Equestria At War - In the Shadow of the Sun

A mare's voice - smooth as silk and as sweet as honey - sung; accompanied by the guitar, bass, piano, and saxophone. She let her words flow into a melody; lyrics of adoration and life.

"Carry my fragile little soul,
hold it close - warmly with your love~...
And together, this course we shall chart~...

And if the fates would be so cruel...
To dare and have us be apart~...
Then come hell or high water-
I'll wait as long as need be; with my eager heart~..."

Along the coast, the palms swayed to the gentle breeze. The music played - not from the radio, but from a group of musicians who perfected their craft to bring joy to the beach-side pub. The sun had been setting, so the party was getting started, especially for the foreigners who claim to have traveled to Zeblu for vacation.

"You know ladies..." Grinned a pegasus, leaning against the bar with his hooves around two Zebras. "We pegasi have the stamina to fly for hours. Clearing clouds trains you in all kinds of ways." He cooed. "Maybe I could give you a demonstration? Though I think if that happens, it'll bring all sorts of clouds in your heads instead of clearing them~."

The two girls laughed - whether out of endearment or humor was up to anyone's interpretation. They would mingle only for a few seconds, before telling they were going to "do something real quick". The pegasus could only shake his head as he watched them go, but his smile didn't waver.

As they left - the pegasus was approached by a griffon. A very rugged one - who could not hide his intimidating looks even with a tropical-style floral-pattern, pink shirt draped over his torso. The griffon ordered a drink, and addressed the pegasus with his side.

"You suck at smooth-talking. Besides, no matter what ya change into, ya can't handle two Zebra gals." The griffon smirked, receiving his rum & coke.

The pegasus sighed - a green light washing over him. Or rather, her.

"I thought a cute lil' cocksure pegasus boy would do the trick. Girls who are tough to handle usually love a weak one they can torment." Said the purple-eyed changeling, her own drink being an ice cold Piña colada. "Either way...Gomer, did we find out any leads?"

"Well damn, Chari - we'd find 'em out sooner if you didn't spend this whole time tryina' get into other's in-betweens." Gomer, the griffon, scoffed.

"Hey, all this searching has racked up an appetite." The changeling pouted softly.

Gomer disarmed her by giving a soft chuckle to indicate a joke. "But yeah - we've got something. The rumors that this place has a communist recruiter were confirmed. Found a guy who seems to be scoping out the more athletic and young sort. Been chatting up a bunch of fellas, talking about the injustices of the government and socialist ideals. Our Zebra friend, Umfuni, has been translating what he's overheard. He's convinced our suspect's trying to get them into a communist honeypot." Gomer muttered quietly - while the bartender was busy and far away.

"First of all, honeypot doesn't mean what you think it does." Chari coughed. "It means using sexual allure for the sake of getting information out of someone."

"Well, I think free housing, education, and medicine is sexy. Food too - especially." Gomer scoffed.

"So what, you're a communist all of the sudden?" The changeling leaned in and rose a brow.

"Hey, I voted for Gaudreau when I lived in Aquileia. I like a socialist system - s'long as it doesn't involve taking away hardworking people's shit or shooting people in the back of the head cause they speak out against you. Democratic Socialism, I think they called it."

"...Gomer, weren't you from Griffonstone? Since when are you able to vote in Aquileia?"

"Tomato - tomata. I'm in Griffonstone one day, I live in Aquileia the other day, and today I'm doing clandestine shit for New Mareland. Griffonia is a bit less straightforward than Equus, y'know."

Chari sighed softly. "...Saying out loud that you're a spy. I guess you do live up to your nickname, "Gomer"."

"For the last time - it's my real name. And hey - at this point, we already look outta place. Ain't reason to pussyfoot much."

"...A-Anyways!" Chari realized she fell into his classic trap - his ability to derail any conversation into banter and casual talk. "I was going to ask! Other than you not understanding the phrase "honeypot", I also wanted to point out the question - why are we suspecting someone for talking with athletes? It's not the most suspicious thing, is it?"

"You either talk with a group of young guys like that if you want them to star in a raunchy movie, or you want to rope 'em them into somethin' sketchy, like a cult, gang - or a violent political movement. Fit bodies are always in demand. And from what I can tell, Umfuni noted he's following some kinda script of sorts, almost as if he recited half the shit he's saying."

"You'd know all about raunchy movies with groups of young guys." Chari rolled her eyes - but realized she fell into the same trap, and coughed. "Okay - so what's the move? Has Colton given any orders?"

Gomer nodded. "Umi's gonna try a risky move. He's gonna approach him to claim to be an insurgent and claim that a problem came up, using our intel if he asks questions. He'll lead 'im into an alleyway, and corner him. Then we do some magic - and find out if he knows where Cipher is."

"..." Chari sadly looked forward at the crowd - of course keeping eyes on Umfuni as he approached the suspected Zebra sitting in the corner of the bar's exterior, but her mind was still somewhat blank. Gomer frowned somewhat, and gave her a soft, cheeky bump on the shoulder. She looked up at him, and he smiled down at her.

"Hey, Cipher's a tough sonnuva bitch. South Equus chewed his ass up and spat him out, and then between all the other shit, he got chewed up in Equestria and spat out into Griffonia. I'm sure that some shit-hole prison in the middle of the jungles is gonna be daycare for him. Plus, they want him alive - and being an Earth pony, it's not like he's got wings or a horn to lose. Maybe a few teeth at best, but c'mon. He'll be alright."

"...Thanks Gomer." Chari smiled, leaning away from the bar and switching discreetly into an unremarkable Zebra, while Gomer put his sunglasses on and followed at a distance. Umfuni led their target somewhere secluded.

...

The two Zebras had walked off into an alleyway, surrounded by trash, rats - but no prying eyes.

Their target spoke angrily to the other Zebra. "I do not understand. What could be so troubling? The commander made it clear that we had no chance of detection. You better not be pulling my leg."

"I'm not, brother." Umfuni softly spoke. "...Your chances of detection were not null."

"...What?"

The communist had no time to react as a pair of hooves put him into a headlock. He yelled out, but Umfuni moved quickly to cover the other Zebra's mouth. The muffled noises were stopped as, joined by Gomer, they had restrained him, and beaten the wind out of his lungs to prevent resistance.

He would awake in the same alleyway - before not three, but five creatures.

From left to right, he saw a changeling, a Zebra, a pegasus, a unicorn, and a griffon.

"W-What...?" The rebel softly spoke - unable to raise his voice due to damages to his throat. "Who...?"

"Cipher." The pegasus coldly spoke, leaning in. "Earth pony prisoner. Captured half a year ago, transported here from the Kiria. Where is he?"

"...I-I...I do not know..."

"Colton." Said the unicorn. "He might be telling the truth, he's somewhat low-ranked."

"No. News like this travels, Plymouth." Colton, the pegasus, leaned in and produced a bowie knife...He placed its cold steel against the rebel's cheek, and gently dragged it along, forming a scar.

He noticed that his victim squirmed - not out of fear, but out of self-preservation. He saw the way he looked at the blade - focusing on it purely. His victim was focused on being unharmed, afraid for his body rather than trying to prove he was clueless.

"Gomer - eyelid."

With a grunt of distaste, Gomer used his sharp talons to force one of the rebel's eyelids open, allowing Colton to press the knife's tip against his bare eye. The zebra hyperventilated, and gasped for mercy. The tip of the blade hurt - and whether it was hallucination or reality, the rebel could feel it pushing in...

"N-No! Stop! I-I know where he is, just stop!"

"..." Colton put the blade aside.

"Sanbrawa! He is held in the village of Sanbrawa! I-It is about 40 kilometers north-east of here!"

"You're lying." Colton said, pushing the blade against his eye at such a rapid speed that the rebel didn't even register what had happened - with enough force to start bleeding. Too scared to pay attention to pain, the rebel continued.

"I swear! Everyone's heard of the pony prisoner, it's made us more anxious about the rescue attempts! H-He was put into a box dug underground in a camp near the village! You have to believe me! He's there! He's there!"

Colton put the blade away - locking it away in its leather sheathe. "...Good. Thank you."

The silenced gunshot rang - and the rebel slumped to his side. Umfuni was the most visibly displeased, gritting his teeth and looking to the side.

"Plymouth." Colton told the unicorn. "Get the car. Chari, Gomer..." He told the changeling and griffon. "Get the guns from the dead drop. Umfuni, come with me."

The five dispersed - and the zebra had followed the pegasus.

"Colton...That was awful." The zebra told the pegasus. "You did not need to show such bloodthirst and carnage. He had confessed, betrayed his own beliefs. What was the purpose of your brutality?"

"Speed. I need to know where Cipher is as fast as possible, Umfuni." Colton sighed. "He's being tortured and maimed in ways I don't want to describe. What I'm doing is to ensure we get him out faster. I'm doing this for my second-in-command, and my close friend. For those I care about, I'm willing to be a piece of shit for their sake. You understand what I mean."

The Zebra sighed, and nodded. "...I do."

***

It was a dark corner. A musty one - a hole in the ground surrounded by sheet metal from all sides that looked more like a septic tank than a prisoner's cell. It probably was a septic tank at that point.

It had a sole prisoner. He was forced to be standing on his hind-legs and a hoof raised via hoofcuff welded into the wall. But at this, point with the numbness his body felt, was it even all that painful?

The Earth pony whistled a tune. It wasn't particularly a tune that meant anything special to him. At the very least he knew that they wouldn't cut his tongue as they somehow expected him to talk. And as an Earth pony, did he have to worry about something like a horn or wings? So as such, what was another deep laceration in his thighs, a cigarette burn in the face, or a third pulled-out tooth?...Or...another severed, missing hoof?

He was able to look at the other hoof he was left with. The hoof was burned and charred - but not from this interrogation. Looking at this injury had been a steadfast reminder. A reminder of what happened some time ago. He saw the scars, remembered their shape exactly...His other hoof had been burned in a similar manner - and he had no idea where it was now. Maybe fed to the dogs. It was a terrible injury - but...He was thankful to be left with this reminder.

Looking forward once more, he began to reflect on the situation. A daily reflection where he kept in mind all the important facts. His captors had no schedule - to keep him anxious. However, the prisoner read his captors as easily as a children's book. They never interrogated at night - too paranoid and anxious of night attacks, and perhaps too lazy. Never in the mornings too - too grumpy and groggy. He heard them marching and chanting military songs - so they did morning drills of sorts. He also knew that they weren't well equipped or in possession of good intel - nobody from Zeblu could have been aware of him. Foreign powers were in play.

Not that he didn't believe in the strength or skill of Zebras; he just knew that the possibility of some communist guerilla in the middle of the Zebrican subtropics being able to capture someone of his caliber without outside help was low. He wasn't meant to ask questions - but he did wonder what the hell New Mareland sought to gain by meddling in this continent when Equus was a bigger hot mess.

He was passing in and out of consciousness - but a stream of water being sprayed at him from above had been enough for him to gasp, hyperventilate...He tilted his head - he knew he had four seconds to get as much water as he could. This was all shock therapy and necessity - a means to get him to keep clinging onto life, but not a courtesy.

He jolted in surprise as his back was dragged along the rusty metal wall, scarring it. He could only grit his teeth - feeling more pain from the sunlight hitting his eyes after a week of being in total darkness than the injury he had become used to. He heard foreign languages - those he was perfectly capable of understanding, but relied on the impression he was oblivious. The language of Zeblu and...Stalliongrad's own language.

"Sir, we cannot hope to keep this one here any longer." Spoke a male voice in the Stalliongrad language, but with a thick and unpracticed accent. "We are certain that the disappearance of our recruiter is no coincidence. A retrieval effort is underway. The longer we keep him alive, the more danger we bring upon ourselves. At this stage, we should cut out losses and kill him."

"...I'll try it once more." Responded another male voice in the Stalliongrad language - but with no imperfections in his accent. "If he still refuses, kill him and leave the body as featureless as possible."

With that, the prisoner could feel himself be propped up on a chair...And through the blur of the sun did he see that someone had pulled up a chair opposite of him. A stallion - but not a Zebra.

"...So..." This foreign pony spoke. "Let's be realistic. Don't you think it's futile? Ten months - being tortured and maimed for a simple piece of information, yet with no real reward for being silent."

Cipher smiled weakly. "Actually it's been only six or so months. You can't really rely on me not counting the days and making me think I've been here longer than I really have. It's...a rookie's interrogation strategy."

The stallion sitting opposite of him sighed. "What do you hope to get? I don't understand...You think that your nation will somehow reward the loyalty of an agent that has been captured for so long, and is now a liability to them? They'll kill you themselves to ensure you won't spill any more information."

The prisoner looked at him right in the eyes...The foreigner grimaced softly. He knew that the prisoner was blinded mostly, but that gaze...it pierced.

With that, the prisoner softly smiled. "...At-least I still have a country."

The foreigner was used to this - this time, he had restrained his hoof, as last time it voided the interrogation due to knocking the prisoner unconscious. He composed himself, huffing under his breath. "Stalliongrad lives on. In our hearts, in our minds. We are not bound by concepts such as borders. Our way of life perseveres, and will for ages."

"Heh...No, it lives on in the backwater country of Prywhen." The prisoner made sure to get ready to shut his teeth as hard as he could - not wanting his tongue bitten off. "But sure, you sure showed the perseverance of your way of life when Stalliongrad burned down, and when your cowardly leader fled to Griffo--"

The prisoner called it. The punch came - rocking his right temple and making his ears ring, so that the tinnitus had naturally censored all the horrible cursing that came his way. By the time he had regained his hearing, he felt the hoof violently grip his chin and force him to face the only other non-striped stallion in the camp.

"You are going to be executed if you don't speak now. Do you understand? Exe-cu-ted. You are going to have all your bones broken inwards, you will have acid poured into your eyes, and you will be kept alive as long as possible so that we can squeeze the information we want, so that maybe we'd have the mercy to kill you faster."

This had the effect of making the prisoner quiet. "...Fine...I'll..." The Earth pony sighed. This was indeed something to consider - time could be bought no longer. "...I'll give you the names of the agents in Prywhen..."

"Good boy..." The Stalliongrad pony smiled. "Out with it."

"...The name of the agent is Yoer."

"...Yoer?" The stallion rose a brow.

"...Yoer mum is a--"

The stallion swung his hoof.

Welp - it was now or ever, Cipher thought.

Ducking his head underneath, the hoof missed. Cipher leapt up with his three hooves like a spring releasing tension - and what teeth he had left were bared. With a shriek of terror, the foreigner had no time to react as the prisoner's jaw clamped down on his throat. Cipher's hooves were unable to purchase on his body - so to keep this grip, his teeth had to sink in deeper and deeper, hard enough to crack several more teeth in the process. He was able to however wrestle his opponent on the ground, but so that the foreigner was on top of him and shielding him while Cipher was underneath gums-deep in the other's neck.

"Dntf mff! Dntf mff r hh rrh hh trhh oehn!" He yelled in the local Zebra language. Through the intensity and intent, everyone understood it as "Don't move! Don't move or I'll rip his throat open!"

"Careful!" A zebra yelled. "We cannot have the agent be hurt! Get him off, get him off!"

"H-He'll really rip his throat apart if we try! Sergeant!?"

"Fuck, I'm thinking! T-Try to shoot the prisoner, carefully! In the head!"

"Do I look like a markzebra!? A-And I have a shotgun with buckshot, how am I gonna do that!?"

"Where's the corporal that had the hunting rifle!? S-Shit, shit!"

"Wait, where is he!? H-He was here just a minute ag--"

Cipher continued biting into his foe's neck. He made his desperation concealed in his aggression - biting down harder hoping that his living shield would protect him just a little longer. He shed tears of fear - disguised as tears of pain from making his own gums bleed.

A hoof went to grab him. It pulled him away from his foe, and Cipher's brain had started to panic. It needed to survive. Cipher used what strength he had to instead bite the hoof that tried to take him. His teeth once again dug into it - but now too weak to reach the bone again.

His eyes were still blurred - but as he bit, the other hoof grabbed him...Not to fight him, but to hold him steady. To calm him.

"...Cipher...!"

"Cipher!"

"Cipher!" Cried out the voice of his closest friend.

"Cipher, calm down! It's okay! It's me, Colton! You're okay..."

The earth pony gazed at the pegasus...His jaw relaxed - allowing blood to freely pour down his mouth. He looked at Colton with disbelief, and the hoof he had bitten hard enough to draw blood...His eyes watered harder, and the tears mixed with the blood on his mouth. Around him, all the Zebras had been shot.

"...You...You came..."

Cipher reached out a hoof to his commander.

Colton did not take it.

Instead, he pulled Cipher in for a hug. He held onto him. He did not want him to disappear again. Cipher then felt another pair of hooves wrap themselves from behind - these ones full of holes. Chari had a hard time resisting the hug. Another pair of hooves of a unicorn did the same - Plymouth couldn't do it either.

Umfuni looked at Gomer. The gryphon looked down at the Zebra with an awkward look, and then shrugged.

"They're the sentimental sort."

"I'm more-so surprised you don't intend to join." Umi coughed, not quite acquainted with Cipher and thus deciding it wasn't yet his time.

Gomer looked at him, and then at the group. With a sigh, he had to suppress his excitement. But at that point, he couldn't. He lost his cold and gruff demeanor to join the group hug.

The small radio that rested on Colton's chest had buzzed softly - a female voice patched through it.

"Hey, fillies! Is Cipher alive!? No jokes, tell me right now!" Exclaimed the voice.

"He's fine Raz...He's..." Colton sighed, ushering everyone to give some space as he laid Cipher on his back to assess the damages. "...Not looking so good for wear. But he's alive."

"Thank the Sky of Seas and Sea of Skies." She sighed. "Is the LZ clear? I've already contacted the hospital - they're ready and waiting. I want him there pronto."

Colton quickly scanned the area. "You're clear. We'll pop smoke. Just don't make this a bumpy ride, Raz...I don't know how much more he can handle..."

"Roger - Frenzy 1 is coming for extraction, ETA 5 minutes."

Colton had put away the radio to focus on Cipher - monitoring the stallion's condition. Cipher couldn't move - only look into the eyes of his commander. The pegasus smiled softly. "It's okay. We're going home, Cipher...We're going home."

"...Colton?" Cipher finally spoke past the pain and deliriousness.

"Yeah?"

"...When we get there..."

"Anything. Just tell me."

"I want a bath...a gallon of water...a five-scoop sundae...and a hayburger the size of Princess Celestia's ass."

"Pft..." The commander laughed softly. "Simple pleasures, huh?"