Once Upon A Time...
“Mmm! This is some really good tea!”
As soon as she took that first careful sip, the hint of sweet cinnamon was the first thing to hit her tastebuds. The tan filly couldn’t help shuddering a little from the delightful flavor, but was fortunate enough to keep from spilling her cup on the lace tablecloth. Considering how ornate the tea set was, from its hoof-painted craftsmanship to the gold-lined rims, it almost seemed rude to use them in such a casual setting. But since the tea had just been freshly brewed, with steam still coming out from the pot’s dainty spout, it would’ve likely been ruder to let such a wonderful brew go to waste.
When the filly placed her cup back on its plate, she used her utmost care to ensure none of the vintage porcelain would be damaged. She had found that there were a total of eight teacups in the total set, which was a surprisingly high number to consider; but for this special occasion, only two of the cups were on the table and filled with the cinnamon brew. However, unlike the filly’s tea, it seemed that the other hadn’t been tasted yet.
“Is the tea too hot?” she asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side so her curly blue locks could drape over her shoulder. “I would’ve figured you would be more excited for the tea than I was. Hehehehe~”
Her cheerful smile was accompanied with a hoof over her pudgy muzzle, and a light blush to come up across her freckled cheeks. She picked up her cup for another sip, this time closing her eyes to better savor the subtler flavors. But alas, despite how pleased the filly looked, the older mare across the table looked very uncomfortable in her tiny seat. She tried her hardest not to squirm too notably, but her muzzle was twitching quite a bit as she tried to give a forced smile.
“Is… I-Is that so?” she asked in a feeble voice, which whimpered strongly enough to sound like she was about to cry. Just below her teal eyes, a couple faded lines went down her cheeks from the remains of her mascara that couldn’t be wiped away. Her purple mane was slightly disheveled, but it didn’t seem like the mare took much notice of that while staring back at her guest. A shaky breath came out of her muzzle, just before she pursed her lips tightly shut. Her nostrils flared out when she made an equally strained inhale, but she was able to reach her hoof out and take the handle of her cup. “A… Alright then…”
By that point, the filly was looking back at her again. She didn’t say anything, and merely smiled in wait to hear the mare’s opinion on the tea. Her tangerine eyes looked absolutely adorable with how big they were against her childish face; of course, the longer the mare took notice of those peering eyes, the more aware she became of how little they were blinking. She could see the large black pools of her irises slowly shrinking, almost as if she was narrowing her sights on her without lowering her eyelids a centimeter. And while the filly’s right hoof kept hold of her still-steaming cup, her left slowly began to lift up from the table.
“NNGHH!” The mare looked like she was about to gasp, but covered her reaction by bringing the cup straight to her muzzle. The porcelain may have been fragile, but it was pulled to her mouth quickly enough to nearly chip her teeth. Even though the tea was still scalding hot, the mare’s eyes clenched shut while forcing herself to take a couple hearty swigs of the brew. Her lead lurched forward the instant she felt that near-boiling tea go down her throat, and she had to cover her mouth while coughing hoarsely; a couple drops of tea spilled from her hoof and chin, splattering all over the lace cloth to stain its pristine white fabric.
“Oh no!” The filly gave a gasp of her own, and covered her mouth with both hooves when she saw the mess her guest made. She reached over to hand her a couple of napkins, her expression now showing a genuine look of concern. “Are you alright, Mrs. Rich? I tried to ask you if the tea was too hot.”
“Nnnnghhh…” The mare reeled back while rubbing her throat, her eyes clenched shut as she grimaced from how badly her tongue was stinging. Fortunately though, the tea wasn’t too hot to keep her from accepting the napkins with a reluctant hoof. When she finally reopened her eyes, the filly could see that they were almost as red as they had gotten earlier. But unlike last time, Spoiled Rich was fortunate enough to keep from crying when she finally looked back at her guest. “It… I-It’s alright. I… I’ll be alright, Cozy Glow…”
The filly gave a more natural smile, looking relieved that she wasn’t hurt too badly. Even though Spoiled looked far from okay, with her appearance becoming more frayed with each passing moment, Cozy’s response was merely to refill her cup with the teapot. “Well, at least I know you liked the tea,” she said with a cheerful giggle, not seeming to notice how much the mare’s muzzle was trembling. “You even drank your whole cup! Jeeze, I don’t think even I can do that when I become a grown-up.”
Spoiled tried to revive her smile as best as she could with a measly chuckle; unfortunately, when Cozy looked back at her, the mare’s expression looked as saccharin as the packets of fake sugar beside the teapot. After Spoiled had her cup refilled, Cozy decided to top off her own before placing the pot back in the center of the table. But instead of going to take another sip, the filly let her cup cool down while staring back at the mare more directly.
“You know,” she began in a formal tone of voice, while her eyes continued to peer at Spoiled with odd insistence, “you don’t have to look so scared, Mrs. Rich. I already promised you that nothing would happen while we had this tea party. Didn’t I say that?”
The filly’s hooves rested on the edge of her side of the table, gripping it tightly enough for the whites to be seen by Spoiled. Even though that sort of action would warrant concern for most adults, Mrs. Rich was able to breathe out more clearly before nodding her head. As she tried to collect herself, Spoiled struggled not to veer her eyes away from the filly at any cost. Even though she was looking visibly distressed, Cozy’s unblinking eyes remained pinned on her without the slightest change in intensity.
“Y-Yes,” said Spoiled after another calming breath. “You… Y-You did tell me that.”
“That’s right,” answered Cozy with a single nod, her voice becoming firmer than it had been previously. “And even though I completely understand your worries, I also know how important it is to keep a promise. It was actually one of my most recent lessons at the School of Friendship.”
“Hmmm…” Mrs. Rich tried to nod her head with an insightful hum, like she was feigning a positive response to Cozy’s detail. “That’s nice to hear.”
“It really is…” Cozy went to take another sip from her cup, but it was much briefer than her previous ones. Not to mention, her eyes remained open to stare at Spoiled, like she was expecting her to do something following that statement. Luckily for the mare, she was able to keep herself from moving an inch in her uncomfortable chair. Meanwhile, Cozy waited until placing her cup back on the plate to continue speaking. “Speaking of lessons…”
The inflection in Cozy’s voice carried a much sharper tone with that last word. Spoiled may have not known what the filly meant, but the words accompanied with that unwavering stare was more than enough to make her tense up tightly in her seat. Cozy could see her eyes darting over to the filly’s left for a split-second, only to clench tightly shut alongside her whimpering muzzle. As a weak and shaky breath came out through Spoiled’s nostrils, a couple of tears could be seen welling at the corners of her eyes.
“... as I was trying to say,” stated Cozy, whose smile remained disturbingly sweet in comparison to her sterner voice, “I’m honestly quite glad you reminded me of that. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why I insisted on having this tea party…”
For the first time since the tea was brewed, Cozy Glow glanced away from her guest to peer down at the item beside her chair. Considering how beautiful the aged teacups and drapery looked on the table, seeing the presence of such a bulky piece of metal and plastic on the floor was a little jarring. But at the same time, Cozy was happy that the power tool was there, mostly to ensure that their tea party wouldn’t end too soon. Part of her wanted to reach a hoof down, just to touch the rubber handle for a moment and envision feeling its full weight. However, since she already knew how heavy that nail-gun actually was, Cozy left it be so she could return her attention to Spoiled Rich.
Her pause lasted only a second or two, but it was more than enough to make the mare shudder silently when Cozy wasn’t looking. But the moment those bright orange eyes laid back on her, the pupils much smaller than they previously were, Spoiled could feel her body locking up like a bout of sleep paralysis. If the mare wasn’t feeling so petrified, she would’ve tried to say something in an attempt to alleviate the tension. Fortunately though, Cozy was the first to restart their discussion without interruption.
“Do you remember the first time we met, Mrs. Rich? I would be surprised if you didn’t, but I just wanted to be sure.”
Spoiled’s forced smile finally went away, and was replaced with a trembling frown heavy with guilt. Her eyes clenched tightly shut as she tried to keep herself from sobbing. But even as the mare struggled with her strained breaths, her hooves clutching the bottom of her chair to keep herself still, Cozy Glow continued to stare with that unwavering smile. After a long bout of uncomfortable silence, the only response Spoiled Rich could give was a feeble nod of her head to that question.
“Yes, that’s right,” said Cozy, her voice remaining calm like she was one of her teachers answering a basic question in class. “I was going around introducing myself to ponies in town. You know, something that Princess Twilight Sparkle herself suggested new ponies like me should do. And in most of those cases, ponies were really polite and friendly to me…”
During her pause Cozy’s eyes finally narrowed on Spoiled Rich. Even though her smile was still present, the tightening of her lips made it clear that she needed a moment to bite her tongue. Meanwhile, the mare herself wasn’t able to say a word while frozen in her seat. When Cozy finally relaxed her muzzle enough to re-part her lips, her stare on Spoiled remained just as focused as a venomous snake eyeing a threat. “... But when I rounded that street corner, I accidentally bumped into you.”
Spoiled Rich clenched her eyes shut, and lowered her head to keep from seeing the glare Cozy was concealing through her “casual” smile. The whimpered breaths through her nostrils became more rapid, but she wasn’t able to pull up her hooves to wipe her eyes. Because of that, a couple of tears finally went down her cheeks again, taking the exact same trail that the faded mascara left behind. Cozy Glow didn’t pay any heed to how shameful her guest was looking; instead, her head gave a curious tilt before she asked, “Do you remember what you called me that day, Mrs. Rich?”
“I’m sorry,” she whimpered in an instant, her eyes clenching even tighter as more tears fell. “I’m sorry for what I said, Cozy. I… I-I-I was having a stressful day and--”
“MRS. RICH…”
Her head reeled back up with a sudden gasp, mostly due to Cozy Glow raising her voice. When she looked back at the filly, Spoiled breathed out with a mortified sob the moment she saw Cozy’s wide-eyed stare back at her. The nail-gun was now in the tight grip of her hoof, with the metal tip pointed down at the floor beside their table.
Fortunately for Spoiled, her daughter was still too unconscious to feel it pressing up against the back of her head.
“DO. YOU. REMEMBER?”
Spoiled couldn’t bear seeing Cozy in her threatful stance, and continued to sob while her eyes were closed again. She tried her hardest not to lower her head, just in case the filly was sick enough to pull the trigger again. The studs of several nails were still sticking up from the pink carpet, mere inches from Diamond Tiara’s lavender mane sprawled across the floor. But before Cozy could make her threat a reality, Spoiled’s whimpering muzzle opened up to speak in a very weak voice. “Y-Yes. I… I remember…”
Cozy Glow didn’t pull her nail-gun away from Diamond’s head. Instead, her head tilted in the other direction while keeping her deathly stare on the mother. “Would you mind repeating that statement for me? I’d rather not swear in front of a grown-up.”
With the way Spoiled Rich’s frown widened, and how badly her sobbing intensified, Cozy wouldn’t have been surprised if she told her Filthy Rich’s bank account number if she asked. But for the sake of this “tea party,” Cozy was content with hearing the mare repeat her inappropriate remarks. She wasn’t sure how long it would take for Spoiled to actually comply, but she was patient enough to keep from pressing down on the trigger. Meanwhile, Spoiled had to refrain from staring back at the twisted filly by the time she finally answered her.
“I… I…” Spoiled took a shuddering breath before she could continue, her expression carrying the deepest look of remorse Cozy had ever seen. “I called you a… a w-worthless little bitch…”
Cozy’s eyes remained half-lidded on the mare with a look of pure, unabashed malice that burned through those orange irises; but as for her smile, it relaxed enough to widen with a more contented look. “A worthless. Little. Bitch.”
Spoiled’s face tensed up with her eyes tightly shut, almost as if she was anticipating hearing another blast from Cozy Glow’s fatal tool. But luckily, only silence came following the filly’s repetition of her cruel words. After only another moment, Cozy Glow carefully rested the nail-gun back on the ground, just as she had done with her teacup. She then took another sip from her tea, now being able to take a larger gulp after the brew had cooled down. “Aaaahhhh… This is honestly the perfect temperature for me.”
Cozy Glow finished her cup of tea, and went to get another refill while Spoiled Rich was struggling to calm herself down. Even though she was eternally grateful for the sake of her daughter, Spoiled was shocked she didn’t piss herself in her seat after that terrifying interrogation. But even as the carpet beneath her remained bone-dry, her cheeks were still matted from her copious tears. She took a couple deep breaths while staring down at Diamond, silently praying to Celestia that she wouldn’t wake up too soon.
“Don’t worry, I triple-checked the dosage I gave her,” insisted Cozy with a more cavalier smile on her face. “She’ll be out for at least another couple of hours. I wasn’t even in the room with her when she took it, so she wouldn’t have any idea I was involved anyway.”
Due to how confidently Cozy gave that assuring statement, Spoiled wanted to be relieved for her child’s sake. After all, since Diamond was knocked-out with enough tranquilizers to take down an elephant, it was doubtful she would be a witness for any of the horrible things transpiring. It also meant that she couldn’t identify Cozy Glow as the perpetrator, thus leaving her safe from any future vendettas. Unfortunately, that also meant that Diamond’s mother was the only target Cozy had at the moment. And from the way her stare lingered on Spoiled, there was no doubt that she had multiple gears turning in her head for more sinister ideas.
“So with that all being said…” Cozy put the teapot back in its place, and returned to their earlier discussion while her tea cooled down. “I just want you to know that I’m not mad at you. In fact, I can freely admit that I’ve had my moments of anger myself, so I completely understand if you really were having a bad day.”
She giggled a little with a hoof over her mouth again, almost like she was trying to bring their little talk back on more casual grounds. But unlike before, Spoiled’s response looked to be just as cold as the tea that remained untouched in her cup. The mare tried to take some breaths to give a more neutral expression, but it was hard for her to look anything close to that while her face was still wet from her tears. But from Cozy’s perspective, the sight of her looking so unsettled was still a step-up from how she was acting in public.
“Not to mention,” continued Cozy as she rolled her eyes with a shrug, “it’s not like what you said was the worst thing an adult ever said to me.”
Upon hearing that detail, Spoiled struggled to breathe in deeply before asking, “Is… I-Is that so?”
Cozy’s brows perked up for a moment, seemingly surprised that the mare was willing to continue their talk. But at the same time, she grew a more pleased smile before nodding her head. “Mmhmm. I never really told anypony about what happened, buuutttttt…”
The filly took that moment to glance back down at the unconscious Diamond, as well as the nails still sticking up from the floor. Considering how powerful her nail-gun was, it was surprising that the six-inch spikes weren’t able to pierce into the ground completely before stopping at the base. But despite that little detail, Cozy wasn’t looking too bothered by it when she looked back at Spoiled. “... Since this is strictly a private tea party, I’m willing to trust that you’re alright with keeping whatever I say a secret.”
Cozy’s casual smile didn’t change at all when she made that inflected remark. However, she made sure that Spoiled saw her left hoof moving a little closer to the edge of her table. “RIGHT?”
“Y-Yes!” she blurted the instant Cozy asked for clarification. She even threw her hooves up to add in sincerity, “I-I swear, I won’t say a word! I SWEAR!”
“Okay, okay,” said Cozy with a more calming voice. She had her hooves raised as well, using them to motion for Spoiled to settle down. “It’s alright, I believe you. You don’t have to worry, Mrs. Rich. I trust that you’re thinking with the best intentions right now.”
Cozy Glow may have not motioned her head down to Diamond, but her inflection was enough for Spoiled to understand the context. The mare was quick to nod her head in response, even as her muzzle tightened up again in dread. When Spoiled Rich relaxed back in her seat, Cozy’s smile became more natural with a look of gratitude. “Thank you. Now then…”
She went to take another sip of her tea, but winced a little when she felt the temperature was still too hot to enjoy properly. Because of that, the tea was placed back down to cool some more. “What was I talking about? Oh right… What that other adult said to me…”
A deep, shivering breath escaped Spoiled’s muzzle as she carried a fearful expression. She had no idea who Cozy was referring to, but she couldn’t imagine that their predicament was any better than her own. However, with her daughter still lying on the ground unconscious, she wasn’t willing to interrupt Cozy Glow as she continued with her story.
“Before I moved to Ponyville,” began Cozy, who leaned forward on the table so her elbows could rest on top of it, “I grew up in a little orphanage just outside of Baltimare. I have no idea who my real Mom and Dad are, so the only parental figure I had was the director of the place. She was this big, burly mare named… Šarlote Petite...”
Spoiled Rich blinked a couple times after hearing that name. She could’ve sworn she heard it before, but she had no idea specifically where. But before the mare could recall where she had heard of a name as peculiar as Šarlote, Cozy took a deep breath as she went deeper into her tale:
“She… She was a terrible pony…” For the first time, Cozy’s smile finally went away to reveal a slight pout of disdain. “As soon as any adults left the place. You know… potential parents, child protective services, custodial staff, ponies like that… She treated us like we were dogs.”
Cozy’s expression morphed to a stronger grimace, with her hooves clutching the edge of her table more tightly. “All those nights without a proper meal… All the days spent scrubbing floors with our toothbrushes… All the times we were forced to lie about the bruises…”
Spoiled Rich’s eyes began to widen, seeing that whatever Cozy went through was much darker than anything she would’ve guessed from a student at Twilight’s academy. But at the same time, the mare had a bad feeling that this backstory was never known by the Princess herself. But as the mare sat in silent contemplation, Cozy breathed in with her eyes tightly shut to keep from snapping.
“But on one night,” she said with an especially cold voice. “One night, she… she found me when I was trying to escape… I expected her to hit me again, but… All she did was pull me into her office alone…”
Cozy finally reopened her eyes, making sure to stare directly at Spoiled so she was still paying attention. “She pulled up a pile of folders, showing me just how many pairs of parents had applied to adopt me over the years. And as she held up all those smiling faces, she stared me down and said right to my face… ‘I’ve rejected every single one of these applications, and I’ll make sure to keep that going until you’re eighteen’...”
Cozy reeled her head back to take another calming breath, which was basically a sharp inhale while her eyes were clenched shut. Spoiled remained stoic in stunned silence, unsure of what she could say to a statement so callously cruel. She had no idea how genuine Cozy's story may have been, since there was a perfectly good chance she was making it all up; heck, Spoiled wouldn’t have been shocked if it turned out the filly was living with her biological parents just up the street. But for the sake of her daughter’s well-being, Spoiled could only listen while her tea got even colder.
“It… It took me a long time to look past that moment,” said Cozy in a more morose tone, her muzzle pointed downward very briefly. But when she pulled her head back up, she was quick to change her expression once more. Instead of a sincerely saddened pout, Spoiled’s pupils began to shrink when she saw how suddenly it changed to a coy little smirk. “But luckily for me… I was able to figure out the perfect way to make her learn her lesson.”
Cozy let that last statement linger in the air, and went to take a couple more sips of her tea. Spoiled was still unsure of who that Šarlote pony may have been, but her eyes were still pinned on the filly in growing dread. Unfortunately, the sight of the mare’s distressed look only made the filly’s smile widen more.
“Interestingly enough, despite how mean she may have been, she actually did take care of a lot of children as the director. She even managed the infants all by herself, and had her personal apartment right next to the nursery ward to be there at all times. She may have treated the older kids horribly, but she never hurt the foals that were brought in. I guess in her eyes, she saw them as still being ‘worth’ something. Meanwhile, the rest of us were all left upstairs to fend for ourselves most of the time.”
Cozy went to finish her tea, taking a moment to stare into the empty cup. Instead of getting more from the teapot, she rested it back on the little plate for the time being. Because of that, Cozy was able to better rest her elbows on the table, while holding her hooves together beneath her chin. “But about a month after that little… incident… Our orphanage was given a lot of money from a generous donation by Celestia herself. She even included tickets to Canterlot, so that all the older kids could spend a week in the city. Šarlote wasn’t able to refuse the offer, so she allowed for some temporary staff to serve as chaperones for the trip. I was supposed to go with them, but…”
That was when Cozy’s eyes looked upward, emphasizing the “innocence” of her cheeky little shrug. “While everypony was being loaded on the train, I made sure my ticket was processed before sneaking off. I may have been young, but my wings were good enough for me to fly back to the orphanage by myself. Meanwhile, Šarlote Petite was set to look over the orphanage completely on her own, with nothing but all those foals to keep her company.”
Spoiled Rich’s eyes widened in an instant, and was accompanied with a gasp that was just as faint as it was mortified. Even though the name hadn’t stuck before, the mention of foals gave an instant realization about who Šarlote Petite was. She had read about the tragedy in several headlines over the course of several weeks, and was marked as one of the worst incidents in Baltimare’s history. But even with how horrified she may have looked, not a word was able to spew from Spoiled Rich’s dropping muzzle.
“I take it you heard about that, right?” Cozy Glow’s eyes narrowed with a more sinister smile on the mare across from her. “I’ll admit, it’s kinda surprising that no other staff were around during that time. Like, can you imagine only having one pony on staff for an entire week? That’s kinda irresponsible if you ask me. In fact, all that I was planning to do was push her down those stairs, and maybe kill her instantly in the process. I mean, can you really blame me for wanting to get rid of her so quickly?”
Considering what had actually happened, Spoiled was looking too terrified to even shake her head in response. Cozy didn’t seem to mind her shocked state, as judged by the content grin that remained across the filly’s face. But as she continued, her eyes narrowed on the mare to match her delighted tone of voice. “Of course… when I made some noise to lure her up those stairs, and then managed to knock her down alllllll the way to the ground… all that I ended up doing was breaking three of her legs. The fourth one was still twitching a little, but… well, the fact that her spine snapped probably kept her from using it too well. Hehehehe~”
Spoiled Rich’s breathing grew more rapid, and her head reeled back from the filly after hearing that sadistic giggle. Meanwhile, Cozy kept going while leaning forward in her chair, and leering at the pony before her. “And just as I was about to head down the stairs and finish the job, do you know what happened?”
Even though the mare was too petrified to speak, she gave the briefest shake of her head in an attempt to keep Cozy from getting any closer.
“Welllll…” Cozy Glow was still leaning forward, but that new vantage prompted her to notice something lying on the ground to the right of them. Her eyes refused to look away from Spoiled, but her right hoof reached down to pick up one of Diamond’s most cherished toys. It was an old foal doll, that was worn and well-used enough to have one of the button eyes drooping from its face. But when Cozy Glow rested back in her seat with the doll, and pulled on the string attached to its back, she was fortunate enough to hear the weak and choppy recording of a baby’s cry through the plush padding.
‘Waaaaahhhhhh… Waaaaaaahhhhh…’
“Hmph~” Cozy Glow’s scoff was accompanied with a shamelessly wide smile back at her guest. “That’s funny. The moment that Šarlote rolled down those stairs like a ragdoll, I heard over a dozen of those cries coming from the nursery.”
That revelation caused Spoiled Rich to clutch her hooves over her muzzle. Fresh tears were starting to stream down her cheeks once more, while her expression showed the purest look of horror in her bulging eyes.
“I can still remember how loudly she tried to scream for help,” continued Cozy, not caring one bit about how terrible her admission sounded through her evil grin. “She never saw who pushed her, so she had no idea it was me. All she could do was beg for somepony to check on the foals, since nopony was scheduled to show up until the end of the week. She was even crying by the time I left from the upstairs window. Straight-up bawling like a little foal…”
Cozy couldn’t keep herself from withholding her demented snicker, or the amused shake of her head during her brief pause.
“... Just like all those foals she couldn’t reach.”
Spoiled Rich was now trembling in her seat, unable to fathom how such a young filly could do something so sick. In every publication that came out about the tragedy, it was reported that the fall was purely an accident. Much like every soul that was neglected and taken behind those nursery doors, Šarlote Petite was found a week later exactly where she landed, unable to move an inch from her incoming demise. But worst of all, since she was reported to have died of dehydration, that meant that she was the last pony to hear all those cries before they eventually stopped.
“She lived her entire life hurting ponies without remorse, just because they couldn’t fight back or get any help.” Despite having admitted to being the cause of dozens of casualties, Cozy Glow’s smile on Spoiled remained as casual as if she was telling a lighthearted joke. “The only thing I did was ensure that she died doing that exact same thing.”
Spoiled Rich lurched forward in her seat, clutching her eyes shut to keep from throwing up. But as the mare tried to stifle any muffled gags from breaching her hooves, Cozy finally pulled herself out of her chair. She picked up her nail-gun, which was nearly a third the filly’s petite size. But even with how bulky the tool looked, it wasn’t heavy enough to keep Cozy from hovering up in the air with her fluttering wings. Spoiled gasped when she felt the wind brushing against her pink fur, and she reeled back with her tearful eyes wide-open. But alas, even with how quickly the mare tried to react, she wasn’t fast enough to keep Cozy’s nail-gun from pressing up against her forehead.
Cozy Glow was no longer smiling. Her eyes were as wide as Spoiled’s, but were also carrying a glare as venomous as any villain the Elements of Harmony had ever faced. The filly had a deathly livid expression on the mare, while her hoof tightened the slightest bit over her trigger.
“You know what I’m capable of doing. And you know that I won’t have any remorse if I do it.”
Spoiled Rich’s eyes struggled to stay open, and her painful wince was accompanied with several sobs as she cried before the filly’s power tool. From where Cozy Glow was hovering, she could see that Spoiled was already anticipating that nail to drive through her skull in an instant. But as the seconds passed, and the mare’s terrified sobbing continued on, Cozy waited with her eyes burning intensely down on her. Her nostrils flared out, and she took a deep breath before giving her last statement:
“If you treat anypony like you had with me, I WILL find out. And if you tell anypony about this talk, I’ll make sure Diamond Tiara sees it happen.”
Spoiled Rich was still convulsing with tears and snot dribbling down her face, looking absolutely inconsolable before the psychotic filly. But despite her distressed state, the mare was quick to nod her head frantically in understanding. Because of that, Cozy Glow’s vengeful glare instantly turned to a cheerful smile. “Great!~”
She finally pulled the nail-gun away from Spoiled’s head, and landed back on the plush carpet like nothing had happened. Spoiled Rich remained pinned atop her tiny chair, shivering like she was just dropped into the Frozen North. Her face looked to be as pale as the ornate tea set that was left untouched on the table, with nothing able to come out of her clenched muzzle. And as the mare sat in pure mortified shock, Cozy Glow left the mother and her unconscious daughter with a chipper stride in her step. “Thanks for the tea, Mrs. Rich! Have a great day~”
By the time Cozy reached the ground floor of the mansion, she could already hear Spoiled Rich’s bawling cries echoing from upstairs. Fortunately, since all the Rich family’s staff were out for the day, Cozy wasn’t too worried about the mare drawing any unneeded attention towards herself. Instead, she left Spoiled to sob in her daughter’s room, most likely trying to wake up Diamond Tiara and make sure she was okay. And as she walked out the back door, making sure to lock it with the same lockpick she used to break in, Cozy was happy to hear nothing but silence by the time she was back outside.
“Aaaaaahhhhhh…” The filly gave a pronounced stretch while sighing in contentment, feeling really good about how she handed such a situation. Back in Baltimare, she likely would’ve gone through with pulling the trigger without feeling a shred of regret. But since she’s enrolled at the School of Friendship now, Cozy hoped that her use of their lessons was enough to help polish her technique. “Well,” she said with a smile to nopony in particular, “hopefully that bitch will start acting decent for a change.”
Before she left the property, Cozy Glow made sure to wipe down the nail-gun with a cloth after placing it back in the toolshed. She then flew back up into the Equestrian skies, a wide smile on her face as she went to continue her day.
The End