Plan D

by Kai the Brony

He's Perfectly Safe

Chapter 4

A long flight of stairs later, the Crusaders tumbled onto a rug and trotted out the door, giggling excitedly with anticipation. The noonday sun warmed the sidewalk, and more than one upturned nose showed signs of sunburn. Yet the elite refused to lower them a tick, and so allowed them to burn and peel.

The Crusaders remembered not to knock down any spiteful elite this time, sparing Rarity the trouble of dealing with another pretentious nonentity. The side of the road was practically speckled with signs pointing to Canterlot, its very pride and joy. Apple Bloom pulled the map out of her saddlebag frequently, checking their path.

“I don’t know if this is the right way.” Said Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo tapped her on the head. “Uh, yeah it is. I can tell.”

“Uh huh.” Apple Bloom kept her eyes on the map. “What makes you say that? I’ve got the map.”

Scootaloo grabbed her friend’s face and tilted it upwards. “Oh.” The palace stood in front of them, tall and proud. “That’s a pretty good reason.” Apple Bloom admitted.

Sweetie Belle ran in place on the tips of her hooves. “Let’s go!” She darted ahead of her friends. “Last one to the gardens is a pickly pluff nugget!”

Her pegasus friend laughed. “It is on!” She sprinted through the gates, leaving Apple Bloom in the dust.

“Huh?” Apple Bloom looked down at the map again. The gardens were in the same place they’d been the last time they’d come, and the statues were in their same positions. When she looked up, she was alone. “Wait up!” She started running after her companions.

“No way!” A faint voice sounded from behind a wall. Apple Bloom groaned and sped up. Surprisingly, she caught up with them within a minute of sprinting. The fillies ran neck to neck, the vibrant colors of Canterlot flying past in a blur of sights and sounds. Signs pointed the way to the sculpture gardens and the fillies followed.

Panting, the fillies slowed down and finally stopped at the hedge of the gardens.

“Who won?” Scootaloo gasped, her sides heaving.

“I did!” A chirpy voice announced.

Sweetie Belle looked up, baffled. “You have to be kidding.” Up there, on the same cloud, Pinkie Pie perched, as happy and random as a pony could possibly- or impossibly- be.

“Oh, and Sweetie Belle’s a pickly pluff nugget. No offense.” Pinkie was pushed a little way into the garden by the wind. “Where are you three off to in such a hurry?”

“We wanted to look around the gardens again.” Apple Bloom decided not to mention Discord. Pinkie would tell them not to go and they’d have to ignore her.

The wind puffed again, nudging the impossible pony further in. “Looks like I’m going in the same direction. Wanna go with me?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” She walked into the maze. “Come on, guys. It’ll be fun.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo glanced at each other, then followed suit. It still struck them as somewhat bizarre that they were following a cloud, but decided not to dwell on it for long.

“This way girls! Looks like we’re going to see, um,” Pinkie squinted down at the gardens below her. “I think that one’s Victory. Whoops! Looks like we’re not seeing that one. Turn left! Uh, I think that one’s Wisdom or something.” The Crusaders looked at a statue of two ponies bouncing a ball under a bright orange flag embroidered with flowers. The plate on the pedestal read “Joy”.

“You sure you know what you’re doing? That plate doesn’t say Wisdom.” Scootaloo asked.

“What!” Pinkie turned around on her cloud to face the filly. “Are you saying I don’t know how to do my job?”

“I thought you were a baker?”

“That may be true, but as a filly I always dreamed of being a tour guide at the rock farm.” Pinkie polished her hoof against her coat. “Any other questions? Oh, looks like we’re going to see something else, no time for questions. Better keep up! Hey,” Her eyes widened. “I know this one! Stop here.” The Crusaders sat down to listen and as luck would have it the wind stopped as well.

“Did she just tell the wind to stop?” Apple Bloom whispered to Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie Belle was equally baffled. “I have no idea.”

Pinkie continued her lecture as if she hadn’t heard them. “This little gem right here is incredibly rare. The only one of its kind here in Equestria, and thank Celestia for that. Take a good long look at it. Celestia left him here because he’s perfectly safe. It would take the Elements of Harmony to unlock him, and that’s not going to happen.”

The statue was the most detailed in the gardens. Carefully chiseled features gave the creature a grotesque, terrified facade. His strange face looked at his stone arms with horror etched in every line. But the oddity lied not in his expression, but his very body. He had the arm of a lion, a dragon’s tail, a face that gave the impression of a misshapen horse’s head, and an assortment of other creatures. Overall, he looked like something from a strange dream brought on by eating too much ice cream. The statue was so lifelike it was hard not to imagine he heard every word being said about him- and he despised it.

“This creature is a draconequus. He’s got the head of a-”

“I know, and he represents Discord.” Scootaloo butted in. “We know all about that, Miss Cheerilee told us when we came last time.”

“Well, I’ll bet you haven’t heard about what it was like when he was released.”

Apple Bloom stood up to see the self-appointed tour guide better. “Actually, we were there.”

Pinkie blew a strand of hair out of her face. “You guys take all the fun out of this. I didn’t even get to talk about all the chocolate milk. I can’t believe he didn’t even make whipped cream come out of the ground. Do you realize how much better chocolate rain is with whipped cream?” She sighed dreamily. “But the cotton candy clouds made it all worth it.”

The three fillies shared a glance then turned their attention back to Pinkie.

“Not that I wish he was back.” Pinkie clarified. “I mean, come on. He made us all hate each other. There’s a reason we changed him back to stone.”

“Oh,” Sweetie Belle looked down. She felt as if a wave of guilt had washed over her. “Right.”

Another draft of wind pushed Pinkie onwards, higher this time. “Looks like I’ve got to go!” She shouted down to the fillies. “Been fun talking!”

Apple Bloom frowned. “What did she say?”

“Books like Blythe to glow?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Nah, it sounded more like crooks bike Winona’s bow.” Scootaloo was equally bewildered. “Not that it makes more sense.”

“Yeah.” The trio sat in silence for a few moments. Apple Bloom turned to Sweetie Belle. “So, are you going to cast that spell?”

“Not yet.” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “There might be other ponies in the gardens. I don’t want anyone to see me using dark magic. It’s probably illegal, and I don’t want Rarity to find out.”

“So when will we do it?”

“Tonight.” Said Sweetie Belle. “We can sneak in when nobody’s around. If we’re careful, this will work. Let’s go back to the hotel room to brainstorm.”

---

“This is a terrible spot to think up brilliant ideas.” A muffled voice came from inside the squashy arm chair.

“You don’t have to sit there.” Sweetie Belle set her quill down. “There’s plenty of room on the couch.”

“I’m good.” The chair replied.

Apple Bloom glared at the blank sheet of paper in front of her. Grumpily, she shoved it aside. It reminded her of her flank. It was waiting to be marked with something of importance, but no matter how hard she tried, nothing came. “Got any ideas, visible Crusaders?”

“I’ve got one.” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Really?” Apple Bloom jumped from her spot on the couch.

“What?” The armchair squirmed around.

“Be really cute!” Sweetie Belle grinned.

Apple Bloom sighed. “No. That’ll never work.” She scribbled the words down on her paper anyway.

How to slip past guards:

- cute smile

Scootaloo poked her head out of her chair. “I’ve got one! Ninjas!”

Apple Bloom wrote:

How to slip past guards:

- cute smile

- Ninja

“Seriously?” Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “I thought smiling would work.”

Scootaloo shook her head. “No. Infiltration takes something much more epic. We need to be sneaky. Here’s how it’ll work:

---

Three dark figures crept through the dark. Their inky silhouettes were only visible to discerning eyes searching for them. Luckily for them, nobody expected them.

Like liquid shadows, they slid down a fire exit twenty-seven stories down, leaping the final two and rolling in compact balls. Uninjured, they leapt to their feet, shared a glance, and disappeared from sight, taking refuge behind rubble in the ally. A moment later three black spots could barely be seen a few hundred yards away, only to vanish into the night and appear in another location.

Masters of stealth, fighters trained to an art, these were the ninjas. They had a goal, a prize if you will, and they would stop at nothing to retrieve it. But what might this prize be? You may well ask. You can ask, but the ninjas will tuck into a ball and be gone in a blink of an eye. Secrets will not be told.

The royal palace was the purest example of peace and tranquility. In her chambers, Princess Celestia rolled over beneath silk sheets, mumbling something about chocolate cake. Slowly, the window raised high enough to allow three small shapes to slip through. The perfect peace was left undisturbed. Melting into the shadows once again, the ninjas left the royal chambers and walked into a bright hallway.

A burly stallion was walking up and down the corridor, a guard no doubt. In the ninjas’ eyes, an enemy lumbered up and down their path to their prize. The stallion turned around, his ears pricked upright. He could have sworn he had heard the Princess’s door open.

The hall was empty except for him. He shrugged and muttered he had been at his job too long. A small hoof slowly rose up behind him, then struck him on the back of his skull, knocking him out instantly. He fell without even a groan.

With few other obstacles, the ninjas were inside the garden-

---

“Scoots, there’s no way that would ever happen!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “We can’t walk on walls. And there’s no way I could knock out a stallion. We’re all still fillies, remember?”

“Besides, we don’t have any black suits.” Sweetie Belle added.

Scootaloo sank back into her squashy chair. “All right, fine, what’s your brilliant idea.”

Apple Bloom scribbled on her paper:

How to slip past guards:

- cute smile

- Ninja

- Statue Costume

“We can find some ashes in the ally so we can turn grey. The guards will think we’re statues if we close our eyes. It’s dark, so they won’t be able to see that we’re coated in ashes.”

After a silence, Scootaloo sighed. “That makes sense, I guess.”

Apple Bloom glanced out the window. The sun was already beginning to sink into the horizon and the moon was creeping out from among the stars. “We can do it in a few hours. Rarity’s almost done making the pattern for the dress, so she’ll be tired after dinner. When she goes to bed, we can sneak out the fire escape. If we take the elevator somepony will ask where we’re going.”

“Good point.” Sweetie Belle agreed readily. “So we’ll do it tonight.”

At that moment, the door opened and Rarity walked in. “Evening, girls.” She greeted them. Her saddlebags bulged with fabric. “I’m sorry I took so long coming back. I tried several designs, but the duchess didn’t like any of them. As it would turn out, she had wanted a dress like the one I made for Twilight’s birthday. She didn’t make that very clear in my opinion, but the customer’s always right.”

She rambled on about her day and the Crusaders started to tune out. “So I should be able to make the dress tomorrow and we’ll go home in two nights.” Rarity concluded.

Six ears pricked up. “So soon?” Said Apple Bloom.

Rarity winced. “Yes, I’m afraid so. Terribly sorry, I had planned on a much more elaborate dress. Apparently the latest fad in Canterlot is minimalist designs. So, what all did you three do today?”

“We went to the sculpture gardens.” Scootaloo mumbled from inside the squashy chair. “And we came up with plans to sneak past the guards tonight so we can wake up Discord.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened and Scootaloo was glad Rarity couldn’t see her face pale. To their surprise, Rarity laughed. “You girls are absolutely adorable! Is this your list of ideas?” She read it over. “Statue costumes. Very clever. Well, if it’s all the same to you, I’m going to bed now.”

“Good night!” The crusaders chorused. After a brief moment of silence they judged that they could safely leave. Almost silently, they crept to the window. Hesitantly, Sweetie Belle pushed against the window frame. To their surprise, nothing happened.

“Try again.” Apple Bloom suggested.

Sweetie Belle jiggled the frame again, this time with Scootaloo’s help. No luck. Sweetie Belle looked up to see what could be blocking their path to their destinies and groaned. “Foal-proof lock.”

Scootaloo groaned as well. “Now what?”

Apple Bloom gave Sweetie Belle a sidelong look. “You’re a unicorn.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sweetie Belle’s voice raised an octave.

“What do unicorns use?” Apple Bloom smirked.

Sweetie Belle frowned. “Horn socks?”

Apple Bloom face-hoofed. “Magic. Use magic to open the window. You’ll need to practice anyway.”

“Oh.” Sweetie Belle turned to face the window. “Okay.” She shifted uncomfortably. I don’t know what I’m doing. A voice nagged from a corner of her mind. This is dangerous. I shouldn’t do this. She frowned for a second, then elected to ignore the voice. She racked her brain to remember how dark magic worked. Two primary words came to mind: Anger and hate.

As she stared at the lock, she found herself feeling desperate. That one dumb piece of plastic was the only thing standing between her and her cutie mark. Why couldn’t it just move? Why did it have to be there?

Frustration began building in her chest and the whites of her eyes began to turn green.

Why? What did they think they were? Foals with crazy magic spurts? The frustration swelling in her chest began to ripen and turn into anger.

Why couldn’t the stupid lock be gone!

Sweetie Belle felt a tap on her shoulder. For an instant, she saw her reflection. Or so it seemed. What she saw was an entirely different filly. Her eyes glinted poison green and blood red, dark splotches of magic growing from her horn like mould on an old tomato. The magic spilled out the corners of her eyes, waving in an unfelt breeze.

It seemed so wrong.

The changes began to fade away and Apple Bloom pointed to an empty spot on the window where the lock had been.
Sweetie Belle sat down, stunned. It had actually worked.

“Crusaders, go!” She pushed the window open.

BBBRREEEPPP! BBBRREEEPPP! BBBRREEEPPP!

Author's Note:

Well, that took longer than it should have to update. Truth is I've had this update ready for a month and updated it on fanfiction but I just didn't get around to posting it here!