//------------------------------// // Capture // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// “HEY VOX, DUMBWEAVER, AND QUEEN UGLY! IT’S RAINBOW DASH DOWN HERE READY TO TAKE YOU OUT! THAT’S RIGHT, THE AWESOME PEGASUS WHO’S BEEN TOTALLY HUMILIATING YOU SINCE SHE CAME HERE! COME DOWN AND FIGHT ME YOU LOSERS BEFORE I TAKE THIS WHOLE CASTLE APART! OR ARE YOU A BUNCH OF LITTLE SCAREDY CATS?! IS THAT IT? YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST RUIN AN ENTIRE KINGDOM, OPPRESS ALL THESE PONIES, AND JUST ACT LIKE NOPONY IS GOING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT? WELL YOU’RE WRONG! SO BRING OUT THE INQUISITORS, BRING OUT THE ARMY, BRING OUT ANYPONY WHO’S BRAVE ENOUGH TO FACE ME! CAUSE I’M GOING TO RETURN THIS COUNTRY TO HOW IT USED TO BE! JUST TRY AND STOP ME YOU BUNCH OF LOSERS!” Rainbow Dash let out a deep breath and started panting, shouting at the top of her lungs like that had taken a decent bit of effort. The guards standing in front of the large doors leading into the castle were meanwhile gawking at her in pure disbelief. As they had been ever since she landed in front of them and started. “Well what are you two looking at? Never seen a pony come attack your castle and try to take down the evil tyrants ruining your country?” She snorted and rolled her eyes. The two of them clearly had no idea what to do. Luckily for them, they didn’t have to make a decision. The gigantic doors leading into the great hall of the castle opened up behind them after just a few moments and Rainbow Dash was treated to a sight that made her grin. Head Inquisitor Vox stood front and center while thirty or forty other Inquisitors stood behind her. The psycho pony was grinning at Rainbow Dash as well, though there was an obvious anger and annoyance in her eyes. “Now isn’t this quite the treat,” Vox said as she stalked out onto the stone terrace of the castle while Rainbow Dash stood her ground at the top of the steps. “I was wondering when I’d get to see you again.” “Oh? You were looking forward to getting beat up that badly again?” Rainbow Dash laughed. Vox’s eye twitched. “I didn’t think you’d be so stupid and reckless to do this though. You don’t actually think this is going to end well for you, do you?” “Well I’m definitely not afraid of losing to a pony like you,” Rainbow yawned, intentionally trying to be as obnoxious as possible. “Hehehehe, you’re too funny, Rainbow Dash. You really are. I’m going to enjoy having you in my dungeon.” She looked over her shoulder at the other Inquisitors. “Capture her—alive. Broken and disfigured is okay.” Rainbow Dash cracked her neck. “You’re going to have to catch me first. Today’s the day that you, Dreamweaver, and the Queen all go down.” Vox chuckled some more and licked her lips. “Oh I sincerely doubt that.” Her horn lit up red and Rainbow Dash instantly shot up into the sky—well out of her range and going towards the spiraling towers. “Get her!” Vox yelled. “Don’t let her inside the castle! She must not be allowed to cause any further problems!” A squadron of pegasus Inquisitors shot up and started chasing Rainbow Dash as she darted in and around the towers, pretty much just messing around but not letting them in on the act. She dove underneath the snaking passage that connected from one tower to the next while checking out down below and seeing the interior courtyard of Hoofica Castle. It was such a huge and imposing place, it would’ve been a lot nicer looking in the sun. Rainbow Dash decided to have a little more fun, put on a show, and circled around and around one of the towers while climbing up at high speed, becoming little more than a rainbow blur. She flew right past windows- and was seen by- While the pegasus Inquisitors tried to keep up. Rainbow Dash saw something out of the corner of her eye—several black-armored pegasi were flying up to try and chase her down too. So it wasn’t just the Inquisitors but Vox had also gotten the aid of the Royal Guards. That was going to make this even more exciting. Rainbow grinned and shot away from the tower, going straight towards the guards. They seemed surprised at her sudden approach but they didn’t turn away. Everypony was ready for a fight as Rainbow Dash barreled towards them. A sudden burst of speed from her surprised them again though and she wrapped around behind them before they could react. “You guys are slow,” Rainbow laughed and flew between the group, smacking the helmets off of all of them as she went. “Hey!” One yelled and dove at her. Rainbow spun out of the way and let him go past, exaggeratedly yawning. “Boooooring, I said I’m taking down your tyrant Queen and you guys aren’t even putting up a fight. Come on, I thought you Royal Guards would have more in you,” she shrugged and started flying backwards with her hooves resting behind her head. A crackling noise pierced through the air and Rainbow had to immediately juke to the side as a blast of magical energy shot past right where she had been. She looked down and saw a number of unicorn Inquisitors on the ground, on balconies, and on the roof of the lower part of the castle aiming up at her. Rainbow Dash grinned. “Okay, okay, this should be a little more fun.” The sky around Hoofica Castle and its five towers became a madhouse as dozens of pegasi guards and Inquisitors chased one rainbow bogey while beams of magic shot up with enough frequency to make it look like a laser light show. Firework like explosions rocked the air, bright flashbangs going off to try and knock out the invader erupted everywhere, and the aerial dogfighting between the fighters grew more intense with every passing second. The incredible colors were all even more noticeable and blinding against the dark sky and black clouds—with the white-suited Inquisitors and the colorful Rainbow Dash easiest of all to pick out. A mare Inquisitor flew right at Rainbow Dash despite the danger of being hit by a stray laser and tried to tackle Rainbow Dash out of the sky. Rainbow grabbed her outstretched legs and swung the mare around, throwing her into a guard trailing her from behind and sending them both falling to the ground. Idly, she hoped they recovered quick enough so they wouldn’t be too hurt. She really didn’t want to hurt any of these ponies. Not seriously. Besides Vox. It was getting to the point where they were putting each other in far more danger than she was though. Explosions and blasts of magic were tearing apart the sky with ever more frequency. Rainbow Dash was more worried for her enemies than she was for herself. If the group was more coordinated they could probably contain her and lead her into a trap or a blast of magic, but nopony seemed to be leading them. It was likely Vox simply didn’t care at all or have the patience to bother with a strategy like that. Instead she wanted Rainbow Dash overwhelmed by an unceasing barrage. She had to dodge out of the way of another few laser blasts and into the approaching phalanx of guards and Inquisitors flying at her. Several hoofs came whizzing at her face all at once but Rainbow either dodged or blocked them all while throwing out punches of her own to knock back and kick away her opponents. Two came at her from behind while the melee was going but Rainbow did a quick flip in midair and kicked the both of them in their backs before springboarding off and away from them. Another Inquisitor came, aiming his wing at her neck as he flew by, but Rainbow swiftly brought up a hoof to block it and chop down right at the joint, making him bark in pain and start to wobbly spiral away from her to the ground. Just in time for her to have enough room to blur out of the way of a magical explosion. “Is that it?!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Is that really it? Can’t you do anything better? If a single pony could do all this then maybe next time you should put up a barrier that keeps ponies out!” She taunted them even more and was rewarded by a flock of guards and Inquisitors rising to meet her in the sky once again. If there wasn’t a ton of earth pony guards and Inquisitors down in the castle too, Rainbow would’ve thought that with her fighting with the resistance they could’ve just made a frontal assault on the castle anyways. But that might’ve ended up being a lot more violent. And there was still no telling what Vox—or that Dreamweaver pony—might do in such a situation. A Royal Guard mare came flying at Rainbow Dash and threw her helmet at Rainbow to distract her once she had gotten close. Rainbow knocked it up with a hoof towards her back hoof and then juggled it up on top of her head, balancing it on the crown of her head. Right when the mare reached her she bounced the helmet up and ducked down at the same time, the mare flew above her as the helmet came back down and landed snug on her head while Rainbow punched up into her armored stomach and threw her away. “You should keep those, they’re for your protection, you know?” She said. A flurry of laser blasts came from the unicorns below and Rainbow Dash had to quickly fly around to avoid them all. Spiraling, looping, and corkscrewing through the sky like she was going through the most extreme stunt show of her life. Other pegasi all chased and hounded her at the same time, flying like hawks trying to take down their prey. Rainbow Dash flew towards that bridge-like passage that existed between the towers, connecting them all on the inside. She was going to fly under it and take her pursuers through a trip on the outsides of the castle. As soon as she passed under it though- “Hey.” Rainbow looked up just in time for Vox to land on her back and a chain to come wrapping around her wings, pinning them down while Vox grabbed her in a headlock. “Ngh!” Rainbow Dash grunted as the two of them were now shooting down to the roof of the castle. Rainbow’s wings were stuck, the magical power of Vox that was controlling the chain was too strong for her to break. “Where’d you come from?!” “Hahahahahaha!” Vox only laughed as she rode Rainbow down like a missile. Rainbow Dash and Vox crashed into the side of one of the towers and bounced off of it, not far from smashing into the roof of the lower part of the castle. Rainbow could see Vox’s grinning face in the corner of her vision—right before she vanished in a static burst of red magic. “Oh you chicken...” Rainbow grunted and tried to untangle the chain that was still wrapped around her body before she crashed into the roof. She managed to slightly get it off of her and extend her wings to pull up a little bit, but not enough to stop herself from crashing into the roof. She smashed into the tiles hard and fast at an angle, bouncing and sliding off of them a couple of times until she came to a stop in a heap with the chain still stuck on her. Rainbow could feel every bump and bruise on her body after that and as she pushed herself to her hooves she ended up spitting out a fair bit of blood onto the roof tiles. Her recovery was short lived however as the chain suddenly retightened itself around her body and Rainbow Dash was pushed to the roof by a hoof slamming against the back of her head. Rainbow turned her head as best she could to see Head Inquisitor Vox grinning down at her. “Caught you~” Rainbow Dash spat in her face. “Took you long enough.” Vox’s eye twitched as she swiped the spittle and blood off her face. “Oh… you’re really going to regret all of this.” She lifted a broken roof tile over her head in her magic and slammed it down on Rainbow Dash’s face. When the next time she woke up she was being dragged across a floor in chains. After yelling and making quite a fuss—she was punched in the face by Vox again. She continued slipping in and out of consciousness, remembering being taken down to the dungeon, seeing what was being done, getting chained up and yelling at her captors, all before Vox took out some kind of syringe and plunged it into her neck. Then her mind was just a series of noises and flashing lights until... Rainbow Dash blinked a few times as she woke up, groggy and with a dull pain throbbing in her head. Her vision was nothing more than a black blur and she was having trouble remembering where she was and what she had been doing. As she tried to lift her head up she felt resistance around her neck and was unable to raise it more than just parallel with her body. Trying to move her hooves she felt they were stuck as well, and her wings wouldn’t open up. Finally after a few more blinks and short moments she remembered her situation and what had just happened to her. The plan, fighting and flying through the sky, Vox, getting knocked out, and now there was only one place she could be. Well I guess the infiltration part was a success. Rainbow rolled her eyes. She did her best to pull and tug on the chains binding her, seeing how much give they had and how strong they were, it felt like she was tied down to a table or something but it was all too dark to see right now. The Locator Crystal was nestled safely in her stomach, ready for her to regurgitate and break for whenever she completed the other part of the mission. Although that could take a while. Or perhaps never even happen. Rainbow had to admit that possibility. But she wasn’t going to give up so easily. She only just got here, this dungeon wouldn’t hold her forever. It would really help if she could see anything though. That wish of hers was answered when a torch lit up in front of her. Any joy at having some light was immediately squashed when she saw Vox standing there, holding up the torch and smiling at her. It was just the Head Inquisitor and nopony else, but a decently large wooden box was next to her. Metal bars separated them so Rainbow Dash also realized she was indeed stuck in a cell. “Hi there. Nice to see you awake,” Vox giggled at her. “I mean, the accommodations aren’t great but as far as hotel rooms go I guess this isn’t so bad,” Rainbow attempted a shrug but could only barely move her body. Vox snorted. “Believe me, you’re not going to keep that sense of humor for much longer.” She walked over to the cell’s door and levitated up a ring of keys, unlocking the door and stepping inside before putting the torch up in a slot on the wall. She didn’t close the door though, instead going back out and levitating the large box inside and putting it down directly in front of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow raised an eyebrow at it and looked up at Vox. “So what’s that?” She asked. Vox grinned with an especially malicious twinkle in her eyes. “You’ll see~” “Oh so I’m already going to be tortured and whatever?” Rainbow Dash blew a puff of air out her mouth at one of the locks of her mane, defiantly looking at Vox with her brilliant eyes. “I’m soooo scared.” “You know you should really be grateful for that and what’s coming actually. It’s only because of a certain pony that you’re alive right now anyways,” Vox said. “What? Want me to thank you?” Rainbow asked. Vox shook her head. “I didn’t mean me.” “You were right, Vox. She is special.” The male voice cut through the shadows and a new pony stepped into view of the torchlight. A unicorn stallion. He walked slowly and formally through the open cell door before walking around Vox and the box in front of Rainbow Dash, taking a position on the opposite side of it and looking down at her bound form. The smile he wore on his face was as polite and friendly as any Rainbow Dash had seen. Completely different from the mocking smirk of Vox with her empty eyes behind it. “Hello there, Rainbow Dash. My name is Dreamweaver, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” She looked up at him, calmly, not trying to betray any emotions. “Likewise.” He still tilted his head at her, likely realizing that she was holding quite a bit back. “You’ve heard of me already, have you? From whom?” Rainbow Dash remained quiet. Staring at him with an as of yet blank look on her face. “Doesn’t matter. Not really,” he shrugged. “Very little going on in this kingdom actually does. You though… you might really matter. Who are you?” “You already know my name,” she frowned. “Obviously. But really, who are you? Where do you come from? I can tell just looking at you that not only are you not from Hoofica but you aren’t from anywhere around here. It’s not just that mane of yours, it’s your eyes, the way you carry yourself. I’ve never met a pony like you. You’re a very… hopeful pony aren’t you? Very determined. Very spirited and strong-willed. Could you please tell me about yourself and your home?” “I think I’d rather just tell you to take a hike instead. I don’t feel like telling you anything about me,” Rainbow Dash glared at him. “Well that’s certainly a shame but it’s not the end of the world. I don’t particularly need to know that much about you, it just can make things easier.” He stroked his chin. Rainbow Dash looked back and forth between him and Vox. “You two really are just a pair of psychos, aren’t you?” “I’d prefer not to be compared to the violent brute here,” Dreamweaver huffed. Vox just glared at him but said nothing. “Anyways-” Dreamweaver continued. “I think you might truly be it. I think you’re what I need to finally finish all of this.” “What do you mean by that? What are you even doing here in Hoofica?” Rainbow asked. “You don’t need to know that. But I suppose in general terms… I’m trying to make my dreams come true,” he chuckled at his own joke before looking back into Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “I hope this isn’t a pointless endeavor. Vox? Would you please take out the Device and attach it to our subject here?” “My pleasure~” Vox snickered and reached over to open up the top of the box. Rainbow Dash watched as Vox carefully (and dramatically slowly on purpose) removed the so-called “Device” from the box. She didn’t really know what to make of it. It looked like some sort of metal helmet or cage with straps and locks on it and wires running through parts. On one side was some kind of nozzle or faucet with a test-tube attached at the end. All over the metal there were etchings and carvings of shapes and words she didn’t recognize. She couldn’t help but feel a cold pit forming in her stomach and a bead of sweat crawl down the side of her head. “So what’s that for?” Rainbow Dash asked them. Neither bothered with an answer, Dreamweaver continued to smile and Vox only giggled further as she put the stranger device on top of Rainbow Dash’s head and started tightening the straps so it didn’t budge at all. She grunted in discomfort, especially when her eyelids were pulled open by the clips and she was forced to uncomfortably stare straight ahead. There was a strange claustrophobic feeling that came from the device, anxiety was starting to suddenly pour through her and her heart was pumping harder and faster. Rainbow Dash clenched her jaw shut and breathed in loudly through her nose while Dreamweaver and Vox stood in front of her. Vox smiled and nodded to Dreamweaver, who moved the box out of the way and leaned down to look at Rainbow Dash at eye-level. “Now then, Rainbow Dash-” Dreamweaver said. “I’m going to ask you some questions, and Vox here will also participate in some more physical activities. But I want you to be completely honest with me the entire time. Be absolutely honest with how you’re feeling. So, my first question, have you ever felt true despair in your life?”