Apart From The Pegasi

by KillerChainsaw

The Pain Of Betrayal

Rainbow gritting her teeth together tightly as she bit her bottom lip a little, wondering just how she was going to be able to make this choice knowing that she would never ever want to leave Twilight, but that would mean she could never return to her homeever again, and while it was true that Cloudsdale no longer felt like it was her actual home anymore, she would be lying if she said that she didn't want to feel like it was her home again, after all she had been missing it ever since she had to leave in order for her and Twilight to be safe together.

"Come on Rainbow Dash it's a very simple choice, just pick one,"

Lightning Dust smiled as she and all the other pegasi were just waiting to hear what Dash's answer would be, all of them giving the cyan mare slight smirks causing, and Dash to feel uneasy as she guessed there was something lying in wait behind those sly smirks that would soon reveal itself once she had made her decision.

"Why...why do I have to make this choice? Can't I just pick both?" Dash asked as she looked to Lightning again, giving her a glare and raising an eyebrow to her trying to not show her just how uneasy and conflicted she felt at this moment, while the turquoise mare just widened her smirk slightly, clearly seeing that nervous expression that the cyan mare was trying to hide from her right now.

"Because we need to know if you are on our side or not," Lighting stated, causing Dash to just look to her confused for a moment.

"If I am on your side? What do you mean?" Dash questioned, causing Lightning to just chuckle in reply, which made Dash glare to her again.

"Did you really think we would stop once we were found out?" Lightning raised her eyebrow now, taking a step closer to Dash, "You see Dash simply trashing the library and Pinkie Pie's bakery was merely just the start of what we have planned for that vile town that live below us, we'll make them all feel just as targerted as we did when we were down there with them," the turquoise mare explained as she raised her voice a little and caused all the others to cheer in response, showing that they all most certainly were willing to go along with this plan as well.

Dash wideing her eyes a little as she now seemed completely lost by what Lightning had just said, 'Targeted? Just what is Lightning talking about?' she wondered as she clearly had no idea what Lightning seemed to be going on about right now, "What are you talking about? The ponies in Ponyville were always very humble and welcoming to us when we first came to live above them, we were the ones that just couldn't accept them," she stated as she remembered the ponies of Ponyville always being so kind to them all, only guessing that some of the pegasi from Couldsdale didn't like them because they didn't want to get along with them and liked to cause trouble simply for the fun of it all.

Lightning now being the one to widen her eyes a little, before she just smiled and simply shook her head, "Dash if you honestly think that we were the only ones at fault for this feud then you don't know just how wrong you are. And although it may be true that some of the poines from Ponyville aren't all that bad, not all of them are like that," she stated, causing Dash to just tlit her head to the side, while she was obviously still very much confused about what exactly Lightning was talking about at the moment.

"Anyway enough about that, just how long are you going to keep us waiting Dash, don't you need to return to your precious Princess? Unless you want to stay up here, I mean it is where you really belong," Lightning changed the subject, not seeming to like staying on the topic of Ponyville for long, while causing Dash to become uneasy again, seeing that she couldn't stall for much longer, as it seemed like Lightning and the others were getting impatient to hear her answer, the cyan mare just glaring again as she felt her anger building up inside of her.

"You don't know me or where I truly belong, so don't go acting like you do," she stated raising her voice a little, and just causing Lightning to simply smirk at her again in reply.

"Then tell me, where do you believe you belong? At your home with all of us, or in Ponyville with the Princess?" Lightning asked, as she had a feeling she knew how Dash was going to answer her.

"Where do I believe I belong?" Dash repeated as she hung her head and seemed to be thinking for a moment, thinking of her marefriend and all that they had been through together, then trying to remember what her life used to be like when she was living in Cloudsdale still, that time seeming so far away from now.

Sighing slightly as she just shook her head, "If you asked me where I feel the most safest, and where I feel the happiest, then that's easy. I'd pick Twilight of course, she's the one I belong with," the cyan mare now answered looking more confident as she showed just how sure she was of what she was saying right now.

Dash's reply just causing Lightning to widen her grin again, "So that's your answer then, you're picking that Princess over your home?" she asked, causing Dash to just think for a moment more, before nodding her head in response.

"I guess I am, after all if Cloudsdale is just filled with pegasi like you, then I know I'd much rather feel more at home while I was with Twilight then here," she decided, knowing that she would miss her home, but this city didn't really feel like it was her home anymore, plus she knew that if both happened to be taken away from her, she would definitely miss being with Twilight so much more then the possibility of living in her own hometown once again, after all she couldn't imagine just what her life would be like without the lavender Princess being right there beside her.

'I thought so,' Lightning's smirk just widened again as she walked closer to Dash and shrugged her shoulders in reply, "Very well if you truly want to live down there with the Princess then you do realise that you can't come back at all correct?" she asked, causing Dash to just nod back to her, knowing that by deciding this she would no longer be able to return to her cloud home ever again, but truthfully if she had choosen to stay in Cloudsdale then losing Twilight would have felt like a much bigger loss to her, and one that she couldn't bear to live without.

"I know that there's going back now, and this is the decision that I have made,"

The cyan pegasus replied looking to Lightning with a determined expression as she knew just what she was going to do once she was thrown out of Cloudsdale, guessing that that's most likely what Lightning and the others would do, but being sure that she would find justice for herself, Twilight and Pinkie Pie, knowing that she had to stop Lightning and the other pegasi before they got any further with their plans.

"Good," Lightning simply nodded back with another one of her cheerful, beaming smiles, causing Dash to just glare back to her, as the turquoise pegasus soon smirked once again, "Hold her down!" she intructed as she signalled for the other pegasi surrounding Dash to now act, as Dash widening her eyes, unfortunately not having any time to react as she was pounced on by the other pegasi and held to the cloud floor that they were currently all standing on.

"Hey, what are you- Dash exclaimed as she felt herself being push down on to the cloud floor, her wings and legs being held down by the other pegasi surrounding her, gritting her teeth as she tried to struggle and get free, but there being too many holding her down as she just paused, bearing her teeth when she heard Lightning's voice again.

"Do you see now why I couldn't go after you Dash? I could see how much you really love Twilight, so I knew that there would be no way you would choose to believe me over her, that's exactly why I went after Twilight instead, thinking that maybe since you wouldn't ever leave her, maybe I could get her to leave you instead, or maybe get her to make you leave her, but it seems like she loves you just as much as you love her. You two really are perfect for each other I must say," Lightning explained as she now leaned down to Dash and smiled to her, lowering her voice a little as it seemed like there was now a certain look in her golden eyes, a look that Dash could now finally see the intention of.

'This is what she wanted, she wanted me to choose to stay with Twilight, but then I guess if I had choosen to stay here in Cloudsdale it would have worked in Lightning's favour anyway, after all it seems like there was no good choice that I could've made here really,' Dash thought as she widened her eyes a little and could see just what the other pegasi had been waiting for, and now she had let herself fall into Lightning Dust's trap yet again.

"You're gonna pay for all that you have done Lightning, If you think I'm just going to sit back and watch as you carry out this 'plan' of yours, then you can think again," the cyan mare stated as she looked to Lightning with pure hatred in her magenta eyes, burning with fury, however the turquoise pegasus just smirking still as she nodded to the other pegasi who were all holding down Dash and preventing her from getting back up.

"Well that's exactly why we're going to stop you from doing anything now that you know the truth, after all since you're going to be staying in Ponyville then..." Lightning pausing as she walked closer to Dash and rested both of her font hooves on the cyan mare's wings, the other peagsi holding them strenched out for her, while she soon stomped down on just where Dash's wings were connected to her back and trod on them over and over again, causing Dash to scream out in pain as her wings began to throb.

"...you won't need these wings anymore right?" Lightning questioned as she simply chukled and continued to stomp on the base of Dash's wings causing intense pain to rocket through her veins, feeling herself shaking as she could soon feel the other pegai joining in and all having a go at trampling on her wings and beating her legs so that she would no longer be able to stand on them.

"STOP! S-S-STOP! PLEASE!"

Dash cried out from the immense pain that was rushing through her body, begging Lightning and the others to stop, but her pleas all seeming to be in vain as they were all just ignored her as she was beaten over and over again, soon feeling tears welling up in her eyes, as she thought of crying out louder for help.

"Oh Dash, we really can't have you being that loud now can we?" Lightning stopped for a moment, causing the others to all pause as well, as Dash tried to get back her breath, feeling all four of her legs throbbing with pain, and her wings were even worse, unsure if she could even move them at all at the moment. Bitting her bottom lip from the pain as she sighed heavily and glared to Lightning, while the turquoise mare just continued to smirk back at her.

"Y-You'll pay...for this,"

She whispered out, struggling to stand, as she wanted to fight back, but before she could do anything more, the other pegasi we holding her down yet again, looking to Lightning's annoying smirk as the last thing she saw was the front hooves of the turquoise pegasus lifting high in the air, and coming down to land on her head, knocking her out cold, while the other pegasi carried on beating her and stomping on her wings as the cyan mare's vision soon went blurry and she quickly lost her fading consciousness.

....

Hours seeming to have passed as Rainbow Dash stirred awake, the feeling of cold air brushing past her and blowing through her mane and waking her up as she blinked a couple of times, and slowly lifted her head, seeing that she was now laying on cold grass, her body feeling sore all over while she looked around at the darkness and guessing it was now late evening.

'It's so dark, where...where am I?' she questioned looking all around, before wincing in pain, looking to her throbbing wings and trying to move them, but being unable to as she couldn't even strench them out properly as they hurt so much so that she thought they might actually just be broken, although she hoped that wasn't true.

'I...need to get up,' Dash sighed as she took her mind off her badly bruised wings for a moment, feeling beaten all over while she struggled to her hooves, almost falling back down as she tried to keep her balance, her mind feeling fuzzy and it seeming like she could soon lose consciousness yet again, as she now stood up and swayed a little, looking around at her surroundings again and widening her eyes slightly.

'Lightning and the others must have left me here after they were done beating me to a pulp,' she thought as she recognised where she was as being the out-skirts of Ponyville, slowly stumbling as it hurt to move her legs, her hooves feeling so sore right now, but pushing herself to move forward as she gritted her teeth and struggled to stay standing up-right.

'Just how long was I out for? it was still daylight when I was knocked out by Lightning right?' the cyan mare wondered as she slowly started to walk towards the little town of Ponyville, trying her best to not fall over as she continued to stagger, her legs shaking while pain was still rushing through her veins, breathing heavily as she just knew she had to keep going, she had to get back to Twilight.

'At least Lightning and the others were nice enough to leave me just outside of Ponyville,' she thought to herself as she was soon able to walk into Ponyville, her legs still shaking and trembling as she looked around the small town with a determined expression, feeling like she could collapse at any moment, and having to lean up against a tree, while she tried to catch her breath, and held her head. Her vision starting to go blurry again, then shaking her head as she knew she couldn't lose consciousness again, not now.

'Come on Rainbow Dash, keep going...I need to get to her...I need to get to Twilight...' she thought nodding to herself, pushing off from the tree, but still feeling so dizzy as her legs felt like they could give way, knowing that it most likely wasn't good for her to be pushing her wounded body like this, but she also knew that she just couldn't stop here when there were much more pressing matters on her mind that she had to tend to.

Being a little unsure of just how long she could keep going for, as she looked to the direction that the library was in, knowing that she still had quite a distance to go yet, and her legs were just begging her to stop and take a rest, as they ached and throbed with every small step forward, the pain in her wings starting to become unbareable as she sighed and looked back to them again, seeing that they could really do with a preening, but more than that it was obvious that they needed to treated as they hung down from her back dragging along the grass while intense pain was still rushing through them.

'I hurt all over...and my wings...could Lightning really have broken them?' Dash questioned as she decided to give herself a small break, sitting down on the grass and shivering from the cold, 'Just how am I going to get back to Twilight like this?' she wondered as it even pained her just to stay sitting still, so she really didn't see herself being able to walk the rest of the way to the library, and flying was way out of the question with the terrible state that her wings were in at the moment.

However she refused to give up just yet, as she knew she had to make it back to Twilight, she couldn't let Lightning get away with all that she had done, and she felt like she would have no one to blame but herself if she wasn't able to put a stop to things before Lightning's plans progressed anymore than they already had.

Slowly standing up and wobbling a little, before moving one hoof in front of the other, constandly pushing herself to just keep walking, while her legs continued to ache and throb, the splitting pain her wings letting itself being know to her, and it just never seeming to subside at all, in fact as she kept walking she was sure that the pain in her wings was getting even worse, plus her head was also starting to hurt now, causing her to stumble again while trying to keep herself from falling over. Then suddenly she heard a familiar voice as she lifted her head up a little and sighed with slight relief, recognizing Applejack now coming over to her, while she called out her name in a worried voice.

"Rainbow Dash!"

The farm pony came running over as she could see just how beat up the pegasus was right now, and wondered just how she had gotten like this, looking Dash over as she saw her body covered in injures, her legs all badly briused and looking sore, while her wings surly looking like they had gotten the most beating, seeming like they were slightly out of place, and it was obvious that Dash couldn't move them at all.

"What happened to you?"

Applejack asked as she looked concerned to the pegasus, definitely seeing that she needed help right now, however unsure of just what to do, as she could see Dash swaying slightly, causing her to worry that she would soon collapse if she didn't do something.

"I...I need to get to...get to Twi-Twilight...have to...warn her..." Dash struggled to speak as she breathed heavily, feeling so tired and weak at the moment, she wasn't sure just how long she would be able to last before she would end up falling unconscious again.

"Wow there,"

Applejack caught Dash as she fell forward, letting the pegasus lean on her and rest her head on her shoulder, seeing that she clearly wanted to get to the library right now, and so just sighing a little as she wrapped one hoof around Dash's shoulders and held her up, helping her to walk as she encouraged her to put most of her weight on her.

"Come on Dash, I'll take you to Twilight,"

The farm pony stated as she gave Dash an understanding expression, while the pegasus just nodded her head slowly, knowing she wouldn't be able to make her way back to the library by herself while she was in this state, letting her body lean against Applejack, as she helped her to slowly make it the rest of the way to the Golden Oak library, Dash only hoping that she hadn't been keeping Twilight waiting too long, as she could easily guess how worried she would be for her right now.

....

Meanwhile back at the library Twilight was still out on the balcony, waiting for Dash to return to her as she was told to do, staring up at the star-speckled above her, wishing that her marefriend would come flying to her soon enough. Unsure of exactly how much time had passed since the pegasus had left, but certain that she had been sitting in this same spot for what seemed like an awfully long time now, her rear end starting to feel numb for staying in the same position for so long, but not wanting to move at all just in case Dash was on her way back at the moment and she might only have a little bit longer to keep waiting for her.

"Twilight?"

The Princess jumped as she heard a voice, only to realise that it was Spike's and quickly just turned her head and looked to the young dragon, while he came walking out onto the balcony, coming to stand beside Twilight as he looked back to her with a worried expression.

"You're still out here? Rainbow Dash hasn't come back yet?" he asked the Princess having told him that Dash had left for Cloudsdale to talk to Lightning a little earlier as Twilight just shook her head in reply, causing Spike to wonder if maybe he should get the Princess out of the cold and try and take her mind off of how things might just be going with Dash up in Cloudsdale right now, but his train of thought was soon interrupted by Twilight's voice.

"I should have gone with her, she's been gone for too long now, what if something happened to her?" Twilight questioned her voice having a worrying tone to it, seeming like she was starting to panic, as she wondered just where Rainbow Dash was, and why she wasn't back yet. Spike seeing just how worried for her marefriend Twilight was at the moment, and trying to think of something to say that would hopefully reassure the Princess that it would all be fine, when in truth there was no way for him to know if that was true or not.

"Don't worry Twilight, I'm sure she'll be back soon,"

The young dragon said with a nervous smile on his face, hoping that there was some way that she could help Twilight stay positive, but to be honest Spike himself was beginning to get a little worried as well, after all Rainbow Dash had been gone for a good few hours, plus it was now had been a while since the sun went down and was replaced with the moon and stars, thinking that the cyan mare would have made it back before it got dark.

Twilight not seeming convinced at all as she just sighed and looked to the dark night sky again, her mind rushing with thoughts of just what could have happened in order to have stopped Dash from coming back, and kind of hoping that all of them were wrong as she only wanted Dash to be here beside her right now, instead of having to be on the balcony waiting for her marefriend while she had no idea just what the pegasus could be doing at this moment.

Spike wrecking his brain as he tried to think of something more to say, but seeming to be drawing a blank, as nothing he thought of would be able to distract Twilight for long, and would most likely have no effect on just how much she was worrying at the moment.

However a rather loud knocking at the front door causing Spike to be dragged out of his thoughts, and Twilight to widen her eyes a little, as they both looked to each other for a moment, before hearing more knocks and quickly leaving the balcony to go and see who was at the door when it was getting this late.

The two walking down the staircase together as they came to answer the door, Twilight opening the door with her magic, and instantly being greetted by Applejack who walked into the library, pulling a badly wounded Rainbow Dash out of the cold and quickly lying her down on to the library floor.

"Applejack, what happened to Rainbow Dash?"

Spike asked as both he and Twilight were clearly very surprised to see the cyan pegasus in this beaten and panting state. The Princess quickly rushing to her marefriend's side as she looked to her with a worried expression, while Dash tried to slow her breathing down, glad to be back with Twilight as she coughed and sighed with relief once she had returned to her beloved marefriend.

"I don't know, I saw her staggering around Ponyville like this when I was packing up my apple stall and getting ready to go home, but she wouldn't tell me what had happened, only that she needed to see Twilight and warn her about something, so I thought I bring her here," Applejack expalined as she quickly went to go and find some cushions for Dash to rest her wounded legs on, coming back a few moments later and proping the pegasus's legs on the soft cushions while Dash winced in pain from having her throbbing limbs moved.

Twilight coming to sit down beside her marefriend as she now looked to her with a concerned expression, "Dash what happened?" she asked the question that all three of them wanted to find the answer to, as Dash just took a deep breath and looked back to Twilight with a serious expression now.

"Lightning lied to us all, she played us for complete fools, and now she plans to come after Ponyville," Dash explained causing the other three to all widen their eyes in surprise, Applejack seeming like she was a little lost for words, while Spike was kind of the same, and Twilight just soon recovered and gritted her teeth in response.

"What do you mean, what is she planning to do?" Spike asked after a few moments, while Twilight and Applejack continued to stay quiet, as Dash just shrugged her shoulders in reply.

"Whatever it is, it can't be anything good I imagine," the pegasus replied causing Spike and Applejack to just look back to her with confused expressions, Twilight catching their attention as she couched down beside Dash and gave her another concerned look.

"Dash..." she spoke up as she paused now, seeming to realize something, having a look of horror in her eyes as she looked over Dash's wounded body, and reached out her hoof to rest on one of the pegasus's badly beaten wings, causing Dash to whince slightly in response, "Did Lightning Dust do this to you?" she asked in a lower voice, while Dash just turned her head away from her for a moment and bit her bottom lip.

"Never mind that, we need to go and tell Princess Celestia about Lightning, we can't let her get away with this," Dash stated, not wanting Twilight and the others to focus on her right now, when there were much more pressing matters that she believed needed to be intented to first.

"What do you mean Dash? Let her get away with what?"

Applejack now asked, seeming to have recovered a little, as it was clear that her and Spike were still quite confused as to just what Dash was telling them right now, while Twilight seemed much more concerned with the state that her marefriend was in at the moment.

"She was the one that trashed both the library and Pinike Pie's house,"

Dash said, anger burning in her eyes as she caused all three of the others to widen their eyes and look back to her with surprised expressions again, clearly all of them wanting more of an explanation from the cyan pegasus as she was now able to get her breathing back to normal, and so began to tell the others all about what had happened while she was up in Cloudsdale with Lightning Dust. While they all listened intently to her, as they all wanted to know just how things had ended up with Dash coming back all beaten and briused, and telling them all that Lightning had been lying to all of them all this time.

Author's Note:

Poor Dashie.

Thank you ever so much for reading.

KillerChainsaw ;)