Cozy Glow sat in a time-out room on the third floor of the School of Friendship, her wings bound to her body with velvet red straps to keep her from flying away.
The room was ridiculously juvenile in tone. It was full of bright colors, squeaky toys, boring puzzle games, and pictures of goofy-looking clowns that seemed to be mocking her. Cozy Glow glared at the clown pictures.
"I would love tear those stupid smiles off your faces", Cozy thought with annoyance.
On the walls were written dumb slogans like "believe in yourself" and "friends help friends". Its was like those idiot Bearers thought a few nice words could suddenly change a pony. It was enough to make Cozy sick.
But despite its cutesy appearance, the room had unusually effective security measures. Reinforced walls and an iron door to contain Earth ponies and other creatures with massive strength. Double-layer windows to prevent escape by airborne creatures, like pegasi and griffins. Magic-capturing charms built into the walls to block the use of magic by unicorns and other magic-wielding creatures.
This room was pretty powerful, despite its adorable appearance.
"Just like me," Cozy thought with some pride.
The reinforced door opened. Into the room trotted a Royal Guard, helmet and armor in all. He was a male Earth Pony stallion who was so large he looked like he could destroy a mountain with a stomp of his hoof. He had a light blue coat and bright green eyes. He removed his helmet, revealing a purple mane with streaks of blue running through it.
"Young mare," the stallion said in a stoic tone, "can you begin to understand the consequences your actions-"
"Oh, blah, blah, blah," Cozy said, interrupting the stallion, whose eyes moved slightly at the interruption. "I know what you're going to say: 'I violated the principles of Harmony', 'I misused the ideals of friendship', 'I broke everyone's trust'," she finished in a mocking tone. She let a smug grin form on her muzzle. "You're just jealous that this little filly did more in one week than you accomplished in your pointless little life."
If the stallion was annoyed at being belittled by the pink filly, he didn't reveal it. Most stallions would blow up at insults to their pride, but this one remained pretty calm, much to Cozy's surprise.
"These guards are pretty good with their emotions. I'll give them that," Cozy thought to herself.
"It is troubling that you consider the betrayal of your classmates and draining Equestria's magic to be an accomplishment," the guard said in a controlled tone. "My accomplishment is ensuring well-being of others. But then again, the well-being of others is something you never considered." Cozy rolled her eyes.
"Like I give a horseapple," Cozy said in a bored tone. She glared defiantly at the guard. "Go ahead. Make your dumb little speech about how I'll be punished and Harmony and all that junk. Anything to feel more important then you actually are. Then you can stick my not-sorry flank in Tartarus." This time, a ghost of a smile appeared on the stallion's face, before it returned to normal.
"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you," the guard said with some mockery, much to Cozy's annoyance. "You'd like us to stick you next to your good 'ol buddy Tirek. That way, you two can plan another takeover of Equestria. The Guards aren't foolish enough to do that. Besides, there are laws against imprisoning little fillies in Tartarus." Cozy Glow's eyes narrowed at the condescending way he used the word "little". "No, no," the guard said. "You don't get off that easily. Your punishment will be much more...severe."
"What could be worse then Tartarus," Cozy asked with amusement. "Oh let me guess," she said in a facetious tone. "I'm gonna have to write a three page friendship report about what I learned? No wait, I have to bake cookies and plan a party with the Pink Menace? No wait-," she paused her sarcastic tirade as a horrible thought came to her. Her arrogant demeanor was replaced by a more fearful expression.
"No, wait," Cozy said with some alarm. "Your not gonna-," she paused, seeing the guard's face. His silence said he would.
"Please don't do that," the filly said in a panic. The guard gave her an unimpressed frown. "Please don't do it!" The guard's eyes rolled. "Please don't tell her," she said, crying her eyes out. "I promise to be a good filly!" She let out sobs, but the stallion remained indifferent to her cries.
"Well as they say," he said, trotting out of the room, "if you don't want to do the time, don't do the crime." The door opened and slammed, leaving a panicking and shaken filly in the room.
Sweet Roll happily hummed to herself as she pulled the next trey of rolls out of the oven using her mouth. She then put whipped cream and cherries on them. She was a brown Earth Pony mare with pink eyes, a turquoise mane tied into a beehive, and she had a cutie mark with a baking pan.
"Here you are sweetums," Sweet Roll said in an overtly cheerful tone to a young pegasus colt at the register. "Here are your rolls, fresh from the oven."
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Roll," the colt said happily, taking the rolls in a pink box. "You're as sweet as your rolls!"
"No, you're the sweet one," Sweet Roll said kindly. "Little foals are just the sweetest thing ever," she said to herself. She looked at the clock.
"Oh no," she said. "I have to get things ready for the sweetest little roll of all," she said kindly, glancing at the picture of her daughter Cozy on the counter. She glanced at her co-worker, a lime-green mare of sour disposition.
"Oh, she told me about how her Friendship project would change the world," she said to the green mare, who was collecting a tray of baked goods. "Did I tell you that?"
"80 times," the mare said with annoyed indifference, which Sweet Roll didn't notice.
"Anyways, got to get my house ready for my little Cozy."
Sweet Roll trotted down the dirt path that led to her house. All the while, her neighbors greeted her with genuine joy.
"Hello Sweet Roll," said one neighbor.
"Hi," she said, waving her foreleg in a friendly matter.
"Hey Sweet," said another neighbor. "How is your little filly?"
"As sweet as my pastries," she said. They both let out a friendly chuckle. As she got to her porch, she noticed something odd: Cozy Glow standing in front of her house, while being watched by a blue royal guard.
"Oh," Sweet Roll said to herself happily, "If a Royal Guard is here, she must've done something worth remembering." She trotted up to the house.
"Cozy baby," Sweet Roll said. "How-," she paused when her daughter looked at her, not with the cheerful "Hello" and the happy buzzing of her wings, but with fear and panic. She noticed her daughter's wings were bound. She turned to the Royal Guard, who noticed her approach.
"Are you Sweet Roll?" the guard asked.
"Is there a problem, Mr. Guard," she asked the royal guard. She looked at her daughter. "Cozy, what happened?"
"Your daughter would like to tell you something," the royal guard said. Cozy sat there silently, unable to face her own mother.
"Cozy, what did you do?" Sweet Roll asked her daughter, her eyes narrowed. Cozy looked away. "Young mare, do you want to tell me what you did, or would you like me to find out myself?" Sweet Roll warned. Cozy Glow struggled to tell the truth.
"I-I," Cozy stammered. "I betrayed the School of Friendship and tried to takeover Equestria," she said and flinched, expecting a reaction. Instead all her mom did was give her a cold stare.
"You...you...did what," her mom belted out in a quiet tone. Her voice was like the gentle breeze that came before a brutal storm. Cozy knew when her mom was like this, you really screwed up. Cozy felt panic grow within her. She barely noticed the guard pulling off the straps that bound her wings.
"I'm sorry you have to deal with this ma'am," the Royal Guard said, betraying a lot of sympathy for the mare. "There are discipline programs if you're interested".
"I'll keep that in mind," Sweet Roll uttered, still giving her daughter a cold look.
"Good day ma'am," the guard said, before trotting away. He gave a cold look at Cozy. "And you keep out of trouble." He turned around and trotted away. Cozy Glow gave an awkward laugh.
"So, uh, mom," Cozy asked her uneasily with a sheepish smile. "How..are..thing-,"
"Quiet," Sweet Roll said to her daughter, who swallowed fearfully. The mare silently pointed to the opened door. Without a word, Cozy Glow trotted to the house in shame, her mother quietly shadowing her.
Cozy Glow got into the house, and then turned toward her mother, who silently closed the door. Her house and her mom normally gave her comfort, but now she felt scared and trapped.
"I can explain. I-,"
"You tried to overthrow the kingdom, committed treason, and lied to all of those nice ponies," Sweet Roll growled. Cozy Glow backing away, forgetting she could fly."What do you have to say for yourself, young mare?"
"I'm...sorry," Cozy Glow uttered, hoping it would help soothe her mother's anger.
"Well sorry isn't good enough," Sweet Roll said. "This time, I'm putting my hoof down." Cozy Glow shook, awaiting her punishment. "For one week...no Sapphire Shores records." Cozy Glow looked horrified by that.
"But mom," Cozy protested. "I love-"
"Do you want to make it two weeks," Sweet Roll warned. Cozy's protest died in her throat.
"Alright," Cozy Glow said, begrudgingly accepted her somewhat harsh punishment.
"Now go upstairs and think about what you did," Sweet Roll said, gesturing with her forehoof. Without a word, the Pegasus filly flew to her room, too ashamed to look at her mother.
Cozy Glow sat in her bed, stewing in her own guilt, when her mom burst in and sat down in her bed. Gone was the cold disappointment she showed earlier, but she was still annoyed. Still, Cozy didn't have to shrink away from her?
"Cozy," her mom said, her voice unhappy but not unforgiving, "can you tell me what you did wrong?"
"I lied to and manipulated everypony, tried to overthrow the government, and... trapped innocent ponies in Tartarus," Cozy Glow said.
"And," Sweet Roll said, lowering her left eyebrow.
"I tried to steal the magic of Equestria in my bid for absolute power," Cozy said uneasily.
"And?"
"I don't know?"
"It was the worst thing you did," Sweet Roll said.
"What could be worse than all that?" Cozy Glow asked.
"You embarrassed me!" Sweet Roll said in a shriek. Cozy Glow jumped at the tone. "How does it look when you arrive with your wings bound a Royal Guard? Huh. What do the neighbors think?" Cozy Glow pondered her words carefully, and her eyes watered.
"Mom," Cozy said, sounding genuinely remorseful. "I didn't know..."
"Because I'm your mom, everything you do reflects on me," Sweet Roll said, sounding even sadder. "Soon, everypony will be saying 'there's the mother of the filly who nearly conquered Equestria.' They'll say 'she was a terrible mommy'. I won't be able go anywhere now without somepony looking at me funny." Cozy Glow let out a few tears.
"Mom, I'm sorry," Cozy Glow, whimpering a bit. "I just thought ruling the world and destroying everypony would make you proud of me."
"I was already proud of you," Sweet Roll said. "But right now I am disappointed." Cozy Glow looked down in shame. Sweet Roll gently lifted up Cozy's head to face her.
"Just promise me you'll never try to subvert the political structure ever again," Sweet Roll said gently.
"I'll, I'll try," Cozy said.
"That's all I ask," Sweet Roll said. She then gave her little filly a hug, which Cozy promptly returned.
Cozy Glow sat at the kitchen table, packing up her saddlebag, getting ready to go back to the School of Friendship. She looked at her Mom with gratitude.
"Thanks for getting me back into the school," Cozy said.
"You'd be surprised how far a few delicious rolls and an apology can go," Sweet Roll said. She glanced at the clock. "OK, little filly time to go to school."
"By Mom," Cozy said, hovering out of her chair, and getting ready to leave the house.
"Wait," Sweet Roll said suspiciously. "I saw a red glow coming from your bag."
"What are you talking about," Cozy said with a fake smile. Sweet Roll just narrowed her eyes.
"Let me see your bag," Sweet Roll said firmly. Cozy forked over the saddlebag. Sweet Roll opened the bag, and a black amulet with a red gem fell out.
"What is this," Sweet Roll asked in a sly tone. Cozy considered a lie.
"It was a raffle prize," Cozy said. Sweet Roll narrowed her eyes more. "It is the...Alicorn Amulet."
"You weren't planning on using this for world domination, were you," Sweet Roll asked slyly.
"Got me again, Mom," Cozy said, before letting out a deep laugh. Sweet Roll herself began laughing too, and swept up her filly in a hug.
"You're such a silly filly," Sweet Roll said sweetly to her daughter. "Such a silly little filly."