4: Captured

Sgt. Greer hurriedly clambered through the thick snow behind a stone wall, narrowly escaping the bullets' paths. He briefly sat there, breathing hard. After collecting himself, he shakily reached into his pocket, retrieving a new magazine. He then detached the empty mag from his M1 Garande, the fresh one taking its place.

Blood. Death. Gore.

        After taking a deep breath, the American soldier bolted from cover, sliding to another safe spot, just beside the sniper tower. The occupant wasn't focused on him, instead firing on Nathan's companions. Good. He scooted from his position, heading towards the entrance to the tower.

Guilt. Regret. Anger.

        He was just yards from the doorway of the sniper tower, the entrance dark and gloomy. Deacon prepared himself for heavy resistance when an idea came to mind. He reached down to his waist, pulling an Mk 2 grenade from the utility belt. After pulling the pin, he launched it into the dark doorway.

Shooting. Crying. Screaming.

        Five seconds later, a deafening boom sounded, the doorway erupting with dust, smoke, and sparks. Nathan charged in, firing his Garande at every shadow of a human. The deafening cracks of his gunshots bouncing off the walls of the small room couldn't mask the horrific wail of a woman screaming. Deacon's heart skipped a beat and he froze.

Dust. Dolls. Ashes.

        As the smoke around him grew less dense, his eyes grew wide with horror. In front of him lay four dead children and two women, their faces frozen in a death mask as their deceased bodies twitched. Blood pooled around their bodies, forming a red river between the gaps in the stone floor. Deacon's gun instantly dropped to the ground as his knees bucked from underneath him.

        For a moment, he just knelt there, unwilling to accept what just happened. A glass doll was laying on the floor just inches from an unanimated girl. Its head was cracked, the eyes being black and lifeless. Its face was demented, the steriotypical smile on its face replaced by a confused and dreadful emotion. As if it was wondering what happened to its owner.

        Deacon screamed.

        Deacon's sudden wail made the entire group jump. Rudolph, who was previously hoisting him on his sturdy back, stumbled and dropped the human on the ground. Nathan's startled yelp only increased in volume, resulting in a cyan hoof covering his mouth.

        Rainbow Dash angrily frowned down at him, his screams now muffled by her limb. "Be quiet!" she chided at him harshly. The human's covered outburst transformed into a sob. His eyes shifted from wide open to closed, a tear sliding down his cheek. The pegasus couldn't help but feel bad for him, besides his outbreak. "Maybe I hit him a little too hard," she thought.

        "Deacon," Applebloom said, nearing him. "Deacon, hey, shh." She whispered comfortingly to him as he cried. "It's alright. It was just a nightmare. It's all right.." His cries subsided slowly. Nathan looked up at her helplessly, almost fearfully. "It's all right.."

        The restrained bipedal sniffed. Rainbow Dash, resorting to a new approach, bent down to him. "I'm going to let go now," she warned. "Do not yell. Do you hear me?" He nodded. "Do not. Yell."

        She removed her hoof. Deacon's mouth remained closed, to everypony's relief.

        "I'm sorry.." he said quietly. "I'm sorry..."

        "Hey," Applebloom said reassuringly. "Don't worry. As long as it doesn't happen again."

        He smiled sadly, looking down. Deacon was surprised to find grass underneath him instead of the wood floor of the house. Looking forward, he discovered they were at least a mile from the home. A forest line was a couple blocks away. "What happened?" he asked.

        "I dunno," Applebloom said. "We were just carrying you when--"

        "No, not that. Why are we outside?"

        Applebloom mouthed an "oh," looking sad now. "The barn was destroyed. We had to leave."

        Deacon looked down sadly. "I'm sorry."

        Applejack and Big Macintosh (who's wound was healed now) approached them. "What was that all about?" the orange mare said sternly. "Deacon, you need to be straight with me. No lies."

        "Applejack!" Applebloom said harshly. "It was an accident; he said he was sorry!"

        "How can you trust him so easily?" Applejack chided. Deacon shrunk at this. "We don't know his story, his motives, what he's done, where he's from, why he's here, NOTHING! We have to know who he is."

        "I'll tell you what he's done: never betrayed us once, always is incredibly patient with yours and Rainbow Dash's bullshit, and saved my life! Twice!"

        Applejack looked offended beyond belief. Before she could respond, however, a gunshot rippled through the air. Immediately after, dark red blood spurted from Rudolph's leg. He yelped, lurching forward with pain. Rainbow Dash rushed over to his side.

        Deacon was instantly up, drawing his M1 Garande when he spotted a truck parked on the horizon, too far to shoot from his position. "Sniper!" he yelled, firing a few vain warning shots in the truck's direction.

        Rainbow Dash hitched Rudolph's arm over her shoulder, then started to run. The rest of the group bolted, but with over half the group wounded, however, it proved to be a chore. Applejack had to angle herself on Big Macintosh, who was limping his fastest. Applebloom was panting hard as she ran weakly. The cyan pegasus had to resort to carrying Rudolph while flying her fastest. After a few more shots, Deacon followed. The brown earth pony groaned out of pain as blood poured from his open wound onto the speeding ground below.

        Not after a few seconds they started to run, another bullet whipped into the group, hitting Rainbow Dash in the wing. Her limb exploded with feathers and blood. Dash shrieked as she collapsed, tumbling with Rudolph to a stop. Deacon saw this, and turned back to aid his fallen companion. Applebloom, Applejack, and Big Macintosh kept slowly running to the cover of the forest line, unaware of the turn of events.

        Rainbow Dash groaned, her wing bleeding profusely and bent at an impossible angle. She looked back at Rudolph, who wasn't in any better shape.

        "My leg.." he grunted. "I think it is broken."

        Footsteps running towards her caught her attention. She glanced up to see Deacon making his way towards them. She sighed out of relief...

        ...then gasped out of horror. Another distant crack of a gunshot was heard, and blood blew out of Deacon like a gas. Deacon's upper body was catapulted back, his lower body's momentum making him land on his back.

        "DEACON!" she yelled. This caught the attention of the rest of the group, on the edge of the Everfree Forest.

        Applebloom stopped where she was, gaping out of surprise. She was on the verge of turning tail when Applejack grabbed her from behind, pulling her into the dark forest.

        "Wait..!" she said, a bit too late. "Deacon!!"

        Applejack stole a glance at the events in the distance, too. "They'll be alive," she said hurriedly, trying to stay out of sight from the unseen shooter. "It's considered dishonorable if you kill a wounded pony in Blofigan society; they'll be captured, but alive."

        Applebloom stared at her sister. "You... You don't even care?!"

        "We will get them back, I promise! But we need to leave!" Applejack pulled her defiant sister into the forest, out of the view of the sniper.

        Deacon took short gasps of air where he laid. The bullet's destination was unknown to him; all he knew was that his entire torso burnt with white hot pain, and he was losing blood fast. Massive Deja Vu was pulsing through his head.

        Rainbow Dash's yells to him were drowned out by the sound of hoofsteps and a jeep's tires crushing the grass underneath, getting closer to the helpless trio. He slowly reached for his army knife, his shredded fingers trembling as they went. The fingers closed around the handle, but as he was bringing it forward, sharp pain exploded in his limb as a navy blue hoof kicked the weapon from it.

        Deacon yelped at the damaged fingers state when another hoof caught him in the ribs. Then the cheek. Before he knew it, Nathan was being showered by sharp jabs and kicks, beating the life from him. Rainbow Dash screamed as she received the same treatment from the unseen enemies.

        "Menschlich-Schleim!" came a rough voice above him, the assault finally dying down to a solitude kick to the crotch. Deacon doubled-over, gasping as the air rushed out of him. He shakily spat out blood as he tried to turn his head up, looking at the offenders. Through blurry vision and a black eye, Deacon's eyes widened at the pony which stood over him.

        ...Blauesherz.

        The latter bent down to the wide-eyed human. "Was?" he asked casually with a devilish, bleeding smile. "Did you really think a bullet grazing my ear could kill me? Weibsstück scheißdreck."

        Deacon fumbled with his words weakly. "...I... shot you.. in the head.. I saw the blood--" he coughed. "..the body.. You flew across the room..?"

        "Well, then, I have one thing to say," Blueheart whispered menacingly in Deacon's ear. "For a Sniper, you really do have poor eyesight." He laughed, his usually gleaming white teeth dotted with blood and cracks, most likely from the fight with Applebloom. Then, he turned his cyan gaze to one of his soldiers. "Nehmen Sie sie als Gefangene." They started to close in on the wounded trio.

        Deacon knew he had shot the pony in the head; he never missed. Plus, he saw the blood, he saw his body.. or did he? He saw his lower body through the window, his leg twitching.

But his head was out of view he realized with horror. He could have easily faked the body flying across the room with a jump across it, snuck out, then..

        "You blew up the house," Deacon said with realization, staring at the blue stallion.

        Blaues only smiled as one of the soldiers hoisted the human up. Deacon's legs dragged behind him uselessly as he was pulled to the back of the truck which delivered the Blofigans to their destination. Rainbow Dash and Rudolph both were given the same treatment.

        The three were thrown into the back of the dark gray automibile mercilessly, yelping as broken bones were jostled. With a noisy command from Blauesherz, the back door slammed shut. The truck roared to life again, then started its bumpy road to an unknown destination.

        Meanwhile, in the passenger seat, Herz was looking out the window, investigating the spot where the Apple family had vanished in the woods. He licked his lips, smiling as he thought of Applebloom.

        "I know you're out there," he said under his breath. "I know you are."

-  -  -

        Applebloom kept her face pointed at the ground, unwilling to make any form of eye contact with her sister, who trudged along quietly by her side. None of them spoke ever since they witnessed the capture of their friends, except for Applejack's occasional grunting as she put pressure on her shredded leg.

        Big Macintosh walked quietly behind them. Even though he didn't know the Deacon or Rudolph fellas, they sure looked like good guys. Rainbow Dash was a completely different story; he knew her all too well. He remembered how, back in the happier times, she would sometimes show up at the Apple farm and even perform a trick or two. On special occasions, she would even go as far as try to start a conversation with him as he bucked. He soon found himself intrigued by her spunky and playful nature. If it was an innocent crush by the mare or not, it didn't matter now. For a decade she never showed any signs of interest toward the red stallion, and he was okay with that; he didn't really like the whole "romance" thing either.

        It hurt him to lose a friend like that. Just to have them ripped away at such a sudden moment was devastating to him, but he didn't show it-- he didn't show a lot of things. It hurt him even more to see his sisters so down. However, if it wasn't for his attention, and his attention only, towards the path ahead, they would have never spotted a smoke pillar up in the sky.

        He grunted to get their attention. "Look," he said, gesturing to it. "Must be a camp."

        Applejack looked up slowly while Applebloom didn't look up at all. After spotting the dark column, her ears perked up.

        "Never seen that before," she said. "I thought we were the only ones in a square mile. Is it a Blofigan Camp?"

        "Doesn't look like it; those tend to have more than one large fire; at least five or so. We should still be cautious."

        Applejack nodded as they continued on their way. A few quiet minutes later, they came to an opening of the Everfree. Of course, Big Macintosh was right; there were no Blofigan uniforms or jeeps nearby. The camp was made up of dozens of lit-up tents, some dark for the night. Technicolor ponies walked this way and that, minding their own business. It was then Applebloom lifted her head up for the first time since Deacon's capture.

        A gun barrel was pointed at the back of her head. When AJ turned her head to discover this, another barrel jabbed her in the back of the head.

        "State your name," came a feminine.. familiar voice from behind.

        The Apple family gulped, unsure of what to do. If they were on their side, wouldn't they recognize it right away?

        "...Sun Drop," the older sister finally said. The other two seemed confused at first, but quickly caught on the fake name after the next statement. "This here is my sister Golden Apple," she gestured to Applebloom. "...and my brother, Marlyn. We're one of you."

        There was silence behind them. Then, a quiet chuckle. "You know, if that wasn't you Applejack, I would've shot you on the spot. 'Sun Drop' is a common name for Blofigan Impostures."

        The gun barrel lowered, followed by the one behind Applebloom. AJ took this as a gesture to turn around..

        Her eyes widened, and she stopped breathing. "...Rarity?"

        The white unicorn smiled from under her army hat, which was ofcourse custom made to keep her mane stylish. Her body was covered by a white uniform, assorted with pockets and clips; it was an attire she would have never seen Rarity in before. "I can see you still have no sense of tidiness."

        "Rarity!" Applejack embraced her friend wholeheartedly. The white unicorn smiled and hugged her long lost friend back. "How long has it been?" she asked, her shaking frame overwhelmed by emotion.

        "Almost a decade, I believe," Rarity responded, smiling brightly. "Oh, so much has changed.."

        "Tell me about it," Applejack said, tears of joy rolling down her cheeks. "I see your sense of style has definitely not changed.. and who's that?"

        Applejack gestured to her right. A stallion, earth pony, stood by, holding a rifle. She recognized it as the barrel which was pointed at her little sister's head. He had a faded orange coat, a jet black mane and tail which were both combed, completed with crimson eyes. Set with a square jaw and toned muscles, he was noticeably handsome.

        "Oh, him." Rarity blushed slightly. "How embarrassing; I forgot to introduce you." She trotted to the stallion, who smiled warmly at her presence. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and said something unrecognizable to Applejack. Obviously they were in a relationship. Rarity said quietly to her companion, "Ces sont Applejack, Applebloom, et Big Macintosh. Elles sont avec nous."

        The handsome stallion nodded, smiling to them. "Bonjour," he said.

        "He speaks little English; he's French," Rarity explained.

"Of course she would go for the Frenchie," Applejack thought.

        "Applejack. Applebloom. Big Macintosh. I would like you to meet, Remy."

        They all smiled and said their best Bonjour's.

        "He's my husband."

        They were quiet in an instant. Rarity was beaming with shy pride as Remy gave his wife a peck on the cheek, which turned red the instant after. All the trio's eyes were wide open, including the infamously stoic Big Macintosh.

        "...Wow," Applejack finally said. "That... is great! Congratulations!"

        Rarity's cheeks were pink as she said, "Thank you, Darling. I really do wish you would have known earlier, but things are crazy nowadays... Don't give me that look, Big Macintosh! We've known eachother for years; it's not Fake Romance."

        "Yes," Remy said with a smile, the French accent huge. "For about six now."

        "Wait, so..." Applebloom said quietly, her first words since their narrow escape. "You two are.. together? Like, married?"

        "Indeed we are," Rarity said with a smile. "Oh, my, Applebloom! You've grown so much!" She rushed over to the yellow mare's side, quickly hugging her before examining her. "And you have your Cutie Mark! Oh, how wonderful! It seems just yesterday you would have died to find your special talent!"

        The complimentee smiled, but not wholeheartedly. Rarity tilted her head. "What's wrong, dear?"

        Applejack stepped forward. "Rarity.. We found Rainbow Dash."

        "You've found Rainbow Dash?!" Rarity almost squealed. "My Goodness, how long it has been since I last saw her! Where is she now?"

        Applejack sighed. "Captured. Along with two other friends." Rarity visually deflated at this, every inch of joy vanishing in an instant. Remy, although unsure of what was going on, saw his wife's expression and put a hoof on her shoulder. She sniffed, smiling a little at his touch. "Listen, Rares, we need your help, badly. We're all wounded, hungry, and tired, and Rainbow Dash was the only one who knew how to detach a bullet. Well, her and Deacon, but that's besides the point." Applejack took a step toward Rarity. "We need to stitch up, then get them back."

        Rarity's eyes were watering at the loss of her friend, although the news of a chance of retrieving her brought hope to the white unicorn. "Actually, I think I can help... Follow me," she said. Then she started to walk towards the camp, Remy close behind. With an unsure shrug, the trio followed their friend.

-  -  -

        "I must say, Deacon, your religion fascinates me."

        Nathan, through a black eye and bloody cheek, looked up at Blauesherz. He was currently flipping through the pages of his own special Bible, which was confinscated from him. Nathan was secretly (and desperately) praying that it would soon return to him. If he wasn't tied to a metal chair, in a small room alone with the presumed-dead Captain, Deacon would have tried to retrieve it long ago.

        "Hmm.. I like this 'Alma' character. In Alma, chapter 14, it talks about how Alma and his partner are tortured and forced to watch women and children burn.. all because they believed differently than the king."

        Deacon almost chuckled at Blueheart's poor description. He forgot almost all the details of the revelation.

        "You seem amused," Herz said. "Does my description amuse you, Mormon?" He shifted his grip on Deacon's Bible, as if about to tear the beloved book in half. Nathan's eyes instantly went wide and he shook his head frantically, mumbling through the cloth which covered his mouth.

        "Nicht! Bitte, nicht!" he kept trying to say.

        Blaues smiled. "Such passion over an assortment of stories. Don't worry; your stupid Bible isn't worth my time." He tucked it in Deacon's shirt pocket with mock sympathy. Nathan was visually relieved. "I hope your God helps you, because the reason I like Alma so much is that it reminds me.." he scooted close to Nathan, his bandaged face smiling devilishly. "...of what I'm going to do to you."

        Deacon shrank while Blauesherz stood, turning to the guard at the door. "Geben Sie dem Mormone eine Zelle mit seinem Begleiter. Die blauen." The guard nodded before trotting over to the maimed human. He hoisted Deacon up, the latter groaning as his damaged bones ground against each other. As he was half dragged out of the room, he heard Blaues saying, "When you get to your cell, there will be a doctor waiting for you. In the meantime, I think I'll have a word with the Traitor, Rudolph."

        Deacon could only stare as Blauesherz closed the door in front of him. After a few minutes of painful dragging, he was led to his cell, which had two paramedic beds installed in. Two ponies dressed in white robes were awaiting him, one already working on a reluctant Rainbow Dash's wing.

        When the paramedic spotted him, his jet black eyes widened. "Was zur Hölle ist das Ding?" he asked his busy companion.

        His partner took a glance at Deacon, then shrugged him off. "Ich habe gesehen, seltsamer Mutationen. Lassen Sie uns an die Arbeit." With a job like this, he had seen much weirder.

        The black-eyed paramedic nodded, agreeing.

        Deacon was, surprisingly, set gently down on the bed. The relieve was short lived, however, as they installed straps to his hands and feet, preventing any movement.

        The paramedic appeared over his head, then started to remove the soldier's clothes. Deacon looked around uncomfortably as the doctor's cold hooves unceremoniously detached his jacket, then the continuous layer of clothing. Rainbow Dash glanced over, curious to see the human's body. Looking down at his body, his eyes skimmed over his frost bitten fingers (which had still not healed), badly wounded face, cracked ribs, and the bullet wound to his stomach.

        His face stoic, the doctor held Deacon's blue fingers in his hoof. After examining it, he said to his partner, "Dies muss amputiert werden. Holen Sie mir eine Knochensäge" He stuck out a hoof to his companion.

        Deacon could only understand so much German, but he could make out the words, "hand me a bonesaw."

        Fear gripping him, he started to vainly struggle. The doctors payed no head to this as a bonesaw was handed to the white-coated pony. Rainbow Dash, through clenched and pained eyes, glanced at Deacon sympathetically. He was silently praying.

        A brown hoof held Deacon's hand firm, the damaged fingers splayed for the doctor's examination. With horror, Deacon saw him raise his bonesaw steadily, positioned right above the human's squirming fingers.

        "Be still," the pony said with his best English.

        Then, the bonesaw descended. A dull pain was felt in Nathan's hand, and he heard something land on the ground with a metallic click.

        "...What was that?" he asked alertly. After no answer, he frantically tried again in German. "Das war?"

        The doctor stoically removed his hoof from Deacon's arm, bending to pick up whatever had fallen. As the view to his arm cleared, his eyes widened as he spotted his hand, now without the pinkie. His breath hitched as he examined the bluish outline of the frostbite, now no longer with a host.

        "It was numb.." he said to himself. "There was no pain. It really was that bad?"

        Rainbow Dash stared beside him, her wing now being covered by a crude bandage. "...Dude, I think you just lost a finger."

        After tossing the severed finger in the trash can by the door, the Blofigan doctor said to Deacon, "It was bad. Plus it is fun to cut." Then, he continued his work on Deacon.