In the Zephyr Heights throne room, Cozy Glow was being filmed for her latest livestream. Zoom Zephyrwing held Cozy's phone and pointed its camera at Cozy, while Thunder flew slightly off camera holding a boom microphone.
"I just wanted to thank everypony for the incredible support once again!" Cozy said joyfully. "I'll have to admit, I was pretty lost when I first found myself thawed from stone, and awoken in this strange new world, but I think it's really starting to click for me! You have it so good! You have these magic bricks called smart phoons which allow me to see how all my amazing followers are doing! Now that Equestria is ours, I'm not sure what we're going to do next. Maybe open portals to unknown worlds, or discover new magic. But whatever our next venture entails, I'll be keeping you all posted! Peace!"
Cozy Glow held her smile and waved, for an uncomfortable amount of time.
"That means cut the feed." Cozy whispered.
Zoom Zephyrwing finally caught wind of Cozy, and hastily cut the live stream.
"Fantastic job, Zoom and Thunder. Although next time, Thunder, less flapping, the audience can clearly hear you!" Cozy scolded.
"I-I'm sorry, Ms. Glow. Next time I'll be quieter." Thunder said.
"And Zoom, could you try to hold the phone steady! We don't want to give my one million subscribers motion sickness!" Cozy exclaimed.
"Forgive me, ma'am. I-I'll invest in a tripod for next time." Zoom said.
"You'll be lucky if you get a next time." Cozy said. "Now get out of here! And bring some more dragon chow will ya!"
Thunder and Zoom panicked. They bumped each other's heads, before running out of the throne room.
"Phew. Being so influential to everypony is such hard work." Cozy said.
"Hard work? Pah." Tirek said.
Tirek sat just off camera from the main throne, laid over and benching weights.
"I already did the hard work by taking magic from everypony in Equestria. All you did was get breathed on by this little dragon. Cozy's done hardly a productive thing since we took over." he said.
"Uh, hello! I'm the one commanding our subjects! It's a very important role! You're the ones slouching!" Cozy said.
"She is right, somewhat. There hasn't been enough call to action since we took over Zephyr Heights. I still have the urge to further crush ponies's hopes and dreams." Chrysalis said.
Chrysalis walked up to Sparky's cage slowly. Sparky wept, and looked away. But Chrysalis used her magic to force Sparky to look at her, and squeezed the poor baby dragon to make him squirt a burst of dragon fire at her.
"I'd love to see just how much destruction this dragon fire can bring. Want to join me and try out some of this dragon fire?" Chrysalis asked Cozy.
"Huh? In a moment, just gotta reply to this neigh-sayer real quick." Cozy said. "Oh, but then I gotta start scripting my next video.
"Cozy Glow!" Chrysalis exclaimed. "You have been staring at that brick for hours!"
"But it's soooo amazing! I don't even have to leave the throne room! I can just command all these foolish ponies by speaking with them through here!" Cozy said.
"We should head outside, and burn this land to the ground!" Chrysalis suggested.
"Burn what? Tirek already laid siege to all of Equestria. This dragon fire is powerful and all, but there's no one left to conquer." Cozy said.
"How about that shadowy alicorn? We shouldn't count her out. Who knows what tricks they have left up their sleeve." Chrysalis said.
"Or those group of friends who tried to stop us from taking the dragon?" Tirek asked.
"That powerless alicorn, and those group of weak friends? Torching them would be a cinch." Cozy said.
"Then let's do it." Chrysalis said.
"After I edit my latest clip trot. If I don't upload 14 shorts every day, I might lose relevance." Cozy said.
"GRR!! But you are starting to lose, my patience." Chrysalis exclaimed, as the fire in her mane grew more fierce, and her eyes glowed.
"FIVE MORE MINUTES!" Cozy exclaimed, whose mane also lit on fire, and her eyes glowed and changed color.
"You two are pathetic. Look at you. Dragon fire has made you crazy, and it doesn't even seem that strong." Tirek said.
"Yeah, well not all of us are lucky like you to be able to just eat magic!" Cozy said.
The three continued to argue, while Sparky groaned and crossed his arms.
Tirek sighed, and paused his weightlifting.
"I'm finding this entire venture to be rather... dull." Tirek said.
"Explain yourself." Cozy said.
"The magic here is rather... unremarkable." Tirek said. "The earthpony magic tastes different, but aside from that, it's all pretty standard. This new Equestria just doesn't have the variety of old Equestria. There's just three towns, and that's it. Conquering it took mere hours. And now there's nothing left to do..."
"I know what you miss. You miss the delicious power that alicorn magic gave." Cozy said.
"Indeed. Even that one shadowy alicorn's magic was rather tame. I've nearly got the magic from everypony, and yet this is it for my physique. Is this all Equestria has left to offer?" Tirek pondered.
"There's got to be alicorn magic somewhere." Cozy pondered.
Sparky rolled his eyes and made a pffft sound with his little dragon lips.
"Where did Twilight and her friends go? Why is everything so... different?" Cozy pondered.
Meanwhile, Sunny Starscout sat in a slump. She was hunched over, as she looked over, and mourned her father's grave. Sunny hung her head and reminisced about the times her father helped her through tough situations in the past.
"I always looked to you for inspiration. And right now, I could really use some inspiration..." Sunny said, with her voice choked up. "You always taught me to see the best in ponies, and see the best in myself. Now I just have to see it in myself..."
She wasn't sure exactly what she hoped to gain from this. Argyle didn't have anything left to give per se. She thought maybe she was looking for closure, or that somehow he'd fill her with the confidence she needed to make things right. But unfortunately, not much was coming to her. The only thing that was coming to her, was the heartbreak, and the reminder of the painful memories.
Her mind wandered, and she peered over and was surprised to see she wasn't alone. She hadn't noticed anyone else approach, but she figured she was distracted by her thoughts.
"Sprout? What are you doing here?" she asked.
"You're not the only one with ponies to mourn, Sunny." Sprout said.
"Oh, right..." Sunny said.
The two avoided eye contact, and slumped their heads once again. Sprout would however break the silence.
"You know, your dad was an interesting pony. My mom didn't like me and Hitch being over at your old house too often. She was always put off by his obsession for those tales of harmony." Sprout explained.
Sunny hunched over and tried to tune Sprout out as he continued.
"The idea of the three pony tribes meeting up was always so interesting, in a scary sort of way. Your dad talked about how unicorns had magic horns, and pegasi could fly at hundreds of miles per hour. The idea of it all sounded... terrifying. Like they sounded so much stronger than us earth ponies. The fear of a possible encounter is what led Canterlogic to develop all those anti-pegasus and unicorn devices. And I guess that idea was the foundation for Maretime Bay."
"Yeah, I remember what you did." Sunny said, deadpan.
"You were the antithesis of everything Maretime Bay was about. Yet somehow, I still don't like seeing you this way." Sprout said.
Sunny slouched, and didn't reply.
"You're just going to give up now?" Sprout asked.
"I'm not giving up, I'm just having trouble thinking of how to approach this. Or even if I should..." she said.
"So giving up is on the plate. Well stop it, Sunny. We need your help." Sprout said.
"No, you need the alicorn's help! Because Sunny can't do anything on her own!" Sunny exclaimed.
"What are you talking about? You are an alicorn. It's not like you and you as an alicorn are different ponies." Sprout said.
"May as well be. The alicorn is so much better, more popular, and more powerful. Sunny hasn't got anything." Sunny said, choked up.
"What are you talking about? Sunny Starscout has done plenty! You managed to dismantle Canterlogic's anti-pegasus and anti-unicorn agenda. You managed to find those three... crystal thingies, and brought the three tribes together. In just a few days, you dismantled what my mom had spent years building up." Sprout said. "It's thanks to you that Equestria became what it is now. A magic haven where anypony can live where they want. And it's because you believed it was possible. Your dad would be proud of you."
*sniff* "I know he would." Sunny said. "It's everything he ever wanted. Was to have harmony between the three tribes again."
"I know another thing. He wouldn't want to see you give up like this." Sprout said. "So are you really going to quit now? ...huh?"
Sunny looked at Sprout, with her face all watery. She wiped away her tears, and hugged Sprout, which caught him by surprise.
Sprout wasn't sure how to react at first, but he slowly eased into it. Then peered over and saw Sunny's friends looking at them. He quickly backed away when he saw them.
"Uh... it's not what it looks like." Sprout said.
"You guys need a moment, Sunny?" Hitch asked.
"Uh? Nah. We're fine. I'm fine. We uh... *cough* We just happened to run into each other." Sprout said, backing away slowly.
"Are you okay, Sunny?" Zipp asked.
"Me? I've been better. But uh... doing alright." Sunny said.
"Sunny, there's something I have to tell you. I know things seem bleak, but there's hope still." Zipp said.
"What makes you say so?" Sunny asked.
"Because there's something special that happens when friends join forces, so I think that us working together is the key to saving Equestria." Zipp said.
"Well, of course it is." Sunny said. "It's just like the stories my dad would tell me. How time and time again, Twilight Sparkle would save Equestria from great calamity with her friends."
"Oh, so you already know all about it." Pipp said.
"But there's more to it than that. It's how they save Equestria, I think some kind of special magic activates." Zipp said.
"That magic is friendship. It's what made Twilight and her friends so formidable." Sunny said.
"Exactly! Let's join together and show those jerks what for!" Izzy said.
"I can't..." Sunny said.
"What?!" everypony exclaimed
"Sure, the magic of friendship worked... up until it didn't..." Sunny said.
"What are you talking about?" Hitch asked.
"The magic of friendship isn't enough! It wasn't enough back then, and it's certainly not enough now!" Sunny snapped.
Her friends took a step back, and she immediately regretted yelling at them.
"I-I appreciate you all coming. I really do. But the only thing that can stop those three is the alicorn. Which is why I... *sniff* I mean, the alicorn have decided to... to..."
Sunny hung her head in absolute despair. "I can't do it... I won't do it..."
Her friends all stood in painful silence. Except for Izzy who broke the silence.
"So wait, you don't want to save Equestria, not because you don't think you can, but because brute forcing it wouldn't feel right?" Izzy asked.
"Izzy, please. Not now." Zipp said.
"No, yes now! You can't just not do anything, Sunny!" Izzy exclaimed, with a bit of backbone.
But even still, Sunny was firm, and didn't budge.
"Please, Sunny. You can't just quit. You've come so far. You're the reason we're here together right now. You're the reason I'm not alone any more. Please, I don't want it to end this way." Izzy wept.
"Izzy, I..." Sunny started.
"If our friendship isn't strong enough... does that mean you don't believe in our friendship?" Izzy asked.
"What, Izzy. That's not what I said. I..." Sunny said, not sure how to finish her sentence.
"But 'the alicorn' is enough, huh." Hitch said.
Sunny nodded.
"That's what I was told... but something about it just doesn't feel right. I don't assert my power for the sake of it. I know that's not what friendship is about. But friendship as I said already didn't work. So I guess might is right, but I don't like it.
Izzy reached her hoof out to Sunny.
"Even if you don't think our friendship is powerful enough, isn't it worth it to try?" Izzy asked. "Don't you believe in yourself, Sunny? Don't you believe in us?"
"We believe in you, Sunny Starscout." Pipp said.
"And I believe that our friendship is truly special." Zipp added.
"You always believed in friendship, Sunny. Since we were foals. Please don't give up believing now." Hitch said. "Please, Sparky needs our help."
Sunny looked at her friends, who all stared at her, giving her their utmost support. Her friends moved in closer, and they all joined for a group hug. Seeing her friends warm embracing, finally, something in Sunny's mind clicked.
Twilight's magic of friendship. Sunny's alicorn magic. It was all connected with the same fabric.
Sunny looked at the portrait of Argyle one more time to remind herself that the magic of friendship was real. She was determined to prove her mirror self wrong, and show what friends can really do.
"I owe it to you to try and continue to push myself. The last thing you would've wanted to see me do is give up. So that's the last thing I'm going to do." Sunny said to Argyle.
Sunny, and her friend's cutie marks all started to glow, and her alicorn powers came out. Her friends made her feel that special spark.
"If you think we can use the magic of friendship to save Equestria, then I say, let's do it!" Sunny said, enthused.
Her friends smiled, and cheered for her.
"There's the Sunny I know." Hitch said.
"Thanks, Sunny." Izzy said, relieved.
"So you’re ready to jump into the deep end? there's still a lot we don't know about how the magic of friendship works." Zipp said.
"Well, we'll find out together." Sunny said.
Her friends smiled, and nodded affirmatively. They knew what had to be done. It was up to them to save Equestria.
"Alright, we just have to-"
Suddenly, Sunny was interrupted by a loud voice.
"WAY TO GO SUNNY!!" Misty exclaimed into a megaphone.
"W-what are you doing here, Misty?" Sunny asked.
"Stay clear of her, Sunny. I got this." Hitch said, pulling out hoofcuffs from his saddle bag.
"Chain me up if you wish, but I have a message to send!" Misty said. "Equestria is in grave danger, and only the best of friends coming together can save it! Are you ready to work with your friends and rid Equestria of evil?"
"Yes. Yes I am." Sunny said. "Actually, yes we are."
"I knew you come back to help us Misty! I knew it!" Izzy said, squeezing Misty.
"Hang on. You've been running around and evading us. We still can't be certain to trust her." Hitch said.
"No, no. No strings attached, I swear. I'm on your side. I want Equestria to be rid of evil too." Misty said. "So now, Sunny Starscout. What are you going to do?"
Sunny and her friends all joined for a group hug. However, Sprout watched them all hug each other, and slowly turned away and started off.
"Where are you going, Sprout?" Sunny asked, chasing after him.
"Well, you friends seem to have this under control." Sprout said.
"Well, this one isn't going to be easy, and we could certainly use all the help we can get." Hitch said.
"How could I possibly help? You guys are the friends after all. Not me." Sprout said.
Hitch tapped his hoof and thought of how Sprout could help. And then the solution came to him.
"Still got all those inventions from the old days?" Hitch asked.
“The unicorn boxes and anti-pegasus catapults? Yeah, why?” Sprout asked.
"Sheriff, you don't think our special bond will be enough to do the trick?" Zipp asked, half jokingly.
"Maybe it will, but it doesn't hurt to be extra sure." Hitch said.
"If you wanna be extra sure, stick with Izzy. I got some gear that ought to help us." Izzy said.
"Then it's settled, ponies. Let's buckle down, and prepare for the most important moment of our lives." Sunny said.
Misty smiled as she watched Sunny and friends unite. She had a feeling that Opaline would be most pleased that Sunny and friends were reunited with the intention of ridding Equestria of the mean trio.