Cozy Glow stretched her back.
Antlerius spoke first. “You are Cozy Glow, correct?”
“I’m pretty sure that’s me, yeah,” Cozy said in a strained voice. She proceeded to stretch her forehooves.
He stared at her, blinking twice without a word.
Nylar narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Just stretching.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
Cozy would have laughed, but the question was more stupid than hilarious.
She changed to stretching her hind legs. “A good stretch goes a long way. It used to be the norm, but apparently, it’s hard to follow logic. No wonder both sides end up losing, and the good guys have to pull out their biggest weapon.”
Nylar stared at her for a few seconds before a small smile crept to her face. “She’s amusing.”
Antlerius took a step forward. “You harbor the third of Grogar’s power if the rumors are true.”
Cozy paused for a moment to say, “Oh. Yeah, I do.”
“It’s an honor to meet you. Unfortunately, we will protect Equestria from the likes of you.”
Cozy Glow raised a brow while she switched to stretching her wings. “Uh, read the room. Aren’t you two the bad guys?”
“And after it is transformed to our design, there will be much less of a chance for anyone to drain the magic.”
Cozy blinked. “Ah, I’m not trying to become Empress or drain the magic anymore.”
“Then what is your objective, foal?” Nylar asked.
Cozy Glow replied, “To save it.”
“Really? I’m surprised. You have the perfect chance to do whatever you want with everyone sealed away.”
“Well…” Cozy put a hoof to her chin, tapping it. “It’s the right thing to do, I guess. And golly,” she giggled, “I really needed to get out and do something interesting.”
“Is this a game to you, child?”
Cozy shrugged. “This isn’t going to be that difficult, so… maybe? Above all, though, you hurt my friend. That really pissed me off, if I’m being honest. So kicking your shit in will be very satisfying.”
“A cocky one indeed,” Antlerius said in a dull tone, looking at Nylar. “Deal with her while I continue the spell.”
The second Antlerius turned away, Nylar rushed towards Cozy Glow. There was the sound of a magic blast, and Nylar flew past him fast enough to shake his fur.
With his jaw slightly open, he turned back to Cozy, who was stretching her neck like nothing happened.
“I wasn’t done stretching, sorry.”
A silent few seconds passed as Cozy stretched her neck.
“Woo! Golly!” she said with a bright smile, “That’s much better.”
Antlerius grunted, looking over to Nylar. “You must stop underestimating our foes.”
“I didn’t,” she stated before pushing a filing cabinet off her form. “She’s quite strong.”
“Do you need my assistance?”
“We’ll find out.”
Nylar rushed forward again. Hopping into the air, she used every one of her tails to rain fire at Cozy Glow.
Cozy looked up at the light show heading straight for her and grew a small smile.
Meanwhile, Spike was staring at the seal in amazement. It didn’t even need to be touched. He could tell the magic was being drained by the second just by looking at it. The medallion shook wildly as if the object itself was in pain.
He knew what he had to do.
Using his palms, he powered Cozy’s ongoing spell with a stream of his magic. He was worried for the adorable filly, but he trusted her. He trusted her confidence since it had a solid base. Cozy Glow is one of the most intelligent creatures he’s come to know.
Even if she couldn’t handle Antlerius and Nylar, she would teleport back to him if things got rough. He didn’t have a reason to worry.
All he had to focus on was the draining spell. Once everyone else comes back, things will be in their favor again.
The orange Wonderbolt forgot to blink. She didn’t think she would witness such a sight in her lifetime.
“Have you…” Thunderlane started, looking upward with a bewildered expression. “...seen those moves before, Spitfire?”
A stupid question, she thought.
Sitting beside her friends, Rainbow Dash couldn’t lift her slack jaw.
Applejack would have smirked at her. She wanted Rainbow’s ego to be hit for years now. However, she was just as stunned.
Celestia and Luna couldn’t take their eyes off the crystal. Both had looks of amazement, like the majority of creatures gazing upon the sight.
“Have you seen anything fly like that, sister?”
Celestia didn’t answer, for she witnessed movements she didn’t know were possible with her own eyes. Never had she seen a creature move like what she was seeing.
All without magic.
As magic rained down on the fallen city, a pink blur zipped forward with her wings spread out. Dawning an unyielding look, she dodged left and right as magic dared to hit her. Every other moment, she would land on the ground and kick forward with her legs, increasing her speed.
Cozy did a barrel roll as she flew at super speeds, maneuvering away from some magic missiles. Straightening herself, she dashed forward off the ground twice.
Every piece of magic missed its target, landing where Cozy once was instead of where Nylar wished. She didn’t even need to teleport, going in such a sporadic path that it was impossible to predict her future location.
Cozy made one last dash forward, heading inside Canterlot Castle.
Gritting her fangs, Nylar made haste and followed Cozy Glow inside, her body becoming shadowed.
Once inside, Cozy traversed the castle with ease. Passing the Royal Kitchen, through the front foyer, and down the banquet hall. With the wind rushing past her face, she drifted left and right like it was some sort of race. She tried to cut corners as much as possible. It was a nice little game for her.
When she entered a large hallway, Cozy turned tail and floated still.
She waited a moment, and Nylar appeared around the corner about ten seconds later, skidding to a halt.
Both of them took this moment to pause and stare at each other.
Cozy Glow had a grin on her face. Not one of cockiness, but joy, like it was the best carnival game she’s ever played. “Wow. You managed to keep up. I’m impressed!”
Nylar growled. Is that what this was to that filly? A game?
Treating Nylar, the Rogue Spirit, as a joke? A mere plaything?
Nylar calmed her mind, floating to the air as her magic enveloped her body.
All nine of her tails stretched out, their tips outlining the shape of a circle.
One by one, shadow-white flames appeared at the tips.
Bringing her paws up, Nylar interlaced them.
“Evade this one, foal.”
Before a second passed, each of her tails glowed before Nylar shot a blinding, colossal orange beam at Cozy Glow.
Canterlot shook due to the explosion. The hallway’s walls were blown apart, and smoke was scattered everywhere.
After a slow exhale, Nylar kept floating in the air and inspected the smoke with a proud, neutral look.
The castle walls were blown apart and cracked. The ceiling looked as if it was going to fall at any moment.
But then she heard a voice.
“Well, it’d be stupid to assume I could dodge everything. Dur.”
Within the smoke, a scarlet bubble of magic surrounded Cozy Glow. She was perfectly fine. The shield wasn’t even cracked.
Baffled, Nylar stared at her, frozen still.
In the next split second, Cozy disappeared with a spark of red magic.
Nylar felt something light, warm, and alive on her back.
“You’re pretty comfy. Not as warm as Spike, though.”
Nylar clenched her teeth in rage, turning her head with magic charged in her maw.
A large red baseball bat slammed her entire body to the ground. Cozy Glow was too quick.
Nylar saw the castle floor approach. But before she hit the ground, a soft, familiar friend caught her on his back.
Pacing her breaths, Nylar breathed out a, “Thank you.”
Antlerius nodded. “She’s stronger than either of us thought. We’ll fight her together.”
Nylar nodded back before locking her eyes on Cozy Glow, who hovered in the air with her hooves behind her back.
Without another word, the two charged at her.
Cozy flapped her wings, flying out of the castle to escape them. Magic soon whipped past her head. She was glad there were two creatures firing magic bolts at her. It was going to be much more fun.
This time, Cozy put up a shield instead of dodging to keep her path straight.
Grunting at the shield, Antlerius jumped into the air to fire a giant laser using his powerful magic.
Cozy narrowed her eyes. Turning around, she stopped her retreat and took the beam head-on with her shield.
Nylar dashed behind her, firing multiple missiles at the shield to aid her partner.
Cozy Glow was stuck between the two forces. If she were to let up at any point, she would take a heavy blow.
They didn’t let up in the slightest. Antlerius kept his beam pushing against her shield while Nylar’s smaller magic shots added up damage quickly.
It wasn’t long until the barrier hinted at breaking with a small crack.
In the Castle of Friendship, Spike continued to charge the draining spell.
He was getting antsy, wondering why this stupid spell took so long. Perhaps the seal was too powerful for it to be a quick task. Or maybe he was being impatient.
His mind couldn’t leave Cozy Glow. Even from down in Ponyville, he could still hear the faint sounds of the battle. It sounded intense. Dangerous. It was the last place he wanted her to be.
It took everything he had not to go and help her. Against his better judgment, maybe focusing on freeing everyone else was the better option. Since the fight was still going on, that meant she was doing fine. She was still out there. Still alive. But with Antlerius and Nylar working together, he wasn’t sure if Cozy would be okay.
He just had to trust her. After all, trust was one of the things gained during their journey together.
Cozy Glow took a deep breath.
Concentrating, she analyzed every single one of Nylar’s incoming magic blasts as she held against Antlerius’ beam.
Time seemed to slow down as she waited a moment. One by one, they hit her magic barrier. As fast as the bolts were, there was still a small moment where there was a noticeable gap between them. All she needed to do was find a large enough opening.
She waited as a few more hit her shield, and then…
Now!
Cozy flew to the side, her shield evaporating.
Nylar and Antlerius’ attacks continued forward. His large beam overwhelmed her smaller bolts, forcing Nylar to dodge out of its way.
Cozy Glow landed on the ground a bit ways off.
Almost immediately, Antlerius charged at her head-first with his glowing antlers.
Charging her magic, she responded with her headbutt, the two clashing head-first.
Her retaliating seemed to catch Antlerius off. Her horn glowed bright red and projected itself, growing larger.
The moment they clashed, even Nylar was knocked back due to the force emitted. Nylar was forced to use her tails to shield herself from the oncoming winds.
Antlerius grunted as he tried to push forward. It was uncanny for someone to be even with him. Unfortunately, Cozy Glow wasn’t letting up so easily.
Giving one final grunt, he jumped back, ending their clash.
“You impress me, filly,” he said. “However, I wasn’t using my full strength. You should be honored for forcing me to cancel my spell.”
Closing his eyes, a trio of golden waves escaped his antlers. It passed through Nylar and Cozy Glow, being nothing more than a slight breeze. Then, his antlers stopped glowing, and the spell channeling for weeks ceased.
He opened his eyelids once again, staring at her. “You stand no chance as of now. Am I right to assume you’re not going to back down peacefully?”
But to his confusion, Cozy Glow gave him a puzzled look.
“No chan- Wait, did you think I was using all the strength I had?”
“Were you not?”
“Well, if I did, it wouldn’t be that fun.”
He looked at her from top to bottom. “Am I still underestimating you? Or are you simply overconfident? Either way, it’s foolish to hold yourself back against us.”
Cozy tilted her head. “It is?”
Antlerius breathed through his nose. “I need not say more.”
Nylar landed at the opposite end of Cozy. “Let’s finish this and find the dragon.”
With coordination, the two powerful beings simultaneously rushed towards her.
Antlerius went head-first with his antlers.
When Cozy flew above the ram, a few tails came in swinging. Her horn glowing bright, she deflected the tails. As soon as she did, Antlerius leaped to her, forcing her to teleport away.
As she continued to evade them, a pattern was showing. Whenever she dodged an antler, a tail was right behind it, and vice versa. When a chance came, and she tried to go for an attack on one of them, the other would intercept it. Or the first would dodge, and the other would retaliate. They watched each other’s blind spots and made up for each other’s openings.
Cozy Glow barely had enough time to catch her breath. She was beginning to see why Spike talked wonders about them. Their teamwork was impeccable. Was this the potential if she, Tirek, and Chrysalis worked together? No, they could never fight like this. This looked as if it took years of experience to come to fruition.
Despite all that, she was enjoying it.
She already knew what she had to do. It was possible to deal with them simultaneously, but it would be time-consuming.
With the next opening she had, she would separate the two.
Another tail came down, trying to catch her.
But to Nylar’s utter shock, Cozy grabbed it like nothing, holding it above her head. It was as if her tail was a mere tea cup.
With this little pause, Antlerius came from behind out of Cozy’s view.
However, Cozy Glow’s ears were quick to read his steps.
Turning around, she shot a blast of magic, pushing Antlerius away.
“Futile,” Antlerius thought as he braced with his strong antlers. Even as he was driven further away from Cozy Glow, he didn’t take any damage.
Nylar pounced towards Cozy Glow, her maw filled with magic.
Right before she blasted the spot Cozy was standing in, she teleported away.
The next thing Nylar knew, her tails were grabbed and bunched together like a bundle of sticks.
Cozy Glow giggled as she tightened her grip on the tails, thinking of a certain word. Pulling Nylar, she swung her around once before slamming her on the ground.
Nylar was dazed momentarily but didn’t have the chance to recover before Cozy lifted her overhead and slammed her once more.
Satisfied, Cozy dodged an incoming magic bolt by flying into the air, giggling happily. “This is fun!”
Nylar picked herself up off the ground and shook her head. She and Antlerius looked up at Cozy Glow, lowering their gaze to each other.
Nodding, the two fired at her, forcing Cozy to evade it with a teleport.
When she reappeared a little bit away, she floated an inch above the ground with her hooves behind her back.
Out of nowhere, the two villains tried to get the drop on her from above.
Chuckling, she dashed upward with a flap of her wings.
The two landed on the ground with a large quake, creating a large crater.
“Gonna have to try harder than that!” she yelled from above with her hooves on her hips.
“She’s treating us as fools,” Antlerius stated.
Nylar replied, “Let’s prove her wrong then.”
Charging their magic, they engaged Cozy Glow while firing rapidly.
Cozy did a loop in the air before taking flight, evading some magic.
Once again, she began flying like an expert. They arrived at a point where some buildings were still standing, albeit barely. Through some broken windows, she smiled as she tucked her wings to fit through.
Out the other end, Nylar came from her right and swung her tails.
Cozy projected her horn, using it to bat away the tails. Then, she teleported to Nylar’s side and blasted her away.
Anterlius charged through a concrete wall beside Cozy, trying to use the element of surprise.
Luckily for her, the wall worked both ways, and Antlerius was a little off with his aim. She performed an elegant twirl in the air, and her glowing horn created a trail as she rose upwards before she fired a large beam.
Antlerius took a low stance as the beam approached. Bracing head-first with his antlers, his hooves dug into the ground as the powerful force pushed him back. He endured it for the next few seconds before flicking the attack upward.
But without warning, Cozy teleported in front of him. She projected a large hammer with her scarlet magic and smashed him away into a building.
Cozy landed on her hooves, and her ears perked at the sound of something rolling. It sounded like glass.
Looking down, she saw a bottle of booze rolling away from her. Turning her gaze up, she saw a bar still standing from where the bottle had come from. Shrugging, she grabbed the bottle with her magic, removed the cork, and quickly sipped the beverage.
Wiping her mouth clean and tossing the bottle with little care, she rose to the air as Nylar tossed some debris off of her.
“Are we done playing around yet?” she asked with her hooves behind her back. “Or is that really the extent of your power?”
Nylar jumped high with a burst of her magic. Using every single one of her tails, she charged her magic.
Cozy looked on as this time was a little different from the last. Nylar took a few seconds longer to concentrate. Thus, her magic was much stronger than before. With clenched teeth, she fired a large beam at Cozy Glow.
When she flew to the side and dodged like usual, the beam hit the ground instead. However, unlike their normal magic blasts, this one left the ground lit with ghostly white flames.
Cozy evaded a few more, taunting Nylar with spins and laughs.
Nylar growled. “If all you can do is flee, then we have nothing to fear.”
“Fine. I won’t run away then.”
Cozy Glow paused as she hovered very close to the ground. She locked gazes with the piercing fox.
“After all, I realized your attacks won’t affect me at all, even without a magic barrier. They’re not all that powerful.”
Growling at Cozy Glow’s cockiness, Nylar charged her magic again. “Very well! If this is how you wish to be defeated!”
She fired.
Like she said, Cozy didn’t move an inch. The attack hit her straight on, but while the ground around her crumbled like normal, the small alicorn didn’t flinch or move.
Nylar and Antlerius gasped in shock as Cozy Glow gave them a sinister grin. Her pink fur treated the flames as if they were nothing.
“It did… nothing?” Antlerius asked himself. “That’s impossible!”
“I fought you enough, Ms. Fox,” Cozy said, “But now it’s his turn.”
Her body was enveloped in her scarlet magic, and with a burst of speed, she circled Nylar, the flames blowing off her fur.
With a war cry, Nylar fired another one of her flame attacks at Cozy Glow. She hit her target again, but it only slowed the glowing alicorn for a second.
Cozy flew around Nylar at super speeds, her trailing magic creating a scarlet ring around the now uneasy fox.
Abruptly, she stopped, so she was in front of Antlerius, and Nylar was behind her, dawning a kind-hearted smile directed at him.
Powerful quaking magic erupted within the ring, rising high into the air. Antlerius looked on in shock as he watched Nylar’s silhouette disappear within the bright energy.
Nylar was visible in the middle of the scorched circle when the magic dissipated. Scarlet static flickered all over her smoking body before she dropped to the ground.
Every creature looked on with astonishment. Nothing was said as utter silence took over the Space Between Worlds. All were the same, whether it was a common pony or someone as proud as Tirek.
Antlerius gritted his teeth as he stared at his friend. Nylar was unmoving. “How did you…” He trailed off.
“Don’t worry,” Cozy said with a wave of her hoof. “She’s just unconscious and paralyzed.”
With one deep breath, Antlerius composed himself. “No matter. You merely caught us off guard. The results won’t change.”
“Hm?” Cozy tilted her head. “You sure about that? Isn’t your strength your cooperation?”
Antlerius chose to reply with a stomp to the ground.
A small, thick tree grew behind Cozy Glow. It curved forward to knock Cozy Glow towards the charging deer.
Her small body took the charge head-on, and he slammed her against the tree. Grunting a little from the pain, Cozy used her magic to blast him away a good distance.
Skidding to a halt, Antlerius shot a magic beam at Cozy Glow.
But Cozy didn’t falter. She flew around the beam using her wings, heading straight for him. His shock couldn’t come to fruition before she slammed him with a magic mallet.
He was sent flying to Canterlot Castle.
He barreled through a crystal wall, rolling over twice before he picked himself up.
Cozy flew in from the hole he created. She landed on the ground, taking her time and slowly walking towards him.
Antlerius charged his antlers with magic before slamming both hooves on the crystal floor. Two roots sprung up under Cozy Glow and tried to grab her.
But she had already seen that neat trick once. So, as soon as he lifted his front hooves, she was already in the air.
Antlerius used his charged magic at that moment, firing a large beam at her.
Cozy flew towards him. She slapped the beam away with her glowing horn and blasted him through another wall.
He tumbled into a new room. Pacing his breaths, he kept himself strong. Even so, his breathing hitched once when he tried to get up.
While his legs were bent and head lowered, he paused in utter shock as pink hooves trotted past him.
Cozy Glow went up the stairs to the most famous throne room in the land. It was a legendary seat known by most ponies. Even other species knew of its existence.
She plopped down on it.
“Huh. It’s not as uncomfortable as I thought.”
Antlerius gritted his teeth, the first hints of anger appearing.
He couldn’t fathom how Cozy Glow was being so nonchalant with him—her enemy—in the same room. “How insulting.”
Snapping his head to her, he fired a powerful magic beam.
From where she sat, she conjured magic from her horn and teleported.
She was right in front of Antlerius’ face when she next appeared. She blasted him in the chest.
Static appeared where she hit him, and Antlerius couldn’t move a muscle if he wanted to.
As he stood there with a frozen, shocked expression, the small alicorn walked past him and looked around the throne room as if she were sightseeing.
Clenching his jaw tight, he gave off a battle cry and shook off his paralysis. He turned to her and rammed Cozy Glow through a wall.
Then another.
And again after.
They went through three walls before encountering fresh air once again.
Landing on Canterlot grounds, Antlerius tossed her away and leaped high.
Aiming down at the despicable filly, he charged magic with a face full of rage.
Cozy looked up at him with an innocent smile.
His body spasmed as magic coursed through him. Locking his eyes on his target, he fired another beam.
It was a thinner beam than the others, but Cozy wasn’t oblivious. She could see what it truly was: magic condensed to such an insane degree that it would pierce through the hardest materials.
Putting power into her horn, Cozy took on the attack. She only struggled for half a second before she flicked it above her, turning it into sparkles and deeming it harmless.
Although he was in absolute disbelief, Starswirl the Bearded laughed. “She’s as fierce as Chrysalis and aggressive as Tirek. Yet also elegant, much like a princess.”
Celestia wasn’t able to close her jaw for the last few minutes. “She’s… incredible.”
“To think I was worried about nothing…” Tirek said out loud, although to himself.
Chrysalis, who stood next to him, could do nothing but agree.
Antlerius nearly cracked a tooth as he scowled down at her.
Cozy’s smile slowly started to fall. It was weird to her, but this fight was losing its amusement. Now that Antlerius was losing his composure, it was like kicking an infant.
Antlerius landed on the floor with a large quake, unintentionally spawning small roots around him.
Waving his antlers in front, he blew a potent wave of magic. Every building from before him to the city’s edge was leveled. Nearly all of Canterlot was flat now.
He didn’t care much about that. What infuriated him to the bone was that Cozy Glow didn’t feel his ability, if at all. She continued to float in the air, untouched.
Suddenly, Cozy Glow dropped to the ground and slowly walked toward him.
Then, his anger began to shift to something else. Something unknown to him.
His breaths became uneven as he stared at the sole foal, closing the distance between them by the second. He felt himself start to shake. He wondered why.
When she came to reaching distance, he took a step back.
He took a step back?!
It dawned on him what this feeling was.
He was afraid.
He locked gazes with her scarlet eyes, which slightly glowed in its hue.
She didn’t look determined to save the world. Eager to conquer it. Or even happy to play around.
She was bored.
This game wasn’t fun anymore for the child.
For the first time, the calculating deer was shaking where he stood.
His breaths started to get heavier and heavier.
Then, with a coarse yell, he stomped his hooves on the ground.
A very large stump of a plant rose high in the sky.
Cozy jumped back and drew her stare upwards, still not taking off her dulled expression.
The plant grew taller than Canterlot Castle. Even more impressive, the plant exceeded the height of Canterlot Mountain.
When the growing stopped, the tip bloomed into a fragrant flower with golden petals.
The flower bent down to glare at Canterlot City, with Antlerius standing on top of it. His hooves were intertwined with roots that dug deep into the large plant.
The petals of the flower curved towards the city. In the middle of them, an orb of golden magic began surging. It grew in size and hummed to let all know it existed.
Nylar groaned from where she lay prone, weakly heaving out, “You’ll destroy this entire mountain…”
From down in Ponyville, Spike looked up with wide, shocked eyes. He could barely make out the colors of Antlerius on top of the giant flower, confirming that it wasn’t a spell Cozy concocted.
His heart racing for Cozy Glow, he began flying to the city.
With one final yell, Antlerius fired the impossibly large magic orb down at the tiny alicorn filly.
It was blinding, lighting up everything and making it seem like daytime. The sky was once again light blue for these few moments.
Nylar widened her eyes, lifting her tails and taking cover.
Even the city itself seemed to be frightened. The deep hum of Antlerius’ incoming attack was the only sound that occupied everything.
No one could look away if they wished so. Such a sight left them in a stunned state.
“Canterlot is going to fall…” Celestia muttered.
Cozy Glow stared up at the descending doom, a calm expression on her face.
She took a wide stance.
Aimed her horn.
And fired.
Spike watched in astonishment as Cozy’s scarlet magic pushed back Antlerius’. It seemed effortless.
Antlerius’ eyes widened. As his and Cozy’s magic mixture neared, he audibly gasped.
The top of his towering flower disintegrated, and he took on the power next, screaming out as his vision was filled with the bright light of surging magic.
With one last bright flash, the skies started to be honest again, becoming dark, and the stars in the sky were visible again.
Spike gulped, beginning to turn around. “Oookay… she’s got this.”
He headed back to the Castle of Friendship.
Antlerius’ smoking body fell from the skies, hitting the ground with a quake.
All over, his body was bruised. Groaning, he picked himself up steadily.
He was barely able to keep standing, let alone upright. When Cozy Glow began walking closer to him, he fired smaller magic bullets as a last-ditch effort.
This time, she reacted so much differently.
Her horn glowed, and a square of magic appeared before her. His magic bullets bounced off of it like light to a mirror.
The magic bounced right towards him.
But before they hit his weakened body, Cozy Glow’s scarlet aura encased and crushed them, sparing him any more pain.
His entire body stung as he looked at her in shock. As exhaustion took over him, he heaved and fell to his haunches.
Panting, he said, “You had that deflecting spell this entire time…”
Cozy knew it was more a realization than a statement to her.
Slowing down his breathing, Antlerius looked her over.
He stared at her for a good while, finally taking the time to read her. His eyes flashed golden, and he scanned her body.
Her magic was overwhelming. She was flowing from the tip of her horn to the bottom of her hooves with implausibly powerful magic. It spread throughout her tiny body, threatening to escape at any moment. It was surreal to him. How could this tiny filly hold this much power?
“I can’t believe it,” he said, spiking Cozy’s attention. “You hold so much magical energy. You simply can’t be a third of Grogar’s power. It’s impossible.”
Cozy took in his words, staring at him momentarily before sighing. “You’re right. For all the moons I’ve been away from Equestria, I’ve been honing my magic to the point where I’m more powerful than anyone I’ve seen. It used to be a practice amongst unicorns and other magic users in ancient history, but it was lost to time because everyone got too content. They all believed that their princesses and gods could always protect them. I’m not like them. I never had anyone like that in my life. I can’t fully blame them, though. Equestria has only gotten safer over time.
“It’s why Starswirl is so admired. He was just a regular unicorn, like all the rest. But he became powerful on his own accord. It wasn’t gifted to him. Every creature born with powerful magic is way too over-reliant on their powers. Because of that, there are very few creatures I actually respect. Twilight Sparkle was one of them. She trained with her magic and became a powerful unicorn, even before she turned into an alicorn. The Princess of Friendship shtick? It’s admirable, but I couldn’t care less. Improving yourself because you’re determined to? That’s something I can get behind.
“I used to respect her and the other princesses. But they got soft. It was no wonder powerful threats always came close to having their way with Equestria. Me included.
“But I’m not the same as the others. I wasn’t even born as a unicorn. I wasn’t born into a luxurious or even slightly normal life. I’ll never forget the times when I had to use my wit to get what I needed. To this day, my brain is my most precious ally, and there’s never going to be a day that passes when I’ll lose that part of myself.”
Antlerius gazed at her in silence. Even he was taken aback by her words. She spoke the truth. Her truth. Everything she said came from her soul, and he didn’t need magic to know that.
“Now that we’re here,” Cozy continued, “you can teach me that spell you were going to use. I could recreate Equestria into what will be a paradise.
He narrowed his eyes. “And why would I let you do such a thing? Do you think I would trust someone as dangerous as you?”
Cozy narrowed her eyes back. “Hm. Maybe I should just rewrite your history so you and Nylar never meet.”
He widened his eyes. He forgot about Nylar in his rage. Where was she? Was she alright? Questions and worries poured into his mind as he processed what Cozy Glow told him.
“Y-you can’t!” he pleaded. “That is…” he trailed off, realizing something just then.
“And there it is.” Cozy frowned. “Hypocrisy at its finest. You think you’re so wise and important that you think you can just rewrite history, and everyone has to accept that.” She scoffed. “In this world, everyone is equal. But some are never treated as such.”
Antlerius couldn’t speak. He was too stunned to find the right words. This was so unnatural to him. He was proud to say he always knew what to say. He always stood by the principle of being calm and collected. But now, it was as if everything was flipped.
“I gave up on trying to ‘fix’ this world a long time ago. You should too. Who knows, you might find contentment with Nylar.”
Antlerius closed his jaw, much gentler this time, looking to the ground in thought. He wondered what Nylar’s thoughts would be on this.
Cozy’s eyes turned soft. “Treasure your bonds. It might be the last thing you have left one day.”
A white magic ball came out of the blue, hitting Cozy promptly in the side. She didn’t flinch.
Cozy Glow turned to the offender with an unamused look. She was a second away from scoffing when she froze. She started to feel pressure in her head.
Panic began to consume her as the pressure turned into the start of a headache. The symptoms didn’t stop there. She started to feel light-headed and dizzy soon after. Even her eyesight was getting blurry.
Cozy Glow struggled with a groan and held her head. This wasn’t right. Nothing should be able to work on her. She couldn’t gain a concussion from a battered Nylar that used the last of her magic. Sure, it could have stung, but something else was happening here.
Nylar grinned. “Now watch as your mind loses its grip. With my spell, your mind is wide open. It’ll be easier than ever to turn you into our loyal minion!”
Cozy gasped as she only took one thing out of Nylar’s taunt. Her mind was wide open.
Turning to the smug fox with terror in her eyes, she screamed at the top of her lungs, “WHAT?!”
Nylar’s smug grin grew.
Inside her mind, Cozy Glow heard very familiar manic laughter grow louder and stronger.
Clearer.
She shut her eyes tight as she rose uncontrollably into the air.
Antlerius frowned.
Noticing this, Nylar faltered a bit, her eyes softening. “Is something wrong, Antlerius?”
He looked at Cozy Glow with disappointment. “I was beginning to think we could have talked things out with her.”
Nylar looked him over for any signs of brain damage. “You’re serious,” she concluded.
“She’s different from the others,” he explained.
Cozy held her head and screamed, her voice ear-piercing. She made pained sounds as she squirmed.
Nylar turned to look at Cozy Glow. She wondered what kind of conversation she had with her friend to make him think about talking things out. “She is powerful, having forced us to pause our ambitions. And she’ll forget about all of this once you recreate this world. It will be harmless.”
Antlerius grunted softly.
“Perhaps we’ve been too hasty. But it’s too late now.”
Yes, it’s too late indeed. They were too exhausted to even move, let alone stop this spell. Nylar barely managed to scrape from her resources.
They would have to wait and regain their strength. Then, they would have a proper conversation with her.
And they could…
Could…
What was happening?
That was what both of them thought when a light blue bubble surrounded Cozy Glow’s silhouette.
As Nylar continued to look on with confusion, Antlerius turned to her. “Did you modify your spell?”
A stupid question, looking at Nylar’s expression.
“Nothing like this should be happening…” she muttered.
Cozy’s screams persisted as a second magical sphere split from the original.
She was still inside the first, but the other empty one flickered black as a shadow of another foal blinked into existence.
However, it wasn’t any ordinary foal.
First, large wings akin to Cozy’s appeared on their back.
Then, a horn.
“What’s going on?” Antlerius asked Nylar.
Nylar didn’t even know how to respond.
Now, Cozy’s screams were of the past, her legs only holding her head.
However, in the second orb, both ancient beings noticed something that sent shivers down their spines.
A wicked smile.
One final burst of blue magic sent the two blasting off.
Cozy dropped to the ground with a thud. She groaned. Her vision returned to normal, and her headache was almost gone. In fact, other than that, she felt perfectly fine.
The blood drained from her face before she even looked up.
A familiar laughter was right above her.
Slowly and fearfully, she lifted her gaze. She couldn’t move a muscle as she stared at her friend, who’d been without a body for multiple years. He was hovering calmly in the flesh clear as day. She could only breathe out his name in disbelief.
“Sky Shard…”