My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition

by SuperPinkBrony12


Chapter 195: School's Out!

It didn't take long for the six students to find Twilight. As it turned out she had only "pretended" to step aside as part of Neighsay's plan to expose Cozy Glow. Even so the news that Cozy Glow was indeed the traitor, as well as a pawn for Tirek, was almost more than she could handle. "I can't believe it!" She downtroddenly remarked as she stood in the headmare's office. "To think that she housed such a dark secret and hid it right under my nose this whole time. I should've suspected something when I couldn't find any information on her family, but I fell for the 'Crocodile Tears' routine hook, line and sinker!"

"She had us all fooled, Headmare Twilight," Ocellus reassured the unicorn. "Even I wouldn't have guessed she was that evil."

Smolder snorted. "Speak for yourself, I knew that filly was up to no good from the day I first laid eyes on her. She was just a little too friendly. And we dragons know first claw that when something looks too good to be true, it usually is."

Meanwhile, Sandbar boldly declared. "I'll bet you anything that Cozy Glow is the one responsible for Mr. Flash Sentry's disappearance! He must've discovered the truth as well."

"So what are we gonna do, Headmare Twilight?" Gallus eagerly asked. "Come on, lay it on us. How can we defeat Cozy Glow and teach that no good filly a lesson?"

"Don't forget about Mr. Tall, Dark, and Terrifying!" Silverstream chirped. "And I don't mean the Storm King!"

"If not for Tirek being taller than yak, Yona would smash him to pieces! No one hurt Yona's friends!" Yona roared as she pounded her chest. It seemed clear that she was ready for action, possibly even war.

But Twilight only shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't know. I have no idea how Cozy Glow set this all up or where she might be now. And even if we can find her, there's no way to stop her. With my brother trapped in Tartarus the Elements of Harmony won't work even if all of his friends are gathered here. And as far as I know, they never figured out how to tap into that mysterious power they used against Tirek."

Gallus gulped. "So that's it, then? We're just supposed to give up? There's gotta be something we can do!"

It was then that a thought came to Sandbar. "Hey, you guys, I just realized something! You know how Cozy Glow was always hanging around the library, right?"

Ocellus and the other students nodded. "Yes, but what does that have to do with..." Ocellus began, before she gasped as she deduced what Sandbar was saying! "Of course! Where else could she hide while she set everything into motion, not to mention keep Flash Sentry prisoner without anyone finding out?!"

Twilight eyed her students with a look of confusion as she scratched her head. "I don't follow."

Ocellus's eyebrows arched upward. "Your brother never told you about the crystal catacombs beneath the school? The ones connected to the Tree of Harmony?"

"No," Twilight commented in surprised. "It's certainly news to me. Sounds like something my brother 'conveniently' left out of his discussion about where you all disappeared to. I guess I can understand why he'd do that, if no one but you six and him knew about them then no one could ever find them and threaten the Tree of Harmony. Cozy Glow must've either stumbled upon them by accident, or Tirek detected their presence while controlling her."

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's get down there and put a stop to... whatever it is Cozy Glow's got planned!" Gallus vowed. "The time for talk is over!"

"Now time for action!" Yona declared as she stomped her hooves down and led the charge out of the headmare's office!

But Yona didn't get far before Ocellus flew in front of the yak and blocked her! "Wait a minute, Yona! Cozy Glow might still be roaming the school now that she thinks Neighsay and Headmare Twilight are gone. We can't risk running into her! If we get caught there's not gonna be time for a back up plan. We need a distraction."

"A distraction, you say? Leave that to us." A familiar male voice commented. A short time later, who should show up but the Cutie Mark Crusaders and their honorary member (and close friend) Diamond Tiara?

Sandbar smiled. "You five are gonna distract Cozy Glow for us? That'll be so great! We'll totally owe you one if you can pull it off!"

But Smolder questioned. "What could you five possibly do to distract Cozy Glow?"

Diamond Tiara just flashed a knowing grin as she rubbed her hooves together. "Let's just say: Mother's lessons on making the right connections are finally going to be put to good use," She blinked a bit. "Wow, I never imagined there'd come a day when I'd say that with a straight face."

Rumble just commented. "You know, it's kind of funny. I always said Cozy Glow reminded me of how you used to be, Diamond Tiara."

The rich filly sighed. "Oh, don't I know it. Now it really is like looking in a mirror."

"Enough talk! You guys need a distraction, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are on the job!" Scootaloo declared. "And don't worry, this won't cost you a thing. Just a simple 'You're Welcome" will do."

Sweetie Belle then commented. "I think I saw Cozy Glow out front, like she was getting ready to make a big announcement or something."

"Great! What are we waitin' for? Cutie Mark Crusaders Distractors is officially a go!" Apple Bloom declared at the top of her lungs. "You leave her to us, and do whatever you gotta do to bring back the magic to Equestria!" Then she and the other Crusaders rushed out of the headmare's office.

Twilight gulped a bit. "I hope they know what they're getting themselves into. They're not dealing with the average filly."

"Hey, the Crusaders can handle anything! I should know, they've told me all about their adventures," Sandbar declared with a grin. "Now come on, let's make sure their efforts aren't for nothing. We've gotta get down to the catacombs!"


It took some effort to pray the grate leading down to the catacombs open, largely because Sandbar's earth pony strength was no longer a factor and the grate resisted Smolder's fire breath. But with a little assistance from Yona, the students were able to lift the grate. One by one they descended into the catacombs (though Yona had to be pushed through because of her large stature) and Twilight followed them, struggling to wedge herself through.

The catacombs seemed to have changed considerably. The glow they had displayed from the previous visit was non-existent now, the crystals seemed to have dulled and all but cast the catacombs into darkness.

"The Tree of Harmony's in trouble!" Ocellus gasped in horror! "We must have less time than we thought!"

"Then we've gotta figure out what's weakening it and put a stop to it!" Gallus declared. "It helped us, now we're gonna help it!"

The six students and their headmare rushed through the catacombs, their eyes soon drawn to a faint but glowing light that appeared to indicate the presence of some kind of clearing. They reached it in a matter of seconds and briefly had to shield their eyes from the almost blinding light that greeted them!

There was indeed a clearing, and six powerful artifacts occupied positions around a glowing circle. Said circle had all kinds of strange symbols on it, each of the artifacts seemed to be encased in some kind of protective force field, and above it all rested a huge, magic bubble! Inside said bubble was none other than Flash Sentry!

Flash was more surprised than relieved to see others in the clearing with him. "What are you doing here?! You shouldn't be here, this is too dangerous!" He spoke from inside of his bubble.

Meanwhile, Ocellus glanced at the objects and gasped! "Hey, I remember those! Headmare Twilight showed them off to us: Clover the Clever's Cloak, the Crown of Grover, the Helm of Yksler, the Amulet of Aurora, the Talisman of Mirage and Knuckerbocker's Shell!

Twilight tried not to blush. "Princess Celestia agreed to loan them to me for my class on pre-Equestrian friendships. I was going to use them for a magical scavenger hunt: A spellvenger hunt if you will."

"Well it looks like somepony else got their hooves on them," Flash Sentry explained. "I'm sorry, Twilight. I guess I wasn't much of a help after all."

Twilight shook her head. "You couldn't have known, none of us did. But we know now, we know about Cozy Glow and Tirek."

"And we're going to put a stop to them!" Gallus heroically declared as he raised his claws in dramatic fashion. He lowered them a second later. "Just as soon as we can figure out what the heck is going on here."

Twilight scanned the circle and the artifacts with her eyes, she blinked briefly as the gears in her head started to turn. "I think I know what's going on. It's some kind of ritual. The artifacts are being used as keys to open a portal to another dimension, and all the magic in Equestria is being concentrated into that bubble."

"I'm guessing if it sinks into the ground, all the magic is lost forever?" Silverstream pondered. "Like when the Storm King tried to steal the Pearl of Transformation's powers for himself?"

Ocellus nodded her head. "And if that happens Equestria is doomed! We need to stop this ceremony, now!"

"Any ideas, Headmare Twilight?" Sandbar questioned.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen a magical ritual ceremony like this before," The unicorn glumly commented. "I think if you could somehow remove the artifacts from the circle, the portal would close and the magic drain would stop."

Flash Sentry spoke up. "I'm afraid that won't work. I tried to touch one of those artifacts the night before, and all I got was the shock of my life. I seem to remember a prophecy written in the section of the Canterlot Archives that stored them: Something about how 'Only the worthy six may wield'," He unhappily sighed. "It's too bad Captain Armor and his friends aren't here. I'm sure they'd be considered worthy."

"Well they're not here, and prophecy or no Equestria is doomed if we do nothing!" Sandbar declared. "If we can pull those artifacts out of the circle, it'll also free you, Mr. Flash Sentry!" He trotted forward, preparing to grab Clover the Clever's Cloak.

Flash screamed in protest! "Don't do it, kid! You're gonna get hurt!"

But strangely enough, when the earth pony colt reached out a hoof to grab hold of the cloak he was not shocked or thrown back. Instead he began to glow quite mysteriously, a red colored aura surrounded him.

"Sandbar! You're glowing!" Silverstream shouted in excitement! "Too bad you're not all sparkly like when the Tree of Harmony revealed itself to us!"

"What are you talking about? You're glowing too, all of you!" Sandbar pointed a hoof to each of his friends! Sure enough, each of them were glowing albeit in a different color than Sandbar's. Ocellus glowed orange, Yona glowed yellow, Silverstream glowed blue, Smolder glowed purple, and Gallus glowed pink.

Flash Sentry and Twilight could hardly believe their eyes! "What the heck's going on?!" They both wondered aloud!


At that very same moment, a series of flashes suddenly illuminated the clearing! When the flashes faded, Shining Armor stood there, wearing the tiara that held the Element of Friendship atop his head. And each of his friends had their Element of Harmony necklaces as well.

"Shining, what's the meaning of this?!" Soarin demanded. "One moment I'm trying to keep Cloudsdale from sinking further, and the next I'm in this strange clearing I've never seen before!"

"And why are the students from your sister's school here too? And how come they're glowing the same colors as our elements?" Fancy Pants wondered. "Heck, how did you manage to get out of Tartarus?"

But Shining protested. "There's no time to explain! Tirek's on his way here and he wants Cozy Glow! Quickly, each of you go help the student with the same colored aura as your Element of Harmony, and yank out whatever artifact considers them worthy of wielding! Then we'll all pull together!"

"Sir, yes sir!" Braeburn shouted in obligement and galloped over to Silverstream who had placed her claws around the Amulet of Aurora! To the other stallions he shouted. "You heard him! Go help the students! I'm sure he knows what he's doin'! Ain't like the rest of us have a better plan at the moment."

The other stallions reluctantly obeyed even though they were confused. Soarin went over to Sandbar as the colt was touching Clover the Clever's Cloak, Big Macintosh approached Ocellus who had grabbed hold of the Talisman of Mirage, Thunderlane assisted Yona who was touching the Helm of Yksler, and Fancy Pants stood by Smolder as the dragon was preparing to take Knuckerbocker's Shell. All the while, Shining Armor had managed to fly over to Gallus and aid the griffon in wielding the Crown of Grover.

But before the two groups could do anything, there came the sounds of a struggle that was growing closer and closer with each passing second. Said struggle involved the Cutie Mark Crusaders trying in vain to hold back a surging Cozy Glow, whose eyes were flickering on and off from a sickly green color! "She's... too strong!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed as the Crusaders were being pushed back!

"You fools! Nothing is going to get between me and what I want!" The voice of Tirek bellowed as it echoed through the catacombs and the clearing! "Equestria is finished! The reign of Tirek is nigh!"

"Cozy!" Shining shouted at the filly, his own eyes starting to glow. "You've gotta fight! Don't let Tirek control you! Please, let us help you!"

Cozy Glow briefly stepped back before reaching the clearing, putting her hooves to her head as she started to shake and shudder violently! "Can't stop myself! I can feel him, he's trying to take control for good!" She frantically exclaimed! "And he wants me to..." She collapsed on the ground before suddenly standing up as though possessed by a force beyond explanation! "Wants me to... help! Help... P-please! Don't... let him win!"

The Crusaders jumped out of the filly's way rather than risk her pushing them into the bubble! And even Twilight could only watch as Cozy surged past her without stopping for even a second!

"Now our's chance!" Shining Armor shouted to his friends and to the students! "We must pull together on my signal, now!"

"Now!" Everyone shouted at once, and all six pairs yanked out their artifacts simultaneously! Several trendils of magic wrapped around the bubble, yanking Flash Sentry free and tossing him onto the ground!

The ground started to shake ominously as the bubble began to crack, waves of magic spilling out from it and surging through the catacombs in every direction!

"Twilight!" The voice of Shining Armor called above the commotion! "Get Flash Sentry and the Crusaders and get out of here! Evacuate the school, now! This whole place could go up!"

"What?! We'll be destroying the school?!" Ocellus gasped in horror!

But Twilight nodded her head. "If that's the case then it's a sacrifice that must be made. Better the school than our magic, it can be rebuilt and restored. If our magic goes there's no hope for any of us," She began to light up her horn. "You can count on me, B.B.B.F.F! But please be careful, I don't wanna lose you too!"

The voice of Shining replied in reassurance. "The Elements of Harmony and their magic will protect us, but I don't wanna risk the same for the others! Go, quickly!"

Twilight nodded again, her horn sparking back to life! "You got it!" After giving a quick whistle to summon Flash Sentry and the Crusaders to her she declared. "We're out of here!" She disappeared in a flash of magic!

Meanwhile, several rainbow beams shot out towards Cozy Glow as she tried to run away! They enveloped her completely as the ground shook with increased intensity, threatening to open a fissure that could swallow everything whole! Then there was a great big flash!


Twilight quickly spread word about what was happening, and everyone still at the school either teleported out, flew out, or rushed towards the nearest exit they could find! Twilight stayed until she was sure everyone was safe, then she, Flash, and the Crusaders all bailed out as well!

A blinding flash and then what felt like a wave of magical energy washed over everyone! A loud boom shook the ground and made everyone cover their ears!

When the ringing had stopped and the flash faded, everyone opened their eyes. Shining and his friends stood outside what had been the entrance to the school, except now a huge hole had opened up right in the middle of it. Part of the roof had collapsed, the spire had toppled over as the flag pole was cracked, and several windows were broken as shards of glass littered the ground. The stallions and the students were unharmed though, a protective barrier disappeared from around them but a second later.

"Did we do it?!" Gallus questioned as he looked around. "Did we save Equestria?!"

"And what about Cozy Glow?" Ocellus wondered.

Suddenly, a familiar voice choked out. "Over here!" All eyes turned and there, standing amidst a small pile of rubble and debris, stood none other than Cozy Glow. Her mane looked like it had specs of dust in it and her coat colored had been dulled a bit by dirt and bruise marks, but otherwise she seemed none the worse for wear.

Shining was at the filly's side in an instant, checking her over. "How do you feel, Cozy Glow?" He asked her. "Is Tirek still in your mind or are your thoughts yours and yours alone?"

Cozy answered very slowly. "I think he's gone for good. But I don't feel any different, aside from that weird tingling sensation inside," She reluctantly asked. "Does this mean I'm...."

But before Cozy could finish her sentence the ground started to shake again, faintly at first but then with increased intensity. A noise began to fill the air, filling many hearts with dread.

Shining gulped and swallowed a lump in his throat, he knew what (or rather who) was coming. Tirek!

Sure enough, the familiar figure of the powerful, brooding centaur soon appeared over the horizon. And with his narrowed eyes and clenched paws it was clear to everyone that he didn't look happy at all. Many ponies panicked and ran for whatever nearby shelter they could find! But Shining stood firm in his tracks as Cozy ducked behind him, hoping for protection.

Tirek's booming voice rang clear for those brave enough to stay by the school. "How very sneaky of you, prince. Holding onto some of the magic I drained from those worthless creatures and giving it to Discord for an emergency teleport."

"You didn't really think I'd just let you get away that easy, did you?" Shining scoffed. "You really should've seen that coming. I'd have been a fool not to do what I did, even though I despise the fact that I ever had to work with you."

"Too late to be having second thoughts now," Tirek taunted. "But it doesn't matter. I can already sense the magic of Equestria has returned, and there's no way you'll just part with it. I made my point though, I made you stoop to my level, and that's something you'll never be able to forget," Then his eyes drifted slightly. "Oh, and what's this? It seems your sister's beloved school has been leveled quite considerably. How sad. Why, it would move me to tears. You know, if I still had tears left to shed."

Shining lit up his horn, eyeing the centaur as he growled. "Enough is enough, Tirek! The princesses are on their way here as we speak! And this time I'll make sure you don't get out of Tartarus, even if I have to throw away the key!"

"Oh come now, prince," Tirek scoffed in reply. "Must this all end in violence? Besides, I'm doing you a favor. There's a certain pesky filly who tried to double cross me. And if there's one thing I hate, it's those who have the gall to betray me and think they can get away with it!" His eyes fell upon the frightened filly cowering behind the prince. So the centaur stomped a hoof down. "Cozy Glow! I know you're here, stop hiding and face your master!"

Cozy Glow whimpered. "You're not my master anymore, Tirek!"

The centaur growled. "What is this defiance?! I gave you life, I made you what you are, I gave simple instructions to follow or have you forgotten?! And yet this is how you repay me?! By siding with my sworn enemies against me?" Then he sighed, lowering his voice a bit. "Sorry, I'm not usually this ill tempered. I'm usually more 'restrained' in my anger. Now where were we? Oh yes, I remember." His eyes glowed as he picked up Cozy Glow with the greatest of ease!

Cozy struggled in vain! "No! Please! Spare me!" She whimpered in fright! "I want to live!"

Tirek's eyes only glowed brighter as his eyes narrowed. "It's too late for that now! I never should've given you free will, a mistake I intend to correct." But when he tried to pull Cozy Glow close to him, the dark red and orange glow of his magic ceased to maintain its hold on her and dropped her.

Tirek blinked in surprise. He tried again, and the same thing happened. He opened his mouth to try and drain the magic from Cozy Glow, but he got nothing for his efforts. The centaur nervously stepped back a bit! "What is the meaning of this?! What is this defiance?!"

Without warning, a series of magical whips wrapped themselves around the crafty centaur's arms and held tight to him, thus preventing him from moving! "Cozy Glow isn't your creation anymore, Tirek," The familiar voice of Princess Celestia explained as she and Princess Luna descended from above, while down below an entire garrison worth of royal guards came marching up on the scene with their spears the ready. "She is now one of my subjects. So if you lay a paw on her, you'll answer to me. And I'll make you regret it."

"You're going back to Tartarus, where you belong! This time you'll be under 24/7 surveillance, so there'll be no chance of another escape attempt. I'll personally see to that!" Princess Luna vowed.

Tirek roared and growled as he thrashed about! But the magical grip of the princesses didn't falter or fade! "NOOOOO!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs! "My own creation, turned against me! My perfectly crafted plan, ruined!" His eyes narrowed as he looked at Shining Armor. "You! Once again you've taken away my victory! You just can't let me win, can you?!"

"Sorry, that's not how I roll," Shining replied with a smug smirk on his face. "Your plan backfired, Tirek! Because I know now more than ever how important it is to always be around to stop the likes of you! So long as you, Chrysalis, and any other threat to Equestria exists, I'll never stop fighting for what's right! You got a problem with that?"


Furiously, the centaur concentrated as much energy as he could in between his horns, conjuring up the biggest magic fireball he had could manage on such short circumstances! Shining, fearing the worst, threw up a protective shield as he flapped his wings to stay out of Tirek's range! But when Tirek finally shot off the fireball it flew past the prince and out towards the Everfree Forest.

The prince couldn't help but taunt Tirek over his apparent misfire. "You missed me by a mile, Tirek. I gotta say, your aim is getting worse."

"On the contrary, prince. It's working perfectly," Tirek cackled with sadistic glee. "Whoever said I was aiming for you?!"

"What are you talking about? What could you possibly be trying to hit instead of me?" Shining questioned, before suddenly he felt something flash in his eyes and he winced in pain, falling to the ground amidst a series of horrified gasps!

Tirek gleefully exclaimed! "YES!" His smile grew wider by the second. "I may be going back to Tartarus, but my last act here in Equestria will leave it forever weakened! Harmony is dead!"

Luna immediately cast a spell that produced a muzzle around Tirek's mouth. "That's quite enough out of you, fiend!" She turned to a few of the guards clad in the dark blue armor with the moon emblazoned into the chest plate. "Guards! Let us escort Tirek back to Tartarus, and prepare a special cage for him. I suspect it will take a very long time to get any magic out of him."

Meanwhile, Shining's friends were at his side as they watched him shake while his horn sparked ominously and his body seemed to glow briefly! They had never seen this sort of behavior in him before!

"What's happening to you, Shining?! You okay, buddy?!" Soarin questioned, only to get no reply! "Hey, come on! Speak to me!"

Slowly, the prince rose to his hooves. "I just got a message from The Tree of Harmony, it's in danger!" He explained. "Quickly, we need to bring the elements back to it before it's too late!"