Rotten Apples

Jonathan cursed as the tent he was setting up collapsed. Again he tried, this time focusing with all his magic on keeping the poles in their respective spots.

"Did it!" he exclaimed, standing back and admiring his handiwork. His victory was short-lived, however, when the tent again began buckling to one side. Instead of collapsing like all the other times, the tent continued to lean, and with a sproing, was flung over the fire pit and into a tree. It caught onto a branch, and hung there like a stuck kite.

"Damn it!" he yelled as Caterina walked up.

"I just saw a flying tent go by. Need some help?"

Even with the joke, Jonathan could tell something was wrong. She seemed tired, and her normally edgy voice had taken on a softer tone.

Not only that, but not an insult had been slung.

"Uh, sure."

She flew up onto a branch and untangled the tent, letting it fall before swooping down and dropping it off at Jonathan's feet.

"Thanks." He eyed Caterina, who had a faraway look in her eye. Normally, he would be almost scared to start a conversation with her, but Jonathan needed to know what was going on.

"Hey, Caterina?"

Her eyes focused on him.

"Would you mind, um, helping? I know you're busy and all, but-"

"Nonsense." She stepped to the other side of the tent. "Shining Armor already questioned me and Daniel."

Jonathan connected the poles to the stakes. "By the way, how did that go?"

"Fine."

Suspicious.

He pressed on. "What did he ask?"

She seemed distracted with the tent, but answered anyways. "He just wanted to know what happened, if there were any survivors, that kind of stuff."

"What did you tell him?"

She sighed. "I just told him we got ambushed, and I thought everyone died. Until... Daniel stepped out of the marsh."

Jonathan noticed the pause, and realized what was bothering her. It was Daniel's recent strange behavior.

Against his better judgement, he ventured forth. "I noticed he's been acting a little... Strange, lately. What happened out there?"

She slammed something and the tent sprang up, as if afraid and not willing to vex her any further.

Jonathan was ready to run, until he saw something glint on her cheek. A tear.

"I don't know," she sniffled, "I just don't know."

The tent held, and so Caterina and Jonathan discussed her dilemma inside.

"Thinking about him being dead, just imagining never seeing him again... It made me realize..." The words caught in her throat, as if she were too embarrassed to say it.

"Realize what? Come on, say it."

She stopped. Jonathan was about to tell her to quit stalling, but then she called out,

"Marius! If you're out there, I'm gonna rip your throat out!"

The sound of rustling leaves was heard, and a muffled trotting of a departing pony.

She sighed. "Where was I?"

"'It made you realize...'"

She gulped. "It made me realize... That I loved him." She blushed. "That I just couldn't live without him."

"And so you were happy to see him alive?"

She nodded. "I was overjoyed. I was determined to hug him, maybe even kiss him..." she smiled as that thought filled her mind. She frowned again when she remembered what really happened. "But when he saw me, he pulled out one of those tube things and nearly shot me. He didn't know it was me of course, I just surprised him. But when he did recognize me, you know what he said?"

Jonathan just waited for her to finish. He was quite curious, actually.

The next words came out almost sarcastically. "'Glad to see you're still alive.'"

Jonathan's eyes widened. That... That was beyond changed. Something had happened out there, had traumatized him.

Caterina went on. "Can you believe that? I practically pour my heart out, and-"

"You know, he's liked you for a long time."

Her heart jumped, and she stopped breathing for a moment. Then she calmed down, looking to the ground in shame.

"I know. I knew the whole time. Until today though, I wasn't sure if I liked him. I always told myself I would say yes if he ever asked, but of course he wouldn't ask. I knew he wouldn't; he's Daniel."

She glanced at Jonathan with a questioning look. He nodded, signaling her to go on.

"I was too scared to ask. I've... Never been very good at talking to stallions, to tell you the truth. So I played with him. I teased him, acted so flirtatious, practically tortured him. All because I couldn't get what I wanted. Because I couldn't admit the truth."

She didn't break down or sob, but simply put her face in her hooves. Caterina wasn't one to normally cry, but she was getting really close now.

Jonathan rested a hoof on her back. "Well, you've admitted it now. You've admitted it to me, and you've admitted it to yourself. So admit it to him."

She brought her face from her hooves, and looked at him. Her eyes were slightly red underneath, and her lip quivered slightly. Silently, she bid him to continue.

"You've kept this from him for far too long. Sure, it was wrong to not tell him, and to lead him on like that. You can't change what you did, but you can make it right. Do it."

She resisted. "Easier said than done."

"No one said it would be easy."

She smiled bittersweetly, and gave him a hug.

"Thanks Jonathan."

She began to walk out the tent, but turned before she went through the opening.

"Jonathan?"

He looked up, wondering what it could be now. "Yes?"

"Remember, this never happened. Say a word to anypony else," she demonstrated by crushing a stray spider with her hoof.

He chuckled. "Got it."

She smiled again, and walked out.

Caterina poked her head into Daniel's tent. "May I come in?"

"Certainly," a voice mumbled from the corner. "What's up?"

Stepping inside, she took off her cloak and stuck it into her saddlebag. She let her eyes adjust to the dimly-lit room, and spotted her stallion. He was lying on his sleeping bag. She didn't know what he could have been doing before she came in; he seemed to just be staring at the top of the tent, eyes still in that glazed-over state. It saddened her so much to see him like this.

She walked over, sitting down next to him. "There's something we need to talk about. Something important."

He didn't even look. "I'm all ears."

She wasn't sure how to begin. Finally, she drew in a deep breath. "Do you remember anything before we were sent out into this jungle?"

His reply was almost sarcastic. "Well, it was just yesterday."

"Yes, just yesterday," she continued, trying not to let his cold responses hurt her, "You remember that little walk we took?"

There was a spark, a flicker in his eye for a moment. Then it was gone.

She wondered if she could get that spark again, but this time, keep the flame going.

She continued. "Remember when I had my wing draped around you? And... Well, you were blushing so cute... I tried to lean in, and grab a quick kiss... Remember that?"

She definitely had his attention now.

"The thing is, Daniel, I've... Never really been sure of how I felt about you. Not until yesterday, when I thought I'd lost you. Then when you came out of the grass, I was so happy to see you. But it wasn't you. You changed. It hurts so much, to see you like this. I guess what I'm trying to say is..."

She leaned down, and softly rubbed snouts with him. She then held his cheeks with her hooves, and kissed him full force on the lips. She savored every second of it, finally getting what she had longed for for such a long time.

She parted, her mouth forming a crescent smile. Even if she never felt the fine touch of his lips again, or ever see the Daniel she once knew, she would make sure that he would always know one thing.

"...I love you, Daniel."

A tear ran down her cheek. She got up, drew on her cloak, and was prepared to leave when she felt a tug on the skirts of the cloth.

She turned, and saw him standing beside her. Tears left streaks down his cheeks, and his eyes. Oh, his eyes, they no longer held that horrible frozen stare.

Daniel was back.

"Please," he whispered, "Don't go."

She immediately tackled him to the ground, squeezing him tight, as if the warmth of her body was the only thing keeping his heart from going cold once more. She kissed him passionately, sinking deep into his lips. Their shadows danced in the flickering candlelight, as if celebrating the birth of such a great and unbreakable love.

They finally, reluctantly broke the kiss, looking into each others eyes. She nuzzled his neck, then rest her head on his chest and fell asleep.

Daniel grinned wildly. He could never be happier. He had everything he'd ever wanted right here.

He ran his hoof through her mane. She was so soft, so comfortable. The rising and falling of her chest against his was relaxing, and so he decided to let his eyes droop and rest his head.

Before he fell to slumber, he stole a last peck on the check. He felt her heartbeat increase tempo, and realized she wasn't really asleep yet.

"Hey, I don't know if you're still awake, but there's something I didn't tell you," he hesitated, almost unsure if he should let the long-hidden words pass his lips, "I love you too."

Her smile widened, and she snuggled into his neck.

He remained there, admiring the angel that was now his. Not a care, not a worry plagued his mind. All he had ever wanted, the one he had so longed to hold, was right here with him now.

It's funny how one thing can be seen from so many different views.

Jonathan, for one, was not an experienced camper. He wasn't used to the cold air, or the hard ground, so his night had been very restless. A crappy night, you could say.

Daniel and Caterina were a different story. Caterina, for one, was well-adjusted to the harsher climates due to her 'specialized' training, and as for Daniel, he had a living, breathing blanket.

At the crack of dawn, the activity in the camp consisted of Marius and another pony talking around the fire, Jonathan trying to squeeze in as much sleep as he could before the sun rose too high, and the new couple just getting up and enjoying a pleasant morning with each other.

"Sleep well?"

"Mmmmm. You're comfortable."

Daniel smiled stupidly. "Thanks?"

She kissed his cheek. "Yeah. It's a compliment."

There was a pause, and then Daniel spoke again, "Do you think we should get up now?"

She laughed, and stepped off him, walking to the the flap of the tent. He blushed and asked, "What's so funny?"

She smiled smugly. "Just the way you said it. Now come on, there's a fire outside."

By now, about seven ponies were sitting around the fire. You could tell who got a good night's sleep by looking for the individuals who talked and the ponies who sat silently in their tired misery.

Caterina and Daniel trotted up together. Marius took a moment from his conversation with the night guard to grin mockingly at the couple

"So, getting it on last night, hmm-"

Whap!

"Hey! You didn't even give me time to finish!"

She shrugged. "Didn't need to. Stupid is easy to predict." She turned to the stallion at her side. "Now, Daniel, I'm gonna go get something from my tent. I'll be right back."

"Kay," he replied, still wearing that silly grin.

"Yeah, tiger." Marius teased. Now that Caterina was gone, he was free to do whatever he wanted to Daniel.

He blushed furiously. "No, Maurius, we didn't- Well, kind of."

This just further fed the fire. He was about to say more, but the night guard he had been previously talking to stepped in.

"Damn, you hooked up with her? Good job, bro!" He held out a hoof in the universal symbol for bros, and Daniel bumped it hesitantly.

"Even though she acted like a bitch to me, she's still pretty hot. No offense."

Daniel blinked. He had a blank look on his face, then snapped back to attention. "Oh. It's fine, I guess."

They heard yelling. "Benethor, what the hell are you doing in my tent?"

Marius and the night guard began snickering, and Daniel could faintly make out Benethor's groggy mumbling. "Well, I was 'spose to share a tent with Daniel, but then I saw you two... Well, anyway, I figured you were gunna be 'while, so climbed in ta your tent, seein' as how you were 'spose to have it all ta yerself, and fell asleep." He was nervously smiling. Caterina looked unamused. "Yep. And that's what happened."

She said nothing, but tromped inside and grabbed a few bags, then walked back towards Daniel's tent.

Benethor walked up to Daniel's group, which now contained two laughing stallions. He drunkenly sat down, looking at Daniel with the eye that didn't have the eyepatch, and smiled. "Sup?"

Daniel had to laugh at his friend's quirky behavior. "So, what happened back there?"

He took a swig out of a canteen before answering. "Well, I reckon she's movin' in with you, and I get my own personal tent. The way I see it, win-win."

Daniel looked into the fire. Secretly, he was hoping Benethor was right. The thought of getting the chance to sleep with her again-

"So. Congrats. I never thought she would get one right."

Daniel snapped out of his dreamy trance. "What?"

"Well," Benethor leaned back, as if about to tell a long story, "She's gone through quite a few stallions. None of them any of us ever approved of. They were all jerks, that just wanted her for... You know."

He nodded. "Right."

"After awhile, she just gave up. She couldn't find anypony who truly liked her. So she stayed single for about a year, not letting any stallions catch her eye, so to speak." He paused, smiling at Daniel. "Until I introduced her to you."

His face flushed slightly. Secretly, he was flattered.

"Nobody really knew she liked you, of course. Although, I'm not quite sure the same can be said the other way around. No offense."

"None taken."

They sat there in silence, hearing bits and pieces of Maurius and the other guard's conversation. Occasionally, they would burst out in laughter, turning the heads of anypony by the fire.

"Did you guys have sex?"

Daniel was chewing on a maple leaf. He accidentally sucked it down and started choking.

After the wet greens were dislodged from his throat, he sputtered a single word. "What?"

Another swig, and he repeated the question. "Sorry if this is a bit intrusive, but I need to know. Did you two have sex?"

He bit down on his lip for a second, then mumbled lowly, "No."

Daniel received a pat on the back.

"Good. It means she respects you. 'Course, she probably wouldn't object if you..." he gave a smug smile and winked.

Daniel grinned. "Ben, have you been drinking?"

Benethor looked from Daniel to the canteen, then back again. "Shoot. I thought I disguised it pretty well."

"Seriously? I could smell the alcohol on your breath from a mile away. Pretty crafty with the swill in the canteen though."

He furrowed his brow. "It ain't swill! It's apple cider! But you wouldn't know, the strongest beverage you ever drank was applejuice!"

Daniel was ready with a retort, but he noticed the tone in a background voice change.

It was Marius's. "Good morning, Jonathan! Did you sleep well last night?"

A sleep-deprived Jonathan trudged towards the group of friends.

He mumbled something, then said, "No. It was super cold, my nose kept stuffing up, and the ground was hard as a rock."

"Cold? It was only fifty degrees out!"

Caterina's sudden appearance made Daniel and Benethor jump. They hadn't noticed her sit down between them.

Benethor shouted excitedly, "When did you get there?"

She shrugged, and opened a can of peaches.

Marius snickered. "Figures you were warm last night."

Thwack!

Jonathan sat down next to Benethor, and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Benethor noticed the way he kept trying to stretch out his back.

"Pitch your tent on some rocks?"

Jonathan nodded.

"You should've gone to one of the officers. They were givin' out those sleeping pads. You know, the ones that you sleep on top of."

He stared at Benethor, mouth agape. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

Benethor took a sip out of his canteen. "You didn't ask. I used three of em', wouldn't have minded sharin' one."

Jonathan continued to glare at him, slack-jawed.

An earth pony walked up to the night guard. Jonathan recognized him as a Lieutenant from the helmet he wore. The Lieutenant was missing a hind leg.

He tapped the guard's shoulder, and he turned around to face him. "Yes, Sarge?"

The Lieutenant smiled. "Shut up, Smiley. Call me Sarge again, and I'll tell your friend here about you crying at boot camp."

The Lieutenant pointed at Marius, whose mouth hung open in half disbelief, half laughter.

'Smiley' turned a shade of Crimson. "Do it, Shitter."

The Lieutenant glared at him. "You wouldn't dare."

His evil grin told him otherwise.

The Lieutenant's voice became more business-like. "Let's get down to business before this turns into a bloodbath." He pulled out a clipboard. "Shining Armor wants to know the mortality report."

"Didn't I give it to Sergeant Blade Dragger?"

The Lieutenant shrugged. "He went missing right before the Opfor retreated. So I dunno."

The night guard thought for a second. "Alright, so if you count Blade Dragger, that's two MIA, three casulties, and," he turned to Benethor, "is your eye better yet?"

Benethor shrugged. "It's still a little fresh, but I think I could fight if I needed to."

"Okay, make that none injured. And we gained two from Markswell's party."

"Did Blade Dragger happen to be... a pegasus?"

Everyone turned to Jonathan.

"Yeah... yellow fur, white mane... Ya see him?"

Jonathan was cryptic. "And the other MIA... Earth pony, green?"

The Lieutenant flipped a few pages on the clipboard he was holding, then nodded.

"They're dead. Both of them."

He looked inquisitively at Jonathan. "How do you know?"

Jonathan gulped. "I saw them."

He stared at Jonathan for a moment, then sighed. "Alright then, five KIA."

He wrote something down, then left, leaving behind an eery silence.

Smiley turned his gaze to Jonathan. Jonathan stared back.

"Killjoy," he muttered, then trotted off.

The trouble began somewhere around noon. Everypony was supposed to be eating lunch; they had received orders to wait for reinforcements, then return to base.

So, seeing as how they would have to wait a couple of hours, they had a lot of time on their hooves.

The drowsiness had finally worn off on Jonathan. He, Marius, Benethor, and Smiley sat around the fire, roasting corn.

Apparently, there were some still-going crops left behind from the abandoning farmers. Caterina, of course, was the first to find it.

She dropped off the corn, ate some of her plunderings, then took Daniel with her to 'forage' some more.

Rather than Benethor, it was Marius who was haranguing them this time.

"They're inseparable! They've been together for not even a full day now, and they just do... Everything together!"

Jonathan leaned back, remembering some far-off memory. "Reminds me of when Applejack and I first started dating... Those were good times..."

"Yecch, don't want to hear it," Marius interrupted.

Smiley chimed in. "Jealous, are we? That little 'ol Daniel has a marefriend, but you don't?"

Marius blinked. "No, I-"

"Don't wanna hear it," he mimicked, then added, "I gotta piss. Be right back."

Once Smiley was out of earshot, Marius scoffed. "And I was starting to like him."

Blue Water, or Smiley as he was known by his comrades, noisily trekked through the dense jungles of Monkel's territory, looking for a place to relieve himself.

He soon came to a large oak. Perfect.

Midway through his release, Smiley heard a rustling of leaves. Sensing danger, he immediately cut it short.

Oh, Luna, that stings.

He drew out a tomahawk, and peeked around the tree towards the noise.

The lower half of a body could be seen being dragged along the ground into a bush. The leaves and other matter that littered the forest floor had a red trail in them, leading to the body.

Alright, this is fucking serious.

He put away his tomahawk, and instead took out a compression bow.

He held the bow with his left hoof, then took the back of arrow and brought it across the bowstring with his teeth.

He was aimed and ready at the bush. But something caught his eye.

The trail coming from the body bush led back to the spot where the pony in question was first killed. Out of the corner of his eye, Smiley saw a head.

Though it was blurred, it seemed oddly familiar. Turning to get view, his eyes widened at the sight.

His friend, Lieutenant Skipper's head.

He gasped, accidentally letting the arrow go in the process. It banked off to the right, hitting and sticking into a tree trunk.

Now that he thought about it, the body only had one leg. Why hadn't he seen it coming earlier?

Immediately following an ear-piercing whistle, a wooden stake stuck into the tree he was hiding behind.

Instinctively, he ducked behind the trunk, thankful for choosing such a large tree to water.

Pulling out and another arrow and draping it across the string, he readied himself for the battle that lay ahead.

One versus one. Sniper versus sniper.

All or nothing.

"Oh, shit! That bag's on fire!"

"Here! I'll put it out!" Jonathan yelled, grabbing Benethor's canteen.

"Wait-!" Benethor held out a hoof, trying to snatch the canteen back.

Jonathan hurriedly rushed over and generously dumped the canteen's contents onto the flaming bag.

It immediately exploded into a ball of flame, heat radiating off it as much as from the campfire.

The grass around began to catch, and Marius kicked the bag into the safe proximity of the burning logs.

The many eyes upon them stared for a moment, then one by one returned to their occupations prior.

The three looked at each other.

"That... Was Caterina's bag..." Benethor stuttered.

All three faces went ghost white.

"What was in that canteen? Alcohol?? Why were you drinking alcohol??" Jonathan was almost yelling.

"It was only a little! Not enough to make me drunk! I tried to tell you to wait, but you wouldn't listen!"

Jonathan thought on this. "Well, you could have tried harder! Aw dang, what are we gonna do?"

Benethor pointed a hoof at Marius. Lowly, he spoke, "Blame Marius."

Marius was taken aback. "What!? You two were the ones that lit it on fire!"

Benethor frowned. "Yeah, but you were the one that kicked it into the fire."

Marius backed up defensively. "I- I- If I hadn't done that, the whole camp would've burned! Besides, who let it catch fire in the first place?"

"Let what catch fire?" Caterina appeared beside Marius.

"Augh! Uh, nothing!"

She squinted her eyes. She looked ready to pounce on him, until a certain unicorn walked up beside her, smiling.

She turned from her death glare on Maurius to look at Daniel, and smiled back.

Seeing his chance, Benethor cut in. "Where's Smiley? He should be back by now."

Caterina turned to where the earth pony had been sitting, seeming to forget about mauling Marius. "Yeah, where is he?"

"He went to... Go take care of excretions..." Jonathan said, having an awkward time with phrasing.

Caterina cocked an eyebrow. "Okay..." She sniffed the air. "Say, is somepony cooking canned peaches?"

The others nervously shifted, and she sat down.

Out of nowhere, they heard yelling.

From the trees came a screaming unicorn. He wasn't black like one of Monkel's troops, but not familiar-looking either.

He ran up to the squad's carpenter, pulled out an hatchet, and sunk it into his shoulder.

The carpenter screamed, and the unicorn pulled it out and repeatedly stabbed him in the neck, chest, and back, each time with the horrible thumping that accompanies the piercing of flesh.

A mage shot the attacker straight through the head with a laser, and he slumped to the ground. The carpenter and his killer lied together in a pool of mixing blood.

Shouts began to sound from every direction. The squad members all drew out their weapons, waiting.

Overwhelming numbers of earth ponies and pegasi swarmed the camp, rushing the inhabitants while chanting and screaming.

The group of five backed up close together, drawing weapons and ready to defend each other.

"Fight hard, my friends," Maurius said, gladius spinning in his hoof, "And if nothing else, I'll see you on the other side."