//------------------------------//
// 68 - The Trap 
// Story: Re:Harmony 
// by starcross7 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 68 - The Trap
 
"You're a monster.  You killed everypony.  You killed my little sister!"
 
"Stop it!" yelled Twilight.  "I didn't do it!  I didn't do it!"
 
Her armored hoof struck the last blow to the orange pony's head, killing her.  But she didn't mean to.  She was angry.  She was scared.  The dark skies, wasteland of destruction, and the deceased bodies of her friends weren't her doing.  The reflections of a six winged alicorn monster wasn't her.  It wasn't.  She wanted to shatter each reflection before her eyes, every metal hull, every glass, and even the polluted pools of water.  Yet it was useless.  It would not change who she was, and Twilight slowly lay down cradling the body of her dear friend. 
 
"Please stop," she wept.  "No more.  Just let me die already."
 
"Do not waste away," spoke a thunderous whisper.  Before long, the thick clouds began coalescing into an equine form something like shadow and liquid, and yet burned like a flame of darkness. 
 
"What can I do?" Twilight asked the Darkness.  "I am alone here, and I can't even kill myself.  I should've… I should've stayed behind in Unicornia.  I shouldn't have left my village to search for my brother, my father, and my Elements.  I should've--"
 
"Do not lose hope," said the Everlasting Darkness, "whether you are blinded by light or wandering in darkness.  Your friends will come, especially the one closest to you.  Until then, stay strong, Twilight Sparkle."
 
"Everlasting Darkness, wait!  Don't leave me!"
 
The shadowy equine being slowly dissipating into smoggy vapor, and all efforts to chase it or even grasp were all in vain.  Twilight, with all her six wings, could not fly, nor did she know how to.  A brief jump left her stumbling down the hill of the ruins of the world through shattered tanks, the dying embers, and piles of corpses. 
 
She didn't want to be surrounded by strangers, dead ones especially, and so the alicorn Twilight climbed back up the hill as slow and solemnly as possible.  Then she took Applejack's body and cradled it as she curled her legs and her wings into whimpering fetal position.  She shivered not because she was cold, but because she was alone and afraid. 
 
The Darkness told her to not lost hope.  The Darkness told her to stay strong.  It told her friends were coming, but even then, she did not know how long she could take any more of this. 
 



  
Not since the passing of her mother did Rarity feel this way.  No, this felt worse.  It was one thing for a pony to die of natural causes, but to have one's hoof in it was something else.  The troubling part was that she did not know if Sunset Shimmer was alive or not. 
 
Her real father, King Magnum, told her once or twice about the legend of the Magic Mirror, a mystical artifact of the Before Times.  The legend stated that in the past powerful magicians used it to travel back and forth between worlds, and that if one were to peer long enough at his or her reflection, one would see another version of him or herself depending on the lunar cycle.  It was the sixtieth moon.  Strange things had been known to happen in the Empire's past on the sixtieth moon, although the last recorded event was that of Shining Armor's arrival. 
 
The Diamond Princess tried not to dwell on it further, and she hurried out of the king's library and out into the grand halls.  As she had expected, the duel between Applejack and Shining Armor was over, apparently with Applejack delivering the final blow with her sword.  Yet the white unicorn stallion suffered no physical cuts when fell, but immediately afterwards Applejack tended to him as he clutched his pained chest. 
 
"Oh, where am I?" he asked.  "AJ, what are you doing here?"
 
"What am I doin' here?" asked Applejack.  "Shine, you lunkhead!  You were hypnotized by a shrew of a mare!  Say Rares, whatever happened to that Sunset Shimmer anyhow?"
 
"I… well…. I put a stop to her," replied Rarity. 
 
"You mean…"
 
"She's not dead, but a part of me wished I killed her to spare her eternal torment.  Nonetheless, she is gone." 
 
"What is going on?" asked Shining Armor.  "Is the Empire finally under attack?  And what did you do to my First Lieutenant?"
 
"She was part of a cabal who tried to overthrow the Royal Family, but never mind that.  Where is everypony?  And I don't see any of those black golems here.  I sure do hope they moved the fight elsewhere."
 
"Or perhaps they are captured."
 
"Omiogsh!" Applejack cried.  "Twilight!"
 
"My mother's here?"
 
"She meant your sister," Rarity corrected. 
 
"Then that means…"
 
Applejack had long galloped back to the throne room.  Oh no.  Panic had set in within the Diamond Princess, and Rarity chased after the orange pony only to arrive a moment too late.  Applejack pushed Twilight from her spot, and the light from the Door of Fears captured its latest victim in the spot. 
 
Applejack you fool!  Rarity would help her, but now she couldn't, and now her focus went to a teary-eyed Twilight who gradually recovered her senses and her normal rate of breathing.  Thank the heavens.  Any normal pony would have immediately died from the shock of being torn away from the Door of Fears, but while Twilight appeared physically well, her eyes told a different tale.  Her tears continued running and her body was still shaking.  It might have been a few hours of being entranced by the Door of Fears, but clearly she had lost a few pounds.  Certainly not the ideal way of losing weight to fit in a dress. 
 
"Darling, are you all right?" Rarity said as she cautiously approached the purple unicorn.  Whatever the Door of Fears showed Twilight might cause her to become aggressive to anypony she sees.  Better safe than generous for now. 
 
"Wha, Rarity?" asked the confused unicorn.  "What am I… How…"
 
"It was an illusion.  Now, deep breaths…"
 
"I know it was, but it felt so real."
 
"...I'll see if I can find a glass of water…"
 
"But Rarity, what I saw… everypony was dead… and it was all because I--"
 
Rarity finally hugged the distressed unicorn.  "Shh.  It's okay.  We'll face your fears together, but not right now.  There's somepony I'd like you to meet for real this time."
 
She let go of her dearest friend so that she would not stand between the purple unicorn mare and the handsome white unicorn stallion.  The latter had been cautious in his advance, almost fearful.  Initially, a tearful smile drew across Twilight's face, but then suddenly her expression turned sour.  Then she rushed to wave a hard hoof-slap across his face. 
 
"Where have you been all this time?" she yelled.  "Mom and I were worried sick about you!"
 
"Sorry, Little Sis."
 
"Don't 'sorry' me, mister!  Do you know how hard it was on mom when you left?  Or how hard it was on me?  We thought you were dead!  Why did you leave us?"
 
"It's because of the Starswirl Prophecy.  When you were born, dad had to venture out and find out where the Elements of Creation were, but when he didn't return after all those years, I decided that I had to continue where he left off.  I met Applejack who helped me gain information about the Elements, but I had to lay low after I helped her escape Rock Prison.  Unfortunately, I ran into trouble with Gaean Changelings and I had to flee to the Crystal Empire.  I didn't intend to stay for long, but…"
 
"But what?"
 
"Sis, dad and I had to leave to protect you.  I didn't want to be the unicorn who will kill you should you ever become the Twilight who will destroy the world."
 
"Did you ever consider that I didn't care about the Prophecy?  Even if I knew, I would have begged you to kill me should I ever become Twilight the Destroyer.  I missed you.  And I missed dad.  Mom misses you, Shiny."
 
"Little Sis…"
 
Rarity watched the sibling embrace with a smile.  It was heartwarming, and she almost wished she could hug her little sister if she were here. 
 
However, there were more important matters, and her and her companions' attentions turned towards the Door of Fears and its latest victim: Applejack. 
 
"You think we can get her out the same way?" Twilight asked. 
 
"It might be too risky," said Rarity.  "You were lucky, but it might be different for Earth Ponies, perhaps even deadlier.  Unfortunately, I do not know the spell to dispel the Door of Fears.  It might be in a book in my father's library, but do I hope Sunset didn't burn it down."
 
"I'm sure we know the general mechanics of it, right Shining Armor?"
 
"Mother did bombard us with powerful illusion and hypnosis spells during our training," replied Shining Armor.  "I'm sure the two of us can dispel it."
 
"Are you sure you're still up to it?"
 
"If I can't, I wouldn't be a brother of a Twilight--Twily."
 
"All right.  Rarity, stand back.  We're going to close that accursed door."
 
The Diamond Princess wanted to stop them before the siblings aimed their horns and fired.  Twin magenta-colored blasts shot towards the cluster of gems that decorated the top of the Door of Fears.  Both Shining and Twilight strained to keep up the flow of their counterspell, and almost a tense minute had passed before the door finally began to close itself.  Indeed, these were extraordinary unicorns, the finest Rarity had ever seen.
 
When the Door was shut, Applejack collapsed in a gasp and in tears.  She immediately sprung up to her hooves, and like Twilight, she acted confused and frightened by the shock of being brought back to the real world.  She might have been eased back, but the impact was the same.  Now she stared long at Twilight before turning her head away in shame. 
 
"Twi, I'm sorry," said Applejack.  "I never meant to hurt your feelings."
 
"Applejack, get a hold of yourself," said Twilight.  "It's me.  The real me."
 
"But you told me you hated me."
 
"Why would I hate you?"
 
"Wha?"
 
"You were trapped in the Door of Fears.  You were the one who pulled me out, remember?"
 
"I… Oh, I forgot.   I knew it was some kinda illusion, but I never expected to be so real."
 
"But you saw something you didn't want to see."
 
"I did.  I didn't mean to freak you out, Twi."
 
"You freaked all of us out," said Shining Armor. 
 
"Sorry, y'all.  I guess I should've been more patient before I jumped in."
 
"Well, the deed has been done," said Rarity, "but I don't think the cabal has been stopped." 
 
"Sunset Shrew is gone, and the spell's been lifted from Shine," said Applejack.  "Who else could be in control?"
 
"There's still the Royal Viziers, Flim and Flam.  The Queen is missing, but now our friends are gone."
 
"You think they're captured?" 
 
"Likely, but they wouldn't have taken them back to the catacombs and the mines because we have already secured it.  The Crystal Empire's city limits is large, and whoever controlled those golems wouldn't have enough magical strength to move them very far, even if they should be powerful unicorns.  Which leaves us one option."
 
"The Spire," said Shining Armor. 
 
"Indeed.  In emergency situations, they would have moved the Crystal Heart to the top of the tower."
 
"And that's where we'll find the Queen, our friends, and those no-good baddies," said Applejack as she pounded her front hooves together. 
 
"There are levels beyond the top floor?" asked Twilight.  "I thought we already toured the entirety of the castle, not counting the Queen's bedchambers." 
 
"The top of the Spire can only be accessed through a magical subspace," said Rarity, "and the entrance to that subspace is through the Door of Fears.  Good thing you and your brother didn't destroy it."
 
"After what Applejack and I been through, I don't think that would be a good option."
 
"There is a way through that," said Shining Armor.  "We have to move the Door."
 
"To where?"
 
"To the throne room's basement."
 


 
 
It was frightening to watch the darkness flow from the unicorn stallion's eyes as he blasted a spell to the topmost crystal of the throne.  Rarity and the others moved out of the way as the narrow crystal sculpture cast a shadow onto the middle of the floor to reveal a stairwell spiraling into darkness.  This would be the first Rarity had seen the throne basement for all her life in the Crystal Empire, but she did not expect it to spiral downward almost as deep as the castle itself. 
 
Then came the arduous task of moving the Door itself.  A pony could not simply pry it off the wall and lower it down.  The Door of Fears must travel alongside a flat surface, which Twilight and Shining Armor coordinated on their descent.  Shining had the task of staking out ahead and walking backwards to keep the Door "balanced" against the wall while Twilight pulled up the rear to balance her end.  Applejack, despite her recent trauma, volunteered to make sure that the Door remained shut before they reached the bottom.  Carefully they treaded downward, and Rarity, who stood behind and free from the responsibility, could sense her friends' desires to hurry down and plant the door in its place.  As she could tell, the Door of Fears was an artifact not to be taken lightly, and the visible mental strain on the unicorn brother and sister indicated that it was heavier than expected. 
 
The minutes passed like a painful eternity, but they all finally reached the dark bottom of the throne basement huffing and puffing.  The Door had been placed to what they believed to be true entrance into the Spire.  The siblings fired their magic to the top cluster of gems on the top, and the Door opened not to anypony's worst fears, but to a bright chamber at the other side. 
 
This seemed too good to be true.  This could be a part of the illusion that was the Door of Fears, and everypony was too hesitant to pass through.  Rarity even bit her squishy hoof to make sure she wasn't dreaming up a nightmare, but eventually Applejack stepped through, followed by Shining Armor, Twilight, and then the Diamond Princess herself.  They had arrived before a stairwell winding alongside a crystal ivory tower ascending to the heavens. 
 
"Stairs?" Applejack exclaimed.  "Stairs?  You gotta be kiddin' me!"
 
"My apologies," said Rarity, "my ancestors were quite fond of them, as they represented heavenly superiority as long as one is on the top."
 
"At least we don't have to deal with any Golems," said Twilight.
 
Twilight just had to say that, for the wretched black-rock Obsidian Golems began growing themselves off of every five steps.  Even if they wanted to go back, the entrance door slammed shut, and several more Golems grew out from behind them. 
 
"Get between us, Princess!" cried Shining Armor.  He took the back while Twilight took the front as he and his sister began blasting the advancing Golem horde with their magic.  Applejack meanwhile shattered any of the Golems that got past the fighting unicorns, concentrating mainly on protecting the Diamond Princess.  Together, the four made their ascent, but with a painfully slow pace.  Several minutes later, the only managed to get above the door, and the enemy was not letting up. 
 
"I had enough of this!" Twilight cried. 
 
The purple unicorn enveloped herself and her friends with her magical aura.  Rarity felt herself floating, and soon her orientation twisted upside down.  The floor was now the ceiling, and the ceiling was now the floor.  The four were now standing the smooth ivory-crystal underside of the spiraling stairs.  That did nothing to deter the Obsidian Golems, for they grew themselves from the ceiling. 
 
"Now we're upside down," asked Rarity, "and the Golems are still chasing us."
 
"Don't give up hope yet, Princess," said Twilight.  "Big Brother, cast your strongest shield spell and form it into a wedge.  We're going to slide ourselves to the top.  Everypony, hang tight!"
 
Now a magical aura was cast on their hooves, and the slipping began.  As they accelerated, Shining cast the wedge-shaped shield spell that plowed through the Golems like scarecrows and snowponies, and littered their shattered debris all over the stairs below--in the ponies' case, the stairs above.  Their smooth ascent allowed them to reach the top in minutes instead of hours, but as good as the plan was, there was still the issue of stopping.  The closer they ascended, the faster they spun into the entrance hole like scented soap into a luxurious bathtub drain. 
 
Before they knew it, the top-level stairwell spat them out into a ceiling web of wires and haphazard beams.  Below them, they saw what they had dreaded, the capture of their friends encased in bulb-like orbs large enough to barely fit two ponies each. 
 
It looked to be a spider's web containing its prey in transparent cocoons.  Ingrid Marble Pie, Princess Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom were in one.  Bon Bon and Lyra were in one.  Agatha and Fluttershy were in one.  Lord Umbra and Aurea Laurea were in one. Castle and Quicksilver were in one.  Pinkie Pie was stuck with an unconscious North Star, and the former's face was planted into the latter's butt.  And prominent towards the back center in her very own container was the bound and wired Crystal Queen Mi Amore Cadenza. 
 
Spike and their animal companions were the only exceptions, and they were encased in a large steel cage on the floor.  The baby dragon and his cellmates were conscious, and they did all they could to squeeze or gnaw past the prison bars.
 
Then there was the Crystal Heart hovering above a large and circular etching of a five-point star.  
 
Rarity and her companions wished their entrance had not been noticed, as the viziers' eyes were glued on the magical monitors and their crystal computer console on the other wall.  Alas, their arrival was anything but discreet.  Whirling its cold technological servos were several beady-eyed Gaea security cameras, and when they locked their glass vision onto the intruders, their visages immediately flashed on upon the monitors before the two viziers.  Yet Flam and Flam did not turn around.  They didn't seem to react. 
 
It was cause for alarm anyway.  Twilight had finally dispelled herself and her friends.  They felt their weight pull them downward instead of upward, and eventually the mess of wires gave in and released them to the floor below.  Applejack landed her hooves uncannily like a cat, while the brother and sister unicorns floated themselves and Rarity safely down to the ground. 
 
The two unicorn brothers immediately slammed their hooves one large red button on their crystal computer console.  The alarm carillon gonged, and a sharp wall of black crystals shot up and shielded the Crystal Heart from retrieval.  The dark web of wires and metal beams stirred, and four large crystalline scimitar claws lunged at the intruding ponies from above.  Applejack's sword deflected one of them, while Twilight and Shining Armor's magic deflected the rest. 
 
"I'll take care of the rest these claws," Applejack yelled.  "Y'all stop those wizards over there!"
 
"I think not!" Flim cried.  "Time for our ultimate spell!"
 
"Synchro Storm!" the viziers yelled together.  Once in position, Flim and Flam blasted a devastating green halo of magic towards their opponents. 
 
"Aegis Wall!" cried Twilight and Shining Armor. 
 
Brother and sister faced the twins and focused their magic to put up a barrier blocking Flim and Flam's Synchro Storm.  The clash of magic mitigated the destruction of the top of the Spire that produced only the searing heat of their power.  The web wires and beams shook, and the bulb-like prison cells knocked against one another, rousing many of its imprisoned ponies to waking, causing Pinkie Pie to slam her face once more into North Star's butt.  Applejack was still busy deflecting the four mechanical claws to protect her friends. 
 
And what about Rarity?  To her shame, she was cowering between Applejack and her unicorn companions as she tried dodging one of the four mechanical claws lunging at her.  She had no more magic power left, and she's forcing herself to keep on her hooves the sake of her Empire and her family.  Her body wanted her to rest in the silken sheets of her royal bedchambers, but her mind focused on the desperate eyes of her little sister and her stepfather focusing on her. 
 
"Rares!" Applejack cried.  "Twi and Shine ain't gonna last long against those wizards' power.  While I trust Twi with the plans more than I do, I don't think she can give it to me right now.  You're gonna have to stop those twins yourself."
 
"Me?" asked Rarity.  "Flim and Flam are one of the most powerful wizards in the Empire.  Individually they might not be strong as Captain Armor, but together they are unstoppable."
 
"I don't have any better ideas right now," said Applejack as she parried three of the mechanical claws.  "Grab the black ring off my neck and my lasso from underneath my hat, and wrangle Flim and Flam like an ill-bred hog on a Sunday."
 
"What?"
 
"Just imagine sewin' a new corset together, 'cept you're tyin' two ponies together.  I know you can do it, Rares.  Now show those wizards who's Princess around here!"
 
"But I don't think I could…"
 
"In my opinion, their striped robes and hats look awful."
 
"You're right.  Flim and Flam had the worst idea for robes, and they had the gall to reject my generous offer of designing their royal outfits.  I couldn't say anything because they were directly appointed by my stepfather, but now it's payback!  Applejack, let's go!"
 
Applejack accepted the Diamond Princess's resolve, and in one powerful grunt she swatted away the three mechanical claws she parried.  In the split seconds that followed, she swung her neck and freed the lasso she somehow kept underneath her Stetson.  The rope appeared rough, but workable.  Rarity had worked with worse materials before, and she allowed the lasso to wrap around her neck. 
 
As a mechanical claw swept across the floor, Applejack backflipped to dodge it, but she did it in a way that the black crystal ring necklace slipped off her neck in midair.  Rarity scurried across the floor as the object fell, narrowly avoiding two swings of the mechanical claws before the necklace holding the ring secured itself on her neck.  She knew not where her newfound friends had acquired such an object.  It was mainly used for unicorn prisoners in the Empire, though it was never used in recent memory.  This ring was old, but old enough to be considered an amiable antique. 
 
It was not applied to her horn as it usually should, and even if she could still use her magic, her range would essentially be halved.  The black crystal ring was still useful reducing any magic damage cast upon its bearer.  Remembering Applejack's words of encouragement and the mention of Flim and Flam's outfits, Rarity dashed towards the clash of magical power between two sets of siblings.  She overcame a little hesitation and slipped through Twilight and Shining Armor's Aegis Wall.  From there, she felt the force of Flim and Flam's Synchro Storm.  While her crystalline white fur remained preserved, all her hairs swept back as if she was really in a storm. 
 
The Diamond Princess understood what the Royal Guards often said about a pony being a "Wild Card."  Her sudden appearance momentarily disrupted the other unicorns' continuous spell casting, and neither group wanted to let up their offensive or defensive magic.  Yet Rarity's slow advance against the heat and force of the Synchro Storm affected the viziers' concentration the most, weakening the brothers' combined spell and allowing Twilight and Shining Armor to press forward one step with their Aegis Wall.  That only strengthened Flim and Flam's resolve with fury. 
 
The resurgent Synchro Storm spell nearly blew Rarity off her hooves.  Thanks to the viziers' divided focus, however, the offensive spell started wavering and she held her ground.  At the same time, the spell was still too powerful for her to advance forward, but she couldn't let them get away with it.  Not after imprisoning her family.  Not after getting away with wearing those awful blue and white striped robes.  Striped robes.  Striped wizard hats.  Such crimes against fashion would not go unpunished. 
 
Gritting her teeth, Rarity leapt towards the viziers and knocked them out with a one-two punch before proceeding to wrap Applejack's lasso over their awful robes.  It took a while to do so, and she managed to top off Flim and Flam's rope-bondage with a beautiful knot that looked almost ribbon-like. 
 
"Rarity, watch out!" Applejack cried. 
 
Oh, she was in the zone again, fussing over little things in the midst of mortal danger.  The glint of that mechanical claw appeared in her peripheral vision, but stopped mere inches before her eyes.  The other three also froze in midair, thanks to both Twilight and Shining Armor pulling the lever that stopped the alarm. 
 
The captured ponies who could cheer, cheered, and so did Spike and the captured pets.  Hardly Rarity was one for fighting, but she felt the high of victory as she watched the smiles drawing across the faces of her friends and family, like Lord Umbra, Sweetie Belle, and… Duke Blueblood?  The Diamond Princess rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing anything wrong, but there was her cousin, Duke Blueblood, Second Lieutenant of the Royal Guard trapped close to the bottom in his own orb-like cocoon. 
 
"Blueblood?  How were you captured?" asked Rarity.  "And how did we even miss you?"
 
"Oh, you know," he said.  "I happen to stumble into their plan, I knew too much, and--but that doesn't matter.  Let me out!  They've been feeding me carnival fare in the last hour!"
 
"We should release him first in case the rest of the containers fall over," said Shining Armor.  "Allow me."
 
It was probably for the best, even though Rarity prioritized the safety her immediate family over his.  As much as a buffoon he was, Blueblood was still her cousin twice removed, and nopony deserved any of the harsh treatment delivered by the cabal. 
 
She watched of the rest her companions positioned themselves in observing how Shining Armor used his magic to slice open Blueblood's orb prison.  Out the blonde and white unicorn stallion fell, and nearly slipped due on the smooth crystal floor when his hooves touched solid ground.  He magicked a comb from his armor to which he used to restyle his handsome hair.  That was understandable considering the ragged state everypony found him in. 
 
Yet something was off.  Shining Armor stood still.  Too still, and it wasn't any form of hesitation on his part.  Suddenly he spun around a magic ball towards Twilight, but only managed to hit Applejack, who pushed the purple unicorn out of the way and in time.  Engulfed by the ball, the orange pony seemed to have vaporized to nothingness when the ball shrunk.  Then the ceiling web of wires and beams rattled as it lowered a crystal and metal stem that blew out a new orb-prison, and then pop!  Applejack appeared inside of it. 
 
Shining Armor fired another magic ball at Twilight, but she barely could put up a magical resistance when she got hit.  The ball shrank to nothingness, and pop!  She appeared in her own orb-prison. 
 
Finally, the blue-maned unicorn turned to face Rarity with his eyes glowing a dull green.  He did not act, but only stared blankly at her to reveal that the mind control spell that had been cast upon him had either been recast or been active all along.  Whoever controlled him now stood by with a wicked smile on his face.