13 December 1008
‘’One day,’’ Sunset remarked, ‘’you’re going to have to teach me how you do that.’’
The look Nightmare Moon gave her was at the same time amused and exasperated.
‘’What?’’ Sunset defended herself. ‘’Don’t tell me the ability to turn into a cloud and fly around wherever you please doesn’t sound appealing!’’
‘’It is much less so when one can already fly,’’ Nightmare Moon observed. ‘’Now then, you had something for me?’’
Sunset drew her mind away from the mechanics of the alicorn’s cloud spell and refocused on the task at hoof. ‘’I do. I’ve been going through the castle now that it has been, ah, fully secured. In particular I’ve taken a look at Twilight’s research notes.’’
‘’And your conclusions?’’
‘’Well I can see why she was Celestia’s protégé for one,’’ Sunset deadpanned. ‘’I’ve rarely seen such skill at magic.’’
No need to tell her I barely understood some of these things.
‘’We already knew Twilight is a genius,’’ Nightmare Moon said dryly. ‘’What of it?’’
‘’Well, aside from being able to piece together how she made that mind control spell work,’’ Sunset replied, ‘’I discovered some research of a darker nature.’’
She lifted a thick stack of documents over from the table. ‘’She wasn’t just interested in mind-control, it seems.’’
With a raised eyebrow, Nightmare Moon accepted the documents and began to look through. Within seconds the raised eyebrow turned into a frown, which only deepened the more she read. Perfectly understandable, as Sunset had had much the same reaction upon discovering and reading the notes.
‘’This,’’ Nightmare Moon said, her voice cold as ice and authoritative like oft-imagined but rarely-heard, ‘’does not leave this room. Is that understood?’’
Sunset gave a brisk nod of compliance. ‘’Crystal clear.’’
‘’Good.’’ Nightmare deposited the documents on the table again. ‘’I am going to assign Guard patrols to try and catch her. Where do you think she is headed?’’
‘’Hard to say,’’ Sunset replied truthfully. ‘’I haven’t found any notes on plans yet, and her research is as chaotic as it is advanced. If there are any clues inside those notes, it’ll take me a few days - at least - to decipher them.’’
‘’One would think she would have written her plans down somewhere,’’ Nightmare Moon muttered with a scowl.
Sunset shrugged. ‘’She’s got a pretty good memory. And I wouldn’t leave my plans lying around either. Maybe she took them with her- speaking of, did anyone actually see her leave?’’
‘’No,’’ Nightmare Moon said with a shake of her head. ‘’I think she used a cloaking or invisibility spell and then teleported from the Everfree; my guards found some traces of a teleportation array in a room in the castle, but it’s too scrambled to be useful.’’
‘’Of course it is,’’ Sunset remarked, before realising something. ‘’Discord let Twilight get that close.’’
‘’I have been told he was… indisposed.’’
Before Sunset could inquire further about that, Nightmare Moon pressed on. ‘’Regardless, I don’t want to involve him if I can help it. He would probably be as much a curse as a blessing, and this is too important for him to mess up with one of his tricks or games.’’
‘’As you wish.’’ Discounting him based on those reasons without even consulting seemed… short-sighted, but then again Nightmare Moon had considerably more experience with Discord than Sunset did. Of course, that could very well be the reason for her short-sightedness in the matter, but perhaps she’d already spoken to Discord about this. ‘’What now?’’
‘’We will try to find her,’’ Nightmare Moon answered simply. ‘’My soldiers are looking for her, and they’ll also be assisting you in combing through Twilight’s notes and the castle.’’ She paused. ‘’Oh, and my commendations on dealing with that prison break. I’ve just received a communique from Captain Silverwing about it. All the prisoners have been moved to several more secure locations now, and security in and around Manehattan has been heightened.’’
‘’Good.’’
Nightmare Moon inclined her head. ‘’If there is nothing else, I must depart; I have other commitments elsewhere.’’
‘’Sure thing. You know where to find me.’’
‘’That I do.’’ And with those parting words, Nightmare Moon dissipated into a smoke-like cloud yet again, slipping away before Sunset had a chance to study it, or the magic behind it.
One day…
13 December 1008
By the time they finally got out of their room, Flurry was nowhere to be found. A quick question to one of the guards revealed that Lily had come by with her niece and taken Flurry along for breakfast.
Rarity’s stomach rumbled at the thought alone. Of course, Rainbow snickered at the sound, and snickered again at the death glare Rarity threw her way.
‘’You’re insufferable sometimes,’’ Rarity growled.
‘’That’s not what you said last night,’’ Rainbow teased back, ‘’or just now.’’
‘’Oh shut up,’’ Rarity muttered. ‘’This is going to be awkward enough to explain to Flurry as it is.’’
‘’Will it really be?’’ Rainbow questioned, because if Rarity had a moment of quiet in her life it was bound to be interrupted by her. Honestly, it was a wonder she hadn’t sprouted any grey hairs yet from stress.
I’ll have to check for those later. One can never be too careful, after all.
With that thought lingering in her brain, Rarity did not deign to answer Rainbow’s question for a tad longer than socially acceptable. ‘’I suppose it will depend,’’ she finally said.
‘’Depend on what?’’
‘’On how we present the message, and ourselves, of course,’’ Rarity answered. For someone so obsessed with being the best, Rainbow had a remarkably poor grip on PR.
Rainbow shrugged. ‘’Eh. Just say it. I think she’ll like it.’’
‘’How well do you know her?’’
‘’Well enough that she calls me auntie,’’ Rainbow said proudly.
‘’That’s… Ugh, fair enough.’’
The rest of the rather short walk was conducted in silence, a silence that kept on existing even as the sounds of the guests of the hotel having their breakfast filled the air once they entered the dinner room.
With a quick glance around the room, Rarity immediately located Flurry and Lily. The two of them, plus Sugar Petal and a Night Guard, were seated at a table in the corner, a lavish breakfast spread before them on the aforementioned table.
‘’Good morning, darlings!’’ Rarity greeted. ‘’Have we all had a nice night of rest?’’
‘’Good morning auntie!’’ Flurry enthusiastically replied, slipping out of her chair to give Rarity a hug, which was both appreciated and affectionately returned. ‘’I slept very well!’’
‘’That is good to hear, darling,’’ Rarity said as she took a seat on an empty chair next to Flurry. ‘’And what about you, Lily, Sugar?’’
‘’The bed was very comfortable,’’ Lily said between bites of her bagel. ‘’Even though I stayed up later than I would have liked due to, well, paperwork, I still had a good rest.’’
‘’Excellent to hear,’’ Rarity said, ‘’though take care to not overly exhaust yourself on my behalf, darling.’’
‘’Don’t worry, Rarity,’’ Lily replied, ‘’I’ve got Sugar to keep me straight.’’
‘’Someone has to,’’ Sugar said semi-sardonically. ‘’And I slept like a rose tonight. The bed’s great.’’
Well, we are in one of the most expensive and luxurious hotels of an expensive and luxurious city; quality beds would be no less than necessary.
‘’Oh, that reminds me: Lily, would you and Sugar care to join us today for our journey to the city?’’