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.