School Raze PT1
Flash let out a moan as he felt himself spinning, his brain peeling as he tried to focus. He opened his eyes and found he was in a mental void, but one unlike anything he had ever seen before. Instead of one color, or a couple flowing together in perfect harmony, the void was constantly shifting colors and patterns appearing in random spots all around him. And he was spinning around, feeling like he was in zero gravity and being thrown around by something.
"What's happening?" He groaned out.
"Flash!" The voice was barely audible, Flash's ears perking up at this, "F-ash. -lea-- -elp me."
"Faust?" He recognized the voice despite its distortion. "What's happening? Where are you?"
"-agi- is...dy..." Was all he could hear as the void's shifting colors grew more and more out of control. He called out again, but he could no longer hear the voice.
"Faust...Faust! FAUST!"
"Whoa!" He sat up, "Ergh..." he rubbed his face as his brain kept hurting, "What happened?" He moaned as he tried to recall the dream he had just had, but the memories were already beginning to grow fuzzy. He opened his eyes and saw he was in his and Twilight's room, which was unoccupied except for him. Twilight had likely gone off to the school, Flash not having to worry since he didn't have any classes that day. However, as he was about to lay back down, he remembered he was meant to be on patrol.
"YAAAH!" He leapt out of the bed, zipping out of the room and grabbing his sword along the way. He passed a hallway clock on his way out and saw it was almost half seven, the pegasus flinching at how late he had slept. He headed out a window and rushed toward the town, hoping to do a speedy search of the town to make up for the time he had lost. But by the time he reached the first street, his lungs were screaming at him to slow down. "Huh?" He came to a stop and floated down to the ground, panting as he did so.
When he touched down, he had to lean against a wall to catch his breath. "Flash?" He turned to see Grand standing down the street, the older Royal Knight moving over to him. "You okay?"
"Just a little...winded."
"Oh?" Grand raised an eyebrow at this, "How long have you been flying?"
"I just woke up," Flash replied, "I overslept, so I tried to catch up on my patrol. But for some reason, I was barely able to make it here from the castle without losing my breath."
"That is strange," Grand responded, "You could normally get a whole day of constant flying and barely feel tired. Have you been getting enough sleep lately?" Flash nodded, "Eating right?" Flash nodded again. "Stress?"
"I'm a Royal Knight, Defender of the Peace, Element of Harmony and teacher to a bunch of rowdy students plus giving extra lessons to Fire Heart. What do you think?"
"I think you might be overdoing it. You should try and take a break whenever you can. Why not take the rest of the day off and relax? If you don't have any lessons at the school, you can enjoy yourself and recharge the old batteries." Flash smiled and thanked his mentor, the two knights separating with Flash heading in the direction of the school.
Along the way, he took the time to simply enjoy the scenery. And as he did this, he noticed Derpy flying through the air on her delivery route, heading for the school. Taking a letter out of her bag, she seemed to be focusing on the address.
"Derpy!" He called out, "Watch out for-" He didn't get to finish as Derpy slammed headfirst into the wall above the door and dropped all her letters. Luckily, Cozy was there to catch them all so they didn't fall into the water. Cozy had really come into her own over the last few months at the school. With the CMC's help, she was acing all her classes and Twilight had been so amazed by her sudden growth that she had offered Cozy the position of her Friendship Assistant.
"Thank you for the mail delivery," she told Derpy as the pegasus flew away. "Have a wonderful day!" She put the letters in her saddlebag and straightened up her Friendship Assistant medal, Flash arriving at the school as she did. "Oh, hello Professor Flash. Aren't you supposed to be on patrol this morning?"
"Grand gave me the day off," Flash replied, "Told me to take it easy so I don't wear myself out."
"That makes sense. You're always going the extra mile for everypony. You shouldn't push yourself too hard." She spun around and walked into the school, Flash following her as both headed for Twilight's office. Along the way, Cozy spotted a discarded juice box on the floor. She rolled her eyes and smiled as she picked it up, throwing the box into the recycling bin and its straw into the garbage.
She then noticed a pegasus filly Flash didn't recognize, who was currently looking at a map. "You're new here, right?" She nodded, "I'm Cozy Glow, Professor Sparkle's friendship assistant. Welcome to our school!" She took the map and smiled, "Your first class is just down that hall." The filly smiled and headed off in that direction, Flash and Cozy continuing down the hall and cutting through the library as a shortcut to Twilight's office.
Along the way, they spotted Silverstream currently doing a crossword puzzle. Cozy happened to see she was having trouble with a particular column that was also part of several other worlds. "A seven-letter word for teamwork." She put a hoof to her chin, "Have you tried synergy?"
"That's it! Thanks, Cozy!"
"What are friends for?" Cozy giggled as the pair left the library.
"I gotta say Cozy," Flash smirked at the filly. "You've really come into your own here. You were one of our worst students when you arrived, but now I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up graduating Valedictorian."
"Thanks Professor Flash. I never would have been able to do it if the ponies here hadn't helped me so much. For the first time in my life, I feel like I'm where I belong."
Flash chuckled at that, "Sometimes, you remind me so much of Twilight. Going from being completely clueless about Friendship, to being her Friendship Assistant. I wouldn't be surprised if end up running this school when you're older."
"That's nice of you to say. But I could never replace the Princess of Friendship." They then arrived at Twilight's office and Cozy opened the door, Flash walking in as they both saw Twilight at her desk looking over a long scroll. "Good morning, Professor Sparkle!" She placed the letters she had gotten from Derpy on Twilight's desk, but this only made Twilight panic.
"The mail's here already?" She looked up at the clock, "What time is it?!" Seeing it read eight o'clock, Twilight's face went pale, "I'm late for my class's field trip to Cloudsdale!"
"Oh yeah," Flash had forgotten about the trip. It was the whole reason he was lessonless today.
Twilight rushed over to a cabinet and took out her saddlebag, but Cozy stopped her before she could rush out the door. "Don't worry." She took her saddlebag away, "I asked Professor Rainbow Dash to cover for you."
"And she said yes?!" Twilight yelped.
"Uh-huh," Cozy nodded, "I told her how busy you are and how much her loyalty meant to you." She then took out a notepad. "I also color-coded your teaching schedule by friendship element and catalogued all the magical artifacts in the school."
"Yup," Flash sat on a couch, "A tiny little Twilight in the making."
Cozy gulped at that, "I hope that's okay."
"Okay?" Twilight smiled, "Cozy, that's amazing! You're like my right-hoof pony!" She hugged her before returning to her desk. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
Cozy giggled at this, "It's like you taught me: Helping is what friendship's all about."
"Exactly," Twilight sat down, "And hopefully my class is learning that on their field trip right now."
"I heard they might do some sightseeing first," Cozy added as Twilight looked out the window, wondering how much fun the students were having before turning back to her paper and got back to work. But before she could that, she realized Flash was there.
"How long have you been here?"
"Same time as Cozy," Flash laid back on the couch. "I'll try not to disturb you." He let out a yawn, Twilight raising an eyebrow.
"You okay? You're looking kinda tired."
"I'm not sure," Flash responded, "I've been feeling off all morning. First I overslept, then I got winded flying into town. And now my body doesn't seem to wanna do anything except relax."
"Huh," Twilight hummed at this, "That's not like you. Usually, you've got energy to spare as long as you're not doing something extremely strenuous. Were you using your Sacred Light?"
Flash shook his head. "Grand seems to think I'm overdoing it. That's why he's taking over my patrol today. Told me to relax and unwind."
"Good idea," Twilight nodded, "Just do me a favor and don't make any noise. I need absolute concentration to get this work done." Flash nodded and laid back, allowing himself to succumb to the exhaustion he was feeling. Luckily, he managed to fall asleep without snoring. His sleep was a peaceful one, without any weird dreams this time, only for-
"We have an emergency!" Starlight's voice caused him to jump and reach for his sword, the pegasus seeing the unicorn rush into Twilight's office along with Rainbow, Heart and Soul.
"The students dropped out of the sky!" Rainbow cried, shocking Cozy while Flash and Twilight went wide-eyed.
"Slow down," Twilight replied, "What happened?"
"The others almost died, that's what happened!" Heart responded, "It's a good thing more than half the class were flyers, or we'd be scraping Ace, Mira, Yona and several other ponies off the ground and filling a single bucket with them!"
Twilight flinched at this before turning to Starlight as she added, "I cast a spell for our field trip to Cloudsdale, but my magic just failed."
"We barely caught everypony in time!" Rainbow continued.
"It was horrible," Soul sighed, "I tried casting that relaxation spell you taught me to calm them down, but it didn't work!" She tried to light her horn, but nothing happened.
"I'm glad you're all okay," Twilight flew over to them. "But I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, Starlight. Maybe you did your spell wrong." Starlight looked insulted that this theory, "And Soul probably just lost control of her magic again." This time it was Soul who looked insulted, since she hadn't had any issues with her magic since she discovered her healing magic. "Let's take a look." She grabbed a book in her magic and pulled it off the shelf, only for it to suddenly cut out and make the book fall to the ground. "I...I didn't drop that book."
"Maybe you did your spell wrong?" Starlight told her sarcastically right as a bang occurred from the door.
"Ow!" A familiar female voice called out as the door opened to show Fluttershy, Iron, Lightning Blitz and Rarity. Rarity was rubbing her head as Fluttershy slowly told them what happened.
"Rarity ran into the door."
"My magic is go-o-o-one!" The unicorn sobbed, stepping inside to show them her tail. "I even had to use my hooves to coif my tail!" The tail looked an absolute mess, with stray strands sticking out in all directions as a hairbrush was stuck through it and a pink bow was tied around it at the flank.
"It's not just her!" Lightning added, "My magic's gone kaput too! I can't even make a spark or pick up a can of soda!"
"Unicorns are having trouble with their magic all over town," Iron continued, "Lyra was helping Bon Bon fix her store's sign and almost dropped the board on her. Vinyl was playing music and dropped a record onto her turntable wrong, sending it flying out a nearby window and almost taking out a pony's eye!"
"Still think there's nothing to worry about?" Rainbow asked Twilight, the alicorn grimacing at this.
"This doesn't make any sense," she replied, "Magic can't just disappear. Something has to be causing this."
"Um," Cozy held up a hoof, "Didn't we learn in class about a creature that eats magic? Ter, Tee...Tir-something?"
Fluttershy gasped at that, "Tirek!"
The others flinched, only for Rainbow to chime in, "Isn't he trapped in Tartarus?"
"He got out once," Iron growled. "Maybe he got out again." But as he said that, the door flew open and Spike rushed in. The young dragon was gagging, as if he was choking on something.
"Spike? What's wrong?" Spike was blowing out tiny wisps of smoke, the ponies gathering around him as they realized he was trying to spit out a letter. Rarity slammed her hoof down on his back, flattening him against the ground and making him finally cough out the magic ash.
He sighed as the ash formed a scroll, "Thanks. I've never had a letter get stuck before." He picked it up and began reading. "It's from Princess Celestia! We've all been called to an emergency meeting in Canterlot! Look!" He held the scroll out and Twilight grabbed it in her magic. But as soon as Spike let go, her magic gave out and it fell to the ground.
"Pretty sure I know what it's about."
"Let's get Springer, Applejack, Pinkie and Grand," Flash sheathed his sword. "If magic is failing, that means the Rune Gate's not an option. Looks like we're taking the train to Canterlot." He then let out a loud yawn, making everypony stare at him, "What?"
"Let's go!" They all headed out, each splitting up to grab the four who had also been summoned. Grand had also become aware of the magic failures, the earth pony fearing his Celestic Gear might also start failing. Luckily, Lightbringer, Grand Slammer and Piecemaker appeared to be working just fine. And once they were all gathered, they rushed for the train and only had to wait five minutes before it arrived.
The train ride had been worrisome, many unicorns now being seen having trouble with their luggage due to their magic failing. Twilight was wondering if unicorns and alicorns were the only ones affected. "Flame on!" Heart yelled at this, his hoof igniting. He threw the fire onto his other hoof and wasn't having any issue, making Twilight sigh in relief.
"Looks like your kirin magic isn't being affected. At least not yet." She turned to Springer, who formed an Aura Blast without much issue. He dispelled it and formed a Bone Breaker, Steel Paw and even went Mega Mode for a moment before returning to normal. "And Springer's power is perfectly fine."
"Probably because it's not magic," Flash pointed out, "So whatever's doing this, it's only targeting magic."
"Does anypony have any idea how this might be happening?" Applejack asked.
Twilight thought about Tirek, but decided not to announce her theory on a crowded train where who knows how many ponies could head and spread it before saying, "I don't know. I just hope we can figure it out and put an end to it before something bad happens."
"We'll be fine," Pinkie waved her hoof, "Celestia's gonna tell us what's wrong, we're gonna find it and take it down. We've done this so many times it won't a problem. Even if unicorns and alicorns can't use magic, we've still got Springer and his aura, Heart and his flames, the Royal Knights and their weapons and Flash's Sacred Light. There's no way anything could stand a chance against all those odds."
They all nodded at this, only for Twilight to gasp, "Your Sacred Light!" She turned to her boyfriend, who just blinked at her before going wide-eyed.
"Oh no." He got up and everypony gave him some space, "Armorize!" He exploded with light and the armor began to form on his body, but something was wrong. The light wasn't as bright as it usually was, and the armor was taking longer to form. And when the light finally died down, his armor was there, but the sight made him frown since the metal didn't have that same shimmer it usually had.
"How do you feel?" Twilight asked, looking the armor over.
Flash tried to move his mechanized wings, but found a lot of resistance with them. And as he tried to fire his thrusters, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness overcome him. "Whoa..." he lost his balance and staggered to the side, the others moving to catch him as his armor started to disintegrate.
"It's even affecting your Sacred Light," Twilight gulped as they helped Flash to his seat, seeing how tired he was looking. "Oh no."
"What?" Springer asked.
"Flash's Sacred Light is connected to his very soul. You all saw what happened to Shadow Corrupter when his Corrupted Shadow was removed. The only reason he survived was because of special equipment that helped him. If Flash is losing his Sacred Light, it's a lot worse than what's happening to us. Ponies can survive without their magic. Flash can't survive without the Sacred Light." She paled at this, "You'll die."
Flash let out a moan before glaring at her, "Then we need to figure out who's doing this and how to reverse it." They all nodded back as the train arrived at the station, where an attachment of Royal Guards were waiting to lead them straight to the castle. Along the way, they saw that the city was in disarray. The many unicorns that lived there appeared to be having trouble going about their day to day lives since they couldn't carry anything or use the magic many of them had based their entire professions around.
And once they got to the castle, they were led to the throne room and headed inside. There, they spotted Celestia and Luna on the throne while Cadance was standing at the base of it. And they weren't the only ones. Most of the Royal Knights were already present. Ruby Scarlet, Cold Steel, and Skybreaker were already there, with Flash, Iron and Grand making their number six. Tidal Wave, First Aid and Heather Bloom weren't there, but the ponies assumed if they could have used the Runes Gates, they would be. Trixie was also there, standing beside the throne with a bandage wrapped around her right leg.
"Good," Celestia nodded, "You're here. I apologize for the sudden summons, but we appear to be facing a great crisis. Throughout our city, ponies have been reporting tales of their magic failing. Spells going wrong. Potions not working."
"Even raising the moon has become difficult," Luna added, "Are there similar troubles in Ponyville?"
"We experienced it first-hoof," Twilight nodded, "And it's worse than you think. Flash's Sacred Light is somehow being drained away." The princess and Royal Knights all grimaced at this, seeing the defender looking rather drained.
"So whatever it is has the power to drain the Sacred Light as well," Celestia stated as Cadance spoke up.
"It's the same in my kingdom. The Crystal Heart seems safe for now, but I worry if this continues."
As she said that, the doors opened and a mailpony flew in. He was panting heavily, looking like he had flown non-stop to get there. "Letter for the princess from Starswirl the Bearded!" He took the letter out and Spike flew it over to Celestia, holding it up so she didn't have to try and use her magic. And as she read, her expression paled.
"It is even more terrible than we feared! Magic is disappearing all across Equestria!" They all gasped at this, "Starswirl believes the power will drain from our land in three days. First, unicorn magic and spells will fail."
"That's what's happening now," Starlight cried.
Trixie flinched as she rubbed her bandaged leg. "Of all the time to lose my magic, it had to be when I was making scalding hot tea."
"On the second day, creatures will lose their magic abilities."
"Oh no!" Fluttershy gasped as Heart summoned his fire, hearing it might be gone forever.
"And finally, magical artifacts will stop working." The Royal Knights looked down at their Celestic Gear, all grimacing at this, "When the sun sets on the third day, the magic in our world will be gone forever!" They gasped again.
"No magic," Ruby quivered, "The Crystal Empire can't survive without magic."
"The whole of Equestria can't survive without magic," Grand added, "Without magic, there'll be no way to raise and lower the sun and moon."
"Cloudsdale will be lost," Skybreaker growled, "If the pegasi lose their ability to stand on clouds, they won't be able to live on Cloudsdale. And they won't be able to make the weather needed to keep Equestria alive."
"And then there's the magical items," Cold pointed out, "And places that run on magic. The prisons of Equestria need magic to stop the criminals from getting out. Even if they lose their magic, they can still cause a lot of problems."
"And what about medical magic?" Lightning continued, "There are ponies out there that need magic to help them survive." Applejack heard this and remembered Rogue, knowing that without the golden apples, his poison would eventually overtake him.
"But why is this happening now?" Cadance asked.
"That's the worst part," Luna sighed. "We have no idea."
"Has anypony checked on Tirek?" Twilight asked, only for Pinkie to jump up next to her.
"You mean the big, red, scary centaur who eats magic? Why would we wa-Ohhhh. Riiiiight."
Celestia bit her lip at this, "If he has found some way to escape his prison or work from within it, he could be responsible for this."
"That is the best explanation so far," Luna nodded, "Somepony should investigate."
"We'll go," Twilight replied, only for Rarity to turn to her.
"Oh, no-no-no-no-no-no. Not without us, you wo...wait. Did you say we?"
Twilight smiled at them all, "I've finally learned that it's okay to count on your friends for help." They smiled back before Twilight then asked, "Um, you do want to come, right?"
"Uh, duh!" Rainbow exclaimed as the others nodded.
"We can't all go," Grand chimed in, "The Royal Knights will stay behind to make sure nothing goes wrong in your absence." He turned to his apprentice, "Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Yeah," Flash nodded, "I'm not letting what's happening to me slow me down." He took out his Celestic Gear, "I might not be able to use my Sacred Light, but this still works. And even if it fails, I'll use it the old-fashioned way if I have too."
"Thank you, all. We will search for ways to protect Equestria in your absence." Celestia proclaimed next.
"Be careful," Luna added, "Tartarus has changed since you were there. It now holds many dangerous creatures, and you won't be able to rely on your magic."
Applejack put a hoof around Twilight's back. "With her friends by her side, she won't have to." They all smiled before running out the door, Trixie, Cadance and the Royal Knights watching them and praying they found a way to stop this. Since the Rune Gates actually were operational, they managed to use it to get them back home. However, Twilight told them that they would need to walk to Tartarus since there was no way to teleport a Rune Gate there without Alicorn magic. As such, they all headed home and prepared themselves for the long trip. Flash did his best to hide how tired he was feeling, but somepony did know just how exhausted the knight felt.
"You shouldn't push yourself," Springer told him as they were in Flash's room. "Twilight and the others can handle this on their own."
"No way," Flash replied, "They had the face the Storm King on their own because I wasn't able to fight back against Void. I'm not leaving them to face off against another monster without me."
"Well, if you're sure," Springer sighed, "Maybe I should go with you. Just for some extra protection."
"No," Flash placed a hoof on his shoulder, "You need to stay here. If we can't stop this by the third day, the Tree and Elements of Harmony are gonna lose their power. Without them, the Everfree forest will start to spread to the rest of Ponyville. With Iron, Grand and Lightning off protecting other sections of Equestria, this place is gonna need your help keeping it and the students safe."
Springer sighed, but nodded. "Alright." Flash smirked and held up a hoof, Springer bumping it before they left.
The jakhowl then headed out on patrol as Flash made his way back to the school, the others, minus Twilight and Starlight, heading there too along with saddlebags of every they would need to survive their trip. "You all ready for this?" He asked, the group all frowning but nodding at the same time. And as they made their way through the school, they spotted Twilight and Starlight walking down the opposite hallway. Flash could tell Twilight was worried about the school, but Starlight said something that made her calm down.
"Okay!" Spike cheered as he looked through his backpack. "Cozy packed us all up for a trip to bad guy central."
"Don't forget the sandwiches," Cozy suddenly appeared with brown paper bags on her back. "I marked whose is whose, just in case." She leaned over to whisper to Spike, "Starlight can't stand mustard."
Starlight blushed at this, only to walk up and pat Cozy's side, "That's sweet of you Cozy, but Twilight has asked me to stay here to run the school." This statement caused Cozy's face to drop as she dropped a food bag.
"Oh," she glanced down, "I thought that after what happened last time-"
"Once she's survived Discord, anything else is a piece of cake." Spike chuckled at this, only to hear Cozy whimper as the filly looked ready to burst out crying.
"Plus," Twilight added, "She'll have you to help her."
This statement got Cozy's happiness levels right up. "Oh, golly, yes! I promise I'll be the best assistant ever!" She flew over to Starlight and grabbed her by the hoof. "Come on! We can start working on your substitute headmare plans right now, if you like."
"Wow. Uh, okay." Starlight gave them one final good luck smile before following her, the others heading to the door.
"See?" Twilight told Spike once she, he and Flash were left in the hall. "Nothing to worry about." But then she grabbed them both by the bags and pulled them close, showing a big grimace, "Tell me there's nothing to worry about." Spike gave her a frown, Twilight laughing as she let them both go and brushed them off.
"Will you relax?" Flash sighed, "We'll be fine. We're gonna get Tirek to undo whatever he did. And if not, we beat him until he cries momma."
"Okay," Twilight looked Flash over and saw he already seemed pretty tired. "Are you sure you can handle-"
"I'm fine," Flash assured her. "Just focus on getting us to Tartarus." Twilight sighed, but nodded and began to head for the door. Flash and Spike followed as they caught up with the others and began to head off in the direction of the dark mountains that held the only entrance into the dangerous prison. It was gonna be a long trip for sure.
Heart and Soul were in the courtyard, going over each other's homework, though it was more like Soul checking to make sure Heart had done his right while Heart saw how it was supposed to be done. When he finished reading through it, Heart put Soul's down and held up his hoof. He ignited it and as he did, he looked at the flame like it was the most important thing in the world.
"Are you okay?" Soul asked, Heart not replying as he stared at the flames. She rolled her eyes and since they were sitting next to some water, she used her tail to splash him and put out the flames.
"Hey!" He yelped.
"You didn't answer me. What are you doing? That fire's not gonna help you with your homework."
"Well, I might not have much more time to enjoy it!" Heart barked, "By this time tomorrow, my fire's gonna be gone!" He sighed and laid back on the ground, Soul shaking her head.
"Flash and Twilight are gonna get the magic back. Compared to the stuff they've already faced, this shouldn't be that hard."
"Maybe...but what if they don't do it before my fire's completely gone? I wasn't born with my abilities. Who's to say they'll come back when the magic returns? The fire is what makes me special. If it's gone-"
"Nothing's gonna change," Soul chimed in, "Flash didn't just make you his apprentice because of your flames. He chose you because of who you are, not what you are. Even if the fire goes away, Flash isn't gonna stop training you. Don't forget, most Royal Knights are ordinary ponies that worked hard and didn't have any special powers until they got their Celestic Gear. You're still gonna be the same pony, even if you can't shoot fire out of your butt." Heart glared at her at this, only for both's ears to perk up as they heard the sound of wings. Turning to it, they now saw Cozy flying in while staring at a piece of paper, only to now about to fly into a wall.
"Cozy, stop!" Heart yelled, Cozy stopping herself at the command.
"Oh," she glanced up to see the wall before turning to the colt, "Thanks Heart." Heart slightly blushed as Soul rolled her eyes again.
"What are you looking at that's so important you almost crashed?"
Cozy flew down and showed them the paper. Heart squinted his eyes at it, only to find he couldn't read it, "What am I looking at?"
"Starlight's hoof-writing," Soul sighed, "It's even worse than her horn-writing."
"Tell me about it," Cozy nodded, "I'm impressed you could tell it was Starlight's."
"I've read enough of her writing to recognize how she writes her K's and Q's. Is this supposed to be a lesson plan or something?"
"Yup," Cozy nodded again, "Though I doubt many students are gonna be able to read it. I might have to rewrite it myself, so I'd better get going. Bye!" She flew off before either of them could say anything, Heart waving her off with a big grin, Soul laughing at him as he glared back at her. And after another hour of homework reviewing, they were happy to see the work looking good, making sure both weren't identical but still good.
As they put their things away, they noticed the sun was beginning to set. Apparently, Celestia and Luna had enchanted a special device after Tirek's last attack that could do their duties of raising and lowering the sun and moon. With alicorn and unicorn magic gone, they would be relying on that until it also lost power, or magic was restored to Equestria.
The pair made their way through the school as it was getting dark, several other students going to since it would soon be time for lights out. "Why don't we go see how Starlight's doing?" Soul chimed in, "I'm worried about her running the school all on her own."
"But I thought she'd be fine." Heart responded, "She's done it before. Like Spike said, if she can handle Discord, she can handle anything."
"True, but she did have Spike's help that time. This time, she's all on her own." Heart shrugged, but nodded and the pair headed to Twilight's office. The sun had completely set when they reached it and Soul knocked, "Starlight?" But there was no answer, leading to her knocking again. "Starlight, are you in there?" Again, no answer. "Huh?"
"Looking for somepony?" The twins yelped at that sudden question and turned to see Cozy smiling at them, the pair panting.
"Don't do that," Soul grumbled.
"Have you seen Starlight anywhere?" Heart asked, but Cozy shook her head. "That's odd. I thought she'd be in Twilight's office."
"That's where she'd usually be until late," Soul added.
"I'm sure she's here somewhere," Cozy smiled before flying up and patting her head. "Don't you worry your pretty little head. I'll tell Starlight you were looking for her."
Soul raised an eyebrow at that gesture, only for the alicorn to reply, "You don't need to do that. I'll ask Mira to look for her. She and Ace have been learning to scan areas for ponies and they should know Starlight's aura pretty well. If she's not in the school, they can call Springer to scan the town."
They spun around at that, and as they did, Soul noticed a look of panic appear on the filly's face. "Wait!" They glanced back, "I just remembered. She said she wanted to check something out in the library. She probably went to do that."
"Huh?" Soul blinked at this, "Well...I'll just go see what she's up to."
"I don't think that's a good idea. It's almost curfew and I don't think Starlight would like you out of bed after hours."
"I'm sure she won't mind. We're just making sure she's okay. She'll probably appreciate it." Heart added as the pair began to head for the library. Cozy grimaced at this, knowing that Twilight's office wasn't far from the library, which was typical for the alicorn, which meant they didn't have far to go before they reached the room.
Heading inside, they found the place was now fully dark and creepy-looking. The sight made them blink before slowly walking in, "Starlight?" Heart called out, "You in here?"
"I'm sure she was in here," Cozy added as she walked in behind them. As she said that, Soul noticed a light seeping through a gap in a bookshelf.
"What's that?" She followed the light and looked through the bookshelf, seeing the light was coming from the other side. Looking around, the three saw the light was coming a grate in the ground. "Where did this come from?" Heart and Cozy also saw it, Heart raising an eyebrow while Cozy gulped.
"You think Starlight went down there?" He asked his sister.
"Maybe," Soul shrugged, "She probably saw it and went to investigate."
"On her own?" Heart replied as he pulled the grate open, looking down into the large cavern. "I'm gonna go see if she's okay." He jumped down the grate before the girls could say anything and found the cavern were full of crystals, the light that had directed them to the grate flowing out of a side tunnel. Heart followed the light as Soul and Cozy flew in behind him, the trio finding it was coming out of a semicircle window. And when they looked through it, the twins gasped at what they saw.
"Starlight!" Soul cried as she and Heart flew through the window and into a round cavern full of crystals. And in the center of the cavern was Starlight, trapped inside an orb of magic that was being created using the seven ancient relics that had been used in the spell-venger hunt. "What happened?!" Soul asked as she and Heart flew up to the orb, Starlight speaking but nothing was coming out. "What?"
"We can't hear you!" Heart yelled, "This thing must be soundproof!"
"Who did this to you?!" Soul added, only for Starlight to point behind them, the pair glancing back to see a charging Cozy, "WHOA!" Soul yelped as she jumped to the side as Cozy slammed into Heart. "HEART!" Her brother was smacked into the orb, soon sucked inside before going silent as he cried out.
"Oh," Cozy sighed, "Butterscotch." She turned to Soul, who was glaring at her.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" She screamed, charging at Cozy who smirked back. The pegasus dodged the alicorn's attempt to punch her, then dived down as Soul attempted to tackle her.
"I didn't want things to turn out like this," Cozy replied, "Everything would have been perfect if you hadn't gone all Shadow Spade on me. Now you have to disappear."
"Let them out!" Soul screamed, "NOW!"
"Or what?" Cozy asked, "You might be an alicorn, but you're one without any magic. What can you possibly do?"
Soul growled back at her, only to see one of the relics behind Cozy. She charged at her, Cozy quickly dodging before grabbing Soul's tail, stopping her right before she could grab the Talisman of Mirage. The filly proved to be quite strong as she pulled her away from the relics, using all her strength to swing her around and smash her into the ground. "Augh!" Soul flinched and forced her eyes open right as Cozy leapt on her. The two struggled against one another, rolling around the cavern as they did. "I always knew there was something up with you!"
"And you didn't say anything?" Cozy asked, "That's dumb!"
"I wanted to believe that whatever was up with you, being our friend could help you overcome it. But now I can see, you're far from just disturbed. You're down-right evil!" She spun them around and pinned the filly down, "And I've got no choice but to stop you!"
"You can try," Cozy then shifted her back hooves into Soul's chest. "But you'll fail!" With a single push, Cozy kicked Soul off, the filly landing on the magical circle below the orb. As soon as she touched it, the orb reacted and unleashed magical tendrils. Each one had a claws hand on the end of it that reached for Soul.
Starlight and Heart cried out a warning, but she didn't hear them, the tendrils instantly grabbing her. "Hey!" She cried, trying to pull away, but they began to pull back.
And a second later, she was in the orb.
"SOUL!" She heard Starlight cry out as she was pulled inside, she and Heart catching her before she could slam into them. "Are you okay?" Soul growled as she pushed herself against the orb and punched it, but it did nothing. "Don't bother, I've tried."
"Cozy!" Heart yelled, pushing himself against the orb. "Why?" The pegasus filly said nothing as she turned to leave, "COZY!"
"I hope you don't mind," Cozy replied, "But I'll be borrowing your homework. I'll need it to forge a letter saying you went with Starlight." With that, she left the cavern, Heart continuing to scream for Cozy while Soul punched against the magic and Starlight let out a long sigh.
"Twilight, wherever you are, get back here soon."
Twilight was laying in the tent she and Flash had set up, which had taken a lot longer without the help of magic, unable to fall asleep due to worry. She was worried that whatever was stealing magic from their world would be irreversible. That Tirek actually wasn't the one behind it and they were wasting their time. And that they wouldn't be able to stop this before it was too late for the most important pony in Twilight's life.
She rolled over and looked Flash over, the pegasus having fallen asleep rather easily due to how tired he was. Despite his exhaustion, Flash had been leading them, and hadn't slowed them down at all. Another reason Twilight admired him so much.
Flash then started moving in his sleep, letting out groans and moans, making Twilight grimace as he knew whatever nightmare he was having, Luna couldn't help him. That alone made things even worse.
Inside Flash's mind, he was again inside the void. "Urgh..." he whispered as he felt better than he had done all day. Slowly, he was starting to remember the dream he had had the previous night. "That's right! Faust, are you here?"
"Flash!" He heard Faust's voice call out, still weak, but a lot more audible. "Flash, please help me!"
"Help?" Flash asked, only to realize what was wrong. "The magic. It's being drained from Equestria. It's...it's hurting you!"
"It's killing me!" Faust screamed, "Please! If the magic of this world vanishes, I'll cease to exist. And without me, this world will not survive!"
"What?!" Flash's eyes widened, "Why?!"
"Think of the world as a giant machine. It can work just fine on its own, but someone needs to do maintenance on it to keep it from breaking down. I've been keeping the world in order since its creation. As much as I'd like it to be able to survive on its own, that's just not possible. Without someone to lord over it, plants will die, trees will stop producing oxygen and many other atrocities will occur." That last part was hard for Flash to hear, as Faust's voice was starting to distort again. "I'm los--- cont--- -gain. Hu--y Fla--. -top wh--- hap--ning --fore it- too -ate"
"FAUST!" He cried before everything went out of focus again.
"YAH!" Flash shot up, making Twilight gasp.
"Flash? What's wrong?" she looked him over, Flash now panting as he put his hoof to his face.
"We have to hurry!" Flash cried, getting up and starting to pack the bags. "Faust's dying!" Twilight's eyes went wide at this as Flash rushed out of the tent. "Everypony up!" His voice awoke those in the other tents, Fluttershy and Rainbow poking their head out of one while Applejack and Pinkie did the same from their tent and Spike stepped out of his, holding a teddy bear. "Rarity," Flash shook the last tent, "Take your earplugs out and wake up."
A moan escaped the tent as Rarity glanced out, still wearing her eye-mask and beauty cream. "What is going on?"
"We have to get going. The entire world's at stake!"
"WHAT?" They yelped, getting out of the tent as Flash explained his dream. As soon as he mentioned Faust being the only thing keeping their world running properly, any thought of going back to bed felt their heads.
"We have to stop what's happening," Twilight gulped, "It's one thing to make the world be without magic. But destroying it outright is going too far."
They all quickly started packing up and once they were finished, they continued their trek towards the entrance of Tartarus.
The next morning...
The students of the School of Friendship awoke to a magicless morning. Those rooming with a unicorn found their roommates having trouble getting ready, though one room found their magical sleeping partner was gone.
"That's weird," Mira commented as she, Silverstream and Ocellus stepped out of their room. "I can't sense Soul anywhere."
"Maybe she went to the castle," Silverstream chimed in, "She might have wanted to get away from the snoring."
"You two don't snore," Mira pointed out as the pair turned to her, "HEY!"
As she yelled that, Ace, Gallus and Sandbar walked up to them as Ace asked, "Have you seen Heart? He wasn't in bed when we woke up."
"No," Mira shook her head, "And Soul's gone too."
They all frowned at this before walking to the main hallway and found Cozy standing behind a podium. "Good morning, friendship students!" She cheered as they glanced around, wondering where Starlight was. "I know we're all sad Professor Sparkle is away. But don't worry, because she left me in charge to do things just the way she would."
This statement made them all tilt their heads, Gallus raising a claw, "Uh...I thought Starlight Glimmer was gonna be temporary headmare?"
Cozy nodded, "She was, but she left me this note." She held up a pick of paper, showing them all the terrible hoof-writing. "I have to go. Twilight needs my help. I know the school is in good hooves with you, Cozy." She giggled. "Isn't that sweet? We won't let Starlight down, will we?"
"Are you sure that's what happened?" Mira asked, "She might have left you a note, but she probably would have told Heart and Soul."
"She did," Cozy showed them the note. "See, Soul added more to it." Mira took the note and looked it over, surprised that it was written in Soul's hoof-writing.
"Heart and I are going with Starlight. Keep things running until we get back." Mira read aloud, blinking at the paper, "Something about this doesn't feel right. They wouldn't just leave a note..."
Smolder nodded, "It is kind of weird, isn't it?"
"I don't know what you mean," Cozy shrugged.
"Like," Smolder crossed her arms, "Why'd Starlight change her mind? Why did Starlight write a note instead of saying goodbye to us herself? Same with Heart and Soul."
The other students were starting to feel the same, but Cozy just giggled. "Oh Smolder, you forget." She sat down on the podium, "We're not scheming dragons. We're ponies." She flew up and tapped Smolder's nose. "Sounds like some-creature needs to do a little extra friendship homework." She winked at Smolder, who let out a snort of smoke.
"Yak not pony either!" Yona cried, "If Smolder get homework, Yona get homework!"
"Me, too!" Ocellus cheered.
"I'm in!" Sandbar nodded.
"Alright!" The jakhowl high-fived.
"Yeah!" Silverstream then laughed, "Homework party!"
This was met with a groan from Gallus. "Fine."
"What loyalty," Cozy smirked, "Professor Rainbow Dash would be so proud. You are such good friends. You all are. And I'm grateful because it will be awfully hard running a whole school alone. Can I count on each of you to help me?" The students all cheered, though Sandbar and the non-ponies just flinched at this, "Thank you so much!" Cozy cheered, "It's just like our professors taught us. Together, we can get through anything!"
The ponies were all exhausted, all suffering due to their lack of magic. For instance, the anti-bug spell Rarity could not use. "Ow!" The fashionista cried as she rubbed the nose she had just punched, trying to swat a fly. "Ugh! I have had it with these horrible flies!" She began to tear up at this, "I miss my magic!"
"Have you tried using your tail to shoo them away?" Twilight asked, making Rarity gasp like somepony had just suggested using a fashionable dress as a dishcloth.
"Bite your tongue!" She held her tail protectively, "It's for decorative purposes only!"
They sighed at this, only for a few stomach grumbles to ring out. Pinkie then looked into her bag, only to frown, "Hey! I didn't know we packed green cupcakes!" She pulled them out, revealing the cupcake was old and moldy with a mushroom growing on it.
"Um," Fluttershy flinched, "We didn't. They must've gone bad without magic to keep them cold."
"That was quick," Flash gulped, "How old is that cupcake?" Pinkie decided not to say, attempting to eat it anyway until Flash swatted it out of her hooves, "Looks like the drain of magic is starting to spread to things other than ponies."
Rainbow rolled her eyes at this, "Magic this, magic that. We don't need magic to go on a little hike." But as soon as she said that, a smash of thunder occurred behind them before it started raining so hard that they were all drenched in a second.
They quickly ran for cover under a tree, Rarity glaring at Rainbow. "You were saying?"
"You just need to think more like Earth ponies, y'all." Applejack commented as she reached into her bag and took out a jar of brown paste. "Granny's Apple Core No-Bite-No-More!" She opened the top as they dipped their hooves in it. "That'll keep the flies off."
Pinkie sniffed it before covering her nose, "Ugh! It smells just like it looks!" They started applying it to their faces, as Fluttershy noticed a bush beside them.
"Even if our food's spoiled, these blueberries are still good to eat." They nodded before looking up at the dark clouds.
"Too bad we can't do anything about the rainstorm," Spike sighed, seeing only one pony with the cloud busting skills as Flash was still weak.
Rainbow stood tall at this, "I can't stop that storm by myself, but I can still help!" She shot into the air and dived into the clouds, returning a moment later pushing a white cloud out that was rain free. They quickly rushed under it as the rain fell into the cloud but slid down the sides away from the ponies.
"I think we have all the magic we need right here." Twilight giggled, "Not that I don't want to get it back. Heh. Let's go!" They cheered and continued onwards, hoping flies and rain were the only problems they were gonna have to deal with.
The day passed and at the School of Friendship, everything was going surprisingly smoothly. Currently, Sandbar, Ace and Mira were walking through the hallways, seeing everypony there looking happy as could be. And they couldn't blame them, given how much Cozy was doing to make them all comfortable during this time of unrest.
"Cozy Glow baked our class cupcakes today!" One student cheered as they passed them.
"And she made all of us friendship bracelets!" Another mare smiled as they showed off their many leg accessories.
"She's the nicest pony I've ever met," the final mare added, "I'm so glad she's headmare!"
The three raised an eyebrow at this, Sandbar asking, "Uh, temporary headmare, right?"
"Oh, oh, of course. But if Twilight takes her time coming back, I won't mind."
"Why?" Ace chimed in, "Cozy's great, but she's still a student like us. Everything she could teach us about friendship would be stuff we've already learned."
"Maybe," the first mare shrugged, "But she's still fun." They laughed and continued to head down the hall, leaving Sandbar to sigh and pick up his books as they headed to the library. And when they got there, they found the library was completely deserted.
Cozy hadn't given out any homework, so nopony was there working. Nopony except their closest friends. "Finally!" Silverstream smiled when they arrived at their study spot between the bookshelves. "We thought you forgot about study club."
"Sorry we're late," Sandbar replied, "Cozy Glow gave our class tickets to a Sapphire Shores concert in Ponyville tonight."
"It was awesome," Ace added, "Though I don't know what exactly we were supposed to learn about friendship from it."
"Nothing," Mira responded, "There's nothing we could learn from a concert."
"You get the feeling Cozy's trying too hard to make us like her?" Gallus asked, the others frowning as Occellus spoke up.
"Or maybe she just wants to help us keep our minds off of how scary it is that magic's disappearing."
"I don't trust her," Smolder slammed her book shut. "What's she up to behind those big eyes and bouncy curls?" She turned to the jakhowls, "Can't you two figure out what she's up too? You have your 'aura sense' or whatever that is."
"It's not that simple," Mira shook her head, "We can sense feelings, but we're not psychic. And whenever we're around Cozy, her aura's always weird. It's like she's able to mask her emotions around us. Even when she looks happy, we can't feel it from her."
"That's kinda weird," Sandbar added before Yona heard something.
She looked through the bookshelves and spotted something. "And why Cozy pony coming out catacombs so late at night?" They all looked through the books and saw Cozy walking out of the grate, a lantern in her hooves. She made her way out of the library, the students looking between her and the cavern. They all stared at her before looking back at the caverns, remembering their last trip into the caverns, and knowing they weren't keen on returning.
"Let's go ask her," Gallus stated before they began to chase after the filly.
Meanwhile...
Flash and the rest of the Mane Seven had finally reached their destination. It had stopped raining, so they no longer had to worry about getting damp, but as they reached a large door with pink links and symbols carved into it, Flash had to lean against one of the rocks, his form slumping over.
The others grimaced at this as Twilight commented, "This is the only door to Tartarus. The good news is the seal isn't broken, so we know Tirek didn't escape."
"Let me guess," Applejack chimed in, "You got bad news, too?"
Twilight nodded, "Last time I was here, I had to use magic to get in. And according to Star Swirl, all unicorn magic was gone by yesterday's sunset."
"Maybe he was wrong," Rainbow added, Twilight nodding and closed her eyes. But her horn didn't so much as flicker, causing her to sigh.
Pinkie stepped up at this, "Don't worry, Twilight. I got this." She ran behind a nearby tree and leapt back out wearing a pizza costume with a box of the delicious food in hoof. Flash had a feeling no amount of magic drain could un-Pinkie Pinkie. She knocked on the metal doors, "Free pizza delivery!" She waited, but they didn't even budge. "Huh. Always worked before. Oh, well." She threw the box away as Applejack turned to the others.
"Did any of y'all pack somethin' that could actually help?" They started looking through their bags, only to shake their heads.
Rarity took out some sewing supplies. "These all do magic, but not the kind we're looking for I'm afraid."
Flash frowned as he held up his sword, wondering if he could use the Alicorn Magic it was made from to maybe recharge Twilight long enough to open the door. But before he could suggest such a thing, Spike spoke up. "How about this?" They turned to him and saw the drake holding up a crystal cone with gold coverings.
"The Key of Unfettered Entrance! Where did you find this, Spike?" Twilight gasped.
"In your bag," Spike replied, "Cozy Glow must've packed it for you."
"She really did think of everything," Twilight cheered as she took the key.
"What does it do?" Fluttershy asked.
"It can magically open any door," Twilight replied, "And since artifacts like this haven't lost their power yet..." She placed the key inside a hole that, strangely, fit perfectly. They all watched as the crystal parts glowed the spread its magic into lock, causing them to spin and unlock. The doors then slid open, revealing the path into Tartarus. A dark path with many different horrible sounds being carried on the wind.
Twilight reached to take the key, only to find it exploding into dust. "I guess it only works once," she whispered before they began to walk inside.
And as soon as they were through, the doors slid closed. Flash gasped and rushed to try and stop them, "NO!" But his weakened state slowed him, the doors slamming shut, "Ah!"
"What's wrong?"
"The doors closed," Flash pointed out like it was obvious. "And locked."
"Oh dear," Rarity gulped, "Does that mean we're trapped in here as well?"
"Not unless Cozy packed a second key of opening," Spike muttered, the others frowning as they now realized their only hope of escaping now was restoring their magic. As such, they headed into the cave. However, not three steps in something shot out of the darkness. A familiar creature that was half chicken, half snake and all terrifying.
"Cockatrice!" Applejack screamed as the creature stared at them and they covered their eyes.
"Do something, Fluttershy!" Rarity added, Rainbow pushing the cowering pegasus forward.
"Don't look at it!" The athlete cried, "It'll turn you to stone!" The cockatrice roared at them, but none of them felt its effects changing them. Pinkie opened her eyes and looked herself over.
"I don't feel like stone." She bounced up and down, "Unless it's really bouncy stone." The rest of them opened their eyes and turned to the cockatrice, who they now realized was locked inside a cage. The creature squawk roared again before curling its serpent tail around its body and sitting down.
Fluttershy then stroked its feathery body. "I think he lost his magic, too." She glanced around at this, their eyes adjusting to the darkness of the cavern as they now saw many different beasts in cages. Some they recognized, like the bugbear, but others they had never seen in their lives. One thing they all shared in common though, aside from being caged, was how upset they looked. "All the creatures here must have."
"Starswirl said that would happen on the second day," Twilight sighed before turning to Flash, seeing him looking extra drained.
"I know it should make me feel safer," Spike added, "But it just makes me sad. We gotta fix this!"
Back in the school, the eight students watched as Cozy made her way through the school.
"Weren't we gonna ask her what she was doing?" Ace asked as they watched Cozy turn a corner, "Why are we following her and not just getting on with it?"
"I wanna see what she's doing," Mira pointed out as Cozy arrived at the door to Twilight's office. She stepped inside and as they moved up to it, they heard a familiar voice.
"Where is Princess Twilight?!" They all recognized that voice, and as they looked through the crack in the door, they saw Chancellor Neighsay sitting at Twilight desk.
"Oh, golly." Cozy smiled, "She's away on a quest. I'm watching the school for her."
"Magic is failing across our land, and she left a foal in charge of this facility?"
"Yes, sir!" Cozy giggled, "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"That won't be necessary," Neighsay replied, "Twilight's folly stops here. As of now, I am headstallion. And I have quite a few changes to make." He smiled at this while Cozy frowned and the students grimaced at this.
Neighsay picked up several files off the desk and threw them in the trash, making Cozy gasp, "What are you doing?! Those are Twilight's student files!"
"These aren't," Neighsay announced, "Not anymore! With Equestria under attack, ponies must stand together! Twilight has endangered us all by skipping off on friendship trips while these dangerous creatures run loose."
"You don't think they're the reason magic is disappearing, do you?"
"Yes," Neighsay nodded, "And I came to warn Twilight." He jumped off the desk. "But since she is gone, it falls to me to protect you foals from these monsters."
"Is he serious?" Ace asked as the others murmured their own distaste, a little too loud unfortunately.
"Did you hear something?" Neighsay asked, Cozy looking to the door.
"It sounded like it came from over there!" They moved toward the door and before those on the other side realized what was going on, they opened them up and the eight all fell to the ground in a heap.
Neighsay glared at them. "You again. As I suspected." He touched the EEA badge on his chest, the enchanted item unleashing a blast of magic that flew into his horn and charged him up. Moments later, he launched a blast of magic that formed a magical chain. The students cried out as it wrapped around them all, tying them to one another and preventing them from moving. "From now on, this school is pony-only!" Neighsay smirked, "As nature intended."
"Dude!" Ace growled, "When Springer sees what you've done, he's gonna Aura Blast your sorry butt into the stratosphere!"
"Please," the unicorn spat, "Against all of the EEA, he wouldn't stand a chance." Mira would have told him that the EEA was full of nothing but now powerless ponies while Springer had all his abilities, but decided to let him figure that out the hard way. Instead, Neighsay used his badge's magic to pull them over to the boy's room and threw them inside. "Since you refuse to explain your plot against Equestria and return the magic you stole, you will stay here while I summon your guardians to take you home."
"We live here!" Mira cried, "Our guardian literally lives next door! Here, let me call him for you." She closed her eyes, Neighsay raising an eyebrow.
"Telepathy," Gallus deadpanned, "Something jakhowls can do. You'd probably know that if you took the time to actually learn about us and our kind instead of simply dismissing us."
"Alright," Mira smirked, "He's on his way, and he is not happy."
Neighsay glared at them and turned to leave, but Sandbar spoke up. "Wait!" Neighsay spun back around, "You were right about them from the beginning, Chancellor. I see that now."
"What are you saying?!" Smolder gasped as Silverstream cried his name. Ace and Mira could sense he was lying, both smirking as they realized what he was up too.
"I don't want anything to do with creatures that could threaten Equestria!" Sandbar cried, Neighsay grinning at this.
"Wisely put, colt." He touched his badge and the chains holding Sandbar vanished. "Everypony will come to their senses eventually." And as he said that, a loud banging sound filled the air.
"NEIGHSAY!" Springer's voice screamed, Neighsay sighing at this.
"Excuse me. I have some unwelcome guests to deal with." With that, he stepped out of the room with Sandbar following. When he reached the door, he dispelled the chains as Sandbar shut the door. He touched his badge and fired a blast of magic at the door, causing the room to become enchanted so that those inside couldn't break free.
The ponies all felt a sense of dread as they got closer and closer to Tirek's cell. Luckily, Fluttershy's way with animals had allowed them to get past the guard known as Cerberus, and were now staring at a large cage that housed one of the most dangerous creatures in the land. Tirek spotted them approaching and smiled, the ponies seeing he was still a withered and skinny creature that lacked any magic.
"The Princess of Friendship came here for a visit. What have I done to earn the honor of your company?"
Twilight stomped up at this, "We want answers, Tirek. Magic is disappearing from Equestria."
"I know," Tirek licked his lips. "What a waste of such..." He licked again, "...mmmm, delicious power."
"So you are behind this!" Rainbow growled, Tirek shaking his head.
"Silly filly, if I had all of that magic, you think I'd still be locked up in here?" The ponies flinched at this, only for him to add, "But I might know something about it..."
Springer stomped through the hallways, following Neighsay's aura trace. And when he found him in the hallway, the unicorn stood tall while Springer created a Bone Breaker.
"Let those kids go," he growled.
"The younger members of your race are waiting for you to pick them up. You may wait outside while I collect them, then the three of you will not darken these doors again."
"That's not what I'm talking about," Springer hissed, "Those kids are staying here where they belong, and you're the one leaving this place. Why Starlight even let you in here, I'll never know."
"Starlight?" Neighsay asked, "When I arrived, a foal was in charge."
Springer blinked at this, only to shake his head, "I won't let you destroy everything Twilight and her friends have worked so hard to create. If you don't let all the non-pony students go, I'm gonna make you regret it."
"You would attack a citizen of Equestria?!" Neighsay yelped, "Wait-what am I saying?! Of course you would! You think now that you've made magic disappear, you're the most powerful being in Equestria! Tyrants don't care about laws!"
"You're the one being a tyrant," Springer replied as the aura bone in his paw flared with aura, "Last chance. Let them go, or I'm gonna arrest you for unlawful imprisonment and intruding upon private property."
"Those charges wouldn't hold up."
"Maybe. But I'd be able to keep you locked up long enough for Twilight to finish her mission and get back here to deal with you herself." He pointed his weapon at Neighsay, "Do it."
Neighsay frowned before touching his badge, which sent a burst of magic into his horn. Springer tensed up at this, only for Neighsay to fire the spell at the ground. The entire school suddenly glowed, Springer blinking at this before Neighsay hit him in the chest.
"Augh!" He staggered back and suddenly his entire body was wrecked with pain. "What did you do?"
"I've cast a spell that causes a place to reject those deemed not suitable to be inside it. You have been deemed not suitable. Now leave before you pass out." Springer's bone breaker instantly dissipated at this, the jakhowl feeling the pain surge through him.
"This is just like Shade's runes...I can't pass out right now. I gotta get out of here. But first..." he growled before pointing his paw at the unicorn, an Aura Blast flying out next and hitting Neighsay.
The pony gasped as the orb struck him in the chest and exploded, sending him flying back. "Augh!" He cried, hitting a back wall and slumping over. And as this happened, Springer began to feel the pain again, Neighsay picking himself up as the unicorn now noticed his badge had been damaged.
"No!" He roared as he picked himself up, checking the magic and realizing its power had been severely depleted. It likely had only one more spell within it. With his badge damaged, he was now as powerless as the rest of the ponies in Equestria. He then glanced up and saw Springer was gone. "That monster...he must have planned this so I couldn't defend the school when he and the rest of his cohorts attacks! Well, he'll be in for a shock when he finds defeating me won't be so easy!"
He walked off at this, Sandbar smiling at this as he used the distraction to sneak out of the school. "Now to get some help."
"Where is Equestria's magic going, Tirek?" Twilight yelled at the weakened centaur, "What's making it disappear?"
Tirek smirked as he moved closer to his cage, starting right into Twilight eyes. "If you let me out, I'm sure it will jog my memory. What do you say? I scratch your back, you scratch mine?"
"How stupid do you think we are?" Flash asked, "We wouldn't release you even if you were the only thing that could return magic!" The others nodded as Rainbow moved in closer, grabbing Tirek by the beard.
"How about you tell us what you know, or you'll be stuck here forever because we're out of magic keys and nopony can open the door!"
This caused Tirek to start chuckling as he looked away from them with his hands behind his back. "What a pity. Well, for you. Sweet revenge for me." They all glared at him as Tirek glanced back at them. "It seems my little protégé's plan worked after all."
This info caused all but Flash to gasp, the pegasus wanting to ask who he was talking about. But he was starting to get too exhausted, Applejack needing to do it for him. "Which little protégé?"
"Oh, we've never met. We're pen pals."
"You get mail in here?" Flash asked, Tirek shrugging.
"I need something to keep me entertained. Usually, I just get magazine subscriptions and a puzzle book. But recently, I've been getting letters from a pony who wanted to know about taking away magic. Each letter had so many questions about draining magic."
"And you answered them?!" Pinkie shrieked as she hopped up to the cage.
"I was bored," Tirek replied, "So, I simply pointed my pen pal in the right direction." He pushed Pinkie's head back until she lost her grip and fell to the ground, Fluttershy moving over and helping her up.
"Can't you just tell us your pen pal's name? I mean, since we're stuck here anyway?"
"Oh, why not? The irony is too perfect. Her name is..."
"Cozy Glow!" Sandbar yelled as he glanced around the library, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom being there with him, the trio being the only ones he could think of to ask, "I could've sworn I saw her come down this way when she left her office."
They glanced around and spotted the grate leading to the underground cavern was once again open. The four stepped up to it, Sandbar keeping it open so the girls could jump down into it. They looked around the cavern and spotted the same light Heart and Soul had seen the previous night, the quartet moving over, only to gasp and quickly jump out of sight. Seeing Starlight, Soul and Heart trapped in a magic orb, they realized something really wrong was going down.
And as they stared at the orb, a voice spoke up. "Enjoying yourselves in there?" They followed the voice and saw Cozy stepping out of the darkness, "I'm sorry I had to push you in. But what else could I do? You were going to ruin all my plans."
"What's going on?" Scootaloo whispered as Cozy began circling the magical orb and checking the relics that were powering it.
"I know it's probably a little cramped in there, but you might have to endure a little more company soon. if I can't make that annoying Neighsay BACK OFF!" Her face suddenly stopped being cute for a moment, stress showing itself all over her face.
Only to take a deep breath and her cute expression returned, "All this magic needs time to drain from Equestria before my vortex sucks it to another realm." She let out a giggle, "Three days can sure seem like forever, huh?"
Their eyes went wide at hearing this, "Cozy..." Heart whispered from within the orb. He glared at her as he tried to blast the orb with his fire. But in the time he had been trapped, his magic had been sucked away. He was useless as all the others.
Cozy giggled at this before removing something from behind one of the crystal pillars. "You know, you ponies got it all wrong. Friendship isn't magic. Friendship is power! With Twilight and her lackeys out of my way, all of Equestria will bow to me!" She held up a crown with the emblem of friendship on it. "The future Empress of Friendship!" She placed the crown on her head before she burst out laughing, everypony seeing this knowing one thing: Cozy Glow was well and truly insane. And if they couldn't figure something out soon, she was gonna do more damage to the world then she could possibly realize.
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Sorry, Heart and Soul but it's Ace, Mira and Young Six's turn to be heroes.
Man, I imagine others won't forgive Cozy Glow for about to destroy the entire world by killing Faust!
Also, I bet Heart is heartbroken (pun intended) upon learning Cozy Glow is a psychopath who only care about herself.
I bet Flash would be very disappointed in Cozy for her action, especially getting him and Faust killed for her selfish desire.
Here's highlights
Flash, you will be eating your words when you find out the truth about Cozy.
YOU LYING BITCH!!!!
Again, you will eat your words- oh! You get the point!
DAMN YOU, COZY!!!!!
Poor Heart, he just suffered his first heartbreak (pun intended).
Okay, Cozy Glow have gone too far!
And Demon spawn strikes hard on S8 finale, course with the added threat of Faust/Flash dying cause of the magic draining!
Things are really tense all around, course I'm sorry Heart had to find out the hard way his fave pony was a psycho (it was bound to happen 
) but I'm soooooo glad Springer got a shot-in at that Neighsay jerk there, that was priceless! 
*steps on something* huh what's...? Oh this week's Highlights! :
Oooooohhhh Flash, you're gonna regret saying those words later, trust me!
Welp this escalated quickly!
One word.....OUCH!
And the Demon spawn reveals herself, sorry Heart!
This speciest jerk needs to get blasted with a heavy dose of reality!
Case in point!
Yeah yeah yeah, laugh it off Demon spawn, you'll be kissing the ground soon!
Looking forward to the conclusion next week Banshee, take care!
Wow, this escalated way quicker than I expected.
It is really expressed here just how bad Cozy's plan would have made things for Equestria. Not only can things not be handled properly without magic, but Flash dying without the Sacred Light came as a surprise, though a bit obvious in hindsight. Plus, I'm not sure if this was part of Cozy's plan too, but almost killing Faust is also a scary accomplishment. I wonder if she had that as part of her plan and has something prepared, or if she just didn't think that through and doesn’t realize if she succeeds she will destroy the world.
This really emphasizes how much Cozy threw away with her ambitions. She would have had a bright future ahead of her and could have been set for life, heck she could have even found love with Fire Heart given he obviously had a crush on her. But instead she betrayed everyone she was close to and threw everything she could have had away all in a misguided attempt to obtain power.
Springer confronting Neighsay over his treatment towards the students was also a great moment. Unfortunately, Neighsay's spell seems like it is going to prevent Springer from being able to interfere anymore, so it is up to the Student 8 to stop Cozy. Still, Springer getting to land an Aura Blast on Neighsay and show he isn't as all-powerful as he thinks was cathartic.
The conclusion is going to be great! Fire Heart and Shining Soul helped save everyone back in the Season 6 finale as part of Starlight's team, now Ace and Mira are going to get a chance with their own group of friends.
Man, i wonder if Cozy will get an even bigger punishment next chapter or in Season 9
will Flash really Die if he loses the sacred light?
Hope the main 7 get back soon.
I missed Flash and Twilight interactions not been a lot in a while so seeing them in this as she worried about him was nice.
How was it able to be drained again tho his sacred light?
So, I'm guessing how Flash died in Future Heart's timeline had something to do with this.
Wait, I thought Tidal wasn’t here along with Heather and First? Did you mean Cold?