Sweet Affection 4

by Masterob

Drama at The Crystal Empire

Back in Ponyville, Sweetie Belle had been having a blast playing dress up with her friend Tender Taps, making him try out several different types of clothes. First the cowpony look, then a business pony look, then a member of The Royal Guard, then a yodeling look, even a Wonderbolt look, Tender Taps guessed this was originally meant for Rumble.

"Hm, hard to find a style that makes you stand out," Sweetie Belle said. "I mean according to Rarity, Twilight has fairly simple taste so anything should work, but at the same time, it's like none of this suits you."

"Maybe it doesn't," Tender Taps said, trying to pull the Wonderbolts costume off. "Wow this is tight, how do Wonderbolts fly in these things?"

"Well it has to be tight, that way it's more aero...aero something, whatever word Rumble and Rainbow Dash use," Sweetie Belle said. "Besides you should be ok with certain costumes, I mean you do take dance les...oh right! You're a dancer!"

"Well, yeah I like dancing, but what's your-" Tender Taps's question was left unanswered as Sweetie Belle sped out the room, and then back inside with a new outfit. Tight black pants, a white shirt and a black vest with gold outlines. "These should work." She tossed the clothes to Tender Taps, "Alright, get dressed."

Tender Taps had pulled himself out of the Wonderbolts suit, after a little assistance from Sweetie Belle, and started putting on the new clothes. "Two questions, first what does this have to do with dancing, second why do you have foal sized clothes?"

"Well it looks like the suits you wear at your dancing school," Sweetie Belle answered. "Second, Rarity makes lots of clothes, so of course some are foal sized, she sells clothes to foals too."

"Ah, well I guess that makes sense," Tender Taps said, slipping into the pants.

"Plus I had these specially made for the day me and Rumble have our first big dance...that or whenever I want Rumble to help me live out my fantasies," Sweetie Belle said, getting a confused look from Tender Taps. "What? I'm sure Twilight has fantasies of her own for you to help her live out," Sweetie Belle pointed out.

"I don't know why, but that just sounds kind of weird," Tender Taps said.

"You'll understand when you're in a relationship," Sweetie Belle said.

"I briefly dated Apple Bloom, not once has she asked me to 'Live out a Fantasy'," Tender Taps said.

"That's because your dating didn't last very long," Sweetie Belle said. "Plus it was very awkward."

"Hey!" Tender Taps said, slightly offended.

"Sorry, but you can't really argue that, it just seemed like you two dated for the sake of dating," Sweetie Belle said.

"Hey I honestly thought me and Apple Bloom had chemistry," Tender Taps pointed out.

"Lots of ponies think that at first, I thought that with Button Mash and Scootaloo thought that with Rumble, granted neither of us got to really date that pony, aside from Scootaloo's one night, but my point still stands," Sweetie Belle said.

"Wait, if that's the case then what if me and Twilight don't have good chemistry?" Tender Taps asked.

"You won't know unless you try, you at least have a chance. Rumble was never interested in Scootaloo, and I never got to even talk to Button Mash about it, in fact he didn't even make a move until I started dating Rumble, you need to make your move soon, before some stallion comes over to Twilight," Sweetie Belle explained. "Well some have but so far she's never been interested, but she likes you already so far, you just have to keep charming her until she knows your crush on her is more than just that, you have the chance to prove your something grander."

Tender Taps had put on the shirt and slipped into the jacket, "So you really think this will help me win over Twilight?"

"It can definitely help, it's fancy but not too off putting for a simple taste pony like Twilight," Sweetie Belle circled around Tender Taps, trying to observe his look in the suit. "Yeah, this looks really nice on you, really brings out some of your finer features, like your mane."

Tender Taps brushed his hair, "Yeah you've mentioned my mane a few times already, sounds like you really like the style, or is it the color since it's similar to yours?"

"It's just so slicky, oh and it really draws out your eyes, your big, pretty, purple eyes, same eyes Twilight has," Sweetie Belle said.

Tender Taps blushed as he laughed nervously, "Are my eyes really that pretty? There's no way they can compare to Twilight's."

"Have some faith in yourself Tap-Tap, you've got it all, the mane, the eyes, the sweet tone of your voice, your excellent dancing skills..." Sweetie Belle said, buttering up Tender Taps.

"Aw, you're too nice Sweetie Belle," Tender Taps said.

"And your butt," Sweetie Belle finished.

"Aw that's nothing spe-" Tender Taps's pupils shrank when he realized what Sweetie Belle had said. "Did you just talk about my...er, backside?"

"Yeah, your butt looks super cute in those pants, really squeezes into it and shows off it's features," Sweetie Belle said, glancing at the colt's backside. "I mean Rumble's is great too, I love watching him walk after all." Sweetie Belle had a goofy love struck smile on her face upon saying that, making Tender Taps feel awkward. "But yours is just as well toned, probably from all the dancing."

"Um, maybe please stop talking about my rear end?" Tender Taps said. "You're making me a bit uncomfortable."

Sweetie Belle blushed awkwardly after coming to her senses," Right, sorry, I guess not all ponies like having that brought to attention. I think it's because I once heard Thunderlane say that to my sister, she seemed just as shocked as you are right now, I thought she was gonna knock him out or something."

"I can imagine," Tender Taps said. "Have you ever told this to Rumble?"

"Once, sorta, when I was talking about the muscles in his body, I included his butt, he didn't seem to think much of it," Sweetie Belle said. "Maybe he's used to it since Thunderlane probably said it before to another pony. I mean I can understand why ponies say that, it's weird but when I look at Rumble's, I just feel all funny inside. Have you ever felt that way?"

"Eh, a few times honestly," Tender Taps said, remembering the first time he saw Scootaloo from the rear, then a few times with other mares. "It's an awkward feeling though."

"Maybe it's a weird part of growing up?" Sweetie Belle said.

"Probably, I have heard of weirder," Tender Taps said, remembering the time he saw Night Glider with Double Diamond, and Twilight's very vague explanation of it.

"Well let's not dawdle on this, I have more preparation to do for you, let's go," Sweetie Belle said, though as she turned to walk, she glanced once more at Tender Taps. "By the way, have you ever noticed my butt before?"

Tender Taps nearly fainted, this was getting way too awkward, plus he didn't know how to answer this, one wrong comment and Sweetie Belle might knock him out or something.

"Uh...well..." Tender Taps awkwardly rubbed his forearm.

"I'm-I'm sorry, is that too awkward?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I mean I was just curious, but if you don't want to answer that's fine."

"Promise you won't be mad at my answer?" Tender Taps asked, wincing a little at her not yet incurred wrath.

"Yes, I promise," Sweetie Bell reassured.

"...Once...Just once I've noticed, I felt bad because you're dating Rumble, but I couldn't help it. I would never move in on you, I like you as a friend and I don't want Rumble to hate me. I'm sorry if that upsets you," Tender Taps said.

Sweetie Belle shook her head, "I'm not upset, it's fine, I guess it's normal. I mean, I just commented on yours, it's ok if you noticed mine...I hope it was a good notice."

"Sweetie Belle, if I did have a crush on you, it wouldn't be because of a physical appearance, it would be because you're really kind and sweet, having a cute anything, be it your mane, your eyes or...your butt...would be secondary to your personality," Tender Taps said.

"Aw, you're such a sweetheart," Sweetie Belle said. "Twilight will definitely like you over your physical appearance too." She gestured him over, "Let's get going."

Tender Taps nodded and followed after Sweetie Belle, still feeling a bit awkward from the prior conversation.

---

Back on the train, Flitter, Rumble and Cozy Glow are sitting together on the ride back to Ponyville. Cozy had scooted really close next to Rumble, making the colt feel a bit more awkward.

"It's fun riding on trains, isn't it Rumble?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Yeah, super fun," Rumble said, slightly inching away from the filly. "So, where were you from before moving to Ponyville?"

"Oh no place that special," Cozy insisted. "My life was pretty boring until I came to Ponyville."

"Uh-huh, so what was it like being in Ponyville? What was Twilight's school like?" Rumble asked.

"It was absolutely perfect! All the students were nice, and so were the teachers," Cozy said. "For a while I was even Princess Twilight's special little helper."

"Aw, that's sweet," Rumble said.

"The only time the school was not so great were the times Twilight wasn't running things, like when Discord was there and that mean old Chancellor Neighsay," Cozy said.

"What was he like anyway? Sweetie Belle didn't have that many nice things to say about him in her letters," Rumble said.

"He was mean, bossy, didn't like anything non-pony, and was so annoying!" Cozy Glow said, frowning at the memory of the Chancellor. "He always got in everypony's way, and if it wasn't for him then I'd..." Cozy had caught herself at the last second, realizing she nearly gave away her identity. "Er...then I'd say my time in that school would have been flawless, that and not having Discord around and having to take orders from a cranky old donkey or some over confident minotaur."

"...What did Discord do to that school?" Rumble asked.

"A lot of weird things," Cozy Glow said. "He's really annoying, no wonder Starlight nearly disintegrated him."

"Starlight did what!?" Rumble asked.

"She hit him with a really strong magic blast and destroyed his body for a while," Cozy Glow explained.

Rumble's eyes were really wide, "Starlight is a LOT stronger than I thought she was. Discord is one of the strongest creatures in Equestria!"

"And the lamest," Cozy Glow said. "He was better off as a statue in Celestia's garden, or they could have left him in Tartarus."

"That's a bit harsh to say," Rumble said. "I mean I know Discord is a bit...untrustworthy at times, but if Fluttershy likes him, and she's the Element of Kindness, then he must be somewhat nice to have around."

"Fluttershy's too nice sometimes," Cozy Glow said. "But I do like her, she's sweet."

"So...what was it like in the school when all the magic disappeared?" Rumble asked. "I haven't heard from Sweetie Belle since then, quite frankly I was worried something happened to her, until I found out nopony really got hurt."

"Oh that...oh it was," Cozy Glow cleared her throat. "Weally, weally scawy!"

Rumble wasn't sure if the way she spoke was genuine or if she was putting on an act, while this was cute, he knew he would probably get tired of it real soon. "Sorry you had to go through that, I wish I could have been there, at least to keep Sweetie Belle safe."

"Wouldn't you be scared by something like that?" Cozy asked.

"I've met with villains before, it wasn't so hard, just a matter of outsmarting them," Rumble said.

"Oh really?" Cozy said. "Have you ever seen a Siren?"

"Siren?" Rumble asked, recollecting the memory of The Dazzlings. "Oh yeah, I've seen Sirens, really freaky creatures, nothing I can't handle though."

Back in Tartarus, Adagio was fuming as she had overheard Rumble's statement, "Nothing you can't handle huh? That's so weird since I seem to remember crushing your puny wings under my hoof! Maybe next time when you're laying helpless on the ground I'll-"

Meanwhile Cozy was covering her necklace, muffling up Adagio's malicious words, hoping Rumble wouldn't hear. "Wow, you must be so brave Rumble!"

"I try my best," Rumble said, passing it off as nonchalant as possible.

Cozy scooted closer to Rumble, cuddling up right next to him, "So if a baddie shows up, you'll keep me safe, won't you Wumbly-Boo?"

Rumble nervously gulped at Cozy being so close to him, "Yeah...sure." He used his wing to slightly push her away. "Anything for a friend."

"Right, friend," Cozy said, a little sinister like tone in her voice, much to Rumble's confusion.

Flitter herself couldn't help but find this odd, this filly was being awfully close to Rumble. She knows that Rumble's dating Sweetie Belle, it's been brought up before, and if this filly is friends with Sweetie Belle, why try to advance on a friend's coltfriend. Then again this girl probably doesn't even realize how close she's being, when one has a crush they don't always realize what emotions they're giving off.

The train then stopped off at The Crystal Empire, giving ponies a chance to leave or board the train. This meant just one more stop to Ponyville, Rumble was getting excited.

"Almost home, I can hold Sweetie Belle again," Rumble said, much to Cozy's annoyance.

"Sounds like it's been a while since you've been with her, you must be out of practice when it comes to proper coltfriend behavior," Cozy said. "If you want, you can practice on me until we get home, Sweetie Belle doesn't have to know."

"Alright that's it," Flitter said, picking Rumble up and placing him on her other side, siting between the two foals. "Much better, you two can still talk, but at a reasonable distance from each other."

Rumble felt relieved that Flitter finally stepped in, but Cozy was beyond annoyed at her seduction plans being thwarted. Though as he waited for the train to move again, he heard a little rambling outside. He looked and saw some Hippogriff guards speaking with some Crystal Guards. "Huh? Why are there Hippogriffs here?"

"Hippogriffs?" Flitter asked, looking out the window, same with Cozy. "Oh yeah, there are Hippogriffs, did The Crystal Empire hire guards from Mount Aris?"

Cozy started to sweat a bit, unless what Flitter thought was true, it would otherwise be odd that there be guards at the Crystal Empire Station. She looked herself, seeing the guards gesturing to inside the train.

"Oh no..." Cozy muttered, wondering if any of the Hippogriffs at Mount Aris actually recognized her. She needed to leave without making a scene, and needed to do it now. So with many of the ponies distracted or not paying attention, other just waiting for the train to move again, Cozy quietly started to slip away, doing her best not to bring attention to herself.

She made her way to the end of the train, sneaking through the door and flying out the other side, away from the guards' sight.

"What do you think Cozy, do you think they flew all the way over here? Think they want anything?" Rumble asked, not getting an answer in return. "Cozy? Where'd you go?"

Rumble left his seat as well to go search for his newly made friend, Flitter not even noticing straight away.

"I hope there's no trouble with this train, really hope there's not some sort of invasion that's about to happen," Flitter turned to where she thought Rumble was. "Might be a while before...Rumble?" She turned to the other side, "Cozy Glow?" She looked around and saw no sign of either foal. "What the...where the heck did they go?" She groaned out in frustration, "Dang it Rumble, sometimes it's hard keeping you in one spot."

She got off her seat and went to search for the foals, hoping they weren't in too much trouble.

Meanwhile Cozy had snuck her way through town, playing it cool and making sure not to draw a lot of attention to herself. "That was a close one, I thought my plans were a bust."

"I told you to keep a low profile you little brat!" Adagio shouted from the necklace. "Chances are that little Hippogriff boy was the one who probably tipped off the guards, I knew someone was bound to recognize your name!"

"Well pardon me for making one little oopsie!" Cozy shouted. "I mean Rumble didn't seem to know me, neither does his whackjob foalsitter!"

"That still doesn't mean to take it easy!" Adagio shouted. "Tirek told us you were a genius when it came to acting and manipulation, yet you screw up on your first attempt!"

"At least I've come closer to defeating Twilight Sparkle than you have!" Cozy spat back, glaring down at her necklace.

"Just don't mess up again, from the sounds of things you have quite the detour to work around," Adagio said. "Now get your flank over to Ponyville, if you mess up and get sent back here, what I did to Rumble will pale in comparison of what I will do to you if you fail!"

"Yeah I'd love to see you try," Cozy sassed.

Adagio angrily gritted her teeth, "I swear that little..."

"You're not good with children," Sonata said, much to Adagio's annoyance. "Speaking of children, think you can ask her to pick up Flurry Heart for me? I kind of still want her."

Adagio rolled her eyes in annoyance, she could swear that she's surrounded by imbeciles.

Back with Cozy she began to look explore and around, examining her surroundings when she noticed something. "That statue looks like Spike, except without the wings."

"Cozy!" She heard. She turned to see Rumble flying towards her, a concerned look in his eyes, "There you are, I got so worried when you disappeared."

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine Rumble," Cozy said.

Rumble landed next to her, his concern replaced with mild annoyance, "Please don't wander off next time, with all the guards at the station I thought you might have been in danger."

"Oh, well when that happened...I got weally scared," Cozy said. "I thought a monster was coming, so wan far away!"

"I get that it looked like trouble, but you still need to stay near me, I won't let anything bad happen to you," Rumble said. "Think you can come back with me and stay close?"

"I don't know, I'm still kind of worried," Cozy said, making a sad face, adding a little trembling to the mix.

"Is there anything I can do-" Rumble's question was interrupted when Cozy suddenly grabbed him into a really tight hug.

"Hug me tightly, so I know you won't ever let go," Cozy said, squeezing Rumble close to her.

"Um...alright if that's what you want," Rumble said, gently but firmly hugging Cozy Glow, getting a sigh of affection from her.

"Wow, you're so strong, I bet you can take on any villain with no trouble at all," Cozy said.

"Heh well, I wouldn't go that far, I am just a colt, though I do my best," Rumble felt very flattered by Cozy's words, only Sweetie Belle has made feel like the strongest in the world.

This moment was interrupted when they heard a familiar voice, "Rumble? Is that you?"

"Cadance?" Rumble answered, spooking Cozy Glow into letting go. When Rumble turned to Cadance's direction, Cozy had dashed off when he wasn't looking.

Cadance appeared into view, having come around a corner, "Rumble, it's so nice to see you."

"Oh hi Cadance!" Rumble greeted. "It's nice to see you here!"

"I'm happy to see you as well, what brings you to The Crystal Empire?" Cadance asked.

"Not sure really, I was on my way home from flight school when the train suddenly stopped at the town's station," Rumble said. "My friend here got worried when she saw the guards because she was afraid a monster was coming, so she flew away. I just caught up with her so she should be safe."

"Well that's nice and all, but what friend are you referring to?" Cadance asked.

"My friend Cozy-" Rumble looked aside and saw that Cozy was gone. "Aw not again, she really needs to stay in one place."

"Cozy?" Cadance asked. "Um, this friend of yours, describe her please?"

"Her name's Cozy Glow, she's a Pegasus with a blue mane and freckles," Rumble said.

Cadance immediately recognized the name and the description, feeling a sense of worry and dread. "Oh my...Rumble listen, you need to be careful, there's a reason guards were at the station."

"Huh? What's going on?" Rumble asked.

"That girl, Cozy Glow, she's-" Cadance then heard some noise from nearby, it sounded like something had crashed somewhere. "What in the world?"

The two rushed to where they heard the noise and saw a cart having crashed through a store door.

"Whoa, how'd this happen?" Rumble asked.

"I don't know, this is quite concerning," Cadance said, checking inside to make sure nopony was hurt.

During this Rumble had caught sight of Cozy Glow again, flying like she had somewhere to be. "There you are."

Rumble flew after her, leaving Cadance behind, "Looks like nopony's injured, we just need to-" Cadance noticed Rumble was missing. "Rumble? Where'd you go!?"

Cozy had flown out of sight, hoping that nopony had seen her push the cart. Cadance nearly blew her cover to Rumble, but unfortunately it seems like everypony's on to her, it might be a matter of time so she needs to move quickly.

"I gotta find another way to Ponyville, and fast!" Cozy said. "Looks like I'll have to fly there."

"You really think it will be that easy?" She heard from her necklace, much to her annoyance.

"What do you want now Adagio!?" Cozy asked.

"Just giving you a fair warning, the area outside Crystal Empire is covered with snow, you probably won't make it very far if you try flying," Adagio said.

"Well do you have any other ideas? I can't use the train because of those stupid guards and-" Cozy's rant was interrupted by a familiar colt.

"Cozy!" Rumble flew over to her, landing beside her, the filly scrambling to look as non-suspicious. "You can't keep running off like that! Look it's not safe here, we need to go."

"Not safe? How exactly?" Cozy asked, hoping to get some more information.

"I'm not sure, but Cadance did seem pretty worried when I spoke to her, then a cart crashed into a store," Rumble said. "Also, this may sound weird, but it almost sounds like Cadance knew who you were."

"Well I am part of Princess Twilight's school, so she probably knows me from there," Cozy explained.

"Yeah I'm sure she would, but she sounded kind of worried when I mentioned you," Rumble said, making Cozy sweat a bit.

"Worried? Are you sure about that Rumble?" Cozy asked, hoping to throw him off guard.

"No she was worried, I can tell," Rumble said, leaning in close. "Actually, Cadance wasn't the only one who found something odd about you, Terramar also seemed like something was familiar about you, and not in a good way."

Cozy stepped back, her eyes darting around, "It's nothing, I swear..."

"Yes, between Terramar's reaction, as well as Cadance's, plus you always running off and acting really suspicious, I think I may have figured you out," Rumble said, narrowing his eyes at the filly.

Cozy knew there was only one option, she really didn't want to do this since Rumble was really cute, but she wasn't really going to have much of a choice. Looking to the side, she slowly reached her wing toward a rock laying on the ground, ready to use it as needed.

"Cozy...is a villain after you!?" Rumble asked.

That took Cozy by surprise, she really thought he had figured her out. "Uh...yeah...That's right, I think a villain might be after me, I've felt that way for days, that's the real reason I was at Mount Aris, I was trying to hide from danger."

"Is that why Cadance and Terramar seemed so worried?" Rumble asked.

"Y-yeah! They know about this villain and neither of them want me to get hurt, so they've been keeping an eye out for me," Cozy said.

"Figured that's what Cadance wanted to tell me," Rumble said. "Come on, let's go find her, she'll help keep you safe."

"No!" Cozy shouted, getting a confused reaction from Rumble. "See if we went near her, we'd be putting the Crystal Empire's Princess in danger, we need help from Twilight, she and her friends can put a stop to this evil doer!"

"I know Cadance isn't much for fighting but she's still a very powerful Alicorn, I think she can hold her own in battle," Rumble said.

"But, didn't she get captured by Chrysalis once?" Cozy asked. "And exhausted herself greatly trying to keep King Sombra back? And had her magic taken by Tirek once?"

"Well Twilight told me that Cadance and the other Princesses gave her their magic, and Tirek took it later as a trade for her friends," Rumble explained.

"But that proves my point! Cadance gave her magic to Twilight because they both knew who was better when it comes to fighting!" Cozy explained.

"Actually the reason they did that was because-" Rumble's explanation was once again interrupted.

"I just think it would be better to go find Twilight and have her sort this out," Cozy said.

Rumble groaned in mild annoyance, "Ok, let's say we went with your plan, Twilight's still all the way in Ponyville, and the train isn't moving. If we go to Cadance, she'll get us a trip to Ponyville where we can meet with Twilight and she can keep you safe from whatever it is that's after you."

"Or, we can just fly over to Ponyville because it sounds like a fun adventure!" Cozy said with a chipper smile.

Rumble wasn't amused, "Now's not the time to be goofing around, there's a ton of snow outside the Empire, we'd freeze in like the first five minutes." He then grabbed her by the hoof. "Now let's go."

"Wait, Rumble!" Cozy said, resisting a bit.

"Cozy, it'll be fine, just come with me!" Rumble said, trying to get her to comply.

Cozy had little choice, she again attempted to reach for the rock. She had it in her wing and was about to grab it, ready to knock Rumble out, when they heard yet another voice familiar to Rumble calling out.

"Wumble?" The two turned to see the youngest Alicorn Princess Flurry Heart standing nearby, analyzing the two.

"Flurry Heart?" Rumble said, little surprised to see her out here and by herself.

"Wumble!" Flurry excitedly flew over to greet her favorite colt with an affectionate hug. "I miss you!"

Rumble slowly but happily returned the hug, "Same here, it's been a while Flurry, you've gotten bigger since the last time I saw you."

"Pwetty too?" Flurry asked.

Rumble playfully rolled his eyes, "Yes, prettier too."

"Wumble also pwetty," Flurry said, getting a chuckle from the colt.

"Well thank you, I'm glad to know I'm...pretty," Rumble felt weird saying that but he knew Flurry was just trying to offer him a compliment. "Why aren't you home or with your parents?"

"Home bowing, daddy no play," Flurry said.

"Well you shouldn't be out here by yourself, what if your mommy or daddy get worried?" Rumble asked.

"Me stwong!" Flurry insisted, flexing a foreleg. Flurry rolled her eyes at the scene before her, finding this filly delusional.

"Yes, you are strong, but you still need to be someplace safe," Rumble insisted, then turned to Cozy. "We should get Flurry back to her mom."

"Right, you take her back and I'll go find a route to Ponyville," Cozy said.

"Oh for goodness sake Cozy, I get you want to get help from Twilight but first thing's first," Rumble said. "Just stay close to me, if there's trouble I'll get us out of here." Flurry nudged Rumble, getting his attention and pointed to her horn. "Oh, and Flurry will help with her magic, she once shielded me and Sweetie Belle from Changelings." Rumble tapped his chin, "You know come to think of it, she also once attacked King Sombra and distracted him long enough for Twilight and her friends to deal the final blow."

"Well isn't she the bold one?" Cozy said. "Um, just how strong do you think she is?"

"Well she's still a toddler, but she's super strong," Rumble said. "I wouldn't mess with her, she'd destroy me."

"Me no hurt Wumble!" Flurry said. "Me love Wumble! Me want Mawwy Wumble!"

"Aw, I know you wouldn't hurt me Flurry," Rumble said, rubbing her mane. "You're too nice and sweet to do that."

Cozy did a brief gag motion while Rumble had his attention drawn away, then went back to fake smiling once he brought his attention back to her. "So she's really strong, if there were a villain, she could beat it up?"

"Depends on the villain I guess, but I'm not gonna let her fight, it's dangerous," Rumble said. "Even if she is strong, I wouldn't risk her getting hurt. I still like to think of myself as her knight, like I do with Sweetie Belle."

"Well aren't you chivalrous," Cozy said. "And since you're protecting me, are you also my knight?"

"Uh, if you want I guess," Rumble said. "If I agree to that, will you come with me like I asked you to?"

Cozy had nearly forgotten that scenario, the idea of her plans possibly getting foiled by Cadance. Though if Flurry's nearby then perhaps she can make that work to her advantage, having a tiny little hostage in the form of Princess Cadance's daughter could help her make an escape, but that would once again mean cutting her relationship with Rumble short.

Unless she could think of a quick back-up plan. In addition to wanting Rumble around for her to continue flirting with in hopes of winning him over for her own benefit, getting to Ponyville with as few distractions as possible seems a bit more ideal.

"Alright, I guess we could return this little bundle of adorableness," Cozy said, approaching the filly. "Mind if I carry her though? I've always wanted a chance to carry around Princess Flurry Heart."

"Sure, I'm sure Flurry wouldn't mind," Rumble said, turning to the little Princess. "Right Flurry?"

Flurry Heart took one look at Cozy and recoiled in mistrust and suspicion. "No, want Wumble."

"Oh come on Flurry, Cozy just wants to be your friend," Rumble said.

"No want her, want Wumble," Flurry said, nuzzling up next to Rumble.

Rumble started nudging Flurry towards Cozy, "Give her a chance Flurry, she's really nice." He looked to Cozy, "She's not good with other filles it seems, at least ones that are friends with me."

"It's fine, it just makes her that much cuter," Cozy said, grabbing Flurry and holding her in a hug, much to the toddler's annoyance. "Aw she's so soft and cuddly."

"Isn't she?" Sonata said, loud enough for Flurry to have heard.

"Sonata?" Flurry said, looking around.

"She said my name!" Sonata cheered, only to be pulled away by Aria.

"Did she say 'Sonata'?" Rumble asked, tapping his chin. "Wasn't that one of the Sirens?" Rumble looked around cautiously, "Is she here!?"

"She might be, or one of the other Sirens!" Cozy said. "We should find Princess Cadance quick then, if she's as strong as you say she is, then maybe she can keep us safe."

"I really hope those sirens don't come back, I don't ever want to see their leader again," Rumble said, looking around rather worried like.

"What happened to that tough talk from before?" Adagio taunted, heard somewhat through Cozy's necklace.

"Ugh, I can still hear her annoying voice! I'm never gonna get that creepy chick out of my nightmares!" Rumble said.

"Hey, who the hell are you calling annoying!?" Adagio shouted, making Flurry suspicious, Rumble as well.

"Wait, that voice seemed way too real to just be in my head," Rumble said, looking around. "Is she..."

"Is that her!?" Cozy shouted pointing in a direction for Rumble too look.

"Where!?" Rumble got into a defensive position. Cozy then took this time to grab Flurry and toss her away, causing a shouting cry from the toddler as she landed in a garbage can, causing it to fall and roll over, going down the street.

"Flurry!?" Rumble asked, turning around, seeing the Princess missing. "AH! Flurry! Oh my Gosh! Where did she go!?"

"She flew away!" Cozy said. "She thought the Sirens were back and flew off hiding!"

"Flurry wouldn't do that, she loves me!" Sonata said.

"Shush!" Cozy said to the necklace, then resumed her story to Rumble, pointing the opposite direction of where she threw Flurry. "She went that way!" Rumble flew of to find Flurry while Cozy snuck off, making her way back to the train. "Now to get that train moving again."

"Hey what did you do to Flurry!?" Sonata asked.

"I threw her away," Cozy casually answered.

"Are you crazy!?" Sonata shouted, knocking Adagio aside and grabbing her end of the communicator. "What if she got hurt!?"

"Not really my problem," Cozy answered. "She made for a good distraction so I used her to her best ability."

"...You ARE crazy!" Sonata said. "If I find out Flurry got hurt then I'll...I'll...!"

"Give me that!" Adagio shouted, grabbing the necklace away. "Sonata we all know you're as harmless as a butterfly most of the time, the only way you do any damage is if I give the order."

"Hey, I can be tough if I wanted to!" Sonata insisted.

"Right, sure you can," Adagio said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Anyway Cozy, now that you threw away an Alicorn Toddler, what's your next plan?"

"I'm just gonna get the train moving, the sad part is that I might have to separate from Rumble, but I'm sure we'll meet again soon," Cozy said, flying through the city, avoiding the sight of all passing guards.

"Well how exactly are you gonna get the train going?" Adagio asked. "Suppose they don't have plans to get it moving, you'll be screwed."

"I got it under control Adagio," Cozy said. "Besides, I doubt they'll be searching forever, plus there are other trains." Cozy arrived back at the train station as the guards finished patrolling the train. Just as she expected, another train started pulling in, many of the ponies boarding that train in hopes of getting home. "Bingo!"

She snuck in closer, hoping to get on board without anypony noticing. As she did she accidentally bumped into a stallion with a large and wild mustache.

"Whoa, careful there little filly," The pony said.

"Sorry for bumping into you mister," Cozy said. "I just need to get on the train."

"It's fine, bound to happen in such a crowded place," the stallion said. "Been a while since I was here, took a nice little vacation. You off on a vacation as well?"

"Yes, sort of," Cozy said. "Sorry to cut this short but I really need to get on board, I have friends and family to get to."

"Oh, well I won't keep you, carry on then," the stallion said.

"Thank you sir," Cozy said, moving in closer to the train as the stallion made his way into town.

"Such a sweet little filly that pony is," the stallion said.

Many of the guards checked up on the ponies that passed by, making sure everything looked alright. Cozy grabbed the rock she picked up and tossed it at a random pony's head, knocking them for a loop. This distracted the guards as they went to check on the pony and she quickly slipped by.

"Heh, dummies, now to get to Ponyville," Cozy said, finding a nice spot on the train. "Maybe after this is over, I can find a way to get rid of Sweetie Belle, maybe I can use The Elements of Harmony to banish her to the moon and find a way to make Rumble fall in love with me. We can get married and have lots of cute babies together."

"You're weird, you know that?" She heard Adagio say.

"I'm not weird, I'm just in love," Cozy said. "You didn't tell me Rumble was that much of a cutie."

"What exactly is cute about him?" Adagio asked. "He's got a goofy looking mane style and a girly looking face."

"He's got really pretty eyes," Cozy explained. "And a really charming personality."

"Pfft, that's all? His eyes and personality?" Adagio asked. "I still don't get the-"

"I also like his butt," Cozy added, getting a complete silence from Adagio and the others around. "It looks soft but firm."

"Yeah, we're done talking here," Adagio said, placing her communicator aside as Cozy shrugged it off.

"She just can't appreciate certain aspects of a colt I guess," Cozy said, laying back and relaxing.

Meanwhile Rumble was anything but relaxed, he frantically flew around, trying to find Flurry. "Oh crap this isn't good! Where are you Flurry Heart!? Princess Flurry!"

"Rumble!" He heard the loud voice of Shining Armor call out, much to his worry.

"Oh boy..." Rumble cringed a bit in worry, what would Shining Armor say if he knew Rumble lost track of Flurry. Granted Rumble wasn't obligated to watch over her this time, he still took his eyes off her while he had her around.

Shining Armor approached the colt, "This is a surprise, what brings you here Rumble? And why are you calling for my daughter?"

"Hey Prince Shining Armor," Rumble nervously greeted. "I'm surprised to see you here too."

"...I live here," Shining Armor said. "I'm the Prince, you just called me 'Prince', wait what's going on anyway?"

"Um, don't be mad, but I just saw Flurry Heart a moment ago...then she flew off," Rumble said..

"That explains you calling her, she's such a little sneak," Shining Armor said. "She keeps leaving the castle to explore the city, even though I tell her not too. Thankfully the resident are very hospitable and keep an eye on her for us."

"Oh, so you're not mad at me for losing track of her?" Rumble asked.

"Of course not, it's not like we asked you to foalsit her, I mean it would have been easier if you did have her so my wife doesn't get mad that I let her leave the castle again, but it's not like you did anything to scare her off," Shining Armor said.

Rumble let out a relieved sigh, "Oh that's a relief, though my friend did say a Siren might be here so-"

"A Siren!?" Shining Armor asked. "You let my daughter out of your sight with a Siren around!?"

"Hey you just said I technically wasn't responsible!" Rumble shouted. "I mean I still wouldn't allow harm to come to her, but still!"

Shining Armor looked around, "Where did she fly off too!? Oh no, I gotta warn the town!"

"They're already on alert, some guards surrounded the trains earlier on and your wife seemed really concerned about something," Rumble said.

Shining Armor couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Come on, why am I the last to know this stuff!?" He ran off in a frenzy, leaving Rumble confused by the stallion's actions.

"Starting to realize why Chrysalis was able to take over Canterlot so easily during his wedding to Princess Cadance," Rumble said, then around some more, asking any nearby civilian if they've seen Flurry.

As he flew he encountered one pony, the same pony with the fuzzy mustache. "Excuse me sir, have you seen a pink alicorn foal?"

"Alicorn? Oh you mean Princess Flurry Heart!" the pony said. "Ah yes, what a nice girl, I was there for her Crystalling, front row too, and oh boy was it a memorable event, see-"

"Um with all due respect sir," Rumble kindly interrupted. "I need to know if you've seen her, it's quite important."

"Sorry son, I just got here, I haven't seen Princess Flurry Heart, quite frankly the only filly I saw was a little Pegasus with blue curly hair," the man said.

"Oh my friend Cozy, do you know where she might have went? I should probably reunite with her," Rumble said.

"She boarded that train there," the pony said, gesturing to the now horn blowing train. "Looks like it's about to take off."

"Wait, she's what!?" Rumble said, flying toward the train. "Cozy Glow!"

"Heh, young foals, always rushing to the next destination, sometimes they gotta appreciate the moment," the stallion said as he resumed making his way back home.

Rumble quickly boarded the train, scanning around for his friend. As he flew he found her sitting, looking really relaxed, much to his confusion. "Cozy!?"

Cozy jumped at the sound of her name being said, then turned to see Rumble standing nearby. "Oh, Rumble, what brings you here?"

"I should be asking that, I thought you were looking for Flurry!?" Rumble asked.

"Well I was, I came onto the train to make sure she wasn't trying to leave, but I couldn't find her so I decided to sit down a bit and reduce some stress," Cozy explained.

"Well the train's about to leave, we need to get off-" Rumble's worries came to fruition when the doors closed and the train began departing. "Oh no!" The train began departing and leaving the station, Rumble attempted to open the doors but they were locked tight. "Too late."

"Aw, looks like we're stuck here," Cozy said. "Oh well, to Ponyville we go!"

Rumble looked slightly annoyed by Cozy's random chipper attitude, though something about her seemed weird to him, between the things she's been saying and parts of her attitude, he's wondering what more there is to this girl.

---

At Ponyville, Twilight is looking over some papers and documents, her school would be expecting new students so she had to figure out how things would be going down.

As she worked, Starlight entered the room with a load of books, getting Twilight's attention. "Oh Starlight, looks like you've got everything."

"Yeah," Starlight said, struggling to hold onto the books. "Everything on the list." She dropped down with all the books spilling across the floor. "Well now there's a mess."

"It's fine," Twilight said, using her magic to levitate the books. "These should help me prepare the lessons I need for when the school year resumes."

"It's exciting to think about, all those new faces," Starlight said. "Speaking of which, Rumble's coming back today, think you'll be taking him into the School of Friendship?"

"I don't think he really needs it," Twilight said. "Rumble knows a lot about friendship already, he's naturally friendly towards everypony he meets after all."

"Guess so, hey maybe he can at least get that Honorary Alumni thing you gave the Crusaders," Starlight said.

"I could do that, but I doubt that's even on Rumble's mind, his biggest goals involve his flying, I think he'd be more interested with a Wonderbolt's position rather than a diploma from my school," Twilight said. "Not that I blame him, it's great that he's that focused, shows true commitment. If anything he can probably be a tutor here one day, teaching others the value of working hard for your goals."

"Rumble is quite the hard worker, I wouldn't be surprised if he earned his Cutie Mark while training," Starlight said.

"Me neither, even if he's not too thrilled about the idea," Twilight said. "For someone who's dating a Cutie Mark Crusader, it's amazing how much he really doesn't care for Cutie Marks, I mean it's not like he has to do exactly what the mark said. Rarity's mark is about finding gems, but that didn't stop her from being a seamstress."

"It's just a phase I'm sure," Starlight said. "Then again I used to hate Cutie Marks as well, to the point where I enslaved a village and removed all their Cutie Marks, driving me down a road of madness and power hunger to the point where I wanted to take over all of Equestria!" Starlight started panting and sweating as she spoke, freaking Twilight out a bit.

"Uh...you doing ok there Starlight?" Twilight nervously asked.

"Sorry, went off on a tangent, I still have some regrets that I'm not fully over," Starlight said.

"It's fine, if anything you can relate to Rumble, so if he comes and either still doesn't want a Cutie Mark, or isn't satisfied with having one, then you can easily help him I'm sure," Twilight said.

"That shouldn't be too hard, I just need to remind him how special a Cutie Mark is, but how in the end it's up to him what he does with his life," Starlight said. "That and I can easily offer to remove it if he really hates it." That response got an annoyed glare from Twilight. "What? This time I'd be doing it because he genuinely wants to get rid of it."

Twilight sighed in disbelief, hopefully this can be resolved without forcibly removing any Cutie Mark, regardless of the owner's consent.

Comments

[Awesometacular]

So, Cozy really wants Rumble. Shame it's likely never gonna happen. What with the deceit, and well being a villain.