The other Alicorns waited in the throne room of the castle.
"We came as quickly as we could!" Twilight told them. "Is something wrong? Is it Tirek?"
"I'm afraid I put too much trust in Discord and the effect that friendship would have upon him." Princess Celestia regretfully informed.
"Wait, you mean he's back to being evil?" Atticus asked.
"I'm afraid it appears that way," Princess Celestia replied. "Discord has betrayed the ponies of Equestria and joined forces with Tirek."
"No!" Atticus let out a strangled gasp.
"How could he do this?!" Twilight frowned, both hurt and angry with the draconequus. "I thought our friendship meant something to him! I thought he had changed."
"Tirek has stolen enough magic that he now has the strength to steal flight as well," Princess Celestia frowned. "Without Pegasi to control the weather, there will be no rain in Equestria. There is word he has gone after Earth ponies as well. Without their strength, they will not be able to tend the land."
"And I'm guessing he's coming here next, right?" Atticus asked.
"We're fearing that," Princess Luna nodded as it seemed highly likely. "Ponies will no longer be in control of their world. That power will belong solely to Tirek."
"With Discord by his side, we will not be able to stop him from taking it." Princess Celestia added.
"Once it is in his possession, his power will know no bounds, and all hope will be lost." Princess Luna said.
"But there is one solution," Princess Celestia added. "It is only by making this sacrifice that Equestria and the lands beyond it might be saved. We must rid ourselves of our magic before Tirek has the chance to steal it from us."
"You mean transfer you magic to somepony?" Atticus asked.
"Yes, Tirek is set on possessing Alicorn magic," Princess Luna nodded. "When he comes for us, we cannot have what he is looking for."
"I'm more than willing to do my part and give up my magic." Twilight replied, trying to sound brave and glorious.
"You misunderstand," Princess Luna told her. "Our magic cannot just disappear into thin air. Somepony must keep it safe."
"Or someponies." Cadence added.
"Like who?" Atticus asked.
"Those somponies are you, Twilight and Atticus." Cadence replied.
"Me too?" Atticus asked in surprise. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, why us?" Twilight added.
"We do not believe that Tirek is aware that other Alicorns than us exist in Equestria," Princess Celestia replied. "If we transfer our magic to you, Tirek will not know where it has gone."
"Do you understand what we're asking of you?" Cadence gently asked.
"Yes, we understand." Atticus nodded.
"Yes... It's just..." Twilight sighed as she looked back to her wings. "I'm only now learning how to control my own Alicorn magic. To take on even more-"
"Twilight, you represent the element of magic," Cadence told her sister-in-law. "If there is anypony who can do this, it's you, and Atticus will be right there to help you."
"She's right." Atticus smiled.
"Taking on this task will be one of the most difficult things I'll ever do, but with the help of my other friends-" Twilight soon replied.
"I'm sorry, Princess Twilight, but you must keep your new abilities a secret," Princess Celestia told her student. "I fear that your friends being aware of your new power could put them at great risk. Do you still think you can take on this responsibility?"
Twilight soon tried to look brave and confident. "This is the role I am meant to play as a princess of Equestria! I will not fail to do my duty!"
"Then we must begin at once." Princess Celestia declared.
'Here we go.' Atticus thought to himself.
The three older Alicorns soon joined together to begin the process. They each shined their horns and their eyes glowed pure white before a bright light formed in the center, and the magic divided while surging into Atticus and Twilight.
'Whoa, I've never felt this much magic.' Atticus thought to himself.
The other Alicorns looked weakened from donating their magic. Twilight soon ran up to Princess Celestia and gave her a hug with a tear rolling down her cheek, and where she soon noticed Princess Celestia's cutie mark was gone.
"Is this normal?" Atticus asked, seeing that Princess Luna and Cadence were also missing their cutie marks.
"That's our magic..." Princess Celestia sighed softly. "It is done."
"I promise, Princess Celestia, we'll be responsible." Atticus replied.
"I know you will be," Princess Celestia said. "You're as responsible and wise as your father."
Soon enough, Atticus and Twilight left with their new magic.
"We going to your place then?" Atticus asked.
"If you don't mind," Twilight replied. "I hate to steal you away from the others, but you were always the closest one to me. I mean... With those misadventures we've had, even though I didn't know what to think of your world when I first came into it. You really understood me."
"I don't mind." Atticus smiled.
Twilight gave a small smile back as they came to the tree-house which was always a very comforting sight to see. They soon got inside, and where it was still night time.
Spike was fast asleep in his bed as they came in for the evening, but he soon woke up once he heard their hoof-steps. "You weren't gone very long. Does that mean everything's okay?" he then asked Twilight.
"Yep!" Twilight smiled nervously. "Everything's fine, and Atticus is going to sleep over!"
"Yeah." Atticus added as he shifted his eyes.
Their horns seemed to zap like static electricity with a couple of books flying in the background.
"In that case, I'm going back to bed," Spike smiled sleepily before going back to sleep. "Sun's not up... And neither am I."
"He's right." Atticus said.
"That's strange," Twilight commented. "The sun should be up by now..."
"Oh! We have to do that now, don't we?" Atticus then gasped.
"You're right, we have Celestia's magic that controls the sun and Luna's magic that controls the moon." Twilight realized.
"All right, let's get to it then." Atticus said.
They both soon tried to use their horns to take care of the moon. They both levitated from Twilight's bed, but the sun and moon appeared to be harder to control than it looked.
"How do Princess Celestia and Princess Luna do this everyday and every night?" Atticus grunted.
"I guess we're a little out of practice!" Twilight replied as she tried to work with him.
Shining Armor and the other Royal Guards began to notice this which was a bit concerning. However, this would be the first of many things they would become concerned about. The front door of the tree-house soon exploded as Twilight and Atticus saw that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna didn't have it as easy as they would like to think when it came to rising the sun and the moon.
"We have to gain better control," Twilight told Atticus. "We sure can't practice here."
"You've got that right." Atticus said.
And so, they began to run together.
"Uh, guys?" Spike called as he ran with them. "Where are we goin'?"
"Oh, uh, hi, Spike. Uh, gotta go... Somewhere... Else." Twilight smiled bashfully and soon took off on her wings.
"Uh, me too!" Atticus added as he spread out and flew with his own wings.
Spike slightly felt blown away from how hard they took off. Twilight yelped as she flew around awkwardly, passing by Rainbow Dash on a cloud, and soon, Atticus was right next to Twilight.
"Twilight? Atticus?" Rainbow Dash muttered before she soon decided to go after them.
Pinkie Pie soon nodded seriously to Applejack, Rarity, Mo, Patch, and Cherry as they decided to also follow. Atticus and Twilight soon had a rough landing. The others soon met up to come and see them.
"Oh, thank goodness! Are you all right?" Fluttershy asked them.
"Jumpin' June Bugs, guys! When did you learn to fly that fast?" Applejack added.
"We must have caught a particularly strong breeze..." Twilight smiled nervously before the electricity in her horn crackled and she teleported right behind them. "Or something."
"Okay, what is going on?" Cherry asked.
"Nothing!" Atticus smiled nervously as his horn did the same thing.
"Atticus?!" Cherry narrowed her eyes.
"Must have been 'or something', because there wasn't any breeze up there." Rainbow Dash commented.
"I don't know what happened, but I don't really have time to figure it out right now." Twilight replied.
"Same here." Atticus said.
"Another visit to the Castle of the Two Sisters, I presume?" Rarity replied to that. "We'd be more than happy to accompany you!"
The others grinned for support except for Cherry who suspected something. It was common knowledge that Atticus was a bad liar.
"Not today! Tirek may still be a threat," Twilight replied. "Atticus and I need you all to stay here and encourage everypony to remain inside."
"But why?" Cherry narrowed her eyes.
"Please just do it, and please tell them to stay inside." Atticus told her.
Cherry glanced at him as he soon left with Twilight, deciding not to fly this time, and they went by foot, or rather, by hoof. Of course, this concerned the others while Cherry had a stinking feeling deep down inside of her which told her that something was going on. She soon left.
"C-Cherry, where are you going?" Mo asked.
"I'm finding an answer," Cherry glared. "I'm going to see the Princesses."
"But what about Tirek?" Patch asked.
"I'll be fine." Cherry replied until she yelped as she was suddenly stopped.
"Cherry, I don't think that's a good idea." Patch muffled as he had grabbed her tail with his mouth.
"Patch, let go of my tail." Cherry said.
"I don't want you to get hurt!" Patch muffled to her.
"Will you relax?" Cherry glared. "Nothing is going to happen to me. I can take care of myself."
Cherry's medallion soon teleported her away.
Patch sighed and shook his head. "I don't know about her sometimes."
"No one does," Mo frowned. "I just hope nothing happens to her."
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Pinkie Pie smiled.
Cherry soon came to the castle, though looked curious as there were no Royal Guards around, at least none that she could see.
"Getting rid of your magic so that I cannot take it from you? That was your plan?" Lord Tirek glared to Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Cadence before grinning maliciously. "How does it feel, knowing that soon, every Pegasus, unicorn and Earth pony will bow to my will, and that there is nothing you can do to stop it?"
"You will not prevail, Tirek." Princess Celestia glared back.
"Uh, Princess Celestia, is now a good time to ask you what's going on?" Cherry's voice asked.
"Cherry?!" Princess Celestia gasped. "You shouldn't be here!"
"Give my regards to Cerberus~" Lord Tirek grinned and soon sent Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Cadence away into Tartarus.
"The princesses!" Cherry gasped.
"Who and what are you?" Lord Tirek glared to her.
"Um, j-just a pony that's gonna go warn her friends!" Cherry panicked as she used her medallion to teleport her back to the others.
"Why, YOU?!" Lord Tirek snarled.
"That. Was mega freaky." Cherry said as she felt startled from seeing Lord Tirek up close.
"Cherry, what happened?" Mo asked.
"I saw that Lord Tirek guy, and he just sent Celestia, Luna, and Cadence to Tartarus!" Cherry replied.
"That's terrible!" Mo gasped.
"We have to tell the others to stay inside like Atticus and Twilight said." Patch suggested.
"Agreed." Mo nodded.
And so, they did just that, warning ponies everywhere to stay indoors and to keep safe. The ponies didn't hesitate into doing this and it almost looked like a ghost town now in Ponyville.
"Alright, y'all. I think we've warned everypony to stay inside." Applejack told the others once they regrouped.
"Whew! That's good." Patch smiled.
"I'm sure Discord will catch Tirek and this will all be over soon." Fluttershy smiled confidently.
"I'll bet he takes his sweet time." Rainbow Dash deadpanned.
"Or perhaps these things just take time." Discord's voice replied.
"About time." Mo said.
"You're back!" Fluttershy beamed as she hugged the draconequus. "Did you bring the cucumber sandwiches?"
"I did," Discord smiled as he magicked up a tray of sandwiches before throwing them on the ground. "I imagine they'll be your last decent meal for quite some time." He then used his magic to trap them all in a cage.
"What are you doing?!" Patch barked at Discord.
"Ta-da!" Discord smirked as his new partner came out behind the cage.
"You've gathered up all of them?" Lord Tirek grinned.
"And they're little dragon too." Discord smirked to Spike.
"Too bad we still have our medallions." Mo smirked back.
Lord Tirek soon came to see that Cherry, Mo, and Patch had medallions. "What are those?" he then demanded.
"Our own kind of magic that you'll never have." Cherry smirked.
"I SHALL TAKE IT FROM YOU!" Lord Tirek glowered as he began to try to grab the medallions off of Cherry, Mo, and Patch like The Wicked Witch of the West trying to grab the ruby slippers from Dorothy, but just like the ruby slippers, the medallions rejected Tirek as they shocked his hand. Lord Tirek yelled out from that from both pain and frustration.
"Phew..." Cherry breathed in relief that they were protected.
"Guess these repel away evil." Patch smiled.
"Discord, what is the meaning of that?" Lord Tirek demanded.
"Erm... I'm not sure why their medallions do that actually." Discord replied apologetically.
"Why are you doing this?" Fluttershy cried to Discord. "I thought we were friends!"
"Oh, we were, but Tirek offered me so much more than just tea parties," Discord smirked. "Surely you saw this coming."
"No, because we thought you had actually changed to good." Patch growled.
"I didn't!" Fluttershy cried as Applejack and Mo comforted her. "I really didn't!"
"Oh, Flutters." Mo frowned for the poor pegasus.
Lord Tirek soon lifted up the cage with the ponies inside to take their special abilities away. Patch, Mo, and Cherry began to use their medallions to try and keep him from taking away their abilities. Cherry grunted a bit, though she began to look like she was becoming weak. Mo tried to do the same thing as she almost looked as drained as Cherry did.
"Girls! No! We can't give up!" Patch told them as he strained.
But it seemed as the magic in their medallions were being taken away along with their abilities. Suddenly, Tirek had their medallions as well as the others' magic and abilities. Cherry, Mo, and Patch soon looked as miserable as the Mane Six. Tirek soon grew in size and dropped the cage roughly.
"Oh... Your hair... Looks... Ugh..." Cherry soon groaned weakly. "Too tired to riff."
"Y-You'll never win." Mo glared at Tirek.
"You really think she'd do anything for them?" Tirek asked Discord.
"Not just Twilight, but also Atticus," Discord smirked. "If they have magic to give, it will be yours. Soon there won't be a Pegasus, Earth pony or unicorn who will be able to stand up against us."
"And back stab in 3, 2, 1." Mo cued.
"Us? Who said anything about us?" Tirek replied to Discord.
"You did...?" Discord replied.
"You've helped me grow strong, you've provided the means by which I can obtain Princess Twilight and her Alicorn Prince friend's magic, and now you are no longer of any use to me." Tirek grinned darkly as he betrayed Discord before taking his abilities with the others' which proved to be heartless for the draconequus. He then stomped away once he was done.
"But you said this was a sign of your gratitude and loyalty," Discord frowned weakly to Tirek, showing the charm around his neck. "A gift from someone close to you."
"My brother who betrayed me," Tirek replied before stomping away. "It is as worthless as he is."
"Surely you saw this coming." Patch said to Discord.
"I didn't..." Discord frowned as now he had a taste of his own medicine. "I truly didn't."
"Why do people think Atticus is a prince again?" Cherry asked.
"It's probably because he's a male Alicorn." Mo replied.
"Oh, yeah." Cherry said.
"I hope he's okay... Wherever he is..." Mo said softly.
"Atticus is always fine..." Cherry replied, though she sounded unsure herself.