Pain.
All Rarity could sense was pain.
All she could feel was pain.
The world was blurred around her, spinning and spinning and spinning.
The lights hurt. She could sense bodies surrounding her. Dissecting her.
It was too much. She screamed in agony. She cried from the torture. She felt restraints on her hooves and she strained against them, her mind being lanced in a million different ways by all that was attacking her.
Light’s blurred.
Shadows lengthened.
Spinning.
Twisting.
Sickening.
Shouting.
She sobbed from the sheer magnitude of anguish she was now experiencing. It clouded her mind. She couldn’t think. Only react.
Suddenly, a white cloth came over her face. A blissful cloth of wondrous scents…
In that moment, the world wasn’t as bad.
She relaxed, her body going limp.
A long sigh.
Darkness.
Silence.
Oblivion…
Rarity awoke with a start, her entire body feeling like it had gone through ten different Sisterhooves Socials at once. Lead-like and sluggish, her eyes struggled to stay open in the dimly lit room. Above her was a rocky ceiling, and everything felt damp. She found that she now had a coat on her, and with the sight of her breath in the air and the chills she seemed to harbour, she could see why. Lying on a mattress face up, she inhaled deeply.
She coughed and sputtered, her first breaths in the waking world being deep and causing her throat to react quite severely. By this, she discerned she must’ve been breathing shallowly and quickly in her sleep. Fluttering her eyes, she heaved for a few seconds before she realized just how parched she felt. Glancing to either side of her lethargically, she found a cup and a bottle.
Concentrating, she cried in pain. She couldn’t use her magic. A pressure felt like it was building up in her forehead, and a lance of hot steel pierced her mind and the crooks of eyes as she tried to focus. Trying to reach for the cup, she only ended up swatting it to the ground. Breathing heavily just from the small endeavour, she shut her eyes tight and opened her eyes once more before realizing somepony else was in the room with her.
Or rather, somezebra.
Widening her eyes ever so slightly, she eyed the bottle and reached for it before something went taut and she felt a painful pull around her chest.
“I would take care not do anything rash if I were you.”
Something about the zebra’s speech bothered her, but she had more pressing matters to attend to. With a terrible gut feeling, she looked down and saw wires protruding from a bandaged wound in her chest. Her breath quickening, Rarity pulled on it and painfully glanced to the right, only to see a big black box. Feeling a phantom pain in her chest, she felt herself begin to hyperventilate as she struggled to removed the wrappings.
Rip. Tear. Her muscles felt like sluggish death but she did it. In her bosom was a circular object, with wires extending to connect the box to it. With the tiniest shift, she felt her chest feel almost constricted and invaded. Her breath came out in big gasps as she tried to regain oxygen from her hyperventilation.
Feeling tears in her eyes, Rarity put her hoof over it before letting her body fall limp once more, staring at the ceiling in disbelief and hot tears.
As she lay there feeling a ghostly anguish, she gasped. Her breath was still sporadic, and she could feel her throat constricting with each sob.
“Just breathe, Miss Belle,” the zebra murmured. She shuffled around to glance at Rarity before setting a few plates. “It would do us both no good if you were to fall unconscious once more.”
Rarity could only nod in agreement, a few tears silently dripping from her face. With a raggedy inhale, she sat up and swung her legs to her left to face the fireplace.Nearly falling off from the sudden rush to her head, she blinked and leaned onto the nearby table with the box for stability. A soft sharp drumming in her temples began before she closed her eyes tight, willing it to go away.
She felt a tap on her shoulders.
“A mirror,” the zebra offered. “It would seem you have a need to inspect it yourself.” She then trotted over to the fireplace. As the zebra mare began poking at a pan that was sizzling over the fireplace, Rarity shakily turned the broken mirror in her hoof and reflected the image of her chest.
“W-what…” Rarity managed to choke out. The rough object shone dully in the dank space. “What did you do to me?”
“What I did?” the zebra said with a bitter smile. “What I did is to save your life.”
Rarity put the mirror down and felt her body shiver at the unnatural sight of something protruding out of her chest. Putting a hoof over it, she closed her eyes at the complete lack of feeling except for pressure applied to the thing itself. She could still hear the zebra talking, and her head drooped as her ears swivelled, still listening.
“I removed all the shards that I could,” she began, “But there’s still a lot left.” Grabbing something on a nearby table, the zebra held it gingerly in one hoof and turned. “And it’s headed right into your atrial septum.” Offering the vial to Rarity, the zebra’s lips stretched ever so slightly. “Here, want to see? I have a souvenir. Take a look.”
As the zebra tossed it, Rarity was quickly reminded of her current lack of magic with a lance of hot pain. Only barely catching it in her hooves, the contents jingled softly. Several shards of crystal glinted in the light of the fireplace and dim electric torches, and she tiredly raised it to eye-level, appraising their worth.
“I’ve seen many wounds like that in my small village.” The zebra reminisced softly as she went back to doing her own thing. “I… we called them the walking dead… because it takes about a week for those barbs to reach the heart. As a doctor… I did all I could to help them, but their time was limited with the resources we had.”
The zebra nodded to her side, gesturing indiscriminately to Rarity. “You on the other hoof… you’re too important to die, hm?”
Rarity said nothing.
“In any case, neither of us are lucky to be here. You more than me. And with that hole in your chest, I doubt you’ll be escaping any time soon.”
The remark brought Rarity’s attention back to the object imbedded in her breast. Somewhat curious but treading carefully, Rarity bit her lip. “What… what is it?”
The zebra turned around, an eyebrow raised on her striped figure and a smile on her face. “That thing in your body? That is an electromagnet, attached to a car battery… and it’s the one thing that’s keeping that shrapnel from entering your heart.”
Rarity could feel her breath feel just that much more laboured at the thought before she felt a chill go down her spine. It truly was cold in a place like this. With a resigned breath, she pulled her coat close and zipped it up. The magnet was covered, but she could still feel it within her bosom. Just then, it seemed to hit Rarity in the face like one big buckball.
“You don’t speak in rhyme?” Rarity blurted out without thinking. In that same moment, she assigned a name to her fellow prisoner as they had still yet to be introduced.
Rarity could see a smile form on her face. “Oh no,” Zap replied, or at least, what Rarity had begun to call her. “Now why would I do that?”
“Well, there’s this zebra I know. A friend of mine…” Rarity provided. “She speaks in rhyme.”
A soft chuckle came from the mouth of the zebra. “Well,” she said, “You’ve got one important friend.”
Rarity blinked. “I do?”
“Oh yes,” Zap offered, a small grin now dominating her features. “Only elders or important zebras of certain tribes in Zebrica still uphold that tradition. Of course, they don’t need to, but it is a symbol of their dedication to their culture and their roots.”
Bringing a platter with two plates on it to the bed, Zap raised an eyebrow. “The question is, just who might your friend be, and why is she so far from home?”
Rarity could only shrug in response. “I don’t know.” Only then, when the zebra was approaching did she see the lensed machines in the dark corners of the room. Zap noticed this and nodded.
“That’s right,” she said. “Smile!”
Rarity accepted the plate and scooched over a little to make room for the zebra. Placing their meals on the long table beside them that also housed Rarity’s new source of life, the zebra sighed.
“We met once, you know. Very briefly. A long, long time ago.”
Rarity turned to look at Zap with curious eyes. “I beg your pardon?”
The zebra giggled. “Oh, you wouldn’t remember. You were so antsy to get out of that conference hall… I wouldn’t have been able to stand much less give a lecture on mana-batteries and integrated archaic technology at such a young age and with such intense jitters.”
Rarity blanched, remembering that very night. “Y-yes, well… I didn’t like the looks of disapproval some ponies gave me… especially those who think that a company shouldn’t be run by a 19 year old…”
Zap, with an about face, nodded. “And now you only show up to make sure your company is still running as smooth as it has been. Rumour has it… you’ve taken on an alias.”
‘So it has been noticed,” Rarity murmured, looking away. “Must’ve been the Manehatten Boutique…”
“But your life is not mine to interfere with,” she said. “And you can give me the details another time. For now…” Her ears swivelled, listening in with a grimace. “We’ve got company.”
At that, a shutter in the metal door’s frame opened and two eyes pierced the darkness. “Axella!”
Zap began to pull on Rarity’s frazzled being. “Come! You must move!’
Shocked by the sudden action, she obliged, albeit shakily. “W-what-”
“Shh!” she hissed. “Be quiet. Do as I do. Do as I do!”
The zebra then trotted a foot away before plopping down on her haunches and raising two hooves to her head. “Hurry! Quick!” The doors soon opened to reveal four armed mercenaries and a bundled up pony to lead them all.
“...” Rarity whispered. “My… my creations; my w-weapons…! H-how did-?”
“Are you listening?” the zebra simmered. “Do as I do!”
They continued to walk forward a few more paces as the lead pony began to speak.
“Tere Haruldus Belle,” the stallion smiled warmly, though Rarity could see the glint of cunning and deception in his eyes. “Equestria suurim kurjategija pole veel näinud!” As he finished, he gestured to Rarity’s right. Following his gaze, Rarity saw her new zebra friend’s eyes flickering around before she turned to face Rarity.
With a sigh, Zap began to translate. “He says… ‘Welcome Rarity Belle, the greatest villain the likes of which Equestria has yet to see’.”
The zebra could only watch as Rarity’s features seemed to darken, sagging in unveiled guilt.
“Ma olen meelitatud olema oma kohalolekut.” The stallion gestured once more.
“He is honoured, to be in the presence of such a mare.” The zebra watched as Rarity’s face became unreadable.
“Ma tahan, et teete samale raketile, mille esitasite oma sõjaväelastele isiklikuks kasutamiseks. See on siin,” the stallion said, and a arms-bearing griffon to his right offered a picture.
“He wants you to build the missile,” the zebra translated, “The missile that you presented.” Taking the picture in her hoof, she carefully showed it to Rarity. “These ones.”
Rarity cast her eyes over to the picture. There, printed in black and white for all the world to see, were her Mareicho missiles. The crystal structures glinted in the light, and Rarity grimaced. In her mind, Rarity was thinking her options. But she knew there was only one way to go about this. The right way. Thinking of her friends… of Rainbow and her loyalty, Rarity clenched her jaw and steeled herself.
Looking the stallion in the eyes, Rarity narrowed her own.
“No.”
And she could only watch as the stallion’s eyes widened at the blatant rejection. Rarity’s new zebra friend could only watch in mild horror as she saw the stallion gesture his head to Rarity and herself. Closing her eyes for the inevitable, the zebra accepted her fate.
As bags were placed over their heads, Rarity felt herself be unceremoniously tugged in a direction. The battery nearly ripped from her chest, but she felt it get thrust into her hooves. Biting her tongue, she knew now was not the time to make any remarks as she normally would’ve. It might just make things worse. As she felt herself quickly pass over the grooves in the floor she began to count the steps. They then made a sharp turn to the right and suddenly, a blazing light replaced the darkness of the sackcloth that had been above her head. This time, Rarity couldn’t help but yelp as her mane was tugged painfully backwards.
Rarity felt her hooves get restrained by other forces before she found herself facing her reflection in a water basin, and she widened her eyes. She could only catch a glimpse of the stallion’s face before another tug forced her to gasp in pain and her head was thrust downwards.
“Mmmmphggffff!” Rarity gurgled, her eyes shutting closed and losing her breath from the cold viscous water. The shock even made her horn spark in agony. Her head was pulled back up as she shrieked. “Ack- Aghhhh!”
Her head was forced to plunge again and Rarity’s brain went into overload, trying to compensate for the sheer amount of stimulus. “Arglfffreghmmmmph!” she gargled before she was practically ripped out once more.
“Ahhh!” Rarity shouted. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she could hear the phantom pains and shouts of her friends calling her name.
“Rarity!”
Rarity plunged once more. This time thrust in for the longest, Rarity felt her mind close into itself. Thoughts raced. Plans formed. In that instant, she thought of something beautiful. Something extraordinary. Something amazing. Images of blueprints flashed through her mind in that split second. The sight of a finished product. Glowing with intensity and power.
When she thought she couldn’t survive any longer without oxygen and began to see spots, she was pulled out and the bag was thrust onto her head once more. The bag immediately began to dry her soggy mane and fur, and she knew this time for sure her make-up was gone, but none of it mattered. With this act, she knew they weren’t playing games. It was do or die. As she realized that counting pace right then and there was useless, she turned her thoughts to the zebra she had been with.
The whole time, the zebra had been listening to Rarity’s cries of pain and torture. Her drowning cries. The only thing she could do was wince and grimace. And as they began to move, she was almost glad to know that it had stopped and Rarity was by her side once more.
As they were led somewhere once more, both of them realized it was taking too long for either of them to be returning to their holdings. Soon enough they felt their travels through an obvious rough cave system come to an end and the bags covering their heads were removed once more.
The blinding light that came this time came from Celestia’s sun, shining a burning light on everything surrounding her. Rarity could only squint as her clammy eyelids struggled to open up, and she glanced around to see her fellow zebra captive wondering the same that she was.
In the next moment, all of Rarity’s ailments were forgotten and she nearly dropped her battery. “By the stars…” Rarity whispered.
All around her, with several races of quadrupeds, avians, and bipeds milling about were piled crates upon crates of miscellaneous ballistics and artillery. Rarity could feel her jaw part slightly before a tear of anger welled up within her and she clenched her mouth shut, blinking it away. As they were led to the center of it all, Rarity was put side by side with Zap. After this, I’m definitely asking for her name, Rarity pondered as a quick side-thought. With a frown, she put her best poker-face on, not wanting to show anything else to the ruffians she had been kidnapped by and she watched as the same stallion from before walked back up to her.
“Mida sa arvad?” He cocked an eyebrow and turned to Zap.
“He’s asking what you think,” Zap relayed.
Rarity breathed quietly. “I think you’ve got a lot of my weapons.”
“Belle arvab, et sul on palju relvi,” Zap translated back, and the stallion smirked.
“Meil on kõik, mis Mareicho rakettide ehitamiseks on vaja,” the stallion gestured all around him.
Zap continued to translate. “He says that they have everything you need to build the missile.”
The stallion nodded, pointing to Rarity. “Lihtsalt looge materjale ja kui olete valmis, anname sulle oma teed!” At that, he also pointed to the one main exit out of the small mountain inlet.
Rarity scanned the stallion’s face for anything as she watched Zap furrow her brows in the corner of her eye. “He says for to you create a list of materials and start working immediately,” Zap translated. “And… when you’re done, he will set you free.”
Rarity studied his eyes. There was no trace of any truth in his claims. Even if she did believe it, she would still find out in the end that it was all for not. As the stallion stuck a hoof out towards her, she glanced at it and towards Zap. With a prim smile, Rarity grasped the stallion’s hoof and shook on it.
“No he won’t,” Rarity muttered resignedly behind her facade of smiling agreement.
“No, he won’t,” Zap agreed quietly, nodding her head with a tight smile of her own.
“No, he won’t.”