Though Hell Should Bar the Way

The next morning, Rainbow Dash woke when someone moved next to her. She kept her eyes closed, hoping that whoever it was didn’t want her to do more of whatever she’d done last night. None of the usual parts of her body were screaming in pain, but the stallion might have been waiting until today to get to the really bad stuff.

She chanced opening an eye and tried to make sense of what she saw. She was outside, it looked like the sun was just coming up. Then someone spoke.

“I was hoping it was a dream.”

“Sorry. How about I untie your arms for a bit and let you straighten out? You gotta be sore.”

“Maybe some mares can’t handle a little light bondage, but I--”

“Then leave it on. I was just tryin’ to be nice.”

Twilight… Applejack… Applejack was here, and here wasn’t Master’s kennel. Dash’s eyes snapped open wide. “I’m… free?”

“Mornin’, Dash. You’re free, and you’re wearin’ clothes, and it’s time for breakfast.”

Dash rolled over to look at Applejack and grinned. “Yesterday really happened!”

Applejack smiled and nodded. She was sitting crosslegged, eating an apple. Twilight was also trying to eat an apple, but she was crouched on the blanket, arms bound behind her back.

Applejack glanced at Twilight and shrugged to Dash. “It’s what she wants.”

Dash sat up and took an apple for herself. “So, what’s the plan for today? Where are we going?”

“First off, we’re gonna head back to the path, then overshoot about an hour past it. That way any one tryin’ to follow us is either gonna have to split up, or guess right if they don’t wanna lose an hour findin’ the campsite here.”

“Isn’t that just going to take us more time to get where we’re going?” Dash asked.

“We got time,” Applejack said with a shrug. “We don’t want to lead ‘em there, so we’re gonna hav'ta wander a bit so we’re sure we ain’t bein’ followed.”

“To be sure we aren’t being followed to the place that might not be there?” Twilight said raising an eyebrow as she looked up from her apple. “Applejack, if you think we’re going to one of those made up towns that somehow weren’t touched by the revolution, you’re dreaming. There aren’t any. Black collars invent them as an excuse not to listen to their masters.”

“That could be,” Applejack admitted.

“Don’t listen to her, AJ. Even if she knew for sure there was a place like that, she’d lie about it so we’d go back.” Dash glared at Twilight. “But we aren’t.”

Applejack nodded. “We’ll be in just as much trouble if we give up now as if we find out we were wrong.”

“Except we won’t be wandering in the dangerous woods for who knows how long,” Twilight pointed out.

“It ain’t that dangerous. Hivers only live near town, and I know how to handle a rape vine. And it just so happens I know these woods. For example, Dash, I got a job for you today.”

“Yeah?” Dash’s ears perked up.

“We’re headed through the fire swamp. I’m gonna have my hands full with the monster that lives there, so I need you to help Twilight through.” Applejack peeked in one of the packs again before letting it go, apparently satisfied with what was in it.

“Fire swamp? Monster?” Twilight tensed and stared at Applejack.

“Don’t worry, Twilight.” Applejack gave her a smirk. “It’s just somethin’ black collars made up to make it hard to get to the town we made up.”

Dash snorted a laugh.

Twilight took a deep breath and shook her head. “So there really is some town out here that you’ve been to?”

“There’s a place we used to deliver pies to. About 500 ponies, and even when things were good I don’t think ten of them ever left the place.” Applejack leaned back and bit her lip. “A few months ago, there was a mare bein’ punished on the farm, and her master had this accent… they got a weird accent out there. Anyhow, he wouldn’t say much ‘bout where he was from, even to Mac, but he said he got run outta town by the whores and homosexuals and was doin’ well for himself out in Equestria.”

She shrugged “I ain’t been there in years. Maybe it’s gone, all the ponies just left. Maybe it’s just like everyplace else thanks to the magic. But I’ll lay bits that the caribou ain’t sent no guards through the fire swamp just to keep five hundred swamp folks in line.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never even heard of this place.”

“Good.” Dash shot her a look. “I hope they’ve never heard of you, either.” She paused a moment, then asked, “AJ? You’re gonna fight a monster by yourself?”

“Yup.” Applejack nodded. “I done it before. I know a few tricks, so don’t you worry.”

“I can help.” She smiled hopefully. “You know I’m good in a fight, we make a good team.”

“I’d love to have ya’ sugarcube, but I only got one pair of fireproof boots, and if you’re payin’ attention to the monster and not the fire you’re likely to get burned.”

“I--” Dash stopped and felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. Burned. She took a deep breath, then swallowed. “Okay.”

“We oughta get goin’.” Applejack straightened up, then got to her hooves. “Dash, ya’ mind eatin’ while we walk?”

Dash looked at the untouched apple in her hands, then started to stand. “No problem, let’s go.”

Applejack helped Twilight up and Dash repacked the blanket, then they set off through the woods back the way they came.

As they walked, Rainbow Dash stared at the apple in her hand, turning it over and admiring every detail of the fruit. The bread and peanut butter that had been last night’s dinner was the first food Dash had in a half a year that wasn’t covered in cum, or flavored to taste like cum or something worse. She could still remember a half a year ago she’d gotten a stomach flu and couldn’t keep anything down, so they’d actually given her some dry crackers. She figured she must have been close to dying.

She was jealous of AJ. Being on the farm, having Mac for a master… she felt bad because she knew that AJ was still a slave, that she’d still had to do stuff that nopony should ever be forced to do. But there had been someone who cared.

Dash never had that. Just constant pushing, constant pain, constant humiliation. Her master only cared what she could do for him or how he could use her, and the bastard seemed to enjoy whatever pain he had to inflict to get what he wanted from her. Then, when he was done with her, he made sure she knew she was worthless.

Fear and anger were the only things that kept her going. She hated to admit that she was afraid, but… her master could hurt her any way he wanted, and he’d proved that he would. There was nothing she could do, and no way she could fight, and that piled up inside her as a white hot rage at the entire world.

Except for AJ. From the moment they saw each other yesterday, Dash remembered what friendship was. All of a sudden, there was a pony in Equestria who cared about her, who was willing to take the painful part of a rape just because Dash didn’t want to, or who wouldn’t make things she wanted depend on her being ‘good.’ Just having a pony who would hear an awful thing that happened and say they were sorry for her made her happy. She never thought that she, Rainbow Dash, would see a pony pitying her as a beautiful thing, but in her world it meant that she wasn’t garbage, and ponies weren’t all monsters.

Dash’s thoughts were interrupted by a sharp whisper. “Down, now!”

She looked up and saw Applejack dive into some brush, one arm pulling Twilight with her and the other hand drawing her knife. Dash followed her lead, diving to the other side, and looked around nervously.

The woods around them were still, Applejack was keeping Twilight quiet and there didn’t seem to be another pony anywhere around. Then a movement caught Dash’s eye, a shadow, and she looked up to see a pegasus passing over a clearing ahead of them. Her eyes went wide and she held her breath as he continued, flying right over the spot where they hid.

Minutes ticked by. He didn’t land. No one showed up. More time passed. Dash was sure she’d been sitting there for hours, but any time she thought of moving she imagined being the one who gave them all away. Eventually, she saw Applejack slowly look up from her cover and look around. Then she stood and pulled Twilight to her hooves. Finally Dash stood up.

“Search patterns,” Dash whispered. “They’re looking for us.”

“Really?” Twilight gave a mock gasp. “I can’t imagine why, when Applejack kidnapped a princess and is currently holding half of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. That doesn’t look like something King Dainn would notice at all!”

The look on Applejack’s face said clearly that these considerations hadn’t been a part of her plan, but she took a deep breath and said, “Well, we’re gonna keep on goin’.”

“Hold on.“ Dash pulled her pack off her back and started digging through it for the scraps of cloth they’d cut from their clothes. “I’ve got the brightest hair and tail, I need to get them covered. AJ, you might wanna tuck in your tail. Your hat should cover your hair from above.”

“Great idea, Dash.” Applejack grinned as she tucked some of her hair down the back of her shirt and pulled her tail inside her pants.

Dash grabbed a piece of green fabric and a knife, cutting it into a vague square, and wrapped it around her head, pushing as much of her rainbow hair inside as she could. Then she pulled her tail inside her pants and let it trail down her leg. It tickled and itched a little, but she hoped that anyone scanning from above for a flashy stripe of colors would be out of luck.

“Twilight should be dark enough that no one is gonna spot her from a mile away. As long as we get down in time, we should be safe.” Dash replaced the items in her pack, proud of herself.

“See, Twi? You’re good at this escapin’ thing.” Applejack gave Twilight a slap on the back and started to lead her toward their destination.

“It’s a natural talent.” Dash giggled and caught up with them as Twilight stuck out her tongue at both AJ and Dash.

***

The three walked most of the morning, occasionally taking cover when AJ or Dash thought they spotted a search pegasus. They hid more often than they needed to, but they did confirm three more that passed over them. As they came to the relatively open path, they hid and waited for an opening before making their move.

One thing Dash pointed out was that the searchers all seemed to stop and turn back once they got to a specific point to the north, and that point wasn’t too far away. Dash and Applejack agreed that it must be the edge of the fire swamp. The guards didn’t know they had supplies, and they probably wouldn’t expect three naked slaves to risk the danger to head north, especially if they thought that the plan had to eventually take them to the Everfree in the south, to look for the Elements. This cheered them considerably, they just had to make it across and they’d be in the clear for quite a while.

When AJ decided they’d walked far enough to the west, she left Dash with Twilight while she went to see the layout of this part of the swamp. She normally crossed it at the path and didn’t want any surprises when they were trying to keep safe and out of sight.

While they waited, Dash fidgeted with one of the knives. She tried to look through the forest in the direction that AJ had gone. She tried to scan the skies above that direction. She wondered how long it had really been, and if AJ was safe.

She was making another trip a few steps into the forest to try to see AJ coming when Twilight spoke up:

“Are you going to kill me in the fire swamp?” her head was tilted to the side, like she wasn’t afraid, just curious.

“Huh?” Dash blinked. While it was hardly the craziest thing Twilight had said today, it was a weird question. “AJ told me to keep you safe.”

“I thought you wanted to put me down like a rabid dog.” Twilight raised her eyebrows. “That’s what you said last night.”

“I’m not gonna kill you. And I’m not gonna let you die. I think you’re totally crazy, and you don’t even know what you did to me, or how much you hurt me. I think you’re never gonna be right again, and we’re never gonna be friends again.” Dash sighed and looked in the direction Applejack had headed. “But, AJ wants you alive.”

Twilight nodded with a little smile. “That’s interesting.”

“What, her wanting you alive?” Dash said, beginning to wonder if Twilight was losing her mind even more. Maybe she needed to be insulted by a stallion every day or she went nuts.

“No.” Twilight smiled a little more. “You and AJ. Are you a lesbian?”

Dash just stared at Twilight. “I-- don’t know. I used to just not care, but now I don’t even want to see another stallion, ever again.” Twilight rolled her eyes, and Dash went on, “But me and AJ aren’t together. I mean, we were dating a little before things went to hell, but I was just telling her last night--”

“So, what is it about AJ that makes you want her to be your master, and why can’t you give that to the stallion who owns you?” Twilight asked point blank.

“WHAT?” Dash’s mouth fell open, and it took her a few moments to find words. “I don’t want AJ to be my-- my master! I don’t want anyone to be my master!”

“That’s not what it looks like to me. Applejack, sure, maybe… she had the best master she could ask for, and she’s still not happy. She just needs a lot of training on a mare’s place in the world, and obviously Mac wasn’t the one to give it to her. You seem to understand your place when you’re with Applejack-- you do what she asks, even if it’s not what you want. You try to please her… if you could just learn to offer that to a stallion, we’d have a red collar on you the next day!” Twilight finished cheerfully.

“It’s not like that!” Dash snapped. “AJ is my friend, that’s why I like to make her happy. I don’t have to make her happy, and she’d never, ever make me do something! Is that really the only way you can see things?”

“Of course not.” Twilight smiled sympathetically. “I already have a master I’m loyal to, Applejack and I are friends and equals, even if she doesn’t understand that doesn’t make us equal to stallions. But can you really tell me that you wouldn’t love to serve a pony like Applejack and know that she’ll care for you and love you if you just give her everything you are? A pony you could just submit to and never have to worry again?”

A vision of kneeling before Applejack, naked, hoping to receive a proud smile and affection made Dash start to shake. In her heart she knew she needed that affection, she’d do anything for it. She also knew how pitiful that was, what that would make her. And on top of that, the fear of not getting it, of disappointing AJ, was enough to make her heart beat fast. But there was nothing right about this, nothing good...

“Stop it!” she yelled, as much at her thoughts as at Twilight. “That just means I’m really, really messed up and I shouldn’t be with Applejack, or anypony.”

“Or you could just accept that you’re a slave like I am, and you need a master. We just can’t help it, Rainbow, we’re mares.”

Rainbow felt her open palm land hard on Twilight’s cheek. “Shut up! I’m nothing like you, and I never will be!”

“What in Equestria is goin’ on here?” Applejack entered the clearing as Twilight cringed back. “What’d you hit her for?”

Dash’s eyes went wide. “She said… she said stuff. And I got mad.”

Applejack just nodded. “Somethin’ crazy, about how much you oughta love bein’ a slave or somethin’?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Dash decided that she couldn’t explain the conversation. She didn’t want Applejack to know how messed up she was, or that she could have even thought about what Twilight said.

“Well, that makes sense, bein’ as she’s crazy,” Applejack pointed out. “I don’t think hittin’ her is gonna help, though.”

Dash looked down. “I know… I…”

Applejack walked over and put her arm around Dash. “I get it. I really do. Sometimes she says somethin’ and you don’t even realize your hand’s a fist, and it’d be way too easy to put that where it belongs. But you gotta tell yourself, it don’t matter. It don’t matter what she thinks about us, or about the price of muffins. Maybe it mattered back when she was our friend, and maybe it mattered when she had a bunch of stallions with spears who’d agree with her, but out here she can talk herself hoarse, and it’s not gonna do a damned thing.”

“I am right here, you know,” Twilight said, shooting a look at Applejack.

“You sure are.” Applejack nodded. “And I gotta tell you that if you keep pokin’ at me and Dash, all you’re gonna end up with is two ponies you’re countin’ on to keep you safe who really don’t like ya’. Like I said to Dash, out here it don’t matter if you think I oughta have my mouth sewn to a stallion’s cock, there’s no stallions and I ain’t goin’ back. So you can leave off the lectures.”

“I’m just trying to--”

“Help?” Dash glared at Twilight. “No, you aren’t. You’re not trying to help us, you’re trying really hard to convince yourself that you’re right, even when anyone could see that you’re hurting us!”

“Ponies need to be shown what's right. Sometimes the methods hurt, but you do it because you love them,” Twilight insisted. “That’s why we have masters.”

Dash couldn’t help sneering. “I hate you.”

“Dash… come on. This way’s good.”

***

Dash looked out across the fire swamp. She didn’t like it. The ground was covered with a rolling smoke, and the smell… she couldn’t think of that now. There were only a few charred trees for cover, which made sense, since fire and trees weren’t known to go together well. It was too open, even if the pegasus searchers were stopping at the edge, it would be easy to see them, especially if AJ was battling a monster while flames went off all around them.

“It’s now or never,” Applejack said, slapping Dash on the back. “Just keep next to Twilight. You got the reflexes to keep safe, but I doubt she does.”

“Got it.” Dash nodded to Applejack, then rolled her eyes at Twilight as she took her arm.

Applejack took the lead, which made the first part of the journey relatively easy; she caught most of the fire spouts, and between her fireproof boots and quick reactions, she managed to dodge them without a problem. But not long after they entered the swamp, Applejack stopped and looked around.

Dash followed her gaze to the left and saw three sets of glowing yellow eyes approaching through the smoke. As they came closer, Dash could see they were attached to a goat head, a snake head, and a tiger head, which in turn were all attached to the same body.

Applejack stepped towards the monster, her hat drawn low over her eyes. “Howdy.”

“What have we here?” The snake head said to the other two.

“It’s been a long time since we had pony for dinner…” the tiger seemed to smile as it looked at Applejack.

Applejack narrowed her eyes and reached back towards her pack. “Well it’s gonna be a while longer yet, so y’all might as well get on for now”

“Oh, it won’t be that long,” the goat said, licking her lips. “I can wait.”

“I can’t.” The snake head said just before it snapped at Dash, but she darted back. She’d been so focused on Applejack, she didn’t even see it in front of her. As the head made another lunge, Applejack pulled a flute from her pack and played a soft tune, sending the snake to sleep.

Applejack glanced back at Dash as she pulled a wooden object from her pack and with a flick of her wrist snapped it into the shape of a chair. “Get goin’ now!”

Dash nodded, but Applejack had already turned back to the monster, holding the chair between herself and the tiger head.

Dash grabbed Twilight’s arm and took a few steps forward, when a flame shot up just to Twilight’s right.

“Too close!” Twilight said nervously.

“I know!” Dash said, but she caught a glimpse of Applejack on the ground, using the chair and her hooves to toss the monster off of her. She couldn’t look away as she took another two steps. This time a flame shot up in front of her, and she just managed to hop back, grabbing Twilight and whirling her around her back. It had been too close, the heat and the smoke… she couldn’t think of that now. She had to be brave.

Another burst of flame to their left sent Dash running forward, practically dragging Twilight, until a flame that shot up between them forced Dash to leap directly into Twilight to keep from being separated. Twilight fell to the ground, but Dash kept her hooves and grabbed Twilight’s shoulder, rolling her away as the spot where she had landed was engulfed.

“Hurry up!” Dash said, pulling Twilight to her hooves so they could run another thirty feet before being stopped in their tracks by three matching pillars of fire. Dash nearly fell backwards, but she kept her balance and caught Twilight before she could hit the ground. As soon as those flames disappeared, they kept going.

Her nerves were stretched thin as she frantically tried to predict where the fire would come from next and occasionally caught sight of Applejack tumbling and taunting the monster she was fighting. She silently begged Applejack to be okay as she moved towards the thicker forest that would probably mean the end of the swamp.

After a few more minutes of dodging and dancing around the sudden flames, Dash managed to reach the other side of the swamp, with Twilight safely next to her. But her heart was still beating fast, and she turned around and scanned the swamp for signs of Applejack. She couldn’t see much through the smoke, sometimes a flash of Applejack or the monster, sometimes shadows moving quickly.

She was surprised that Twilight stood next to her, watching just as intently. Dash would’ve expected Twilight to go relax someplace, not worrying about whether AJ lived or died. But Twilight had insisted that she still loved her friends, and Dash was forced to admit that it seemed to be true-- at least enough to not want to see Applejack killed by a monster.

Dash had convinced herself half a dozen times that she’d never see Applejack again, when she heard hoofsteps rushing towards them at full speed and saw pillars of flame light up in a pattern that seemed to be moving in their direction. Her heart leapt to her throat as AJ came into view.

AJ seemed terrified, and Dash strained her eyes to see if the monster was still chasing her. Then she saw it, not the monster, but a shape in the sky moving quickly in their direction.

“Hide!” Applejack shouted, barreling out of the swamp. Dash dove for the nearest brush. Applejack grabbed Twilight’s arm, and that second the pegasus hovered over them.

His net dropped on Applejack and Twilight just as Applejack ran for cover.

Dash’s hand flew to her mouth to keep herself from screaming as she watched the white pegasus in royal armor land in front of them, his spear drawn. The stallion neared the net and clearly noticed he was missing a slave. He glanced at the underbrush and trees, then suspiciously back at the swamp. Dash’s heart beat fast every time his eyes swept over the place where she was hidden, even while she was racking her brain for some way to rescue Applejack.

“She’s in those bushes!” Twilight called helpfully to the stallion. She barely got the last word out when she screamed.

There was a burst of movement under the net which distracted the guard, and Dash heard Applejack shout, “You filthy traitor! Ya’ can’t keep your mouth shut once! I’m ready to rip that cum lickin’ tongue of yours outta your throat!”

“Help!” Twilight called desperately. “Please! Applejack, stop!”

Applejack was on top of Twilight, struggling with her. The guard turned back to them and poked the spear into AJ’s side. “You bitches stop that.”

Applejack froze, and Twilight squirmed away from her.

The guard shook his head. “Maybe when we get you sluts back to the base, you can work off some of that energy before you’re punished. Now, get your filthy bodies out of those clothes.”

Twilight started saying something to the guard, but Dash didn’t hear it. She was looking at AJ, and even though she couldn’t see the details under the net, she could imagine the defeat on her face as she took off her clothes for this stallion, knowing with each button what she was going back to. It made her own face burn, and her fists clench until she was shaking.

Everything seemed strange to Dash. Tears were filling her eyes, but she wasn’t sad, or happy. She couldn’t stop the shaking, and every muscle in her body felt so tense it hurt. The only way she could think of to relieve the pressure was to leap out into the clearing, grab the guard, and start smashing his face with her fist.

So that’s what she did.

It really seemed that simple to her. She had to move, so she jumped at the guard. She had to hit something, so she punched him in the muzzle. He needed to be on the ground, so she grabbed his stupid armor and threw him there. She kicked his neck, then turned him over and sat on his chest, punching him over and over in the face.

She thought that somewhere in there he was fighting back, she knew that her ear hurt a lot and her lip was swollen, but that didn’t matter, because she needed to punch something and his face needed to be punched.

At some point she heard a commotion behind her, and she tried to focus on it. After a few seconds, it sounded like somepony yelling her name. Then she felt hands on her shoulders, pulling her roughly off the guard, then holding her to Applejack’s body.

“Rainbow Dash! Stop! Dash, please--”

Dash blinked and the calm certainty disappeared. All of a sudden she could see the bloody guard laying still in front of her, and her own bloody fists, and Twilight cowering, eyes wide.

Pain flooded her, her body ached from the tension and her fists and lip and ear hurt from the fight. She hid her face in Applejack’s shoulder and started to sob, big heaving sobs that soaked AJ’s shirt with tears and snot. Her arms wrapped around Applejack and she clung to her for life. She wanted it all to go away; the guard, Twilight, everything that had ever happened to her, and everything she was feeling. Except for Applejack, she needed Applejack. Applejack couldn’t go away.

“Shh, sugarcube… you okay?”

“Uh-huh.” Dash nodded, but she didn’t look up. She just mumbled into Applejack’s shoulder, “I just… he couldn’t take you, AJ. He couldn’t, and he was gonna, and I had to do something, and then I was doing it, and I-- I killed him, didn’t I?” She felt Applejack rubbing her back, trying to massage out some of the tension.

Applejack’s hands there relaxed her, along with the calm reassurance in Applejack’s voice. “You did, but don’t you worry about that now. It’ll be okay.”

It hurt, hearing another pony tell her the truth: she’d killed a pony. But what haunted her was that she wasn’t sure she had killed him. It was clearly her bruised, blood-soaked fists that had done the job, but she couldn’t remember deciding to jump out of the bushes or deciding to throw a single punch. Everything just happened. In hindsight, it was easy to see that killing him was probably the best thing she could have done, but she’d never even considered a reason to do it.

“He shouldn’t have been trying to take you,” she said softly, still clinging to Applejack.

“That was his job,” Twilight said. “You know that my brother is a guard--”

"Twilight Sparkle…” Applejack growled. “If you so much as open your mouth again before we take care of this, so help me I’ll stick that gag back in it.” She led Dash to a spot under a tree. “Come here, sugarcube, your ear’s bleedin. I think we need to get a ways away and rest for a bit. Just sit here while I take care of things, okay?”

Dash nodded and sat there. She watched Applejack strip the guard, put a few things in her backpack, then hide the armor in the brush where Dash had hid. She rolled the naked guard into the swamp, and as she turned to walk back a flame shot up where she had left him. Dash could smell the burning flesh, and it made her pull her knees up tight to her and hold them there with an iron grip as she remembered the smell and whimpered like a foal.

Applejack didn’t notice, though, she just tossed dirt over the red patch on the forest floor and rolled the net she’d been captured in neatly, then tied it to her backpack. The area looked like nothing had happened.

Then she calmly helped Dash up, wrapping a warm, strong arm around her. With her other hand she grabbed Twilight by the arm, and without a word or backwards glance she led them both away from the spot.