Cheated Dreams
Chapter 20
Capture
Twilight blinked her eyes clear from the flash of teleportation to reveal her surroundings. She winced as she once again felt the floor beneath her, lifting her front left hoof off the ground. The room she found herself in was dim, lit only by a small amount of light trickling in from ceiling-level windows. The walls were made of solid cement, much like the floor, implying she was in an unfinished basement. Pipes could be seen running along the roof and there was a staircase along the far wall, leading to a door with light bleeding around the frame. The distinct sound of dripping water could be heard, adding to the foreboding atmosphere. What added to it more, though, was the rather cramped cage Twilight found herself in.
“What the hay?” Twilight asked aloud, craning her neck. Sure enough, she was trapped inside a large cage, the kind one would keep a big dog in for extended periods of time. Barely tall enough for Twilight to stand up straight and without the room required for her to turn around, Twilight was left with little clue to where she was.
“Sorry about this, but my sister can be very... determined,” a voice called from the corner, making Twilight snap her head around to see Shadow Charm, his grey coat blending into the plain concrete wall in the darkness.
She let out a low laugh. “You really think a simple dog cage can keep me here?” Twilight asked with a rather smug smirk, already charging her horn. Without giving the stallion time to reply she launched her spell, firing a beam of bright magenta light at the bars in front of her, intending to blast the entire side of the cage off. Instead, the beam collided with the bars and was seemingly absorbed, making the entire cage glow. “What the...”
“You forget, Miss Sparkle; I'm an enchanter. A rather good one, if I do say so myself. While your magic may be quite powerful, defensive magics have always been more powerful than offensive,” Shadow explained, pacing closer to the cage and tapping the bars. “Everything you hit these bars with will simply be absorbed, adding the energy to the defensive wards placed on them. The more you try to get out, the less chance you have of escape.”
Twilight seemed at a loss for words, unable to comprehend what was happening to her. What started with an enchanted necklace had lead to her being pony-napped! “But... no spell has an infinite absorption rate!” She cried triumphantly. “I just need to overload the wards, and they'll destroy themselves!”
Shadow Charm seemed to contemplate the answer for a moment, before nodding. “Yes, that would work in theory. But the reaction would be quite volatile, resulting in an explosion, where the chances of your survival would be slim. Of course, I might have also placed a ward to enhance that particular reaction.”
Twilight seemed to wither under the explanation she knew was correct. Taking one last glance around her small cage, she sat back on her haunches. There was no immediate way out, and her best bet at this point was Rainbow. But she wasn't completely helpless inside the cage. “Why are you doing this?” She asked quietly, giving the grey stallion across the room a piercing gaze.
He sighed, sitting down as well. “My sister,” he said with a shrug. “I don't fully understand what she has against Rainbow Dash, but she is determined to keep that mare out of the Wonderbolts. You just got caught in the crossfire, I'm afraid.”
Twilight grunted in annoyance, examining the lock keeping the cage closed – no doubt enchanted as well. There had to be a key somewhere. “Why do you have cages down here anyway?” She asked, scanning the room for a way out. “I mean, your original plan couldn't have been to pony-nap me.”
“No, it wasn't,” Shadow agreed with a shake of his head. “However, it was one of many backup plans. My sister likes to plan for every eventuality, and this was a result of multiple paths Rainbow Dash could have taken.”
“Oh?” Twilight asked defiantly. “Then what's her plan now? You can't just keep me down here forever, and Rainbow will have noticed I went missing. She'll figure it out.”
Shadow calmly motioned with a hoof to Twilight's right. She turned her head curiously, finding another cage sitting next to hers. “She should be joining us soon, actually,” Shadow Charm said. “Once the new Wonderbolt has secured the position in a couple days, you will both be released. You'll have no proof we held you, you'll have no proof we framed you, and the Wonderbolts will never welcome Rainbow Dash back. If you try to accuse us of framing you or pony-napping you, it can easily be argued that it was a mental break caused by Rainbow's expulsion from the Wonderbolts, and you'll be dragged down with her. It'll be a lot easier on all of us if you just give up.”
“At least tell me who's replacing Dash. I know it's not Neon,” Twilight asked, the gears in her mind turning as she came closer and closer to a conclusion she was desperately willing away.
Shadow shrugged. “No idea. I don't think even Neon knows who replaced her. All she cares about is getting back at Rainbow Dash for something, though not even I know what. She's a very tight lipped mare.”
Twilight glared at the grey stallion, but said nothing else. She was unable to argue, and her mind reached the worst conclusion she could imagine. From within her cage, blocking her magic and movement, she could do nothing. Rainbow was going to be there any minute, and without aid, it was unlikely she'd be able to single-handedly take down a unicorn, especially if Neon Lightning followed her back.
Suddenly, an enormous explosion echoed through the basement from the main floor of the house. Shadow Charm smiled. “Look who's here.”
-_-_-_-
Rainbow Dash flew as fast as her wings could carry her, struggling to remember the location of Shadow Charm's house. She'd been there enough to know the general location, but it would take a stroke of luck the size of Canterlot itself to let her find the right house. It was of little concern to her what happened to Neon and her necklace right now. For all she cared they could both disappear off the face of the planet, never to be seen again. Right now the only thought on her mind was making sure Twilight was alright.
She found the right neighbourhood without much trouble, recognizing the cookie-cutter houses. She even managed to remember the right street, but beyond that she was lost. There were ten houses on either side of the street, leaving her with a total of twenty options. She thought back to the times she'd been to the house before, struggling to remember every detail she could. Summoning an image of it in her mind, she started comparing it to the houses on the street as she circled just above their roofs.
The door was on the left side, ruling out half the houses. It had bushes, not flowers in the small garden out front, ruling out another four houses. The bushes hadn’t flowered yet, ruling out one of the houses. She had five left, and from what she could tell they were all the same. Two on one side of the street, three on the other. Rainbow landed in the middle of the street, scanning each of her remaining options carefully before clenching her eyes shut and trying to remember any more details about the house.
Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she glared triumphantly at the house she was looking for. The one with a dream catcher in the window. She jumped back into the air and flew towards the door, not even hesitating as she straightened out her body, pointing her front hooves straight out as she ploughed into the door. For a split second if felt as though the door would hold, but after one last, powerful flap of her wings, the hinges gave way and the door flew off its frame and into the house, impacting the far wall of the entryway with a loud crash.
“Twilight!” She called out into the house, the eery silence contrasting with the bright light pouring in through the door-made-window. When no answer came to her call, Rainbow began to fear that the stallion had the presence of mind not to take his pony-napped victim back to his home. However, a quiet, metallic clanking started, far too rhythmic and stable to be natural. Rainbow followed the muffled noise to a door that seemingly lead to the basement.
“Twi?” She called again, opening the door. The metallic clanging rang louder. Like somepony was tapping against a metal pipe or bar.
“Rainbow!” Twilight called from within the dark depths. Without wasting a moment on thought Rainbow Dash charged down the stairs. “Don't come down here!” She heard Twilight again as she hit the cement floor of the basement, turning to see the lavender unicorn trapped in a cage, looking at her fearfully.
“Twi! Are you alright? Where is he?” Rainbow asked, hurrying over to the cage and looking it over, noticing the relatively small metal padlock.
“Get out of here! You have to go find the royal guard!” Twilight cried frantically.
Rainbow ignored her, instead sizing up the lock and the metal bars making up the the dog cage Twilight had been shoved inside. “Hold on; I'm gonna get you out of there!”
“Get out!” Twilight screamed, snapping Rainbow out of her mind and drawing out an odd look. “If you don't get out of here and find help we'll both be-” she was cut off by a sudden flash and pop as the cyan pegasus previously in front of her was flashed away, reappearing in the cage next to her as it was slammed shut and locked.
“Trapped,” Shadow Charm said smugly, walking menacingly out of the shadows at the back of the basement. Sweat was visibly running down his brow after the teleportation spell, a type of magic he was clearly unaccustomed to casting.
“You think some stupid dog cage can hold me?” Rainbow called, shaking the lingering traces of teleportation out of her limbs. Without warning she reared up as much as the height of the cage would allow and bucked the back of the cage with her hind legs. The bars flexed out like rubber, glowing brightly before snapping back into place forcefully, throwing Rainbow forward into the front of the cage painfully.
“Ow,” she groaned, rubbing her muzzle gentle.
“A simple cage, certainly not,” Shadow Charm said. “An enchanted cage? Well, I'd say so.”
Rainbow growled, pressing her forehead against the bars and levelling a threatening glare at the stallion. “Just wait till I get out of here.”
Shadow laughed, making his way to the stairs. “I'll let you girls out in a couple days,” he called before ascending the stairs, closing the basement door behind him. “Really? The front door? What did it do to you?”
“I'm really starting to hate that guy,” Rainbow grumbled, holding her death glare at the staircase for a few more second before looking over at Twilight. “So what's the plan? Are you gonna magic us out?”
Twilight kept her gaze down towards the floor, unable to look at the pegasus in the cage next to her. She shook her head.
“Right, suppose he'd make yours magic proof or something. Alright, guess it's up to me to buck my way out. Hold tight, Twi, won't take too long.” Rainbow once again reared back and bucked the cage. This time, instead of stretching, it held fast as Rainbow's hooves struck it uselessly, sending a painful jolt up the pegasus's legs.
“Rainbow...” Twilight whimpered, watching from the corner of her eye as her friend shook out the pain and tried again. She was met with he same result as the first time, the bars stretching before flinging her into the front of the cage, making her yelp in pain. This time when she staggered back, a small dribble of blood ran down from her nose.
“Stupid cage,” she muttered, holding a hoof to her nose and backing up as far as she could go, which wasn't very far. She charged head first at the front door, aiming her head down and connecting with a loud clang. She fell back to her haunches, blinking spots from her eyes that resulted from her rather painful impact.
“Rainbow, stop,” Twilight repeated, a little louder. Rainbow continued to ignore her, beginning to relentlessly shoulder check the door of the cage. With each impact that rang through the room Twilight visibly winced, keeping her head turned away from the pegasus.
“Don't... worry... I'll... get us.... out...” Rainbow panted, exhausted and sore from her attempts, but still trying as she once again tried bucking the back of the cage.
“Stop!” Twilight shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You're going to break something if you keep doing that.”
Rainbow, still slamming random parts of the cage, laughed. “I think I already busted my nose.” She turned as much as she could, pressing her back against the side of the cage facing Twilight and her hooves against the other. With a deep breath she started pushing, smiling as she felt the cage start to give. “I... I think I got- Arg.” Rainbow cut herself off with a pained grunt as the cage sides snapped back into place. “There goes a leg,” she muttered through grit teeth, cradling her now injured leg as she caught her breath.
“Rainbow!” Twilight called worriedly. “Are you alright!?”
“Yeah... Yeah I'm fine, Twi. The cage is just a little stronger than I thought. Don't worry though; I'll get us out of here,” she boasted, staggering back to her hooves, only to fall back on her flank with a pained grunt as soon as she tried to support her own weight.
“Rainbow, just... just stop. You're not going to overpower the enchantments with brute force,” Twilight said, smothering her tears under a veil of calm thought. If Rainbow knew she didn't have a way out, she'd keep throwing herself at the cage and only injure herself worse. “I'll think of something, don't worry.”
Rainbow huffed, “I coulda' gotten us out,” but relented, wiping the blood from her muzzle, only for even more to leak down her face.
“Alright... A magical overload is out of the question,” Twilight began muttering to herself. It was all for show; she'd already been through all the solutions she could think of. None of them would work. But she'd do anything to keep Rainbow from hurting herself more. “The keys aren't here, and even if they were the enchantments are block my magic from exiting the cage. Which includes teleporting.”
Rainbow sat patiently while Twilight found a way out. She trusted the unicorn to get them out of these cages, just like she trusted her to find a way to find the culprits. Given enough time Twilight Sparkle could do anything, of that she was sure. Blood was still trickling from her nose, and her leg, while not broken, was still aching bad, but she payed it little mind as she watched Twilight think.
“The strength of the bars isn't increased by the spell, the spell surrounds the bars and manipulates them...” Twilight kept talking. As long as she was talking, as long as Rainbow thought she was going to get them out, the pegasus wouldn't hurt herself anymore.
“Can't you just disenchant the bars like you did my necklace?” Rainbow asked, curiously tapping her hoof against the wall of the cage and admiring the slight glow that signified the defensive magic activating.
Twilight shook her head. “That was a simple enchantment. These are wards, much more powerful. Still technically enchantments, but instead of using the object as a focus for the spell to be applied to the wearer, wards enhance the object they're placed on.”
“Oh... okay. Any idea then?”
“Well...” Twilight hesitated, frowning at the bars separating her from her pegasus companion.
“We can’t get out of here, can we?” Rainbow asked sadly, taking Twilight's fears and putting them into words.
At first the unicorn felt the need to deny it, to assure her friend that they'd get out, but she couldn’t bring herself to lie. With a heavy heart she said, “No, I don't think so. If I overload the enchantments they'll explode.”
Rainbow hung her head low to the floor of the cell. “How long are they going to keep us here?”
Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off when the door to the basement opened, momentarily flooding it with light, before it was shut.
“Hello Miss Dash, Miss Sparkle.”