//------------------------------// // Branches of Emotion // Story: Sweet Affection 4 // by Masterob //------------------------------// Miles off of Our Town, Twilight pace-flew above the rendezvous point, waiting along with Thunderlane, Flitter, Cloudchaser, Sugar Belle, Double Diamond and Sunburst, impatiently waiting for the others to arrive. "Are you all positive we got the meet-up time right?" Twilight asked. "Yes Twilight, we're positive," Cloudchaser said, getting slightly annoyed. "We're just as in the dark as you are as to why the others are late." "You don't think anything bad happened to them, do you?" Flitter asked. "Or maybe they got lost?" "Hey what if Cozy Glow had other allies we didn't know about," Thunderlane suggested. "Thunderlane, I checked Tartarus, all the other villains are there," Twilight said. "The only one out of their cage is one of The Sirens, because I personally let her out." "Wait, you freed one of the Sirens?" Thunderlane asked. "Was that a good idea?" "Don't worry, she seems harmless," Twilight said. "At least without being led around by Adagio." "Huh, so you're willing to free one of the creatures that broke Rumble's wings, but you're fine with leaving a filly in Tartarus," Flitter commented, with a hint of sass. "Sonata wasn't the one who broke his wing Flitter," Twilight said. "And it's not like I took pleasure in seeing Cozy get sent to Tartarus, she was my student after all. If anything, I felt guilt for not being able to properly teach her, and I hoped to get a second chance someday. It's not like I would have kept her there forever." "Still, sending a foal to Tartarus was incredibly dangerous and foolish," Flitter said. "You might have destroyed whatever pureness she had left." Twilight was beginning to lose her patience, "Look, if you have a problem, take it up with Princess Celestia, but don't blame me if she banishes you to the moon or something!" "Uh, don't you think you're getting a bit carried away there Twilight?" Thunderlane asked. Twilight just became even more annoyed, her horn began glowing as she glared at a now somewhat frightened Thunderlane. Thankfully Sunburst had stepped in before things got out of hoof. "Easy now Twilight, I know this entire situation has been a massive headache for you but we all need to stay on the same page," Sunburst said, then turned to the other ponies. "So let's go easy on each other, especially Twilight. She's the one trying to find Rumble and keep Equestria safe." "Hey, we're all trying to find Rumble, especially me!" Flitter said. "My point is, we're all on the same side, let's try to stay that way," Sunburst pleaded. "I'm with Sunburst," Double Diamond said. "Besides I'm sure there's a good reason why the other ponies are late, maybe they figured something out." "I hope so, surprised it's taking Rainbow Dash long too, she's supposed to be the fastest flyer in all of Equestria," Flitter said. "Maybe I should just go look for her," Twilight said. "That way I can get her here much faster." "If you try looking for her and she comes, we'll just end up having to wait for you," Sunburst said. "I say give them an extra few minutes, if they don't come by then, we'll just leave for now and come back for them later." "That's a good idea," Cloudchaser said. "It might seem a bit jerky to just leave them but Rumble and Cozy Glow do take more priority." "I don't think we'll have to worry about that," Sugar Belle said, pointing to the distance, "Look over there." Approaching the group was the bickering duo of Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust, both who seemed to be arguing over directions. "I told you it was this way!" Rainbow Dash said. "I know how to navigate the skies!" "Uh, so do I, I'm just as good as-" Lightning Dust rephrased that. "No, I'm better than you are when it comes to just about anything a Pegasus can do." "Says the one who got kicked out of The Wonderbolts," Rainbow Dash said. "Oh, so terrible," Lightning Dust sarcastically replied. "Honestly that's the best thing you could have done for me, all they would have done was hold me back! Now I'm better than The Wonderbolts." "In what world!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You know it's true Rainbow Dash, I sell out shows, even Twilight Sparkle loves what I do," Lightning Dust said. "And after today, I'm gonna have another potential candidate to join me, one that won't wuss out like Scootaloo did." "Like heck you will," Rainbow Dash said. As they got closer, Twilight called out to them, "Rainbow Dash! Lightning Dust!" "Sup Twi?" Lightning Dust greeted, landing before the Princess and lightly bowing to her. "Great to see ya." "Same, little surprised to see you out here though," Twilight said. "Did Rainbow Dash go to find help from you?" "I would never ask Lightning Dust for help!" Rainbow Dash said. "Yet here I am, giving you help, out of the kindness of my own heart," Lightning Dust said. "I heard about Rumble from a mare named Tempest Shadow, she filled me in on everything." "Tempest told you?" Twilight said. "Wait how did she know? I never told her, I haven't seen her in months." "She caught a couple of foals trying to sneak off to find him, Rumble's friend Dinky and your niece Flurry Heart," Lightning Dust explained. "Dinky and Flurry tried sneaking off?" Twilight asked. "Well Flurry I can understand, she's very sneaky and she is quite attached to Rumble, it's cute, yet becoming a nuisance. Dinky, well she certainly has guts." "Well Trixie took them back to Ponyville, then I went to go find Rumble myself, that's when I ran into Rainbow Dash," Lightning Dust said. "Well we really appreciate your help, but we know that Rumble's safe and also in Ponyville, but so is Cozy Glow, the filly who nearly destroyed Equestria's magic," Twilight said. "Yeah I've heard of her, bit embarrassing that a filly nearly outsmarted you," Lightning Dust bluntly stated. "Seriously Twilight, I know you're better than that." "Well it wouldn't exactly occur to me that a filly like Cozy Glow could be planning something devious, I don't think anypony would have seen that coming," Twilight said. "I still don't fully believe it," Flitter said. "Well I guess she could have fooled anypony, even me," Lightning Dust said. "Though if she did try fooling me, I'd make her regret it." "Well anyway, should we get going?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Kind of want to see the little guy for myself, and get even with Cozy Glow for pulling this stunt." "We still have a few stragglers to wait for," Cloudchaser said. "Namely Applejack and Rarity." "Ugh, why am I not surprised about Rarity, she hates having to walk long distances," Rainbow Dash said. "I bet she's taking like a million rest stops, or Applejack's probably carrying her." "Come on, you know this is something Rarity would take seriously," Twilight said. "She loves Rumble a lot after all." "Anypony would want to help the one their sibling loves the most," Cloudchaser said. "Rarity's very dedicated to Rumble and Sweetie Belle's relationship, she loves seeing how happy he makes her sister." "Wow that's incredibly sappy," Lightning Dust said, not to the surprise of the other ponies. "Anyway we don't have to wait long, I see them coming...and two other ponies." Everypony turned around to see that Rarity and Applejack were indeed on their way over, being joined by Night Glider and Party Favor. "Hey it's our friends from the village," Double Diamond said. "There they are," Applejack said, walking over with her group. "Told ya it was this way." "Oh what a relief, I'm so tired of walking," Rarity said, sweating up a storm. "I'm gonna need a good spa day after this." "You really do need to exercise more," Applejack commented, much to Rarity's offense. "Excuse me but I have a proper daily routine that keeps me in shape, I don't need to do more than I should have to," Rarity said. "Hey it wouldn't hurt, might make yah more durable," Applejack said. "Yo! Applejack! Rarity!" Rainbow Dash called out. "We see ya!" Applejack confirmed. "Come on Rarity, pick up the pace." Rarity looked like she was about to say something but Applejack cut her off, "No, ah ain't carrying you again." "Drat," Rarity muttered as she trotted towards the group, finally reuniting all the ponies. "Finally, you're all here," Twilight said. "And it looks like you brought some extra help." "We ain't the only ones it looks like," Applejack said. "Good to see that Double Diamond, Sugar Belle, Sunburst and Lightning Dust are all here." "I'm a little surprised you're here Twilight, weren't you at Tartarus getting information?" Rarity asked. "Unless you found out what you needed to." "I did, Cozy Glow was sent to do a mission on behalf of Tirek, she's actually in Ponyville right now, and she's with Rumble," Twilight said. "Though since you have Party Favor and Night Glider with you, I take it they filled you in on the last part." "Yeah, they told us they let Rumble and Cozy Glow sleep over and that Sugar Belle and Double Diamond were taking them to the train station," Applejack said. "We were a bit concerned when Sunburst told us something about Cozy Glow being evil," Night Glider said. "So we went to find him." "Then we ran into Applejack and Rarity along the way," Party Favor said. "They told us more about Cozy Glow." "Well now that we're all here, let's get to Ponyville and whoop some ass!" Lightning Dust said. "Well we probably won't need to do that," Twilight said. "Cozy may be manipulative but she's still a filly, we really shouldn't be lining up to hurt her." "Yeah, speak for yourself," Cloudchaser said. "I'm going to tear her a new one for what she put Rumble through." "I just want to make sure Rumble's completely safe," Flitter said. "Alright, everypony huddle together then," Twilight said, readying her magic. The ponies were quick to gather around as Twilight cast her spell, teleporting everyone to Ponyville. Starlight and Spike were right at the edge of Ponyville, having halted their search for Flurry Heart once they felt some tremors from the Everfree Forest. "What do you think is happening?" Spike asked. "Cozy Glow must be behind this, she must have finally gotten to the village," Starlight said. "She must be ennacting her plan!" "Wait, if she's here, then what about Rumble?" Spike asked. "Wouldn't he be here too?" "He must be in town too...or worse, still with Cozy, she might have him tied up somewhere," Starlight said. "Probably using him as a hostage." "But one thing doesn't really add up to me," Spike said. "How could Cozy be doing damage to the tree?" Before Starlight could guess, the two felt a powerful magic surge nearby. They looked behind to see Twilight arriving with an entire group, looking a little exhausted. "Twilight!" Starlight said, rushing over to the dizzy Princess. "You alright Twilight? You look out of it." "Teleportation spell...took a lot out of me," Twilight said, trying to shake it off. "I'll be fine...just gotta relax a moment." Starlight took note of the extra ponies within Twilight's group, "While I'm not surprised to see Sunburst, I certainly didn't expect to see my old village friends here." "Even Lightning Dust is here, that's a bit surprising," Spike said. "What's so surprising about that?" Lightning Dust asked, getting in close to the now nervous dragon. "You saying I wouldn't want to help!? You think I'm incapable of helping!?" "No, it's not that!" Spike insisted, taking a big step back. "It's just that you travel a lot, so I didn't think Twilight and the others would run into you." "Well I found them, I met some mare named Tempest who found Dinky and Princess Flurry Heart wandering outside of Ponyville, she told me everything that's happened with Rumble," Lightning Dust explained. "Wait, Tempest found Dinky and Flurry!?" Spike asked. "Where are they now?" "I asked Trixie to take them back to Ponyville, they're probably in town right now," Lightning Dust said. "That was a few hours ago, so they might have gotten back just now, or at least a few minutes ago, depending on how fast Trixie was moving. She hates overexerting herself but she might feel obligated to get them home as soon as possible." "I'd like to think the latter," Starlight said. "But I'm glad Trixie has them, that means she should be in town as well." "Well since we're here, let's go and-" Rainbow Dash was interrupted by another tremor. "What is that? It's been driving me nuts for the last ten minutes or something." "Same here," Applejack said. "Getting me worried." "It's been going on for a while," Spike said. "We wanted to go see but we had to keep looking around for Flurry and Dinky." "Well now that you know they're safe, let's all go in together to find out what's happening," Rainbow Dash said, ready to fly over. "Give me a few minutes please," Twilight said, still somewhat dizzy. "You can go on ahead, I'll catch up." "I can go with you," Spike said. "I can ride on your back if you'd like." "Fine with me," Rainbow Dash said, flying to the ground and lowering herself down enough to allow Spike onto her back. "I'll come too," Lightning Dust offered. "I am kind of worried myself, if this could affect even Princess Twilight, then I gotta make sure things aren't gonna go south." "Add me to that too," Night Glider said. "The three of us are fast enough to fly over there and see what's happening, maybe put a stop to it." "Alright, let's get going then," Rainbow Dash said, flying over with the other two Pegasi. "I hope they can figure out what's happening," Twilight said, still holding her horn in pain. "Just leave it to them for now," Starlight said. "We'll catch up in a bit." "Well I'm going to check on Rumble," Flitter said, taking to the skies and flying into town. "Yo, sis, wait for me!" Cloudchaser said, following after her twin. "I should go find the little guy myself, haven't seen him in so long, gotta make sure he's ok," Thunderlane said, flying to find Rumble. Twilight gestured to the others, "Let's get to town, I wanna check on everypony." "Yes, I should tend to my darling little Sweetie Belle," Rarity said. "Let's hurry on then," Applejack said, leading the rest of the ponies into town. Outside of Sugarcube Corner, all the ponies had stepped out to see what was happening, each of them gazed in the direction of The Everfree Forest. "Should we do something?" Apple Bloom asked. "Ah mean, we can't just stand here, can we?" "What can we do? We're kind of powerless," Dinky said. "We can go smash!" Yona said. "Is that your answer to everything?" Gallus rhetorically asked. "Plus what exactly would you smash? We don't even know what's happening." "Actually we do, it's Cozy Glow, she's doing something bad," Scootaloo said, getting into a battle stance. "Let's go over there and teach that bratty filly a lesson!" "Now hold on there Scootaloo," Tender Taps said, easing his filly pegasus friend. "We don't even know how Cozy Glow is doing this, she might have some type of magical artifact." "The only magical artifact she has is that necklace one of the Sirens gave her," Sweetie Belle said. "At least that's what Shining Armor heard from Sonata." "Maybe she had more," Apple Bloom said. "Ah mean, no offense to her, but she don't seem too bright. Maybe there were things she wasn't clued in on." "Yeah, poor girl," Tender Taps said. "She's probably too innocent to really know what's going on." "Wonder where she is?" Sweetie Belle wondered. "I think she's with Sunset Shimmer," Tender Taps answered. "Hopefully both of them are safe." "Or maybe they went to see what was happening out in the forest," Dinky said. "Hopefully they can handle whatever it is," Ocellus said. "...I really hope Cozy Glow's alright," Rumble said, to the confusion of the other ponies, and especially frustrating the foals. "You can't be serious," Smolder said. "Yeah, she's probably the one doing that Rumble!" Apple Bloom said. "Actually I'm a hundred percent positive she's behind all this!" Rumble shook his head, "I just can't see it. Don't get me wrong, I know you're not trying to trick me but maybe there's been a misunderstanding? I mean, it happens a lot, doesn't it?" "Don't be so naïve Rumble, I know you thought Cozy could be your friend, we did too when she first lived here," Scootaloo said. "But the unfortunate truth is that she's not, you're just going to have to accept it." Rumble still didn't look convinced, he couldn't sense any sign of deceit within Cozy, there's no way it was that easy for her to fool all of them. "We know it hurts Rumble," Apple Bloom said, somewhat sensing Rumble's doubt. "But you still have us, and we'd never betray you." Rumble just focused on where the power distortion was, feeling a sense of doubt, and a need to find out the truth behind all this. He had to see for himself, so it a quick huff, Rumble sped off toward where echo sound was, to the surprise of the other ponies. "Rumble!" Apple Bloom called out. "Come back! It ain't safe!" "Come on Rumble, Cozy Glow isn't worth it!" Sweetie Belle angrily shouted. "That headstrong little colt!" Trixie said, then started trotting after him. "All of you stay put!" Dinky looked tempted to trot after where Rumble went, however Tender Taps brought this to attention, "Don't even think about going out there Dinky!" He then turned to the alicorn toddler, "Same with you Flurry!" Flurry, who's wings were spread, simply retracted them and sat down with an angry pout. "Want Rumble!" "Yeah I know you want Rumble but you can't just endanger yourself to find him!" Tender Taps said. "Just stay put like Trixie said to." Flurry turned her head away in annoyance, wanting to just ignore Tender Taps and fly off anyway. Dinky joined her side, patting the filly's head, "Sucks doesn't it? We'll see Rumble again soon though." "Me want Rumble," Flurry stated again, Dinky bringing her in for a side hug. "Weird, you'd think Dinky was Rumble's marefriend, she seems much more concerned than Sweetie Belle," Gallus said, much to Sweetie Belle's annoyance. "Don't say stupid things like that!" Sweetie Belle warned. "I am worried about Rumble, I just know better than to do something dangerous, I don't want to be a liability for Rumble." "She's not wrong," Terramar said. "If she went out there, it would just give Rumble more to worry about, same with Dinky and Princess Flurry Heart." "Thank you Terramar," Sweetie Belle said. "By not worrying Rumble with my safety, he can do what he needs to do on his own. Of course I'd rather he be here where it's safe, and NOT risk his life for some little skank, but I'm sure Trixie will bring him back safely, or Sunset Shimmer." "Trixie ah doubt," Apple Bloom said. "Sunset Shimmer, possibly, if she sees Rumble in time." "What's this about Rumble?" they heard Twilight said. Everypony turned around to see Twilight approaching with Starlight, Sunburst, Sugar Belle, Double Diamond, Party Favor and the Pegasus Trio. "Twilight! You're back!" Tender Taps said, running in to hug the Princess of Friendship. "I'm so happy you're safe." "Of course I am, this Princess knows what she's doing," Twilight said, returning the hug. "Somepony's confident in herself," Sandbar pointed out. "She has reason to be, she's Twilight," Tender Taps boasted. "She can do anything she sets her mind to." "Well that can apply to anyone," Twilight said, blushing slightly at Tender Taps's compliment, then broke the hug. "Anyway what's this about Rumble? Is he here? Did anypony see him?" "Tell me he's safe!" Flitter said. "He was here, he seemed perfectly fine," Apple Bloom said. "Then he went to go check out what was happening in the Everfree Forest." "Trixie went to go find him, though she's probably not gonna reach him in time," Gallus bluntly stated, much to everypony's annoyance. "Well Rainbow Dash just flew over there with Spike, Lightning Dust and Night Glider," Twilight said. "Though I am a bit disappointed that he would do something so foolish." "Ooh, he is so grounded!" Flitter said, angrily clenching her fist, if she had one at least. "Um, I don't think you have that authority," Thunderlane said, then received a deadly glare from his friend. causing him to take a step back. "But then again, what would I know? "Rumble was really worried about Cozy Glow," Apple Bloom said. "He doesn't believe that she's evil, he keeps insisting that she's too nice to be a villain." "He even said she got really 'chummy with him," Sweetie Belle said, a hint of venom in her voice. "That honestly doesn't surprise me, it's not something anypony would believe without seeing it for themselves," Twilight said. "Still, this just means that she's manipulating him like she's done to everypony else. We have to get him to realize she's not as nice as she seems, otherwise she might use his naivety to her advantage." "Let's go after her then, if Rumble's that was then that's where I want to go!" Cloudchaser said. "Twilight, are you able to?" Starlight asked. "You did just use up a lot of magic." "I'm fine, don't worry about me," Twilight said. "I'm not gonna be able to teleport all of us just yet though, so we're gonna have to move on hoof." "Will you be able to fight if you have to?" Thunderlane asked. "Well, I doubt I'll have to fight since it's only Cozy, but I'm still prepared," Twilight said, rubbing her horn slightly. "Shouldn't be tough." "Twilight..." Tender Taps said, looking up at the Princess, almost sensing some doubt in her voice. "Don't worry Tappy," Twilight said, rubbing his mane. "I'll finish this quick, then I can make time for you." "Alright...please come back safely," Tender Taps said. He then leaned up to kiss her cheek, much to her surprise. "For good luck." "You're so precious," Twilight said, extending her wings. "Sugar Belle, Double Diamond, Party Favor, you three stay here and keep an eye on the foals and students, everypony else, follow me!" Twilight had led her team to finding Cozy Glow, more than ready to put that filly in her place. Tender Taps looked on in worry as the mare of his dreams went on to save the day again. "Ha, you have a crush on Princess Twilight," Gallus teased. "Yeah, so what?" Tender Taps said, with a hint of an attitude. "At least she likes me back, somewhat." "Wow, you actually admitted your crush," Dinky said. "Good for you Tender Taps. Keep this up, maybe Flurry here will call you Uncle Tappy." Tender Taps took notice of Flurry, "Huh...that's one thing I never thought about." He knelt down to look Flurry in the eyes. "Would you ever call me that?" "Tappy," Flurry said, smiling at the colt. "It's cute when you call me that," Tender Taps said, then kissed her nose, making her giggle. "You believe in your Auntie Twilight, don't you?" "Uh-huh," Flurry answered. "Good, me too," Tender Taps said, looking back toward the forest. "Go kick some flank Twilight!" In the forest at The Tree of Harmony, Cozy is still attempting to pry one of the elements off the tree as Sonata damaged it. "Keep at it! I almost got it off!" Cozy said. "You're wasting your time!" Sunset called out. "Even if you get the Elements off, you still won't be able to properly utilize them!" "Be quiet!" Sonata said, then blasted Sunset again. "Don't distract us!" "Great work Sonata!" Cozy said, finally prying an element off the tree. "Just in time, I have the most fitting Element for you." She flew over and placed it against Sonata's neck. "As The Element of Magic and the soon to be New Princess of Friendship, I hereby bestow upon you The Element of Loyalty!" The Element took the form of a necklace as it was firmly placed around Sonata's neck. "Wow, thanks, it looks great!" Sonata said, checking out her new Element. "So pretty too, and totally my style!" "Well it suits you Sonata, you're a very Loyal friend, can't imagine anypony else having it," Cozy said. "Besides me?" They heard Rainbow Dash said, seeing the mare fly in with Spike on her back, Lightning Dust on one side and Night Glider on the other." "Oh it's you, wow perfect timing," Cozy Glow said, somewhat rolling her eyes. "I don't know what you think you're doing," Rainbow Dash said, trotting over to the duo as Spike got off. "But I think you have something that's mine, and my friend's." "We just wanted to borrow it for a bit, don't friends share?" Cozy Glow asked, putting on a fake innocent act. "Save it kid, we know what you're planning," Lightning Dust said. "So don't try the sweet and innocent act with us!" "That goes for you too Sonata," Spike said. "Some friend you turned out to be, after Twilight was so nice to you." "I did what I had to do, you'd do the same if it was for Twilight or her friends," Sonata said. "Don't try to justify it, you're both just manipulative ponies, taking advantage of other ponies' good nature!" Spike said. "Couldn't have said i better myself Spike," Night Glider said. "I can't believe you would do this Cozy Glow, to think my friends actually took pity on you! We gave you a place to sleep when you needed one, if we only knew who you really were!" "If you did, then things would have ended really badly for you," Cozy Glow said. "I always plan ahead." "Well your plans are over," Rainbow Dash said, getting into a battle stance with her friends. "We're taking you down! You and your friend!" "Not happening," Cozy Glow said, getting into a stance of her own alongside Sonata. "You really wanna do this?" Lightning Dust asked. "You're outnumbered four to two, and one of you is a pint sized filly, you have no chance against us." "Strength isn't just in numbers," Cozy Glow ominously warned. Sonata in a quick blur, had sped over and knocked Night Glider away, then used her Siren mouth blast to knock her opponent to a tree. "Night Glider!" Spike shouted in worry, then turned to Sonata and started breathing fire in her direction. Cozy Glow flew in to ram her head into Spike's face and allowed Sonata to blast Spike against the Tree of Harmony. Rainbow Dash went for a punch but Sonata had side stepped and rammed into the Wonderbolt Pegasus. Lightning Dust was about to lend the assist but Cozy Glow had snuck up and placed her hooves over the mare's eyes, "Guess who!?" "Hey! Let go you little brat!" Lighting Dust said, punching around and trying to land a hit on Cozy Glow. "I'm warning you, I'm not afraid to hit a filly!" "Too bad you won't be able to!" Cozy Glow said, leading Lightning Dust into Rainbow Dash and Sonata's fight. Rainbow Dash flew in for a kick just as Lightning Dust stumbled in front. While the mare managed to toss Cozy away, she was unable to dodge her ally's oncoming kick and took one straight to the head. "Ow! Dammit!" Lightning Dust said, rubbing her sore spot. "Watch where you're kicking Rainbow Dash!" "Stay out of the way then!" Rainbow Dash said, then got blasted by Sonata's attack. Sonata then turned to Lighting Dust and attempted to ram her, though the mare was too fast, and was able to sidestep and kick Sonata's head. "Ha! Way below my league!" "I wouldn't be so sure," Cozy Glow teased. "You're next!" Lightning Dust flew in for a punch to Cozy, but she flew up just in time for the brash mare to accidentally strike Rainbow Dash in the face. "Ah! What gives!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, tending to her jaw. "Now who's in who's way?" Lightning Dust taunted. "Hey!" Rainbow Dash got in Lightning Dust's face. "I'd watch your attitude if I were you!" "You're the one not aware of your surroundings!" Lightning Dust shouted. "Neither are you! That's why you got kicked out of The Wonderbolts! Because you HAD to make a tornado that nearly demolished my friends!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Ugh, that was so long ago! For a pony of Friendship you really know how to hold a grudge!" Lightning Dust shouted. "Hey! Stop fighting!" Spike said, making his way back over. "Stay out of it!" Both mares shouted, before glaring at each other again. Things were getting pretty tense between the two, though suddenly they started to feel weaker, and a little dizzy as well. Unbeknownst to them, Sonata had been draining their energy, having the perfect opportunity during their argument. "Wow, it didn't take long to get them to turn on each other," Cozy said. "I did hear that Rainbow Dash had a rivalry with one of the Wash Outs, looks like it was really intense." "Works for me, so much negative energy," Sonata said, then blasted the two mares. "I feel so much stronger." Night Glider then flew in to attack, trying to take Sonata by surprise, but the Siren was quick to sidestep and blasted Night Glider again. Spike also tried attacking with fire, however Sonata buck kicked him in the face, then blasted him too. "Stronger and faster," Cozy Glow said. "Impressive." "Thanks, now let's finish up," Sonata said, then focused back on the tree, trying to blast more of the element shards off. Not too far off, Rumble had gotten closer, trying to follow where the echoes were coming from. He really hoped that Cozy Glow would be alright when he found her. As he got closer to the echoes, he saw that it was near a giant chasm. "There it is," Rumble said, flying toward the edge of the cliff. As he neared it he took a peak down and noticed something interesting, "Is that Cozy down there, with one of the sirens?" He then saw that Sonata attacking the Tree of Harmony, and that is what was causing the echoes. "What are they...?" Sonata continued relentlessly attacking tree as Cozy flew over to pry off the rest of the Elements. There was much more power this time around due to Sonata having absorbed the negative energy from Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust. "Keep going Sonata, we almost got it!" Cozy Glow said, pulling off more of the Elements. "Can't wait to see how surprised Adagio will be when we actually pull this off, maybe she'll show us a bit more respect," Sonata said, then attacked the tree some more. "Well after today, maybe I'll be the new leader of our alliance, even Tirek and Chrysalis will have to treat me like a true Princess," Cozy Glow said, prying off the last of the elements. "Good, that's all of them." "I gotta say, you really came up with a great plan Cozy Glow," Sonata said. "Aw, well you did a great job yourself, pretending to be Twilight's friend, then pulling this last minute betrayal, we really make a great team," Cozy Glow said. "Yeah, we're so sneaky aren't we?" Sonata said, going to help Cozy Glow gather the Elements. "Alright, we just gotta get these to Tartarus so we can free Adagio, Aria, Chrysalis and Tirek." "Right, that might be tricky, but I think we can pull it off, I just gotta sneak out of town," Cozy Glow said. "Well maybe we can get some help," Sonata said. "Oh, I know, what about Rumble?" "What about me!?" they heard Rumble say, the two mares turning to see a very angry colt with a look of hurt in his eyes. "R-rumble!?" Cozy Glow said. "You're here? I thought you went to go find Flitter? Um, I mean, it's not what it loos like!" "Save it! I heard your whole plan!" Rumble shouted, angrily stepping forward. "You're gonna use those Elements to free Chrysalis, Tirek and those other Sirens from Tartarus!" "Um, well..." Cozy Glow struggled to find an explanation, but she really couldn't come up with anything. "I can't believe you would do this, I came here because I was worried about you! I thought you might be in danger!" Rumble said. "This whole time I thought you were just a scared filly trying to find help, but that was all a lie!" "Rumble, please, let me explain," Cozy Glow pleaded. "There's nothing to explain!" Rumble said, trying to maintain himself, but slowly losing some composure. "You tricked me, the worst part is, I honestly believed you were a good filly, I thought you were my friend!" Rumble started to tear up, "Even when the others said you were evil, I never believed it! I just met with The Crusaders, they along with everypony else kept telling me how bad you were, and stupidly I didn't believe them! I thought if anything you were under a spell, but you're not! And don't try to say that your friend there is tricking you, I overheard everything, this was YOUR plan!" Cozy Glow was getting nervous, Rumble was not happy, he was fuming, he was clearly angry and hurt from this revelation. She couldn't help but feel some degree of guilt, this was different than the reactions she got from Twilight, the other Elements, the Cutie Mark Crusaders or anypony else for that matter, not even The Student Six. She actually really hurt somepony, one that could have genuinely been her friend. "Rumble, I swear I didn't want you finding out like this," Cozy Glow said, regret in her eyes. "And I swear I never meant to hurt you!" "Well you did a lousy job," Rumble said, wiping the tears from his eyes. "I really cared about you Cozy Glow, just last night I let you cuddle with me, just this morning I let you embrace me, and honestly, I kind of liked it. I liked how close we were, I thought you and I could have been great friends. Honestly, the idea of having a Pegasus friend that can fly with me was something I really looked forward too!" "Rumble, it's not too late for that!" Cozy Glow said, cautiously trotting over. "We can still be friends. Believe it or not, I really like you too. We can still be friends, we can be more than that." She gently stroked his cheek, "Rumble, I think I can really fall in love with you, you're just so perfect. You're very handsome, you have a soothing voice, your hugs are warm and you're very brave." Cozy leaned in close, talking into his ear, "Join our team Rumble, we can rule over Equestria as a couple. You don't need Sweetie Belle, or anypony else for that matter, I'm all you need." Rumble simply pulled her hoof away, taking a step back. "You want me to betray my friends and family? Are you serious!? Cozy, I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to carry out your plan, I'm taking you both down." "Rumble be reasonable," Sonata said. "Last time you tried doing this by yourself, you got overpowered. Now I'm not like Adagio, I don't take pleasure in hurting others, at least not foals. But if you try to get in our way, I will have to take action. So for your own safety, just fly home and pretend like you saw nothing, you have nothing to prove by fighting us." Rumble considered his current options, while he knew he can't just give up, Sonata had a point about his strength. He lost to Adagio very easily last time, and it looks like Sonata at least defeated various ponies, all of whom are stronger than he is. He did however notice that Sunset Shimmer was stirring awake, suddenly giving him an idea. "I hate to do this," Rumble said, turning his head away. "But fine, have it your way. You two are the ones making a mistake though, you could have had real Friendship." "Rumble, I know you probably think Cozy's terrible, and that betraying Twilight's kindness," Sonata said. "But there are some things I can't give up, like Cozy I do have some regrets because many of the ponies were really nice to me, but I can't abandon my family." Sonata then began to walk off, "Think about this, the reason you refuse to join us and betray the ones you love is no different than my reason to stay loyal to the ones I love. We're not so different when you think about it." She turned back to face Rumble. "I can't promise your friends or family won't suffer the wrath of when Adagio, Chrysalis and Tirek take over, but as long as Cozy Glow loves you, then you too will be spared." Sonata quickly trotted off, with Cozy Glow not that far behind, getting one last glance at the pony she had just betrayed. How she wishes she could still be with him, she'll figure something out though. Once the two mares left, Rumble quickly made his way over to Sunset Shimmer and began untying her, "I'll get you free." "Glad you're here," Sunset said. "I can't believe this happened, I never should have trusted Sonata." "You're not the only one with regrets right now," Rumble said, loosening the rope. "That Cozy Glow..." "Yeah you two were traveling together all day yesterday and today," Sunset said. "I bumped into her at Mount Aris, I offered to help her, I wanted her to feel safe and secure, I wanted to bring her to Ponyville, all because I thought I was doing something good, trying to make a new friend, trying to act like a true Wondebolt would, how a Knight would, how any hero would, and it blew up in my face!" Rumble said, angrily breaking the rope. "I know it must be tough, you thought you were friends after all," Sunset said. "She told me so, she looked me in the eye and told me, I believed her when she told me that," Rumble said, fully untying Sunset. "Then the others told me she was evil, and I didn't listen. I choose the word of a stranger I hoped to befriend over the friends I already had!" "Don't blame yourself Rumble," Sunset said, rubbing Rumble's mane. "No one can fault you for trying to see the good in another. The only one to blame right now is Cozy Glow for putting you through this." Rumble wiped away some more tears, "I almost wish I never met her now, if I hadn't, at least I'd have already been home with my family, my friends, and my marefriend." "Well, you're here now," Sunset said, pulling Rumble into a hug. "We're not gonna let you get hurt again Rumble." "That's kind of you Sunset Shimmer, thank you," Rumble said, returning the hug. "Huh, I actually comforted somepony," Sunset muttered to herself. "Guess I really am coming along myself." "Did you say something?" Rumble asked, looking up at the mare. "Oh nothing, just thinking out loud," Sunset replied. "Come on, I gotta get you out of this forest, then I'm going after Cozy Glow." "Don't forget about us," Rainbow Dash said, struggling to get up. "Damn, why do I feel so light headed? Last thing I remember was fighting that siren, and Lightning Dust constantly getting in my way." "Think you got the last part mixed up," Lightning Dust said. "You got in my way. Now I feel like I had some life sucked out of me." "Sonata probably absorbed some of your negative energy," Sunset said. "I'm guessing when you two had a disagreement, the negative emotions that came from that was enough for Sonata to feed off of, thus giving her some extra power." "Yeah well..." Rainbow Dash then noticed a certain extra pony. "Rumble!" She flew in to hug the foal, "So happy to see you little guy!" "Yeah, hi Rainbow Dash," Rumble said, then felt another hug, this one from Spike. "Glad you're alright Rumble, everypony was so worried about you," Spike said. "Yeah, I'm..." Rumble stopped when he noticed something different about Spike. "You have wings!?" "Oh yeah," Spike said, flapping them. "I got them not too long ago, went through quite the change too, basically dragon puberty." "Sounds rough," Rumble said. "Weird, feels like I went through it before you, and you're older than I am." "Well Dragons age differently than ponies," Spike said. "I'm still technically a Baby Dragon even though I'm older than you are." "Can't believe Sweetie Belle never told me," Rumble said, then angrily muttered. "Wish she gave us more information about things." "Anyway kid, I'm happy to see you. It's been so many months, how was the Flight School!?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It was fine, I guess," Rumble said, obviously not feeling too enthusiastic, still feeling bitter. "You guess? Did something happen?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Um, I hate to interrupt," Sunset interjected. "But we should focus on catching up to Cozy Glow and Sonata right now." She then gently stroked Rumble's head, "Plus Rumble's not feeling to great, he did just find out that Cozy Glow was evil and he's feeling a little betrayed." "Sucks feeling betrayed by a friend, doesn't it kid?" Lightning Dust said. "When you think they got your back, when you trust them as your wing pony, then they sell you out." "Alright, I know you're talking about me," Rainbow Dash. "For somepony who says she's over it, you sure like bringing it up." "Pardon me for wanting him to feel like he has somepony to relate to," Lightning Dust said. "For the record, I did get over it, but that doesn't mean I can't still feel a little hurt by it. I just turned that into motivation and founded The Wash Outs, so Rumble can take his hurt and use it to motivate himself." "Not a bad lesson actually, I learned that the hard way," Sunset said, then turned to the foal beside her. "Rumble, no matter how mad you are or how hurt you feel, never change who you are, and never turn into a monster, both literally and figuratively." Rumble looked a bit concerned, "Is there something you wanna talk about Sunset Shimmer?" "Another time, now let's go get Cozy Glow," Sunset said, running in the direction she had run. "Come on little guy," Night Glider said. "We gotta get you to safety, maybe some closure too." "Don't worry, Cozy Glow's betrayal won't go unpunished," Spike said. With that, the four Pegasus ponies and sole dragon flew off, beginning their trip out of the Everfree Forest. The two traitorous ponies of Sonata and Cozy had just gotten out, having avoided all the monsters within, not too much trouble for Sonata but still a bit scary for Cozy Glow. "I hate Timberwolves," Cozy Glow said. "Well they were pretty weak," Sonata said. "That and I'm a lot stronger, thanks to the negative energy I absorbed, plus this Element shard makes me feel stronger too." "We should move quickly though, I don't think that negative energy is gonna last too long and you don't want to have to fight Princess Twilight," Cozy Glow said. "Well not yet at least." "You mentioned me?" They heard Twilight said, then turned to see that she was angrily standing there along with Starlight, Thunderlane, Flitter, Cloudchaser, Applejack, Rarity, Trixie, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. "Oh darn it," Cozy Glow said. "So you're the filly that's been causing trouble for Rumble," Cloudchaser said, looking ready for a fight. Twilight stepped forward to face the two, "Cozy, how did you get out of Tartarus?" "Um...the guard let me out after I asked him, weally, weally nicely," Cozy Glow said, trying to put on a cute act. "Uh-huh, likely story," Twilight said. "Honestly that's not the part I'm unhappy about, the I'm not happy that you exploited Rumble's kindness and generosity, Flitter's too. You manipulated and deceived them just like you manipulated and deceived everypony else!" "Hey it wasn't anything personal, not like I intentionally sought them out, they offered to help and I accepted it," Cozy said. "Well I didn't expect you to be evil!" Flitter said. "I'm very disappointed in you Cozy Glow, I thought you were our friend! When I heard you had no family, I was set on adopting you! You broke my heart Cozy Glow! And I'm sure this is gonna break Rumble's too." "Kind of late for that," Cozy Glow sheepishly admitted. "Well we're sending you right back to Tartarus where you belong," Cloudchaser said. "And while we're at it, we'll return those Element things back where they belong too." Sonata stood in front of Cozy Glow, "You're going to stay away from her. If there's one thing I can't stand is anypony bullying a foal! Why you even sent her to Tartarus in the first place is beyond me!" "Don't get me started on you, Sonata Dusk!" Twilight said. "I gave you a second chance, I gave you freedom from Tartarus out of pity, and this..." Twilight gestured with her hoof to the two, mainly at their stolen elements. "This is what you do!? I honestly felt sorry for you, but I guess that was just one big act, wasn't it!?" "Not entirely," Sonata said. "What happened in Tartarus wasn't an act, Adagio really meant what she said. But that's exactly why I did this, I had to prove to her that I'm worthy of being one of her friends, that I'm worthy of being her family!" "That's even more foolish, why would you want to please somepony that treats you like garbage!?" Twilight asked. "If your brother said something mean to you, if he thought you were worthless, would you just decide to betray him!? Or would you do anything you could to prove yourself to him!?" Sonata asked. "I shouldn't have to prove anything to my brother, and he shouldn't have to prove anything to me!" Twilight said. "We love each other regardless of our faults! If your fellow sirens really cared about you, then they wouldn't make you feel like you'd have to pull a stunt like this to get in their good graces! You could have had real friends! We would have been your friends!" "Look you just don't get me, nor do you get my friends," Sonata said. "So do us a favor, and stay out of our way, otherwise you're gonna get hurt!" "Oh no, I'm not going anywhere!" Flitter said, angrily stomping forward. "I'm gonna put both of you in your place myself!" "Flitter, hold on," Twilight said, though Flitter was already flying at Sonata, the siren quick to block a punch. "When I'm done with you, I'm gonna teach Cozy a lesson myself," Flitter said. "She could use a little tough love!" "Heh, you seem pretty angry right now," Sonata said, just as Flitter was getting weaker and dizzy. "I think you overexerted yourself though." Flitter collapsed to the ground, nearly drained of energy, much to her sister's worry. "Flitter!" Cloudchaser glared at Sonata, "Alright, wanna see love for family!? I'll beat it into you!" Cloudchaser also flew in but Sonata had grabbed her, quickly draining some of her negative energy too, "Listen, girls, I don't wanna hurt you, really. But I do want you to hurt somepony else." "Hey! What are you doing to my friends!" Thunderlane asked, getting really frustrated and angry. "Easy there Thunderlane, be smart about this," Twilight said. "We have to keep our distance for the moment." "Let's just blast her with our Unicorn magic," Trixie said. "She can't get past all of us!" "I know you wouldn't hesitate to hurt me or Cozy," Sonata said, just as Flitter and Cloudchaser stood up, glaring at the other ponies. "But would you hurt them?" "Flitter! Cloudchaser!" Thunderlane said, about to step forward. "Thunderlane wait up!" Twilight warned, but the moment Thunderlane got in too close, he started acting strangely as well, first losing some energy, then turning to the other ponies with the same glare in his eyes. "Twilight, what's happening!?" Trixie asked. "She must have mind controlled them!" Twilight said. "She's manipulating their emotions using actual magic!" "Hold them off for me," Sonata said, getting Cozy on her back. "Hold on tight Cozy." As Flitter and Cloudchaser flew at Twilight and her friends, Sonata zipped past and through them, using her speed to her advantage after relishing in more negative energy. "They're getting away!" Twilight said, turning around to give chase. However Thunderlane her gotten in her way, though Starlight had restrained him. "We'll try to round them up, go after Sonata and Cozy Glow!" Starlight said. Twilight nodded and flew to find the two evil ponies just as everypony else attempted to restrain the three mind controlled Pegusai. Back near Sugarcube Corner, all the foals were still gathered together with the Village Four keeping a close eye on them. "Say Apple Bloom, after this is said and done, would you mind if I go see your brother?" Sugar Belle asked, getting a jealous reaction from Party Favor. "Sure, mah brother would be happy to see y'all," Apple Bloom said, then focused on the mare. "So...how long before ah get to call ya big sister?" Sugar Belle blushed upon hearing that, "Oh, um...well..." "Let's not rush things," Party Favor interjected. "That's quite a commitment after all." "Yeah, let's go with that for now," Sugar Belle said, trying to hide her blush. Double Diamond felt relieved that unlike Party Favor, he doesn't really have a strong rival when it comes to mares, not yet at least. "I hope Trixie caught up to Rumble," Sweetie Belle said, rubbing her head. "Can't believe he just ran off like that, right after coming back too! This is really giving me a big headache." "Every strong pony is going that way," Tender Taps said. "I don't think we have much to worry about." "Hey I think I see somepony," Scootaloo said, gesturing to the distance. "Whoever they are, they're pretty fast!" Approaching from the distance was Sonata, with Cozy Glow on her back. The little filly could see the foals from the distance, particularly one that could be really beneficial to her. "Slow down, I have an idea," Cozy Glow said. "Get me close to that colt with the purple mane." "What for?" Sonata asked. "Explain in a minute, just be ready for carry extra weight," Cozy said. Scootaloo gazed into the distance, "Wait, that looks like Sonata, and is that Cozy Glow on her back?" "Did Sonata find Cozy Glow fer us!?" Apple Bloom asked. "Wow, it looks like she really-" Tender Taps was then grabbed the moment Sonata passed by the group, brought into the air by the quick little filly Pegasus "What the?" "Hey there handsome," Cozy said, then was dropped Tender Taps on the Siren's back. "Tender Taps!?" Sweetie Belle said, noticing that he had just been grabbed. "Hi Crusaders, it's been a while!" Cozy said, landing on Sonata's back. "Sweetie Belle, gotta say, you're coltfriend, very good kisser." "Wait, what!?" Sweetie Belle said. "What are you talking about!?" "Hi Flurry!" Sonata said, waving at the confused filly. "Hey! Put him down!" Sugar Belle said, attempting to zap the siren. "Go Sonata!" Cozy ordered, Sonata rushing out of the village. "What the..." Apple Bloom tried running after them. "You lousy varmints, come back with mah friend!" "We gotta go after them!" Sugar Belle ordered, charging up her horn as she started zapping in Sonata's direction, with Party Favor doing the same, the two along with Double Diamond pursuing Sonata. "Did...did Sonata just foalnap Tender Taps?" Dinky asked. "With help from...Cozy Glow?" Scootaloo asked. "Sonata betrayed us!" Apple Bloom said. "Ah can't believe her!" "Why would Cozy Glow call Rumble a good kisser?" Sweetie Belle pondered. "Would he really..." As they pondered the situation, Twilight had finally made her way over to the foals, "Quick, did Sonata come through here!?" "Yes, she did," Apple Bloom said, then gestured in the direction she ran. "Ah saw her with Cozy Glow, are they working together!?" "Yes, unfortunately Sonata had betrayed us, what a shame," Twilight said. "Don't worry, I'll catch up to them soon. Hopefully we can end this quickly." "Are you gonna beat them up or something?" Smolder asked. "Can we help?" "Let's not resort to violence, I want to find a pacifistic way of ending this," Twilight said. "Really? Even though they betrayed us, deceived Rumble and nabbed away Tender Taps?" Apple Bloom asked, somewhat emphasizing the last part. "I know that they..." It took Twilight a second to register what Apple Bloom had said. "Pardon me?" "They took Tender Taps," Apple Bloom repeated. "Sonata and Cozy ran by and him a moment ago." Twilight's eye twitched slightly, "They...did...WHAT!?" Suddenly Twilight had essentially burst into flame, her eyes turning a demonic red as she let out a massive growl that frightened everyone. "Has...she ever been this mad before?" Sandbar asked Sweetie Belle. "My sister said she has," Sweetie Belle said. Twilight flew off in a fury, ready to wreak havoc on the ones who dared put her precious Tappy in danger. "Remind me to never forget about turning in my assignments," Gallus said to his classmates. In the distance, Sonata is still running, trying to put as much distance as she can between the town and herself. "Gonna slow down a bit, don't want to exert all my energy," Sonata said. "Good idea, besides I think we're far away enough," Cozy Glow said. "Soon we'll be able to fully unleash our plan, can't believe how close we are!" "We're so smart, maybe Tirek will reward us when he takes over!" Sonata said. "He's my best buddy, of course he'll reward us," Cozy said. "We just gotta keep going, we'll bust out Adagio, Aria, Chrysalis and Tirek, then Equestria will be all ours!" "Um, excuse me?" Tender Taps said, getting the attention of the two mares. "But what gives!? Why'd you grab me!?" "Oh, yeah, we should probably explain," Cozy Glow said. "See, you're gonna be our hostage. That way if Twilight or anypony comes, then we can use you for a mental advantage." Tender Taps stared in disbelief, "Are you kidding me!?" "Noperuni, I'm totally serious," Cozy said. Tender Taps couldn't believe what he was hearing, this filly was nuts. "You're crazy, I'm going back home." "Well golly, that might be a problem," Cozy said. "See if you try to leave, then we're gonna have to hurt you." That explanation seemed to disturb Tender Taps, but it also concerned Sonata very much. "Um, Cozy, I don't want to hurt a foal." "You won't have to, I'll beat him up myself," Cozy said. "Excuse me, what makes you think you can beat me up?" Tender Taps asked, then received a punch across his face, courtesy of Cozy Glow, knocking him off Sonata. "That answer your question?" Cozy Glow said, hopping off Sonata and stomping on Tender Taps, preventing him from getting up. "Like I said, if you try escaping, I'm going to hurt you. Now be a good little colt and do as I say!" "You think Twilight's gonna be ok with this!?" Tender Taps asked, his eye throbbing from the pain. "She's gonna catch up to you eventually, then you're gonna lose!" "Oh be quiet," Cozy said, picking Tender Taps up and dropping him on Sonata's back. "Come on, let's keep going Sonata." "Hey, is there any reason you choose this colt? Or what it random?" Sonata asked. "Oh there's plenty of reasoning behind it," Cozy said. "For starters, this colt is Twilight's favorite foal, she really seems to like him. She even has a picture of him in her office with a heart drawn around it." "Aw, that's adorable," Sonata said. "Yeah, it is," Cozy said, leaning over to Tender Taps. "You must be so precious to her." "Well she's precious to me," Tender Taps said. "And when she finds you, I'll get to happily watch her pound the snot out of you." "Please, by the time she finds us..." Cozy noticed an incoming pony from the distance, to her surprise it looked like Twilight, and she was furious. "Give me back my TAPPY!" Twilight shouted, sending a strong beam blast, hitting the ground right next to Sonata, causing her to drop both foals. While Cozy Glow hit the ground, Twilight was quick to grab Tender Taps in her hooves from mid-air. "I got you Tappy!" "Oh thank goodness," Tender Taps said, nuzzling the Princess. "I knew you'd come." "Of course I..." Twilight took a moment to observe his face. "You're hurt!?" "Yeah, Cozy's got a really strong punch," Tender Taps said, holding his eye. "But I'm fine, it should stop throbbing eventually." Twilight was ticked off now, those mares had the nerve to hurt her precious little colt. She gently placed him down and turned her attention the two mares, who were recovering from the blast that Twilight sent their way. "Hey! What's the big idea!?" Cozy asked, glaring right at Twilight, before immediately faltering. This mare looked furious, she could see a violent look in her eyes. She was ready to hurt them, really badly too. Cozy did what she did best, try to act cute. "Golly Princess Twilight, you wouldn't hurt a sweet little-" Twilight just grabbed Cozy in magic, spinning her around in the air and tossing her miles away. She was not in the mood for Cozy's bogus cuteness. She turned her attention once more to Sonata. "Did you just seriously do that to a foal!?" Sonata asked. "At least I have the decency not to hurt someone that young!" "Great, you have some degree of decency, too bad you couldn't use that to NOT turn evil again," Twilight said. "I don't get you, I mean, all I did was stay Loyal to my friends," Sonata said, gesturing to the Element around her neck. "Isn't that what this Symbolizes? One of the Six Elements of Harmony!?" Sonata angrily stepped forward. "I did this because I love them! They're my family! I can't turn my back on my family! I mean, look, I really, REALLY appreciate you taking pity on me, and you may not believe me when I tell you this, but I really hoped we could have been friends, I even considered just staying with you! But I can't just leave Adagio and Aria back in Tartarus, we've been through too much together!" Sonata got closer until she stopped, right in front of Twilight. "Pass judgement on me all you want Twilight Sparkle, but I don't regret this. My friends may not be perfect, but I still care about them despite their imperfections, that, in my opinion, is the true test of Friendship, that is the true Magic that Friendship has to offer! If you can't undetstand that, then maybe you don't deserve to be The Princess of Friendship! Maybe Cozy Glow should be, because she understands it so much better than you do, and-" Twilight had enough and just blasted Sonata in the face, as the Siren tried to recover, Twilight lifted her up with Magic and slammed her down a few times, then as she kept her in mid-air, flew overhead and blasted Sonata down to the ground, landing right beside her. "Sonata, I perfectly understand your reasoning," Twilight said. "But that doesn't excuse your actions, I'm sorry, but I have to send you back to Tartarus." "Pfft, like I care," Sonata said, coughing a bit. "At least I'll get to be with my friends." "It's a shame really," Twilight said. "I genuinely believe you can be a good pony, and I guess I can't blame you for wanting to be loyal to your friends, I just with your friends were better ponies, or that you at least could see that they're not worth protecting." Twilight cast one final look at Sonata, "Once you realize that, I'll happily accept you back into my circle of friends, though this time, you'll have to work to earn our trust however." "Twiley!" Shining Armor was heard saying, making his way over with Derpy and Cadance. "There you are, I was wondering where you've been," Twilight said. "Sorry, we've been running around a lot," Shining Armor said. "We just met up with Derpy and she told us that Flurry was safe, thank goodness too. I don't know what we would have done if she got lost for good." "Wait, you lost track of Flurry before!?" Sonata asked. "You're such lousy parents!" Shining Armor glared at Sonata, "You be quiet!" "Hey wait, that's Sonata Dusk," Cadance said. "What's she doing here?" "She, unfortunately decided to betray us," Twilight said. "I had my reasons!" Sonata argued. "I knew it was a bad idea to trust her," Shining Armor said. "But what about Cozy Glow?" "I don't know, I may have lost my temper and tossed her away with my magic," Twilight said. "It was amazing," Tender Taps said, making his way over. "Twilight's super strong." "All for you my sweet little Tappy," Twilight said, nuzzling Tender Taps. "We should get some ice for your eye." "I can handle that," Derpy said. "You should find Cozy Glow." "Yeah, good idea," Twilight said, using her magic to levitate Tender Taps onto Derpy's back. "Please be careful out there." "Well all that's left to worry about is Cozy Glow, and she's not that threatening," Derpy said, then flew off with Tender Taps. "You really like that colt," Shining Armor said. "What's so special about him?" "Oh, he has a crush on me, it's really adorable and I like humoring him," Twilight said. "Plus I kind of like him too, and he's getting older so maybe..." "Twiley, I love you, but that's a bit weird," Shining Armor said. "Oh what's so weird about potentially grooming the perfect coltfriend?" Twilight said. "I'm not in any rush anyway, might as well make sure the day I'm ready I have a decent stallion waiting for me." Twilight gestured to her brother and sister-in-law, "Talk about this later, help me find Cozy Glow." Shining Armor and Cadance shrugged it off and followed after Twilight. In the distance, Cozy Glow had landed hard on the ground, nursing some owies after landing. "Stupid Twilight, I'll get her for this!" She stood up, looking around, "Did I land near Ponyville? I should move before-" "Before what!?" Again, she had heard Rumble's voice, she turned around to face him. "I'm not letting you go anywhere!" "Rumble, let's not do-" Cozy was interrupted with a punch to her face. "Did...did you just PUNCH ME!?" "That's for tricking me! And this is for endangering my friends!" Rumble flew in again to throw another punch, landing on the other cheek of Cozy. "That's it!" Cozy said, returning the punch, this one to Rumble, "You have some nerve! Hitting a cute pony like me in my adorable little face!" Rumble rubbed his face and then flew in and hit Cozy with an uppercut. She followed up with a stroke strike to his face. The two took turns punching each other, leaving each other with black eyes, bruises and scratches. "Is this really what you wanted Cozy Glow!?" Rumble asked, throwing a punch. "To throw away all the Friendship you've received!?" "No! Of course not!" Cozy Glow insisted, punching back harder. "I'm just trying to make it better!" "Well you threw away mine!" Rumble said, hitting Cozy hard. "I cared about you, and I thought you cared about me!" "I do!" Cozy said, hitting him hard. "I do care about you Rumble! I care a lot!" She punched again, "You moron, I want you to be my friend, I want more than that! You mean a lot to me Rumble!" "Pfft, yeah right, prove it," Rumble said. "Fine, I will!" Cozy shouted, grabbing Rumble by his head and pulling him in for a big kiss. Rumble, of course, was surprised, and somewhat annoyed. Yet strangely he didn't fully hate it, even if it pained him to admit it. He looked around a bit, not sure how to react when suddenly he gave in to the temptation. He pulled Cozy in and returned her kiss, deep down hoping that something would come and pull him away, because he wasn't finding the strength do to that right at this moment. Maybe this could be a good thing, if he held onto the kiss long enough, it would keep Cozy Glow distracted and somepony will come along and apprehend her, using this to justify his actions, he deepened the kiss, much to Cozy Glow's pleasure, the filly now using her tongue, wanting more of this colt. Eventually the two broke apart, panting and huffing, both with blushes on their faces. "Golly Rumble, that kiss..." Cozy was completely love struck. "You're amazing..." Suddenly she felt a sharp pain on her back and fell to the ground, cringing a bit. Rumble looked down at the filly, then ahead to see what had happened, and it was probably the worst scenario for him in this situation. Standing across was Sweetie Belle, surrounded by Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, the latter two fillies having a shocked look on their faces. But Sweetie Belle's was the worst, she had a look of pure hurt and betrayal. From the smoke emanating from her horn, it looks like she's the one who zapped Cozy Glow, leaving her on the ground in burning pain, must have been pretty hard. "Sweetie Belle...I can explain..." Rumble pleaded. Sweetie Belle just turned away, wiping the tears from her eyes. She didn't want to hear it right now. Rumble knew it would probably be better to tell her later once she had calmed herself, if that was possible, but he knew deep down he really messed up. He only hoped he could get her to understand.