The Rise of Passion

Twilight awoke the next morning, her wings and horn still bound. Her hooves were undone, but she could neither cast spells nor fly. Her flank was sore, and she remembered the feeling of having her cutie mark removed. She immediately thought back to the time Starlight had done this to her, and how she could help.

She felt something move against her leg and immediately kicked at the body behind her, thinking it was Gallus. She would not abide his betrayal, despite the fact that he had ensured her safety. The grunt of pain, however, was not the one she expected.

She rolled over. "Cadance?!"

"Good morning, Twilight," she groaned, holding her stomach where Twilight had kicked her. "Sleep well?"

Twilight immediately hugged her, crying. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

"Is there something you need?" asked Cadance. "Tea? Breakfast?"

"That would be lovely," sniffled Twilight. "You have no idea how glad I am that you're alive."

"I have no idea," smiled Cadance.

"Listen," said Twilight, pulling Cadance close. "Cozy Glow is back, and she's using Starlight's magic. She's taking away ponies' cutie marks and magic. She's a monster, and she must be stopped."

"Oh, I don't know if I'd call myself a monster," chuckled Cozy.

Twilight sat up and looked around. She was in some kind of cave. Looking up, she could see through the ceiling the underside of the Crystal Palace. Ponies were walking around as happy as could be under Starlight's rule and the Crystal Heart shone brightly on its pedestal. All seemed right. But it couldn't be.

She was lying on a fold-out cot against one wall. Cozy sat at the other side of the room in a high-backed throne, swirling a glass of red wine. Cadance, much like herself, was sporting a grey arrow on her flank, and had the big, empty smile that Starlight had given to her village.

"A "less than" symbol?" scowled Twilight. "Really?"

Cozy took a sip of her wine. "Starlight's plan was good, but not what I wanted. I'm not planning to make everypony the same. There is no façade this time around. You are marked as being less than me because that is your new role."

Twilight stood up and prepared to charge. "You killed my friends!"

Cozy laughed. "I can't believe you fell for that! Your friends are fine. Let's have a look, shall we?" Casting a spell at the wall, Cozy opened up a viewpoint into what had become of the others.

"As you can see, Applejack is free of the cage you locked her in, you monster." She was back at Sweet Apple Acres, playing with Winona and Apple Bloom. She even nuzzled Apple Bloom's cheek, showing that she was very much safe, in good health, and happy.

"Fluttershy is spending some quality time with her family," continued Cozy, flipping to the cum-coated pegasi in the bath. Silverstream was in there, too, scrubbing them as Zephyr shoved his cock down Rainbow's throat. "As you can see, Rainbow Dash is supporting her, and they even have friends to keep them company."

"That's Fluttershy's bathroom," gasped Twilight.

"I know," smiled Cozy. "Isn't it odd that you never sent anypony to check if she had simply gone home?" She chuckled. "Of course, if you had, we would have just moved them again. All three of them. After all, we don't want to break up the little family they have going there."

The image changed again, and now they had returned to the school. In one of the dorm rooms, four students at a time were plowing Pinkie and Rarity from both ends. "These two were not turned to stone and shattered," clarified Cozy. "What kind of sadistic fiend do you think I am?"

Twilight took the opportunity to charge while Cozy was distracted. As she approached, she was repelled by a force field.

"Are you really that stupid?" scolded Cozy, "Or do you just think I am? Sit and watch, or you'll not find out what's really going on here. Don't you like learning?"

Twilight rubbed her nose as she turned back to the screen.

"That's better. As you can see, their flesh is stretchy-stretchy. Even if you did hit them with a hammer, they'd be completely unharmed. You'd need to expose them to extreme temperatures. And I mean really extreme temperatures. They are completely aware of their surroundings, of course, and can feel what's rubbing against them, but they are not under any kind of agony. I may even give them some of their freedoms back when I feel the time is right, but for now, it's not like they have the time to go about their business."

Cozy turned back just as the door opened, and Double Diamond walked in with a cart full of tasty treats and a big teapot. He was sporting the same arrow cutie mark.

"You've enslaved him, too?!" shouted Twilight.

"He's here by choice, actually," smirked Cozy. "Some ponies do not see eye-to-eye with your interpretation of friendship, Twilight. Believe it or not, there are stallions out there that like being controlled. It may not be the most common thing, but it is a thing that happens. It's a trust exercise. They place their lives in the hooves of somepony they trust, and that pony makes them happy."

"I don't believe you," sneered Twilight. "Give him back his cutie mark!"

"I don't have it," smirked Cozy, finishing her wine. "But I'll talk to the mare who has it, and see what she thinks. Ciao!" Disappearing her chair, she walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Twilight knew she couldn't just walk out. There was no way Cozy would allow that. She could probably open the door, but there would likely be a force field, or some guards or some other means of keeping her there.

"Come have breakfast, Twilight," smiled Cadance with that empty grin. "We have lemon curd."

With a sigh, Twilight sat down near the cart. If Cozy was planning on killing her, she already would have, rather than giving her food. The fact that she was putting any amount of effort into feeding Twilight meant that she was supposed to stay alive, at least for now. She couldn't trust everything that Cozy said, but she didn't seem to be false.

"I'm going to find a way out of this," Twilight assured Cadance. "We'll find a way, I promise."