Feared Love Divided: Chapter 01/Volcanic
Rarity threw open the curtains, letting the light into their volcanic lair. This caused Spike to grumble from their bedsheet... groundsheet... dragon bed... "Come on, Spikey-Wikey!" she exclaimed, and he groaned in reply. She walked up to the ground sheet and shook the two Changelings.
"I would love to help, Mistress," Ainé replied, "but... he kind of has a hold of me..."
"Fibbing." Rarity delightfully said to her.
"Okay, I admit it, I just don't want to escape." Ainé replied.
With this Spike stood up and let out a mild roar. "Morning." he stated, but they were so used to his bold movements that they did not react.
"Morning, Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity repeated.
"Morning, beautiful." Spike replied.
"I have had hardly a moment to make myself beautiful..." Rarity mumbled.
"You!," Spike exclaimed, "are always - beautiful!"
"He makes it sound like he would tear down heaven to face anyone who disagreed." Ainé voiced.
"I can see him picking a fight with the sun." Solace added.
"Celestia is the sun..." Spike grumbled.
"And if you had to pick between the two?" Solace asked him.
"Celestia, of course." Spike replied.
"You would actually fight the sun?!" Ainé asked him.
"When I was a whelp," Spike replied, "we fought a manticore, sea serpent, multiple adult Dragons, quarry eels, timber wolves, a corrupted god-princess, a god of chaos, a haunted forest, and the dark shadow of our greatest fears AND our greatest desires. A sun seems paltry..."
"Well," Rarity added, "let's hope you don't have to pick a fight with the sun, because it's such a beautiful day."
"Does everything make her so happy?" Solace asked.
"Only when she's around Spikey-Wikey." Ainé voiced, and Spike looked at her. Yes, the look was terrifying, but Spike was always terrifying. She had come to recognize this as Spike simply showing uncertainty. He looked at her for a moment, and nopony made a move or a sound, not even a breath. Eventually Spike moved, looking away, and Ainé had gotten away with it.
"Congratulations." Solace said to her, and Ainé looked back at her with a wicked smile.
"Spikey-wikey is quite benevolent." Rarity said with glee.
"He is a noble Dragon." Solace added.
"I have tried to style myself as such for my entire life." Spike stated, "Dragons have a code. While the code might vary between Dragons, they will always hold themselves to it. My code was the benefit of those around me."
"I need a nickname..." Solace said to Spike.
"Pet." Spike forcefully replied, but for Spike was a tone of affection.
"Nickname for you..." Solace continued.
"Other than Master, presumably..." Spike muttered. "It is something that only you can do."
"I know... but... it lacks... intimacy..." Solace uttered.
"And you are the grand master of a chivalric order." Ainé stated.
"Well?" Rarity asked, "What other words are there for spike?"
"Lance, skewer, spear," Spike listed, "prick, thorn?"
"Thorn?" Solace asked.
"Thorny?" Ainé asked.
"That... might lead to misunderstandings..." Rarity voiced.
"I don't know." Ainé stated, "He is quite horny." Spike looked at her with a steely gaze. "Three mares have trouble keeping up with you." she added.
"Even Twilight threw her hat into the ring a few times." Solace added.
"You are not calling my husband horny." Rarity admonished.
"Thorn it is." Solace said to her master. He looked at her to momentarily think it over before quickly looking away. With this Solace did a little giddy dance.
The sound of Spike stretching echoed across the room. "I am going for my workout."
"Can I come, Thorn?" Solace asked, and Spike nodded.
"How about me?" Ainé asked.
"Ainé!" Rarity admonished.
"Mistress?.." Ainé voiced.
"I did not know you want to play rough in the dirt?.." Rarity circuitously asked.
"I am worried if I will have to protect you, Mistress..." Ainé voiced.
"I had no idea you felt that way about me..." Rarity said with teary eyes.
"Of course you did not, mistress." Ainé said to her, "You are too sweet to think of such things."
With this Rarity began to sniffle.
"Thorns's workout is... intense..." Solace nervously stated.
"If you follow Solace," Spike said to Ainé, "that's not a concern." Spike then looked at Rarity. Something was amiss, and not the obvious. "It there a problem?" Spike asked.
"Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity whined and ran over to him, and he clutched her dearly.
"If you don't tell me what the problem is, I can hardly help you?.." Spike whispered.
"Oh, it's... silly... Spikey-Wikey..." Rarity moaned.
"Do you think that's going to stop me from worrying about you?.." Spike whispered.
"Oh, go and have fun." Rarity sniffled. "I will be quite alright."
Rarity heard the thump of boulders being thrown about as she walked through the volcano's corridors. She fretted, but still took a moment to marvel at how well she had decorated the Dragon's cave into something fitting of a palace. She continued on as she continued fretting until she spied Sonet, and waved her over.
"M'Lady?" Sonet asked.
"I... have a favour..." she nervously stated.
"Of course, M'Lady?" Sonet asked, and Rarity shuffled forward to whisper to her. Sonet looked at her with wide eyes, "I am a dame, M'Lady?" Sonet asked.
"I know I promised to be the one to feed Spikey-Wikey, but he just eats... so much... and Ainé decided to join him for his exercises..."
"And why me?.." Sonet asked.
"It's just... that... when asking a stallion for help... I would always..." Rarity voiced, "you know... flirt with them. Spikey-Wikey has never said anything, but he does look..."
"Stern?" Sonet asked.
"Lost?" Rarity said with a quavering voice.
"I will help you..." Sonet said with a sigh.
"Oh, thank you, so much!, Dearie!" Rarity replied.
"Anything to see a smile on Lady Rarity's face..." Sonet quietly replied.
The two fluttered about the kitchen, and Sonet oddly found herself smiling. It might be how Rarity was musical in almost everything she did, but she could not remember a single time she was having this much fun in a kitchen.
"Oh, darling," Rarity said to her, "I'm going to have to find a way to thank you!"
"That... is not... necessary..." Sonet voiced.
"Oh, perish the thought!" Rarity quickly replied. "Oh, I know, how about a fabulous dress?"
"I... am... a Dragoon?" Sonet asked her, "We... have to always be ready... for conflict... Do you not remember His Lord's speech? Let sleeping dragons lie, strangling bears from a dead slumber?.."
"How?.. about?.." Rarity asked her, "a gown made out of those dragonscales you love?.."
"They are incredible armour..." Sonet replied. "Wait, a gown made out of dragoon scales?"
"What are the scales made out of, darling?" Rarity asked, "They feel like they give to the touch?"
"The original ones were bronze..." Sonet stated, "but the newest ones are orichalcum. Has His Lord not discussed this with you?.."
"I'm sure he has..." Rarity mumbled, "I hope you won't feel less of me if I ask this..."
"M'Lady?"
"But could I feel your dragoon scales?" Rarity stressed, to correct her earlier error.
"M'Lady?" Sonet repeated, as Rarity approached her ever closer.
"I promise to be gentle?" Rarity salaciously voiced. Sonet swallowed but said nothing. Rarity started to rub herself all over Sonet's dragoon scale armour. She rubbed her neck along Sonet's before pulling half way. She kissed her quickly on the lips before pulling further away. Sonet just simply stared at her without moving. "Those scales are remarkable." Rarity said with a smile.
Sonet stared for a few moments before she could say anything, "I did not know you were into mares?"
"I am and I am not." Rarity replied, "I still love stallions, but mares... have a certain character I just absolutely love. Mares are soft and sweet and fragrant... I remember my spa days with Fluttershy... they were the height of my weeks. And I apologize for distracting you... and myself..." Rarity stated as she returned to work. "So, a gown made of dragoon scales?"
"Would... would... it not get caught?.." Sonet asked, and Rarity smiled a wide smile. "M'Lady?" Sonet asked.
"That's not a no." Rarity said brilliantly. "I could shorten it to more of a party dress. Oh, it will be fabulous!"
"Everything you design is fabulous..." Sonet voiced. "Compared to you, I might as well be a stallion..."
"Did you want to be more feminine?.." Rarity asked, and Sonet paused for thought.
"I would love to be as fabulous as you..." Sonet voiced. "I have just never lived a lifestyle condusive to fabulosity..."
"Well, now you can, as long as you are in the lair!" Rarity exclaimed, "I could ask Spike to have you assigned to ward duty."
"To be honest, M'Lady," Sonet said to her, "until now... I did not care what duty I had... I had never expected... to become... den mother... There are far more charismatic Dragoons..."
"I see how much you care for them..." Rarity voiced, "and that is what truly matters. If you'll let me, I will teach you to let it out. You will be a fabulous den mother."
"Never as fabulous as you..." Sonet voiced.
"Did you hear that roar?" Rarity asked.
"He is done with his exercises." Sonet added. "How do I know this?"
"Spike does like to communicate in grumbles." Rarity beamed, "This just proves how much you pay attention to those around you. As I said, you care!"
"How can you be so giddy?" Sonet asked.
"Because I have my Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity extolled.
"You can come in!" Halfire shouted, and Rainbow Dash with Sprite appeared around the corner into the workshop.
"How'd you know we were here?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"The power of love." Halfire said, without looking up from his creation. "You exhude... energy... excitement... Plus Fawn was surreptitiously looking over at the doorway while trying not to be caught."
"Fawn!" Rainbow Dash cried, and Fawn looked away nervously.
"She was trying to keep your ruse..." Halfire voiced, as the Pegasus and Changeling walked up to him.
"So, Doc, are you going to tell me what you are working on?" Rainbow Dash asked, "You've been locked in here for... like... a week, now... I'm just glad Fawn's been here to look after you."
"Thank you..." Fawn nervously stated, and in the blink of an eye Rainbow Dash flew beside her, and was cradling her with her wing.
"What are you doing?" Sprite asked, and Halfire looked up from his work.
"Fire horseshoes." Halfire stated.
"Like jumpjets?" Sprite asked.
"Ideally?" Halfire asked, "Yes."
"Weapons?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes." Halfire stated. "And tools."
"Wait?" Rainbow Dash asked, "Does that mean I can flew super, super fast?"
Halfire sighed. "You can already fly super, awesomely fast, and I doubt anything I could create could assist this. As it is your ability to fly so fast defies what we know of physics."
"Aw, Doc..." she said shyly, and tried to hide behind Fawn.
"It amazes me every time you do that, Doc." Sprite stated.
"Honestly?," Halfire asked, "me as well."
"Oh, Doc..." Rainbow Dash nervously stated.
"Could we use them?" Sprite asked.
"Of course not!" Halfire stated, "Sorry, I mean, it requires Unicorn magic to function. There is no literature on how Pegasi nor Changeling magic functions."
"Aw, no fire horshoes for me?" Rainbow Dash asked, and Halfire looked at her, pausing to think it over.
"Don't worry, Doc." Sprite said to him, "I know if Rainbow asked you, you would spend the rest of your life trying to figure it out."
Halfire looked at her for a moment before speaking, "And you as well." he replied.
"What, me?" Sprite asked.
"You are part of the family." Halfire replied, "We need to severely refit the definition of family, but our life would not be the same without you."
"What about Fawn?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I probably would have starved to death over this past week..." Halfire stated. He looked at Rainbow Dash who seemed to want him to say it explicitly. "Our family would not be complete without Fawn, either. I think this calls for a group hug." he stated, and used his telekinesis to pull Sprite into him.
"Doc?.." Rainbow Dash whined, but did not resist as Fawn pushed her over. Once she was close enough, she found herself being pulled into Halfire, the same for an eager Fawn a moment later.
"Best friends for ever." Sprite stated.
"I doubt most best friends engage in the kinds of things we do." Halfire grumbled, and Sprite squeezed herself into him even harder.
"What else should we call ourselves?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Concubines is the most accurate." Halfire stated, and the group pulled itself apart.
"I'm okay with that." Sprite stated. She looked over to Fawn who eagerly nodded.
"I love you all, dearly..." Halfire stated.
"Doc?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"You, trailed off there..." Sprite voiced.
"I am... feeling... paternal..." Halfire said, sounding as if he were swallowing air after each word.
"Doc..." Rainbow Dash nervously said.
"I did... tell you this... when we started our relationship..." he added.
"I know... I know... I'm just... scared..." Rainbow Dash stuttered.
"It's not as dangerous as it used to be." Halfire stated.
"That's not what I'm scared of!" Rainbow Dash shouted, and was nearly brought to tears. "I'm afraid of me... I mean, what kind of mother am I going to be?.."
"If I had doubts about that, I would not have married you." Halfire answered. "Mayhap simply asking that question is enough."
"How can you be so sure, Doc?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I am sure of very little..." Halfire replied, "a consequence of a lifetime as an equipologist. But I know there is nopony I would rather do this with. Besides, worst case scenario, Twilight offered to foalsit."
"Twilight is rad like that..." Rainbow Dash nervously stated. "You... trust me Doc?.."
"I trust you with my life," he replied, "and the lives of our children."
"Children?.." Rainbow Dash nervously asked.
"At least two." he stated.
"At least?.." Rainbow fretted. "Just how long as you going to keep me bare-hooved, pregnant, and in the kitchen?"
"Like a pregnancy would stop you from flying." Halfire dismissed as he shook his head. "I doubt it would have any effect until the third trimester."
"But what about our foal?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"So long as you don't pull out of a Sonic Rainboom, or something, exercise is good for both mare and foal." Halfire said and paused, "Did they not teach you this in Cloudsdale?!"
"I told you I wasn't the best schoolfilly," Rainbow Dash admonished, "and it's not like I was going to get pregnant right out of flight school, like some fillies..."
"Do you trust me?" Halfire asked her.
"With my everything." Rainbow Dash replied with teary eyes.
"Then trust me," Halfire continued, "we will be fine. You will be a fine mother."
"I am awesome and amazing..." Rainbow Dash sniffed. "Alright, alright, you win Doc, but what will the Dragoons do without a Wonderbolt?"
"Maternity leave?" Halfire asked, "We also could use more trained to work with us."
"Doc?!" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Our reach has grown fantastically." Halfire said firmly.
"Alright, alright, I'll get an underwhatever..." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Understudy." Halfire replied.
"There's studying?!" Rainbow Dash asked, and Halfire just moved forward to kiss her.
"Besides," Sprite added, "you have two aunts to help you."
"We get to be aunts?!" Fawn exclaimed.
"Indubitably." Halfire said to her.