Chapters Friendship's New Flight: Love and Changelings
For a certain group of ponies, the last several months have been one big and strange motion of events.
Rainbow Dash had gotten Thunderlane, his brother Rumble and the Foalsitters Flitter and Cloudchaser to join her circle of friends. However it took a while for The Elements to warm up to them, especially Applejack, who had been outspoken against the Quartet, which included intimidating Thunderlane, buck kicking Flitter in the jaw and chasing Rumble in Canterlot with the intent of hurting him.
Soon enough they made peace after Applejack realized how badly her actions affected her friends, plus Applejack started to love Rumble after he took it upon himself to comfort her, the very mare that chased him around, Applejack deemed that a worthy friend.
To make things right, she tried for the longest time to get on Thunderlane's good side, even being at his side almost every minute, which annoyed him and made Rainbow Dash jealous since she had a crush on him. At the end of all of it Applejack eased up and Rainbow Dash hooked up with Thunderlane.
Rumble however had some trouble with the Crusaders. Apple Bloom liked him straight away and he always got along with her, that was the easy part. Sweetie Belle hated him at first however, saying he's boring and no fun and would always hesitate and not wanna do any crusading ideas, despite her being no different in that since she too can be very hesitant on things, but it's easier to blame someone else after all.
Scootaloo, despite inviting him and making him a Crusader, had started to dislike Rumble as time went on, to the point where she, along with Sweetie Belle and other crusader Babs Seed voted Rumble out the group, and then later beat him up. Though the girls started to regret doing that, with Sweetie confessing that she's always had a crush on him. Rumble had forgiven them and showed them kindness, but there was more to it than that.
Rumble's kindness had worked wonders, between dealing with Applejack, Babs Seed, Sweetie Belle and even the reckless Lightning Dust. Lighting had always been a rival to Rainbow Dash, and at Canterlot vowed to upstage her, but failed miserably, though the bright side was getting a sponsorship deal with Suri Polomare and The Flim Flam Brothers, plus befriending Trixie, a friendship that grew into a romance.
Lightning tried upstaging Rainbow Dash again in Manehatten but that did not go well either, it even led to a big fight in which she and Trixie were wounded by Applejack. Once again Lightning had another shot, but to get that shot she had to team with Rumble. It didn't go well at first, especially when her reckless nature took hold, it got to a point where she nearly lost her spot to Fluttershy, only for Trixie to cast a spell that bound them together.
The bright side was that although they hated it at first, it helped them become good friends the week they were stuck together, to the point where Rumble was so angry when after the spell was broken, the ponies still tried getting rid of her and a fight broke out that nearly crippled Lightning Dust. Luckily she turned out to be ok and befriended the rest and it seemed like things were going smooth.
Then came the downward spiral, first Rumble gets in trouble when during a date with Sweetie Belle, the two had gotten very intimate wioth each other, getting Rumble into hot water, and to make matters worse he had punched Diamond Tiara, the local bully. Due to his actions Twilight considered strict discipline, which was deemed unfair by Rainbow Dash and others and they had left Ponyville.
To reunite her friends, Twilight invited everypony to The Crystal Empire for a getaway, but due to the hotel being enchanted to the point where everypony had sexual desires, several things happened. Rumble, thanks to bad advice from Lightning Dust and Trixie, this time got intimate with all the fillies there, those beingThe Crusaders and Dinky Do, despite warning from her foalsitter Derpy not to do so.
Plus Rainbow Dash had done the unthinkable, she had an affair with Soarin, the two caught having sex in the hotel, which resulted in major heartbreak and Thunderlane breaking up with Rainbow Dash. At the end Rainbow left to become an official member of The Wonderbolts and Thunderlane had started dating Twilight Sparkle.
Twilight however was a lot different than Rainbow Dash, she was a good marefriend to Thunderlane but as a big sister figure she was very strict with Rumble, any sign of him messing up and Twilight would discipline him. Then she announced a surprise that she and Thunderlane were getting married, which upset Rumble, he even pleaded with Rainbow Dash to come back to Thunderlane, but she is unsure if she could.
We cut to the present, the wedding is in 3 days, all the preparations were done, the wedding will be in Canterlot, Celestia would be doing the honors, Spike would be the Ring Bearer, The Cutie Mark Crusaders would be the Flower Girls, Twilight had her bridesmaids in Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash if she chose to come. Thunderlane had selected Flitter & Cloudchaser as his best mares since he can't pick only one.
Rarity and Coco Pommel made the wedding gown and suit, Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich made all the Party Preparations, Amethyst Star had even helped organize the whole wedding.
Rumble however could only watch as his brother was about to marry who he felt was the wrong mare.
One day Twilight had gone to the Carousel Boutique with Rumble. Thunderlane was off on his own errands so Twilight offered to keep an eye on Rumble. Normally that's Flitter and Cloudchaser's job but Twilight insisted, she wants to spend time with Rumble to keep him out of trouble. Plus she figured he could play with Sweetie Belle, as long as it's just playing
They had arrived and knocked on the door, which was answered by Rarity, "Oh, hello Twilight, good to see you, and you too Rumble"
Both waved and said "Hello".
Twilight then started speaking, "I'm just here to check on my wedding dress, can you believe I'm getting married in 3 days?"
Rumble cringed a little at the sound of marriage. Rarity nodded, "Yes, it is amazing, I'm so envious of you, if you want to check on your dress, come on inside, I can show you."
Twilight and Rumble went inside the Boutique and Rarity led them to Twilight's wedding dress, "How does it look? Be honest."
Twilight examined it, "It looks great, you always outdo yourself Rarity, I can't wait to wear this, I still can't believe I'm so close to my marriage, it's so exciting!"
Rumble rolled his eyes, but his mood lightened up when he saw Sweetie Belle enter the room, "Hi Sweetie Belle!"
Sweetie noticed him and grinned enthusiastically, "Rumble!" she ran over and hugged him, which he returned. Rarity awed at that, though Twilight kept an eye out to make sure it stayed a hug.
"It's great to see you Sweetie Belle," Rumble said with a smile as he returned the hug.
"Same here." Sweetie broke away from the hug, "Let's go to my room, we can talk there".
Rumble nodded, "That sounds fun, let's-"
Twilight cleared her throat, "Ahem".
Rumble groaned and turned to Twilight, "May I go to her room please?"
Twilight thought a moment, "Ok, but no funny business". Rumble sighed loudly, Twilight took exception to that, "Rumble, manners! Remember I'm doing this for your well being"
Rumble nodded, "Yes Twilight", he turned to Sweetie, "Come on".
Rumble went upstairs with Sweetie Belle, Rarity turned to Twilight, "Is it hard being a big sister figure to him?"
Twilight rubbed her head a bit, "Sometimes, he's a bit different than Spike, probably because Spike is closer to my age than Rumble is and Spike was taught manners by Princess Celestia herself since she raised him for part of his life before he went to live with me and my family. Dling with Spike wasn't too bad, he had issues but he always did what he needed to do, but with Rumble", she sighed a bit, "He's a bit different and harder than I expected, he was such a sweet colt at first, now he seems a little...I don't know, rebellious?"
"With all due respect Twilight", Rarity started explaining, "He doesn't seem that rebellious, he just looks a bit unhappy, keep in mind he went through a lot after meeting us, he suffered from constant bullying, whether it was Applejack, Babs, Lightning Dust, Scootaloo, even Sweetie Belle, not to mention that pompous little Diamond Tiara, obviously it was gonna take a toll on him"
Twilight nodded, "I'm aware of that, I just wish I could help him, but it seems like h can't stand me sometimes, maybe I'm being a little hard on him, I'm just so worried for him, I'm marrying his brother, which means I have a huge influence on his life, all I want is make him the happy little colt he once was"
"My advice, stop trying so hard, otherwise it's gonna affect your relationship, let him get used to you," Rarity suggested.
Twilight shook her head while holding it, "Rarity it's been months since I've started dating his brother, he should be used to me by now".
"That may be true, but keep in mind that he was really close to Rainbow Dash, it's possible he feels that you've kinda taken his brother away from her".
"But I didn't, Rainbow Dash cheated on him, then he broke up with her, he was free for the taking", Twilight insisted.
"Right, but you hooked up with him pretty much immediately after the break up, that's not really a good thing to do to a friend", Rarity stated.
"Hey I can't help it if Rainbow Dash cheats on her coltfriends, besides he needed me Rarity, I was his friend for a long time, I've had a crush on him almost as long asRainbow Dash did, but I never said anything out of respect. If she can't respect him enough to be faithful then why should I pass up on the chance to date him?" Twilight asked.
Rarity sighed, "It's very complicated Twilight, but that's life. Like I said, Rumble doesn't hate you, he just hates the idea that you're marrying his brother because deep down he wanted Rainbow Dash to do that. Rainbow was more than his brother's marefriend, she was a good friend to him as well, they had one thing in common, they both love flying and being competitive. You need to find common ground with Rumble if you hope to have him like you the way he liked Rainbow, but don't force it, let it come naturally".
Twilight took what Rarity said into thought, perhaps she had a point, she needs to try to befriend Rumble, show him that she can be a fun pony to be around as well, "Ok Rarity, I'll try that".
"Good, now here's your dress, make sure it fits, and hopefully it's a prelude to a good wedding", Rarity used her magic to levitate the dress to Twilight, which she took.
"Thanks Rarity, now I should get going, I'll go fetch Rumble", Twilight said and went to find Rumble.
Meanwhile in Sweetie Belle's room, the two have been sitting against a wall with Rumble leaning against Sweetie Belle and vice versa.
"Twilight's gonna be your sister-in-law soon, how are you feeling about that?" Sweetie asked.
"I hate it, nothing against Twilight but she's no Rainbow Dash, I really wish that Rainbow was the one marrying my brother right now", Rumble said.
"Maybe it won't be so bad, she's really nice after all"
Rumble scoffed, "Nice? She's always on my case, she scares me sometimes honestly, it's like I'm the new Discord or something".
Sweetie sighed, "It's probably our fault, we started this whole thing and now you're facing the consequences".
Rumble nuzzled Sweetie Belle, "Don't blame yourself, I've made my mistakes too, though I still think Twilight is going paranoid over this".
Sweetie Belle rubbed Rumble's mane, "We're still here for you at least".
Rumble looked at her with affectionate eyes, "Thanks, you're the best".
"You know it," Sweetie Belle said, then pulled Rumble for a little kiss, surprising the colt a little and making his face completely red. Sweetie Belle giggled at his shyness, "I love when you get all embarrassed."
Their fun was cut short when Rumble heard some trots making their way to Sweetie's room. She knocked a moment, to which Sweetie opened the door with her magic and Twilight entered the room.
"Time to go Rumble, we still have a few plans before the wedding, and you are gonna be our little ring bearer, hopefully Rarity will have your tux ready by then".
Rumble stood up and waved good-bye to Sweetie Belle before leaving the Boutique with Twilight. Sweetie Bell pondered a bit, a little concerned about Rumble.
Outside Twilight is walking home with her wedding dress with Rumble right beside her, "I can't wait til I marry your brother Rumble, we're gonna be such a happy family".Rumble barely reacted, he just kept walking. Twilight remembered what Rarity said so she decided to put it to the test, "So Rumble...how is your flying going?"
"Fine", Rumble said, not too interested in dragging it out.
Twilight decided to keep going, "That's good...so are there any tricks you wanna show me? Anything you've been working on?"
Rumble shook his head, "I don't have anything yet, still working on perfecting it".
Twilight thought a moment, getting him to talk would be tough, but she wanted to make a friend out of him so she kept going, "Would you like to fly with me sometime? I bet it would be really fun!"
Rumble just looked at her a bit confused, "You don't usually fly Twilight, why do you want to fly with me? When I fly I usually go fast and I like doing tricks, I don't know if you can handle something like that".
"Maybe you can show me, I'd love to be able to fly like you can, you're a great flyer, I saw for myself during Tornado Day", Twilight said.
Rumble looked somewhat suspicious of Twilight's intentions, why the sudden interest in his hobbies? Is she trying to be like Rainbow Dash?
"You don't seem like the competitive type, I'd hate to see you get hurt doing a move", Rumble admitted.
Twilight ruffled his mane, "You're sweet to care for my well being, but I'm still interested, I'd love to spend more time with you".
Rumble sighed, "If you really want to, maybe we can try it sometime".
Twilight grinned excitedly, "That's so great, I can't wait to bond with you", we're gonna be the best of friends soon Rumble, I promise to always watch out for you, care about you and love you with all my heart".
Rumble chuckled nervously, "That's really nice of you", deep down he still wasn't too fond of the idea of Twilight marrying Thunderlane, though she looks like she's trying so he'll give her a shot at least.
They made their way home, Twilight went to the Invitation deck, "Ok time to spread the invites, one for all our friends here, one each for the princesses, one for my brother, maybe add a little sidenote to that", she grinned mischievously at that, then looked through again, "One for Coco, one for Cheese, one for Trixie and Lightning Dust, and one for Rainbow Dash".
Rumble's ears perked, "Rainbow Dash? You really are gonna invite her?"
Twilight nodded, "Of course, she is my friend and I do want her there, I just hope we can put this aside, besides I'm sure she's super happy with Soarin, she's liked him forever after all".
Rumble nodded though a bit unconvinced, "Yeah, she does I guess".
Twilight pulled Rumble into a strong hug, "Oh Rumble, you may not realize it, but I love you very much, and one thing that excites me about this wedding is knowing we'll be so much closer. Think one big happy family, you, me, Thunderlane and Spike. Not to mention you will be the brother-in-law to Cadance and my brother Shining Armor, I can't wait for this".
Rumble still didn't look to thrilled, plus the hug was a little strong for his liking. Twilight rubbed his mane, deep down hoping that her shows of affection will win Rumble over so they can have a nice friendly relationship.
Meanwhile at Sweet Apple Acres, Thunderlane is helping Applejack with some orders made for the wedding. "You excited fer your big day partner?"
Thunderlane nodded, "Very, I can't believe I'm gonna be married soon, never though I'd be marrying a princess though, that has me a bit nervous, won't that legally make me a prince?"
Applejack nodded, "That's right, Prince Thunderlane, sounds kinda nice right?"
Thunderlane wasn't too convinced, "That's gonna sound weird, hope that doesn't catch on, I just wanna be plain old Thunderlane".
Applejack patted his back, "Very modest of you, just like Twilight, y'all won't let your titles go to yer head".
Thunderlane nodded, "Yeah, the only title I'd want is Wonderbolt".
That brought a question to Applejack's mind, "Speaking of Wonderbolts, ah do need to know one thing...do you still have any feelings for Rainbow Dash?"
Thunderlane looked caught by surprise with that question, "Uh Applejack, Rainbow and I broke up, I'm with Twilight, and I care about her deeply".
"That don't answer mah question Thunder, do you still have feelings for Rainbow Dash? You didn't exactly break up on the best terms, and the last thing you want is that the day you two reunite, you succumb to old feelings you had about her and then make the same mistake she did".
Thunderlane wasn't too pleased hearing that, "I would never cheat on Twilight, she's done so much for me Applejack. I love her, I honestly do, me and Rainbow are a thing of the past, all I wanna focus on is getting married, that's all".
Applejack nodded, "Whatever you say partner, though all that aside, ah do hope you and Twilight Have a nice and happy marriage".
Thunderlane's annoyance turned to happiness, "Thanks, means a lot".
While they continued to work, Thunderlane brought up another topic, "So how long before you and Rarity make it official?"
Now it's Applejack's turn to be surprised, "Me and Rarity? Wow ah never thought of that, especially since it would be a huge commitment, she has her business and ah have mah farm, though it would be nice to take her as mah bride, we'll work out the details eventually though".
"I hope you get married soon, you're already so perfect for each other", Thunderlane admitted.
Applejack smiled and nodded, "Yeah, ah think we would too".
Soon all the invites were sent out, Derpy made sure they were taken to their locations ASAP, she pulled a few strings for Twilight and got these sent via express mail. It wasn't long before Trixie & Lightning got their letter, both putting on a smile.
"We're going to a wedding! Maybe they'll let us perform there!" Trixie said.
"Let's not worry about that, somehow I feel like that might rub Twilight the wrong way, and we've seen how she'll get when she's angry", Lightning added.
Trixie nodded, "Right...though I wonder if we should let Suri, Flim and Flam know? If they come they might try to sell something".
Lightning shrugged, "Then they get booted, I just wanna see Rumble again". Trixie agreed with that, she missed him very much after all.
Coco got her invite, she sighed dreamily, envying the happy couple. Cheese and Pinkie also got theirs, they knew it was time to get back to Ponyville.
When Shining Armor got his, he felt a bit infuriated, "Twilight's getting married!? And I had to find out through a wedding invite!? Why would she...wait what's this". He then looked at another note that said, 'Doesn't feel so good, does it?" Shining Armor face hoofed, "Just for that, I'm gonna end up having a nice long and painful chat with Thunderlane".
Finally Rainbow Dash's invitation came, she grabbed it from the mail and looked it over. After reading it she set sighed sadly, "So...it's official, he's gonna marry Twilight...and now I have an invite to the painful reminder of my stupidest mistake!" she tossed the invitation aside angrily, "Dammit Rainbow, why did you have to throw away the greatest thing that's happened to you!?" she punched a wall angrily, "That should be me! Not Twilight! ME! What is Thunderlane thinking anyway!? And what about Rumble!? I know he's not down with this, those letter she sends, I can feel his heart breaking over me not being there", Rainbow sighed, "I should be there for him...he's my special little colt..."
She jumped on her bed, face down in a pillow screaming angrily, though her screams turned to tears, anger into sorrow, the feeling sinking in, knowing she lost her loved one to another. She stuck her head out the pillow a moment, "Thunderlane...I'm so sorry!" she resumed crying into the pillow, though after a few minutes she pulled out the pillow and rubbed her nose, "Get it together Rainbow, you're stronger than this...besides it's not fair to Soarin, he's trying to make my life happy, this should be a dream come true, to date a Wonderbolt, and eventually become one". She sighed heavily, "Or maybe it was just some foolish fan girl fantasy".
As she laid thinking, Soarin soon came into the room, "Hey Rainbow, what's up?" he noticed her face and the pillow, "uh, have you been crying?"
Rainbow looked a bit nervous, she didn't wanna tell Soarin that she was upset over her ex-coltfriend getting married, it might hurt him a bit, "Uh...no, I was...working out, and I got all sweaty so I stained the pillow".
Soarin looked confused, "Uh only your face though?"
Rainbow realized her bluff, "Uh...maybe this bed is good at absorbing?" she put on a nervous laugh, but once again, Soarin wasn't buying it.
"Rainbow, I've seen you lie on that bed all sweaty, it never absorbed, now what's going on?"
Rainbow bit her lip, she was running out of ideas, though Soarin then noticed the Invitation on the ground, "Huh? What's that?"
Rainbow's heart skipped a beat, "What's what?" Soarin looked at her like she's crazy, "That letter on the floor", he trotted over to it and picked it up. Now Rainbow was nervous, once he reads that letter, he'll end up putting two and two together and realize that she likely doesn't have true feelings for him, thus breaking the heart of another stallion.
Soarin put the note town and turned to Rainbow Dash with a very serious expression, further making her nervous. "I know what's going on..."
Rainbow cringed a little, nervous as to how Soarin would react.
"Rainbow Dash...you miss your friends don't you", Soarin asked, his demeanor turning into a cheery one.
Rainbow Dash looked surprised, thankfully Soarin is usually cheerful and laid back, giving Rainbow Dash a clear path, "Uh yeah, I haven't seen them in so long and when I read the letter, my emotions got to me".
Soarin chuckled, "That's a normal feeling Dash, you didn't need to make up some story about sweating out of your face". Rainbow rubbed her head, "Sorry, I don't like when others know I've been crying, I have a tough girl rep after all".
Soarin approached her and nuzzled her, "You don't need to keep the tough girl act with me, nothing wrong with being in touch with your emotions, now as for your friends, I take it you wanna see them".
Rainbow rubbed her head, "Truth be told, I have mixed feelings about it, I miss them but..."
Soarin nodded, "I get it, you didn't leave on the best terms, but this is your chance to make amends with them, don't pass it up, isn't there this one colt you love being with, what was his name...? Tumble or something?"
"It's Rumble, and yeah I do miss him", she looked sadly to the side, "Very much".
Soarin patted her a little, "I get it, if you miss him, then why not just attend the wedding, or at least just the pre-wedding, catch up, you don't have to stick around for the whole ceremony if it's too awkward for you, I'll even come as well if you'd like, I don't think we have any shows booked".
Rainbow gave Soarin an honest smile, she had to admit, he's a really nice stallion, "Thanks, you're a great guy Soarin".
Soarin blushed a bit, "Thanks, you're a great mare".
The two engaged in a kiss for a bit before Rainbow broke away, "Let's get ready".
Soarin nodded and the two decided to pack their things for a trip to Canterlot, it's a big moment for Rainbow Dash, a chance to right a wrong.
Meanwhile on the far outskirts of Canterlot, a Queen watches with a sinister smile on her face, "Ah Canterlot, old memories", she looked to her army, "Soon my children, it will be time to feast".
The Changeling Army did a hungry snarl while Queen Chrysalis let out an evil laugh, the wedding is gonna have unwanted guests.
Author's Note
This should be fun, Changelings to attack.
Friendship's New Flight: Love and Changelings
It was the day before the wedding, the whole gang was already at Canterlot, waiting on the arrival of Cheese Sandwich, who was hosting the Bachelor Party, and Pinkie Pie, who was hosting the Bachelorette party. Neither party would be 'raucnhy' though, since Cheese and Pinkie don't really do business like that, plus Twilight & Thunderlane knew better than that.
At Twilight's party, they're all catching up with Pinkie Pie.
"So Pinkie, how was the travels with Cheese?" Twilight asked.
"It was super great! I got to see so many things, we went to Fillydelphia, Las Pegasus, Applewood, we even went to Appaloosa for a bit, by the way CC, Braeburn says 'howdy'", that caused Cloudchaser to grin, Pinkie continued, "We went everywhere, but regardless of where we went, I still missed you all very much, but it didn't feel the same without Dashie, so I needed to get away a bit, clear my head".
The others muttered their agreement, Applejack then spoke, "We're still happy to have you back Pinkie, we all miss you, though it's nice to know you've been having fun, and it's nice to know you and Cheese have gotten closer".
"Just how close exactly?" Cloudchaser asked, hey eyebrows shifting up and down.
Pinkie blushed a bit, "We've been...very close...we're kinda officially together. He's really romantic though, he always thinks about me and is always such a gentlecolt".
"That's so sweet, maybe one day it'll be you and Cheese walking down that wedding aisle", Fluttershy said.
Pinkie blushed, "That would be the best", Pinkie turned to Twilight, "But enough about me, tell me Twilight, what's Thunderlane like as your coltfriend?"
Twilight tapped her chin, "For one, he's very nice and sweet, a real romantic, he's a bit goody sometimes but we've done a lot of fun things together, he's such a sweetheart".
"What do you do hobby wise? You ain't exactly a prized flyer", Applejack said.
Twilight giggled, "Thunderlane does other things, turns out he loves bowling, he says that other ponies call him the Thunder of the Lanes".
That caused an awkward moment for the other ponies, Flitter & Cloudchaser each face palmed. "Twilight", Cloudchaser started saying, "Nopony calls him that, he calls himself that".
Twilight blushed a bit, "Oh...well I think he's the Thunder of the Lanes". That caused an awkward groan from the others.
"Wow, you must really love him Twi", Applejack said.
Twilight sighed dreamily, "With all my heart, I'm one day away from being the luckiest mare".
At that moment, some smoke started entering the room, confusing the ponies, though when the smoke wrapped up, two familiar mares emerged from it.
"We have returned", one said.
"Did ya miss us?" The other said.
The ponies immediately recognized the duo. Some time ago this would be very annoying, but this time, it was more welcome.
"Trixie and Lightning Dust, you both made it!" Twilight said, her excitement obvious. Trixie nodded, "Of course, we would never miss this".
Lightning also nodded, "Nice of you to invite us after all, guess that means you're not too mad over the stuff that happened at The Crystal Empire".
Twilight shook her head, "All is forgiven, you made mistakes, you owned up, now we can start fresh".
Trixie had a heartfelt smile, "She's so forgiving, oh Twilight, you make us very happy", Trixie said and nuzzled against Twilight.
Lightning looked a bit jealous but let it slide, she knows how much Trixie respects Twilight, but she knows Trixie wouldn't leave her just like that.
Trixie turned to Lightning and noticed her jealousy, so she approached Lightning and gave her a nice reassuring kiss, "Don't worry, you're still the mare for me".
Lightning blushed a bit and rubbed her head, "Thanks Trixie, I can only hope one day it'll be us going down that aisle".
Trixie blushed, "You mean it!" Lightning looked a little nervous, she was humoring Trixie mostly but Trixie seemed to take it much more than that. "The idea itself makes Trixie so happy! It must happen, we'll be the greatest couple in all of Equestria...er aside from Twilight and Thunderlane".
Lightning Dust chuckled nervously. Not that she doesn't love Trixie, the idea of marriage at the moment just worries her. Wanting to change the subject, she asked another question. "Speaking of Thunderlane, where's his kid brother Rumble? Kinda want to see him, I miss the little guy."
"He's off with The Crusaders to rehearse their part in the wedding, practice makes perfect", Twilight said.
"He's the ring bearer, how much is there to rehearse?" Applejack asked.
"I want him to be perfect though, this is very important to us," Twilight said.
"I'll pay a visit to him in a moment then, let's just enjoy the party", Lightning said.
Soon afterwards, Coco Pommel arrived with some cake, "I got the cake for Miss Twilight's party as requested by Miss Pinkie".
"Aw, thanks Coco", Twilight said and brought the cake over, "Thanks for the cake Pinkie, you and Cheese did a great job".
"It was nothing, just a labor of love", Pinkie said.
"Let's eat up and enjoy the party, Twilight is gonna be making the biggest commitment of her life soon, best she enjoy it while she can", Lightning said.
Twilight chuckled a bit, "It's not a bad thing, I look forward to spending my life with Thunderlane, like I said, he's charming, dreamy, romantic, handsome, everythingI could want in a-" Twilight stopped talking when the door opened, surprised as to who was at the door. The other ponies also noticed and were just as surprised.
Pinkie Pie looked very surprised, "Is that...?"
"Rainbow Dash...", Twilight finished. She shouldn't be surprised to see that her fiancé's ex-marefriend was at the door since she invited her, but she was somewhat surprised she came.
The other ponies also had a sense of awkwardness, they too realized the situation. Rainbow Dash just stood there as the ponies just stared at her, it was getting on her nerves a bit, "What are you all staring at!?"
Twilight shook her head and spoke, "Nothing Rainbow Dash, we were just a little surprised you actually showed up, actually we're glad you're here, especially me, I want all my friends present during my wedding".
Rainbow looked at Twilight a bit suspiciously, "You do huh? That's nice to know".
The ponies can sense the tension, fact is that Twilight is close to marrying Rainbow Dash's ex-boyfriend, obviously there will be some hostility. Twilight wasn't gonna let it faze her though, "I'm really serious Rainbow, I know it's not a great scenario for you, given how you ended things with Thunderlane, but I do want to move past this, I also want you to be able to put this behind you as well, it's good for both of us".
Rainbow glared, "Gonna be hard, especially since you, one of my best friends, is about to marry my ex-coltfriend".
Right now all the ponies felt a bit uncomfortable, Twilight spoke again, "Rainbow, you don't seem to be happy about this, understandable, but why did you come then?"
"I wanted to see for myself that this was really happening, plus I missed Rumble. I can't promise I'll stick around for the wedding, but I do wanna see my little friend", Rainbow explained. Twilight understood that, "That's fine, if you wish to see Rumble, he's over at the wedding area preparing for his role as the ring bearer".
Lightning approached Rainbow, "Let's go together Dash, say hello to our favorite little guy".
Rainbow nodded, "Sounds good to me". Both Rainbow and Lightning left the room, leaving the others a bit concerned about what had just transpired.
"That...was a bit awkward", Applejack said.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't expecting that, I know how much this hurt Rainbow Dash, but I felt I had to invite Rainbow, otherwise she probably would have felt worse about this", Twilight said.
"Hope you know what yer doing Twi", Applejack said.
Twilight nodded, "I'm certain, I'm confident this can blow over". Though deep down Twilight herself wasn't too sure about that.
Soarin waited at the castle, where the wedding would happen, he knew it was best not to go to The Bachelor Party, figuring Thunderlane would flip out at seeing him, he simply waited at the castle where Amethyst Star is setting up decorations and Derpy is helping the foals with their tasks.
Rumble didn't look to happy to see Soarin, essentially blaming him for all the mishaps that has happened lately, starting with him sleeping with Rainbow Dash and causing her and his brother to split up.
His spirits lifted when he saw two of his favorite mares enter the room, "Lightning Dust! Rainbow Dash!" he put down the ring pillow and flew over to them. He hugged both of them at the same time, "I missed you both so much! I'm so glad you're here!" The mares each returned the hug, essentially sandwiching him between them, though he liked it.
"Same here little guy, you know I still love you", Rainbow said.
"Yeah, you're my favorite little colt", Lightning said.
Rumble looked up with those anime type watery eyes, "This is so great, please tell me you're staying a while!"
Lightning ruffled his hair, "I am, maybe stick around after the wedding and crash in Ponyville for a few days, me and Trixie".
Rumble eagerly turned to Rainbow Dash, "How about you? How long are you staying!?"
Rainbow gave a pretty sad look, "I'm not staying Rumble, I just came by to visit you, I'm not gonna attend the wedding".
Rumble felt disappointed, he was really hoping for Rainbow Dash to stick around, he really misses her, it's no secret he prefers her over Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash could sense his disappointment however, so she made a decision, "But until I leave, I'll spend every second with you, I'm not leaving right now, you and I can have a little quality time together".
That cheered Rumble up a bit, "Sounds great!" Rainbow called towards Soarin, "Yo Soarin! Gonna be spending some time with Rumble, see you a bit later!" she looked to Rumble, "Come on kid".
Rumble nodded eagerly and followed Rainbow Dash out the castle, Lightning decided it's best if Rumble had some alone time with Rainbow Dash since she was gonna leave soon.
Rumble and Rainbow Dash spent the rest of the evening together, eating ice cream, flying in the sky, skidding rocks at a pond, until they realized it was in the backyard of a house and they got chased away by the owners.
But they had fun together, they were happy to spend time with each other, they had so much catching up to do. Later on in the night, they're standing on a bridge, looking down to the water below.
"So how have the ponies here been lately?" Rainbow asked.
"They're been well so far, Applejack and Rarity are an item and they love each other very much, Fluttershy and Flitter have gotten closer as best friends, Scootaloo's been practicing her scooter tricks, and I myself have gotten closer to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle".
Rainbow nodded, "That's great...though what about Twilight? How have she and Thunderlane been as a couple?"
That's the million bit question for her to ask Rumble, "They've been fine, they seem to love each other...even though Twilight isn't the best older sister figure".
Rainbow's curiosity peaked, "How so?"
Rumble sighed, "It's just that, she's too overbearing, she expects me to be this perfect little colt and she'll get mad at me if I act the teeniest bit out of line, like one time I was playing with Dinky, she climbed up a tree and fell, luckily I caught her, but Derpy caught us and immediately thought I did something bad, when Twilight found out I got in trouble".
Rainbow's demeanor showed a bit more concern, she wasn't too surprised to hear this though.
"Sounds rough, Twilight can be a pain like that, I know from experience", Rainbow said.
Rumble nodded and sighed, "She probably means well but she's just too overbearing sometimes, I wish she would lighten up…though I know it's mostly my fault, I messed up a lot lately".
Rainbow rubbed his mane, "You didn't mess up a lot, you just had some bad days, I mean sure you and Sweetie Belle had some intimacy but you were just curious, you didn't make her, you both agreed to it and you were willing to take full responsibility for any consequence".
Rumble still looked barely convinced, Rainbow tried again, "Then the whole Diamond Tiara thing, she had it coming, she was really rude to you and the Crusaders, she had no business talking about Apple Bloom's parents like that, someone needed to knock some sense into her".
Rumble nodded briefly, but still looked a bit gloomy, Rainbow went in again, "And as for what happened at The Crystal Empire, that was mostly Cadance's doing, plus Lightning and Trixie didn't give you the best advice, granted they meant well it was still the wrong thing to say, and maybe I should have helped you on that a little, maybe I needed to be a better role model to you".
Rumble looked at her curiously, "You were a great role model, you taught me so many flying techniques, you helped me feel more confident in myself, you always came to me when I needed help, you were the best role model I could ask for, that's why I miss you so much…and I wish it were you marrying my brother right now".
Rainbow suddenly felt really gloomy, she turned to Rumble with some of her saddest eyes, "I appreciate you saying that stuff, but if I were the great mare you said I was, I never would have cheated on your brother, he loved me very much and I threw that away", she then looked into his eyes, "And believe me when I say this Rumble, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret that. I miss your brother like crazy. There are days I'm hoping and praying we get back together, but it looks like that won't be happening", she looked away, "And I only have myself to blame".
Rumble's heart ached for Rainbow Dash, he hated seeing her so sad, so he nuzzled against her to help make her feel better, "I love you Rainbow Dash, and I miss you…I wish I could live with you instead of Twilight".
Rainbow hugged Rumble, "I wish I could take you with me". They maintained their position for a good while.
Meanwhile at The Bachelor Party, Thunderlane is sitting on the side, looking out the window while Cheese Sandwich, Spike and Doctor Hooves danced along to the music nearby. He should be dancing too, but he was just so nervous, he's so close to marrying Twilight and he's worried about being a good husband.
However one thing occasionally comes to his mind, Rainbow Dash. He's about to marry Twilight, who he does love, but part of him can't let go of Rainbow Dash. He sometimes wonders if breaking up with her was the right call, he can't fully fault how she acted in The Crystal Empire; it was a spell that made her cheat.
Now granted she did like Soarin, he has to admit, ponies in relationships sometimes do get curious, it's only natural, and he wondered in Rainbow would have cheated without that spell, or would she have controlled her urges because she loved Thunderlane?
Then there's the situation with his brother, he doesn't seem to get along with Twilight, and it worries him a bit, he's hoping it all changes soon.
Then something caught his eye looking out the window, was that Rumble walking around with…Rainbow Dash?
"Rainbow Dash? She actually came?"
Thunderlane got up and left the room with Spike calling out, "Yo Thunder, where are you going?"
"Hold on, gotta handle something!" Thunderlane said. He rushed over to Rumble & Rainbow Dash.
"Rainbow!" he called out, getting her attention, "Thunderlane?"
He approached her, very curious, "Rainbow, you're here? I'm a little surprised; I didn't think you'd want to come".
"I didn't, but I missed Rumble and my friends, besides I'm probably not gonna stay for the wedding, just here to wish you luck before I move on myself".
Thunderlane's surprise didn't fade much, "That's nice of you Dash…shame you're not staying, I know we didn't split on the best terms but it would still mean a lot if you were there, I mean you did introduce me to your friends, besides I still have a lot of respect for you as a flyer, and I'm hoping that soon we can really put things behind us".
Rainbow nodded, "Maybe, not sure, I still don't feel right around you after everything that happened", she looked into his eyes, her eyes getting a little watery, "I'm so sorry for what I did, I really am. I wish I could take it back Thunder I never did that to Soarin out of love for him or hatred for you, it was reasons beyond my control. I promise that if I had control, I never would have done that…I miss you so much".
Thunderlane felt sympathy for Rainbow Dash at this point, her apology seemed very genuine and she seems really distraught over this. However he was engaged and at this point, there's no turning back, first things first, "Rumble, mind giving me and Rainbow some time to talk a moment?"
Rumble nodded and walked away, though looked back a little concerned, hoping Thunderlane wouldn't hurt Rainbow further. He also had some hope that Thunderlane would change his mind on who he would marry.
Thunderlane cleared his throat to speak, "Rainbow Dash, I do forgive you, I know you made a mistake, but I'm engaged to Twilight, I'm getting married tomorrow, besides I always thought you could do better than me, hell I don't feel good enough for Twilight either, besides you have Soarin now so pretty awesome trade".
Rainbow shook her head, "Don't you get it, I loved you for you. I thought you were good enough for me, and that's all I cared about! I still love you Thunderlane, can't you think about it a little bit?"
Thunderlane felt a tug at his heart but had to make the tough choice, "I'm sorry Dash, I really am, but I'm with Twilight now, I can't just break the engagement like that, it's not fair to her, besides she loves me too, and I do love her, I hate to tell you this, but we're done, and we're not getting back together".
That tore Rainbow's heart apart, she felt like she was on the verge of tears, but she had her pride and managed to hold them back, "Fine…if that's how you feel, I won't waste your time any longer", she turned around, "Good-bye Thunderlane".
Thunderlane watched as Rainbow walked off, he felt some sympathy for her but he had a fiancé to think about. Rumble however looked displeased as he went back to
Thunderlane, "What does Twilight have that she doesn't anyway Thunder? Rainbow Dash's better suited and you know it!"
Thunderlane groaned, "Don't start with me Rumble; I did what I need to do; besides Twilight's a great mare, and a good influence on you. And speaking of which, I want you to stop talking bad about Twilight, she's gonna be your sister in law and I expect you to treat her with the utmost respect!"
Rumble glared, "I'll do what I want to Thunderlane, there's no law that says I have to like Twilight, I'm always gonna like Rainbow Dash better".
Thunderlane felt pretty angry, "You know what, too bad Rumble, Twilight's gonna be heavily involved in your life! You don't like it, tough, you're gonna deal with it!"
Rumble scoffed, "Not for long I'm not", he then went in Rainbow Dash's direction, leaving Thunderlane with a huge headache.
"That kid's becoming a real pain.".
Just then Twilight started to approach him, "Hey Thunderlane, what are you doing outside? Why aren't you at your party?"
"I came out because I saw Rainbow Dash, we had a talk", Thunderlane explained.
Twilight looked curious, "About what may I ask?" Thunderlane looked a bit nervous, he didn't wanna tell Twilight about Rainbow's confession, it might upset her,
"Nothing really, she said she missed Rumble and wished us good luck", it was partially true.
Twilight was a bit unsure but wasn't gonna stress over this, "Ok then, sounds good to me".
Thunderlane nodded, "Hey wait, why aren't you at your party?" Twilight nuzzled against him, "I started to miss you".
Thunderlane nuzzled back, "Aren't you the sweetest thing".
While they nuzzled, Thunderlane noticed Shining Armor approach from the distance, "Hey Twilight, I see your brother".
Twilight turned to see Shining Armor, "Hey that is my brother", she then called out, "BBBFF! Over here!" Shining Armor was picking up the pace, though he seemed unhappy.
"Uh…why is he angry?" Thunderlane asked.
Twilight did a smug face, "Probably doesn't like the taste of his own medicine".
Thunderlane looked nervous, "Somehow I don't think that's what he's upset about", he then started to back away nervously.
Twilight raised her eyebrow, "What are you talking about?"
Shining rushed over to them, "Thunderlane!" Thunderlane freaked out and ran away with Shining following him, "Get back here!"
Twilight also freaked out, "Shining! Why are you chasing my fiancé! Get away from him!" she followed the two, "Shining Armor if you hurt my fiancé I'm telling mom!"
Later in Rainbow Dash's room, she is sitting on the bed with Rumble, though this time she was in tears, "I feel so foolish Rumble, I shouldn't have confessed something like that, especially not before his wedding day", she placed her face in her hooves, "What the hell was I thinking!?"
Rumble hugged her, "I still love you at least, like I told Thunderlane, I'd rather be with you than Twilight".
Rainbow hugged him, "I know kid, but unfortunately it's not enough to get him to change his mind".
Rainbow Dash laid down on her side, Rumble still in her arms, "I can only blame myself though, I ruined it, I have to face the consequences".
Rumble nuzzled against her, "I'll still be at your side, you're my favorite mare…don't tell Flitter and Cloudchaser, or Lightning Dust, or Trixie, or Applejack…in fact don't tell any of the other mares, it might hurt their feelings…actually you can tell Twilight, I don't care if you hurt her feelings".
Rainbow chuckled, "Be nice Rumble, I know she annoys you but she likely means well", she then muttered under her breath, "Even if she does like taking stallions off a rebound".
Rumble nuzzled into her neck, "I still wanna stay with you Dash". Rainbow hugged him close and rubbed his mane, "Same here".
Rainbow and Rumble just laid there, cuddled next to each other, each concerned about the upcoming marriage of Twilight and Thunderlane for different reasons. Rainbow had Thunderlane on her mind as she nuzzled next to Rumble, mumbling how much she missed his presence. They laid there until they drifted off to sleep, comfortable in each other's hooves.
The next morning Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and saw that Rumble was gone, she looked around and heard some yelling in the halls, "Why were you sleeping in Rainbow Dash's bed!? You should know better than that! You shouldn't be sleeping in another pony's bed! You're too old to be doing that!"
Rainbow Dash recognized that as Twilight's voice. "Quit bugging me about stupid stuff Twilight! She's my friend and I love her, besides It wasn't planned, we just fell asleep!"
That was Rumble's voice, though a 3rd voice came in. "Rumble, don't yell at Twilight like that! You're really trying our patience! When we get back home you're in deep trouble!"
That was Thunderlane, Rainbow knew that, she also knew Rumble was likely in trouble for sleeping in her bed, she quickly went out the room just as Rumble was talking.
"All I did was sleep next to her! I slept next to Flitter and Cloudchaser! What's the big deal!?" Rumble shouted.
"That was a while ago, you're at an age where that's not the best idea!" Thunderlane said.
"I may be a teen but I'm still a kid, I still require some affection, and Rainbow gives me that affection! This isn't even about my age; you just don't like me sleeping next to Rainbow Dash!" Rumble said.
Thunderlane was gonna continue when he saw Rainbow Dash, he glared at her a moment, "Listen Rainbow, just because I don't wanna get back with you it doesn't
Twilight got Rainbow's face, "Do us a favor, just keep away from Rumble!"
Rainbow Dash and Rumble were shocked to hear that, to not be near each other was such an outrage.
"You can't do that! He's my little Rumble! Don't you dare take him from me!" Rainbow threated.
"He's not your Rumble", Twilight said, "He's ours, seriously back away, he doesn't need your influence".
Rumble himself looked like he wanted to explode, Twilight caught that however and simply said, "Rumble, keep your temper in check, otherwise things are gonna get a lot worse for you…now get ready, we have a wedding to get to".
Rainbow felt like hell, even more so when Rumble reluctantly left with Twilight and Thunderlane. She may have really blown it with Thunderlane and her friends.
Later on came the actual wedding; Flitter and Cloudchaser took their spots as the Best mares while Thunderlane waited at the altar, extremely nervous.
Twilight's four bridesmaids; Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity and Fluttershy also waited at the altar, right near the reluctant ring bearer Rumble.
Sitting in attendance included Priness Cadance next to Shining Armor. Normally he's emotional at weddings but in this case, he's too mad to be. Princess Luna also sat in the aurience. Derpy was there alongside Dinky and Dinky's older sister Amethyst Star. Spike was also in attendance obviously, as was Cheese Sandwich, Dr. Hooves and Coco Pommel. Trixie and Lightning Dust also sat in attendance, Trixie a little more emotional while Lightning rolled her eyes. Big Macintosh was also there, patiently waiting for the wedding. Braeburn and Babs Seed were in attendance as well, with Babs occasionally batting her eyes towards Rumble.
Other guests invited for the occasion included Hoity Toity, Photo Finish, The Wonderbolts, though Soarin made sure to keep a low profile, figuring he could easily catch hell, Suri Polomare, Flim, Flam, Golden Harvest, Berry Punch, Minuette, Twinkleshine, Written Script, The Flower Ponies, Maud Pie, Lyra, Bon Bon, Fancy Pants, and many others.
Even Discord was present, he had his own special seat and a big bucket of Popcorn, "I do hope this proves to be entertaining".
Twilight's Parents were also present for the wedding, along with other extended family members. Members of Thunderlane's family were present as well.
Octavia and Vinyl Scratch started playing the Wedding March in a Techno/Orchestra version, nothing too upbeat, as The Crusaders hopped down the aisle dropping the petals. Soon Twilight came down the aisle, in her custom made wedding down that Rarity designed.
It was a light purple dress with her cutie mark on it, approaching Thunderlane with a smile on her face.
Princess Celestia waited at The Altar, preparing to have the two married. Once at the altar, Celestia started the ceremony, "Friends, families, we are gathered here today to wed Princess Twilight Sparkle & Thunderlane in Holy Matrimony".
As Celestia was talking, a surprise guest had arrived. Ponies looked to see had arrived, much to the surprise of many, it was Rainbow Dash; turns out she decided to show up.
Thunderlane and Twilight looked very nervous, why was Rainbow Dash here? Rainbow simply went to where the Wonderbolts were sitting and took a seat. Soarin himself was surprised his marefriend was here, now he knows why she told him he could stay.
Rumble looked happy to see Rainbow Dash, though he wondered if she was gonna break the wedding, as did many others, including the best mares and the bridesmaids.
Discord looked pleased however, "Oh, the plot thickens…"
Celestia sensed the tension but decided to continue, "Do you, Twilight Sparkle, take Thunderlane as your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, though whatever trials you encounter?"
Twilight nodded, "I sure do".
Celestia smiled at the answer as she continued, "And do you Thunderlane, take Twilight Sparkle as your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, through all trials and tribulations in life?"
Thunderlane nodded, "Yeah I do".
"If anypony feels these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace".
At this moment, most of the ponies in the wedding area turned to Rainbow Dash. Twilight had a face that said, 'Don't you dare', Thunderlane had a nervous face,
Rumble had a hopeful face, Applejack had a face that said, 'Don't do anything foolish', Discord had an evil looking face and seemed hopeful that something chaotic would happen, everypony else had a look of interest or intrigue.
Rainbow Dash contemplated saying something, she was about to, but then backed down and just sat back and looked away.
Celestia noticed that nothing would happen so she continued, "Then by the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce you husband and bride, you may now…" Celestia stopped when she noticed a suspicious looking pony approach the Altar.
Twilight looked frustrated, "Excuse me, we're in the middle of a wedding, can you sit down and wait for us to finish?"
The pony just stared, his eyes started glowing green, freaking Twilight and Thunderlane out.
"What's going on?" Thunderlane asked.
Celestia suddenly stepped through, "Stand back!" she then blasted the pony back, freaking out all the ponies in the room.
"What's going on!?" Thunderlane asked. They then noticed the pony in question turned into a Changeling, freaking out all the ponies.
"We have trouble! Everypony needs to evacuate!" Celestia shouted. The ponies got really nervous and started running, but it turned out several other ponies turned into Changelings as well, causing a mass panic.
Twilight looked really distraught, her wedding was gonna end up like her brother's wedding, a changeling attack.
The Changelings stood together before Twilight, Thunderlane, Celestia and The other ponies at the altar. Twilight's friends, sans Rainbow Dash, stood together, ready to fight. Thunderlane and his two Twin Pegasus friends also looked ready for a fight.
The Crusaders ran back to hide behind the other ponies, with Rumble standing before them, as if willing to protect them from harm, despite being scared himself.
Celestia also stood ready to fight, but things got worse when the Queen herself made her presence.
"Celestia, it's been a while".
Celestia glared, "Chrysalis…"
Chrysalis grinned as she stood with her Changelings, face to face against the ponies.
Author's Note
Wonder what's tougher for Twilight, Chrysalis or being Rumble's sister-in-law?
Friendship's New Flight: Love and Changelings
Chrysalis stared across from her, grinning evilly at the ponies before her. Twilight looked furious that Chrysalis interrupted her wedding like this, she had some nerve doing that.
Thunderlane was a little weirded out, he didn't know what to make of the situation, he knew that sooner or later he'd have to deal with a dangerous villain since he was friends with the Elements, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for that.
Rainbow Dash watched from afar, partially thankful that Chrysalis arrived to interrupt the wedding, perhaps a blessing in disguise, or just more bad luck for her.
Chrysalis let out an evil chuckle, "My, my, Twilight Sparkle, I am quite disappointed you didn't invite me to your wedding, especially after how I livened things up at your brother's wedding".
Twilight glared, "How dare you, this was suppose to be my special day", she turned to Thunderlane and then turned back to Chrysalis, "Our special day!"
Chrysalis looked to Thunderlane, "I'm a little surprised though, being a princess, you probably could have done a little better than him, not that he isn't handsome, but he seems rather...ordinary. And such a strange mane style."
Thunderlane looked up at his Mohawk and blushed a bit, "It's not strange, it's cool", he turned to Twilight, "It is cool right?"
Twilight gave Thunderlane a reassuring smile, "Your mane's fine, I like your mane," she turned to Chrysalis with a glare, "I DON'T like you!"
Chrysalis chuckled, "How impolite, looks like I'm gonna have to teach you a few manners," she turned to her Changeling army, "Changelings, attack!"
The Changeling went in after The Elements, Celestia, Thunderlane, The Twin Pegusai, Rumble and The Crusaders.
Twilight blasted several of the Changelings back with her magic, then flew up to get a better advantage and blasted them from mid-air. A few flew after her but she was able to dodge them and blast them down.
Applejack punched several of the Changelings as they came her way and even dodged a few attacks and buck kicked any Changeling that tried to sneak up on her.
Rarity also used her magic to attack The Changelings, though any Changeling that got too close to her was attacked physically. Rarity had some knowledge of Martial Arts, and wasn't afraid to use it, doing several hard strikes to The Changelings.
Fluttershy avoided them, she was never much for fightning, Pinkie Pie however managed to evade their attacks and hit several of them with pies and suck, giggling all the way too.
Thunderlane was able to hold his own against the Changelings for the most part, he managed to attack a few and knock them down, though his limited skill in fighting was catching up to him. Luckily Spike had rushed in and blasted the Changelings back with fire.
"Whoa, thanks little buddy", Thunderlane said.
"Anything for Twilight's favorite stallion", Spike reassured. A few more came but Spike managed to blast them back as well.
Flitter made sure to stay out of trouble, but Cloudchaser had no problems beating down the Changelings, she rather enjoyed it, a good way to release pent up frustration.
Some Changelings approached the foals. Rumble stood before The Crusaders, ready and willing to protect them from harm. Some lunched at them but Rumble punched each one that came. Though his punches barely had an affect on them, despite them being stronger than normal due to his urge to protect.
They started to gang up on him, and pinned him down, capture him. Apple Bloom however wasn't gonna let anything harm her colt, "Hey buzz off creeps!" she ran in and punched a few, though her strikes, despite being strong, didn't fair much better.
Scootaloo also decided to help, she didn't want to say that Rumble had to fight her battles. The only one who didn't really do anything was Sweetie Belle, she was too afraid. However when one Changeling went to attack Rumble, she immediately blasted it with her magic, "Don't you dare harm my Rumbly!"
Rumble smiled in relief, that's twice in the span of a minute that a filly saved his life, though it became thrice when Scootaloo tackled away another oncoming Changeling.
Rainbow Dash however wasn't gonna let anything harm Rumble, so she flew in and punched away all the Chanelings and kicked several away as well, "Stay the hell away from my friend you bastards!"
In among the seats of the wedding area, most ponies had already left, though a few stayed to fight. Trixie and Lightning Dust did their share of fighting, with Trixie blasting back several Changelings and Lightning Dust using her speed to punch the Changelings away.
The Wonderbolts also did their share to attack the Changelings, as did Amethyst Star and her magic. Vinyl, Octavia, Dr. Hooves and even Derpy did their part in fighting the Changelings.
Celestia and Luna helped deal out a lot of Damage, as did Shining Armor. Discord simply watched from his floating chair above the area, watching with a sinister grin. A few Changelings actually went to him as well but Discord easily whacked them down while sipping on a cup of iced tea.
Twilight had taken down another Changeling and turned to Chrysalis, "Give it up! You won't win! You're army is failing!"
Chrysalis then did an evil laugh, "You really think you'll win that easily? Me and my Changelings feed off love, and I can detect large traces of love", she looked to Rainbow, "Some more than others", she then turned to the foals, "And even in the smallest packages".
Soon more Changelings came and stared down the hero ponies. All the ponies banded together, ready to go to war against The Changelings.
Chrysalis herself attempted to fight by her army but Applejack had buck kicked her, Rainbow Dash had kicked her hard and Twilight blasted her back.
Chrysalis looked to them angrily and went to attack again, but this time Celestia and Luna assisted Twilight in blasting Chrysalis back.
"This isn't over yet", she called to her Changelings, "My children, retreat!" she flew off with her Changeling army following her.
"Get back here!" Twilight shouted and attempted to pursue them, but Chrysalis blasted her back down as she left.
Thunderlane rushed over to Twilight, "Are you hurt Twi?"
Twilight shook her head, "I'm fine, though Chrysalis will get hers soon", she looked over to the other ponies, "Is everypony else ok?"
The collection of nods eased her worries, looks like everyone is relatively unharmed.
Thunderlane looked a bit down, "Looks like our wedding got ruined, all that wait for this to happen?"
Twilight nodded, "Yeah, odd way to start our lives as a married couple", she perked up a little, "But exciting nonetheless, fighting side by side, it's exactly what I want our marriage to be, an exciting journey".
Rainbow approached Twilight, "Uh Twi, technically you and Thunderlane aren't married; Celestia didn't finish what she was saying".
"Actually Rainbow Dash, she pronounced me and Thunderlane Husband and Wife, the only thing left was 'You may now kiss the bride', which while is a tradition, isn't exactly needed when it comes to marriage, so it's official between me and Thunderlane", Twilight explained.
Rainbow didn't look convicned, "I don't think it works like that Twilight, I don't think you two are officially married".
Twilight grew irritated, "Rainbow, I know what you're doing and why you're doing this, but you are not getting Thunderlane back, he's mine now, I love him and he loves me, so quit driving a wedge between us!"
Rainbow glared at Twilight, "We'll just see about that then", she turned to Celestia, "Princess Celestia, are Twilight and Thunderlane officially married?"
Celestia tapped her chin, "In a way they are, though since the ceremony didn't finish even I'm not sure myself.
Twilight grinned, "You heard it yourself, we are married".
"She said she's not sure Twilight", Rainbow pointed out.
"She also said we are in a way, doesn't matter, we'll still recreate the ceremony, but more privately, just us two and our immediate friends, make it truly official", Twilight said.
Rainbow glared suspiciously, she doesn't like how possessive Twilight is being over Thunderlane. Even more upset than Rainbow Dash is Rumble, he was hoping the invasion would cancel out the wedding, much good that did.
Soarin approached Rainbow Dash, "Maybe we should leave now, once we get a date and time for the new wedding, then you can go to that one if you'd like".
Twilight gave a stern face, "Sorry Soarin, but it's best if Rainbow Dash doesn't come to this one, she's already caused her share of trouble since being here, are you even aware she slept in the same bed as Rumble?"
Soarin nodded, "Yeah I know, I saw them late last night; I knew she missed the kid so I let them be".
Twilight glared, "Still, keep her under control, I don't want her being too much of a bad influence."
"I'm a better influence than you!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
Twilight glared, "Unlikely."
Rainbow turned her head away in anger and shame, "Fine, if you don't want me to come then so be it, I don't want to be anywhere I'm not wanted", she turned to Soarin, "Let's go Soarin!"
Soarin nodded, "Sure thing Dashie".
Something about that tugged at Thunderlane a bit, Dashie was his nickname for Rainbow Dash. Technically her friends called her that first but still.
Before she left, Rumble rushed to her, "Rainbow, don't go, I'll miss you!"
Rainbow turned to Rumble, "Sorry kid, I'm not sure if Twilight even wants me around you", she glared at Twilight, "Even though she has no right to keep us apart", she looked back to Rumble, "But I do love you, and one day we'll be able to do stuff together like we used to do".
Everypony else was speechless, but Twilight decided not to let it get to her, "For now let's just prepare for this private ceremony".
Trixie approached Twilight, "Any chance me and Lightning can attend this more secluded wedding? I'm hoping to catch the bouquet, then me and Lightning Dust can experience this same thrill".
Lightning did a double take, "Wait what?"
Twilight offered a generous smile, "Of course Trixie, I'd love it if you were there".
Trixie grinned, "That's so great! You've made me so happy!" she gave Twilight a nice hug, "I should go pack, gonna try to find a place in Ponyville to stay at for the time being, see you in a moment!" Trixie rushed off excitedly.
Lightning approached Twilight, "What was that about!? Telling her about the Bouquet!? That's quite a big leap for me to take Twilight!"
Twilight nervously smiled, "Sorry Lightning, I guess I just wanted Trixie to be happy, but it's not like you'll get married right away".
Lightning looked unsure, "Still, feel sudden, I mean I love Trixie but I'm not sure if I'm ready for something like that, that's a risk even I'm not ready to take".
"It's ok if you're not ready now, just be honest with her about that, and come the day you decide you do want to marry her, then I'll help you whatever way I can", Twilight offered.
Lightning nodded, "Thanks, I don't know when Trixie and I will make it official, but it's the one thing I know not to rush in on".
Twilight smiled at her, "Very mature thinking Lightning Dust".
Lightning did a 'wow' type chuckle, "That's a first".
Twilight had a nice little chuckle herself, "Guess we should head check on the ponies and let them know its safe, at least for now".
He never wanted to be the reason any of the Mane 6 split. How ironic so far that the one who seems to have split is the one who helped him in the group. He'll deal with this later; right now he needs to help his friends.
Everyone cleaned up a bit, though each of them had some conflicting emotions. Twilight wishes that this could have gone better with Rainbow Dash. Applejack feels the same, she pities Dash but understands Twilight's situation. Rarity however feels more for Rainbow Dash in this situation, believing Twilight didn't handle this any better. Then there's Rumble who is giving off a vibe of pure anger and hatred, he hates what's happening now.
As they all handled things, Discord watched from above, a bit concerned in his own right. "Looks like The Elements are falling apart, I thought I'd enjoy that, nothing like good chaos", he tapped his chin, "But this could be troublesome, whether I want to admit it or not, The Elements of Harmony are the one things that prevents this world from going down, the balance of order and chaos is needed, unfortunatley".
Discord crossed his arm in deep thought, "I have to fix this somehow", he groaned a bit, "How I hate having to undo Chaos, but they are my friends, and I suppose this is what friends do. But I can't just tell them to get their act together, I'm gonna have to get them to band together, but how?"
He looked outside and saw Chrysalis flying off in a bad mood, which gave him an idea, "I think I know how to handle this, might be risky and it's trial by fire, but perhaps it can help in the end", he flew over to Chrysalis, "Besides if anything happens I can probably pull them out of it".
Outside Chrysalis is complaining, "How can we lose that quickly!? Last time you handled them so well! What happened now!?" The Changelings looked down in shame as Chrysalis groaned, "They must have gotten stronger, love may not cut it, but how do I handle this?"
Discord approached her with a sinister laugh, "Poor Chrysalis, you once had Canterlot in your grasp, now here you are, losing in a span of 5 minutes, oh how the mighty have fallen".
Chrysalis glared, "Discord, I don't have time for a sellout like you, giving up chaos for friendship; I once respected you, now you're a disgrace!"
"Oh come now Chrissy", Discord said as he twirled around her, "I'm still the same Draconeques, I just know how to bide my time, you see living with the ponies allowed me to learn many secrets", Discord looked sinisterly into her eyes, "Secrets and weaknesses".
Chrysalis looked intrigued, "Weaknesses huh? I take it you're secretly planning their destruction? Gonna strike soon?"
Discord shrugged, "Perhaps, requires careful planning, after that Tirek situation, I'm still gaining the trust of many ponies, now is not the best time to strike, shame though, such a great plan".
Chrysalis then had an evil idea, "Oh Discord", she said seductively and approached him, "Perhaps I can borrow this idea? I have nothing to lose, and perhaps if you help me", she then grabbed under his chin and rubbed his chest, "I can make it worth your while".
Discord grinned, "Oh? How so?"
Chrysalis winked, "Talk first, then we'll 'discuss things' later".
Discord did an evil chuckle, "You're quite the negotiator, come on, we'll talk in private". Discord left with Chrysalis to discuss plans.
Later on Twilight is approaching her home with Thunderlane, Rumble and Spike. Spike went inside the home, he wanted to get dinner ready for everypony there, the others stayed outside while Twilight was figuring out some plans.
"We'll have the new ceremony soon enough, hopefully by tomorrow, then we can take our Honeymoon".
Thunderlane liked the Honeymoon idea, "Sweet, wait where should we Honeymoon?"
Twilight tapped her chin, "Not sure actually, maybe Rainbow Falls, it seems like a nice place".
Thunderlane also thought, "Sounds good, or how about Las Pegasus?"
Twilight shook her head, "Too loud, and too many sleazy ponies, we'll figure something out though, as long as I'm with you", she said and kissed Thunderlane, who returned it eagerly.
Rumble grumbled a bit, "Get a room you two".
Twilight looked at him with slight annoyance, "Behave Rumble, we still need to discuss that Rainbow Dash situation".
"There's nothing to discuss, I spent some time with a pony I love, that's not a big deal, so shove off!" Rumble shouted.
Twilight stood angrily in front of Rumble, "Watch your tone young colt! I'm not gonna stand here and let you talk so defiantly and disrespectfully, as your new older sister I'm going to ensure a few changes".
"You're not my older sister! You're just an annoying mare! Now don't bother me!" Rumble said and walked away fromTwilight.
Thunderlane was gonna say something but Twilight stopped him, "I got this, don't worry sweetheart".
Thunderlane nodded as Twilight approached Rumble, "Get back here Rumble!"
"No! Go away Twilight!" Rumble shouted.
Twilight teleported in front of him, "Rumble! I am giving you an order!"
Rumble glared, "I don't care! You're not the boss of me just because my brother sleeps with you!"
Twilight's eyes bulged, "Rumble I am warning you! If you don't stop this behavior you're gonna be in a load of trouble! Now go inside!"
Rumble just glared at her and then kept walking away, outright disobeying her and further annoying Twilight.
"Rumble, get back here right now!" Rumble kept walking, so Twilight grabbed him with magic, "Let's go Rumble!"
"Let me go! This isn't fair!" Rumble shouted.
Twilight dropped him in front of her, "March young colt!"
"I don't have to listen to you Twilight! Now go away!" Rumble shouted/
"Rumble I am your older sister and-"
"YOU ARE NOT MY OLDER SISTER! YOU'RE JUST SOME ANNOYING MARE I REALLY HATE RIGHT NOW!"
That hurt Twilight a bit, not just the yelling but that Rumble actually had it in him to say such things. "Hate's strong word Rumble, don't say something like that".
"I know it's a strong word, because I DO hate you Twilight, I don't love you and I never will, you ruined my life and you ruined Rainbow Dash's life, I'll never love you Twilight! I, HATE, you!" Rumble shouted.
Twilight looked dumbfounded, "But Rumble…I love you, I just want what's best for you".
Rumble scowled at Twilight, "You don't love me, you just want my brother, I'm just some foal you want to mold into something you want, and on top of that you tried taking away a pony I really care about", he turned away, "Now I'm leaving", he angrily turned to her, "If you follow me, I'll hate you even more!"
He then sped away, leaving Twilight behind, almost in tears, too out of it to really react.
After a few minutes of standing there, she started to cry a bit, "Rumble…", she wiped her eyes and shouted again, "Rumble come back!"
He was long gone, Twilight started to worry a bit, "What am I doing? I have to go after him!" she flew in his direction, "Rumble please come back!"
Rumble had put a large distance in between himself and Twilight and made sure to shake him off. "Stupid Twilight, why is she such a pain!?"
He kept flying around, but not too far away was Rainbow Dash flying home with Soarin.
"Sorry you had to go through that today Rainbow Dash", Soarin said.
Rainbow scoffed, "Yeah whatever, let's just keep going, sooner we leave the better".
Soarin nodded and kept flying. Rainbow then noticed Rumble flying off, "Hold it Soarin", she said and flew over to Rumble, "Hey little guy, why are you so far from Ponyville?"
Rumble looked angrily back to Ponyville, "I have my reasons".
Rainbow rubbed his mane, "Twilight getting on your case again?"
Rumble nodded, "I got angry and told her off, I told her that I'll never love her and that I hate her".
Rainbow looked surprised, "Rumble, how could you say something like that!?"
Rumble looked confused at Rainbow, "You've seen how she acted, especially towards you".
"I know she was being a pain in the flank, but you still shouldn't hate, you're better than that kid", she pulled him into a hug, "Someone like you should never have hate in their heart, you have the strength to put up with a lot. If you can love Applejack after the way she chased you, and Sweetie Belle after she bullied you, and even Lightning Dust after she endangered you, I think you can love Twilight, she might be a pain but I know she loves you kid".
Rumble looked a little conflicted right now, maybe he was hard on Twilight, but he was still angry.
Rumble nodded and looked up to Rainbow with a smile, "Ok Dashie".
Rainbow kissed his head, "Good boy, let's go then". Rainbow flew off with Rumble to Rendezvous with Soarin as they flew back home.
Meanwhile Chrysalis is planning an evil strike based on some very interesting info she got from Discord. "Soon Twilight Sparkle, I will wipe you and your friends out!" An evil laugh filled the air as she readied her strike.
Author's Note
Chaos and love.
Friendship's New Flight: Love and Changelings
Twilight is flying through the skies in a bit of a panic, she's desperately trying to find Rumble.
"If I don't find Rumble, Thunderlane will panic! I will panic! My sweet little Rumble is out there all alone!" Twilight said with worry in her voice.
As she searched around, Derpy approached her with a letter, "Twilight! Over here!"
Twilight flew to her, "Derpy, what is it? this needs to be quick I need to find Rumble! Have you seen him by any chance!?"
Derpy gestured for Twilight to calm down, "Relax Twilight, Rumble's fine, Rainbow Dash found me and asked me to give you this", she handed Twilight a letter, "You'll feel better after reading it, anyway so long", before she left she asked on more thing, "Am I invited to the Ceremony you and Thunderlane will be having?"
Twilight nodded, "Of course, I'd love to have you there, but I need to read this letter, see you later Derpy, and thanks!"
Derpy saluted and flew off while Twilight read the letter.
'Dear Twilight, Rumble's safe, he's with me and Soarin, he'll see you tomorrow, but he's a little regretful of stuff he's said to you, so go easy on him tomorrow, From Rainbow Dash'.
Twilight sighed, "At least he's saw somewhere, not too happy he went to Rainbow Dash", she then had a confident smile, "But it sounds like he's come to his senses, I knew he didn't mean anything he said, maybe it's just stress from the Changelings, I'll straighten him out".
Twilight then flew home, though part of her wanted to fly over to where Rainbow Dash & Soarin lived to grab Rumble, fact is it's late and it's better if she waits on that, let him calm down a little.
She arrived home a bit later and went inside, still a little concerned. While she knows Rainbow Dash could take care of Rumble, she's till worried on the possible influences Rainbow might have on Rumble.
Thunderlane had approached her, he himself having been very worried, "Twilight, did you find Rumble? Where is he?"
"I did catch up to him but...he said some things and left again", Twilight admitted.
Thunderlane raised his eyebrow, "Things? such as what?"
Twilight rubbed her mane, "Something about...hating me".
Thunderlane felt a hint of anger seeping through, "Hating you!? Oh no, no, no, this is where I take the mantle, now I'm gonna go out and try to find him and-"
"He's with Rainbow Dash", Twilight said, "She gave Derpy a letter than she immediately sent over to me, according tot he letter he's staying the night with Rainbow Dash and Soarin...but the letter says he's pretty regretful of what he said, so maybe let's not confront him too much on it, I don't think he means that, I mean stuff like this happens, between children and parents, brothers and sisters, even among friends, maybe he's just stressed out because of the Changeling attack, I can let that slide".
Thunderlane let Twilight's words sink in a little, "Fine then, whatever you say Twilight, but I still want a word with him".
Twilight nodded, "Of course, he is your little brother".
"We're married now, sorta, he's your little brother too, and I want to make sure he sees that", Thunderlane said with a little strictness in his voice.
Twilight nodded, "He will, I'm certain he will", she then nuzzled Thunderlane, "You're such a sweetheart though, I'm lucky to have you in my life".
Thunderlane returned the nuzzle, "Same here".
The two went off to bed and laid together. Twilight cuddled next to Thunderlane, "One day we'll have foals of our own, hopefully we'll know how to properly nourish them".
"We can pull it off, we'll be the best parents, hopefully Shining Armor and Rumble can be good uncles, and Cadance can be a good aunt", Thunderlane said.
Twilight giggled, "The Possibilities are endless".
Thunderlane held Twilight close to him, "I hope I can do good at this though, I'm actually kinda nervous, doesn't being married to you make me a prince?" Thunderlane asked.
Twilight thought, "Yeah it does actually, Prince Thunderlane".
Thunderlane gulped, "Is that needed? I can't handle being a prince, I'm fine with just being a regular pony".
Twilight stifled a laugh, "Don't worry Thunder, I won't shed any royal responsibilities on you, you can be a Prince in name but you don't have to be in charge, though I understand your position. It's not easy being royalty so I can't fault you for not wanting this".
"I just want to be your stallion, that's all", Thunderlane said.
"Aw, so sweet", Twilight then kissed him, "I love you so much".
"Same here", Thunderlane said and returned the kissing.
The two started making out on the bed with Twilight going over Thunderlane, still kissing him. They then shut off the light into a loving darkness, taking their step to extending their family.
The next morning in Rainbow's room, she's seen sleeping while cuddling Rumble like a stuffed animal while Soarin sleeps next to her, perfectly at peace.
Rumble woke up and saw that he was with Rainbow Dash, the second night in a row he shared a bed with her.
Rumble nuzzled against Rainbow's chin, waking her up a little. She looked down and saw Rumble's smiling face, "Morning Dashie".
Rumble nodded, "Sure did, especially since I was with you".
Rainbow chuckled a bit, "You're an awesome little guy", she then kissed his head.
Soarin also stirred and got up, then looked to see Rainbow Dash and Rumble were up, "Sup? Well rested?"
Both nodded and got out of bed, Soarin joining, "Probably should get the little dude back to his brother and Princess Twilight, they're probably worried sick".
Rumble looked like he dreaded the idea a bit, "It's gonna be rough, I'm sure Twilight isn't too happy with what I said".
Rainbow patted his back, "Don't worry, I'm here for ya little guy".
Rumble nodded and followed Rainbow Dash and Soarin to Ponyville.
Meanwhile Twilight and Thunderlane went to the center of town, looking for the flower shop. They needed to get some decorations for their ceremony.
Though for some odd reason the ponies seemed to be out of it, they weren't themselves, and it bugged Twilight a bit.
"Why do all the ponies seem weird today?" Twilight asked.
"Probably your imagination, maybe you're still a bit tired from last night," Thunderlane said.
"Pfft, your fault," Twilight teased/
As they went through town they met with Applejack and Rarity, who were on a little date.
"Hi Applejack, hi Rarity", Twilight greeted.
"Howdy Twi, you and Thunderlane here hitting the town?" Applejack asked.
"Just grabbing some flowers, we're gonna have our ceremony soon, make up for the Changeling attack", Twilight said.
Thunderlane nodded, "Yeah, stupid creatures ruined everything, showing their ugly faces, what nerve".
That caused some ire in a few nearby ponies.
"Ugly's too nice a word for it I'd say", Applejack said.
"Yeah, more like hideous, atrocious, outrageous, and more synonyms, I'll need a thesaurus to make my point", Thunderlane said.
The ponies nearby became a bit more angry.
"Not to mention they have that stupid sounding hiss noise, I mean are they insects or snakes? I mean how does it go like..." Thunderlane tried the hiss a bit, "I'm a Changeling, feed me you love," he mocked.
That got a little laugh from the mares and Thunderlane continued, "Gotta work on the hiss", he kept trying a bit until an actual hiss sound was heard.
"Hey that was good, who did that though?" Thunderlane asked.
They then heard the sound all around from the ponies surrounding.
Thunderlane looked confused, "Wow, you all been practicing or something?"
Twilight's eyes widened, "They're not practicing!"
Suddenly the ponies transformed into Changelings and surrounded the two couples.
"Oh...crap", Thunderlane said and looked a bit nervous as the Changelings glared at him, "Maybe calling you all ugly was a tad bit rude, what I meant was-"
They all interrupted with a group hiss and flew in at the four ponies, who each got into a fight stance.
Twilight used her magic beams to blast back several Changelings, even flying into the air to get a better shot.
Applejack started buck kicking all the Changelings that came after her and did a few strong punches.
Rarity did some punches of her own, attacking with several martial arts styled kicks and strikes and occasional magic.
Thunderlane took swings at the others and did a few quick kicks but mainly used punches and occasionally tossing the creatures aside.
"Where did these Changelings come from!?" Applejack shouted as she attacked them.
"Seems like Chrysalis is planning another assault!" Twilight shouted during her blasts.
"Wow she really has it out for you!" Thunderlane shouted as he fought.
"We've made many enemies", Applejack said as she punched one back.
"Strange, you're all such nice ponies", Thunderlane said.
The mares 'awed' at that.
"You're so sweet Thunder", Twilight said.
"Real Gentle-colt I should say", Rarity said.
"Such a nice friend," Applejack added.
Thunderlane blushed, "Come on girls, this is kinda awkward."
They continued to fight and Twilight wondered, "Where are the other town ponies?"
Thunderlane's eyes widened, "That's right, where are Flitter and Cloudchaser!?"
Applejack also grew concerned, "Mah farm! Mah family's probably in danger!"
Rarity also grew concerned, "What about my parents? And my sister!?"
Twilight used a huge magic blast to knock several back, "We need to find the others! Thunderlane I want you to find survivors and leave town!"
"What about you?" Thunderlane asked.
"Me and the Elements can deal with The Changelings, just get everypony else out of town!" Twilight said.
Thunderlane grew concerned, "But I can't leave you to fight them, they're dangerous!"
"Which is why I want you to get to safety", Twilight said sternly.
"But I made a promise that I would never ditch you; remember that train ride to Canterlot several months back? I promised I wouldn't leave you high and dry", Thunderlane argued.
Applejack felt a hint of guilt, remembering that she's the one who essentially interrogated him on that, "Thunderlane if it has to do with what ah said that day, ah was out of line saying that. You should know not to take me seriously prior to the Canterlot Talent show".
"I know Applejack, but I meant when I said that I wouldn't ditch you", Thunderlane stated.
"And I meant what I said about you doing what you can but not doing anything to endanger yourself!" Twilight shouted in concern.
Thunderlane felt conflicted, he wasn't ready to abandon them but he didn't want to worry them.
"Thunderlane, we appreciate you wanting to help but we'll feel better if you're safe, don't worry about us", Twilight said.
Thunderlane sighed, "Fine, but you better come back to me, all of you!"
The three girls each hugged him to reassure him and then sent him away while they battled the Changelings.
"We gotta found our friends and family, I hope Spike doesn't leave home", Twilight said.
Meanwhile we see that Spike had indeed left and was blasting several Changelings with fire, "Take that you bunch of nimrods!" he continued attacking them and looked around, "I hope the others are safe, maybe I can find Amethyst and the others", he continued on fighting.
Also on the way to Ponyville, Rainbow noticed some fighting in the distance, "What's going on down there?"
They got closer and saw all the Changelings attacking the village, several ponies running away or hiding as they destroyed the town.
"Holy shit! Those freaky things are back!" Soarin shouted.
Rainbow scanned the village, hoping to find any of her friends. Rumble and Soarin also helped to scan, checking for survivors. They saw that a few ponies were fighting back though.
Vinyl Scratch was using her loud speakers to blasts several Changelings back, "Yeah! You jackasses can't handle mah bass! BOOM!"
Octavia was whacking them away with her cello, "Vile creatures, back away!"
They saw Dr. Hooves trying to get some pen like device to work, "This thing never works when I want it to!" he's banging it on his hooves.
They saw Lyra blasting several back with her magic, "How you holding up there Bon Bon!?"
She then noticed that Bon Bon was using Spec Ops styled take downs on the Changelings, "I'm holding up just fine!"
Lyra looked impressed, "You gotta teach me that Bon Bon…or do you prefer Apecial Agent Sweetie Drops?"
Bon Bon smiled sheepishly, "You can still just call me Bon Bon, it's special to me because it's the name I used when I met you".
Lyra blushed, "Aw, you're so sweet".
Rainbow rolled her eyes, "So the gossip ponies have their own little secrets".
They continued looking around and saw Lighting Dust battle the Changelings with quick attacks.
"Take that! And that! Stupid bunch of creatures! You can't handle my awesomeness!" Lightning said and punched and kicked several away.
She started getting really riled up and started going crazy, flying around attacking them without thinking, just throwing any punch she could.
"HA! You bunch of sorry little bastards can't handle my lightning quick speed!" she kept punching though didn't notice a Changeling approaching from behind, ready to attack.
Rainbow and Rumble were ready to fly in and save Lightning, though she didn't need to since Trixie managed to blast away the Changeling, surprising Lightning.
"There was one behind me?"
Trixie then blasted the rest away with her magic beams, her face showing she's not messing around.
"Alright Trixie, high hoof!" Lightning said and extended her hoof.
Trixie wasn't pleased, "What did I tell you about being reckless!?"
Lightning had a sheepish smile, "Sorry?"
Trixie huffed, "Just be careful, I love you and I don't want you getting hurt!"
Lightning nodded nervously, "Yes ma'am".
Rumble smiled at that display of concern, "How sweet, Trixie and Lightning make the cutest couple".
They scanned around and saw Applejack and Rarity fighting some away while helping Pinkie Pie escort The Cake Family to safety.
"They don't seem to need my help", Rainbow said and looked around and saw Spike attack a bunch while helping Derpy, Dinky and Amethyst.
"Wow, even Spike can handle himself, looks like he's finally decided to grow a pair", Rainbow said.
"Eh", Rumble said, not caring all that much.
They then saw Twilight blasting away several Changelings and clearing a path for several ponies to escape, including Cherilee and The Mayor, who were helping lead the ponies to safety.
"Twilight's fine, no surprise there", Rainbow pointed out.
Rainbow then saw Thunderlane helping Flitter, Cloudchaser and another pony Blossomforth, another friend of Thunderlane that's not seen much, "I'll go help Thunderlane!"
Soarin looked confused, "He seems to be doing fine".
"Don't question me, he's got little experience with this, I'll help him", she flew down towards Thunderlane.
Rumble knew what she really wanted to do, she hoped she was successful, but then saw something that caught his attention, he saw The Cutie Mark Crusaders run away from the Changelings, "Oh no, they ain't hurting my special little fillies!" Rumble said and flew down.
Soarin felt a bit alone, then looked down and saw Fluttershy backed into a corner along with the Spa Ponies, Lotus Blossom and Aloe, "I gotta help them!" he flew down as well.
While Thunderlane moved with his friends, he saw several oncoming Changelings. He got into a defensive position but then suddenly Rainbow had arrived and knocked several away.
"Rainbow Dash?" Thunderlane said surprised. She turned to him with a sly smile.
"Sup Thunder?"
More Changelings started coming, so she fought them off with her quick punches and kicks, "Come on let's keep moving!"
Thunderlane was confused but realized that he just needed to keep going, "Right".
As they moved they had to continuously fight away more Changelings, though Rainbow, Thunderlane and Cloudchaser did most of the work.
"Rainbow, when'd you get here? Where's my brother!?" Thunderlane asked.
"He's with Soarin, I came here to find you but instead found this", Rainbow replied.
"Yeah that freaken Queen doesn't know when to quit", Thunderlane said.
As they kept fighting, Rainbow asked, "What's the plan anyway?"
"To get the ponies out of town, not sure where but maybe make a base outside of Ponyville!" Thunderlane said.
"What base though?" Rainbow asked.
"I don't know, this was made up on the fly! Let's just get these girls somewhere safe and then we go back for Twilight and the others".
Rainbow nodded, "Sounds like a good idea".
As they kept fighting, we go back to Rumble, who was chasing after The Changelings and rammed them as they got too close to the fillies.
Apple Bloom turned around, "Rumble!"
Rumble approached them, "Talk later! Let's go quickly!"
He led the fillies away from The Changelings, figuring it's best to lead them to Sweet Apple Acres.
On the way there they noticed Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon cornered by The Changelings.
"Please don't hurt me! I'm too young and pretty and rich!" Diamond shouted.
Rumble rolled his eyes at hearing that. Scootaloo gestured away, "Let's just go, act like we never saw them!"
Rumble shook his head, "No, I can't in good conscious do that, besides Silver Spoon doesn't deserve it at the very least".
Rumble flew in towards the fillies and grabbed a large stick on the way with Apple Bloom following, grabbing a large stick of her own.
As the Changelings got too close to the rich fillies, Rumble and Apple Bloom arrived and whacked them away, mostly out of luck since they caught the Changelings by surprise.
"It's Rumble and Apple Bloom! We're saved!" Silver shouted.
Diamond scoffed, "I don't know what's worse, nearly getting captured by Changelings or having to be rescued by Blank Flanks".
"Oh shut your annoying trap and follow me!" Rumble shouted.
Silver wasted no time in following Rumble, though Diamond hesitated.
"Hey you coming or what?" Apple Bloom asked. Diamond decided she had no choice and decided to follow Apple Bloom and Rumble.
As they ran they noticed another foal being chased by the Changelings.
"Moooooom! Heeeeeeelp!"
Rumble groaned, "Oh no not him".
Apple Bloom took notice, "Hey it's that colt that plays them video games".
In the distance was the gamer colt Button Mash.
Sweetie hid behind the group, "Don't let him see me! He's got a crush on me!"
Apple Bloom shook her head, "Now's not the time to worry about that."
"Yeah, we gotta save that colt", Scootaloo said.
They rushed over to save Button Mash by the fillies throwing rocks at the Changelings and Apple Bloom using her stick to whack them away. Rumble swopped in and picked Button up, "Quick, follow me!"
They all ran away quickly on the way to Sweet Apple Acres. They arrived at the farm soon enough and the fillies took a breath.
Rumble put Button down and landed next to him. Button hugged him shortly afterwards, "You're my hero!"
Rumble chuckled nervously and awkwardly, "Thanks…", after waiting a bit, Rumble spoke again, "You can let me go now".
Button hugged tighter, "But you feel so smooth".
Rumble blushed angrily, "Let go now!" He broke away, feeling very awkward.
The fillies blushed at that, though somewhat enjoyed seeing that, now they had some interesting thoughts about Rumble and Button Mash.
Rumble shook his head, "Nevermind, we'll just wait here, hopefully soon the others can arrive, let's just set up a base here".
The others nodded and went to find a place to stay at.
Off with Rainbow and Thunderlane, they just got the other Pegusai somewhere safe and went back to Ponyville to look for more.
"Um Thunderlane, now that we're alone, I need to confess something", Rainbow said.
Thunderlane sighed, he was expecting this, "What is it Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow bit her lip, "I'm sorry, for how I've been acting to you lately".
Thunderlane was listening, "Go on".
"I shouldn't have given you a hard time over the marriage, and the break up. You had every right to break p with me, I never should have cheated, not a day goes by that I don't regret that", she looked to him, "I understand you love Twilight and I'm gonna have to get used to that, but I still wanna be your friend".
Thunderlane looked to her sympathetically, "I'm sorry too, for the way I've been acting, it was mostly wedding stress. But I get it, maybe I moved on too quickly, and you weren't a bad marefriend, you did care about me and you really cared about my brother", he stopped to look at her, "And truth be told, you were a great influence on him, it's because of you he feels more confident in himself, not just his flight abilities, but his personality. He has told me time and again that if it weren't for you, he'd probably be alone right now because he was so shy, and despite all the hardships he went through, he says it's worth it, because he finally has all the friends he's always wanted".
Rainbow almost looked teary eyed, though she did her best to fight them, she didn't want to look sappy, but sometimes it can't be helped. "I'm happy for him too; I just wish I was still with you, because you both gave me the happiness I've always wanted. Then I threw that away over a silly crush".
Thunderlane rubbed his head, "You know, I can't fault you for that, you had a crush on him for a long time and I guess some things just happened, especially with that spell active. I am confident that if it wasn't for that spell Cadance cast, you never would have cheated on me, even if you did find Soarin attractive".
Rainbow nodded, "Probably, truth be told dating him isn't as exciting as I thought, he's nice and all but all he is for the most part is a pretty face, I need more than that. You were just some handsome stallion, you were a good friend to me, you cared about my friends, you had more personality, and honestly you were just a more complete package".
Thunderlane blushed, "Thanks Rainbow, you were a great marefriend too, you really brought out the best in me as much as you did for my brother".
Rainbow smiled at Thunderlane, "I'm so happy to hear that…" at this point she got lost in his eyes, as did he for her. Soon they went in for a nice kiss that lasted quite a while.
During this Thunderlane then realized something and broke away, "Wait! What am I doing!?"
Rainbow Dash looked concerned, "You ok Thunderlane?"
Thunderlane shook his head, "I can't do this, I'm in a relationship with Twilight!" he groaned, "Oh man, I just cheated on her, I'm a lousy coltfriend".
Rainbow felt guilty, "It's not your fault, it's mine!"
Thunderlane shook his head, "No, I wanted to kiss you, I felt attracted to you…in fact I still do, I don't think I ever stopped feeling attracted to you….I'm unfaithful to Twilight", Thunderlane started tearing up, "What am I gonna tell her?"
Rainbow felt really guilty, "Just don't tell her, she doesn't have to know".
Thunderlane shook his head, "I can't, it's gonna slip out, besides I can't lie to her or your friends, especially Applejack, she's very good at telling when a pony's lying".
"Tell me about it", Rainbow said a bit annoyed, then shook her head, "Listen if anything, tell her I kissed you and that you broke away, because you DID break away, you realized it was wrong".
"But Rainbow, if I do that then she'll hate you even more, I can't do that to you", Thunderlane said.
Rainbow nodded, "Yeah but the way I see it she hates me anyway, so what do I have to lose?"
Thunderlane sighed, "Fine, but hopefully it never has to be discussed".
They flew off to find other ponies, however they did have a secret audience. Twilight had seen the whole situation while she was searching for other ponies. She felt several conflicting emotions at the moment, either anger at Rainbow Dash, or annoyance at Thunderlane, but decided now's not the time to worry about this, she just flew off to find other ponies.
Soon several ponies had been taken out of the village, thanks to efforts from The Elements, Thunderlane and Soarin, who earlier on had rescued Fluttershy and the Spa ponies and flew them over to the group.
Flutterhy had nuzzled Soarin a bit, "Thanks for helping me earlier, I'm not good with this type of stuff".
Soarin offered her a smile, "Nothing to it".
Applejack looked around, "Anypony seen mah sister and her friends?"
Nopony had seen them, and she's not the only one looking for her relative, others were looking for the other foals with her.
"Where is my daughter? I don't' see her here", Filthy Rich said.
"I can't find my darling little sister", Rarity said.
Thunderlane approached Soarin, "Where's my brother?"
Soarin thought, "Last I saw him he went to rescue some fillies from those Changeling things".
Thunderlane looked furious, "You let my little brother go after Changelings?!"
Cloudchaser looked furious, "HE DID WHAT!?" she lunged at Soarin, freaking the Stallion out, but luckily Twilight got in the middle.
"Let's not fight now, let's focus on finding the remaining foals!"
Cloudchasher huffed, "Fine". She glared at Soarin, "Watch yourself."
Soarin gulped and backed away a bit.
The Elements, The Pegasus Twins and Thunderlane went into town to find the foals.
"Hey I want to help find Rumble too!" Lightning said and flew into town.
"Lightning Dust get back here!" Trixie shouted and ran after Lightning.
Spike huffed, "I hope this doesn't turn out too badly", he turned to find Amethyst and Derpy comforting Dinky.
Dinky was very concerned for her friends, Spike approached the 3 mares, "Don't worry, we'll get them back".
"I hope so", Dinky said.
"I'm gonna send a letter to Celestia, but for now I'll be keeping all of you safe, I promise that", he then wrote the letter, and sent it to Celestia, hoping he'll read it soon.
Amethyst went to Spike, "Things will get better right?"
Spike nodded and held her hooves, "I promise you we'll get through this".
Amethyst nodded and hugged Spike for her own comfort, which Spike returned and looked back to the village, "Be safe girls".
Back at the farm, the fillies and colts are sitting close together in a barn, hoping for the others to come.
"I'm worried, suppose these creatures overpower our siblings and friends?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Don't think like that", Sweetie said.
Rumble nodded, "Yeah, gotta stay positive, The Elements of Harmony are the greatest heroes in Equestria, they'll save us".
Button is worried himself, then realized something, "Oh no!"
The others looked concerned.
"What is it Button!?" Scootaloo asked.
"I left my games at home! I have nothing to play!"
This got a very annoyed glare from the other foals.
"Dammit Button, we're in a dangerous situation and all you can worry about are yer lame video games!?" Apple Bloom shouted.
"They're not lame! You're lame!" Button shouted.
Apple Bloom lunged at Button, scaring him, but Rumble held her back, "Let it Go Apple Bloom".
Apple Bloom huffed, "Fine…but I'm watching you Button!"
Button kept a nice distance from Apple Bloom, he feels a bit worried about her.
Soon they heard a pony calling for them. "Kids! Where are you!?"
Apple Bloom's ears twitched, "That's Twilight's voice!"
"Yo kids, where are you?" they heard another voice shout.
"And that's Rainbow Dash's!" Rumble shouted in excitement.
They went outside and found the two ponies looking around and ran to them.
"Twilight! Rainbow Dash!" Sweetie shouted.
The two mares approached the foals.
"Thank heavens you're ok, let's get you out of here", Twilight said.
Rumble smiled in relief, "I'm so glad you're both able to work together through this".
"Hey we can put everything aside for you Rumble", Twilight said.
"Yeah, you're my favorite little guy after all", Rainbow said.
Diamond rolled her eyes, "Such an overrated colt".
"Diamond!" Silver shouted, then turned to the mares, "Please get us back to our families".
Twilight nodded, "Right, let's go".
They led the foals away, though one thing the foals didn't notice was the eyes of Twilight and Rainbow glowing green.
In the distance Chrysalis watched with an evil smile, "Got you my little foals, seems like your older siblings will be very concerned now".
The evil laugh of Chrysalis filled the air as Discord continued to watch from his seat, "Oh, twist, let's see where they go with this", he munched on some popcorn.
The foals were being led away by the impostors as the real ponies searched aimlessly for the foals, unaware of the situation.
Author's Note
Changelings attack again.
Friendship's New Flight: Love and Changelings
Taking to the Everfree Forest
The Elements, The Pegasus Twins and Thunderlane are going through Ponyville, hoping to find any of the foals.
Thunderlane looked to be in an especially bad mood, "Damn Soarin, what moron lets a foal run free during a Changeling invasion!?"
"Go easy on Soarin, he's a really nice stallion", Fluttershy argued.
"You're just saying that because you have a thing for him, despite his weird affliction for hitting on mares with coltfriends", Thunderlane bitterly stated.
Twilight looked a bit concerned on hearing that. Coupled with what she witnessed earlier she feels like perhaps Thunderlane isn't as over Rainbow Dash as she had thought.
"Thunderlane, we'll find Rumble, don't worry", Rainbow Dash assured.
"As well as the fillies, including my darling little sister", Rarity added.
"Then we'll give Chrysalis what she has coming to her", Cloudchaser stated, ready for a fight.
They continued on through town searching for the young foals.
Meanwhile the imposter Twilight and Rainbow had taken the foals to a prison area where the young foals are kept in a cell not too far from Chrysalis deep within a cave in the Everfree Forest.
"It was quite easy getting you young ones into my trap, foals are so easy to manipulate", Chrysalis taunted.
"Hey come in here and say that!" Apple Bloom shouted, looking like she wanted to fight.
Diamond Tiara spoke up, "Hey if you release me, I'll have my daddy fund your invasion, then you'll definatley take over!"
Suddenly she felt the glares of her cellmates as all the foals gave her a menacing stare, including Silver Spoon.
"What?", Diamond stated.
"Sit down before we kick your butt!" Scootaloo threatened.
Diamond sat down very bitter-like. Button then spoke up, "Can I at least get my video games?"
"Button is that all you can think about?" Apple Bloom asked.
"What's wrong with that? I need my video games! Otherwise I'll die of boredom!" Button replied. He turned to Chrysalis, "Well can I?"
Chrysalis snarled, "No."
"Aw, come on lady! I'm bored!" Button whined.
"Deal with it!" Chrysalis said.
Button whined some more, "But I haven't played in like two hours, I want my games."
Chrysalis started to grow irritated, perhaps taking this colt wasn't such a good idea, it's not like he's related to her enemies, "Look, I'll ask my Changelings to find you something, NOW STOP WHINING!"
Button sighed in relief, "Sweet, I'm good now."
Chrysalis face-hoofed, "What a brat."
Meanwhile Rumble is sitting down very down and gloomy. He wished that he was back with the others, and a part of him even wishes to be near Twilight. Although Twilight was a pain he still cared about her to an extent, and he feels guilty for telling her off the way he did.
Sweetie sat next to him, "We'll be fine, this isn't the first time Changelings attacked, I remember when they attacked at the wedding for Shining Armor and Cadance where me, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were the flower girls. In fact I think your brother was there for that one".
"I think so, I don't remember, I wasn't invited, I had to stay with Flitter and Cloudchaser", he looked to Sweetie Belle, "I bet you were a pretty flower girl".
Sweetie blushed, "I was ok, though the Changelings caused trouble, in the end we were just fine, so I think we'll be fine again".
"I hope so, I said some mean things to Twilight, I want to be able to say sorry to her", Rumble confessed.
"I'm sure you will", Sweetie said and nuzzled Rumble, "I know how you feel though, sometimes when I fight with Rarity I never like leaving things on a bad note, she goes on so many dangerous adventures, I don't know if I'll ever see her again. I don't want the last thing I say to her to be a bad thing".
Rumble hugged Sweetie close to him, he really enjoys her affection, which he cherishes because at one point he could never get this close to her, now here she is comforting him.
Apple Bloom noticed their affection and felt a bit jealous, she took it upon herself to approach Rumble and nuzzle next to him as well, to which Rumble held her close too.
Rumble was sandwiched between two fillies he loves a lot, in more ways than one.
Button also noticed this and turned to Scootaloo, "Need some comforting?"
Scootaloo raised her eyebrow, "A while ago you called Rumble smooth after hugging him, now you're hitting on me?"
"I like to explore", Button admitted.
Scootaloo glared, "I don't want you or anypony else near me", she went to a corner by herself to sulk over the situation.
Rumble noticed her bad mood and pitied her. He feels like he really blew his chances with her, and at this point wishes they could reconcile. He loves Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle very much, and still can't choose between them, though he wonders why not both? Actually why not all three? That would make the others pretty mad if he had three marefriends but he's started to relish the idea. It's not about having a bunch of girls to look cool, but the fact that he genuinely loves all three and would never be able to only pick one, he doesn't want to break the heart of the other two girls.
Now there are others like Babs and Dinky who have also shown interest, and he has been with them very intimately, he isn't too sure if he's that much interested in them either. He likes them but that has seemingly passed for him, he's starting to realize who he truly loves.
Doesn't matter, he's probably lost out, just because he has broken her trust. Ironically she broke his trust first, yet he feels just as guilty, because he still did it in the end. Scootaloo has invited him into the Crusaders and since then has had the most enjoyable time in his life. Granted he's been chased, bullied and stuck to a reckless pony, in the end it's only resulted in a friendship. Some things are worth struggling for, friendship was no exception, if anything it's the leading thing to fight for. He wouldn't trade all that away for anything.
Back with The Elements, they had searched all of Ponyville, no sign of the Foals.
"This is terrible, how are we going to find them?" Twilight asked.
"They're probably in the Everfree Forest for all we know", Rainbow said.
Thunderlane looked concerned, "The Everfree Forest? But that's where all those freaky monsters are!"
Twilight looked to the forest, her emotions conflicting. She knows the dangers but she cares more about rescuing the foals than anything else, "We have to, for the sake of the little ponies".
"Right, so should we just head in together or what?" Applejack asked.
Twilight thought a moment, "Let's do teams; Applejack and Rarity can cover one part of the forest, then a team of Flitter and Cloudchaser, then a team of Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, finally a team with myself, Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash".
Rainbow looked curious, "Three pony team?"
"We're uneven Rainbow Dash, one team needs to be three ponies, unless you wanna go with one of the other teams".
Rainbow shook her head, "No, I'm good, I can stick with you both".
Twilight had a brief intense stare, "Good...now let's get moving".
The groups split into their teams and entered the forest. Soon Trixie and Lightning arrived at the front of the forest.
"Time to kick some Changeling ass!" Lightning said and went inside.
"Lightning wait for me!" Trixie said and followed.
In the forest, Applejack and Rarity are still searching around, keeping an eye out for the foals and wary of any oncoming Changelings.
"I hope Sweetie Belle's ok, she's probably so scared right now", Rarity said, very worried for her little sister.
"I know that feeling, I'm worried fer Apple Bloom, but she's a strong little filly, plus Rumble's there, he's very protective of them fillies", Applejack said.
"Right, Rumble's the only colt I would trust near Sweetie Belle", Rarity said.
"Even though they both…you know, did it?" Applejack asked.
"I'm aware that they had…relations, though he also had relations with your sister too, and you obviously seem to care for him still", Rarity said.
"Ah mostly blame the spell Cadance cast for rushing his emotions, but ah get ya, truth be told I'd rather she had done that with Rumble, he loves her enough to take good care of her", Applejack said.
"That's why I can trust him with Sweetie, while I don't condone their sexual relations, sometimes things can't be helped. I'm just glad he did it because he loved my sister and not just for that cheap thrill", Rarity said.
"He seems to like them both though…ah guess he can't decide", Applejack said.
"Yes, he probably should take his time, it's nice to know he takes a relationship seriously, despite his many crushes", Rarity said.
"Yeah, ah know he used to have a crush on me for a while, not sure if it passed but he's a real charmer", Applejack said.
The two continued walking, then Applejack said something that really caught Rarity's interests, "Suppose he picks them both though?"
Rarity looked surprised at that idea, and was about to answer but then saw what she believed was her sister in the distance, "Sweetie Belle!?"
Applejack looked curious and turned around and saw Sweetie Belle as well, "Could that be her?"
"Ha, my sister escaped!" she saw Sweetie run off, "Sweetie Belle come back!" she ran after Sweetie Belle.
"Rarity wait!" Applejack called out, "That could be a Changeling!"
Rarity did not hear her, she kept running, so she ran after her.
"That mare, doesn't she know this place is dangerous enough?"
Rarity kept running and looked around, no sign of Sweetie Belle. "Huh? I thought I saw her go this way?" She then heard running behind her and turned around and saw Sweetie again, "Sweetie Belle darling, come back please!"
She kept running but no sign. Soon she heard Sweetie call out, "Can't catch me Rarity!"
Rarity groaned, "Sweetie Belle this isn't humorous! Let's go!"
Sweetie shook her head, "No way! I want to enjoy myself, I want to have fun like I used to, before they came along".
Rarity looked curious, "They? They who!?"
"Rumble and his lame friends that's who!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"What? Thunderlane and company? I thought we were passed this Sweetie Belle, WAY past this!" Rarity asked.
She kept running and soon ran into an angry looking Sweetie Belle.
"Why would I be passed this Rumble thing?" Sweetie Belle asked, "You think I still liked being with Rumble!? After everything he put me through!? I took most of the blame for him getting hurt! I got hurt by Apple Bloom! He had sex with me! TWICE! And you did nothing because he was too cute!"
Rarity looked surprised, "Sweetie Belle, you know that's not true! We did do something!"
"Barely! You let him run away, and when he comes back you all jump all over him!" Sweetie said.
"This doesn't make sense!" Rarity shouted.
"Because you're shallow! I was right to dump you as my sister! I should have stayed with Applejack!" Sweetie ran away again.
Rarity followed her, "Sweetie come back!" But soon she ran into Applejack, "Oh Applejack, Thank Celestia, have you seen Sweetie Belle?"
"Ah got problems of mah own Rarity, gotta find mah sister", Applejack said, a bit rudely.
Rarity looked a bit displeased, "That's not very hurmous Applejack, did you see Sweetie Belle or not?"
"Who cares, she ain't mah sister", Applejack said.
Rarity looked surprised, "Applejack! That's not like you! You've always cared about Sweetie Belle!"
"Whatever, I'm off", Applejack said and left. Rarity grew frustrated.
"This is no way to talk to your marefriend Applejack!" Rarity shouted.
Applejack scoffed, "Marefriend? Why would ah want you as a marefriend? Ah need a decent pony mah life, not some prissy mare who thinks herself all high and mighty!"
Rarity looked hurt, "This…this isn't like you…you can't be Applejack, she would never say that to me".
Applejack started laughing evilly; soon Sweetie Belle appeared next to her. Soon Suri approached her, "Sorry darling, you're gonna be down one helper, Coco's come crawling back to me".
Coco appearned next to Suri, "Take me back Miss Polomare, Rarity is nowhere near your level".
Rarity was suddenly surrounded by evil laughter, getting dizzy and freaking out, "Stop it! This isn't real! None of you are real!"
She cowered down as the ponies laughed evilly, their eyes glowing green and they reverted back to Changelings.
They approached her, ready to capture her for their queen when one of them got rammed. They turned to see Applejack standing there angrily.
"Get away from my marefriend you ugly bunch of bastards!" Applejack shouted.
The Changelings growled and rushed at Applejack, ready to attack but she punched them all away and buck kicked them.
"This the best you got!?" Applejack asked, punching one away, then kicking another and even slamming a few.
Applejack heard one escape into the bushes, so she jumped at it and pummeled it, "This is fer messing with mah friends and ruining two weddings! Now where's mah sister!"
She tossed it out the bush to get a good look at it, but then noticed something strange. This creature didn't look like a Changeling at all.
"R-Rumble?" Applejack said.
There before her was a banged up Rumble, who was in tears, "Applejack…how could you…I thought you were my friend, you said you would never hurt me! How could you do this!?"
Applejack looked shocked, "Rumble, I swear ah didn't know! Please you gotta know that I'd never hurt you!"
"You hurt me Applejack! I loved you and you hurt me!" Rumble shouted.
"No, I'm sorry, I do love you! I swear I do!" Applejack said.
Suddenly Thunderlane, Flitter, Cloudchaser and Rainbow Dash stood near her.
"How could you Applejack, you were my best friend. Now you hurt Rumble!" Cloudchaser shouted.
"That's my little brother! Why would you hurt my brother!?" Thunderlane asked angrily.
"You're supposed to be my friend! My friends would never hurt my little buddy!" Rainbow shouted.
Flitter was too busy crying over this to say anything to Applejack.
Applejack shook her head, feeling very nervous. She should know it's not real but her mind can't help this emotion right now. "No! I didn't! I swear! Please understand I would never hurt him!"
She was in tears over this, and then things became worse when she saw Apple Bloom with Rumble.
"Yer no sister of mine, you hurt the only colt ah loved, yer horrible!"
Applejack looked liked she couldn't believe this, "But…Apple Bloom!"
During this Rarity approached her and hugged her, "Applejack, it's not real, it's the Changelings! They're trying to deceive you so you get your guard down! Don't let them get in your head!"
The 'friends' then turned into Changelings and looked ready to attack, but this time Rarity got into a fighting stance, "I'll teach you to toy with our emotions!"
As the Changelings rushed in, Rarity attacked each one with a martial arts attack and a few magic blasts, "Is that all you got!?"
The Changelings got ready for more and rushed in to continue.
With Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, they checked carefully through the forest.
"Apple Bloom! Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo! Rumble! Anypony out there!?" Pinkie asked.
"I hope they're ok", Fluttershy said.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they're…huh?" Pinkie said and approached a strange site.
"Pinkie, where are you going?" Fluttershy asked.
They kept walking and saw Cheese Sandwich with Pinkie's sister Maud.
"Cheese? Maud? What are you doing out here?" Pinkie asked.
Cheese and Maud suddenly locked in a kiss, much to Pinkie's shock.
"Cheese! Why are you kissing my sister! You're supposed to be kissing me!" Pinkie shouted.
The two then ran off, with Pinkie following them, Fluttershy joining.
"Cheese! Come back! Was it something I did or said!? I can change!" Pinkie shouted.
"Pinkie! It's a trap! Don't fall for it!" Fluttershy warned, following her hyper pink friend.
With Trixie and Lightning, the two had been separated because Lighting got overzealous.
"That Lightning, I love her but she can drive me nuts sometimes", Trixie said.
"Oh, poor little Trixie", she heard and turned around. She encountered Twilight standing there with a smug smile.
"Twilight? I'm Glad I ran into you, maybe you can help; I need to find Lightning Dust," Trixie pleaded.
"Typical Trixie, can't handle anything herself, always needs somepony to bail her out", Twilight taunted.
Trixie looked disappointed, "That's very mean Twilight, if you're trying to work on your jokes I suggest you try something different".
"Yeah, you know a lot about jokes, considering you are one", Twilight said, upsetting Trixie.
"Twilight, this isn't funny! Please stop", tears were starting to form in her eyes.
"Poor Trixie, just a major failure aren't you?" Twilight continued to taunt, causing Trixie to cower in tears.
"Stop, please, I beg you", Trixie begged.
Meanwhile deeper in the forest, Lightning is beating up some Changelings, having a blast.
"Man this is fun, good stress reliever too", Lightning said. During the fight, she encountered Rainbow Dash, "Yo Dash, having fun kicking Changeling ass?" Rainbow just glared and flew off. Lightning followed her curiously, "Yo Dash, wait up!"
She kept going and found Rainbow Dash with The Wonderbolts, they had coroneted her.
"Welcome our newest Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire said.
Lightning Dust scratched her head, "Odd time to do this."
"Congrats Rainbow Dash, you proved to be a great flyer", Soarin said.
"Yeah, so much better than Lightning Dust, what a waste", Spitfire said.
Lightning looked upset at that, "Hey, I'm not a waste! You were just fine with how I did things!"
They continued talking, this time Fleetfoot spoke, "Yeah, she was a total failure, now she's forgotten and has faded into obscurity".
Lightning looked annoyed, "I'm right here!"
"Wonder if that Trixie girl is single now? I doubt she'd wanna be with some loser", Soarin said.
Lightning growled, "Hey! You stay away from my mare!"
She rushed in to get their attention but she got ambushed and attacked by some Changelings, but she wouldn't relent, "Get the hell of me you jackasses!" she started punching them all away.
Twilight, Rainbow and Thunderlane are staying together in this, not chancing separating in this forest, especially in this situation.
"Rumble! Girls!" Twilight shouted.
"Calling all Crusaders!" Thunderlane shouted.
No sign so far, they were getting worried.
"I hope they're ok, poor foals, I wish they were safe in my hooves", Twilight said.
"Same here, I'm worried about my brother, though he'll be brave for the girls", Thunderlane chuckled a bit, "Though to be honest those girls are tough too, Apple Bloom is the toughest, she always stood by my brother during hard times, and I love her for that, she really cares about my brother, though she has some tough competition. I just hope he can handle that well".
"Yes, it would be a shame if he hurt any of those girls", Twilight said very bitterly.
Thunderlane looked curious, "Feeling a bit stressed there Twi?"
Twilight glared, "You could say that", she kept walking. Thunderlane felt a bit nervous, what if she knows about him kissing Rainbow Dash?
Rainbow looked past every tree, every rock, hoping for a sign, "Damn, where could these kids be?"
They then saw what looked like The Crusaders running off.
"There they are!" Thunderlane said and rushed after the Crusaders with the mares following.
They then reached a crossroads, two paths and no idea which to take.
"I'll go this way!" Thunderlane said and went right.
"I'll take the left!" Rainbow said and flew.
Twilight groaned, "Could have made a plan…oh well at least they're not together", she then chose a path.
In Rainbow's path, she flew around, looking for any sign of the foals, but no luck, "Damn, did they go elsewhere?"
While searching, she head somepony approach from behind, then turned to see Twilight approach.
"Did you find them?" Twilight asked.
"No, no sign yet", Rainbow said.
"Keep looking, they should be around here", Twilight said.
As they walked, Rainbow asked, "Why did you come with me and not go with Thunderlane?"
"No reason, I just went with my instincts", Twilight said.
As Rainbow kept moving, Twilight started glaring angrily at Rainbow, while she was oblivious to that. Rainbow looked around for the foals, "Any sign of them Twilight?...Twilight?" she turned around and saw Twilight's glare, "What's with th-", Rainbow then got blasted by Twilight's magic to a tree.
Twilight approached her angrily, "I'll teach you to make a move on my stallion!" she started zapping again but Rainbow moved out the way.
"What the hell are you doing Twilight!?" Rainbow shouted, but got hit on the chest.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to teach you a lesson! I don't want you near Thunderlane or Rumble!" Twilight shouted and blasted Rainbow. Rainbow zig zagged and flew in for a punch to Twilight, and several more to knock her back.
Twilight rubbed her mouth a bit and threw a punch of her own and blasted Rainbow a bit, bit Rainbow kicked Twilight in the face, causing her to stumble.
"This isn't over Rainbow!" Twilight then flew away.
"Hey get back here!" Rainbow shouted and went after her.
Meanwhile with Thunderlane, he's looking around himself, "Man, I can't find them", he turned to Twilight, "Any luck?"
"No Thunder, not yet", Twilight said.
They kept looking around, nothing yet. This was frustrating, where were the foals they wondered.
"I hope I find Rumble, I don't wanna leave anything unresolved", Twilight said.
Thunderlane nodded, "I get that, things haven't been easy for him regarding us being a couple".
Twilight sighed, "I hate to ask now but…do you think we rushed things with us being a couple?"
Thunderlane looked curious, "Huh? How so?"
"I mean, we dated right after you broke up with Rainbow Dash, looking back that probably wasn't the greatest thing to do", Twilight said.
Thunderlane shrugged, "Not sure, I mean I don't regret dating you, I do like you, I like you a lot in fact".
"I know, and I like you a lot, I love you in fact, but I don't think I should have swooped in like that, there's a chance you and Rainbow could have made peace and maybe you could be with her", Twilight said.
Thunderlane looked confused, "Why are you saying this?"
"I saw you kiss Rainbow Dash", Twilight said, making Thunderlane feel very nervous.
"You…you saw that?" Thunderlane asked. Twilight nodded, causing Thunderlane to freak out, "I'm sorry Twilight, I swear I didn't know what came over me! It just happened! I promise I love you! I would never two tiem you, I know that feeling!"
"Thunderlane, it's fine, I'm not mad", Twilight said, really confusing Thunderlane.
"Huh? You aren't? But why?"
Twilight sighed, "Because it's my fault, I never really gave you time to get over Rainbow Dash, since she left almost afterwards it was hard to tell if you missed her, because she wasn't around enough for you to focus on. I moved in too fast, especially since you didn't break away from her because you didn't love her, but because you thought she didn't love you. I guess when she came back and confessed her love and apology it caused you to regain your old feelings".
Thunderlane looked surprised at this, "I…I don't know what to say…"
"You don't have anything to say, I'm not too happy you kissed her but maybe I wasn't right moving in on you like I did," Twilight sighed. "Worry about it later, we need to find the foals."
Thunderlane nodded, "Right…I'm really sorry though".
"I know, I forgive you", Twilight said, causing Thunderlane to feel a bit extra guilty over this. Twilight's being too nice about this.
Soon they flew a bit higher to get a bird's eye view of this situation, and suddenly Twilight got tackled out the sky by Rainbow Dash.
"What the hell!?" Thunderlane said and flew down.
The two mares crashed to the ground and Rainbow started pounding on Twilight, "Attacking me!? I'll teach you to do that!"
Twilight blocked the attacks, "Rainbow! What are you doing!?"
As Rainbow kept punching, Thunderlane pulled her off, "Rainbow, have you lost your mind!?"
Rainbow shoved Thunderlane away and kept fighting, but soon enough Thunderlane pulled Rainbow Dash away.
"Why are you attacking Twilight!?" Thunderlane shouted.
"She attacked me! Because she knows I still love you!" Rainbow shouted.
"Huh? She never did that, she was with me the whole time!" Thunderlane said.
Rainbow looked curious, "Huh? But she attacked me, I saw her!"
"Rainbow Dash, that was probably a Changeling", Thunderane said.
Rainbow looked surprised and shook her head, "No way, she knew magic!"
"That's not uncommon", Twilight said while getting up, "They feed off love through magic Rainbow".
Rainbow felt a bit foolish, "But…it just seemed so real".
Twilight glared a bit, "You think I would attack you over this!? Rainbow Dash I care about you! I want you as my friend! How could you think I would hurt you!?"
Rainbow noticed a few tears coming from Twilight's eyes. It wasn't the physical pain that hurt Twilight, it's the fact that Rainbow thinks Twilight would stoop that low.
"Twilight…I'm sorry", Rainbow said.
Twilight wiped her eyes, "Right, sorry, like for everything else!?"
"Huh? But Twilight I-"
Twilight held her hoof out, "Enough, let's just find the foals, I'll deal with this later".
Twilight resumed her search, Thunderlane looked surprised and Rainbow felt guilty.
Not wanting to dawdle, they continued their search, but while searching, they heard an evil laugh.
They followed it and reached a point in the forest where they found Foals in a cage, along with Chrysalis, who had an evil look in her eyes.
"Look who's here", Chrysalis said.
"Twilight! Rainbow Dash! Big Bro!" Rumble shouted.
"Save us!" Sweetie shouted.
"Rumble! I'm so happy you're ok!" Twilight said.
"Twilight…I'm sorry for being mean to you, I-", Rumble was interrupted by Twilight, "It's ok Rumble, I know you didn't mean what you said, but we'll talk later", she glared at Chrysalis, "Time to deal with this Queen".
Chrysalis stood her ground, "Right, you'll face me…and my army", Chrysalis said and gestured to her Changeling army approaching from behind.
The three ponies prepared for their battle against the Changeling Queen, this would be intense.
Author's Note
Bet that was confusing.
Friendship's New Flight: Love and Changelings
Chrysalis approached the three ponies, her smile giving them chills.
"Anypony else freaked out by this lady? I mean that smile of hers!" Thunderlane said very abruptly.
"Don't make things worse!" Rainbow shouted.
Chrysalis found amusement in this, to know she's striking fear in their hearts, she stood over the three ponies.
While Twilight and Rainbow stood their ground, Thunderlane looked a bit nervous. He's not like The Elements so he's probably in over his head.
Chrysalis noticed Thunderlane's lack of confidence, "Looks like your stallion there isn't much of a stallion, can't seem to handle a lady such as myself".
Twilight got in her face, "Don't say stuff like that about Thunderlane! He's just a pony, and a big brother, he's here for his little brother, who happens to be my favorite little colt!"
"Mine too!" Rainbow added.
Rumble looked surprised, "I'm still your favorite colt Twilight? Even after those mean things I said?"
Twilight nodded, "Of course, like I said, I love you, even if you don't know it".
Rumble looked down in some shyness and shame, he looked back up at Twilight with a teary smile. "Thanks Twilight..."
Twilight nodded and returned the smile before glaring back at Chrysalis.
"Hey I've always loved Rumble too! He's my little buddy!" Rainbow said.
Diamond rolled her eyes, "What makes Rumble so special anyway?"
"Besides being really cute?" Sweetie smugly asked.
Apple Bloom nodded, "Rumble's just a lovable colt, most ponies love him".
"For the record Apple Bloom", Thunderlane started saying, "You are my favorite little filly".
"Aw, thanks Thunderlane, glad you feel that way, one day I'm gonna be your sister-in-law, so I'll be calling you 'Big Bro' soon enough", Apple Bloom said.
Thunderlane chuckled, "That would be nice".
Chrysalis didn't mind this banter, this was love and affection she could feed off of, "My, my, so much love going around, I can even sense the love you two mares have for this stallion as well, and I can sense his love for the both of you".
"Both of us?" Twilight asked.
Thunderlane rubbed his head, "I know I kissed Rainbow Dash, but I do kinda like you too Twilight".
"You kissed Rainbow Dash!?" Rumble asked, "What about Twilight though?"
"Trouble in paradise? Seems like it's only made your emotions stronger, and that gives me an extra burst of power!" Chrysalis charged her horn, "Which I can use to defeat you!"
The ponies got ready for a battle, Chrysalis grinned, "Remember, love hurts".
"So does this!" Twilight said and blasted Chrysalis back and pursued her.
The Changelings went to attack but Rainbow and Thunderlane covered for Twilight, punching away any Changeling that got too close.
Chrysalis blasted twilight back but Twilight used her magic to block it and then blasted Chrysalis back again.
Chrysalis grew frustrated, "How dare you defy a Queen!" she flew in and charged her horn at Twilight but she teleported out the way and appeared behind Chrysalis with a blast that knocked her to the ground.
Some Changelings went after Twilight but she put up a barrier and then extended it to knock them back. She then started blasting at the Changelings but this distraction allowed Chrysalis to shoot Twilight out of the sky.
Rainbow flew in and rammed Chrysalis on the side and knocked her over.
"Take that!" Rainbow shouted, but was blasted for her efforts.
Thunderlane tried to attack as well but Chrysalis zapped him through a few trees.
Rumble looked concerned for this, "That Queen is mean and tough, I hope Twilight, Rainbow and my brother can stop her".
"Of course they can, they've done it before", Apple Bloom said.
Chrysalis turned her attention to Twilight and started to pursue her in an effort to take her out. Twilight flew off, giving Chrysalis a chase with Rainbow and Thunderlane pursing her.
"Hey! What about us!?" Scootaloo asked.
At that moment, Flitter and Cloudchaser had arrived.
"Sup kids, miss us?" Cloudchaser asked.
Rumble beamed in happiness, "Flitter! Cloudchaser!"
Cloudchaser went to the cage the foals were being held at, "You kids ok?"
"Yeah, we're fine", Rumble said.
"None of us were hurt", Sweetie said.
"Though if you can get us out of here as soon as possible that'd be great, this place is too cramped for me and there are too many blank flanks", Diamond said.
Cloudchaser glared, "Give me one reason I shouldn't just leave you in there to be taken away by those Changelings".
Flitter approached Cloudchaser, "Easy sis, if you do that you're no better than she is".
Cloudchaser rolled her eyes, "Whatever sis, you're too soft".
They freed the foals from the cage after Cloudchaser grabbed a rock and bashed on the lock to free the foals.
Button Mash ran out, "Yes! Freedom! Sweet freedom! Now to get my games!"
Before he can run off, Flitter grabbed him, "Easy there, don't go running off by yourself".
"Yeah, everypony stay together", Cloudchaser said, then glared at Diamond, "That includes you 'Your Highness', don't leave my sight".
Diamond huffed and reluctantly followed the Twins and the other foals. Silver Spoon seemed a little more willing to obey the twins.
Meanwhile Twilight, Rainbow and Thunderlane are still battling Chrysalis across The Forest, with her Changelings joining in on the battle, helping Chrysalis at every turn.
Twilight used her magic to blast the Changelings or grab them telepathically to toss them away.
Thunderlane did his punch-kick combos to knock away the Changelings; he was surprisingly good at fighting, though not at the same skill level as Rainbow Dash, who was annihilating the Changelings.
Chrysalis shot several laser attacks at the three ponies, each dodging out the way, though Thunderlane was grazed on his wing, causing him to fall.
"Thunderlane!" Rainbow shouted and went down to him.
Twilight blasted Chrysalis away and went down to Thunderlane as well.
Thunderlane landed down, a bit sloppy and still hurt but he could manage, "That's gonna leave a mark".
Twilight approached him, "We'll get that fixed soon".
Then then saw Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie surrounded by Changelings, though Pinkie Pie was challenging them for a fight.
"Come on! I can take the lot of ya!" she then flexed her 'muscles'.
"What's she doing? She's gonna get hurt", Rainbow said.
The Changelings hissed and slowly approached Pinkie. She then grabbed a weird red weapon and shouted. "This is the Monado's Power!"
Rainbow Dash then raised her eyebrow, "Wait, what!?"
Pinkie used the Monado to take down all the Changelings nearby, displaying unusual speed and accuracy. She then put the weapon behind her back while standing proudly, "This is a good result!"
More Changelings went to attack Pinkie, but as she got into another stance, Twilight blasted them all away with her magic.
Pinkie looked surprised, "Wow, I'm a lot stronger than I thought".
Twilight groaned, "I did that Pinkie, I blasted those creatures away for you".
"Oh, silly me then", Pinkie said with her usual quirky smile.
Above they saw Chrysalis approach them with a vengeful look, "I will annihilate you pitiful ponies!"
"She looks pretty pissed", Thunderlane said. They all then avoided a blast from Chrysalis after rolling out the way, and Twilight retaliated with a blast of her own to knock Chrysalis down and out of their sight.
"Keep moving! Let's leave this forest quick!" Twilight ordered as the ponies started making their way out the forest.
Meanwhile back with Applejack and Rarity, the two were fighting away the Changelings, Applejack having regained her composure after the mind games earlier.
"Take this you bunch of varmints!" Applejack said after each punch.
Rarity mostly used her kicks but did the occasional magic blast to the Changelings, though it seemed like they were being heavily outnumbered.
"Rarity, whatever happens, just know ah love yah very much, making you mah marefriend was one of the best things to happen to mah life", Applejack said.
"Same here Applejack dear, but I have confidence we'll make it out of here", Rarity said.
"Maybe soon we can get ourselves hitched", Applejack stated.
Rarity nodded, "I'd love that".
During the fight, a big pony arrived and rammed through a bunch of them like bowling pins. The Changelings turned their attention to the pony, who turned out to be Big Macintosh.
"Don't you hurt mah sister and her lady", Big Mac said.
More Changelings arrived to attack but they got attacked as well. Rarity and Applejack saw the attackers to be Babs Seed and Braeburn.
"Babs, Braeburn, ya'll are here too?" Applejack asked.
"We're family cuz, we stick together", Babs said.
"Yeah, we ain't gonna leave you and your lovely mare high and dry, Apples stick together", Braeburn said.
Applejack smiled and nodded, "Right", she looked to the Changelings, "Let's give these Changelings a nice little Apple Family Beatdown!"
Applejack, Rarity, Big Mac, Braeburn and Babs rushed in to attack the Changelings.
Meanwhile Twilight is leading her friends out the Forest, but many Changelings arrived to attack, though her friends were able to fight them off, except Fluttershy, due to her normally pacifist nature.
"Keep going, we're almost out!" Twilight said.
However Chrysalis was chasing them, nearly about to kill them with her magic, "I'm not done with you ponies!"
She started blasting them, much to their annoyance.
"She doesn't let up!" Rainbow shouted and flew over to punch Chrysalis back. Chrysalis then blasted Rainbow down.
Twilight and the others went to help Rainbow, but Chrysalis drew closer. Before she can get too close, Lightning Dust arrived and kicked Chrysalis on the head.
Chrysalis rubbed her head, "How dare you!"
"That's for messing with my head earlier!" she started attacking Chrysalis with a punch-kick combo, but Chrysalis retaliated with a sneak punch and blasted Lightning down.
Chrysalis went to attack again but she got blasted back again, this time by Trixie.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie is NOT pitiful!" Trixie blasted Chrysalis again, "It took a while but Trixie saw through your attempts to mess with her head! You will pay for your deception!"
Chrysalis zapped Trixie back and zapped an oncoming Lightning Dust. She flew in to attack again but Rainbow and Thunderlane did a double punch to knock her back.
"Let's keep going!" Twilight said and got her allies to follow her further out the Forest.
"Surprised we haven't run into any of the Forest Monsters", Rainbow said.
"It's likely Chrysalis scared them off or something", Twilight said.
Eventually Twilight and her friends made their way out the forest, with Chrysalis steadily behind them, "Escaping the Forest will do you no good, you're going to fall anyway! Then I'll finally defeat Celestia and take my rightful place as the Queen of Equestria!"
"We won't let that happen!" Twilight shouted and blasted Chrysalis, though she countered with her own beam. Trixie assisted Twilight during her beam struggle but more Changelings arrived to make it more difficult for the two.
Rainbow, Thunderlane and Lightning covered the two Unicorns by fighting off all the Changelings while the two unicorns charged their energy.
Some Changelings however gave assistance to Chrysalis and they blasted at The Unicorns, allowing Chrysalis to blast the two Unicorns back.
"I am going to turn Ponyville into a wasteland!" Chrysalis shouted.
"Ah don't think so!" she heard Applejack shouted. She looked to see Applejack along with her family and her lady Rarity.
"Ah if it isn't The Apples and their Gem, looks like I have all Six Elements of Harmony, I shall dispose of them quickly!" Chrysalis shouted and started zapping at them, causing them to dodge quickly.
Twilight rushed in and attacked Chrysalis with a few strike attacks and blasted her down, then teleported behind her and blasted her again into the air, then teleported once more above Chrysalis diagonally and blasted her down to the ground.
"Damn, Twilight's pretty strong", Lightning admitted.
Around that time, The Pegasus Twins made their way out the forest with the foals and noticed the battle going on.
Chrysalis had angrily gone back to Twilight and blasted at her but Twilight teleported out the way and zapped Chrysalis down again.
"They're gonna need some help", Cloudchaser flew in and attacked some Changelings as well while Flitter stayed with the foals.
Chrysalis grew frustrated; "All you ponies are just begging to die!" she called for more Changelings, with all of them doing battle with a pony in the area, either The Elements, The Apple Family, The Former Antagonists or Thunderlane and the Twins.
Some Changelings approached the foals, though Sweetie was able to blast a few of them with her magic, though it was a bit weak. Apple Bloom threw some hard punches, as stated she's a strong filly for her age. Rumble attacked a bit as well; he was pretty tough, not as tough
Babs went to the foals to help Apple Bloom, "Hey cuz, doing well lately?"
"Yeah, I'm good", Apple Bloom said while fighting the Changelings, "How's life since going back to Manehattan?"
"Kinda sucks, I still like it here bettah, great scenery", Babs said while punching, "Nice ponies", another punch, "Cute colts", she gave Rumble a flirtatious look before punching another Changeling.
Rumble chuckled nervously, "Great to see you too Babs".
Chrysalis from sky stared to blast at all the ponies, making it easy since they're distracted from their fight with the Changelings. Chrysalis even attacked the foals with her blasts, them being easier targets since they're so young.
"Hahaha, you've all fought valiantly but in the end it makes no difference, you'll still lose!"
She flew down to Twilight, ready to finish her off, "Time to die".
She was about to attack but Spike arrived from nowhere and blasted Chrysalis with a strong breath of fire, damaging Chrysalis a bit, "Ugh, damn you dragon!"
Spike huffed, "Did you think I would let you hurt my friends? Especially Twilight!?"
Chrysalis glared, "You fool, don't you realize the love you have for her makes me stronger?" she turned to the other ponies, "All your love for each other powers me! The more you fight for each other, the stronger I get!"
Twilight got up with a glare, "We gain strength from love too, and our love is more powerful than the strength you have, because it's real love!"
Rainbow groaned, "Kinda sappy".
Chrysalis let out an evil chuckle, "It seems like you've lost your mind little filly, love enegy is the same all around, quit grasping at false hope".
Twilight huffed angrily, though that's when Applejack approached her, "Fighting them isn't working, it didn't work so well last time, but love is the answer, its how your brother and Cadance won before, we need to utilize that somehow".
Twilight nodded, "Right, let's give that a shot", she called to the other, "Everypony, gather around me!"
The ponies came together, "Quick, share you love".
"Um, that sounds really weird", Cloudchaser said.
"Yeah, they feed off love, we're fighting Changelings, not Sirens," Spike said.
"I know what I'm doing, just trust me," Twilight said.
"What's a Siren anyway?" Thunderlane asked.
"Worry about that later, focus on right now," Twilight said.
They all stood to try and emanate love; with Applejack standing near her love Rarity, Trixie with her love Lightning Dust, Rumble with The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Cloudchaser with her crush Braeburn, and Thunderlane with Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.
They started creating an aura but it felt a bit unstable.
"Something's wrong, the magic isn't working", Twilight said.
Chrysalis chuckled, "I can sense a little stain in your love, perhaps there is slight hatred among you?"
Twilight looked around, "Who is lacking? Trixie? Lightning? Surely you have no hatred for any of us".
Trixie shook her head, "No, at least I hope you don't have any for me".
"Yeah, same here", Lightning said.
Chrysalis grinned, "Looks like my Changelings have gotten to you ponies after all".
Twilight remembered Rainbow Dash having been tricked by a Changeling, seems like they all got tricked. But perhaps that's the key to winning. "Trixie, what did you see?"
Trixie looked down a bit sad, "You, telling me I'm pitiful".
Twilight gave a sympathetic look, "I don't think you're pitiful, you're a great pony with a great heart. You helped show true friendship to someone who needed it, I think you're great".
Trixie smiled, "Thanks Twilight, so nice of you to say".
Twilight turned to Lightning, "What about you?"
Lightning groaned, "Rainbow Dash and The Wonderbolts calling me a waste and a forgotten memory".
Rainbow shook her head, "I don't think you're a forgotten memory or a waste, you've always been a great flyer, just a bit reckless. But you've gotten better, I can at least say you're a great friend to have", she gave a saddened look, "But I should be apologizing for nearly causing you to never fly again a few months back".
"That's fine, I take responsibility for that", Lightning admitted.
This talk was making the aura stronger, which Twilight noticed, "Quick Pinkie, what did you see?"
"I saw Cheese kissing my sister Maud", Pinkie said, a bit worried.
Twilight knew how to handle this, "Pinkie, Cheese and Maud both love you very much, do you think your coltfriend or your sister would do anything to hurt you?"
Pinkie thought, "You're right, they wouldn't, I'm happy now!"
Twilight nodded, "Anypony else?"
Applejack spoke, "After ah beat up a Changeling, he turned into Rumble…he was hurt, and ah felt awful".
Rumble pitied Applejack, "But Applejack, I know you'd never hurt me, you've been so nice to me since that day, I can trust you'll never hurt me".
Applejack ruffled his mane, "You're mah favorite little colt".
Diamond rolled his eyes, "He's every mare's favorite colt".
Rarity spoke next, "I thought Applejack was ashamed to be in a relationship with me".
Applejack shook her head, "If ah were ashamed, ah wouldn't have asked you out. Ah love you Rarity, I'm happy to be in a relationship with you. Truth be told sometimes ah wondered if ah was worth it to ya".
"Of course you are, you're a great mare, very loving and caring, fact is you're the only mare to make me feel this way, a one in a million shot", Rarity admitted.
That caused Applejack to blush, she truly felt special, and this only made the aura grow.
Chrysalis simply watched, amused by this. So heartwarming, it was sickening yet entertaining.
Sweetie Belle spoke next, "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused with Rumble, first I bullied him, then I had sex with him and made everypony mad, plus it was the start of his downward spiral."
"I'm not mad at anything you've done Sweetie Belle, I had as much to do, and I started my own downward spiral, not just that, but with my other actions. Speaking of which", he turned to Diamond Tirara, "I'm sorry for punching you, even if you were mean it was wrong of me. Its never a good thing to fight," he turned to Twilight, "Just like you said, right Twilight?"
Twilight ruffled his mane, "Right Rumble".
"I'm also really sorry for telling you that I hate you, I don't really hate you, I was just mad. I just want to be your friend but you're a bit overbearing." Rumble bit his lip before this next reveal, "Twilight, the truth is, I love you, even if I hadn't realized it, I honestly love you, because I know you love me too."
Twilight had to hold back tears of joy after hearing that, but now's not the time for that. "You're right, I haven't been fair to you. Maybe I was just concerned with straightening you out I got carried away. I need to teach you in a way you'll understand, that's something I should have remembered from my experiences with Rainbow Dash."
Silver turned to Diamond, "Don't you have anything to say?"
Diamond sighed, "I'm sorry for being mean, I'm sorry for talking about Apple Bloom's parents, and I'm sorry for helping influence Sweetie Belle to have sex with Rumble", she turned to Rumble, "And I forgive you for hitting me".
Her apology didn't seem too genuine but she was being as sincere as she could. Rumble still forgave her, "Its fine, thanks for apologizing", he then kissed the side of her face he struck months back, causing a blush from Diamond, though she quickly turned away.
Rumble then turned to Spike, "I'm sorry for being rude to you Spike, I was out of line".
Spike nodded, "Thanks, I'm sorry if I gave you a hard time too, you're not a bad kid, just a little prone to mistakes, but so am I so who am I to judge?"
Applejack turned to Thunderlane, "Ever feel like our old troubles were the root of all this?"
Thunderlane shrugged, "Not sure, but it's behind us, I hold nothing against you Applejack".
Cloudchaser spoke next, "Twilight, I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused, I should have respected you better".
"Aw, thanks Cloudchaser, I know you act on love so I can't fault you entirely, but I do forgive you", Twilight said.
Rainbow turned to Scootaloo, "I'm sorry for the time I almost hurt you, I was so focused on being a good role model for Rumble, I should have remembered my favorite little filly".
That caused a smile for Scootaloo, "You mean it Rainbow?"
"Of course", she ruffled her hair, "I think you and I need a little catching up".
Rumble approached Scootaloo, "I'm sorry for having annoyed you and made you feel like I was more trouble than I needed to be.
Scootaloo nodded, "It's fine, if anything I should be apologizing to you for hurting you like I did."
This made the magic stronger, but not enough, Chrysalis could sense that, "How nice, but it still won't make you strong enough to beat me. You may continue, fitting you can say your good-byes before I exterminate you."
Rainbow knew there was one final issue, "Twilight…I'm sorry for how I've acted to you. I shouldn't have bothered you over Thunderlane, I shouldn't have accused you of trying to hurt me", she turned to Thunderlane, "And Thunder, I'm sorry for stressing you out as well, and I'm really sorry for cheating on you. That was the biggest mistake of my life, and it wasn't even worth it. You were a great coltfriend, and I miss you", she sighed, "But if you love Twilight, then I'm ok with it, I don't care if you want to marry her, I just want to be your friend again".
Thunderlane nodded, "I'm sorry too Rainbow, and you as well Twilight. I'm not perfect either, and maybe I didn't handle things well myself."
Twilight made a big statement, "I'm the one who should be sorry", she turned to Rainbow, "I shouldn't have swopped in like that. I just had the biggest crush on Thunderlane, so I realized I could finally have him. But it was selfish, I hurt you by doing that and I was wrong", she sighed heavily, "You should be with Thunderlane, not me", she turned to Thunderlane, "If you want to get back with Rainbow Dash, you have my blessing".
This caused a shock for all the ponies in the group; Twilight is giving up her coltfriend back to Rainbow Dash? Even Chrysalis can't believe this.
"Twilight…you mean it? You'd sacrifice your happiness for me?" Rainbow asked, almost in tears.
Twilight nodded, "Yeah…if Thunderlane agrees to".
Thunderlane turned to Twilight and back to Rainbow, "This…this is so nice of you…but Twilight, what about you? I do care about you, you've been a great marefriend too", he turned to Rainbow, "I still love you, but I'm worried on this, it's too big a decision".
"He's right, let him think about it," Rainbow Dash said, then smiled. "But thanks, I really appreciate that. I don't care if he picks you or me, I just want us all to be friends, because I know that's something we can all share.
This was all that was needed, the combined love within the group was enough to charge enough magic to combat against Chrysalis. Twilight glared at the evil Queen, "It's over".
They all focused their energy on Chrysalis and blasted her with the magic. Chrysalis attempted to counter, her Changeling army backing her up, trying to Shield the magic.
"Not this time! You won't defeat me!" she shouted.
After moments of struggling, Twilight simply said, "That's it, next plan! Thunder, Rainbow, follow my lead!"
The three ponies flew in and attacked Chrysalis with a strong enough punch to knock her off balance, the magic then blasting her, enough to finally take her down.
Once the blast ended, Chrysalis and the Changelings had been blasted far back, finally defeated.
The ponies sat back and sighed.
"Thank Heavens, it's finally over", Twilight said.
"Now I definitely feel like one of you, I helped you save Equestria", Thunderlane said.
"We all did, we're heroes!" Cloudchaser said.
"Think we'll get rewards?" Scootaloo asked.
"The fact that we did something good should be reward enough", Fluttershy said.
Rainbow Dash hugged Thunderlane, "I'm just glad you're alright, maybe we can get back together, if you really want to."
Rumble realized, "Hey wait, what about Soarin? Aren't you dating him still?"
Rainbow then realized, "Oh crap…his heart's gonna be broken," Rainbow felt a bit guilty, but then looked to Fluttershy and had an idea, "Hey Fluttershy, you always liked Soarin right?"
Fluttershy beamed, though Twilight was concerned.
"Is this a good idea?" Twilight asked.
Rainbow shrugged, "Hey it's worth a shot".
Rumble approached Rainbow with a hug, "I'm so happy to have you back!"
Rainbow hugged back, "Good to be back".
For now the ponies rested, the threat was over, but some things still needed to be resolved first.
Author's Note
Love wins in the end. Also the Xenoblade references is something that started as a silly joke that just expanded a little
Friendship's New Flight: Love and Changelings
The Canterlot Royal Guards arrived to fix up the mess the Changelings left behind in Ponyville. Chrysalis herself was captured and transportation to Canterlot was arranged so that she can be tried for her crimes in Ponyville.
Twilight and her friends looked around to make sure there weren't any more Changelings to worry about, though they all seemed to be gone for the time being. After a few hours things were fixed up, The Elements, The Pegasus Quartet, Trixie, Lightning, Spike and The Cutie Mark Crusaders regrouped at Sugarcube corner for a celebratory snack.
"We did it! We defeated Queen Chrysalis!" Rainbow said, holding a cup in the air.
"And we did it with love!" Rumble said, causing a slight chuckle among the ponies.
"Come on kid, don't start getting too sappy with me", Rainbow said jokingly.
Rumble chuckled, "Sorry Dashie, just really happy, everyone's back together now".
Twilight nodded, "Yes, it's so great to see this reunion, I was worried things would drift apart between us".
"Imagine that", Applejack said, "Would have been a real waste".
"We went through quite an adventure I would say", Rarity admitted.
Applejack chuckled a bit, "Yeah, a big one", she turned to Thunderlane, "It all started with you Thunder, the day you became our friend."
Thunderlane rubbed his head a little, "Yeah, I know I caused a little trouble, I'm really sorry about that".
Applejack pulled Thunderlane in for a nice side hug, "What are you apologizing for? We love you Thunder, just because this old farm girl was stubborn at first doesn't mean you joining us was a mistake".
Rarity nodded, "Of course, do you think we were perfect friends before you came along? We've had squabbles among us as well, like when Rainbow Dash and Applejack had that Iron Pony contest that spiraled out of control".
"And the time Rarity was jealous of Fluttershy's fame with Photo Finish", Twilight said.
"Myself and Lightning have also been a burden among these ponies, our trials were much worse", Trixie said.
"Don't forget the time you tried warning everypony the first time Chrysalis attacked, and they sided with Cadance over Twilight", Spike pointed out rather matter-of-fact like, earning a glare from the other ponies, "Well you did".
"So did you!" Applejack pointed out.
"Hey I just wanted to give Twilight some time to think, truth be told I would take her side over yours", Spike admitted.
Twilight awed at that, "You're the best Spike, that's why you're my Number One assistant".
Spike did a cocky smile, "I know, but it's easy when it's with a mare as nice as you Twilight".
Cloudchaser chuckled and muttered, "Maybe Twilight can hook up with Spike if she doesn't end up with Thunderlane".
"I heard that CC", Spike said, "Me hooking up with Twilight would be like Rumble hooking up with you or Flitter".
"Hey I've thought about that once or twice", Rumble admitted, earning a chuckle from the others.
"Speaking of which Rumble, who are you gonna hook up with?" Rainbow asked.
At that moment Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle huddled around him, just as curious. Rumble got a little nervous, "I still haven't decided".
That earned a groan from the fillies, hoping Rumble would finally have an answer.
"Seriously Rumble? You have three pretty fillies here, plus the option of Babs, Dinky, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon", Rainbow said.
"Truth be told I'm mostly having trouble choosing between just these three, they each have unique qualities", he turned to Apple Bloom, "You're a strong filly Apple Bloom, and very smart, plus you're a great leader. Also I know you're gonna be successful in your Family's Business because you have that drive to be", he turned to Sweetie Belle, "You have such a cute personality Sweetie Belle, I love your voice and I like cuddling you. Also in a way you're the type of marefriend I would spoil with anything your heart desires because I like seeing your cute smile", he finally turned to Scootaloo, who still kept her distance, "You're a great athlete Scootaloo, you're also pretty tough and a total badass. One other thing I admire is you never letting your inability to fly stop you from being yourself, you're very brave".
"Wow Rumble, you really mean this stuff", Cloudchaser said.
"Ah can see why yer having trouble, glad to know yer taking this seriously", Applejack said.
"Yes, it's not easy I suppose, but you have plenty of time to figure it out", Rarity added.
"I say just nab all three of them", Lightning pointed out arrogantly, earning her a few glares, "What? They all like him, why not?"
Twilight groaned, "Lightning, you're quite a pony...but we love you".
The others nodded, Trixie then hugged Lighting, "And I love you the most".
Lightning chuckled, "Thanks Trixie, you really shaped my life", she then kissed Trixie.
Applejack put her arm around Rarity, "And you shaped mine", the two then engaged in a kiss of their own.
Pinkie lit up, "Speaking of which, I need to go find Cheese, see ya!"
Before she left, Rainbow Dash called out, "Wait! What was with that weird sword-like thing?"
"Oh this?" Pinkie asked, grabbing the Monado. "I borrowed it from my friend before the wedding, in case something like this happened. Good thing it's modified to handle Changelings. Speaking of which, here he comes now."
Suddenly a young man in a red shirt and shorts approached Pinkie, "Good to see ya Pinkie."
"You too Shulk, here's your Monado back," Pinkie said, giving the weapon back to Shulk.
"Thanks," he turned to the ponies. "Great to meet the lot of ya, hope to see you again soon." He left, leaving the others confused.
"Pinkie..." Rainbow said.
"Yes Dashie?" Pinkie asked.
"You are really random," Rainbow said.
Pinkie giggled, "I know, well see ya." She trotted off to find Cheese.
Cloudchaser also got up, "I'm gonna look for Braeburn", she too left, that and she needs to clear her head. Not just the Changelings, but the random arrival of Shulk.
Spike got up, "And I'm gonna check on Amethyst, she's probably worried", he went to find her as well.
Rumble then sat up, "I'll go wait outside", he left the Bakery with the Crusaders following him.
Rumble walked with The Crusaders when Apple Bloom spoke up, "So Rumble, about this choosing between is thing...ah think Lightning Dust actually has a point".
Rumble stopped in his tracks and gave a worried glance to Apple Bloom, "How so?"
"Maybe me, Sweetie and Scootaloo can share you?" Apple Bloom suggested.
Scootaloo's eye twitched when Apple Bloom mentioned that idea, "What gives Apple Bloom!? You want us to form a herd with this kid?"
Apple Bloom nodded, "Yeah why not, ah mean the three of us do so much together, and we mentioned one day hoping to get married at the same time, maybe this could be our chance".
Scootlaoo shook her head, "First off, a line needs to be drawn on how much we do together, second when I said married at the same time, I mean each of us with a different stallion, not the same one!"
"Yeah but-"
"Apple Bloom, this won't work, we can't share a coltfriend, it'll be too weird", Scootaloo said.
Apple Bloom looked disappointed, then turned to Sweetie Belle, "What's your thought Sweetie Belle?"
Sweetie looked to Rumble, then Scootaloo, then back to Apple Bloom, "Honestly, I would prefer Rumble all to myself...but maybe a harem could work, if he gave us an equal amount of attention".
Scootaloo's jaw dropped, "You can't be serious Sweetie! Look I get it, Rumble's a handsome colt, but this is a little too far, are you that desperate?"
"It's not desperation, Rumble loves each of us equally, and we love him...well me and Sweetie do, not sure about you, but mah point stands", Apple Bloom explained.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "I'm not down with this, I mean how can it work?"
Apple Bloom shrugged, "I'm not sure myself, but I'm willing to try".
Sweetie spoke up, "Um, shouldn't we ask Rumble's opinion though?"
Apple Bloom's ears perked, "That's right", she turned to Rumble, "Sorry, ah guess if yer gonna have a harem, you should have a say".
Rumble tapped his chin, "Truth be told, I'd love to have you girls...but only if all three of you want it".
Apple Bloom turned to Scootaloo with hopeful eyes, though Scootaloo's face told the story. Apple Bloom then turned back to Rumble, "How about just me and Sweetie Belle?"
Rumble shook his head, "I said from Day One, I'm not gonna do anything to jeopardize your friendship, I won't feel right doing this if Scootaloo won't be involved in some form. I love all three of you, so for me it's all or nothing...or one but that's about it".
Apple Bloom groaned, "Why are the cute ones so noble about certain things?"
"He's a total package, at least in my eyes", Sweetie said.
Rumble blushed, then looked to Scootaloo, "For the record, if I dated all three of you, I would treat you just as well as them, you're a great filly Scootaloo and I would love to date you with the others, but I understand if you don't want to be part of this".
Scootaloo started having second thoughts on this, she's unsure but she also realizes maybe it's her one chance in at Rumble. Despite what he did at the Crystal Empire, she held some feelings for him, especially knowing he would never intentionally hurt her. He seems really regretful, so she simply asked one question, "Just answer me this Rumble...if I agree to this, do you promise to treat me as well as the others? Not just some girl but an equal? I want to make sure I'm not just a filly to kiss randomly, I don't want any of us to be like that, what can you do for us as the coltfriend?"
"Whatever you want", Rumble asked, "I can't promise much, but I can try my best to love all three of you the best I can".
Scootaloo thought this over a little, "What about the others? How are you going to explain to Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane your choice?"
Rumble shrugged, "Not sure, maybe we can just try this out and see if it works at first."
Scootaloo continued to ponder this, she also looked to her two friends, each with hopeful looks as if telepathically begging her to say yes, "I'll
Apple Bloom and Sweetie belle grinned and turned to Rumble and simultaneously shouted, "He's finally mine!" they stopped and looked to each other a bit awkwardly, "I mean ours".
They both ran to hug Rumble, to which he gave them both a nice affectionate kiss, first Apple Bloom, then Sweetie Belle. He then walked over to Scootaloo and gave her a nice kiss as well, "I love you girls".
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hugged him tightly, "We love you too!"
Scootaloo sighed a bit then smiled, "Same here, now give me some room girls", she also hugged Rumble, making this seem whole.
"I can't believe that you're all my marefriends, I feel so lucky, especially considering they're the best a colt can ask for", Rumble said.
"Sappy huh? I have a way to deal with sappy," Scootaloo said, then pulled Rumble into a kiss.
"Hey don't hog him!" Apple Bloom shouted.
Sweetie Belle agreed, "Yeah! Give us some!"
Rumble then found himself making out with the three fillies, taking turns with them, giving each their own special time. Tough work, but it's worth it to have three of the best marefriends he can ask for. The hard part was one day having to tell the others, and he's certain that Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Flitter and Cloudchaser might oppose to this. But he was sure that if he truly loved these girls, he would make it work.
Later on Rainbow Dash had to go find Soarin and explain to him that it's over between them, she went by herself, figuring it'd be easier without the pressure of her friends around. She caught up to Soarin as he was chatting with his Wonderbolts friends, "Hey Soarin, quick word please?"
Soarin nodded, "Sure thing Dash", he approached her alone as she let out a sigh, "What's wrong?"
"Soarin..." she started, this won't be easy but it must be done, "I like you, you're a great guy but..." Soarin seemed to know where this was going, but let Rainbow Dash finish, "Soarin...I...I have to..."
Soarin saw that she wasn't able to finish so he finished for her, "You're breaking up with me?"
Rainbow nodded, "I'm so sorry, I like you but I just never felt that...connection. And...I'm sorry, I can't lie to you, you've been so nice to me", she collected her thoughts and spoke truthfully, "I never stopped loving Thunderlane, and I don't think I can love you like I love him."
Soarin looked a bit disappointed but he nodded to show he understands the situation, "i get it, the way we hooked up wasn't exactly a good way to start a relationship. I never should have asked you to do what you did with me, I was out of line", he offered a smile, "I'm glad you gave me a chance at least, I enjoyed my time with you, but deep down I knew it probably wouldn't last".
Rainbow pitied Soarin, he is a nice stallion, but she loved Thunderlane more, "Don't worry though, I know another mare who's interested, remember Fluttershy?"
Soarin raised his eyebrows, "Yeah of course, the Hurricane Flyer herself".
"She has a crush on you, maybe you can try dating her, she might be a better fit than I am", Rainbow said.
Soarin though a moment, "She does have a cute smile, and her voice is heavenly...I can totally date a mare like her".
"Best party is, she isn't into you because you're a Wonderbolt, she likes you for you, and that makes your relationship a bit more authentic", Rainbow said.
"That's true, though I'm sure you liked me for me right?" Soarin asked.
"Yeah, I do like you for you Soarin, not romantically but as a friend, seriously give this a shot, you won't regret it", Rainbow explained.
Soarin nodded, "Yeah, sounds good...thanks Dash".
The two engaged in a nice hug, showing they're still friends, and then Rainbow gestured for Soarin to follow her, "Let's go meet her".
Fluttershy looked up at the two incoming Pegusai, "Hi Rainbow Dash...oh my...hello Soarin", she said with a blush.
Rainbow started getting the two aquainted, "I'm sure you two remember each other, so you don't need an introduction".
Soarin nodded, "Yeah, hard to forget such a pretty face".
Fluttershy blushed, "Thanks, you're handsome too".
Rainbow grinned, "I'll leave you lovebirds here to chat, see ya", she sped away, leaving Soarin and Fluttershy to talk a bit.
Soon things started shaping up a bit, the mess was cleared from Ponyville and Chrysalis was going to be charged for her misdeeds. Cheese Sandwich decided to stay in Ponyville for a while with Pinkie, figuring it's best if she stayed with her friends for now. He stayed because he loved her and wanted to stay near her for now.
The rest of The Apple Family went back to their homes, with Braeburn promising to come by to visit Cloudchaser. Though Babs had to go back to Manehatten, her Ponyville ambitions weren't gonna go to waste, especially since Applejack is really pulling to bring Babs over, offering to help cover expenses. There's also the fact that Fluttershy missed having Babs around.
Trixie and Lightning Dust also decided to stick around for a bit in Ponyville, they were in no hurry, plus they liked being among friends. They may buy a house there and stay there when they're not travels, beats living on the road, they can be with friends.
Meanwhile with Twilight, she had met with Thunderlane near his house, ready to put everything behind them.
"Thanks for giving me this chance Twilight, though I'm a bit surprised, thinking about letting me go? Did you stop loving me or what?" Thunderlane asked.
Twilight shook her head, "No, I never stopped loving you, I just knew when to let go, you're much better with Rainbow Dash and it just didn't seem right to pry you away from her...no matter how handsome I thought you were".
Thunderlane chuckled nervously, "Thanks, you're a pretty mare though, you'll have no problem finding Somepony special for you".
"Just know that I'm happy for you, and you're still my friend", Twilight reassured.
"Same", Thunderlane replied, and gave Twilight a nice friendly hug.
A moment later, Rumble had approached Twilight and Thunderlane, then cleared his throat to get their attention.
Twilight noticed him, "Rumble, hello there, what brings you here?"
"Can we talk, just us? I want to clear the air", Rumble said.
Twilight nodded and turned to Thunderlane, "We'll just be a moment".
Thunderlane nodded and backed away from the door so Twilight and Rumble could have their moment.
Twilight focused her attention on Rumble, "So what did you want to say?"
Rumble looked up at her with his big eyes, "That I'm so very sorry for what I said, and that I don't hate you, I was just mad at things".
Twilight rubbed his mane, "That's ok Rumble, maybe I made things worse by being so hard on you. I just wanted to make sure you stayed out of trouble, I didn't mean to cause you so much stress."
"In a way, I'm glad you were, it showed you did care about me...even if I was being too selfish to show it", Rumble admitted while looking down.
Twilight held his face up by his chin, "Don't fault yourself, you were just in a bad situation, but I'm glad we can finally compromise".
Rumble nodded, "Thanks Twilight...I do love you."
"I love you too Rumble", Twilight said and pulled him into a hug, "I hope we can maintain our bond".
Rumble had returned the hug to Twilight, "I want to, if you'd like I can still be like your little brother, I'll listen to you more this time".
Twilight let go and offered a friendly smile, "I'd like that, I can be a mentor to you somewhat, like I am to The Cutie Mark Crusaders".
Rumble made a concerned from face, "Speaking of which, can I trust you with a question? Please don't tell anypony else right now".
Twilight nodded, "Sure dear, what is it?"
"...What are your thoughts about herds?" Rumble asked, very hesitant.
Twilight's eyes widened, then she took a breath similar to how Cadance taught her, "We'll have to talk more about that, I suggest you bring the girls with you but I'll do what I can to help make sense of this".
Rumble smiled, "Thanks Twilight, you're the best", he flew up a little and kissed her cheek, "Love you, bye!" Rumble flew off while Twilight sighed.
"That colt sometimes...but I love him the way he is".
In Canterlot, Chrysalis had been escorted to her dungeon, awaiting judgment from Celestia. While there Discord had paid her a visit, "Ah, Chrissy, nice to see you, how was the Invasion?"
"It almost worked, once again I have foolishly underestimated my enemies, but soon enough I will defeat those who stand in my way", Chrysalis said.
Discord slowly clapped his hands, "That's nice to know, have any other plans?"
Chrysalis grinned, "Plenty, the fight's not over yet".
Later in Twilight's place she is looking through some document she had obtained and noticed something of interest. It was a Marriage Certificate, stating her marriage to Thunderlane was legitimate.
"That's odd, I'm actually married to Thunderlane?" she scratched her head a little before putting the document away, "I'll deal with that later, I don't want to bug him about this now".
She sad down and thought a moment, "I can't believe I gave Thunderlane up like that, I feel so foolish", she sighed, "But he loves Rainbow Dash, I have to respect that, but still", she looked out the window, "I still love him...I hope Rainbow Dash takes good care of him, he's a special pony".
Spike had passed by and noticed Twilight in a slump. Being the caring friend he was, he approached her and gave her a nice hug, "I'll always love you Twilight, I loved you before I loved anypony else after all".
Twilight smiled and returned the hug, "What would I do without you Spike?"
"You'd have no one to write your letters to Celestia for one", Spike said, causing a chuckle from Twilight.
"Believe me Spike, you mean much more to me than that", Twilight said and kissed his head, causing a blush from Spike. He doesn't mind, he does love Twilight, she has been by his side his whole life after all.
Elsewhere Thunderlane had caught up to Rainbow Dash, the two meeting at the same park they met each other.
"So, you and I are back together?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I thought about it, and I really didn't like how our relationship ended. Besides I think Twilight herself feels this is the right thing," Thunderlane said.
Rainbow Dash nodded, "I'm glad that was worked out, I promise I'll be better this time. I'll be the best marefriend you could ask for."
Thunderlane smiled and pulled Rainbow Dash into a loving kiss. "You're already the best, I love you."
Rainbow Dash hugged Thunderlane, "I love you too."
The two again resumed their kiss, maintaining it deeply. They were so happy to be back together after all.
The next day everypony went to the Park for a picnic, the same park where they all met Thunderlane the first time, or at least befriended him. They had been joined by Derpy, Dinky, Amethyst Star, Trixie, Lightning Dust and Coco Pommel.
Rumble was playing with The Crusaders and Dinky, Lightning was sitting against a tree with Trixie cuddled next to her. Not too far off Applejack was sitting with the same situation, against a tree with Rarity cuddled next to her. Pinkie and Cheese were eating various desserts, essentially stuffing their faces with every piece of cake they could get their hooves on.
Spike was next to Amethyst, they had been getting very friendly with each other lately, starting rumors that they had formed a couple. Though Spike insists she's just a friend of his, nothing more.
Soarin had also been there, sitting on the ground next to Fluttershy, nuzzling against her. Rainbow Dash watched from nearby, she was happy for Soarin and Fluttershy. She was even happier having Thunderlane next to her and she wrapped her hoof around his back.
Twilight had watched all the couples and felt a little down, wishing she had somepony for herself. Coco noticed her saddened state and approached her, "Are you ok Princess Twilight?"
"I'm fine Coco, though truth be told this whole situation was very stressful, between Chrysalis attacking and me giving my fiancé back to his ex, not to sound bitter but I wish he was still mine", Twilight admitted.
Coco pitied her, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Twilight shook her head, "No, no, it's not necessary, I'll be fine".
Coco nodded, "Ok...but if you need me, I'm here for you Princess".
Twilight smiled, "Thanks Coco...I could use a little company, Spike's currently with Amethyst Star, I'd like somepony to chat with".
Coco nodded, "Sure thing, I'd be happy to".
Twilight and Coco went to find a place to sit and chatted a bit.
All the ponies continued to chat and talk, though one of the bigger shockers of a question is Flitter approaching Applejack and asking one question, "Is your brother single?"
Applejack's eyes bulged out and turned to Flitter, "First yer sister wants to date mah cousin, and now you want mah brother!? What is yer family going apple picking or something?"
Rarity giggled, "They can't help it Applejack, who wouldn't want a nice and fresh apple", she had nuzzled against Applejack while saying that, causing her to blush a little.
"Come on Rarity, yer making me blush", Applejack said.
The other ponies nearby chuckled at that.
"Never a dull moment", Rainbow Dash said.
"Yeah, I love your friend", he then nuzzled Rainbow Dash, "And I really love you Rainbow Dash".
Rainbow nuzzled, "Same here Thunder".
The two kissed when Rainbow Dash grinned, "So when do you wanna get hitched?"
Thunderlane looked a bit weirded out, "Uh Rainbow, I love you and all but we just got back together, let's wait on that".
Rainbow chuckled, "I'm cool with that".
they shared another kiss, hoping to have a nice future together soon. What else could happen in their lives, will they be prepared for it? though as they've shown before, they can handle a lot, very little can deter them.
Author's Note
That's it, everything's been resolved. Long road but it's at the end, unless there's a little extra.
