Dinky and Flurry had made quite the distance from Ponyville, they knew doing this could land them in trouble, but they didn't care about the consequences, only Rumble. The two were walking down a path in the middle of a forest area, it looked a little creepy to them, but they continued on nonetheless.
"So, Flurry...uh not sure how well you can understand me," Dinky said. "Can you even talk? I mean in sentences?"
Flurry shook her head, "No...when I bigger."
"Oh...but you at least understand me," Dinky said.
"Uh-huh," Flurry answered.
"Alright, so at least it won't feel weird talking to you then," Dinky said. "I mean I didn't expect a conversation out of you, but it's better talking if someone can really listen."
"Me listen, you talk," Flurry said. "Me like listen, when me want listen."
"When you want to huh? Well not everyone likes hearing someone ramble on, so I won't bore you too much," Dinky said. "I mean I don't think I even have much to say, the only thing that surprised me is that you were so willing to come with me to find Rumble. I mean I know you like him but I don't think your parents will be happy, then again my parents won't be happy when they find out that I not only went off on my own to find Rumble, but that I took a toddler with me. Even I don't know what I was thinking, agreeing you let you come with me, maybe because you care about Rumble too."
"Me love Rumble," Flurry said. "Me help Rumble. Me marry Rumble."
"Right, you have a crush on him," Dinky said. "I don't blame you, I have a small crush on him myself, but like I always tell ponies, I'm just fine being his friend, and I know that's just what be wants. Friendship is easier, no real commitment and you just spend time with someone you care for. I don't need to be his marefriend to spend time with him, I can just ask him to. Plus he doesn't feel extra pressured to be extra nice to me just because we're dating, we're just two buddies hanging out. I mean what do I have to gain from being his marefriend?"
"Kissy," Flurry responded.
Dinky blushed quite a bit, "Right, kissing. I mean, I can live without that, it's just kissing, it's overrated. Besides I can kiss him, just only on the cheek, like a friend would."
"Me kiss Rumble, me like kiss," Flurry said.
"Yeah, Sweetie Belle was mad, but I thought it was cute," Dinky said. "I wish I could ask you why you liked Rumble, would you be able to tell me, even if it's just one word?"
"Rumble pretty," Flurry answered.
"Pretty huh?" Dinky asked, smiling a bit. "Yeah he is pretty, or better yet, he's very handsome. The most attractive thing for me about Rumble was his smile, he had that gentle, innocent smile that could light up a room." Dinky looked somewhat saddened. "Of course he rarely does that now, every time he smiles nowadays, he seems to have a smug look to him, like I'm not saying he's mean, he's still very kind, but it's like he has this radiance of confidence. I know I shouldn't complain since that's a good thing, but I kind of miss when he was really shy, made it more special when we talked, because for a while, I was the only pony he could confide his feelings toward."
"You sad?" Flurry asked, trotting closer to the older filly.
"Not too much, he's still my friend at least, and I know he loves me, not the same way he loves Sweetie Belle, but he told me he still loves me like a friend would, in the end that's all I should be grateful for," Dinky said. "Nothing better than having a friend, even if it was just one for a long time, that one was enough."
"Me you friend too," Flurry said, catching Dinky by surprise.
"Wait, did you call me your friend?" Dinky asked, getting a nod from Flurry. "Aw that's so cute, you're such a nice filly Flurry, you're gonna be a great Princess when you grow up."
"If you can last that long," they heard a sinister voice say. The two huddled close together, keeping an eye out for whoever, or whatever, said that. "Hey, who's there!"
Within the shadows, they could make out a silhouette of a tiger, a goat and a snake. Though as they stepped forward, Dinky and Flurry soon noticed it only seemed to have one body.
"What in the world are you!?" Dinky asked, mix of terror and disgust.
"We are what's known as a Chimera," the tiger head answered. "We've been searching around this forest for a good meal."
"It's been a while though," the goat replied. "While we get some snacks here and there, there's nothing too filling, nothing pony sized at least."
"Well technically we're just fillies, half a pony..." Dinky said. "Actually she's much younger, more like a quarter pony."
"You won't be able to talk your way out of this, little pony," the snake head said.
"We'll settle for anything tasty right now," the tiger head said, the entire creature leaning forward. As it lunged at the two fillies, Flurry quickly put up a forcefield to stop it, surprising the monster.
"Run!" Flurry said, taking off with Dinky right behind her.
The chimera shook off the shock and began pursuing the two fillies. They took into the actual forest, hoping to lose the creature along the way.
"Let's hide in there," Dinky said, gesturing to a tree stump hole. The two jumped inside, hoping to have still avoided the Chimera's sight.
The beast walked through, trying to find the kids through their scent and any tracks they may have left behind. Dinky held Flurry close, hoping to keep the toddler calm while using her for some ease as well.
The Chimera searched around the tree, snarling with great menace. "I know you're here..."
Dinky held Flurry tight, worrying for their safety. She couldn't just give up though, she has a goal, to rescue the colt she cares so deeply about. She had to fight, no matter what it took.
"Stay here," Dinky whispered to Flurry, surprising the Princess. "I'm gonna see if I can get rid of that monster."
"No, monsta scary!" Flurry said.
"Well we have to try something," Dinky said. "You stay here where it's safe."
"No, you friend," Flurry said.
"Yes, we are friends, and friends help each other, like right now when there's a monster around," Dinky said.
"Monster's such a strong word," The Chimera tiger said, surprising Dinky. "Hello my little snacks."
Dinky quickly blasted the tiger in it's eye with her magic, irritating it greatly as she and Flurry slipped away.
"Hey, pull it together!" the goat said. "Don't let them get away."
"I don't plan on it!" the tiger head said. The monster lunged towards the fillies. Dinky was about to hit another attack when a surprise came.
Out of nowhere, a mysterious pony arrived and kicked The Chimera down, surprising the beast and the fillies.
"What in the world?" Dinky said in confusion.
The Snake head spoke first, "Who is this!?"
"Doesn't matter, just another meal for us!" The Tiger said. "You made a huge mistake, now you're gonna regret it!"
It's threat proved empty when the pony rushed in with a few combo kicks, displaying an expert knowledge of martial arts, getting the monster in each of it's heads with swift kicks and ending with a strong kick to the side of the beast, knocking it through a tree, causing it to fall over and land on the beast.
"Holy smokes!" Dinky said, looking on in amazement. "I don't know where you came from, but you really saved our flanks!" The mare turned to them, Dinky getting a good look at her face. Between the broken horn and the scar over her right eye, she seemed way too familiar. "Do I know you?"
"Possibly, if you were in Ponyville during the Storm King's invasion," she replied.
"Storm King's Invasion?" Dinky wondered, scratching her mane. "Wait, I think I remember, some weird ship thing coming down and a little...animal creature introducing some strange pony..." Dinky then had a realization. "You're Tempest Shadow! The mare that nearly took over Equestria!"
"Well it wasn't for me, it was The Storm King's Invasion, I was just the lead general," Tempest said.
"Still, you turned Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadance into stone, as well as my foalsitter," Dinky said.
"If you mean that random Pegasus, that was technically meant for Princess Twilight, not that it matters now," Tempest said.
"I haven't heard from you since then, the only thing Twilight mentioned was that you ended up saving her, and you were the one who defeated the Storm King," Dinky said.
"Twilight did most of the work, I just finished him off, permanently," Tempest said. "I haven't even seen Twilight Sparkle or her friends since that day."
"Where did you go?" Dinky asked.
Before Tempest answered, she realized a pressing issue. There were two fillies unattended in a forest late at night, one of which seemed to be glaring at her. "Before I answer that, who are you two, and why are you out here? Furthermore where are your parents?"
"Oh right, guess I should explain myself too," Dinky said. "My name's Dinky Do, this is my friend Flurry Heart."
"Your friend's an Alicorn," Tempest pointed out. "Is she a Princess? I don't recall seeing her during The Storm King's Invasion."
"She is a Princess, her mother is Princess Cadance," Dinky said.
"That would explain why she seems so unhappy to see me, funny I still don't really remember her being there," Tempest said.
"She was probably with her dad, Prince Shining Armor, or her Crystaller," Dinky explained, then nudged Flurry. "Remember Flurry, she's Auntie Twilight's friend now, she forgave her, your mom forgave her, so you can too."
Flurry Heart still seemed unsure, not that Tempest really cared. "If she doesn't trust me that's fine, I don't fully expect ponies to, even if they knew of Princess Twilight's forgiveness. It doesn't erase the trouble I have caused."
"Well everypony deserves forgiveness, you're not the only one Princess Twilight redeemed after all," Dinky said.
"I'm aware," Tempest said. "Anyway you still haven't fully answered my question. Why are you here alone at night?"
"See, my best friend in the world got lost, potentially with an evil pony, so me and Flurry wanted to find him," Dinky said. "Flurry's got a crush on him so she really wanted to help."
"Me love Rumble," Flurry said.
"Right...she loves Rumble," Dinky said. "That's the name of the colt by the way."
"Yeah, I figured that," Tempest said. "So your friend is lost, and you think the best thing to do is search for him in the middle of the night while potentially having to avoid dangerous creatures. If I wasn't here, you two would probably be dead right now."
"...Harsh much!?" Dinky said. "I think I could have taken care of things, and Flurry's an Alicorn, she's by default the strongest pony here."
"Being and Alicorn does not equal being the strongest," Tempest pointed out.
"Still, I trained with Twilight Sparkle and her pupil Starlight Glimmer, I can fight to an extent!" Dinky insisted.
Tempest shook her head in mild annoyance, "My point is that it's too dangerous for little fillies such as yourself to be out here alone! I take it nopony else knows about your little rescue mission."
"Well, no, not exactly," Dinky sheepishly admitted. "But I've encountered Changelings and Sirens, so I'm not inexperienced when it comes to danger."
"That doesn't mean that-" Tempest groaned a little, she got the feeling this would just go in circles. "This is such an inconvenience to me, but I can't in good conscious leave you two alone, so I'm gonna be taking you back home."
"Or you could just pretend you never saw us and we can be on our way?" Dinky suggested.
"Don't even start with me, now let's go," Tempest ordered.
Flurry couldn't let this happen, she had a goal and she was gonna see it through, nopony would stop her. She quickly grabbed Dinky and teleported both herself and her friend far from Tempest's eyesight.
"What!? Where did they go!?" Tempest said, looking around in surprise. "Ugh, sneaky foals, maybe I should just let them risk their lives, why should I care?" As she was about to leave, she couldn't help but think about Twilight, knowing the Alicorn would disapprove of such an idea. "But I suppose that's not the friendliest thing..." She reluctantly knew what she had to do. "I can't believe I'm doing this."
Tempest had gone out to find the fillies, hoping to locate them before anything bad could happen.
Meanwhile with Twilight's team, she along with Shining Armor, Cadance, Starlight and Sunset Shimmer had arrived at the gates of Tartarus, hoping to get a few answers.
"Here we are, it feels weird being back here, it wasn't that long ago me and my friends were trapped inside," Twilight said.
"I've been there, I still remember the first time Tirek escaped, trapping me and my aunts," Cadance said.
"If you're both done reminiscing, maybe we should head inside now, that way we can figure out what's happening and prevent Equestria from plunging into chaos and despair," Sunset said.
"She's got a point," Starlight said, getting a slight glare from Twilight. "Well we are here to figure things out and do it fast, so..."
"I'll just open the gates," Shining Armor said, making his way forward, using his magic to open the path to their answers. "Let's hurry."
The group made their way inside, walking through the caverns of this imprisonment of a world. They had passed by many of the monsters from the back, including the cockatrice and the bug bear.
"Finny, I could have sworn there was a Chimera here, or am I mistaken?" Twilight wondered.
"I'm sure it's no big deal, if we see it we'll just capture it and send it back here," Sunset pointed out. "Let's hurry."
As they hurried, Cadance noticed something odd, "Hey, isn't that Flash Sentry?"
The group looked up and sure enough, the Pegasus Guard Flash Sentry was seen flying throughout Tartarus, as if he were searching for something, or somepony.
"Where could that little scamp have ran off to?" Flash said, actively searching hard.
"Flash?" Twilight said, getting his attention by surprise.
"Pr-princess Twilight!?" Flash Sentry looked down to see his crush, as well as a few other ponies, including his boss and immediate Princess. "Princess Cadance? Captain Shining Armor!? You're here too!?" He landed down and noticed both Starlight and Sunset with him. "Um...who are you two?"
"I'm Starlight Glimmer," Starlight said, little surprised he didn't know. "Twilight Sparkle's pupil?"
"I'm Sunset Shimmer," Sunset replied. "Celestia's old pupil."
"Sorry, I don't think I'm familiar with either of you," Flash said. "I think I would have remembered seeing or hearing of either one of you."
"Huh, you're much more oblivious than I expected you to be," Sunset rudely stated, much to Flash Sentry's annoyance.
"H-hey! What's that suppose to mean!?" Flash Sentry asked.
"Long and complicated story," Sunset said. "Doesn't matter, what are you even doing here?"
"Um, well I help guard Tartarus, and I come by every so often to make sure everything's in line," Flash explained.
"Oh, so were you here earlier today? Or know anypony that was?" Twilight asked.
"Um...any reason you need to know, Princess?" Flash asked, hoping to keep it cool, especially in front of the mare of his dreams.
"We received some troubling information just a short while ago, we have reason to believe a captive had escaped from this realm," Twilight explained.
"Uh, you don't say..." Flash said, making himself look pretty awkward and suspicious in the process.
"Yeah...so can you let us search for a bit and gather some information?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, gee I'd love to but um...wouldn't you rather go to sleep first?" Flash asked.
Twilight blinked in confusion, "Excuse me?"
"I mean it's kind of late and you might make a mistake in your search, and I wouldn't want you to make any mistakes Princess," Flash said, trying to be charming enough to sway her.
"Are you hiding something!?" Sunset asked, leaning in and glaring at the solider.
"Uh, me? Hiding something?" Flash asked. "What makes you think that?"
"He's totally hiding something!" Sonata's voice called out, much to Flash's dismay.
"Was that one of the Sirens?" Twilight asked.
"We're over here!" Sonata called again. "Want me to sing? That'll lure you over a lot easier!"
"That's fine, no need for that," Twilight insisted, walking over with her group. Flash sweated nervously, knowing that his higher ups are likely to find out he goofed up. Then again, Princess Twilight is known for being really understanding, maybe she'll vouch for him. Suddenly he felt less stressed, knowing just how understanding Twilight is, one of the many reasons he has a crush on her.
Twilight approached the cells, coming face to face with Tirek, Chrysalis and The Sirens, all of them, aside from Sonata, who offerd a friendly wave, were all glaring at the Princess.
"Twilight Sparkle..." Chrysalis said. "What an unexpected surprise."
"Did you miss me that much Princess?" Tirek asked.
"Or have you come to set us free?" Adagio asked.
"None of you are going free anytime soon, I'm just here to do some investigtaion," Twilight said.
"Investigation, of what may I ask?" Chrysalis asked.
Twilight had already noticed something amiss, "Well for starters, where's Cozy Glow?"
"Oh easy, she's-" Sonanta was then whacked in the side by Aria.
"Don't just tell her, she's our enemy!" Aria scolded.
"Oh, right," Sonata said, then glared at Twilight. "You ain't getting nothing out of me Princess!"
Twilight shrugged it off, "Alright, fine, be that way. Maybe we won't find out what Cozy's up to, or why she's with my friend Rumble. Maybe we'll just never see him again, but all of those sad friends though..."
"Sad friends?" Sonata said. "Well..too bad, I'm not talking!"
"Not even for his brother Thunderlane? Or his marefriend Sweetie Belle?" Twilight asked.
"That's right, not for either of them," Sonata said.
"What about Flurry Heart?" Twilight asked, getting a look of concern from Sonata.
"F-flurry?" Sonata asked.
"Oh no," Aria lamented, knowing where this was going.
"That's right," Twilight confirmed. "She was so worried when she couldn't find Rumble, isn't that right big brother?"
"Huh?" Shining Armor said. "Uh, yeah, she was. She lifted up an entire train to find him, my poor little girl looked so heartbroken."
"Not heartbroken! Not little Flurry!" Sonata shouted in worry.
"Yes, she's so sad, she might even start crying for days, never knowing true happiness again," Twilight said.
"And here I thought you cared about my daughter," Cadance said. "Your one redeeming quality too."
Sonata looked troubled, she didn't want to betray her friends, but she liked Flurry, she was so adorable. "Uh..."
"Do NOT give in Sonata!" Aria warned. "If you do, I'll clobber you!"
"But, it's Flurry, she's so cute and innocent, I don't want to take that from her!" Sonata said. "Plus if she finds out about this and that I was involved, she might totally hate me!"
"Is she for real?" Tirek asked Chrysalis.
"Sadly, yes," Chrysalis confirmed.
"Here's an idea," Twilight used her magic to open the cell. "Come on out Sonata."
Before she could try, Adagio tried to pass her, "Freedom!"
The moment Adagio stepped outside, Twilight blasted her back into her cage. "Yeah, nice try! Come on Sonata."
Sonata wanted to check on her friend, but knew not to keep Twilight waiting. She stepped outside her cell, face to face with The Princess.
"Alright, tell me the plan Sonata," Twilight ordered.
"Well we totally wanted revenge on all of you, so we devised a plan for Cozy Glow to escape and go to Ponyville so she and get The Elements of Harmony, then find a way to corrupt them so we can use them for our advantage, even free us," Sonata explained.
"I'm going to kill that girl," Adagio bitterly stated.
"How did Cozy escape anyway?" Twilight asked.
"We just tricked the guard there," Sonata said, pointing to Flash Sentry. "We kept him distracted by making noise, acting crazy, even using your likeness."
"My likeness?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, with Chrysalis pretending to be you at one point," Sonata said, getting a pale face from Flash Sentry. "She turned into you at one point to trick the guard."
Twilight turned to Flash, who was blushing heavily, avoiding her glare. "So, she pretended to be me..." She tuned back to the villains, "And tried to use my authority to make him let you all out?"
"Actually she-" Sonata's explanation was hastily interrupted.
"Yes! That's right!" Flash said. "But I saw through it, Chrysalis is nothing compared to you my Princess, I knew not to fall for her tricks!"
"That look in your eyes stated otherwise, lover boy," Chrysalis said.
"Clam that mouth up foul villain!" Flash ordered.
"Well, I'm not happy that Cozy Glow got away," Twilight said, slightly glaring at Flash Sentry. "But it could have been worse I suppose, maybe we just need more guards. I'm sure you did your best Flash."
Flash felt thankful that Twilight was as understanding as he expected her to be. "Thank you Princess Twilight, you truly are very kind!"
"I learn from my friend Fluttershy," Twilight said. "But I am curious, why Cozy Glow? Why not one of you?"
"It's easier for her to sneak out and blend in," Sonata said. "Chrysalis can blend in, but she couldn't really escape. Tirek couldn't do either, and me and my friends would have had the same problem as Chrysalis. Plus Cozy Glow's such an amazing actress, none of us could pull that off."
"I wanted it to be me, since I could have escaped just as easy, and I'm a much better actress, I did pretend to be you for a while," Chrysalis pointed to Cadance. "But I was told 'I had my chance', and that they wanted Cozy Glow to have more experience."
"She can benefit from it," Tirek said. "You and I both know it, with her brains and skills, she can be the most powerful pony in Equestria!"
"I still find it repulsive that you manipulated a filly like that," Starlight said.
"She sought the power, I just gave her to the tools to acquire it," Tirek said.
"Well perhaps she needs new tools, I have faith she can be a proper pony again, once she truly learns her lesson from her time in here," Twilight said. "All of you have what it takes to change for the better. Chrysalis, had you changed, you'd still be leading your Changelings, you'd be so much happier like Thorax is."
"Feh, I don't need your Friendship, I don't like sharing," Chrysalis said.
"Tirek, what about you? If you need the power, I'm sure some ponies will be more willing to lend it to you, I'm sure there's a place in this world for you to really excel as yourself," Twilight said.
"Maybe I wouldn't hate this world so much if I weren't locked in a cage for a millennia, right after being betrayed by my own brother!" Tirek shouted.
"Then make up with him, I'm sure you and Scorpan would be able to put your differences behind yourselves," Twilight said, then turned to The Sirens. "As for the three of you, surely you desire more than a life like this."
"We're Sirens, we feast on negativity," Adagio said. "Can't be friends to do that."
"I'm sure there's another way," Twilight said. "Sonata, I can tell you're a good pony at heart, even if you don't like most of us, you do care about Flurry at least."
"Of course, she's really cute, I wanted to keep her as a pet of sorts," Sonata said.
Shining Armor looked ready to blast Sonata through her heart with his magic, but Cadance held him back, knowing now's not the time for a fight.
"How about her foalsitter? Or just a big sister type figure," Twilight said. "Flurry does seem to like you, she at least remembers you."
"Oh I know, I overheard her on Cozy's necklace," Sonata said, getting a surprised look from Twilight and an annoyed look from her allies.
"What necklace?" Twilight asked.
"Couldn't you keep SOME secrets!?" Adagio asked.
"Not like it's a big deal," Sonata said, then turned back to Twilight. "Cozy has necklace that lets us communicate with her. Sometimes we overhear her talking."
"Well can you try calling her now? Maybe she's with Rumble!" Twilight said.
"That's the thing, she doesn't like when we talk to her when she's near another pony, mainly so we don't blow her cover," Sonata said.
"Where was she last!?" Twilight asked.
"Not sure, first she got interrupted by Rumble when he got mad at her for constantly ditching him, since she always flew off whenever a guard was about to catch her," Sonata said. "Rumble doesn't seem to know she's evil though, they've been flying around together, going to different places."
"So Rumble's safe?" Twilight asked. "She hasn't hurt him?"
"No, she has no desire to, she has a little crush on him after all," Sonata said.
"Wait, really?" Twilight asked. "I mean, I'm not that surprised, Rumble's very cute and seems to attract a lot of fillies, but wow, she likes Rumble."
"Yeah, it's really cute, I think she wants to marry him and have all his children," Sonata said. "I'm hoping she pulls that off, she's adorable too, a little crazy but still adorable. Plus Rumble's extremely handsome so it works out even better."
"Well Rumble does have a marefriend, so that might be difficult for them to be together," Twilight said.
"Hey, they can break up, it's easy," Sonata said. "I can even help with that."
"Or, you don't do that and leave Rumble's love life as it is," Twilight warned. "Anyway if you can talk to Cozy, do it now, we'll be able to get an exact location."
"But what if she's asleep?" Sonata asked. "It'd be rude to wake her up."
Twilight shook her head in annoyance, "Sonata, that's not something we should be worried about right now, just call her please."
"Alright, you're the boss," Sonata said, then turned to Adagio. "Hey, can you call Cozy?"
"I'd like to see someone make me," Adagio said, getting a glare from Twilight.
"Don't make me come in there," Twilight warned. "You contact that little filly right now!"
"No, I don't take orders from you Princess, I'm Adagio Dazzle, the strongest Siren in existence, nopony orders me around!" Adagio said.
"Either you contact Cozy on your own, or we'll come in there and make you do it by force!" Shining Armor warned.
"Oh ho, I'd love to see you try Princey!" Adagio said, dangling the necklace in their faces. "All I have to do is...hey Sonata what are you-"
Sonata had gone inside and tried prying the necklace away from Adagio. "Come on, stop being difficult!"
"What are you doing, you traitor!?" Adagio shouted.
Aria attempted to help Adagio, but Twilight and the others assisted in helping Sonata pry away the necklace. Within moments they had possession of the necklace and quickly left the cage, leaving Adagio trapped inside.
"That was easier than I thought," Sonata said, holding up the necklace. "But we got it."
"Dammit! I can't believe you would betray us Sonata! When I get out of this cell, you're dead! You hear me!?" Adagio shouted. "Better yet, the moment you come back inside you're dead!"
"That won't be happening," Twilight said, then turned to Sonata. "Would you mind doing the honors?"
"Uh...sure," Sonata said, letting it sink in that she might have really upset her friend. She's just trying to be friendly, and deep down is worried about Rumble, but now she may have to deal with the fact that Adagio might do away with her.
"Sonata? Are you alright there?" Twilight asked, getting a bit concerned.
"Huh...oh yeah I'm fine," Sonata said, holding up the necklace. "Cozy Glow...can you hear me?" Everypony listened in, but heard nothing yet. "Cozy Glow?"
Back in Our Town, Cozy was still making out with the sleeping Rumble. She was gentle so that she wouldn't wake him, and hoped he wouldn't wake up from the pleasure, but he was pretty exhausted from the day, so he might sleep through a lot.
Her necklace was on a table next to the bed, and though she heard Sonata's voice, she was still reluctant to stop what she was doing. She figured to continue on and just tell them later she was asleep, they would likely buy that, not that she cared if they did.
Back in Tartarus, Sonata had shrugged it off to the others, "Guess she's asleep."
"Well that's no help," Twilight said. "At least we have a lead, thanks for your cooperation Sonata."
"No problem Princess," Sonata gleefully said. "Wait, are we still enemies though?"
"Well we don't have to be, do you really want to be an enemy of mine?" Twilight asked.
"I'm not sure," Sonata said. "I mean, Adagio doesn't like you, so I figured I'm not suppose to like you either. Plus you did get in the way of our plans, so I guess it does make us enemies."
"Well, how about we try being friends, does that sound good?" Twilight asked.
"Be friends?" Sonata asked. "Huh, never really thought about that."
"Sonata, don't you dare!" Adagio shouted. "Do NOT befriend our enemy!"
"Need I remind you that she is a follower of the very pony who banished the Sirens for hundreds of years!?" Chrysalis asked. "Who left you trapped in this accursed place!?"
"Hm, good point, but it wasn't all bad," Sonata said. "I had my friends with me, and I still do!" Sonata turned to Aria and Adagio, "Isn't that right girls!?"
"Of course it was bad! They got in our way Sonata!" Adagio shouted.
"But we were in it together," Sonata said. "And that's all that matters."
"What matters is power! Don't be so damn naïve Sonata, Friendship is meaningless, it has nothing to offer," Adagio said.
Sonata's eyes widened in surprise, then lowered in sadness, "But...we're friends, don't I mean anything to you?"
"Not unless you do something useful, and so far, you've screwed up big time, it's quite shameful actually," Adagio said.
Sonata turned to Aria, "What about you Aria? Doesn't our team together mean anything? We're friends too, aren't we?"
Aria focused her gaze toward Sonata, specifically her eyes. Sonata is the closest Aria has to a friend, one could argue she's the closest she has to a sister. She could just reassure Sonata, she has it in her to tell her friend that she does mean something to her usually cold and empty heart. However, for reasons even Aria couldn't understand, she replied in the negative.
"Sorry, but I'm with Adagio on this one," Aria said, essentially breaking Sonata's heart.
Twilight pitied the poor Siren, to be rejected by those she thought were her friends must have been quite the blow. The others also felt pity, but none more than Starlight, who took the moment to speak up.
"Come on, you three have been together for what, thousands of years, you can't mean to tell me you never really cared at all about each other!" Starlight said. "Come on, she must mean something to you!"
"She did, until now," Adagio said. "But since I'm nice, I'll give you one last chance to redeem yourself Sonata. Free us, free all of us so we can take down these goody-goody ponies!"
"That sounds like a good idea," Chrysalis said. "Come on dear, you know where your true allegiance lies."
Sonata looked back and forth between Twilight's group and her so-called friends. This was a tough decision, she always stood by her fellow Dazzlings, even in tough times, but Twilight seems genuine in her friendship. She has to decide between a longtime ally and a Princess. She made her choice, one she hopes she wouldn't regret.
"Sorry Adagio, if knowing that me being your friend depends on how useful I am, then I can't call that a friendship," Sonata turned toward Twilight. "Alright, I'll accept your offer of Friendship, Princess Twilight."
Twilight seemed relieved to know that Sonata had made the right choice, "Well, first thing you need to know is, as your friend, just call me by my name, Twilight. You don't need to be formal."
"Alright, Twilight," Sonata said. "So, what now?"
"I'll tell you 'what now', you little traitor!" Adagio shouted. "Once Cozy completes her mission, and we're all free from this dreadful place, you're going to be on my list of ponies to destroy! I'm going to make you regret betraying us Sonata, I promise you that!"
"That won't happen," Twilight said, stepping in front of Sonata. "Because friends protect each other. The only one who's gonna have any regrets is you, for treating Sonata as a tool rather than a friend!" She turned to her newly made friend. "Let's go."
"Wait, so I'm free?" Sonata asked.
"Well...sorta," Twilight said. "I still need to run this by Celestia, and I imagine you'll have to stay with me for a while, but in a way, yes, you're free."
"So...I'll be able to go shopping and stuff one day!?" Sonata eagerly asked.
"Uh...sure, if that's what you want to do," Twilight said.
"And if I stay with you, does that mean Slumber Parties!?" Sonata asked, getting in closer.
"Sure...um, I can do slumber parties, hopefully without relying on a book this time," Twilight said.
"Sweet, we can do each other's hair, read magazines, talk about boys!" Sonata turned to Twilight. "Do you like, have a coltfriend yet?"
"Can we not talk about this now?" Twilight asked, feeling awkward. "I get you're happy about your freedom but we do have an important matter still, finding Rumble."
"Oh right...well in the morning when Cozy Glow wakes up, I'll totally call her and ask her where she is, then we can find her and Rumble, then he'll be safe back home," Sonata said.
"Good, now let's get going," Twilight said, leading her friends out of Tartarus.
"You'll regret this Sonata!" Adagio shouted. "We won't forget about what you've done!"
Sonata looked back at her friends, looking quite concerned. Despite Adagio's harsh words, she can't help but wonder if this truly is the right decision to make.
Twilight placed her hoof on Sonata's back, hoping to reassure her. "Don't worry about it for now, let's just hurry."
"Uh, what should I do?" Flash Sentry asked.
"For starters, you look pretty exhausted, go home and rest, The Cerberus will keep an eye on things," Twilight said.
"Aw, thanks Princess Twilight, you're the best," Flash said, making his way out of the caves.
"I swear that guy's a total idiot," Sunset said, then turned to Twilight. "Do you really have a crush on that guy?"
Twilight looked a bit surprised by Sunset's question, "Uh...no? I don't have any feelings for Flash Sentry, or anypony at alll."
"Are you sure?" Sonata asked, leaning in. "Something tells me you're hiding something."
"I'm not, I have no plans to date anytime soon, maybe in a few years though," Twilight said, a faint blush on her face. "We're wasting time, let's just get out of this place. We'll find somewhere to camp for the night, and resume search first thing in the morning."
"Our first slumber party together!?" Sonata asked.
"...Yeah, our first Slumber Party together. You, me, Starlight, Sunset, my brother and Cadance," Twilight said.
"Sweet! Let's go!" Sonata said and followed Twilight out of Tartarus, Adagio glaring hard at her former friend. However that glare slowly turned into a devious smile, as she took her seat back in her cage.
The night passed by, some ponies sleeping better than others. Twilight and her team found a place to camp for the night, though while most of them were able to sleep just fine, Twilight and Starlight were both too worried to properly rest. Shining Armor had to take it upon himself to make sure his sister and her pupil went to sleep, knowing that if they don't, they won't properly function in the morning.
Spike remained vigilante during his patrols, but he too eventually fell asleep, to which Fluttershy brought him back home, before joining Pinkie Pie in another extended search of Flurry Heart, before they too passed out from exhaustion.
Flurry Heart and Dinky also fell asleep, having took shelter under a rock. Dinky rocked Flurry gently to calm the toddler, who was insistent on staying awake to find Rumble. Dinky understood her frustrations, but knew that both needed sleep, promising to resume their search once they wake up. Of course not too far behind them was a certain mare who wasn't too happy about them slipping away.
Tender Taps stayed with Sweetie Belle that night, calming her down long enough for her to fall asleep, though he himself felt too worried to sleep right away. His best friend was out there somewhere, and seeing Sweetie Belle heartbroken by this was too much for the poor colt.
Rainbow Dash's search team had scoured the area where Rumble was last seen, Thunderlane and the twins putting extra work into finding him. However they too succumbed to slumber, having exhausted themselves in their search.
Sunburst, in his own search, had stumbled into a village, where he decided to spend the night, promising himself to resume his search in the morning.
As for Cozy, she did not do much sleeping that night, for she was having too much fun with Rumble, and copying most of what she saw Sugar Belle and Party Favor do. She was amazed they hadn't noticed her yet, but they looked too engrossed in their activities. She's never seen anypony so much at bliss, and now Cozy more than ever wants to be Rumble's marefriend, knowing that everything Party Favor was doing to Sugar Belle is stuff he could do to her. Doing it to him was fun, but him being asleep did take some pleasure away. Of course she knew if he woke up, he wouldn't be too thrilled.
But the excitement of doing something so forbidden is what motivated her even more, and she relished in all she did with Rumble that night, until she eventually fell asleep, cuddled next to who she deems her future husband.
Morning came, Rumble slowly started to open his eyes. He looked next to him and saw Cozy all cuddled up, sleeping so peacefully and looking so innocent. Rumble couldn't help but find this adorable, even gently stroking her mane. He may have a marefriend, but that doesn't mean he can't find another filly cute.
"Huh, why do I feel so wet and sticky?" Rumble asked himself. "Was I sweating? That's pretty embarrassing, I hope Cozy doesn't notice." He looked to the sleeping filly and gently nudged her. "Cozy?"
The filly stirred a little, opening her adorable green eyes to meet Rumble's gaze. "Oh, good morning Rumble." She started waking up a bit, stretching her back. "Golly, I haven't had a pleasant night sleep in what feels like forever."
"Glad to know," Rumble said, sitting up on the bed. "We should probably get ready, we have a train to catch."
Cozy Glow didn't respond immediately, she just hugged around Rumble's waist, pressing the side of her face against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "Yeah, we should. I bet Sweetie Belle really misses you."
Rumble started to feel awkward, yet he couldn't help but feel like something was different about Cozy. "Hey um...You feeling alright there Cozy? You sound a bit...relaxed."
"Well I did just wake up from a peaceful sleep, truthfully I am still a bit tired, but if you want to get out of bed, I won't argue," Cozy Glow said.
"Well, I don't think Sugar Belle's awake, so-" Rumble stopped when he noticed a weird sight. Sugar Belle was laying on the floor with Party Favor snuggled on top of her. He didn't remember Party Favor being in the room last night, so he figures he came in late at night.
He began to wonder why, yet some impure thoughts started to plague his head. He shook it off, not wanting to think about that.
"What's wrong?" Cozy asked.
"Er, nothing, anyway Sugar Belle's not awake, so I guess it's alright to sleep in a little if you'd like," Rumble said.
"That'd be nice...but can I stay like this?" Cozy asked, snuggling against his chest some more.
Rumble felt awkward, he's already letting this filly get too close as it is. Rumble shudders to think how Sweetie Belle would react if she knew he was doing this. But Cozy was too cute for him to say 'no' to, he knows he might regret this decision but for now he just gave in.
"If you want to, then that's fine," Rumble said.
"Good, I'm happy," Cozy said, getting closer and laying firmly on his chest. "I can see why Sweetie Belle fell for you, because you have such a soft but form body. You feel so huggable, yet so strong, I feel safe and comfort just being with you."
"Oh, well, thanks," Rumble said, feeling even more awkward.
Cozy nuzzled harder against Rumble, "Mind wrapping your hooves around me? I want the full experience."
Rumble mentally told himself over and over to just say 'no', to resist and maybe even call this idea off. "Sure, alright." Rumble mentally cursed himself as he wrapped his forelegs around Cozy.
"Ah...so perfect," Cozy said. "I could stay like this forever..."
"Forever sounds kind of...long, wouldn't you say?" Rumble nervously asked.
"It's the perfect length," Cozy said, resting her eyes a bit.
Rumble wasn't sure what to feel or think right now, all he could think about was Sweetie Belle. The moment he got home, he planned to spoil his marefriend with affection, give her a constant reminder that he loves her and only her. He can only hope that once he gets back home and back to Sweetie Belle that Cozy Glow would back off. If anything he can try setting Cozy Glow up with another pony, maybe Tender Taps. Yeah his friend has a crush on Twilight but Rumble doubts that would lead anywhere, so Cozy could be the next best thing.
Minutes passed and he heard Sugar Belle yawning, turning to see that the mare was finally waking up. "Oh, hey, good morning Sugar Belle!"
"Oh, morning Rumble," Sugar Belle said, then noticed some weight on her. She fully opened her eyes to see... "Party Favor!"
The stallion woke up with a startle, looking around to see who had called him. "Huh? What!?" He looked to see that he was snuggled with Sugar Belle still, then turned to see Rumble and the now awake Cozy Glow. "Oh...um, I bet you're wondering why I'm here."
"I already know, I saw everything," Cozy Glow said, flashing a mischievous smile. "Funny, when I got here, I thought you two were brother and sister, but it looks like you're much more than that."
"Huh? Wait, saw what?" Rumble asked.
"Ok!" Party Favor loudly said, desperately interrupting Cozy. "I'm sure Cozy will tell us all about her strange yet wildly imaginative dream another time, but for now we have to get you kids fed and on the train!"
"Okie dokie then," Cozy said, hopping off the bed. She nearly forgot that her tail was still attached to Rumble's and she unintentionally pulled him down off the bed. "Whoopsie, sorry Rumble."
"I'm fine," Rumble said, rubbing his hind leg.
Sugar Belle helped him up, dusting him off a bit. "Alright, let's hurry now. Once we get you fed we'll be able to find the nearest train to Ponyville, which shouldn't be difficult."
"Let me just grab my necklace," Cozy said, grabbing it off the table. "Can't forget this."
"Good, let's go now dearies," Sugar Belle said as the two foals began to trot out the room. Deep down she herself was concerned how much Cozy Glow had seen from the previous night, really hoping this doesn't make it all the way back to Ponyville, especially the Apple Family.
With Twilight, the Princess was snoozing away, slowly started to stir awake. As she opened her eyes, she saw Sonata standing over her, staring down at the Princess, startling her. "Ah!"
"Ah!" Sonata had been startled by Twilight's reaction. This also woke up the nearby ponies.
"What's going on?" Sunset irritably asked.
"Sorry, I think I startled Twilight," Sonata said.
"Ya think you startled me?" Twilight asked, showing a hint of sarcasm. "What do you need?"
"Well it's morning, so I wanted to know if you wanted me to contact Cozy Glow," Sonata asked.
Twilight's eyes widened, "Right, great idea Sonata. Good, we can get an immediate start."
Sonata grabbed the necklace and started making contact with the filly, "Yoo-hoo! Cozy Glow!"
As Cozy was eating breakfast back at Our Town, she felt her necklace glowing. Thankfully everypony else was distracted either by the food or Rumble's story of his Flight School. She turned to whisper into it, "Sonata?"
"Oh hey Cozy! I haven't heard from you in a while," Sonata said.
"Yeah, not a good time, Rumbe's right here and I can't go too far from him, he tied our tales together," Cozy said.
"He did what?" Sonata asked, getting a confused reaction from the other ponies.
"Well he got mad that I kept trying to ditch him, so he made sure I couldn't escape from him," Cozy said. "I mean I don't mean to but I don't want my cover blown, if that were to happen, well a lot of ponies would have to get hurt, and I'd rather avoid unneeded violence."
"Wow she sounds so evil," Sunset said, then got shushed by the others.
"Careful, we don't want her to overhear us," Starlight said.
"Well anyway, where are you? How did you sleep last night?" Sonata asked.
"Uh, I don't know the name of the town, but Rumble knows the ponies, I think this is where that Starlight Glimmer pony used to live or something," Cozy said.
"My old village!?" Starlight asked, with her getting shushed. "Whoops, sorry."
"Oh, so that town of Equal ponies? Uh, no one recognizes you, right?" Sonata asked.
"No, not at all, lucky me," Cozy said. "I slept at the house of some mare named Sugar Belle, she let me and Rumble have her bed, he made a great cuddle buddy."
"Aw, you two cuddled together last night? How sweet," Sonata said, getting a look of disgust from the other ponies, aside from Sunset, who really didn't care.
"Yeah, I even got to kiss him in his sleep, more than that, we practically made out. I was surprised he didn't wake up, but oh man do I have stories to tell you, I had such a good time last night," Cozy said.
"Oh...you made out with him while he slept, that's...not weird or creepy at all," Sonata said, even she felt uncomfortable hearing this. Of course not the other ponies look incensed, again aside from Sunset, though even she found this mildly strange.
"Hey I took what I could get," Cozy said. "Anyway we're gonna take a train to Ponyville, I'll get the Elements like we discussed and free all of you. Is Adagio there?"
"Uh, she's asleep, they all are, I just figured since I woke up first I talk to you first, plus I got worried about you," Sonata said.
"You're so sweet, that's why you're my favorite," Cozy said.
"Cozy, what are you doing?" Rumble asked, getting Cozy's attention.
"Gotta go before Rumble gets too suspicious," Cozy said, turning her necklace off.
"Bye," Sonata said, then put the necklace away. "I like her, even if she did throw Flurry Heart in the garbage back at The Crystal Empire, but I'm sure she's sorry about that."
"Don't remind me of what that brat did to my daughter," Shining Armor said. "At least we know where she is."
"It sounds like they're on their way back to Ponyville, now since we know that Cozy won't do anything to hurt Rumble, I suggest we go back to Ponyville ASAP and intercept them there," Twilight said.
"What about Rainbow Dash's team, they might be not too far away," Starlight said. "Maybe they can try to grab her before she even gets to Ponyville."
"We have to go back anyway, it'd be easier to just let her go back on her own so we can grab her there, rather than try grabbing her now and risking the chance that she escapes again," Twilight said.
"Seems risky, if she gets discovered between now and then, who knows what she might do," Sunset said.
"She's like really tiny, what could she really do?" Shining Armor said.
"Hm...alright, new idea, I'll locate Rainbow Dash's group and let them know the plan, see if any of them have an idea, if anything we can just have somepony stay on the train undetected and wait until they arrive in Ponyville before doing anything," Twilight said.
"Better idea," Sunset said.
"Alright, will any of you be able to teleport back to Ponyville?" Twilight asked.
"Shouldn't be too hard, especially if we all cast the spell together," Sunset said.
"I think you can pull it off, alright, you all know what to do," Twilight said. "Good luck."
Soon Twilight teleported to her location while the others teleported back to Ponyville.
In the hometown of the Elements, Sweetie Belle was sleeping peacefully on the couch, having a sweet dream about her beloved coltfriend Rumble. It felt so real to her, it's like if he was actually there. She could certainly feel him, his small body, his warm presence, she needed him, she really wanted him. She slowly went in for a kiss, one that felt like complete heaven to her.
She slowly opened her eyes, expecting to find her loving coltfriend. Instead she found a complete surprise, looking back at her was her friend Tender Taps, and he looked pretty surprised by what was happening.
The two backed away from each other, a huge blush on both their faces at what the had done. They looked around to realize that they had fallen asleep together on the couch, sleeping right next to each other.
"Uh...that was awkward," Tender Taps said.
"Yeah..." Sweetie Belle said, not sure what to make of it. "Um, I don't suppose you can, you know, not tell anyone?"
"Oh yes, definitely," Tender Taps said. "I...I really don't think we want ponies to get the wrong idea about us."
"That's for sure," Sweetie Belle said. "Um, well it's morning, so..." She then realized something. "Maybe Rumble's back!"
"Rumble! Right!" Tender Taps said. "I bet Princess Twilight found him!"
The two rushed outside, seemingly forgetting about their prior awkwardness, looking around for any sign of their favorite colt.
"I hope Twilight found Rumble, I miss him so much," Sweetie Belle said.
"Yeah, I miss-" Tender Taps was interrupted by a loud yelp of disbelief.
"What do you mean Flurry's gone!?" They recognized that voice as Shining Armor's.
"Flurry's gone!?" Tender Taps said in disbelief, rushing toward where the conversation was with Sweetie Belle.
"She just disappeared, we're really sorry Shining Armor!" Fluttershy said, bowing excessively to show her shame.
"She is very sneaky," Pinkie Pie said, certainly not helping the situation.
Shining Armor, who stood there alongside a distraught Cadance, a shocked Starlight and an annoyed Sunset, and a worried Sonata, just paced in disbelief, "I don't get it, where would see go!? How would she even get away!?"
Before anyone could answer, Derpy flew over, worry in her eyes, "Dinky's missing! Me, her sister and her parents can't find her!"
"Dinky's gone too!?" Tender Taps said, getting the attention of Starlight.
"Oh, hello Tendy, um so I don't suppose you have any idea what might have happened to Flurry Heart or Dinky, do you?" Starlight asked.
"No, sorry, I haven't a clue," Tender Taps said. "But if you're back, does that mean-"
"We didn't find Rumble, but Twilight knows where he is," Sunset said. "Or where he last was, she has a plan to bring him home safe and capture Cozy Glow. Unfortunately now we have this problem."
"Dinky was awfully concerned about Rumble, and I'm sure Flurry was too..." Tender Taps said, then realized. "You think they might have gone to look for Rumble themselves?"
Shining Armor groaned in annoyance, "That girl's gonna be in so much trouble when I find her."
"I'll go look for them," Starlight said, then turned to Sunset. "Would you be able to join me?"
"Sure, two pairs of eyes will help," Sunset said. "Plus I want this over with before anything else happens."
Starlight turned to Shining Armor, "We'll let you know once we find her." She and Sunset then teleported away, hoping to find Flurry.
Tender Taps decided to take a moment to address something he's found odd since arriving, "Um...isn't that one of the Sirens?"
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie both finally noticed as well, same with Derpy and Sweetie Belle. Sonata simply waved at the group, "Hello!"
Tender Taps turned to Shining Armor, "Is there a reason for this?"
"Long story, we'll explain, it connects to Rumble as well," Shining Armor said.
Back at Our Town, Sunburst was seen leaving an inn, having gotten a goodnight rest. "Well, hopefully I'll have better luck today, and maybe Shining Armor and Princess Cadance might have found some help too."
As he walked through town, he was greeted by Night Glider, "Hey, you're Starlight's childhood friend!"
"Oh, hi Night Glider," Sunburst said. "Good to see you, I knew this place was familiar, I came here late last night so I couldn't really see the town or anypony in it."
"Yeah, little surprised, what brings you all the way out here?" Night Glider asked.
"I was helping find a colt that got lost, his foalsitter's really worried," Sunburst said. "I think you know him, his name's Rumble. I don't suppose-"
"Rumble? Oh yeah, he was just at Sugar Belle's house, she and Double Diamond are taking him and his friend Cozy Glow to the train station leading to Ponyville," Night Glider said.
"Wait, Rumble was in town!?" Sunburst asked.
"Too bad you didn't know last night, but he's safe and on his way home at least," Night Glider said.
"With a villain!" Sunburst shouted, to Night Glider's confusion.
"Uh...villain?" The mare asked, clearly confused.
"That filly, Cozy Glow, she's evil!" Sunburst shouted.
Night Glider found this hard to believe, "Uh, you sure you got enough sleep there pal?"
"Point me to their direction!" Sunburst urgently said, getting more confusion from Night Glider.
"It's right over-" As Night Glider pointed, Sunburst sped off. "There...?"
"I'm coming Rumble!" Sunburst shouted, hoping to catch up to them.
The two foals were already at the station, as the train to Ponyville arrived. Sugar Belle helped them on, "Go straight home now, I'm sure everyone misses you."
"Thanks Sugar Belle," Rumble said. "Come by soon."
"I certainly will," Sugar Belle said.
"Have fun with your stallion," Cozy said, grinning mischievously at a nervous Sugar Belle.
"You kids and your imaginations, bye now," Sugar Belle said as the train door closed.
The train began to depart, sending the kids home as the two ponies waved bye. "So...Party Favor huh?" Double Diamond asked.
"Do not tell anypony," Sugar Belle warned.
"I won't...my lips are sealed," Double Diamond said.
"Better be," Sugar Belle said, leaving the station with Double Diamond closely following.
Rumble was excited, he was finally on his way back home, and Cozy can finally put her plan into full motion. Big surprises awaited the two foals.