Trapped

by Fabulosity Personified

Revenge

The sound of the daily newspaper, The Ponyville Prophet, smacking against the door woke Twilight. The unicorn had been dozing in an armchair, a stack of books piled high in front of her. Over the course of the previous evening she’d been working her way through the pile, and had dozed off in the wee small hours of the morning.

It was a little after seven in the morning. Twilight stretched and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, then pulled herself up out of the chair in order to retrieve the newspaper. She took one look at the headline and gasped.

Fugitive Fletch Free After Escape Worthy Of Daring Do

Twilight couldn’t believe it. Escape from the Canterlot dungeons? Impossible, surely. She read on, her eagerness to process information tinged with horror, as her keen intellect already began to process the ramifications of Fletch’s escape.

Canterlot guards were this morning baffled as they discovered that one of the most notorious criminals in Equestrian history, Juniper Berry, also known as Fletch, had escaped from under the nose of Princess Celestia herself.

In a statement made just before we went to press, a spokespony revealed that Fletch had simply vanished from his cell, mere days before he was due to be brought to trial.

The incident is particularly embarrassing for Princess Celestia, who had given assurances on the impossibility of any escape, despite the major security lapses that led to, and occurred during, the Changeling invasion.

Guards are searching for clues and appealing for anypony with relevant information to come forward. They believe that Fletch may have had outside help in achieving his escape.

This story has particular significance to one Ponyville resident. Miss Rarity of the Carousel Boutique was instrumental in the arrest of Fletch and the unearthing of his criminal empire, which was mired in blackmail and violence.

Regular updates to this story will be found in your favourite local newspaper, The Ponyville Prophet! Only 2 bits!

Twilight sank into the armchair. If Fletch was free then he would have only one thing on his mind – revenge. She remembered his encounter with Rarity, just a week ago; “I’ll make you pay, you little-”

Had somepony really helped him? The unicorn considered it, carefully. Fletch was scum; he’d dealt in the most illegal goods known to ponies, and maintained his empire by blackmailing those in powerful positions to look the other way and make sure everypony else did too. Even scum has friends though, thought Twilight.

She wondered if Rarity knew yet. It was important that the right decision was made, but with so little information it was difficult to know what ‘right’ was. Twilight sighed and rubbed her muzzle. She did not need this on a Monday morning.

Climbing out of the armchair again, she called up the stairs;

“Spike? Are you awake?”

A groaning and muttering baby dragon appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Yes, Twilight?” he said, stifling a yawn behind a clawed hand.

Twilight was unsympathetic, having conveniently forgotten being just as drowsy only minutes earlier.

“Spike, I need you to be awake. It’s not that early. I need you to take a letter.”

If Spike had been more selfish he might have missed the days before they came to Ponyville; there were fewer emergencies and more lie-ins. Instead, he dutifully grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, and began to write.

“Dear Princess Celestia…”

***

Rarity was pacing her living room and chewing her bottom lip when Sweetie Belle arrived, Twilight in tow. Twilight looked as worried as Rarity did.

“I assume you’ve heard, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded.

“I suppose that’s why you had Sweetie Belle come and collect me.”

Rarity laughed nervously, dismissing the filly with a glance. Sweetie Belle pouted, but retreated up the stairs to the bedrooms. Rarity continued as if there had been no interruption.

“Of course, dear. I just… I couldn’t leave the Boutique. Not with him out there. I wouldn’t have let her leave either, but she made it plain I wasn’t going to stop her, so I thought I’d make her useful. What are we going to do, Twilight?”

Twilight had been considering this question all morning and had an answer.

“We’re going to Canterlot. We’ll be far safer there, where Celestia and the Guard can keep an eye on us, plus it’ll give us the chance to investigate."

Rarity nodded, but continued to bite her lip.

“What about long term?” she said, her voice wavering.

The purple unicorn stepped towards her friend and embraced her.

“Oh, Rarity,” she replied, trying her best to sound reassuring, “They’ll catch him. It’ll be ok.”

Pulling herself free, Rarity sniffed and attempted to look composed.

“I’m sure. I'd better start packing.”

Twilight nodded and turned to leave.

“The train to Canterlot leaves in four hours. Oh, and Rarity?” she said, looking over her shoulder at her friend.

“Yes, Twilight?”

“Try not to pack too much.”

Rarity smiled, weakly.

***

The six friends stepped down onto the platform. It hadn’t been Twilight’s original plan to disrupt all of their lives at such short notice, but the others had insisted on coming with the two unicorns. Although really, Twilight had known they would.

Sweetie Belle had insisted that she stayed and Rarity had been unable to convince her otherwise. She was with the Apples at Sweet Apple Acres, but Rarity still worried.

It was rush hour in the capital, and the journey to the castle took what seemed like forever, as carts, carriages and ponies weaved in and out of each other along the crowded streets, as did the pegasi above. Although Canterlot was more of a tourist city than Baltimare or Fillydelphia, it still had a thriving economy and the ancient streets had not been designed for the numbers they now saw.

Eventually their carriage pulled off the main highway and crossed over the drawbridge into the castle grounds. Celestia was waiting for them, and the friends bowed to her as they piled out of the vehicle.

“You know that you have no need to bow,” she said, a hint of a smile playing around her regal features. “Please, come inside. My servants will see to your bags and show you to your rooms.”

As Twilight passed her, Celestia raised a hoof and pulled her to the side.

“My dear Twilight Sparkle, it really is good to see you. I wish to speak with you all after dinner. Shining Armour will be there too. I would brief you now, but I have to talk with some diplomats from the Griffin Kingdoms.”

“Of course, Princess.”

Twilight grinned, in spite of the gravity of the situation. Dinner with Celestia and a chance to see Shining again could make her feel better no matter what.

***

The ponies sat in one of the many drawing rooms of Canterlot castle. The palatial surroundings seemed reassuring to Rarity after the shocks that she’d had that day. Curled up on a sofa, among royalty no less, was something that could almost take her mind off things.

Shining Armour stood to attention in front of them, despite the informal setting; he was on duty after all. With a smile and a nod of her head, Celestia gave him permission to begin his briefing.

“Yesterday, at approximately three in the morning, Juniper Berry, also known as Fletch, escaped from the castle dungeons. We can place his escape at this time because a patrolling guard heard a loud noise and investigated. Finding Fletch missing, he raised the alarm. After describing the noise to the Princess, she has determined that it was the sound of a teleport spell.

“This means that he was not working alone. A unicorn must have helped him. The dungeons are shielded from almost all magical energies by the Princess, and it would therefore have taken an extremely talented pony to outwit those defences.

“We have questioned some of his former accomplices, and they have no knowledge of his escape. The Princess believes that they are being truthful.”

Shining finished, relieved that he no longer had to endure the attention of every pony in the room. Celestia cleared her throat and all eyes turned to her.

“Thank you, Shining Armour. Now, I have proposed that you all stay here while the Guard get to the bottom of this. Security will increase, and I can safely say that no more ponies will be teleporting in or out of this castle. If you feel that you can be of use to the investigation then please volunteer any information to Shining.

“Now,” she said, rising to her hooves, “it is late and time for bed. I will see you all in the morning.”

***

“…and then she turned to me and said, ‘Shining, why is there a frog in our bed?’”

Shining and Twilight started laughing loudly.

They were sitting together, long after the others had left. Their talk was mostly of the old days and married life with Cadance. It had been a while since Twilight had felt as contented as she did at that moment.

Almost inevitably the topic of Fletch came up.

“Are there any leads at all, Shining?”

Twilight’s brother shook his head regretfully.

“None. We know he had a sister, who I suppose could be a suspect, but they’re estranged and we don’t know who she is. That part of the file seems to have gone permanently missing and Fletch wasn’t very co-operative.”

Twilight frowned.

“Ponies he worked with?”

“We don’t think so. He didn’t have anypony close to him from a business perspective. All his dirty work was contracted out and we don’t think he had any contact with them.

“The only thing to do is to wait. We’ll catch him before too long, I promise you.”

Twilight seemed satisfied, and cuddled closer to Shining.

“I missed you, you know.”

“I know you did.”

She smiled.

“Tell me another story, Shining.”

***

“What do you mean ‘they’ve found nothing’?!” Rainbow Dash groaned. “It’s been a week!”

Applejack rolled her eyes and grabbed Rainbow's tail in her mouth, tugging the pegasus back to Earth.

“Rainbow, would ya please be quiet for a little while, Twi was trying to tell us something.”

Rainbow muttered something under her breath. Applejack raised an eyebrow, but turned back to Twilight and told her to carry on.

“Thank you, Applejack. As I was saying, while they’ve found nothing immediately relevant to Fletch’s escape, they’ve noticed an increase in the number of break-ins in Canterlot. The modus operandi seems to be consistent between 95% of these break-ins; no windows or doors broken or forced, only a single item missing. From this the Guard has deduced that a unicorn must be teleporting in and out.”

“And, um… what about the items? If you don’t mind…” Fluttershy trailed off, embarrassed.

Twilight smiled kindly.

“The items seem to be only loosely connected. They’re valuable, often magical, but share no other significant features.”

Rarity spoke up;

“This is interesting, darling, but it doesn’t really get us anywhere.”

Pinkie started bouncing.

“Ooo, ooo, me! Pick me!”

Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Pinkie?”

“It’s important because now we know the unicorn who helped Fletch is still operating in Canterlot. If we catch them, then they can lead us to Fletch!”

Twilight was slightly amazed that Pinkie had cottoned on that quickly, but she hid it well.

“Yes, quite. So we do still need to wait, Rainbow,” (Rainbow groaned), “but we are making progress. Both the unicorn and Fletch will be caught in good time.”

“But Twilight, what exactly do you expect us to do until then? I’m bored. We can’t leave the castle grounds and I seriously need to stretch my wings.”

Twilight frowned.

“Nopony made you come Rainbow. If you want to go home, you can.”

Rainbow gasped.

“Hey, I wasn’t saying that. Just…”

“Just what, dear?”

Rarity’s voice was very quiet. The cyan pegasus looked uneasy.

“Just that we should be doing something,” she said.

Twilight looked away.

“We’re doing what we can. We’re staying safe so that the Guard can concentrate on doing their job.”

For the thousandth time, Twilight wondered if Rainbow was right. Had they made the right decisions? Again she reflected on what ‘right’ really was. She was sure they’d find out eventually.

***

The orchard was dark. Luna’s magnificent sky was veiled behind thick clouds. With no light from the moon, it was pitch black; impossible to see anything. It was unnatural, the weather patrol had said, but they couldn’t do anything about it.

Nothing moved.

Then a figure appeared. So sudden was the figure’s arrival that it was almost as if they’d appeared by magic.

Up in the farmhouse, Sweetie Belle slept.

***

When Rarity awoke and emerged into the situation room at Canterlot castle, she was surprised at the amount of activity. Ponies ran hither and thither, shouting and Twilight was in deep conversation with Princess Celestia and Shining Armour.

Twilight looked up sharply as the white unicorn approached.

“Rarity. We were about to send someone to get you.”

“Is everything all right, Twilight?”

Suddenly, she knew that it wasn't.

“I think you should sit down, Rarity.”

Shepherding Rarity over to a chair, Twilight continued, attempting to sound as detached as possible.

“We received an anonymous letter that was sent to the team involved in tracking Fletch. This letter.”

Twilight handed the letter over and Rarity took it, eying it as though it might explode at any moment.

Shaking, she read it.

Rarity.

I have your sister. She is safe, for now anyway.

I want 5000 bits and I want them by tonight. You know where to bring them. If anypony other than you and your five friends show up, then she dies. If you do not bring the money, she dies. Play by the rules.

Rarity looked up at Twilight, lost. Tears streamed down her face and she found that she couldn’t stop shaking. Shining Armour spoke, his face steely, his voice sounding as if it came from a thousand miles away.

“Rarity, I know this is very hard. We’ve checked and Sweetie Belle is missing. Now, it is very important that you think carefully and clearly. Do you know where it is that the letter is referring to?”

“Why didn’t I bring her?” Rarity whispered. “Why did I give in? Why did I let her stay?”

Celestia leaned down, authority in her gaze and in her voice as she addressed the stunned unicorn.

“Rarity, please. Answer the question.”

Rarity shook her head, trying to dislodge useful information from the swirl of thoughts in her brain.

“Of course. I… I don’t know. I can’t think of anything.”

Shining Armour gave an exasperated sigh. Twilight was thinking, using every one of her brain cells to try and work out a solution to their problem.

Solution.

‘Play by the rules.’

“It’s a game. A mental exercise. We’ve been given clues.”

“What? Twily, what are you saying?”

Twilight spun to face her brother.

“Shining, get me a map of Canterlot.”

Shining barked an order and a map was placed on a nearby table. The four ponies approached it.

“Now, mark on the location of every one of those teleporting intruder break-ins from the last week.”

Shining did so and Twilight gasped.

“It’s a star! There’s a pattern! What’s at the exact centre of the star?”

Shining lay a hoof at the centre, stunned.

“How did we miss this? It’s the warehouse on Dock Street. One of Fletch’s warehouses.”

Rarity straightened.

“I’m going.”

Shining turned to her.

“With all due respect, Rarity, you’re hardly trained for this. You’d be putting yourself in real danger.”

“I’ve faced danger before. Fletch is a worm, but he’s no worse than Discord or Nightmare Moon.”

“And she won’t be alone. I’ll come with her,” Twilight said.

“We all will.”

They turned to see Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack and Fluttershy. It was Rainbow who’d spoken.

Rarity’s eyes shimmered as she threatened to cry again.

“You will?”

“Sure,” Rainbow pushed out her chest and tried to look imposing, then stopped.

“Err… where are we going?”

***

The six ponies prepared to leave. They’d been on adventures before and faced dangerous foes as if they were nothing, but it had never been as personal as this.

Celestia and Shining were waiting for them as they left the castle through the huge double doors. Celestia nuzzled her favourite student, and then addressed the group.

“I want you all to come back safe and sound. I really wish I could do more for you, but you’re all so capable that I’m certain you’ll be fine. Be careful, my little ponies.”

Shining hugged his sister.

“Be safe. We’ll give you ten minutes, and then we’ll be right behind you. Once we’re there, if you’re not out in twenty minutes then we’re coming in.”

Twilight nodded.

The gang walked in silence. Fear and anticipation sparked in the air, almost tangible. Even Pinkie refrained from bouncing along. Only Rainbow was like her usual self, as she flitted above their heads, although this seemed more like nervous energy than anything else.

Soon they had reached the warehouse. The sun was beginning to set, and as they approached it dipped behind the houses that faced the building, throwing it suddenly into shadow.

“Well that was ominous.”

Everyone glared at Pinkie.

“What? It was!”

Sighing, Twilight pushed the door open and led the others inside.

There had been no lights on in the warehouse, but even as they entered they flickered on overhead and the interior was revealed.

Boxes upon boxes were piled all around them. Twilight knew that these were recent additions; everything had been seized by the Guard when Fletch was arrested. She pondered this development.

Bang.

A bolt of purple magic smashed into Twilight’s flank, sending her spinning towards a wall. Instinctively, she shut her eyes, but the crunch never came. Opening her eyes she found herself laying on a metal floor in a dimly lit room, with only a chair and some sort of control panel next to a window to give her any clue of her whereabouts. Vaguely she could hear the panicked cries of her friends. She pulled herself slowly to her feet.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight spun. Without warning, ropes appeared magically and wrapped themselves around Twilight, pushing her into the chair and binding her.

“T-Trixie!?”

Trixie stepped forward from the shadows and stood with her head tilted arrogantly upwards.

“Yes, it is Trixie! The Great and Powerful Trixie to you, of course. Trixie is pleased that you-”

“Oh, Trix, knock it off, will ya.”

A tired and grumpy looking Fletch stepped through the only door into the room, closing and locking it behind him.

“All this third person stuff is irritating. You never talk like that to me.”

Trixie sniffed.

“Trixie… oh, fine. I happen to like it, dear brother. I was always the one with flair.”

Fletch didn’t care much for flair. In his business, flair made you sloppy. Flair got you caught. He winced at the thought. He’d got caught anyway.

“Trix, this wasn’t part of the plan. She’s meant to be down there with the rest of them.”

Trixie turned on her brother and practically growled.

“Listen, Juni, she’s mine. She humiliated me, and I will see to her personally.”

Trixie levitated a microphone so it was close to her mouth and spoke. Her voice reverberated around the warehouse, and Twilight now realised that the maze was visible far below when she looked through the window.

“Listen up, ponies. The Great and Powerful Trixie demands your attention. Before you is a maze. In the maze are vicious animals. At the centre of it is the filly you seem so determined to rescue. It’s simple really. Trixie would wish you good luck, but there seems little point.”

She dropped the microphone and turned back to Twilight. The lights in the warehouse dimmed until there was only just enough light to see by, but Twilight could still just make out her friends. There were also several balls of yellow light, seemingly floating just above the ground throughout the maze. Were they the vicious animals?

Trixie was staring at Twilight as if by doing so she could vaporize her. Contemptuous didn’t even begin to describe the expression on her face.

“Do you know why I’m doing this? You ruined me, Twilight. My life was perfect. I swept across Equestria, impressing country bumpkins and making my fortune. Then you showed up.

“After I couldn’t defeat the Ursa, I suppose that you thought I was weak? I, Trixie, weak! Never. What did you do that was so impressive? Levitated some objects and played some music. I could do all that, and more, if I’d have thought of it.

“Word spread, though. I was never taken seriously again. Ponies wouldn’t give me the time of day. You made my life hell. I will destroy you, Twilight Sparkle, for what you did to me. You will watch your friends die, because you were too stupid, too weak, and too slow. Then I will kill you.”

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Wait, Trixie. You’re going to kill seven ponies, just because I defeated an Ursa Minor and you didn’t? That’s insane.”

Trixie laughed, bitterly.

“‘Just because’? Twilight, I commend you for working out where to find me, simple as it was, but you are dumb sometimes. Image is everything. Being a show-pony was what I was born to do. One day I would have made it to Canterlot and wowed even the Princess. My hopes, my dreams, and my life all shattered by you and your friends. Then you hurt my brother too.”

Fletch shuffled uncomfortably and interrupted.

“Trix, I really don’t like this. She should be down there, getting eaten like the rest of them. Up here… she’s strong. What if she…”

Trixie kicked back at him without turning, striking him in the chest, her irritation clear.

“She’s strong?! What am I, a turnip? I could rip her limb from limb if I desired. In fact, after her friends are dead, I think I will.”

“But, Trixie, this wasn’t the plan.”

Trixie's patience snapped, and she spun to face her brother.

“Juniper-”

Twilight took her chance. There was a whip-crack as the ropes that bound her snapped off, and the purple unicorn leapt forward, horn glowing. Trixie rounded on her, already firing a spell of her own. Their magic met, and a solid beam of purple extended between their horns as they struggled for superiority. Fletch was motionless, stunned at the sudden turn of events and afraid of interfering.

They battled like that for… minutes? Hours? Twilight couldn’t say, so lost was she in the fight. Their minds tangled, as invisible magical essence flowed between them, and Twilight knew that if she lost this battle then she wouldn’t live to tell anyone about it. Neither would her friends. That gave her the extra motivation she needed.

Grunting, sparks flying from her horn, she gave a final push. Trixie broke and her will snapped. The beam struck her squarely in the face, sending her flying unconscious into the door, smashing it off its hinges.

Fletch finally acted, springing forward with a snarl, but Twilight was ready. She had never felt so powerful. With a smile, she simply swatted Fletch aside, and he stumbled into the glass window, which shattered against his weight. The shards cut into his wings and they fell, useless, to his sides. Twilight gasped, her triumph forgotten.

With one last terrified look at his adversary, he fell.

***

Twilight’s friends raced through the maze, unheeding of the drama happening above their heads. The maze of crates and boxes had many dead ends and twisting paths, so that before long all sense of direction was lost and the ponies found themselves separated.

Rarity’s face was set in a look of grim determination. As she trotted through the maze, she tried her best to listen out for any signs of the vicious animals mentioned by Trixie. She would have been stunned by that particular revelation, but she’d had too many shocks over the past twelve hours.

Maybe Trixie was bluffing about there being animals, thought Rarity.

Then she rounded a corner and came face to face with a timberwolf.

Rarity took a step backwards. The wolf was growling, but it didn’t seem interested in her. She followed its gaze downwards. At its feet lay the unmistakable bulky pegasus body of Fletch. He seemed to be injured. Blood flowed from multiple cuts on his wings and he seemed bruised and battered. He was still conscious, however, and was feebly attempting to push the wolf away. This only seemed to serve to make it madder.

Rarity knew that she should save Fletch. Even after everything he’d down. Still she hesitated. If she attacked the timberwolf then she could end up injured or worse. Did Fletch really even deserve to be saved? He was a lowlife, who’d blackmailed and bullied everypony he could, and who’d been involved in kidnapping her sister.

The unicorn was paralysed by her conflicting thoughts. Then, a conversation she’d had with Twilight echoed in her mind;

“It could have been his sister, I suppose.”

“His sister? Twilight, why would his sister have broken him out?”

“Is it that hard to believe? Everpony has somepony else who loves them and who they love.”

Even Fletch.

Rarity stepped forward and kicked at the timberwolf, forcing it backwards, until she was standing between it and Fletch. With an unladylike growl, she leapt towards the creature, determined to land as many blows as she could before the end.

“Rarity!”

There was a blast of purple magic, and the timberwolf literally fell apart, the individual sticks clattering onto the concrete floor.

Rarity turned, and saw her friends, gathered again. With them was Sweetie Belle. With a gasp, she flung herself at her sister, hugging her tight.

Then the Guard stormed in.