Twilight cried in relief as Rarity shakily climbed up on the balcony. The alicorn threw herself at her friend and gave a hug as strong as she could muster. ”R-Rarity,” she hiccuped. ”R-Rarity, a-are you alright?”
Rarity hyperventilated and still could not shake away the feeling of falling, but she managed a wavering smile. ”Yes, I am fine, darling.” She swallowed, and breathed in and out as slow as she could in her panicked state. She knew they had to chase The Circus immediately, but she just could not bring herself to it. Not yet. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw the lightning filled sky and the rapidly shrinking balcony before her inner eye.
She stood with Twilight for what must have been many minutes before her breath had slowed down a little. She reluctantly began to wriggle out of Twilight’s embrace.
”Shall we give chase then?” She asked carefully.
”Count on it,” Twilight said with a determined look. They both looked quickly around the room.
Coco Pommel laid wrapped up in Celestia’s bedsheets, the Princess herself laid unceremoniously on the floor, and Twilight was again shocked at how naked, almost vulnerable, Celestia looked now. She felt another pang of guilt at what she had done, even if she knew she did not have a choice.
Bon-Bon had fainted in a little dignified position. She had slumped down against the railing onto her suitcase and was currently drooling on the cold stone. Her shades laid askew on her muzzle and she mumbled something about Lyra in her sleep.
”Well, I highly doubt they will be of much help right now,” Rarity said while wiping the drool of Bon-Bon’s face. Her eyes fell on the agent’s suitcase. ”But maybe this will?”
Rarity pulled out the suitcase from under Bon-Bon and tried to open it. It sat like stone. ”Her hoof, Rarity. It unlocks with her hoof,” Twilight said. Rarity picked up Bon-Bon’s hoof, placed it in the notch on top the suitcase and twisted. It opened with a metallic clang.
Inside were some pretty useless items. A couple of cheap masks, a rope with a grappling hook, a clock, and… a small syringe with a note. Rarity picked it up and read.
Hypnotic antidote. Don’t just stand there, fix this. Now!
”Twilight!” Rarity said with a hopeful voice. ”An antidote! We can wake her up!” Rarity picked up the syringe and turned to Bon-Bon, but Twilight held up a hoof to stop her.
”Hang on, Rarity,” she said with a wary voice. ”Maybe we can wake up Celestia instead? That would be a better choice.”
”But she was shot with… how many darts?” Rarity said with a, considering the situation, calm voice. ”Do recall that we don’t know how strong the antidote is, or the hypnotic. Can we afford to hope that it does wake Celestia?”
Twilight complemented for a moment. ”No,” she answered grudgingly. ”Wake Bon-Bon instead.”
Rarity nodded and stung the unconscious earth pony. No response. ”Hurry,” Rarity mumbled urgently. ”Hurry, please, or they will get away.” Bon-Bon moved groggily, and half opened her eyes.
”Uuuuugh… what time is it?” she mumbled as she tied to stand up. Her legs gave out halfway and she slumped back to the balcony floor. ”What did I drink last night…?”
”The most powerful hypnotic money can buy, delivered via dart,” Twilight said and slapped Bon-Bon over the face. ”Sorry, but we need to hurry.” Bon-Bon blinked and looked a little more awake.
Rarity shoved her anxiety to the back of her mind. She could deal with that later; now was not the time. ”Come Twilight. We will ether capture them or go down trying!”
Twilight nodded, but did not move. ”First we need to figure out where they are. Rushing headlong around the city will help them more than us.”
Rarity paused. She saw the reasoning behind Twilight’s statement. They could not afford to make some stupid mistake here. They had come to far, done to much. Now if ever did they had to gauge every action they took carefully.
”The only way to escape Canterlot would be via the train or an airship, yes?” Rarity asked. ”They can’t very well take the time to walk, can they?”
”I doubt it,” Twilight confirmed, ”so that leaves airship and train, both which are placed inconveniently far from each other. So, which one would you go for?”
”The train for sure,” Rarity answered quickly. ”Honestly, look at this storm. An airship would be suicide.”
”Yes, but they are the ones commanding the storm, remember? It’s Twitchy’s doing, isn’t it?” Twilight replied. She felt her body shake with suppressed energy. She wanted to fly out there and chase the cowardly Circus until they were locked up or she dropped from exhaustion. Just standing here felt wrong.
”I’m not sure how much Topsy is commanding anything,” Rarity said. ”I have met him, remember? He surely didn’t seem… sane enough to really direct the storm as much as flying about at random.”
”Airship…” Bon-Bon mumbled tiredly. She rubbed her eyes and swayed a little where she stood. ”The storm is not just a distraction, it’s also there to tire out the pegasi guards…”
”Are you sure!?” Twilight and Rarity both yelled. Bon-Bon winced at their loud voices.
”Never sure with them, but it sounds like something The Equilibrist would think up,” she said with a tired smile.
There was a second of silence. Both modes of transport had pros and cons.
”We can’t afford to wait any longer,” Twilight said decisively. ”The train station is farthest away from here, and since I’m faster than you, Rarity, I will check that. You get to the docks. Whichever one of us finds them will have to stall until the other can come and help.” She threw herself from the balcony without waiting for a response. They had already wasted precious time here.
*****
Flim and Flam left Blueblood in the alley and arrived together at the train station. They were greeted by a Nervous and Worried Trixie. Flim produced a wing suit for her, and she took it on. They all entered the station to escape the rain. Filthy Rich could be heard from further inside, starting up a train.
”Did you get it? Is it done?” Trixie asked with a nervous and excited voice. Flim opened the saddlebags he wore with his magic, and the glimmer of gold could be seen. It was as if the gold glowed with an otherworldly luster, almost like sunshine. Trixie looked at it with stars in her eyes, not quite comprehending.
”We did it,” she mumbled silently, still trying to take it in. ”We… actually did it?”
”That we did,” Flim said with a pearl white smile. ”No matter what happens now, we have actually done it. Nopony can take that away from us.”
Trixie looked away from the crown with an expression of having forgotten something. ”What’s happened?” she asked. Her excitement turned into anxiety. ”Where is Blueblood? H-he wasn’t captured… was he?”
”Let’s just say he is out of commission for the time being,” Flam replied shortly.
”B-but… he knows everything…” Trixie said with fear stricken voice. ”He will tattle on us all!”
”He won’t,” Flam said calmly. ”Leave him to my brother and me. For now, we need to get the heck out of dodge. How do we look timewise?” As if to answer him, the large clock in the station clicked as the minute hand moved to the number four. Flam smirked proudly. ”Sometimes, even I am surprised with our precision.”
Just a few seconds after the bell, a loud poof could be heard from the train where Filthy Rich was working. ”All done, Gentlecolts.” He exited, still clad in his wing suit and with a relived smile on his face. ”It’s ready to go. Are you?” He asked with a mock challenging look.
”Trixie was born ready,” Trixie said. ”Take it away! We are making perfect time!”
”Of course we are,” Filthy Rich chucked and disappeared through the train door again. With a loud poof and clanking machinery, a train chugged out from the storage room and began to move out on the rail. Filthy leaped off it just as it began to speed up.
”That ought to keep them busy,” Trixie said with a haughty voice.
”And then some, let’s get moving,” Flam said, cool as ever. The rest of The Circus turned to him, and together they went out in the storm again. Trixie opened one of the stairwells down to the sewers.
”Flim, I don’t suppose you have my darts?” Filthy asked politely as he descended.
”Of course I do,” Flim said and levitated all the projectiles they had shot in Celestia’s room over to Filthy Rich. No tracks left, as it should be.
”Alright,” Flam said once they all were down. He turned to Trixie. ”When did Suri leave?”
”About forty minutes ago,” Trixie replied. ”She should not have any problems acquiring an airship in this storm; nopony will be looking after them now.”
”That’s the idea,” Flam confirmed with a small smirk. ”Lead the way.”
While the road network in Canterlot made the way between the airship docks and the train station a while to walk, it was not that far as the crow flies. Also, the sewers protected against the storm, speeding up the journey considerably. It took them only fifteen minutes before they arrived. The four ponies emerged in a back alley and was greeted by Suri Polomare, dressed in a lavender wing suit.
”M’kay, you are here,” she said with a relived exhale. ”Did it work then? You got it?” Flim nodded and levitated up the crown. Suri’s breath caught in her throat.
”And you have taken care of the airship, I hope?” Flam said without taking any note of Suri’s shocked expression. ”Else we might be in a bit of a pickle.”
The orchid mare tore her look away from the beautiful crown and nodded. ”All done without a hitch. Come with me.” The Circus followed her up to their mode of escape. They stood still and looked at the airship for just one moment. Their greatest coup neared its end. All they had to do was to board the ship, and they would be gone in less than an hour. Just a little longer, then they would have outwitted Celestia, Twilight, the entire Royal Guard, Rarity and pretty much everypony else too.
”Let’s go,” A Confident and Spirited Trixie said. Flim leaped up onto one of the wires that anchored the ship to the stone pier and casually strolled onto it. His brother followed suit and Prankster flew onto the deck and placed himself on the steering wheel.
”Hey, what about us!” Filthy Rich called. He had no way to get onto the ship from this position.
”One moment,” Flam said. After a few seconds, the airship fell softly a few ponylegnths. ”Did you order a taxi?” Flam said casually to Filthy, Suri and Trixie.
”I did,” Filthy chuckled, deciding to humor Flim and Flam for a moment. ”Ponyville please, and there will be a handsome tip if you get there fast,” he said and hopped aboard, together with Suri and Trixie.
”Consider it done!” Flim said excitedly and loosened the mooring. The saddlebags with the regalia stood safely beside Flam by the steering wheel at the stern. ”Let’s get out of here!”
”Do you magic,” Trixie said feistily. Nothing could bring her down right now. She had done it. She had conquered all odds and stolen the regalia. She had outsmarted Twilight Sparkle at long last. Humble and Apologetic her hoof, even Great and Powerful was too little at this point. Maybe the Excellent and Omnipotent could be a fitting title? She would have to think it over.
Flam pressed a series of handles and the airship began to float upwards, the slack mooring trailing after it.
”Curtains fall, for now the show is ov-”
”STOP RIGHT THERE!”
Perplexed and annoyed, Flim looked at the pair ponies at the dock. One white as marble, and the other beige with a blue and pink mane. All to clear did he recognize them. Flim sighed. ”Oh, what is it now, can’t you leave us in peace!?” He shouted down with a tired voice.
”What’s the matter, brother of mine?” Flam called from behind the steering wheel.
”Company,” Flim replied shortly. ”Do you mind taking off right about now?”
”Not at all!” The airship began to back out of the dock.
”Oh, no you don’t!” Bon-Bon shouted and threw her grappling hook. It stuck to the wooden railing and began to slide away with the ship. Without thinking, she leaped after the rope just as it left the dock, and Rarity leaped after her in a vain attempt to hold back the entire ship. Rarity balanced on the dock edge for a moment. Then, with a terrified scream she lost hoofhold and hung over the abyss from the ship’s side with her hooves around Bon-Bon. If the agent lost her grip around the rope, then they would not stop until she hit the base of Mount Celestia, a drop of near a thousand ponylengths.
Bon-Bon felt Rarity’s legs around her barrel and began to climb. She saw Flim looking down at her from the airship railing. If he cut the rope, she was as good as dead.
He didn’t. He just stood there and watched her climb with a grim expression.
”Get ready everypony, the crowd wants an encore,” he called to somepony behind him. ”You concentrate on steering us away, brother. We’ll keep them away from you.”
”Got it.”
Flim disappeared out of sight.
”Rarity, we will be wide open the moment we get up there. Any ideas?” Bon-Bon suddenly noted that Rarity was shaking. ”Never mind,” Bon-Bon mumbled. Rarity had probably seen enough deadly falls for one night.
”Leave that to me, darling,” Rarity said with a strangely calm, almost giddy, voice. ”And do hurry up. This might just be the most exciting thing I have ever taken part of.”
”Heh, mine too,” Bon-Bon said with a grin. She realized that she liked working with other ponies. Normally she operated alone, but it had been interesting, even fun, to work alongside Twilight and now Rarity.
She continued to climb until she hung just a hooflength beneath the railing. In one powerful motion she jerked the rope with all her earth pony strength and near flew over the railing. She saw the blurred visage of Filthy Rich as came over the ship’s deck.
”Good night,” he said smugly and fired the crossbow.
”Good day,” Rarity said and caught the dart in the air with her magic and managed to levitate it a little further down. It passed under them with a hair’s width. She and Bon-Bon both landed on the airship, face to face with Filthy Rich and Trixie. Suri Polomare stood a bit behind them.
”There is no way we can work this out, is there?” The brother behind the steering wheel asked calmly. Rarity recognized the voice as Flam’s. ”Name a number, any number, and you will have twice the amount. I promise.”
”I’d never!” Rarity screamed with and indignant voice. ”I’m not some… some trinket you can buy!”
”Well said, Rarity,” Bon-Bon said without taking her eyes of Flam. ”I presume you don’t want to come along quietly, Equilibrist?”
”Let’s face it,” Flam said with a simple tone. ”You don’t want to do this the easy way.”
”No,” Bon-Bon said and scraped her hoof to the deck, readying a full body charge.
”Fine by Trixie,” the blue mare said and readied a blast of her horn.
”A lady shouldn’t get her hooves dirty, allow me,” Flim’s voice came from overhead. Rarity looked up and saw something sweep down from the balloon. The wing suit made him look like a giant bat. His horn glowed green, and he and an excited and determined expression on his face, illuminated by cold moonlight. Beside him flew his trusty parrot.
Flim’s horn shimmered and a rope appeared from inside his wing suit. Filthy threw his crossbow to the ground, lunged for the suitcase beside him and got out a slightly bent piece of wood. Bon-Bon leaped into action and dashed over the deck towards Trixie. Rarity saw the unicorn crack a smile before a large cloud swallowed her. Bon-Bon dashed right through and nearly ran off the airship deck. Trixie seemed to have disappeared in the cloud.
”Take this!” Flim said and threw a rope with a heavy knot towards Bon-Bon. She ducked under it, grabbed the rope in her mouth and pulled Flim towards her, all in one fluid motion.
Flim landed, crouched to duck under Bon-Bon’s kick and then let go of the rope at the same time he jumped off the ship. The wind blew him up and away of Bon-Bon. As soon as he was out of range he threw another rope downward and moved his hoof like he had in the tower.
Rarity watched the rope tie itself around the airship railing. Flim was flying after the airship like some bizarre kite. He then pulled the rope hard and came flying down from the air with his hind leg outstretched. Bon-Bon nimbly leaped aside as Flim slammed down on the deck.
Bon-Bon then leaped high in a backflip to avoid a buck from Suri. She landed beside the fuchsia earth pony, who galloped away. Bon-Bon was just about to follow, when an earsplitting scream came from above her. She looked up and saw Prankster fall down on her with talons wide open. She ducked and instead received a magic blast from Trixie, who had reappeared behind her.
”This. Is going to be fun,” Flim said with an excited voice.
*****
The whole exchange had only taken a couple of seconds. Both Rarity and Filthy Rich just stood by and looked with slightly open mouths.
”Never seen them all go like that before…” Filthy said, half to himself. Rarity’s attention snapped back to him. She might not be able to do much against Flim, but she could do her part by keeping Filthy distracted. Her horn lit up. She would snatch the wooden piece, whatever it was, right from his hooves.
Filthy returned to reality when he felt his weapon tug. He turned his back to Rarity to kick her. She leaped aside, but just barely. As soon as her magic was interrupted, Filthy twisted his body around to transfer the momentum of his kick over to his front hoof. He had less than a moment to aim, but it was enough. Quick as can be, Filthy spun around and threw.
Rarity saw the spinning piece of wood coming at her and she threw herself aside. She didn’t exactly know what she was supposed to do next, though. She was not a fighter, and had no training in hoof-to-hoof combat. She went for the one advantage she had.
The magic flowed into her horn and she levitated up Filthy’s legs as he prepared to leap at her. The result was a strange, hardly dignified, trip in midair which ended with Filthy Rich falling face first into the deck. Rarity saw her chance and charged him.
Filthy reacted quickly. He scrambled out of the way and let Rarity gallop past him. He looked for a moment out in the night, and saw his weapon. He quickly calculated the trajectory and placed himself in a good spot.
”Come back here you!” Rarity growled and came at him again from behind.
”Catch,” Flithy Rich said as he leaped to the side.
Rarity stopped her dash in utter shock at the spinning piece of wood that came at her. How was it possible? Filthy had thrown it away, how was it coming back now?
And more importantly, why was she in front of it?
She sprung to the left and could her the wood cleave the air just beside her ear. She turned around and looked at Filthy Rich. He leaped up, caught the spinning weapon and landed dexterously, just beside his suitcase. ”We aren’t called ’The Circus’ for nothing, you know,” he said with as if he had just picked up a bit from the ground.
”What do you know of zebras, Rarity?” Filthy continued politely. ”This is one of their native weapons, called a boomerang.” Rarity saw Filthy kick his suitcase away and suddenly he held four identical weapons. ”Let’s see him many you can handle.”
With a blur, Filthy’s hooves emptied and the boomerangs filled the air. Rarity noted that he didn’t throw them at her per se, he threw them out seemingly at random. She looked around quickly, but couldn’t see any of them. She swallowed. Filthy Rich reached for the crossbow beside him.
”No, you don’t!” Rarity called and dashed at him. The swirling sound warned her in the last moment. She had no time for some intricate dodge, so she just let her legs relax. She fell on the deck and felt the boomerang shoot past her ear with an uncomfortable sound. The next moment she felt a hard hit in her foreleg. She instinctively curled up to protect it. There was wood against her body. Filthy had caught the boomerang and thrown it back at her in the blink of an eye.
She got up despite the throbbing pain. Staying in one place was the worst thing she could do, as that gave Filthy time to pick up his crossbow. ”Never stand still,” Rarity thought to herself. ”Always on the move.” She narrowly dodged another boomerang that came out off the night. She had one with her, so there should be three left to worry about.
She looked towards Filthy Rich, for she knew he would throw soon. He stood still and looked at her with a grim expression.
No, not at her. At something behind her. Realization hit her together with the boomerang. It felt like somepony had bashed a sledgehammer in her lower neck. She flew forward from the hit and suddenly found herself on the airship deck. The whole world was spinning and the deck was heaving under her. She looked straight down on her fore hooves to avoid the strange sights. Her eyes fell on the boomerang she still held.
It was made from black lacquered wood, and at the center there was a small golden ornament with a sapphire set in it. It looked more like some fashion mistake than an actual weapon; like something you might see on the wall while visiting your old and somewhat confused grandmother.
”Sorry, Rarity.” Filthy Rich’s voice echoed strangely and made her head hurt even more. ”Unless you have eyes in the neck, you will never defeat me. Now if you will excuse me…”
She looked up. Her vision was spinning, but she could see Filthy taking the aim at Bon-Bon, who was currently battling Flim, Trixie, Suri and Prankster, all at the same time. The gemstone in the boomerang he held twinkled at her. An idea hatched in her mind. Despite the deck spinning under her she staggered up and glared at him.
”Really?” he said with a surprised voice. ”Well, don’t blame me.” He threw a boomerang at her and she lurched aside again. The world convoluted in wired ways, but she remained standing somehow.
Rarity closed her eyes and let her signature spell flare out. She felt the gemstones in Celestia’s regalia, some little lump in Flim’s pocket, and she felt the three boomerangs flying in large curves around the airship. One of those small points of light turned and came at her fast. She took one step forward and the boomerang passed her. It turned around fast when Filthy caught and threw it, but she was ready and dodged. Another one came from behind, and she ducked. The last one missed.
She opened her eyes again. The world still swayed slightly, but she could clearly see Filthy Rich’s perplexed look.
”Your decadence has turned on you, Filthy,” Rarity said with a small smile. ”I don’t need eyes in the neck. I only need you gems.”
”That’s Mr. Rich,” Filthy hissed. ”Well, you might sense my boomerangs, but that won’t help if you can’t dodge!” Filthy Rich threw two boomerangs to his sides, waited a few moments and then threw one at her. She skipped to the side, only to be met by the other two coming at her. She leaped over one and hopped away from the other. The first boomerang came back from behind. She jumped over it, and Filthy threw his last boomerang, the one Rarity had held. While in the air she couldn’t dodge.
The wooden piece hit her in the ribs with a hollow sound that knocked the air from her lungs. Rarity groaned and fell down on the deck. Filthy was right. She had no chance dodging all of those attacks.
But… then he couldn’t ether! Despite the pain in her ribs and leg she let her magic enter her horn again for a moment. She felt the two remaining boomerangs return. Filthy waited, evidently thinking that Rarity was defeated.
Rarity opened her eyes and looked at him. He looked back, surprised. Rarity smiled weakly as she laid on the deck. She changed her spell. An ice-blue aura encased Filthy’s front hooves and held them down.
”Interesting weapon, Filthy. And your control of them is truly stupendous,” she said weakly. ”but that won’t help if you can’t dodge…”
Filthy got a half surprised, half scared look in his eyes. A small ”huh?” left his mouth just before two boomerangs flew over Rarity and smacked into his temple and chest. He fell, and Rarity stayed down for a few more moments before staggering onto her hooves. She smiled despite the throbbing pain in her chest. She looked around. Bon-Bon stood just beside her with Flim pinned down.
*****
Bon-Bon was panting. She was an earth pony, and in top shape too, but running about while dodging three attackers and a bird at once got tiresome very fast. Worse was that she had no chance of striking back effectively. They were all too careful, and ran off whenever she got close. She would have followed, but that exposed her to sneak attacks from the other two.
”I’ll have to take a chance,” she decided. It was either that or fight until she was so tired they could overwhelm her. She looked around for Suri. She seemed to be the least dangerous one, so she should start by taking her out. Bon-Bon couldn’t find her however, and was forced to grab one of the ropes that connected the gondola with the balloon in order to avoid a green energy beam. She used the momentum to spin around the rope and launch herself at Trixie, who was the only pony in range.
Trixie seemed surprised by Bon-Bon’s sudden attack and got hit in the chest. The showmare staggered backwards, but Bon-Bon gave her no respite; she followed and continued to jab quick strikes at Trixie, who retreated backwards with each hit.
Trixie coughed and shook her head after a particularly powerful strike. She reached into her hat and slammed her one of her signature smoke balls down into the deck. Bon-Bon struck again but hit only air.
”A little assistance!” Trixie called and hopped away from Bon-Bon, who came at her again from inside the cloud.
”Granted,” Flim called back and brought out another rope from his wing suit. He now had one in both his fore hooves. ”Try this on for size!”
Flim leaped at Bon-Bon with both his front hooves lifted. Her mind told her to leap forward and strike first, her instincts told her to dodge backwards, away from the ropes. She did the latter. Flim tied the ropes where Bon-Bon’s legs had been the moment before and followed up with an energy blast. Bon-Bon was hit right between the eyes and took a step backwards. In the moment she was blinded she felt a rope tangle itself around her hoof. She also heard something splashing under her.
”Got you!” Flim shouted triumphantly. ”Prepare for your life’s journey!” Just as Bon-Bon reopened her eyes she saw Flim leap from the airship.
The rope around her leg began to pull. Bon-Bon struggled for a moment, but it seemed like the deck was made of ice; it was impossible to get a grip. She looked down in surprise and found the deck covered in oil with small pieces of glass scattered around. She was dragged over the airship deck behind Flim, who was flying in the wind like a kite again. She was pulled straight towards Suri Polomare. The fuchsia mare planted her hooves firmly on the deck and reared up on her hindlegs.
”Okay, this will hurt…” Bon-Bon thought the moment before she was brought into contact with Suri.
Suri stomped as Bon-Bon came barreling towards her. The agent caught the falling hoof with her tied leg and clenched her teeth at the pain. That was going to leave one nasty bruise. She reached out with the other hoof and grabbed one of Suri’s hind legs, pulling her along. The two mares slid over the deck and collided with the railing before either of them had the time to mount a proper attack.
”FLIM, STOP!” Suri screamed with a terrified voice. Both she and Bon-Bon held on to the railing for dear life trying not to be swept overboard.
The pulling stopped, and Bon-Bon took the chance to give Suri a hard kick in the diaphragm. She then rolled out of the way to dodge Prankster’s sweeping attack. She got up on her hooves and assaulted at Suri again, only to be hit by a lilac energy beam from Trixie. Bon-Bon grunted, but powered through. She picked up Suri by the shoulders to bash her head in the airship deck. That should knock her out.
”No, you don’t!” Flim called and tackled Bon-Bon roughly in the side. She let go of Suri, and grabbed onto Flim instead. They rolled over the deck, exchanging blows until Bon-Bon pinned him down. Her strength gave her a clear advantage in close combat.
They both laid still for a moment, catching up with what just happened.
”Heh, it was a long time since I felt like this,” Flim said happily. ”Congrats, by the way. Not many mares get to be on top of me. ”
”And you will be grateful for it,” Bon-Bon returned bitingly.
”Still forgetting that I’m never alone?”
”Nor is Miss Bon-Bon,” Rarity chimed in and placed herself beside the agent. She was still a bit dizzy from the boomerang hit. Suri and Trixie looked at Bon-Bon and Rarity warily. Trixie reached into her cape.
She froze mid movement, caught in a lilac shimmer.
The whole airship stopped in midair, caught in the shimmer. Even Prankster hung in still, wings bent in a flap.
”Sorry for taking so long,” Twilight called triumphantly.
”Not at all, dear,” Rarity responded with a relieved sigh. ”It’s called being fashionably late.”
”Good one,” Flim commended. He attempted to nod at Rarity, but Bon-Bon held him down firmly.
Twilight hovered beside the airship and looked at the ponies. ”Flam, turn around and start heading back,” she said with a commanding voice.
Flam nodded warily and turned the steering wheel. Twilight’s shimmer dissipated, and the airship turned lazily in the wind.
”Always at Sweet Apple Acres, huh?” Flam said with a wry smile. ”That place seems to be bad news for us, eh, brother?”
”Are we flying over now?” Flim said with a tired voice, still trapped beneath Bon-Bon’s strong hooves. ”Of all the places in Equestria, of course it had to be there…”
”Don’t worry, you won’t see it again,” Bon-Bon said bitingly to Flim. ”In fact, the only thing you will see for a looong time will be the prison interior.”
”Yep,” Flim said with a resigned voice. ”You’ve clearly caught us all five. Well done.”
”Five?” Bon-Bon said with furrows in her brow. Something dawned in her expression. ”Wait, where is Ditzy and Tops-”
”TWISTEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!!”
Topsy’s furious scream broke into falsetto as the multicolored pegasus rushed from the sky with two miniature thunderclouds over his front hooves. Ditzy fluttered far behind him, trying, and failing, to keep up with the ex-wonderbolt. Twilight turned around, and saw Topsy’s maniacal grin just a hooflength from her face. He giggled with a half choked sound and swung one hoof at Twilight’s jaw and the other at her horn. A small crackle could be heard as the thunderclouds caught her head between them, and then there was nothing. She did not even hear the thunderclap.
Twilight was returned to her senses as she fell. Her head felt like it had been impaled on a red-hot spike from the chin to the tip of her horn. She fell straight down and caught a glimpse of the large apple orchards below before she began to pull up, more from reflex than anything else.
”NONE!” Topsy screamed right in her ear. Faster than what should be possible he dove in under her, turned near one hundred eighty degrees and flew right at her from below. He pulled back his foreleg and struck her in the stomach, straight upwards, destroying his ’glove’ in the process.
Twilight felt the air leave her lungs and her spine twist uncomfortably as she was accelerated opposite to her fall. She felt sick just by the sheer power of the blow; it was like a train had rammed her. She coughed violently even though she feverishly wanted to breathe.
”HURT!” Topsy flew up to her, spun around, and hammered his hind leg right over Twilight’s outstretched wings and spine. Through a million shades of pain, she panicked. He was too fast, too relentless to parry, and his strength could not be far behind Applejack’s! Twilight was sent earthward again by his hammerlike strike.
Topsy flew down alongside Twilight, and glared straight into her eyes. His mismatched gaze was filled with primitive fire, lost to fury. She saw his one thundercloud-covered hoof come closer to her face. ”Them,” he said with a completely calm voice.
”STOP, PLEASE TOPSY, STOP!”
Twilight recognized the voice from somewhere, but her mind was scrambled by Topsy’s violent assault. Then her whole body was tackled away. She saw Ditzy fly just where she had been, all four legs outstretched to protect her.
Although the look only lasted the fraction of a second, she could clearly see the terror in Topsy’s face when he realized what was about to happen. A small bang resounded when the thundercloud connected to Ditzy’s chin. For a moment her mane turned completely straight and spiky, then she looked about, confused.
*****
Bon-Bon cringed when she saw Twilight take Topsy’s initial strike. ”Hey!” Flim said with dorky voice. Bon-Bon looked back to him. His horn glowed and the beam hit her right in the face. The force lifted her and threw her backwards.
”Alright, we are leaving, everypony!” Flam called from behind the steering wheel. ”Ready to fly!”
He spun the steering wheel fast to the left, and the whole airship turned so hard the deck slanted. Suri got a look of realization and leaped off the ship. She began to glide on the wind, back towards Ponyville.
”BING!” Flam said and shot a green energy beam straight up in the balloon. He snatched up the bag with the regalia and jumped over the railing.
”BANG!” Flim chimed in and fired a beam of his own into the balloon. He twisted away from Bon-Bon’s last-ditch attack and flew off the ship.
”ZAM!” Trixie called with a proud smile. With three holes in the balloon, the ship began to fall fast. She reached into her cape and threw a smoke ball in Bon-Bon’s face before she took off.
”Well done Rarity,” Filthy Rich staggered up and gave a mocking bow. With a grimace he placed his hoof at the forehead. He swayed slightly. ”Color me impressed,” he croaked before he leaped.
Twilight saw the five ponies jump from the falling airship. She shut out the pain and confusion and tried to concentrate. She had to capture them. A simple freeze spell should do it.
”Twilight!” Rarity called from the airship, and the focus broke. Twilight looked to the ship. Rarity and Bon-Bon was clinging to one of the ropes that held the rapidly deflating balloon. The ship was falling, and Rarity was barely clinging on. It was falling dangerously close to Sweet Apple Acre’s main buildings.
”Twilight,” Flam shouted as he glided past. ”Catch us… or that ship!”
Twilight’s horn blazed with lilac light and the shimmer engulfed the airship once more. She gritted her teeth as she tried to repel the gravity. Slower and slower it fell, but it fell nonetheless.
”HHRRRGAAAAAH!” Twilight screamed and flew wobbly and dazed by fatigue down to the ground and began to move the broken airship away from above the homestead. Infinitely slow did the ship careen away. She was still badly hurt from Topsy’s attack, and her horn burnt like on fire, reeling from the thunderbolt he had sent straight through it. She refused to stop.
With a horrible sound, the ship’s rudder scraped the homestead’s roof and knocked the weathervane clean of. Out of the corner of her eyes, Twilight saw a window lighting up, and a highly confused Applejack look out.
”Hope I didn’t wake Apple Bloom…” Twilight thought. She snickered amidst of the fog of pain and exhaustion. Why was she thinking of such a trivial thing now? Was she loosing her mind? Suddenly the burning feeling amplified thousandfold. Her magic fizzled and died. She watched the airship fall. Its rudder touched the roof side and the ship crashed with a thunderous sound on the ground, not a ponylength away from the house. She looked at the scene with uncomprehending eyes. Twilight took one deep, choppy breath, and then fell to the ground exhausted. The last thing she saw was Rarity and Applejack galloping towards her.
Bon-Bon looked to Twilight, but forced herself to focus on the road. As much as she liked her friend and wanted to make sure she was okay, her duty was clear. She pushed the tiredness and pain away and galloped down the path as fast as she could. Within minutes she was in Ponyville. She stole a quick glance towards her marefriend’s house and had an involuntary picture of Lyra sleeping soundly, unaware of all the calamity that happened just a few ponylengths away. A small blush spread over Bon-Bon’s face, and she sprinted even faster. It was like Lyra had awoken something within her, a hidden reserve of sorts. She had never run so fast in her life.
She saw them! Seven ponies dashed out of Filthy’s mansion, carrying large bags. She sprinted even faster. Slowly did she catch up. She leaped over a snare trap that appeared in her path. She dashed right through Trixie’s smokescreen. See heard the swishing sound of a boomerang from behind and dodged.
She did not see Prankster.
The parrot appeared like a shadow in the night and slashed at her face. Instinctively she lifted a foreleg to shielded her eyes. It worked, but it slowed her down. Without even stopping to curse the blasted bird she continued her pursuit.
Bon-Bon found herself on the train station, and saw a lonesome train wagon behind a locomotive just starting, heading towards Canterlot. Prankster landed on the train rear and began to preen his wing.
She was too late.