Chapter 3: Words With the Enemy
Rainbow Dash's vision returned seemingly too soon for her liking, being that she hated waking up from naps, maybe the case was the same for fainting? She held a hoof to her head, feeling a heavy headache taking effect. Her leg also ached, being that it had been partially stabbed, it made sense. Rainbow Dash sighed, she felt like she was heavily hungover, de-hydrated, and starving. She looked around, checking out the situation with the others. They were still there, hopefully still alive. She realized that she had been drooling, she wiped the drool quickly off, not even knowing that she was hydrated enough to drool. her stomach growled, and she growled back.
"Any idea when food or water will be here?" Rainbow Dash asked randomly.
"It would only make sense to come today sometime, being that we're probably going to die after one more da-"
"SHADDAP!"
Rainbow Dash's orange "friend" instantly silenced, hoping not to be beaten.
"Whaddareya gonna do? Set me free from this prison?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
She heard hoofsteps walking towards her from the other side of the large prison. She heard a whip crack, and a random pony cry out.
"D'ya really wanna know then?" the guard threatened.
"What's the worst you could do? Kill me? You're almost there already!" Rainbow Dash shouted in return, feeling rage build.
The guard walked up to another one, and asked, "Should I bring her to the boss?" he said, hinting this threateningly at Rainbow Dash.
Silence.
'Maybe it won't hurt so much to stay quiet' she thought.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Did," The dark dragon said to one of his soldiers. "You send the message?".
"Yes, sir. They have been informed of our intensions, and how they could "save" Rainbow Dash."
"Eeexcelent."
The dark dragon reached for a large bag, and handed it to the guard. He looked inside out of curiosity, and found it full of brightly colored hair, looking much like the mane of Rainbow Dash.
"Mock hair, just to get their nerves running. Make a path, use those as, "landmarks" for them to follow, lead them into the trap." the dragon ordered.
"Get your unit ready, this task is to be done by sunrise of the next morning. And don't get seen, or I will chain you to a large rock, and roll it down a mountain myself. That goes for all of your squad. They get the message, understand?", The dragon king growled.
"Y-yes, sir." The guard shakily responded. He'd seen this punishment before, it was no threat, it was a promise. The guard turned to leave, the image of the last pony to be punished in such a way stuck in his head.
Soon, there was a trail being layed out, made of very realistic Rainbow Dash mane.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commotion busied a small, restricted area of Ponyville, where the military ponies discussed business.
"Today, it was brought to our attention, that the missing ponies, are still alive. We got a message from their captor, offering our ability to save one of them. Rainbow Dash, is her name, and we are to carry out this bargain, and we shall save her, followed by the rest of them."
"The note reads," the leader of the discussion started, reading the note. "Greetings. We know who you are, but you know not of us. We are responsible for the dissapearance of many of your ponies recently. I know that you're concerned for their lives, and I can assure you, they're alive. Most of them, that is. With the introductions put aside, I can give you the point of this message. We have captured a surely, very important pony of yours, going by the name of "Rainbow Dash". We've decided that it's mercies day, and we're going to make an offer. You can save your Rainbow Dash, but at a price. This price, will not be named. That, is for you to guess. And, if you come without the correct payment, you lose your lives, and Rainbow Dash's. We've left you a nice path of, "landmarks", and by that, I mean, a path of Rainbow Dash's mane. You will follow this path, for 20 bushels, and there you can find a cave. You are to enter, and the rest is history." the pony concluded.
"We could get much more info, if we carry out this operation correctly." he added.
"Are you sure it's even a good idea to go to save her? It could very well be a trap." one of the ponies said.
"Well, we can't just let a pony die, we have to save her, or at least try." he replied.
A large argument carried out for hours, resulting in one conclusion: they were going to save her.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes, hearing a metallic clank. She looked up, and saw two, small metal bowls, one filled with an un-recognized mix of colors in a random shape, and another with water. She practically lunged into the bowls, drinking the water dry, and eating the "food", which tasted horribly bitter. She was finished in about 1 minute, being that it wasn't alot of food. She noticed that many other ponies had finished around the same time as she did, causing her to let out a small sigh of relief, feeling less barbaric. After the meal, she lowered her head again, relaxing slightly. She began to start thinking again. What will be the end of this? Death was the first answer to this, but she tried to think of more positive, and possible thoughts, although it was hard, being that she was chained, cold, mildly hungry, and still a bit thirsty.
After an un-tracked amount of time, Rainbow Dash had fallen into what one could call sleep, even though it was very light. She woke after a while to hear chains moving and some voices. She opened her eyes, and looked to the orange pony, still not knowing her name. She was being un-chained at the feet, so she had the ability to stand. She said nothing as she stood, but she gave Rainbow Dash a worried look. "I'm sorry." Rainbow Dash mouthed as the orange pony was lead out of the prison. After the pony had gone, Rainbow Dash still found herself staring at the exit of the room. Unlike her to stare like that, she thought. Then she started thinking, she hadn't been like herself at all lately, crying and trying to hide behind her mane infront of the enemy? She never was like that. Begging for mercy? She was always one to go down to her grave bravely, not begging. She shook her head. She came to the conclusion that the lack of food and water, constant cold, and always wondering what her home was like, must have effected her.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sir, we have sighted a small group of pegasi with light armor and lots of things getting ready for flight in Equestria."
The dark dragon laughed, his plans were working well to his benifit.
"Get her ready, and get the ambush troops ready while you're at it. We leave in 10 minutes." He said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Alright, we've gotten the all clear from Celestia, we're ready to go." An armed pegasus said as he jogged up to the leader of the rescue mission, a seasoned Wonder Bolt. "Thank you," he said to the mildly out-of-breath pony. "Okay, everyone, the princess has given us the all clear, we're ready to go. Make sure your armor is fit, and get ready, we're taking flight in less then 5 minutes." he said loudly to the other four ponies, who idly chatted. Many "Yes, sir"'s were said, and the quiet chatter died down, and soon, they were in the sky. There was no talking, unless a marker was spotted. Everypony in the group tried to keep their nervousnes out, but all of them were at least a little nervous, as for they were prepared to fight, and ready to see the worst. "Prepare for landing, 20th marker spotted." The leader called out to the others, who flew close behind. The flight seemed too short, but they landed, about 50 feet from the marker. "Okay, before we go in, keep in mind: no matter what you see, we're here to save Rainbow Dash, and do what we can to save the other captives. You are not to break under any circumstances, we could be walking into a torture room, and you are NOT to snap, got it?" the Wonder Bolt said, keeping a stern voice and face. "Yes, sir."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We've spotted them, they're just over 40 feet out." A pony wearing a grey, rock-colored suit said. The dark boss chuckled lowly, ready to lure them into the end of their lives.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The group slowly approached the cave, nervously watching their surroundings, not seeing any possible ambush units, they felt just a little safer. As they reached the entrance to the cave, the leader called out, "Is anyone there? We come in peace, for negotiations concerning Rainbow Dash, and the other captives."
"Please, do come in. I've been waiting."
Slowly, and nervously, the group entered the cave, finding that it very quickly tunneled deep into the earth. They saw what looked like a fire light splashing against the wall, when a corner appeared. They rounded the corner, and had to hold back gasps.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rainbow Dash jumped awake, finding that she was tied and chained to a wall, a cold, stone wall. She observed the area, seeing a fire, in a small room, darkness and dim light meeting smoothly at the end of the circular room. She saw that same, large black wood-frame, and red decorative leather. She tried to move her neck, and found that she could. She tried to speak, but found her mouth was gagged, only letting her make random sounds. She expected to be spun, and mocked once more, but only heard the dragon say, "Welcome to reality." without turning. She tried to move her legs, and she managed to, just slightly, then she heard a metal creek, and felt something solid smash into her lower left leg, which she tried to move. She let out a small shout, but it was muffled by the gag. She looked down at her leg, and saw that it was at least not visibly broken, but pain flowed in quick rushes from her knee. She looked up, and saw that there was a very intricate array of gears and wires, and noticed that for each limb she moved, something would smash or cut it. She decided it would be best not to find out.
After about an hour, she heard a voice. "Is anyone there? We come in peace, for negotiations concerning Rainbow Dash, and the other captives."
"Please, do come in. I've been waiting."
Rainbow Dash quickly realized what was happening, she was being used as a lure to bring more ponies into the strangling grip of her captor. She tried to call out, but nothing sounded. She felt her voice get caught in her throat, and she tried to move her right arm to free her mouth. She let out a scream, still muffled, when she felt a sharp pain, and felt blood rushing down her arm. She looked, and instantly wished she didn't. There was a deep cut, revealing small amounts of bone, cut deep at her elbow. She looked back to the area where the cave tunneled on, and saw six ponies with armor, and large packs, staring with horror. She looked at them with a look on her face that said "Help me."
She tried to say something. "MMMMPH MMMMM" she said, trying to get her mouth free so she could talk, with no luck. The armed saviors stayed calm, and looked at the dragon. "We're here t-"
"I know why you're here." The dragon interrupted. "So you've brought the required price." He said.
"You haven't even seen our-"
"You brought yourselves." The dragon said loudly, over the sound of stone rolling, blocking the way out. "You're able to pay now."
The armed rescue team dropped their bags and reached for hidden sheaths, bearing well-fitted swords, good for using as weapons, even when held with their mouths. "Now now, no need for that..." The dragon said, mocking fear. "Just drop the weapons..."
They refused. "We're here for Rainbow Dash, and information on where you have the others."
"Are you telling me you're not going to listen to my command then?"
"We out-number, and out arm you. We're in charge."
"That's funny." the dragon said, spinning in his chair to face Rainbow Dash, flicking one of his fingers. Rainbow Dash couldn't control her right arm, it violently jerked away from the wall. Rainbow Dash screamed as the knife came down onto her arm once again, cutting deeper, causing more blood. He did the same movement, causing her right lower leg to move, causing a surge of electricity to flow through her body. Rainbow Dash screamed through the gag, thrashing violently. Then Rainbow Dash felt her head being pushed upwards, as if someone was holding her chin up, but nobody was touching her. She felt a sharp piece of metal gently rest against her throat.
Many metal clanging sounds rang through the cave, the saviors ponies' swords hitting the ground. Rainbow Dash let out a long breath as her head lowered back to normal and the knife dissapeared.
"How... But... You're a...."
"DO NOT EVER. QUESTION. MY POWER." the dragon shouted, moving his hand in an open palm, forcing the Wonder Bolt against the wall, holding him by the throat through an un-known force. He gripped his neck, trying to pry hands away that weren't there, kicking at a pony that wasn't there. He dropped to the floor, gasping for air after 10 agonizing, terrorizing, and confusing seconds.
"Now," the dragon continued, speaking in his normal, deep, menacing voice. "The offering to set Rainbow Dash free."
"Speak your demands." the Wonder Bolt said, quickly recovering to his hooves.
"I demand nothing, you just have to have the will power."
"What do you mean?"
"Foolish pony minds. Must I dumb it down to your kind's low- mindset?"
The Wonder Bolt grumbled, "Clarify."
"You must kill her. Set her free of this prison, and end her worthless life!" The dragon shouted, laughing manically.
Rainbow Dash gasped, shaking her head.
"We cannot just kill her! You're insane!"
"Well, don't you feel smart? We all know I am insane, but insanity is simply the ability to see farther, where others see nothing. Now, you can kill Rainbow Dash, and free her, put her out of her misery, or you can let her live, but lose your own lives." The dragon said.
"If anybody is losing their life today, it will be you!" The pony at the back of the group said suddenly, charging forwards and lunging onto the dragon. They fought, but it wasn't long until the dragon lifted the pony by his throat, bending through the armor with his deadly grip. The pony kicked at him, trying to get free.
"NO!" The Wonder Bolt said, charging at the dragon from the side, knocking him over. He jumped to his hooves after knocking the dragon over, and flew into him, smashing him into the cave's wall. The dragon laughed, and with one swift movement of his hand, the fire that was lit surged, almost reaching the top of the room, getting much hotter then before. He kicked the Wonder Bolt hard with ease, sending him onto the floor. The dragon stepped on the throat of the Wonder Bolt, and began to make the fire burn towards Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, watching as the fire grew in size, and began to get closer to her. She could feel extreme heat against her chest. She screamed, and in an instant, the fire had died down to it's normal size, revealing that each pony of the rescue had been pinned down, by ponies that had been wearing rock-like suits and clinging to the walls. She yelled again, trying to demand to let them go.
The dragon walked over to the Wonder Bolt. "Your name." he demanded.
"Sonic Rain." The Wonder Bolt said, not wavering at all.
Rainbow Dash screamed, remembering him, a childhood friend.
"Well, you die here, but know that you died bravely." The dragon said, giving Sonic Rain one last moment of honor. Rainbow Dash screamed again as the dragon picked up the sword that Sonic Rain had drawn, and put it to his throat. "You die, bravely. With honor.".
Slice.
Rainbow Dash screamed again as he slayed the Wonder Bolt. She shut her eyes. She wanted to die, to not exist. She didn't matter, why did they come to rescue her? She let tears begin to flow down her cheeks.
"As for the rest of you." The dragon said, gently closing Sonic Rain's eyes. "I will not capture you. You all, are to retreat to where you came from, but know, next time, I will have no such mercy."
There was a loud rumble, and soon fresh air flowed into the cave.
"We can't leave Sonic Rain here, we must take him." The second-in-command pony said to the dragon.
"Bury him with honor." The dragon said, making a hand movement, and giving the pony a large, black bag.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, staying silent, not wanting to be here, not wanting any of this to have happened. It was over very quickly. Silence fell among the cave again, the only sounds were the fire crackling and Rainbow Dash's silent weeping.