//------------------------------// // Punishment // Story: Rainbow's Redemption // by AstonMartinLover //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Punishment The four watched as the rock creatures descended on them. Applejack suddenly lunged out and kicked one. It crumbled. She kicked apart another. The creatures were fragile. But they were also numerous. The others kicked and punched a hole in the ranks. "Come on! We gotta run!" The four sprinted through the hole in the formation. They bolted as fast as possible, back towards Ponyville. The monsters spit and roared as they gave chase. But they were heavy and lumbering. The ponies dodged through brush and undergrowth to get away. They were running for what seemed like hours. They finally stopped and caught their breath. "Wh-What just happened?" Rarity asked. Twilight shook her head. "I don't know. Those things were a hooffull." "And what about Spikey Wikey?" Rarity asked. "Should we go back?" Twilight sighed deeply. "He's lost. For now. But we lost more than just Spike. Did she...did she really just betray us? Did she just leave us to die?" Applejack shook her head. "No. I refuse to believe it. She just...she wouldn't do that. She's the most loyal pony I know. She would never just betray us like that." Fluttershy shook her head. "No. We're best friends. She just wouldn't." Twilight Sparkle was speechless. She appeared to be in deep thought. "Well...she's been a bit off lately hasn't she?" Applejack grabbed Twilight by the horn. "I'm telling you Twilight! She just wouldn't do this to us! Not after all we've been through as a group." Rarity was unconvinced. "I mean...why would she have sent Scootaloo and Pinkie Pie home?" "She didn't." Twilight asserted. "I did." Rarity put her hoof on her mouth. "Oh sweet Celestia. She just tried to have us...killed." The four continued the journey towards Ponyville. They were greeted with a glow on the horizon. "Is that the sun already?" Applejack asked. "It can't be far past 3 in the AM." Twilight looked closer. Her eyes widened. "No. That's not the sun." She broke into a run. The others followed as she sprinted towards Ponyville. They were greeted with flames. Ponyville was burning. "Oh great Celestia. Tell me this isn't happening." Twilight whispered. They continued running into town. The town was heavily damaged. Buildings were destroyed. Others were ablaze. The town hall was nothing but fragments of wood and a frame. Fireponies were dousing burning buildings, trying to stop the spread of the flames. Cheerilee came running from the burning schoolhouse. "Cheerilee! What happened?" Twilight cried in horror. Cheerilee looked at them with a similar expression of horror and disbelief. "Rainbow Dash happened." The group reconvened in what was left of Town Hall. There was a grave silence among them. They were surrounded by the ruins of Ponyville. And they all knew who was to blame. But accepting it was nearly impossible. "She couldn't. She's just...she's not capable of this!" Applejack said. "Oh yes she is." The mayor snapped. "She came tearing through. Destroyed everything in her path. The hospital is filled with wounded ponies. Thank Celestia she didn't go there. Probably the only place she didn't assault." Thunderspark came to a landing on the steps. "We have to find her." Applejack looked at him and stomped her hoof on the ground. "You! You drove her to this! You drove her over the edge! If you hadn't broken that darn record..." "Stop. He's right AJ." Twilight interjected. She put a hoof on Applejack's shoulder and softened her tone. "We could spend weeks trying to figure out why this happened. I know I will. But in the meantime we have to act. Whatever motive there is for why she did this, she has to be stopped." They looked around at the chaos around them. Thunderspark stared at Applejack. "I'm sorry. I mean that. I didn't know I'd push her to do this." He looked around at the carnage of Ponyville. "I take full responsibility." Applejack sighed and shook her head. "No. This isn't your fault. This is hers. And hers alone. Let's bring her in." "I'll help in any way I can." Thunderspark said grimly. Applejack wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded. Rarity stared in disbelief at the destruction around her. "How could we not have seen this coming?" Twilight sighed. "I really don't know." Thunderspark looked up at the skies. Rainbow Dash had managed these skies for so long. She'd make them crystal clear in ten seconds flat. But now, just as the sun would be appearing, the sky was blocked by dark smoke. He shuddered. High above them, Grey Dash returned to her original form. She smirked at the ruins. Time to disappear. It wasn't her job to take the rap. Scootaloo was rushed outside. Her foster home burned behind her. The fire ponies tried hosing it down, but it was too late. The building crumbled and collapsed to the ground. She looked around for a familiar face. Everypony had scattered in the panic. She began to cry. She was terrified at the situation unfolding around her. She wondered about the other Cutie Mark Crusaders. Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle. They both had sisters who were probably looking after them. But with so much destruction around, who could be sure? Scootaloo was alone. And scared. She wished Rainbow Dash would swoop in with her brilliant wings. She wished Rainbow Dash would hug her and say it's okay, there's no reason to be scared. That she'd lift her up and fly her away from this burning town. At least, she wished Rainbow Dash would give her a place to stay for the night. But Rainbow Dash didn't come. Instead Applejack ran towards her. "Scootaloo! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" "I'm fine Applejack." She looked over at the burning rubble of her home. Scootaloo fired off questions. "Where is everypony? Where's AppleBloom? Where's Sweetie Belle?" "Rarity has Sweetie Belle at her place. Apple Bloom is with me." Applejack said reassuringly. "And where am I gonna stay?" Scootaloo asked, tearing up as she looked to the burning building. Applejack gave the filly a hug. "Oh it's okay. You can stay with us alright?" Scootaloo nodded. "What about Rainbow Dash? Where is she?" Applejack stared long and hard at her. "You should come with me sugar cube. I have the bed all made up for you. Apple Bloom'll be happy to see you. It'll be just like a sleep over..." "Where's Rainbow Dash? Is she okay?" Scootaloo demanded, the panic in her voice rising. Applejack sighed, knowing that telling the filly the truth would break her little heart. "She's alright." She looked around at the burning buildings and the rubble. "She's just hit a rough patch is all." Rainbow Dash awoke on the outskirts of town. She was greeted by the smell of smoke. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. She had a splitting headache. She rubbed her temples against her sore head. Then she got up and trotted into town. She was greeted by wreckage. The town was in ruins. It looked almost deserted. A few ponies picking up the wreckage here and there. Rainbow Dash looked around wide eyed. "What happened here?" She asked herself. She saw a little filly in the street. She trotted up to it. "Hey little buddy! What happened here?" The filly recoiled at the sight of her. "MOM! MOM!" "Hey wait! What happened?" Rainbow Dash asked again, confused. The filly turned and ran into a house. The mother looked out the door and spotted Rainbow Dash. She immediately slammed the door shut. Rainbow Dash was dumbfounded. "What's going on around here?" She continued towards town square. There was shouting around her, but she saw nopony. Then their was a scream. "It's her! It's her! She's back! She's come back for the younglings! Hide your young!" Rainbow Dash was bewildered at the strange reception she was getting. "Excuse me? Am I missing something here?" She finally caught sight of a familiar face. The filly Scootaloo. She was wandering down a side street. "Hey! Squirt!" Rainbow shouted. Scootaloo's eyes widened when she saw her. "Rainbow Dash! You're okay!" Scootaloo came sprinting towards her. Before Rainbow Dash could get a chance to defend herself, the filly jumped up and hugged her. Rainbow sighed. "Yeah. Missed you too squirt." She hesitantly hugged back. "DON'T MOVE!" A voice boomed from behind her. "TURN AROUND AND LIE DOWN ON THE GROUND!" Rainbow Dash whipped around. "Excuse me?" A group of large ponies had formed behind her. They pointed their horns at her. "You heard me." The lead one snarled. "Get down on the ground." Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow. "Do you know who I am?" "Oh yes I do. Get down on the ground please. Do it now." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "I don't know what this is about. But I got a filly here, and my town's kinda wrecked. I need to find somepony who knows why. I don't have time for pranks.." "She's got a hostage!" The lead pony shouted. The others backed off. Rainbow arched an eyebrow Thunderspark touched down behind Rainbow Dash. Applejack and Twilight came in around her. "What...What's going on?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "AJ? Twilight? What is this?" Applejack stomped her hoof. "Scootaloo, you come here right now. Let her go RD." Dash shook her head in confusion. She released Scootaloo from her grip. Scootaloo looked at her, confused. "COME ON SCOOTALOO! GET AWAY FROM HER!" Applejack shouted. "Go on. Do as AJ says." Rainbow said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. Scootaloo hesitantly trotted over to Applejack. Applejack wouldn't take her eyes off Dash. "Go on home Scootaloo. Back to the farm." "What about Rainbow Dash?" The filly asked, scared. "Just go on to the farm now. I won't repeat myself again. GO!" Scootaloo looked back at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow threw her a wink. She smiled, then turned and scurried away. There was a silence among the remaining ponies. Thunderspark cleared his throat. "This would be a lot easier for everypony if you came quietly." Rainbow's smile went away. "What? Alright, am I missing something? Could somepony explain this to me?" "Don't pull that." One of the guards snapped. "You're under arrest." "For what? What the buck did I do?" Rainbow Dash demanded. "Look around you Rainbow Dash." Twilight said softly. "Look at the damage you've done. It's okay Rainbow. You're upset. We get it. But you have to come with us now." Rainbow felt the accusation hit her. She began to panic. "Wait. You think I did this?" The others began closing on her. "No. I didn't do this. I DIDN'T DO THIS!" The ponies had her surrounded. Applejack was possibly the angriest of them. "You betrayed us RD. You left us to the mercy of those rock folk. It's over now. We've got you. Surrender." Rainbow Dash turned and stretched her wings, preparing to lift off. Thunderspark tackled her to the ground. The other ponies surrounded her. She struggled and fought back as Thunderspark and Applejack held her to the ground. "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! I SWEAR TO CELESTIA!" "Calm down." Thunderspark whispered. "You're gonna hurt yourself. Take it easy..." The guard ponies placed shackles around Rainbow Dash's hooves. She screamed and squirmed against their grip. Her wings flashed out and began flapping in desperation. All of the ponies piled on. It took all of their strength to keep her on the ground. They held the wings as still as possible, then chained them as well. "Stay still. There's no use fighting back." One of the large ponies growled. "I didn't do it!" Rainbow yelped weakly. "I swear on my life!" Twilight and Thunderspark watched as she was dragged off towards the prison. Fluttershy touched down next to them. Upon seeing her, Rainbow Dash temporarily broke free of her captors. "Fluttershy! You have to believe me! I didn't do this!" She stumbled as the shackles made movement impossible. Fluttershy looked at her and opened her mouth. Then she closed it and looked away. Tears came to Rainbow Dash's eyes. She was alone. Her friends had abandoned her. The guard ponies grabbed her again, and continued towards the Ponyville Jailhouse. Fluttershy had looked away so no one could see the tears streaming down her face. Rainbow Dash was thrown into a dark cell. They slammed the bars behind her. She looked around the darkness, still trying to ascertain what had just occurred. Never had she felt fear like this. She was now, more than ever, truly alone. How had this happened? Had she done the things they claimed she had done? Had she attacked Ponyville? The guards had left her shackles on. She could hardly move. Her wings were chained to her back. She moaned as she tried to stretch them. She was helpless. She lay there and cried out her tears. At some point hours later, a pony came with a loaf of bread and some water. She wolfed it down. Then the pony left, leaving her in confinement yet again. Later another pony came. She had a bed. She moved it into the cell and Rainbow Dash climbed up onto it. It was stiff as a board. Still, the exhausted pegasus managed to sleep. "The Princess is here to see you." A voice called out. Rainbow Dash snapped awake. She was still shackled to the bed. She turned to see Princess Celestia enter the cell. "Princess! Oh thank you so much for coming! I have no idea what's been going on! Everypony thinks I destroyed Ponyville! I didn't do it though. Oh, you gotta help me Princess." But the look on Celestia's face was not one of understanding. She pointed to the guards. "Let the others in." The other five of the mane six entered the cell. "I'm here to discuss you're sentencing." Celestia explained sternly. "You have committed a grave crime against Ponyville and Equestria. You have committed a grave crime against me." Rainbow Dash shook her head desperately. "No. No. You got me all wrong Princess! I swear! I didn't do anything!" "The whole town watched you do this Rainbow Dash." Celestia replied. "There is no question. There is no point in lying." She sighed. "You have always been among my most loyal subjects. You wielded the element of loyalty to save Equestria on several occassions. Prove that loyalty to me now. If you admit to me that you did it, I will lighten your sentence considerably." Rainbow Dash's mouth gaped. "What?" "You committed a horrible crime Rainbow Dash. You destroyed homes. You destroyed lives. You hurt so many ponies Rainbow Dash. I never would have thought it would be you." She shuddered in disgust. "The first step toward rehabilitation is admitting what you did. It may be the most important thing. I need to know you are still loyal." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and looked at her shackled hooves. Since being thrown in this hole, all she had wanted was freedom. To be able to fly again. Even to just stretch her wings. But then she closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry Princess Celestia." She could not lie to her. "But I didn't do anything. I didn't." Celestia was surprised by the response. A small tear came to her eye. Twilight Sparkle piped up. "Princess Celestia we beg you. Take mercy on her." The others nodded in agreement. But the Princess had already made her mind. A single tear ran down her face. "Since you refuse to admit to your guilt, and are unwilling to prove your loyalty, or accept rehabilitation, I must sentence you to spend the remainder..." She paused, wiping more tears from her face. "...to spend the remainder of your life in confinement." Rainbow Dash shook her head desperately. "No. No. Please no. I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! I SWEAR!" Princess Celestia shook her head. "You betrayed me Rainbow Dash. And it's a tragedy. But what you did is inexcusable. And your refusal just reinforces my decision. You are not my subject anymore. You are a subject of the judicial system of Equestria. I'm sorry. Goodbye." She turned and stormed out of the cell. Rainbow Dash burst into tears. "I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! DOESN'T ANYPONY BELIEVE ME? I SWEAR TO CELESTIA! I SWEAR TO LUNA! I SWEAR TO ALL OF YOU!" She grew faint. The others all watched her as the cell door closed. "I would never do anything to hurt any of you." Rainbow Dash stammered. The five ponies cried as they watched their friend, chained to her bed. Then they each, one by one, turned and left. Fluttershy remained. "We all still love you Rainbow Dash. And we'll visit as often as we can." She burst into tears, then flew off after the others. Rainbow Dash sat huddled on the bed, shaking with sadness and despair. How had it gone so wrong? Had she changed? Had she really become the monster everypony in town now feared? A week ago everypony looked up to her. She was the hero of Ponyville. Everypony wanted their daughters to grow up to be just like Rainbow Dash. Heck everypony wanted their SONS to grow up to be like Rainbow Dash. And ever since that race against Thunderspark, it had all been ruined. And now she was going to spend the rest of her life in captivity. All because she wouldn't admit to something she didn't do. She suddenly thought of Scootaloo. The little filly adored her. What did she think of her now? Could she also believe what everpony else did? That Rainbow Dash was an unstable monster? Rainbow Dash lay there in her bed, these questions flying around her head, as she slowly dozed off.