Twilight trudged through the snow-covered sidewalk wearily. It had been snowing for the past two days since she and Sweetie Belle had gotten back from the Blue Palace. It had began to snow lightly by the time they were back home. Rumors were circulating around Manehatten that the pegasi had heard about the city being unicorn territory and were now trying to force everyone out with a constant blizzard. But Twilight could see the swirling clouds from above the force field and knew that no pegasi were causing this weather. It was hatred. Everypony had seen the Hearth's Warming Eve play and knew the legend of windigos. Twilight could only hope that this was the only place effected by the weather.
Twilight soon found herself trotting up familiar blue marble steps. Two royal guards were rooted in front of the entrance to the palace. Their eyes drifted over to Twilight, gleaming with an unspoken malice. The two guards blocked her way into the palace with no warning, causing Twilight to bump into them both.
"Employees only," they both said in unison.
"Oh," Twilight said as she showed them the employment card she kept around her neck, "I actually am an employee here. I'm a maid for Filthy Rich."
The guards eyed her down before examining her I.D. It was a full minute before they went back to their positions, getting out of Twilight's way.
"You may pass, Blue Harmony," the guard on the right replied.
But Twilight didn't go just yet. She gave the pair an inquisitive stare, "Just out of curiosity, why are you guys checking for employment cards here? Shouldn't you be inside the palace?"
"There's another pair of guards inside. The palace is on high security for the time being."
"What for?"
"Two unicorns from the business district came forward claiming to have seen a certain unicorn come in to Manehatten. King Blueblood ordered double security on this building. The rest is confidential."
"But why? I thought this place was meant for unicorns. What unicorn is an enemy here?" Twilight pressed on, already knowing that she was pushing her luck.
"I said it was confidential. Now, I suggest that you be on your way, miss."
Twilight hesitated before crossing the threshold of the door. Of course Flim and Flam had come forth with her identity. Twilight cursed herself for even coming within one hundred feet of them without some sort of disguise. How could she have been so foolish? Reckless even? Twilight continued up the staircase where she was asked for an I.D five times with every staircase she escalated. It was a relief that Rarity had suggested changing Twilight's appearance or else she would've been arrested the moment she stepped outside.
With the amount of guards positioned at the end of every staircase, it took Twilight five minutes longer to get to the penthouse of Filthy Rich. When she finally got to the door, she found it open. A lone pony was leaning against the mahogany frame with a cold sneer on her face. Diamond Tiara was still the small, snobby filly from before. She glared at Twilight as she stepped aside to let her through.
"You're late," she sighed, "You're lucky I'm not the boss of you or else you would've been fired."
Twilight scornfully stepped inside, willing herself not to hit Diamond Tiara right aside the head. How did Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo deal with her? Twilight uttered a small apology before going into the closet to get out her cleaning materials.
Diamond Tiara skulked off to the living room, muttering to herself, "Daddy never understands what a good maid is anymore."
Twilight scowled as she took out a bucket and mop from the closet. She had been planning to sneak over to where Prince Blueblood's housing was located yesterday, but Filthy Rich's little sweetheart had spent the whole day camped out on the living room sofa, buzzing with anger like a hornet trapped in a bottle.
"There's nothing to do here," Diamond Tiara groaned from her place on the sofa.
A few magazines were littered on the coffee table in front of her, but they had been read even before the war began. Diamond Tiara tapped her hoof impatiently as Twilight went past her with the bucket and mop. Twilight began to scrub at the stone floor of the living room, watching Diamond Tiara from the corner of her eyes. She stopped tapping her hoof and instead focused on Twilight's chore.
"You better really scrub that floor, because last time I saw a few dust particles."
"I'll get them," Twilight tried to mask the annoyance in her voice, "Don't worry about it."
Diamond gave Twilight a death glare that would melt the sun, "Excuse me? I know you're new to this job, but in case you don't already know, it's my job to worry about what you do. I'm the only one who actually spends time in this place. You're not the only maid who's had this job before. I had the last two maids fired, you know. So, I don't know, maybe I would worry if I were you. It's just a thought."
"If you're cooped up and alone, why don't you go...to the garden?" Twilight bluffed. She knew that there probably was no garden, but did Diamond Tiara know that?
Judging by the curious tone of her voice, Twilight thought not. Diamond cocked her head slightly as she spoke, "What garden?"
"I'm not sure where it is exactly...in fact no one does."
"And why's that? Because it doesn't exist?" Diamond Tiara snorted.
"No, because it's hidden. It's rumored that the only person who knows about it is the architect who made this building. Some say that it's on one of the balconies. Others say that it's down in the basement. But most say that it's somewhere...around this floor."
Twilight got back to mopping the floor. She could practically hear Diamond Tiara's newfound desire of this imaginary garden from where she was. Diamond slowly rose out of her sofa, her hooves clicking on the wet floor. To Twilight's delight, she was heading for the door.
"Well, I suppose I could fire a shot at finding this so called garden. I have nothing better to do after all. Much better than watching you work anyway. I'll be back though, so don't let me catch you slacking off."
With a short slam of the door, she was gone. At once, Twilight stopped mopping and immediately went out the same door. Diamond Tiara was already down one of the long hallways, so Twilight took to the stairs. She only had two floors to go before she came to the Royal Housing. The guards at the first staircase barely checked her I.D, whereas the ones guarding the very last floor not only scanned her employment card for an additional two minutes straight, but also searched her body for any concealed weapons. They finally let her go after double-checking her I.D.
The seventh floor was beautiful to the eyes. The floors were made of a white, sparkling marble while the walls were different shades of blue in each room. If Twilight had been her normal self with no mission, she would have happily plopped down at one of the white, plush armchairs with one of the thousands of books living in the rich, wooden bookshelves. But she did have a mission. And she would not be distracted.
The sound of incoming hoofsteps drew her attention as they neared closer. She quickly ducked to the side of one of the many bookshelves and pretended to dust. Two unicorns walked past her, making no signs of even noticing her presence. They talked in hushed voices as they continued to walk. Twilight could only make it a few snippets of their conversation.
"I do say…what has gotten ahold of that Prince? Is it just me or has he…seemingly funny." The light-orange unicorn to the left spoke hurriedly.
The dark brown unicorn talked much slower than his aquaintance, but softer. Twilight could barely even hear the few words he muttered.
"I think…it…won't do it. I don't…if he…her."
Twilight's eyes trailed over to where they were walking. The two unicorns were walking along the long corridor, toward a room that looked as if it were a dining room or a lounge. Quietly, Twilight lurked behind them, wishing that she had at least brought with her a broom or mop. As she grew closer the conversation become clearer.
The orange unicorn whispered to the other one, "I hear that he doesn't even have the old prince locked up. The prince just left of her own accord."
"That's not even true at all. Why would Shining Armor leave his wife behind? It makes no sense, Reginald."
The forenamed unicorn shook his mane, "Many people do weird things in times of crisis. I think that the bloke may have run off to find the princesses."
"If he did…" The unicorn began to whisper in a voice so low, that even Twilight couldn't hear from a few feet away.
"Yes, well…" Reginald looked away suddenly, as if ashamed at what the other unicorn had said, "Let's just hope he didn't send him there too."
Twilight's face flushed as the two unicorns ducked into a nearby room. Twilight walked past the room and continued through the corridor. What had they mean when they said, 'Let's just hope that he didn't send him there too.' Where was Shining Armor? The corridor seemed to have no end to it, for it stretched out all the way until it came to a stop in front of a ballroom.
More hoofsteps could be heard coming her way, only they sounded heavier. Twilight went into the ballroom cautiously before ducking behind a tall, blue curtain. The hoofsteps went on past the door of the ballroom, and came to a stop only a few feet from where she was hiding.
Twilight held her breath as someone began to talk with a Canterlot accent. It was a stallion's voice, no doubt, for it was a deep, yet whiny voice. And it was talking to someone else, who Twilight hadn't heard come in.
"The plans have been set. Everything's in order now," the stallion spoke up.
The unknown pony next to him paused before answering in a hushed whisper, "Good. It took me days to find the perfect hiding spot for him. But now people are beginning to get suspicious, Blueblood."
Blueblood? Twilight peeked an eye out from the curtain. There he was in full view. His blue mane was freshly combed and his hooves polished. Although Twilight could see him, she couldn't see the person he was talking to. The curtain was in the way, and if she peeked out any more, she would be seen. The mysterious person began to whisper.
"You see, they think that he's up in the moon. But now they're beginning to think for a change. They think to themselves everyday, 'if our prince is on the moon, then why is there a force field still?' It's gotten impossible to lie to these buffoons. If you don't think of something soon, I'll replace you. Do you hear me?"
"Y-Yes," Blueblood stammered.
"Goood," The voice purred, "You know very well that I can do a mean impression of him after all. So don't go thinking that you're superior to all just yet, because you still have to go through me in order for that to work."
Twilight noticed that the unknown person was walking away from Blueblood, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Blueblood let out a small sigh. Twilight still felt no pity or sympathy for him whatsoever. She was so angry with this one stuck-up, spoiled, rotten stallion, that she failed to notice that the duster she had stuck in her right pocket, was steadily falling out. And then it all happened so fast.
The duster fell right at her feet, clattering to the ground. Prince Blueblood swiveled around to face the duster, and also noticed blue hooves. His eyes narrowed in fury as he took three short strides to throw the curtain away from Twilight. Twilight glared back at Blueblood. His nostrils flared.
"What do you think you're doing, maid?" Blueblood spat at her.
Twilight snorted back, "I was dusting behind the curtains."
Blueblood took a step back, "Who gave you permission to come in here? This is my royal ballroom and no one else's! No one's!"
"My, my your highness," Twilight picked up the duster with her mouth and put it back inside her pocket, "You have quite the temper to you."
"How dare you talk to the King like that? I will have you thrown in prison just for that slander."
"Good, and make it the one that belongs to...my brother," Twilight snapped.
Blueblood's eyebrows shot up to his forehead as Twilight suddenly slammed shut every single door, the sound of their locks synchronized. Blueblood let out a soft shriek as Twilight drew closer.
"Twilight Sparkle, I knew you'd find me. Prepare to taste...my vengeance!" Blueblood cried aloud before throwing a cupful of water at her.
Twilight watched as the gold glass fell down with an echoing bang. She looked down at herself. The only harm the water had done was cause her paint to start dripping off her body and onto the ballroom floor, creating a bright blue puddle.
Twilight stepped over it, moving closer to Blueblood. He shook his mane out defiantly at her.
"Go ahead, threaten me if you must. What do you want from me? It's not as though your wishes will be granted at all."
Twilight cackled, "That's where you're wrong Blueblood. You see, I went out of my way to conceal weapons where no pony would've thought to look."
With those words Twilight pressed a small notch on her duster, causing a sharp, jagged knife to pop out from its handle. Blueblood stumbled over his own hooves, as she grew closer.
"All I want is my brother back on his rightful throne, and you gone. I can kill you if I have to, you know. But I won't. Instead, I'll do this."
There was a swipe at the air that caused Blueblood to scream. He clutched his cheek in pain. A thin, red line was scratched upon his pure white coat. Drops of blood ran down his face. He looked at it in horror.
"My face! My royal face!"
"Now tell me where my brother is, or I'll cut the other one. And I'll make sure it scars," Twilight roared.
Blueblood slumped down to the ground in defeat. He kicked a certain spot on the ground three solid times. There was a low rumbling sound from below them. An opening began to appear from a few feet away, growing in size until the rumbling stopped completely. Twilight inched her way toward the opening in case it was a trap. But Blueblood walked ahead of her and went in through the opening. Twilight ran after him to make sure he didn't leave her sight.
She was mildly surprised to see that the opening was a staircase. It was a very long one however. It took them a full minute to come to an iron steel door. Blueblood's horn sparked up and the door magically opened itself. Twilight peered inside.
It was a large room, about the size of her old library back in Canterlot. The walls were a soft colored yellow and the carpet was soft and fluffy. In the corner a single bed stood by itself upon a row of bookshelves. A dark blue colored mane peeked out from a white armchair closest to them. A second passed before Shining Armor noticed them, his wide, blue eyes staring at Twilight disbelievingly.
"Twilie?" Shining Armor choked out, "Is that you?"
Twilight caught a glimpse of herself in a nearby mirror. The paint had dripped all the way down to her hooves, so she looked as if she spilled blue watercolor all over herself. Prince Blueblood let out a disgruntled sigh as Shining Armor ran past him to nuzzle his little sister. They were interrupted by a wail.
"I never get what I want! I never!" Blueblood was now throwing a tantrum, kicking his hooves into the ground wildly, "I just wanted the throne. I never wanted to kidnap anyone. I didn't even want to marry anyone. They didn't give me a choice!"
Twilight stared emotionlessly at the sobbing prince, "Who didn't give you a choice, Blueblood?"
Blueblood just simply shook her head and continued to stomp and kick at the ground like a toddler who was refused candy. Shining Armor raised up his horn at Blueblood, "Start explaining Blueblood."
Blueblood suddenly began to straighten up, "I-I-I was approached by someone a few weeks ago. They said they would be able to give me the throne. All I wanted was the throne, but in order to do that, they made me kidnap you, threaten to kill your wife and marry her, just to keep you quiet and obedient. I didn't want to do it!"
"Who did this Blueblood? Who?" Twilight repeated slowly, leaning in closer.
There was a vast silence that ensued. Shining Armor's horn sparked a purple color and quickly changed to a light pink as they waited for an answer. But it still didn't come right away. Prince Blueblood gave a small shudder as he shook his head. After another second passed, he motioned for Twilight to come closer. She leaned in even closer so that she was only a few inches away.
He cupped a hoof to Twilight's ear tentatively, hesitating for a split second. And then he whispered something into Twilight's ear.