Chapter 7: Between Us Friends

"Mr. Montclair."

Ever-diligent in his research, the well-dressed diamond dog raised an eye to recognize his apprentice, continuing his face towards a document.

"Baws," he acknowledged, continuing to read. "Is there something you need?"

"You're going to be returning the ponies-"

"Guests." corrected the wolf.

"Guests," continued the other. "After we know the location of the Gem, right?"

"That is correct." replied Montclair.

"Perhaps it might not be prudent to do so immediately."

"Prudent?" he thought for a moment, let the paper down placing his paws together on the desk, and returned Baws with a look of attention.

"Is it possible that the location they show might be a red herring? Where they show the Gem might actually be a location that it used to be, and currently isn't. Or maybe a place that it isn't and has never been, in that case." Montclair sat and thought, his eyes moving downwards at the consideration. Baws moved closer to the desk, resting a paw on one of the nearby chairs.

"Possible, but very unlikely," replied Montclair finally. "You said yourself that Miss Sparkle's level of honesty was acceptable-"

"Acceptable to your standards, Mr. Montclair. But remember, I've told you from back before we started the Enterprise that I don't trust anyone, especially not heist components, like the ...guests." Montclair's brow furrowed at Baws' reply.

"Very well then, you doubt the Finding Spell. Why should that call into question returning the guests home?"

"We'll keep them here." said Baws suggestively. "Not permanently of course," he began listing, gesturing on each of his claws. "Finding spell, scout the location, figure out if the Gem is there, if it isn't, we still have the guests here to try the spell again. If it is, we've succeeded, they go home."

"We change the terms from 'Returned home upon the revelation of the Gem' to 'Returned home upon the reception of the Gem' and 'bob's your uncle'. You think it will be that easy?"

"Well, we don't have to tell them those exact terms."

Montclair stood, still staring at the face of Baws. He turned and began walking with his back facing Baws, towards the circular space of his study where the furniture had been pushed aside as room for Twilight's spell to take place soon enough. He stood, examining the space for a little while, saying nothing and then looking downwards.

"I suppose you're right, better to be cautious than careless." He turned around, seriousness written on the creases around his face. "But I take such a step with hesitation; this may change our plans drastically. As well, you know how I feel about extended visits ever since that escapade with that other thief Arsène Lupius."

"Who could forget." chuckled Baws.

"You may see to the guests; whenever they're ready for the Spell, then we'll begin."

"Twi, you okay?"

Twilight groaned, looking up from the text and rubbing her head with her hoof. She sighed, eyes closed in relative fatigue.

"This book is written in a very old dialect, it's hard to follow. I'm getting the gist but it's slow going," said Twilight with a yawn. "I haven't read stuff this boring since I was in Canterlot."

As she continued reading for a little longer, Applejack ventured closer. Twilight suddenly lurched on her seat, whipped around and fixed her gaze on Applejack, eyes wide open. Applejack stared in return, halted in position by her rapid movement.

"…Uh… Twilight?"

"Applejack this just gave me an idea," she said, staring intently into the orange mare's eyes.

"Swell, I guess. What?"

"This spell is about remote viewing based upon a special focus."

"Oh, kay…"

"Lots of it is about getting the 'tone' of focus, apparently some kind of deep magic that doesn't make much sense. But I just had a brilliant idea. I could make the focus the Mind of a Pony!"

"Focus on the mind of a Pony?"

"If I can focus on the magic that flows from within our hearts - or the hearts and minds of our friends, I could use the Finding Spell on our friends! With that, I could use my teleport spell to take us to wherever they are. Escape!"

"Genius! I knew there'd-" exclaimed Applejack. She then looked up and remembered the chain wrung around Twilight's horn. The expression on her face betrayed that remembrance back to Twilight. They both stood there, thinking for a short period.

"Hey Twilight. Wouldn't they have to take off your horn-chain if they wanted to do their Findin' Spell?"

"Yes but the Finding Spell takes a bit of concentration for it to work, and the moment they think something's going wrong I bet they'd strap it right back on my head. You saw, they probably have a huge guard staff here.

Applejack recalled that she did see.

"So what do we do?"

"We need to think of a way to get it off my horn, so we can try the Find/Teleport spell alone and without them knowi-"

An abrupt knocking sound ushered in Baws and two of the unicorn guards.

"Miss Twilight, Miss Applejack, are you ready for the Spell?"

"Ready," said Twilight, effectively hiding her ulterior motivation. Applejack nodded.

Baws led them through the hall once again, taking with him the tome, into the room which Twilight remembered was the same one that was used for her Interview, but saw the wide open space for her to perform her magic. At the perimeter of the circular space, there were several more guard unicorns, having shed their jackets but still wearing their little hats. All of them stared intently at Twilight while the two ponies entered. Baws stood to one side, Montclair overseeing nearby.

"Whenever you're ready, Miss Sparkle." said Montclair. Baws gave one of the unicorns a nod, and the unicorn approached Twilight from the front, staring at her head. Twilight held still at his icy glare. The chain creaked as if it had been frozen and was melting, and then came loose, peeling away from her horn. Twilight's head felt sort of fuzzy and itchy as the guard walked away again, holding the chain at the ready. Twilight channelled some magic through her horn, as if she was shaking a recently asleep limb. She looked to the side and saw the guard with his chain narrow his eyes, and realized she'd better get to it.

"Applejack, stand at the other end of the circle." said Twilight, moving towards a position half-way from the centre of the round space. Applejack did so, turning and facing Twilight.

"Okay… relax…" said Twilight, partly to herself. She closed her eyes, focusing deep, starting to sway slightly, her mind's concentration burying itself deeper than even thought of her balance. Suddenly she jerked to an intensely pressed position, her legs pushing hard as she fought some unseen thing, her horn glowing brighter and brighter with swirling beams. Applejack held still, watching Twilight's effort. She then felt herself starting to force herself harder and harder in some kind harsh focus with a complex thought entrenching itself into her subconscious mind. Montclair eyed the scene patiently.

Their cutie marks began to glow white and a lightning-like arc shot between their eyes, starting to spread and inflating like a big electrified balloon. It flashed and balanced out into some sort of odd hovering sphere with glowing edges in the middle of the room. Applejack's and Twilight's cutie marks faded to normal, the both of them dangerously leaning to one side before regaining their sense of balance. Applejack shook her head and regained her countenance. Twilight faintly moved, before slowly and with heavy exertion made her way to stand nearer to Montclair, who seemed most pleased with what he saw. A large holographic bubble in the middle of the room, showing a cloudy image of objects moving around and falling into place, as a scene assembled like a building toy before them. Montclair seemed quite intrigued by the display.

"An excellent parade... Look, those columns are either Cloudsdalian or Ibexian- and pink stained glass; Shetlander, 5th century no doubt." Trees began to form in the image, and a wide open space started to become clear. Montclair frowned when the scene seemed fully assembled, but Twilight smiled as she recognized.

"That looks like-"

"Canterlot?" said Montclair, annoyed. The scene seemed to move, showing a deeply buried glow underneath a water fountain statue. "Of all places…" he continued, nearly despondent.

"Well that makes verification and retrieval pretty simple, Mr. Montclair. A smash-and-grab in an easily accessed city," replied Baws. Montclair eyed him with a sort of indignant sarcastic smile.

"Oh 'pretty simple', of course! It's not like Canterlot has the highest amount of Royal Guards per capita than any city for a thousand miles." Montclair moved his paw at the holographic-like pearl of the illusion, turning the view like a stationary camera.

"Gah!" Twilight found herself sliding sideways in proportion to the rotation of the bubble. Baws resignedly said nothing as he realized Montclair's vocal annoyance.

"It wouldn't surprise me if there were a dozen barracks' located within a minute's walk." the gentledog sighed loudly. "The Gem, hidden underneath a statue in the middle of Canterlot City Square. Who thought up this tripe?"

"You have to admit it's a clever way to keep the Gem protected, sir," said Baws.

"It'll take months to plan the heist." agreed Montclair, examining the bubble closer again. He moved his paw up to it again to touch it, but it popped much in the way bubbles do, disappearing into nothing. While still taking in what had happened, Twilight was body-checked by guards on both sides squashing her, and another replaced the chain immediately. The guards relinquished their pressing, and Twilight fell over, the wind knocked out of her. Instantly and without a word Applejack bucked one of them flying across the room, laying another hoof into the face of another before she found herself suspended and unable to move in a dark burgundy cloud of magic, held aloft by three other guards.

"Steady on!" started Montclair. "Gentlecolts! What is this? That's no way to treat our guests!" he indicated the guards. Twilight heaved as she regained her breath and footing. "I am sincerely sorry Miss Sparkle; my guards are a bit overzealous." Twilight said nothing with a bitter expression, still trying to get back her proper breathing. She seemed like she wanted to say something and Montclair was patient with her standing there, but Baws interrupted.

"Take them away," said his steely voice.

"Enough of that, Baws." belayed Montclair. Baws gave him a very unappealing glare. Montclair didn't notice, looking back at Applejack and Twilight. "Thank you very much my dears, you've been very helpful."

"Now are ye' gonna send us home?" asked Applejack, as she was placed on the ground gently. Montclair's eyes seemed to whirr with thought without moving, before he turned his look to Baws for a moment. Baws' look returned like a mirror, and Montclair looked back at Twilight, then Applejack. Her eyes betrayed a mix of frustration and exasperation, with some kind of cold hope. Montclair looked beyond them, addressing the guards standing behind Applejack and Twilight. He finally said,

"Begin preparations for our next actions. Return our guests to their room for now."

For a lingering moment, Applejack just looked at Montclair, unsure what he meant by 'Next actions'. Ushered by the guards, they began to walk back to their room. Montclair stood ponderously until they were gone. "Indeed, it's going to take a long time to consider how to approach this properly."

"That Montclair better be sendin' us home lickity-split or I can't be held responsible for what I'm gonna do." exclaimed Applejack with a simmering fury.

"The spell wasn't as hard as I thought, but those guards didn't have to try and crush me."

"This whole place is crazy as a fruit-bat." Twilight and Applejack sat down in the middle of the room, exasperated by the ordeal of their capture. A couple solemn moments passed. Applejack sighed loudly as she sat down near the middle of the room.

"I hate it here and I miss my friends. I think I'm startin' to bend at the edges, all these guards and all the strictness…" she said, the slight quiver in her voice that made it sound like she might cry.

"It was scary an' dangerous whenever we went off t'some other thing with all of us together, Twilight. Dragon Mountain, the castle ruins, that whole thing in Appleloosa… But nopony was ever tryin' to hurt us... well, except for the buffalo- but that was jus' confusion. But these fellers are different!"

"We just have to stay strong, Applejack," said Twilight, also trying to convince herself.

"But what's worst of all is that Montclair gentle-dog-feller-thing! I don't know 'bout you but I can't tell with him a'tall. They treat us so rough and then he expects us to trust him so nice. It don't make no sense… it's like, some-thing that happens is against what he wants and thinks and he's alright with it, there's gotta be a word, he's so… so…"

"Inconsistent?" suggested Twilight.

"Yeah."

"I still don't know if we should trust Montclair at all either Applejack. If all those guards and Baws are his lackeys that represent what he wants to do, I don't know how he thinks we should just go along with what he wants like we're… employees or something- when he seems so much more kind and polite than what they do."

"Employees, right. Treats us like paid farm-hoofs."

"Well it doesn't stand a chance against the power of friendship."

"Employees? Inconsistent? This is perplexing."

Montclair leaned away from the listening tube and stood up from his desk. He paced around it a small while, as Baws read from a thick book and was writing on the draughtsman's desk. The more Montclair thought, the more he became confused, until he spoke.

"Baws, you're a good friend, right?" he asked in a certain inquiry of confidence.

"In some regards. You're more like a supervisor and a teacher in my mind, sir." said Baws, matter-of-factly.

"Am I losing my touch?"

Baws looked up over his shoulder, examining Montclair from head to toe, then returned his focus to his work with his pen, speaking while facing away.

"What'd you mean?"

"Something doesn't seem quite right with Miss Sparkle and Applejack, whenever we talk to them," he said, walking briskly to in front of his desk.

"Quite right?" Baws repeated as a question.

"You'd think they'd be more appreciative of my charity. I give them a fine room and fine food and all I ask is their cooperation. You know this would have gone smoother if you hadn't mentioned I was a gentledog thief at the beginning."

"It won't happen again," said Baws in a manner that suggested he preferred not being distracted from his work.

"But what strikes me as odd is why they are so… resistant to my giving's and askings. There's some kind of unnecessary friction there…"Montclair stood with his paw to his chin, looking downwards in deep thought. Baws continued to write. "Baws,"

The gentledog looked at his apprentice, a sliver of growing concern on his face. Baws looked up.

"How did you 'retrieve the Elements'?" Baws thought for a moment and then stopped moving, before his eyes focused back to Montclair.

"Well?"

"I kidnapped them," said Baws with an exhale, knowing after a moment of consideration that it would not be the most ideal of things to say.

"Kidnapped," repeated Montclair, apprehensive. "You… kidnapped them." Baws nodded his head slowly. Montclair's voice seemed barely able to contain a collected fury, his paws shaking for a tiny instant before they were calmed by force of will. He breathed slowly before speaking.

"Baws, I do not think I have ever been so disappointed in you." he began walking towards the circular clearing of desks. "I never thought my giving you the ability to run the Enterprise and represent my interests on my behalf would in a hundred years result in such a tremendous deviation. I taught you to be efficient, to be polite, to be noble, are those things not worth anything if we do not demonstrate them?"

"We're thieves, Montclair."

"We're Honourable Thieves!" he exploded, taking a broad step to his desk to ensure the listening tube to the guest room was closed. "Have you learned nothing? Why in the name of Celestia-above would you kidnap them, and then expect them to talk to us openly?"

"Well, given the resources we had available to us, I thought the best way to get them would be without any questions asked and with complete assurances of our possession." Montclair threw his arms up in frustration, his cane waving in the air.

"Oh simple as that, eh? You just flaunt your power as second-in-command and with a little bit of coin anything opens up to you?"

"I recall you once said yourself that we do what we do because it's fun." Montclair approached Baws, who was still sitting in his chair but looking at Montclair, whose face was most intense.

"I do what I do because it serves a purpose and is fun. You're taking pleasure in simply the indulgence of power." Montclair turned and backed off a little. "That's incredibly dangerous, Baws."

"What's it matter? We still got what we wanted. What would you have done?" Baws replied.

"The last thing I would do is nab some knave by the nape of the neck." he began rolling his paw in a fantasy conjecture and paced forwards, his voice much less angry but still quite reprimanding. "I could've hired a professor, rented a loft in the city, pretended it was a magic experiment for a university- for goodness sake Twilight would've brought all her friends at her own expense and there wouldn't have been any need for worrying about the Interview in the first place. Since you kidnapped them, in all likelihood her friends are seeking her out, which jeopardizes our station and our location."

Baws sat quiet. In his mind he knew with such a suggestion he was defeated for that logic, but his expression wouldn't admit it. Montclair sat down, very deflated and silently enraged. He spoke rather quietly, with a calming but very sullen tone.

"Baws, you feed too much on the authority you have. It's corrupting you and I no longer think it fitting to continue the heist at this rate. We'll put the project on hold for now until we can stabilize things and we'll return Twilight and Applejack to Ponyville at midday tomorrow when the relief train arrives. I'll see to it, but you…" Montclair sighed heavily, looking directly into Baws' eyes. "You may not be my friend, but I know something in you trusts me as your teacher. You're hereby relieved duty of the Montclair-Baws Enterprise until further notice." Baws eyes narrowed, but Montclair didn't see; the wolf simply staring downwards and flabbergasted. "Get out."

Baws took in the words with a thick stake of gravity. He stood, rolling up the paper he had been writing on, and walked out without a word. Montclair was left standing beside the desk with his paw resting on the edge. He sat down feeling defeated, and rested his paw on his face, slowly wiping downwards from his eyes to his mouth.

A few knocks and 'The Guests' gazes locked on the door. Baws came inside and shut the door with one quick movement and began walking towards the desks with the curled paper in his paw. His look was different from what it had been ever before, with a fleck of an honest concern in it, and beckoned them to come closer.

"My guests, you need to escape." he said in a hushed imperative tone.

Applejack and Twilight looked at each other in bewilderment of the indication.

"What?" said Applejack first.

"Montclair doesn't intend to release you. I'm coming up with a plan for us to get out of here tomorrow at noon."

"Why wouldn't he plan on releasin' us, he said he would." replied Applejack. Baws unrolled the paper, revealing an isometric layout of some kind of structure, with a front elevation that showed what it would look like completed.

"That looks like one of Apple Bloom's toy sets, sorta. Like a little castle."

"This is a floor plan of a planned addition to the mansion, written up by Monty." he pointed with his claws at the windows. "Notice the window frames- reinforced steel," and then pointed to the top of a spire-like tower, with a crudely drawn tiny diagram of some kind of mechanical device. "Miss Twilight, do you recognize this?"

"It sort of looks like an aura-wand attached to something."

"It's an Anti-Magic field generator. No magic inside the structure, no magic can penetrate the structure. Not even the Finding Spell would work inside it." detailed Baws. "The perfect little play-pen for Montclair's little ponies."

"What?" objected Twilight.

"Montclair is a collector, and he's never satisfied with an incomplete collection." he eyed them both intently. "And right now he has two of the six Elements of Harmony. He always feels like he's got to 'catch them all'."

"He couldn't just keep us there forever!" protested Applejack at the comprehension.

"Ten years is standard fare." echoed Baws. A moment passed in horror as Twilight and Applejack realized the prison that the diagram conveyed. "I'll be able to get you out tomorrow, but just rest this evening. Don't do anything suspicious and no questions will be asked by anyone."

Neither of the ponies said anything as Baws picked up the paper and curled it in his paw.

"See you tomorrow, and don't worry." he exited the room, locking the door once outside as usual. His eyes peered at the guard standing at attention. He held the paper up to the lamp beside the door, holding it until it caught fire against the flame, and burned into ash with no remains.

"Forget what you just saw," declared Baws.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Baws, sir," replied the guard solidly.

"Good."