The Last Princess

Night had fallen, and the Bandits had finally opted to stop and make camp. Each carriage split into a group of maybe two or three carriages, and then those made camp, and it became clear to Max that a group from only three or four carriages had captured them. Dawn was still absolutely enraged, but had stopped screaming her head off some time ago, a fact Max was grateful for. He could almost hear everything again!

Several ponies came and pried them from the net while still making sure they had a firm grip on their prisoners. Dawn started thrashing and tried to scream, but her voice was still quite raspy from all her earlier shouting. Max, on the other hand, did not struggle, not in the least, and said nothing. He felt the pony's grip on his hooves loosen ever so slightly, but he did not take advantage of it. He had a plan, and he was going to follow through with it.

The three carriages were set up in a triangular shape around what was quickly becoming their campsite. Ponies were dashing to and fro, collecting stones and sticks for the fire. Rainbow Dash, however, was sitting on the far side of the improvised fire pit, as if waiting for the two prisoners to be brought to her. Max scanned the surrounding area with his eyes. He could see nothing of what he had hoped to see. No weapon in sight. He let out a sigh internally. Great, time for a last resort. He glanced skyward. Even better, he thought sarcastically, a storm coming in.

And that appeared to be the case. Heavy, dark clouds were rolling across the sky, looking like they might start pouring at any second. The weather was completely unpredictable these days, with pegasi being unable to regulate it. Max's train of thought was broken as he was forced down roughly, finding himself looking up at Rainbow Dash. It was at this time she began to speak, now lit by the fire that her underlings had built.

"So, Dawn Haze and Max Suspense, I have chosen you to be part of my little group. I assume you accept my invitation to join?"

"No." Dawn croaked out in a hoarse whisper.

"Now Dawn, don't be so quick to make judgements." Max reprimanded, before looking back up at Rainbow Dash. "Before I accept your generous offer, I have a few questions." Dawn looked at Max as if he had suddenly grown a second head. She tried, she tried as hard as she could to shout at him, to accuse him of being a traitor, just as she had Rainbow, but she couldn't quite manage it. Max was thankful for this, as he wasn't sure he could take that kind of beating, her looking at him that way was bad enough.

"Ask away." Rainbow said, gesturing at Max and ignoring Dawn.

"How did the bearer of the Element of Loyalty get to be leader of a group of Bandits?"

"Excuse me?" Rainbow Dash said, standing up and flaring her wings.

"I mean, what happened to the other Bearers? Applejack? Fluttershy? Rarity? Pinkie Pie?" As Max listed off each of the names, the cyan pegasus flinched, as if she had been struck. But Max was not finished yet.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle?"

Instantaneously, Dash's anger flared, and she rushed forward, screaming, "DON'T EVER SAY THAT NAME AROUND ME!!" And once she reached Max, she lifted her hoof to strike him in the head, and her other forehoof lifted off the ground, just for a moment. Max saw his chance, the guard's grip had not tightened yet, so he threw his weight forward, breaking free of the guard and knocking Rainbow Dash off her hooves. He then turned, getting exactly what he had been expecting. A large number of bandits were surrounding him. And that was all he needed.

"GO!" He shouted to Dawn, and she understood. He had done all of that just to help her get free. And... there wasn't a way out for him. Dawn shook the thought away. Of course he had a way out. Max would always have a way out. She broke free of her restrainer and flew up into the sky. And then it began to rain. Not a soft, gentle drizzle, but large drops pouring from the skies with great speed.

"Boss! You okay?" One of the thugs asked.

"I'm fine! You take care of this one." She gestured to the already surrounded Max. "I'll catch the pegasus." And, without another word, she shot into the sky like an arrow, going straight after Dawn. Behind her, the sounds of battle echoed, with the galloping of hooves and the occasional scream of terror.

Dawn, meanwhile, was flying for dear life, assuming that somepony had given chase, but not for a moment expecting that pony to be Rainbow Dash. As soon as she glanced behind her, however, the telltale rainbow mane gave it away.

Dawn looked up, mouth open for a moment, catching as many rain drops as possible, and gargled them before spitting it out below her, after a couple tries and several voice clearing exercises, she was able to speak properly again.

"Rainbow Dash! Why did you do all this? You were an Element of Harmony! Don't you remember any of that?"

"OF COURSE I DO!" Dash shouted back. "But... but... thanks to..." her voice was lost in the wind and rain, and Dawn strained to hear what was being said, but she couldn't without turning back and getting closer. Eventually, Dash started shouting again, but Dawn had a feeling that it wasn't just because she wanted to be heard.

"I WAS GOING TO JOIN THE WONDERBOLTS! I WAS GOING TO BE KNOWN AS THE FASTEST FLYER IN EQUESTRIA! I HAD DREAMS, JUST LIKE THE NEXT MARE! AND THEN... A-a-a-and then..." Rainbow's voice trailed off once again, but there was only a short pause this time before she yelled again. "AND THEN THIS HAPPENED!!" Dawn hadn't been paying enough attention, and hadn't realized just how close the rainbow-themed pegasus had gotten. With that final shout, Rainbow grabbed Dawn by the hind legs and began dropping to the ground.

Dawn flailed as she was pulled to the ground, and managed to hit one of Dash's wings halfway down, causing them to spin completely out of control and fall to the ground, sliding on the wet grass before coming to a stop in a muddy place. Rainbow was up first, but waited for Dawn to recover enough to stand.

"I miss those days." the cyan pegasus finally said, once Dawn was standing and facing her. "Back when Pinkie and I would play pranks on the others." A small smile appeared on her features. "And the first one we ever pulled together, when we scared Spike so badly he got the hiccups. And all of the Iron Pony competitions I had with Applejack. I still remember how dumb we were acting during the Running of the Leaves." Rainbow's smile had grown, and Dawn was looking at her skeptically. "We had some really good times, the six of us." And all of a sudden, the smile disappeared from the Element of Loyalty's face, and she glared at Dawn. "But then, she goes and does this." Dawn had lost all track of what Rainbow was talking about, but she thought she knew what was coming next.

"I was happy. And then all of this happened." Dash said, much too monotonously, and suddenly, she was nearly nose-to-nose with Dawn, raising a hoof over her head.

"AND IT"S ALL..." the once proud Element Bearer shouted, and Dawn had to duck to avoid the punch aimed for the side of her head.

"TWILIGHT'S..." another punch came in, this time landing squarely on Dawn's jaw.

"FAULT!!!" the final punch came, likely aiming for Dawn's temple, but the slippery ground gave way beneath Dash, throwing her forwards, and making her hoof wrap around the back of Dawn's neck, instead, and the cyan pegasus was left leaning on her for support, with little ground beneath her other hooves, and she wept. She cried right into the chest of the other pony, the pony she had betrayed. She was the Element of Loyalty, and she had betrayed ponies who had trusted her. And not just Dawn and Max, no she had betrayed the other Elements of Harmony.

She had betrayed her friends.

She began to mutter these things to herself, her face still pressed against Dawn's coat, and, with the new close proximity, Dawn was able to understand.

"How did you betray them?" she asked, and the almost legend stepped back, took a deep breath, and began.

"Back when this first happened, me and my friends were in Ponyville, except for Twilight, who was in Canterlot, doing some important princess thing. We were having a good time, and then, this big white wall went through town, but nothing seemed to happen. And then, the unicorns were saying they couldn't use their magic, and pegasi couldn't interact with clouds, and the ovens at Sugarcube Corner didn't work, and nopony's refrigerator was working. After not too long, all of the non-perishable foods had been eaten, and all the perishables had spoiled. So, ponies started leaving, and then... Ponies started going mad, and they... they... And all I did was run. I betrayed them, I left them, and I ran."

"I know." Dawn said. "With the mad ponies, and the ponies getting desperate, well, the exact same thing happened in Manehattan."

Dash looked up, in surprise. "But, you seem so normal! You don't want to eat ponies, but you don't want to hurt them either! You don't even seem to want to hurt their feelings."

Dawn shook her head. "That's because I don't. I've seen some terrible things, but that doesn't mean I have to act terrible. And you know what, Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow shook her head. "I don't think you want to hurt ponies either. You wanted us to become members of your group, instead of letting those goons kill us. But if you didn't let them take Pomegranate, they would challenge your authority, maybe kill you, and then they'd just kill everypony they met, including each other."

Rainbow bowed her head. It was true. She was trying to protect ponies by making something they feared.

"But, you don't have to lead them. They'll split up, and some may die, but mostly, I think they're still good ponies, they're just trying to fit in with the ones who are actually no good. I think the best thing you can do is leave, so that you don't have to do what's against your nature." With that, Dawn took off, hovering in the air for a moment before adding. "And you could come with us, if you want." Rainbow thought for a moment, but then shook her head. "No, I think I need some time to myself. To remind myself of who I was." A small smile twisted her face again. "And who I am." Dawn nodded, and began to fly away. Then, an unresolved point occurred to her, and she turned around.

"Hey, what did you mean by this..." but the cyan pegasus was gone. "Is all... Twilight's... fault..." Dawn finished in a whisper.

*     * *

If anyone had gone back from that place a good mile, they would have found the campsite of the Bandits, where Max and Dawn were brought. What one might have expected to see would be a dead or recaptured Max, and a group of bandits reveling in their victory. What you would have found, instead, is many an unconscious bandit, two with a large chunk taken out of their right foreknee, and one who was obviously dead, covered in lacerations, that, if observed closely, would prove to obviously be markings from a pony's teeth.

And now, let us travel a good four days' journey to the west, to a mountain, where a proud city once stood, but now, it is humbled, and broken. There, in a ruin, a single voice could be heard singing, in a sad, heartbroken voice, that would wrench your heart from your chest just to hear it. This is the song the voice sings.

My little pony.

I used to wonder what friendship could be.

Until you all shared it's magic with me...