Disclaimer: All MLP:FiM characters belong to Hasbro and DHX Media. I do not own any of them except my OC.
Previously…
"Good morning, Professor Sparkle."
"What time is it?"
"I'm late for my class's field trip to Cloudsdale!"
"Don't worry! I asked Professor Rainbow Dash to cover for you."
"And she said yes?"
"I told her how busy you are, and how much her loyalty meant to you."
"Cozy, that's amazing! You're like my right-hoof pony. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Helping is what friendship's all about."
"Exactly! And hopefully my class is learning that on their field trip right now."
"I heard they might do some sight-seeing first."
"We have an emergency!"
"The students dropped out of the sky!"
"Slow down. What happened?"
"I cast a spell for our field trip to Cloudsdale. But my magic just failed!"
"We barely caught everypony in time!"
"I'm glad you're all OK. Maybe you did your spell wrong."
"I didn't drop that book."
"Maybe you did your spell wrong?"
"Rarity ran into the door."
"My magic is GONE!"
"Still think there's nothing to worry about?"
"This doesn't make any sense. Something has to be causing this."
"Um… Didn't we learn in class about a creature that eats magic? Tir… Something."
"You would be talking about none other than Tirek."
"Isn't he trapped in Tartarus?"
"Yes, he is. He's been locked in there since you ponies put him back there several years ago."
"Spike? What's wrong?"
"Allow me."
"Whew. Thanks. I've never had a letter get stuck before."
"Lack of magic. That's why."
"It's from Princess Celestia. We've all been called to an emergency meeting in Canterlot!"
"Pretty sure I know what it's about."
"Throughout our city, ponies have been reporting tales of their magic failing."
"Are there similar troubles in Ponyville?"
"We experienced it first hoof."
"It's the same in my kingdom. The Crystal Heart seems safe for now, but I worry if this continues."
"Zach, is your scepter still working?"
"Hang on, let me check. Yep, seems fine to me."
"Letter for the Princesses, from Starswirl the Bearded."
"It is even more terrible than we feared."
"Starswirl believes the power will drain from our land in three days."
"First, unicorn magic and spells will fail."
"On the second day, creatures will lose their magical abilities."
"And finally, magical artifacts will stop working."
"When the Sun sets on the third day, the magic in our world will be gone… forever."
"But why is this happening now?"
"That's the worst part. We have no idea."
"I'm fine. Just a little bit of pain OH MY GOSH DOES THIS HURT! AGH!"
"What's wrong?!"
"It appears that because I've had magic for so long, some of my organs have depended on it for survival. If magic were to disappear, then that would mean those organs would stop working and it can lead me to DEATH!"
"We need to fix this quick! I can't have someone like him die at a time like this! Speaking of which, has anypony checked on Tirek?"
"If he has found some way to escape his prison, or work from within it, he could be responsible for this."
"That is the best explanation so far."
"We'll go. "Um… You do want to come, right?"
"Uh, DUH!"
"We will search for ways to protect Equestria in your absence."
"Be careful. Tartarus has changed since you were there."
"It now holds many dangerous creatures, and you won't be able to rely on your magic unless if you are the prince, but even still."
"I eat danger for breakfast. Threats what fuels me. It feels great!"
"With her friends by her side, she won't have to."
"Hey, I didn't know we packed green cupcakes!"
"Um. We didn't. They must have gone bad without magic to keep them cold."
"Magic this, magic that. We don't need magic to go on a little hike!"
"Uh, I need magic in order to stay alive or else I will DIE and I don't think you would like that."
"You were saying?"
"You just need to think more like Earth Ponies, y'all."
"Too bad we can't do anything about the rainstorm."
"Watch this. There. All done."
"I think we have all the magic we need right here. Not that I don't want to get it back. Let's go!"
"This is the only door to Tartarus."
"The good news is, the seal isn't broken, so we know Tirek didn't escape."
"Ya got bad news too."
"Last time I was here, I had to use magic to get in. And according to Starswirl, all unicorn magic was gone by yesterday's sunset."
"Free Pizza Delivery! Always worked before."
"Did any of y'all pack something that could actually help?"
"I got it! Let me try something here."
"How did you do that?!"
"The scepter is considered a magical artifact because it comes from the Tree of Harmony. Since magical artifacts haven't lost their power yet, my scepter was still able to work."
"Cockatrice!"
"Don't look at it! It'll turn you to stone!"
"I'm staring right at it and I haven't turned to stone yet. Probably because he lost his magical ability to do so. And even if he didn't, the scepter's magic can easily block his, so it has no effect on me."
"I think he lost his magic too. "All the creatures must have."
"Starswirl said that would happen on the second day."
"I know it should make me feel safer, but… it just makes me sad."
"If all these monsters lost their magic, then getting past Cerberus should be easy-peasy."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that."
"Look out!"
"I'll talk to him."
"You're a very good guard dog. Yes you are! But um, we were wondering if we could get by to check on Tirek."
"That looks like a yes."
"I'll get you a towel darling."
"The Princess of Friendship, here for a visit. What have I done to earn the honor of your company?"
"We want answers, Tirek. Magic is disappearing from Equestria."
"I know. What a waste of such delicious power."
"So you are behind this!"
"Silly filly. If I had all that magic, do you think I'd still be locked up in here?"
"But I might know something about it."
"Where's Equestria's magic going, Tirek? What's making it disappear?"
"If you let me out, I'm sure it would jog my memory."
"I scratch your back, you scratch mine?"
"Don't you even think about laying your disgusting hands on Twilight or else I will make you pay."
"Oh, and how will you do that?"
"That's what. So give us our answers so we can get out of here and I can be restored to full strength before I DIE!"
"Of course. The Prince of Defense. Always getting mad. I didn't think it was true, but now that I'm seeing this, this is quite entertaining."
"DON'T YOU EVER MAKE A JOKE LIKE THAT! IF YOU THINK ME POSSIBLY PERISHING IS FUNNY TO YOU, THEN WE'LL SEE HOW YOU FEEL WHEN YOU WILL BE TRAPPED FOREVER JUST LIKE THE REST OF US!"
"Oh dear. I hadn't thought of that."
"We're just as trapped as Tirek?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha. What a pity. Well, for you. Sweet revenge for me."
"I'll show you "sweet revenge."
"It seems my little protege's plan worked after all."
"Oh, we never met. We're pen pals. Each letter had so many questions about draining magic."
"And you answered them?!"
"Well, I was bored. So I simply pointed my pen pal in the right direction."
"Can't you just tell us your pen pal's name?"
"Oh, why not. The irony is too perfect. Her name is… Cozy Glow."
[Insert Had Enough from Breaking Benjamin]
Everypony gasped in horror and I said "I knew it all this time. Ever since that pony first came to that school, I knew I couldn't trust her." Applejack asked "Then how come ya didn't say anything?" I said "Well, I didn't want to look like a fool since none of you would believe me at the time. So I have been quiet waiting for the right time to strike. And now that it's been confirmed that she was behind it, I can now make her pay for this." Twilight said "So you're telling me that Cozy Glow is behind all of this?" Yep. Tirek laughed and said "I'm not usually a fan of ponies, but draining your precious world of magic so she could trap the six of you was inspiring." I said "Technically, there are eight of us, so you need to do better calculations." Twilight began to run towards the door and said "I knew we shouldn't have left!" I said "You wouldn't have known and even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me. It wasn't the right time yet. Applejack said "But Starlight's in charge at the school. If anypony can stop Cozy Glow, it's her." I said "Sadly, that isn't true." Applejack asked "What do you mean?" I said "Cozy pushed Starlight into a magical orb that is sucking out all of Equestria's magic like a vacuum cleaner and once the third day has passed, the vortex will crack and send that magic to another dimension."
Everypony gasped in horror and they began to run faster. Tirek said "Cozy Glow outsmarted the six of you. I doubt this "Starlight" stands a chance." Unfortunately, he's right. Twilight said "We have to get out of here!" Well, you'll have to wait a little while longer. "Our students can't handle Cozy on their own." I think it's too late for that. Rainbow said "Then I guess we'll just have to bust our way out!" Uh, that door made of solid iron and it can't be kicked by anyone. She tried kicking the door but slammed into it and fell down. "That didn't work." Did you really think that was going to work? Oi vey. Rarity said "Not everything can be solved with brute force." I said "I mean, I probably could break down that door, but since I'm not at full strength right now, I don't think that would get me very far." Rarity said "We need magic to escape." That is something I can do however without hurting myself. Pinkie said "Maybe there's a way to get out without magic. Like a secret lever, or a secret button, or a secret admirer who knows a secret about you, but is all, "Your secret's safe with me because I put it in Tartarus and I have a key!" I said "I don't think that's possible. And last time I checked, there were not any secret buttons or levers or anything to get the door open." Twilight said "I'm afraid he's right. The most powerful villains and monsters of all time are trapped here." Yeah, for a good reason.
"And without our magic, so are we." Not necessarily. "Unless… These creatures might be losing their magical powers, but there's still a magic that makes up what they are." That is true. "Maybe we can borrow some of that!" Be careful with that. We walked around and Fluttershy said "Are you sure there's magic in Cerberus?" Of course he does. Every living being in this world has magic and all you need to do is tap into that power and take control of it. "Clarissa the pig has two tails, and while her singing voice is lovely, I don't think it's magical." Perhaps. But we need to try everything here. Twilight said "We need to try everything if we want to get out of here." Exactly. Pinkie said "I don't know, Tartarus isn't so bad." I beg to differ on that one. "I could hang out here for a while." I said "Are you sure about that?" The Chimera burned the marshmallow and ate the stick scaring the crap out of Pinkie. She said "Maybe not forever, though." I would hope so. Tirek said "But that is just what it will be." No it won't. "If my protege has followed my instructions, by sunset tonight, every last vestige of Equestrian magic will disappear into the ether forever!" Yeah, okay whatever you old fart. Twilight asked "Have you even thought about what losing magic would mean?" It means that I won't live much longer and eventually die.
Tirek said "It means the six of you will be trapped here, like me." I said "EIGHT!" Twilight said "Exactly. It means you're trapped here. Forever. With us." Tirek thought about it and started to have second thoughts. I said "Although, I'm not exactly sure how much longer I'll live. It's only a matter of time before I perish for good." Tirek said "I hadn't thought of it like that." Of course you haven't, because you villains never use your brains and always think things illogically. Twilight flew back down and Spike asked "So what do we do, Twilight?" I think she has a plan. Twilight said "Dash and Applejack nearly have Cerberus tired out." I can tell. "If Rarity pitches in, I think they can get him to sit still long enough to try what I have in mind." Definitely. Fluttershy said "I'm sure I can get the other monsters to help. Besides, I would never call them monsters." That's why they're here in the first place. They are called that for a reason. Spike asked "What about Tirek?" What about him? "He's probably got some magic too, right?" Yeah. Pinkie said "Leave him to me." Okay. Fluttershy said "OK, everyone. Time to show Equestria that you aren't "monsters." You're wonderful, mystical creatures!" I beg to differ on that one. Pinkie did the birthday thing with Tirek and she whispered in his ear "I can do this all eternity."
That finally got Tirek to break and he yelled "Fine! I'll help you leave. Just please stop." How about no? I think it's quite entertaining. That's what you get for making a joke about me perishing. Yeah, that stung really bad. Now you know how it feels. Payback time, baby. Pinkie said "Tirek's in!" That's good. Twilight asked "All right. Is everypony ready?" I am. Let's get on with this. Fluttershy nodded while Rarity held up a bone and got Cerberus to sit. She said "Sit! Good. I can't say for how much longer." Meanwhile, Pinkie was in a monkey costume banging cymbals around and bothering Tirek. She said "All eternity!" Tirek was miserable and said "Yes, by all means. Please, just get on with it." This is what I call entertainment. Twilight said "Ahem." and Pinkie told Tirek "There's your cue, you evil centaur, you." Tirek fired his magic and it went to Twilight's horn. Then, all the creatures gave up their magic and went to Twilight's horn as well. The creatures changed to their decomposed selves and Twilight had the magic. She said "That's it! I think it's working!" Well, blast the door open. She blasted the door and it opened. However, she was struggling because it was so huge and she couldn't keep it up forever.
"Come on! I don't know how long I can hold it!" You don't have to tell me twice. I went into my shadow form and dashed out the door as quickly as I could. The rest of them followed me and Rainbow said "Good boy!" Fluttershy said "Bye friends! Hopefully we'll be able to turn you all back into your normal wonderful selves soon." Come on. Rainbow picked up Fluttershy and flew out the door. Pinkie said "Thanks for the assist, Your Redness." and she accelerated out the door and into the open. The magic had finally disappeared and the door was about to close. She flew out and managed not to get crushed in the process. The door slammed shut and Twilight landed on the ground. "Yay! Twilight did it!" She shouldn't get all the credit. Twilight said "I couldn't have done it without all your help." Yeah. Rarity exclaimed "I'm not sure we did." We looked and saw the Sun set. No. NO! That means I will perish not long after. Twilight said "NO!" and I got nervous. Applejack said "Tirek said all of Equestria's magic would be gone at Sunset." Pretty much. Twilight said "Without magic, there's no way we'll get back to the school in time." Probably. Fluttershy asked "What does that mean?" Twilight replied "It means we failed."
I said "That's not the only thing." Before I could say anything else, I collapsed on the ground and grunted in pain. "It also means that I unfortunately have to die at this point and there's nothing I can do to stop it." Twilight immediately came over and started crying my chest. She sniffled and said "You can't leave me! You can't! Please! I need you! Please don't die." I said "Twilight, it's too late. You or I can't stop this from happening. It was only a matter of time. It was nice knowing you. Tell Starlight and the student six I'll miss them." I finally passed out and Twilight just continued to cry. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my head that said "Yeah, yeah. The Elements of Harmony are very important. They're just not applicable in every circumstance. And with magic gone from Equestria, I'm not even sure the Tree of Harmony will be as helpful as it once was." Suddenly, I burned with fury and I was lifted in the air by the scepter and while my eyes were white, the scepter's red magic blasted all the way back to Ponyville to save the Student Six from going to another dimension. TAKE THAT COZY GLOW! Finally, I came back to the ground and Twilight asked "What was that?!" I said "I believe the Student Six got trapped in that orb that's sucking all the magic out, and the Tree of Harmony had just saved them which was why my scepter's magic was blasted into the air and went all the way back to Ponyville to prevent them and Starlight from going to another dimension."
Suddenly, all of the magical orbs came flying out and everyone got their magic back. YES! I am restored to full power! Now time to pay the price Cozy Glow. Twilight teleported us all back and we were ready to face Cozy. Just as Cozy closed in on the Student Six, we appeared right in front of them and I was furious. I had my death glare and lightning and thunder went off. I could see the pure look of fear in her eyes. Cozy Glow said "I mean… Yay! All my friends are safe." I said in my Royal Canterlot Voice "DON'T YOU PLAY DUMB WITH US! I KNEW FROM THE START EVER SINCE YOU ARRIVED HERE, THAT YOU WOULD BETRAY US ALL! AND THE WORST PART IS YOU NEARLY KILLED ME AND LEFT TWILIGHT IN AN EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN! YOU WILL PAY FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE AND WILL SUFFER THE PENALTY!" Starlight and the student six gasped in horror and immediately gave angry glares towards Cozy Glow. Applejack said "He's right. Your pen pal, Tirek, told us all about how he helped you suck up all that magic." Yeah really. Twilight said "But I still don't understand why." Simple. She thinks friendship is power which is ridiculous. Cozy Glow growled and said "Why?! Because friendship is power." How foolish.
"You might be the Princess of Friendship, but as Headmare of this school, I can collect even more friends than you!" That literally makes no sense whatsoever. The students were all confused and Twilight said "You're the one who doesn't get it, Cozy. Friendship is powerful, but power isn't why you make friends." Exactly. "I'm sorry I couldn't teach you that." It happens. Gallus said "Well, you taught us!" Exactly. Silverstream said "You can't let one bad apple make you think you failed." Exactly. Spot on Silverstream. Sandbar said "And we never could have stopped her if we hadn't learned what you taught us about friendship!" Bingo. Cozy said "Honesty? Loyalty? Generosity? Blah blah blah." Excuse me? I snarled right at her and that made her tremble in fear. Yeah, you should. "I can make more friends without using any of them." Yeah right. "And if I can't do it here, I'll do it somewhere else!" I disagree. The pegasi blocked her from leaving and one pony said "Yeah. I don't think so." Cozy tried going the other way, but Celestia, Luna, and Chancellor Neighsay blocked her from leaving as well. She tried going up, but the Royal Guard surrounded her as well. So, she couldn't leave whatsoever. She was trapped basically. Once the guards got ahold of her, I said to them "Arrest her." The guards nodded and put her in custody.
I went up to her and said "Cozy Glow. You are being charged for causing unreasonable panic, committing treason against the crown, attempted murder, and leading a revolt against other students. Your punishment will be a life sentence in Tartarus. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do or say will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can not afford one, the state will give you one free of charge. Do you understand these rights?" Cozy reluctantly nodded and I motioned for the guards to take her away. "Good. Guards, take her away." The guards nodded and took her away. We walked back inside the school and Chancellor Neighsay said "I'm glad you are back in charge of the School of Friendship, Princess." Same here. "It's clear to me now that there is no pony better suited for the job." I agree. There's also something else you have to do. Twilight looked confused and Spike burped out diplomas for the Student Six who were wearing caps and gowns as if they were graduating or something. Twilight asked "What's going on?" What do you think is going on? Silverstream said "Hi, Headmare Twilight. We're just practicing for graduation." I think it's too soon for that. Twilight asked "Graduation?" Yeah, apparently so. Gallus explained "Now that we've saved Equestria, we figured we're done with school." The four of us laughed at that statement and the students were confused.
I said "If you think you can graduate this early after a semester, you are quite wrong. There's still a lot left to learn." Twilight said "He's right. Saving Equestria is nice, but I'm afraid it'll take more than one semester to learn all there is to know about friendship." Spike burped out another letter and said "Told ya." The students groaned in disappointment and Chancellor Neighsay said "Your Headmare is right. I thought friendship was something that only ponies should share with each other, but you all taught me how wrong I was." My anger feels satisfied. "I suppose true friendship can take a lifetime to learn." You would be correct. Twilight said "If it were easy to learn, we wouldn't need a school." She has a point. I said "Oh crap. Why am I still in my physical form? Whoops. Got to change into my other one." The Chancellor said "That won't be necessary." I raised an eyebrow and asked "What do you mean?" The Chancellor replied " I believe that you should no longer be restricted from school grounds. I am truly sorry for what I have done and I will go back to court to reverse the crime." I said "Really? You actually mean that?" The Chancellor nodded and Twilight hugged me. She said "That means you can finally return to the school!" I said "Yeah, I guess it does considering I've been gone for a year at least."
Suddenly, the door slammed open and Apple Bloom said "We held her off as long as we could!" I'm sure you did. Scootaloo said "But she locked us in this closet!" Yeah, because she saw what was going on. Sweetie Belle asked with a bucket on her head "What happened?! Is everything alright?! Where's Cozy Glow?!" We all laughed and Twilight said "Everything worked out just fine." Definitely. Celestia said "As for Cozy Glow, I can assure you. Where she's going, she won't be causing any more trouble." I said "Speaking of which, I need to head over to Canterlot to transport her to Tartarus. I'll be back in a bit!" I went over to Canterlot and the guards were all ready to go at my command. I heard Cerberus lay next to Tirek's cage and just whimpered to him. Tirek yelled to Cerberus "Of course it's boring here now, but at least you're not in a cage!" I opened the portal to where he was and that drew a confused look on Tirek's face. Cozy Glow was put in her cage by the guards and we left. All I heard was "Hey neighbour, wanna be friends?" Nope. Me and the guards made it to the other side and I closed the portal. Whew. Never have to go to that place again. That place is freaky. Even for me. The guards did a salute to me and I did one right back before spreading out my eagle wings and taking off back to Ponyville. Man, does this feel great. It feels so wonderful having my full power back. No longer do I have to worry about perishing or collapsing in exhaustion. These last couple of days sure have been hectic to say the least. Even that would be an understatement.
I came back to Ponyville and everyone greeted me at the school when I opened the doors. I was surprised. All of the students were there and so were my friends. I asked "What's all this for?" Pinkie said "It's your "Welcome back to the School of Friendship party!" I said "Uh, okay? I did not expect this. I mean, yeah, it's great to be back, but I didn't expect a return party this soon." Twilight flew over to me and said "It was my idea. I was very happy to hear Chancellor Neighsay say you could come back to the school! You don't know how happy I felt when he said that. You have been gone way too long and I believe this party will be a good way to welcome you back." I said "Well, if you say so." Suddenly, the crowd shouted "Speech!" and I rolled my eyes. Oh well, here goes nothing. I went up on the podium and said spreading out my eagle wings "Thank you guys for hosting this party. It's such a great honor to come back to this school after being gone for over a year. Even though it was sad for me to take the blame for something I never did, I knew that was what was best for Equestria. Twilight tried to convince me over and over again to come back, but I said no every time because I knew that I couldn't break my part of the deal. However, when Chancellor Neighsay said he would have the court decision reversed, and my crime removed, I knew then that I was truly set free."
"So it is with my great honor that I can say "Welcome back baby!" The crowd cheered and my friends gave me a hug showing me that they were happy for my return. "Let the festivities begin!" The crowd cheered once more and went to join in on the festivities. The student six came up to me and I smiled. "Well, at least you don't have to worry about me taking the blame for something you did anymore." Sandbar said "It's good to have you back." I said "Yeah definitely. It honestly got kinda boring after a while of just wandering around the school spectating, but eh. I had to do what I had to do." Ocellus asked "How come you never tried to come back here?" I said "Well, initially, I was charged with a crime and the deal I made with the Chancellor was if I never came back on school grounds, then the EEA would leave this school alone. However, he technically broke his part of the deal, so it really didn't matter anymore." Gallus said "That must have been hard on you." I said "Eh, kinda. I knew it wasn't easy, but I had to do it anyway. However, it was extremely hard on Twilight. I knew she wanted me back, but there was no way I was going to sacrifice the school just so I could be happy. Instead, I sacrificed myself and refused to listen."
Yona asked "Um, does lion like purple pony?" They all turned their eyes towards me and I went red in embarrassment. Dang it! I've been caught red handed! Smolder giggled and said "Someone has a crush on the Headmare." I said embarrassed "Shut up!" The students started laughing and I was more embarrassed. "Fine, just don't tell anyone! Got that?" Twilight said "Everyone already knows we are dating each other." I looked back at the students worried and they all had smirks on their faces before laughing again. Har har. Very funny. "Welp, there goes my reputation. Oh well." The students kept on laughing and Twilight rested her head on my neck. Suddenly, the crowd shouted to me "Kiss her! Kiss her!" Uh no thank you. That's what I do in my private time. Then, our friends chanted to Twilight "Kiss him! Kiss him!" Both of us were super embarrassed and didn't really want to do it in front of everyone, but we sucked it up and dealt with it anyways. We both leaned in and gave a passionate kiss to one another. The crowd cheered and I ignored them. It was me and my mare. We didn't care what the others thought. Hopefully, word won't spread about this. That would be embarrassing.
AN: We finally have reached the end of another season! Season 8 was an interesting one that's for sure. Now it's time to focus on Season 9. Oh dear. This will be interesting. Season 9 will be my hardest season yet, but I'll try not to skip every episode. I'll have to manually review every episode before I can decide if I want to do it or not. If you have any suggestions for what I can do for some of these episodes, let me know in the reviews section. I'll try to use as much of them as I can, but I don't think I'll be able to use all of them. But any suggestions help. So let me know if you have any. I'd love to hear them. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Next Chapter: Gifts! Hearth's Warming Eve has arrived once again, and the Mane six are doing something different this year. Instead of trying to figure out what to get for one another, they put cards inside a hat and randomly pick one out and have to give that pony one gift. It is quite a challenge for sure. Will they be able to figure it out, or was this kind of plan a disaster?
Until then, my fellow readers
