A Canterlot Rebellion

by Minds Eye

Chapter 8: Execution

Show time.

Two guards opened the door to Rainbow's cell. She briefly wondered if they were same two she knocked out during her escape. She could never tell these things apart. Rainbow Dash stood up and went quietly.

Rainbow Dash noticed changes in the armory. The loose section of wall was removed completely. Rubble protruded through the doorway it hid. She expected that, but it was still disappointing. Were there any other hidden passages in the castle? Rainbow kept her eyes peeled for any signs during her march.

The guards pushed her onto a balcony. She squinted her eyes to shield them from the setting sun. Queen Chrysalis was waiting for her with Twilight Sparkle. The queen turned to her with a smile. "Come, Rainbow Dash. Come see the turnout for your grand finale."

The guards forced her to the queen's side opposite Twilight. The walls and gates separating the castle from the city were on her left. She could see an elevated platform adorned with two posts, and a beam connecting the top of them. Rainbow Dash had a feeling that stage was meant for her. Ponies were gathering around the platform. Some of them were peering through the gate.

The front doors to the castle itself swung open on Rainbow's right. Two changelings exited, each one pulling a rein on the bridle of Princess Cadance. She staggered through the doors, struggling to keep pace with her handlers. The two changelings laughed as she finally tripped and fell to the ground. They kept pulling the reins, goading her to get up. Two ponies rushed out of the doors to help her.

Rainbow Dash instantly recognized Rarity and Pinkie Pie. She gasped as they were followed by a dozen more changelings. Her two friends managed to pick up Cadance, but were wrestled away from her immediately. Rainbow angrily turned on the queen. "What are trying to pull?! You said-"

Chrysalis snarled and stamped a hoof to cut her off. The force of the stomp shook the balcony and Rainbow was cowed. She had to wait for her moment. The queen still had all the power. "Your friends are here to remind Canterlot what they are up against. Their leaders, their heroes, their army are all mine. Their will to resist me ends tonight."

The scene on the balcony drew the attention of the crowd below. The guards waited for the queen's signal to resume the procession. Cadance was pulled away. Rarity met Rainbow's eyes and looked away in sorrow. Rainbow wondered if she knew what the changelings were planning. Pinkie Pie saw Rarity's reaction and began hopping up and down, pointing to her neck. She, like Rarity and Cadance, was wearing one of the anti-magic collars.

Rainbow started laughing. Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. The changelings just didn't get it. She heard Twilight's muffled voice joining her. Rarity looked back, noticed the collar, and smiled as well. Satisfied at her work, Pinkie Pie hopped on behind Princess Cadance. The soldiers kept a wary eye on her.

Next through the doors were dozens of the Royal Guard. Rainbow Dash couldn't tell exactly how many. They were divided in several sections congealed together with the changeling slime. Flanking and following them were the queen's own troops. "You're really going all out with this, huh?"

Chrysalis ignored her. Rainbow looked up as a shadow fell over the balcony to see Celestia's sky chariot descend next to them. She noted, with some satisfaction, that two changelings were pulling it instead of ponies. Chrysalis climbed on first, followed by Twilight. Something brushed Rainbow's flank. She watched in shock as Shining Armor walked past her to join them. She didn't even know he was there. He moved as quietly as a ghost; the one green eye she saw was smooth as glass. The queen had a deep hold on him.

Rainbow's guards pushed her onto the chariot as well. It pulled away from the balcony and began a long loop over the walls and around the plaza. Chrysalis was making an entrance. Rainbow Dash kept her eyes on the crowd. The changeling army split in two. One half formed a ring to keep the Canterlot ponies away from the platform, the others surrounded the prisoners.

Time was running out. She had to come up with a plan, but she couldn't give Twilight any signal with the queen so close. How long would the unicorn wait before breaking the chain around her wings? And where was Fluttershy? She wasn't on the rooftops, thankfully, but Rainbow couldn't pick out Hurricane's grey cloak in the crowd.

The chariot landed behind the prisoners. Rainbow Dash was lifted up with a green aura around her body. She felt all eyes on her. Chrysalis's voice bellowed out. "Canterlot! I give you Hurricane! This pony was found conspiring..." Rainbow Dash tuned her out. She decided to use this opportunity to take one last look for Fluttershy, and was surprised by what she found. There were nearly a dozen identical cloaks scattered in the crowd, pushing their way to the front.

Something flew by Rainbow's head. She had enough time to recognize her helmet before it disappeared into the crowd. "There is my proof! As Queen of Equestria I find her guilty. You will all witness her sentence carried out." At that, two changelings flew up to the overhanging beam. They worked for a moment and then let a rope fall from it. A rope that ended with a noose.

A horrified silence hung in the air. Chrysalis dropped Rainbow and ordered her to walk forward. Her soldiers cleared a path through the ponies that led to a flight of stairs up to the gallows. For a brief moment, the performer inside of Rainbow Dash appreciated the queen's theatrics. She particularly enjoyed the irony that waited for her at the end of that rope. Of course, she never intended to feel it.

Rainbow Dash was tracking a group of three cloaks heading for her at the edge of the crowd, so she didn't see the changeling stick out his leg. The silence erupted into chaos as she tripped. The crowd pushed against the changelings with angry shouts. The entire ring of soldiers gave up ground against the sudden onslaught. Rainbow found herself nearly trampled under them. One of the three cloaks crouched down to speak with her. As she hoped, Fluttershy's face smiled out from underneath it.

"I was waiting for you," Rainbow said.

"And Luna is waiting for you. Nocto can free you. You need to-"

"ENOUGH!" The queen's roar, combined with a deafening explosion of power, subdued the mob. Fluttershy was pushed away. The two guards on the platform swooped down to pick up a stunned Rainbow Dash. What did Fluttershy say?!

Rainbow Dash looked up. Storm clouds had gathered at the edge of the force field. Where there were storm clouds, there were pegasi. If there were pegasi, they were there for a reason. She quickly filled in the holes of Fluttershy's message. Luna was waiting. Fluttershy said Nocto could free her, so the other cloaks belonged to unicorn students. She needed to...bring down the force field.

A sonic rainboom. There wouldn't be time for anything else. But would it work? Twilight interrupted herself when she first suggested it. And what about Fluttershy and the unicorns? If she was pulling a rainboom, they would be left alone against the army. Rainbow's head started spinning. She was expecting a distraction to help her escape, but this...

Sweet Celestia, this was going to be close.

The guards pulled her up to the gallows and turned her to face Queen Chrysalis. Rainbow immediately looked to Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn had trusted her for this long, but Rainbow could see the impatience in her face. Rainbow Dash was gambling with her life in Twilight's eyes. She wouldn't wait much longer.

"Any last words?" Chrysalis was smiling in eager anticipation. Rainbow Dash thought of one more idea, one more way to swing the odds in their favor. She hoped Twilight would listen to her.

"Free Cadance."

"That's it?!" Chrysalis howled in laughter over the murmurs of the crowd. "No final farewell to your friends? No goading wisecrack? I'm disappointed." The queen shook her head with a smile. "No, I won't be freeing Princess Cadance. I like her right where she is."

Twilight Sparkle only nodded.

One of the guards grabbed her, holding her head still, while the other took the rope and pulled the noose wider. Rainbow Dash concentrated on her breathing, and focused her eyes on the rope, not wanting to tip off the changelings by looking around. The second guard finished, and began pulling the noose over her snout.

WHAM!

Hurricane charged from behind Rainbow Dash and laid him out. Both guard and rope went flying. Rainbow Dash seized the moment of confusion and spun away from the one holding her. She bucked her hind legs, catching him under the under the chin, and knocked him out cold. Gasps of shock emanated from the mob. Chrysalis only gave a mute glare.

Hurricane stood tall after delivering her shoulder charge, wings spread wide to shield Rainbow from view. Rainbow Dash felt the chain around her wings snap loose. At the same time, beams of light erupted out of the crowd from all directions. Every color of the rainbow streaked toward Celestia's sky chariot. Queen Chrysalis threw up a green wall at the last moment. Her troops rushed to shield her from further attack.

"Scatter!" Rainbow leapt to her right, Hurricane to her left. The gallows were peppered with shots behind them. She flapped her wings and flew higher, and higher, and higher. The queen's screams echoed below. Green bolts flew by her. Rainbow Dash ignored it all.

Time. She just needed more time.

---

"Bring her down! Bring her down!"

Twilight Sparkle recognized the mistake instantly. Half the changelings fired one way, half fired another. She threw herself down and took cover as another hidden volley was launched from the crowd.

The distracted soldiers made easy targets. But to Twilight's surprise, only a few of them were knocked from the air. The attacks were numerous, but the magic behind them was weak. Chrysalis turned back to the crowd, trying to peer through them and see who fired at her. This was not going to end well for the ponies.

"Take them down," Chrysalis seethed. "Leave none standing!"

The effect of her words was instantaneous. Canterlot was already furious at the treatment of Rainbow Dash. At the sound of her order, the streets roared in anger. Twilight watched in awe as the queen's moment of triumph turned to a full-scale riot before her eyes. Shouts, bolts of magic, and a rain of stones and debris filled the sky as the ponies rushed towards the prisoners.

Chrysalis stepped in front of her and began shouting orders. Twilight took the opportunity to climb the throne on the chariot. The ponies had no chance on their own. The changelings were an army fighting against the average citizens of Canterlot. Twilight surveyed the chaos, looking for her target.

There.

Cadance was swept up by two guards before the front row of ponies could reach her. One of them was able to launch a bolt, but her attack was shrugged off. It did, however, keep the guards still for a moment. That was all Twilight needed. Her purple lance of energy sheared off Cadance's collar, and a brilliant blue wave knocked her guards away a moment later.

"You..." Hate dripped from the single syllable. Twilight Sparkle turned and was paralyzed by the inferno raging in Chrysalis's eyes. A slap from her hoof sent Twilight crashing down to the street below. Dazed, Twilight Sparkle was unable to resist the grip of magic surrounding her throat.

---

Not for the first time in her life, Rainbow Dash cursed the very existence of gravity. All it did was slow her down. Anyway, her climb was finished. She turned to angle herself downwards. As she did so, her eyes spotted a head stick out of a storm cloud outside the barrier. She recognized Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts. From the look of her gaping mouth, Spitfire recognized her, too.

Rainbow Dash let herself fall. She forced herself not to look over to the castle gates. Anything she saw there would only distract her. The only things that mattered now were Canterlot's waterfalls, lying just outside the force field. If the sonic rainboom didn't trigger, she would just try to smash through the barrier herself. It was do or die.

Her adrenaline picked up as the sound of the wind changed.

The familiar cone of air formed ahead of her.

She pushed herself faster.

Faster.

FASTER!

The cone narrowed.

Electricity sparked around her.

The force field grew closer.

BOOM

The instant speed boost nearly crushed Rainbow against the force field. She managed to pull up with just inches to spare. But she instantly knew something was wrong. The air pressure around her didn’t feel right. A ring of rainbow light pulling ahead of her confirmed her fear. The shockwave bounced off the force field, and her maneuver cost her time to get away from it.

Rainbow Dash's body was rocked, and she blacked out.

---

Fluttershy huddled over the body of a screaming mare as chunks of rubble flew inches over her head. The mare's horn had been broken by a changeling and she collapsed in the middle of the street from the pain. A stallion joined Fluttershy's effort to pull the injured pony out of harm's way before he jumped back into the fray.

"Thank you," the mare moaned.

Fluttershy looked away in shame. She should never have taken off her armor. She was afraid it would make her a target, but now she realized it would have meant so much more. The ponies were giving ground. They needed something to bolster their courage.

She tried to find hers. She tried to reach Rarity and Pinkie Pie when the ponies attacked, but the changelings were just too strong for them. Even when they all saw Cadance escape her guards the mob was pushed away from her. Cries for help filled Fluttershy's ears now. Every time she looked more and more ponies fell under the changelings. It was all she could do to get as many of them to safety as possible.

They needed a hero, but she just wasn't it.

BOOM

The night sky filled with the light of a second sun. The explosion told Fluttershy all she needed to know. All fighting stopped in surprise. She took flight, soaring high to watch Rainbow Dash's return to the battle. But she didn't come.

Instead, an indistinct shape was launched through the air. It spun wildly, totally out of control, until it was close enough for Fluttershy to make out a pair of pegasus wings attached to it. Rainbow Dash. It could only be Rainbow Dash. Something went horribly wrong.

Fluttershy launched herself forward. All her focus rested on her falling friend. Every ounce of strength in her body pumped into her wings. She watched Rainbow fall, adjusting her approach along the way. She had to time this right.

Fluttershy twisted her body and caught Rainbow Dash a few feet from the ground. The force of Rainbow's impact drove her back first into the concrete. Fluttershy held tight as she bounced along the street. She immediately sat up when she stopped, cradling Rainbow Dash in her lap. She was quiet, and lifeless in Fluttershy's embrace.

No!

A terrifying crash of thunder echoed through Canterlot. No. No, this couldn't have happened. She clenched her eyes shut to stop the tears. Fluttershy frantically pressed a hoof against Rainbow's chest and lowered an ear to her snout, listening and feeling for what she couldn't see. A moment later Fluttershy buried her face in Rainbow's shoulder and cried. She was still alive.

And as Fluttershy looked back at the castle gates, she knew their part in this was over.

---

Twilight Sparkle gasped for air. The ever tightening grip on her throat made it impossible to concentrate her last shreds of power. Her vision dimmed. All she could make out was the wicked grin hovering over her. Suddenly, a blue veil spread around her. Twilight coughed as sweet air filled her lungs again.

Princess Cadance stepped over her to face Chrysalis. "Look around you! No good can come from this; we're going to destroy each other. You can end this now!"

"Yes, I can." Cadance raised a shield to block the queen's attack, but it was useless. Twilight watched as a wave of green swept up Cadance's body and slammed her down. Chrysalis laughed like a foal playing with a doll. "Pathetic. I must confess that I've wanted to do that for so long. It was sickening, really, posing as you." Her horn glowed as she prepared the coup de grace.

Twilight focused the energy she had built up. All she could manage was one simple flash of light, but she placed it for maximum impact. Chrysalis howled as her eyes were blinded by the spell. Twilight rushed to Cadance's side as the princess regained her feet.

BOOM

The explosion of the sonic rainboom was drowned out by the shrieks coming from her brother. Shining Armor fell down to the ground from the chariot, clutching his head. The two ponies raced to his side. Cadance held onto him as Twilight pried open his eyelid with a hoof. He moaned softly at her effort. His eye looked out at her, unfocused, but Twilight saw that it was blue again.

A flash, and then the roar of thunder deafened her for a moment. Cadance threw herself over Shining Armor. Looking back at the battle, Twilight saw the changelings scatter. Several more bolts of lightning traced their path from the sky to a changeling below. She turned and pushed her brother away. "Now! Get him out of here now!" Cadance pulled him away with her magic.

And then the heavens opened. One silver ray of the moon illuminated the scene like a spotlight. A lone figure flew down in the light, enveloped in a glow of midnight blue. Princess Luna picked up speed on her way down to Canterlot. Twilight watched her descent in horror. She saw Nightmare Moon destroy rocks with a stomp. Luna herself cracked the ground in Ponyville with a single hoof. If she hit the ground like this..."Every pony, GET DOWN!"

Ponies and changelings all looked to her and back to Luna in confusion before diving for cover. Luna smashed down the gallows. To Twilight's surprise, there was no earthquake that followed. Instead, the wooden debris was launched through the air as a sphere of energy collapsed around Princess Luna.

The shockwave. Luna somehow channeled all the energy of her impact to her horn. Luna's eyes were pure white, but they were set on the only thing standing in front of her: Chrysalis. Luna released her power in a beam that threw back the Queen of the Changelings with such force she tore the castle gates from their hinges when she struck them.

Three changelings tackled Luna from behind. Then-1! 2! 3!-they were pulled off by streaks of blue and gold. The three Wonderbolts spun and threw their new cargo together in midair. The changelings fell down, knocked out. Luna turned her attention to the renewed battle behind her. The changelings fled in all directions as more pegasi swooped down from the storm clouds.

Luna made a mistake. Twilight knew the soldiers didn't matter. She sprinted toward the gap in the wall where the gates used to stand, shouting for any pony to follow her. They had to capture Chrysalis. She was more vulnerable now than she would ever be. Twilight rounded the corner to the castle grounds and saw Chrysalis pulling herself up.

Her attempt at a spell failed, so Twilight sprang forward. She crashed into the queen, still calling for help. Chrysalis thrashed and twisted and easily rolled over, pinning Twilight under her. Twilight squirmed in her grip as Chrysalis looked out on the state of the battle. "How did you do this? HOW DID YOU DO THIS?!"

Twilight didn't answer her. She just smiled. Chrysalis took flight, dragging her back to castle. A powerful jolt threw them violently from the air. Princess Luna noticed her escape, but it was too late. The queen pulled Twilight back into the castle as her troops slammed the doors shut. She shouted orders before throwing Twilight over to some of her guards. "Oh, this isn't over yet. You ponies won this round, but I still have you. That's the only advantage I need."

---

"BE STILL!!!"

Rainbow Dash woke with a shout at the sound of the booming voice. Fluttershy jumped in surprise. Rainbow saw her eyes were red with tears. She landed on top of her before Rainbow Dash could say anything and wrapped her in a tight hug. Rainbow gasped and tried to pry Fluttershy off. She hurt.

"Hark, enemies of Equestria! Thy queen has fled! Surrender and you shall know mercy."

The last echoes of Luna's voice died down, and were replaced by the cheers of victory. The queen...fled? The changelings...surrendered? Rainbow watched changeling soldiers kneel before Luna in the city square from her back. One thought finally cleared in her mind.

"We won!" She sprang to her feet to run, but her body betrayed her. Rainbow lurched forward with a cry as her muscles cramped.

"R-Rainbow Dash! What's wrong?!"

Aches and pains crisscrossed her entire body. She grinned and willed herself onward. "I feel like I just got shot out of a cannon. But we won! Fluttershy, we won!" She stumbled again and fell to a knee.

"O-Okay! Okay! Just...lean on me. Let me help you." Rainbow Dash accepted her offer. The two made their way to the square. They didn't go far before a familiar earth pony sprinted up to them. Applejack smiled as she approached.

Rainbow Dash stared in disbelief. "How did you get here?"

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "Well howdy to you, too. A few of those pegasus fellers were kind enough to give me ride. Princess Luna's looking for you two. She wants to talk to all of us lickety split."

Applejack led them to the ruined gallows. Princess Luna was waiting there with Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash braced herself as Pinkie sharply inhaled. "Ohmigosh, Rainbow Dash, that was so cool! Chrysalis was all like, 'bwa ha ha ha!' And then Fluttershy was like 'boom.' And Twilight was like 'boom!' And you were like 'BOOM!' And Luna was like 'BaBOOOOOM!!!' Best rescue planning ever! Oh, and you should have seen Rarity's face when you told Chrysalis to free Cadance instead of us! She was like-"

"Whatever you are about to say, I most certainly was not." Rarity walked past Pinkie with her nose in the air, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance following her. She sat down and looked at Rainbow with a small smile. "You did give me quite the fright, however. That rope was almost...cutting it a little close, weren't we?"

Rainbow chuckled once, and then clutched her side. "We improvised. It all worked out in the end."

Luna shook her head. "No, I'm afraid it didn't. That is why I needed to speak with you all. Queen Chrysalis escaped. She took Twilight Sparkle back into the castle. We must devise a plan of action." Fluttershy gasped. Rainbow looked to her for a moment before giving Luna the only possible answer.

"Surround the castle," Shining Armor said. "The pegasi can control the sky with their storm clouds. Don't let anything get out. We attack at daybreak."

Rainbow Dash couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Chrysalis is running scared! You want to wait?!"

"This wasn't their whole army. Not by a long shot. If we attack now we'll be crushed."

"We have an army now, too! Every pony here just stood up to the changelings and-"

"And they're finished. Look at them." Rainbow looked. One glance was enough to tell her that the injured outnumbered the able. The changeling prisoners she saw were just a fraction of the number that she remembered earlier. Even the unconscious ones were dwarfed by the amount of ponies being cared for on the street. Rainbow even saw pegasi grounded with burned wings. "It was a good bluff on Luna's part," Shining Armor continued, "but a bluff is all it was. If they didn't panic, if they were able to hold out for reinforcements from the castle, we would have lost."

"We managed to rescue the Royal Guard," Cadance added. "But that...stuff they use to trap us is impervious to magic. We have to break it by hoof. And they need time for food and rest. I know for a fact they haven't had much of either."

Luna had her eyes closed in thought. "The captain is not the only one of us with a sister trapped inside. And I agree with his assessment." With that, she took wing and hovered over the crowd. "Hear me, citizens of Canterlot. Your bravery has led us all to this moment. Your courage and sacrifice have earned us this one chance right the wrongs inflicted on us. This chance will not be wasted! Battle will begin anew, and you must flee the city for your own safety should it turn ill. The citizens of Ponyville wait for you with food and shelter."

Shining Armor gave orders to surround the castle and turned back to the group. "We'll meet again in two hours to discuss strategy. In the meantime, we all need to pitch in with the preparations."

Applejack went with Shining Armor to help free the Royal Guard. Rarity and Pinkie Pie left to gather food. Luna left to oversee the evacuation, while Cadance went to help treat the injured. Rainbow nudged Fluttershy as Cadance was leaving, prodding her to follow.

"Are you sure? What about you?"

"I'll be fine. Besides, you have a knack for helping out. Some pony out there probably needs it more than I do." Rainbow Dash turned to the castle as Fluttershy left. A ring of black haze obscured it from view. So close. They were so close! Twilight was there! Celestia was there! She growled in frustration and limped away. Her hoof struck something on her way. She looked down in surprise at her helmet. Hurricane's helmet.

Rainbow Dash's kick sent it clattering down the street.