A Canterlot Rebellion

by Minds Eye

Chapter 3: Escape

Rainbow Dash stood at the crossroads. To her right sat the way into the armory and Fluttershy somewhere beyond it. Ahead of her stretched out the remainder of the tunnel. One exit to a bedroom, another to a room full of supplies, she bet the third exit would lead out of the castle and into the task of finding one little dragon in an entire city. The meeting with Twilight Sparkle played in her mind again. I'll be fine. The exact same thing Fluttershy said. And it left her with the exact same helpless feeling.

Where was Fluttershy now? Twilight said they were all playthings for the changelings. Were they hurting her? Did they leave her tied up somewhere like Twilight? Could she wait long enough for Rainbow Dash to find Spike and come back? And how long would that take? A baby dragon would need his food. Some hint that was.

It's not like you to hesitate. She opened the way to the armory. Fluttershy and Twilight didn't know about her promise, but Rainbow Dash did. Fluttershy was strong for her when Rainbow was weak. She owed her. Equestria could wait a little longer. All she had to do was not get caught.

She was almost immediately caught. As she took to the air she saw two changelings do the same coming from the dungeon entrance. She dropped down behind a row of armor and waited for them to exit. It took a minute for her breathing to return to normal. The dungeon wasn't as empty as she left it. That would be the only reason for guards to keep coming down here. Rainbow flew through the door, down the ramp, and into the jailer's room.

It was empty. Was she wrong? If Pinkie escaped too, wouldn't they keep at least one guard here to keep an eye on any prisoners? She was cornered if this was a trap. There was plenty of room to spring an ambush from here to her tunnel. But, if this was a trap, she already came this far. And there was one thing that bothered her...

The heavy iron door stared her in the face. And sticking out of it was a key. She couldn't remember if it was there before or not. In her rush to escape she just took the easier path. She walked to the door and pushed against it. It cracked open by an inch. A sound came from behind it, nothing but a faint echo she couldn't identify. She set her hooves, planted her shoulder to the door, and pushed. It slowly swung open to reveal darkness.

All Rainbow Dash could see was her shadow stretching before her. Whatever this section of the dungeon was used for there was no light inside it. Five steps in and she couldn't see her own hoo- "WHOA!" She fell headfirst into the black before flapping her wings to reorient herself. Her cry echoed down as she hovered in place. She turned to face the light of the door expecting it to be covered by the bodies of approaching changelings, but the only reaction to the noise was a small voice that came from below.

"H-Hello?"

"Fluttershy!" Rainbow flipped and dove into the nothingness, holding her hooves in front of her to block her crash. "Hold on, I'll get you out of there!"

"Rainbow Dash? No! It's a trap!" Rainbow hit the bottom of the...pit? Well? Whatever it was, and frantically pawed in the dark to find Fluttershy. "Rainbow, they were expecting this. The queen came to me after you escaped. She told them to use me as bait. To-ah!" Rainbow wrapped her front legs around Fluttershy and took off. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, I just don't care. No way I'm leaving you here." Fluttershy fell silent. Rainbow carried her up and out into the jailer's room before putting her down. She saw a rope wrapped around Fluttershy's body, pinning her wings. She started pulling it loose with her teeth.

"It doesn't matter Rainbow. They're waiting for us up there. They knew you would follow me if they just made enough noise dragging me back here. 'Watch the door until you see her go into the armory. Then wait for her outside the dungeon.' That's what she said. There's no way out." She fell silent again at the sound of Rainbow Dash's muffled laughter.

Rainbow finished with the rope and let it drop to the ground. "Oh, yes there is. They didn't see me come in." She flashed Fluttershy a confident grin. "Trust me. We're getting out of here." Fluttershy followed her up to the armory and gasped when Rainbow took off, completely exposing herself to an attack. She motioned for Fluttershy to follow and led her to the tunnel entrance. Rainbow laughed again when she saw Fluttershy's look of shock. "I wonder how long it'll be before they realize you're gone?" The two ponies rearranged the three spears before entering the tunnel. Rainbow sealed the wall behind them and was immediately crushed by a hug from Fluttershy when she turned around.

"Thank you Rainbow Dash! I knew you would come back for me, but they knew it too, and I wished you wouldn't, and it was so dark, and I was so scared for you when I heard you, and..."

Rainbow chuckled as Fluttershy went on. "Calm down. You're embarrassing me." She gently pushed Fluttershy away and looked her over. "You know, you probably look better than I did after my date with those chumps."

Fluttershy shuddered at the thought. "N-Nothing really happened. They took me to a room like...like barracks. There was no way out but the door. They started pushing me around. I just...dropped to the floor. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. They...they started shouting at me." She grabbed Rainbow in another hug. "It was horrible! Their fangs were so sharp, and they were right in my face! I didn't think they would ever stop. But...they did. They just left after a while."

Rainbow sighed in relief as she pushed Fluttershy away again. "Sounds like they were itching for a fight. But if you didn't give it to them, why'd they keep you there?"

"Well...they came back in every so often to push me again. First one and then more. I think they were laughing at me." She jumped as Rainbow Dash kicked the wall.

Rainbow sneered and muttered, "We're just playthings to them." She bent down to grab her torch and started down the right path. Fluttershy followed. The cramped space forced them to walk single file. Unlike the left path, the right kept a straight line with no noticeable incline or decline. They walked in silence for some time. Eventually, Rainbow Dash shifted the torch to one side of her mouth and looked back at Fluttershy. "Shoo shaw ze queen?"

"Hm? Oh! Yes, she stormed in shouting that you escaped. She was furious. I wasn't even able to understand her at first. Then she just kept screaming about how we did it, how we did it, how we did it." Rainbow hummed to let her know she was listening, Pinkie Pie's escape on her mind. "I didn't know what she meant. She didn't believe me. She said that pit was a trap for me as much as for you."

Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks. Fluttershy bumped into her and apologized. Rainbow was too concerned with the wall in front of her to notice. There was an arrow etched into it, pointing up. She looked up and the flame of the torch revealed an image of Celestia's sun symbol carved in the ceiling. Rainbow reared up and placed both front hooves on the sun. Her push sent a square tile swinging up and over resulting in the sharp crack of stones colliding.

Moonlight flooded the tunnel. The purple color of Shining Armor's force field served as the sky. Rainbow Dash dropped the torch and climbed up into a Canterlot alley. She reached down to pull Fluttershy out to join her. Fluttershy's face fell when she saw the force field hanging overhead.

"We...we can't get out. Rainbow, what do we do?" Rainbow Dash was crouched over their exit point, and was examining the trap door from the outside. A distant noise caused Fluttershy to jump and back into her. She looked at Fluttershy in annoyance as she closed to tunnel again.

"Would you settle down?" Rainbow trotted to the end of the alley and looked around the street. There was no pony or changeling in sight. She looked up to make sure the skies were clear. She turned back to Fluttershy and was surprised to see how close the castle remained. "We need to find-"

She saw a green flash reflected in Fluttershy's eyes. She turned as a barrage of magic blasts flew by the alley entrance. Fluttershy pulled her against a wall. They both watched as an orange blur sprinted by chased by four changelings. Fluttershy gasped, "Was that-" before Rainbow Dash took off after them. Fluttershy trailed behind her.

The orange pony raced ahead of the pack, weaving through the street to avoid the attacks fired from her pursuers. Rainbow only knew one earth pony who could run this fast. She grinned as the telltale hat came into view. This was going to be fun.

Applejack jumped left to dodge a bolt and turned right to head down a side street. Rainbow angled her approach as the changelings followed Applejack's wide turn, and the distance between them closed rapidly. She slammed her body into the rear guard. He was sent flying into the side of a building and bounced off, stunned. Rainbow moved over him and kicked to spike him down to the pavement below.

The next two looked back at the noise. They turned and began firing, still moving after Applejack. The shots never even came close. Rainbow Dash was in her element. She rolled, dove, and dodged, all the while looking ahead to track Applejack and plan her next move. She flew between the two and matched their speed for an instant. They turned and she accelerated, avoiding their blasts. They weren't so lucky.

Rainbow zoomed through the air as they fell and wrapped up the final changeling. "Heads up, cowgirl!" Applejack looked back in surprise. She dug her front hooves into the street to stop and started lifting her hind legs. Rainbow Dash guided the changeling in before releasing him at the last moment. A sound like a cannon shot echoed through the streets of Canterlot.

"Aw, yeah!" Rainbow smirked as she looked to Applejack for a hoof bump. "Harmony at its finest!" Applejack eyed her warily. The smirk slowly dissolved. What was her problem?

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy was flying over the buildings to catch up. "There are more coming from the castle!" Rainbow looked up and saw dozens of black specks against the purple backdrop. They were too close to risk running for the tunnel. She looked around and saw a shattered store front window to her right. She dove inside and the others followed. They ran through the building and out the rear exit into another alley. Rainbow turned to run the only way out when she felt a sharp pain in her tail. Her body was thrown backwards and collided with one of the others. They both fell to the ground.

Dazed, she looked beside her and saw Fluttershy. What happened? A weight landed on top of her. Applejack had jumped on top of the pegasi and pinned them down. She looked down on them, green eyes hard as stone, and hissed, "This isn't the first time I've seen you two." Fluttershy whimpered. "They set me loose in that maze o' Discord's and took turns hunting me down. I've seen all their tricks! I finally get out and just happen to run into you? You two better be real, and you better prove it!"

Rainbow grunted as Applejack added pressure to emphasize her last words. She met her glare and gasped out, "how's your ear?" A heartbeat, and then a light turned on in the earth pony's eyes. Rainbow smiled and went on. "Your right ear. You said I nearly bit it off in that scrape at the Running of the Leaves."

The three were quiet for a moment. "Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy was looking at her incredulously. "You bit her?"

"Well, yeah, but she called my dad a-"

"And I'm still a mite sorry about that!" The three laughed softly together. Applejack stood and helped them to their feet. "I...I'm sorry y'all. I just-” She was cut off by a loud buzz passing overhead. Six changelings flew by and began to spread out over the city. The three ponies walked to the edge of the alley and Rainbow looked around. The street was still clear for now.

"Um, Rainbow?" Fluttershy looked at the sky as she spoke. "I know you said we need to find something, but I think we should hide."

Applejack spoke up next. "She's right. And I don't know about you, but I haven't eaten since the wedding day. Look." She raised a hoof and pointed at several buildings. "I remember this street. Isn't Donut Joe's around here?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide. "Of course it is!"

---

Fluttershy's head was spinning. Everything seemed to have happened so fast. The queen's interrogation, Rainbow's rescue, a secret exit only they knew about, the chase through the streets.... She marveled at her two friends. They had to feel as hungry and exhausted as she did. How did they manage to run and fight like that? And then they found Spike sleeping behind the counter in Donut Joe's. The little dragon was moving around the kitchen preparing some breakfast to go with the stale donuts that remained.

Breakfast! Another source of confusion! The full moon was high, obviously, yet it wasn't even noon yet. The three ponies were seated by a table in the kitchen with Spike. They stuffed towels and rags under the doors to stop any light or smoke from tipping off a nearby changeling. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Spike traded details about the state of Canterlot, and what they said was enough to make her want to burst into tears.

Twilight Sparkle was chained like a slave. Princess Cadance was no better off. Applejack saw her saddled with food and drinks for the soldiers who chased her through the maze. She also had the same collar Rainbow described on Twilight. No pony had seen Rarity or Pinkie Pie. Spike said that Donut Joe himself was nowhere to be found, nor were any ponies outdoors at any time. The changelings would sometimes break into homes and round up the ponies inside. Spike had no idea what happened to them afterwards. For Applejack's sake, Fluttershy kept her biggest fear to herself. In fact, no pony brought up the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The thought of the three little fillies at the mercy of those beasts filled her with dread.

Equestria at war was no place she wanted to be.

"It isn't all bad news though." Rainbow Dash drained a cup of water before continuing. "Twilight said Ponyville was deserted when the changelings got there."

Fluttershy smiled at Applejack as the earth pony sighed in relief. They all knew how important her family was to her. She wondered about her animals though. Would any pony have thought to help them? She taught Angel what do in case of emergency when she wasn't there, but would the others listen to him?

"I still don't get why Twilight stayed!" Spike put down a towering plate of pancakes and jumped back as Rainbow Dash and Applejack lunged for them. Fluttershy marveled again at her two friends for another reason. She took some food for herself when it was safe.

Rainbow swallowed a few mouthfuls before answering. "She's gonna be our spy. This," she tapped the table with her hoof, "is the start of Equestria's counterattack! Twilight will hear the plan and we'll ruin the plan. If they do something in the city, AJ and I take care of it. If they try something out there, Spike sends a letter to Luna and she takes care of it. And once Luna's ready to attack Canterlot, we help her send these bozos packing!"

Applejack whooped her approval. Spike started waving his hands in protest. "No, it doesn't work like that! I can't send anything to Luna!"

"What? But you send Celestia stuff all the time!"

"Yeah, Celestia. I don't even know how it works. It's not like everything I burn drops on her head. She just told me one day that whenever I had a letter for her I could burn it and she would get it. And then she had to personally stop by the library to ask Twilight to stop sending so many. Twilight thought it was so great she could talk to her teacher whenever she wanted that neither of us really questioned it."

Fluttershy tried to think of something to say as Rainbow Dash dropped her head to the table, staring at nothing, sheer disbelief in her eyes. Applejack reached over to pat her shoulder before speaking. "We may not even need Luna. What about the Elements of Harmony? The last order Princess Celestia gave us was to find them. I think we should honor that."

Rainbow shook her head. "They hid them already." The table was silent. "They already scouted out Ponyville. We have to talk to Luna somehow. She needs to be warned if they try attacking anywhere else. So...one of us has to get out of the city."

Fluttershy was stunned. "But...we can't...Rainbow, the force field."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth, but looked like she thought twice before speaking. "They got in, so we can get out. Right now let's figure out who to send." The table was silent again.

"Well," Applejack began, "Big Mac and me made deliveries to Canterlot before, so I guess I'll go. I know some shortcuts through the trails that can keep me out of sight until I get to Ponyville. But we don't know where Luna is, right? We don't know where the rest of Ponyville went either. We'll need to send more than one runner."

Rainbow nodded. "Good point. The three of you can split up when it's safe."

Fluttershy's heart froze in fear. "What?"

"I'll stay behind with Twilight and try to find the others."

"What?"

"You gonna storm the castle on your own, partner?"

"What?"

"C'mon Applejack! You know if any pony could do it, Rainbow could."

"Stop!"

Fluttershy pounded the table and stood up, leaning on her hind legs. All three were stunned. Rainbow looked across the table at her as if she had gone crazy. She didn't care. She remembered those purple eyes filled with tears and the feeling of Rainbow's body shaking with sobs as she sang her to sleep all too clearly. Rainbow Dash didn't know a thing about her promise, but Fluttershy did. "I'm not leaving you here alone, Rainbow."

A brief look of...something flashed on Rainbow's face. Was that panic? "Fluttershy, you have to go. Uh...they can't get to Cloudsdale! Luna might be there with the Wonderbolts."

Fluttershy shook her head at the obvious stretch. "Luna wouldn't just abandon every pony. And I doubt all the pegasi we know would leave too. If Applejack and Spike can find where every pony went, they can give a message to them. If Luna's in Cloudsdale those pegasi can talk to her."

Applejack cut off Rainbow's reply. "Give it up Dash. I don't like the idea of leaving you here alone either. You'll need some help. And she's tougher than she looks."

Fluttershy sat back down. The discussion ended soon after. They would search Canterlot for a way out of the force field after getting some sleep. The ponies cleaned up the kitchen and pulled out bags of flour to use for mattresses. Fluttershy could feel Rainbow's eyes on her as they worked. Spike turned out the light and stood watch in the front of the shop to let them rest.

Comments

[Agri_Yob]

In your short description, you label Chrysalis' song as a reprise. It should be called an aria.

[ColorRainboom]

I really like this story until now!
Anyway, wouldn't it make more sense if Dash would go to search for Luna instead of AJ? She can break the barrier with her Rainboom (at least according to what Twilight said), and when she flies, she is much faster than Applejack. Also, she can fly, in case Luna and the Wonderbolds really are in Cloudsdale.
Whatever, I'm sure you planned this through.So I'll just fav this and wait to see what happens next, I guess^^
Keep up the good work! And have yourself a mustache!