Somewhere in the skies, Twilight is still flying alongside her new ally Lightning Dust.
"I need to know something. Is there a reason why you're helping me?" Twilight asked.
"Quite honestly, I just want to look good enough to get into The Wonderbolts," Lightning Dust admitted.
Twilight looked annoyed, "Wow, how nice of you."
"Hey you want me to pretend to be your friend, only for you to find out later that I'm not!?" Lightning asked. "At least I'm being honest with you."
"Still, you could have stated that a little better," Twilight said.
"Does it really matter? I helped you fight off some Changelings, I could have just kept flying and left you on your own," Lightning Dust reminded.
"I realize that, and I'm grateful for your help, but I didn't really appreciate how selfish your reason sounded," Twilight said.
"Hey I'm sure you and your friends already think I'm a lousy pony, no point in pretending I'm any nicer than you think I am," Lightning Dust said.
"That's a terrible thing to say!" Twilight said. "If you're upset about what happened at The Wonderbolts Academy then I can understand but saying stuff like that won't make things better."
"It really doesn't matter anymore," Lightning said.
Twilight flew closer to her, "It's not too late to try again, you're not the only one who's needed to."
"I don't wanna talk about this anymore, let's just keep flying please," Lightning said, flying faster with Twilight attempting to keep up.
At another part of Equestria, the foals are still walking, keeping watch to make sure that none of the Changelings are still after them.
"How long have we been walking?" Sweetie Belle asked in an almost whiney tone.
"Ah don't know, probably a while," Apple Bloom said.
Sweetie Belle groaned, "I hate walking so much, I'm getting tired."
"It hasn't been that long Sweetie Belle, just keep going," Dinky said.
Sweetie Belle wiped some sweat off her head, "When can we take a rest?"
"Later, come on Sweetie Belle you can handle a little walking" Apple Bloom said.
Rumble turned to Sweetie Belle, "Do you want me to carry you again?"
"No, I don't want you to walk for me," Sweetie Belle said.
"I don't mind, this way you don't feel so tired," Rumble said.
"Rumble she can walk on her own, if you carry her you'll be the one getting very tired," Dinky said.
"Maybe we can take turns carrying her?" Tender Taps suggested.
"Nopony's taking turns to carry Sweetie Belle, that's just silly," Apple Bloom said.
"I'm definitely not carrying her," Dinky said.
"Just an idea," Tender Taps said.
"At least you care Tender Taps, unlike a certain other filly here who happens to be a Unicorn like myself," Sweetie Belle said, further annoying Dinky.
"At least I'm not whining about walking, you're just like your sister, so delicate," Dinky said.
"Hey! I'm not that delicate, and neither is Rarity. My sister once fought those Changelings, and she saved Equestria a bunch of times," Sweetie Belle said.
"Rarity is tougher than she looks," Apple Bloom said.
"I really don't care, let's just keep walking, I don't want to waste anymore time!" Dinky said.
Apple Bloom continued to look around, "Too bad there's no place to go to right now, could help if ah saw somepony from mah family."
At another part of Equestria, The Wonderbolts were flying through the air, some of them went to Ponyville to see if any Changelings remained while Spitfire, Soarin, Fleetfoot, Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane and Derpy flew to find Changelings and hopefully the foals.
As they flew, they noticed two other Pegasus ponies flying nearby, that being Night Glider and Cloudchaser with Starlight on her back.
"Hey! Cloudchaser! Night Glider! Starlight!" Rainbow Dash called.
Starlight looked towards Rainbow Dash and the others, "Oh good, there you all are!"
The ponies met up in the air, Cloudchaser being the first to talk. "You're with The Wonderbolts too Rainbow Dash? Did my sister already reach you?"
"Yeah, Flitter's back with Thorax and the others. She's helping them fight The Changelings, I mean the ones that are with Chrysalis," Rainbow Dash explained.
"What!?" Cloudchaser asked. "My sister's fighting against those Changelings!?"
"There's not that many, though they're pretty tough, some of the Changelings that were with Thorax had a little trouble, but my friends are strong enough to fight them," Rainbow Dash said.
"Aside from Twilight, I really doubt that. Rarity and Applejack are tough, but they're not that strong," Cloudchaser said.
"They can fight Changelings, don't you remember when that fought the ones at Canterlot?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Didn't you lose though? I heard that they were eventually defeated by Shining Armor and Princess Cadance," Cloudchaser said.
"Your sister will be fine Cloudchaser, don't worry too much," Starlight said. "For now we need to find the foals, we got help from a pony from my village, this is Night Glider."
Night Glider waved, "Hey, nice to meet you all."
Spitfire turned to Rainbow Dash, "Is she fast?"
"She's ok, I mean compared to me at least," Rainbow Dash somewhat boasted.
"You're sure confident in yourself," Night Glider said, playfully annoyed.
"Nothing wrong with a little self-confidence," Spitfire said.
"Use that confidence in your speed and fly!" Derpy said. "We need to find those foals!"
"Right, let's move!" Spitfire said, getting the others to really start flying.
Back with the foals, they eventually found a place to rest at, near some trees and water springs. Apple Bloom was still trying to figure out where she was, hoping to find a familiar place.
Dinky approached her, looking a little annoyed. "Have you figured anything out yet?"
"No, ah know Ponyville's off that way, but it's still quite a distance. I'm hoping to find some place we can go to that would be able to help us," Apple Bloom said.
Dinky sighed, "Great. This is why Starlight should have taught some magic that could be used for fighting, then we wouldn't have to worry too much."
"Even if you and Sweetie Belle could fight with yer magic, yer both weaker than Chrysalis," Apple Bloom said.
"Better than nothing, you managed to buck kick Chrysalis, which was pretty cool I'll admit. Besides even if we're weak alone, all of us could work together. Rumble's got some skill when it comes to fighting since Thunderlane trained him a bit. Plus he's fast and knows how to use the clouds very well," Dinky said.
"Rumble's tough but he don't look like he's able to really fight them Changelings. He's only fighting to protect Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom said.
"Still, what about Scootaloo? Doesn't Rainbow Dash train her?" Dinky asked.
"She's still learning to fly, and tough as she tries to make herself look, there's no way she can handle the Changelings either," Apple Bloom said.
"What about Tender Taps?" Dinky asked.
Apple Bloom just stared, "Yer kidding right? He's a sweet colt but he's not much fer fighting either. Not to be mean, but he is kinda wimpy, not that I blame him, nopony should expect him to fight Changelings."
Dinky looked down in sadness, "I'm just really worried. Not for ourselves, but for the others, especially Derpy. If she found out, I know she'll get worried. We're both pretty close after all, kind of a mother-daughter relationship."
"Oh, mother-daughter? That must be nice," Apple Bloom said, looking a bit sad.
Dinky cringed a little, "I'm sorry, I hope that didn't upset you or anything."
"No, it's fine. I'm glad you have something like that," Apple Bloom said. "It's nothing, just a little self-pity. Now ain't the time fer that though, ah got more things to worry about."
"Right," Dinky said. "Um is there anything I can do to help?"
"Just make sure the others are alright," Apple Bloom said. "Especially Sweetie Belle, she did seem annoyed at all the walking."
Dinky groaned in annoyance, "Sweetie Belle already has her 'Brave Knight' watching over her."
Apple Bloom noticed the two nearby, both sitting under a tree. "Yeah, yer right. Mind watching over Scootaloo and Tender Taps? Mostly Tender Taps, ah just know he feels really worried. Ah don't like seeing him so unhappy."
Dinky looked toward Tender Taps, who seemed to be sitting nearby, looking a bit sad. "Yeah, I'm more worried for him." She turned back to Apple Bloom. "So, are you two ever gonna date?"
Apple Bloom blushed a little, "I'd like to, we actually had something set up before all of this."
"Oh wow, maybe The Changelings detected your love?" Dinky joked.
"If they detected anypony's love, it's Rumble and Sweetie Belle," Apple Bloom said with a smirk.
The two fillies giggled a bit, finally finding a little humor after such a day.
As they giggled, Sweetie Belle continued to relax under the tree, laying against Rumble. "This is so relaxing, isn't it Rumble?" As she looked to Rumble, she noticed that he seemed a little worried. "Rumble? Are you feeling ok?"
"I'm just thinking how worried my brother probably is. I'm sure Starlight found him and let him know what happened to us. They probably still think we're with Chrysalis," Rumble said.
"Don't worry, your brother knows The Wonderbolts, I bet he'll ask them for help," Sweetie Belle said.
"I just hope Chrysalis didn't send any Changelings to attack him or Starlight," Rumble said. "I'd be pretty sad if that happened."
Sweetie Belle looked aside a bit, trying to think of something. "Well, your brother's strong right? He can fight off The Changelings."
"I hope so," Rumble said.
Sweetie Belle nuzzled against Rumble some more, then turned his face towards her. "Try to relax a bit, ok? I'll help you."
Sweetie Belle leaned in and started kissing Rumble, climbing over him and giving him a passionate session like she has before.
Tender Taps was one of the first to notice their kissing, then turned his attention to Apple Bloom. He wondered if they would eventually kiss like that. The idea made him happy, but he also felt nervous.
Scootaloo noticed as well, feeling a bit annoyed. "So great you two can find time to kiss even when Changelings are after us!"
Sweetie Belle stopped to glare, "Funny hearing you say that."
Rumble sweated a bit, knowing what Sweetie Belle meant.
"Hey! Don't start arguing!" Apple Bloom warned.
"Blame her! She's complaining that I'm kissing my coltfriend," Sweetie Belle said.
"Kiss him somewhere else then, nopony else wants to see your passion," Dinky said.
Sweetie Belle huffed, "Fine, "she turned to Rumble. "Let's go Rumbly."
Rumble nodded and got up to follow Sweetie Belle, though Apple Bloom called out. "Stay where yer close by!"
"We will!" Sweetie Belle said as she walked off, getting a head shake from Apple Bloom.
"They better not do anything stupid."
Nearby the two approached a water spring. "Let's go there Rumble, this walking left me a little dirty, plus that water looks relaxing."
Rumble nodded, "That sounds fun, though isn't it weird that we're basically bathing together?"
"It's just a water spring, too bad it's not hot, though with all that walking being near something cool could help quite a bit," Sweetie Belle said, then jumped into the water, causing a slash that got Rumble a little wet.
"Easy Sweetie Belle," Rumble said, shaking his mane.
Sweetie Belle giggled, "Sorry, couldn't resist. Come in though, the water feels nice."
Rumble nodded and went inside, feeling the cool water. "Wow you're right, this water is kinda nice."
"Yeah, fun to swim in," Sweetie Belle said, moving around a bit.
Rumble swam around a bit as well, "Not too bad, reminds me of when I join Flitter and Cloudchaser when they find a place like this."
The two swam for a bit until they rested on the side of the water, Sweetie Belle then nuzzling next to Rumble. "After all this, let's find a place where there's a hot spring, I'd love to be in there with you."
Rumble blushed a bit, "That sounds nice."
Sweetie Belle hugged Rumble, rubbing his mane a bit. "Hey, Rumble, remember how we got together?"
"Hm? Um yeah, when we were at Twilight's castle," Rumble said.
"No, I mean the real reason I dated you. To find a way to get you together with Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said.
Rumble looked confused, "Huh? Why are you asking me about that?"
"I still think about it sometimes, in many ways I still feel bad about that. First I felt like I was tricking you, it didn't help that you were so nice with me and treated me like something special from the start," Sweetie Belle said. "Then realizing that I did like you, though it meant that Scootaloo would be sad because we would be the ones together."
"I feel bad for her as well, and it didn't feel too good when I figured out that you didn't like me at first and were just trying to get me to like Scootaloo," Rumble then held her closer, stroking her mane. "But what matters is that you do care for me now. I feel so lucky that I got to be with you."
"Oh Rumble, you're the sweetest colt," Sweetie Belle said, bringing Rumble in for a deep kiss. The two then hugged each other close, Rumble resting against the edge of the water, letting his marefriend get passionate in her affection.
Sweetie Belle loved the feeling of Rumble's muscles, small as they were. He still felt pretty strong, and she knew how much he loved holding her soft cuddling body against his. For now she just wants to feel affection from her coltfriend, and she knows he wants that same affection.
Not too far from them, Twilight and Lightning Dust are still flying through the skies, looking ahead and to the ground below.
"So aside from finding The Wonderbolts, what else are we supposed to do again?" Lightning Dust asked.
"Try to find some foals that my pupil was mentoring," Twilight reminded.
"Right, wait are these foals important or something?" Lightning asked.
"They're the younger siblings of my friends, and ponies I care about very deeply," Twilight said.
"Oh, is that all?" Lightning asked, feeling lack of interest.
Twilight glared a bit, "Hey, don't make little of this! I love those foals and I don't want them hurt. If you want to be a Wonderbolt, part of that means caring for other ponies."
"I just thought you had to be fast, that's what Spitfire liked about me, until you and your friends arrived in that stupid balloon," Lightning said.
"I know you're mad about that, we're sorry for any trouble we caused but you should have been a little more caring of that," Twilight said.
"You were fine weren't you? Figured that'd be enough," Lightning said.
Twilight shook her head at that, "You have a lot to learn about friendship."
"I already tried friendship, like I said, it didn't work," Lightning said.
"It does work, I can help you if you'd like. I've already helped Starlight, and she's helped Trixie. I think the three of us can help you," Twilight said.
Lightning looked unsure, "I don't know, I'm not good with others. Not that I care, I'm fine on my own."
Twilight sighed, while Lightning Dust was being a pain, she did pity her a little. Twilight couldn't stay focused on that, she had to keep looking for the foals. Fortunately she noticed some trees nearby and some water springs. Right near that area were very familiar looking ponies to her.
"It's them!" Twilight shouted with immense happiness.
"Who? The Wonderbolts? I don't see them," Lightning said.
"No, the foals! They're right there!" Twilight said and flew down, with Lightning Dust following her. "Hey! Up here!"
Apple Bloom was still trying to figure things out when she heard what sounded like Twilight calling to them. She looked up and noticed Twilight flying towards them. "Twilight!?"
Dinky, Scootaloo and Tender Taps quickly looked up, all three of them seeing the Alicorn Princess as well.
"It is Twilight!" Dinky shouted with a big smile on her face.
"That's a relief," Scootaloo said.
Tender Taps seemed the happiest, "Princess Twilight!"
Once Twilight landed, Tender Taps was the first to hug her, jumping onto her while doing do and kissing her face a lot.
"Easy there Tender Taps," Twilight said, easing the young colt down to the floor. "Wow, you're quite excited."
Tender Taps nodded, "Sorry Princess, I couldn't help it. I'm just so happy to see you."
"I'm happy to see you too Tender Taps," Twilight said and kissed his cheek, getting a blissful sigh from the young colt.
Apple Bloom shook her head a little, but she was too happy to see Twilight to care. She approached Twilight with the other two fillies, each of them also giving Twilight a hug.
"We're so happy to see you Twilight," Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah, did you come all this way to find us?" Dinky asked.
"Yeah, or at least find help in finding you, luckily you were all right here. I'm confused, I thought Chrysalis captured you," Twilight said.
"Apple Bloom saved us, she figured out a way to get away from The Changelings and got all of us to safety," Dinky said.
"Then they made me their leader, kinda hard knowing that I had to make sure five other foals were safe though," Apple Bloom said.
"Well you did well since all of them are..." Twilight looked around. "Wait where are Rumble and Sweetie Belle?"
"Probably kissing someplace or something," Dinky said, somewhat annoyed.
Twilight blushed at the idea, "Oh, well they are dating so..."
Nearby Lightning Dust was just staring at a blissful looking Tender Taps, "Hey, kid!"
Tender Taps shook his head and realized his surroundings again, "Huh?" He turned to Lightning Dust. "Um, who are you? Did you come with Princess Twilight?"
The others had heard and turned their attention to Lightning Dust. Dinky was the first to speak up, "Who's she?"
Twilight turned her attention to the other mare, "Her? That's Lightning Dust, she trained with Rainbow Dash at The Wonderbolts Academy."
"Is she the one that Rainbow Dash said was a real pain?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Hey!" Lightning shouted. "I just pushed my own limits! Something even she couldn't handle!"
"Well Rainbow Dash is a Wonderbolts, so obviously she could," Scootaloo said.
"What do you know kid?" Lightning asked. "I'm a way better flyer than she is!"
"Come on now, let's not get into any fights, I just want to get these foals to safety," Twilight said. "First we need to go find Rumble and Sweetie Belle."
"They went over there," Apple Bloom said, pointing in the direction the young couple went before. "I told them to stay nearby."
"Good leadership," Twilight said, then turned to Lightning Dust. "Mind getting them? I still need to talk with Apple Bloom a moment."
"They're not bratty too are they?" Lightning asked.
"Huh? No, they're not bratty, none of these foals are, they're all so sweet," Twilight said.
Lightning rolled her eyes, then walked toward where Apple Bloom pointed as Twilight gathered the foals near her.
"So what now Twilight?" Apple Bloom asked.
"I need to get you someplace safe. From where we are there are a few places I can leave you, though the safest place I can think of is with Princess Ember and the Dragons," Twilight said.
"Did you say Dragons!?" Apple Bloom asked. "Aren't they mean!?"
"Probably, but Princess Ember is really nice, she's a friend of Spike, she'll be willing to keep you safe," Twilight said.
"What's she like? I know you said she's nice, but is she also gentle and sweet?" Tender Taps asked.
Twilight shook her head, "Not exactly, she's friendly but she's not one to really be that reassuring or being a big sister like me and the other Princesses like to be. But don't worry about that, like I said she's nice, just stay near her and don't go with the other Dragons, they won't be as nice."
Tender Taps nodded, "Alright Twilight."
"It is kinda cool that we get to go see some dragons though," Apple Bloom said.
"Yeah, if we get their help, we'll defeat Chrysalis in no time," Scootaloo said.
"That won't be necessary, these Changelings are strong but there aren't too many of them, myself and the others will defeat them really soon," Twilight reassured.
Nearby Lightning had gone to where Apple Bloom pointed, looking around for the two foals. As she walked she noticed a spring nearby. "That looks nice, maybe I can come here sometime after all this." As she approached the spring to check it out, she saw two foals at the edge, kissing very passionately. "Those two must be the foals."
Sweetie Belle was still kissing Rumble, the two hugging each other really close. Lightning seemed amazed at how passionate they looked while kissing, figuring it won't be long before the two are ready to really further their relationship.
Sweetie Belle was the first to notice Lightning Dust, having glanced aside a moment, then shrieked as she fell off Rumble. The confused colt turned to the side and also noticed Lightning Dust, embarrassment starting to take over.
"Um, who are you!?" Rumble asked.
Lightning waved a moment, "Name's Lightning Dust, your friend with the red mane sent me here to find you."
Sweetie Belle swam to the side, glaring angrily at Lightning Dust. "Thanks for interrupting our romantic moment!"
"You call that romantic? All you seemed to do was kiss each other, once you find other ways to be romantic then whine about it," Lightning Dust said. "Anyway let's go, Princess Twilight's waiting."
"Princess Twilight's here!?" Rumble asked. He quickly got out of the water, shaking some off, "Where is she!?"
"Over there," Lightning said. "Hurry up, I'll be waiting over there."
Rumble nodded and turned to Sweetie Belle. "Let's hurry." He held his hoof out, the filly grabbing it as he helped her out of the water.
"Thanks," Sweetie Belle said, shaking some water off. "At least Twilight being here means we're finally safe. Maybe she already defeated the Changelings."
"I hope so, let's hurry," Rumble said, leading his marefriend off.
As the two rejoined the group, they noticed a problem. Some Changelings had also arrived, looking ready to fight.
"We finally found you, annoying little foals," one Changeling said.
Twilight stood ready to fight, she would not let these foals be captured again.
"Are they really the same ones who captured us? How did they find us again?" Dinky asked.
"It wasn't too hard, we sensed a lot of love coming from here," a Changeling said.
The foals then glared at Rumble and Sweetie Belle, with Rumble nervously laughing and Sweetie Belle scrunching her face.
"Wait, if you're the same ones, where's Chrysalis?" Scootaloo asked. "She's the one who placed us in those stupid barriers."
"She had something else to do, at our old home," a Changeling answered.
"Your old home?" Twilight's eyes widened, "Oh no!"
Back at The Changeling Hive, Thorax was getting much more worried. A lot of his Changelings were losing, they seemed to be of little match for the Chrysalis Changelings.
"What's happening! Their magic should be stronger!" Thorax said.
"Maybe they don't have that same will to fight?" Flitter said.
"They should, honestly they still fought over some things," Thorax said, somewhat annoyed.
As they continued to fight, they heard a familiar voice. "Having trouble there Thorax?"
The others stopped and noticed Chrysalis flying in the air, a smug look on her face.
"Chrysalis!" Trixie shouted.
"Trixie, you're here too, little surprised. I guess I should have put more power into my attack, I think I'll do that now," Chrysalis then blasted Trixie to a wall, using much more power than before.
"No! Trixie!" Thorax shouted, then glared at Chrysalis. "Why Chrysalis!? Just give up your pride and join us! You don't know what you're giving up!"
"You're the one who gave up, making friends with ponies. You dared to defy me after all I've done for you," Chrysalis said.
"I didn't do it to defy you! I just wanted a friend! Now I have friends, and it's the greatest feeling you can have!" Thorax insisted.
"I don't need friendship, I've been fine without it. I refuse to become like what you've turned most of my Changelings into. Soon I'll have that fixed," Chrysalis said.
Flitter flew in to attack, but Chrysalis dodged and blasted her down as well, causing her to hit the ground hard. Spike breathed fire on her, but she used a magic barrier to block and zap Spike away.
Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie also tried to attack, but Chrysalis knocked each of them away, sending power blasts at them. She then eyed Fluttershy, who was at the moment tending to Trixie.
"Just one left," Chrysalis readied a blast, but Thorax had attacked first with a blast of his own.
"That's enough!" Thorax sent another blast, but Chrysalis countered, the two beams struggling against one another. Soon more Changelings came and assisted Chrysalis by blasting Thorax, knocking him back towards another wall, the Changeling King hitting it pretty hard.
Fluttershy looked on in shock as the Changelings brought over some of the transformed Changelings, Chrysalis glaring at them.
"Good, time to make use of all of you," Chrysalis said as she started to take their love magic from them, feeling much stronger than before.
Fluttershy felt even more nervous, she can almost feel the power from Chrysalis, watching the Changeling Queen grow stronger. "W-wait! Stop!"
Chrysalis glared at Fluttershy, "You're one of Discord's favorites, is that correct?"
Fluttershy glared, "If you don't stop, I'll...I'll...!"
Chrysalis then zapped Fluttershy, knocking her into a wall as well, a satisfied smile on her face. "Don't waste my time with your failed attempt at looking strong. With this power from these Changelings and their silly friendship, I feel much stronger than before. I'll soon be able to take over Equestria. Soon none can stop me, be it Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor, Discord, not even The Princesses! Soon I'll be the strongest in Equestria!"
Chrysalis powered up immensely as the other Changelings seemed to be happy for her success. Twilight and her friends are gonna need a lot to stop Chrysalis, now they truly need the their Friendship and the Magic that comes with it.