GREEN   696   1
   16136 91.56 KB    1225

Cozy Glow's Friendship Quest

By quinick
Created: 2021-07-16 21:31:33
Updated: 2021-07-02 23:13:08
Expiry: Never
greentextcozy glowspikegallusredemptionmain 6friendship mission

  1. 1
  2.  
  3. >Years after the final battle agains the Legion of Doom.
  4.  
  5. >Equestria was at peace.
  6.  
  7. >Twilight was the sole ruler and her friends lived happy, successful lives.
  8.  
  9. >Things were so great, that the map within Twilight's old castle hasn't been giving friendship missions in years.
  10.  
  11. >Until today.
  12.  
  13. >A large group of Equestria's greatest heroes huddled around the map. Among them Twilight Sparkle, her fellow element bearers, their now graduated students, the Pillars, the former princesses, Spike and Starlight Glimmer.
  14.  
  15. >The map was pointing at a friendship problem within Ponyville.
  16.  
  17. >Normally, this would be a simple matter of sending whoever the map had chosen to Ponyville to try and fix whatever problem their might be.
  18.  
  19. >But that was the issue.
  20.  
  21. >Above the map's depiction of Ponyville floated the recognizable red rook cutie mark of now petrified villainous, Cozy Glow.
  22.  
  23. >"Are we sure that the map is calling her?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
  24.  
  25. >"I saw her cutie mark glowing through her statue." Answered Twilight. "Its definitely calling her."
  26.  
  27. >"Then what do we do?" Asked Starlight.
  28.  
  29. >And so, the debate began. It was quite obvious why Cozy Glow being called to a friendship mission was such a problem and everyone in the room had different opinions on how to handle the matter.
  30.  
  31. >"We could just let her out to solve this." Some would say.
  32.  
  33. >"Maybe we could try to fix the issue ourselves." Others would respond.
  34.  
  35. >Eventually, Twilight had decided that the talks have gone on long enough and called for everycreatures attention.
  36.  
  37. >"The way I see it, we have two choices: Either let Cozy out to solve this friendship problem or either ignore it or try to solve it ourselves." She grabbed a piece of paper and ripped it apart. "That is why I have decided make it a vote."
  38.  
  39. >Her friends nodded, seeing the logic in this.
  40.  
  41. >"I know that this is a contraversial topic, so write down either yes or no on these papers and I'll count the votes to see what we'll do." Twilight handed the room's occupents a piece of paper and put a couple of pens on the table.
  42.  
  43. >The voting was reletively quick and soon, Twilight had the verdict.
  44.  
  45. >"That's fifteen yes's and eight no's so I guess were releasing her."
  46.  
  47. >"The group, even those that voted "no" nodded.
  48.  
  49. >For all she knew, the friendship problem could be urgent soTwilight did not waste much time.
  50.  
  51. >Soon, she, some guards along with Gallus and her fellow element bearers stood before the defeated trio's statue.
  52.  
  53. >"Get ready!" Twilight warned her cohorts before gathering up her magical energy and firing a beam at Cozy Glow.
  54.  
  55. >The stone around the now unpetrified filly shattered and she fell to the ground with a light 'thud'.
  56.  
  57. >Everycreature watched anxiously as she slowly came to her senses.
  58.  
  59. >It felt wierd, seeing their former student, and in Galluses case classmate return like this.
  60.  
  61. >Seeing her current pitiful form almost made them feel bad for her.
  62.  
  63. >Suddenly, the filly's eyes opened and just as it did, her mouth followed suite.
  64.  
  65. >"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" She shrieked.
  66.  
  67. >While Cozy's reaction was unexpected, was understandable given her situation.
  68.  
  69. >"Cozy!" Called Twilight to which the filly stopped screaming an turned her attention to the princess.
  70.  
  71. >Cozy's eyes widened as she saw the group that was giveing her stern looks.
  72.  
  73. >Twilight tried to speak but before she could do so, Cozy promptly turned around and tried to make a break for it.
  74.  
  75. >She didn't get very far before Twilight's purple magic aura grabbed her and dragged her in front of the statue.
  76.  
  77. >"Hello, Cozy Glow." Twilight greeted,
  78.  
  79. >Cozy gulped. "Hello... whoever you are."
  80.  
  81. >Twilight raised an eyebrow before facehoofing. "Oh, right. I look different now. Its me, Twilight Sparkle."
  82.  
  83. >Cozy couldn't help but gape at Twilight. She was huge!
  84.  
  85. >Wait.
  86.  
  87. >"Whats going on?" Cozy asked somewhat nervously.
  88.  
  89. >"It has been many years since you were turned to stone for your crimes, however we have now decided that you needed to be released."
  90.  
  91. >After taking a moment to precess that information, Cozy smiled. "Does that mean you feel bad for for treating me so horribly and you'll let me go free?"
  92.  
  93. >Everycreature in front of her frowned. "No." Twilight answered.
  94.  
  95. >"Well you should cuz' you were super mean to me."
  96.  
  97. >"Cozy Glow, you know what you did and why you were punished." Twilight said.
  98.  
  99. >"Yea, you got what you deserved!" Interjected Rainbow Dash.
  100.  
  101. >"Did not! I deserved to rule over Equestria!" Cozy shouted angirly.
  102.  
  103. >Twilight sighed. "Look, I'm sure you want to know why we let you out so lets go inside and discuss it."
  104.  
  105. >And with that, Cozy was made to follow the group as they made their way to the throne room.
  106.  
  107. >"So you want me to help you with some friendship problem?" Cozy asked upon having what she needed to know explained to her.
  108.  
  109. >"Yes." Twilight said. "The map called for you."
  110.  
  111. >Cozy tilted her head. "How do you know that?"
  112.  
  113. >"Look at your flank, silly!" Said Pinkie.
  114.  
  115. >Cozy did, and was surprised to see her cutie mark glowing. "Oh." She said, slightly embarressed that she didn't notice it before.
  116.  
  117. >"You'll be sent to Ponyville to solve the problem." Said Twilight regaining Cozy's attention.
  118.  
  119. >"Under heavy guard, of course." Said Rarity.
  120.  
  121. >"And try anything funny and your going back to being a bird toilet!" Warned Applejack.
  122.  
  123. >Cozy frowned. "Wait just a moment!" She said. "First, you turn me to stone!"
  124.  
  125. >"With good reason." Said Fluttershy.
  126.  
  127. >"Then you use me as a trophy for who knows how long!" Continued Cozy, ignoring Fluttershy. "And now you expect me to just solve some sort of friendship problem for you?!"
  128.  
  129. >Twilight nodded.
  130.  
  131. >Cozy was about to throw a tantrum, but stopped herself. She smiled deviously.
  132.  
  133. >"Oh, golly! The map called me of all ponies to handle a friendship problem." She looked at Twilight, mockingly. "Do you know what that means?"
  134.  
  135. >"What?" Spike answered.
  136.  
  137. >"That I must have right about friendship all along." Cozy said with a lecturing tone.
  138.  
  139. >This prompted everycreature in the room to glare at her with no small amount of disdain.
  140.  
  141. >"Thats not true, Cozy Glow." Twilight said.
  142.  
  143. >Cozy laughed. "Sure, Headmare Twilight, keep to those foolish ideals."
  144.  
  145. >"If I recall, those "foolish ideals" are what let us kick your flanks!" Said Rainbow Dash.
  146. >Cozy rolled her eyes. "Yea, you just suckered in a bunch of creatures to help you while you used the overwealming power to beat us. If anything, your victory proved my point."
  147. >Such declarations earned the filly even harsher glares. Not that she cared.
  148. >"Were not here to discuss this." Twilight said, already tired by Cozy's antics. "We need to get you to Ponyville as soon as possible."
  149. >"Already?" Cozy asked.
  150. >Twilight nodded. "Theres no telling how urgent the problem is so I'd rather have it solved as soon as possible."
  151. >Cozy narrowed her eyes. "Why should I help you? Whats in it for me?"
  152. >"Not getting turned back to stone for one." Applejack responded.
  153. >"That, and if you pull this off then I might consider giving you a second to get you to learn the proper meaning of friendship." Twilight said.
  154. >"Might?" Cozy asked.
  155. >"Its all up to you."
  156. >"So even if I do this, I may end up back in stone?"
  157. >"As I said, its all up to you."
  158. >"But thats not fair!" Cozy whined.
  159. >"And neither is backstabbing your classmates and teachers, draining all the magic from Equestria, setting everypony against each other and trying to take over the kingdom." Twilight said sternly.
  160. >"We can't be sure about you so its only fair that you can't be sure about us." Fluttershy lectured.
  161. >Cozy huffed and shook a little. "Fine! I'll solve this stupid friendship problem for you and prove that I'm better at friendship then all of you combined!" She said as she stomped with a foreleg before turning to walk away.
  162. >Only to be grabbed by Twilight's magic and levitated to a carriage much to her annoyence.
  163. >"I can walk on my own." She muttered.
  164. >"You'll have to excuse us for not trusting you." Said Twilight.
  165. >The carriage soon took off alongside two others carrying the group to Ponyville.
  166.  
  167. >The flight to Ponyville was mostly silent in Cozy's carriage, although she could hear conversations in the other two, but couldn't make the words out.
  168. >This left the filly with nothing better to do then to contemplate her situation.
  169. >It was bad. She was forced to solve some sort of friendship problem all for the chance that she might not get turned back to stone afterwards
  170. >She was of course, terrified as most young fillies would be in such dire streights. Shewanted to cry even back in the throne room but held these feelings back. They wouldn't help her here and Cozy did not want to give her adversaries the satisfaction of seeing her like that.
  171. >Her best bet now was to bid her time and look for an opening, like always.
  172. >She was hoping that this friendship problem was a well-hidden one.
  173. >In-front of her sat Twilight and next to her Gallus.
  174. >Both princess and guard captain sat in silence and would occasionally make quick glances at Cozy to make sure that she wasn't trying something funny.
  175. >Even if she did, the rest of the element bearers in the other carriages and the pegasus guards pulling and flying around them would stop any escape attempt.
  176. >Despite not being in Tartarus, Cozy felt just as trapped here as she was there.
  177. >"At least its more comfortable." She thought.
  178. >The ride did not last long as the carriages started decending down in-front of Twilight's castle.
  179. >This was when Cozy noticed that her cutie mark stopped glowing.
  180. >"It stopped glowing because you've reached the place of your mission." Twilight exclaimed.
  181. >"How will I know when I'm finished?"
  182. >"It will start flashing for a short time."
  183. >"So I can't even hide it when I solve it. Great." Cozy thought to herself.
  184.  
  185. >As soon as she got out of the carriage, Cozy was lead to the map room where Starlight was waiting.
  186. >"Hello, Cozy." She greeted.
  187. >"Ah, counciler Starlight! Are you still giving bad advice to poor little fillies?" Cozy asked mockingly.
  188. >Starlight frowned. "Funny how it only failed on you." She thern smirked. "Besides, I'm the headmare now."
  189. >"I almost pity your students then." Cozy mocked.
  190. >Starlight wasn't too pleased with this comment, but said nothing knowing that Cozy was trying to rile her up.
  191. >Twilight cleared her throat. "Lets get down to business."
  192. >Everycreature turned their attention to her.
  193. >"I'll be staying here for a week alongside Gallus and Spike. After that, I'll have to go back to Canterlot but if the friendship problem isn't solved by then, Celestia and Lune will be staying at the castle in my steed and the Pillars have also promised to be ready to come at a moments notice."
  194. >"Oh, golly! Isn't this a bit too much security for little old me?"
  195. >"Considering what you have proven to be capable of in the past, I wouldn't settle for anything less." Said Twilight.
  196. >Cozy smiled at the acknowledgement of her abilities.
  197. >"You'll be given a secure room in the castle to stay while your solving the problem and of course, you may only go outside with a trusted guard."
  198. >"Any other safety measures, princess?" Cozy asked sarcastically.
  199. >"Yes, I'll cast a tracking spell on you to make sure we know where you are at all times." Twilight said, levitated her horn.
  200. >"Oh, joy." Cozy muttered as she was engulfed in a purple aura.
  201. >"Now lets get to fixing!" Twilight declared.
  202. >"Now?" Cozy asked. Being turned to stone didn't exactly have the same effect as a good nights sleep so the filly was quite tired and as such, had no desire to start so soon.
  203. >"The sooner we start the sooner we can be finished."
  204. >"And the sooner you'll turn me back to stone." Cozy thought.
  205.  
  206. >Later, Cozy found herself walking through Ponyville looking for her mission.
  207. >Twilight really did want to get this over with quickly so she pretty much sent her out immedietly with Gallus acting as her first handler.
  208. >So far, the griffon has kept to the professionalism instilled into him through his training and only spoke when he needed to.
  209. >Ponyville was simultaniously the same, yet very different from what Cozy remembered.
  210. >The buildings, layout and general feel was still their, however the town has grown exponentially and had a lot more inhabitents many of which were non-ponies.
  211. >She even saw a group of diamond dogs at one point.
  212. >It would have been a pleasent walk through town had the filly not recieved so many unwelcoming stares.
  213. >Cozy was expecting this, but it still bothered her.
  214. >And even worse (or better depending on how you look at it) the town seemed so friendly towards each other that there just didn't seem to be a friendship problem in sight.
  215. >Cozy sighed, her hooves were getting tired and Gallus wouldn't let her fly.
  216. >Making her way to a park, she sat down on a bench.
  217. >She then looked up to see the blue griffon staring down at her.
  218. >"Relax, I'm just taking a break. It wouldn't be very efficiant to find the problem only for me to be too tired to solve it now would it?" Cozy asked.
  219. >Gallus simply walked up beside the bench and stood guard. "You got ten minutes." He said.
  220. >"Gee, thank you for your kindness. I'm sure Fluttershy would be proud." Cozy snarked.
  221. >Gallus did not grace her with an answer to that.
  222. >Cozy sat back and tried to relax which wasn't too hard as she really was tired both physically and mentally.
  223. >About five minutes later she took another look at Gallus.
  224. >"Who are you anyway?" She asked. "Given how paranoid Twilight is, I don't think she'd let a normal guard be the one to follow me around."
  225. >The griffon raised his eyebrow as his mouth curved upwards slightly. "You really don't know?"
  226. >"Why else would I be asking?"
  227.  
  228. >To this, Gallus actually chuckled earning a confused look from Cozy.
  229. >"Whats so funny?"
  230. >"Tell me, Cozy Glow did you know any griffons personally?"
  231. >"I don't see how that-" Cozy came to a realization. "Gallus?!"
  232. >"Yep, thats me!"
  233. >"You, your, your a..."
  234. >"Captain of the Royal Guard, at your service." Gallus said with a salute.
  235. >Cozy gaped. Gallus was one of the last creatures Cozy would expect to make it as a guard let alone the captain.
  236. >"How?" She couldn't help but ask.
  237. >"Hard work and dedication."
  238. >"Golly." Was all Cozy could say.
  239. >"You know." Gallus said after a bit of silence. "You could have achieved a similarely high status job had you put your talents in the right place."
  240. >Cozy glared. "Hey! I used my talents perfectly and worked super hard to get foreward in life!"
  241. >"And look at where it brought you."
  242. >"Yea, it's totally unfair!" Cozy complained. "I put everything into my plan to drairn all of Equestria's magic! I studied super hard to get good grades, helped the staff with a bunch of dumb chores, s-secretly studied under Tirek all the while keeping are l-letters 'hicc' secret and-and a bunch of other things!" She was crying at this point. "Then when that failed I had to work w-with those two idiots but they kept messing everything up!"
  243. >Gallus was unfazed as he listened to Cozy's rant.
  244. >"And now it's years later and you appearently managed to become a super important figure and you probably put in half the effort I did to reach it!"
  245. >"Not really."
  246. >"And its not fair!" Cozy finished her rant.
  247. >Gallus waited as Cozy cooled herself off.
  248. >"You know, Cozy. Working hard for something is nice and all, but you also gotta consider where you put that work into."
  249. >"Huh?"
  250.  
  251. >"When you tried to take over Equestria by draining all its magic, you brought a lot of creatures against you. Most of whom would counteract your efforts with theirs."
  252. >"But I had a bunch of friends to back me up."
  253. >"They weren't your friends, Cozy. How long would you have kept your involvement a secret and do you think that they would have stayed on your side once they figured it out?"
  254. >Cozy's eyes shifted. "I would have thought of something."
  255. >"No, you wouldn't. They would have caught on quickly and soon all of Equestria would be against you and I'm sure that an army of even magically drained ponies would still be more then a match for a single pegasus filly."
  256. >"What are you trying to say?"
  257. >"That your plan was doomed to fail from the start with everything you put into it being for nothing."
  258. >Cozy looked down, trying to think of a comeback.
  259. >"Whats more." Gallus continued. "Even if you had won the second time your victory would come with the caviot of having your life be one of constant paranoia due to potential rebellions and attacks from your two allies because lets face it, nocreature liked you at that point and wouldn't have ever liked you had you stayed in power. Meanwhile, I'm living a pretty happy life with a high-ranking and high responsiblity job."
  260. >Cozy groaned. "Gee, Gallus. I bet you were waiting to bring me down like that since I got released."
  261. >"Not at all. I'm marely stating some facts. Maybe you can learn from them and use them to look for a path other then world domination."
  262. >Cozy let out a mirthless chuckle. "As if that matters anymore."
  263. >"Why wouldn't it?"
  264. >Cozy looked back up at Gallus. "Didn't you hear Twilight? She said she'd turn be back to stone!"
  265. >"No she didn't, Cozy. She only said that it was up to you."
  266. >"She may as well have said it!"
  267. >Gallus rolled his eyes. "Cozy Glow, if you help solve this friendship problem without going back to villainy then I'm a hundred percent sure that you'll be granted a second chance."
  268.  
  269. >"How do you know?"
  270. >"I'm the captain of the Royal Guard and before that, I was Twilight's student and I even got to fight alongside her for a bit. At this point, I think I've gotten to know her enough to say such things with certainty."
  271. >Cozy tilted her head. "Why are you saying this? Don't you want me to be a statue forever?"
  272. >Gallus shrugged. "If you'd have asked me back when I was a teenager, I would have said yes but these days, I guess that's a bit more complicated." He sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I wasn't exactly clamouring for your release or anything but now that your out and have a friendship mission of all things maybe theres hope for you yet." He turned his gaze towards the castle. "Maybe we gave up on you too early."
  273. >More silence followed as Cozy Gallus's words in.
  274. >Eventually, Cozy started giggling causing Gallus to turn his attantion back to her.
  275. >"What's so funny?"
  276. >"Golly, Gallus, when did you get so good at this?"
  277. >Gallus chuckled. "My job often requires me to lecture and give advice to those serving under me, which I have a lot of. You'd be surprised by how many spunky new recruits and recently promoted, overconfident guards end up in my office."
  278. >"So your basically a councilar now?"
  279. >"Not really, although it does sometimes feel that way." Gallus let out one last laugh. "As for the breakdown of your plan, turns out that becoming captain requires learning plenty of stratagy and forsight."
  280. >"Something I lack, appearently." Cozy said glumly.
  281. >"Eh, for a kid you did pretty well, even if you really shouldn't have tried it."
  282. >Cozy wasn't sure weather she should have considered this a praise or an insult.
  283. >"Anyway, we should get back to work."
  284. >"Do we have to?"
  285. >Gallus nodded.
  286. >Cozy frowned and got up. "Gallus?" She asked.
  287. >"Yes?"
  288. >"I still think I could have pulled it off."
  289. >The guard captain rolled his eyes. "Sure, kid. Whatever you say."
  290. >And so, with a "Hmph!" Cozy was off followed closely by Gallus.
  291.  
  292. >Unfortunately, no friendship problem was found. What arguments Cozy did see was an obvious petty squabble that would fix itself.
  293. >It was when Twilight had started to lower the Sun when Gallus finally decided that Cozy had enough for the day and escorted her back to the castle.
  294. >Cozy herself was quite tired at this point. She wanted nothing more then some food and a good nights rest.
  295. >By the time they reached the castle, Twilight was already waiting for them at the front door.
  296. >"Your highness!" Gallus said as he gave Twilight a quick salute.
  297. >Twilight gave her captain a warm smile. "At ease, Gallus."
  298. >Gallus relaxed and the three stepped inside.
  299. >"Any luck?" Twilight asked.
  300. >"No friendship problem." Gallus answered.
  301. >"How long do these take anyway?" Cozy asked.
  302. >"It veries." Twilight said.
  303. >"Great."
  304. >"I'm sure you'll find it soon enough. The creatures the map sends on missions tend to run into their objectives eventually."
  305. >Cozy found that hard to believe.
  306. >"Anyway." Twilight continued. "Spike has taken it upon himself to cook dinner for all of us and I'm sure your both hungry."
  307. >Cozy could not deny that. She hadn't eaten since before launching her attack on Equestria with Tirek and Chrysalis.
  308. >"Haven't seen him do that in a while." Gallus remarked.
  309. >"He hasn't. Thats why he's excited to see if he's still good at it."
  310. >"Well, I'm excited to figure it out as well." Gallus said.
  311. >"Lets go find out then." Twilight turned to Cozy. "Come, I'm sure your hungry as well."
  312. Cozy said nothing as she followed the two adults to the dining room.
  313. >As much as she was looking foreward to finally eating she couldn't help but think how awkward this dinner would be.
  314.  
  315. >As Cozy entered the dining room she saw that the food had already been served with the element bearers, Starlight and Spike waiting for the trio to join them.
  316. >"How'd it go?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
  317. >"No luck." Said Twilight.
  318. >"I suppose that was to be expected." Said Rarity. "Ponyville is one of the friendliest places in Equestria, after all."
  319. >"It should pop up soon enough if past examples are anything to go by." Said Twilight as she sat down and gestured for Gallus and Cozy to do the same.
  320. >"Well, not much we can do about it now." Said Applejack. "Lets dig in!"
  321. >The food was great. Spike certianly hadn't lost his touch. The ponies and creatures ate and chatted happily and were sure to congradulate Spike on each dish.
  322. >The only one who wasn't having a good time was Cozy.
  323. >While she did like the food, she felt out of place and she couldn't even manipulate herself and the others to make her feel like she belonged.
  324. >It was because of this, and the fact that she was very hungry that Cozy didn't say anything as she ate.
  325. >"What if the friendship problem only happens at night?" Asked Fluttershy.
  326. >"Don't be silly, Fluttershy!" Said Pinkie. "What sort of friendhip problem could happen only at night?"
  327. >"It is a possibility." Said Rarity.
  328. >Cozy looked up nervously. The last thing she wanted to do right now was to go on a nightly incursion to Ponyville.
  329. >"Even if it did, I don't think it would be a good idea to send her now." Said Gallus. "She still needs to sleep."
  330. >Cozy gave Gallus a look of barely concealed gratefulness.
  331. >"Didn't getting turned to stone count as sleep for her?" Asked Starlight.
  332. >"No, it didn't." Cozy answered.
  333. >The others turned to Cozy, having almost forgotten that she was there. Most of them remembered Cozy as being talkative so seeing her be this quiet was a bit jarring.
  334.  
  335. >"Gallus is right." Said Twilight. "There's no point in sending Cozy Glow to find the friendship problem if she's too tired to solve it. We'll have her continue the search tomorrow."
  336. >"Who's gonna escort her tomorrow?" Asked Dash. "Cuz' I think most of us will be busy and Gallus said that he'll have to go back to Canterlot."
  337. >Gallus nodded. "I'm gonna be watching over some new recruits."
  338. >"I could go!" Spike said. "It's been a while since I got to have a nice stroll around Ponyville."
  339. >Twilight smiled. "Then its settled. Spike will go with Cozy Glow tomorrow."
  340. >Cozy didn't particularely care. She hated Spike was about as much as the rest of them.
  341. >Later that night, Cozy found herself in one of the castle's guest rooms with most of Twilight's friends having went home.
  342. >Twilight had graced her with the permission to take a bath beforehand.
  343. >"Alright, Cozy Glow. This is where you'll be staying for the night." Said Twilight.
  344. >"Gee, who would've thought?"
  345. >"The door and window will be locked and I've taken away anything from the room that might help you escape."
  346. >"Wowzers! Your still just as paranoid as you always have been."
  347. >"If you need to go to the bathroom or anything like that, just press the button next to the door and I'll come get you."
  348. >"Oh, golly, Headmare Twilight, your so considerate!"
  349. >"Get some, sleep, Cozy Glow. Tomorrow will be a busy day for you."
  350. >"You meen I'm gonna be forced to spend more time solving somepony's friendship problem? Oh, joy!"
  351. >"Good night!" Twilight said as she shut and locked the door.
  352. >Now alone, Cozy looked around her room and quickly found that there was indeed no way for her to escape at the moment.
  353. >She briefly considered messing with the calling button just to annoy Twilight, but figured that would only make things worse for her.
  354. >And so, Cozy went to bed, pleasently surprised by how good it felt after spending so much time sleeping on uncomfortable makeshift bedrolls back in "Grogar's" lair.
  355. >Sleep came easily.
  356.  
  357. >"Cozy Glow, time to wake up!" Came Twilight's voice forcing the filly to awaken.
  358. >She hadn't gotten such a good nights sleep in a long time even if you don't count her time in stone.
  359. >She promtly shut her eyes and snuggled further into her pillow.
  360. >"Come on, Cozy. You know you can't sleep in."
  361. >She tried her best to ignore her.
  362. >Her resistance lasted until Twilight started shaking her which forced her finally open her eyes completely and sit up.
  363. >"Come, I'll escort you to the bathroom so you can get ready for the day."
  364. >"Can it wait?"
  365. >"No."
  366. >Cozy groaned.
  367. >Soon, Cozy was fixing her mane in the bathroom while Twilight waited outside. Years of handling her signature curly mane had made it surprisingly easy to maintain.
  368. >Once she was done, she checked herself out in the mirror finding the same adorable filly that she was supposed to be.
  369. >Except she wasn't.
  370. >She was supposed to be a mare by now.
  371. >Cozy wondered how she would look like all grown up.
  372. >Would she still be able to pull off a cute look or would she need to change it to something sexy (whatever that meant)?
  373. >What would she sound like?
  374. >Would her body feel any different?
  375. >"Hurry up Cozy, Spike is waiting!" Shouted Twilight interrupting the filly's thoughts.
  376. >"Coming!" She said after an annoyed huff.
  377. >A minute later, Twilight and Cozy were at the entrence where Spike was waiting.
  378. >"Ready?" Spike asked.
  379. >"Yea." Cozy said, seeing no point in wasting any more time.
  380. >"Good luck you two." Said Twilight.
  381. >"Thanks, Twi!" Said Spike while Cozy remained silent.
  382. >The duo then walked outside to continue Cozy's mission.
  383.  
  384. >It was a warm, sunny day in Ponyville. No rain was scheduled for a while so the skies were cloudless.
  385. >It was through these conditions that Cozy and Spike were walking through town.
  386. >Thankfully, most ponies who glanced her way seemed more preoccupied with greeting Spike then staring angirly at her.
  387. >Not that she cared, of course. They were useless to her now.
  388. >Spike noticed the grumpy mood she was in.
  389. >"So, you excited to find your friendship problem?"
  390. >"Yes."
  391. >"You know, you used to talk a lot more back in the day."
  392. >"Well, mr. Spike is there any way I can convince you to help me escape and take over the world?"
  393. >"...No."
  394. >"Then we have nothing to talk about!"
  395. >Spike took the hint and said nothing more.
  396. >This time, Cozy made sure to search the town more thoroughly, inedvertadly finding out that it had grown much more then she had expected.
  397. >The fact that it still kept its small town charm despite this growth was impressive.
  398. >As pleasent as the town was to just walk through the fact that Cozy couldn't find any friendship problems was starting to get on her nerve.
  399. >Why couldn't Twilight or that stupid map give her a hint or something?!
  400. >Spike once again noticed her frustration and chanced another conversation:
  401. >"Hey, Cozy?"
  402. >"What?!"
  403. >"You okay?"
  404. >Cozy stopped and turned to look up at him "Do I look like I'm okay?"
  405. >Spike looked over the filly and concluded that she did not look okay. After thinking for a bit he got an idea.
  406. >"I think I know what we both need!"
  407. >"Ugh, what?"
  408. >"A treat!"
  409. >Cozy raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
  410. >"Lets go to Sugercube Corner!"
  411. >"Thats still around?" Cozy asked, remembering the place from back when she was student of the friendship school.
  412. >"Yea, I'll pay."
  413. >While Cozy had never eaten at Sugercube Corner before she knew it mostly sold sweets and pastries and little fillies loved those things so naturally, despite her better judgment she said "Fine." to Spike's offer.
  414. >"Great, follow me!" Said Spike as he made his way to the bakery.
  415.  
  416. >Shugercube corner had the same look it always has throughout the years.
  417. >Inside were many customers all eating and chatting happily at the seats or waiting in line for their orders.
  418. >With the growth of the town, business has boomed quite a bit for the little bakery.
  419. >Pound Cake was currently manning the counter while his sister was most likely at the back, baking.
  420. >The twins have grown up to be responsible young adults who could be trusted with such tasks on their own.
  421. >As Spike and Cozy walked to the line, the mood of the place shifted slightly as many of the patrons took notice of them and some started whispering amongst themselves.
  422. >Cozy noted that most of these were about her.
  423. >She also noted that none were all too flattering.
  424. >"Shouldn't have let Spike take me here." She thought.
  425. >Thankfully, the creatures in front of them were quick to make their orders so Spike and Cozy didn't have to wait too long for their turn.
  426. >"What would you like?" Asked Pumpkin.
  427. >Spike looked down at Cozy. "Take a look and see what you'd like." He said before turning back to Pumpkin. "As for me, can I have a sapphire cupcake?"
  428. >"Of course!" Said Pumkin as she grabbed the desired item.
  429. >The sapphire cupcakes that Pinkie had once invented just for Spike back when he and Twilight were still reletive newcomers to Ponyville has since became a significant source of income for the establishment due to more and more dragons visiting and even living in the town.
  430. >"I take the place is doing alright?" Spike asked after checking if no one else was waiting to order.
  431. >"Uh-huh!" Pumkin nodded. "Mom and dad are even thinking of starting a chain."
  432. >"Hey, thats great!" Spike congradulated. "Where are they anyway."
  433. >"They went on a vacation for their anniversery. They also wanted to see how well we can run the corner without them."
  434.  
  435. >"I'm sure you can-" Spike suddenly felt a tap on his leg. "Oh, have you picked what you wanted?" He asked Cozy.
  436. >"I'll have that." She said, pointing to a big strawberry cupcake.
  437. >"Sure thing!" Pumkin said somewhat uneasily as she bagged one up.
  438. >Spike thanked the mare and payed for the cupcakes.
  439. >The two sat down in one of the empty seats.
  440. >"Can't we eat somewhere else?" Cozy asked.
  441. >"We don't know how long the mission will take or even if you'll be staying here afterwards, so ponies gotta get used to you." Spike said.
  442. >"With how panicky these idiots are, I'm surprised there hasn't been a mass panick yet."
  443. >Spike frowned. "They are not idiots, Cozy and Twilight has already announced that you'd be coming here before you were released."
  444. >"Huh, guess that makes sense." Cozy thought as she took a bite out of her cupcake, which to her joy was as delicious as it looked.
  445. >Pinkie had taught the twins well.
  446. >Spike too was enjoying his own meal.
  447. >For a while, it became almost easy to ignore the stares.
  448. >Unfortunately, the cupcakes did not last forever and Cozy was soon back on her seemingly futile mission.
  449. >Sadly, their search, just like yesterday bore no results.
  450. >By the evening, Spike had finally decided that they had done enough searching for the day so the two started walking back to the castle.
  451. >"Mr. Spike?" Cozy suddenly asked on their way home.
  452. >"Yes?"
  453. >"When I fix the friendship problem, will I be turned back to stone?"
  454. >"Probably not as long as you behave."
  455. >Cozy certainly hoped so because she still had no idea how she could escape from this situation.
  456.  
  457. >Just like yesterday, Twilight was waiting at the entrance, knowing that they were returning due to her the tracking spell she cast on Cozy.
  458. >"No luck?"
  459. >"Nope." Spike said.
  460. >"How long do these take anyway?" Cozy asked.
  461. >"It veries. You'll just have to keep searching until you find it."
  462. >Cozy wasn't pleased to hear that.
  463. >Dinner wasn't as good as yesterday due to Spike not being the one to cook, but Cozy was just happy to eat it since her luch consisted of a cupcake.
  464. >She was also happy that it was a lot quieter and less awkward then yesterday due to only Twilight and Spike being present.
  465. >"So, how was your day, Cozy?" Twilight suddenly asked.
  466. >"It sucked."
  467. >"How come?"
  468. >"Take a guess."
  469. >Twilight could guess why Cozy found her day to be bad, but she wanted to reconnect a bit with her former student since she was free now despite still being weary of her.
  470. >"The creatures aren't used to seeing her, Twi and finding a friendship problem here these days isn't exactly easy. I think this will take longer then expected." Spike said.
  471. >"I guess your right." Said Twilight. "We'll be staying here for a week and if the problem doesn't pop up until then we'll arrange a longer stay for Cozy."
  472. >"Are you gonna turn me to stone every night?" Cozy asked sarcastically with her mouth full.
  473. >"Of course not." Twilight said, although she did think about doing just that for a tiny bit.
  474. >The three of them finished eating and Cozy was sent straight to the bathroom followed by her room. Twilight was nice enough to leave her some books this time. Probably because it was still too early to go to sleep.
  475. >Cozy was naturally disgruntled with being sent to bed early. How would she escape with that stupid tracking spell anyway? She was willing to bet that Twilight and Spike were having a good time somewhere else in the castle.
  476. >Another problem for her was that the books were mostly books about friendship and such. Cozy had more then enough of that during her studies at that stupid school.
  477.  
  478. >With nothing better to do, Cozy started reading Twilight's stupid friendship books.
  479. >Only to quickly get bored and toss them aside.
  480. >After a minute of pacing around the room, Cozy looked to the button next to the door to her room.
  481. >She knew she shouldn't and it probably wouldn't end well for her, but she really wanted to.
  482. >At this point it wasn't even about the boredom, she got used to that in Tartarus. This was just about messing with Twilight.
  483. >So, with a giggle, she flew up to the button and pressed it.
  484. >A few seconds later, she could hear the lock on the door being opened. Twilight most likely teleported.
  485. >"Bathroom?" Twilight asked after she opened the door.
  486. >Cozy nodded.
  487. >"Come on, then."
  488. >Later.
  489. >'Knock, knock, knock!' "Cozy, whats taking so long?!" Shouted Twilight, growing impatiant with waiting for the filly to finish.
  490. >"Well, I had to go really badly!" Shouted Cozy from the bathroom.
  491. >Twilight groaned, knowing that Cozy was probably doing this on purpose.
  492. >Cozy soon "finished" and Twilight led her back into her room, but she would always have some need that would require her to leave it once again.
  493. >Eventually, Twilight started to ignore the button, but found the warning sound it gave to be annoying.
  494. >Spike eventually convinced her to give the filly a bit more freedom, reasoning that the tracking spell and the castle locks were still in effect anyway.
  495. >And thats how Cozy could finally go to the bathroom on her own.
  496. >Unfortunately, that night was the most fun she'd have over the next few days.
  497.  
  498. >The next few days were ones of futile and tiresome problem searching for Cozy.
  499. >Every day, someone else would escort her around Ponyville.
  500. >First, it was Rarity, then Applejack, then Rainbow Dash and finally, Spike.
  501. >For the first three, not much was exchanged beyond a few warnings and insults. Clearily neither side wanted to get friendly with the other.
  502. >Not that Cozy cared. These were some of her mortal enemies.
  503. >Spike was a lot nicer. Cozy assumed that this was due to his more laid-back nature and him trying to help her find the problem rather then making sure that she doesn't do anything bad.
  504. >Whatever his reason was, the filly certainly didn't mind.
  505. >Today, the last day Twilight and Spike could stay at Ponyville was finally the day Twilight would escort Cozy.
  506. >In truth, she wanted to do it right after Spike first took her, but being away from Canterlot did not mean that she didn't have duties.
  507. >Not to mention the fact that getting to visit Ponyville was always a treat for the Princess of Friendship these days.
  508. >She was just glad that she could at least help carry the burdon of watching the villainous filly for just one day.
  509. >It didn't take long for both Twilight and Cozy to get ready, especially since Twilight didn't insist on keeping Cozy's door locked and escorting her to the bathroom.
  510. >The two quickly had breakfest, which was something Twilight had finally remembered having and letting Cozy have after the third day (Spike was the one to reminded her).
  511. >Soon, the pair were at the front door, ready to head out.
  512. >"Are you ready, Cozy?" Twilight asked, opening the door to a beutiful sunny day.
  513. >"No."
  514. >"Great, let's go!"
  515. >And so, their journey had begun.
  516.  
  517. >Their journey didn't go off to a great start.
  518. >Everycreature that took a glance at Twilight immedietly dropped everything to bow to the princess despite her insistance that it was unneeded.
  519. >Many excited murmers and greetings were given to Equestria's ruler, who waved to her subject while doing her best to hide her annoyance at their behaviour.
  520. >And throughout all this, Cozy was still getting glares.
  521. >If anything, her close proximity to the Princess of Friendship made them worse.
  522. >Not to mention some of the whispers...
  523. >This would obviously not work out.
  524. >"Is it even worth looking for the friendship problem with you around?" Cozy asked.
  525. >"We have to keep searching."
  526. >"Nopony will be acting like they normally would with you around. That includes whoever has the friendship problem."
  527. >Twilight looked around her. Even though she wanted to continue the search she knew that Cozy was right.
  528. >"Golly, princess Twilight. You sure are popular. I bet you make lots and lots of friends like this!" Said Cozy, slipping into her signiture sweet-talk mode.
  529. >Her words managed to get toTwilight. Over the years, her new look and title has made her become a lot less appoachable to others despite her best efforts. She looked at Cozy, who looked back at her with an obviously insincere smile.
  530. >This wasn't going to help and they both knew it so Twilight had to come up with something else to do.
  531. >Maybe she could help plan a more efficient schedule for future searches? Twilight smiled. That could work.
  532. >After thinking about it for a bit, she teleported herself and Cozy Glow away without warning.
  533.  
  534. >Twilight and Cozy popped back to the entrence of the castle.
  535. >"Could you warn me next time you do that?!" An irritated Cozy Glow asked.
  536. >Twilight ignored her as she entered.
  537. >"Spike?!" Twilight called and recieved no answer.
  538. >Before Twilight could call her assistant again, Cozy cleared her throat to get her attention and showed her a piece of paper.
  539. >"It was on the door."
  540. >"Oh." Twilight blushed and took the paper with her magic.
  541. >It read: "Off to do some shopping for lunch and dinner -Spike."
  542. >"Guess were doing this without Spike."
  543. >"Can't we just call the day off?"
  544. >"Nope!" Twilight said before levitating Cozy up into the air.
  545. >"Hey!" Cozy protested only to be ignored as she was dragged away.
  546. >An hour later and the two were making lists in the library.
  547. >Or more specifically, Twilight was making the list while Cozy watched in boredome.
  548.  
  549. >"So with these paramiters, the efficiancy of your search should improve by 28.3%!" Twilight said excitadly. Despite years of ruling she had never grown out of her love for planning and organizing.
  550. >"Oh, Golly, princess. That sure is great." Cozy said, deliberatly making herself sound as sarcastic as possible.
  551. >"Now what else can we do?" Twilight asked herself.
  552. >"Anything but planning?" Cozy suggested.
  553. >Twilight frowned at the suggestion, but did have an idea.
  554. >"How about we just talk?"
  555. >"Talk?"
  556. >Twilight nodded.
  557. >Cozy raised an eyebrow. "About what?"
  558. >"About you."
  559. >"Why?"
  560. >"It might help us figure out why the map chose you and that could give us a clue as to who we need to find."
  561. >While this was partially true, Twilight also wanted to use this chance to get to know more about Cozy and perhaps try to find a way to rehabilitate her if she wasn't getting turned back to stone later.
  562. >Cozy shrugged. "Alright." She did not like the prospect of having a conversation with Twilight centered around her specifically, but given how her task went so far, she could see the logic in the princess's proposal.
  563.  
  564. >Twilight and Cozy were sitting opposite to each other on two of the more comfortable chairs in the castle's library.
  565. >So far, Twilight had asked Cozy personal questions which Cozy answered vaguely or in way that couldn't be considered real answers.
  566. >"Golly, Twilight. I didn't expect this to be an interregation."
  567. >"As I said, were talking about you and your answers aren't helping."
  568. >"Well maybe I just don't like others looking into my personal life."
  569. >Twilight was naturally frustrated by Cozy's reluctance to properly answer her questions so she decided to try and get to know her in ways outside of her past.
  570. >"Do you have any hobbies?"
  571. >Cozy tilted her head. "Thats a wierd question to aske all of the sudden."
  572. >"You aren't being cooperative with the other questions, so we may as well talk about something else."
  573. >Cozy giggled. "Not sure why you asked that though." Her seeming mirth vanished as she glared at the alicorn. "Seeing as how I've just been released."
  574. >"Before you were petrified, Cozy."
  575. >Cozy's smile returned so quickly that Twilight was sure that she was faking it.
  576. >"Well, I like baking, drawing, colouring..."
  577. >Cozy's list of "hobbies" went on for a while and Twilight asked similar questions after she stopped.
  578. >Eventually, the questioning turned into a conversation where Twilight ended up telling Cozy more about how Equestria had changed over the years.
  579. >Twilight was actually having a pleasent time considering the age and morality gap between her and the filly and while Cozy would never admit it, she wasn't having that bad of a time either.
  580. >Eventually, Spike came in.
  581. >"I thought you two were out searching."
  582. >"Oh, I was getting too much attention so I figured that it would be better to spend the day in here."
  583. >Spike winced. "Yea, probably should have seen that coming. Is there anything you two need?"
  584. >"No thanks, Spike."
  585. >"Alright, have fun you two!" Spike said as he left.
  586. >"Hey, I wanted some snacks!" Cozy said.
  587. >"No eating in the library, Cozy."
  588.  
  589. >"Your no fun."
  590. >Twilight chuckled. "If nothing else this day wasn't a complete disaster."
  591. >"How so?"
  592. >"We actually managed to have a somewhat friendly conversation. There might be hope for you yet!"
  593. >Twilight's wording unintentionally insulted Cozy. "Well, princess. It's much easier to have a conversation when your not a statue!"
  594. >Twilight frowned. "It was your own actions that lead to that, Cozy Glow."
  595. >"Well, I wouldn't have tried to take revenge had you not locked me in Tartarus!"
  596. >"That was also a consequence of your actions and Celestia's decision, not mine."
  597. >Cozy crossed her forelegs and looked away from the alicorn. "Hmph, I bet Starlight didn't suffer so much in your stupid castle."
  598. >"Starlight was different."
  599. >"Yea, right."
  600. >Twilight sighed. "Not even a single shred of remorse even now." She muttered. "A small part of me wants to just forget about the mission and put you back to stone."
  601. >"What?!" Cozy shouted as she stood up.
  602. >"Calm down, I won't do that." Twilight reassured the filly as she herself got up to look at the whiteboard she was making plans on earlier. "I just wonder why the map would pick somepony like you for this."
  603. >"Maybe it's cuz' I'm smart and actually know more about friendship then you." Cozy snarked.
  604. >"Twilight ignored her as she continued to loudly speculate. "There's no friendship problem in Ponyville that would require the map's guidence."
  605. >Cozy sat back down, seeing as how Twilight wasn't listening to her any more.
  606. >"Really, the only problem here is Cozy Glow."
  607. >Cozy couldn't help but roll her eyes at that.
  608. >"Hmm."
  609. >The filly couldn't help but worry at Twilight's silence. Was Gallus and Spike wrong, after all?
  610. >"Wait!"
  611. >"What?" Cozy asked.
  612. >"That can't be!"
  613. >"What can't be?"
  614. >"It's the only logical explenation."
  615. >"What is?!"
  616. >"But then... oh, dear."
  617. >"Can you explain to me what is going on?!" Shouted Cozy.
  618. >Twilight turned to look Cozy in the eye. "I think I know what the friendship problem is."
  619.  
  620. >"Really?" Cozy asked excitadly.
  621. >"I believe so."
  622. >"This is great!" Cozy thought. "Now I can deal with this stupid problem and move on with my life!"
  623. >"Well, what is it?" She asked.
  624. >"It's..."
  625. >"...Well?"
  626. >Twilight didn't say anything, instead she looked to be in deep thought.
  627. >After a full minute of this, Cozy flew up to the alicorn's face.
  628. >"Hello, are you still here?!"
  629. >This managed to snap Twilight out of her thoughts who gently pushed the filly away.
  630. >"I'm sorry, but I don't think I should tell you."
  631. >"What?!" Cozy shouted as she flew back foreward only to be pushed back again by Twilight's magic.
  632. >"Cozy Glow." Twilight began. "Nopony outside those on the mission have ever figured out what past friendship missions were, and if I am correct with this, it may very well be something you shouldn't be trying to solve with knowladge of it."
  633. >...
  634. >"I'm sorry, Cozy Glow but you need to solve the problem naturally."
  635. >"WHAT?!"
  636. >Twilight had expected Cozy to be upset, but even she was surprised by the volume of her shout.
  637. >"Look, I'll make things easier for you from now on."
  638. >"You can make it easier for me if you'd just tell me that dumb problem!"
  639. >"I'll make sure your room is a bit more comfortable and you'll be treated better from now on."
  640. >"I'd treat myself better if you just told me the problem!"
  641. >"I cannot do that and even if I could it would most likely still take a while." Twilight rubbed her forehead in frustration. "Far longer then every other friendship mission so far."
  642. >"This is rediculous!"
  643. >"Indeed. Spike!"
  644. >A few seconds later the door to the library opened revealing the purple dragon.
  645. >"I heard the shouting but decided not to bother you two. Is everything alright?"
  646. >"I think, but I will need to call the others for a meeting. Can you please watch Cozy while I'm gone?"
  647. >"Uh, sure but what-"
  648. >Twilight had teleported away before Spike could ask anything.
  649. >The princess had a lot of things to prepare and only a day to do so.
  650.  
  651. 2
  652.  
  653. >It did not take long to gather the element bearers and Starlight to the castles throne room curtosy of Twilight's teleportation.
  654. >"Come on, Twilight, just tell us what the problem is so we can get it over with!" Demanded Rainbow Dash after Twilight explained her finding.
  655. >"I'm sorry, but I don't think I should. If I am correct, then telling you might make it last even longer."
  656. >How so?" Asked Rarity.
  657. >"I... can't say but I truly feel that this is something you'll all have to figure out on your own."
  658. >"Twilight, you know how I feel about hidin' the truth like this." Said Applejack.
  659. >"I know but..." Twilight groaned. "It's difficult to explain, but please just trust me on this."
  660. >"I don't know."
  661. >"I think we should trust Twilight." Said Fluttershy. "She is the Princess of Friendship so she should have a natural understanding of such things."
  662. >Applejack stared at Fluttershy for a bit before turning back to Twilight. "Oh, alright but I don't like it."
  663. >The other girls gave their signs of agreement.
  664. >Twilight smiled. "Thank you girls. I know it may seem odd, but this needs to be found and solved naturally. And don't worry, it's not urgent so you'll have all the time you need."
  665. >"What about Cozy Glow?" Asked Pinkie.
  666. >"Cozy Glow will be staying in the castle under the current management, although she will be given more freedom."
  667. >"Are you sure thats safe?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
  668. >Twilight nodded. "I still have a tracking spell on her that will detect where she is and-" She teleported eight gemstones. "These will flash red and let out an alarm if she leaves the castle without permission or gets a hold of a magical artifact. I made one for you each." She then levitated the gemstones to her friends, leaving the last one for herself.
  669. >"Could have used prettier gems." Remarked Rarity.
  670. >"One more thing." Twilight said, regathering the attention of everypony.
  671.  
  672. >"I will not be reimprisoning Cozy Glow after she solves the friendship problem."
  673. >Twilight's friends took this statement with neutral expressions.
  674. >"We already figured you wouldn't, darling." Said Rarity.
  675. >"Good. It should also be obvious then, that I will attempt to arrange her rehabilitation in the same vain as with some of our friends."
  676. >Her friends nodded.
  677. >"And to that end, I want to ask you all to treat her with less hostility from now on and since you'll be escorting her outside, I would like you all to try to give a headstart to her rehabilitation."
  678. >Only some nodded this time.
  679. >"That's gonna be difficult, Twi." Said Rainbow Dash. "I mean, I get being nicer to her, but I don't know if I can help her reform."
  680. >"I don't think it will be easy either." Said Fluttershy. "I mean, I want to see her become a better pony but we were her teachers. I just don't think that were the right ponies to help her."
  681. >"I undestand your concerns." Said Twilight. "And I'm not asking for miracles, only that you try, even a little bit. It might make dealing with her in the future much easier." She then smiled. "And who knows? Maybe a new perspective will help her find the problem sooner."
  682. >"Yep!" Interjected Pinkie. "She'll be much more motivated to help whoever's in trouble if we make her happy!"
  683. >The others looked slightly more unsure.
  684. >"I'll try to do my best, Twilight. Even if I don't like it." Said Applejack.
  685. >"Same." Said Rainbow Dash.
  686. >The remaining ponies all gave their agreements.
  687. >"Thank you." Said Twilight. "I'll be leaving tomorrow, I've already made a checklist about anything you need to know about Cozy's situation just in case." Twilight teleported an oversized list next to her much to her friends amusement.
  688. >And so, everything was prepared for Cozy's mission.
  689.  
  690. >Twilight later returned to the castle and found Cozy Glow still in the library playing a card game with Spike.
  691. >At least those two were getting along.
  692. >They stopped their game upon noticing her arrival.
  693. >"How did it go, Twilight?" Asked Spike.
  694. >"It went well. We've discussed everything we needed to."
  695. >"Like?" Asked Cozy.
  696. >"Like how your stay here should be much more comfortable from now on."
  697. >The filly's eyes lit up. "Oh, golly that's great! Does that mean that I won't have to search for the problem every single day?"
  698. >"Nope!"
  699. >"Horseapples."
  700. >"Language, Cozy!" Twilight scolded, much to Cozy's annoyance. "You'll still have to solve the problem, but I think you'll find the process a lot more enjoyable from now on."
  701. >"Yea, right."
  702. >"And she'll be staying here?" Asked Spike.
  703. >"Yes, but she'll be restricted to certain areas of the castle and won't be allowed to go outside without a guide." She then turned to Cozy. "We have a tracking and alarm spell placed on you so we'll know if you go somewhere you shouldn't. You'll of course, still have a lot more freedom but if you want to keep it I suggest that you stay where you should and follow the rules."
  704. >Cozy rolled her eyes. "And what are those rules?"
  705. >"I'm glad you asked!" Said Twilight before giving the filly a set of basic house rules and showing her the places that were off-limits. Cozy was actually given a decent amount of freedom all things considered, with only some floors and important rooms being forbidden.
  706. >And of course, the outside world.
  707. >It was essentially a house arrest.
  708. >After that, the rest of that day was mostly a calm and restful one.
  709.  
  710. >The next morning.
  711. >Twilight was just about ready to leave .
  712. >"Don't forget to read the checklist on the rules and where you can go!"
  713. >"Don't worry, Princess Twilight, I'll read it every day!"
  714. >"Good." Twilight said despite knowing that Cozy was lying. "And I want you to behave for my friends."
  715. >"I'll be the nicest filly they'll ever meet!" Cozy said with a cheerfull yet ever so slightly sarcastic tone.
  716. >"They'll be sending me reports on you regularily so I'll know if something goes wrong."
  717. >"Oh, really?! Who would have guessed! Golly gee, I'll just have to be extra carefull."
  718. >Twilight rolled her eyes. "I gotta go. Fluttershy will soon be here to pick you up for today's search."
  719. >Cozy let out a dramatic gasp. "Miss Fluttershy?! With her help, I bet I'll find that silly friendship problem in no time!"
  720. >Twilight was starting to find Cozy's overenthuseastic act to be annoying at this point so she opted to finally leave. "Goodbye, Cozy Glow. And good luck." She said before walking outside.
  721. >"Bye, Cozy!" Spike said, waving a hand at Cozy as she followed the princess.
  722. >"Bye, Spike!" Cozy said before the front door shut.
  723. >Now alone, Cozy's cheery demeenor vanished leaving behind a disgruntled filly.
  724. >"Ugh, a whole day with Fluttershy? Just great."
  725. >Cozy didn't like Fluttershy. Her quiet voice made it hard to write down what she said back when she was still studying at the friendship school and her obsession with animals was more annoying then endeering to her.
  726. >She hated that mare, just as much as she hated those other former professors of hers.
  727. >Having nothing better to do but wait, Cozy decided to explore the areas she was allowed to.
  728. >Turns out it wasn't much to see and she didn't feel like dealing with the consequences of entering one of the restricted areas at the moment so she opted to just go back to her room and just sit on her bed.
  729. >Thankfully, she didn't have to sit long as she suddenly heard a knock on her door.
  730.  
  731. >"Um, C-Cozy Glow?"
  732. >It was Fluttershy.
  733. >Cozy had expected her to arrive much earlier. She guessed that her former professor was nervous.
  734. >"I'm sorry for being late but I had an emergency with one of the animals."
  735. >Or not.
  736. >"Can I come in?"
  737. >Cozy decided not to answer, hoping that Fluttershy would stay as her usual shy self and not get one of her occasional bursts of assertiveness.
  738. >Unfortunately for Cozy, luck was not on her side as Fluttershy eventually decided to come in uninvited.
  739. >"I'm sorry, Cozy Glow but we need to get to searching."
  740. >"Oh, golly miss Fluttershy, I didn't know you were here." Cozy said, sounding as sweet as she could.
  741. >Looking down at the obviously lying filly, Fluttershy knew that she would be a hooffull but she had made a promise to Twilight.
  742. >"Come along then. I'm sure you could use a good walk after being cooped up in here all morning anyway."
  743. >"I sure could, being stuck inside one place is horrible, especially for a pegasus!"
  744. >Fluttershy could agree with that but she knew that Cozy was most likely trying to guilt trip her.
  745. >"Well, Cozy Glow if you behave yourself you might eventually get more freedom."
  746. >"That sure would be nice, growing fillies need to frequent fresh air, after all."
  747. >Fluttershy said nothing more as she turned to leave, gesturing Cozy to follow her, who obayed without any complaint.
  748. >Maybe this day wouldn't be so bad, after all.
  749.  
  750. >While the day wasn't horrible but it wasn't particularely good either.
  751. >Cozy was still getting stares from the creatures of Ponyville, although they were getting noticably less frequent.
  752. >The filly supposed that this would only get better as time went on.
  753. >Soon she may even get a conversation out of them.
  754. >And then she could finally get some work done...
  755. >Fluttershy for her part was saddened by the lack of findings, even though she expected it.
  756. >She was also feeling uncomfortable from all the stares.
  757. >"How long do we have to keep this up?" Cozy eventually asked.
  758. >"For a while longer."
  759. >"Ugh, this is so stupid!"
  760. >"Now-now, Cozy Glow, friendship problems aren't stupid."
  761. >"They are if a certain princess already knows what's wrong but won't tell me."
  762. >"I'm sure she has a good reason for that."
  763. >Cozy cast a glance at the yellow mare. "So she told you the same thing?"
  764. >"Yes."
  765. >"And you have no problems with that?"
  766. >"Twilight is my longtime friend and the Princess of Friendship. I trust her judgment."
  767. >"Of course you do."
  768. >Fluttershy looked at the clearily disgruntled filly and noticed that their talk gathered some attention.
  769. >Twilight did ask to be nicer to Cozy and try teaching her...
  770. >"Cozy Glow, are you hungry?"
  771. >Cozy wasn't too hungry but she did want a break from this pointless searching so she nodded.
  772. >"Let's go to my cottage then."
  773. >Cozy raised an eyebrow. "Not the bakery or some restaurant?"
  774. >Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, there's no need for that. I'll make something at home."
  775. >The filly remembered Fluttershy's home being at the outskirts of Ponyville close to the forest. She was annoyed at having to go all the way there, but figured that it would at least give her a break from the crowd.
  776. >She lemented how she would normally love the attention. If only it weren't so... hostile.
  777.  
  778. >Cozy Glow had only been to Fluttershy's house once and from what she remembered it remained the same, although she swore there used to be more animals walking around.
  779. >Fluttershy lead her into the kitchen where she motioned the filly to sit down, which she did.
  780. >"Would you like a drink?" Fluttershy asked.
  781. >"Yes, please." Cozy answered politely.
  782. >As the yellow pegasus gave Cozy a cup of orange juice and began to cook some carrot soup. While doing that she couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy, having one of her biggest enemies in her house.
  783. >Then again, Cozy wasn't exactly an enemy now, was she?
  784. >"Hey!" Cozy suddenly shouted.
  785. >Fluttershy turned around to see Cozy holding a half eaten carrot in front of her. Somecreature must have thrown it.
  786. >The mare turned to the kitchen doorway to see Angle hiding behind it.
  787. >She really should have expected this.
  788. >"Wait here, please." Said Fluttershy before walking out of the kitchen and grabbing Angle along the way.
  789. >...
  790. >"And please tell the other animals not to bother us while were talking unless its an emergancy please."
  791. >Angle reluctantly nodded before hopping off upstairs.
  792. >Fluttershy sighed and walked back to the kitchen. She wanted to be more annoyed, but supposed that Angle was just trying to look out for her.
  793. >Cozy Glow gave her a polite smile as she entered, but it was noticably strained.
  794. >"I'm sorry about that, Cozy Glow. It won't happen again."
  795. >"That's alright, miss Fluttershy. I'm not mad."
  796. >Fluttershy had a feeling that Cozy was lying.
  797. >Thankfully, the soup was just about finished by that point.
  798. >As the pair ate in reletive silence, Fluttershy wondered just how she was going to try and teach Cozy about kindness.
  799. >At this point, she was just thankful that Discord was asked to keep away from Ponyville for a while before Cozy had been brought here.
  800. >He and Cozy probably weren't ready to meet again just yet.
  801.  
  802. >"So, Cozy Glow. How has your time in Ponyville been so far?" Asked Fluttershy as she gathered the plates once she and Cozy were finished eating.
  803. >"It was great! I loved meeting everypony again and I was treated so well!" Cozy answered with a hint of sarcasm which Fluttershy chose to ignore.
  804. >She'd leave that for Applejack.
  805. >"I'm glad to hear that."
  806. >"So are we done now for today?" Asked Cozy.
  807. >Fluttershy recoiled, not expecting the question.
  808. >"W-well, I'm supposed to be watching you for today so were going to have all of it for ourselves."
  809. >"Aw, come on, Miss Fluttershy. Surely I can have some time to myself as well. I bet you want to care for your animals yourself."
  810. >Fluttershy knew that Cozy wanted more leeway, something that she probably wasn't ready for just yet.
  811. >"I'm sorry, Cozy Glow but I promised Twilight that I'd help watch you."
  812. >Cozy pouted. "That Twilight can be so silly at times."
  813. >"You shouldn't be calling ponies who want to help you such things."
  814. >Cozy's face morphed into what looked like a condescending look. "Right, help me. I sure am grateful."
  815. >Fluttershy decided not to answer the filly, opting to instead wash the dishes.
  816. >As she was doing so, she thought of what he could do with her.
  817. >Maybe she could get her to help with some of the animals?
  818. >Fluttershy already did most of her chores in the sanctuary the previous day and the animals she still kept in her cottage were already fed and taken care of.
  819. >Plus, its not like animal care lessons did much for Cozy, no matter how admitadly good she got at it.
  820. >Perhaps a serious talk where she could try to figure out why Cozy did what she did?
  821. >Fluttershy believed that would be more effective with Applejack, Twilight or even Rarity.
  822. >How was she supposed to teach this filly kindness when her classes failed?
  823. >What to do?
  824.  
  825. >Suddenly, a visibly distressed Angel came back getting Fluttershy's attention.
  826. >Fluttershy stopped what she was doing and hurridly ran up to him.
  827. >She ignored the glare Cozy was giving to the bunny.
  828. >Turns out there was a roc that flew unusually low to the chicken coop.
  829. >This normally wouldn't be as dangerous as one would expect because Rocs don't hunt for such small pray.
  830. >The problem was that the chickens were now in a state of mass panic and none of the other animals could do anything to stop them.
  831. >Fluttershy hurried outside and sure enough, the flightless birds were running around like their heads were chopped off.
  832. >After a quick application of her Stare, she inspected the chickens and concluded that many of them required medical aid.
  833. >Thankfully it was nothing serious but it still needed addressing.
  834. >Fluttershy went back into the house to get a first aid kit.
  835. >"What happened?" Asked Cozy Glow, who was waiting for her at the living room, appearently board with waiting in the kitchen.
  836. >"Animal emergency." Answered Fluttershy as she grabbed a kit. She was glad that she decided to keep her first aid kits in easy to reach places.
  837. >Fluttershy was about to leave when she stopped to look back at the filly.
  838. >Maybe she can help? It could make for a good kindness lesson.
  839. >But still, the classes...
  840. >If only she had more time to come up with something better.
  841. >Still, this was better then nothing.
  842. >"Cozy Glow, do you remember your classes with me on animal care."
  843. >"Uh-huh, those were my favourites!"
  844. >Fluttershy couldn't tell if she was lying or not but decided to roll with it.
  845. >"Please, follow me then." She said as she left.
  846. >Cozy looked at the open door for a second before shrugging and following the older pegasus.
  847. >It's not like she could use this opportunity to escape with that tracking spell on.
  848.  
  849. 3
  850.  
  851. >Fluttershy gave one of the calmer chicken to Cozy and told her to bandage it using the skills she was taught at school while she went to the more roudier one's.
  852. >Normally she wouldn't let an untrained pony deal with her animals like this, but the small scratches the chickens suffered were easy enough to bandage and Fluttershy knew that Cozy was told about her restrictions so she assumed that the filly knew not to try anything funny.
  853. >So, she got to work on the five chickens in front of her.
  854. >Being the highly experienced animal caretaker that she was, she had managed to finish up with three of the birds while Cozy managed one.
  855. >She only noticed that the fifth one had slipped away when she finished tending to the fourth.
  856. >This was bad. The reason she wanted to personally attend to those five is because they were too roudy and panicky. If one of them got away before it could be attended to it could cause another panick.
  857. >Fluttershy quickly perked up her head and looked around to find the straggler.
  858. >Surprisingly, it was being bandaged up by Cozy.
  859. >This chicken only ever trusted Fluttershy.
  860. >What was even more surprising was that not only was Cozy seeming to be doing a remarkable job with the first aid, but she also seemed quite happy with her work.
  861. >Fluttershy knew that Cozy was talented and prideful, but she did not expect that to extand to what she was currently doing.
  862. >"And done." Cozy said, gently letting the chicken go.
  863. >She had just performed an act of kindness and didn't complain about it or seem to dislike it.
  864. >Perhaps this impromptu kindness lesson was proving to be more effective then Fluttershy thought.
  865. >Cozy noticed that Fluttershy was staring at her and looked up at the mare. She was still smiling, but it seemed to have a oddly different feal like the smile she gave to the chicken.
  866. >Fluttershy had a feeling that she was faking.
  867. >"Yes?"
  868. >Fluttershy shook her head. "You did a good job, Cozy Glow. Let's finish up with the others."
  869.  
  870. >Once the job was done, the two pegesai had some tea.
  871. >Fluttershy tried to talk to Cozy more, but it went about as well as her previous attempts.
  872. >While she couldn't give the filly any lessons she did learn something herself.
  873. >Cozy Glow was capable of doing and enjoying acts of kindness.
  874. >She was hoping that simply being with Cozy and giving her this task was enough to make at least a tiny bit of progress.
  875. >Although she was hoping that the others could do more.
  876. >They spent the rest of the day in the cottage.
  877. >It was awkward, but not horrible.
  878. >Once Twilight lowered the Sun, Fluttershy took Cozy back to the castle.
  879. >"Rarity will be coming tomorrow."
  880. >"Oh, golly! I am so happy not to have a break from searching for a single day!"
  881. >Fluttershy couldn't help but roll her eyes. It seemed that the filly had taken up a streak of sarcasm.
  882. >She supposed that this was better then constant attempts at manipulation.
  883. >"Miss Fluttershy?" Asked Cozy suddenly.
  884. >"Yes?"
  885. >"Do you think I deserve to be out of stone?"
  886. >The older pegasus did not expect a question like this.
  887. >"Well..."
  888. >On one hoof, it would be nice to see another one of their foes rehabilitated.
  889. >On another, considering that she was once a teacher to this filly it may have been better to wait for someone else to come by to work with her.
  890. >"I see." Said Cozy before Fluttershy could answer.
  891. >"Huh?"
  892. >"You don't have to answer me, miss Fluttershy, I understand!" Cozy said with a tone of resignition that Fluttershy couldn't tell was fake or not.
  893. >"B-but I didn't-" Fluttershy tried to say that she didn't mean it like that, but Cozy was already making her way upstairs.
  894. >"G'night miss Fluttershy!" Said Cozy before she dissapeared to presumably her room.
  895. >Fluttershy stood there for a while, contemplating about going after her, but in the end she chose to go home.
  896. >It was probably still too early for such talks and Cozy probably wouldn't believe her if she tried to reassure her.
  897. >Maybe Rarity would have better luck.
  898.  
  899. 4
  900.  
  901. >Rarity was starting to understand why Sweetie Belle tended to get annoyed whenever she was using the bathroom in the morning before her.
  902. >It was not that she didn't understand Cozy Glow's need to fix her mane. If anything, her dedication to looking good was one thing she actually respected about the filly.
  903. >But she wished that Cozy didn't spontaniously decide to shower in the morning due to appearently forgetting to do so last night.
  904. >Thankfully, she didn't have to wait much longer as the bathroom door opened.
  905. >"Are you ready?"
  906. >"Yep!"
  907. >"Let us be going then."
  908. >Rarity had been told by Fluttershy which parts of the town she patrolled with Cozy yesterday so naturally, Rarity led the filly to the parts that didn't get covered.
  909. >Not that it made any difference.
  910. >"Is this what we'll be doing from now on?" Rarity thought. "Just leading Cozy on a tour through the town until we find some creature with a friendship problem and hope its the one were looking for?"
  911. >Cozy may have been thinking the same thing as she didn't seem all too happy what they were doing.
  912. >"This is going nowhere." Cozy finally said.
  913. >"I agree, but theres not much else we can do."
  914. >Cozy could only groan at this.
  915. >Rarity wanted to do the same, but as a lady she had an image to hold up.
  916. >Still, this was getting rather pointless.
  917. >Twilight did ask her to somehow help reform this filly...
  918. >"Shall we take a break?" The unicorn asked.
  919. >Cozy perked up at that. "Oh, I'd love that!"
  920. >"Let us go to my boutique then!"
  921.  
  922. >The boutique was reletively close so they didn't have to walk very long.
  923. >"So whats the plan then?" Cozy asked.
  924. >"Nothing."
  925. >The filly tilted her head. "So does that mean were not gonna keep looking."
  926. >"Indeed. We both agreed that it wasn't getting us anywhere, didn't we?"
  927. >Cozy frowned. "Well, yea but shouldn't we be trying something else then?"
  928. >Rarity raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you did not care about the problem."
  929. >"No, but I do wanna get it over with!"
  930. >Rarity sighed. "I don't think there is anything we can do to make the process of finding it faster and all that walking around clearily isn't working."
  931. >Cozy groaned.
  932. >"Do not fret darling, it will happen eventually. It always does."
  933. >"Yea, right." Cozy muttered. "What are we doing here then."
  934. >"Oh, right!" Rarity went upstairs to get something.
  935. >The unicorn figured that simply holding a class on generosity wouldn't do much for Cozy, but perhaps a display of it would.
  936. >Cozy meanwhile stood around awkwardly in the boutique.
  937. >She was glad that it was closed.
  938. >Suddenly, the front door opened with a chime. Whoever opened it either didn't realize that the store was closed or had access to it.
  939. >Cozy Glow got herself ready to meet whoever came in, but that readiness came crashing down once she realized who they were.
  940. >In came a large female yak.
  941. >"Miss Rarity, the new fabric you ordered came early so Yona and Sandbar bring it here!" Yona shouted.
  942. >It was then that her companion, a light green earth pony stallion noticed the filly in the room.
  943. >"Cozy Glow?!" Sandbar asked.
  944.  
  945. >Cozy wouldn't have been surprised to meet some customers or maybe Sweetie Belle in boutique, but she didn't expect to meet with Sandbar and Yona.
  946. >"What is Cozy Glow doing here?" Yona asked.
  947. >"Wait." Sanbar said. "Oh geez, I forgot. Rarity was supposed to be taking care of her for today."
  948. >Well, at least they knew what was up.
  949. >The last thing she needed was that idiot earth pony and that crazy yak to try and capture her.
  950. >"Sandbar, Yona!" Rarity greeted as she hurried back down.
  951. >"Oh, hi Rarity." Sandbar greeted back.
  952. >"Hello." Yona said with unusual quietness before handing the unicorn the fabric. "This came early."
  953. >"Oh, thank you darlings!" Said Rarity before glancing at Cozy. "As you can see, I got company."
  954. >"Hi." They both greeted the filly with awkwardness. While they did know about Cozy's release, they couldn't exactly forget their past with her.
  955. >Cozy thought about how to talk to the two. In the end, she went with her sweet filly persona (or true self as she preferred to call it).
  956. >"Oh, golly if it isn't my two good friends Sandbar and Yona, I didn't expect to see you today!"
  957. >Sandbar and Yona's winces indicated that they weren't as happy to see Cozy as she pretended to see them.
  958. >"Sandbar and Yona are working as my assistents and trainees here." Rarity said. "I hope to make them run it someday."
  959. >"Well golly gee, that sure is unexpected!"
  960. >"Well, yea. We get that a lot-" Sandbar started.
  961. >"But it we thought on a lot about it and it suits Sandbar and Yona well!" Yona finished.
  962. >"Well, we should get going." Said Sandbar. "Our train to Canterlot will be leaving soon."
  963. >"Doesn't it depart in two hours?" Rarity asked.
  964. >"We want to be well prepared." Yona said. "For us it is first time going out to a place like that."
  965. >Rarity smiled. "Oh, I'm sure you could at least allow me to make you some tea. It's the least I could do to repay you from delivering this fabric to me."
  966. >"Well, I guess we could" Sandbar said.
  967. >"We stay then!" Yona declared.
  968.  
  969. >And so, Cozy Glow found herself having teatime with her second (former) Element of Harmony wielder.
  970. >Fluttershy's tea was better.
  971. >Sandbar, Yona and Rarity had a partially conversation with each other.
  972. >Partially because she could tell how uncomfortable Sandbar and Yona felt around her.
  973. >She did listen though and it turns out that the two were a couple now and were going on some sort of couple's trip to Canterlot.
  974. >"So when did you two become a couple?" Cozy asked, hoping to make them feel even more uncomfortable.
  975. >Yona was the one to answer her: "It was at school dance when Sandbar asked Yona out."
  976. >"Yea. Said Sandbar. It was a bit of a random choice at the time, but one of the best in my life." He nuzzled her mare(yak?)friend.
  977. >Cozy never remembered any school dances.
  978. >"When was that?"
  979. >"Oh, it was shortly after-" Sandbar started to say before stopping himself, remembering who he was talking to.
  980. >Cozy's mood dropped significantly. "After I was turned to stone?" Cozy asked with narrowed eyes.
  981. >"After you were sent to Tartarus." Sandbar awkwardly corrected.
  982. >Cozy's mood went further downhill as she stared at her tea. Her attempt to make Sandbar and Yona uncomfortable seemingly backfired.
  983. >Rarity attempted to salvage the situation by attempting some small talk which Cozy didn't care to partake in or listen to.
  984. >Sandbar and Yona finished their tea soon after and were ready to leave.
  985. >"Thanks for the tea, Rarity but we really should get going."
  986. >"We need the best preperations to make date good!"
  987. >Cozy wasn't sure weather they were in such a hurry because of her or because they genuenly wanted to get everything ready well in time.
  988. >Not that she cared, of course.
  989. >Rarity saw them out the door while Cozy stayed at the table.
  990. >She could hear a short, muffled conversation before hearing the front door open and close.
  991. >She wondered if they were talking about her.
  992.  
  993. >Rarity didn't come back immediately as she went upstairs.
  994. >"Sure, leave your guest alone." Cozy thought.
  995. >By the time she came down, the filly had drunk the rest of her tea.
  996. >"Some couple." Cozy remarked. "And your assistants too."
  997. >"It was certainly an unexpected hookup at the time, but everything went wonderfully for them." Rarity said with some pride.
  998. >"Good for them. They grew up so much." Cozy muttered, not even trying to hide her disdain.
  999. >Rarity was about to give Cozy a lecture on how the filly's own actions caused her to end up the way she did but stopped herself, figuring that such a speech wouldn't do much good.
  1000. >"Did you enjoy your tea, Cozy Glow?"
  1001. >"Fluttershy's was better."
  1002. >Rarity agreed so she wasn't offended by Cozy's words.
  1003. >"Let us be off then." Said Rarity, motioning the filly to follow her.
  1004. >"I thought we weren't searching." Cozy complained.
  1005. >"We aren't."
  1006. >It was then that Cozy noticed the bag of bits the unicorn was levitating next to her.
  1007. >"Where are we going then?"
  1008. >"Rarity smirked. "Have you ever been to a spa?"
  1009.  
  1010. >Apparently, this spa was about a ten-minute walk from the boutique.
  1011. >Cozy knew that it existed, but never really went near during her previous stay in Ponyville.
  1012. >She neither had the bits for it nor the time to even consider visiting it with all the studying and plotting she had to do.
  1013. >"Have you ever been to a spa before?" Asked Rarity.
  1014. >"Nope."
  1015. >"You've been missing out, darling! The treatments you can get there are simply divine!"
  1016. >Cozy guessed that this would be at least pleasant. Better than aimlessly walking around the town at least.
  1017. >"Golly, miss Rarity, I just hope whoever works there will be willing to treat little old me."
  1018. >"You needn't worry about that. As long as I vouch for you, it will be all right!"
  1019. >"Right." Cozy said. She was actually less worried about whether or not she would be served but more so about how awkwardly she would be treated. She lamented how she wasn't sent to some small town where nopony would know her.
  1020. >"Were here." Rarity announced as soon as Cozy finished her lament.
  1021. >Cozy groaned upon seeing some ponies enter the relatively unremarkable looking spa building. She was gonna get so many stares!
  1022.  
  1023. >A few minutes later, the mare and filly were taking a hot bath after a nice massage.
  1024. >While the spa staff took to Cozy with the kind of reluctance she expected, a quick word from Rarity was enough for them to treat her like any other customer.
  1025. >The bath was even in a nice private room, with Rarity apparently paying extra for that service.
  1026. >"So, what do you think?" Asked Rarity.
  1027. >"It's nice." Answered Cozy. "I really wish I could have gone here on occasions back when I was still a student here. It would have really reduced all the stress from planning and preparing my conquest of Equestria." She smiled, devilishly. "Maybe with a clearer mind, I would have even won!"
  1028. >"My, such... confidence." Rarity said, trying to sound friendly.
  1029. >"You gotta have it if you wanna get forward in life!" Cozy announced. "And I'm a pretty ambitious pony!"
  1030. >"I noticed." Rarity said with a deadpan.
  1031. >"What’s wrong, miss Rarity? There's nothing wrong with a little ambition!" Cozy said, cheekily.
  1032. >"Little may be stretching it, darling and your methods could certainly use improvement."
  1033. >"Well, how else am I supposed to rule over everypony?"
  1034. >"Life isn't about controlling others."
  1035. >"To you."
  1036. >Rarity sighed. "Having goals is not a bad thing, but when those goals are to such a large of a detriment to others as you are, then you must accept that most creatures will stand against it."
  1037. >Cozy nodded. "And that’s why I gotta be ruthless and sneaky." She sunk a bit deeper into the water. "It's what I'm good at, after all."
  1038. >Rarity stared at the filly. "Your skills are admirable." She said, prompting a curious glance from the filly. "But surely, they can be put to use elsewhere."
  1039. >"What do you mean?"
  1040. >"There are paths to wealth and prestige outside of ruler ship and ruining others." Rarity thought for a minute. "Ones that would leave you happier in the end and with more friends." Rarity stopped, remembering Cozy's views on friendship. "More trustworthy ones at least."
  1041.  
  1042. 5
  1043.  
  1044. >"But those don't give nearly as much power!" Cozy declared.
  1045. >"Perhaps on a material level." Rarity said. "But I can assure you that there far safer and lead to happier endings for all involved."
  1046. >"Hmph, yea right."
  1047. >Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Your ways did not turn out very well for you, if you can recall."
  1048. >Cozy inwardly winced at that. Although she would never admit it, the memory of the stone slowly creeping up to her head was still a terrifying one.
  1049. >"That’s cuz I failed." She reasoned. "It's high risk but super high reward!"
  1050. >"The former king Sombra succeeded in overthrowing his predecessor, yet he still ended up, well..." Rarity stopped herself, not wanting to mention Sombra's rather graphic death to a filly.
  1051. >"He got killed." Cozy said, much to Rarity's surprise. "That blast you six gave him blew him away so hard I think I saw some of his skin come off." She noticed Rarity's shocked and concerned look. >"Grogar, or I guess Discord showed us a close up of it. I think he did it to keep the three of us in line."
  1052. >Rarity narrowed her eyes. "I don't-"
  1053. >"Ask Discord. Or better yet, ask Fluttershy to ask Discord. Maybe he'll tell you." Cozy said.
  1054. >While Cozy was a rather infamous liar, Rarity did find herself wondering if she was telling the truth in this case.
  1055. >"Sombra failed as well by the way." Cozy said after a bit of silence. "If I could win just once I bet I could keep my ruler ship."
  1056. >"Sombra's life was one of constant paranoia, Cozy." Rarity said. "Because he knew everypony hated him and would attempt to dethrone him at the smallest sign of weakness."
  1057. >"Well, I'd make everypony love me then!"
  1058. >"With your goals and methods, I'm afraid that would be quite impossible."
  1059. >"Easy for you to say." Cozy muttered.
  1060. >Rarity nodded. "Indeed. I live quite a happy life, if I do say so myself."
  1061. >Cozy groaned, but said nothing more as Aloe and Lotus came in to give them their next treatment.
  1062.  
  1063. >The further treatments were quite pleasant as far as Cozy was concerned.
  1064. >She and Rarity didn't converse too much mostly due to the lack of privacy during these final services.
  1065. >Cozy was somewhat impressed by the spa ponies’ professionalism.
  1066. >She could pick up their disdain and fear of her, but they hid it pretty well.
  1067. >It almost felt like it wasn't even there.
  1068. >Soon enough, the two ponies were finished and out of the spa.
  1069. >"Well, was it good?"
  1070. >Cozy nodded. "Golly, that was great! If I ever manage to take over Equestria, I'll be sure to have a spa built in every town!"
  1071. >She didn't see the point of looking sweet and innocent at this point.
  1072. >"That’s... nice..." Rarity said uneasily.
  1073. >"So what do we do now?" Cozy suddenly asked.
  1074. >It was then that Rarity noticed that there was plenty of day left.
  1075. >"I like to take things at a slower pace after going to the spa. I doubt we'll have any more luck then beforehand in finding this friendship problem, so how about we go back to the castle?"
  1076. >"Golly, that sounds great!" Said Cozy genuinely.
  1077. >"Perhaps I can answer whatever questions you may have about what transpired during your imprisonment."
  1078. >"I'd like that." Said Cozy with slightly less enthusiasm. The reminder of her previous state putting a slight damper on her mood.
  1079.  
  1080. 6
  1081.  
  1082. >Later at the castle's reading room, on two small couches, Cozy was giving Rarity a series of questions.
  1083. >Eventually, she started asking about her former classmates.
  1084. >Of course, Cozy already knew about Gallus, Yona and Sandbar but she was surprised that Smolder of all creatures was teaching at the friendship school alongside Ocellus.
  1085. >"Golly, it's like Ocellus got the only job one would expect she would get." Cozy remarked.
  1086. >"Indeed. It really shows how they've all grown over the years." Said Rarity.
  1087. >Cozy couldn't help but frown at this.
  1088. >Rarity sighed. "You can still grow up yourself, Cozy Glow."
  1089. >Cozy's frown deepened. "I don't even know why I care so much. It's not like I liked them or anything."
  1090. >"You did know them though. I suppose it would be hard to see time stop for you while everycreature else gets to move forward."
  1091. >"This is all those stupid princesses fault. If they didn't do that to me none of this would have happened." Cozy said to herself.
  1092. >"What did you expect would happen after what you did that day?" Asked Rarity.
  1093. >Cozy rolled her eyes. "The complete subjugation of Equestria under my rule." She said as if she were stating the obvious, then she glared at Rarity. "And I wouldn't have come back for revenge had they not thrown me in Tartarus!"
  1094. >Rarity glared back. "You tried to lock us up there before-"
  1095. >"Oh, so when I do it its bad but when you do it its ok?!"
  1096. >"You were the one who did all those horrible things first."
  1097. >"Well, whenever someone at the school started a fight you and the others always said that it didn't matter who started it!"
  1098. >"None of those involved draining the magic from Equestria and trapping the staff members without any previous provocation."
  1099. >"Hmph." Cozy looked away with her forelegs crossed.
  1100. >Rarity started to feel some sympathy for the filly. "Look darling, you don't remember anything from your time in stone, correct?"
  1101. >"No."
  1102. >"And it’s not like you considered anycreature here to be a friend, a true friend of yours."
  1103. >Cozy stayed silent.
  1104. >"Let me tell you, darling that nothing about who you are changed and you can still grow up just like the others."
  1105. >Cozy looked downwards.
  1106. >"Think of this as a fresh start of sorts. You can always form new bonds and aim for whatever career you may eventually wish to peruse."
  1107. >Cozy just kept looking downwards, although she did uncross her hooves. Rarity took this as a sign to give her some space.
  1108. >They didn't talk much for the rest of the day.
  1109.  
  1110. 7
  1111.  
  1112. >That night, after saying goodbye to Rarity, Cozy went to bed just like the previous ones.
  1113. >She found it it hard to sleep as she kept thinking about what to do after her mission.
  1114. >Vengence seemed impossible at this point given the sheer power her opposition wielded and unless she were to get extremely lucky, that would not change any time soon.
  1115. >At the same time, she didn't want to just forgive everyone and she still had a lust for power.
  1116. >Eventually, she managed to fall asleep with those thoughts unresolved.
  1117. >Unfortunately, this left her waking up disgruntled the next morning after a certain pink mare started obnoxiously knocking on her door.
  1118. >"Wakie wakie, Cozy!" The mare cheerfully shouted.
  1119. >"Pinkie Pie." Cozy muttered to herself, suddenly remembering what this former professor of hers was like.
  1120. >"At least some things stayed the same." She thought as she opened the door.
  1121. >"Are you ready for some all-day-long searching?!" Pinkie asked enthusiastically.
  1122. >"No." Cozy said with a deadpan.
  1123. >"Well, maybe some fresh cupcakes for breakfest will help." Pinkie said as she pulled a cupcake out from... somewhere and gave it to Cozy. "There's more downstairs, I'll be waiting!" Pinkie said as she hopped off.
  1124. >Cozy sighed as she ate the cupcake. It was good, as expected from the mare who taught her how to bake, which she found was one of the few truly useful things she learned at the friendship school.
  1125.  
  1126. >Despite the fact that Cozy already went through town several times by now, with many of its residents even getting used to her (much to her relief), Pinkie felt the need to give a guided tour of it rather then search for anypony having a problem.
  1127. >"And so, after last bunny stampede, we rebuilt this house into a greenhouse!" Pinkie said, finishing her discription of what was indeed, a rather large greenhouse.
  1128. >"Somehow, this town got crazier." Cozy muttered.
  1129. >"Yep! And that leads us right to the new playground!"
  1130. >Cozy groaned. It sure was annoying having to deal with this obnoxious pony talking to her about every little thing.
  1131. >She couldn't help but wonder if Tirek and Chrysalis felt the same way about her when she tried to get them to work together back at "Grogar's" lair.
  1132. >She then thought about how those two were still trapped in stone which gave her a strange, unpleasent feeling.
  1133. >She wasn't sure why though. To her, they were the ones responsible for their defeat. Had they just listened to her all the way, she'd be ruling Equestria by now!
  1134. >"Cozy?"
  1135. >Pinkie's question snapped the filly out of her thoughts.
  1136. >"Come on!" Pinkie said as she hopped away.
  1137. >Cozy let out a frustrated sigh and proceeded to follow her.
  1138.  
  1139. >"Pinkie." Cozy eventually said.
  1140. >"Hm?"
  1141. >"I've been here before. You don't need to show me around."
  1142. >"Well, has anypony explained and showed just how much Ponyville has changed since you were gone?"
  1143. >"No, but I've been walking around town for this entire week. I already know enough!"
  1144. >"Silly filly." Pinkie said as she patted Cozy's head, earning an annoyed look from the filly. "It's good to know the town you might end up staying at after the mission inside out."
  1145. >Cozy's annoyed look turned into a glare, making it obvious that she did not think highly of the idea of staying in Ponyville for the foreseeable future.
  1146. >"Don't worry; you'll love it here eventually!"
  1147. >"Yea, sure." Cozy said sarcastically. "Don't we have a friendship problem to look for anyway?"
  1148. >Pinkie giggled. "We won't find it by just looking around town."
  1149. >Cozy raised an eyebrow. "How do you know that?"
  1150. >"I might have figured it out." Pinkie said slyly.
  1151. >Cozy's eyes widened as she looked up at the mare in shock. "Well, what is it then?"
  1152. >Pinkie booped Cozy on the nose "Not telling!"
  1153. >"Why not?!" Cozy angrily asked.
  1154. >"You gotta figure it out for yourself." Said Pinkie before hopping off. "Come on!"
  1155. >"Wait, Pinkie!" Cozy shouted, running after Pinkie. She was determined to get answers.
  1156.  
  1157. >Unfortunately, despite Cozy's best attempts, she could not get much out of Pinkie.
  1158. >"You gotta figure it out for yourself."
  1159. >"Oh, come on!"
  1160. >"Twilight was right on this one."
  1161. >"Please?" Cozy tried asking with her best puppy dog eyes.
  1162. >Pinkie only giggle at this. "Nope!"
  1163. >"Why not?!" Cozy finally snapped, stomping her hooves on the ground.
  1164. >"I already said so silly, you gotta figure it out for yourself."
  1165. >"AAAGH!" Cozy shouted, getting the attention of some passerby's, before sitting down in tired frustration.
  1166. >Pinkie put a hoof on Cozy's shoulder, getting her attention.
  1167. >"Don't worry, it's nothing too bad and I think you'll complete it soon." The pink mare said comfortingly.
  1168. >"Easy for you to say." Cozy muttered. She then stood up and started strolling away.
  1169. >"Where are you going?" Pinkie asked.
  1170. >"Back to the castle."
  1171. >"But you’re supposed to look for the-"
  1172. >"I don't care!" Cozy snapped as she continued heading back to Twilight's castle.
  1173. >Pinkie stared as she was walking away.
  1174. >"I know I'm supposed to make her search around town, but..." Pinkie said to herself before thinking on it further.
  1175. >"Stupid Pinkie." Cozy said, not caring if anyone heard her randomly talking to herself.
  1176. >Suddenly, the mare she had just insulted was hopping beside her.
  1177. >"What do you want?" Cozy asked.
  1178. >"I gotta spend the day with you. I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun in the castle!"
  1179. >Cozy groaned, knowing that there was no escaping this pink menace.
  1180.  
  1181. >Later.
  1182. >Cozy couldn't say she knew what to expect when Pinkie started mentioning games to play.
  1183. >But she would never have expected her to suggest chess, let alone be able to play it.
  1184. >Let alone be good at it.
  1185. >Despite her cutie mark, Cozy's talent wasn't playing chess and she was not like she was obsessed with the game or anything.
  1186. >It's just that her aptitude for strategy and natural interest in a game her cutie mark just happened to be shaped after made her a pretty good player, especially for her age.
  1187. >She did beat Tirek multiple times, after all.
  1188. >So it came as a shock to her when Pinkie actually managed to beat her twice in three games.
  1189. >"This game is pretty fun! I haven't played it since I lived back at the rock farm."
  1190. >Cozy knew that Pinkie grew up there based on the research she did before attempting to drain all the magic from Equestria.
  1191. >"With your sisters?"
  1192. >"Uh-huh! Also my dad. He taught me how to play. He's super good!"
  1193. >Cozy supposed that having a dedicated teacher would give Pinkie an advantage.
  1194. >"Ready for round four?" Pinkie asked, having already reset the board.
  1195. >"Uh, sure." Cozy said. She was getting a bit tired of these games, but she couldn't think of anything better to do.
  1196.  
  1197. >"You wanna bake some cupcakes after this round?" Pinkie randomly asked while making a move.
  1198. >Cozy was about to say yes, but then she thought back on all the times she had to bake cupcakes to get Chrysalis to listen to her.
  1199. >"No."
  1200. >A few more moves were made. Cozy felt like she was winning.
  1201. >"Why were you so mean back then?"
  1202. >Cozy looked up at the pink mare, who looked back at her questioningly.
  1203. >"Are you seriously asking that now?"
  1204. >"When should I?" Pinkie casually asked while making a move.
  1205. >Cozy was expecting a question like this from somepony like Fluttershy, not Pinkie.
  1206. >"I mean, you hurt Twilight, helped Tirek and Chrysalis imprisoned us and a bunch of other bad things."
  1207. >"Well, maybe if you didn't imprison me in Tartarus, none of that would have happened." Cozy said, trying to keep calm. Letting anger get the best of her would not be beneficial for the chess game.
  1208. >"The princesses only did that because-"
  1209. >"I don't care." Cozy said harshly. "Why are you even bringing this up?"
  1210. >Pinkie shrugged. "It's gotta come up at some point. Besides, it's hard to help you smile if I can't understand you."
  1211. >"Oh, now you care about that?"
  1212. >"Uh-huh!" Pinkie nodded, making her move.
  1213. >"I bet its cuz' Twilight told you to try and brainwash me!"
  1214. >Pinkie giggled. "Silly filly, she told us to reform you!"
  1215. >"Oh, so now she wants to do that when I'm useful to-" Cozy stopped herself when she noticed that Pinkie put her in a check. She made a move to save her king.
  1216. >"Would you have listened to her if she tried back then?"
  1217. >"I dunno." Cozy said. She thought that she would have tried to plan a revenge scheme as she was being "reformed", but at this point, she really did not know how that would have ended. "Either way, you were all mean to me!"
  1218. >Pinkie looked over Cozy. She really was a filly. She wondered if Cozy's punishments were a good idea. Twilight seemed to think so and she was her smartest friend. Granted, she didn't think much about it after all the threats were over as she was too busy being happy that everypony was safe. Maybe she should have thought more on it. Her recent commitments with Cheesy got her to do a lot more of that.
  1219. >"You gonna make your move or what?!" Cozy asked irritably.
  1220. >"Oh, sorry!" Pinkie moved her queen, and then got up. "Well, that was fun! I'm gonna get us snacks now!" She declared and hopped away downstairs.
  1221. >"Hey!" Cozy shouted after her. She rolled her eyes, and decided to make her move while Pinkie was gone only to notice that Pinkie had once again checkmated her.
  1222. >Cozy sighed; she was rusty after only being able to play with Tirek for so long.
  1223. >Meanwhile, Pinkie cobbled together some treats. She couldn't change what happened to Cozy nor could she make her happy immediately, but she could help by being a good friend to her while the others figure out some neat reformation thing for her.
  1224.  
  1225. 8

Cozy Glow's Friendship Quest

by quinick

Evil Filly and Spoiled Brat

by quinick