//------------------------------// // Epilogue Part 2: Remnants // Story: Cozy Chronicles // by 5u0myn0n4 //------------------------------// The School of Friendship. Or at least, what used to be the School of Friendship. The structure had been reduced to a pile of rubble. But underneath all this rubble, is where everypony believed Cozy Glow would reside. Princess Twilight Sparkle, accompanied by her friends Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Starlight Glimmer. They were accompanied by Cozy's former henchponies, Suri Polomare, Svengallop, and the Washouts, Lightning Dust, Rolling Thunder, and Short Fuse. They received help from Ocellus and the changelings. Sandbar, Yona, Silverstream, and Smolder also joined in the effort to clear the debris. Gallus was still in the hospital, but Gabby was happy to substitute for him. Maud had also agreed to help since she's the expert on rocks and excavation. The basement was a mess from the resulting landslide, and was barely accessible. Together, all of them took part in cleaning up the mess, and digging through the rubble in hopes of finding... a sign of something. They all explored the school ruins. Nearly the entire structure collapsed. It was a laborious task clearing out all the rocks and debris. All the characters were hard at work investigating what could've caused the collapse of the school. Whether or not they'd find Cozy, nopony knew. Spike and Smolder lifted heavy boulders out of the pit, while Suri was quite content with her pace, but her work was put to shame by Maud Pie, who essentially glided through the debris. "Pfft. Showoff." Suri said to herself, referring to Maud. The mane 6 were hard at work as well. "Do you think any pony could've survived all of this collapsing on top of them?" Rainbow whispered to Applejack. "I mean, maybe she got lucky, and somethin' could'a broken the fall." she replied. "She could've been crushed immediately, or she could alive, but gasping for air." Magnolia said, overhearing their conversation. "She may not even be here. But there definitely was some big magical disturbance here. So let's try to find out." She gave the entangled mares a harsh glare, and they were back to work. After many hours of work, they were making good progress, and they could now start to see the outline and stand in the lower basement area of the school. Sandbar trudged through the room, when he made a startling discovery. "Uh... guys?" Sandbar said. "What? What'd you guys find?" Starlight asked. He picked up a very familiar looking artifact. He held it up so every creature could see. "It's the Amulet of Aurora!" he exclaimed. That wasn't the only discovery they made. "Yona find Helm of Yksler." Yona said. "I got the Crown of Grover!" Gabby exclaimed. "Here is K-nuck... k-nocker bocker..." Silverstream said. "She found the shell." Smolder finished her thought. "And uh... this hideous green rag." Suri said. "That would be Clover the Clevar's cloak." Sandbar said. "Really? If they were so clever, they would have stitched together something better than this." Suri commented. "So I suppose it's safe to assume the Talisman of Mirage. ought'a be here too." Starlight said. "No need for assumptions. It's right here!" Ocellus said, holding the talisman. All six artifacts, all in one place, gathered beneath the school. "Well I'll be..." Magnolia said. "The six artifacts... together, underneath the School of Friendship." Starlight said. "That can only mean one thing..." "That son of a gun!" Applejack said, kicking her hooves. "So, she tried to banish all the magic again!" Sandbar exclaimed. "She gathered the artifacts together, for an encore of her little spell!" Smolder said. "Well, it obviously didn't work. My magic's still good." Rarity said. "Mine too." Twilight added. "HA! And judging by the mess, it seems like Cozy's plan literally blew up in her face!" Rainbow Dash said. A sound explanation, but not everypony was satisfied. "But why would she try to do it again? You'd think after experiencing what it's like to be an alicorn, she would prefer to relish in all the magic she could get." Magnolia said. "They say true insanity is doing the same exact thing, and expecting a different outcome." Pinkie Pie said. "And well, if any pony in Equestria is truly insane..." Smolder said. While every creature was thinking aloud, Twilight was thinking deeply in her head. "Uh, Twilight. What do you make of all this?" Starlight asked. "...I don't know. Something about this just doesn't add up.." Twilight said. "When Cozy possessed Luster Dawn, she went mad trying to steal my magic. So why would she then immediately turn around and try get rid of it again?" "Maybe banishing magic was her plan all along?" Applejack asked. "And what if the spell encountered an unexpected hitch?" Rainbow Dash asked. "A hitch that would have caused her spell to fail." Rarity added. "No... But she did succeed." Magnolia said. Magnolia held the sack that once held the Rainbow of Darkness up, hoping every creature would put two and two together. "...Come again?" Silverstream asked. "You're all forgetting an important piece to this puzzle." Magnolia reminded every creature. "The Rainbow of Darkness! It was here, but now it's g-o-n-e." "She's right." Fluttershy said. "Hmm." everypony thought about how the missing RoD fit into this puzzle. Magnolia was getting impatient with their speculating. "Hello?! Spell that banishes magic?! Sudden disappearance of Equestria's biggest reservoir of dark magic?!" she exclaimed. "This empty sack is proof that Cozy's spell worked, and she succeeded in banishing magic. Only this time, she banished a different blend of magic..." "So instead of our magic, she-" Twilight started. "I got it!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Cozy didn't assemble these artifacts to banish our magic! She used them to banish the Rainbow of Darkness! This is how she banished the RoD!" "Pinkie. That's ridiculous." Rainbow Dash said. "Then how else do you explain the Rainbow of Darkness's disappearance?" Magnolia asked. "Okay, maybe you're onto something." Dash admitted. "But how did Cozy manage to put the Rainbow of Darkness down here, and banish it all?" Twilight asked. "Yeah. If only there was an magical object in Equestria that had the ability to suck up magic with just a little ring." Pinkie said. "..." "Think this might have something to do with it?" Maud asked, holding a peculiar object. "What is that? Let me get a closer look!" Twilight said. Every creature gathered around Maud, and inspected the strange piece. "It's not natural rock, nor is it consistent with stone work construction." Maud explained. "It's a special composition." The unusual fragment in their hooves wasn't an ordinary rock. It was a piece of an ancient artifact. "I don't believe me eyes." Discord said. "I think I recognize this fragment..." Starlight said. Luster Dawn was listening to their speculation. She was in too much pain to speak, but she was the only one in the vicinity who had the answer they were looking for. All this talk about Cozy Glow was bringing back memories. And seeing that fragment gave her severe anxiety. She knew exactly what it was. Luster gazed at the fragment, when all of the sudden, from her point of view, the fragment flashed and turned into its complete form. In front of Luster, the bewitching bell was glowing, and Cozy Glow appeared in front of her, as a being of light, projected by the bell. "Cozy Glow? Y-y-you're... you're a..." Luster tried to say. *giggle* "That's right. I am the bell, Lusty." Cozy said. "I'm in control of it, and all of its magic." "You ejected your consciousness from my mind, and into the bell?" Luster asked. "Yep." she affirmed. "You've been of great service to me, and I really mean that. But I've gotten way more than enough mileage out of you. Now it's time for me to finish this myself." "But what happens to you if the bell is destroyed?" Luster asked. "...I don't know. Good thing the bell's indestructible though!" Cozy replied. "It is?" Luster asked. "...I'm like 80% sure it is." Cozy replied. "But that may not matter anyway considering what I'm gonna do." "But how are you going to defeat those nasty shadow creatures!?" Luster asked. "Uh... let's just say if you can't beat 'em, *ring* eat 'em." Cozy winked. *stomp* They were running out of time, Tirek was fast approaching. It was time for Cozy's plan. "Tirek's coming." Cozy said. "It's now or never." "Cozy, no!" Luster exclaimed. "I have to do this, Lusty. The Rainbow of Darkness captured all my friends. And I have to do everything I can to set them free. I'll do whatever it takes to save Tirek." Luster was tearing up, not just from the pain, but from her words. "You diabolical filly! You hate Twilight, but you love Tirek. You're gonna rid Equestria of darkness to save him. I guess you can be good, in very specific circumstances." Luster said. *stomp* "Whatever you're about to do, don't do it! It's too dangerous! You're to fragile!" Luster cried. "Whatever happens, happens, Lusty..." Cozy assured. "When you open your eyes, everything will be all better, and I'll be in a better place..." Luster's memory faded... . . . "Luster Dawn! Snap out of it!" Twilight exclaimed. Back in the present time, Luster was crying uncontrollably. "Luster Dawn?! What's wrong?" Starlight asked. "Mmmm mmd mmd." Luster said. "What was that, darling?" Rarity asked. *rip* "BELL! AHHH!" Luster ripped her bandage from her mouth to speak. "Luster! Don't hurt yourself!" Twilight exclaimed. *sniff* "That's Grogar's bell! Cozy Glow put her essence into the bell in order to be in full control of all the magic inside! She used the bell's magical absorbing powers in a last ditch effort to destroy the Rainbow of Darkness!" Luster explained. "I think I get it now." Magnolia said. "Cozy absorbed the Rainbow of Darkness into Grogar's bell, and brought it here under the school, where she then proceeded to reactivate the spell." "And for the spell to work, you need somepony with powerful magic to activate the spell..." Starlight said, and then she realized it. "She definitely had that requirement in check." Lightning Dust said. "Whatever she did, she freed all of us from the darkness' control." "So instead of banishing all the magic. This time, she used that spell just to banish the Rainbow of Darkness!" Sandbar said. "...and, herself..." Starlight said. Amber started to cry when she and everypony else realized what happened. She'd only known her sister for a brief amount of time, and she was already gone. "This is just terrible." Amber cried. "My sister's GONE! My daddy's GONE! I never even had a mummy! I'm all alone now!" Magnolia leaned in close to Amber. "Oh, come here you..." Magnolia said. "You look so much like her, my little Amby. I swore an allegiance to Cozy Glow, and that carries over to you." Magnolia said. Magnolia sat down, and held Amber in her hooves. They both started crying. "Oh, you poor thing." Suri said. "I was friends with your older sister too. And I'll be your friend *sob* too!" Suri leaned in and hugged Amber and Magnolia. "I told myself I wouldn't cry in front of other ponies, but I'm going to have to go against my own orders!" Lightning cried. "I'm right behind you!" Rolling Thunder cried. *sob* "...WAAAHH!" Short Fuse couldn't even form any words, he just exploded into tears, and joined them. Amber Glow, Magnolia, Suri, Lightning, Rolling Thunder, and Short Fuse all joined in a group hug, and cried their hearts out for Cozy Glow. And yes, even Svengallop himself, removed his glasses and shed a few tears. "It ain't all bad, Svengallop." Applejack assured. "Now who's going to hire me?!" he cried. The verdict seemed conclusive. Whether the spell completed first, or the bell exploded first wasn't clear. Either way, Cozy Glow was no longer around. The fate of the Tirek and Chrysalis was still up in the air, however. "I guess that's that." Starlight said to Twilight. "Now what do we do?" "There they are. Are you ready to lock away Equestria's baddest group of ponies?" Spike asked. Twilight looked at the crowd of ponies crying over Cozy Glow. She didn't see a group of evildoers, she saw ponies crying over their friend. "I don't think that kind of punishment is appropriate for them." Twilight said. "All they did was listen to Cozy, and attack under the influence of the Rainbow of Darkness. They aren't that bad themselves." Twilight walked up to the crying group. "I'm really sorry about what happened to Cozy Glow. I-" Twilight said. "Stop it! You dictator!" Amber cried out. "What?!" Twilight exclaimed. "I know what she did some really bad things, *sniff* but she told me that you sealed her away immediately after her defeat, without giving her a chance to speak her mind!" Amber said. Everypony turned their attention to Discord, whose idea it was to turn them to stone on the spot. "What? We were cutting it close to exceeding the show's runtime, so I had to wrap it up quickly." Discord explained. "A few minutes saved is years of suffering for somepony else." Magnolia said, deadpan. Twilight shook her head, and expressed her condolences. "I'm really sorry for how I treated Cozy Glow in the past." Twilight said. "I promise to try to make it up to you, and pay our respects to her." *sniff* "Thank you, Princess." Magnolia said. "In fact, I already have an idea for how to pay respects to her." Twilight said. To be continued...