The inspector was dumbfounded. How in the holy mother of Celestia did this phantom manage to elude the radar and show up without any trace? And why did he reveal himself to two armed officers out to get him? Something about Facade really rubbed him the wrong way. A whole building of police and he wasn’t showing a hint of nervousness.
Sleuth had seen his share of overconfident and arrogant criminals, but this was something completely different. With his reputation, he knew he was dealing with a professional.
But now that he was right in front of him, Sleuth was able to get a good look at Facade’s attire. With his white clothing and red cape, he certainly wasn’t dressed for stealth. It was as if he wanted to be seen. What stuck out to him was the stallion’s scarlet mask that seemed to have a monocle attached to it. He wore a ruffled shirt, pants and gloves which covered most of his body, his cutie mark included. His cape was trimmed with white fur and was held together with a clover shaped buckle at his front. Finally, the top hat that sat atop his blonde ponytailed mane was tilted forward rather than the conventional back; it was at an angle that allowed it to hide one’s horn.
“So… You’re the new inspector, huh? I have to admit, I’m disappointed already.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sleuth responded with a glare.
Facade chuckled slightly as he jumped off the rooftop access, now standing level with the officers. At this point, Mounty had her rifle pointed at the thief, ready to shoot a less-than-lethal bean bag round if he tried anything funny. “Come on, Slewfoot. Any good detective wouldn’t have let his guard down like that, let alone not even notice his target on the roof with him. But since it’s your first time, I’ll cut you a break. Anyway, I’ve got a prize to take. Ciao.”
“Oh no you don’t!” Mounty pulled the trigger of her rifle. But instead of the expected round, only confetti shot from it. “Wha?”
Facade smiled before casually dropping a flash bomb from his sleeve. Sleuth saw the bomb and tightly shut his eyes and covered his ears just before it went off. It didn’t protect him from the daze completely, but he was far better off than Mounty was.
“~Attention all units!~” Sleuth heard his own voice yell through the radio. ~“We have a confirmed visual! Facade is in the building and he is headed for the medallion!”~
Sleuth couldn’t believe his own ringing ears. “Could he be imitating my voice? But… How? And why announce himself?” He rushed through the open rooftop door, knowing he had no time to check on Mounty and practically jumped the many flights downstairs.
He caught Facade simply walking down the hall on his hind hooves as if it was an everyday occurrence. “Stop right there!” he said pointing his revolver at him. “If you do not comply, I will use force!”
Facade looked back with his monocle eye and grinned before turning completely around. “Dear officer, would you shoot an unarmed stallion?” He unfurled his cape and revealed that his front hooves were nonexistent anymore as many balloon’s emerged from the sleeves.
“What in the…? Hey!” Sleuth growled as the balloon’s obstructed his view. He made a quick decision to compress the balloon’s flat with his magic in order to pop them and by the time he did, Facade was entering the door opposite to him.
On the other side, Facade was met with several SWAT officers with rifles pointed at him, each loaded with rubber bullets. “Seriously, how many times have we done this now?” he said before slipping a flare gun from his sleeve and shooting it up towards the high ceiling. This caused the sprinkler system to go off and as the officers tried to react, he jumped over them from the balcony down to the main exhibit floor. The water pressure not only impaired their vision of the criminal, but the water also caused the tile floors to become extremely slick, making it difficult for ponies to stand.
Facade landed in front of the display case with the armor and medallion of the Mirage Knight. Sleuth slid through the door just in time to see Facade take his hat off, revealing a black spherical object on his blonde head, as well as a white horn. “Wait, is that a bowling ball? He’s not gonna…”
He did. Facade took the ball off of his head and used its weight and momentum to break the glass case, also setting off the alarm in the process which caused the doors to lock. He didn’t seem to care though as he gently reached inside and took the medallion.
“I honestly expected more of you guys tonight. It feels like you’re not even trying,” Facade smirked as he literally skated on the slick tiles towards fire exit.
("Clever bastard"), Sleuth thought. ("The fire doors don’t lock when the sprinkler system is active, even when the alarm is going off too. And by gathering us in one spot and setting off the sprinklers, he stuns us while also securing his escape route. But wait till he sees the surprise outside.")
Facade stepped out the fire door and into the back alley. He quietly stepped towards a nearby construction project with all attention focused on the chaos inside. However as soon as his hoof made contact with the blacked out street, several spotlight’s lit the area up, from those on the ground to the one in the sky.
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, FACADE!” shouted the mare in the chopper as many officers closed in on him, weapons drawn. “DROP THE MEDALLION! AND WHILE YOU’RE AT IT, PUT YOUR HOOVES UP!”
Strangely, the thief seemed to comply with the order. He gently placed the medallion, wrapped in a microfiber cloth, on the ground in front of him and slowly raised his hooves, getting down on his knees at the same time. “Very well, you got me. Go ahead and take me to prison, boys.”
Cautiously, the officers approached the surrendering stallion, still very well aware it could be a trick of some sort. Six surrounded him from all angles and it looked like they would finally succeed in their long anticipated arrest.
Unfortunately, though unsurprisingly, Facade had one last surprise up his sleeves, or rather his hat which blew off in a small gust of wind generated from the chopper descending, revealing his horn which was glowing a cool violet. In a single second, the block and the spotlights lost power as everything went pitch black. Facade then quickly got up and stomped on the ground, creating a smoke screen in the process. When everypony activated the flashlight’s on their gear as the smoke cleared, their target had vanished.
It wasn’t too long before the power for the block came back and the spotlights on the ground and chopper were functional again. Sleuth arrived on the scene as the confusion was still in process. And though he was disappointed he wasn’t able to capture his target, he still held a smirk.
“Let’s see how long it takes for him to realize his arrogance.”
“What was up with that blackout earlier?” Alto said as she walked the streets with her sister. “It just came and went.”
“Facade most likely. Sleuthy has been obsessed over it the past few days.”
“Gah, he is so lame. Why daddy thinks it’s a good idea for you to marry an idiot like him is something I can’t comprehend.”
Soprano rolled her eyes. “Don’t be like that, sis. He’s not so bad. There could be worse stallions to marry into the family. That piece of eye candy you’re dating for example.”
“At least Baritone is a hottie who actually has something interesting to talk about every once in a while. Your beau is just a broken record who always rambles on about the most pointless things. What a dork.”
“...You wanna be the pot or the kettle on this one? Anyway, at least try to behave when we come pick him up, okay oh older sister of wisdom?”
“This guru is not making any promises.”
Soprano sighed as they continued their stroll through the district, attempting to do a little bit of shopping. Working as an actress sometimes meant scrunching whatever time she could spare. With how active the city was at all times, sometimes it was better to shop at night anyway. Thank Celestia for twenty-four hour shopping centers.
At a certain point in their shopping run, they saw an area blocked off by police and the flashing beacons. Soprano, on a hunch, squinted to single out the officers and sure enough, she saw her inspector speaking with witnesses. When he finished taking their statements, she cantered to catch up with him; Alto simply took her time.
“Hey Sleuthy,” Soprano said with a smile.
“Soprano? What are you doing here? Oh, hello as well Alto.”
“Mm,” Alto said in acknowledgement.
“I got off rehearsal awhile ago so big sis and I were shopping. So, how did it go? Did you catch Facade?”
Sleuth scratched his head. “Unfortunately not, but I think we got the last laugh in this case.”
“Wait, so he took that stupid medallion then?” Alto bluntly asked, Soprano’s eyes widening in concern upon saying it.
“No, the medallion is safe,” Sleuth grinned. “The one Facade took was a decoy. The real one was moved to another location before this all started.”
“What other location?” Alto again asked.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that for security reasons.”
“Typical…”
At this point, Soprano noticed a bandage on Sleuth’s head, slightly red from bleeding. “Oh Sleuth, you’re hurt!”
“Wha? Oh, that,” Sleuth rubbed his bandaged head. “I hit it on a bowling ball.”
“A what?” both Soprano and Alto asked in surprise.
“He used it to break the glass of the display case. The floor was slippery from the sprinkler system and I… slipped. You can probably guess what happened. Not one of my proudest moments,” Sleuth said with a nervous chuckle before clearing his throat.
“Inspector!” An alabaster earth stallion galloped to Sleuth.
“Officer Noncom, are we finished documenting already?”
“Not quite, sir. We have a problem.”
Sleuth lost his grin. “What? Girls, I have to ask you to stay put. I’ll be right back.”
He followed Noncom into the museum building where he was escorted into the basement vault. On the way, he ran into the museum director.
“Mr. Mint Condition, what’s going on?”
“The medallion. It’s gone!”
Sleuth’s eyes widened in horror of the statement. In that instant, he galloped into the vault. He had to confirm for himself. Sure enough, a thorough search of the entire vault and turning it upside-down yielded nothing for the medallion. Only a letter strategically left on the floor.
You did fairly well for your first gig here, but I’m afraid this victory goes to me. Better luck next time.
~ Your friend, Facade.
P.S. Hope that head wound heals alright, you seem to only have so many brain cells to spare.
His face contorted in a strong display of fury along with his shaky hooves crumpling the note. “But… How? How did that bastard…?”
The unicorn inspector slumped, feeling utterly defeated. Within a few minutes, Noncom caught up with him in the vault with the two mares.
“Wha- Hey! What are you two doing down here?! This area is supposed to be off limits.”
“I let them down here, sir,” Noncom awkwardly responded. “They were being very… insistent. I’ve checked them and they are clean.”
“Police protocol!- Oh, screw it. What harm could it do at this point?” Sleuth said in his irritated state. “What are you doing down here anyway?”
“An important piece of this city’s history was being threatened, how could I stand idle with it going on?” Soprano said defending her action. “The medallion? Is it…?”
“I’m afraid so…” Sleuth sighed. “I underestimated Facade. I don’t know how he did it, but I’m going to get him for it.”
“If it makes you feel any better sir,” Noncom began, “you’re far from the first one he’s done this to. All things considered, you could’ve done worse.”
With a tense feeling of humiliation, Sleuth removed his radio from his holster and composed himself before speaking into it. “APB, we have a confirmed four eighty-seven!"
Sleuth suddenly punched the steel wall out of anger. “And I’ll be the last he ever does this to. Mark my words, I will not rest until that… that arrogant SMARTASS is rotting behind bars! He’ll pay for making a fool of me.”
Alto leaned in towards her sister. “Dramatic much?” she whispered into Soprano’s ear.
Soprano rolled her eyes, but gave no response. Right now, she only felt both pity and disappointment towards her fiance for this whole mess. “Oh Sleuthy…”
Three high class equines sat in their carriage that was en route to the Serenity Estate for the evening gala. Given the invitation was from her best customer, Ante Bounty was more than happy to accept it. As Falsetto’s daughter was a fan, Kicker couldn’t resist the opportunity to perform at her birthday as a present to her; it was also a chance to generate new business for the Lucky Lag and possibly new fans. Bluff? He simply rested his head back with his eyes shut.
“Goodness, boy,” Ante smirked as she spoke in her posh accent. “Stay up late again? Did you work for a long time or did you get lucky?”
“Ugh, I wish,” Bluff said rubbing his eyes. “With all this stuff going down, I could use the company of a lady right now. Kinda hoped I was going with Brette tonight, but that ain’t happening.”
“Why not? What lady wouldn’t want a handsome, well educated chap like my boy?”
“She had prior obligations with her brother.” Bluff yawned and popped his neck.
“Aw, that's a shame,” Ante nudged her son. “Perhaps you can make it up to her later, I’d like to see some more grandkids sometime before I die.”
“Oh, don’t start talking like some creepy old lady, mother,” Bluff responded deadpan as he glanced out the window. “With a hag like you hovering over me all the time, it’s a miracle I bring home any mares at all.”
Bluff’s comment was met with a playful whack to the back of his head via Ante’s fan, resulting in both of them chuckling. Kicker watched in amusement as the mother and son traded smartass banter. It wasn’t long before the carriage approached the villa gates and passed through them to the doors of the large house. When they came to a complete stop, two ponies opened the doors and allowed the occupants to step out. The zebra magician disembarked first and offered a hoof to the elegant mare. Bluff was the last to exit and offered a tip to the servant as the door closed.
“Ah, welcome to my humble estate, Madam Bounty,” Falsetto greeted as they walked inside the villa that was noticeably alive with chatter among the other guests. “So terribly glad you could make it tonight.”
“Charmed yourself, Lord Falsetto. I wouldn’t miss such a soiree, not when invited by my favorite customer.”
“Buenas noches, Señor Serenity,” Kicker addressed with a small bow and a tip of his top hat. “I hope you don’t mind a private performance for the party.”
“Oh, not at all, sir. I dare say the girls would absolutely love it. My Soprano is currently changing into her evening dress, but won’t she be surprised to see you. And good evening to you, Bluff my boy.”
“Hello again, Lord Falsetto. If it’s alright with you, I would like to leave you and my mother to talk.”
“By all means. Mingle, have fun, sample some of the hors d’oeuvres,” Falsetto smiled.
Bluff and Kicker walked away from the foyer and headed towards the great hall where many guests were present, among them quite a few nobles, celebrities, and many friends of the Serenity name.
“Geez, it really reeks of first world problems in here,” Bluff disparaged as he eyed the ponies who clearly had way too much money. “I feel like I’m at a gathering of peacocks.”
“A change of pace to be, no?”
“For better or worse.”
Bluff walked with Kicker among the crowd, observing and scanning various ponies along the way. It was a habit he grew into when working in his family’s business, to try and analyze what kind of ponies they were from certain things like speech, posture, and body language. He eventually parted with Kicker and decided to appease his pallet at the buffet.
("Quite a spread here. Mmm, this all looks good. What to try first"). Bluff licked his lips as he saw an assortment of pastries just begging to be tasted. Nothing particularly fancy for high society, but then you’re never too rich to enjoy free food. After the obligatory pause, he picked up a cookie and bit into it, making note of the sweet molasses blessing his taste buds.
He took with him a glass of punch to wash down the treat and continued to watch the crowd. Many of the guests were younger adults, between high school and college age. Considering the girl of honor, this didn’t surprise him in the least. A mare of Soprano’s caliber probably had many friends, acquaintances and probably a few suitors despite her engagement. However, there was a price with fortune and fame that Bluff knew all too well: were they here because they really were her friends, or was it because of said fame and fortune?
Nevertheless, quite a few of her female friends were pretty easy on the eyes. A duo of them even seemed to share this thought towards him as they approached the stallion.
“Hey there, big boy,” the orange unicorn said flirtily. “Having a good time?”
“I was, but you’re presence has made it slightly better,” Bluff replied with a sly grin. “Friends of the birthday girl, I presume?”
“And classmates,” the peach pegasus added with a wink. “You?”
“My mother is friends with her father, so I don’t really know her that much personally. Her father is a regular at our business, one of our favorites in fact.”
“Where do you work?”
“The Lucky Lag. I’m a dealer there.”
“Oooh, an older guy,” the mares giggled among themselves. “So uh, you’d be interested in joining us tonight?” the peach mare asked coyly.
“We wouldn’t mind some male company for the evening,” the orange mare added.
“Thanks for the invitation ladies, but I’m afraid I have to decline as I’ve got a lady friend already.”
“Aw, okay then,” the peach mare said disappointed.
“We’ll see ya around then, big boy,” the orange mare winked.
The two mares trotted away and Bluff took another sip of his drink before he was approached by another pony, this time a familiar face. “You don’t have a girlfriend, do you?” asked the azure unicorn.
Bluff pivoted his head in the voice’s direction and grinned jovially. “Hey, inspector! How’s it going? Nah I don’t, but they don’t need to know that.”
“I see. You’re the last pony I expected to see here. Your mother and the magician I can understand, but I don’t see a practical reason for you being here,” Sleuth scowled.
“Pfft! Is it really so implausible that I intend to wish a very happy birthday to LP’s sweetheart? I am so hurt!” Bluff joked. “In all seriousness though, I didn’t actually plan to be here tonight. I expected to be sleeping. But y’know, when you receive an invitation, you don’t wanna be rude.”
Sleuth sighed as he refilled his glass. “Whatever, just don’t cause any trouble. We’ve got four other officers in the guest list so you’ll regret it if you do.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of starting a ruckus in front of LP’s finest,” Bluff responded with a hint of mockery in his tone. “Honestly, if you wanna watch out for somepony, I’d watch out for all those stallions here to get a glimpse of your wife-to-be. After that fiasco a couple days ago, I wouldn’t be surprised if she changed her mind.”
“Shut up, I have enough to deal with without you pouring salt in the wound.”
“I’m being serious. I wouldn’t want to marry an officer of the law who can’t even protect a little coin shaped object.”
“Stop talking.”
Sleuth took a sip from his own drink. He wore a perpetual grimace as he tried his best not to make eye contact with the casino stallion. Bluff always had a knack for reading ponies and Sleuth’s emotions were an open book with enormous bold font. It was obvious he was frustrated from being in his presence, but it seemed to extend beyond that. It was like he struggled for nights to comprehend his failure, something that he himself could relate too in his own strange way.
Bluff finished off the last sip of his glass before refilling it. “Hey look, sorry for instigating. I get it, you’re pride is hurt. I understand what that’s like, but I really shouldn’t have gone that far. How about we start over? What do you say pal, truce?” he asked offering his left hoof for a hoofshake.
The police pony looked at him in the corner of his glaring eye, unwilling to relent. He then threw his head back and took in a flabbergasted breath. “Fine,” he said only tapping Bluff’s hoof rather than shaking it. “Just don’t piss me off anymore.”
“Fair enough. On a more positive note, I heard about how that night went with the thief. Personally, I don’t think you did all that bad for your first major case here in LP.”
“Is that so?” Sleuth took a bite into a small cookie. “To tell you the truth, I’m kind of stunned that the inspector before me didn’t think to use a decoy, instead stupidly guarding the real item. It’s common knowledge in Canterlot where the royal family lives. You’d think that after years of dealing with the guy, he’d have at least considered it.”
“Hey, just means you’re smarter than him. Just a little bit at least. Gotta count for something.”
Sleuth caught a glimpse of Kicker performing a set of tricks for a small audience, among them being Soprano who was dressed in a beautiful red ruffled dress with her mane tied up, similar to how she was when they saw the magician live. Her face lit up when Kicker gave her one of his doves - after poofing it into existence from his right hoof - and Sleuth smiled slightly, happy to see Soprano enjoying herself.
“What do you think of the guy?” Bluff asked.
“The Kicker? As a performer, he’s alright I guess. I’ve never been one for illusionism personally. Certainly knows how to please an audience.”
“He’s a good guy. Pretty much a part of the family too.”
“Oh?”
“Longtime friend of mine since I was born, practically an adopted sibling of my mother and my father was his partner on stage before he passed away.”
That last part caused Sleuth to pause his glass before it reached his lips. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“He went peacefully in his sleep. His liver just stopped working, liked the bottle too much. Real shame too, he was probably the best ventriloquist LP had for a time, though I guess that’s not saying much. I mean, look at all the other ventriloquists out here.”
“So this guy is kind of like your uncle then by the sound of it. Am I correct in assuming he taught you a little bit in illusionism?” Sleuth asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Not as much as you might think. He would show me the tricks but would never outright explain them and I would have to learn them myself. Very cryptic about it. ‘A good magician never reveals his tricks’ he would always say. I kind of disagree with it though. It may shatter the illusion but In my opinion, you appreciate the trick a little more when you realize the complexity and work that needs to go into it. Of course, my array of tricks is pitiful compared to his.”
“But you don’t do it professionally like he does.”
“True, very true. I’m just a rich sucka who’s only good for dealing cards and flirting, am I right?”
Despite his best efforts, Sleuth found himself growing more relaxed towards the stallion that previously agitated him. When he wasn’t acting like a smug sleazeball, he was at least tolerable. It did not do much to alleviate the feeling of stress that had built up since the failed operation. ("Still a better conversationalist than Alto.")
Bluff continued to eye the crowd. He caught a glimpse of the parents of the betrothed conversing with his mother who looked back at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled. Tilting his head, he saw Monty scolding Bobby at the next table over, likely from either pigging out on the goods or about the sugar intake. Regardless, the off-duty officers made for an amusing distraction. Not too far from them was Officer Constable with his unicorn wife who sported a noticeable baby bump through her satin evening dress.
“I never expected to see so many cops here at this grandiose birthday party.”
“Those guys over there received their invites from me,” Sleuth responded as he started stretching out the muscles in his neck. “I figured a few officers here would discourage any pony from doing anything that would ruin Soprano’s party. They’ve also somewhat become my friends.”
“Wouldn’t that security work better if they were in uniform?” Bluff questioned.
“Probably, but we were encouraged not to be.”
("Because you don’t want to be the laughing stock among a bunch of upper class socialites,") Bluff thought as he rolled his eyes. More observing went on before eventually seeing a familiar mare from television talking to Alto. “Hey, is that who I think it is?”
“Who, Meryl O’knette?” Sleuth said looking in her direction. “I guess so. Alto does have quite a few celebrity friends.”
The two mares were unfortunately too far away to hear much of their conversation. If not for Sleuth being so near, he would have made an effort to move closer and eavesdrop. ("Kinda wish I’da brought along my earpiece tonight…")
“Sleuthy?” The sound of Soprano’s voice far to his left made Bluff’s ear twitch. Soprano approached Sleuth wearing her heart pendant around her neck; to Bluff, it continued to be an eyesore. “Can I talk to you later? It’s important.”
“We can talk now. I’m not really busy, not with this guy here.” Bluff took a sip and grinned in feigned innocence.
“Actually, I need to talk to you in private after the party.”
“Uh, sure thing.”
Soprano walked by the guys after a nod, but when she passed by Meryl, the reporter pony stopped her with a camera in hoof. “Oh! Excuse me, Lady Serenity? I don’t think we’ve met before, but I’m a friend of your sister. I was wondering if I could get an interview from you for our station.”
Soprano paused for a moment, unsure what she wanted to do. After a brief hesitance, she stood tall with a smile. Even if she wanted to do something right now, she was always a fan of the spotlight. “Sure, I guess I don’t mind.”
“Great, I’ll make this as quick as I can. First question: How does it feel to be eighteen years old now?”
“I’m one step closer to being an adult, so I guess it’s pretty good. I am old enough to marry too.”
“Oh, do you have a special somepony?”
“I do actually, a fiance in fact. I’ll be marrying him after the premier of the new musical. Of course, a lot of ponies probably already know that.”
“Speaking of musicals, are there any other projects you’ve been thinking about being involved in once your run in Mirage Knight’s Hour ends?”
Soprano had to stop and think about what was on her agenda before giving an answer. “Not particularly. As I said, I’m going to be getting married so I’m probably going to be taking it easy for a little bit, maybe a month or two. I was offered the role in a sitcom a few weeks back, but there’s nothing serious right now.”
“I see. Very well then, onto the next question. As a frequent reporter on the Facade cases, I was wondering: what is your opinion on the phantom?”
“He’s um…” Soprano blushed and averted her eyes in coyness. “Well… I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find him a little fascinating. B-but he’s still a criminal! And he stole a piece of the city’s history with the medallion. I can’t really approve of that.”
“Okay. One last question on behalf of your fanbase: a lot of ponies have been wondering if the supposed malicious allegations between you and Miss Serengeti have any truth to them. Can you offer your opinion on this matter?”
“Those alleged threats are simply nothing more than gossip. Any altercations Miss Serengeti and I have with each other are always settled in a civilized manner and we have agreed to put the embarrassing blunder behind us. For further proof, please ask her directly so she can give her side of the story.”
“Thank you for your time, Lady Serenity. Do you have any last words you would like to add?”
“Actually, I have two things I would like to say. One of them is a thank you to my fans. You guys are so wonderful!” Soprano winked. “It’s all thanks to each and every one of you for making it possible for me to get this far. I will do the best I can to continue entertaining you and I hope to see your support at the premier.”
Soprano gestured for Meryl to follow her to an open crowded area, where Kicker previously performed. Meryl was taken aback at the sudden change of pace, but followed her regardless with the camcorder still rolling. It was her nature as a journalist to keep recording no matter what happens.
The guest of honor eyed the crowd as she waited for Meryl to get up front for a perfect view. It took only a second before she spotted Sleuth. She sighed before clearing her throat.
“Everypony, may I have your attention please? I have something I’d like to say.” The ponies in the immediate area ceased their conversations and turned their smiling heads to the mare of the hour, curious to hear her announcement. “I’m pleased that so many of you turned up tonight for this occasion. I’m grateful for all the gifts you brought and infinitely grateful for the support you’ve shown over the years.”
The crowd clapped in response to her kind words.
“It isn’t much, but I would like to tell a small tale of our family, one that I think you’ll find relevant. The Serenitys are a dynasty that have been around since this great city was founded. Great-great-great-grandmother Cappella was the grand advisor to the small royal family that established the San Palomino province and a good friend of la Duquesa de Vidrieras following the passing of the legendary Mirage Knight. As a token of friendship, Duquesa gave my ancestor a jewel encrusted pendant; the Corazón de Vidrieras.”
Soprano held up her own pendant for all the world to see. While much of the crowd beheld in the sparkling glossy gemstones, Bluff only rolled his eyes. Why the high class would covet such a garish accessory he would never know.
“This is but a replica of the famous Heart of Stained Glass. The real one remains in a location that I shall not disclose tonight. However, don’t you be disappointed. For in a few days time, I will not only be displaying the real heirloom within the Equestrian Historical Museum in Manehattan, but I shall be wearing it during the debut of the new musical here in Las Pegasus. If you can, I encourage you all to see both the exhibit and the show.”
Soprano placed the pendant back around her neck and closed her eyes in a nervous smile. Her next words were sure to shock ponies everywhere, but it was a now or never decision. Since she had the stand, there was no better time since her speech would be broadcasted later.
“And with that said, I would like to issue a public statement, particularly to a certain pony who I know is out there watching this. I am of course talking about the master thief Facade. You know the history behind this piece of jewelry. I, Soprano Serenity, challenge you to steal the real thing before the date of my wedding.”
It was a bad time for Bluff to be drinking from his glass as he started to choke. The questionable announcement sent a wave of murmurs among the guests as well, a mix of emotions ranging from intrigue from Meryl and Soprano’s friends, to utter shock from her parents. Before any questions could be asked about the absurd challenge, Soprano only curtsied and smiled at Meryl.
“That is all. Please enjoy the rest of the evening.”
The rest of the evening went on more or less normally. Of course, there was plenty of talk between guests about the earlier announcement. Not many knew how to take it or even how to react. It was around the time the party started winding down that Bluff and his company started for home. Of all ponies, it seemed odd for him to be concerned about all that transpired. After the speech, he spent a lot of time by himself, with Sleuth disappearing for the night leaving him by his lonesome. But why wouldn’t he be concerned with a massive task ahead of him.
When the family trio got home to their seaside villa, Ante stretched and yawned with tired satisfaction. Unlike her son and honorary brother, it was almost as if nothing in the world was wrong. “I’m going to bed now. I need to get up early tomorrow.”
“Yeah, um, goodnight,” Kicker hesitantly replied.
Ante went to her room, leaving Kicker and Bluff in the living room to deal with the situation on their own. The latter of the two plopped down onto the sofa with an exasperated sigh. “Well, this is a troublesome twist. So soon after the medallion too.”
“It can’t be helped,” the zebra said sitting in an armchair close by. “We mustn't dwell on it. We should prepare for the coming challenge.”
“Why? It’s just a gaudy heart-shaped pendant. Even if it is a piece of history, it hardly has any value to us.”
“Perhaps not financially,” Kicker chuckled. “Bluff mi niño, you have to keep your eyes and ears open. Did you not interpret the situation as I did?”
“What are you-”
“This is a matter of professional integrity!” Kicker clapped his hooves dramatically. “What kind of gentlecolt would the magnificent Facade be if he ignored a direct request from a lady?”
“I don’t like where this is going at all…” Bluff facehoofed. “What about the medallion? Are we just going to set that aside until this is dealt with then?”
“The medallion can wait. It is too heated to deal with that anyway. Now then Bluff, we should prepare.”