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My Little Dashie: The Cruelty of Man

by Never2muchpinkie

Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The heartless man

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Rainbow Dash flew around impatiently, barking orders to the pegasi under her command. It was almost time for the last biggest storm of spring, and they weren’t anywhere close to being ready. A few sick pegasi had thrown them off.

Twilight, seeing her friend struggling, offered to help. “I could use my magic to increase the size of the clouds. That will save you a lot of time in creating them.”

Rainbow looked down at her alicorn friend, getting quiet as she gazed at her workers flying around, clearly tiring. She would have preferred to keep weather creation among pegasi as a matter of pride, but even at the speed they were going it was obvious it was going to be late and put them even further behind. So, reluctantly, she agreed to her friend’s request.

Twilight’s horn glowed as her magic shot out to the numerous storm clouds the weather pegasi had gathered. Slowly, they began to grow in size. Rainbow Dash watched the progress as her workers took a much needed break.

“Hmm?” Rainbow looked with some concern at the expanding clouds. They had become big enough to start touching each other, and soon enough they began to all merge together into one gigantic thundercloud. “Twilight! That’s enough!”

The now lone cloud was getting out of control, beginning to pour down rain and shoot out lightning bolts in several directions, nearly hitting several pegasi who rushed to get out of the way.

“Oops! Too big. I can fix it.” Her horn began glowing again. This time she was aiming to shrink the cloud. As her magic shot towards it a lightning bolt collided with her spell.

There was quiet for a moment in time, and then the space where the two met began to warp, rapidly expanding. Too fast to react to, the warped space engulfed Rainbow Dash in the bubble of energy.

Twilight screamed out her friends name. Rainbow Dash looked stretched out and distorted. She had to get Rainbow out of there. She didn’t know exactly what it was doing to her, but Twilight knew it couldn’t be anything good.

However, before she could do anything else, the expanding sphere stopped, then contracted into nothingness, taking Rainbow Dash with it.

Her legs losing the strength to carry her Twilight fell to the ground, a horrified look on her face. She might have just killed one of her best friends.

Rainbow Dash suddenly found herself tumbling to the ground before her instincts kicked in and she righted herself, landing on a nearby tree branch. As she glanced around she quickly felt confusion. There were no clouds in the sky, and it was approaching dark. She was also all alone, with not a single other pegasus around. On top of that she had absolutely no idea where she was. She didn’t recognize the landscape at all. A touch of nervousness entered her consciousness. That strange force that had occurred when the two powers met… she had been in the blast radius. She didn’t feel hurt in any way, but it seemed she had been transported somewhere far off from Ponyville.

To what degree, though? Had it taken her to another town? To the past or future? Or… to another world entirely?

Rainbow Dash knew that other worlds existed from the Sunset Shimmer incident, when Twilight and Spike had traveled to one from the portal in Celestia’s mirror. And from what she could see she assumed the two powers combined had opened a portal just like that one. Her world was bright and full of so much color. Here… colors seemed muted. Dull. It was still beautiful in its own way, but it just didn’t compare to her home.

Anxiously, she began flying around in small circles. Needing to do something, anything, to keep herself steady. If she had only been transported to someplace else in Equestria it wouldn’t be too hard to get home. All she needed was a map telling her where she was and what direction to head.

From what Twilight had told her about time spells, Twilight had only been able to transport herself for a very limited time, so she didn’t think she was in the past or future of her world.

However, if it was the last possibility, then she was utterly stuck. She would have to simply wait to be rescued, a prospect she didn’t care for. She didn’t even know if they’d be able to find her. How would they even go about it?

Wondering and panicking wasn’t going to get her anywhere. She had to scope out her surroundings. If she could just locate another pony she could ask them where she was. As she began to fly away she couldn’t deny that she felt some misgivings about leaving the area she had been sent to. What if her friends somehow did manage to find where she had been sent, and, upon seeing no one there, believed they had been mistaken and went back home, truly stranding her? On the other hoof, waiting patiently and relying on others was never was one of her strong suits. She had to do what she could on her end, and hope her friends were doing all they could for her back in Ponyville.

Coming to a stop as an idea came to her, she turned around and went back. With a grimace and a few seconds of pain she ripped out one of her feathers, setting it down on the ground and holding it in place with a rock. Then, locating some sticks, she placed them in an arrow formation. At least if they showed up they would have the general direction.

As she began flying again she noticed something that made her feel a little more relaxed. It was a dog. It was much bigger than Applejack’s tiny dog Winona, but it gave her more hope that she was still in her own world.

The dog barked at her, running under her. That made her laugh. “Oh, you want to try me? Bring it on!” As she put on a burst of speed the dog began running harder. “That all you got?” she cried out, speeding up some more and leaving the dog in the dust. Letting out a triumphant laugh she said, “Sorry, but you’ll have to do better than that if you want to catch up to Rainbow Dash!” She indulged herself in a few victory laps.

The large dog ran up to a human, barking away. “What is it, Scrappy?” he asked. The dog ran ahead a little, barking up towards the sky. The human looked up towards the strange looking bird a few hundred feet away. He patted the dog’s head, saying, “Good boy, Scrappy. You’ve found our dinner for tonight.”

Lifting his shotgun he aimed it up at the blue bird making circles in the air. With a steadying breath he pulled the trigger.

Rainbow had just finished her victory laps and started to continue on her way when she heard it: a deafening bang, followed immediately after by an intense burning sensation in her left wing. She quickly lost air, bouncing painfully off of tree branches all the way down until she hit the ground.

She let out a moan of pain, panting for breath and seeing stars. At first she couldn’t move for the pain. Just when she was about to make an attempt she heard something approaching. She tried to get up, but her body wouldn’t cooperate. Into the clearing came the dog from before, as well as a strange creature that she had never seen before, though it did seem vaguely familiar somehow.

The dog growled, starting to approach her, but the creature sternly ordered it to sit, and the dog obeyed, becoming quiet.

As the man took a close look his gaze of confusion mirrored her own. Before him was, not a bird as he originally thought, but… a horse? A blue horse… with a rainbow colored mane. But on top of all of the other strange things, it definitely had a pair of wings. A horse… with wings. He knew that it was called a pegasus, but they only existed in tales and legends of fictional stories. They didn’t REALLY exist, but… here was one right in front of his eyes. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with that information.

In a bit of a desperate situation now with her injured wing, Rainbow knew she needed some help. Mustering her willpower, she forced herself into a sitting position. “Please, um…” She started, then realized she didn’t know what to call the creature. She felt nonplussed at the look of amazement on his features. What was with that? She guessed from the voice that it was a male. “Excuse me… sir. I... I need some help. My wing was injured from some strange magic.”

“It talks!” he said to himself, his eyes going wide.

“Of course I can talk! What’s so surprising about that?”

The man began shivering in excitement. This thing was far too valuable to simply end up as a meal on his table. A real life mythological creature! It would surely be worth millions. Maybe even billions! He could sell it to a zoo. He knew she’d be a big hit there. Kids would line up for that. Or maybe he could sell her to a lab. Scientists would kill for a chance to study such a rare specimen. If they could figure out how it was made, then maybe they could be mass-produced, and he could get a huge commission.

He was going to live in mansions and get everything he had ever dreamed of. His heart was racing in delight.

“W-why are you looking at me like that?” Rainbow asked, feeling uncomfortable at the look of utter glee on his face.

“Well, little horse, you’re going to make me a bundle. I’m going to become rich when I sell you off to the highest bidder.”

“What?” Rainbow said flatly.

“In our world you shouldn’t exist. Horses don’t talk, have wings, blue fur, and rainbow colored hair. You are a truly unique little beast. That means people will shell out a ton of money to possess you.” The man smirked, his mind already on the luxuries he’d be able to buy for himself.

Rainbow recognized his expression as pure and simple greed. She narrowed her eyes, adrenaline beginning to flow through her, wiping out her feeling of pain. “You’re not taking Rainbow Dash without a fight!” she cried out angrily, unfurling her wings.

The man sneered. “Cute. You even have a name. That will be good for when you’re mine.

“Scruffy, sic her!” He snapped his fingers, pointing towards Rainbow Dash.

At the man’s order, the dog rushed at her. It was faster than she expected. It bit down hard on her front leg, then began rapidly shaking her around. She attempted to get away several times, banging on the dog’s head, but she was unable to free herself.

After about a minute of this treatment the man told the dog to stop. Rainbow was now lying limp in the animal’s teeth, a small puddle of blood on the ground. “Good boy, Scruffy. That took the fight out of her. Come on, boy.”

The dog let out a muffled bark, following behind the man.

Rainbow’s head was spinning, her head pounding. She felt about to pass out from the abuse she had just suffered. She probably would have if it wasn’t for the tendrils of pain and her feeling of indignation at being dragged along on the ground like a sack.

She pictured Twilight… Fluttershy… Rarity. All of them. She felt such a feeling of sorrow. She wished she had her friends with her right now. Then she could have handled this.

“Y-you,” she sputtered out weakly.

“Hmm?” said the man. “Oh, are you back with us?”

“What are you? There are no beings like you where I live.”

“I’m a human. You never heard of them?”

A human! It connected a piece of the puzzle in her mind. She definitely wasn’t in her own world anymore. The reason the man had seemed familiar was because Twilight had described humans to her.

“W-what’s your name?”

With a raised eyebrow he responded genially, “John. What’s it to you?”

“John… were you the one who hurt my wing?”

“Yes, that was also me. At first I was just looking for a meal. I never expected to find something like you.”

“How?” She grimaced as she was dragged across some rocks in the path. “Twilight told me that humans can’t do magic.”

“Twilight?” he asked with great interest. “There are more of you freaks?”

“My friends aren’t freaks!” she cried out, her anger aroused again. She tried to get back to her feet but Scruffy only bit down harder and began to shake her again. After just a few seconds John snapped his fingers twice, the dog stopping instantly.

“Scruffy is very well trained. I wouldn’t suggest making him angry by attacking me.”

The man lifted up his shotgun to the stunned pony. “This is called a gun. It’s not magic. It’s just a weapon. Through a combination of materials it shoots out an object with great force, doing a nice bit of damage to whatever it hits. You were lucky you moved out of the way when you did. Of course that also works out better in my favor. People will find you much more impressive alive.

“Now, I answered your question. What was that about others?"

In her dazed state Rainbow didn’t think to keep quiet. “I… come from a different world than this. All ponies can talk there, and own their own businesses and houses. Some can fly, like me, and others have a horn and can do magic. I was transported here by a spell gone wrong.”

“Hmm,” John muttered, pondering that. He didn’t believe in real magic, but… how else would it explain her being here? And if she was transported here, then surely her friends would follow her to return her back home. If he played his cards right he could bump up his cash estimate almost immeasurably. It only depended on how many would follow.

Rainbow felt sick to her stomach and her leg was slowly going numb from where the dog was biting her. It she didn’t do something soon…

She did her best to concentrate and formulate a plan. The only one she could come up with was risky, and she was only going to get one shot at it. It she failed… well, she didn’t want to imagine what he would do to her.

Her heart began to race as she prepared her escape attempt. She found herself hesitating, something she almost never did. The truth of the matter was simply that she was afraid. She had no allies, no one to back her up if she couldn’t handle it. As strong as she was, she knew at heart that it was only because of her friends that she could brag and boast like nobody’s business. It was their "weakness" that pushed her to be strong, so she could help them when she was needed. And, at times like now, when she wasn’t feeling strong, they were always there to help her back up.

“Ah. Home sweet home,” said John as they approached a house.

She took a deep breath, knowing she couldn’t wait any longer. This was going to hurt even if it did work, but it was her only chance.

As quick as she could she dug her hooves into the ground. With the small bit of leverage she used all her strength, lifting the surprised dog into the air with a yelp and slamming him into the man. To her relief it was enough to get the dog to release her, even though it had opened her wound more.

The dog and the man both fell to the ground in a heap. After a quick rollover the man wound up on top of the dog, pinning Scruffy beneath him for the moment.

She quickly snatched up the gun in her good hoof. She opened her wings and jumped off the ground, barely avoiding the dog as it jumped at her. Her injured wing protested painfully but she ignored it for the moment.

The angry dog let out barks and wails at her, seeing its prey escaping.

With all the strength she could muster she hurled the gun as far as she could, before heading in the opposite direction. In order to remain airborne with her increasingly uncooperative wing she had to adopt a position she had learned at junior flight camp. She had to curve her body at a diagonal, putting the majority of the strain on her good wing. It was a last ditch move only supposed to be used in emergencies, when a pegasus absolutely had to fly on only one good wing. It was very awkward, but she felt she had the hang of it.

John looked dispassionately at the fleeing pony. “Darn!” He cried out in an annoyed tone. “I didn’t want it to come to this, but ’s it’s better than letting you get away.”

He ran over to his house, opening the shed to reveal a small assortment of guns. He pulled a rifle and scope out, quickly getting the gun ready to fire.

Setting the back of the gun on his shoulder he aimed at the slow moving pegasus. Initially he aimed at her head, but then decided against it. That would definitely kill her. He didn't want her to die if he could help it, so he shifted his target to the only thing keeping her airborne and out of reach: her other wing. Holding his breath to steady his aim he centered the scope on the middle of her wing, and pulled the trigger.

Direct hit! She went tumbling out of the air like a rock. He wondered if she was still alive. After a fall like that, it wasn’t likely. At the very least she had to have broken a few bones. With two injured wings and a hurt leg for sure she definitely wasn’t going anywhere for a while even if she was alive.

John looked with annoyance as he saw his brother Peter run out of the house to see what the commotion was. His brother would surely want to be a part of the hunt, and so want a cut of his reward. He was the older one by two years, but his brother was almost exactly like him. There was no way to completely keep his brother out of the loop. Peter would find out about his discovery sooner or later, so he figured he should clue his brother in now, and then go as low as he could in paying him.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Sometimes we just need to be shown a little kindness. Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 11 Minutes
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