Fanfic / Auntie Tia's Matchmaking Service

Auntie Tia's Matchmaking Service is a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfic written by Shaslan.

Years after the events of Friendship Is Magic, the now retired former-Princess Celestia has opened up a matchmaking service in Canterlot to help her former subjects find love. And she considers herself pretty good at it. But three of her newest clients are going to prove somewhat difficult:

Luster Dawn, the student of her own former student. And daughter of Starlight Glimmer, Trixie Lulamoon, and Starburst. Who's unsure about finding romance.

Cozy Glow, the former child villain that Celestia's still not entirely comfortable around and now adopted as the daughter of Rarity and working as a lawyer in Canterlot. Who according to her adopted mother, needs some genuine companionship in her life, according to herself, is looking for somepony to help drive her ambitions.

And Zap Apple, a weather pony and the son of Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who's reluctantly going along with the matchmaking for the former's sake.

The story has a sequel, Letters To The Princess, focusing on Cozy Glow and Flurry Heart's developing relationship after the events of this story.

Provides examples of:

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• Abusive Parents: Cozy Glow's parents were apparently unicorn supremacists, who unsurprisingly, didn't treat their pegasus daughter very well.
• Ascended Extra: Princess Flurry Heart only appears in two chapters late into the first fic. But in the sequel, "Letters to the Princess", she is one of the leads, beside Cozy Glow.
• Always Someone Better: Zap Apple has this attitude towards his cousin Apple Tart. Who he sees as the ideal Apple Family stallion who can do no wrong.
• Amoral Attorney: Played with, regarding Cozy Glow. It is revealed early on that she grew up to be a lawyer (supposedly a good one too) and her general attitude makes it seem like she would be the amoral type of lawyer. But when the subject comes up during her date with Flurry Heart, Cozy claims that she went into the field to help others she feels weren't given a fair trial, like herself. Flurry counters that from what she's looked into though, Cozy mostly takes civil cases for the Canterlot upper class, that just so happen to pay well. To which Cozy reluctantly admits that due to the era of relative peace Equestria has been in, she doesn't get many opportunities to practice her supposed more noble intentions.
• Asshole Victim: Cozy Glow using her past villainous exploits to scare the living crap out of a bad date and laughing off his threats of legal action, probably would have made her look bad… if said date wasn't a bigoted and insufferable Upper-Class Twit who thought she would just take him basically saying it's ok to date her, a pegasus, because she comes from the "good unicorn stock."
• Astrologer: A variation. Luna can apparently look to the stars to gain a glimpse into the future. But it’s treated more as the stars communicating with ‘’her’’, instead of the other way around.
• Bad Date:
  • Luster's and Zapp Apple’s first dates end up being this. See The Bore below for more details.
  • Cozy's less than pleasant date with Prince Patrician is juxtaposed with Luster Dawn hitting it off well with Little Cheese
• Badass Boast: Cozy Glow, when her date, Prince Patrician, asks her who she thinks she is, she tells him this:
  Cozy Glow: “Prince Patrician. Let me stop you right there.” She smiled, a little wider, showing all her gleaming white teeth. “I have been an ‘’alicorn’’. I’ve known real power. I could open portals with a flick of my horn; my shield was strong enough to hold off three princesses at once. I’ve drained their magic from their screaming bodies, and felt it flood into ‘’me’’. I’ve absorbed all the chaos magic in the ‘’universe’’, Prince Patrician. I’ve stood twenty storeys tall. Storms came at my command. The world ‘’shook’’ when I willed it. And you call me substandard?”
• Bank Robbery: Rarity reveals that the incident that lead to her eventually adopting Cozy Glow, happened while the filly was using a magic crystal to hold up a bank. Cozy herself later elaborates that she was trying to follow a lead to a magical artifact for her next Evil Plan in the far north, but being a recently escaped fugitive, had no money to buy passage up there with. Hence, her trying to rob a bank.
• The Bore:
  • Luster's first date, Sparkling Wine, is said to have turned out to be this to her.
  Luster Dawn: “Stars, Auntie Tia, he was such a ‘’bore’’! He was only interested in food — roasted this, gourmet that. I had to listen to his stories about his tasting-holidays for ‘’three hours’’. If anything exists, anywhere, within half an hour Sparkling Wine will come thundering into town, put it on his sterling silver fork, toast and eat it, and then spend the next thirty years telling anypony and everypony he meets how ‘’divine’’ it tasted, how ‘’delectable’’. Luna’s moon, I wanted to ‘’strangle’’ him!”
  • Zap Apple's first date, Thornstone is even more so. Giving very blunt and quick answers to Zap’s attempts to start a conversation, making little effort to start a conversation himself, ordering plain rye bread, and convincing Zapp to do the same. Unsurprising, since he's the son of Maud Pie and Mud Briarh.
• Berserk Button: For Stellar Flare, being reminded that Trixie and her family technically have more influence over Luster Dawn than she or Starburst, despite not being blood relatives of her like they are.
• Challenge Seeker: Something holding back Cozy Glow in her search for a mate, other than the obvious, is that she wants someone who can challenge her in terms of wit.
• Commitment Issues: Zap Apple makes it clear to Tia that he doesn't feel interested in settling down yet, and he is frustrated with his mothers (mainly Applejack) trying to pressure him into finding somepony. This causes issues when he does hit it off with somepony, Dust Devil, but she, being a few years older, wants to settle down with somepony and start a family within a year or two and she isn't interested in waiting on him to make up his mind. While he was just warming up to the idea of hooking up with somepony long term. They are ultimately able to compromise and agree to try dating for few months first.
• Covers Always Lie: The cover image depicts Luster Dawn and Cozy Glow being pushed together by Celestia with Little Cheese and Flurry Heart standing behind them respectively. Implying Luster and Cozy would be the main pairing of the story or would be at least the one Celestia pushed for. With the ponies behind them possibly pushing for the couple too. In actuality, neither of them are each other's mane love interest nor does Celestia ever push for them to be together, and their plotlines are mostly separate. Though Cozy does show interest in and briefly tries to pursue Luster, it's completely of her own volition and she doesn't get very far. Their actual mane love interests are the ones standing behind them. Also, the cover implies Flurry Heart's a mane character in the story, when she's actually a late addition to the cast that doesn't formally show up till chapter 26 (and the story builds up her introduction, like it being her is supposed to be a surprise.). And leaves out Zap Apple, who is a main character with his own plotline.
• Creepy Good: It's commented that Rose Bloom could be a very fearsome creature with her size and half-Draconequis appearance… if she hadn't inherited her mother's timid and kindly personality.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • Cozy Glow, was born to elitist unicorn parents who wrote her off as a failure for being a pegasus, is heavily implied to have killed them for their abuse in the sequel, turned into the villainous little filly we are introduced to in seasons eight and nine of the show, spent fifteen years as a statue for her crimes without any kind of fair trial, and even after reforming, she still has to deal with a lot stigma for her past.
  • More surprisingly, Flurry Heart turns out to have this, when we learn that at just twelve years old, she vanished hundreds of Sombra's followers into darkness for a thousand years without really understanding what she was doing till it was too late. Leaving her and everypony around her to live with knowledge of just what she is capable of. Not to mention the pressures that come with the power she was born with.
• Everyone Is Bi: All of the young mares and stallions Celestia helps seem open to dating mares or stallions, and it's treated pretty casually.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • According to Rarity, Cozy Glow's parents were part of a fanatical and borderline cult-like group of pro-unicorn ponies, who didn't take having a pegasus daughter well.
  • Cozy later hits her breaking point in her bad date with Prince Patrician, when he displays similar views to her parents.
  • Downplayed with Applejack, who is somewhat insistent that her son, Zap Apple, settle down with an earth pony. Prompting Rainbow Dash to quip about her being racist. Despite her being married to a pegasus and her son being a pegasus.
  • Luster's grandparents make it clear that they would prefer she date a unicorn, and are mixed when she starts dating Little Cheese, an earth pony. With only Trixie's parents fully supporting her decision and Sunburst's parents being the most vehemently against it.
• Fatal Flaw: Celestia's many years of guiding pony civilization has led to her getting over confident in her ability to guide ponies' relationships and generally know what is best for others, creating much of the drama in the story.
• Follow in My Footsteps: Applejack and Rainbow Dash wanted Zap Apple to stay on the farm and join the Wonderbolts respectively. He instead moved to Appoloosa and joined the local weather team. Though by the time of the story, they've both accepted this.
• Forgiven, but Not Forgotten: Celestia's attitude towards Cozy Glow, as she still has lingering trauma from when Cozy gleefully sucked the magic out of her with Grogar's Bell. While Celestia accepts that Cozy's reformed and is still willing to help her find someone. She does not like her and barely tolerates being in the same room with her. (Not helped by Cozy's attitude.) This creates some issues when trying to find a match for her, as deep down, Celestia still thinks of Cozy as the same evil child who only cares for power and dominating others. Though they eventually move past this in chapter 24. Pony society at large is said to have a similar view of her. At one point, she even bemoans that she can't use her looks to charm most ponies, like she used her cuteness and false sweetness in the past, not because she isn't considered attractive, but because everypony knows her as an infamous former villain. And it's mentioned that ponies in "polite society" often make it a point to remind her they know who she is and what she's done, even if they don't directly say anything about it.
• Four Lines, All Waiting: The story's focus is divided between three ponies with their own plots (four if you count Celestia). With each chapter rotating the focus character. And Lustre and Cozy's plots only briefly intersecting a couple times, only one of which has them directly interacting. Meanwhile, Zap Apple never directly crosses paths with either of the two.
• Friend to All Living Things: Rose Bloom, like her mother before her. Though with more of a focus on plants than animals.
• Friendly Address Privileges:
  • (former) Princess Celestia insists on her clients calling her “Auntie Tia”.
  • Princess Flurry Heart immediately insists on Cozy Glow not using her title during their date.
• Freudian Excuse: Cozy Glow was abused by her unicorn supremacist parents, which along with nopony seemingly doing anything to help her till Rarity did, is used to explain her… issues.
• The Ghost: Fluttershy and Discord are both mentioned several times, and their daughter, Rose Bloom, appears in one chapter. But they themselves never make physical appearances. Making Fluttershy the only member of the mane six to be absent from the story.
• Happily Adopted: For all her faults, Cozy Glow and Rarity have grown to genuinely love each other and the former has turned into a better pony under the latter's care.
• Happily Married: Luster Dawn and Little Cheese at the end. They even make a little home for each other, right above Little Cheese’s new cheesecake store in Canterlot.
• Heel–Face Turn: Cozy Glow straddles the line between this and Retired Monster. She’s no longer actively malicious or looking to cause trouble, and is making some genuine efforts towards reforming. But she’s also still not the most pleasant of ponies.
• Homosexual Reproduction: Averted. Luster Dawn and Zap Apple are both children of lesbian couples, but a sperm donor was used in both cases. Though the latter is still a blood relative of both his mothers, as his uncle was the donor in his case.
• Honorary Aunt:
  • Celestia insists on her clients calling her "Aunt Tia", as the title suggests. Though she's initially uncomfortable with Cozy using that moniker.
  • The mane character’s children, Luster Dawn, Little Cheese, and Zap Apple seem to call their respective mom's close friends "Aunt".
  • Cozy Glow refers to Fluttershy as Aunt Fluttershy and mentions they occasionally visit each other, despite her not getting along so well with Fluttershy’s husband. This is noteworthy, because she understandably doesn't have the close relationship with most of her mother's friends the other mane heroines' children do.
• I Want Grandkids:
  • While looking over the first few candidates for Luster's mate, Stellar Flare is the only one to have any objections to Luster potentially going for a female partner, as it would complicate Luster having kids of her own.
  • Applejack admits that her desire to push Zap Apple to settle down is partially out of a desire for grandchildren. With Rainbow Dash accusing her of being envious of the fact that Big Mac is about to have his first grandchild before her. She doesn't deny it. Though Applejack also points out that Granny Smith, who is still holding on but clearly doesn't have much time left, wants to see one last generation of Apples before she goes.
• Intelligence Equals Isolation:
  • This is the second reason Cozy Glow has trouble finding a partner or even friends, even if they can look past her past actions. She wants a pony that can challenge her intellectually as well.
  • Averted with Lustre, who is intelligent enough to catch Cozy’s interests, but doesn’t have her same issues finding companionship.
• Interspecies Romance:
  • Zap Apple's third date is with Leaftail, a Kirin. They hit it off pretty well. Though it ultimately doesn't work out.
  • Fluttershy and Discord are confirmed to have gotten together, as they have a daughter named Rose Bloom.
  • Rose Bloom, a pony-Draconiquis hybrid, is Cozy Glow's second date. Though they don't hit it off as well.
• Jerkass Realization: Celestia first realizes that she may owe Cozy Glow some benefit of the doubt, after the latter storms in her office angrily and Celestia's first instinct is to magically scan her for potential mystical weapons. Despite it being well over a decade since Cozy reformed.
• Long-Lived: Celestia mentions that Twilight and Cadence aren't truly immortal like her and Luna, though they're life spans are still apparently quadruple that of a normal pony. Meaning she and her sister will ‘’eventually’’ have to return to the throne.
• Mama Bear:
  • Rarity has become very defensive of Cozy Glow after taking her in. Largely due to how much suspicion her daughter has to deal with for her past. Even going so far as to kick in the door of Celestia's office and openly berate her for accidentally exposing her daughter to bigotry during her first date. (Though it's implied Cozy exaggerated how "traumatic" the event was to get Rarity riled up and get back at Celestia.)
  • Rainbow Dash is ready to outright get Dust Devil kicked out of the Wonderbolts, for breaking Zap Apple's heart, till Applejack cools her down
• Mama's Boy: Zap Apple is this to his moms, but especially to Rainbow Dash. He even feels comfortable enough around her to let it slip (in private) that his first date with Leaftail turned "physical". (And she encourages him to brag about it.)
• Manchild: Despite now being said to be older than Rarity was when Twilight first met her, Cozy Glow still calls her adopted mother mama and acts like a timid little filly around her. Though how much of this is genuine and how much is an act.
• Mix-and-Match Critter: Fluttershy and Discord's daughter, Rose Bloom, looks like her mother, but with a very elongated body and face, lion paws in place of her fore hooves, and red eyes and fangs like her father.
• Morality Pet: While Cozy Glow still has a lot of her old villainous edge to her, she does genuinely love and respect her "mama" Rarity for all she's done for her. And that keeps her mostly in check. She even mentally says to herself at one point, she doesn't break promises she makes to her. It's also implied that Fluttershy is another one to her, as she's the only one Cozy calls "Aunt" and it's mentioned they do visit each other.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Celestia had this reaction after learning that her reprimanding Zap Apple and Leaftail for getting intimate too early (in her view), caused them to not only break up, but back out as clients of hers.
• Nice Girl: Lustre Dawn, Rose Bloom, and Little Cheese are all this.
• Noodle Incident:
  • Cozy Glow mentions that outside of Rarity and Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash also made some effort to accept her in her early years living with Rarity. But she “made their bratty little son cry once too often” And she saw them less after that. This is also the only mention of Cozy Glow and Zap Apple ever interacting in the story.
  • Among the major threats to the kingdom since Twilight took over that Cozy Glow lists off during her date with Flurry, include a Smooze related disaster like the one in G1 and Twilight's students annihilating a horde of lava rhinoceroses.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Flurry Hearts gives a little speech as to how she feels her and Cozy Glow, despite the vastly different circumstances of their lives, aren't so different:
  ‘’’Flurry Heart:’’’“Why do you think I agreed to this date? It’s not just because you’re an interesting pony — though you certainly are. It’s because we have something in common.”
  Cozy Glow: “And what’s that?”
  Flurry Heart: “A really bucked-up childhood. “Everywhere I’ve ever gone, I’ve been fenced in on every side. Rules, traditions, court strictures. I’m not sure I’ve ever been alone. A maid comes with me to the bathroom. I have six fully armored guards waiting for me outside this chess club. My parents and my aunt control where I go, who I see, what I think.” She waved a wing. “Oh, they mean well, but that doesn’t mean I’m any less trapped by it.”
  Cozy: “Oh, come on. A privileged upbringing — boo-hoo. How does that equate to how I grew up?”
  Flurry: “I know what it’s like to be the smartest pony in the room. In every room, no matter where you go. I know what it’s like to have the press watch your every move, like vultures, just waiting for you to slip up. I know what it’s like to destroy things — no, I’m not kidding. I’ve had alicorn magic since before I could walk. I’ve torn down ‘’palaces’’ by ‘’sneezing’’. I know what it’s like to have ponies ‘’fear’’ you — to see you as a ticking time bomb. Who could understand that better than us?”
• Older Than They Look: Cozy Glow is technically over ten years or so older than Luster Dawn, Flurry Heart, etc. But due to spending fifteen years as a statue, she is basically around the same age as them in practical terms.
• Patchwork Kids: Zap Apple has a good mix of both Rainbow Dash and Applejack in him.
• Person of Mass Destruction: One of the reasons Flurry Heart can relate to Cozy Glow is because Flurry was born as this and after an incident where she banished hundreds of Sombra followers to the shadows at the age of twelve, it hit her and everypony else how dangerous she can be, and she, like Cozy, had to grow up with ponies around her fearing what she could do.
• Pet the Dog: After Cozy Glow tells Rose Bloom it's not going to work out, she's genuinely sorry to have upset her and makes some effort to let her down gently.
• The Quiet One: Subverted with Zap Apple. When Celestia first meets him and his mothers are around, he comes off as very quiet and lets them do most of the talking. But after she asks his moms to let her talk to him alone, he doesn't hold back when telling her his feelings on the situation.
• Rebellious Princess: Flurry Heart has shades of this:
  Cozy Glow: I underestimated you.
  Flurry Heart: “Ponies often do,” said Flurry Heart lightly. “Youngest princess, least senior, a born alicorn; they think I’ve been spoon-fed everything by my mother and my aunt.” She met Cozy Glow’s eyes and smiled again. “They’re wrong.”
• Reformed, but Not Tamed: Cozy Glow has long since given up her villainous ways and become a productive member of society. But she still has her power hungry mindset, just refocused towards advancing her career and increasing her finances, instead of outright stealing power through manipulation and force. And additionally, she can still come off as… not the most pleasant of ponies, still laughs off many of the more idealistic beliefs of others, has trouble being sincere, and struggles not to slide into old habits. Also, she still hates Discord, Twilight, and to a lesser degree, the other alicorns aside from Flurry Heart.
• Retired Monster: It's offhandedly mentioned that Tirek and Chrysalis were released and offered a chance to reform as well, but more or less chose to go into self-imposed exile instead.
• Romantic Ribbing: Cozy Glow and Flurry Heart engage in this during their date.
• Self-Made Orphan: It's heavily implied in "Letters to the Princess" that Cozy Glow is this. Possibly by means of fire…
• Shrinking Violet: Rose Bloom. Like her mother before her.
• Spin-Offspring: The story focuses mostly on a future generation of characters. While with the exception of Celestia, the older mane and supporting cast mostly take a back seat.
• Stood Up:
  • Luster and Little Cheese's relationship hits a major snag, after Luster goes to find Cheese for their seventh date, where she plans to introduce her to her friends. But she can't find her anywhere and no one around knows where she is. Leading Luster to assume the worst. Turns out, Little Cheese had to run Pumpkin Cake to the hospital do to an accident the night before, that left her know time to stop and explain the situation to anypony before she left.
  • Flurry Heart inadvertently does this to Cozy Glow in the sequel; She promised to meet up with her after some trade negotiations for their second date, but said negotiations wound up dragging on. Creating the first road bump in their blossoming romance. (Flurry has to literally send some of her guards to "invite" Cozy to their next date, before she gives it another chance.)
• Supreme Chef: Little Cheese is said to be a great pastry chef (unsurprising given her mother) and has aspirations to open her own cheesecake store. (Which she does at the end.) She even insists on personally making the cake for her own and Luster's wedding.
• Sympathy for the Devil: When Celestia asked why Rarity adopted Cozy Glow of all ponies, Rarity recounts a time where she was taken hostage by the filly after her most recent escape. Saying that while she used to write off Cozy as irredeemable like everypony else, being several years older and wiser by that time, while Cozy had stayed largely the same villainous filly Rarity knew her as up to that point (partially thanks to her time turned to stone), allowed her to see the broken and lonely child the rest of the world turned its back on. And she decided to take the opportunity to talk her down instead of letting the others just reimprison her again and afterwards, took it upon herself to help the filly. Eventually adopting her.
• Tornado Move: This is Zap Apple's special talent and job on the Appoloosa weather team.
• Tranquil Fury: Cozy Glow dips into this, when Prince Patrician mentions the potential issue with him dating a “pegasus”. Apparently, Rarity even calls that particular tone her “dangerous” voice.
• Undying Loyalty: Raven Inkwell, Celestia's assistant for decades, followed her into her new line of work after she advocated the throne. She still faithfully serves her former ruler, even though her age is catching up with her.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Rainbow Dash unwittingly spells the end of her son and Leaftail's blossoming romance, after she (good naturedly) pressures Zap Apple to reveal that they got "physical" on the first date.
• Upper-Class Twit: Prince Patrician, son of Prince Blueblood and the stallion Cozy Glow is first set up with, is presented as this. Their date apparently began with her curb stomping him at chess (which he promptly wrote off as a "dull game") and then at tennis, he spent most of the rest of the time babbling on about his time at private school, including how he used to bully another student there, while she barley feigned interest, and to top it off he comments on how glad he is that she turned out to have an "amenable personality", despite his and his family's concerns over her past and her being a pegasus and how it doesn't matter because she came from good unicorn stock...
• Wham Line:
  Cozy Glow:' “So that makes your decision to send three hundred misguided ponies into the realm of shadows for a thousand years morally justified? Because you had a rough time growing up?”
  Flurry Heart: “I did what I thought best,” Flurry Heart snarled. “I was twelve.”
• Worthy Opponent: One of things that draws Cozy Glow to Flurry Heart, is that she, surprisingly, can match her in terms of wit and cunning. Holding her own in both their verbal sparring and their first chess game. Which Flurry wins. Which Cozy is surprised, but not unhappy about. As she desperately wanted a challenge.