah, it’s definitely not working.” Ocellus added.
“What?!  How?!” Gallus asked.
“Well now, looks like you guys have lost control of the Elements already,” Cozy jested. “Or maybe you just weren’t meant to take me down. Maybe this is the Elements’ way of saying I don’t deserve to be defeated and I’m not doing anything wrong.”
“That not true!  You know that not true!” Yona barked.
“Whatever.  I’m leaving. Here’s some food.”
Flashes of light appeared in their cages with small dishes of rotten or tasteless food.  Cozy giggled and turned around to walk out the door to the cell she had placed them in.
“Geez, I can’t believe this is happening!” Smolder said, crossing her arms.
“We’ll find a way out of here, Smold.” Sandbar told her.
“What I want to know is why the power of the Elements isn’t working.” Silverstream said, quizzically.
“Yeah, we can use Elements without shiny necklaces just like we do years ago,” Yona added.
Gallus stroked his chin with his talon until he thought of something.
“Perhaps…perhaps it’s because there might be another way,” he said as everyone looked at him. “I mean, we all know that the Elements work in mysterious ways.  Maybe this is just their way of telling us we don’t need to use them right now because there might be some other way of taking her powers.”
“But what could there possibly be?” Silverstream asked.
“I don’t know.  There’s definitely not anyone around who can overpower her, but I highly doubt the Elements would just stop working within us.”
“Maybe we just not good enough for Elements anymore,” Yona said, sullenly.
“Don’t lose hope, Yona,” Sandbar told his yak friend. “I’m pretty sure that’s not the reason, but we’re not going to be connected to them forever either.  Someone has to find a way.”



Meanwhile in Cozy’s new throne room, Celestia, Luna, and Discord continued to labor.  Cozy had commanded them earlier to prepare a throne room for her in one section of the school.  King and Queen Kriegspiel had already transformed the room, but they purposefully caused dust to appear all over that their slaves were still forced to clean. Without their magic, they had to painstakingly take turns spraying and then using their mouths to hold the feather dusters.  Discord had been using his two hooves to hold his feather duster because he was having a hard time unzipping his lips.  Luna was still so angry and finally decided she’d had enough of this.  She threw her duster down and tore off her maid dress.
“GAAAAAH!  Tia, I can’t take this anymore!” she screamed.
“Luna, shhhh!  She might hear us!” Celestia said, quietly.
“Mmm fmm!” Discord said to Celestia, trying to get her to help him with the zipper.
“Discord, what is it?” Celestia asked.
“MMMMMPH!” he said louder, pointing to his lips.
“Oh.”
Celestia flew over and put both of her hooves on his zipper and slowly pulled it to the other side.  Once it stopped, the entire thing disappeared from his lips and he was back to normal.
“UGH!  Tha…thanks!” he said, panting and rubbing his cheeks.  “Look, Luna’s right.  We have to find a way out of here.”
“We’ll just be captured again!  You saw her taking the teachers to the cell earlier.”
“Well the only other thing I have in mind right now is trying to talk some sense into her.”
“And just how do you propose we do that?!” Luna asked. “She wouldn’t listen to us then, she probably won’t listen to us now, Discord…or should I call you Acc-”
“DON’T SAY THAT NAME!” Discord yelled, covering Luna’s mouth with his hoof.
Luna grumbled and rolled her eyes.  Discord removed his hoof and calmed himself down before talking again.
“Look, you two know about the original plan I had for Cozy and the others.  What if I tell her about that?” he said.
“Do you think she’ll even listen?” Celestia asked.
“I think it’s worth a shot.  She’s mad at us for turning her into stone but if she hears the part where I intended to-”
Suddenly the doors to the throne room swung open and Cozy flew in. Discord and the princesses jumped in shock.  Cozy noticed some things were not as she wanted them to be.
“Hey, what are you three doing?!  Why are your lips no longer zipped?!  And what happened to your dress?!” she yelled.
“I tore it off!  I’m not wearing that thing anymore!” Luna snapped before her sister rushed in front of her.
“She was getting hot in it!” Celestia said nervously.
“Yeah, we all were!” Discord said, taking his dress off and fanning himself with his hoof.  “Oh, and I needed my lips because…uh…I needed to…blow away some of the dust?”
“UGH!  You know what, forget the cleaning!” Cozy said as she used her magic to make the throne room spotless.  A wave of energy passed over the whole room, and Celestia, Luna and Discord were now wearing jester outfits.
“What?!  What are these?!” Celestia asked.
“GRRRRRRR!!!  STOP DRESSING US LIKE HOODLUMS!!!” Luna screeched.
Cozy flew over to sit in her throne and used her magic to place the three of them in front of her.
“You little rats are my personal jesters now.  Now entertain me!  Dance or something!  COME ON! CHOP CHOP!!”
Cozy zapped all of them and they performed silly dances against their own will.  Cozy giggled with delight and crossed her legs.  The door then opened and King and Queen Kriegspiel walked in to speak with their daughter.  The three alicorn children stopped dancing and zoomed behind Cozy’s throne.
“Cozy, darling, your father and I are almost done with the auditorium,” said the queen.
“We just wanted to know what you thought of the idea of banners of your cutie mark adorning the walls,” the king asked.
“Awww, that sounds totally like me!” Cozy replied. “Oh and can we get some posters throughout the halls that look like this?”
Cozy used her magic to summon a giant propaganda poster of her face staring at the viewer menacingly.  The text on it read “COZY GLOW IS WATCHING YOU.”





“Oh my!  That is sure to strike fear into any grown stallion!” said the queen.
“We most definitely will hang that up everywhere!” the king added.
“Thank you kindly!” Cozy said sweetly, allowing both her parents to walk over to kiss her on the cheeks.
They took the poster and walked out, closing the doors behind.  Cozy smiled contently and made a frappe appear next to her and began to sip from it.
“Hey Cozy?” asked Discord behind her.
Cozy turned the throne around to look at the three of them. She set her frappe next to her on a table that she made appear magically.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT!” she shouted.
Her voice echoed throughout the entire room and the wind from her voice blew so hard that it caused their jester outfits to rip off and blow away.  Celestia and Luna’s manes were large and poofy, while Discord’s mane was slicked straight back from the wind.  He shook his head around and continued to speak.
“Can we talk, please?  For real, I really need to let you know something.”
“What do you want to talk about?!  Haven’t you three done enough damage already?!” Cozy replied.
“That’s actually what we wanted to talk to you about,” Celestia added.
“Yeah, it’s about why we turned you into stone,” said Discord.  “You really need to hear this.”
“Fine.” Cozy said, continuing to sip her drink.
“Well, you see, on the day we turned you into stone, I actually used a quick spell to talk with Celestia and Luna for a minute or two. It froze time so that’s why you didn’t see us talking, and I told them-”
Cozy rolled her eyes and set her drink down again.  She was getting tired of hearing Discord talk so she just zapped him and made a large screen appear over his horn that was playing a flashback of what he was talking about instead.


In the screen were Tirek, Cozy, and Chrysalis emerging from the giant cupcake that Pinkie dropped on them after she took Discord’s magic from Grogar’s Bell.  Celestia and Luna landed in front of them, ready to dole out some punishment.
“There isn’t a punishment worthy of all you’ve done!” Celestia said angrily.
Discord then appeared next to Celestia, whispering something into her ear.  He made a duplicate of himself to whisper something into Luna’s ear as well. Suddenly everything around the two princesses transformed and they were relocated into a strange dark realm that resembled Discord’s lair.
“What?  Where are we?!” Luna asked.
“Discord where did you take us?!” Celestia shouted.
“SHHHHHH!”
Discord’s voice could be heard all around them.  He then slowly faded in and walked towards them.
“I froze time around us and put our minds into this realm so I could tell you something without those three hearing us.”
“Hear what?” Celestia said, suspiciously.
Discord lifted his eagle talon and made a small portal appear that showed the Trio still trying to get out of the cupcake.  They were frozen and motionless.  Time in the real world stood still while Discord and the princesses continued to have this conversation.



“Look, I agree that these three really need to be punished, but there’s something else you need to know.”
“We’re listening.” Luna said.
“You know how I said earlier that I disguised myself as Grogar and I did it all to test Twilight?  Well that wasn’t all I planned to do.  I was pretending to be Grogar this entire time and join with other villains because I wanted to try and reform them.  My original plan was to invade Canterlot with them and then I; Grogar would betray them and take Canterlot for himself.  I then give Twilight and the others a chance to try and defeat me with the Elements of Harmony but the Elements won’t work since it’s actually me. At some point, Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis will decide to work together to help everyone stop Grogar. Once I can see that the Trio has grown comfortable enough being the good guys for once, that’s when I reveal I was Grogar the entire time.  The three of us all know what really happened to Grogar so there’s no need to panic about any major villains, plus, imagine if we actually reformed the Trio.   I am the Lord of Chaos and I know I cause a lot of trouble, but I figured if it could be enough to prepare Twilight for the path ahead AND to get three major villains to soften their hearts, it would be enough.  But of course everything changed when they took my powers with the bell and my plan was ruined.”
Discord gave them a chance to think.  The sisters both stared at each other, shocked.
“That was your plan this entire time?” Celestia asked.
“Well, that would have actually turned out better now that I think about it,” Luna suggested. “If you were actually the one making the attack, you could have just undone any damage.”
“And you’re right about reforming them,” Celestia added. “That would have been a far better ending for these three, but they are still criminals.  What do you propose we do with them?”
“Here’s my plan:” Discord continued. “We’ll use our magic to turn them all into stone so the kingdom will rest assured that they won’t do anymore damage, but they won’t stay that way forever.  Just give me ten years.  In ten years, we release them, and I promise you, I will reform them myself.”
Celestia and Luna paused and waited for a few moments. After some deciding, they looked at each other, smiled, and nodded their heads.  They turned back to Discord and gave him their approval.  Discord smiled and closed his eyes as he undid the time-freezing spell.
They were all transported back to reality and Discord and his duplicate had finished whispering into the princess’s ears.
“Oh, that does seem fitting.” Luna said.
“May I help?” Discord asked.
“Pleeeeeease?” asked his duplicate.
The sisters lifted their heads back as their horns shone brightly. Discord lifted both his arms, which were radiating electrical energy.  All three of them shot beams at the Trio and the cupcake disappeared. Discord, Celestia, and Luna watched reluctantly as the villains turned into stone statues of themselves with Tirek and Cozy shocked and Chrysalis frozen as she lunged forward one last time. A pedestal appeared beneath them and the statue landed with a thud, causing some pink icing left on the ground to splash.
“Together forever!” Discord said as he leaned against Chrysalis and flicked her horn. “I can’t think of anything they would want less.”
The crowd of ponies and other species that came to help cheered them on, thankful that the villains were finally dealt with. Celestia walked over to congratulate Twilight and the others, while Discord smiled as he looked in their direction. He then turned to the statue and his smile dropped.  He was lying about them being like this forever just so it would give everyone else hope, but he now knew he had much to prepare for if he was to reform them in ten years.
“Sorry that didn’t work out, you three,” he said under his breath. “I’ll deal with you later.  I promise.”


The flashback ended and the screen over Discord’s horn disappeared once Cozy stopped using her magic.  Discord appeared a bit woozy at first but shook it off and kept talking to Cozy.
“There, you see?  I never wanted any of this to happen; I was just trying to help you out. It was supposed to only be ten years, but that obviously didn’t work out since someone else undid the spell and released you a year and a half too early.”
“Also, Luna and I have been searching for your parents ever since that day,” Celestia added. “If we had found them, we could have released you earlier and tried to work this out.”
“Now, is this not enough to make you understand?” Luna asked.
Cozy sat still and stared in amazement.  She appeared angry but also confused.  She looked down and stroked her chin.  After a long pause, she sat back and exhaled deeply with her eyes closed.
“Okay, I get it now,” she said.
Discord, Celestia, and Luna all began to smile upon hearing this.
“I guess you three aren’t as bad as I tho-”
Suddenly, the Alicorn Amulet’s eyes glowed and Cozy opened her own eyes, which were also glowing.  Her body seized up and the light died out.  She looked angry again and started to raise her voice.
“No no no no NO!!! THAT’S NOT ENOUGH!”
She then jumped down from her throne and used her magic to push the three of them against the wall.
“I don’t believe you!  Even if that actually did happen, you idiots still turned me into stone and left me there to stay frozen for almost ten years!  I could have…I could have been growing up this time with my parents but you…GAAAAAAH!!!”
She let them go and they plummeted to the ground.  Cozy walked up to them, breathing heavily like a wild beast.  They shimmied up against the wall, as she got closer.
“What was that you said years ago?  How there isn’t a punishment worthy of all you’ve done?!”
Her horn and eyes began to glow until the doors swung open and her parents entered again.
“Cozy, we’ve finished the hallways!” the queen called.
“Are we interrupting something?” asked the king as they noticed she wasn’t in her throne.
“Oh not at all, just these three were…eh, forget it,” she said nonchalantly.
“They were what?” said the queen angrily, staring at their slaves.
“Don’t worry about it, Mother.  I think it’s time we broaden our conquest.  The School of Friendship just isn’t enough.  I want Ponyville now!”
Cozy’s eyes glowed again and she looked very sinister.  Her parents both appeared confused.
“Uh…we’re taking Ponyville now too?” asked the king. “I thought you said you didn’t care about anything outside of the school and wanted to wait till they just surrender.”
Cozy then turned around angrily.  Her eyes and horn glowed red and King and Queen Kriegspiel’s eyes shone the same color.  They then changed their expressions to be just as sinister as Cozy’s was earlier.
“Of course, darling!” said he queen. “What would we do otherwise?!”
“If you want Ponyville, then Ponyville it is! Anything for our sweet little alicorn daughter!” the king said as he walked on with his wife at his side.
“Good to hear!” Cozy replied. “Now let’s go out there and spread some of my adorableness!”
Cozy made the throne vanish and boarded up all the windows in the room with her magic.  She and her parents then walked out and slammed the doors behind them.  Discord, Celestia, and Luna sat still and could not believe what they just saw.
“Did you see that?” Luna asked her sister.
“I saw it,” Celestia replied. “Something is definitely not right with those parents of hers.”
“Come on ladies!” Discord told them. “Those can’t be her parents! And if they are, she’s clearly brainwashed them with the amulet!”
“Then who are they?” Luna asked.
“I don’t know, but we need to find out.  It could be the key to stopping her.”
“Also, that amulet really needs to be removed,” Celestia added. “It clearly increases feelings of aggression and insanity every time her eyes glow like that.  It’s getting even worse than it did with Trixie.”
“That too!  She sounded like she was ready to forgive us.” Discord said.
“So that brat actually does have some good in her, as much as I hate to admit it.” Luna grumbled.
“Even Trixie went too far with the amulet and she didn’t intend to at first,” continued Celestia.  “The amulet clearly makes things worse and if we don’t get it off of Cozy’s neck, she’ll take over all of Equestria, and dare I say it…the whole world.”
> 5. A Plan to Fight Back
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the crystal palace, Twilight sat down at the Cutie Map table with Flurry and Spike next to her.  Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack joined them since they thought they might need to call in some former Elements of Harmony to deal with this problem.  Elsewhere in the room were Zecora, Starlight, Trixie, and Sunburst as well as the rest of Flurry’s friends.
“Rarity’s still out doing important fashion business in Manehattan, but if this ain’t dealt with soon, she’ll hurry on over to help out,” Applejack told Twilight.
“And Pinkie’s out visiting the soon-to-be in-laws with Cheese. They’ve got a lot to plan for the wedding, but she's willing to come too,” Rainbow added.
“That will complicate things,” Twilight sighed.
“So what do we do, Twilight?” asked Flurry.
“I’m not sure, but let’s not forget that we’ve used the power of the Elements of Harmony without the physical artifacts before,” Twilight continued. “The teachers might be able to handle themselves in there just fine.”
“Yeah, but too much time has passed, Twilight,” Fluttershy interjected. “I’d hate to know what they’re doing to poor Discord in there right now.”
Fluttershy shuddered at the idea of Discord being age-reversed and working as a slave for Cozy Glow.  Starlight put her hoof on her shoulder to calm her down.
“We’ll find a way, Fluttershy,” she said. “I’m sure Discord will be fine, but I don’t know how we’re going to rescue him right now. Cozy already blocked the secret entrance I made that connects the castle to the school.”
“At least she hasn’t gone for Ponyville…yet,” Trixie said gloomily with Sunburst patting her on the back.
“So how did Cozy even find the Amulet?” asked Chip.
“Yeah, wouldn’t you have kept it locked away in Canterlot, Twilight?” asked Annie.
“Well, first it was safe in Canterlot,” Twilight explained. “Celestia kept it locked away in the palace, but the room it was being kept in was destroyed along with part of the palace when Cozy, Tirek, and Chrysalis attacked.  The amulet fell into the forest ground below and we had to go search for it in all the rubble.  Thankfully we got it before anyone else could.”
“That is where I volunteered to keep the Amulet safely in my hut.” added Zecora. “Twilight and I thought no one would think it would be kept in such a place, and we told everyone that it is in Canterlot, but little Cozy Glow is a brilliant one for her age.”
“So what do we do?” Storm Streak spoke up. “I don’t wanna even go outside with that little weirdo around!”
“You’ll be fine, champ,” Rainbow said, putting her wing around her trembling son.
“Well Twilight, I say we get a few former Elements together and try to take her down,” advised Spike.  “I know Pinkie, Rarity and the Pillars aren’t here right now and we’ve already lost the teachers, but I helped use the same power back during the Canterlot battle, I’m sure I can do it again.  We’ve still got the Element necklaces here with us.”
“Yeah, that may be the best option,” Flurry said.
“Right now I think it’s the only option,” Twilight replied. “Alright, here’s the plan.  Me, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy go outside and see if we can use the Elements while they’re around our necks.”
Twilight used her magic to give each of them a necklace. Twilight took Gallus’s while Rainbow Dash had Silverstream’s, Applejack had Smolder’s, Fluttershy had Ocellus’s, and Spike had Yona’s.
“But Twilight, we’ve only got five Elements,” Rainbow said.
“I know, but how many there are doesn’t matter.  Where two or more are gathered in the name of the Magic of Friendship, anything can be done.  If the power does still reside in us all, we might not even need the necklaces, but I say we keep them just in case.”
“And how about the Teachers?” Applejack asked. “Cozy took them while they were wearin’ the necklaces.”
“The teachers were caught off guard when they were teleported out of the castle.  We won’t be caught of guard.”
“Are you sure this will work, Twilight?” asked Flurry.
“I believe it will.  It has to.  If the Elements within the teachers are really choosing to not take Cozy down, they will at least protect us.  If anything, we may be able to at least rescue them.  These Elements are the only thing we have against her.  We best use them wisely.”
“That won’t be necessary, Princess,” said a familiar voice near the entrance to the map room.
Everyone looked to see Starswirl the Bearded enter.
“Starswirl!” shouted Flurry as she rushed over to give her mentor a hug.
“It’s good to see you, Flurry,” he told her.
“Starswirl, what are you doing here?” Sunburst asked.
“What do ya think he’s doin’ here?  Now we have six Elements!” Applejack answered, happily.
“Actually, Applejack, I came once I heard about what Cozy Glow had done, and while I think Twilight’s plan can work, there may be a better way to stop that filly.  I have something that can protect against the amulet’s magic.”
Starswirl reached into his robe and pulled out a small, red jewelry box, adorned with golden lining and a small lock on the front. Starswirl used his magic to make a key appear out of a pocket dimension and used it to open the box.
“What is that, Starswirl?” Flurry asked.
“Something I made years ago and hid before my friends and I went into limbo.  I dug it up just a few hours ago and brought it here,” he replied.
Starswirl opened the box and showed what appeared to be a bracelet.  It was the most unusual bracelet any of them had ever seen.  Instead of being a rather exquisite piece of jewelry, it was a very rugged, poorly chiseled ring of bronze.



“That’s gonna stop Cozy Glow?!” Storm Streak said rowdily.
“Shhhh!” said the rest of his friends around him.
“What?!”
Starswirl laughed as he pulled the bracelet out with his magic.
“I know it doesn’t look like much, Storm Streak, but it was designed to look shabby to turn away greedy eyes.  No one would ever think such an ugly hunk of metal would be as powerful as this is.  I call this the Safeguard Bracelet.  I created it to counteract the powers of the amulet when I heard a powerful sorcerer was wearing the amulet to conquer Equestria long ago.  Any blast, any spell at all that is dispelled from a creature wearing the amulet cannot hurt anyone wearing the bracelet so long as they are awake and conscious.  It creates a passive shield around the wearer so the wearer doesn’t need to use a spell of their own to protect against the amulet.”
“Sheesh!  That’s a really powerful artifact!” said Trixie.  “I wish you guys had known about this back when I was wearing the amulet.”
“Can it stop anything else?” Pumpkin asked, walking forward to get a closer look at the bracelet.
“Sadly it can only protect against the powers of the amulet,” Starswirl continued. “But when I made this bracelet, I filled it with magic that can create an evolutionary process in itself.  In layponies terms: if someone uses the Safeguard Bracelet long enough, it might grow more powerful.  I don’t know what will happen exactly, but the bracelet practically has its own mind and will learn over time.”
“Okay, so it can protect whoever wears it from Cozy, but we still need to take that there amulet off her neck,” Applejack pointed out.  “Can the bracelet take the amulet off?”
“Well it is said that no one can remove the Alicorn Amulet except for the creature who wears it, but if this bracelet can grow stronger, such a thing it might be possible.  If we could at least wear Cozy out, she might give up or remove it in her confusion. If not, that’s when the teachers come in,” Starswirl said, picking up Sandbar’s necklace.
“Well we don’t have a fake amulet like the one we used to trick Trixie,” said Rainbow Dash. “It’s gonna be tough getting Cozy to take it off.”
“So who will use the bracelet?” asked Zecora.
“Well, that’s another catch,” Starswirl continued. “It cannot be used by anyone with such powerful magic.  That helps to keep most villains from using it.  Cozy couldn’t even put this on while she’s still wearing the amulet without having an overload.  When I first used it against that sorcerer, I almost hurt myself so that already leaves me, Twilight, Sunburst, and Starlight out of question.”
Everyone suddenly turned to Trixie who had a shocked look on her face.
“Me?” she said. “Uh…guys, I don’t know.  I don’t think I should be trusted with it.  We know what happened last time I put on some powerful artifact.”
“Trix, it’s not going to mess with you like the amulet did,” said Starlight. “It’s supposed to protect you from it.”
“I know, it’s just…”
“I’ll wear it,” said Flurry.
Everyone turned to her and gasped.
“Flurry, are you sure you want to do this?” Twilight asked.
“I mean I don’t want to, but I tried talking with Cozy earlier and it didn’t work.  Maybe somehow I can get her to listen this time if she can’t hurt me.  I came here to study friendship and I’d be happy to reform Cozy.”
“We do still have Pumpkin, you know,” Pound said, elbowing his sister.
“Good one, bro,” Pumpkin replied, nudging Pound. “I could be the backup or something in case things get hairy.”
“Then it’s settled,” Starswirl said, handing the bracelet to Flurry. “The bracelet is yours to use, Princess.”
Flurry stared momentarily at the ugly metal circle and then slipped it onto her left leg.  It was a bit tight but had a good enough fit.  She did not feel any sort of magic emanating from it.  Its powers could not work until she received a blast of magic from Cozy.



“So, should we go take care of it now?” Spike asked.
“I wouldn’t wait too much longer.  It would be best to go now,” Twilight answered. “Here’s the plan: Flurry goes first and tries to stop Cozy.  With Cozy distracted, we’ll take the kids safely back to their homes to and then me, Starswirl, Zecora Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy meetup at the school and rescue everyone.  We’ll give the teachers the Elements back and then Zecora can take Discord, Celestia and Luna into the Everfree Forest.”
“Aw, so we don’t get to watch?” Stormy whined.
“You were the one who was afraid to be around Cozy Glow to begin with, kiddo,” said Rainbow Dash, playfully. 
“Fine.” Stormy said, crossing his arms.
“Is everypony ready?” Twilight said before they all nodded their heads to confirm. “Let’s do it.”
They all left the room and walked down the hallway to the front entrance with Flurry leading the way.  They opened the door and prepared to turn left to the school but were instead met by Ponyville under attack as the sky began to fill with dark clouds. Random ponies were running around screaming and Cozy and her parents were hovering over the town, shooting beams of magic at random buildings and transforming them into architecture that resembled giant chess pieces.  Flurry and the others stood still, dumbfounded over the sight.
“Oooookay, not good,” Twilight said.
“Now what?” asked Spike.
“We still go through with the original plan.  Cozy’s not watching the school right now so it will be easier for us to rescue everyone there.”
“Alright, everypony, you heard her!” called Rainbow Dash. “Let’s roll!”
She and Storm Streak headed to her house, Applejack, Chip, and Annie all ran towards Sweet Apple Acres, and Starlight, Sunburst and Trixie took Pound and Pumpkin to Sugarcube Corner, though they had to lay low since it was right in the middle of town.  Twilight, Starswirl, Fluttershy and Zecora headed for the school and Flurry took off to go confront Cozy.
“Well this is it,” Flurry said to herself.



The teachers continued to sit in their cell, no longer making attempts to get out.  They continued to wait for help or for Cozy to come in to give them some half decent food. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the center and Twilight teleported inside.
“TWILIGHT!” shouted Gallus.
“Princess!  Cozy Glow come for you if you not careful!” said Yona.
“It’s okay, Yona,” she said. “Cozy’s too distracted right now. Now let’s get you all out of here.”
Her horn glowed and she immediately teleported the teachers and herself outside of the school.

In the throne room, Discord and the princesses waited impatiently.  Luna was still trying to get the door open with her hooves, but it was locked.
“What am I thinking of?” Celestia asked as she and Discord lay down on the ground, staring at the ceiling.
“Is it a cake?” Discord asked.
“No, I’m on a diet.”
“Oh boy, I’ll bet that’s been tough.  Hehehe.”
“Are you calling me fat?”
“Not in this form, your royal shortness!”
“DISCORD!”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!  Sorry, I’m just getting so bored like this.  I need to be back in my true form.”
“But this is your true form.  Or at least your original for-”
Discord firmly placed his hoof on her mouth and glared at her.
“Sorry,” she said. “I know you don’t like when we talk about it.”
Luna walked over and stared at them angrily as they looked up at her.
“Are you two going to come help me or what?!” she shouted.
“Luna, that door’s not going to open and we don’t have our magic,” Celestia told her.
“Tia, they’re going to ruin Ponyville!”
“I know, but what can we do?  I can’t think of a way to get out of here.  Can you?”
“No,” Luna sighed sitting down, miserably. 
“Hey, Luna, cheer up,” Discord said. “They’ll find a way to stop Cozy.  They’ve got to.”
“Ugh, what’s that?!”  Celestia said, pointing to an orb of light that appeared next to them.
The light flashed and Starswirl appeared before them.
“STARSWIRL!!” shouted Luna and Celestia as they rushed forward to give him a hug.
“Girls!  I haven’t seen you like this in over a thousand years!  In your time that is.” he said, delightedly. “Oh, and Discord.  It’s nice to see you like how I remember you, albeit far younger.”
“Yeah yeah yeah, don’t get comfortable with it, old man,” Discord said, grouchily.
“He doesn’t like being reminded of his past,” Luna whispered in Starswirl’s ear.
“Right.  Well it’s time for all of us to go.”
“What about Cozy Glow?” Celestia asked.
“Flurry Heart is taking care of her as we speak.”
“Flurry?!  How can she stop her?!”
“There’s no time to talk about it.  Let’s get you three out of this place.”
Starswirl’s horn glowed and they all were transported outside where Twilight had just retrieved the teachers.  She and her friends had given them all their necklaces and Starswirl took out Sandbar’s to give to him.
“Thanks Starswirl,” Sandbar said, putting it back on.
“Celestia, Luna!” Twilight said. “I…I can’t believe she did this to you.”
“She…she turned you guys into fillies?!” Rainbow Dash said, trying not to laugh.
“Ooooh boy,” Applejack said.
“BAHAHA!” Rainbow said, bursting into laughter and leaning on Applejack’s back. “Sorry, I…hehehe, cant’ stop…laughing!”
“Yeah, sorry we didn’t come prepared,” Celestia said with a nervous smile on her face as a grumpy Luna crossed her arms.
“And, where’s Discord?” Fluttershy asked.
“Right here,” Discord said, hiding behind Starswirl and waving his hoof.
Fluttershy gasped as Discord walked out slowly and Applejack and Spike joined Rainbow Dash laughing.
“Aw gee!  Discord, we’re sorry, we just weren’t expectin’ this!” Applejack said.
“DISCORD!!!” Fluttershy said, rushing over to pick him up in her hooves.
“Hi Fluttershy,” he said flatly.
“Discord, I know you don’t like me talking about…you know, but did anypony ever tell you that you looked soooo cute as a colt?!”



She brought him in closer and hugged him tightly as his eyes bulged.
“FLUTTERSHY, I CAN’T BREATHE!!”
“Sorry,” she said, loosening her grip.
“You guys shoulda seen Twilight when she got turned into a filly!” Spike told everyone.
“Alright, Spike, let’s not get distracted,” Twilight reminded him. “Starswirl, can you transform them back?”
“I’m afraid not, Twilight,” he told her.  “It’s impossible for me to undo a spell from the Alicorn Amulet."
“It’s okay, we’ll turn them back later.  Zecora, take Discord, Celestia and Luna to the Everfree Forest, and be careful.”
“Understood.  Come little ones!” Zecora called to them.
The two groups separated, but Fluttershy turned around and went back to pick up Discord again.
“Just one last hug before you turn back to normal!” she said.
“Ugh, okay!”
“FLUTTERSHY!” the others called.
“Coming!” she said as she let him go.
> 6. Cozy Glow vs Flurry Heart
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cozy and her parents continued to wreck havoc in Ponyville turning more buildings into giant chess pieces and placing “COZY GLOW IS WATCHING YOU” posters on doors and poles.  Everypony was running around, screaming and crying except for two of Twilight’s guards that had been waiting outside.
“By the orders of Princess Twilight Sparkle, we demand that you cease all magical activity at once!” shouted one of them.
“Oh no!  Mommy, Daddy, it’s the powice!  I’m vewy scawed!  NOT!!” Cozy said as she shot both guards and transformed them into knight chess pieces with heads that could still move and talk.
“HEY!  You’ll pay for this, child!” shouted the other guard.
“Ah, ponies turned into knight pieces!  Very nice touch, daughter!” said King Kriegspiel.
“Why thank you, Father!” Cozy said, flipping her hair. “I figured if some ponies don’t wanna be kids again, they can just stand there and be part of the whole game!  Get it?!”
She and her parents both laughed maniacally until something interrupted them.
“COZY GLOW!!” shouted Flurry.
“Oh not this little brat again!” groaned the queen.
“Cozy, this has to stop now!” Flurry told her.
“Princess!  I thought I told you to not stand in my way!” Cozy said, flying in front of her parents. “Mom, Dad, why don’t you go down and keep some order.  Just remember to not use too much magic.”
“Squash that little insect for us, daughter!” the king cheered on as he and his wife flew down to roam the streets of Ponyville.
“Now where, was I?  Oh yes.  SCRAM!!!” Cozy barked as she shot a small beam at Flurry.
The beam zoomed forward, but before it could land a hit on Flurry, it met an invisible shield that automatically turned into a bubble of pink energy in front of her and the offensive beam turned into a small spark upon impact.  Flurry closed her eyes at first, afraid of the possibility of the bracelet not working, but she opened them to see that Cozy’s attacks had no effect.



“What the hay?!” Cozy shouted.  “How did you do that?!  Nothing stops the amulet’s power!”
Cozy then shot an even more powerful beam at Flurry and it only had the same effect.  Flurry smirked mischievously.
“Seriously, how are you doing that?!  It can’t be that ugly thing around your hoof can it?”
“This thing will stop all your attacks, Cozy.  You can’t hurt me.”
“All my attacks huh?  We’ll see about that!”
Cozy flew forward at high speeds and attempted to tackle Flurry, but instead she hit the shield and flattened out in front of her.  She slowly peeled herself off and shook her head around.
“GRRRR!  You know what, forget you, Princess!” Cozy said as she teleported elsewhere.
“Oh great, now where’d she go?!”  Flurry said.



Meanwhile, Starlight, Sunburst, and Trixie rushed the Cake Twins to Sugarcube Corner.  They were about to make it inside until the entire building was transformed into a giant rook made out of candy.
“NOOOOO!” Pound shouted.  “Mom, Dad, please tell me you guys are alright in there!!”
“Over here, dear!” shouted Mrs. Cake off to the side.
Pound and Pumpkin turned their heads to see both of their parents and rushed over to them.
“Sorry, I thought you were goners there for a second!” Pound said, hugging them.
“We’re alright, Pound, but we decided to abandon ship rather than risk getting trapped inside one of those things!” Mr. Cake said.
“We’ll get the house fixed later hopefully, but right now we all need to get out of here!” said Mrs. Cake.
“Aw, did I do that?” said Cozy behind them.
“Cozy, stand back!” Starlight said, angrily, as she, Trixie and Sunburst stood, ready to fight.
“Really?” Cozy said sarcastically before shooting all three of them with beams and turning them into children.
“COZY STOP!!!” screamed Starlight.
“Cozy come on!  I didn’t even go quite this far when I was wearing that thing!” Trixie told the naughty little filly.
“Think maybe that’s cuz you didn’t dare to try a little harder?” Cozy teased.
Suddenly, Flurry flew in and dove for Cozy.  Cozy was stuck on the bubble shield once again.
“YOU AGAIN?!  Can you seriously take a hint?!” she shouted as she flew off of the shield and angrily started firing more beams at Flurry.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight, Cozy!” Flurry called back.
“You’re gonna wish you were never born if you keep this up!”
Cozy then fired a very powerful beam at Flurry.  The beam was not damaging Flurry, but it was pushing her down towards the earth and she couldn’t fly out of the way.  Flurry tried using her own magic to push hard against the beam, but it did no good.  Finally, Cozy increased her magical output and blasted Flurry into the ground.  Flurry had a feeling the shield wouldn’t protect her from the ground since it could only work on Cozy’s magic, so she used her own magic to protect herself. Unfortunately, the beam and the ground pushed hard against both ends of Flurry’s shield and knocked her out.  She lay unconscious on the ground inside a circular crater.
“FLURRY!” shouted Pumpkin as she rushed over to the crater and tried to wake her up.  “Flurry, come on!  You gotta get up!”
Pumpkin then looked up to the sky to see Cozy readying another beam.  Pumpkin rushed over to Flurry, removed the bracelet and put it on her own hoof. Cozy fired the beam and watched as there was a large explosion of energy below.  She wiped her nose and began to giggle.
“Hehehe, that wasn’t so hard.  Wait…WHAT?!”
The dust settled and she saw that Pumpkin was now using the bracelet to protect them both.  As Flurry began to wake up, Cozy fired another beam.  After the dust settled again, she noticed they were no longer there. She looked around until she just saw the two of them flying in towards her before she was flattened along the shield again.  As they kept flying, Cozy slowly slid off of it until she blew away like a paper in the wind. Pumpkin used her magic to keep herself afloat and Flurry flew along with her until they both got far enough away.
“WOOOOOH!  That was awesome!” shouted Pumpkin.
“Thanks Pumpkin.” Flurry said as she hugged her.
“Here, this belongs to you,” Pumpkin said, giving the bracelet back to Flurry.
When Flurry put the bracelet on, it started to glow and in a few seconds, it went from being course and bronze to smooth and silver. Flurry and Pumpkin stared in amazement at it.



“What…just…happened?” Pumpkin asked.
“It’s just like Starswirl said!  It’s changing and growing stronger!”
“You think you got this now?”
“Oh I’ve got this Pumpkin!”
“PUMPKIN CAKE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE?!” shouted Mrs. Cake from a hundred feet below.
“MOM, DAD, GUESS WHAT I JUST DID!” Pumpkin called back as she used her magic to bring herself down to her family.
Flurry meanwhile kept looking at the bracelet and wondered what else changed about it besides its appearance.
“So now what.  Can it do more than just make a shield?”
Cozy then came up behind her and shot another beam.  The shield was now much bigger than last time and could cover about five times more in radius.  Flurry didn’t even notice Cozy was behind her until after the blast made a sound against her shield.  The shield also seemed to work now even if she wasn’t paying attention which meant she wouldn’t have to worry about getting hurt if unconscious and could probably even protect a building from being destroyed or transformed.  Flurry turned herself around to face Cozy.
“UUUUGH!  Where did you get that thing?!” Cozy asked.
“Let’s not worry about that right now, Cozy.  Let’s just say this bracelet is more powerful than you think.”
“Well then why don’t you fight back?!”
“I don’t have to and I don’t want to, so I’m just asking right now that you please take off the amulet and surrender.”
“NEVER!!!”
Cozy dove for Flurry, but this time with more force. Now that she knew how the shield worked, she knew she had to be careful interacting with it so she created her own shield from the magic of the amulet.  This had the effect of two balls of indestructible energy constantly bouncing at each other.  It didn’t hurt either one of them, but Cozy tried to see if she could push Flurry enough to have her knocked out again, but the shield had clearly grown stronger now. Cozy kept pushing it around while Flurry tried to figure out what to do next.  Cozy finally stopped and was panting after being so tired from all the flying she was doing.  She used a quick spell from the amulet to recover some of her energy and then tried blasting more beams.  She experimented with different types of spells and attacks to see if it could wear out the shield, but to no avail.



On the other side of town, Zecora ran through the streets of Ponyville with Discord, Celestia, and Luna, trying to keep quiet and not alert Cozy.  She knew if Cozy saw those three out of the school, she would immediately go after them for escaping their capture.  Zecora had to unfortunately get through Ponyville in order to get to the Everfree Forest and Cozy and Flurry had already flown over them several times.
“Quickly, children!” she called to them as they rushed into a back alley to avoid being seen by Cozy. “If she sees us, I cannot forgive myself for what she may do!”
“So Zecora, what happened to your rhyming?” Celestia asked.
“Let’s just say I was the first victim of Cozy’s mischief.” Zecora replied.
“Can’t be half as bad as what happened to us.” Discord added.
Suddenly, a beam of magic shot the ground and zoomed past them, just barely missing Luna as she made it into the alley.  They all shimmied up against the wall as Flurry and Cozy flew over again.
“That was too close!” Luna said.
“We’re almost to the entrance to Everfree.  Come!” Zecora whispered.
They rushed on past more buildings that had already been transformed and could finally see the Everfree Forest.  They kept running until another beam carved a huge ditch right along the path that was several hundred yards wide and as far as the eye could see.
“Great.  Now what? We can’t fly over it or she’ll see us and we won’t have Zecora anyway!” Discord said, pulling his eyelids down.
“I know another way!  Follow me!” Zecora said as she ran back and lead them to an alternate path.
They tried staying behind buildings to not be seen, until they bumped into Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Spike, and Starswirl.
“Zecora, why are you guys still out here?!” Twilight asked.
“I’m sorry Twilight,” Zecora responded.  “We have had a hard time getting to Everfree. Look, the path is blocked!”
“Great.  Well here, let me take them.  I’ll teleport them across the chasm.”
Suddenly there was an explosion that rocked them all around and knocked Twilight into the wall of another building.
“TWILIGHT!” called all her friends at once.
They went over to help her up, but unfortunately she was unconscious.
“Just our luck,” said Rainbow Dash.
“I’ll do it,” said Starswirl. “Come with me-AGGH!”
Starswirl started floating in the air with a red aura around him. Everyone else was about to shout his name until white magic appeared around their lips to keep them quiet so they would not give themselves away.  Starswirl floated over to Cozy who had just spotted him.  Thankfully she didn’t seem to notice Discord, Celestia, or Luna.
“So, you’re the great Starswirl the Bearded, eh?” Cozy asked, bringing Starswirl to her.  “I’m guessing you’re the one who gave her that stupid bracelet?!”
“Maybe I am,” he replied. “She’s already gaining the upper hoof I see.”
“Hey…I’M GOING TO BEAT HER!” Cozy yelled in his face.
Starswirl looked back at her with a smirk before speaking.
“Pride comes before the fall, little one.”
Starswirl then disappeared and left a flashing light that disoriented Cozy momentarily.  She looked around but could not see him.
“HEY!  Why, that no-good, old coot!”
“Let’s keep this between the two of us, Cozy.”
Cozy then turned around, getting angrier and angrier and continued her fight with Flurry.  Starswirl was safely away from Cozy, but now he had to get back to Discord and the princesses.  He rushed back to them but was then stopped in his tracks by King and Queen Kriegspiel.
“Ah ah ah!  You’re not going anywhere, wizard!” said the queen.
“You must be the parents,” Starswirl replied.
“We are her parents, and proud of it!” said the king.
“Well just because you are both alicorns does not mean you can stop me.  You forget who you’re dealing with.”
“We call the shots now, not you!” said the queen as she and her husband blasted him with magic.
Starswirl created a shield of energy to protect himself, but he also noticed something peculiar as it happened.  While they were blasting him with energy, Cozy Glow’s energy seemed to die down and weaken.  Cozy noticed this and turned angrily to her parents.
“MOM, DAD, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” she hollered.
“Oh, Cozy, we were just teaching this old crone a lesson!” the queen replied.
“What did I say about using up my…er, your magic?!”
“Many apologies, dear!  It won’t happen again!” the king said, bowing his head in respect.
“They’re sharing magic,” Starswirl said to himself. “These two don’t have any magic, they only take away two thirds of Cozy’s energy when they use some!”
Starswirl then shot his own beam at the suspicious royals and they quickly put up their own shields.  Cozy’s magic weakened again.  Flurry noticed what Starswirl was doing and took the chance to catch Cozy off guard and use her shield to push her on to the ground.  Cozy landed on top of Discord, Celestia, and Luna in a heap on the ground.  They all groaned in pain until Cozy realized who they were.
“You three!” she said, menacingly.
They were all speechless until Discord spoke up.
“Uh…hey.  We’ll go back to the school now if you’d like,” he said nervously.
“You’re not going ANYWHERE!!”
Cozy flew into the air and zapped all three of them.  Electricity appeared all around them as a greyish material crept up their bodies and froze them into place.  A large pedestal that resembled the one that Cozy spent over eight years on appeared beneath them.  They were all turned into stone just like Cozy had been.



“DISCORD!  NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” shouted Fluttershy with tears streaming down her face as she ran to the statue.
“Hehehe, and here I thought this day was going bad,” Cozy said, wickedly.
“HOW COULD YOU?!?” Fluttershy whimpered as she turned to Cozy.
“Alright Cozy, that’s it!  Playtime’s over!” shouted Gallus as he and the rest of the teachers appeared with their Element of Harmony necklaces.


> 7. The Horrible Truth About Cozy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The teachers stood with their eyes closed as the necklaces began to shine.  Cozy tried to zap them, but this time, she was unsuccessful.  The power of the Elements had already taken effect.  She couldn’t even teleport them away from the necklaces like she did last time.  Just when she thought this would be her demise, the necklaces stopped glowing and powered down.
“What?!  Oh come on!” shouted Smolder.
“But this is the perfect time to use the Elements!” asked Sandbar as he tapped his necklace repeatedly.
“Like I told you, this is just a sign that I’m not doing anything wrong!” Cozy said, landing in front of them and proudly pacing around.  “Maybe the Elements are on my side after all?”
“Cozy you know that’s not true!  The Elements are a force of good!” Silverstream scolded.
“Yeah, well maybe it’s karma or something.  Who knows?  I’ll bet it means-UGH!”
Cozy froze and a yellow aura appeared around her, brought her up in the air and turned her around.  Flurry had used her magic to telekinetically lift her.
“What it means, Cozy, is that there are other ways to stop you,” she said.  “This bracelet is one of them and the Elements know that!”
Cozy used her magic to dissolve the aura and shot another continuous beam at her.  It pushed Flurry out of the Ponyville region and over the Everfree Forest.  Flurry eventually teleported away to a random spot further away and stopped to catch her breath.  She felt something tingling on her left hoof and lifted it to see that the Safeguard Bracelet had been updated once again.  Instead of silver, it was now a very shiny and reflective gold and had eight magenta gemstones on it.
“It’s working!  But what does it do now?” she asked herself.  “This can’t continue.  I have to get her to take it off, but she won’t listen.  Maybe I can get her to take it off if she’s angry enough and thinks the amulet isn’t working anymore.  That’s probably my best bet.  I’ll want to draw her out away from Ponyville though.  Maybe we should fight over the forest.”
Cozy then teleported in front of her and noticed that the bracelet had changed again.  She crossed her arms and thought for a moment.



“So your dinky little artifact can get upgrades, eh? I’m curious to know what it can do now, but there’s only one way to find out!”
“Cozy wait!” Flurry said, frantically. “Don’t use a really powerful shot!  Try a small one first!”
“Pffft, what do you think I am, stupid?!”
Cozy shot a powerful beam, but this time, not only did the beam not damage the shield, it bounced back directly at her.  She put a shield up just in time and the impact sent her bouncing out of control on treetops, until she landed in a nearby river in the forest.  Flurry flew over to see if she was hurt.  She couldn’t see Cozy anywhere until Cozy finally emerged from the water with her hair matted down over her face.  Her yellow bows had both come untied and fell off into the water.  Cozy was breathing heavily and slowly opened her eyes.  She appeared angrier than ever before and both her eyes and the amulet's eyes shone at the same time again. It’s evil magic was consuming her more and more and she had now reached her breaking point.



“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!!” she roared.  
Cozy overcompensated and started shooting repetitive bolts of very powerful energy at Flurry while having her own shield up so none of them would hurt her.  Flurry’s shield kept working, but now the blasts were bouncing off at so many angles.  It hit random trees, but Cozy’s aim was out of control and some of it went past Flurry and hit some of the buildings in Ponyville that were transformed.  A few of them were destroyed and fell to the ground in rubble.  Thankfully most of the town had been evacuated at this point, so no one was probably hurt, but if this continued, Cozy could destroy all of Ponyville. Just then, Flurry concentrated her magic and caused the shield to have a slight concave shape that helped to reflect the magic back at Cozy.  Cozy still had her own shield up and it just bounced off and hit more trees around them.
“COZY, STOP!  YOU’RE GOING TO DESTROY EVERYTHING!!” Flurry cried.
“Everything huh?  Well maybe that can be arranged!” said the deranged little filly.
Cozy then teleported out over Ponyville far up in they sky just below the clouds.  She started charging up a huge ball of energy over her head with her hooves in the air.
“YOU WANT DESTRUCTION?!  LET’S SEE YOU SAVE YOUR PRECIOUS PONYVILLE NOW!!!!!”



The energy ball grew so big and finally, Cozy threw it down towards Ponyville.  Flurry teleported directly underneath the ball, using the bracelet’s powers to protect Ponyville below.  The shield covered the entire town and although at first it let the ball sink deeply into it, eventually the ball bounced right back at Cozy.  Cozy freaked out and teleported out of the way just in time for the ball to miss her.  It traveled up past the dark clouds and eventually exploded somewhere in the atmosphere, safely away from the world below.
Cozy looked up at the explosion through the hole in the clouds that continued to part from the shockwave.  Now she was out of ideas.  She gritted her teeth and her face turned beet red.  She finally snapped and screamed to the top of her lungs.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!  I HATE THIS STUPID AMULET!!  I HATE IT!! IT’S SO WORTHLESS!!  WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER?!?”
In her anger, she did the one thing she was not supposed to do: she tore off the amulet and threw it to the Earth below.  For a few moments she just kept breathing heavily until she realized what she had just done.
“Oops.”
The horn on her head disappeared and her wings shrunk down to their natural size.  Flurry caught the amulet with her magic.  She then noticed the bracelet transforming again.  It was now thinner and made of a glowing bluish material with eight colorful diamonds spinning around it.  Flurry wasn’t sure what she could use it for now that her opponent had been defeated, but she used her magic to activate its power and slowly sent a wave of energy across everything.  All of Ponyville’s architecture and the School of Friendship reverted back to their regular states and every sign of destruction caused by the amulet was mended. The bracelet had grown so fond of handling the amulet’s magic; it was now able to undo it.



“NOOOOO!  MY PERFECT WORLD!” shouted Cozy.
The energy wave went further and transformed Starlight, Trixie and Sunburst back into adults.  It moved past the stone statue and unfroze Discord, Celestia, and Luna. They fell to the ground without the pedestal below them and then started glowing brightly until they were transformed back into their grown selves once again.  Discord looked at both of his hands and smiled.  Fluttershy ran in to give him a hug as he hugged back.  Behind him were Celestia and Luna.  Luna had grown taller over the years and was now the same height as her sister.  She slowly began to open her eyes and immediately knew she was back to normal.  She looked up to see Celestia offer her hoof to help her up.  Luna took her hoof and embraced her sister.  Suddenly a flash of light appeared between them and Discord hugged them both tightly.
“It’s been done!” said Starswirl.  “I knew she could do it!”
“This battle finally comes to an end.  Ooooh, my rhyme!  It is back once again!” Zecora said, joyfully.
The wave of energy went past King and Queen Kriegspiel and Cozy turned to watch her parents in horror.
“MOM, DAD, NOOOOOOOOO!” Cozy screamed.
They both put their hooves up as if to reach out for help. With worried, saddened faces, they watched their daughter one last time before disintegrating and fading away like ashes in the wind.  Everyone else looked equally horrified with what happened.  Even Discord, Celestia, and Luna were shocked to see this.



“No…no…” Cozy said over and over again, quivering as Flurry stared at her.
She took one look at Flurry and started hyperventilating and crying.
“Cozy…I…” Flurry began to say.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”
“COZY, WAIT!”
Cozy shrieked one last time and flew off into the Everfree Forest.  Flurry followed her, but couldn’t see Cozy any longer now that she had disappeared under the trees.  It was sunset at this time and was already getting too dark around the forest, but Flurry was worried about Cozy and continued to call for her.
“Cozyyyyyy!  Cozyyyyyyyyyyyy!  Cozy Glow, where are you?!”
She shouted over and over again but got no response. After a few minutes, she finally noticed a spot in the Everfree Forest by a small waterfall.  Cozy was sitting at the edge of the pond.
“COZY!!”
Flurry flew down onto the shore a few yards away from Cozy. She used her magic to keep the amulet safely behind her, though Cozy didn’t seem to be interested in the amulet anymore.  Flurry walked over slowly and tried talking to her.
“Cozy, what happened back there?”
Cozy didn’t answer.  She remained silent.  She wasn’t even crying anymore.



“Cozy please, what happened to your parents?  Are they okay?”
“They aren’t real,” Cozy said flatly.
“What?”
“They aren’t real.  I made them up.”
“You…you made them up?”
“I used the power of the amulet to make some parents for myself, and now they’re gone.”
Flurry paused for a few moments to take in this shocking revelation.
“I…I don’t understand.  Why would you do that?” Flurry asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?  I don’t know who my parents even are!  I was left on the steps of an orphanage as a foal and raised there most of my life.  Nopony ever wanted to adopt me, the caretakers weren’t very nice to me, so I just left on my own and you know the rest.”
“Is this the reason why you are the way you are?”
“Yes.”
Flurry sat down and was silent for almost an entire minute. The only thing that could be heard were the peepers, the waterfall, and the sound of Cozy sniffling every few seconds.
“I’m so sorry, Cozy.  I had no idea.”
“Not like you would ever understand.  You have two loving parents and tons of friends. You’ll never know what this feels like. You have no idea how much I envy ponies like you.”
“Why didn’t you just tell somepony about this?”
“What difference would it make?  What difference does it make at all?!  All I ever truly wanted was to have loving parents, so I made my own fake parents just to be happy, and now look where it got me!”
“Cozy, that can all change.  Let me help you.  I can-”
“NO!”
Cozy snapped and got up to slowly walk towards Flurry as Flurry backed away.  Tears were already streaming down her face, her lips quivered, her voice trembled and she stuttered as she spoke.
“Forget about it, alright?!  I’m a villain and everyone hates me!  I’ve given you guys enough trouble and now I’ll probably never be forgiven!”



“Cozy…”
“Just leave me alone.”
“COZY, PLEASE!!”
Cozy took off, flying away into the forest.  Flurry’s calling did no good and this time she couldn’t find the strength to go after her.  The sound of Cozy’s wings flapping faded away.  She was now out of sight.  Flurry sat on the ground in the same spot Cozy had been.  She hung her head and a tear started to form in her eye.  She then heard footsteps behind her and knew right away who it was.  She turned her head to see Twilight and most of the others behind her.  She too had a very worried look on her face.
“Did you hear any of that?” she asked.
“The whole thing,” Twilight said, sullenly.
Flurry slowly got up and walked over to her aunt.  When she got to her, they shared a hug with Flurry still crying.
“And to think all these years I was searching for her parents, only to find this,” said Twilight, petting her niece’s head.
“Do you think her real parents are still out there?”
“I’m sure they are, and I’ll continue to look for them. They are undoubtedly the key to reforming her.”
Flurry continued to cry into Twilight’s shoulder as some of the others came in to join them.


> 8. The Possession Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everything proceeded normal the next day in Ponyville. The villagers were thankful to finally be rid of Cozy’s mischief, but they also knew the truth about her parents as word had already gotten out.  There was already debate on what should be done with Cozy once she is found.  While Spike was out watching Flurry and her friends, Twilight had a meeting with Starswirl, Zecora, the teachers, Discord, and the princesses.
“I think it’s safe to say that the Elements knew exactly what was going on that entire time with Cozy,” said Twilight.
The teachers all nodded their heads in agreement.
“That’s why they didn’t work,” Gallus added. “After all, the Elements weren’t what turned those three to stone years ago; the Elements only took their magic.  It’s like they were trying to tell us something.  To think all these years they were kept in stone.  We should have known this.”
“I wish I had known,” Discord said. “I would have at least spared Cozy and immediately begun searching for her real parents.”
“We have to keep en eye out for them,” Celestia added. “I just hope they’re good parents.”
“I don’t know, Princess.  Leaving a child on the steps of an orphanage doesn’t sound like good parenting if you’d ask me,” said Sandbar.
“I know what it’s like to have loving parents, but I also know what it’s like to have a horrible grandmother,” said Ocellus.  “It’s no excuse for what she’s done, but I understand what she’s going through.  I just hope she’s alright out there.” 
“She’ll come back to us someday.  She has to,” said Silverstream with a smile. 
“That right.  She can’t stay in Everfree Forest forever,” added Yona.
“I’m going to have my guards start patrolling the forest and see if they can find her anywhere,” Twilight told them. “She’ll be brought to me personally and I have a feeling I’ll be met with a repentant filly this time.”
“A good idea, Princess.  Here’s hoping she is not in distress,” said Zecora. “I too shall keep my eyes peeled, and hopefully soon her heart will be healed.”
“Can we also admit that what she did yesterday was mostly just the amulet controlling her and not her doing it on her own free will?” Smolder suggested.
“Well, I do think she still wanted revenge on Discord, my sister and I, but it seems what she wanted most was to have loving parents.” Luna stated.  “  The three of us saw her almost forgive us until the amulet shone.  If she is repentant, I will forgive her myself even after all the trouble she caused me.  What’s been done has been done.” 
“And when the time is right, I will move to have her pardoned,” Twilight said, standing up from her chair. “Starswirl, did you take care of the amulet and bracelet?”
“I did, your highness,” Starswirl answered. “They’re kept separate in two different places nopony will find, guarded by powerful spells. I don’t know a spell yet that can destroy the amulet for good, but I will work to find one.”
“So be it.  Then you’re all dismissed.  I pray our next encounter with Cozy Glow will be a good one.”



Elsewhere in Ponyville, Spike and the kids were playing and trying to forget yesterday’s events.  Stormy had a hoola-hoop in his hooves and was hovering between Chip and Annie who were bouncing a ball back and forth through it.
“Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three…aw bummer!” Spike said.
“That’s okay guys, you did better than last time!” Stormy added.
“Here Annie, let’s get a little closer this time when we start,” Chip said, positioning himself on the ground as his sister did likewise.
“Think we can beat Stormy and Pound’s record?” Annie asked.
“I think we can!  You ready, Stormy?”
“Ready when you are, slackers!” Stormy teased.
The Apple Twins continued bouncing the ball as Pound and Pumpkin cheered them on.
“Come on guys, you can do it!” Pound shouted.
“Not bad for starters!  Keep it up!” Pumpkin added as they kept bouncing the ball.
She turned to her brother who was looking behind.  She looked in the same direction to see Flurry sitting on the ground by the pond.  Pound couldn’t ignore her and finally walked over to cheer her up.
“Hey, Flurry,” He said, sitting next to her. “You okay?”
“I guess,” Flurry sighed. “I’m still upset about Cozy.  I just feel so bad for her.”
“Yeah, I feel bad for her too.”
Chip let the ball stop bouncing and signaled to Annie to get her to see what was happening down by the pond.  Everyone went silent and walked over to Pound and Flurry.
“Still got Cozy on your mind, Flurry?” Spike asked.
“I just wish she could let us talk to her,” Flurry continued. “I wish we knew where her parents were.”
“What if they’re really bad parents?” Stormy asked.
“That’s what I’m afraid of.  It’s pretty bad that she was left to the orphanage like that.  If she finds her parents, they might not be as good and she won’t take that very well.”
“Don’t worry, Flurry,” Pound said, putting his hoof on her shoulder. “If Cozy ever comes back and says sorry, we can all be friends with her.”



“Yeah, maybe that’s all she needs is some friends,” Pumpkin said, cheerfully.
“We’d all be happy to make friends with her someday.  Right, Stormy?” Chip asked.
“Alright, I’ll be her friend,” Stormy said, sarcastically. “Just as long as she doesn’t try to turn me into a newt.  What is a newt anyway?”
Everyone started laughing and then went for a group hug around Flurry.
“Thanks guys,” Flurry told them. “I feel better now. So, you guys wanna see if Chip and Annie can break that record?”
“Yeah!  Come on guys!” Stormy said, picking up the hoola-hoop.
“Alright, ready and GO!” Spike said before he started counting again.




	Epilogue




Later that night, in the Everfree Forest, Cozy sat alone next to a still pool of water.  Her hair was still uncombed and messy with no way to have it taken care of.  She was still very miserable about everything and could not bring herself to smile.  The past few days were nothing but a fiasco for her, and now she regretted it all.  She wished she had never thought to steal and use the Alicorn Amulet.  She even wished she never came up with the make-believe characters of King and Queen Kriegspiel just to make her feel better.  She missed them, for they were the only ponies that treated her right despite her villainous ways, but Cozy now thought she didn’t deserve such sympathy from anyone.  She had gone as far as she could and had nowhere else to turn now.
She looked down at her reflection in the water for a few moments until she began to grimace.  She finally slapped the reflection and let water splatter everywhere as she wept bitterly. The last thing she wanted to see was her own face after everything she had done.
“Why…” she asked. “Why am I like this?  I just wanted to be loved.  Why can’t I just have loving parents like everyone else?  This wouldn’t have happened if I had parents.”
She closed her eyes and continued crying, wiping her tears away and blowing her nose into a leaf from a nearby plant.  Her crying died down a little until all was quiet enough for her to hear what sounded like a voice.
“Oh poor Cozy Glow…”
“Wha…what?”
“Poor child.  What a sorrowful sight to see.”
“Who…is somepony there?!
“Somepony?  Oh little one, you’ve known all along.”
“Where are you?”
“Down here.”
Cozy followed her mysterious visitor’s instructions and noticed her reflection now had a sinister grin on her face and no tear-stains on her cheeks.



“WHAT?!”
“There there.”
“Who are you?!”
“I’m you, Cozy.  I’m inside you, guiding you.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Don’t worry, dear sweet child.  I’m here to help you.”
“You are?”
“Of course.  Who would turn a blind eye to such a poor little filly?  It pains me to see you like this: not having anyone to love you.  Not having parents.”
“Do…do you know my parents?  My real parents?”
“Sadly no, but I will make up for them.”
“I just want to be happy.  I want this pain to end.”
“I’ll be here for you.  You won’t have to worry about that pain anymore.”
“So what do I do then?”
“Just follow my advice, and I will make everything better.  I have a proposal for you that will help you with all your problems.  You and I can work together as a team.”
“A team?”
“That’s right.  You won’t be alone anymore.  I can find you some parents.”
Cozy was confused about what she was hearing and she was suspicious about this mysterious spirit talking inside her, but she wanted so much to be free of the pain that she felt she had no one else to turn to.  The words from this creature were somehow convincing and helpful.  Her face turned serious and grim.  She closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them to reveal slit pupils.
“I’m listening,” she said.




The End