Silly Druid

Cozy Glow looked at the ponies gathered by the table. There were the princesses, and her teachers from the School of Friendship. They looked almost the same as she remembered them, except a little older. She decided that remaining silent could be seen as suspicious, so after introducing herself (as Red Rook, of course), she turned to Pinkie Pie, which seemed the 'safest' one to talk to, because, knowing her, she would probably do most of the talking herself. "H-hey Pinkie Pie, I'm your big fan! So... what fun things have you done lately?" Cozy asked, still trying to sound a bit shy and uncertain.

They became a sorry excuse of what they should be, and this concerns me. They are "thriving" only because they are under protection of ponies. Well, I managed to take over the School of Friendship all by myself, and I didn't use any magic for that, so I think my skills would be enough to maintain control. And from my correspondence with Tirek I knew the Magic of Friendship would still work, like it worked against him when he thought he drained all the magic from Equestria, but this time it would work in my favor. As the Empress of Friendship and headmare of the School, I would be the most powerful pony in the world. At least that's what I thought back then, now I do have some doubts if it would work that way...

So it seems everypony of any importance in this kingdom is at that breakfast, maybe except Starlight Glimmer. I don't think they should do it like this, for safety reasons. An attack on all that gathering of important figures could be devastating to Equestria. Not that I'm going to do anything like that just now, I'm not ready yet... That's what Cozy Glow thought, but she didn't have time to say anything to Flurry Heart, as they suddenly ran into Princess Twilight. To avoid being recognized, Cozy decided to act as a typical filly her age, a little shy and overwhelmed by the presence of royalty. She used the same fake voice as when talking to the guard. "Your Highness... I'm honored... I'm Red Rook... Princess Flurry Heart's new friend..."

I heard rumors like this, and I won't confirm nor deny them. It's more fun this way. You mean my changelings? Of course I do. That's why I'm doing everything I can to have them back on my side. Can you elaborate about these flaws? After the fact you can always say that a failed plan was flawed, but if you have any specific remarks, I can discuss them with you.

You are forgiven. I heard Dragon Lord Ember can't tell me apart from Sweetie Belle.

"Sounds reasonable," Cozy Glow agreed to Flurry Heart's plan. "So who's going to be on that breakfast? Do I need to prepare for it in some way? Also, I'm really hungry after all these years of petrification, I hope the 'princess food' is good..."

Diamond Tiara is rich and arrogant. She doesn't have my cunning and intelligence. OOC: And open answers, which aren't always what you expect. It's villains you're talking to, and sometimes they won't like your questions and refuse to answer them directly.

"I want whatever you think is the most believable way of introducing me. I don't want to take any chances here." Cozy was serious about that. She knew that a good plan was better than acting spontaneously. "Maybe you're here because they want to keep you away from that crystal thingy you destroyed?" Cozy suggested jokingly, but then she realized she might hurt Flurry's feelings. "Sorry, bad joke. What I really want to know is what are you going to do with me. Do you have any specific plans for my reformation?" Cozy knew that not only friendship is power, but knowledge is power too. Knowing things in advance could be very useful...

They are like the most naive ponies ever. And the first victims of my manipulations. You want to talk about my feelings? Are you my therapist or something?

By planning my revenge, of course. It's good to have a goal in life.

Of course not. It would be unprofessional behavior. You're not fooling anyone, Chryssie... Why did you do this to me, Cozy? I don't know anyone with that name.

My power comes partially from the changelings, so when they abandoned me, sadly I became weaker. You're joking, right? Or you based your question on fan created content. I can't wait for humans to start asking you about Fluffle Puff! Fluffle what now?

Well, it was mostly the fact that he loved Cadance and I pretended to be her. But as a changeling, I must have some innate charm to be able to act as the loved one of my victim, and I'm glad you noticed it.

A secret admirer of the evil queen of the changelings? How would it work, a pony sending letters to my hive? As for the changelings, of course they all admired me when they were still in their proper forms, but not in secret.

"So it seems you didn't think through that part of your plan," Cozy Glow noticed. "Well, I can hide somewhere for now if you prefer to introduce me to the princesses later. I have a question though: Why are you in Canterlot anyway? Shouldn't you reside with your parents in the Crystal Empire?" Flurry's bedroom made a good impression on Cozy. "It looks very nice! I love cozy things, it's a part of my name after all. And that protection makes sense I guess, I heard you destroyed some stuff as a baby, including a powerful magical artifact."

Actually my experiences with this holiday aren't so good, because I had to constraint myself a lot. Eating too much isn't good for health.

Friendship and cupcakes! Power! I still love my changelings, even after they betrayed me. Crysstalssss...

"So I'll be taking these lessons together with you? That's interesting..." Getting the knowledge on the princesses' views on friendship directly from the source is something that could be exploited, Cozy Glow thought. "And yes, I want to see what you have in your bedroom. I promise I won't break anything! And while we're going there, perhaps you can fill me in on what's happening in the world. Before I was turned to stone, Twilight was going to become the ruler of Equestria, did it really happen? If so, what are Celestia and Luna doing these times? Any other things I should know about?"

"So the only option is to have my cutie mark openly exposed? That's risky, but I'll manage. Speaking of school, am I going to go to one when taking part in this program?" Cozy Glow thought about the period when she was going to the School of Friendship. These were good times, and she could put her abilities to full use there. "Where are you going? Can I go with you?" Cozy asked when Flurry started to move.

I can be like a tsunami if you mess with me.

Well, sometimes I do it, it seems like the laws of the universe force you to do such things from time to time. I wouldn't say I enjoy it though. Oh come on Chryssie, I know you love it! You're just saying it like that because you're... what's the word... tsundere? I have no idea what you're talking about.

Cozy Glow signed the agreement as Red Rook, after reading it carefully to make sure there was nothing she wouldn't want to agree to there. "My family? Well, the thing is... they did nothing wrong, really. They always wanted to raise me as a good filly. It's entirely my fault that I did not fulfill their expectations. Maybe it would be better for me if I had some kind of tragic experiences in the past that I could use to explain my later misdeeds, but that's not true. My parents are good ponies, and I don't want them to take the blame for things I do. If anything, they may be actually too naive and easily deceived..." "As for the cutie mark, perhaps I should wear some kind of clothes to hide it most of the time... I can still go by the name 'Red Rook' though, I don't think anypony would connect that to my true identity."

Well, I think I can say it for all of us that patience is not really our thing. And maybe you're right, that could be the reason of our downfall...