03 - Cozy Glow: Master Debater

Astral stood in front of the stove, tapping her hoof on the floor. "Come on, boil already! It's not instant noodles if you have to wait on it!" She paced back and forth for a few minutes, stopping each time she passed to glare at the pot on the stove. "If only my magic was cooking."

The door to the single-room dwelling opened and Cozy appeared, stepping inside. "I'm home!" She closed the door behind her before undoing her school saddlebags and setting them beside the door.

Astral turned to greet her. "Hi, Cozy. How was school? Did you do the after class thing with your team?"

The pot of water on the stove finally came to a boil. Astral dumped some noodles in, giving them a quick stir. "Dinner should be ready soon. I can put cheese sauce in it, or this flavor packet with a chicken on it. I thijnk I'll do both this time; mix things up a bit.

"School was fine. Yeah, we had our school-wide competition today. Next is District, then Regional. Both? But isn't one a soup?"

I'll just add the flavor powder to the cheese sauce. This should be interesting," said Astral as she gave the softening noodles another stir. "How did your team do? Will you all be facing the other schools in the district? Did you win?"

Cozy frowned, looking down at the floor in front of her.

"Cozy? Don't tell me you lost. It's your best class!"

"Well... I brought this home," she said as she reached into her saddlebag, digging around for a moment. "It's not much, but to answer your question, " she said, finding what she was looking for and pulling it out. "Yes! Of course, I won! It was so easy, I wiped their asses."

Astral raised a brow.

"The floor! With their asses. I wiped their asses on the floor. I mean... nevermind. Here, just look!"

In her hoof, Cozy held up a small trophy. It was a marble base with a gold-colored plastic statue of an angry looking filly standing at a podium, hoof raised in the air as if commanding an audience, the plack read "1st Place: Speech and Debate".

"You couldn't fool me, Cozy. You're a pro, a master!" said Astral, looking the trophy over before turning back to the stove, taking a spoon-full of noodles to taste for doneness.

Cozy beamed, "A master debater!"

Astral choaked, "Um, Cozy?"

"You should have seen me. Fillies and colts were stepping up left and right, and I beat them off the stage one at a time."

"Cozy, maybe you should re-word--" said Astral, turning back to face Cozy.

"Things got a little slippery there towards the big finish, but I held on tight, never letting go. The tightest grip in the whole school!" said Cozy, setting the trophy on the table.

"Cozy, really..." Astral shook her head.

"Noodles!" pointed Cozy.

The pot on the stove had begun to boil over.

Astral turned her attention quickly to the stove, "Oh, noodles!" she said as she turned the heat off. "I think they're ready now!"

"Yay!"

"Now go wash up, and help set the table."

"Ok!" said Cozy as she excitedly trotted off to the bathroom.