Casualties of War

by Deathscar

Chapter 8: The Chains

“Well we’re almost there girls.” Twilight said as they walked towards the temple steps. The rain fell heavier than ever, forcing all their manes flat.

“Well that was surprisingly quick. I figured it’d be days before we reach that tower thing.” Rarity remarked, picking the leaves off of her coat and blowing her wet mane with her breath.

“I’m just happy we’re here. Maybe now we can get some idea of where the hay we are.” Applejack added.

“Pinkie, darling. Are you all right?” Rarity asked the flat-maned mare standing at the back of the group.

“Yeah…I guess…” Pinkie replied in a depressed tone. Rarity opened her mouth to comfort Pinkie but was interrupted by Twilight’s scream. “Twilight!?” Rarity and Pinkie rushed to the purple mare who stood at the entrance to the temple steps.

“W-What is that!?” Twilight asked loudly, staring at a strange figure covered in mud just in front of the stone steps. The other ponies glanced from behind her, their eyes displaying their curious feeling.

“Why-why don’t ya’ll check it out?” Applejack suggested, fear clearly present in her voice. Twilight was the first pony to step forward with shaking hooves. Lightly, she tapped the unknown figure but it didn’t respond. As soon as she pushed the figure over, her heart stopped. She couldn’t comprehend what she was seeing. She was sure it was a trap but the longer she stared, the worst she felt. The black and yellow suit was one of the Shadowbolts…and the rainbow-colored mane of the pony wearing it was unmistakable.

“R-R-R…” Twilight couldn’t find it in herself to finish the sentence; her hooves shook violently as she sat on the wet mud with wide, open eyes.

“Rainbow Dash!?” Rarity yelled, completing Twilight’s sentence. “She’s hurt! Her wings! They’re-” She swallowed the rest of her sentence, she couldn’t find it in herself to continue speaking.

“Hold on a minute!” Applejack shouted out in protest. “This ain’t Rainbow! This is some kinda trick I tells ya! Ain’t no way would Rainbow be wearing a Shadowbolts uniform! Ain’t no way she would be this hurt!” The orange pony ranted but Rarity and Twilight didn’t seem to be paying attention, their hooves rooted to the ground.

“This ain’t Rainbow!!” Applejack shouted once more but this time, a tear rolled down her left cheek. She wanted to shout again but was interrupted by a sharp tug on her tail. Turning around, she saw Pinkie’s tear-filled, sorrowful eyes. She immediately understood what the pink mare was trying to say, shutting her eyes as tight as she possibly could, she whispered to herself. “This-this is Rainbow…”

“G-girls! Come on! We have to help her!” Twilight commanded.

“Is she…?” Applejack reluctantly asked.

“She’s alive, AJ.” Twilight comforted the troubled pony. “But if we don’t do something about these wounds she’s not going to be for long! We need to find a place we can set up shelter for her!” Twilight’s horn grew a bright purple and the cyan Pegasus levitated in the air, before being placed down on Rarity’s back. Applejack immediately rushed beside the white mare.

“H-hey, sugercube. You wouldn’t mind letting me carry Rainbow would ya?” Applejack asked, hoping to not sound too forward.

“Are you sure Applejack? Just because I’m a lady doesn’t mean I can’t carry my own weight you know?” Rarity commented.

“Please Rarity. Please.” Applejack begged with her tear-filled eyes.

“Very well. But if it ever gets too much you can always pass her back to me.” Rarity lifted Rainbow off of her back and onto the orange pony.

“Thank ya Rarity.” Applejack turned her head towards the unconscious mare. “It’s all right Rainbow. We got ya. I got ya.” She whispered at the barely breathing pony on her back, feeling her chest lightly rise before it falls, as they trotted a little into the forest, completely unaware that Fluttershy was just a few steps away at the top of the structure…

----------

The shelter was built in a small open area in the forest, consisting only of four long stick holding up a square piece of blue fabric Rarity had in her saddlebags. It was barely big enough to shelter Rainbow, nopony else. Rarity laid another piece of purple cloth underneath, ensuring that Rainbow would not have to feel the cold, harsh floor.

“S-she’s…” Applejack stuttered on her words as her eyes examined Rainbow’s wounds. The Pegasus was clean from most of the mud that obstructed the other ponies view of her injuries. The straw-hat wearing Earth Pony bit her bottom lip, trying desperately to hold back the tears that were trying to force themselves up. Rainbow’s half burnt wings were spread out wide, in full view of everypony as they lazily slumped over her body.

“Let me examine her.” The purple unicorn stepped forward, her horn glowing bright.

“What are you doing Twilight?” Rarity asked as Twilight bent her head down, swiping her horn across Rainbow’s near live-less body.

“It’s an x-ray spell one of the doctors taught me…” Twilight lifted up her head and the glow around her horn ceased. “…he told me to use it when I needed to examine someone’s injuries.”

“So? How is she?” Pinkie Pie asked, sitting on the wet, muddy floor.

“She’s…” Twilight walked back to the group, unable to finish her sentence.

“Twi! You tell me what’s Rainbow’s condition right now!” Applejack yelled in anger. “The only way for me to help her is to what’s wrong with Rainbow!”

“She’s in dire condition.” Twilight answered, her tear-filled eyes staring at Applejack’s. “I’m sorry, AJ but… I don’t think there’s much we can do without medical equipment.”

“No…” Applejack shouted to herself. “No, no, no, no! I’m not just gonna let her die like this!”

“No one said we would, darling.” Rarity reassured Applejack but the southern mare didn’t seem to notice, her eyes tearing up as she approached Rainbow.

All of a sudden, Rainbow started to stir. Applejack was the first to notice this, not taking her eyes off her best friend for more than a second.

“G-girls! She’s waking up!” Applejack shouted in delight but her smile vanished into a depressed frown as quick as it came. Rainbow Dash moved slightly, before screaming out in pain. All of them shut their eyes, the scream scratching away at their hearts.

“F-F-Fluttershy…” Rainbow tried to stand but it only resulted in another loud scream, echoing the thunder which struck at the same time. The light brown mare immediately rushed over to the hurt Pegasus.

“Rainbow! You know where Fluttershy is!?” Applejack went closer, hugging her wounded friend.

“T-T-They got her.” Rainbow took a short breath. “A-at t-the temple. They got her…and it’s all my fault.” Tears were clearly forming at Rainbow’s eyelids. Applejack could see she was not only physically hurt, her mental state was several damaged as well.

“Temple? You mean the same temple we found you!?” Rainbow nodded softly, before letting out a softer but still heartbreaking scream.

“I abandoned her. I was weak.” Rainbow’s voice got softer as she said those words, in an almost hypnotic state.

“Rainbow, don’t give up on me, ya hear?” Applejack brought her ears closer to Rainbow’s mouth, her hoof placed over Rainbow.

“I’m not loyalty…” Rainbow’s voice lowered into a whisper. “I’m no friend…” Rainbow’s body went limp.

“Rainbow!? Rainbow! You answer me right now you hear!?” Applejack started to panic, was she…? Applejack brought her ear closer to Rainbow’s chest to hear her heart beating softly and slowly. Tears didn’t do Applejack’s heart, or what was left of it, justice.

“Girls, we have another problem.” Rarity interrupted Applejack, as much as she hated to.

“Fluttershy…” Twilight knew that if she said another word, she too would join Applejack in breaking down.

“If they did this to Rainbow…” Applejack noticed the gravity of the situation.

“Who knows what they might do to Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie stood up, her eyebrows arched towards each other with trembling hooves and tears at her eyelids.

“Why if those Griffins lay a finger on poor old Fluttershy I’d…. I’d…!” Rarity was visibly furious.

“I need two other ponies to accompany me, we need to save Fluttershy!” Twilight commanded.

“Two?” Pinkie Pie asked in confusion, she glanced at her three friends still well and standing.

“One pony needs to stay here, to look after Rainbow. I’m not leaving her here alone.” Twilight explained to Pinkie.

“I’ll stay.” Everyone stared at Applejack, who answered in a heart’s beat.

“A-are you sure? Rainbow’s…” Twilight was worried, Applejack didn’t seem to be able to take much more mental abuse.

“I’m sure, ya’ll just need to save Fluttershy. I don’t know what I’d do if anypony got…” Applejack swallowed her words.

“O-okay then… just stay with Rainbow. We’ll be back soon with Fluttershy. We promise.” Twilight saw everypony’s worry and concern in their eyes. “Let’s go, girls.” Twilight ran off first, Rarity followed quickly behind. Pinkie stood stationary, staring at Applejack who had went back to lie on the dirty, muddy ground, next to Rainbow. “Pinkie!” Pinkie Pie snapped out of her daze.

“Coming!” Pinkie ran over, not before throwing another glance towards Applejack who had her hoof around the hurt mare.
----------

It had been minutes after minutes of silence. Applejack laid next to the Pegasus, her hoof wrapped carefully around the mare’s body, hoping to keep her warm from the cold night air. She made sure not to touch the charred remains of what were once her wings. The Shadowbolt suit did little to prevent the chill of the continious gusts from the storm as they blew towards the two friends. The heavy downpour only served as another obstacle, forcing Applejack to put up with the ice cold rain and biting winds while her suffering friend laid under the warmth of the shelter.

Suddenly, Rainbow started to move slightly, startling Applejack for a short while but at the same time, bringing relief to the worried mare.

“A-Alone again.” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself, unaware of the pony beside her.

“No, Rainbow. You ain’t alone. I’m here.” Applejack answered immediately with a smile.

“Applejack?” Rainbow whispered weakly.

“Yes, sugercube. I’m here. No worries now.” Applejack felt the cyan Pegasus squirm a little underneath her hooves but she immediately stopped, wincing in pain.

“I can’t-I can’t open my eyes.” Silence fell over the two mares. “A-Are you mad?” The multicolored-maned Pegasus asked.

“Now why in Equestria would I be mad at you, sugercube?” Applejack only cared about her friend’s well-being, a little fearful as to why she would be asked these questions.

“Y-You don’t know? I-I was the pony that attacked Fluttershy. I hurt her and now she’s been captured. I should have stayed for her! But instead…I ran.” Each word seemed like a waking nightmare for Rainbow to speak and Applejack seemed to feel the same. “I’m no friend. I’m useless…I’m hopeless…” Tears overcame her words.

Applejack hugged Rainbow slightly tighter, being sure not to hurt her more than she was. “You aren’t hopeless, Rainbow. I’m sure you weren’t yourself when you attacked Fluttershy and I’m sure she didn’t want you to stay and get killed either.” Applejack’s voice started to break slowly, sobs interrupted every few words. “You’re the strongest of us all… if you couldn’t control yourself. I’m sure none of us could.”

Rainbow was crying without restraint, she winced in pain at she sob she made but Applejack didn’t stop her.

“He did something to me. He injected me with some sort of liquid. It was horrible.” Rainbow was barely able to talk through her sobs. “When he injected me, I felt myself being dragged away in my mind; I could feel myself losing control of my own body. When I opened my eyes, I was chained to the floor at each hoof. Around me was nothing but endless white space and in front of me was everything that was happening in real life. I could feel everything but yet I had no control over anything.”

“R-Rainbow. You ain’t gotta tell me any of this. I understand Rainbow, I trust you.” Applejack comforted Rainbow but that only seemed to cause her tears to flow even more.

“I said things I didn’t mean. I did things that I would never have done. And I felt every moment of it. I struggled against the chains the whole time. Screaming. Yelling. Begging for everything to stop. But it was no use; I had to watch helplessly as I hurt the pony I cared for the most. Only when I heard Fluttershy sing, did the chains started to break away, letting me regain control of my body one part at a time. It was like a dream, only, it felt like a nightmare.”

Applejack remained silent, unsure of what to think of her friend.

“I’m not tough, AJ. I’m scared. I’d always been scared. I always thought acting touch would deceive me, to be braver.” Rainbow whispered through her winces.

“You’re the bravest pony I ever knew, Rainbow Dash.” Applejack whispered back, nuzzling again Rainbow’s body.

“A-Apple…” Her sobs didn’t seem to allow Rainbow to speak even a word. “Applejack, do me a favor.”

“Anything, sugercube.”

“T-Take-Take this stupid suit off me.” Rainbow pleaded. Applejack immediately stood up, unzipped the suit from Rainbow’s tail all the way to just under her mane. Applejack then took the suit in her mouth, gave it on swift tug from below and tossed it aside, showing fully the extent of Rainbow’s injuries. Multiple cuts and bruises were present all over Rainbow’s body and the fur under her left wing had been died a sickening red due to the large cut that was present. However, the blood had seemed to stop flowing, giving Applejack a small relief.

“Feel better?” Applejack lay back down, putting her right hoof over Rainbow’s body once again, trying her best to maintain her composure after seeing truly how dire her condition was.

“It-It hurts. The guilt, it hurts so much. I wish it would just all go away…” Rainbow’s voice trailed off into an inaudible mumble, shutting her eyes before falling unconscious again. Applejack checked her heartbeat one more time; a slow and steady echo reached her ears. Lying down slowly beside Rainbow in the rain, she cried to herself to see the brash, brave Rainbow Dash act so defeated, her tears blended with the rain that fell on her face.

Comments

[emberghost]

AJ is orange. You called her yellow.

[Deathscar]

499126 Whoops sorry, wasn't thinking clearly at 3am in the morning. Thanks!

[Vinyls_Account]

You specifically added the "white space" for us funny Junkers didn't you?

[Firepegasus230]

Woo! That's good. I just hope Rainbow will be okay and that the mission comes out well, but it's just awesome, yay

[cheesyhead11]

well if iwere there i would be all like GUTA that damn girrfin and shoot him with my AK-47 that i magically pulled out of my ass