//------------------------------// // Bye Bye Bosche // Story: Rainbow Dash Around the World // by MagicS //------------------------------// Divine Plaza was the capitol city of the Bosche island and thus their “empire”. There were two things in particular that gave it its name. One was the large central plaza, surrounded by large buildings that was often used as the grounds for any sort of festival or parade. The other was the great palace of the Emperor of Bosche nestled against the mountain at the far end of the plaza. Taller and wider than any other building, it sat on a higher plateau of rock that gave it a commanding view of the rest of the city and the ocean to the north. The port of Divine Plaza was also extensive and ever busy, with Junks and other vessels almost constantly going in and out, dropping off and picking up slaves, soldiers, supplies, and food. In essence it was the only true city of Bosche as though there were plenty of other settlements, small ports, and mining towns in the mountains it lacked the flat surface nearly anywhere else to build such a large city. The amount of both slaves and native Boschese living in Divine Plaza was staggering—and were it not late at night at the moment the streets and plaza would undoubtedly be busier and crowded. As it was though, it was late at night. The glow of the moon and the lights from several buildings lit up the city but that was all. Only a few who had business or some last minute errands to run were out in the streets now. Lilac Petals was an earth pony mare originally from Alth-Verika. Twelve years ago, when she was just a filly, her parents planned a vacation for them to go and visit one of the tropical islands to the south. They didn’t get even halfway there before the Bosche Junk came upon their vessel. Ever since then she’d been here in Divine Plaza as a slave to Magistrate Luo, separated from her parents. She wasn’t even sure if they had been kept on the island or not. Or if they were even still alive. In the years since she didn’t have the time to think of them either and their faces were beginning a distant memory. Magistrate Luo was a strict and brutal taskmaster, his cat o’ nine tails always on hoof and always hungry for use. And right now his mood was already sore as he and his slave walked through one of the side-streets of Bosche back to his manse. Paperwork that someone else had forgotten to stamp was the reason for this unexpected jaunt at night. Lilac Petals was hoping they would just get home without incident and he would go straight to sleep—too tired to take his frustration out on her. That hope was dashed when she tripped on a crack in the street, the bag she was carrying the papers in opening up and spilling the important contents out in front of them. For a moment she just looked on in horror, shaking. The bloody knee she had from falling was nothing compared to the dropped papers. “What are you doing?” Came the low, whispering, voice of her master. He had stopped right as the bag fell, still as a statue. “I-I’m sorry, Master! Please, let me pick those up!” Lilac Petals rose to her knees and started gathering up the papers as best and as fast as she could. The pain was ignored as she knew worse would come if she didn’t hurry up. “If you were truly sorry you wouldn’t be so careless and useless as to do something that would anger me in the first place,” Magistrate Luo growled as he reached into his robe to retrieve his beloved cat o’ nine tails. “N-No, please! I’m truly sorry! It will never happen again!” Lilac Petals squeezed her eyes shut and put her hooves over her head, tears coming out in anticipation of the pain that was about to be levied across her body. “Why must you make me do this to you?” Magistrate Luo said as he raised the vicious whip high. Lilac Petals tensed up- But she didn’t feel anything. Instead she heard something clatter to the ground. She opened her eyes and looked around, seeing nothing but the cat o’ nine tails lying on the street next to her and Magistrate Luo nowhere to be found. “M-Master?” Magistrate Luo didn’t know what was happening. In one moment he found himself about to level out some discipline on his slave. The next, he was being lifted up at high-speed, far above the buildings of Divine Plaza and into the sky. It all happened so fast he couldn’t even say anything. He merely blinked as the buildings below turned into dots with only a few lights and fires from the city actually visible anymore. In the cold night sky there was barely a breeze but he heard the sound of something fluttering. Just as suddenly he came to a stop, hanging there high above the city. “Hey.” The magistrate looked up, his face dumb and blank, at the pegasus holding him by his robe. She effortlessly floated there with her wings steadily beating while staring down at him with a frown. Her eyes were bloodshot red and twitching. After a second she looked past him, down at the city below, and took a long, lingering, breath. “You’re ten-thousand feet in the air right now. Do you know what will happen if I drop you from here?” She asked him. “I-I-I-” Magistrate Luo stuttered. “You don’t need to answer. But you get it, right?” He nodded fervently. “I’ve got a question to ask you then, I’m pretty sure of the answer already, but I’d like to hear from a local to be sure. That big building at the back of the city? That’s where your leader lives, right? Your King, or Prime Minister, or Governor, whatever they are. I need to talk with them so I’d like to just get over there without stopping anywhere else first. Also… you looked like somebody who was about to do something that needed stopping.” Magistrate Luo blinked a few times, his brain struggling to deal with the absurd situation he was in. “Emperor… he’s the Emperor. It’s his palace...” The pegasus’s mouth turned up into the smallest of smiles. “Thanks. I’m Rainbow Dash by the way, what’s your name?” “Luo.” “Alright, Luo. Let’s go say hi to the Emperor.” “E-Excuse me?” The Emperor of Bosche was well known to enjoy spending his late nights watching the best dancing slaves of Bosche before he rested. This night was no different. Two mares—beautiful beyond almost any comparison—danced for the Emperor in his luxurious royal chambers at the top of the palace. They were thin, tall, bronze mares with scarlet red manes and tails, one had blue eyes and the other green, twin sisters raised specifically for this work. Clad in long, expensive silks with veiled faces, they danced rhythmically before their Emperor, moving like water fairies. He was a corpulent pony, likely three times as heavy as a normal stallion. He lied down on a long couch before the dance floor and watched the mares while on either end of the couch were tables full of bowls of fruit and lit candles. This main chamber they were in had a number of fountains, paintings, and sculptures all around it, most of them ancient treasures pilfered from other nations. Unlike most of the higher Boschese ponies, the Emperor wore no clothes over his teal body. All he had on was a smile as he watched his favorite pair of dancers. At the very forefront of this large chamber was a large window that gave a panoramic view of the rest of Divine Plaza and the ocean. Though right now it was too dark to see much, the Emperor still usually spent much time standing before it and gazing at his domain. Behind his couch, two guards in golden armor with immaculately polished spears stood at attention. Though his slaves would certainly know better than to do anything it was always smart to have guards with you. The guards were perfectly taciturn, staring straight ahead, their eyes never once looking at the dancers for they knew they didn’t have the right to watch the same wondrous show as their Emperor. That show however was interrupted by something suddenly flying through the window of the royal chamber, shattering it into a million pieces. The dancers screamed, the Emperor sat up in a fright, and the two guards came rushing around to protect their Emperor. The thing that came in through the window landed on the floor and rolled right onto the dance floor between the twins where it finally came to a stop. The dancers screamed once again, the sisters running to the side and hugging each other while the Emperor blinked at the bloody and beaten form of the pony lying in his royal chambers now. He was clearly a Boschese of high enough standing going by his clothes—as torn up and ruined as they were—and he groaned in pain, his face a mess of bruises and his body now covered in glass and cuts. “G-Guards! Find out what has happened! Where did he come from?” The Emperor commanded, looking to his now destroyed window. The guards walked forward without question, one of them leaning down to help pick the bloody pony up- When a wind came from outside. The Emperor had to close his eyes as the sudden harsh wind whipped through his chamber and when he opened them again his guards were missing. Their two spears spinning around before they tipped over and fell to the floor. In their place was a single pegasus with a rainbow mane. “W-Who are you?” The Emperor asked, practically cowering up against the back of his couch while the twin slaves shivered. “What did you do to my guards?” “They’re taking a rest outside, and my name’s Rainbow Dash,” Rainbow Dash said to him, a smile was on her face but there was nothing pleasant about it. The Emperor—as fitting his position as the leader of Bosche—suddenly found a great anger welling up inside him at this pony who had invaded his home and assaulted his subjects. The rage could only be the type felt by a descendant of a noble and ancient bloodline that truly felt himself superior to all others. He rose up high, fire in his eyes, and stared down at the lowly pegasus. Most ponies on the Grand Ocean would be cowed into submission, knowing just who this was that was pressuring them. “You dare come here and do such a thing? You will be made an example of to all who commit such heinous crimes and insults to Bosche! That rainbow mane of yours will be put on display in the great plaza for all to see!” But Rainbow Dash wasn’t most ponies. As the Emperor glowered at her and made his threats, she just stared back at him as if he was a little colt talking his mouth off. She looked over at the two frightened slaves for a second before inhaling through her nose and calmly breathing back out. “You know I’ve told other ponies from Bosche to stop what they’ve been doing but I guess the message never got all the way back to you,” Rainbow Dash said. “What are you talking about you madmare?!” The Emperor shouted. “I’m talking about how I can’t let you keep enslaving ponies and other creatures out on the Grand Ocean. I’m ending your reign of terror. I stopped some smaller raids before, and I just stopped a way bigger one too, but it’s not enough is it? It wouldn’t change things, it wouldn’t stop you from sending out more ships to pick off slaves from other islands and kingdoms. You and that Admiral Bin’Tavy guy won’t change your ways. I can tell that after talking to both of you and seeing how this place is. Your whole island is rotten. So I’m getting rid of it. You’re not going to be hurting or enslaving anyone ever again.” The Emperor’s jaw slowly dropped in horror. “You’re absolutely insane! You’ve barged in here for this? You are only one pony, the rest of my guards will deal with you! Bosche cannot be threatened like this! We are the greatest of all civilizations, do you hear me? No one can do anything to stop us, certainly not some delusional pegasus!” “Yeahhh...” Rainbow Dash rolled her twitchy, bag-laden, eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. “The problem with what you’re saying is that I’m not like any other pony you’ve ever met. And those guards you’re talking about? They’re not in this room are they? So nobody can stop what I’m going to do next. And once I’m done in this palace, the rest of Bosche is going to get the exact same thing.” Despite his bravado, the way Rainbow Dash was speaking, what she was saying, made him shiver in fear. “W-What are you going to do to me?” “Huh? It’s not what I’m going to do to you. Not even what I want to do to you,” Rainbow Dash said and pointed at the twin dancers. “It’s what they want.” “U-Us?” One of the dancers spoke for the first time, the one with green eyes. Rainbow Dash nodded. “That’s right. Because I’m here to save you too, you and every other slave on this island. I’m tearing Bosche down completely. Tell me, has this guy ever mistreated you? Have any of the Boschese? What do you think we should do to him? Do you want to get back at him for enslaving you? Even if you don’t feel that way, I bet there are plenty of slaves here that do. Maids, butlers, workers, cooks, builders, maybe we should bring all of them in the palace up here and ask them what they think should be done with the Emperor. It’s going to be your choice, not mine, you’re the ones who deserve to make it.” “Y-You mean we can-” “Slaves! Do not forget your place!” The Emperor shouted at them. “You will be harshly punished for even considering the delusional words of this mare! Now obey me as you should and go retrieve more guards!” The twins flinched and shied away from the Emperor, but Rainbow Dash held a hoof out towards them to assure them. “You’re not going to be punished. In fact, nothing bad will ever happen to you again. Like I said, this place is going down. The Emperor, his soldiers, all of Bosche won’t be in any shape to do anything. I’m helping all of you slaves. This island is getting turned upside-down and I’m going to make sure every last ship here is either used to get you away or burned to ashes. So tell me, what do you think this guy deserves for all of the awful things he’s done?” “S-Slaves...” the Emperor panicked as he could see the gears turning in the heads of his dancers. “I bet you never thought something like this would happen,” Rainbow Dash said to him, interrupting whatever he might try to say. “Or could ever happen. You probably have never had a single worry in your life. And now your whole life and your whole kingdom are about to come crashing down.” The Emperor paled, his legs gave out and he fell onto his back, crawling away on the fluffy couch. “It’s not... Bosche could never...” Riiiiiiiiiiip! Rainbow Dash and the Emperor both looked over at the twin dancers. They were tearing and pulling off the expensive silks that had been draped over their bodies. The veils were ripped in half and dropped on the floor while the Emperor looked on in shock and Rainbow Dash grinned. Soon, any semblance of the luxurious outfits they had been wearing were gone. Finishing off, the two sisters even stomped them into the floor to really get their anger out. Some of it at least. There was still a lot of anger left to give. That was very plain to see as they turned to face the Emperor’s fat bulk as he sat in fear on his couch. “S-Slaves... you mustn’t do this... I am your Master! Your Emperor! You must obey me!” He shouted. Rainbow Dash just stood back. The rest of the palace would come next. A hurricane might as well have gone through the palace and the rest of Divine Plaza as Rainbow Dash got to work. Not a single building was left undisturbed by Rainbow Dash as she started to turn Bosche inside-out. The palace was completely ransacked by the rainbow pegasus moving at speeds that no guard, soldier, or slave master could do anything about. Windows were shattered, doors broken, and every last slave freed and told what was happening now. All the higher nobles of Bosche who resided in the palace found themselves the target of a flash mob of the slaves they formerly controlled and abused. Throughout it all, Rainbow Dash kept the same icy grimace on her face, her body twitching and spasming as she completely let loose, exerting and pushing herself almost more than she ever had on this journey with the aid of the special potions. The revolution quickly spread from the palace and the freed slaves helped her tear apart the other buildings of Divine Plaza in the middle of the night. Rainbow would bust down doors, shoot through windows and shatter every pane of glass along the side of a building with the speeds she was traveling. The city that was the pride of Bosche was turned into a riotous mess. Much like the palace, the slavers were overthrown, and then the ships and port were taken over, and a huge crowd of former slaves gathered in the plaza to celebrate and begin their true journey to freedom. But that was only the one city. This was only one part of Bosche. Rainbow Dash had a lot more land to cover. For the next two days, the rainbow menace shot to every corner of Bosche, crawling over every last little settlement, town, or lone building. She didn’t sleep or slow down while she scoured the island. The Boschese had no idea what was going on, it all happened so fast they couldn’t even communicate with each other. The slavers had no idea their entire civilization was being torn down to the foundation. Just like at Divine Plaza she broke into and through every building she needed to and spread the word to the slaves, from there they finished the rest and began to move to Diving Plaza to leave Bosche as well. The infrastructure of Bosche wasn’t left untouched either. Bridges were destroyed, mills toppled, fields burnt, mines collapsed, Rainbow Dash and the former slaves were working to wound Bosche to the core. By the end of that second day, hundreds, thousands, of slaves were gathering at the great port of Divine Plaza while behind them the city burned and fell to pieces. Junks and other boats were all taken by them, steered by the slaves who knew how to sail, and one by one they all began to sail away. Going back to the homes they had been taken away from. Rainbow Dash watched over it all. She made sure everything was taken care of, that no slave was left behind and nothing was going wrong. She watched until the last ship disappeared on the horizon and Bosche was left with nothing. Then she flew away as well. Of the thirty-six Junks that had departed on the expedition to the Lost Isle, five were now returning to Bosche. And Admiral Bin’Tavy, on the deck of a new Junk after his personal one was destroyed, stared out in horror at what he saw. “T-This is terrible! How could this happen?!” He grabbed his mane and pulled. “Bosche is... Bosche is-!” “Looks like someone got here before you,” Godfrey said from beside him. The griffon pirate had his chin resting in a talon as he lazily stared at the burning and destroyed Divine Plaza. The golden Necklace still safely around his neck. “Boy, she sure did a number on this place. Pretty impressive what she got up to in such a short amount of time.” “That pegasus!” Bin’Tavy growled. “She will never, ever, get away with this! I will hunt her down and destroy her! Bosche will come back from this, we will grow even stronger, and get our revenge!” “Naw, you’re done,” Godfrey said, stretching and stepping away from the railing of the Junk. Admiral Bin’Tavy blinked at him in disbelief and anger. “Excuse me?” “I said you’re done. Bosche is done. You guys are never going to recover from this,” Godfrey shrugged. “That’s what you get for being weak losers. I always had a feeling something like this would’ve happened to you guys eventually.” “How dare you! You disgusting pirate, you can’t say that to me! I had already planned to have you skinned when you were no longer useful but now-” Godfrey slammed a talon down onto the admiral’s shoulder and squeezed, his claws digging into the expensive silken robes. “You know, you’re talking really big for someone with nothing to offer me anymore. I think maybe you really, really, don’t understand the situation you’re in.” Bin’Tavy gulped. “M-My soldiers-” “You mean those guys standing around on deck just as horrified and surprised at their home being destroyed as you?” Godfrey glanced over to them and Bin’tavy followed his gaze. Most of the soldiers were in a daze, most of the ships were just floating on by, the few officers left looked just as lost. Even Admiral Tuon was gone. A couple, just a couple, of soldiers were actually paying attention to Godfrey and Bin’Tavy, but they seemed to not know what to do. The discipline in them had been broken. Formerly such perfect soldiers, too much had happened, and seeing their home like this had finalized it. “W-Wait... hold on a second...” Admiral Bin’Tavy said as he pulled away from Godfrey and started backing up. “Yep, there’s just nothing you have to offer me...” Godfrey ignored him and instead went over to pick up a discarded axe lying on the deck of the Junk. “You have something for me to take though. I just need one ship for the moment.” Bin’Tavy paled. “Soldiers! Help! Help your Admiral!” His shouting caught the attention of his subordinates on this Junk and some did indeed come rushing over. Godfrey knocked and tossed all of them aside though and soon Bin’Tavy found himself pressed against the back railing of the stern. Nowhere else to go. Some of his soldiers had spears and polearms leveled at Godfrey from behind, but they were all wary to attack. Godfrey glanced back at them. “Hey, you guys are going to have a decision to make in a second. So just wait for now.” “You can’t do this! I am Admiral Bin’Tavy—highest of admirals in all of Bosche!” Bin’Tavy yelled out him. However, it was clear from the way he quivered and the way his voice broke that he was far more scared than angry. A cold sweat had started to pour from his mane and down his pale face. "Blah, blah, blah, you Boschese really are all the same,” Godfrey shook his head and lifted his axe. “W-Wait, please! I don’t want to die!” “Who does?” Godfey shrugged and just as swiftly lopped off Admiral Bin’Tavy’s head. It went sailing off the Junk and into the ocean while his body slumped to the deck. Now Godfrey turned to face the horrified and stupefied soldiers. And grinned. “Like I said, you’ve got a choice to make now. You can either try and get revenge on me for killing your Admiral right now. Or, if you want revenge on the one who’s actually responsible for your kingdom being destroyed, then maybe we can work something out and you can come with me,” he leveled the bloody axe at the soldiers. “What’s it going to be?”