In the previous chapter, Cozy Glow was finally able to remember the events that set her on her path. She woke violently and crashed her head in a mirror when she remembered the violent blow dealt by her own father. Here in the present time, Cozy was laying down in bed, while Magnolia and Chrysalis were wrapping bandages around her head. Most of her head and face was now obscured by bandages. She even needed a patch over her left eye.

"I know it should go without saying, but try NOT to bang your head against mirrors." Magnolia scolded.
"I was having a dramatic reliving of my past, cut me some slack..." Cozy said.
"You did overreact just a little." Chrysalis said.
"He tried to kill me!" Cozy exclaimed. "It all makes sense now! Before last night, waking up at that hospital and being greeted by Brenda and her mom was my earliest memory. Brenda was referencing our time in school, and the fight that got us expelled, but none of it made any sense. Whatever hit my head, it caused me to forget everything that preceded that moment."
"But why has your memory started to unlock now?" Chrysalis asked.
"That's a good question, but I have an idea." Magnolia said. "Among the things we learned from studying the poison, we found that it affects the brain in interesting ways. I wonder if somehow the poison has unlocked the inner sanctums of Cozy's mind."
"Great, it's killing me, and it's forcing me to remember my awful past..." Cozy said.

Cozy moaned, and covered her face. She was having trouble coping with the inevitable.

"Tire, Chryssie, do you mind fetching me some ice?" Cozy requested.
"But of course." Tirek said.

The two villains went downstairs, leaving Cozy and Magnolia alone.

"Why do you need ice, Cozy?" Mag asked.
"Because there's something I need to say to you alone, Maggie." Cozy said. "Now that it's just the two of us, I have some things to get out of the way."

Cozy reached behind her, and pulled out her old bow, and gave it to Magnolia.

"Here. You can have it back if you want." she said.

Magnolia held the bow, and sat, a little bewildered.

"Suri gave me a new bow when we met, but this one here is the original one. The one I wore encased in stone, as an alicorn, in Grogar's lair, in Tartarus, in Twilight's school, on the train from my home town. Yeah, we've been through a lot together. Here you go, it's your old bow that your mum gave me, Brenda."

Magnolia got teary eyed.

"So you do remember me... I'm sorry, Cozy, for everything. This whole thing is my fault..." she said.
"Why the double name anyway? You try to cover your tracks?" Cozy asked.
"My mom wanted me to be named Brenda, but my dad called me Magnolia, so they just called me whatever each of them wanted. At school, I told the teacher to call me Brenda, but when I joined the royal guard, I took the name my dad called me to honor him." she answered.
"Well aren't you lucky to have parents to look up to." Cozy hissed.
"Look, I'm sorry you had such a rough childhood. I know I definitely didn't help matters..." Magnolia apologized.
"So why did you decide to help me now in the present?" Cozy asked.
"Because if I could go from petty school bully to a royal guard saving lives, I thought there was a path for you." Magnolia said. "I wanted to believe that there was somepony worth saving."
"And well, what have you found?" Cozy asked.
"You know what, Cozy? If you were truly an irredeemable monster incapable of making friends, then you wouldn't have made friends with Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis, but you did." Mag said.
"Is it that obvious?" Cozy asked.
"You guys are a team! You do everything together. The old Tirek and Chrysalis would've already unleashed the Rainbow of Darkness upon Equestria. They're waiting for your plan, and for you to lead them to victory." Magnolia said.
"Yeah, I am pretty awesome." Cozy smirked.
"You created something truly terrifying. Equestria's biggest baddies, working together. It never would've happened were it not for you. If Discord had just gathered Chrysalis, Tirek, and Sombra, but not you, then the lead up to Twilight's coronation would have been a lot more boring. Chrysalis and Tirek would have raged solo attacks on Equestria just like Sombra did, and look how far he got. And they most certainly never would've been able to retrieve Grogar's bell without you. You're the one who took the idea of friendship (cooperation), and twisted it, and the three of you formed the fiercest legion in Equestria." Magnolia said.
"So, my life hasn't been a waste after all..." Cozy said, softly.
"Yet in spite of all that, somehow you need them more than they need you." Magnolia said. "I know that my mom and I were hardly great caregivers, and your parents, um, *ahem* you know. And then what? You lie to Twilight, and she shows you no sympathy and puts you in Tartarus and stone without second guessing. They hate you, Cozy. The only creatures who ever gave you true positive reinforcement, ironically, were Equestria's meanest creatures."

Cozy had a lot to consider. She hadn't really thought about things from this perspective.

"So now what? If I say anything like this to them, they're gonna think I'm weak, and disregard me. And if they don't respect me, no one in Equestria will." Cozy cried.
"Obviously they have a much different idea of positivity than most of Equestria. You don't have to tell them what a pony would say, instead, prove once and for you're on the same page as them, by doing what they want. And I think you know what that is." Magnolia said.
"So you're just cool with our plan for world domination?" Cozy asked.
"I'm just here for the ride. Do whatever feels right. Things always balance out, and if Twilight is destined to fall, then she will." Mag said.
"Don't say that, if events are decided by fate, then we're guaranteed to lose, because evil has lost every time in Equestria." Cozy said.

Magnolia sighed.

"Remember what matters most, Cozy. If overthrowing Twilight Sparkle is the only way you'll feel salvation, then, go for it. But if you think there's a way to win the respect of those two without an invasion, maybe consider it. Really think it through. But whatever you're gonna do, you better do it quick. You don't have much time remaining I'm afraid." she said.

Cozy stomach sickened.

*cough* "I can't tell if this is better or worse than stone. In stone, stupid Twilight got the satisfaction of winning, but at least I was with them. Death is odd. I don't know what happens when you die..." she lamented.
"Well, then I hope you make these last few days count." Magnolia said.

Cozy took a deep breath.

"Okay, I know what needs to be done." she said.

In the castle meeting room, Cozy sat at the thinking table with Tirek and Chrysalis.

"Our long journey of discovery has culminated to this moment. As you two know, we were fortunate enough to succeed in our efforts, and find the Rainbow of Darkness. It's the plot macguffin that's going to push us over the edge, and allow us to defeat Twilight Sparkle and conquer Equestria." Cozy said. "The time has come to unleash its power, and invade."
"Finally." Tirek said.
"Oh, I've been waiting for this moment." Chrysalis said. "We won't be beat this time."
"Yep. It's the moment you've all been waiting for. Today is the day that we unleash the biggest baddest spell Equestria will ever experience." Cozy beamed.

The villains all got giddy thinking about their upcoming revenge plan. Using the power of Grogar's bell was exciting enough, and they were foaming at the mouth for the opportunity to wield an item even more powerful.

"We will show no mercy. Reliving my horrible past reminded me why we need to do this. I want everyone in Equestria to suffer worse than I did! We'll crush our enemies to dust, and laugh as they all-*COUGH COUGH* Cozy fainted.

Cozy woke up, lying on her back in a bed.

"Cozy?" Tirek asked.
"Are you okay?" Chrysalis asked.
"Okay, so slight asterisk, you guys are going to have to do this without me..." Cozy said.

The two were shocked by what she said.

"What!? No!" Tirek exclaimed.
"There's no way we're invading without you! We're in this together!" Chrysalis said.
"I'm afraid to say it, but Equestria is just gonna have to tackle the classic villains this time. And then there's poor old me, who was injected with a fatal dose of poison, and my time is up..."

Her villains started to panic.

"No! There's gotta be something we can do right now!" Chrysalis said.
"We can still do this together! The Rainbow will rejuvenate you!" Tirek suggested.
"Nah, it doesn't work that way. The darkness creates voids, not life. Worst case scenario, it'll just kill me the moment I use it..." Cozy lamented.
"There has to be something we can do!" Tirek cried.
"I'm afraid not this time..." Cozy's voice faded.

Tirek put his hand close to Cozy, and to his surprise, Cozy reached forward and grabbed his hand, and embraced it next to her.

*sniff* "Oh Tire... Come here, Chrissie." Cozy said.

Chrysalis put her front limb to Cozy. Cozy embraced the limbs of her two villainous partners.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you. *sniff* But, I guess disappointing you guys isn't anything you aren't used to..." Cozy said.
"What are you talking about, Cozy?" Chrysalis asked.
"You're the reason we made it this far at all!" Tirek exclaimed.
"Without you, we wouldn't even be discussing how to use our unstoppable weapon to conquer Equestria!" Chrysalis said.
"Thanks guys, your words mean the world to me..." Cozy sobbed. "I couldn't have asked for two better partners in crime than you guys... But unfortunately, it's curtains for me..." Cozy said, closing her eyes...

Tirek picked up Cozy Glow slowly, and he...

"NO! COZY, YOU CAN'T DIE!" Tirek exclaimed while violently shaking Cozy.
"Stop it! Violence isn't the answer to this problem!" Chrysalis cried.
"Then, *sob* then what is?" Tirek asked, putting her down.
"I don't know!" Chrysalis exclaimed. Tears erupted from the changeling queen. "Can things possibly get any worse?!"

They needed a miracle to come through the ceiling. And well, this happened...

*crash*

Something powerful came crashing through the ceiling, and landed on the ground.

"So, you three thought you could hide out forever, but I found you! And now you're going to pay for the damage you've done, once and for all!"

It was none other than-

"Twilight Sparkle?!" Tirek and Chrysalis exclaimed.
"WHAT THE F***?!" Cozy came to life and exclaimed.

Indeed, before them stood THE Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"That's right, and you three are in for a world of hurt." Twilight growled. "I'm going to make sure none of you ever see the light of day again!"
"Wait! This isn't a good time!" Chrysalis exclaimed.
"No it isn't! For you three, it's never a good time, because your time is up!" Twilight exclaimed, as her horn lit up.

Tirek and Chrysalis were ready to defend Cozy with their lives. Chrysalis shot magic at Twilight, but she dodged it. Tirek lunged forward and grabbed Twilight, and pinned her against the wall.

*eugh* Twilight grunted.
"You've interfered with us for the last time, Twilight!" Tirek exclaimed.
"Woah woah woah! Time out!" Twilight's voice changed.
"What the?!" Tirek asked, perplexed.
"You three are no fun. Everything's so serious when it comes to the legion of doom." Twilight said, but now, she sounded just like...
"Discord?!" The two exclaimed.

*snap*

Twilight disappeared, and reappeared as Discord had appeared.

"I can't believe we fell for your stupid shapeshifting again." Chrysalis mumbled.
"What are you doing here?!" Tirek asked.
"What, a former villain can't pay a visit to baddies still in the bad biz?" Discord asked.
"No! Not one bit!" Tirek said.
"Would you just get out!?" Chrysalis hissed.
"And miss out on the chance to catch up with what each of us have been up to?" Discord asked.

Discord leaned in on Cozy.

"I hate you, Discord. You made my life a living hell." Cozy scowled.
"Geez. Cold reception." Discord said.
"Why do you think? Huh?! Use your brain for two seconds, and you'll know why we don't like you!" Chrysalis exclaimed.

Discord backed away when she shouted.

"Well, if you lot aren't interested in any fun, then I suppose I ought'a get back to work then." he said.

*snap*

Chains appeared around Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow.

"I was assigned a mission to retrieve you three, so I may as well move forward with that agenda." Discord said.
"NO! STOP!" Cozy cried. "You want this to be the last thing a dying child sees before they die? Do you?"
"Huh?" Discord said.

He leaned close to see what was wrong. He wore a doctor's coat, put a stethoscope to her chest, and even x-rayed her body.

*scan*

Cozy covered herself in embarrassment.

"Oh dear. You are in trouble." Discord said. "You have a rare poison in your veins. Where have you been sticking your nose into?" Discord asked.
"That doesn't matter. It hurts, and I'm afraid this might be it for me." Cozy cried.
"You must help us." Tirek said.
"If you do not help her, she may not see the sun rise tomorrow." Chrysalis said.
"Is that so..." Discord pondered.

Discord gave this a hard thinking.

"We haven't done anything bad since we've been free. In fact, look outside. Look at all the ponies inhabiting this little town we originally set up as a secret temporary hideaway." Cozy said.

Discord looked outside, and saw the bustling town of ponies.

"You three have established quite the little community I see." Discord said.
"We established a place where ponies who feel out of place, and congregate, and find a place of belonging." Cozy said.
"Well, Twilight did want to show her student kindness, so I guess I owe it to myself to be nice to creatures in need." Discord said. "Alright I'll help."
"Great. So is there anything you can do to get rid of her ailment?" Chrysalis asked.
"I'm sorry, but there isn't anything I can do. I'm the chaos lord. I create disorder, not order. So nothing I can do can remove the poison from her, or heal her back to health." Discord admitted.

The villains' mood dropped quickly.

"Well if you're of no use, then get out!" Chrysalis shouted.
"Even though I can't help directly, I definitely know an alicorn princess who can." Discord said.
"What? No!" Chrysalis and Tirek said simultaneously.
"No way!" Cozy cried. "No way am I seeing Twilight Sparkle!"
"Then do you would rather die a painful death by poison?" Discord asked. "Put aside all hatred temporarily, and I can help."
"Why should we trust you? You lied to EVERYONE with your pathetic Grogar prank." Tirek said.
"Well, to you too! Hiding the bell from me and not telling. What a very dishonest thing to do." Discord said.

Chrysalis interjected their argument.

"An eye for an eye, and the world goes blind!" she said. "We don't have time to argue about the past."
"Alright, since time is of the essence, I'll make you an offer you can't resist." Discord said. "Should you accept, I will take little Cozy Glow to Canterlot, where I promise she will be safe from scrutiny. We'll find a way to cure her of her ailment, and nurse her back to full health. Once she's cured, I'll bring her right back here, where we'll resume this encounter, free of any dilemma."

Cozy nodded no heavily, but the two baddies thought about what Discord had said, and with a heavy sigh, the villains realized there was no other option.

"You promise your deal is what you say? No strings attached?" Chrysalis asked.
"You have my word. Make this deal with me, and saving Cozy Glow shall become my number one priority." Discord said.
"Do you really trust Discord?" Cozy asked.
"Not one bit." Tirek replied.
"But would you trust me if it meant saving your leader?" Discord asked.

Cozy was getting worse by the minute, so they reached a verdict.

*sigh* "Only because there's no other way." Tirek said.
"It's a deal, Discord." Chrysalis said.

They shook with Discord.

A few moments later, they were nearly set to go. Magnolia joined them, and they decided that she would tag along, while the villains stayed at the village.

"Oh, and one last thing." Discord said.

*snap*

Chains appeared around Tirek and Chrysalis and confined them in place.

"I knew this was a bad idea!" Chrysalis exclaimed.
"Traitor! You already broke our deal!" Tirek shouted.
"Calm down. This is only temporary so I know for sure that the world won't end while I'm gone." Discord said.
"You don't trust us to not cause trouble, but you expect us to trust you to not do anything bad!?" Chrysalis asked.
"Hmm. Yeah, pretty much. I'm not the one who tried to take over Equestria leading up to Twilight's coronation." Discord said.
"You're literally the one who assembled us! You're to blame for the attack more so than us!" Tirek exclaimed.
"It was all in good-" Discord started, but was interrupted.
"But what did the princesses do? They locked us away in stone for doing what YOU told us to do! You got literally zero repercussions for your stupid actions!" Chrysalis ranted.
"Okay, I get it. You're still a little touchy about that. But I guarantee Cozy's in good hands." Discord assured.
"Your promises mean nothing." Tirek said.
"Hey, don't worry, I'll keep him in check." Magnolia affirmed. "You guys would do anything to save Cozy Glow. I admire that."

With that, they were almost set.

"Are we ready to go?" Discord asked.
"Her clock is ticking, so I'd say so." Mag replied.
"So there you have it. I promise to bring Cozy Glow to Canterlot, cure her of her ailment, and then I'll bring her back here." Discord said.
"And in exchange, Tirek and I remain in the castle, no trickery, until you return." Chrysalis added.

Discord nodded.

*snap* Discord snapped his fingers, and he, Cozy, and Magnolia were gone.

However, the Chrysalis in the castle room *poof* transformed into the real Magnolia! Her change in size freed her from the chains. Unbeknownst to Discord, the unicorn tagging along was really Chrysalis. Cozy and Tirek were in on it however.

*phew* "Shapeshifting spells are hard! Changelings make it look so easy." Mag said.
"Nice idea with to swap the roles, now Chrysalis will keep a watchful eye over them." Tirek said.
"Indeed. But for now, I suppose we'll give Discord the benefit of the doubt. My calculations suggested that Cozy has at least 3 days. If they're not back in 2, we may just have to handle things ourselves." Magnolia said.
"Oh, but we promised Discord we wouldn't end the world while he was helping us." Tirek said sarcastically.
"Discord's broken enough promises to fill the ocean. And as Cozy would say, nothing beats a good backstabbing." Maggie said, grinning.

As you may have noticed, they managed to keep the Rainbow of Darkness a secret from Discord, and so it remained hidden under the castle.

Discord brought Cozy Glow to the Ponyville hospital. Chrysalis joined Discord disguised as Magnolia the unicorn. Discord placed Cozy Glow in a bed in a private room. He picked Ponyville to keep her hidden better. Cozy laid in a hospital bed, while Discord and disguised Chrysalis looked over her. Discord had set up curtains to hide Cozy from potential spectators, but it didn't take long for that rule to be broken.

"What's going on in here?" A pinkish unicorn peered through the curtain, and her jaw dropped. "Cozy Glow!?"

It was none other than Luster Dawn. Twilight's faithful student.
"Hey, no visitors." Discord said.

Luster walked in anyway.

"You! You guys never brought me back my magic. Princess Twilight had to give me a reserve of magic so I could continue magic studies." Luster said.
"Oh right, that was a thing we did some time ago..." Cozy said.
"And I wasn't there for the record, I'm just a unicorn helping out..." Chrysalis lied.
"Yeah, that was kind of mean of you guys." Luster said.

Cozy felt overwhelmed by Luster's criticisms, and her illness started back up.

*cough cough* "Never mind that, I need your help." Cozy coughed.
"What's wrong with her?" Luster asked.

Luster examined Cozy Glow.

"We came because we were hoping some powerful magic could cure her. What do you think?" Discord asked Luster.
"I've never seen this condition like this. I wouldn't know where to start." Luster admitted.
"Well, if you have nothing to offer, then I suppose I'll get Twilight and-" Discord started.
"NO!" Luster and Cozy cried simultaneously.

Discord was surprised that they both shared the same sentiment.

"I mean, I got this. I know just what to do." Luster said.
"Think about it, Lusty. Twilight Sparkle wanted you to reform us, and she'd be so proud of you if you cured me, and made that happen." Cozy said.

Luster thought.

"I don't know. You have a serious condition, and I don't think I'm capable of-"
"AH! Oh! The pain! I think I feel it! I think I see a light at the end of the tunnel!" Cozy cried.
"We're losing her!" Chrysalis cried.

Luster was sweating, and in a desperate attempt to save Cozy, she came up with a stupid idea. Her horn lit up, and shot a magic beam at Cozy's head.

*MAGIC BEAM*

Both of their eyes glowed, and a beam of light connected their heads together. The magic stopped, and Cozy's body fell back like a stone. Discord put his hand to Cozy, but no response!

"You killed her!" Discord exclaimed.
"Oh my gosh! I-I-I didn't mean for-" Luster panicked.
"What did you do?!" Chrysalis hissed at Luster. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" she shook Luster.
"I-I-I panicked. I couldn't think of anything else to do in a pinch. So I tried to-GOLLY WHAT HAPPENED?!" Luster's voice changed at the end of that sentence.

...

There was an awkward pause in the room.

"What the?" Chrysalis exclaimed.
"Where am I? Why do I feel so tall?" a high pitch squeal came from Luster's mouth.

Luster looked at her hooves. "Oh..."
"Cozy Glow?" they asked.
"Wow, this is unexpected..." Cozy said. "I'm you! Rather, I'm in you?!"

Cozy was still around, but her voice came from Luster Dawn? Yes, indeed. Luster's spell put Cozy's consciousness into Luster's head! Both Luster and Cozy's voices came from Luster's mouth. It was easy to tell based on the pitch who was talking.

"What the? Why would you do this!?" Chrysalis asked.
"I panicked, okay! The only thing I could think to do was to transport Cozy's consciousness into me to preserve her soul before it was lost." Luster explained.
"But, what do we do about the body? This doesn't solve anything!" Chrysalis exclaimed.
"Well, I suppose it is still salvageable. And this does buy us more time." Discord said. "So here's what I'm thinking, we rid Cozy Glow's body of the poison, make her body suitable again, and then she can return to her body at full health."
"This is the most ridiculous plan imaginable." Chrysalis growled.
"I mean, it isn't so bad. Living with Luster for a few days might not be such a bad thing." Cozy said.
"If that's what it takes, then I suppose so..." Chrysalis said.
"Don't worry, we'll work up some kind of miracle cure spell to help Cozy." Luster said.
"Or you could just go get Twilight for help." Discord suggested.
"Twilight can't know that Cozy is here!" Cozy said.
"I doubt she'd be too hostile to a dying filly." Discord said.
"I also doubted she'd put a filly in Tartarus and in stone, but here we are." Cozy said. "Come, Luster, we have business elsewhere."

Luster trotted out of the room. Where she was going? I don't know, probably off to look for a curing spell. Luster now had to live with Cozy's voice ringing in her head.

"A bit unorthodox, but I appreciate the effort you're going through to help me, Lusty." Cozy said.
"Don't worry about it. So do you promise to be good if we can cure your body?" Luster asked.
"If you can do that, then I absolutely will." Cozy replied.

Cozy promised Luster to be good if she could heal her body back to health. But of course, what is Cozy to do while stuck in Luster's mind? Was Cozy ready to turn over a new leaf and show gratitude to the ponies trying to help her? Well, let's just say, she picked her words carefully when she made that deal. Until her body was fixed, she didn't owe anypony anything. And you better believe Cozy Glow had her own sinister plan brewing. Sorry, some things don't change quite that easily.