Rainbow Dash: Prisoner of War

by The Mountaineer Brony

Chapter III: The Way Things Are

The sky was a pretty pale blue with the walls and trees standing out in black contrast against it; the sun hadn't yet risen, but would soon. Already, the changeling guards outside could be heard mulling about their business, organizing goods, making patrol rounds, and changing the guards in the towers.

Rainbow's senses stirred her gently awake at this odd hour, and her eyes cracked open just slightly. She hadn't moved from where she laid down the night before, and could see across the hall into Fairy Floss' cell by the pale morning light. The other mare was standing up against the wall, peeking through the high window to speak with Festive Aura, who likewise was reared against the brick. She was trying to reach her hooves through the bars, almost as if to comfort the fragile Pegasus.

"I had the dream again, Aura! It just keeps coming back!" she whispered frantically whilst holding back tears.

"Shh, shh, I know, I know. That's gonna happen, dear, but you just gotta be strong, be brave." Aura said in a motherly tone. "Do it for your brother, Fairy. He's out there fighting to keep you safe..."

Rainbow, her mind still groggy, considered asking what the trouble was, but hesitated from intruding into a potentially very personal matter. Fairy was, she acknowledged to herself with an incorrigible pun, a bit of a flight risk: much like Fluttershy once was, she was tender and easily frightened or flustered. Dash didn't want to upset her any more than she already was by asking her about her nightmares.

Suddenly, from the opposite side of her cell wall, she heard a great clamor; raising up with a start to look out her window, she spotted a changeling in the yard next to a large overturned cart of lumber, wincing at his failure. She noticed from the look in his eyes that it was the same changeling whom she'd locked eyes with the previous night. Before she could mull over the significance of this very far, a window on the office building, far across the yard, swung open. Out of it emerged the upper body of Colonel Chitin, thin spectacles resting on his snout and a grumpy expression on his face. Spotting the toppled cart in the muddy yard, he facehooved with a sigh and called aloud to the guard.

"Gott verdammt, Morphos! Not again! Fix that cart or I'll shove it up your ass!"

"Hehehehe, nice going, Morphos." Rainbow chuckled under her breath. She lowered herself back down, burying her cheek into her musty pillow with a yawn. She wouldn't get but a couple more hours of sleep before the guards came around for roll call.

"Alright, you, get up!" A changeling barked, jabbing Rainbow's sleeping form. "Put on your orange uniform, we've got work to do!"

Rainbow was escorted out of the building along with Peach Crumble and several other mares along their side of the wall; the opposite side was held in reserve. All were garbed in heavy orange prison uniforms, made to withstand hard labor. Out in the main yard, they met up with a group of stallions brought from the opposite cell block; they were given a crude breakfast and taken tally of before being herded outside the walls towards a small work area.

What appeared to be a small limestone quarry, gradually being turned into a hole in the ground, stretched out before the prison's north wall. Small sheds had been built around it, and several wheelbarrows and an oxcart sat unused near them. A wooden pulley crane with a platform for loading stone had also been erected on the edge of the deepest pit.

The changeling at the head of the procession of guards began to brusquely pass out picks and other tools to the prisoners.

"Keep digging away at this lode, you filth." He said in a gruff voice with a quick gesture of his hoof. "If you can get as much moved as you did last time, you might get your break early! And if not-- I'll do some breaking of my own!"

Rainbow had never done a hard day's work in her life... but, she figured, how hard could it be? Surely quarrying stone couldn't be that different from a high-intensity workout, right?

---

Rainbow Dash was so incredibly wrong.

The taskmasters worked their charges for two hours before giving them a fifteen-minute break. Rainbow felt like her every muscle was going to tear itself apart; her neck ached and burned from pulling ropes and swinging a pickaxe in her teeth, her legs were on the verge from giving out under load-lifting, and even her core was exhausted from climbing in and out of the quarry pit without flight to carry her. It didn't help matters that the sun beat down fiercely that afternoon, causing Rainbow to practically bake inside her heavy work uniform. She wasn't sure she'd ever sweat more in her life.

After quickly eating what food the guards provided, Rainbow went over to talk to Peach Crumble, who was used to hard work like this, and thus wasn't as fatigued as most of the others present.

"I think I'm gonna die here." said Rainbow Dash between heavy breaths. She wiped sweat from her brow with her uninjured wing.

"Just hang in there, pal." The massive farmpony replied. "We just gotta work a little while longer, and then we're on a free period."

"W-What? We actually get free time here?" Rainbow's ears perked up with confusion.

"Not a whole lot, but yeah." Peach replied. "I usually spend mine preparing for whatever we're made do next."

"But... why would they give us free time at all?"

"I 'spose it's to keep us from keeling over with heart attacks." The earth pony said, cracking her neck. "But I wouldn't question it. Just be thankful for little miracles."

"Alright, you scum!" Said a loud voice from across the way. It was the head taskmaster, whip at the ready. "Time's up! Back in the pit, all of you!"

Another hour passed before the prisoners were allowed their rest. Rainbow's knees were shaking by the end of it, and she found herself leaning on Peach Crumble as they headed back towards their cell block. The Wonderbolt was covered in dust and sweat, and her uniform clung to her skin like a wet blanket. She desperately wanted to take a shower, but the building was locked up when not in use. Dash at least found some comfort by dousing herself in water from a communal drinking trough before heading inside for a nap. When she and Peach reached their cells, however, they noticed that Fairy's and Aura's were empty.

"Where did those two go?" Rainbow asked.

"Pretty sure they got called out to work earlier." Peach Crumble replied. "The ones that aren't physically strong get to do more delicate work. I know Fairy repairs uniforms in one of the outbuildings. I'm not sure what they've got Aura doing."

Inside her cell, Dash stripped down and laid upon the cold floor, gaining some relief for her tired body.

"I'm glad they consider me 'physically strong.'" She said with sarcasm. Dash closed her eyes and stretched her legs, taking long, deep breaths and feeling the floor as it cooled her hide. It wasn't long before sleep took her, but she didn't rest long before she felt herself grappled by chitinous hooves.

"Get up!" The guard snapped at her. "And put some clothes on! The colonel wants to see you again!"

Rainbow Dash sighed. Sure enough, it was yet another effort to extract information from her, information she either didn't know or refused to yield. When Chitin grew frustrated enough, the guards took her outside and hit her with sticks.

"Let's give it another day and maybe you'll talk, eh?" The burly changeling who had tortured her previously said, looming over her menacingly.

As Rainbow lifted herself up and turned to retort, she caught one final swing with her face and crumpled to the ground. She woke up sometime later to Festive Aura's hoof reaching to pull her from the mud.

"Sweet Celestia, that's quite the shiner you've got, RD." She said, wincing slightly as she inspected the black eye. "Come on, I've got a little medicine stored in my cell that should help."

"Nghh... thanks, Aura..." Dash said through clenched teeth. She leaned on the dark unicorn as she slowly hobbled back to the cell block.

"Don't thank me." Aura quipped. "I'm not letting you sit out while the rest of us work." Dash attempted to laugh, though she wasn't sure it came out sounding right.

---

"Are you allowed to have other ponies in your cell?"

"No, so keep quiet."

Aura carefully checked the hallway for guards before letting Rainbow in and retrieving her contraband box from under the bed. Rainbow carefully sat her haunches upon the mattress; due to her limited telekinetic ability inside the cell, Aura had Dash hold a small tube of medicine while she squeezed out bits to dab around her eye.

"I'm sorry to be using your supplies..." Dash said sullenly. "I probably could have made it back on my own."

"Rainbow Dash, I'm the one who's feeling sorry for you here." Aura said in an almost motherly tone. "I've been snapping at the guards on an almost daily basis for a month now, but you're the one getting the shit kicked out of you." Rainbow tried not to wince as a foreign hoof carefully applied medicine to her swelling flesh.

"Yeah, they think I'm gonna tell them something, some insight about the war." Rainbow glanced off to the side. "Even if I knew what they wanted out of me, I wouldn't tell 'em anything. I'm a tough nut to crack."

"Well, I admire your resilience." Aura replied, tucking away her medicine. "But remember that these assholes don't take well to ponies who give them trouble... not that they take well to anypony anyway."

Rainbow chuckled. "You can say that again."

"I get mouthy, sure." Aura continued. "That's just who I am. But I manage to keep my head down and avoid the lash."

The Wonderbolt pondered her situation as Aura checked the hallway once more for guards. Hopefully she'd think of some way to make the beatings stop, or at least lighten. A clever lie, perhaps, though Rainbow wasn't sure what she could tell her tormentors that they would believe. On the inside, she briefly smiled as she thought back to all the ways she managed to hide or dispose of Pinkie Pie's endless barrage of unwanted dessert. Rainbow was crafty; she'd figure out something.

The unicorn signaled the all-clear.

"We're good to go." She said, holding the door open. "If you get some free time... well, free time that doesn't end with an eye swelled shut, come and say hello. They have me doing random things around the compound, but right now I'm on laundry duty. They should be calling me back to work before long."

"I hope they don't need me for a while longer." Dash remarked. As she left, she looked back and thanked Aura, who gave a friendly smile.

---

Dash spent some time milling about the prison yard, occasionally talking to other prisoners she passed, some of whom recognized her as an Equestrian hero. Several of the prisoners, including many of the reformed changelings, had been there longer than Peach, Aura, and Fairy, and had learned the layout of the compound extensively; Dash used this knowledge to track down the small building where Fairy Floss worked. Peeking inside a dirty old window, she could see several lithe ponies and smaller changelings, mostly mares, sewing or patching worn-out prison uniforms. Fairy sat at a small table in the center, carefully pulling the needle through the fabric with her teeth. Across from her, a changeling stood guard at the door, and another in a corner of the room, watching the inmates work.

The frail Pegasus just happened to glance up and spot Rainbow through the window, giving a tiny, meek wave with her wing before resuming her work; Dash returned the wave and turned on her hooves, returning in the direction she had came as quietly as she could, hoping that the guards wouldn't find her and say she wasn't where she was supposed to be.

On her way back, Rainbow encountered Peach Crumble once more, who began to greet her warmly before noticing her massive black eye.

"Howdy, Rainbo--EGH. What happened to you, sweetheart?"

"It's a long story." She replied with an awkward chuckle. "Aura helped patch me up a little, but my head's still pounding. What're you up to, Peachy?"

"The guards just called me an' some others out for another round o' work." The larger mare replied. "Gonna be out cuttin' firewood til suppertime, probably."

Rainbow cringed a small bit at the thought of more backbreaking labor. "Did, uh... did my name happen to come up at all?"

Peach gave a smile and a wink. "If your name comes up, I'll say that you're still unconscious from... that." She playfully gestured at Dash's injury, eliciting a smile in return. "Now you go and rest your head."

"Thanks, Peach. I will."

Indeed, Rainbow slept rather deeply back in her cell, only being roused awake by the clamor of dinner being served that evening. The food was magically zapped from the pot into her bowl: that night's fare was similar to yesterday's, except that the stew was predominantly orange in color and smelled clearly of carrots... not premium carrots, either. Dash rolled carefully out of bed, taking care not to hurt her wing any more. Her head had stopped pounding, but the flesh around her eye was still swollen and tender. Various other bruises had formed across her body from where the changelings had beat her, one right over her Cutie Mark. Rainbow Dash carefully slipped into the soft cloth uniform shirt that was folded nearby, freshly washed that day. Given the slight chill in the air that evening and the various bruises in need of cradling, it almost felt comfortable.

"You can thank me for that, RD." Aura quipped from across the hall as she daintily ate her stew. "Prison Camp Laundromat: We get it sort of clean, most of the time."

Rainbow managed a half-awake laugh as she sat down to eat. After spending a few moments trying to bite through a piece of hardtack, she finally managed to split it by slamming her hoof down on it.

"Just like the kitchen gets dinner sort of edible all of the time." She mused. The other mares chuckled at this, even Fairy somewhat.

"So, how was everypony's day?" Aura continued, half serious and half sarcastic.

"Y'mean other than bein' forced to labor in a prison camp under threat of armed guard while your nation is bein' torn apart by war that rages around ya? Not bad." Peach Crumble replied. "I got some good work done today, though I'd much rather be buckin' peaches back on the farm. Can't deny, though, I like the soreness in'muh legs when the day's done, and pullin' stone will give ya that."

Fairy looked up from lapping at her soup like a cat. "I got three uniforms done today... the guard wasn't even upset, like last time. I must be getting better." She paused before glancing across into Rainbow's cell. "Thanks for coming to visit, Rainbow Dash. That was nice." Dash gave Fairy a little smile, and Aura gave one to Dash.

"I can definitely say that my day would've been much worse if you ponies hadn't been here." Rainbow said, shifting in place. "I don't know how long I'll have to live here, but I definitely could have worse neighbors. I really wish we could have met under better, happier circumstances, but I'm glad we met anyway. I think... well, I hope, things will start to get better for all of us."

"They won't be getting better anytime soon."

The four mares startled briefly at the approach of a changeling guard. He and a few others were unlocking cells.

"C'mon, the colonel has arranged a little entertainment for tonight in the yard."

"Entertainment for you, no doubt." Aura succinctly responded, exiting her cell with ladylike posture.

"Oh, but that's the best kind!" The guard sarcastically retorted, quickly stifling a grin as Aura's rump went by. Fairy and Rainbow were freed next, and the procession of mares were guided out of the cell block and into the yard.

The air was chilly as the sun set, but a few tall torches had been lit around the yard, illuminating the audience of prisoners that gathered before the small wooden stage that had been reconstructed before them. Atop it sat Colonel Chitin in full military dress, along with a small staff of his subordinate officers to either side. The large, burly changeling captain that had made a show of Rainbow Dash the day before leaned on a chair near the edge of the stage. The dual audiences, one side male, the other female, poured out of their respective cell blocks under the guards' careful watch and sat upon the cold, hard earth.

"What do you think this is going to be?" Rainbow leaned over Fairy's huddled form to ask Aura.

"I don't know," she replied in a hushed tone "but whatever it is, it can't be good. They stage shit like this sometimes to raise their morale and lower ours. It's dumb nationalistic bullshit."

Before Rainbow could curtly remind her that she was a Wonderbolt who got captured trying to keep her nation safe, the changelings upon the stage signaled for silence. Colonel Chitin stepped forward and cleared his throat, his sleek, black, armored skin lit eerily by torchlight, with the green membrane that was his mane seeming almost to glow translucently.

"Wards of Queen Chrysalis' State," he began "enemies of and traitors to changeling-kind... you all know zat I do not tolerate insubordination vitsin my camp." Slowly, he began to pace the stage as he spoke to the crowd.

"But zere are some who do not know vhat is good for zem. Zere are some who do not zink zat my rules apply to zem. Zat zey can subvert Chrysalis' vill, or her ultimate authority. Zose of you who are loyal changelings know zat zis is simply not ze case. You know zat, however unnoticed or inglorious ze vork, vhat you do here is important to our Great Queen's efforts as a whole. Ve are ze cogs in ze machine zat keeps ze Changeling Empire running, and perhaps one day, ve vill be commended as ve deserve."

"Oh jeez." Rainbow muttered to herself.

"And of course, ze vork you do should be praised, especially by zese... lowlifes. And zo, I have taken ze privilege of gazering some of zis scum that chose not to rezpect zeir caretakers or ze laws of zis camp..."

Chitin scuttled into the air on his wings as a small procession of guards brought out four prisoners- three ponies and a changeling -from a holding pen nearby, slowly escorting them across the yard and up onto the stage. Their heads were held low, there were manacles on their hooves, and some of them had clearly been beaten. The guards among the crowd had to stifle a small uproar from the males' side, clamoring for the accused to be set free.

The four prisoners stood in a row near the front of the stage, hooves bound, eyes looking bleakly out into the crowd. A female changeling, her bright colors dulled by dirt and mud, a Pegasus and earth pony stallion, and a unicorn mare. Rainbow didn't recognize them; she heard Peach mumble to Aura that the two mares had been removed from the cell block days ago. Rainbow didn't want to think what had happened to them in the meantime.

Chitin hovered above each prisoner as he told of their crimes. The burly changeling cracked his neck and stood up straight.

"Zis putrid excuse for a changeling vas caught trying to smuggle supplies from our storehouse and tools from ze vorkshop."

Chitin buzzed over to the lanky Pegasus stallion.

"Zis pony vas caught digging a tunnel in his sird escape attempt. Not one or two, comrades, but sree times, he tried to escape." Some of the changeling guards spat curses toward the stage and the pony who'd made their jobs harder.

"And zese two," Chitin uncomfortably leaned his head between the unicorn and earth pony "were caught fraternizing behind ze shower block."

"I thought you bugs fed off love, not crushed it!" One mare, a unicorn, angrily called from a few rows in front of Rainbow Dash. The guards had to calm more shouts of protest from both sides as Chitin glared into the audience, signaling one guard to bash the blunt end of his spear against the mare's head.

"I vill have silence vhen I am speaking!" Chitin called out, buzzing high above the crowd. "Zese filszy animals only make life harder for creatures on eiser side of zis equation! More troublemakers means more vork for ze guards and staff, and tighter restrictions on you!"

The colonel lowered his gaze, scanning the audience before seeming to look directly at Rainbow Dash.

His voice took on a lower, deadlier tone.

"It is time to remind you all vhat ve do to troublemakers."

Colonel Chitin flitted back to his seat and nodded to the big changeling, who nodded to the other guards on stage. Some of the guards in the audience began to cheer as they stepped forward towards the prisoners. Rainbow Dash held her breath. Fairy Floss covered her eyes with her wings. The two lovers on the stage shared a mournful glance.

Summarily, the guards proceeded to brutally beat the four prisoners on stage. The captive audience was variously filled with gasps, cries, and angry shouts as more changelings attempted to forcibly pacify them. The big changeling slammed the unicorn's head repeatedly with a wooden club; he was so fierce and full of anger that Rainbow feared he might kill her. Next to them, another changeling knocked the earth pony stallion to the floor and struck him with hooves and a small lash. The Pegasus very likely had his wings broken by one guard, while another smashed his hoof with a small mallet. But the victim receiving the worst treatment by far was the reformed changeling. The guard assailing her used his magic to come at her from all angles with his torture implements: a cat o' nine tails seemed determined to crack the chitin on her legs and flank, a small spike or nail made precision wounds on her wings or the exposed joints of her armor, drawing trickles of green blood, and a metal rod was used to bash her over the head. Her horn was cracked and tilted to the side, and Rainbow could tell there was something wrong with her left eye that wasn't wrong before.

There was a lull in the abuse triggered by Chitin's call. The guards looked briefly back at him before taking a step back.

"Are zere any of you who vish to plead for my forgiveness?"

The prisoners were silent, exchanging glances. The two lovers had tears running down their faces as they attempted to hold each others' hooves. The young Pegasus half cried, half moaned with every breath, his hooves shaking as he examined his shattered wings, waterfalls flowing from his eyes. Finally, the changeling mare stood rigid, her head level, and spoke to the audience.

"When I first reformed," she said "I was doubtful that the metamorphosis would be a good change. Chrysalis' hive was the only life I could have imagined, and I didn't know how a changeling like Thorax could possibly be a good leader." From the row of seats behind her, Chitin raised an inquisitive brow.

"But then I realized something..."

The entire prison was silent as they awaited the mare's revelation.

"...friendship and love changed my life for the better, and Chrysalis be damned, I think tha-"

Chitin shot an infuriated glance at the guard next to the mare, who lunged forward with a hiss and bit off part of her ear.

The crowed took to an uproar again, resulting in the pummeling of several of its members, as the four creatures atop the stage were mercilessly beat again. Rainbow Dash watched in unspoken horror, unable to turn her eyes away. The earth pony stallion was set upon by two changelings and undoubtedly suffered some broken bones, and the changeling mare's injured eye, by the end of it all, seemed to emerge slightly from its socket, its appearance no doubt suggesting it would become blind.

At the end of the night, which only got colder as the moon rose, the prisoners were shuffled off back to bed, and the four torture victims were bound with abrasive rope around their forelegs from the front gate of the prison, where they hung all night, stomachs unfed, injuries untreated, skin or scales exposed to the bitter air, until they would be fished down at morning light and given minimal medical treatment.

---

As she lay in bed that night, unable to sleep from both her midday nap and the horrific sights she had witnessed, Rainbow Dash watched the moonlight cast itself through her barred window onto the floor of the hall, not quite reaching Fairy's sleeping form. Suddenly, the sound of hoof-falls greeted her ears, accompanied by the sound of a magical aura. From just beyond her cell's walls, she saw a changeling guard emerge, holding a lantern... but Rainbow recognized his eyes.

It was the same guard who she'd seen the night before, and who had upset the cart of lumber this morning. It took her a few moments to remember what Chitin had called him: Morphos. She then realized he wasn't anywhere to be seen during that evening's gruesome ceremony.

As the familiar glassy blue orbs locked eyes with Rainbow Dash again, she decided to try something risky.

She mouthed the name Morphos.

The changeling almost jumped out of his exoskeleton. After his head jolted back in surprise, his eyes quickly shot back and forth before he turned and left without a word. "Oh well" Rainbow thought. Maybe she'd get another chance to see him, and maybe, just maybe, she'd get a chance to earn his trust.

Author's Note:

This chapter was hard to make interesting, I'll admit. It didn't turn out quite as well as I hoped. But I'm at least happy with the beginning and ending.

The next one will be better, I promise. I'm guessing it'll be out sometime in November, probably around the anniversary of this fic.

Comments

[superfun]

This is definitely an interesting concept and well written, but I'm torn on whether or not I want to actively follow it, since Dash is my favorite of the main 6.

So I have two questions.
One is a bit of a spoiler, but I'm the kind of person who, when I'm torn on a fic, needs to know some critical stuff before I make a decision:
1. Will this story have a happy (or at least bittersweet (mostly sweet)) ending for Dash?
2. About how many chapters overall do you expect this to be?

[The Mountaineer Brony]

10489080
I can never guarantee how many chapters a story will be, it depends greatly upon how much story/information I can convey in an average-length chapter. I very much write at my own whims. But I wouldn't put Dash through all this without at least some sort of happy ending-- can't say exactly what it's going to be and ruin the fun, but I encourage you to trust your gut and enjoy the story!

[superfun]

10490196
Alright that's good then.

[overdue]

RD just keeps going in and out of consciousness

[Bronycommander]

I wonder if they would accept volenteer medics. You know, like the red cross