//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Made To Suffer // Story: The Magician's Mantle // by DEI Caboose //------------------------------// Apple Pie could not quell her ever evolving unease. The unfamiliar environment she found herself trapped in felt hollowing and disconcerting; with the underlying sense of her being watched lingering in the air. The flickers of the shadows of strangers occasionally waltzing past the sealed metal door and reinforced window only served to unnerve her further, reminding her just how utterly alone she currently was. Fillydelphia was a charming and welcoming city on top with a concealed underbelly of ghastly and vile actions and atrocities of self-fulfilment, and Apple Pie had the displeasure of witnessing this first hoof as she was escorted through the police station and past the chaos that lied within. Past the ponies sealed behind iron bars, disheartened detectives desperately trying to find a lead and the colourful crowd of citizens congregated in the lobby, all with claims ranging from petty to apocalyptic. It only served to make her miss home that much more. Groaning onto the cold metal table she was sat at, Pie would have regretted this decision to assist the police if she didn't think it was the right thing to do. She had seen something a month ago, a pony with charred hooves stealing from her land, who was now going about his time by burning down burnings. The thought alone was enough to make Pie grunt, angered that somepony was using her product to perform such a thing. Rubbing a foreleg as she continued to wait anxiously, Pie looked towards the reflective one way glass in vain, hoping to prompt whoever was probably watching from the other side to come in so they could get this over with and she could be on her way. Pie had already given her description of the suspect to a friendly sketch artist, but she still had not been allowed to leave, for reasons she had not yet been informed of. Making her wait was just wasting everypony's precious time. Pie would have gladly gone out to fetch somepony herself, but the iron door caging her in the interview room locked itself from the outside; apparently it was considered a more humane method of containment than simply chaining a prisoner to the table, as was previously the norm she had been informed. Not that Pie had to worry about inhumane treatment, she was here of her own volition after all. She was not a prisoner and would therefore not be treated as such. Pie felt safe and Pie felt secure. But no amount of presumed security was able to protect Apple Pie from the deafening boom that then sounded throughout the building, or relieve her of the fear brought on by the screaming that followed. Hard Case gave a violent cough as the smoke he inhaled disagreed with him, his cigar almost dropping from his mouth as he contorted on his chair. The timely arrival of a rose tinted source of magic was the only thing preventing Case from falling on his head. As the detective recovered, he turned to the source of the magic to express his gratitude, snorting out a laugh upon discovering the proud form of Shining Armor, who stood still and unreadably stoic. Hard Case puffed his cigar again, leaning back into his chair as Shining made his way to his front. “Well, fancy seeing you here!” Case proclaimed, far more boisterously than Shining was prepared for. “How's it feel running with the jocks? That Apple broad you found gave us everything! Stillframe’s just putting the finishing touches on his sketch as we speak, once we get a positive i.d. that flaming prick is gunna run out of breathing room real fast!” Case’s laugh resonated throughout the building, but he was silenced as quickly as he had begun upon seeing that Shining’s expression had not changed in the slightest. Looking up to his Prince, Case dropped his bravado, inquisitive as to Shining’s wellbeing. “Hey, you alright? You look like Porky when there's no ice cream left. What's up?” Case asked as he placed his cigar to the side. Shining did not look good, he didn't feel good either. “Nothing, I just… Had a run in with somebody I know,” he dulled out, intentionally avoiding any specific details. Shining's attempted blank expression was betrayed by his drooping eyebrows and slanted smile, the events of his prior encounter with Trixie in the forest still weighing heavily on his mind, even after he had made the trip back into the city. Hard Case may have had a smart mouth, but even he knew when to keep it shut. The Prince’s business was his own, and he had no incentive to involve himself without permission. He focused back to the success of Shining’s investigation and towards Apple Pie still sat within the locked interview room, the recollection immediately causing Case to drop his cigar for real this time, burning his thigh as it landed upon his lap. Jolting up, Case retrieved the smoking treat and wiped himself off. “Ah crap, I completely forgot! Ms. Apple Pie’s in the interview room, we got some last minute questions for her but the Commissioner wanted you to be there, considering that it was you that found her in-” Hard Case was knocked to the floor, disoriented by a sudden shockwave of sound and heat. The ceiling crumbled and splintered apart, trickling down upon the shocked and scared ponies within. Shining attempted to stand, but the ringing in his ears and the sudden bloom of orange light from above blinded and deafened him to the point he couldn't even move, falling to the floor as his legs buckled beneath him. “Get outta the way! You can't park a wagon there, you idiot!” “Trixie will park her wagon wherever she pleases! Just to spite you if need be!” The evidently overweight taxi carriage driver grumbled incoherently at Trixie's reply and hastily adjusted himself to squeeze his way past her parked wagon, uncaring whether or not he caused any damage. He speedily, for somepony of his size at least, continue on his way, his pristine yellow carriage crunching as it rolled through the settling snow. Trixie made a gesture to the stallion with her hoof as he gradually made his escape. “Yeah, you'd better waddle. You greasy, blubbery…” Trixie muttered as she finished mounting her cart on its stilts. Her journey down from the Apple farm had taken longer than expected, she hadn't accounted for the increased time it would take for her to drag her wagon all the way into the inner city, or for the steadily increasing amount of snow, which continued to lightly rain down upon the city even as twilight neared. Trixie just hoped that she wasn't too late and that Apple Pie was still here; she would have hated to have made this entire journey for nothing. Trixie had been planning to move her cart into the city once the snow began to fall for some time now. The streets would offer better protection against the elements than barren trees and frozen grass. Apple Leave's had offered to let her stay in her family’s barn, which Trixie politely declined, not wanting to leech off of their kindness more than she already had, instead she would return the favour. Apple Pie was alone and Trixie was her friend, even if they weren't all that close, that was all the reason she needed for being here, if anything she was sure that Apple Leaves would appreciate the gesture. Upturning her collar, Trixie walked down the street to the steps of the police station, her wagon positioned on the other side a little way down the road. The snow continued to trickle down, resting upon the brim of her hat. Trixie sulked as she placed a foot upon the steps, the lights from within as well as the evident and unique smell of cigarettes, ink and iron reaching her nostrils; a scent she was all too familiar with from her youth. Government buildings all tended to smell the same. Trixie relented and her bandaged foreleg reached for the next step. Then it rung out; a disastrous boom and an echoing bang. Trixie was pushed back from the steps as a gush of wind shot out of the buildings interior. She looked up, just in time to see wood and brick rain down just as fiercely as the snow that accompanied it. Trixie ran back, avoiding the debris as best she could, but the dust still rained down and Trixie could feel it settle upon her ears. Her hat had been blown off and her cape was attempting to do the same. Her gaze veered upwards to where the blast had originated; on one of the middle floors of the old blackened brick building. The windows facing the street had been blown right out of their frames, littering the road in shattered glass and burning wood. The dull greyness of the street and snow was illuminated in a sickly orange glow of flames, raging from within the police headquarters. Ponies ran out of the building in droves; civilians, criminals and uniformed police. Trixie could see the shadows of ponies above, flailing about as they attempted to make sense of the confusion and fear overcoming them. Trixie ran back down the street, scaled her caravan and stood upon the roof, her own personal terror towards the situation growing every moment ponies littered themselves into the road. Her eyes darted across the increasing crowd of evacuees. Her fear increasing every second she was unable to spot an orange coat or green mane. She searched until the initial individual stragglers made way to uncountable crowd of horror stricken victims. Apple Pie was nowhere to be seen. Trixie trembled. The fire was spreading; the blaze was growing. Every second another window shattered and another brick fell. And the bricks would not fall forever, sooner or later that building was coming down. That's what fires do. The futile efforts of the snow did nothing to quell the flames, which viciously countered any attempts any ponies made to dampen them out. That building was going to fall, and there were ponies still inside. Her friend was still inside. Trixie heaved, taking several ragged breaths as she felt something within her stirring. Something which caused her to leap off the roof of her wagon and force herself back inside. Her fears was still there, they had never left her, but her feelings of horror were inconsequential next to her rage, her unchecked rage at what was happening around her. Pie was in that building, and Pie had a family that loved her. Her thoughts of Pie and Leaves were all she could think of as she forced the charred purple mask onto her face. Mare-Do-Well snarled as she sprinted through the crowd, up the steps and into the flames. The ringing in his ears would not subside. Shining rolled onto his back, his vision glazed over and blurry from sweat and smoke. His head spun as he groggily made his way to his hooves, feeling as if he would vomit then and there. The heat made him do otherwise, and Shining found himself recoiling away from where he stood as the ceiling erupted in flames and rained debris down upon him. Had he been unconscious? Perhaps not, there were still so many ponies left in the room, panicked and horrified by what was occurring around them. Most ran for the stairs, others took their chance with the windows; they were not too high up and the pegasi were more than capable of making their escape that way. Shining however refused to follow then, not unless he was the last one out of the door. Firmly on his hooves, Shining turned to where the rugged detective he had been talking to earlier was. Hard Case was out cold; a large gash across his forehead causing scarlet blood to leak into his mane. Shining assumed that Case had been hit by the falling bricks and wood from the floor above, he was directly under a large hole where the blast had originated from. The metal struts and the tiled ceiling was twisted into various shapes and broken forms, and the floor above was ablaze with fire and smoke. There had been ponies on that floor. Shining blocked the thought out and turned away, lunging for the fallen Hard Case. Lifting the wounded stallion onto his back, Shining sprinted to the stairs, the crowd of ponies from before having dwindled significantly. Shining ran down the ground floor hallway, which was not yet a sea of heat, and sprinting towards the entrance door ahead of the other ponies. The frost ridden exterior burned almost as much as the fire. Fireponies were at the door helping ponies through the door and down the steps, some were inside the building searching for ponies, but most were situated on the streets, spraying water from hoses onto the alit side of the building or ferrying rainclouds to its roof. The fire would not go out. “Need some help here!” Shining shouted as he raced down the steps, a half dozen ponies responding to their frantic Prince. Two police medics hoisted Hard Case off of Shining’s back and one other began to attend to the Prince himself. Shining shrugged her off and bolted right back into the building. Some ponies tried to pursue, but all of them, including Shining’s guards, were deterred by the flames and smoke, barely being able to make it past the lobby before needing to turn back. Shining knew this was a reckless action, but reckless didn't equal unnecessary. There were still ponies in this building and some were unable to leave by themselves; the infirm, the injured and the criminals, who were potentially still locked behind bars as the building fell apart around them. “Everypony out!” Shining shouted through the smoke, hoping the remaining stragglers would hear him over the roar of the flames. He knew where he was going, leaping the receptionists desk and making his way into the security office; that's where the keys were kept. Hastily searching the darkened environment, Shining grabbed one of the readily available master keys from the shelf that housed them, thankful he remembered spotting it when he toured the building the other day. Galloping to the station’s holding cells, Shining praying that this effort would not be in vain; even the vilest and most decadent of ponies didn't deserve a death as cruel as what would await them if Shining didn't succeed. Kicking the doors open as he raced through the halls, Shining paid no notice to how the walls started to blacken and the ceiling started to bubble. The wind rushed through his dusty mane as he turned one last corner, heading directly for the cells. Whatever idiot had forgotten to evacuate the prisoners was going to find themselves in a cell of their own once Shining was through with them. Six holding cells held about a dozen criminals each; some in fancy suits, some with so many tattoos you couldn't tell what they looked like underneath and some blindly stumbling about intoxicated. They all held one thing in common however; each cowered as the flames neared ever closer. Shining set to work as fast as he could, taking care to stay away from the flaming hot metal of the bars. He gripped the key in his magic and one after the other the cell doors flew open, the ponies within scrambling out of the bars and barging past Shining the moment he released them. It was a thankless task, and Shining knew he had just released a plethora of criminals onto the streets of Fillydelphia, but that was a problem that could be dealt with later. No argument could convince him that letting these ponies burn was the right thing to do. Shining felt woozy, the smoke was starting to get to him. He had only been in the flames for a few minutes at most yet he had already forgotten what fresh air smelt like. Not like this; this was thick, hot and suffocating. Shining needed to hurry, otherwise there would be more ponies than just him who would be leaving this building in body bags. There had to be more ponies still within; there always were, he wouldn't risk there not being any. Running up the stairs, Shining fought back against the flames with his magic. He was resilient, but so was the inferno, fighting back against him as if it was alive. It chased him as he ran along the hallways, as he listening for anything other than creaking and crackling. A figure raced into view and Shining froze where he stood. The darkly clothed pony was peeking through a window, their purple cape violently fluttering amongst the winds of the flames. They were small, smaller than Shining at least. It was a mare; a mare clothed in purple and black, with a creased hat and a singed costume, frayed along the legs and cut along the torso. She stood with a raised back and her legs spread wide, as if she was stalking along the corridors in search of prey. Instead she found the waiting Shining Armor, and her ready stance shifted to mirror his one of shock. If it weren't for the raging fire and blinding air Shining would have taken all the time in the world to take in the exposed Mare-Do-Well’s image and plan for her eventual capture. But now was not the time for that; the situation was too dire and Mare-Do-Well was not the priority, if anything he needed to get her out of here fast before the walls came crashing down. Mare-Do-Well stared in shock as Shining began his approach, a hoof held to his face to block the smoke from his eyes and mouth. Trixie did not have time for this; she did not have time to deal with this stallion once again. Apple Pie was still in the building and Trixie had not yet found her. Trixie needed to find her. “You need to leave!” Shining shouted over the noise. The hallway they were in was glowing and the ceiling above steaming from whatever resided on the floor above. If Trixie heard Shining she didn't show it, not listening and not caring. “I don't have time for you, Armor! Go away!” Her hate for him was rising, she suppressed it as best she could but it was still there. The fact that he continued to approach her made her snarl with fury. She needed to find Pie. She needed to find her friend. “You're going to get yourself killed!” Shining angrily yelled. Vigilante or not, he would not have Mare-Do-Well dying due to preventable circumstances. Trixie shook. Every second she was here was another second Apple Pie was burning. She galloped out of the hall, towards another area she had not searched yet, finding herself in a wide open room full of overturned desks as she went. Trixie could not allow for that Marshal to stop her. He could not catch her, not now. Shining popped into sight, magic leaking off him as Trixie ran into him. He gripped her hoof, magic welling in his horn once more. Trixie gasped when she realised what he was doing. She recognised that spell, he was going to teleport her out of the building. He was going to kill Pie. Trixie's forehead met Shining’s chest, and Shining fell back, wheezing as his legs buckled. Trixie leapt away, but Shining could not allow her to go. He didn't know why Mare-Do-Well was here, but she had just attacked him. If he needed to use force to get her out of here alive, so be it. Shining's horn sparked to life, and Trixie found herself encased in a bubble of magic. She spun in the air as she attempted to free herself, and in her franticism she began to shoot off random spells in the hope that one would prove an ample distraction. A stray firework flew by Shining's head, which broke his concentration long enough for Trixie to smash her way out. Returning to the floor, Trixie manipulated the smoke to further cloud the burning room, blinding Shining to her whereabouts. Shining was beyond impatient, he was furious. Mare-Do-Well was going to kill herself. Her dare daring and recklessness was going to get her killed. She shouldn't even be here! There might still be other ponies in the building that need saving! Trixie winced as Shining's roar echoed amongst the flames. Her smokescreen was blasted away by a blinding light swirling around Shining’s horn, which he quickly focused into another spell, firing at Trixie in hope of knocking her unconscious; being civil was not an option anymore for either side, time was running out and if Shining needed to hurt Mare-Do-Well to save her, then unfortunately for her she had forced his hand. Red spells shot out from Shining's side of the room in rapid succession, which Trixie ducked and dived to avoid. Her magical abilities were not up to par with Armor's in the slightest. She could perhaps bluff her way through this with fake enchantments and an illusion or two but Shining would see through those and work against them soon enough. Even though she was injured, Trixie was remarkably durable for a unicorn. So she decided to press that advantage. Her fedora was knocked from her head by a stray spell, which only made Trixie angrier. It hadn't been cheap. Leaping over a table, Trixie charged at Shining, who backed away against his better judgement in stiffening confusion. Trixie spun as she neared and sprung her rear legs into Shining’s chest, who crashed against the wall he was pinned up against. The wall cracked due to the flames weakening it, but Shining remained steady against it. Trixie attempted to do the same again, springing her legs out a second time, but Shining was prepared, grabbing one of her legs and forcing Trixie to the ground. Both grunted, with Trixie futility kicking at Shining with her free leg and Shining attempting to perform his teleportation spell yet again. The area was glowing by both the orange flames and Shining's sparkling horn, and Trixie responded by kicking more fiercely. As Shining prepared to cast he grit his teeth so hard he was sure they would shatter, he was shaking so much Trixie was almost able to struggled out of his hold. His horn exploded in light… And both remained within the burning building. Shining collapsed backward, Trixie pulling her hoof lose in the confusion. He looked to his horn, fear etching his way onto his face as he realised they were still stranded inside the disintegrating station. The spell had not worked. Perhaps he was too exhausted, or his lack of concentration had disrupted his casting? Whatever the reason, Trixie was stood tall before him, mustering as much magic as she could to blow Shining right out of the building. Her costume was blackened beyond repair, and in the light Shining could see Trixie's twinkling eyes glowing beneath her mask. Displaying such monumental rage that Shining could only recoil further. As Trixie screamed and threw her head back to let her magic explode, the floor gave way, and Trixie's raged scream turned into a frightened screech. She fell for countless seconds and only stopped screeching when she impacted the wooden floor on the ground floor below. Her vision blurred and Trixie felt a dampness on the back of her mask and a wetness soak through her mane, the ringing in her ears never ceasing for a second. Trixie was forced to look up to see a white figure with a blue mop of hair lean over the hole she had fallen through above, his expression unreadable on account of Trixie's blurred vision. He disappeared a second later, and Trixie could only whimper in response. That was not Mare-Do-Well dismantled upon the ground, it wasn't even The Great and Powerful Trixie stalling for her inevitable moment of triumph. It was Trixie, and Trixie alone. A lone mare; a scared mare. A mare who had made a terrible mistake and failed her friend. As Trixie lay there, the sounds of crackling, burning, screaming and knocking overcame her. Perhaps she should try and stand up? The door should only be a few steps away now, maybe if she hurried nobody would know she was even here? Or was Trixie destined to be found an unrecognisable charred sack of bones, forgotten beneath the dirt, remembered without a name. “You're alright. You're alright. Mare-Do-Well?” It was a voice, a soothing and concerned male voice. She had heard it before, but in her dazed state she almost mistook it for a stranger. “Mare-Do-Well? Come on! GET UP!” Trixie was hoisted to her hooves, forced to lean against the soot covered white stallion as he dragged her through the halls. Trixie followed on uneasy legs, wobbling about as the sounds of the screams and knocking grew ever louder. It was confusing actually, one scream sounded closer than the rest, and the knocking… Mare-Do-Well’s head swivelled down another hall, and she forced her saviour Shining to stop, who fought back as sternly as he could. “Come on! This buildings coming down! We need to get outta here!” “No!” Defied Trixie. “NO!” She pulled against Armor, who held her back with all his strength. “What's gotten into you?!” He shrieked in anger, practically feeling the ceiling melting above him. Trixie continued to thrash, focusing only on the sounds of the knocks. “Need to save Pie!” She screamed, her mask ripping open due to an earlier tear in her jaw and the stress brought upon it by her yell. Shining froze at Mare-Do-Well’s words. He remembered what Hard Case had told him; Apple Pie was in the building, in an interview room behind a locked door. A locked door down the hall Mare-Do-Well was fighting to run towards. His grip slackened, and Trixie took the opportunity to stumble away as fast as she could. Her stumble straightened into a sprint, and before long Trixie heard the knocked clear as day, behind a metal door next to a yellowing window; where Apple Pie was stood frantically and fearfully banging against the reinforced glass. Trixie had never been so scared, or relieved in her entire life. She was too afraid to even speak, and allowed her actions to speak for her. She sprung herself against the door and pulled as hard as she could. She pulled until she felt like her legs were going to rip themselves right out of their sockets. The metal was steaming, but Trixie didn't care, her suit in addition to her thick bandages offered more protection that she'd had before. Any pain was irrelevant however, the door needed to open. Her futile efforts were replicated by Shining Armor as he layed his own hooves upon the door and pulled in unison with Trixie. The door would not budge. Whatever mechanism was in place to seal the room had betrayed them. Shining could not allow it, and futility continued. He looked to Apple Pie, who was cowering against the glass as the far wall of the rooms interior began to blacken due to the flames behind it. The fire was getting in, but Shining wasn't. Suddenly, Pie turned towards the glass, as did Shining when a dull thud echoed throughout the hall. There stood Mare-Do-Well, her magenta magic impacting against the glass and dispersing along its surface. Shining considered it to be just as futile as yanking on the stuck door. “That won't work! The glass is magic repellant!” Shining cursed their makers. All these systems were in place to contain criminals, now, they may cause the death of an innocent. Mare-Do-Well paused, her shoulders rising and lowering as she huffed exhausted and raggedly in sequence. She spun on her hooves, and smashed her powerful rear legs against the glass, which vibrated in response. Trixie didn't stop, blocking out the sounds, the heat and the pain. All she did was kick her legs until she lost count. The glass vibrated again, but it was not Trixie's doing. She looked to her side, where Shining stood in the same position as herself. Springing his legs back and forth against the glass, sweat dripping from his brow as he magically reinforced his kicks. Trixie, for lack of a better response, snorted. The pair kicked and kicked and kicked. And once Apple Pie saw what they were doing she started to do the same. The trio kicked against the glass without pause; the only thing that mattered in that moment, in the whole of Equestria, was breaking that glass. A crack formed, and then another. Soon there were three, then four. A chunk of glass fell from the wall. Several flakes soon followed. Trixie and Shining roared together and their hooves impacted against the glass at the same time. The window popped out of its frame and shattered against the floor of the interview room. Apple Pie did not wait a second longer to run, leaping through the window frame and down the hallway on bloodied hooves with tear streaked cheeks. Shining followed as quickly as he could, the flames nipping at his sides. He looked back to see if Mare-Do-Well was following. She was at the opposite end of the hall, stumbling through a fire exit into the snow covered outdoors. Shining had to will himself to stop, the flames… Were too great for him to brave again. He tumbled out the door and down the steps, collapsing against the coldness of the ground. He had never been more thankful for winter. He still had time if he hurried, and Shining climbed to his hooves one final time. He pushed past the gathering crowd and needed to shout into the faces of those blocking him to let him through. His hooves crunched against the snow covered pavement as his raced down the alleyway next to the police station; sidestepping fallen and burning debris that obstructed his path. He neared the back of the building; the carriage parking area. Slipping around the corner, Shining hopeful facade crumbled the same as the police station’s interior. Mare-Do-Well was gone.