The Canterlot Caper

by Silvermyr

Chapter five- Topsy ”The Twister” Twitchy

Twilight galloped around the deserted town for nearly half an hour after she lost her quarry. She did not find the pony again. It was as if the earth had swallowed every trace of her. There were no hoofprints, no hair from a mane, nothing.

In the end, Twilight surrendered to the hopelessness of the chase and went back to Carousel Boutique. She opened the door and went directly into the kitchen. Bon-Bon laid on the floor with a dart in her back. Glass was scattered over the floor, and the chairs and table were overturned.

Twilight looked at the chaos in the room, before she snapped back to reality. She picked up Bon-Bon and took her up to the second floor. She had to know that Rarity was okay. The acrid smell hit her as she came into the small corridor. The door to Rarity’s room was wide open, and the inside looked just as bad as the kitchen, with the addition of a seemingly dead Coco Pommel. No, wait. She was breathing.

Twilight stood still and tried to take in the impression. Rarity was gone. Where had she gone? Had she gone to hide or had The Circus taken her with them? But why would they leave Coco and Bon-Bon? The sound of crackling glass alerted Twilight. Somepony was coming.

Quick as can be, Twilight picked up Coco in her magic and opened the window. She flew out, away to her own castle. If it was somepony of The Circus then she should concentrate on getting her friends away.

”Rarity would not hide in her own house, right? She might have gone for help or something…” Twilight murmured to herself.

Or she might have been captured. She thought involuntarily.

”She was not, she will come to the castle soon. I must protect Bon-Bon and Coco. Rarity is fine…” Twilight said back to herself. She landed on the castle balcony, ran inside with her two friends and put them on the bed. From what she could see, they both seemed to have been drugged or something. Their breathing came even and calm. It looked like they were asleep.

”I will stay and guard you,” Twilight said as she conjured up a series of shields around the castle.

And so the night passed; Twilight stood entirely still in the bedroom, listening for any sign of Rarity’s return while maintaining her shields. The sun began to rise, and the room was bathed in a golden light.

A slow groan behind her made Twilight wake up from her semi-sleep. Her eyes jerked open and she spun around. Bon-Bon was half-sitting in the bed with a hoof over her forehead.

”What the blazes happened…?” Bon-Bon asked silently. The agent drew a deep, slow breath with closed eyes. She then opened her eyes with somewhat more clarity. ”Where am I?”

”In my castle,” Twilight said. She just now realized how tired she was. ”I found you unconscious on the floor and brought you here. Coco is here too, and Rarity will probably come soon.” Twilight smiled to reassure both Bon-Bon and herself.

”Forgive me, Princess, but I truly doubt it,” Bon-Bon said with a strained voice. She rubbed her temples as she spoke. ”The Circus tricked us two into a wild goose chase to lure us away from Rarity. I thought they were after Coco, but it seems I was wrong…”

”RARITY WAS KIDNAPPED!?” Twilight screamed, dashed up to Bon-Bon and shook her violently. All her self-control went out the window. ”WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY?”

”Princess, calm down,” Bon-Bon said as soon as Twilight proceeded to run around in circles in front of the bed.

”What!? How Am I supposed to calm down!?” Twilight yelled in a panicked voice. ”Rarity has been kidnapped, missing, gone up in smoke, försvunnen, lejos, fehlt, отсутствующий…”

Bon-Bon sighed. ”Princess, this does not help us find her,” she said calmly, interrupting Twilights tirade. The alicorn stopped as if she had been glued to the floor. She stood still for a moment then took a deep breath while extending her fore hoof.

”Right, sorry. What do we do?” Twilight said sheepishly, but still with a very worried look.

”I don’t suppose you managed to capture one of them, did you?” Bon-Bon asked, even if she knew the answer.

”Noo… she got away, but I managed to get her mask,” Twilight levitated up the mask, and looked at it calmly for the first time.

The mask was made from soft plaster, seemingly modeled after her BBBFF’s face. The mane, the eyes, the kind smile, everything was etched in the cold plaster. The mask looked perfect. She flipped it over and found it modeled after somepony else’s face to make sure it fit perfectly at whoever had worn it.

”Doesn’t really tell me much,” Twilight said as she studied the mask. ”But Coco is a seamstress, I recall, so maybe she could tell us something about this? At least she knows more about bodies and faces than me… ”

”Excellent thinking, Princess,” Bon-Bon said. ”But tell me more about whoever you pursued. Only determining gender is uncommon when dealing with these guys. What did you see?”

”Well… she did not seem to be much of a fighter. She ran all the time, and used a multitude of tricks while doing so.”

”What kind of tricks?” Bon-Bon asked. ”Smoke balls, illusions, blinding lights, that sort of things?”

”Yes,” Twilight said with a surprised voice. ”And a frying pan.”

”At least there is nothing to be ashamed of that you let her escape,” Bon-Bon said with a hapless smile. ”The Escape Artist is a master of just that.”

”Small comfort,” Twilight said dryly. She still couldn’t shake the feeling that she had seen that escape before, somewhere… ”Who did you follow? Not the sniper after all, I guess?”

Bon-Bon shook her head. ”No, I… I think followed their leader, The Equilibrist, but whatever was in that dart has made my memory blurry.”

”And we have no idea who any of these guys are?” Twilight asked sullenly.

Bon-Bon shook her head, and put a hoof against her forehead again with a grimace.

”So, then what do we got? Where can we look for Rarity?” Twilight asked anxiously.

”Carousel Boutique is the only place,” Bon-Bon said with a cringe. ”Forgive me, but whatever the syringe was loaded with makes it hard to think straight. I will be better soon, but…”

”I can carry you if you like, Bon-Bon. And Coco too,” Twilight offered. She did not want to leave anypony alone, especially as weakened as this.

”Thanks, Princess,” Bon-Bon said with a small smile. ”My name is Sweetie Drops, but you can call me Bon-Bon if you like.”

”And you call me Twilight, not Princess,” Twilight said as she helped Bon-Bon stand. She picked up Coco Pommel and they made their way towards Carrousel Boutique.

The two arrived a few minutes later, after having picked up a very quick breakfast from the castle kitchen. They laid Coco on the bed and began to search through the mess of the bedroom.

For all the chaos in the room, they found no actual clues. There were a few drops of blood, likely from the syringe wounds, as well as some small holes in the floor where the acid had dripped. No strands of hair, no pieces of cloth, nothing that might lead to the pony behind the mask.

”Not too surprising,” Bon-Bon said bitterly after an hour of fruitless searching. ”If there is one thing they consider more important than completing their jobs, it is not leaving anything behind.”

”You saw the pony who did this though, right?” Twilight asked with hopeful eyes. ”When you fought in the kitchen?”

”The mask, yes,” Bon-Bon said. ”I think it was of our mailmare, Derpy Hooves.”

”Ditzy Doo,” Twilight corrected. ”But the mask does not really lead anywh-”

Twilight stopped mid-sentence something cleared up in her mind, as if she had been watching the shadow of something for a while, but only now managed to fully see it. It was the joyous feeling of finally understanding something. Everypony has felt it sometime. She looked at her dress for her first Grand Galloping Gala, the one Rarity had designed for her all those moons ago. Rarity had insisted on keeping it in the boutique. Since, according to Rarity, Twilight herself wouldn't give it all the TLC it deserved. The small stars against the night blue silk morphed in her mind. They were turned into dazzling, multi colored stars on a soft purple cape. The cape flowed around the bright blue pony with the silver blue mane as she stood on the stage illuminated by fireworks. The image was gone in an instant and replaced with another one. She saw the same unicorn in the same cape rear up on her hind hooves, slamming them into the ground and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

”Trixie…?” Twilight said in a breathless voice. ”Was it… Trixie…?”

”Hmm, what did you say?” Bon-Bon looked up from the melted lock with a curious glance.

”I know who she is,” Twilight said silently, hardly believing it. ”The Escape Artist… is Trixie.”

”Trixie? The mare with the Alicorn Amulet?” Bon-Bon asked with a confused voice.

”Yes. I recognized her getaway. It’s her.” Twilight said. She was certain. Even the voices matched now when she thought of it. And Trixie’s getaway tricks reminded of stage magic, only tweaked to serve her new, more sinister end.

”mmmgnf,” Coco moaned from the bed. She slowly moved up into a sitting position and looked around the room as if she saw it for the first time.

”Coco,” Bon-Bon said with an authoritative, but not unkind, voice. ”Can you take a look at this?” She held out the mask.

Coco looked at Bon-Bon with a dazed expression, but she took the mask nonetheless and looked at it with without really seeing.

”Shocked,” Bon-Bon whispered to Twilight. ”I will keep her company for a while. Why don’t you look down in the kitchen? Or, if you prefer, buy a couple of tickets to Canterlot. I think we should start looking for Trixie there.”

”Alright, but don’t hesitate to call if something happens,” Twilight said and left the two ponies alone. She saw how Bon-Bon put her leg over Coco’s shoulder and whispered something.

The kitchen looked pretty much the same as it had when she found Bon-Bon. She looked around without any real hope of finding anything. She did, however, note that a some glass had moved since last she was here. No doubt she had just gotten Coco and Bon-Bon away from whoever she heard earlier.

”How did this happen?” She mumbled silently as she fluttered out of the broken window towards the train station. Ponyville was slowly beginning to wake up. The more industrious ponies were walking on the road to wherever they worked. Ditzy was flying between the houses with the mailbag slung over her shoulder. She looked tired. Roseluck and Daisy was walking towards their flower shop, talking and laughing all the while. Behind them came Carrot Top with a wagon of crops. Filthy Rich trotted with a spring in his step towards Town Hall.

”Will I ever again see Equestria like the peaceful land I always knew? Now that I have seen what darkness lurks under the surface…?” Twilight thought as she flew. She shook her head. She had to concentrate on the mission at hoof. She landed by the station, bought three tickets to Canterlot, and flew off again.

Twilight’s ears picked up when she entered Carousel boutique again. Crying. She heard crying from upstairs. As if launched from Pinkie’s Party Cannon she zoomed up the staircase and hit the now-impossible-to-close door so hard it flew of the hinges. Bon-Bon and a heartbroken Coco Pommel sat together on the bed, and looked at her with startled expressions.

”Sorry,” Twilight said sheepishly. ”Guess I am still a little jumpy, huh?”

”Twilight, more news,” Bon-Bon said with a grave voice. ”Coco recognizes this mask. Apparently her old mentor used to make masks just like this one when designing clothes. By crafting these masks, her mentor could see exactly what type of fabric and accessory that would fit to what pony.”

”It’s Suri,” Coco said silently, with a look of not wanting to believe. ”Suri made this mask. I am sure of it. It was she who…”

”Shhh,” Bon-Bon said in a kind voice. ”We will find her and bring her to justice. Nopony shall have to endure what you have.” She turned to Twilight. ”We have two trails to follow, Trixie and this Suri Polomare character, whoever she is. At any rate, that is two more names to work with than I have ever had before.”

”What about Topsy Twitchy? Couldn’t you work with him?” Twilight asked.

”Since that incident in Canterlot, he is believed to be dead, even though I doubt he is.” Bon-Bon explained. ”Some of the coups I suspect The Circus for, have employed masterful weather manipulation, especially storms. Whoever is creating them is in his or her own league. And… do you know the official title for the best weather manipulator among the Wonderbolts?”

Twilight shook her head. She didn’t even know the Wonderbolt’s used titles at all.

”He or she is called ’skytamer’.”

”Seems too easy somehow, that the ’skytamer' should be The Tamer.” Twilight said with a quizzical look.

”Maybe you noticed that The Circus is rather… theatrical,” Bon-Bon said with a shrug.

”Yes, I noticed.” Twilight said tiredly. ”So you think we should start in Canterlot?” Twilight asked, despite her already knowing the answer.

”Yes, we begin with the big cities and work ourselves down from there,” Bon-Bon confirmed.

*****

The Clown was sitting by a spacious table with places for at least fifteen ponies. Across her sat the Equilibrist. He had a glass of weak cider in front of him, but he hadn’t touched it. He had just asked The Clown to follow him and then had not said anything more. He just sat there, and that made The Clown nervous. Maybe she had made some mistake? She was seen once, but Bon-Bon hadn’t come to arrest her during the day, so she couldn’t have recognized her. But then why was she here with The Equilibrist?

”Well?” The Equilibrist said. ”How do you feel?”

”I’m good,” The Clown said dutifully. ”No problem here, never felt better.”

”In that case I am seriously worried,” The Equilibrist said with a jokey voice.

”Look, Ditzy,” The Equilibrist continued. ”One doesn’t feel ’good’ after this type of thing. So let’s try again. How do you feel?”

Ditzy leaned forward with a troubled expression. She looked down into the table. ”I feel awful,” she mumbled. Saying that made her feel even more miserable. Her colleagues didn’t feel like this. She was not supposed to feel like this. She was in The Circus, for Celestia’s sake, she should be able to do this without feeling anything. She could feel the Equilibrist’s eyes glare into her.

”I bet you do,” The Equilibrist said with a kind voice. ”And, quite frankly, you should.”

”Kidnapping is not exactly a minor crime,” The Equilibrist continued. ”One should feel… well, awful, after having committed it.”

Ditzy looked up. ”But you don’t,” she said. The Equilibrist’s expression became a mix of a scowl and smile.

”Thank’s a bunch, Ditzy, feels good to hear that,” The Equilibrist said with a sarcastic voice. ”It’s not exactly a good thing, not to feel, you know? Nothing I’m too proud of indeed.”

”No?” Ditzy asked. ”But you are awesome at… at crime. The best there is. Sure better than me, anyway. You don’t feel like this, so I shouldn’t either, right?”

”I am the best indeed!” The Equilibrist said with a grin. ”So that’s what I do. You have your own niche to fill in our little…”

”…sinister syndicate” The Equilibrist suggested.

”Sure,” The Equilibrist approved. ”and that’s what you should do. You are our moral compass and the one nopony can suspect.”

”But I want to contribute,” Ditzy said, dejected. ”Everypony else can do so much more than me… and now when I finally did, I feel awful.”

”Ditzy, listen,” The Equilibrist said sternly. ”We did not recruit you overnight. The Wizard kept track of you for months before we made the move on you. We knew exactly who you were when you recruited you.”

”In fact, I think we knew you better than yourself,” The Equilibrist elaborated.

Ditzy felt both uncomfortable and flattered by The Equilibrist’s words. He left his chair and came around to sit beside Ditzy. He looked sternly into her eyes. ”Remember, Ditzy Doo, that of all the ponies in Equestria, we thought you were the one we needed. We don’t want you to be the best at crime, I can do that. We don’t need a fast flyer, we already have Topsy. Why would we need you as a sniper when we already have The Wizard? We recruited you because we needed you. We don’t need you to change, we need you the way you are.”

Ditzy threw her forelegs around The Equilibrist’s throat and hugged tightly. Too rarely did she hear praise like that. It felt wonderful.

”Now, then,” The Equilibrist said after a few minutes when she let go. ”Perhaps you could assist The Bearded Mare with her…”

”…Pensive project?” The Equilibrist finished. Ditzy nodded energetically. She felt a little better.

*****

Rarity’s thought were so slow she felt like she had quicksand in her head instead of her brain. She sort of remembered that something may have happened some time ago, but it was hard to hold any thought for long. She was unable to think of anything, but the present, so she did just that. She was vaguely aware of a somewhat damp feeling and an unfamiliar pressure over her face, but it wasn’t really anything worth caring about.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Her breaths were the only thing she cared about.

”Hello? Rarity, hello? She should be waking soon,” The voice awoke something deep within Rarity. She could not explain it, but the first feeling that came when she heard that voice was confusion.

”How soon?” another voice responded. Rarity knew she had heard it somewhere, but even attempting to place it would be much to hard in her present state. ”She mustn’t disturb the casting until I have the basics. Can you give more hypnotic?”

”No,” the first voice sounded anxious. ”She already got more than necessary. Even more might be dangerous!”

”Calm down, m’kay. All is fine, and I have the measurements. Give me a few hours, and I will have it fixed. Just make sure the casting isn’t disturbed for another half an hour,” the second voice said. ”Tie her up or something.” She heard hoof steeps against a wooden floor, and a door that closed. She felt her legs being moved and tied up, but she didn’t care. Then there was stillness.

After an undefined amount of time, Rarity heard the door open again, and the damp feeling over her face was gone. She had just enough energy to open her eyes and look to her left.

The radiant light stung in her eyes and she closed them again with a small groan. Somehow, seeing the light only made things worse. She felt like Applejack was bucking the inside of her head. She tried to open her eyes again and was able to make out some contorted shapes of the room she was in. There was probably a door in front of her, and the blazing light seemed to come form a window to her left. Or something…

”Oi, you starting to wake up there?” She heard the voice from before. ”Here, drink this.” Rarity heard something being poured up in front of her. At that moment, she became aware of how thirsty she was. Her throat felt cracked and dry like Saddle Arabia. She tried to move her hoof, but felt something restrain it. She heard the unknown pony picking something up and place it against her lips a little too fast. A glass, and some of the liquid splashed over her face from the clumsy movement.

Rarity opened her mouth and took a sip. The liquid washed into her mouth, and shocked her with it’s pleasant coolness. She opened her mouth again and drank greedily. Too soon the glass was empty. She waited for a moment while the cold liquid washed away her delirium. The headache seemed to dampen over the course of seconds just from the cool water. She felt the glass against her lips again and drank some more. Then another glass. She refused the fourth.

Rarity laid still for a moment while her body reactivated. Her mind began to clear up, like the clouds breaking to reveal the sun. Slowly, the memories from last night (or whenever it was) came floating back to her. Her eyes shot open as she connected the voice with Ditzy Doo and Ditzy Doo with the attack.

The room was small, with wooden floor and walls. The window was more of a small opening, and through it shone with the radiant light of Celestia’s sun. At the other side of the room, Ditzy sat in an armchair with a half sheepish half worried expression.

”Hello, Rarity,” she said with her normal, cheerful voice. One of her eyes was focused on Rarity, the other one on something under her. Rarity tried to move but became aware that both her front and hind legs were bound. She laid stretched on a table with Ditzy Doo beside her. ”Sorry about the hypnotic…” Ditzy said apologetically.

”Waaa?” Rarity said in a dazed voice. The fact that Ditzy Doo was one of the most skilled criminals in Equestria was already absurd, but to hear the same mare apologize for kidnapping her was just… bizarre. ”Der- Ahem, Ditzy, what is going on?” was the only thing she could come up with to say.

”Well,” Ditzy said with a shrug. ”Since you already know who I am, it was decided that I should watch you until you woke up. I will leave now, but The Tamer will come soon. Just don’t be afraid of him please. He really isn’t bad, he is just strange.”

Rarity recalled Bon-Bon’s suspicion about who The Tamer was. She swallowed down her worry and forced herself to think through the residue tiredness.

Ditzy was the only way to escape her predicament, that much was clear. The chance of doing so might be slim, but it was probably not nonexistent. It was Ditzy after all, and she was a kind pony. Rarity just had to play her cards right. Ditzy got off the puffy armchair she sat in.

”Will you tell me why, Ditzy?” Rarity asked slowly. The pegasus looked at her with guarded eyes for a second. Then her expression saddened. She turned to leave. ”Why did a mare like you join The Circus? You have a job, a filly to care for, and a roof over your head. What made you do… all this?” Rarity wanted to gesture about the room, but her hoof was still restrained.

Ditzy stopped mid movement as if Rarity had yelled at her. She stood still. ”Everypony hates me,” she said silently, turned away from Rarity. ”’Derpy the cross-eyed klutz’,’Derpy the dizzy-dumb’… That’s what they call me when they think I don’t hear. Even for you, the first thing you thought when you saw me was Derpy Hooves… I am Ditzy Doo…”

Rarity looked with shock at the cloud gray pegasus. She had no idea Ditzy disliked being called Derpy. Everypony had always called her that as long as she could remember, and Ditzy had not reacted then. But what were those other names? Had the ponies of Ponyville really said that about the poor mailmare?

”I learned to not hear it.” Ditzy said as if she had heard her question. ”Each time anypony said something like that, I did not hear it. I kept up the happy facade. Almost like a Clown, ever cheerful and happy… didn’t want to give the bullies the satisfaction…” Ditzy was shaking ever so slightly. She turned to face Rarity and her golden eyes glistered with tears. ”But she was bullied too. My innocent filly, bullied because… because of THIS!” Ditzy moved her hoof up and pointed at her eyes. One of them had shifted slightly and was now looking at the roof.

”You can’t understand it, Rarity, for you have never been laughed at, have you?!” Ditzy wailed. ”Every day when I collected my little Muffin at the schoolhouse I wondered. ’Has she been bullied today?’, ’Did she cry today?’ You cannot understand it!” Tears dropped from Ditzy’s eyes down on Rarity’s coat. The cloud gray pegasus hiccuped a few times.

”Then c-came The Wizard.” Ditzy immediately looked a little happier, but still had tears left in her eyes. ”He gave me a small errand to perform. He asked me kindly if I would help him. Nothing much, just don’t deliver one a letter tomorrow. Pretend it got lost. It was for a bully, so I did not deliver it. The Wizard… he praised me when I did that, even took me out for dinner. Nopony had ever praised my work before…”

Ditzy took a couple of deep breaths and calmed down a little. ”The Wizard became my friend, and soon the other members too. I met The Tamer. He is like me, bullied and hunted for his strangeness, but just as kind as anypony once you get to know him. He didn’t do anything, the voices did, but only we believe him. He needs me, needs me like nopony else. To him I’m not klutzy, to him I am a hero, just by being me.”

Rarity just listened, frozen in shock. How could something like this go on in Ponyville for Celestia knows how long? Until ten minutes ago she would have considered it nigh impossible, but here it was, plain as can be. Had Ditzy been so broken down that she turned criminal? Did she join up with The Circus just to hear a kind word?

”Ditzy, darling, don’t you see? They use you. They make you do horrible things to ponies who have done nothing wrong,” Rarity said with a soft tone.

Ditzy shook her head vigorously. ”No, they are my friends. They listen to me, care for me… listen when no pony else does…”

”Forgive me for saying so darling,” Rarity said with a sad tone. ”But I think they only care as long as you do what they want you to do.”

Ditzy looked at Rarity with a confused expression.

”Ditzy, no friend would ever make you do something like this,” Rarity said. She swallowed. ”Please, release me. I will help you make friends. Real friends, friends who will love you for being you, not for the abilities you have or don’t have.”

Ditzy stood silent, deep in thought. Rarity held her breath. It might work. Then Ditzy’s face contorted in anger and sorrow. ”I! HAVE! REAL! FRIENDS! THEY CARE MORE THAN YOU EVER DID!” She screamed. Then she turned around and left the room. ”I DON’T WANT MY OLD LIFE BACK!”

Rarity was shaking with emotion as she laid alone on the table. How could they? What pony could fool somepony else into doing something like this? For minutes Rarity cursed The Circus for what they did to Ditzy and everypony else. Then the door opened.

Rarity looked and saw a pegasus enter. Rarity could only stare, part in surprise and part in horror. He did not seem to wear a mask and, despite never having seen this pony in her life before, there was no doubt it was Topsy ”The Twister” Twitchy, ex-Wonderbolt. He surely looked like he had ”a few screws loose”, as Bon-Bon put it.

His coat was midnight blue, his mane, dark forest green and his tail was dark red. The three colors seemed chosen with the sole purpose to making him look as ridiculous as possible, for they clashed horribly with each other. He looked at Rarity with an unreadable expression, part smirk and part scowl. To make it even worse, his eyelids twitched slightly but refused to close.

Topsy trotted up to Rarity with strange, erratic movements, as if his muscles moved involuntarily and just so happened to make him walk forward. His wings flared out and folded a couple of times in rapid succession as he moved. In fact, the only thing that seemed to stay still with him was his eyes. He stared at Rarity with one purple and one orange eye that never moved or closed all the while.

”T-T-The T-t-tamer, at-t-t your s-s-service,” He said with a stammering, but nonetheless slithering and flowing voice, somewhat akin to cold water. It made Rarity’s skin crawl with discomfort. Each stammer was pronounced sharply, as if it was intentional.

Rarity just looked at the strange pony. She had no idea what to make of him. He did not feel very dangerous, exactly, just unsettling to the extreme.

Topsy did not seem expect an answer. Without stopping his erratic movements, he took of his saddlebags, looked at her again for a second. He then turned and Rarity could see his cutie mark for a short moment. A grey, zig-zag symbol. She had no doubt it was a twister.

”D-Ditzy was-s-s c-crying wh-wh-when she g-g-got-t out-t of here,” The Topsy said in his slithering voice. ”She a-a-alread-d-dy has-s-s to d-d-deal with enough t-t-troub-b-bles, the p-p-poor thing, why d-did-d you have t-to make it-t even wors-s-se?” Topsy did not seem to breathe at all during his stammering sentence. His voice continued like a steady stream of water. His eyes had not blinked once since he entered the room.

”Humph, don’t pretend you care for her, Topsy,” Rarity said with a venomous voice. She would not show him how unsettling he was.

”I c-c-care d-d-deeply f-f-for her, a-ac-tual-l-ly” Topsy said, equally venomous. His voice laced in anger was enough to make Rarity’s heart beat faster. It was frightening.

He opened his saddlebags and produced a small bottle and a syringe. ”I w-w-was-s-s-sup-p-posed to give you a hy-hy-hypnot-t-tic, b-but-t-t you have ma-ma-managed to ma-ma-make me angry. You are not-t-t asthmatic-c, are you?”

Rarity blinked at the rapid change of subject. ”Noo…?” she said truthfully. Topsy grinned like a predator moving in at a wounded animal.

Topsy picked up the syringe, dipped it in the bottle and loaded it. Rarity swallowed. The liquid had a nasty, yellow color. ”W-what is that?” She asked, with a scared tone. Topsy with a syringe was easily among the most unsettling images she had ever seen. Syringes were supposed to be handled with care and precision, and Topsy was everything but precise. His grin made him look utterly mad, and the hoof which held the syringe twitched frantically.

”Cu-cu-curare, an anest-t-thetic-c-c which c-c-can c-c-cause p-p-paral-l-lys-s-is-s-s if used in s-s-suf-f-ficient d-doses-s,” Topsy said. He removed the syringe from the bottle, tapped it gently to get rid of a drop that clung to the tip. Rarity felt the small sting at her left cutie mark. The syringe moved in her wound as Topsy’s hooves twitched.

”I h-h-hope f-f-for your s-s-sake that-t-t what-t you s-s-said was-s t-true,” Topsy said as he left. Rarity began to hyperventilate as she felt her body shut down. Her face relaxed completely within minutes of the sting, and soon the rest of her body too. Her eyelids fell as they relaxed. She wanted to cry for help, for it was becoming harder and harder to breath. Her mouth, however, did not respond.

Her body was a cold dead shell, impossibly heavy and still as a mountain. It was as if her mind had been disconnected from it. She was a prisoner in her own body.

She felt the ropes around her legs become undone. Her eyes were gently opened and Topsy looked down at her with his unnatural, unblinking eyes. ”The ef-f-fect-t will st-t-top in t-two hours at-t the latest,” The Tamer said. ”P-p-plenty of time t-t-to h-h-hide you.”

”Where?” Rarity thought through the panic of not being able to breathe properly.

”Don’t-t wor-r-ry,” The Tamer said with a twitch of his to large grin. ”You will b-b-be f-fed t-two t-times and have t-two hours-s of movement-t-t each d-d-day.” Topsy moved Rarity’s head so that she looked out of the small window. ”T-t-take a g-g-good look-k-k at-t the s-sun, f-for I p-p-promise you will miss-s-s it…”

With that, The Tamer placed Rarity in a sitting position and opened her eyes again. Rarity wanted to scream in horror at what she saw. A coffin stood open before her, and on the two-piece lid there was a series of long pipes with wide hoppers at the end. Pipes for ventilation, no doubt. The realization clicked in her mind.

”He will bury me alive! He will bury me alive! He will bury me alive!” She screamed in her thought. Her lips were still unmoving, but tears fell from her eyes. Topsy nudged her and she fell into the armchair Ditzy had sat in. Her eyes fell again, but she could still hear Topsy trot up to the coffin and open it.

”NO NONONONO!! PLEASE, NO!” She wanted to scream. Her lips did not make a sound. She felt her body being picked up and moved towards the waiting coffin. Her eyes were opened again, and she looked down in it.

The sight made her mind freeze in shock.

”But-t d-don’t-t wo-r-ry. Your f-friends-s will f-find you. S-Soooon.”

Author's Note:

Okay, so that's chapter five. Sorry for taking so long on this. I blame my exams.

Comments

[Black_Tiger18]

That ending though..