//------------------------------// // More To The Magic (Part Two) // Story: Equestria Rewritten // by darlinglightfoot //------------------------------// Flurry Heart happily joined the party in her spacious dorm room. "You guys really didn't have to do all of this for me..." She said humbly. The place was decorated with streamers, balloons, and all of the works. Including an intricately decorated cake with a cartoonish doodle of Flurry labeled 'welcome'. "And on such short notice? We've only really just met..." Pound Cake couldn't wipe the goofy grin off of his face "Hey, it's a family thing, you have to have a party ready at all times." The ponies all shared a laugh at this. "Well, I appreciate it nonetheless." Flurry added as she magicked her door closed. "So, how was your meeting with Darling Lightfoot?" Sunbeam asked, holding a small cup of punch between his hooves as he floated above the others. Flurry sighed a bit at the reminder of how off-putting Twilight's star pupil had been to her. "She wasn't exactly... Kind? I can't really form an opinion." Flurry half-confessed. "Sunbeam is in love with her." Berry Patch blurted out. Everypony immediately began chuckling at this. "I most certainly am not!" Sunbeam assured everyone. Balancing his drink in one hoof, he returned to the floor with the other ponies. "Just because she's gorgeous and the best magic student in all of Equestria... well, maybe besides you, Flurry... Respectfully..." "Oh the dramatics!" Berry giggled, leaning against Flurry with one hoof held up to her head like a damsel in distress. "Just say you're in love..." "I'd never say such a thing!" Sunbeam chuckled out. "I'm no Heartthrob." "Heartthrob is a really nice pony..." Daffodil chimed in. "Oh Here we go-" Berry Patch insisted. "If you love her so much you should just talk to her..." Flurry added, rolling her eyes. "You literally just said she 'wasn't kind'..." The others all chuckled again. "She just basically told me to stay out of her way-" Suddenly, there was a loud bang above the five ponies, seemingly coming from the roof of the dorm building. Trotting sounds could be heard before the steps were silent. The steps had stopped just above Flurry Heart. The five ponies surrounded her as they stared up at the ceiling. "What was that?" Pound asked scanning the room for any ideas. "Maybe they are cleaning off the roof today?" Daffodil reasoned. "Well, they're doing it extremely loudly if they are..." Berry Patch added. Without another word they could see a reddish laser of magic shoot through the roof and ceiling. The blade sliced a circular shape into the room. Falling through the newly made opening was a pale pink pegasus with a light blue mane. Her mane and fur were ruffled and she seemed to be scratched up from some altercation. Around her neck, hung a red colored amulet that seemed to glow the same color of the magic they had seen. The five ponies had managed to dodge the falling ceiling with just inches to spare. They stood for a moment staring at the burglar. Without a word, the trespassing pony aimed a magical laser blast right for Flurry Heart. Narrowly dodging, Flurry Heart rolled over her bed. She scooped Truffle up in her mouth "Run!" She mutter-screamed through her teeth. The five ponies took off down the dorm hall and down the stairs. The pink pony followed them on wing, but she seemed to doddle behind. Daffodil quickly used her magic to blockade the unknown pony, but it was no use, the amulet's power outweighed her own. "Who is that?!" Berry Patch shouted as they galloped through the schools' halls, other students dodging them as they did. "I have no idea!" Flurry answered. Her and Sunbeam beating their wings, fleeing over the crowd. In Twilight Sparkle's chamber, the door was urgently burst open. The Princess, Darling, and a third pony sat silently reading until being disturbed by the five ponies' sudden entry. "Flurry Heart... What is wrong?" Twilight asked, concerned. Darling rose from her seat. Without word, Flurry and Daffodil held the chamber doors shut with their magic. "I repeat... what is the issue?" "Your majesty..." Pound Cake began. "We were having a small gathering up in Flurry Heart's dorm, when all of the sudden-" A bang against the door silenced the room, it sounded as if somepony was using their entire body to smack against the door. Daffodil and Flurry shared a concerned glance as they both pressed harder to keep the door shut. "Well, a strange pony with a magical necklace on burst through the ceiling." Pound Cake continued. Twilight shared a glance with the two pupils she had been meeting with. "Please describe this pony to us..." she commanded. "Well she was a little older than us, pale pink fur and blue mane." Pound Cake responded. "Oh and don't forget the crazy look in her eyes as she tried to blast us to smithereens!" Sunbeam chimed in. "We must call the others to use the elements of harmony... we have no idea what type of magic she could have discovered..." Twilight began. "Yes, Yes..." the unknown pony started, "But how did she escape her stone prison..." "Who is this pony?!" Berry Patch shouted in terror. "Cozy Glow... she was once a school filly, just like you all are..." Twilight began. "She was obsessed with power, and it corrupted her... She aligned herself with Equestria's enemies, and well, somehow she seems to have escaped her subsequent imprisonment." The door burst open to reveal Cozy Glow, her eyes now glowing red with rage and the magic radiating from her amulet. She swirled a great tornado of magic from the stone around her neck and shot it out at the princess. Her wings fluttered her above the others as she turned Twilight Sparkle to stone. Darling and the second pupil scattered, joining the six ponies on the steps, watching in terror. "Let's see how YOU all like it!" Cozy Glow shouted, turning her attention to the other ponies in the room. "And YOU!" She grumbled, pointing one hoof towards Flurry Heart. "You have something that belongs to me..." She finished, with an evil grimace. "I have nothing for you!" Flurry shouted back, opening her wings, hiding her new friends behind them. "I don't even know you." "The only alicorn to ever be born in Equestria?" Cozy Glow snickered nastily. "You have just the right amount magic I require to rule all Equestria." "You'll never take her magic!" Sunbeam shouted as he shot up into the air. His flight speed was exceptional, he flew directly at cozy glow, evading all the blasts she threw at him. He tried to grab the amulet from around her neck, noting it as the source of her power, but once he touched it his hooves began to sting. Spinning out pain, he came crashing to the ground. "You fools, you must know nothing... Any moron with an ounce of knowledge on Equestria's history would know that this amulet can't be removed by anypony other than the pony wearing it." Darling jumped over Flurry Heart's wings and threw an unbreakable pastel pink force field around the seven ponies. "Dusk, teleport us out of here. Now" She commanded. The dark-blue unicorn immediately did that, teleporting all of them out into the courtyard. "We need to come up with a plan." Dusk said as his magic settled down. Daffodil took to this unicorn's side immediately. "This is my brother, Dusk Dazzle." Dusk nodded in approval. "He's right." Darling said, staring daggers into an already injured Sunbeam. Cheeks burning with embarrassment, Sunbeam retorted "Look, I didn't see anyone else trying anything." "Because we have to think before me act!" Darling shouted back. "Alright everypony just calm down!" Berry Patch said, sticking one hoof between the bickering ponies. "There's no way we can stop Cozy Glow if we're fighting with each other." "Why don't we ask the Alicorn what to do?" Dusk suggested. "I think we should let Twilight's friends or maybe the defenders..." Flurry Heart began. "No way." Darling said, "Twilight is already stone... and the defenders are in their own nations... They could never get here in time." "I think she's right..." Daffodil added. All eyes turned to Flurry once more. Her discomfort only grew as her mind raced with possibilities. Still, she knew she had to do something. "Fine... Here's what I think we can do..." Cozy Glow flew over the entire school, a small red beam scanned every inch of the campus, searching for Flurry Heart. The sun began to set, but Flurry didn't move from her planned spot. She sat in the middle of the courtyard grass, alone. It wasn't long before Cozy Glow had spotted her from the sky. She moved swiftly and aggressively, flying full speed at Flurry. At just the last moment, Flurry teleported herself a few feet to the left, leaving Cozy Glow to smash into the dirt, creating a large divot. She was obviously infuriated by this, rising to her feet she shot another magic blast at Flurry. Quickly Flurry Flew out of way from the blast, just at the same time, Sunbeam shot out of the dark crashing into Cozy Glow. The pair barreled up into the air, followed by Flurry Heart. Cozy Glow struggled against sunbeam's strength and speed as they suddenly turned back to the ground. She looked down realizing he was pushing her with much more force, enough force to seriously injure her if she were to hit the ground. She gave him a horrified glance before using the magical amulet to teleport herself back into the sky and away from him. He groaned in annoyance, changing course just before smashing into the ground himself. Darling and Flurry both shot a magic beam at Cozy Glow, Followed by the same from Daffodil and Dusk. Cozy conjured a circular ball of magic, before blasting it against the entire courtyard. The blast singed off all the grass and left the old willow tree toppled. The seven ponies crawled to regroup. Losing the battle... Cozy Glow fluttered down to the ground with the others, triumphantly. "Please, None of you have the magic nor the training to win this fight." Flurry Heart heard her words and seemed to realize that she was right. She trudged weakly to the front of the pack. She opened her wings once more, blocking the others from Cozy Glow. "Let's just talk about this..." Flurry Heart mumbled. "No talking!" Berry Patch shouted from behind, jumping up to see over the taller ponies. "Send her back to stone where she belongs!" Cozy Glow slowly approached the group with an inquisitive look on her face. "What do you really think there is to 'talk' about?" She giggled a bit at the absurdity. "Why do you feel like you need to do this?" Flurry asked "What did the other enemies ever do for you?" "More than anypony else ever did!" Cozy Glow screeched defensively. "There's another way... You don't need the power to be liked..." Flurry reasoned. Pound, , Berry Patch, Sunbeam, and Daffodil all joined her in a line. "Oh don't start with all of the 'Friendship is Magic' malarkey." Cozy Glow scoffed. She immediately shot another ray of magic at them. They seemed unharmed, though. A few more blasts, though, drove them apart physically. "You haven't the capacity to control the magic you aim to use..." Noticing her friends weakening, Flurry charged Cozy. They pressed their hooves against one another, flying up into the air. The magic lasers created a light show in the sky. "You're nothing!" Cozy Glow shouted. "You're an alicorn and you can't even defeat me!" She laughed. "Your aunt is the most powerful pony in all history, yet here you are... weak". Her words cut deep. Flurry's insecurities bubbling to the surface. All of the ways she was inadequate brought to the forefront of her mind. In one fowl blast Flurry was hit and sent cascading out of the sky. Watching from below, Dusk used his magic to grab Flurry Heart and safely lower her to the ground. She lay still, injured, but still breathing. All of this was enough. Cozy Glow returned to the ground one final time, sure she had finished the fight. To her surprise, she could no longer move. Surrounded by the light pink magic aura, Cozy Glow struggled against it's grip. Darling stood behind her, using all her might to freeze Cozy in her tracks. She grunted in exhaustion as she struggled to overpower the amulet-wearing pony. "You will remove the amulet!" "I will not!" Cozy Screamed in defiance. "You Will!" Darling Cried back, squeezing the mare tighter in her magic's grasp. Dusk blasted the magical grip assisting his peer. A sense of dread washed over Cozy Glow as the other ponies stared in shock at the power before them. She did as she was told, throwing the amulet down on the dirt before them. Daffodil quickly used her magic to retrieve the amulet, handing it to Berry Patch. Berry quickly stomped the amulet into many small pieces, rendering it useless. Darling and Dusk released Cozy Glow from their grasp, both exasperated and exhausted. Having used next to all their might to hold her. Darling and Dusk quickly zapped Cozy Glow immediately returning her to stone. Back in the princess's chamber, Dusk leaned over in order to place the weakened Flurry Heart on the throne room floor. Upon the destruction of the Alicorn Amulet, Twilight had been freed. The seven younger ponies bowed before the princess. "She has been returned to stone, your majesty." Berry Patch said. "We must find a secure place to keep her, in case she is ever to escape again" Twilight sighed, returning to her feet. "It was fortunate that we had you all here to protect Equestria." she said. Flurry reluctantly approached Darling once the fuss had begun to settle. "How did you freeze her like that?" She asked curiously. "level twenty spell, it's still out of my wheelhouse, but I did it." She said simply. "We all make a good team..." Flurry Heart tried, in a friendly manner. "You failed, Flurry Heart." Darling said in a bitter tone. "If it were left up to you and your little friends, we'd all be gone." "That's not true... We beat her!?" "No, You... and that cake kid... hardly helped at all." Darling reminded. "You really do have a lot to learn here." She scoffed "We aren't friends Flurry Heart. Don't think that we are... or that we might be, because we won't." "Why are you being so cruel to me!?" "I'm not being cruel! I'm giving you the reality of the situation. You and your friends failed to use the 'magic of friendship' or whatever your plan was. Dusk and I could've gotten seriously hurt using magic like that... I don't mean to blame you, I just-" Darling rolled her eyes in annoyance. "You have to take magic seriously, I'm sure you will be great and be able to use the magic of friendship one day, but it's not something that you can just do one day out of the blue..." "I'm trying my best!" Flurry Shouted, but it was on deaf ears as Darling turned away from her and started out of the chamber all together. Flurry Heart trudged up the empty steps of the throne room, where she had left Truffle prior to the fight. With Flurry in his midst he was able to take sentience once more. "Oh Kid! I was so worried about you!" He shouted wrapping his small plush arms around one of her legs. She sat on the rug between the two thrones, Truffle in her lap, "Oh Truffle... I feel like this whole friendship thing is going to be even more complicated here..."