A General Amnesty
“What’ll it be?” Applejack asked as Rainbow Dash half-rose to watch the carriage go by.
There he was. Uncle. Malachite the Younger, unmistakable and in full form. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza beside him, looking right at Dash.
She was smiliing, Cadenza. Smiling obliviously.
“What’ll it be?” Applejack hissed. “I’m with you, do or die. But you need to choose if we’re gonna make it out of here alive.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“He’s not alone.”
Applejack moved closer so she could whisper furiously in Rainbow Dash’s ear. “Was he ever? He was always surrounded. Rainbow, look,” and she grabbed Dash’s face and pulled it towards her. Something had shifted. Dash did not fight back but stared confused into her wife’s eyes.
“It was never just you and him, just like it weren’t never just you an’ me. There are so many ponies in this world, and other things besides us, and it’s never, ever just a one on one. You get me? You throw that thing, and in a moment you’ll get two or three but tomorrow and tomorrow you’re lookin’ at a whole harvest of dead folks.I’ve been tryin’ to tell you, but you can’t let it go that they hurt you and I get it. I get it. I’m tryin’ to get it. You never had to do this. Ever.
“He’s wrong and he’s bad an’ I don’t like him any more than you do, but you know what’ll happen. You know she’ll die too, and then others, and then you and me. And if you pull away and you throw that thing I’ll still come with you. But Dash, hon, I’m gonna know that you chose bein’ a fuck up over coming back home to me. I’m never gonna forget it. I swear to you that I’ll never forget it. Please don’t do this. Please just sit down.”
Dash whined. “I can’t. It’s too late. If I don’t I’ll never stop thinking about it. I’ll never stop.”
“Yes you will.” Applejack shook. “I’ll fill that space with whatever or I can or I’ll die tryin’. Sit down. Please, please sit down.”
“He’s so close,” Rainbow said, her eyes wide and wild, her breathing hot and uneven. “He’s close enough I could just hover out and touch him. I’ll never get another chance.”
Applejack looked quickly over her shoulder. No one had noticed them. Cadance had looked away already. The carriage stopped briefly for Cadance and Malachite to wave to a few ponies. Some mare was asking Cadance to bless her foal.
This was it. This was the chance.
“I have to.” Rainbow started to pull away.
Applejack resisted for a heartbeat, and then she stopped. She let go.
Rainbow Dash, who had always wanted to be a Wonderbolt, who had always been the fastest of everyone she knew, felt as if her every step was a slog through a bog. Her hooves dragged. Time slowed and limped along to its promised end.
She cleared the tables. She cleared the awning. Applejack was behind her, ready to provide support.
She was out in the sun, the bright sun that struck her eyes…
And she faltered.
Cadance was smiling. She was smiling and waving. Rainbow could not imagine the explosion that was to come touching a hair on her head. She couldn’t see Malachite at all, now, as Cadance leaned forward to look at somepony in the crowd.
She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t finish the job.
She sank back down onto her haunches, just watching Cadance and her greatest foe go by with slackjawed dismay. She’d failed in the end. All of her sadness and anger, every scar and worried night, all of it meant nothing. She had nothing at all.
Until Applejack rested her chin on the top of Rainbow Dash’s head, and without even thinking about the pegasus reached out and clung to her legs.
“I hate it,” she said. “I want to go home. I don’t wanna see this stupid city ever again.”
“I know.”
“I just…”
“I know.” Applejack kissed the top of her head.
“You knew. That I wouldn’t, I mean.”
“Nah, I figured you’d start it off earlier.”
Rainbow tried to laugh but coughed instead, and then as Cadance pulled onto another street she choked back a furious little sob.
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I recently re-learned about dialectical materialism, so I'm really proud that I understood this
This made me think of Dallas and Sarajevo and the Sondheim musical "Assassins". All are about times when the world turns on the actions of one sad person.
I didn't know how it would end, until the end, but I am glad you ended it how you did.
...You know, when I first saw this story I thought it'd be longer.
She's living in a world, and it's on fire
I like this ending. You held it on the knife's edge for such a long time.
8403828
I have it on as reliable an authority as the author's words may be considered that it should definitely make you think of Sarajevo.
...Is there a reason why this isn't marked as Alternate Universe?
Good story. Short, sweet, punchy.
"with whatever or I can or I’ll"
"whatever I can"?
"thinking about the pegasus reached"
"thinking about it the pegasus reached"?
I came here because of Scarlet's blog, because the phrase "Rainbow Dash as Gavrillo Princeps" caught my interest. I came in expecting a ponified version of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, with some interesting worldbuilding to explain how Equestria ended up becoming pre-WWI Europe.
Instead, I found a heartwrenching and heartwarming story about the cost of war, the desire for vengeance and the need to perpetuate the cycle of violence, and ultimately the power of love (picking Cadance as the new leader was a brilliant stroke of symbolism in that regard). If only Princeps had had an Applejack, or Ferdinand had had a Cadance; who knows how history might have gone?
But that doesn't really matter, because at the end of the day this is a story about the power of love, and how it triumphs over hate, and it was wonderful. Thank you for sharing this story with us and I really hope you do well in the contest.
I'm out of good words today, but I feel I need to speak up anyway, and say that this is lovely and bittersweet. Thank you.
You had me on the edge of my seat for several chapters in a row there. I wasn't sure how you'd choose to end it until I got to the very end. Fantastic, thank you.
Whew. The lack of a Tragedy tag made me hope for the best. For something relatively short, it packed in the feels.
This chapter starts out as a test of loyalty for rainbow dash, just how discord tempted her to abandon her friends to save clouds Dale. Applejack even tries that with her. But what finally causes her to stop at the end, is love, not hate
While the set-up was still doing its thing, I thought: Well, I'm sure everything will be explained later, but boy, is this dark...
While the story was running, I thought: Well, this is... maybe one of those depressing, alternate timelines when Starlight manipulated RD's past?
Now, at the finish line, I think: This' gotta be tagged 'alternate universe'.
And a depressing one, at that. Thousands dead. Two kingdoms broken down. Twilight 'lost'. The princesses' vanished. We don't know about the fate of quite a lot of others, but with a war raging like the one described within, there's a good chance a lot of them are dead, too.
'Drama' all you like, but jeez, this is dark. It should be tagged as such. (In addition to 'alternate universe'.)
The story was well-crafted, AJ's and RD's portrayal was fine, it's just... the overall tone was gut-wrenching. And to be honest - I wouldn't have read it if I had known what I would get myself into. Please reconsider your tags for this piece.
9039449
Huh. I thought it did have AU.
As for tragedy... the story is decidedly not a tragedy. Two kingdoms broken and then held together by reformers, with hope for a better future everywhere except in Rainbow’s eyes. Rainbow’s distortions are her own alone. Everyone else sees the truth, which is that the world isn’t getting substantially better.
9039635
Oh, I wasn't talking about 'tragedy' - I was talking about 'dark'. I think there's a huge difference between the two. Because with how this world was described, with the examples I gave, it sure as heck is 'dark'. 'Tragedy', on the other hand, would imply a, well, tragic path and/or ending. This story ended on a high note. RD would disagree with that, I know, but it was an overall positive ending. Doesn't change the chilling, gut-wrenching overall tone of the story, though.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound preachy, harsh or whatever. Your writing is top-notch. And I'm sure that within your vast library, there's plenty for me to read and enjoy. But I do tend to get cautious and remember names when someone tags his stories in a way that I feel... blindsided?
I love the way you wrote this story, well done.
9960904
Hm. Yes, that does seem to make sense; thanks!
I adored this. Slightly rambly (by one-para standards) review over here, but it was all just so satisfying. There are a lot of "after the war" fics that don't quite hit the mark. This one did, and how. I loved how you used Maud Pie, too. My favourite fic on this general subject that I've read for a long time.
This was a pretty nice look at the Sombra War timeline and how things turned out in the end. It was neat to see how you drew from history, including the obvious WWI parallel with Rainbow's plot. Rainbow and Applejack's scenes together were great, and it was nice to see Applejack eventually talk her down. The cut away to Malachite, Raven, and Cadance was effective at building up dread, since the reader was in Rainbow's head before and now we know for a fact that her assassination attempt will make things worse. This was a great tense story.