G5 Adventures in The Great Mouse Detective

by ponydog127

Night at the Rat Trap/Falling into Ratigan's Trap

After deducing that Ratigan’s lair was close to The Rat Trap, a pub where the waters of the sewer connected to the riverfront, the group immediately set off on Toby to the docks, where the basset hound patiently waited as the group lowered themselves down to where they needed to be… after Basil picked the ponies up some costumes that would help them blend in better. “Stay, Toby,” Hitch whispered. “Stay. We’ll be back soon!”

Toby nodded and stayed as the ponies continued to lower themselves down into the darkness. After a few minutes, everyone changed into their disguises, although… Dr. Dawson didn’t exactly feel comfortable in his outfit (a pirate outfit with an eye patch and a shirt that came only halfway up his stomach). “Uh… Basil?”

“Come, come, Dawson,” Basil said quietly. “I feel utterly ridiculous,” Dr. Dawson said as he walked out of the shadows. “Don’t be absurd. You look perfect.”

“Perfect? Perfectly foolish!”

“Oh, come on, Dr. Dawson!” Azurine said playfully, admiring her pirate outfit. “I mean, it isn’t what I would normally wear, but it is kind of fun. Like… going undercover!”

“That’s exactly the point,” Zipp said. “There are a lot of creeps in here, so we need to watch ourselves. Now… let’s do this.”

“And stay low to the ground, little buddy,” Hitch said to his dragon son, dressed like a parrot. “We don’t want any thugs seeing your dragon fire.”

That’s when Sunny gently pushed open the doors and they entered the pub. It certainly was a seedy place, where clearly every lowlife in London had gathered. The mice were all smoking, playing poker, or drinking at the bar. Some are even passed out from the amount of alcohol they’ve drunk. A mouse is playing the piano as an octopus onstage is juggling three balls while tap dancing.

The barmaid was tickling a patron under his chin, but when he puckered his lips for a kiss, she punched him so hard he flew right from his chair, surprising Misty and causing her to yelp. Basil struck his match against the wall and lit his cigarette. “Dawson, you and the ponies stay close,” he whispered, “and do as I do.”

The bartender looked toward Basil and Dr. Dawson as the group approached, where Basil signaled the bartender for service as they sat down. “Uh… is it too late to say that this place makes me uncomfortable?” Misty asked. “Like… really uncomfortable?”

“Yes, Misty,” Sunny whispered. “Much too late.”

The bar patrons were eyeing the group suspiciously. A knife suddenly landed at the floor in Dawson's path, and he stumbles back, knocking a woman’s chair forward. “Oh, I do beg your pardon, madam.”

Obviously in on the prank, the woman blew her cigarette smoke in his face, making him choke. “Quite unintentional, I assure you.”

Sparky sniffed around until the smoke caught his attention, causing him to cough before speaking in lots of angry dragon gibberish. “I agree, Sparky,” Hitch said with a huff. “Watch your breath, lady!”

Luckily, Basil was able to pull them away before their cover was blown, sitting them down at a nearby table. “Remember, sheriff,” he said. “We are low-life ruffians.”

“Uh… sure,” Hitch nodded. “Low-life… the exact opposite of what I am usually.”

On stage, the octopus has nearly finished his dance. The pianist is getting nervous seeing the unhappy faces of all the patrons. The octopus finished, and caught his balls in his hat and bowed, apparently very surprised to hear the applause coming from Dawson and Izzy; the rest of the pub booed the cephalopod and quickly drown him out. “What are they booing at?” asked Izzy. “I thought his act was great!”

The others shushed her before the barmaid came up to the table. “What’s your pleasure, mates?”

“I’d like a cherry smoothie, if you have them, please,” Misty said before Basil elbowed her into shushing. “Or, uh… whatever they’re having.”

“Uh…” Dr. Dawson tried to make a decision. “I’ll have a dry sherry with… oh perhaps a twist of--”

“Eight pints for me and my shipmates,” Basil said, covering Dawson’s mouth and speaking in a tough-guy accent in order to fit in better. “Oh, by the way. We just got into port. We’re looking for an old friend of mine. Maybe you know him. Goes by the name… of Ratigan!”

At the mention of Ratigan, the barmaid gasped, as well as several poker players and the pianist. They stared at Basil in shock as the barmaid recovered from her shock, clearly unwilling to admit her knowledge of the criminal mastermind. “Uh… never heard of him.”

“Hmmm…” Zipp hummed in suspicion. “She definitely knows him.”

One thing was for certain-- while the others seemed pretty frightened by all the stares they got, Basil and Zipp seemed pretty satisfied with them... like they wanted to get their message across.

The pianist has started another song, and the curtains open to reveal a salamander on a unicycle, exhausted from the effort of holding a huge frog on his shoulders. The patrons immediately resumed booing and throwing food and weapons onstage. As a knife struck the piano, the pianist nervously began the third act. The patrons were already armed with chairs, darts, and one with an ax, ready to throw them at whoever is next.

But when the curtains opened, a pretty lady mouse stood onstage, wearing a blue tank top, purple skirt, and pink shawl. The patrons slowly lowered their weapons as she began to sing to them.

Miss Kitty: Dearest friends, dear gentlemen
Listen to my song
Life down here's been hard for you
Life has made you strong
Let me lift the mood
With my attitude

As the beat began to pick up, Miss Kitty began to strut onstage as every eye was focused on her, bouncing along with her song. However, as the ponies and Basil tried not to look too interested, Dr. Dawson looked as though he’d fallen in love.

Miss Kitty: Hey, fellas
The time is right
Get ready
Tonight's the night
Boys, what you're hopin' for will come true
Let me be good to you

While the song continued, Sunny immediately noticed the barmaid whisper something into the bartender's ear, to which she immediately pointed out to Basil as the barender poured the contents of a vial into each of the eight mugs.

Miss Kitty: You tough guys
You're feelin' all alone
You rough guys
The best o' you sailors and bums
All o' my chums

So dream on
And drink your beer
Get cozy
Your baby's here
You won't be misunderstood
Let me be good to you

Miss Kitty moved behind the curtain and let the band join in, kicking up the beat even more. After a moment, the curtains pulled back, and Miss Kitty was joined by two other twin lady mice, in pink hats, dresses and black elbow length gloves, making all the patrons go absolutely wild.

Miss Kitty: Hey, fellas
I'll take off all my blues
Hey, fellas
There's nothin' I won't do
Just for you

The patrons whistled, and one was being restrained as he tries to climb onstage, causing Miss Kitty to kick him down. She then pointed to Dawson and Hitch, who both seemed very bashful now. Miss Kitty then left the stage, leaving the other lady mice onstage to dance for the pub. At that moment, the barmaid returned with the drinks. “There you go, mates,” she said uneasily. “It’s uh… on the house.”

“Oh! That’s so nice!” Pipp smiled before Zipp stopped her. “Wait… Sunny whispered to me she saw the bartender slip something in these. Better let us test out our theory before drinking anything.”

The white pegasus took a small sniff of her mug as Basil took a small taste, both of their suspicions confirmed. “Don’t drink anything, guys,” said Zipp. “These mugs have been-- DRUGGED!!”

Before she could stop Dr. Dawson, he had already drunk his entire mug of beer. “Has a rather nice bite to it,” he said as he turned back to the stage. “Jolly good, ladies, jolly good!”

“Dr. Dawson!” Azurine gasped in worry. “Get ahold of yourself!”

“Oh, bravo, bravo!”

“Well, he’s gonna be out of it for a while,” sighed Hitch. “What are we gonna do now?”

“We wait,” Basil told him. “And then we strike at the sign of any commotion.”

Suddenly, they began to hear a sound of a peg-legged figure approaching. Fidget's attention was focused on the showgirls as well, and didn’t notice that Basil and the ponies had seen him. All at once, Fidget’s peg leg got caught in a hole in the floorboard, and he fell and angrily yanked his foot out, sending himself stumbling back into the bar. During this, Miss Kitty had come back on stage and was finishing her song.

Miss Kitty: So dream on
And drink your beer
Get cozy
Your baby's here
Hey boys, I'm talkin' to you

“Guys, I see Fidget over there!” Misty said with a giggle. “That’s a good stroke of luck!”

Unfortunately, Dr. Dawson had disappeared. “Dr. Dawson?” Azurine looked around the bar. “Where’d he go?”

“Uh… I know, but none of you are gonna like it,” Pipp said, uneasily pointing to the stage and making Basil’s eyes grow wide. “DAWSON!!”

Dr. Dawson had joined Miss Kitty and her dancers up on stage, causing Miss Kitty to take his arm and swing him around, and he rejoined the twins. Basil slapped his forehead and drags his hand down his face. This couldn’t get any worse.

Miss Kitty: Your baby's gonna come through
Let me be good to you

Yeah!

At this ending, the twins each give Dawson a kiss on the cheek before he drunkenly passed out, falling right into the piano and abruptedly caused the pianist to stop. The pianist, angry that the mouse had destroyed his instrument, was ready to hit him with a plank, but just as he swung violently, Dawson slumped down again. The pianist instead hit the head of a big mean-looking mouse, who stood up and prepares to fight.

That led to an entire bar fight happening, with mice strangling and beating each other to a pulp! Worried they would lose Fidget in all the chaos, Zipp turned to Misty. “Misty, go after Fidget, and don’t lose sight of him! We’ll be with you as soon as we can get Dr. Dawson!”

“On it!” Misty nodded and followed after Fidget before the others went to the stage to get Dr. Dawson, who was beginning to wake up. “What in heaven’s name is going on?”

“Fidget was here, but then this fight happened,” Zipp said. “Misty is gonna trail him, and we’re going after her.”

“Come on, old fella,” Basil urged. “There’s not a moment to lose.”

As the bar fight became more and more violent, Basil found the trapdoor behind the bar that Misty and Fidget went through and led everyone down into it just as a chair flew over them and hit it.

XXXXXXXX

Once inside, they saw Misty ahead of them, shushing them and telling them to be quiet as they saw Fidget ahead of Misty, singing to himself. “Let me be good to you… Ba-boo ba-boom… so dream on, and drink your beer… your baby’s here!”

“Ugh…” Pipp groaned quietly. “He is a terrible singer.”

Basil shushed her before climbing inside a pipe next to them. “Follow me.”

“In there? Ugh… but sewer water…” Pipp whined before the ponies spared her a glance. “Oh, all right…”

The group followed Basil inside the pipe and tried to find their way through the twists and turns, completely submerged in darkness, aside from Azurine, Misty and Izzy’s dimly-glowing horns. “Aw, man!” Sunny groaned. “I can’t see a thing!”

“Shh. Grab my coat and follow along,” Basil’s voice was heard. “No, no, no, not that way. Dawson, look out for your--”

But immediately, Dr. Dawson walked right into a sealed cap. “Oww! Confound it!”

“Do you have any idea where we’re going?” Hitch asked, irritated. “Not exactly,” Zipp said, “but Fidget is gonna get there first if we don’t hurry!”

Finally, they reached the drain grate by Ratigan's hideout. Basil lifted up the grate to discover what he had been looking for after so many years. “Aha! We’ve found it! Ratigan’s secret lair!”

The others climbed out of the drain after him, making Pipp groan at the sewer smell coming from her wings. “I’ll have to take at least 20 moisturizing showers in order to get this smell out!”

“I have to agree,” Misty said, looking around. “It’s way filthier than I imagined it would be.”

“Come on,” Azurine urged her friends. “Let’s find Olivia and her father and get out of this filth-infested trap.”

They approached the entrance to the lair, where they saw Olivia curled up in the bottle, making Pipp gasp. “Olivia! The bottle!”

“Basil, help us open this!” Izzy pleaded, and she, Misty, Pipp and Basil moved to the bottle and tried to pull the cork off, but it was sealed on tight. “Ugh… ugh!” Misty strained. “Sorry, Pipp! It’s really stuck!”

“Olivia?” Dr. Dawson pecked on the glass of the bottle. But, as it turns out, Fidget was wearing Olivia’s hat and coat, making a kissy face that startled Hitch. “But… if you’re in there, where’s Olivia?!”

“SURPRISE!!!”

The loud shout of Ratigan’s thugs were followed by balloons and confetti being released, a welcome banner being unfurled from the ceiling for Basil, and Ratigan's thugs clapped and cheered mockingly for our heroes. Immediately, the ponies took on fighting stances, but before they could do anything, Ratigan walked forward, clapping as well. “Bravo! Bravo! A marvelous performance,” he said to Basil before checking his pocket watch. “Though frankly, I expected you fifteen minutes earlier. Trouble with the chemistry set, old boy?”

“Where’s Olivia, you big fat bully?!” Misty said, getting down to business and not buying Ratigan’s act for a minute. “Trust us, we won’t hesitate to search this place!” Hitch agreed. “And take you down for kidnapping!”

Ratigan burst out into laughter, stopping after a moment to pat Sparky and Hitch on the heads. “Oh, that’s so cute. Who do you think you are to tell ME what I should do?”

“The Unity Squad of Equestria!” Sunny said, letting her alicorn form come out. “And we’re asking you politely to release the Flavershams and stop whatever scheme you have up that dirty muzzle of yours!”

“...stand down, Sunny. I shall take care of this,” Basil said, taking a friendly tone and approaching his bitter enemy. “Ratigan… no one can have a higher opinion of you than I have. And I think you’re a slimy, contemptible sewer rat!”

At this hurtful comment, Ratigan shut his pocket watch, put it away, and chuckled. “By the way, Basil, I just love your disguise,” he said, ripping off Basil’s fake mustache. “Really, one would hardly recognize you. The greatest… detective… …in all mousedom! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!”

“Ratigan, so help me… I’ll see you behind bars yet!”

Ratigan took this as a threat, getting in his bitter rival’s face. “You fool! Isn’t it clear to you?” he asked, lifting Basil by the collar, and letting his thugs block the ponies from helping him. “The superior mind has triumphed! I’ve won!”

“Not yet, you haven’t!” Sunny snarled. “Everypony, Azurine! Formation! Time to take this guy down!”

The ponies stood together as their cutie marks began to glow, but as they were about to send magic to stop Ratigan, about 12 of the thugs laughed and lassoed the ponies and tied them up, causing them to scream and try and break out of the ropes. As the laughter continued, Basil steels himself against the jeering and pointing, but after a few moments, slumped… defeated and broken.

As they struggled to get free, the ponies watched this in concern, not knowing what to do or say as Basil hung his head. “Oh I love it! I love it!” Ratigan laughed. “Oh I love it, I love it, I love it!”

“Sunny… what do we do?!” Zipp asked. “We gotta get to Basil and help him!”

“I… I don’t know, Zipp! It’s like he was expecting this,” said Sunny. “We’ve… been outmatched.”

Hearing this from the earth pony mare made the group realize something they never thought of before… with magic or without magic… they wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Comments

[MarioBrony]

Uh oh...Does Ratigan now have the upper hand?

[MajorMajor2055]

The Mane 7/Unity Squad of Equestria are defeated just like that? What’s stopping them, especially Sunny, from using their magic to simply break the ropes?

[ponydog127]

11830958
They're magically protected. And you'll find out how Ratigan got them in his possession in the next chapter.