Rules are rules, even for a princess.
Celestia may not have been the best actress, but she knew how to keep emotion from her face. Centuries of being a public figure had left a graceful smile on her face like a permanent scar, with only the slight changes to a thoughtful neutral face, or a mildly upset one for more extreme circumstances. Very rarely did she show her true face, her genuine emotions, to another pony.
This moment was uncomfortably close to one of those times.
Before her on a hard wooden chair sat a small pegasus filly. Her baby blue curls were disheveled, her pink coat and wings marred with dirt and scratches from her attempted escapes, and her red eyes cast down to the ground, refusing to look up. Cozy Glow had put up quite a fight as the Royal Guard had brought her to talk with the princess, but between the sheer number of soldiers and Flash Magnus giving them some actual training, her endeavors had been unsuccessful.
And now, Celestia had to "do something about her," as she had heard whispered among her subjects. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she began.
"You know why you are here, Cozy Glow."
The filly did not respond, continuing to stare at the ground.
"You tried to drain all magic from Equestria, guided by Tirek, and force the blame onto your peers by way of specism and misleading others. Highly unusual for a filly of your age, I must say."
Her voice betrayed her in the second sentence, showing a few notes of compassion. Celestia hated the fact that she had to consider this a mistake. She should never have had a reason to withhold grace and kindness from any of her subjects. And yet, here was her subject. The exception. Who still did not answer.
"How old are you again?"
Cozy finally replied. "Twelve." Her voice was empty and bitter. It felt like a knife through Celestia's heart.
The princess did not reply for a few moments, repressing her wave of despondency. With another deep, steadying breath, she continued.
"How is it that you came to be enrolled in the school of friendship?"
Cozy finally lifted her eyes from the floor, bringing her gaze to meet her ruler's. To Celestia's alarm, Cozy had regained the power-hungry lust she had caught a glimpse of when she had first arrived at the School of Friendship.
"I think it should be clear already why I was there. Power."
Hints of a smile crept onto Cozy's face; hints of fear made their way to the princess's expression. Nevertheless, the questions continued.
"But what about the legal processes of enrollment?"
"Wasn't that hard. It is outside of the EEA, after all. I just asked Twilight if I could attend and she said yes, basically."
"Did you stay at the school?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a home outside of school?"
"No. I just wandered for a few years."
This caught Celestia off guard. She hadn't known much about the filly, but she hadn't expected her to be homeless. And she certainly hadn't expected Cozy to be so nonchalant about this fact.
"What about your parents? Who are they?"
"Dunno." Again the filly answered, calm as ever.
Deep, steady breaths. More questions.
"Any other family members that you know of?"
"No."
"Have you ever looked for a home?"
"No."
"Where have you been staying?"
"Alleyways, under bridges, the usual stuff. And even your old castle, once."
Every time Celestia thought she had adjusted to Cozy's unexpected answers, another one hit that threw her a curveball.
"Where did you live as an infant? You couldn't have been alone your whole life-"
"Dunno, don't remember. Why are you asking me all of these questions?!" Cozy suddenly jumped up and stood on her chair, yelling at the princess.
Deep breath. "I'm trying to help you, Cozy."
"I don't need your help!" Celestia tried to say something but was cut off by her young subject. "I survived for seven years all by myself in Equestria! I learned things about magic that some scholars don't even know! I was the most powerful pony in Equestria, and I can get there again!"
Cozy finally stopped to breathe. Celestia took the opportunity.
"Yes, you were powerful, and you have great potential, and you hurt many ponies and other creatures due to your actions. And by law, that means you have to face severe punishment. Right now, you're looking at Tartarus."
Cozy seemed surprised by this. Good. Celestia had her attention.
"You are only a child, Cozy. You shouldn't have to be imprisoned. I'm trying to offer you a chance. That's why I want to find you a home. That's why I want to know about your family. I want to help you."
Cozy remained silent for a moment, gazing at Celestia.
"I don't need your help. Or want it."
Deep breath. Keep calm. "Why? Do you want to stay in Tartarus?"
Cozy grinned. "Yes. I think I'll like that very much."
Celestia could feel her heart breaking. Deep breath. Keep it together. "I don't think you really mean that, Cozy."
"I do."
Deep breaths. Stay in control.
Then she had an idea. An example she could use. Would it work? Could she convince Cozy Glow to stay and redeem herself?
Only one way to know. Deep breaths, stay focused.
"You know your guidance counselor, Starlight Glimmer?"
"Of course I know her," Cozy retorted impudently.
"Did you know she was a lot like you once? She also made some choices that were really bad and, well... she also came close to destroying Equestria."
"I knew that already. That's why I locked her up before doing anything else with my new power."
Deep breaths. Focus on the goal. "Do you know why she wasn't punished?"
"No. But I assume it's some friendship is magic nonsense."
"She apologized." Celestia lowered her voice to a gentle whisper. "That's all you have to do. We offer forgiveness to anypony—or anycreature—who is willing to accept it and work to not repeat their mistakes."
Cozy looked Celestia dead in the eyes. "You can't save me."
The two held eye contact. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
"Even if you did, it wouldn't change the past."
Celestia felt her public mask crack.
"I learned a lot at your old castle."
"Where is your sister, princess?"
A new pegasus guard whispered to Princess Luna as she readied the spell.
"I'm handling this one alone, this time." The spell was ready. Together, Luna and two guards stepped through the portal and left Cozy in her new cage in Tartarus. They returned to Canterlot quickly.
"Tell the others that my sister and I are retiring for the night." Luna teleported away the moment the portal vanished, leaving behind the guards standing confused at her abrupt departure.
Luna appeared in Celestia's room. Celestia was there, on her bed, hiding under multiple blankets.
"It's me, sister," Luna whispered, fighting back tears.
Celestia lifted her covers just enough to show her face; her eyes were red around the rims, and there were visible tear tracks on her cheeks. Wordlessly, she gestured for Luna to join her. Removing her regalia, an occurrence so rare that she barely remembered what it felt like, the younger alicorn climbed onto the bed and snuggled in next to her sister, who promptly pulled the covers back over their heads.
They stayed like that for a while, tears silently falling from their eyes and onto each other.
Luna broke the silence. "I wish we didn't have to remember."
"Me too."
"I wish there could be a place like this in the real world."
On slower nights, Luna liked to pop into Celestia's dreams to visit. Tonight, she had taken the liberty of transforming Celestia's dream into an endless landscape of fluffy clouds painted rosy by a perpetual sunset.
"I wish so too, sister," Luna remarked with a thoughtful smile, admiring her work before moving to sit beside her sister.
The two sat in silence for a while, simply enjoying each other's presence and the beautiful scenery around them. The younger princess's skill with the realm had developed greatly, and everything from the intricate details of the cloudscape to the gentle, warm breeze adding even more movement to their manes and tails, was perfect.
"How have you been holding up?" Celestia gently nudged her sister out of her reverie.
"Okay, I guess," Luna replied with a shrug. "Still, I would have rather not have been reminded of..."
She trailed off, swallowing the lump that had suddenly risen to her throat.
"Deep breaths, Lulu. Deep breaths." Celestia scooted closer to her sister, offering a single comforting wing, which Luna gratefully snuggled under, trying not to cry.
"It's been three weeks since Cozy's imprisonment," Luna mumbled into her sister's soft coat, shaking. "I should have moved past this by now."
"You spent a good few hours during those weeks holding me while I bawled my eyes out." Celestia gave a small, sad chuckle before nuzzling her sister and pulling her in even closer. Luna wrapped her own wings and hooves around Celestia, and the favor was returned fully. Ivory and deep koamaru intertwined, and all was calm.
For a few minutes.
Luna stiffened, then untangled herself from her sister.
"Nightmare?" Celestia asked.
"Nightmare," Luna replied. "Later, Tia." She left Celestia's dream to find the pony in need, taking great care not to disturb her atmospheric masterpiece. It had taken a lot of time and energy practicing the ability to sense a troubled dream while within another's, and it still wasn't perfected yet, but it was still helpful.
She arrived at the dream giving off the distress signal, and entered it, to find Starlight Glimmer in what seemed to be her guidance counselor's office. Only, everything was darker, more clouded, and voices echoed from every corner of the room. Starlight herself was hiding under her desk, covering her ears. But in mere seconds, the desk she had hidden under was cleared away, as were the rest of the surroundings.
Starlight, opened one eye slowly, then the other, before noticing the princess. "Oh, Luna! I'm so glad you're here!"
"Of course, my dear subject. Now, what seems to be the problem?"
Starlight opened her mouth, before closing it again without speaking.
"Go on," Luna prompted gently.
"It... it might sound weird, but..." Starlight fidgeted nervously.
"I have heard many weird things, trust me," Luna reassured. "Go on."
Starlight froze for about five more seconds, before blurting out "Is Cozy okay?" She froze again after the outburst, clamping her mouth shut.
Luna looked surprised at first, then a look of understanding spread through her face. "You shouldn't be ashamed that you worry about her. You and I are former villains ourselves." Starlight relaxed a bit at this but still looked up at the princess with wide, nervous eyes.
"Between calming the citizens of Equestria after their loss of magic, working with Chancellor Neighsay to rewrite the EEA codes, and aiding in research to make sure that there were no severe permanent effects of Cozy's scheme, my sister and I haven't had much time to think about Cozy herself. But once we have time, rest assured, we will figure something out. She won't be left in Tartarus her whole life; you have my word."
Starlight breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear it. She's only a filly. Fillies don't deserve to be imprisoned. Ever." She paused, noting an odd look on the princess's face that she couldn't read. "Um, Luna?"
Luna gave a slight jerk. "Oh, sorry," she shook her head slightly. "Anyway, yes. We will find a better solution."
"I can help, if you want," Starlight offered.
Luna thought it over for a moment. "Yes, if you could assist, that would be wonderful."
"All right," Starlight smiled. "So, I guess this means you're leaving then?"
"I guess so. Usually, I spend more times in ponies' dreams, but I guess we cleared this up pretty quickly." Lighting her horn, Luna left Starlight's dream and made her way back to Celestia's. Entering once more into the realm of clouds, she alighted once more next to her sister.
"That was fast," Celestia remarked. Luna retold the events of Starlight's dream to Celestia.
The two smiled, settling once more into a hug, this time sitting side by side with one wing each around the other, staring off into the plane of clouds.
"As long as we continue to have ponies who stand against child imprisonment, everything shall be quite alright, methinks," Luna said quietly.
"Oh, Lulu." Celestia laughed softly at her sister's rumination and the resulting sentence that still carried notes of the old royal Canterlot way of speaking.
Their silence was held for just a bit more before Celestia spoke again.
"Do you think he'll ask about it?"
Luna was confused, until the magic of sisterhood translated her message. "I hope not. I wouldn't have to explain it."
Celestia nodded in agreement. "If nopony else has to experience what we did at her hooves, I will be happy."
They shuddered together, before finally coming to rest in complete silence and stillness, until it was time to bring the dawn.
