In Which There's a Prison With No Walls
In a blur of multicolored motion, Rainbow Dash zipped behind a building and pressed herself against a wooden wall. The sound of approaching hoofsteps grew closer and sweat began to bead upon her forehead. In another burst of speed, the pegasus flew up and onto the roof. A lucky break presented itself for her in the form of a window with an overhang. She dove underneath it and held her breath. A second later, an Imperial soldier rounded the corner Rainbow Dash had just vacated.
“Drat. Lost her.” The soldier spat on the ground and turned away, heading back the way he came.
Rainbow Dash remained still for a full minute before allowing herself to let out a sigh. She flopped onto her back and stared blankly into the sky. “What’d I ever do to deserve this?”
It had started out so well. Keeping the Empire from crossing Mt. Colts and finding the Returners’ base had been foal’s play. A few blocked passages here, a little misdirection there and VIOLA! One perfect distraction completed, just as requested. The invading army had been so frustrated in trying to scale the mountain that they had turned back for South Fillygaro.
Rainbow Dash had harassed them the whole way back.
None of the Imperial pegasi could keep up with her in their attempts to bring her down. Eventually they gave up altogether and rushed back to the occupied town as fast as they could. Rainbow Dash eagerly followed them.
If Rainbow Dash could go back in time, she would definitely go to that moment and kick her own flank.
In the short time in which Rainbow and the others had left for the Returners’ hideout, South Fillygaro had become completely overrun. An entire legion of troops had been deployed to occupy the city and defend it from outside forces. That included cocky rainbow-colored pegasi. Flying magitek the likes of which Rainbow Dash had never seen before came out to greet her and had reached for her with metal claws. The top-shaped machines were relentless in chasing her and could turn faster than she could. It hadn’t taken long for them and a squad of pegasus ponies to overwhelm her, forcing her to take shelter in the streets below. Rainbow Dash swore that the deadly game of hide-and-seek that had resulted would be told to young fillies around the campfire to illustrate just how awesome she could be under pressure. It would be a tale for the ages and never forgotten or embellished.
“Now to get out of here so I can live to tell it.”
She crept out from the overhang to the edge of the roof as quietly as she could and scanned the street below. No soldiers were in sight. A simple hop later she was on street level and darting under the nearest cloth overhang. She peeked out and swept her gaze across the skies above. From one end of the horizon to the other, Imperial pagasi could be seen patrolling in circling loops. One of the flying contraptions with claws floated within their ranks, ready to hone in on any targets. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and ducked back under the overhang. There was no way she was going to be able to escape by air.
“Gonna have to do this the hard way.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, counted to ten, and then darted from one hiding place to the next. For nearly an hour, Rainbow Dash moved as quickly as she could while staying out of sight of the soldiers patrolling the streets. Hardly any citizens were out and about and any that were caught where they were not supposed to be were immediately escorted away. Curiously enough, ponies with bags full of goods were often left alone. An inkling of an idea began to creep into Rainbow’s head.
A brief search later and she found what she was looking for. Across the street, a merchant emerged from a Rich's Barnyard Bargains store, her saddle bags loaded with provisions. The pony trotted off and Rainbow Dash trailed after her. After a few blocks, the pony stopped at a residential building and knocked twice, stopped, then knocked three more times. The door opened to reveal a mare and the two ponies conversed in voices too low for Rainbow to hear but she did see them exchange something between them. Finally, the merchant pony bowed, walked away and headed for another building.
Keeping to the shadows, Rainbow put on a burst of speed through an alley that put her ahead of the merchant. She waited at the entrance of the alley for the right moment.
“Pssst!”
The merchant jerked, staring with wide eyes at Rainbow Dash who beckoned for her to come closer. The merchant eyed her warily and began to edge away.
“No, don’t go!” Rainbow Dash called to her. “I’m on your side. Do you want the Empire to run all over this place or not?”
The merchant stopped, an unsure look upon her face. She took a moment to glance from side to side before slowly walking towards the alley entrance. Rainbow Dash stepped back to allow more room for the other pony but the merchant only entered about halfway into the alley. Her legs were tense as though ready to make a run for it at the slightest provocation.
“What do you want?” the merchant asked.
“I need your clothes,” Rainbow Dash said.
“My what?”
“Your clothes. Give them to me. I need to slip out of town and I saw that you merchant types are left alone by the Impies.”
“That’s because we’ve been ordered to make deliveries of rations to each home. We’re on a very strict schedule and I’m going to be late if I keep talking to you.”
“Then I’ll make this quick. I’m part of a resistance group that’s working on bringing these guys down. I just need to get out of here to meet up with them.”
The merchant shook her head and backed up. “You’re crazy. I’ve got a job to do.” She turned to walk away.
She gasped when Rainbow Dash suddenly jumped in front of her with a frown on her face. “Do you want to be their toadie for the rest of your life or what?”
For the second time in as many minutes, the merchant paused. Her features morphed from frustration to anger until they finally settled on tired resignation. “Better than conspiring with a thief.”
The last thing the merchant saw was a flash of anger followed by a blue hoof.
.o.O.o.
“Try to be nice to somepony and what do you get? Stupid smart alec. She better appreciate the bits I left her...”
Rainbow Dash grimaced and stopped her walk through the town to pull on the merchant garb near her flank. The material stretched a bit, allowing her some relief from the tight cloth on her extremities, and she continued on her way. It was the third time she had done so.
“She would have to be a size smaller than me,” Rainbow grumbled.
Even with the uncomfortable outfit over her normal one, the benefits far outweighed the negatives. Imperial soldiers gave her dirty looks but otherwise ignored her when she passed by them. She gave them pitiful looks, as though she expected them to beat her with the slightest provocation, and they in return smirked and allowed her on her way. That is, until she reached the city limits.
“None shall pass.”
Rainbow Dash blinked. “Wha? But I’ve got business outside of town!”
“Do you now?” the soldier drawled. “Then you should have thought of that before we came here.”
“And how was I supposed to know that?!”
One of the soldiers came up to her and pushed her back. “Watch it, girlie. We’re in charge here now. And if we don’t want you leaving, then too bad.” He pushed her again and it was all Rainbow Dash could do to not buck him in the teeth. “Now get lost.”
Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and let out a low growl at the group of Imperials and magitek blocking her way. With her speed, she wagered she could drop two soldiers before the others could even raise a hoof. Even the magitek armor standing idly by wouldn’t be able to keep up. She could then make a break for it to the grassy plains lying just beyond.
Her wings twitched and suddenly the desire to fight her way out left her. The merchant garb she had “borrowed” covered them up, robbing her of her best advantage. Not only that, but she realized that the open plains she wanted to run to were just that: open plains. She’d be spotted and attacked by those flying tops in no time.
Rainbow Dash gave one last withering glare to the soldiers, turned and trotted back the way she came.
“So close,” she muttered and kicked a stray stone with a hoof. “So darn close...”
“Yeah, close alright, kid. Close to being run through.”
Rainbow Dash looked up and searched around for the voice. Nopony was in sight. She shook her head and continued on.
“Over here, kid.”
This time, Rainbow caught a glimpse of a hoof sticking out of a darkened alley, motioning for her to come closer.
“You must think I was born yesterday if you think I’m gonna fall for that,” Rainbow Dash said to the mysterious voice.
“Oi...” The hoof retracted and a donkey’s head poked out from the darkness. “There, that better?”
“Cranky!”
“SSSSSHHHHH!” Cranky Doodle Donkey hissed. “Not so loud! Get over here, quick.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate, rushing into the alley with the donkey inventor. “Wow, am I glad to see a friendly face. It’s been crazy ever since I got here.”
“You’re telling me,” Cranky said. “No sooner did I get back than the Empire just waltzed in here and took over. The town got taken over without any fighting. It’s as if they knew just where to hit us.”
“Yeah, it’s weird.” Rainbow Dash looked out the alley and sighed. “And now I’m stuck here when I need to be somewhere else.”
“Where’s that?”
“Neighshe.”
Cranky opened his mouth to speak when he caught sight of a group of soldiers emerging from a street further down. He pulled Rainbow Dash further into the alley and waited for the Imperials to trot on past, only for the soldiers to stop a few hooves away in the middle of the street. “We can’t talk here. Follow me.”
“But I’ve got to find a way out of here,” Rainbow Dash protested even as she was being pulled by the tail by Cranky’s teeth.
Cranky mumbled something through the hair in his mouth but gave up halfway and instead reached into his saddlebag and lifted out a small metallic pellet. He reared up and threw it down the street where it detonated with a bang like a party favor upon landing. The soldiers immediately rushed over to investigate. Cranky took the opportunity to pull Rainbow with him in the direction the soldiers weren’t looking.
Once they were out of sight, Rainbow Dash yanked her tail free. “Look pops, I don’t have time to sit around. I need to get to Neighshe on the double!”
“Easy there, kid,” Cranky said gently. “I want you to get there as much as you do. But you can’t do anything when you’re dead. Let’s think things through a little and I’m sure we’ll get you out of here.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Fine. So where are we going? Your place?”
Cranky shook his head. “Can’t. Our district was one of the first that the Empire evacuated. Kicked us out with just the coat on our backs. They wanted all our inventions. Among other things.”
“Other things?”
“You’ll see.”
The pair traveled in silence, both to avoid attracting attention and that any conversation could wait until they were indoors. After several blocks, Cranky came up to a two story building with a sign above the door that read, “Rich's Barnyard Bargains”. He rapped on the door with a hoof and a moment later, a thin panel built into the door slid open. A pair of eyes peered through the opening.
“Password,” a voice on the other side of the door said.
“Courage,” Cranky answered back.
The panel slid shut, removing the eyes from view. A moment later a series of locks and chains were heard being undone. The door creaked open, revealing a young colt on the other side. “You may pass.”
“Thanks, kid.” Cranky nodded to the colt and stepped past him, continuing on to a set of stairs leading up. Rainbow Dash followed him and the moment she passed the door, the colt closed it and reset the locks.
“I feel like I’m going into some secure facility,” Rainbow commented.
“Better safe than sorry, right?” Cranky responded. “Never know what those Impies might try next.” He reached a door at the top of the stairs, pushed it open and went through. Immediately, a cacophony of yelling, crying and laughing burst from the room on the other side. When Rainbow Dash stepped into the room herself, she stopped cold, her jaw dropping wide.
The room was large—the size of a store room—with couches, chairs and toys scattered haphazardly about. However, what drew Rainbow’s attention were the two dozen pony kids of varying ages running around the room in a frenzy of movement and colors. Some were playing with the toys spread out throughout the room, some chased each other in a circle while others clustered around a female donkey at the back of the room.
“I’m back, Matilda!” Cranky said above the noise.
A few of the colts and fillies looked up at the new voice and waved. “Hiya, Unca Cranky!”
“Hey,” Cranky greeted back much less enthusiastically. He made his way over to Matilda, careful to avoid the more rambunctious colts and fillies in the room. “Brought an older one this time. Think we should keep her?”
“Oh Cranky, be nice,” Matilda gently scolded. She raised a hoof and motioned for Rainbow Dash to come closer. “Over here, dear!”
The pegasus shook herself out of her shocked state and hopped over the kids to the end of the room in a single jump. A series of “Ooh’s” and “Ah’s” trailed after her. “Soooo,” Rainbow Dash drawled and tilted her head back towards the packed room, “what’s with the tykes?”
Instantly, Cranky and Matilda lost their playful smiles. Their bodies sagged and they stared at the ponies around them. Matilda cleared her throat and said, “We’re looking after them. When the Empire invaded, they quickly rounded up as many of the stallions as they could and shipped them out on a boat. I’m not sure what has happened to them. But for some of these children, they lost their only parent. So when Cranky and I were forced from our home, we were able to find this unused house and decided to round up anypony needing a home.” Matilda sighed and looked over all the faces she was now responsible for. “I hope these children get to see their parents again...”
Rainbow Dash remained silent. The adventurer’s features were frozen in a deep frown, her gaze unfocused as though she were watching a scene far away from where she was. She blinked, her focus returned and said, “Don’t worry, Matilda. The Empire won’t be getting its way much longer. I’m going to see to that personally. But I need to get to Neighshe to make it happen. I can’t fly out and all the exits are guarded. Do any of you know any other way outta here?”
The room became quiet, as every colt and filly looked up to Rainbow Dash with a spark of hope in their eyes. The silence ended when Matilda spoke up. “I may know a way.” She gathered her thoughts even as Rainbow Dash waited expectantly. “Years ago, I worked for Filthy Rich as one of his servants. His house is old, maybe one of the first built when the town was founded. There are a series of tunnels under the house that I believe lead out of town a fair ways away. If you could sneak in and use those tunnels you should be able to get away without being seen.”
“All right!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed and struck a triumphant pose. “Just what I was hoping for! I’ll be out of here in a jiffy!” She turned and headed for the door, but a tug on her borrowed outfit stopped her short. Rainbow looked down to see a filly looking up at her with uncertainty.
“Um, ma’am?” the filly said. “Could... could I ask you a-a favor?”
Rainbow Dash smiled down and ruffled the filly’s mane playfully. “Sure kid. Just don’t call me ma’am; it makes me sound old. What’s up?”
“Um, well, you see there’s this, um, pony we want you to, um, look for.” The filly turned her head to the group that had gathered around. They all nodded their heads and gestured for her to continue. She swallowed and steeled herself. “We were... we were being picked on by some soldiers—”
“By picked on, you mean being completely degraded,” Cranky spit out.
Matilda laid a hoof over his back. “Shush, Doodle. Let her finish.”
“Um, yeah,” the filly continued. “We were told to... beat each other up, because the soldier said it would be fun to watch.” Tears began to well up in the filly’s eyes, along with many of her friends standing next to her. A few sniffles were heard. “We... we were told if we didn’t, we’d never see our daddies again... and...”
“Whoa there, kid,” Rainbow Dash said and patted the filly on her shoulders. “Look, you don’t have to tell me any of the bad stuff if it makes you feel sad. I swear I’ll make each of those bad guys pay. I swear it. Just... tell me who you want me to look for.”
The filly took a minute to calm down before talking again. “Well, we were trying to do what they wanted, but they got mad that we weren’t doing it right. That’s when an older mare appeared and she... she...”
Rainbow Dash awkwardly put her legs around the filly and held her close. “She didn’t hurt you, did she?”
“No!” the filly screamed, startling Rainbow half-to-death. “No, she saved us! She killed all the soldiers being mean to us! More soldiers came to stop her but she killed them too! It took a whole bunch of them to stop her. They took her away and now we don’t know what happened to her.” The filly faced Rainbow Dash fully and place her hooves against the pegasus’ chest. “Please! Please find her and help her!”
“Um... okay...” Rainbow Dash said at length. “What a... what does she look like?”
“It... it happened so fast,” a colt spoke up. “But I think she was white—”
“Nah, that was her cape!” another piped in. “She was blue!”
“And it was really cold when she showed up,” yet another said. “I think she’s made of ice!”
“Okay! Okay!” Rainbow Dash held her hooves in a time-out position. “I get the idea. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out. I have to go know but I promise that things will get better. Just hang in there and everything will be all right. Okay?”
“Okay,” a few of the kids murmured.
“Louder,” Rainbow Dash said firmly.
Unsure glaces passed between the fillies and colts but as one they said, “Okay.”
“Louder!”
“Okay!”
“LOUDER!”
There was a collective intake of breath and then: “OKAY!”
Rainbow Dash grinned. “You kids are alright, ya know?”
.o.O.o.
Finding Filthy Rich’s home was easy; it was the biggest house in the entire city. Finding a way inside was proving to be the difficult part.
“How the hay am I supposed to get past all those soldiers?” Rainbow Dash muttered to herself. “They must be using that place as their base of operations. Figures the one place I need to get into is the most heavily guarded...”
Rainbow ducked being a stack of crates as a detachment of soldiers passed by her. She peered over the crates once the coast was clear and narrowed her eyes at Filthy’s house across the street. Walking up to the door and claiming she was a merchant wasn’t going to get her anywhere this time. More than likely she would be arrested before she even made it halfway down the walkway. There had to be a way for her to slip by—
The front door of Filthy’s house burst open and a blue coated soldier clad in green armor came flying out. He landed with a clank on the walkway and staggered to his hooves where he swayed unsteadily. A second soldier, bereft of a helmet and revealing himself as a unicorn, stomped out of the door, glaring at the green clad soldier the entire time.
“Squaddie, this is your last chance!” the unicorn bellowed. “The next time you come around here drunk off your flank will see you peeling potatoes until the sun falls out of the sky! Now get yourself cleaned up and report back here before I really lose my patience!” The unicorn whirled and headed back indoors, slamming the door behind him.
Now alone, the chastised Imperial shook his head and let loose an embarrassed giggle. He turned and headed to the end of the walkway but stumbled and crashed into a soldier keeping watch. His comrade in arms shoved the drunk soldier away, almost toppling him over. The soldier gave another titering laugh and sauntered away in a drunken haze.
“It’s amazing how things seem to work out,” Rainbow Dash commented as she watched the soldier head further down the street. “It’s like fate or somethin’.”
Keeping to the shadows, Rainbow followed after the green armored soldier. Although, with the way the soldier was incapable of walking in a straight line for more than a few steps, she wondered why she even bothered trying to stay concealed. She could have trotted up next to him and he never would have noticed. Which, come to think of it, wasn’t a bad idea.
The soldier stopped at a drainage ditch and pushed his helmet off his head where it clattered on the pavement. Seconds later, his body convulsed, his cheeks puffed out and he vomited into the ditch. Rainbow grimaced at the scene but stepped up to him from behind and said, “Hey! Is that a flying monkey?”
The soldier raised his head and a “Huh?” was all he got out. A light thump on the head from Rainbow Dash’s hoof and the soldier collapsed to the ground. A second later a loud snore escaped from his mouth.
“Trust me, pal, I’m doing you a favor.” She dragged the soldier behind a large barrel and got to work removing the merchant clothes from herself and the armor from the soldier. A minute later and she emerged in her new disguise. The armor was a little big on her, but it worked in this case as it gave her wings some room to breathe underneath its bulk. “Why doesn’t anypony ever shop at the awesome shop like me? So lame.”
Rainbow Dash made her way back the way she came, making sure she kept her head high and her strut authoritative. The few locals that passed by kept their heads low and didn’t give her a second look while other soldiers ignored her completely. She soon reached Filthy Rich’s house and knocked on the door. A moment later, the door opened, revealing the unicorn soldier from before.
“'Bout time you got back,” he said and jerked his head towards the inside of the house. Rainbow walked past him and into the main foyer. She suppressed a gulp when she counted no less than a dozen Imperials milling around, some looking over paperwork while others were talking to each other. Rainbow moved to mingle with them when the unicorn grabbed her by the strap holding her helmet on and spun her around to look him straight in the eyes. “I want you to go upstairs and keep watch over the Riches. Think you can manage that?”
Rainbow Dash saluted smartly. “Yes sir!”
The unicorn seemed taken back by her enthusiasm. “You seem to have sobered up pretty quick, squaddie.”
“Nothing a little throwing up can’t take care of,” Rainbow Dash replied.
A confused blink met that statement. “Whatever,” he said with a shrug. “Just get up there and don’t let me catch you foolin’ around.” With that, he joined the soldiers in the lounge and promptly ignored her.
Rainbow Dash wasted no time in climbing the nearby stairs to the second floor. Once out of eyesight, she let loose a triumphant laugh. “Ha! I can’t believe how easy this is. At this rate, I’ll be out of here and heading to Nieghshe in no time!”
With a smirk on her face and a spring in her step, Rainbow Dash headed down the upstairs hallway and opened the first door she came to. Inside was a bedroom with the grandest bed she had ever seen, covered in what she could only assume were the most expensive sheets and covers available. A bookcase with hundreds of books on its shelves stood in the corner of the room opposite the bed. Framed paintings with labels identifying them as Jidhoof originals covered the walls, and a carpet that was so plush, Rainbow could have sworn it was made out of clouds. In the center of the room stood a polished wooden table. And sitting in a chair next to the table, with his head laying over it and facing away from her, was a beige-coated earth pony stallion wearing a black suit. The pony lay very still, to the point where Rainbow Dash wondered if he was dead, until a soft sigh seemed to passed through his very being.
The undercover pegasus walked up to the pony and nudged him with a hoof. “Hey. You okay?”
The pony turned his head to face her. Rainbow Dash gasped as she instantly recognized who he was. “Hey! You’re Filthy Rich!”
“That I am,” Filthy Rich said barely above a whisper. “Who are you? My new Imperial guard?”
Rainbow removed her helmet, allowing her multi-colored mane to spill free. “Not exactly. I’m a Returner. Heard of us?”
Filthy Rich blinked and bolted straight up in his chair. “R-R-R-Returner?!” He fell out of the chair and backed away frantically on the floor. “No! Please! Please, don’t kill me! I didn’t mean to do it! It was stupid and I regret ever helping them!”
“Whoa! Whoa, buddy! Calm down.” Rainbow Dash placed down her helmet and sat in front of him, not making any sudden moves. “What’re you getting all worked up about?”
“Y-you’re an assassin, here to get revenge for me betraying the town!”
“You did what?!” In a flash, Rainbow was before the cowering stallion and pinned him down with a hoof to the chest. “You better start talking or I’ll do worse than what you think I’m here for!”
Filthy Rich wet himself but paid his lack of control no mind. “I... I was contact b-b-by an Imperial. They said that if I... if I told them the best way to invade the town they’d make me r-rich. Well, richer anyway.”
“But you’re already stinking rich!”
“Um, no. I’m Filthy. Stinking was my grandfather.”
“I don’t care!” Rainbow Dash grabbed Filthy by his ten-thousand gil suit and brought him nose to nose. “Listen punk, and listen good. When this whole mess is over and the Empire’s out of here, you are going to pay back everything you owe to the ponies of this town, plus interest. Got it?” The rich pony nodded his head frantically. “But for now, I need to get out of here. There’s supposed to be some kinda hidden passage in this house that leads out of town. You tell me where it is and I leave here without breaking your kneecaps.”
“S-s-sure thing,” Filthy stuttered. Rainbow let go of him and watched as he ran up to the bookshelf. He tipped a book towards him and stepped back as the entire bookshelf swung open to reveal a passage with a set of stairs leading down. “This will take you to an underground storage that was made when this house was built. At the back you’ll find an exit which leads a good mile out of the city. You should be able to go unseen by then.” He held up a hoof when he saw Rainbow Dash ready to head down. “You should put your helmet back on. Some Imperials are already down there.”
Rainbow Dash nodded and slipped her helmet back on. “I’ll be back to make sure you don’t try to weasel your way out of helping the town.”
Filthy Rich sighed and hung his head. “Believe me, I want nothing more than to see the Empire out of here and for me to go back to a simple business pony. I owe it to the town and to my daughter. I should never have listened to them.”
Rainbow gave a snort and rushed down the passage. Torches were lit with regular intervals, allowing her to see clearly ahead of her. The musty smell of old wood filled her nostrils, causing her to sneeze as she made her way further down. At the end of the stairs was a long passage carved out of the bedrock that supported the town above. Several doors lined the side of the passage but a metal one at the very end was what caught Rainbow Dash’s attention. She stepped forward towards it.
“Unhoof me this instant, you monsters!”
Rainbow Dash started, stopping herself and turning her gaze towards one of the wooden doors in the passage.
“You will never get away with this!”
Rainbow trotted over to the door and found that it was slightly ajar. She slowly pushed it open, enough to squeeze her head through, and looked inside. Her eyes widened.
The room was plain with only a single table in the center as its sole furnishing. There were three ponies inside the room with two of them dressed in Imperial armor and standing on opposite ends of the table. The third pony was tied to the table. The pony was a mare, with a light blue coat and platinum mane, and she strained and pulled against the metal bindings holding her down. Her head thrashed from side to side and Rainbow Dash caught sight of a horn as she continued her desperate struggle to free herself.
“Lay still!” one of the soldiers ordered and slammed a hoof into the mare’s muzzle. The unicorn recoiled from the blow but whipped her head back and snapped her teeth at the soldier. “Still got some fight in ya, huh? Good, because you’ll be doing a lot more fighting for us very soon.”
~ Product of her own hubris, battle-hardened Magitek Knight with a flair for the dramatic... ~
“Go to Tartarus! The Great and Powerful Trixie is through with all of you!”
“Not once we get this on you.” The soldier picked up a ring of metal that had gone unnoticed on the table and held it before her. “I’m sure you know what this is.”
Trixie’s eyes went wide as she beheld the slave crown. “You wouldn’t.”
“Feh, your abilities are too important to just toss aside,” the soldier explained. He motioned for the second soldier to step around and position himself behind Trixie’s head. “Hold her down and don’t let go until I’m done.”
“It’ll never work!” Trixie yelled and thrashed even more violently than before. “I’m not some weak-willed wimp like Twilight Sparkle! You put that on Trixie and she’ll kill you all!”
The soldier not holding the slave crown struck Trixie across her face, then held her head between his forehooves and forced it down on the table. The repeated hits dazed the unicorn, making her struggling cease. The other soldier raised the slave crown and lowered it towards Trixie’s temple.
All at once, the door to the room burst open and a green blur rocketed for the soldier holding the slave crown. The Imperial had no time to react and was tackled to the floor, flipping the table still holding its occupant along with him. He recovered quickly and pushed back against the pony pinning him down, drawing a knife from a shoulder holster with his teeth. This gave the other soldier enough time to run around the table and make a grab for the invader—
—only to be tripped up by a pink glow surrounding his hind legs.
“You should have killed Trixie when you had the chance, cretins,” Trixie snarled, her horn aglow.
Rainbow Dash was unaware of anything going on behind her. Her focus was the soldier beneath her and the knife the two struggled to control between them. Her grip on it slowly slipped from her hooves, the tip pointed at her throat. The armor she wore didn’t help, the bulk making her movements awkward and the extra balance from her wings were gone. The soldier had better purchase upon the floor and used his advantage to push the knife inch by inch towards Rainbow’s neck. It would take something awesome to get her out of this predicament.
It so happened that Awesome was her middle name.
In one smooth motion, Rainbow Dash let go of the knife completely and slipped backwards. The armor that had fit so loosely slid off of her and fell with a clatter on the soldier below. Before he had time to register what had happened, Rainbow drew her own dagger and sank it into his exposed neck. The soldier gurgled up blood as he released his last breath and ceased to move a moment later.
The adventurer grinned and withdrew her weapon. She cleaned it off on the discarded green armor and turned to deal with the other enemy in the room. She blinked upon seeing the second soldier laying on the floor, pierced by a sword through the chest. A faint pink glow surrounded the handle before fading out completely.
Rainbow Dash directed her attention to the only other pony in the room still alive. The unicorn mare was still strapped to the flipped table, hanging from the cuffs and a fine sheen of sweat running down her forehead. Her breaths came in short gasps and from the tiredness in her eyes, she looked ready to pass out at any second.
“Are... you going to just... stand there? Or are you going to... get Trixie free?”
Rainbow eyed Trixie with a hooded stare. “Why should I?”
Trixie closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths before answering, “Then why did you come here? Seems like a wasted effort if not.”
Rainbow Dash walked closer to the bound pony. “Before I do anything, I have something to ask you. Are you the one that saved a bunch of kids from some soldiers?”
Trixie opened her eyes and gave a tired stare. “Trixie did.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m through serving these sons of mules and watching them get away with anything they want.”
“Mules can’t have kids,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“You know what Trixie meant!”
“Wait, wait, Trixie? I think I’ve heard of you when I was gathering intel. You’re General Trixie?”
Trixie flipped her mane and gave a dazzling smile through a face full of bruises. “The same. Who are you?”
Placing a hoof to her chest, Rainbow Dash proudly said, “I’m Rainbow Dash, the most radical adventurer to have ever lived. I’m also a Returner and I’m here to mess up any plans the Empire has.”
“A Returner?” Trixie repeated, her eyes going wide.
“Yeah, so you can imagine I’m not too thrilled with saving ya and putting my neck on the line.”
“Then why did you?”
Rainbow Dash thrust her muzzle forward until her nose was touching Trixie’s. “Because some kids asked me to.” In a whirl of motion, Rainbow’s dagger sliced through the iron cuffs holding Trixie to the table. The unicorn landed on the floor with a pained grunt and lay there in an undignified heap. Rainbow Dash put away her dagger and glared down at the recovering general. “There, that’s as much help as you’re going to get from me.”
“Trixie didn’t need your help,” Trixie hissed as she tried to push herself up. “The Great and Powerful Trixie was about to… rescue herself with powers beyond your imagination.”
“Yeah, sure you...” Rainbow Dash trailed off as she caught sight of something that she hadn’t been expecting. Something that only one other pony she had met had. “Hey, you’ve got a marking on your flank just like Twilight.”
A gasp escaped Trixie and she covered up the wand and pixie dust marking with a hoof. “Don’t look!” Finding new reserves of strength, Trixie pushed herself to her hooves and rushed over to a white cape with shoulder guards attached to it hanging from a nail in the wall. She quickly draped the cape over her body and fastened it around her neck. “You didn’t see anything, understand?”
Rainbow Dash scratched her head and gave a quizzical look. “No, really, Twilight’s got one of those too. Does the Empire brand their unicorns or something?”
Her question went completely unnoticed. “Did you say... Twilight? As in, Twilight Sparkle?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Purple unicorn, went nuts when she found that esper thingy at Neighshe, and can blast the ever loving heck out of anything with that freaky fire of hers.”
Trixie went completely silent, her face going through a range of emotions that Rainbow Dash couldn’t identify fast enough. The quiet dragged on and on, to the point where Rainbow wondered if she had somehow fizzled Trixie’s brain and the unicorn was now mentally crippled. Rainbow scuffed at the ground, the awkward moment stretching beyond absurdity. She longed to leave the room and just leave the weird pony to her thoughts. In fact, that sounded like a good idea. Rainbow Dash turned and headed for the door. She hadn’t taken a single step when she heard Trixie finally speak.
“Take me with you.”
Rainbow Dash stumbled and nearly fell into a most unawesome heap. “What?” she asked and faced Trixie once again.
“You’re planning on escaping, right?” Trixie responded. “Trixie no longer has need of the Empire. They can all go straight to Tartarus where they came from. And you saw what they were going to do to Trixie.” She kicked the discarded slave crown where it clattered at Rainbow’s hooves. ”She will not let an insult like that go unpunished.”
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “You think I’m crazy? Taking an Imperial like you with me?”
“You’ll need Trixie to get out. There’s a door further down the passage that won’t open unless magic is cast on it. Fortunately for you,” Trixie paused and smirked as her horn lit up in a soft pink glow, “you are in the presence of the most magical unicorn in the world!”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Jeez, and Applejack says I’ve got an ego,” she muttered. To Trixie she said, “Forget it. Look, I only helped you out because some kids begged me to. Now that that’s done, we go our separate ways.” With that, she trotted towards the door.
“Neighshe will be under attack soon.”
Once again, the pegasus abruptly halted her movements. She glanced back at Trixie who was wearing the smuggest look Rainbow had ever seen from another pony. “You’re lying.”
“Not at all,” Trixie said. She stepped forward and locked eyes with Rainbow Dash. “This whole invasion of South Fillygaro was for one purpose only. To set up a base so that the Empire could invade Neighshe and get that esper. If you want to protect it, you’ll need Trixie’s advice. Your pitiful little band will stand no chance against the Empire’s army.”
Rainbow Dash swallowed, her mouth suddenly becoming dry. “How can I trust you?”
“Well, Trixie hasn’t killed you yet.”
“As if you had a chance!”
Trixie shrugged, pulled out the sword sticking in the soldier with her magic, cleaned it off and holstered it within a sheath beneath her cape. “It doesn’t matter what you think. Trixie’s leaving with or without you. You can tag along if you want.”
“Whoa, hold up!” Rainbow Dash positioned her hooves in a “T” formation. “If anypony’s doing the tagging along, it’s you! Got it?”
Trixie scoffed but didn’t follow up. She strode past Rainbow Dash and exited the room. A low growl came from the Returner and she zipped out and pushed her way past the general. Trixie sniffed and lifted her nose, continuing on her way. Moments later, they came upon the metal door at the end of the passage. Rainbow Dash grasped the handle on the door and gave it a pull.
It didn’t so much as budge.
Rainbow grimaced and pulled again, harder. She strained with all her might but nothing happened. With a gasp of frustration, she let go and backed away. “The heck is with this thing?”
“Having trouble?” Trixie asked lightly. She laughed and edged Rainbow Dash away with a hoof. “Watch and be amazed.” Trixie lowered her horn, pointing it directly at the door. Her pink hued magic surrounded the door and then a click was heard.
Trixie staggered and would have fallen had Rainbow Dash not reacted quickly and caught her. “Uh, hey, you okay?”
“Trixie... is just... fine,” Trixie gasped and pushed herself away. She nearly fell again but managed to catch herself. “Just a little winded, that’s all.” She closed her eyes and started to chant and soon two strings of white pearls flew out of her horn, looped around and back in. Her body became covered in a greenish glow. Once it faded away, Trixie stood up straighter and looked more alert than before. “There, that did the trick.”
“That... that’s just like... Twilight’s magic,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Hmph, you’ll find that Trixie’s magic is far superior to that overrated loser.” Without waiting for a reply, Trixie pulled on the door handle and the door creaked open without any fuss. Not looking back, the ex-general walked through and into the stone hallway beyond.
Rainbow Dash watched her go, a frown on her muzzle. With narrowed eyes she followed after Trixie, muttering how she managed to get herself into this situation.
.o.O.o.
Matilda and Filthy Rich were correct: the secret passage under the mansion led far out of South Fillygaro, well past the sentries guarding the town. As soon as Rainbow Dash emerged from a hole covered by a false rock, she wasted no time in taking to the skies. She twisted, looped and darted all around, reveling in the freedom denied her all day long.
Following on the ground, Trixie was no less relieved in being out the dark and dank passage that led her here. She was, however, growing annoyed with her reluctant companion’s antics. “If you are done messing around, we still have a ways to go to get to Neighshe, if Trixie is not mistaken!” she called up to the pegasus flying around.
“Chillax, I’m just stretching out,” Rainbow lazily replied. “It’s been a long day for me and I need a sec to unwind.”
“It hasn’t been a picnic for Trixie either,” Trixie said and began walking west.
“Well, it’s just a quick trip through a cave, then a blistering desert and a hike up some mountains.” Rainbow Dash glided down to the ground and fell into step with the unicorn. “Just routine for me.”
“Lovely,” Trixie muttered.
The two fell into silence, neither really knowing what to say to the other that wouldn’t start an argument. The sunny weather held steady, making the trek to the cave a pleasant journey, current company notwithstanding. The sun was just beginning to dip beyond the horizon when Rainbow shot up into the air and spotted the cave entrance that would take them to the Fillygaro desert. Minutes later, the two mares entered the cave, Trixie lighting up her horn to give some illumination through the dim corridors.
The two ponies had only been traveling for a few minutes when there came a faint rumbling through the rocky walls.
Rainbow Dash stopped and flared her wings, smacking Trixie in the muzzle.
“Ow! Watch it!” Trixie cried out and rubbed her sore snout.
“Did you feel that?” Rainbow Dash asked. She scanned the area but couldn’t detect anything strange.
“Yes, Trixie felt that! Do it again and I’ll freeze those feather dusters off of you!”
“No, dummy, I meant that shaking just now.”
Trixie huffed and brushed past. “Trixie doesn’t know what you’re talking about. Keep moving.”
Rainbow Dash gave one more confused look around, but shrugged and continued on.
Further on, they climbed down a set of stairs to a lower part of the cave. Just as Rainbow put her hoof down on the final step, another rumble shook the walls, causing water droplet to fall from the ceiling. “Stop! There it is again!”
Up ahead, Trixie turned to glare at Rainbow. “‘What is it again?”
“That shaking! Can’t you feel it?”
“Trixie thinks you have your head still in the clouds, pegasus. The ground shakes all the time. Now come on! You’re starting to really annoy Trixie.” Without waiting for her companion to retort, Trixie headed further down the tunnel.
Rainbow Dash let out a frustrated growl. She was sure she hadn’t felt anything like this before when she came through here with the others. Still, perhaps she was just being overly paranoid. Rainbow shook off the feeling and rushed to catch up.
Not much further on and the two came upon the small pond that signaled the end of the cave. The turtles continued to swim within its calm waters with not a care in the world. Rainbow Dash eagerly bent down and lapped up the water with her tongue, a satisfied, “Ahhhhh!” releasing from her after she had drank her fill.
“That’s disgusting.”
Rainbow turned to see Trixie grimacing at the sight of her drinking from cave water. “Are you going to complain about every little thing I do? We still have a ways to go, you know. And I bet your water in the Empire doesn’t taste as good as this.”
“Oh, contraire,” Trixie replied with a smirk. “Our water is processed through the most elaborate and sophisticated purification system in the world. Every single molecule of grime and dirt is taken out, leaving the most perfect drinking water behind. It’s how Trixie has remained so youthful and beautiful. Not like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“Only that you look like something the cat dragged in, what with that messy mane and muddy coat.”
“Oh, yeah! Better to live my life on the edge than be pampered like some sissy princess.”
Trixie bristled. “Sissy?! The Great and Powerful Trixie will have you know that Trixie went through the most painful training to get where she is today! Not that I’d expect an amateur like you to understand!”
“Uh, Trixie?”
“Trixie spent her life in the wilderness, all on her own before the Empire found her, so she’s way more on the edge than you ever were.”
“Trixie.”
“Furthermore, Trixie has led armies the likes of which—”
Rainbow Dash shoved a hoof in Trixie’s mouth, cutting off her rant. “What’s big, has a huge front wheel, all metal, covered in drills and painted blue?”
Trixie blinked, caught by surprise from the bizarre question. “Uh, that would be a tunnel armor.”
Rainbow pointed a hoof over Trixie’s shoulder. “Then watch out for that tunnel armor.”
The unicorn gasped and whirled around just in time to receive an arc of electricity to the chest. Trixie staggered back, her body convulsing uncontrollably from the currents running through her. She distantly heard a shout and felt herself pushed away, landing on the ground a few hooves from where she was. With effort, Trixie managed to cast a cure spell and clear her body of the sudden jolt. She scrambled to her hooves and took in the situation.
The tunnel armor rolled through a hole carved out of the cave wall using two massive rotating claws on its front. Rainbow Dash skidded around the drilling machine, her dagger drawn and striking it wherever she figured would do the most damage. A nozzle appeared from a hidden compartment on top of the machine and spewed a stream of fire. Rainbow squawked in surprise and flew away before the fire could roast her alive. The tunnel armor continued forward, releasing its fire and blocking the cave exit.
Rainbow Dash flicked her attention over to Trixie and noticed she was back up. “I can’t get close to it! That flamethrower won’t let me through!”
“Trixie will draw its attacks!” Trixie called out. She magicked her sword out and held it in front of her, tip pointing towards the ceiling. “When she does, hit its control box on its backside!”
“What do you mean, draw its attacks? There’s not enough room to do that!”
“That’s where you are wrong.” Levitating her sword higher up, she sent a trickle of magic through it. The blade gave off a starburst of light and all of a sudden, the fire from the tunnel armor veered off course like it was being sucked by a vacuum. The fire struck the sword, traveled down its length and flowed into Trixie’s horn. Instead of burning the unicorn appendage off, Trixie appeared to glow with power. “Attack now!”
Totally stupefied, Rainbow Dash could only stare at the spectacle before her.
“What are you waiting for?! Watch out!”
The adventurer jerked at Trixie’s frantic cry and dove out of the way on pure instinct. The rotating claw of the tunnel armor clamped down, missing her by inches.
“That’s it, you pile of scrap!” Rainbow Dash yelled and hopped on top of the machine. Another panel opened, this time revealing a fan that blew a blast of cold air. However, just like with the fire, it was directed at Trixie’s sword instead of freezing Rainbow Dash solid. Not wasting the opportunity, Rainbow clamped down on her dagger and sunk it into anything that looked important. Sparks and fire began to erupt out of the tunnel armor’s panels, shorting out systems and destroying key components. A small explosion ruptured the rest of the mechanics running the machine and suddenly the tunnel armor’s movements and attacks ceased.
Rainbow Dash flipped her dagger in the air and caught it with the tip of her wing. “Ha! Take that.” She jumped down and trotted over to Trixie who appeared no worse for wear. “What the hay was that with your sword? Is it some type of magic magnet or something?”
Trixie chuckled and placed her sword away. “Hardly. Trixie’s runic power comes from Trixie herself. The sword merely helps to act as a focus to draw in magic. She could have done it without the sword if she wanted to.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Not at all. In fact, absorbing all that power has only made the Great and Powerful Trixie stronger. Soon, Trixie will have no equal in the entire world!” She reared up on her hind legs and a let loose a wave of tiny ice crystals over her head. The crystals glittered in the light from the tunnel exit, giving the appearance of stars shining in the night.
“... Rrrrriiiiiight,” Rainbow Dash said, giving the unicorn a hooded stare. “C’mon, let's get going.”
“What? No sense for the dramatic? And after all Trixie did to save us from that thing?”
Rainbow shook her head and headed for the exit. “This is gonna be a long trip...”
.o.O.o.
“Got anything to say?” Stardust asked
“Not really, other than the most unbearable character has finally been revealed,” Spike answered. “Yay.”
“Ah, c’mon, Trixie doesn’t seem so bad. She saved Dash.”
“One good deed doesn’t make up for a lifetime of obnoxiousness. Anyway, time for our wonderful audience to vote again!”
“There’s us two on our way to Neighshe, Twilight on her way to Neighshe, and gasp, AJ on her way to Neighshe!”
“So take your pick and the crew will get on it!”
“Ta-ta!”
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More AJ and company. I did not really expect them to be imprisoned, and I can only wonder how they'll manage to survive once the poison hits Domare...
...Also, now you have me thinking of Rainbow x Trixie shipping with this chapter
AJ
Would be nice to see Stardust and Spike get the spotlight for a little while.
You're missing that italic closing tag.
It was nice to see my favorite scenario from the game here, so I really liked this chapter.
Maybe I should point out a few things though:
1.) I think you forgot to put in Trixie's introduction like you've done to the other characters.
2.) there's one point where everything goes off in italics. You might want to fix that
But aside from that, I've really loved how you made Dash's approach to Trixie different from the game, not trusting her and pretty much annoyed with her (not like I can blame her
But I still love Trixie)
So anyway, I think I'll be nice to Stardust and Spike and say that it's time for them to have the spotlight. Hope to see more soon!
Finally! Great chapter! I think you had a slight problem with the italics though...
and I spy a pirates of the caribbean shout out. Nicely done.
2017417
This is the part where we start messing with game canon. Things will never be the same...
2018370
Noted!
2018487
Judging by the votes, you may get your wish.
2018598
Ugh, thanks. Fixed. I even scanned through this before going to bed.
2018624
Trixie's introduction is in there, but I missed italicizing it. It's fixed now, so thank you for pointing it out. Also, we've only just begun the RD/Trixie dynamic, so look forward to more!
2018688
Yep! Got it fixed. If you had problems reading it last time, give it another go now.
2018751
I tend to slip in references to movies all the time, though I try to restrain myself from going overboard.
Thank you all for the comments and the corrections! More is coming so stay tuned!
I delcare Spike and Stardust adventure is a...GO!
I would say aj but I think I will instead vote for spike
I liked what was done to force RD's hoof here. Why didn't she just fly out of there? Why'd she bother to help Trixie at all? Why did she keep Trixie with her? All were explained and justified, much to Dash's annoyance. Sure, it railroaded her a bit, but the chapter title was apt, and conflict against the situation can be quite entertaining.
Also liked seeing Trixie with some moves! Sure sure, Sham!Trixie is technically more canon, but I find her to be more of an interesting character if she can put her money where her muzzle is. I mean, that was the entire point of Magic Duel, after all: a giant "what if".
Runic is OP, yo.
Trixie as Celes is unexpected, but I can see it. I could even see Show!Trixie being like Game!Celes. But only if she was broken worse than MLP ever would’ve allowed. The opera house scene should be interesting, if it plays out anything like in the game.
If you’re still working on this at all, you might want to consider adding the Death and Gore tags.
Something I forgot to mention in my first comment is that it’s too bad Spoiled didn’t exist when this was written, because she’d be a much better traitor than Filthy.
10373099
The dangers of writing a story when the show is still going is the canon can mess up everything. However, more canon meant we got more characters to work with, even when a perfect role for them was already taken.
Aw, well. We deal with it as best we can.
Whoa Trixie is going to be Celes the white mage very interesting choice to play as Celes cool
Okay wow so it looks like Rainbow dash got herself trap in the city by Imperial soldiers and she needs to find a way to get out of here and it took her a while to find away for an exit but she stopped and saw cranky and he lead her to the house where Matilda and the kids took Refuge but apparently the kids told rainbow to save a pony who save them so she made a promise to save this Pony and finally free these ponies in this town from the soldiers and the empire while she was still looking a way out of this town for the secret exit she found a pony and it looks like it was the great and powerful Trixie got herself chained up and they all look like they're going to put the slave crown on her and tell Rainbow dash saved her but of course Trixie was very not appreciated for that but at least they finally got the stuff out of there Unfortunately the armor tunnel stop them ( and by the way I died from him multiple times because I didn't know what was I doing it was super annoying ) but after the intense battle they finally defeated him and it looks like they're on the way to the town so I wonder who else going to take on this journey