What if Sunny frees Cozy and takes her into her care?

[FearTheBelle 55]

The way Cozy Glow was treated was abhorrent, and completely out of line with how ponies had dealt with villains in every instance prior, including Chrysalis. She was never even given a chance to redeem herself or see the light besides a weak AF, "Why'd you do it?" from Twilight, who then sat idly by and let Celestia throw a child into Hell with the very creature that corrupted her. I know some people want to think she was evil all along, but there's no way she was. First of all, the artifacts didn't even show up at the school until AFTER Cozy did, and since they came from Celestia, there's absolutely no logical way to claim she knew about them ahead of time and that they'd be coming to the school. And since the artifacts were the central, critical piece of her eventual plan, there's no way she showed up with that in my.l.

 

But the more clear and indisputable evidence that she wasn't evil to begin with is her debut episode. She goes out of her way to try to get the CMC into the school as a thanks for their help, and is genuinely upset that she got them in trouble when in backfired. Not the scene with Starlight, but immediately after Twilight throws the CMC out. Cozy is watching from afar, all by herself, with nobody to be putting on an act for, and is genuinely distraught that she got her friends in trouble. And before anyone says it, it was not because she needed them in the school for her plan. Which is clear as day when you remember that they were nowhere to be seen when Cozy launched her takeover, and when they did arrive on the scene, they were an active hinderance she was very much not pleased to have around. So the only explanation for her interactions with the CMC in Marks for Effort is that they were genuine. 

She was a good pony who was failed by the Mane Six and her other teachers, who clearly missed the signs that HAD to have been present that Cozy wasn't understanding friendship properly and was getting things twisted. And then they failed her again by not making any effort to help her at all and instead throwing her in prison with ultra-evil villains, sealing her fate for her without even attempting to help her become a better pony.

 

Which brings us to G5. They've got a chance to rectify a wrong given Cozy's fate. Sunny can free her from the stone and take her under her (proverbial, or maybe literal if she's a permanent alicorn) and give her the genuine help and guiding light she clearly deserves but never got. And it would take some doing at this point after how long Cozy was allowed to be astray from the righteous path, but a long-term redemption for a previous character the last gen's heroes totally let down would be a great way to tie things together between the generations, and a connection that actually makes sense thanks to the stoning. 

[Seabro 8]

Uhm, thasts a very weird question but..

I guess cozy won't care about it and will try doing villain things again. :I

[FearTheBelle 55]

21 hours ago, Seabro said:

Uhm, thasts a very weird question but..

I guess cozy won't care about it and will try doing villain things again. :I

How is it a weird question?

[EpicEnergy 23,146]

I don't think Sunny would try to free her, considering that Cozy Glow would just attempt to steal all the magic in Equestria again. Also, Sunny has no experience in redeeming a villain, so attempting to redeem Cozy Glow while risking releasing hell on the world would be a risk not worth taking.

[Evil Pink One 13,506]

I think no one knows the mean 3 anymore

[AlbaTross 1,586]

To paraphrase a line from Starswirl: "You can't bring Cozy Glow back!  You can't bring only Cozy Glow back!"  If she gets brought back, so do Chryssy and Tirek.  Actually, I would love for that to happen as it would inject some much needed excitement into the new series.  The Mane Five and all the other ponies would be kind of screwed though as they're only just rediscovering their magic and would be ill-equipped, so that would probably be a one-sided massacre, and would probably be too much excitement for that cast.  

[Splashee 28,560]

Cozy Glow would look very nice as a 3D pony, even if she was newly re-designed. So I would be happy to see her again.

 

But freeing the three baddies from their stone prison for what purpose exactly? Do they deserve a second chance? Why now? Why didn't Luster Dawn free them earlier? Why didn't Luster Dawn take over as princess after Twilight? You have to remember, G5 is taking place after multiple pony generations, friendships, disputes, new villains born and deceased, etc.

 

We were left with open ends from G4:

• Princess Flurry Heart
• Student Luster Dawn
• Pinkie Pie's kid(s)
• Discord
• Twilight being immortal
• Cozy Glow and Tirek being turned to stone

 

Why does G5 need to revisit any of those? Because they are staying at the same universe (Equestria)? Is that really what the Movie was telling, that G4 is coming back? Or that G5 is moving on?

 

I have no problem seeing Cozy Glow again, so bring her back! But she wasn't a fan favorite like Derpy was. It feels like a step in the wrong direction. Why not create a new villain with the same issues and personality? That's what a new Generation is supposed to do.

[Misty Shadow 7,821]

On 2021-10-25 at 2:33 PM, FearTheBelle said:

But the more clear and indisputable evidence that she wasn't evil to begin with is her debut episode. She goes out of her way to try to get the CMC into the school as a thanks for their help, and is genuinely upset that she got them in trouble when in backfired. Not the scene with Starlight, but immediately after Twilight throws the CMC out. Cozy is watching from afar, all by herself, with nobody to be putting on an act for, and is genuinely distraught that she got her friends in trouble. And before anyone says it, it was not because she needed them in the school for her plan. Which is clear as day when you remember that they were nowhere to be seen when Cozy launched her takeover, and when they did arrive on the scene, they were an active hinderance she was very much not pleased to have around. So the only explanation for her interactions with the CMC in Marks for Effort is that they were genuine. 

Cozy was evil to begin with, it was implied in the very next episode when she and Neighsay appeared that she gave Flim and Flam the book. She came clean about her "joke" to get close to Twilight. She's extremely intelligent and knows that would make them think, "Wow, this kid came clean about a joke we'd never suspect her of coming up with by herself? She's the kind of pony we can trust!". That shot where she was watching from afar was just to make it appear that she cared about them, when her shocked look can also just mean that she wasn't expecting her plan to work that well. 

None of this means I support her being sent to Tartarus or having no backstory, just saying. Her being evil from the start was most definitely planned, it's even implied by the chess piece on her cutie mark. Back to the topic though, this is a scenario I do not envision happening in G5. It was implied at the end of the Season 10 comic that Chrysalis could escape from the stone, thus implying that Cozy could be freed too...in the time of G4. That kind of story is the kind of thing that belongs to that generation. 

[AlbaTross 1,586]

10 hours ago, Splashee said:

Why didn't Luster Dawn take over as princess after Twilight? 

Who's to say if she did or didn't?  Assuming Twilight was given the lifespan of an Alicorn along with her transformation, which seems likely given that she eventually started looking more like Celestia and Luna, she probably reigned for at least 1000 years, if not more.  We have no idea if Luster Dawn was made into an Alicorn too down the road, but since she was around while the rest of the Mane Six and Spike were all still alive, she would be a very short-term successor in the grand scheme of things even if she was, as she would be old even in Alicorn years if Twilight were to be old enough to step down or die of old age.  Also, I would imagine that Twlight and Sunset weren't the only students Celestia ever took directly under her wing, and both just happened to live around the time when Luna's 1000 year banishment ended.  Twilight became an Alicorn because she was somepony even more special than a Nobel Prize winner, not simply because she happened to show the most promise out of the students in her class, as many, many classes would have come and gone in the time Celestia ran that school.  Also, Starlight was Twilight's student too and as far as we know she didn't become an Alicorn.  

None of the above is to say that Luster Dawn wasn't Twilight's successor, just that if she was, it was maybe for a couple decades.  It's probably enough time to do some damage, sure, but I don't know if that would be enough time to screw up everything so spectacularly as to divide all races again, including the three pony races.  Heck, we don't even know if Twilight had a successor.

10 hours ago, Splashee said:

We were left with open ends from G4:

• Princess Flurry Heart
• Student Luster Dawn
• Pinkie Pie's kid(s)
• Discord
• Twilight being immortal
• Cozy Glow and Tirek being turned to stone

There are plenty more open ends than that, and I highly doubt any of the above will actually be revisited.  Everything I said about Luster Dawn in the event of her becoming an Alicorn is true for Flurry Heart as well, who's also a generation behind Twilight, as in, a normal pony generation.  Pinkie's kid probably lived a normal pony life too, and died at a relatively normal age for a regular pony.  Discord had an unnaturally long life too, but that may not actually be due to being immortal.  He was turned to stone for 1000 years, and that presumably stops time for the individual encased in stone.  We actually don't know anything about how long a member of his species lives, but he likely outlived Fluttershy and her friends.  However, we don't actually know if he's immortal, and if he's not then it's unlikely he would still be around in Sunny's time.  Heck, even if he is it seems he can definitely die or be killed, just not of old age.  He needs magic, and magic is sparse by the time Sunny is born.  That's not good for a Draconequus.  

Cozy, Chryssy and Tirek are the most likely to be able to return.  I don't see it happening, but they have the highest odds of being able to come back from a story standpoint.

10 hours ago, Splashee said:

Why does G5 need to revisit any of those? Because they are staying at the same universe (Equestria)? Is that really what the Movie was telling, that G4 is coming back? Or that G5 is moving on?

This is precisely why I wish a link wasn't forced between the new series and the previous one.  It's great for conversation, sure, but now a monster has been created (metaphorically speaking).  It's difficult to discuss the state of the world in the film and its upcoming show without contemplating how the Equestria of the Mane Six got that way, as well as whether characters and elements of it will return.  Had that connection not been made, there wouldn't be any confusion, nor would there be any need to revisit anything as it would have been a completely clean slate.  There's nothing about the story of the movie that has any direct connection to the Equestria of old, and it would have worked equally well if not better if it was just its own world.  It would still be hopelessly derivative of the Hearth's Warming story, but at least it would be completely its own thing.  As it stands, we now have a story that's both derivative and presents a narrative that ponies eventually relapsed on everything they learned over the generations, not to mention the whole discussion over what happened to the Windigoes (which is admittedly pretty interesting).  

10 hours ago, Splashee said:

Why not create a new villain with the same issues and personality? That's what a new Generation is supposed to do.

Precisely.  I agree 100%, and imagine that's what will likely happen.  I would be surprised if anything from FiM does end up being more than a reference or a "historical fact".

[God Praiser 5]

That’s actually such a good idea! :D 

Although I’m pretty sure that Cozy Glow was already evil to begin with. But she was actually—perhaps even without her knowing—about to grasp the real meaning of friendship through the CMC.
And yes, to be fair, if Cozy Glow was actually imprisoned in stone all the way up to Sunny’s life, then that would actually be even crueler than to have her been freed only a few years later. I’ve read a fanfiction with Twilight Sparkle having been the one to free her herself, and she herself taking on the responsibility of caring for Cozy Glow, and even admitting that she was wrong being penitent, vulnerable, and humble in front of Cozy Glow.

That of course did wonders for them XD

[Skylight Scintillate 1,979]

I don't know, that seems unlikely. I feel like G5 would try to cut ties with any G4 characters because it would open a whole can of worms if they had any G4 characters involved.

[Goat-kun 2,527]

We don't know the life and times of Cozy Glow and perhaps it's for the best given the alternative. What we know is that she'd feed all the G5 ponies to Lord Tirek and use the new thingamajigs to turn herself into an alicorn tyrant. As a character, she works best when she's a lying, scheming evil loli immune to Friendship psyops. If her heart grows by three sizes she'll lose something that no amount of friendship lessons can replace: herself. A well-written good gal Cozy Glow would be like Artemis Fowl, and that is not the kind of character that can exist within the MLP narrative

[Splashee 28,560]

Is it even possible to free just one of them out of the stone prison? Won't they all come back (not just Cozy but Tirek etc)?

[CorvetteZora 39]

On 2021-12-02 at 2:03 PM, Splashee said:

Cozy Glow would look very nice as a 3D pony, even if she was newly re-designed. So I would be happy to see her again.

 

But freeing the three baddies from their stone prison for what purpose exactly? Do they deserve a second chance? Why now? Why didn't Luster Dawn free them earlier? Why didn't Luster Dawn take over as princess after Twilight? You have to remember, G5 is taking place after multiple pony generations, friendships, disputes, new villains born and deceased, etc.

 

We were left with open ends from G4:

• Princess Flurry Heart
• Student Luster Dawn
• Pinkie Pie's kid(s)
• Discord
• Twilight being immortal
• Cozy Glow and Tirek being turned to stone

 

Why does G5 need to revisit any of those? Because they are staying at the same universe (Equestria)? Is that really what the Movie was telling, that G4 is coming back? Or that G5 is moving on?

 

I have no problem seeing Cozy Glow again, so bring her back! But she wasn't a fan favorite like Derpy was. It feels like a step in the wrong direction. Why not create a new villain with the same issues and personality? That's what a new Generation is supposed to do.

It wouldn't be impossible to bring them back, although I wouldn't mind them introducing an all-new villain as well. I personally like the idea of all 3 villains returning for a season finale as a way to bridge the generations without having to reach into the Mane 6 fanservice box. I'm not quite sure how Sunny and co. would defeat them, maybe they could figure out how to petrify them again but one of the villains escapes, similar to how Chrissy did after the S7 finale.

[North Star 5,157]

If the new generation isn't about continuity protagonists then it certainly isn't about continuity villains

Also, if the new gen dealt with Cosy it would spoil the perfectly fine and separate arc of Gen 4: Fim.

Buuut ignoring all that meta stuff... it is possible that Sunny could become bewitched by the ancient tail of Twilight's failure, much the same way that we are enticed by other ancient stories.