Final chapter: Execution Day
Dash sits quietly in her cell in the Canterlot dungeons, the restraints around her hooves keeping her from freely moving around the room. A dark black leather muzzle binds her snout, and a straightjacket holding her wings tight against her side. The cell is small, only measuring nine feet by nine feet. The room is white, but years of fade have dimmed to to a dull grayish. The only defining features in there room are a small bed that sits against one wall, a large metal door. The only source of light in the room is the single candle in a holder on the wall. The guards routinely walk past her cell, checking on her, sighing lightly that the element of loyalty has fallen so far.
A few days pass, and her insanity has yet to recede even the slightest. She remains in the center of her room repeating the same phrase endlessly. “Between the the blue and red, get the box and she is dead,” Dash mutters over and over. The large iron gate of the prison opens, and the guards line up to salute the Princess as she enters, heading towards Rainbow's cell. Dash’s ears twitch as she ponders the Princess' presence here. “Oh, Twilight...the box, I need the box,” she mutters to herself, insanity shining through her voice. The large iron door to the cell block she is in swings open, and the Princess, escorted by a group of royal guards enter, trotting towards her cell.
As the Princess nears the cell, she lets out a sad sigh, “Rainbow Dashelle Dash, I am....sorry it has come to this, but you have left my sister and I no other choice. Rainbow Dash, you are to be executed within the hour.” She turns to look at the guard to her left and mutters, “Restrain her, and bring her with us to the Executioners hill.” As she says the order, she begins to trot out of the cell block, a single tear runs down the side of her face.
One of the royal guards unlocks her cell and enters, the rest of the group watching, ready to restrain her if she tries to escape. As the guard approaches, she doesn’t even flinch, her body remains stiff and rigid, her mind completely lost at this point. The guard attaches a set of chains to the side of her straightjacket, pulling them tightly. “Follow us, please do not make this any harder than it needs to be.” The guard orders as he pulls on the chains to get her to follow him. She nods, and stands up, trotting slowly in the center of the group of guards. The shackles around her hooves were making it difficult to walk. As she leaves the cell block and enters the main room of the prison, she looks around. All of the royal guards were staring at her, some sighing sadly, some shaking their heads. The element of loyalty has truly fallen.
As they near the heavy iron gate to the prison, the lead guard turns to look at Rainbow, and tries to say something, but just sighs. He turns back to the gate and orders it opened. As it lowers, Rainbow pulls back from the sunlight. It has been almost two weeks since she has seen the outside world, or sunlight. She has spent the good part of the past two weeks, sitting in her dark cell, contemplating the murders. The guard holding on to the chains tugs them once more, motioning her to follow them all up a small dirt trail leading to a desolate hill behind the prison.
One of the guards turns his head to look at the other. “Do you think Celestia will really go through with this? I mean, I think the sheer shock of this could make Rainbow realize her mistakes, and Celestia could show mercy. She did say this sentence has not been carried out in over a thousand years in Equestria,” he says hopefully.
The other guard shakes his head slowly and replies, “I do not think she will show Rainbow any mercy, not with how gone her mind is. Sh-she isn't Rainbow Dash anymore. She is nothing but a monster. She had this coming once she let her mind wander down the path of a psycho.” He shakes his head, and not another word is spoken between the two. The path slowly becomes less noticeable as it starts to become overrun with grass, ferns, and bushes. It doesn't appear anypony has been up this path in an immensely long time.
Rainbow looks up at the hill in the distance, seeing nothing but a few ponies standing solemnly, and the sun gleaming off the large steel blade of the guillotine. She lets out a sigh, knowing she deserves this, she still fears it. Deep down inside, she hopes for Celestia to show her mercy, to let her live. Slowly, the hill comes closer to them, and Rainbow becomes uneasy, knowing she has but a short time left alive. She looks at the small crowd of ponies coming into view, and sees nothing but her loved ones she will be leaving behind. Ink Flash, Epona, Luna, Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Apple jack, Pinkie Pie, Spike, Open Mic, and lastly Deep Freeze. She almost winces at knowing they all will be there to witness her execution, the pain this is going to cause them.
As they all approach the base of the hill, the one guard turns towards Rainbow, showing no emotion in his voice, he says, “Rainbow Dash, once we reach the top, we will restrain you, and Celestia has a few words for you and your loved ones.” The guard holding her chains, tugs them, and begins the final walk up the hill, Rainbow following closely behind. She looks up at the large wooden structure, housing the heavy steel blade, and sighs, her head now hanging low. Her friends and loved ones look down from the hill at the group of guards and Rainbow, trying to hold back tears. She sees Twilight, her mane tattered and ruffled, the fur around her eyes mattered from the tears rolling down her face. None of them were faring any better.
As the group nears the top of the hill, Celestia flies overhead, landing near the guillotine. She looks down at the group of guards and Rainbow, slowly reaching the top of the hill. She turns to look out to the small group of Rainbow’s loved ones, and lets out a faint sigh, holding back tears. Her sister Luna stands in the group, not wearing her royal attire, her mane rough and tattered. She hasn’t slept well the past few nights, knowing the mare she still held in her heart was sentenced to death by her sister.
Rainbow and the guard escorting her arrive at the guillotine. Celestia turns to them and nods slowly. The guards undo the muzzle over her mouth, and slowly force her head through the wooden restraint. They secured it tightly around her neck and pulled the straps that close the clasp as tight as they would go. The guards take a few steps back, the only ponies by Rainbow now are Celestia and the Executioner. Celestia looks down at Rainbow and sighs. “Rainbow, I dont want to do this to you, but after all you have done, you have left me no choice. I am sorry, but it must be done,” Celestia murmured with a sad tone in her voice. “do you have any words for yourself Dash? Any justification for the crimes you have done, the evil you are forcing my hoof in. This whole execution.”
Rainbow looks up at her, and smirks, her voice cracking slightly as she speaks. “Oh, the reason I bombed the factory, reason why I tried to kill you? Well, the Pegasus Device is nothing but an evil construct that needed to be destroyed. And you princess, you need to die. You need to be removed from power. The tyrany you rule this land in, the “bliss” you call it, is nothing but you making things the way YOU want. Look at what it did to your sister in the past. She snapped, sick of your leadership, sick of people thinking you were better. Sadly, she failed that attempt, and I failed mine. But mark my words, your death will come, not by my hoof, but by another pained soul under your iron hoof.”
Celestia and the small crowd wince at Rainbow’s words, hearing the pure insanity in her voice. Celestia shakes her head and says quietly, “That is where you are wrong, I rule this land the best way I can to preserve peace and happiness, you just don't see the peace in the land Ms. Dash.” Twilight opens her mouth to try and speak, but nothing comes up but a sad whimper, her eyes tearing up at seeing the mare who holds her heart readying to die.
“You know Celestia, on my walk up here, I was going to try anything to get mercy and out of this, but I realized, if that means more life under your rule, I would rather death, rather leave the ones I love behind to free myself of you,” Rainbow spoke with a disgruntled tone in her voice, and she looks up to Celestia and spit in her face. “You don’t deserve the crown.”
Celestia slowly closes her eyes at Rainbow’s words, not saying another word, and she steps back slowly, trying to hold back tears that are slowly forming in her eyes. It has been 1,231 years since she has had to witness an execution, and she just can’t stand the fact that she must order the death of this mare. She knows deep down that Rainbow is still the Element of Loyalty, but her mind is too far gone to be saved. She nods slowly, as she opens her eyes, as she turns her head to look at the Executioner. She nods to him, unable to speak, she chokes on her tears, and he reaches for the blade release. A few moment later, a loud metallic sound is heard as the blade drops, the blood curdling sound as the blade passes through Rainbow’s neck, severing her head.
A whimper is heard from all ponies in attendance, as her head falls to the ground, blood pouring everywhere. Her wings flutter for a moment before her body goes limp, life leaving it forever. Celestia turns her head from the guillotine, tears roll down her face. It has been too long since this sentence needed to be acted out. All of Dash’s loved ones in attendance look away from the execution, tears building in their eyes.
“DASHIE!” Twilight shouts, tears streaming down her face. “Dashie, I will always love you!” She can not hold back sobs, as she breaks down crying and shouting. “WHY CELESTIA! Why did you have to do this. She couldn’t hurt anyone in prison! I would still have my Dashie. I would still have the mare I loved!” Her words almost unrecognizable through the sobs. She can not look up at the corpse, she wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Celestia looks to her sister who has her head buried in her hooves, crying as she sits on the ground. “I loved you still Dashie... You always have a place in my heart. You will forever be my Dashie, the pony who helped me open up, to become a caring sweet mare. I love you Dash.” She flies off, leaving a trail of tears behind her. Celestia turns to the group, unable to speak, the feeling of knowing what she just ordered, the event that just transpired. The death of young mare, the Element of Loyalty, one who loved and protected those she cared for.
A few minutes pass, and a cold chill washes over the hill as the group of friends cry over the loss of one of their greatest friends. The executioner and the guards remove her body from the restraints and set it inside a small casket. The guardsmen sigh as they lower her into the box, sealing it.
Celestia looks over the crowd, and speaks with a deep sadness in her voice, “My little ponies. This event, the death of Rainbow Dashelle Dash, this whole situation she has caused. I know how sad it is, and I don’t think mourning is the wrong thing to do, but remember, she loved you all, and I do not think she would want you all to be heartbroken at her passing. She was a great mare, a loving mare, a mare who opened her heart to all of those who deserved it. She did plenty of good in her life, that is how she would want to be remembered. A sweet mare, who loved you all.”
A few more minutes pass, and not a word is spoken, just the sound of sobbing is heard echoing from the hilltop. A few ponies lost someone close to them, someone who meant the world to them. Somepony they will never be able to replace. Atop the wind swept hill, the Executioners block, The element of loyalty has been lost forever.