Rainbow Dash slumped over the sink, tears welling in her eyes.
“How could they do this to us?”
“It’s the way of the world.” the boss replied. “Panel Peddler called me before you did, told me that it was nothing personal, that he just had to act in the best interest of his business. As for the jokers who put him up to it, that’s unfortunately just the way they see the world. They can only view anything, even including other people, as mere objects, mere walking pieces of propaganda that either agree or disagree with their dogma. To them, we’re just red and blue…”
“How do they live with themselves…” Rainbow said with frustration seething in her voice.
“HHHHHRRRRRAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!”
She gave a furious cry as she punched the mirror and shattered it into pieces.
“HOW CAN THEY ACT LIKE TREATING PEOPLE LIKE THIS IS AN ACT OF JUSTICE?!” Rainbow bellowed.
“Hey, keep it down.” the guard from outside, a clone of Maud Pie, told them. “You’re scaring your friends. They’re going to be joining you in here for similar crimes of speaking wrongsay, so try and be quiet.”
Rainbow clenched her claws very tightly in rage as she saw the guard leading Twilight and the others into the cell with her and the boss before closing the cell door behind them and locking it. Looking at Twilight angrily, she asked…
“...What did you do?”
“Well…” Twilight replied nervously. “I sort of felt guilty about how you were the only one who got in trouble despite the incident at the theater being my fault...and I sort of really didn’t like the way Princess Celestia handled things...so I kind of put everything I had into an 18-page lecture for my class about how you weren’t treated fairly…”
“What?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “What the hell were you thinking?! Do you really believe that Smith and her pals give a shit about facts and logic?!”
“I realize my mistake now in thinking that somewhere deep down, the Princess Celestia I once admired was still alive…” Twilight answered remorsefully. “Even a 34-page lecture wouldn’t have opened her eyes...but hope is not yet lost. Smith may control the way Ponyville sees us, but not every part of Equestria. The Dragon Kingdom and Griffonstone for one, think what’s been going on lately is ridiculous and have threatened war...again.”
“But that’s only because Spike is friends with us and Dragonlord Ember,” replied an unenthusiastic Dash, “and griffons...that one should be obvious. Even if we could somehow get the truth out, what would be the point? I’ve lost everything...”
“No you haven’t…” the boss interjected. “If they had really stolen everything from you, they would’ve also stolen your mind. The only way that we can truly lose to them is by believing that their lies have defeated us. Why would we give up now when we have an overwhelming advantage over them? The fact that they’ve given their minds over to transient, ever-changing political beliefs that have no effect on them whatsoever while our minds are still free. Unlike them, we still have an imagination that knows no bounds. We have an imagination that is willing to accept what we hate and create something beautiful out of it...we have an imagination that can create a rainbow at the end of this storm…”
It was then that Rainbow was reminded of a scene from that documentary she hated, the scene where she created a rainbow across the pirate ship...and soon after, she started to laugh.
“You know…” Rainbow said, starting to feel happier. “I think I actually like the idea of being a money-grubbing griffon now...in fact, I think I like the idea of being a pirate now too...because at least unlike poorly written propaganda, money is actually valuable...and a pirate can still put together a great crew of friends!”
“You…” Rarity replied guiltily, rubbing her hoof against her foreleg. “You still consider us friends? Even after we sincerely contemplated cutting you out?”
“I know now that you were just afraid.” Rainbow told them in consolation. “If you truly didn’t care about me at all, you would’ve never felt guilty or stood up for me at all. Besides, we need to work together if we’re ever going to get out of this cell!”
“I don’t know...” Pinkie said despondently. “I’m all for teamwork, but to get out of here, we’re going to need a real asspull!”
“Leave it to me…” the boss intervened with a cocky smirk on his face, reaching into his trunk. “Before I got captured, I shoved the perfect thing up my rectum for this situation…”
“On second thought…” Pinkie reconsidered. “I think we’ll do fine with a real case of Chekhov’s…”
From his ass, the boss pulled out a handgun, bewildering the others.
“Gun.” Pinkie finished, flabbergasted.
“Hey guard…” the boss said ominously to the Maud Pie standing watch, keeping the pistol behind his back. “I have something for you…”
Soon, a gunshot was heard, and the Mane 6, especially Pinkie, stared at the scene in shock.
“How can this be…” Pinkie remarked in disbelief as the scene showed Maud Pie in the cell with them...testing out the pistol on the wall. “How did I never know that my sister had a thing for guns?!”
“Alright, it’s a deal.” the Maud clone told them, handing the boss the keys to the cell. “I get the gun, you get to leave. I’d suggest using your right to make phone calls before you go though. Seeing as there’s like, eight of you, that’s a lot of free service to be passing up.”
“We should call our loved ones and tell them we’re okay!” Fluttershy suggested.
“Absolutely...our loved ones including Spike and his dragon friends…” Twilight winked to Rainbow Dash.
“I’m calling an old friend to let him know he’s being screwed over…” the boss gave a nudge to Rainbow. “I’ll let him know that his so-called pals don’t care about his financial situation, unlike us…”
Rainbow put her claws together, a devious scheme forming in her head…