//------------------------------//
// Chapter Seven 
// Story: Bloodlines 
// by Autocharth 
//------------------------------//

Two days. Twilight looked up from her work, her quill coming to a stop. She glanced around the room. It had been two days since their proper work had began. Finding nothing in her personal library, she had sent Spike to look in the Royal Archives. The first day he had been sent with Applejack, the next Dash, to the thief’s complaints. Thinking about that made her press the quill tip a bit too hard into the paper. Scowling, she took another quill out to replace the broken one.

“Libraries do not suck,” she muttered to herself.

“Mmwha?” A flash of rainbow came above one of the chairs. Dash blinked blearily. “Wha’s goin’ on?”

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Were you sleeping?”

“Uh...no?”

Sighing, she sat back and rubbed her eyes. “This isn’t working,” Twilight mumbled. 

“Hey, just because I was napping doesn’t mean I’m bad at this! It’s just hard! Why do I have to keep redoing this stupid ‘alphabet’ anyway?” Dash whined.

“Not that,” Twilight gave her a dismissive wave. “I meant this research. I’ve compiled lists of magical relics and artefacts that come in sets, but until I know what exactly was stolen, it’s no help.”

Standing with a final glare at the parchment and the wide, childlike scrawl, Dash dropped herself onto one of the chairs. “Maybe I could go see Shifty and Deft Touch? He might have found some stuff, and she might remember what she was gonna steal if she’s not sloshed already.”

Twilight nodded thoughtfully. “Wait for Applejack to get back. I don’t like relying on such...unsavoury elements, but this is useless.”

‘This’ was a pile of reports from the City Watch portion of the guard. Often written in the blocky print of people with little practice in writing, or interest, they all amounted to a vast lot of nothing.

“Guards,” Dash snorted. She shrugged at Twilight’s glare. “Come on! You know something is up!”

“My brother wouldn’t tolerate corruption like that,” snapped the wizard. She went back to writing, although there was a tenseness to her shoulders now. Left with just the scritch-scratch of Twilight’s writing, Dash sighed and slumped. She dropped her head into her hands.

She was, privately, certain there was bribery going on. Only the guild had enough gold for that, which made the thief hesitate to do more than just suggest something was going on. Stepping on the guild’s toes was one thing, if she had enough information to buy forgiveness, but exposing the guards they had bought would take more than she knew yet.

And...she hesitated to even think about it. There was another way out; magic. A mage wouldn’t even need to give a rat’s arse about the guild. She wouldn’t be trapped once her time with Sparkle was up. She would be free of them. Hell, she could even bring Scootaloo along! 

Or she could do both. Yet the idea was strangely deplorable. She had no loyalty to the thieves guild; they kept faith with their members, but she wasn’t exactly a member. She had never chosen to work with them in any way, they forced such cooperation. Sparkle was doing the same, obviously. Dash had only chosen this to avoid even worse punishment.

Selling out Sparkle still felt wrong. The noble woman was frank, and hardly the most personable of people, but she seemed to honestly believe she was going to help Dash. The thief’s automatic suspicion that this was all a game or passing interest to the mage was fading. Sparkle would have to be a better liar than Dash to keep selling this as a trick. Maybe, she suspected, Sparkle was just painfully naive.

The doors opened, admitting Spike and Applejack. Their arms were full, although Applejack had substantially more than Spike.

“Got the books,” Spike announced happily. He carried his armful over, gently putting them down on one of the cleared tables. He jumped nearly a foot when Applejack put hers down with considerably more force, the table shaking under the force.

“Be careful!” Twilight jumped up. “Those might be copies, but they’re still books!”

Applejack shrugged. “They’re fine. That lady there just magic’d ‘em up, all fancy like. Said we got ‘em for half a day, then they’d, what was it, ‘dematerialise’?”

Nodding, Twilight began to flick through them. “Yes. A combination of a spell that copies the content of books and a spell to create non-living material. I worked on it myself, because not even I was allowed to take many books out.”

“Was pretty impressive, I gotta admit that,” Applejack said, stretching. “More books on magic stuff?”

“Relics, items, that sort of thing, yes.” Sorting through the books, Twilight glanced up for a moment. “Applejack, go with Dash to get some more information. Remember, be careful; I don’t trust those kinds of people.”

“I’m that kind of person,” Dash pointed out as she jumped to her feet.

“You won’t be by the time your sentence is over, Dash, I promise you that,” Twilight answered, not looking up. The thief paused, uncertain as to what she meant. Applejack poked her.

“Leave it,” Applejack dropped her voice. “Let’s get out there. She didn’t mean nothin’ bad.”

After a moment, Dash nodded. Expression clouded, she followed Applejack out.

*

The crossbow bolt slammed into the wall, quivering for a moment next to Dash’s face. The thief froze, hanging upside down from the window. She grinned at the old man, ignoring the blood rushing to her face as she hung there.

“Hey, man,” she said cheerfully. “I’m back, and you need to work on your aim.”

Shifty lowered his crossbow, grunting as he reloaded it. “Get down, annoying girl. That wasn’t a miss, that was a warning shot. My aim hasn’t suffered, but I’m in no mood to waste another good bolt.”

“Yeah, yeah, calm down. You said you’d have something new in a couple days. Well, it’s been a couple days, and I wanna to know more. Come on, I’m all eager and stuff to listen to you for once,” Dash said. She dropped to the ground, bare feet slapping the wood. She checked for traps habitually, but she didn’t really try.

“Eager? More like desperate,” Shifty snorted.

She wanted to deny that, but she had to admit he was right. The last two days had been agonisingly boring. Magic practice, as fun as it was, had stalled. She could cast those spells, the ‘cantrips’, endlessly, but her first level spells she could do only four times total. Then the energy was gone. Just casting them again and again wouldn’t do much good, according to Twilight, so she was reduced to flicking through books, looking for pictures.

‘Two days,’ she thought with an internal groan. ‘Two boooooring days!’

“Whatever. Just tell me what you know,” she grumbled.

The older thief shook his head. Unlike before, he lowered his crossbow, letting Dash relax slightly. He pulled out a small hip flask, took a swig of something and wiped his mouth before nodding. Her nose twitched, catching the smell of something pleasant, reminding her of these sweet pastries she had eaten once, long ago. She still remembered them, and she had to shake the memories from her mind.

“What do you know?” she asked.

“There was another fire. Six months ago. Same thing as you told me, all straight and magic-like. Magic stuff was there too, some traveling collector. Except the guy who was going for the place got in and out a few minutes before the place went up,” Shifty explained, pocketing the flask.

Dash leaned forward, grinning. “Nice. What did he take?”

Shifty shrugged. “Some sort of cup. Silver, maybe some mithril. The first fence he showed it to didn’t get a good look at it, he didn’t offer enough for Quick Fingers to stick around, and by the time Fingers was seen again, he had a dozen holes in his chest.”

“Burning day,” she cursed, running a hand through her hair. “So, silver and mithril cup? Got, I dunno, anything on it? Words or something?”

“Think the fence said so, little crescents. Like the moon, or something,” Shifty said nonchalantly. He watched her expression intently, catching the flash of interest in her eyes.

“Like the moon, huh?” she nodded. “Thanks, Shifty.”

He shrugged. “It’s what I do. Now get lost.”

She began to leave, tensing slightly. Any second he would remind her she owed him for the information, or he’d fire another ‘warning shot’. Yet as she scaled the wall, he said nothing. There was no ‘twang’ of a crossbow firing. She slipped through the window, confused. She snorted as she slipped out into the street, heading for where she had left Applejack.

‘He’s just gonna ask for more next time,’ she thought. Out loud, she called to Applejack; “hey, farm-girl, come on. Got what I needed.”

The warrior woman cocked an eyebrow. “Got somethin’ good, Rainbow?” she asked.

“Yeah. Bet Sparkle’ll love this. Some fancy cup thing, with little moons on it, guy got it out of a place before it burned down, then someone killed him and took it. Sounds like what she wants.” Dash grinned at the taller woman. “Come on, let’s go find Deft Touch. If she’s sober, we can find out what she was going to steal.”

Applejack nodded. She kept glancing around, surveying their surroundings as they went deeper into the middens. A few people eyed her, but adventurers were common enough in Canterlot. She still felt more eyes on herself than she saw. At the corner of her eye, she spied someone watching from the shadows of an alleyway. Not bothering to address it, she kept walking along as though she had no idea.

There was a slight tenseness to Dash’s shoulders as they passed the alleyway, and the ranger guessed she had seen the watcher too.  Aside from that one sign, there was nothing to give away that either of them knew they were being watched.

“So, if some bastard wants to give me a hard time, thump ‘em, got it?” Dash’s voice was light and casual.

Applejack blinked. “Huh?”

The thief scowled. “Come on, even a rube like you can remember this. I don’t want to risk being caught by the guards again, so you better do what we agreed.” She looked back, giving Applejack an annoyed look. In her eyes, though, Applejack caught something more urgent and realised what she was doing.

“Uh, yeah, sorry,” Applejack nodded dumbly, thickening her accent. “Gotta bit distracted. Ah was jus’...”

“Just be quiet and do your job.” Still scowling, Dash looked away, but Applejack was sure she saw a tiny nod. “Long night, of course the one person willing to be my muscle is some idiot rube. I swear, can you even talk Common? Don’t answer, that burning accent of yours sounds like the middens smells.”

Even knowing this was a ruse to trick their watchers, Applejack felt a twinge of annoyance. Dash was taking advantage of this far too happily. Maybe she’d get the thief to exercise with her, have a spar, and smack her upside the head a few times. She had to settle for a nod, glowering at the back of Dash’s head.

Smothering a smug grin, Dash continued to lead the way. She got a few directions from urchins, kids and beggars she knew. Eventually, winding their way back and forth through the slum streets, until they finally found the object of their quest.

“Ugh!”

They looked down the alley where the pained grunt had come from. True to the words of a legless beggar, Deft Touch had gone down one old alley, which led down another to a dead end. What the beggar hadn’t mentioned was that she had been followed by a pair thugs, one of whom had just rammed in his fist into Deft’s stomach. The other was holding her, laughing as another blow was unloaded. A wide, rusted sewer gate lay just a few feet away. It wasn’t hard to guess Deft Touch had been seconds from slipping away.

Sharing a look, Dash and Applejack nodded. Reaching into her rags, Dash found the hilt of her daggers. They came out easily, appearing from nowhere to the eyes of others, as they slipped into her hands. Applejack was only a moment slower, the sound of her great blade sliding from its sheath drawing the attention of the thugs.

“Looks like we have a pair of heroes here, eh? Come on girls, run along. You might hurt yourself!” Thug One called, casually drawing a punching dagger. “Keep hold of the girl.”

Thug Two nodded, tightening his meaty fists around Deft Touch’s arms. The beaten thief groaned, trying to move and getting a shake for her troubles. She looked in their direction, blinking through blackened, swollen eyes.

“Now, I could tell you all about how I’m here on guild business to scare you off, but I can’t resist. Maybe I’ll get extra for killing three stupid girls?” Thug One laughed.

Applejack stepped past Dash, slowly lifting her blade. The ease of the gesture failed to penetrate the thug’s aura of idiocy. They advanced on each other, both confident.

“I suggest y’all let the girl go, an’ run,” Applejack said. Her tone was casual, but there was nothing relaxed about the way she studied the way he moved.

He laughed again. “Little girl, just because you can hold a big sword doesn’t mean you can use it. Think you can win just because its big? Ha!”

Dash almost put her daggers away. She watched, her eyes glittering with amusement. This was going to be funny.

He lunged. She batted the blow aside, the flat of her blade slamming into his arm. Grunting in pain, he drew back for a moment before stepping in and trying to simply ram it into her stomach. Her eyes narrowed, shifting to let the attack pass her. She removed one hand from her greatsword and simply punched him in the face. The thug stumbled back, his free hand going up to his clearly shattered nose.

“Try that again, and I won’t be so polite. Now get goin’,” Applejack ordered. Behind her, Dash glanced out the mouth of the alley, wondering if the thug would heed the ranger. No skin off her nose if he didn’t.

Instead of replying, he snarled and threw himself at her. Stepping back, Applejack struck before his dagger could even get in range. Her greatsword sliced through the air, the thick steel cleaving into his skull. There was a loud crunch as the force broke his neck. Applejack wrenched the blade free, ignoring the splatter of blood and other related consequences of shoving a sword into someone’s head.

Dash’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t actually expected Applejack to kill him; she had seen death, but she knew it was better to leave a mark alive so you could fleece them again. The thugs were guild-thugs too.

“Damn, hope they don’t miss ‘em,” she muttered.

The other thug had let go of Deft Touch by then, pulling out a knife and charging at Applejack with a roar. She jerked back, the thug’s dagger leaving a knick along her cheek. She reacted with a powerful blow, her heavy weapon biting into his chest. Blood stained his ragged clothes as she pulled the greatsword free, and he keeled over.

“Check on the girl,” Applejack said, jerking her head towards Deft as she cleaned her sword on the dead thug’s clothes.

Dash was already moving to her, and nodded. “You didn’t have to kill them,” she complained as she skipped over the bodies. “Now we’re gonna need to hide the bodies.”

“Don’t pull a blade at me unless ya intend ta use it,” Applejack said calmly. She sheathed her sword, then bent down to drag the bodies towards the sewer entrance, kicking aside some of the rusted bars.

Deft Touch lay against the wall, curled up. She stirred when Dash crouched down to poke her. She looked up, wincing through her swollen eyes.

“Whatcha want?” she groaned, batting Dash’s hand away.

“Well, what I really want is lots of money, somewhere safe to sleep, lots of these really nice cake things I had as a kid once.” She poked Deft again. “What I want from you is anything you can tell me about the thing you were gonna steal, before the place got burned down.”

The well-beaten thief looked at her weirdly. “What? Why?”

“Why doesn’t matter. Since my pet rube-”

“Oi!”

“-just saved you from being beaten to death by a pair of idiots, how about you return the favour? Tell me about this thing you were gonna take.” Dash poked her a third time, and this time hit gold. Rather, she hit a bruise.

Deft Touch squirmed away from her. “Fine, whatever. He never let me see it, but he went on and on and on about the damn thing. That’s how I was able to get an estimate from Hot Property, I described it.”

“So, describe it for me,” Dash urged her impatiently.

“I’m about to, long night! It was a little statue of two women in armour, back to back, kind of...melded. So one was the back of the other, you get me? One side was gold and the other some kinda silvery stuff. Gold side had suns with little rays, shrinking as they got lower. The silver side was the same, but with moons, like, when there’s less of it.” Gingerly rubbing her eyes, Deft Touch tested her leg. “How’s that? Can I go?”

Dash looked to Applejack, nodding and standing. “Sure. Might want to try keeping to the sewers for a bit. Try under the west merchants, tunnels go deep, you’ll be good.”

“Thanks. And...thanks for the save. I’ll try to return the favour, but hey, don’t hold your breath/” Letting out a dry, bitter chuckle, Deft Touch limped away.

“Should we help her?” Applejack asked, standing next to Dash. They watched the beaten thief slink into the sewers.

Shaking her head, Dash gave her a shrug in reply. “She’ll be fine. Besides, we gotta tell Sparkle about this. Little moon coin, cup with pictures of the moon, half the little statue-”

“Statuette,” Applejack corrected her. At Dash’s look she grimaced. “Friend back home. Liked fancy stuff.”

“Huh. Well, yeah, half of that ‘statuette’ has got moons all over it. And all silver. Come on, that has got to be related. Am I good, or am I good?” the slender girl gave her taller compatriot a grin.

“Ya alright. Come on, let’s get back.” With a tug of Dash’s ponytail and an annoyed swat from the thief, they set off back, leaving a bloodied alley behind them.

*

Twilight sat back, staring intently at Dash. She just stared at her. Not saying anything. Just staring. Her eyes drilling into the thief. Dash found her previous confident flagging. She began to fidget. After a few minutes, she ran out of patience.

“What? That’s everything!” she exclaimed. To her surprise, the noble jerked as though startled.

“What?” Twilight blinked a few times. “I’m sorry, I was thinking. Yes, thank you Dash. Good work. Applejack, there’s just a bit of blood on your collar. I’d appreciate if you could clean it before Spike sees.”

Applejack nodded. “He’s squeamish?”

“No, I just don’t want him getting too used to blood. Moons. Why moons? There must be something…” Twilight sat back, not noticing Dash’s confusion. The mage tapped the table in front of her, lost in speculation. “There was nothing about moon-based sets of relics. Wait, no, there were a few. But none that fit this description.”

Dash looked at Applejack for some clarification on Twilight’s reaction, but the ranger just shrugged at her. Sighing, Dash retreated to one of the many chairs, crouching on it and starting to juggle the glass orbs. How Sparkle could just zone out like that was beyond her; and it was weird.

Once her armour coat was clean, Applejack hung it from a hook and leaned against the wall. Arms crossed, she watched Dash juggle. Minutes ran past quietly, the only disturbance when Spike came past with a couple of apples. 

“Yer good at that,” Applejack remarked.

Dash snorted, giving her a dirty grin. “Yeah, I told you I’m great, didn’t I? Think this is good, I can do better.”

Applejack grinned right back, reaching out to Spike as he passed. “Let’s see how good.”

He made a wordless whine of protest when Applejack grabbed one and, with a cheeky grin, threw it towards Dash. Spike watched it arc towards the slender girl, expecting the worst. Instead, she caught it smoothly and somehow the apple entered the circuit. It spun up and around, following the course of the orbs.

“I’m great,” Dash bragged. Her eyes widened as two more apples came flying towards her. Hands blurring, the nimble thief let out a yelp as she tried to add them in. For a moment is seemed it would all end horrible, but the moment passed and she had control of it.

“Guess yer pretty good,” Applejack conceded, laughing. Dash grinned back, her smile growing when she saw the entranced look on Spike’s face. He didn’t hide his fascination or amazement as Dash juggled five things at once.

Twilight looked up, her brow creased in irritation. The annoyance faded as she too watched. Setting down her quill, she cocked her head to the side, studying the performance. She hadn’t realised quite how agile Dash was until now. Watching her jump and run through the rooftops of the High District from a distance had been one thing, but to see it up close was impressive. Agility was not something Twilight had ever possessed. It was hard to refine that sort of ability from turning pages or writing.

More than happy to be the centre of attention, Dash began to vary the pattern. She had to admit, she loved being looked at like this. Like she was doing something impressive. Like she was impressive.

Like she mattered.

The spell was broken by the sound of a key sliding into the door, and a moment later parting to reveal Shining Armour with his armour as polished as ever. He paused as he stepped into the room, looking around in surprise. Twilight turned her head when she heard him, and to his surprise she was smiling. Given how recent Time Turner’s death had been, any sort of smile was a gift from the Princess herself. He smiled back.

“Having fun, I see,” he said with a chuckle. “You know, I did suggest you try taking Spike to the circus. They have professional jugglers there. Could show you real juggling.”

“Tch, like they have anything on me! I’m just naturally this awesome,” retorted Dash, grinning at the man.

He raised an eyebrow. “Right.” His tone was more than a little sceptical.

“So, Shiny, did you find something? You’ve been visiting an awful lot more than usual.” Twilight smoothly did her best to avoid giving them an excuse to get started. Thief and guard, not a good mix.

Shining Armour grimaced. “Normally aren’t any attempts to assassinate my sister and little brother,” he replied.

“Fair enough.” Twilight sighed. “Well, I have more information. I know of at least two things that were stolen - don’t say there were no fires.”

He closed his mouth, protest cut off before it could begin, and shrugged. A barely contained snicker made him glance at the others, but to all appearances Spike and Applejack were just staring at Dash, who was smirking at him.

Twilight continued calmly. “The common element appears to be moon based iconography, meaning the wererat is even more likely to be connected. A mithril cup with crescent moon engravings and a statuette with one side matching it.”

Nodding, Shining Armour approaching, idly watching Dash continue her performance as he thought it over. “Sounds like the stuff Blueblood collects,” he remarked casually.

That got the attention of everyone in the room. He glanced down at Twilight in surprise.

“What, Prince Purplepiss? Maybe it’s him behind all this. Wouldn’t that be fun,” Dash laughed.

Shining Armour nearly laughed himself, smothering it. “Purp- Blueblood wouldn’t get involved in that sort of business. He’s an arrogant ass, but he respects the law to a fault. You should know how he is, Twiley.”

She grimaced but nodded. “I agree. He does collect a lot of old artefacts, though. Wait, Dash, did Deft Touch say her, uh, ‘mark’ was going to sell the statuette to?”

“Nope. Wait, no. Something about some prince putting it into some royal account, or something.” The thief frowned, her hands still moving smoothly as she juggled. “What’s that?”

“Prince Blueblood has, among other duties, the charge of managing the royal bank and the treasury. He’s a smug bastard, but he’s good at his job and you’re as likely to find him working a crooked angle as you are to find him with fangs,” explained Shining Armour. “If he was buying it, the odds are pretty good he had something that matched it.”

Twilight drummed her fingers on the top of her table. “He is an avid collector and his family’s vaults are extremely substantial. Perhaps he does have something that matches it.”

Looking away from Dash, Applejack felt a moment of inspiration. “If he does, we can trap ‘em!” she exclaimed. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to trap a beastie. Some thievin’ devil is enough of a beast for me.”

“That’ll mean getting Purplepi-” Spike changed what he was saying at a Look from Twilight. “Uh, Blueblood to let us borrow whatever it is. And that’ll mean someone needs to talk to him.”

A faint look of distaste washed over Twilight’s expression. She looked hopefully at her brother. He shook his head at her unspoken question.

“Sorry, Twiley,” he apologised. “But we both know without something substantial I can’t do anything official, and if I go informally he’ll say no. And if I try to force the issue, he’ll cause no end of trouble.”

“Ugh.” Leaning back, Twilight pressed her hands to her face. ”I’m going to have to talk to him myself, aren’t I?”

Shining Armour nodded. “Yeah, sorry,” he patted her on the head, mussing her hair. “Listen, send him a message - but be careful, use your familiar, and then get back to me when you have a plan, okay?”

The answer he got was a gasp and Twilight shooting to her feet. “Owlicious!” she cried.

“You forgot about him again, didn’t you?” the lord-captain asked with a shake of his head.

Before she could run off, Spike called out, “Twilight, don’t worry, I did the chores.” He grinned at her. “I didn’t forget. Looking after an owl is hungry work, so…”

“Hey! Catch!”

Spike looked up just in time to see an apple speeding towards him. It bounced off his chest as he yelped. Applejack grabbed him with one hand, holding him up, and caught the apple with the other. Dash grinned at the glare Spike sent her.

“You said you were hungry.”

“Interesting pet project you’ve got here,” Shining Armour murmured to Twilight. She sighed, but there was a small smile on her face as she watched the antics.

“Yes..interesting...anyway, yes. I’ll have Owlicious deliver a message to Blueblood, arrange a meeting. Thanks for the help, I try to avoid thinking about that...about him.” Standing, Twilight gave her brother a hug. “We’re one step closer to finding the person who did this.”

He hugged her back. “Just leave some of them for me.”

“I will,” Twilight promised.

“Hey, guard-boy!” Dash called suddenly as the pair seperated. “Catch!”

His hand came up in an instant. The apple she had thrown at his chest was caught in a vice drip. Nonchalantly, as though she had casually passed it to him, he lifted it up and took a bite.

“Like I said, Twiley, go see the professionals, see some real juggling,” Shining Armour said with a chuckle, taking another bite and throwing the apple back to Dash. She caught it, laughing despite her surprise attack being ruined.

“Your brother isn’t so bad. For a guard,” Dash admitted, ignoring the scowl Twilight was sending her way. 

*

The reply came promptly, and the next day Twilight prepared to leave just after lunch. Dash munched on the remains of her third serve, hunched up at the table with a quill. Another lesson in reading and writing, another sheet of parchment covered in childlike, barely legible letters. She made a whining sound, massaging her hand.

“Cramp?” Spike asked. He was on the other side of table, alternating between a book and his own parchment. Unlike her writing, his was neat and perfectly aligned as though invisible lines guided his hand. “Yeah, gets like that.”

“Burning annoying,” she grumbled. “Okay, how’s that?”

Her face flushed as the kid, years younger than her, looked over her parchment critically. “Pretty good, for a beginner. Here, let me just-”

“Aw, come on! This is real important!” called Applejack’s voice. They looked up, interested in the raised voices they could hear.

“Then tell me why,” Twilight answered as she stepped into the room. Her clothing was very different from usual; her well-made but simple robe replaced by a silk dress in similar shades. It was the most expensive dress Dash had ever seen. She scowled, flushing as Dash managed to wolf-whistle sarcastically.

“Is all your stuff that colour?” the thief asked.

“I like purple.” Turning back to Applejack, she raised an eyebrow. “So, tell me, why do you want to come with me to see Blueblood?”

“You wanna go see that bastard? What for?” Dash gave her a look that indicated the ranger was surely mad.

“If ya be quiet, I’ll tell ya!” Applejack grumbled. She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, thing is, when me an’ Dash-”

Twilight corrected her without looking away from a small mirror. “Dash and I.”

“Whatever. When this prince fella came stormin’ out, he had a maid with him-” Applejack stopped, another wolf-whistle interrupting her. She glared at Dash.

“Didn’t know you swung that way! Or was it the outfit?” cackled the thief.

“He had a maid with him, yes, he has her with him fairly often. Rarity, I believe her name is.” Twilight urged her to continue with a look, ignoring the crude comment and the way Spike had just gone red in the face. She didn’t want to think about why.

Doing her best to ignore Dash, Applejack looked back to Twilight. She nodded firmly. “That’s her name alright. Known her since I was a kid. She left home a year ago, said she was gonna ‘hit it big’ in the city with those dresses of hers.”

Twilight paused her primping, frowning. “Dresses? This dress was gift from Blueblood, actually, about seven months ago. Hopefully wearing it will make him a bit more willing to help. So, Rarity, she’s a friend of yours?”

“Yeah, although we kinda grew apart as we got older. Rarity’s always been a kinda fancy, prissy girl. Always seemed upset she was a ‘dirt born peasant’,” Applejack quoted with a sigh. “But I gotta admit, she was damn good at making stuff. She liked to make it fancy, an’ Filthy Rich only wore stuff she made. The point of all this is, she didn’t come here to be some prat’s maid!”

“She might be making a connections, or something,” Twilight dismissed with a flick of her hands. “Ugh, I hate this madness, but if I don’t dress up Blueblood will think I’m not taking this seriously.”

Applejack groaned. “Please, I gotta talk to her, just for a few minutes.”

“I’m sorry, Applejack, but no. This is too important to risk your presence reminding Blueblood about Dash, since he saw you being brought to Shining Armour’s office together. Especially if you have no way of knowing if there’s something wrong with your friend.”  Finishing the last few touches, Twilight began a final check to make sure it was all in order. Her mood was visibly dropping at having to do all this just for one visit.

To the surprise of all involved, Dash was the one who spoke next. She said, “Wait. Freckles is right. There was something wrong.”

“See! I told ya! Wait, how do ya know?” Applejack demanded.

Dash shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. “Just the way she looked at me. I’ve seen that look before.” She shuddered. “She’s trapped. I don’t know how, but I know what that looks like.”

“Ya see? Please, Twilight,” Applejack pleaded. “She’s my friend.”

Twilight paused, seconds from walking from the room. She made the mistake of looking Applejack in the eyes, and felt herself will to resist crumbling. She sighed.

“Alright, fine, you can come. But we’re going to do this intelligently, and you are not to make any reference to having seen him in the guard fort, or about Dash, am I clear? Blueblood has a long memory for slights, and not getting to exact what he considers ‘justice’ did not sit well with him.” Twilight frowned. “We need a plan.”

*

Twilight climbed from the carriage, looking suitably ladylike, while Applejack kept at her side looking suitably bodyguard-like. A pair of household guards stood at attention on either side of the gate into Blueblood’s walled complex. Applejack only had to look up to see the overhang of the roof Dash had described to her. Since the theft, there seemed to have been a few changes. There were spikes now.

“Looks like he ain’t taken what happened for granted,” Applejack remarked, pointing up.

“Put your hand down, and don’t say anything,” Twilight murmured. A servant, a butler by his dressed, was approaching them.

He bowed. “Lady Sparkle, his highness welcomes you to his home. If you would follow me, my lady, I might escort you to him.” He glanced discretely at Applejack. “Weapons are not permitted within the manor.”

Twilight swept past him with a suddenly haughty air. “She is my bodyguard. She can hardly do her job if she goes unarmed, can she?” Without waiting for an answer, Twilight went right into the house. Her manner had transformed in a few steps, her usual focused attitude replaced by a lady’s pose and authority.

“Please, Lady Sparkle, please wait! His highness guarantees your safety in his home, I assure you,” pleaded the butler, scurrying after her. Applejack followed along. The guards stepped up, their gazes fixed on her.

Applejack replied with a confident smile. “Ya wanna take it off me?”

They hesitated for a moment. Fortunately, Twilight interrupted before anything could go further. 

“She’s not about to use it on anyone. I give Blueblood my personal guarantee that nothing untoward will happen. If Princess Celestia is willing to take that guarantee, I should think he will as well,” Twilight snapped. She narrowed her eyes at the butler. “Unless you would prefer that I just go home now…”

His composure nearly shattered at the idea of taking the news to his master, and the butler wasted no time going back to fetch Applejack. She marched along behind him, tipping her hat at the guards as she passed them.

They were led into the manor, and despite having been in the palace for days, Applejack was amazed at the decadence. Everything was plush, the wood varnished and polished, the carpets soft and perfectly clean despite the easily dirtied white colour. Busts, portraits, paintings of landscapes and cities, ornate weapons, all covered the halls. What people they saw were finely dressed servants in high-quality uniforms, each turned out perfectly with immaculate appearances, beautiful faces and flawless manners. Twilight was greeted by bows and curtsies.

“Bet that’d get annoyin’ after a while,” Applejack commented. “Havin’ ta stop your work every time someone swans past.”

The butler sniffed, his expression suggesting she had belched loudly after saying the interior decoration could be enhanced with wild beasts fornicating in every room, then topped it off by farting. She rolled her eyes, catching an amused smile on Twilight’s face. The mage quickly smothered it. Their journey came to an end before a set of double-doors, which the butler opened for Twilight, stepping in with a bow.

“Lady Twilight Sparkle, your highness,” he said, voice just above speaking level.

Twilight walked past him, Applejack at her side. The room was lavish; a fireplace against one wall dominating it. The aristocrat was seated in a plush armchair. He looked the same as he had when Applejack saw him outside Shining Armour’s office, except for the marked lack of red-faced fury. He stood, smiling politely.

“Lady Sparkle.” His voice was smooth, years of training speaking, as it were, volumes. “A pleasure as always to see you. It has been far too long.”

She answered his bow with a curtsy. A veiled look at Applejack had the ranger bowing as well.

“Your highness,” Twilight answered, her voice as controlled and precisely polite as his. “The pleasure is mine. It has been quite some time, yes.” She decided not to enlighten him on her presence, invisible, in her brother’s office.

Prince Blueblood gestured at the seat opposite him. “Please, sit. I have tea on the way” His eyes glanced over Applejack, taking in her appearance. They lingered for a moment on the obvious hilt of her greatsword.

Twilight sat opposite him, smoothing her skirt. “My bodyguard. I am afraid I had to..insist on her presence. I intend no offense to you, of course, or your guards, your highness, but given certain recent events, not even my own chambers have proven completely safe.”

“None taken, Lady Sparkle, I assure you. I must wonder if your desire to meet once more is related to these events you alluded to. Surely there are few places safer than the palace,” Blueblood said with a barely perceptible frown. He smiled slightly as Twilight adjusted her dress. “Might I be so bold as to suggest your attire is entirely complimentary, though you hardly need such aid.”

She had known such compliments would come, but Twilight still felt a blush rising to her cheeks. Applejack, positioned by the door after the butler had silently departed, raised an eyebrow. This blond-haired, graceful man, as calm as anything with a slick tongue, was miles away from the infuriated ponse she had seen the first time.

“Thank you, your highness,” Twilight answered, fighting down her blush. “You should know, you did give me this dress. If anything, compliments should go to your tailor. He is quite skilled.”

He nodded as though this was exactly what he had expected. “She has a talent. Ah, speaking of which…”

A smaller down, set against a far wall, opened. Hands delicately clasping a tray, the woman stepped in the room backwards. She turned as the door opened. Applejack stiffened, eyes widening. For her part, the maid did the same. She recovered so quickly it would have been a challenge to notice, mincing over to prince and his guest. Her long, curled purple tresses shifted as she leaned down, wordlessly placing the tray on a small table and pouring the tea for them.

“Rarity here is quite the dab hand at her previous craft,” Blueblood said, barely acknowledging her. “Lady Sparkle has complimented your skills.”

Rarity handed Twilight her cup and dipped a brief curtsy. “Thank you, my lady,” she murmured, her voice soft and warm. It held the perfect reverence and note of obedience expected of a well-trained servant. There was, to most, nothing at all wrong with it. Not so to Applejack. She tried not to eye Rarity, already feeling how off something was with her childhood friend. Now, more than ever, she was sure something was wrong.

‘Previous craft? What in the long night does that mean?’ Applejack wondered, trying not to stare.

 With no further orders, Twilight’s reply an awkward nod, Rarity retreated, standing with perfect poise behind and just to the side of Blueblood’s chair. Her blue uniform with the white apron were a touch higher quality than the others.

Blueblood raised his cup to his lips. “My offer is still on the table,” he said suddenly, taking a sip. He lowered his cup, eyes fixed on Twilgiht. She took a delicate of her own tea that lasted for a few seconds logner than it should.

“My answer is the same, your highness,” Twilight replied when she couldn’t delay any longer.

“I had hoped to change your mind. You are an intelligent woman, Lady Sparkle. Surely you see how we would both benefit.  If you have fears for your safety, even more so. I have no desire to see such a promising student of Her Highness come to harm,” the prince urged. His sharp gaze rose, prevented from going on by a sudden riot of harsh coughing from Applejack.

“S’rry,” she croaked, rubbing her throat. She became aware that only Rarity wasn’t looking at her now, the maid doing her best to pretend Applejack wasn’t there, “G’t lil’ s’m’thin’.”

His expression twitched for a moment, stunned by the sheer audacity of a criminal, a lower peasant criminal of all things, talking to him so casually. He recovered quickly, turning his eyes away from her without acknowledging her. Another fit of coughing followed.

“We can’t have her coughing while we talk. Perhaps she could go get some water?” Twilight suggested. She kept her expression neutral, knowing the prince was studying her. She had brought a bodyguard, and now she was suggesting sending her away. It would, she hoped, confuse him.

“Very well,” Blueblood grimaced. “Rarity, show Lady Sparkle’s guard to the kitchens and...keep her company.”

It was quite clear to all of them that ‘keep her company’ actually meant ‘keep an eye on her, and count the silverware’. It was fortunate he was no longer looking at Applejack, given the brief flush of anger that overtook her face. Twilight sent a prayer to the sun that Applejack kept her mouth shut. 

Rarity simply curtsied, her porcelain-like expression of obedience failing to alter in the slightest. “At once, your highness.” She hurried away, passing Applejack without meeting her eyes.

Twilight hid her sigh of relief with another sip when Applejack followed Rarity without complaint. One potential disaster avoided. She hoped that this would be worth the trickery. “Thank you.”

“Discussing such matters with servants present is not proper,” Blueblood said, misinterpreting her meaning. “Although I take it this is truly is not about my offer.”

She nodded. “You’re right. I am going to cut right to the point; I need to borrow something from you for a short time. Something from your collection.”

Blueblood frowned at her. “Your manner suggests something more. Forgive my assumptions, but you would not make such efforts to appease me if you wish something I will part with easily.”

“I have been tracking a series of thefts,” Twilight hesitated. “A mithril cup engraved with sigils of crescent moons, and a statuette, two-sided, in gold and silver, that I know of.”

He raised his cup, smothering a look of surprise. The sharp look in her eyes told him she had caught it anyway.

“I recognise the statuette; I intended to purchase such an item not long ago, but the owner and, I believed, the statuette were claimed in a fire,” Blueblood scowled, his control lapsing for a moment. “Your brother apparently believes there was nothing unusual. Clearly, you disagree. A ‘theft’ you say?”

“Correct. I have reason to believe the fire was a ruse meant to hide the theft. The same method was used with the cup. That’s why I came to you, to warn you, and to find out if you had something that matches the statuette in your vast collection.” Her hopes lifted. The prince seemed interested, and if he stilled desired the statuette she was sure she could sway him. 

Expression calculating, Blueblood considered her for a moment. “You want to use it as bait.”

“Yes, I-”

“No.” He didn’t seem to notice her dismayed expression, simply taking a sip of tea. Looking down into the calm surface of the brown liquid, he stared into his reflection for a moment. “Unless, of course, you are willing to make some concessions.”

Twilight felt a rush of irritation. ‘Of course!’ “I’m not ma-”

“Please, do not insult me, Lady Sparkle.” He sniffed haughtily. “I have no need for such crude methods. No, my lady, I would be willing to consider your request if you consider mine. I want what was stolen.”

“You will, of course, have the statuette,” Twilight began. She fell silent at a gesture from Blueblood, narrowing her eyes at yet another interruption.

“Again, you misunderstand me. I want any other such relics you recover. I believe I can trust your honour not to hold them back, should you find more.” He sounded sincere, which was little comfort to her.

“We don’t know what else the thief might have taken,” she said, mind whirling. This was not what she had expected, but now she thought about it, she should have. Blueblood was an avid collector of relics and old artefacts; his whole family line was known for it, and their vaults of such items.

“Then you don’t know whether you are giving up much at all. For all we know, the chalice might be the only other object stolen,” Blueblood pointed out. He spread his hands. “This is my offer, take it or leave it. I can safely assure you I have something that appears to match the statuette.”

Twilight fell into a thoughtful silence. She was stuck, and Blueblood was betting on just that. “There’s a book,” she said at last. “You can have anything that looks as though it fits with the other thefts. But any books, I keep.”

Blueblood smiled, nodding. “I can live with that. I shall have the matching artefact retrieved and delivered to your quarters.” He refilled his cup. “More tea?”

*

Rarity was silent as she led Applejack through the plush halls, and now that they were alone….Applejack didn’t know what to say. The maid was tense, and she had refused to look Applejack in the eyes. Eventually, passing by a particularly striking painting of the Canterhorn Mountain, Applejack just forced herself to speak.

“Rarity-”

As though saying her name had been some silent signal, Rarity spun so fast Applejack had to jump back to avoid running into her. She glared, her face a mask of fury. Her hand clenched her apron, crumbling it in her tight grip.

“Applejack! What are you doing here?” she hissed, her shoulders shaking with repressed anger and humiliation.

“What am I doin’ here? What are you doing?! A maid? Ya said y’all were gonna make a name for yerself!” Applejack retorted, answering Rarity’s glare with one of her own. “Yer family ain’t heard from ya in a year. Sweetie Belle asks pretty much every traveler from Canterlot if they’ve seen ya.”

Rarity recoiled, her anger faltering. “Sweetie Belle…” she glanced around the hall, searching for something as her anger slowly died. Guilt replaced it at the thought of her sister.

“Rarity, tell me what’s goin’ on. This ain’t what I was expectin’,” Applejack pressed.

Sighing, Rarity gave a weary nod. “In the kitchen. Please. Applejack, I..just, I’ll tell you in the kitchen. Please,” she pleaded. The look in her eyes made Applejack nod as much as anything else. Rarity had always had an air of dignity about her, yet here she was practically begging for patience.

The walk to the kitchens was silent, both lost in thoughts. Rarity straightened as they entered the kitchens, the defensiveness and vulnerability removed from her manner. She nodded at an older man who possessed the air of a king on his throne. Leaving Applejack by the door, Rarity fetch her a mug with some water. She knew now that Applejack’s coughing had been faked, but appearances had to be kept.

“Miss Rarity,” the head chef said with a nod. “If you would be so kind as to inform his highness that his favourite dessert will be ready. The order finally arrived.”

“Ah, thank you. I am sure he will be delighted. Did she tell you why she was delayed?” Rarity asked, stopping to talk for a moment. Anything to put off talking to Applejack for a little longer.

The chef snorted. “Wasn’t her. I asked the boy they had replacing her, she hasn’t been seen in days. Damn shame; she might have been clumsy, but when she delivered the special not a single cherry was bruised. You know how hard that is, getting the cherries all the way here totally undamaged?”

“Quite the task, I gather. I would love to chat more, darling, but his highness’s guest’s guard is in need of this.” Rarity knew, even after all this time, the look Applejack was shooting her. The ranger wasn’t fooled in the slightest. With a nod from the chef she hurried over.

“So,” Applejack began, taking the mug. She raised an eyebrow at her. “Wanna tell me how ya ended up here? Thought ya had it all planned out, a ‘glitterin’ future’ ya said. I heard Sweetie Belle readin’ those letters of yers to ‘Bloom, until ya stopped sending them. Sounded like everythin’ was goin’ perfect, then the letters just stopped. No word, nothin’.”

Rarity sighed. It was weary, hopeless sound, as though it was an effort just to express the feeling bottled inside. She flinched at the look in Applejack’s eyes.

“Family,” Applejack said, “deserves better.”

“I..I know. Please, Applejack, believe me. I’m sorry, but, I just, I…” Rarity’s hand wrung the fabric of her apron, looking away with embarrassment and humiliation in her eyes. “I was ashamed.”

“Ashamed? Of what? So, things didn’t go so well, that ain’t no reason to fall outta contact. Landsakes, yer parents think yer dead!” Applejack hissed furiously.

“I know!” Taking a deep breath, Rarity flash a glare at a servant who had ventured a little too close at her outburst. “I know, but...oh, darling, I said I would do so much, I made such grand claims. I nearly did! In only a few months, I had managed to get some small acclaim among the lesser nobility and the merchants who wanted to be nobility. I was doing well, very well. But then…”

Applejack frowned at her, waiting. “An’ then what?” she asked at last.

“It was an amazing opportunity. One of the highest nobility came to me. She wanted to commission something unique from me, to test my skills, she said. I had just purchased my own place of business, using everything I had earned and a loan, and this seemed like a gift from the sun itself. She gave me a list, of what had to be included. Magic, gems, the finest of fabrics from across the land. It would cost thousands of gold just to import what I would need in time, so I had to take out another loan,” Rarity explained. She didn’t meet Applejack’s eyes again, looking away.

“Tch, a loan! I think I can guess what happened. Somethin’ tricky in the contract? Lil’ bit of that fancy talk to make ya think one thin’ while they do another an’ steal everythin’ out from under ya?” Applejack took a swig of the water, the clean, pure taste surprising her. “I coulda told ya not to trust some slick city-merchant.”

Rarity gave her a bitter smile, finally looking at her. “Oh, you can say many things about Prince Blueblood, but all of his legal and financial dealings are above board. He at least was honest in his dealings. Not generous, but never a cheat, I will give him that. No, he wasn’t responsible for what happened.”

“Blueblood?” Applejack stared. “Ya borrowed from him? What happened?”

“Vandals. A thief. A fire. It took everything in the building, and even the store next to mine. I got out in time. My supplies, the dress, all of my money, I’m afraid I can’t say the same. Nor can dear old Quilted Down next door. Old, you see, she couldn’t get out. I pray the smoke took her in her sleep before she... S-so I lost my livelihood, and my failure to deliver the dress to Lady De Lis upset her so much, she had me blacklisted among the nobility.” Rarity offered Applejack a humourless smile at the shocked look on her face. “So, I was left in massive debt, unable to repay my loan without access to nobles willing to spend such amounts on clothing, and with no supplies to make anything else. I suppose I should count myself lucky his highness was willing to work something out. My contract only lasts another decade.”

Applejack pushed her hat back, rubbing her forehead as she took it all in. “That’s...that’s terrible! Why didn’t ya say anythin’? Let us know ya needed help?”

“And help me how, darling? Your family, as brave and skillful as they are, are not bankers or merchants. Anything of value that you could sell to help me you already use to defend the town and the plains from the creatures of the Everfree. If you were really willing to help me so, you would be forsaking your duty.” Rarity’s eyes narrowed. “Speaking of which, my dear old friend, what are you doing here? With Lady Twilight Sparkle, apprentice to the Princess, after I saw you in shackles no less?”

“This ain’t about me,” said Applejack, hesitating a moment too long.

Rarity missed nothing. She raised an eyebrow. “Really? You used to say there was no reason to ever leave home, not with your duty. Yet here you are, apparently able to convince Lady Sparkle to let you fake a cough to talk to me, a mere maid.”

“Looked like more than just a maid ta me. Even stuck here, ya got a way to rise to the top,” Appejack retorted. They glared at each other, neither willing to give an inch. Eventually, Applejack felt a small smile break her scowl. “It’s...it’s good to see ya again, sugar.”

Something like a smile formed on Rarity’s face for just a moment. “Yes, it is. I have missed you. Sweetie Belle, is she well?”

“She’s a right lil’ troublemaker, but she an’ Apple Bloom at least get in trouble together. She’s growin’ up, but she misses her sister.” Applejack reached out, patting her on the shoulder. “I meant it, sugar. I’d have helped. If there’s anythin’ I can do, let me know.”

Rarity gently wiped away tears before they could disturb her makeup. “I...I miss her too. I want her to be proud of me, Applejack. I wanted to be able to come back and show her that just because we were born in a backwater doesn’t mean she can’t achieve great things.”

“I...I gotta be honest too, sugar, I ain’t in Canterlot for any good reasons. Somethin’ happened back home. I…” Applejack was the one to avoid Rarity’s eyes this time. “I screwed up. Bad.”

“Oh, darling, I’m sure it’s not that bad-”

“People died.”

They both fell silent. Rarity eventually reached out, giving her childhood friend a quick hug before any of the busy kitchen staff could notice.

“So, long story short, some bastard tried to drug me in a pub, an’ I beat him up,” Applejack went on abruptly. “‘cept I wasn’t really all with it, so I beat up the guards who came to see what happened. Wasn’t hard for the scummy bastards who drugged me to just say I got drunk an’ outta hand.”

“You, drunk? I’m not sure there’s enough alcohol in the city for that,” Rarity quipped with a genuine smile.

Applejack chuckled, taking another drink of the pure, clean water. “Too right there, sugar. Fortunately for me, that ‘Lady Sparkle’ had a lil’ interest in me an’ this other girl, a thief. We cut a deal; we’re basically gonna do what she says, doin’ stuff like helpin’ her with stuff from her own lil’ library to trackin’ down someone knicking magic stuff.”

Rarity gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Thief...not the one who broke in? His highness was in such a fury after he wasn’t allowed to take her into custody. The little girl with rainbow hair who was with you?”

“That’s her, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack smirked at her use of the nickname, wondering if she would get to see some pay out from it later. Hopefully. “Wild lil’ thing, I’ll give her that. She ain’t real good at the whole trust thing, she’s had a hard time, but I’m makin’ progress. I even think I can get her to admit we’re friends.”

“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine, darling, and there’s no one better to help her. If there is one thing about you that will never change, its that you can be trusted with anything.” Smiling, Rarity took the empty mug. “As much as I love being able to talk to you again, darling, I fear we can’t keep his highness and her ladyship waiting much longer.”

Sighing, Applejack nodded in agreement. As they traversed the halls, something finally occurred to her to ask. “Hey, sugar, speakin’ of those two, what’s the whole deal with him sendin’ her a dress an’ all that stuff he was goin’ on about?”

Rarity glanced back at her, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly as she held back a smile. “Oh, that? Nothing much, he just wants to marry her.” She had to restrained any laughter as Applejack nearly tripped over her own feet.

“What?!”

“Oh, darling, don’t be so naive!” Rarity laughed. “I am his personal maid, I have been there a few times when he has attempted to convince her. Lady Sparkle is infamously short with would-be suitors trying to win her favour, and has no interest in being bothered by them constantly. His highness finds it mildly vexing dealing with such things himself, and seems to believe that a marriage between them would work out. She can do her magical research, with full access to his family’s extensive vaults and collections without a husband constantly begging for her attentions. He can focus on his work with the Royal Bank and managing the treasury without a wife constantly getting his way. All she has to do is provide him an heir and endure a few social events. Romantic, isn’t it?”

Applejack shuddered, nodding. “Yeah, real romantic,” she grunted with matching sarcasm. “Ya seen much of Twilight? Whatcha think of her?”

“Lady Sparkle,” Rarity corrected her. “And yes, I have seen her a few times. A remarkable woman; intelligent, but not particularly social. Her impatience for the usual traditions and affairs of the nobility make her quite the unique specimen. I was even with his highness when he paid a visit to her about a particular event, another attempt to sway her. I seem to remember her apprentice kept going red in the face. I can’t imagine why.”

“Heh, I think the only swayin’ that went on is with Spike.” Chuckling, Applejack shook her head. “She’s pretty nice, once ya get her to relax. A bit lonely, I think.”

Rarity nodded, but further discussion was forestalled at the door came into sight. “Pretend nothing has happened, if you please,” Rarity murmured. “Nothing has changed.”

“Fine, fine. But it has, sugar, an’ remember that I’ll be ready to help if ya ever need,” Applejack promised.

Smiling, Rarity fussed with her uniform for a moment. “That means the world to me. Thank you.”

She opened the door, curtsying. Applejack didn’t bother with any such display, stepping in and patting her throat in a silent gesture that she was better. Twilight nodded at her. while Blueblood simply glanced over at Rarity for a moment before returning his attention to Twilight.

The rest of the meeting passed quickly, Twilight and Blueblood with little left to discuss beyond a few details. When at last Twilight rose, departing with a bow from the prince and curtsy in return, she smiled at Applejack.

“It’s done,” Twilight murmured, her tone brimming with confidence and optimism. “We have our bait. It’s time to trap our thief. It’s time to end this.”

‘It’s time,’ she thought, determination burning inside her breast, ‘to catch my friend’s killer.