"Throughout our city, unicorns have been reporting tales of their magic failing," Celestia announced to a large group for the emergency meeting in Canterlot. The group included Team Awesome, the Awesome Crusaders, Spike, Princess Cadance, and Thorax.
"Are there similar troubles in Ponyville?" Luna asked.
"Yes. There were numerous reports from the unicorns at our school that their magic isn't working," Twilight replied. "Plus, Spike struggled to receive two letters."
"I didn't see or sense any such problems when I left the Crystal Empire. Instead, a red force-field seemed to be generated from the Crystal Heart," Cadance explained to everyone.
"The same thing happened in the Changeling Kingdom but with our Mirror of Insight," Thorax added.
Rainbow Dash smiled to herself. "Good work, Amara," she uttered quietly.
"Master, could you explain any of this to us?" Luna asked her.
At that, the master mev nodded. "The backup copies are working better than intended," she explained. "The source must be here in Equestria, and the objects in my care are able to sense certain things here. I'm betting Amara—that's a backup we made for the Crystal Heart—shielded the Crystal Empire at the realization unicorns were losing their magic here. That force-field is keeping the magic of the unicorns there intact. The other objects must have followed suit to protect their own respective kingdoms. They are able to communicate with each other and regard each other as friends."
"But unicorns aren't in those other kingdoms," Celestia noted thoughtfully aloud.
Spike coughed and raised his arm to remind her of his own struggle.
The tall alicorn blushed and nodded.
"Can you still breathe regular fire?" Applejack asked him.
He tried it, and small puff of green flame erupted. "It's a little harder than usual but yeah," he informed her.
"Right," Rainbow noted. "Unicorn magic is prominently active magic compared to the more passive kind you'll find in other creatures. Spike's mail ability is more active too. If you think back, Tirek went after pegasi and earth ponies after he had taken a lot of unicorn magic. We suspect my own berserk would work in the same way, and I would eat unicorn magic on my own without a pack."
"You think this drain will go beyond unicorns and Spike?" Celestia asked in concern.
"If it goes unchecked and isn't found, yeah, the same thing could happen," Rainbow Dash warned.
Just then, a pegasus mail pony with a canary-colored coat and red mane entered in a rush. He saluted and told everyone, "Letter for the Princesses, from Starswirl the Bearded."
Spike quickly took it and held it in front of Celestia.
"Starswirl says exactly what you just told me, Master," Celestia informed them all.
"Rainbow Dash, do you think this is the work of Tirek?" Luna asked.
"No," she answered, "but I do think he might know something. Let me confer with my team, and we'll keep in touch," Rainbow said, giving Luna a respectful salute.
Before the group a could depart, a black portal opened, and Neighsay stepped through.
"Ah princesses, I'm glad I caught you," he said, eyeing the large group in audience. He stared at Rainbow Dash, and his eye twitched. "So, it's her, is it? This creature has finally shown her true colors. Need I remind you what she did to me?"
Rainbow frowned at him, but Starlight reached out a hoof to touch and calm her. That was enough.
"On the contrary," Luna quickly said in Rainbow's defense. "Master here is preparing to investigate, given that this sort of thing is her delegation from our land."
"Oh?" Neighsay asked with a skeptical, raised eyebrow, followed by another twitch. "And what of the school?"
"We cancelled classes, given the severity of the situation," Twilight told him.
The chancellor glanced over at Celestia and Luna, who both nodded. "We had to cancel class here too," Celestia noted, in reference to her own magic school.
"Yes, I suppose you would," he relented. His disapproving gaze turned to Rainbow Dash. "Does your investigation include the non-pony creatures at your school?"
With a smile that betrayed her frustration at his presence, Rainbow Dash answered. "I'd love to tell you, but we really do need to get going. The longer the magic drains, the more everyone is at risk." She looked over to Celestia and Luna who each gave a subtle nod she was dismissed. "Primeva, if you would."
Starlight nodded, and the entire Team Awesome entourage was gone in a flash.
Neighsay sneered in place. He opened his portal with his medallion and left without a word to anyone else.
In the throne room of Twilight's castle, Team Awesome, Sweetie Belle, and Spike sat. As Apple Bloom and Scootaloo headed toward the door to perform their bodyguard roles, Chrysalis anxiously fluttered in. "Oh good, you're all here," she said in her darker previous default form. "Master, I am deeply concerned. My shape-shifting magic is working properly but with some extra difficulty compared to usual, and my telekinesis isn't working at all."
"Unicorns here in Ponyville and over in Canterlot are experiencing the same thing," Rainbow Dash told her.
Chrysalis blinked. "So, what are you going to do?"
"We're actually about to discuss that right now," Rainbow explained.
Chrysalis softened into a smile. "Oh, good."
Rainbow looked back at her with a guilty smile. "Sorry Chryssy, but could you...?"
"Oh of course. Excuse me then," Chrysalis said and readied to leave the throne room. "Is there a way I can help?"
"I'll have someone let you know if there is, my friend, thank you," Rainbow Dash assured her.
Chrysalis smiled again at that and left. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom closed the doors and stood as sentries outside the room.
"We need to split up," Rainbow Dash announced to all of her fledglings and Spike. "Starlight and I are going to Tartarus to talk to Tirek," she decided.
"That's a mouthful," Spike quietly commented.
Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, began her notes.
"Twilight and Fluttershy, I want you to go under the library to where I encountered the Tree of Harmony and talk to her. If there was ever a time for her to 'see fit' to appear before us, this would be a good one," Rainbow said. "If she doesn't appear there, go to the Everfree Forest and check the direct source where the Elements of Harmony are stored."
"Spike, you're with us," Twilight immediately.
"Got it," Spike replied.
"Should we call on Discord for help?" Fluttershy asked the group. "Spike and Chrysalis still have most of their magic."
"I wouldn't recommend that," Starlight warned. "This effect is very similar to Chrysalis' destroyed throne, and Discord couldn't cast any magic then."
"Yeah, but it's not like you need magic to be useful," Applejack said, folding her forelimbs.
"And you were the one who used him as a diversion," Pinkie Pie pointed out.
"Yes, but we should hardly summon him without warning him that might happen," Rarity added.
"Is that possible?" Twilight wondered.
Rainbow Dash brought out her phone dialed a Discord button she made on it.
"Master!" Discord answered. "Truly amazing! So you do have a Discord Emergency Line! I knew it!"
Rainbow smirked and asked him, "Where are you right now?"
"Just at home. Why? What sort of emergency prompts a call from you?" Discord wanted to know.
"Magic is being drained out of Equestria. We're pretty sure you would be affected if you teleported over here," Rainbow explained.
"Then why are you calling me?" he quipped.
"One, to warn you and two, in case you could help us out," Rainbow noted.
"Hmm. Well, the main draining magic I know of is Tirek of course. Have you checked on him?"
"Not yet, but I intend to get myself over there as soon as our team has finished the rest of our plan," Rainbow explained.
"I'm afraid I haven't much else to offer," Discord confessed.
"That's alright, thanks anyway. If you need to come to our dimension for any reason, try the Crystal Empire, the Dragon Lands, or the Changeling Kingdom. They have force-fields up protecting from such a drain," Rainbow explained. "Other kingdoms like Griffonstone, Mount Aris, Seaquestria, and Yakyakistan probably do as well, but those are the three I can confirm."
"Ah, duly noted, Master," Discord said as he gave a salute in thanks.
"Alright, I gotta go and work with the rest of the team. We'll catch up with you after we've fixed this mess," Rainbow said.
"Ta-ta," Discord replied and ended the call.
"Back to the plan for us," Rainbow Dash told her team, who she knew overhead the conversation well enough. "Rarity, you and the Crusaders search this castle from top to bottom. It's magic, grew from our own counter to Tirek, and hosts some magical artifacts that could be acting up."
"You can count on us," Rarity said firmly with a determined nod.
Sweetie Belle silently nodded in agreement.
"Applejack, you and Pinkie Pie station yourselves here and slowly spout out unicorn magic from our reserve to restore some into the ponies here. We can't just release a lot all at once because that won't solve the real problem. It should at least aid Ponyville and maybe even Canterlot," Rainbow explained.
"Aye aye captain," Pinkie Pie agreed with a salute.
"We got this," Applejack nodded with a confident smile.
"Let's go. Equestria is counting on us," Rainbow told them.
She outstretched a forelimb, to which her fledglings gladly reached as they all briefly touched before raising them.
"Go Team Awesome!" Pinkie Pie shouted for all of them.
In a flash, Starlight Glimmer teleported herself and Rainbow Dash away into Tartarus.
"Master Rainbow Dash," Tirek greeted with a polite bow from his cage.
"Lord Tirek," Rainbow bowed respectfully in turn. "Magic is draining out of Equestria. Do you know anything about it?"
"Maybe," he replied with a shrug.
Her eyes quickly turned red and her tone vicious. "I asked you a question. You will answer me."
Tirek strained and twitched, fighting the enchantment. "I mean it, Master, maybe."
"Explain," Rainbow commanded, her eyes returned to magenta, to Tirek's own surprise. Her tone now sounded firm but not as vicious as before.
Tirek shook off the enchantment from a moment ago to compose himself. "Not long ago, I received a letter asking me about how to drain magic, but I explained to the contact about your pack. I told them that it was a wasted effort. It would seem they ignored my warning."
"Was this before or after my last visit?" Rainbow asked him sternly.
"You know perfectly well the answer to that," Tirek replied. He stared at her in tired defeat.
She understood. It must have been before her last visit. "Who was your contact?" she asked.
"Somebody going by the name of 'Cozy Glow,'" Tirek answered. "It could be an alias for all I know."
Rainbow and Starlight looked at each other in shock, but Rainbow held up a hoof to stop Starlight from teleporting them right away.
"Anything else?" Rainbow asked.
"No," Tirek said.
Rainbow narrowed her eyes, waited for a moment, before finally saying, "Alright, let's go, Primeva."
Starlight nodded and teleported the two back into Ponyville at the entrance to the School of Friendship.
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle teleported herself, Spike, and Fluttershy into the library at the School of Friendship.
"Gah!" Cozy Glow screamed at the sight of them.
"Cozy Glow, are you alright?" Twilight asked in concern. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"I'm fine. What are you doing here, Headmare Sparkle?" Cozy asked as innocently as she could.
"Investigating. What are you doing here?" Twilight asked back.
"Umm, the same thing!" Cozy replied. "I thought maybe I could help out by seeing if I could find out how the magic is being drained."
"Oh perfect, so are we," Fluttershy noted with a friendly, sweet smile.
"That's great initiative," Twilight agreed. "Come on everyone."
She magically opened the grate with her horn, and the party of four descended down the crystal branches.
"Wow," Twilight stared at the area, mesmerized and near tears as she smiled.
"It is beautiful," Fluttershy agreed.
The four eventually reached the teal orb that Cozy Glow created earlier in the day. The Alicorn Amulet image was still obscured, to Cozy's own relief.
"Oh my goodness," a worried Fluttershy uttered at the sight.
"No kidding," Twilight agreed.
"What is it?" Spike asked.
"It's a mystical magnet, but how did the artifacts get here?" Twilight asked in confusion. "Cozy Glow, you were the last one to touch them."
"Last I saw, they were all safe and sound in your office," Cozy Glow lied with an innocent air and expression.
"Still, it's a good thing we found it, right?" Spike pointed out, not suspecting the filly at all. "How do we fix it?"
"We don't," Twilight told him. "We inform Master right away." She pulled out her cell phone to do exactly that.
At Twilight's castle, Rarity and the Crusaders found nothing out of the ordinary and continued their search. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were able to figure out how to spout out magic by copying how they had seen Rainbow do it at times. Pinkie Pie had whistled out Penny so as to let her friend not be disturbed while the fledgling mev worked on her assigned role. Penny could not do much but watch.
Rainbow pulled out her cell phone to receive Twilight's call. "Master, we didn't hear from the Tree of Harmony directly, but we've found the source. It's a mystical magnet created from the artifacts Celestia donated to the school." Twilight held the phone to show the mystical magnet through their video call.
"Oh wow," Rainbow uttered. "Okay, you all stay put. I need to bring in some extra help. Twilight, did you run into Cozy Glow at all when you got there?"
"Yes, she's right here with us," Twilight said and showed Cozy wave in the background.
"Did you need something from me Professor Dash?" Cozy asked innocently.
"Yeah, did you tell all the other students about classes being cancelled? Is that all taken care of?" Rainbow asked. It was the best excuse she could think of for what to say.
"Of course!" Cozy said with a cheery smile.
"Great, thanks," Rainbow replied. She needed to think fast. She did not like the idea of having either one of her fledglings being on their own by telling one to remove Cozy from the area. However, Cozy's presence was dangerous if she knew how to set up the thing in the first place. Rainbow needed to at least warn them somehow. "Twilight, switch to audio only."
Twilight looked at her surroundings to see if there was any danger. She sensed none but eventually obeyed nonetheless.
"Twilight, Cozy's the one who set up that magnet," Rainbow explained in a low voice. "Be on your guard and ready to restrain her if necessary."
Twilight thought for a moment before putting on a fake smile, "Okay, understood Master. We'll be extra careful."
Fluttershy sensed the sudden shift in Twilight's tension. The pegasus mare stared at the orb and at Cozy Glow. She gulped. Spike stood patiently, not quite grasping all that was happening. He still suspected nothing. All three of them did not overhear Rainbow's exact words.
"We'll send word to the others still searching in the castle to join all of you. Starlight and I will see you soon," Rainbow said.
"Got it," Twilight replied.
With that, the call ended.
"Should I go on ahead?" Starlight offered to Rainbow Dash. "I can help them out, just in case. I know it doesn't take long for the others to go from the castle there, but still, I would feel better about it since you and I are closer."
Rainbow thought for a moment. "Yeah, be careful Starlight. I don't know how a pegasus filly could hurt three grown mares, but if she slipped by us all this time and set that up…"
Starlight nodded. "Right. You can count on me."
"I know," Rainbow said with a gentle smile and gave her Primeva a hug. "Thanks."
Rainbow Dash pulled out her cell phone and called Sweetie Belle first. "Rhezenda, get yourself and the others to the throne room. I'm on my way there with an update for everyone."
"Yes, Master," Sweetie Belle replied with simple obedience.
The sky blue figure turned tail and darted to the designated meeting place. Her rainbow blur trailed behind her as she did. "Fyra, Quintaza, you can stop," she told Applejack and Pinkie Pie. She knew using their titles would help draw their attention and senses to the command. They were quite focused on their task.
The two earth ponies obeyed. Penny returned in to the reserve.
Once everyone was present, Rainbow Dash explained the situation. "So, here's what we're going to do. Crusaders, you three are coming with me to my house to get Rhezenda's trunk."
"The rest of us just hop on over to the others under the library?" Applejack asked.
"Actually, I want you to make a stop at Gallus' dorm first," Rainbow told her. "Rarity, you explain the situation and say I could use their help. They've already offered, so it shouldn't take much convincing."
The other three mevs nodded.
"What exactly are we doing with so many creatures and stuff?" Scootaloo wanted to know.
"All in good time, Scoot. We need to hurry," Rainbow told her.