AU Twilight rescues escapee Rainbow Dash from a would-be pegasus tamer. Now they must save Fluttershy from the same horror.
Au Twilight saw plenty of pegasi as Celestia's student, but never did she think she would encounter one in her Ponyville home. Rainbow Dash, a desperate escapee from a supposed pegasus tamer didn't think that she would ever befriend a ground bound unicorn, but now they have to rescue Fluttershy from the same horror.
She ran. The hard packed earth of the city's streets was painful and unfamiliar to her hooves, which were used to the soft springy clouds of her home. But home was nothing but a far away dream, practically nonexistent in this horrifying reality. Rainbow Dash dared sneak a glance behind herself and almost sobbed in relief, they weren't there, she had lost them, she was free. Regardless of this, the Pegasus didn't dare slow down, didn't stop. They could get back onto her trail in an instant and she needed as much distance between herself and this place as possible. Rainbow resolved herself to not stop until she dropped from exhaustion, then maybe she would be far enough away. Of course that point wasn't far off, even with an adrenaline boost she wasn't going to get much farther. The mare cursed her weakness, a month ago she would have been able to go for three times as long.
Of course, a month ago she had been free, a month ago she had food and water whenever she felt like it. But that had all been taken away from her, along with her safe home in the clouds, away from the dusty earth that dulled her previously bright coat. Her wings were scarred from many whippings when she had resisted her captors, and, after many escape attempts, were clipped. The feathers would hopefully grow back soon, but until then Rainbow Dash, the greatest flyer in cloudsdale, (and every other city for that matter) was flightless, stuck on the ground like a common earth pony.
Rainbow took a blind turn, her matted mane falling unhelpfully into her eyes as she ran. The pegasus angerly flung it back with a toss of her head, to her right, the sun peeked over the horizon, though it was mostly blocked by the houses along the street. A few early risers peeked their heads out into the early dawn, and were struck by the sight of a rather ragged looking pegasus rushing at a breakneck pace through their dirt streets. A few gasped at the sight of a pegasus, they didn't often come down from their cloud cities, much less run through the streets like a mare gone mad. Rainbow Dash payed no attention, she had her sights set for the edge of town and the open plain beyond, freedom. A short rush of energy ran through her veins, if she could just get to it there would be plenty of places to hide and rest.
The pegasus took another turn as the houses thinned out, the vast expanse of space stretched before her, seeming to go on forever, almost like the sky. Dash nearly flung herself into the warm, safe embrace of the sky, but remembered at the last second that she couldn't. That they had taken the sky from her as well as everything else. The pegasus glanced behind herself again and felt panic stab through her body, a sizable crowd had gathered in her wake, the curious residents of the town watching their unexpected visitor. She was among them, glaring at Dash's retreating flank, her powder blue face twisted in rage, horn glowing faintly. She had to be contacting her goons, then they would come for her with ropes and whips and it would be all over.
With a desperate scream building in the back of her throat, Rainbow Dash turned back to the road before her, determined to get to the plains outside of town. She would taste freedom at the very least before they recaptured her. Unfortunately for Dash, her plan was interrupted by the impressively sized tree that seemed to spring up in her path. The pegasus automatically attempted to pull up, as though she were in the sky, wings spread to their full length, but her hooves had no grip on the dusty ground and Dash all but spun out of control, hitting the door (since when did trees have doors?) hard enough to fling it open, her wings smacked painfully on the door frame as she attempted to flap, again reacting as though she were in the sky. Unfortunately she was not able to stabilize herself and instead crashed into the far wall.
The mare panicked as an avalanche of something rained down upon her, half rising before she slipped and fell once again onto the ground. The avalanche stopped and the projectiles revealed themselves to be…books? Dash's eyes darted frantically around the room, books were everywhere, and a majority of them were on their shelves in orderly she lay panting in the destruction she had caused, Rainbow Dash nearly felt the hoof falls above her in her very soul. Feeling rather like an inmate hearing the footsteps of their executioner, the pegasus cowered in the pile of books. Rainbow dash watched as a light purple unicorn rushed down the stairs, followed by a like colored…dragon.
Ignoring the dragon, Dash focused on the real danger, the unicorn was coming closer, saying something in a worried tone. In a flash the pegasus was on her hooves, books flying as she rose. Dash's wings spread wide on pure instinct, her hooves in a wide stance, head lowered, tail lashing, and a snarl worked itself onto her face. She would not be taken back. The purple unicorn stopped dead, eyes wide with surprise, and the dragon backed away, looking scared. The pegasus didn't dare drop her threatening stance, they would get over their shock in a moment, and then go for the ropes. There would be a fraction of a second when the unicorn focused her magic that Dash could use to rush them. There was only two of them, she could take them. She hoped.
Twilight Sparkle sighed happily and burrowed deeper into her blanket nest. Spike snored contentedly in his makeshift bed near hers, the young dragon had his own room, with a real bed in it, but preferred to stay near her. When he was younger, Twilight let him share her bed, but as the dragon grew older he developed several nighttime habits that she didn't want put up with. Namely kicking, snoring, and hogging the blankets, for a small dragon he took quite a lot of blanket, and kicked rather hard.
For a moment, Twilight felt contented peace settle over the room. Despite her initial worry over Celestia's suggestion that she live in Ponyville, things had turned out well. She had made a few friends, Pinkie Pie, Apple Jack, and Rarity and that was enough for the unicorn. The peace was shattered by a deafening crash from downstairs in the library proper. Spike yelped and practically flew out of his bed, Twilight jumped to her hooves in equal shock, though without Spike's less than masculine cry. They looked at one another for a second and on unspoken agreement, they dashed for the origin of the noise.
Neither was prepared for the sight of a ragged pegasus sitting in the library, surrounded by the contents of one of the shelves. Twilight gasped at the sight of a pegasus looking so disheveled. As Princess Celestia's star student, Twilight had been in Canterlot castle quite a bit, and had seen her fair share of pegasi, though they had all been immaculate, with brightly colored feathers proudly on display. Pegasi were a far cry from the regal forms of Celestia and Luna, but they all had a certain proud air around themselves. This pegasus was pitiful compared to those that visited the castle. Her coat had once been a shade of blue, but now it was nearly a dull grey with all the dirt in it, her mane and tail were ragged, half matted and greasy. But it was the pegasus' wings that truly drew Twilight's horror, the leading edge and base of each wing was striped with scars, small downy feathers that were supposed to keep a pegasus warm in the high altitudes that they lived in were truly in poor condition, and colored the same dull greyish blue as the pegasus' coat. The flight feathers were almost in a sinful disarray as well, bloodstained and ragged, what was worse though was the unnaturally straight edges of the primaries. Someone had clipped the pegasus' wings.
"Are you alright?!" Twilight burst out, rushing forward. She pulled abruptly to a halt as the pegasus rushed to her hooves, sending books flying. The blue mare pinned her ears flat against her skull, and flared her ragged wings wide. Twilight could recognize the stance, it was defensive, as well as a warning, the unicorn had no doubt that if she approached the other mare she would be attacked. "Spike, back up, slowly." Twilight said in a calm voice as she listened to her own advice. The pegasus watched them warily, keeping a sharp eye on Twilight's movements she glanced to the door. The pegasus cried out sharply and pressed herself back into the bookshelf as she saw who was at the door. Twilight whipped around to see who or what could draw that reaction out of a pegasus, the winged ponies were often renowned for their courage and cowering was not something they unusually did.
A powder blue unicorn stood in the door, holding herself in what Twilight thought was supposed to be a regal pose. The newcomer looked down her nose at Twilight, looking like she thought herself an alicorn. With a toss of her blue-white mane the newcomer declared "The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you return her property!"
Trixie looked down her nose at the lavender unicorn in the doorway before simply pushing past her. If the little fool wouldn't do what she asked she would go in and get the idiotic Pegasus herself. The pitiful creature cowered in her presence, just as it should. Trixie summoned a rope from thin air and lassoed the Pegasus around one wing, (she had found that if you lassoed a wing the Pegasus was less likely to pull against you). Once the Pegasus was secure, Trixie began her journey back to the door, soon they would be back in the train car and could get on the move. She would of course need to punish the troublesome Pegasus for escaping again, perhaps even look into that mind control spell she found the other day...
The Pegasus reared and shouted something in its own language, Trixie viciously yanked it down and continued on her way. The newest acquisition to her collection obviously still needed training if it was speaking its own language. All of her pegasi were trained to speak in Trixie's own civilized tongue or not at all, but this one insisted on speaking in its own wild language. The unicorn snorted in disgust, lost in her own thoughts on the uncivilized Pegasus ways. So lost in thought that she almost smacked straight into the purple unicorn who now stood between her and the door. "Watch it!" Trixie snapped her.
The unicorn's eyes narrowed, and she didn't budge, instead she used her magic to slam the door shut. "Just what do you think you're doing?" she asked in a deceptively calm voice.
"What does it look like I'm doing? Just who do you think you are?" Trixie snapped in response, attempting to use her own magic to pull open the door. It didn't budge.
"Twilight Sparkle." the unicorn answered. Trixie looked into her face, eyes widening in surprise, everyone knew the princess' star student was named Twilight, but she couldn't really be living in a tiny town like this one. "And it looks to me like you're kidnapping someone."
Trixie glared up at the other unicorn, the real Twilight or not, she would not get in the way of Trixie's business. Ponies paid good money for a Pegasus to move the clouds for them. Twilight met Trixie's glare with one of her own, backed by the authority that only Celestia's student would have. "I cannot allow you to leave with someone clearly unwilling to go. Release her." Twilight demanded, her voice brimming with authority.
Trixie waffled for a moment, she didn't stand a chance against Celestia's student, and if the unicorn truly considered this a kidnapping then Twilight could challenge her to a duel that Trixie would lose. At the same time Pegasi were hard to catch, and as unruly as this one was she could still be trained, probably. Trixie looked into Twilight's eyes, the anger that burned in her purple irises decided the blue unicorn. "Very well, but you haven't seen the last of me! The Great and Powerful Trixie!" With that Trixie summoned all her power and managed to teleport behind Twilight and beat a hasty retreat, leaving the Pegasus with the more powerful unicorn.
Twilight shut the door firmly after Trixie and sighed, Celestia would want to hear about this, there had been a rumor that someone was capturing pegasi and selling them and Celestia had been very invested in stamping the practice out early if it was true. She would need to write to the princess as soon as possible. Of course, she would have to talk to her guest first, the Pegasus looked ready to attack. Despite their antisocial nature, the pegasi were usually a peaceful people if left alone, however once they were roused they were a force to be reckoned with. There were few cities that welcomed or even traded with the cloud dwelling ponies and thankfully Canterlot had been one that did both, meaning Twilight was well versed in the pegasi ways.
Twilight glanced at her guest, not staring for any longer than would be polite, but long enough to asses the Pegasus' mood. She was confused, and wary, bordering on openly hostile. Not good. Twilight ran through the information that she had on how to assure a Pegasus you meant no harm, besides a rather overt display of goodwill, there was always speaking to her... Twilight grimaced, she knew the Pegasus language, but her speech was distorted by her Canterlot accent. With a sigh, she decided to try it anyway, clearing her throat, Twilight spoke up "My name is..." she paused for a moment, trying to figure out how to translate her name "Sparkle-of-stars-in-twilight, I mean you no harm."
The Pegasus looked at her in surprise as she spoke the wild language and after a moment answered "I am The-Rainbow-Running-Free." Twilight nodded, working on translating the name, it came out roughly as Rainbow Dash, an interesting name. "Why am I here?" Rainbow Dash asked quietly.
"If you mean why you aren't with Trixie it is because she was committing a crime and it was my duty to stop her." Twilight answered, then on a hunch she asked "Can you speak the language of my people?"
Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment, then replied "yes."
Twilight blinked in surprise, unless they traded with the ground bound races, pegasi tended to not learn the language, sticking to their own unless they had need to do otherwise. After a moment, Twilight gathered herself enough to speak again "I am sorry for what Trixie has done to you, she committed a terrible crime"
Rainbow Dash nodded silently and folded her abused wings tightly against her back, the pair sat in silence for a moment, both acclimating to the situation. The quiet was broke when Spike cleared his throat, drawing both of their attention. Now that she was outnumbered, Rainbow Dash looked wary again and she half unfolded her wings and backed up. Spike gave the pegasus a concerned look, which he turned to Twilight when Dash looked ready to run at his continued attention. The unicorn softly shook her head, it was best to not mess with the pegasus too much.
Silence draped itself over the room once again as all three beings pondered where to go from where they now stood. Twilight eventually cleared her throat and spoke up. "Would you mind if I took a look at your wings? I could try healing them with my magic."
Rainbow Dash glared. "No. No one will touch my wings, ever." she snarled, pressing them tightly to her sides.
Twilight immediately backed off, not wanting to break the fragile trust she had with the Pegasus. Besides the mare's obviously weakened condition that small bit of trust was all that was keeping her and Spike from having to deal with an attacking Pegasus. "Alright, no one will touch you. Can I get you something to eat? Drink?" Dash seems almost surprised by how easily Twilight gives in to her demands and quietly requests both food and water. Spike runs to fetch them and the two ponies are left with the room to themselves. "Why are you doing this? Helping me?" Rainbow Dash asks before the quiet can settle too deeply into the room. "Because it is the right thing to do." Twilight answers. "Most ponies think my people are barely any better than animals." Rainbow tests. "I spent my childhood in Canterlot Castle." Twilight confesses. "I know more about Pegasi than most ponies." The pegasus seems surprised by this. "Why were you in the castle?" "I was training under Princess Celestia. She can help you, if you let her, I will be sending her a letter soon, is there anything you would like me to put in it for you?" Twilight knew that the majority of the letter would be devoted to informing her teacher about the Pegasus now in her home, but she would be more than willing to let Rainbow Dash say her own piece. Celestia would doubtlessly want to speak with the Pegasus herself, likely in person. "No." The pegasus mare answered her question, though she looked conflicted. As though she had something to say to the princess, but didn't trust Twilight enough to reveal it. The unicorn doesn't press her though and their discussion is discontinued once Spike returns with Rainbow Dash's meal.
Rainbow Dash finished her meal in record time. In the back of her mind, Dash was sure she looked the wild savage that many believed her kind to be. But the majority of her focus was on the food. It was far fresher than any she had recently. Trixie had only given them wilted leaves that were well on their way to full decomposition. The unicorn, Twilight had been dutifully working on a letter to the ground pony leader. Queens in all but name Celestia and her sister, Luna ruled the night and day as well as the earth races. Both were regal and proud, manes flowing and coats unmarred by any stain or scar. Thinking of the royal sister’s flawless beauty made Dash look to herself. Her fur was stained with dirt and blood, feathers and mane a ragged mess. Filthy, an animal living in its own filth. She needed a bath. But she would need to ask the owner of the house first. Pegasus custom demanded it. Even if she was unicorn. “May I use your bathroom?” Dash asks begrudgingly. Twilight doesn’t seem surprised. “Sure, it’s up those stairs, second door on the left.” The unicorn knows that it will be awhile before she sees Rainbow Dash again. Pegasi were a proud people and placed quite a bit of importance on physical appearance. Granted there was more than just social importance for good looks. Feathers had to be tended carefully if one were to fly properly. Rainbow Dash quietly ascended the stairs and Twilight returned to her letter. In reality she had completed it before Dash had finished her meal, but had pretended to write so the Pegasus would not feel watched. The purple unicorn requested Spike send the letter and settled down with a book on pegasi to wait for Rainbow to return. It couldn’t hurt to brush up on Pegasus customs.
Rainbow carefully cleared the blood and dirt from her fur until it was clear of any indication of her ordeal. Aside from one mark on her shoulder, the whip had not touched her body. Dash’s wings however, bore full testament to her experience.
Her wings. The single greatest gift a Pegasus inherited from their ancestors was the legacy of flight. It was what (quite literally) put them above the ground races, who lived their lives tied to the earth. Rainbow’s people had long ago separated themselves from those bound by gravity. Back when Equestria was first discovered by Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy. While the Earth and Unicorn ponies took shelter from a snowstorm in a cave, the pair of Pegasi rose above the storm. They rested on a bank of clouds high above the ground until the foul weather passed. The same clouds that would one day become the foundation of Cloudsdale. The unicorn and earth pony tribes were from that day forward, united. Eventually the Alicorn rulers of the land came forward and welcomed the tribes under their protection. The Pegasi too, were offered this gift, but their pride would not allow them to kneel before a leader not of their own kind, and they turned away. The Alicorns respected this, and gave them the clouds and high places of the land where the unicorns and earth ponies would not live.
Many treaties were formed over the years, establishing trade between the two nations. In the present day, Pegasi were less accepted than they were in previous years. Many thought of the sky races as little more than animals. Griffins, while welcomed in Pegasus cities were chased back to their mountaintop nests by fearful mobs. Pegasi were tolerated by the few cities not blinded by their ignorance. Most of them near Canterlot accepted the flight-gifted ponies, and traded crops for weather services. But trade with the earth races was getting more and more dangerous. Rainbow Dash had first-hoof knowledge of this fact. She had been a weather pony before she was kidnapped by Trixie.
Rainbow Dash nudged the rain-laden cloud into place over the newly-seeded field. The Earth-pony farmer watched from the sidelines, Spring Stone was the head of one of the many old earth pony families. The Stones had worked with Pegasi for many generations, trading food for rain over their crops instead of the irrigation system many farmers used. Rainbow herself had worked for the stallion many times and had come to enjoy the company of his family. Often she took his young fillies on small flights, barely hovering above the ground as the children squealed with delight. But today she had to return to cloudsdale early. After waving down to Spring Stone, Rainbow Dash banked right and soared towards her cloud home. The blue mare skimmed over the treetops, paying little attention to her surroundings. Instead she let the joy of flight overtake her senses, the pure wind rushing through her mane, the power of her wings defying gravity as easily as a unicorn accessed its magic. This, this was what she was born for. Playfully, the Pegasus preformed mid-air stunts, spinning and twirling in an aerial ballet of her own design. Caught up in her pleasure of flight, Rainbow Dash didn’t see the unicorns gathered below her. Didn't see their eyes burn with greed. And she didn’t see the heavy net that they tangled around her wings until it was too late. The free life of Rainbow Dash came crashing to the ground beside her, shattering on impact with the unforgiving earth. Instantly the unicorns were gathered around her, holding her down with their magic. Rainbow Dash bucked and fought, but she was no match for the unicorn’s power. Far too easily, they had her pinned to the ground, helpless. “Who are you!? What’s going on?” Dash snarled. A light blue unicorn stood over her, horn glowing. “I am Trixie, and you belong to me.”
Dash hissed as soapy water invaded an open cut on her wing, pulling her from the past and dropping her unceremoniously in the present. The bathwater was lukewarm now and she had run out of places to scrub, so the blue Pegasus reluctantly abandoned the tub to face the future before her.
Celestia and her sister walked in unison to the balcony, a sense of ceremony resonating in the air between them. The honor guard stood silently by the double doors, staring resolutely ahead. As the sisters exited the halls and stepped into the clear night air both white furred guards dipped their heads in unison. Luna and Celestia returned the gesture in equal silence and then turned their attention to the sky. The royal sisters turned to face one another, Celestia facing east and Luna west. They crossed their horns and each accessed their massive stores of magic. Horns glowing they raised the sun and lowered the moon respectively. When the sun and moon were equal on the horizon they paused and for a moment stood in quiet stillness as their elements were for an instant, in harmony. Then the sun continued its ascent and the moon took refuge behind the world. Their horns faded and the sisters stepped away from each other. Celestia allowed a small benevolent smile to grace her features, Luna returned the gesture and they vacated the balcony. It was time for breakfast. An interruption came in the middle of the morning meal. A curl of green mist appeared over the table and reformed itself into a roll of parchment. A letter. Celestia levitated the paper to herself, unrolling it. “Who is it from?” Luna asked curiously, leaning over to look at the page as well. Celestia shifted to allow her sister a better angle. “Twilight.” The sun princess answered, mildly surprised. Though she received daily letters from her pupil, they usually came in the evening. Regardless, she began reading.
Dear Princess Celestia, I have a situation that desperately needs your attention. This morning I rather abruptly aquired a unique guest, a pegasus named Rainbow Dash. She is on the run from a mare calling herself 'Trixie' who claims to tame pegasi. Awaiting your swift reply, Twilight.
The two princesses exchanged a glance, mutual emotion passing through both of them in tandem. This does not bode well