Conversations Atop A Hillby Undome TinweChaptersBy Any Other NameMore Than Thirty Pieces Of SilverAnd Soul By Soul, And Silently Her Shining Bounds IncreaseThe Fault In The StarsThe Best Laid PlansBy Any Other Name"Would you still love me if I wasn't a Princess?" Flurry Heart asked her marefriend as the two of them lay on a warm meadow atop a hill at the edge of the Empire. Cozy Glow snorted. "What, are you planning on stepping down?" "Of course not," Flurry replied. "I'm just wondering. If I hadn't been born with wings and a horn, and my mother didn't rule the Crystal Empire, would we still be a couple? Would we both still be lying down on his meadow, a pair of happy commoners?" "That's a dumb question." The dismissiveness of Cozy's response made Flurry smile. "Well, the second question is dumb, because the answer is no, duh." The smile turned to a smirk. "Oh?" Flurry asked. "So you have no interest in dating a commoner?" "Why would I ever want to do that?" Another snort from Cozy. "Well, maybe if she was, like, some super-rich CEO I guess. But then again, the oligarchs are just the modern aristocracy, right?" "So in this world where I wasn't born into power, you'd have laughed in my face when I asked you out?" Flurry pressed, ignoring Cozy's aside. "I didn't say that," Cozy replied. "The reason I think it's a dumb question is because you'd never have been a common pony. That's why I love you." She punctuated that statement with a boop on Flurry's nose. "Even if you weren't born the heir to a throne, you'd have found some way to gain power, to become somepony Great. By the time you asked me out, you'd have been a Queen or an Empress or The Supreme Overlord." Flurry giggled. "I do like the sound of that." She leaned over to press a kiss against Cozy's lips. "It wouldn't matter what world we lived in," Cozy continued as she blushed. "By the time you asked me out, I wouldn't have been able to say no." "Because I wouldn't have let you?" Flurry asked. "Because I could never turn down access to so much power." This time, it was Cozy who kissed her, much more passionately. "I love you, my Goddess. And I can't wait until we rule this world together." More Than Thirty Pieces Of Silver"What would it take for you to betray me?" Cozy Glow smirked at the question. "You know, normal couples usually ask what they would give up for each other, not what the price of their love is." Flurry Heart rolled over to kiss her marefriend. "First of all, we're far too extraordinary to be a normal couple. Secondly, I already know the answer to that question, since you gave up the chance to rule alone for me." "Well, in that case, why bother asking?" Cozy's scarlet eyes burned with disdain, and it thrilled Flurry to see it. "I said I knew what you'd give up for love, not what it would take to make you give up on love, silly." A playful boop punctuated Flurry's statement. "That's just asking the same thing with two different wordings," Cozy pointed out, her face scrunching adorably at the contact. "Au contraire," Flurry said, raising her chin haughtily. "Ponies are naturally risk-averse creatures. We hate losing more than we like gaining, and most of us demand more to give up what we have than to gain something new. Emotional inertia, you could say." "How irrational." Mirroring her beloved, Cozy also tilted her chin up, refusing to be looked down upon. The little contest was quickly put to an end when Flurry rolled her eyes and rolled back onto her stomach. "Oh, come on, don't try to tell me you're a perfectly rational being, Miss Gloat-At-My-Enemies-And-Give-Them-A-Chance-To-Defeat-Me." "It's called psychological warfare," Cozy protested, poking Flurry in the side in a playful huff. "A concept you should be intimately familiar with, as the Princess of Weaponizing Love." "I'm the Princess of Devotion," Flurry corrected before quirking her lips up in a smirk. "Weaponizing love is just a hobby. Anyways, you didn't answer my original question." "Obviously, there's nothing that I value more than you." The statement was said with love as Cozy leaned over to nuzzle Flurry. Flurry laughed at that. "Can you imagine yourself saying that a couple years ago?" "Absolutely." The nuzzling continued. "But I wouldn't have meant it back then." That got Flurry to raise an eyebrow. "And you do now?" Cozy shrugged. "Maybe one day someone'll make me an offer good enough to put a knife through your heart, but I honestly don't think anything can replace the sense of purpose you gave me. You gave me something to devote myself to, and I don't think anyone else could do that." Flurry grinned. "Aww, I love you too." "So, what about you?" Cozy asked. "What could someone offer the heir to the Crystal Throne to get her to make a little ol' pegasus disappear?" There was a moment of silence as Flurry considered her response. "I mean, obviously if my duty to my subjects required it and there was no other way, I'd have to give you up." "But that's a boring answer," Cozy said. Flurry nodded. "The spirit of this question is more about personal gain, which is a lot harder." She paused. "The problem is, neither of us have unmet material needs, and we're going to have all the power we want over this world one day, so I guess the only thing left that would be worth more would be to extend that dominion to the multiverse." "Wow," Cozy breathed. "Most girls only get told they're worth the world to someone, but I'm worth at least two, huh? Lucky me." "Hey, that's what happens when you win the heart of the Princess of Devotion," Flurry replied, wrapping Cozy up in a tight hug. "It's going to take a lot for me to let you go. Besides, you're just too valuable an ally to me, so it'd be dumb to betray you." "So why'd you ask me that, anyways?" Cozy asked, squirming in her grasp for a second before settling in comfortably, her head resting just under Flurry's chin. "You know how much I love you." "A girl still likes to hear it sometimes," Flurry said. "Also, it lets me know if there's anything I might need to offer you to make sure I can sleep soundly at night." "Well, I am kinda hungry," Cozy said, looking up at her marefriend. "How about you grab me a hayburger from that place on Amore Avenue, and I let you live another night?" Flurry smiled before leaning down to kiss her. "Deal." And Soul By Soul, And Silently Her Shining Bounds Increase"They're founding another religion after you." Flurry let out a sigh as she continued to stare upwards at the cloudy sky. "I know. I overheard the guards talking about it. This time it's the lesser nobles heralding me as someone who will uplift them et cetera et cetera." Cozy kept her gaze on Flurry. "So what're the chances they ask you to speak at some ceremony?" "Well, Golden Wish is the founder, and she's one of the true believers, so pretty high," Flurry replied. "This one's definitely not a scam, and I can't think of some other reason why she wouldn't want me there." "I haven't talked to her enough to know if she's smart enough to get that you never invite your goddess to your church." Wrapping one wing around her beloved, Cozy sidled up closer to her marefriend. "Also, I still think you're dumb for not making use of these churches to consolidate your power." "I know." Flurry still didn't look at her. "Like, I would've killed for a cult of personality like that." Cozy pressed herself close to Flurry, her hoof casually stroking one of her wings. "Literally. I tried to do that once." "I'm familiar with that story," Flurry said dryly. "I did study you thoroughly before I had you unfrozen." Cozy brightened at that. "Aww, I love it when you say things like that. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing that I was in your head before we'd even met." "Well, I got back at you eventually," Flurry replied with a playful nudge. "Yeah, yeah." Cozy nudged her back. "Rub it in, will ya?" She shook her head. "I still can't believe I actually care about someone else now. But also, that kinda proves my point, you know? Not that I wanna have to share you with someone else, but you could do a lot with ponies who are completely devoted to you." "Religious fervour is a tricky thing," Flurry explained. "Too easy to have your words and intentions twisted. I prefer my power to be a little bit more controlled. If I wanted ultimate chaotic power I'd just steal Grogar's Bell and pay Discord a visit." Cozy shivered. "Yeah, okay, when you put it like that, I get it. Power's great, but I guess power over nutjobs isn't really power, huh?" "I'd prefer other kinds of soft power, yes," Flurry said. "Though, having everypony love me a reasonable amount is pretty useful." "Hence the fan club." Cozy finished the thought for her. "Hey, gotta make use of the Teen Idol thing I've got going on while I still can," Flurry replied. "But also, even if I'm the Princess of Devotion, that doesn't really mean that I want ponies to be devoted to me. I want them to find something else to be passionate about, and to help them devote their lives to it. That's why I encourage my fans to find their own causes to champion." "Except for me," Cozy pointed out. "You're special," Flurry shot back without missing a beat. "In more ways than one. I like being the source of your devotion, and you're all I need at the moment. For now, I'm happy with just having one devotee worshipping at my hooves." Cozy giggled. "As if you're not just as obsessed with me as I am with you. You're not immune to your own domain, your majesty." "Maybe not, but I was raised by the Princess of Love, so I still think I have the advantage here." With that, Flurry finally turned her attention to her marefriends, peppering little kisses along the most sensitive parts of Cozy's wings. Cozy squirmed under her ministrations. "T-There's no way your mom taught you that," she gasped. "No, but she was very open to me having a proper and healthy education about all aspects of love," Flurry explained, continuing her trail of kisses. "Mmm, I gotta admit, this probably counts as a religious experience," Cozy said, still breathless. "It's a good thing this hill is so far away from the city, so we can pray in private." "Oh, and what do you want to pray for?" Flurry asked. "Oh, the usual," Cozy said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. "Love, happiness, and the power to make kingdoms bend to my will." "Well, I can make the first two happen now," Flurry said, using her hooves in addition to her lips now. "As for the third, I'm afraid I'll need a bit of time." "As long as you don't make me wait too long." Cozy pressed herself against Flurry's barrel as she let out a contented purr. "Not all of us are immortal alicorns who can make plans that span thousands of years." "Not yet," Flurry corrected. "But yes, I swear that you will be crowned as a queen alongside me one day." "I believe you." Cozy smiled. "And when that day comes, I can both be the goddess for our people." The Fault In The Stars"The stars are beautiful tonight," Flurry commented as they lay on their backs, facing up towards the heavens. "Luna did a great job." "Mhm." Beside her, Cozy absently picked at the grass beneath them. "You know, I figured when she retired someone else would take over arranging the stars. It was weird waking up from the statue and seeing that she was still doing it." "Luna's always been the most interesting of the princesses to me," Flurry said. "She held the most magical power of all the princesses, but the least political power." Cozy's head tilted in confusion. "I thought Twilight was the Element of Magic?" Flurry shook her head. "We both know that power is about much more than raw strength. Luna's control over the dream realm lets her exert control over everycreature in a way that isn't possible with big laser blasts. We're lucky she went for brute force when she was corrupted, or we'd be living in a kingdom of eternal night right now." "You know, I think we'd be fine in that world," Cozy mused, turning her head upwards. "Well, I'd be fine, anyways. Nightmare Moon would've needed help running things, and I'd have made a great spymaster." "You would." A nod accompanied Flurry's agreement. "If I wasn't planning on making you my queen, that'd probably be the role I gave you." Cozy beamed. "Aww, you'd actually trust me enough for that?" Flurry ruffled her mane. "I'd have made sure you wouldn't be able to even conceive of betraying me before giving you that position, one way or another." That lit up a smoulder in Cozy's eyes. "You gotta tell me all about how you'd do that later tonight." Flurry laughed. "Have I told you how cute you are lately?" Cozy pressed a hoof against her chin, her face scrunching up in thought. "It's been at least a day, so no, not lately." "Well, you're adorable and I love you," Flurry said with absolute conviction. "And I'm glad you're mine and not serving some other villain." "You'd never have any chance of taking over the world if I was on the other side," Cozy agreed. Flurry raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" "You'd have to seduce me over to you," Cozy said with utmost seriousness before cracking her own grin. "But seriously, I'm glad I'm not stuck with Luna. She scares me." "Me too," Flurry admitted. "Which is why it's really interesting that she's never held any significant political power. Even if she'd never use her powers like that, the fact that she could should have provided her some leverage." "Maybe she just didn't care?" Cozy suggested. "Crazy idea, I know, but some ponies don't actually care about holding dominion over others. They're the most annoying to manipulate." "She tried to conquer all of Equestria by herself because she was jealous of the power her sister wielded," Flurry countered. "I guess." There was a moment of silence as the two mares considered this conundrum. "Honestly, all the princesses are kinda weird, when you think about it. They basically become rulers because they were good at fighting, but now they actually have to rule." "Technically, Harmony chose them for their virtue." Both of them very pointedly did not mention Flurry herself. Cozy snorted. "Harmony made them alicorns, but they became rulers because they defeated the last person in charge. Might makes right and stuff. That's how it worked back then, before your time." "They've all made for satisfactory rulers, though," Flurry pointed out. "Harmony got lucky." Cozy turned to press a kiss against her lover's cheek. "Who cares about what the old guard think, anyways? They were from a different time, and things work differently now. When you become queen, it won't be because of a spell — it'll be because you won the hearts of everypony. That's what Luna couldn't do, and she was too weak or dumb to use her magic to force it." "I respect her adhering to her principles," Flurry said. "But you're right, I'm different from them. Still, I think there's a lot to be learned from the past." "Well, knock yourself out," Cozy replied. "Ask Luna next time you see her. You've got that privilege, so you might as well leverage every advantage you have." She gave her another kiss, wrapping her hooves around her neck as she leaned in to whisper in Flurry's ear. "Every single one." Flurry's horn lit up, and Cozy gasped as she felt her wings being softly stroked with magic. "Every one, huh?" "I want you to take every advantage of me you can, my future queen." With that, the two of them gave themselves up to their passion, forgetting the tapestry of stars above. The Best Laid Plans"You know," Cozy said as she lay sprawled atop Flurry, using her as a blanket to keep herself from touching the damp grass beneath them. "There's something I always wondered. Did you plan all of this from the start?" "Hmm?" Flurry paused in her soft stroking of Cozy's mane. "Plan what, exactly? You know I always have many plots in motion." "Us falling in love." Cozy shifted and repositioned so that she could look Flurry in the eyes. "When you asked the other princesses to unfreeze me, were you planning on things ending up like this?" "Would you rather that I had or that I hadn't?" Flurry asked. "If our love had been planned, would it have made it any lesser?" Cozy shrugged. "Don't know, don't care." She pressed a kiss against her neck. "I just wanna learn more about your plans and how they play out. You know how much I love hearing you plot." "Fair enough." A moment of quiet as Flurry formulated her response. "Hmm, that wasn't the explicit goal, I would say. It certainly wasn't in the proposal I presented to reform you." Cozy snorted. "Yeah, that probably wouldn't have gone over well. Then again, you lied through your teeth in that proposal, so that doesn't count." "It doesn't," Flurry agreed. "I wasn't lying to you when I took you here to this hill the day we released you. I really did want your help becoming a ruler, and I meant it when I said you'd be a great vizier. That was the position I wanted to give you, at first. But there was more to it from the start." "I figured," Cozy said. "I'm the only person you actually tried to make devoted to you. I know how much you prefer to give people other things to devote themselves to, so I must have been a pretty special case for you to break that rule." "I couldn't think of anything else," Flurry admitted. "At least, that's what I told myself. You only cared about power, so I thought that I could only reform you by redirecting that devotion towards somepony who would become the most powerful being in the world one day. I knew I was taking a huge risk when I decided to make you obsessed with me, but I was convinced that it was the only way." "That does make sense," Cozy said. "I'm sensing a 'but' there, though." Flurry nodded. "But I can't deny that I was obsessed with you before I even had you unfrozen. I spent so long studying your first couple attempts to conquer Equestria, and all the different ways you tried to subvert the princesses for years after they released you the first time to try to reform you, wishing that I'd been old enough to understand what you were doing when you were doing it, instead of having to wait until we were both the same age." "I was pretty amazing," Cozy said, tilting her chin up in pride. "So you were obsessed with me, and didn't wanna admit you actually had a crush, so you made up that vizier thing to give yourself an excuse to hang out with me?" "Maybe." At Cozy's knowing smirk, Flurry sighed. "Alright, it's likely I had a huge crush on you and fooled myself into thinking that turning you was just a power play. It's amazing how dumb a pony can be at sixteen." "Well, we're nineteen now," Cozy pointed out. "We have a lot more wisdom, and control over our own thoughts. I don't think you'd make the same mistake today." "You have a point." Flurry's lips twitched up into a small smile. "We're adults now, and past making those foolish decisions." She leaned up to kiss Cozy. "Now I know exactly what I want, and how to get that from you." Cozy's eyes smouldered as she raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why don't you show me, then, Your Majesty." And so Flurry did, and so they both swore their love to one another once again, knowing that it had not been planned, but was destined nonetheless.
By Any Other Name"Would you still love me if I wasn't a Princess?" Flurry Heart asked her marefriend as the two of them lay on a warm meadow atop a hill at the edge of the Empire. Cozy Glow snorted. "What, are you planning on stepping down?" "Of course not," Flurry replied. "I'm just wondering. If I hadn't been born with wings and a horn, and my mother didn't rule the Crystal Empire, would we still be a couple? Would we both still be lying down on his meadow, a pair of happy commoners?" "That's a dumb question." The dismissiveness of Cozy's response made Flurry smile. "Well, the second question is dumb, because the answer is no, duh." The smile turned to a smirk. "Oh?" Flurry asked. "So you have no interest in dating a commoner?" "Why would I ever want to do that?" Another snort from Cozy. "Well, maybe if she was, like, some super-rich CEO I guess. But then again, the oligarchs are just the modern aristocracy, right?" "So in this world where I wasn't born into power, you'd have laughed in my face when I asked you out?" Flurry pressed, ignoring Cozy's aside. "I didn't say that," Cozy replied. "The reason I think it's a dumb question is because you'd never have been a common pony. That's why I love you." She punctuated that statement with a boop on Flurry's nose. "Even if you weren't born the heir to a throne, you'd have found some way to gain power, to become somepony Great. By the time you asked me out, you'd have been a Queen or an Empress or The Supreme Overlord." Flurry giggled. "I do like the sound of that." She leaned over to press a kiss against Cozy's lips. "It wouldn't matter what world we lived in," Cozy continued as she blushed. "By the time you asked me out, I wouldn't have been able to say no." "Because I wouldn't have let you?" Flurry asked. "Because I could never turn down access to so much power." This time, it was Cozy who kissed her, much more passionately. "I love you, my Goddess. And I can't wait until we rule this world together."
More Than Thirty Pieces Of Silver"What would it take for you to betray me?" Cozy Glow smirked at the question. "You know, normal couples usually ask what they would give up for each other, not what the price of their love is." Flurry Heart rolled over to kiss her marefriend. "First of all, we're far too extraordinary to be a normal couple. Secondly, I already know the answer to that question, since you gave up the chance to rule alone for me." "Well, in that case, why bother asking?" Cozy's scarlet eyes burned with disdain, and it thrilled Flurry to see it. "I said I knew what you'd give up for love, not what it would take to make you give up on love, silly." A playful boop punctuated Flurry's statement. "That's just asking the same thing with two different wordings," Cozy pointed out, her face scrunching adorably at the contact. "Au contraire," Flurry said, raising her chin haughtily. "Ponies are naturally risk-averse creatures. We hate losing more than we like gaining, and most of us demand more to give up what we have than to gain something new. Emotional inertia, you could say." "How irrational." Mirroring her beloved, Cozy also tilted her chin up, refusing to be looked down upon. The little contest was quickly put to an end when Flurry rolled her eyes and rolled back onto her stomach. "Oh, come on, don't try to tell me you're a perfectly rational being, Miss Gloat-At-My-Enemies-And-Give-Them-A-Chance-To-Defeat-Me." "It's called psychological warfare," Cozy protested, poking Flurry in the side in a playful huff. "A concept you should be intimately familiar with, as the Princess of Weaponizing Love." "I'm the Princess of Devotion," Flurry corrected before quirking her lips up in a smirk. "Weaponizing love is just a hobby. Anyways, you didn't answer my original question." "Obviously, there's nothing that I value more than you." The statement was said with love as Cozy leaned over to nuzzle Flurry. Flurry laughed at that. "Can you imagine yourself saying that a couple years ago?" "Absolutely." The nuzzling continued. "But I wouldn't have meant it back then." That got Flurry to raise an eyebrow. "And you do now?" Cozy shrugged. "Maybe one day someone'll make me an offer good enough to put a knife through your heart, but I honestly don't think anything can replace the sense of purpose you gave me. You gave me something to devote myself to, and I don't think anyone else could do that." Flurry grinned. "Aww, I love you too." "So, what about you?" Cozy asked. "What could someone offer the heir to the Crystal Throne to get her to make a little ol' pegasus disappear?" There was a moment of silence as Flurry considered her response. "I mean, obviously if my duty to my subjects required it and there was no other way, I'd have to give you up." "But that's a boring answer," Cozy said. Flurry nodded. "The spirit of this question is more about personal gain, which is a lot harder." She paused. "The problem is, neither of us have unmet material needs, and we're going to have all the power we want over this world one day, so I guess the only thing left that would be worth more would be to extend that dominion to the multiverse." "Wow," Cozy breathed. "Most girls only get told they're worth the world to someone, but I'm worth at least two, huh? Lucky me." "Hey, that's what happens when you win the heart of the Princess of Devotion," Flurry replied, wrapping Cozy up in a tight hug. "It's going to take a lot for me to let you go. Besides, you're just too valuable an ally to me, so it'd be dumb to betray you." "So why'd you ask me that, anyways?" Cozy asked, squirming in her grasp for a second before settling in comfortably, her head resting just under Flurry's chin. "You know how much I love you." "A girl still likes to hear it sometimes," Flurry said. "Also, it lets me know if there's anything I might need to offer you to make sure I can sleep soundly at night." "Well, I am kinda hungry," Cozy said, looking up at her marefriend. "How about you grab me a hayburger from that place on Amore Avenue, and I let you live another night?" Flurry smiled before leaning down to kiss her. "Deal."
And Soul By Soul, And Silently Her Shining Bounds Increase"They're founding another religion after you." Flurry let out a sigh as she continued to stare upwards at the cloudy sky. "I know. I overheard the guards talking about it. This time it's the lesser nobles heralding me as someone who will uplift them et cetera et cetera." Cozy kept her gaze on Flurry. "So what're the chances they ask you to speak at some ceremony?" "Well, Golden Wish is the founder, and she's one of the true believers, so pretty high," Flurry replied. "This one's definitely not a scam, and I can't think of some other reason why she wouldn't want me there." "I haven't talked to her enough to know if she's smart enough to get that you never invite your goddess to your church." Wrapping one wing around her beloved, Cozy sidled up closer to her marefriend. "Also, I still think you're dumb for not making use of these churches to consolidate your power." "I know." Flurry still didn't look at her. "Like, I would've killed for a cult of personality like that." Cozy pressed herself close to Flurry, her hoof casually stroking one of her wings. "Literally. I tried to do that once." "I'm familiar with that story," Flurry said dryly. "I did study you thoroughly before I had you unfrozen." Cozy brightened at that. "Aww, I love it when you say things like that. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing that I was in your head before we'd even met." "Well, I got back at you eventually," Flurry replied with a playful nudge. "Yeah, yeah." Cozy nudged her back. "Rub it in, will ya?" She shook her head. "I still can't believe I actually care about someone else now. But also, that kinda proves my point, you know? Not that I wanna have to share you with someone else, but you could do a lot with ponies who are completely devoted to you." "Religious fervour is a tricky thing," Flurry explained. "Too easy to have your words and intentions twisted. I prefer my power to be a little bit more controlled. If I wanted ultimate chaotic power I'd just steal Grogar's Bell and pay Discord a visit." Cozy shivered. "Yeah, okay, when you put it like that, I get it. Power's great, but I guess power over nutjobs isn't really power, huh?" "I'd prefer other kinds of soft power, yes," Flurry said. "Though, having everypony love me a reasonable amount is pretty useful." "Hence the fan club." Cozy finished the thought for her. "Hey, gotta make use of the Teen Idol thing I've got going on while I still can," Flurry replied. "But also, even if I'm the Princess of Devotion, that doesn't really mean that I want ponies to be devoted to me. I want them to find something else to be passionate about, and to help them devote their lives to it. That's why I encourage my fans to find their own causes to champion." "Except for me," Cozy pointed out. "You're special," Flurry shot back without missing a beat. "In more ways than one. I like being the source of your devotion, and you're all I need at the moment. For now, I'm happy with just having one devotee worshipping at my hooves." Cozy giggled. "As if you're not just as obsessed with me as I am with you. You're not immune to your own domain, your majesty." "Maybe not, but I was raised by the Princess of Love, so I still think I have the advantage here." With that, Flurry finally turned her attention to her marefriends, peppering little kisses along the most sensitive parts of Cozy's wings. Cozy squirmed under her ministrations. "T-There's no way your mom taught you that," she gasped. "No, but she was very open to me having a proper and healthy education about all aspects of love," Flurry explained, continuing her trail of kisses. "Mmm, I gotta admit, this probably counts as a religious experience," Cozy said, still breathless. "It's a good thing this hill is so far away from the city, so we can pray in private." "Oh, and what do you want to pray for?" Flurry asked. "Oh, the usual," Cozy said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. "Love, happiness, and the power to make kingdoms bend to my will." "Well, I can make the first two happen now," Flurry said, using her hooves in addition to her lips now. "As for the third, I'm afraid I'll need a bit of time." "As long as you don't make me wait too long." Cozy pressed herself against Flurry's barrel as she let out a contented purr. "Not all of us are immortal alicorns who can make plans that span thousands of years." "Not yet," Flurry corrected. "But yes, I swear that you will be crowned as a queen alongside me one day." "I believe you." Cozy smiled. "And when that day comes, I can both be the goddess for our people."
The Fault In The Stars"The stars are beautiful tonight," Flurry commented as they lay on their backs, facing up towards the heavens. "Luna did a great job." "Mhm." Beside her, Cozy absently picked at the grass beneath them. "You know, I figured when she retired someone else would take over arranging the stars. It was weird waking up from the statue and seeing that she was still doing it." "Luna's always been the most interesting of the princesses to me," Flurry said. "She held the most magical power of all the princesses, but the least political power." Cozy's head tilted in confusion. "I thought Twilight was the Element of Magic?" Flurry shook her head. "We both know that power is about much more than raw strength. Luna's control over the dream realm lets her exert control over everycreature in a way that isn't possible with big laser blasts. We're lucky she went for brute force when she was corrupted, or we'd be living in a kingdom of eternal night right now." "You know, I think we'd be fine in that world," Cozy mused, turning her head upwards. "Well, I'd be fine, anyways. Nightmare Moon would've needed help running things, and I'd have made a great spymaster." "You would." A nod accompanied Flurry's agreement. "If I wasn't planning on making you my queen, that'd probably be the role I gave you." Cozy beamed. "Aww, you'd actually trust me enough for that?" Flurry ruffled her mane. "I'd have made sure you wouldn't be able to even conceive of betraying me before giving you that position, one way or another." That lit up a smoulder in Cozy's eyes. "You gotta tell me all about how you'd do that later tonight." Flurry laughed. "Have I told you how cute you are lately?" Cozy pressed a hoof against her chin, her face scrunching up in thought. "It's been at least a day, so no, not lately." "Well, you're adorable and I love you," Flurry said with absolute conviction. "And I'm glad you're mine and not serving some other villain." "You'd never have any chance of taking over the world if I was on the other side," Cozy agreed. Flurry raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" "You'd have to seduce me over to you," Cozy said with utmost seriousness before cracking her own grin. "But seriously, I'm glad I'm not stuck with Luna. She scares me." "Me too," Flurry admitted. "Which is why it's really interesting that she's never held any significant political power. Even if she'd never use her powers like that, the fact that she could should have provided her some leverage." "Maybe she just didn't care?" Cozy suggested. "Crazy idea, I know, but some ponies don't actually care about holding dominion over others. They're the most annoying to manipulate." "She tried to conquer all of Equestria by herself because she was jealous of the power her sister wielded," Flurry countered. "I guess." There was a moment of silence as the two mares considered this conundrum. "Honestly, all the princesses are kinda weird, when you think about it. They basically become rulers because they were good at fighting, but now they actually have to rule." "Technically, Harmony chose them for their virtue." Both of them very pointedly did not mention Flurry herself. Cozy snorted. "Harmony made them alicorns, but they became rulers because they defeated the last person in charge. Might makes right and stuff. That's how it worked back then, before your time." "They've all made for satisfactory rulers, though," Flurry pointed out. "Harmony got lucky." Cozy turned to press a kiss against her lover's cheek. "Who cares about what the old guard think, anyways? They were from a different time, and things work differently now. When you become queen, it won't be because of a spell — it'll be because you won the hearts of everypony. That's what Luna couldn't do, and she was too weak or dumb to use her magic to force it." "I respect her adhering to her principles," Flurry said. "But you're right, I'm different from them. Still, I think there's a lot to be learned from the past." "Well, knock yourself out," Cozy replied. "Ask Luna next time you see her. You've got that privilege, so you might as well leverage every advantage you have." She gave her another kiss, wrapping her hooves around her neck as she leaned in to whisper in Flurry's ear. "Every single one." Flurry's horn lit up, and Cozy gasped as she felt her wings being softly stroked with magic. "Every one, huh?" "I want you to take every advantage of me you can, my future queen." With that, the two of them gave themselves up to their passion, forgetting the tapestry of stars above.
The Best Laid Plans"You know," Cozy said as she lay sprawled atop Flurry, using her as a blanket to keep herself from touching the damp grass beneath them. "There's something I always wondered. Did you plan all of this from the start?" "Hmm?" Flurry paused in her soft stroking of Cozy's mane. "Plan what, exactly? You know I always have many plots in motion." "Us falling in love." Cozy shifted and repositioned so that she could look Flurry in the eyes. "When you asked the other princesses to unfreeze me, were you planning on things ending up like this?" "Would you rather that I had or that I hadn't?" Flurry asked. "If our love had been planned, would it have made it any lesser?" Cozy shrugged. "Don't know, don't care." She pressed a kiss against her neck. "I just wanna learn more about your plans and how they play out. You know how much I love hearing you plot." "Fair enough." A moment of quiet as Flurry formulated her response. "Hmm, that wasn't the explicit goal, I would say. It certainly wasn't in the proposal I presented to reform you." Cozy snorted. "Yeah, that probably wouldn't have gone over well. Then again, you lied through your teeth in that proposal, so that doesn't count." "It doesn't," Flurry agreed. "I wasn't lying to you when I took you here to this hill the day we released you. I really did want your help becoming a ruler, and I meant it when I said you'd be a great vizier. That was the position I wanted to give you, at first. But there was more to it from the start." "I figured," Cozy said. "I'm the only person you actually tried to make devoted to you. I know how much you prefer to give people other things to devote themselves to, so I must have been a pretty special case for you to break that rule." "I couldn't think of anything else," Flurry admitted. "At least, that's what I told myself. You only cared about power, so I thought that I could only reform you by redirecting that devotion towards somepony who would become the most powerful being in the world one day. I knew I was taking a huge risk when I decided to make you obsessed with me, but I was convinced that it was the only way." "That does make sense," Cozy said. "I'm sensing a 'but' there, though." Flurry nodded. "But I can't deny that I was obsessed with you before I even had you unfrozen. I spent so long studying your first couple attempts to conquer Equestria, and all the different ways you tried to subvert the princesses for years after they released you the first time to try to reform you, wishing that I'd been old enough to understand what you were doing when you were doing it, instead of having to wait until we were both the same age." "I was pretty amazing," Cozy said, tilting her chin up in pride. "So you were obsessed with me, and didn't wanna admit you actually had a crush, so you made up that vizier thing to give yourself an excuse to hang out with me?" "Maybe." At Cozy's knowing smirk, Flurry sighed. "Alright, it's likely I had a huge crush on you and fooled myself into thinking that turning you was just a power play. It's amazing how dumb a pony can be at sixteen." "Well, we're nineteen now," Cozy pointed out. "We have a lot more wisdom, and control over our own thoughts. I don't think you'd make the same mistake today." "You have a point." Flurry's lips twitched up into a small smile. "We're adults now, and past making those foolish decisions." She leaned up to kiss Cozy. "Now I know exactly what I want, and how to get that from you." Cozy's eyes smouldered as she raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why don't you show me, then, Your Majesty." And so Flurry did, and so they both swore their love to one another once again, knowing that it had not been planned, but was destined nonetheless.
