Scarlet and Mr. Steel left the office, the latter turning to look at Sunset Shimmer and Radiant Dawn.
"Those your kids?" asked Mr. Steel.
"That's right." nodded Scarlet.
"Ha! So your whole family's full of redheads." he chuckled. "That's adorable. Well, I'm gonna leave you with your kids."
Then he went downstairs to talk to his employees.
"So, what're we gonna do?" asked Frosty.
"Well, even with the Iron Horses helping us, we won't be able to pull off an all-out attack on that building." said Daring Do. "We need to sneak our way in."
"And when we do, what will we do next?" asked Trixie.
"We need to find a way to learn just what Summerset plans to do with those artifacts." said Sunset. "Trixie, Lightning, and I will stage a meeting with him to try and get him to show us where they are. In case that doesn't work, Daring Do will simultaneously sneak her way around the building until she finds just where that place is."
"But I don't know the layout of the building!" said Daring Do.
"Then it's fortunate that I happen to have a pet bat waiting for me at the Golden Colt Hotel." said Sunset. "She can help you find your way around. Especially if there's any ventilation shafts to sneak around in."
"And what about Summerset's terrible trio?" asked Daring Do.
"Well, since one member of that terrible trio happens to be my husband..." said Scarlet. "I think it's only fitting that me and Radiant find a way to free him from whatever's controlling his mind."
"And how are you two gonna get in?" asked Frosty.
"You and Nose Nip will try and keep the guards at the front door busy, and take their place if necessary." said Sunset. "That way when Daring Do sends Bathilda back, my mom and brother will be able to get inside right away."
"Sunset, if you don't mind, could I maybe help your family with getting your father back to normal?" asked Teddy. "I feel really bad for you guys."
"Sure." said Radiant. "The more help, the merrier."
"But what about Summerset's army of thugs?" asked Teddy.
"I'll have the Iron Horses prepare to fight them when the time comes." said Scarlet.
"So are we all ready for this?" asked Sunset. "Because this plan goes into motion at noon!"
"We're ready!" said everyone at once.
In Saddle Arabia's capital city, the elderly sultan was pacing feverishly around his throne room. The doors opened, and one of his paladins galloped through.
"My lord, there has been a terrible incident!" he said, surprised. "A village fifty miles from here has been attacked!"
The sultan looked at his paladin.
"Silver Schmitar, explain!" he said.
"The reports from our scouts are vague, but it appears that nearly all the buildings were razed, and all the villagers are in some kind of deep trance. None of them are in any condition to tell us what happened!"
"Send word to our other cities!" said the sultan. "Scramble the other paladins! Expect another attack at any moment!"
"Yes, sir!" said Silver Schmitar.
Sunset Shimmer, Trixie Lulamoon, and Lightning Dust made it to Corona Avenue the following morning. They were all wearing sunglasses and clothing that concealed their cutie marks so that they wouldn't be identified. They were standing across the street from Summerset Tower, looking on with determination.
"Ready, girls?" asked Sunset.
"As ready as I'll ever be." said Lightning Dust.
The three quickly crossed the street and approached the main entrance, which was flanked by two pegasus guards in black suits and sunglasses.
"Welcome to Summerset Tower!" said one guard.
"We are representatives of the University of Baltimare." said Sunset. "We request a meeting with your employer."
"Go on in." said the other guard. "Just take a seat anywhere, and they'll buzz for you."
The three mares went through the doors and took seats in the lobby. It was eerily quiet and empty, apart from them. For a while, it seemed as though they were the only living beings in the entire building. In order to break the silence, Lightning Dust started to whistle the Fillydelphia anthem.
"So, remind me again:" said Trixie. "Why did you just have us go in through the front door?"
"We're gonna try and make an agreement with Summerset, remember?" said Sunset. "Now be quiet! He might have cameras watching our every move!"
"Right." said Trixie, quickly going back to sitting silently.
After what seemed like an hour, Lightning Dust ran out of songs to whistle and was getting bored.
"Okay, what the heck's taking them so long?" she said. "Does anyone even know we're here? Is anypony even here besides the three of us?"
"Let's be patient, girls." said Sunset.
"If something doesn't come up in the next two minutes, I'm--" Trixie began, before being interrupted by a loud buzzing noise.
"Mr. Summerset will see you now." said a voice on the loudspeakers. "Please take the elevator."
The elevator across the foyer from the main entrance opened, and Sunset and her friends got up from their seats. They went inside the elevator, which then went up to the top floor. They came out the elevator into a large office, where Mr. Summserset was waiting, sitting behind a desk.
"Please take a seat, ladies." he said to them.
Sunset, Trixie, and Lightning approached the desk and sat in the three chairs in front of it.
"So what can I do you ladies?" asked Summerset.
"We're representatives of the University of Baltimare." said Sunset. "We understand you like to collect ancient artifacts?"
"True." said Summerset.
"And we were hoping you could show us some of the items you have collected, so that we can catalogue them for research purposes?"
"Well, I don't see why not." said Mr. Summerset, getting out of his chair. "If you'd please follow me, I'll show you my private collection."
Sunset Shimmer, Trixie, and Lightning Dust followed Mr. Summerset into the elevator, which went to the 27th floor. The door opened to a cavernous floor with many objects on display. They followed Summerset around as he gave them a tour.
Daring Do, wearing her black leather suit and balaclava from before, was climbing up the side of Summerset Tower. Accompanying her was Sunset Shimmer's pet bat Bathilda. Daring had to be absolutely careful not to linger for too long on any floor, since guards would very easily spot her. She came up to the floor with the balcony, and crept through the curtains that divided it from the rest of the building. Apparently, it was a lounge area. The room had a hot tub, a mini-bar, and a few paintings on the walls. The door to the rest of the building was locked, but there were hoof-falls outside.
"We better hurry up." Daring told Bathilda.
Daring saw a ventilation shaft just over the doorway, opened it, then told Bathilda to fly in it. Daring managed to climb into just as the door to the lounge opened. The vents were dark, cold, and made of a very hard and reinforced aluminum. She took a flashlight off her belt, which illuminated the shaft she was in. She crawled through the vents for almost an hour, taking turns left and right, and up and down as she went. Whenever she was uncertain as to which way to go, she had Bathilda fly each way to see which were dead ends.
Eventually, she came to a vent duct that lead down into a girls' bathroom, where a mare that appeared to be a secretary was sitting on a toilet reading a magazine. Slowly, she opened the duct, climbed down, and knocked the secretary out with a hoof-punch to the cranium. Then she bound and gagged her, stripped her of her uniform, and left her in the stall. She turned to Bathilda.
"Nice workin' with ya." she said with a grin. "Now get back to your owner's family. I've got it covered from here."
Bathilda raised a claw in salute and flew back into the vent, even dropping the duct back in place.
Daring Do left the bathroom, and walked along the hallway until she found a map of the building. She saw that the 27th floor was labeled as "Classified". She made a quick smirk, knowing where she needed to go.
Frosty, dressed like a pizza delivery boy, approached the front doors of the Summerset Tower.
"Welcome to Summerset Tower." said one of the guards.
"Yeah, uh did ya guys order two dozen cheese pizzas?" Frosty asked, pointing his hoof at the coach behind him. "That'll be eighty-six bits and fifty cents!"
"Nopony ordered pizzas, sir." said the second pegasus guard.
"And how do you know that, smart guy?" said Frosty. "That's a pretty big buildin' ya guys got there! Anypony in that building could've ordered these pizzas!"
"But nopony ordered two dozen cheese pizzas!" said the first guard. "So go away!"
Nose Nip came up, wearing a delivery uniform.
"I've got a shipment of microwaves for your building!" he said.
"We don't need any microwaves!" said the second guard. "Ours are working just fine!"
"That's not what your boss told my company!" said Nose Nip, holding up a clipboard. "I need somepony to pay for this shipment! It cost a lot of money to get it all over here, and there's no way in Tartarus that I'm going back to my boss with an unsold shipment!"
"Okay, fine." said the first guard. "We'll check out that shipment, and if it's pristine condition, we'll have somepony from upstairs pay for it!"
"Thank you!" said Nose Nip. "Now follow me."
The two pegasus guards followed Nose Nip down the street to a large closed wagon. When the two went inside, Nose Nip and Frosty (who secretly followed them) jumped in after them and beat them up in the darkness. Two minutes later, they emerged wearing suits identical to the ones the guards wore, albeit modified for size.
"Thanks, guys." Nose Nip told the owner of the wagon. "You and the other Iron Horses should hide those guys now."
"We'll make sure they don't get in your way." said the driver in agreement, before proceeding to haul the wagon away.
Nose Nip and Frosty went back to the main entrance and took the guards' places at the front entrance. Bathilda the fruit bat flew from above and fluttered over to the Frosty's coach. Radiant Dawn, Teddy, and Scarlet Blaze emerged a few moments later and rushed to the front entrance.
"The coast is clear." said Radiant. "Daring's made it inside."
"Now let's hurry inside." said Scarlet. "The Iron Horses will be here any minute. You two stay here to let them know that we've made it in, and to get ready in case we need their help."
"Sounds good enough to me!" said Frosty. "Oh, and Teddy?"
"Yeah?" said Teddy.
"I just wanna say this, in case you don't make it outta there alive." said Frosty.
"Say what?"
"You still owe me and Nips money."
"Right." Teddy nodded.
Teddy, Radiant Dawn, and Scarlet Blaze entered the foyer of the building, ready to carry out their part of the plan.