Origins: Cozy Glow
I have been many different ponies throughout my life, Cozy Glow the powerless orphan, Cozy Glow the archvillain who challenged the near invincible monarchs of Equestria and almost succeeded, as well as Cozy Glow the Hero of the kingdom of Taralos. I have previously documented many of the stories of my life. But there is one story I haven’t yet touched upon in detail, my origin, as most of it is a mystery even to myself.
I never knew my parents, but I knew they didn’t want me as they dropped me off at the Sunrise orphanage in Manehattan. I imagine it was a dark stormy night, my mother, a princess of a foreign land covered herself with her cloak to avoid getting wet in the rain. On her back was a basket containing a foal that would one day shape history. I have no evidence my mother was royalty, but I always like to imagine myself as a princess. After all, no one can prove I wasn’t, and it would certainly explain why I always felt I was destined to wield power. I liked to imagine my parents were in a desperate situation and put me up for adoption so I could have a better life than they would provide, anything to avoid thinking of the opposite, that I was abandoned because from the day of my birth they could tell there was something wrong with me.
My earliest memories were of the Sunrise orphanage, no memories of my parents or the time before the orphanage at all. I was a studious kid at an early age and the employees taught me to read when I started to show an interest in it. My earliest memories were of these lessons and the stories I read. I was always antisocial, burying my snout in books instead of socializing with the other orphans. Some didn’t like that, especially not Solar Justice, a white unicorn colt with yellow mane who took every opportunity he could to bully those he perceived to be weaker than him, he used to lead to the other foals in calling me names like bookwyrm or egghead. Afraid of being targeted by Solar Justice, the other foals started avoiding me, none of them would even talk to me.
That was except for one pony, Aurora, an earth pony filly with a gray coat and a blonde mane. She was a bookish and shy pony, just like me, with a love of classical literature. I remember to this day the conversation I had with her that first made us friends, when she caught me reading one of the early Daring Do books, she told me she was a huge fan.
This was enough to make me look up from the book and look at her, her eyes were full of naïve excitement. Was I the first pony to ever share an interest with her? Daring Do was not among my favorites, these books were a bit simple for my taste, but I liked them okay, so we started up a conversation about them. I felt annoyed at first as she distracted me from my reading, yet I grew to enjoy conversing with her. From that day onward we would always read the same books so we could discuss them afterwards. Of course, Aurora wasn’t quite on my level, her understanding of these works of literature being quite simple and surface level, but her enthusiasm still always made her fun to talk to.
Soon we moved on to playing the occasional boardgame, Aurora would nearly always lose if it wasn’t a game based entirely on luck however, which she greatly preferred as a result. My favorites were always the opposite, games of skill and strategy, my favorite among all games was chess. Aurora always volunteered to play the game with me, despite knowing she would always lose, but she allowed me to practice my strategy against her, which allowed me to improve. Eventually I started asking the orphanage employees to get me books about chess strategy, which I sometimes read instead of the fictional stories I used to enjoy. I would still enjoy reading a story from time to time, but chess would soon become an all-consuming obsession. Aurora attempted to improve her own strategy as well by reading books about strategy to give me more of a challenge, but to little avail. I could tell studying the game on such a deep level was boring to her, but she did it so she could help me improve. Aurora was always a very supportive friend in that way, too bad what would eventually happen to her, and I had only myself to blame.
There were also times where I would stand up for her, like when Solar Justice would swipe her glasses when she was trying to read one of my chess strategy guides and force her to beg for him to give them back. I told Solar Justice to knock it off and give the glasses back as she obviously couldn’t read without them. Solar Justice just gave me a confident smirk:
“Oh, so the nerd has finally grown a pair, but what do you intend to do about it? I am stronger than you, and more importantly, I have magic. Your weak, powerless, and above all pathetic.”
I knew he was right; I could do nothing to stop him. When I went quiet, Solar Justice swiped the book from Aurora’s hooves with telekinesis and told her:
“What if I dump this one in the toilet?”
Aurora burst into tears, I tried my best to reach up and grab the book, but Solar Justice made sure it always hovered out of reach. I would chase him all the way to the toilet where he would dump it and flush. Laughing as I tried my best to scrape up the remains from the toilet bowl. What he told me next were words that I would remember for the rest of my life:
“You see egghead, power is all that matters, because I am stronger than you, I can do whatever I want, and you can do nothing to stop me. Because I am powerful everypony wants to be friends with me, not you. The only ponies that are willing to make friends with someone as pathetic as you are someone equally as pathetic, such as Aurora, and they are not worth much. Ask yourself, what do you truly gain from being friends with her? ”
I realized he was right, as things were going, he was always going to have the power to do as he wanted with me, my possessions and my friends. Without power I could never hope to defend myself and I would always be a doormat to ponies like him. To make matters worse I was the one blamed for the destruction of the book and I was forced for months to work doing dishes in the kitchen to pay it off. Just because the employees bought Solar Justice’s bullcrap story about me having accidentally dropped it trying to read it in the bathroom. As Solar Justice had ingratiated himself with the personnel, they all believed my story about how he was the one responsible were lies. What exactly was the point of honesty when no one was going to believe you anyway? No, if there was anything I learned from this experience it was that the world would always benefit those with power, and those willing to manipulate others to get into their good graces.
In the months to come I would continue to hang out with Aurora, reading books, talking about books, studying chess and playing chess with her. All while Solar Justice’s harassment of us both grew more and more extreme. He would always frame us for various misdeeds, including theft, which he managed by sneaking various items into our rooms. As I already had a reputation as a troublemaker from the previous incident. I always got the blame. I started to get tired of being his eternal punching bag.
Things started to look up for me when both me and Aurora applied to a local chess tournament for young ponies that was being held in Manehattan. Participating as a judge in said tournament was a chess grandmaster with the name of Bishop, an upper-class pony with a white coat and a bishop piece as a cutie mark. The day of the tournament came, and I dominated the competition, but surprisingly so did Aurora. The finals were between the two of us, two good friends facing off like we usually would, with a grandmaster watching our every move. Aurora, perhaps because she had learned a lot from her previous opponents in this tournament played a much better game than she usually would, she had an advantage over the other opponents I had faced because she knew of my usual tricks and gambits. I had to give my all to defeat her, but I was eventually victorious. When I checkmated her king using one of my rooks my flank began to glow, and a cutie mark consisting of a red rook manifested. This really caught the attention of Bishop, who were already impressed with my game. As the victor of the tournament, I received a reasonable sum in cash as well as an invitation to a prestigious tournament in Canterlot. Aurora took her loss with grace and congratulated me. I think this was the happiest moment in my life at this point. For I knew then that playing chess was my destiny, or so I thought.
My victory in this tournament was a turning point when it came to my reputation at the orphanage, where previously I had been thought of as quirky and weird, now with actual success under my belt, everypony started to praise me. Suddenly my interest in chess was not for nerds anymore, because of my success I was defined as a winner. Yet Solar Justice and his cronies kept bullying Aurora, after all, despite the fact she had come second place, she was still a loser in their eyes. Because in the immortal words of Solar Justice: “There is no place that matters but first place.” After my newfound popularity, I noticed the other foals were put off by my withdrawn and shy personality. So, in pursuit of no longer being everyone’s punching bag, I discarded that part of my personality and put on a façade. I would now act sugary sweet to everyone I met. But it started to become obvious that Solar Justice resented my popularity. And he had one final trick up his sleeve.
The invitation to the tournament in Canterlot would only stand for those without a criminal record, and Solar Justice knew it. So, he told me that he would burn down the orphanage library and pin it on me unless I did exactly as he said. And I knew from my previous experience that he was right, if the library burned down and he told the employees that it was me, they would believe it. My future as a chess champion would be ruined. Solar Justice only had a single demand, I was to give up my friendship with Aurora and I would start to hang out with Solar Justice and his crew to bolster their popularity, as among the other foals I had started to eclipse Solar. What would come next isn’t something I am proud of, it’s one of very few things I have done I am not proud of in fact. I have tried to conquer Equestria twice and I never had any regrets regarding that. But this one action? It would haunt me for the rest of my days. I would agree with Solar’s terms, shaking his hooves in the process, yet I couldn’t get over the feeling that I just made a faustian bargain. Yet, he was right, Aurora would just weigh me down, without her I would have a chance to truly glow. And what was really the alternative? If I was framed for arson, not only would I never be able to compete in the grand tournament in Canterlot, I would have to spend several years in a penitentiary where I would lose contact with my friend anyway. At the time, I tried my best to convince myself that I had made the right choice, the only choice I could’ve made, trying my best to suppress my subconscious yelling at me that something was wrong. While this choice would ultimately be disastrous, at the time I could never have predicted the damage this decision would cause. And therefore, could I truly be blamed for it?
It first started rather simply; I would start ignoring Aurora. When she talked with me, I would never respond, when she knocked at the door to my room I would never open. Basically, I would start treating her like she was invisible. This alone broke her, whenever I saw her from this point onwards, she would always be in tears, begging me to talk to her. Yet I never would. This soon escalated, as I started to participate in Solar Justice and the others mistreating her, culminating in me snatching her glasses from her face and dumping them in the toilet. Aurora was the one who ended up getting blamed as the employees only listened to me and Solar Justice. Aurora was completely and utterly crushed, for at that point I think she knew that the friend she once was so close to was truly gone. Yet throughout all of this I would feel liberated, I would no longer be harassed by the other foals, in fact I would be constantly praised by the others for my exceptionalism, just because I decided to act sweet to the right people and be cruel to the ones the masses didn’t like. Things had started to look up for me as the time of the tournament approached.
But there would be one incident that would make it all come crashing down. One day Aurora wouldn’t come out of her room, so the orphanage employees were sent to check on her. They found her dead, hanging from the ceiling in a noose. As I heard what’s become of her, I felt like my heart was being pierced by a spear. What didn’t help matters is that Aurora had left a suicide note, addressing me specifically. It read:
To my dear friend Cozy Glow
Words cannot describe how much you meant to me. When we first got to know each other, the others wouldn’t speak with me because I was considered strange, yet I was never alone, because you were there to face all hardships with me. You were strange, an outsider like me, the only person that stood up for me against bullies like Solar Justice, so I admired you. I admired you for your intelligence and your passion for the things you found joy in, which was why I dedicated myself to helping you in any way I could. I must confess I never really had an interest in chess, but I decided to study it regardless simply so you can have a good practice partner, because it was obvious to me this game meant to world to you, and you meant the world to me. That’s why it breaks my heart that once you discovered your destiny, that you would abandon your friend that helped you get there. On some level I get it, once you became popular, I became a liability, maybe you felt that being friends with me only made you a target of Solar Justice as well. Maybe I could’ve handled it if the worst you would’ve done was to ignore me. But once you started participating in my torment, it was more than my heart could bear. I always liked you Cozy, and it breaks my heart to see you slowly turn into a monster, just so you can gain fame and popularity. I am sorry, but I can’t take any more of this. I hope my death will make you rethink the path you have taken, Cozy. I wish you the best.
Sincerely, your former best friend, Aurora.
I didn’t know what to think reading this, I had this strange feeling coursing throughout my body that I would seldom experience ever again. Could it be guilt? In any case I couldn’t sleep that night, I couldn’t help but think about the good times me and Aurora had together, coming to the realization that I would never see her again and how this was all my fault. Yet did I really have a choice? It was either Aurora’s life for my future, and I had chosen to preserve my future. I hadn’t known this choice would literally kill her when I made it, but I had a sinking feeling that Solar Justice did and he had baited me into a trap. But now that I had made this choice there was no going back, there was only one thing I could do to honor her memory. I would have to succeed in making it big, for otherwise her death would be for nothing. I would become the next chess grandmaster, or perhaps something even greater.
Yet this wasn’t the only strange event that happened this week. Solar Justice would one day disappear from his room, leaving not a single trace except for a pile of sulfur in his bed. The orphanage personnel assumed he had run away, but I knew something was fishy about this theory and I couldn’t help but feel a chill down my spine. Soon after I would leave the Sunrise orphanage forever. The time for the competition in Canterlot had come and I would dominate everypony, no one my own age stood a chance against me. Bishop started to become more and more impressed with my talents and took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew about chess. I was allowed to stay at his house in Canterlot and he regarded me as a daughter. Soon I would enter competitions for adults, and I would crush every opposition there as well thanks to my own talents and Bishop’s guidance. I would face down Bishop himself in the finals and claim the title of Grandmaster for myself. Yet there was something about this victory that felt hollow. It wasn’t enough to fill the hole in my heart left by Aurora’s passing. This feeling of emptiness wasn’t helped by Bishop’s passing soon after our match in the finals. He told me on his deathbed that he had been terminally ill for a while, but he was happy to have trained a worthy successor and he said he knew I would make him proud. As Bishop had no partner and no children he left everything he owned to me, so from that point onward I would live alone in his house in Canterlot, which always felt empty and hollow without him.
My success had earned me many friends and acquaintances, yet it all felt hollow, none of them knew the true me, just the fake façade I put up to the world. The sugary sweet Cozy Glow, nothing but a mask to hide the monster within, the monster that would sacrifice her best friend for popularity. This was who I truly was, and the worst thing was that while I found Aurora’s death regrettable, I didn’t mind the success it had bought me. Some part of me loved the adoration of the masses, loved the feeling of beating every opponent with my wits, it was just a shame Aurora had to die for me to achieve this. But now that I was grandmaster, where would I go from here? Did I truly sacrifice my best friend just for some success in chess? Or was there a greater destiny in store for me? Truth be told I was starting to grow bored of chess and a part of me was seeking greater challenges in life.
I would get my answer soon after, when I remembered a crucial detail. Solar Justice disappearing from his room leaving only sulfur behind sounded familiar. It was a plot element to Aurora’s favorite book, Daring Do and the Cursed Mask. Sulfur was very often connected with demons. This vague memory spurred me into going to the library in Canterlot and delving deeper into the forbidden topic of demonology, only my reputation as grandmaster granting me access to the restricted section. After some research I discovered that sulfur often were required in the summoning of demons, and when a demon returned to whence it came, they would always leave sulfur behind. This led me to two possible conclusions; Solar Justice was either involved in summoning demons and one finally took him with it. Or Solar Justice had been a demon all along, masquerading as a pony. The very thought gave me a sinking feeling in my gut. I had struck a bargain with this thing, paid with my best friends life as a blood sacrifice in order to achieve guaranteed success with my ambitions. I took some more time researching different demons in order to try to identify which one in particular I had struck a deal with, but to no avail. But if this demon’s purpose was to corrupt me, he was successful, because I know what happened next.
I would stumble upon another interesting piece of information. I came across a story of a warlock so powerful that he became a demon himself. His name was Tirek and he had not too long ago broken free from Tartarus to put Equestria in jeopardy, only to be once again trapped within Tartarus by Princess Twilight herself. If anyone knew the identity of the demon I had struck a bargain with and how to break it, it would be him. I discovered a ritual that could be used by anyone even those without magic that would allow me to send messages to any demon. So, I decided to use that ritual to write a letter to Tirek himself. And to my surprise, he responded. Telling me that a demonic bargain could not be broken, but once made, I could just as well enjoy the benefits of my bargain to the best of my ability. That if I wanted to take things to the next level, he knew of a way of how all right I could become the ruler of all. The part of me that desired power and recognition found his offer irresistible.
So began a partnership that would one day shake Equestria to its core and make me one of the most infamous villains in the land.