Chapter Fifty Five
Rarity really didn't know how to deal with this situation. Rainbow Dash's approach was deliberately slow, meant to terrify her with a sense of overwhelming and inescapable dread. And it was working masterfully. That wicked, murderous glare as she slowly inched her way closer and closer, as her hooves scraped against the floor. Right now she felt like she was locking eyes with a timberwolf.
"Is... i-is there any way we can talk this out? Pony to pony?" she asked, hoping she could appeal to some logical part of Rainbow Dash. Some part that was still willing to listen. Whatever part had been willing to talk to Twilight down in the basement of the library. Surely there was still some reasonability left to her, even in this current state.
"Talk?" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously and arched an eyebrow, pausing in her stride. Surely she wasn't serious. "You want to talk? You think you can just talk away what you did to me?" she snapped as she once again worked her way closer and closer to where Rarity was currently frozen in terror.
And then she stopped in her tracks again, mere feet away from the unicorn, and looked at her in thought. But not thought of what she was going to do to her in order to inflict the most amount of pain possible before killing her. Rather she was thinking of something else entirely.
"On second thought, that's actually a good idea, let's talk. You can start by explaining just how you thought what you did to me was a good idea! I wanna hear you try and justify how locking me up, and RAPING me was supposed to be a good idea! Exactly what part of beating me with a whip, and CUTTING MY EAR OFF, struck you as being an appropriately good idea!?" Rainbow Dash demanded to know, shouting loudly in Rarity's face, and in the process exhausting the air in her lungs, forcing her to stop and catch her breath.
Rarity held her ground where she sat, unflinching in posture, listening to the accusations and emotional outburst of the cyan pegasus in front of her, merely blinking silently as she panted and heaved to try and catch her breath again, and remaining silent in response.
It was that silence that seemed loudest to Rainbow Dash.
"Well? What've you got to say for yourself?" Rainbow Dash asked/demanded.
"I'm sorry, darling, words seem to be failing me right now. Try as I might, I can't come up with so much as a single word of justification for what you went through," Rarity replied slowly, after a long and difficult pause. She understood that Rainbow Dash wanted answers for what she couldn't comprehend. But sadly there was nothing she could do to help her friend out in her time of need.
"You... y-you what?" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. Rarity didn't have anything to say to her? Nothing at all, to try and justify herself? No excuses to offer up to suggest she was at fault on the matter? Absolutely nothing?
"I said that I don't have the answers you're seeking, Rainbow Dash. There are no words to defend what you experienced, because what you experienced is absolutely indefensible. Nopony deserves to experience what you did," Rarity stated calmly.
Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, was positively animated in nature, as she sputtered in response to Rarity's simple statement. She'd expected the white unicorn to have far more to say for herself than just that.
"You... you... after all you put me through, you can't even tell me why!? You can't explain just what was going on in that twisted mind of yours!?" Rainbow Dash yelled angrily. Rarity just continued to remain silent, slowly looking down at the floor. "Fine. You know what? Fuck you. I don't need you to talk. I didn't come here to talk, I came here to kill you. I don't need you to talk to do that," she stated firmly.
"I see..." Rarity replied slowly, never looking up from the floor. "So there's nothing I can do to change your mind? Nothing that I might be able to say that would convince you to take a different course of action?" she asked, hopefully but all the while knowing that such was an impossibility.
"You can talk until your tongue falls off, I'm still gonna kill you. And then when I'm done with you, I'm going after the others next. All five of you are gonna be dead, the only thing I don't know yet, is which order I'm gonna do it in," Rainbow Dash stated as she started stepping closer again.
Now Rarity looked up in surprise and horror. It wasn't bad enough that Rainbow Dash fully intended to murder her in her own shop, but she was going to do the same to the rest of their friends? That thought terrified her more than any thoughts concerning her own fate. That was a possibility that she simply couldn't allow to come into fruition. She had to do something, anything, to try and prevent that, no matter how what that something was.
And whatever she was going to do, she needed to formulate it in the next few seconds, while she still had the ability. Once Rainbow Dash reached her, all logical thought was going to go right out the window.
"Then perhaps there's still something left that can be said," Rarity spoke up, her mind racing nearly as fast as her heart currently was. "Their lives in exchange for mine. You can do whatever you wish to me, I won't fight you. But please leave the others alone, they didn't do anything wrong," she pleaded, all the while trying to keep her breathing manaegable enough to speak.
"They're just as guilty as you!" Rainbow Dash yelled in response and stomped her hoof, not paying attention to what Rarity was saying.
"Perhaps that might be true. But they were merely participants in the endeavor. Surely you'd want the queen, rather than a few lowly pawns, correct? Go after the main dish, rather than a few appetizers, right?" Rarity asked. She had to keep Rainbow Dash distracted and focused on her. She couldn't allow her focus to shift to the others. That meant doing absolutely whatever it took in order to achieve that goal, no matter the cost. And no matter the consequences. "Or did I not beat you enough for you to understand that, my Pet?"
The details that she had been made privy to regarding Rainbow Dash's condition were... unpleasant to say the least. They were hardly anything she could imagine being done to anyone. And to hear that Rainbow Dash believed that she would willingly do them to another sickened her greatly, horrifying her. It was true that she had exotic tastes, but never would she considered something that exotic.
But perhaps... just perhaps... there was something in those gruesome details that could be used to control the situation. Something that could be used, in order to keep Rainbow Dash from turning on their friends. She had to chance it. She had to risk it for their sakes.
"Did you really think that they had any actual say in the matter? Did you foalishly believe that I'd willingly allow four uncontrolled variables into what I did to you? They were all as weak and powerless as you were, Pet, they didn't have any say in the matter. You think they raped you? I made them rape you! And if you hadn't escaped when you did, then-"
Rarity ducked just in time to avoid her head being slammed into the wall with a connected blow from a cyan hoof. Instead the wall bore the full brunt of the blow, as Rainbow Dash shattered the drywall in her flying tackle. Fortunately for herself, however, she'd been in full control of her mental capacities rather than consumed by anger, and had picked up on the telltale signs of a rush coming. That had allowed her to respond in time, and avoid getting anymore serious injuries, as she rolled out of the strike zone.
She could see that Rainbow Dash was a bristling ball of short-sighted rage at the moment. She was very sloppy, and easy to trick, and that gave Rarity the upper hoof in this matter. If she could keep Rainbow Dash distracted and focused on her, then she could keep the others safe. She just needed to keep pushing her buttons, and hope that she could keep dodging long enough to see this through.
Fortunately for her, Rainbow Dash's hoof appeared to be stuck in the wall at the moment. That gave her the perfect opportunity to reach out and ensnare her in her magic, effectively cutting off any hostile movement on her part.
"It appears you still need more motivation to behave," Rarity commented as she pulled the hoof loose from the hole in the wall. "So much disrespect. And not just for other ponies, but also their possessions. That simply won't do. Not at all."
"Fuck you! You're nothing but a monster!" Rainbow Dash retorted as she struggled and fought in an effort to get loose.
"I'm sorry about this, darling," Rarity thought to herself, before roughly flipping Rainbow Dash onto her back. "Language, Rainbow Dash," she said as she stepped forward, and pressed her hoof down on the struggling pegasi's chest. "You're right about one thing, however, I am a monster. An unrepentant, remorseless monster, who saw nothing wrong with inflicting pain and suffering on another, for no justifiable reason. But what I did to you was nothing compared to what I did to the others," she stated, using her hoof and magic to hold Rainbow Dash's head steady in order to maintain eye contact; to try and maintain dominance over her.
Her stomach was churning as she spoke, aching from the words that were being allowed to freely pour from her mouth. Nothing could be further from the truth. And yet it was what Rainbow Dash believed, and was allowing to guide her actions. She had been unwillingly assigned the role of the villain in this matter. And although it was a part she had no desire to play, it was a role she had to play, in order to keep the others safe.
"I can't change who or what I am, darling, anymore than you can. I failed to beat your stubborn nature out of you, despite my best efforts," she continued. Rainbow Dash started to struggle more now, forcing her to strength her hold on the upside down pegasus and readjust her head to reestablish eye contact. "But being a monster doesn't make me a coward. Nor does acknowledging the fact mean that I'm particularly proud of it. And while there's nothing I can really do to stop you from killing me, that doesn't mean I can simply stand by and let another wrong be committed. So I say again, their lives in exchange for mine. Kill me if you want, but spare the others the same fate. They simply don't deserve it. If you insist on slaying a monster, then all I ask is that you slay the correct one..."
Rarity had no more words to say in an effort to convince Rainbow Dash to not follow through with her intended approach. She knew that she couldn't keep the pegasus restrained forever, and the more she struggled, the more taxing it became to try and keep her still. But maybe, just maybe, a show of goodwill would do more than any words could. With that thought in mind, she cautiously withdrew her hoof and slowly released her magical hold keeping her pinned to the floor.
She knew that she was taking a very risky gamble in releasing Rainbow Dash from her hold. But she also knew that it wasn't a matter of her choice. The strain of Rainbow Dash struggling to get loose was taxing on both her magic and her concentration. Unlike Twilight, her magic was far more limited in scope. Keeping her restrained would exhaust her in a matter of minutes. And at the moment she was too wound up to think of just who to be going to with this problem. Trying to drag Rainbow Dash through town might only make things worse than they already were; especially if the cyan pegasus struggled hard enough to do herself harm.
There was always the possibility of binding her limbs to keep her restrained. But she knew immediately that doing something like that would just risk permanently cementing the false notions in her mind, and potentially causing further trauma to occur.
Those facts left her with little choice, except admitting defeat, and relinquishing control of the situation.
Rainbow Dash immediately scrambled to her hooves, experiencing an equal mixture of both anger and terror at the same time, and currently shaking over everything. She'd come here to kill Rarity, and instead the unicorn had gotten the drop on her and once again left her bound and helpless. And when she'd had her in the perfect position to strike... she'd let her go just like that. And on top of that, she was explaining why she should be the one to suffer rather than the others. She was heaping large amounts of confusion right on top of her, and doing so with incredible ease.
"And why should I believe a single word you're saying?" she asked as she tried to sort out everything.
"You've known Fluttershy the longest. Do you truly believe that she would ever do anything like that, unless somepony was making her? Surely such a noticeable detail couldn't escape your fine level of attention, right?" Rarity asked, figuring Rainbow Dash's friendship with the timid pegasus would prove the point. It was very difficult for two friends to more or less grow up together, and not have an intricate level of knowledge concerning each other.
It seemed that her question was having the desired effect of making Rainbow Dash stop and think, as she wasn't retorting with anything of great hostility. With that fact in mind she started speaking again.
"I do have one addendum, however. If I'm to die today, I don't want it to be here. Perhaps we can move it somewhere else, more remote in nature. Sweetie Belle will be coming over tonight, and I don't want her last memories of her sister, to be finding her bloodied corpse spread out on the floor. I might be a monster, but she doesn't deserve to see something like that; and especially not if Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are with her when she arrives. No filly should have to come across such a ghastly discovery..."
Rainbow Dash frowned, not wanting to concede that Rarity was right; both about Fluttershy, and about Scootaloo and the other fillies. It was infuriating how, after everything that had happened, she could still be right in her observations. She was worse than the Espada, being able to so easily pick things apart, and simultaneously filling her with such fury and rage.
"Fine. We'll do things your way then," she grumbled as she approached. Quick as could be, before Rarity could speak again, she delivered a sucker punch right to the head, catching her square in the horn. She watched with satisfaction as the response was instantaneous, with Rarity falling to the ground and yelping in pain as she cradled her horn. That would keep her from being able to perform any magic for at least an hour; plenty of time to get things done. "Now get up. We're leaving," she commanded.
Nopony was going to stop her from taking care of business. Absolutely nopony.
Spike grumbled as he strained, trying to untangle himself from the unwanted embrace he found himself in with Twilight at the moment. Her bookworm, plushy, lavender exterior betrayed just how much physical strength she seemed to unknowingly possess. It had to be from years of carrying around saddlebags loaded to the bursting point with heavy, hardback books. That was the only thing that made any real sense to him right now. He'd been struggling for what seemed like a good half hour now, and was no closer to being free than he was when he started. If anything he was actually worse off, as Twilight had just snuggled into him tighter, and his exhausted condition was making it all the harder to effectively struggle.
Why did he have to be so concerned about Twilight? If he wasn't worried about her wellbeing, he probably could've been free by now if he'd just tried to wake her up. But waking her up meant risking getting her involved in her tired state, and facing whatever her sleep deprived mind tried to create of the situation, and subsequently complicate matters beyond the point of being properly addressed. If it wasn't for that concern, he might be free by now. That concern was the only thing tempering his mad desire to get to Rarity as fast as he possibly could. He didn't think he could live with himself, if he'd managed to put Twilight at risk, by putting her in the possible position of having to face off against Rainbow Dash again. In her current tired state, she'd be too slow to respond against an attack.
"This is hopeless," Spike panted. If he ever got out of here, he swore to himself that he was never going to underestimate Twilight's strength again. No more soft unicorn jokes, ever.
But first he still had to actually get out of here, and find Rarity while there was still time. Even if Rainbow Dash wasn't actually confirmed as coming here, he'd still feel much better if he was there, or if she was here. Strength in numbers and all that. And to do that... he might just have to take some desperate measures with Twilight.
One such desperate measure involved trying to get himself worked up and draw on the naturally greedy nature of his species, and utilize it to force his body to grow and expand. No matter how strong Twilight might be, that would do nothing to keep his body from decompressing outward, to the point she could no longer keep her forelegs wrapped around him. Plus it would mean longer limbs, and greater leverage than he had now.
But while that might work, it brought its own set of complications with it. If he allowed himself to become greedy to that point again, he might not be able to control his mindset. His desire to find Rarity might be overridden by his unintended desire to start hording crap he didn't want or need. That was a distraction he simply couldn't afford to risk at present time. There had to be another way.
And then he smelt it. Whether it was due to a slight shift in the wind or something else, the aroma of cotton candy was coming through quite loud and clear right now. And where there was the aroma of cotton candy, there was usually Pinkie Pie.
But what good did that do him now? Sure, if he could get Pinkie's attention, then she might be able to help him out of this mess, by prying him free of Twilight's hold. But how exactly was he supposed to go about getting Pinkie's attention from way up here? The windows were open, but could his voice really travel that far, when there was no telling just where she might currently be? For all he knew she was all the way on the other side of Ponyville, far away from the maximum distance his voice could carry.
But right now he really didn't have much choice in the matter. He couldn't just assume that it was futile and not try. Not with everything that was at stake right now. So he took a deep breath in preparation, and let loose a bellow of "Pinkie Pie!" as loud as he could.
He listened quietly, hoping to hear something in response; anything that would indicate his plea for help had been received, and that he wasn't on his own in this case. Hoping that by some miracle, the most random pony in town had been able to hear him, and would come to his aid.
His draconian ears were greeted by the sound of the front door of the library opening, the hinges giving a telltale squeak from the neglect of not being oiled in some time. Right now though he was glad he hadn't gotten around to oiling that hinge, as he might've been left ignorant of the fact of somepony else actually being here. Sompony who could definitely hear him.
"Help!" he yelled loudly, hoping to alert whoever was downstairs.
"Spikey?"
He knew that voice. And he knew the bouncing sound that was working its way up the stairs. That knowledge made him both grin and relax, as help was finally here, and he was no longer struggling on his own.
"Pinkie!" he called excitedly, smiling at the first signs of that bouncing pink mane appearing up the stairs. "Oh am I glad to see you! Quick, help me get outta here!" he called and started squirming again.
Pinkie blinked, confused by what was going on. But nevertheless she walked over to the bed, and through a display of superior earth pony strength, pried Twilight's forelegs apart so Spike could squirm out. Immediately she was greeted by an enthusiastic hug from Spike as he leaped at her. A hug she was all too willing to return, even if she didn't understand what was happening, or even why it was happening.
"Spike, what's going on? Things are making less sense than usual around here, even by my own standards," she stated. And that was definitely saying something.
"No time to talk, Pinkie, I've gotta get to Carousel Boutique fast, like fifteen minutes ago!" Spike stated as he tried to untangle himself from the pink earth pony.
"Well then climb up and just hold on tight little guy, you can count on the Pinkie Pie Party Express," Pinkie stated as she released Spike and leaned down so he could climb up on her back. "Sorry, but there are no inflight snacks to be had."
Now it was Spike's turn to be confused by the events that followed, with things becoming really weird right after climbing up on Pinkie's back. He was sure the glass to the door that lead out to the balcony would've shattered from how hard it was opened as they exited. And he had no idea just how Pinkie had managed to fit all four of her hooves onto the balcony's rail, or how she'd done so as quick as she was moving. But he was certain when she performed her high jumped with him clinging to her for dear life, that down below on the ground level of Ponyville, the display looked so, so awesome to anyone looking up at the time as they soared above head, and over to where they landed on the roof of a building he was certain was too far out of their reach.
Twilight merely mumbled to herself, before rolling over onto her other side, and snuggling further under the sheet, the smile never leaving her face.
Spike clung onto Pinkie for utter dear life as she was carried along on a journey across various rooftops, large distances covered in a single perky bound, the impact of each and every single one of the landings being felt as it traveled up Pinkie's body and into his own. At several points he was utterly amazed that he hadn't been thrown off, and Pinkie didn't seem the least bit bothered by it. How could she take these brutal impacts with such ease and seeming grace?
However such thoughts were abandoned once the Carousel Boutique came into view. Just a few more seconds... just a few more seconds...
"We're here!" Pinkie announced upon landing in front of the building. Or at least she would have, if Spike hadn't jumped -or maybe he'd been thrown from the impact of the landing? It was so hard to tell, based on the angle and trajectory he'd taken before landing- off her back, and more or less dove head first through the diamond-shaped pet door in the front. She didn't have time to laugh at his hips getting stuck momentarily, before he got his legs moving, allowing him to get all the way inside, and disappear from her view.
By the time Pinkie made her own way into the boutique, Spike was already scrambling about the building as fast as his little legs could carry him, frantically yelling out "Rarity!" as he ran from room to room. This just left Pinkie all the more confused; usually she was the one who did random and unexplainable stuff.
"Rarity!" Spike called as he dashed down the hallway, only to find himself enveloped in Pinkie's forelegs as she swept him off his feet and held him off the ground to keep him from moving.
"Spike, what's going on? You're starting to make me nervous," she stated as she looked at him, wanting to know just what was bothering him, and how she might be able to help him.
Spike struggled and squirmed within her grasp to get loose, before eventually accepting the fact that he wasn't anymore likely to get free from Pinkie, than he was from Twilight.
"Celestia wrote and said that Rainbow Dash isn't in Canterlot anymore. She thinks she's on her way to Ponyville," he explained as calmly as he could.
"That's wonderful!" Pinkie stated excitedly and hugged Spike tighter. "This-" she started, only to have Spike pin her lips shut to keep her from talking any further.
"No Pinkie, this is terrible! Rainbow Dash wasn't discharged, she escaped! She's not better, she's not well. And if she escaped from Canterlot, there's the possibility that she came back here to finish what she started. And that means we need to find Rarity, and warn her before Rainbow Dash can get to her," he stated. The last thing he needed right now was Pinkie thinking that this was a matter that called for celebration, when it reality it call for anything but. This was a serious, serious issue, and he was going to need all the help he could get. And like it or not, Pinkie was apparently the only one that could help him right now.
"Now," Spike said as he let go of her mouth, "can you help me?" he asked, doing his best to be serious and mature in this matter.
It was a desperate, pleading expression that Pinkie saw on Spike's face as he looked at her. Despite his best efforts at sounding mature and in control, she recognized the fact, that he recognized the fact, that he was in over his head, and in desperate need of help from an outside participant; an outside participant that likely wasn't Twilight, seeing as how she was currently sleeping. And he was currently directing his plea right at her. How in Equestria could she possibly turn him down, even without that face?
"Sure thing, Spike, where do we start?" she asked as she set him back down on his feet.
Spike opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again almost immediately. For all the thought he'd given on how to get over here, he hadn't really given any thought to what he'd do once he actually got here. He'd been more or less planning on grabbing Rarity on sight and trying to drag her back to the library where she'd be safe. He'd never stopped to consider that he'd get here too late. That put him in a difficult position, as he tried to think of how to proceed.
"Help me find Rarity. She's gotta be here somewhere... I hope," he finally replied, hoping that the silence of the Carousel Boutique meant that it was empty, rather than the possibility of it housing a corpse somewhere. He didn't even want to being considering the possibility of happening upon that.
"You can count on me, Spike," Pinkie replied and saluted with her right foreleg, "I... hey wait a second. What's that over there on the wall?"
Spike wasn't sure what to think. Was Pinkie being a clown again? At a time like this!? He was just about to yell that they didn't have time for games, but his own youthful curiosity managed to get the best of him, and he looked in the direction she was gesturing. And instead of seeing something nonsensical, he saw something that could be quite important; a large jagged hole punched right through the drywall, and left unpatched as it displayed the insulation that was behind it.
"Nothing good," Spike mumbled as he stepped closer to examine it, hoping that its presence would hold some measure of evidence that would seemingly jump out at him. Maybe the circumference of the hole could tell him what had been used to make it in the first place.
And then something caught his eye. Something that was small, and almost imperceptible in nature. Something caught on a rough spot of the broken drywall, and jutting out in a manner that just didn't seem natural in this matter. Carefully he reached into the hole and plucked it out, bringing it into the light for a better look.
It was a small tuft of fur. Blue fur. Cyan blue fur to be precise.
"Does that mean what I think it means?" Pinkie asked as her head hovered over his tiny shoulder in an effort to get a better look at what he held, and not liking what it looked like.
"That Rainbow Dash got here first? Y-yeah..." Spike replied shakily. They were too late. What were they going to do now? What could they do now? "This is very, very bad..."
"Is it?" Pinkie asked him. When he turned around to face her, she raised her hoof to keep him from talking. "Look around, Spike, what do you see?"
Spike blinked, not getting what Pinkie was saying. He looked around the room, but didn't see anything out of place. What could she be seeing that he wasn't? Had she slipped back into random mode again or something?
"I don't see anything," he finally replied, stumped at what she was getting at.
"That's just it, Spike, there's nothing out of place, except for the hole. We both know Dashie's not organized, she wouldn't have cleaned up whatever mess she made before leaving. So where exactly are the signs of a struggle occurring here?" she asked.
She really didn't want to speak ill of one of her friends, and especially not when they weren't present to defend themselves. But it was a simple truth that Rainbow Dash had some serious slob tendencies to her, and if she'd been here and had gotten to Rarity first, then there's no way the boutique would be this clean and in order. It just wasn't a physical possibility; or at least not one that possessed any great likelihood of actually occurring.
It took Spike a minute to realize just what Pinkie was trying to say. But he was seeing what it was she was saying. The boutique was way too pristine for anything to have happened here. Maybe Rarity had managed to escape on her own? And if that was the case, then there was the chance that she was still alright!
But... at preset time it was just a theory. Just a random possibility. They had no hard evidence to prove the idea of Rarity still being alive and unharmed, nor did they have any evidence to show that Rarity was... was... Spike didn't want to finish that thought.
"So what now?" he finally asked, hoping that she had some idea of how they should proceed.
"Hmm..." Pinkie mumbled as she rubbed her chin in thought. That was a very good question. "Dashie's hard to not notice. Maybe she should ask some of the townsponies if they saw her and where she might've gone? Maybe ask if Rarity was with her?" she suggested, seeing it as the best option available to them.
Spike tried to think, trying his best to be logical, reasonable, and intelligent in the matter. He really did try, but at the moment all he could think about was trying to find Rarity before it was too late.
"The heart wants what it wants," he remembered Ulquiorra saying, regarding Roseluck's love for her changeling special somepony. And right now that was what he was facing. He knew that they should get Ulquiorra alerted and involved since he could help with the search. But he didn't want to do that if the Espada was going to come in and take over the operation like some obstructive bureaucrat, who let red tape get in the way of common sense. He didn't want to be benched on the sidelines, and left to do nothing but wait.
Fuck that!
"Sounds good to me," Spike replied, before climbing up onto Pinkie's back again. "Let's get going!"