"Might I have the pleasure of this dance, m'lady?"
Rarity suppressed the urge to let out a most unladylike curse as she stared up at the masked stallion who had approached her from behind. "Of course, darling," she said instead, her voice and poise perfect for a noblemare of her supposed station, and her own mask and dress hiding her true identity to the Canterlot Elite.
The movements, second nature to both of them, came unbidden, and they slid across the dance floor in an intricate pattern of steps with barely any thought. Rarity took some time to note the stallion's mask, an elegant, beautifully crafted ensemble of feathers and sparkles that clashed horribly with his suit. Another noble who knew which designers were in vogue, but not why.
"Have you been enjoying yourself tonight, m'lady?" Rarity's attention snapped back to the stallion himself as he spoke.
"It's been simply divine." A smile so practiced not even the socialites trained from birth could tell it was false. "The Castle is absolutely lovely."
"So it is," the stallion acknowledged, leaning in close enough that Rarity could smell his overbearing cologne, like a suffocating blanket. "I know of a few secret alcoves even the Princess is not aware of." From behind his golden mask, Rarity could see him leering at her. "Perhaps we could slip away from this ball and I could give you a private tour?"
Fortunately for Rarity, her gown hid her shudder of revulsion. "I'd love to, but duty demands that I remain. Perhaps another time?" the song died down as they stepped away from one another, much to Rarity's relief.
"But how can we meet again if I cannot even see your face?" the stallion whined.
"If it is our fate to meet again, then so shall it be." Rarity raised a hoof up to her forehead as she stared dramatically up at the ceiling. "Farewell, darling, may we meet again when the stars align."
Rarity slipped back into the crowd with expert grace, losing her partner in the sea of ponies. This time, she managed to make it to the back of the ballroom without being accosted. Glancing around to make sure nopony was looking, she slipped through the doorway, breathing a small sigh of relief as the din of the ball faded into quiet rumbling. As much as she enjoyed the trappings of high society, she had a much more important matter to attend to tonight.
If the schedule she'd obtained was correct, the guards would be rotating out right now, giving her a narrow window of opportunity to reach her destination unmolested. With quiet, dainty steps that didn't echo through the halls, she made her way through Canterlot Castle, her excellent spatial awareness and memory guiding her towards the Royal Archives.
When she arrived, she found the sole entrance to her destination blocked by two guards, their polished armor glinting in the soft moonlight filtering in from the windows. They lifted their spears towards her as she walked down a row of bookshelves towards them.
"Halt!" one of the shouted. "How did you get in here? The Archives are closed for the night."
"Oh, terribly sorry, darling." Rarity fanned herself with a hoof, adapting a breathless tone. "But I simply had to pry myself away from that lovely soirée to catch a breath of fresh air. You see, my health has never been the best, and Father is always telling me I need to rest more, but–"
The guards had almost no time to react as Rarity's horn glowed, sending a pair of heavy books flying from their shelves to strike them right on the head. The impact sent out a soft thunk that echoed in the Archives for a second before fading away, leaving behind only two armored ponies slumped on the ground, unconscious.
That would give her about five minutes before the next patrol found them and sounded the alarm. Wasting no time, she grabbed the keyring from one of the fallen guards and used it to unlock the door they had been guarding.
The heavy metal slab swung open to reveal a musty room lit by torchlight. Row upon row of books filled her vision, but she ignored all of them, heading right to the back of the room where one particular bookshelf sat looking to the world like all the others.
From her dress, Rarity produced a small, perfectly cut diamond that glowed with arcane energy. She levitated it towards the bookshelf, and a moment later a cyan glow surrounded it as the spell in the diamond disabled the protective charms woven secretly into the wood.
With nothing standing between her and her prize, Rarity grabbed the book she'd come here for before trotting briskly towards the exit.
Just as she was congratulating herself on a job well done, a blade wrapped in a purple glow appeared in front of her, its edge hovering inches away from her neck. A moment later, an equally purple unicorn stepped into view from behind a bookshelf, a disapproving look on her face.
"You know, you're supposed to check out a book before taking it from the library."
Twilight's heart hammered away in her chest as she held the sword up to the intruder.
Her earlier bravado had already begun to fade as the masked thief turned to face her, her lips curling into a small smile. "Well, well, well, what do we have here? I'm sorry, I thought the Archives were closed for the ball."
Twilight floated the blade closer to the intruder, forcing her to crane her neck upwards to avoid being cut. "Return the book you stole and nopony needs to get hurt."
"You must be Twilight Sparkle," the mare said casually, as if there wasn't a sharp piece of metal pressing against her throat. "I must say, it's an honor to meet the personal protégée of our glorious Princess."
"You have me at a disadvantage, ma'am. And who might you be?" Yes, good job Twilight, try to get as much information as possible.
"Oh, just another masked face at the ball." Without warning, the mare's horn lit up in a brilliant blue glow, and an instant later she produced her own rapier from her dress, knocking Twilight's blade away before she could react. "But you may call me Platinum if you wish."
Instinct took over as Twilight leapt back into a proper fighting stance, her blade positioned defensively in front of her. The masked mare – Platinum – did the same, and Twilight noted that her form was impeccable. Oh, and her stance was perfect as well.
"What kind of lady brings a sword to a masquerade ball, Platinum?" Twilight asked as her whole body tensed, waiting for the mare to strike.
"The same type of lady who brings one to a library, I suppose," Platinum retorted. "Now then, will you step aside, or do I have to teach you a lesson on bladework, student?"
"I doubt there's anything you could teach me." It was important not to show weakness. That had been one of the first lessons her brother had taught her. "I've trained under the tutelage of the greatest swordsmares in Equestria."
"Good." The smug tone never left Platinum's voice. "Then perhaps you'll be more satisfying than my usual challengers. It's such a disappointment when a partner can't last long enough to satiate you, wouldn't you agree?"
"I wouldn't know," Twilight replied. "Unlike some ponies, I have standards when it comes to choosing my partners."
Rarity scoffed. "I hardly think that a book counts as—"
She never got to finish her sentence, as Twilight chose that moment to attack. Quick as a whip, she lashed out, flinging her blade straight at Platinum's heart, and in less than a blink of an eye, it had already crossed half the distance between the two mares.
It got no further, however, as Platinum responded with blinding speed, batting away Twilight's sword with her own and returning them to a neutral position. "How terribly rude, Lady Sparkle," she chided, wagging her blade back and forth for emphasis. "Did the Princess never teach you proper etiquette?"
"I hardly think a book thief such as you deserves the courtesy of the court." Twilight punctuated her statement with another thrust, carefully observing Platinum's response for errors in her technique. Logic triumphed over fear as she forced her brain into analysis mode, redirecting her thoughts of danger into engaging Platinum in this unusual interrogation.
"I'm disappointed in you, Twilight." Platinum launched her own flurry of probing attacks as both mares took the measures of their opponents. "Do you truly believe that only those of noble blood deserve to be treated with respect?"
"Of course not," Twilight replied as she began feigning weakness in her left guard. "I know better than most that a pony's worth comes not from birth, but from deed. And you, Platinum, have committed the most ignoble of acts."
"Theft?"
"Book theft." The back-and-forth rhythm continued between the two, neither side willing to show their cards yet. "There can be no justification for such a heinous act."
"As there would be for other types of theft?" For some ridiculous reason, Twilight felt like she was being tested by this intruder. Or perhaps being judged.
Well, she had never been one to cower from an inquiry. "Not if you subscribe to Manual Cant's Categorical Imperative," she said as she allowed Platinum to gain some ground against in her in their fight. "But if you subscribe to Mill's consequentialist perspective, then it would be moral to steal if it served the greater good. The classic ethical dilemma of stealing a loaf of bread to survive comes to mind."
Platinum pressed her newfound advantage, driving Twilight back towards the entrance of the archives. "In that case, I suppose the nobility subscribe to the Categorical Imperative," she said as she parried another strike from Twilight with ease, "considering what they did to the last poor stallion to be driven to such measures. I hear he claimed his sister's child was close to death, and the courts gave him a nineteen-year sentence for the crime."
Twilight snorted in response. "The only moral philosophy the Nobility follow is one of hypocrisy and solipsism."
That got a titter out of her foe, and Twilight couldn't help but compare Platinum's laugh to the music of wind chimes. "My, my, why such harsh words, Lady Sparkle? One might almost believe you thought poorly of your peers."
"How astute of you," she replied dryly, yielding another step as she allowed herself to stay on the defensive. "No, I know all too well the excesses of the court. You would fit right in, thief." Her eyes continued to trace over every beautiful line and curve of her opponent and her weapon, searching for a weak spot.
"And here I thought you'd be understanding," Platinum chided. "After all, didn't you say that theft for the greater good could be justified?" She pressed her advantage hard, her attacks gaining more confidence as she boxed Twilight into a corner.
"It's not like you're stealing food or water here," Twilight replied with a roll of her eyes, tension coiling within her once again as she waited for the perfect moment. "You aren't even stealing a textbook — though why you'd want to do that is a mystery to me since we have free schooling. There's only one reason to steal a book as dark and forbidden as the one you're holding."
"Oh, and what might that be?" There. A slight misstep in her stance due to her arrogance, leaving her vulnerable to an attack from the left high-line.
"Power." As the word left her lips, Twilight Sparkle sprung forwards, her blade swinging around in a narrow arc as she slashed down towards Platinum with a cutting strike designed to magnify that imbalance.
Platinum instantly righted her stance and blocked the blow with a dominant parry, before lashing out with her own counterattack. Twilight thanked the stars that she'd managed to deceive Platinum as well as she'd been fooled, as the attack tried to make use of Twilight's feigned weakness.
A parry and riposte of her own shifted control of the battle to Twilight, and she forced Platinum to back away and yield back the lost ground she'd taken from Twilight.
"My, what ferocity." Platinum's eyes widened as she took several rushed steps back, but otherwise her composure remained serene. "I wonder, are you this passionate in all your endeavours?"
"Oh please, you'll have to do a lot better than that if you want to distract me," Twilight said as she relentlessly pressed Platinum towards her side of the room. "The most eligible suitors in the realm have tried to court me. Feigning attraction won't work on me." Of course, none of those suitors had moved with the same grace and elegance that the mare before her was displaying.
"Believe me, student, there is nothing that I would have to feign with you." Platinum's heated voice caressed Twilight's ears like molten silk, an observation that she really shouldn't have been making while fighting for her life. "If I wasn't being completely altruistic in my visit to the Castle, I'd be sorely tempted to steal a kiss from you."
It was hard to tell from behind the mask, but Twilight was pretty sure that Platinum was waggling her eyebrows at her. "I'll admit, I've never quite had a dance like this," she said, allowing herself to indulge in a little bit of verbal repartee with her assailant. "Though your technique could use some work."
"Oh, really?" Rarity had stabilized herself, and was now trading blows with Twilight with equal fervor. "And what, pray tell, is wrong with my bladework?"
"You value style over substance, and use inefficient flashy moves that violate all the best practices of fencing just because they look good." To prove her point, Twilight's deliberately slowed her next thrust to give Platinum plenty of time to react.
As expected, Platinum did not use a standard parry to defend herself. What was less expected was when Twilight's blade somehow ended up behind the masked mare, entwined with and guided by the other sword.
"Really, a Neuvieme Croise?" Twilight lathered contempt onto her words to disguise her surprise as she struggled to regain control of her rapier. "Could you be any more ostentatious?"
"It's called innovation, student. Perhaps one day you'll decide to dabble in it. After all, it must be dreadfully dull having to select all your actions from the repertoire of the Canterlot School of Fencing."
Twilight seethed as Platinum returned her blade to her, allowing Twilight to take it back without a fight. "Dedicated practice is not as exciting as prancing around the strip trying to attract a suitor, but the power of practice is not to the underestimated."
She took a deep breath, emptied her mind of all distractions, and stepped forward.
One thousand five hundred years ago, a manual on fencing had been published by a pony known only as "The Maiden of the Moon." The techniques described within its pages were considered the most complex and intricate manoeuvres ever devised in the history of the practice, and it was said to take at least two decades for a Blademasters to gain total mastery over them.
Twilight had only needed one.
Platinum's jaw dropped as the Princess' Student unleashed a flurry of blows against her, her blade moving with blinding speed and expert precision. Thrust into disengage into croise into parry into riposte into feign into remise into balestra and coupé into another croise and so on and so forth, each movement taking only a fraction of a second to perform. Each strike and block drove Platinum back with their surgical accuracy as she desperately flailed against the onslaught.
Eventually, Platinum was forced to disengage completely, leaping back until her back was pressed against the shelves lining the walls of the library. Twilight smirked as she advanced forward towards her cornered prey. "Discipline trumps inspiration any day, thief," she said, taking the opportunity to gloat as she closed the distance. "Not that you'd understand that. I doubt you've done a single day of honest labor in your life."
That broke through her haughty mask, and for a moment Twilight saw her face flash with rage, a snarl that was pulled back before it even formed as Platinum schooled her features back to cool indifference. "I'm afraid not everypony can be as imaginative as moi," she said casually, her eyes following the tip of Twilight's sword with careful calculation. "Oh, and I'll thank you not to make assumptions about a lady's virtue to her face."
Twilight snorted. "Says the mare who's probably going to sell that tome to the highest bidder. Now, give it back, and I'll put in a good word for you with the Princess. You might even see the light of day again if she decides to be merciful."
She advanced once again, her blade pointing directly towards Platinum's heart. Silently, she prayed that the mare would drop her weapon before she forced Twilight's hoof. Twilight truly did not want to hurt Platinum, even if she was a book thief, and some perverse part of her actually felt disappointed that her first battle of wits and blade against an equal opponent was about to come to an end.
It was shameful, but Twilight could not deny how captivating this thief was, both in mind and body, and she sincerely hoped that she would not have to end her life tonight.
But instead of accepting defeat, Platinum locked eyes with her opponent, the fire within never dimming. "As if our Glorious Princess-in-Exile would ever lift a hoof for me." She shook her head. "Besides, if I don't get this book to the ponies who need it, there won't be a light of day for me to return to."
"Are we speaking in riddles, now, Platinum?" Why was she stalling? Her blade was too far away to save her, and they both knew that the moment Twilight saw it moving she'd drive her own blade into her chest. All she was doing with her talking was buying time for the guards to arrive.
"I'm afraid I'm being quite literal, dear. Tell me, have you ever heard of the tale of Nightmare Moon?"
Twilight froze. "H-How did—"
Platinum's sword knocked hers away, and before she had fully processed the mistake she'd made, she felt cold steel pressed against her neck. "Oh dear, I see somepony needs some more lessons in concentration. Now, don't move a muscle, or your lovely lavender coat is going to be stained with a very unfashionable crimson."
"Where did you hear that name?" Twilight whispered, viscerally aware of how the movement of her throat made it rub against the metal edge that could end her life so easily.
"A lady never reveals all her secrets," Platinum replied with a coy smile.
"Are you going to kill me, then?" Despite her heart hammering wildly in her chest, Twilight refused to let her fear show on her face. If this was her time, then she'd face her end with dignity.
"I have a much better idea." Platinum leaned forwards, and before Twilight could react, pressed her lips against hers before pulling back with a sultry smile. "It seems I'm not so selfless as I thought," she breathed, "but I wanted to make sure you'll never forget me. Au revoir, student."
With that, she walked out of the archive, leaving the sword hovering less than an inch from Twilight's throat. It wasn't until she'd left her line of sight for a few seconds that the blade dropped to the ground, allowing Twilight to breathe once again. For a moment she simply stood in place, her lips still burning with the memory of the stolen kiss.
Eventually, she regained enough of her composure to head out of the archives and flag down the guards. They'd need to know about the theft, and she'd have to explain what had happened to the Princess. Then the investigation would begin.
Twilight resolved to ingratiate herself into their efforts to chase down Platinum. She'd never been the competitive type, but something within her needed to be the one to deliver her unto her justice, burned with the desire to bring her to heel. She'd been bested once, and would not allow it to happen again.
And then Twilight would find out what she knew about Nightmare Moon.
"I hope you're ready, Platinum. Our dance is only just beginning."
