//------------------------------// // 7 - Escape Artist // Story: Alicorn Princess // by Bad Dragon //------------------------------// When I heard hoofsteps on the stairs to the basement, I quickly closed the book and lay it behind the barrel in which I resided. To hide it from Twilight’s prying eyes, I jerked the nearby metal connector over it. The time for her to learn of my treachery would come, but it was still too soon. “Is my bath warm enough yet, servant?” She yelled down. “Almost,” I lied. I couldn’t warm it up with her method even if I sat in it for eternity. “Hurry up, will you? Ugh.” She looked around. “I’ll just tidy up this place in the meantime. Everything needs to go.” I gasped as she walked in the middle and charged her horn.  “It’s all trash and it’s making this basement cramped. I want space; lots of space!” She had to be stopped, and it just so happened that I had a plan to do just that. I initialized the first phase. “Excuse me, Alicorn Princess?” She glanced at me. “Huh?” “May I pose a question? I couldn’t figure it out myself, but I’m sure you could tell me. What does that do?” I pointed to the construction in the middle of the basement. “That’s, em—” Her eyes shot up. “—oh dear!” “What is it?” I raised my eyebrows. She ran to the nearby bucket. “blech!” she puked in it. I put both forehooves on the edge of the barrel. “Are you okay?” “Oh, Twi, what has Celestia been making you do… ” “Did you remember something?” “Yes. I really need to stop accessing these memories in my head. They’re horrible.” “So, what is it used for then?” “Trust me, you don’t want to know. I wish I didn’t.” I needed an advantage over her and that device would get me that. The composition of the parts gave a clear indication of what purpose the construction was meant to fulfill. Getting myself strapped onto it was my way to freedom. Her earlier attack left my mind in ruins. For all I knew, she could wield powers beyond my comprehension. With the extent of her powers being a variable, I had no way of calculating the probability of my success in opposing her. However, the odds of me winning against her would increase if I gave myself a head-start by overcoming her beforehoof. Every advantage I could get might prove to be the difference between victory and defeat. There wouldn’t be another chance after my attempt at rebellion. She had made her first move and won, taking most of what I was away from me. Without some kind of a boon on my side, I had little chance of turning the tide. I initiated the next step of my scheme. “I could escape from that with no problem.” “Yeah, right… ” “I think you just don’t want me to show my ingenuity because it would prove that I’m more adept at it than you are.” “What did you say?” “You know that I could get out of it with no problem, and that’s why you won’t give me a chance to prove it to you.” She laughed. “You wish!” “It’s okay, I’m already a moral winner in my mind and you not giving me the opportunity to show my capabilities just solidifies my greatness. I won’t shove it in your face, though. Your safe box of ignorance that you’re in is perfectly safe. I’ll just be quiet from now on so you can keep on ignoring the facts.” I clenched my lips together. Her lowered jaw finally managed to move. “You’re, actually, serious... Well, you’re dead wrong thinking you could escape it. This frame was designed to withstand changelings. It passed the most rigorous testing with flying colors. Many copies of it are used constantly in Canterlot dungeons and none had ever failed.” She looked at me with a grin. “But you know what? I want to see you try. Go on, I’ll strap you in.” I climbed out of the barrel of water and moved into the frame. Things were going as I hoped. She played along like a pawn on my chessboard. There wasn’t much else for me to do anymore. I wiggled my tongue around my mouth, but only within the boundaries of my teeth. I didn’t want to give out any indication of what I was doing. She charged her horn. “I’ll fix you up real good.” She tightened the first strap over my body. “And then I’ll watch you struggle as I bathe.” It hurt. If it wasn’t for the stretchy body clothing I wore, it would have bruised my skin. Even though I wasn’t fond of the pain, sustaining any wounds was of no concern to me. I was complacent with the bodily damage she might cause. At that point I cared little about what could happen to the temporary shell I resided in. “Is this too tight for you!?” She pulled the leg strip with her magic. “Nnn!” I almost opened my mouth due to the intense pain. The strap clenched through my clothes and gripped at my skin. I worked through it because there was no other alternative. The future was riding on my plan. It all rested on me keeping my mouth shut until just the right moment. I may have gone a bit overboard with provoking her. “I bet you even like it, freak!” She pulled the straps on my other foreleg. The pain rushed through me, but I was ready for it at that time. I slowly exhaled through my nostrils and breathed in again.   “I just thought of something.” She stopped and looked to the ceiling. “I don’t like you. I don’t like having you around. But I can’t really throw you out, either. Without your memories, you’d be even worse off than I was, and everypony hated me. I also don’t want ponies to suspect anything out of the ordinary.” As I tried to move my last free hind leg from the frame, she tightened it against the pole with her magic. I didn’t like where she was going with her monologue. I widened my eyes as I looked at her. “I want to see you as a bottom feeder for a change. I’ll just keep you down here. Forever! I’ll eat the food in front of you. I’ll make you say nice things to me and make up reasons why I’m as great as I am. After that, depending on how pleasing your praise of me will be, I may give you some of the leftovers.” My muscles tensed when she tightened the last strap around my neck. “There. All done. You’re trapped. There’s no way you can escape, but I do really want to see you struggle. Go on, twirl about, my little captive! He-he! I want to see your futile attempts.“ I tried to move, but my body remained fixed in place. I was utterly secured. It was time for the last phase. She stood in front of me. “What do you think about my plan, bottomfeeder?” She leaned in and smiled. The amulet dangled back and forth on her neck. I smiled back at her. It had taken some time to gather enough saliva in my mouth. Fortunately for me, she was too obsessed with gloating to grow suspicious of my silence. It mattered little, for it was time. The preparation was complete. She raised an eyebrow. “What are you smiling about, captive?” I puckered my lips and aimed. “Hmm?” “Ptooey” I spit a mouthful of saliva at the amulet, betting everything on the information I gathered from the book. Sparks projected out of the amulet around her neck. The light in the crystal faded out. “What the—” she exclaimed Darkness. I was drenched in it. When I opened my eyes I saw a blue unicorn in a tight bodysuit, strapped to the contraption in front of me. She was helpless to resist me in any way. I caressed her head with a wing. “Hello, Trixie!”