The End Of Friendship

"Twilight, darling...please, let me work this out with...wait, why is your horn glowi---AAH!!!

"I'm sorry, officers, I was just throwing this little girl a party because she was scared of a few wolves! No harm done, right? Right? Uh oh...."

"Hey, get yer' hooves off o' me! Ah didn't do nothin'! Go ahead, kill me!"

"You're next, Rainbow....you and Fluttershy...."

I gasped as I sat up in bed, taking in my surroundings as I slowly realized that what I had heard was a simple nightmare. I looked out a nearby window, seeing that it was morning. Or, as close as it can get to morning when the world is wrapped in eternal twilight. I heard a voice at my door.

"Mommy? Are you okay? I heard you yelling...."

I couldn't help but smile at the little filly who stood before me. "I'm fine, Sky. Just had a nightmare, is all."

Sky Dash was my 5 year-old daughter, who I loved and cared for. Her coat was a bright orange, her hair was a medium length, that went down to her shoulders, and had become somewhat rainbow-colored, kind of like mine, and her cutie mark had yet to appear.

A few years after Twilight came into power, I met a cute stallion from the royal guard. Our love eventually grew and we married, and I gave birth to my beloved daughter. Sadly, my husband was recently killed in another useless revolt in an attempt to put Twilight out of power.

"Okay...." Sky mumbled, "What was it about, Mommy?"

I thought for a second, "Um....nothing. Just don't worry about it, okay?

Sky almost looked saddened as she nodded and walked out of the room.

I slowly pulled myself out of bed to get ready for the day, then took a quick shower before putting on some fresh clothes.

Clothes had become more popular with ponies ever since Twilight came to rule, since all areas outside of Canterlot had become dangerous places, where you had to fight for survival every second of your life. If you wore clothing or armor, getting stabbed with a knife or shot with an arrow hurt just a bit less. My usual standard getup consisted of a brown leather jacket with holes in the sides so that my wings could fit through and a pair of jeans, along with a pair of goggles that I kept around my forehead, in case I needed to see in the dark, or in sand storms, and a grey backpack that I wore on my back, to hold any supplies essential to survival that I would find while scavenging.

As I left the bedroom, Sky sat at the table and looked at me with needing eyes. I laughed, "I guess you're hungry, aren't you?"

She nodded, "Do we have any food left?"

I shrugged and walked over to the fridge and opened it, only to be sadly disappointed, as I saw that it was completely empty. "Um....looks like I have to grocery shopping," I gave a half-hearted laugh.

I could easily see that Sky wasn't amused. She may have been young, but she wasn't dumb. She knew that 'grocery shopping' meant scavenging for food. "Just....please, be careful," She told me.

I smiled and ruffled her mane, "I'll be fine, Squirt," With that, I trotted out the door, and into The Ponyville Wasteland.

Ponyville, or as ponies had come to call it, The Ponyville wasteland, was a mere shell of its former self. What used to be a bright, bustling town full of colors and life was now nothing but a small settlement that provided safety to travelers.

In fact, all areas outside of Canterlot, which had become a sprawling utopian society, were nothing that they once were. Cloudsdale had just become one big factory, Fillydelphia had become a large criminal hideout, and the entirety of Manehatten had been burnt to the ground when Twilight came to rule.

As I walked through the town, I heard a radio broadcast playing.

"Princess Twilight needs you for the Equestrian Military! Fight the enemies of our great country! Win all the pretty mares! Join today! We now tune in to the scheduled execution!"

"Execution?" I thought aloud. "Who could it be this time?"

I shrugged, thinking that a small break couldn't hurt, and entered a nearby favorite bar of mine, where the broadcast played a bit louder, and I heard that familiar voice.

"My loyal subjects...." Twilight began. "I have brought you all here today to witness the execution of a traitor...this mare defiled the crown, and works against our beloved country of Equestria. Fluttershy, do you have any last words?"

My eyes widened. "No...no...." I whispered. "Come on, Twilight, maybe all our other friends, but not Fluttershy....she doesn't deserve it..."

I heard Fluttershy's voice, whimpering. "Tw...Twilight...this isn't you, please..." I heard her burst into tears.

"Very well," Twilight continued. "Executioners, proceed."

I closed my eyes, a few tears running down my face, as I heard the pulling of a lever, followed by a dull 'thud', as the deed was done.

"May this be a lesson to all citizens. Traitors are killed. Speaking of which, we are still on the lookout for the fugitive known as Rainbow Dash. If you have any information, you are immediately required to report it to the Equestrian military. Good day, everyone."

The bartender, who everyone knew as 'Dusty', flipped the switch on the radio, turning it off. "Ya sure are lucky everyone around here likes you, Dash"

I didn't say a word as I stared at the ground

Dusty looked at me, "Hey, did you know that girl who got killed?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeah...she was my best friend...."

"Wait, so she was another one of those element mares that the princess' been killing?" He asked, washing a cup with a rag.

I nodded again, "And now...I'm the only one left, it seems," I sighed. "Never thought that I would be the one to survive longest...my guess was always Applejack, or Pinkie Pie."

Dusty gave a knowing nod. "Hey, why does she want all you girls dead, anyways?" He set a drink in front of me, "On the house," He said.

"Thanks," I replied, taking a sip, before setting the cup down. "She wants us because the elements of harmony are the only way she can become immortal, like the princesses before her. A while back, she tried to get us to give over the elements willingly, and we all refused. So, she decided to hunt all of us down and kill us. She killed Rarity herself...right there in the meeting hall when we all refused. Pinkie got caught when she was throwing a party for a scared foal. And Applejack was caught running food to a local shelter....she actually put up a good fight before they took her down. And you just heard about Fluttershy...." I felt my eyes start to water again.

Dusty patted my shoulder, "Hey don't worry, kid. Ponyville's got your back."

I started crying some more, "No, you don't....you just don't understand, okay?  Every night, I hear them....their last words before they died....I can't even sleep at night!"

"Hey," He started. "They were all good mares, but you can't keep dwelling on the past. What's done is done. All you have to worry about now is protecting that daughter of yours."

I hesitated before speaking again, "Yeah....I guess you're right. Sky...she means the world to me now...and it kills me that she has to live her foalhood in these conditions. If I could have anything....just anything....it would be to make things better for her."

"Well," He said as he started cleaning a bowl. "Maybe one day that could happen. All it takes is one pony who wants to make a difference."

I looked at the ground again, kicking my hooves together "That's the problem, Dusty. So many ponies wanted to make a difference. Hell, my own husband wanted to make a difference. But did they? No, they didn't. They all ended up dead."

"That's not what I meant. I mean ponies that actually want change. Not those idiotic 'rebels' who charge at the castle like buffoons. I'm talking about the ones who put time into strategizing, carefully planning their every move. Finding their enemy's weakness."

I sighed, "Well, when someone like that comes around, let me know." With that, I got up out of my seat, and left the building.

After my quick little break, I decided to do what I had come into town for in the first place; look for fresh food.

I started heading towards a garden that I had always gone to, when a stallion bumped into me. "Oh, uh, sorry....." I mumbled.

He had a white coat, and red hair that was cut short, as well as a cutie mark of a skull, and wore a black vest. "Well, lookey here..." He began. "Rainbow Dash, element of loyalty...the princess is looking all over for you..." He pulled out a knife from his vest.

I stood there, cocking my head at him, "Look, don't turn me in. I got money. See?" I pulled out a small bag of bits and tossed it at his feet.

He simply laughed and kicked the bag to the side, "Do you even know how much the princess is paying for your flank? Come on, stay still, and it'll be easy..."

At this point, I narrowed my eyes, "Yeah, easy for me, not for you."

"Very well...so be it," He grinned wildly as he charged at me and tackled me to the ground, as his foreleg moved to bring the knife into my shoulder.

I grunted as I caught his hood just before I was stabbed. I struggled to hold it back, as the stallion seemed rather strong.

He smiled, "Stop fighting it, Dashie."

Suddenly, my eyes widened, and I felt a burst of anger inside of me, "No...one....CALLS ME THAT!!!!" I punched him hard in the side of the head, and he stumbled off of me. I quickly got up, before pulling out my own knife, a simple blade that I had found scavenging one morning.

I swung the knife at him just as he got up, and he blocked the strike with his foreleg. But I was smarter than that. As he was busy using his foreleg to keep me from gutting him, I dropped the blade into my other free hoof. He barely registered the move, as he moved his other hoof to block the strike, but he was too late, as I sank the knife into his shoulder, letting out a small squirt of blood.

"Gah!" He screamed in pain as he stumbled backwards, half-heartedly trying to pull the weapon out of himself.

I charged at him, leaving behind my signature rainbow trail, and slammed him into a nearby building, before giving him one last punch in the groin.

He slowly slumped down the wall, coughing up blood, "Not...not bad, Dash...."

"Shut up," I said, pulling the blade out of his shoulder, as he let out another cry of pain. "Now, don't rat me out, or I'll find you."

Suddenly, a small radio on his vest came to life, "Slick, we got the girl. Do you copy? Slick?"

Slick smiled as he spoke back into the radio. "Yeah, I copy....I ran into a bit of trouble, though. I'm....I'm wounded pretty bad..."

I raised an eyebrow, "Who the hell are you talking to?"

The radio responded again, "Sorry Slick, you knew you were expendable. You did good. We're leaving."

Slick sighed as he threw the radio to the side, "Figures...."

I lifted him up by his shoulders, "I'll ask again, who are you talking to?"

He gave a weak laugh, "You don't understand, Dash....you see, I'm just a decoy....a distraction, if you will..."

My expression became a bit more confused, "Distraction...? What are you talking about?"

He coughed again, "You thought you could hide from the princess forever...but that isn't possible, you know....she's finally found you..."

"What...?" I gulped at his words. "H-How did she find me?"

"She has her ways....but she knew she couldn't just catch you and arrest you....no, she had to find a way to bring you right to her....and I think she just did..."

"Wait a minute...." I pieced together all of this in my mind. He was right, even if Twilight found me, I was the fastest thing alive, she had no chance of easily taking me down. Which meant....

We have the girl.

I gasped, "Sky!!! Twilight, that bitch!!!"

Slick laughed again, "Ahh, she finally gets it."

I was done with this asshole, "Shut up!" I said, slicing his throat in one swift motion, his blood splattering against the wall, as he choked to death on his own blood.

I threw his body to the ground, taking off as quick as I could and flying to my house. As I landed, I saw it was too late, as the door was kicked kicked in, and the windows were shattered.

"No....no....!" I frantically searched through the house, "Sky? Sky!!!"

I checked everywhere. The bedroom, the bathroom, the cupboards, everywhere, but my daughter was nowhere to be found. It was hopeless.

After a full hour of searching, I finally gave up, collapsing on the floor and screaming in rage, "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" I slammed my hoof into the floorboard, making a visible dent, when a noticed a small envelope lying on the floor. I looked at it, seeing that it bared the royal seal, and my rage grew even more.

"Twilight...." I snarled, ripping open the envelope forcefully, and reading its contents.

Dear Rainbow Dash,

Its been a while, my dear friend, hasn't it? Let's see...when was the last time I saw you? Oh yes, when you, and all of my other 'friends' betrayed me. Well, as you can see, you're running out of friends now. In fact, it appears that you are the only one left. Shocking, isn't it? But now, I've finally found you....however, I knew it wouldn't be that easy, would it? No....you are, as you used to say, 'The fastest flier in all of Equestria.' So, instead, I took your daughter. A fine filly, indeed. Just like her mother....but, let's get down to business. Here's the deal, I am going to give you one month, for...perhaps, a tough decision. You will come to the castle yourself, and be publicly executed, and we will release your daughter into Canterlot's foster care system, where she will be raised accordingly. If you do not come within the month, the filly is the one who is executed. I do hope you end up making the right decision, Rainbow. For all of us.

Sincerely,

Your old friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

I finished reading the letter, visibly shaking. What Twilight was offering was indeed huge. It was either the life of my only daughter, or the lives of all ponies across Equestria.

I slowly shook my head, crumpling up the letter and throwing it to the side, then got up and walked to the kitchen, pouring myself a glass of water.

As I drank, I knew that this would be very tough indeed. I would have to think long and hard before coming to a decision. I put the glass down, and walked to the bedroom, before flopping down on the bed. I felt so....useless. Ashamed that I had fallen for Twilight's scheme. Ashamed for not being there to rescue Sky....

So many things weighed heavy on my mind, and I just felt useless.

I curled up under the covers, and slowly cried myself to sleep.