//------------------------------// // Chapter XVIII: The Search // Story: Heart Of Fire: You'll Be In My Heart // by Melody Brush //------------------------------// CHAPTER XVIII: THE SEARCH Rainbow Dash was relaxing on a small cloud having just finished some flying practice to try and impress the Wonderbolts. She stretched her forlegs out and placed them under her head as she layed back, closing her eyes, ready for a good long nap. "BLAZING!!!" Dash's eyes shot open as she sprang up from her comfortable spot on the cloud. She looked for the source of the scream, knowing who the screamed belonged to. "That was Chocolate!" She flew down toward Blazing's house and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw two changelings carrying a third toward the forest with Bazing flying after them. Part of her wanted to let the changelings take Chocolate away, but Blazing loved Chocolate and she would not hear the end of it if she was able to help and chose not to. "Horse feathers! Why did I have to be the Element Of Loyalty?!" She asked herself as she took off full speed to the changelings. She was about to come up and buck the one on the left in the face but was intercepted by another changeling as it hissed at her. She gasped, but quickly got to the offensive as she dove underneath and bucked him in the back. She was about to resume her chace, but more changelings surrounded her. Blazing was flying fast enough to leave an unseen trail of smoke behind him. He was close enough now that he could reached up to reclaim Chocolate from the changelings but was pulled away by a pair of hooves. He looked back to see another changeling had him by the hind legs screeching at him. "Get the hell off me!" He showted as he broke free of the changeling and bucked him clean in the nose. He looked up and saw the changelings had almost reached the forest, Chocolate tried to breack free, but it was useless as more of the changelings came to aid in her hold while others moved to stop Blazing. He tried to get around the changelings but there were too many. When The changelings carrying Chocolate vanished in the forest, the rest flew after them. Blazing started flying into the forest when he heard Rainbow call him. He looked up at her, both sadness and determination in his eyes. "Blazing hold on." Blazing blinked. Dash had not called him Blazing since they first met when they were foals. He bolted toward the forest without a word. He heard Rainbow call out to him but he would have none of it. His fianceé was just taken away by changelings and now Rainbow called him by his real name. He flew through the trees for what seemed like hours with no sign of the changelings. He took a moment to stop and take in a deep breath to relax himself. He remembered from his training that in situations like this you must have a clear mind. Just then he heard some rustling in the leaves behind him. He took a defensive position, ready to strike what ever it was coming for him and saw Rainbow Dash pop out of the trees. "There you are." She said, looking relieved as she flew closer to him. Blazing flew right into her, knocking her back as he pinned her to the ground. "What are you doing?" "Where is she?!" He asked. "What the... Stripes, it's me!" She said trying to breack free. "Then tell me, who is my father?" He asked, keeping his hold on her. "What? Stripes, y..." "Answere the quesrion!" He snapped, keeping his voice sturn but quiet. "Your dad is Winter Breeze." She answered. "Not the one who married Autumn!" In all of Equestria, apart from himself and his adopted mother, there was only two ponies who knew who his biological father was. He told Rainbow shortly before Spitfire became captain of the Wonderbolts and made her swear on pain of torture and death she would not tell anypony or do anything crazy about it. "Sunlight Skies." She answered quietly after calming down. Bazing slowly and cautiously let her up. She sat up and brushed herself off as she glared at Blazing. "What was that all about?" She asked. "You called me Blazing back there." He answered. "What does that have to do with anything?" She asked. "You never call me by my real name." He answered. "I do sometimes." She countered. "Not enough to make me think you weren't a changeling that helped kidnap my fianceé and try to stop me from finding them." He replied. "I was trying to help you!" She half shouted. "Then help me by finding my wife and get her back home safely!" He barcked. "She's not your wife, Stripes." She said. "It's close enough to the wedding, and I don't care. You can come with me or go back to nap on a cloud, but I'm going to save Chocolate before the queen does something that will keep us apart forever!" He started to fly off when Rainbow placed a hoof on his shoulder. He looked back at her to see an expression of pain in her eyes. He blinked, realizing what he just said. "Since when have I ever betrayed you?" She asked. "I may have left when I first found out about her, but... I never betrayed you. I wanted to tell the princess and the others so badly, but you told me not to and Pinkie Pie made me Pinkie promise and even if she didn't I would never betray you or any of my friends like that." Blazing started to tear up at Dash's words. He knew she was telling the truth. He reached up and hugged the cyan mare as she returned the embrace. She pushed him to legslength and smiled at him. "Let's go get your wife back." She said. He nodded his head and they took off into the trees. ~~~ Chocolate struggled against the changelings strong grip. How did they get so strong? She asked herself. They flew through the trees for several long minutes before coming to an opening in the forest. Chocolate looked around to see the area filled with changelings, most of them almost fully recovered from the day of the royal wedding. They all got to their hooves and gave a long bow to her as the two holding her carried her to the end of the camp and dropped her on the ground. She scrambled to her hooves and looked around untill her eyes met the queens. Chrysalis was stamding tall, her wounds fully healed and her gaze filled with both disappointment and accomplishment. She smiled at Chocolate before opening her mouth to speek. "SHUT UP!" Chocolate snapped. Chrysalis' smile vanished. "First of all, how could the others posibly be stronger then me? I've been feeding off good, strong, real love! How?" "My daughter..." Chrysalis began again. "DON'T you, my duaghter, me! You just took me away from my family and I want to know how are your subjects are stronger then me?" Chrysalis stared Chocolate down. "I cast a spell on you to make sure your subjects had no trouble getting you back to your real family." Chrysalis answered. "NO!" Chocolate barcked. "You must except the turth child. You are, not only a changeling, but the Princess of the Changelings and you must take your rightfull place once again at my side untill it is time for you to be queen." "SHUT THE HELL UP!" Chocolate snapped, causing her subjects to cringe at her burning anger. The queen stared at her with increasing disappointment. "Oh, my duaghter. Too long have you been poisoned by that tallions..." "His name is Blazing Feathers!" Chocolate interrupted. The queen began to protest but Chocolate would not be silenced until she spoke out what she needed to say. "He is a pegasus pony from Ponyville and he is the kindest, most loving and most caring I have ever met in my entire life! He found me lost in the forest, wounded and left alone unprotected and took me in to be healed regardless of what I was. He loves me and I love him and I will spend the rest of my life with him." She paused looking at the scene of confused changelings looking at her and turned to face her mother. "I will go back to spend the rest of my life with him and there is 'nothing' you can do to stop me!" She bolted toward the trees to where she came from, but was intercepted by the changelings. The queen ordered them to bring her to her, wich they did faithfully. They held her in place infront of the queen as her horn began to glow a menacing green. Chocolate struggled even harder to breack free, but it was no use. "Calm yourself, my child." Chrysalis said as she stepped closer. "Soon you will forget all about that stallion and the lies he's poisoned you with." She aimed her horn at Chocolate as she struggled even harder to break free. The magic on Chrysalis' horn grew bighter as she was about to cast a spell. ~~~ Blazing and Rainbow flew through the trees searching left and right to see if there was any sign of a changeling armada, but there was no sign of them. A few times they flew up over the trees to see if they could find anything but to no avail. They were now back on the ground continueing their search when Blazing heard something in the distance. It sounded like somepony was giving a speech about how somepony was the kindest pony they had ever met. "That's Chocolate." Blazing said as he fallowed the sound. Soon the speech was replaced with struggling, making his heart sink as he kept on fallowing the noise. He came to a clearing in the forest filled with changelings as a few of them held one infront of the queen agaist her will. Blazing's heart stopped as he saw the queen aim her glowing green horn at Chocolate saying she would soon forget all about him. He bolted through the bushes with full force as he screamed at the top of his lungs. "NO!"