Chapter 7: Orion

<~Approximately two hours walk from Cottonwood Cove~>

Tired, frightened, and alone. Many thought’s were running through Fluttershy’s mind.

Thoughts like, ‘How do I escape.’ and ‘What will happen to Applejack and I?’ were at the forefront of the frantic thoughts.

She didn’t receive any answers to the questions plaguing her scarred mind that seemed to be going slower, and slower, and slower… until up was down and everything went blacker than the night they were travelling through.

Lloyd heard her fall, scrunching his face in anger, he grabbed Applejack’s bindings, making her abruptly stop. The stop itself pulling her arms to the point her shoulders screamed in pain. “Wait here,” he told Applejack with disdain while forcing her to her knees.

Moving over to Jason, who was trying to wake the unconscious Fluttershy up. Lloyd pushed him out of the way, right before delivering a kick to Fluttershy’s left arm that was hard enough to roll her to her right side. The intense pain woke her from unconsciousness and she let out a muffled scream, tears flowing from her eyes.

Lloyd squatted low enough for him to get right up to Fluttershy’s ear. Out of instinct, she closed her eyes and curled into a ball before he screamed, “DO NOT FUCKING PASS OUT AGAIN!”

Applejack could only watch in horror as Fluttershy wailed through the gag. Applejack never wanted to wish harm on anyone before, but the two Legion soldiers set an angry fire alight in the mare. She honestly wanted to kill both of them where they stood, but the ropes keeping her arms behind her back and wrists bound made that completely impossible.

As Applejack watched, Jason suddenly grabbed Lloyd by the shirt and punched him in the jaw. Not hard enough to break it, just enough to cause a lip to split and spill copper tasting crimson liquid.

“What the Hell!?” Lloyd yelled, coming to full height after ending up on his rear. Bringing his fists up in a boxer’s stance, he spit a glob of snot and blood onto the sand.

“You dont need to yell at the top of your lungs, Lloyd,” Jason said calmly, taking his own stance, “They need rest and water. Get through that overly thick skull of yours that they’re no good to us dehydrated to the point of death.”

“I see your point,” Lloyd growled with anger. He lowered his fists and took a big breath of air, sighing out his anger.

“Now, I want you to guard the path we took,” Jason instructed, gesturing towards the path they took, “Jamie and that band of misfits probably had no trouble figuring out we left with their friends and skipped the camp. But I could be wrong, and the boys caught them as they tried to follow.”

“So do I need to watch the fucking trail or not, Jason?” Lloyd asked, his anger threatening to come back.

“Yes,” Jason said curtly, “I can watch the women. Did you remember to bring your machete?”

Lloyd nodded and the sound of a blade was heard being drawn. The rusty metal failing to shine in the dim moonlight that had decided to finally peek out.

Jason moved Applejack to Fluttershy’s side. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small micro-fission battery powered lamp that was vault-boy blue. A nick-nack that one of the Frementari - Caesar’s personal spies -  bought from a store built into a vault on the strip and sold to him for a fair hundred caps.

Twisting the small knob on the top, the light came to life, illuminating a small radius with pale white light. It was no campfire, but it would do.

Fluttershy’s wails had slowed to a sniffle, and Jason took a look at her arm. A nasty blackish purple bruise had formed a sizable band of discolored skin. Reaching into his pouch, Jason retrieved a small cloth bag.

Opening the bag, Jason grabbed a handful of herbal powder. Cautiously he removed Fluttershy’s gag, her muffled sniffles now loud enough to hear.

Moving the handful of powder close to her face he softly said, “Take it. We use this for pain and to speed healing.”

Applejack couldn’t contain her surprise at his actions. One of her captors was actually showing an act of kindness to Fluttershy, and Applejack detected no lie in his words. She watched as Fluttershy slowly sniffed, then opened her mouth, letting Jason sprinkle the powdered roots and flowers onto her tongue.

The concoction tasted bitter, but her arm felt better mere seconds of consuming the healing powder...the only downside was that it left her mouth dry as a bone.

“Water,” Fluttershy weakly pleaded with a scratchy voice. Fluttershy’s soft blue-green eyes were sparkling in the lamps light, the little innocent windows into her soul pleading for help from her captor.

Jason sat on his knees, moving Fluttershy’s head rest at an angle using his legs. Unscrewing a plastic cap on a dull-colored metal canteen attached to a leather strap looped over his shoulder, Jason placing the opening to Fluttershy’s parched lips. Fluttershy felt relief as Jason tilted the canteen towards her, making sure she didn’t gulp too fast.

After Fluttershy drank her fill, a measly tenth of the canteen, Jason set her down to where she was laying on the ground. He quickly moved a few meters over to where Applejack was still resting on her knees.

The blond haired farmer was used to going without water. Applejack often spent countless hours in the sun, sweating to the point that her brother had to make her stop to drink, and it had left her with quite a tolerance towards the effects of dehydration. That didn't mean she wasn’t going to slog down half the canteen in one go. After Jason removed her gag, Applejack drank the water so fast, Jason barely had time to tilt the can away from her.

Screwing the canteen’s lid back on, Jason let the metal canteen fall to a rest at his side as he walked away from the two women. Sitting down on a rock, Jason looked between Applejack and Fluttershy. He had left the both of them ungagged, and wondered who would break the silence first.

Fluttershy just whispered, “Thank you,” as she closed her eyes. She was far too tired from the walk, so tired she couldn’t even think straight.

“You’re welcome,” Jason replied, watching her with regret as she drifted into an uneasy slumber.

The silence continued until Applejack simply asked, “Why?”

Jason took a deep breath, “I often ask myself that. It's… complicated.”

Applejack detected sadness in his voice, so she tried to coax it out of him. “We have enough time, though, try n’ make it uncomplicated,” Applejack took a breath, “I just want the truth. I want to know why you’re doin’ this to us.”

Jason sighed, and looked away, trying to hide his regret, “I wasn’t always Legion. I used to live in a town called Nipton.”

Applejack remembered carrying Fluttershy through there with the caravan with Cass. Luckily for her, she didn’t see the skeletons. Fluttershy was too interested with talking to the pack Brahmin the whole time to notice the shape the town was in.

Applejack never told her what the Legion did, and never intended to.

Applejack shivered when she remembering seeing the crosses with skeletons in blue prison uniforms, and the long extinguished pile of rubber tires topped with the incinerated bodies of the townspeople.

“Four years ago,” Jason continued, “During the battle at Hoover Dam, I was captured after the Legion made it past our lines. I was lucky I surrendered, otherwise they would have killed me. I’m still surprised they didn’t kill me even when I surrendered.”

Cass had told her about the dam, well, more along the lines of ‘huge ass wall’. Applejack knew it was a battle Caesar’s Legion almost won. It was only the inflexibility of the Legate Graham that lost the battle. After the battle was lost, Caesar had him tossed off a cliff while being burned alive.

“You were with the New California Republic, weren't ya?” She asked, remembering the numerous flags and posters in the Mojave Outpost where she first woke up.

“Yeah, they spared my life on the grounds that I was now a soldier of Caesar. It’s how the Legion works, they take tribes and make them their own, with the NCR not being an exception. I know the way we treat women is horrible, but if you look at the upsides of the empire, you would know that Caesar has done more than the NCR government. I’ve been back east around a year ago. It was quite peaceful. No raiders, gangs, or dangerous animals like deathclaws.”

She was going to ask what deathclaws were, when Lloyd returned running, “Jason, Jason! We’re being followed!”

Jason mouthed ‘sorry’ before he moved to replace Applejack’s gag, and turned out the light. He quickly moved to Fluttershy, shaking her from sleep and replacing her gag, all before Lloyd could get his hands on her.

Fluttershy was confused as to why the one who was helping her was now being so forceful with her, but all she could do was let out a stifled cry.

Jason and Lloyd forced the two of them to start running. Jason hated doing this to innocents like Fluttershy, but he knew if any of her friends caught him, he would surely be dead before he could explain.

The four kept a steady pace till morning’s light, finally reaching Cottonwood Cove as the sun peeked over the horizon, setting the sky a blazing orange. They didn’t have time to look at the camp before the centurion Aurelius of Phoenix - a veteran Legionnaire dressed in patchwork armor made from the armor of previous foes that oversaw the camp - told them to directly head to the raft to the Fort.

<>~<>~<>

Jamie had hoped that they could wait, let the friends of the two women attack, but at that moment, they were put on the square shaped raft. The tiny raft was piloted by a soldier he didn't know, and used a long, thin wooden pole to push the raft through the water. The soldier’s head moving behind a rock just as Rarity got him in her sights from the sniper nest Jamie had taken his new friends to.

<>~<The Fort>~<>

It took around three hours to pilot the small raft to the fort, making sure to avoid the lakelurk-filled shoreline. The whole ride, Applejack and Fluttershy were laying on their backs on the uncomfortable wooden vessel, desperately squirming to keep from laying on their arms too long and cutting off their blood circulation. The pins and needles their arms were feeling told the both of them that they were failing.

When they made it, Applejack and Fluttershy were taken away from Jason and Lloyd by two Legion soldiers, armed with spears with faces faces hidden behind bandanas and dark glasses. The two of them spoke Latin so their captives couldn’t understand their private conversation.

Soon, the two of them were whisked through the gates, past what appeared to be hundreds of red tents, all the way up a hill. They continued past another gate, then another, before finally coming to a large circle made of fence and wood. A crude but strong blue metal gate opened. They were led inside where a large metal cage at the edge of the circle awaited them. Their bindings and gags were removed, and they were forced into the cage. The  rusty door slammed with a creak, and the lock clicked, shutting them inside.

The two of them then noticed at the same time that the stands surrounding the wall were slowly starting to fill with red uniforms. In mere minutes, the stands were nearly bursting with Legionnaires as the hum of activity was at its peak. Above the rest, in a separate box that stood higher than the other stands, a figure, cloaked in the deepest red and darkest black appeared.

His body seemed to radiate with authority. His thinning white hair and bald spot spoke his age and wisdom. He raised a hand and the mumbling gathering of soldiers quieted. A tense silence filled the air as the wind dared not whistle.

“Loyal men,” his voice boomed throughout the procession, “I have called you all to gather here, to witness a glorious battle.” You could see him crack a smile, “If any of you brave men want to compete, volunteer, and a selection will be chosen at my discretion.”

Many hands went up, most of the potential contestants faces hiding behind cloth masks and dark goggles. However Applejack could see Lloyd’s wildly unkempt hair right beside Jason’s kind but frowning face, they both were raising their hands.

Caesar spoke again, “I see many hands, yet you do not know the prize.” Caesar let out a few amused chuckles, “These two slaves, if I am being told correctly, were freshly captured from the Mojave wastes. Not only will the winner of this contest receive them as his wives, but he will also gain his own tent, and a spot on my Praetorian guard.”

Applejack and Fluttershy’s pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks at the thought of them being forced into marriage. Fluttershy began to panic and cry, only enticing more and more Legion to raise their hands.

‘Those bastards will burn in Hell or Tartarus, or whatever the religious ponies called the place of damnation,’ Applejak thought. She saw as Caesar pointed to different men, the contestants jumping into the ring from the stands.

When the last contestant entered the arena, there was a total of eight men.

Jason and Lloyd weren't ones to be selected, though she was quite glad Vaas wasn’t, but knew that the others would be far from kind to her and Fluttershy, and that only made her blood boil at those eight men.

There was the sound of metal making contact with dirt, as eight rusty homemade machetes clattered to the contestants’ feet.

“Now,” Caesar began, “This will be a one versus one fight. Split into groups of two,” As the Legion soldiers split into the groups sizing each other up as they did, Caesar began explaining the rules, “The survivor of round one will fight the survivor of round two, as with three will go against four, and five against six. This will continue until only one remains as the victor. This is a fight to the death, anything goes.”

What happened next was a gladiatorial fight Applejack only thought she would see in movies. The bloodshed scared Fluttershy into plugging her ears and crying in a corner, but for Applejack, the screams of the men as they hacked and slashed their way to the next round, was like watching a large wagon wreck in slow motion. Too awful to watch, yet so enticing she couldn’t peel her eyes away as men fought and killed their brethren, just to have a promotion.

They didn't even clean the bodies from each round, and the show went on for seven grisly rounds, until one man stood over the body of his slain brother in arms, the fallen man having his body run through by the champion’s blade. The champion himself, was unscaved, and only had a few drops of blood staining his already dirty uniform.

There was silence as Caesar stood, and he began to clap, the rest of the Legion silent so Caesar could speak. Stopping the slow claps, Caesar asked in a stern voice, “What is your name, Champion?”

The champion cleared his throat, “Miles, Orion Miles, and it is an honor, Caesar,” Orion said, taking a knee, “to serve you as your newest praetorian.” Orion was obviously milking the limelight he was in. Getting up from his knee, he looked over to the cage. He removed his helmet, goggles, and the bandanna that was over his mouth, revealing short, charcoal black hair, and a devilish smile. The look in his eyes could bore holes through rocks as he studied the women, Fluttershy having not moved from the far left corner of the cage.

“I would like to see my new tent, Caesar,” Orion shouted so everyone could hear, enticing sadistic chuckles from a few stray Legion troops.

“Of course. You,” Caesar said, pointing to a group of Praetorians that were out of sight of the cage, “Show Orion his private tent, after I have a word with him.” He then shifted his point, “And you two, make sure his new wives are there before he is.”

The three shouted ‘yes sir’, and before long Applejack and Fluttershy were forced out the cage and through the middle of the arena, past bodies that were still spilling blood onto the sand.

Fluttershy couldn’t keep from breaking down at the sight of the carnage after she was wretched from the cage. The guards escorting them were laughing as she only sobbed for the seven souls that lost their lives.

<>~<>~<>

When Applejack and Fluttershy made it to Orion’s new tent, they both were surprised by the size of it. The main section was easily the size of two of the smaller red tents put together, and served as a kitchen, dining room, and area for them both to sleep. Where they would be sleeping obviously being the small cage with a lone mattress in it.

There dining area was decorated with an oversized ornate, gold and red rug, a massive table filled edge to edge with plates of misshapen, blue colored fruit, petite unhealthy-looking apples, and a few other plants and vegetables. The kitchen had a fridge connected to an oversized blue battery, and wood burning heater/stove. Applejack remembered that back at the farm, she had cooked many meals on a stove top not unlike that one with a cast iron skillet.

She remembered her first time cooking eggs, they turned out okay, a bit scrambled, and went well with the pot of grits her grandmother, Granny, had fixed. Applejack felt a knot form in her stomach at the thought of getting trapped here, forever, never to see her family again. She refused to cry, she had to stay strong for Fluttershy.

The cage where they would undoubtedly be residing was painted solid black, and around half the height of a human is tall. It was wide and long as a human was tall as well. Small enough one could barely have enough room to crouch, but comfortably lay in on the single mattress. But one mattress would force one girl to be uncomfortable sleeping on the metal bars that served as a floor, or they could share the tiny rectangle of padding and springs.

They weren’t put in the cage just yet. The two fearsome Praetorians waited patiently for Orion to return, who, was busy chatting Caesar and making his promotion to Praetorian official.

When Orion did return, Applejack and Fluttershy had small, black nylon collars, with a rectangle made of plastic and metal, fixed snugly around their necks and locked in place. They dared not resist, only Fluttershy crying in fear. The Praetorians quickly left, leaving them at the mercy of Orion.

“Now,” His voiced commanded. Orion was only a few inches taller than Applejack, but he had a deep voice that made him sound like a giant, “I am your master, slaves. If you dare speak, it will be in your best interest to address me as Master and ask for permission to speak. Otherwise there will be consequences to speaking out of turn.”

Orion smiled wickedly as Fluttershy let out a whimper of fear and he continued, “This is my tent, and you are to obey my rules. In here, you shall be undressed. Only outside may you wear garments.”

Applejack knew what ‘no clothing’ spelled for them in the future, and she really wished she was wrong.

“You both will be ready to serve whatever need I may have, be it cooking, cleaning, or other needs,” A weak cry escaped Fluttershy’s mouth as Applejack tried to remain stoic as possible, trying not give him the satisfaction of seeing her react, and attempt to bolster Fluttershy.

“If I permit you to leave this tent, you will be back in here, fully undressed, by the time I return from my duties, Caesar has entrusted me into his personal guard. Lastly, I may and will add rules and punishments if need be.”

“Also, you might be wondering what the collars are for,” he asked chuckling with an evil smile. Fluttershy began to have a cold sweat, while Applejack dropped a shade of color, they both knew whatever the collars did, it wasn’t good.

“Usually, we don’t have slaves wearing collars inside the Fort, but you two, I made a special request.”

Orion then pulled out a green box with a black pistol grip from a satchel. Two red knobs covered the top of the box, next to a black antenna. Orion turned one knob, and then the other. He pressed the trigger and both, Applejack and Fluttershy’s muscles contracted as electricity coursed through the collars. It wasn’t enough to knock them down, but it was enough to tell them he was in control, and break Applejack’s stoic demeanor.

“I can clearly see your clothes. That was your punishment,” With that said, they quickly undressed in fear of another electric jolt, not even Applejack’s trademark hat remained, which, Orion took for himself as a trophy, making rage boil in Applejack. “In the cage, now,” Orion demanded, gesturing to the cage door as he opened it.

Applejack quickly obeyed, and as Fluttershy went to enter the cage she had to duck low to enter, but Orion stopped her, and closed the door, locking the padlock with a click. “Not you,” Orion said as Fluttershy paled, then broke down in tears again. It didn’t take a scroll from Celestia herself to explain what was going to happen to her.

Applejack knew what he was going to do with her, “Listen, Master,” she said, hating the word, but already under his control from the collar, “Please, leave Fluttershy alone, I’ll do anythin’, just leave her out’a this.”

Orion gave a bellowing chuckle that seemed to make the tent’s walls shudder. Seeing that Applejack was clearly watching out for the other girl, he grabbed Fluttershy by the hair, eliciting a pained squeak from the crying girl, and began leading her towards the back of the tent where a separate section served as a bedroom.

Applejack just sat on her knees, a blank expression on her face. She had failed Fluttershy again. She clenched her fingers on the bars, closed her eyes, and hit her head against the side of the cage. Applejack could hear Fluttershy began to plead for Orion to let her go, only for him to laugh and push her onto a bed, the sound of springs and wood, straining against the weight of two people told her that.

Applejack’s stomach leapt into her throat when she heard Fluttershy let out a pained, shrill squeak, her sobs louder than Orion’s rhythmic grunting, and the lewd sound of flesh slapping against flesh.

Applejack didn’t count how much time it took for Orion to return, but when he did, Fluttershy’s head was tucked under his arm. Fluttershy’s face was dull and lifeless, tears ran in rivulets down the sides of her face, cutting clean streaks through the grime that had gradually built up.

Orion opened the cage and tossed Fluttershy in. Grabbing Applejack by the arm he forced her out with ease in her distracted state.

Rage suddenly boiled in Applejack, and she barely had time to register herself taking a defensive swing. Only did she realize she attempted to strike Orion was when he caught her fist, then delivered a hard slap with the back of his hand that he originally grabbed her with, leaving a red mark on her face.

Orion pushed Applejack away, pulled out the controller, and set it to her collar only, on the highest shock setting. Pressing the trigger locked Applejacks muscles where they were as she tried to yell. There was an electric sizzle like that of a stun gun as she fell and spasmed on the ground. Orion released the trigger after he was satisfied that his new slave learnt her lesson.

Applejack just lay on the dirt and grass floor, staring at the red ceiling as her mind was a haze of pain. Orion picked her up by the neck with his thick hand, and she dared not even make a sound, even though her muscles felt like they were still going to contract into oblivion.

<>~<>~<>

As she lay on the single dirty mattress in the claustrophobic cell, all Fluttershy could focus on was stroking her soft pink hair for comfort, as she stared outside the bars of the small cage she was locked inside. She tried, but failed, to block out the screams of Applejack, or the slaps of Orion’s flesh burying itself into one of her best friends. Doing the same thing he had done with her.

Fluttershy curled into a ball on the mattress remembering how he just laughed at her as she struggled against his hold as she wept, before flipping her on her stomach and mounting her like a stallion would a mare. His member a painful size for the petite sized girl.

She began shivering, not from the cold, but from just plain shock. She felt dirty, having been used as a toy for his pleasure. All she could do was curl up and hope that she wasn’t at the opportune time for one of Orion’s seed to impregnate her.

For what seemed like an eternity to her, she just lay on the mattress and wept. In silence she prayed to any deity that would protect her.

<>~<>~<>

Applejack lay on the rather spacious bed crying as her arms were tied to the bedposts with duct tape. Orion had made sure she wouldn’t try another swing. Now he was sitting on the edge of the bed, panting as he caught his breath from the second time he released. He was in the perfect spot for a good buck from Applejack’s free legs, but as she slowly moved her leg to kick, she stopped, thinking of the stun collars.

Orion finished catching his breath, stood up and dressed, then removed the tape that was keeping her arms tied down. He forced Applejack’s hat onto her head, then led her back into the main section of the tent in the same way he had Fluttershy, tossing Applejack in the exact same way he did to her.

She grabbed her hat off her head and gripped it to herself like a child would their favorite teddy bear, and waited for Orion to say or do something, but he just closed the door, locked it, and walked off.

Applejack looked over to Fluttershy, but the exhausted girl had cried herself to sleep on the mattress. With her asleep, it gave Applejack time to break down and weep to herself, swearing vengeance upon her rapist before feeling totally helpless as the nylon of the shock collar chafed her neck, reminding her she was his property now.

Giving up, she felt the effects of the lack of sleep, and was going to attempt to get some rest, but Fluttershy began whimpering in her sleep, no doubt already having a nightmare. Applejack knew she had to stay strong for the smaller girl. Wiping her tears away, she scooted over to Fluttershy and stroked her beautiful pink hair, whispering, “Hush sugarcube, everythin’s gonna be okay.”

It was soft and sweet, a tone not known for the farm mare to use often, only using with Apple Bloom - her little sister - when she had nightmares about their parent’s accident, but if Fluttershy had been awake, she would have seen Applejack blink twice, then her eyes shift from side to side. It was a nervous tick Applejack had that made anyone who knew her enough well aware of when she was lying.

Applejack was surprised when Fluttershy rolled over, half asleep. “No, mommy it wo-” She abruptly ended. Fluttershy’s bloodshot blue-green eyes locked with Applejack’s jade before giving a quick ‘I’m sorry’, and quickly turned over, leaving Applejack confused. The tone of her voice she used was, of course, frightened. But the childlike squeak and pitch, plus the look in her eyes, made her wonder.

But for now, she was going to get some rest, then see what tomorrow brought. Applejack then realized that they were both drifting off to sleep a little past noon. But on top of everything that happened, she could care less about her sleep schedule.

<>~<Cottonwood Cove Sniper Nest, a few hours earlier>~<>

Rarity had the raft pilot’s head in the red cross hair of her rifle’s scope, his head disappearing behind the side of a canyon. “Dammit, I… I lost them,” She said slowly in defeat. Boone, acting as spotter, began to get angry at himself.

‘I should have done something, maybe have been at the Ranger Station,’ he told himself, hoping Carla, his long gone wife, would forgive him

“No,” Came a collective response from nearly everyone. Pinkie and Rainbow Dash appeared the most hurt by the news.

“We-we gotta get them back somehow,” Rainbow Dash’s scratchy voice protested, the tough mare on the verge of tears.

Pinkie’s mane seemed flatter than before, if that was possible. She wanted death on the whole Legion now. “I-I, they are so dead! Let’s go make those meanie mcmeaniepants pay.” She hissed out, Rarity looking at her with concern.

“Pinkie,” Rarity began slowly, “I have to disagree with you. We were nearly killed by twenty legion soldiers. There has to be fifty or more soldiers down there. Plus, if we harass them, they’re going to hunt us down.”

Jamie agreed, “Yeah, I’ll most likely be hunted down by the frumentarii or other assassins now.”

“Well what do we do!?” Rainbow dash yelled, “I know what they're going to do to them, how do I live with myself if I sit here and do nothing!?”

Jamie sighed, looking away from her, he replied, “All I know is, join the NCR military. I have a few connections, so I can help you get into service without NCR citizenship..”

Jamie then looked to Midnight, “Midnight, I saw how good at repairs you are. Stick with your friends, I’ll try and get you all into Camp McCarran. After that, I can give all my time to help the NCR get a proper foothold before the Legion decides a second attack on the dam.”

Rarity got up from the rocky ledge she was laying on, still glowing faint green under her clothing she asked, “Why are you helping us?”

“Because, if I don’t who is? I’m Courier 6, helper of everybody but Fiends and Legion.”

Rarity jerked in surprise, “Does a man named Ulysses ring any bells?”

“Yes,” was his blunt reply.

“Then The Divide is your next stop.”

As if fate waited for that exact moment, a message appeared on Jamie’s pipboy, signed... Ulysses. The man that all paths Jamie took seemed to tie into, had made it to the missile launch silo, and now waited patiently for the fellow Courier’s arrival.

<>~<The Fort, five past eight>~<>

Applejack awoke slowly, seeing only pink as the light from a single bulb over the table illuminated the tent. Her body pressed up to Fluttershy’s, her hips pressing up against the smaller girl’s rear. One of Applejack’s arms was draped over Fluttershy’s body, pulled tight against the smaller girl’s breasts. Applejack was too ashamed about what happened with her and Orion to care.

Pulling her arm away, Fluttershy let out a loud whimper, crying out in fear in her sleep. Seeing her friend in such a state brought Applejack to the verge of tears, but Fluttershy quickly woke up.

“Sorry if I woke you, sugarcube,” Applejack apologized weakly, her voice still shaky from shock. The whole ordeal was surreal, like the world was crawling at a snails pace.

Fluttershy said nothing as she repositioned herself to sit on her haunches, knees pressed against her head, arms gripping her legs tight.

“I guess you don’t wanna talk about it,” Applejack said before she realized what she was saying. She hated not being able to help, already feeling worthless for getting her into this situation.

Fluttershy just sat silently. Applejack desperately wanted some conversation, not just to see if Fluttershy was okay, but to provide her and herself with some comfort as well, “What was with you calling me mom?”

Fluttershy let out a single whimper at the question, Applejack noticed the sob, “Please don’t cry. I’m here for you,” Applejack said as she scooted over, putting an arm around the mare.

When her arm touched Fluttershy, an angry growl escaped her as she pushed Applejack away with a violent shove. An angry scowl on her face told Applejack to drop it, but, Fluttershy's anger seemed to disappear just as fast as it came, and she broke down crying.

“Fluttershy, I’m here if you need to talk, just say something.”

“Leave me alone… I’m nothing but a slut to everyone now.”

Applejack’s mouth hung open, completely horrified that her friend would consider herself that way, “No, you’re not, Shy.”

Fluttershy let out an angry growl, “No, you don’t understand,” she looked down at her feet, “This has happened before. Now, all I’m good for is…” Fluttershy’s hands were over her eyes as she cried in despair.

Applejack just stared blankly at Fluttershy. Suddenly she realized what she meant, she had been rapped before.

Fluttershy suddenly slammed a fist into the cage floor, laughing as tears rolled out her eye’s, “I thought I never would have to go through this again… but I was wrong.”

“Shy, maybe if we talk, I can help,” Applejack suggested honestly.

Fluttershy laughed again, a forced smile coming across her face as she tried to cheer herself up somehow. Anything to drive the pain she was feeling away.

“Please Shy, I hate ta see yah hurtin’.” Applejack ignored the fact she herself was hurting just as bad. Her own rape a presence in her mind that just wouldn’t go away.

Fluttershy looked out the cage, bloodshot eyes staring off at nothing-in-particular, “It happened when I was just a scared little filly.”

Applejack felt like a weight just dropped on her as she whispered under her breath, “No.” Not only had Fluttershy been raped before, but it was when she was young.

“When I was little… my father was constantly drunk,” She shifted the hair she kept constantly draped over one side of her face, revealing an old scar one would have to look hard for to find, “He would beat my mother and I constantly, always yelling mean things at her. I was too young and too weak to fight him,” She looked down again, letting out a sob, “Sometimes he would just touch me in places he shouldn't, but other nights, when he was really drunk, he would come into my room, telling me as he would brush my hair after he did things to me, saying things like, ‘You look like your mother’ or ‘You’re better at this than her’.” Fluttershy let out a savage yell and punched the cage floor, “My own damn father raped me!” she yelled as she broke down into more sobs.

It took her a few more minutes to collect herself enough to continue. “I knew what sex was long before I was suppose to, all because of him,” She spat, memories of her father coming back to haunt her, “I knew it was wrong, and it made me feel like a freak. It only stopped after I tried to overdose on some of my mothers old painkillers in the school bathroom… oxy-something if I remember.”

Applejack had a few pained tears rolling out her eyes by that point, “Shy… you nearly killed yourself,” She asked in a sad and pained voice while in utter disbelief.

Fluttershy sighed, anger, despair, and a bit of shame in her voice, “I did kill myself.”

She looked Applejack in the eyes, both of their eyes were puffy and bloodshot, “By the time another girl found me, I had already swallowed the last five pills in the bottle and was on the floor. She went for help and I was rushed to the hospital. By the time I made it, my heartbeat stopped twice. Once for ten seconds, the other they said was anywhere between thirty seconds to a minute. I was technically dead, twice in the same day before they managed to get me stable.”

“What happened next?” Applejack asked, hoping she could somehow, help undo years of damage.

“The town guard asked me why I did it. I-I was scared but I told them and they ran tests on me. They  arrested my father, and he died in prison seven years ago,” She let out a sigh of relief, “From there, life got better. Mom and I moved out of our old house to Cloudsdale to get away from all the bad memories, I met Rainbow Dash the following year, earned my mark, moved to Ponyville in my own house, and met the other girls.”

“I had no Idea, Shy,” Applejack said apologetically.

Fluttershy let out a pained laugh, “Not even Rainbow knows what happened.”

Applejack could see Fluttershy was on the verge of tears again, and embraced Fluttershy in a hug, “I’m here for you.”

The two mares-turned-human stayed in that embrace, letting their pain and grief flow out as tears while holding each like a child would hug a teddy bear for some sense of comfort.