Chapter 17 – A Re-do
“Pinkie, take that ridiculous thing off.” Twilight didn't know where Pinkie had found it, but she knew it had to go.
Pinkie slumped. “Aw, come on, Twilight! I hardly ever get to use my night-vision super spy suit!”
“No!” Twilight pointed up at the bright late-morning sun overhead. “It's daytime – your night vision will be useless. And your spy suit looks suspicious – you're going to get us caught! Now take it off!”
With a heavy sigh, Pinkie reached up and pulled the goggles off her head, then shucked herself out of the tight-fitting spy suit. Underneath it, though, was some other suit, this one soft yellow. As soon as the spy suit was off, she zipped her face into the yellow suit, and Fluttershy smiled at Twilight.
“That's...” Twilight blinked. “That's disturbing, but it might actually be useful.” Shrugging, she turned and headed further on down the street. “Filthy Rich's mansion is just up ahead, so stay sharp and follow my lead. This time of day, there should be nopony home, but still, be careful.” She reached up to adjust her investigating cap, only to be reminded she wasn't wearing it. She had to avoid the suspicions of nosy neighbors after all.
'Fluttershy' hopped behind her happily, bounding in a distinctly Pinkie-ish gait.
Walking along as if everything was fine and they had every right in the world to be there, Twilight and 'Fluttershy' stepped up to the Rich family's intimidating front door.
After a discreet glance around, Twilight let her horn flare, and an unlocking spell slithered into the door latch, violating the mechanism's purpose with a few deft twists.
The door clicked open.
“How'd you know Filthy's butler would be gone?” 'Fluttershy' asked.
“He always takes his butler with him to work on Mondays to help with the backlog from the weekend.”
'Fluttershy's eyes went wide. “Wow.”
Nudging her partner inside, Twilight grinned and again reached up to tilt the cap that wasn't there. “A good investigator does her homework when planning an illicit search. What did you think I was doing while you were out putting on your disguises?”
“Eating a peach?”
Quietly shutting the heavy door behind her, Twilight shook her head. “No. That was only a phase, okay?”
“Okay!” 'Fluttershy' bounced up and down.
“And be quiet!” Twilight whispered. “I think we should start with Diamond Tiara's room, since we didn't search that very thoroughly last time. Come on.”
When the two of them stepped out of the entrance hall into the main living room, a startled gasp echoed from it.
For a brief moment, Princess Luna stood behind Filthy's opulent couch. Her mouth dropped open, and her wings sprung up straight.
Twilight's eyes shot open wide. “Prin–”
Luna vanished, leaving only a dark blue flash in her wake.
“–cess Luna?” Twilight blinked rapidly and rubbed her eyes. “What was Princess Luna doing here?”
“I dunno,” 'Fluttershy' said, “but let's finish up and get out of here before she tells anypony we were here.”
“Right. Come on!” With 'Fluttershy' trailing close behind her, Twilight rushed up the stairs and over to Diamond Tiara's room.
It was a disgusting, horrifying sea of pink.
“I like this room!” 'Fluttershy' looked all around, as if to make sure to beam her smile into every corner of the cluttered room. “But how are we going to search all this before somepony comes home? We should go.”
“Don't worry.” Twilight grinned. “I put a tracking charm in that candy. This should be easy.” Her horn shined, and a clear sound like a ringing bell momentarily filled the room.
The echoing chime didn't come from anywhere in the frilly pink bedroom. It came from across the hall.
Both mares turned and stared back at the door. Twilight led the way out and across the hall.
The only door on the other side of the wood-paneled hallway led to Filthy Rich's bedroom.
Twilight tried the door. It was locked, of course, but a quick re-casting of her unlocking spell defeated that.
The two of them crept inside.
Other than the obscene opulence, nothing seemed out of place. No untoward items raised suspicion. The bed was neatly and professionally made, with a line of shiny horseshoes at the foot of it. A huge mirror in a gilt frame lined the left wall. On the dresser across from the bed laid Filthy's tie.
Twilight's eyes went wide. The tie wasn't red like Filthy always wore. This one was frilly and teal green... like the Mayor's! “Aha!” She rushed up to it. “I was right to have Rarity investigate the Mayor!”
Pinkie rushed up next to her. “Ooh!” She scratched her head. “So does that mean Mayor Mare is behind all of this?”
“It's too early to tell, but it's clear she's involved somehow.” Twilight glanced around the main room again, but found nothing significant. “First though, let's find that candy.” Again, her horn chimed like a bell.
The answering ring came from behind the mirror.
Twilight walked over and stared at her own reflection in it. The mirror spanned the entire wall, without any seam or crack. The golden frame was smooth and featureless. “Hm... This may be difficult. Maybe it opens to a set of magic words? I'll need to find the spell focus and try to decipher the control matrix. It's going to take time.”
Pinkie plopped down in front of the mirror. “Hm, now if I was Filthy Rich, what would my secret code be?” She tapped her chin and sang softly, “If I was a rich mare... La la lee la la...”
Twilight cringed, jolted out of her mental calculations by Pinkie's impromptu concert. “Pinkie, that isn't going to–”
“I know!” Pinkie jumped to her hooves and cleared her throat noisily. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the richest of them all?”
“Pinkie, that's–”
With barely a sound, a well-oiled mechanism let the mirror drop down.
“...ingenious.” Twilight blinked at the room beyond.
It was vast, as only a mansion this size could allow a hidden room to be. Neat rows of contraband goods lined the walls, and right in front stood a crate neatly marked 'candy'. With only a brief telekinetic burst, the lid came off easily.
“Okay, Pinkie”– Twilight nudged her partner forward –“taste some of the candy to confirm that it's the same batch. Since you ate some before, you'll be able to tell for sure.”
“What?” Pinkie whirled to face her. “I can't do that! I made a Pinkie promise!”
“Huh?”
“You made me Pinkie promise not to eat any evidence!”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “This is an exception.”
“You said 'no exceptions'!”
Shaking her head, Twilight laid a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. “Fine. Okay. Your earlier promise is annulled.”
“Pinkie promises do not work that way!”
“Ugh!” Twilight took her hoof from Pinkie and slapped herself in the face with it. “Fine. I need you to make a new promise for me, okay?”
“Okay!” The seriousness vanished from Pinkie's face, replaced by her usual bubbly smile.
“I need you to Pinkie promise that you'll taste the candy for me.”
'Fluttershy' nodded. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Pinkie promise.”
“Now, find out if that's the same batch.”
A curious blankness came to Pinkie's face. Starting softly, she began to whine – a high-pitched, keening wail.
Twilight's eyes went wide. She began to understand the magnitude of what she had just done.
The whine stopped suddenly. 'Fluttershy' blinked, then, in a flash, she darted inside the hidden room. The mirror whooshed up behind her.
“Pinkie!” Twilight rushed up to the mirror and pounded on it with her hooves. “Mirror mirror, on the wall, who's the richest of them all!” Still, nothing happened. “Ugh! Pinkie!” After a few more moments of futile pounding, Twilight backed away, preparing to blast the mirror away with a truly excessive amount of magical force.
The mirror opened on its own, revealing a smiling Pinkie Pie behind it.
“Pinkie!” Twilight rushed up and hugged her friend. “What happened? Did you taste the candy?”
“Both yes and no.” 'Fluttershy' smiled.
“Huh?”
“When I closed the door behind me and blocked you out, I entered into a state of quantum uncertainty. Because you didn't know if I was tasting the candy or not, I was in a superposition of both states.”
“Pinkie, that's only a thought experiment.”
“Or is it?” Pinkie winked.
Twilight's eyes narrowed. “You're not allowed in the physics section of the library anymore.” She sighed and shrugged. “So, is it the same candy that was stolen?”
Pinkie shrugged and nodded at the same time. “Yes and I don't know.”
“Right, superposition,” Twilight said with a groan. “I guess that means it is our candy, though.” Her horn flared, and a tiny jewel came floating up out of the crate. “I'll just remove this. I don't want anypony knowing we were here yet.”
“I don't think you need to worry about that,” a voice said from the doorway.
Both mares turned to look.
Filthy Rich stood at his bedroom door, glowering at them. He stormed toward Twilight. “Princess or not, you're in for it now!” He came in swinging.
Twilight dodged one hoof, then another close miss. She took the moment of closeness to her advantage and surreptitiously tucked the little tracking gem into Filthy's collar.
“Don't you dare hurt my friend!” 'Fluttershy' jumped in between them, snarling.
Filthy just laughed. He paused for a moment. “Ha, and what are you going to do about it?”
'Fluttershy' unzipped her face, revealing Pinkie inside. “Don't you dare hurt my friend,” she repeated, calm and cold this time.
Blanching, Filthy backed away. He looked up at Twilight, who was now hovering on her wings and gathering a terrifying amount of magic on her horn.
Twilight looked down on him, and her eyes began to glow.
He bolted, rushing out through the still-open door. His hoofbeats quickly faded down the hall.
“What were you going to do to him?” Pinkie asked as Twilight descended back to the floor.
“Oh, that? That was just a light show to scare him off. A princess can't go around punishing her subjects without a fair trial, even when she's doubling as a private investigator.” She stared at the open door. “I'm more interested in finding out how he knew we were here.” She tapped a hoof to her chin, thinking of Luna in the mansion. “Hm...”
“Ooh!” 'Fluttershy' zipped her face back up. “Let's go ask Rarity about Mayor Mare!”
Twilight thought about it for a moment. It would be good to get a few more pieces of the puzzle before confronting Filthy again. “All right.”