The chariot ride to Vanhoover was uncomfortably silent. Come to think of it, the whole trip had been that way. From the previous night, when she managed to beat Twilight to the hotel and feigned sleep, she had been deathly afraid of her questioning her about last night’s conversation. Thankfully, Twilight seemed to have forgotten about it.
She sighed. That was hoping too much. Twilight had her blind spots, but she was no fool, especially when it came to her friends. She was probably analyzing every word said, looking for some meaning, and she would find it sooner or later. She…
“We should be there pretty soon,” Twilight said. Applejack nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Huh? Uh… yeah, that’s great.”
Twilight looked at her. “Are… you okay?” She put a foreleg up her wife’s forehead. “You seem warm.”
“Uh, it’s nuthin’.” Nuthin’ but bein’ so close to ya... “Us, so what are we gunna be doin’?”
Twilight looked at Applejack, scanning her in a way she always did when she knew there was a problem to be solved. “Well, Flim and Flam are at their shop. We’ll go there while the guards check us in to our apartment. It should be pretty in and out, unless those two try anything.”
“Wouldn’t put it past them,” Applejack said, hiding her relief at the change in subject. “I might believe Trixie’s changed, but those two… there’s somethin’ about them. Like every time they shake yer hoof they’re stealing yer wallet.”
“Sociopaths can be like that,” Twilight said. “We can… only… hope…”
As the chariot landed, Twilight saw something that made her eyes widen in terror. A confused Applejack saw it seconds later, and was equally terrified.
They were landed outside Flim and Flam’s shop, about thirty feet away. But even from this distance, they could see it.
It was a banner. And on that banner was a long, blown up picture of Twilight and Applejack’s drunken wedding kiss.
Both of their jaws practically put holes in the chariot bottom. For a few seconds, all they could do was stare and stutter in horror.
“Um… this is your… stop,” one of the drivers said, clearly far too amused at the situation. “If you’ll… step off… we’ll go book our rooms.”
Too stunned to do anything but obey, the pair stepped from the chariot, nearly tripping over their hooves while doing so. Even after the chariot took off, they could do nothing but gape.
“…No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…”
And that was the only words from Twilight’s mouth as the pair ran toward the shop.
As they got closer, they saw Flim at the entrance, making his spiel. “Step right up, there’s no need to crowd. We have the best memorabilia celebrating the greatest wedding since the union of Shining Armor and Princess Cadance! Witness the never-before-seen union of two of the Elements of Harmony, a pair of star-crossed lovers whose wonderful affair has been kept under wraps, until now! Step in, and my brother Flam will be happy to sell you everything you need to mark this momentous occasion!”
“Look, there they are!”
The voice in the crowd got everypony’s attention. They turned to see the still-shocked couple.
“And here they are, the two whose love is an inspiration for us all! Give them a...”
And then Twilight’s magic surrounded around Flim's throat, tightening it in a rare show of violence for the pony. "You. Inside. We need to have a word."
"Of course, of course," Flim managed to get out, still sounding cheerful despite his restricted windpipe. "Don't worry… folks, I'll be right back."
Flim was dragged inside, where several ponies already browsing the aisles, where such treasures awaited as the copies of the same books that Twilight browsed when she started as Celestia's student ("Selling outdated textbooks. Blasphemy!"), gold imitation bands of their wedding rings, and photos of their kiss. Flam was working the cash registers, eagerly stuffing bits into the drawer.
"Don't crowd, don't crowd… why, as I live and breathe, if it isn't the happy couple themselves. Everypony, give them…"
Flam soon suffered the same grip as his brother. "In the back," Twilight said bluntly.
"Sure, sure. Silver Shill, run the register, would ya?"
A small pony that neither Twilight nor Applejack had noticed before stopped sweeping. He went over to the register just as his bosses were dragged into the back room.
The several boxes of waiting-to-be-stocked merchandise and order forms for various companies to make some form of trinket weren't as flashy as outside, thankfully. Both twins were deposited on the ground.
"What. Are. You. Doing?" Twilight demanded. Applejack had not seen her this angry since she had reached her wits end about Pinkie Sense. "That is supposed to be classified information!"
"Is it?" Flim said. He had apparently gone to smug school with Blueblood. "We just overheard some guards laughing about it. Apparently they aren't very good at keeping secrets."
"Besides, what's there to be embarrassed about? We haven't told anypony that it was an… accident, shall we say," Flam said.
Flim shook his head. "But that could change. It could get out if we were, say, shut down unexpectedly. There'd be questions as to why you two wanted to keep things quiet."
"Oh, imagine the Princess, dying of shame. Imagine the Prince and Princess of the Crystal Empire. After the black mark they got from the invasion, I wonder if he could stand the disgrace."
The twins's words sent Twilight from anger to horror. Her mouth hung open as she tried to find the words. "I… I…"
Applejack, however, was even more angry. "You snakes."
"Sticks and stones," Flim shrugged. "I don't know why you're mad. Everypony is adoring you."
"And what happens when we annul th' weddin'?"
"We're really more ‘in the now’ kinds of ponies," Flam said.
"You can't get away with this. Ain't there any likeness rights? Any invasion of privacy laws?"
"Not for you," Flim said, levitating a lawbook over to him. "According to the law, any important part of the Equestrian government forfeits his or her privacy interests in personal matters as long as they are important to the government. When you received the Elements, you became an important branch of the military, and forfeited all privacy rights therein."
“What? How could th’ Princess allow somethin’ like that?”
Twilight knew. It was a tactic. Whenever they needed to get the press out of important affairs, the highest nobles would make an idiot out of themselves for a distraction. But now…
“Well, if that’s all, we really need to get back to...”
“Not so fast,” Twilight said. “You might be off the hook for this, but we came to question you for another reason.”
“Oh, and what’s that?”
Twilight took a deep breath. “First off, where were you on the night of the wedding? That would be about three nights ago.”
Both brothers looked at each other. “We were here,” Flam said, sounding calm. Flim, meanwhile, was starting to look frazzled.
“Doing what?”
“Um… we simply had some cider and were reading a few books… I think. Who remembers every little thing they’ve done?”
“Do you have anypony who can account for all this?”
“Now, hold on,” Flim said, “Why are we being asked these questions? I think we deserve a lawyer!”
“Oh, that’s rich, you two whinin’ ‘bout bein’ pressured,” Applejack said. “Just tell us.”
“Absolutely not,” Flim said. “We refuse. It’s our right!”
At that, Twilight looked immensely happy. “No it’s not. Not in this case.” Now she picked up the law book. “There’s a hundreds-of-years-old law that states if it’s a matter of national security, we don’t need a warrant, a lawyer, or even to tell you anything about what you’re being questioned about. Me and Applejack, whom you just acknowledged were two important members of the government, were used and manipulated. So refuse at your own risk. You’ll be interrogated by royal guards instead, and there’s a prison sentence for obstructing justice.”
“You don’t scare us,” Flam said. “We know it’s law that everypony gets due process before too long. We could beat every charge you give us.”
“Maybe. But you have done a lot of terrible things. Every member of the government wants to put you away. Are you sure you want to go up against them? And even if you do manage to get out, a subject like this is bound to make national headlines. That means the public will hear of you. You won’t be able to get away with your typical cons anymore. So, are you going to cooperate, or are we going to have to get a bit more extreme?”
The brothers looked at each other in pure shock. Twilight and Applejack just gave an evil smile.
“S-Silver Shill could vouch for us…”
Rarity usually made it a point to get at least eight hours of sleep a night unless she absolutely had to fill a big order. Right now, however, there were more important things than sleep.
She set her alarm for three hours ahead of schedule in order to have the time. She was grateful Blueblood had only restricted her to the castle, since it meant a visit to the Royal Library was allowed.
The librarian, an aged old colt with a beard to rival Star Swirl’s, hefted a book marked in a certain location over to her. “Here you are. I’m afraid this is everything we have on it.”
“Thank you,” she said, flipping it open.
What she saw filled her with shock.
It was labeled, “The Crest of Blueblood.”
She blinked. That wasn’t right. Back in the days when she fawned over him, she had read that the Blueblood crest was a gold shield with a red B, and garnished with so many tacky decorations that it hurt to look at.
She saw the description. “This shield was used by the Blueblood family until 1990 PD. It’s reason for the change has been restricted by Royal Decree…”
Rarity was perplexed again. That was the only page on the subject, the next page moved onto the Brand family.
“Are you sure this is everything?” She caught the librarian as he passed by.
“Oh yes…” Then, after a pause. “Well, it’s everything I’m allowed to show you. There might be more in the StarScribe wing, but that’s forbidden for civilians.”
“I see… well, no matter. Thank you, sir.”
As Rarity left, she thought of her conclusion. With this, and the way Blueblood acted toward his old seal and his parents, it was clear there had been a falling out with his family. The only question was what she was going to do about it.
She stopped dead.
What she was going to do about it? Why should she care? Blueblood is a brute. She should just focus on getting out of her obligation. Let Blueblood sort out his own affairs.
She started walking again. By the time she got out of the library, she was thinking of what to say when she confronted him.
It had been a long interview process. Twilight had made a list of every question she could think of, and every question was told in every wording she could think of, to stop the brothers from finding loopholes out of her questions.
“Very good, we’re done with our questions.”
“Excellent,” Flim said, suddenly pushing the two mares. “Now, if you’ll be so kind, we have a business to run.”
Suddenly, Flim hit an invisible wall.
“We’re done with questions,” Twilight said. “We’re not done with our investigation. I need to see all your business paperwork.
At that, both brothers tensed up. “Wh-why would you need to see that?”
“Well, you have weak alibis, but a search of your store and a look through your business might turn up something. That comes up clean, you’re free to go. Now, go on, see to your customers.”
The two brothers looked at each other. Slowly, they turned and moved out of the room.
“Twi, what exactly are we lookin’ for?”
Twilight pulled a piece of paper out of her saddlebag and handed it to her. On it were several long words she didn’t recognize.
“These are the materials that are probably in the rings. Start looking to see if they ordered these supplies. Let’s get to it, we only have one day to look through everything.”
Applejack took the list and went to one of the boxes, just missing Flim looking back in with a scowl on his face.