//------------------------------// // Chapter seven- Everfree Escapade // Story: The Canterlot Caper // by Silvermyr //------------------------------// Twilight was sitting in Bon-Bon’s office, thinking. Or trying to, at least; it proved rather difficult to sit still and think. She had a hard time keeping from snapping into panic mode at this point. After the initial freakout, she had forced herself to a relative calm through Cadence’s breathing exercises. She remembered her late friendship report incident very clearly. She was not going to panic and do something rash this time. She was going to think first and act later. Rarity’s life might hang in the balance. That reasoning was the only thing that kept her sane right now. She held the slightly crumpled letter in her hooves as she read it again for the 48th time. Rarity was unhurt, if she should believe what the letter said, so there was that. There was also the threat that if she did not drop the chase then her friend would be in trouble. Again, she had no idea if The Circus actually would carry out the threat, but that was not a risk she would take in a million years. Then there was the really interesting part. I will contact you eventually, and you will learn what we want in order to release her. So The Circus wanted something from her, and only after she had delivered were they going to free Rarity. But what could they want? Not money apparently, but then what? She was a Princess, but she did not have any actual treasures or artifacts, save for her scepter, and why would they want that? But then what did they want? Twilight felt lost at that question. What did she have that nopony else did? Her title, but that was not something she could transfer to anypony else. She was a skilled mage, so maybe they wanted her to use her magic to help with some coup? But why would they want her for that? There were other unicorns who could probably do whatever she could, and she was a risky pony to target. Twilight shook her head and looked down on the note again. There was still one detail she was pretty sure was important. The note was also signed by a ”The Illusionist”, but nether Bon-Bon or Celestia had mentioned that name. Who was he? Or she? What did she or he do for The Circus? Why was that particular name such a secret? And then there was the PS. Twilight was pretty sure whoever had written this damn thing had put it there just to scare her. And as much as she disliked it, it did exactly that. Post Scriptum. Rarity is buried alive. Post Scriptum. Rarity is buried alive. Post Scriptum. Rarity is buried alive. Post Scriptum. Rarity is buried alive. The phrase played over and over in her head, like a song stuck on constant replay. She could almost hear the calm, gentlestallionlike voice of the pony she had pursued speaking from the letter. ”ARGH!” Twilight growled and put her hooves to her temples. She could not think. There were too many questions, too little information, and the stakes were way too high for her to afford any mistake. Thus, she dared not do anything at all. She was brought out of the dead end by an opening door. Bon-Bon entered, and Twilight took a deep breath the way Cadence had taught her. ”Hey,” she said, calmer than she felt. ”Hello,” Bon-Bon responded. Twilight picked up on the excitement in her voice. Something had happened, and it was something good. ”I got her. Suri Polomare is ours.” ”Thank Celestiaaaaoh NO!” Twilight said as her brain made a horrifying connection. This was NOT dropping the chase; this was pissing The Cirucs off. Twilight felt her mind disconnect for a moment as she tried to sort out the situation. ”Twilight, you alright there?” Bon-Bon asked with a confused voice. ”Nooo,” Twilight said absently. She held out her hoof with the letter. Somewhere in the back of her overworked mind she felt Bon-Bon take it from her. ”Twilight,” Bon-Bon waved her hoof in front of her eyes. She blinked and looked at the beige earth pony. ”Suri has told me where Rarity is. If we move quickly we might be able to save her, but-” Bon-Bon looked sternly at Twilight. ”-I cannot guarantee that we will be successful, and if we are not, then The Circus will be angry. Do you want to take the risk?” Twilight returned to her thinking, this time with a new question. Was it worth the risk? ”Pros, if we manage to save Rarity, then we will have snatched The Circus’s primary weapon from them.” Twilight said out loud to herself. ”As long as they hold Rarity, our hooves are tied. Also, maybe Rarity has learnt something while she has been captured? It is a long shot, but it is possible.” ”Cons, if we fail, then it will be… as Rarity would put it, THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING.” Twilight went on. ”But then again, thanks to the incident with Suri, they were likely already mad as hornets…” So wasn’t it worth the risk? Weren’t the reward worth the risk in this case? But it was Rarity’s life they gambled with. How could they even consider something so dangerous? ”What do you think?” Twilight asked with a sigh. She did not know what to do. None of her trials had put her in a situation like this. She had often knew very well what to do. With Discord she had to find the Elements. With Chrysalis, get through the changeling army to the elements. With Sombra, first find information from the crystal ponies, and second, find the Crystal Heart. She had known what to do those times. This confusing bewilderment was new. And it was terrible. ”I say we try to save her,” Bon-Bon said without hesitation. ”To me, this is an opportunity too great to pass on. I have never been closer to The Circus than now. And Rarity is my friend too. I want to save her.” ”So do I,” Twilight said. ”But the risk… what if we fail?” ”Then we are in deep trouble,” Bon-Bon said without smiling. ”But we both have been there before and gotten out, I seem to recall?” Twilight smiled a little at that statement. ”I suppose,” Twilight sighed. ”Guess we will try then…” ”No, you are not guessing. We are going to save her,” Bon-Bon corrected with a small smirk. ”Keep positive.” ”If you say so,” Twilight said, still in a not-to-enthusiastic voice. ”I am, and now I want you to say it as well. With moxie, understood?” ”We are going to save her?” Twilight said in a less than sure voice. Bon-Bon facehoofed. ”In case you don’t know, ’with moxie’ means ’with spirit’, or ’with gusto’,”Bon-Bon explained patiently. ”Again, and do it right this time. ” ”We are going to save Rarity!” Twilight said loudly. ”That’s the spirit, lets get going!” Bon-Bon said with a smile. ”To the Everfree Forest.” ”What!?” Twilight looked with large eyes at Bon-Bon. ”Rarity is in Everfree Forest? What madmare would hide anything there? There was no telling what could happen! Where?! WHERE!?” She screamed. The forest was large, even without the multitude of terrifying beasts it would probably still take centuries to search it. ”Nearby a ravine close to the north-eastern edge of the forest. Do you know any place that fits the description?” Bon-Bon asked. ”I don’t, and I’d rather not stay in the forest longer than necessary.” Twilight remembered a night so many moons ago, when she and her friends had first searched for the Elements of Harmony. A ravine with a very angry manticore. ”Then let’s go, I know the ravine.” The two went as casually as possible out the door. They still had to avoid suspicion if The Circus had somepony watching them. About one and a half hours later they were galloping quickly through Everfree forest. Twilight knew the way, pretty much just to follow the path from Ponyville towards the Castle of the Two Sisters, and then a little to the left. It was not hard to find if you had been there once. Still, the sun was about to set, and walking around in the forest at night was extremely dangerous. Then there was also the possibility of running into an ambush or something, which was not too nice of a prospect ether. Twilight stopped as she thought heard something to her left, a rustle and what sounded like a very soft step. She looked carefully at the thick foliage, and readied a spell. Bon-Bon stopped beside her. Twilight could feel her impatience. ”Come on,” she urged and took a step sideways. ”We don’t have the time to stop. Every moment we delay is another one they can spend moving Rarity.” Twilight nodded and followed, she kept her ears picked up. She thought she had seen a shadow leap back into the undergrowth, slow enough to perceive, but only just. She and Bon-Bon galloped on, but Twilight was sure to listen carefully. The sound of their own galloping hooves drenched most of the other sounds, but she thought she heard something after her. She stole a quick glance over her shoulder. Still nothing there. Or, nothing that she could see anyway. ”Is this it?” Bon-Bon said after about ten more minutes of galloping. Twilight snapped her focus forward. She saw the ravine and the clearing around it. Everything looked exactly like it had back then, except that there was no manticore this time. ”This is it,” Twilight said. ”Did she tell you more exact where Rarity was supposed to be?” Bon-Bon shook her head. ”No, only that she was supposed to be close by this ravine. I guess we will have to start looking…” Bon-Bon and Twilight began to scour the ground after any sign of digging or hoof prints. She didn’t have to look for long. Just a few ponylengths of the path the ground was blackened like after a bonfire. Splinters of wood and laid scattered over the ground and the dirt had been thrown up in a small crater in the middle of the chaos. It looked like lightning had struck in the middle of the glen, despite the tall trees around. ”Hey, Twilight, come look at this,” Bon-Bon said from the other end of the small glade around the scorch mark. Twilight fluttered over to her with a few quick wingbeats. Bon-Bon pointed up towards a tree. Twilight saw it too. A small piece of cloud floated under the thick canopy, and had avoided vaporization thanks to the chill of the shadow. ”A pegasus must have been here, and judging by the scorch marks, it might have been Topsy Twitchy.” Twilight swallowed. Not good. If The Circus already had been here, then chances were they had already moved Rarity. Twilight backed away a few steps, and took a deep breath the way Cadence had taught her. As she put down her hoof again, she stumbled a little. She looked down and realized she had stepped in a small hole. She frowned and looked at it. It did not seem natural. In fact, it looked like a small wooden hopper was buried there, with the wide end up to the air. ”Hang on…” Twilight said slowly and began to remove some leaves from the ground under the tree. ”Ha, found it!” she said triumphantly. Bon-Bon looked away from the small tuft of cloud and went to Twilight. ”This must be it!” Twilight said as she pointed at the ground. Bon-Bon went closer. Twilight was in fact pointing at a narrow furrow in the ground. Bon-Bon understood quickly. The Circus had removed a large carpet off grass when they dug the grave, but instead of throwing it away they had saved it, and put it back on the ground when they were done. Combined with the scorch marks and leaves, the grave was nearly impossible to find if you didn’t know what you were looking for. Twilight’s horn began to shine as she lifted up the carpet of grass of the ground. It was about as wide as a pony, and maybe twice as long. She threw it roughly to the side and began to levitate away the loose dirt. Bon-Bon helped her. As they were digging, Twilight’s ears picked up the small rustle again. She leaped into the air, and spun around. A few branches nearby swayed slightly. It might very well have been the wind, but… Twilight’s horn lit up and she parted the branches nearby the place. Still nothing there. ”Twilight?” Bon-Bon asked with a confused voice. ”What’s the matter?” ”I think something has been following us for a while, and it keeps getting away…” Twilight said with a hushed voice. ”Hang on.” Twilight’s horn glowed again, and a ring of purple light surrounded the small clearing. Bon-Bon looked at her with questioning eyes. ”Alarm spell. If anything crosses the line, we will know.” They resumed their digging. After about ten minutes they had unearthed part of a wooden box. It was large enough to hold a pony. Twilight began to pick at it with her magic. The bottom piece of the coffin slid of easily and two white hind legs came into view. ”RARITY!?” Twilight screamed in both relief and panic. The legs didn’t move, and there was not a sound from the coffin. Twilight’s heart froze. Was Rarity drugged? Or… Twilight stopped the thought before it was fully formed. She began to struggle with the next section of the lid, but it was still to heavy with the dirt on it. She and Bon-Bon shoveled it away as fast as they could, and Twilight could finally open the second part of the box. Twilight stared. Then came the horror. Twilight screamed and instinctively staggered backwards. Her heart rate quickened and she began to hyperventilate. She fluttered with her wings, but only managed to trip on the edge to the grave and fall. She scampered backwards while trying to beat the terrible sight away. ”Twilight, stop!” Bon-Bon said sternly and pinned the panicked Princess down. Twilight struggled under her before she locked her head upwards and forced Twilight to look into Bon-Bon’s eyes. ”It is just a doll.” Twilight continued to struggle for a few more seconds before she understood what Bon-Bon had said. She laid still under Bon-Bon and tried to come to grips with the sight. She quivered. ”Right. Doll. Okay.” Twilight said, more to herself than Bon-Bon. The agent got off her, and Twilight stood up. She carefully trotted up to the grave and looked down. The doll was pretty much perfect. It laid softly down in the coffin and looked up with empty, dead eyes. In a fit of dark humor, somepony in The Circus had painted a nasty red gash over the doll’s throat. Twilight had legitimately thought it was a corpse they had found. The doll didn’t move. Of course it didn’t move. Twilight carefully got down in the grave. She picked at the doll’s face, just to confirm that it was indeed juts a doll. The plaster was almost solidified, but still looked nearly exactly like Rarity. It must have been modeled after her friend’s face, so exact was it. But the most stunning detail was the eyes. They were perfect replicas, made by glass. Beautiful sapphire blue eyes. Only now did she see the short message that was written on the inside of the coffin lid. Perfect writing, just like the one in her letter. I warned you. Next time, it won’t be a doll, mark my words. Sincerely, The Equilibrist. A small tuft of Rarity’s tail had been nailed under the message. ***** The Equilibrist peeked out of the dense foliage. He would have preferred not to get his clothes all dirty, but in his line of work that was inconveniences you had to take sometimes. And, if this worked out the way he wanted, then he could afford expensive cleaning. He stifled a laugh as he saw Twilight’s freak out. It looked downright hilarious. ”Perfect, Miss Sparkle,” He whispered to himself. He tipped his hat to the alicorn despite knowing she could not see him. ”It is good that you came here, even if you are a bit late, but I’m a generous soul, so I can forgive that.” ***** The Escape Artist let the weak fragrance of blueberry play in her nostrils as she drank the special drink at the ”Golden Apple Slice”. The Clown and The Tamer had just returned from their mission in the forest, together with their precious captive. She was now locked up in the attic. After that, The Circus, minus Suri, had figured out the exact ”performance" and assigned roles. The sun had just dipped beneath the horizon and left a beautiful indigo fire over the sky. ”So,” The Equilibrist began, ”everypony agrees to this plan? Once we accept, I would prefer not to make any last minute changes to our superior stratagem.” A murmur of approval came from the gathered ponies, The Escape Artist among them. The Equilibrist spoke up again. ”In that case, Tamer, what day do you propose we strike?” He turned to the multicolored pegasus, who responded with a small twitch of his right wing. ”Do you know when the next rain is scheduled?” The Tamer nodded erratically. ”Yes, the day after t-tomorrow, so tomorrow n-night is a good t-time. C-can we get ready w-with so short notice?” The Equilibrist did not answer, but looked around at his friends. They nodded. ”Apparently we can,” he said with a pleased expression, ”provided that somepony can take care of those last few pestering predicaments.” ”The Escape Artist is on it. It will be a good run-through before the grand final tomorrow. Besides, she would very much like to take care of that particular detail,” The Escape Artist said as she got up from her chair. ”Illusionist, how much time do you need?” ”About half an hour will be more than enough I recon,” The Illusionist said with a lazy voice. ”Splendid,” The Equilibrist said shortly. ”And no grudges.” The Escape Artist made a face. ”Tamer, The Escape Artist shall have need of your assistance as well.” ”S-Sure,” The Tamer said with his twisted grin. ”Goodbye for now, Ditzy.” The Tamer and The Escape Artist both left the room together with The Illusionist. The Wizard and The Clown both left as well. Might as well get some sleep if everything else was taken care of. The three ponies split up in the crossing between Smart Cookie’s park and Silverhoof’s street. The Illusionist moseyed his way up to the castle with the perfect amount of annoyance and boredom in his posture. At that rate it would take him twenty something minutes to reach his destination, and some more to do what he was supposed to. The Escape Artist went down a small side street, while The Tamer flew up towards the sky. The night was dark, so his special appearance would be hidden. The Escape Artist herself did not notice when he took off, for she had more important business to attend. She looked over her shoulder make sure street was empty and then bent down by the grating in the wall. She let her horn flicker for a moment; enough for her to see the lock, not enough for anypony to really notice her. She smirked. This lock was nothing. She reached into her lilac cape and picked up one of the many lockpicks she always carried. The small lock was picked in a few seconds. Practice does make perfect, after all. She heard the soft tap of The Tamer landing behind her, but did not look up. She pushed open the grating and slid into the dark, damp staircase that led down to the Canterlot sewers. The Tamer followed her. The stairs continued for just a couple of steps, enough to get below the streets, but not much more. She and the Tamer went out of the stairwell and onto the sidewalk beside one of the larger sewers in the city, the one below Puddinghead's lane. The cavernous space was murky and slick and it was nearly pitch black. The only light came from sparse torches on the walls, and they were far to few to really light up the darkness. ”Y-you sure you k-know where t-to go?” The Tamer asked anxiously. The Escape Artist, for all her haughtiness, could not fault him for being nervous. Pegasi and confined spaces did not mix well in the first place, and The Tamer’s erratic personality did not make it any easier for him. ”Of course The Escape Artist knows. She practically lives down here. She is not Great and Powerful for nothing, you see.” The Escape Artist said smugly as she began to trot with a spring in her step. ”She hopes that you are aware that the thunderball and the water will cause problems together…?” She added. Now it was her turn to be nervous. Despite working with the Tamer on countless missions, his… instability always unnerved her. ”Don’t you worry. It’s not charged yet. P-perhaps we could hurry up, yes? Don’t like this place…” He replied as calmly as he could. The Escape Artist picked up the pace and went a little faster. Her colleague followed on silent wings. The sewers crisscrossed under the city like a gigantic maze, but The Escape Artist kept as much as possible towards the North. As they went she was filled with pride over her extensive knowledge over the network. It had taken many a week to memorize the maps, but the effort was definitely worth it. She was able to disappear down in the sewers from pretty much anywhere in Canterlot, and well there, nopony could catch her. They came to a T-crossing and a faint glimmer around the corner made her stop. A guard. She motioned to The Tamer, and he flew up and hovered by the roof, clutching the cloud ball tightly to his chest. The Escape Artist licked her lips and picked up a thin string with a miniature grappling hook from inside her cape. She grabbed a stone with her magic and threw it against the opposite wall. The light immediately focused on the source of the sound and The Escape Artist crouched down and threw the grappling hook. The string now reached from behind the corner and over the sidewalk. She waited in the shadows for the guard to come closer. She saw his hoof coming around the corner, and she pulled the string up. The guard lifted his second front leg and got the string in front of it. With a confused and sleepy sound he stumbled forward. Quick as can be, The Escape Artist sprung from the shadows, rounded the corner, leaped at the confused guard as she conjured up some of her toys from inside her cape. She grabbed one hind leg and one fore leg and connected them over the guard’s back with a pair off hoofcuffs. She snickered softly as the guard squirmed meekly behind her. The Escape Artist got out one of her specialties from her hat and threw it hard at the ground. With a loud puff, lilac smoke filled the sewer. The Tamer silently flew through it and followed his accomplice as they continued. The guard would report their presence, but that didn't matter. He had not seen them properly, and by the time he reached anypony (after the next change of guard, if he was lucky) it would be way too late. After a few more minutes of walking, The Escape Artist stopped. She looked to The Tamer and then nodded towards the roof. ”This is as close as we get, about five hooflengths by my count. Think you can make it?” she whispered. The Tamer gave a twitchy nod and began to rub the cloud towards the walls and ceiling. The Escape artist saw it become blacker and blacker as angry jolts of lightning shot over the cloudy surface. ”Our friend should have taken care of the guard in a few minutes, so we will wait some time before firing. Make sure you don’t overdo it. While Trix- ahem, The Escape Artist is quite confident that she could dodge, she still prefers not to get down on this floor,” she explained nervously. ”Me? Have I ev-ver overdone a-anything?” The Tamer said with a sinister glance in his mismatched eyes. It was apparent that the pegasus enjoyed this a little to much. The Escape Artist backed away to give her colleague some space, but more importantly to get out of misfire range. ***** ”Iron Bars!” Brightwing called down the stairs down towards the detention block. ”Hey, Bro!” Nopony answered. Brightwing sighed and went down the stairs himself, and found a guard down by a door to some of the old cells. ”Private Iron Bars,” he said with a stiff voice. ”Commander,” Iron Bars said with an equally stiff voice, without looking at Brightwing. He continued to stare at the wall opposite to him. ”At ease,” Brightwing said with a small smile. The guard visibly loosened up. The looked at each other and laughed heartily. ”How can I help you, broski?” Iron Bars asked in a somewhat sleepy, but happy, voice. Not to often he got to see his brother during guard duty. ”Follow me. I have received a tip about a possible break-in at Starhorn’s Jewelry. Think we should look it up? Would probably look good if we caught whoever it was, right? Bet we would cruise right up to a promotion.” ”Well,” Iron Bars said tentatively. ”I really can’t leave my post. I’m guarding somepony, and if anypony came when I was gone, I’d be smoked.” ”Already have that taken care of, bro,” Brightwing said easily. ”I will just get somepony else to guard it for a while. Sounds good?” ”Guess so?” Iron Bars said with a shrug. ”Who, exactly?” ”Got some new recruit who could do all useless posts for us,” Brightwing said dismissively. ”Come on now!” ”I’m coming, I’m coming,” Iron Bars said and followed his brother. They got to the barracks and Brightwing entered. He looked around in the dim interior and went up to one of the bunks to wake the sleeping pony. ”Recruit Tenderspear,” Brightwing said with an authoritative voice. The pony in the bunk groaned and slowly opened his eyes and yawned. ”Commander?” he asked tiredly. ”You are to stand guard down at the detention block for a while. Understood?” ”Sir, yes, sir!” Tenderspear said with gusto. He had received a hint about this. Apparently it was a prank the older guards liked to play on the recruits. ”They will wake you up in the middle of the night, put you on some post in the middle of nowhere and then trick you with various catastrophes, like bank robberies, sabotages and Princess Celestia being murdered. I also got a bucket of glue, feathers and mashed garlic thrown in my face, all in one night,” Tenderspear remembered his friend had said. ”Just thought you should know.” ”The detention block, first door on the left. The prisoner is a fuchsia mare. Keep watch until I return,” Brightwing said with an authoritative voice. ”Sir!” Tenderspear answered and went to his post. ***** ”I-Ignition!” The Tamer screamed with a voice that broke into falsetto. His accomplice threw herself on the sidewalk and covered her head. The next moment a thunderous explosion shook the sewers and dust filled the air. It even justified throwing herself down on the dirty sewer floor. The Escape artist brushed of the grime and debris, and looked at the roof. There was a hole in it, and on the other side shone a dim light. With a quick spell she made the dust settle. The Tamer fluttered up and peeked through the hole quickly. He then flew down again, grabbed The Escape Artist around the barrel and easily ferried her up. She found herself in a small cell and looked around. Suri waved to her from the cell beside hers. ”Took you long enough, m’kay. Now hurry before the whole guard arrives.” It was apparent that Suri was pretty nervous. ”Don’t you worry. The Escape Artist has everything under control,” The Escape Artist said calmly. She picked up her lockpicks and began to work on the lock of her own cell. It was harder to break than most, but she was The Great and Powerful Escape Artist. After a few minutes the door clicked open. ”Tamer, guard the door, just in case.” She went directly to work on the lock to Suri’s door. The Tamer fluttered off to the door and put an ear to the keyhole. ***** Tenderspear leaped in surprise at the loud explosion. He knew something like this would come, but it was far louder than she had imagined. He thought he could feel the ground shake for Celestia’s sake! He looked at the door. It was not a good idea to go in there. He knew what would happen. But still… the ground shook. Like… the ground shook! Just what had his colleagues done in there? … Also, why weren’t they doing something more? If they wanted to scare him, why just throw one explosion and then nothing more? He trampled nervously outside the door. He didn’t even like garlic. Tenderspear sighed. ”I’m so gonna regret this,” he thought sullenly. ”Hello?” he said to the door. ”Everything okay in there?” ”Yes!” the prisoner answered. ”Well, but what did you expect?” Tenderspear mumbled as he turned the key and opened the door. He held up a hoof, just in case of them throwing something at him. Nothing happened, save of a small clink of a lock opening. He put his hoof down and looked at the prisoner, and another pony with the back to him. He almost had the time to register the scene before a skull-splitting pain erupted in the back of his head and everything became black. ***** Suri backpedalled when she saw The Tamer drop down from the roof and swing his hind leg in an axelike maneuver, straight into the guardpony’s neck. The confused guard fell on the floor and did not get back up. The Tamer landed, took the keys from the guard and locked the door. ”Lock him up or something. And give him some anesthetic, in case he remembers what he should not.” The Escape Artist said just as she turned. The Tamer nodded and locked the guard pony in one of the undamaged cells. The Escape Artist reached into her cape and threw a syringe to The Tamer, who caught it in his mouth. The bearded mare swallowed and motioned lamely towards the unconscious guard. ”M’kay, and how do you think this will go unnoticed?” she asked with a high pitched tone. ”Is… is he…?” ”Not if Topsy did his job properly.” The Escape Artist said calmly as she pulled up the door. ”And regarding our… less than subtile entrance, The Illusionist will make sure nopony gets to know before we are already out.” ”But the guard, he saw us, didn’t he?” The Bearded Mare asked tentatively. ”Only for a moment, doesn’t matter.” The Escape Artist said dismissively. ”Especially not when he has had a dosage of that.” Trixie nodded to The Tamer. ”Wipes short term memory, kind of like alcohol.” ”Then let’s hurry, m’kay,” Suri said and quickly left her cell. The Escape Artist let The Tamer ferry her down, and The Bearded mare jumped after, being an earth pony and thus hardier than The Escape Artist. They were gone in an instant, swallowed by the dark. ***** After about half an hour, The Escape Artist guided her two friends to one of the many stairwells that connected the sewers with the street level. She turned to The Tamer and The Bearded Mare. ”Just take this stair up and you will end up nearby Puddinghead’s park. Get to the Golden Apple Slice. The Equilibrist will tell you of the final plans for the grand coup.” The Bearded Mare’s ears picked up at that. ”Final plans? So it has all been decided? When will we begin?” ”Tomorrow evening. The Equilibrist will tell you everything,” The Escape Artist answered. ”The Escape Artist has a little something she needs to take care of, but she will rejoin you shortly.” With that, The Escape Artist continued down the sewers, leaving her comrades for now. It had felt better to accompany The Tamer all the way back to the club, since he didn’t know The Bearded Mare that well yet, but she didn’t have the time. Besides, it was not far to the club, so the winds should not whisper too much to him. At least that’s what she hoped. The sewers continued their winding way beneath the city. She followed their intricate way all the way to the upper district. The Illusionist’s source had said that Twilight stayed in the third house from the castle on a parallel street to the one she exited on. The Escape Artist looked over the building. It was rather small for being in the upper district; probably a place for important ponies to stay during their visit to the city, which meant that it would not be the easiest thing to break into. But then again, most houses were not built to withstand her. She looked around. It was in the middle of the night, so she did not expect anypony to be out on the street, but one could never be too careful. She went through the thin hedge and trotted around the house, looking through the windows at the bottom floor. None of them was a bedroom, so Twilight likely slept on the second floor. The Escape Artist looked up towards the balcony. She did not have a rope with her, something she should always have. Grumbling, she trotted around the house again, this time looking for something she could use to get up. ”The Escape Artist really has to learn teleportation some day,” she mumbled. She looked around, and her eyes fell on the flagpole. It had a string, maybe she could use that? Not the strongest thing, but it might be enough… ”Whatever, Trixie will make work…” She thought and trotted up to it. She bent her head down and let her horn flicker quickly. The string came falling down and she picked it up. With an artistic motion she slung it around the bars to the balcony. She grabbed the other end with her magic, pulled it down to her and tied a knot around the other end. The string was now secured. She tugged at the rope and closed her eyes. Her horn lit up and she began to gently push her rump upwards. She flushed slightly at the soft touch of her magic, but kept concentrating. With the combination of magic, the rope and teeth she began to pull/ push herself upwards. When she got up on the balcony she panted and had a profound blush over her face, both from fatigue and the magic touch on her hindquarters. She looked through the window doors and saw a bed in there. And a pony shape in it. The lock was tough, but it cracked after a few minutes. The Escape Artist silently stalked into the room and looked around. A large closet and a bedside table were the only pieces of furniture worth noting. The Escape Artist didn’t care though; she kept her eyes at the sleeping pony. It was Twilight Sparkle alright, she would recognize her anywhere. ”Sparkle,” She whispered softly. Twilight groaned in her sleep, but did not wake up. ”Twilight.” Twilight rolled over, away from her. The Escape Artist sighed and placed her hoof over Twilight’s mouth. She then smacked the alicorn lightly on the horn. ”I’m panca-mmmf!”Twilight awoke with a start and looked about frantically. She spotted the Escape Artist standing beside her bed, but any sound she might make was muffled. ”Be silent, we still have Rarity. And pay attention to the Great and Powerful Escape Artist,” The Escape Artist whispered in a voice that might be considered sensual. Twilight froze, then nodded. The Escape Artist removed her hoof. ”The Escape Artist heard about your little excursion to Everfree,” she said casually. ”She thought you wanted to know that The Equilibrist does not approve. She… or he… is angry… very angry… Trixie doesn’t like it when she is angry.” Twilight listened, and felt her heart rate quicken. All to clear did she remember the writing in the coffin. Next time it wont be a doll. Trixie noted with pleasure how Twilight’s eyes got larger. ”L-let’s not do anything hasty now, Trixie,” Twilight said with an anxious voice. ”Hasty?” The Escape Artist responded, soft as ever a marefriend. ”Trixie is not being hasty, you are.” She sat down on Twilight’s bed. ”Let Trixie clarify something,” The Escape Artist took a deep breath, then locked eyes with Twilight. She let a cute smile grace her lips. ”You say or do something, anything, that Trixie doesn’t like, and your friend will pay for it,” She felt Twilight stiffen in the bed. ”So if Trixie was you, she would pick her words carefully.” Twilight locked out Trixie’s babbling and concentrated on controlling her million questions. She had to be careful now. She took a deep breath. ”Wh- what do you want?” Trixie felt a rush of power well up within her. For how long had she not wanted this? To see Twilight so nervous, so inferior to her? To see Twilight listen to her and hang of her every word, to watch her hated rival drink in all she said as if her life depended on it. To see a Princess bend to her every whim. She had that power now, and while she could not use it freely, she could still relish the moment. ”You are going to come to the castle tomorrow at eleven fifty in the evening,” Trixie said with an overly clear voice, as if she spoke to slow student. ”At the main gate, The Illusionist will contact you and guide you further. Rarity will be free once you give us a certain little something in the castle. Have you understood, or did The Great and Powerful Escape Artist use to large words?” ”I will come,” Twilight said and licked her lips. ”Trixie, will you at least tell me why you joined The Circus? You had an honest life, what made you turn criminal?” The Escape Artist was more surprised that Twilight dared to speak than of the actual question. She made a bitter face. ”Thanks to you, Trixie did not have a life, nor anything else, left. Thanks to your Ursa Minor, Trixie lost all she had, and the amulet incident only made things worse. Trixie had to take what job she could get, and The Equilibrist provided exactly that. He was willing to give Trixie the chance she deserved when nopony else would.” ”So now you ruin lives for a living?” Twilight said with disgust. ”I never thought you would sink so low, Trixie. You are better than that.” ”Trixie never really had a choice,” The Escape Artist said with a shrug. ”Not everypony is best buddies with the Princess, not that you would know.” ”WHA-” Twilight began angrily, but The Escape Artist silenced her with her magic. ”Trixie does not ruin lives, as you put it,” Trixie said with an explanatory, excessively clear voice. ”To Trixie, The Circus is a way to test new limits and break them. Together with The Circus, she would match her wits against the sharpest of opponents, and she would come out on top.” Twilight looked at Trixie with a face that combined a host of feelings. Anger, sadness and, much to The Escape Artist’s annoyance, pity. ”Tomorrow, eleven fifty,” she hissed. ”Try to be on time.” With a flick of her cape, The Escape Artist vanished. Twilight looked around in confusion, but there was no sign of her. Twilight swallowed nervously and laid back in bed. She closed her eyes and listened carefully. She heard nothing. There was no pony nearby. ”It’s alright,” Twilight whispered. She knew she could speak as loud as she wanted, but somehow it felt better whispering. ”You can come out.” The doors to the large closet opened silently and Bon-Bon stretched her legs. ”Well done, Twilight,” she said with an appreciative look. ”The castle tomorrow just before midnight, huh? You just do whatever they want, and I will come to your aid once I am sure to catch most of The Circus red-hoffed.” ”Wait, should I actually help them?” Twilight said with a questioning look. ”Yes,” Bon-Bon confirmed with a nod. ”This is the closest I have ever been to them. If things go well, then we might end them once and for all. But we must not do anything rush. If one of them gets away, then they will break out of prison sooner or later. We catch to take them all at the same time, and secure enough proof to take them down too. But don’t you worry. As soon as they release Rarity, or I am sure we can catch them all, I will come, and you can stop the act.” Twilight nodded. ”Makes sense, I guess…” ”Well then, now we wait…” Bon-Bon said calmly. ”Feels good to be the one who holds the ace for once…”