> Cozy Glow's attempted attack on Equestria > by Robert Emerald Fountain > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Notifying Celestia > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Main 6 had gone to Celestia. Things had been going haywire recently. Yona had fallen through the clouds during a tour of Cloudsdale, and Twilight was losing the ability to use her magic. "Magic is disappearing from Equestria, and nopony knows why.", said Celestia. "I suspect that Tirek May be the one behind this. However, it is unknown how he could do that when he is locked up in Tartarus.", Twilight responded. Celestia sent them there to figure out what was going on. Twilight left Cozy Glow to watch the school until they got back. Little did anyone know that Chancellor Neighsay had had enough of the times that the Main Six would go on missions. > Neighsay takes action > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cozy Glow walked into Twilight's office and was met with confusion. She wondered why the chair was turned back to the window. Her question was answered when a glow of magic swiveled it around, revealing Chancellor Neighsay. "Where is Princess Twilight?", he asked firmly. "Princess Celestia sent her to Tartarus to investigate why the magic is vanishing from Equestria. She asked me to watch over the school until she came back.", Cozy replied. "That's not good. She has dropped her guard, and allowed attackers to swoop in and steal magic from us. The attackers were here all along, and she didn't know it.", he said. "She shouldn't have left a FILLY in charge.", he shouted as he smacked the desk and cracked it. "Her careless, unauthorized, dangerous methods end NOW! I am confiscating her role, and running this school myself. Celestia has made a mistake by allowing her to teach friendship to non-pony creatures." "THAT IS ...", Cozy started to yell in retaliation when she saw the damage to Twilight's desk. "Did you hear something?", he asked quietly as he searched for the origin of murmuring. The young six shoved the doors open as they lost balance while trying to listen in. "You again, just as I thought.", Neighsay hissed. With a snarl, he energized his horn with his medallion. He gagged the students and locked them in chains. Disgusted by the ones who were not ponies, he thrust them into an empty dorm room. After releasing Sandbar, he yelled at the others in a thunderous tone. "I will be having your guardians take you home. This school is now for PONIES ONLY!", he shouted. "We know a secret way to get out of this situation.", Ocellus spat back, challenging Neighsay. " YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME?", he roared back, slapping her in the face. The rest of the students worked the gags off their mouths, and Yona yelled at Neighsay as he closed the door on them and sealed it. "YOU WILL FIND OUT THAT SHE WAS TELLING YOU THE TRUTH!!" "I'd like to see you try.", he said without turning to face her. > Summoning the Christians > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neighsay warned Sandbar that if he tried to help his "friends", that he would be put in detention. Once he was out of sight, Sandbar shadowed Cozy Glow to an underground chamber. Starlight was not where Cozy had claimed she was. Instead, she was bound inside an orb of magic, over symbols and glyphs on the floor. Cozy was the one taking all of the magic, and she planned to create a vortex to put the magic in another dimension. "Soon, Equestria will bow to me. The new Empress of Friendship.", Cozy yelled in an EVIL TONE. Then she laughed like a villain. ** "What did you mean, when you said that you had a way to get us out?", Silverstream asked Ocellus in a puzzled tone. "Thorax enchanted my horn to send a distress call to the Christians if we were in trouble.", she replied as she touched her horn three times to establish the distress frequency. "Oh Yeah!", Smolder said excitedly. Soon, Ocellus' horn was blinking slowly to establish contact. ** Many miles away in space... A transmission came in on the Lemurian Star, and was picked up by Captain Brandon. After an explanation of the situation, Brandon instructed his shipmates to take them to Equestria at full warp speed. The warp engines roared to life as they blasted the ship into motion. ** In Tartarus, Twilight and the others had been interrogating Tirek about why he was siphoning Equestria's magic. Tirek laughed at them and revealed the truth to them. "Cozy is the one behind this?", Twilight shrieked in disbelief. "She and I are pen-pals. I told her everything she needed to know.", he said. > The Christians arrive > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cozy returned to Neighsay, to discuss what was going on. "Stop getting rid of Twilight's lesson sheets, Chancellor.", she insisted. "You don't understand. This school needs someone who will PROTECT EQUESTRIA AT ITS BORDERS, RATHER THAN GALLIVANTING OFF ON ADVENTURES BEYOND THEM!!", he shouted back, as he smacked Twilight's desk again. "I already told you that Celestia sent them. They did not go on their own, and she left me in charge.", Cozy argued. "If I was inspecting the school tonight for EEA approval, Twilight would have the longest list of "Red-X" marks that any of my comrades would ever see. Leaving a child in charge would be one of the problems. I plan to run this school, according to strict EEA guidelines, as she ..." Neighsay was cut off, when alarm sirens began to SCREEEEAAAAAM!! They both gritted their teeth, closed their eyes, and covered their ears. Neighsay thought that Equestria was coming under attack, but he couldn't have been more wrong. The Christians had set up an early warning system that would go off when they were coming. Nevertheless, it was EXTREMELY LOUD!! > Rescuing the Non-Pony students and entering the school > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The five students struggled to get the door open, but it was no use. They began to feel as if they would never get out. ** Unknown to Neighsay, Ocellus was right. They soon spotted the hovercraft outside, and flagged it down. They were overjoyed when they saw MacGyver being lowered in the rescue basket. *SMASH* He shattered the glass with a window spike, and instructed them to be as quiet as possible. "Thank you.", Yona whispered as she climbed into the basket. MacGyver gave them a thumbs-up, and signaled Murdoc to raise them up. The basket was hoisted up, and the students were met by Sandbar. They were given their Christian Fleet uniforms. After putting them on, they planned when they would protest against Neighsay. ** At the same time, Clawdeen flew over the school in the direction of Tartarus. "Insertion point in fifteen seconds. Get ready to jump, Admiral. Good luck, Captain.", she said over her headset. Brandon and Link tethered their rip-cords to the plane and leaped out. After landing safely, they activated their "Chameleon Suits", and became invisible. They snuck inside, and climbed up in the ceiling lattice. However, someone had heard the glass breaking at the student dorms. Needless to say, the Young Six were already up there, waiting for them. > Things get SERIOUS > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A pegasus ran to Neighsay with a look of panic on her face. "I heard the sound of glass breaking. Looking outside, I saw an aircraft of some sort next to where those Non-Pony students were. I looked closer with binoculars, and noticed them climbing out the window, into a basket. That was then raised up, and the aircraft flew away. However, the vehicle looked like it came from a place other than here. I think that whoever was flying that thing, may have been trying to rescue the students." "Attention please, this is a critical emergency. The Non-Pony students have been rescued by someone. I do not know who, but I am afraid that they might try to attack the school. Also, I had personally spotted a second craft. This one was smaller than the one that rescued the students. I saw two individuals jump off and come down on parachutes. We are now in a lock-down. If you spot the students or these individuals, restrain them. The students are not allowed here anymore, and the other foreigners are NOT welcome in Equestria.", Neighsay instructed over the PA. ** The next dawn, Brandon and Link gathered the Young Six together and discussed their plan of attack when Neighsay was giving his announcement to the school. They were given amulets that would shield them from Neighsay's power, in case he tried to chain them again. The six of them hid by using a camouflage feature in their amulets. It was designed to drop, 5 seconds after they yelled "NEVER", in unison. ** At 8:00, all of the students gathered for the morning assembly. Neighsay strode to the podium with a firm, stern look of concentration on his face. He was NOT smiling. "I am sure you are concerned about the situation with the magic.", he started. The students nodded at him, indicating that they were concerned indeed. "However, I assure you that this institution is safe, despite the absence of your headmare. As your new headstallion, let me be the first to say that the reign of Princess Twilight is OVER!!!!", he shouted as he stomped his hoof on the crystal floor. "FROM NOW ON, THIS SCHOOL IS ADHERING TO EEA DOCTRINE", he hissed strictly, "AS IT SHOULD..." "NEVER!!", the Young Six angrily screamed. Neighsay whirled around to see the students appearing from their invisibility. "How did you escape? That shouldn't have been possible.", he demanded. "I told you that we knew a secret way to get out.", Ocellus said. All six of them were staring at him with rage on their faces. He tried to chain them again, but the chains ricocheted off of something. He was confused, until the shield became visible for a moment. > Pursuing Cozy Glow > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Twilight and the others were getting ready to borrow power from the creatures in Tartarus, when they heard the sound of something cutting through the gates. They were led out to Clawdeen's plane, and they took off at once. She told them everything. "Neighsay seized control of the school?", Twilight shrieked in disbelief. "Yes, Link and Brandon are in the process of getting him to realize his mistake.", Clawdeen replied. They were slowed down by strong turbulence in the wind. None of them knew that Cozy was trying to keep them away. Soon, they surpassed it, and kept flying. ** Brandon and Link dropped down from their hiding spots, and landed in the middle of the crowd with a loud *THUD*. Brandon shot a laser at Cozy, knocking her unconscious, then pointed his laser rifle at Neighsay, in unison with Link. "We are here to protect Twilight's school.", he said firmly. "From YOU!", Link hissed at Neighsay. "This is PREPOSTEROUS!! WHY WOULD TWILIGHT ALLY WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT FROM EQUESTRIA? WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY?", Neighsay yelled in retaliation. Brandon explained that they were part of an organization, called the "Christian Fleet". They had protected Equestria from a mysterious attacker on the day of Twilight's princess coronation. After the entity disappeared, which occurred after he had revealed himself as Satan, Celestia formed a permanent alliance with the Christians. Neighsay was angry at this point. Before he could raise an argument, Cozy jumped on him and tied him in chains, cracking his medallion from the impact. Then, she ran to the chamber under the school. Link chased after her. To Neighsay's surprise, the Young Six calmly walked over and broke the chains off. Brandon repaired Neighsay's EEA medallion, and pinned it back on him. Neighsay was in awe. "You all were right, friendship is for more than just ponies. I will get word to Celestia and Luna.", he said with a smile, as he opened a rift to Canterlot. Brandon drew his sword, and led the students to the underground chamber. > Rescuing Starlight, and stopping Cozy Glow > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon arrival in Cozy Glow's chamber, Link clanged his sword against Brandon's. This created a beam that shot into the orb of magic. Like pulling a swimmer from the water, the beam wrapped around Starlight and pulled her out. "Grab the artifacts.", Smolder yelled. "Didn't you say that it could destroy the school?", Ocellus asked nervously. "NOOOOO!! STOOOOOP!!", Cozy cried. Link shot her with his phaser, and knocked her out. The orb was destroyed as the vortex was beginning to open up. The magic was split up, and went to its owners. Everyone rushed out of the caverns, and outside. Clawdeen landed her plane nearby, and the Main Six got off. "YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!!", Cozy screamed, tackling Brandon to the ground. "STAND DOWN!!", Clawdeen yelled. "Your pen-pal, Tirek told us everything about how to siphon all that magic.", Applejack accused. "Why did you do this?", Twilight asked calmly. "Friendship is POWER!!", Cozy said. "If I can't commit my act here, I will do it somewhere else." She tried to get away, but Luna, Celestia, and Neighsay blocked one path. Pegasi who turned on her, blocked another way, Royal Guards blocked another way, and the Christians blocked the last path. Celestia jumped up, and landed smack in front of Cozy Glow. Flaring out her wings, she looked at the little pony with rage in her eyes. "COZY GLOW, YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!!", Celestia shouted. She nodded at Neighsay, who promptly tapped his medallion. A chain and two pairs of cuffs were created from the energy. The chain wrapped around Cozy's wings, and bound them against her back. The cuffs slammed shut, around her hooves. Brandon led the Main Six, Luna, Celestia, and Neighsay onto the plane. Link had to drag Cozy, because she was being stubborn. Clawdeen took off, and flew for Canterlot. > Cozy Glow goes to Court > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cozy passed out while they were on the plane. She woke up the next morning, shackled in a chair, in the Royal Courtroom. "This court session is now in order!", Celestia yelled as she slammed the gavel. "Cozy Glow, you are charged with multiple crimes. They are as follows: Siphoning magic from Equestria, Assault on a Government Official, specifically Chancellor Neighsay of the Equestrian Education Association, Teaming up with a dangerous individual, Lord Tirek to be exact, Capture of Starlight Glimmer, Counselor of Twilight's School of Friendship, and attempting to overthrow the highest leaders of Equestria, which is Me, and my sister, Luna." "How do you plead?" "Your Majesty, I have no choice but to plead guilty.", Cozy said, shaking. "You are correct, Young Lady, considering the fact that you locked me in chains.", Neighsay said. "Not only that, but you trapped me in that orb of magic.", Starlight spat. "You also tried to appoint yourself as an Empress of Friendship, according to what we heard.", Brandon hissed. Cozy was forced to confess everything. From being pen-pals with Tirek, to attempting to overthrow Luna and Celestia. She wanted to remain silent, in order to avoid punishment. However, Link had hooked her shackles to a high-voltage power source. He forced her words out, by using "Electroshock Therapy". After an hour and a half of constant argument and debate, Cozy was escorted outside by Colin. While they waited outside the room, everyone decided on the final verdict. > Cozy Glow's Sentence > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After 20 minutes, Brandon opened the door, and Colin took Cozy Glow back in the courtroom. "We have arrived at a verdict that has been agreed on. You are to be imprisoned in Tartarus, under MAXIMUM SECURITY.", Celestia said. Cozy tried whatever she could, in order to talk them into a lighter sentence, but that solved nothing. As punishment for arguing against the Diarch of Equestria, and against the Christian Fleet, Cozy was gagged and taken outside. Brandon pulled out a whip. Cozy received 30 lashes, and was splashed with saltwater. She screamed in AGONY, and then passed out from the pain. She woke up in a dark place, but found out that she was on an aircraft when she heard the engines powering up. She went back to sleep, and did not wake up for another three hours. When she woke up for the second time, she was held in shackles made of energized metal. She was quarantined in a cavernous cage, built into a cave wall, and sealed by enchanted crystal bars. Realizing that she was unable to get out, and that she was under maximum security in Tartarus, she broke down in tears. Burying her head in her hooves, she cried for what seemed like ETERNITY. Then, she found 2 slips of parchment at her feet. One had Princess Celestia's seal, the other one had Princess Luna's seal. Unrolling the one with Celestia's seal, she read what the message said. Her heart sank. "YOU HAVE BEEN DEEMED A SERIOUS THREAT TO EVERYONE IN EQUESTRIA, AND THE LANDS BEYOND! PRISONERS IN TARTARUS ARE KEPT FOR LIFE! YOU WILL NEVER LEAVE, UNTIL YOU DIE! YOU WILL BE ALLOWED OUT OF YOUR CELL, ONCE A MONTH WHEN YOUR PARENTS COME TO VISIT YOU. Signed, Princess Celestia, Diarch of Equestria Then, she read Luna's scroll. This one scared her to the point of almost screaming. "I have been asked to use a rather terrifying treatment on you, for the other half of your punishment. It is called "Nightmare Therapy". This is something that can be done only by one who has power in the Dream Realm, which would be me. I will infest your dreams every night. I will turn your supposedly peaceful dreams into terrible nightmares. In the past, ponies who have had it used on them have been scared into realizing what their actions could have led to. I am not sure what your results will be. Signed, Princess Luna > Sad news for Cozy's Parents > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Citrus Vanilla went out to get the mail, the day after Cozy was locked up, she was met by an individual she didn't know. He was dressed in a navy blue uniform, bearing insignia of the Christian Fleet, and had a black necktie under the jacket. His name badge said "Brandon". He also had on a rigid brimmed cap, similar to that of a police officer. Silently, he held up a blue envelope from Canterlot, with a royal seal on the flap. He went inside with her, and sat down across from her and Hickory Kindling. Then he opened the envelope, and unfolded the royal parchment. "I am terribly sorry, but the news in this letter may touch your hearts.", Brandon said in a tone of sorrow as he began to read the letter. ** NOTICE OF CONVICTION Dear Mr. Hickory Kindling and Mrs. Citrus Vanilla, This is to inform you that the magic in Equestria has been returned. However, you may find the following information disturbing. Your little daughter, Cozy Glow, was the culprit. She was taken to court and faced trial for her recent actions. Plaintiffs and witnesses include the following individuals: 1. Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, Headmare of Friendship School 2. Starlight Glimmer 3. Chancellor Neighsay of the Equestrian Education Association 4. Princess Celestia 5. Princess Luna 6. Captain Brandon of the C F S Lemurian Star 7. Admiral Link of the Christian Federation Your daughter had apparently become pen-pals with Lord Tirek. She was attempting to overthrow Celestia and Luna, to become an Empress of Friendship. She had created a vortex that would send the magic to another dimension, and had imprisoned Starlight in the orb of magic. Celestia has deemed her to be a serious threat to all of Equestria. She has been sentenced to imprisonment in Tartarus. Arrangements have been preset for you to spend a day with her, once a month. Only for this, will she be allowed out of her cell, and not wear her restraints. She will be allowed to leave Tartarus for THESE DAYS ONLY. On that note, she will not be allowed to take her prisoner's clothes off, because that is illegal. Your first of these days will be next week. Princess Celestia will take you to your daughter herself, and let her out. Due to law and regulations, Celestia must remain with you during these days. Cozy can not be trusted to be with anyone, including you, without an official nearby. The only exception to these terms, is Hearth's Warming Eve. For this holiday, Cozy is allowed to come home and spend the time with family. Respectfully, Royal Guard Sunbeam Coordinator of Royal Court Sessions ** Citrus felt a lump building in her throat. Unable to hold it, she broke down in tears. Hickory fell into a state of deep sorrow as well. "My baby.", Citrus cried as she hugged Hickory, "My sweet, precious, little filly imprisoned in Tartarus." "Shhh, no need to cry. The letter says you can be with her for one day each month. You can keep her home during Hearth's Warming Eve, as well.", Brandon said quietly and calmly. Citrus calmed down quickly, and got ready to see her daughter. > The first of many visits > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following week... Citrus and Hickory boarded the Pegasus Chariot that would take them to Tartarus. Brandon was with them, and he had the keys to Cozy's cage. They were startled when the wind stopped blowing. They were almost to the gates of Tartarus at this point. "Why has the wind stopped blowing?", Citrus asked nervously. "I think that this region is enchanted to not get weather at all.", Hickory replied. "You're correct. This region doesn't get weather.", Brandon said. Soon, they reached the gates. Celestia was waiting for them. As they got off the chariot, Celestia opened the gate, and led them into the dark, shadowy caverns. They reached a gate, marked "Absolute Quarantine". This was a restricted area. Ponies were NOT allowed to visit prisoners in this section without permission from Celestia. She led them through, and illuminated a path on the ground, that would lead Citrus and Hickory to Cozy's cage. Cozy was overjoyed when she saw her parents coming. Fresh tears welled in her eyes. They saw how bad she looked. Her mane was disheveled and dirty, she had scratches from her defeat, there were scars on her back from the whipping, and her eyes were red from crying. She also looked shaken and sleepy-eyed, because Luna had given her some nightmares that were so bad that she woke up screaming at the top of her lungs. "MOM, DAD!", she cried, reaching out of her cage for them. Citrus nearly burst into tears when she saw how miserable her precious little daughter looked. "I can't believe that this has happened to you, Sweet Pea.", Citrus cried as Celestia lowered the bars and took the shackles off of Cozy. Once she was no longer bound, Cozy raced into her parents' grasp. They hugged her tight, and then set her down. Then, through tears, she confessed everything about her monstrous actions to them. They told her not to dwell on it anymore. Then, they led her outside. Celestia made sure to keep an eye on them during the time outside in the sun. After a pleasant day in the sunlight, it was time for Cozy to go back in her cell. Brandon stayed behind, to talk with Cozy about something that Celestia had talked about. "This card gives you access to the library down here. That way you can have something to read.", Brandon explained as he handed her a card with the words "Tartarus Library" on it. Cozy accepted the card and decided to check out a few books the next day. Brandon left in silence. Unfortunately, Cozy’s parents began to lose their grasp and started debating on whether or not to release Cozy from their custody. She received word of this the following week and broke down in tears. Unknown to anyone, she was also planning how she would exact her wrath on Twilight if she ever got out of Tartarus. That all soon changed as the years passed. Luna made Cozy’s dreams so bad that she eventually became restless and could no longer sleep. During this time, Equus was modernized with motorized vehicles being constructed, and soldiers being trained for water, land, air, and space. When Luna noticed that Cozy was not sleeping anymore, she talked with her sister and they decided to release Cozy. She got the letter in a flash. ** Dear Cozy Glow, Your nightmares seem to have taught you what would have happened if you had overthrown us. It would have been the end of the world. Your life-sentence is hereby dropped and you will be released from Tartarus next week. We have sent word to your parents and they are overjoyed. Signed, Princesses Celestia and Luna ** Cozy couldn’t believe her eyes, she was being set free. She began relaxing to get herself ready for release when she and Tirek suddenly vanished from Tartarus in flashes of light. This scared Cozy to the point of screaming. The day after she disappeared, Celestia sent two guards to release her, and they immediately reported that she and Tirek both had vanished without traces. “MISSING” posters were hung to alert everyone about Cozy’s disappearance, and “WANTED” posters were released for Tirek, with a ten-thousand bit reward in case he was ever spotted. Little did anyone know that they had been teleported to the lair of an ancient evil entity. The world was about to be faced with a potential crisis.