Trial and Error: Second Edition

Chapter the Thirtieth: The Gathering Storm

"When did all of this show up?" asked Twilight as she entered the bedroom Fluttershy had slept in beneath the castle in the forest. "I thought this place abandoned."

"Not long," answered Kai, gesturing towards the bed. "Sit."

She sat next to her friends on the bed. Rarity had insisted that the seven of them come up with a plan before acting, and Rainbow had lead the rest to the castle.

"Now then," said Kai, "We all know why we're here. Fluttershy has been taken by a group of three thugs. The current plan of action is to dispose of two of them peacefully. Some information I've gathered suggests that they'll back down if given the right incentive. Unfortunately, the third one is not so easy. Stain," he looked to Rarity. "The red pegasus is not going to let her go without violence. I have it on good authority that even if we give him what he wants, he won't give her back."

"And where did this information come from?" asked Rainbow.

"I have a dossier in my office on all three of them," answered Usu. "I'm a security expert. They're thieves. I protect ponies from thieves. Stain is at the top of my 'most wanted' list."

"So we should focus on bringing them in unharmed, right?" asked Pinkie.

Kai shook his head. "Our top priority is bringing Fluttershy back safely."

"So just send me in," said Rainbow, bursting from her seat. "I'll kick the ever-living tar out of them."

"Have you ever worked with high-powered explosives?" asked Usu. "Because it's a safe bet that Stain has her rigged to explode already."

"I'll have those bombs off her lickety-split" responded Applejack.

"And if he embedded them inside her body?"

Nopony responded to Usu's question.

"If ever you're thinking 'Stain wouldn't stoop so low,' remember this: Nothing is beneath him."

"Then we'll just have to cut it out," said Kai, stepping forward. "I may have sworn never to harm her, but if I have to in order to save her life, it's worth the damage."

"I'm sure she'll forgive you for that," smiled Applejack.

"It's your own forgiveness you need to seek," chimed in Rarity. "With everything you've done, and what you're currently trying to do, nopony cares what happened in the past."

Usu turned to Kai, whose head had lowered. "Is she talking about what happened twenty years ago?"

Kai nodded.

Usu scowled. "Let go of that, Kai. You heard the proof this morning. You're the only pony holding those scars open. Let it go."

Kai let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding in.

"So, that's the plan, then?" asked Twilight, standing up. "We give them what they want, defuse the explosive, and that's that?"

"That's it," said Kai, pulling himself upright. "Unless you have a better plan in mind."

"Scour the city." said Twilight. "If he's doing the exchange there, Fluttershy has to be close by. A legion of guards could clear the city by tomorrow night."

"You don't know how career thieves work, do you?" asked Usu. "The minute they realize the guards are looking for them, they'll be out of there, and they'll probably take her along. We need to do this quickly and quietly so they don't have time to think about it."

"You sure know a lot about bein' a thief..." said Applejack, staring Usu down with an accusing look. "What'd you say your name was?"

"I didn't," replied Usu. "I work security. In order to protect against thieves, you must first understand how they think."

"How they think doesn't matter so much as how they act," argued Pinkie. "Even if they're just trying to feed their families, there has to be a better way."

"They're not trying to feed their families, Pinkie," grumbled Kai. "They do this because they derive pleasure from seeing others in pain."

"Just Stain," interjected Usu. "Tundra and Frost are in it for the money."

"And we're going to give it to them," said Kai, pulling the chest out from the foot of the bed.

"That treasure belongs to princess Celestia!" shouted Twilight. "Look, that's her insignia!" She pointed to a metal crest on the lid of the chest.

"Does the princess care so little for her subjects that she can't spare an abandoned treasure chest to save one of them?" asked Kai. "Would you rather I present this broken box to our dear monarch rather than save Fluttershy's life?"

"We can't just take it without asking," said Applejack, standing next to Twilight. "That'd make us no better than the thieves."

"The princess will understand," said Rainbow, gliding down beside Kai. "It's more important that we see Fluttershy back home."

"Besides, we can all work together to repay it," said Rarity, hopping up and joining Kai's side.

"As much as I want Fluttershy back, we can't go around causing more suffering to do so." Pinkie hopped over to Twilight, tying the vote at three and three.

Usu, the only pony not to have chosen a side, cleared his throat. "It doesn't matter if we take the treasure or not. There's not five hundred thousand bits in that chest. Even with the gems, it's still not enough."

"I plan on offering them one more boon," said Kai, smirking.

"And what's that?" asked Usu. "You don't really have all that much to give."

"I'm going to give them the greatest asset to any band of thieves. A pony that can pick his way through any lock, if given the right tools. It just so happens that I recently captured one that tried to kill me."

Fluttershy opened her eyes as the door to her room creaked open. The stallion that came in was a rather large one. Tundra, she would guess.

"Good, you're here," snarled Stain. "Watch her while I'm out. And this time, leave her tied up. I don't want to have another escape attempt like the last mare."

As Stain left the room, the new stallion came up to her. His horn lit up, and he inspected her body. She closed her eyes, expecting him to do something horrible, but all he did was undo her gag.

"Please, let me go. I promise, I won't tell anypo--"

"Hush," he commanded. Her mouth snapped shut. He began to dab a cold rag at her lip. It almost reminded her of how Kai had treated her bruise when she arrived with him.

"What is it you want?" she asked quietly.

"Hold still."

She held still. As he placed a small bandage over her wound, she began to understand why Usu had held him in higher regards than the other two. When he was done, he sat down in a chair, eyes fixed on her.

"You're Tundra, right?"

He nodded.

"Usu told me about you. He said you saved his life."

He said nothing. Picking up a newspaper, he began to flip through it.

"He's still alive, you know. Unharmed, too. He'd probably listen to me if I asked him to come back to you."

He turned the page.

"He said you were the one who would most like to see him."

"He was a good leader. Given the choice, I'd follow him wherever he lead. If he said to jump, I'd ask how high. Unfortunately, I don't have as much say as I used to."

"Why not?"

Tundra turned the light on himself. For the first time, Fluttershy could see his face. He brushed his mane out of the way of his neck. "Don't breath a word of this to Frost, and don't let Stain find out I told you."

Fluttershy gasped. Around his neck was a collar not unlike what she had worn.

"Stain holds the only key. If ever I betray him, he'll use this to end my life. I have to do as he says, or it tightens by another notch. It's already hard enough to breathe as it is."

"But Usu can pick any lock, right?"

He shook his head. "Usu designed the lock. Even at his best, it would take him half an hour to pick through it. The only reason Usu followed Stain's orders was because he wanted to protect me. Did he tell you that we used to be non-violent?"

She nodded.

"We also only stole as social commentary. More than half of our profits went to those who were less fortunate. Usu's absolutely loaded, actually. His grandfather was some kind of mogul. The company pretty much runs itself, so he just has to sit back and collect his income."

"He never said anything about that."

"I doubt he'd really want to come back to us, anyway. I'd actually prefer it if he stayed away, actually. He's hurt every time he looks at me, I just know it."

"What if that collar was gone?"

He put the newspaper down. "If there was no threat to me, I'd be honored to welcome him back. So would Frosty, I'd bet. And with all of us allowed to make our own decision, Stain would be gone."