All across Equestria, a wave of magic spread to the farthest reaches; the rainbow-powered Mane 6 being the ones to cause it. Their effort rejuvenated everypony with the magic that gave them their talents, cutie marks and livelihoods. Even the three Princesses that were sent to Tartarus felt their magic return in full, and they had their turn to escape their prison. A momentary return to the Tree of Harmony saw them witness the mysterious chest levitate from the Tree all the way to Ponyville, where it entered the ground. Once planted like a seed, it transformed and emerged above the surface into something new.
Sprouting onto the surface was a building, looking to be made out of crystal, with a crystal star being the highest point. Its architecture looked to be a palace, a place of royalty and great importance for the highest ranked of ponies. The crystal material, however, did lack a shining luster as compared to structures like the Crystal Empire's castle, but there was one shining part; a sphere of light that sat at the highest tip of the palace's star.
The Mane 6 appeared in front of the palace in a flash, and returning back to their normal selves shortly after. They looked upon it in amazement and wonder, never expecting such a building to be in Ponyville of all places. After a moment of speechless gazing, Rarity commented on the sight.
"Sweet Celestia," she said. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Yeah, we see it," Rainbow Dash stated. "But all that came from that box?"
"It did," added Pinkie Pie in a high-pitched voice. "Well I don't know about that light ball, but a whole crystal castle, popping up in Ponyville! A-MA-ZIIING!"
"But... Whose is it?" Twilight pondered aloud.
"I believe it is yours, Princess Twilight."
All six ponies turned around to see where that comment came from, as none of them said it. Standing not too far away was Princess Celestia, along with Luna, Cadance and Spike, with Discord behind those four, and the two in the front that caught Twilight's attention first; Nyx and Cosmo. Both looked very happy and healthy, like the rest of the group, but those two were the purple pony's greatest relief to see.
Nyx, unable to contain herself, began to run full gallop up to her mother, chanting out "You did it! You did it! You all did it!"
Twilight galloped a few steps up before she saw Nyx jumping into the air and tackling her on her behind. The little filly had her hooves wrapped around her mother's neck, nuzzling just under Twilight's head, who nuzzled back in return. Twilight wrapped a leg around her daughter, doing her best to keep a couple tears from shedding out of her eyes, but ultimately failed. Then again, everypony else were practically the same, saving the alicorn's peers, as the sight of both mother and daughter safe from harm and still together was a beautiful sight to see.
"We all did it," Twilight said quietly at first, but allowed her voice to pick up. "We all did it together." She saw Cosmo walking up to her and Nyx, followed by Celestia and the others. The Seedrian stood before the two smiling happily, managing to hold in her own tears, but Twilight couldn't help but have the bigger smile on her face. "Thank you, everyone, for everything you've done to help save Equestria."
Cosmo bowed in respect to the princess, and once standing back up, replied with "Tails and I needed help before, and you helped us. It was the least we cou..."
"Wait a minute!" Pinkie yelled, interrupting Cosmo. "What happened to Tails?! Where is he?!"
That realization quickly went through everypony's mind. No one knew what happened to him following the last attack on the evil titan. "Oh horse apples! Where did he go?!" Applejack said.
Everypony's head cocked side to side in search for the easily recognizable fox. After all, there were no two-tailed foxes in Equestria before he appeared.
Yet Cosmo, the one who would be worried more than any being of any world, did not look unphased or distressed over the matter. She still wore the same grin she greeted her friends with, doing no other action whatsoever. "Do not worry. He is alright," she told them all, who turned their sights to her confused. Her vision, however, was directed upward as she continued with "What you did had no harm on him. In fact, you helped him more than you think."
The ponies didn't know what Cosmo meant, but they looked up at the direction she was looking. She was looking at the ball of light above the crystal castle, emitting a bright glow of some form of energy. It took them a couple minutes, but they began to see something within the light; a silhouette that they couldn't depict what it was exactly. They thought of what it could be; another creation of the Tree of Harmony? Another pony powered by the chest? Or could it be the foe they had just defeated, or even another?
Their answer revealed itself as two narrow eyes opened, glowing out of the light. It then spread out its limbs- two legs with covered feet, two arms with hands instead of hooves, and showing a familiar body shape. But the most obvious detail were two parts that opened out, hanging loosely in their own directions. The hanging limbs were furry tails. There was only one being everypony knew that had two tails, and that being was Tails. It explained how Cosmo was being so calm, because he was right there the whole time, yet there was one other detail in his silhouette that confused them.
"Is it... Is it really him?" Nyx asked.
"It has to be. No one else looks like that," Twilight replied, but thought to herself "At least I hope so. He looks... different."
"I assure you, it's him," Cosmo told the two.
"But he looks a little different, like the back of his head sprouted something as big as one of my cotton candy clouds," Discord mentioned. "Only... Spikier."
Cosmo chuckled to herself about the thought. He had no idea how close he was to being right with his description. She took some steps forward, standing just before her pony friends, and still looking up at the bright sphere above the dull-shined castle, all the while still smiling. When she stopped, she took a minute to look up at the silhouette in the sphere.
Little could she see, the figure looked down at her, down at everypony, and grinned as well.
"Come on, Tails," Cosmo called up into the air. "Enough floating around now. Finish what you need to do and come down here, please."
What followed her calling was two occurring things. One was the silhouette's actions in the light, constructing itself for a few seconds before letting its body spread out, and unleashing a loud, energy releasing scream. Everypony listened to the vocal tone of that scream and immediately recognized it as it belong to Tails, confirming to them that it was him. A wave of relief came down onto them, but it was only brief as they saw the next action.
The light that shrouded the two-tailed fox glowed even brighter, creating a flash that sent out a magical wave below him. This wave was the coloring of the special rainbow connection from before, circling around Tails once before descending down around the castle. As the cast of magic streamed down the palace, it turned its appearance from a lack of shining luster to the brightest shine that could be compared to Crystal Empire buildings or the stained glass murals across Canterlot Castle. The ponies stared in amazement as the rainbow shined down the building to the ground, where it panned out like a sonic rainboom, casting its colors across the ground and spreading to the farthest corners of Equestria. All but Cosmo watched the wave pass until beyond their sight, keeping an astonished look on their faces.
"Whoa," Spike said. "What the heck was that all about?"
"I don't have any idea, but it seemed to be more magic of Twilight and her friends," Cadance guessed.
"Surely there is an explanation that Miles Prower will be able to give us," added Luna.
Spike turned himself back around to face the palace's direction again, and was the first amongst the ponies to do so. What he saw next caused his jaw to drop, leaving his mouth like a wide open cave of near speechlessness. His head has his eyes looking upward, and very slowly lowering itself as he tried to mutter something out to everypony.
"Wh-wha-wha-th-da-da-da-Equ-qu-est-ria..."
"Spike," Rarity said in attempt to get his attention, "what's the matter?" The little dragon pointed his finger towards what was causing his actions, and everypony turned around to see what made him that way.
"What the hay?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.
Their sight was a familiar two-tailed fox floating himself down onto the ground at a slow and steady pace. He was floating down facing the castle, looking about is as he continued to descend, and his back towards his friends and loved one. His back, however, looked very different than the ponies have ever remembered it. His fur was still bright gold, which meant he was in his powered up form as they've seen before, and his two tails were spinning to control his descent, but that wasn't left them shocked by his appearance.
There were long quills stretching down the fox's backside, reaching down to just passed his waistline. Judging by where they were coming from, it looked as if they all grew out from the back of his head, shining with a luster of gold like the now brighter gold aura that surrounded him. Nopony could explain this phenomenon, most likely because they remained speechless as they saw him float himself down until he touched the ground just a few feet in front of Cosmo.
More specifically, he landed with one foot landing flat onto the ground, and limply supported the other up by the heel. Also unseen was how one hand was gently clenching his chest as the other just laid to his side.
Silence fell for a minute with nothing but a small breeze passing through taking place. The silence was broken by Tails as he stated "That's quite the castle you now have, Princess Twilight. I'm sure it will serve you and the others well."
The ponies found the vocal sounds of the heroic fox quite different. It sounded deeper and a little raspier compared to his usual lighter voice he's always had before. It was another different aspect of the fox now, and one that made a majority of them all the more concerned.
Applejack, leaning herself towards Pinkie Pie, whispered "What's goin' on with the feller's voice?"
"Beats me. It sounds like he lost his voice from screaming so much," mused the pink mare in her always cheerful tone.
Princess Celestia had mixed emotions about this. She felt herself conflicted with intrigue, concern, and confusion, and decided to address this in the best manner possible. "You sound strained, young Miles," she said to the fox from where she stood. "Are you alright?"
Her answer didn't come from him, but from Cosmo as she said "He's alright, Your Highness. His looks and voice are just a part of his ascension."
She then turned her focus to him and added "I'm so proud of you Tails for becoming a Super Saiyan 3, but Celestia has a point. Are you well?"
The fox chuckled to himself, his back still turned towards the others as he did. He then turned his upper body to face her, and revealed an accomplished grin on his face. Her reaction was simply a content smile, but everypony were surprised by his appearance yet again. His eyes were furrowed narrow, appearing more like a primal creature than his usual look, and looking towards the top of his head confirmed that the long quills he now wore did come from there.
"I'm alright," the fox said. "A few broken bones and a little tired, but that's just a cost of a rough fight."
Tails then took a brief, calming breath, and let his power go back down to normal. His body returned to normal as the golden aura faded away and his fur returned to his normal color, and his eyes becoming their normal, wider state. As Cosmo took another step towards him, and he tried to turn himself completely, but he slipped in his turning step. As a result, he began falling to the ground, but Cosmo jumped in front of him to try and catch him, attempting to grab him at his shoulders and waist as she tried to avoid the broken ribs in his chest. Unfortunately him falling into her caused them both to fall to ground.
But just a couple inches away from hitting the ground, the two froze in place. A purple aura shrouded around them and held them, preventing the impact with the ground from happening, and it began to lift them back up. Cosmo returned to her feet as she kept one arm wrapped around his upper back and the other around his front waist, and Tails put his good foot on the ground as he had one arm wrapped around her shoulders to help keep himself up. When they were back up, they looked forward to see where this familiar aura came from.
As they guessed in their minds, the couple saw that it was thanks to Twilight's magic that helped them. Her horn glowed as she used levitation magic to hold the two in a magical grip until they were safe. When the task was made, the aura around her horn disappeared, followed by the aura that surrounded the Mobian couple. The purple alicorn stepped up to them, followed by everypony else behind her, her smiling a grateful and happy grin.
"Thanks for the save," Tails said humorously, his voice sounding normal again, but now a bit more tired.
Twilight had a small chuckled and replied "It's the least I could for you two. You've done so much to help us as it is. You helped us stop Tirek and save Equestria..."
"And you helped save my family," Nyx added, herself standing right next to Twilight, "and you saved me." She then walked up to stand in front of the two and nuzzled her head against Cosmo. "Thank you. Again." Her voice sounded with an overwhelmed sound of gratitude, trying her best not to be too emotional.
Cosmo took a hand and rustled it in the filly's rich purple mane for a second before she looked up at her. "You don't need to thank us. What are friends for?" Cosmo told her sweetly.
Tails couldn't help but have a little laugh, regardless of sharp chest pains. "Well, friends mean a lot in many ways, especially around here," he said through his fatigued voice. "After all, friendship has an incredible force behind it."
"Magic," Twilight said, standing right in front of the three. "Friendship is magic."
Following that last statement, Twilight's friends and peers stood right there behind here, all grinning in agreement. One that couldn't agree more was Celestia, who said "Very well said, Princess Twilight. Now speaking of magic, do you know the first couple forms of recovery spells?" The purple mare nodded. "Very good. We'll need that knowledge to help Miles."
The tall and grand Equestrian ruler then turned to those of Mobius and asked "Are you able to support yourself for a minute, Miles?"
"I should be able to," he answered.
"Very good," Celestia replied, and then turned her sight to Cosmo. "Would you please be kind enough to step aside? The Princesses would like to repay Miles for what he's done today."
"Of course," Cosmo replied. She turned to Tails to get a small confirming nod from him before they let go of each other. Again he kept himself supported with his good leg and the heel of his other foot, showing a small sign of strain upon full release. "Tails, do you need to hover yourself?"
The fox shook his head and answered "I don't think so." He then turned to Celestia to ask "I assume you're going to try to heal me?"
"No Miles," the grand alicorn said. "There is no trying here, but solely accomplishment in the task." She took a stance at one of his sides, addressing the other alicorns with "Luna, Cadance and Twilight, please take a place around him."
The three nodded and did just do. The royal sisters stood opposite of each other at the fox's side, and the sister-in-laws stood at the front and back of him, with Twilight at the front.
"Stand back, everyone," Twilight warned the others. "This requires some space on our part."
They all took a few steps further back to allow the Princesses the necessary space they needed, with Nyx standing right next to Cosmo, and the Mane 5, Spike and Discord grouped together. When they seemed to be ready, Luna asked "Now, sister?"
Celestia nodded and said "Yes. Let us use our returned magic well."
The four alicorns focused their magic together, combining it into a single force. Each of their horns glowed their colors, channeling their magical energies and shrouded Tails within it. Streams turned to swirls that formed an orb around his body, lifting him into the air as he felt the magic course through him. He felt his leg mend and straightened out normally, and his ribs no longer feeling jagged in his chest, relieving the constant pain and allowing his breathing to relax.
After about two minutes, the four Princesses set him back onto the ground and ceased the spell, the auras around their horns and the orb around Tails fading away. When the magic's light disappeared, the fox's body appeared just like normal. Any scrapes or scratches, any visible damage that the fighting caused, all of it had disappeared from sight. Everypony and Cosmo looked at the result with amazement at the successful result of the princesses' magic.
Tails took a look around his body as he enjoyed his prime feeling returned. His fur wasn't ruffled up anywhere, and crimson red stains were cleaned away. Both his feet were planted firmly onto the ground, both supporting himself up, and he no longer felt pain when his chest moved as he breathed. He no longer had broken bones causing so much pain in him just moments ago, and it was a lot of nice relief for him.
"This is incredible," he said, still looking around his body. Twilight remained where she stood as the other princesses moved to stand around her as he kept looking around his body. A few seconds later, he recalled something of the not too distant past. He turned his attention to Twilight, a humoring glare in his eye, and asked "Where was this magic when Cosmo and I first came to Equestria? It could've been very useful then."
He made a good point. When the Mane 6 first found him that day, he was severely injured, but healed with only minimal magic used as he recovered with time. Thinking of that, Twilight sympathetically replied "I'm afraid I've only just started learning the most advanced healing spells a few weeks ago. Sorry I didn't know it back then." The two looked at each other for a moment before sharing a small laugh to themselves, with a chuckle from Cosmo as well.
"You don't need to be sorry," Tails said as he ended his laughter. He then took a couple steps towards the four alicorns, and dropped to a knee in bowing respect. He set a forearm across his bent leg and set the fist of his other arm onto the ground, which was the common form that he and many other warriors did out of respect for royalty. "This was a wonderful gift on your behalf. Thank you, Your Highnesses."
Just as most of the princesses were about to give a bow in return, the purple alicorn took the few steps up to the fox. She stood in place for a moment, and then set a hoof on his shoulder. When he looked up at her, she gave him the kindest smile and said "There is no need for that."
As Tails got back up on his feet, she continued with "You've done so much for us today to help save all of Equestria. It's the least we would do for our friends." She then lifted her leg up and wrapped it around the fox's shoulders, pulling him in for a hug. He gladly gave one in return as he wrapped his arms around her neck. "Thank you so much for saving my friends and family." Those last words sounded the most grateful she could be, without shedding tears of joy in the process.
"Hey! Don't forget us!" Nyx yelled, galloping up with Cosmo closely following.
The black filly forcefully squeezed into the hug, getting herself tightly in between the two. Her effort worked as her mother opened up a little space to let her in, nuzzling cheek to cheek with her as they both shared the happiest smile.
Cosmo joined in and pit herself at the fox's side, wrapping an arm around his waist as he did in return. He used her free hand, her left hand, to pull his lips to hers and share a quick kiss together. When it broke, they stared at each other with most loving faces, and overjoyed hearts, with a small glare coming from Cosmo's ring finger.
The four shared a group hug together, faces smiling and nuzzling with each other, and Nyx taking a mane rustle from Tails's hand. Cosmo and Twilight thanked each other again for their efforts from that day. When the group hug released, Nyx looked up at them and said "So now that everything is good again, and everypony is back to normal, what do we do now?"
The answer to that question came simple. Tails looked back at the crystal-like castle before them all, shining brightly under the day's gleaming sun. As the rest of the group looked at it, the fox answered the filly's question with another.
"Well, for starters, why don't we see what's in your new home?"