Feared Love Divided: Chapter 04/If you go down to the woods today...
Rainbow Dash walked leaning alongside Halfire, who had his rifle cradled over both of their backs. Behind them nervously walked Rarity and Ainé, and behind them a pair of Applejacks tied to a cart.
"I can HEAR you shaking." Rainbow Dash said without looking back.
"Yes, well, it is... the EVERFREE FOREST!" Rarity exclaimed. "I cannot believe how carefree you two can be about it."
"Whatever will be will be." Halfire replied.
"We got it." Rainbow Dash added.
"All tension does is make you jump at shadows." Halfire voiced.
"Shadows that can... ATTACK US!" Rarity exclaimed.
With this Halfire use his telekinesis to ready his rifle and fired a flare off into the forest, lighting it up. "I can, indeed, fight shadows."
"That's not very reassuring." Ainé added.
"It was not meant to be." Halfire voiced.
"We do have a Wonderbolt and a Dragoon!" Rainbow Dash added.
"And three Changelings." one of the Applejacks added.
"Yes, well... Sprite..." Rarity grumbled, "not all of them have been trained to fight like a Dragon, like some Ponies have..."
"We can fight like Changelings..." the second Applejack stated.
"And how, exactly, do Changelings fight?" Rarity asked, "because I remember in Canterlot..."
"We apologized..." Sprite as Applejack whined.
"That was not my point," Rarity continued, "but even a mare as fabulous as myself was able to fight you off."
"That doesn't count." Rainbow Dash stated.
"And why not?!" Rarity asked.
"Because," Rainbow Dash continued, "they threated to hurt a scale on Spikey-Wikey's head. It was no longer Rarity, but, like, Rarzilla, or something..."
"How dare they treaten to hurt Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity exclaimed, "No offense..." she voiced.
"None taken." Ainé said from beside her.
"We sow comfusion." Sprite stated.
"Yes..." Rarity uttered, "I... remember that..."
"Remember that manticore?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes, yes." Rarity nervously stated, "And I remember how... cuddly... Fluttershy thought it was..."
"Yeah, well," Rainbow Dash continued, "Imagine if there were two manticores!"
"Oh, my!" Rarity stated.
Halfire turned around and readied his rifle, shooting just past the pair of Applejacks. As his bullet struck, the timber wolf fell to pieces. He drew his bolt, aimed, and took out a second timber wolf in less than a second. The other timber wolves looked frightened and ran away as Rainbow Dash charged towards them. "Sprite!" Rainbow Dash called out, and Sprite had already cleared herself from the cart, reverted, and moved to join her. The two flew off to chase the timber wolves away. Halfire turned around and looked just over his rifle's sights, looking back and forth at the woods. Fawn broke free and turned into a timber wolf, rushing to the back to keep watch. Rainbow Dash and Sprite quickly returned, as Ainé tried to reassure a shaking Rarity.
"We've cleared everyone out." Rainbow Dash said to her. "We won't be seeing anyone for a while."
"You... are... quite... sure?.." Rarity asked.
"I'd bet my rainbow Cutie Mark on it." Rainbow Dash replied, and Rarity began to quiver. "Oh, come," Rainbow Dash continued, "you weren't THAT bad."
"She what?" Halfire asked.
"I was... briefly..." Rarity uttered, "in charge of weather... in Ponyville..."
"How?!" Halfire asked, "Why?"
"It was some kind of side effect." Rainbow Dash stated, "Of Twilight's big spell."
"Big spell?" Halfire asked, "Starswirl the Bearded's unfinished spell?! THE SPELL THAT TURNED HER INTO AN ALICORN?! Pardon my... enthusiasm..."
"I love when you get passionate." Rainbow Dash said to him. "Even if it about egg head stuff. It's surprisingly cute."
Halfire stood, looking at her, unable to find something to say.
"He's dumbstuck!" Rarity shouted.
"Doc is anything but dumb..." Rainbow Dash said with great annoyance.
"She means mute." Halfire said, "That's what dumb actually means, and..."
"Doc?" Rainbow Dash asked him, but he could not say anything more.
"He is just adorable." Rarity voiced.
"Have you never been called adorable before?" Ainé asked him.
"I have," he replied, "but it has never meant as much as to me as it did just now."
"You two are so cuddly," Rarity added, "that it almost makes me jealous."
"Do you not cuddle?" Halfire asked her.
"Cuddling is a bit different when it involves a Dragon." Ainé added. "On the plus size he's big enough to cuddle all of us."
"Okay," Halfire stated, "now I am jealous."
"Yeah," Sprite stated, "but this way we have room to cuddle you as well."
"Sprite!" Rainbow Dash admonished.
"You are both so adorable." Halfire stated.
"You guys are going to make me blush." Rainbow Dash said as she quickly looked away.
"Shouldn't we worry about the Everfree forest?" Rarity quietly asked.
"We never stopped." Halfire said, looking at her before looking back at the forest. "It's a knight thing."
"Always on their vigil." Rainbow Dash stated. "Doc's ears are always listening for anything about us."
"Mayhap we be attacked at any time." Halfire stated. He removed the magazine from his rifle, pulled the bolt to clear the chambre, and aimed to fire the empty weapon. He then proceeded to recharge the magazine.
"Is it me?," Halfire asked, "or is the forest starting to look more and more haunted."
"It's been looking haunted the entire time..." Rarity whined.
"Aw," Rainbow Dash added, "this is nothing like when we faced Nightmare Moon."
"Pinkie had us giggling up a storm." Rarity voiced.
"Giggling?" Halfire asked.
"It seems silly..." Rainbow Dash stated, "but poof, the haunted woods was gone."
"Laughter?," Halfire asked, "is one of the elements of harmony; it has the power to lighten Ponies' hearts... To think it could dispel the darkness... While I can make a filly squeal, laughter is not one of my strong suits."
"That's why you have me." Fawn said from beside Rarity, and bounded ahead of Rainbow Dash and Halfire, letting out a delightful giggle. Within a single moment the darkness of the forest seemed to dissipate. "I do appreciate when you make me squeal..."
"Fawn." Rarity admonished.
"We are in the middle of the forest." Fawn replied, "I doubt the trees care."
"I, for one..." Rarity replied, "would not be so sure..."
"Also," Sprite stated, "following Pony social structures, we are ill suited for an orgy."
"Sprite is as filthy as you are, Rainbow Dash." Rarity said to her.
"She learned from the best." Rainbow Dash said with a snicker.
"And you are the best?" Rarity asked her.
"By Celestia, no." Rainbow Dash replied, "Doc is the master of perversion."
"And she makes a good apprentice." Halfire stated.
"You are nothing but a bunch of ruffians!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Act all hoity-toity," Rainbow Dash said to her, "but you melt as soon as Spike grumbles."
"You have to allow a lady some indulgences..." Rarity coyly replied.
"The best part," Halfire voiced, "is that you are both just as coy..."
"What?!" Rarity and Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"It is delightful." Halfire said with a smile, but we should continue.
The Ponies and Changelings sat around a campfire as their meal warmed their stomachs. "So?," Halfire asked, "who wants to tell ghost stories?"
"Is this really the time and place?" Ainé asked.
"I think this is the perfect time and place." Halfire said to her. "Campfire stories are a tradition passed down from the earliest of Ponies. While Ponies instinctively huddle around fire, beasts do not. For us it brings comfort, for them it brings fear. Every Pony society has known the power of fire to keeps beasts at bay."
"So primal..." Rarity voiced.
"It makes me feel connected... to the old Pegasuses..."
"Pegasi." Rarity corrected.
"Yeah-huh..." Rainbow Dash dismissed. "Do you think there was a Pegasus mare traveling with her very special somepony Unicorn stallion?"
"What I think is irrelevant." Halfire replied, "There are several stories of such."
"Are you serious, Doc?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Would I lie to you?" he asked, and Rainbow Dash simply looked at him as if she were deciding. "The answer is of course not." Halfire stated. "I have never had a desire to change your heart."
"But you loved me?.." Rainbow Dash asked. "love me?.."
"How your heart found mine is an inexplicable serendipity." Halfire stated.
"you're like a walking T. rex." Rainbow Dash stated, and he looked at her questioningly. "T-saurus?" she asked.
"Thesaurus." he stated.
"Yeah!, that!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"He does have the gift of a silver tongue." Rarity added.
"I would prefer purple." he stated."
"Oh, my?" Rarity asked, "Purple it is."
"I would love to hear the old stories." Ainé stated.
"Good thing I have a few of the old story books with me." Haflire uttered, and used his telekinesis to pull a book out of his saddlebag.
Halfire woke from a dead sleep and used his telekinesis to pull and push the bolt, readying his rifle. The thoughts of Fawn filled his head, those thoughts were of a cockatrice. He threw his ammunition pouch over his back and dashed out of the tent beside Fawn as a timber wolf. 'Guide my senses' he thought to her and she replied in the affirmative, 'and please wake the others.'
Fawn thought to Ainé and Sprite and the pair roused, quickly rousing their mistresses.
"hm?" Rarity mumbled, but Ainé quickly shushed her, looking out of the tent. Rainbow Dash followed the gaze and saw Halfire and the simulacrum of a timber wolf alert in the darkness, but not... seeing... What were they doing?
"Cockatrice." Sprite whispered her to her. Rainbow Dash looked determined while Rarity began to shake.
"Keep your eyes closed, Mistress." Ainé whispered, and Rarity quickly closed her eyes. "I will stay with you."
Rarity quivered but nodded in reply.
Rainbow Dash and Sprite exited the tent, but eyes closed, floating above the ground. Sprite turned into a bat and let out her echo location. This information was passed along to Fawn's mind who passed it onto Halfire. He aimed his rifle and waited for the second ping. It struck the target and then he fired a flare, driving the cockatrice off.
"Doc?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Let's speak in the morning..." Halfire voiced. He walked up to Fawn in her timber world form and rubbed his neck up against hers.
Halfire yawned as he stepped out of the tent. He used his telekinesis to remove the magazine from his rifle and work the action. Behind him from the tent, with his telekinesis he pulled a pouch that had his cleaning supplies. He stopped as he nearly bumped into Rainbow Dash. He finished his yawn and opened his eyes, only to see Rainbow Dash's eyes inches away from his. "Morn..." he voiced, and yawned once again. "You... want an explanation... but I think I have a right to some coffee before we get into anything too heavy."
"In a minute." Ainé said, beside the relit fire.
"We will have a wonderful meal for you." Rarity added. Halfire looked around sleepily, but could not find Fawn. "She's still on patrol." Rarity replied. "It seems there is only one Pony to get her to stand down."
Halfire stretched for a moment. "Let's stow the tent, and she can sleep in the wagon."
"Yeah, yeah." Rainbow Dash said to him, "Let's get going, Doc."
Fawn, as herself, was asleep in the wagon as the others sat around the fire with their breakfast. Halfire drank deeply from his coffee and breathed for a moment before turning to Rainbow Dash. "I allowed Fawn to hypnotize me."
"Doc?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Cultural relativism is essential for a cultural equipologist." Halfire replied. "I know she would do me no harm so, I allowed her to sneak inside my mind. She's always there, but I would never worry about her delving too deep, at least for naught but her own sanity."
"So?" Rainbow Dash asked, "She can read your mind?"
"And I hers." Halfire stated, "The Changelings are also connected to each other, at least the ones from the same colony... or the ones with the same affinity..."
"An apt description." Ainé stated.
"Could me and Sprite do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Sprite made to say something, but Halfire jumped in before her, "You don't need to. You and Sprite have an intuitive connection, that speaks volumes without words. As Rarity does with Ainé. Me, mayhap?," he asked, "when lives are on the line, I get standoffish... which is exactly the wrong time to do so..."
"You make it sound like some sort of disability." Rainbow Dash added.
"How could it not be?" Halfire asked. "It stops me from doing something that needs to be done with all haste, lest lives be lost... Fawn... keeps me grounded."
"And I don't?" Rainbow Dash asked, and this caused Halfire and Sprite to burst out with laughter.
"Grounded is the last thing you do for him." Sprite snarked.
"Oh, come on, Sprite." Rainbow Dash admonished.
"You don't need to get after her." Rarity interjected. "One of the first things you did was quite literally pull him into the clouds..."
"I did, didn't I?.." Rainbow Dash asked. "Twilight did help."
"Yes, yes." Rarity playfully dismissed.
"Each connection with a Changeling is unique." Halfire offered.
"Exactly." Sprite added, "I would not trade my relationship with mistress for Halfire's with Fawn."
"Aww..." Rainbow Dash said to Sprite.
"I love you both." Halfire stated, and the two found themselves enveloped in his telekinesis, only to be quickly pulled into a group hug. In reply, Ainé approached Rarity from behind and embraced her.
"You know..." Rainbow Dash said, "I can remember... it seems like so long ago... when you could not catch me dead in a group hug..."
"You've become... a lot more... obedient..." Halfire said to her, and she giggled in reply.
"Nopony in all of Equestria could say that to her," Ainé stated, "without getting a hoof to the face."
"I don't know what to say." Rainbow Dash voiced, "I just love what Doc does to me. It makes me feel... whole... like something I had been missing..."
"And I'm going to stop you there," Rarity interrupted, "before you say something untoward..."
In reply Rainbow Dash let out a nervous laughter.
"I think it's time we made for the road." Halfire stated.
Fawn stirred in the carriage and stretched, quickly taking flight. Once she got her bearings she fluttered over to beside Halfire and landed next to him. "Morning, master." she eagerly said to him.
"Did you sleep well?"
"I slept quite well." she eagerly replied.
"You would never lie to me, would you?" he asked her.
"I'm sorry, master." she nervously stated. "I... tried to sleep... but..."
"Trying is fine." he gently said to her. "You can catch up your sleep later, but just don't lie to me."
"I'm... I'm... sorry... master..." Fawn quietly stated.
"You don't need to be so harsh on her, Doc." Rainbow Dash interjected.
"I am hardly being harsh." Halfire stated. "You had the same problem in Nifl's Gate."
"Do-ooc..." Rainbow Dash whined.
"Oh, come now, Rainbow Dash," Rarity lightly admonished, "a lady does need her beauty sleep. I'm quite sure that - Doc - loves you when you are beautiful."
"I'm not exactly a fabulous fashion mare..." Rainbow Dash replied.
"You are far more of a frolicking filly than you know." Halfire added.
"Doc!?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I love both sides of you, but your frilly filly side is the one least seen, which is why I endeavour to draw it out."
"You don't want me to see me in a frilly dress, do you?" Rainbow Dash asked. In reply Halfire said nothing, but the wide smile spoke volumes. "Do-ooc?!" Rainbow Dash whined.
"It's not like he's forcing you." Sprite stated, "Like I want to..."
"Why would you do that?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"On one hoof," Sprite continued, "it would be hilarious, on the other hand it would be SEXY."
"No?.."
"Even the tomboy Changeling thinks you would look fabulous." Rarity added.
"I want to see it as well." Ainé voiced.
"And what does Fawn think?" Rainbow Dash asked her.
"I think I would have trouble not ravishing you if you did so." Fawn voiced.
"How did you become so much of a pervert?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You used to be so quiet."
"I still am." Fawn said shyly, "But, for the pervert, I learned from the best."
"Doc is pretty perverted." Rainbow Dash said with a nod, but Fawn shook her head and just looked at Rainbow Dash. "What?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Me?"
"Of course you." Fawn replied, "You think Doc is perverted, but he just draws out your perverted side."
"Yes, yes..." Rarity voiced, "you are all fine, upstanding perverts..."
"What you do with Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked, "You can't exactly talk."
"I don't..." Rarity muttered.
"Now that Fawn is up and about?.." Sprite asked.
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash stated, "me and Sprite can go and do some scouting."
"Agreed." Halfire stated, and they all stopped. Rarity and Halfire used their telekinesis to untie Sprite (as Applejack) from the carriage.
