Morning at the School of Friendship. Derpy, the mailmare of Ponyville, got distracted and crashed directly into the school emblem, dropping mail for the school. However, Cozy, who was nearby, reacted quickly and managed to catch all the letters.
"Thanks for the mail delivery, and have a wonderful day!" the pegasus thanked the mailmare and headed to Twilight's office. On her way, Cozy picked up and threw away trash from the floor, helped a newcomer find her class, and gave Silver Stream a hint for a crossword. Finally, she reached Twilight's office. As always, the princess was buried in reports.
"Good morning, Director Twilight!" Cozy greeted, handing over the mail.
"Is the mail already here? What time is it? I'm late for the school trip to Cloudsdale!" Twilight panicked, grabbed her bags, and was about to dash off, but the pegasus reassured the alicorn.
"Don't worry, I asked Professor Dash to cover for you."
"And did she agree?"
"Yep! I explained how busy you were, and she agreed to help. I also color-coded your class schedule based on the elements of friendship and created a catalog of magical artifacts in the school," Cozy reported.
"Cozy, this is incredible! You're my right hoof; what would I do without you?" Twilight praised her best student.
"I'm happy to help friends!" Cozy smiled sincerely.
"That's excellent! The trip to Cloudsdale will demonstrate the importance of teamwork! By the way, you can still join your friends," the princess suggested.
"Thank you, but I'd like to discuss a very important matter with you," Cozy suddenly declared.
"I'm listening!" Twilight focused.
"A few weeks ago, you taught us about the defeated villain – the centaur capable of draining magic from any living being. You also told us that Lord Tirek escaped from Tartarus, where he had been imprisoned for a thousand years after the first attack," Cozy began from a distance.
"What are you getting at?" Twilight asked anxiously, recalling the villain who had blackmailed her friends' lives.
"Twilight, although I didn't lose my magic because of him, I disagree with Tirek's punishment. The princesses imprisoned him alongside wild monsters, even though the centaur is an intelligent being. Instead of returning the captured Tirek to Scorpan, his brother, Celestia and Luna decided it was safer to leave the dangerous villain alone in Tartarus for a thousand years. It's no wonder that, like Discord, he returned for revenge. But, unlike the spirit of chaos, even after his defeat, no one tried to teach the centaur about friendship. And I felt sorry for him," Cozy confessed.
"Seriously?!" Twilight was shocked. Thinking about Tirek, she felt fear and anger, never imagining that someone could feel differently about the enemy of all Equestria.
"Yes! I started messaging with him, pretending to be a villain wanting to learn how to steal magic."
"But how could you send a letter to Tartarus? You're not even a unicorn!" Twilight marveled.
"I sent the letter using magical runes. An old friend taught me how to do it. Later, I found out that I became the first pegasus in Equestria's history to master magic. Perhaps no pegasus ever thought we could learn spellcasting through unicorn magical runes. Maybe even earth ponies can use runic magic for spells," Cozy speculated.
"And you kept this a secret?! This is the greatest discovery in Equestria's history! Everything we knew about magic was a lie! Can you imagine how our world will change?! If runic magic is accessible to any creature, everyone can learn magic! It opens up such possibilities that..." Twilight sparkled and, grabbing scrolls, was about to make numerous plans until Cozy placed a hoof on her horn.
"Twilight, calm down! I know this is the greatest discovery for you, but for me, it's a secret weapon against any troublemaker. Admittedly, it's challenging to use runic magic, as it takes time to set up a trap. But if you distract the villain and subtly lure them into the ritual circle, depending on the complexity of the ceremony, you can impose any magical effect: from hiccups, sneezing, and itching for a day to magic deprivation if there's an artifact for absorption. But don't worry, Twilight; I used runic trap only once to teach a wicked unicorn a lesson: the ritual forced the unicorn's magic to burst out of its horn, puncturing the second floor, attic, and ceiling of the shelter before exploding into the sky like fireworks. The director immediately sent the troublemaker back to the Manehattan shelter, and not only did I become the hero of the group, but I also earned a cutie mark for cleverness!" Cozy boasted and, catching her breath, continued.
"The troublemaker wouldn't have fallen into my trap if he knew I possessed runic magic. So, I kept it a secret to protect myself in case I encountered the troublemaker again. I admit I behaved like a selfish pony by hiding the possibility of runic magic from everyone. But now I know – the power of friendship can defeat any villain! And I'm ready to share my knowledge of runic magic with all my friends! "Cozy reassured.
"Oh, Cozy, that unicorn probably scared you a lot. And I'm very proud that you gathered the courage to tell me your secret!" Twilight praised the pegasus. "But sorry, I interrupted you. So, what about Tirek?"
"So, I managed to send a letter to Tartarus. And he replied! Tirek was genuinely surprised that the protection of Tartarus had weakened, and someone from ponies reached out to him for help. He was genuinely happy to teach me ancient magical rituals of magic theft. In return, he asked me to free him when I took over Equestria. And theoretically, I could have done it," Cozy confessed.
"But how?"
"Since I'm a pegasus, I would need artifacts to steal others' magic. And when I listed the artifacts of the School of Friendship, supposedly in my possession, the centaur came up with a grand plan to use a special magical rune to combine the powers of the relics to absorb all the magic in the world. Tirek also gave me instructions on how to return all the magic and, in the process, take a portion sufficient for alicornization. He even warned me to be careful, as too much magic would literally tear me apart. Brr!" The pegasus shuddered, just thinking about it, although she already knew Tirek's real plan.
"Here, by the way, is our entire correspondence with him!" And Cozy calmly handed all the letters to Twilight. The alicorn read everything carefully and then exclaimed:
"I can't believe it! Tirek's plan could indeed have taken away the magic from all of Equestria! I didn't even know our artifacts were so powerful. Even Princess Celestia considered them beautiful trinkets. And the ability to send a letter to Tartarus, the most dangerous criminal – horrifying! Well, thank goodness you learned about this loophole in Tartarus. If a real villain were in your place, it would have been the end of the world, as Tirek lied – after completing the ritual, returning magic from another world would be impossible!" Twilight was shocked.
"Professor Twilight, everything is fine! I'm glad I could help find such a loophole in our security system. But before you fly off to set up protection on the magical artifacts of the school and on Tartarus, I would like to ask you to organize a meeting with Tirek alone."
"What?! Cozy, he wanted to end the world! And you think you can teach him how to be a friend?! " Twilight was surprised once again.
"Now I want to help him even more! The desire to escape from Tartarus, even at the cost of destroying the world, once again proves that the centaur has become a thousand times more evil. I'm even surprised that he didn't go mad over a thousand years! And that's why I'm extending my hoof of friendship to him!" Cozy suggested.
Twilight stood in confusion for a while, but then suddenly hugged the pegasus.
"Cozy, you truly are the best student! I'm so proud of you!" Twilight was happy that her student decided to teach such a dangerous villain as Lord Tirek about friendship.
"Thank you, but all this became possible thanks to you. You, our teachers, have saved all of Equestria with your friendship more than once. And I'm just happy to help you in your work!" The pegasus sincerely replied, deciding to forget her villainous plans like a bad dream.
Meanwhile, an invisible hoof quietly closed the door...