Shafted

Rarity and Pinkie Pie clopped through the streets of Canterlot, headed for Princess Celestia's palace. Celestia and Luna had invited them for a luncheon to plan for newly crowned Princess Twilight's birthday party, at the very top of one of the palace's tallest towers. Rarity trotted into the main hall of the palace with Pinkie Pie merrily skipping behind her.

"Ahha, 11:15! Perfect timing. If we head up the stairs right now, we shall be there at precisely 11:30."

Pinkie Pie was hopping in place next a row of four elevators.

"Why don't we take the elevator? It'll get us up there quicker."

"I'm sure it would Pinkie, but I've always preferred the stairs. It's a thing I have about elevators."

"But if we take the elevator, we'll be "fashionably early."

Rarity thought for a minute. Although she didn't like elevators it was better to be early than right on time.

"Alright, the elevator it is."

She walked up and pressed the up button. The elevator doors opened and the ponies walked inside. Rarity pushed the button for the top floor. Pinkie Pie was doing her usual skipping in place.

"Woo Hoo! This'll be fun."

The elevator doors closed, and they were on their way.

Pinkie bobbed her head to the elevator music and watched the numbers light up on their way to the top; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and so on. Rarity meanwhile looked in one of the side mirrors and preened her mane.

"Hey Rarity, why is there no 13th floor?" asked Pinkie.

"There's never a 13th floor in an elevator Pinkie."
Pinkie scratched her head.

"Then how do you go from 12 to 14 without 13?"

"Oh Pinkie." said Rarity. "There is a thirteenth floor. It's where..."

Suddenly the elevator shook. The lights flickered off and on. Then with one final jerk, the elevator came to a stop.

"What happened?"

"We stopped!" said Pinkie. "Look the numbers aren't moving."

Rarity covered her mouth with a look of dread.

"Oh no, Please no..."

She pressed the buttons with her hoof, but nothing happened.

"I... I think its stuck."

"Stuck?" asked Pinkie.

"Stuck! The elevator is stuck Pinkie, and we're trapped inside."

"Ooh! Just like mice!"

Rarity started to sweat, rubbing her hooves together.

"This isn't good, this is not good at all. We'll be late to our meeting with the princesses."

"Oh Rarity, it's probably just for a second."

"Sure. You're probably right. We'll wait."

They waited...

and waited...

but the elevator didn't budge.

Rarity's eyes went between the elevator doors and the numbers still stuck where they were.

"Pinkie, it's not moving."

"Just give it a few more minutes.

"What time is it?"
Pinkie looked at her fetlock watch.

"11:22."
Rarity bit her hoof.

"Just a bit more, I bet any minute now."

The waited some more......

"Ooh! Ooh! I heard about two ponies who got trapped in an elevator one time, and by the time it got moving again there was nothing left of them but dust."

Pinkie smiled goofily. Rarity's ears drooped.

"Oh Kay!"

She started pressing the buttons more frantically.

"Oh Mr. elevator, It's time to move! Let's go! Chop Chop! Get those wheels and cables turning!!!!"
Pinkie watched a little confused.

"Why don't we just call for help?" asked Pinkie.

"Yes." said Rarity. "Why don't we. HELP!! HELP US!!! HELP!!!"

Pinkie tapped Rarity's shoulder.

"I meant on the emergency phone."

Rarity blushed with embarrassment.

"Of course. Now, how does this work?"

"I think you push the button and talk through the speaker."

Rarity pushed the button for the intercom.

"Hello? Is somepony there? My name is Rarity and our elevator seems to be stuck. Is there anypony there? Hello? Hello?"

"Duhhh, Canterlot maintenance department. This is HammerBags, maintenance forepony. What can I do you for?"

Rarity and Pinkie smiled at each other.

"Um yes. This is Rarity. My friend Pinkie Pie and I are stuck in an elevator."

"Ahh, that's not good."

"No, it is not good at all." Rarity responded. "Do you think you could get us moving soon?"

"Sure. No problem miss Roofity."

"It's Rarity."

"Sorry. Just sit tight, we'll have ya outta there lickety split."

"Thank you."

She clicked off the intercom, and took a deep breath.

"Now let's just sit quietly, and wait for them to come."

"Okie Dokie Lokie!"

Pinkie sat on the floor like a dog. Rarity laid down across from her, resting her head against her hoof and tapping her other hoof on the floor.

They waited some more, but the elevator still didn't move.

"Hey! Let's play a game!"

"No Pinkie, I'm not in the mood for a game."

"It'll be fun, and will help pass the time."

Rarity sighed.

"Okay."

"Let's play I spy! I spy with my big blue eye...something white...with a blue mane..."

"Me." Rarity answered.

"Wow! Lucky first try!"
...

"Something with a blue mane...white coat...diamonds on her rear end."

"Me," Rarity answered dryly.

"Wow! 12 times in a row!"

...

"White, has diamonds..."

"Me, and all the next ones are me too."

"Okay, that's just creepy."

"I've got one." Rarity's frustration grew. "I spy something metal, box shaped, stuck, with two ponies trapped inside."

"Ooh! Ooh! Us stuck in the elevator! I win!"

Rarity pressed the intercom again.

"Hello!? We're still in here!"

"Yup we're workin on it." said Hammerbags. "Have ya outer there soon Ramify."

"It's Rarity."

"Pass me that mustard."

Rarity sat down, panting heavily.

"Don't worry Rarity, they said we'll be out of here likety split."

"Of course." Rarity replied unnerved. "However long that is..."

------------------------------

Rarity paced around the perimeter of the elevator, grumbling to herself.

"We could have just taken the stairs. Stairs don't stop moving. But no Rarity, despite how you feel about elevators, you're desire to be fashionable, which normally serves you well, has trapped you inside a tin can with a complete goof for who knows how long..."

Pinkie just sat in the middle, bobbing her head and singing.

"Stuck in an elevator, going nowhere neither up or down. Stuck in an elevator, biding our time till we hit the ground.

"Pinkie, what time is it?"
Pinkie looked at her fetlock watch.

"11:22. See we still have plenty of time."

"Wasn't it 11:22 the last time you looked."

"Yes indeedy!"

"Pinkie, I think your watch stopped."
Pinkie held the watch you her ear and shook it.

"Hmm, so it did."

"Pinkie Pie! That means we've been in this elevator for...who knows how long. What if were stuck in here...forever?"

"Hmmm......."
-----------

Rarity and Pinkie were now elderly mares still stuck in the elevator.

"Anytime now." said the old Pinkie cheerfully. "They'll have us out of here."

"We've been stuck in here for sixty years Pinkie Pie. They're never going to get us out."

"Never say never. They'll have us out before you know it."

"Anytime now...anytime now..."

Outside futuristic ponies tramped around the palace. Two came up to the elevator.

"Let's take the elevator."

"That elevator stopped working years ago. It's never been in service since."

"What if somepony is stuck in there."

"I doubt it. Come on, we don't want to miss Princess Twilight's 80th birthday."
The ponies left leaving the elevator where it was...

-----------
Rarity's eye twitched. She frantically pressed the intercom again.

"Get us out of here!!"

"We're workin on it miss. Just sit tight."

"Sit tight?! We've been sitting tight for hours. How long is it going to take?!"

"As long as it needs to take. Don't worry, we'll have you outta there soon."
Rarity started sobbing.

"This is hopeless!!"

"Let me try."
Pinkie pressed the intercom.

"Have you ever been to SugarCube corner in Ponyville?"

"Have I? I love that place. They make the best cupcakes."

"I know. I'm the pony who makes those cupcakes. And if we stay in here forever, there'll be no more cupcakes at SugarCube corner, so Hurry Up!!!!"
She clicked off the button.

"Cupcakes always do the trick."

Later, the ponies were still in the elevator. Pinkie cheerfully bobbed her head up and down. Rarity lay motionless on her back, her bloodshot eyes staring up at the ceiling. Her mind was beginning to go crazy.

"What if we are stuck in here forever? What if no pony ever comes looking for us? I'm sure Pinkie won't mind, she's cheerful about everything. Me on the other hoof, what am I going to do? Stuck in this tin can. What about food? I'm already hungry. What about the boutique? What about Opal? What about Sweetie Belle? Or Twilight? Applejack? Rainbow? Fluttershy?"

Pinkie Pie looked down on her trying to get her attention.

"Rarity? Are you okay?"

Pinkie's face suddenly became demonic looking. Speaking in an evil transposed voice.

"We can't get out Rarity! Can't get out!"

The floor fell away. Rarity's body went spinning down a black void. All the while voices kept chanting 'Can't get out!'.

Rarity landed in a cage going down an elevator shaft. The cage suddenly halted. Panicked, Rarity went to each side trying to escape. Two doors appeared out of nowhere, and slammed shut with a deafening Thud! Now in a grey metal box, Rarity was shaking. On each wall, faces appeared chanting 'Can't Get Out!' over and over and over again.

Rarity's eyes burst out of her head and she screamed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pinkie's face appeared as the uvula in Rarity's throat.

"Rarity? The doors are open...Rarity? The doors are open..."

Rarity finally came too and shook her head. There was a bright light behind Pinkie.

"Is this...heaven?"

"No, but the doors are open. We can get out now."

"The doors are open?!"

Sure enough, the doors were open and they were on the top floor.

Overjoyed, Rarity bolted out of the elevator and kissed the ground. She then realized she was right in front Princess Celestia and Luna.

"Princesses!" Rarity fretted. "We're so sorry! We were trying to get here on time, but the elevator got stuck, and we called them to get us out, but we were stuck in there for hours and hours and hours!!..."

"Rarity, calm down." Celestia kindly interrupted. "You're right on time."

"Come again?"

"You're right on time girls." Luna pointed to the clock. "It's 11:30."
Rarity shook her head dumbfounded.

"How long were we in there?"

"Only 15 minutes." Pinkie replied.

"But how? We called the maintenance ponies and they didn't do anything."

"It was just a bad wire in the motors." said Pinkie. "Once they replaced it, we got going again."

"The maintenance ponies did say something about how great SugarCube Corner's cupcakes were." said Celestia.

"Ahh cupcakes." Pinkie sighed proudly. "Is there nothing they can't do?"
Rarity blushed with embarrassment.

"Oh dear. My imagination must have really run away with me."

"It's alright Rarity." Celestia re-assured. "Being stuck in an elevator can be a very scary thing."

"Come on girls," said Luna. "We have a party to plan."

"WeeHee!!!"
Pinkie skipped behind the princesses. Rarity took a big sigh of relief and joined them.

------------------------------------------------------

That evening, the ponies were back on the train to Ponyville.

"What a day." Rarity sighed.

"It was great!" Pinkie bounced. "Aside from getting stuck in the elevator for what could have been a very very very very very long time, we got everything ready for Twilight's birthday!!"

"After that, I don't think I'll be setting hoof in an elevator ever again."

"It's now trouble Rarity. You were right, we should have taken the stairs. Stairs don't get all stucky when you're trying to get somewhere."

"No Pinkie, it's alright. You were just making a helpful suggestion. I can't wait to get back home and have a good night's rest."

"Good thing the train never gets stuck."

Suddenly, the train came to a grinding halt.

"What happened?"

"We stopped!"
The conductor came over the loudspeaker.

"Mares and Stallions, due to a break in the tracks up ahead the train has stopped until further notice. Estimated time until we get moving again, early tomorrow morning."

Rarity's mouth hung open.

"Wow!" said Pinkie. "Imagine that!"

Rarity scowled with a snort.

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