Cozy Glow's alternate punishment.

After week since her coronation, Princess Twilight Sparkle arranged a small party with just her fellow element bearers, Starlight and Spike. This was the first time these ponies and dragon were able to get together like this since Celestia and Luna retired.

It had been an hour since Twilight lowered the Sun and raised the Moon and the party was in full swing having taken place in the private dining room within Canterlot Castle. The friends ate, drank, played games and conversed.

Eventually, the topic of their final battle against a certain trio came up.
”To think how close those three got to actually succeeding.” Remarked Rarity.
”Yea, and that all it took was for them to team up.” Said Rainbow Dash.
”Good thing they weren’t as good as working together like we are otherwise we’d be in quite the pickle right now.” Said Pinkie.

A while later the conversation shifted to the trio. More specifically Cozy Glow.
”I don’t know what caused that filly to be so rotten.” Said Applejack.
”Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was an orphan?” Asked Twilight. “The research we did on her showed that she lived in an orphanage in Manehattan before coming to the school.”
”That is no excuse for what she did.” Said Rarity.
The occupants of the room all nodded in agreement.

”It’s a shame we couldn’t rehabilitate her like we did with Discord.” Said Fluttershy.
”Well, we tried to convince her, but she didn’t listen.” Said Rainbow Dash.
Starlight perked up. “Wait, did we?”
Silence suddenly befell on the room as the ponies and dragon pondered that question.
”Well.” Started Spike. “Didn’t Twilight try to get through to her?”
Twilight shook her head. “I didn’t. I only asked her why she did it, but I don’t think I tried to actually talk her down or anything.”
”Huh.”
More silence.

”Maybe we should have tried something to reform her?” Asked Starlight.
”I don’t know what could have worked.” Answered Applejack.
Twilight noticed the change in mood and spoke up. “I don’t think she’s conscious while petrified so we can always try something at a later time.”
”Yea, your right!” Said Rainbow Dash.
”I suppose there would be no other reason to keep that statue around anyways.” Remarked Rarity.
And with that, the party returned to a more jovial mood.

The question of reforming Cozy Glow, however kept popping up in the minds of Twilight and her friends in the following weeks until finally, as if knowing their shared conundrum, Twilight called for a meeting to discuss the issue which went surprisingly smoothly with all of them agreeing that they should try something and even a rehabilitation program was created for the filly. There was one last problem, however.

”Releasing Cozy Glow would most likely cause problems.” Stated Twilight.
”What do you mean?” Asked Rainbow Dash.
”Well, many creatures would object to suddenly releasing a dangerous criminal and it could lead to panic and outrage.”
Rarity nodded. “And some of those creatures might start resorting to more… extreme measures.”
Starlight winced. “Yea, that could be dangerous for her.”

Spike, who was bringing snacks to the girls chimed in. “Didn’t seem to be a problem with others.”
”Thank you, Spike.” Said Twilight. “As for them, there was always an excuse to rehabilitate them: Discord was already imprisoned for a long time so Celestia could say that he was already punished, Tempest helped to stop Storm King.” Twilight glanced at Starlight who blushed at the attention. “And not that many creatures know about what Starlight did.”
”Huh, well good luck with that then.” Spike said as he left the room.

A few minutes later, Applejack chuckled getting the attention of the others.
”You know.” She began. “I always thought that filly’s butt could use a good tanning.”
”Are you suggesting we spank her?” Asked Twilight.
Applejack nodded. “It would be short, noticeable and would show the creatures of Equestria that she’s a normal little filly that we can safely handle.”
Nopony could disagree with that logic.

”Well, how are we gonna do it then?” Asked Dash.
”I can make an official announcement and designate somepony or creature to do the deed.” Twilight said. “I do have the authority to order specialized punishments.”
Starlight frowned. “So were just going have Cozy spanked in front of a big crowd just to satiate a potential angry mob? I don’t like this.”
”You got a better idea?” Asked Applejack.
Starlight was about to say something but realized that she didn’t have a better solution and stayed silent.
Rarity gave her a comforting smile. “Think of it this way, darling. A few painful minutes is surely better than a long time as a statue.”
Starlight sighed. “I guess you’re right.”
And so, the seven friends discussed how Cozy’s spanking would go down.

The first task was to find a suitable individual to do the deed.

”What about Pr-err, Celestia?” Asked Rarity.
”Good idea, Rarity!” Said Twilight. “She was our former ruler so it would make Cozy’s new punishment look like a viable alternative to petrification.”
”Why not Luna then?” Asked Starlight.
”Doesn’t she sleep during the day?” Asked Fluttershy.
”She switched over to sleeping at night so that she could spend more time with her sister.” Answered Twilight.
“Considering that she was the one who took Cozy Glow to Tartarus it might be even better to have her do it.” Said Applejack.
”I’ll talk to them about it.” Said Twilight.

And talk to them she did. At first, Celestia and Luna weren’t happy with the idea of releasing Cozy Glow with Luna even pointing out that unlike her and many villains, Cozy not only went to the School of Friendship beforehand but also had less known reasons to do the things she did. After some arguing and debating, however they finally saw the merit of rehabilitating her and offered their aid. Ironically enough, they played a game of chess to decide who would be the one to paddle the filly which Luna ended up winning making her the soon-to-be punisher.

Of course, the punishment wouldn’t be taking place immediately. Everything around it has to be set off, after all.

First, Twilight brainstormed a good speech for the announcement of the event and some choice words to convince certain individuals if needed. In the end, Twilight came up with a speech that she believed everycreature would be satisfied with.

Then it was time to figure out where the punishment would take place at.

Choosing the location was easy: The podium where Celestia used to raise the Sun in Canterlot and was used for various announcements would be perfect as it was spacious, could gather a large crowd that could easily see the paddling and close to the castle making it practical to transport the young prisoner there and back.

Of course, a tanning like this couldn’t be given with a mere hoof so an implement was needed. Preferably something big, loud and flashy. For this, Twilight had commissioned a custom made paddle, much to the confusion and concern of those among her staff who didn’t know about her upcoming plans to release Cozy.

The paddle was just large enough to perfectly cover the bottom of a filly the size of Cozy Glow. This perfection was due to Twilight personally measuring the petrified filly’s butt to the further confusion of those that saw her do it. The new ruler of Equestria certainly placed much importance on even the smallest details.

One added detail that was added to the paddle was a simple spell that made it let out various visual effects whenever it impacted. It wasn’t enough to obscure anything and it kind of looked like impact effects one would find in a comic book. Twilight had hoped that this would make the individual swings look harder.

Speaking of details, there was the issue of what Cozy was to be spanked on. Twilight thought that having Luna simply put Cozy over her knee would look silly in front of a crowd so there would need to be something to put her on.

A simple half circle shaped wooden stand with a pillowed top would do that job. There were also four straps on it which would be used to hold down Cozy’s hooves. Twilight felt uncomfortable adding the straps and simply holding her down with hoof or magic would have been more than sufficient but she felt that this would add to the spectacle of the event, which was ultimately one of, if not the main goal.

And with that, all that had to be done was set up a time and announce the event.

The announcement wasn’t as grandiose as one would expect. All Twilight had to do was make a speech to a large gathering of her friends, official ponies, journalists and reporters and the word quickly spread Throughout the nation. Soon, Cozy’s alternate punishment and rehabilitation would make front page in most news outlets giving the populace something to talk about and anticipate.

The reception was mixed with many ponies praising the idea of giving the filly a second chance and believing that she could give back much to society with her obvious genius but there were also many ponies who were frightened by the idea of having such a notorious villain be let out and some were even outraged by her new punishment. While not the best response overall, it was still far better then what Twilight had expected.

And so, with nothing else that could be done with the Cozy situation for now, all that was left was to wait.

After six days it was time to release Cozy Glow.

The paddling was actually scheduled for tomorrow morning but the filly had to be informed of her punishment beforehand.

Twilight stood in front of the statue of the trio flanked by a few guards. With a quick gathering of magic, the alicorn pointed her horn at the petrified filly and fired beam at her which made the stone start cracking in multiple places and shattering as it pealed of like an egg revealing the occupant inside.

Cozy barely gained consciousness before she found herself falling onto the statue’s pedestal. Before she could impact, Twilight’s magical aura caught her and levitated her gently onto the ground. Cozy was given time to get her bearings as she covered her eyes from the light and tried not to fall over.

It took almost a minute for Cozy noticed the shadow looming over her. She looked up to see one of the last faces she wanted to see.

”Are you alright?” Asked Twilight.
Cozy blinked, then smiled. “Well golly, Headmare Twilight, I-“
”Good, please follow me.” Said Twilight as she made her way inside the castle.
”H-hey, what-“ Cozy was interrupted when two guards grabbed her by the sides and started leading her inside. She knew that it was pointless to resist, so she opted to stay silent and anxiously await what was in store for her.

Much to her dismay, she was escorted to a cell in the castles dungeon.
”What was even the point of letting me out?” She muttered.
”You’ll only be staying here for today.” Said Twilight. “Tomorrow is when your punishment will happen.”
Cozy raised an eyebrow. “You mean, getting-” She shuddered. “turned to stone was not my punishment?”
”It was at first. We were going to keep you as a statue for a long time.” Twilight answered, prompting a fearful wince from the filly. “But we decided to try and rehabilitate you as we have done with others.”
Cozy let out a hopeful smile.

”To that end.” Twilight continued. “You’ll be getting an alternate, much shorter punishment.”
The smile vanished, replaced by a look of suspicion.
”And that be?”
Twilight took a deep breath. “Cozy Glow, as Princess of Equestria, I hereby grant you a more lenient punishment. This punishment will be a paddling from our former Princess Luna. The paddling shall commence tomorrow eight in the morning and will be delivered publicly and without delay. You have for today to prepare yourself for it.”

”…huh?” Cozy did not expect this.
”We will talk more tomorrow. I will unfortunately be too busy today. You’ll be brought food and drinks later.” She then sighed. “Try to think about what you did that lead into this.”
And with that, she walked away, guards in tow.
”Hey, wait!” Cozy called only to be answered by silence.
The filly was left alone in her cell to contemplate what was coming.

”Well this sucks.” Cozy Glow muttered to herself.

First, she lost even though she totally should have won then she got petrified (she still shuddered just thinking about it) and then, Twilight let her out just so she could put her in this stupid cell and now she was apparently getting a spanking tomorrow.

Cozy looked paced around her cell for what felt like the hundredth time as she didn’t have anything better to do.
”Stupid Twilight telling me all that and just leaving.”
Cozy supposed it could be worse. She could still be a statue or in Tartarus.
Still…

The filly looked at the door to her cell. She had already tried banging on it for attention and finding something to pick its lock with but no avail. There was no way out.

The worst part was that there was no one to talk to. Nothing to distract her from another, more pressing thing on her mind which was her coming paddling.

If she were to be completely honest with herself, this was an amazing alternative to being turned to stone and she should be more relieved than scared. Unfortunately, Cozy Glow wasn’t an honest filly, even with herself.

She couldn’t help but think about what it would feel like. She assumed it was going to be bad. Like any filly awaiting a spanking, she was anxious and would have given anything to avoid it and her case, it was worse due to the circumstances. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about it no matter how hard she tried and spending hours anticipating it made it even worse.

How was she gonna get spanked?
Who was going to spank her?
How many ponies would get to see it?
What would happen afterwards?
What-
”Lunch time!” Announced a guards who had just got there, carrying a tray of what looked to be a bowl of soup with some carrots and a bottle of water.

As the guard carried the tray to the plain wooden table in her cell, Cozy was already looking for ways to escape, but the two other guards standing at the cell door made that obviously unlikely to succeed. Cozy tried desperately to get the guards attention so that she could try to convince them to let her out but they simply wouldn’t talk to her and pretty much left without any further words leaving the filly alone once again.

At least the food provided a nice distraction from the paddling she was going to get. Unfortunately, once she was finished eating, the thought of it kept coming back to haunt her.

This was how she spent her day.

Cozy’s anxieties lasted till’ the night making falling asleep difficult. The longer she had to wait the worse it got. She almost wished that Twilight would just get it over with already.

Despite this “just” being a paddling she felt like she was awaiting an execution and not even planning out revenge schemes made her feel better.

Cozy groaned as she laid down in her bed.

Thinking of what the spanking would feel like shouldn’t have been in the forefront of her thoughts considering that everything after it would most likely be far more important but she just couldn’t help herself.

She had never got spanked before and the only time she ever witnessed one was after she got an annoying filly who accidently ruined her mane in trouble. She smirked, remembering how she managed to remain hidden as she got to witness that filly getting what she deserved.

Her amusement at the flashback didn’t last long, however as she started to remember the finer details of that event. It certainly looked painful, and that filly was crying really hard by the end of it and Cozy was sure that hers would be much worse. The filly frowned. Leave it to Twilight to ruin the once wonderful memory of a past triumph.

Thankfully, being petrified did not give the same effect as sleeping so she was actually quite tired and eventually, she finally fell asleep.

Turns out her mind would not let her rest even in her dreams as she was actually having nightmares of her the upcoming event and her previous petrification.

The filly couldn’t move as her legs were turned to stone as she heard hoof steps coming up from behind her, the voice coming from that direction having already taunted her in depth about “never ending pain and suffering”. Normally, she would figure it out on her own that this was a dream, but at that point she just couldn’t.

Suddenly, there came a flash of blue light and Cozy Glow found herself un-petrified, alone and surrounded by a black void.

That was until a smaller blue light appeared in front of her only to disappear revealing Princess Luna (or just Luna now).
”Hello, Cozy Glow.” Greeted Luna.
”What are you doing here? Am I dreaming?” Asked Cozy.
”Yes. Although a nightmare would be a more precise way to put it.”
”And you’re the real Luna?”
”Indeed.”
”Great.” Cozy muttered, blushing. It didn’t take much effort to put two and two together.
”You should not feel embarrassed by this considering what will happen to you very soon.”
Cozy’s eyes went wide. “You know about that?”
Luna nodded. “All of Equestria does.”
Cozy blushed even harder at this revelation. “C-couldn’t Twilight keep this a secret?!”
”Releasing you was a controversial decision that required some form of reassurance towards the general population.”
”And a spanking is that reassurance?!”
”Indeed.”

So she was not only getting paddled in a  most likely very harsh manner but everypony would know about it.

The filly looked up at Luna. “Why did you save me?”
”I still consider it my duty to help others through their nightmares.” Luna said. “And this was not part of your punishment.”
Cozy groaned. “Don’t expect a thanks. This is partially your fault.”
Luna frowned. “Excuse me for defending Equestria.”
Cozy frowned back. “You’re not excused. Why are you still here?”
Luna couldn’t help but let out a tiny smirk. “I merely wish to meet the filly that I’ll be paddling tomorrow.”
Once again, Cozy’s eyes widened. “You?!”
”Yes.”
”Why, because you felt bad or something? Was this your idea?!”
It was Twilight’s idea. I did not agree with it.”
Cozy rolled her eyes.

”I would have not had you sealed away forever. It would have been hypocritical of me to think so.”
”Only a some hundred or so years, right?” Cozy asked sarcastically.
”Indeed.” Luna answered much to the filly’s annoyance. “But I do believe that you deserve a second chance, even if I would have waited much longer for it to happen.”
”Why?”
”As I said, it would be hypocritical of me to think that you should be sealed away forever.”
Luna then summoned a portal behind her and turned to leave.

”Where are you going?” Asked the filly.
”I must rest myself.” Luna answered. “No nightmares shall bother you tonight. You may use this dream to reflect until you are awoken.”
Luna then walked into the portal which then collapsed leaving Cozy alone once again.
”Stupid Luna.” Muttered Cozy.

The filly’s dream remained that same void. It was actually quite relaxing and she did indeed reflect. Unfortunately, most of that reflection was of what was about to happen to her soon.

At least she wasn’t getting any nightmares about it.

Cozy’s simultaneously restful and restless slumber was eventually interrupted by a sharp “Cozy Glow!”
The filly groggily opened her eyes.
”It’s time.” Announced Twilight.
Cozy thought for a moment on how to respond before shutting her eyes and pretending to sleep. Perhaps not the best thought out response but Cozy’s long contemplation left her utterly terrified beyond common sense.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Come on, Cozy Glow your smarter than that.”
Cozy agreed with her former headmare’s statement but still refused to budge or answer.

Twilight frowned, ignited her horn and suddenly, Cozy was levitated off the relatively comfortable bed and placed on the cold hard floor where she was made to stand up.

”Well, golly gee, Princess Twilight, I-“
”Let’s go!” Ordered Twilight as two guards grabbed a hold of the filly and led her behind the princess.
”H-hey, you said we would talk more today!” Shouted Cozy, desperate for an opening to hopefully manipulate her way out of this.
”We will talk after your paddling is over.” Said Twilight while neither she nor the guards broke pace. “Its best to get this over with as soon as possible.”
Cozy’s eyes twitched. “But surely it doesn’t have to happen now, or ever really.”
Twilight chose to ignore that.

”Look, I had time to think about what I did and I’m really-really sorry for everything and promise not to do it again.” Cozy lied.
”I’m glad to hear that, Cozy Glow, but your still not getting out of this.”
”But I’ve learned my lesson!”
”Even if you did you’d still need to be punished.”
Cozy gritted her teeth. Her current predicament left her less patient than usual.
”But I don’t wanaaa!” She whined.
”I’m sorry, but you’re getting a paddling weather you want it or not.” Twilight said.

As they carried on, Cozy tried to convince Twilight to let her off. First, she tried sweet-talking but that was ignored. Then, she tried guilt tripping but that was also ignored. After that she got mad at being ignored and threw a tantrum to which the two guards held onto her and started dragging her with more force. Once her tantrum faded she started begging Twilight for mercy in a far more genuine way. Of course, this was also ignored. By the time they got outside Canterlot Castle she was a sniffling mess, but at least she was quiet and more compliant.

Her compliance didn’t last long as they got closer to their destination. The podium was in a clearing surrounded by houses so Cozy did not notice it or the huge crowd surrounding it beforehand. When she finally did, however her jaw dropped.

Hundreds if not thousands of creatures (most of them being ponies) were gathered around the podium. Cozy quickly came to the conclusion that this is where she would be getting paddled.

”Why are all these ponies here?” She asked, noticing that some eyes were already locked on her.
”Creatures, Cozy Glow and their here to see you getting punished.” Twilight answered.
Cozy wanted to scream, but having so many creatures looking at you with mostly angry expressions made her quite timid. She normally loved getting attention but not this kind.
”W-w-w-why?” Cozy sputtered, barely being able to speak.
”Your actions effected all creatures so it’s only fair that they get to see the consequences of it should they wish to.”
”But you already told them.” Cozy reasoned. Twilight raised her eyebrows at her knowledge of that. “S-surely we can do this in private.” She almost whispered.
”No.” Twilight said. “They will get to witness the whole thing.”

Cozy sputtered, stopping and once again being almost dragged by the guards. She looked at the gathered crowd and blushed heavily as she once again got to take in the sheer size of it.There were even reporters with cameras!

”Please, not here.” Begged the young pegasus, trying but unable to keep some creatures from hearing her. She could now see some were even going so far as to giggle at her predicament.

Twilight ignored Cozy’s attempts to convince her to keep things private the filly she continued to unintentionally humiliate herself as she was dragged up the steps of the podium. The guards practically had to carry her by the end of it as she froze up multiple times.

The crowd, meanwhile were conversing amongst themselves. some did raise their voice, but there was no concentrated chanting or insulting. Twilight’s speech to them to keep things civil before she left to get Cozy worked quite well.

As Cozy finally got on the podium she saw Luna giving her a stern look and wielding a scary looking paddle with her magic and the stand she would be spanked on.

”Wait!” She shouted as she was dragged to it. The filly tried to resist but was eventually placed onto the stand facing the back of podium and away from everycreature.

Twilight helped the guards safely secure her to the straps with her magic. Her hind legs were placed closely together for the sake of modesty and her forelegs were placed more apart so she could more comfortably rest her head. It was actually a pretty comfortable setup if one didn’t factor in the coming paddling.

Twilight sighed as she looked over her former student and walked up to the crying, struggling and still begging filly and knelt down next to her.
”Cozy!”
Cozy turned her head towards her.
”This won’t be pleasant but remember, this won’t take forever and you won’t be petrified afterwards. Just look forward, close your eyes if you want and think of how you can rest to your hearts content once this is over.”

Before Cozy could say anything, Twilight got up and cast a quick spell on Cozy’s butt. Luna gave Twilight a questioning look at this to which Twilight gave her a reassuring nod.

The Princess of Friendship then went in front of the podium, grabbed a microphone and addressed the crowd. She mostly talked about Cozy’s punishment and urged the crowd to try and forgive her and give her a chance should they meet her after this. One other thing she mentioned was something that made Cozy renew her cries, gasp and shiver: the amount of licks she would be getting which was exactly one hundred.

Twilight then walked next to the rack Cozy was on while keeping a fair distance from it and nodded to Luna who positioned herself in a way next to Cozy where she could easily and safely paddle her while not blocking the view from the spectators. She also grabbed a hold of Cozy’s tail with her magic and pinned it onto her back. Cozy squeaked at her rump being exposed to the audience.

After tapping the about-to-be thrashed flank with the paddle a couple of times while ignoring the still pleading filly that she raised the paddle high in the air, took aim and…

’THWAAACK!’

As the impact of the paddle made Cozy’s butt flatten and jiggle it let out a faint, brief, transparent expanding light around it as if the air itself visibly reacted at its strength.

Luna and Twilight winced at the sheer loudness of the sound it made. Cozy also made a very loud sound the moment the pain reached her brain.
”EEEEEEE!”

Luna gave Twilight a questioning look. That sound was far louder than it should have been. Twilight simply cast a sound dampening spell on her ears and waved for her to continue, happy that her last second idea of a sound amplifying spell was working perfectly. It added to the Spectacle.

Luna shrugged and cast the same spell on her own ears before taking aim once again at the now heavily squirming bum.
’CRAAAACK!’

The sound of both the filly shrieking and the impact was just as loud as before but the two alicorns were better prepared for it this time. The same could not be said for the crowd as some of them were quickly feeling sympathy for Cozy.

Luna wasted no time delivering a third hard whack. The paddle landing perfectly as if it was specifically designed just to paddle Cozy, which it was.

”NONONONONONO!” Cozy kept screaming as a faint jagged line circled around her butt for a moment. The former princess had noticed the effect but opted not to question it as she already had the paddle raised ready to strike. The already frantic and bawling Cozy Glow was certainly in for a very painful experience.

’CRAAACK!’
”NOOOOO!”

Very painful indeed.

Luna quickly got into a good pace giving Cozy a short three second respite before striking again with her reactions being the same as the ones before it.

The effect that came up after the paddle hit appeared again. this time it was a slightly more visible red color instead of transparent white. It was also shaped like a long lightning bolt encircling the paddle. This caused a few confused looks and whispers from the front of the crowd.

The paddling continued on regardless with Luna stoically hitting Cozy every three or so seconds.

Cozy tried to beg her way out of it but what came out was hard to decipher. Not that it would do her any good even if it was perfectly understandable. She also struggled as hard as she could against the straps but they were solidly tied up and stretched her hooves downward just enough to make her effectively immobile. All Cozy could do was bear it as her entire body shuddered at each loud ‘CRAAACK!’ of the paddle and the agonizing sensation that followed it.

The crowd could easily tell the pain she was in. Even those standing the farthest away from the podium. More and more of them were also noticing the strange and varied yet oddly subtle effects that followed each paddle impact. Many found it confusing, few of them had caught on that it was a spell and some had genuinely thought that the paddling was so hard that it made a natural reaction but for the most part, they watched silently as the filly who almost took over Equestria twice got the thrashing of multiple lifetimes. Most of them found it less satisfying then they had previously expected.

Just eight spanks in and her bottom was already completely painted red and as sore as one would expect seeing it but Luna showed no signs of slowing down as she continued to deep fry Cozy’s butt.

’THWAAAK!’
’CRAAACK!’
’SMAAACK!’

By now practically everycreature noticed the impact effects as tiny yellow stars were starting to appear and slowly fade out as they gently floated away from the butt they appeared from. The gentle floating contrasted heavily with the not so gentle spanking and the equally not very gentle screams of the tormented young villainous.

Luna ignored these stars and the screaming that accompanied them as she mercilessly paddled every inch of Cozy’s formerly pink hindquarters, the shape and size of the custom made paddle making it exceedingly easy to do so.

Soon, faint crying could be heard from the crowd. Twilight couldn’t hear it due to the sound dampening spell and only noticed it when she decided to check over the crowd’s reaction.

Turns out that some parents actually thought it would be a good idea to bring their kids to this event. Thankfully, most of them seamed to realize just how bad of an idea this was and quickly took them out of the square and hopefully straight home so as to not traumatize them any further.

Twilight had also noticed that most of them looked sympathetic to Cozy Glow at this point.
”Good.” She thought. This was the objective, after all.

’CRAAACK!’

At this point Cozy was clearly getting exhausted as evident by her less intense struggles but she was still crying as loudly as before with a large pile of tears and snot in front of the stand she was being paddled on.

It was hard not to feel sorry for her.

Whether or not Luna herself had any sympathies, it was impossible to tell as she still wore the same stern look as she had at the beginning.

And so, the quivering red butt kept getting paddled non-stop with its owner being unable to do anything about it.

Twilight once again looked upon the crowd and was glad to see that almost all of the angry frowns were gone at this point, replaced with looks of uncertainty and even sympathy. She was also happy to see more and more creatures starting to leave. It seemed that the parents taking their children away has opened up a floodgate of sorts.

”Not much longer now.” She whispered to herself.

She looked on as Luna continued to cook Cozy’s butt which was literally steaming due to the enchantment cast on the paddle while taking more and more glances to the crowd.

’THWAAACK!’

The pace Luna had kept since the second and third swats was still exactly the same. Three seconds of respite followed by a painful addition to beaten bottom. It could barely be considered a respite.

Cozy’s crying was getting quieter. It could now barely be heard from the paddle’s repeated impacts.

The filly just wanted it to be over already and the onlookers seemed to want the same thing as well. Most of them had actually left with only fifty or so creatures staying out of the hundreds including the reporters whose jobs required them to stay.

Twilight winced as she inspected Cozy’s butt. It was as red as her cutie mark but switched to a lighter color every second as it was literally glowing. Twilight thought that she may have gone a bit overboard with that spell.

She sighed, hoping that this was worth it as she slowly walked up to the still dutifully spanking Luna and waited for her to give out the final smacks before tapping her on the shoulder.

The former princess looked at the current one and removed the sound dampening spell on her ears before nodding and ceasing her assault. It was finally over, not that Cozy seemed to notice.

“Do you think this will be enough?” Twilight asked.
Luna gave the crowd a quick glance. “More than likely enough creatures will be left satisfied by this demonstration to not give you or her too much trouble.”
Twilight looked relieved. “And what about you?” She asked.
Luna sighed. “My stance on the matter still hasn’t changed.”
“You still think it’s too early?”
The blue alicorn nodded. “I do realize that my view may come across as hypocritical, but I still believe that this should have been pushed to a much later date.” She sighed. "And as I said previously, that child has already been taught in the ways of friendship. You will not have an easy time with her."
“I see.” Twilight said. “My friends and I will make sure to keep her in line and do everything in our power to properly rehabilitate her.”
Luna smiled. “For what it’s worth, I wish you and the child the best of luck in your endeavors.” She looked at the whimpering and quivering Cozy Glow. “Despite my opinion I do hope that she will eventually grow to live a happy life outside of villainy.”
Twilight nodded. “Thank you, Luna. We’ll make sure that happens.”
“I know you will.” She then made her way off the podium. “May we meet again soon, Princess Twilight Sparkle!” She said as she left.
Twilight blushed and waved after her. “By, Luna! I’ll try visiting you and Celestia soon!”

Once Luna was out of sight, Twilight gestured to the guards who quickly came back up to the podium, untied Cozy Glow and gently carried her back to the castle. There were a few murmurs and hushed conversations as the remaining crowd watched the filly be carried away, but it was mostly a silent affair without much fanfare.

Twilight walked up in front of the podium and magically enhanced her voice to make it louder.

“Citizens of Equestria!” She called out, gathering the crowd’s attention and making the reporters turn their cameras and microphones at her. “You have just witnessed the former villainess, Cozy Glow receive her just punishment. I realize that some of you may still be skeptical of her rehabilitation but know that we can safely take care of her. Should any of you may wish to take action against her, know that she is protected by the law but also know that we will exercise caution when dealing with her.” She paused for a bit. “I urge you all to try and give her a second chance.”

Once Twilight finished her speech she herself walked off the podium only to be intercepted by some of the reporters and as much as she wanted to go see Cozy Glow she also knew that it would be best to answer their questions.

“Princess Twilight, what made you decide that Cozy Glow deserved this over a long petrification?” Asked one of the reporters.
“There have been individuals such as the Spirit of Chaos, Discord and my very first student and current headmare of the School of Friendship, Starlight Glimmer who have had similarly villainous backgrounds each of whom were given second chances and have been successfully reformed. I believe that this same chance should be extended to Cozy Glow, especially considering that she is still just a filly and could potentially grow up to be a productive member of society.”

Another reporter stepped up. “Then why the paddling?”
“I and many others believed that she still needed some sort of a punishment and spanking her seemed fitting and practical considering her age and the fact that we can still easily work with her afterwards due to its short length.”

“What about Lord Tirek and Chrysalis?” Asked a pegasus, who cut in front of the others by flying.
“Those two are both old, unlike Cozy Glow and may be harder to influence towards a better path. For safety purposes, I only wish to release one of them for now. I may give them the same chance Cozy got someday, but I wish to see her reformed first and even then I would first like to figure out means to deal with them just as safely as we could with the filly. Rest assured that they will remain as statues for years or even decades.”

Twilight suddenly had a microphone floating in front of her via magic. “What will Cozy Glow’s rehabilitation looked like?” Asked the unicorn who was levitating it.
“For the purposes of privacy, I will not disclose that but I ensure you that the most trusted individuals will be working to help her and that she will be safe and stopped from causing any further harm.”

There were of course, more questions to be had but they were all variations of the previous four. Eventually, the reporters all moved on to the various other creatures still in the square or close to it leaving Twilight to finally be able to make her way back to the castle.

Before that she did something that she vowed never to do again unless there was an emergency. She stealth fully cast a small spell on some of the reporter’s microphones that made her filter out and hear the interviews they did. She listened to these on the way home. Apparently, most creatures seamed to trust Twilight’s judgement although there were plenty of skeptics.

“I’m quite happy to see that filly not only get a more fitting punishment but also the help that she clearly needs.” Said a stallion.
“My parents say that Cozy Glow did a bunch of bad things but I feel pretty bad for her. I think she needs a hug and a good friend.” Said an adorable sounding filly.

“A second chance? Bah! I say that brat should be re-petrified, broken into tiny pieces, put into a metal box which should be locked up in the deepest, darkest depths of Tartarus!” Shouted a snooty sounding mare causing Twilight to frown.

“I’m a bit nervous about it, but I trust Princess Twilight Sparkle’s judgement and the more I think about it the more I agree with it.” Said another mare, lightening up Twilight’s mood.

“Cozy’s paddling is nice and all but you should totally make sure to buy your toilet plungers from Hyper Block Cleaner Incorporated!” This was the one that Twilight stopped the spell at.

Because the podium was so close to the castle it didn’t take long for Twilight to get there. Upon entering the first place she went to was the kitchen. After greeting the cooks working there she grabbed a couple of icepacks and cast a spell on them that would slow down there melting process.

Her next and final destination was the castle dungeon where Cozy Glow was placed back into her cell. Twilight entered the cell alone having nothing to fear from the little filly.

Cozy was laying face first on the bed with her still just as red bottom pointing upwards. She was obviously very tired and was faintly crying and sniffling into her pillow. It was truly a miserable sight.

”Cozy Glow.” Twilight called out gently.
Cozy stiffened, most likely expecting further punishments.
Twilight walked up to her and gently patted her back. “Relax, your punishment's over.”
Cozy relaxed and let out a sniffle but said nothing.

Twilight looked at her bottom and levitated an icepack close to it. ”This might not be pleasant at first.” She said causing Cozy to stiffen once again. The icepack was then gently lowered down. Cozy squealed at its cold touch but quickly breathed a small sigh of relief as she got used to it. It didn’t do much to make the pain go away but it helped a little bit.

After a while, Twilight tried to start a conversation.

”So now that your paddling is over are you excited to start your brand new friendship lessons?”
”Nooo.” Cozy moaned, barely being able to speak due to her sore throat from all the screaming she did previously.
Twilight winced. “I’ll go get you some water.” She placed two icepacks onto Cozy’s bottom. “Try not to move much” She said before rushing out.

Twilight soon returned with the water and stayed with Cozy in mostly silence. Eventually, she moved the filly to one of the castle’s guest rooms instead of the cell.
Twilight tried to converse with Cozy as much as she could that day.

“There were so many ponies there.” Complained the filly during one of her conversations.
“It was a public event, Cozy. They had the right to see it.” Twilight said firmly.
“There were even photographers!”
Twilight grimaced at that. “Yea, expect to see your flank on the front page of the next newspaper.”

Cozy groaned.
“It’s not that bad.” Twilight tried to reassured her. “Ponies will know and talk about what happened for years and it will probably appear in history books as well, so they’ll never forget that you have been properly punished for your crimes!”
Cozy groaned harder.

Later on, Cozy tried to move out of the guest room that day, but found the act of walking, which involved moving her butt somewhat to be painful so she opted to eat in the room.
She hid in the bathroom when a maid brought her food, but Twilight made her come out and thank the worker.

Needless to say, the paddling being over didn’t mean that Cozy was done with having a sore bottom and it would continue to be sore for a long while after the paddling she received.
Twilight wanted to take the filly out for a walk before lowering the Sun, but she declined the offer.

“Aw well.” Twilight thought at that. “I’ll be taking her to Ponyville tomorrow anyway.” Ponyville was where the rehabilitation program was planned to take place in.

That night, after making sure that Cozy had fallen asleep, Twilight went to bed as well.

”Cozy Glow’s going to be a lot of work to reform.” The Princess of Friendship thought to herself. “She’s most likely already plotting her revenge.”
She then looked at the picture of her friends that she kept next to her bed.
”It’ll be fine.” She confidently told herself before shutting her eyes.