The mare on stage placed a hoof at the base of her throat and began to clear it, the tone of her voice becoming apparent. When she was ready, she looked out at the small crowd before her and flipped the switch that brought the microphone to life.
"I see it everyday," she said, "ponies everywhere on their last legs, just trying to survive in these unfortunate circumstances. For those of you like me, you flocked to the big cities seeking refuge from the chaos and the elements, yearning for some explanation or direction to go... Today I hope to provide that direction." She motioned her arm to the curtain behind her, which swiftly dropped, revealing a large and detailed notice board: thread and pins adorning it in great number and organization. Two mares and two stallions in cerulean vests flocked either side of it.
"As you can see, my committee and I have developed a plan of sorts that we hope can get at least this city back on track, and if it works, maybe we can help to rebuild the other settlements as well." She took a breath. "Now more than ever, ponies are divided, scared and angry. I am too, but we have the framework to move forward. In theory, we would put everyone to work, serving specific roles to keep the city running at a level of base functionality until higher efficiency can be achieved. That being said, it only works if we can get everyone to agree to it. She who doesn't work- doesn't eat."
She received some hesitant looks from the crowd, slowly gathering in number as ponies filtered in from the back to see what was going on; their curious eyes following her every move as she continued.
"Here in Fillydelphia, and no doubt in Whinnyapolis, Canterlot, and Ponyville as well, everyone is struggling to stay standing, we understand. We've done the math, and the city should have enough food and water to last a month, maybe, so we'd have to start soon if not now."
She could feel the catch in the onlookers throats from the looks in their eyes alone, but she wasn't gonna give up that easy.
"Please don't be concerned, through mine and my team's managerial skills and your dedicated labor, we can recreate a relative state of stability and peace amongst the havoc outside. The damage Cozy Glow did to our world is unforgivable and the toll losing magic took on our society eternally damning, but what are we if not ponies to persist in the face of adversity and loss of hope."
She was starting to win them over, or at least so it seemed.
"The princesses are doing all they can, but only so much is possible without their magic. I'm sure you've all noticed the days are much longer now. For the unicorns among us, without your magic you'll be working alongside my team and I to help keep things running smoothly in the background. The earth ponies and pegasi among us will help with construction and other necessary tasks that need completing to keep the city running and operational until, as mentioned, we can establish a more permanent solution. For the few non-ponies here today, you'd be assigned to specialized jobs that best befitted your talents, provided you were okay with it."
While the hesitant looks never stopped, significantly more ponies were visually assured than when this elusive mare started speaking, apparently taken by her efforts to unite them. One of her blue-clad lackeys stepped down and off the stage and into the crowd, putting together a clipboard to start accepting signatures so that her work may finally begin.
Caught up in the afterglow, she almost didn't hear the honeyed voice of some mare off to the left, her ears perking up just so that she might catch it.
"Excuse me miss, but what would that mean for me?" The low murmurs of the crowd fell mostly still as the alabaster kirin spoke up. The pony adjusted her eyes to meet the orator and speak, her falsetto almost catching on its way out.
"Yes," she acknowledged "were it okay with you, you'd likely help work in the kitchens, to cook and ensure everyone gets fed." she responded with a degree of sincere confidence.
"Oh um, I don't know how t-"
"It's okay," she interrupted. "I didn't know how to cook anything up until a few months ago myself," she said with a chuckle. "You'll do fine."
She shoot her a warm smile and, visibly, she seemed more comfortable, her lilac mane slowly pulling away from her face.
Confident with everything she'd achieved, she turned and, save a brief word of thank you and goodbye, left off for her living facilities, leaving her compatriots to round off the consent forms. It's wasn't far away, not more than a couple blocks, but after everything she was more than happy to finally take that short, black wig off and wipe the cosmetic off her flank.
Two Months Earlier
Cozy Glow couldn't believe her eyes. The crystal pillars lit up one after another across the chamber in a spectacle of shimmering colors as a rainbow shot through the air with the force of a cannon. It took her a second to even process what was happening, but those damn kids were flying! No no no, they were being lifted out of the magic well. When they told the students to run she almost flew after them in pursuit, but the gravity of the situation hit her like brick and set her priorities back straight.
She rocketed towards Sandbar. The force of the collision sent them both tumbling over eachother and into the cold stone floor, the blunt pain sharing headspace with the strident ringing of the crystal pillars on every side. She'd seemingly stopped whatever they were doing, at least for now.
"You aren't- gonna stop anything." She grunted as she shoved back against his weight. Cozy fell backwards onto the floor, but before she got the chance to make another dive something clamped around her tail.
Cozy lost her footing as Gallus yanked the filly to the floor, cracking her chin against it. Still restricted, she used the anchor to swing herself around the colt and into the beak of Silverstream, who was standing in wait just next to him.
In surprise and shock, his claw unfurled from around her tail as he went to help her up. Cozy hung in low flight as she planned her next move in her head.
Smolder shouted out. "Don't get distracted guys, we've gotta get the artifacts outta there!" No words were shared but the sentiment was clear.
She dashed over again, this time to the dragon, and yanked her wings back and out, her scream of pain being enough to get them to at least look, if not stop. Her wings pattered as she kicked off her body, one hoof landing squarely against her jaw. Unbeknownst, or possibly unimportantly to Cozy Glow at the time, her makeshift crown of gold foil and tape fell off with the impact.
"Nobody hurts Yona's friends!" a roaring voice called from the side.
The shout made the filly's heart skip a beat. As the hulking yak charged at her, she just mustered the energy to toss herself out of the beast's reach.
Another bone-chilling roar rang through the air of the basement, the school's students now long evacuated.
For a moment she felt genuine horror as the weight of a small colt dragged her back into the reach of Yona once again. In this moment of desperation, she hit the ground, waiting under her until it passed overhead like a freight train before she threw herself up. Using what might've been the foal's last bit of energy, she made a circle in flight and careened into the side of the bovine, knocking her over and past the borders of the ritual circle.
Once again ensnared in the well, Yona began to panic, much the same as her peers. Slowly, the magical orb sank into the wanting portal below, and try as they might, with only five of them they couldn't stop anything. As they watched their friend and their counselor disappear into the ether for good, the little pink pegasus was nowhere to be found.
It was only a matter of time now, Cozy Glow's reckoning had just begun.