Non-Compete Clause: Cruel Aftermath

by Nebbie

Prolog: First Screwup, First War, First Execution

Author's Note:

This is the "freakish monster" (from Pinkie Apple Pie's scary cave):

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were silent as Neighsay argued his case.

"Absolutely reckless. These mares admit they were seeking to be the best teachers by...by nearly drowning their students! It was only those brave students which saved the teachers themselves from being devoured by fish. This is no way to run a school!"

Celestia sat in between Luna and Shining Armor as she looked at a document Neighsay had prepared. "Hmm, I believe we have all the information we need. If there are no further statements, we will confer to determine a ruling. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, would you two like to make a final statement?"

Rainbow grinned, and looked to a worried-looking Applejack. "Uh...I'll be making a statement by myself."

Celestia nodded. "Very well."

Rainbow sweated a bit and gulped as she tried to come up with a rousing speech. "Uh, so...I wanted the students to be awesome! You know, like me. And you can't be awesome if you don't take risks! Yeah, you've gotta leap over snapping cragadiles and...fly next to volcanoes! How else will you get any better as a pony?"

Applejack facehooved so hard it left a mark as the rest of the courtroom was silent.

Rainbow sighed, realizing defeat. "I'll...sit back down."

Celestia spoke. "I understand your point, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow and Applejack both went wide-eyed.

"You mean to say that we must not shelter ourselves from the world, as it may hold us back. We will take that idea into consideration." Celestia replied, before standing up with the two co-judges to confer.

"Maybe they'll only throw us in the dungeon for a week." remarked Applejack.

"A week? For this? I'm not missing out on the next big race just because some Yak couldn't swim." replied Rainbow Dash.

Applejack rolled her eyes.

Neighsay simply gave the same look as always, making the wait even less bearable for the two.

---

The three judges returned, then Celestia delivered her verdict. "We find the defendants guilty of reckless endangerment. The sentence is one month of community service, as we have determined that while the defendants introduced unnecessary risk, much of the risk was necessary. Additionally, the School of Friendship must be shut down pending an approved reorganization to prevent future incidents. Any questions?"

Rainbow Dash practically collapsed, head slamming down on the desk.

Neighsay chuckled. "This reorganization...will they be following EEA guidelines?"

"No, they simply need to show that they will prevent teachers from endangering students in this way. How they do that is up to them. I trust Twilight Sparkle to come up with a perfect plan." replied Celestia.

Applejack smiled and got Rainbow to lift her head up. "Could be worse, sugarcube."

"Uh-huh, sure. What could they do, execute us?" She joked.

"If there are no further questions, court is adjourned. Please head to your cells while we make the community service arrangements, Applejack and Rainbow Dash." Celestia said.

---

Applejack was slumped over the jail bars hours later, bored out of her mind. "Did ya really have to go in the toilet while I'm here, sugarcube? I don't like watchin' ponies pee."

Rainbow groaned from on the toilet as a familiar splashing could be heard. "Oh come on, everypony does it."

"But don't you get embarrassed by it?" Applejack asked.

"Not one bit! I just wish I could write my name in the snow like a stallion." Rainbow replied with a light chuckle as the splashing stopped.

"I get it, I just don't like watchin' or bein' watched doin' it. Not really a fan of hearin' it either..." Applejack said, still bored.

Suddenly, an explosion tore open the jail cell wall, right next to Rainbow Dash, causing her bowels to loosen, and a loud plop to follow. "Aaah!"

Applejack turned around and readied herself for a fight, but relaxed as she saw the 6 students trotting in.

Sandbar chuckled as he looked to Rainbow Dash. "Sorry for uh, busting in on you on the toilet, Rainbow. Guess we really scared the poop outta ya!"

Rainbow huffed, rolled her eyes, and flushed the toilet. "Yeah yeah, just don't rub it in or I'll tell everypony about holding your hoof when you had to go out in the woods."

Applejack ran over and hugged him. "Well I'll be, ya'll decided to bail us outta here...but you do know we're about to be released and given community service, right?"

Sandbar nodded. "We know, but they're gonna close the school for a long time! We figure we can take you and the other teachers to Yakyakistan to keep teaching us, then you can serve your community service later along with whatever punishments Celestia adds. It's not like she'd kill anypony just for delaying their punishment a little, right?"

"I s'pose. Let's get goin'." Applejack replied.

---

On the way out of Canterlot, a small hitch was discovered: The students' parents/leaders were in with the Royal Guard to stop them.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward. "You can't stop us! We've got ambition! You guards, I've seen that mirror pool Celestia has that you come out of to get with her nonsense and the rest of you are some old, worn-out...nobodies!"

"Uh, you don't really mean that, right?" asked Gallus.

Rainbow replied softly to him. "'course not, it's all just trash talk."

As she turned back around, she noticed the guards had already started charging. A fight ensued that quickly turned into a brawl, everypony tumbling about and hitting what they hoped was the enemy.

Rainbow tackled a guard, but he turned out to be quite her match, wrestling her for several minutes. She only caught vague glimpses of the fight around, showing Ocellus turning into some freakish monster after being dogpiled by guards. Applejack and the others were nowhere to be seen.

As Rainbow finally got free, she saw Ocellus stick out a long frog tongue, wrap it around a guard, and effortlessly gobble him up. "Woohoo! You show 'em!"

The guards looked a bit distressed at the bulge in the creature's stomach, almost stopping a moment as they heard a loud scream from inside. Most worrying of all, the scream stopped.

Ocellus strained, and out her rear came a flurry of armor and pony bones. Rainbow was in awe, but paused her cheering as she realized a pony just died.

The guards took a moment to shakily resume their assaults, seemingly all but forgetting Rainbow Dash as they tried to blast Ocellus with magic and stab her with spears, abandoning their normal light approach, but it was to no avail as she could easily dodge in her nimble form.

Rainbow yelled to Ocellus. "Hey! Stop! You can't just digest 'em like that! They're ponies for Celestia's sake!"

Ocellus shook her head. "But they're just clones! And if I don't stop them, they'll put us in jail!"

When the next guard was grabbed, he begged for mercy. Rainbow almost threw up as she watched him slide down, but was thankfully interrupted by a tap on her rear.

She turned to face a guard captain with a resolute expression despite the scream of his subordinate. "Miss Rainbow Dash, I request that you help us defeat your friend! This has gotten out of control, I beg of you to remember your duty as a Wonderbolt, despite your desire to escape!"

Rainbow was wide-eyed. She could hear the clattering of another guard reduced to bones and trinkets. "I...I accept, but what do we do? She won't listen, and there's no way we can stop what she's changed into!"

The guard tapped at his horn. "I know a spell that can revert her to normal. I'll need you to keep her distracted. It's kind of risky, bu-."

"No time! Guards are dying! Hit her when I say so!" Rainbow shouted.

"But I don't know what'll happen if somepony's still in her." he said, seeing another guard being grabbed up by the long frog tongue.

"I'm sure she'll just be so bloated she can't move, and we've gotta stop her even if it hurts her!" Rainbow replied as she zipped to just above Ocellus, then grabbed around her head and began pulling upward, leaving the mostly-flightless guards to the ground assault so that the changeling was torn between threats from both up and down.

Despite her immobility, Ocellus managed to swallow down the third guard, who cried for mommy from inside.

"Fire!" Rainbow shouted at their opportunity, and the guard captain fired a magic bolt that blindsided Ocellus. Her whole body convulsed a little as energy flowed through it, and she reverted to her normal form...with a hugely bloated belly showing the outline of a scared guard.

Rainbow, amazed at the success, hugged Ocellus close. The changeling grunted in pain as her rear sputtered a bit in desperation. Rainbow giggled like a schoolfilly at the noises, which slowly got louder and, strangely, included a cracking sound.

A squelchy explosion and shriek, which seemed to be the guard exiting Ocellus, took Rainbow by surprise and threw the two back a bit. Rainbow opened her eyes to see Ocellus looking back lovingly with watery eyes. "I love you...and I forgive you." the changeling said in an unusually raspy voice.

Rainbow smiled. "Me too. I'll kick those guards' flanks for ya!" She gave Ocellus a celebratory kiss on the lips, and the two began swapping spit eagerly.

Rainbow thought it odd how light Ocellus was to hold, but was distracted by a changeling tongue going fishing, to which she gave an equal response. Once the two found a new kissing rhythm, Rainbow curiously took a look at the freed guard. He was being cleaned off by others who were covered in what looked awfully like changeling ichor. Behind them was...the rear half of Ocellus' body. Realization dawned on Rainbow, who was now kissing in goodbye rather than celebration. During all this, Ocellus seemed to be getting weaker, her mouth moving slower until there was...nothing. Her eyes glazed over in an expression of love and sadness. Rainbow pulled free from the kiss with a corpse and froze.

Rainbow was weak. So very weak. She fell over, crumpled into the fetal position, then shuddered and started to weep. Even as the guards began shackling her hooves, she held her partial student.

---

The cell door slammed behind Rainbow Dash, and she finally looked up to meet her cellmates. Applejack was sitting on the bed looking rather down. Sandbar was peeing into the toilet. Silverstream was sitting right behind him, against the wall, looking bored as her right hoof was holding her head.

Applejack turned to her. "Where's Ocellus?" she asked in a voice showing a pang of sadness.

Rainbow looked her in the eyes, her cold stare making Applejack instantly distraught. "She...didn't make it."

Applejack sighed. "Neither did Yona...sorry, sugarcube."

Before anypony could really dwell on things, Sandbar let out a last trickle and farted very loudly, making Silverstream's mane blow a bit.

He blushed hard as he turned around and flushed, then noticed that she'd been right behind him. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry, Silverstream. I forgot you you were there!"

"Huh? Sorry for what?" the confused hippogriff asked.

Everypony else was a bit wide-eyed, and Applejack spoke up. "Uh, well, he farted in your face, sugarcube..."

"So? Felt like a pleasant breeze from a friend, and certainly a new experience! I don't see the big deal; in seaquestria, you can't exactly hide your bubbles, and we only do anything special for number two, so we just pee and fart wherever we are, even right next to each other." she stated.

Sandbar went from embarrassed to weirded out as he sat down next to Applejack. "So that's why you've never said 'excuse me' for it and keep letting rip in class..."

Applejack had a grossed-out expression, which was rare for the farm horse, as she contemplated life in seaquestria.

Rainbow meanwhile was stoic. "Huh. I guess I'd like it there, but didn't it sting to get it in your eye?"

Silverstream's smile became a frown as she turned her head, showing a bloodied bandage where her right eye used to be, held up there by her hoof.

"Oh." was all Rainbow Dash could muster.

Applejack put a hoof around a sad-looking Sandbar before explaining. "Garble tore her eye completely out. I kicked him pretty hard...and, well, broke his neck. Ember was a might upset, and tore Yona's side open. Figured you should know."

Rainbow Dash sat down next to Silverstream, and put a hoof around her as well. "Could be worse. You didn't kill Yona...I killed Ocellus."

The other three gasped.

"How could you?" asked Sandbar.

Silverstream put a hoof on Rainbow's back. "Was it an accident?"

Rainbow shook her head. "I wish I could say it was...but when I went to stop her, I knew there were risks, and just was so focused on getting her to stop killing royal guards. We got her to revert to her normal form after she ate one, and she...exploded. At...at least I kissed her goodbye." she sniffled a bit.

Everypony was silent for a while, but Applejack spoke up. "I don't blame ya, Rainbow...how about you two come over here for a hug?"

Rainbow and Silverstream were more than happy to oblige, as they all hugged together on the edge of the bed. A few yawns were soon heard.

Rainbow spoke up. "We should get some rest. Guard said we'll be in here all night...you three mind if we sleep close? I...I think I'm gonna have nightmares about Ocellus." she said with a look of sadness and a little blush.

"It's okay, Rainbow, we won't judge." replied Sandbar as he brought her up on the bed and gave her a cuddle.

"Yep, sugarcube." Applejack added.

Silverstream got up in between the farmpony and the other two, then flopped over.

Soon, everypony was sound asleep on the bed that could barely fit them.

---

Rainbow Dash was staring at the floor as Celestia read off the charges. "2 counts of negligent homicide, assault on a royal guard, 1 count of murder for Applejack only, 2 counts of accessory to murder, prison escape, reckless endangerment, rebellion, and inciting war. How do you plead?"

Rainbow suddenly looked up. "Wait, what? War? Equestria's never had a war!"

Shining Armor spoke up. "The Yaks declared war on us over Yona's death. Prince Rutherford led an assault on Canterlot with the Yak army. There were..." he shed a single tear. "...few survivors, the prince not among them."

For a while, the two were stunned. Applejack finally cleared her throat. "We plead...guilty, your uh, highness. We're sorry, about everything."

Rainbow nodded along, looking down.

"Very well. Since you do not contest the charges, I will proceed to the sentencing. We will be far less lenient, and arrive at a decision within the hour." Celestia said, then headed out with the co-judges.

Neighsay cackled. "Well well well, it seems you failed at being role models so badly that you got some of your best students killed along with most of one's entire nation! I've asked them to put you two away forever for this. It's about time we had some punishment in our justice system."

Rainbow shook a little and hugged Applejack. "I'm scared..."

---

The judges came out only 10 minutes later. Celestia spoke with the royal Canterlot voice, silencing the murmurs of the courtroom. "In times of old, it is said the pegasi would cut off a pony's wings and drop them from the clouds. Whether they survived or not, their fate would be on the ground, forever unable to return to society. The earth ponies, unable to keep criminals out of their domain, had a variety of effective devices for ending a pony's life. When Equestria was founded, these cruel forms of punishment were done away with. Today, we will be reinstating capital punishment in light of these heinous crimes, to set an example for others. Rainbow Dash and Applejack, I hereby sentence you to death by beheading in one month's time. You will be put in a maximum security cell until then."

The two ponies went wide-eyed while a slightly-shocked Neighsay gave a light cheer. "This is beyond my wildest expectations!"

Celestia and Luna glared at him a moment before Luna spoke up. "I will help you in your dreams to cope with your sentence. You will be given a burial befitting heroes, but make no mistake that I do not sympathize about your actions. This decision wasn't an easy one, but it was unanimous."

Celestia banged her gavel. "Court is adjourned."

As Applejack and Rainbow Dash were led off by a guard, reality began to set in and the two felt sick to their stomachs, trotting silently.

Comments

[The Dark Wolf]

Not a fan of dark stories, but with mention of Silverstream farting several times in class, at least I know I'm not the first to depict her farting in any form, even if it was only mentioned.