No Sweeter Innocence

"I shouldn't be here. Flurry's going to be so mad when she finds out."

Cozy shrugs, taking a sip from her coffee. "She doesn't have to know," she says, addressing the unicorn sitting across the table.

Luster Dawn snorts. "See, unlike you, I actually value honesty in my relationships. I'm going to tell her everything the moment I get out of here." She doesn't bother to hide her contempt as she asks, "So, why did you even want to meet with me?"

Cozy takes it all in stride. "I heard that Flurry had a marefriend, and I wanted to see what she was like. Also, I figured Flurry would've talked about me, so I wanted to explain—"

"Not interested," Luster cuts her off with a wave of her hoof. "Not unless you're gonna say she mind-controlled you into doing all that stuff to her."

"Fine," Cozy huffs. "Can you at least tell me if she's doing okay?"

Luster's expression softens for a moment. "She's doing better." The pain in her voice is mirrored in Cozy's heart. "Still has nightmares sometimes, but they're less frequent these days. She's still taking a break from being in the public eye until she's done getting her degree, though."

Cozy perks up at that. "Oh, I'm also studying—"

"Don't care," Luster says again, voice growing even colder. "Look, I'm not here to make friends with you. Honestly, I'd have been happier if I never met you. I only came here for two reasons. First, Princess Twilight taught me that no one deserves to suffer, and I figured knowing Flurry was doing better might, I don't know, make you feel less terrible or something."

"It does," Cozy replies softly. "Thanks for telling me,"

"Don't mention it." Luster leans forward, glaring at her. "Ever. The other reason I came here was to tell you to stay away from Flurry. She'll contact you if she wants. Otherwise, she doesn't owe you anything, and I'm not going to let you hurt her again because you want forgiveness or something."

Cozy holds her ground, despite the raw hatred radiating with Luster. "Fine. But if she reaches out..."

"She's my marefriend, not my property," Luster says pointedly. "I won't stop the two of you from reconnecting if that's what she wants. But I won't just let you waltz back into her life because you're reformed or something." She stands up, leaving her drink on the table. "So, are we done?"

Cozy nods. "Yeah. Thanks for talking, anyways."

Luster Dawn walks away without saying a word.

Cozy lets out a sigh as she downs the last of her coffee in one fell swoop. The warmth of the drink does little to drive out the cold in her heart, but it distracts her at least.

"Well, that could have gone better," she says to the disguised alicorn approaching to her left.

"Indeed," Luna replies. "But it could also have gone far worse."

"This redemption business sucks," Cozy grouses, standing up as she leaves her drink to waste away under the Sun. "I miss when I didn't care about anything ever."

Luna smirks. "You are not alone in those thoughts. Still, did you receive the closure you hoped for?"

"I guess," Cozy mutters before looking up at the Princess of the Night. "I'm really never going to see her again, huh?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Luna replies. "But 'tis true that it is not for you to decide."

Cozy sighs. "Yeah, yeah. I just. I dunno what I would even say to her. 'Sorry' doesn't seem like enough."

"There are likely no words that would make up for what you've done to her," Luna says bluntly. "But, that you would try to find them still means something, even if not to her." Her expression softens. "Come, we would not want to be late for your evaluation."

"Ugh." Cozy sticks her tongue out even as she begins to make her way towards the Palace. "You all know that I know how to say all the right words on those anyway. Why even bother?"

"Your will to attend and maintain the charade says much by itself," Luna replies.

"If it makes you feel better about your rules, sure, let's go with that." Still, Cozy finds herself dutifully trotting along. Maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't, but Cozy needs to believe in something, so she resigns herself to telling a bunch of ponies that she's better, that she wants to help instead of hurt, and to make up for her past.

And maybe, one day, she'll realize that she's been telling the truth all along.

Cozy Glow thinks she would like that.