The brush that ran through Rainbow Dash’s mane was undeniably beautiful. It was jade, with gold and silver inlay and jewels encrusted into the handle and on the sides. It was a gift from her mother, for her wedding, but she scarcely noticed it now. All she could focus on was the pony wielding it.
Prince Blueblood stood behind her, brushing out strands of her long, multi-chromatic mane. He wasn’t smiling; he almost never did anymore, unless he was scaring or hurting somepony. He hadn’t hit Rainbow yet, but she knew that her golden protection from his wrath would soon be over. As the lady of the prince, she would be expected to dress extravagantly, when he let her out at all, and enough cloth can hide even the darkest bruises.
Her muscles were tense. Blueblood made slow, mechanical strokes through her hair, brushing it until it shone, but it was not comforting like when Twilight used to do it. She could already smell the wine on his breath, even though the wedding ceremony was still an hour or more away. He was only there to do what was expected of him; it was customary in Canterlot for the groom to brush the bride’s mane one thousand times before the wedding, to signify his devotion.
I know what ceremony he would rather perform, Rainbow Dash thought.
He never hid his lustful stares from her. It was almost as if he wanted her to catch him looking at her with that gleam in his eye, that look that told her that, even though they weren’t wed yet, she was his. Just thinking about lying back and accepting whatever he was going to do made her sick, but what was the other option? Resisting and suffering physically? She still found herself hoping that that look didn’t mean what she thought it meant, but she knew such thoughts were foolish.
The look had grown more frequent in the last three days, as had Blueblood’s cruelty toward his servants. Rainbow Dash protected them as best she could, but it was never enough; they always left Blueblood’s chambers with more bruises than they entered with, and none of the other nobles seemed to take notice. It made Rainbow Dash furious, but as long as Applejack remained in the dungeons, she didn’t dare defy Blueblood.
The silence was heavy. Rainbow Dash had tried to pass the insufferable moments by counting the brush strokes, but her thoughts had drifted, and she had long since lost count.
“How many is that?” she asked.
“How many is that, what?”
Rainbow Dash sighed. She could already smell the wine on his breath. It seemed as if he started drinking earlier and earlier in the day as the wedding approached. “How many is that, my lord?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea. You should have been keeping track.” The brush stopped. “Why, do you want me to stop?”
“No,” Rainbow Dash responded. “It feels good.” She had to force the lie past her lips. She had learned that the best way to get Blueblood to do something was to say she wanted the opposite, almost like a foal.
Blueblood set the brush aside and leaned down until his breath was on her ear. “Oh, does it?” he breathed. “Because I know of something that will feel even better.”
Rainbow Dash shuddered, more from the sensation than anything, but Blueblood still laughed.
“But,” he said, “I suppose that will have to wait until after the ceremony. Make no mistake, Lady Dash, you will be mine tonight. You will struggle, and writhe, and hate every second almost as much as I will enjoy them. And tomorrow, we will pay a visit to that servant you hold so dear to your heart.”
The way he said it, so calm and collected, sent a cold spasm down Rainbow’s spine. She just had to play the part, go along with things, and bide her time, and she could rescue Applejack eventually. She knew she could. She just had to be patient.
Blueblood leaned back. “Would you like to know what I’m going to do to her?” he asked. Rainbow Dash didn’t respond, but he continued anyway. “I’ll start off easy, maybe knock her around a little. Blunt trauma may not be elegant, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t fun. Then I’ll wait a few days, let her think it’s over, give her the slightest glimmer of hope that maybe I forgot about her and she can rot in peace, and then I’ll be back. The next part is great, though. I’m going to... well, maybe I should let that be a surprise.”
Rainbow Dash stood, knocking away her chair. Her wings flared out, and Blueblood recoiled. “Why are you doing this?” she demanded. “What did we ever do to you?”
“What you did with that mare is a perversion of order,” Blueblood said. “We are born when and where we are for a reason. I am a prince, you are a lady, and that servant is a dog, good for nothing more than to take orders. As crown prince, it is my duty to keep the royal lines pure, and I will not have you and that creature defiling that mission. And,” he said, a wide grin spreading across his face, “because it makes me happy.”
Rainbow Dash took a step back. “What about Twilight? If you think Applejack and I are so disgusting, then what did Twilight do?”
Blueblood tapped his hoof against the ground. “Yes, that is a bit more troublesome. You see, she may not have been the source of the problem, but she was facilitating it.”
“You’re a monster,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him.
He paused, then glared at her. “What?”
“You heard me,” Rainbow spat.
A chair crashed into the wall across the room, thrown by Blueblood’s magic. Rainbow flinched, and then Blueblood was right in front of her, nostrils flared like a bull. “I am not a monster,” he declared through gritted teeth. “And I will not have that word follow me around for the rest of my life because of one little mistake!”
Rainbow Dash didn’t know what he was talking about, and she tried her hardest to keep her mouth shut. But her hardest wasn’t good enough.
“Monster.”
Blueblood screamed, his horn sparking to life, as furniture crashed around the room. He turned away from Rainbow Dash as he flung objects against the walls, overturned chairs and tables, and generally turned the room into a wreck. Rainbow ducked under a lamp the smashed against the wall a few moments later. Her heart was an icy lump in her throat; her eyes darted to the door, but there was no way she was going to brave the makeshift hurricane that Blueblood’s temper had conjured.
Then it was over. Everything that was flying through the air dropped to the ground with a thud. Blueblood collapsed into a heap on the floor, burying his head in the rug as a soft, unfamiliar sound emanated from him. Rainbow Dash started when she realized what it was.
Blueblood was sobbing.
The very notion of it startled her into inactivity. She briefly wondered how much he had had to drink that morning, but the thought was soon replaced with a grim satisfaction at seeing him laid so low by one little word. Then she realized he was speaking, and she strained her ears to listen.
“...a mistake. It was a mistake. I didn’t mean to kill her. It was an accident. Why can’t they see that?”
For a moment, Rainbow Dash seized up, convinced that Blueblood was talking about Twilight, and that she had somehow not heard about her friend’s demise. Then she remembered what Applejack had told her, about Blueblood killing Quince’s sister. It didn’t seem like he was talking to her, so what was he doing?
Rainbow Dash took a step forward. Blueblood must have heard her, because he snapped his head around, his eyes glowing with a sort of manic anger, like his brain had done a backflip and turned him from depressed mess to insane antagonist in the span of a heartbeat.
“You’re going to pay for that word,” he said, “you and Applejack.” He stood back up and advanced on her. “After the wedding, I’m going to torture her, and you’re going to watch. You will see every single agony I inflict upon her, and you will know that it is your fault, and you will never disobey me. Then, to teach the rest of those ingrates a lesson, I’m going to parade the whore through the streets, and—”
Even afterward, Rainbow Dash could never recall exactly what happened next. All she knows is that she heard Blueblood call Applejack a “whore” one moment, and the next, she was standing over him, her hoof throbbing, and he was clutching his face, staring up at her in disbelief.
“You stupid bitch!” Blueblood screamed, leaping to his feet. Rainbow Dash stepped back. The prince’s eyes were full of murderous rage. “How dare you strike me! How dare you lay a single hoof on me! You are going to pay for this tonight, well and truly, and it is going to be so much sweeter than I ever could have dreamed.” He pointed a hoof at her and smiled, crazed. “You will regret this, my love. You and your pretty little serving mare.”
He spun around and stomped to the door, throwing it open with his magic and slamming it shut once he was through.
Rainbow Dash sat on her bed, her racing heart pounding in her throat. She wanted to laugh, and scream, and weep, all at the same time. How could she have been so stupid! She had only made things worse, for her and for Applejack. She held her right hoof, the one that had struck Blueblood. Despite everything that she knew was going to come of it, everything was blotted out by a single thought.
Hitting him had felt so good.
It was like, if even for just a moment, she didn’t have to be scared of him. She was the one standing over him for once, not the other way around. She didn’t care about what it would bring, about what was just around the corner. She felt invincible. She had defied him, and he hadn’t done anything about it.
That would change that night, she knew, but even as her hoofmaids came to help her get ready for the ceremony, all Rainbow Dash could picture was hitting Blueblood again.
And again.
And again.
(*)
Applejack’s heart was going to explode.
It was beating too fast for it not to. It thumped in her chest and filled her ears; if her companion had been more talkative, Applejack wasn’t sure she would have even been able to hear her.
Down and down they walked, Daisy in front, Applejack behind, on their way to Quince’s secret meeting place. Apparently he wanted to speak to Applejack, though she wasn’t sure how he had made it possible. She had been rescued from her imprisonment, possibly saved from a grisly fate at the hooves of Prince Blueblood, and now she was going to speak to a pony who may be her only answer to how bad things had gotten. So why wouldn’t the bees in her stomach go away?
Quince had freed her, somehow. Daisy had gotten the dungeon guard’s key, and the guard had pretended not to see them as they walked out. Applejack wondered if he was part of the operation. How far did Quince’s reach spread?
The halls had been nearly empty as they walked them. It was because of the wedding, Applejack knew; all the servants would be busy setting it up in the throne room, where the mare Applejack loved and the stallion whom she despised would be bound together by law.
Blueblood only deserves one thing, Applejack though, and it ain’t Rainbow Dash.
Then Daisy and Applejack had completed their descent. Applejack could hear lots of voices from the other side of the door, and a strange, rasping sound as well; she wondered briefly how many servants were there, and how many were helping with the wedding. She didn’t have to wonder for long.
They had to work together to push open the heavy wooden door, which swung in on ancient, creaking hinges. What Applejack saw made her gasp. The door opened to reveal what might have been the most ponies Applejack had seen gathered in the old dungeon. Everywhere she looked, there were more of them, at least as many as had attended her speech, most likely more.
And at least half of them were armed.
Wherever Applejack’s eyes turned, she saw glints of steel. Edges of swords and spears reflected the blueish glow of the magelights that hung suspended in the air. The rasping sound that Applejack had heard was the sharpening of blades; ponies were focusing, running the stones along the edges of the steel until they became sharp enough to kill. All around, unicorns were casting spells on the weapons, though for what purpose, Applejack didn’t even want to guess. They were ponies she knew, or at least that knew her, but the scowls they wore as they went about their grim business made Applejack almost not even recognize them
As Daisy led her through the throng, Applejack felt as if she were in a dream. Everything was so surreal. Cinnamon, an amiable cook who Applejack remembered was always quick to smile and joke, was bent over a sword, scowling and using her hooves to run a stone over the edges. Hard Knock, one of the maintenance workers, was using his magic to heft one of the hammers used to set stone in the thick walls that surrounded the castle, taking practice swings. What looked like a regiment of servants were practicing swinging weapons in a group, instructed by a pony wearing the armor of a royal guard.
Above it all, the top of what looked like a large tent could be seen. Daisy led Applejack toward it, and as they approached, the flaps were drawn aside by two royal guards. Before she could puzzle out what they were doing down there, she was ushered through the threshold.
The inside of the tent was spacious and well-lit. There was a large wooden table with what looked like blueprints on it, with some other papers scattered around the floor. Quince stood on the opposite side of the table from Applejack, and Shining Armor was to his left, looking grim.
Quince looked up when she entered, and his face lit up in a smile. “Applejack!” He worked his way around the table, taking care to step over the papers on the floor. “I’m so glad you were able to make it. Welcome to headquarters.”
“What is all this?” Applejack asked, gesturing around the tent. “And, uh, no offence, but why are you here, Shining Armor?”
Shining Armor, who hadn’t seemed to notice Applejack until she addressed him, turned to her. “Because Blueblood has to pay for what he did to Twilight,” he stated. Then he turned back to the table.
Applejack mentally kicked herself. Of course he would be upset; Applejack had been, and she wasn’t even related to Twilight.
“We all grieve for what happened to Twilight,” Quince said, “but that is just one of the many injustices at Blueblood’s, and the rest of the nobles’, hooves. That is why we must—”
“Save it, Quince,” Applejack interrupted. “I’m not a crowd of ponies you’re speakin’ to. You can cut it out with the fancy language, and just answer a question: what is goin’ on outside?”
The rasp of steel could be heard even inside the tent, and it cut through the silence like a knife.
“What has to happen, Applejack,” Quince said, as if that answered her question. “This is what always had to happen. These ponies need change, they crave it, and I am providing the opportunity for them to take what they deserve.” He must have seen the apprehension in Applejack’s eyes, because he put his hoof on her shoulder and smiled. “This is a good thing, Applejack, I promise.”
Applejack’s mind was at war. On one side, the soldiers of her conscience lined up, prepared to defend their one true virtue: hurting ponies is wrong. On the other side, her pathos built siege machines and prepared for battle, arguing its powerful idea: they hurt me first.
The chill of the dungeon still felt like it clung to her. Her back had a slight yet deep-seated ache from the lack of bedding, and she was sure it would take at least a week to completely wash the smell out of her coat. Other than the occasional visit from Rainbow Dash, she had been utterly alone in a dark hole for weeks, as the world continued to spin around her. Her letters home had stopped; they wouldn’t give her anything to write with. She could only imagine what was happening at Sweet Apple Acres just then, because she had been locked away by the nobles for something she didn’t do.
Well, it was really Blueblood, but if there were a real justice system in place, the crown prince wouldn’t be able to get away with all of the horrible things that he did. Applejack couldn’t help but feel a little vindictive—she imagined herself crashing the wedding with this militia at her back and rescuing Rainbow Dash from Blueblood, swooping in like a fairytale heroine to vanquish evil, and the pathos side of her brain grew a little stronger.
But there was one nagging thought that kept her from truly enjoying that vision: what would happen next? After Blueblood got whatever justice he deserved, where would it stop? If Quince led this rebellion, with Shining Armor and the royal guard on his side, how many royals would get his idea of “justice?”
Applejack was almost afraid to ask. Almost.
When she did, Quince’s brow darkened. “I respect you too much to lie to you, Applejack; it will not be pleasant. They will get what they deserve for allowing this monster they know as their prince to continue, unabated, for so long. A trial will be held, and those who prove themselves innocent of what they are accused will be pardoned.” His look softened. “I am not an unfair pony, Applejack. Those who did nothing wrong will not be punished.”
Somehow, Applejack wasn’t convinced. “And what about those who did?”
“They will be put to death.”
And there it was. Applejack’s spine turned to ice, and her conscience charged, scattering her inklings that this rebellion would be a good thing. No matter how much she tried to drum up enthusiasm, the image of pony heads rolling off the chopping block made something deep within her cringe. Her enthusiasm for the cause withered, and suddenly it all seemed so crazy.
Had it really come this far? She left her simple life to chase a love story, and now she was part of an open rebellion against the government. A violent rebellion. What happened to her life before? To the time she had with Rainbow Dash in the gardens? Or even further back, to the tireless days on the farm when she would go to bed after a long day working, sweaty, exhausted, and content? Applejack wanted that back, preferably with Rainbow Dash at her side.
Sorry, fillies and gentlecolts, but I’m backing out of the race.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Quince, but I can’t help you do this. I can’t condone the killin’ of ponies, no matter the reason. Especially not for a reason as flimsy as the one you’re conjurin’ up.” She took a step back. “I’m sorry,” she said again.
“I’m sorry too,” Quince said. Then he nodded to the guards at the entrance to the tent, and Applejack felt two sets of strong hooves clamp down on either side of her.
“What are you doing?” she asked, too stunned to resist.
It was Quince’s turn to shake his head. “I can’t have you here, Applejack, not if you’re going to go against me. But, ponies respect you, and if they see you dragged out, or even see you leave, they will ask questions. They will wonder why you are not standing with us, and they will begin to doubt me. I can’t risk losing anypony at this point; if you’re not with us, then you’re against us, and I can’t have you taking anypony away from the cause.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I’m sorry for what I’m about to do, but I hope you see why it must be done.” With that, he swept past her and out into the main room. The guards pulled Applejack along behind him, and, even though she was finally starting to struggle against them, their grip held fast.
The crowd parted before Quince as he made his way through. Ponies all around Applejack whispered as she was half-drug past them. She was looking for a way out, but with so many ponies, and so many guards, Lady Luck was not looking to be on her side.
Quince stepped up onto a large rostrum, which had replaced the dingy soapbox from which he had delivered his speeches at the beginning. Applejack just saw it as another sign of how much time she had lost in the dungeon.
“Excuse me, everypony,” Quince spoke, “I know you’re busy, but if I could just have your attention for one moment!” Applejack found the suddenness of the hush that went through the crowd unsettling. Quince motioned for Applejack to be brought up to the box with him. When the guards started to drag her, she shook them off.
“I can walk,” she growled.
Quince nodded, and they let her go.
“As you have most likely gathered,” Quince started, “our dear friend Applejack has been freed from the dungeon. While a great many of us would like to view this in a positive light, it is not the boon we had hoped it would be.” There was some muttering in the crowd. “It pains me to say it, but Applejack has betrayed us!”
Applejack didn’t say anything. It was like Quince had put a mask on, had switched into another, more charismatic persona than the pony she was just talking to inside the tent. The same old zeal that she had found so intoxicating when she had listened to him speak before just felt... hollow. His words rang out, and the crowd listened with stars in their eyes, but the speech felt empty to Applejack. She knew what he was like behind closed tent-flaps; this is how he was when he needed ponies to do his bidding. Applejack thought she was going to be sick.
“She has turned tail on the very values for which she claimed to stand for! And, what I find most grievous of all: she has been sleeping with one of the nobles!” There was widespread muttering at that, but the crowd didn’t seem entirely convinced.
“How do you know?” somepony shouted.
“Yeah!” another concurred. “Where’s your proof?”
Applejack couldn’t help but smile a little. These ponies still believed in her, at least a little, and there was no way Quince could prove to all of them that she and Rainbow Dash were seeing each other.
“It’s true,” Applejack heard from behind her. A white shape entered her vision on the right, and Shining Armor stepped onto the platform. Applejack could only stare in disbelief.
“I know because I allowed it to happen,” Shining Armor continued. “My sister, Twilight Sparkle, and I, both helped Lady Rainbow Dash and Applejack here carry out their relationship in secret.” He sighed. “Blueblood found out, somehow, and that is how Twilight got injured. She didn’t fall down a flight of stairs; Blueblood beat her half to death!”
The muttering in the crowd turned more concerned.
Quince picked up where he left off. “And not only that, but when Blueblood confronted Applejack about it, it was our dear friend Borro who allowed her to escape from his wrath!” Quince drew himself up. “And what did he get for it? What did he get for defying Blueblood?” He paused, the crowd hanging off the edge of his words. “The axe.”
Like some great beast, the crowd was slow to rouse, but a force to be reckoned with when it was. They seemed to have almost forgotten that Quince didn’t actually have any proof of Applejack’s affair; it didn’t matter any more. Applejack hardly noticed, anyway—she was too busy puzzling out what Quince had just said.
Borro is dead? Because of me?
“And that leads us back to Applejack,” Quince said, gesturing to the mare beside him. “She has been fornicating with the Lady Rainbow Dash, whom we all know is to marry Blueblood later today. It is not known how deep her loyalty to them goes, but she can no longer be trusted with our cause.”
“Then what is she even doing here!” somepony shouted.
“Yeah!” another added. “What if she squeals on us?”
“We gotta protect ourselves!”
Quince waited until they were all finished. “Now, now, I know we are all upset. Trust me, nopony is more hurt by this betrayal than I am. But I simply cannot find it in my heart to injure a pony who, despite her wavering loyalties, did help us in the beginning. That is why we will cast her out to join those nobles she loves so much. She knows nothing of our plan; even if she does warn them, it will be too late. When the time comes, let her be tried for her crimes with the rest of them!”
Cheers went up in the crowd.
“Stop!”
Applejack’s voice was strong, and carried far. She struggled against her guards, and they let her go. Changing the mob’s mind at this point would be nearly impossible, Applejack knew, but she had to try. “Can’t you see that what you’re doing is wrong? If we start fightin’ and killin’ the nobles, how does that make us any better than they are?”
“We do it for justice!” came a cry from somewhere to the left. The rest of the crowd seemed to agree.
“Well, if hurtin’ and killin’ is your idea of justice, then I shudder to think how Canterlot will become if ya’ll succeed.” Applejack spat. “But I want no part of it.”
Quince leaned down to Applejack and whispered, “I harbor no animosity toward you or Lady Rainbow Dash. Find her and get out of Canterlot, and I’ll make sure everypony forgets about you.” He leaned back a little and smiled at her, and Applejack felt like she was looking at the real Quince again, the one she had spoken too in his room about his sister a lifetime ago. “I’m really not a bad pony, Applejack.” Then he nodded.
Applejack was seized from both sides and forced off the platform. “Hey!” she protested, but it was lost in the jeers of the crowd. It seemed Quince wouldn’t even allow her the dignity of walking out on her own four hooves.
The crowd parted before them. On either side, ponies yelled and threw insults at her. “Traitor” was the most common, but she heard “whore” more than a few times. Trying to explain herself was useless; they had all turned against her. The occasional glimpses of steel and iron in the crowd made her blood run cold. Held like this, all it would take was one overzealous revolutionary to spill her blood.
Finally, Applejack saw the thick wooden door that led out of the room ahead.
“Open the door!” one of the guards called.
Several ponies scrambled to obey, dragging the heavy thing across the ground, its ancient hinges squealing like an iron pig. The guards tossed Applejack to the ground on the other side of the door, scraping her legs and side on the rough stone. As the door shut, a glob of spit came sailing through the air and hit her in the neck.
With a small boom, the great wooden behemoth shut Applejack out of the room and left her to the flickering light of a single torch.
(*)
The corset was so tight that it hurt to breathe.
Rainbow Dash had complained about it all the way down to the ceremony, but her hoofmaids had insisted that it needed to be that tight or else it would get in the way of the rest of the dress. Her hair was pulled into a five-strand braid that was draped in front of her right shoulder, with a jade ring holding it together at the bottom.
Her dress was made to Blueblood’s specifications. It was royal and extravagant, the same brilliant white as his coat, with a train that, while it could have probably been carried by only one unicorn, was attended by twelve, just for the spectacle. The back was an explosion of poofs and lace, and the veil was made of a silk so delicate it almost felt like a small waterfall running over Rainbow’s face. Blueblood’s cutie mark was embroidered in the bodice in gold thread, just as the bride’s would be on the groom’s suit to symbolize their bond.
It all made Rainbow Dash sick to her stomach. Wasn’t her wedding supposed to be the best day of her life? She was supposed to shed tears of joy, to promise to be together forever with a pony she loved and cherished so they could live out their years as one. That was how it had always happened in the books.
But, as Blueblood had taught her, life didn’t work out like a fairytale.
Applejack was still in the dungeon, and Rainbow Dash had sealed her fate by striking Blueblood. Tears threatened to form in her eyes at the thought, but she bit down on her lip and forced them back. If she started crying, she wasn’t sure she would be able to stop.
She was just inside one of the doors that led out into the royal garden, where the wedding would take place. When everypony was in their seats, the doors would open and her father would walk her down the aisle to trade her off to that foul, deplorable creature that liked to call itself a prince. Any minute now, the bells would ring on the other side of the door to signal that it was time.
Duchess Persephone was already outside, but the duke was waiting just next to Rainbow. He had been uncharacteristically jovial since hearing about the marriage. The smile he wore now was wide and made him look a little like a smug pig. His snout was smushed in and his jowls were huge, and he was almost a head shorter than Dash was.
Duke Ellington Dash IV turned to meet his daughter’s gaze. He frowned. “You should be smiling. The ponies want to see you smile.” Rainbow Dash noticed that he didn’t say that he wanted to see her smile. “You should be smiling,” he repeated.
Rainbow resisted the urge to lunge at him, mostly because her corset was too tight and the dress would have gotten in the way. Instead, she forced a smile. Duke Ellington’s smile returned.
“You’re going to be very well off with the prince,” he said. “Just like your mother and I have always wanted. Very well off indeed.”
Rainbow Dash sighed, her smile wilting. “I don’t want to be well off. I want to be happy.”
“Happy?” the duke said, scoffing. “Happiness is a myth. You just give yourself the best circumstances to make life tolerable, and hope the happiness finds you. Then, you have to pray that it doesn’t leave.” He got a far-off look in his eye. “We all want to be happy, and we want the ponies we love to be happy. I want you to be happy, just like I want your mother to be happy and she wants me to be happy. But making sure you’re looked after is more important. Making sure you’re safe. And if your happiness is the price I have to pay for that, then so be it.”
Where did that come from?
Rainbow Dash looked at her father like she was seeing him for the first time. Was this the same stallion who had stopped her from going outside to play as a foal? The same pony who, when she had grown rebellious, had locked her in her tower so she couldn’t get away? The same pony who was happy to see her married to Prince Blueblood? She felt like she was catching a glimpse inside him, not just seeing the jailer, but a little bit of the pony behind it.
She cleared her throat, and that seemed to call him back to reality. He looked at her. “Please make sure you smile,” he said.
This is my only chance.
That thought invaded her brain as if catapulted there from an outside source, but she knew it to be true. She turned toward him.
“Father,” she said, “listen to me. You can’t marry me off to Blueblood.”
Her father sighed. “We’ve been over this—”
“No!” Rainbow cut him off. “You have to listen to me! He’s abusive, he’s... he’s crazy! He is not a nice pony!”
The duke raised his eyebrows at her. “Well, he’s always been a little righteous, but... abusive? Did he hurt you?”
Rainbow Dash looked away. “Well, not exactly, but—”
She was interrupted by the opening of the doors. Rainbow Dash had to squint against the sunlight that flooded the small foyer in which they were standing, and she couldn’t see anything outside for a few moment.
Their previous conversation apparently forgotten, her father said, “Please try to smile.”
Rainbow tried her hardest to look the blushing bride as they stepped out into the sunlight. The traditional Equestrian wedding theme floated from somewhere off to the left as Dash and her father took their first steps down the aisle.
Almost every noble in Canterlot was present; there were so many that to accommodate them all, the aisle went out into the garden, then curved around to the left before leading up to the altar. Rainbow Dash was just thankful that she could walk for a bit without having to look at her future in Blueblood.
Off in the distance, a few dark clouds teased the horizon. Rain scheduled on my wedding day, Rainbow Dash thought. Well, I hope it’s scheduled for here. At least then things couldn’t get any worse.
The steps they took were slow and deliberate. Rainbow smiled, but she figured the muscles standing out in her neck must have given away how fake it was. Nopony in the crowd seemed to care. Most of the stallions were watching with little interest, and most of the mares were either glaring at her if they were unmarried or crying tears of joy if they were.
Rainbow Dash felt none of those things. If anything, she was envious of the mares in the crowd. At least none of them were married to Blueblood. There was a knot in the pit of her stomach that wouldn’t go away no matter how hard she tried. She wondered if it would ever uncoil.
They were approaching the bend now. The clouds in the distance had grown slightly more ominous, and looking at them sent a chill down Rainbow’s spine. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as they turned. When she opened them again, all she could seem to focus on was Blueblood.
His face was swollen some from where Rainbow had hit him. The darkness of the bruise had been offset by some hastily applied makeup. She smirked; this time, the smile was genuine. But it died on her lips when she saw the look on his face.
He looked like a colt who was just about to scorch and ant with the all-powerful heat of the sun, magnified through a glass. His smile set Rainbow’s teeth on edge, and she briefly wondered how the crowd would react if she just socked him right in the face in the middle of their vows.
I swear to always love you, to cherish your mind, body, and soul, and to beat you to death at the first opportunity presented to me.
Rainbow Dash shook herself out of that thought, a new revelation on the forefront of her mind. A whimsical imagining solidified in her mind as a concrete notion that may have contained the solution she sought. Was that it? Was that the answer?
Could she kill Blueblood?
She tried to imagine it. He would be expecting her to fight for the consummation, so it would need to be either before or after. Maybe when he went to sleep that night? The idea of her hooves coming down and crushing his skull made her heart beat faster, though whether it was with fear, guilt, or exhilaration, she couldn’t tell.
They were close now, almost to the altar. Out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow could see the clouds growing larger. They seemed to be racing toward the wedding with an unfathomable urgency, but she looked away and tried to put them out of her mind.
When Rainbow and her father reached where the seats ended, he veered off to the right, while she kept on course, stepping up onto the altar with Blueblood.
Equestrian weddings were not a very orchestrated affair. There was spectacle, sure, but the binding of the two ponies themselves was very organic. They would say their vows, oftentimes making up the most romantic thing they could think of on the spot, though many followed general guidelines. Then they would kiss, the crowd would stomp and clap, and they would be separated and prepared for their “big night.” The stallions would stay with Blueblood, swapping stories of their weddings and giving him advice—though Rainbow scarcely thought he needed any—while the mares would accompany her to the honeymoon chamber and prepare her for her new husband.
Rainbow Dash took solace in the fact that she wouldn’t have to see Blueblood until the fateful moment, but she didn’t know if the delay would make it easier to bear, or if the anticipation would be torturous. She guessed the latter.
She stepped up onto the altar. Blueblood’s expression had barely changed, and Rainbow Dash had to suppress shivers. He breathed in. The stallion always went first.
“Lady Dash,” he began. “I know that we have our differences, and, in the past, have had trouble sorting them out.”
The glare was almost subconscious, but she fought it all the same. Differences? she thought. You mean when you nearly killed my best friend and imprisoned Applejack? Yeah, we’ve had some “differences.”
“But I think you are the single most beautiful mare I have ever seen,” he continued. “The stars themselves pale in comparison to your radiance. Scholars have searched for centuries to find the most beautiful creature ever created, and yet all they must do is look to the mare standing in front of me now.”
Rainbow seethed as best she could through her plastic smile. He was so sweet, so sickeningly saccharine, that she wanted to vomit. Preferably on him, so maybe he would become angry enough to show his true colors to the public.
But she didn’t dare. Not with Applejack still locked up. She clenched her teeth and kept her mouth shut.
The clouds on the horizon caught her eye again. Almost a third of the sky was dark now, with angry black clouds that would beget one powerful storm, the beginnings of which were already making themselves known. Dresses and manes were being ruffled by the wind, and a few small drops pelted the onlookers. Rainbow didn’t think the prince would allow any rain to be scheduled on his wedding day, and she pitied whatever pony would be caught in his ire for such a mistake.
Blueblood was still talking, but Rainbow Dash noticed some of the ponies in the crowd pointing at the looming weather and whispering.
“This day is the single greatest day of my life,” Blueblood said, “although waking up next to you tomorrow will certainly be a contender. I swear to always love you, to cherish your mind, body, and soul, and to remain ever faithful, until we leave this world to join the herd of the next.”
The wind was picking up. The clouds were filling half of the sky, and growing rapidly. Rainbow’s veil was blown back from her face, and she squinted against the wind. Noblemares in the crowd were standing and holding their clothes against the wind. Then the rain started in force.
It was a drizzle at first, but that was only the front of the storm. Soon it grew into a stinging, torrential downpour, accompanied by near gale-force winds. What had been a wedding a few minutes earlier was quickly transforming into quagmire. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel some kind of twisted pride; as a pegasus, this was one impressive storm to conjure up so quickly. The only question was why?
Blueblood turned to look out at the crowd, then up at the clouds.
“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded of nopony in particular. He spun back around, and Rainbow Dash was unfortunate enough to be the pony nearest to him. “Did you orchestrate this?” he asked.
“What?” Rainbow responded. “Why would I do this?”
Blueblood sputtered. “Because... because you want to get back at me! You think a little rain is going to stop our wedding, hm? Well, think again.” He turned to the crowd. “Everypony inside!” he roared. “Into the Celestial Foyer!”
Some ponies were already en route, and the rest wasted no time. Nobleponies were turning cushions and chairs over left and right in a mad scramble to escape the garment-ruining storm. Blueblood sneered at Rainbow Dash.
“Come with me, my love, or I swear you will regret it.”
A flash of orange further out in the garden caught Rainbow’s eye. Her heart sped up, but she squashed the hope. Applejack was in the dungeon.
Then she saw the cowpony hat bobbing above the heads of the crowd, heading straight toward her.
“Applejack!” she called. She took two steps then nearly choked as she was yanked back by her dress collar. She fell to her side.
“I don’t think so,” Blueblood said a moment later, standing over her. The rain had soaked his hair and stuck it to the side of his face, and he was silhouetted by a lightning flash that transformed him momentarily into a grinning phantom. “You’re coming with me.”
His horn glowed, and Rainbow Dash felt her dress pull tight on her body, binding her in place. She was lifted off the ground, which, without her controlling it, made her heart leap into her throat. She started to float away, accompanying Blueblood as he hurried through the garden, away from the crowd. If Rainbow craned her neck, she could just see over the crowd to the cowpony hat.
It had barely moved.
Applejack was having trouble fighting against the crowd of fleeing ponies. She would never reach them before Blueblood spirited her away. So, Rainbow did the only thing she could.
She fought.
Rainbow Dash, flexing every muscle in her body, struggled. She pushed outward with her arms, tried to spread her legs, tried to extend her wings, anything that might help free her from Blueblood’s telekinetic grasp.
“It won’t help to struggle,” Blueblood said, but his tone said something different. He was breathing a bit heavier, and his steps were a bit more sluggish. Whatever Rainbow Dash was doing, it was working, so she redoubled her efforts.
She stretched against the magical field, feeling it tense up and try to force her back like a net, snapping her back into place. She pushed again, and this time it stretched a little farther. And again, and it stretched farther still.
“Stop that!” Blueblood commanded, but there was little force behind his words. His gait had slowed to a stumbling walk. Rainbow wriggled and writhed and pushed and flexed against the hold.
There was a sensation like she was tearing through fabric as she lashed out once more, but her dress remained intact. She dropped to the ground, which met her side with a dull thud and drove some of the wind from her lungs.
She looked across the ground to see Blueblood holding his head with his hoof, his eyes clenched shut. “What did you do?” he asked, his voice quivering slightly. He winced. “Why can’t I grab you? What did you do!?”
Rainbow Dash stood up, knowing it was only a matter of time before Blueblood recovered his wits. Near the altar, Applejack had broken free of the crowd and was galloping toward her. All Rainbow had to do was run to meet her, and they could escape together.
But Blueblood would still be there. If she knew anything about him, it was that he would never let this go, not after being humiliated and hurt by whatever Rainbow did to his magic. On shaky legs, she walked over to Blueblood’s shaking form, which had fallen to its knees.
He seemed to sense her, for he opened his eyes and lashed out with a hoof. “Stay back!” he shouted. His movements were sluggish; Rainbow Dash remembered Twilight describing magic to her long ago, how it was tied to a unicorn’s physical strength. Like how a pegasus would eventually get tired if they flew too hard or too long, a unicorn would feel the same exhaustion when overextending their magical abilities.
Blueblood was panting, his shoulders sagging and his head drooping. This might be her only chance.
She hit him.
It was a quick blow to the side of the head, knocking him sideways. He worked to scramble backward away from her. “Stay away!”
Rainbow didn’t hear him. All she could think of was Twilight Sparkle, of Applejack, of all the things that she had ever heard about Blueblood or seen him do. She flew into a blind rage, screaming at him as her hooves fell on him again and again, on his face, on his body, anywhere she could reach. He weakly tried to fend her off, but he was no match for her.
Hot tears filled her eyes. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him how much she hated him, and how he was going to kill him, but when she opened her mouth, all that came out was a pained, furious cry. She hit him and felt ribs break. She hit him again crushed something in his stomach. Then she hit something pointy and she winced.
Blueblood screamed. It was a horrible, blood-curdling screech, but Rainbow didn’t stop. When she reared back again, she felt something wrap around her hooves. Without thinking, she turned and struck out.
Applejack stopped the blow with her hoof and pulled Rainbow Dash toward her. Rainbow struggled at first, but soon gave up, sobbing into Applejack’s chest. Hot tears filled her eyes and her teeth clenched.
“It’s not fair!” she cried, stomping. “Why would you stop me?” She sniffed and looked up at the blurry visage of Applejack. “How can you not want him to get what he deserves?”
Applejack nodded behind Rainbow. “I think he already did.” Rainbow Dash turned around and almost gasped at what she had done to him.
Blueblood’s body was in ruins. His face was black, swollen, and bleeding. His torso was dented in some places, and he was lying back on the grass, the rain running over his body and washing away some of the blood. He was reaching up to his horn, where blood was pouring from the base.
His eyes were crossed, staring up at his horn in shock. “What did...” he started. “What did you do... to me? What did you do to me? What did... what...”
Pity welled up in Rainbow for the miserable creature on the ground before her, the quivering, sobbing mass that had only minutes before been trying to kidnap her. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, but it gave her a sick, dark feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away.
Applejack was there, though, to do it for her. She gently pulled Rainbow’s gaze away from the prince and back to her own.
“Rainbow, I have to go now,” she said. “I hate to do this to ya, but somethin’ real bad is about to happen in the palace, and I’m gonna see if I can stop it.”
“What?” Rainbow asked. She wiped her nose. “What do you mean?” Applejack’s expression was confident, but Rainbow guessed that was just for her benefit, because her eyes were full of fear. “Applejack, what’s wrong?”
Applejack shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I just want you to fly away from here as quick as you can. Go to Ponyville. You should be able to find it if you fly up high enough; it’s just to the southwest of Canterlot. Sweet Apple Acres is—”
Rainbow Dash stepped back, frowning. “What are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere, not unless you’re with me.”
Applejack sighed. “Please, Rainbow? Just trust me, it’ll be much better for the both of us if you just get outta Canterlot.” She paused, chewing on her thoughts. “I can’t have you here.”
“Well, tough!” Rainbow yelled, stomping. “I’m not just going to leave you, Applejack! Whatever you’re going to do, I’m coming with you, and that’s that!”
Applejack cried out in frustration. “Consarnit, Rainbow! Do ya have to be so damned stubborn? Why can’t you just do this one thing?”
“Because I’m not going to lose you again, Applejack.” Rainbow cast her eyes downward. “It’s not happening. Whatever you’re going to do, I’m going to be there to keep you safe. I couldn’t do it before, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to do it now.”
Applejack pressed her hoof to her forehead. “It’s like arguin’ with a rock,” she complained. “Alright, you can come with me. Just... promise me you’ll stay close. Please?” She looked into Rainbow’s eyes. “I don’t wanna lose you again, neither.”
“I can handle myself, Applejack,” Rainbow declared. When she saw the look Applejack gave her, though, she said, “Alright. I promise.” She started toward the Celestial Foyer. “Now, can we please get out of this storm so you can tell me what’s wrong?”
She jumped some when Applejack grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. “What about him?” she asked.
Rainbow Dash turned to look at Blueblood. “What... what did you... do to me?” he was still saying, repeating it on an endless loop. She sighed and shook her head.
“We can’t move him. We can’t help him.” She furrowed her brow. “Maybe we could get a nurse out here to look at him, but... he looks in bad shape.” She shook her head again. “I just... Applejack? Can we just go? You said something bad was going to happen.”
After a moment, Applejack nodded. “Yeah, let’s go. I’ll explain on the way.” She started trotting away.
Rainbow Dash followed for a moment, then stopped and tore her dress away. The fine fabric of the dress ripped easily, but the corset laced up the back. It had taken three hoofmaids to get her into it, and no matter how far she reached, there was no way she was going to be able to take it off by herself.
After a moment, Applejack was back. She walked around Rainbow and tugged at the laces of the corset with her teeth, pulling the lace out in one powerful motion. The garment fell away.
“Better?” she asked around the lace in her mouth.
“Better,” Rainbow responded, nodding. “Come on, let’s go.”
Applejack spit the cord out and they started toward the west end of the Gardens. Rainbow Dash didn’t know what she was getting into, but as long as she was with Applejack, she felt like she could do anything.
Bring it on.