The Mane Six Militia and The Shadow of a Phantom

Alsvid woke before the sun rose that morning. For a second she had forgot she was a prisoner as she scanned the four small walls of the makeshift hut that was converted into a cell. Two windows on either of the hut were barred and the door itself was locked from the outside.

     She stood up on her hind hooves and looked out the window toward the door, where a stallion sat sleeping against it with his helmet half off his head, and his shield laying to the side. "Hey, Hey guy. Helllooooo." No reaction. Alsvid let out an agitated puff of air and trotted over to the door. She turned and bucked at it as hard as she could.

    "Gah, what in?" Came the voice of the guard on the other side of the door.

    Alsvid rushed over to the window again seing that the Stallion was struggling to recover his helmet that had fallen off. "Hey what kind of guard sleeps on the job?"

    The guard looked back and forth, trying to find the owner of the voice.

     "Over here dumb ass." Alsvid shook her head in disappointment.

    "Huh what do you want?" The guard asked with agitation.

    "I'm hungry, if you all are gonna keep me up here your gonna feed me" She snapped.

    "Your not in a position to be giving orders." He yawned. "You'll get fed after the camp has eaten."

    "Typical." Alsvid sighed and slunk down to the ground. "Can I at least get some water.?" She whined.

    "Yeah yeah." Was her response and she heard him trotting away.

    "Wow he's a bigger idiot than I thought." She said to herself before trotting back over to the door, examining the small crack her initial kick had caused. "The door should not be the weakest part of a prison." She purred before turning and kicking at it again, hearing a satisfying crack as the door began to cave. Quickly she kicked at it two more times and the bottom of the door gave way, shattering on the ground, leaving just enough room for her to crawl out.

    After she cleared the door she scanned the area to see if her commotion had alerted anypony. To her disappointment, it had not. "This is almost to easy."

    Though as she begun to sneak away the original guards voice rung through the air. "Hey Stop!"

    "That's better." Alsvid laughed as she took off. She had little idea where she was going but she figured if she just kept running she'd find a way out.

    The sound of her pursuers hoofsteps only encouraged her as she made a series of twist and turns through the paths of the camp, leaving anypony she passed looking bewildered.

     "Don't let her get away!" The guard called out to the other militia stallion and mare.

    Alsvid had to dodge and weave through a couple of them as they pounced to catch her, though her excitement was short lived as she turned the corner and ran straight into that brute of a stallion Rockcoat. She crashed into him at full speed, stopping her dead in her tracks and knocking the breath out of her. Alsvid looked up. "Damnit." That's the last thing she remembered saying before Rock struck her over the side of the head.

    "Ohhh, my head." Alsvid tried to touch her head but could not move her hooves. "Wha?" She opened her eyes and found herself in new surroundings, a tent. She lay flat on the ground, each of her hooves chained to different poles of the tent. A couple of armed earth pony accompanied by a mare unicorn, stood in front of her.

    "She's waking up." One of the guards pointed out.

    "Good, then we can start." The unicorn replied.

    "Start? Start what?" Alsvid inquired.

     "This will go easier for you if you comply." The unicorn told her.

    "Comply with what? I'm all chained up." She pointed out dumbly, starting to get tired of playing prisoner.

    "Just remain calm, this will only take a moment."

    "What will take a moment? What's going on?"

     The unicorns horn began to glow an eerie white color and Alsvid's vision began to blur, she tried to scream as she began to panic but no sound came out. Everything flashed bright and all was quiet for just a second, then it was over, though she felt as if she had ran a marathon and her head was throbbing even worse.

    "Well?" One of the guards asked as the unicorn opened his eyes.

     "Nothing of any importance." He replied.

    "Are you sure, I mean she was snooping around the edge of camp, ran when questioned, then tried to escape." The other guard protested.

    Alsvid had just caught her breath and retorted angrily. "I'm sorry but when a curious mare such as myself stumbles upon a structure not on the map, she tends to investigate. When two armed stallion approach you asking questions, like where your from you get frightened, and when you get held prisoner against your will, you tend to want to get out of that situation." She snorted. "I had no weapons, showed no hostility until you all put hooves on me first. Now I'm chained to these damned polls, have a knot on my head from one of your brutes and an even worse headache from whatever the fuck you did to me." She finished, shooting a nasty glance at the unicorn.

    "Your asking for it bit-"

    "Dot That's enough, she's right you know." The other guard cut him off. The unicorn nodded in agreement.

    "Now that were all in agreeance could you please just unchain me now?"

    "Unfourtanetly no, but, if you agree not to try and escape again I'll undo three of the cuffs so you can get comfortable."

    Alsvid groaned. "Oh come on!"

    "Sorry." the stallion shrugged.

    "Ugh fine." Alsvid sighed. The two guard walked over, undoing her two forhooves and her left rear hoof before leaving the tent again.

    Meanwhile back in Dash's Hut.

    Fluttershy stirred, blinking the sun out of her eyes. She had slept in later than usual, being accustomed to Rainbow Dash waking her.

    'Dashi!' She suddenly remembered the night before and turned frantically to find the blue mare sleeping soundly in her spot. Thats when she noticed the bloody bandage on her rear leg. "Dashi!" She cried out alarming her mare-friend who sprung up to a sitting position.

    "What?" She asked alarmed, afraid something had happened, then saw her teary eyed canary mare. "Shy what's wrong?"

    "Rainbow what happened last night?" She questioned as she held back tears. "Why are you hurt?"

    Dash looked down to her injured leg and was surprised at how much it had bled. 'Must have been worse than I thought.' She thought.

    "Dashi!" Shy exclaimed again, reminding her she was there.

    Rainbow took a deep breath before speaking. "Shy, the fortification we were sent to recon, well its alot bigger and much more organized than we thought. We were spotted just as we were heading out, as we took to the air an arrow grazed me, that's all." She wasn't about to tell her of the two that didn't make it.

    "That looks alot worse than a graze." She snorted. "Who wrapped it? Why didn't you wake me?" She inquired angrily.

    "Shy please,  I just didn't want you to fret. I was just happy you managed to sleep at all. Raisen took care of it for me." Dash explained, trying to calm her.

    Shy's look turned from mad to upset again. Whenever she panicked her emotions got all mixed up. "I'm going to have to redo the dressings' and sterilize it."

    "Shy don't worry about it, I'll have one of the other-" Thats as far as she got when Shy shot her a look of warning. "Okay Shy, you win." There was no point in arguing when she felt so strongly about something.

    "Wait here." Fluttershy jumped out of the bed and hurried out the door, returning a short while later with a small box in her muzzle which she placed beside the bed and sat next to it. "Give me your leg." She ordered, not giving Dash another chance to argue.

    With care she removed the old wrappings, Dash winced as the wrap peeled from her wound where it made contact. Shy took gauze with one hoof and soaked it in alcohol. "T-This is going to hurt Dash." She announced before dabbing at the wound, making sure to cleanse the entire wound.

    Dash took in a sharp breath as the gauze made contact and let it out as Shy finished with the gauze. Rainbow looked down at Shy as she worked, the look of genuine concern and care in her eyes as she took special care of her leg. That was one of Fluttershy's best qualities. She cared more than any other pony she new. She never stopped, even when it hurt her the most. Which was exactly what Dash needed. Somepony to care. Somepony she wouldn't be afraid to open up to.

    Shy tied off the bandage as she finished then crawled back up onto the bed, giving Dash a hug and started crying into her shoulder. What she had feared the most had nearly become a reality.

    Rainbow Dash nearly began to cry herself. She needed to be strong for Shy though. Rainbow  unfurled her wings and wrapped them around Shy before holding her in her hooves. "Its okay Shy, I'm still here. I'll never leave you. I love you." she whispered to her canary colored mare.