A knock at the door heralded the arrival of Twilight’s friends.
The alicorn looked up from her book and called, “Come in!” The door swung open and Twilight’s five friends hurried in.
“Where is she?” Rainbow Dash growled. Twilight narrowed her eyes.
“In the kitchen. Doing what I asked her to do. She’s not a threat, Rainbow!”
“Calm down,” Applejack said. “Both of you.” She paused to give both Twilight and Rainbow Dash a stern glare. Then she said, “What can we help ya with, Twi?”
“I’ve been researching the subject of—” Twilight faltered. “Well, that. I’ve found some things, but it’s not really helpful and—”
She was interrupted by soft hoofbeats as Sunset Shimmer walked into the room, head down.
*
Sunset was careful not to look up, not to the give these ponies any reason to hurt her.
Keep your head down. Stay silent. If they don’t notice you, they won’t see a reason to attack.
She stopped, a respectful distance from Twilight Sparkle.
“I’ve finished, Mistress.”
Hoofbeats, there, a bit to her right. Sunset gave the slightest glance upward and saw Rainbow Dash, staring at her with narrow eyes.
Hm. Rainbowed hair does seem to look better on a pony.
Almost before she had finished the non-sequitur thought, a starburst of pain exploded in her jaw. Sunset reeled back, the entire left side of her face throbbing mercilessly. When her vision cleared she saw Rainbow Dash staring at her, hoof still extended from having struck at her.
The sky-blue pegasus started forward. Desperate, Sunset fell her to knees, staring at the floor. Her breath came rapidly.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please don’t hit me again— Sunset had promised herself that she would never beg anything of these ponies—but by Celestia’s sun that punch had hurt.
“What was that?” Rainbow Dash leaned down, putting her face close to Sunset’s. Her voice was low, threatening—everything Sunset feared. “Couldn’t hear you, slave.”
“I’m sorry,” Sunset said, louder.
“For what?” Rainbow Dash buffeted her, hard, with her hoof. “Say it!”
I don’t know I don’t know I swear I don’t even know what I did—
“Rainbow Dash! Stop this!”
Sunset looked up, too surprised to suppress the movement. The farm girl—Applejack—was standing in front of Rainbow Dash, just far enough to the side to avoid touching Sunset Shimmer. The earth pony was glaring, hard, at the pegasus.
“No!” The pegasus tried to shove past, but was rebuffed. “She deserves it! Let me through!”
“No.” Twilight Sparkle stepped in, and Sunset quickly looked back at the ground. “No, Rainbow,” the alicorn continued. “Get away from her.”
Yet more surprise coursed through Sunset’s veins.
“Are you serious, Twi?” Rainbow Dash demanded.
“You and I can discuss this,” Twilight Sparkle said—no, growled. She was angry. Very angry. “Upstairs. The rest of you—”
“Funny thing, darling,” Rarity said. Sunset easily recognized her nervous tone—indeed, she knew it all too well. “Funny thing, I just remembered—I need to be somewhere. Now, as a matter of fact.”
“Me too.” That was Pinkie Pie, no doubt.
“Oh, um, yeah, and me.” That was the shy one—what was her name? Sunset never could remember.
“Oh. Okay.”
Sunset waited as the three filed out. Applejack had gone quiet, so there was no telling where she was.
Then Twilight Sparkle turned toward Sunset.
“You—”
Sunset flinched.
Surprisingly, Twilight’s tone lowered, just a bit. “You can go back to the basement.”
Sunset nodded and hurried away. Truth be told, she couldn’t wait to escape to safety, and she couldn’t wait to tend her aching jaw.
*
Twilight slammed her bedroom door shut and then whirled to face Rainbow Dash.
“What the hay were you thinking down there?!”
“What was I thinking?” Rainbow Dash appeared just as angry as Twilight herself felt. “What were you thinking? Why did you defend her?”
“Because she couldn’t defend herself! She was defenseless, and you just attacked her—”
“Because she deserved it!”
The words came out almost as a scream. The noise, if nothing else, was enough to startle Twilight into silence. Rainbow took her opportunity.
“Did the students at that school you told us about have any defense when she brainwashed them, huh? Did you have any when she tried to kill you?” Rainbow Dash was breathing hard, hovering up near the ceiling. “This is your chance to get back at her, Twilight! That’s what you’re supposed to be doing and you’re not doing it!”
“So you want me to attack her like you did?”
Twilight was beyond red-hot anger now. She had settled into something colder—something like ice.
“Get out, Rainbow. Get out of here and don’t come back until you can act halfway decent to a defenseless pony!”
Without a word Rainbow Dash whirled around and slammed through the nearest window at full speed, shattering it instantly.
A fresh breeze blew across Twilight’s face, and she felt herself coming out of the intense anger she had felt.
What… what did I just say?
Twilight went to the broken window and looked out. Rainbow Dash was already out of sight. A quick look downstairs revealed that none of her friends, not even Applejack, had stayed to watch the confrontation.
How long is it going to take for this to tear us all apart?
*
Sunset Shimmer huddled in a corner of her room, nursing the bruise that was already darkening the side of her face.
Why did she defend me?
The question lingered in her mind, repeating itself over and over. Sunset could see the motivation behind Rainbow Dash’s attack—Sunset might not have harmed her, personally, but surely the pegasus knew of all the things she had done.
But Applejack’s reaction, and Twilight’s, made no sense whatsoever. They should have encouraged the attack, maybe even joined in, not stopped it.
They’re going to punish me later. It was the only answer Sunset could think of. Twilight wanted to be the one to strike—wanted to be the only one to beat her slave—and that was why she had stopped her friend.
It will hurt more later. Sunset cringed in anticipation of future pain, knowing at the same time that there was nothing, nothing she could do to stop it.
Celestia should have killed me. It would have been better than this.