//------------------------------//
// Returning Home 
// Story: Sweet Affection 4 
// by Masterob 
//------------------------------//

It's been several months, possibly the longest and most agonizing months for a certain snow fur filly, one by the name of Sweetie Belle. She has been waiting months for her coltfriend Rumble to finally come home from his training, one that had been offered to him after the Invasion of the Changelings and Sirens at an academy for up and coming flyers.

Rumble couldn't turn this offer down, it would help in his goal of becoming a Wonderbolt like he's always wanted, his only drawback was knowing he'd be away from his marefriend for a long period of time.

Sweetie Belle did not want Rumble giving up this opportunity for her, despite what it meant. It was far too big of an chance for him to pass up. So he agreed to go on this trip and climb the ranks to become an ace flyer. After Zecora and Mage Meadowbrook had given him a special ointment that sped the healing process of his wings, he was ready to go.

Of course the two would write to each other quite frequently, and Sweetie Belle would go see him occasionally so they weren't out of touch. But the year was ending for Rumble and he would be making his way back home, and finally reuniting with his favorite filly.

During this period Twilight had opened up her School of Friendship, one of the many things that Sweetie Belle had written to Rumble about. The colt wishes he could have been there to see all the new faces, especially a group of students that Sweetie Belle mentioned, the Pony Sandbar, the Dragon Smolder, the Yak Yonna, the Changeling Ocellus, the Griffon Gallus and the Hippogriff Silverstream.

Rumble was amazed that there were so many different types of creatures at this school, and that the Crusaders had such a diverse group of friends. While he knows dragons like Spike and Ember, as well as Changelings such as Thorax and his followers, and obviously knows ponies since he is one, he hasn't really aquainted himself with Yaks or Griffons, and he's only recently heard of Hippogriffs, mainly after the invasion of The Storm King.

One other pony mentioned in the letters was a filly named Cozy Glow, Rumble was happy to know his marefriend and two of his closest friends helped a filly adjust to life in Ponyville and in the School of Friendship. He hasn't heard from Sweetie Belle in a while, especially after the whole magic disappearance fiasco, but he was on his way home, hoping to see if his marefriend was alright. From what Flitter told him when she went to pick him up, Sweetie Belle was just fine, and that while she didn't have all the details, she heard somewhere that Tirek was involved in this, and that he used a pony to help him.

Rumble felt worried about the idea of Tirek coming back, but it sounds like Twilight and her friends put a stop to him, so that was a huge relief for him, though he worries knowing that Tirek can manipulate from the outside, which means that Rumble has to be prepared for just about anything.

The day was here though, Rumble had been picked up by his foalsitter Flitter, the two were taking a train back to Ponyville, Rumble eager to meet his marefriend.

"I can't believe how long it's been, it feels like I haven't been home in ages," Rumble said.

"Everyone sure missed you, especially Sweetie Belle, my sister and your brother," Flitter said. "Too bad there was a Wonderbolts practice, otherwise CC and Thunderlane could have come."

"Well at least I get to surprise them," Rumble said.

"And what a pleasant surprise it'll be," Flitter said. "I bet they're hardly going to recognize you."

"Huh? I didn't change that much," Rumble said. "It hasn't even been that long, has it?"

"I mean your face, you look so...determined," Flitter said.

"Determined?" Rumble said. "Haven't I've always looked that way?"

Flitter struggled to find the words, "It's hard to explain, it's just that for the longest time you always looked so shy, and you had self confidence issues. We knew you had potential but you were afraid to live up to that potential. Then you started dating Sweetie Belle and slowly you started exerting that confidence that was stuck deep down inside of you. Now you look fully realized, like you understand just how amazing you truly are."

"Did I really change that much Flitter?" Rumble asked.

"In a way, yes," Flitter said. "I just miss the days when you were my cute little Rumble, now you're older, more serious and more mature." She then hugged him tightly, "It's just hard for me to see you as all grown up, I miss my little colt!"

"Whoa, easy Flitter, other ponies are staring," Rumble said nervously.

Flitter turned her attention to the curious ponies, "What!? Never seen a foalsitter show love to her little foal!?" The ponies just trotted away quickly, wanting to avoid an awkward situation. She turned back to Rumble, "Sorry you had to see that."

"It's fine, one thing I missed was your affectionate nature," Rumble said.

"Aw, you're sweet Rumble," Flitter said. "Makes it even sadder to see you growing up..." Flitter's ears dropped as a tear rolled down her eye.

Rumble rolled his eyes, Flitter could be too overdramatic at times. "Flitter, I had to grow up sometime, but that doesn't mean I'll stop loving you or anything, you're like my big sister, you and Cloudchaser both, and I'll always want to be with you, even if the day comes where I might grown bigger than the both of you."

Flitter wiped her eyes, "I know, it's hard since when you get too big, it'll be harder to cuddle with you. These days I'm having less time because your marefriend is way too affectionate with you." She leaned in to whisper, "How far have you two gotten?"

Rumble blushed a little at that statement. After talking with Tender Taps at one point, he started to get an idea of what ponies really do when they love each other. "We're just kissing, that's all we're ready for, and I think that's all she knows how to do."

"Just be careful, you'd be amazed what instincts could do to a young filly," Flitter warned.

"Are you speaking from experience?" Rumble asked.

Flitter looked shamefully aside, "Sorta, I mean nothing ever happened since CC would always keep me in check but...there was a time where me and your brother were playing as foals, then one thing led to another...kind of lucky that Derpy walked in when she did."

Rumble blushed upon hearing that, "Wow, did not know you two nearly had something."

"Eh, sometimes it feels like your brother wants to rekindle something between us," Flitter said. "Your brother's a great guy and all, but I don't think it would work out that well."

"But my brother's dating Rarity, so why would he want to date you still?" Rumble asked. "I could understand if he were single, but he seems really happy with Rarity."

"Well over the last couple of months, something started to change in their relationship, it seems like your brother can't put aside his flirty attitude, doesn't help that his Wonderbolt fame has gotten to him," Flitter said. "He constantly gives attention to the mares at his shows, and I swear I saw him getting really friendly with Blossomforth."

"Blossomforth? Yeah I remember her, she used to date my brother, they had a lot of sleepovers," Rumble said. "I heard a lot of weird noise coming from their room."

Flitter blushed at hearing that, "That's not something for you to worry about Rumbly."

"I won't," Rumble said, even though he already had an idea of what they might have been doing, he's not as oblivious to this stuff as Flitter thinks. "Anyway Flitter, don't worry too much about Sweetie Belle, I still love you a lot, nothing's going to change that, even if I do get older and more serious about things."

"Yeah, I know, Flitter said, somewhat dejected.

Rumble leaned in, "But I'm still cute right?"

Flitter looked a little surprised, then giggled, "Yes Rumble, you're still cute."

"Sweet," Rumble said, laying his hooves behind his head. "Still got it."

Flitter giggled, "You're so adorable."





Meanwhile in the depths of Tartarus, several of Equestria's villains are sitting in their cages, looking really bored and annoyed. In one cage was the Energy stealing centaur, Lord Tirek. To the cage beside him was his pen pal Cozy Glow, the filly who betrayed the School of Friendship. Nearby was Queen Chrysalis, with her Changelings in cages of their own. Sharing a cage were the Dazzling Sirens of Adagio Dazzle and her friends, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk.

"I'm so bored, how long has it been since something exciting happened?" Sonata asked.

"Too long," Aria said. "I know this is meant to be a world of imprisonment, but with so many unusual creatures here, you'd think we'd see something interesting."

"I've spent a thousand years in here, I can tell you from experience that excitement comes rarely," Tirek said. "And we don't have anyone on the outside who can spark up some excitement."

"Too bad Discord choose his pitiful pony friends over us," Chrysalis said. "I should have tried forging an alliance with him, I'm sure that would have been just as benificial."

"I doubt that," Tirek said. "I'm sure he hasn't forgotten how I betrayed him, he'll stay loyal to those accursed ponies forever."

Adagio banged the bar on her cage, "Stupid ponies and their stupid Friendship! We should be ruling over Equestria right now! Bad enough we lost to those Elements and their little assistants, but to also lose to those foals! Next time I see them I'm breaking more than just their wings! If they have wings, maybe I'll include their horns."

"Those Crusaders are rather pesky, aren't they?" Cozy Glow said. "My mistake was not trying to earn more trust from those other six students of Princess Twilight's."

"What is it with Equestria and their need for six?" Chrysalis wondered. "Six Pillars, Six Elements, Six foals, Six Students."

"Two of those groups are children too," Tirek said. "They're breeding their saviors young."

"Funny, I've only met The Crusaders, at least only Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. I never really got to know those other foals," Cozy Glow said.

"Ugh, one of them ticks me off the most," Adagio said. "That stupid Rumble, he had the nerve to think he could take me on, which of course is the reason why I took pleasure in breaking his tiny little wings."

"I still think that was a bit harsh," Sonata said. "I mean he is just a foal, if you're gonna hurt someone at least make it someone who can fight back, that way it means more and makes you look like less of a coward."

"You're way too soft Sonata," Aria said. "Remember that foal assisted in ruining our plans."

"And don't ever call me a coward," Adagio warned. "I give mercy to no one, that's my deal, be it Princess Twilight Sparkle or puny little Rumble."

"Rumble, isn't he Sweetie Belle's coltfriend?" Cozy Glow asked.

"That depends, which one's Sweetie Belle again?" Adagio asked.

"The Unicorn with the pink swirly mane," Cozy said.

"I think I remember something like that," Adagio said. "Anyone else know?"

"Yes I'm aware," Chrysalis said. "I could feel the love radiating off those young foals, it would make for a really nice meal."

"That's actually kind of adorable, nothing like young love," Sonata said.

Adagio rolled her eyes, "Again, they're out enemy! That colt especially annoys me with his stupid chivalrous attitude, he thought he could actually defeat us and take Flurry Heart back! I wouldn't be surprised if breaking his wings wasn't enough to deter him! I still remember that smug look he had when they brought us in here!"

"Probably because he was originally taking care of Flurry Heart, so he's trying to look good in front of her parents," Aria theorized.

"So he's just an arrogant show off huh?" Adagio asked.

"He's just blinded by his love for his filly and his friends," Chrysalis said. "It gives him a false sense of strength, he believes to be stronger than he actually is and has a will that is firm considering his young age. Even if they are our enemies, even I must find that slightly impressive."

"Sweetie Belle did mention that he is very determined but also stubborn," Cozy Glow said. "He'd try to be the hero even if he couldn't move his legs."

"Sounds like he makes poor judgment calls," Tirek said. "He is but a child, so I guess it's to be expected."

"Hey, I'm a child and I nearly defeated the Elements of Harmony all on my own," Cozy Glow said.

"Not all on your own child," Tirek reminded. "Without my guidance, you never would have even learned of the secrets underneath Princess Twilight's school."

"Well I still did most of the work," Cozy Glow said.

"Still, this boy's determination makes him perform foolish actions it seems," Tirek said. "Can anyone confirm this?"

"Well I can confirm Adagio's story," Chrysalis said. "That and I do seem to remember when I first had those foals in my grasp, he foolishly tried to carry five other foals in the air while they were thousands of feet up high."

"Wow really? He really wants to be the hero huh?" Adagio asked.

"Perhaps we can use that to our advantage," Tirek said. "Seems this boy would do anything to help another, without really putting a lot of plan into it."

"What are you getting at Tirek?" Adagio asked.

"I'll explain, but there is another obstacle to overcome before we can consider this plan, and that is getting out of this accursed prison," Tirek said.

"Uh, how are we suppose to do that?" Aria asked.

Tirek looked around to make sure no guards were in distance, fortunately Tartarus had little need for actual ponies to keep watch since the Cerberus lurked nearby. However Tirek got out once before, and he knows he can do it again, a thousand years in Tartarus gave him a good idea of who comes and goes. Once it was clear, especially with The Cerberus sleeping, Tirek started to explain his plan to his allies, a plan that with any luck, would get all of them out of Tartarus and on their way to once again controlling all of Equestria.





At Ponyville, Sweetie Belle is sitting by a lake, looking down at her reflection as she moved the water around. She really missed Rumble, she so desperately wanted to hold him close to her again and spread kisses across his face.

"Oh Rumble, why must you be so far away? Oh how I miss being around you, my brave and handsome knight," Sweetie Belle said. She tossed a nearby pebble into the water right afterwards, sighing in sadness. "It's only a few more days, but the closer it gets, the more frustrating it feels."

As Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, thinking of her true love, she heard a familiar colt speaking. "The wait does seem to get worse the closer it is, huh?"

She turned around to see a good friend of hers, "Hi Tap-Tap."

Tender Taps chuckled a bit as he started to blush, "Seems like every mare and filly I know has a funny nickname for me."

"Well Apple Bloom, Twilight and Starlight made it look fun, plus it's funny seeing you blush," Sweetie Belle said.

"Why does everypony keep telling me that?" Tender Taps wondered.

Sweetie Belle giggled, "Sorry but it's true, you get easily flustered. I remember when Rumble used to get that way, then he gained a high level of confidence that I have to work extra hard to get a blush out of him."

"That's what I envy about him," Tender Taps said, sitting down next to Sweetie Belle. "He's so calm and confident nowadays, I somehwhat stutter when I speak to most fillies."

"You've gotten better I think," Sweetie Belle said. "You just need a proper role model. Rumble's older brother is very confident when he talks, and Rumble learns from that. The closest you have to an older sibling is Starlight, and she's a bit awkward at times herself."

"Maybe I need to take lessons from Rainbow Dash then," Tender Taps said.

"Or Applejack, I mean either one's good, but personally I like Applejack better," Sweetie Belle said. "Anyway what brings you out here?"

"I was on my way to Twilight's castle when I saw you here," Tender Taps said. "You looked kind of sad, and I can easily tell it's because you miss Rumble. I mean I miss him as well, I can't wait for him to come back either."

"It's frustrating," Sweetie Belle said. "I didn't want him to go but I knew how important this was to him. A good marefriend has to be supportive of what their coltfriend wants after all."

"Hey I'm sure it was hard for Rumble too," Tender Taps said. "Actually I know it was hard because he almost didn't want to go."

"Huh? How do you know that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"He told me before he left," Tender Taps explained. "He didn't think it'd be worth it if he left for so long, because he wanted to always be around you. He said it would be torture if he couldn't see your pretty face everyday and get good luck kisses as often."

"Huh, this is the first I'm hearing about this," Sweetie Belle said.

"Well Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were trying to keep you together so you didn't lament over Rumble too much, so Dinky suggested I didn't say anything to you because she was worried you would take advantage of the situation," Tender Taps said.

"Huh, how rude," Sweetie Belle said. "Not wrong but still..."

Tender Taps just glared slightly, "Wow really?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged it off, "Can you blame me? This has been torture not having him around, I don't even know how I managed to get around without having Rumble in my life."

"Uh, aren't you exaggerating a bit?" Tender Taps asked, confused by this filly's statement. "I mean you got along just fine, you made friends with some of the Students at the School of Friendship, you and your friends even solved a Friendship Problem."

"Oh yeah, when I went to Mount Aries," Sweetie Belle said, thinking about how pretty the place looked, especially it's wide open flower fields. A blush formed on her face when she imagined dancing with Rumble through those fields, just the two of them, the colt spinning her around and pressing their muzzles together. The two then stood gazing in the eyes of one another as they leaned in, ready for a kiss, until Sweetie Belle was snapped back to reality when she heard Tender Taps calling her name.

"Uh, Sweetie Belle!? This is getting awkward!" Sweetie Belle then noticed that she was inches away from kissing Tender Taps, the colt backing away from the lovestruck filly.

"Whoops, sorry, I thought about Rumble again," Sweetie Belle said, backing up a little to give Tender Taps space.

"Heh, funny, I said I wanted to be more like Rumble, but that doesn't mean I want to kiss his marefriend, I would never do something like that," Tender Taps said.

"Yeah Rumble and I built our relationship on a foundation of trust," Sweetie Belle said.

"Wow, pretty ironic considering how your relationship started," Tender Taps said. "Shows how far you two have come as a couple, makes me happy to know"

"Well ever since then we made a vow to never keep secrets from each other again," Sweetie Belle said. "Truthfully it did feel like I had to work to earn his trust back, thankfully he was so forgiving it wasn't that hard do to."

"Well if you hadn't pretended to date him, then you never would have realized you liked him, so it did work out in the end at least," Tender Taps said.

"Yeah, so weird to think about...it kind of freaks me out that if I worded things differently, I wouldn't even have that I have now, makes me wonder what my life would have been like," Sweetie Belle said.

"Don't think too much into it, just accept that things worked out," Tender Taps said. "Who knows, maybe it was fate that brought you together, maybe you two were meant to be."

"Yeah, we were," Sweetie Belle said. "Rumble and I will be together forever. We'll get married and have cute little Alicorn babies."

"Yeah, I'm sure you-" Tender Taps stopped when he processed what Sweetie Belle had said. "Wait, Alicorn babies? Sweetie Belle we've been over this, you being a Unicorn and Rumble being a Pegasus does not equal Alicorn. Flurry Heart is a different example, and I'm pretty sure that had to do with her mom being an Alicorn."

Sweetie Belle huffed in annoyance, "Flurry Heart, I still remember when that little sneak got a kiss from my Rumbly."

"Uh, are you still mad about that?" Tender Taps asked. "I know it was weird but she's only a toddler, she has a crush on Rumble, that's completely normal. Considering his good looks and his natural charm, anyone could have a crush on him."

That had Sweetie Belle slightly worried, "Think our friends do? Aside from Scootaloo I mean."

"I don't think so," Tender Taps said, recollecting all the knowledge he's obtained. "I've never seen Apple Bloom hint at liking Rumble, Dinky keeps saying that she doesn't want anything more than a Friendship, I don't talk to Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon much to know if they have a crush, Babs probably does but she's off in the city so I don't think that will be a problem. I think that's all the fillies we know."

"Right...wait what about the colts?" Sweetie Belle asked, then eyed Tender Taps. "You don't have a crush on Rumble, do you?"

Tender Taps shook his head, "I can promise you that I don't, I mean yeah he's very handsome and if he were to ask me on a date, I'd definitely consider it." Tender Taps did his best to fight back a blush, "But I wouldn't crush on a friend's coltfriend."

"Yeah, I can believe you," Sweetie Belle said. "You're too busy dealing with your crush on Twilight anyway."

Tender Taps's face turned completely red, "Crush!? What crush!?"

"Come on, you can be honest with me," Sweetie Belle said. "When Rumble and I were dating, or trying to, you were so supportive of us, give me a chance to be supportive of you and your feelings. I promise I won't laugh, or judge or make you feel awkward, just tell me how you feel."

Tender Taps felt immensely embarrassed to be in a situation like this, but at the same time, he did have a lot of trust for Sweetie Belle. She was a kind filly at heart and her natural instinct is to help others, which is how she got her Cutie Mark in the first place.

"Alright, I'll be honest," Tender Taps said. "I do have a crush on Twilight, she's just so amazing and pretty, sometimes I wish I were older or she was younger so we can be together."

Sweetie Belle giggled a bit, "I so knew it, you made it so obvious given how much you blushed when you were around her, or how you could barely form sentences. You seemed more flustered around her than you did with Apple Bloom."

"I'm not even sure how this all started," Tender Taps said. "I thought the mare I would end up with would have been Apple Bloom, I never imagined it would be Twilight, a mare way out of my league."

"Hey things don't always go as expected," Sweetie Belle said. "I thought the love of my life would end up being Button Mash, not once did I consider Rumble as my one true love, but it ended up happening. Also Twilight isn't that much out of your league, maybe you're a little young for her now, but if you play your cards right, she'll definitely wait for you. Or if you do well enough she won't care about your age and take you right now."

"I doubt things would move along that fast," Tender Taps said. "Maybe in my dreams though."

"I can help you with that," Sweetie Belle said. "I promise that I'll at least make Twilight want to wait for you."

Tender Taps looked surprised, "Wait, how?"

"I have a few ideas, might take a few tries but it'll definitely work in the end," Sweetie Belle reassured.

"Uh, are you sure about that?" Tender Taps asked.

"Of course, truthfully I've been wanting to do something really nice for you for a while, now is the perfect chance!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

"Wow, that's really generous of you Sweetie Belle," Tender Taps said.

"Well you deserve it," Sweetie Belle said. "Anything for the colt who was the first to believe in my happiness with Rumble."

"Well technically Dinky was the first," Tender Taps said.

"The first of my immediate friends at least," Sweetie Belle said. "Now let's get you all smoothed up." Sweetie Belle gestured toward the direction of her sister's house, many ideas already popping into her head on how to make Tender Taps the future coltfriend of Twilight Sparkle.





Back in Tartarus, the villains were making plans in hushed tones, as to not alert the attention of the Cerberus when they heard some hoofsteps. Making his way over was a member of The Royal Guard, Flash Sentry, along with two other guards all carrying trays of food.

"Alright, feeding time," Flash said. "Now remember the drill."

"Yeah, yeah, no funny business," Adagio said.

"Right, now we're going to open those cages, if any of you attempt to make an escape, not only are my guys here, you also have a giant three headed dog to worry about," Flash said.

"Well your little hellhound isn't the most reliable guard now is it," Adagio said. "Considering it couldn't even stop Tirek from leaving."

"That was out of his hands, er paws," Flash said. "Point is that it won't be happening again."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Adagio said.

Flash carefully opened Tirek's cage and placed some food inside, the centaur barely moving, but glaring hard at Flash, freaking him out a little.

"If I wanted to, I could easily steal your means of flight," Tirek warned.

"Why do you say that to me everytime I come here? I know that already, you took my flight once before already!" Flash said.

"I did? Huh, I took the flight away from so many ponies at once, I guess I don't remember," Tirek said. "How marvelous my power works, don't you agree?"

"Uh huh, sure thing I guess," Flash said, quickly backing out of there and locking the cage.

He made his way over to Cozy Glow's cage, carefully opening it and placing the food there. "Eat up kid."

Cozy checked on the food, naturally it looked kind of icky to her. "This again...don't you have anything better."

"You know the rules, bad fillies don't get good meals," Flash said.

"Aw, but I said I was sowwy," Cozy said, flashing her sad eyes at Flash, who desperately looked away.

"That's not working on me," Flash insisted, his tone stating otherwise.

Cozy pouted in annoyance, "All I wanted to do was make friends, isn't that what The Elements of Harmony were all about?"

"Look I don't know the full story, but I do know that-" Flash's talk was interrupted when he heard Sonata banging on the cell door.

"Hurry up I'm hungry!" She continued banging on the door, freaking Flash out a bit.

"Hey settle down!" Flash warned, the other guards aiming their spears, completely distracted from Adagio carefully slipping a hair pin that she had tucked away to Chrysalis, the queen then using her magic to carefully float the clip to Cozy's cell.

"Settle down Sonata, don't want to make a scene," Chrysalis said, winking her eye.

Sonata took a moment to register that, then 'calmed herself', sitting back.

"Good, you'll get your food, everyone gets their turn," Flash said, closing the cell, not noticing that Cozy had placed the clip in the lock to prevent it from closing all the way.

Then Flash made his way to Chrysalis's cell. "Alright, here's your food."

Chrysalis looked down on her meal, then faced Flash. "It's disappointing."

"Huh? What is?" Flash asked. "You mean the food?"

"Yes, it's so...plain and dull," Chrysalis said, moving in close. "Not really my ideal meal."

"Well sorry, but this is the meal I was told to give you," Chrysalis said.

"No need, the ideal meal can't be cooked, at least not for me," Chrysalis said, gently stroking Flash's chin.

"Um...what are you doing?" Flash nervously asked.

"I never realized how strong your jaw looked, you look just like an ideal solider," Chrysalis said. "Strong and sturdy, never one to back down."

"Uh..." Flash said, sweating nervously. "Listen ma'am, I'm sure you're very appealing and have a great personality, but I don't think we're right for each other, I mean-"

"I can sense love emanating from you, do you have somepony special?" Chrysalis asked. "Somepony you care about?"

"Well not exactly, I mean I have somepony that I've had my eye on but..." Flash was saying, then trailed off.

"I get it, you love this pony, but she doesn't love you, but perhaps I can make that happen," Chrysalis said, stepping out of the cage. She then shapeshifted into Twilight, smirking deviously at the solider. "Am I appealing to you now?"

During this second distraction, Adagio had pulled a necklace from her mane and tossed it at Cozy, gesturing the young filly to quickly hide it, which she did in her own mane.

Flash blushed heavily at these advances, seeing his crush standing before him, or what looks like his crush at least, "I..." He quickly shook his head, "N-no! This is wrong!"

He quickly grabbed his spear and along with the other two guards, threatened Chrysalis back into her cage where she immediately changed back.

"You know the rules, no shapeshifting," Flash said.

"Yes, I know," Chrysalis said. "This cage's charm makes it difficult, but it is losing it's effect slightly I'm afraid."

"We'll have that fixed, don't think you'll be escaping anytime soon," Flash said, shutting the cage.

"Don't be too sure, you never know what could happen," Chrysalis eerily warned.

Flash paid her no mind as he approached the Dazzlings, the guards having their spears ready in case they attacked the cage again. "Alright, try to remain calm, I am opening the cage!"

"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up, I'm freaken hungry," Adagio said.

"Huh, rude much?" Flash said, cautiously opening the cage and slipping the food inside.

"Aw, did we hurt the poor guard's feelings? How sad," Adagio sarcastically commented. "Hate to break it to ya, but we really couldn't care less about your damn feelings."

"If you're trying to get me unhappy so you can feed off my negativity, it won't work, I have skin as thick as stone," Flash said, turning around and walking off, obviously still a little upset about how rude Adagio just was. "Well enjoy your food, or try to at least, we'll be making our exit."

"Come by again soon," Chrysalis said in a flirty voice, weirding Flash out.

Once he and the others had left, Cozy scanned the area to make absolutely sure no guards were around as she slipped out of her seemingly locked cage. "Wow, that was easier than I thought."

"Good, now hurry, I trust you know the plan," Tirek asked.

"Sure, sure, I got it," Cozy said, then started fluttering her wings. "Now off I go!" She quickly flew out of the gates, right over the Cerberus, the hellhound looking up briefly to see what it had just heard. "Gotta hurry before those dummy guards realize they forgot to close the gates again. It's amazing how careless they can be."

She flew off quickly, making her way to a nearby town, ready to enact her plan.