The assault on Canterlot Castle was in full swing. When Cozy Glow received reinforcement from Chrysalis and Tirek, the villains gained the upper hoof. Twilight protected her friends with a barrier.
"You think your pathetic shield can stop us? M-ha-ha-ha! The Pillars have been defeated. Your school is abandoned. Face it, Twilight. You've lost! " Chrysalis addressed the Princess of Friendship.
"You can attack us and we may fall. But Equestria will still stand, united in friendship. And we won't stop until we defeat you, no matter how many ponies you take down!" boldly replied Twilight.
Legion of Doom immediately laughed villainously. Suddenly, a magical sphere appeared behind the trio, flying towards their backs. When it struck the villains, they vanished, leaving only Grogar's Bell behind.
"What's happening?" Equestria's defenders couldn't comprehend what happened to their enemies. But suddenly, a unicorn with glasses appeared in front of the heroes.
"No one mocks my friends!" the savior declared dramatically.
"Moon Dancer?!" Twilight stared in shock at her old friend. "Did you defeat the villains? How?" Everyone looked at the new heroine with curiosity.
"While you were saving friendship throughout Equestria, I was studying the Hayscartes method. Turns out, you can not only send yourself into a book but someone else too. And if the one trapped in the book doesn't know the Hayscartes spell, even with powerful magic, they can't escape. So, the villains are now trapped," Moon Dancer showed the heroes a book with living images of the villains.
"Release us! You'll regret this greatly! Our vengeance will be terrible!" the villains shouted in unison until the unicorn closed the book again.
"When Twilight visited me three years ago, I forgave her. But I also decided to prove that knowledge can save Equestria too. So, I prepared for the next attack of the villains. Unfortunately, when Sombra took over Canterlot, I was not in the city. But when I saw Chrysalis and Tirek breaking into the palace, I realized it was my chance to shine. I cast an invisibility spell on myself and teleported to the palace. Using the Hayscartes spell, I struck all the villains at once! I admit, a sneak attack from behind is a dirty trick. But otherwise, I wouldn't have defeated them," the unicorn explained her tactics.
"And you did a great job, my student!" Celestia addressed Moon Dancer. "Your magic is much weaker than all of us. But you didn't hesitate to attack powerful villains and saved us all. You are the new hero of Equestria!"
"Thank you, Princess Celestia!" the former student replied.
***
Meanwhile, Discord took Grogar's Bell and restored magic to everyone.
"Yes! Chaos magic is mine again, and the villains are defeated. By the way, I have a couple of important matters before the coronation, so I'll be off," Discord wanted to leave, but Twilight shouted:
"Discord, stop! You orchestrated the attack of the villains! And now you hope we'll forget about it?" The Princess of Friendship inquired.
"But I apologized, didn't I?" Discord tried to justify himself, but then he faced Fluttershy's stern gaze.
"This time, even my patience has run out. I've already come up with your punishment: you'll spend a whole year under house arrest in my cottage, helping take care of animals. And no chaos magic during work," the pegasus firmly declared.
"No! Fluttershy, have mercy! I'll disappear if I don't cause chaos," Discord pleaded.
"You can use magic at night. And now, clean up after the villains!" Fluttershy pointed a hoof at the hole in the palace wall.
"Fine," and the somber spirit of chaos submitted to the pegasus.
***
"Twilight, are you sure we can't teach these villains about friendship?" Moon Dancer asked her friend.
"I would like to believe that, but Tirek and Chrysalis have spent their entire lives seeking ultimate power, and Cozy Glow sees friendship only as a weapon. I'm afraid it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to reform them," Twilight sadly replied.
"But we can't keep them in the book forever! Even though it's full of biology and natural landscapes, it's still a prison. And if the book falls into the wrong hooves in the future, vengeful villains could be set free!" the unicorn expressed her concern.
"Why not bury the book deep in the ground? Or burn it?" Rainbow Dash suggested. Everyone in the room glared angrily at the pegasus. "Well, what? The villains almost destroyed us!"
"I won't take on the role of a jailer or executioner. Give me time, Grogar's Bell, and all the information about the villains, and I'll find a rational approach to each villain!" the unicorn requested firmly.
Twilight glanced at the elder princesses, and when they nodded approvingly, she responded to her friend:
"All right. But if you need our help, don't hesitate to ask!" And the friends embraced.
***
Two months later
The first to be freed from the book was Tirek. Moon Dancer immediately, with the help of Grogar's Bell, not only stripped the centaur of Capricorn's magic but also the ability to absorb magic.
"That's it, Lord Tirek! Now you're deprived of the ability to steal magic. You can even check," Moon Dancer suggested.
"What?" Lord Tirek made sure the unicorn wasn't lying; the centaur could no longer achieve his former greatness.
"You'll pay for this!" Despite his elderly form, the centaur still attempted to attack Moon Dancer. But she bound him with a magical chain.
"Lord Tirek, this is a fair punishment for your crimes. It's a pity the princesses didn't have the Bell earlier; you might not have had to sit in Tartarus for a thousand years. But now I'll send you back home to your family. Your future will be decided there," the unicorn opened a portal to the land of centaurs.
"As a parting piece of advice: don't dwell on old grievances if you don't want to spend the rest of your years in prison. Reconcile with your family and try a career as a teacher. You successfully taught Cozy Glow complex magical runes."
"Are you out of your mind? I could barely tolerate the presence of one foal. And you suggest I teach a whole class?" Tirek exclaimed.
"Consider it a challenge. Being a teacher is a tough job, but you'll take pride in your students' successes. Weren't you proud of Cozy Glow when she almost stripped all of Equestria of magic?"
"Fine, you're right," the centaur reluctantly admitted.
"See! I'm sure sharing knowledge will appeal to you even more than depleting others' magic. But first – reconciliation with your family. Good luck!" And Moon Dancer sent Tirek home through the portal.
***
Right after Tirek, the former queen of changelings was freed. Chrysalis was also deprived of all her powers and bound.
"Pathetic pony, my vengeance will be..." and then the queen's mouth was silenced by a gag.
"Queen Chrysalis! Unlike the other two villains, you've been given a chance to change. But you not only rejected Starlight's offered hoof of friendship but also developed hatred for her and Thorax. Thanks to them, your children no longer have to survive. What do you want to avenge? Answer calmly, like a true queen," and Moon Dancer removed the gag.
Chrysalis initially wanted to shout at the unicorn, but the last words tempered her anger.
"You ask why I want to avenge? It's obvious: my hive is destroyed! All my children became weak, kind, and colorful. You infected all changelings with a disease called 'friendship.' Now my people hardly differ from you ponies. And I will never forgive you for that!" declared Chrysalis.
Moon Dancer pondered. How could she influence the conservative queen who saw only negative sides in change? But suddenly, the unicorn had an idea.
"Chrysalis, do you still consider yourself the Queen of changelings?" Moon Dancer began to ask questions.
"I am the one and only true Queen of the hive! Traitor Thorax has no right to call himself a king!" Chrysalis proudly replied.
"As a Queen, do you care about your people?"
"Of course! I've spent my entire life looking for love for the entire hive so that we become stronger and transition from survival to dominance. That's how nature works. And I swear I'll restore my hive to its former glory and find a way to crush you ponies," the queen continued to rage.
"The last question: do you want your children to be happy?"
"Um... Yes, of course. What are these questions for?" Chrysalis didn't understand.
"Then open your eyes!" Moon Dancer's magic began to show the reformed changeling hive.
"Your children no longer need to take love from other living beings to survive. Everyone is glad that they've stopped being monsters scaring everyone around. Changelings are happy that they can be friends not only with each other but also with other races. And the fact that Thorax introduces Equestrian traditions and holidays into the hive is because you didn't have a peaceful culture," Moon Dancer caught her breath and continued:
"Chrysalis, changelings reformed not because they were hit by a disease, but because they wanted peace. Your children are tired of surviving. They chose the path of peace and friendship. Even if you found a way to restore changelings to their former form, no one would thank you. And only through fear will you regain control over the hive."
"No, I don't believe you! Starlight infected all changelings with 'friendship'!" Chrysalis tried to object.
"How, with words? Do you even understand how absurd that sounds? Chrysalis, understand already: your pride prevents you from admitting that you mismanaged the hive. All rulers make mistakes. But a true leader acknowledges their mistakes and works on them to make the people's lives better," the unicorn made the final pause.
"It's time to make a final decision, Queen: either you choose the old ways, revenge, and loneliness in a cold prison, or you embrace change and return to the hive with your children."
Chrysalis thought for a long time. As much as the queen didn't want to admit this terrible fact, the pony was right: pride and loneliness clouded her judgment. Considering friendship a disease, snapping at everyone, and talking to twigs – behavior unbefitting a true queen. How did she not notice earlier that she had turned into a predator craving vengeance? Ponies had defeated her long ago. And denying it was foolish.
"Fine, I don't want to rot in prison, so I'll choose the second option," Chrysalis spat out.
"Excellent! Your children are waiting for you at home. They'll forgive you if you genuinely show that you care for them. But if you run away again and try to go back to the old ways..."
"Then it will be the dumbest decision of my life, I understand!" the queen concluded. "Send me already!"
Moon Dancer nodded and opened the portal. Thus, the Queen of changelings also returned home.
***
Cozy Glow was the last to be freed. Grogar's Bell turned the alicorn back into a pegasus, but Moon Dancer didn't bother restraining her – there was nowhere to run from the locked room.
"Why did you free me last? They are much eviler than me!" Cozy pouted.
"You're all good! But I freed you last because you're the linchpin of this team. I'm sure you taught Chrysalis and Tirek teamwork. And before that, you almost took away all of Equestria's magic, trapping all the teachers of the Friendship School. And all this at the age of twelve. You're really a genius filly," the unicorn flattered the manipulator.
"Wow, thanks! You're the first pony to acknowledge this obvious fact," Cozy smiled sweetly.
"And I think I guess how you planned to become the Empress of Friendship: magic disappears, the authority of the princesses and the main six diminishes. And suddenly you 'come up with' a plan to restore all the magic to Equestria (leaving Starlight in another world), secretly taking part of it for alicornization, and ultimately becoming the new princess and hero of Equestria. Am I right?"
"How did you figure that out?" the pegasus was surprised.
"It's simple: without magic, the end of the world would happen. And you could be proclaimed Empress of Friendship if you saved Equestria and became the new princess. I'm right?"
"Wow! You're smarter than all my enemies and allies combined! Let's be friends? Geniuses should rule Equestria!" Cozy proposed.
"Toppling legitimate power is irrational. It will cause the people's anger. It's better to manipulate the official ruler from behind the scenes. Thanks to your invasion, I became a hero of Equestria. Twilight – my old friend, immediately made me her advisor after her coronation. That's how I became the secret leader of Equestria without betrayal and lies," Moon Dancer boasted.
"And can you order Twilight anything you want?" Cozy asked, amazed.
"Not order, advise. And not everything, but what will benefit the country. This is how geniuses should govern," the unicorn replied.
"But what about royal feasts? The ability to do whatever you want?" Cozy asked.
"A salary allows you to live in luxury. But I prefer to spend money wisely: investing in new equipment for the Royal Laboratory will allow me to make even more discoveries. I prefer self-improvement to pleasures," Moon Dancer honestly answered.
"Wow, that's cool! I want to be like you! Take me as your apprentice!" the pegasus requested.
"Alright. But you need to learn to control your emotions: with Chrysalis and Tirek, you made a series of typical villain mistakes – overconfidence, recklessness, excessive threats, and taunts over an almost defeated enemy. Also, you need to learn to properly assess the risks of any plan and make informed decisions."
"Manipulating emotions is my talent! But you're right: I need to practice restraining emotions and learn to act cool-headed," Cozy admitted.
"And finally, I will take you under my wing and even restore Grogar's powers to you so that you become an alicorn again. But in return, you will sign a magical contract that you won't use the acquired knowledge to cause physical or moral harm to anyone. Exception: self-defense or resistance against criminals and villains. We, geniuses, must develop the state, not bring barbarians to power, absorbing love and magic."
"And what will happen if I break the contract? Just curious," Cozy asked.
"I'll find out, strip you of Grogar's magic, and send you back to Tartarus as a hopeless villain."
"Wow, harsh conditions!" complained the pegasus.
"Otherwise, it's not possible with you! Well, are you willing to become my apprentice?" Moon Dancer asked.
"Yes!" replied the pegasus and shook the extended hoof.
***
Twilight was going through numerous reports. The alicorn sighed: did she really have to deal with paperwork for at least a thousand years? But then a guard knocked on the door of the ruler of Equestria's office.
"Princess Twilight, Moon Dancer has come to you with a report on villains," the guard informed.
"Excellent!" Twilight was glad she had an official reason to take a break. And a second later, she appeared in the throne room, where her old friend, now serving as the Minister of Magical Security in Equestria, awaited her.
"Hi! I'm so glad to see you!" and Twilight hugged her friend.
"I'm glad too! And I have good news!" Moon Dancer replied.
"Did your plan work? What happened to the villains in the end?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, the villains have reformed! Lord Tirek reconciled with his family and is now working as a magic teacher in his homeland. I think you should receive a letter from his father, the king of the centaur country, either today or tomorrow."
"I'm looking forward to it!" assured the princess.
"Chrysalis returned to her children. And yesterday, she reformed, sharing her feelings and love with the hive. Now, together with King Thorax, she rules the changelings again. And she is already preparing for a trip to Equestria to apologize to everyone for her misdeeds."
"Amazing! I couldn't even imagine that the proud Queen Chrysalis could change so much," Twilight marveled.
"And now I'll tell you what happened with Cozy Glow. Unfortunately, she hasn't changed her views on friendship. She thinks your whole story proves that friendship is needed to come to power."
"Oh, Cozy! If only she knew that I never aimed to become a hero, a princess, or the ruler of Equestria. Friends mean more to me than titles," the Princess of Friendship regretted that her student saw friendship only as a means to succeed.
‘And she still considers you foolish, but I promised to keep that a secret, ‘ the unicorn thought to herself and continued aloud:
"But I convinced her that being a villain without allies and artifacts by your side is unwise. And I got her interested in science and the study of magic. I even took the risk and restored Grogar's magic to her."
"What?! Cozy is an alicorn again?" the princess was shocked.
"Yes. But in return, she signed a magical contract not to use magic for evil. And since it's still intact, Cozy is keeping all the conditions."
"Is she not going to cause any problems?" Twilight was worried.
"I assure you, she won't. Cozy doesn't plan villainy; she's studying diligently. And I'm confident that in the future, she will become a great scholar," the unicorn shared her hopes.
"Moon Dancer, I'm so happy for you! You've proven that the scientific approach is applicable even in matters of friendship. Thank you for everything!" and the friends hugged tightly.
The End