Lesser of Two Evils

Fluttershy's eyes opened, slowly, stiffly, and reluctantly. They met the red lights of an alarm clock, taunting her with the statement, 5:52 AM. Too late to go back to sleep. Too early to want to get up. She sighed, letting her icy blue eyes cover themselves again. Why did people have to work? Just as she was about to fall back into the trance she had just come out of the alarm clock, didn't go off. Instead a well toned, though feminine arm wrapped its way around her, and nuzzle attacked the back of her neck.

She rolled over, smiling. She found her, very best friend, as some would say. She too was smiling. The other used her arm to pull them closer together, into a deep kiss. Fluttershy struggled to get free.

"I have work," she argued.

"It's Saturday," the other replied.

Fluttershy rolled back over, glancing at the clock. 6:01, it read. It was indeed Saturday. A day for sleeping in. Tending to her plants, maybe a trip to the zoo. And as the roaming hands of her friend would suggest, some more 'mature' activities. Fluttesrshy found her self underneath the other, being kissed, and drowned in affection. Her partner began her decent. Fluttershy lie waiting for the great pleasure another could bring her. Its euphoria. But above all else, to feel cared for. Those feelings did not come.

She realized that she was not staring at the top of her special someones head. She was staring at the white floor, of the boat. She sighed, sinking into the chair she sat in. She looked up, at the sky. Everything was grey. The sky grey, the water grey, her skin, grey with the grime accumulated by months of hard labor. The woman who had sprung her, was at the wheel inside a drivers cab, in a chair operating the boat. Singing a most random of songs, something to do with genocide. Fluttershy looked at the far corner, a cooler set almost seeming humble.

She made her way over, landing with a slide, on her knees ripping open the lid. Inside was exactly what she had hoped she would find : food. She picked up the wrapped sandwich, and tore away the only thing keeping her from her feast. As she was about to sink her teeth into the ham and cheese, she realized that not only was there meat on this sandwich, but it also belonged to the two fishermen her savior had murdered, and tossed overboard. She hesitated, but reasoned that she was starving. She ate the entire sandwich in a matter of seconds, before doing the same to the other one she found inside. Leaving none for the madwoman.

She felt ashamed now. She had abandoned one of her own, personal beliefs. Eating meat, that is. It was different in captivity, she had to eat it. But the feeling of being free, as new as it was, shriveled now. She almost felt nauseous. The other woman emerged from the cabin, sporting a smile as always.

"We oughta' be in Equestria soon!"

Fluttershy nodded, leaning against the stern wall, next to the cooler.

The flurry of pink hair, zipped back into the cabin.

Fluttershy felt like crying. She didn't know why, she was out of the death camp. Almost home free. But she felt like all the hope in the world was still beyond the horizon. She sighed, a whimperous sigh, as she fell her head between her hands. She could only wish she could see the happiness the crazed one could see. Joy seemed worth giving up to Fluttershy.

Twilight was taken down a most narrow of hallways, stretching long, and reaching far. The only illumination was the dim light bulbs hanging from cords, and the only sound was the sound of her cold, bare feet against the dirty tile floor, and the clicks of the shoed feet of everyone around her. Including Spike. They finally reached a door, old, and hardly clinging to its hinges, that appeared to be an office of sorts. The woman with pink and purple swirls in her hair opened the door, letting everyone enter, Twilight still extremely nervous.

They all stepped in and found the office to be just as dimly lit as the hallway. Only difference being a light fixture gave this room its light. Rarity sat behind the desk in front of them, she locked her manicured fingers together and asked Twilight, and her assistant to seat themselves in the seats provided. They did.

"It's been a long time, Twilight, how have you been keeping?" Rarity asked seeming genuine.

"Poorly, broken, failing, loosing hope." Twilight replied, trying to ignore the three armed women in the room.

"That's quite sad," Rarity glanced down at her entwined hands, "Any who, on to business I suppose. This may take some explaining, but please bear with me."

Twilight nodded.

Spike tried to hide his gazing at Rarity's bosom. He failed.

"Alright, I, as you probably know am at the head of a very successful franchise. Selling the most glamorous, and over the top-"

"I get it," Twilight interrupted, slightly courageous.

"Yes well, what you don't know is just how I have come to get the gems, diamonds, and the likes. As I'm sure someone as astute as yourself would have guessed, that would take quite a bit of money to acquire these stones legally." She stopped to clear her throat, letting her voice grow grim, "But I don't get them legally. I get them through various means. The most unfortunate, and prolific of which, is through forced labor."

Twilight hid her surprise well, the only thing giving her away was her pupils dilate.

Spike glanced up from his bosom watching.

"I'll spare you the details, as to how I came to this sort of low. All you really need to know is, that I wish to end this, and I require a bit of your time. I've a contact, an absolute psychopath, and I must see to it that he is, 'removed'."

Just as Rarity finished the final word in her explanation, a blood curdling scream shot out. Reminding Twilight of the 'friend' she had left behind.

"Yeah, about Rainbow Dash, could we have her, maybe live?" Twilight asked, almost stuttering in fear.

"Well would she really be an asset? I mean if it's help you need I have several people that I'm sure are just as competent, if not more so. And to be quite honest she seems incredibly reckless from what little I've seen."

"I'm very sure. No matter what your plans might be, I need her alive," Twilight said, gaining confidence.

Silence filled the room. The faint buzz of a fly was heard, and aside from that and the shifting of the purple haired crook, there was no noise in the room. Twilight, though she hid it, was rife with fear. Fear of death.

"Jack's not going to be too happy, I mean giving her the privacy to do what she wanted to that poor girl was the main reason I dragged you back here in the first place. But then again, she's not the one helping me redeem myself. Oh, what can I say, deal."

Twilight let out a muffled sigh of relief.

Rarity stood again.

"Come now, lets make haste. We've places to go, and plans to form, and what not."

Her entourage followed, out the door, and in to the grey, hopeless hallway, again.

Rainbow Dash, walked past a crowd of other low-lives, a smirk on her face. In her head her head the song, 'Engel' played. She walked slowly, pridefully, to her prized car. Almost as prized as the girl she left, pleased in bed that morning. She had woken up early, by pure chance that day, and decided that there really wasn't much of a better way to spend the few morning hours of  the others day off. Plainly put, that morning she had had some of the best sex of her life.

She stepped to the side of her customized muscle car, before dawning the sunglasses she always wore at these events. She opened the door, and sat down. Letting the swath of surrounding people get one last look at her before closing the door of her car. They may have been ghetto trash, but praise is praise right?

from under her seat, she produced a small vial, filled with a white powder. She placed the opening to her nose, and snorted. While she wouldn't admit to her addiction, she was clearly dependent on the drug. Dependent enough to get caught on base, with a kilo of it. She put the glass vial back underneath her seat and started her car, revving the engine. Her car roared, as her challenger pulled up next to her. Though tinted windows masked their faces, they glanced at each other. Blood starting to trickle from Dash's nose, only to be wiped away.

A green haired woman to the side of them held three fingers up. After a moment she brought one down. After one more, she left only one finger up. After what felt like an hour, people cheering, around the cars, in the cul-de-sac, she waved her arm down, motioning for them to go.

On que, both drivers slammed the gas pedals, speeding off leaving smoke, and other fumes to linger with the crowd. Rainbow Dash entered that trance she did when she raced. Nothing else mattered. Only the road, and the man in the car next to her. Nothing could stop her. She sped down the asphalt, cutting people off, narrowly avoiding pedestrians, and most importantly, leaving the other racer in the dust. No big dealt hough. Just another day of her proving she's better at her own game than other's. The dumb ass should have known better than to challenge her.

In the distance, she saw the pre-determined destination. She would with out a doubt beat him, and probably gloat like she had never before. She sped down a street, small buildings lined either side. Color becoming a blur. She would have looked at her speedometer, but didn't for fear of a collision stealing her victory.

It did not matter, as in the next instant a car pulled out in front of her. She swirved in a vain attempt to thwart the wrath of the inevitable. When she made contact with the other car, her body was flung forward the console of her car slamming up preventing her from being ejected. Glass flew everywhere, many shards riddling her arm. The other vehicle skid into the street, its right tires almost came off of their wheels.

Rainbow Dash slipped into unconsciousness, as her door fell from its hinges and the screaming of a child roamed about her ears. Shrill and painful. Moments later awoke, pinned against her blood covered steering wheel. The shrill screams had died to a whimper. A man rushed to her side, scratchy voiced he spoke to her, though despite his obviously frantic demeanor she could not decipher what he said. She pulled herself from the wreckage, holding her arm which bore the most prominant of her many injuries close. His mouth stopping its babble. She leaned against the heap of twisted metal that now only carried resemblance of a car, grimacing.

She turned her head in the direction of the other car, what she saw she did not believe at first. A woman, middle aged, hair white with scarlet streaks. Slumped against the jagged edge of the broken, driver side, window. Her mouth agape. one eye open and unmoving. Blood slowly dripping down the outer side of her teal car door. Then it occurred to her that those streaks in her hair must be blood as well.

On the other side of the car a woman hugged the child who had screamed. Blood staining the young girls pure white shirt, while tears stained her face as she pushed it into the shoulder of the person carrying her. One of her arms hung limp. The woman cradling her coaxing her into tranquility as best she could.

Rainbow Dash mouthed the word, "fuck" as she turned her head forward again, closing her eyes in another cringe of agony. "Are you okay?" a frustrated voice asked. She looked up, breathing heavily, and nodded. The man rushed off to the child, leaving Rainbow alone. She knew it would be many years in prison if she lingered. She fought a battle with her conscience, deciding she would rather live with guilt, than toss salad in prison.

When she felt no eyes upon her disheveled frame, she took off on foot down the very street that the car she had collided with had come from. Limping, and hobbling as fast as she could. She held her arm close, blood  slowly pumping out of her. She knew where she was headed.

Applejack's fist slammed into her face again, and again. Bringing her out of the flashback she had just been through, and back to the crisis at hand. As the fist drew back, a thin strand of blood seemed to reach for it as it came back and landed another blow. This went on until the agonized grunts coming from Dash's mouth transformed into a slop of muffled noises. Applejack rose from from Rainbow Dash's lap, breathing heavily a moment. She thought back to her first incounter with the belittled woman in front of her. A smirk appeared across her devilish face. She tossed the side of the poncho across her shoulder, exposing her tank top, and belt. From her belt, she pulled a pair of needle nosed pliers. She sat back on top of Rainbow's lap.

"Ya' know, ye never told me where Twilight was." Applejack said, raising her voice above the crackling of the fire.

Rainbow Dash looked up at her, face bloodied thought murky.

"Ah never lie," AJ violently grabbed the side of Dash's face, "and I always keep promises."

Rainbow Dash winced, "Th-then why aren't i-i-n the f-fucking cage!"

"Cuz' sweetums, that's how I'm gonna kill ye. This here's just the foreplay."

Applejack grabbed the thin black ring in Dash's bottom lip with the pliers, slowly pulling back. She could see her begin to bleed from a new wound, as her lip started to split. She began to smile. Dash began to cry. Death was here. She would surely die, never having seen her lover again.

Just as Applejack was about to give a final jerk, when a practiced voice spoke from behind her accompanied by several feet.

"Oh, Applejack I'm quite sorry, but there's been a change of plans." The clicks of stiletto shoes approached her, "We're going to need her alive."

Applejack released Rainbow Dash, and threw the pliers across the the way.

Rainbow Dash, though beaten and bloody smirked.

Applejack hit her one last time, letting conciousness slip away from the seated woman.

"Why?!" Applejack turned facing Rarity, face almost glowing with rage.

"Because Twilight, has swayed my judgment."

"I thought we were the ones in charge? We should be the ones decidin' who lives and dies!"

"Jack," Rarity peeked over her shoulder assuring no one else was near, "After your services are completed you can dod what ever you please with that ruffian."

Applejack sighed, "You fuckin' promised me!"

"Things change AJ, think progressively."

Applejack shook her head, muttering something about "bullshit."

The others were joining them at this time, each in the group Rarity intentionally left behind.

"Well, I must think you all for your time but it's time for us to part ways." Rarity shook the three suited women's hands, hugging her sister while shaking hers.

"What about the pay?" Sandy asked the furious Applejack.

The woman produced a wallet, withdrew a sizable amount of bills and harshly pressed the stack into sandy's chest.

Sandy counted it, and distributed it among the other girls. The trio left, leaving in Sandy's car.

"To the van?" Applejack asked, gruffly

"Yes, we shall depart now. We've a bit of a trip ahead of us. Back to my house that is."

"That's all the way in Manehatten." Applejack reasoned.

"Yes, and we need to hurry."

"Fine."

The group started off to the van, Applejack having slapped Rainbow Dash awake. By the van Twilight looked at the sun, its glow on the horizon, releasing the shroud the night had left on them. Rarity took out her cheap disposable phone, dialing a number she had memorized. Rarity knew Rainbow's reckless nature would be something that would need a counter. She knew the woman she was calling was the only one who could act as such.