One ruby eye opened.
Torchlight.
A second eyelid fluttered.
An earthen ceiling loomed above, held in place by numerous wooden crossbeams.
"Mrmmmfnngh..." Rainbow Dash stirred. She squirmed left... then to her right. Her fuzzy muzzle scrunched, unscrunched. She moved her forelimb up to rub it... but it wouldn't budge. "Huh? What the...?" Her head tilted down.
The mare's limbs and wings were locked behind her back with several lengths of tightly-tied twine. She lay on a simple canvas cot, surrounded by stacks of wooden crates full of dredge coal and digging supplies. Glancing down at her legs—as well as upside-down—she discovered that she was situated in the center of a very long tunnel stretching like a winding serpent somewhere underground.
"Mmmm... great..." Rainbow sighed, eyes rolling. She spotted a distant table beneath a dangling torch where her saddlebags were hanging off a chair's flankrest. "With my luck, it's probably diamond dogs." She sighed, nostrils flaring. "... ... ...!!!" She looked down at her neck.
The Element of Loyalty glittered with each flicker of flame.
"Mmmmm... whewwww..." She slumped back down on the cot, staring straight up. The mare gulped, twitching slightly. "Unfamiliar ceil—"
Fl-Flash! Fluttershy descended through the earthen material above, glowing with lavender light. "Oh! Oh thank goodness!" A smile crossed her nervous lips. "You're awake!"
"Flutters..." Rainbow winced. "So great to see you." She gulped. "Guess it's... hoping too much to ask if we're at a resort hotel."
"Mmmm... well..." Fluttershy shrugged, squirming in mid-air. "All things considered, we have been in worse places."
"All things considered..." Rainbow Dash tiredly smirked. "...that doesn't exactly mean much."
Fluttershy gulped. "Good point."
"Chuuu?" Pinkie Pie's head poked upside down through the ceiling.
"Pinkie." Fluttershy pivoted. "Go tell the other girls that Rainbow Dash has woken up."
"Chuuuuuu." Pinkie nodded, then ascended the way she came.
"Mrmmfff..." Rainbow Dash grimaced, quivering in her restraints.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Rainbow." Fluttershy floated down to her, wincing. "That must be putting so much pressure on your bad wing."
"Yeah, well, the key thing is not to think about it."
"Erm... good point..."
"So..." Rainbow nevertheless grimaced, eyes darting across the underground environment. "Should I start asking questions or will you explain it all?"
"Well, Rainbow." Fluttershy cleared her throat. "When you fell stopped sliding down the mountainside—"
"I banged my head and knocked myself out."
"—just twenty feet away from where a bunch of stallions were camped out. They tied you up and brought you here."
"And where's here?"
"From what Rarity and Twilight have overheard, it would seem as though we're about thirty feet beneath the surface of Braum. It's a major trading point for ponies trotting back and forth between Lichen and Dust Prefecture. Lots of miners and economic partners to miners live here... with their families." Fluttershy stifled a cough. "The upper town is also... uhhhh... covered from head to hoof with Rainbow Rogue wanted posters."
Rainbow groaned. "Figures. Just my luck."
"The... uhm... particular band of stallions who brought you in took a very strange route to get here."
"Probably trying to elude competitors." Rainbow's muzzle scrunched. "Including the Talon."
Fluttershy nodded. "We have heard them mention the Talon several times. Looks like they would rather earn the bounty than turn you in to government officials."
"If they're so fond of making bits..." Rainbow looked down at her neck. "...then how come my pendant's still attached?"
"Oh, they tried taking it off." Fluttershy winced, her coat forming goosebumps. "But... b-but they put it back on as soon as they saw the horns glowing."
Rainbow closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Thank Celestia..."
"You were really... really out of it, Rainbow Dash."
"Guess it's a good thing. For their sake."
"I suppose." Fluttershy bore a tiny smile. "But, y'know, for a bunch of ponies bent on binding and selling an equine soul for bits, they're... actually not all that bad."
"Only you, Fluttershy."
"I mean it. Several of them have families and foals and friends throughout the village—"
"How about getting out of here, huh?" Rainbow's eyes stabbed like ruby daggers. "What's the possibility of that?"
"Well, you're up. That's... that's a first step."
"Any simple way out of this spot?" Rainbow craned her neck. "Just what are these tunnels for, anyways?"
"It's... not exactly clear." Fluttershy brushed her bangs back as she looked both ways down the passage. "Rarity says that at least two-thirds of Braum is built underground. Most of the buildings are just turf houses built out of the earth."
"I guess it's how they keep warm."
"Right. It's... v-very cold above ground," Fluttershy said. "I guess it's the Rohbredden we all imagined while at Red Barge."
Rainbow nodded. "Bet these tunnels come in heavy when they get snowed in."
"Right." Fluttershy looked at Rainbow. "Anyways, Pinkie, Twilight, and Rarity are above ground, listening in on as many conversations as they can."
"Just how many dudes brought me down here?"
"At least twenty. But there hasn't been enough time to count them all—or tell them apart. They're very important members of the village, it would seem."
"Just how big is Braum, anyways?"
"Not sure." Fluttershy blinked. "Smaller than Kunmane and Riverstem, but about as busy as the Four Braziers Inn. Lots of ponies coming and going."
"I can see how it's easy to hide someone or something here." Rainbow sighed, glancing at the torchlight. "What of the Talon?"
"It's... fuzzy at the moment, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy explained. "They're definitely interested in Braum, but they seem to be keeping their distance."
"They're smart enough to know what's going on here," Rainbow said. "Probalby surrounding the place from all sides."
"Maybe."
"We're going to need more info if we wanna get an edge over both the Talon and these new flankholes. Although... nrnnnghh... what I wouldn't give for a strong pair of scissors right about now."
"I'm s-sorry, Rainbow. I really wish we could help you with that right now."
"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I'll think of something."
"But—"
Rainbow motioned with her head. "What you can do is fly back up to the surface and give the girls an extra pair of ears." Her eyes narrowed. "These punks think they can outsmart their competition, and I wanna know why."
Fluttershy nodded vigorously. "Okay, Rainbow." She flew up.
Rainbow called after her: "And while you're at it, get Rarity to scan for the best route out of this town once we bust out!" She looked left and right. "...cuz we are gonna bust out... totally... g-gonna..." She gnashed her teeth and started writhing in her binds. "Rgggh! Just once... I wanna get captured by bunch of harem fillies who don't know how to tie worth crud! Rrnnngh—owwww!" She squinted one eye shut, wincing from her injured wing. "Ow ow ow ow..."
So not much information about where she is, guess I can live with that.
Didn't know she was into this kind of thing
Rainbow waking up in an unfamiliar cell with her pendant on? I do believe this is a series first.
Also:
Pinkachu, I choose you!
What madness is this? Going Underground?
They mustve tied Dash up well, as I thought the horns came out long after the size change, and that the change didnt cause her to wake up.
If two thirds of the town is underground currently, I wonder how much will be above ground by the time Dash gets to the next prefecture?
I'd buy that for a dollar.
heeheeeheeheheeeeeee
Here we go again! And someone heal Dashie's wing!
But Dash, if they're harem fillies wouldn't they know all about how to tie good knots?
Plus one who can?
Chuuuuuuuu
Looks like they weren't very good mercenaries after all. Seraphimus is going to eat them for lunch.
But what were they doing out there in the first place? They couldn't possibly have known that Dash would come that way.
FINALLY! Bad guys who are smart enough not to take Dash's pendant off.
6831648 In most examples, the first sign of transformation has been the horns bursting out of her skull.
------------------------
Accurate chapter title is accurate.
Well.. at least the Talon aren't a problem for now.
-Companions have returned, inner darkness spurned. Utaan.
6831612
well AppleJack DOES have that Lasso...
6831821
Wrong kind of rope. Wrong by a million miles. Sweet Celestia, is that ever the wrong kind of rope.
...Well, I'm sure a unicorn who relies on magic to incapacitate her quarry probably doesn't know actual knots too well.
Fuel for the LongBow!!!
Welp I guess it was to much to ask for it to be Bard and Wildcard. Oh well, they have to show back up eventually, at least one of them does anyway.
Heheh Pinkie is adorable as always.
I smell me a fire.
Aaaaand Wildcard ex machina! Right?
......please...
Chuuu!
Tasteful chapter
Pika!
Harem fillies, eh? I'm sure your ghost pals would love to see your reaction to that.
6832201 id pay MONEY to see that
6831648 The better question is will Dash's luck with underground caves continue? If so I wonder what kind of interesting monsters we'll see next
Dash... Why are you tempting fate? Because... I'm not sure how I'd feel about that.
Alright Rainbow, why the fuck do you need a harem of fillies? Please, please say that you meant mares.
EDIT
Midnight is aware that fillies means young girls whereas mares are adult women. That was why Midnight is hoping that Rainbow meant mares and not kids.
Well, Rainbow kinda, sorta, almost already has a harem. They're just not strictly speaking alive.
Harem fillies? Didn't she technically get captured by those back in Emeraldine.
...Dayum, that was ages ago.
...I still miss the Jury.
6832330
Fillies translates to girls, just as mares translates to women.
This instance is a reference to the many commentators pushing the idea of The Prismatic Harem.
6832110
Probably lots of red barrels and saw blades lying around too.
6831660
Is she sure she doesn't want the harem fillies to be able to tie worth crud? Seems to me if you get captured and tied up by a bunch of harem mares, it sort of defeats the purpose if you can untie yourself anytime you want to... unless that's her kink. :-)
6831658 Are you saying I'm a cheap date?
...you aren't wrong.
6831684 You called?
6832330 I believe mares/fillies is similar to women/girls.
6831612 Oh come off it; yes you did.
Shinji moment interrupted by the Shinjiest of mares.
You and me both, Rainbow Dash
Bad guys that restrained Rainbow AND kept her pendant on? Where are we? Did WE hit our heads too?
Confirmed for Pinkachu.
6832330
isn't girl used as a synonim for young (but adult) women in some case?
and pinkie did call twilight a "silly filly" in the show showing that adult mares can be called filly
and that time in the first episode of the first season where mayor mare/ivory scroll said "fillies and gentle-colts" to a croud of mostly grown-up ponies
6833385
Well 'filly' is basically just the equine variant of 'girl'. So it means female and/ or young. You could call a woman a girl.
More underground locations, huh? It seems that Rainbow has been underground very frequently. Almost as frequently as she flies east, in fact.
Austraeoh Fact Checker, how many times has Rainbow Dash been underground?
6831661 MEDIC!
6833942
Let's see....my count is 14
- The quarry eel cave
- Inside the Windthrow mine
- Inside the Minotaur's mine, the river, and then the machine world
- A dragon cave near Ridgeside
- Under the Darkstinian obelisk
- Silvadel's Sanctuary, and Axan's cave, I dunno how you count that
- Blue Shelf and its machine world
- Foxtaur, centipede cave
- Foxtaur, cave leading to Sapphire Ravine
- Under the streets of Blue Nova on the way to the hangar
- Inside the Sacred Hold; Nevlamas' lair
- Machine world under the Xonan warfront
- The holy sanctuary in Durandana
- Now
A dirt town, eh? I bet they're clean there.
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derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/12/12/1042360__safe_twilight+sparkle_rainbow+dash_applejack_screencap_animated_cute_bondage_dashabetes_bound+wings.gif
Look at that smile. She's clearly into bondage. It's show canon.
Can't wait for this whole tunnel system/town to inevitably cave in and collapse from the Talon trying to get in, Dash trying to get out, and the 20 or more Braumians trying to keep both from doing that. Also Longaze is probably the pony they'll hand he bounty into, but she's not going to pay and take Dash by force, which just sparks more conflict. All this, plus the dredge coal, and we have a powder keg with a fuse.
Just sit back watch the fireworks.
I guess hoping for a good outcome is nearly always going to turn out wrong. Oh well. Let's see another awesome escape.
"harem fillies who don't know how to tie worth crud"
I call foreshadowing. CALLING IT HERE, EVERYBODY. FORESHADOWING.
Ugh, so much for hoping they hadn't heard of her.
... How does that even work on an equine? Poor Dashie is a ponypretzel right now.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call FORESHADOWING.
Captured yet again.
Also I'm throwing down money that we get captured by a harem of hot babes sometime in the future.
8206504
Do they have the up dated poster?