A Study in Silver: A RariTwi Exquisite Corpse

Chapters

2. A Study in Silver (SigmasonicX)
3. Star Witness (Undome Tinwe)
4. (Nonchalant)
5. (Lingo)
6. In The Closet (WilloIllo)
8. No Direction (The Red Parade)
9. Lost and Found (trAce)
10. (TGM)
11. Filthy Truths and Ashtray Larceny (Nonchalant)
7. not with a whimper, but with a bang (Maddie the Baddie / Tache)

2. A Study in Silver (SigmasonicX)

Author's Note

As a twist to this Exquisite Corpse, I decided that rather than sending the second writer the first chapter, I'd outline the first chapter, write the second chapter, and send the second writer the second chapter.

My intention was to then write out the first chapter, but I realized that I'd be influenced by the later chapters no matter what I wrote. Plus, I realized there were some important details in the first chapter outline that I neglected to mention in this second chapter, so it felt like a gotcha for the later writers.

In any case, the story works well enough if you start from chapter 2, but here's the outline for chapter 1 (link).

2. A Study in Silver (SigmasonicX)

Detective Rarity stepped out of her car. Before her was a large single-story facility that handled crime scene chemical analysis for the police. Or rather, she was looking at the back entrance; she wouldn’t be welcome at the front.

“Stay in the car, princess. I have an inside woman who’ll take a look at our evidence, but she’s shy around strangers.”

However, the affluent scion was having none of it. Diamond Tiara stepped onto the pavement in a huff and said, “I most certainly will not! I paid you extra to let me come along, and besides, I’d die if a delivery person saw me alone in your junky car.”

Rarity put a lot of effort in making her car luxurious, but she supposed for the Riches, brand mattered more than effort—which only served to remind her of how odd it was that Diamond Tiara came to her of all people for this case. She sighed theatrically. “Fine, fine. Come along, but you’ll have to let me do the explaining.”

They stepped up to an unmarked door. “It looks like you need a card key,” Diamond said.

“Or a special knock,” Rarity replied with a smirk. She knocked a few times slowly, then tapped rapidly. “Thread by thread, stitching it together,” she sang softly.

After a few moments, the door lock disengaged and it opened slowly by itself. Rarity winked at the girl and they both stepped in.

Rarity slipped off her coat and placed it on a convenient hanger. “Zecora! Yoohoo! I hope it isn’t too much trouble, but I’ve got something for you to look at.”

To Rarity’s shock, a new face peeked around the corner. At the very least, Rarity doubted she could have forgotten such a pretty woman, especially with her purple striped hair.

“Ah, so you must be Rarity! Sorry for surprising you, but Zecora’s out for a conference. I’m her assistant, Twilight Sparkle. But don’t worry, she let me know about the deal you two have, and I’m happy to assist in any way she would have.”

Rarity nodded slowly. “Did she, now?” Zecora was a convenient friend on the inside precisely because she worked alone and didn’t tend to gossip. She supposed it had been several months since she last came here, but would Zecora really take on an assistant? Especially one she apparently trusted enough to spill all the beans to.

The detective quickly examined the woman as she stepped forward for a handshake. She had her hair in a long ponytail, which Rarity noted was currently somewhat messy but still seemed silky and well cared for. Thick-rimmed glasses framed bright purple eyes, and she wore an open lab coat over a sensible blouse and a long skirt. For what it was worth, she seemed legitimately excited and even nervous about meeting Rarity. She held out a hand covered in a thick glove, which she seemingly just noticed and pulled off.

Perhaps it would be best to feel her out a bit. Rarity took her hand. “It’s quite a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Sparkle. My, if I knew Zecora had such a charming assistant like you, I would have visited sooner.”

Twilight blushed lightly as her eyes darted around. “Oh! Wow, uh, thank you. You’re quite charming yourself, and I’d want to visit you—I mean, in the scenario that we already knew each other and I hadn’t seen you in a while.”

Rarity hummed. Was she legitimately flustered, or was this an act?

Before she could continue Diamond stepped in between them. “Alright, knock it off with the flirting!” She pointed at Twilight. “You! You can analyze things for us, right?”

Twilight blinked, clearly not having noticed the girl until now. “Of course, that’s what I’m here for. So, Ms. Rarity, what do you have for me?”

Rarity supposed that for now, it’d be best to see how good Twilight was at her job. “My young client here, Diamond Tiara, has two missing person cases for me: her mother, Spoiled Rich, and her friend, Silver Spoon.”

Twilight whistled. “That’s pretty big. I’m surprised I haven’t heard about it from everyone else.”

Diamond stepped forward threateningly. “And you’ll keep it that way, if you know what’s good for you!”

Rarity placed a hand on her head. “Calm down, princess.”

She puffed up her cheeks and shook away. “Don’t touch my hair.”

Rarity sighed and pulled a baggy from the coat hanger, which itself was filled with individually bagged spoons. “There was a kerfuffle of some kind in the Rich manor’s kitchen and these spoons were found there. They’re coated in some kind of dirt that doesn’t match any I’ve seen in the house or in their yard. Would you be a dear and identify the dirt, plus any prints you can find?”

“And be careful,” Diamond added. “Those spoons are my friend’s, and they’re worth more than this entire lab.”

Twilight took the bag eagerly. “Of course! I’ve actually been waiting to try my dirt identification algorithm!”

Diamond raised an eyebrow. “Are you being sarcastic, or…?”

Twilight shook her head. “Oh no, I don’t get sarcastic when it comes to science. But among my friends, I am known as the snarky one,” she said as she pushed up her glasses.

As Twilight leapt back into her side room, Diamond loudly said under her breath, “Yeah, I don’t think she has friends.”

Before the coffee machine even had time to finish, Twilight excitedly came up to Rarity. “I got the results back!”

Diamond looked up from her phone that she childishly fiddled with. Not like the ladylike way Rarity was fiddling with her phone. The detective quickly stashed hers away. “That’s remarkable! So, what do you have?”

Twilight directed them to her monitor. “This dirt has actually come up in a previous case—nothing relevant to this one, I think—and it’s commonly used in landscaping from a company called Honest Apple Co. I have up here a list of their recent clients—don’t ask how I got it. Any of them look familiar?”

Rarity scanned through the list. A lot of high end clients, but notably not the Riches. However, there was one that stood out to her. “There. Just the other day, they did landscaping for the Silver family.”

Diamond Tiara sighed loudly upon hearing this. “Really? That’s our lead? We were already looking into the Silvers! We didn’t learn anything new!”

Rarity hummed. She wasn’t so sure about that. Honest Apple Co…. she heard the Flim Flam Bros. were tied to it. And if both the spoons and the dirt came from the Silvers, then they must be involved in some way. “In any case, princess, that’s all the more reason to go check the Silvers out. I’m quite curious how they’re taking the disappearance of their daughter. Plus, unless they’re real wizzes, that landscaping company should still be there.”

Twilight jumped up. “Ooh! Can I come with?”

Rarity raised her eyebrow. “You want to come with us?”

Twilight was already loading a backpack with gear. “I always wanted to be out on the field, solving a case. And it’s a slow day anyway.”

Rarity rubbed her chin. She supposed it wouldn’t be any worse than bringing a kid along, and this would allow her to keep a closer eye on this suspicious woman.

Diamond Tiara huffed. “Absolutely not! You’ll just distract the detective again!”

Spite was certainly a worthwhile reason too. “Well that settles it! Welcome to the team, Ms. Sparkle.” Rarity took some delight in Diamond’s grumbling, but decided to throw her a bone. “It’ll be useful to have someone skilled in chemical analysis along.” This downgraded Diamond’s face from a puff to a mere frown, which was progress in Rarity’s book.

The three of them stepped to Rarity’s car and the detective pondered all the mysteries presented before her. Should she be writing all this down?

Nah, she thought. She’d definitely remember all this without issue.

3. Star Witness (Undome Tinwe)

"So, how did you come to be under the employ of Zecora, Miss Sparkle?"

Since Diamond Tiara was still giving their new guest the cold shoulder and Twilight Sparkle only seemed interested in discussing evidence in the case of the disappearance of Silver Spoon and Spoiled Rich, it of course fell to Rarity to make small talk in her car while they made their way to the Silver Estate.

"Oh, I ran into her while trying to get some, uhh, legally-questionable chemicals for an experiment," Twilight explained blithely, and Rarity had to wonder how the woman had managed to avoid being silenced so far. "Turns out, that's a really bad idea. I'm lucky it was Zecora who found me and explained a few things about how the criminal underground works. There's a lot of work I can do here, and she's very generously letting me learn the ropes under her supervision."

"I see." The informant was an odd sort, Rarity knew, but there was no way that Zecora was simply doing this out of the goodness of her heart. She hoped that the true price would not be too high for Twilight Sparkle to pay. "Well, we're happy to have you along with us."

"I'm not," Diamond Tiara groused, ever the cheerful one. "This is supposed to be a secret investigation, remember?"

"Don't fret, dear," Rarity said. "We shall have this mystery solved soon enough."

The Silver Estate was, of course, located in the most expensive part of town, and Rarity knew that despite her best efforts, her car would look out of place next to the top-of-the-line models parked there. Still, there was nothing to it— they'd just need to be in and out as quickly as possible.

"You're quite certain that the dirt from the crime scene was from Honest Apple Co, yes?" Rarity asked as they got out of the car.

Twilight shrugged. "No forensic methodology is one-hundred percent accurate, but the composition of different soils are about as unique as fingerprints, so I'm reasonably confident in my assessment. However, Honest Apple does landscaping for more than the Silvers, so the deduction of that correlation is not necessarily certain."

"I'm well aware that correlation does not imply causation," Rarity replied. "But you must admit, it's the most likely explanation."

"Given the priors, it does make the most sense to come here," Twilight agreed. "So, how do you want to do this? I'm familiar with a number of different interrogation techniques, but most of those assume that the suspect is already in custody. We don't have much leverage over the Silver family."

"Which is why I'm not intending to speak with them," Rarity said.

Diamond Tiara glanced sharply at her. "Wait, what?"

Instead of replying, Rarity made her way around the house, towards the back, ignoring the large, ornate door at the entrance.

"Hey!" Diamond Tiara shouted as she followed behind her. "I thought we were here to talk to Silver's parents."

"Today is the Celestial Charity Ball," Rarity explained. "I wonder, would the disappearance of their beloved daughter be enough to pull Sterling Silver and Silver Diadem away from the networking opportunities?"

She found her answer in Diamond Tiara's silence. Softening her tone, Rarity added, "It's good that she has someone she can rely on. Friends are oh-so important in this world." As much of a spoiled brat as she might be, the heiress had still lost her mother and best friend. A little kindness would not go amiss.

"Hmph." Diamond Tiara crossed her arms. "I'm not paying you to talk about feelings. What's your plan, Detective?"

"A house like this has many eyes and ears," Rarity replied. "We simply need to find the correct ones." She made her way over to the yard, where a young woman was hard at work digging holes for planting things. At least, that was what Rarity assumed was happening.

The woman looked up as she saw them approaching, her blonde ponytail swinging behind her as she did so. "Howdy," she called out, waving. "Can I help y'all?"

"I sincerely hope so," Rarity said. "Are you an employee of Honest Apple Co?"

The woman's face darkened at that. "I suppose I am," she muttered. "Ever since Flim and Flam..." She shook her head. "Nevermind that. I'm Applejack, at your service."

"Detective Rarity." At that, Applejack immediately tensed up. "We are investigating a disappearance."

"A disappearance, you say?" Applejack said with far too much nonchalance to be normal. "That's mighty tragic, but I'm afraid I ain't heard anything about nobody disappearing."

"Is that so." Given how poor a liar her quarry was, Rarity decided to go on the offensive from the start. "We found traces of dirt at the scene of the crime, dirt that just so happens to be produced by your fine establishment."

"Forgettin' for a moment that our dirt could've gotten anywhere, how the hay do ya know that it's ours?" She was faltering, that much was clear. This Applejack certainly had little experience with deception.

Before Rarity could press the attack, Twilight spoke up. "We found traces of calcite and feldspar in the soil, which means that it was enriched with minerals quarried from the east side of the city. Combined with the organic matter containing digitoxin and l-atropine, the only company that produces soil from sources where the associated plants were grown is yours."

Applejack looked somewhat crossed-eyed at that, but still managed to retort. "Well, that still don't mean we know anything about Silver going missing."

"And when did we say that it was Silver Spoon who vanished?" Rarity asked, going in for the kill.

Applejack froze. "Uhh, I mean..." She stammered, her eyes shifting side to side. "When ya work here, you hear things sometimes."

"If that's the extent of your involvement, then it doesn't make sense for you to lie," Twilight pointed out.

"Now look here." Applejack's fists clenched, and Rarity instinctively reached into her purse in case events escalated. "I'm not gonna have a bunch of strangers show up and accuse me of lying."

"Please," Rarity pleaded. "The information you have could help save lives. Why won't you share it with us?"

For a moment, Applejack faltered. Before she could speak, however, another voice called out from the bushes.

"Because she's protecting me."

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack hissed out as a young teenager with red hair tied up in a bow stepped into view, a determined expression on her face.

"I ain't gonna keep hiding, sis," Apple Bloom said. She turned towards Rarity, and the haunted look in her eyes would plague Rarity in her dreams for a long time. "You taught me that I had to tell the truth, even when it was hard, or dangerous. And I saw what happened to Silver Spoon and Spoiled Rich."

4. (Nonchalant)

Apple Bloom’s voice wavered as she spoke, and Rarity had to commend the spirit of the lanky teenager in front of her for coming forward at all. “I’d gotten here early that day, right? Helping my sis with the supplies for today, is all. Big night means the fancy folk like to spruce up their gardens and such while no one’s gonna be stopping by to see it,” she said. “But anyways, I’d gotten here early and was bringin’ some stuff up to the side of the staff house, where we have our shed. Only, while I was there, I heard voices. Sounded angry, but all hushed, like they knew they might be makin’ a scene.”

Rarity nodded, having had far too many heated discussions of her own just out of view of the “respectable public” to not understand. She noticed the girl before her swallowing thickly and decided to prompt her further. “Did you recognise the voices?”

“Yeah, both of them were the kind you hear up in these parts all the time. Of course I knew Silver’s voice, since she’d come give us directions for the landscaping sometimes, and the other voice was… infamous, let’s say. Everybody what works up here knows what Spoiled Rich sounds like, even if they’ve never met her.”

Even Twilight Sparkle hummed in understanding at that. Rarity raised an eyebrow at that. Illicit apprentice under Zecora, informant, and clearly involved in some high-class circle or another. Still, that wasn’t the case she was currently being paid to pursue, so she shelved her observations. Apple Bloom was still speaking.

“Of course I got a little closer to listen in, but I didn’t wanna turn the corner and have them see me behind the house. Mrs. Rich was hissing something about agreeing to come quietly, and Silver sounded scared. At that point I dared to peek around, right? But there wasn’t anyone there threatening them, just Mrs. Rich loomin’ over Silver, holding some kind of paper. Poor girl was crying, but Mrs. Rich wasn’t givin’ up. Then—” Apple Bloom paused to take a breath, collecting herself.

Diamond Tiara spoke up from where she’d been standing, just behind the pair of adults. “Then what? What happened to Silver?”

“Give her a moment, for pity’s sake,” Applejack hissed. Her arms were crossed, and she was glaring at Rarity, Twilight, and Diamond in turn. She leaned over next to her sister and spoke in a softer voice. “You really don’t owe these women anything. I know what I taught you, but it ain’t nothing compared to your safety.”

“Yes, I owe them this,” Apple Bloom almost screamed, before clapping her hands over her mouth and looking over the yard.

“I owe Silver this,” she repeated, more softly. “Mrs. Rich got louder, right? She said “this isn’t about you anymore, Silver, dear. This is about what’s good for the family, see?” and grabbed her wrist. Silver tried to scream, but Mrs. Rich covered her mouth real quick and pulled a knife before waving over a couple of big guys to take Silver away, struggling the entire time.” The younger Apple sibling was crying, now, and Rarity reflexively offered her handkerchief to the girl. It was accepted (albeit with another glare and a huff from Applejack) and immediately put to use dabbing the tears from Apple Bloom’s cheeks.

“I should have said something then,” the girl said. “Should’ve ran to Sterling Silver and Silver Diadem, they’d have helped, right?”

“We… can’t dwell on the might-have-beens, dear,” Rarity assured diplomatically, just barely cutting in before Diamond could launch into a flood of caustic remarks on the inattention of her best friend’s parents. “Besides, there’s no telling who this “family” she was referring to could have been,” she mused.

Applejack blanched at the implication. “Come on now, the Silvers may be a little frosty, but they wouldn’t dare kidnap their own daughter!”

The detective’s mind was whirling. “It could be that the family is more an organisation, I suppose,” she said. “Multiple literal families, working together. They’d have to be closely knit, insular, definitely powerful…”

She paused, snapping her fingers a few times. “You mentioned a paper. What happened to it while Spoiled was wrangling Silver Spoon?”

“Uhh,” Apple Bloom scrunched her face, trying to remember. “I know I didn’t see it on the ground after, but I got out of there pretty darn quick. Didn’t look anything special, just the sort of page you see around here all the time.”

“That’s a shame,” Twilight murmured. “If I had the paper maybe we could have narrowed down where she got it from.”

Rarity shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt to look,” she offered. “Could you take us back to where you saw them?”

It was a short, tense walk behind the little house where the live-in staff spent their nights. Classy but nondescript, and bordering a small, wooded area to provide privacy from the small road off to the side. Rarity watched with vague amusement as the innocent-yet-clearly-criminally-embroiled Twilight immediately bent down to examine the dirt that Apple Bloom wordlessly pointed to.

“We brought you back here,” Applejack said curtly. “Is there anything else you need from us?”

Rarity kept her cool and extended her hand. “No, thank you, you’ve been very helpful. I won’t be letting slip anything about what your sister definitely didn’t see happen back here, nor will my associates here.”

She punctuated the last bit of her statement by glaring at Diamond Tiara, who visibly steeled herself before inclining her head in agreement.

Applejack shook her hand. “Appreciated,” she grunted. Somewhat awkwardly, she let go and started to guide her sister back to where they’d been working, a pair of shovels discarded on the lawn.

“And, Applejack,” Rarity called, “if you ever need some help with the… legitimacy of Honest Apple Co.’s new owners? You can trust me.”

The landscaper stopped cold for a second, then continued walking away, stepping just a little more loosely.

“Well, that was pleasant,” Rarity muttered.

She could see the staff parking area half-empty as she turned around, and only took a moment to lament having parked her car so obviously at the front instead of blending in around the side entrance before lightly walking over to the others.

Twilight had now stopped inspecting the dirt, and Diamond Tiara was slowly walking along towards the spot where the woods met the road, eyes searching the ground for any sign of her fellow heiress’s struggle.

The detective stood next to Twilight.

“Same dirt?” she asked.

“Same dirt,” Twilight replied.

“I’m ever so glad Zecora let you slip away to help me out,” Rarity muttered dryly. “Pinnacle of articulation, you are.”

“Well, excuse me for not being entertaining while we’re tracking down what’s looking more and more like a high society mob hit.”

“Fair enough, I suppose,” Rarity said, biting back a smile. “I confess, I’m still digesting the fact that the actual crime appears to have happened here. Whoever is a part of this “family” is certainly going to a lot of effort to redirect suspicions.”

Twilight shrugged, clicking her tongue. “I’m willing to bet it’s got something to do with that Celestial Charity Ball you mentioned. Timing doesn’t really fit, otherwise.”

“That may be so, my dear Twili—” Rarity was interrupted by an exclamation from Diamond Tiara, now standing almost at the treeline.

“I found something!”

The two women quickly made their way over to find the heiress of the Rich estate holding a dirt-stained, slightly damp piece of paper with a message written on it in a very generic font.

Sterling Silver, Silver Diadem, you know what you owe us. If you do not deliver the item to us at the Celestial Charity Ball tonight, you will never see your little “investment” again.

If you decide that an antique is not worth more than your only heir, be ready at 7:45 on the upper terrace, by the fountain.

If you decide otherwise, we’re sure the young lady knows plenty of things about you she’d be more than willing to share when she finds out she’s been exchanged for a trinket.

All three of them were speechless. It was one thing to hear of the callous nature of some wealthy parents but seeing a kidnapper so aware of it that the safety of the child didn’t even play into their ransom note was a different kind of shock to Rarity.

“Wh…what does this mean for Silver?” Diamond blinked in confusion. “If they don’t give back whatever this is, they won’t return her, will they? And it isn’t like I can just go public with this, there’s a reason I paid you to help!”

Rarity nodded, patting the distressed girl on the shoulder as her mind raced. “It seems that we’ll have to find out where they’re keeping her and help her ourselves, then. This message has certainly reached the Silvers by other means.”

“Ladies, we’re crashing the Celestial Charity Ball tonight.”

5. (Lingo)

Twilight Sparkle checked her watch for the third time in a minute. Despite her mental urging, time did not move any faster. It still read 6:57 PM.

A woman walked by, dressed in finery that cost more than a small town. She plucked a bit of fancy food from the tray Twilight held, Hors d'oeuvres as Rarity called them. Bits of high society garbage that were undoubtedly shipped here from some other place in the world, simply just because someone could and not because they tasted good.

Twilight tried one, of course. Awful.

She checked her watch, 7:13.

Giving the collar of her uncomfortable uniform a tug, she started making her last lap around the area, a small art gallery just off of the main ballroom. There were several of these slightly quieter places situated around the venue for this year’s Celestial Charity Ball.

Twilight would rather be as far as possible from an event like this, out in the forest with her teacher, Zecora. But the situation more than made up for the inconvenience.

The words from the note rang in her head.

Sterling Silver, Silver Diadem, you know what you owe us. If you do not deliver the item to us at the Celestial Charity Ball tonight, you will never see your little “investment” again.

If you decide that an antique is not worth more than your only heir, be ready at 7:45 on the upper terrace, by the fountain.

If you decide otherwise, we’re sure the young lady knows plenty of things about you she’d be more than willing to share when she finds out she’s been exchanged for a trinket.

She passed by a younger woman, more child than adult, who gave her a curt nod and continued on her way. Heir to her family’s name, Diamond Tiara. Twilight hated rubbing elbows with the upper class, but this was for a good cause, she reminded herself. And, she thought, the girl was paying them well for this job.

Speaking of the job, Diamond was making her way steadily through the crowd. Rarity should be getting into position as well, though Twilight tried not to think about the detective too hard. The dress she decided to wear left Twilight’s tongue dry and uncomfortable. Still she would blend in with the crowd well, which was the idea. They weren’t looking to be noticed.

Being the roughest of the bunch, Twilight was sentenced to masquerade as a different denizen of the ball, one of the wait-staff.

7:14

She re-entered the main ballroom, skirting around the edge of the room and avoiding the patrons dancing or talking who littered the room.

She set down the tray on a nearby table, covered in other bad-tasting food no doubt, and slipped behind a door labeled EMPLOYEES ONLY.

As soon as she was out of sight, she let out a half-sigh of relief. Now, she just had to make it to the rendezvous without getting stopped by another staff member.

Soon, but not soon enough, she arrived at an unmarked door down the hall from the staff bathroom. A glance at her watch filled her with a bit of dread, 7:16. She was late.

She gave the door two firm knocks, and then a third after a short pause. The lock clicked and she was all but dragged inside. Inside the small powder room she found Rarity and Diamond already present, the former looking a little peeved.

“I trust you were unseen?” the detective asked.

“They only wanted to see me if they were peckish, or wanted others to think they enjoyed the food. I was practically invisible for the most part.”

“Good. We’ve got a half hour to find our hostage and get out before things can get.. Messy.”

Diamond Tiara blanched, though the possibility of violence was real, it was still her family.

“Any sign of Spoiled Rich?” Rarity asked.

Her compatriots shook their heads. The only member of the rich family anyone had seen so far was Diamond. If there was going to be a hostage exchange, Rarity suspected that they wouldn’t come out until closer to the deal time.

And still they didn’t know what this trinket was that the Rich’s wanted so badly, enough that they would resort to kidnapping the heir of another family.

“This is about what’s good for the family…” Spoiled’s words slip from between Rarity’s lips, hanging in the air between the three. That was the other unknown, just who this ‘family’ was. Is it just the Rich’s? Or perhaps a group of families working together?

Rarity usually found working with so many unknowns thrilling, but not when someone’s life may be in the balance.

Rarity steeled herself and broke down their current plan. They had gone over it before arriving, but a quick review would keep everyone’s mind sharp.

“We have roughly a half hour until the meeting time. It’s on the upper terrace, by the ornate fountain. Most guests will stay away from the terrace, the winds tend to mess up manes and throw expensive dresses into disarray. Only the brave few looking for a brief reprieve, a quick smoke, or looking to do some dirty dealings will find their way up there. We have no idea who all is involved.

Silver’s parents may be there, if they decide their daughter is more valuable than this antique. Spoiled may be there, and perhaps Filthy Rich as well.

Since the time is so close, they won’t have Silver far away. She’s got to be in one of the rooms here, staff or private gallery, tucked away until just before the meeting time. We’re going to split up to cover more ground, the organizers really went all out and reserved the entire venue.”

“Hold on..” Twilight interrupted, gesturing to Diamond Tiara “...I’m not sure I’m comfortable leaving her to fend for herself. What’s to stop her from getting captured too? Or worse, found by the Silver’s and used for a counter-ransom?”

Diamond huffed, seconds from a rebuttal about being able to take care of herself, but Rarity interjected.

“I’m sure she can handle her way in the event she is discovered. Isn’t that right, Diamond? What do you do if you encounter some big strong man blocking your way?”

Diamond rolled her eyes. “Please, I’m a lady. My first kick is to the groin. And the second is too, for good measure.”

Rarity smiled, “And if it’s another lady?”

“I run and scream. Girls fight dirty.”

Rarity’s smile widened slightly as she turned back to Twilight.

“See? She’s got it.”

Twilight looked unsure, but they didn’t have a better way to do this, and the girl was certainly not going to just stay put while her friend was in danger. She reluctantly agreed, but she hoped that it wouldn't be a decision she regretted.

As they were about to leave, Diamond spoke up, her words troubled and unsure.

“You don’t think they’d hurt Silver if her parents don’t show up, do you? The note said they were just going to question her.”

Rarity and Twilight shared a glance. The well-dressed detective knelt slightly, placing a hand tenderly on the younger woman’s shoulder.

“I certainly hope not, but these kinds of situations, well…”

She paused to take a deeper breath, evening her own nerves.

“...let’s just say it's better to be safe than sorry. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

They each met eyes again and left the room. It was time to rescue a mob hostage.

Twilight checked her watch again.

7:21

6. In The Closet (WilloIllo)

Now that she was no longer in the main hall, Rarity was realizing that the manor hosting the Celestial Charity Ball was a frustratingly confusing maze. Every hallway looked the same, and most of them were currently empty; she was relying entirely on her own list of turns she’d taken to maintain the search pattern she was working on. She checked her watch anxiously – 7:30. Only 15 more minutes left to find Silver Spoon before the exchange was due to happen, something she would rather avoid having to risk.

As she turned a corner, she caught sight of a couple of stallions dressed in the standard finery– the first time she’d seen anyone else on this floor. As they glanced towards the noise she had just made, she let out a drunken giggle, backing away and hiding her face. “Oh!! This one’s taken, dear, let’s go find another room…”

As they looked away from her, she smiled; there were plenty of ways to be invisible at a gala. Ducking into a side corridor, she moved along more cautiously, checking rooms that were small enough to store a small filly.

She heard hoofsteps coming from around another corner, and hid herself in a small sitting room, listening at the door to hear when they left. Instead, she heard the two stop outside the door and strike up a conversation.

The voice she heard was a low-end Manehattanite accent, hardly the normal clientele for the party “Ten more minutes. Do you think Silver’s gonna show?”

Rarity’s eyes widened. She may not have found Silver Spoon, but these two must have been conspirators. She cracked the door open, not enough to be noticeable or make a sound, just so she could hear a little better.

“I’d be shocked if they didn’t,” the other colt said, letting out a chuckle. This was more of what she expected, a new money Canterlot voice that fit the crowd the Riches preferred to spend their time at. “That little note made it pretty obvious that if they don’t give that trinket up, their daughter’s gonna spill the beans regardless. It’s a lose-lose situation.”

“If she buys what Spoiled’s telling her – if she knows what this thing is, she might get it.”

“Well that, my friend, is when you and I get to have fun.” As they laughed, Rarity shuddered at the implications.

“What is this thing anyway? Nobody’s told me,” said Manehattan.

At this, Rarity perked up; up until this point, nothing had been said that she hadn’t seen in the ransom note, but whatever they were ransoming Silver Spoon for was new information.

“Beats me. Whatever it is, the Riches are desperate to have it, and the Silvers won’t give it up for any amount of money.”

“Any amount? You’re joking.”

“You know how deep Filthy’s pockets are, and he couldn’t buy it. All I know is that it has something to do with the Silver’s family heritage.”

There was a brief pause; Rarity guessed Manehattan had shrugged. “Money can’t buy everything, I suppose.”

At this point, Rarity was holding her breath at this point. The conversation seemed to be over, but until they left, she didn't dare move from her hiding location. She checked her watch – it was already 7:36, less than ten minutes before the ransom was due.

Finally, after several agonizing moments, Canterlot spoke up. “Put out that cigarette, we need to get going. Almost showtime.”

Rarity waited until the footsteps had grown distant before getting out of her hiding space. She checked her watch; 7:38. She was running out of time, as well as running out of options. Hopefully Twilight or Diamond Tiara had managed to find Silver Spoon, but for the time being, her best option seemed to be to follow the two stallions who were quickly leaving the scene. Being careful to leave them enough trail to not spot her, she continued down the corridor.

8. No Direction (The Red Parade)

“You have a lot of explaining to do.”

Rarity coughed, still stunned from the explosion and barely hearing Trixie.

The room was still dark and hazy, smoke clinging in the air from Trixie’s sudden entrance. Her armor gleamed like a small star in the darkness. “I–” Rarity coughed several times, trying to regain her composure

Beneath Trixie the two stallions were stirring. The Canterlotian shot a glance at the Manehattanite, who gave a small nod.

“Care to explain why you’re spying on two wanted criminals?” Trixie asked, leveling a glare at Rarity.

“Yes, yes,” Rarity stammered. “I can explain it all, but… has Twilight or Diamond Tiara found Silver Spoon?”

Trixie only raised an eyebrow. “What? You have a lot of explaining to do.”

“Cross, now!” shouted one of the stallions.

The two lit up their horns simultaneously, flooding the room in a bright surge of light. Trixie instinctively lit up her own spell, but was too late to block out the spell.

Rarity stumbled around, trying to make out what was happening in front of her. She vaguely saw three bodies flung about, the sounds of punches and grunts filling the air. Rarity grit her teeth and tried to make her way towards them, desperate to help Trixie however she could.

She nearly tripped over something, and when her vision cleared she recognized it as a foreleg.

Rarity gasped in shock as Silver Spoon’s mother groaned and hefted herself up onto all fours: apparently still alive from the explosion.

“Enough,” she whispered. “Where. Is. My. DAUGHTER!”

With a yell loud enough to shatter the sun itself, she fired a spell directly towards the dueling unicorns as Rarity stood helpless to watch.

Two pegasi were waiting for Twilight by the canyon edge. The first was wearing a Wonderbolts flight uniform and the second a sleek black raincoat with lettering printed on the back.

“Thank Luna you’re here,” muttered the Wonderbolt. “Princess Twilight, Sergeant Fleetfoot. This is–”

“Senior Special Agent Strawberry Sunrise,” chirped the mare in the raincoat. “The best that SMILE has to offer. Since Bon Bon retired, anyways.”

“More like Annoying Agent who doesn’t shut up,” Fleetfoot muttered.

“That was my nickname in high school actually!”

Diamond Tiara eyed the two wearily.

“It’s okay,” Twilight reassured her. “I asked them to be here.”

“Are you sure this is the place?” Diamond whispered.

Twilight nodded. “I’ve triple checked my calculations, the triangulation algorithm indicates she has to be here. We don’t know who Filthy Rich hired to guard her, so Mrs. Fleetfoot and Mrs. Sunrise will go in with me. You stay back here, okay?”

Diamond frowned uncertainly but sensed she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

Twilight turned to the canyon and spread her wings. “Okay. Fleetfoot, I asked for the best scout the Wonderbolts had and Spitfire sent you. We’re not exactly sure what to look for, but I’d guess that any little thing out of place is a clue.

Fleetfoot nodded and pushed ahead, goggles keeping the rain out of her keen eyes. “Of course, Princess. Nothing gets by me.”

“That’s because your head is so big,” Strawberry mused, tugging the brim of her ball cap to keep the water away.

“Agent Sunrise, please try and be professional,” Twilight lamented. “We have a missing pony at hoof.”

Strawberry shrugged. “This is me being professional. You should see me on a Friday night.”

“I’d prefer to never see you again actually,” Fleetfoot called. “Got something below.”

The three descended, landing at a small alcove surrounded by trees.

Fleetfoot leaned into a small grouping of rocks, poking at it with a cautious hoof. “Seemed odd from their positioning,” she muttered. “Guess it’s just a weird formation.”

Twilight lit up her horn, running a sensory scan of the area. “Nothing I can see.”

“The most dangerous things are the ones that know how to stay hidden,” Strawberry muttered, poking at the dirt with a hoof.

Fleetfoot shrugged and took to the air again, the other two following soon after.

Over the next half-hour they would repeat the pattern, their morale quickly spiraling after the repeated failures and the endless downpour from the sky.

“Are you sure you’re the best scout the Wonderbolts have?” Strawberry asked, leaning against the entrance of the cave Fleetfoot had pointed out. “If you’re the best scout they have then I’m the Princess of Strawberries.”

“Shut up!” Fleetfoot squinted into the darkness, wings fluttering at her sides in agitation. “It’s hard when I have no idea what I’m looking for!”

Twilight frowned, ignoring the two as she squinted inside. “Wait, wait.”

Her two companions stopped talking and listened.

“...Help!”

“That’s her!” Twilight shot like a bullet into the cavern.

“Princess, wait!” Strawberry swore as the two raced after her.

Twilight ignored her, lighting her horn to guide the way through the cave system. Rocks and dirt kicked at her hooves as she moved, purple light bouncing off the walls.

She came to a halt when the cavern split, and she whipped her head back and forth between the two tunnels. Before she could make a choice, Strawberry seized her shoulder. “Princess, wait. This is dangerous!”

“What? How so?”

Strawberry pointed to a small group of colored plants growing from cracks in the wall. “You see those? Those are Archemaredis’ Nightmares. Plants that give off a gas that gradually makes ponies lose sense of direction. We’re going to get lost without protection.”

Twilight bit her lip, but before she could respond the voice called out again.

“Please, help!”

“No time,” Twilight decided. “Just stay close to me!” She galloped off one of the tunnels.

Fleetfoot shrugged, moving to follow. She barely heard Strawberry’s protest as she raced through the hall, heart pounding in her chest.

The tunnel grew narrower and narrower, and before long she came to another split in the cavern. “Which way Princess…”

Fleetfoot spun around only to realize she was alone in the cavern. “Wait… But she went through the left one! Or… Or was it the right one?”

Her eyes widened when she realized she was alone. She turned to retreat back to Strawberry, but to her horror a fog had clouded her mind and she couldn’t remember which way she had come from.

With no other option, she held her breath and made a choice.

9. Lost and Found (trAce)

“Twilight?” Fleetfoot’s voice bounced off the cavern walls. “Princess? Agent Sunrise? Anypony?” Her cries retreated down the dark tunnels, returning through small cracks and passages to fill the space around her.

Left, right, right, center, left; Fleetfoot galloped through the twisting corridors as fast as she could while making sure she didn’t trip over a rock hiding in the darkness. Those stupid plants may keep her from remembering where she came from, but they didn’t prevent her from checking every possibility quickly enough to catch up to the princess. After all, she was still a Wonderbolt, damn it. Even if she couldn’t rely on her senses, she still had her speed.

“Princess Twilight! Agent! If you can hear me, say something! Or make a noise or… or… just help me out, here.”

⸫⸪⸫⸪⸫

Rarity watched in horror as the spell that Silver Spoon’s mother loosed impacted the side of the Canterlotian stallion. After scrambling back to his hooves, he fixed the pair with a glare that could kill.

“Perhaps you should stay down, darling,” Rarity said as she stepped forward to cover the angered mare from any magical retaliation. “Miss Lulamoon and I will handle this.”

“They have my daughter and you expect me to sit on my rump like some useless–” her retort was cut short by a spell whizzing between the two.

Rarity put a hoof on the mare’s back and pushed her to the ground. “I appreciate the enthusiasm dear, but let’s make sure Silver Spoon still has a mother when she gets home, yes?” Light poured out from Rarity’s horn to form a barrier to protect her from the second spell sent their way.

Sparing a quick glance to see how Trixie was doing, Rarity advanced toward her own dueling partner. The stallion’s lip curled up in a snarl as she approached.

“I ain’t goin’ back to the slamma!” He shouted and charged his horn.

“Frankly, dear, I don’t care where you go,” Rarity responded and readied herself in kind. “I just want to know where Silver Spoon is.”

The light from the stallion’s horn flashed a blinding white and Rarity instinctively formed another shield to cover herself. She knew it was the right move when she heard the splash of magic against it.

“A dirty trick you’ve got there, trying to blind your opponents.” Rarity blinked the last of the spots out of her eyes. “But, I don’t suppose I should expect much honor from somepony who’d help kidnap a filly.”

“Honor don’t mean nothin’ when youse gettin’ paid as much as I am,” the Canterlotian chuckled.

Rarity looked for an opening to strike with her own magic. “Is that so? It must be a very large sum to endanger the life of a child for. I don’t think I can even imagine an amount of money that would make me do such a thing. What about you, Trixie? How much to kidnap a young filly?”

“Trixie doesn’t—guh—talk while fighting!” A spell ripped across Trixie’s barrel, but she was more than protected by her armor. “However, Trixie also cannot fathom how much money it would take for her to forsake her oath to protect citizens!”

“There you have it.” Rarity expertly deflected another blast of arcane energy.

“Oh shut it, would ya?” The stallion rolled his eyes.

Big mistake.

Rarity’s barrier spun through the air, sweeping him clean off his hooves and into a pallet of boxes. With a flick of her horn, the barrier kept going, zipping past Trixie to hit the criminal she was exchanging blows with. The strike was enough to throw him off balance, which the guard capitalized on with a burst of force from her horn.

Trixie looked at the two snoozing stallions before turning to Rarity.

“Now you will explain to Trixie what is going on.”

⸫⸪⸫⸪⸫

Maybe Fleetfoot had been a bit overconfident.

Spending the last who-knows-how-long racing through underground tunnels in the near-total darkness meant she now needed to replenish the air in her lungs. Laying prone on the rocky ground, she looked around at the myriad tunnels extending out from where she was.

Which one would lead her to the Princess? Which one would lead her to wherever Filthy Rich stashed Silver Spoon? Which one lead back up to the surface?

It took a few moments for the Wonderbolt to realize that she wasn’t alone. In the distance—though in which direction, she couldn’t tell—Fleetfoot heard the telltale clack of hooves. Eyes darting between the tunnels on every side, she waited and hoped.

The thought that this pony could be as equally lost as she was flashed briefly in her mind, but she buried it quickly. “Panic never helps anypony,” as Spitfire would always say.

Fleetfoot saw a distinctly non-pony face emerge from the inky black, nearly triggering a fight-or-flight response until she recognized that she was staring at some kind of mask. Hanging slightly over the eyes was the bright red mane of the world’s most annoying SMILE agent.

“There you are!” Strawberry chirped. “You sure gave me a workout! I thought I could just follow the stomping and hollering but it sounded like it was coming from everywhere!”

“If you’re going to be smart, skip it and go back the way you came.”

“An intellect like this can’t be turned off that easy, y’know. It has a passphrase, though.” She rummaged through her raincoat to produce a second mask. “It’s, ‘Thank you, Agent Sunrise.’”

This mare was unbearable.

“Thank you, Agent Sunrise.” Fleetfoot snatched the mask out of her hoof and jammed it on. “I assume this is for the gas?”

“Yep. Filters out the nasty stuff.”

“And you couldn’t have pulled these out before?”

Strawberry shrugged. “I told the princess to wait. I only brought two and was going to give her the other one.”

“What about me?”

“Leave you behind, probably. Come on.” She started down one of the tunnels, leaving a fuming Fleetfoot to scramble to her hooves. “Hopefully Princess Twilight managed to find the kid before the Archemaredis’ Nightmare fumes got to her.”

“I’m sure she can just magic the plant gas away,” Fleetfoot huffed. “Are you really going to skim over the fact that you were willing to leave me behind?”

“What else would we have done? Only two masks, and the Princess and I are much more capable in a fight—if it came to that.”

“I’m a Wonderbolt!”

“And I’m SMILE’s best agent. Trust me, one of those is a much bigger achievement than the other.”

Fleetfoot felt like she was about to pop a blood vessel from frustration alone. “I cannot wait until this is over and I never have to see you again.”

“Then put those scouting skills to use and help me figure out where the Princess is. Or where the kid is. Hopefully it’s the same place.”

10. (TGM)

Twilight’s mind raced as she galloped through the twisting cavern tunnels. She’d long since lost sight of Fleetfoot and Strawberry, but the former was a SMILE agent and the latter was a Wonderbolt. She was fairly certain that they could handle themselves and whatever nightmares this odd cave could throw at them.

Speaking of which…

Twilight’s ear twitched at the sound of something hissing. She ignored it and kept pressing on, but she only made it a short distance before she was forced to stop in her tracks. Dark, slithering shapes covered the floor in front of her, and began to close in from the way she came. They covered the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and they showed no signs of slowing down. Twilight backed up against a wall as the sinister, slithering shadows approached from every angle. Soon they’d be upon her, scaly masses holding her down, unable to move, unable to breathe…

Twilight shut her eyes tight and shook her head, then lit up her horn. The soft magenta light of her magic chased away the shadows. A shimmering, magical veil kept the nightmare gas at bay. She couldn’t afford to think of snakes and other fears right now, she had to find Silver Spoon. With her mind clear, her ear twitched as she heard the slightest sound from one of the branching tunnels. Not quite a whisper, but it sounded like someone was mumbling softly. Twilight turned and headed towards the noise, the glowing light of her horn guiding the way forward.

The tunnel led into a sharp decline that Twilight slid down carefully, before the floor smoothly leveled out and Twilight was able to jump and land safely. This new room was just as dark as the labyrinthine tunnels that led up to it, and Twilight wasn’t taking any chances of being jumped by some new nightmare forged from the darkest pits of her mind or some sinister foal napper waiting in the shadows. However, those thoughts fell away as the quiet mumbling from earlier turned into soft sobbing.

“Silver Spoon?” Twilight ventured, creeping forward. “Silver Spoon, is that you? It’s Princess Twilight!”

“I’m never going to find my way out of here…” The sobbing continued, seemingly unhindered by her words. Twilight rounded a large pile of crates and cages, the light of her magic revealed a small gray shape in the corner of the dark cavernous room.

“Silver Spoon!” Twilight galloped towards the filly, turning her around to face her. Silver Spoon’s teary eyes widened in response, her pupils a washed out white color. “I’m so glad you’re okay! Your mom will be so relieved to hear-”

An ear piercing scream caused Twilight’s ears to fold back as Silver Spoon ripped herself from the princess’ grip and scampered away to the opposite corner of the room, trembling in terror.

“N-no, stay back you monster!” Silver stammered as she pushed herself as far against the wall as she could.

Twilight’s confused and hurt expression gave way to one of realization. “The nightmare fumes… she’s hallucinating,” the princess reasoned. As she puzzled out what to do, the sound of grinding stone caught her attention and the wall near her started moving. Twilight jumped back, placing herself between the wall and the screaming Silver Spoon as she readied herself.

“See? Told you it’d be fine!” a cheery voice carried through the darkness, one Twilight instantly recognized.

“I still don’t think you should just go around touching every little switch you see. Just because it worked this once doesn’t mean it’ll work again.” A second familiar voice reached Twilight’s ears.

She flinched initially, as the faces that emerged from the darkness didn’t belong to the voices she’d heard. After another moment however, she realized they were just gas masks, and the distinct forms of Agent Strawberry and Fleetfoot emerged from the darkness.

“Princess Twilight, You’re here too! Told you she’d be fine, Fleetfoot. She doubted you so much, princess.”

Fleetfoot sputtered. “Me?! YOU’RE the one who-”

“I hate to interrupt,” Twilight interjected, “and I’m really happy to see you’re both okay, but can either of you spare your gas mask?” Twilight cast a glance over her shoulder to the cowering filly who stared at them with eyes full of terror. “She really needs one.”

Fleetfoot moved to answer, but Agent Strawberry already had hers off. “Here, she can have mine. I’m a bit more resistant to this stuff, we go through all sorts of airborne toxin resistance trailing at SMILE headquarters.” Twilight smiled appreciatively before taking the mask and slowly approaching Silver Spoon, who instantly began shaking again.

“Two more monsters?! No, please, stay away!”

“Shh, it’s okay,” Twilight soothed. “This will help, I promise.” Twilight floated the mask over and placed it over Silver Spoon’s face. Initially she fought against it, her hooves grasping at it to take the mask off, but after a moment color returned to her pupils and she gave a deep sigh as the nightmare fumes filtered out of her system. She blinked a few times before her gaze focused on Twilight.

"P-princess?" Silver Spoon stuttered out, before climbing shakily to her hooves. "Why are you here? Where are we?" The small filly spun around to get a grasp on her surroundings, but the oppressive darkness made it difficult to see much of anything.

"I'll explain everything later, for now I think it's in our best interest if we relocate out of the nightmarish fillynapper cave," Twilight said, turning to face Strawberry and Fleetfoot.

"Probably for the best, though I must say this cave has done wonders in helping me to get over my fears. After we take down FIlthy Rich, I may need to talk to Sweetie Drops about turning this into an official SMILE training facility," Strawberry rubbed her chin in thought.

Fleetfoot turned her head to look at her. "You've been seeing your fears this whole time? If that's how you act when you're afraid, I'd hate to see you when you're angry." She rolled her eyes.

"None would survive," Strawberry said with an agreeing nod.

"Okay, I'm casting the teleportation spell," Twilight spoke up as her horn glowed. "Everyone hold onto me!" The surrounding ponies did as they were told before they all vanished in a bright flash of magical light.

"...and that's what happened!" Rarity finished explaining to a very confused Trixie.

"Trixie thinks she understands," she began as she finished tying up the foalnappers who’d attacked them earlier. "But that was incredibly hard to follow. It's like each event you've gone through had less and less to do with how you started."

"I know," Rarity let out a dramatic sigh as she held a foreleg to her head. "Truth be told it's been absolutely exhausting darling, but adventures such as these with Twilight do not come along often, so I cherish every moment. No matter how dangerous they can get sometimes." She cast a glance at the two unconscious stallions.

"Trixie can't say she sympathizes," she replied as she finished tying the two of them up. "She has never been one for all the gushy romantic things."

"Really now?" Rarity asked, a devious smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Not even with Starlight Glimmer?"

Trixie's face went from blue to a deep purple almost instantaneously.

"If we're going ahead with this plan, I'd really appreciate it if you two would stop talking about your love lives so we could get on with it!" Silver Spoon’s mother spoke up loudly next to them, bucket of water in hoof.

Rarity nodded to her, though she still had a slight smile adorning her features. "Very well then darling, shall I let you do the honors?"

Silver Spoon's mom threw the water over the two sleeping stallions, who immediately jerked awake. "Whoosit, whatsit?!" The stallion blubbered out, before his gaze focused on Rarity. "You's again?!"

"Yes darling, me again," Rarity answered. "Now, if you'd like to retain what little is left of your dignity, I really must insist you disclose the location of our missing Silver Spoon."

The unicorn stallion retorted by spitting at her hooves. "I told ya's before and I'll say it again, I ain't goin' back to the slamma! I ain't tellin' you's a thing!"

His horn began to glow as he charged a spell. Rarity erected a barrier to protect herself and her comrades before clicking her tongue. "Ah ah ah, you're not in the position to be shooting spells and mouthing off to us at the moment. Loose that spell on us and I promise I’ll know you out again just as fast as we woke you up.”

The stallion's spell fizzled out as he glared at Rarity.

"Doesn't matter what you do to us," the other stallion spoke up. "You'll never find that filly! The boss has her stashed away somewhere you'll never find her!"

“Really now?” Rarity prodded. “Do tell me more, what is this ‘place I’ll never find?’”

“A place you’s ain’t got no business snooping your pretty little nose around in!” The previous stallion snapped, cutting off the other who was about to say more.

“Y-yeah!” The other one spoke up again. “There are dozens of caves all around near here, you’ll never find the right one!”

“Shut up Filcher!” the shorter stallion with a seemingly even shorter temper replied.

“A cave, you say?” Rarity stroked her chin. “Very interesting indeed, and I suppose it’s hidden away somewhere I’ll never find?” Rarity probed.

Filcher opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by a blinding flash of light that appeared between them. Everyone present had to cover their eyes, though eventually four familiar faces stood where the light once was. Rarity recognized one immediately.

Rarity gasped. "Twilight! It's you! And you found Silver Spoon!"

"Silver Spoon?!" the filly's mother called out, rushing past Rarity and Trixie as she galloped forward.

"Mom!" Silver Spoon raced towards her mother, and the two embraced tightly. Rarity watched the display with a smile before she slid over to Twilight and spoke to her in a hushed whisper.

"How did you find her, darling? I was trying to get the information out of these two nincompoops before you showed up."

"Hey, we're still here you know!" One of the fillynappers yelled. "Don't call us names!" Rarity simply rolled her eyes before casting a spell that trapped the two of them in a shimmering cerulean bubble.

"You two ruffians have no place to talk. Now hush up while I have a conversation with my beloved,” Rarity scathed.

Twilight’s eyes shimmered at the magical display, a light red tinting her cheeks after hearing what Rarity called her. “Rarity, a silencing spell? I didn’t even know you knew magic like that!”

Rarity chuckled, her own face tinging a slight red. “It’s only natural that I practice my spellwork, I may not be much of a mage but I had one of the best teachers in all of Equestria.” Rarity winked.

Twilight blushed deeper, but she remembered they still had a job to do and her face grew more serious. "Filthy Rich had a cave dug out near here," Twilight answered Rarity's earlier question. "I assume that's where he's been stashing his captives. It wasn't easy by any means, the entire cave was filled with some type of gas that would make you hallucinate your worst fears." Twilight shook her head. "I have no idea where he learned to do something like that, but luckily I met up with Fleetfoot and Strawberry, their help was invaluable."

Rarity glanced over at the two ponies in question, who were chatting between themselves.

“Okay, so we caught Filthy Rich’s foalnappers, saved the foal he took, and put a stop to whatever he had planned with her.” rarity turned to look at Twilight again. “What next then, dearest?”

Twilight's brow furrowed. "We're going to go have a 'talk' with Filthy Rich."

11. Filthy Truths and Ashtray Larceny (Nonchalant)

An expensive-sounding symphony of chimes reverberated through the air as Twilight eased off the magic pressure on the Rich estate doorbell.

“Really now, that’s a little much, don’t you think?” Rarity muttered to Trixie, who only nodded as if she hadn’t attempted to install a similar mechanism on her trailer to less than stellar results.

Twilight merely rolled her eyes. “Ladies, a little professionalism, please,” she said.

“Oh, like how you’re totally acting like the princess you are and not a cheaper Shadow Spade?” Trixie asked innocently.

Any completely professional and princesslike retort Twilight was about to make was quickly cut off by Filthy Rich himself opening the door. The three mares smiled and shuffled in place as the businesspony looked them up and down.

“Why, Princess, what a lovely surprise!” His voice was smooth and self-assured, just like his smile and casual hoof-wave to invite the group in. “I’m honoured to host you, of course. Come in, come in! What can I do for you today?”

“Nothing big, Mr. Rich,” Twilight assured. “My friends and I just had a few questions for you.”

In short order, the four ponies were seated in one of the several drawing rooms of the Rich estate, with a pitcher of water on the table between them. Rarity had wordlessly been relegated to Trixie Supervision Detail after the third ashtray that the magician had tried to misappropriate, and so her eyes were fixed on Trixie’s wandering hooves and horn even as they waited. Twilight took a moment to gather herself before speaking up.

“We know,” she said.

Filthy’s smile didn’t waver. “Know what?” he asked. “Barnyard Bargains delivers a lot of documentation to the government quarterly, I’d be more surprised if any of the Princesses had questions left unanswered!”

The attempt at humour was not well received, and Twilight snorted irritably. “We know,” she tried again, “about the cave. About the nightmare gas. About the hired henchponies.” She paused. “About Silver Spoon.”

“Ah, you have news about her?” Filthy tried, “my dearest little Diamond has been so concerned about her friend, you s–”

“We know that you had her kidnapped!” Trixie snapped. Rarity and Twilight turned to look at her. “What? Trixie was just saving time. Were you hoping to dance around the matter a little further?”

Filthy Rich looked around the room. All three mares had serious expressions, and he could barely make out Rarity’s horn glowing, keeping the entrance shut. He bowed his head slightly, still smiling. “I see. Did you hope to gain anything by confronting me about this?”

“How about some answers?” Twilight asked, wings ruffling. “You paid to have a filly kidnapped and threw her into a cave. What could you possibly have to gain?”

“That’s quite simple, dear princess. In fact, I’m surprised you wouldn’t understand already,” Filthy said. He took a sip from his glass and shook his head. “The Rich family is only, well, rich, I suppose, through my actions. Before I made Barnyard Bargains into what it is, we had but a single store and devoted ourselves wholeheartedly to running it. This left us rather tight for money, as you can imagine.

“But as my expansion strategy paid off we saw more and more how much we could enjoy the luxuries of high society. Now all I’m doing is trying to secure this future for my family. I regret that I had to involve little Silver Spoon, but I believe anyone in my position would do the same.”

There was a brief silence. Then: “You mean the position of being a heartless kidnapper, I assume,” Rarity scoffed. “I can’t believe anyone would be so callous with a child.”

“I never intended to hurt her, I can assure you,” Filthy Rich answered smoothly. “I had every expectation her family would cooperate, and eventually move away from Ponyville to help their little girl feel safe again. We would be the richest and most influential family in a developing city, they would be left alone and retain most of their wealth. Everypony wins.”

Trixie had gotten up and started pacing. “You mean to tell Trixie that this guy has been living here for years and everypony still considered me the most pressing issue when Trixie first came to Ponyville?”

Twilight winced. “Ponyville has never had the best common sense,” she conceded. “But the buck stops here, Filthy Rich. Now that you’ve been foiled, you’ll be going away for a long time!”

“Of course, Princess,” the stallion said. “I admit, I could have done things a fair bit differently.”

“That’s an understatement,” Rarity muttered. She eased off her magic on the doors and looked to Twilight. “So, darling, where do we go from here?”

“Us? We go nowhere, at least until Fleetfoot returns with the guardsponies I sent her to notify.” Twilight flared her wings slightly, getting into the Princess mindset. “Then we have to figure out how much Filthy’s wife kne–”

She was interrupted by a teary-eyed Spoiled Rich peeking her head in through the drawing room door. “Filthy, dearest, I noticed the Princess was visiting?” She sniffled theatrically. “I wanted to know if they had any news on the poor little missing filly Diamond is friends with?”

Filthy shook his head. “They know, Spoiled. That's why they’re here.”

“Oh.” Instantly, the mare’s demeanour changed. “So I suppose you were sloppy enough that they found you out. Oh well. Nothing I didn’t expect.”

“Sorry, one moment please, Trixie thinks she just got whiplash.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Spoiled Rich, did you know about this plan?”

“Do you believe my fool of a husband would have been smart enough on his own? Of course I knew of it. That doesn’t mean you can prove it, dear Princess.” Spoiled pushed the door open the rest of the way. “I do believe I saw Filthy’s… ah, escort, on their way up the grounds. Be a dear and go meet them at the door, my love. We don’t want those mucky working-class hoofprints all over the foyer.”

While the three investigators stared, wide-eyed, Filthy Rich stood up and pulled on a smart suit jacket. “You’re right, of course. What would the neighbours think?”

The group walked back to the main entrance, where a confused Diamond Tiara was talking to Fleetfoot.

“–do you want to talk to father?” Diamond was saying.

“Well, Princess Twilight had a few questions for him, so she asked us to come and pick him up,” Fleetfoot explained. “And here he comes now!”

The small, pink filly jumped a little, but shuffled out of the way with a thoughtful look on her face. “Is there a problem, daddy?” she asked Filthy, with a much more affected tone.

“That remains to be seen, Diamond,” he replied. “You’ll be staying with just your mother for a little while, so be good for her. Maybe go and visit Silver Spoon, as well. I hear she’s been returned to her family.”

At this, Diamond brightened up for real. “Silver’s back? She’s safe? I, ah, I shall see you later, father. Best of luck with Princess Twilight!”

Twilight and her friends watched the filly scamper off, feeling a little lighter for the first time since their investigation began. The guards, professional as ever, had already set about restraining Filthy Rich and walking him away.

“So… job well done, detective?” Rarity bumped her shoulder up against Twilight’s, smiling softly.

“Looks like it, my faithful assistant,” Twilight smirked back and wrapped a wing around her marefriend. “Shall we get going? I’ll get someone to keep an eye on Spoiled Rich for us.

Trixie sidled up as well, staying just a little farther away. “Ah, Twilight Sparkle, in return for Trixie’s magnanimous assistance in this most important of matters, I would like to ask you fo–”

“I’ll let Starlight know you’re looking for her, yes.”

The blue unicorn pulled her hat over her blushing face. “Thank you,” she whispered.

A puff of smoke, the sound of trotting hooves, and Rarity and Twilight were alone.

“A quiet night in sounds in order,” Rarity hummed. “Interested?”

Twilight nodded. “Very much, yes. We could read something, wind down with some tea?”

“That sounds delightful, darling. Just…”

“Yeah?”

“No detective novels, please.”

“You got it.”

7. not with a whimper, but with a bang (Maddie the Baddie / Tache)

Rarity didn't make even the slightest sound as she trailed the stallion pair, staying just outside their perception through the empty hallways - so skillful was she that the unicorn couldn't help but admire her form and technique as she passed by a mirror, even as time sat just two minutes away from the deadline.

With patience, Rarity watched as Canterlot and Manehatten turned a corner into another space of the palace, and with haste - quiet haste, mind you - she followed behind and looked past the corner.

Now this must be the place, she thought to herself; the stallions were in a particular grand hallway, with massive windows to the side that looked into an enclosed courtyard, filled with beautifully decorated garden beds, tulips and daffodils positively glowing under the moon's light.

And through it all laid a perfect pathway - and in the very middle of it all patiently sat Silver Spoon's mother herself, her hoof resting on a small, prestigious looking chest, within which Rarity could only presume sat the valuable heirloom of the Silvers.

Rarity could only just stop herself from gasping at the sight of the mare coming herself, in place of one of the Silvers' servants. Then again… Rarity could understand - if she had been in her horseshoes, with Sweetie Belle's safety at risk, then Luna knows that she would want to pay the ransom herself.

Rarity watched as Filthy Rich's stallions approached the mare with confidence, and the clock struck 7:45 as the two parties came face to face, with the stallions stopping just a few metres in front of the Silver matriarch.

The three stood in tense silence for just a few moments, with the Cantorloter casually and patiently watching the moon, waiting, while Manehattenite stared at the Silver with focus - until the Manehattenite stepped forward, and Rarity could hear him as he spoke, quieted as his voice was by the distance. “You have the item with you?” He asked, his eyes glancing down to the small chest in front of her, all while his partner simply watched.

Silver's mother, for her part, did… nothing, nothing except for raising an eyebrow at the stallion.

After another tense moment, the mare spoke, her voice seeming… tinny, almost hallow. "You have my daughter?"

"Of course," spoke the accented stallion, "She's in good hooves, you can trust us on that."

"And when will you give her back to me?" The Silver matriarch asked as she took a long, deep breath, all while the beginnings of tears formed at the corners of her eyes.

The Canterlot stallion seemed to frown and tense up at the mare, while the Manehattenite gave the very opposite reaction. "Absolutely," he promised to her, "just get us what we asked for, and she'll be safe and sound." He gave her a soft, confident smile - he must've felt so powerful, Rarity disparagingly thought, feigning to comfort a distraught mother - Rarity supposed she shouldn't have expected any better from someone who worked under Rich.

But she couldn't have expected the mare to give a confident and mischievous grin of her own, the tears fading away to nothing as she stared, right as something landed between the two of them.

"Cross, look out!" The Canterlot stallion yelled with a start as his magic grabbed the surprised Manehattenite, practically throwing him behind himself with powerful telekinesis before he stepped between him and the mare, along with the glow of a shield surrounding them.

Rarity stared with her jaws wide open, her eyes searching for the source of the sudden action - until they found the bright red stick that laid at matriarch's hooves, her grin wider than ever as sparks from a fuse flew from the stick's top.

With a BOOM the explosion roared, the flash of light momentarily blinding Rarity as she dropped herself to the ground, keeping her face shielded against a rain of glass, plaster and wood.

When the barrage of debris settled, Rarity made herself look up at the scene before her; the hallway looked positively ruined by shrapnel and broken glass, while the great windows that looked into the garden were all but pulverised, leaving nothing but a corner between her and the three ponies in the devastated garden.

Rarity found no sign of Silver Spoon's mother, however - instead she saw Trixie Lulamoon, plated in silver Lunar Guard armour and explosives as she stood over the prone but conscious stallions.

She was saying something to them - but what exactly, the alabaster unicorn didn't know, finding that all she could hear at the moment was a head-splitting ringing in her ears, and Rarity realised that the entire gala must've heard the explosion.

But what about Silver Spoon herself, Rarity wondered with worry, a stiff groan emanating from her as she slowly stood up - was she safe? Did Twilight or Diamond Tiara find her, or… she hardly wanted to think about the potential consequences, if she wasn't back with someone other than Rich.

As she found her hoofing, Rarity sighed with relief, finding that the ringing was already starting to subside - what wasn't so relieving was that Trixie was looking right at her with more than a little curiousity.