Sunset Shimmer and the Castle of Everfree

by HAKDurbin

Chapter 8

Sunset was falling for a couple of minutes, unsure of where the narrow hole led to. For all she knew, the trapdoor was leading to a pool of water for her to drown in or spikes on the floor. The uncertainty made her uneasy with whether or not it was possible to survive the trap, much less save Rough Draft. Finally, she fell out of the hole and found herself in a three-story catacomb. She quickly took out her grappling gun, replacing the hook with a claw, and fired at the ceiling. The claw pierced through the stone ceiling, giving it a tight grip that broke Sunset's fall with her holding on to her gun for dear life.

Sunset sighed in relief until she looked up and saw a skeleton right in front of her. She screamed and almost let go of her grappling gun before she looked around to find that she was surrounded by skeletons hanging from the ceiling. All of them were dangling with ropes tied to their necks, and most of their clothes had disintegrated. Sunset struggled to keep herself together with the smell of rotten flesh filling up her nose.

She pressed the button on her gun, and the rope extended, slowly bringing her to the ground. She detached the claw from her grappling gun and looked around to find several tunnels around where she was. There was a stream running down from them, and the stone pathways were covered with corpses. Some have decayed completely, and others have partially or mostly decomposed, stating that they had been dead for only a few years or so. Their clothes varied from suits, dresses, soldier uniforms, and other outfits decades, if not centuries back.

"So, the Celestial family has been killing people who opposed them for centuries," Sunset said. "Rest in peace, you poor souls."

She started walking down one of the tunnels, hoping to find a way out of the catacomb. But no matter how far she looked, there were no doors, and the windows high up in the wall were too narrow to squeeze through even if she could reach them with her grappling gun. Eventually, the path led her back to the center, and she tried a different tunnel only to end up back where she started again. Sunset grew afraid as she kept looking around only to find nothing but corpses wherever she went.

But as she walked, she saw an inscription on the wall above the corpse of a woman with blue and pink hair. Sunset reached into her pockets to find a flashlight, and she turned it on to read the inscription.

1904

Here lies Sweetie Drops: Special Agent of Chancellor Octavia Melody of Canterlot

Sunset looked at the corpse sympathetically, hating that inscribing on the wall as though it was her tombstone was all the poor soul could do in her last hours. At the same, however, for some unknown reason, her amber skin crawled, and she felt an urge to hold Rough Draft in an overprotective body hug from reading the name, "Octavia Melody."

Just then, she heard the sound of footsteps and saw light coming from the other side of the tunnel. She took a fighting stance, thinking it was the queen's assassins looking for her to finish the job. But then she eased up when the light came closer to reveal Twilight walking over to her while holding a flashlight. The grayish mulberry inspector was ambling, feeling drained from walking so much. Her clothes were torn and covered in mud and dirty water, and there were cracks on her glasses. When she was close enough, Twilight realized that Sunset was several feet in front of her, and her energy immediately came back as she rushed over to Sunset and grabbed her by the jacket with both hands.

"Don't move a muscle, Sunset Shimmer! You're under arrest!" She shouted.

"Are you sure about that?" Sunset said with a smug look.

"Of course, I am!" Twilight claimed. "Now, show me how to get out of here so that I can send you to prison in Canterlot."

Sunset frowned and said, "I hate to burst your bubble for once, Twilight, but I'm as stuck here as you are. I haven't found any possible way to escape."

Twilight looked at Sunset in disbelief before her legs gave out, and she began to cry quietly. Sunset kneeled to pat Twilight in the head before Twilight swatted her hand away.

"Don't touch me, thief!" Twilight said bitterly.

"Well, excuse me for having sympathy," Sunset said. "Contrary to what you might think, I don't like that you're stuck here either."

"Where is here?" Twilight asked. "A catacomb is hardly a place to be a gravesite."

"If I were a betting woman, I'd say this is where the Celestial family has left any of their enemies or people who have tried to discover their secrets to die," Sunset said.

"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked.

"Look at the inscription over there," Sunset said, pointing at the wall.

Twilight turned to the wall and used her flashlight to look at the inscription. Her eyes widened with horror as she read the inscription and then looked at the corpse of Agent Sweetie Drops.

"May the Lord rest your soul, Agent Drops," Twilight said as she crossed herself.

"Amen," Sunset agreed.

Twilight stood up and looked around the area to look at all the corpses and asked, "So, you think all of these people died because they opposed the family."

"It makes sense to me," Sunset answered. "With all of the tight security and traps that this place has, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they're protecting more than just the leader of the country."

Twilight frowned and said, "I had a suspicious feeling that Queen Adagio was hiding something, but I would never have guessed that she would go through such lengths to hide something her family's been hiding for years. This is sickening!"

"You can say that again," Sunset said.

"But, wait a minute. Does this mean you know about this secret, Sunset Shimmer?" Twilight asked. "Were you trying to kidnap the prince to discover what they're hiding?"

"I was after Rough Draft for different reasons," Sunset answered. "Otherwise, yes. I'm also here for the secret."

"And do you know what that secret is?" Twilight asked.

"I'd rather not say," Sunset said.

Twilight clenched her teeth, and she said, "Now see here, Sunset Shimmer, we may be enemies, but as long as we are stuck here left for dead, you might as well come clean about what you know! Besides, if you're attempting to steal whatever Queen Adagio is hiding, then how can you be okay with getting something that has cost so many innocent lives?!"

Sunset flinched at Twilight's question. She turned to Sweetie Drops' corpse, and then looked at all the other dead bodies surrounding her and Twilight. Sunset felt a painful sense of guilt in her heart for not considering how the counterfeit operation is to blame for so much death. She sighed heavily and said, "You're right, Twilight. This is more than I morally bargained for."

"I'm relieved to hear it," Twilight said. "Now, out with it already."

"Alright, alright," Sunset said. "Have you heard of the Horse Bills?"

Twilight looked at Sunset, surprised, and asked, "Horse bills? You mean the high-quality counterfeit bills that so many people confuse for the real thing?"

"The very same," Sunset said. "My partner and I found a large safe full of fake bills in Yakyakistan. That's when we decided to come here to find where it was coming from and take over the operation."

"What?! You mean all the money you stole from Gladmane's casino were fake?!" Twilight shouted.

"Ah, you heard about my little show?" Sunset asked, smirking boastfully.

Twilight took a few steps back until her back was against the wall and then slid down to a sitting position. She hugged her legs and stared at the stream, looking terrified as though she learned the world was going to end.

"Good heavens. If the Horse Bills are real, then we are at the source of so many economic catastrophes," she said.

"Economic catastrophes? What are you talking about?" Sunset asked.

"Are you kidding me?!" Twilight rebuked. "How could you know about the Horse Bills and yet not know about the trouble it has caused throughout history?!"

"Twilight, you of all people should know that I've been a thief since I was fourteen," Sunset said. "I didn't exactly have the time to finish school as a burglar, and you don't exactly need a history lesson to prepare for a heist. So, maybe you can enlighten me on how the legendary Horse Bills impacted history."

Twilight groaned like a teacher who has to answer a question from a student she should already know the answer to.

"Fine," she said. "The Horse Bills have been the cause of economic problems and wars over the past few centuries. No one knew where the fake money came from, but it was clear to many historians that whoever was making them were using it to support their allies and destroy their enemies. Fake Mt. Ares doubloons were used for funding General Seaspray's revolution that removed one of the country's royal families. Mysterious gold coins aided the Grogar Dynasty to invade the Badlands. Heck, the counterfeit money caused the Great Depression in Canterlot and Manehattan back in 1903."

"Ah, I guess that explains what our friend, Agent Sweetie Drops, was doing here a year later," Sunset said. "She must have been assigned to find the cause of said depression."

"Most likely," Twilight agreed. "Bottom line, Sunset Shimmer, authorities have been trying to figure out who has caused all this trouble to Canterlot and its allies, so forgive me if I'm having trouble believing that I might be forever trapped in the place where it all came from."

"Sure," Sunset said before something hit her. "Wait a second. You said this all started a few centuries back. How far back are we talking about?"

Twilight looked at her, confused, and said, "1479. Why do you ask?"

"1479? That's just a couple of years before the civil war between the royal families," Sunset realized.

"Seriously? How can you know so little history and yet know that?" Twilight asked, baffled.

"Er, my boyfriend is a bookworm. He used to read some Everfree history to me," Sunset said.

"Boyfriend? What boyfriend?" Twilight asked.

"That's not important right now," Sunset said. "The reason I asked is because if everything revolving Horse Bills throughout history started back then, I wonder if this is why the Celestial family beat the Lunar family during their civil war.

"What? You mean they used the fake money to fund their operations to win?" Twilight asked.

"Bingo," Sunset replied.

"But how do you know the Lunar family didn't partake in the counterfeiting before then?" Twilight asked.

"Because I recall my boyfriend saying that the Lunar family never had a chance during the civil war financially speaking. The Celestial family always had the upper hand," Sunset answered. "So, I think the Lunar family either knew about the Horse Bills and fought against the other family anyway, or most likely, they fought for control not knowing their enemies had an enormous advantage against them. There's nothing said about the fake money during that war, so either one might be true, but the only thing we know for sure is that the Celestial family has been using the operation to make sure everything goes their way. And while I don't know about what the Lunar family knew about the Horse Bills back then, I do know that Prince Rough Draft is against having anything to do with Queen Adagio, much less marry her."

"How do you know that?" Twilight asked.

"Let's just say I have a very reliable source," Sunset said.

Twilight frowned, knowing that Sunset was hiding something that would back up her information. She then looked down and thought about everything the criminal said, and asked, "Let's say for the sake of the argument I take your word for it. If the prince is against marrying the queen, then why is he?"

"Apparently, he has to since royalty at their age have to marry, and she ordered him to marry her, which made him obligated to do it since he's an Everfree citizen, prince or no," Sunset explained.

"Well, that's unfortunate for him," Twilight said. "Actually, is that a new law, or something?"

"No. Why?" Sunset asked, confused.

"Well, after discovering the lengths Queen Adagio's family has taken to get they want, I'm starting to think that the queen will come up with anything to reach her goal," Twilight said. "I mean, it seems awfully convenient that there are already laws that allow her to force someone into marrying her.”

Sunset stared at Twilight for a moment before she stared at the floor, deep in thought. Twilight watched the amber woman curiously as Sunset furrowed her brow while thinking. After a minute, Sunset looked up to glare at the wall like she was imagining someone was standing there. Her hands were shaking with her fingers bent, looking like she was resisting the urge to turn her hands into fists. Twilight grew uneasy at the violent look in the thief's eyes, having never seen her behave that way before."

"Shimmer!" She shouted, standing up.

"Huh? What?" Sunset asked, snapped out of her thoughts. "You say something, Twilight?"

"What was that about?" Twilight asked. "You looked like you wanted to murder someone?"

"I did?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah, what were you thinking about?" Twilight asked.

Sunset frowned and looked away and said, "It's nothing. Private business."

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Twilight said.

"I wasn't trying to make you feel better," Sunset said. "Besides, we need to focus on getting out of here."

"How? There's no way out," Twilight said. "No one knows we're here."

"No one but the queen and her security," Sunset corrected.

"Yeah, but there's no way they would come over here and let us out," Twilight said.

"Not unless we have something they want," Sunset said.

Twilight looked at the thief confused while Sunset reached into her pants pocket and took out Rough Draft's ring. The inspector tilted her head and asked, "What is that?"

"Something Queen Adagio wants very badly," Sunset said.

"And you stole it from her?" Twilight asked.

"Actually, it was given to me," Sunset said.

Twilight frowned suspiciously and said, "I'm having a hard time believing that."

"Believe what you want, Twilight, but this ring is our only ticket out of here," Sunset said, holding the ring up with an eager look in her eye. "Adagio is going to find out that I have it and send her assassins here, and when she does, we need to be ready for them. So, we're gonna have to work together to outwit them and get out of here."

Twilight hesitated, not wanting to work with the thief she wanted to catch before she said, "Okay, then I guess we're gonna have to have a truce. But once we get out of here and stop the queen, I'm taking you in."

"That's fair," Sunset said with a smug grin on her face, unintimidated by the inspector's claim. "Now, listen to me very carefully…"

***************************************************************

Several hours later, light was coming from the small windows high up the catacomb. Not a sound could be heard apart from the water flowing down the stream. Two bodies were lying on the ground next to Agent Sweetie Drops' corpse wearing Sunset's jacket and Twilight's trench coat and hat. The bodies were lying down in sleeping positions with their faces hidden.

Unbeknownst to the two figures, two of Cozy Glow's Shadows were slowly emerging from the water with breathing masks. Their eyes were fixed on the two bodies as they quietly climbed up to the stone floor. They straightened their hands so that the points in their fingers were aligned, and held them up for a second before they jabbed at the bodies.

But instead of their gauntlets piercing through flesh, the assassins felt nothing but cloth and bones. They looked at each other before lifting the bodies to see that they attacked two skeletons wearing Sunset's jacket and Twilight's coat and hat. Suddenly, Sunset and Twilight emerged out of a pile of corpses behind the assassins. They encircled their arms around the assassins' necks and grabbed their biceps with their other arms, and began chock holding them. The assassins struggled, flailing their arms helplessly until they eventually lost consciousness. Sunset and Twilight carefully laid their enemies down before Twilight let out a heavy sigh.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," she said as they put their damaged coat, and jacket back on. "We better not have caused any serious injuries on these guys, Sunset Shimmer."

"I doubt we did," Sunset said. "Neither of us are particularly strong, and that was your first time doing that after having only hours to learn how to do it. Nicely done, by the way."

"Thanks," Twilight said sarcastically as she put on her hat. "How do you know how to do that, anyway?"

"I learned it from some ex-security guard named Bulk Biceps," Sunset answered. "You just never know if you need it during a heist."

"Heaven forbid that you'd be unprepared," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "So, now what do we do? We don't know the way out."

Sunset smirked and looked at the unconscious assassins, saying, "Not yet, we don't. Thanks to these guys, we now know that there's a way out underwater. Shouldn't take long to find it and escape with our new disguises."

*****************************************************************************************

Inside a small room, Cozy Glow and Wallflower Blush were staring at a square hole of water with an open gate attached to it. Wallflower Blush was holding a lantern while Cozy Glow was tapping her feet impatiently.

"What's taking them so long?" She asked. "Shimmer can't be that hard to find."

"Well, the catacomb is pretty large, and she could be trying to hide somewhere if she survived the fall," Wallflower Blush said.

"Possibly," Cozy Glow said. "Even so, I prefer that we get that ring back to Her Highness before she -"

Just as she was about to finish her sentence, two of her Shadows emerged from the water. Cozy Glow's eyes immediately turned to the assassin closest to her, for it was holding Rough Draft's ring with two of its claws.

"Finally," she said before she knelt down and reached for the ring.

But as she was about to take it, the Shadow grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the water. Wallflower Blush only had a moment to react before the other Shadow grabbed her ankle and pulled her into the hole. Before the maids knew it, the assassins had climbed out of the hole and closed the iron gate above them.

"Let us out!" Cozy Glow screamed. "What are you doing?"

The assassins took off their helmets to reveal themselves to be Sunset and Twilight. Cozy Glow and Wallflower Blush's eyes widened as the thief bit her thumb at them, and the inspector gave them a taunting salute. The maids started shaking the gate and begging, "Let us out," and "I can't swim," while Sunset and Twilight exited the room. They ran up a spiral stairway and opened the door at the top, only to take a few steps inside before they realized where they were.

"Oh, my gosh!" Twilight exclaimed.

"There it is!" Sunset chirped.

The women found themselves on the second floor of a two-story hall full of printing presses. Beside the machines were desks for designing fake money and boxes full of counterfeit bills. Sunset and Twilight climbed down the ladder to the first floor, and the amber thief started opening the boxes while a stunned inspector stared at a roll of fake Mt. Aris doubloons.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing," Twilight said.

"Me neither. This is incredible," Sunset said with stars in her eyes. "There's fake money for more countries than I thought. Aquastria, the Crystal Empire, Griffonstone, heck, I have no idea what these bills are. They must be from countries outside of Equestria."

"What? Let me take a look," Twilight said.

Sunset took out a roll of bills, each from several boxes, and handed them to Twilight. Twilight looked at them closely before she gasped loudly.

"You're right, Sunset Shimmer. These are from places outside of the continent," she said. "Marapore, the Dragonlands, even Somnambula. Good grief, most of these are fake currency to counties on the complete other side of the world."

"You're kidding," Sunset said, amazed. "So, Everfree has been sending counterfeit bills to the whole world?"

"Looks like it," Twilight said. "I can't believe this. A high-quality counterfeit operation that covers the whole world and is hiding under the royal castle of the smallest country there is?"

"Well, that's what makes it the perfect place to do it. No one would suspect that it would be in a small country, much less being run by its ruler," Sunset said. "If I didn't find out that the Celestial family has murdered so many people to keep this a secret, I'd be losing my cool over the fact that I finally found this place and I would make more money than I could imagine by taking over."

Twilight frowned and said, "Well, you have found out, and now you know we have to stop the queen. And I don't want you getting any crazy ideas, Sunset Shimmer. I want to bring this operation down by the book. I'm going to be looking for evidence to bring to Canterlot along with you in handcuffs. You understand?"

"Yeah, sure. Find your evidence," Sunset said uncaringly. "Though I think we're going to need another one of my 'crazy ideas' if we're going to get out of here."

Twilight frowned and asked, "What kind of crazy ideas?"

Author's Note:

Hey, I'd just like to take a moment to clear something up. If any of you are confused about the part where Sunset is a little unsettled with Octavia Melody's name, it's an inside joke to what happens in one of my other stories, A Search for Something More. Please feel free to take a look at the story if you're curious.

Until the next chapter, the Lord be with you all, and have a great day!

Comments

[HAKDurbin]

10500131
Well, it would be tricky to break it apart. Originally, the part with Adagio and Cozy Glow was meant to be in the beginning of chapter 4, but it felt kind of off. Ultimately, I thought having chapter 3 ended with revealing was up to made more sense.