Trial and Error: Second Edition

Chapter the Thirty-First: The Exchange

Kai and Usu sat in an alleyway, fully cloaked. The sun was just about to set. Between the two of them sat the chest.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Kai. "You only get one shot."

"I have Rarity's, Twilight's and your knowledge as to how to solve this. If there was ever a way to break the enchantment, I have it here. I'm more worried about your ability to sell the deception."

"Don't worry. If I can show any emotion right now, it's an intense hatred for them mixed with a strong desire to have Fluttershy back."

The two shared a small chuckle.

"Okay, let's go over it one more time, Kai."

"You and I wait here for them to appear. When they do, I give them the treasure and you in exchange for Fluttershy. When you reach them, you start in on the collar. Pinkie and Rarity are waiting nearby to medically extract the explosives. Rainbow is two buildings over, and is ready to take the explosives out of the city on my signal, where Applejack is ready to dispose of it safely. And Twilight is holding back the guards until I signal Dash. That's when you leave. With or without your crew."

"And if anything goes wrong?"

"Improvise."

Usu took a deep breath as the sun sank down over the horizon.

An hour passed before Frost found them. He was in a disguise, but Usu knew the disguise and Kai saw right through it.

"Are you two Friends of a certain young lady?"

Kai took his hood down and stood up. "We're here to bring her back home."

Frost took a step back. "You?"

"Yes. But before we leave you with the money, we need to ensure that she's safe. Let us see her."

"No problem. Give me ten minutes, and I'll bring her right over."

Frost walked off briskly. When he was out of earshot, Usu spoke up. "Turn around and face the other entrance. They won't be able to sneak up on us."

Kai did so, sitting down with his hood back up. His hoof drifted to the hilt of his blade. He steeled his nerves as he thought about what he was about to do.

Five minutes passed, and two ponies entered the alley. One was clearly Frost, the other was cloaked. "Here she is. Let's see the money."

"Not so fast." Kai took his hood down. "Remove her cloak."

"You know, it's ungentlemanly to remove a lady's clothing."

"I never claimed to be a gentleman. How do you expect me to believe that's her?"

Frost shrugged. "I guess if you don't want her, we can just kee--"

A sudden gust of wind kicked up, blowing off the hood of the cloaked figure. Beneath it was Stain.

"Well, well," he smiled. "Looks like you saw through that ruse. I was going to stab you when I came close enough, but I guess not." He clapped his hooves and Tundra rounded the corner with Fluttershy tied up on his back. "Now, let's see the money."

Kai pulled out the chest. "It's here."

Stain let out a laugh. "You expect me to believe that's five hundred thousand bits? Not even close."

"I have something that will cover the rest." At Kai's beckon, Usu stood up and removed his cloak. "I will return to you your hitpony. Or lockpick. Whichever you choose to use him as."

Fluttershy felt Tundra's muscles tense up and his coat bristle beneath her. She was also rather shocked to see Kai willing to sell out his own brother. They had grown so close during their time together. Could he really just toss him aside like that?

"You drive a rather interesting bargain," chuckled Stain. "Send him over with the money and we'll let her go."

Kai nodded, and Usu made his way over to the group with chest in tow. He walked past Stain, coming to a stop right next to Tundra.

Stain smiled. "You actually sent him over. You're very trusting, funny guy."

"I held up my end," snarled Kai. "Now it's your turn. Send her over and you can go."

Stain looked up at Fluttershy and then back to Kai. His smile turned to a devious grin. "No, I think not."

Kai pulled out his dagger, pointing the tip at Stain. "We had a deal!" he growled.

"We did. And now I'm breaking that deal. She'll make us even more money when we sell her as a sex slave." Kai rushed forward, but was stopped when Stain held a blade to her throat. "Careful, now. We can't sell her if she's dead."

It was time to improvise. Usu began quietly working his way through Tundra's collar, gesturing for Kai to keep Stain's attention.

"I'll buy her. Sell her to me."

Stain roared with laughter. "You just gave me all of your money. You don't have anything left."

"She has friends. One of them is close to princess Celestia. I can pay you with royal treasure. How's that?"

"Okay. Bring the treasure to this very alley tomorrow night. Come alone."

"What if I told you I could have it here tonight?"

"I wouldn't believe you. Tomorrow night. Come alone."

"Uh, Stain?" interjected Frost. "If he can have it by tonight, why not let him bring it? Should we really give him a chance to change his mind?"

Stain Slapped Frost with his wing. "You're not the brains of this operation, I am."

Tundra was about to speak up, but Usu held his hoof up to suggest his silence. Tundra was the first to notice the soft glow of Usu's horn in this moment, and he glanced around, trying to find what was being done so subtly. He remained silent, his trust in Usu almost absolute.

"As I was saying, funny," growled Stain. "You will come back tomorrow. The price is two million."

"Two million!?" Kai's blood was boiling. "How in Equestria do you expect me to gather up two million bits?"

"You're friends with the princess. You figure it out."

As Stain turned to walk away, a loud click was heard. Everypony turned to look at Tundra, whose collar had just snapped off and was falling to the ground. Usu wasted no time as he reached up and landed a punch right on Stain's already broken nose. Stain stumbled backward, tripping over Frost in the process.

Usu slapped Tundra's shoulder and pointed to Kai, who was now rushing forward once again. To Kai's great surprise, Tundra lowered himself and lifted Fluttershy up with his magic, levitating her onto Kai's back. With a nod, Kai took off in the opposite direction of the fight, stopping behind a nearby corner. Pinkie and Rarity were already there as Kai lowered Fluttershy to the ground.

"The nerve of that ruffian!" growled Rarity. "Selling our dear Fluttershy as a sex slave! I should see him hang for this!"

"Quiet!" demanded Kai. "First thing's first." He undid Fluttershy's gag and began to look her over. "Did they stick anything in you?"

Fluttershy coughed as her gag came out. "The... The red one... He shoved something... Down my throat just before..."

"Did you swallow it?"

She nodded. Kai nodded at Rarity, who started pulling medical supplies out of her saddlebags.

"That was an explosive he gave you. He means to kill you."

Fluttershy's facial expression turned to one of panic.

"I'm not going to let that happen. We're going to extract it."

"Ready!" called Rarity.

Kai nodded. "Pinkie, hold her down." As she did as he asked, Kai took an alcohol swab from Rarity and cleaned the area where he would need to open. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. This may sting a little."

As Kai's blade opened her skin and parted her muscles, Fluttershy was in anguish. As she screamed out in pain, Kai did his best to work quickly, while only making the holes as large as was absolutely necessary. Pinkie offered Fluttershy a clean rag to bite down on, which she took without hesitation. Kai found her stomach, and through the lining he could see a dim, flashing red light. The very sight of it made Pinkie begin to quiver. Rarity wiped Kai's brow as he was starting to sweat. As quick as his magic would allow, Kai opened her stomach and pulled out the device. It was fairly small for an explosive, but obviously still too large to comfortably swallow.

As Kai took it in his hoof, it began to rapidly beep. He panicked, and threw it as hard as he could into the air, where it detonated with an ear-shattering bang. Using his large metal wings, he was able to shield Fluttershy and Pinkie from the shrapnel that came raining down on top of them. His wingspan wasn't enough to cover Rarity, as well, but she managed to protect herself well enough with her magic.

"Quickly, seal her back up!" called Pinkie.

Rarity nodded and began preparing the suture. Unfortunately for her, Kai had other plans. Remembering the spell that closed wounds, his horn glowed purple as Fluttershy's wounds closed tightly.

Fluttershy's face showed a small amount of confusion amidst the pain. She had seen Kai's horn glow hundreds of times, and it had always been blue. She didn't have much time to think about it, however, as Rainbow came crashing down beside them.

"I heard your signal. Where's the bomb?"