And here we are, with the protagonists and saviors of the finale.

You said that Sandbar wouldn´t become that relevant for the group but turns out that he plays an important role with his pony status. He manages to trick Neighsay in order to get free by pretending he is not related to them. That development from What Lies Beneath was stuck with him and he came with the help of the CMC. These 3 fillies serve to sacrifice themselves in order to leave some time for the students to resolve this threat. 

They weren´t aware at all that magic was disappearing and even Smolder felt that Cozy Glow was up to something for leaving Dolores out of the way. Neighsay just unexpectedly interfered Cozy´s plans by keeping an eye over the school with the EEA principles. Not only Cozy had to get rid of Dolores, but the Chancellor and the CMC as well....just that the Student 6 showed how friendship actually was with the help of the Tree of Harmony (an entity by itself by the way) by showing the elements and aspects of how friends actually are forged.

One scary line from Cozy was: "If I don´t make friends here, I will make them somewhere else", meaning that her rook cutie mark defies the central principles of harmony, replacing them with her manipulative skills. 

I also forgot to mention A Matter of Principals. This is where the two parter feels like the season 4 finale with the little objects as keys for the chest. Here they work for containing all the magic inside down below the school. 

Here, the students glow (pun intended) different colors for each element (I may be implying on this part, correct me if I am wrong): 
Purple- Magic for Gallus
Orange- Honesty for Yona
White- Generosity for Ocellus
Yellow- Kindness for Sandbar
Pink- Laughter for Silver Stream
Blue- Loyalty for Smolder

The Tree of Harmony checked that they were worth of those titles and so, they released the magic of Equestria. However, like in To Where And Back Again, just because you save the world once, it doesn´t mean you have learned everything you will need in the future. So it means that we are left with the same setup for season 9. However, the school was pointed to be not only a school, but the students residence, ready for any situation that happens in Ponyville. 

So what do I think about this finale? It put a whole lot of characters for this story, only a few secondary ones were left behind, but the relevant ones are here. Nothing new, considering that we have had this plots in The Crystalling or Shadow Play. I think there will be no more save maybe another villain, there´s enough cast for any episode that will happen in season 9. The intro gave us an idea of all the cast that are into this show and so, I think we have almost reached the limit for it. 

Solid finale, I expected that because I was spoilt because of some leaked images on /mlp/ but I enjoyed it anyway. Not as epic as season 4 nor as dramatic as season 5 but I´ve got admire how it compelled a lot of lore and subtle things for it. It´s not difficult at all to get it but the try is welcome either way, it makes the episodes entertaining whenever you repeat them. 

If I had to mention a flaw, it would be that the Mane 6´s part in the Tantabus felt like filler,  the comic relief part in comparison to the rest of the episode. It was necessary for Cozy´s plan though. 

As for the rest, I admire those little details and how the manipulative words can take all the power for one single innocent filly that in the end, went beyond the EEA vision and the magic from the royalty. 

I don´t know how to conclude these reviews but I will never get tired of saying that the 2nd half of this season saved it from being average. In the end, it offered more things than expected fortunately, but it took a while to pay off.

There is still stuff unresolved and unexplained, especially surrounding Cozy Glow and tha cliffhanger....no wonder, there could be another villain behind her....