Chapters Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
Twilight could remember the day she found out she would be next in line to rule over Equestria, it was rather stressful. Running an entire country wasn't exactly something she was ready for, and couldn't believe that Celestia would spring it on her so fast.
Her friends would attempt to cheer her up, assuring her that Twilight has always done a great job to protecting Equestria, and while Twilight appreciated that, it wasn't really enough to soothe her worries.
Though one colt was determined to stay by her side, that being her precious colt Tender Taps. Since finding out himself, he's made it a point to keep Twilight's nerves as calm as they can be, be it through hugs, rubs, even the occasional kiss to her cheek or muzzle, and some encouraging words of his own.
"Twilight, you're one of the most organized ponies I know," Tender Taps reminded. "If anypony can keep a watchful eye over Equestria, it's you."
"That's very sweet of you to say Tappy, and don't take this the wrong way, but simple words really aren't enough to calm my nerves right now," Twilight said. "Now where's my paper bag?"
"Twilight enough with the paper bag, hyperventilating too much really isn't good for you," Tender Taps insisted. "I can speak from experience on that."
Twilight took a moment to regain her composure, "Yes, you're right, I need to get a hold of myself." Twilight took a deep breath, using the technique taught to her by Cadance. "Alright, I think I'm relaxing."
"Good, and honestly, I think you'll do great," Tender Taps said. "For as long as I've known you Twilight, you've always been on top of things, when it doubt, you make a checklist, you keep things organized, use that to your advantage."
"Right, checklists, schedules, research, shouldn't be too hard, right?" Twilight said, hoping to calm herself more.
"Not for you, after all, you're Princess Twilight Sparkle, if anypony can pull this off, it's you," Tender Taps said. "Being leader of Equestria just means keeping a watchful eye over it, and you've already been doing that for some time now. You're quick to help other ponies and you protect us from danger, you being ruler of Equestria just makes things more official."
"Even so, there's still so much more that comes with being the leader of a whole country," Twilight said. "I'm just not ready for that responsibility."
"But you won't be alone, your friends will help you," Tender Taps. "Even Princess Celestia has her sister, for all you know Spike will probably be your co-ruler, he is kind of like a little brother to you. Plus there's also Cadence and Flurry Heart, you won't be the only Alicorn ruling at least."
"Oh, speaking of Cadance, I should let her know, as well as my brother," Twilight said.
Spike peeked his head into the room, "Sorry to intrude, but we have visitors."
"Twilight!" they heard Pinkie Pie call.
"Sounds like your friends are here," Tender Taps said, then turned to Twilight. "You might have some important things to discuss, so I'll leave you be for now."
"Alright, let's try to see each other again soon," Twilight said.
"If you'd like, I can take you to eat later, that'll help ease your mind," Tender Taps said.
"Aw, how thoughtful," Twilight said, stroking his mane. "Thanks Tappy."
"Also, one more thing," Tender Taps then pulled in Twilight for a kiss, somewhat surprising the mare, and the dragon in the room. "I love you, and I'll always be there for you."
With that Tender Taps started making his way out of the room, leaving Twilight in a state of shock. Even Spike looked like he couldn't believe what he just saw.
"Did...did you just..." Spike was trying to register this moment in his head.
"Kiss Twilight?" Tender Taps finished. "Yeah, I did."
Spike couldn't believe how bold that colt was, he turned his attention back to Twilight, the mare currently blushing from Tender Taps's affection.
"He's quite charming...isn't he?" Twilight said.
"He's also a foal, he really shouldn't be kissing you like nothing, it just seems unusual," Spike said.
"You're right, he shouldn't," Twilight admitted. "It really isn't proper...still, I'm just amazed, I don't know what happened but he's starting to change a bit, wonder what the reason is?"
"He did shift in personality this past week, I noticed it right around the time Rumble and Sweetie Belle broke up...do you think that somehow changed him?" Spike asked.
"I'm not certain of it yet," Twilight said. "We'll worry about that later, let's just move on, bring my friends in if you please."
Spike did as asked, leaving Twilight to her thoughts. She knew Tender Taps had a crush on her, she even somewhat encouraged him to maintain his feelings. But what she didn't expect was for him to already have such an advancement in his feelings.
She needed to slow him down a bit, or that's what she believed she should do, deep down she questions if she wants him to take it slower. She does like his affection and it makes her feel nice. Now she has even more to think about, this is not going to help her worries.
Back in the present, Twilight is searching the skies for any sign of Tender Taps, or the enemy. She felt angry, and somewhat afraid. The idea of anything bad happening to Tender Taps was too much for her to bear.
"How could I have let this happen, I should have kept a closer eye on Tappy," Twilight muttered to herself. "How can I expect to protect an empire if I can't protect somepony very special to me?"
As Twilight flew through the skies, still in search of her precious pony, one creature in particular was keeping a close eye on Twilight through his crystal ball. A mysterious goat like creature, the villain known as Grogar.
"As expected, she's looking for the boy," Grogar turned his attention to his nearby ally. "Let Chrysalis know that Twilight Sparkle has taken the bait, soon we'll have her where we want her."
The ally, Adagio Dazzle, the leader of the Dazzlings, just nodded in confirmation, "Sure thing leader, we can't wait to start the show, should be quite a performance."
Meanwhile Rumble had made himself at home in Sweet Apple Acres, having barricaded the barn and assembling a stack of hay for a makeshift bed.
"This place is completely deserted, I really hope the Apple Family is alright," Rumble said to himself. "Even their animals are gone, what could have happened? Hopefully nothing bad. I mean her animals are smart so they could take care of themselves at least." Rumble laid on the hay, thinking back to that day where Applejack had given him her pep talk and what he did with it. His goal toward reforming Cozy Glow had continued.
Flitter had eventually finished up her shopping, and thus Rumble was able to take Cozy Glow to the park where he flew with her in the skies. They were free to do whatever as long as they didn't go too far and stayed within Flitter's view.
"This is so much fun!" Cozy said, flying in the skies with Rumble right beside her.
"Yeah, good way to take your mind off things that are bothering you," Rumble said, doing some twirls. "Most of the time at least."
"I do think your twirls are pretty neat, think you could ever teach me how to do them?" Cozy asked.
"I'd be happy to, but I should warn you, it might be a bit difficult," Rumble said. "I mean I've been struggling with them again lately, they require lot of focus."
"I still wanna try, please show me Rumbly-boo," Cozy said, batting her eyes.
Rumble chuckled nervously, "Alright Cozy, you don't need to put on a cute act for me."
"Act? I'm always cute," Cozy Glow said. "It's completely natural."
Rumble chuckled some more, "Yeah I can't argue that. Now the key to doing a mid-air spin is focusing on one object. Try not to let your eyes wander, otherwise you might get dizzy."
"Right, focus on one thing..." Cozy grinned at Rumble. "Like maybe your handsome and adorable face."
"Or something you won't crash into if something goes wrong," Rumble nervously insisted. "It does take practice and you want to be safe, so try focusing on a cloud, that way you won't have to worry about getting hurt because the cloud can't hurt you. Unless you hit it hard enough to shoot lightning."
"Alrighty Rumble, you're the boss," Cozy Glow said, getting into position. "So just keep my eye on the cloud?"
"Yeah, eye on the cloud," Rumble said. "Then spin."
Cozy Glow revved her up wings and started flying toward a cloud, spinning around towards it. Unfortunately she started to lose balance mid-air and crashed through the cloud, failing the turn.
"Shoot, let me try again," Cozy said, going toward another cloud.
"Remember, don't think about it too much," Rumble said.
"Thanks Rumble," Cozy said, flapping her wings. She flew again, spinning around but this time started spiraling towards the ground.
"Cozy!" Rumble shouted in worry, flying towards his friend and catching her before she hit the ground. "Gotcha Cozy!"
Runble landed on the ground, allowing Cozy to get off his back as she trotted wobbly for a few seconds before shaking it off.
"Ugh, come on!" Cozy shouted in anger. "Why is it so hard!?"
"Easy there Cozy, it's not worth getting mad over, you're a beginner," Rumble said.
"I'm not mad!" Cozy shouted, causing Rumble to jump back.
"Noted," Rumble cautiously reached his hoof out to stroke Cozy's mane. "It takes practice, don't worry about it, you'll get it one day."
Cozy was still annoyed, but eventually calmed her nerves. "I guess, thanks Rumbly."
"I'm surprised you want to learn the twirls, oh do you want to be a professional flyer?" Rumble asked.
"Not weally," Cozy said. "I just wanted to have something in common with you and an activity we can do together."
"Oh is that all?" Rumble asked. "You don't need to learn stunt flying, there's other things we can try. A pony is never one thing, despite what Cutie Marks say."
"Huh?" Cozy asked. "Oh right, Apple Bloom once told me you never liked Cutie Marks, she said it was weally weird."
"I'm not getting into that right now," Rumble said, somewhat bitterly. "I'm just not into Cutie Marks, that's all. I mean, do you even know what yours means?"
Cozy looked to her flank, seeing the chess piece that was her Cutie Mark. "I might have an idea."
"Well it doesn't matter, we can find other things," Rumble said. "How do you feel about cooking?"
"That could be fun, what would we cook though?" Cozy asked.
"Uh, just about anything you want," Rumble said.
"Oh! Like cookies!" Cozy asked. "I would weally like some cookies!"
"Alright, cookies it is," Rumble said. He had to admit, seeing her geek out over cookies was very adorable. "We just gotta let Flitter know."
"Oh, before that, I wanna try the spin one more time," Cozy said, much to Rumble's worry.
"Are you sure you wanna do that?" Rumble asked. "You almost crashed."
"I think I got it," Cozy insisted, flying back into the sky. She focused back on the cloud, as per Rumble's prior suggestion. She revved up his wings and flew top speed toward the cloud, beginning her spinning.
She actually did well at first, getting a couple of slow but full spins, much to Rumble's relief. "That's great Cozy, now just...Cozy be careful!"
Cozy was spinning a lot now, but seemed unable to stop and began spinning toward the ground, heading straight for Lyra and Bon Bon, the two unaware for the moment, until they heard Cozy's screams of terror.
"Oh no! Our picnic! Not again!" Lyra shouted in worry.
Rumble quickly rushed in and grabbed Cozy Glow before she hit the ground, acting as a cushion as she landed hard on top of him. Cozy was dizzy of course, seeing stars and swirls before shaking it off. "That was a doozy." She looked down and saw that she landed on Rumble, the colt looking a bit out of it. "Oh my Gosh! Rumble! Are you alright!? You're not hurt are you!?"
"I'm fine," Rumble said, shaking off the dizziness. "I'm just glad you're ok."
"Thanks to you, my hero," Cozy said, smiling down at Rumble.
"Hey, that's what friends are for," Rumble said, trying to sit up. Though as he did, Cozy had caught him with a kiss, one that took Rumble by surprise. He was tempted to fight it off, but the kiss felt really nice, plus he is single, not like the kiss would hurt anypony, this time at least.
Cozy pulled away, smiling at the colt, "A little reward for you."
Rumble chuckled nervously, "Hehe, thanks."
"How despicable," they heard Bon Bon say. The two turned to face the mare, who had a disgusted look on her face. "Flaunting around your forbidden love, have you no shame?"
"I'm not flaunting anything!" Rumble argued. "All I did was save her from falling."
"Yeah...then you kissed her," Lyra said.
"Technically I kissed him," Cozy said. "I mean can you blame me? He's super cute."
"Yeah, he's cute, until he cheats," Lyra said. "Which you would know all about, you relationship-wrecker!"
"What did you call me!?" Cozy Glow shouted, looking ready to attack Lyra.
"Cozy Glow, no, it's not worth it!" Rumble urgently warned. Cozy Glow took a moment to calm herself, she knew that if she did anything, then Twilight would not hesitate to send her back to Tartarus. Oh how she hated Twilight right now too.
"Why don't you tell me why it matters to you if Rumble and Sweetie Belle are dating or not?" Cozy Glow asked.
"We just don't like ponies who are unfaithful to those they love," Bon Bon said.
"Yeah, I would never do anything like that to Bonnie," Lyra stated. "I love her more than anything in the world."
"Aw, you're so sweet Lyra," Bon Bon said, wrapping her marefriend in a deep, passionate kiss.
"Ugh, get a room you two," Cozy Glow sassed, much to the offense of the two mares.
"Fine, maybe we will, we're tired of having our picnics ruined by rotten little foals anyway," Bon Bon said, grabbing her food and packing up.
"Let's go have our picnic someplace quieter," Lyra said, walking off with her marefriend. "Maybe it won't get ruined a third time."
The two had left the foals to themselves, Cozy sticking her tongue out in defiance as they left.
"Stupid hags, who needs them?" Cozy said, then nuzzled against Rumble. "You're all I need my sweet Wumbly."
"That's really nice of you to say Cozy," Rumble said. "But it's stuff like that we need to get resolved. We don't want ponies hating us."
"Doesn't bother me," Cozy said. "Honestly why should we care what they think?"
"I just don't like ponies hating me for a mistake, and I also want you to have a much better life than you did before," Rumble said. "It'd be much easier if ponies weren't judging you for your past, you have a chance to make a fresh start, and I think you should take it."
"Why are you so worried about that?" Cozy asked. "If ponies don't like us for how we are then they're not worth the effort. Ponies should automatically love me, I'm cute and adorable!"
"Yes, you are cute and adorable, but no one is gonna care if you're not nice," Rumble said. "If you were a sweet little filly like I know you can be, then things would be so much better for you. Flitter and I are the only ones who believe in you right now, but with work I know everypony else will have faith."
"Seems like a lot of unnecessary work," Cozy said. "But if it makes you happy, I guess I'll twy."
"I'm happy to hear," Rumble said. "Let's go talk to Flitter, we can go back home and try cooking something tasty."
"Tastier than you?" Cozy said, gazing at Rumble with intense bedroom eyes.
Rumble chuckled nervously as he stepped back away from the filly, "Uh, yeah, tastier than me..."
Cozy smirked almost sinisterly, "Alrighty then, you lead the way Rumbly-Boo."
Rumble nervously turned away, Cozy might be adorable but she can also be a bit creepy. He led the girl to his foalsitter, who was at the moment reading a book. "Hey, Flitter?"
"What is it Rumble?" Flitter asked, looking up, then noticed something a bit worrying. "Rumble, you have a cut!"
"I do, where?" Rumble asked, looking around.
Flitter grabbed his hoof, showing where the cut was, "Right here, looks like you got a scratch."
"Wow, I didn't even notice that," Rumble said. "Must have happened when I caught Cozy just before she crashed into the ground."
"Crash?" Flitter asked. "Oh, you mean when she was trying that spin thing?"
"Oh you saw?" Rumble asked.
"Yeah I saw you trying to coach her, it was cute," Flitter said. "Didn't realize it would get so rough though."
"Well Cozy was very determined," Rumble said. "Maybe I wasn't the right pony to teach her, I could barely do it myself nowadays."
"You? But you've always been a talented flyer for your age," Flitter said. "You're miles ahead of other foals."
"Normally I can do it, I just feel so...out of it lately," Rumble said. "It's been like that all week."
"It's because of Sweetie Belle right?" Flitter asked, getting a nod from Rumble. "Right, you mentioned this to us."
"I know you tried to help but nothing you said really sunk in," Rumble said.
"Well I'm not a professional flyer, so that might be why," Flitter said. "Little surprised CC couldn't help, she knows a lot more about flying."
"She's never had to deal with a bad break-up," Rumble said. "I need a pony who's experienced the feelings I have. Even Thunderlane's struggling so I can't ask him either."
"Thunderlane's had other break-ups though," Flitter said. "He'll know how to bounce back faster, once he does he'll probably be of better help. Until then maybe you should take a break from flying, it'll help clear your mind."
"Yeah, I plan to, in fact that's why I came here, I wanted to take Cozy back home and cook something with her," Rumble said.
"Ooh! That sounds great! That's a good way to take your mind off your problems," Flitter said. "Plus Cozy will get to try one of your tasty snacks!"
"Has he cooked for you before?" Cozy asked.
"You bet he has," Flitter said. "He's such a talented little chef."
"It's nothing really," Rumble bashfully said. "I just think it's fun to cook."
"Maybe it can be your Cutie Mark," Cozy Glow said. "But you said you don't like Cutie Marks so I guess it won't matter."
"I have nothing against them, I just don't want to be known as one thing," Rumble said. "Then again most Cutie Marks I've seen don't really tell me much about the pony anyway, I mean your Cutie Mark is a chess piece, what does that even mean?"
Cozy looked to her mark, "It means I'm calculating, clever and I know how to plan my moves."
"Mine just means I'm good with flying, but even then it's a little vague," Flitter said. "I do hope you get over this mindset Rumble, Cutie Marks don't define a pony, their actions do. Pinkie Pie's Cutie Mark is about throwing parties, but that doesn't stop her from wanting to make treats, she loves working in a bakery as much as she loves parties, I mean you think she's good at baking don't you?"
"Of course, I love her snacks," Rumble said.
"So she's talented with at least two hobbies, just like you can be," Flitter said. "You can be both a talented cook and a talented flyer."
"Maybe you can combine the two!" Cozy suggested.
"Combine flying with cooking?" Rumble asked. "How would that work?"
"You two can figure something out," Flitter said. "You're both very intelligent foals."
"Yeah, I am pretty smart and cunning," Cozy boasted, much to the mild concern of Rumble and Flitter.
Later on at Flitter's house, Rumble was in the kitchen with Cozy Glow, the colt opting to work on a type of Vegetable Stew. Equipped with his trusty chef hat, Rumble went right to work on his stew.
"So why are we making something with Vegetables in it?" Cozy asked, a chef had of her own, and somewhat grossed out. "I thought we were gonna make a cake)
"Because it's healthy," Rumble explained. "It's a recipe my brother got from Wonderbolts Practice, the nutrients help the wings of a Pegasus and keeps our minds focused so we can fly at our best. Besides I rarely eat sweets, I only eat Pinkie Pie's because she makes me treats that are low sugar."
"Didn't Flitter tell you to take a break from flying though?" Cozy asked. "Why make something for flying?"
"Well I just like the taste, plus maybe it can help put my mind at ease," Rumble said. "Look if you try this then next time we'll make your choice of a cake, sweets and all."
"Oh fine," Cozy said, grabbing the recipe book. "So we got the carrots, the peas and potatoes, next we need the soy sauce."
"That's important, it adds an extra taste to it," Rumble said, it's in that cabinet, pass it over to me please.
Cozy did as instructed, grabbing the sauce from the cabinet, examining it a moment, "Is this it?
"Yeah, hoof it over," Rumble said, grabbing the sauce from the filly and adding a few drops. "Sweet, now to stir it a little."
Rumble grabbed the big wooden spoon and began stirring the pot, slowly and precisely, making sure to really mesh the taste together.
"The key is to take it slow," Rumble said. "Normally I'm all about high speeds, but sometimes you gotta dial back. Certain things require extra care."
Cozy flashed a cheeky grin to Rumble, "Something tells me you're an expert at precise care."
"I won't argue that," Rumble said, albiet with a minor blush. "Love requires tenderness after all, only occasionally does speed come into play...but that's an explaination for another time."
Cozy had an idea what Rumble meant, choosing this moment to nuzzle against the colt, "I may be small, cute and adorable, but I know more about certain things than you might realize."
Rumble started feeling strange again, though he had to admit, compared to before, he wasn't too bothered this time. He remembers when Cozy's affection would be a bit werid and uncomfortable, even after breaking up with Sweetie Belle. Deep down he harbored some dislike for the cutsey filly due to her involvement in his break up with Sweetie Belle.
Yet somehow he can't really resist her cuteness, she really is an adorable filly whether he wants to admit it or not, and while it also pains him to admit it, her looks do rival Sweetie Belle's. It might be the freckles, they do look cute on mares, Applejack being a prime example.
Rumble needed to shift the conversation, so he turned back to his stew, grabbing some salt and pepper to add in for extra taste. "Alright, the meal's just about ready, let's grab some bowls."
"On it," Cozy Glow said, grabbing some nearby bowls. She placed them by Rumble, the colt pouring the stew.
"There, enough for both of us, plus if my brother or foalsitters want any," Rumble said. "I hope you like it."
"Yeah, I hope so too," Cozy said, still unsure about it.
"You'll like it, I promise," Rumble said.
Cozy, despite her uncertainty, did trust Rumble. She took a sip of the stew, lighting up right afterwards. "Gee wilikers! That's really tasty!"
"Ha, told you it's good," Rumble said, taking a sip of his own. "Good for energy and high protein."
"And tasty!" Cozy said, eating more of her stew. "Wow, you really are a great chef Rumble. Whether you get your Cutie Mark in it or not, there's no denying your talent."
"Aw, thanks Cozy, I really appreciate that," Rumble said.
The two finished up the stew, Cozy rubbing her belly in satisfaction, "So amazing, this was much better than I thought...even if I would have preferred cake."
"Next time, any cake you want we'll make," Rumble said. "We'll bake a cake as sweet as you are, if that's even possible."
Cozy Glow blushed quite a bit after hearing that, Rumble's compliment seemed so random yet she liked it quite a lot. "That was really nice of you to say Rumble." Somehow instead of feeling all good inside, Cozy started to feel awkward. "Huh, weird, suddenly I don't feel like accepting compliments."
"Oh? Why's that?" Rumble asked. He had a feeling but he needed to hear it from Cozy.
"Well, I know I haven't been the nicest filly, and I know I caused trouble for you," Cozy said. She looked in Rumble's direction, focusing her glance on his charming face. "I almost don't feel like I deserve it."
"Aw, sorry to hear that," Rumble said. Deep down he was partially happy, not because she was sad but because she was becoming self aware of her negative actions. "Well you're my friend, and friends forgive each other. So Cozy Glow, I forgive your mistakes, I just hope you grow from the experience."
"Wow really?" Cozy said. "Golly Rumble, you're really kind, I...I'm so glad I met you." Cozy gently brushed her mane back, "And thank you, for giving me a chance to be your friend. I promise to always be there for you."
"Same," Rumble said, inching over to gently stroke her face. "And if you ever need me, I'll be there. If you ever need help, I'll come to rescue you. Please, don't feel like you're alone, and don't feel ashamed to ask for help. Always comes to me when something's bothering you, I won't ever judge you in your weakness."
Cozy started gently stroking Rumble's face, "Rumble...I..." Cozy gulped, looking Rumble in his eyes. "I think...I think I'm in love with you."
Rumble blushed upon hearing that, though he knew her feelings, she's never hid them before. "I kind of figured that, you've mentioned it before."
"But I mean it, I think I'm actually in love with you," Cozy Glow said. "I know it's wrong to say, maybe it's not something you want to hear after breaking up with Sweetie Belle, especially since my crush is what caused it, but it's my honest emotions!"
Rumble wasn't sure how to respond, every time he wanted to say something, he blanked out. He really couldn't think of anything to say after hearing Cozy's apparent love confession. The thing is, she seems really confused right now, what she thinks is love might just be a big crush. Of course he knows a crush can turn into love like with Sweetie Belle. Cozy deserves the chance to find out if this really is a crush or true love, and while part of him is against this, he needs to find out for himself as well what his feelings are.
"Cozy Glow," Rumble began. "Thanks for being honest with me. I know how you're feeling, because I've been there too. You think you're in love, and it's frustrating, because you don't know what you're really feeling." Rumble stroked her mane, "I'll help you through this, and I'll help you find out. Like I said, I'm your friend, I'll get you through this."
"Thank you Rumble, I really appreciate that," Cozy said, locking eye contact with the Pegasus colt before her.
The two just stared a moment, looking into each other's eyes, then slowly leaned in, locking themselves into a kiss. They were done talking for the moment, they just needed to explore their emotions.
Whether or not Rumble returned Cozy's feelings even he didn't know, because he didn't know if her feelings were genuine or just a silly crush, but at the very least, it wouldn't hurt to try.
Unfortunately for them, they didn't have that much time to explore their emotions, Flitter had to take Cozy Glow home, though of course the two made plans to see each other again.
"Tomorrow I'll come and see you Cozy, we'll do something else together," Rumble said.
"I look forward to that," Cozy replied, bashfully looking down. "I hope we can have so more fun together."
"We will, we'll have plenty," Rumble assured.
Flitter seemed satisfied by what she was hearing right now, seems like the two had bonded again. This makes for a nice clean slate, no more secrets between the two, now it's just pure friendship, or the start of one.
Of course Flitter doesn't know what just transpired between the two foals.
"See you tomorrow Rumble," Flitter said, making her way out alongside the once troublesome filly.
Rumble waved bye and returned to his couch, relaxing on it for a moment, while thinking over what just happened between himself and Cozy Glow. He feels some twinge of regret for kissing her, especially since one that's the same filly that he essentially cheated on Sweetie Belle with, and two he didn't even know if he loved her back, and perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to kiss a filly who herself is undecided, he may have made up her mind while he was still undecided. It would be terrible to lead her on like that.
As he spent a few minutes thinking this over, he heard a knock on his door. Curious he got up, expecting to probably see his brother, or maybe a new date his brother has that came over too early. Wouldn't be the first time, it's how he met Blossomforth, granted he hasn't seen her much since that break-up, he thought she was really nice and she seemed to like Rumble.
As he opened, he instead saw his best friend Dinky. "Sup Rumble?"
"Dinky? What are you doing here?" Rumble asked.
"Hey is that any way to greet your bestie?" Dinky joked, then made her way inside. "I heard Cozy Glow was here, kind of wanted to see her, and make sure she's not trying anything funny."
"You just missed her," Rumble said. "Flitter took Cozy Glow home just a few minutes ago."
"Oh, dang," Dinky said, feeling a bit let down. "So what happened while she was here?"
"Nothing, we just cooked, that's all," Rumble said. Unfortunately he was betrayed by his own face as it slightly turned pink.
"Just cooked huh?" Dinky asked. "Yeah, you were cooking something alright, something spicy." Dinky leaned in close, getting her muzzle against Rumble's. "Spill it, what happened between you two?"
"Nothing major Dinky," Rumble tried insisting. "Just some...cooking."
"Rumble, I'm your best friend, I know you well enough to know when you're hiding something," Dinky said. "You know you can tell me, I'm not gonna be mad or anything."
She was right, Rumble knew he couldn't hide this from Dinky. Actually maybe it would be better if he told her, he could use her opinion right now.
"Alright, you got me," Rumble said. "We may have...started kissing after our meal."
"Oh, so she was your dessert was she?" Dinky teased.
"That was so lame Dinky," Rumble said.
Dinky shrugged it off, "Eh, I tried. But still, you actually kissed Cozy Glow? That's a bit surprising, I thought you were still ticked off at her for basically being the reason you and Sweetie Belle aren't a thing anymore."
"I realize that, which makes this even more awkward for me," Rumble said. "Honestly, I liked the feeling I got from kissing her, plus she's really cute. But if I were to date her, it would make my break-up with Sweetie Belle look worse, it would seem like I dumped her for another girl."
"Isn't the reason you broke up with Sweetie Belle to date other girls and make sure you're in love with her?" Dinky asked.
"Yeah, but to date the girl responsible for so much drama? That sounds like a recipe for disaster," Rumble said. "I mean if it were another girl like Scootaloo, that's a bit different."
"Not that much," Dinky said. "Then it looks like you dumped your marefriend for her bestie."
Rumble groaned in annoyance, glaring slightly at his friend, "Who's side are you on?"
"Well yours, I'm just laying down all the possibilities for you, and the outcomes," Dinky said. "Look, fact is no matter who you date after this, ponies are gonna judge. Now I don't really suggest dating Cozy Glow just yet, that might be a bit too soon, and Sweetie Belle's friends might be too risky as well, unless she's already talked to them and they're cool with it."
"That might be akward to explain to Cozy Glow then, considering I just made out with her, somewhat," Rumble said.
"Hey I'm just giving you my suggestion, if you want to date her right now anyway then be my guest," Dinky said. "Just be ready for the crap ponies are gonna give you about that."
Rumble rubbed his head sheepishly, "I guess you have a point, Lyra and Bon Bon were judging me quite a bit when they saw us kissing at the park."
"Wait, you kissed her twice?" Dinky asked.
"Well the first time she kissed me and I just let her," Rumble said. "The second time was a bit more mutual."
"Ooh, you must have it bad for her then," Dinky said. "That or your just a confused little pony. Don't worry, your big sis Dinky will be there to help you."
Rumble raised his eyebrow at his friend, "Can you not call yourself 'big sis' after what's been going on between us the last week?"
"Oh like you never had that type of fantasy with Flitter or Cloudchaser," Dinky joked, much to Rumble's annoyance. "Seriously though, I got your back, I'll get you your girl, whoever that may be." Dinky stroked Rumble's face gently, "As long as I get to have some fun with you in the meantime."
"If you don't somehow fall in love with me along the way," Rumble said.
"I'm not, truth be told I'm not all that into colts," Dinky admitted, much to Rumble's surprise.
"Wait, really!?" Rumble asked. "You've never told me this!"
"You never asked," Dinky replied. "Plus I wasn't sure myself until I really started hanging out with the other Crusaders, I kind of realized that fillies are way cuter than colts, might get a filly for myself one day."
"If you prefer fillies to colts, then why are you suddenly attracted to me?" Rumble asked, then narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Wait, you think I look like a filly too, don't you!"
"Oh no, it's not that, honest," Dinky said, even though his looks did play a factor but she won't tell him that. "My attraction to you is more emotional, plus I did want to know what a colt would be like and since I already like you a lot, I figured what's the harm in making out once in a while. Though if I did have to pick a colt to be with, it would definitely be you. So take pride in the fact that you're the only colt I would have an interest being with."
"Fine, I'll take that as a win," Rumble said.
"So now that I got that out in the open, next time you bring a girl over, see if she's willing to share," Dinky said, getting an annoyed reaction from Rumble.
"Wow, there's no low you won't sink to," Rumble said.
"Heh, had to put it out there," Dinky said, then started making her way out the house. "I'll leave you alone for now, I'd offer to make out with you but you look like you already have a lot on your mind, so I'll leave you be."
"That's...nice of you?" Rumble said, not sure how to respond to that.
"Just think about what I said, remember there's no rush," Dinky said. "You gotta tread carefully on this Rumble, one wrong move and it'll be hard to get a girl. But if worse comes to worse, I'll just marry you myself."
"Don't say something like that so casually, marriage isn't some game!" Rumble said. "Besides you were just talking about how you prefer fillies to colts!"
"Yes, but you're my best friend, and I prefer your happiness overall," Dinky said, to Rumble's mild surprise. "It's no secret that I love you Rumble, not in love with you but I still love you enough to do that for you, I love you enough to never let you be alone."
"Wow, that's...really nice of you Dinky," Rumble said. "Kind of at a loss for words."
"Don't think much of it, I owe you my happiness after all," Dinky said. "I'll see you around Rumble."
Dinky had left Rumble to himself, the colt feeling very flattered by his best friend's words of kindness. Of course he also had to consider what she had to say regarding his current situation. How will he figure out who he truly loves? He needs some assistance, big time.
Back in the future timeline, Twilight Sparkle had tracked down a group of Changelings, and it did not end well for them. Twilight was seen standing over several of them, all unconscious and brutally beaten down. The Princess was not messing around. She held one Changeling in the air, looking him dead in the eyes.
"Where's Tender Taps!?" Twilight shouted.
"Uh...I don't really know!" The Changeling frantically answered. "We weren't in change of that battalion!"
"Alright another question, who is your general!?" Twilight asked. "Or better yet, where is your base!?"
"Our only leader is the Queen, but I can't tell you where her base is, even I don't know!" The Changeling said.
"You don't even know where your own base is!?" Twilight asked. "Explain the logic behind that!"
"Hey wherever we needed to go, he would just send us!" The Changeling said.
"'He' who!?" Twilight asked, tightening her magical grip.
"Agh...Lord Grogar! The one who assembled us!" The Changeling said.
"Grogar? So, another so-called 'myth' has reared their heads in Equestria," Twilight said.
"Yeah, he showed up one day to Queen Chrysalis, then used his magic to assemble all of her allies," The Changeling said. "He's very powerful, strong enough to bring back the dead!"
"I was wondering how Storm King returned, so this Grogar is just as strong as the legend says," Twilight stated. "Alright, time to pay him a little visit then, I'll just ask Discord to help me track his energy."
"It's pointless though, even if you do find Queen Chrysalis, you're not likely to defeat her," The Changeling said. "She's much stronger than before, plus she has allies like King Sombra and The Dazzlings as well."
"You'll be smart not to underestimate me, especially when it comes to my friends!" Twilight shouted, tossing the Changeling into the air and then blasting him down with a magical zap. She turned to the direction of Canterlot, flying over to het assistance, thinking of her precious colt, the one she had come to love, despite it's awkward start.
She remembers her 'date' with Tender Taps, not too long after finding out she was destined to rule over Equestria. They had gone to a small restaurant in Ponyville, sitting in one of the outdoor tables.
"Are you feeling better Twilight?" Tender Taps asked, still concerned about her mentality towards being next in line to rule.
"Somewhat, still how could Celestia and Luna just shove this on me?" Twilight said, looking a bit irritable. "I'm not ready to rule over a country, I'm still learning how to be a Princess."
"You're doing a great job so far," Tender Taps said. "Besides part of being Equestria's ruler is just protecting it and ensuring Harmony. You already do that, they're just making it official. Nothing else is really changing."
"My friends keep saying that, but there are gonna be changes," Twilight said. "I won't be able to run my school, I might have to move back to Canterlot, I'll have to do a ton of paperwork..."
"Don't you already do paperwork at your school?" Tender Taps asked. "Besides you like paperwork, you love being organized."
"Yeah, you're right," Twilight said. "Ugh, this is already messing with my head, I'm not thinking straight."
"Plus you're not gonna be alone, you have me, and your friends and family," Tender Taps said. "But until then try not to worry, just enjoy the time you have now and worry about all that other stuff when the time comes."
"Sorry, but not worrying about things isn't my strong suit," Twilight said. "It's hard to focus on the present when there's so much to worry about in the future."
"That's why you have to enjoy your life now," Tender Taps said. "Plus didn't Pinkie Pie say you tried time traveling once, trying to convince yourself not to worry and you ended up worrying over nothing? I mean if that Future Twilight came back, what do you think she would have to say this time?"
"Uh...I'm not even sure, honestly I wish I just listened the first time," Twilight said.
"Unless there's an apocalypse in the future, which I doubt, then I really think you would have nothing to worry about," Tender Taps said.
"True..." Twilight said, then remembered something. "You know it's funny, it was around that time I saw the Cerberus leave it's post, looking back what I should have done was check to make sure that everything in Tartarus was completely safe."
"Eh, minor oversight, and you still saved Equestria, like a real Princess," Tender Taps said.
"You're such a charmer Tappy," Twilight said, then leaned in to kiss his forehead. "Thank you."
Tender Taps blushed upon receiving the affection, "It's no trouble Twilight, none at all."
The food had finally arrived, the two helping themselves to a nice treat, though if one were to ask Tender Taps, the nicest treat here was his time spent with Twilight.
After the meal, Twilight walked Tender Taps back home, parting ways at his porch.
"I had a great time today Twilight, I really appreciate your company," Tender Taps said.
"Same here my little Tappy," Twilight said. "I hope I can figure out this ruling over Equestria thing."
"Just have faith in yourself," Tender Taps said, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. "I have faith in you."
Now it was Twilight's turn to blush. "I'm happy to hear." Tender Taps made his way inside as Twilight turned around, placing her hoof on the cheek Tender Taps had kissed, blushing to herself.
Back in the future, Twilight had her hoof on the same cheek, reminiscing about that day.
"Tender Taps was so kind to me, he was immediately there for me when I needed it," Twilight said to herself. "That's when I knew how much I could depend on him, how much I really meant to him. That day..." Twilight felt the faintest blush reach her cheeks. "Is the day I began to truly fall in love with him. My dear Tappy, when this is over, I promise we'll have our Happily Ever After together."
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
In the future, starring off the edge of a cliff was the cutesy filly turned young teen, Cozy Glow. Despite her age, she hadn't changed much, in looks and personality, aside from a few edges being ironed out.
She took in the sights, the damage caused by the villain invasion, be it the Changelings under Chrysalis's command, the soldiers serving the Storm King, or even ponies mind controlled by either King Sombra or The Dazzlings.
Even Tirek has left his mark, the monster having more than enough magic to do his bidding. It was quite a sight to behold, yet she felt very little sympathy for what has happened, in a way, she's almost happy that Equestria is turning into ruins. Just to spite the Elements of Harmony.
The week after Rumble and Sweetie Belle's break-up was a week well etched into Cozy's mind, as it was a big week for her as well. She had to live with Flitter, the mare she met at Mount Aris. Cozy knew that Flitter wanted to change and reform her, but Cozy didn't think she needed to reform anything, far as she was concerned, she was fine just the way she was. Though she'll definitely take bunking with Flitter to being stuck in Tartarus.
She did have to admit, Flitter wasn't too bad to be around, the mare didn't give her many restrictions after all, she was free to do whatever she wanted, as long as it wasn't what they deemed to be evil, and she had to always stay in Flitter's company, especially when they were out of the house.
If she tried sneaking off, there was always somepony there to catch her, and it wouldn't always turn out well for Cozy, especially with ponies who did not trust her at all.
She remembers one moment in particular, it was right after she had ran into Rumble. How she loved that colt, probably the only decent thing about living in Ponyvile again, aside from Flitter, whom Cozy Glow grew quite fond of. She was just catching up with Rumble, trying to set up a date, when she got busted by Rainbow Dash. The annoying mare flew off with Cozy, taking her to a isolated part of town where she dropped Cozy hard on the ground.
"Ow, that hurt!" Cozy complained.
"Deal with it, that's what you get for breaking the rules!" Rainbow Dash said. "You know you can't be by yourself away from Flitter."
"Oh my Gosh, all I did was see my friend, that's all!" Cozy sassed.
"Ugh, you're so impossible sometimes," Rainbow Dash said. "This isn't the first time I caught you breaking this rule, if you continue to do this, guess where you're going back to."
"Yes, I know, Tartarus," Cozy said. "Because I know how much you all fear me."
"Hey, if anyone should be fearful, it's you," Rainbow Dash warned. "Remember we're the ones deciding your future, if you're smart you'll stay in line!"
"If you're smart, you won't be such a lame brain Friendship preacher," Cozy said. "I mean all you do is talk about Friendship, and Loyalty, and Wonderbolts, acting like you're so perfect. Well you're not, all you are is a fraud. You've taught me nothing about Friendship and I'm honestly surprised their are ponies stupid enough to blindly follow your every word, like that flightless loser Scootaloo."
"Hey! That 'loser' was one of the first ponies to make friends with you, something you obviously didn't deserve!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Golly Professor, I thought all creatures deserved Friendship, isn't that the garbage you've been spewing at us for months?" Cozy sassed. "All this does is prove my point that your Friendship preaching is pointless if you just limit it to who want to have it, honestly I'd question why Celestia would leave ponies like you in charge of Equestria but she isn't exactly the smartest ruler considering she has to rely on a bunch of random ponies to do her job for her!"
"Hey you're crossing the line there Cozy Glow," Rainbow Dash warned.
"I'm just being honest, just like your buddy Applejack would say," Cozy taunted. "Someone's gotta point out Celestia's flaws, that incompitent mare couldn't even keep her sister under control, yet she expects a bunch of blind followers to constantly do her bidding, and Twilight Sparkle's the only one dumb enough to fall for what she says!"
"You're seriously starting to tick me off!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Oh why? Because I'm finally waking you up to just how naïve you and your simpleton friends truly are!?" Cozy Glow asked, getting in Rainbow Dash's face. "Because it honestly amazes me how ponies left in charge of our future can be as incompetent as you bunch of narrow minded fools!"
"Cut it out, now," Rainbow Dash warned.
"Not until I get you to open your eyes to how blindly foolish you, your friends and your dummy Princesses truly are!" Cozy shouted. "But given just how narrow minded you are, that's not likely while stupid foals like your flightless friend-"
Rainbow Dash had enough, "I told you..." In one swift motion she back hoofed Cozy across her face, "To cut it out!" Cozy Glow hit the ground hard, rubbing her now aching face, looking up at Rainbow Dash with hatred and disdain. Rainbow Dash did feel some regret having done that, despite how bratty Cozy was being, but she couldn't show any form of remorse just yet. "Just...don't break the rules again. Now let's go, I'm taking you back to Flitter."
Cozy felt furious, that this foolish pony would dare to strike her cute and adorable face, and much as she wanted to chew Rainbow Dash out, she knew that if Rainbow Dash were to get angry again, she might do something worse. Cozy also felt a slight hint of fear, knowing that Rainbow Dash could really hurt her if she really wanted to. Cozy also knew her current strength would mean nothing against Rainbow Dash, so she begrudgingly. "Alright fine."
Cozy reluctantly followed Rainbow Dash, still feeling the sting of that whack to the face she got. She really hated Rainbow Dash and all the Elements of Harmony.
Rainbow Dash had spotted Flitter frantically searching around the marketplace, clearly looking for something, or somepony. "Yo Flitter!" Flitter turned her attention to Rainbow Dash, who gestured to Cozy Glow. "Looking for somepony?"
"Cozy Glow!" Flitter gleefully stated, flying over to pick the filly up in a relieved hug. "I'm so glad you're alright."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Cozy said, squirming out of Flitter's grasp. "I just needed a break, I was so bored."
"Bored or not, you can't just walk off on your own, remember what Princess Twilight said, you have to stay under my close watch," Flitter said.
"This is like the third time this week you lost track of her Flitter, if this happens again you're gonna have to say 'good-bye' to Cozy Glow," Rainbow Dash said. "We can't let somepony like her wander around unsupervised, it's not safe."
"Oh, and letting Discord roam free is?" Cozy Glow said. "Suppose he betrays you again?"
"Watch yourself..." Rainbow Dash warned, then turned back to Flitter. "Don't lose track of her again."
"I won't, I'll watch over her like a hawk," Flitter promised.
"Good to know," Rainbow Dash said, then turned back to Cozy Glow. "Don't let me catch you by yourself again." With that Rainbow Dash flew off, leaving Flitter and Cozy Glow to themselves.
"Cozy Glow..." Flitter began, Cozy dreading the oncoming lecture. "You can't just go off by yourself, you know you're not that welcome in Ponyville."
"I just wanted to see Rumble, not like I went out and plotted anypony's downfall," Cozy Glow explained.
"If you want to see Rumble that's fine, but you can't go by yourself," Flitter said. "Besides you saw him this morning."
"Well I wanted to see him again, I like spending time with Rumble, he's cute," Cozy said. "Plus he's the only thing I can stand about Ponyville."
"I know you have a crush on him, and I guess it makes sense going after him now that he's single..." Flitter thought a moment. "Though given the circumstances of how that happened, maybe going after Rumble isn't the smartest idea."
"Hey I couldn't care less who else I hurt, I just want Rumble all to myself," Cozy Glow said.
"Cozy Glow, you need to get rid of that attitude," Flitter said, rubbing her mane. "It doesn't suit you well." Cozy pushed Flitter's hoof away, not wanting her mane messed with. Flitter took a huge breath, trying to figure out what she should do. She doesn't want Cozy Glow going back to Tartarus, bad as she was, and she was really bad considering she teamed with major villains, she's still a child, she needs guidance. If Starlight can reform then Cozy Glow should be a simpler task compared to that. "Let's go home."
"...When can I see Rumble again?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Soon, but you might need to give him some time Cozy," Flitter said. "Rumble's been having a really bad week, it might be better if you just waited...or if he came to you instead of you going to him."
Cozy sighed in annoyance, "How long is that gonna take?"
"Give him time Cozy Glow, otherwise you'll just drive him away," Flitter said. "If you really want this to work, you have to be considerate of his feelings."
Cozy groaned in annoyance, "Oh fine...I hope this won't take too long."
"Be patient Cozy Glow, if Rumble sees you're capable of staying back and letting him figure things out, he'll be more appreciative of you and will like you more," Flitter said.
Cozy was still a smidge annoyed but she did know how close Flitter and Rumble were, so chances are this mare might know what she's talking about. "Alright, you know Rumble better than I do, so I'll take your word for it."
Fortunately for the filly, Flitter's words proved true, for the following day Rumble did indeed approach her, asking her out on a date, at least that's how Cozy chose to perceive it. They had gone to the park where they enjoyed themselves for a bit, Rumble teaching Cozy Glow some flight tricks. She didn't do too well and it did frustrate her but she at the very least enjoyed spending time with Rumble.
Of course there was that one thing wrong with the date, or rather two things, those being Lyra and Bon Bon, the two mares being quick to judge the two foals. Cozy really hated Ponyville sometimes, why the Elements spend so much time protecting such terrible ponies is something she could not comprehend. Once again Cozy questions the judgement of Twilight Sparkle and her friends.
She didn't have to put up with them long, Rumble invited her back to his house where they had a nice cooking session together. That of course wasn't the highlight of her day though, the real magical moment came when she shared a nice kiss with the colt she grew to love.
Cozy was on Cloud Nine as she walked home with Flitter, she had a look of bliss that would not leave her blushing face.
"You're in a good mood," Flitter commented. "Did you really have that much fun with Rumble?"
"You bet I did, I can't wait to see him again tomorrow," Cozy said.
"Well I'm happy to hear that," Flitter said. "I'm glad that Rumble's taking a liking to you, again at least."
"Yeah, I can't believe you were actually right about waiting for Rumble to come to me, it really worked like a charm," Cozy said.
"Of course it did, I know my little Rumble," Flitter said.
"So...do you think he might actually, you know...start to like me?" Cozy asked. "Because I really, REALLY like Rumble."
"Yeah I figured that, back when we were first traveling," Flitter said. "It's gonna take time, and truthfully I can't see it happening, deep down he still cares a great deal about Sweetie Belle. He would have to get over his feelings for Sweetie Belle, and even then it might be hard considering the reason they broke up is because he kissed you. So think about it, Rumble kisses another filly, then breaks up with his marefriend to be with that filly, how do you think that makes him look?"
"Oh I see, worried about being judged?" Cozy asked. "Because that's all ponies do, they judge?"
"Cozy Glow, until you fully understand why this is such a problem for Rumble, I can't see you getting that far in your goal to date him," Flitter said.
Cozy groaned in annoyance, "Come on, love shouldn't be this complicated. You like a pony, you make that pony yours, to heck with what anypony thinks."
"You're still too young to fully get a grasp of this topic, but that's why I'm here," Flitter said. "Once I turn you into a model pony, then I guess it would be easier for you and Rumble to get together."
"Good, so you're on my side then," Cozy Glow said.
"Not exactly," Flitter responded. "I still find it weird for you to date Rumble considering everything that's happened, but if you and Rumble truly can find happiness together, then I'll support that 100 percent."
"Well it's a good thing you're on board with that," Cozy Glow said. "Though I would have made Rumble my coltfriend regardless, I don't care about anypony's approval."
"I kind of admire that determination," Flitter said. "Just make sure you don't go overboard with your goals."
"No promises," Cozy said, though one glare from Flitter caused her to rethink that statement. "I mean...I'll try weally hard not too."
"For the record, your cuteness doesn't work on me," Flitter said.
Cozy Glow pouted in annoyance, wondering how this mare could be possibly immune to her cuteness. "Well it works on Rumble at least."
"Yes, it clearly does," Flitter said. "Let's get you home, I hope Rumble didn't spoil your appetite too much, I have a nice dinner planned."
"Well, I can always make room for your cooking Flitter," Cozy Glow said.
"I'm happy to hear," Flitter said, walking home with the filly.
Things seemed so great at the time for Cozy Glow, not only did she start a special bond with Rumble with the potential of romance, she had to admit she liked living with Flitter. The mare has been nothing but nice to her, Cozy warmed up to her pretty quickly.
Too bad things couldn't last. Cozy in the future just sighed in disappointment, trotting off to another location, hoping to find her other real friend, that being Sonata Dusk.
Back at Sweet Apple Acres, Rumble had snuck into the Apple Family house, hoping to find something to eat. The place had been deserted, no one was home at all. He checked through the fridge, hoping to find something tasty.
He could go Apple picking outside, but he wasn't too comfortable looking for food out in the open, plus he really couldn't tell which apples were ripe. He eventually found some Apple Fritters along with a jug of Apple Juice. He hoped the Apples wouldn't mind if Rumble helped himself to some food, he would pay them back if he had to.
"Where could they be though?" Rumble wondered as he grabbed the food. "I hope they're alright." He walked to the living room, passing by several photos of the Apple Family. There was Applejack, a great mare in his eyes and a pony he really respected. Then there was Apple Bloom, a filly who was once his friend, and his attempt of rekindling had some unforeseen affects. Then came a picture of Babs Seed, Apple Bloom's city cousin. Rumble had some mixed feelings about her, knowing her past as a bully, for reasons he personally did not like.
He also caught a glimpse of the parents of the household, Bright Macintosh and Pear Butter, or Buttercup as the Apples called her. "The parents of the Apple Siblings...wish I could have had the honor of meeting them. Their father looked strong but so down to Equestria, and their mother's really pretty. I can see where Applejack and Apple Bloom get their looks from."
He also noticed Granny Smith's photos, and other relatives, including Braeburn, Apple Rose, and a whole bunch of other Apples that he can't even name.
He also took notice of Big Macintosh's photo, another Apple he had a lot of respect for. He credits Big Macintosh for helping him out with his filly problems, sort of at least.
It was the following morning in Ponyville, Rumble was at the park, sitting on a bench as he gulped down some water. He had tried some more stunts, and while he had some progress, still couldn't get the results he wanted.
"So this is how it ends for me, losing my edge because I couldn't control my urges," Rumble muttered to himself. "How did I go from only having eyes for Sweetie Belle to suddenly noticing any filly with a cute face?"
As he sat there lamenting to himself, once again questioning his decision to break off his relationship with Sweetie Belle, he heard a very familiar voice call out to him.
"You look like you're having a rough day there." Rumble turned his attention to where the voice was coming from, the oldest of the Apple Siblings, Big Macintosh. "Everything alright with you?"
Rumble was a bit surprised to see Big Macintosh here, figuring he'd be out Apple bucking or something, he rarely sees Big Mac not working on something. "Uh...I'm fine, it's nothing really."
"The tone in your voice says otherwise, not to mention the hesitation at the beginning," Big Macintosh said. "Plus you got that look on your face that says you're not as fine as you say you are, it's almost the same as the look Apple Bloom has on her face...better yet it even reminds me of Applejack when she was younger."
This seemed so unusual to Rumble, he's never seen Big Macintosh this talkative, not many have heard him speak in a drawn out conversation. "Uh...The thing is...it's just complicated."
"If you have something in your mind, I'm willing to give it a listen," Big Macintosh said. "I know we don't talk much but you are friends with Apple Bloom, any friend of hers is sort of like family."
"That's the thing, I don't think she considers me much of a friend anymore," Rumble said. "I messed up, big time, but you've likely heard about me and Sweetie Belle."
"Unfortunately it seems like everypony in town does," Big Macintosh said. "Hard to keep some things secret, especially when this involves that Cozy Glow filly."
"I'm just confused right now, I thought I was in love with Sweetie Belle, she was all I could think about, every other filly I barely even noticed, I just had eyes for her," Rumble said. "Then Cozy Glow comes along and all of a sudden things just change. She became the first filly outside of Sweetie Belle I actually cast eyes on, and I spend a lot of time with other fillies. Everything was going so well and then things turned upside down, I don't know what to do."
"Well, first thing's first," Big Mac began. "No one pony is only attracted to one pony, it may seem that way at first, you're in a phase where the whole world shuts out around you, all you can see is the pony you fell in love with, and I'd actually wager to say that you believed you really loved Sweetie Belle."
"I do, or I did, but now..." Rumble rubbed his head in confusion. "I want to...but I can't even..."
"Love is a confusing topic, it's hard to tell at times," Big Mac said. "But even if you're in love, even if you find the one you're in love with cute, you can and will find somepony else attractive, that's when you're truly tested. Cozy Glow somehow seemed alluring to you, she was a new filly you met, and the more you got to know her, the more you became enamored with her."
"I did like her but she also annoyed me a lot, how could I have had feelings for her and not another filly I already knew?" Rumble asked.
"Because you already know the fillies makes it easier, you established a friendship with them," Bi Macintosh said. "Tell me this though, did you really not find the other fillies attractive? Scootaloo, your friend Dinky, mah sister Apple Bloom. Feel free to be honest with the last one, I won't judge."
"Of course I thought they were pretty, I would never deny that," Rumble said. "But Dinky is my best friend, Scootaloo was just too much for me and Apple Bloom...honestly I couldn't think of a reason to not like Apple Bloom, she's actually kind of adorable..." Rumble almost began daydreaming about Apple Bloom before shaking his head. "Er, forget I said that."
"Like ah said, ah won't judge," Big Macintosh said. "It's perfectly normal after all."
"But then why didn't I kiss Apple Bloom instead?" Rumble asked.
"Well, why did you kiss Cozy Glow?" Big Mac asked.
"I didn't kiss her, she kissed me and I just...kissed her back," Rumble explained. "But when Scootaloo kissed me, I didn't kiss her back."
"You already made up yer mind on Scootaloo, and if Dinky kissed you then you'd have reacted the same way at the time," Big Mac said. "What if Apple Bloom kissed you?"
"Uh...I really don't know..." Rumble said, trying to imagine it. Apple Bloom was actually a great filly now that he thought about it, his initial attraction to Sweetie Belle was the fact that he felt she was the prettiest out of the three. Only once did he not like Apple Bloom, that was after she tried and failed to set Rumble up with Scootaloo, and then she spilt the beans about the plan, which really hurt Rumble at the time.
Then came her tearful apology, Rumble knew he couldn't stay mad at her, because he at that moment understood where she was coming from. Apple Bloom was just trying to help her friend, because she made a promise to that friend, so he knew it ate at her that she couldn't keep that promise, and judging from Scootaloo's initial reaction to him loving Sweetie Belle and not her, he understood why it seemed so important.
He then imagined the moment he began to hug her after her tearful apology, how vulnerable she was. Sad as the moment was, she was really cute during it and he felt like he could hug her forever. What if they kissed at the time, would Rumble have been with Sweetie Belle? He never thought about it then because Sweetie Belle was the only thing on his mind, and truthfully another reason he never considered her was because she seemed to have a crush on Tender Taps, one that didn't work out for either foal.
"If Apple Bloom kissed me...honestly, I think I would have let her..." Rumble said. "Oh man...so this could have happened at any time?"
"It's a possibility," Big Mac said. "Maybe you did love Sweetie Belle, but at the same time, she's only your first crush, it doesn't seem like you've had others."
"Uh...do my foalsitters count?" Rumble asked.
"Er...I guess they can, though I don't think you had the chance to explore that," Big Mac said.
"No, not really, doesn't help that they tell me I'm like a little brother," Rumble said. "So maybe it was a good idea to break up with Sweetie Belle? So I can be sure I do really like her and any other girl might just be curiosity more than anything?"
"There's no real right answer to that," Big Mac said. "If you truly did love Sweetie Belle, you should have kept those feelings for another filly aside."
"Oh...so I blew it," Rumble said.
"Not saying that either, you're still just trying to figure things out," Big Mac said. "Rumble, ah know you're confused, and I'm here to tell you that it's alright to be confused, but you also have to stop worrying so much about this. Mind telling me how old you are?"
"Um, I'm thirteen," Rumble answered.
"Then don't rush, you still got time," Big Macintosh said. "Maybe you fell in love too young, maybe you do need to explore, and that's alright. I'm still exploring too after all, ah keep thinking ah found somepony, then it doesn't work out. But I don't let it get to me, ah just tell mahself to try and move on. It ain't easy, but it's still worth it to try. If you keep beating yerself up over this, you'll just make yerself more frustrated and you'll never figure things out."
"You had a few marefriends yourself right?" Rumble asked. "Wasn't there a mare from Starlight's village you liked?"
"You mean Sugar Belle?" Big Mac asked. "Well, yeah, she's a really pretty gal. Unfortunately she is in your predicament. Cozy Glow did blab about her...bonding with Party Favor, it does concern me that a girl that age already knows that stuff."
"Yeah, that stuff," Rumble nervously said. "But is it really weird for us? I mean, we're developing ponies."
"Not my place to say," Big Mac answered.
"But you mentioned just now, Sugar Belle and I basically did the same bad thing, and like Sweetie Belle, you were the one affected," Rumble said. "Why are you helping me then? Why aren't you sympathizing with Sweetie Belle instead?"
"Because I believe that ponies who make mistakes need guidance and reassurance the most, to prevent that mistake from happening again," Big Mac said. "I'm not too thrilled by what you or Sugar Belle did, but I do believe you both deserve a chance to make amends. That and I do kind of feel bad fer you, one big difference between you and Sugar Belle is that you're still a foal, Sugar Belle is a grown mare who should have known better. Rumble, you will get yer chance at redemption, what you do with it will be up to you."
"I hope I make the right call," Rumble said. "But for now, maybe I should explore my options, if I'm not sure, I could run the risk of hurting somepony again."
"Fair warning, no matter how many options you explore now, there will be more in the future," Big Macintosh said. "Do what you must, just be weary of the consequences."
"I'll do my best, thank you Big Mac," Rumble said, flying off into Ponyville.
"Hope ah got mah message across clearly," Big Mac said, then noticed Cherilee walk by.
"Hello Big Macintosh, lovely day today," the school teacher said as she walked off.
"Hm...perhaps ah should do a little exploring of my own, never really got a fair chance after all," Big Mac said, going to catch up with Cherilee.
Rumble flew on through the park, hoping to get a little more practice in before he went to go see Cozy Glow. He just had to clear his mind of his problems, probably easier said than done but Rumble was a lot more determined this time around.
"I can do this, just focus on the task at hoof," Rumble said, taking back into the skies. He started dashing toward a cloud, focused directly on it. Then he began to spin clockwise, still keeping his eyes forward, though halfway there he started to slant diagonally.
Rumble stopped himself mid-air, just a few feet in front of the cloud, "Well, at least I almost got it. I think I can actually do this!"
"Hey! Rumble!" He heard. It was a filly's voice, a familiar one at that. He looked down to see the local rich girl, Diamond Tiara.
"Oh, Diamond Tiara!" Rumble said, flying down to greet her. "What's up?"
"Lots of things, for me at least," Diamond Tiara said. "But I'm here for you."
"For me? What for?" Rumble asked.
"Well for starters, you've been the talk of the town, among foals at least, ever since your break up with Sweetie Belle," Diamond Tiara said.
"Wait seriously?" Rumble asked. "Come on, is my life really that interesting?"
"Well you did date a Cutie Mark Crusader, you know how popular and well known they are," Diamond Tiara said. "Of course foals are talking about it, especially knowing that the two of you are on the market again. All the colts have been eyeing Sweetie Belle, and all the fillies have had their eyes on you."
"I figured out the fillies part, even your bestie Silver Spoon has been giving me glances," Rumble said. "Where exactly are you going with this?"
"For starters, what exactly happened between you two?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"How much do you know?" Rumble asked.
"I know about Cozy Glow, and I heard that you made out with her," Diamond Tiara said. "And that Sweetie Belle dumped you for it."
"I didn't 'make-out', she kissed me and I...didn't resist," Rumble said. "And Sweetie Belle didn't dump me, I broke up with her."
"So you dumped Sweetie Belle for Cozy Glow?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"No, I didn't dump one for the other, I broke up with Sweetie Belle because I felt bad for cheating on her," Rumble said.
"So, she didn't dump you?" Diamond Tiara asked. "You dumped her?"
"Don't say 'dumped'," Rumble said. "That makes it seem like I broke her heart and ditched her. I broke it off to prevent her from being hurt by me again, because I didn't feel like I was ready for a marefriend if I was capable of hurting her like I did."
"So you broke it off so you wouldn't hurt her, right after you already hurt her by kissing another filly," Diamond Tiara said. "Wouldn't that just hurt her more?"
"Hey I did the best I could in that situation!" Rumble said. "I mean Sweetie Belle already caught me kissing Cozy Glow, kind of hard to come back from that anyway."
"I'm just surprised you actually kissed that filly, isn't she evil?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Evil might be too strong a word," Rumble said. "I'd say she was more, misguided."
"Didn't she try taking over Equestria though?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Seems a lot more than just 'misguided'."
"Hey that's what Twilight said about Starlight when she took over a village and made her own plans to take over Equestria, even messing with time," Rumble said. "If Starlight could be misguided then Cozy is definitely misguided, Starlight and the others are adults who should have known better."
"Didn't she betray you though?" Diamond Tiara asked. "I heard she tricked you and your foalsitter and ran you around all of Equestria."
"Where exactly did you hear these rumors from? Who's been talking?" Rumble asked.
"Well most I heard from Apple Bloom, she's the one who told me you made out with Cozy Glow and dumped Sweetie Belle," Diamond Tiara said. "She also said some other stuff that I really shouldn't repeat."
"Yeah she hates me, I don't blame her," Rumble said. "I broke Sweetie Belle's heart, and breaking up probably did make it worse. I'm just so confused right now, I still think I love Sweetie Belle but I also do somewhat like Cozy Glow. I thought the break-up would clear my mind but I'm just stuck between the affection of two fillies."
"Wow, you're really frazzled about all this," Diamond Tiara said, pitying the colt.
"It's been eating at me, I can't even do the usual stunts I've always been able to do," Rumble said. "I almost just want to go back to Sweetie Belle and ask her to take me back, but I don't think I'm fully ready to be with her again."
"Would Sweetie Belle even want you back?" Diamond Tiara asked. "That's something else you should consider."
"Well she didn't want to break up, she was willing to forgive me, I just foolishly pushed for it," Rumble explained, getting an annoyed reaction from Diamond Tiara.
"You dummy! Why would you want to break up with a filly who could forgive you cheating on her?" Diamond Tiara asked. "That's like the definition of love, forgiveness for mistakes!"
"Hey I was amazed she was willing to forgive me at all," Rumble said. "How do you forgive somepony for cheating?"
"Sweetie Belle is just that nice of a girl," Diamond Tiara said. "It's just a shame all of this happened, you two were the cutest couple. You were the envy of so many foals, especially Button Mash."
"Oh right, Gamer boy, how has he reacted to all this?" Rumble asked.
"Well he's been going to Sweetie Belle's house every day this past week, I don't know if he's had any luck though," Diamond Tiara said.
"I don't know why but the idea of Sweetie Belle ending up with Button Mash just rubs me the wrong way," Rumble said, very bitterly.
"See, you are still in love with Sweetie Belle, I say just go to her, apologize for doing this silly break-up and get back together with the filly you're meant to be with," Diamond Tiara said.
"It won't be that easy," Rumble said. "I can't be that easy. I don't know if I can even do it."
"You can't just give up, think of all the adorable babies you two could have together," Diamond Tiara said. "I mean Sweetie Belle is very pretty, she's got a really nice mane and soft silky fur. You're athletically fit and you have adorable eyes. If you and Sweetie Belle had babies, they'd be the most beautiful baby foals in existence!"
Rumble thought back to what Sweetie Belle once said that he found funny and very cute, "Well Sweetie Belle did once say she hoped our babies could be Alicorns, you know, since she's a Unicorn and I'm a Pegasus."
"It could happen, you both have the genes for it!" Diamond Tiara said. "I can help you as well, why don't you come by my house later?"
"Well I promised Cozy Glow that I'd go see her," Rumble said. "I don't want to break that promise I made."
"Alright, bring her over then," Diamond Tiara said. "I want to see this filly for myself anyway."
"Uh, I don't know if that's such a good idea," Rumble said. "She's still not too keen being around other ponies, and she can be a bit sassy and rude at times."
"Don't worry, I can handle fillies like that," Diamond Tiara said. "Come by my house in an hour."
Diamond Tiara trotted off, Rumble feeling confused and conflicted. He isn't too confident about bringing over Cozy Glow, but he figured for now to trust Diamond Tiara, if things got too bad he could try to straighten it out.
Rumble took back to the skies, ready to practice some more, and hopefully figure out the moves he was trying to pull off.
Time passed and Rumble kept his promise in going to Diamond Tiara's home, being joined by Cozy Glow and Flitter, the three trotting over to the rich filly's house.
"So why are we doing this again?" Cozy Glow asked. "Why did this filly invite me over to her house?
"Diamond Tiara wanted to see me, but I wanted to keep my promise and see you, so she offered to let you come," Rumble said. "But truth be told, I don't fully know what Diamond Tiara wants, it's not like I'm that close with her, for a while I used to not like her."
"Why didn't you like her?" Cozy Glow asked. "Was she mean?"
"Kind of, she used to pick on ponies that didn't have a Cutie Mark, especially Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo," Rumble said. "She thought having a Cutie Mark made her so great, it became one of the reasons I hated Cutie Marks, it turned some ponies into jerks."
"Oh, that's a shame," Cozy Glow said. "Good thing I'm not one of those means ponies."
"Uh, sure Cozy," Rumble said. "Now remember, when you get to Diamond Tiara's place, try to be on your best behavior, and try to make friends."
"Of course, anypony who dislikes the Cutie Mark Crusaders as much as I do is already a friend in my eyes," Cozy Glow said.
Rumble groaned in annoyance, hoping this won't go sour once she realizes that Diamond Tiara has changed her attitude towards the Crusaders. If anything Rumble hoped that maybe her attitude will rub off on Cozy Glow.
Flitter could of course sense Rumble's worries, it was the same as hers. Cozy hadn't met Diamond Tiara to her knowledge so this could be a chance for a nice fresh start.
As they arrived at her house, Cozy Glow marveled at the sights, this was a huge looking place. "Gee wilikers, does your friend actually live here? It's humongous!"
"She's the daughter of the richest ponies in Ponyville, so naturally she has a big house to boot," Rumble explained as he approached the door and knocked. "She's also got a lot of butlers and maids, so we might see one-"
"Rumble!" Diamond Tiara greeted, opening the door to hug her friend. "You made it!"
"Dia?" Rumble asked. "Uh, since when do you answer the door when somepony comes over?"
"Well I know you were coming and I wanted to make sure you felt welcomed, it's only polite after all," Diamond Tiara said.
"Oh well, thanks, I appreciate that," Rumble said, then gestured to the filly beside him. "This is Cozy Glow, not sure if you actually met her before, but here she is up close."
"Pleasure to meet you Diamond Tiara," Cozy said with a courtesy.
"Yeah, nice to meet you too," Diamond Tiara said, little untrusting of Cozy Glow. She turned her attention to the adult mare beside Rumble. "Hey isn't that one of your foalsitters?"
"Well she's more Cozy's now but yeah, that's Flitter," Rumble said.
"Don't worry my little Rumble, I can always make time for you as well," Flitter teased, much to Rumble's embarrassment.
"Seriously? In front of the rich girl?" Rumble asked.
"Oh I don't mind Rumble, I think it's sweet that she still wants to watch over and care for you, not everypony has a loving parent or guardian to shower them with constant love," Diamond Tiara said.
"Oh who needs parents when you can take care of yourself?" Cozy Glow stated. This raised some curiosity from Rumble and Flitter. They had to wonder where Cozy's parents were, the only mention of them was back when they first met Cozy on Mount Aris when she mentioned not having any parents to look after her.
"Well why don't you come on inside," Diamond Tiara said, allowing the three ponies into her room. As they trotted through the estate, Cozy continuously awed at just how big everything was. She's used to big buildings, having stayed at the School of Friendship, but that building had to be big for all those students, this is all for one family.
"Your house is really pretty Diamond Tiara," Flitter said.
"I know, daddy always goes for the nicest designs," Diamond Tiara said. "One of the perks of being rich."
"How did you get so rich anyway?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Through a partnership with Sweet Apple Acres," Diamond Tiara explained. "When the Apples first founded Ponyville, they grew their Apples and sold most of them to my Great Grandpa, Stinkin' Rich, and their business boomed. Since then our family has been raking in the bits."
"Golly, that's so amazing, making use of those dirty farmer ponies really paid off," Cozy Glow said, getting a scowl from Diamond Tiara.
"We didn't 'make use' of them, they grew their apples and we bought a share, it's simple business," Diamond Tiara said.
"If it's that simple, why aren't the Apples rich then?" Cozy Glow asked. "Seems like you do take most of their apples and you sell them for your own profit."
"Well...I can't explain their finances, but I imagine most of their bits goes to all the supplies they need to continue growing Apples," Diamond Tiara said. "They don't seem to care if they're rich or not, they're happy together, that's what matters. Besides daddy has a lot of business partners, so it's not just the Apples, and we do give back to them at least."
"The Apples and Dia's family are still pretty close in Partnership, especially after all these years, so there must be some satisfaction," Rumble said. "Plus I don't think the Apples are just about profit, they enjoy what they do after all."
"Well that's silly, who wouldn't want to make a bunch of bits and live in a big, pretty house like this one," Cozy said.
"Can't argue with that logic," Diamond Tiara said, earning a mild glare from Rumble. "Of course I could...totally, do...without this...nice, pretty...house I guess?" Diamond laughed nervously, feeling quite awkward at the moment.
"Never mind," Rumble said. "So now that we're were, what do we do now?"
Diamond Tiara turned to Cozy Glow, "Do you like pools? Spas? All the sweets you can eat?"
"Boy do I!" Cozy Glow said. "Why are you asking though?"
"Flitter, down the hall is the pool room, hand this over to my butlers and maids," Diamond Tiara said, slipping her a pass. "Tell them Diamond Tiara gave the ok and they'll treat Cozy Glow here to a wonderful time."
"Uh, ok then?" Flitter said. "But what about you? Aren't you coming as well?"
"I need to speak with Rumble for a bit, so I figured I could let Cozy Glow pass the time and enjoy herself while I did, it won't take long," Diamond Tiara said.
"Yay! Let's go Flitter!" Cozy Glow said, pulling Flitter by the hoof.
"Alright, I'll see you in a little while Rumble," Flitter said as Cozy continuously pulled at her hoof, leading her toward the pool area.
"That was really nice of you, I didn't think you'd do so a big favor like that for Cozy Glow, I figured you still didn't trust her," Rumble said. "Also what exactly did you want to talk to me about?"
"Your future," Diamond Tiara said. "Come with me."
Rumble wasn't sure what to make of this, but he did not hesitate to follow Diamond Tiara. She led him to a dining area where a little table was set up with candles, flowers and two plates containing ice cream sundaes.
"Uh, what's going on?" Rumble asked.
"You are I are going on a date, right now," Diamond Tiara answered, confusing the colt.
"Uh, run that by me again?" Rumble asked.
"I just want to see how you react to dating another filly with a pretty face, then remind you that love isn't just physical attraction, but emotional as well. After our date, you'll be that much closer to being back together with Sweetie Belle," Diamond Tiara said.
"Uh, I don't really get how this is gonna reunite me with Sweetie Belle," Rumble said.
"Just let me do all the thinking, you just sit there and look pretty," Diamond Tiara said. "Also, don't expect me to be totally nice to you, if I'm gonna prove my point, I need to be just as mean as Cozy Glow is capable of being, we'll see if you're willing to date a bad filly over somepony as kind and wonderful as Sweetie Belle."
"Uh, I still think this is a bad idea," Rumble said. "I mean what if-"
"Oh can it blank flank!" Diamond Tiara ordered.
Rumble just started pitifully at the filly, "Uh, that's not really an insult for me, I'm happy being a blank flank, it keeps my options open."
"Oh right, I heard you hated Cutie Marks," Diamond Tiara said, taking a spoonful of her Sundae. "That's so weird though, Cutie Marks are what makes a pony well...a pony! That's like-"
"Not wanting to breath?" Rumble asked. "Scootaloo already said that, all the Crusaders told me this already, seems like you really got in their heads."
"Hey to be fair, they wanted their marks even without my...pointing it out," Diamond Tiara said, feeling regret for how she used to mistreat the Crusaders.
"Of course, they didn't want to be judged by other ponies, because other ponies think having a Cutie Mark gives them purpose in life," Rumble said. "I would never judge a pony for something that trivial. I mean if you want a Cutie Mark, fine, if you have one, fine, what I don't like is that one pony thinks everypony should have them. I don't want a Cutie Mark because I don't feel like I need one to feel complete and I don't like being limited to one thing."
"Well...for all I know, you don't have one because you feel inadequate, because you have no talent," Diamond Tiara said, shoving a bit more ice cream in her mouth. "So you're only pretending to not want one when you really do!"
"What does your Cutie Mark even mean?" Rumble asked.
"Uh...it means I'm a good leader, that I can get others to do what I want," Diamond Tiara answered.
"Alright, how are you gonna get me to believe what you say about Cutie Marks?" Rumble asked.
"By explaining it to you that they're important!" Diamond Tiara said. "Cutie Marks make a pony special, don't you want to feel special, or do you want to just be a nopony?"
"A nopony by your standards? Because that really doesn't mean much to me," Rumble said. "Honestly for the longest time, it seemed like you just wanted a Cutie Mark for the sake of having one, I once even thought your Cutie Mark was fake just because you had an inferiority complex and wanted to fit in or be better."
"My Cutie Mark is not fake, I can assure you that," Diamond Tiara said, using a napkin to wipe off some ice cream on her face. "I'll even let you rub my flank, you'll find no paint or ink!"
"Uh, I'll pass on that," Rumble said. "Still, why is it so important to you? You should be just happy being you."
"That's something only lesser ponies think," Diamond Tiara said. "And I am no lesser pony. I am superior!"
"Having a mark near your butt doesn't make you superior, I really hate that mindset," Rumble said. "You're a pretty girl and you're going to be very successful in the future, you don't need a Cutie Mark to tell you that, I can see it just by seeing what you can do."
Diamond Tiara blushed a bit at the compliment, "Yeah, well...still, I like my Cutie Mark, if you don't want one, then that's your loss!"
"Fine by me," Rumble said. "So, is there another point to-"
"Your Sundae is melting," Diamond Tiara said, gesturing to the treat. "I went through a lot of trouble to prepare it for you, so you better eat it."
"It's not too sugary is it?" Rumble asked.
"Oh just be a kid for once and stop being so lame," Diamond Tiara said.
"Excuse me but I take my diet very seriously, that's why I keep track of what goes into my body, I don't want a sugar rush affecting my training," Rumble said.
"Oh come on, what if you never become a Wonderbolt, you don't even have a Cutie Mark," Diamond Tiara said.
Rumble started getting annoyed and frustrated, "You're being really rude right now!"
"That's the point, if you think I'm bad, imagine Cozy Glow, a filly who tried taking over Equestria, if you can't date me, what makes you think you can date her?" Diamond Tiara asked.
"Because I know Cozy Glow's nice, just like you are," Rumble said. "Diamond Tiara, you used to be a bully, now you're one of the nicest fillies I know. You're one of the reasons I believe Cozy Glow can change, and I really feel like you can help her change. This mean ponysona, this isn't you, the real you is much more beautiful, inside and out, just like Cozy Glow can be, and just like Sweetie Belle is."
Diamond Tiara's blush just widened, this colt was way too charming. Why hasn't she noticed before? Was it his own blank flank? It can't be, even in her bully days she would not have passed up a chance to be with an attractive colt, he would have been the exception to her rule.
"You're right, this is a bad idea," Diamond Tiara said. "Sorry I even thought of this, I thought I could help but I guess I couldn't even do that. I just wanted to help you and Sweetie Belle and I thought if I showed you what it would be like to date a mean filly then you would reconsider everything and go back to Sweetie Belle, but I guess it would make sense that you would want to look past somepony's flaws and expect better out of them, you're so kindhearted Rumble."
Rumble blushed a bit, "It's nothing really, I'm no better than anypony else," Rumble said. "I've made my share of mistakes after all."
"Nopony's perfect," Diamond Tiara said. "Um, I'm sorry for the mean stuff I said, I'm past that Cutie Mark thing, I know you don't need one to be special."
"Just being yourself makes you special, sorry if I came across not too nice either though," Rumble said. "
"It's fine," Diamond Tiara said. "I guess this has just been a silly waste of time."
"It doesn't have to be, we can still talk, we're friends right, let's just spend time with each other," Rumble said. "Plus I am single, so I can technically date you, though we still don't have to call it that."
"No I don't mind," Diamond Tiara said. "Honestly, I'm a little ashamed that I never once considered asking you to a date, took me a while to see just how handsome you were."
"Wow, never thought Diamond Tiara of all ponies would find anything appealing about me," Rumble said.
"Come on, you're so attractive, and you're athletically fit, you would have made the perfect coltfriend for me," Diamond Tiara said. "And to be honest, I didn't dislike all blank flanks, and I definitely would have dated you regardless. But it's my loss, now I'll never know what it was like to have a coltfriend like you..." Diamond softly gazed at Rumble. "Until now at least..."
Rumble started blushing, Diamond Tiara looked so adorable right now. He's amazed he never thought about it until now. He took note of her inching closer, wanting his affection. He shouldn't, he already had a lot on his mind between Sweetie Belle and Cozy Glow, but he can't help it, this filly is being way too cute.
Against his better judgement, Rumble leaned in and joined in a kiss with Diamond Tiara, the filly quick to leave her chair and join Rumble on his, sitting on his lap as she deepened the kiss. This wasn't like most of his other kisses, Diamond Tiara was more physically affectionate, hugging Rumble tightly and pressing her body against his, feeling just how toned he was.
Rumble hugged Diamond Tiara close to him, feeling her soft coat against his body. Though as he did so, he lowered his hoof toward her flank area, feeling her Cutie Mark. Definitely not fake, but worth the check.
Diamond didn't seem to mind the touch, she rather enjoyed just how adventurous he was. To return that she started to insert her tongue into the kiss, she was gonna make the most of this moment.
Diamond Tiara pulled away after a few seconds, breathing really hard. "Come with me to my room, for a little extra privacy."
Rumble did not hesitate, maybe it was his raw emotions, or just the thrill but he quickly followed Diamond Tiara as they continued their secret romance.
Hours passed, it was time for Rumble and Cozy Glow to come home. Cozy looked like she had the time of her life, having enjoyed her swimming, the spa, some fun toys and games, in addition to being pretty hyped up on sweets. She along with Flitter and Rumble were making their way out of the home, Flitter trying to keep Cozy from flying off out of hyperness. Diamond Tiara, being a good host, had walked them out the door.
"Golly, that was so much fun!" Cozy Glow exclaimed, nearly flying off in different directions.
"I'm glad you had fun," Flitter said, trying to keep the hyper filly under control. "But can you please calm yourself before you get hurt?"
Diamond Tiara giggled a bit at this display, "Wow, she's actually kind of cute."
"Yeah, nice to see Cozy being a normal filly," Rumble said, then turned to Diamond Tiara. "Um, so what happens now, between us?"
"I'm not sure...things did get pretty passionate in there, but I'm not sure if I'm really ready for a type of commitment," Diamond Tiara said.
"Well, that's alright, I'm just as confused myself," Rumble said.
"Um, I wouldn't mind seeing you again, if you're interested that is," Diamond Tiara said, bashfully playing with her mane. "Just to talk some more...and maybe 'test' things out."
"I'm good with that," Rumble said, lightly kicking the ground.
Cozy then latched onto Rumble, hugging him tightly, "Thanks so much for bringing me Rumble! It was super fun! I wanna do it again sometime soon! Really soon! Sooner than soon!"
"You're more than welcome to come back, if Flitter's alright with it," Diamond Tiara said.
Cozy latched into Flitter, hugging her neck tightly, "Can I?! Pwetty Pwease!?"
Flitter pulled Cozy's hoofs off, trying to get some air, "I'll see what I can do, just lighten up on the sugar next time."
"Yay! You're the best, I love you so much!" Cozy shouted, kissing Flitter on the cheek.
"Aw, so adorable," Flitter said. "You have such an cute smile Cozy, it's a treat seeing you happy."
Rumble had to admit, seeing Cozy this happy, hyper even was a real treat for him as well. This shows she's capable of showing off a much nicer side and she is perfectly capable of acting like a real kid.
Cozy had broken away from Flitter hovered next to Rumble, "Too bad we didn't do much today."
"We can try to squeeze something in, I have time," Rumble said. "Whatever makes you happy."
Cozy hovered next to Diamond Tiara, "Thanks for letting me use your pool and stuff, you're really nice, maybe we can be friends!"
"Next time I'll join you," Diamond Tiara said.
"That would be super! It's more fun to do things when you have friends," Cozy Glow said, then hugged Diamond Tiara. "I hope I can see you again real soon."
Diamond Tiara slowly returned the hug, "Yeah, same here."
The trio of Pegasai had flown off, leaving Diamond Tiara to herself. Much as she liked Rumble coming over, part of her felt regret. Even if they're broken up, she still made out with a pony that she believed Sweetie Belle likely still had feelings for, and she knew Rumble wanted to go back to her. She hopes she hadn't messed anything up. She slowly went back inside her home, wanting to relax for a bit and take her mind off things.
Back in the future, Twilight was still on a mission, to find her beloved pony Tender Taps. She had destroyed almost everything in her path, taking down anyone in her way. This time she attacked a group of the Storm King's soldiers, showing no mercy as they begged for help, Twilight only asking where Tender Taps might be.
"I'm losing my patience, where is my Tappy!" Twilight shouted, zapping more soldiers.
This did not go unnoticed by Grogar, the goat monster observing from his Crystal Ball. Moments later he noticed Adagio and some Changelings bringing in the one pony Twilight wanted the most.
"You must be Tender Taps, welcome to our home," Grogar greeted.
Tender Taps looked frightened, backing away from Grogar, bumping into another pony in the process. He turned around and was face to face with King Sombra.
"So, this is the one?" Sombra asked.
"Yes, Twilight's precious little colt," Adagio said, seductively eyeing Tender Taps. "Gotta say, you grew up pretty well, kind of see what Twilight likes about you."
"Get back!" Tender Taps warned, though his frightened demeanor did not help his statement.
"Oh, don't worry cutie, nothing bad is gonna happen to you, not yet at least," Adagio said, trotting over and gently stroking his face. "So handsome, any chance we could keep this one alive? You know, even after we destroy Twilight Sparkle and her friends."
"No promises, but if he doesn't do anything to cross us, then he might live to see many more days," Grogar said.
"I don't know, the idea of doing away with somepony Twilight Sparkle loves before we end her existence seems like a much more appropriate form of revenge," Sombra said.
"True, but it seems like such a waste," Adagio said. "Maybe we can find her brother or anypony else in her family to do that, or one of her friends. That will get the message across just as well."
"Have it your way," Sombra said. "What matters is that the Princess will fall and Equestria will be ours."
Tender Taps was shaking in fear, hoping desperately that his Princess will come to his rescue. He really missed Twilight, and would do anything to be with the mare he loved.
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
It was a day after Tender Taps's date with Twilight, the colt feeling much more confident about himself. He has been much more honest with Twilight about his feelings than normal and thus far it seems to be paying off.
He's even worked up the nerve to kiss Twilight on more than one occasion, and he could feel that she is slowly but surely starting to return his affection and one day she'll become his marefriend and soon his bride.
Then he had to wonder, if he married her, would he become a Prince and if that would in turn, make him an Alicorn. It would be kind of fun to fly and do magic, but he wasn't too worried about that, all he cared about was making sure he and Twilight had their Happily Ever After together.
He trotted through Ponyville, on his way to the Castle of Friendship, ready to reunite with Twilight and share more moments together. He reached the castle and knocked on the door, awaiting an answer.
Moments later the door was answered by Spike, the dragon not too surprised to see the young foal. "Oh, hey Tender Taps, here to see Twilight?"
"Yeah, is she available?" Tender Taps asked.
"Eh, she's kind of in a meeting with her friends," Spike said. "I mean you can still come in but she might not be ready right away."
"I can wait," Tender Taps said. "A mare like her is worth waiting for after all."
"Oh brother," Spike said, shaking his head. "Well come on in."
Tender Taps wasted no time following Spike, happily trotting behind the Dragon. "So, how is Twilight handling the whole taking over Equestria thing? Has she calmed down?"
"Not yet, Twilight's gonna dread this for a while," Spike explained. "She just needs a bit more reassurance, much as Twilight freaks out about things she usually calms down once she's confident she has a grasp of the situation."
"Well that shouldn't take long, Twilight's really amazing after all," Tender Taps said.
"You really like placing Twilight on a high pedestal huh?" Spike said. "For future reference, try to tread lightly with that, she's not always good under pressure, the higher you place her, the more she'll get nervous because she'll think ponies expect a lot from her."
"Huh? My intention isn't high expectations, I just like believing in Twilight," Tender Taps said.
"I know you mean well, and Twilight really does appreciate how supportive you are, but you still have to understand that she's still just a pony, and she's not as perfect as you're making her out to be," Spike explained.
"But she's so amazing, I can't help but notice all of her amazing qualities," Tender Taps said. "It's because of her that I feel so confident in myself."
"I thought that was Apple Bloom who helped you with that?" Spike asked. "Thinking about it, wasn't Starlight part of that too? Didn't she adopt you as her little brother? Is that even still a thing?"
"Of course it's a thing, me and Starlight are still pretty close," Tender Taps said. "But as of recently, I just wanted to be closer to Twilight."
"Yeah, real close," Spike said. "So how long have you been in love with her?"
"Uh...a while now, like a year," Tender Taps said.
"Is that why you broke up with Apple Bloom?" Spike asked.
"No, that was something else," Tender Taps said. "Plus our break-up was mutual, not like I cheated on her and dumped her."
"Well that was oddly specific," Spike said, noticing a slight angered tone in Tender Taps's voice. "Say have you seen Rumble at all since he and Sweetie Belle broke up?"
"Here and there," Tender Taps said. "Never paid him any mind though."
"Wow dude, I mean I know what Rumble did was kind of lousy but you shouldn't shut him out like that," Spike said.
"He cheated on Sweetie Belle, after all that work we went through to help them get together," Tender Taps said. "After all that waiting Sweetie Belle did while he was away, he cheats on her with a villainous little filly!"
"I know Rumble did something he shouldn't have, but everyone makes mistakes," Spike said. "When you're friends with somepony, you gotta be there for them even in the tough times. Twilight wouldn't want you distancing yourself from Rumble, she would want you two to work things out."
Tender Taps sighed in frustration, knowing Spike had a point. A Princess of Friendship would want friends to patch things up, he knows he'll eventually have to work out his differences with Rumble. But he doesn't know how to do that without losing his other friends.
Spike led Tender Taps to the Cutie Map room, where Twilight was talking with The Elements as well as Starlight and Sunset Shimmer.
"Hey Twilight, you have a guest," Spike said, gesturing to Tender Taps.
"Hey Twilight," Tender Taps greeted.
"Oh, you're here Tappy, I'm so happy to see you," Twilight said, walking over and hugging the colt, much to his delight. "I'll be with you soon, let me wrap this meeting up first."
"Sure, I can wait for you," Tender Taps said. "I'll stay by the corner until you're done."
"It won't be long," Twilight said. "After this I'll make all the time in the world for you."
"Hopefully you get whatever time you can with Twilight," Sunset chimed in. "You may not get this opportunity again for a while, if at all."
"Huh? What makes you say that?" Tender Taps asked.
"Once she takes over for the Princesses, she'll be off living in Canterlot. She might not have much time to see you much longer," Sunset explained, much to the worry of Tender Taps.
"Sunset!" Twilight scolded.
"I'm just being honest, this isn't something you should wait until the day before to tell him after all," Sunset said.
"I would have rather told him in my own way," Twilight said. "But if I'm being completely honest, that did completely slip my mind, I don't know why I never considered that."
"You were just worried about everything else that came with this big reveal," Applejack said. "Focus on the bigger things, we'll get to you possibly moving afterwards."
"Being separated from my friends is a big thing Applejack," Twilight said. "What's the point of being Princess of Friendship if I can't even be with my friends?"
"They can still come to see you," Sunset said. "Canterlot is only a train ride away, plus doesn't one of your friends own a store there?"
"Yeah, and The Wonderbolts frequently perform at Canterlot," Rainbow Dash added. "So you'll be seeing me a lot."
"There's lots of Apple business over there," Applejack stated. "So in a way, you'll still be seeing us more often than not."
"Yes, we won't be together quite as frequently but at least we won't lose contact," Rarity said.
"I...Yes I suppose that's true," Twilight said, feeling a bit less stressed out. "But what about all my other friends in Ponyville?"
"Yes, what about them?" They heard the familiar voice of Discord say. The Draconequess popped into the room, sipping on some tea. "You've made quite an impression on the ponies on this town, it's a shame knowing you're going to leave all that behind."
"Discord?" Twilight said, almost surprised to see him. "Why are you here?"
"Oh I'm sorry, I wasn't aware this little meeting was invitation only," Discord said, then glanced toward Tender Taps. "You even invited a local foal, yet you can't make room for poor Discord."
Discord summoned a clone that played a sad song on a violin as the trickster played up the drama with an overexaggerated sad face. Of course nopony was buying it.
"You know that's not what I meant," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "As a friend you are always more than welcome, but you usually only show up when you want to or you have something for us."
"Twilight, Equestria is getting a huge shift in power, you can bet that I will always be around for these big Change in Power meetings you frequently hold," Discord said, popping out a list. "And given your stress levels, I'd say that's a lot of meetings." Discord poofed away the list as he started marking a Calendar, most of the dates saying 'Chaos', "The trouble is finding the free time to attend all of these."
"Why are you so interested anyway?" Sunset asked. "Not like you really cared much about The Princesses, you've even tried taking over Equestria a number of times."
"Twice, only twice have I tried taking over Equestria," Discord corrected. "You ponies and your overexaggerating."
"What about when he teamed with Tirek?" Rainbow Dash whispered to Applejack, getting a shrug from the farmer pony.
"Point is you and the Princesses have not always seen eye to eye," Sunset said. "What's your goal here?"
"Such paranoia, remember my dear Sunset Shimmer, your past isn't a clean one either," Discord reminded. "I mean if you were a good little filly like Twilight here, then you'd be the Alicorn waiting to be ruler of Equestria."
Sunset turned away in annoyance for a second, then turned back while glaring at Discord, "Just remember, I don't trust you. If you try anything I'll turn you into stone myself!"
"Good luck with that," Discord deviously said, then turned his attention to Tender Taps. "But I am curious about this little colt here."
"Who me?" Tender Taps asked, then found himself being levitated off the ground. "H-hey! Put my down! Twilight help! I can't get down!"
"Oh relax, such a worry wart," Discord said. "Just like that Tumble foal...or was it Rumble?"
"Don't compare me to that jerk!" Tender Taps said. "I don't kiss evil fillies!"
"No, you don't," Discord said. "You'd much rather kiss Princesses."
"Hey, that isn't any of your business!" Tender Taps said.
"But it does raise a question, if Twilight were to move to Canterlot, how would that affect you?" Discord asked. "After all, from what I've seen, Twilight values you a lot, why else would she host a Festival for you? One I wasn't invited to mind you."
"It wasn't just for him Discord, it was for all his friends," Twilight said. "The Crusaders, Rumble and Dinky also got honored."
"What a waste too," Tender Taps said. "Not for The Crusaders but for Rumble."
"My, you really don't seem to like Rumble," Discord said. "Not that I blame you, he did come across as a tad arrogant, especially over how the Cozy Glow situation was handled. I still can't believe you agreed to let her out of Tartarus Twilight, considering everything she did."
"Not to defend her actions," Sunset began. "But considering Twilight and her friends freed you from stone, it shouldn't be that surprising. Of course if I had to choose between the reformation of a filly and a spirit of chaos, I'd probably have picked Cozy Glow too."
"For the record Twilight, I was a hundred percent behind your decision to send her to Tartarus," Tender Taps said.
"You little kiss-up," Discord said, getting a glare from Tender Taps.
"I'm no kiss-up!" Tender Taps replied. "I just trust Twilight's decisions."
"Aw, isn't that nice?" Discord taunted. "Twilight has earned herself a blind follower. Here you go Princess."
Discord flung Tender Taps toward Twilight, the Princess quickly catching him with her magic. "You alright Tappy?"
"Sure, I'm good," Tender Taps said, still shaking off the shock.
Twilight glared up at the chaos spirit, "Discord, that wasn't very nice. Also to answer your question from before, even if I do end up moving to Canterlot, I'll always make time to see my friends here in Ponyville, including Tender Taps."
"Plus this is a really talented kid, for all we know he might end up in Canterlot himself someday," Rainbow Dash said. "With his dancing skills, he might be invited to a number of parties to perform his sweet moves."
"He could even end up a dancer for a really famous idol, like Coloratura!" Pinkie Pie said.
"Me? Dancing with Coloratura?" Tender Taps said. "Wow that's really nice of you to say, but I don't think I'll make it that far."
"Of course you can, with proper determination," Rarity said.
"Plus we actually know Coloratura, or rather Applejack knows her," Pinkie Pie said. "They're childhood friends! Isn't it amazing to know somepony famous!"
"With all due respect to Coloratura, the six of you are probably more famous than a pop idol," Tender Taps said. "I mean, you did save Equestria a bunch of times, that's a bit more impressive than singing a few songs...which you can hear just about anywhere, we ponies do love to randomly burst into song."
"He's got a point," Fluttershy said.
"I see it as the equivalent to ponies being famous for magic," Sunset said. "Anypony can do magic, but not everypony can do it well, same with singing. There's a lot of ponies I don't care to hear sing."
"I certainly hope I'm not one of them," Rarity quietly chimed in.
"Well the main point is that no matter what, we're all going to be together, regardless of what happens," Twilight said. "Because we can't break apart so easily, it won't happen, it can't happen, I will not allow it to happen."
"Oh, you sound so confident," Discord said. "Though call me crazy, but I still managed to detect a hint of doubt in your voice. I should hope you have no doubt, a future ruler should always be confident in themselves."
"I have plenty of confidence Discord," Twilight said.
Discord shrugged it off, "Whatever you say Princess, in time we will see for sure." He then vanished in a snap, leaving the other ponies behind, either confused or annoyed.
"That guy's kind of weird," Tender Taps said.
"He's just being supportive in his own way," Fluttershy said.
"I still don't know why he's allowed to roam free, who's idea was it to free him from his stone?" Sunset asked.
"Princess Celestia's the one who requested his Freedom," Twilight said. "And I know he's a bit wacky and unpredictable but he's not as bad as he used to be."
"Discord is a bit annoying and very reckless, but I'm with Twilight," Starlight added. "Discord just needed another chance, and from my experience, second chances always work out well. Benefited both me and Trixie, and it's benefitting Discord. In fact Sunset, I know that you yourself are living off a second chance."
Sunset mildly shrugged, "I made some bad choices I admit...maybe I shouldn't be too hard, but I know he betrayed Equestria at one point, so I'm worried he might do it again."
"Discord did betray us, but I know he regretted it," Twilight said. "I think that was an eye opener for him, to know what true friendship is."
"Point is everypony can benefit from a second chance," Starlight said.
"Including Cozy Glow," Applejack randomly added, getting a look of surprise from the others. "Uh, what's with the faces?"
"Oh nothing it's just that..." Twilight seemed a bit surprised. "You're the first of us to speak confidently of Cozy Glow, that's all."
"Well yeah? That ain't a bad thing is it?" Applejack asked.
"No, it's not, it's actually great, I think," Twilight said.
"Ya think?" Applejack said. "Twilight, putting Cozy Glow under Flitter's care was yer decision, what would Discord say if he heard you doubting yerself?"
"Her doubt's well placed," Rainbow Dash said. "That filly isn't exactly trustworthy."
"Not yet, but soon she will be," Applejack said. "I've been thinking about it and honestly ah think Twilight made the right call. Cozy Glow shouldn't be in Tartarus, she should be properly guided. Ah mean, yeah she did something bad and needed to face punishment, like Discord had to, but it didn't seem like anypony was quick to do so. We put her in Tartarus and forgot about her, that don't seem right to do to a foal. If we could take the time to help Starlight and Discord, then Cozy Glow should have been the highest priority. So I'm happy that she's with Flitter, and I'm also happy that Rumble is taking the time to help her as well, it's what we all should be doing."
"Rumble's only playing nice to get more kisses from Cozy Glow," Tender Taps said.
"Come now Tender Taps, don't say something like that, it ain't nice," Applejack scolded.
"I'm just calling it how I see it, Rumble has been Cozy Glow's biggest supporter from the moment he met her," Tender Taps said. "Then he kissed her, more than one apparently since she's bragged about it since."
"Ah feel like there's more to it than that," Applejack said. "Maybe we should try talking to Rumble too, see things from his eyes. He's a good kid, ah don't think he would intentionally set out to hurt somepony."
"Well he did Applejack," Rarity chimed in. "Call him a good foal all you want, it doesn't change the fact that he cheated on my sister and then broke up with her."
"Ah know this is a touchy subject fer you Rarity, ah know what it's like to see a younger sister heart broken," Applejack briefly glanced at Tender Taps before continuing. "But over time you have to let that go and move on, forgiveness is key."
"I hope you're not comparing Tender Taps breaking with Apple Bloom to what Rumble did to my darling Sweetie Belle," Rarity said. "He at least didn't cheat on her, and he's still her friend, so he handled his break-up better."
"I would never hurt Apple Bloom, she got me my Cutie Mark after all," Tender Taps said.
"Yeah you'd rather aim higher than a filly," Spike added in, getting a slight glare from Tender Taps.
"You know all about 'aiming higher', wouldn't you?" Tender Taps said.
"Look, we all know what Rumble did was bad, but we also know to forgive, ah mean we just talked about forgiving Discord and Starlight, and no offense Rarity, but trying to take over Equestria is much worse than what Rumble did," Applejack said. "Plus he's a young colt, he ain't exactly developed into maturity."
"I'm with Applejack on this one," Fluttershy said. "Rumble's a sweet boy, and yes he did make a mistake but we all have done things we're not proud of."
"I've broken trust as well," Twilight added. "I know what it's like to feel like you ruined everything for yourself and I know the fear of potentially losing friends. I've hurt ponies, like my friend Moon Dancer, and my brother at his wedding."
"Twilight those don't really compare, you couldn't have guessed that Moon Dancer would take it that hard," Rarity said.
"And you were technically right about the fact that Cadance was evil," Rainbow Dash said. "Or rather Chrysalis pretending to be Cadance."
"Yeah Twilight," Tender Taps agreed. "You wouldn't do anything that could hurt another pony."
"But I did, you all remember when we first went to Mount Aris, don't you?" Twilight asked. "When I tricked you all into distracting Queen Novo so I can steal her Pearl?"
"Twilight, you only did that to save Ponyville," Rarity said.
"But right after that, I said something really hurtful to all of you, I thought you wouldn't forgive me for saying I didn't need you as my friends, but you still forgave what I did," Twilight said. "I made a mistake, and so did Rumble, if you can forgive me then you can forgive him."
"I think we should," Pinkie Pie said.
"Same here," Fluttershy said.
"I'm Team Forgive Rumble," Starlight said.
"Weird, we're debating whether or not to forgive a foal," Sunset said. "What have we come to?"
"It does affect us personally," Applejack said. "Rumble knows our sisters, er rather me and Rarity, and somewhat Rainbow Dash."
"Honestly, none of this would have happened if Rumble dated Scootaloo instead," Rainbow Dash said, getting a look of surprise.
"Explain your logic," Twilight said.
"If he were dating Scootaloo, she would have gone with him to Flight School, and it would have been harder for Cozy Glow to seduce Rumble," Rainbow Dash said.
"Um, Scootaloo can't fly though," Tender Taps said, almost regretting it once he was under Rainbow Dash's intense glare.
"Even if she can't, she would have gone anyway," Rainbow Dash said. "That's how prideful she is about flying."
"Honestly, it doesn't matter at this point, I think it's high time we started forgiving, both Rumble and Cozy Glow need a chance, in fact I'm gonna try to start Cozy Glow on some Friendship Lessons, I'll bring her over to my castle tomorrow," Twilight said.
"Might wanna postpone that," Spike said. "Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart are coming tomorrow."
"Oh, I almost forgot," Twilight said, then had an idea. "I can still bring them over, maybe Cozy Glow can take this chance to make peace with Flurry Heart, I know Cozy had thrown her in a garbage can for whatever reason, but maybe we can talk it over and she can take her first step. Getting Flurry's forgiveness shouldn't be too hard."
"So, you intend to bring over a dangerous and unpredictable filly to see your little niece?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Suppose she flies off with her or something, take her back to her buddies in Tartarus?"
"How? Cozy Glow wouldn't be able to get far, and even if she tried, Flurry would just fight her off, she's not completely helpless," Twilight said. "Plus something tells me Rumble wouldn't allow that, he did appoint himself as Flurry's personal knight after all."
"You know who else he promised to be a Knight to?" Rarity asked. "My sister."
"Just trust me on this, I'm not gonna put my own niece in danger," Twilight said.
"Twilight, I trust you know what you're doing," Tender Taps began. "But I also have to agree with Rainbow Dash, Cozy really shouldn't be around Princess Flurry Heart, honestly just the thought of anything happening to that sweet little angel worries me. So if it's alright with you, I want to come over as well and help keep an eye on things, just to make sure Flurry Heart will be alright."
"Well that really isn't necessary," Twilight said. "But maybe this can be good for you too, you can make peace with Rumble as well."
Tender Taps groaned a bit, Spike did warn him this could happen but it's still something he would rather avoid. "Let's not make this about me."
"Tappy, you know I can't call myself the Princess of Friendship if I didn't try to save yours," Twilight said. "I know you're mad at Rumble for what he did but he deserves a chance for redemption."
"The Crusaders are my friends though, how can I be friends with them and Rumble?" Tender Taps said. "I'm sorry but I care about them more than I care about him."
"If yer worried mah sister will hate you then don't," Applejack said. "I'll talk sense into her, if anything if she sees you making peace with him she might try to do so herself, maybe the others will follow suit."
"Just try Tappy, do it for me," Twilight said, rubbing his mane.
"Come on, that's cheating," Tender Taps whined. "Ugh, fine Twilight, only for you."
"Thanks...now I still have a meeting to finish, if you want to wait then I'll be able to see you afterwards," Twilight said.
"I'll wait in the hall," Tender Taps said, making his way outside. "Just get me when you're done."
As he left, Twilight turned back to her friends, "He's such a sweet colt, isn't he?"
"He's a real darling," Fluttershy said. "I can see why you're so fond of him."
"He is really nice, charming too," Twilight said. "Kind of wish he were enrolled at the School of Friendship."
"What Owlicious isn't enough of a pet for you?" Spike joked, getting a glare from Twilight.
"Come on Spike, you know that's not what I meant," Twilight said.
"What other reason would you want Tender Taps then?" Spike asked. "I mean you didn't even let The Crusaders join because you believed they were already skilled at Friendship, Tender Taps doesn't really have that problem."
"Well he is struggling to be friends with Rumble," Twilight pointed out.
"He'll get over it, I mean that's nothing a quick class can't teach," Spike said. "You just want him enrolled because you've grown too attached to him, he became your 'Little Tappy'."
Twilight scrunched her face in annoyance, "S-so? I find him precious and adorable, what are you jealous that I'm not calling you my Little Spikey?"
"That would honestly be really freaky for me, besides only Rariy gets to call me that," Spike said.
Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance, "Doesn't matter, look I'm not gonna enroll him just because I want to, I do have restraint after all. I just said that I wish he were in the school because he's pleasant to be around. He's very mature for his age and quite the gentlecolt, you can't fault me for finding him appealing."
"Alright fine, your choice," Spike said.
"Good, let's resume the meeting," Twilight said, trying to figure everything out in preparation for the day she takes Celestia's throne.
Rumble could remember what happened the following day. Now with a fourth filly on his mind as far as romance goes, he wasn't sure what to expect next. Then he received word from Flitter that he and Cozy Glow were going to Twilight's castle to meet with her family.
Rumble was a bit concerned about that, not sure how they were gonna react knowing what he had done, and how they might react to Cozy Glow.
He was on the way to the castle along with Flitter and Cozy Glow, thinking over ways the once evil filly could make a good impression and not potentially set a bad example. Unfortunately the filly was less than thrilled about this trip.
"So why am I going to Twilight Sparkle's castle again?" Cozy Glow asked. "She's like the worst pony in existence, I don't wanna go to where she lives."
"Cozy Glow, don't say such things," Glitter scolded. "Remember Twilight's the one who gave you your second chance to live in Equestria."
"Oh so now I owe her one?" Cozy Glow asked.
"I don't really understand why you don't like Twilight, she's really nice, little confusing to talk to so since she always has these overcomplicated explanation for things, buts she's still nice," Flitter said.
"She's also a fool, she has so much power and she doesn't even use it to rule?" Cozy Glow said. "If I were an Alicorn, I'd make everypony do what I tell them!"
"This is why they won't let you go anywhere without me Cozy," Flitter reminded.
"Yeah, I know, bossy ponies," Cozy said with a pout.
"Just try to be on your best behavior, I don't want you taken away from me after all," Flitter said. "I do love having you around."
Cozy rolled her eyes, but she also knew that if she did one wrong thing, it was back to Tartarus, away from Flitter and Rumble. "Yes Flitter, I'll do my best."
The trio arrived at the castle, Flitter knocking and awaiting an answer. Within moments the door was answered by Spike, "Hey Flitter, Rumble...Cozy Glow."
It took almost everything in Cozy's power sass Spike, she wanted to but she did not want to disappoint Flitter. She put on the best smile she could, trying to speak nicely. "Hello Spike...nice to see you..."
Spike could tell her smile and enthusiasm was fake but he figured this was better than her being a brat. "Well, nice to see you too. Twilight's inside, you three can follow me."
"Sure thing Spike," Flitter said, then turned to the two. "Let's go."
The two followed Flitter inside, Cozy Glow feeling very reluctant to be there. It didn't help that she wasn't too far away from the School of Friendship, the place of her first failure. How she would love nothing more than to have her revenge, but she knew that was out of the question right now.
Within minutes, the three were in Twilight's den, where Shining Armor, Princess Cadance and Flurry Heart were. Also there was Tender Taps, the colt being the first to notice the trio. Needless to say he was less than thrilled to see Rumble and Cozy Glow.
"Twilight, our guests are here," Spike said, getting her attention.
"Flitter, you made it, and you brought the foals," Twilight said, making her way over to the trio, turning her attention to Rumble first. "Hey Rumble, how have things been for you?"
"A wild ride of emotions," Rumble said. "Not the best kind really."
"You'll get through it, if you need help don't feel shy about coming to me," Twilight said.
"I might take you up on that," Rumble said.
Twilight turned her attention to the filly beside him, "Cozy Glow..."
"Twilight..." Cozy Glow said, not looking up at the mare.
"How has it been living with Flitter?" Twilight asked.
"Just peachy..." Cozy Glow said, still barely acknowledging Twilight.
"I see," Twilight said, sensing that Cozy wasn't in the mood for conversation. "Well I know Rumble knows them, but Cozy Glow, have you been formally introduced to my brother, sister and niece?"
"Sort of," Cozy Glow said.
"More like she caused a lot of commotion recently at The Crystal Empire," Shining Armor said.
"Big Brother..." Twilight scolded."
"Well, I'm all about second chances," Cadance said. "And I like to think that Cozy is sorry for what she did."
Cozy would say she isn't, but she's not about to tick off a bunch of older and stronger ponies. "Yeah, sure, real sorry."
"Baloney!" Tender Taps shouted.
"Tappy, be nice," Twilight scolded, Tender Taps still not losing his scowl.
"Hey I said sorry, whether you believe me or not isn't my problem," Cozy Glow said.
"Cozy Glow, please be a little more mindful than that," Flitter warned.
Flurry Heart flew over to Rumble, nuzzling against the colt. "Rumble...I miss you."
"Aw, same here Flurry," Rumble said, rubbing her mane. "She's gotten a bit better at talking."
"Yes, she's forming proper sentences, she's learning quite quickly," Cadance said.
"Well she seems to be faster than The Cake Twins, they just started learning how to speak properly only recently," Rumble said. "Pound said my wings were cool, Pumpkin told me I was cute."
"I think Rumble cute!" Flurry said.
"I know you think that Flurry, and I think you're cute too, adorable even," Rumble said.
"Adowable," Flurry repeated, getting an aw from everyone aside from Cozy Glow.
"How about we let Rumble and Flurry Heart catch up, and maybe she can also make friends with Cozy Glow," Twilight suggested.
"My daughter is not befriending the filly that threw her into the garbage!" Shining Armor said.
"Come on big brother, they need to work things out," Twilight said. "I think Cozy Glow and Flurry Heart would make the cutest pair of friends."
"I still don't trust her around my daughter," Shining Armor said.
"Hey I'll be here to keep an eye on Flurry and Cozy," Rumble said.
"And I'll keep an eye on Rumble, and Cozy Glow," Tender Taps said.
"Uh...whatever you want bro," Rumble said.
"Don't call me 'bro'," Tender Taps said, getting an ear droop from Rumble.
"Uh, alright," Rumble said, then turned to Twilight. "I'll come to you if we need help but I promise that I have it under control." He held Flurry close to him, getting a blush from the filly. "I'm still Flurry's knight, and I'll do anything to protect her."
"I know you will," Twilight said, rubbing his mane. "You're a good boy Rumble, even if you have made some mistakes. What matters is you're trying to make amends."
"Thanks Princess Twilight," Rumble said, bowing to her.
Twilight found that adorable, she just can't be mad at Rumble for having cheated on Sweetie Belle, it's not like he set out to hurt her feelings, and she knows he truly regrets that. As for the break-up, Twilight has her own beliefs of why that happened but she might just need to ask Rumble herself later.
"We'll be leaving now, please all of you be on your best behavior, and try to at least be tolerant of each other," Twilight said, making her way out the room with Starlight, Spike, Flitter, Shining Armor and Cadance.
"The first sign of trouble, I'll be right inside, and there will be hell to pay!" Shining Armor warned.
"Shining! don't shout like that in front of Flurry! You'll set a bad example," Cadance scolded.
"Yes dear," Shining Armor said, leaving with the others.
Rumble figured now would be a good time to help Cozy and Flurry make peace, a simpler first step than asking the Crusaders. "Alright, now I know last time you two met, Cozy you threw Flurry in the trash, which was not very nice."
"Yeah, I've been told, even Sonata thought I was crazy," Cozy said.
"For good reason, throwing toddlers in garbage cans is not very polite," Rumble said. "You probably made Flurry sad doing that."
"Me get mad!" Flurry shouted, preparing her magic. "Me do the same!"
"Let's not!" Rumble said, quickly calming Flurry down. "Come on, let's try not to resort to acts of revenge." He turned his attention to Cozy Glow. "Now, tell Flurry you're sorry."
"I already did!" Cozy said.
"Tell her again, and try to mean it," Rumble said. "Look into her eyes and speak from your heart. I know you have it in you."
"This is a waste of time," Tender Taps said, getting a glare from Rumble.
"Making friends isn't a waste of time, you should be helping me Taps," Rumble said.
"Don't call me 'Taps' like I'm your buddy," Tender Taps said, getting a groan from Rumble.
"I'm not dwelling on this, I want to make peace between them," Rumble said turning to the two fillies. "Look Cozy, maybe you don't see the big deal, but Flurry does. It's a simple apology, its not gonna hurt you."
"How do you know that?" Cozy Glow asked.
"I know you're capable of guilt and emotions Cozy, remember when you apologized to me at Starlight's old village? Because you felt bad for separating me from Flitter?" Rumble reminded.
"Well, only because...I actually like you, and I didn't want you mad at me," Cozy Glow said. "I barely even know Flurry Heart so I don't care if she hates me."
"Come on, I mean look at her adorable little face," Rumble said, gesturing to Flurry. "You mean to tell me you're ok with having hurt her?"
"I'm cuter," Cozy said.
"Cozy no offense but it's hard to be cuter than a toddler," Rumble said.
"I don't think she's cute at all, she's too rotten of a filly," Tender Taps said, gaining Cozy's ire.
"Come here and say that you Princess Pet!" Cozy Glow shouted.
"At least I actually have friends, you're going to be all alone with your lousy attitude and no one's going to love you," Tender Taps said, somewhat upsetting Cozy Glow.
"That's not true, I have ponies who love me!" Cozy Glow shouted, a little hurt in her voice.
"Maybe for now, but with the way things are going for you, I wouldn't be surprised if Flitter gave up on you and had you sent back to Tartarus with those other villains, where you belong," Tender Taps said.
"Y-you're just jealous, that's all!" Cozy Glow shouted. "Because I almost became head mare at the most prestigious school in all of Equestria, while you were stuck doing your petty little dance routines!"
"Hey I love dancing, it's my talent, it's a useful talent, all you know how to do is manipulate, and how long is that going to benefit you?" Tender Taps asked. "Ponies are going to see through you and soon you'll have nothing, honestly I feel bad for whoever your family is, though maybe they saw how bad you were and just left you alone because who would want you around!?"
"Tender Taps!" Rumble shouted, angry at the other colt for going that far.
Cozy Glow felt her heart tug, just the mention of her family, or lack there of hit harder than she hoped to let on. It took a lot for her not to break down in front of everypony, not wanting to look vulnerable. "Well, who needs family, I certainly don't!"
She then turned away and stormed off, Rumble looking really concerned.
"Cozy Glow!" Rumble called out, then glared at Tender Taps. "That was uncalled for! You probably hurt her feelings!"
"I couldn't care less about her feelings, or yours for that matter," Tender Taps said.
Rumble shook his head in disappointment, "What happened to you? Are you even Tender Taps? Huh? Maybe you're a Changeling, because the Tener Taps I know would never stoop to anything like that. You've always been kind hearted and you always looked out for others. Even when you were mad or upset about something you handled it with grace, you never let your anger take control of you. I used to admire that quality about you, I always thought you were a great pony, and for the longest time, one of the reasons I feel regret for hurting Sweetie Belle was because I knew I let you down. But now, I don't even care, if you want to be miserable then be my guest, because at this rate you're the one who's gonna end up alone, Twilight won't waste her time on a pony who completely shuts away friends and potential friends when they need him the most."
Rumble set out to find Cozy Glow, Flurry following after him, leaving Tender Taps by himself. Truthfully he did feel some regret over what he said, the others are doing their best to help Cozy Glow reform, and it's something Twilight seems to want. He just can't help but feel betrayed by what Rumble did, and the fact that Cozy was a catalyst behind that didn't help matters either.
"Great, now I gotta apologize, it's what Twilight would want," Tender Taps said, going to find the others.
Rumble searched the halls for Cozy Glow, worried that she might have actually left the castle. If Twilight found out she would likely be furious, and Flitter might lose her custody of the filly. Thankfully she didn't go that far, he heard some sniffling from a nearby room. He looked inside and found that she was in a library of sorts, or just a room with a lot of books, he really can't tell.
"Cozy Glow?" Rumble said, slowly walking towards her. This did catch her attention, and it looked like she was indeed crying, though trying to hold back.
"I'm fine, just...something in my eyes," Cozy Glow said.
Rumble knew she was fibbing, too proud to admit her weakness. So he walked over and pulled her into a hug, which she did not protest. "Don't worry about Tender Taps, he's just grumpy, that's all."
"Like I care what he has to say," Cozy Glow said, wiping away her tears. "I don't need a family."
"Well, you have one, you have Flitter, and me," Rumble said. "We both care about you, you're special to me Cozy Glow."
Cozy seemed to smile at that, finally returning Rumble's hug. "Thanks...you two are all I need. I love you both."
Flurry felt pity for Cozy Glow, seeing her this sad was too much for her. Cozy might be mean but right now she could use a hug. So Flurry floated over and squeezed in for a hug of her own.
"Aw, Flurry likes you now," Rumble said, taking a step back and allowing Flurry more room to hug Cozy Glow.
"I guess so," Cozy said, returning the hug. "And I guess she is cute."
"Isn't she?' Rumble said.
Cozy pulled back, looking Flurry in her eyes. "I'm really sorry for throwing you in the trash, that was mean of me. I hope we can start over."
"I forgive you," Flurry said, then leaned in to kiss Cozy on the cheek.
"Alright, you are cute, I admit it," Cozy Glow said, bringing Flurry back in for a hug.
"Aw, my two favorite girls are friends now," Rumble said, then walked over to kiss Cozy on the cheek. "Thanks, it means a lot."
Cozy Glow returned the kiss, the two having a quick moment of passion. Flurry of course got a bit jealous.
"My turn!" Flurry said, puckering out her lips.
"Flurry, you know that's not something I should do," Rumble said.
"I want kiss," Flurry said, looking sad. "I love Rumble too."
"That's actually adorable," Cozy said, then had a sinister idea. "Maybe you should Rumble, I mean one kiss couldn't hurt."
"Shouldn't you be on my side?" Rumble asked. "I mean, you have a crush on me."
"If it were another filly then I'd be a bit jealous, but it's only Flurry Heart," Cozy said. "Plus she's a Princess, imagine being the first love of a Princess. Plus I'd rather you get it over with now, that way you won't be curious later."
"Want kiss Rumble, please Rumble?" Flurry pleaded.
Rumble wasn't sure about this, knowing that it wouldn't really be proper, but if it's one time only and it lets Flurry get over him, maybe it couldn't hurt. "Promise you won't tell anypony."
"I'll keep this between us," Cozy Glow said. "Aren't I a good marefriend?"
Rumble had to wonder if she would be saying this if she knew about him getting passionate with Diamond Tiara the day prior. Of course from the sounds of things, she wouldn't have taken to that lightly. He looked down to Flurry, the filly anxiously awaiting her kiss. She did look kind of adorable, maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
"This is once only Flurry, and it's gonna be a quick one," Rumble said, getting a nod. Rumble leaned down to kiss Flurry, the filly quickly returning it. However Flurry secretly used some magic to entice Rumble, the colt extending his kiss longer than he expected.
Cozy could see that she used some magic, but she paid little mind to it. What mattered to her at the moment is how much she had control over Rumble. She managed to convince him to kiss another filly, even one as young as Flurry. This was only the start for her, soon she might try to see what else she could get Rumble to do, with enough practice, he could very well be the perfect coltfriend for her, one that will do anything she tells him to.
Cozy took the moment to nudge Flurry, "Alright you had your fun, please release Rumble from your spell."
Flurry reluctantly did as told, satisfied with her kiss, Rumble feeling weird. "Uh, what happenend?"
"Nothing, just a cute innocent kiss with an adorable little Princess," Cozy Glow said, rubbing Flurry's head.
"You good kisser, I happy now," Flurry said. "You call me, or write me."
"Of course...remember once only," Rumble said.
"Yeah, yeah, once only," Flurry said. "You all for Cozy Glow."
"Aw, she knows my name already," Cozy said, nuzzling Flurry. "I want to see you again soon, when are you coming back?"
"I dunno," Flurry said.
"Well let's keep in touch, who knows, maybe I can try to be like a big sister to you, there are a lot of things I want us to try," Cozy said, almost deviously."
"Ok," Flurry said.
"We should get back, I'm worried that Twilight's gonna come into the room and see you not there," Rumble said. He led the fillies back, though as he left the room, the three came face to face with Tender Taps. "Tender Taps?"
"Uh hey...I came to check on you," Tender Taps said, somewhat nervously.
"Oh...well that's nice," Rumble said.
"Yeah, I thought about what you said and maybe you're right, I should try to be nicer, it's what Twilight would want," Tender Taps said.
"Wow really! That's great!" Rumble said. "I'm so happy, I really want us to be friends again, you, me and The Crusaders. I really hope that I can get Cozy Glow to like them as well, she already likes Flurry."
"I like her a lot," Cozy Glow said, hugging the Princess close.
"Hey, I'm sorry for saying mean things to you Cozy Glow, I'll try to be a bit nicer," Tender Taps said. "I shouldn't have gone that far."
"That's alright, we all make mistakes now and then," Cozy Glow said. "Maybe we can be good friends too."
"That's great, though we should get back before Twilight comes back and sees us not there," Tender Taps said.
"Yeah, let's hurry girls," Rumble said, leading the two away. Flurry followed Rumble, Cozy doing the same, but not before suspiciously glancing at Tender Taps.
As he followed everyone back to the room, he could only remember what he saw a moment ago, seeing Rumble kissing Flurry Heart, that just seemed strange to him, and hearing Cozy Glow encouraging it was weird too. What concerned him more was the sinister smile she seemed to have, like if she was planning something. He knew he couldn't trust her, he knew she was up to something, he would find out what.
In the future Twilight continued her search for Tender Taps, blasting every creature in her way, be it Changelings or the Storm King's soldiers. She's even encountered essence of The Nightmare, hoping to destroy it before it could take over anypony.
One creature tried attacking her from behind, but before she could get to it, it had already been blasted. She turned to the direction of the pony who assisted her, recognizing her immediately. "Oh it's you, I'm so happy to see you Sweetie Belle."
Standing nearby was of course the very filly who helped start the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She smirked confidently at the pony she looked up to, "Same here Twi, I hear you're looking for Tender Taps, now let's go save our precious Tappy."
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
In Grogar's base of operations, Tender Taps had been roughly thrown into a cell by Adagio, the Siren leader glancing seductively at the colt. "I'll be back for you later cutie, we'll have a good time you and me."
"I doubt that," Tender Taps said, glaring at the Siren. "Sorry but you're not my type."
"You won't have much of a choice later, besides I'm very persuasive," Adagio said, walking off and leaving Tender Taps in his cell, the young stallion feeling quite worried for what's to come. He knows he's mainly being used as bait to lure in Twilight, she's likely heading into danger without realizing it.
"Twilight...Damn, if she only listened more," Tender Taps began remembering. He remembered the day Rumble and Cozy Glow came to the castle, his heated conversation with Cozy Glow, and the kiss Rumble shared with Flurry Heart.
Cozy Glow had actually convinced Rumble to kiss what was basically a toddler, granted it was an innocent kiss to help subside a crush, it's the reason behind the kiss that had Tender Taps worried, and the start of what would lead to Equestria's destruction.
Some time had passed since the foals returned to the room they were left in, Flurry and Cozy were getting along much better than they were a earlier on. Rumble was sitting close with the two fillies, his wing wrapped around Cozy Glow.
Tender Taps began to wonder what Rumble's current relationship to Cozy Glow was, remembering the kiss the two shared just before Rumble kissed Flurry Heart. That kiss seemed pretty mutual, like if Rumble really was dating Cozy Glow now.
Eventually Twilight had returned with the others, happy to see that things seem peaceful. "We're back."
"Hi Twilight," Rumble greeted, then nudged Cozy Glow.
"Hello Twilight," Cozy said, almost dead panned.
Twilight hoped that Cozy would have lightened up a bit, but she wasn't gone that long. She's just happy that she didn't have to get called over sooner, so it seems like Cozy was quite civil. What did make Twilight happy was that it seemed like Cozy was enjoying Flurry's company, and vice versa.
"Looks like Cozy and Flurry are getting along quite well," Twilight said.
"Yeah, we got Cozy to make peace with her, now Flurry's quite fond of her," Rumble said.
"Me and Cozy friends!" Flurry added.
"That's so great, it's nice to see Cozy making friends," Twilight said. "Having friends is the greatest feeling, soon Cozy will get to experience that magic."
"Oh now you want me to have friends, last time I tried having friends you threw me in Tartarus!" Cozy Glow said.
"Cozy be nice," Rumble urged. "Twilight's not wrong, you really didn't know much about friends if you thought that locking her and her friends in Tartarus was a good way to make friends."
"Hey the best way to have friends was to be the Head Mare of Twilight's school, and the best way to do that was to keep Twilight out of the way," Cozy Glow said.
"Uh Cozy, I think you might be a tad bit confused about how friendship works," Twilight said. "After all, even you should know I didn't make friends because of a school."
"But the school helps you make new friends, and Friendship leads to power, you always say Friendship is Magic, and that magic helped you become an Alicorn Princess!" Cozy Glow said. "So I figured the more friends I have, the closer I would come to being an Alicorn too!"
Twilight cocked her head curiously at the filly, "That's not exactly how it goes Cozy, I got my Alicorn wings after figuring out an Ancient Spell from Starswirl, not because I had friends, anypony can have friends, that's its own type of magic."
"What's the point of magic if you don't utilize it's powers to it's fullest!?" Cozy said. "It's seems like such a waste if you ask me."
"Cozy..." Twilight looked a bit disappointed in the filly for having such a mindset. She's gonna have to fix that if Cozy's going to live among the ponies of Ponyville. "You're gonna need a few Friendship Lessons."
"Ugh, I don't have to go back to your school do I?" Cozy asked. "Seeing that place just reminds me of my biggest failure!"
"It won't be at the School of Friendship, I don't think many of the students would be too fond to see you just yet," Twilight said.
"Well good, I don't want to see them either, especially the six that helped ruin my plans," Cozy Glow said.
"Six? What six?" Rumble asked.
"Sandbar, Ocellus, Gallus, Yona, Smolder and Silverstream," Tender Taps reminded. "You met them over a week ago."
"Oh right, forgot about them," Rumble said. "I don't really see them much, except maybe Sandbar but oddly enough, the one time we did cross paths, he looked like he didn't want to be near me."
"Well you did kiss Cozy Glow, and she tried to trap him in the school," Tender Taps explained.
"Wow, some ponies really hold a grudge, I'm willing to bet none of Starlight's friends from her village hold a grudge agianst her," Cozy Glow said.
"They actually don't, which was weird for me at first," Starlight said. "I thought they were gonna hate me when I returned."
"Well maybe this can work for Cozy Glow," Rumble said. "If those six could forgive and accept her, then that's one step closer to all the ponies forgiving and accepting Cozy Glow."
"Ugh, but why do I have to work for it?" Cozy Glow asked. "Honestly, all I care is that Rumble likes me, and now Flurry Heart likes me too, and I didn't really have to do much."
"You still did something Cozy Glow," Rumble reminded. "You said 'sorry', and that was a big step."
"Huh? How was it big? It wasn't really that hard," Cozy Glow said.
"Exactly," Twilight interjected. "Doing the right thing really isn't that hard, you just have to be willing to do it. Now why did you apologize to Flurry?"
"Uh...I just felt bad, that's all," Cozy Glow said. "I mean, maybe throwing her was too much, and she's the only pony who's as cute as I am, so I respect that. Also she comforted me when Tender Taps hurt my feelings."
"He what!?" Twilight exclaimed, glaring slightly at the colt.
"Oh boy..." Tender Taps said, feeling a bit worried.
"But he apologized too, so it's all good," Cozy said, somewhat relieving Tender Taps's worries.
"Well, that's good that he did, Tender Taps knows when to admit to a mistake, it's very admirable, and you Cozy, you can also be admirable," Twilight said. "Now what would help motivate you to make peace with my Top Six Students?"
"And the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Rumble added.
"Excellent point, though you two might need to do that one together," Twilight said.
"If they're willing to listen, I really think Apple Bloom hates me," Rumble said.
"She doesn't hate you," Twilight insisted. "She's just a bit disappointed, but if she sees you making an effort to make up for what you did, she'll slowly but surely forgive you. Same goes for you as well Cozy Glow."
"Eh, I'm not as worried," Cozy Glow said.
Twilight seemed a bit disappointed to hear that, she only hoped Rumble could get through to Cozy Glow. Fortunately he went to work fast. "Hey Twilight, didn't The Crusaders want to go to your School of Friendship?"
"Uh, yeah, they did, why?" Twilight asked.
"Just wondering, I hear they became tutors instead, how exactly did that story go?" Rumble asked.
Twilight seemed confused at first, wondering what the reason was for Rumble to be asking. The more she thought about it, she realized something vital. "I believe it was Cozy Glow who helped them."
"Rumble...what are you doing?" Cozy Glow asked. "Why are you asking Twilight about something you already knew about?"
"I was curious and wanted to know more, about how you helped the Crusaders achieve a goal of theirs," Rumble said.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Cozy Glow insisted.
"Oh but I do," Starlight said. "I remember you coming into my office because you felt guilty about something. You told me about how you failed your test on purpose because you thought it would get the Crusaders into Twilight's school if it seemed like they couldn't properly teach you about Friendship."
"Yeah, what's your point?" Cozy said.
"I just admit, I do find it odd," Twilight said. "If you wanted, you could have let the Crusaders take the blame, nopony would ever figure that you would have intentionally set them up, but you didn't. You told Starlight what you did, now why would you do something that nice for them? What did you have to gain?"
"I only did that to get on your good side, that's all," Cozy Glow said.
"But wouldn't you already have Twilight's sympathy?" Rumble pointed out. "Twilight is very attentive to ponies who feel like they failed."
"Uh, small oversight then," Cozy Glow said.
"Cozy, why are you pretending not to care?" Twilight asked. "I can tell that deep down you're probably a very nice pony, who's just a bit misguided."
"I was no different than you Cozy Glow, I made mistakes too and it nearly cost me everything," Starlight said. "Thanks to Twilight i was able to atone for my mistakes, make new friends and rekindle the bond with my old friend. I was able to see Sunburst again, something I never thought I'd get to do."
"See, this worked for Starlight, it can work for you as well, I know there's good in you," Twilight said.
"If you think there's good in me, then why were you so quick to throw me in Tartarus!?" Cozy Glow shouted. "You didn't even seem that surprised when you found out I was buddies with Tirek, I thought you'd be somewhat devastated that your little helper betrayed you! You weren't even quick to get me out either, the only reason I'm not still in Tartarus is because Flitter had to practically beg for the chance to give me a home! I bet you could have gone the rest of your life knowing I was stuck in a place like that! Surrounded by some of the worst monsters in all of Equesria! I thought I could die in there! The only thing that let me feel safe was knowing that Tirek was there, then Chryssie came along, then The Dazzlings! Villains made me feel more safe than a Princess did! Let that sink in!"
Twilight seemed taken back by Cozy's outburst, what's more is that she could sense a little hurt in Cozy's voice. Twilight wonders if she made a mistake allowing Cozy Glow to be sent to Tartarus, she should have tried more to help her out.
"I'm sorry you felt that way Cozy, it was wrong of me," Twilight said.
"Well the truth finally comes out, not like I even care now," Cozy Glow said. "You worry about your little followers, I'll stick with ponies who actually care about me."
"Cozy Glow, if there's anything I can do, you just tell me," Twilight said.
"Just...stay out of my way," Cozy Glow said. "Honestly if I could never see you or your friends again, that would be the best thing for me."
"Cozy Glow!" Flitter scolded. "I know you're mad at Twilight but she is the one giving you this chance to be with me."
"Fine, that's the one good thing she's done for me, only because you seem to care more than she does," Cozy Glow said. "Now if we're done, I just wanna go back home."
Twilight sighed in disappointment and shame, "Yeah, we're done. You can take her home Flitter."
"We'll see you another time," Flitter said. "Come on Cozy, you too Rumble."
"Bye Flurry," Cozy said, rubbing her mane, Rumble also bidding farewell to the filly as he left the castle.
"That filly's gonna be a piece of work," Shining Armor said.
"But it will be worth it," Cadance insisted. "Cozy needs Friendship now more than ever."
"Yeah, let's all try being friendly to her, maybe it'll lighten the tension," Starlight said.
"I just hope it's not too late," Twilight said.
The day passed, soon Cadance, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart had to go home and Starlight went to work on some school stuff, Spike joining her. Tender Taps was ready to go home as well.
"I'll see you tomorrow Twilight," Tender Taps said.
"Yeah, see you then," Twilight said. "Also Tappy, about what Cozy Glow said earlier, you hurting her feelings. Would you be able to tell me exactly what happened? I know you two made up but I am curious how that came about, just so I know what to work on."
"She was just being a pain so I told her off," Tender Taps said. "If I'm being honest Twilight, I don't know if she can reform."
"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked.
"Earlier on...it looked like she tried manipulating something, like she's trying to see if she can get Rumble to do whatever she commands, plus she sounded very...seductive toward Rumble too," Tender Taps said.
"Well, she does have a crush on him," Twilight pointed out. "Which is probably fine, Rumble did break up with Sweetie Belle...well only because Cozy Glow kissed him...yeah I know you're still mad about that."
"Cozy did something bad and she's still being kind of bad, I mean she got Rumble and Flurry Heart to kiss, and she seemed satisfied by it," Tender Taps said.
"Rumble kissed Flurry Heart?" Twilight asked. "That's actually cute, not really a bad thing."
"It wasn't a kiss on the head Twilight, it was a kiss-kiss, like when you're in love," Tender Taps said.
"Whatever you saw was probably just Rumble humoring Flurry, it's fine as long as he doesn't make a habit out of it," Twilight said.
"Twilight, are you really ok with Rumble kissing somepony much younger than him?" Tender Taps asked. "At least Cozy Glow is his age."
"Wow, little surprised to hear you say that Tappy, considering you had no problems kissing me like that," Twilight said. "Was I not suppose to like it?"
Tender Taps somewhat realized her point, "Well I'm older, I'm pretty much Rumble's age, I'm practically a stallion."
"Honestly Tender Taps, I don't see much of a difference, and the more I thought about it, while it's sweet you have a crush on me, you might want to find somepony your age," Twilight said.
"Excuse me!?" Tender Taps said. "Where is this coming from, you love spending time with me! I know you even have a picture of me in your office!"
"Well yeah I like spending time with you, but honestly Tappy, with everything that's happening, like me ruling over Equestria and likely having to move to Canterlot Castle...I don't know if we can be together anyway," Twilight said. "I did entertain the idea, I really did, that once you got older, I can see for myself how good you'd be as a coltfriend, but I can't keep you waiting like that when I'm not even sure of my own future anymore."
"Twilight I'm willing to take that risk if it means we can be together, I'll make it work," Tender Taps said. "I'll move to Canterlot as well, I'll get a job in the castle if I have to."
"I don't even know if I can get married though, I mean Princess Celestia isn't married," Twilgiht said.
"What about Cadance, she's married!" Tender Taps argued.
"Cadance isn't ruling over Equestria like I am," Twilight said. "Tappy, I know it's hard, but maybe you should at least consider the possibility of another filly."
"I can't, I'm faithful only to you," Tender Taps said. "Twilight, I want to marry you, not anypony else."
Twilight felt pity for Tender Taps, she actually admired this side of him, a side that's so confident in what he wants.
"Just give it a chance Tender Taps, maybe you'll be happier this way," Twilight insisted.
"But Twilight..." Tender Taps pleaded.
"No buts, just give it a shot," Twilight said. "Anyway it's late, you should be going home now."
Tender Taps was disheartened, he was close to losing Twilight, he had to figure something out. "Alright, fine...But I'm not giving up on you Twilight."
Tender Taps made his way home, angrily stomping back. He doesn't know what happened but somehow Twilight is slipping away from him, he can't lose her that easily, not without a fight.
As Tender Taps made his way home, he spotted something not too atypical, Button Mash was at the door to Carousel Boutique, speaking to a highly familiar filly.
"Come on Sweetie Belle, I know you broke up with Rumble, nothing's stopping you from dating me," Button Mash said. "I know you used to have a crush on me, now's the time to act on it."
"I am not interested right now Button Mash," Sweetie Belle said. "Now's not a good time."
"I get it, you're still heart broken, but the best way to overcome it is with a date with a very attractive colt, namely me," Button Mash said.
"What part of 'no' don't you understand, I am NOT interested," Sweetie Belle said.
Tender Taps made his way over to the two, "Hey, everything alright here?"
"Oh, hi Tappy..." Sweetie Belle said, shyly waving.
"What are you doing here?" Button asked.
"I was just walking by, why are you here?" Tender Taps asked.
"Duh, I'm trying to ask Sweetie Belle out on a date," Button Mash said. "It's taking me forever to get her to say 'yes'."
"That's because...I already have a date," Sweetie Belle said, surprising both colts. She quickly trotted over to Tender Taps, nuzzling against him. "Yeah, I'm dating Tender Taps now."
"I'm what?" Tender Taps asked, slightly confused.
"Please just go along with it," Sweetie Belle begged in a hushed tone.
"Wait, you're dating Tender Taps? Why him of all ponies, he's kind of a wimp," Button Mash said.
Tender Taps looked slightly offended, "Well, this 'wimp' has a nice date with an attractive filly, something you sure as heck can't say!"
Button Mash groaned in annoyance, "Fine, it's no big deal. I mean you already got dumped by Apple Bloom so it's only a matter of time before Sweetie Belle dumps you too."
"Hey! I wasn't dumped by Apple Bloom!" Tender Taps shouted.
"Yeah, sure, sounds like the desperate denial of a failed coltfriend," Button Mash said, making his way home. "See you later Sweetie Belle!"
Sweetie Belle shook her head in annoyance, "I'll never understand why I even had a crush on that silly colt." She turned to Tender Taps, smiling at the boy, "Thanks for backing me up, I'm sorry for putting you in an awkward spot."
"It's fine, we're friends after all," Tender Taps said. "Seems like you're attracting some attention now though."
Sweetie Belle sighed, "It's not just Button Mash, once the colts in school found out about me and Rumble breaking up, they started lining up to ask me out, even a filly was among them. It doesn't help that they get too competitive too, just the other day Snips and Snails were fighting over me."
"Those two? Not to be rude but you're way beyond their league," Tender Taps said.
"Aw, that's sweet of you," Sweetie Belle said. "Hey I'm kind of bored at home, wanna keep me company?"
"Uh, sure, I don't mind," Tender Taps said.
"Great! I have so many more cute outfits for you to try, some I made myself!" Sweetie Belle said, making her way inside.
"Heh, great..." Tender Taps said, nervously following the filly into her sister's home.
That marked the start of something uniquely different for the two foals.
Back in the future, Twilight and Sweetie Belle were sitting together by a campfire, the two a bit exhausted from all the fighting they had to do, wondering how Chrysalis had gotten back so many Changelings, and where Storm King keeps getting his soldiers from.
"You've gotten pretty good at combat Sweetie Belle, I'm quite amazed," Twilight said.
"Well you and Starlight did teach me a lot about magic control, I just had to learn how to use it to fight," Sweetie Belle said. "I'm still learning a bit but I've had plenty of time to practice, especially since I keep running into Changelings and Storm King' soldiers."
"I'm glad you're safe at least, it's been a really rough week," Twilight said. "Since this invasion started the world's been a wreck, I'm actually amazed at how well all the villains seem to work together."
"Ironic in a way," Sweetie Belle said. "We've survived this long using Friendship to outshine them, then the villains go and make friends with each other, so it's like the Magic of Friendship could work against us as well as it can work for us."
"Yeah, that is a bit of a hassle," Twilight admitted. "Though I guess in a way this only happened because we failed in Friendship ourselves. If only things hadn't gone south the way they did."
"It happens Twilight, everypony makes mistakes," Sweetie Belle said. "Maybe this could have been avoided if I learned to forgive sooner. Looking back, I don't know why I didn't do anything to help Cozy Glow more, after she took all of Equestria's magic, it seems like me and The Crusaders just forgot about her, maybe because we were mad at her locking us in a closest, I guess we should have tried a more direct approach, figure out why she was being evil in the first place."
"I should have done that after leaving Tartarus, seems like Rumble was right about everything," Twilight said. "If I could help ponies like Starlight and Stygian, in addition to befriending the likes of Discord, a filly should have been a piece of cake. I'm just so ashamed of myself."
"Rumble...I never should have let him go," Sweetie Belle said. "I know he did what he did but, I never once doubted he loved me any less, he made a mistake, and it's not like he's the only one who got curious."
"You were pretty curious in my little Tappy," Twilight said. "You even started using my nickname for him."
Sweetie Belle sheepishly blushed, "Looks like me and Rumble went through our own trials."
"I guess that only happened because I nearly let him go myself, all because of what my brother told me," Twilight began.
Back in the past, while Rumble and Cozy Glow were at the castle and in the other room with Tender Taps and Flurry Heart. Twilight was in her office with Spike, Cadance, Starlight and Shining Armor.
"Big brother, everything will be fine," Twilight said to her brother, who had his eyes fixed on the door. "So please stop worrying."
"My daughter is alone with a diabolical villain, you really think I'm not gonna be worried!?" Shining Armor asked.
"I know Cozy's a mastermind, but she's also a little filly who really can't do much," Twilight said. "Cozy was only dangerous because had tricked everyone, she had the element of surprise, she no longer has that and is mostly harmless on her own."
"She's right, she doesn't have magic, and her plans usually required the assistance of one of her villain allies," Starlight said. "Flurry will be fine, especially with Rumble around to protect her."
"Tappy's there too, he'll keep her safe," Twilight said.
"Tappy? That boy with the purple slick back hair?" Shining Armor said. "I've been meaning to ask, what is your relationship with him Twiley?"
"Well, he's a friend, and my sweet little helper," Twilight said. "I mean aside from Spike."
"Hey that's cool, he gives me a break," Spike said. "Not that I don't like helping you out, but you know that better than anypony. It's just that lately I've had my own duties to attend to."
"Yes, you're very busy yourself now, and it's nice to have Tender Taps by my side, he's so amazing," Twilight said, blushing a bit. "He's kind, sweet, very thoughtful, and he's always quick to stay by my side."
"You're really fond of him, though I am a bit concerned about the way you're talking about him," Shining Armor said. "Call me crazy but it almost sounds like you have a small crush on the boy."
"Well, you are crazy, because I don't have a crush on him, he's like twelve years old," Twilight said. "I just think he's really kind and sweet, and I'll admit, if he were older, I'd say he'd make an excellent coltfriend."
"Is that your plan then? To wait?" Shining Armor asked.
"Huh? I never said that big brother," Twilight nervously stated.
"I know you pretty well Twi, maybe you don't realize it but you are showing signs of a crush," Shining Armor said. "I can tell from how you act when you're around him, and they way you're cheeks turned pink when you were talking about him."
"I've kind of noticed this as well Twilight," Starlight said. "You do get excited when you see him, very excited, and you two really get close."
"Plus you don't exactly turn down his affections," Spike said. "I mean he does kind of treat you like his girlfriend, and you do go along with it."
"I...I mean I just...well," Twilight couldn't think of the words to say.
"It's understandable he has a crush on you but if I'm being honest Twilight, I can almost feel you returning it," Cadance said. "That really isn't ideal."
"Yeah, he's a kid and you're not, but you know that already," Shining Armor said.
"It might be a bit strange if ponies saw the future leader of Equestria falling in love with a colt that still hasn't fully matured," Starlight said. "I mean, Tender Taps is mature for his age but he's still young looking, if you want ponies to take you seriously as a leader, then you can't really be seen with a boy that young."
Twilight looked on in disbelief, she hadn't realized she was that fond of Tender Taps, she knew he'd make a good coltfriend someday but she didn't expect to be falling for him now.
"For your sake Twiley, I would make sure to tell that boy he has no chance with you," Shining Armor said. "You're going to be ruler of Equestria, I don't know if you're even going to be able to get married."
"Isn't that a bit far?" Starlight asked. "I mean, I don't think there's a rule against it, just because Celestia and Luna aren't married doesn't mean Twilight can't be."
"Well even if she does get married, it shouldn't be to a much younger stallion," Shining Armor insisted. "Twilight needs somepony more her age...or she could just not get married at all."
"I can't promise I won't," Twilight said. "I'm not gonna go crazy looking for somepony to marry but I also won't actively avoid the possibility."
"Just promise you'll get that colt to ease up," Shining Armor said.
"Alright fine, I'll have a word with him then," Twilight said.
True to that she did speak with Tender Taps, the conversation that led him right to Sweetie Belle that day.
In the future Twilight had just finished explaining the story to Sweetie Belle, which the filly seemed to find somewhat humorous.
"So that's why he seemed so down, he did tell me about what you said to him, but now I know it was because of your brother," Sweetie Belle said.
"My brother thought I had a crush on Tender Taps, maybe I did, I mean he was young but very sweet, and I knew he would be the perfect gentlecolt as he got older," Twilight said. "But like my brother said, it seems unbefitting for a Princess to be enamored with a younger colt."
"I find that bogus, but I do agree with you about the sweet part, I mean I really know from experience about that," Sweetie Belle said, blushing a bit.
"So tell me, what drew you to my Tappy in the first place?" Twilight asked, very curious to know and to see if Sweetie Belle would be her love rival, something Twilight never thought she'd have to worry about.
"I'll tell you exactly what happened," Sweetie Belle said.
Sweetie Belle flashed back to that same day where Twilight talked with her brother and when Cozy Glow befriended Flurry Heart. Before the conversation, before the friendship, Sweetie Belle was with her friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. The trio were at the Clubhouse, discussing their next plan.
"So what's the plan today Crusaders?" Apple Bloom asked. "Anypony need help figuring out their Cutie Mark? Or help earning them?"
"We could try helping Ruby," Scootaloo suggested. "Or Noi, think they could use our help."
"Good idea, how about you Sweetie Belle, got anything?" Apple Bloom said. No answer yet, Sweetie Belle looked pretty distracted. "Uh, Sweetie Belle?"
"Huh?" Sweetie Belle turned her attention to her friends. "Oh, sorry, what were you saying?"
Apple Bloom furrowed her brow in annoyance, "You've been in a daze a lot lately Sweetie Belle, are you still upset over yer break up with Rumble?"
"Huh? No, of course not," Sweetie Belle insisted.
"I don't know, you do seem pretty depressed," Scootaloo said.
"I'm fine, stop asking me about it," Sweetie Belle said, this time a bit more assertively.
"We're just worried, ah mean, Rumble cheated on you and dumped you, it would make sense that yer hurt and upset, it ain't nothing to be ashamed of," Apple Bloom insisted.
"Not when you say it like that," Sweetie Belle said. "Look, Rumble didn't 'dump' me, he came to me and suggested that we don't stay together because he felt bad for cheating on me."
"Sounds like he just said that to take some of the blame off of himself," Apple Bloom said. "Plus that don't explain why he's been hanging around with Cozy Glow, if he feels bad about cheating on you, why is he with the girl he cheated on you with?"
"I don't know, and I really don't care," Sweetie Belle said. "Rumble and I aren't together, he can date whoever he wants."
"You can't be that alright with this!" Apple Bloom said. "If you ain't happy, Rumble shouldn't be neither!"
"I'm not getting revenge on him, he's moving on and so am I," Sweetie Belle said. "I'll date who I want, and he can do what he wants."
"Wait, are you dating anypony?" Scootaloo asked.
"Well, no not yet, but that's my choice," Sweetie Belle said. "I'm not rushing back into it, I was in a relationship for over a year and right now I'm enjoying my time being single. If Rumble wants to date a bunch of fillies then let him."
"Well, at least yer handling it with class," Apple Bloom said. "But honestly, ah think you should find somepony to date, if yer all alone while Rumble's off with Cozy Glow or anypony else, well that just don't set right with me."
"I'll think about it," Sweetie Belle said. "But honestly, going off to find somepony to date might also make me look desperate, I don't want anypony thinking I need to have a coltfriend. So I'll either end up looking bad either way, I'm just going with what's comfortable for me now."
"That's good for you Sweetie Belle, don't give into what other ponies think," Scootlaoo commended.
"I won't," Sweetie Belle said. "Now can we please move on from this? I am not concerned with Rumble's dating life, like I said, he can date anypony he wants, even one of you two."
"Pfft, as if, ah would never date a cheater," Apple Bloom said. "Thanks but no thanks."
"Yeah, I totally wouldn't either," Scootaloo said, a little hesitation in her voice.
Apple Bloom glared at her friend, "Scootaloo..."
"Hey I'm not gonna do anything I don't think is right," Scootaloo said.
Sweetie Belle knew Scootaloo was deeply curious, "Scootaloo, if you are interested, I won't stop you. You don't have to date Rumble if you don't want to but if you do feel interested, don't hold back on asking for my sake. Who knows, maybe you were meant to be with Rumble, maybe you were meant to be with Rumble instead of me."
That registered in Scootaloo's mind for a bit, maybe this was a good chance to try dating Rumble. Last time was a pity date and she never had a chance for anything serious since he was still loyal to Sweetie Belle. This time, maybe she really does have a chance, since Rumble seems more open minded this time. She partially feels guilty but if Sweetie Belle gave her permission, maybe she doesn't have to feel guilty.
Later Sweetie Belle had her encounter with Button Mash, which is when Tender Taps came in to lend his vocal assistance, and thus the two had rekindled a bond.
Sweetie Belle tried on different clothes the whole day, and had Tender Taps try a few things on. She enjoyed the last time they tried out different clothes for him and wanted to do it again, including letting him wear things she made.
Fortunately for Tender Taps, they weren't as bad as he thought they'd be, though they weren't really that good either. At least Sweetie Belle wasn't going to make him wear it in public. It was also during this time that Tender Taps had told her a bit more about Cozy Glow and what she was up to in the castle, and her relationship with Rumble. Sweetie Belle thought she could handle hearing about Rumble being with other fillies but deep down it stung, luckily Tender Taps was there to comfort her if she got too sad, something Sweetie Belle greatly appreciated.
Hours passed and it was time for Tender Taps to go home, "Well I had fun, I'll see you tomorrow Sweetie Belle. Maybe we can do something else."
"Yeah, we can go to Sugarcube Corner and try out Mrs. Cake's new cookie recipe," Sweetie Belle said.
"Oh, I'd like that, we can meet around noon," Tender Taps said.
"Sounds good to me, see you then Tappy," Sweetie Belle said.
"Wasn't your nickname for me 'Tap-Tap'?" Tender Taps asked.
"I like Tappy better, I don't think Twilight would mind if I use it," Sweetie Belle said.
"Yeah, probably not," Tender Taps said, making his way home, thinking over Sweetie Belle's new nickname for him. It did sound nice coming from her as well.
The following day the two met up at Sugarcube Corner, just as planned. They sat at a table together, enjoying their cookie plate.
"These cookies are great, Mrs. Cake really knows how to outdo herself," Sweetie Belle said, munching on some cookies.
"She's got a real talent for baking," Tender Taps said, taking a sip of milk.
"You can thank Apple Bloom's mother, she and Mrs. Cake were best friends and she helped Mrs. Cake figure out her talents," Sweetie Belle said.
"Aw, must run in the family then," Tender Taps said. "Just like her mom helped Mrs. Cake, you girls helped me, not just in getting my Cutie Mark, but in overcoming my stage fright."
"Yeah, that's the first time you got to wear something I made for you," Sweetie Belle said. "Good thing we were off doing our own personal interests that day."
"Everyone needs time to themselves to see what they can do, having a Cutie Mark doesn't mean you only do one thing," Tender Taps said.
"Try telling that to Rumble, even I could never get him to see the appeal of Cutie Marks," Sweetie Belle said.
"Did you ever figure out why?" Tender Taps asked. "Think he's unable to get one?"
"No, I think it's just that he wants a specific one and is worried about getting another," Sweetie Belle said. "He wants his mark to be in flying, and while he works hard for it, maybe it's just not meant to be his mark."
"Sometimes I wonder how these marks are even formed, are they like already part of your body and you get them by doing something you're actually meant to do?" Tender Taps said. "I mean, seems kind of strange."
"I never questioned it much, so it never mattered to me," Sweetie Belle said. "I was just happy to have one after working so hard, ironically my Cutie Mark became about helping ponies earn or understand theirs. Funny how that works, to go from obsessing over earning my Cutie Mark, only to find out my Cutie Mark means helping ponies find theirs. Plus the fact that I have the exact same Cutie Mark as my friends."
"Yeah, I wonder what it would be like if you never met the other Crusaders," Tender Taps said. "Unless you were always meant to be friends, like Twilight and her friends."
"It's nice being meant to have friends and knowing who your friends are meant to be, I just wish coltfriends were that simple," Sweetie Belle said.
"Hey are you still bummed out about Rumble?" Tender Taps asked.
Sweetie Belle glanced around to see if anypony would be listening in, but found the coast to be clear. "Don't tell anypony, especially Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle but, yeah kind of. I mean, I really thought me and Rumble would last forever, we really loved each other. I just can't believe he kissed another filly, I mean, she kissed him but he didn't really seem to dislike it. Now he's dating that same filly he cheated on me with, that kind of burns."
"I think you and Rumble need to work things out someday, if you're hurting he needs to know, what he did wasn't right, you don't deserve that type of treatment," Tender Taps said.
"I don't want to make a big deal out of it," Sweetie Belle said. "I mean, I know what Rumble did wasn't right but I know he never meant to hurt me. I know he still cares about me, and deep down I still care about him. I think I'm still in love with him and I don't know if I can move on."
"Yes, you can Sweetie Belle," Tender Taps said. "Look you and Rumble broke-up, what are you suppose to wait for him until he's had his fill of other girls? Screw that! You gotta show him that you don't need him to be happy, you gotta show him that his actions have consequences!"
Sweetie Belle was surprised at how upset Tender Taps became, she's not used to this side of him, it's actually kind of cute to her. "Uh, I guess you're right, but it's not easy. Most colts aren't really that appealing to me, and I'm not that into fillies so I don't have any options there."
"Maybe I can help you with that, I just need to make sure you move on, otherwise it's gonna look bad for you," Tender Taps said. "Rumble breaks up with you and dates a bunch of fillies, one of which basically took him from you, and you're miserable by yourself."
"Just because I'm single doesn't mean I'm miserable," Sweetie Belle said.
"Then don't act like you are, ponies can see you Sweetie Belle, they know you're heartbroken," Tender Taps said.
"Still, it just doesn't seem worth it, plus aren't you exaggerating about Rumble a bit? I mean yeah he's gotten the attention of some fillies but that doesn't mean he's dating a bunch of them, he's only been with Cozy Glow, and Dinky but their relationship isn't really romantic, she just feels like making out with him sometimes," Sweetie Belle said.
"Well still, that's something she wouldn't be doing if you were still dating Rumble," Tender Taps said. "That's still two fillies, plus I may have seen him with another."
"Another? Who?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Uh...some girl," Tender Taps did not want to say it was Flurry Heart, not yet at least. "Point is that he's been getting around. Look it's fine if you really aren't ready to date, maybe you can ask somepony to pretend."
"Who would pretend? Most colts have a crush on me," Sweetie Belle said. "They may want it to be real at some point."
"We'll figure it out," Tender Taps said. "Anyway it looks like you're done, wanna get anything else or..."
"I'm good, kind of want to go home right now, I have a meeting later with the girls, if you'd like to come to that," Sweetie Belle said. "I just want to think everything over for a bit."
"That's fine, I'll walk you home," Tender Taps said. "Plus I might just come, I wanted to go see Twilight but after yesterday I don't think that's such a good idea right now."
"Looks like we both have love problems," Sweetie Belle joked.
"Yeah don't we?" Tender Taps said, getting up from the table. "I'll cover the snacks."
"Wait, I should, this was my idea," Sweetie Belle said.
"Sorry but it feels weird not to pay when I'm having a meal with a filly, even if it's a snack," Tender Taps said. "Not saying a filly shouldn't be able to but for me it just doesn't seem right."
"Can I at least cover my share?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Don't worry about it, I did this for you, so let me handle the cost," Tender Taps said, making his way to the counter.
Sweetie Belle had to admit, he was a sweet colt, very chivalrous too. She would have to make this up to him, she has her own principles after all. She decided to wait by the door so she could go home, though as she approached she saw something curious in the distance.
Rumble was trotting by, from the direction he was heading it looks like he was on his way to Flitter's house, likely to go see Cozy Glow. She knows she shouldn't feel this way but she can't help but sigh in admiration at the sight of the colt she once dated. He still had his cute eyes, his boy-ish mane, his tight body, and a smile that melts her heart.
However curiously, Rumble was approached by a filly named Kettle Corn, Sweetie Belle remembers her as the girl who loved drawing circles and the first to get her Cutie Mark at a day camp she opened with the Crusaders, the girl had a talent for Haikus.
"Hey Rumble, wait up!" Kettle Corn said, getting his attention.
"Oh hello Kettle Corn, what's up?" Rumble asked.
"Hey, so I know it's late but I wasn't sure to ask since it seemed like a touchy subject, but I gotta know, are you and Sweetie Belle really broken up? Or are you just taking a break from dating?" Kettle Corn asked.
This did surprise Rumble, he was pretty sure everypony knew of the break-up, unless some details were screwed around a little. "Yeah, we broke up."
"So, that means you're single?" Kettle Corn asked.
"Uh...kind of," Rumble wanted to say no since he does see Cozy Glow, but the two aren't fully an item yet.
"Well...could I go on a date with you sometime?" Kettle Corn bashfully asked.
Rumble wasn't sure how to answer, he thought she was cute and all but he felt weird, worried about what Cozy Glow might think. Then again Cozy Glow can't leave Flitter's house without her and Flitter isn't always out, maybe Rumble could humor Kettle Corn.
"Want to go later close to sunset?" Rumble asked.
"Sure, I just gotta let my parents know, they'll want me home before dark," Kettle Corn said.
"Alright, see you then," Rumble said.
Kettle Corn danced giddily, "Yay! I'm so excited! It'll be so much fun!" Then without warning Kettle Corn pulled Rumble in for a big kiss, surprising him and Sweetie Belle who was still observing from nearby. The filly pulled away, nervously laughing, "Sorry, I know I should have waited for our actual date but I couldn't resist, I was so happy. We can still kiss later tonight though, as much as you'd like!"
"Uh, sounds great," Rumble said, blushing a bit and wondering if this was a good idea.
"Cool, bye Rumble!" Kettle Corn said, running back home.
"Huh, that was random," Rumble said, turning and catching a glimpse of Sweetie Belle, who was still standing there in shock. "Sweetie Belle?"
The filly realized she had been spotted and was wondering how to handle this awkward moment. Fortunately Tender Taps caught her attention.
"Alright, let's get going," Tender Taps then saw Rumble himself. "What's he doing over there?"
"Uh, I don't know, but we should get going," Sweetie Belle said, nervously making her way home, Tender Taps following. He had an idea of why she wanted to leave, even if he obviously didn't know the full details.
"What's Tender Taps doing with Sweetie Belle?" Rumble wondered, somewhat suspicious. He wanted to follow and see but he didn't want to keep Cozy Glow waiting and make her mad if he came over too late. He'll figure it out later.
Tender Taps had taken Sweetie Belle back to the Boutique, Tender Taps having to wonder. "When was the last time you even went to your actual house Sweetie Belle?"
"I go there, my parents are just really busy, I could stay home alone but I'd rather spend the time with Rarity," Sweetie Belle said.
"Has Rumble ever been over? Just curious, he never mentioned it," Tender Taps said.
"He has, he never talks about it because my dad keeps giving him this suspicious look and it made him nervous," Sweetie Belle said. "My mom liked Rumble, but she was a bit overbearing herself, always smothering him or rubbing his mane, or smushing his face like if he were a little foal."
"Wow, never imagined that," Tender Taps said. "Well, I'll see you later at the Tree House."
"See you then," Sweetie Belle said. "Also, Tender Taps?"
"Yeah?" Tender Taps said, then to his surprise, Sweetie Belle pulled him into a kiss, surprising the colt. Not the first time he's kissed her but this time it was intentional
Sweetie Belle held the kiss for a while before breaking off, "Thanks, for being such a sweetheart."
"Uh, sure, no problem," Tender Taps said. "See you later Sweetie Belle."
Tender Taps walked home, amazed by what just happened. Sweetie Belle had kissed him, now he wondered if she had a crush on him. More than that, he actually liked the kiss, wondering if this meant he could fall for her. He felt conflicted, he still loved Twilight, but she's not interested in him, and he knows Sweetie Belle is just feeling very emotional and the kiss may not have meant anything. But it could have, looks like he's gonna have to figure things out.
Back in the future, Sweetie Belle had finished her story, "That's how it started."
"So, that's why you started dating Tappy for a while," Twilight said. "Do you still love him?"
"Honestly, I don't know if I really did, I just felt attracted to him," Sweetie Belle said. "What about you? Do you love him?"
Twilight didn't have to think long, she instead just offered a smile to Sweetie Belle, "Yes, I do. It took me a while to realize it though, but once he started getting older, and more attractive, my tune changed a lot. I just hope wherever he is, that he's alright, and they're not doing anything to hurt him."
Back in the villains headquarters, Tender Taps was waiting in his cell when he heard the door open. He freaked out because he thought Adagio was coming back, but to his relief it wasn't her, it was another siren, one he was surprised to see. "Sonata?"
"Hey kid," Sonata approached the cell. "You look like you've seen better days."
"That's an understatement," Tender Taps said. "So, what happens now?"
"You know what happens, Twilight's coming to get you, and once she arrives, that's when they strike," Sonata said.
"Sonata, you're our friend, you wouldn't let Twilight get hurt would you?" Tender Taps asked.
"It doesn't matter what I want, plus after what happened with Cozy Glow, it's hard to tell who really is a friend or not," Sonata said. "Tender Taps, I do like you, and I don't want anything bad happening to you, and much as I would love to help you...I'm afraid I can't, your future is currently in the decision of Grogar and his team.
"Sonata, you have to fight this, come on, can you really call the sirens your friends!?" Tender Taps asked.
"No, they're not friends," Sonata said before leaving the room. "They're my family. I'm sorry Tender Taps."
As she left, Tender Taps sat in worry and despair, hoping for not just his freedom, but for Twilight's safety.
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
At the edge of the destroyed Ponyville, Changeling and Storm King Guards were circling the area, keeping an eye out for ponies who were trying to escape.
Unbeknowest to them were two mares hiding in the bushes, the farm girl Apple Bloom and the skater girl Scootaloo.
"Come on," Apple Bloom whispered, gesturing Scootaloo to follow her. The two snuck away as the Changelings and Soldiers walked past them.
"Busy day huh?" A changeling said.
"Yeah..." the solider replied.
"Just a few more patrols, then I'm taking a nice long nap," The Changeling said.
"Nap sounds good," the solider replied.
The two continued on as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo made their way out of town, away from the guards.
"Phew, made it," Apple Bloom said. "Thought we'd never get out of Ponyville."
'I still say we should have trashed a few," Scootaloo said. "Given all the trouble they've given us, they more than deserve that beating."
"If we did that we'd attract attention, now come on, we gotta find Twilight, mah sister or any of their friends and let them know what happened to Ponyville," Apple Bloom said.
"And what happened to some of the ponies, what happened to Starlight, Trixie, Lightning Dust and Tender Taps," Scootaloo said.
"Ah still can't believe the villains overpowered them, of course none of them were prepared for The Storm King teaming up with Tirek, they destroyed almost everything," Apple Bloom said.
"All to find Twilight, you think she rounded up all the teammates she was hoping to find?" Scootaloo asked.
"Hard to say, let's just hurry," Apple Bloom said. "Hopefully we can find Sweetie Belle too."
Scootaloo cringed at her name, it just reminded the Pegasus that she failed to prevent her friend from getting captured, she only hopes she's alright. "Think we should have brought some help?"
"If we tried bringing others, we'd just attract more attention," Apple Bloom explained. "Smaller group means easier to sneak around."
"Guess you have a point, but I don't think if there's much the two of us could do on our own," Scootlaoo said. "What if we run into a fight?"
"Hey ah got years of Apple bucking on mah side, and you've got combat training from Rainbow Dash, ah think the two of us could handle it alone," Apple Bloom said.
"Lot of good my training did, I couldn't even keep Sweetie Belle safe," Scootaloo said.
"Hey ah wasn't around to help at the time, with the two of us working together, we can accomplish anything," Apple Bloom said.
"I think you're being a bit too optimistic Apple Bloom," Scootaloo said.
"Better than giving up hope," Apple Bloom said. "We got this Scootaloo, we free Sweetie Belle then the three of us can be the heroes that Twilight always thought we could be."
"Well when she said that, we had three other friends with us," Scootaloo said. "Tender Taps is taken, Dinky's still back there and losing hope, and none of us have seen Rumble."
"I'm really worried about him," Apple Bloom said, thinking about the poor stallion. "Ah can't believe he just ran off like that."
"Rumble blames himself for some reason, like he thinks he should have seen this coming ,but honestly who could have?" Scootaloo asked.
"Rumble was close with Cozy Glow, so of course he feels connected to all this," Apple Bloom said.
"Cozy Glow was our friend too, maybe Rumble was right when it came to Cozy Glow, we should have tried helping her out back then," Scootaloo said. "I know she was turning evil and she did lock us in a closet but maybe it's because we went about it all wrong, and even after we should have tried reaching out. She did something bad but that's probably when she needed us the most, I mean it'd be like if Twilight just gave up on Starlight, she could have just thrown her in a dungeon and been done with it, but she chose to make her a pupil and help her understand Friendship better. We should have asked to do that for Cozy Glow."
"Scootaloo, you make a lot of sense," Apple Bloom said. "We all messed up, but now we have the chance to make up fer everything. Now let's go rescue our friends."
Scootaloo joined with Apple Bloom on their quest. During their travel, Scootaloo started to remember the early days of Cozy Glow coming back to Ponyville, right after the break-up of Rumble and Sweetie Belle.
Scootaloo has always had a crush on Rumble, and originally the Crusaders expected her to be the one who ended up with the colt. Unfortunately Rumble had a crush on Sweetie Belle, and over time, the filly returned the crush and the two began dating.
Scootaloo was understandably crushed at first, the colt she liked not only didn't like her back, he fell for one of her best friends, arguably her first real friend. Scootaloo's known Sweetie Belle longer than she's known Apple Bloom. She made the effort to move on, she even tried going for Tender Taps, but that didn't last long, between his original crush on Apple Bloom, then fully falling for Twilight Sparkle, Scootaloo was romantically out of luck. Until the day she finally took a chance and had a payoff she truly desired.
It was one day after the date between Tender taps and Sweetie Belle, and the day that Sweetie Belle officially gave Scootaloo her blessing to try and ask out Rumble. She was riding to his house on her scooter, feeling a bit nervous about this decision.
"Come on Scoots, it's no big deal," she told herself. "Rumble's a friend, he knows me, it's not like I'm asking out a colt who I barely know."
She approached the door and knocked, patiently awaiting an answer. She was starting to have some second thoughts and even considered just leaving, but the door opened before her final decision could be made.
"Scootaloo? Wow it's great to see you," Rumble greeted, little surprised to see the filly.
Scootaloo started feeling a bit nervous now, this was awkward for many reasons. For one she hasn't talked to Rumble much since his break-up with Sweetie Belle, her best friend, and now she's about to ask out that same friend.
Or he doesn't have to know it's a date, she can disguise it as something else. "Hey, how's it going Rumble? I haven't seen you since...that day."
"Yeah, I really miss being with you girls," Rumble said. "Wanna come inside?"
"Yeah, sure thing," Scootaloo said, making her way into Rumble's house. "So, Rumble, I was thinking."
"What about?" Rumble asked.
Scootaloo gulped a bit but did her best to speak what was on her mind, "I know there's been drama with you and all, with the return of Cozy Glow, and your break-up with Sweetie Belle, but you're still my friend, and I want to be there for you."
"Well, thanks Scootaloo, I really appreciate that," Rumble said.
"So I was thinking, you and I should go out and do something together, if you don't mind," Scootaloo suggested.
"You and me hanging out together?" Rumble asked. He was planning to go see Cozy Glow but he did miss being with the Crusaders, so if anything this could be a great first step. "Well yeah, that sounds like a great idea."
"Sweet, I was thinking we head to the park first, we can decide what to do after that," Scootaloo said.
"The park? What do you want to do there?" Rumble asked.
"Well, I was thinking, I mean it's something I've wanted to do for a while but..." Scootaloo began. "I kind of want to race against you."
"A race?" Rumble asked.
"Yeah, your flying against my scooter skills," Scootaloo said. "I may not be able to fly like you can but that won't stop me from testing my skills against yours."
"Oh, well if that's what you want, then you're on," Rumble said, extending his wings.
Rumble started making his way to the park with Scootaloo following closely behind on her scooter, grateful that things seem to be going well right now. She wasn't sure what to expect after this, but she was just gonna roll with it.
The two arrived at the park, choosing a more private and secluded area to have their race, that and Rumble really didn't want to attract attention from some of the ponies.
"Is it me or were some of those ponies looking at you funny?" Scootaloo asked.
"It's been like that since my run in with Cozy Glow," Rumble explained. "They think I'm some jerk who messes with fillies, breaks their hearts and associates with villains."
"Wow, some ponies have way too much time on their hooves to start hating on a colt," Scootaloo said.
"I honestly can't blame them," Rumble admitted. "I mean, I did cheat on my girlfriend with a filly who was known for doing villainous acts after all, it makes sense that ponies look down on me now."
"That's bogus!" Scootaloo said. "They're seriously judging you for that? I know it was bad but I thought ponies would have a little more faith in you."
"Sweetie Belle is the sister of one of Equestria's heroes, so of course ponies are gonna sympathize with her more," Rumble said. "Plus making out with a villain, and still being seen hanging around that villain isn't really doing me any favors."
"Ponies are way too quick to judge," Scootaloo said. "You shouldn't be treated any differently all because of some mistakes you made."
"They were big mistakes though," Rumble said. "I mean, weren't you mad when I did what I did?"
"Well I wasn't exactly proud of what you did but that doesn't mean I'm gonna hate you forever," Scootaloo said. "You're my friend after all Rumble, and as your friend, I'm gonna stick by you."
"But what about Sweetie Belle? And Apple Bloom?" Rumble asked. "They probably hate me, honestly that makes me worry for you, what if they find out we were hanging out together?"
"First off, Sweetie Belle doesn't hate you, she even told me it was alright if I hung out with you," Scootaloo said. "Now she's still pretty upset don't get me wrong but she'll get over it soon. Apple Bloom, maybe she's still pretty ticked, but you know her, she can be unreasonably stubborn at times."
"I just hope we can all be friends again soon, I miss hanging around with you girls, and Tender Taps," Rumble said.
"Have you seen Tender Taps at all since all this?" Scootaloo asked.
"Yeah, he pretty much hates me," Rumble said. "Or did, he's starting to lighten up, helps that Cozy Glow showed some signs of reformation when she made peace with Flurry Heart for throwing her in a garbage can."
"Cozy's making progress?" Scootaloo asked. "That's great to hear! I'm hoping Twilight knows."
"She does, it was at her castle after all, I think with enough time Cozy Glow will have put her villainous past behind her," Rumble said.
"Well, that's great, maybe she can actually be our friend this time," Scootaloo commented, not forgetting her betrayal back at the school.
"That reminds me, Cozy Glow helped you and the other Crusaders get a tutoring position at Twilight's school, correct?" Rumble asked.
"Yeah, she did, why?" Scootaloo wondered.
"I was just thinking, if Cozy Glow was really that bad, why would she do that for you?" Rumble asked. "I mean, didn't she fake flunking a test and make you three look bad? If she really wanted to, she could have let you take the blame, but she didn't. Not like she had much to gain from helping you."
That seemed to open Scootaloo's eyes for the moment, she hadn't really thought of that. Cozy really didn't have anything to gain by confessing, Twilight already believed they were at fault, without really listen to their side of the story, which thinking about it, Scootaloo's a little ticked about that, Twilight's known them a long time, she should have at least had some faith in them...she's getting off topic, but she still had to admit that Rumble had a point.
"I never thought of that, good eye Rumble," Scootaloo said. "I really gotta talk to Cozy Glow soon, I just hope I'll be able to get through to her."
"It might be tough, she's a little stubborn right now," Rumble said. "I've even asked her about this, she insists it's nothing, but I feel like there's something she's not telling me."
"We'll get her to talk soon, for now let's do that race!" Scootaloo said, getting on her scooter.
"Right, what are the rules?" Rumble asked.
"We'll go around the whole park," Scootaloo said, making a mark near the tree with a nearby stick. "Whoever crosses this line first wins."
"Whole park?" Rumble asked. "To any other pony that's probably a lot but honestly it doesn't feel like that much to me."
"Yeah, we are pretty fast," Scootaloo admitted. "Alright, we'll do laps, first to do five wins."
"Still seems like a little bit, but alright then," Rumble said, stretching his wings. "You're still gonna lose regardless."
"Getting cocky huh?" Scootaloo said, tightening her helmet. "We'll see if you still have that same cockiness when I wipe the floor with you."
The two stood by each other, just near the line. Rumble turned to the filly beside him, "Ready to begin the countdown?"
Scootaloo nodded, focusing on the path ahead, "3, 2, 1...GO!"
The two took off in an instant, leaving a mighty gust of wind behind. They wasted no time amping up the speed, both foals trying to outdo one another. Rumble had the slight advantage of flight, not having to worry about the terrain, but Scootaloo has ridden her scooter all over Ponyville, she can get by just fine.
"Try to keep up Scoots!" Rumble taunted.
"Talk a big game all you want, just more words for you eat!" Scootaloo taunted back, flapping her wings faster.
The two were close, swapping lead positions, Rumble still using his air advantage, but Scootaloo showing off her scooter tricks, including using boulders and rocks like ramps and even doing a few fancy tricks mid-air.
The two zipped by a lot of ponies, many stopping and trying to figure out what just happened and why there was a sudden gust of wind. Others who could see them racing made sure to steer clear out the way, or make sure no other pony was blocking their path.
One pair of ponies they zipped by were Lyra and Bon Bon, the two having their manes ruined by the gust of wind.
"What just happened?" Lyra wondered.
Vinyl Scratch was enjoying a walk in the park when the two zipped past her, spinning her around, making her a bit dizzy, her glasses halfway off her face.
They sped past other ponies like Berry Punch, Bulk Biceps, the Flower Trio, even Button Mash, who spun around and fell.
"Ow! I know that was you Rumble! Jerk!" Button Mash shouted.
The two sped past a pair of fillies as well, one filly Toola Roola looking ahead, "Was that Rumble?"
"Think he noticed us?" Her friend Coconut Cream asked.
The two also sped past Big Macintosh and Cherilee, the two ponies sitting on a bench and catching up together.
"What in the world?" Cherilee said. "Is Scootaloo speeding on her scooter again?"
"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said. "Not alone either."
They also passed by Dinky and Derpy, the two having been in the park for a day. Dinky recognized Rumble's speed immediately. "Go Rumble!"
The two passed by the line and continued on for the remaining laps, increasing their speed each time, Scootaloo finding time to do even more fancy tricks. Rumble was not about to be outshined in stunts, so he pulled off a few himself, such as doing Barrel Rolls.
Soon came the final lap, both Rumble and Scootaloo giving it their all in this last portion, the two eyeing each other, the race being close, neither one losing the lead for long.
However Scootaloo slowly picked up a lead, getting closer to the finish line. She turned back to Rumble, taunting him by patting her flank, "I'm about to win Rumble! Get ready to bask in my-"
"Watch out!" Rumble warned, Scootaloo looking ahead and seeing a log. She couldn't stop in time and crashed into the log, flying through the air. Luckily Rumble was able to speed in and catch her before she hit the ground.
He held her in his forelegs, gently floating toward the ground and letting Scootaloo down very gently. "Hey are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Scootaloo said, shaking off the shock. "That was dumb of me, I passed that log a bunch of times, I should have remembered it was there."
"Mistakes happen, I'm just happy you're not hurt," Rumble said.
"Thanks to you, I could have gotten messed up pretty badly," Scootaloo said.
"You might have gotten a few scrapes at least, I don't think it would have been that bad," Rumble said. Truthfully he wasn't sure but he hoped that downplaying this would take some of the shock off Scootaloo.
"Still, thanks," Scootaloo said.
"Hey you're my friend, and I care a lot about you," Rumble said.
Scootaloo seemed enamored with Rumble right now, she remembers why she liked him so much. In addition to his athletic capabilities, he was also very kind and caring. "I care a lot about you too Rumble, I really do."
Rumble turned his attention to her scooter, it looked a little banged up, "Uh, your scooter might have taken a hard hit."
"Don't worry, this isn't the first time, I can get it fixed," Scootaloo said, checking on the scooter. "Shouldn't take too long, then I'm back on the road."
"The longer the better!" They heard. The two foals turned their attention to a group of annoyed ponies led by Lyra and Bon Bon, the former having been the one to get their attention.
"Oh no," Rumble said.
"Oh yes," Lyra said, standing before the crowd, consisting Button Mash, Berry Punch and the Flower Ponies. "We should have known you were the cause of all our troubles Rumble, now you got one of The Crusaders in your mess?"
"I thought they would have at least ditched you after you decided to make out with a villain!" Bon Bon said.
"Hey lay off him, who are you to judge Rumble?" Scootaloo asked, standing by his side.
"He deserves it, he cheats on beautiful fillies!" Button Mash shouted. "Especially fillies who should have been dating me instead!"
"Honestly if there was one bright side to Sweetie Belle dating Rumble is that she never got stuck with a dork like you," Scootaloo said.
"Oh you're just jealous because I liked her more than I liked you, maybe get a mane-style suited for a filly and not a colt," Button Mash said.
"Wh-what!?" Scootaloo shouted, looking furious.
"Hey, say what you want about me Button, but don't drag Scootaloo's name through the mud!" Rumble warned, then turned to Lyra and Bon Bon. "As for you two, do you like spend your days in this park? What were you doing another picnic?"
"It's our favorite hobby to do together, when you're in love with somepony you always find something to do together," Bon Bon said. "Sometimes we have picnics, sometimes we walk through the park, we don't care what we do, as long as we're together."
"That's something you've forgotten about, something you took for granted," Lyra said to Rumble. "It's such a shame too, your relationship with Sweetie Belle was so adorable, ponies loved how loyal you two were to each other."
"What happened to that Rumble? What happened to your love?" Bon Bon asked.
Rumble wasn't sure how to answer that, the question truly stumped him. He knew they had a point, he had to wonder how he was so in love with Sweetie Belle and in an instant, that love was gone.
"Hey give him a break!" Scootaloo said, coming to her friend's defense. "Alright he made a mistake, we all have at some point haven't we? He didn't mean to upset Sweetie Belle, and believe it or not she's not that bummed out about it."
"That's not what I saw," Button Mash said.
"Yeah, she looked so sad the other day," Daisy said.
"Look obviously I know Sweetie Belle better than any of you, she's gotten much better as of late, and on top of that, she doesn't hold a grudge against Rumble," Scootaloo explained.
"Scootaloo is one Sweetie Belle's best friends," Berry Punch said. "So she would know her better than any of us, maybe we should give Rumble a break."
"She's correct," they heard. All the ponies turned to see Cherilee making her way over, alongside Big Macintosh. "All of you are judging this boy too harshly. Regardless of what happened between him and Sweetie Belle, that is their dispute to resolve, and not a matter anypony should be indulging themselves in."
"Miss Cherilee?" Rumble said, surprised to see the local school teacher.
"He is young, and those young are prone to mistakes," Cherilee said, trotting over to Rumble and rubbing his mane. "Rumble isn't a bad colt, he just made a few bad decisions."
"Instead of passing judgement, y'all should do what you can to educate him," Big Macintosh said. "Lyra, Bon Bon, you two seem to believe you understand love, if that's the case, then perhaps you can try to offer your wisdom to Rumble, then maybe he could benefit from your guidance."
"Who us? Guide Rumble?" Lyra asked.
"If you so choose to, might be better than assuming him to be a lost cause," Big Macintosh said.
"Hey we never said anything about that," Bon Bon insisted. "We're just disappointed in him, that's all."
"If you are, then help him right the wrongs you see," Cherilee said. "Trying to understand others, especially foals, can do a great deal of service for them."
"Now if y'all are done bothering this boy, I suggest you start leaving, leave him and his friend to themselves," Big Macintosh said.
"Well, we would but we did have another reason for gathering here," Lyra said, turning to the two. "You both need to watch where you're going when racing around the park!"
The other ponies murmured in agreement, Rumble taking the moment to calm their nerves, "Alright, we'll ease up."
"Yeah, we're really sorry about that," Rumble said. "We might have gotten carried away."
"Well, see that it doesn't happen again," Bon Bon said, turning away. "Though with you two, that might be asking for a lot."
The other ponies started leaving, with the exception of Cherilee, Big Mac and Button Mash, the little gamer pony standing around and confused.
"Wait, that's it?" Button Mash asked. "That's all you ponies have to say? This is the same Rumble that caused Sweetie Belle so much distress!"
"Oh buzz off Button Mash," Scootaloo said. "Go back to your video games."
"Scootaloo, try to be nicer," Cherilee said, then turned to Button Mash. "Young colt, I expect better behavior from you, I hope you're not causing too much trouble."
"Uh, no Miss Cherilee," Button Mash insisted.
"Good, now you should be going about your business now, and no more bothering these two," Cherilee instructed.
"Yes Miss Cherilee," Button said, making his way home.
Cherilee turned to Rumble, "As for you, it seems like you've been through a lot these last few days."
"Well, that's an understatement," Rumble said.
"Well if there's anything you want to talk about, just let me know, I am still your teacher after all, it's my duty to properly guide you" Cherilee said.
"Uh, yes Miss Cherilee," Rumble said.
"Scootaloo, try to stay out of trouble," Cherilee said.
Scootaloo groaned in annoyance, "Yes Miss Cherilee."
Cherilee turned to Big Mac, "I should be heading home, thanks for the day out."
"Sure thing," Big Mac said as Cherilee made her way home. He turned his attention to the two foals, "Looks like you two are getting along quite nicely."
"Yeah, I can't be mad at Rumble forever," Scootaloo said.
"Good to hear, holding a grudge does no favors," Big Mac said. "Well, ah should get going mahself, got some Apples to buck."
"See you later Big Mac!" Scootaloo said, then turned to Rumble. "Let's head back to my place."
"What about the race?" Rumble asked. "We never finished."
"We'll call it a tie," Scootaloo said. "Now let's get going."
Scootaloo and Rumble made their way to her house while Big Mac was returning to his farm. Though on the way there, he ran into Sweetie Belle and his youngest sister Apple Bloom.
"Hey big bro, have you seen Scootaloo around anywhere?" Apple Bloom asked.
"We want to do a Crusader meeting but we can't start without her," Sweetie Belle said.
"She's busy spending time with Rumble, you might want to ask her later," Big Mac said.
"Rumble!?" Apple Bloom said. "She actually went and asked that traitor to spend the day with her!?"
"Apple Bloom!" Big Mac scolded. "It ain't proper to say things like that."
"But is a traitor!" Apple Bloom insisted. "Just ask Sweetie Belle!"
"Apple Bloom, listen to your brother," Sweetie Belle said. "Don't say mean things about Rumble. Please just move past it."
"But he hurt you," Apple Bloom said. "How could you be ok with that?"
"I'm not ok with what he did but I don't want to be angry about it forever," Sweetie Belle explained. "I don't want you to be angry either, I mean it's sweet that you care about my feelings so much, you're such a good friend for that, but it's alright to forgive and move on from it. Rumble and I didn't have a bad break-up, that's something I wish everypony would understand, including you."
"And she will," Big Mac said. "Just leave it to me and Applejack, we'll get things fixed up."
Apple Bloom didn't like the sound of that, wondering now what her brother would be up to in getting this 'fixed'.
Back with Rumble and Scootaloo, the pair had returned to her house, Rumble briefly greeting her aunts as the two made their way into her room.
"Your aunts are really nice," Rumble said.
"Yeah they're the best," Scootaloo said. "Thanks to them I don't feel lonely without my parents."
"Am I ever going to get to see your parents?" Rumble asked. "They've been gone so long ponies started spreading rumors about you being an orphan."
"Yeah, that was very annoying," Scootaloo said. "I'm surprised no one spreads that about Sweetie Belle, she spends more time at Rarity's house than her own. But my parents are gonna be coming back to town soon, so you'll be able to see them then."
"I look forward to that," Rumble said.
Scootaloo sat on her bed, getting herself comfortable, "So Rumble, it's been a while since we've had a chance to talk, and I kind of want to ask you some stuff, mainly to understand what's been going on with you and Cozy Glow."
"Right, I do owe you an explanation," Rumble said. "I've been wanting to tell all of you but, you weren't really that keen on being around me at the time."
"Well I'm here now, and I want to hear what happened from your side of it," Scootaloo said, then pat the spot on the bed next to her. "Come, make yourself comfortable, and start explaining things."
"Sure thing Scoots," Rumble said, leaping onto the bed. "Well it started when I met Cozy Glow on Mount Aris."
Rumble from that point explained the details of his adventures with Cozy Glow, from his initial meet-up, the Crystal Empire, the night in Our Town and the culmination in Ponyville and why they were kissing. He was even honest about the night they spent together, how he allowed her to cuddle against him, figuring she may find out sooner or later and he'd rather be the one to tell her.
"So, it sounds like she was really flirty," Scootaloo said.
"It was weird, I mean it was also very flattering but at the same time, I knew it was wrong to do," Rumble said. "She just had this way of getting to me."
"Cozy Glow is pretty manipulative, she played on your greatest weakness, your willingness to help fillies," Scootaloo said. "By acting helpless and clueless you couldn't help but fall for her charm."
"So girls are a weakness for me?" Rumble asked.
"You do proclaim to be a knight and anytime you need to help a filly you seem absolutely dedicated to it," Scootaloo said. "When Sweetie Belle needed you, then you showed single minded determination to help her, same with Flurry Heart and Dinky has told me times where you made it your life goal to help her out when she needed it. Cozy Glow probably picked up on this, so the more helpless she acted, the more she had you under her control."
"Wow, she really is manipulative then," Rumble said. "Honestly, maybe I should have seen her evil side coming, given how suspicious she was acting during the ride, but maybe it's because she was just a filly that there was no way I would have expected her to be a villain."
"I don't think anypony would have, so don't blame yourself too hard on that," Scootaloo said.
"Still, I just wish I could have actually done something useful, instead I made a giant mess," Rumble said. "My efforts to make friends with Cozy Glow made me lose my girlfriend."
"So tell me, why did you an Sweetie Belle break-up?" Scootaloo asked.
"Because I cheated on her, and I didn't think it was fair for her to date a colt who would do something like that," Rumble said. "I broke up with her to punish myself for my mistakes, that and I needed to be sure if I could love another filly or not. But I guess it doesn't matter, one way or another this would end up bad for Sweetie Belle, either she's dating a colt who willingly kissed another filly, or she's heart-broken while the colt that left her is essentially dating other fillies."
"Uh, how many other fillies have you dated?" Scootaloo asked.
"Just Cozy Glow and Kettle Corn," Rumble said. "And somewhat Dinky, but with her it's never anything serious."
"Oh right, Dinky has a weird attraction to you," Scootaloo said. "So, you're not exactly in love with Cozy Glow?"
"I don't know for sure," Rumble said.
"So...you're still open to dating anypony who's interested?" Scootaloo shyly asked.
"Like I said, I dated Kettle Corn last night, so I'm open for just about anypony," Rumble said.
"By any chance, would that include me?" Scootaloo nervously asked.
Rumble didn't know if he should be surprised or not, after all Scootaloo did have a crush on him, and if the Crusaders' plan from a year and a half ago worked, he might have dated Scootaloo instead of Sweetie Belle. But he also figured that Scootaloo wouldn't be too quick to date him after the Cozy Glow mess.
"Why would you want to date me though?" Rumble asked. "I mean, I did hurt Sweetie Belle."
"And I already said before, she's getting over it," Scootaloo said. "Plus you said it yourself, you need to know if you could like another filly. I know this might sound tiring to hear, but don't you wonder what would have happened if we dated instead?"
"Honestly, that thought does run through my mind, I never think about it much but it does linger," Rumble said.
"Well then, there's only one way to find out," Scootaloo said. "Let's just try it at least, for real, not that pity date you took me on a year ago."
"Right, a real one," Rumble said. "Sure, maybe you would make a good pony for me to date."
"If given the chance, then yeah," Scootaloo said, bashfully rubbing her mane back. "So can we consider today our official first date?"
"If you want, I mean we just raced through," Rumble said.
"And it was fun," Scootaloo said. "Hey you don't have to take me anywhere fancy Rumble, any fun activity we do together is enough for me."
"Alright, good to know," Rumble said. "So, if we're dating, does that make us...you know."
"We don't have to use labels yet," Scootaloo said. "I know you have other fillies you're interested in, so I'll give you that freedom until you're ready to make a choice, but you know how competitive I am, I will be bringing my best on these dates."
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you," Rumble said.
"Better not...but come see me again sometime, alright?" Scootaloo said.
"You got it," Rumble assured.
"Oh, one more thing Rumble," Scootaloo said, then brought Rumble's face to hers, locking him for a kiss.
Rumble should have expected this, for the last few days he's kissed at least one different filly, so why not add Scootaloo to that list. But unlike her last kiss from their 'pity' date, this time Rumble was a bit more free to allow this feeling to resonate within him.
Rumble pulled Scootaloo closer and returned her kiss, with much force than he would have. This time he was enjoying his kiss with Scootaloo, and he knows for a fact that she's enjoying it as well.
Scootaloo broke away, a heavy blush on her face, "Wow, it's like a dream come true. We're kissing, and enjoying it. I mean you are enjoying it right?"
Rumble answered that by pulling her in for a kiss of his own, which she graciously accepted. This was pretty much everything she wanted, the only thing that could make it better is if they truly were an item, and this time she has the chance to make that happen, she'll make sure he chooses her this time.
Rumble quickly broke away, a huge blush on his face, "Uh...can I feel your flank?"
"Uh...sure," Scootaloo said, properly adjusting herself. "Go for it."
Rumble did just that, moving his hooves down her backside, just as he expected, it was really round, much more form than Diamond Tiara's or Sweetie Belle's. "Wow, you work out a lot."
"Thanks," Scootaloo said, the two resuming their kiss once more, enjoying their time together.
Later Rumble had bid his farewell to Scootaloo and started making his way toward Flitter's house, figuring he could spend a little more time with Cozy Glow. On the way there, he ran into Lyra and Bon Bon, Rumble dreading the worse.
"What happened now?" Rumble asked in a deadpanned tone.
"Nothing happened, we just wanted to talk," Lyra said.
"Yeah, it's about our attitude lately," Bon Bon said. "We've been a little mean to you, and thinking about what Cherilee said, it really wasn't very fair to you."
"Yeah, you're not a bad kid Rumble, we just felt so surprised you would do what you did," Lyra said.
"I know, I made a mistake, and it did hurt somepony, I don't blame you for being mad," Rumble said.
"That's the thing, instead of us being mad, we should have tried to be more understanding," Bon Bon said.
"We should be making sure you're still the nice boy we've grown accustomed to," Lyra said. "You're an amazing kid Rumble, the type of kid me and Bon Bon would love to have."
"Heh, thanks ladies," Rumble said, bashfully rubbing his head.
"Aw, you're so cute," Bon Bon said, rubbing his mane. "How could we be mad at you?"
"Tell you what, why don't you come over to our place sometime, we'd kind of like to see where you went wrong and give you some advice," Lyra said.
"Yeah, you're still a colt, you should be able to make mistakes, helps you grow into a better pony because you have something to learn from," Bon Bon said.
"Plus I've been in your position before honestly," Lyra said.
"Wait, you have?" Rumble asked.
Lyra shamefully nodded, "I once hurt Bonnie here and it took a while for us to rekindle our love. That's why I was so hard on you, because deep down I was still mad at myself."
"So, you hurt Bon Bon, and she forgave you?" Rumble asked. "Like you two have a nice healthy relationship?"
"Yeah, I think so," Lyra said.
"So there's hope for me!?" Rumble asked. "Like if I wanted to fix a mistake?"
"Of course, we should have told you this from the beginning," Bon Bon said. "We're really sorrt Rumble."
"Yeah, we're really sorry," Lyra said.
"It's fine, I forgive you girls," Rumbe said, flying in to hug them both, which they returned. They parted from the hug and each kissed him on the head.
"Now be a good colt Rumble," Bon Bon said.
"We'll see you around," Lyra said.
The two mares made their way home, leaving Rumbe to himself for a little bit, happy to know that he at least made peace with them. Before long, he was joined by his best friend Dinky.
"Sup Rumble?" Dinky greeted. "I just saw you with Lyra and Bon Bon, they weren't giving you crap were they?"
"No, they just wanted to apologize for being mean," Rumble said. "That was really nice of them."
"Oh, well good," Dinky said. "I saw your race earlier with Scootaloo, freaking awesome."
"Thanks, anyway I'm gonna head on over to Flitter's house to see Cozy Glow," Rumble said.
"You've been spending a lot of time with her, are you two actually gonna become a couple?" Dinky asked.
"I don't know, I'm still deciding," Rumble said. "I mean, I just agreed to also date Scootaloo."
"You what!?" Dinky asked in amazement. "You and Scootaloo!?"
"Not so loud Dinky!" Rumble said. "But yeah, me and Scootaloo."
"Huh, looks like Apple Bloom is gonna get what she wanted after all," Dinky said.
"Hey I'm not doing this for Apple Bloom, I'm doing this for me and Scootaloo," Rumble said. "She is kind of cool, and honestly she's really pretty." Rumble looked around quickly and spoke in hushed tone. "Plus her butt's really tight."
"Ha, you're such a pervert, I love it," Dinky said. "I knew you liked a filly's tender spot."
"Hey there was nothing tender about it, all muscle," Rumble said. "Felt it myself."
"Dang Rumble, lucky you," Dinky said. "Starting to think you prefer blank flanks because the flanks already look nice without the mark."
"Something like that," Rumble said. "Well I'm off, oh and if you want to come by later on, or tomorrow, feel free, we'll 'practice' some stuff together."
"Dude I'll be over anytime you want," Dinky said, trotting off, making sure Rumble got a nice view of her backside.
"Man, what's happening to me, think all this dating is going to my head," Rumble said. "I just made a promise to Lyra and Bon Bon about being good, I don't want to disappoint them."
Rumble flew toward Flitter's house where Cozy Glow was waiting for him, wanting to once again spend time with the colt she loved.
Elsewhere at the market place, Big Macintosh was seen speaking to both Applejack and Twilight, explaining what Apple Bloom had said.
"She really does have it out fer Rumble," Applejack said. "Ah know what he did was wrong but...she can't go on with this type of resentment, it ain't good fer her."
"Maybe you should try to rekindle their friendship," Twilight suggested. "Get them together for something."
"Good idea, maybe like a dinner," Applejack said. "Ah could invite Rumble over so he can try bonding with Apple Bloom again, maybe even invite Cozy Glow over, help her out too."
"Great idea Applejack," Twilight said. "Soon you can introduce her to your cousins too."
"Bet she'd like to meets Babs, might have somepony to relate to," Applejack said. "Too bad she's in Manehattan, might be too must of a hassle to up and bring her over."
"One step at a time," Twilight said. "Before long, hopefully all the foals can be friends again."
"Ah hope so," Applejack said. "Ah don't like seeing them fight. Though ah guess this wouldn't have happened if we handled Cozy Glow turning evil a lot better."
"What's done is done, let's stop wondering what we could have done better and worry about what we could do now," Twilight said.
"Yeah, yer right," Applejack said. "Well, see ya later Twi."
The two Apple siblings made their way home, Twilight making a note of this as she went back to her castle. On her way there, she spotted Sweetie Belle walking with Tender Taps, the two looking to be getting along quite well, and walking quite close together.
"Huh, that's interesting," Twilight noted, then continued back to her castle, wondering if Tender Taps was already trying to move on, curiously with Sweetie Belle.
Twilight of course paid no mind, at least she tried not to. She looked again, catching a glimpse of them nuzzling their muzzles. Twilight should be relieved that Tender Taps might have found somepony else to be with, but now she can't help but feel like she gave something up. She hopes this feeling is nothing but in time she might learn to regret this decision.
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were hiding at the edge of a cave, waiting for the patrols of Changelings and Storm King soliders to pass by. They had gotten a fair distance away from town but still had no luck finding anyone to help.
"To think last week things were pretty normal," Apple Bloom said.
"Hey things can change in an instant, especially when it comes to us," Scootaloo said. "Gotta always be prepared."
"Got me there," Apple Bloom said. "Say, you think Rumble's doing alright out here?"
"That was a random question to bring up," Scootaloo said. "But I think he'll be fine, he's got combat training after all."
"Yeah, yer right. I'm just worried about him, that's all," Apple Bloom said.
"Hopefully we'll find him out here," Scootaloo said.
Apple Bloom was still worried, Rumble's tough but he's not the level of her sister or her friends. She remembered the day she and Rumble really got to bond and get closer, and to think she had really hated him prior to that encounter.
One day after his date with Scootaloo, Rumble was making his way over to Flitter's house, once again to see Cozy Glow. While he's been pretty much exploring his options with many fillies, he always seems to find himself drawn to Cozy Glow the most, though he might have to start checking with the other fillies. Maybe later on he can see Scootaloo as well.
When he arrived at Flitter's house however, he saw a surprise visitor in Applejack, the farm pony speaking to both Cozy Glow and Flitter about something.
"A dinner at your house?" Flitter asked.
"Yeah, you and Cozy Glow can come on over tonight and have dinner with me and the family," Applejack said. "So, how 'bout it?"
"That sounds like it could be fun," Flitter said. "What do you think Cozy Glow?"
"Eh, I guess so," Cozy Glow said. "I don't suppose you'll have any candy though?"
"No candy," Flitter ordered. "Remember the last time you had sweets?"
"It wasn't that bad," Cozy Glow said.
"It took you hours to calm down, you could barely go to sleep that night," Flitter said. "No candy."
"We do have apples," Applejack offered.
"Yeah, I know, you live on an apple farm," Cozy Glow replied, with a hint of sass.
"Cozy Glow, be mindful of Applejack," Flitter said, then turned back to the farmer mare, "We'd love to come."
"That's great, come by around sunset," Applejack said. "If ya see Rumble, let him know he's invited too."
"I am?" Rumble said, making his presence known to the mares.
"Rumble!" Cozy Glow said, running over to hug the colt.
"Oh good, perfect timing," Applejack said. "Ah was just telling Flitter and Cozy Glow about a dinner ah had planned tonight, and ah wanted to invite you as well."
"Uh, sure I guess," Rumble said, trying to ease off of Cozy Glow's tight hug.
"Great, I'll be seeing you tonight them," Applejack said, trotting off back to her farm.
"Huh, a dinner with Applejack huh?" Rumble said, still stuck in his hug with Cozy Glow.
"It should be fun," Flitter said. "Us with the Apples, they're a very friendly bunch," Flitter said.
"Except Apple Bloom doesn't really like me much these days," Rumble said.
"Oh don't worry about her," Cozy Glow said, finally breaking away from the hug. "If she does anything mean, I'll deal with her myself."
"How exactly may I ask?" Flitter asked in an almost warning tone.
Cozy cringed a bit, then looked up at Flitter with the cutest smile she could muster. "I would just tell her it's not vewy nice to be mean to sweet little Wumbly."
Flitter narrowed her eyes at the filly, "See to it that's all that happens."
Cozy Glow nodded as Flitter went inside, the two foals following. Rumble chuckled lightly to himself, "She's got quite a way with authority."
"Yeah, she can be a little intimidating sometimes," Cozy Glow said. "But she's still really nice, so I don't want to disappoint her."
"Same, I could never let Flitter down, she's always been there for me so I always try to be the best colt I could be for her," Rumble said.
"She's a lot nicer than her sister at least," Cozy Glow said. "I know that mare doesn't trust me."
"Cloudchaser's just a bit protective, that's all," Rumble insisted. "Once she sees how well you're getting along with me and Flitter she'll start to like you."
"Golly, I do hope so, she looks like a pony I don't want to make mad," Cozy Glow said.
"Yeah I've seen how bad of an idea that would be," Rumble said.
"But speaking of angry ponies, you really want to go to a dinner at the Apple Family Farm?" Cozy Glow asked. "You know Apple Bloom doesn't trust us."
"Well she has good reason, I did cheat on Sweetie Belle, with you," Rumble reminded.
"Yet you still come to see me just about everyday," Cozy Glow pointed out. "Not that I blame you, I am very adorable."
"Uh yeah, well I don't like that it basically resulted in my friends hating me," Rumble said. "Dinky was the only one who stood by my side, everypony else kind of ditched me, and honestly I miss them a lot, so I guess this dinner is a good thing because I can reconnect with Apple Bloom and be her friend again."
"Well something tells me it will go as badly as it did with Tender Taps," Cozy Glow said. "Maybe even worse."
"He eventually came around," Rumble reminded.
"Yeah, because of Flurry Heart's help, and something tells me he didn't fully mean it when he said he was sorry," Cozy Glow said.
"We gotta have more faith Cozy," Rumble said. "Try to be nice with Apple Bloom, she was your friend once."
"Ugh, why do you keep saying that? I never said any of them were my friends," Cozy Glow said.
"Cozy you may try to deny it all you want but I can tell that deep down you do care Cozy Glow," Rumble said. "Why do you insist on being this tough little loner?"
"I'm not a loner, I have you don't I?" Cozy Glow said. "And soon I'll have Flurry Heart."
"Are we really all you want though?" Rumble asked. "Why not try to have the friendship of The Crusaders as well? They're really nice girls."
"If they're so nice, why have they been mean to you?" Cozy Glow sassily asked.
"Maybe because I kissed you while dating Sweetie Belle, like I just said a moment ago!" Rumble shouted. "Like it or not Cozy Glow, the Crusaders are well within their right to be mad at us, so far only Scootaloo has reached out to me."
"Scootaloo?" Cozy Glow asked. "When was this?"
"Yesterday, before I came to see you," Rumble explained.
"Is that why you were late!?" Cozy Glow asked, looking annoyed. "Who else have you been seeing Rumble!?"
Rumble looked a little surprised by this sudden outburst, "Uh, just some friends, like my best friend Dinky."
"Doesn't she have a crush on you?" Cozy Glow suspiciously asked.
"Yeah...er I mean no, I mean, it's complicated," Rumble said. "Look she only kissed me for a bit because I was single, she told me she'd back off if I ever got another filly to date."
"Oh, I never said she had to back off," Cozy Glow said.
Rumble scratched his head in confusion, "Uh, weren't you just jealous a moment ago?"
"Only because of Scootaloo maybe, but like I said, I'm more lenient," Cozy Glow said. "Remember when I let you kiss Flurry Heart? I'm fine if you ever want to kiss another filly, just so long as I know about it and I'm alright with that filly."
"Wait, alright as in how?" Rumble asked.
"Some fillies I'll let slide, like Flurry and your friend Dinky, but others like Scootaloo might pose a problem," Cozy Glow said. "It's like this, Flurry's alright because she's just a littler filly and she can't really take you from me, and your friend Dinky is just that, a friend. If she wants some kissy time with you, we can work something out. Scootaloo isn't likely to share you with me, and she may want you all to herself, and that's a big no-no for me."
"That's...weirdly generous of you," Rumble said.
"Isn't that one of the Elements of Harmony?" Cozy Glow asked. "Generosity is Rarity's element, and I'm willing to bet even she wouldn't be as generous as I am. I'll also be Loyal to you through this, even beyond Rainbow Dash. Like I said, I just ask that you let me know the filly, and I'll decide if I want that filly to be part of our herd."
"Herd?" Rumble asked. "Uh, Cozy Glow, I appreciate the gesture, but I'm more of a one filly type of pony. I want to eventually settle, if the two of us ever have kids, then it might be weird to explain the other girls."
Cozy Glow blushed at the though of having foals with Rumble, just being used as an example was enough to send her heart a flutter. "Whatever you want Rumble. If you want other fillies, then I'll be fine with that, but if it's only me," Cozy Glow wrapped around his neck, "Then that's even better."
The two shared a brief kiss, Cozy feeling satisfied. The more understanding she was to Rumble, the more he seemed to want her, and if she truly doesn't have to share him, then all the better for her.
What she really wanted was to say whatever Rumble wanted to hear, so long as she was willing to compromise, and never lose control.
The time came, Flitter and the foals were making their way over to Sweet Apple Acres. Flitter felt pretty optimistic about this meeting, though Rumble and Cozy Glow were concerned for their own reasons.
Rumble was worried about seeing Apple Bloom again, knowing that she still wasn't too fond of him. Cozy Glow wasn't too trusting of Apple Bloom or her sister Applejack. Flitter could tell the two foals were nervous, real shame to her since she knows how nice the Apples can be, but she also knows they have some reason to be.
"Remember kids, this is a chance for rebuilding," Flitter reminded. "Rumble you have what it takes to make peace with Apple Bloom, and Cozy Glow, at least try to be nice to Apple Bloom."
"Yes Flitter," both foals said, though their doubt still remained.
Flitter arrived at the farm, knocking at the door and awaiting an answer. "Remember, smiles." Applejack answered the door, "We're here!"
Applejack tipped her hat, "Good to see ya Flitter." She turned to the foals, both of them with wide yet nervous smiles, "Howdy kids, how you been lately?"
"Oh just...fine, I guess," Rumble said, somewhat hesitant.
"Real Peachy," Cozy Glow said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Well come on in y'all, food's ready and waiting," Applejack said, the trio entering her house.
"Your home looks so nice Applejack," Flitter said. "So well decorated."
"Much appreciated," Applejack said, leading them to the dining area where the food was. "Hope you like hay sandwiches and daisy salad."
"Rumble sure does, he likes eating these healthy snacks," Flitter said.
"Right, yer an athletic colt, so you eat food fer athletes," Applejack said.
"Yeah, I do," Rumble said. "Uh, I don't mind eating anything else, I just prefer to keep my diet the way it is so I can be an efficient flyer."
"I admire a colt that can stick to a diet, hard thing fer ponies to do," Applejack said. "Ah mean, just ask Rarity how tough it was fer ger to slim down fer a dress, she refused to make it any bigger than it was."
"Uh, I'd rather not talk to Rarity just yet," Rumble said. "So I'll just take your word for it."
Applejack knew why Rumble wouldn't be eager to talk to Rarity. She herself still hasn't fully forgiven Rumble for what he's done. "Well that's fine, maybe another time. Ah hope you like desert though."
"I like desert!" Cozy Glow excitedly shouted. "I like all types of treats!"
"Well if you keep yerself well behaved today, you can have all the sweets you'd like," Applejack said.
"Not too much though," Flitter interjected. "Last time she had a sugar rush."
"That so? Well I'll make sure that don't happen again," Applejack reassured. "We just gotta wait fer the rest of the fam, they should be in any moment now."
True to Applejack's word, Granny Smith had come into the kitchen with Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom right behind her.
"Howdy youngins, good to have ya here," Granny Smith greeted.
"Good evening to y'all," Big Macintosh greeted.
"Hey," Apple Bloom said in a very uncaring voice.
Applejack furrowed her brows at her little sister, but she knew that the best thing to do right now was to let things build naturally and soon she can be the best of friends with Rumble again, and hopefully even make peace with Cozy Glow.
Though Applejack also knew that she herself had get used to Cozy Glow, but thinking about it, it shouldn't be too hard. She got along well with Starlight Glimmer after what she's done, same with the other old villains turned friends. Except maybe Discord, she still has some trust issues with him but she trusts Fluttershy more to keep him under control.
"Well gather around, everypony can take a seat and pick out what looks the most tasty," Applejack said.
"I pick Rumble then," Cozy Glow said, seductively eyeing the now nervous and blushing colt.
"Uh, I don't think I'm on the menu," Rumble said, sheepishly smiling.
"Flirty much?" Apple Bloom stated.
"Come now, nothing wrong with a little humor," Applejack said, taking a seat and grabbing some food, the others doing the same. Flitter had to pick food out for Cozy since she really wasn't interested in anything at all.
"Make sure you eat every last bite if you want dessert young filly," Flitter said.
"Ugh, alright fine Flitter," Cozy Glow said, grabbing a sandwich and taking a bite. Fortunately it wasn't that bad.
"We got some baked apples for y'all too," Applejack said, pointing to a basket. "They're pretty good, so try them out if you can."
Cozy Glow swallowed her bite, then turned to Applejack, "I know this is an apple farm, but do you have any other fruits? Like oranges? Or bananas? Or even pears?"
"Pears?" Applejack said. "Funny story, my maw was a Pear farmer before she met my pops. Too bad the families hated each other at first."
"Wait, your mom's family hated your dad'?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Oh hate's a strong word," Granny Smith pointed out. "But I did despise Grand Pear, and ah wasn't too thrilled with mah son dating his daughter."
"That makes your parents star-crossed lovers, doesn't it Applejack?" Flitter asked.
"Sure does, they even had to get married in secret, only their closest friends knew about it," Applejack said. "Including Mrs. Cake."
"The bakery mare?" Cozy Glow asked. "She knew your parents?"
"She was mah mom's best friend," Applejack said. "In fact my mom was the one who helped her find her Cutie Mark, something Apple Bloom does now. Carrying on the Apple Family tradition in more ways than one."
"Hm, secret wedding, very sneaky, kind of like that," Cozy Glow said, smiling mischievously. "Doing what you can to get what you want, even when it comes to love."
"Well ah certainly wasn't happy to not have gotten an invite to mah son's wedding," Granny Smith bitterly said. "But, given the circumstances, ah guess Bright Mac had no choice. Ah do admire just how committed he was to Buttercup. She was a nice mare really, and it wasn't really fair fer me to judge her just because ah didn't care fer her father." Granny Smith focused her attention to the foals, "Never be too quick to judge somepony just because you don't like someone close to them."
"Oh ah would never do that," Apple Bloom said. "Even if Scootaloo spent time with Rumble yesterday, ah would never treat her any less, same with any other filly with Rumble."
"Apple Bloom..." Big Mac lightly scolded.
"It's fine, she has a right to be mad," Rumble admitted. "I made a mistake, so it's no surprise that a lot of ponies don't like me now."
"Ponies make mistakes sonny," Granny Smith said. "Don't beat yerself up too much over it, ah mean you seem like a nice kid, and even the nicest of ponies can screw up once in a while."
"Fluttershy once said this, 'Just because you made a bad choice, doesn't mean yer a bad dragon'," Applejack said, then noticed how confused Rumble looked. "Well she said that to a dragon, something yer not, but the point still stands. You made a bad choice, but it's not too late to make things right."
"I want to, but I can't talk to Sweetie Belle yet, I still feel weird and she might still be hurting, I know Scootaloo said she wasn't but-" Rumble said.
"She is," Apple Bloom interrupted. "Ah know because ah I had to comfort her when she was crying in her room!"
Rumble's ears dropped, "I didn't mean to make her cry, I would never want to do something like that!"
"Well ya did, but you never noticed because you were too busy making out with that little traitor," Apple Bloom said, pointing to Cozy Glow.
Cozy Glow was of course unhappy about that accusation. "Golly, I must be remembering things differently, because I seem to recall that you and your friends betrayed me."
"Excuse me!?" Apple Bloom shouted. "You locked us in a closet!"
"Because you tried foiling my plans to make a better Equestria!" Cozy Glow shouted.
"Girls, come on, no shouting at the table," Flitter said. "Let's try to be friends."
"Ah tried being friends with her once, it didn't work out," Apple Bloom said.
"Come on, everypony deserves a second chance," Applejack said. "Cozy Glow did something bad but that doesn't mean she should be judged forever."
"Ah hope yer aware that yer standing up fer a pony who locked you in Tartarus," Apple Bloom said.
"Yes, ah am," Applejack said, glancing toward Cozy Glow. "But ah also remember that Starlight once stole mah cutie mark and locked me and mah friends in a small house fer a day while some annoying recording played over and over. Ah got passed that, so ah can get passed what Cozy Glow did...even if ah still don't fully understand her motives."
"Ah told you, being hea mare of the School of Friendship means having the most friends," Cozy Glow said.
"Uh, it's nice that you wanna make friends but that seemed a bit extreme," Applejack said. "Plus, you also stole all the magic from Equestria."
"I like to think big," Cozy Glow non-chalantly said. "Plus sealing away the magic would have kept you all trapped in Tartarus until my plan fully worked out."
"So, it wasn't gonna be forever?" Applejack asked.
"I might have freed you, yes, after I became an Alicorn," Cozy Glow stated.
"An Alicorn?" Applejack asked. "How?"
"Simply, more friends means more power, like with Twilight," Cozy Glow said. "When she got friends she became an Alicorn, if she could do that with only a few ponies, imagine what I could do with an entire school of ponies!"
Applejack shook her head, "That's not how it works Cozy Glow, we really gotta teach you about Friendship, hopefully then you'll have a better understanding and you really will become a better pony fer it."
"Will it help me become an Alicorn?" Cozy Glow asked.
Applejack shook her head, "Cozy, it ain't about becoming an Alicorn."
"But you and your friends always say 'Friendship is Magic', wouldn't the magic be becoming an Alicorn?" Cozy Glow asked.
Applejack's face went deadpanned from hearing that logic, "Cozy, if that's how it worked, then everypony with lots of friends would become an Alicorn. I would become an Alicorn, but I'm still an Earth Pony."
"Then that means you're not trying hard enough," Cozy Glow said. "Or maybe Twilight's just trying to keep you down so she has all the Magic to herself!"
"Now Cozy, don't say such things," Flitter scolded. "Twilight wouldn't do something like that."
"Well I just want to know how Friendship is Magic if you're not expected to get Alicon powers out of it, or any type of strong magic to use," Cozy Glow said.
"It's a different kind of magic Sugar Cube," Applejack explained. "It's worth much more than having a horn and a pair of wings, it's about something much more valuable."
"Ugh, sounds bogus," Cozy Glow said.
"Come now, yer friends with Rumble, you mean to tell me if that his friendship is worthless if you don't get powers put of it?" Applejack asked.
"Well...no," Cozy Glow admitted.
"And Flitter? You wouldn't call her friendship worthless, would you?" Applejack asked.
Cozy Glow turned away, "Not exactly..."
"Twilight even told me how nice you were to Flurry Heart, don't you like the idea of being her friend?" Applejack asked. "You wouldn't give that up just because it might not make you an Alicorn, would you?"
Cozy Glow shrugged, "I guess not."
"You like yer friends a lot don't you? You don't need to have power to be happy," Applejack said.
"But, having power is fun!" Cozy Glow said. "It was so great being Headmare of Twilight's school!"
"Ah still want to know how anypony bought that," Applejack said, thinking about. "Under what circumstance would Twilight put a filly in charge of her school?"
"Well I told them it was Starlight's idea," Cozy Glow said. "Maybe Starlight would have done something like that?"
"Starlight wouldn't do that," Applejack insisted, then hought about it. "Wait would she?"
"Well the point is now you know there's more to Friendship than just power," Flitter said. "Friendship in itself is worth it."
"Fine, I'll agree with you on that," Cozy Glow reluctantly said. "But it seems like such a waste of magic if it doesn't really get you anything."
Applejack sighed, "Yer gonna need a bit of work. But you got potential, just start on it now and you'll have an even better idea in the future."
"Gonna take a lot of work though," Apple Bloom commented.
"That's where you come in Apple Bloom," Applejack said. "You can help Cozy Glow in her Friendship Lessons."
"Why me? Ah tried helping her and she betrayed us, first by failing that test on purpose then locking us in a closet!" Apple Bloom said.
"H-hey! I helped you out after failing didn't I?" Cozy Glow said.
"You got us in trouble with Twilight!" Apple Bloom said. "The least you could have done was fess up, probably the only decent thing you've done!"
"Apple Bloom, lower yer voice!" Applejack ordered, then turned to Cozy Glow. "Still, why did you help them? Not like you had much to gain."
"I don't know, pity?" Cozy Glow said. "It didn't matter to me if they got in or not."
"You could have gotten away with it though," Applejack said. "If you hadn't told Twilight, she would have just assumed that mah sister and her friends were just pulling another scheme."
"Well...I had to, if I really did fail then I couldn't go to the school," Cozy Glow said, trying to look away.
"She would have given you another test though," Applejack said. "If she thought yer test wasn't fair she would have let you try again."
"Well I didn't know that, I just did what was best for me!" Cozy Glow angrily insisted.
"Spike told me you were gonna get another chance with another tutor, so you still didn't need to tell anypony," Applejack said, Cozy Glow looking more frustrated. "Honestly there was no real motivation for you to help mah sister and her friends, ah just don't know-"
"Ugh, fine, I admit, I did it because I felt bad for them!" Cozy Glow finally confessed. "I faked my answers and felt bad for getting them in trouble because they were so nice to me and I really did want to be their friend! Happy now!?"
Applejack was a little surprised by her outburst, but happy she finaly confessed her motivations. "Ah knew you could be nice."
"Cozy Glow, is that true?" Apple Bloom asked.
Cozy Glow groaned in annoyance, "Yes it's true. I tricked everypony into thinking you gave me bad Friendship advice then felt bad about it. I mean you girls were really nice to me, and you just met me. I was actually kind of envious of your bond too."
"But why did you lock me and mah friends in a closest?" Apple Bloom said. "In time you could have been just as close, ah mean Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were already best friends before ah met them."
"I don't know, maybe I was nervous because you were going to mess up mu plans," Cozy Glow said. "I knew you weren't going to side against your sisters, so I did what I had to do to keep my plan going."
"So, do you regret turning against us?" Apple Bloom asked.
Cozy Glow looked reluctant to answer, but the looks she was getting from everyone made her crack, "Eh...possibly. I do kind of wish I didn't have to trap you but you left me with no choice."'
"So, you do have some sense of remorse," Apple Bloom stated. "Ah guess that's a start."
"Apple Bloom, why don't you take Rumble and Cozy Glow to yer room, give you a chance to catch up," Applejack suggested.
"Uh, sure," Apple Bloom said, lifting herself off the chair. "Come on you two, let's continue our conversation in my room."
The two foals followed Apple Bloom to her room, leaving the adult ponies at the table.
"Ah say Cozy's coming along...a little better than before," Applejack said.
"She's still got a long way to go but she has it in her to be nice," Flitter said. "She just needs loving care mixed with a sense of discipline. I'm firm with her but I'm also emotionally open."
"Any idea why she is the way she is?" Applejack asked. "Do you know anything about her parents?"
"No, she never mentions them," Flitter said. "When I do ask, she just says she has no family. Maybe she's an orphan, or she was abandoned."
"Gee, kind of hate to think she was abandoned," Applejack said. "Makes putting her in Tartarus seem that much harsher."
"Why was that yer first choice anyway sis?" Big Mac asked. "You've helped other evil creatures, why not Cozy Glow? She needed it the most."
"Twilight told me Celestia would handle it, guess she chose to put her in Tartarus," Applejack said.
"Ah hope it wouldn't have been permanent," Granny Smith admitted. "Foals who are troubled need guidance, throwing them into a place like that full of monsters and other dangerous creatures won't do much help."
"With all due respect to Princess Celestia, she did not make the right choice there," Big Mac said. "Of course an evil filly does seem rather...new to everypony."
"Maybe we should have done more," Applejack said. "Honestly, this wouldn't be the first time we messed up on something, not like anypony went to help Lightning Dust out the first time she made a mistake, and then there's Gilda, if not fer Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie going to Griffonstone, they probably wouldn't have made peace."
"Don't be too hard on yerself," Granny Smith said. "Mistakes happen, sometimes things happen and we don't handle them right, but that doesn't mean it's too late to make amends."
"Yer right, maybe it'll help if we rounded up other ponies and creatures we helped, help them reach out to Cozy Glow and then she'll be that much closer to the right path," Applejack said.
"Good idea, it could be like a mini-convention of sorts, we'll get Starlight, Lightning Dust, Gilda, Trixie, maybe even that pony who worked with The Storm King," Flitter said.
"Right, Tempest Shadow...or whatever her actual name was, kind of forgot," Applejack said. "Ah like Tempest better though."
"Then it's settled, we'll contact Princess Twilight later and she'll help us make this meeting a reality," Flitter said.
"Right, let's go over some details," Applejack said.
In Apple Bloom's room, she along with Rumble were sitting at the edge of her bed while Cozy Glow was laying back, snuggling against a pillow.
"Your bed's so comfy Apple Bloom," Cozy Glow said, bringing up the quilt. "Same with this blanket and pillow."
"It is nice, ain't it?" Apple Bloom said, then turned to Rumble. "So...ah kind of still want to ask you about Sweetie Belle."
"Sure, ask away," Rumble said.
"Why exactly did you two break-up?" Apple Bloom asked. "Was it because you fell out of love?" She briefly glanced at Cozy Glow, "Or in love with somepony else?"
"No, I mean, I don't think I fell out of love," Rumble said. "I still do very much care about Sweetie Belle, and I miss being with her a lot, but after what I did, I wasn't sure anymore. I broke it off because I felt bad for cheating on her, Sweetie Belle shouldn't be dating a pony who would do that to her."
"Did she want to break up?" Apple Bloom asked.
"No, she didn't actually, she was willing to forgive me," Rumble said. "I mean, I tell this to a lot of ponies and each response is a bit different, some say maybe we do need time apart, others say I should have stayed with her and worked it out. What do you think?"
"Well tell me first why you kissed Cozy Glow," Apple Bloom said.
"Well she kissed me, but...I guess I shouldn't have returned it," Rumble said. "It was a moment of weakness, me and Cozy had been bonding a lot prior to that so I felt a connection with her. Probably because she reminded me so much of Sweetie Belle, a cute filly who was dependent on me to make her feel safe and happy. Scootaloo told me I have a weakness for fillies who treat me like their knight, that's why me and Sweetie Belle had such a good romance, and why Flurry Heart looked up to me."
"How many times have you kissed Cozy Glow?" Apple Bloom asked. "Like have you kissed her before she returned to Ponyville?"
"No, I haven't," Rumble said. "I don't know why she keeps saying we did."
"Uh, let's see," Apple Bloom tried remembering something. "You two spent the night in Sugar Belle's house right?"
"Yeah, why?" Rumble asked.
"On the same bed?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah, she...cuddled against me," Rumble admitted.
"You don't suppose..." Apple Bloom started to theorize.
Rumble's eyes widened, Cozy mentioned having seen some tips about romance from Sugar Belle and Party Favor. No way she would have, no while he was asleep.
"Hey Cozy Glow?" Rumble said, turning to the filly, surprised to see the filly fast asleep. "Huh, she really did feel comfortable."
Apple Bloom turned to Cozy Glow, the filly tucked away in the bed, light snoring coming from her. "Aw, she actually looks kind of cute."
"See, told you she's cute," Rumble said. "That cute filly put the moves on me and I was helpless to her charm."
"First off, that was such a lame thing to say," Apple Bloom said. "Second, ah can see yer point but ah think you gave up too fast. If Sweetie Belle was willing to forgive you then ah think you should have taken it."
"Maybe I should have, but this showed me that I can easily fall for another filly, so I had to make sure, so that was my second reason for the break-up," Rumble said. "I needed to test myself and how I feel about other fillies."
"Wait, yer actually dating other fillies?" Apple Bloom asked. "Uh, you mentioned Scootaloo earlier, did ya date her?"
"Yeah, last night," Rumble bashfully said. "The only other fillies I dated were Kettle Corn and Cozy Glow. I want to count Dinky but she's just there for the 'entertainment'. There were other fillies but they weren't really 'dates'."
"Wow, you've been busy," Apple Bloom said. "Still, would you go back to Sweetie Belle?"
"Honestly, I hope I can, but it's still too early to tell," Rumble said. "Sometimes I wonder if we were meant to be together. I mean you always thought it should have been me and Scootaloo."
"Rumble, ah really don't know much about romance, ah only went with Scootaloo because ah really wanted to help her," Apple Bloom said. "If ah knew about romance, I'd still be dating Tender Taps."
"Tender Taps had his own troubles to figure out," Rumble said, then remembered what he saw two days prior. "Though it seems like he's doing plenty of his own exploring."
"Huh? What does that mean?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Oh, nothing really," Rumble said, sadly looking aside. "Honestly, I think it might be too late for me and Sweetie Belle, she probably found somepony else by now."
"Ah don't think she has," Apple Bloom said. "I'd know about it if she did."
"You haven't seen her with anypony?" Rumble asked. "Anypony at all?"
"No," Apple Bloom said, then remembered something. "Well only Tender Taps but we always hang out with him, and those two have been getting along quite well, especially during the time you were away. He was very good at checking with her, always making sure she didn't feel too sad or lonely."
"I almost wish I never went to that camp," Rumble said. "I feel like that's what started this, had I never gone I would have seen Sweetie Belle more and been there more, plus I would have known about Cozy Glow."
"Come now Rumble, that was a big opportunity fer you, you love flying after all, and you want to be a Wonderbolt," Apple Bloom said.
"Lot of good it did me, since coming back I've lost my edge, all because of the mistakes I made, kissing Cozy Glow and breaking it off with Sweetie Belle, losing my friends," Rumble said. "I can't fly like I used to. That whole camp was a waste in the end."
"Rumble..." Apple Bloom placed her hood on his. "Yer a very talented boy, ah know this is messing with you now but ah also know you have what it takes to overcome this. Just channel that inner Wonderbolt spirit of yers. Things may look bleak now, but there's always a bright future. Ah mean, it's like when me and the girls were trying to find our Cutie Marks, things looked bleak but we never stopped trying, and now not only did we get our marks at the same time, we got the same ones too! How many ponies in Equestria can say they have the same Cutie Mark?"
"Getting those marks must have meant a lot to you, all your hard work finally paid off," Rumble said. "I may not care about getting my Cutie Mark, but I always admired how determined you girls were about getting yours. Back then, when you were all blank flanks, and my relationship with Sweetie Belle was just a one-sided crush on a filly who barely noticed me, I did admire your persistence, you had a goal and never gave up. Though part of me was hoping you'd realize how pointless it was since it only seemed to bring you misery, but you powered through, like a Wonderbolt would."
"Wow, that's nice of you to say Rumble," Apple Bloom said.
"What's even more amazing is that you helped so many ponies along the way, like Diamond Tiara with her mother issues, your cousin Babs and her insecurities, helping Tender Taps find his Cutie Mark, you even helped unite Terramar's family," Rumble said. "I kind of wish I did more to help, I barely supported that camp you and the girls made."
"Right, I seem to remember Sweetie Belle bringing you by one day then you opened yer mouth on how lame Cutie Marks were and demotivated everyone," Apple Bloom said.
Rumble sheepishly rubbed his head, "That was very insensitive of me, and I apologize for doing that."
"It's fine, everypony makes mistakes after all," Apple Bloom said, gently stroking Rumble's mane.
"Thanks," Rumble gazed affectionately at Apple Bloom. "So, does this mean you don't hate me anymore?"
"Ah never really hated you, ah was just very disappointed, but maybe ah should have given you a better chance," Apple Bloom said. "Yer mah friend, ah should have been there fer you too. You ain't a bad pony Rumble, ah was just a bad friend."
"Hey, you were there for Sweetie Belle at least," Rumble said, stroking her mane a bit. "I appreciate that, even if I can't make her happy, I'm glad somepony else can."
"We'll try to fix this, but even if you two don't get back together, you'll still be mah friend too," Apple Bloom said, getting in closer to Rumble. "Heh, just realized why so many fillies seem to like yah, you really are a handsome colt Rumble."
"And you're very pretty Apple Bloom," Rumble said. "Surprised Tender Taps couldn't hold on to you."
"Ah should have tried harder," Apple Bloom said. "Hey, this might be a weird time to bring this up, remember when ah spilt the beans about my plan? You know, when we told you that Sweetie Belle was just fake dating you to get info fer Scootaloo?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Rumble asked.
"Ah remember how mad you were one second, then how nice and sweet you were the next," Apple Bloom said. "Ah kind of envy that, ah mean I upset you just as much as you upset me, honestly ah ma have been worse since ah nearly ruined your relationship with Sweetie Belle before it began."
"Well, you were really sorry, I couldn't stay mad at that," Rumble said.
"Yeah, yer such a sweet guy, I'll never forget that hug," Apple Bloom said. "In an instant ah felt so nice, safe and secure, like everything would be alright. Every time Sweetie Belle talked about how soft but firm you felt, ah could always relate."
"Yeah, I remember that too, your mane had the aura of fresh apples," Rumble said.
Apple Bloom bashfully brushed her mane back, "Yer a real charmer Rumble. Sometimes ah wonder what if it were us who got together."
"We can find out, if you want to," Rumble said, blushing a bit.
"Ah suppose we can..." Apple Bloom said, gazing into Rumble's eyes. The two leaned forward, getting closer and closer.
Then Apple Bloom being the impatient filly that she is, leaned in and pulled Rumble into a deep kiss, taking the colt by surprise, but one that he welcomed as he returned the kiss with great force. Apple Bloom laid back on the bed as Rumble continued her kiss, the two wrapped up tightly together.
There was so much raw emotion between the two, as if hidden desires were suddenly erupting, the two who at one point considered each other good, reliable friends, and then had a minor falling out were escalating their friendship way past just being friends.
Outside the room, the adult ponies were on their way over, having finished discussing their plans.
"So we're all in agreement?" Flitter asked.
"Yes, I'll talk to Twilight tomorrow," Applejack said. "Then we'll get this shin-dig rolling."
"Sweet, I'll just go and grab Rumble and Cozy Glow, thank you for your time Applejack," Flitter said.
"It's no trouble at all, always happy to have friends over," Applejack said, then knocked on Apple Bloom's door. "Apple Bloom, time fer Rumble and Cozy Glow to go home."
There was no answer, much to their confusion. Applejack knocked again, awaiting her sister's response.
"Maybe they're asleep?" Flitter asked.
"Ya think so?" Applejack said, not too convinced. She slowly opened the door to her sister's room, as to not disturb her if she really did fall asleep. What she and the others found instead was not very pleasant to their eyes. "Apple Bloom!"
The two foals were startled out of their make-out position. They were so into their session they hadn't even heard the door knocking.
"H-hey there sis," Apple Bloom nervously greeted.
"Wow, you and Rumble sure made up fast," Applejack said.
"Uh...yeah, it's a make-up make-out," Apple Bloom joked. "Just to prove that we like each other again."
"Yeah, uh-huh," Applejack said. "Ah can't believe you two-"
"Uh, Applejack," Big Mac interrupted, gesturing to the sleeping Cozy Glow. "Oh, one of you really did fall asleep. Aw, she's kind of cute...wait what am ah saying, I'm suppose to be mad!"
"I'll just take Cozy Glow," Flitter said, making her way into the room.
"That's fine, but leave Rumble to me fer a minute, then I'll deal with mah sister," Applejack said.
Rumble nervously gulped, Applejack didn't seem too happy. Flitter had gotten Cozy onto her back, with Big Mac's assistance and started making her way out of the room.
"Go easy on him, I want to have a word with him as well," Flitter said.
"It won't take long," Applejack said. "Let's go Rumble, to mah room."
"Better do what she says, otherwise she'll get even more mad," Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah, I'll do that," Rumble said, solemnly leaving the bed and following Applejack to her room.
Big Macintosh felt some pity for Rumble, and some confusion too. He should be unhappy but he would rather get the whole story, so he turned to his sister. "Uh, mind telling me what happened first? Maybe ah can help you explain it to yer sister when she comes back, but you gotta be honest."
"Alright, it's like this..." Apple Bloom began.
In Applejack's room, the mare closed the door behind her and Rumble, then she looked down at the colt. "Mind explaining why you were just making out with mah sister? And how?"
"We were talking and things got...intense," Rumble said. "It just suddenly happened."
Applejack looked a bit annoyed by the vague explanation, "So you two went from not liking each other...to kissing? Ah mean, going back to being friends I'd understand, in fact that's a great thing. But making out like that?
"She just looked so pretty, and...well it's one of the first times we were alone together, sort of, and she had such pretty eyes," Rumble said.
Applejack shook her head, seems like it was a heat of the moment type thing for Rumble. She should still be mad but at the same time, she knows he's going through a lot right now. "Look, I'll let this slide, just try to keep these emotions of yers under control, it's what got you into this mess in the first place."
"I'll do my best Applejack," Rumble said.
"Good, now get going, Flitter's waiting," Applejack said.
Before Rumble left, he had one last thing to ask of Applejack, "Say, in the future, if Apple Bloom wanted to...would it be alright if I dated her?"
"Dated her?" Applejack asked. "If you want to date her that's fine, just make sure she's the only one fer you before you start getting overly affectionate. Don't want to see anymore heartbreak."
"I won't let that happen, I promise," Rumble said, making his way out of the house.
Applejack groaned in annoyance, "This is getting more complicated, ah gotta make sure these foals figure out their emotions. So glad I was never in anything like this, I have a headache just seeing it."
Rumble quickly left the farm with Flitter, the mare getting the story from Rumble as well, him telling her that it just suddenly happened.
"Funny this sounds like something I'd hear from your brother," Flitter said. "Try not to be too much like him."
"Ugh, I can't believe I'm turning into Thunerlane, I mean I admire him but I wanted to be compared to him for his flying skills, not his filly skills," Rumble said.
"It's not bad to charm fillies, just remember they have feelings too and they're not just to be made out with," Flitter said. "I mean, Apple Bloom should know better too, just make sure things don't get too carried away." Flitter saw her house in the distance. "There's my stop, can you get home just fine from here?"
"Hey if I can get come from getting lost near Starlight's old town, I think I can manage around Ponyville," Rumble said.
"Yeah, you're right, night Rumble," Flitter said, making her way inside her house.
"Night Flitter, see you tomorrow!" Rumble quickly flew home, now having more to think about.
Flitter had taken Cozy Glow up to her room, the filly still not having woken up. She gently placed Cozy Glow on her bed and put the blanket over her. "Night Cozy Glow, I love you very much." Flitter placed a kiss on Cozy Glow's head, the filly smiling in her sleep as Flitter left the room.
Rumble made his way home, though when he got there, he had seen that Dinky was waiting out front, the Unicorn filly gazing up at the stars. "Dinky?"
"Oh, there you are," Dinky said. "I came by to see you but you weren't home. So I figured I'd wait around."
"You didn't wait long did you?" Rumble asked.
"No, not really," Dinky said. Truthfully she was waiting a while but she didn't want Rumble to feel bad. "Were you with Cozy Glow?"
"Yeah, we had dinner with the Apples," Rumble said.
"Wow really? Did you and Apple Bloom make up?" Dinky asked.
"Yeah...then we made out," Rumble admitted.
"Holy wow!" Dinky said. "Another filly, really trying everypony out huh?"
"Not my intention, it just happened," Rumble said.
"Well, it's working for you, anyway I just wanted to see how you were," Dinky said. "I'm glad you and Apple Bloom are buds again. We should all try hanging out tomorrow."
"You can come with me to se Cozy Glow," Rumble said. "I don't think you two interacted that much."
"Yeah, I'd like to get to know her myself," Dinky said. "Alright, I'll see you both tomorrow."
"Yeah...oh before you go home," Rumble said, opening up his door. "Wanna 'hang out' for a few minutes?"
Dinky grinned seductively at Rumble, "Oh totally."
The two foals went inside to 'bond' like they've been doing since Rumble broke up with Sweetie Belle. He hates to admit it, but he has slightly gotten used to this idea of having some fun moments with Dinky, and she loves how much he enjoys it.
But deep down, he did miss Sweetie Belle, or at least the idea of one steady girlfriend. He did wish things were back to normal.
Twilight in her castle, also missed a certain colt. It's been a couple of days and Tender Taps hadn't been around much. The mare was just spending her time either reading a book or filing some paperwork.
"I hope Sweetie Belle is making Tender Taps happy," Twilight solemnly said, thinking again of her favorite little colt. Maybe she should try to make some time for him soon, and figure things out.
What really stuck out to her was a particular moment, when she was working on some paperwork, she found the picture of Tender Taps in her drawer. She really was fond of him to the point of keeping a picture of him around, and deep down she did hope to keep him around long enough to become a stallion she could be with.
She should not have let that go.
Back in the future in the villain headquarters Cozy Glow was seen searching through her saddle pack for some stuff when she found a picture of Flitter, the girl instantly becoming bummed out. "Flitter...I'm sorry for letting you down. I hope you know despite everything, I do love you. I hope you're safe, I told Tirek not to hurt you if he found you, same with the others."
"Still feeling attached to that mare?" Chrysalis said, making her way over. "Good to see you back, do you have what we need?"
"You mean that Alicorn Amulet?" Cozy Glow asked, pulling it out. "Yeah, I got it."
"Excellent, what about Neighsay's artifact, the one that allows instant teleportation?" Chrysalis asked.
"Got that too," Cozy Glow said. "That big dummy's probably still looking for it."
Chrysalis took both artifacts, "Good, with the amulet that gives us more magic to use against our enemies, and thanks to this pendant of Neighsay's, we can deploy our troops anywhere we need."
"Just remember the deal, I get the Alicorn powers back, and become Princess of Equestria," Cozy Glow said.
"But of course, but I must ask, have you seen Rumble lately?" Chrysalis asked.
Cozy Glow's heart raced, she placed a hoof over her belly. "Maybe a couple of times, well before any of this began."
Chrysalis began to grow a bit suspicious, she had an idea of a little secret Cozy Glow as hiding. "So, if we find him...what do you want done?"
"Bring him to me," Cozy Glow said.
"If what's what you want," Chrysalis said. "Looks like the new seeds of this world are growing sooner than I anticipated."
Cozy Glow glanced briefly at Chrysalis, then looked through her saddle pack, finding another picture, this one of Rumble. "We'll be together soon Rumble, after today, there will be no way you can turn me down."
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
In the future, Rumble was quickly flying away from the Apple Family barn, some Changelings having found it and began attacking it. "Dammit, so much for my base!"
"Capture him quickly! Our queen commands it!" A Changeling shouted.
"Huh? What does Chrysalis want with me!?" Rumble asked, then thought about it. "Well I do cause trouble for her a times, but still!"
Rumble flew toward the direction of Ponyville, though had to make a quick turn when he remembered that it's not exactly safe over there. He flew over the Everfree Forest, trying to see if there was any other safe place to hide.
Granted it was the Everfree Forest, which wasn't exactly the safest place in Equestria to begin with, so he didn't know what to expect from searching around that area. He eventually found Zecora's hut and landed down, opening the door.
"Zecora? Are you in here?" Rumble asked, looking around for the Zebra. His attention was averted by the many potions she had around, plus some of her strange artifacts. "Wow, she has a lot of unique stuff."
"A visitor has come to my home," the voice of Zecora said, Rumble turning his attention to the mare. "Possibly since outside is no place to roam."
"Oh Zecora, I'm so glad you're alright," Rumble said, making his way over to the shaman.
"In my hut, I fear no harm," Zecora said. "So there is no need for alarm."
"That's good, is it some sort of spell?" Rumble asked. "A potion?"
"To the forest, most dare not enter," Zecora said. "Even the enemy knows this is not their center."
"So even The Changelings and Storm King soldiers don't like coming to this place," Rumble said. "How bad is the Everfree Forest?"
"You look exhausted, my dear colt," Zecora said. "Rest yourself, away from this revolt."
"Thanks, you're really nice," Rumble said, resting on the floor. "Man, so many things have changed. Last week I was enjoying my time in Cloudsdale, I was on the verge of joining The Wonderbolts. I can't believe all these villains showed up! honestly I thought I'd never see most of them again." Rumble looked aside. "Of course I should have expected that to happen."
"You sound full of despair young Rumble," Zecora said. "Tell me all that makes your mind tumble."
"I don't want to bore you, plus I did some lousy things," Rumble said.
"I do not judge my poor little friend, even I had my reputation to defend," Zecora said. "Tell me what ales you young one, so your soul may brighten like the sun."
Rumbled sighed, still feeling unsure, "Alright, I mean you are really nice and understanding. Apple Bloom always has nice things to say about you after all. Now, do you know about my relationship with Sweetie Belle? And how it was wrecked once I met Cozy Glow?"
"I have heard the trifles of Cozy Glow," Zecora said. "I know that has led you to a low."
"Well I did everything I could to help reform her, so did my friends and the Elements of Harmony," Rumble said. "Take Applejack for example, she told Twilight about this meeting for Cozy to attend to help her out, a meeting of all former villains and rivals."
Back in the past, one day after the Apple Family dinner. Flitter was bringing Cozy Glow to Twilight's castle, the two joined in their trot by Rumble.
"What am I doing again?" Cozy Glow asked.
"You're going to join a support group Cozy Glow," Flitter said. "The attendees are others who at one point either tried to take over Equestria, didn't get along well with The Elements of Harmony, or both."
"They're going to help you vent your frustrations," Rumble said. "It sounds easier to relate to others who seem to have disliked the Elements as much as you do right now."
"Ugh, who's idea was this exactly?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Applejack came up with the idea during dinner last night," Flitter explained. "If you understand the point of view from the perspective of others, maybe it can help you overcome some of your dislike for the Elements."
"And you'll finally have full and complete freedom," Rumble said. "Think about it, you do a few favors, earn their trust and soon you can do pretty much whatever you want, uh, so long as it's not evil."
"Hmm, freedom would be nice," Cozy Glow said. "Alright, I'll put up with this for a bit."
"And if you need me for any reason, I'll be right outside," Flitter said, the trio making their way into the castle. The mare knocked on the door, awaiting an answer as the two foals stood close by her.
Spike looked through the peep hole to find the trio, "Oh good you're here, just in time." Spike opened up and allowed the three access, "Welcome to Princess Twilight's castle."
"Thanks Spike," Flitter said, leading the two inside.
Spike led the three through the castle, not a far walk as they arrived at a room with various ponies and non-ponies. Cozy recognized a couple like Starlight and Trixie, but didn't know them all. Before she stepped inside, Spike got their attention, ready to introduce the filly, "Here she is everyone, meet Cozy Glow."
"Hello there," Cozy Glow said, waving to the group, many of them waving back, Starlight included.
"Why don't you all introduce yourselves?" Spike said.
"I'll go first," Starlight said. "Well you of course know me Cozy but I'll introduce myself anyway, and explain why I'm here. I'm Starlight Glimmer, and I once tried stealing the Cutie Marks of ponies and attempted to alter the timeline."
"Still don't find the Cutie Mark thing bad," Rumbe said.
"It's bad Rumble, don't follow my poor examples," Starlight said, then gestured to Trixie. "You're up."
"I am The Great and Powerful Trixie," The showmare introduced. "And my prior grievance with Twilight and her friends were from ruining my reputation as a stage performer."
Next was a Griffon that would be very familiar to Rainbow Dash. "Sup, name's Gilda, Rainbow Dash's foalhood friend. My grievance comes from the fact that Pinkie Pie made me look bad at a party and I had a falling out with Rainbow Dash."
Following that was the brash stunt Pegasus, "Name's Lightning Dust, leader of The Washouts. Things got bad for me and The Elements when they ruined my chance to be a Wonderbolt."
Next came the Unicorn without the horn, "I'm Fizzlepop Berry Twist, but most know me as Tempest Shadow. I worked with The Storm King and nearly brought ruins to Equestria."
Next came an Earth Pony from Manehattan, "Suri Polomare, uh I forgot why I'm here, something about clothes."
Next came a certain Siren, "I'm Sonata Dusk, but you know me very well Cozy Glow. I've tried taking over Equestria and I've caused a lot of trouble for Twilight and her friends, well sort of. Isn't that right Sunset Shimmer?"
The mare in question just scowled and focused on Cozy, "Well like she said, I'm Sunset Shimmer, I had some jealousy issues with Twilight in the past."
A somewhat skinny pony in old clothes spoke next, "Hello, I am Stygian, Starswirl the Bearded's most valued assistant. I let my weakness and insecurities turn me into something I'm not."
Next came the school aged once spoiled brat, "I'm Diamond Tiara, but you know that Cozy Glow, you did come to my house recently after all. My issues were not with The Elements but I think I can still relate to you in this meeting, since the CMC were my 'Elements'."
Another school aged filly made her presence known, "I'm Babs Seed, Apple Bloom's cousin from the city, similar to you, my past is more with the Crusadahs than anything else."
Spike looked satisfied, "I think that's everyone, or almost everyone, who are we missing?"
"Luna couldn't make it, she's busy helping Twilight out," Starlight said. "And Discord couldn't come because well no one invited him."
"Excuse me!?" A mysterious voice said. Suddenly Discord materialized in the room, looking a bit agitated. "I wasn't invited? You invite a bunch of D-Class rivals but not me?"
"Better not be labeling my in that 'D-Class' role," Lightning Dust warned.
"Excuse me, who are you even?" Discord asked. "Oh right, that overhyped stunt pony."
"Overhyped!?" Lightning Dust shouted. "I'll have you know that my shows sell out, even Princess Twilight loves my shows, I have endorsement from Royalty!"
"Come on now, let's not shout," Starlight pleaded. "We're here for good vibes, good vibes means no yelling."
"This is why Discord wasn't invited though," Spike said. "We don't want this meeting getting chaotic."
"Fine, I see where I'm not wanted," Discord said, smirking a bit. "Besides, something tells me this meeting will be chaotic enough without my help."
In a snap, Discord vanished, Starlight slightly nervous by his ominous warning, "That Discord, always goofing around."
"Last time he goofed around I had to wait on some cranky old donkey," Cozy Glow angrily muttered.
"So, when should I be back?" Flitter asked.
"About an hour, but I'll come and get you if it ends sooner," Starlight said.
"Alrighty then," Flitter said, then affectionately stroked Cozy Glow's mane. "You be a good filly for these nice ponies, and griffon, and siren."
"Alright Flitter," Cozy Glow said.
"And if you need help, just call me and I'll be there in a snap," Rumble said.
"Ever the knight, aren't you Rumble?" Trixie said. "But speaking of your Knight-like attitude, there's a filly who's eager to see you."
"Rumble!" they all heard. Suddenly he was hug tackled by Flurry Heart. "I back!
"Flurry, you're here!" Rumble said, returning the hug.
"Shining Armor and Cadance are in town and they brought Flurry Heart along," Trixie said. "And we all know fond you are of each other."
Flurry looked around and spotted another Pegasus she's become fond of, "Cozy Glow!"
"Aw, she remembered my name," Cozy said, trotting over to hug Flurry. "How I love my new little friend."
"You can play with Cozy Glow later Flurry," Flitter said, separating her from Cozy. "She had to do some stuff right now, she'll see you later."
"Buh-bye Cozy Glow!" Flurry said, then turned to Rumble. "We play now!"
"Uh sure, what do you wanna play Flurry?" Rumble asked.
"Save me from monster!" Flurry said, then dragged Rumble off. "Come, we go find monster."
"Uh, sure thing," Rumble said, then turned back to Cozy. "Catch you later then."
"Have fun," Cozy Glow said, then went inside with the other ponies. She took a seat that Starlight had saved to her, right between the Guidance Counselor and Sonata Dusk.
"Alright, now Cozy Glow's here, now our goal here to help this poor misguided filly discover the magic of friendship," Starlight said.
"And since many of us have had similar struggles as this filly, Twilight and The Elements thought it best to have all of us assist this poor creature with her struggles," Trixie said.
"Isn't that the girl who attacked us near the Tree of Harmony?" Lightning Dust asked. "Or ordered that Siren girl to attack?"
"Oh yeah, I think I remember you," Cozy Glow said. "You were the one who couldn't stop arguing with Rainbow Dash."
"I admit, that was partially my fault," Sonata said. "I manipulated their negative energy."
"Lightning Dust, why don't you tell Cozy Glow all about your rivalry and why it exists," Starlight said.
"Sure thing," Lightning Dust began. "Alright here's the thing Cozy, I was at Wonderbolt's Academy I was pretty much the top of my group. I always gave it my best, always pushing myself to be the best I could be, to prove myself worthy of The Wonderbolts. So when they paired ponies up, Rainbow Dash was my partner, in fact at the time, she was also my friend. I was made lead pony of that group, and she seemed cool with it, or so I thought. Everything I did, I did it with all my effort, I never went halfway on anything, and that's something I take pride in. Unfortunately things got bad when Princess Twilight and her friends were caught in a tornado that me and Rainbow Dash made, and I ended up taking the fall and getting booted out of The Academy. Now maybe I shouldn't have made that tornado, but I still say Princess Twilight and her friends shouldn't have been there at all, I mean who would take a hot-air balloon to an Academy of Intense flyers like that?"
"Now Lightning Dust, Twilight's discussed this with you, it's not what you did, it's how you handled it," Starlight reminded.
"Alright, I'll bite, I didn't handle that incident professionally, I should have been a bit more mindful to Rainbow Dash's concerns," Lightning Dust said. "I made a mistake, the least I could have done was fess up."
"Well what's important is that you know now, and you won't repeat that mistake," Starlight said.
"Yeah I guess, besides it motivated me to create The Wash Outs," Lightning Dust said. "I'm having a lot more fun with them than I did in The Wonerbolts, and they're quite the success, so it all worked out."
"Everything worked out alright," Starlight said, then eagerly turned to Cozy Glow. "So, Cozy, what are your thoughts on what Lightning Dust had to say?"
"Yeah, those Elements weren't very nice to you," Cozy Glow said.
Starlight's eagerness was quickly replaced with confusion and some worry, "Huh?"
"Sounds like they didn't even try to hear you out after an honest mistake, what kind of ponies would do that, especially if Rainbow Dash was supposed to be your friend," Cozy Glow said.
"Hehe, Cozy Glow, what are you doing?" Starlight nervously asked.
"I'm just asking an innocent question, just so I can understand Friendship better," Cozy Glow said, then turned back to Lightning Dust. "I think Rainbow Dash could have done a better job at conveying her emotions than just telling Spitfire what you did."
"Well, I think she tried to," Lightning Dust said. "I just played it off."
"Still, did she even try talking to you afterwards? When was the next time you saw her?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Uh, sometime later, I think when the Changelings tried taking over Twilight's castle a year ago," Lightning Dust said. "The second time at least, not the first time when Starlight and the others stopped her. She wasn't too happy to see me, and I admit I wasn't too thrilled myself."
"If you two were friends, I think she should have tried being nicer to you, for ponies of harmony, they can really hold a grudge," Cozy Glow said. "Did Rainbow Dash even compliment your Wash Outs group?"
"Actually, no, she hasn't," Lightning Dust said. "She actually complained, saying we were dangerous. I mean I know what I'm doing and so do my teammates, she was just mad because Scootaloo thought I was cooler. Like what's the big deal? Scootaloo can't like another pony? Then she said I made Scootaloo do a stunt, she's the one who wanted to do the stunt, I didn't know she was secretly afraid, she could have just told me. I wasn't gonna make a filly do something they didn't think they could do, I would have just done the stunt myself!"
"Yeah, I remember hearing about that, Rainbow Dash said some unkind things about you in school," Cozy Glow said.
"Like what!? What did that show-off say about me!?" Lightning Dust shouted.
Before things could get even more out of hoof, Starlight interjected, "Alrighty, let's move on now, thank you for your words of wisdom Lightning Dust, would anyone else like to say something?"
"Actually, I do have to admit something," Gilda said. "Rainbow Dash never really seemed to have any interest in making things up to me after our falling out. I thought we were tight and it took an emergency to get her to come to Griffonstone."
"Tell me more," Cozy Glow said. "Why were you two mad?"
"I went to see Rainbow Dash in Ponyville a while back, it was the first time I've seen her in years," Gilda said. "The problem was that Pinkie Pie kept getting in the middle of it, like I'm trying to see my friend but Pinkie Pie can't take the hint that I want to spend time with her. She gets to see Rainbow Dash every day, I don't have that luxury. But being the impatient pony she was she started getting on my nerves and I ended up flipping out on her."
"I know from personal experience that Pinkie Pie can be a bit...intrusive," Starlight said, remembering the time she tried befriending Maud. "But she only had good intentions, maybe she wanted to be your friend as well, you should have tried being more open with her. I mean, you're friends now, aren't you?"
"Sort of, I tolerate her," Gilda said.
"But did Rainbow Dash understand how you felt?" Cozy Glow asked. "She's your foalhood friend, she should have tried being more understanding of you, and she seemed to hold a grudge for something that was Pinkie Pie's fault."
"Nopony is at fault Cozy Glow," Starlight reminded.
"You are right about Rainbow Dash, like you pointed out with Lightning Dust there, she could have done more on her end too," Gilda said. "I mean it's like she didn't care if she ever saw me again, that does kind of sting."
"But you two are friends at least, thanks to The Cutie Map," Starlight said. "It helped you reconnect because it believed you two were meant to be friends."
"So a map had to point it out to her?" Cozy Glow said.
"Moving on!" Starlight quickly blurted and focused on Trixie. "Alright Trixie, why don't you tell Cozy Glow a bit about yourself?"
"Gladly," Trixie began. "It all started when I came to Ponyvile a few years back and I was hosting my magic show. I received a few hecklers from the crowd, but I'm used to it, I even showed them off with my skills. Those hecklers were Twilight Sparkle and her friends. See I may have exaggerated on some of my feats and they were quick to put those feats down, saying I was a fraud. To top it all off, two fans freed an Ursa Minor and let it run rampant in town." The mere mention of the Ursa Minor was enough to cause some visible discomfort for Tempest, unbeknownst to Trixie. "Twilight put an end to that, but I still received blame just because some foals took my stories too seriously."
"Right, you made a mistake, and maybe Twilight could have been more understanding, but instead of coming back to town and exacting revenge with some magical item, what should you have done?" Starlight asked, somewhat peaking Cozy's interest at the mention of a magic item.
"Uh...I don't know," Trixie said, much to Starlight's annoyance.
"Talk things out with Twilight!" Starlight said.
"To be fair, that would have been hard at the time," Trixie said. "The ponies chased me out of Ponyville."
"Well, you could have came back at a later time," Starlight suggested.
"Like that would have done much, I mean you saw how Twilight treated me when we first met," Trixie said. "After I tried helping her make up for what I've done."
"A firework show really isn't enough to say sorry," Starlight said.
"But I did apologize, I even did the lower lip quiver, I changed my moniker to The Great and Apologetic Trixie!" the magician decaled. "Like I said, ponies forgive, but they still judge!"
"Trixie, we're trying to educate Cozy Glow here," Starlight said, nervously gesturing to the foal.
Sighing in acceptance, Trixie nodded to her friend, "You're right, I should be a better influence on her."
"No, you're doing plenty for me now," Cozy Glow said. "I mean, I had no idea you went through all that, it sounds so unfair. Ponies heckling you for putting on a show, they're suppose to be entertaining after all, lots of ponies exaggerate. I bet Rainbow Dash exaggerates her accomplishments."
"Oh I bet she does," Lightning Dust said. "She was probably the one who was heckling you the most."
"Yeah, so were Applejack and Rarity," Trixie said. "But Rainbow Dash was the worst."
"Come on, we're here to help educate Cozy Glow, not say bad things about Rainbow Dash," Starlight said. "Let's move on, let's try talking to Diamond Tiara. One filly can probably be more relatable for another."
"Gladly, now it all started when I was a small child, a mere, young yet very beautiful and elegantly rich child," Diamond Tiara began, getting a groan from the others. This might take some time.
Rumble and Flurry are exploring the side area of the castle, the younger filly trying to find another pony to play with them. As they walked, Rumble passed by the School of Friendship, the colt stopping and marveling at the sight.
"Wow, this place is huge!" Rumble said, walking over to it. "Wonder what it would be like to be a student here?"
"It has it's perks," Rumble heard. He turned to see that it was Gallus who spoke, the young Griffon standing with his five friends.
"Oh hi everyone," Rumble said. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"We're always around," Sandbar said. "Even when we're on break, this School brought us together after all, so it's like special to us."
"I did hear great things about this place," Rumble said. "Sweetie Belle told me in one of her letters that she tried to enroll here, but Twilight felt she already knew about Friendship."
"Yeah, though that led to her and her friends helping an insane little Pegasus enroll," Gallus said.
"Yona no like evil Pegasus, she try hurting all friends!" Yona said.
"Come on, I know Cozy did something bad, but she's just a filly," Rumble said.
"You're still making these excuses for her?" Gallus asked. "Didn't you two actually come to blows?"
"Yeah, she hits hard," Rumble said, remembering her punch. "But I don't think she's evil, just misguided."
"You really are one naïve pony," Gallus said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Well isn't that what Friendship and Harmony is all about?" Rumble asked. "Trying to find the good in others? It worked for Starlight."
"Are you referring to evil Starlight or her helping Trixie," Sandbar asked.
"Both," Rumble said. "Who knows, if we help Cozy Glow out, she could help another pony who needs it."
"He's got a point," Ocellus said. "If we could show her kindness maybe it'll rub off, it is an Element of Harmony after all."
"I don't know, seems hard," Gallus said.
"But that is the responsible thing to do," Sandbar said.
"Sounds like a waste," Smolder said. "I don't think there's any helping that filly."
"She did one evil thing, Discord's done more than that and ponies trust him, somewhat at least," Rumble said.
"Oh what is this, a Pick on Discord day?" they heard, suddenly the Draconequess appeared. "Salutations young creatures, how is your day today?"
"Ugh, not you, last time you were at this school things went crazy," Smolder said.
"Well that is my thing, I create chaos, it's nature to me," Discord said, giving wings to a nearby rock, letting it fly away.
"Why are you even still here?" Rumble asked. "I thought you went home after you couldn't join in that meeting Cozy Glow went to?"
"Well if I wasn't going to the meeting, I figured I could just wait for Fluttershy to finish her own meeting with Princess Twilight, then we can go for a nice picnic" Discord said, snapping a blanket with some food into existence.
"Is Fluttershy your only real friend or something?" Gallus asked.
"No, I have other friends," Discord said, somewhat offended. "Fluttershy just happens to be my best friend, she's like a little sister to me, and I care for her deeply."
"Well I suppose someone has to, you're living proof that even Cozy Glow deserves a chance," Rumble said.
"And you're living proof that true love may not last forever," Discord said, deviously smirking.
Rumble's eyes widened in shock, and that turned into a scowl, "At least I found love!"
"Oh, looks like I struck a nerve," Discord said. "Remember Tumble, try not to judge if you yourself have fallen short of the proper path."
"It's Rumble!" the colt corrected.
"Rumble, Tumble, Mumble, all the same to me," Discord said, floating through the air similar to being in a pool.
Rumble looked pretty furious, but before he could say anything, he heard Flurry calling out to him. "Wumble!" The colt turned around and saw the unhappy filly marching toward him. "You come with me! We find monster!" She looked into the air and saw Discord floating around, "Oooh! Monster!"
Discord gestured to himself, "Who, me?"
"Yeah you, she wants you to be a monster," Rumble said.
"Yeah, no, I don't do playtime," Discord said, sitting in the air with his arms and legs crossed.
"Be monster!" Flurry shouted.
Discord lowered down to look her in the eyes, "No."
Flurry's face scrunched in anger, "You be monster, or I tell mommy!"
"Pfft, like I'm afraid of your mother," Discord said. "If I wanted to I can zap her into another dimension."
Flurry looked mad, she started charging up some magic, but before she could do anything, Rumble placed a hoof on her shoulder, "Don't waste your time Flurry, Discord isn't really fun anyway."
"Alright, you want to see a monster?" Discord asked, then snapped a Bugbear into the area, startling Rumble, Flurry and The Young Six, causing them to run off in a panic. Discord chuckled to himself as he made the creature disappear. "What an entertaining bunch."
Back in the meeting room, Stygian was in the middle of his tale, "I allowed the darkness to consume me, and it generated nothing but pain and despair. I spent over a millennia trapped in a void due to my mistakes, if not for the efforts of Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, I would have been banished once again, possibly forever."
"We're glad you're with us Stygian," Starlight said, then turned to Cozy Glow. "Well, any comments?"
"Wow, that Starswirl is a jerk, same with those Pillars, no wonder Twilight and her friends were such lousy ponies, they have bad influences," Cozy Glow said.
"No, it was entirely my fault," Stygian insisted.
"That's not how I see it, you just wanted respect and power, I could totally relate to that, shame you were just treated like a nobody for so long," Cozy Glow said. "Especially knowing that you did most of the work, I bet they never would have been able to banish the Sirens without your help."
"I'm actually amazed you were able to find a weakness," Sonata said. "Very clever, I mean it sucked being banished but it does take a lot of skill, at least in my opinion, Adagio still thinks you cheated."
"Sonata, maybe you'd like to say something to Cozy Glow?" Starlight asked. "Something that could help benefit her?"
"You got it," Sonata said, then turned her attention to Cozy Glow. "Always treasure your friends, do anything you can for them, because good friends are like family, and you should always want to do what's best for your family."
"That's, really nice," Starlight said. "Wasn't that nice everyone?"
There were murmurs of agreement, aside from Sunset, who found Sonata's answer a bit strange. "Uh, do anything for them? What do you mean by that?"
"If your friends need help, then you help them out," Sonata said.
"Help them out how?" Sunset asked. "And what type of friends are we talking?"
"Uh, all types of friends," Sonata said.
"Sunset, where are you going with this?" Starlight asked.
"Last time she tried being a good friend, she ended up siding with those other sirens, she also used 'family', which is what they are to her," Sunset said.
"Well pardon me for being a Loyal friend, something Rainbow Dash forgot about, right everyone?" Sonata asked, getting some agreements from the others.
"Ugh, enough with the Rainbow Dash comments! She's not a bad pony!" Starlight said.
"We know, she's just a bit self centered," Lightning Dust said.
"And stubborn," Gilda added.
"Also completely full of herself," Trixie stated.
"I don't recall giving each of you mirrors," Starlight commented, getting a look of annoyance and offense from the three.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Lightning Dust asked, Gilda and Trixie also curious.
"We're straying off topic," Tempest said. "This is about helping this misguided filly."
"I agree, let's simmer down now," Stygian said.
"Yes, let's do that," Starlight said. "Now, I know we all feel that in our own way, we were right about what we did, I mean I used to think that it was ok to steal Cutie Marks and force a village into doing what I wanted them to."
"For the record, if you tried stealing my Cutie Mark, I would destroy you," Diamond Tiara said.
Starlight gave off a deadpanned stare to the rich filly, "Noted...now hush!" Diamond Tiara turned away as Starlight continued, "But I realized I went about it all wrong, I should not have tried to do that, I should not have tried to rewind time just for revenge against Twilight and her friends. I should have just listened to her when I had the chance and not have run off. It was wrong of me, and I am eternally grateful Twilight offered me her Friendship."
"Huh, so she offered you Friendship?" Cozy Glow asked. "Just like that?"
"Pretty much, she saw how distressed I was, so she offered me her friendship, it was very kind of her to do," Starlight said.
"Oh right, you were pretty distressed, I mean I heard you nearly destroyed the time spell which would have left you both stuck in the past while preventing Rainbow Dash from doing her Rainboom, boy would that have been bad," Trixie said.
"Uh, yeah, let's not get into the details," Starlight said.
"Hey it's not like you were that pathetic sounding, I mean you put up quite a fight against Twilight, I bet she was really impressed by your power," Trixie said.
"Oh, I get it now," Cozy Glow said. "Twilight only befriended Starlight because she was too strong to keep as an enemy."
"What? No! That's not it at all!" Starlight insisted.
"Though I can see how that might make sense," Gilda said.
"Come on, do you really think Twilight is that bad?" Starlight asked.
"No, of course not, she's really nice," Gilda said. "She's just a little...oblivious to certain things."
Starlight groaned in annoyance and turned to Tempest, "Do you have anything to say? Twilight helped you didn't she?"
"Yes, right after I was betrayed by the Storm King," Tempest said. "She showed me true friendship, something I had forgotten about."
"Ah, something good," Starlight said. "Helping others when they are in need of it the most, something Twilight excels at."
"Gee, I wouldn't know, she didn't try helping me, she threw me in Tartarus the first chance she got," Cozy Glow said.
"That might have been harsh, gotta admit," Babs said. "I don't think the Apples would have done something like that to me, even after I started bullying the Crusaders."
"Hm, I am curious, why did you pick on the Crusaders?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Well..." Babs was still somewhat ashamed of this, she hated admitting her past deeds. "I was just feeling a bit...insecure."
"That was my fault," Diamond Tiara said. "I showed up at Sweet Apple Acres with Silver Spoon and we started teasing the Crusaders, and since Babs was Blank Flank at the time, she was afraid I was gonna tease her too like a lot of ponies in Manehattan did. So she quickly took my side and things got pretty bad."
"We both messed up Dia, I mean I shouldn't have turned against my own family," Babs said. "You should never turn away from family."
"Do you even have a family Cozy Glow?" Lightning Dust asked.
"Not a good one if they didn't even bother checking up on me while I was in Tartarus," Cozy Glow said. "Unless Twilight hid that from them or something, but I doubt they would have cared."
"Wow, that's sad," Gilda said. "You really needed someone, I'm just surprised Twilight wouldn't tell anyone."
"Yeah, that's awful," Lightning Dust said. "I mean even if they were useless she probably could have taken pity on you any pulled you out of Tartarus."
"Hey now, it's not like Twilight really knew who they were," Starlight said.
"She attends the School of Friendship, she should know!" Lightning Dust said.
"I'm sorry to say Starlight, but I have to agree with Lightning Dust on that one," Trixie said. "Twilight showed a lot of negligence on that one."
"Thinking about it, these Elements of Harmony aren't that nice," Diamond Tiara said. "How could they treat a filly that way, I mean I shudder to think what they would have done to me if they knew about me teasing the Crusaders."
"Well you did tease them in front of Applejack once, she didn't do anything but glare at you," Babs said. "I was the one who stuck up for them, unless that's what she was waiting for or something."
"Yes, go with that," Starlight said. "Twilight and her friends are nice ponies! They helped me and showed pity on all of you!"
"They barely showed pity on me, they didn't really tolerate me until Twilight turned into my biggest fan," Lightning Dust said.
"Still, it's something!" Starlight shouted, getting frustrated. "Look, they're not perfect but they're doing their best. If they didn't care they would not have given Cozy Glow this chance!"
"To be fair, I only got this chance because of Flitter," Cozy Glow said.
"That's true actually," Sonata said. "Flitter was very insistent from what I've heard, it's kind of sweet."
"Sonata, what do you think of Twilight?" Starlight asked.
"She's nice, so are her friends, hopefully they can help my friends in Tartarus," Sonata said. "Maybe they can help everyone there, I've grown to like Chrysalis, and Tirek."
"Not gonna happen," Sunset said. "They're way too evil to change."
"Didn't you try conspiring against Celestia once!?" Sonata asked.
"Plus if ponies thought that way then Twilight would have let Starswirl banish Stygian," Starlight said.
"Wait you told me you were against it, not Twilight," Trixie said, getting a groan from Starlight as Stygian looked on in surprise.
"Why? Why do you keep talking?" Starlight asked.
"Huh, seems I'm more in your debt than I realized Starlight Glimmer," Stygian said.
"No, it's nothing Stygian," Starlight said. "I mean, Twilight wanted to help as well, but Starswirl had her somewhat intimidated to speak up."
"Of course, it's understandable," Stygian said. "She looks up to him, it's not easy speaking up to someone you respect, I just wish I could have done that."
"So tell me, what makes these ponies the 'Elements of Harmony' or the 'Pillars of Light' anyway?" Cozy Glow asked. "I mean, at this rate Equestria's still going to be in a rut with these Six new ponies that Twilight's so fond of taking over as the new protectors."
"Which six? The Crusaders or the group of students that thwarted your plans?" Starlight asked.
"The group that's still together," Cozy Glow said. "The Crusaders are back to the original three, or four-"
"Technically I was the official fourth member," Babs interjected.
"Well, fourth member from Ponyville," Cozy Glow corrected. "Point is Rumble and his friend Dinky are pretty much out, so no Six there, but Sandbar and his annoying friends are still together. I don't think they'll do a good job of protecting Equestria, they have the same lousy influence problem Twilight and her friends had."
Starlight sighed in despair, this meeting was so far down, "Cozy Glow, can't you give at least some credit to any of Twilight's friends?"
"I'll give credit to Applejack, she was really nice," Cozy Glow said. "Everyone else is mean, especially Rainbow Dash."
"Come on! Did Rainbow Dash do anything bad to you too Cozy Glow?" Starlight asked.
"Yeah, she hit me!" Cozy Glow shouted, surprising the ponies in the room. "I really felt scared at that moment, I thought she was gonna really hurt me!"
"Rainbow Dash...she wouldn't hit a foal...unless you were trying to attack her," Starlight said.
"No, I just told her what I thought about her friends, she was probably already steaming from me telling her just how much The Wonderbolts stink too," Cozy Glow said.
"Ha, they kind of do compared to me," Lightning Dust said.
Starlight shook her head, "I find this hard to believe, I don't want you dragging her name through the mud like that Cozy Glow, honestly this isn't anyway for you to be talking about the ponies who gave you a second chance!"
"They didn't! Flitter gave me a chance!" Cozy Glow shouted.
"By Twilight's permission!" Starlight corrected. "She could have said 'no' but she didn't, so start showing her a little respect! All of her friends deserve that respect too!"
Trixie looked concerned, Starlight was losing her temper, and she's seen how bad Starlight can get when she loses her temper. At least she's not bottling it up, literally. She turned her attention to Suri Polomare, who had been quiet the entire meeting, "Hey, you're Suri right? You haven't said anything at all, care to add something?"
"Yeah, Rarity and her friends are a pain in the flank," Suri said.
Starlight grew furious and let out a magical energy attack that destroyed the ceiling of the room they were in. "Dammit! Now I gotta fix that!" She turned to the others, "This meeting's over, you can all leave now!"
Not wanting to annoy Starlight any further, the ponies and creatures in the room started leaving, quickly but slowly, not wanting to be around an angry Starlight, none of them noticing the smirk on Cozy Glow's face. Trixie was the only one who stayed behind.
"Uh...does that include me?" Trixie asked, her only answer being Starlight pointing to the door. "Alright, I'll take that as a yes."
Trixie made her way out the room, Starlight groaning in immense displeasure, "That did not go well, I just hope things don't get too much worse."
Cozy Glow made her way to the main hall of the castle with the others from the meeting, where she would be waiting for Flitter to return. "I hope nopony minds that I'm out here without Flitter."
"You should be good," Trixie said. "I'm here, and so is Sunset Shimmer, if Twilight or her friends see you with us, that should be just as good."
"As long as they don't start getting mad at me," Cozy Glow said. "But besides that, it was very nice to meet you all."
"Uh, same to you young child," Stygian said. "I must go, perhaps I can consult with Princess Twilight before returning home. Do be on your best behavior now, and go easy when it comes to Twilight, she truly is a kind mare."
"No promises, but I'll do my best," Cozy Glow said.
"You better," Sunset warned, walking toward where Stygian was going. "I'm gonna go see Twilight as well, let's go Sonata."
"Yeah I'm coming," Sonata said, then rubbed Cozy's mane. "Behave now, you have something good going on, don't blow it."
"See you later Sonata," Cozy Glow said.
As the trio made their way off, Tempest also made her way out, "I should be going myself, so I bid you farewell also."
"Uh, sure, bye Tempest...or should I call you, Fizzlepop?" Cozy Glow asked.
"It makes no real difference to me," Tempest said. "Just be on your best behavior, Friendship is precious after all, don't throw it away like I did."
"Why did you throw it away?" Cozy Glow asked.
Tempest reached for her horn, or lack thereof, "I didn't have anypony in my time of need, the friends I thought I had left me, aligning myself with The Stork King was not the right answer, I should have tried again, like Starlight did."
Tempest had left, with Suri Polomare also following her out, "I'm going back home." She turned to Babs, "Are you coming? The next train to Manehattan is in 20 minutes."
"Nah, I'm gonna stick around and see my cousin," Babs said.
"Eh, fine by me, not like you're my kid," Suri said, leaving the castle. "What a waste of my time, those ponies better endorse my new line for this."
"Well, that just leaves us," Trixie said, gesturing to Lightning Dust, Gilda, Babs, Diamond Tiara and herself. "Unless the rest of you have somewhere to be?"
"I might stick around and look for Gallus, see how he's holding up," Gilda said. "I mean, it sounds like he has friends so everything should be fine, School's doing it's job."
"Gallus? He's the young Griffon who attends the school," Cozy Glow said. "You know him?"
"Yeah, I mean our village is pretty small so we all know each other, somewhat," Gilda said. "We just never got along for a while because everyone was really greedy, so thankfully Gallus is growing up in a more positive environment."
"Are you sure it's positive after today?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Eh, maybe, hey he saved the world, no offense to you kid, since he saved it from you," Gilda said.
"Hey, I'll commend him and his friends for their...victory," Cozy Glow bitterly admitted, just thinking about it really irked her.
"Right...uh kid, maybe you can, you know, start over with Gallus and the others? I mean he did have nice things to say about you, before you turned evil," Gilda said.
"Wait really?" Cozy Glow asked.
"We all thought you were great Cozy Glow, I mean it really surprised everypony when you turned bad," Trixie said. "We were so disappointed."
"Even I have to admit that surprised me when I heard about you stealing all of Equestria's magic and locking the Elements away in Tartarus," Lightning Dust said, her face turning sour. "Granted I didn't feel much pity for Rainbow Dash after I nearly got rocketed to the moon."
"Now, now, Lightning Dust, you know you brought that on yourself," Trixie said.
"Well she distracted me," Lightning Dust said. "Eh, whatever, I'm still more popular."
"Can I see one of your shows one day?" Cozy Glow asked. "Just out of curiousity."
"Yeah you can, bring Flitter and Rumble too, especially Rumble, maybe I can recruit him to my show," Lightning Dust said.
"Eh, no, you really shouldn't," Trixie said. "I don't want him getting hurt."
"He'll be fine, don't worry so much," Lightning Dust insisted. "Plus once Rumble attends, he might be begging to join The Washouts."
"Ooh, The Washouts, sounds fun," they heard. The ponies turned their attention to an oncoming Dinky. "Sup?"
"Oh, you're Dinky Do from school," Diamond Tiara said.
"That's me," Dinky said, then bitterly glanced over to the magician mare of the group, "Trixie..."
"Dinky..." Trixie replied.
After that brief exchange, Dinky turned her attention to the only Pegasus Filly of the group, "Well if it isn't Cozy Glow, the filly after my best friend's heart."
"Yeah, that's me," Cozy Glow said. "So, you're Dinky Do, I've seen you around but I don't think we've formally met each other."
"No, weird huh, you've been in town almost two weeks," Dinky said. "Then again you spent that first week pretty much confined to Flitter's house."
"Well I had to, most ponies were still pretty mad at me," Cozy Glow said. "That didn't stop me from trying to sneak away though, if it meant seeing Rumble."
"Yeah, got yourself into hot water with that one," Dinky said. "But I don't blame you for wanting to see Rumble, he's pretty amazing."
"Yeah, he is," Cozy Glow said, a tint of a blush on her face. "What brings you to the castle?"
"You honestly," Dinky said, to Cozy Glow's surprise.
"Why me? We've barely even met," Cozy Glow said.
"Exactly, and you're one of the ponies Rumble talks about the most, so I kind of want to see the girl who's got the attention of my BFF," Dinky said. "Plus I hear that even Flurry Heart likes you now, so I kind of wanted to meet you even more because of that."
"Golly, I feel so popular now," Cozy Glow said, almost in surprise.
"Aw, you might make a new friend," Trixie said, before her expression turned into a scowl, "Even if it is Dinky."
"Like you're any fun to be around," Dinky commented, much to Trixie's ire.
"You are not worth the headache," Trixie said, turning away from the girl
Lightning Dust chuckled a bit, "Looks like we have another Friendship dispute on our hooves."
Trixie rolled her eyes at the playful nature of Lightning Dust, "Oh ha-ha, you try putting up with bratty ponies as often as I do."
"Come on, she's not that bad, kind of like her feisty attitude actually," Lightning Dust said.
"Because you don't have to deal with it on a daily basis!" Trixie shouted in aggravation. "Ugh, nevermind, like I said, not worth the headache."
Cozy Glow giggled a bit at Trixie's frustration, then turned to Dinky "Well it is nice seeing Rumble's best friend, maybe you can tell me more about him so I can be a good marefriend to him."
"Totally, I can give you all the details I can," Dinky said. "But I must warn you, if you plan to date Rumble, you should know ahead of time that while I would respect your relationship, I still expect to be able to spend time with him myself, I don't want to lose my best friend after all."
"Don't worry, I'll do just about anything to be a good marefriend to Rumble," Cozy Glow said.
"Well that's good to hear," Dinky said. "Make sure you live up to that, as his BFF, I won't forgive anypony who hurts Rumble."
"Wow, so dedicated," Cozy Glow said. "Well I'll do my absolute best to be the best marefriend I could possibly be for Rumble."
"Great, anyway where is he? I figured he'd be here," Dinky said, looking around for her friend.
"He left while I attended this meeting," Cozy Glow said. "He should be back soon."
"Maybe we should go find him, he can't be too far," Dinky said.
"I can't go anywhere unless Flitter's around, the only exception is if she had an official substitute, which Trixie is," Cozy Glow explained.
"Aw, that's bogus," Dinky said. "Especially knowing you have to put up with Trixie."
Lightning Dust turned to Trixie," What did you do to that girl?"
"I didn't do anything! She's just being a pain!" Trixie shouted. "It's sad that the little villain has more manners than Dinky!"
"You once tried to enslave Ponyville, I remember because I was one of the ponies you enslaved," Dinky reminded. "You don't get to throw the villain dialogue."
"It was the Amulet!" Trixie shouted. "It messed with my mind!"
"You're the one who bought it just because you were jealous of Twilight," Dinky pointed out.
"Well you would know all about jealousy, wouldn't you!" Trixie shouted. "Considering you've been quite jealous of Sweetie Belle when she was dating Rumble!"
Gilda groaned in annoyance, "Are we gonna have to separate you two?"
"I wish, but I don't want to pry Cozy Glow away from making a friend," Trixie said. "Annoying as Dinky is, she's at least Loyal, which is an Element of Harmony."
"Why can't she go find Rumble anyway?" Lightning Dust asked.
"Because she's not allowed to be unsupervised," Trixie reminded. "Princess Twilight has to designate a pony to watch over her, she choose Flitter to do that, and right now I'm a substitute."
"I don't see the big deal, I mean she obviously likes Rumble a lot, I doubt she'll cause a lot of trouble," Lightning Dust said. "Plus Rumble fancies himself a Knight who has taken on the Responsibility of watching over Flurry Heart, I think he can handle keeping an official eye on Cozy Glow."
Trixie shook her head, "I'm not -too sure, I don't want her getting in trouble, plus not only would Twilight flip out if I let her go off by herself, Starlight might get even more ticked off than she is right now."
"Why not just keep an eye on her from a distance?" Gilda said. "I mean you can let them go off and just stay far behind, that way you're keeping your word, plus it might be good to let the kids have a little time to themselves, don't want to make them feel so...restricted."
Trixie thought about it a moment, "I guess it couldn't hurt. Alright let's go find Rumble."
"Yay! Come on Dinky!" Cozy Glow said, running off with Dinky following after her.
"Yo wait up!" Babs said, running after them, but not without turning her attention briefly to Diamond Tiara. "Let's go Dia!"
"Coming!" Diamond Tiara said, making her way over.
Trixie looked a bit worried, "I hope this works out."
"Don't worry, you'll be keeping your promise, just from a distance," Lightning Dust said. "Plus if we show faith and trust in Cozy Glow, maybe she'll turn out better. Give her a taste of proper friendship."
"I think everything will work out," Gilda said. "I mean what could happen?"
"Don't tempt fate," Trixie warned. "It doesn't end well."
Outside Rumble with Flurry on his back along The Student Six were making their way toward the front of the castle, the Pegasus colt with a very sour look on his face. "Stupid Discord, doesn't he have a hobby or something?"
"He does, annoying anyone he meets," Gallus said.
"Twilight wants to keep Cozy Glow under watch yet she's fine with letting Discord do whatever," Rumble said. "Wait til I find Discord, I'll get him back for tricking us like that."
"Right, he really scared us good," Ocellus said.
"I wasn't scared!" Rumble angrily insisted. "I was just trying to keep Flurry Heart safe, right Flurry?"
"Rumble a Knight," Flurry said.
"Yeah, she knows," Rumble said, boasting a confident smile.
"We all know," Gallus said, then began muttering. "That you're so full of it."
"I should go back to the castle, Cozy Glow is probably just about done with her meeting, I want to see how it went," Rumble said.
"Cozy Glow!" Flurry said, pointing to the distance. Indeed Cozy Glow was there, right in front of the castle, along with Dinky, Babs and Diamond Tiara.
"Hey there she is, with a bunch of other girls," Rumble said, making his way over. "Hey Cozy Glow! Dinky! Diamond! Babs!"
"There's Rumble," Dinky said. "He's with that group of students."
"Oh great," Cozy Glow muttered, then tried forcing a smile. "Well, all I care about are Rumble and Flurry Heart."
Rumble and the others made their way to the quartet of fillies, "Looks like the meeting's over, how did it go?"
"It was fun! I got to talk to so many different ponies, along with Sonata and a Griffon named Gilda," Cozy Glow said.
"That's nice, uh who was there?" Rumble asked.
"Uh, there was a mare named Tempest, and there was that Stygian guy, some girl named Suri Polomare, even Sunset Shimmer was at the meeting, she was kind of grouchy though," Cozy Glow said.
"She always seems grouchy, but she's really nice," Rumble said. "Though I don't know if she still likes me after everything."
"Don't let that bother you," Cozy Glow said, stroking Rumble's mane. "Even if all the ponies of Equestria start to hate you, I will still be here, because I love you Rumble, and we'll always be together."
"Wow, that's...really sweet of you to say Cozy Glow," Rumble said, blushing a bit.
"Aw, that is kind of sweet," Silversteam said.
Gallus groaned in annoyance, "You can't be serious, this is the same filly that stole Rumble away from Sweetie Belle."
"Well to be fair, I can sense the love in her heart, so she's at least being genuine," Ocellus said. "Even if she is just as manipulative."
"I can hear you, ya know!" Cozy Glow shouted. "What are you six doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be back in your Kingdoms!?"
"We have permission to be here just so you know," Gallus said.
"And I live in Ponyville," Sandbar added.
"We like to meet here every so often, and as long as our Kingdom's know then it's fine," Silverstream said. "Though they're all pretty lenient."
"Speak for yourself, King Thorax can be a bit overprotective," Ocellus said.
"Wow, that's all really nice and all, but it's also very boring," Cozy Glow said, then turned to Rumble. "So Rumbly, want to meet up at Flitter's house later? Just the two of us?"
"Wait, where is Flitter?" Rumble asked. "Are you out here by yourself?"
"No, Trixie's over there with Gilda and Lightning Dust," Cozy Glow said, pointing right next to the castle entrance where the three females were waiting. "As long as Trixie's not too far away then I'm good."
"Hi girls!" Rumble called out.
"Hi Rumble!" Trixie greeted.
"Sup kid!?" Gilda greeted.
"Wanna join the Washouts!?" Lightning Dust offered, getting a pitiful glare from Trixie and Gilda.
Rumble turned back to Cozy Glow, "As long as you're not breaking the rules right now. Once Flitter gets back then we can go and spend some time together."
"Hey, don't forget about us," Dinky said. "We all want to hang out. Or I do, I don't know about the other girls."
"Me want Rumble!" Flurry said.
"I wanna go meet up with Apple Bloom actually, but we can still chat another time," Babs said.
"I don't think I'm too busy," Diamond Tiara said.
"Count us out," Gallus said. "Cozy Glow and us aren't exactly on the same page now."
"Your loss, but sooner or later, you're gonna have to forgive her," Rumble said. "If you six are suppose to be like the Elements of Harmony, or The Pillars of Light, that would essentially make Cozy Glow your Stygian, or Starlight Glimmer, but you gotta give her a chance."
Sandbar rubbed his chin, "Huh, I think he has a point actually. I mean, forgiveness is part of Friendship."
"We'll think about it," Gallus said, very quickly too. "No promises though."
"What, do you look up to Rainbow Dash or something?" Babs joked, getting a chuckle from Diamond Tiara and Cozy Glow.
"Huh?" Rumble asked.
"Nothing, little joke from the meeting," Cozy Glow said.
"Uh, alright," Rumble said, then turned back to the group. "Anyway, please at least consider what I had to tell you."
"We will," Ocellus reassured.
"Well I'm off to find Apple Bloom," Babs said. "I'll definitely look forward to seeing you again Rumble."
"See you later Babs," Rumble said, watching as Babs walked off. He couldn't help but notice some of her finer features as she did.
Dinky caught him staring and chuckled to herself, "Hey I can get her back if you want to...you know."
"Dinky," Rumble lightly scolded.
"Eh, it's fine, besides you have four fillies to keep you company right now, so maybe it's not needed," Dinky said.
"Uh huh, yeah," Rumble said, then gestured to the fillies. "Come on, let's go somewhere and chat for a bit, maybe later we can all go to the same place, if Cozy Glow's fine with it."
"So long a I get my alone time with you," Cozy Glow said.
"I'm fine with that," Dinky said.
"Same," Diamond Tiara said.
"Want Cozy Glow happy, so I allow it," Flurry Heart said.
"Aw, you three are so nice," Cozy Glow said. "This must be what it means to have real friends."
As Rumble and the fillies moved somewhere else to talk, Gallus turned his attention to his friends, "So...thoughts?"
"I think she has what it takes to be nice," Silverstream said.
"I still don't fully trust her honestly," Smolder said.
"She still needs work," Ocellus said.
"We should give her a chance," Sandbar said.
"Yona not trust Pegasus colt," Yona finished.
"Wait, you don't trust Rumble?" Gallus asked.
"Yona think bad pony, he hurt Sweetie Belle, he also go with Pegasus he knows is evil," Yona said.
"Exactly, it's not just Cozy Glow we should be concerned about, that Rumble kid might be trouble too!" Smolder said. "The kid's a total flirt, honestly I'm surprised he hasn't tried flirting with or any of the girls here."
"Probably because we're older than him," Silverstream said. "But lots of Twilight's friends seem to like him."
"Well when Rainbow Dash found out about him cheating on Sweetie Belle, she seemed to have changed her view of him," Gallus said.
"Still, let's give this a chance, I mean Rumble might be a flirt but that doesn't make him a bad pony, Flurry Heart likes him after all," Sandbar said.
"I just hope we don't regret this," Gallus said.
Back in the castle, Starlight had gone to find the means to fix up the hole she made in the ceiling. As she trotted through the halls, she came across Twilight. "Starlight, there you are, I wanted to ask you about the meeting."
"Meeting wasn't that successful," Starlight reluctantly said.
"I figured that from how Sunset came in looking displeased," Twilight said. "What happened?"
"Things spiraled out of control during the meeting, I don't think Cozy gained any useful tools that could help her," Starlight explained.
"What a shame, Applejack had such a great idea too," Twilight said. "Guess there's more work to be done. Where is Cozy Glow now?"
"I left her with Trixie, they're probably waiting for Flitter to get home," Starlight said. "Hopefully she's not causing any more trouble."
"Let's go meet up with her," Twilight said.
"Maybe later, I have to fix a hole in the ceiling, I may have lost my temper," Starlight admitted.
"Oh, sorry to hear that," Twilight said. "You can worry about that later though, Cozy Glow takes priority and maybe you can help explain to Flitter what happened."
"If you say so Twilight," Starlight said, following Twilight to the front, where there was going to be more chaos.
At the front of the castle, the other Elements along with Sunset and Sonata had noticed something odd, and to most, a bit alarming.
"Hey! Trixie!" Rainbow Dash called out, getting the showmare's attention.
"Rainbow Dash? What is it?" Trixie asked.
"Where's Cozy Glow?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking a bit irritated. "Did Flitter already come by to pick her up!?"
"Cozy Glow's right over there," Trixie said, pointing to a nearby tree where she was sitting with Rumble, Dinky, Diamond Tiara and Flurry Heart.
"She's a bit far away just so you know," Sunset said. "She might slip away."
"She's not gonna, she's with her friends," Lightning Dust said.
"Hey rules are rules, I'm gonna go bring that trouble maker back over here so she can explain herself!" Rainbow Dash said, about to fly off.
"Why don't you just lay off, she won't get better if you keep treating her like a villain," Lightning Dust said.
"I'm gonna have to agree with Dust there Dash, you gotta show Cozy Glow you can trust her," Gilda said.
"Sorry but I'm not quick to trust a pony that tried destroying Equestria!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Technically, she didn't try destroying it, she just took away all the magic," Gilda said. "But, that probably would have destroyed it, but the girl is just misunderstood about Friendship."
"Yeah, you and your friends should have done a better job of teaching them, instead you're too hard headed to do your damn job," Lightning Dust said.
"You are in no position to be calling anypony hard headed after how you acted at the Academy!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Hey you're the one who couldn't probably express how you felt about my flying," Lightning Dust said.
"What are you talking about!?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "That's what I've been doing from the start!"
"Well sound more convinced next time," Lightning Dust said.
"I was! Remember how I told you off after you nearly killed my friends!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"She did, I was there," Fluttershy added.
"Which you shouldn't have been, but I'm not going through that explanation again," Lightning Dust said.
"Let's dial it back y'all," Applejack said. "We all made a mistake, that's how it was, besides it worked out fer everyone at least, and that's all that matters."
"You're a smart mare Applejack, maybe you should be the one making most of these friendship decisions considering how level-headed you are," Lightning Dust said.
"Aw shucks, I'm just doing mah part," Applejack said, very humbled by the compliment.
"Hey Applejack gets as hard-headed and as competitive as I can be, she's no better," Rainbow Dash said. "But at least she'd never do anything dangerous, or make anypony do something dangerous!"
"Rainbow Dash, enough!" Gilda said. "We get that Lightning Dust did a few bad things but you gotta give her a chance and move on from them, your biggest flaw is that you can't really let go of a grudge, if you could then we would have made up much sooner."
"Hey I wouldn't have had to if you knew how to take a joke!" Rainbow Dash said.
"You still think that was all that bothered me?" Gilda asked. "Sorry to tell you Dash, but you still have a lot to figure out about Friendship."
"She could use a few touch ups," Rarity commented, getting a glare from Rainbow Dash. "Just a thought!"
"Well, whatever, I'm done with this, now if you don't mind I'm going to bring Cozy Glow back here where she should be!" Rainbow Dash shouted, flying over to the filly.
"She better not hurt Cozy Glow," Sonata muttered.
The foals were still talking amongst each other, Rumble mostly boasting some of his flying skills and the girls taking it all in. Suddenly a shadow was cast over them, that shadow being Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash," Rumble greeted, then noticed the sour look on her face. "Uh, is something the matter?"
"Yeah, Cozy Glow needs to come with me," Rainbow Dash said, eyeing the filly.
"Wait, I do?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Any reason?" Rumble asked. "We're kind of in the middle of talking and..."
"Can it, I don't have time for explanations, she's coming back to the castle where we can keep an eye on her until Flitter gets back," Rainbow Dash said.
"She's not doing anything wrong," Dinky said. "Plus Trixie's over there, so somepony is keeping an eye on her."
"Yes, but we'd rather do that at a reasonable distance," Rainbow Dash said, eyeing the filly. "Now let's go kid."
Cozy Glow groaned in annoyance, "Fine, but I get to bring my friends with me."
"Do whatever you want, granted I can't imagine why somepony would willingly be friends with you," Rainbow Dash said.
"Wow, you are mean, aren't you?" Dinky said, getting a gasp from the other foals, aside from Cozy Glow.
Rainbow Dash didn't take too kindly to that, "What did you just say?"
"Cozy Glow isn't even doing anything bad, she's just talking with us, and Trixie's right over there, keeping an eye on her, right now you're just being mean and bossy over a petty grudge," Dinky said.
"Hey, I'm not gonna take that from a kid," Rainbow Dash said, glaring at Dinky. "Also kid, I know your foalsitter, she'll tell your parents!"
"Rainbow Dash, you really need to chill," Rumble said. "Cozy Glow isn't doing anything she shouldn't, she's behaving really well."
"Remember the last time she was 'behaving' Rumble?" Rainbow Dash said. "Led to you two swapping spit."
"Ew, don't say it like that, it's so gross," Diamond Tiara said.
"Point is she still hasn't done enough to earn our trust," Rainbow Dash said. "Not to mention all the trouble she caused at that meeting shows she still has a way to go before redemption."
"Ha! Called it!" Discord's voice rang out through the air.
"Discord!?" Rainbow Dash said, the chaos spirit snapping into existence.
"I knew Cozy Glow would stir up some drama, looks like she has a long way to go before redemption," Discord turned to the filly. "Poor child, perhaps you're just a lost cause."
"Don't call her that!" Rumble shouted. "If you got your second chance-"
"Then Cozy Glow can get hers too," Discord finished. "Ugh, you're like a broken record," Discord popped in an actual broken record player for emphasis, stuck on part of the 'Blank Flanks Forever' song before poofing it away again.
"Discord, I got this, you can go back to doing whatever," Rainbow Dash said.
"Fine with me, since your meeting is done, maybe I can catch-up with Fluttershy through some tea," Discord said, poofing in a tea set. "Too-ta-loo."
Discord vanished into the air, leaving Rumble highly annoyed, "Ugh, that guy's so annoying, how does anypony put up with him!?"
"Discord may be annoying," Rainbow Dash said, then eyed the foals. "But at least I know I can depend on him if the situation called for it, much more than I can say about Cozy Glow."
"Why won't you just give her a chance then!" Rumble shouted. "Rainbow Dash, you're an Element of Harmony! It should not be this hard for you to reform a kid! If you can reform Luna, Discord and Starlight, a kid should be nothing!"
"Rumble, you weren't there for any of our fights, the most you've done is either get captured by Chrysalis, more than once, or got your wings broken by one of the Sirens!" Rainbow Dash said. "If you were there when Cozy Glow nearly destroyed everything Twilight worked hard to build, you'd have a better understanding of this whole situation."
"Honestly, my guess is that you just can't handle such an embarrassing loss, getting outsmarted by a filly," Rumble said.
"Rumble if you don't can it, I'll convince Spitfire to kick Thunerlane out of the Wonderbolts, and I can do it, he is not that popular right now!" Rainbow Dash warned.
"Hey! Leave my brother out of this!" Rumble shouted.
"You're so terrible!" Dinky said.
"Very uncouth," Diamond Tiara inputted.
"Meanie!" Even Flurry Heart put in her two cents.
"Why won't you give me a chance Rainbow Dash, I just want to make friends," Cozy Glow said, amping up her cuteness."
"Alright, that's it, Cozy Glow, you're coming with me, so are you Flurry," Rainbow Dash said. "The rest of you, go home!"
"You can't tell us what to do, you're not our mother!" Rumble shouted.
Rainbow Dash glared at Rumble, "Kid, so help me, if you don't shut your mouth-"
"Hey! Rainbow Dash!" Flitter said, flying over with a saddle bag over her back. "Aw, are you foalsitting? That's so nice. Hey Cozy Glow, how was the meeting?"
"Very eventful," Cozy Glow answered.
"Well I can't wait to hear all about it, now let's go home, I have some nice treats for you," Flitter said.
"Like Candy!?" Cozy Glow shouted.
"Something like that," Flitter said. "Ooh, you're with so many other foals, are these your friends?"
"Yeah, we kind of hit it off," Dinky said, placing her hoof around Cozy Glow.
"That's so great, why don't you all come over, even Flurry can come, if her mom's alright with it," Flitter said.
"I can go ask her, you take Cozy Glow, Dinky and Diamond Tiara," Rumble said, placing Flurry on his back. "BRB."
Rumble flew off, Flitter turning her attention to Rainbow Dash. "Thanks for keeping an eye on the foals, hope they weren't too much trouble."
"My advice, keep an eye on Cozy Glow, and teach her some more manners, same with Rumble," Rainbow Dash said, floating off, Cozy Glow grinning in satisfaction.
Flitter turned to the fillies, "What was that about?"
"She's just in a bad mood," Dinky said. "Trixie gave Cozy Glow a bit of lenience and she hated it for some reason."
"Lenience?" Flitter asked. "Huh, that's nice of her, well once Rumble comes back we'll get going."
In the castle, Rumble had just gotten his permission from Cadance to take Flurry to Flitter's house, the mare had faith in the boy.
"We'll come pick her up in the evening, tell Flitter not to let Flurry have too many sugary snacks," Cadance said.
"Flitter's good with managing that with Cozy Glow," Rumble said.
"Hey, Rumble, may I ask you something?" Cadance said, getting the boy's attention.
"Uh sure, go for it Princess," Rumble said.
"Do you truly believe Cozy Glow can change for the better?" Cadance asked.
"Of course she can, I mean, can't anyone change if they really wanted to?" Rumble asked. "She has it in her to be nice and sweet, she just needs somepony to believe in her. Though sometimes it feels like most ponies want her to change to keep Equestria safe, I want her to change because she deserves better."
"That is a very mature response, and you're absolutely right," Cadance said. "Cozy Glow should live like a normal pony with friends and family that care about her. You're doing great Rumble, I can tell you have a lot of love in your heart."
"Wow, ironic," Rumble said. "You say I have love yet I failed my romance with Sweetie Belle."
"Nopony's perfect, you made a mistake, and you're trying to better yourself, that's what matters," Cadance said. "You're helping a pony who needs it, I can see why my daughter looks up to you so much." She turned to Flurry, "Isn't that right dear?"
"Rumble great!" Flurry said.
"I just love your daughter," Rumble said, letting her back onto his back. "She's gonna be a great Princess when she grows up, just like her mother."
"You're so sweet," Cadance said, then kissed Rumble's forehead. "I sense great things in your future Rumble, including romance. Just follow your heart and you will not be disappointed."
"You got it, thanks," Rumble said, making his way out the room. He made his way back outside where he saw Twilight speaking with Gilda and Lightning Dust, the two looking rather agitated.
"Please tell me you'll do something about Rainbow Dash's bad attitude," Lightning Dust said.
"She can be better than this, we both know it," Gilda said. "Dash has always been headstrong, and I admire a girl who knows what she wants, but she's also a role model, or suppose to be one. I wanted Gallus to come here because I believed she could help him be better than most Griffons, I don't want him growing up to be as lame as I was when I first came here."
"Or as lame as Rainbow Dash," Lightning Dust added.
"I'll do my best, but sometimes it's good for younger ponies, and griffons, to learn from the mistakes of others," Twilight said. "If anything I can lecture them about the shortcomings of others too."
"If you need help, let me know, could make some use out of how crummy I used to act," Gilda said. "Lightning Dust can help too."
"Hey what do I need to help with!?" Lightning Dust asked.
"Gee, I don't know, maybe how to not endanger others because you can be a bit reckless?" Gilda said.
Lightning Dust groaned in annoyance, "Fine, I'll put my mistakes to good use too."
"I really appreciate that, and I know how hard it can be to admit your faults, took Trixie forever to admit hers, and she still does it reluctantly," Twilight said.
"Hey! You don't get to use me as an example!" Trixie called out, Starlight glaring pitifully at her friend.
"Don't worry Trix, we know you're the best magician to come from this town," Lightning Dust reassured, then turned back to Twilight. "Well I'm off, gotta meet my teammates and do more recruiting." She turned to Gilda, "Yo Gil, ever consider-"
"No," Gilda said, cutting her off. "Not a stunt flyer."
"Fine, your loss," Lightning Dust said, then turned her attention to Rumble upon noticing him. "Hey, offer's open for you too."
"I'll think about it," Rumble said.
Lightning Dust flew off, the others waving good-bye. Gilda turned her attention to Twilight right afterward, "I should go check on Gallus, gotta bring him home soon anyway."
"School starts again really soon," Twilight said.
"I'll let him know," Gilda said, then flew off to meet with Gallus.
Twilight herself then turned her attention to the young colt, "Hey, Rumble, about Sweetie Belle..."
"Yeah?" Rumble curiously asked.
"If you could, would you get back together with her?" Twilight asked.
That question surprised Rumble, wondering why Twilight was so concerned. Then again Twilight is close with the Crusaders and not to mention she's friends with Rarity, Sweetie Belle's older sister, so naturally Twilight might be concerned for the filly. "I want to, but I'm still trying to figure myself out. If there's a chance I might hurt her again, I can't take it."
"I see then...that's fine, I was just curious," Twilight said. "Just promise me you'll keep an eye out for Cozy Glow, I really do hope you can reform her for good, but as a Princess, I do have to worry."
"Twilight, if you showed more kindness and less worry, then Cozy Glow would be reformed faster," Rumble said. "You're great with foals, what makes Cozy Glow any different?"
"Honestly, if being at my school couldn't help her learn Friendship, then maybe I'm not as good as I thought," Twilight admitted. "This is why I don't think I can run Equestria, I can't even help a filly."
Rumble started to pity Twilight a little, looks like she at least does feel regret for not being able to reform Cozy Glow sooner, "Well...maybe you can try again, I mean, you're a smart mare, you can figure something out. But I'll do my best to help too."
"Thanks Rumble," Twilight said. "I should go, have fun."
Rumble nodded and flew off, leaving Twilight to her own thoughts. She then brought out her picture of Tender Taps, looking affectionately at it. He hasn't come by much lately, she started to miss his presence.
"Hey Twilight?" Starlight interrupted, startling the Princess who quickly put away the picture.
"Yes Starlight?" Twilight asked.
"Sorry for startling you, I just wanted to let you know Spike's back from his errands," Starlight said, gesturing to the dragon who was flying in with some materials.
"Oh good, thanks Starlight," Twilight said, making her way over to the dragon.
"Say, Twilight, you didn't befriend me just to prevent me from being an enemy, did you?" Starlight asked.
"Huh? What are you saying?" Twilight asked.
"Like, you took me in because you thought I could be a friend, not just to have someone strong on your side, didn't you?" Starlight asked.
"Of course I took you in to be my friend, you were really hurting when you told me about Sunburst, I had to do something," Twilight said.
Starlight felt relieved, "Right, of course you did. Sorry I just...I don't know, I guess it came to my mind after the meeting today."
Twilight felt a bit concerned, wonder what exactly happened at the meeting, and what exactly Cozy Glow did to cause all this.
Flitter led Rumble and the foals to her house, Rumble thinking of different things he could do with the girls, trying to find different games to play. On the way over, he ran into two other girls, or rather two approached him. "Hi Rumble!"
Rumble looked a bit surprised by this, "Uh, hi girls? You're Toola Roola and Coconut Cream right?"
"Wow, you remembered our names," Toola Roola said. "Yeah, that's us."
"Well it's nice to see you, uh did you want something?" Rumble asked.
"Toola Roola did," Coconut Cream said. "Tell him."
Toola Roola was about to, but noticed that there were other fillies nearby, including Cozy Glow. Many foals know that Rumble is technically single but some spotted him with Cozy Glow a few times, theorizing he might be dating her. "Uh, its nothing, forget it."
"Come on, just come out and say it you wuss," Dinky said.
"Dinky!" Rumble scolded, then turned to Toola Roola. "You can tell me what's on your mind."
"Uh, I was wondering if...well maybe not now since you're busy..." Toola Roola felt embarrassed. "But if you ever wanted to...you know."
"I think she's asking you out bud," Dinky said.
"No! Not exactly," Toola Roola said. "I mean, maybe, if that's possible."
"Are you dating anypony?" Coconot Cream asked Rumble.
"Uh, well...it's complicated," Rumble said.
"He's technically single," Dinky said, getting a slight glare from Cozy Glow, which she noticed. "Well he is."
Cozy Glow shrugged, "If you want to try your chances, that's fine. I'll be lenient. But he is intent on just one filly, and my goal is to be that one filly."
"Wait, so you are asking me on a date?" Rumble asked, Flurry peeking out to glare at Toola Roola.
"Uh, kind of," Toola Roola said, blushing a lot and trying to avoid Flurry's glare. "I mean, it's alright if you're not interested, I just thought I'd take my chance."
"That chance should be rewarded," Dinky said.
Rumble wasn't too sure, he already had other fillies he was somewhat dating, he had to wonder if he could handle more, "Well...I mean I do have a lot of other fillies who like me, so I can't..." As he tried explaining himself, he spotted Sweetie Belle from the distance. Rumble's gazed was focused on her, the most beautiful Ponyville filly sitting at a table, thinking to herself. How Rumble missed her presence, her soft fur, her silky mane, and her sweet kisses. However he would soon see another pony come into view, that being Tender Taps, who arrived with two milkshakes and sat next to her, greeting the filly with a kiss, one that somewhat tugged at Rumble's heart.
"Rumble? You alright there bud?" Dinky asked, before noticing Sweetie Belle herself. "Ooooh, yikes."
Rumble turned away from the two and focused on Toola Roola and Coconut Cream. "I'll do you girls one better, why don't you join us? If that's alright with Flitter."
"Fine with me, wow you're really popular with fillies, aren't you Rumble?" Flitter teased.
"Then it's settled, Toola Roola, Coconut Cream, let's go," Rumble said, leading the fillies away.
"Oh wow, how exciting!" Toola Roola said, joining Rumble's group as they made their way to Flitter's house.
Sweetie Belle had noticed from the distance, seeing Rumble with so many different fillies, "Huh, looks like Rumble's pretty popular with the girls now."
"Yeah, looks like it," Tender Taps bitterly said. He saw how disappointed Sweetie Belle looked, so he stroked her mane as a sign of affection. "Don't worry about it, quality over quantity, and to me you're much better than six fillies."
"Thanks, you're sweet, I can see why Twilight loved having you around," Sweetie Belle said, stroking his face. "At least I can return your affection."
The two leaned in to kiss one another, resuming their romantic date as Rumble led the fillies away.
Back in the future, Rumble had finished explaining his story to Zecora, "Me and Cozy Glow still had so much to figure out about Friendship and romance. She couldn't let go of her grudge and caused the meeting to go into chaos, and I acted out in jealousy because I saw a girl I loved kissing another colt. It's sad, the reason we broke up is because I kissed another filly, so who was I to get jealous?"
"Feeling jealousy is quite the burden," Zecora said. "For it, it let a herd in."
"I'm still not interested in starting a herd at least, I just want one filly to love," Rumble said. "I mean, that's why my dates are usually with one filly at a time...except for that same night."
Flashback.
Rumble was laying back on his couch, holding Toola Roola close as he made out with her. They weren't alone, as he was hugging Coconut Cream close to him, rubbing her flank as she was kissing his cheek.
"Hey Rumble," Dinky said, making her way over with some snacks. "Weren't you going to get..." She took a moment to see that Rumble was with the two fillies, all of them stopping to stare awkwardly at Dinky. "Wow...that didn't take you very long."
"Took longer than Kettle Corn," Rumble admitted. "Uh, maybe we should take a break girls."
"Yeah let's, the other girls might be wondering why we're taking so long out here," Toola Roola said.
"First I need you two to help me out with something," Dinky said, pointing to the kitchen.
"Right, that's why Rumble got us in the first place," Toola Roola said, nervously laughing.
"Yeah, how silly of us," Coconut Cream said, laughing as well.
"Just get to the kitchen, I need to have a quick word with Rumble," Dinky said, gesturing the kitchen as the two fillies walked over. Dinky then turned her full attention to Rumble.
"So, what did you want-" Rumble's question when Dinky started kissing him, resuming the position he was just in, except with a different filly, and one less to boot.
End Flashback.
"That was one of my most random moments I'll admit," Rumble shyly said.
"You're quite an adventurous colt-" Zecora was interrupted when she felt an attack at her hut. Suddenly the door was knocked down, revealing the Storm King.
"Wow, what a surprise, there are actually creatures in this forest, well who knew," Storm King said, aiming his staff at them. "Gonna need you both to come with me now, and try not to pull any funny tricks."
"Storm King, how exactly are you even alive?" Rumble asked. "Twilight told me how Tempest did away with you."
"Oh, so you know Twilight you...wait a minute, oho wait a minute!" Storm King said, getting a good look at the colt. "You're Rumble right? Yeah, Cozy Glow's favorite colt, or stallion but you do look kind of shrimpy."
"No I'm not!" Rumble shouted. "I'm practically the same size as my brother!"
"Yeah, don't really care, now be a good pony and come with us, we kind of need you right now," Storm King said.
"For what!?" Rumble asked.
"Ah-ah, less questions, more moving your flank!" Storm King shouted.
Rumble got into a defensive stance, but before anything could happen, Zecora threw a potion that knocked them all back. "You must run!"
"But Zecora!" Rumble said.
"Go, I shall join you soon," Zecora said. "For now I will hold back this buffoon!"
Storm King started slowly getting up, "Alright, now that was not cool!"
"Go!" Zecora ordered, Rumble reluctantly leaving the Zebra. She prepared her own stance, "To come to my home, you are a fool. I hope you are now ready for a duel."
"Alright that rhyming thing is annoying," Storm King said, then pointed to Zecora. "Get her!"
As Zecora fought away the enemies at her home, Rumble kept flying, deeper into the forest and toward a cave nearby the Castle of Two Sisters. Rumble made his way inside, looking for some shelter from the creatures when he came across something familiar.
"That's the Tree House, made from the Tree of Harmony," Rumble said, trotting towards it. "This is the place that those six students built, from what remained of the actual tree. I remember, King Sombra destroyed the tree. I remember that day, it's the day everything spiraled out of control and what eventually led to all this..."
Rumble sat in the Treehouse, one final string of memories from the past for him to relive.
Author's Note
Have to take a quick break to handle some computer troubles, should resume in 3-4 weeks.
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
Rumble remembers the day King Sombra returned, once again seeking Vengeance against Twilight and her friends. Shortly after the intervention meeting for Cozy Glow, word of King Sombra's return began to rise.
King Sombra had returned to The Crystal Empire, seeking to take back his throne, but he was thwarted by Twilight and her friends, at least for the moment. Later Sombra did the unthinkable when he destroyed the Tree of Harmony, and though he was defeated later on, the impact he left was stunning to the ponies of Equestria, especially the Mane 6.
Rumble didn't remember much of what happened, as he along with many of the residents of Ponyville were place under a mind control spell and forced to attack Canterlot. After snapping out of it, the first thing he wanted to do was check on his friends, starting with Cozy Glow.
What he didn't know at the time was that Cozy Glow was never placed under a hypnotic spell, rather she had been teleported to a cave where Chrysalis, Tirek and The Dazzlings have also gone, where they met with an old enemy of Equestria, that being Grogar.
"Looks like King Sombra failed," Grogar said, turning to the other villains. "Now do you see the importance of teamwork?"
"Hey we all know about teamwork, not our fault Sombra decided to act on his own," Adagio said. "He's never been much of a team player."
"I know of you Sirens and your prior team up with the former Queen of Changelings, Grogar said. "I do hope that with Tirek and Cozy Glow by your side, you'll have much better luck."
"We will," Chrysalis reassured. "That's if a certain two fillies are up to it."
Everyone looked to Sonata and Cozy Glow, knowing both have been very chummy with the ponies of Ponyville.
"I....I really can't say that I want to hurt anypony," Sonata said. "But, I can never side against Adagio or Aria. Just please, don't hurt anypony if you don't have to."
"Why care for them?" Grogar asked. "Do they care for you? Do they trust you? Sunset Shimmer still treats you like a monster, does that not irk you?"
"Of course it does, but I can't fault the ponies for that," Sonata said.
"So naive, but for now, we'll try to do things your way, no promises though," Grogar said, then turned to Cozy Glow. "What about you?"
"Um, any chance I can become a Princess?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Of course, I have the magic necessary, but I will need your help finding it," Grogar said.
"Cozy Glow, think about your friends, what about Flitter? And Rumble?" Sonata asked. "Plus you made friends in Ponyville, didn't you?"
"Right...I'm gonna have to make sure none of them get hurt either," Cozy Glow said. "Rumble is gonna be my future husband, and we both want Flurry Heart to be safe, so yeah, those would be my terms."
"Think about that Sonata, with Cadance and Shining Armor out of the way, you can have Flurry Heart all to yourself," Adagio said. "Just as you always wanted."
"I have some tasks for all of you soon, for now I must calculate some plans," Grogar said. "Cozy Glow, I shall return you home, to reduce any suspicion, but if I need you, I will contact you."
"Might be hard, considering I have to stay near Flitter," Cozy Glow explained.
"Maybe we can help, just tell us all we need to know," Adagio said.
Later on Cozy Glow was teleported to Flitter's house, right in her room where she last was before being mysteriously summoned by Grogar. She knew of Sombra's return prior to his invasion, but of course kept quiet about it, though she found his invasion attempt rather foolish. Instead of working with the other villains, Sombra went off trying things on his own. Cozy Glow won't be that foolish, she'll worry about betraying the others after she becomes the Princess she desires to be.
She stepped out of her room, looking around for her guardian. "Flitter!?" She searched through the whole house. "Hm...she probably hasn't come back yet. Really hope she's alright, then again I don't think Sombra hurt anyone, and I should hope Twilight and her friends wouldn't stoop that low to attacking a mind controlled pony. Then again they are a bunch of bullies usually, so I wouldn't be that surprised."
She looked out the window to see a lot of the ponies returning home, many relieved to be done with that ordeal. She spotted the Cutie Mark Crusaders in particular, they were being joined by their sisters, and Rainbow Dash.
Tender Taps wasn't far behind, he even seemed to be traveling very close to Sweetie Belle. This wasn't surprising to Cozy Glow, she heard that the two were dating, something Dinky confirmed to her very recently in private. This didn't bother Cozy honestly, if anything it was great, if Sweetie Belle moved on, that's one less obstacle and Rumble can be all hers for good.
It wasn't long before she eventually did spot Flitter, the mare seemed to be rushing back to her home. She quickly opened the door, scanning the area, "Cozy Glow!? Are you in here!?"
"Right here Flitter!" Cozy Glow called, Flitter immediately turning her attention to the filly.
"Cozy Glow!" She rushed over, hugging the filly tightly, "Thank goodness you're safe! I was so worried about you!"
"So was I," Cozy Glow said, trying to ease away. "Flitter, you're hurting my wings."
"Oh, sorry dear," Flitter said, letting go. "Well at least you're safe, how long have you been home?"
"Uh, I just got here," Cozy Glow said. "Yeah, I knew that I had to go straight home after all this was over."
"Such a good girl, I can't wait to tell Twilight how responsible you were to do that," Flitter said. "Well why don't I make us some dinner and we can move on from this."
"I like the sounds of that," Cozy Glow said. "Uh, may I make a-" Suddenly there was knocking on their door.
"Huh, who could that be?" Flitter wondered as she made her way to the front door. She answered it to a pleasent surprise, "Rumble! You're safe too!" Flitter pulled the colt into a hug, "What a crazy day huh?"
"Yeah, I'm happy you're safe as well," Rumble said. "How's Cozy Glow, is she safe too?"
"Yeah, she's inside," Flitter said, gesturing to the filly.
"Cozy Glow!" Rumble left Flitter's embrace and rushed over to hug the cutesy filly, "I'm glad you're alright!"
"Aw, you came to check up on me, I knew you liked me best of all Rumble," Cozy Glow said, returning his hug.
"Well you need the attention the most," Rumble said, then stroked her mane. "Plus part of me was worried Sombra would turn you evil again."
"Pfft, like I was ever evil in the first place," Cozy Glow said.
Rumble glared a moment at the cutesy filly, then started chuckling, "You're such a brat sometimes Cozy Glow." He leaned in to kiss her, "But I've actually started liking that part of your personality, it's cute."
"Oh, I'm cute huh?" Cozy Glow asked, then leaned in to return Rumble's kiss.
Flitter started to feel a bit weird being around this, "Uh, I'll leave you two some privacy, Cozy did you have anything you wanted for dinner?"
"Pasta, I love the way you make it," Cozy Glow said.
"Coming right up," Flitter said, quickly making her way to the kitchen.
Rumble almost pitied his foalsitter, "I can tell Flitter is a bit weirded out by us kissing."
"Huh? Why would she be?" Cozy Glow asked.
"For starters, us kissing did cause a lot of trouble for us and my friends," Rumble said. "Plus Flitter takes care of both of us, like a mother, or a big sister, so seeing us kiss might be as weird as seeing a brother and sister kiss."
"Wow, that is a bit awkward," Cozy Glow admitted, then nuzzled Rumble. "Good thing we're not related."
"Yeah, good thing," Rumble said, then locked himself in another kiss with Cozy Glow, the filly immediately hugging him close, feeling the action returned.
Seconds after their kiss, Rumble had pulled back, feeling a sense of shame, "Cozy Glow...I really do like you, but I don't know if we should keep doing this."
"Uh, what do you mean we can't keep doing this?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Truth be told, I'm afraid of hurting you," Rumble said. "I mean, yeah you're cute and I would totally date you, but I think I also like some of the other fillies we've been hanging out with. I'm afraid of settling down with only you unless I know for sure I can only be with you."
Cozy Glow felt pretty annoyed that Rumble still wasn't falling in love with her, but she kept her cool, mainly since Rumble admits to not wanting to hurt her. Smart boy, if she hurt him that way, she would have totally made him regret it. Plus it shows he cares, and if he just needs to realize he likes her more than the other fillies, then she'll totally understand.
"Well how do you want to figure this out?" Cozy Glow asked.
"I just need to spend a little more time with the other girls," Rumble said. "Once I'm confident my attraction to them is just physical and a one time thing, I'll come back to you."
Cozy Glow thought this over, she could just deny this request but she's afraid it might scare him off. But if she allows it, she runs the risk of him falling in love with one of the other girls. She needed more info. "Which girls are you interested in?"
"Well for starters, there's Scootaloo," Rumble began. "Then Diamond Tiara, I might try dating Toola Roola again, and I want to give Babs a chance."
"Just them?" Cozy Glow asked. "So no Dinky? Or Flurry Heart? Or Apple Bloom?"
"Dinky's just a friend, even if we have been making out lately," Rumble said. "Flurry Heart's too young for me and Apple Bloom might be awkward since her family caught us kissing the other day. The only other filly was Kettle Corn, but I can't see us working out."
"Hm, alright then," Cozy Glow said. "Why don't you go have your fun with those girls, and come back to me when you're done. I'll give you a week to decide who you want to be with."
"A week?" Rumble asked. "Uh, what if I need more time than that?"
"Be happy I'm giving you time at all," Cozy Glow warned. "You have until a week from now to decide, and you better pick right Rumble! I mean honestly, I don't even think you need that long. Diamond Tiara's just a pretty face, Toola Roola isn't compatible, Scootaloo already had several chances and Babs...do you really want a girl who lives so far away?"
"Uh...I guess, I don't know," Rumble said.
"A week, you have until then," Cozy Glow said. "That's all you're limited to as well. See how nice I'm being Rumble? I bet Sweetie Belle wouldn't have done this for you."
"Well Sweetie Belle didn't initially like me," Rumble said.
"Even more reason I'm better, because I liked you right away," Cozy Glow pointed out. She stroked his mane a bit, "No other girl is going to love you like I love you, you've made me very happy Rumble, up until now my favorite thing was being sneaky, manipulative and thinking of ways to destroy my enemies, now my favorite thing and main source of happiness is you Rumble."
"I know, and I do want to return your love, I just need to erase all my doubts so we can have a nice, healthy relationship," Rumble said.
"That does sound nice," Cozy Glow said. "Alright, your week starts now."
"Uh, can it start in an hour, I do want to spend some time with you," Rumble said.
"I won't say no to that," Cozy Glow said, a cunning grin on her face. Any time she had to further insert herself as Rumble's true love is time she'll gladly take.
A bit later, off at the Cutie Mark Treehouse, the Crusaders and Tender Taps were taking a moment to relax and calm themselves from this ordeal. Being mind controlled into attacking Canterlot was definitely something they had never thought they would have to go through.
"So does anypony even have any memories of this morning?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Barely," Scootaloo said, rubbing her head. "How did King Sombra come back again? This is like the third time he came back from the dead pretty much."
"Hopefully he doesn't come back again, that guy gives me the creeps," Tender Taps said, shaking off the memory of the evil king. "I'm just glad we're all ok."
"Yeah, far as I can tell, everypony who was mind controlled was cured," Sweetie Belle said. "Nopony got hurt either, except maybe some guards but I don't think it's anything bad."
"Well let's just be thankful Twilight and her friends put a stop to King Sombra before things got too bad," Tender Taps said.
"Huh, that's the first time I've heard you mention Twilight in a while," Apple Bloom said.
"Well yeah, she's the one who stopped Sombra," Tender Taps said. "Along with your sister, Sweetie Belle's sister and the rest of their friends."
"Yeah, you're right," Sweetie Belle said. "We're all grateful for what The Elements of Harmony do, it's amazing to know my sister is among those who have saved Equestria."
"Meanwhile our biggest chance to save Equestria was easily thwarted when Cozy Glow trapped us in a closet," Scootaloo said.
"Well Sweetie Belle did stop Cozy Glow last time," Tender Taps said. "So that counts for something."
"Right, zapped her right in the back," Sweetie Belle said, remembering the day she saw the filly kiss her former coltfriend.
"Speaking of Cozy Glow, she's been around almost two weeks now, and so far she hasn't really caused much trouble," Apple Bloom said. "So maybe she'll be able to stay in Ponyville and we can be friends again."
"I can see her at least staying in Ponyville," Scootaloo said. "As for her being friends though, that might take some time."
"It's possible, ah think she wants to be our friend, she's just not good when it comes to Friendship," Apple Bloom said.
"If she wanted to be our friend, she wouldn't have betrayed us when she did," Sweetie Belle said.
"Hey Twilight forgave Starlight fer what she did, maybe we can forgive Cozy Glow," Apple Bloom said.
Sweetie Belle was still not too convinced, "How can we trust her though? Especially after everything she did?"
"Ah think she can be nice, she was pretty nice when mah sister invited her to dinner the other night," Apple Bloom said. "Ah mean, she did have a bit of a bad attitude but once she started opening up about her feelings, she wasn't too bad. Granted she fell asleep not too long later, which was pretty adorable, but ah think she really does want friends."
"I think she deserves a chance," Scootaloo said. "I mean it can't hurt to try."
"You two do what you want, I'm reserving judgement for now," Sweetie Belle said.
"Same, honestly she still seems like she has a ways to go," Tender Taps said. "She seems to enjoy being manipulative still."
"We can teach her not to be manipulative," Apple Bloom said. "Cozy Glow's really nice deep down, she did help us Crusaders become tutors for the School of Friendship, since then we've done so well, we might end up teaching a class of our own! We can help out so many ponies with their Cutie Mark problems."
"Not wrong there, we do owe Cozy Glow for that," Scootaloo said. "I really hope you'll join us though Sweetie Belle, if the three of us work together, we can help change Cozy Glow fer the better."
"Maybe we can even reunite with old friends," Scootaloo said. "I mean, don't you want to make peace with Rumble already?"
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened at the sounds of his name, "Uh, well..."
"Ah do miss having Rumble around, it was great catching up with him the other day," Apple Bloom said.
"Same here, he's still the same Rumble, but this time he's carrying a lot of burdens from before," Scootaloo said. "I know he did something bad, but he should be forgiven too, I think he really wants to make peace."
"If Rumble wants to make peace, I'll try hearing him out," Sweetie Belle said. "But honestly, it might be weird seeing him again, especially knowing that he's been spending a lot of time with Cozy Glow."
"Well Rumble did say they're not fully dating, but I guess that doesn't mean much to you since you're dating Tender Taps," Scootaloo said.
"Hey Tender Taps being here is further proof that making peace with Rumble shouldn't be too hard," Apple Bloom said. "Ah mean, we dated but stayed friends after our break-up."
"I didn't cheat on you though," Tender Taps said.
"Honestly, with how often you gave googly eyes to Twilight even before we broke up, ya might as well have," Apple Bloom bluntly stated.
Of course hearing that from Apple Bloom felt like quite a blow to Tender Taps, while he hadn't meant to, it makes sense that he probably made Apple Bloom feel terrible when he broke up with her and immediately went for Twilight, and he had to admit, he never could properly keep his emotions for the older mare in order.
"Alright, let's move on from our romance troubles, not an easy topic for anypony to talk about," Sweetie Belle said.
"Yeah, good point, I say we go and check on some other friends and our classmates," Scootaloo suggested.
"Alright, all in favor?" Apple Bloom asked.
"That sounds nice," Sweetie Belle said.
"Count me in," Tender Taps said.
"Great, now let's get to it Crusaders," Apple Bloom said.
The four foals left the Treehouse and made their way to town, and from what they could see right away, everypony looked fine and healthy. Some ponies still looked a bit freaked out however, especially the Flower ponies, but then again, just about everything freaks them out.
"Everything seems to be fine, though no sign of any of our classmates," Scootaloo said. "Guess they're home, I doubt many of them would be out and about after all this."
"Ah see one classmate, there's Dinky," Apple Bloom said, gesturing to the Unicorn, who seemed to be happily trotting without a care in the world.
"Should we go check on her?" Scootaloo asked.
"What for? She looks fine to me," Sweetie Belle said. "Plus it might be weird seeing that we haven't talked to her since, that day."
"Right, none of us really kept in contact with her," Apple Bloom said.
"Well she was mostly our friend through Rumble, without Rumble I guess there was no need to hang out with Dinky," Scootaloo said.
"Seems kind of harsh," Apple Bloom said. "Ah mean, she had a lonely life before Rumble, maybe she needs more friends."
"Thing is, she really isn't that friendly," Tender Taps said. "Any time we spoke to her or just hung out with her, it was because of Rumble being around, other than that she barely spoke to us."
"She spoke to me," Apple Bloom said. "And didn't she speak to Sweetie Belle a few times?"
"At first she did, just to tell me about Rumble and how to make him happy, then she started getting jealous of us," Sweetie Belle said. "I'm with Tender Taps, she's not that friendly."
"Well ah want to check up on her, you can all wait here if you want," Apple Bloom said, making her way over to the Unicorn.
Scootaloo then noticed a familiar colt in the distance, "Uh, here comes Rumble."
"Rumble? Did he see us?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Not yet," Scootaloo said. "I'm gonna go check on him though, he might be shaken up as well. Uh, if you want to come though, he might appreciate that."
"Maybe later," Sweetie Belle said, then saw Diamond Tiara walking nearby. "I'll go check on Diamond Tiara, knowing her this was probably very dramatic for her."
"I can join you," Tender Taps said, the two going to check on the rich filly, leaving Scootaloo to check on Rumble alone.
From Apple Bloom's point of view, she is making her way over to her Unicorn friend, "Hey, Dinky!"
The filly turned around to greet the farmer filly, "Sup Apple Bloom? Need something?"
"No, just wanted to check on ya, ah mean we did go through a scary ordeal," Apple Bloom said. "What with King Sombra returning and hypnotizing all of us into doing his bidding. Ah heard he got my brother to knock over the gate leading into Canterlot."
"Wow, your big bro is freaking strong then," Dinky said. "Though I'm not surprised, there's a reason all the mares in Ponyville have a thing for him, they like a good, strong stallion."
"Yeah, so what about you? Ya feeling alright?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I'm fine, I mean I'm safe, my sister's safe, my parents are safe, and Derpy's safe," Dinky said. "Last but not least, Rumble's safe too, so everypony I care about is safe. I take it all your friends and family are safe too?"
"They're fine, thanks to mah sister and her friends," Apple Bloom said.
"So, how do you think Sombra came back?" Dinky asked. "I thought he was destroyed?"
"He seems to be coming back from beyond death a lot, ah mean at this rate, pretty hard to stop him," Apple Bloom said.
"Well he only seems to be able to come back if someone revives him, first it was Chrysalis but who did it this time is the question," Dinky said.
"Twilight will look into it," Apple Bloom said. "Uh, silly question, but you don't think Cozy Glow had anything to do with this, do you?"
"How would she?" Dinky asked. "I mean last time she did something major she had help from Sonata, these days she's been under the close watch of Flitter while Sonata spends her time either in Canterlot castle or in Tartarus with her friends, with an even stricter watch from the guards."
"Yeah, guess it was silly to ask, ah mean I'd like to think Cozy Glow is changing fer the better so ah don't think she would bring back King Sombra," Apple Bloom said.
"She is changing for the better, she's actually really nice once you get to know her," Dinky said. "I mean you already did know her once, but she's still really nice and it sounds like she wants to make friends. All she needed was a chance to change."
"That means Rumble's plan is working, speaking of Rumble, does he talk about Sweetie Belle much?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Sometimes, when he gets depressed over how he messed up his relationship," Dinky explained. "Why does Sweetie Belle ask about him or anything?"
"She don't like talking about him much, and she's still too nervous to go to him," Apple Bloom explained.
"Still too nervous huh? Also tell me this, is she actually dating Tender Taps?" Dinky asked.
"Yeah, they're dating," Apple Bloom confirmed. "Not sure exactly how serious they are though, but they've been together a lot this past week."
"Is he the only boy Sweetie Belle's dated so far?" Dinky asked.
"Yeah, he is," Apple Bloom said. "Little surprised they're even dating honestly, but Sweetie Belle at least seems to be much happier than she has been as of late, so there's a plus."
"Right, seems that way," Dinky said, feeling a twinge of pity for Rumble, knowing that the boy may have lost out on Sweetie Belle this time. Though she has one final thing to inquire on, "Uh, didn't Tender Taps have a crush on Twilight? How did he end up with Sweetie Belle?"
"That, ah don't really know fer sure," Apple Bloom said. "They ain't too interested in talking about their relationship, not yet at least."
"Alright, thanks," Dinky said. "I'm heading home, we'll catch up another time."
"Yeah, sure thing," Apple Bloom said, trotting off while Dinky made her way home. The Unicorn made a note to find out more about the relationship between Sweetie Belle and Tender Taps.
From Sweetie Belle's point of view, she and Tender Taps were chatting with Diamond Tiara, the rich filly of course making a drama out of this ordeal.
"It was so scary! One moment I was shopping with my parents, the next we were in Canterlot, having been used as part of King Sombra's invasion!" Diamond Tiara said. "The nerve of that so-called King!"
"Yeah, it was pretty bad," Sweetie Belle said. "At least we're safe now."
"Yes, I have your sister and her friends to thank for that," Diamond Tiara said. "It's just terrible though, King Sombra coming back, so out of nowhere too."
"Yeah we're all a bit concerned about that, I mean I think Twilight and the others finished him off again but obviously death isn't enough to stop him," Tender Taps said. "He's become less of a pony and more of a curse."
"To think, what if one day a new generation of heroes have to fight King Sombra?" Diamond Tiara wondered. "I mean first it was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna who sealed him away, then Twilight and her friends, what if soon those six students have to put an end to Sombra? I mean they already helped save Equestria from Cozy Glow, granted she's a sweetheart now but what if they go for Sombra next."
"Eh, sweetheart?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Oh yes Sweetie Belle, Cozy Glow has become such a pleasure to be around, I thank Rumble for that, he's done such a great job of helping that poor filly," Diamond Tiara said.
"That's good to know," Sweetie Belle said, looking a smudge uncomfortable. "Looks like they've gotten quite close."
"Well yeah, I mean it's no secret she likes him, too bad Rumble is still somewhat gloomy over breaking up with you," Diamond Tiara said, catching Sweetie Belle's attention. "I mean I told him it was a bad idea but he insisted he didn't deserve you after cheating on you."
"Oh, Rumble said that huh?" Sweetie Belle said. "Uh, does he talk about me much?"
"He does seem to mention you quite a bit, I mean I don't spend that much time with Rumble but when I do, your name almost always comes up," Diamond Tiara said, then remembered Tender Taps was present, and he looked a bit awkward from hearing thing. "Maybe not the best thing to discuss in front of your new coltfriend though."
"Right, let's leave it at that for now," Sweetie Belle said. "You look like you're doing fine, so me and Tappy will be on our way."
"We should catch up again sometime, we'll do tea soon," Diamond Tiara said. "Ta-ta Sweetie Belle, you too Tender Taps."
Diamond Tiara began trotting back to her house, leaving the young couple a bit bewildered by what they heard about Rumble.
"So, Rumble still isn't over me?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Kind of hard to believe considering how many fillies he's been dating this past week or so," Tender Taps said.
"Right, he has been getting around, but still..." Sweetie Belle seemed at a loss for words.
Finally with Scootaloo, she had just met with Rumble, the colt explaining his own ordeal. "I always thought my battle at Canterlot would be to protect it, not help conquer it."
"None of us thought that," Scootaloo said. "I wouldn't want to go against Canterlot either."
"I just hope that's the end of Sombra, but something tells me I'm wasting my energy in that belief," Rumble said.
"Hey if he comes back, Rainbow Dash and the others will stomp his flank again, so try not to worry," Scootaloo said.
"Yeah, if not them, then maybe Sandbar and his friends," Rumble said.
"To think, there was a time that we could have been part of the next protectors of Equestria, though with our group of friends split up like they are, that may not happen after all," Scootaloo said.
"Yeah, Twilight did seem to rely on that idea, even to the point of throwing some type of Festival for us, of course I blew everything when I kissed Cozy Glow," Rumble said.
"Well things can still be patched up, so no worries," Scootaloo said. "Sweetie Belle's moving on, and you're making that effort too, give it some time and the six of us can be friends again, then we can each get our hooves on an Element of Harmony."
"But which ones would we even get?" Rumble asked. "I wanted Rainbow Dash's at one point, but I obviously failed that when I wasn't Loyal to my marefriend."
"You can get Fluttershy's, you're pretty Kind I would say, you're much nicer to Cozy Glow than most ponies are," Scootaloo said. "I can get Rainbow Dash's...or maybe Apple Bloom, she's probably more loyal than I am."
"I always thought Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom can get their sisters'," Rumble said. "But if I'm being honest, Sweetie Belle's a bit more skilled at magic than Dinky, so if either of them got the Magic Element, it would be Sweetie Belle, I'd say it would bring her one step closer to becoming an Alicorn Princess."
"So you think Sweetie Belle can be an Alicorn?" Scootaloo asked.
"I think it'd be cool at least," Rumble said. "I always thought she had that potential."
"Wow, that's really cool of you to say," Scootaloo said. "Though if I became an Alicorn, I'd be able to do magic, so I can be the Element of Magic in that scenario."
"Ha, maybe," Rumble said. "Or I can be an Alicorn myself, the first male Alicorn."
"Yeah, Alicorn Princess Rumble," Scootaloo said.
Rumble furrowed his brow, "Real funny Scoots."
"Just messing with ya," Scootaloo said, rubbing his mane. "Well I'm glad you're alright, I'm gonna go meet up with my friends again."
"You got it, oh but hey, wanna do something together later on? Maybe dinner at a restaurant?" Rumble asked.
"Oh, asking me out huh?" Scootaoo teased. "Yeah I'm down for that, see you in the evening near that Fancy Outdoor place."
"See you then," Rumble said, the two Pegusai going their separate ways.
The Crusaders met back up at the spot the left, each of them having finished their conversations at almost the same time.
"Dinky's doing alright, so that's good," Apple Bloom said.
"So is Diamond Tiara, but she did ramble on a bit," Sweetie Belle said.
"I talked to Rumble, he's a bit freaked out but fine nonetheless," Scootaloo said.
"That's great, so our closest friends are doing fine, and that's all that matters," Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah. plus I got a date later, so bonus points for me," Scootaloo added, getting looks of confusion from the others.
"A date?" Apple Bloom said, though considering who Scootaloo was just talking to, it actually made some sense. "Oh, ya got a date with Rumble?"
"Yeah, later in the evening, good way to get our minds off our troubles," Scootaloo said.
"Wow, that's nice," Sweetie Belle said, feeling a bit weird about this.
"I'm gonna go get ready, see you all tomorrow," Scootaloo said, trotting off to prepare for her ate with Rumble.
"Things really came full circle huh?" Apple Bloom said. "To think that after so much planning, Scootaloo finally gets her date with Rumble, even if it took way over a year fer that to happen."
"Right, sure thing Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said, feeling somewhat in a foul mood. "I'm gonna go home now, come on Tappy."
"Right behind you Sweetie Belle," Tender Taps said, following closely behind his marefriend.
"Guess Rumble dating Scootaloo bothers her a lot more than she realized," Apple Bloom said, stroking her chin a bit. "Ah gotta fix this, fer both their sakes."
Later in the evening, Rumble and Scootaloo got to enjoy their dinner together as promised, even taking a quick race around the park, this time trying to be more mindful of their surroundings.
Rumble took Scootaloo back to her house, the two spent a little time in her room, talking Wonerbolts and future plans.
"Be honest Rumble, do you want to be a Wonderbolt, or are you going to be a Wash-Out?" Scootaloo asked.
"Wonderbolt...but if I'm being honest, part of me wants to try being a Wash-Out," Rumble said.
"Fair warning, it's not as fun as it sounds, Lightning Dust can be a little over the top with her stunts," Scootaloo said.
"Yeah, but it's something I might want to try at least once, though considering how much Rainbow Dash seems to dislike me these days, maybe I shouldn't get my hopes up too high for The Wonderbolts," Rumble said.
"Come on, don't say something like that," Scootaloo said. "Rainbow Dash might be disappointed and yeah, she can hold on to it for a long while, but if you just try and talk with her then maybe you'll come to an understanding."
"I hope so, I mean I think Rainbow Dash is an amazing flyer and I do want to be as great as her, but these days it's just harder to see her as my role model, I kind of want that back," Rumble said.
"We'll get it back then, I'll help you out," Scootaloo said. "We'll give it some time though, right now she's very busy, between being a Wonderbolt, training cadets, helping Twilight become a leader and now recently with this King Sombra stuff, she doesn't have time to sit around and chat just yet."
"Alright, we'll get this fixed soon then," Rumble said. "Any chance we can help convince her that Cozy Glow's a good pony as well?"
"If you think she's turning out better, then yeah, I'm down with that," Scootaloo said, then checked out the window. "Wow it's late, really long day huh?"
"Yeah, maybe I should get going," Rumble said.
"Hey now, no rush," Scootaloo said. "We got some time left, maybe we can do something else for a bit?"
"Like what?" Rumble asked. Scootaloo then pulled him in for a kiss, Rumble immediately getting the idea of what she wanted, and of course he'll comply with her.
Rumble laid Scootaloo on her bed and started kissing her, getting very intimate in his affection for the fellow Pegasus. Rumble lifted her legs slightly so he could rub her flank, something he's been quite find of as of late, something about how each filly butt feels started to become quite an interesting thing to him as of late.
Rumble went home a very satisfied colt that night, Scootaloo feeling a bit thrilled herself after a romantic date with her crush. Of course she did have to wonder if this was really the right thing to do. Rumble was recently dating one of her best friends, to move in on that seemed a bit low to her, plus she could tell that Rumble was just as confused, so she did not expect this relationship to blossom just yet.
Sweetie Belle however, felt very conflicted and angry. From what Diamond Tiara said, Rumble still might have had feelings for her, and that sparked a little interest in the filly. Despite her current relationship with Tender Taps, a part of her really hoped she could just be with Rumble again, she missed the colt dearly. But it sounds like Rumble still hasn't made up his mind about who he wants to be with. The wait was really frustrating her and she just wanted a straight answer, if he would go back to her or if he would really go with another filly.
The rest of the week was full of Rumble dating, spending another day with Scootaloo, spending some time with Diamond Tiara, and a bit with Toola Roola. During this time, The Student Six had turned the Tree of Harmony into a Treehouse for them to hang out in. The tree's destruction was a point of worry for many of the ponies, Rumble included, so seeing a Treehouse made out of the tree, a really sparkly and shiny one no less, brought back some hope.
That weekend, shortly before Cozy Glow's deadline, Scootaloo's parents had returned, with the intent of taking her with them on their journey. Of course this was very unsettling for the Crusaders and they hatched a scheme to keep Scootaoo in Ponyville, which involved inviting a bunch of friends over to Ponyville to show her parents just how special she truly was.
Rumble of course was among those ponies, not wanting to abandon a friend during a time of need. It was during this moment he found time to spend with Babs. Shortly after convincing Scootaloo's parents to let her stay in Ponyville, Rumble had brought Babs to Sugarcube Corner for a date.
"You know, I gotta admit," Rumble said, taking a bite out of his low-fat cake. "Despite everything, Scootaloo's parents are really cool."
"Yeah they do have awesome jobs," Babs said. "I mean, looking for dangerous creatures and junk? That takes guts."
"It's easy to see where Scootaloo gets her adventurous attitude from," Rumble said. "I'd kind of like to do the stuff her parents do someday."
"Thought ya wanted to be a Wonderbolt?" Babs said.
"Hey I like to keep my options open, I don't need to go through life being just one thing," Rumble said.
"I can understand that type of mindset, wish I had your confidence when I first came to Ponyville," Babs said "Maybe I wouldn't have sided against my cousin when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon showed up at Sweet Apple Acres."
"You made a mistake, don't beat yourself up over it," Rumble said. "We all make mistakes, I've made plenty myself. Did I tell you how I nearly ruined the Crusaders' Cutie Mark Camp?"
"Oh yeah, cuz mentioned a camp, wait what exactly did you do?" Babs asked.
"I may have caused a bunch of campers to leave and form their own camp," Rumble said, before sheepishly rubbing his head. "That I was sort of in charge of. It was one of the few times me and Sweetie Belle had an argument."
"You ran a blank flank camp?" Babs asked.
"Pretty much," Rumble said. "Here's the story, when the girls formed a camp, I went to help them, reluctantly at first since I hated Cutie Marks. When I saw just how much trouble the other foals were going through, I started questioning them on their desires to have Cutie Marks, and they revealed that they're really frustrated on being Blank Flanks. So I told them that it really wasn't worth it to get their Cutie Marks and they basically ditched the camp, and I offered to make a better camp for them so they can focus on having fun and not worry about getting their Cutie Mark."
"So what happened?" Babs asked.
"Well we kind of got carried away and tried too hard not to earn our Cutie Marks and we ended up boring ourselves," Rumble said. "I confessed this to Sweetie Belle and the others and I let them have their camp back. Of course they focused less on Cutie Marks and more on just letting the kids have fun without worrying about whether or not they get their marks. Kettle Corn didn't get her mark from trying to hard after all, she just tried out haiku poetry and it worked for her."
"Yeah, it's all about having fun," Babs said.
"Plus it does make foals happy, just the other day I saw a colt named Skedaddle running through town all excited because he finally got his Cutie Mark," Rumble said. "I guess if it makes a pony happy to have their mark then why stop them? I mean I'm fine being a blank flank, I couldn't careless if I got my mark, but even if I did, I won't let it limit me. I enjoy lots of things, when I'm not flying, I'm cooking, I think they're both neat and I bet I can find other neat things."
"Maybe you'll get more than one Cutie Mark," Babs joked.
"Eh, I mean it could be possible, when Apple Bloom had the Cutie Pox, most ponies just assumed she had more than one mark, even the teacher Miss Cherilee," Rumble said. "If a teacher wasn't surprised then I guess having more than one mark isn't impossible."
"Still, weren't you ever teased for not having a Cutie Mark?" Babs asked.
"Even if I was, why should I have cared what somepony else thought?" Rumble asked. "It's my flank, plus with my flying skills, not many ponies gave me grief because they figured I would get one sooner or later. Even Diamond Tiara barely bothered me about it, mostly because I was cute."
"She ain't wrong," Babs said, eyeing the colt almost seductively.
"Looks like you're just about done, want me to walk you home?" Rumble asked. "Or rather to Sweet Apple Acres?"
"Sounds good," Babs said, finishing her cupcake. "Let's get going."
The two started trotting back to Sweet Apple Acres, passing by Scootaloo's house, which was now fully owned by her aunts, Lofty and Holiday. Leaving the home were her parents Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood.
"Shame her parents can't be around more," Babs said. "Must be a pain to be away from her parents."
"Yeah, thinking about it Sweetie Belle's parents are away a lot as well, and Apple Bloom...well that's a whole different story," Rumble said, knowing full well about Bright Mac and Pear Butter.
"Yeah, I don't think I ever knew her parents either," Babs said, trying to think hard about her aunt and uncle.
"I mean it can't be helped, Scootaloo's parents are very busy, and I think Sweetie Belle's father is very busy himself, but they love their kids at least, that's all that matters," Rumble said. "Sometimes my parents are too busy themselves, but that doesn't mean they care any less."
"You might have that problem yourself," Babs said. "I mean, if you become a Wonderbolt, won't that mean a lot of traveling?"
Rumble hadn't thought of that, his goal of being a Wonderbolt would potentially deter his parenting, and he knows it can be a risk to be a long distance parent. "Guess I'll have to figure that out when the time comes."
"Well, that ain't gonna be a for a long time, so don't worry about it," Babs said. "Hey for all I know, you can end up marrying a Wonderbolt, that is if I haven't swept you off your hooves, though I don't see why I can't travel with ya."
"That'd be nice," Rumble said, the two still walking.
They arrived near the gate leading into the farm, Babs was still walking, but stopped when she saw that Rumble wasn't moving. "Something wrong?"
"If it's alright with you, can I leave you here, I'm worried that Apple Bloom might see us," Rumble said. "I mean it's not like we're dating, but we did have a moment recently so it'd be awkward if she sees us."
"Ah, that's cool then," Babs said. "So, how was your moment?"
"Uh, nice," Rumble said, blushing a bit.
"So, mind sharing that moment with me?" Babs asked, blushing herself.
Rumble obliged her request with a nice kiss to the city filly, the two sharing that moment together for a few seconds.
Rumble pulled away, a confident smile on his face, "Happy with that little moment?"
"Totally, after tonight, I can really see why Sweetie Belle was so into you," Babs said. "Well, see ya around Rumble."
"Yeah, see you Babs," Rumble said, trotting back home. Though on the way there, he started thinking about Sweetie Belle again.
It's been nearly a week since Cozy Glow gave her deadline, he's had many chances to date each filly he had interest in. He likes Babs, but her living in the city might be troubling to him, he'd like to have a girlfriend that's always nearby, ironic given what she had just said about his potential Wonderbolts career.
Diamond Tiara was nice but she might be a pain to keep happy, though she's trying hard to be a better filly she still shows some signs of being bratty, so he'd rather she grow up a little more. Maybe one day she'd make a better girlfriend, just not now.
Toola Roola is cute but her friend is somewhat getting a little in the way, given how much she seems to want to be part of their dates, and it is causing some awkward tension. Perhaps engaging in a make-out session with both of them at the same time wasn't the best idea.
Then there was Scootaloo, the one who has been on the top of Rumble's list. He can remember just yesterday when he found out about her parents coming to probably take her away, how she came to him for comfort, which he gave her. No romance, no intimate tension, just a filly who needed a friend, and he was that friend. It made him think, does he really like Scootaloo romantically or is she still just a friend to him.
Rumble tried thinking of what he liked about Scootaloo romantically, but most of his thoughts turned to just how good of a friend she was more than a girlfriend, he really couldn't see her as a suitable romance partner. Granted she's fun to make-out with, and she has a nice body he likes to rub, he knows not to be in a relationship with a filly just because of how nice their body looks, he was taught better than that.
No matter how hard he tried, there was one filly he couldn't help but compare the others to, that being Sweetie Belle. She had everything, she was kind, very mature, had a soothing voice, very reasonable, a bit feisty but he considered that a positive since she looked cute that way. She also brought out the best in him, helped him feel more confident about himself, that's all any colt can ask for when it comes to a marefriend.
On top of all that however, she was just really pretty, more than that, she was a thing of beauty. Her soft, gleaming fur, her emerald eyes, her swirly mane, oh how he really liked her mane. She also has a great body in her own right, very soft and tender to rub, and he's already gotten a chance to completely explore her, what he wouldn't give for more chances like that.
As he walked home, dealing with his internal dilemma, he saw Lyra and Bon Bon sitting on a bench, enjoying the evening skies together. Thinking they could probably help him how, Rumble made his way over to the duo.
"Hey, Lyra, Bon Bon," Rumble greeted, getting their attention. "Got a second?"
"Sure, what do you need Rumble?" Lyra asked, patting a now empty space between her and Bon Bon.
"Some romance advice," Rumble said, taking a seat between the mares. "Look I'll be honest, I regret breaking up with Sweetie Belle. I thought it was the right call since I did something terrible to her, but the more time I spent away from her, the more I started to realize how much I missed her company, no matter how many other fillies I became interested in."
"Attraction never goes away Rumble," Bon Bon said. "Even if you have a girl you like, you're still going to feel attraction to others."
"Boy did I realize that in the worst way," Rumble said. "Thing is, I wasn't just attracted to Cozy Glow, I was enamored by her personality."
"That can happen too," Lyra said. "It's like you have this dessert you love to eat, but one day you start trying out a different dessert. You like it, it's new, it's on your mind but after a while you realize that it was basically just a fad and you go back to what you originally like."
"Uh, that's a weird way to put it," Bon Bon said. "But it is almost like that. You were in love with Sweetie Belle, but you became interested in another filly because it was a new experience for you. But after the experience was over, you realized maybe it wasn't as great as you thought, you realize even more what you already had was special."
"I think I understand," Rumble said.
"You're still in love with Sweetie Belle, and you two were meant for each other," Lyra said. "You should go tell her."
"Yeah, I should tell her," Rumble said. "I'll beg her to take me back if I have to, but I know I can't give up on her." Rumble got off the bench, but not without a quick hug to both mares. "Thanks you two."
"You got it kid," Lyra said.
"Yeah, go and tell Sweetie Belle how you feel!" Bon Bon urged.
Rumble nodded and flew off toward Rarity's house. It was late but he didn't care, he had to tell her now while he was still on this level of emotion. He knocked and awaited an answer, but nothing came. "Hm, that's weird...maybe I can go inside?" Rumble shook his head. "No, the Boutique is closed so I can't just walk in. Maybe Rarity's just not home? Does that mean Sweetie Belle is not home either? Maybe she's at her parents' house."
Rumble had another idea, though it was kind of sneaky. He could fly over to Sweetie Belle's window and peak inside, see if she's there or not. Hopefully she won't get mad if he gets spotted, but he had to take this chance.
Rumble flew toward the window leading to Sweetie Belle's room, peaking inside to find the filly of his dreams, only to find something quite worrying. Inside her room, Sweetie Belle was sitting on her bed, right beside Tender Taps. They were just sitting together for the moment, but it was Tender Taps's actions that worried Rumble, mostly the way he was stroking her mane, looking deep into her eyes.
Rumble gently opened the window a little, hoping to listen in on what the two were saying.
"Thanks for helping us with Scootaloo, you really helped prove our point Tappy," Sweetie Belle said.
"Of course, she's our friend, I would do anything for a friend of ours," Tender Taps said.
"I gotta say, you've really been there for me for a while now, since my break-up you have constantly been by my side, and helped me through a lot, I really appreciate that," Sweetie Belle said.
"You girls have done a lot for me, anything I can do to repay you is my pleasure, especially for the filly that I've really come to care about," Tender Taps said. "Plus, you got my mind off of Twilight."
"Are you truly over her?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I mean, she is a Princess, how can I compare to her."
"Well, you're a Princess in my eyes Sweetie Belle," Tender Taps said. Something about that just irked Rumble, Tender Taps pretty much just took his line.
"You're so sweet, I think I could actually be in love with you," Sweetie Belle said. Rumble's eyes just widened after hearing Sweetie Belle say that.
"Yeah, same here, I think I love you too," Tender Taps said.
"Well, let's put that to the test, shall we?" Sweetie Belle said, shifting her eyebrows at the colt.
"Sounds good to me," Tender Taps said, leaning in to grab Sweetie Belle into a kiss. Sweetie Belle laid back on her bed, allowing Tender Taps to really move in with his affection.
Rumble couldn't believe what he was seeing, so Sweetie Belle really did move on, it was too late. It's over, any chance he might have had was gone, on to the colt who was once his friend. Tears streamed down Rumble's eyes as he flew off, feeling very heartbroken and dejected.
As he fluttered home, his soul filled with despair, he started tormenting his mind of how he could have prevented this. Anything he could have done, maybe seeing her sooner, apologizing sooner, maybe just never having broken up at all.
Suddenly he started to remember Cozy Glow, the sneaky filly who caused his heartbreak, but perhaps he can't blame her, he made the choice to kiss her, or rather he didn't fight off her advances. Maybe this was a sign, maybe he needed to move on. He and Sweetie Belle's union was a complete fluke after all, maybe there was a reason for that. That's the only thing that could register in his mind at the moment.
"I gotta find her," Rumble said, flying in the direction of Flitter's house. He arrived within a minute, he considered knocking on her door but he figured she might be unhappy about him being out so late. So he flew toward the window to Cozy Glow's room. He peeked inside to find the filly in bed, looking like she was trying to fall asleep.
Rumble started tapping at her window, eventually getting the filly's attention. "Rumble?" She was surprised to see him, but seemed happy nonetheless. She opened her window, allowing Rumble access. "Golly, sure didn't expect to see you here so late."
"Sorry, I just needed to see you, it was pretty urgent," Rumble said.
"Urgent? What's wrong?" Cozy Glow asked. Her mind turned to the worst, "Is it about me? Is Twilight sending me back to Tartarus!?"
"No, it's not that, and if I can help it, that will never happen," Rumble said, then took Cozy Glow's hoof. "Cozy Glow, please be my marefriend."
Cozy's face turned several different shades of red upon hearing that. "M-marefriend!?"
"I know you gave me a week and it hasn't been that long yet but I've made up my mind, I want to be your coltfriend Cozy Glow, will you date me?" Rumble asked.
"Wow...Gee wilikers!" Cozy Glow said, still in surprise. "You really mean it Rumble!?"
"Yes, I do," Rumble said, bringing Cozy in close, getting a blush from the filly. "I love you."
That was all Cozy Glow needed to hear to send her heart a fluttering, "I love you too Rumbly."
The two leaned in to share a kiss, one that meant the absolute world to Cozy Glow. She finally got her coltfriend, and she was not letting him go. For the first time, Rumble did not have any doubts about kissing Cozy Glow, for the moment this was his best decision and he was rolling with it.
Rumble pulled away for a moment, then lifted her up and onto the bed, plopping her down, much to her surprise. "Uh, Rumble, what are you doing?"
"Just relax for now," Rumble said, getting on the bed with her. "Try not to make too much noise, don't want to alert Flitter."
Cozy was confused at first, but something about Rumble's mannerisms felt familiar right now. It was then she remembered the night she spent at Sugar Belle's house, and what she saw Party Favor doing with the mare. She had to wonder if this is what Rumble was up to.
Her question was answered when Rumble started kissing her again, this time getting more into the kiss. She felt excited but a bit nervous, last time she was in this position, Rumble was asleep and Cozy Glow did things at her own pace. This time Rumble was awake and was taking charge.
Cozy Glow briefly pulled away, "Rumble, whatever you're going to do, please be gentle."
"You're so adorable," Rumble said, nuzzling her muzzle. "We'll do things at your pace, if things get too intense for you, just tell me and I'll ease up."
"Thanks," Cozy Glow said, still feeling very nervous, but also a bit reassured. "Alright, you may continue."
Rumble wasted no time going back in for the kiss, laying Cozy Glow back as he prepared to give her pleasures she could only have imagined, or so he thought. He just had to hope Flitter didn't catch any of this, but he knows Flitter well enough to prepare for just that.
This night was just the start for the two, for the next few weeks, it was all about Rumble and Cozy Glow and their growth as a couple. While Sweetie Belle continued her dates with Tender Taps, Rumble began openly showing off his romantic relationship with Cozy Glow.
Most of Rumble's dates with Cozy Glow had to be chaperoned by Flitter however, due to Cozy Glow still unable to really leave Flitter's company, but the two did get their private moments when they were at Flitter's home.
Their relationship caught the eyes of many ponies, including fillies that Rumble has dated, such as Toola Roola who felt saddened by the fact that she missed out on her chance to have Rumble, and Diamond Tiara who at least was happy she got any time with him at all.
Rumble had passed through down one day, on his way to Flitter's house, ready to take the girl on another date. Some strange things have been happening as of late though, including a weird turn of events that occurred during the Summer Sun Festival in which it nearly got ruined by ponies who heard random gossip.
Right now things were a bit on edge as this gossip even spread to Ponyville, many ponies were giving one another weird glances, almost as if there was a lack of trust. Rumble didn't care much at the moment, he just wanted to see his marefriend.
On his way over, he ran into Dinky, the Unicorn filly having just left Sugarcube Corner. "Yo Rumble!"
"Hey Dinky, what's up?" Rumble asked.
"Nothing much, aside from some of the weird stuff that's been happening," Dinky said. "I bet it's just ponies on edge because of the soon to be shift in power."
"Right, makes sense," Rumble said. "I hope Twilight can handle it."
"She'll be fine," Dinky reassured. "So, how is it with Cozy Glow? She being a good girlfriend?"
"She's great, we're really happy together," Rumble said.
"Good to hear, even if to this day I'm still surprised you two are together," Cozy Glow said. "I mean it's only been a couple of weeks though but you two clicked quite well."
"I'm a little surprised myself, I still can't believe I found love again," Rumble said. "Even if it's with an unexpected pony. I just wish we could do more together, but we're extremely limited by how much time we can spend together, but she has to be by Flitter's side, or someone appointed, like Trixie or Sonata."
"Sonata?" Dinky asked.
"Yeah, a week ago she came by Flitter's house, said she was told to take Cozy Glow somewhere," Rumble said. "I don't know where they went but they were gone overnight. Weird that when Cozy Glow came home, she felt so cold, like if she were someplace very chilly."
"Hm, curious," Dinky said. "Yeah, Sonata has been acting a bit strange each time I've seen her, almost like something's bothering her."
"Sonata's pretty stressed out herself, I mean I think she's trying to get her friends out of Tartarus but I guess they don't want to reform," Rumble said. "What a waste, she's probably gonna spend her life on something like that. I say she should just cut ties with her friends if they're gonna give her this much trouble about reforming."
"Maybe if she makes more friends here she'll consider that," Dinky said. "Problem is some ponies seem reluctant to trust her, not too different than Cozy Glow I guess."
"Well I'm going to fix that," Rumble said. "Next time I see Twilight, I'm going to request that she allow Cozy Glow more freedom."
"Wow really?" Dinky asked. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, you two are dating and you're fiercely loyal to all your friends, especially the ones you're dating."
"You bet I am, if Twilight needs a new Element of Loyalty, that I'm the right colt for the job," Rumble confidently stated.
"That's a bold claim Rumble," Apple Bloom said, having just arrived with Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara. "Hey Rumble."
"Hi girls, what brings you here?" Rumble asked.
"We were just passing through," Apple Bloom said.
"More like Big Macintosh is hanging out with Cherilee and Apple Bloom is checking on their progress," Scootaloo teased.
"I like a good romance, so I tagged along," Diamond Tiara said.
"Oh can it you two," Apple Bloom said. "But yeah, mah big bro has gotten really friendly with Cherillee, thought ah overheard him say he wants to propose."
"Not the only rumored proposal I've been hearing about," Scootaloo said. "Love's in the air, maybe now's a good time for the three of us to go out and find love."
"I can put in a good word for you girls if you'd like," Rumble said.
"Uh, ah don't think I'm ready fer that," Apple Bloom said, blushing a lot. "Plus ah don't have anypony ah like."
"You have plenty of options," Dinky said. "Scootaloo, you got anyone in mind?"
"Rainbow Dash told me about this brother-sister Pegasus duo she met in a town called Hope Hollow," Scootaloo said. "I didn't think much at the time since, you know, kind of had my eyes on a certain other colt."
"Right, I hope thing are good between you and that certain colt," Rumble nervously said.
"It's fine Rumble, we tried but we didn't work out," Scootaloo said. "I'm just happy I had the opportunity, plus I got to make-out with you, so bonus."
"He's really good at making out, isn't he?" Dinky said, getting a unified agreement from the other fillies, much to Rumble's awkwardness.
"So, about this duo," Rumble said, trying to move the conversation along.
"Right, so the colt, Pickle Barrel, he's like this awesome flyer and I figured that maybe I can try meeting him one day and see where that goes," Scootaloo said.
"I suppose I could try meeting with that colt Chip Cutter, I heard he's a hard working foal, and I do love me a hard worker," Diamond Tiara said.
"That just leaves you Apple Bloom," Dinky said. "I bet I can help you find somepony. Derpy and I might know a colt as well, I think you saw him during that Cart racing thing Cherilee hosted."
"Come on y'all, ah don't need to date, I'm fine just being single," Apple Bloom said.
"Wow, great job Rumble," Dinky said. "You were to damn charming, now Apple Bloom can't move on."
"Hey don't blame me!" Rumble said.
Dinky giggled to herself, "Just joking dude." Dinky turned to Apple Bloom, "Just remember AB, you're a very pretty filly, I bet you can find someone with no trouble whatsoever."
"Aw, thanks," Apple Bloom said, blushing a little. "What about you?"
"I'll keep my eye out, personally I'd prefer a filly to date, if any of you know a filly who's willing then let me know," Dinky said.
"A filly huh?" Diamond Tiara said, rubbing her chin. "I'll have to think hard about that."
"Well just remember, first loves don't always work out," Rumble said. "One week Diamond Tiara may be dating Chip Cutter, the next Apple Bloom might be."
"Or Scootaloo can be dating Button Mash," Dinky joked.
"Ugh, no way," Scootaloo said. "That's bottom of the barrel for me."
"Come now, he's a nice colt, he's just a little obnoxious sometimes," Apple Bloom said. "Thinking about it, even Babs told me he looked cute."
"Babs likes Button Mash?" Scootaloo asked. "That's...unusual."
"She has a thing fer dorky colts, that's why she liked Rumble," Apple Bloom said.
Rumble looked highly offended, "Uh, excuse me? How am I dorky!?"
"Want a list?" Dinky asked, getting a humorous reaction from the fillies and a glare from Rumble.
"I don't have time for this, I have a date to get to," Rumble said, walking away from the group of giggling fillies.
"He's so cute when he gets all huffy," Apple Bloom said.
"Rumble's such a charming colt," Dinky said. "That being said, I really hope his romance with Cozy Glow won't end badly. I mean I've heard some ponies say him hooking up with her was a really bad choice."
"Well maybe this will be good fer Cozy Glow," Apple Bloom said. "And maybe Sweetie Belle is better off with Tener Taps."
"I hope so, if I'm being honest, I kind of hoped Rumble would get back together with Sweetie Belle," Dinky said. "I mean, I know me and her haven't gotten along too well, but I've never seen true love like theirs, if they can break up, then that just shows nothing in guaranteed."
"That is an unnerving thought," Diamond Tiara said. "Guess we should all be careful who we date too."
"Or just remember, it's better to try and fail than to not try at all," Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah, guess you're right," Scootaloo said.
"Well, guess we should get going," Apple Bloom said, then turned to Dinky. "Wanna join us?"
"No thanks, you three go on ahead," Dinky said.
"Well, see you around," Apple Bloom said, walking off with her friends, leaving Dinky somewhat saddened.
"Is there even such a thing as true love anymore?" Dinky walked off, wondering about life and romance, and what's real or not.
This little conversation did not go unnoticed by Lyra and Bon Bon, the two having been nearby, overhearing everything.
"Should we do something?" Lyra asked.
Bon Bon shook her head, "Nothing we can do, Sweetie Belle moved on, it was too late for Rumble."
"Maybe she just doesn't know that Rumble wanted to get back together with her, I mean he looked ready to tell her, but he got spooked by Tender Taps and his newly found affection for Sweetie Belle," Lyra said.
"This is something those foals need to work out, all we can do is hope for a Happily Ever After for them," Bon Bon said. "Come on now, we have somewhere to go."
Later in the day, Rumble kept the promise he had made. He was going to get some more freedom for Cozy Glow, and that started with a visit to Twilight Sparkle's castle.
Rumble appeared before the castle and knocked, awaiting an answer, which came in the form of a certain dragon. "Hey Spike, it's me Rumble."
"Rumble?" Spike was a bit surprised to see the colt at the castle, it's been a while since his last visit. "What brings you here?"
"I need to speak to Twilight, is she available?" Rumble asked.
"She's going over some school plans with Starlight," Spike explained. "Uh how urgently do you need her?"
"I was hoping to talk to her soon, I kind of want to ask her about Cozy Glow," Rumble explained.
"Cozy Glow?" Spike asked, his curiosity peaked. "What about her?"
"It's just that, I want to get more freedom for her, I think she's earned it, plus it makes going on dates easier," Rumble explained.
"Uh, hold on," Spike said, gently closing the door and quickly scurrying off, leaving Rumble behind.
Rumble waited at the door, figuring Spike went to get Twilight. During this time he went over in his head the ways he could explain to Twilight about reducing Cozy Glow's restrictions. He had to make this work, for the sake of his marefriend.
Within moments, Twilight appeared at the door, getting Rumble's attention. "Oh good, there you are Twilight, I have something I want to ask you."
"About Cozy Glow right?" Twilight asked.
"Guess Spike filled you in, since you know the topic, I'll just get to the details," Rumble explained.
"Hold on there Rumble, whatever it is you want to ask about Cozy Glow, it's going to have to wait," Twilight said.
"Uh, alright, how long?" Rumble asked.
"A couple of weeks," Twilight answered.
"Oh, well if that's all..." Rumble became confused. "Wait hold on, a couple of weeks!?"
"Rumble, right now I'm in the middle of a transition, I'm going to become ruler of all of Equestria, so I really don't have time for such things like changing Cozy Glow's restrictions," Twilight explained.
"Uh, it won't take time, just give the 'ok'," Rumble said.
"It's not that easy, I need to consult with Celestia and Luna, they're still rulers of Equestria but we're all busy making that transition, I can't deal with minuscule things," Twilight explained.
"Just the other day you were competing in some trivia thing! You had time for that but not for Cozy Glow!?" Rumble asked.
"Hey, intelligence is never a waste of time, plus I need a break once in a while," Twilight said. "I'll figure out Cozy Glow's situation another time, but now is not that time."
"But Twilight, I'd like to be able to take her on dates without always having a chaperone," Rumble said.
"To be fair, a pony your age should have a chaperone, I seem to recall you having one with Sweetie Belle," Twilight said.
"First off, I'm old enough to not need a chaperone, I'm almost fourteen, I'm practically a stallion!" Rumble said. "Second Sweetie Belle wasn't that restricted, if she left Rarity's sight she wouldn't be given the threat of going back to Tartarus."
"Rumble, I'm sorry about your dating troubles, but like I said, I can't help you," Twilight said. "Before I allow this I need to feel like I can trust Cozy Glow, and I haven't gotten there yet."
"It's been several weeks though! Months even!" Rumble insisted. "She's been really well behaved!"
"Another time Rumble, now I need to go, farewell," Twilight said. Before Rumble could object, Twilight had shut the door, much to Rumble's annoyance.
"Some Princess of Friendship," Rumble muttered, angrily trotting away from the castle. "I'll show her, Cozy Glow is much better than she was before, Twilight's just jealous that I got her to reform a lot better than she could have." Rumble's face turned into quite the scowl, "Well, if she won't cooperate, neither will I."
At the moment, Cozy Glow was at Grogar's cave, having been summoned there rather quickly and abruptly with the other villains.
"Hey, this won't take long right?" Cozy Glow asked. "If Flitter sees that I'm gone-"
"You'll be fine, dear child," Grogar said. "I'll have your back before you know it, but I do like to keep tabs on those I work with."
"If this is about that bell of yours, we haven't gotten it yet," Adagio said, trying not to grin. "And we've looked everywhere."
"Yes, ever since that search a while back, I'm afraid we've been coming up short," Tirek added, secretly winking to his allies.
"I'm aware of your constant failure, which is why I've brought you all here!" Grogar said. "How else can you prove your loyalty and worth to me if you can't locate something as simple as my bell!"
"Hey going up that mountain wasn't 'simple'," Aria said. "It's not as easy of a task as you think."
"You all have brought destruction to the lands of Equestria, yet you can't conquer a simple mountain?" Grogar asked. "I'm honestly not surprised you've all failed in your attempts to bring down Twilight Sparkle and her friends, perhaps I should return you to Tartarus!"
"Now hold on sir," Adagio said. "Give us a little more time, we promise we will not fail you."
"Fine, you get five days," Grogar said. "That's all the generosity you'll be receiving from me."
"Five days is plenty," Chrysalis said, doing a slight bow, if to hide her cunning smile.
"I should hope so," Grogar said. "Do not disappoint me."
Grogar made his way out of the lair, leaving the villains behind. Of course this didn't settle well with Cozy Glow. "Uh, hello! Send me back!" She angrily marched over, "Hey! Flitter's waiting back home! If she sees that I'm not there, she's gonna get mad!"
"Hold on Cozy Glow," Sonata said, getting her attention. "Can I speak to you privately?"
"Uh, sure Sonata," Cozy Glow said, following the mare while the other villains made their plans. She met with the siren in a more deluded area, "What did you need?"
"Cozy Glow, I know the plan was for all of us to betray Grogar and conquer Equestria ourselves," Sonata began. "And while that's fine for the others, I don't think you should be part of that."
"Huh? Why shouldn't I?" Cozy Glow asked.
"You've been given a second chance, you have a coltfriend who loves you and a mare who's looking out for you," Sonata said. "Plus aren't you making friends again? Like with The Cutie Mark Crusaders? Even Flurry Heart likes you."
"So you're saying I should sit this invasion out?" Cozy Glow asked. "No way! I can't do that!"
"It's not worth it, I barely want to do this myself," Sonata said. "I don't want to hurt the other ponies."
"The same ponies who still treat you like garbage despite you trying to be nice to them?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Twilight and her friends seem to like me at least," Sonata said. "I want to talk the others out of this but they're too caught up in revenge, and the more I think about it, I don't want you acting the same way. You can live a better life."
"Sonata, I can't go against them now, they might hurt me too!" Cozy Glow said. "Sorry, but I'm staying on the winning team."
"What if they hurt Rumble?" Sonata asked. "Or Flitter?"
"They won't, especially if I can get Rumble on our side," Cozy Glow said.
"Huh? Rumble wants to grow up to be a Wonderbolt, he calls himself a Knight, he won't join us," Sonata said.
"He was only a 'Knight' when dating Sweetie Belle, but he's my coltfriend now, and he'll do what I say," Cozy Glow said.
"It won't be that simple," Sonata said. "I really think you should sit this out. Just think about it at least?"
Cozy Glow looked a bit annoyed, but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to continue arguing this with Sonata. This was one of the few adult ponies she respected, so she gave in. "Fine Sonata, I'll think about not doing this, but I can't promise anything."
"Well, just think about what this could mean for Rumble and Flitter," Sonata said. "Speaking of which, let's get you come, Tirek should have enough magic to help you get there, I think he's been sneaking out and stealing it from ponies."
"He has, not too much because Grogar would get suspicious but enough to keep him satisfied," Cozy Glow said.
Within moments, Cozy had returned to Ponyville, though she had to quickly fly home, Tirek's spell wasn't that specific. She snuck in through her window and went straight to her bed, after grabbing a few dolls to simulate that she was playing, in the even Flitter had come upstairs.
Some time after coming back though, she heard a knock on her window. It was Rumble, sending her heart a flutter at the sight of the boy she loved. She quickly rushed to the window, opening it up. "Hi Rumbly-boo, this is a nice surprise. Couldn't wait to see more of me?"
"I can't get enough of you Cozy," Rumble said. "Or your cute little butt."
"Oh my," Cozy Glow said, blushing quite a bit. The filly seductively smiled at her colfriend. "You're such a pervert Rumble."
"Well I know what I like," Rumble said, leaning in so the two can kiss. "But I didn't come just to see you, I came because I wanted to bring you over to my house."
"Oh, golly that sounds fun," Cozy Glow said. "But what if Flitter sees I'm not home?"
"I can help with that, if you really want to come over," Rumble said. "What do you say?"
Cozy Glow was a bit surprised to see Rumble this sneaky, she kind of liked it, "You know, this is technically breaking the rules."
"I couldn't care less right now, besides Twilight's rules suck, they just get in the way of fun," Rumble said.
"Oh yes, they really do!" Cozy Glow said. "She's the worst!"
"Totally, I asked her to give you more freedom, and she blew me off," Rumble said. "To think she's going to run Equestria soon, she might give us more lame rules like 'Friendship Reports due every week', or stuff to do with reading, it's gonna get annoying!"
"Too bad there's no way for somepony else to take charge," Cozy Glow said.
"Yeah, maybe Cadance should rule, she seems cool," Rumble said. "Eh, Twilight might screw up and somepony else will take over, especially if we rally."
"Oh I think there could be another ruling besides Twilight's," Cozy Glow said, grinning mischievously.
"Well, anyway, wanna come over?" Rumble asked.
"Oh golly yes," Cozy Glow said. Once Rumble set up a good cover for Cozy Glow, the two flew over to his house where they resumed their romantic spur, not caring one bit about the rules set up by Twilight or her friends.
They just wanted each other, and that's exactly what they got.
Unfortunately things started going downhill for them very soon. After a couple of days, the villains had once again reassembled at Grogar's lair, only without Grogar. Cozy Glow had snuck away from home to meet up with the villains.
"Cozy Glow, you've made it just in time for me to finalize the preparations for our master plan," Tirek said, presenting Grogar's Bell to the group. "After conducting some masterful research, I have discovered that this artifact can steal any type of magic, and hold onto it until released by the holder!"
"Which means, all it's power now belongs to us!" Adagio said, grinning ear to ear. "With that type of magic on our side, nopony in Equestria could stand against us!"
"Perhaps we should try the spell first," Chrysalis suggested. "Last thing we want is a slip-up so close to our Grand Scheme."
"Sounds good to me, I don't want any magical side affects," Cozy Glow said.
"Everyone take my hand," Tirek said, getting looks of curiosity.
"Uh, why?" Adagio asked.
"So we can all be part of the spell," Tirek explained. "Of course if you're all fine with me taking the magic-"
"I don't think so," Aria said. "But I'm not touching you, Cozy you grab his hand and I'll grab your hoof."
"Come on, they're not dirty," Tirek said.
"You pick your teeth a lot, it's gross," Aria said.
"So it's alright if I grab his hand?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Just get to it! Last thing we need is for Grogar to come back and discover our betrayal!" Adagio ordered.
The villains each began to grab onto each other, Cozy grabbing one of Tirek's hands, Chrysalis grabbing the other while Aria grabbed Cozy's hoof and Adagio grabbed Chrysalis's. However they noticed that Sonata looked hesitant.
"Sonata, what are you waiting for?" Adagio asked.
"Are we really going to do this?" Sonata asked, getting a groan of annoyance from the others.
"Haven't you convinced her yet Adagio?" Chrysalis asked.
"Twilight Sparkle's the one who brainwashed her!" Adagio said. "Now she's all about Friendship and junk."
"It's not that, I just don't think this is gonna go well," Sonata said. "I mean..."
"Sonata we're doing this with or without you," Aria said. "You could be part of your Family, or you can betray us to ponies who don't trust you, it's your choice."
Sonata sighed in despair, "Fine, but can I at least not be part of this invasion you have planned? I don't have it in me to actually hurt the others."
"Do what you want, just don't stand in our way," Adagio said.
"Hold on, is it a good idea to let her take this power if she won't even join us?" Chrysalis asked. "That's less power for us!"
"The five of us should be enough, plus we cam always steal more magic, especially from a certain goat," Adagio said, then leaned in to whisper to Chrysalis ."Plus when it comes down to it, she always shows us loyalty, she can't stay away from Aria and myself."
Chrysalis groaned in disappointment, "Fine, but like your leader said, stay out of our way if you will not help us!"
Sonata reluctantly joined with the other villains as Tirek activated the bell, sending power to the six nefarious beings.
Not too long later, Grogar arrived with a magical amulet, intending to use it for his own villainous acts. "Alright listen up, Princess Twilight's Coronation is today, and we're going to use this artifact to ruin it. However you all need to work together for this to be accomplished.
"That won't be hard," Chrysalis said, emerging from the shadows and using some goo to stick Grogar to the ground. The other villains came out, with a much bigger and buffer Tirek, the Sirens each with scaly fins and a now Alicorn Cozy Glow, the little filly showing off the bell.
"You had my bell all along!?" Grogar asked.
"Of course, did you really think we'd hand such an artifact over?" Adagio asked. "We're calling the shots now, right girls?"
"Ahem..." Tirek said, getting Adagio's attention.
"And Tirek," Adagio said with a roll of her eyes.
The six villains used the bell to steal magic from Grogar, revealing him to in fact be Discord in disguise.
"Didn't expect that," Tirek said, very confused.
"Discord! It was you all along!?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Oh my, this is quite awkward," Discord nervously said. "Now if you don't mind..." Discord snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. A few more attempts later settled in the realization that he had no magic, so he quickly scurried away.
"Ugh, I can't believe him! All that talk about me being this spoiled filly who can't be trusted and yet he's secretly making plans against Twilight and her friends!" Cozy Glow said.
"Wait this doesn't add up, what is Discord planning?" Sonata asked. "Was he really doing this on his own accord? Or was this suppose to be a trap?"
"Why would Discord trap us? We were already in Tartarus!" Aria explained.
"Maybe we should go after him," Cozy Glow suggested.
"It's pointless, he had no magic," Chrysalis said. "Let us resume our plans."
As the villains followed Chrysalis to another room, Aria noticed Sonata's state of confusion, "Hey, if you're still thinking about Discord being Grogar, don't worry too much about it. In the end we're the ones with the power."
"I'm just worried, Discord knows that me and Cozy were part of this, what if he tells Twilight?" Sonata asked. "Granted I don't even know why he wouldn't have mentioned it before...unless the real Grogar is out there and Discord happened to just capture him?"
"You're thinking too much..." Aria rubbed her head. "Wow, never thought I'd actually say something like that to you. Still I can't imagine Discord spoiling this, that would mean telling Twilight and the others he conspired against us."
"But what if he's plotting something?" Sonata asked. "What if this was set up by even Twilight just to make us look bad, and even have an excuse to do something terrible to us?"
"Then we strike them before they can strike us," Aria said. "That is, if you even want to join us still."
"I will, only to get answers," Sonata said. "If this was a set up by Twilight or even The Princesses, then there will be consequences."
Aria grinned in satisfaction, "Good to hear, now let's hurry. Don't want to keep the others waiting."
Sonata followed her fellow siren, disaster imminent in Equestria.
Back in Ponyville, Rumble was on his way over to Flitter's house, awaiting a day of fun and excitement, plus a lot of romance with his girlfriend Cozy Glow. However as he got there he could see Flitter flying around the area, looking quite nervous.
"Hey Flitter, is something wrong?" Rumble asked.
"Rumble!" Flitter flew over to the colt. "Thank goodness I found you, have you seen Cozy Glow anywhere!?"
"No, I haven't..." realization hit Rumble, "Wait, is she not home!?"
"I haven't seen her all day!" Flitter explained, getting very nervous. "This isn't good, if Twilight or her friends find out she left, they're going to take her away for sure!"
"Now let's take a step back, where did you last see her?" Rumble asked.
"Last night when I tucked her in!" Flitter explained. "When I went into her room this morning to wake her up for breakfast, she was already gone!"
Rumble scratched his head in confusion and worry, his girlfriend was missing right now, but he couldn't think of any place she might be. "Stay here, I'm going to fly around Ponyville and see if I find her."
Rumble quickly took to the air as Flitter returned home to search for any clues, "I hope she's alright!"
Rumble searched around the village, quickly keeping an eye out in hopes of finding the filly before she landed herself in a huge mess of trouble. "Where could she have gone? Maybe she snuck over to my house?"
From the distance he could hear some ponies screaming, he turned and saw many of them running in fear. He looked and saw what he thought was Chrysalis and Starlight fighting near The School of Friendship before disappearing.
"That was Queen Chrysalis!" Rumble said in confusion. "What could she be doing here!?"
"Rumble!" He heard somepony calling. He looked down and saw that it was Dinky who called him. She wasn't alone, Tender Taps and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were there as well. He quickly flew down to greet them. "Dinky, what's happening!?"
"Villains, they're attacking!" Dinky explained.
"Wait, it's not just Chrysalis!?" Rumble asked.
"According to a message from Twilight, she was joined by other villains," Apple Bloom explained. "Tirek, The Sirens..."
"And Cozy Glow," Dinky finished. "She's with them."
Rumble's eyes widened in shock, not believing what he was hearing, "No, it can't be! Cozy Glow's changed, she wouldn't do that!"
"We didn't want to believe it either," Apple Bloom said. "But she teamed up with the other villains and stole Discord's magic, now they're going after Twilight!"
"Starswirl and The Pillars are going to help, I think," Scootaloo said. "But for now everypony else needs to hide."
"Which might be tough since it seems like the Unicorns, The Pegusai and Earth Ponies seem to hate each other for some reason," Dinky said.
"Wait for real? How?" Rumble asked.
"Nopony knows," Tender Taps said. "Which is bad because it might cause us to be separated from each other if we have to hide."
"Where's Princess Twilight?" Rumble asked.
"Canterlot," Sweetie Belle answered, surprising everypony. For the first time in a while, she was talking to Rumble. "Today was suppose to be her coronation, which is probably why they're doing this."
"Canterlot...alright, I know where I'm going then," Rumble said.
"Wait up!" Sweetie Belle said, getting his attention. "Are you actually going to fly out there!?"
"I have to, I need answers, plus if Cozy Glow's a part of this, that's where she might be," Rumble said.
"Rumble, this is dangerous," Sweetie Belle said. "I know you're brave and all but this is something that should be left to Twilight."
"She's right, don't be stubborn," Tender Taps said.
"Cozy Glow might need my help," Rumble said. "That or she has quite a lot of explaining to do."
Before Rumble could fly off, Sweetie Belle caught his attention. "Rumble wait!" Rumble looked to his former marefriend. "Please, be careful, I don't want you to get hurt."
Rumble could see the look of worry in her eyes, it's been so long since she's shown her worries to him, he almost missed that about her. "You know me Sweetie Belle, there's nothing I can't handle. I'll be back, and maybe we can all hang out again, like the old days."
Rumble then flew off, making his way over to Canterlot. The other foals stood back in worry, hoping Rumble knew what he was doing.
"I kind of want to follow after him," Scootaloo said.
"No way, yer Aunts would be furious if you risked yerself like that," Apple Bloom said.
"But he's our friend, I have to try something!" Scootaloo insisted.
"I want to help too but going out there is just gonna give the others more to worry about," Dinky said. "he's vert clever and won't do anything beyond his reach, he still hasn't forgotten the last time he did something like that, Rumble does learn from his mistakes."
"Sweetie Belle!" Came the voice of the filly's mother. "Come on, we need to get going!"
"Coming mom!" Sweetie Belle said, following after her mother.
"Apple Bloom, you get here too! It ain't safe right now!" Granny Smith called out.
"Coming Granny!" Apple Bloom said, following her grandmother's voice.
"Scootaloo! This way!" Came the voice of Aunt Holiday.
"So much for following after Rumble," Scootaloo said, looking for her aunts.
Dinky looked off into the distance, thinking of her best friend, "Try not to get yourself killed Rumble."
Eventually Rumble arrived in Canterlot, making his way over to the castle where he heard some commotion. He peeked inside and saw Cozy Glow fighting the Mane 6, though fairing quite poorly. She wasn't alone, Aria was also present but she was busy fighting against Sunset Shimmer and Spike.
"This is terrible, I gotta do something!" Rumble said, making his way inside through the window.
At that moment, Cozy had been slammed down by Applejack's lasso, Aria taking notice after knocking Spike into Sunset. "This how you treat all foals? Kind of surprising that you're not even trying to go easy on her."
"She made her choice, we do not have any tolerance for those who defy Equestria!" Twilight said.
Aria went to attack Twilight but she had been caught by Sunset's magic, suspending her in mid-air, "Don't even try it."
Aria struggled to break free, but no avail. She instead turned her attention back to Twilight, "So what now? Gonna throw your weight around some more? Gonna torture this filly for answers?"
"Don't make us seem like the bad ones, you're the ones who invaded!" Rainbow Dash shouted, floating over to Cozy Glow. "Whatever she has coming, she's earned it."
Before Rainbow Dash could get closer, Rumble flew in and blocked her path, "Don't come any closer!"
"Rumble!?" Rainbow Dash shouted in disbelief.
"Huh?" Cozy looked up to see her boyfriend, "Rumble, what are you doing here!?"
"I could ask you the same thing Cozy Glow," Rumble said, turning to the filly, though finally noticed something different. "Wait, you're an Alicorn?"
"Oh this?" Cozy asked, gesturing to her newly acquired horn. "Just a little something I got from Grogar's Bell, pretty neat right?"
"I'll say, wow that's pretty awesome," Rumble said, then remembered why he was here. "Nevermind that, what are you doing in Canterlot!? I thought you changed Cozy Glow!"
"Well...I tried to, but an opportunity came along and...well you know how it is," Cozy Glow said.
"Cozy, this is not good, I mean...wait that rope looks a little tight, hold on," Rumble said, about to untie her.
"H-hey! Don't free her!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Well can I at least loosen it up, it's hurting her, evil or not she's still a filly and you're all adult mares, plus this is kind of your fault for not being better mentors," Rumble said.
"Excuse me!?" Spike shouted, marching toward Rumble. "Twilight did everything right! How is it her fault that Cozy Glow's evil!?"
"Hey if she can't help a filly then she messed up somewhere," Rumble said, loosening Cozy's rope.
"Thanks Rumbly," Cozy Glow said. "But about this, I really want you to know that I never meant to hurt you or Flitter, I just wanted revenge. The ponies have been nothing but mean to me, with no real effort to help me make friends. Only you did that and even then they never took your attempts seriously, except Applejack but we saw how quickly she turned on me, she didn't even try vouching for me."
"What was ah suppose to say when you barged into the castle and knocked out Princess Celestia and Luna!?" Applejack asked.
"Wow, you knocked out Celestia and Luna!? You're really strong," Rumble said, somewhat impressed.
"I know how much you like strong fillies," Cozy Glow said.
"Well, still, this wasn't a good idea, I can't condone this," Rumble said. "How did you even come across Grogar's Bell? Also since when did Grogar exist? I thought he was some old legend?" Rumble tapped his chin, "Then again ponies thought that about Nightmare Moon."
"I don't know if he even exists since Discord pretended to be Grogar and summoned me and the others to some weird swamp and made plans to overthrow Twilight," Cozy Glow explained.
"Discord did this!?" Rumble asked, turning to Twilight. "Were you aware that Discord betrayed you? Again!?"
"Discord didn't betray us Rumble," Fluttershy explained. "Discord was just setting up some weird test for Twilight."
"Basically he wanted to see if Twilight can defeat six baddies and give her the confidence she needs to rule Equestria," Pinkie Pie explained. "But things really went wrong as you can see, turns out he was even the one who brought back King Sombra, really didn't think everything through, like I said, he's a total weirdo."
Rumble couldn't believe what he just heard, Discord set up some elaborate test just to ease Twilight's anxieties, how do they allow Discord to do whatever he wants is something Rumble couldn't understand. "So Discord took Cozy Glow, a filly I was TRYING TO REFORM, and tried using her in a plot against Twilight!? What did he not want this filly to have a better life!?"
"He also took Sonata too, real shit thing to do if you ask me," Aria said. "Poor girl wanted friends here but I guess Discord wouldn't allow that."
"Maybe he was testing you to see if you really can be trusted," Rainbow Dash said. "Obviously they failed that test."
"Was this really Discord's own doing?" Rumble asked.
"That's what I'd like to know," Sonata said, trotting into the room, joined by Adagio, Chrysalis and an even buffer Tirek, who zapped Sunset and freed Aria.
"I'm curious myself, so let's hear it from Discord himself!" Tirek said, blasting Celestia's chair to reveal the powerless Discord.
"Oh boy," Discord said, then got grabbed by Chrysalis's magic and brought to the floor with the other ponies.
"They're here too!?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Did you really think those old fools could stand a chance against me?" Tirek asked. "I defeated them in a heartbeat."
"Hey I was there too, don't take all the credit," Adagio said.
"Truthfully, we've been waiting at the gates for some time, we just wanted to allow this foal some time for an explanation," Chrysalis said, then turned to Rumble. "I must say, your admiration for Cozy Glow is simply delightful."
"Well she is my marefriend, I have a duty to protect her, even if I'm not too happy with what she's been doing," Rumble said. "But equally at fault here is that old bastard Discord."
"Yeah, explain Discord's actions Princess Twilight!" Sonata shouted. "Was this really his own doing? Was it Celestia's doing!? Or are you really behind it?"
"I had nothing to do with what Discord did Sonata!" Twilight said. "You know he's unpredictable, he's very capable of thinking up this crazy plan!"
"Hey! I'd like to think my plan was very carefully planned out, give or take a few bumps," Discord said.
"How long has Discord even been here?" Rumble asked. "Wait, was he hiding in this room this whole time?"
"I wasn't 'hiding', I was staying out the way," Discord said. "Also I don't appreciate being called an 'old bastard', didn't your mother teach you any manners? Such a foul mouth youth."
"Oh, I see, seems like you're still all buddy-buddy with Discord, despite what he pulled," Sonata said. "You seem quick to keep a traitor like that your friend while looking down at me on myself and Cozy Glow!"
"Discord meant no harm!" Fluttershy asserted. "Sure he came up with a foolish plan, but in his own way, it was because he cared enough about Twilight to help her become the best she can be. You and Cozy Glow made the choice to side against us."
"I didn't want to! I didn't even plan to come, but when I saw that Discord was the one behind this, I got a little suspicious!" Sonata said. "Now you're telling me that after all this it's back to being friends!? The same Discord that betrayed you once before!?"
"That he did, I fully remember that," Tirek said in an almost boasting tone. "But of course they want Discord on their side, his magic is useful to them, even if it's within our possession now."
"Not for long," Twilight said, trying to blast the bell, but Tirek deflected it, the blast flying toward Rumble and knocking him back and out cold.
"Rumble!" Cozy Glow shouted in worry. "Tirek! Be careful! I want to marry him someday!"
"Whoops, sorry about that," Tirek said, half meaning it.
"Well Twilight, since you've clearly made your choice..." Sonata said, her eyes glowing, same as Adagio and Aria.
"We'll make ours," Adagio said, grinning in satisfaction.
Twilight quickly grabbed Rumble with her magic and held her friends close, putting up a forcefield to protect them. "You won't win! Don't forget what you're up against?"
"What? The Magic of Friendship?" Tirek asked, getting a laugh from himself and the other villains. "Friendship is the Foundation of Equestria, one that's falling apart."
"The friendship that once united these silly ponies is now on the brink of ruin," Adagio said.
"What are you getting at?" Sunset asked.
"Haven't you noticed how strange things have been in Equestria?" Tirek asked.
"All it took was a few whispers and rumors," Chrysalis said.
"Some destruction of property and crops," Adagio added.
"Turning ponies against one another," Cozy Glow stated.
"Soon everypony in Equestria has become on edge, waiting for something to really tip the scales and completely destroy their faith," Chrysalis finished.
"No back-up friends for you little ponies!" Tirek said.
"Now, how about a little redecorating!" Cozy Glow suggested, as she, Tirek, Chrysalis and The Sirens destroyed the wall of the castle, causing some worry for the ponies.
"There's only one thing stronger than Friendship, Twilight Sparkle," Chrysalis said, destroying her shield. "Fear!"
"Exactly," Tirek said, lifting her with magic. "When you're too busy trying to protect yourself, you don't have time to worry about your friends!"
"Too bad you never taught that in school!" Cozy Glow said.
"Now, time for Princess Twiley to go bye-bye," Adagio said, the villains ready to attack, but a last minute combined blast from Rarity and Sunset Shimmer knocked the villains back.
"That, was a mistake," Aria said. Soon the villains sent a huge beam to attack the ponies, Spike and Discord.
Twilight quickly put up a giant piece of wall to block the attack, but she was getting pushed back. One by one, her friends all helped push the wall toward the villains, but it did very little against the combined magic of the six villains.
"Hey! Where's Rumble!" Cozy Glow asked.
"Worry about him in a minute, focus on destroying these ponies now!" Tirek ordered, the others still attacking, pushing the wall back.
"Twilight! You gotta get help!" Applejack said, pushing hard as she should.
"What!? I can't leave you here!" Twilight said.
"You must Twilight! There is no other choice!" Rarity said.
"We'll hold these villains off!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Get Rumble to safety!" Fluttershy urged, pointing to the colt.
"But I..." Twilight still wasn't sure about this.
"Twilight!" Sunset said. "Only you can save Equestria, be the leader we know you are!"
Discord grabbed Twilight, looking into her eyes, "Just fly you foal!" He went to go push the wall back as Twilight reluctantly grabbed Rumble and teleported away, leaving the others at the mercy of the villains.
Far away from the danger at the School of Friendship, Twilight had placed Rumble on a make-shift bed, hopelessly lamenting the situation. The villains have taken over, Canterlot is doomed, Equestria is on edge, all because she couldn't prevent any of this. Rumble had a point, Twilight could have ended this problem before it began, but she messed up time and again.
"Rumble, I'm so sorry you had to go through this," Twilight said, stroking the colt's mane. "I know you might hate us for what happened with Cozy Glow, maybe if we handled her better she wouldn't be evil, we could have reformed her...maybe you wouldn't have gotten your heart broken because of her." Twilight chuckled a bit. "Maybe you are right, maybe I'm not suited to rule. I can't even keep those closest to me safe. Everyone I love is in danger now, Spike, my brother, Cadance, Flurry Heart, my friends, and even my sweet little Tappy." Twilight sighed in despair, "I shouldn't have let him go, but I know that's something the two of us can relate on. We each couldn't hold onto that pony special to us." Twilight rested against the bed, thinking over the day, and wondering how it could have been so much better.
Hours passed by, Rumble slowly started to stir, waking up in a different room. "Huh? Where am I?" He felt some pain, trying to remember what happened. "Wait, wasn't I just in Canterlot Castle?"
"Rumble!" He heard. He turned and saw Flurry Heart. "You awake!"
"Flurry?" Rumble was a bit confuse. "What are you-"
"Oh you're awake, good," Cadance said, getting Rumble's attention. "Twilight told me you took quite a blow."
"Princess Cadance? Where did you come from?" Rumble asked. "Wait, what happened with the villains? Are they still out there? Where's Cozy Glow!?"
"Easy Rumble," Cadance said, calming the colt. "Everything's fine, Twilight stopped the villains, not just her, but all of Equestria."
"Huh? I don't get it," Rumble said.
"It's quite a story, you should ask Twilight when you get the chance," Cadance said.
Uh, alright, but what about Cozy Glow? Would I be able to see her?" Rumble asked.
Cadances' somber look told an worrysome story to Rumble, "You can see her, but it might not be as ideal as you'd like."
Later in Canterlot garden, Rumble stood before a statue, but not any type of statue. It was that of the six villains who invaded Canterlot. Chrysalis had a look of fury, as if she were about to attack somepony. Tirek, who was much weaker looking, was trying to shield himself from whatever turned him into stone. Adagio had a look of disbelief on her face, Aria looked like she lost all hope and just didn't care, and Sonata had a look of hurt and betrayal in her eyes. But what really upset him was Cozy Glow, the look of pure fear on her face.
"So, this is their idea of Friendship and Justice, turning a child into a stone statue," Rumble bitterly said. "No Discord statue I see, even if this was all his fault, unless he's rotting in Tartarus."
"He isn't," Apple Bloom said, making her way over with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Dinky and Tender Taps. "He got off because he rescued Starlight from her imprisonment."
"That's it? That's how he rectified his mistake!?" Rumble asked. "Who's idea was that!?"
"It was Luna and Celestia's final decree, that and they were the ones, along with Discord, who turned them into statues," Apple Bloom said.
"Wow, that's just real freaking amazing isn't it!" Rumble said, amping up his sarcasm. "So did Twilight get coronated?"
"Soon she will be," Apple Bloom said.
"You can come and watch if you'd like," Scootaloo said.
"No offense but I want nothing to do with that event," Rumble said.
"Rumble," Sweetie Belle interjected. "I know you're sad about Cozy Glow, but think about it this way. Maybe Twilight will set her free after her coronation?"
"Yeah, she'll reconsider soon, she would not leave a girl Cozy's age like this," Dinky said.
"Twilight knows best, even if it doesn't seem that way," Tender Taps said.
"I hope not," Rumble said, looing up at the statue. "I know she did something bad, but only because it seemed like nopony really gave her a chance to change." Rumble wiped a tear from his eye. "That's just unfair."
Sweetie Belle felt her heart turn and twist when she saw that tear. She trotted over to the colt who was once her boyfriend and placed her hoof around him. Rumble turned to the girl he once loved and embraced her in a hug, which Sweetie Belle returned. For the first time in months, the two had embraced once again, not out of romance, but out of comfort.
Back in the future, all Rumble could think about was that comfort he felt from Sweetie Belle after Cozy Glow had been turned to stone. Things did not change as immediately as he had hoped, but they obviously did eventually, but that is what led to all this.
"Oh Rumble..." the colt heard. It was a sound that sent shivers down his spine. He peeked outside the treehouse to see the queen of the Changelings. "Found you..."
"Chrysalis!?" Rumble said in surprise, he was ready to fight if need be.
"Come on out, will you?" Chrysalis asked. "I promise no harm will befall onto you."
"How can I be so sure?" Rumble asked. "What if this is a trap?"
"If I wanted to trap you, don't you think I would have transformed into somepony you trusted?" Chrysalis asked. "I'm coming to you with no disguise, just me and a couple of friends. Won't you hear me out? It is about Cozy Glow after all."
"Cozy Glow?" Rumble said, slowly making his way out of the treehouse. "What about her?"
"She wishes to see you again, that's all," Chrysalis said. "I think she has a surprise for you, but I believe she wants to show you herself. She's hoping this could birth a proper reunion."
Rumble wasn't the only one who seemed to have been cornered by a villain, for off in the distance, Twilight and Sweetie Belle have run into one of Equestria's oldest foes.
"King Sombra!" Twilight shouted in anger, readying her magic, Sweetie Belle doing the same.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle," King Sombra said, trotting toward her. "What a nice surprise."
"Save it!" Twilight shouted. "I am happy you're here, now I can get answers. Where is Tender Taps?"
"He's...around," Sombra answered.
Twilight zapped the ground near him, "Don't be vague Sombra! Tell me what I want to know or the next one won't miss!"
"Quite the temper you have," Sombra said. "That boy is safe though, he's in good hooves after all."
"Good hooves? With scum like you what can possibly be good!?" Twilight asked.
"Why Princess Twilight, I would understand if it were myself, Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek or Miss Adagio Dazzle you were worried about, but I figured you would have some faith in yourself at least."
"Myself?" Twilight asked. "What are you getting at Sombra?"
"Oh, you'll see soon, Princess," Sombra said, his glowing eyes adding an ominous tone to his warning.
Back in the villain headquarters, Tender Taps found himself confronted by a very familiar pony. "T-Twilight? No, are you just Chrysalis in disguise?"
The pony, who looked like Twilight, but with a black scarf, a more faded look and darker purple eyes just got closer to Tender Taps.
"Now, now, my dear Tappy, could Chrysalis possibly fake this type of affection?" The evil Twilight moved in close and locked Tender Taps in a deep kiss, one that Tender Taps couldn't resist. The plan was moving forward, the villains one step closer to victory, if they could continue this pace, then Equestria was there's for the taking.
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
Coming from the Everfree Forest was the duo of Rumble and Chrysalis, along with a flock of Changelings. The queen had convinced Rumble to join her and thus their plan continued. All because Rumble just wanted to go see Cozy Glow.
"Hey, you are taking me to Cozy Glow right?" Rumble asked. "This isn't some elaborate trick?"
"No, it's not," Chrysalis said, getting slightly annoyed by his contestant mistrust. Though she can't really blame him, she has caused a lot of trouble for him and no doubt her Changelings may have made things worse.
Rumble was still uneasy, he wasn't sure if he could really trust Chrysalis, he was really close to just flying away. But part of him wanted to see where this was going. "Hey, may I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Chrysalis asked.
"How exactly did you break free?" Rumble asked. "I mean, you were trapped in stone for so long, how did you escape?"
"We had help, you'll understand more soon," Chrysalis explained.
"Oh, alright..." Rumble said. "You know, I kind of felt bad for you after you got turned into statues."
"Did you now?" Chrysalis said, a little curious by this statement. "I thought you'd be happy, like all the other pitiful ponies."
"Maybe I should have been, but the way I saw it, it was unnecessary," Rumble said. "You were already in Tartarus, what Discord did to you, taking you, Tirek and The Sirens out, bringing in Cozy Glow, all just to help Twilight with her self esteem, it just seemed kind of cruel. I know you're not a nice creature but what Discord did wasn't any better."
"Hm...I must admit, I'm a bit surprised to hear you say this," Chrysalis said. "Even though we are enemies, you feel for us."
"Chrysalis, why didn't you join the other Changelings?" Rumble asked. "When Thorax helped the hive, why didn't you join them? You could have had all the love you needed, it seems like such a waste."
"It's all about Principle to me young pony," Chrysalis said. "I wasn't going to conform to Equestria's way of thinking, we Changelings have strived for love for decades, it's the natural way of things to be done, for Twilight, Starlight and those other ponies to come in and try to change our nature isn't Harmony, it's just another form of tyrannical rule, no different than what others say about me."
"Wasn't there any way you could have just joined with us?" Rumble asked. "You didn't have to be our friend but it would have been better than Tartarus."
"What's done is done, besides I have my hive back, and I didn't have to sacrifice my way of doing things," Chrysalis said. "Even if I stayed an outcast, at least I would have had my pride. If there's one lesson I can pass down to you young one, is that pride is not worth giving up on."
"Pride huh?" Rumble tapped his chin. "I've seen a lot of that, seems like a risk though, I've seen what pride does to others."
"Pride is only part of the answer, it's what you do with it, my pride, my ambition, my drive, it brought me back to the top," Chrysalis said. "It works for all of us, we will not be treated like pawns in Equestria's system."
"Chrysalis, sometimes I don't understand you," Rumble said. "But, I do respect your way of thinking. I would never want to give up on my stance either, many ponies looked down on me because I refused to earn a Cutie Mark, I refused to be put in a specific category for the rest of my life. So I know how you feel when you talk about pride at least."
"That's good to hear," Chrysalis said. "Let's hurry, Cozy Glow is waiting, and she's quite impatient."
"Don't I know it," Rumble said, following after the Queen.
Back with Twilight and Sweetie Belle, the two mares had begun their battle against King Sombra, each of them rushing in with a magic blast that the evil King had managed to deflect and then attacked them with a blast of his own.
"Come on, you can do better than that Princess," Sombra said. "As for that other filly...well I don't really know her well so I guess I can't comment."
"Oh soon you'll know me as the mare that kicked your flank!" Sweetie Belle shouted, sending some blasts at Sombra, which he teleported away from. He attempted to zap the teen filly but Twilight reappeared beside Sombra and blasted him herself.
"Clever tactic," Sombra said, zapping Twilight back. "But you're still lacking in power."
Sweetie Belle zapped Sombra in the face, getting the King's attention. "I'm not done with you!"
"Yes you are," Sombra said, using his magic to lift Sweetie Belle and flung her away.
"Sweetie Belle!" Twilight flew in to catch Sweetie Belle with her magic before she hit the ground, but this distraction allowed Sombra to blast her from the sides.
"You should worry more about yourself Princess, if you hope to walk away with your life intact," King Sombra warned.
"A true friend would never abandon another," Twilight said, getting back on her feet.
"You ponies and your righteousness when it comes to Friendship," Sombra berated, making his way over to the Princess. "Do you truly believe Friendship is as powerful as you make it out to be?"
"It's helped me so far," Twilight said.
"Yes, it's helped you maybe, but what about the other ponies?" Sombra asked. "From what I here, some ponies and other creatures tried Friendship, and it still failed them, mostly because of you."
"What are you even talking about Sombra?" Twilight asked.
"That filly Cozy Glow, Friendship sure didn't hep her now did it?" Sombra said. "And she really tried hard with that, but alas, no true guidance, guess you pick and choose who you deem worthy, you're more of a villain than I am."
"Oh don't even try twisting this onto me," Twilight said. "Cozy Glow made her choice, if she really valued Friendship, she wouldn't have been so tempted by evil."
"Sounds to me like you're just covering up your own failures," Sombra taunted. "Could it have really been that difficult to help a foal?"
"Enough!" Twilight shouted, blasting at King Sombra again, knocking him back a little. "You're not going to get into my head, I know I did everything I could do for the ponies of Equestria, whether or not they truly accepted Friendship is on them."
"So you were alright with Discord manipulating others as long as they were 'villains', ones who were already imprisoned in Tartarus, ones including a Siren who tried helping her friends and a filly who just wanted to find love," Sombra taunted once again.
Twilight hesitated a moment, knowing Sombra did have somewhat of a point, not that she'll let him know that. "I've already talked this over with Discord, what he did wasn't proper but that didn't mean he meant any harm."
"Sending me and other villains to do damage to Equestria is 'no harm'?" Sombra asked, almost genuinely confused. "It's thanks to Discord that I was able to destroy the Tree of Harmony, it's thanks to Discord that the ponies of Equestria nearly turned on each other, it's thanks to Discord that a poor filly was trapped in a statue, with the love of her life being helpless to save her."
Twilight then grabbed Sombra in a magical binding spell, squeezing tightly on the evil King, "You are really starting to get on my bad side Sombra, I'm done listening to you, I'm going to destroy you again! This time I'll make sure you can't come back!"
With the last bit of his magic, Sombra blasted Twilight with an illusion spell. Suddenly Twilight could see what looked like Cozy Glow, the young filly looking like she had been hurt pretty badly, with bruises all over her body, and some blood as well.
"Why are you so mean to me Twilight? Why couldn't you show me true Friendship?" Cozy Glow asked, tears strumming down her face, mixed with the blood on her cuts. "You helped Starlight, you helped Stygian, wasn't I worth it? Didn't I deserve a better life?"
"We gave you that chance, and you turned against us!" Twilight said. "Even after Rumble and Flitter accepted you Cozy, you still turned against us."
"It wasn't my fault, Discord tricked me," Cozy Glow said.
"That's no excuse!" Twilight shouted. "You should have known better!"
"I'm just a filly Twilight, there isn't much I can do without the proper guidance," Cozy Glow said, her body slowly turning into stone, concerning Twilight a bit. "But no, you didn't care enough to help me, you just wanted to get rid of me to hide your greatest failure! You're no hero Twilight, you're a fake! You don't deserve to be called the Princess of Friendship!"
With that last word, the filly had completely turned to stone, a look of fury in her eyes. For the first time in a while, Twilight looked absolutely terrified, doubts creeping into her mind, what she once thought was the right thing could have just been one big, giant mistake on her part.
"No...it can't be, she...she was evil..." Twilight shook her head, trying to erase the doubts. "She was an evil filly, I did what I had to do!" Flashes of Luna, Discord, Starlight and Stygian flew through her minds, but each happy memory was replaced with a stone Cozy Glow, but instead of the fury in her eyes, it was instead the fear she would see in the garden in Canterlot. "It wasn't me that turned you to stone! Celestia, Luna and Discord did that!"
"You could have reversed it," Sombra's voice said. "But you didn't, you left her there. I'm willing to bet that she could still hear and see everything. What a terrible fate for a young girl."
"Get out of my head Sombra!" Twilight shouted, blasting in every direction.
"You can deny it all you want Twilight Sparkle," Sombra's voice rang out. "But you can't escape the truth forever, you failed!"
Twilight continued blasting, desperately trying to find and destroy King Sombra, however he snuck behind her and zapped her hard, knocking her to the floor. Sombra charged his magic again, looking ready to deal another blow, but this was in fact for the oncoming Sweetie Belle, who tried taking Sombra down again.
"Get away from Twilight!" Sweetie Belle rushed in to attack but Sombra had blasted her hard, knocking her out. He used his magic to levitate the two girls overheard and trotted off with both mares in possession.
With Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, the two had just been caught by Changelings and Storm King Soliders, both mares surrounded by the villain groups.
"Come with us quietly, or we'll have to use force!" A Changeling warned, getting in close to the two Crusaders.
"You'd be smart to stand back, I know how to fight!" Scootaloo warned.
"Oh, how scary," a Changeling taunted. "The little pony thinks she's a match for us, wow I'm shaking like a-"
Scootaloo then delivered a massive punch to the Changeling, knocking it out. Before the other Changelings could react, Scootaloo started taking then out too with quick strikes. The soldiers tried to attack but Apple Bloom rushed in with a ram to the gut and then buck kicked an oncoming enemy.
It wasn't long before the two fillies had managed to take down all of the enemies that threatened them, both of them continuing their journey right afterwards.
"You got some good fighting skills there Scootaoo," Apple Bloom complimented.
"My parents teach me a few tricks during their visits," Scootaoo said. "Though you got some muscle on you yourself."
"Well years of Apple Bucking is bound to build up some muscle," Apple Bloom pointed out.
"Let's hurry before more enemies show up," Scootaloo said.
"Too late," they heard a voice from behind say. Both of them turned around to find Tirek. "Why hello there young fillies."
"Tirek!?" Both girls shouted.
"The one and only," Tirek greeted. "I heard some sneaky ponies managed to escape Ponyville, you must be them."
"We're going to find our friends!" Apple Bloom shouted. "We won't let even you stand in our way."
"Such guts, I kind of admire that, too bad I'm going to have to capture you myself since Chrysalis and Storm King have some really lousy soldiers," Tirek commented.
"Well we're not going down without a fight!" Scootaloo shouted, rushing at the Centaur, but taking a whack to a nearby tree for her efforts.
"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom shouted in worry, then turned her gaze to Tirek. "You, ah haven't forgotten what you've done to mah friends and family!"
"What I've done?" Tirek asked, trying to think. "Oh right, I think I know you, one of Cozy Glow's friends from Ponyville, you're part of the Apple Family."
"And yer the one who corrupted Cozy Glow's mind, she used to be a sweet filly until you came along!" Apple Bloom said.
"Are you trying to say that I'm the reason she's bad?" Tirek asked. "She's the one who reached out to me, I just helped nurture the talent that dwelled within her. If you want, I can do the same for you, I bet with the right teachings, you too cna be a dominant force to be reckoned with."
"In yer dreams!" Apple Bloom shouted. "Ah would never betray my friends and family, especially not to a creep like you!"
The filly rushed to attack Tirek, but he sent a little zap that knocked the farm filly back, knocking her out but not injuring her too badly. Tirek scooped both up in his hand, "Maybe I'll bring them back and see what the others want to do with them, especially Cozy Glow."
With an evil cackle, Tirek walked off, the two fillies now at his mercy.
Back with Rumble, he had finally arrived at the villain headquarters with Chrysalis, at least outside. "Your headquarters is at an old swamp?"
"Believe it or not, it looked much worse years ago," Chrysalis said. "We cleaned it up some time after we were freed from our stone prisons."
"How exactly did you get out?" Rumble asked.
"We were freed by Grogar," Chrysalis said. "The real Grogar, not that imposter that was Discord."
"So he is real?" Rumble said. "Uh, are you positive it's not just another trap."
"We double checked, we won't be fooled twice," Chrysalis said. "This Grogar is much more vicious than how Discord pretended to be, he's also a bit more cunning and aware. I'm actually surprised he freed us given how he knew that we ended up betraying Discord when he pretended to be Grogar."
"Maybe he needs help to bring down Twilight?" Rumble asked.
"Possible, none of us like to admit it, but Twilight and her friends are very formidable foes, we'd be foolish to try and go at it alone," Chrysalis said. "Though Grogar made it clear that if we were to betray him like we originally would have, then the consequences would be dire. I would know because he made an example out of some of my Changelings, and the Storm King's guards."
"How bad?" Rumble asked.
"You don't want to know," Chrysalis said. "Never mind that, come so we can meet up with Cozy Glow, she's waiting for you."
Chrysalis led the foal to a soggy tree near the swamp where Cozy Glow was waiting. The sight of her was a bit strange to Rumble, she barely seemed to age, aside from growing a centimeter or two, likely the effect of having been imprisoned in stone for so long.
"Cozy Glow!" Rumble said, getting the filly's attention.
"Rumble, you're here!" Cozy Glow said, rushing over to hug the colt. "I haven't had a chance to hug you in forever!"
"Yeah, same," Rumble said, hugging the girl that he once called his marefriend. "This is not how I imagined our reunion to be like."
"When was the last time you two were together?" Chrysalis asked.
"Well we technically haven't been together since we were foals," Cozy Glow said. "Or since Rumble was a foal, I'm still not fully grown into my age. Grogar said it could take a while, but I don't mind being a filly for a little while longer, I get to stay small and adorable for much longer."
"We saw each other a week ago," Rumble said. "Really surprised me but she just warned me that things were gonna change, and now I know what she was talking about."
"Oh things have changed big time," Chrysalis said. "It took some planning after our freedom but we managed to pull off the biggest battle against Equestria, and soon we will have our revenge against Twilight Sparkle and her friends."
"Shouldn't your revenge be on Discord, Celestia and Luna?" Rumble asked. "They were the ones who turned you into stone."
"We'll get them too of course," Cozy Glow said. "But Twilight and her friends started all this, not to mention they left me as a statue!"
"Yeah I tried talking her into freeing you but she never listened to me," Rumble said. "I've really missed you these last few years, I don't know if you're aware but I did go to see you quite often."
"I had some sense of what was happening around me," Cozy Glow said. "I know you came by, I think you told me a few stories."
"Oh yeah, I definitely remember that," Chrysalis said, not too fond of the memories.
"It actually made me feel happy," Cozy Glow said. "Every time I sensed your presence...I felt a little more at ease. You must have really loved me."
"I did, a lot," Rumble admitted. "I mean, we had a really nice bond together, you're one of the only fillies that brought me joy."
"So you never moved on?" Chrysalis asked.
"I tried to, very briefly," Rumble admitted. "Sorry to say."
"Oh...well, with who?" Cozy Glow asked. "Was it with Apple Bloom? Or Scootaloo?"
"No, it wasn't anypony from Ponyville," Rumble said.
It was sometime after the villains had been turned to statues and Twilight's ascension to Equesstria's ruler. Rumble had made several attempts to convince Twilight to undo Cozy Glow's imprisonment, but each time Twilight brushed it off, due to her now being too busy to worry about Cozy Glow.
This of course infuriated Rumble, the boy had done just about everything he could to help Cozy Glow, but nopony wanted to listen to him. Rumble was upset for sure, not being able to protect Cozy Glow, but he wasn't the only one feeling down over this.
Flitter, much like Rumble, also felt shame and the burden of being unable to protect Cozy Glow. She promised to be a good guardian and role model for the filly and she couldn't even do that correctly, not knowing that Cozy Glow was still associated with the villains and had been secretly plotting Twilight's downfall.
Cloudchaser had seen just how bummed out Rumble and Flitter had become, and while she never really trusted Cozy Glow that much herself, it still saddened her to see just how heartbroken both Flitter and Rumble looked.
To cheer them up, she along with Thunderlane took the two on a trip to Rainbow Falls, figuring a nice vacation would take their mind of their troubles.
Rumble trotted through the fields, doing anything but relaxing his mind, as he just used the time to think of more ways he could convince Twilight to release Cozy Glow. Granted it upsets Rumble a bit that his word isn't enough for Twilight, considering how much he's done to prove himself, plus he figured with Twilight planning that festival a couple years back in his honor, along with his friends, he figured that meant Twilight held him at some high regard already.
Though part of Rumble feels like he and his friends had been fully replaced by those Six Students that constantly hang out together.
As Rumble trotted through the fields, he felt a sudden gust of wind passing him by, nearly knocking him over. "Whoa! Where did that come from?" He felt another, his curiosity peaking, "There must be a really fast Pegasus nearby..." Rumble looked up to spot a surprise, "Or, two fast Pegusai."
Practicing in the sky were the Barrel Twins, Pickle and Barley, the Pegasus siblings from Hope Hollow. They dashed around in the air, performing some really incredible tricks, ones that even Rumble was amazed by. Whoever these foals are, their moves were quite the sight to behold.
Both foals landed down a few feet away from Rumble, neither one noticing him yet, just taking a quick breath before starting up again.
"We're making great time Pickle, with this type of momentum we're definitely going to rule this Junior Derpy Race!" Barley said.
"Like they'll be any match for us, what team work better than twins?" Pickle said. "We've pretty much got telepathy."
"Uh, sure Pickle," Barley deadpanned. "Still you are right about the teamwork, we make a great team, when you're not trying to show off."
"Hey you can be a show-off too, don't pin it only on me," Pickle said.
Barley was about to retort, but held off on it, not wanting to continue, "Never mind it, let's just get back into practice, we gotta be absolutely great if we want to pull this off!"
"I think you two are already great," Rumble said, catching their attention. "You move so fast and you're perfectly in sync with one another, you two are incredible!"
"Aw thanks," Barley said, a bit charmed by this new yet really cute colt. "My brother and I have been practicing our whole lives, we want to be Wonderbolts someday."
"We've actually met a Wonderbolt, you might have heard of a pony named Rainbow Dash," Pickle said. "She said we were amazing."
"Oh you two know her?" Rumble asked, then examined them briefly. "Huh, are you the Barrel Twins from Hope Hollow?"
"Huh? Yeah, how did you know that?" Barley asked.
"My friend Scootaloo told me about you, she's very close to Rainbow Dash, in fact they're like sisters to each other," Rumble explained.
"Wait, you know somepony that's close to Rainbow Dash?" Pickle asked.
"Yeah, I mean I've met Rainbow Dash too, my brother and one of my foalsitters went to Wonderbolts Academy with her, they both became Wonderbolts as well," Rumble said.
"Your brother's a Wonderbolt!?" Barley asked in disbelief.
"Which one is he?" Pickle asked.
"My brother's name is Thunderlane, he's got a black coat and a cool mohawk," Rumble explained. "Are you familiar with that one?"
"Yeah, I think so," Barley said. "He's one of the newer Wonderbolts, but wow, he's really your brother?"
"Yeah, got a famous brother now," Rumble said, somewhat bashfully.
"So if you get into The Wonderbolts, you can be a Wonderbolt duo!" Pickle said.
"Yeah, well I wasn't sure lately about joining The Wonderbolts, The Washouts also sent me offers, mainly since I know Lightning Dust," Rumble said.
"You seem to know a lot of famous ponies," Barley said, making her way over to Rumble. "So what's your name?"
"My name is Rumble," the boy replied.
"You said you know us but I'll introduce us anyway," Barley said. "My name's Barley, this is my brother Pickle."
"Nice to meet you both," Rumble greeted.
"So Rumble, do you want to come and practice with us?" Barley asked. "Having a Wonderbolt brother, I'd like to see just how good you are."
"Heh, prepare to be blown away, literally," Rumble boasted.
True to his word, Rumble's skills did impress the twins, at least for a while. Towards the end Rumble started to get sloppy, something the twins picked up on. When he went for a roll, he lost his balance mid-air and clipped his wing on a tree, then crashed down to the ground below.
"Rumble!" Barley turned to her brother. "Hey go get the first aid kit, he looks hurt."
"Sure thing sis," Pickle said, flying off to find what he needed.
Barley flew over to Rumble, wanting to check on him. "Hey, you alright there buddy? That was a really bad fall you took."
"I'm fine, takes more than that to keep me down," Rumble said, trying to act tough.
Barley spotted some blood on Rumble's hindleg, "Maybe that cut will, that looks bad."
"Oh that?" Rumble said, checking over his cut. "I've had worse, not the first time I've beefed it."
"Well you were doing great, until the end at least," Barley said.
"Yeah, I'm a little out of practice with my skills, that and I really haven't been in the best mood lately," Rumble said. "Sometimes my emotions can affect my flying."
"I can relate to that for sure," Barley said, remembering how dull everypony in her town was for a while. "Hope you're not going through anything too bad."
"Just some failed romance," Rumble said. "I dated this girl for over a year, until we broke up. I moved onto another girl for a couple of weeks, but that didn't have the happiest ending."
"Aw, you must have really liked those girls," Barley said. Deep down she was interested to know he's technically single.
"Yeah, I mean I loved my first marefriend, I've crushed on her for years and it was by pure luck that we ended up getting together," Rumble began. "One mistake later and that's done, so I move on to another girl who had been crushing on my for a while, and I really liked her too, the problem was that she was a bit of a trouble-maker, but I didn't mind, I thought maybe I could help her out, and it was working for a while, until stuff happened beyond our control."
"Wow, sorry to hear that, they must have been really nice girls," Barley said.
"They were, my first marefriend, Sweetie Belle, you might have met her sister Rarity," Rumble said.
"Oh, famous seamstress that Kerfuffle worked with? Wow that's neat!" Barley said. "Who's the other girl?"
"Uh, just a filly who came to Ponyville," Rumble said, not wanting to risk sharing her name. "Troubled or not, I think she's a really nice girl who deserved better than what she got. But no one really listens to me."
"Keep trying, hey if you become really big and famous one day, maybe they'll have to listen to you," Barley said.
"Yeah maybe," Rumble replied, thinking over Barley's words.
"Say Rumble, later on, do you want to fly around, just us two?" Barley asked, rather bashfully. "I can find a way to keep my brother distracted, but only if you want to."
"Just us?" Rumble asked, noticing she ha a slight blush. He had to wonder if she was asking him out, little weird to him since he just mentioned having two ex-marefriends, but then again he didn't see the harm in just dating, wouldn't be the first time. "Alright, that sounds good."
"I just have to be home by a certain time," Barley said. "Well not home, but at my hotel room, though I'll be here all week so we have more time to spend if you want to."
"Same, here a week," Rumble said.
"Pickle and I have been practicing for a derby, ours is team based but they have something for solo ponies, you should totally enter," Barley said.
"If I can keep my head in the game," Rumble said.
"Don't worry, I'll help you any way I can," Barley insisted.
"Thanks Barley, you're really nice," Rumble said, getting more of a blush from the filly.
"Thanks, so are you," Barley said, shortly before her brother finally arrived with the First-Aid kit, finally treating Rumble's cut.
Over the next week, Rumble and Barley bonded pretty well, often seen flying and training together, but also having some down time, including various dates over lunch, or a picnic, playing some other sporty games, exercise, it was really fun for the two.
Pickle wasn't completely left to himself, as he and Rumble were able to have a bond of their own, hanging out to discuss flight techniques, often trying to one up the other in skill, their Friendship also being the foundation of a rivalry of sorts.
For the first time in a while, Rumble really was relaxed and had his mind off his troubles. He made some really nice friends, a boy he can rival and a girl he kind of liked a lot. Come the day of the derby, both the twins and Rumble excelled in their activities, much to the delight of the Barrel Family as well as Thunderlane, Flitter and Cloudchaser.
Rumble felt back on top of the world, plus with his newfound motivation, he felt one step closer to redemption, that much closer to helping out Cozy Glow.
Soon came time for everypony to go home, and while Pickle was talking with Thunderlane, trying to get some Wonderbolt advice, Rumble spent a little alone time with Barley.
"I'm really glad I met you Barley, I had a lot of fun this week thanks to you," Rumble said.
"I'm happy to have met you as well Rumble," Barley replied. "You're a very talented flyer, also your brother is super cool!"
"He is, I mean he has his lame moments but he's still a great big brother," Rumble said. "You've got a great brother as well."
"Guess we're both lucky to have cool brothers," Barley said, shyly removing her hat. "Rumble, do you think we'll ever see each other again?"
"I hope so," Rumble said. "I really like you Barley."
"I like you as well," Barley said, shyly rubbing her foreleg. "I know that we won't be seeing each other much since we live in different towns but, do you think we can, you know, be coltfriend and marefriend?"
"Oh, us?" Rumble asked, blushing a bit. "Barley, I do like you, but I don't know if we can make that work. I'm still kind of bumming out over my last two marefriends. I had fun dating you but honestly, I don't know if I'm ready to commit to another relationship."
Barley' ears drooped a little, "Ok, I guess I understand."
Rumble lifted her chin to get a good look into her eyes, "Barley, you're a great filly, and I'm sorry if this upsets you, but even if I'm not ready to commit now, that doesn't mean I'll never be ready, I just have so many things to figure out. If we do become a couple, I want you to be my full time focus, and I can't make that promise right now, so I refuse to leave you as a secondary in my life."
"I think I understand," Barley said. "And I get it, I mean you just had your heart broken twice, maybe I was foolish to try and move in when you weren't emotionally ready, but you were so cute and talented, I had to take my chance, and I'm happy I did. I got to spend time with a really nice colt, we might not be a couple but I wouldn't trade this week for anything."
Rumble looked very pleased by Barley's kind words, and while they weren't going to be a couple just yet, he figured there's one thing he could do for her. Rumble leaned in and kissed Barley, the filly surprised but eagerly returning his affection.
The two stood there for a bit, locked in their brief passion of romance, that was until they heard Pickle's voice. "Dude, seriously!?"
Both their eyes widened and they turned to see Pickle with Thunderlane, Flitter and Cloudchaser, the latter three looking just as surprised.
"Well, at least Rumble's moving on," Cloudchaser said.
"Oh no, this was more of a kiss good-bye," Rumble said. "I'm still not fully ready to have a marefriend again."
"Probably for the best, it'd be weird seeing you date my sister," Pickle said.
"Weird how?" Barley asked. "What you don't think I can get a coltfriend?"
"Never said that! Just that it's weird for one of my friends to like you that way," Pickle said.
"Hey, we bonded first!" Barley argued.
Rumble seemed a bit grateful that he didn't end up with Barley yet, seems like she and her brother had some growing up to do. But he was still happy to have met her. This wouldn't be the last time he saw her as she came by Ponyville a few times, and got to hang out with Rumble more, along with Scootaloo and The Cruaders upon Rainbow Dash formally introducing them all.
Of course, Rumble never fully got with Barley, his heart still torn towards two fillies, that being Sweetie Belle, who was still dating Tender Taps, and Cozy Glow, who was still a statue.
But now here Rumble was, face to face with Cozy Glow, for the first time in a while. "That's my story, me and Barley got to date a bit but we never went beyond that, and some kissing."
"Hm, alrighty then, so you couldn't take your mind off me," Cozy Glow said. "Are you still in love with me Rumble?"
"Well, I do think about you a lot and I wanted your freedom forever," Rumble said. "If you never turned to stone, we'd definitely still be dating."
"I'm happy to know that," Cozy Glow said, then pulled out some jewelry. "Because I intend to marry you Rumble."
"Well this is a surprise," Chrysalis said. "Where'd you find that?"
"While I was out exploring," Cozy Glow said. "Rumble, take this as a sign of my proposal, right after me and my team conquer Equestria, we're getting married and we're gonna live Happily Ever After together."
"Wow, this is sudden," Rumble said. "Here I thought I'd be the one proposing to you."
"Normally I would have waited, but we need to get married as soon as possible," Cozy Glow said.
"Uh, any reason?" Rumble asked. "I mean, I'm not saying 'no' but you do seem really eager all of a sudden."
"I might as well tell you," Cozy Glow said. "Rumble, I'm pregnant."
Rumble took some time to process what he just heard, not even sure if his ears were working correctly, "Mind repeating that?"
"I'd like to clarify as well," Chrysalis said, equally surprised. "Did you just say that you are currently having a child?"
"Sure am, I'm pregnant and Rumble here is the father," Cozy Glow said.
"Uh, are you sure about that?" Rumble asked.
"Well you're the only pony I've dated, so it has to be you," Cozy Glow said. "I took a test, I'm carrying your foal."
"But...when could this have happened!?" Rumble asked.
"Well, you were kind of...affectionate while we were dating," Cozy Glow said. "I just wish I knew then, otherwise I probably wouldn't have joined with Tirek, I wouldn't have risked going along with his plan. To think my poor baby was turned to stone just like I was."
"That is rather cruel of Luna and Celestia to do," Chrysalis said. "Discord, maybe not so much, it's his nature to do despicable things."
"At least now my baby has the freedom to be born and we can raise it together Rumble," Cozy Glow said.
Rumble felt nervous, he had no idea his actions would have gotten Cozy Glow pregnant, he didn't even know she was in heat, otherwise he would have avoided his 'passionate romance'. Of course that wouldn't stop him from taking responsibility, he got her pregnant and now he must do his job and be there for Cozy Glow and his foal.
"Queen Chrysalis!" An oncoming Changeling had made it's way over. "I just got word from King Sombra, he has apprehended Princess Twilight Sparkle!"
"Ah, excellent!" Chrysalis said. "The ruler of Equestria is now at our mercy!"
"Oh goody, my day is really starting to brighten up!" Cozy Glow excitedly stated. "First I reunite with my coltfriend and now I can get my revenge on Twilight!"
Rumble wasn't too sure about that though, while he pitied the villains, and he wasn't exactly too fond of Twilight lately, he knew it'd be bad if the villains were to actually succeed with their plan.
"That's not all, apparently he captured her pupil of sorts, some Unicorn with a white coat," the Changelings said.
Now Rumble really was worried, "The Unicorn you mentioned, you didn't happen to catch her name did you?"
"Uh, not really, he just said she was fighting alongside Twilight," The Changeling explained.
"We'll figure it out later, for now let us head inside and await King Sombra's arrival," Chrysalis said. "And maybe check on our other prisoner."
"Another one?" Rumble asked. "Who else did you capture?"
Inside the headquarters within the cell of Tender Taps, the young stallion was passionately kissing a mare who highly resembled Twilight, the two looking quite intimate together.
'Twilight' pulled back, smiling seductively at Tender Taps, "You're quite the pleasure to be with, little Tappy. You really know how to please a mare."
"Uh, thanks Twilight," Tender Taps said. Of course he didn't even know if this truly was Twilight, she seemed different and for some reason, smelled like wood. "Uh, how did you get here?"
"Oh I'm going to fix a lot of my mistakes, starting with these so-called villains," the fake Twilight said. "They may not be perfect, but their ideas are useful for creating the perfect world."
"The perfect world?" Tender Taps asked. "How could they help? They've done nothing but try to destroy it."
"Oh my dear naïve Tappy, you have to look closer at these things," Fake Twilight said. "What you see as a threat, I see as a means for progression, the perfect world is within our grasp, and soon I will have the perfect Equestria, with you by my side as my Prince, doesn't that sound wonderful?"
"Uh, I think so..." Tender Taps was obviously at a loss here, not really sure what to make of this newfound attitude from Twilight, she was acting very uncharacteristic like. "Twilight, did something happen to you on the way here? Like something strange?"
"Lots of things happened Tappy, all for good reason," Fake Twilight said, making her way out of the cell. "It's been fun, I hope to have this bond with you again soon, until later little Tappy."
"W-wait, are you gonna leave me in here again!?" Tender Taps asked as Fake Twilight closed the cell.
"Only until my work is done, stay safe here and I'll be back for you soon," Fake Twilight said, trotting off, leaving a very confused Tender Taps behind.
"That can't really be Twilight, can it?" Tender Taps wondered. "I mean, she felt so real but...ugh, I really hope it wasn't a Changeling, or Chrysalis."
Later on, King Sombra arrived with both Twilight and Sweetie Belle, dropping them onto the ground rather roughly. "Nap time's over Princess Twilight, wake up!"
Twilight stirred a bit, feeling dizzy, "What in the..." She noticed Sombra nearby, "YOU!" She went to attack again but felt herself grabbed, not by Sombra, but by another magical force. She turned around to encounter a new foe.
"Greetings Princess Twilight Sparkle," Grogar said, bringing Twilight close. "I've been looking forward to this encounter for a while now."
"You must be Grogar," Twilight said. "Are you the real Grogar though?"
"I can show you my true power if you'd like, for not even that fool Discord could even hope to come close to matching," Grogar said.
"What are you even planning?" Twilight asked. "Why have you brought destruction across Equestria!?"
"It's quite simple," Grogar said. "To reshape the world to fulfil it's true potential!"
"Alright, I'll humor you," Twilight said. "Just what are you going on about?"
"All this talk of peace, harmony and Friendship, its nothing but one big illusion," Grogar said. "Your predecessors didn't strive for Friendship because it was the 'right thing to do' as they would say, rather they strived for the illusion that ponies can feel safer from it. But I know better, I know that this so-called Friendship is just a way for ponies like you to control others. That is what I seek to liberate Equestria from."
"That sounds like a bunch of horseapples," Twilight said. "Villains like you always seem to justify their actions with some false nobility, you're just some power hungry brute who wants to rule over all of ponykind! So don't act like you're some righteous liberator!"
"You've got quite the mouth on you," Grogar said, then blasted Twilight back, the mare sliding across the ground as the villain stepped forward. "But I know all too well that not all the ponies of Equestria have felt harmony under the rule of you and your predecessors, in fact here's one now."
Grogar gestured to an oncoming Cozy Glow, the filly glaring right at the Ruler of Equestria, "Princess Twilight..."
"Cozy Glow?" Twilight said, lifting herself up. "So you're back as well?"
"We all are," came the voice of Chrysalis, who had trotted over, standing by Cozy Glow's side. "You really thought you've seen the last of us, but unfortunately for you, we're back for revenge!"
Moments later Adagio appeared with her two Dazzling sidekicks, "You and your fellow Elements, Starswirl and his irritating Pillars, even those six brats from your school, one by one we will destroy all of you for what you've done to us!"
The sounds of large stomping shook the area, everypony turning to see Tirek making his way over, "And we'll start with you, and these little fillies." Tirek had dropped Apple Bloom and Scootaloo right near a now recovering Sweetie Belle.
"Apple Bloom? Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle said, upon seeing her friends.
"Aw how nice, you get to reunite with your friends before your destruction," Sombra said, making his way over with Chrysalis by his side.
"Such love you feel from your friends, so tasty," Chrysalis said, licking her lips in delicacy.
"Aren't we a nice bunch? We're giving you one final reunion," Tirek boasted.
Sweetie Belle started to feel frightened, being surrounded by so many dangerous villains, it's her worst nightmares come true. Sombra's aura, Chrysalis's gaze and Tirek's overwhelming presence, she had no idea how she could even escape. Of course even if she could, she still had Grogar and The Dazzlings to worry about, and possibly Cozy Glow.
One voice calmed her worries, "Sweetie Belle!?" The filly turned to see her former coltfriend Rumble, making his way over. She had to wonder, those dreams she used to have of Rumble saving her, if they were possibly coming true, if he truly was going to be her knight.
"Rumble!" Sweetie Belle called out to him. "You're here!"
Rumble trotted over to the villains, "Hey, ease up, you're scaring her."
"That's the point," Tirek said. "We're villains, we intimidate ponies."
"Wait, who is this foal anyway?" Sombra asked. "Where did he come from?"
"I brought him here, it was Cozy Glow's request," Chrysalis explained.
"Wait, you came here with Chrysalis!?" Sweetie Belle asked. "But did she capture you or..."
"She didn't, she just convinced me to come with her," Rumble said. "She told me about Cozy Glow, I didn't trust her at first but she kept her word."
"Forgive me for asking, perhaps it's something I missed or am just not remembering, but why would that filly want to see you?" Sombra asked.
"She...was my marefriend," Rumble shyly admitted.
Tirek rubbed his chin as he analyzed Rumble, "Yes, I think I know this one, he was the boy Cozy Glow had feelings for."
"She still does," Chrysalis explained. "And she'll tell you why quite soon, so I would suggest that no harm come to this boy for now."
"So long as he gives me no reason to, I shall comply, for now," Sombra said.
"Hey I'll cooperate, just please don't hurt Sweetie Belle, or those other two girls with her," Rumble pleaded.
"Don't start giving us orders little colt!" Sombra warned. "I do as I please, and I answer only to myself!"
"Sombra, I suggest you watch that tone of yours," Grogar warned. "Unless you wish to die again."
Sombra looked furious, all powerful or not, he would not allow Grogar to speak to him in such a manner, as far as Sombra was concerned, he was the strongest being in Equestria. Luckily Chrysalis was able to calm his nerves, "Sombra, whatever you're feeling, suppress it, you have goals to work on, do you not?"
Sombra still felt some ire towards Grogar but slowly started to ease up, knowing full well now was not the time to act on his own, "Yes, you are right Chrysalis."
Chrysalis turned her attention to Rumble, "We'll spare these girls for now, but don't count on their survival once Grogar unleashes his plan. It took a lot from Cozy Glow to get your life spared, and even that is a very flimsy deal that can be broken at any time."
Rumble nodded in comprehension, "Uh, sure thing, Queen Chrysalis."
"Good boy," Chrysalis said, then turned to Sweetie Belle. "Perhaps you should have held onto him."
"Perhaps you shouldn't have sent Cozy Glow to ruin everything for me!" Sweetie Belle stated.
"That was her own doing, not ours," Chrysalis said. "Not that it matters anymore, the deed is done, just hope you'll survive our revamping of Equestria."
Chrysalis walked back toward Grogar and Twilight, with Sombra and Tirek following as Rumble went to check on Sweetie Belle. "Hey, are you hurt?"
"I'm fine...Rumble what's going on?" Sweetie Belle asked. "You're not on their side are you?"
"No, not exactly," Rumble said. "I mean I spent the whole day trying not to get killed by Changelings or the Storm King's henchmen."
"Not exactly? What is it only Cozy Glow you're siding with?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Look, it's complicated, I'm trying to figure things out," Rumble said. "I know they're villains but maybe we don't need to fight, maybe we can find a way to resolve this peacefully."
"I'm all for that usually, but I don't think that's going to work," Sweetie Belle said. "I know you like Cozy Glow and that you were in love with her, maybe you still are, but you're eventually going to have to accept that there might be no way to save them, Friendship can't work on everyone I'm afraid."
"Cozy Glow isn't bad Sweetie Belle, I mean she has some kindness deep down, she just wasn't given a fair chance, Discord's the reason she rejoined the villains after all," Rumble insisted.
"Rumble," Sweetie Belle gently stroked his mane. "You're a kindhearted boy, but even Fluttershy knows when Kindness just isn't enough. Don't let your feelings derail your common sense. You might need to move on from Cozy Glow, a lot of fillies like you so you have the opportunity."
"I can't just move on from her Sweetie Belle, I could barely move on from you," Rumble admitted, much to Sweetie Belle's surprise.
"Huh? But why would that be hard? You're the one who wanted to break up with me," Sweetie Belle said.
"I did that because I did something unfair to you and thought you didn't deserve to have a lousy coltfriend, but honestly I really regret having done that," Rumble said. "I should have worked this out better, and I wanted to get back with you, but I saw you with Tender Taps and you looked so happy, I figured that maybe it was better we weren't together."
"You...wanted to come back to me?" Sweetie Belle asked in surprise. "Rumble, I'm so sorry, I didn't know...But what about Cozy Glow? Weren't you in love with her?"
"I...I don't know, maybe I thought I did but, ugh it's so confusing for me right now," Rumble held his head to calm his oncoming headache. "I really messed up Sweetie Belle, I know it's too late for us but I just want you to know I'm really sorry for what I've done and for ruining things for us. You were the best filly I could have asked for, no matter how many other fillies I dated, none of them were you. None could make me feel the same happiness you did, honestly I don't think even Cozy Glow was as great as you were." Rumble's face clenched, some tears coming from his eyes. "Ugh, if I could take you back I would in an instant, but I know that can't happen. I'm sorry for spilling this all on you, I mean you're probably very happy in your life, so don't worry about me, I'll get by."
Sweetie Belle was blown away by what she had just heard, so Rumble really was still in love with her, in a way she somewhat regrets dating Tender Taps now, she knew she shouldn't have moved on and just waited but her own curiosity got the better of her. Tender Taps was nice but he was no Rumble.
"Rumble...if you want to take me back, you can," Sweetie Belle bashfully said, surprising Rumble. "Tender Taps and I...well he's nice but we really weren't doing to well. He still had feelings for Twilight and now she's starting to return them." She looked Rumble in his eyes, "Look, I totally forgive you for everything, for kissing Cozy Glow, for breaking up with me, and honestly I don't think you're a lousy pony for doing all that, you just made a mistake and you wanted to make things right. You wanted what was best for me, you wanted my happiness, you were willing to give me up because you thought I could be happy with somepony else, but I wasn't as happy with Tender Taps as I was with you. If we survive this adventure, do you think we can get back together?"
Rumble felt like he was in a dream, all this time he realized he never stopped loving Sweetie Belle, and now he finds out she never stopped loving him. They were meant to be together, and Rumble desperately wanted to take her back. "Nothing would make me happier than to get back together with you Sweetie Belle." The filly looked happy, her smile consuming her face, but as she went in for a reunion kiss, Rumble stopped her, "But we can't, because I made a terrible mistake."
"But...Rumble I told you I forgive you for cheating and breaking up," Sweetie Belle said. "We can work things out after this is all over."
"I know you forgive me, and if you told me this yesterday then I would have accepted it without a second thought," Rumble said. "But, the thing is...well, Cozy Glow told me that..."
Rumble wanted to tell her about the baby he and Cozy Glow were having, but before he could get the words out, The Storm King made his presence known. "Hey, I'm back!"
"Good, you're here," Chrysalis said, having just finished cocooning Twilight, right after Tirek had absorbed her magic. "The Princess of Equestria is captured and now the next phase of our plan can begin."
"Oh wow, that's great!" Storm King said. "Man, I thought taking out that zebra was a highlight but this, wow our Conquest is expanding! I can't wait to take over a bunch of cities and rename them after me!"
"Wait, zebra!?" Rumble asked, trotting over to The Storm King. "What did you do to Zecora!?"
"Huh? Oh I remember you, yeah you were with that zebra," Storm King said, then aimed his spear at Rumble. "Now I can take you out as well!"
Before Storm King could strike, Cozy Glow flew right in front of him, "Don't you hurt my Rumbly!"
"Uh, since when do you give me orders?" Storm King asked. "I'm a King."
"And I'm a Queen," Chrysalis said. "And I must insist that you do not harm this boy, he is vital to our plans."
"Huh? Really?" Storm King asked. "Wait, who is he exactly?"
"My coltfriend," Cozy Glow said.
Storm King looked confused, "Huh? Is that all?" He took another look at Rumble, "Hm...doesn't look that masculine."
"Huh!? Yes I do!" Rumble angrily insisted. "Check out my mane! Also my face actually looks like a stallion's face!"
"Yeah barely," Storm King said, further infuriating Rumble.
"That's not important, just keep him alive, I'm going to be a Princess and I want him as my Prince," Cozy Glow said. "Though speaking of Princess." Cozy Glow turned to Tirek, "I believe you're holding power that I want."
Tirek pointed to himself, trying to confirm if it was he who Cozy Glow was referring to, "Wait, are you asking me for power?"
"Yes, the power you just took from Twilight," Cozy Glow said. "Transfer it to me so I can turn back into an Alicorn."
"Would that even work?" Tirek asked.
"Just try it!" Cozy Glow shouted.
"Oh for heaven's sake," Grogar said, lifting up his bell and firing it at Cozy Glow. Within moments, the filly's horn had grown back, just like she had years prior. "There, you're officially an Alicorn Princess."
"Yes! All hail the new Princess of Friendship!" Cozy Glow shouted. "I'll be so much better than Twilight!"
"Speaking of which, what should we do with her?" Tirek asked.
"Destroy her!" came the voice of the Fake Twilight, something that confused the real Twilight. "There can't be two Twilight Sparkles after all."
"Huh? Why is there another of me?" Twilight wondered.
"Oh that's a fake I created," Chrysalis said. "It's part of our plan."
"Yeah, we're going to make it seem like we made a deal with you," Tirek said. "That way the ponies still loyal to you will offer less resistance."
"Of course anypony that still resists will be done away with," Sombra said.
"Like anypony will believe that fake is me!" Twilight said.
"It fooled that tap dancing pony you like so much," Fake Twilight taunted.
The real Twilight looked furious, "Mind repeating that!?"
"That little tap dancing pony that you seem to like a lot, yeah he was totally fooled by my appearance," Fake Twilight said. "Gotta say, that colt, real good kisser."
"You tramp! When I get out of here I'm gonna," Twilight tried thinking of something Rainbow Dash would say. "I'm gonna thrash you!"
"Oh, I'm trembling at the thought," Fake Twilight taunted. "Alright, so about destroying her, should we do it now or later?"
"We could end it now," Sombra suggested. "That way she won't be trouble for us later."
"I'm down with that," Adagio said.
"The sooner the better, Chrysalis added.
Rumble started to become nervous, while he still wasn't the most loyal of Twilight's subjects, he couldn't allow her to get hurt, or worse. He quickly rushed to her side, "Wait hold on!"
"And now he's getting in our way," Storm King said. "Tell me again why we're keeping him alive."
"Because anyone who hurts him will have to answer to me!" Cozy Glow warned, then turned her attention to Rumble. "But seriously, why are you protecting her? You're suppose to me on my side."
"It's not that I'm protecting her it's just that...why end it now?" Rumble asked. "I mean you worked so hard to find her, and you have her at your mercy, why not let her live long enough to see everything she tried so hard to protect crumble before her?"
"Huh, that's actually a good idea," Tirek said.
"Yeah, so sinister," Storm King agreed.
"Aw, looks like I'm starting to rub off on you," Cozy Glow said. "We're gonna make a great pair of rulers together."
"Rumble, what are you doing!?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Why are you siding with them!?"
"I just think that she should be alive long enough to see her friends, you know, her friends that always come to her side when there's trouble?" Rumble asked, hoping Sweetie Belle would understand where he's going with this. "And see how they fair against this all powerful group of villains!"
Sweetie Belle was a bit confused, but slowly she began to realize that Rumble might just be helping in stalling for Twilight, knowing her friends could come to save her. "Well, I think it's terrible that you would do that, even if what you're doing is smart and clever."
Rumble could detect a hint of a smirk on Sweetie Belle's face, indicating to him that she understands his idea. "Well I am pretty awesome when it comes to ideas."
"Not as awesome as me," Storm King said. "Now about this girl..."
"Uh, lock them up to give them even more motivation for their sisters," Rumble said. "Twilight's safety is worrisome enough for them, but if they think that their sisters could be in danger it would make them so reckless, they might slip up and BAM, you got more ponies at your mercy."
"Hm, this alliance might be a good thing," Chrysalis said. "He knows our enemy's secrets."
"Yeah...but now I want to know," Storm King said, getting closer to Rumble. "What made you want to betray the ponies? Aren't they your friends?"
"Uh...about that," Rumble tried thinking of a reason, one that hopefully the villains would believe.
"It probably has to do with Cozy Glow getting turned to stone," Adagio said. "They were dating for a while."
"Yeah, something like that," Rumble said. "I felt bad for her, and Chrysalis, and Tirek, and even The Dazzlings, I mean Discord tricked them and got them turned into stone, and the Princesses were fine with that."
"I do recall you expressing sympathy for us," Chrysalis said. "So it was enough to make you want to turn against Equestria?"
"Yeah, why would I want to side with a crown that can do something that cruel?" Rumble asked. "Sounds a bit controlling if you ask me."
"Rumble is this about me not wanting to hear you out on freeing Cozy Glow!?" Twilight asked. "Does all this finally answer your question as to why I didn't want to free her!?"
"Well knowing that Discord tricked her, Chrysalis, Tirek and The Dazzlings and being ok with that really isn't much better Twilight!" Rumble said. "Thinking about it, he also tricked King Sombra too, bringing him back just to destroy him again."
"Hey, he's right!" Sombra shouted. "That accursed Discord, once I find him I shall tear his atoms apart!"
"Not by yourself you're not," Tirek said.
"I say turn Discord into stone!" Rumble said. "Again at least."
"Yeah! Let's turn him into stone! Let's turn all of Twilight's friends into stone!" Cozy Glow suggested. "Let them see what it's like!"
"It's decided," Grogar said. "They shall make for excellent statues to honor our amazing victory. Now take the Princess away."
"Let's go 'Your Highness'," Adagio said, grabbing Twilight her tail and dragging her off.
"Rumble, you're making a mistake siding with them!" Twilight shouted. "They'll just betray you!"
"We would never betray Rumble! He appreciates us!" Cozy Glow shouted.
"Rumble! It's not too late! Don't side with them!" Twilight called out one last time before being fully dragged away.
"Wow, such a desperate mare," Cozy Glow taunted. "Not that it matters, all we have to do now is wait for Twilight's petty friends, and then we'll get this show on the road!"
"You're not gonna fight are you?" Rumble asked. "I mean, I don't think you're in the right physical condition."
"Huh?" Cozy Glow wondered, then remembered her pregnancy. "Oh right, Golly I really didn't think of that. Shoot..."
"I say just stay to the sidelines, let the others do the dirty work," Rumble said. "A princess shouldn't have to do too much work."
"Yeah, good point," Cozy Glow said, flying inside. "I'll see you all later!"
"Hey um..."Storm King tried getting their attention. "What do we do with these brats?" The 'brats' he was referring to of course being the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Lock them up as well," Grogar said. "We'll decide their fate later, for now, Chrysalis, Storm King, send the mesage to the Elements, make sure the know we captured their Princess and a few of their friends."
"You got it," Storm King said.
"On it," Chrysalis said.
The two went to find their troops as Sombra made his way to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, "Come with me."
He used his magic to grab the three of them, Sweetie Belle actively trying to resist, "Hey! Put us down you jerk!"
"Silence yourself!" Sombra warned, walking off with the three girls.
"Don't worry King, I shall assist you," Rumble said, trotting over to Sombra.
"That won't be necessary," Sombra said. "I've got them under control."
"Yeah, bad enough I have to deal with Sombra, I don't even want to see you at the moment," Sweetie Belle said, doing a quick wink.
"Well, fine, but I will be checking on you later!" Rumble shouted, then returned back to the other villains. "So, what now?"
"We wait," Grogar said. "The rest of The Elements will be here shortly, and that's when we'll strike."
"Right, cool, but um what if their friends show up too?" Rumble asked. "Like, The Wonderbolts, or maybe Starlight Glimmer, or even The Pillars."
"I've defeated Starlight before, I can do it again," Chrysalis said.
"And I took down the Pillars, they were nothing against me," Tirek boasted, flexing his arm. "Starswirl has lost his edge in the last thousand years, unlike me. My only regret is not destroying him last time we met."
"Are you still bitter about him befriending your brother?" Grogar asked.
"Of course, he turned my family against me," Tirek said. "I could only imagine how my father felt after that, and my mother, poor woman."
"Funny, I was under the impression that you despised your father," Grogar said, getting a scowl from Tirek.
"Oh believe me, if I could I would show that fool the power I am truly capable of, then maybe after I'm done wreaking havoc on Equestria, I'll take to the Nether Lands and assert my rightful place on the throne there," Tirek said.
"Uh, if I may ask, Lord Tirek," Rumble said, getting the Centaur's attention. "I have a brother myself, and I know that even when brothers fight or disagree, it's important that they put their differences aside and remember that they're family, and they should look out for each other. So if you do return to where you came from, wouldn't it be better to make peace with your brother and not plot to destroy him or your family's Kingdom?"
"Wow, you're one naïve kid," Tirek said, getting a look of annoyance from Rumble. "Just because someone is family doesn't mean things always work out for the best between them. Maybe you'll understand better when you get older."
"But Tirek, is it really worth holding on to that resentment?" Rumble asked. "Wouldn't you be happier if you could reconnect with them on an emotional level?"
"Wow, you really are a softie," Tirek said. "If you're gonna be on our side, we're going to have to toughen you up a bit."
"Are you truly on our side?" Grogar asked, getting in close to Rumble. "Or is all this just a ruse?"
"I just want to help you all out the best way I can," Rumble said. "Like I said, I don't agree with what Twilight and the others did to Tirek here, same with Chrysalis, the Dazzlings and especially not Cozy Glow."
"You're awfully considerate for a young pony," Grogar said, leaning in close and towering over a now nervous Rumble. "That does not mean you have my trust, make one wrong move and I'll annihilate you on the spot!"
"Y-yes sir!" Rumble said, trembling at the sight of this monster.
"Good," Grogar turned to leave. "I have some business to attend to, Tirek you keep an eye on the boy."
"Wait, why am I foalsitting?" Tirek asked.
"Hey I'm not a foal!" Rumble said.
"You look like one to me," Tirek said. "Anyway tell me id, what's the deal with you and Cozy Glow? Is she still your mate?"
"Uh, sort of," Rumble said, bashfully rubbing his head. "I mean, I do like her a lot but...Well it's complicated."
"Why do you even like her anyway?" Tirek asked. "She's a bit nuts, sometimes she creeps even me out."
"She is a bit crazy but that's part of her charm, it's cute," Rumble said. "Plus she's not so bad, she's a really nice girl, though I guess you wouldn't care about nice."
"Yeah I wouldn't," Tirek said, taking a seat. "With work we'll fix that about you too."
Rumble shrugged that off, then moved on to another topic in his mind, "Hey, how exactly did you all get free?"
"Oh, that was Grogar's doing," Tirek said.
One month prior, the Statue of the six villains was still present in Canterlot Garden. However some dark magic started to slowly creep toward the statue, breaking it apart bit by bit. Within moments, the statue started to break apart and the villains were free.
Chrysalis was the first to react, having lunged forward, looking to attack somepony who wasn't there. The others were shaking off the petrification, not sure what had even just happened.
"Hey, what's going on?" Adagio asked, looking around.
Sonata looked at her hoof, trying to process the situation, "We're...free?"
"Seems that way," Chrysalis said, cracking some of her limbs.
"But how? Was it a temporary spell?" Sonata asked.
"Doubtful, the Princesses wouldn't be that careless," Chrysalis said.
"This was my doing," a somewhat familiar voice said. The villains turned to see a shadowy figure, one that looked familiar.
"Grogar?" Tirek asked, looking quite confused by this development. "Or are you just Discord pulling some other inept prank?"
"Do not compare me to that fool, to know that my face was used for that buffoon's tricks, it just infuriates me," Grogar said, stepping out of the shadows. This one did look a bit more intimidating.
"Wait, how can we be sure you're really Grogar?" Adagio asked.
Grogar answered by zapping at Adagio's hooves with lightning, frightening her for a second, "I will not go through trials to prove myself to you. Keep in mind that I am the one who has freed you, and I can easily turn you back to stone or worse. You six are at my mercy, so take my word for it or perish, your choice."
"Uh...huddle," Tirek said, the others quickly gathering around him. "Somehow I think this one's the real deal, he gives off a much more menacing vibe than the last one."
"Don't be so easily swayed, I still believe it is Discord," Chrysalis said.
"But why would he free us then?" Sonata asked.
"For the same reason he freed us last time, just to screw with us," Aria said. "I'm with Chrysalis, that might just be some trap for us."
"Seems kind of cruel if it was," Cozy Glow said. "That would make Twilight meaner than I thought, if she's behind this."
"Discord does not do things for logic, just for his own amusement," Chrysalis said. "I won't be a pawn in his little game."
"Let's just go along with it for now and see where it goes," Adagio said. "Might not have a choice anyway, we're powerless right now."
"Yeah, we can't even sing properly," Sonata said.
"And I'm helpless without the magic I got from Grogar's bell," Cozy Glow said. "So we'll join him for now and when he leasts expects it-"
"If you even think of betraying me, I will unleash a hell that only exists in your nightmares!" Grogar warned, having overheard most of the conversation. "I suggest you take the yellow Siren's advice, if you refuse I'll just absorb what little magic you all have left and completely wipe you out!"
"Of course, Grogar," Chryslais said, still mistrusting of him. "What do you desire?"
"Complete control of Equestria, I have plans involving all of you, but here is not a good place to discuss them, let us hurry," Grogar said, encouraging all the villains to follow after him.
Back with Tirek, he had just finished explaining all this to Rumble, "And that's how it got started. he then revived Sombra and the Storm King and within weeks, we started our attack in Canterlot."
Another flashback reveals the day of the Invasion. Tirek was the first to storm into Canterlot, absorbing magic from nearby ponies and using it to send a blast right at Canterlot Castle, destroying a tower.
Twilight quickly peeked her head out to see Tirek, a horde of Changelings right behind him, led by Chrysalis who had zapped many of the homes, the Changelings going after the ponies who tried escaping. The Sirens used their songs to mind control the ponies long enough to drain their negative energy and power themselves up enough to wreak havoc of their own.
"Oh no, this is terrible!" Twilight said.
"It is, isn't it?" She heard. She turned around and saw the Storm King, having been teleported there by King Sombra. "Gotcha!"
He immediately blasted her out of the castle, causing her to fall but fortunately she was quick to extend her wings stop her decent. "What's going on!?"
"We're taking over, that's what," Chrysalis said from the skies above. "Equestria is ours for the taking, your days as ruler are up!"
"But, how could you be here! You were turned to stone! The Storm King was dead!" Twilight shouted in disbelief.
"You couldn't keep us away forever Twilight Sparkle," Adagio said, making her way over with the Sirens. "We'll always find a way to come back, we'll always look for ways to defeat you."
Tirek towered over Twilight, looking down upon the pony Princess, "And we have."
The villains blasted down at Twilight, the mare teleporting away at the last second, getting a nice distance away. But from where she was, a good portion of Canterlot had been destroyed, and it was getting worse by the second. Not only were there evil Changelings, but the Storm King Soldiers have also invaded, the city of Canterlot once again in ruins.
She had to find help and fast, she couldn't do this alone. All she could do was go find help as the villains reigned supreme over Canterlot.
Back with Tirek the centaur once again finished up his tale, "And that's how we all got started with this invasion."
"So, I take it you're almost done?" Rumble asked.
"Basically, we just gotta defeat the Elements of Harmony, and maybe even the Pillars," Tirek said. "Scratch that, we're definitely going after them, at least I am. We might also need to subdue the six students that like hanging out together."
"What's gonna happen once you win?" Rumble asked. "What will everyone do?"
"Well, Chrysalis might rebuild her Changeling Empire, with a few ponies as prisoners so she can feed off their love," Tirek explained. "Sombra's probably going to reclaim the Crystal Empire at least, before going for the other Kingdom's like Canterlot. Though I think Storm King wants Canterlot as well, truth be told I'd like to rule over it myself. Hm, this might be a bit of a quadry."
"You really should talk this out with your friends," Rumble said.
"Friends? They are not my friends, they're my allies," Tirek said.
"Come on, you spend a lot of time with them, you work together, you have the same goals, don't you consider them friends?" Rumble asked.
"No," Tirek answered. "I don't need friends, if I can't even trust my own brother why should I bother trusting anyone else?"
"Uh...actually that's a good point," Tirek said.
"Of course it is," Tirek replied, standing up. "I'm going on lookout, you do whatever you want, as long as it's not anything treacherous."
"Dude, I'm one Pegasus surrounded by powerful villains, I'm not stupid enough to try anything 'treacherous'," Rumble said.
"Fair point, somehow I don't think you'd do anything to betray Cozy Glow anyway," Tirek said. starting to walk off. "Gotta say, that filly's been pretty lazy lately, she better start pulling her own weight or..."
As Tirek continued mumbling to himself, Rumble made his way into the fortress, hoping to find Sweetie Belle and the others. While inside, he ran into Adagio, the mare making her way outside.
"Oh it's you," Adagio said.
"Uh, hi Adagio," Rumble nervously greeted. He's had a slight fear of her ever since she broke his wings, so he's not too comfortable around her. "I'm just here to...explore and see what the place is like. If I'm going to be with Cozy Glow then I guess I should get used to things around here."
"Smart move, glad you're not trying to be a hero, like the first time I met you," Adagio said.
"Oh no way, I know when I'm outmatched," Rumble said.
"Good, now if you don't mind, not that I care if you do or not, I have some scouting to do," Adagio said.
"Uh, where are the other Sirens?" Rumble asked.
"Aria's already out keeping an eye on the area, Sonata's inside keeping tabs on our prisoners," Adagio said.
"Uh, alright," Rumble said. "Well, good luck with your invasion or whatever."
"Hey, if you really prove yourself worthy, maybe we can make your 'Knight' attitude a reality," Adagio said. "You can be out top fighter what do you say?"
"Uh, I'll think about it," Rumble said. "While I want to be with Cozy Glow, I don't really want to actively fight against Equestria."
"Suit yourself, but if you change your mind, which hopefully you will, come to me and we'll consider our options," Adagio said, about to leave.
"Hey wait, one more thing?" Rumble said, getting her attention. "You care about your friends, don't you?"
"Yeah, why?" Adagio asked.
"Don't you worry about how they feel about all this?" Rumble asked. "Sonata seems pretty gentle, I can't imagine she likes fighting."
"You're right, she doesn't like it," Adagio said. "But, she knows she has to, because it's either be strong or be weak, and Sonata refuses to be weak. She was betrayed by Equestria, she tried being their friend and they betrayed her."
"I just...I don't want her to turn into stone again, I've seen your statues a lot and the look of disappointment on her face really tugged at my heart, almost as much as Cozy's look of fear," Rumble said. "I just don't think it's worth it."
"Rumble, we'll be fine," Adagio said. "I get that you probably like her and maybe you thought we could have all been friends, but Equestria isn't as harmonious as the old Princesses wanted everypony to think. We know the truth, that's why we're branded as 'villains', but in a way, we're the heroes who will liberate the world from this fallacy."
Rumble sighed in disappointment, there was just no reasoning with these villains, and he was running low on time. He just hoped he could figure something out before it was too late. "Just be careful, and take good care of each other."
Adagio smirked at that statement, "Funny, many years ago I broke your wings, now here you are worried about me. How soft can one pony be?" Adagio turned to the exit, "Well, some things can't be helped. I can't say that I'm sorry for breaking your wings, but I did admire your determination. Maybe one day we can reach the point of apology, if you continue to earn my respect."
"Maybe we can try being friends?" Rumble asked.
"I'll think about it," Adagio said, finally making her way outside.
Rumble seemed very relieved, maybe he can reach the villains, some of them at least. He will need help, he just needs to make sure that Twilight and The Crusaders know as well, and hopefully get through to Cozy Glow.
But time was running out, for the final showdown was set to begin. Starting with the arrival of the young Alicorn Princess, Flurry Heart. Just above the marshlands near the headquarters, she scanned the area, keeping note of where the enemies were.
"Just you wait you baddies, I'm coming after you, and so are all my friends," Flurry Heart flew in, ready to commence a battle of her own.
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
Down in the cell area, one seperate from where Tender Taps was; The Cutie Mark Crusaders have fully come too and were working together to free Twilight from Chrysalis's cocoon.
"Almost got you free Twilight," Sweetie Belle said, pulling hard.
"Man this thing's strong," Apple Bloom said, trying to separate it. "No wonder ponies can't break out so easily."
"We just gotta put more muscle into it!" Scootaloo encouraged, the three trying harder until the pieces came apart.
"Good work girls," Twilight said, stepping out of the coccon, a bunch of slime on her. "Those things are so sticky, really gross."
"Well now that yer safe, how are we gonna go about busting out of this place?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Normally I would teleport but, they took all my magic," Twilight said. "Honestly there isn't much I can do right now, so it's going to have to fall on you three."
"Well even if we could teleport, there's still the other villains outside the cell, if any of us escape, we'd be no match fer what's out there," Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah, my magic still isn't strong enough to contend with those villains," Sweetie Belle said. "I'd just be putting myself in danger and I don't think I'd be able to protect any of you."
"Well what are we suppose to do then? Just sit here and wait?" Scootaloo asked. "Those villains are about to take over Equestria!"
"Well Applejack and the others should be here soon," Apple Bloom reminded. "They went to get help after all."
"That's assuming they weren't ambushed," Scootaloo said. "I mean I haven't heard from Rainbow Dash in days, how far away is Griffonstone exactly?"
"Pretty far from Ponyville," Twilight said.
"Well, still, she can fly," Scootaloo said. "She's super fast."
"Even if she's super fast getting there, it's gonna take a while for the other Griffons to catch up with her, plus Gallus went with her and he's not as fast as she is," Sweetie Belle explained. "I know you're worried, I'm worried about Rarity, she along with Silverstream went to Mount Aris to get help, if they want to help, I heard last time they were pretty resistant."
"Last time they were mostly just worried about losing their Pearl to The Storm King, but they are more willing to help than before," Twilight explained. "I just know that Rarity will be successful and we'll have even more Friends helping us."
"Here's the big problem though," Apple Bloom said. "Will they even know where we are?"
"They'll come, the villains are using us as bait after all," Twilight said. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's when they spring that imposter of me out there, then after they get everyone on their side, the villains will just do away with us."
"So even if they get help, we're pretty much screwed, what do we do now?" Scootaloo said.
Suddenly they heard a familiar voice, "You'll do what you've always been meant to do." They turned to see Rumble on the other side of the cell.
"Rumble, good you're here," Sweetie Belle said.
Twilight didn't seem as happy, "Good? Did you forget that he betrayed us! He's siding with the villains, all because of Cozy Glow!"
"Twilight, keep your voice down," Rumble said, worried about having the other villains overhear. "I know it seemed like I took their side, but believe me when I say that I'm not fully on board with them."
"Oh really, how can I be so sure?" Twilight asked.
"Twilight he's not betraying us, I know Rumble pretty well, he wouldn't do something like this," Sweetie Belle said.
Twilight still didn't seem convinced, "Still...it just seems kind of fishy to me."
"Come on Twilight, you know me, I would never betray Equestria," Rumble said. "Yeah me and Cozy Glow are friends but that doesn't mean I want to betray everypony. That's why I spent all that time trying to get her on our side."
"I would have thought that you'd realize by now that it won't work," Twilight said. "She's a lost cause Rumble, it's not worth the effort."
Rumble furrowed his brow at the Princess, never had he expected her of all ponies to just give up on someone who needs Friendship the most, "What's happened to you Twlight? You were always about helping other and giving them a second chance. I've seen first hoof that Cozy Glow has it in her to be a better pony, maybe she needs more work but me trying to help her has always been a labor of love, same with Flitter. We both cared enough to want better for her and honestly, I think she can be loving and understanding."
"He ain't wrong," Apple Bloom said, getting Twilight's attention. "Cozy can be a nice pony, she has done something nice fer me and The Crusaders, and she didn't even have to at the time. She could have gotten away with making us look bad, but she chose to make things right. She has it in her to be kind to others, she just needs that side nourished more."
"And I can...no, we can nourish it together, she just needs to feel love and accepted, and we can help her realize her own mistakes," Rumble said. "But to do that, we need to work together."
"Yeah, let's work together to help Cozy Glow," Apple Bloom said.
"I'm in," Scootaloo said.
"Me too," Sweetie Belle said.
All that was left was Twilight, who wasn't really quick to respond. Rumble could tell there was still some uncertainty within her. Truthfully, this bothered Rumble, he believes that it should be Twilight trying to motivate everypony, instead he's the one trying to motivate her.
"Twilight, I know you have your doubts, and maybe it's for good reason, Cozy Glow hasn't been the most trusted pony, but believe when I say that she's not that bad," Rumble insisted. "She was happy with us, she was happy in Ponyville, if it wasn't for Discord's cruel plan, she wouldn't have been put in this situation. Maybe Cozy should have resisted temptation a little better, but it didn't help when ponies weren't too subtle about not trusting her. You have to give her a chance, she needs it, she deserves it. Do for her what you did for Starlight and all the others you gained faith in."
Twilight still had her doubts about all this, "Why do you trust her? Why do you feel she has good in her, when she's done a lot of the opposite?"
"Because I gave her a chance, so did Flitter," Rumble said, looking Twilight right in the eyes. "We eared her respect and she allowed us to help correct her when she needed it. Right now she needs a lot of correcting, and if anypony can teach the values of Friendship, it should be The Princess of Friendship herself."
Twilight could see the determination in Rumble's eyes, whatever his feelings were for Cozy Glow, they really were genuine. He did want to help her, he wanted to bring her away from the evils of Equestria. She could tell the Crusaders were just as serious about it too. "I would like to help her...but I don't know if I can. I failed once, what if I fail again?"
"Don't think of it as failing, think of it as a miscalculation, one that you have the opportunity to correct," Rumble said. "Every failure is a learning experience, or at least that's something you would probably say."
Twilight chuckled a bit, "Yeah, I probably would say that. I still have some doubts, but maybe you can put my doubts at ease. You may not be my student Rumble, but I'll still give you the opportunity at the Ultimate Friendship Lesson. Show us that Cozy Glow is capable of experiencing the Magic of Friendship."
"I will, you have my word," Rumble said. "Now, we need to figure out a way to get your magic back."
"Right, my magic," Twilight said. "It's too bad that we don't have access to our Rainbow Powers, I don't even know if that's possible without the Tree of Harmony."
"Too bad we can't get it back from Tirek," Sweetie Belle said.
"Or...maybe I can check Grogar's Bell," Rumble said. "If it could give Cozy Glow her Alicorn magic again, maybe it can give you some magic you can use."
"That's a good idea, but we'll need to find the bell," Twilight said.
"Leave that to me, the villains trust me after all," Rumble said. "I can just sneak around until I find it, and soon you'll have your magic back."
"Just be quick, before my friends get here," Twilight said. "With that fake Twilight around she might negatively alter our plans."
"I got it Twi," Rumble said, flying off to find the bell.
Just outside the Headquarters, Flurry Heart was sneaking around, scouting the area and keeping an eye out for things, such as enemies or secret passage ways she could exploit.
"Now, if I were a secret entrance, where would I be?" Flurry Heart asked out loud.
"Certainly not where anypony can find one," she heard. She turned around to see a familiar and friendly face.
"That's me," Sonnata said, making her way over to the filly. "Wow, you've gotten so big, I'm so happy to see what a beautiful young filly you've become."
Flurry seemed happy for a second, though that happiness slowly faded into uncertainty, "My parents told me not to trust you, they said you're a bad pony."
"Well...I can't fully disagree on that," Sonata admitted. "I haven't done too many great things, between manipulating ponies against one another, feeding off their negativity and this invasion, I can't say I'm the best creature to be around."
"Why did you do all that stuff?" Flurry asked. "Why do you do mean things?"
"For survival," Sonata answered. "I need to feed off of negative energy, it's how I get my nutrients. It's like how the Changelings need love, and while they found a simple solution, mine isn't as simple."
"What if you could survive without doing these bad things, would you?" Flurry asked.
"I would consider it, but only if my friends could join me," Sonata said. "I know Adagio and Aria can be just as bad, if not worse, but we're still a family, and I could never turn on family."
"But, if you joined us, you could have had a new family," Flurry said, looking up with sadness in her eyes. "I don't remember too much from when I was a toddler, but I do remember you being so nice to me, that's why I couldn't really believe my parents when they said you were evil. I felt so safe around you, and when I heard that you were free, I wanted to see you again, to see if you were as nice as I remembered." Flurry's mood started to dampen, "Then I heard the stories again, you hurting other ponies for their negative emotions. I thought it was more rumors, but I can see that there is some truth to that. You've done bad things, and the fact that you're here with these other villains just confirms that, I don't even know what to think."
"Well, I'm sorry you feel this way," Sonata admitted. "I'm sorry I can't join you just yet, I can't even promise that I ever will join you. If you don't trust me, that's fine, maybe I don't deserve it since I probably let you down after years of you thinking I was better than I was. But I can promise you this," Sonata stroked her face affectionately, "Every memory you have of me loving and caring about you, that was genuine. I don't know how it happened, maybe it's because you radiate love, maybe it was your adorable innocence, or maybe because you're just so cute."
Flurry was blushing a lot, she could tell this mare was being genuine, which tore her apart even more, not knowing if she should view Sonata as a enemy or not. "I wish you could be with us."
"So do I," Sonata said, then leaned down to kiss Flurry on the head. "Your love alone would be worth it, but unfortunately it still doesn't make my decision easier." Sonata turned to walk away, but before departing, she gestured down south, "There's a secret tunnel that will take you into the throne room, your Aunt Twilight and some Friends are in the Dungeon. Please be careful and take caution."
Flurry's smile widened, knowing that Sonata truly does care, "If we win, I promise you won't be a statue again. You and your friends can come home with me...even if it has to be in our dungeon."
"I'll take that, if it means seeing you more," Sonata said. Flurry happily made her way to the secret tunnel as Sonata walked away from the area. "Even if we lose, at least I can still see her grow up."
"Don't count on it," she heard. Sonata turned to see Grogar charging up his powers. "Traitor..."
Inside the base, Rumble was seen casually strolling around, trying too hard to blend in. The henchmen in the base knew that Rumble had special privileges to be there thanks to Cozy Glow, so he didn't need to try that hard, but his nerves were getting the better of him, constantly worried someone was gonna catch on.
His plan was to find Cozy Glow and see if she could somehow lead him to where Grogar's Bell was and the best way to gain access to it. He however couldn't really find her room, most of them looked the same to him. So he knocked on the door of one room.
"Who is it?" He heard, it sounded like Aria Blaze.
"It's Rumble, I was looking for Cozy Glow," Rumble said.
"Her room is on the other side of the hall," Aria said.
"Oh thanks...uh, you're Aria right?" Rumble asked.
"Yeah, and you are...?" Aria asked.
"I'm Rumble, Cozy Glow's friend," the boy replied.
"Oh right, the colt she's hopelessly in love with," Aria said.
"Uh, that's a bit harsh," Rumble said. "She just has strong feelings for me."
"Yeah, since we broke free of our imprisonment, you're all she could talk about, it really got on my nerves," Aria said. "I mean for all she knew, you could have moved on."
"I did try, but I couldn't," Rumble said. "But now she's back, so we can be together. Uh, assuming everything doesn't fall apart again."
"Whatever kid, I don't really care to hear your life story or your romance," Aria said. "Your filly friend is in the other room, now go away already."
Rumble wasn't too appreciative of Aria's moody attitude, but he wasn't going to press it. "Alright, I'm off." He trotted down the hall to find Cozy Glow, when he saw her exiting her room. "Hey Cozy Glow!"
"Huh?" Cozy turned to the colt. "Oh, hi Rumble, what are you up to?"
"I came to find you, see I needed some help," Rumble said.
"I'd be glad to help you, but maybe you can help me first," Cozy Glow said. "Come with me."
"Uh, ok," Rumble said as he followed after Cozy Glow, wherever she was going. At least with Cozy Glow he felt more at ease since she was one of the official members of this group of villains.
"Here we are," Cozy Glow said, stopping in front of a room. "This is Grogar's room."
"Grogar's room!?" Rumble asked. "Wait why are we here!?"
"To get something cool," Cozy Glow answered. "See Grogar's been collecting magical artifacts lately and I want to try one of them on."
"Wait, what if he's in there?" Rumble asked.
"He isn't, I saw him going outside before and he's usually not in there during the day anyway," Cozy Glow said.
Cozy Glow opened the door to Grogar's room, and to both her and Rumble's surprise, they spotted a little intruder.
"Flurry Heart!?" Rumble said, getting the filly's attention.
"What the!?" Flurry turned around to spot the two. "R-Rumble!? Is that you? And...Cozy Glow?" Cozy was at a loss for words, she hasn't seen Cozy Glow since before she turned to stone. Granted she doesn't remember too much about her, similar to how it was with Sonata. She remembers some good things, but also some bad things, and growing up hearing more bad than good hasn't been helpful much in her view of Cozy Glow, especially considering her role in this invasion.
"Golly, is that really Flurry Heart?" Cozy Glow said, making her way over. "Wow, she's gotten so big, she's almost my size!"
She wasn't wrong, while Cozy Glow was slightly taller than last time, her growth was still stunted from her time being turned to stone, so she was barely taller than Flurry.
"You two can chat again later, for now Flurry, you really need to explain how and why you're here," Rumble said.
That seemed to snap Flurry out of her state of shock, "Oh right um...I'm here to thwart the villains' plans!"
"Uh, did you come by yourself?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Oh yeah, see I...wait why am I telling you!?" Flurry asked. "You're one of the villains!" Flurry got into a fighting stance, keeping her magic charged. "And I won't let you defeat me. I see you're a Alicorn too, probably from Tirek's magic or something, well you won't win against me, because I have my own Alicorn magic that my mom and Auntie Twilight have been helping me with, which will make me stronger than you!"
"Oh gee, I'd love to see how strong you've gotten, but I'm afraid I shouldn't be fighting," Cozy Glow said. "Not yet at least."
"Oh, you refuse to fight me? Do you sense my awesome power?" Flurry Heart taunted.
"Aw, you're so cute," Cozy said, patting Flurry's head, much to the filly's annoyance. "I forgot how adorable you could be, I really missed seeing you Flurry."
"Don't call me cute!" Flurry said, whacking Cozy's hoof away. "I'm a strong Warrior Princess who fights for honor!"
"Of course you are, cutie," Cozy Glow said.
Flurry couldn't tell if Cozy was mocking her or being genuine, regardless this was getting on her nerves. "I'm trying to be a fierce adversary here, and you calling me cute is not helping!"
"Flurry," Rumble said, getting her attention. "Seriously, how did you get here?"
"I snuck over," Flurry explained. "I wanted to save the world from these mean villains, so that's why I'm here. But how and why are you here? And why are you with Cozy Glow?"
"She needed to see me, so Chrysalis helped me find her," Rumble said.
"Wait, Chrysalis? How? Why?" Flurry said. "I'm so confused as to what's going on. Wait...you're not siding with the villains are you?"
"Uh..." Rumble scratched his head, trying to think of an explanation. "It's hard to explain...but you see..."
"Of course he's on our side, he's my coltfriend after all," Cozy Glow boasted.
Rumble groaned at Cozy's 'explanation', knowing the filly might be making things worse. "Well, I am with Cozy Glow, that much is true..."
"So you're betraying us!?" Flurry angrily shouted. "How could you Rumble! This is not behavior befitting of my future husband!"
Cozy Glow giggled a bit, "Aw, she still has a crush on you. That's adorable."
"I command you to take me seriously!" Flurry Heart demanded, then turned to Rumble. "As for you...!"
"Uh, can I talk to her in private, it might help her understand better," Rumble said. Without waiting for an answer, he quickly brought Flurry over with him outside the room, hopefully out of ear shot from Cozy Glow.
"What do you want!? You cute but dastardly traitor!" Flurry asked.
"I'm not betraying anyone Flurry, I'm just pretending," Rumble said. "Look the villains seem to trust me, so I want to use that to my advantage to help Twilight save Equestria."
"Pretending?" Flurry asked, rubbing her chin. "How can I be so sure."
"Come on Flurry, you know me better than that, do you really think I would betray anypony?" Rumble asked.
"Hm...I guess not," Flurry said. "But this is still kind of suspicious, if you really are on our side, you're going to have to do something to prove it."
"I can take you to where Twilight is if you want, she along with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom are somewhere in this base," Rumble explained.
"Well, that's good to know, but I'm still gonna need another show of faith from you," Flurry said.
"Uh, like what?" Rumble asked, then saw Flurry puckering her lips. "Ugh, seriously?"
"Kiss me!" Flurry demanded. Rumble groaned in annoyance and leaned down to kiss Flurry, just the way she wanted. "There, better? Do you trust me?"
The little love struck princess seemed to nod, "Oh yeah, I totally believe you're not evil. Alright, you can still be my husband."
"That...might be a problem," Rumble said. "Even if we defeat the villains, I still want to rescue Cozy Glow, I mean I still don't think she's all bad, and I want to help her turn good."
"So, you also want to save someone from these villains?" Flurry Heart asked. "That's good, because I want to save Sonata from them."
"Sonata?" Rumble asked, thinking about the Siren. "Right, she was really fond of you back when you were a toddler."
"Did she really care that much about me?" Flurry asked.
"She seemed to, she always looked happy to be near you," Rumble said. "She's always given off a more gentle aura, way more than her friends. Maybe we can do something to help her too, I mean she was tricked by Discord just like Cozy Glow was."
"Mom says that Discord was just trying to help," Flurry said.
"Well he did a lousy job, if anything he made things worse all because he couldn't let Cozy Glow and Sonata have a second chance," Rumble said. "I mean really, sending villains to attack Twilight just to give her a boost? It was a lousy plan that obviously went wrong because who in their right mind would think that would work? So ridiculous!"
"So, what's the plan?" Flurry asked. "Where's Auntie Twilight?"
"She's in the Dungeon down the hall, but Tirek took her magic, that's why we needed Grogar's bell," Rumble said. "Speaking of which, we should go back inside before Cozy gets suspicious, if she hasn't already."
"Are you really in love with her?" Flurry asked. "Or are you pretending with that too?"
"It's complicated," Rumble said, making his way back inside the room to find something troubling. Cozy Glow was unconscious and on the floor, with Grogar standing over her. "Ah, more guests."
"Cozy Glow!" Rumble shouted in worry, then found himself grabbed by Grogar's magic.
"No! Rumbly!" Flurry shouted, then powered up her magic. "You big bully, let him go!"
Flurry flew in to attack Grogar, but was knocked against the wall by the evil goat. "More Alicorn magic, perhaps I'll take yours too."
"Hey! Don't hurt Flurry, she's only a foal!" Rumble shouted.
"Silence fool," Grogar warned. "Foal or not, I won't allow anyone to ruin my plans. See unlike Discord, I am not oblivious to deception, but rather than destroying those I deem suspicious, I simply wait for them to attempt their miserable plans and foil them on the spot, gives me the extra motivation to make them suffer and come up with a faily reasonable punishment for them."
"Wow, seems like you have a lot of time on your hands," Rumble taunted, still struggling to escape. "Still, attacking Flurry is one thing, but Cozy Glow is worse if you knew her current condition."
"Oh I'm fully aware of the fact that she's carrying life within her," Grogar said. "I even considered being merciful and not allowing her to do battle, she would have slowed us down anyway."
"Well that would be the right thing to do, villain or not, I would hope you have the morality not to do something so devious," Rumble said.
"It depends," Grogar said. "But perhaps I won't hurt the filly, rather I'll just hurt those she cares about, just as a warning to her. I had a nice warm up making an example out of that foolish Siren, so one-upping it with you will be no problem at all."
Before Grogar could do anything, Flurry blasted him with her magic, "Let him go you bully!"
While the attack didn't really hurt Grogar, it distracted him enough to allow Rumble to fly in and kick the villain in the face. He quickly grabbed Cozy Glow and turned to Flurry, "Fly!"
Rumble and Flurry flew out the room with Cozy Glow in tow, Grogar looking furious at the trio. "That was your last mistake!" Using his magic, he sent a message to the entire proximity, "Guards! Capture the rogue ponies! Look for Cozy Glow, Princess Flurry Heart and that traitorous colt Rumble! Capture them immediately!"
"Dang, now everyone's gonna come after us!" Rumble said, holding Cozy Glow tightly as he flew.
"Let's just leave quick! We'll come back later for Auntie Twilight!" Flurry said as the three made their way outside. However just before the three could escape into the forest, they were blocked by a wall of Changelings and Storm King Soldiers.
"Gonna be hard to fight them all," Rumble admitted.
"I can take them," Flurry said, charging her horn. "Small or not, I'm still an Alicorn Princess. I'll protect you both!"
"Are you sure that's wise little one?" Chrysalis said, making her way over with Tirek, Sombra, Storm King, Adagio and Aria. "Even if you get past them, you won't be getting past us."
"Ugh, it's you! The one who pretended to by my mommy and tried stealing away my daddy!" Flurry said, looking to Chrysalis in disgust.
"Yes, if my plan succeeded, I would have been your mommy instead," Chrysalis teased.
"Ew, no way! I wouldn't be as pretty as I am if you were my mommy!" Flurry said.
"Ooh, burn," Adagio joked.
"Zip it!" Chrysalis ordered, then focused back on Rumble. "I should have expected this from you Rumble, you never had any real interest in joining us, you just wanted Cozy Glow. All this talk of pity, was just talk wasn't it?"
"No, I swear I meant what I said," Rumble said. "I do think what Twilight did was terrible, I just can't turn my back on Equestria. But that doesn't mean we can't be friends!"
"Equestria is our enemy, you can't be both on their side, and ours," Aria said.
"Well, maybe we can all be on the same side!" Rumble said. "It's not too late for you lot to join us, just let Friendship into your hearts and-"
"Look kid, we've already been over this," Tirek interrupted. "Friendship, is not really our thing, I mean we can all barely stand each other, we're just working together until we can get Princess Twilight out of the way."
Rumble turned his attention to Adagio, "What about you? The Sirens are your friends, aren't they?"
"Yes, but it's not like we're gonna befriend everyone else," Adagio said. "It's no secret that all I care about are Aria and Sonata."
"Speaking of Sonata, where is she now?" Rumble asked, knowing what the answer would be.
"Uh...hm, guess she didn't hear Grogar's message, that or she got distracted by something silly," Adagio said.
"Or maybe Grogar's already starting to get rid of you," Rumble said, getting Adagio's attention. "I mean you said it yourself, or rather Tirek said it, none of you are really friends, so what's to stop Grogar from getting rid of you once you all stop being of use to him?"
"What are you trying to say?" Adagio asked. "We're not worried about Grogar, we can take care of ourselves!"
"For now, but if Grogar really is powerful, he might just wipe all of you out, since you're all planning to take over a specific part of Equestria, what if Grogar gets greedy and wants all of it?" Rumble asked. "What's to stop him from going after The Changeling Hive? Or The Crystal Empire? Or Canterlot? Places you all want?"
"Hm...he does have a point," Tirek said. "Did anyone think this far ahead?"
"Why are you indulging this foal!?" Grogar shouted, making his way over with Fake Twilight. "Can't you see he's just trying to get into your head? Destroy him! Same with those two fillies!"
"Even Cozy Glow?" Tirek asked. "I mean, not that I care or anything but, she is our ally."
"She attempted to betray us! Can you really trust such a devious pony?" Grogar asked.
"Also, kind of have mixed feelings about hurting Flurry Heart," Aria said. "I mean we can capture her, but destruction seems like a bit much."
"Yeah, Sonata would never forgive us if we hurt her," Adagio said.
"Let's just throw the foals in a dudgeon, seems a little less harsh," Tirek said.
Grogar groaned in annoyance, "How soft you've all grown, you let them live and they'll just come back stronger! Nip this in the bud! Or do you want to end up like that Sonata mare you're so worried about?"
Adagio furrowed her brow, glaring at Grogar, "What are you getting at?"
"She grew soft, she allowed Princess Flurry Heart into our domain to foil what we've worked so hard for," Grogar said. "So I had to make an example out of her."
"Grogar...what did you do to Sonata?" Adagio asked, turning her attention to the goat.
"What I will do to you if you don't OBEY ME!" Grogar warned, his eyes turning red, ready to strike. "Destory those foals!"
Sombra groaned in annoyance, "Just do it already, if what Grogar said is true then you're friend's probably dead, not worth fighting over."
"Watch your mouth you second-rate King!" Aria warned, getting Sombra's ire.
"What did you say to me?" Sombra turned to Aria, looking ready for a fight.
"Second...rate...KING!" Aria emphasized, getting a blast from Sombra right at the end.
"Know your place, next one won't-" Sombra taunt was interrupted when Adagio rammed into him.
"Hurt my friend will you!" Adagio went to attack again but Grogar grabbed her with his magic and zapped her, her body going through intense pain as the electricity soared through her.
"No! Grogar stop! Put her down!" Rumble shouted, the quickly placed Cozy down and went in flying in to attack the beast, but was grabbed by Storm King's staff.
"Gotcha!" Storm King taunted, then flung Rumble into the crowd of Changelings and his soldiers, each one rushing to bound and tie Rumble up.
"Take this one too," Grogar said, tossing the unconscious Adagio to the Storm King.
"Hey! Let them go!" Flurry said, going to help but got grabbed by Sombra's magic.
"Slippery little foal," Sombra said. "Just as annoying as your mother, father and aunt."
"You big jerk! You'll never get my mom and dad's empire back! They're happier without you!" Flurry Heart shouted.
"Well then, I'll just have to change that, and since you've been very annoying lately," Sombra charged his magic. "I'll have to destroy you as well."
However Aria had gotten back on her hooves and rammed into Sombra, "I won't let you!"
"You fool!" Sombra shouted, knocking Aria away. "I shall destroy you as well!"
Flurry blasted Sombra in the face, getting the King's attention. "I'm not done with you!"
"Well I'm done with you!" Sombra zapped at Flurry, but she quickly moved out the way and zapped at him again. During this she zapped him some more until he got one good blast in and knocked her back. "About time."
Rumble struggled to break free, wanting to help Flurry and Adagio, but he was stuck in some goo. Suddenly two shadows were cast over him, those of The Storm King and Chrysalis.
"So, what should we do Chrissie?" Storm King asked.
"Do not call me that," Chrysalis warned, the turned her attention to Rumble. "I'm very disappointed in you Rumble, you could have had a much better life with us."
"No Chrysalis, you're the one who could have a better life," Rumble said. "Why can't you just accept Friendship? Are you really happy like this? Struggling to survive, serving under a wicked ruler? Don't you miss the rest of your Changelings? Did you ever stop to think about the fact that you may have left them betrayed, that you failed as their Queen the moment you didn't give Starlight's Friendship a chance? You could be better than this."
Storm King gagged at Rumble's speech, "Wow, the love, and friendship, and ponies, such a drag." Storm King aimed his staff at Rumble, "Well, time to die, first you, then the traitorous Siren."
Chrysalis looked a bit concerned for a moment, briefly worried for Rumble's safety. However, before she could speak up, Cozy Glow called out to the Storm King, "You get away from my Rumble!"
Storm King turned to the angry little filly, "Aw, how adorable, you think you can stop me. Alicorn or not, I'm still pretty strong." Storm King aimed his staff, "I could save Grogar a lot of trouble right now."
"Go ahead and try!" Cozy Glow warned, charging up her horn. "After I destroy you, I'll destroy Grogar too! I won't let anyone hurt Rumble!"
"Cozy Glow, this is too risky," Chrysalis said. "You are in no condition to battle."
"I'll be fine, I'll keep me and my baby safe," Cozy Glow said, getting into a fight position. "If I don't stop them, we're all doomed anyway, might as well try to fight."
"Aw, how nice, fighting for your wittle baby," Storm King said. "It'd be a shame if you got hurt too badly though, so I'll offer you one last chance to stand aside, evil or not, beating up a kid is weird to me."
"I'm no kid," Cozy Glow said, extending her wings as she charged her horn. "I'm a Princess."
"Well, a Princess can still be a kid, you know, like Flurry Heart," Storm King said, then shook it off. "Well it sounds like you made your choice though, if that's how you want it, then bring it on."
Cozy Glow was ready to attack, ready to protect the colt she loved, but before she could make her move, Chrysalis stepped between the two. "Cozy Glow, don't be foolish, you know you won't be able to win."
"But if I don't do anything, he'll hurt Rumble!" Cozy Glow said. "I mean he'll hurt Adagio too, which I kind of don't want, but I especially want to protect the father of my baby!"
"That may be true, but fighting The Storm King is a foolish idea," Chysalis said.
"You tell her Chrissie," Storm King said, unaware of Chrysalis's glare. "Maybe you and I can knock some sense into-"
Suddenly Chrysalis blasted Storm King, surprising Cozy Glow, her Changelings and the Storm King's soldiers. Even Rumble was taken back by what she did.
"What is she doing!?" Tirek frantically asked, having seen this from where he was.
Storm King stood up, glaring angrily at Chrysalis, and somewhat in disbelief, "Are you joking? Tell me you're joking! Tell me that you felt like messing around, even though now is NOT the time to be messing around you thought 'Gee, wouldn't it be funny if I blasted Storm King out of nowhere?' Please tell me that's what you were just thinking!"
Chrysalis had no immediate answer, other than to blast Storm King again, "You talk way too much."
"Chrysalis, what are you doing?" Cozy Glow asked.
"I have no idea honestly, I'm just going with my instincts," Chrysalis said.
Storm King stood up again, huffing and puffing, readying his staff, "Alright that's it, I'm ticked off now!" He sent a beam at Chrysalis but she deflected it and zapped Storm King again. She flew in and sent another beam that knocked him away.
"Foolish," Chrysalis said, then found herself surrounded by Storm King's soldiers. "Do you wish to suffer as well?"
"My queen!" A changeling said, flying over with his group. "We'll fend them off, you get your allies to safety!"
"I prefer to call them, my friends" Chrysalis said, flying over to Cozy Glow, Rumble and Adagio, freeing the latter two from the goo.
"Thank you so much Chrysalis," Rumble said. "Wow, I can't believe you actually helped us."
"And you called us your friends too," Cozy Glow said. "I knew you liked us."
"Don't get all cuddly with me, I just prefer you over The Storm King," Chrysalis said. "Now to get you to safety."
"There will be no safety for you," Grogar said, making his way over, the queen protecting the two teen foals. "I warned you that I do not take kindly to betrayal, now you'll suffer just like the Sirens."
"Rumble, take Cozy and Adagio to safety while I show this old fool the power of a Queen," Chrysalis said, charging her magic.
"Right, be careful Chrysalis," Rumble said, going over to help Adagio. "Hey, can you get up?"
"H-huh?" Adagio looked around. "Wait, where's Grogar?"
"No time for that, get moving!" Cozy Glow said, moving Adagio along as Rumble led them both away from the impending fight.
Grogar zapped at Chrysalis with his lightning, an attack she avoided by teleporting and zapping the beastly goat. He tried attacking some more but she continued to teleport until he got her with a zap that knocked her across the ground.
"My queen!" A Changeling shouted, about to take a few to go help her.
"Don't come!" Chrysalis ordered as she stood up, glaring at Grogar. "Nice shot, but I'm just getting started."
Chrysalis rushed in to attack, Grogar ready to attack himself, but just before his attack could land, Chrysalis dodged out the way and reappearing was Twilight blasting Grogar.
"Twilight Sparkle!?" Grogar asked in confusion.
"Not quite." What looked like Twilight rushed in to attack but halfway through she changed into Rainbow Dash and kicked Grogar with a mighty kick. From there she turned into Big Macintosh and rammed hard against Grogar.
The demonic creature looked very impressed with what he was seeing, "I see, using your shapeshifting abilities to your advantage."
Chrysalis briefly turned back to normal, smiling in satisfaction, "This is why I am the Queen. Even you and all your magic are no match for me!"
"We'll see about that!" Grogar tried zapping her again but she teleported again, appearing from above as Lightning Dust and flying in with a kick, then transformed into Pinkie Pie with a punch, turned into Gilda and clawed at Grogar and then appeared beside him as Trixie with a zap.
Grogar grew frustrated, attempting to attack again, this time Chrysalis turned into Spike and blasted Grogar with fire, then turned into Yona and tackled Grogar back and finished by turning into Starswirl and sending an extremely powerful blast to knock Grogar away.
"Whoa, Chrysalis is awesome!" Rumble said, amazed by the queen's abilities.
Grogar shook off some of the attacks as Chrysalis inched closer to him, ready to strike again. However just before firing, Grogar had grabbed her with his magic and started electrocuting her. "You may have a lot of forms you use but you still don't have enough strength to defeat me!"
Chrysalis struggled to break free, but Grogar's magic was too strong. A few Changelings flew in to help, to which Grogar freed Chrysalis briefly to target the Changelings, completely obliterating a few.
"N-no! My Changelings!" Chrysalis shouted in despair, having seen many of her grubs vaporized. She angrily turned to Grogar, "You damned beast, when I'm done with you-"
Grogar blasted the queen away, "Don't mourn for them, you're next after all."
"No! Chrysalis!" Cozy Glow flew in to help but Grogar blasted the filly away, back to where Rumble and Adagio were.
"That bastard!" Adagio rushed in to attack but she took a blast of her own, getting knocked toward Rumble. Even Aria and Flurry got knocked to where Rumble was, courtesy of Sombra. Soon he and Grogar approached the two, being joined by The Storm King, but Rumble blocked their path, not allowing the villains to pass.
"Foolish colt, if you wish to stay alive, then I suggest you clear out of the way," Sombra warned.
"No way, I won't let you hurt any of them!" Rumble shouted, staring down the villains.
"You really think you can stop us kid?" Storm King asked. "I mean really, you're a regular colt. Chrysalis can steal love, the Sirens can steal negative energy, Cozy Glow has wings and a horn, they're way stronger than you yet we still trounced on them, what makes you think you can stop us?"
"I have Friendship, the most powerful magic in existence!" Rumble declared.
Storm King rolled his eyes, "Wow, that was so cheesy I can dip nachos in it." He then aimed his staff, "I'm gonna give you til the count of 5 to move out of our way."
"Why count it down, just kill him now!" Sombra ordered.
"Hey don't shout orders at me, I'm a King!" Storm King reminded.
"So am I!" Sombra pointed out.
"Well then, that makes us equals in power, so obviously we're gonna need someone lower ranked than us," Storm King said, then pointed to Tirek. "Like that guy."
"Uh, excuse me, I don't take orders from anyone," Tirek said. "I am Royalty too."
"Yeah, a Lord, not a king," Storm King said. "Honestly does that even apply? I heard your daddy kicked you out his Kingdom and let your brother take over, maybe we should bring him along since he's also a King, so he likely did more things right than you did."
"I beg your pardon!" Tirek shouted, angrily stomping to The Storm King. "Just what are you king of anyway?"
"Uh, them..." Storm King said, pointing to his soldiers. "See, I clearly have subjects, where are yours?"
"I don't need subjects, I got these," Tirek said, flexing his muscles. "This is all I need to conquer Equestria."
"Yeah, with magic you steal from others," Storm King reminded.
"Tell me again how you power that staff of yours?" Tirek stated, very snarky like.
Storm King was not amused, "Alright I'm done asking, now I'm telling you to make yourself useful, and destroy these lame brains!"
"For once I agree with this so-called Storm King," Sombra said. "Get to it Tirek, end them."
Tirek looked pretty annoyed, seeing these two fallen kings ordering him around, he may not be a King himself, but at least his family still has power. "So, you two want the power of a King do you?"
"Not what we said at all," Storm King pointed out.
"Well you'll get it anyway, I may not be my father," Tirek charged up some magic. "But I am still All-Powerful!"
With a mighty blast, Tirek knocked away both Storm King and Sombra. He then turned to Grogar but in an instance, he got knocked back, though not by much.
"You really are fools," Grogar said. "I thought you'd be smarter than Chrysalis, those Sirens and that little brat, but clearly you too wish to repeat your mistake!"
"The only mistake I repeated was working for someone like you!" Tirek said. "Besides I'm no fool, it's like that colt pointed out, what was to stop you from betraying us? I'm just making my move before you make yours!"
Grogar grew infuriated and flew in to attack Tirek, both of them clashing against one another. As Sombra and Storm King tried to stand, Chrysalis had blasted them both, keeping them down.
"Great job Chrysalis," Rumble said. "You're so awesome at fighting!"
"Did you expect any less from one who has nearly conquered Equestria on multiple occasions?" Chrysalis asked.
"Not bad Queen," Adagio said. "But right now isn't the time to let our guard down, we gotta keep fighting. Tirek's gonna need help, I don't think he can take Grogar alone."
"Plus, it looks like our two Kings are getting ready to continue their fight," Aria said, gesturing to Sombra and Storm King.
"I bet I can take them on!" Flurry said charging her horn magic.
"No way kid, it's dangerous," Aria said.
"She's right, and honestly I don't think this group's enough to defeat Grogar, Sombra or Storm King," Rumble said.
"There's also that other Twilight," Cozy Glow pointed out.
"Other Twilight?" Flurry asked.
"I created her," Chrysalis explained. "I used a piece of wood mixed with some DNA I found from Twilight, a strand of her mane to be precise, it was after an encounter with some of my Changelings. She isn't as powerful as Twilight, not yet at least, but she might prove to be bothersome."
"Which means we'll need the real Twilight," Rumble said. "We gotta free her and The Crusaders from their cell and convince Tirek to give Twilight her magic back."
"Think she'll help us?" Aria asked.
"Why wouldn't she?" Rumble said. "She's out to defeat Grogar too."
"Then she might turn on us," Adagio said. "I don't know if we can trust her."
"Twilight wouldn't be that sneaky, I'll vouch for you all if anything," Rumble said.
"Me too, we're all in this together now," Flurry said.
"I'm with Rumble," Chrysalis said. "We'll need Twilight's help if we want to defeat Grogar."
"Then after we win, we can all be friends and put all our differences behind us," Rumble said, hoping this could finally be the break through he needed.
"Don't get your hopes up, while we won't do anything to betray Twilight, I am not eager to befriend her," Chrysalis said.
"Same," Adagio said. "Things won't go smoothly that easily for us."
"Well I guess we can worry about that later," Rumble said. "Let' just hurry and get Twilight free."
"Hey Flurry, are there other ponies coming?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Yeah, my mom found out where your base was last night and she's been rounding up some allies to storm it," Flurry said. "I found out so I came first figuring I can stop all the baddies and rescue Rumble, proving myself as a Princess."
"Uh, how did you even know I was here when I just got here myself?" Rumble asked.
"I saw you with Chrysalis earlier on, I maintained my distance so I wouldn't be spotted, though I nearly got lost doing so because I almost got capture by some Changelings and solider guys, I beat them up though and tracked you down agai," Flurry explained.
"You're one foolish child, you're lucky you didn't get yourself killed," Chrysalis berated.
Suddenly Tirek got thrown near the group, startling them as the world shook from the centaur hitting the ground hard. Grogar made his way over, ready to finish things when Chrysalis and the two Sirens blocked his path.
"You face me again? Even though you'll lose!" Grogar shouted.
"Don't celebrate your win too soon," Chrysalis said, readying her magic.
"We're taking you down," Aria said, getting ready for a fight.
"Cozy Glow," Flurry said, getting the filly's attention. "Rumble and I are gonna find Auntie Twilight, you go check on Tirek and see if you can convince him to give back her magic."
"I'll do my best," Cozy said, flying over to Tirek.
"Let's go Rumble," Flurry said, teleporting him into the building, something Grogar took note off.
"Where did she go!?" Grogar asked, trying to scan for her magic. However Chrysalis blasted him in the face to keep his focus back on her.
"Don't you ignore me Grogar," Chrysalis warned. "We're not done with you."
"I don't know what you're up to but it doesn't matter!" Grogar angrily stated. "I will destroy you!"
As the villains and former villains clashed, Flurry had arrived inside with Rumble. The colt took the lead to bring Flurry to Twilight, "Come on, this way."
The two ran to where the Dungeons were, hoping to find Twilight and The Crusaders. When they got there however, they noticed that they weren't the only ones there. The Fake Twilight was at the cells, having thrown an unconscious Sonata with Twilight and the three fillies.
"Hope you like your new cellmate," Fake Twilight said. "I'm honestly surprised she's still alive, but it's only temporary until Grogar's ready to fully enact his plan."
"Who is she!?" Flurry asked, loud enough to get the Fake Twilight's attention as well as Twilight and the Crusaders.
"Wait, was that Flurry Heart?" Twilight asked, making her way to the front of the cell.
"Hi Auntie!" Flurry greeted, Twilight just gawking in surprise at seeing her little niece in a villain's lair.
"What have we here? Unwanted guests?" Fake Twilight said, glaring at the two. "You must have caused the ruckus outside. What a shame Rumble, to think you could have had such a great opportunity with us, this is one blunder you'll soon regret, even if only temporarily, after all I can't let you live."
"Hey! Don't you dare hurt my little niece!" Twilight shouted.
"Or my Rumbly!" Sweetie Belle warned.
"Aw, she called me 'Rumbly', kind of missed that," Rumble said.
"Rumble, focus!" Flurry scolded.
"R-right, you go help Twilight, the real one, I'll take on this fake!" Rumble said, staring down the evil Twilight.
"Do you really think you have a chance against me?" Fake Twilight said, staring Rumble down. "I may not be the 'real' Twilight, at least not yet, but that doesn't mean I don't have her magic."
"I doubt a fake like you can possess Twilight's magical abilities," Rumble said.
Fake Twilight grinned mischievously, "Let's find out then." She quickly powered up and fired a beam at Rumble. Luckily Flurry put up a shield in time, Rumble then charged in to attack Fake Twilight with a couple of punches.
She wasn't amused and had grabbed Rumble with her magic and tossed him against a wall. She turned back to Flurry Heart, ready to attack her but the young filly blasted her back, right near Rumble.
The colt stood up and slammed Fake Twilight against the wall he just hit, Flurry charging up more magic and this time hitting her hard enough to knock her through the wall.
"Nice work Flurry, kind of surprised you were willing to attack someone who looked like your aunt," Rumble said.
"Considering how many Changelings I saw this past week pretending to be my friends and family, I already learned how to put that past me, so I know I'm not really hurting my aunt, just a silly imposter," Flurry said.
The Fake Twilight made her way back into the hole, looking furious at the two, "I am going to torture you!"
Flurry blasted her again, looking ready to continue but Rumble stopped her, "You already have your task Flurry, free Twilight and get her magic back, maybe I can't beat that other Twilight but I can at least stall!"
Rumble flew outside to continue engaging with Fake Twilight while Flurry blasted open the cell door, "You're free!"
"I'm so happy to see you sweetie," Twilight said, rubbing her niece's mane. "Little annoyed that you came here though, who else is here?"
"Just me, for now," Flurry said.
"Where are the other villains?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Outside fighting each other," Flurry explained.
"Wait, they turned on each other already?" Scootaloo asked.
"Sort of, more like Chrysalis, the Sirens, Cozy Glow and Tirek betrayed Grogar, only King Sombra and the Storm King are still on his side," Flurry said.
"Could this have been Rumble's plan?" Sweetie Belle wondered.
"I think so, he did try talking to them about Friendship, so I think he hopes they can be our friends after the fight is over," Flurry said.
"That might be a task," Twilight admitted. "Well if Tirek is on our side for the moment, I should try to get my magic back from him. But there's also the matter of Sonata."
Flurry turned her attention to the injured siren, she quickly rushed to her side, "Sonata? Are you awake?"
Sonata slowly began to open her eyes as she looked to the little Princess, "Oh, hi Flurry, you look like you're not hurt, at least I hope you're not hurt."
"I took a few hits from King Sombra, but I'm stronger than I look so it's all good," Flurry said.
"Sombra did what?" Twilight said, her eye twitching slightly.
"Aria helped me out, so did Tirek," Flurry said. "Never mind me, I'm more worried about Sonata."
"I'll be fine, I think," Sonata said, trying to stand. "Grogar roughed me up pretty badly, I'm surprised he didn't kill me, maybe I just got lucky."
"Try not to move too much, you might make your injuries worse," Twilight said. "Flurry, maybe you should stay with Sonata, I'm going to face Tirek."
Rumble then went flying through the hall, surprising the girls as Fake Twilight came back. "None of you are going anywhere!"
Sweetie Belle stood in front on her friends, "That's as far as you go!"
"Oh now you want to challenge my power?" Twilight asked.
"I'm pretty damn strong thanks to the training I got from the REAL Twilight, I can take on a fake," Sweetie Belle boasted.
"I'll help!" Scootaloo said, standing beside Sweetie Belle.
"Me too! The Cutie Mark Crusaders stick together!" Apple Bloom said.
"Oh good, I can crush all three of you at once!" Fake Twilight said.
"Girls, I don't know if this is a good idea," Twilight said.
"Don't worry about us, go get your magic back, quick" Sweetie Belle said. "We can handle this, we have Friendship!"
Twilight seemed hesitant and was about to remark when Rumble made his way back over, "Go Twilight, I'll help the girls, you need your magic back, that's the best way you can save everypony."
Twilight reluctantly nodded, agreeing with this plan, "Be careful, all of you!"
As Twilight ran off, Rumble and The Crusaders faced Fake Twilight, the evil mare charging up more magic, "Let's see you survive this!"
As Fake Twilight readied another attack, Rumble and Scootaloo rushed at her and knocked her back through the hole in the side of the building, both getting in a few punches before getting blasted back.
Sweetie Belle rushed over and tried blasting Fake Twilight, but the evil mare had teleported and blasted Sweetie Belle from the side. Apple Bloom rushed in and punched the fake hard, then took a punch of her own.
Rumble rushed in with a kick, knocking the fake loopy, giving a chance for Scootaloo to hit an uppercut, Apple Bloom took the opening for a head butt and Sweetie Belle blasted her to a tree.
Fake Twilight stood up, shaking off the attacks, growling in anger, "All of you are making me MAD!" She blasted the four with precise strikes, knocking them across the marsh. "One by one, you're all going to die, maybe I'll save that little Unicorn for last, see how she handles seeing her friends and coltfriend perish before her eyes!"
Sweetie Belle stood up, glaring at the fake, "Not if I can help it."
Inside Flurry is tending to Sonata's wounds, she looked really hurt, the little Princess praying that Sonata did not die from her injuries. "I'm sorry Sonata, I bet this is my fault. Grogar must have known you helped me get inside."
"Don't blame yourself, I choose to help you after all," Sonata said., "I do have a soft spot for you Flurry."
"Why do you like me anyway?" Flurry asked.
"Because you're cute, and I like cute things," Sonata explained. "That's probably the best explanation I can give."
"That's all?" Flurry asked. "Isn't there some deeper meaning? Like maybe I reminded you of somepony, or my aura changed something in your heart? I mean you took a huge risk helping me and it sounds like you've always done things if it would make me happy. I mean that's what Rumble told me."
"I don't have anything deeper than that, maybe it's like my friends say, I'm just not that smart," Sonata said. "I saw something cute and it affected my common sense, so I'm sorry but you don't really make me think differently, honestly Flurry, my original plan was to make you my pet, so it's not like my admiration for you itself was noble."
"You wanted me to be your pet?" Flurry asked. "That's a little degrading."
"It would have kept you alive," Sonata said. "Flurry, I know you won't want to hear this, but in spite of my love for you, I am not a nice pony. While I won't do most of the terrible things Adagio does, I'm still not that much better. I'm pretty selfish by nature, I was willing to take you away from your family just because I found you cute. Your family was right to say I was bad, because I guess deep down, that's what I am."
"If you were bad, you wouldn't have helped me, I mean you had no benefit from it," Flurry said.
"Flurry, I suggest you stop trying to make sense of the things I do, because I really don't think much half the time, I just go by my instinct," Sonata said. "I mean maybe me spending time in Ponyville did kind of affect my personality and made me care a little more but in the end, I didn't turn out that differently than they expected. I'm a Siren, thus an enemy to Equestria, I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to turn me into stone again after all this."
"No way, I won't let them," Flurry said. "I want you to be my friend, maybe you don't think you're good but I can tell deep down you're a caring pony. Even Rumble can see that, and we'll do anything to make sure you live a happy life."
"If I even survive all this," Sonata said. "Do me a favor, if I do end up biting it, don't cry for me too much, I'm not worth the tears."
Flurry angrily gritted her teeth, "Don't talk like that! You're not biting anything, I'm keeping you safe and you're gonna come live with me in my home!"
"Wow, you're really generous aren't you?" Sonata said. "You're so sweet, and seeing you grow up does sound like a fine idea." Sonata began to stand up, "Well we should get moving. I think I got enough strength to move."
"Wait, where are you going? You can't fight yet!" Flurry said.
"I'm not going to fight, I'm going to free our other prisoner," Sonata said, much to Flurry's confusion.
"What other prisoner?" Flurry asked.
"We captured a young stallion that Twilight was fond of, the pony who likes tap dancing," Sonata said.
"You mean Tender Taps? He's here!?" Flurry asked.
"Yes, now lets hurry and get him free, he's probably wondering what's going on right now," Sonata said, making her way to the private dungeon with Flurry following.
Twilight had made her way outside, taking a scope of the situation. The Chrysalis and Sirens were doing battle against Grogar while Tirek had engaged with both Sombra and Storm King. Cozy Glow was keeping a distance from both fights, maintaining a defensive position should some harm come her direction.
Twilight quickly trotted over to the filly, hoping to not catch the attention of the other villains. Fortunately they were all too preoccupied with their own fights, Twilight just had to avoid any stray magic blasts that came her direction.
"Cozy Glow!" Twilight called, finally reaching the filly.
"Oh, Twilight, you're free," Cozy Glow said.
"Yeah, Rumble freed me, but right now he's fighting that fake me," Twilight said.
"He's what!? She might kill him!" Cozy Glow shouted. "Where are they so I can save him!"
"Back in your base, I want to help but I need my magic," Twilight said.
"Right of course," Cozy Glow called out to Tirek. "Hey! Tirek! Over here!"
"I'm busy!" Tirek shouted, blasting Storm King away.
"Twilight's here! Give her back her magic!" Cozy Glow said.
"Why? I'm using it!" Tirek said, blasting away Sombra.
"Because if you don't, she won't be able to help us!" Cozy shouted.
"But what's the point, if I have her magic, it's like she's already helping!" Tirek said, putting up a shield to block the magic blasts that came his way.
"Oh for heaven's sake, just give her magic back! The more ponies on our side, the faster we'll win!" Cozy shouted.
"But...ugh fine, I don't get your logic but if it'll shut you up then I'll do it!" Tirek said, quickly focusing his attention on Twilight. "Here you go!"
Tirek transferred his magic into the Alicorn Princess, she could feel her full strength returning, as well as her Cutie Mark. After the transfer she felt like new.
"Do you have all your magic?" Cozy asked.
"I think so, I feel it all circulating in me," Twilight said, flexing her wings and checking her horn. "Alright, I'm ready to fight."
"Good, then let's...watch out!" Cozy shouted, quickly putting up a shield to protect herself and Twilight from Sombra's blast.
"Damn filly," Sombra said, about to attack again but Twilight had blasted him once Cozy put the shield down.
"Thanks for the help Cozy Glow," Twilight said.
"Well it's not because I like you or anything, we just need your help," Cozy Glow explained. "I'm still pretty mad that you turned me into stone."
"Uh, I didn't actually transform you, that was Celestia, Luna and Discord," Twilight said.
"Well still, you ruined my plans, so you indirectly got me turned into stone, me and my little foal," Cozy said.
"What little foal?" Twilight asked.
"Tell you later, right now I have a future husband to save!" Cozy Glow flew off to find Rumble.
"Future husband? Little foal? What's going on?" Twilight asked. She didn't have time to think as she had to block an oncoming strike from The Storm King.
"Dang it, almost had you," Storm King said, jumping back. He then brought out one of his orbs. "Though all this talk of turning to stone does give me an idea."
"Do you really want to use the very item that resulted in your death?" Twilight asked.
"I won't make the same mistake twice!" Storm King shouted, throwing the orb at Twilight, which she quickly blocked with her magic.
"That all you got?" Twilight said.
"I still have more!" Storm King said, bringing out another, ready to continue.
In the building, Sonata and Flurry had arrived at Tender Taps's cell, Sonata wasting no time in freeing him.
"Sonata, what's going on?" Tender Taps asked, before noticing her guest. "Princess Flurry?"
"The one and only, we're breaking you out Tappy," Flurry said.
"What's going on, I hear a lot of commotion outside," Tender Taps said.
"A lot of the villains turned against Grogar and they're fighting him right now," Sonata said. "Twilight's joining them."
"Wait so Twilight is against them now? I thought she was siding with them?" Tender Taps said.
"Who told you..." Sonata thought a moment. "Oh right, that fake Twilight probably told you this."
"Wait, fake?" Tender Taps said. "So she wasn't really Twilight?"
"Would my Auntie really side with bad guys?" Flurry asked. "You're so silly Tappy."
"I...I guess that makes sense, she did seem a little off, and she smelled like the forest," Tender Taps said. "Wait so the real Twilight is here? And you too Flurry? Who else came to help?"
"Right now it's just them, Rumble and The Cutie Mark Crusaders," Sonata said. "But it's not gonna be enough to stop Grogar, even if Adagio, Aria, Chrysalis, Cozy and Tirek turned against him."
"I'd like to ask how that happened but I'm just gonna take that as a win," Tender Taps said. "Wait what about Sombra and Storm King?"
"They're still on Grogar's side, Rumble only convinced anyone that was friends with Cozy Glow," Flurry said.
"So Rumble got his wish, good for him," Tender Taps said. "What should I do then?"
"Stay out of sight if you can, I'm gonna go help Twilight," Sonata said.
"Wait, you're still hurt though!" Flurry said.
"I'll take my chances, watch over Tender Taps," Sonata said, running off to meet with her friends.
Tender Taps turned his attention back to Flurry, "Where is Rumble? Is he fighting too?"
"He and the Crusaders are fighting the evil version of Auntie Twilight," Flurry said. "I'm gonna go help him so I suggest-"
"Wait, I can help fight too," Tender Taps said.
"Uh, no you can't, you're kind of weak," Flurry said.
"No I'm not!" Tender Taps said. "I can too fight!"
"Uh, no, you're staying a few feet behind me," Flurry ordered. "I'm going to help Rumble, do NOT do anything stupid!"
Flurry flew off to find the Fake Twilight, leaving Tender Taps alone for the moment, somewhat pouty. "I can too help, bossy Princess."
Outside, Fake Twilight had continued her fight, blasting and zapping Rumble and The Crusaders at every chance. Any time one of them got too close she would attack brutally, leaving them with cuts, burn marks and bruises.
"You foals should have known better than to oppose me," Fake Twilight said, zapping Scootaloo. "I am made from powerful magic, a magic borne from the Alicorn Princess, Twilight Sparkle." She then zapped Apple Bloom. "A magic I intend to grow, a Princess I intend to replace, the one, true Twilight Sparkle." She aimed her horn at Sweetie Belle. "A Twilight Sparkle who has no need for weaklings like you."
Fake Twilight fired a magic blast at Sweetie Belle, fortunately for the filly Rumble flew in just in time to shield her from the attack.
"Rumble!" Sweetie Belle shouted in worry at seeing the colt take such a blow.
"What a fool," Fake Twilight said, readying another blast. "Prepare to die!"
"Rumble!" Flurry Heart shouted, flying in to attack. "I'll save you!"
Fake Twilight had blasted her out of the air however. She was about to attack again but immediately had to dodge another attack.
"How dare you try to hurt my future husband you fake!" Cozy Glow shouted, having arrived. "The one dying now is you!"
Twilight blocked an attack and blasted Cozy Glow in the face, knocking her away. "Anypony else want to try their luck?"
"I do!" a voice said. Everypony turned to it's direction and to their surprise, it was Dinky Do, the foalhood friend of Rumble.
"Dinky, yer alive!" Apple Bloom said, very happy to see her old friend.
"Sure am, looks like I arrived just in time," Dinky said, making her way over to the fake. "So, you look like Twilight, but it sounds like you aren't Twilight."
"Soon I will be," Fake Twilight said. "Once I dispose of the 'real' Twilight Sparkle. Looks like I now have one more brat I need to dispose of as well."
"Fat chance, I learned all about fighting and magic use from Starlight and the real Twilight, I think I can handle a phony," Dinky said, getting into a fight stance.
"Dinky?" Rumble said, getting the mare's attention.
"Hey Rumble, you alright there?" Dinky asked, concerned for her friend.
"I'll be fine," Rumble insisted, trying to stand. "Where'd you come from though? Did you come alone?"
Dinky shook her head, "Not really, let's just say that Grogar's about to have a really bad surprise."
True to Dinky's word, Grogar, Storm King and Sombra all gawked at a sight that had befallen onto them. Arriving from the distance was a convoy of ponies and other creatures, all of them ready to do battle.
The rest of The Elements, Spike, The Student Six, The Wonderbolts, Thorax and the Metamorphized Changelings, Ember and the Dragons, Prince Rutheford and the Yaks, Autumn Blaze and The Kirins, Terramar some Hippogriffs, Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, Tempest Shadow, Flitter, The Barrel Twins, Lightning Dust and The Washouts, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, The Pillars, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.
"So, they've come," Grogar said, focusing his attention fully on them.
Twilight looked happy and relieved to see her friends in the dozens, "Oh good, they're finally here."
Chrysalis appeared beside Twilight, "Just in time too, with their help maybe we can defeat Grogar. Only if they act fast though."
"Why what would happen if they didn't?" Twilight asked.
"Grogar has planned for something like this, I want to say our turning against him would have altered his plans but I have a feeling he'll still have a back-up strategy or two," Chrysalis said.
"What was his plan anyway?" Twilight asked.
"To consume and abosrb power from various magical artifacts," Chrysalis explained. "He's had us going around and collecting as many as he could so he can gain power from them."
"That's terrible," Twilight said.
"Yes, which is why we absolutely must exercise extreme caution, Grogar is very crafty, plus he still has Sombra and The Storm King on his side," Chrysalis reminded.
"We can take those two," Twilight insisted.
"Oh can you?" Sombra said, teleporting over, attempting to blast Twilight. Fortunately Chrysalis had put up a shield for her.
"Wow, thanks Chrysalis," Twilight said, slightly surprised.
"Don't think much of it, I just rather you not perish before we destroy Grogar," Chrysalis said.
Sombra rushed in to attack again but both Twilight and Chrysalis blocked the evil king with their magic and knocked him back, running in to attack some more.
Rainbow Dash flew to the front of the group, facing off against an army of The Storm King's Soldiers. "Let's go everypony! For the future of Equestria...attack!"
All the ponies rushed in to attack the soldiers, Spitfire leading The Wonderbolts in arial strikes, attacking from above and even utilizing clouds overhead. The Unicorns, led by Starlight, stood in formation and blasted several oncoming soldiers. The Yaks rushed in and trampled all those who stood in their way. The Dragons stood in line and used their fire to roast a good chunk of them, and occasionally getting rough with anyone who tried getting in too close.
As this went on, Fake Twilight was still engaged in her battle against the young ponies that opposed her. She used her magic to combat against the teamwork of Sweetie Belle and Dinky, both mares taking turns providing each other defense while they worked on their offense, getting a few blasts in.
"Wow you girls fight pretty well," Fake Twilight commended. "I take it you received training from Twilight?"
"And Starlight," Sweetie Belle added. "Plus I got a few tips from my big sister Rarity."
"Same here, with my big sister Amethyst," Dinky said.
"Well those techniques at the very least are delaying your destruction, but it won't last you forever!" Fake Twilight said, blasting the two back. She charged up but instead of blasting them again, she blasted an oncoming Scootaloo.
Rumble tried to attack again but Fake Twilight got physical with a backhoof. She then levitated him and tossed him against a tree.
Cozy Glow rushed in to attack again, getting Fake Twilight in the face with a blast, but it just infuriated her more as the Fake Pony zapped Cozy in the face and punched her away.
"You're really starting to get on my nerves!" Fake Twilight blasted her again, knocking her to the floor. Flurry rushed in to help but Twilight whacked her away with a hard right fore hoof and blasted back the oncoming Crusaders, Sweetie Belle having put up her shield in the last second but still got knocked back into a rock.
Cozy Glow tried standing, but Fake Twilight stomped on her head, pressing her down, "Ugh, you second rate phony! You don't know who you're messing with!"
"I know full well, a spoiled little filly who's spent her life hopelessly trying to achieve greatness to compensate for the fact that she grew up with no friends or family because she destined to be nothing but a failure," Fake Twilight taunted. "At the very least you could have been on our side, basking in our glory, but you wanted more, just so that when your child is born, they won't have to see their mother as a pitiful failure. But now it's all gone, and not only did you erase your own future, you prevented your foal from having one." Fake Twilight charged her horn. "Good riddance to you Cozy Glow!"
Just before she could attack, Sweetie Belle had used her magic, desperately trying to pull Fake Twilight away. "I won't let you hurt her!"
"Sweetie Belle?" Cozy Glow said in surprise. She quickly backed away from the evil clone, allowing the young Unicorn to do what she had to do. However since Sweetie Belle cast the spell too fast and desperately, the fake Twilight had broken free and was ready to attack Sweetie Belle for her attempted interference.
Tender Taps had finally arrived and rushed in to ram Fake Twilight off of Cozy Glow. "That's enough you fake!"
Fake Twilight shook it off, looking very surprised to see the colt before her, "Oh, it's you Tappy. What brings you here?"
"You're not fooling me you fake!" Tender Taps shouted, then clenched his hoof and punched Fake Twilight across the jaw, surprising everypony in the area.
"Holy crap dude!" Dinky shouted in disbelief.
Fake Twilight shook it off, "How?"
She didn't have time to think as Scootaloo rushed in with a punch of her own, giving Rumble the opening to fly in with a kick to her head, to which Apple Bloom rushed over and delivered a mighty buck kick to Fake Twilight's side, knocking her off her hooves.
Sweetie Belle and Dinky rushed next to each other and quickly charged up their horns and blasted Twilight toward a tree, keeping it going as they applied more pressure to the attack.
"No! I...can't lose!" Fake Twilight tried using her magic to fight the attack off, but Flurry Heart wouldn't allow that. The young Princess flew overhead, charging her attack and sending a mighty beam right at the Fake Twilight, completely overwhelming her in the blast.
When it was all said and done, the only thing left of the Fake Twilight was a log in place of where she used to be. She was finished and no longer a threat to the ponies.
"Wow, we got her!" Rumble said. "We actually defeated a villain!"
"Yeah yer right!" Apple Bloom said, somewhat in shock herself. "How about that, we did our part in saving Equestria, and ah don't mean just a mere distraction, we took down one of the enemies!"
"I can't believe I punched a pony who looked like Twilight," Tender Taps said.
"I can't believe you punched anypony at all," Dinky said. "You're tougher than you look Taps."
"Uh, thanks," Tender Taps said. "At least Cozy Glow is safe."
"Yeah thanks for your help," Cozy Glow said, then turned to Sweetie Belle, walking over to nuzzle her. "Thank you as well, you saved my life."
"Oh, it's nothing really," Sweetie Belle said, little shy from the affection, not that she minded though.
Cozy Glow turned away, facing the direction where Grogar was, "It's still not over though, we have one big fight left. Or rather I do, the rest of you should go someplace safe, you're skilled but you can't beat Grogar."
"Hey, what about me?" Flurry said. "I'm an Alicorn Princess. I can help too."
"That doesn't mean you can win," Cozy said. "Look it's dangerous, if you really want to help then keep everypony safe. Make sure Rumble and the others are fine."
"Alright, but only if you come with us," Flurry said.
"Sorry, but I have to help Tirek, Chrysalis and The Dazzlings, we're a team, and we stay together," Cozy Glow said.
"Cozy Glow, you know I can't in good consciousness let you do this," Rumble said. "Keep your condition in mind."
"What condition?" Dinky asked.
"That's what I'd live to know," Tender Taps said. "That fake Twilight mentioned something about a foal, your foal Cozy Glow."
Cozy placed her hoof over her stomach, feeling a bit weird having to admit this, especially in front of Sweetie Belle, knowing her to be Rumble's previous girlfriend. "Truth is, I'm pregnant."
That announcement was so shocking and surprising that nopony had an immediate reaction, aside from Rumble who already knew, but was worried about how they would take it, especially once they find out that he's the baby's father.
"Uh, so how did this happen?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Well, when two ponies really love each other..." Cozy Glow began.
"Ah know that part!" Apple Bloom shouted, sporting a huge blush on her face. "What ah meant was who's the daddy of yer baby?"
"Uh..." Cozy Glow wanted to tell them, but at the same time she was worried how they would react to Rumble. Not to mention these ponies just saved her life, she didn't have it in her to potentially say something heartbreaking or terrible. Plus she loved Rumble too much to potentially cause a rift in his friendship, this might have been easier if he just betrayed them, at least she knew he wouldn't care if she said anything.
She didn't have to, Rumble noticed her hesitation, and for the first time in a while, saw worry in her eyes, in fact he hardly saw that worry, in the past Cozy Glow might have bragged about this, but now she's taking him into consideration, that's what Rumble believes at least.
"It's me, I'm the baby's dad," Rumble confessed, everyone turning to him in surprise.
"You!? And Cozy Glow!?" Apple Bloom asked. "Where and when!?"
"This was before she got turned to stone," Rumble said. "So about five years ago."
"Wait, she's been pregnant for five years!?" Scootaloo asked.
"Uh, pretty much," Cozy Glow said. "I didn't know until after I was free from being turned to stone."
"Wait, how can you be pregnant if you're not married?" Flurry Heart asked.
"You don't need to be married to get pregnant," Cozy Glow said. "You just need to have s-"
"Cozy Glow!" Everypony shouted, getting an awkward blush from the filly.
"Sorry, kind of forgot her age a moment," Cozy Glow sheepishly said.
"Wait, age? What does that have to do with anything?" Flurry asked. "Is there something you're all not telling me!?"
"Kid, if you're that curious, ask your parents," Scootaloo said, then turned back to Cozy Glow. "As for you, if you know you're pregnant, why are you still fighting?"
"I know I shouldn't be, I even tried staying out of it but...well I guess I got dragged into it since Grogar caught me trying to steal the Alicorn Amulet," Cozy Glow explained. "Now I have to fight or I could die."
"You need to stay to the sidelines," Scootaloo said. "Come with us and let Twilight and the others save Equestria."
"Yeah, if you are carrying a baby, I don't think you should be out there," Flurry said.
Cozy Glow knew they had a point, she really shouldn't be endangering herself or her child. Reluctantly she nodded, giving in for the moment, "Fine, I'll go with you."
"Alright good, I want to keep you safe after all," Rumble said. "You and my child."
Cozy Glow blushed at Rumble's words, she couldn't wait for this to be over. However she still had one obstacle, one she didn't know of yet. When the group started making their way someplace safe, Sweetie Belle had taken the time to talk to Rumble.
"So, you and Cozy Glow are expecting a baby," one could hear the disappointment in her voice. "That's...interesting."
"Yeah, we are..." Rumble felt so awkward right now. His hopes of getting back with Sweetie Belle are done. "I'm so sorry Sweetie Belle."
"It's fine...I mean if it was five years ago, then it was when we were both still broken up," Sweetie Belle said. "I'm just surprised you and Cozy Glow were...active."
"Weren't you with Tender Taps?" Rumble asked.
"...Got me there," Sweetie Belle said. "We weren't that active though, truth be told, my one night with you was much better than my time with him."
"Wow really?" Rumble asked, feeling pretty proud of himself. "That's awesome."
"Wait, how did you know about me and Tender Taps?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Rumble suddenly felt awkward again, "I might have...saw you."
"You what!?" Sweetie Belle shrieked, causing everypony to stop. She turned her attention back to them, "This isn't a show! Keep walking!"
This surprised her friends, but they had no desire to further upset Sweetie Belle, so they did as told. Though Cozy Glow was a bit too interested, so she slowed down to listen in on their conversation.
"I take it you're not too happy," Rumble said.
"Of course I'm not, how did you see me and Tender Taps doing...that!?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"It was an accident, truth be told, I went to see you that night because...I wanted to see if we could get back together," Rumble confessed.
Cozy Glow almost reacted, luckily she kept her cool, she knows that if Rumble and Sweetie Belle overheard her, they wouldn't be too happy with her either.
"You wanted to get back together with me?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Rumble nodded, "I'll be honest, I was pretty miserable during the week after we broke up, I kept wondering if it was the right call. I wanted to be sure if I did or didn't love any other fillies. Every time I dated a filly, I would compare them to you, trying to see what they had over you, and each time I found nothing. Dinky and Apple Bloom are just too good as friends to be anything more, Diamond Tiara, Kettle Corn and Babs Seed I couldn't see lasting, Toola Roola seems to be a package deal with her friend Coconut Cream, plus she wasn't that compatible either, Flurry's cute but too young right now, Barley's nice but it wouldn't have worked, and Scootaloo, that's something we've explained time and again, though actually dating her really reassured me that we would not have worked."
"What about Cozy Glow?" Sweetie Belle asked. "You seemed close with her."
"She's...complicated," Rumble said. "I did like her, a lot, but I wasn't sure if I was really in love with her. She's cute, very cute, and I do like helping her and being there for her, and maybe it's those two weaknesses that let me be affectionate with her. But the difference is that every time I'm with her, I still have doubts, like I'm just doing this to keep her happy rather than make us both happy. With you I was happy, because I enjoyed making you happy, I like making Cozy happy too but I just felt that underlying shame. Eventually I decided that I just wanted things to go back to normal."
"And that's when you found out about me and Tender Taps?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I had a feeling you two were dating, but seeing you two getting affectionate made me think it was too late, and in that moment of weakness, I settled on Cozy Glow," Rumble said. "Quite frankly, the night I saw you with Tender Taps, I went to Cozy Glow's place and immediately got into it with her. I have to admit, that might have been a bad thing to do, I was just acting on emotions, I needed to feel affection and that was the most I could have gotten. But my romance with Cozy Glow, while only lasting a few weeks, was mostly physical after a while. We did some stuff together, but whenever we tried anything romantic, it just let to...pure raw love. Which of course is why she got pregnant obviously."
"Wow, that's pretty...something?" Sweetie Belle said. "I can't even relate, since I've only done 'that' a couple of times."
"At least the time I did it with you was special, and that's how I wanted our moments to be, with Cozy Glow I just didn't care, I just wanted the passion," Rumble said. "It was wrong though, thinking about it I shouldn't have done that with her, I didn't treat her like a marefriend, I just used her to relieve my stress. Can't believe I was careless enough to get her pregnant."
Sweetie Belle pitied Rumble of course, but now she felt slightly worried, actually she was very worried, knowing how big a deal this was. "So, what will you do now?"
"What else can I do?" Rumble said. "I take responsibility, I'll marry her like promised and we'll raise our baby together. I'm so sorry Sweetie Belle, I wanted that to be us, honestly if I hadn't found out about this, I probably would have taken you back when you considered it earlier. Nothing would make me happier than to be with you, but I can't ditch Cozy Glow now, that would be despicable."
Hearing this was a lot for Cozy Glow to take in. Rumble never loved her as much as he loved Sweetie Belle, in his mind all he wanted was Sweetie Belle. To hear that the only reason Rumble wants to marry her wasn't for love, but rather just an obligation really stung. This did break Cozy's heart a little, she was actually pretty mad. She just wanted to lash out at Rumble, she was ready to give him exactly what he wanted, she would ditch him and let him be happy with Sweetie Belle.
In spite of her anger, she had to remain calm for the moment, right now wasn't a good time since she was still in enemy territory. But she would address this later, she won't be taken for a hopeless, romantic fool.
Back at the big fight, more of the Storm King's soldiers were getting decimated by various Equestrians and their friends. The Wonderbolts took them out, especially Thunderlane who was desperate to find where his brother had gone. Ember, Garble and Smolder triple teamed them with raging fire. Many were trampled pretty badly by the Yaks, with Prince Rutheford standding proudly above them.
"Come on! What am I paying you buffoons for!?" Storm King shouted.
"I didn't know you paid any of them," Tempest said, getting Storm King's attention.
"Oh, it's you," Storm King said. "So, found a place among the little ponies?"
"Well, unlike you, they don't break their word," Tempest said, blasting Storm King back.
"Aw, let me guess, they gave you Friendship instead!" Storm King shouted, sending a blast at Tempest, which she quickly dodged.
"Jealous? At least I can trust those who trot beside me!" Tempest said.
"And how long before they abandon you, just like your last friends?" Storm King taunted. "You might end up alone again."
"No she won't," Starlight said, appearing beside Storm King. "We'll make sure of it."
"Uh, who are you?" Storm King asked.
"Starlight Glimmer?" Starlight said. "One of Twilight's apprentices."
"Oh right, think I heard the name, though I don't think I saw you during my invasion," Storm King said.
"Yeah, one of your guards snuck up on me and next thing I knew, I was sharing a cell with my friend Trixie," Starlight said. "That won't happen again. This time I'll be the one fighting you!"
"Alright, show me what the Princess's student can DO!" Storm King said, sending a blast at Starlight, which she quickly blocked and turned the shield into a beam to knock The Storm King back as Tempest rushed over to kick the brute in the face.
Starlight picked up some rocks and sent the flying to the Storm King, hitting him a few times but blocking the big one, which provided some cover for him long enough to jump out and zap Starlight and then Tempest.
"Foolish ponies thinking they can out match me! I'm a King baby!" Storm King shouted. "And I'm gonna-"
Sunset Shimmer blasted him from behind, "Wow you're annoying."
Storm King slid across the ground, landing near Sombra, who looked down in shame. "Get up you fool, we have enemies to destroy."
"Hey!" Storm King jumped to their feet. "You watch your mouth, I'm a King!"
"So am I!" Sombra shouted. "Now get back to your fight!"
"Bickering are you?" Shining Armor said, making his way toward the two. "I have a score to settle with the both of you. Sombra for the trouble you caused at The Crystal Empire and attempting to hold my daughter hostage. Storm King for turning my wife into stone and trying to steal her magic."
"Wait, your wife?" Storm King said. "Which one was she? Wait who are you exactly?"
"That is Shining Armor, Prince of the Crystal Empire and husband to Cadance, The Princess of Love," Sombra explained
"Oh, ew, love..." Storm King gagged. "There's only one thing that I love, absolute power!"
"Oh you want power? Here, take some!" Shining Armor said, blasting The Storm King. Sombra tried zapping the Prince but he put up his shield and then blasted Sombra back.
The evil king was dazed long enough for Tempest to run in and kick Sombra, and gave Starlight and Sunset the opening to blast him.
The two kings quickly regrouped, zapping at the four Unicorns, unaware that Cadance had arrived overhead, giving her the opening to blast them with her magic, knocking them forward, giving the opening for Tempest to zap them with her scatter magic.
"These ponies are so annoying!" Storm King shouted. "Hey guards! Come do something!"
The soldiers tried to assist but the Changelings, both pre and post transformed versions, blocked the path, with Thorax leading the charge. "Take this!"
The Changelings worked together to fight away the guards. Sombra looked enraged and went to attack Thorax but both Shining Armor and Cadance appeared before him and blasted him right back with Starlight and Sunset Shimmer blasting Storm King, getting them both in one area.
The five ponies joined together, charging up their magic and sending one massive blast to the two Kings, completely overwhelming and destroying them, finally putting an end to their tyranny.
Many of the Storm King's soldiers stopped fighting upon noticing the destruction of their leader. Seeing him defeated left them unwilling to continue, so they surrendered to the ponies.
"Two down, just one to go," Shining Armor said, taking note of his little sister teaming with Chrysalis to battle against Grogar.
It didn't take long for Grogar to notice that the soldiers stopped fighting, especially once he could no longer sense the presence of Sombra or Storm King. "So, those fools are dead, again. Bah, they can stay that way this time for all I care."
"You're all that's left Grogar, do you still plan to fight or will you go down easy?" Twilight asked.
"Such a foolish question, I shall never surrender! I haven't even begun to use my full power!" Grogar used his magic to teleport the Alicorn Amulet, Neighsay's Artifact and his bell toward him. "I hoped to have a few more artifacts but this will make a fine start."
"What is he up to?" Twilight asked.
Grogar then absorbed the magic of the three artifacts into him, slightly growing in size and channeling a surge of energy, one that caught everypony's attention. "Behold my might!"
Grogar summoned a lighting storm that struck down everywhere across the battlefield, ponies desperately running to get out of the way, same with the Storm King's soldiers. Grogar levitated into the skies and started raining down magic blasts.
"He got strong fast!" Twilight said.
"Damn, I was worried about this," Chrysalis said.
The Wonderbolts and Washouts flew in to attack but one swift blast of magic knocked out a good chunk of them, including Spitfire. The Dragons tried blasting him with fire but Grogar blocked it and sent a large ball of magic, knocking them down like pins.
Shining Armor rushed in with a group of Unicorns, each tried to bind Grogar with their magic. The goat powered through and flew down to blast all of them, only Shining Armor not taking damage thanks to his quick shield spell. But Grogar had rammed him, overpowering through his shield and knocking him away.
"Holy crap he's strong," Rainbow Dash said.
"What should we do?" Applejack asked. "He's mowing through our friends like nothing!"
Tirek made his way over, cracking his knuckles, "Big whoop, I can take him. In fact I can just absorb his magic!"
As Tirek got in close and tried to absorb the magic, Grogar quickly blasted him hard enough to knock Tirek over, the Centaur landing in a thud. "You fool, do you really believe I did not account for your magic absorbing skills!?"
"I hate being outsmarted," Tirek said, trying to stand up.
Twilight flew over to the centaur, "You're going to gave to use better strategy then, and teamwork."
"I didn't need teamwork to defeat the Pillars," Tirek said.
"Uh, yes you did, I was there remember!" Adagio reminded, making her way over.
"Well I could have done so without your help, I still absorbed their magic, how many creatures do you know can overpower Starswirl and his pals?" Tirek asked.
"Grogar," Aria said, pointing to Grogar battling the Pillars.
Flash Magnus flew around, hoping to get Grogar off balance long enough to attack, but Grogar saw through that and blasted Magnus, then blasted an oncoming Sonambula. Rockhoof jumped to attack but Grogar overpowered him with a lightning zap. Starswirl and Mistmane sent a pair of beams at Grogar, the goat enduring the attack and sending his own blasts at them. He then blasted Mage Meadowbrook as she was attempting to heal Magnus.
"Wow, that is impressive," Tirek admitted.
"That's terrible!" Twilight said. "We're gonna have to act fast, as a team."
"Will that even work?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying over with the rest of the Elements beside her. "Most of our army is knocked out, everyone is struggling just to avoid his attacks!"
"We have The Magic of Friendship, it's helped us before, it can help us again," Twilight said.
"Why don't you use that fancy magic you used against me in our first battle?" Tirek said. "When you were all colorful and your hair was big."
"You mean our Rainbow Magic?" Twilight asked. "I'd like to but it might be hard given that King Sombra destroyed the Tree of Harmony."
"Well you have access to some fancy magic, you used against us five years ago," Tirek said.
"That was our Friendship," Twilight explained. "It helped us before, and it can help us again."
"You're overconfident, aren't you?" Grogar said, making his way over to them, readying his magic. "Your friendship can't save you now!"
Grogar blasted at them with Twilight trying to shield them. Fortunately Rarity, Chrysalis and and Tirek helped but they all got pushed back, sent across the field.
So much magical energy caused the lands to tremble, this getting the attention of Rumble and his friends as they tried getting away from the battle.
"That sounds bad!" Apple Bloom said.
"I can almost sense the magic coming from Grogar," Sweetie Belle said. "It's like his power suddenly increased, what's happening?"
"Oh no, Grogar must have gone through with his plan..." Cozy said, getting everypony's attention. "He probably absorbed the magic from the artifacts he had me collect for him. I thought he was gonna wait until he had them all, guess Twilight forced his hoof."
"How many did he have?" Rumble asked.
"Just two, plus his bell," Cozy Glow said. "Makes me wonder how strong he'd be if he had more artifacts, if he gets The Crystal Heart then that's going to make him nearly unstoppable that even The Elements would have a hard time stopping."
All the ponies started panicking, worried about the state of the world. Dinky tried calming everypony down by reminding them of something, "Well there's still like an army of friends fighting Grogar, they can totally beat him, can't they?"
"They might have a chance, but there's also a good chance most of them will probably die trying," Cozy Glow solemnly said.
Flurry began to panic..."Mom...dad!" She flew off in the direction of the battle, despite the protests from the other ponies.
"Flurry! No! It's not safe!" Apple Bloom called out.
Cozy Glow groaned in annoyance, "That little fool!" She flew after Flurry Heart, despite more protests.
"We gotta help them!" Apple Bloom said, following after the two fillies, with the others soon following as well.
Grogar continued to attack the creatures below, some trying to fly to him, including a triple team attempt from Gallus, Silverstream and Ocellus. They flew around, trying to attack any way they could but Grogar took them down quickly with a triple blast spell.
Suddenly Flurry Heart came into view, charging her magic, "Grogar!"
"Is that Flurry!?" Twilight shouted in worry, this also getting the attention of her parents.
"Flurry! NO!" Shining Armor shouted.
Flurry had already attacked, trying to zap Grogar out of the sky but he had grabbed her into a bind, "Heroes breed so young."
"Let go of my daughter!" Cadance shouted, flying in to save Flurry but took a blast from Grogar.
"Don't worry, you'll all share the same demise," Grogar taunted. Suddenly he took a blast to his back from Cozy Glow. Grogar turned around and zapped the mare, electrocuting her in the air.
"Cozy!" Chrysalis zapped Grogar a few times, distracting him long enough to drop Flurry. Rumble flew in to catch Cozy Glow before she hit the ground.
"Cozy Glow!?" Rumble checked to make sure she was still breathing, gently rubbing her belly too, worried for his child.
Grogar aimed a blast and struck down at the two, but a well timed forcefield from Sweetie Belle saved them from certain demise. Sweetie Belle charged up another attack, "Take this!" She hit Grogar straight between the eyes, stunning him a bit.
"Wow, that's awesome," Rumble said, though noticed Grogar was quick to recover. "Too bad he's nearly indestructible."
Grogar flew in to attack but a mid-air tackle from Silverstream, Ocelus and Gallus managed to distract him as they brought him toward the ground, with Yona, Sandbar and Ember rushing in to attack.
"Let's get out of here," Rumble said. "There isn't much we can do."
"You go, get Cozy Glow out of here, I'm gonna help the others fight Grogar," Sweetie Belle said.
"What are you crazy!? He's too strong!" Rumble said.
"Maybe, but I have to try," Sweetie Belle said, but Rumble flew in front of her.
"I can't let you go, I refuse to let anything bad happen to you!" Rumble said. "Let Twilight handle this, she's got plenty of strong friends, you don't need to risk your life!"
Sweetie Belle seemed a bit annoyed, then found herself chuckling, much to Rumble's confusion. The mare gently stroked Rumble's mane. "Remember when we were kids? How you always wanted to protect me? Because you called yourself my Knight?"
"Yeah, of course, I took that very seriously," Rumble said.
"Yes, you did, and I really appreciated it, because it made me feel special," Sweetie Belle said. "You always made me feel special. I always imagined that if I were ever in danger, you would come to my rescue, and you have tried. Starting with the day Chrysalis captured us, you did everything you could to make sure I was safe. Even now, after we've been broken up for years, you still want to rush to my side and keep me safe."
"Of course, I...I love you," Rumble said. "I know it's wrong to say now, but it's how I've always felt. I don't think I've ever stopped loving you, no matter how hard I tried to love another filly."
"Too bad, maybe I shouldn't have gone out with Tender Taps, we barely lasted, he was still in love with Twilight," Sweetie Belle said. "Maybe I shouldn't have waited so long to try and get back together with you. Truth be told, I was hoping you would ask me to be yours again."
"I was afraid to, my fears of messing up again prevented me from doing that," Rumble admitted. "Sweetie Belle, it may be too late for us to be together, but that doesn't mean I'll stop protecting you. I mean, we can still be friends, can't we?"
"It'll be hard for me honestly," Sweetie Belle said, then pulled Rumble into a kiss. So many emotions swirled in Rumble's mind; confusion, worry, happiness, hesitation, but most of all, the feeling of true love. This felt right to him, Sweetie Belle is the only mare he wants to kiss, and he wants to relish in it.
The two maintained their affection for quite a bit, as if they were trying to make up for lost time. It was during this that Cozy Glow started to wake up and took note of the passionate kiss between Rumble and Sweetie Belle. Once again, her heart shattered, this was definite proof that she and Rumble could never be together, not even a baby could unite them.
The two broke away, both blushing intensely. In that moment they forgot about all the fighting, and saving the world. They just saw each other, and they realized they were all the other wanted.
Rumble brushed his mane back, trying to put his thoughts into words, "Wow, Sweetie Belle, I gotta say that kiss was...well-"
Suddenly Sweetie Belle was snatched into the air by Grogar's magic, the demonic Goat levitating to the skies with the mare. "You..."
"Put me down!" Sweetie Belle shouted, blasting Grogar in the face.
"Little pest!" Grogar began to electrocute her. "Trying to make a fool of me? Wanting to be like Twilight huh? A thorn in my side!? I'll enjoy killing Princess Twilight's star pupil."
"Hey! You!" Rumble shouted at Grogar, getting his attention. "Give her BACK!" He flew in to attack the beast, readying a punch but Grogar whacked Rumble away with a magic blast. That didn't stop him as Rumble went right back at Grogar, getting knocked back again. Then he attacked again, regardless of how many times he got knocked back, he kept coming, desperate to save Sweetie Belle.
"How persistent," Grogar said. "You must really care for this child."
Rumble panted heavily, wiping some blood from his face as he went to attack again, but before Grogar could counter-attack, Twilight teleported over and blasted Grogar, causing him to release his grip on Sweetie Belle. Twilight flew over to grab her, then held out her arm to Rumble, "Reach for my Hoof!"
Rumble did as told and this allowed Twilight to teleport him and Sweetie Belle away from Grogar, back to her group.
"Twilight!" Rarity rushed to help her friend. "Thank you so much for saving Sweetie Belle!"
"Rumble deserves some praise too, he fought valiantly trying to help as well," Twilight said, gesturing to the foal.
"I can see that," Rarity said, checking on Rumble. "You poor dear, you look really hurt."
"Nothing I can't handle," Rumble said, smiling at Rarity, the mare noticing a chipped tooth.
Grogar looked ready to attack again, but he took some magic blasts, one from Starswirl who had assistance from the Pillars, Ocellus with help from the Student Six, and the team of Starlight and Sunset Shimmer, with Spike also providing assistance with his fire.
"Now's our chance," Twilight said. "We need to summon the power of the Elements of Harmony girls, it's our best bet to defeat Grogar."
"Will we be enough?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You'll need help," they heard, and saw Sonata making her way over with Adagio and Aria by her side. "We can provide the assistance."
"I'll help as well," Chrysalis said, making her way over. "Grogar must be stopped."
"I'll lend you my strength" Tirek said, marching over to the group. "Something tells me you'll all need my muscle."
"Add me to that list too," Cozy Glow said, looking bitter. "I have Alicorn magic as well, might as well put it to good use."
"Wow, never expected to see six of our enemies fighting by our side," Rainbow Dash said.
"Starlight was our enemy once too," Twilight reminded.
"Yes, but she at least joined our side, those six are still our enemies," Rainbow Dash pointed out.
"Well then, for now let's not see them as enemies," Twilight turned to them with a reassuring smile. "But as our friends."
Tirek groaned in annoyance, "Don't get sappy with us, we just want to destroy Grogar already, once that's done we're take a nice vacation, I need a break from this nonsense."
"Well, I'd like to be friends," Sonata said. "I'd like for us all to be friends."
"I'd welcome that" Rumble added. "You're all a lot nicer than you act, you shouldn't be ashamed to make friends, doesn't it sound nice? Didn't you enjoy helping others? Fighting to protect Equestria?"
"We won't force this upon you, it has to be something you want," Twilight said. "At least think about it."
"Fine, we'll consider it, now let's hurry before Grogar strikes again!" Tirek said.
Twilight nodded and began focusing her energy alongside her friends, each of them channeling the power of the Elements of Harmony. Even if physically gone, their magic still resided in the six. Meanwhile the six villains began to power up as well, hoping to generate enough energy to destroy Grogar.
During this, some of the aura from the Elements of Harmony began to spread, making it's way to the villains. Suddenly a ray of sunshine flickered in their once darkened hearts, feeling the warmth of genuine friendship.
Chrysalis started feeling at peace, a magic fueling in her body, similar to the feeling of love she would absorb from others. Except this time it was freely flowing through her, and instead of resisting it, she allowed it to take over her being. Tirek also felt a warmth in his body, feeling a sense of happiness and acceptance, something he once yearned from his family, now feeling really close. Cozy Glow felt the ray of Friendship and for the first time started to understand something she hadn't before, how Friendship really is suppose to be, to be given freely rather than forced. It's almost like some of the negative energy flowed out of their bodies, picked up by The Sirens, who also felt a weird sensation. They too felt a warmth, even in all the negativity, they could also feel positivity. So much apprehension, but a silver lining right at the end.
Both groups started to glow, with Sweetie Belle sticking close to The Elements of Harmony, and Rumble sticking close to the former villains. They too felt the rush of friendship, Sweetie Belle's horn glowing from the intake in magic.
Within moments, a large ray of energy shot from the Elements, The former villains and the two lovers, all aimed right at Grogar, the beast completely consumed by the magic.
"No! This can't be happening! I am Grogar! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!!!" Grogar tried fending it off but the magic was too strong even for him and he was immediately destroyed, leaving nothing but his bell, which fell to the ground below. Grogar was no more, the worl was once again safe.
"We did it," Sweetie Belle said, taking a breath from having endured so much magic. "We defeated him!"
"We sure did," Rumble said, falling over. "We did great, didn't we?"
"Yeah, we did," Sweetie Belle said, then leaned in to nuzzle her sweet Rumble. "My hero."
"We're all heroes," Rumble said. "Everyone here who helped stop Grogar."
Sweetie Belle looked in the direction of the villains, "Hm, what's gonna happen with them though?"
Rumble turned his attention to the former villains, especially Cozy Glow. "Not sure, but I do know we have one more matter to settle."
Sweetie Belle faced Cozy Glow, nodding in agreement, "Yeah, we do."
The world was safe, but there were still conflicts to resolve before total Harmony could be reached.
Author's Note
Nearly at the end.
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
All of the creatures who joined in on this big epic battle rejoiced, having found victory against the beast Grogar. Equestria was safe again, all the evil doers finally defeated.
The Storm King soldiers, the ones that survived, were rounded up, Twilight would deal with them later. The Alicorn Amulet was taken in by Shining Armor, with Starlight grabbing Neighsay's magical artifact as well, fully intending to return it to the EEA leader.
At the moment, there was still one unresolved conflict, what to do with the six former villains who had turned on Grogar to help save Equestria. Prior to all this, the had done some misdeeds, having attacked villages and stolen various goods, so some consequences were likely. But Twilight wanted to figure out something that could be beneficial to all.
She, along with her friends, as well as Rumble and The Crusaders, stood before the six, considering all the options at her disposal. "So, while you all did some really terrible things, you still helped to save Equestria, at your own free will. I can probably let you off with something minor, I've done favor for Starlight after all."
"Minor like what?" Adagio asked.
"Maybe, a public apology?" Twilight suggested.
"That's it?" Tirek asked. "I think I could accept that."
"You also have to do goo deeds for the ponies across Equestria," Twilight said.
"Ugh, should have known it wouldn't be that easy," Tirek said, sighing in defeat. "Honestly this seems like a risk, I mean how many ponies are even going to trust us?"
"It's going to be a process I admit, but it will be worth it to show that you're all better than most ponies think you are," Twilight said.
"So it's for real then?" Rainbow Dash asked. "They're on our side now?"
"Seems that way," Twilight said, then turned back to the others. "I mean, do you want to join us? Will you accept our friendship?"
The six former villains seemed a little hesitant to answer at first, either due to embarrassment or uncertainty. However one stepped forward, that being Sonata Dusk. "I want to try being friends, especially if Adagio ad Aria want to try as well."
Twilight turned her attention to the two sirens, "Would you like to be friends?"
Adagio looked a bit unsure, her pride nearly getting in the way. It took a surprise answer from Aria to shift her opinion. "Yeah, I want to."
Sonata gasped, looking quite happy. "Wow, you mean it Aria!?"
"If it'll make you happy, then sure, I don't see why not," Aria said.
"That just leaves Adagio," Twilight said, turning to the Siren leader. "What will it be?"
Of course there was some hesitation, Adagio wasn't too quick or even that willing to consider Twilight's proposal of Friendship. But both her friends are already on board, and while she still doesn't like Twilight much, she still wants to be with them.
"Fine, I'll join too," Adagio said. "As leader of The Dazzlings, I hereby revoke all animosity against Equestria."
"YAY! I'm so happy!" Sonata said, pulling both her friends in for a hug. "We can finally be part of a normal society!"
"Yeah, sure, normal," Adagio said. "One problem though, we still need to feed off negative emotions. It is how we obtain our nutrients."
"We can do something similar to what the Changelings do," Sweetie Belle said. "And let ponies give you their negative energy."
"Would that even work?" Aria said. "Why would ponies willingly share something like that? I mean you're going for a world of harmony."
"Even in a harmonious world, ponies always feel sadness or unhappiness about something," Twilight explained. "Maybe they had a bad day or maybe they're going through something stressful. You three could help the ponies by taking in their negativity and relieving them of it."
"Like a therapist!" Sonata asked.
"Eh, something like that, part of being a friend means helping ponies with their burdens, and I think you three would be perfect for that, if you're up to it at least," Twilight said.
"You can help a lot of ponies with your abilities," Fluttershy said. "You have a chance to use your gifts for the greater good."
"Then it's settled, we happily welcome The Dazzlings as part of our Harmonious Family," Twilight said.
"And they can live with us at The Crystal Empire!" Flurry excitedly said, popping in. "They can stay in our castle too!"
"Easy Flurry, that's for them to decide," Twilight said. "And you should make sure your parents are fine with that idea as well."
"Don't worry, I can usually get my daddy to give me what I want, I'm his special little princess after all," Flurry teased.
"Riiiiight," Twilight said, little unsure about her niece's comment. She turned her attention to the former Changeling queen, "As for Chrysalis, your situation is easy. You can go through metamorphosis like Thorax and the other Changelings and you can live in Harmony with them."
Chrysalis did not look too sure, "I understand your intentions, however if I am being truly honest, that idea is not as easy as it sounds."
"It can be, Thorax would be more than willing to allow you back into the Hive," Twilight said. "I mean, you just risked your life to save Equestria, I think that's very noble and a good show of faith."
"Twilight, to go back to my Kingdom now would be rather shameful, it'd be a constant reminder of my failures, to go from being Queen to being a commoner and in the eyes of many, a disgrace would be a terrible fate to endure," Chrysalis said.
"Chrysalis, I know it might not be easy, Starlight can definitely relate since she too felt like an outcast in the village she led, but I believe that Thorax and the others would just be happy to see you back and see that you've fully accepted Friendship," Twilight said.
"Even if they are happy to have me back, it still does not make this decision any easier, to see the Hive that I once ruled under the tillage of another," Chrysalis said. "I mean no disrespect to Thorax, but I do not feel like I belong at the Hive just yet. Deep down I still have a lot of resentment towards them for turning on me, honestly I don't even know if I'm ready to really call anyone my friend just yet."
"What abut Cozy Glow?" Rumble asked. "You seemed very worried about her when her life was in danger."
"Call it pity, as a mother to many of The Changelings, I simply related to her plight," Chrysalis said.
"Huh? What does being a mother have to do with this?" Twilight asked.
"You'll have to ask Cozy Glow yourself," Chrysalis explained.
"Well, at least consider my prior proposal," Twilight said. "Thorax could probably benefit from your presence a well, maybe you can be an advisor?"
"...What a downgrade, but fine, I shall consult with Thorax and get his input," Chrysalis said.
"Excellent, that just leaves Tirek and Cozy Glow," Twilight said. "The question is what to do with the both of you."
"First thing's first," Applejack said. "Tirek should probably return any magic he took, and from his size, it looks like he took a lot."
"Aw, I knew I'd have to do that," Tirek complained, looking to his muscles. "I could never stay buff, you know what it's like having all this muscle and losing it? I look like such a weakling without it."
"We can compromise Tirek, maybe you won't be as buff but you'll have plenty of magic," Twilight said.
"Plus some of it came from Grogar's bell, I don't think Twilight will take that from you," Adagio said.
"Eh, guess so," Tirek replied, then readied his spell. "Alright, stand back, gotta concentrate and..." Within seconds, Tirek send out magic all over Equestria, all of it returning to ponies and other creatures he swiped it from. Doing so did decrease his size, but he still had some muscle left over from the magic he got from Grogar's bell.
"Thank you Tirek, that was very mature of you to do that," Twilight said.
"Yeah, yeah, don't patronize me filly," Tirek said, still somewhat pouty. "Where exactly am I suppose to stay though?"
"You could come to our farm, could use the extra muscle," Applejack said.
"Excuse me?" Tirek asked in disbelief. "You expect me to become a farmer? I was a Prince in my land, I can't be a farmer."
"Sure you can, nothing like a little hard work to really make you feel accomplished," Applejack said. "Why knocking down all those Apples can be quite the workout, you'll be able to gain muscle that way."
"Eh...still seems a bit degrading," Tirek said.
"Well what about your homeland?" Twilight asked. "Would you ever consider returning?"
"And do what? I haven't seen my family in over 1000 years, I don't even know what my brother's up to these says, if he's even still alive," Tirek said.
"Still, maybe you'll find some purpose there," Twilight said. "It's worth a shot."
"Fine, might be hard to get there though, it's been so long after all," Tirek said. "I probably won't even know my way around."
"Maybe you can ask Starswirl, he and your brother Scorpan are pretty good friends, and he has visited the Nether Lands, he can show you around and keep you up to date on any chances," Twilight suggested.
Tirek did consider that, truthfully he does want to see what his family's Kingdom is like these days. However he had one lingering thing on his mind, "You know, you're being awfully nice considering we tried destroying you many times before."
"I am inclined to agree with Tirek, given the stories Cozy Glow has told us, we expected some hesitation," Chrysalis said.
"I already made a mistake once before like that, so I made a promise not to repeat that mistake," Twilight said. "Plus you all proved yourselves when you fought against Grogar, the least I could do is this favor for all of you."
"I...guess that makes sense?" Tirek said.
"I understand if you don't trust me," Twilight began. "But I do hope that-"
"Hey! hold on!" Rainbow Dash interrupted. "No offense but you shouldn't be earning their trust Twilight! They should be earning yours considering everything they've done!"
"Rainbow Dash, not a good idea!" Twilight warned.
"Hey I'm just being honest here," Rainbow Dash said."
"I thought that was Applejack's thing?" Sonata said, little clueless at the moment.
"Not the point," Rainbow Dash said. "Look I get that you all helped out and we do appreciate it, but it really isn't fair to make Twilight feel like she has to work extra hard for your confidence. She, the ruler of Equestria, giving you all a chance at a better life, you really should take her word for it."
"It's fine Rainbow Dash, their hesitation is to be expected," Twilight said. "I just hope one day we can move past it, but I am willing to take my time in befriending the six of you."
"Eh, with effort it is possible," Tirek reluctantly admitted. "It still might be weird for us, considering we were mortal enemies at one point."
"Starlight was able to adjust," Sweetie Belle said. "And so was Discord."
"Where is Discord?" Sonata asked. "I'm surprised he didn't help."
"Discord only helps if Fluttershy's in danger," Rumble said.
"Rumble, that's not entirely true," Twilight scolded. "Discord's just...running by his own clock let's say."
"Discord isn't someone that I am that eager to see anyway," Tirek said.
"Same with the Princesses," Chrysalis said. "Rather, the last Princesses who ruled."
"Right, Celestia and Luna, wait until they hear about everything that's gone on," Twilight said. "They'll be pretty surprised to know you helped save Equestria."
Chrysalis flashed a smug smile upon hearing that, "Honestly, I'd love to see the looks on their faces when they find out."
"Imagine Discord's reaction, bet he never saw this coming," Tirek said, chuckling a bit.
Twilight turned her attention to the youngest of the group, the once villainous filly who, with any luck, can finally learn the true Magic of Friendship. "Cozy Glow..."
"Twilight..." Cozy replied.
"So, Chrysalis mentioned that you two share the commonality of motherhood, would you mind elaborating?" Twilight asked. "If you want to at least, just so I can help in any way."
"If I tell you, promise you won't be too mad," Cozy Glow said.
"Oh, you're worried I'll be mad at you?" Twilight asked. "That's...kind of cute honestly."
"Not me, at Rumble," Cozy Glow said, gesturing to the very nervous colt. Sweetie Belle was right beside him, feeling very sorry for the boy.
"Rumble?" Twilight looked back to him, she could tell immediately he was worried about something. "What happened exactly?"
"I'm pregnant," Cozy Glow admitted. "And Rumble's the father."
Twilight's pupils immediately shrank, Rainbow Dash's mouth hung open, Fluttershy looked highly surprised, Rarity had an aghast reaction, Applejack just gawked curiously at Rumble and Pinkie Pie just stood there, not sure how to even process this.
"P-pregnant!?" Twilight repeated. "When? How? I mean I know how you got pregnant, but...ugh, explain!"
"Wait, why do I need to explain, you're not my mother!" Cozy Glow said.
Twilight noticed somepony in the corner of her eyes. Flashing a devious smile, she turned her attention back to the sassy filly, "No, but I know somepony who's like a mother to you."
"Who are you..." Cozy began to realize who Twilight meant once she saw Flitter flying in from the distance. "Oh no..."
"Cozy Glow!" Flitter rushed in to crush the filly in a hug. "Oh I'm so happy to see you! It's been so long! I mean I've had a chance to see you but you probably don't remember since you were made of stone but I always came by to see your statue, hoping and praying for the day you get released from stone and..." Flitter wiped away some tears, "Sorry I'm getting a little emotional, I'm just so relieved to see you out and about after all these years!"
"Yeah, I've missed you too Flitter," Cozy said, trying her hardest to withstand the bone crushing hug.
"You've hardly changed too!" Flitter said, finally letting go, much to Cozy's relief. "Guess that's the side affect of being turned to stone."
"I'll grow soon, Grogar gave me magic so my body can match my age, but it's slow acting," Cozy Glow explained.
"Still, I'm so happy that you've proven just what a great filly you are, I mean you saved Equestria!" Flitter kissed Cozy's head. "I'm so proud of you!"
"Aw...thanks Flitter," Cozy Glow said, happy at being accepted by the mare she saw as a mother/big sister figure.
"Um, I hate to interrupt the reunion," Twilight said. "But Cozy has some explaining to do."
"Hey can't you bug her about this later? I mean she just saved the world, I think she's earned a little reprieve," Flitter said.
"Yeah, what she said," Cozy Glow said.
Twilight furrowed her brow in annoyance, "This isn't an interrogation, something major happened with Cozy Glow, and she really needs our help with this, but she's being too stubborn to let us help."
Flitter turned to Cozy Glow, "Do you want to tell me and I'll tell Twilight? I know you don't like her so I get you don't want to talk directly to her."
"Can you NOT encourage that type of mindset?" Rainbow Dash said.
"It's fine, it's a process," Twilight said.
"Flitter, it's just really embarrassing, and you might be mad," Cozy Glow said.
"You just saved Equestria, whatever bad thing you did, I think I can forgive," Flitter said.
"Might as well tell her, she'll find out," Rumble said.
"Find out what?" Flitter asked. "What's the secret?"
"Secret? What secret?" Starlight Glimmer asked, showing up with Spike, Sunset Shimmer, Thunderlane and Cloudchaser.
"Rumble!" Cloudchaser flew over to hug the colt, "Thank Heavens you're alright."
"Yeah I'm doing fine, nothing I can't handle," Rumble said.
"Yeah, Rumble's indestructible," Dinky said, making her way over with Tender Taps and the Barrel Twins.
"Indestructible might be a bit much," Rumble said.
"Well he has survived a great deal," Chrysalis pointed out. "He took several hits from Grogar and lived."
"Well I had to try and save Sweetie Belle," Rumble said. "But yeah, Grogar hits hard."
"You're such a badass Rumble," Dinky said. "It's official, the day I want to have kids, I want you to be their father."
That caused an awkward blush from Rumble, Sweetie Belle, Cozy Glow and a slight snicker from the former villains.
"Well let's hope whoever you're with is alright with that," Rumble said.
"Ah might be," Apple Bloom said, getting everypony's attention. "Oh right, we haven't told anyone yet."
"Now's a good of time as any," Dinky said. "Me and Apple Bloom are gonna start dating."
"Whoa really!?" Scootaloo asked.
"Aw, how nice," Fluttershy said.
"Go Dinky!" Cloudchaser cheered.
"How long has this been a thing?" Rumble asked.
"Uh, since a couple nights ago," Dinky said with a blush, though immediately noticed an unhappy Applejack. "It wasn't anything risque if that's what you're wondering, we just talked and soon we started feeling things for each other."
"We wanted to tell y'all but given the fact that villains were attacking Equestria, we figured to put our relationship on hold until we were certain of our future," Apple Bloom said.
"So now me and Apple Bloom are totally gonna date," Dinky said, before turning her attention to Applejack. "If that's cool with you."
"Fine by me, just make sure you treat her right, or not only will you have me to deal with, but we have a very protective older brother who might not take kindly to anypony who messes with his little sisters," Applejack warned.
"Oh I wouldn't dream of ticking off either you or Big Macintosh," Dinky nervously said.
"While this is all very sweet to hear, we do have another matter to address," Twilight said, then turned back to Cozy Glow. "Floor's all yours."
Cozy Glow sighed in annoyance, no matter how many times she admits it today, it still feels awkward. Probably would have been better to tell everypony at once but she couldn't predict the day.
"For starters everypony, I'm pregnant," Cozy Glow again confessed.
"Pregnant!?" Flitter shouted in disbelief. "How!? When!? Who!?"
"How...can't say in front of Flurry," Cozy joked, much to the filly's annoyance. "When, five years ago before me, Chrysalis, Tirek and The Dazzlings attacked Canterlot, who, that would be-"
"Wait hold on a second," Flitter said. "You've been pregnant for five years!?"
"That's what I said!" Scootaloo said. Flitter shot an annoyed glare, causing Scootaloo to step back. "Sorry, continue."
"To answer your question Flitter, I suppose you can say I was pregnant for five years," Cozy admitted.
Flitter turned her attention to Twilight, "Did the Princesses know before they turned her into a statue!?"
"Of course not, I don't think anypony knew," Twilight said. "We wouldn't have done that if we knew, even if Cozy deserved it, her foal wouldn't have."
"She did NOT deserve it!" Flitter shouted. "Honestly it's a good thing Celestia retired, she got senile in her old age."
"Watch it..." Twilight warned.
"As for you, what the hell took you so long to free Cozy Glow!?" Flitter asked. "You're one of the reasons I left Ponyville years back!"
"Flitter I had already moved to Canterlot, what did you leaving accomplish?" Twilight asked.
"I wasn't going to live in a town that had your legacy written all over it, or your friends," Flitter said.
"I remember that day, we all moved to Cloudsdale," Cloudchaser said, gesturing to herself, Thunderlane and Rumble.
"Golly, you really must have missed me Flitter if you were that angry," Cozy Glow said.
"Of course, I love you Cozy Glow," Flitter said.
"You're not mad that I'm pregnant?" Cozy Glow asked.
Flitter shook her head, "No, maybe a bit surprised though. Who got you pregnant anyway?"
"That was me," Rumble confessed.
Flitter had to check her ears afterwards, she wasn't sure if that really was Rumble, or rather she hoped it wasn't him. "Mind repeating that dear?"
"I got Cozy Glow pregnant, five years ago," Rumble said.
"Rumble...you got her pregnant?" Flitter asked. "That means you...and she..."
"Yeah, we did...a lot," Rumble said, blushing a bit.
"That's my bro," Thunderlane praised.
"Dude!" Cloudchaser shouted, punching Thunderlane in the face, knocking him down. Rumble gulped at the sight of his brother taking that blow, Cloudchaser was scary when angry. It didn't help that she focused her attention right back at him. "As for you Rumble, I can't believe you got her pregnant! I didn't even know you were active!"
"Same, when did you have time?" Flitter asked.
"Let's just say we were really quiet, or on occasion, snuck off to my house," Rumble said.
"Wait, you snuck Cozy Glow away when she was not suppose to leave Flitter's presence!?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "You knew she couldn't do that Rumble!"
"Give me a break, I was feeling...urges and I thought Twilight's rules were stupid so I ignored them!" Rumble said.
"Well, now you're paying the price, you got her pregnant, what now then?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Honestly maybe it was a good thing Cozy Glow as a statue, no way you could have handled being a father back then," Thunderlane said. "I mean you were a kid yourself, you still needed to be tucked in at night."
"DON'T TELL EVERYONE THAT!" Rumble angrily shouted, a huge blush on his face.
"Just saying bro," Thunderlane said, backing off a bit.
"I've tucked Rumble in myself those nights, really, really well," Cozy said with a blush.
"Um..." Flurry scratched her head. "I'm so confused right now."
"If you want information, you'll have to ask your parents," Twilight said. "Only they can tell you."
"Alright look, I know I goofed up but I'm ready to face my responsibility," Rumble said. "I will take care of Cozy Glow during this and help her raise her baby."
"So, you two intend to marry, correct?" Chrysalis asked.
Before Rumble could answer, Cozy Glow spoke up first, "No, we're not getting married."
Rumble looked confused by this answer, total opposite of everything Cozy Glow's been saying . "Um...Cozy Glow, I thought you wanted to get married."
"I did but...I don't think we should," Cozy Glow said.
"What changed your mind?" Rumble asked.
"For starters, are you even in love with me Rumble?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Uh...well..." Rumble wasn't sure how to answer.
"Yeah your hesitation is very reassuring," Cozy Glow sarcastically stated. "I know you don't love me, you're still in love with Sweetie Belle. I was just a rebound in the end, you couldn't have her so you settled for me. That was a really crummy thing to do Rumble."
Rumble was surprised to hear this coming from Cozy Glow, "Uh, how did you even...-"
"I overheard you and Sweetie Belle, probably should have waited til you two had some privacy," Cozy Glow said. "To top it all off, you were kissing her just a moment ago."
"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity said, getting her sister's attention. "Is that true? Did you really kiss Rumble?"
"Yeah..." Sweetie Belle shyly admitted.
"You two are still in love with each other, so obviously any feelings Rumble had for me were fake!" Cozy Glow angrily shouted.
"Hey come on now, fake's a bit much," Rumble said. "I mean, I did care about you, I still do, it's just that...well..."
"Oh just save it, it doesn't matter what you felt then, what matters is what you feel now, and your feelings are for Sweetie Belle, and not me!" Cozy Glow turned away to hide the tears in her eyes. "You can have her then, be happy with your little Sweetie Belle. I don't need you to raise my baby, I can do it by myself!"
With that Cozy ran off, sprinkles of tears leaving her eyes despite the others trying to call her back over.
"She's emotional," Tirek commented.
"She's pregnant and got her heart broken, of course she's emotional," Aria said.
"Poor Cozy Glow," Apple Bloom said. "Ah feel so bad fer her."
Rumble started making his way over, "I'll see if I can reason with her."
"Wait," Sweetie Belle said, "Let me see if I can get through to her."
"Uh, is that a good idea?" Rumble asked. "She probably hates you since she sees you as a romantic rival."
"But she was my friend once, even if it was very brief," Sweetie Belle said. "If I can reignite something then maybe she'll feel a little less tense, plus I've been meaning to say a few things to her anyway." Sweetie Belle ran off after Cozy Glow, leaving the others worried, hoping for success.
As Cozy Glow ran she had stopped near a tree and sat against it, taking a breath, that and she was too upset to keep moving. She had no idea what to do now, very well knowing she can't raise a baby alone. Maybe she wouldn't have to be alone though, she could rely on her villain friends to help, but she didn't expect them to be fully on board, except maybe Sonata.
There was also Flitter, but being with her might mean interacting with Rumble, and that's not something she was eager to do yet.
"Cozy Glow!" that was Sweetie Belle calling. Cozy looked over to her romantic rival. Part of her hates Sweetie Belle, but she can't fully bring herself to admit that because she doesn't believe it to be fully true.
"What is it Sweetie Belle?" Cozy answered, trying not to show any emotion.
Sweetie Belle rushed over to the other filly, taking note of her expression. Cozy tried turning away to hide her face but it was easy to tell she was very unhappy.
"You ran off so suddenly, I got kind of worried," Sweetie Belle said.
"Pfft, what's there to be worried about? At least if I'm not around I won't get in your way," Cozy Glow said.
"I know you're mad Cozy Glow but running off like that is not a good idea," Sweetie Belle said. "For one it could be dangerous, there might be monsters around."
"I still have Alicorn powers, I can take care of myself," Cozy Glow said.
"Maybe but we don't want to take any chances, you need to come back with us now, even though you're a hero for helping us, you still need to answer to your villainous acts," Sweetie Belle said. "Twilight will go easy on you, especially since you're pregnant."
"I can't go back Sweetie Belle, it's too embarrassing," Cozy Glow said. "I basically broke up with the pony who got me pregnant, just so he can be with a girl he actually loves. All I was to him was a means to relieve his urges, a replacement for you until he could get you back."
"Rumble didn't mean it like that, I mean I do think he cares about you, he was really sad when you turned into a statue, I remember being there the first time he saw you," Sweetie Belle said. "Rumble was heart broken."
"Even if he did like me, he probably forgot all about it, he went right back to you, because in the end you're all he wants," Cozy Glow said.
"Well, to be fair Cozy Glow, the only reason the two of us broke up was because you kissed him," Sweetie Belle reminded. "You brought this on yourself, you shouldn't have tried seducing a colt you knew was taken, but you were a villain at the time so I guess that was just part of your goals."
"I didn't seduce him just to get information or anything, I genuinely liked him!" Cozy Glow said. "I was in love with Rumble, I wanted him to be my coltfriend, and I always get whatever I want."
"Well Cozy Glow, that's not how life works, trying to get what you want through force or manipulation is wrong," Sweetie Belle said.
"But manipulating is my thing! It's how I got my Cutie Mark!" Cozy Glow said, pointing to her mark. "It's my talent, it means something to me. I tasted greatness thanks to it! Being Headmare of Twilight's school, being Rumble's girlfriend, being part of a massive alliance of powerful villains!"
"How did those things work out for you?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Cozy Glow had no answer, or rather she couldn't think of an answer. She looked angry again, she wanted to lash out, she glared right at Sweetie Belle, ready to give the filly a piece of her mind. However, she couldn't bring herself to say anything, no matter how hard she tried.
"I wish I could hate you, but I can't hate a pony who saved my life," Cozy Glow said, wiping some tears from her eyes. "So consider me letting you have Rumble my way of paying you back."
"That's not enough for me," Sweetie Belle said.
"Well what do you even want from me then!?" Cozy Glow asked, getting even more teary-eyed. "I already gave you Rumble, oh what do you want my foal too? You think the foal is rightfully yours now?"
"I would never take your child, it's yours, I hope you love it very much," Sweetie Belle said. "But it's not about having Rumble, it's about making things right. I know Rumble, he won't let you raise that baby on your own, because that's his baby too. Even if he isn't in love with you, he still cares about you as well, you are the mother of his first child. Truth be told, that's an honor I hoped to have, but even I've made mistakes, and that led to your pregnancy. I should have fought harder for Rumble, I should have just waited, I never should have gone with Tender Taps. So I'll handle that burden. Still, even if I'm with Rumble, I don't want him separated from his child, but I also don't want you to be either. You both should have a hoof in raising it, and I'll help."
"Where are you going with this?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Come live with us Cozy Glow, we'll take care of you and your baby," Sweetie Belle said.
"Me? Live with you and Rumble?" Cozy Glow asked.
"I mean, we don't have a house of our own, but I can talk to my family and see if you can stay with me, and when Rumble and I get married and have our own place to live, you can move in with us," Sweetie Belle offered.
Cozy Glow did not seem too keen on this idea, "I can't live with you, that's...that would be weird! I mean, it'd be a constant reminder that I couldn't get married to the stallion I love!"
"Maybe not, but you can still raise a baby with him," Sweetie Belle said. "Cozy Glow, I just want to make sure you and your baby are safe and happy, that's why I want you with us."
"Still, I doubt Rumble will go for this, he told me he didn't want a herd," Cozy Glow said.
"It's not a 'herd', you're just living with us, you'll be part of our family, but in a different way," Sweetie Belle said. "At least think about it, I mean even if you're not fully married, you'll still have Rumble looking out for you, protecting you and raising a child with you, isn't that at least close enough?"
"I guess...but part of the fun of being married is the romance, being with Rumble," Cozy Glow said.
"I get what you're saying," Sweetie Belle said, trying to consider all possibilities. "We'll figure something out. We'll talk more on it when we get back to Ponyville, but until then, please come back with me. I mean, you wouldn't want Flitter to worry about you."
"I guess not..." Cozy Glow said. "Fine, I'll come."
"Glad to hear," Sweetie Belle said, gesturing the filly to follow. "Let's hurry, this place looks gross."
The two started walking back together, Cozy Glow staying close to Sweetie Belle. "By the way, Sweetie Belle..."
"Yeah?" the filly replied.
"Sorry for locking you in a closet all those years ago," Cozy Glow said.
"It's fine, at least that's all you did," Sweetie Belle said.
"I really did like you girls, I didn't want you to get hurt," Cozy Glow said. "Too bad I couldn't get you into the School of Friendship."
"We might, Scootaloo's interested in teaching there after all, plus the three of us are still tutors, so it works out," Sweetie Belle said.
"Back when I was Headmare, I considered bringing you into the school to make you happy somehow, of course when you turned against me, I had no choice but to keep you out the way," Cozy Glow said.
"That's so sweet of you...sort of," Sweetie Belle said.
"Hey, after all this dies down, maybe we can do something together?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Uh, sure, like what?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Maybe hang out, get to know each other a little better," Cozy Glow said. "I mean, if I'm gonna decide whether or not to live with you, I'd like to be better friends."
"That's a great idea!" Sweetie Belle said. "There's so many fun things we can do! Ooh! Maybe we can go to Appaloosa's County Fair! Better yet we can go to a concert! Wait til I show you a Coloratura show! Or maybe we can see Songbird Serenade!"
"That sounds fun," Cozy Glow said.
Sweetie Belle pulled her into a side hug, "This is gonna be so great, I can come up with other ideas too, we'll brainstorm and soon we'll be BFFs."
"BFF, that sounds nice," Cozy Glow admitted, walking with her friend back to the others.
Back with the others, while they conversed more with Twilight, hoping to reach some type of compromise, Rumble had sat alone, awaiting the arrival of Sweetie Belle and Cozy Glow.
"Hey, kid," Adagio said, getting his attention.
"My name's Rumble," the colt corrected.
"Sorry, Rumble, got a second?" Adagio asked.
"Uh sure, what do you need?" Rumble asked.
Adagio sat next to Rumble, the boy feeling a bit awkward given their past. This is the same mare who has hurt him pretty badly before.
"You helped me earlier, or at least you tried to," Adagio said.
"Uh, yeah I guess so," Rumble said.
"Don't act so nonchalant about it," Adagio said. "You helped me when you didn't need to, and we both know what I've done to you. I broke your wings, I left you unable to fly for who knows how long."
"Yeah, I remember that," Rumble said. "My wings healed up though. It wasn't too bad, just way too much bed rest."
"My question though is why you were not only quick to want to help me but you seem to actively want me to have a chance at redemption, I just don't get it, I really thought you'd hate me," Adagio said.
"I did, I used to hate you a lot," Rumble said. "I don't know why I wanted to help you, maybe it's because I at least cared about Sonata and I know how much she cares about you, maybe it's because you were willing to fight for Cozy Glow, somepony I care about, maybe I just didn't want to hold a grudge and I wanted to let go of my dislike. I've always said that I felt bad for what happened to the six of you, even if you weren't nice you still deserved better than to be used as pawns, I can't condone the way you've been treated because then I'd be no better than any of you."
"All about your morals huh?" Adagio asked, then stood up. "I can respect that, though don't expect me to be all apologetic about it. I did what I had to do that day, just like you did what you had to do."
"You had to break my wings?" Rumble asked.
"You got in my way, I had to make an example out of you, part of being a leader," Adagio said. "Granted Sonata was pretty mad so maybe it wasn't the best idea. Still, I did what had to be done, consider it an honor that I even gave you that type of attention."
"...Sounds like a load of horse apples," Rumble said.
"Ugh, fine have it your way, just don't think that because you helped me that I'm gonna be your bestie, and don't think I owe you anything either, I could have killed you then but I didn't, so we're even," Adagio said.
"That's fine with me, as long as you don't do any more evil, then we have no reason to be enemies," Rumble said.
"Oh whatever kid," Adagio said, making her way back to Aria.
"My name's not 'Kid'!" Rumble said, though relented. "Some ponies won't change much I guess."
Upon the return of Sweetie Belle and Cozy Glow, everypony rushed to check on the two, especially Cozy Glow, most worried she could have gotten hurt. Flitter of course was the most worried out of everypony due to her close ties with Cozy Glow.
Before long everypony returned home to finally relax after the big battle, but they couldn't for long. Lots of towns needed fixing up, especially Ponyville and Canterlot. The clean up took about a week, but soon everypony was back to normal, all those hurt, including Zecora had made a fine recovery and things were looking better. Cozy Glow did have to give up her Alicorn status however, and Tirek gave up most of his power, but was a allowed some as to not be in his weakened form.
In celebration of this big big, and a a way of making the former villains feel welcomed, Twilight hosted a Gala type party in Canterlot. Everyone was invited to attend the city-wide celebration, from all over Equestria and beyond.
Of course the former villains were allowed to come, it would be their chance to get accustomed to Equestrian culture. The hard part was finding good clothes for them to wear. The Sirens wore matching dresses, Sonata wearing a bright and sparkling dress, Aria going for a gothic style and Adagio doing her best to look regal and presenting. Chrysalis took some time but with a little help from Thorax, she was able to get a dress befitting that of a queen. Of course the only thing that could have really helped was if she was metamorphized, but that wasn't going to happen just yet. Tirek settled on a bow tie, figuring it made him look fancy enough. Cozy Glow was given a nice little dolly dress, one picked out by Sweetie Belle.
Come the big day, everypony was partying all around Canterlot, with a big assistance from Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich, the two creating an extravagant occasion.
Twilight was amazed by the work put in by the two party ponies, "Well Pinkie, I gotta say, you and Cheese really outdid yourselves."
"Thanks Twilight, it wasn't anything the two best party ponies of Equestria couldn't handle," Pinkie Pie said, firing a party cannon.
"Plus we did have some help," Cheese said, gesturing to Party Favor, who was still making some balloons.
"Is everypony having fun?" Pinkie asked.
"Sort of, I get the feeling some of the ponies might be a bit on edge due to certain guests," Twilight said.
"Oh they'll get used to them sooner or later," Pinkie said. "It took Starlight forever for ponies to like her."
"Yeah, if anypony can help them get settled in, then it's Starlight," Cheese said. "Equestria is all about second chances after all."
"Yeah, it is, and I think they'll do great, if they can learn to be a bit more open," Twilight said. "They still seem a little resistant on the idea of Friendship."
"Give them time," Pinkie said. "It'll all work out."
"I hope so," Twilight said.
Soon after, the new ruler of Equestria was greeted by one of the older rulers, "Hello Twilight."
"Princess Celestia!?" Twilight said, turning to the old Sun Goddess and her sister, Luna.
"It's just Celestia now, I am no longer your Princess," Celestia said.
"Yeah, I guess, it's just weird not to be so formal with you, or with Luna," Twilight said.
"It will be a process, where we live many ponies still refer to us as Princess," Celestia said. "I guess it's just a habit that ponies will have to adjust to."
"At least you two get respect wherever you go," Discord's voice said, before appearing nearby "No longer Royalty and you still get all the love and attention from these ponies, but what about poor old Discord? All these years and ponies still think I'm weird, unusual and untrustworthy."
"Didn't you free the villains from Tartarus to attack Twilight?" Cheese interjected.
"Oh who asked you!?" Discord said. "Go back into the background."
"Huh, rude..." Cheese said, turning away in annoyance.
"Anyway I only did it to help Twilight feel more confident, and it worked," Discord said. "She fought away Grogar and his team valiantly, and she used the power of Friendship."
"Friendship did help, in many unusual ways," Twilight said.
"Yes, we heard that some of the villains had turned against Grogar," Luna said. "I never thought the very ponies we turned to stone five years ago would return to be Equestria's savior."
"Funny how that worked out for you," Chrysalis said, making her way over with Tirek and Adagio. "Princesses..."
"Uh, it's just 'Celestia' now," the former Princess said.
"Right, you've retired, I hear it was right after you turned us to stone, to think that was your final decree," Chrysalis said.
"One that's been officially overturned, since we're heroes now," Adagio said.
"Well that's usually how it works, just ask Discord," Luna said.
"You mean the one who had been turned to stone twice?" Tirek taunted. "We just had it happen once, for five years, compare that to Discord being stone for 1000, plus the extra few weeks from the second time."
"Oh real funny, just so you know you're not getting an apology out of me, you six deserved it," Discord said.
"To be fair, weren't they already in Tartarus?" Cheese asked. "Seemed unneccessarily cruel."
"Who are you anyway? That Tumble foal!?" Discord asked.
"His name is Rumble," Adagio corrected.
"Yes, the only one who believed in us," Chrysalis added.
"He's an alright kid, what he lacks in muscle, he makes up in bravery," Tirek said.
"Rumble was a big help during all this, we are eternally grateful for his assistance," Twilight said. "I knew one day he could be something special, same with Tender Taps, Dinky and The Cutie Mark Crusaders."
"Where is Rumble anyway?" Pinkie asked. "Is he with Sweetie Belle?"
"Actually Sweetie Belle's here with Cozy Glow, appearently they want to try being friends again," Twilight said. "Rumble's here by himself somewhere."
Adagio looked around, "I actually see Sweetie Belle and Cozy Glow." She called out to them, "Hey girls! Over here!"
Cozy and Sweetie made their way over, Twilight gushing at how cute the two looked together. "You girls are so precious."
"Thanks Twilight, that's nice of you to say," Sweetie Belle said, then turned to Cozy. "Wasn't that nice?"
"Eh, I guess," Cozy Glow replied.
"Cozy..." Sweetie Belle scolded, then nervously turned to Twilight. "She's still getting used to all this."
"That's fine, she can take all the time she needs," Twilight said.
Cozy Glow took one look at Discord and the Princesses, and rage filled her heart. "What are THEY doing here!?"
"Easy Cozy Glow, they're guests too," Twilight said. "They're just checking up on things."
"Well they're lucky I'm no longer an Alicorn, and that I can't fight anyway," Cozy Glow said.
"Come on Cozy, I know you're mad they turned you into stone, but you shouldn't have been terrorizing Canterlot," Sweetie Belle said. "Celestia and Luna are really nice, and sometimes Discord, so try to work on your forgiveness."
"What does she mean 'sometimes'?" Discord asked.
"Just take it," Twilight said. "While what they did was bad you gave them that opportunity and then turned them into stone. Good intentions or not you still caused plenty of grief yourself."
Discord sighed in annoance, "Is it any wonder as to why I prefer Fluttershy? She never judges me."
"We're not trying to judge Discord, you know I value you as my friend, and it's because we're friends that I only want what's best for you and why I want to make sure you don't do anything to cause trouble for yourself or others," Twilight said.
"Fine, if you say so Princess," Discord said. "Well I'm off to meet with Fluttershy, I saw her at the party earlier on by herself, poor girl could use a friend. Hm, perhaps old Discord could even use this party to play matchmaker for my good friend."
"Take it from me Discord, matchmaking is a pain in the neck," Sweetie Belle said.
"Yes but unlike you foals, I have centuries of experience when it comes to ponies, ciao," Discord snapped his fingers and disappeared.
"So how did you become friends with Discord?" Tirek asked.
"It's a long story, but I'd love to tell you and the others all about my Friendship trials, it'll help you get a better understanding of the subject," Twilight said.
"Come on, do we have to sit through that?" Adagio asked.
"It'll be fun," Sweetie Belle said. "The Crusaders and I can help too."
"We'll think about it," Tirek said. "Anyway where's the buffet? You have one big enough to satisfy my appetite right?"
"Of course, I've taken just about everything into consideration," Twilight said.
"What about me?" Chrysalis asked.
"Eh...that's why I said just about, I don't have a substitute for love, hence why you really should just do what Thorax did," Twilight said.
Chrysalis seemed kind of annoyed, but relented, "Fine, tell me where he is and I'll maybe consider the possibility."
"Good enough, he's west of the castle with Dragon Lord Ember," Twilight explained.
"Alright, I will see you later then," Chrysalis said, making her way over.
"This I gotta see, let's go Tirek," Adagio said.
"Coming," Tirek said, following after her.
Luna briefly turned her attention back to Sweetie Belle and Cozy Glow, "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you two in love with the same colt?"
"We are, but we've come up with a compromise," Sweetie Belle said.
"Sweetie Belle wants to get back together with Rumble, and I fully support it," Cozy Glow said. "In return, I can live with them."
"That's very generous of you Sweetie Belle," Celestia said.
"Little surprising though," Luna admitted. "Are you really fine with letting the mare who kissed your coltfriend live with you?"
"You two aren't even living together yet," Twilight said.
"Right, this is after we get married," Sweetie Belle said. "Rarity and my parents already said it was fine for Cozy Glow to stay with me until I'm ready to live with Rumble, which might happen soon."
"We just need to make sure Rumle's gonna be fine, but since I'm carrying his baby, he might need to consider that idea," Cozy Glow said.
"Baby?" Luna asked, Celestia just as confused. "What baby?"
"Rumble got me pregnant," Cozy Glow said. "It was five years ago, but since I was stone for those five years the baby obviously couldn't be born."
"...Five years?" Luna asked, Celestia also looking appaled.
"Well at least she's free now right?" Sweetie Belle said. "Her baby will be here in almost a year, so exciting. Me and Rumble are gonna take good care of Cozy Glow and her little baby."
"Right...good care," Luna said, very much surprised. Celestia was pretty much speechless.
Sweetie Belle noticed two friends nearby, "Hi Party Favor! Hi Sugar Belle!"
"Hi girls!" Party Favor said waving. Sugar Belle just turned away in annoyance at the first glance of Cozy Glow, the little feel able to tell the mare wasn't thrilled to see her.
"I have to make things right with a lot of ponies I guess," Cozy Glow said.
"I'll be right there right you," Sweetie Belle said, nuzzling her friend.
All this talk of romance made Twilight remember something else, "I need to go somewhere, I have others to help attend to."
"Sure thing Twilight," Sweetie Belle said, waving as her mentor flew off. She then turned her attention back to Celestia, "Uh...Princess Celestia? Are you alright? You look like something's wrong."
"DISCORD!" Celestia shouted, loud enough for everypony to hear.
Meanwhile Twilight was flying overhead, hoping to find a certain colt, she spotted Rumble standing alone on a rooftop, overlooking the festivities. She landed beside him, getting his attention. "Hey Rumble, what brings you up here?"
"Hi Twilight, nothing much, just enjoying the scenery," Rumble said. "You put together quite the party."
"Yeah, I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends," Twilight said, walking next to the boy. "So, have you and Sweetie Belle fully gotten back together?"
"Not totally," Rumble said. "I still have to make it official, I wanted to do it tonight but she's showing Cozy Glow around. Kind of weird, two girls I was heavily involved with romance wise suddenly becoming friends."
"Sweetie Belle's alright with Cozy Glow being pregnant with your child?" Twilight asked.
" She says she is, she just wants to make things right between us, all of us," Rumble said. "I hope we can figure someting out. I want to be there for Cozy Glow, but something tells me she doesn't want to pursue a relationship."
"Well she does feel like you broke her her, granted her romance with you probably shouldn't have happened since you were already dating somepony," Twilight said. "But I think Sweetie Belle can get this figured out, if there's one thing I've come to learn about her it's that she's very good at making plans."
"Yeah she's smart like that, one of the reasons I fell in love with her," Rumble said. "Twilight, thanks for giving Cozy and the others a chance to intermingle with us. And I'm sorry for having been against you on many occasions."
"All is forgiven, if anything I admire what you did, you believed in somepony despite all the odds," Twilight said. "If it wasn't for you, I don't think they would have gotten that chance, that's assuming we would have defeated Grogar."
"You would have figured something out, you're amazing like that," Rumble said.
Twilight walked over and brought Rumble in for a hug, "Thanks. I hope you get back together with Sweetie Belle, you two look so cute together. I can tell you're gonna be a happy family someday."
"Thanks, but I'm not the only one who needs to make it official with someone I love," Rumble said. "After all Tender Taps probably still loves you."
"Right, my sweet Tappy," Twilight said. "He's all grown up now, just lie I thought, he's a fine stallion, very handsome too."
"You should go to him, I know he'll make you happy Twilight," Rumble said. "And you can make him happy."
"I want to, but I'm a bit nervous," Twilight said. "Romance isn't my strong suit."
"It wasn't mine either, I just went with my emotions," Rumble said. "Besides I don't think it'll be a lot of work, you have the looks and the personality, plus he knows you, just go and lay down your princess charm."
Twilight blushed a bit, "Thanks Rumble." Twilight stroked his mane, "You are quite handsome yourself."
"Wow, compliments from a Princess, not the first time but it's still an honor each time it happens," Rumble said.
"By the way Rumble, got any advice on how to kiss somepony?" Twilight asked, blushing as she did so.
"Huh? Oh you've never kissed?" Rumble asked.
"Sort of, but I've never really had practice instigating one, how do you do it?" Twilight asked. "Sorry I'm asking you, but if I ask my friends they might geek out too much, same with Cadance, or worse, they'll try to 'help'."
"Uh, it's not too hard, just lean in and kiss..." Rumble said. "Uh, if you want to practice, I'm all for it."
"Oh, are you alright with that?" Twilight asked. "I mean, what about Sweetie Belle?"
"I haven't gotten back fully with her, this will be my last kiss before I make myself Sweetie Belle's colt forever," Rumble said. "Besides, I need to know if I can kiss another and still be in love with Sweetie Belle."
"Alright, you help me with a kiss, and I'll help you with your dilemma," Twilight said. "Uh, just as long a we keep this between us for now."
"Yeah, sounds fair," Rumble said.
The two felt nervous about this, both very awkward around each other, Rumble was standing before a mare he looked up to, and Twilight was standing near a colt she helped watch over. Of course if she's gonna be with Tender Taps, she has to move past that, another motivation for her to kiss Rumble.
The two leaned in and shared in a kiss together, Rumble feeling a bit awkward, but some sense of pride in knowing he was kissing the ruler of Equestria. Of course that's all he felt, no real spark, nothing at all. Not that he hated the kiss, Twilight was a very attractive mare but she wasn't the one for him, all he thought about was being with Sweetie Belle.
Twilight felt awkward herself, but had to admit that Rumble's a very good kisser. She slowly strived to feel less awkward and took in Rumble's technique, getting an idea of how to kiss somepony.
The two pulled apart, still blushing from the kiss, but feeling satisfied.
"How do you feel?" Twilight asked.
"Thank you for the kiss, now I know I do want Sweetie Belle, and nopony else," Rumble said. "But I will take pride in having shared a kiss with a mare as great as you."
"You're so sweet, I enjoyed my kiss too, and thank you, now I can make Tender Taps as happy with my affection," Twilight said.
"Let's go get our ponies," Rumble said, smirking confidently.
The two flew up and pursued the ones they loved, just in time for Coloratura's concert. Sweetie Belle and Cozy Glow were standing together, eagerly awaiting the mare to begin singing.
"You'll love this, Coloratura's got such a pretty voice," Sweetie Belle said.
"I can't wait," Cozy Glow said, smiling in anticipation.
On stage, the songful mare had begun playing on her piano, looking to the crowd, "I want to take things slow with a song near and dear to my heart. Some of you may have heard this, it's a little song called 'The Magic Inside'."
"I love that one!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
Coloratura giggle, "All the more reason to sing it."
As she continued playing her piano, she began to sing for the ponies in the audience. For Sweetie Belle, it was a nice refreshment of just how talented Coloratura was as a musical artist, but for Cozy Glow this was mind blowing, to hear such a lovely song from an equally lovely mare. What was even more amazing was seeing the glow coming from Coloratura's Cutie Mark.
During her chorus, Rumble had flown over to Sweetie Belle, clearing his throat to get her attention. "Hey Sweetie Belle."
"Oh, Rumble, this is a surprise," Sweetie Belle said.
"Hi Rumble..." Cozy Glow said, not that eager to see the boy.
"What brings you here?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"I wanted to see you, I have something I really want to tell you," Rumble said.
"Oh, can it wait?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I am with Cozy Glow and-"
"I have to do this now, I can't put it off any longer," Rumble interrupted. He took Sweetie Belle by her hoof, looking right into her eyes. "Sweetie Belle, I love you. I want to get back together with you, I want it to be offical."
"Oh...Rumble," Sweetie Belle began blushing. "You, really do? You want to get back together?"
"Yeah, absolutely," Rumble said. "I love you more than anything, my biggest regret is breaking up with you, but if you take me back, I promise that will never happen again. I'll love you for all time, I'll treat you like a Princess again, I'll be your knight. Sweetie Belle, I...I want to marry you!"
Sweetie Belle was blushing, "Marry huh?"
"Yeah, in fact," Rumble knelt down to the best of his ability. "I don't have anything to offer you other than my word. It may not be worth much but I will do everything I can to back it up. Sweetie Belle, will you marry me!?"
Rumble hadn't realized how loud he was to the point where everypony was staring, even Coloratura had stopped singing.
"Uh...this is awkward," Cozy Glow said.
Rumble looked around, blushing nervously, "Sorry, got too into it."
"It's fine!" Coloratura reassured. "It was so cute too!"
"Hehe, thanks Miss Coloratura!" Rumble said, then turned back to Sweetie Belle. "Sorry, I think I made things awkward, you don't have to answer my question now, we can wait-"
"No, it's fine, I can answer now," Sweetie Belle said. Before saying anything, she pulled Rumble into a kiss, one that surprised the colt, but pleasantly at least. "My answer is yes, I will marry you."
Rumble was so excited, he took off into the sky, "SHE SAID YES!"
The ponies around began congratulating the filly, Sweetie Belle nervously thanking them for their support.
Coloratura looked very emotional herself, having quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe her eyes, "That was so romantic. Everypony, give it up for our newly engaged couple!"
Rumble flew back down and brought Sweetie Belle in for another kiss, to the applause of the others. Even The Elements, other former villains and the Crusaders who were nearby had shown their approval for the two. Granted Rarity was also somewhat cncerned knowing that her sister was about to be married, it was a big commitment after all.
"My little Rumble..." Flitter said from nearby, holding back her tears. "He's getting married!"
Flitter went sprinkler mode with her tears, with Cloudchaser trying her best to comfort her while herself being proud of Rumble. Thunderlane was also happy for his brother, though confused as to what would happen with Cozy Glow.
Speaking of the filly, she was noticeably the only one who wasn't cheering, which Rumble noticed. "I'm really sorry Cozy Glow, I know you wanted to be the one I married but..."
"It's fine, don't worry about it," Cozy Glow said. "I'm...happy for you two."
"I know you're carrying my baby, but I promise you won't be alone raising it," Rumble said.
"She won't be," Sweetie Belle said. "If it's alright with you, the day we get our own house, I was hoping she could live with us. That was you can help her raise the baby you two made together. I would never keep you away from your child, even if it isn't mine."
"Wow, that's really generous of you," Rumble said.
"Picked that up from my sister I guess," Sweetie Belle replied.
"I do love that about you," Rumble said, kissing Sweetie Belle again. "You're so kind and understanding, thank you."
Sweetie Belle stroked his mane, "Thank you for always being there for me." The two resumed kissing as Coloratura eventually resumed her song, occasionally smiling and glancing at the couple.
Rumble and Sweetie Belle weren't the only ones enjoying their reunion, not too far off, Twilight had reunited with Tender Taps, and was affectionately stroking the boy's mane.
"I'm amazed at how handsome you've gotten over the years, my sweet little Tappy," Twilight said.
"You're just as beautiful as you've always been," Tender Taps said, gently stroking her face.
"Tappy...I want you to be by my side, I want you always by my side," Twilight said. "Tappy, I love you."
"I love you too Twilight," Tender Taps said.
"Let us be together, both of us, be at my side in life, join with me in a sacred bond between lovers," Twilight said.
"I will," Tender Taps said. "Twilight, when I was a foal, I asked you to marry me, and you promised to wait. Now that I'm a stallion, I ask again in hopes that you'll be able to fulfil that promise. Will you marry me, Princess Twilight Sparkle?"
"Of course Tappy, I will marry you," Twilight said.
The two leaned in to seal their proposal with a kiss, joined together by the bonds of love and the seal of harmony. It was a moment of pure bliss for both the Tap Dancing Prodigy and the Princess of Friendship.
"So much better than kissing a log," Tender Taps joked, getting a giggle from Twilight.
"You're adorable," Twilight said, leaning in for another kiss.
Peace and Harmony once again reigned across the land. When the party was over, life had gone back to normal for the time being. Cozy Glow had moved in with Sweetie Belle as promised, the two stayed together at Rarity's house.
In the spirit of forgiveness, Rarity had decided to give Thunderlane another chance, one he greatly appreciated and made the most out of. Chrysalis had gone to live with Thorax and after much consideration, had agreed to go through the metamorphosis transformation. She wasn't that different, still had a bit of attitude and sass, but she seemed much more understanding than she had been, giving Thorax plenty of leadership advice, happily accepting her place, not a Queen, but as the King's advisor.
Tirek had gone back home to reunite with his brother, the two had a rocky start but with a little reassurance from the Elements, had started to reconcile with Scorpan. Tirek owed the ponies a great debt and promised to be the first one to respond to any threats they may face. The Dazzlings actually had a chance to travel with Coloratura, using their singing talents to entertain ponies rather than control them, Sonata had the most fun, quickly bonding with the mare she came to know as Rara.
Almost a year later came Twilight's marriage, this one done at The Crystal Empire where Cadance overlooked it. Soon the Princess of Friendship and Ruler of Equestra had been happily married to her dear Tender Taps.
Then later one kiss sealed the deal, Rumble and Sweetie Belle were happily married. By this point, Cozy Glow's baby had been born, a nice and healthy baby boy. The two were not only guests for the wedding, but Cozy Glow was by Sweetie Belle's side along with the Crusaders while Dinky acted as Rumble's Best Mare. Twilight herself performed the ceremony in the fields of Mount Aris, where Sweetie Belle dreamed of having her wedding.
Everyone in Equestria was invited, and beyond, from The Dragon Lands, to the Changeling Kingdom, even the Nether Lands had royalty present. Afterward the two readied for their Honeymoon at Rainbow Falls, where they had already begun creating their family together.
Equestria enjoyed a relatively peaceful several years of Harmony, aside from maybe a minor problem or two. After all, even with Grogar, Sombra and Storm King defeated, other evil lurked about, and Equestria's Elements were ready for action as always.
Fifteen years passed by, Twilight had fully grown into an Alicorn Princess, bearing a striking similarity to Celestia, ruling the country with her husband Tender Taps by her side, and their little foals at their feet.
In Ponyville, Rumble, fully grown, had stepped out of his home, ready to embark on another day. "I'm off to work Sweetie Belle!"
His lovely wife had come to greet him, with their youngest daughter on her back. What was noticeable was that Sweetie Belle had a lump in her belly, the two were expecting their fourth child. "Have a nice day Rumble."
"I will hon," Rumble said, kissing Sweetie Belle good-bye. He turned to his daughter, "Take care of mommy."
"Yes daddy," the filly said.
Rumble walked off waving good-bye as his wife and youngest bid farewell. Up on the second floor of their house, his oldest daughter and her slightly younger brother had also waved bye, Rumble catching onto that, bidding his farewell.
As he trotted through town he took note of everypony around. The Happily married pair of Lyra and Bon Bon, the Cake Twins all grown up delivering some baked goodies to ponies, it seemed so nice.
Rumble passed by a group new students making their way to class, even spotting Scootaloo talking with Apple Bloom as they made their way over to the school.
"Hey girls!" Rumble greeted.
"Sup Rumble!" Scootaloo said, making her way over. "Off to Canterlot?"
"Of course, someone's gotta cook the food befitting that of Equestria's ruler," Rumble said.
"How are Twilight and Tender Taps doing, don't see them much," Rumble said.
"They're fine, busy as always," Rumble said. "Granted Tender Taps doesn't do much to rule the country, not that he minds."
"Ruling a country is a lot of work, I don't blame Tender Taps for his lack of interest," Scootaloo said. "How's Sweetie Belle?"
"Doing great, she's eager to welcome baby number four, or five," Rumble said. "Even if Cozy Glow gave birth, Sweetie Belle did help raise my first son, and he saw her like a second mother, so far as we're concerned, we had five kids."
"I mean if you want to be technical, you have seven kids," Scootaloo said. "I mean you gave Dinky and Apple Bloom a couple, if you know what I mean."
"Well I just planted the seeds, they took care of the rest," Rumble said.
"We really appreciate you doing that fer us," Apple Bloom said. "We love our little ones after all."
"Happy to help," Rumble said.
"How is Cozy Glow doing, since her son moved went to Wonderbolts Academy, she's looked a little down," Scootaloo said.
"She's fine, she's visiting Flurry at the Crystal Empire, those two really get along well," Rumble said. "How about you Scoots, how's your little one doing?"
"She's the spitting image of her awesome mother," Scootaloo said. "She went with Pickle back to Hope Hollow with Barley to see some family."
"Cool, well I should get going, I don't want to be late," Rumble said.
"Yeah class is about to start, I have some lessons to go over," Scootaloo said. "See you around Rumble."
"Ah should get back to the farm, still got chores, plus ah don't want to leave Dinky alone too long," Apple Bloom said. "See ya Rumble."
"Bye girls," Rumble said, bidding his farewell.
Rumble made it to the train on time, while he could have flown he likes the ride. While there he saw Diamond Tiara, looking fancy as usual. "Sup Diamond? Off to Canterlot on business?"
"Something like that," Diamond Tiara said. "How's life? Sweetie Belle hasn't given birth yet has she?"
"Not yet, soon though," Rumble said. "How's your son?"
"A had worker, just like his mommy and daddy," Diamond Tiara said.
"You really picked a great husband in Chip, you two seem so happy together," Rumble said.
"We are, very loyal husband," Diamond Tiara said. "So tell me, what have your kids been up to? I heard one of them wants to be a Wonderbolt, and your youngest daughter is apparently a prodigy in magic."
"Oh boy, let me tell you," Rumble began just as the train departed.
The young stallion eventually arrived in Canterlot, bidding farewell to Diamond Tiara as the two went their separate ways. Rumble made his way into the castle where he passed by a mare talking to Tender Taps.
"Look Prince Tender Taps, I know you're trying to help but I don't see the point of Friendship," the mare said. "Like what does that have to do with life?"
"It has a lot to do with life Luster Dawn, and you don't need to call me 'Prince'," Tender Taps said.
"I can't be informal with you though," Luster Dawn said. "It just feels weird."
"It really isn't...oh, Rumble," Tender Taps said, Luster turning her attention to him.
"Chef Rumble?" Luster asked.
"That's me, sounds like we have a girl with Friendship problems," Rumble said.
"I wouldn't say that, I just don't see the point to it all," Luster Dawn said.
"You'll find out soon enough, take it from me, Friendship can save the world," Rumble said.
"Save the world? How?" Luster asked. "I mean, I get Princess Twilight is all about the Magic of Friendship but isn't that more of a saying? How can Friendship actually breed magic?"
"I say you should ask Twilight," Rumble said. "I'd love to talk more but I have to check in before Sugar Belle flips out. Say 'hi' to the twins for me Taps."
"See you later Rumble," Tender Taps said as Rumble walked to the kitchen, still hoping to reason with Luster Dawn.
Rumble had made his way inside where Sugar Belle had immediately greeted him, "Rumble, just in time, we have a big order to fill out."
"Really? What's the occasion?" Rumble asked.
"Twilight invited Tirek for dinner, and you know what his appetite is like," Sugar Belle said. "This order's so big even Saffron Masala came by to help."
"Oh wow, he's always a tough one, but it'll be nice seeing Saffron again," Rumble said. "Alright, let's get to work."
Time passed by, Rumble enjoying his time cooking, working side by side with Saffron Masala and his mentor Sugar Belle. One could find it odd that Rumble's boss has such a similar name to his wife but Rumble just sees it as fate that he was meant to spend time with a true belle.
As he worked, he could hear the arrival of the other Elements, Fluttershy getting a lift thanks to Discord, Rainbow Dash and Applejack arriving together, Pinkie Pie showing up with with both her's and Cheese Sandwich's son Lil Cheese, and Rarity arriving in style.
Rumble knew that Luster Dawn was in good hooves, and that the Magic of Friendship would continue on, as well as his love for Sweetie Belle. He couldn't tell what the future would hold, be it a bright future of peace, or the next big baddie that arrives, but he'll be ready regardless, and believe in the Magic of Friendship.
Author's Note
That is the end, at least for this story. Perhaps there can be more told but for now, Sweet Affection has reached it's finale.
Sweet Affection 5: The Quest to True Love
The land of Equestria was in danger. Everywhere one would turn, there would be a threat looming above. Rogue changelings flew about, Wendigos covering the skies, The Everfree Forest spiraling out of control, Storm Soldiers marching the streets.
It was chaos, and not the Discord kind, but the really terrifying kind. Villains were roaming, from the once again Queen Chrysalis, to the all powerful Lord Tirek, the menacing Adagio Dazzle, even the Storm King, among any others who followed in their path.
Rumble, now in his late teens, was seen flying away from danger, having several changelings in pursuit of him. This was terrible, he couldn't find any of his friends or family, he was on his own for the moment.
He managed to hide somewhere that was safe and out of sight of the Changelings. His heart was pounding, this was so nerve wracking for him. All he could wonder is where everything went downhill for him.
He could only remember when his life made a huge turn, one he never expected at one point. He started to remember what happened five years prior.
It was a week after he had broken up with Sweetie Belle, something he had never thought he would do. Both foals had been dating for over a year, they were at one point the very pinnacle of romance. There was nothing either wouldn't do for each other.
Many were surprised to hear of the break up between the foals, even Rumble was still stinging from it, despite the break up being his idea. He didn't believe himself to be a proper coltfriend after making a terrible mistake regarding another filly, that being the mischievous filly Cozy Glow.
The sneaky filly had kissed him, and instead of pushing her away like he should have, he instead embraced the kiss, something he has not fully forgiven himself for. Now to make things worse, that very filly is living in Ponyville under the care of his foalsitter Flitter, constantly reminding him of his mistake.
There are those who believe that Flitter is in over her head, Cozy Glow is not a filly many would be quick to trust, and there are those who are surprised that this lasted even a week. Not that it has been easy, as Cozy Glow had not entirely been easy to keep restrained, rather the filly refused to stay put even when told to and Flitter was constantly flying around to keep her in check.
But that's not the only change Rumble has to get used to, now that he's a free colt, he's gotten a share of admirers with their sights on him. He's always been cute in the eyes of many before, but seeing how charming he was when dating Sweetie Belle, add to his newfound confidence, many fillies now want their chance to date him, making him very popular among various fillies, and a few colts.
As Rumble walked through Ponyville, he could feel the gaze of several foals, each one with a giddy little giggle as he walked by, a few faces he recognized, such as Silver Spoon, Noi and Zipporwhill.
Of course he had his share of jealous colts, especially Button Mash, who never understood Rumble's appeal to the fillies. One would think Button Mash is happy with the break-up, but he still has a hard time getting Sweetie Belle to look his way, to think that there was a time the two could have had something, but her time with Rumble seems to have altered her way of thinking. But he just needed to keep trying, he'll get his filly soon enough.
Rumble had approached the park where several other Pegasus foals were practicing their flying skills. Of course Rumble still had the desire to further his dream of being a Wonderbolt, but he lost his edge lately. Maybe the break up took more of a metal toll than he thought.
He can't just let his time at Flight School go to waste, not that it wasn't at least fun, but he has a goal to become a Wonderbolt, try-outs are soon and he could end up in the academy if he pulls it off.
"Alright, time to fly," Rumble said, readying himself to take flight. He stretched a little, prepping his body for flight. "I can do this, I got the skills, I just gotta put in the effort. Just do what Rainbow Dash would to, and-"
"Rumble!" Cozy Glow flew in from out of nowhere and tackled Rumble into a hug, much to the colt's annoyance. "Hi Rumble! Miss me? I bet you did because I weally missed you!"
"You saw me this morning at Sugarcube Corner!" Rumble said.
"Yeah, but that was like hours ago, I don't like being apart from you too long Rumbly," Cozy Glow said, nuzzling against the colt.
"For heaven's sake Cozy!" Rumble shouted, trying to squirm away. "Come on, I'm trying to practice my flying!"
"Ooh, like those fancy tricks you do!? Can you show me? Huh? Can you!?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Fine, whatever, just give me some room!" Rumble demanded.
"Ok Mr. Bossy," Cozy teased, taking a step back and letting Rumble do his thing.
"Alright, time to take to the sky!" Rumble said, taking off into the air. His first trick would be a mid-air spin in which he would twirl around like a ribbon on a baton. However halfway through he started to lose his balance and crashed into a tree.
"Oooh, you alright Rumbly-Boo!?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Don't call me that!" Rumble demanded, making his way out the tree. "Just a slip up, I got this." He tried again, only to make a similar mistake, only this time landing in a pond.
"Still having trouble?" Cozy Glow asked.
"Stop asking!" Rumble demanded, taking to the skies again, making yet another mistake, this time landing in the middle of a picnic blanket belonging to Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon.
"Hey I worked all day preparing that meal!" Lyra whined.
"Heh, mistakes happen," Rumble nervously said, though just got a deeper glare from the two. Rumble had only one option at this moment. He quickly used his eyes to innocently gaze up at the mares, "You wouldn't stay mad at an adorable little colt, would you?"
"You stopped being adorable the moment your voice got deeper," Bon Bon said, then grabbed Rumble by his tail and tossed him away, the colt landing in a thorny rose bush not too far away from where Cozy was.
"Ow!" Rumble quickly flew out of the bushes, picking whatever thorns that was attached to his body. "Damn, that smarts! Oh Just wait til I become a Wonderbolt! You'll respect me then! Count on it!"
"Somepony's grumpy," Cozy Glow teased, much to Rumble's annoyance.
"Don't you have anywhere else to be?" Rumble asked, then looked around. "Wait, where's Flitter!?"
"She's out shopping," Cozy Glow said. "I was suppose to be with her, but I got bored and left."
"So Flitter doesn't even know you're here?" Rumble asked. "You know that's going to upset her, not just you sneaking off but the fact that you aren't even suppose to be off on your own unattended."
"I'm with you aren't I?" Cozy Glow said.
"Not the point, Princess Twilight said that until you prove you can be trusted, you are to either stay in Flitter's house or only go outside if she's next to you!" Rumble said. "If any of the Elements saw you without Flitter, they might send you back to Tartarus!"
"Oh relax, they'll never find out, it'll be our little secret," Cozy Glow assured.
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that," the voice of Rainbow Dash said. The two looked up to see the Rainbow maned Pegasus flying overhead.
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash," Cozy nervously greeted. "Lovely day today, isn't it?"
"Save it, you're busted," Rainbow Dash said. "You broke Twilight's rules, that's the second time this week! If you keep this up you're going back to your little cage and you're not getting out for a long time!"
"Oh it's just an innocent little adventure Rainbow Dash, I wanted to see a friend," Cozy Glow said. "After all, Friendship is Magic, that's what you and Twilight like to say, so in honor of Friendship, how about you look the other way, and never say a word about this, deal?"
"Yeah, nice try," Rainbow Dash said. "Not happening!"
Cozy Glow immediately pouted, "Well fine, I never liked you anyway, and another thing, The Wonderbolts are lame!"
Rainbow Dash looked like the most horrible thing has happened, and to her it has, somepony actually disrespecting The Wonderbolts, right to her face. "Alright, you just crossed the line there little missy!" Rainbow Dash grabbed Cozy Glow by her tail and lifted the struggling filly up.
"Hey! Put me down you old hag!" Cozy Glow shouted.
Rainbow Dash had to use every fiber of her being to constrain herself, then turned her attention to Rumble, doing her best to speak through her gritted teeth, "Got this, go do what you were."
Before Rumble could speak, Rainbow Dash had flown off with Cozy Glow in tow. At least that was out of the way, though right now, Rumble wasn't even sure if he could keep going.
He was losing his edge, not just from his break-up with Sweetie Belle, but from how awkward things have been since then. While the break-up was bad, what was really bad was many ponies finding out what had happened, thanks to Apple Bloom having told Applejack and Cozy Glow having no problem backing her up, even bragging about it.
Of course Rumble himself came clean, figuring there was no sense in hiding it, they were gonna find out sooner or later, might as well get it over with.
Unfortunately now, none of his friends have seen or treated him the same since. Apple Bloom has been pretty distant from Rumble, Scootaloo has felt pretty awkward around him, Dinky has been very flirty with him, and Tender Taps just doesn't seem to have the same admiration for Rumble he used to have.
Then there's the Elements themselves, while Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy haven't treated Rumble much differently due to their happy and kind natures respectively, and Twilight has also stayed neutral, feeling like this is something Rumble needs to work out, the other three mares have been a little distant from the boy.
Rainbow Dash has lost some respect for Rumble, not liking that he wasn't being a loyal coltfriend to Sweetie Belle, and even admitting that after that, he's not Wonderbolt material. Rarity was also understandably disappointed, and Rumble's break-up with Sweetie Belle was also the catalyst of her own break-up, officially dumping his older brother Thunderlane, it wasn't the prettiest break-up, that's for sure. Applejack has also shunned Rumble, considering him a very dishonest colt, highly disappointed in what he has done.
Life wasn't going to well for Rumble at the moment, and it all started because of Cozy Glow. Rumble at times regrets having helped Cozy Glow out, he probably should have just left her at Mount Aris, or the Crystal Empire, and just let her plans fail on their own, she could spend the rest of her life in Tartarus for all he cared.
But at the same time, Rumble knew that it wasn't all just Cozy Glow, he had a part in this as well and he had to accept the consequences of his actions.
Accepting his defeat, Rumble had flown off, no longer motivated enough to keep flying, he had given up for the moment.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Rumble thought out loud. "Maybe I should talk things out with Sweetie Belle, this break-up thing just isn't going well." Rumble considered flying over to Sweetie Belle's house, but had second thoughts before making the trip. "Then again...after everything that's happened, I don't think it's going to be that easy. I can't get back with her until I'm a hundred percent confident that I won't make the same mistake again. I hurt Sweetie Belle once, I can't do that to her again."
"Hey! Rumble!" he heard. Rumble looked down from the sky, having recognized that voice. "Yoo-hoo!"
"Dinky?" Rumble flew down to greet his best friend, though these days he's not even sure he can still call her that. "I thought you were doing your magic lessons?"
"It got cancelled, Twilight had to go to Canterlot on an urgent summon from Princess Celestia," Dinky said. "Starlight was gonna take over but she had to do some work at Twilight's school, so here I am."
"Well your magic's coming along great, you're getting closer to pro level, if you're not there already," Rumble said.
"Aw, thanks bff," Dinky said, giving Rumble a kiss on the cheek. "As always, you're quite the charmer."
"Yeah, the charmer..." Rumble said, feeling a little uneasy. "So, what are your plans now?"
"Not sure, I could go home and practice magic with my sister," Dinky said. "Or I could go see Derpy." She then wrapped her forelegs around Rumble's neck, nuzzling her nose against his. "Or, I could just spend some time with you."
"Dinky, come on, this is weird," Rumble said, trying to back away.
"Is it really?" Dinky asked. "A cute girl who wants to spend some time with an attractive colt? Seems normal to me."
"We told ourselves we wouldn't date, I don't want to mess up our friendship," Rumble said.
"And I told you that we're not dating, we're just having fun," Dinky said. "You just broke up with your marefriend, so I'm filling the void left in your heart. We said we'd never become coltfriend and marefriend, but we don't need to be a couple to kiss and stuff, just until you find somepony else."
"I still don't feel right about this," Rumble said. "I mean let's say I do get another filly, are you just gonna stop messing around with me?"
"Yeah, shouldn't be hard," Dinky said. "Especially if we get it out of our system first."
"I don't think it's that simple," Rumble said. "Dinky, I don't want things to be weird between us."
"They won't, have some faith in our friendship," Dinky said. "Come on, let's go back to your place, you look stressed out, and I want to help you alleviate that stress."
Rumble knew this probably wasn't a good idea, he knew what Dinky probably meant by those words, but at this point he really didn't care to argue. Honestly, maybe he was better off just going with Dinky. She might be a bit lovestruck right now, but she's still his friend and she genuinely cares about him, she's just showing her affection a bit differently this time around.
"Alright, I'll go along with what you say Dinky," Rumble said.
"Hey, I promise you'll be more relaxed after this, alright Rumble?" Dinky said, stroking his mane. "Friends help each other out after all."
"Yeah, friends help each other out," Rumble said, still feeling a shred of doubt about all of this. Without any further thought, the two foals made their way back to Rumble's house, making their way inside and towards Rumble's room.
"Looks like your brother isn't home again," Dinky said.
"Yeah, he's at Wonderbolts rehearsal, they have that big show soon," Rumble said.
"The one at Canterlot?" Dinky asked. "Yeah I keep hearing something big was going to happen soon, but I don't know what it is."
"Wish I could ask but not many ponies are willing to talk to me after the whole Sweetie Belle break-up," Rumble said.
"That's just sad," Dinky said. "Amazing how quick ponies are to judge, I guess that's one thing Trixie has a valid point on..." Dinky shook her head, "I can't believe I just agreed with Trixie on something."
"Hopefully in time I can earn their trust and respect back," Rumble said. "But the sad truth is some of them might still hold a grudge, even if they say they'll forgive me."
"Worry about that later," Dinky said, moving in to nuzzle Rumble. "Like I said, you need to relax, and I'm the filly to help you with that."
"Can you at least promise that things won't get weird between us?" Rumble asked. "You're my best friend and one of the only friends I have left, I don't want to lose that."
"You won't," Dinky said, kissing Rumble. "Because you're all I have too, and I'm never giving you up."
Dinky kissed Rumble again, the colt just accepting it and returning her affection. Perhaps this could be a good test to their Friendship, to see if they really can be close friends despite having some intimacy between them.
For now Rumble wasn't going to think about it, he really did miss the affection of a filly and was willing to take whatever he could get at the moment.
Rumble placed Dinky on her bed and this time had taken the initiative to lead the kiss, much to Dinky's pleasure. She usually starts this but Rumble hardly goes through with it, now she's getting his full attention, and his full affection.
As Rumbe made out with Dinky, all he could think about was Sweetie Belle. He felt a little bad since he was with another filly, but as he had constantly stressed, he can't think of Dinky as anything more than a friend.
Real contradiction to what he was doing at the moment.
"Dinky?" Rumble said, breaking the kiss. "Thanks for being there for me."
"Anytime buddy," Dinky said. "It's my pleasure to be of assistance."
The two resumed their make-out session, Rumble completely getting lost in his desires, fully allowing Dinky to be his stand in marefriend as the young Unicorn happily accepted Rumble's affection.
She could now understand why Sweetie Belle wouldn't let Rumble out of his sight.
Present day, Rumble's happy reminiscing of his childhood friend had been interrupted when a Changeling had spotted him.
"There he is!" soon other Changelings arrived and began their pursuit of Rumble.
"Come on, I thought you were happy with Thorax!" Rumble said, backing away from the group of insect like creatures.
"Thorax couldn't run the Kingdom the way Chrysalis did, we were more than happy to go back to her, now we can take what we need," the changeling said, then started blasting at Rumble, the others following suit.
"Guess I have no choice!" Rumble said, getting into a fight stance. Two Changelings flew at Rumble but he flew upwards and attacked a third with a strong kick to it's face, followed by a second kick for good measure. The two that attacked quickly turned around but Rumble had flown over, kicking on in the head and upper-cutting the other.
The fourth tried zapping him but Rumble quickly dodged and flew in with a massive punch and then a somersault kick to knock it back. Feeling like he's done enough he flew off in hopes of finding a more isolated area, or better yet, some friends.
"I hope everypony else is alright," Rumble said to himself as he flew away. "What I wouldn't give to see my friends again, what I wouldn't give Sweetie Belle again."
Rumble kept flying around, trying to find any sign of life. Maybe he can make his way over to Canterlot, see if Twilight was around.
Come to think of it, this really started when Twilight began her transition into ruling over the Kingdom of Equestria. He can still remember when he first found out about Twilight taking the throne.
It was a day after his 'date' with Dinky, he was making his way through Ponyville, on his way back to the park, hoping to finally have his edge back.
"I wonder if Rainbow Dash ever had this type of block, maybe I should ask..." Rumble stopped himself mid-sentence, realizing that wasn't a possibility. "Or maybe not. I mean I could ask Thunderlane but somehow I don't think he'll fully understand my plight. Flitter and Cloudchaser weren't much help either, maybe I can ask-"
"Coming through!" he heard Tender Taps say. He looked ahead and saw the colt that was once his closest friend rushing from the opposite direction, obviously in a hurry as he ran by some ponies.
"Tender Taps?" Rumble said, trying to get his attention. "What's the rush?"
"Not your business," Tender Taps said, immediately dismissing Rumble as he ran past him.
"Doesn't seem like nothing," Rumble said, looking to be in a foul mood after getting brushed off.
"It isn't!" Pinkie Pie said, excitedly hopping past Rumble. "It's humongous!"
"Humongous? How?" Rumble asked.
"I could tell you...but I kind of want you to guess," Pinkie said, hopping close to Rumble.
"Guess? Uh, like guess what?" Rumble asked. "I'm not the best with guessing games."
"Here's a hint, think of the biggest thing you can imagine! Something really surprising!" Pinkie said. "Go on, I know you got a great imagination!"
"Uh...Fluttershy joining The Wonderbolts?" Rumble asked.
"Pfft, I said big, not impossible," Pinkie joked, a bit to Rumble's surprise. "Come on, imagine something big! With a certain Princess!"
"Princess?" Rumble asked. "Uh, is Princess Celestia getting married or something?"
"Oh, good one, but no," Pinkie said. "Think of why Tender Taps got so excited!"
Rumble thought a moment, then a thought occured to him, "Oh...is Princess Twilight getting married!?"
"Ooh, that would be quite the nightmare for poor Tappy," Pinkie said. "You're getting close though."
"Uh, I'm not sure, I mean what could be bigger than Twilight getting married?" Rumble asked.
"Give up?" Pinkie asked. "Alright I'll tell you, it is hard to guess, unless you paid close enough attention."
"Paid attention to what?" Rumble asked, getting confused by this mare's antics. "Ugh, nevermind, what's going on?"
"I'll get right to it then," Pinkie said. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are retiring and they named Twilight as the next ruler of Equestria."
Rumble took a moment to register that information, "Wait, seriously!?"
"Never saw that coming, did ya Rumble?" Pinkie teased.
"Honestly no, are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna really stepping down in power?" Rumble asked.
"They sure are," Pinkie said.
"And Twilight's gonna rule in their place!?" Rumble asked again.
"Well she'll have help from us, but yeah, pretty much," Pinkie said.
"This...I can't even..." Rumble was in a state of amazement, "Twilight's really taking over! She's going to rule over all of Equestria!" Rumble looked up at Pinkie, "When does she officially take over?"
"In a few days, Twilight's really nervous about it," Pinkie Pie explained.
"Well yeah, she has to run a whole country!" Rumble said. "Equestria's a big place! It has a whole a lot of cities and empires! It's such a huge responsibility to take on!"
"Which is why she's super nervous about it," Pinkie said. "Also why Tappy was just running to her castle in a hurry. Whenever Twilight needs reassurance, that's what he's there for."
"Well he is her little helper, aside from Spike that is," Rumble said.
"And he takes his job very seriously," Pinkie added. "That's determination for you, he just might make a great coltfriend for Twilight in the future."
"Whoa there, coltfriend?" Rumble looked a bit surprised upon hearing that. "Isn't it too soon to think of Tender Taps that way?"
"Not really," Pinkie Pie answered. "He's very charming and caring, it only makes sense that Twilight is already infatuated by him, give him a few years and he'll be a top notch stallion!"
"Wow, lucky Tender Taps then if he's lucky he might end up a Prince," Rumble said. "Still, with Twilight about to be in charge, how will that change Equestria? Is she going to have to live in Canterlot? What will happen to the Elements of Harmony?"
"I really can't answer all of that, you're gonna have to see for yourself soon," Pinkie Pie said. "Well I should go check on Twilight as well, make sure she's not Twilighting all over her castle."
"Uh, did you turn her name into a verb?" Rumble asked.
"Well she should get used to stuff like that, soon ponies are gonna use her as an expression just like they do with Princess Celestia," Pinkie Pie said, then tapped her chin in confusion. "Always wondered why ponies did that, oh well."
Pinkie began to hop off merrily to Twilight's castle, leaving Rumble still pretty stunned by what he had heard. "Huh, Twilight Sparkle, The Princess of Equestria...is she gonna rule by herself? Is Cadance gonna rule with her? Or Flurry Heart? Wonder what type of changes she'll make?"
"Yes, quite curious indeed," Rumble heard. He looked around to see who spoke but no one was there.
"Who said that?" Rumble asked.
Suddenly the prankster Draqonequess Discord had emerged, appearing before Rumble in a puff of some, "Surprised to see me?"
"Discord!?" Rumble said in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"
"Why wouldn't I be here, after all you heard the big surprise from Pinkie Pie, Twilight's going to rule over all of Equestria," Discord said, popping off some confetti. "It's big! It's enormous! It's incredible...it's also quite the shame that I wasn't chosen, I mean I think I'm more than qualified to run a country, plus I have much more life experience than Twilight, wouldn't you agree...Tumble?"
"It's Rumble, and while I can agree that you're WAY older than Twilight, you're also not the most trustworthy of creatures," Rumble said.
Discord made a mock gasp at Rumble's statement, "Why I never! Me? Untrustworthy? Where ever would you get such an idea?"
"You tried taking over Equestria, twice," Rumble said, using his wings to emphasize his point. "Three times if you count the fact that you tried assisting Tirek once."
"Well isn't that what Friendship is about? Forgiveness?" Discord stated. "After all, we've all made mistakes, should we really be judged for them? I made the mistake of trying to take over Equestria, Starlight made the mistake of removing the Cutie Marks of everyone in her village, your friend Cozy Glow made the mistake of betraying Twilight's school of Friendship...and you, my dear friend, you made the mistake of being unfaithful to your precious filly."
Rumble winced a little, "I wouldn't compare us, you tried taking over the world, I just accidentally kissed the wrong filly."
"I may have tried to take over the world, but you Rumble, you completely destroyed your own world, you affected somepony just the same as me, you, like me, have hurt somepony," Discord said.
"Well...I tried to apologize at least!" Rumble said.
"Oh, and I haven't?" Discord asked. "You once got furious at Twilight because you felt she was harsher with Cozy Glow than she was with other villains she's faced, yet you never really once looked at it from another perspective. The first two times I messed up, I wasn't immediately forgiven, I was turned to stone!" Discord flew in, getting close to Rumble, freaking the colt out a bit. "Do you know what it's like turning into stone? Not being able to move? Only being able to hear? Stuck in suspended animation for 1000 years!? Thankfully the second time was a mere few months, or so it seemed like."
"Well next time don't try to take over the world," Rumble said. "And what does Cozy Glow have to do with this anyway?"
"Just pointing out the flaws in your thinking, I mean it's not like she's the only one who had to go through facing the consequences of her actions, what with Luna being banished to the moon for 1000 years, the Sirens being banished from Equestria as a whole, even Starlight had to live in isolation for a while, granted she got off easier compared to us, point is most of those who try to conquer Equestria go through punishments." Discord lifted Rumble up with his magic, Rumble immediately trying to get down. "Cozy Glow is no different, and in a way, neither are you."
"What are you going on about your weirdo!?" Rumble asked, struggling to escape from Discord.
"What I'm going on about is this, Rumble, you may not have been a villain like me, Nightmare Moon or Starlight, but you still did something highly negative, even if you didn't mean it as you said," Discord said. "Myself, Luna, Starlight, Cozy Glow, we all did what we thought was good, Luna genuinely believed she could have been a better Princess, Starlight believed Cutie Marks are worthless, I believed in chaos, and Cozy believed she could be a good Princess of Friendship. You Rumble, you thought a little kiss wouldn't matter, but you know it not to be true, you know how much you hurt Sweetie Belle, and now you must face your own consequences before you could face redemption, just like Cozy must still earn hers."
"Pfft, what you wanna be wise old Discord now?" Rumble asked. "I don't need a lecture from you! At least me and Cozy have the excuse of being foals. You along with Luna, Starlight, Tirek, Chrysalis, Stygian should have just known better!"
"Oh Rumble, still so naïve, in time you will see things the way I do," Discord said, snapping away, Rumble being dropped to the ground.
"Ow, stupid chaos spirit, like he knows any better," Rumble said. "Tempt him once and I bet he'll go back to how he was. How could Twilight let him fly around and send a foal to Tartarus? Cozy may be bratty and annoying but really, she just needed a good role model...maybe I can help Cozy Glow be better, just to prove it to Discord and Twilight!"
With that, Rumble flew off, hoping to find the once villainous filly and begin his plan of peacemaking. He checked the market place, as he knew Flitter was doing some shopping today, and knew the exact spot she spent most of her time.
Making his way over, he could see that he was spot on with his guessing, as he spotted Flitter shopping for some various fruits, though unfortunately not too far off was the Apple Family kiosk, currently being ran by Applejack and Apple Bloom.
"Come on Rumble, it's just the Apples, they're really nice ponies, even when they're mad," Rumble gently let himself down, choosing to trot over to Flitter and Cozy Glow, the latter looking quite bored while waiting for her guardian to finish her selection.
"Hm...I can't decide between the peaches and the mangos, they both look so tasty...I'll just get both, should I get both?" Flitter thought, then grabbed one of each. "Yeah I'll just get both of them, can't go wrong with too much fruit."
"Yeah, fruit, yippie," Cozy boredly said. "Can we go now?"
"Soon Cozy, I just need a few more items," Flitter said.
"Well hurry up, I get the feeling that Apple Bloom's glaring at me," Cozy said, trying to look at the filly with the corner of her eyes, preferring not to make eye contact.
True to her worries, Apple Bloom was indeed casting a glare at the filly she once thought was her friend, never has Apple Bloom felt as betrayed as she was the time Cozy Glow tried taking over the school of Friendship.
"Apple Bloom?" Applejack said, trying to get her sister's attention. The filly hadn't heard, she still maintained her angry glare, so Applejack tried again, "Apple Bloom!"
"Huh?" The filly turned her attention to her older sister. "Oh, sorry sis, guess I was distracted."
"By Cozy Glow?" Applejack said, gesturing to the filly. "Yer still mad, ain't ya?"
"Well can you blame me?" Apple Bloom said. "Me and the Crusaders did everything we could to help her when she first moved here! We thought she really wanted to learn Friendship, we really thought she wanted to be friends with us! Ah can't beilieve she was so quick to throw that away, she didn't even hesitate!"
"Ah know it ain't easy, took us a while to get used to having Discord around, same with Luna and Starlight, but Discord was harder to trust due to him being so unpredictable, ah mean Starlight and Luna at least tried to be friends, Discord was still a bit of a mystery," Applejack explained.
"Honestly ah don't really trust Discord mahself sometimes," Apple Bloom said. "Ah keep thinking he's gonna betray us."
"He already did once, and regretted it, ah don't think he's going to again, especially since he and Fluttershy are such good friends," Applejack said, then stroked Apple Bloom's mane. "Look, ah know it ain't easy, but Twilight thinks Cozy Glow deserves a chance, and ah can agree. In a way, Cozy Glow was our responsibility, we should have taught her better, now we have that chance to make things right, and who knows, maybe she'll be yer friend again, wouldn't you like that?"
"Maybe..." Apple Bloom said. "It's still gonna take time to trust her."
"It's understandable, Cozy did something bad, but the right thing to do would be to give a pony a chance to change fer the better, all ponies deserve that chance," Applejack said.
"Even Rumble?" Apple Bloom asked, gesturing to the colt who was awkwardly trying to look casual as he trotted through.
"Yes, even Rumble..." Applejack said, disappointment entering her voice. "What he did was bad but if we're being fair, it doesn't compare to what Cozy's done...even if what Rumble did affected us personally just as much."
Rumble glanced over to the Apples, wondering if they had caught sight of him. Though once he locked eyes with them, he suddenly started feeling awkward and began waving nervously.
"Hey Applejack, Apple Bloom, lovely day isn't it?" Rumble said.
"It was," Apple Bloom spat.
"Ha, good one, hehehe..." Rumble started to sweat nervously, "I'm uh...just going to see Flitter! You know, my foalsitter..."
"We know who she is, really nice mare, too bad she has such difficult foals to keep an eye on," Apple Bloom said.
"Apple Bloom..." Applejack lightly scolded. Disappointed as she was in Rumble, she couldn't allow her sister to talk so disrespectfully to anypony. She turned her attention back to Rumble, "Just be on yer way Rumble, don't mind us, unless yer fixing to buy something."
Rumble thought a moment, "Well actually, I'd like a-"
"We're out," Apple Bloom interrupted.
"Uh, I didn't even say what I wanted," Rumble said.
"Ah said we're out, you calling me a liar there Rumble?" Apple Bloom asked, glaring at the colt.
"N-no way!" Rumble said, backing off a bit.
"Apple Bloom, come on now," Applejack said, then turned to Rumble. "Just tell me what you want, I'll see if we actually have it."
"Actually I'll pass on that for now, maybe another time," Rumble said, trotting off quickly, "Bye ladies."
As Rumble trotted off, Apple Bloom stuck her tongue out at him, much to Applejack's annoyance.
"Apple Bloom, what did ah just say abut forgiveness!?" Applejack asked.
"I'll forgive him when ah feel like it," Apple Bloom said, much to Applejack's dismay.
Applejack sighed in disappointment, she hoped for better from her sister. This didn't go unnoticed by the third Apple sibling, Big Macintosh, who was making his way toward his sisters when he overheard their conversation. He too felt some disappointment, he hoped his youngest sister could have handled that better, but he also knows the middle child of the family has a grudge of her own, even if she won't admit it.
He truly pitied Rumble, he doesn't think he's a bad kid at all, everypony makes mistakes, he could tell that Rumble's the kind to make up for his mistakes, and that's all that matters in a pony in his opinion.
Rumble did his best to shake off the awkward as he approached the two mares he was looking for in the first place. "Hey, Flitter! Cozy Glow!"
Cozy's ears perked up as she turned her attention to the colt, "Rumble!" She flew over to hug him, "I'm so happy to see you! I was so bored!"
"Sorry to hear that," Rumble said, returning the hug. "Well if you want, I was on my way to the park, wanna come with me?"
Cozy's eyes lit up as she pulled away, looking right at Rumble, "I'd love too!"
"Maybe later Rumble," Flitter said, deflating Cozy's excitement. "Once I'm done shopping."
"Oh come on, you're taking too long!" Cozy Glow said.
"You know the rules Cozy, you can't leave my side," Flitter said. "Rainbow Dash was furious with you yesterday, do you really want to upset her?"
"Maybe," Cozy Glow answered, much to Flitter's annoyance.
"Cozy Glow, you need to show a little more respect to Rainbow Dash," Flitter said.
"Well I don't like her, or Twilight, or any of the Elements of Harmony," Cozy said. "They're a bunch of meanies!"
This was said loud enough to even get Apple Bloom's attention, needless to say, it irritated the filly. "Can you believe her!?"
"Ignore it, it's a process," Applejack said. "She'll come around."
Apple Bloom shook her head in annoyance and proceeded to resume her work, though not before casting one last glare at the spoiled filly.
"Cozy Glow, try to be nice when talking about Twilight and her friends," Rumble implored. "They're really nice ponies."
"They haven't been nice to you," Cozy Glow pointed out.
"Uh, well..." Rumble sheepishly rubbed his head. "That was my own fault." He then muttered a bit, "And yours..."
"Pardon me?" Cozy Glow asked.
"It's nothing, but if you want, I'll stay here with you while Flitter shops so we can go to the park right afterwards, that way it won't seem so bad," Rumble said.
"Aw, you'd do that for me? You're so sweet," Cozy Glow said, then kissed Rumble on the cheek.
"Think nothing of it," Rumble said. "I just want to start over and be better friends this time. Now that there's no more secrets between us, it should be much easier."
"Yeah, I'm so happy I don't have to keep secrets from you anymore," Cozy Glow said. "It was weally hard doing so, I didn't like tricking you at all. Plus if I blew my cover, I would have had to hurt you, and that would have been terrible."
"Uh...yeah, terrible," Rumble said, little weirded out by that statement. "Just promise you won't actually try that with anyone, we don't need any more fighting, I don't think the Crusaders really forgave you for hurting Tender Taps...actually I'm not sure if Twilight even fully forgave that."
"Well all that matters to me is that you wanna be my friend," Cozy Glow said, nuzzling Rumble. "You're all I need."
"That's nice of you to say, of course it wouldn't hurt to try and befriend others," Rumble insisted, gesturing his eyes to the farm filly nearby. "Maybe Apple Bloom?"
"Pfft, no way," Cozy Glow said. "She tried to betray me."
"Come on, you were friends with the Crusaders once weren't you?" Rumble asked. "Back when they tried tutoring you for Twilight's School of Friendship? Doesn't that mean anything to you?"
"Please, like any of that was real, it's called acting," Cozy Glow said. "It was part of my plan to take over the school and become the new Princess of Friendship."
"Was it really?" Rumble asked. "In Sweetie Belle's letters it sounded like the four of you really enjoyed spending time together, some of the things she said really made it sound like you had fun."
"Like what?" Cozy Glow asked.
"You always hung out with them, you played games with your classmates, especially the six friends that always hang out together, you did things with everypony," Rumble said. "You can't mean to tell me that none of that meant absolutely nothing to you."
"Yes, I can, because that's what it was, nothing to me," Cozy Glow said. "But that's all in the past, and now I want to make a future, with you."
"Well, so do I," Rumble said. "As friends, I really want all of us to be close, you, me, Dinky, Tender Taps, and The Crusaders, and I know you have it in you to be our friend."
"What's the point?" Cozy Glow asked. "All I care about is you, and the hope that one day, you and I could be coltfriend and marefriend, that's all I need to be happy."
"Cozy, I really want to make you happy, but to do that, you're gonna have to give my idea a chance," Rumble said. "Which means making peace with the others, something we'll both need to work on."
"It just doesn't seem worth the effort," Cozy insisted.
"Cozy, I want to be friends with you, I reall do," Rumble said. "But, if you want to be friends with me, you have to trust my idea." Rumble stroked Cozy's mane. "I want to make peace with them, and I want to be friends with you, so I really want you to be their friend as well, it would mean a lot to me Cozy."
Cozy blushed a bit at Rumble's contact, such a gentle colt. While she wasn't too eager to make friends with anypony else, especially not the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she did want to be with Rumble. For the moment she could put her dislike aside, until she figures out a way to have Rumble all to herself.
Applejack had observed from nearby, while it seemed rude to listen in, she was just too curious as to what Rumble had to say to Cozy Glow. From the sounds of things, he does at least want to make amends for his mistakes, that's something she respects in a pony. As an Element of Harmony, it is her duty to help ponies with Friendship troubles, same with her other friends.
Speaking of friends, there is one that really needed her attention at the moment, that being the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle.
Big Mac, ah gotta go check on Twilight, would you be able to keep an eye on things while I'm gone?" Applejack asked.
"Eeyup," Big Mac replied.
"I can always count on you big brother," Applejack said, then trotted off. "Be back in a jiffy!" As Applejack began to leave, she turned her attention to Rumble. "Hey, Rumble, come here a second."
Rumble was a bit surprised, and somewhat worried, hoping Applejack wasn't too mad. Stepping away from Cozy Glow, Rumble cautiously approached Applejack, "Yeah?"
"Rumble, I'm not sure what yer planning with Cozy Glow, but try not to get in over yer head," Applejack warned. "She's still a bit on the manipulative side after all."
"I know you don't trust her, but she needs a friend right now, I gotta remind her about the magic of Friendship," Rumble said.
"Ah know, and ah do hope you can help her," Applejack said. "If you need help though, come to us immediately. It's nice that you want to make things right after what happened with Sweetie Belle, and ah know some of us might be hard headed, but the more you show how reliable you are, the more we'll trust you as well, alright sugarcube?"
Rumble smiled upon the 'sugarcube' compliment, and nodded his head, "Sure thing Applejack."
"You take care now," Applejack said, and trotted off to the castle of Friendship, wanting to both check on her friend and get a little advice. Trouble is, she knows Rumble isn't currently that well liked by Rainbow Dash or Rarity either, hopefully she can still talk some sense.
Back in the present, Rumble had finally found a hiding place, a barn at Sweet Apple Acres. He fondly remembers Applejack, her sour attitude toward him not lasting very long, at first at least. Over time he nearly lost that trust again.
"Applejack, I hope you're alright, wherever you are," Rumble said to himself, in a way praying for his friend's safety as he sat in the barn, thinking over his next course of action.
Not too far off, several miles outside of Ponyville, the new ruler of Equestria, Princess Twilight Sparkle was surveying high above to find any sign of ponies that needed to be rescued, one pony she specifically had in mind.
"Where could he be?" Twilight muttered, looking across the skies.
"Princess Twilight!" She heard a gruff voice say. She turned to see the Wonderbolts Captain Spitfire flying over. "Glad I found you, there's something you should know."
"Please tell me it's positive information," Twilight said.
"There's a positive...followed by a negative," Spitfire reluctantly admitted.
Twilight sighed in annoyance, though she can't be too surprised, with so many villains wreaking havoc, hearing about anything remotely uplifting on it's own is a blessing. "Let's hear it."
"Well, we found that Tender Taps pony," Spitfire said. "But, before we could get to him, a group of evil Changelings swooped in and captured him, and they weren't alone. Some of the Storm King's soldiers also ambushed us, they really seemed to want him, guess they know how close you two are."
"Of course Chrysalis would go after somepony I love," Twilight said, mentally cursing the Queen. "Are you flyers alright though?"
"Well they're alive at least, but a good chunk of them took a beating," Spitfire said.
"Go tend to them for now, I'll go after Chrysalis myself," Twilight said.
"Huh? With all due respect Princess, is that really a smart idea?" Spitfire asked. "It could be a trap!"
"I'm aware, and don't worry, I have a plan of my own," Twilight said. "Just keep your friends and the other ponies safe."
"Yes Princess," Spitfire said with a salute, then flew off.
"Don't worry Tappy, I'm coming to save you!" Twilight said as she flew off to find her precious colt. Or rather, her loving stallion.
Author's Note
Slow and Steady, that's how the chapters are coming out.
