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Prologue222 words
Chapter 11,673 words

Chapter 1

The rainwater flattened Rainbow Dash's mane, weighing it below her shoulders. She held her face up to the ceiling, a smile plastered upon her face as she felt every individual droplet splatter against her coat. The smell of water relaxed her joints and mind, her thoughts drifting off on how to approach the new day.

First, she would probably go check things out with Applejack and see if she had any time for a hoof-wrestle. That would get her pumped for the rest of the day. She would spend every moment after that tricking around the skies of Ponyville, occasionally napping in nearby trees.

Rainbow Dash stepped out of the small shower in her cloud-built mansion. Yep. Today would be a good day. She grabbed a towel from a nearby rack as the doorbell rang.

Very few ponies visited Rainbow, seeing as her house was in the sky. Plus, she spent most of the day outside, so she was fairly difficult to find.

"Hold up a second, I'll be right there!" she called lazily as she walked toward the door whilst rubbing the towel along her body with a single hoof. As she reached the wooden door, which completely contrasted with the fluffy white cloud-based structure, she extended a wing to push it open.

Two Royal Guards stood on her doorstep, both donning armor and swords. Why would armed guards show up here? She made one final sweep along her mane with the towel before tossing it off to the side, her mane still damp. "May I help you sirs?"

The two glared at her blankly for a moment, creeping Dash out with the silence. One spoke. "Are you Rainbow Eleanor Dash?" His voice grumbled so deeply that Rainbow could feel it in her stomach, and it almost made her sick.

She swallowed loudly. "Um... yes?" She took a step back as the guards took another moment to stare her down.

The other spoke now. "Miss Rainbow Eleanor Dash, you are hereby under arrest under suspicion of the murder of Prince Blueblood of Equestria," Dash nearly vomited. Murder? Dash thought wildly. I'm suspected for murder? Of Blueblood? Where did they even get this idea?

"You must have me confused with somepony else by the same name (which I realize is almost impossible), but I haven't seen Blueblood since the Grand Galloping Gala two and a half years ago!" she stated, panicked. "Nor have I been to Canterlot in a few weeks!" She held up her hoof in exaggeration.

The grumbly guard quickly snapped some hoof-cuffs around her legs. "Anything that you say can and will be used against you in the court of justice and law." What?!

"But how would I have killed him?" she asked, bewildered.

"You killed him with a knife to the throat during his short visit to Ponyville." By the mighty power of Celestia!

"Yeah, I wanted to know the detail of what mode of murder I am suspected of killing him," she sarcastically retorted. Now she wasn't just confused. She was ticked off. "Why am I a suspect?"

"Not in our paygrade." Great, I'm being arrested by ponies who don't even know why they're arresting me. Just play along until the trial, you'll be fine, she thought to herself as the guards lifted her to their carriage. They bundled her wings together and sat her in the seat as they took off toward Canterlot.

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"You have to what?!" Dash couldn't tell if she should cry or faint.

"As a safety precaution of the Equestrian Royal Guard," this soldier had iron armor; not gold or silver, marking him specifically as a prison-guard, "We are required to remove your primary feathers, which can be replaced magically or naturally after you are released." She almost slapped the guard across the face. Her. Rainbow Dash having her feathers plucked. That would mean it would be months until she could fly again! Getting them restored magically was expensive; and not to mention risky! She could get some sort of curse in the process, or her feathers could be permanently gone.

Rainbow couldn't see any way out of it. Resisting would give them even just a sliver of evidence they could use against her. She knew how these lawyers worked. She accepted her fate. "Just make it quick." she said as she clenched her eyes shut and looked straight down as she was sat into a chair. It was subtle at first, just like pulling out a splinter. But it got worse, and eventually reached the point where she nearly yelped. The larger feathers were harder to pull out. They almost seemed like they were trying not to let go. I can't blame them, She thought, I've known them my whole life, and now they're being forcefully plucked from me.

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Rainbow Dash had never been arrested before, so she had no idea what it'd be like being in prison. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad, despite being far different than the other architecture across the country. But it still had the stone walls she expected. At least there was actually a toilet, rather than a bucket.

Rainbow sat on the small bed that they had given her. She would wait for Twilight to come and help her, and she would wait until she was released. Even if she was found guilty at the trial, she would accept her fate, and serve her time.

With the time that she had, she decided it would be best to take a nap...

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"Miss Dash." Rainbow's head flung up. Her nap had been nice, but she was getting tired of laying down and doing nothing, with no source of entertainment for her. A prison guard stood at the bars of her cell, staring at her. Where is Twilight? She realized. She should be here by now.

"Yes, officer?" She replied, sitting up.

"Miss Dash, I am here to inform you that we have found explicit evidence that you committed the crime, and you will be privately executed tomorrow morning."

Dash felt her heart stop. Time froze. Everything went silent.

Execution. She realized. I am scheduled for execution on the basis of a crime I did not commit. Her mouth hung open. She didn't even try to convince the guard otherwise, because she knew it would do nothing for her. But...

"But, officer-"

"I know, 'you didn't do it.' That's what they all-"

"No!" She interrupted him. "My name is Rainbow Dash! I am the element of Loyalty in the Elements of Harmony! I need to speak with Twilight Sparkle!" She panted slightly.

The guard watched her for a moment, looking her over. Then he spoke. "Miss Dash, I know who you are. But the law is the law. Besides, Twilight Sparkle is currently otherwise occupied." The guard then left the area, leaving Dash on her own in the cell.

She laid back down, tears beginning to form under her eyes. Execution. She tried to blink the tears out as they began to blur her vision. No trial. No defense. Explicit evidence. Where could that even have come from? She cried herself to sleep, waiting for her end...

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Dash sat up in her bed. She was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it. All through the night, she tossed and turned, waiting for it to end. She had to accept it.

She watched outside the cell, where the sun barely began to peek through the window. The guard said "tomorrow morning". Well, it was tomorrow morning now.

"Oh, well, what have we here?" Rainbow jumped at the sound of another voice inside her cell. She turned around, and found Discord leaning against the wall.

"What do you want, Discord? You want me to try and escape? Cause some chaos?"

Discord chuckled. "Well, yes, actually." He stood up and walked toward Rainbow, who scooted a couple inches away. "But, I know just as well as you do that that would be impossible with your lack of flight."

Rainbow peaked her eyebrow. "So, what, you're gonna give me my primaries?"

The draconequus laughed. "No, that would be cheating!" He crouched down to her level. "No. I'm going to make you better." Rainbow felt a burning sensation on the skin above her hoof, like it had been laid on a stove. She yelped from the sudden pain, and she glanced at the spot. There was a marking that had not been there before.

"Discord, what did you do?" She growled, glaring at him.

"Me?" He chuckled. "I only did what I can do. I gave a you a great gift." He pointed toward the symbol with a claw. "Maybe when you see what that does, you'll thank me." He grinned. But the way his smile looked was almost...evil.

"What do you mean?" Dash held her hoof up to her face, examining the marking.

"You'll see what I mean. But there is one phrase that I want you to remember."

She looked at where he had stood, but Discord was no longer in the room. She looked in every direction, and found nothing. But his voice still echoed inside of the space.

"Revenge solves everything."

Dash heard the hoofsteps of multiple guards coming in her direction. She knew that whatever was happening was about to start. She glanced at the symbol on her hoof one more time.