//------------------------------// // Intermission: Hearth's Warming on the Front // Story: Equestria Under Siege // by Willfire //------------------------------// Interlude: Hearth’s Warming on the Front “Oh man, why are we out here again?” Rainbow Dash as she flew along the treetops of the Everfree Forest. Behind her in formation flying was Fluttershy. Both her saddlebags and her backpack were heavily loaded with medical supplies causing her speed to drop to a slow ‘float’, A speed that was causing Rainbow Dash to grind her teeth in frustration. “Because a few of the Everfree creatures told me that there is an injured Manticore close to the edge of the forest. I’m going there to patch her up before the Quil find her. I can’t just let her die.” Fluttershy told her. There was just a hint, a faint hint, of steel in her voice but Rainbow Dash’s sharp ears picked up on it. “Sorry Shy, I’m not trying to put down your job or any of the creatures that live out here.” She laughed slightly. “I know for a fact they fight harder than we do sometimes.” She lapsed into silence, her eyes forward. Behind her, unknown to Rainbow, Fluttershy flew with a smile on her face as she gazed at her marefriend. With a few strong flaps of her wings Fluttershy broke formation to fly directly over Rainbow. Suddenly she dropped in altitude to wrap Rainbow in a hug. With a surprised squeak Rainbow found her wings pinned by a weight from above. It took only a second to realize that it was Fluttershy. “I know you mean well Rainbow, thank you for coming with me.” Fluttershy told her as she slowly let Rainbow go from the hug. Once clear Rainbow Dash started to flap again and looked back at Fluttershy, a blush creeping up her face. “Thank nothing of it Shy.” Rainbow said. Normally she would play off the hug and the blush but it was only her, the one she cared about. Fluttershy knew about the brash front she put on for everyone else but when it was just the two of them the brashness stepped aside to let Rainbow express her true feelings. Rainbow Dash reached out and grabbed Fluttershy’s hand. “Come on, let’s get your friend patched up then get back to the base.” With a small giggle Fluttershy nodded and started after her. ************************** Twilight looked out the air traffic control room towards the forest below. From the north a freak storm was starting to brew thanks to the Everfree’s unique properties. “Who do we have out there again?” Twilight asked. “Muffin Squad led by Ditzy with a return ETA of five minutes, they had a southern patrol.” Twilight rolled her eyes with a small smile but held her tongue. “We also have Freelancer Squad led by Snowflake beating a hasty retreat from the storm front. They report its going to be a heavy snow front with nothing they can do to stop it but they are willing to slow it down.” A green Earth Folk mare reported. “Will Muffin squad make it back before the storm hits?” Twilight asked. “Yes ma’am. Assuming all goes well.” “Good, Tell Freelancer to return to base then lock us down for the storm. What grounds us, grounds the Quil too.” Twilight told her. {Everyone but a few guards will be in the base tonight for Hearth’s Warming. Good, but I still need a few to keep watch.} She thought to herself as the radio went off behind her. She didn’t pay attention to it as her mind was running through the possibilities of who to put on guard duty. “Ma’am? Sergeant Rarity is asking for you.” Twilight looked over at the same green mare from before holding the receiver of the radio. With a nod and thank you Twilight took it. “Sparkle here, go ahead Sgt Belle.” “Oh Darling, do you know where Fluttershy is? I took Sweetie Belle for her appointment about her Mana Burn and I can’t find her. One of the horned folk was kind enough to take over as well as do the scanning that needed to be done but I’m worry about Fluttershy.” “Hmm, well I haven’t see Rainbow streaking through the sky so maybe the two of them snuck off together. I have been meaning to change the rotation enough to get the two of them some off time.” Twilight told her. ”Be that as it may, I overheard a couple of the nurses talking about Fluttershy taking some medical supplies and grabbing her flight gear. If that is true then maybe Rainbow went with her.” Twilight blinked then narrowed her eyes as her brain raced. “Standby Rarity.” She sat the receiver down then pulled the equipment logs. If Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were in flight then they would have checked out equipment. Flipping to today’s page she scanned the last hour of entries, her finger quickly coming to rest over Fluttershy and Dash’s names. Setting the log aside she pulled another log, the flight plan log book. It took only a few flips to find the page she wanted and grimaced. Placing the log back she picked up the receiver again. “Sgt Belle, you still there?” Twilight asked with a slight huff. ”Right here, Darling. What’s wrong?” “Both Fluttershy and Dash are heading for the edge of the Everfree and we got a storm out here strong enough to ground us. The two of them are going to be on their own until the storm passes. I got an idea but I need to find Trixie and Sunset Shimmer. Help me find them.” ”On it Twilight, you can count on me.” Rarity told her. Twilight could just hear the salute through the radio. Replacing the receiver Twilight looked to the radio operator a light blue Horned Folk stallion. “Try to raise either Sgt Fluttershy or Sgt Dash and let them know a storm is coming and they need to take shelter. Let them know we are going to try to send a sheep dog to guide them home if they can give us a location.” With a nod the stallion turned to the radio to try and raise either of them. Twilight patted him on the shoulder then ran out the door. ********************** Applejack walked through the halls of the castle, no real destination in mind. Yes she had a few reports on her desk to look over, nothing serious. But there was one report she needed to finish out her day. The maintance bay reports for the Jeep units from her brother. Since Big Mac’s sudden appearance in Ponyville just before they were forced to flee, Applejack was ecstatic to see her brother back. According to him he was bounced from outfit to outfit having outlived quiet a number of them. He even started to get a reputation as bad luck to the squads he was placed with. IT was only some quick thinking on Twilight’s part that kept Big Mac from being placed with another squad as he was put in charge of the maintance teams for the jeeps. Applejack’s wonderings already took her by the maintance bay where she found Applebloom and her squad painting on their jeep so she knew Big Mac wasn’t there so she was heading to the only place she hasn’t checked yet, his quarters. Since he was a department commander he got his own quarters, something Applejack was glad for. Big Mac spent three years watching his buddies die around him, it was a small reward for years of service. It didn’t take her long for her mosey over to his door and without thinking she opened it. “Yo, Big Mac, Ah need the maintance reports in ten minutes….” She paused at the sight before her. Leaning over the small couch in the room was the large Earth Folk stallion of Applejack’s search, looking at her wide eyed though a shaggy blond mane, in his teeth was a small white bra. Under his massive frame was a small light purple Earth Folk mare with two toned with and light pink mane, one arm covering her chest and her leg curled up to cover her staring at her wide eyed and in a near panic. Applejack’s eyes idly wondered over to the very visible cutie marks, Big Mac’s half apple and the mare’s three smiling flowers, on both of them. She sighed more to herself than anything. “Uh…AJ?” Big Mac managed to ask. “Mac, Ms. Cheerilee ya’ll should know by now that when family is nearby you should either lock your door or put a sock on the knob or something. Since Ah’m second of this here base, that means ALL the time.” Applejack could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks. “Mac, as for that report Ah was asking about, don’t worry about it until the morn.” She tipped her hat towards the two of them. “Ms. Cheerilee, it’s good to see the two of you back together again. Happy Hearth’s Warming you two, carry on.” “Bye AJ.” Cheerilee called out with a wave of her free hand as Applejack closed the door. “Now where were we?” Applejack’s blush deepened at those words. They came from Cheerilee before the door could block out the sound. “Ah wonder what Applebloom is up to.” With a purpose to her steps she made her way to the barracks of the jeep squads where Applebloom and her two friends shared a room. ********************** Rainbow was impressed to say the least. The creatures of the Everfree passed the two of them along to the next like a bucket brigade that led them straight to the injured manticore. Rainbow looked over the lion before her then to the wings on its back then the stinger for a tail. “Fluttershy, remind me again why we are here?” Rainbow asked her as she tapped her ear piece. For the last ten minutes they were getting static bursts of something but she couldn’t make out what. She glanced at the sky above, eyeballing the not so friendly clouds hovering over them. “She was injured from a Quil scouting party the other day. She didn’t think she would need help but the injury got infected. I’m here to help her recover so she can get back on her feet.” Fluttershy told her from where she knelt by the injured manticore. Rainbow’s eyes saw where Fluttershy was working and she paled. The gash along the side of the manticore’s body was deep and ugly. Turning away Rainbow hefted her rifle. That was Fluttershy’s department hers was guarding for the moment, as long as she didn’t have to look at that ugly wound. Her eyes scanned the foliage around them as Fluttershy muttered pleasant words to the whimpering Manticore. “Rainbow…she says that we need to find shelter soon.” Fluttershy suddenly called out. If Rainbow wasn’t hyper alert she would have missed it. “Say what?” Rainbow didn’t stop looking around but now her attention was behind her. “She says, that a storm is coming, a big one.” Rainbow’s eyes widened as she looked at the clouds. That was why she didn’t like them, she studied to join the weather team of Cloudsdale before she joined the war effort. Those clouds were heavy, with snow. She started to turn to tell Fluttershy to hurry when there was a loud snapping of a branch. Snapping back to the front Rainbow lifted her rifle in surprise, but as she stared down the sights something made her pause from the scene before her. Standing no more than fifteen feet away, next to a tree, stood a Quil Soldier. Its large red eye gazed at the three of them intently as its front left leg slowly lowered from the branch it snapped. Rainbow looked at the Quil then the branch. She never heard it approach and from where the branch was, the Quil broke it on purpose. Why? Then the second fact dawned on her. The leg that broke the branch, was missing the sharp point as it dangled limply at its side. As the two mares stared at the Quil, Fluttershy felt something brush against her face. Glancing at the sky she saw it was starting to snow gently. “Rainbow…?” She held out her hand and caught one of the delicate flakes. Rainbow, the Manticore and the Quil all looked up at the sky, watching the snow drift to the ground. Suddenly Rainbow Dash blinked and dropped her gaze back at the Quil, berating herself for getting lax in the face of the enemy but her rant was still born. The Quil was still looking up at the sky. {Just shoot Rainbow, its distracted and you got it in your sights. You can’t miss at this range.} She told herself. Her rifle drifted upwards as she took aim again. {But why? Why is it distracted? It could have killed the three of us and we would have never known, it came at us so quietly. Why did it break the branch letting me know it was there?} She thought. Before her, her finger resting on the trigger but unmoving, the Quil slowly looked back at Rainbow Dash. It stared at her, for some reason the red eye didn’t seem as rage filled as during a battle. Then with a deliberate slowness the Quil turned and walked away leaving the three of them alone. “Someone want to tell me what’s happening because I’m about ten seconds away from a total freak out.” Rainbow Dash said out loud. “Umm…no clue.” Fluttershy told her. Looking back at the Manticore she quickly finished the bandage and stepped back as the Manticore stood up. With a low growl she looked around, then growled again. “I don’t know what you mean…eep!” From the bushes rushed six small Manticores. Each of them mewing with relief that their mother was ok. “Aww, that’s why the creatures got me, you are a mother. Are they not just adorable?” Fluttershy asked gushing at the babies around her and their mother. “Yeah….cute. Um hate to break up this reunion but if we are going to get home we need to do so NOW. Before this storm gets to bad to fly in.” Rainbow said as she looked up at the sky. The snow was starting to fall much harder than before. “Really don’t want to be stuck somewhere on Hearth’s Warming you know.” “Your right. Let’s go…ouch.” Fluttershy started to turn when one of the kittens grabbed her by the fatigues in its tiny jaws. “Oh, what do you want little one.” With a few mews it nuzzled against her. “Your welcome little one. Now go back to your mommy, I’m sure she was worried for you.” With a lick of a rough tongue it scampered off to join the rest of its family as they disappeared into the woods. “Come on already. This storm is going to get way worst before it gets better.” Rainbow said with a flap of her wings launching her into the air soon followed by Fluttershy. *************** “Sorry Ma’am, we got nothing and the storm is slamming us hard right now.” The green Earth folk mare told Twilight with a wave out the window overlooking the forest. The tops of the trees were only about ten maybe fifteen feet away and all she could see was blowing snow. “And you don’t know if either Staff Sgt Dash or Sgt Fluttershy got your radio message?” Twilight asked her. The mare shook her head in response. With a short oath Twilight looked back out the window. She was frustrated that her idea was grounded before it even took off. “Come on Dash, you and Fluttershy need to survive this.” “Ma’am, we need to lock down the hanger or the snow will be up to the observation lounge above us. That extra weight alone could cause the hanger to collapse to the grounds below.” The mare told her. She didn’t want to do that knowing who was out there and what they meant to her commanding officer but she had to. She watched as Twilight was silent a moment. Then with a small nod she turned back to her. “Close the hanger and lock it down. Once that is done clear out of here.” Twilight told her. She watched as the mare before her nodded solemnly then pressed a few buttons causing the hanger doors to close locking the storm outside. “Its up to you two now.” Twilight muttered as she made her way out of the hanger’s traffic control room. *************** Rainbow and Fluttershy were lost. At least Rainbow refused to acknowledge that fact. She kept on flying holding on to a freezing Fluttershy as she powered her way through the heavy storm as it raged around them. Despite the coldness Fluttershy did her best to help as she flapped as well but they were too weak to do really anything. She pulled the mare closer to her hoping to keep her warm long enough to get back to the base. “Stay with me Shy, we are almost there.” Rainbow could hear her own teeth chattering as she spoke. She looked down and saw Fluttershy’s lips were turning blue but her eyes still watched her with a trust that spoke volumes. “Trust me, I will get you out of this.” Rainbow leaned in and gave a small kiss then looked up leveling a glare at the snow swirling around her. “I promise you that!” “R-r-rain-b-b-ow, do yo-you h-hear t-t-that?” FLuttershy said as she shivered with cold. Rainbow Dash cocked her head and heard it, a faint jiggling sound. “Wh-at in the w-world is t-t-that?” Rainbow stammered out. Now she knew she was starting to lose it and they needed to find the base or shelter as of twenty minutes ago. “L-look!” Fluttershy pointed as a small red glow could be seen in the distance as it flew across there path. {I don’t know what it is, but it seems to have a destination in mind.} Rainbow thought to herself as she turned to follow the glow. It was faint and getting fainter as she flew but something caught her eye, a shape beyond the fading glow got her hopes up. She reached up and hit her radio. “This is Rainbow Dash, R-requesting perm-is-son to land.” She chattered with excitement. ”Dash? …granted…hanger door…now. Welcome home!” That voice was Twilight’s even if it was covered by static. The dark shapes took form and Rainbow quickly found the hanger. As she came in for a landing her wings gave out and the two of them collapsed into a heap on the hanger floor as the storm doors closed behind her. Once it was closed the two of them were surrounded by folk from the medical corp as Twilight ran up to them. “Welcome home you two. Glad to see you are still alive.” Twilight told them. Rainbow laughed as she reached out and grabbed Fluttershy’s hand through the blankets the two of them were wrapped in. “Glad to be home Twi, glad to be home.” Rainbow said as she glanced at the storm door, the faint sound of bells could be heard as she looked causing everyone to pause a moment. “I’ll take that as a Hearth’s Warming Present any day.”