No Sweeter Innocence

Cozy Glow wakes up to find a hoof around her throat.

Survival instincts, long dormant, kick in, and she begins to flail against her assailant. It's useless, of course, her limbs pawing pathetically at a foreleg that's stronger than any mortal's. Cozy opens her mouth to scream, but a weak, choking cough is all that comes out as she can't quite get enough air to survive.

Eyes as bright and blue as the empty skies stare down at her, clouded with rage. "They should have killed you years ago," Flurry Heart snarls, tears falling onto Cozy's chest, hot and wet and bitter. "The world would be better off with you dead. I would be better off with you dead."

As her brain grows more and more starved of oxygen, Cozy's struggles grow weaker, limbs going heavy until she can do nothing but choke, silently begging for mercy.

She receives it.

"I guess I am weak," Flurry mutters, looking away as she releases her grip on Cozy's life.

Cozy coughs and sputters, sending saliva flying onto the sheets as she gives herself a moment to let the oxygen in her blood flow back into her body and brain. Then, she carefully selects her next words.

"You are," she agrees, the words said without scorn. "But I told you I'd help with that, and I will." She forces a weak smirk onto her lips. "Even if you did just try to kill me."

"I... I'm sorry." There's guilt in Flurry's voice, but more than that, there's fear.

Cozy sits up, taking strength in Flurry's weakness. "Still think you're a good pony?" she asks smugly. When Flurry doesn't answer, she reaches to cup Flurry's chin, forcing the alicorn to look her in the eyes once again. "Do good ponies hurt people in their sleep when they're defenceless?"

Still, Flurry remains silent, and Cozy presses on.

"What, you're gonna nearly choke the life out of the mare you spent all night having sex with and then ignore her?" A thread of emotion enters her voice as she growls, "I want an answer, little snowstorm."

"I don't know!" Flurry wrenches her head away, her wings flaring out and knocking over a potted plant— long dead, of course. "I don't know," she repeats, taking in a shuddering breath. "I've been so confused for so long, and I thought I'd find the answer with you, but now I'm questioning everything." She glares at Cozy. "You're a bad pony, though."

"I know," Cozy replies.

"I hate what you did to me yesterday."

"I know."

"But I think I've been angry for a long time."

"I know."

Flurry's eyes widen at that. "Wait, how did you—?"

"You showed up to a bar to talk to a mare who tried to kill your whole family," Cozy explains. "Normal mares don't do that." She refrains from pointing out how normal teenage rebellion is, though.

"They don't understand," Flurry hissed. "I'm different." Power radiates from her body, making her point indisputable.

Cozy fills in the blanks. "They want to keep you in a cage," she finishes for her. "That's what they always do when someone ends up being special in a way they don't like. Yours is just a lot nicer than mine was."

Flurry's eyes narrow. "You think you're really good at reading ponies, huh?"

"You talked me into this whole thing, so you're not too bad yourself," Cozy replies, leaning upwards to give her a kiss. "It's good that you realized the anger thing, though."

"Yeah." Flurry nods to herself. "I hate feeling like this, but now I can start working on moving past it."

"Nah, it's great." Cozy uses Flurry's surprise to tackle her to the bed, putting herself on top. "Like, yeah, being angry can make you do dumb stuff, but I would never have gotten as far as I did if I wasn't pissed off at the princesses for being idiots. Being mad makes you do things."

"I almost killed you!" Flurry protests, squirming beneath Cozy. She doesn't fight back, though, allowing her lover to remain on top.

"And you stopped, because you were smart enough to know you still need me," Cozy lies. "But you never would have even tried killing anyone if you weren't mad, right?" When Flurry still looks uncertain, she goes in for the finishing blow. "You wanted to learn how to be the kind of ruler that your parents couldn't ever be, right?"

She sees the submission in Flurry's eyes long before the alicorn speaks. "So what's our plan for today?" she asks, and Cozy knows she has won.

"You have class, right?" Cozy glances at the calendar. Friday. "Where do you study, anyways? Some fancy private school near the palace?"

"Amore High," Flurry replies. "A public school for a princess of her people."

There's wisdom in that, but Cozy ignores it. "Right, because you're not special," she says mockingly. "You're just an alicorn princess who almost destroyed the Empire before you could even talk."

"Is there a purpose to your taunting?" Flurry asks, teeth gritted.

"Just that I think today's the perfect day for you to put that angry pony inside of you to good use." Cozy cups Flurry's hoof with a chin, holding her gaze. "Anyone in school pissed you off lately?"

Flurry takes a moment to think about her answer. "Golden Wish," she growls, her voice low, on the cusp of being sultry despite her best efforts. "She resents me for the circumstances of my birth, and likes to spread rumours about me when I'm not there. I've been told to be the bigger mare about it."

Cozy snorted. "Because they don't want any trouble. And you're the one who gets the short end of the stick." She slides off her perch on Flurry's body, flitting over to the edge of the bed and motioning for her lover to sit beside her. "So, how are we going to crush her under your hoof?"

Flurry rolls her eyes. "We?" she asks dryly. "Not sure how the principal will feel about a thirty-year-old mare showing up to deal with a bully. Unless you're ready for the two of us to have to go on the run."

The suggestion puts a smile on Cozy's face. "Aww, wouldn't that be romantic?" she teases, making Flurry blush. "The two of us riding off into the sunset, hoof in hoof, hopping from hotel to hotel and pretending that you're my little sister so they don't ask questions about why we only need one bed."

Cozy leans in closer, warmth and affection suffusing her tone. "Seeing all the sights like tourists instead of conquerors, chatting with other travellers like we're normal ponies. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Her lips draw closer to Flurry's, and she sees the response in the softness of her eyes.

On the cusp of a most tender kiss, Cozy roughly shoves her student away.

"So weak," she sneers. "I shouldn't have expected better from someone who needs an excuse to hurt another pony."

Flurry stares at her, her mouth open in shock and hurt. "You're horrible," she whispers hoarsely.

"And you want to end up just like me." Cozy nudges her playfully. "Don't worry, we'll get there. Now, take all that anger with you, and show this Golden Wish why you’re the better pony.”

Flurry closes her mouth, glares, but eventually nods. “Fine,” she says. “I’m going back to my room so nopony gets suspicious.”

“Tell me all about your sweet, sweet vengeance when you get back, alright?” Cozy dismisses her lover with a wave of her hoof, and Flurry vanishes in a flash of magic.

Only when she’s finally alone does Cozy let out a relieved sigh. And then, with a scream of incoherent rage, she smashes her hoof against the dresser, leaving a small dent even as she winces at the pain.

Flurry’s little stunt has reminded her that, no matter what dark thoughts she might find at the bottom of a bottle, she wasn’t so far gone as to end it all herself, would fight anyone who tried to do it for her.

Cozy Glow didn’t have many solaces left to her, and she was going to make Flurry pay for taking one more away from her.