When master thief Sunset Shimmer discovers that the money she robbed from a casino is counterfeit, she goes to the country of Everfree, rumored to be the source of the forgery only to discover a plot involving the love of her life.
Sunset Shimmer is a master thief who uses clever tricks to steal with her partner, Starlight Glimmer. After discovering that the money they robbed from a casino is counterfeit, they go to the country of Everfree, which is rumored to be the source of the forgery. But, when they enter the country, Sunset Shimmer comes across her ex-boyfriend, Prince Rough Draft, who is being forced to marry the ruler of the country, Queen Adagio Dazzle. With the help of Starlight Glimmer, and a samurai named Tempest Shadow, Sunset Shimmer goes on a heist to rescue the love of her life while trying to find out the queen's sinister plot. Will she stop Queen Adagio Dazzle and save the prince, or will she be captured by her longtime enemy, Inspector Twilight Sparkle?
Adapted from the 1979 anime film directed and co-written by Hayao Miyazaki, Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro.
Gladmane was a very proud businessman. Ever since he built his first casino in Las Pegasus, he knew nothing but success. He always knew how to get the right connections to entertain his guests with parties and shows and various other attractions that brought people all over the country. By his mid-thirties, he opened his first casino outside of Equestria in Griffogriffia. Through that, he gained attention from other countries and began opening casinos that were partially owned by the government. By the time he reached fifty, Gladmane had casinos in Saddle Arabia, the Crystal Empire, Aquastria, Griffonstone, and beyond. Not many people in the world had wealth like his. That's what made him the perfect person to steal from.
It was on a clear night that Gladmane decided to host a big event at his casino in Yakyakistan. Many influential people, including the country's ruler, Prince Rutherford, who co-owned the establishment with him, were attending. The resort was crowded with people playing slot games and card games, laughing, and drinking fine champagne as they gambled. Business people sat on booths to talk about their wealth and smoking cigars while their spouses and lovers gossiped. Others were at the buffet, gorging themselves in some of the finest food known to man.
Usually, Gladmane watched his customers squander their money, much to his greedy pleasure, but the grayish persian blue-skinned man was at the casino's auditorium where Prince Rutherford and his family were watching a trapeze show from a reserved balcony. The royal family "ooo" ed and "aah" ed with the rest of the audience as the trapeze artist performed daring tricks, the likes that they have never seen before. Gladmane grinned as he made his way up the reserved balcony just as the trapeze artist did her final trick. Prince Rutherford and his family clapped and cheered louder than anyone in the auditorium, and Gladmane waited until the curtain was closed to enter the balcony.
"Good evening, Your Majesty. Uh-huh-huh," Gladmane said. "Did you enjoy the show?"
"Me wowed by lady on stage," the prince replied. "Me never seen anything like it."
"I'm glad to hear it," Gladmane said, used to the way the prince spoke in broken sentences. "Why, I requested that lovely trapeze artist and her charming director to come here and entertain your beloved family myself. Uh-huh-huh."
"Is that same for magic act?" Prince Rutherford asked.
Gladmane's proud demeanor turned into a look of confusion, and he asked, "Er, what magic act?"
"Magic act coming next," Prince Rutherford answered. "It on paper."
The Yakyakistan prince handed a program bulletin to Gladmane, and he looked at it to see that there was indeed a magical act called "The Phenomenal Act of Sorcerer Magnifico." Gladmane looked at the bulletin skeptically, having never heard of the act nor approved to have it go on that night. Prince Rutherford raised his eyebrow, wondering if something was wrong, which Gladmane instantly noticed and gave him a fake grin.
"Oh, yes. Yes, of course, I requested the magic act, too," he lied. "Why, Sorcerer Magnifico and I go way back when I was just a humble businessman in Las Pegasus. You'll never find a magic show more phenomenal than what you are about to witness tonight."
Prince Rutherford smiled and said, "Good. It been many moons since me seen a magic act. Me hope to be very wowed."
"Well, then you're in for the magic show of your life, Your Majesty, or my name isn't Glad Winston Mane. Uh-huh-huh," Gladmane claimed. "Matter of fact, do you mind if I watch the show with you? It's been far too long since I've seen Magnifico at work."
Prince Rutherford nodded and pointed at a chair, saying, "Sit." Gladmane bowed to the prince before sitting down, but underneath his proud demeanor, the man was pondering what the magic act was doing in his show. He made a mental note to speak with the director, figuring he added it to the show without consulting him. Most likely, he would fire the director after that, depending on how the prince reacted to the show.
Just then, the curtain opened again, and smoke covered the entire stage. Everyone watched as a purple man with an orange goatee dressed as an acolyte appeared from the smoke with his hands clasped together.
"Greetings, one and all," the man said. "My name is Votary, for my life belongs to one of powers beyond comprehension. What you are about to witness is a mere display of my master's abilities. He has traveled from worlds where the very air you breathe is full of magic, and he has returned to his homeworld to entertain you. It is my privilege to introduce you to the supreme lord of magic, Sorcerer Magnifico."
Votary moved a few feet to the left before a flash of light appeared with a loud pop. Audience members screamed in alarm before their eyes adjusted to see a hooded figure on center stage. The figure removed their hood to reveal a bald amber man with a bushy gray beard that covered half of his face. He scanned the area before he lifted his hands in the air and spoke in a low voice.
"Welcome, my friends," he said. "For centuries, I have been away from home, and yet here I stand on a stage as if I never left."
Gladmane raised his eyebrow, wondering how long the performers were going to continue their bravado. Then, Supreme Magnifico clapped his hands, held them in front of his face, and took a deep breath before he spread his arms open, and a ball of fire came out of his mouth. The audience yelped as the fire flew over their heads before they smiled and applauded. Gladmane began to ease up as Prince Rutherford, and his family happily joined in the applause.
"And now for my next trick, I require one of my most powerful items," Supreme Magnifico said as he took off his cloak. "Votary, my staff."
"At once, my lord," Votary said.
The assistant took out a stick underneath his cloak, and with the press of a button, it expanded into a large staff. Votary handed the staff to Sorcerer Magnifico with a bow, and the magician held it up in the air before chanting in a made-up language. Then Magnifico held the staff like a duel weapon and started to dance while spinning it. The audience watched him closely as he moved around until he slammed the staff into the ground, and a beam of electricity shot up from the tip and exploded into the air like a firework. Everyone gasped in awe as the magician shot more beams from his staff, creating more fireworks in various colors. When he finished, the audience applauded again, while the performers took a bow.
"This magic show most entertaining," Prince Rutherford said, clapping energetically. "Your magician has exceeded expectations, Gladmane."
Gladmane grinned and said, "You don't know how happy I am to hear that, Your Majesty. I tell you what."
The prince smiled and nodded at his host before looking down at the stage again. Gladmane secretly sighed in relief, feeling confident that this new act would keep his special guest in a happy mood. After the applause died down, Sorcerer Magnifico and Votary walked opposite sides of the stage, and the magician raised his hands in the air.
"And now, for my next trick, ladies and gentlemen, I need to summon something containing great wealth," he said.
Everyone in the audience looked at each other, curious about what Sorcerer Magnifico was talking about. The magician and his assistant faced each other and started chanting while smoke emerged from the stage again. The smoke was so thick that the audience could barely see the performers. Everyone in the auditorium waited patiently until the smoke cleared up to reveal a seven-foot-tall safe. At that moment, Gladmane's feeling of surety disappeared, and he leaned from his seat when he saw that the door of the safe had three gold coins and three white stars.
His cutie mark.
"What you see here, ladies and gentlemen is one of the most advanced and secure safes in your world," Sorcerer Magnifico said. "Where this safe came from is a mystery, but I can sense that many have tried to break it open and steal its contents to no avail. But fear not, my dear audience. Not even the most secure safe known to mankind is any match for my powers. I shall retrieve the treasure inside this safe from the inside."
Gladmane's eyes widened, and his pupils shrunk. A part of him hoped that these two performers would fail to take the contents of his safe, but for all he knew, they might have stolen it already. Without bothering to ask the prince to excuse himself, he got up from his seat and rushed out of the balcony, taking out a walkie talkie from his coat.
"All security teams, get to the auditorium now!" He hissed.
Gladmane could hear Prince Rutherford calling out to him, asking where he went, but he didn't listen. All he could hear in his mind was Sorcerer Magnifico chanting from the stage as he hurried down the stairs. By the time he reached the exit, five of his security officers had arrived, and he signaled them to follow him while taking one of their guns. As the magician continued to chant, Gladmane stormed down the aisle with his men, guns at the ready.
But before they were halfway down the aisle, Sorcerer Magnifico shouted his last chant out loud and thrust his staff into the ground. The staff broke into pieces, creating a flash of light, forcing everyone to cover their eyes. As Gladmane tried to adjust his eyes, he heard the sound of a woman laughing maniacally from the stage. After a minute, everyone recovered from the flash, but the performers had disappeared, and the safe was still on the stage unopened.
"What is this?!" Prince Rutherford roared from the balcony. "Where magician go?!"
But Gladmane gave the prince no answer. He raced to the stage with his officers and looked around the safe to find the outside undamaged. There were no holes used to steal its contents, and the electronic door was intact. Gladmane signaled his officers to surround the safe while he typed the password on the keypad on the safe to unlock the door. He pulled the door open, and his heart sank as he saw that the safe was empty. There was no giant hole on the bottom where the thieves could have taken his money from underneath the safe. It was merely empty as if it had never been used. Gladmane then noticed a piece of paper taped on the back of the safe door. He took it out to find it was a picture of a red and yellow sun. The entire audience watched in confusion as Gladmane crushed the piece of paper and yelled out a name with his face barn red in anger.
Outside of the casino, a yellow slug bug car was driving away. The car was stuffed from top to bottom with dollar bills, while two women in their mid-twenties dressed as Sorcerer Magnifico and Votary were laughing. The purple woman dressed as Votary had dark purple hair with blue streaks, while the amber one dressed as Sorcerer Magnifico had fiery red and yellow hair. As the amber woman drove the car, the purple woman moved her arms around as though she was playing with a pile of leaves.
"Hey, quit it, Starlight. I can't see the road," the amber woman said.
"Sorry, Sunset, I can't handle it," Starlight replied. "I've never seen so much money in my life, and we're practically bathed in it. Just look at us. Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer: billionaires. I just wish we could have seen the look on that old man's face. Heck, we can probably buy his casino if we wanted to."
The purple woman laughed again while hugging a pile of money. Sunset smirked at her friend's enthusiasm before turning back to the road. But as she drove, she glanced at one of the rolls of dollar bills lying above the speed meter and gave it a peculiar look. She turned on the car light to get a better look, which caught Starlight's attention.
"Something up, boss?" She asked.
Sunset picked up the roll of bills with her free hand and carefully ran her fingernail down one of them. She then took another roll and ran her fingernail with another note. She repeated the process with two more rolls before her face turned sour.
"It's counterfeit," she said. "All of this is fake."
"What?" Starlight asked. "Come on, Sunset, you're pulling my leg, right?
"Check some of the bills from your side," Sunset said. "These are all counterfeit. High quality too."
Starlight stared at Sunset in disbelief before she did what she was told. Sure enough, the note felt slightly different from the paper used from a real dollar bill. Starlight stared at the bill in disbelief before she angrily threw the roll at the front window.
"Well, this is just fantastic!" she growled. "All our hard work wasted on fake money! Do you think Gladmane knows about this?"
"Not likely," Sunset answered. "He's too proud to intentionally have a safe full of fake money rather than having earned it through his casinos."
"So, somebody scammed him?" Starlight asked before she thought about it and shook her head. "No, that wouldn't make sense. The Yakyakistan government partially owns that casino. That prince is more proud of handling things in his country with honesty than Gladmane is with his casinos."
"That's true," Sunset said. "So, what is a large safe full of fake money doing in a legitimate casino? That doesn't make any - wait."
Starlight tilted her head in confusion as she watched her partner pick up another strap of bills. Sunset squinted her eyes and examined the strap itself closely. She looked around it until she saw an orange and yellow sun at the center and then checked the other straps to make sure they all had the same thing. With her question answered, the amber woman's face became downcast, which made her partner even more curious.
"What's the matter?" Starlight asked.
Sunset was silent for a moment before she answered, "I know where these bills came from."
"Really? Where?" Starlight asked.
"Take a look at the stamp on some of the straps," Sunset said.
Starlight stared at Sunset before she looked at some of the straps. When she spotted the symbol, she was dumbfounded as she said, "That's the crest of that small country, Everfree?."
"Yup," Sunset said. "These are the legendary Horse bills that some people in the underworld say are made in Everfree."
"So what?" Starlight asked. "We can just find out who is behind this and take over, problem solved, right? What's wrong with going to Everfree?"
But instead of answering, Sunset kept staring at the road, looking dejected as she drove. Starlight grew worried as she saw her friend looking disconnected from what was happening in the world. Eventually, she gave Sunset a nudge on the arm, which brought her back to reality.
"Sorry, Starlight," Sunset said. "I just...had a little bad luck in Everfree."
"Bad luck? Like you're wanted all over the country kind of bad luck?" Starlight asked.
"Uh, not quite," Sunset answered. "Let's just say it's private stuff and leave it at that."
Starlight frowned disapprovingly. In the few years that the two women have stolen and cheated together, Sunset has never shown to keep secrets from her friend. She considered digging further into it, but she wasn't sure Sunset would tell her anything more. After a moment of debating with herself, she decided to drop it and change the subject.
"Hey, if you don't want to talk about it, that's cool," she said. "But, do you think that bad luck would interfere with trying to take over the counterfeit operation in Everfree?"
Sunset squirmed and thought about it before she hesitantly said, "No, it wouldn't."
"Then there's nothing to worry about," Starlight said. "So, the only option is to go to Everfree and become the billionaires we were born to be. Think of it this way: if this counterfeit operation is what's making the legendary Horse bills, then taking it over will be a challenge worthy of your talents."
Sunset said nothing for a moment, making Starlight nervous. Then the amber woman sighed and smirked at her partner.
"You're right," she said. "This will be the challenge of my career. All that matters is we do this last job, and everyone will acknowledge the genius of Sunset Nicole Shimmer."
"There you go," Starlight said.
Sunset smiled at Starlight, appreciative that she cheered her up. But then suddenly, the two women heard the sound of guns firing. They looked at their side-view mirrors to find three black cars behind them, with men firing their guns at them from their car seat windows.
"Speaking of acknowledgment, it looks like Gladmane's security found us," Starlight said.
"Yeah, well, we're the only car driving away from the casino, so it shouldn't have been hard," Sunset said. "Still, they got to their cars quicker than I thought."
"Yeah, that tends to happen when you steal in front of everyone," Starlight said. "Remind me again why we couldn't just steal the money from Gladmane's office unnoticed?"
"Because it's more fun, and I'm a woman who loves taking risks," Sunset answered unashamedly.
"That's right," Starlight said, rolling her eyes. "So, how do we get rid of them, boss?"
"Simple," Sunset said. "They're chasing us because they want the 'money' back, right? Let's give it back to them."
It took a moment before Starlight realized what Sunset was saying and grinned as she said, "You got it, boss." The purple woman then opened the sunroof, stood up from her seat, and started throwing the fake money at their pursuers. The paper covered the front windows of the cars, and they swayed back and forth until two of the vehicles crashed into each other, and the other hit a lamppost. With the fake money gone and the security team out of commission, Starlight closed the sunroof and went back to her seat, satisfied.
"That'll piss off the old man even more," she said. "Anyway, next stop, Everfree."
"Next stop, Everfree," Sunset agreed.
With that, Starlight reclined her seat and decided to take a nap while Sunset drove the car. But as soon as Starlight's eyes were closed, Sunset became downhearted again. She checked to make sure Starlight was napping before she reached under her shirt and took out a necklace wrapped around her neck. Hanging on the silver chain was a ruby necklace shaped like a rose. It had black lines to show the edges of the petals and small emeralds on the short stem and leaf at the bottom. She rubbed the jewel with her thumb and let out a heavy sigh before holding it to her chest.
"I guess I'm going back," she whispered to herself before she put the necklace back under her shirt and drove through the night.
Five days have passed since Sunset and Starlight robbed the casino. The two of them have been staying off the main roads, knowing that the police would be looking for them. Halfway through their journey, they found an abandoned gas station and used it to paint their car from yellow to red and change their license plates so no one could recognize it.
On the fifth day, they stopped in the middle of the road to disguise themselves as old men before driving to the border of Everfree. They stopped in front of the security gate, and Sunset lowered her window as a female guard walked over to them.
"Bonjour," Sunset greeted in a french accent
"Passports, please," the guard said, bluntly.
"Oui, madame," Sunset replied.
She reached into her pocket, took out fake passports, and handed them to the guard. The guard looked at the pictures of Sunset and Starlight in their disguises and then looked at the two women closely to make sure they look the same. Convinced that they were real men, she handed back the passports and said, "Enjoy your stay in Everfree, gentlemen."
"Merci," Sunset replied while the guards lifted the gate, allowing Sunset to drive into the country.
As they took off their disguises, Starlight looked out her window to get a look at the farmland and tall mountains that could be seen for miles. After an hour of driving, the purple woman was confused by how she didn't see any towns or stops nearby while Sunset entered a road at the side of a mountain.
"Hey, boss, are you sure this is a country?" She asked. "There's barely anyone here."
"Yeah, it's a country," Sunset confirmed. "It's the smallest country in the world. The population is only thirty-five hundred."
"You're kidding," Starlight said. "How did it become a country with so little people?"
"Everfree used to be a large forest until two princesses from the Canterlot royal family decided to create their own kingdom a thousand years ago," Sunset explained.
"So, why would the counterfeit money be coming from here?" Starlight asked.
"Because no one would suspect it," Sunset answered. "Think about it. When you hear of counterfeit operations, you'd think it would be in a place in a major city or country like Canterlot, or Manehattan, or maybe the Crystal Empire. Who would suspect that a small country that is secluded from the rest of the world is printing fake money?"
"Good point," Starlight said. "So, do you have any idea where the Horse bills are coming from?"
"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea," Sunset said.
"What makes you say that?" Starlight asked.
"Call it intuition," Sunset replied.
Starlight raised her eyebrow, suspicious of Sunset's answer. It was clear that she knew exactly where to go, but she didn't want to share the information with her friend. At that rate, the purple woman was waiting for the right moment to ask Sunset to tell her what she knows, and if she didn't answer, then she would force her to say it.
Suddenly, as Sunset was making a turn around the hill, a green car turned from the other side and was heading directly toward her car. Sunset and Starlight panicked, and the amber woman moved away so that the other car would move right past them, almost hitting the railing on the edge of the cliff. But as the car was passing by, Sunset got a brief look at the driver. It was a purple man wearing an expensive suit and a silver crown on his head, driving with a look of fear in his eyes. Sunset stopped the car and looked behind her to watch the man drive away, swaying back and forth on the two-lane road.
"What's up with that guy?" Starlight asked. "Doesn't he know how to stay in his lane?"
Before Sunset could answer, a black car passed by them, heading in the same direction as the green car. This car had four tall, muscular men in black coats, hats, and sunglasses. Some of them were carrying guns. Whoever they were, it was clear to Sunset that they were after the purple man, and he needed help. With a mischievous grin, Sunset suddenly turned the car around and slammed on the gas pedal with her foot, startling Starlight as they headed to the other cars.
"Sunset, what are you doing?" Starlight asked.
"Rescuing," Sunset replied.
Starlight looked at Sunset dumbfounded and said, "I thought we're going after the counterfeit money."
"We still got time to do that," Sunset said. "Besides, I got a good look at that guy's tuxedo and crown. More than likely, he's someone high-class and would reward us for saving his rich butt."
Starlight hesitated before she shrugged and said, "You're the boss, boss."
Sunset and Starlight caught up with the two other cars just as the black car was turning to the left lane and driving ahead until it was next to the man's car. Sunset and Starlight watched in shock as the black car forced the green car to the railing and slowly began to crush it.
"Good grief, these guys must really want this man dead," Starlight said.
"We gotta stop them quickly," Sunset said. "Get your gun and go for the tires."
"Right," Starlight said.
Starlight opened the glove compartment and took out a magnum gun and some ammo. She put the ammo in and cocked her gun before opening the sunroof and standing up from her seat. Sunset kept the car steady while Starlight took a shot at one of the tires. But instead of destroying the tire, the bullet bounced back.
"Crap. They have armored tires," Sunset said.
"Armored tires? Who are these people?" Starlight asked.
But despite failing to hit the tire, Starlight's effort caught the attention of the men in the black car. They moved away from their target, allowing the purple man to drive ahead, and the two men in the back took out grenades and threw it at Sunset and Starlight. The two women screamed, and Sunset moved the car away before the first grenade exploded from where they were. Starlight held on for dear life while Sunset turned the wheel back and forth to avoid more grenades. Finally, one of the men threw their last grenade, and it exploded right in front of the red car. Sunset and Starlight covered their faces as the impact damaged the front of the car and shattered the front window into pieces.
"That's it. No more Ms. Nice Lady," Sunset growled as she took a pistol from her pocket.
The two women started firing at the black car, hoping to hit the men who were throwing the grenades. Unfortunately, the two men fought back by firing their machine guns at them. Sunset and Starlight were forced to keep their heads down as countless bullets hit their car mercilessly. While down, Starlight opened the glove compartment again and took out a bigger bullet. She stared at it with a sad look as if she were saying goodbye to a friend.
"You're my last armor-piercing bullet. Make your mama proud," she said.
With that, Starlight kissed the bullet, put it in her gun, and waited. After a few seconds, the men ran out of ammo and went back inside their car to reload, while Starlight stood back up on her seat, and aimed at the black car's left-back wheel from the sunroof. Sunset kept her car steady again while her partner waited for the right moment to shoot.
"Gotcha," Starlight said with a grin.
She fired her pistol, and the bullet burst through the tire. The men in the black car held on for dear life as the car swayed out of control. Sunset took the opening to pass by them just before the car crashed into the rocky wall.
"Haha! How do you like that?!" Starlight boasted before biting her thumb at her fallen enemies. "Ladies: one, boys: zero."
"Nice job, Starlight," Sunset said. "Now, let's catch up with our helpless rich boy and get ourselves a nice reward."
Starlight's grin grew as she sat back down on her seat. Sunset pressed on the gas pedal further, and the car drove ahead until they were just behind the green car. The amber woman started honking her horn while she turned to the left lane so that the two cars were next to each other.
"Hey there, handsome. Your beautiful rescuers have arrived," she called out. "No need to thank us right away, we're just -"
"Uh, Sunset, he's unconscious," Starlight said.
Sunset looked at her friend, confused before she looked closely and found the man lay his head against the wheel with his eyes closed. Sunset then looked at the road ahead and gasped to see that they were heading to a sharp turn on the road with no railing on the edge of the cliff.
"Starlight, take the wheel," she commanded.
"What? But, Sunset..." Starlight protested.
But before the purple woman could say anything else, Sunset was already standing up and climbing up from the sunroof. Starlight quickly moved to the driver's seat and kept the car steady before it swirled away. Sunset took a moment to prepare herself before she jumped onto the top of the green car and opened the driver's door. She got inside, undid the man's seatbelts, and pushed him away from the driver's seat before grabbing the wheel and putting her foot on the brake. But instead of slowing down, the pedal just hit the floor, disconnected from the brakes.
"Oh, come on!" Sunset growled.
She desperately hit the pedal again and again, but nothing happened. She thought about grabbing the man and jumping back into her car, but there was no way she could bring herself and the grown man to safety in time. Left with no other choice, she took out her grappling gun from her belt, wrapped her arm around the man's side, and kicked the car door open. She waited until the car ran off the cliff before she jumped off while carrying the man. As the two of them fell, Sunset looked around until she found a large branch sticking out in the middle of the cliff and fired her gun at it. The hook spun around the branch before it attached itself to it, stopping Sunset and the man's fall.
Sunset sighed in relief and watched the man's car crash into the river below. She looked around and saw that she was just below a rocky surface and pressed a button on her gun. The rope extended, slowly bringing her and the man down to the bottom. But as they went down, the purple man slowly came to and opened his eyes to see the cliff. He screamed and moved his arms around in panic, not noticing that Sunset was holding on to him.
"Hey, cut it out!" Sunset shouted. "You're gonna make me let go of my gun!"
The man realized that Sunset was there holding him and her grappling gun and slowly calmed down.
"What am I doing in the middle of a cliff?" He asked.
"You fainted and drove your car off the cliff," Sunset answered.
"Are her men still after me?" He asked.
"No, my partner and I took them down," Sunset answered. "Who exactly is after you, though?"
The purple man looked up to answer, but as soon as his eyes met Sunset's, the two of them stared at each other. Sunset looked at the man in disbelief while he looked at her as though she were an angel. The man's emerald eyes studied Sunset's face before he spoke again.
"Sunset?" he asked. "Sunshine, is that you?"
Sunset felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of him calling her, 'Sunshine.' Her look of shock melted into a heartfelt smile, and she tightened her hold on the man.
"Hi, babe," she replied.
Suddenly, a loud snap was heard, and Sunset and the man looked up to find that the branch was beginning to break. Sunset gasped and pressed the button on her gun again, desperate to reach the bottom safely. Unfortunately, the branch broke, and Sunset and the purple man screamed as they fell several feet, landing hard on their backsides against the rocky ground. They groaned in agony, and Sunset turned to the man to speak before the branch landed right on her head.
The last thing she saw was the purple man calling out her name before she blacked out.
Sunset felt someone patting her cheek as she slowly came to. She groaned before she slowly sat up, rubbing her head. She felt something damp on her forehead and picked it up to find it to be a wet handkerchief. She looked around to find Starlight kneeling in front of her, but the purple man was nowhere to be seen.
"Where...where is he? Where did he go?" She asked.
"The purple guy? He left," Starlight answered. "I saw him taking out his handkerchief and putting it on your head while I was climbing down, then more of those guys in black were coming in a steamboat, so he kissed your cheek and ran away."
"What?!" Sunset shouted, springing back up. "We gotta save him!"
"Uh, Sunset, it's already too late," Starlight said while pointing at the lake.
Sunset turned to where Starlight was pointing, and her eyes widened. A large steamboat was sailing away, and on the boat were the men in black holding the purple man at gunpoint. Sunset helplessly watched them sail away beyond her eyesight in defeat. She clenched her teeth and glared at where the boat was while squeezing the handkerchief. Starlight looked at her friend worryingly, having never seen Sunset so angry before.
But as she tightened her grip on the handkerchief, she felt a lump inside. Her anger turned into confusion as she looked down and unfolded the cloth. Inside was a silver ring with a blue moon inscribed on the top. Sunset held the ring close to her face, surprised while Starlight tilted her head in confusion.
"What's up with that ring?" She asked. "Did that somehow slip out of that guy's finger or something?"
Sunset frowned and turned to where she last saw the steamboat again while holding the ring close to her heart.
"No. He left it here on purpose," she said.
"What? Why would he do that?" Starlight asked.
"I'll explain later," Sunset said as she took out her grappling gun and aimed it at the top of the cliff. "Let's go."
Sunset didn't say a word to Starlight since they got back into their car. She stared at the road with a look of determination in her eyes as she drove. Starlight grew more worried for her friend by the minute, as it looked to her like the amber woman was in her own world, not acknowledging that she was in the car with her.
After an hour, Starlight noticed that they were driving by a sign that said, "City of Everfree: 2 miles." Starlight began to ease up, thinking that Sunset was finally taking them to where the counterfeit operations were, but then Sunset suddenly turned right on a separate road away from the city.
"Why aren't we going to the city?" Starlight asked. "I thought you said we were going to some castle."
"We are," Sunset replied. "This is a castle away from the city."
"And why are we going there?" Starlight asked.
"I need to find out something," Sunset answered.
"What's that?" Starlight asked. "Does it have to do with the guy we tried to rescue?"
"Yes," Sunset said. "I want to know what he was doing with those -"
Sunset's voice died in her throat, and she looked past Starlight in shock. Starlight turned to where Sunset was looking to find that they were driving around a large lake. On the other side of the lake were the remains of a three-story castle. Sunset drove to the front entrance to the castle before she parked the car, turned it off, got out, and ran inside.
"Sunset, wait! Hold on!" Starlight called out.
But Sunset was already out of her line of sight. Starlight groaned, annoyed by her friend's odd behavior as she got out of the car. She looked around, noticing the castle’s roof was gone, plants covered the remains of the building, and a bird was building its nest on one of the windows. Then she looked above the front entrance and saw the same moon symbol that was on the ring. Starlight stared at the emblem befuddled before finally going inside.
"Sunset! Sunset, where are you?!" She called out.
But instead of a reply, all Starlight heard was the sounds of birds chirping and the water smoothly flowing from the lake. She continued to look around until she found Sunset outside, walking through the remains of a garden from the other side of the building. She was staring at an old shack on the far other side of the property with a sad look. Starlight ran over to catch up with her, but before she could open her mouth, a female voice was calling out in a country accent.
"Hey, what are y'all doing here?"
Sunset and Starlight turned to their right to find a woman around their age with pale, light grayish gamboge skin and grayish olive hair wearing a gray shirt, brown pants and coat, and a forest green hat standing several yards away from them. The woman looked at the two of them with a suspicious look while Sunset gave her a friendly smile.
"Hey, how goes it?" She asked. "I'm Sunset Shimmer, and this is my friend, Starlight Glimmer."
"Applejack," the woman replied bluntly. "Now, why are you here? Are ya a bunch of tourists or something?"
"Uh, something like that," Sunset replied. "Didn't this use to be the castle of the Lunar family?"
"What do ya mean 'used to?' It still is," Applejack said.
"If that's so, then what happened here?" Starlight asked.
Applejack frowned and said, "There was a fire a couple of years ago. It killed our prince and his wife."
Sunset gasped, and her eyes widened in shock, leaving Starlight confused with her behavior again.
"What about their son?" Sunset asked.
"He's living with our ruler, Queen Adagio Dazzle," Applejack replied.
Sunset looked at Applejack in disbelief before running further into the garden. Starlight rolled her eyes, annoyed that Sunset was running off again before turning to Applejack.
"Thanks for the info. Sorry about your loss," she said.
"Appreciate it," Applejack said before turning to where Sunset went. "What's up with your friend?"
Starlight frowned and said, "That's what I want to know."
Starlight ran in the direction of where Sunset was until she found her standing on top of a stone wall. Several yards on Sunset's right was a tall clock tower. The water from the lake was flowing down to a tunnel underneath the tower. Starlight went up to the top of the wall and found they were on top of a dam. Beyond the dam was a more massive lake, and standing in the middle of it was a majestic castle over ten stories high and a small city next to it. There was also an aqueduct that connected the clocktower to a windmill on the castle wall. Starlight turned to Sunset, who was holding the ring in her hand and staring at the castle with a worried look.
"What happened to you, babe?" Sunset asked quietly.
Starlight raised her eyebrow, having never heard Sunset call someone "babe," and decided she had enough. She wrapped her arm around Sunset's neck from behind and pulled her into a headlock.
"Starlight, what are you doing?" Sunset asked.
"Spill it, Sunset," Starlight commanded. "You've been acting weird ever since you saw that guy getting chased. It's like you completely forgot that we're supposed to go after the counterfeit money. Now, tell me what's going on."
"I haven't been acting weird," Sunset protested. "I had no idea that he was -"
But before Sunset could finish her sentence, Starlight grabbed her by the hair with her free hand and yanked it. Sunset yelped and tried to free her hair only for Starlight to pull harder. Unable to take it any longer, Sunset screamed, "Alright! Alright! I'll talk," and Starlight finally let go. The amber woman whimpered and rubbed her head before turning to Starlight, who looked at her with her arms crossed.
"I really didn't know who he was until after I saved him," she said. "But now that I do and based on what Applejack has told us, it looks like he and the Horse bills are linked."
"What are you talking about?" Starlight asked.
Sunset pointed at the city and said, "That over there is the capital of Everfree."
"Okay," Starlight said.
Sunset then pointed at the tall castle, saying, "And that over there is where the Celestial family rules the country. It used to be called the Castle of the Two Sisters; the royal family calls it the Castle of Celestia, but since it's part of the capital of the country, everyone else takes to calling it Castle Everfree."
"So?" Starlight asked impatiently.
"Castle Everfree is where the counterfeit money is being made," Sunset said.
"What?!" Starlight shouted. "You're telling me that the ruler of this land, this Queen Adagio Dazzle, is the person we're trying to take the operation from?"
"Pretty much," Sunset answered.
Starlight looked at Sunset and then the castle dumbfounded as she said, "Good grief, boss. I get that you love risks, but this is insane even for you."
"Yeah, well, I didn't think so the last time I was here," Sunset said.
"Wait. You mean you've tried it before?" Starlight asked.
"Yup. It was about ten years ago," Sunset answered.
"Ten years ago? But that means you were only fifteen-years-old," Starlight said. "What possessed you to try to infiltrate a castle?"
"I was a very prideful girl," Sunset said. "I was already really skilled as a cat burglar for my age, stealing tons of money and jewels from places that had great security at the time. When I heard rumors about the royal family of Everfree being behind a scheme of making high-quality counterfeit money, I thought I could uncover the mystery and go down in history as the greatest thief who had ever lived."
"And that didn't happen. Did it?" Starlight asked, smirking.
Sunset chuckled sheepishly and said, "Nope. I think I was there for about five minutes before I set an alarm, and spotlights were all over me. I ran toward the wall to jump into the lake, but right as I was making the jump, I got hit by a bullet that barely missed my stomach."
Sunset lifted her shirt to show a scar. Starlight cringed at the sight of the nasty scar before she asked, "How did you survive?"
"Well, that's where our purple cutie comes in," Sunset said as she put her shirt down and looked at the small hill to the left of the dam.
I was swimming toward shore as fast as I could with one hand holding on to my stomach. Blood was still coming out of my body from both ends of the wound as I swam. I could hear sirens and guards shouting even though I was far away from the castle. Finally, I made it to the shore and crawled up the small hill near the dam until I found a bush to hide in. I lied down on my back, trying to put pressure on both sides of my wound, but I knew I was still losing blood fast.
Suddenly, I found myself face to face with a brown collie that was barking at me. I heard the footsteps of a person running over to the dog and thought it was one of the guards until I heard the voice of a teenage boy.
"Hey, Winona, what are you barking at, girl?" He asked. "Is there a squirrel hiding over there or -?"
His voice died in his throat when he saw me lying on the ground. I looked up to see a purple boy with short black hair looking at me with bright emerald eyes. I gave him a weak smile and muttered, "What's up?" But he just looked at me shocked for a moment and ran away. At that point, I closed my eyes, thinking that he just left me to die. The last thing I heard before I blacked out was the sound of the dog still barking.
The next thing I knew, I was inside a small shack, lying on a bed. The collie was lying next to me on the bed, and the boy was sitting on a chair, reading a book. There were a gas lamp and a pitcher of water on a table standing beside his chair. I looked under the covers and found that I was in my undershirt, and there were bandages around my stomach. I tried to sit up until I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and plopped back down. My movement caught the dog woke up, and it started barking at me again, which caught the boy's attention.
"Easy, Winona. She's not going anywhere," he said, putting down his book before turning to me. "I'd stay down if I were you. You don't want your wounds to open up."
I let out a groan and asked, "Where am I?"
"You're in the old shack in my family's garden. It's half past one in the afternoon if you want to know," the boy answered as he poured a glass of water. "Here, drink this."
He lifted my head, and I drank the water before I asked, "Did you bring me here?"
"Sure did," the boy answered with a friendly smile. "You're lucky that Winona and I found you last night. If I hadn't decided to go on a nightly stroll, you would've died. Not to mention you would have been left to die or have your wound treated before getting arrested if anyone else found you. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're a thief with all the commotion at Castle Everfree, and you lying there dressed in black and bleeding."
"Did you bandage me up?" I asked.
"I did," he answered. "It's a good thing that my family's gardener, Granny Smith, taught me how, especially since I haven't needed to do it before."
I raised my eyebrow suspiciously and asked, "You didn't take advantage that I was out and see anything besides my stomach, did you?"
The guy's purple face turned beet red, and he waved his hands, shouting, "No! Good golly, I would never do that!"
I chuckled at his reaction and eased up, knowing that he meant it.
"Alright then, where's my shirt?" I asked.
He scoffed and said, "It's hanging by the door, but it won't do you any good. I could wash off all the blood, but I doubt anything can be done about those bullet holes even if I told Granny Smith about you and asked her to fix it. I'll have to head to town and buy you a new one."
"No one else knows that I'm here?" I asked.
"Nope. Just me and Winona," he replied. "As I said, if anyone else knew that you are here, you wouldn't be so lucky. That's why I hid you. No one uses the shack anymore except me, so you're safe here."
I smirked and raised my eyebrow again as I asked, "Why did you save me even though I'm a thief? Did you think you had a moral obligation or was it just because I'm pretty?"
"I saved you because it was the right thing to do," the guy answered before his cheeks turned red, and he looked away, saying. "Though I will admit that you are pretty. Uh, I mean beautiful. Very beautiful. The most beautiful girl I - ugh."
The purple boy turned his back on me, shyly with his head down. I snorted out a laugh until the pain in my stomach forced me to stop.
"You don't talk to girls very much, do you?" I taunted.
"Not usually," he confessed.
"I thought so," I said, smirking. "Though I guess in your defense, it's not every day that you meet a hottie like me and have to hide her because she's a criminal."
"Heh. I can't say that's something my tutor talks about whenever she gives me lessons on social interaction," he said.
I continued to smirk for a moment before I gave him a friendly smile and said, "Well, in any case, thank you for the compliment and for saving me."
He turned around to face me again, and he smiled and said, "You're welcome."
For what felt like a minute, we just stared at each other. The guy looked deep into my eyes, and I felt mesmerized by his until I realized what was happening, and I shook my head. I tried to think of a way to change the subject until I saw his book on his chair.
"So, you're a bookworm, huh?" I asked.
"Yeah, I am," he said. "I come to this shack a lot to read."
"Oh yeah? What are you reading?" I asked.
He picked up the book and said, "It's called The Tale of Flaming Arrow and Silver Gleam. It's a fantasy adventure story about a warrior named Flaming Arrow who falls in love with a princess named Silver Gleam. Her father, the king, sends Flaming Arrow on a quest to steal a powerful jewel from an evil sorcerer to win Silver Gleam's hand in marriage. But then he gets captured by the evil sorcerer, so Silver Gleam decides to bravely sneak into the sorcerer's lair so she could steal the jewel herself and save the man she loves against her father's wishes."
"Ah, a story where the lady takes matters into her own hands. I like this Silver Gleam already," I said with a grin.
The guy chuckled and said, "Yeah, she's my favorite character in the story. I just love how she is facing all of these terrible challenges despite not being a warrior."
"Sounds great and all, but I'm interested in the part where she steals this jewel," I said.
The guy smirked at me, amused with my comment. Then his face became serious, and he asked, "Tell me. Why did you try to break into Castle Everfree? I would think that everyone knows that stealing from that place is impossible."
"I love taking risks," I said proudly. "Life's more fun that way. You could say I just go from one adventure to the next, not knowing how things are gonna turn out."
The purple guy smiled and said, "That sounds like fun. I wish I knew what that was like."
"Is that why you like to read your books? Because you want to go on adventures?" I asked.
"Kinda," he answered. "Sometimes, I want to write my own adventure stories, but it's hard to do when I don't have any experience."
"That does sound important," I said.
He nodded before he asked, "Do you have any particular goals besides just stealing?"
I shrugged and said, "If I do, I guess it would be to become famous for being a great thief and then retire filthy rich after I've had my fun."
"And I suppose retiring involves living on a private island with a mansion or something like that?" He asked.
I gave him a skeptical look, and I said, "That sounds stupid cliche, but I admit that sounds nice."
"That sounds lonely," he said.
"What can I say? I'm a girl who likes being alone," I replied. "Besides, it's not like I have any friends or family."
The guy gave me a sympathetic look and said, "Well, maybe I could be your friend."
I snorted out a laugh and said, "Seriously? You want to befriend a thief?"
"Why not?" He challenged. "I don't think anyone should be lonely. Not even a thief."
"And how do you expect that to work out?" I asked.
"I don't know, but I'd like to find out," he said. "I guess you could say it would be an adventure to try to be a good friend to a thief like yourself. It may work out well, and it might get ugly, but I'm willing to give it a try if you are."
The room was silent after he made his case. I couldn't tell if he was being sincere or just saying anything that came out of his head. On the other hand, he was caring enough to save my life and keep my presence hidden. Ultimately, I decided to take a chance if for no other reason than to amuse myself while I was stuck there, healing.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Rough Draft of the Lunar family?" Starlight asked. "Does that make him royalty?"
"Yup," Sunset answered with a smirk. "He's the son of the prince that Applejack was talking about, which makes him a prince too."
"How are Rough Draft and his daddy royalty?" Starlight asked.
Sunset turned her head to look at Castle Everfree and said, "Remember when I said that two princesses from the Canterlot royal family founded this country?"
"Yeah," Starlight answered.
"Their names were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Sunset explained. "They ruled together as the first queens of Everfree. So, by being a descendant of Queen Luna, that makes Rough Draft a prince. Queen Adagio is in the Celestial family, so that means she's a descendant of Queen Celestia."
"I see," Starlight said. "So how come Rough Draft's family doesn't get to rule the land with this Adagio Dazzle?"
"I don't remember the whole story, but sometime after the queens passed away, their families fought for complete control over the kingdom," Sunset explained. "Eventually, the Celestial family won the war, and has ruled the land ever since while the Lunar family lived over here well-endowed but with little to no political power."
"Well-endowed, huh?" Starlight said with a smirk. "Sounds like you had a good opportunity to steal some decent dough from this prince's family while he was trying to be your friend."
"I guess, but that isn't what ended up happening," Sunset said. "In fact, we actually did become friends."
"For real?" Starlight asked, dumbfounded.
"For real," Sunset replied. "He read to me when I was healing, and I would tell him about my early adventures as a thief. Over time, after I had healed, I started to enjoy Rough Draft's company and secretly visited him on occasion when I wasn't off stealing somewhere outside of the country. He was fun to talk to, he was passionate about his hobbies, and he was kind to a fault." She paused for a moment before smirked and said, "Not to mention it was cute when he would blush every time I teased him about how he was in the presence of a good-looking girl like me."
"When you put it that way, it sounds like he had a thing for you," Starlight said.
"Oh, he did," Sunset said. "He didn't want to admit it for the sake of our friendship, but it was only a matter of time."
"And you had to let the poor guy down, right?" Starlight asked.
Sunset hesitated and started playing with her fingers. Starlight looked at her friend in confusion before it hit her, and her eyes widened in disbelief. Sunset looked away, bashfully to hide her amber cheeks turning red.
"No," the purple woman said, shaking her head. "No, no, no, no, no. Nu-uh. No way. You gotta be messing with me, Sunset. There is no way you could have had a thing for him."
"Trust me, Starlight, I didn't want to believe it either," Sunset said. "We had been friends for a year, and a lot of that time was apart, but eventually, I started visiting him more frequently. I was missing him whenever I was away; he was missing me too, and then it just...happened."
Starlight laughed in disbelief and said, "Dang, boss. I would never have thought you would feel that way over a dude. I mean, you dated Flash Sentry, but that was a trainwreck waiting to happen."
"Yeah, well, what Rough Draft and I had was no trainwreck," Sunset said. "We loved each other, and we couldn't stand being apart. Eventually, I decided to make the shack my home so that I could be with him. I didn't have to worry about food or anything because I had plenty of money from stealing. When he wasn't with his parents or being tutored during the day, he would come over, and we would talk, and laugh, and read, and go on walks out in the forest. Every night when his parents were asleep, I would sneak into his room so that we would spend more time together. We never slept together or anything like that, mind you. He's too virtuous, and I admired what a gentleman he was too much to suggest that anyway. That didn't stop us from making out and cuddling, though."
"Wait. Is the shack you stayed at the one you were looking at earlier?" Starlight asked.
"Yup," Sunset confirmed as she glanced at the shack at a distance. "Looks like no one has touched it since I left too."
"And you never tried to use the prince's feelings to steal from his family?" Starlight asked.
"Never," Sunset said.
"I don't believe this," Starlight said. "Sunset, you're the most manipulative person I know. You steal every chance you get. I get that this guy's family isn't the one ruling the country with a counterfeit operation on the side, but if the Lunar family was well-endowed, then you'd have to be stupid not to try anything."
"Well, if I was stupid, then Rough Draft and I were stupid together," Sunset said. "I didn't use his love to steal from his parents when I easily could have, and he trusted me not to do it even though he knows I am a thief. In the end, we were two stupid teenagers who let our emotions get the better of us. We didn't care about what would happen if we got caught or if there was no future because of who I am. All we cared about was each other. He was my baby, I was his sunshine, and for five months we were happy."
The two women were silent for a moment as Starlight processed everything Sunset just said. Then, she asked, "So what happened after five months? Did you dump him?"
Sunset frowned and said, "No, and he didn't dump me either. What happened next is what I was talking about when I said I had a little bad luck here."
"How so?" Starlight asked.
Sunset turned around and looked up to stare at a half-destroyed balcony on the third floor of the burnt down castle. Her frowned deepened as the memory replayed in her mind.
"It was Rough Draft's birthday," She began. "His parents held a party for him, inviting a lot of high-class people, so I waited until later that night to sneak into his room."
Rough Draft knew that I was coming, so he decided to read a book while sitting on a chair so that he wouldn't fall asleep. I climbed up from the balcony and entered the room where Rough Draft had the back of his chair facing me. I quietly walked over to him before I wrapped my arms around his neck from behind and kissed his cheek.
"Happy birthday, babe," I said as I rested my head on his shoulder. “How was the party?
Rough Draft smiled and caressed my cheek while he was still reading the book as he replied, “The food was good, but the guests were boring. I wish you could have been there with me.”
I chuckled mischievously with my mouth closed and said, “Me too. I bet I would liven up the place up in a blink of an eye.”
Rough Draft put his book down and stood up to face me while wrapping his arms around my waist.
“I'd expect nothing less, sunshine,” he said.
I smiled as we pecked each other's lips. I squeezed my boyfriend as we kissed, letting out how I missed being with him even if it was just most of the day. But after we parted, I became uneasy and asked, "Did you dance with any girls?"
Rough Draft hesitated and said, "I had to. My parents want me to find someone to court."
I frowned and said, "That's not okay, Rough Draft. I'm your girlfriend. You shouldn't be courting anyone but me."
"I know, Sunset," Rough Draft said. "But there's not much I can do when our relationship is a secret."
I huffed bitterly, knowing that he was right. Feeling possessive of my prince, I pulled him into a tighter hug as though there was a group of prissy girls watching us. I felt Rough Draft patting the back of my head as he hugged me back, which made me feel better. I rested my head against his with my eyes closed, treasuring the moment until I remembered something and broke the hug.
"I got something for you," I said as I reached into my jacket pocket and took out a small present.
He gave me a sweet look before he took the present and unwrapped it to reveal a white box. Inside was a golden locket with our cutie marks inscribed on both sides. He pressed the button on the top to show a picture of me smiling inside.
"I know we see each other pretty often, but I also know how it gets rough when you're being tutored or dealing with any of that other high-class crap, so I thought that whenever that happens, you can just look at this picture for comfort," I explained.
Rough Draft looked at the locket fondly before he gave me a tight hug. But then he suddenly pulled back and looked at me suspiciously.
"Wait a second," he said. "You didn't steal money to get this, did you?"
"What? No, of course not," I claimed.
"Sunset," he said warningly.
"Uh, okay, I did use stolen money," I confessed. "But, it's money I stole before we got together, so it doesn't count."
Rough Draft raised his eyebrow, displeased with my confession. Eventually, he rolled his eyes and said, "You drive me crazy sometimes. You know that, sunshine?"
I smirked and said, "I do. I really do. But that's what you love about me. Heck, I bet I even can get your parents to love me."
Rough Draft scoffed and said, "Maybe you could if you weren't a scoundrel."
"Scoundrel?" I asked, my smirk stretching to the side of my face. "Scoundrel. I like the sound of that."
Rough Draft's cheeks heated up as I moved closer to him with a flirtatious look. He moved back until his back was against the wall. I placed my hands on the wall on opposite sides of Rough Draft's head, trapping him.
"S-s-stop it," he stuttered.
"Stop what?" I asked.
"You're making me uncomfortable," he said.
"Aw, but you are so adorable when you blush," I said, walking my fingers up his chest. "You don't have to be afraid."
"Afraid? I'm not afraid," Rough Draft claimed.
"Yes, you are. You're trembling," I said.
His purple face turned beet red the closer I got. My kittenish look turned into a sweet smile as I placed my hand on his cheek and said, "I'm sure your parents won't mind that your girlfriend is a scoundrel.”
"T-t-they actually want me to find a nice girl," Rough Draft said.
"I'm nice," I said while leaning my head toward his.
"No, you're not," Rough Draft countered. "You're a thieving -"
I pressed my lips together with his before he could finish his sentence. Rough Draft resisted at first, his face red all over, but then he gave into the moment and pulled me close to deepen the kiss. When we parted, we rested our foreheads against each other with my hand still on his cheek. He started caressing my cheek, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling until I felt something on one of his fingers.
"Are you wearing a ring?" I asked.
"Oh, yeah. It's a present from my dad," Rough Draft replied.
He removed his hand from my cheek and showed the silver ring with the moon crest on top of it. I took his hand to examine the ring and said, "Pretty. That's your family's crest, right?"
"Yep. This ring has been passed down in my family for generations," Rough Draft answered. "It's been my dad's ring my whole life, and now it's my ring."
“At age seventeen? That seems a little too soon to be given such an important heirloom. Don’t you think?” I asked.
“Not really. This ring was given to my dad when he turned seventeen by his father, and his father before him, and so on. It’s tradition,” Rough Draft replied.
I shrugged and said, “Well, I won’t judge your traditions when I’m someone who has none. Can’t say I have something special to hold on for a long time like your family does.”
Rough Draft hummed and nodded in agreement. Then suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he snapped his fingers.
“Or do you?” he asked.
I looked at him, confused as he walked toward his dresser from the other side of the room. He opened the top drawer and reached from under the folded shirts inside to take out a small, rectangular box wrapped in a red bow. He walked back over to me and offered the wrapped box to me. It took a moment until I realized what was happening and shook my head.
“No,” I said. “Babe, it’s your birthday. You’re the one who is supposed to receive gifts.”
“I know, but you never want to tell me when your birthday is, and I’ve wanted to give you something for a while,” Rough Draft said. “After all, you’re my sunshine, I love you, and I wanted to give you something to express that.”
I was still uneasy with the idea of him giving me a gift on his birthday, but I couldn’t resist when he was being so sweet. I took the present and undid the ribbon before opening the box to reveal the rose necklace. I stared at it, surprised before I looked up at Rough Draft, who was smiling bashfully.
“Typically, when a boy of high-class is courting the girl he wants to be with, he expresses that by giving her a rose,” he said. “I know you’re more of a girl who likes jewelry, so I decided to give you a jewel-shaped like a rose. That way, you have a rose from me that won’t wilt or fade away, and I hope you will hold on to forever.”
I stared at him, speechless from his explanation. I couldn’t believe how much thought he put into giving me such a gift. Eventually, I gave him a heartfelt smile and pulled him into the most passionate kiss I ever gave him in our short time together as a couple. It was all I could think of to say thank you to my precious boyfriend. When we parted, I handed the box back to him, turned around, and moved my hair back so that he could put the necklace on me. I stared at the jewel hanging around my neck before I turned back to Rough Draft.
“I will always treasure this,” I promised. “Thank you, babe.”
Rough Draft smiled and said, “You’re welcome, sunshine.”
The two of us were silent for about a minute after that, staring at each other’s eyes like the hopelessly-in-love teenagers that we were. Then, Rough Draft’s eyes lit up again, and he walked over to a bookcase full of records next to his bed. He took one out and placed it on his record player on top of a table. After Rough Draft put the needle on the record, he turned to me with a loving smile and offered his hand.
“Since we couldn’t dance at the party, shall we do that now, my lady?” he asked.
I smiled and nodded as I took his hand. Rough Draft pulled me close while holding my hand and putting his free hand on my waist while I placed my free hand on his shoulder. We slowly moved back and forth while soft jazz music played on the record player. I closed my eyes again as Rough Draft, and I rested our heads against each other, treasuring our romantic moment. I won’t speak for Rough Draft, but for me, that was one of the happiest moments of my life.
But while we were dancing, the sound of the music caught the attention of Granny Smith. I don’t know if she just happened to be walking down the hall or something, but I heard the sound of the door opening and a light lime green old woman saying, “Your Highness, what are you doing? It’s the middle of the - AAAHHH!!!”
Rough Draft and I stopped dancing and turned to see Granny Smith looking at us in shock. The room was silent apart from the record player still playing with Rough Draft and I not knowing what to do.
“Hey, Granny. This is Sunset, my girlfriend,” Rough Draft said with a nervous grin.
Granny Smith stood still for a second before she panicked and started screaming, “Guards! Guards!”
“No, Granny, wait!” Rough Draft called out.
But Granny Smith had already left the room, running down the halls as she screamed for the guards. I stood still, unable to believe we were caught before Rough Draft forced me to look at him.
“Sunset, you have to go,” he said.
“No, I don’t want to leave you,” I said.
“You have to go,” he repeated. “Get as far away as you can and hide. I’ll explain everything to my parents.”
“Explain what? That I’m a criminal?” I asked.
“That we’re in love,” Rough Draft said. “I’ll make them understand, and then I'll come find you. Just hide until it is safe.”
“How are you going to make them understand after we’re found out like this?” I asked.
“Trust me,” he said. “It’s going to be okay. Just go before the guards get here.”
I hesitated, not wanting to leave. After a few seconds, I decided to trust him before putting my hands on his cheeks and giving him a firm kiss.
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you too,” he said. “Now go! Run! Run!”
I took a moment to take one last look at the boy I love before I climbed down the balcony.
“I outran the security before they could begin to look for me,” Sunset answered. “Eventually, I went back to the shack when it was safe enough to go back. I waited for Rough Draft, hoping that he would find me there and tell me that everything was cleared up. I think deep down, I knew that it couldn’t be cleared up, but sixteen-year-old me wanted to hope. At the very least, I thought he would secretly come to the shack and tell me it didn't work out.”
“And I assume that’s not what happened?” Starlight asked.
Sunset sighed sadly and said, “No, it wasn’t. I waited until I needed to go to the city to buy more food for myself. I was wearing a hood to hide my face since there were plenty of guards there. But as I was buying my food, I overheard some of the villagers talking about Rough Draft. They said he was sent somewhere out of the country.”
“You mean like his parents sent him away somewhere as punishment for having a girl in his room or something?” Starlight asked.
“That’s what I figured,” Sunset said. “Needless to say, I was crushed.”
“I bet,” Starlight said. “And you didn't know where he went?”
“No one did,” Sunset answered. “As far as the villagers knew, his parents sent him to some private school to further his education or something like that. Ultimately, I left Everfree and began looking for him. Manehattan, Baltimare, Canterlot, Las Pegasus, basically, every place that had some expensive private school for teens from wealthy or high-class families.”
“Good grief. I would never have thought you’d go so far over some guy,” Starlight said.
Sunset looked down glumly and said, “Yeah, well, that’s how much he meant to me. But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find him. Eventually, I used up all of my money and lost hope. That’s when I went back to being a thief. There was just nothing else I could do but go back to the only thing I was ever good at and try to obtain my original goals. Eventually, I even figured out how to be a good con artist and to invent gadgets and use disguises before you and I met."
“Well, that much adds up since that’s the person I know you to be,” Starlight commented. “What about that necklace, though?”
Sunset lifted her head and reached under her shirt to reveal her rose necklace. Starlight stared at the jewel, as Sunset said, “I thought about going back on my promise and selling it as a way to move on, but I couldn’t do it. It’s all I have left of him and our time together. I wear it under my shirt so that no one can see it and maybe want to steal it from me.”
“I can understand that,” Starlight said. “We have made enemies that would want to get their hands on high-quality jewelry like that in the past.”
“We sure have,” Sunset agreed with a smirk as she put the necklace back under her shirt.
The two women became silent after that. Nothing was heard except the birds and the wind softly blowing. Then Starlight cleared her throat and said, "Well, that was a touching story and all, boss, but what does your prince charming have to with the Horse bills?"
Sunset turned to Castle Everfree and said, "Take a look at the bottom of the castle from the right side of the aqueduct."
Starlight stared at her friend before she curiously did what she was told. From the direction Sunset gave her, Starlight found a dock next to the aqueduct, and next to it was the steamboat that took Rough Draft away.
"Well, I'll be darned," Starlight said. "But what is he doing in there? You said that there's bad blood between the royal families."
Sunset frowned and looked at the giant castle worryingly as she said, "That's what I want to know. Rough Draft was taken to a place where I couldn't find him, and then ten years later, he's back in his homeland living with the queen, and his parents died in a fire that destroyed his home. It doesn't make any sense."
"You don't think he joined the queen with the counterfeit operations, do you?" Starlight asked.
"No. Rough Draft would never do that," Sunset said.
"How can you be sure?" Starlight questioned. "I don't want to upset you by talking bad about your ex, Sunset, but a lot can happen in ten years. Heck, if he was willing to have a secret romance with a thief, then he might not be against living with someone doing something so sinister."
"Rough Draft may have loved me enough to look past who I am, but he's too honest to sink into our level. I wouldn't have stopped stealing for him when we got together if he wasn't," Sunset countered. "Besides, it's pretty clear that those guys chasing him are working for the queen, so if Rough Draft was fine with living with someone making counterfeit money, then why was he running away?"
"Fair point," Starlight said before she gave Sunset a concerned look and asked, "So, I guess you wanna save him?"
"Yes, I do," Sunset said without missing a beat.
Starlight frowned disapprovingly and said, "Sunset, I get that you still care about this guy, but as your friend and partner, I gotta warn you not to let your emotions get in the way. We're here to take over the counterfeit operation and nothing else, remember? "
"It's not that simple, Starlight," Sunset said. "Even if I could put aside my feelings, we don't know what's going on inside that castle. If the last descendant of Queen Luna is living with the last descent of Queen Celestia unwillingly and Queen Adagio is willing to send armed men to keep him in her castle, then something else besides the Horse bills is amiss. We can't simply take the queen's operation when we don't even know what we're up against. Think of it this way; if Queen Adagio needs Rough Draft and his ring, we can use them against her."
"Hang on. What makes you so sure that the ring is important to her," Starlight asked.
"Why else would Rough Draft leave his family ring nicely folded inside the handkerchief he left on my head?" Sunset challenged.
Starlight scratched her chin in thought and said, "Well, he did leave it with you and then ran away when those guys in the boat were coming after him. I guess that means he knew that if he drew them away from you, they couldn't find out it's with you on top of probably killing you for aiding him while you're unconscious. Plus, since he knows you know about the ring, he probably trusts you to keep it away from his captors."
"Bingo," Sunset said.
"Okay, but how do you know Queen Adagio wants both the prince and his ring?" Starlight asked. "Maybe she only wants him there for the ring, and they only brought him back because they think he still has it."
Sunset opened her mouth to discredit Starlight again, but no words came out of her mouth. She looked down and put her hand on her chin, pondering on Starlight's argument. She thought for half a minute until her eyes lit up, and she snapped her fingers.
"You're right, Starlight. The only thing we know for sure is that she's after the ring," she admitted. "But even if we can't use Rough Draft against the queen, we can still use his ring."
"How do we do that?" Starlight asked.
"Simple. We use it as leverage," Sunset answered. "If it's as important to her as I think it is, we might be able to force her to back down so that we can take over her operations."
Starlight thought about it for a moment before she grinned and said, "Yeah, that might work."
"Plus, if Rough Draft is also essential to her plan, then that's all the more reason to rescue him," Sunset added. "Not only will we have both things she wants, but he might tell us her plan, and we can use that information against her."
Starlight's grin turned into a skeptical look as she said, "I think you're using that plan as an excuse to get your ex back."
Sunset hesitated and bashfully said, "Well, if he still feels that way about me, I wouldn't mind picking up where we left off, but even if he doesn't, I still care about his safety. Either way, we have a chance to blackmail a queen into letting us take over the greatest counterfeit scheme known to man."
Starlight kept looking at her friend suspiciously for a moment before she sighed and said, "Fine. If he's that important to you, we'll save the prince."
Sunset smiled brightly and pulled her purple friend into a hug, saying, "Thanks, Starlight. I knew I could count on you."
"Alright, alright, take it easy, boss. Save your thanks until after we pull this off," Starlight said as she pushed Sunset away. "So, what's our next move?"
Sunset hummed in thought before she said, "I think for now we should go to the city and find an inn to stay at. Maybe the locals have an idea of what's going on."
Starlight frowned and said, "Why do you think the locals would know what is going on if the queen is up to something sinister?"
"They might not know everything, but they might know bits and pieces. At the very least, we can learn more about who their ruler is," Sunset answered as she held up the ring and stared at it with a determined look. "One way or another, though, we're going to take Rough Draft and the counterfeit operation from Queen Adagio Dazzle."
While Sunset and Starlight went back to their car, a yellow and orange autogyro was flying high above them, making its way to a landing platform in one of the higher levels of Castle Everfree. Standing on the platform was a landing crew and a maid in her late teens. She had grayish pink skin, and grayish arctic blue and arctic blueish gray hair that was curled up in a way that made her look like a plastic doll. The landing crew guided the autogyro safely to the platform, and the pilot turned off the machine before using one of the crewmembers as a footstool as she got off.
The maid gave the pilot a bow before she walked beside the pilot and carefully took off the person’s scarf and goggles to reveal the beautiful pale apple green face of Queen Adagio. Her massive head of orange hair with a yellow streak went down to her waist as the maid took off her helmet. She walked toward the elevator with a stern look in her raspberry eyes. The maid took off the queen’s pilot clothes as she walked to reveal her royal suit that complimented Adagio’s slender figure.
“I’m disappointed in you, Cozy Glow,” Adagio said as she and the maid entered the elevator. “I thought your guards would know better than to be so careless.”
“I beg your forgiveness, Your Majesty,” the maid replied with her head down as she pressed the up button on the elevator.
“How could he have gotten away when you had the tailor shop guarding the entrance?” Adagio asked.
“When it was time for Prince Rough Draft to try on his suit, he asked the guards to leave the room,” Cozy Glow explained. “He then snuck out from the back door and took one of our cars.”
“Where is he now?” Adagio asked.
“He’s back in his room in the north tower,” Cozy Glow answered. “He’s been heavily sedated, so he’ll be asleep for several hours.”
“Good,” Adagio said. “Anything else?”
“Yes, my queen. Prince Rough Draft had help trying to escape by two foreigners,” Cozy Glow answered.
“Foreigners?” Adagio asked.
“Yes, my lady. Two women,” Cozy Glow said. “They took down one of our armored cars while assisting the prince. We do not know who they are or what precisely they look like, but they were driving a red slug bug.”
“Find them,” the queen ordered. “I want them disposed of by morning.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Cozy Glow said.
The elevator reached the top, and Adagio stepped out while Cozy Glow pressed the down button. The queen walked to the end of the hall, where a security man with grayish amber skin and moderate sapphire blue hair was standing in front of a door. The man gave the queen a bow before he stepped away and opened the door for her.
Adagio turned on the light switch next to the door to light up the room. It was a large, round chamber with a small window on the ceiling. A queen-sized bed stood at the center, and there was no other furniture apart from a chair standing next to the tall window on the other side. Lying down on the queen-sized bed with his tuxedo still on was Rough Draft. Adagio smirked as she walked to the bed and laid down next to the unconscious man, resting her head with her arm.
“You’ve been a very naughty boy, my dear,” she said as she stroked his cheek. “I was worried that something would happen to you. I know you’re scared, but it’s for the best. I promise.”
She continued to stroke Rough Draft's cheek while he lay there motionless. She then took his hand and held it close to her as she continued to speak.
"I can't wait for our wedding, you know," she said. "It's hard to believe it's only days away. Soon our families will be joined together as one, and you and I will rule our kingdom. You will be a king. The first king from the Lunar family in centuries."
She lifted her finger, revealing a golden ring with a yellow and orange sun as she said, "It's our destiny to be joined together in holy matrimony, Rough Draft. With our rings, we shall -"
At that moment, she turned to Rough Draft's hand and saw that his ring was not on his finger. She sat up and stared at the hand, terrified as though the ring was hers and someone had stolen it. She then turned to Rough Draft, and her blood boiled as she began to reach out toward her fiancé's throat with her hand half-closed. She stopped herself halfway, and her hand began to shake as she resisted the urge to choke the unconscious man. Adagio then turned away from Rough Draft and looked down in thought.
"The foreigners," she said to herself.
She got off the bed and stormed toward the bedroom door. The grayish amber man opened the door without Adagio needing to tell him to, and she growled, "Summon Cozy Glow! Tell her to meet me in my office!"
"Yes, Your Excellency," the man replied in a monotone voice.
Adagio walked back to the elevator, fuming as she pressed the down button. While the door on the elevator closed, the grayish amber man took out a walkie talkie and said, "Cozy Glow, report to the queen's office immediately."
"Understood," Cozy Glow replied with her walkie talkie.
But as the man put away his walkie talkie, his emotionless face turned into a look of suspicion. He looked around to make sure no one else was coming before he opened the door and went inside Rough Draft's room. The security man walked over to the prince's bed to examine the unconscious man. He then noticed Rough Draft's left hand and lifted it to him before raising his eyebrow, intrigued.
"So, that's why the queen's so cross," he said. "But, where in the world is that ring?"
It was late in the afternoon by the time Sunset and Starlight entered the city. But as they were driving, the streets were filled with people laughing, dancing, and drinking. Sunset had to continuously honk her horn so that people would let her pass. Eventually, Sunset managed to park in front of a nearby inn, and she and Starlight went in to find the place to be as crowded as the streets. The two of them looked at each other concerned before they walked over to a man behind the front desk. He was wearing a purple suit and had a dark orange mustache.
"Greetings, madames," the man said. "I am Monsieur Gustave. How can I help you?"
"Would you happen to have a two-story bedroom?" Sunset asked.
Gustave smiled and said, "You're in luck. We have one left."
"Well, that's a relief," Starlight said. "I was worried we'd have to sleep in our car or something."
"You probably wouldn't be the only ones," Gustave said. "It's incredible how much everyone is excited about the wedding."
The women looked at him, confused, and Sunset asked, "What wedding?"
Gustave gave Sunset a baffled look and said, "You're joking, right? I thought everyone was here for the wedding between Queen Adagio Dazzle and Prince Rough Draft."
At that moment, Sunset's heart stopped, and her pupils shrank. Starlight looked at her friend worryingly as the amber woman stood still like a statue. Gustave tilted his head as he looked at Sunset, finding her reaction to be strange. Starlight snapped her fingers in front of Sunset, and Sunset jumped and shook her head.
"Sorry," she said. "Why does the queen want to marry the prince?"
"I'm afraid I'm not entirely sure, madame," Gustave replied. "The two of them have never met up until a month ago, then suddenly the queen appears to be besotted by Prince Rough Draft. Next thing you know, the queen's officials have announced the wedding, and the whole country is going crazy over it. They say having the descendants of Queen Celesia and Queen Luna getting married will be the biggest moment in our history. That's why even foreigners are here to witness the occasion."
Sunset resisted the urge to show any anger in her face as she took in the information. Starlight glanced at her friend worryingly as Sunset's hands turned into balls of fists. But then Starlight glanced past her friend and noticed a gray bald man sitting on a chair over at the inn's lounge, pretending to be reading a newspaper. His eyes were fixed on the two women with a look in his eyes that made Starlight suspicious. Knowing that her friend was too focused on what might happen to the man she loved, Starlight cleared her throat and asked, "When's the wedding?"
"This Saturday night," Gustave answered.
"Saturday? But that's the whole week away," Starlight said. "Why is everyone celebrating this early?"
"Well, it's like I said. This wedding is going to be a big part of our history," Gustave replied. "As such, the town is holding a week-long festival to celebrate."
"I see," Starlight said. "In that case, we'll stay for five nights."
"Excellent, madame," Gustave replied with a smile.
With that, Starlight paid for the room, and Monsieur Gustave gave her a key. The purple woman then elbowed Sunset, snapping her out of her thoughts again, and they walked up the stairs. As they were going up the stairs, however, Starlight stopped and looked at the bald man, who folded his newspaper and left the building. The purple woman frowned before she caught up with Sunset, who unlocked the door to their room. Once they were both in and Sunset locked the door, her controlled demeanor turned into a fit of rage.
"Married?! She's planning to marry my Rough Draft?!" She growled. "I oughta rip her hair out for even thinking of that!"
"Easy, Sunset. Remember what I said about your emotions getting in the way," Starlight said calmly. "Don't forget the prince isn't 'your Rough Draft' anymore. You don't even know if he still feels that way about you."
"I know, but that doesn't stop me from being jealous," Sunset said. "Besides, this makes getting him out of there more important than ever if he also tried to escape to avoid marrying Queen Adagio."
"No argument there," Starlight said. "In any case, it looks like she wants both the prince and the ring. Either that or she's only marrying him to get the ring."
Sunset's look of fury turned into a look of realization. She raised her eyebrow and started pacing back and forth, deep in thought with her hands in her jacket pockets.
"I think you're right, Starlight," she said as she paced. "Monsieur Gustave did say that Rough Draft and the queen never met until recently, and then suddenly she's crazy about him, and they're engaged. If they get married, that would technically mean that the ring belongs to her."
"I guess that makes sense," Starlight said. "Though maybe she wants the prince to be her husband for political reasons too. If having the Celestial and Lunar families be reunited after centuries through marriage is as big of a deal as the town is making it, that would look good for her image. Heck, maybe she sincerely has the hots for him too."
Sunset stopped pacing and glared at her friend. Starlight waved her hands and said, "I'm just brainstorming, Sunset. I mean, you were talking about how cute your ex is, so I don't see why someone else wouldn't feel the same."
"If she does, then that just builds up my determination to get him out of there even more," Sunset said. "Rough Draft might not feel the way I still feel about him anymore, but I'd rather live with that than him getting married for his looks or someone's political image."
"I hear you," Starlight said. "Still, the only thing we know for sure is the queen wants the prince's ring. The question is, why? What makes it so essential that she would send guys in an armored car just for one ring?"
Sunset frowned and scratched her chin in thought as she said, "Good question, Starlight. It does seem strange to go all these lengths just for a ring. All Rough Draft told me about it was that it was passed down in his family for generations. I can't see Queen Adagio wanting the ring for any special reason unless…"
Sunset’s eyes widened, and she let out a sharp gasp. She reached into her pockets and took out Rough Draft’s ring and a monocular. Starlight watched curiously as Sunset inspected the ring with the small telescope. The amber woman studied it carefully until she saw ancient text surrounding the moon crest.
“There are letters in here,” she said. “Letters from the gothic alphabet.”
“Gothic alphabet? But that’s a dead language,” Starlight said. “Can you read it?”
“Yeah, I think I can,” Sunset replied. “It says, ‘When light and shadow are one once more, it shall surely be restored.’ There’s a date too. 1483.”
“1483? But that's over 500 years ago,” Starlight said.
“Not just that, but that’s roughly around the time the Celestial Family overpowered the Lunar family,” Sunset said.
Starlight hummed in thought and said, “I guess that means Prince Rough Draft’s ancestors made the ring after they lost their political power, huh?”
“It's possible,” Sunset said. “It’s strange, though. If light and shadow represent both families since they represent the sun and moon, respectively, it sounds like someone from that time wanted the families to be reunited someday."
"If that's so, then what's supposed to be restored?" Starlight asked. "Could it be that it's talking about restoring political power for the Lunar family? It was made when they lost their ability to rule the country. Maybe they were hoping that they'd get it back through marriage when relations between descendants are so distant that they could marry."
"Maybe," Sunset said. "But if that's true, then why is Queen Adagio the one forcing Rough Draft to marry her? It could be that she knows that there are inscriptions on it, but it seems a little too extreme to need to marry Rough Draft just for that. There has to be something else about Rough Draft's ring that's very important to her. Something that explains why she's taking all of these measures just to obtain the ring legally. Something that could be more valuable than any political or financial gain from the Horse Bills or marrying Rough Draft."
Sunset looked down and began pacing again, feeling more perplexed by the mystery. Starlight hummed, trying to brainstorm new theories until she remembered what she saw at the lounge.
"Speaking of which, there was something fishy while we were talking to Monsieur Gustave," she said. "There was this bald guy at the lounge who was acting suspiciously."
"How so?" Sunset asked, still pacing.
"He was pretending to be reading his newspaper when he was really looking at us," Starlight explained. "And he conveniently left the building while we were going upstairs."
Sunset stopped pacing and turned to her friend with a raised eyebrow.
"That does sound fishy," she agreed.
"Do you think he's a spy for the queen or something?" Starlight asked.
Sunset turned to the bedroom window where Castle Everfree could be seen with a suspicious glare and said, "Yes. It sounds like he was a spy. They know we're here, and they know we have the ring."
Later that night, the festival ended for the day. The moonlight was shining on the city, showing no soul outside on the streets. Some of the tourists were forced to sleep in their cars, just as Monsieur Gustave predicted. Others had camps set up in the grass outside of the city walls. Nothing but the sound of crickets in the distance was heard.
But up in the rooftops, six shadowy figures were jumping from building to building. They were clothed in black suits that covered their bodies from head to toe, hiding their faces. They wore iron gauntlets with pointy edges on the tip of their fingers, and they hunched as they moved, making them look like apes moving from tree to tree. Their movements were as quiet as a whisper as they made their way to the roof of Monsieur Gustave's inn.
The smallest of the shadows walked over to the skyline and carefully cut around it with its pointy fingers. It slowly removed the glass from the frame before the group jumped into a two-person bedroom. The shadowy figures scanned the area until they saw two lumps lying down on the beds. The blankets completely covered the bumps, and a loud snore could be heard from the bed on the left.
The shadowy figures looked at each other and nodded before they divided into groups of three and surrounded the beds. They straightened their hands so that the points in their fingers were aligned, and held them up for a moment before they started jabbing at the beds. The sound of iron bursting through the mattresses was heard as the group stabbed relentlessly.
When the figures were done, they checked to ensure there was no movement under the bed covers. They turned around to leave, satisfied with their work until they realized that there was still snoring coming from the bed on the left. The figures looked at each other in confusion before the one closest to the bed pulled the blanket to reveal a pile of torn pillows and a soundbox. The figures stared in shock before they removed the blanket from the other bed to find nothing but torn pillows.
The intruders looked at each other, unsure of what was going on. Then the smallest one noticed a medieval shield hanging on the wall. Behind the shield were parts of the wall that showed the shapes of an ax and a mace. The small figure's eyes widened before hearing the sound of two women yelling and charging into battle.
Sunset swung her mace at the figure closest to her, but the mysterious figure turned around just in time to block the weapon with its iron hand. The figure then made a jab for her head with its other hand, and she moved her head back just in time. The figure continued to jab at her while the figures closest to it joined the fight, forcing Sunset back.
Starlight didn't fare better as blades came from the side of the gauntlets from the figure she was attacking, and it used the edges to block her ax. It took a swing at her with one of its blades, and Starlight countered it before she took out her magnum. She fired the pistol at her opponent and then fired at its companions with a cocky grin. The bullets forced the figures to move back, but they were otherwise unfazed by Starlight's attack. The purple woman looked at them, confused until she saw metal behind the torn cloth where she shot her enemies.
"Seriously? They have bulletproof armor? That's just unfair," she complained.
Two more of the figures took out blades from their gauntlets as they ganged up on the thieves. Sunset and Starlight struggled to hold their ground as their enemies kept them on the defense. Before long, they were being forced back as the figures jabbed, clawed, and sliced at them.
"Looks like they were more prepared than we thought," Sunset said while dodging claws left and right. "Time for plan B."
"You got it, boss," Starlight said.
Sunset and Starlight jumped back before their opponents could attack again and quickly took out sunglasses from their jackets. They threw their weapons at the figures, distracting them long enough for Sunset to take out a flash bomb and a match. Before the attackers knew it, the amber woman had lit the bomb and thrust it into the ground, exploding in a blinding flash. The figures covered their eyes, while Sunset and Starlight burst through the two-story window and landed on top of their car below.
They quickly got inside the car through the sunroof, and Sunset turned on the ignition. The red slugs bug's engine stalled for a moment before it sputtered to life, and Sunset slammed on the gas pedal. But then, two figures recovered from the blast, jumped out the window and landed on top of the car.
"Oh, for Pete's sake! Knock it off!" Starlight growled.
She took a wrench from the back, opened the sunroof, stood up from her seat, and started hitting one of the attackers in the head repeatedly. The wrench didn't affect the figure's helmet, but it was all Starlight could do to keep it from attacking. The second figure crawled to the left side of the car and thrust its arm through the driver's window. It grabbed the driving wheel with its other hand and tried to force the car to spin out of control. Sunset struggled to keep control of the wheel until she moved the wheel left, making the car move close to the wall and start crushing the figure between the car and the wall. The enemy struggled until it let go of the car, the gauntlet grasping the wheel slipping out of its hand.
Starlight continued to hit her opponent with the wrench in vain as it held on to the roof. Then she noticed holes on the figure's helmet for its eyes, and she grinned and took out her gun again.
"Block this!" She shouted before putting a bullet through the person's eye.
The attacker's body went limp, and Starlight pulled its claws out of the car, causing the figure to fall off. The purple woman sat back down on her seat while Sunset removed the gauntlet holding the wheel.
"Gotta say, Sunset, this job is getting more and more exciting," Starlight said. "That said, having the ring might not be as big of an advantage as we thought."
"I agree," Sunset said. "Those guys were professional assassins. We're lucky that we got rid of them."
"So, what do we do now?" Starlight asked.
"First, we're going back to the Castle of Luna and hide there," Sunset said. "Then, we're going to make a call for equipment necessary for rescuing Rough Draft and dealing with anything Queen Adagio throws at us."
"Good idea," Starlight said. "Plus, they have no idea who they're messing with, which gives us an advantage."
"Uh, that's not entirely true," Sunset said.
"What do you mean?" Starlight asked.
Sunset looked away hesitantly and said, "I might have left a message on one of those guys reveals who I am to the queen."
Starlight raised her eyebrow suspiciously and asked, "What kind of message?"
Sunset paused for a moment, struggling to find the right response and she said, "Call it a declaration of war."
Meanwhile, back at Castle Everfree, Queen Adagio was in her office with one of her butlers. She was examining the latest prints of fake money through a large magnifying glass installed on her desk. The butler stood in front of the queen's desk, struggling to hide his unease with a professional look. Finally, Adagio put the bills down and moved the magnifying glass away from her to glare at the butler.
"These bills are horrendous," she said. "The printing is poorly aligned, the red and blue marks are in the wrong places, and you mixed the numbers with the ones for Mt. Aris doubloons. This is amateurish work."
"I apologize, Your Excellency," the butler said with a bow. "With all the orders we've received, it's hard to print everything in such a short amount of time."
"I don't want to hear your excuses," Adagio snarled. "You will do them again and have all of them ready for delivery on time."
The butler fought the urge to ask the queen to be reasonable before bowing again and saying, "Yes, Your Grace" before leaving the office with his head hung low. Adagio groaned as she shut her eyes, and rubbed the area between her eyes, irritated.
"First, Rough Draft tries to escape, his ring is gone, and now this," she grumbled.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Adagio commanded, "Enter" with her eyes still shut. The door opened to reveal one of the short shadowy figures entering the room with a straight posture. The figure took off its helmet to reveal itself to be Cozy Glow.
"Your Highness," she greeted with a bow.
Adagio opened her eyes and said, "Cozy Glow, you better have good news for me."
"I'm afraid not, Your Majesty," Cozy Glow said sadly. "I took five of my best Shadows with me, but the foreigners escaped."
"What?!" Adagio screamed, standing up from her chair. "How could two women escape with five of your deadliest assassins with you?"
"The women were smarter than we anticipated, My Queen," Cozy Glow replied. "They even severely injured one of my Shadows with their car and killed another by shooting him through the eye hole on his helmet."
Adagio raised her eyebrow and said, "Strange. First, they took down one of our armored cars and figured out how to kill one of your Shadows despite their impenetrable armor. Who are these women, and what is their agenda?"
"I will use all of my resources to find out, Your Highness," Cozy Glow claimed with another bow.
"See that you do," Adagio commanded. "I don't want to hear from you again until the ring is -"
Adagio stopped herself in mid-sentence and tilted her head. Cozy Glow lifted her head while still bowing, wondering why Adagio stopped talking.
"Cozy Glow, what's that stuck to your back?" Adagio asked.
The teenage maid stared at the queen, confused before she stood up and reached behind her back. She felt a piece of paper taped to her back, and she took it out, shocked that it was there without her noticing.
"It's a message for you, My Queen," she said.
"Read it," Adagio commanded.
Cozy Glow hesitated before she read out loud, "'I'm going to steal your groom away, Queen of the Horse Bills. You may use all you have to stop me, but no matter what you do Prince Rough Draft will be mine.'"
Adagio raised her eyebrow and asked, "Is that all?"
"No. There's a symbol at the bottom. I think it's one of the women's cutie marks," Cozy Glow replied.
"Let me see it," Adagio commanded.
The young maid walked over to the desk and handed the note to the queen. Adagio looked at it carefully until she saw a red and yellow sun at the bottom. She raised her eyebrow again as an amused smirk entered her face.
"Interesting," she said as she sat back down on her chair. "Who would have thought Sunset Shimmer of all people would be here?"
"You know this person, Your Highness?" Cozy Glow asked.
"I've heard of her," Adagio answered. "She's an incredibly skilled thief who has stolen countless money and other riches across various countries. Word is she recently robbed that idiot, Gladmane, in one of his casinos in Yakyakistan, which might explain how she knows about our secret."
"Do you think she's going to try something to our counterfeit operations?" Cozy Glow asked.
"I wouldn't rule out the possibility," Adagio said.
"You think she knows why you need the ring?" The maid asked.
"It's unlikely. No one outside of this castle knows about the mystery," Adagio said.
"Then she might use the prince and the ring against you for the counterfeit operation," Cozy Glow said.
Adagio frowned and said, "Maybe, but the note said she's going to make Rough Draft hers. That implies that she intends to keep him rather than use him against me."
"Why would she do that? You said she steals money and other sorts of riches, and the prince has no money left to his family's name," Cozy Glow said. "He possesses little value to a thief."
"True. If Sunset Shimmer is after him and not the counterfeit money or the secret behind the rings, then there's little reason for her to kidnap him," Adagio said. "Rough Draft is more valuable to me than some thief."
"At least until you get the ring, anyway," Cozy Glow said.
Adagio raised her eyebrow and asked, "Now, Cozy Glow, do you think I'm going to getting rid of Rough Draft after I've used the rings?"
"Er, well, he certainly wouldn’t be the first person you've taken care of after they have outlived their usefulness, Your Excellency," Cozy Glow said.
"Granted, but even if I wanted to dispose of him, it would be bad for publicity," Adagio said. "After all, my subjects are thrilled that the Celestial and Lunar families are going to be reunited as one. It would be suspicious if the last descendant of the less powerful family were to disappear after marrying the ruler of the land."
"That's true," Cozy Glow admitted.
"Besides, what's wrong with having a husband for the rest of my life?" Adagio challenged with a devilish smirk. "I have no desire to share my political power with Rough Draft, but he's a nice-looking man, and I will need him to produce an heir eventually."
"Touché, Your Majesty," Cozy Glow said. "Still, why does Sunset Shimmer want the prince?"
"I think it hardly matters," Adagio said as she lifted her hand to look at the golden ring on her finger. "Sunset Shimmer was stupid to reveal that she's here and what she wants from me. Now I know what to protect the most while the wedding is still days away, and more than likely, she will have the ring with her. No thief, however cunning and resourceful, can sneak their way to my castle and live. All we have to do is wait for her to come to us, and I will take the ring from her corpse."
Cozy Glow grinned, silently agreeing with her queen. Unknown to either of them, however, a pair of vivid cornflower blue eyes were watching through the eyeholes of a painting hanging on the wall next to Adagio’s desk. From the other side, the grayish amber security man took the information he had just heard with a perplexed look. He stepped away from his hiding spot on the other side of the wall and walked down the halls to an empty, dark room, making sure that no one was around. Once he knew that the coast was clear, he took out his walkie talkie, adjusted the radio frequency, and held the device close to his mouth.
“Canterlot 4 to base. Canterlot 4 to base. This is Agent Flash Sentry. Do you copy?” he asked.
“This is Commander Harshwhinny, Agent Sentry. I read you,” said a stern female voice. “Report.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Flash Sentry said. “I have been checking all the files that are hidden in various areas of the castle, but nothing reveals where the printing presses are. If I had to guess, it’s likely hidden somewhere underground, but I can’t say for sure.”
“Find those presses, Sentry,” Harshwhinny commanded. “Chancellor Neighsay is still breathing down my neck, trying to stop his investigation. I won’t fail to have the Everfree government found out just because that imbecile won’t see to reason.”
“Yes, Commander,” Flash said. “There are also a couple of new developments in the investigation that I think you should know about.”
“And that is?” Harshwhinny asked.
“The prince tried to escape earlier today,” Flash said. “He snuck out of the tailor shop where he was being fitted for his wedding tux. The queen’s men brought him back, but his family ring was not with him.”
“What? What happened to it?” Harshwhinny asked.
“Well, that’s where the second development comes in,” Sentry said. “Sunset Shimmer has it.”
“Sunset Shimmer? What the devil is that woman doing here in Everfree?” Harshwhinny asked.
“Unclear, Commander,” Flash replied. “The queen sent her assassins to kill her and another woman, most likely her colleague, Starlight Glimmer, but they escaped and attached a note to one of the assassins for the queen to read. It said that she is going to kidnap the prince.”
“Ah. I suppose she somehow knows about the counterfeit money and hopes she could hold the prince and his ring for ransom,” Harshwhinny said. “That’s plucky, even for her.”
“Actually, Commander, while she has established that she knows about the Horse Bills, it doesn’t sound like she wants the operation,” Flash said. “If anything, the message made it sound like she just wants the prince.”
The walkie talkie was silent for several seconds before Harshwhinny asked, “Are you sure? That doesn’t sound like your ex’s m.o., Sentry.”
“I agree, ma’am, but that’s the impression it left on the queen,” Flash said.
“And do you really think Shimmer is only here just for the prince?” Harshwhinny asked.
“Honestly, Commander, I can’t give you a definitive answer,” Flash said. “Between the queen's strange obsession for the rings and Sunset Shimmer suddenly in the picture, there are so many things that don't make sense. The only clear thing is Prince Rough Draft doesn't want to marry Queen Adagio, and she's going to do everything in her power to make sure he does."
The walkie talkie was silent again. Even though he couldn't see her, Flash knew his commander well enough to know that Harshwhinny was frustrated with the lack of factual information he had to give her. He waited for about a minute before Harshwhinny said, "Alright. If you find out anything else about Sunset Shimmer or Queen Adagio Dazzle's plan, contact me again. Until then, keep all of your attention on discovering the counterfeit operation. That is still your primary objective."
"Understood, Commander," Flash replied. "Over and out."
Flash turned off his walkie talkie and carefully opened the door to check if there was anyone out in the hall. Once he was sure that the coast was clear, he exited the room and began making his way back to his post in front of Rough Draft's room. He had a perplexed look on his face again and put his hand on his chin as he walked.
For the last two days, Sunset and Starlight have been hiding near the Castle of Luna. They decided to stay at the abandoned shack so that they wouldn't be noticed by Applejack, which suited Sunset fine. To her, it was like she was home for the first time in years. Starlight saw it as nothing but an old, creaking, dusty building, but she tolerated it as long as her friend was happy, and they had a safe place to figure out their next move.
Late afternoon on the second day, Starlight was napping on Sunset's old bed, and Sunset was sitting on a chair and spying on Castle Everfree through the side window with her binoculars. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door that instantly woke up Starlight. She turned to Sunset, who didn't seem to hear it before Starlight got out of bed and knocked on the door five times. The purple woman waited until she heard two more knocks, and opened the door to reveal the stone face of a tall woman with dark orchid skin, moderate opal eyes, and moderate rose hair that had lighter edges. She was dressed in black robes with a samurai sword strapped to her belt and was carrying two large black cases.
"Tempest, you made it here quick," Starlight said with a friendly grin. "Are those for us?"
She reached out to take one of the cases out of Tempest's hand, but the tall woman stepped back and gave Starlight a warning glare.
"Payment first, Glimmer," she said.
Starlight pouted before she took out her wallet and took out several thousand dollar bills. She traded the bills for the case in Tempest's right hand and carried it to the bed. When Starlight opened it, her face lit up, and her leg popped to see an anti-tank rifle. She let out a high-pitched giggle before she picked up the rifle and hugged it like a child with a brand new doll.
"I'm going to have so much fun with you," She chirped before kissing the rifle on the recoil reducer. "Let's see those baddies try to mess with us."
Tempest rolled her eyes before turning to Sunset, who was still looking through her binoculars, having not noticed that she was in the room. The dark orchid woman cleared her throat loudly, and Sunset turned her head to give her a smirk.
"Tempest Shadow. You're here earlier than we hoped," she said.
"Duly noted," Tempest said as she sat down on a chair next to Sunset's. "I don't usually travel so far from the Badlands just to deliver weapons, scuba suits, and disguises, Shimmer, but you said you'd make it worth my while."
"And I will," Sunset assured. "Tell me, Tempest, are you familiar with the legendary Horse Bills?"
Tempest raised her eyebrow and turned to Starlight, who was still hugging the rifle. Starlight smirked and nodded before Tempest turned back to Sunset and said, "I'm listening."
Sunset smirked and said, "Did you see the large castle on your way here?"
Tempest scoffed and said, "How could I not?"
"That's where the fake dough is coming from," Sunset said. "The ruler of the country is printing high-quality counterfeit money, and we're going to liberate it from her."
Tempest gave her a skeptical look and said, "And you need things like an anti-tank rifle to do that? That seems like overkill for a heist against the castle of a small country."
"Hey, don't let the wrapper fool you, Temp," Starlight said. "The first day we were here, we had to deal with an armored car full of guys with machine guns and grenades, and then these gorilla-ninja-assassin creeps tried to kill us with suits of armor."
Tempest looked at Starlight as though she spoke random gibberish.
"Are you trying to mess with me, Glimmer?" She asked.
"Believe me. I wish I was," Starlight replied. "I'm all for challenges when it comes to us becoming rich, but what they have against us is insane."
"I see," Tempest said. "So, how do you intend to take over?"
"We're gonna hold Sunset's ex-boyfriend, Prince Rough Draft, and his ring for ransom," Starlight said.
"Starlight!" Sunset shouted.
"Sunset's ex-boyfriend and his ring?" Tempest asked skeptically. "This isn't another big mess we have to deal with like with Flash Sentry, is it?"
"It's not like that," Sunset said. "I'm genuinely in love with Rough Draft, who I was separated from years ago, and I hope I can get back together with him."
Tempest looked at Sunset baffled and asked, "Who are you, and what have you done with Sunset Shimmer?"
"I know, right?" Starlight said. "Trust me. It was strange to hear her tell me all about how she's crazy about this guy she secretly dated way back when. She was going on about how they met and fell madly in love, and how she wants to rip the queen's head off just because she's engaged to him."
"I didn't say I want to rip her head off," Sunset said.
"Well, whatever it was that you said you were pissed," Starlight said with a wave of her hand.
Tempest frowned and said, "Okay, this is all fascinating, but what does this have to do with the Horse Bills?"
"Long story short, Queen Adagio Dazzle runs the counterfeit operation, she wants to marry Rough Draft to get his ring for some unknown reason, and we have the ring, which is why they tried to kill us," Sunset said. "Our first move is to sneak into the castle, rescue Rough Draft, who doesn't want to marry the queen, and find out where the counterfeit money is coming from with his help. If we do that and prove that her people are no match for us with our new equipment, then Queen Adagio will be at a point where she will do anything to get Rough Draft's ring, even giving the counterfeit operation to us."
"And let Sunset marry her fiance while at it," Starlight added.
"No. Let Rough Draft free," Sunset corrected with her cheeks heating up. "I'm not marrying my ex right after we just got back together."
"I don't know, boss. Your cheeks imply that you would like that," Starlight teased.
Sunset shook her face to try to get rid of her blush, but the deed was already done. Tempest chuckled with her mouth closed, amused with how her client was acting.
"So, on top of facing armored assassins, cars, and Lord knows what else to become filthy rich, we're going to rescue a prince, who is trapped inside a giant castle and has a romantic past with Shimmer," she said, smirking. "Sounds like a fairy tale where the ladies get all the action, and the dude is the damsel in distress that becomes the hero's prize. I like it."
Sunset glared at Tempest, disapproving of her talking about the man she loved like he was an object. She sighed, deciding to drop the matter and say, "Anyway, since it's going to be a three-person job, we're going to split the earnings into thirds."
Tempest frowned and said, "That means we each get thirty-three-point-thirty-three percent. What happens with the remaining point-zero-one percent?"
Sunset chuckled as though Tempest said a joke and said, "Well, I get that, of course. After all, I'm the leader and brains of this heist, so I should get a little bonus."
Tempest and Starlight looked at each other, disapprovingly before the former said, "That hardly sounds fair."
"Yeah, you may be the leader, but we should still roughly get a fair amount," Starlight said.
"Alright, if that's what you two are thinking, then what do you suggest?" Sunset asked.
Starlight scratched her chin in thought before she snapped her fingers and said with a devious grin, "I say we split the earnings thirty-five, thirty-five, and thirty with you getting the thirty."
"What? That's bullcrap!" Sunset shouted. "How in the world is that fair?"
"Because you technically already get a bonus by getting back together with your royal boyfriend," Starlight said. "Think about it, boss. The three of us are going to be super rich either way, but Tempest and I are going to be super rich and nothing else while you become super-rich and get a dashing prince to boot. Surely, having five percent less than us is nothing to cry about when you and your beloved Rough Draft get to spend all the time you want to…"
Starlight turned her back on her comrades and started rubbing her sides while making kissing noises and moaning. Tempest snorted out a snicker while Sunset's cheeks turned as red as half of her hair in embarrassment and frustration.
"Fine!" She barked. "But if Rough Draft and I don't get back together, we're splitting the money into thirds, and I get the remaining point-zero-one percent."
Starlight scoffed in amusement and said, "Whatever you say, Sunset."
Tempest hummed and gave a short nod, satisfied with the deal before she frowned and asked, "You know, this is all well and good, but do you even know what to expect inside the castle? They should have other forms of security besides just armored cars and assassins."
"I'm way ahead of you, Tempest," Sunset said with a boastful grin. "In fact, I should check to see if one special part of my plan has arrived yet."
Sunset went back to her seat and started spying on the castle again with her binoculars. Tempest and Starlight looked at each other, curious about what their leader was planning. After a moment, they heard Sunset let out a mischievous chuckle.
"There she is," she said.
"There who is?" Starlight asked.
"See for yourself," Sunset said as she stood up and handed the binoculars to Starlight.
The purple woman sat down on Sunset's seat and looked through the binoculars. She scanned the castle until she spotted a police car and two large trucks entering the castle through the front gate. The three vehicles stopped in the middle of the courtyard, and a couple dozen policemen came out from the back of the trucks. The front doors of the police car opened, and a purple man with spiky green hair and green eyes came out from the driver's seat. Starlight gasped in shock as a grayish mulberry woman with dark sapphire blue hair with moderate purple and brilliant raspberry streaks wearing glasses, a tan trench coat, and a white hat came out of the passenger seat. The woman was scanning the area with a determined look in her moderate violet eyes as she closed the door and started marching her way inside the building with the purple man following her.
"Crap. It's Sparkle and the Canterlot police," Starlight said fearfully.
"Sparkle as in Inspector Twilight Sparkle?" Tempest asked. "The woman who keeps trying to capture you guys?"
"Yup. That's her. Her brother, Lieutenant Spike, is there too," Starlight moaned. "Oh, why did they have to be here when we're about to get our biggest payday ever?"
"Hey, relax, Starlight. It's all part of the plan," Sunset said.
"What?! You brought them here?!" Starlight shouted.
"That's right," Sunset said. "I gave them an anonymous tip about my little note to the queen."
"Why on Earth would you do that?!" Starlight shouted.
"Oh, just wait and watch," Sunset said with a cocky smirk.
Back inside the castle, Adagio was in the dining hall, eating the most delicate fruit, bread, ham, and eggs money can buy. Cozy Glow was standing next to her, waiting on her queen while a group of butlers was standing beside the wall, ready to carry out whatever command their ruler would give regarding her meal. As she was sipping a cup of tea, the door opened, and a maid with light greenish-gray skin and moderate aquamarine hair entered the hall.
"Excuse me, Your Grace, but a force of the Canterlot police has arrived, and the leader and her second-in-command wishes to speak to you," she said.
Adagio raised her eyebrow as she put down her cup and said, "Very well. Send then in, Wallflower Blush."
Wallflower Blush gave the queen a bow before she opened the door, allowing Inspector Twilight Sparkle and her brother to come in. The two of them put their feet together and saluted Adagio before Twilight spoke.
"Sorry to interrupt your meal, Your Highness," Twilight said.
"I'm sure you are," Adagio said uncaringly. "Who are you?"
"My name is Inspector Twilight Sparkle of the Canterlot police, Your Majesty," Twilight replied. "And this is my second-in-command.
"Lieutenant Spike Sparkle, at your service, Your Highness," Spike greeted.
Cozy Glow covered her mouth to keep herself from laughing before whispering into Adagio's ear, "Spike Sparkle. Try saying that ten times fast, My Lady."
Adagio chuckled with her mouth closed before taking another sip of her tea. Spike glared at them for making fun of his name until Twilight elbowed his side
"What can I do for you, Inspector Sparkle?" Adagio asked.
Twilight cleared her throat and said, "We are in a special assignment to hunt down an international thief known as Sunset Shimmer."
"And that's a reason to interrupt my breakfast?" Adagio asked.
"I am telling you this because we have received a report that Sunset Shimmer has given you a note announcing that she is going to kidnap your fiance," Twilight said.
"So?" Adagio asked.
"We wish to protect you and aid your security in stopping her," Twilight said.
Adagio chuckled with her mouth closed again and said, "I think my security can handle an overconfident thief, inspector."
"With all due respect, Your Highness, Sunset Shimmer is not to be underestimated," Twilight said. "She is a criminal mastermind who has stolen from some of the most highly secure places in the world. If you're not careful, she will sneak up from under you and take what she wants before you know it."
"Oh, please. How can she do that when she's already given away that she wants to steal my groom?" Adagio asked.
"Because that's how she works, Your Majesty," Twilight said. "She reveals what she's going to steal, and then she does it before you can do anything to stop her. Recently, she stole from a national casino in Yakyakistan, publicly telling it to her audience before security could do anything."
"The security of a casino isn't the same as the security to the leader of a country, inspector," Adagio said.
"Fair point, Your Majesty, but even the homes of kings, queens, presidents, and chancellors have proven to be no match for Sunset Shimmer," Twilight said.
"And what makes you so sure you can protect my fiance when you haven't captured Sunset Shimmer already?" Adagio asked.
"Because I believe with my knowledge and the teamwork between my men and your security, we can catch her," Twilight replied.
Adagio stared at Twilight, unconvinced with her claim. Then she smirked and picked up a bell next to her plate. With a little ring, another door opened to reveal a tall, muscular man with red skin, and light indigoish gray hair and beard wearing gold armor. He marched into the hall with a stern look until he was standing next to Twilight and Spike. Spike felt a chill down his spine as the man glanced at him with a menacing look in his brilliant yellow eyes while waiting for orders.
"This is the captain of my royal guard, Tirek," Adagio introduced. "Tirek, this is Inspector Sparkle. You are to cooperate with her as she helps you protect the prince. Listen to any information she has regarding Sunset Shimmer."
"As you command, My Queen," Tirek said in a low voice.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Twilight said. "Also, if I may ask, do you have any idea why Sunset Shimmer would want to kidnap Prince Rough Draft? Any knowledge you have would be helpful."
"Why don't you tell me?" Adagio asked smugly. "You're the inspector, after all."
Twilight and Spike furrowed their brows before they saluted the queen again with Twilight saying, "Thank you for your time, Your Majesty." The two of them followed Tirek out of the hall while Adagio quietly went back to her meal.
"My Queen, are you sure letting the police stay here is a good idea?" Cozy Glow asked. "If we are not careful, they might suspect something."
"I wouldn't worry about it, Cozy Glow," Adagio said confidently. "I have an influential friend in Canterlot, so the inspector is not going to be staying here for long. Besides, I see no harm in gathering information that can be used to stop the person who wants to take my Rough Draft away from me."
Cozy Glow thought about it for a moment before she smirked, deciding to trust her mistress's devious mind.
As Adagio ate her breakfast, Tirek showed Twilight and Spike around the castle. Twilight looked around the area as she walked, thinking of ways that Sunset might sneak in. It seemed like there was no way that the thief could get in given the guards, butlers, and maids all over the castle, but the inspector experienced too much of Sunset's clever tricks to be convinced. It didn't help that Tirek was boasting about how secure the building was like many have before.
"We have thirty members of the royal guard all armed with swords and wearing the best armor there is," Tirek said. "Our maids and butlers are unarmed, but they know how to defend themselves through martial arts if necessary."
"Uh, that's all well and good, captain, but we're trying to stop a thief, not an assassination," Spike said.
Tirek scoffed at the policeman whose height only reached his chest and said, "Well, don't you feel smart for stating the obvious, you little pipsqueak?"
"Hey! Who are you calling a pipsqueak?!" Spike barked.
"Calm down, Spike," Twilight said before turning to Tirek. "He's right, though. Sunset Shimmer tends to find ways to sneak past security. She'll only use violence when stealing something if she wants the heist to be fun."
"Heh. Whatever you say, inspector," Tirek said uncaringly.
Twilight furrowed her brow at the captain, as the three of them entered the courtyard at the second level. The area appeared simple enough with green grass, cemented pathways, and rose bushes planted close to the wall. Twilight looked at how close the bushes were to the wall skeptically, thinking Sunset might climb up the wall and use the bushes to sneak her way inside. She took a step to get a better look until Tirek blocked her path with his thick arm.
"I wouldn't go any further if I were you," he said.
"And why's that?" Twilight asked.
Tirek thought about how to answer before he asked, "Do either of you have a pen or something like that I can use?"
"I do," Spike said as he took a pen out of his pocket.
Tirek took the pen and held it out so that the tip was just above the grass. Twilight and Spike watched in confusion until the end of the pen exploded with a pop. They jumped in alarm, and Tirek grinned, amused by their reaction.
"What in the world was that?!" Twilight asked.
"Laser guns," Tirek said. "They are hiding in the bushes. We have motion detectors that activate them. Anyone who goes farther than here will be dead before they've taken their first step. I suggest you let your officers know not to go wandering around if you know what's good for them."
Twilight and Spike stared at the remains of the pen, dumbfounded by this information. Tirek chuckled as he gave the pen back to Spike and said, "Let's move on." The siblings turned to each other and frowned as they walked behind Tirek.
"I don't like this, Twilight," Spike whispered. "Something is fishy."
"I agree, Spike," Twilight whispered back. "Maids and butlers knowing martial arts covering every hall and laser guns? This castle has very elaborate security. Too elaborate. Not even Canterlot Castle has security like this. There's no reason the castle of a small country like Everfree should have more security than some of the major countries in the world."
"But, isn't this a good thing?" Spike asked. "Maybe they have the right preventive measures to stop Sunset Shimmer."
"Maybe, but this still seems fishy," Twilight said. "The way Queen Adagio was acting mixed with this security makes it seem like she's hiding something, and somehow the prince is the key for Sunset Shimmer to get it. We might have to keep an eye out for Her Highness as well as Shimmer."
But while the two officers were following Tirek, Sunset was watching them with her binoculars from the shack with a devious grin.
"Laser guns, eh? Interesting," she said. "I knew I could count on our old buddy, Twilight."
"Ah, so that's why you got Sparkle into the picture," Tempest said.
"Of course," Sunset said. "Twilight always inspects whatever place we're going to break into to find out what security it has. That's what makes it so hilariously ironic that she's helping us find out what we're up against by spying on her."
"Heh. Trick your enemies into helping you with your heist. I like the way you think, Shimmer," Tempest said.
"But, how will we sneak in and get the prince when we have all of that security and Sparkle to worry about?" Starlight asked. "That might be too much for us to handle."
"Possibly," Sunset admits. "The queen's security is nothing like what we've faced before. Heck, there wasn't anything like motion detectors or lasers when I tried to break in last time. Having said that, I have a few ideas starting with how we're going to get in."
"And that would be?" Tempest questioned.
"The aqueduct," Sunset said.
"The aqueduct?" Starlight asked.
"The lake up here in Rough Draft's family garden flows into a tunnel underneath the clocktower that leads to the aqueduct. That's how the castle gets its water supply," Sunset explained. "With the scuba diving gear Tempest brought us, we're going to swim our way inside the aqueduct into the windmill on the other side. That's how we'll get to the castle grounds. From there, we're going to take advantage of the fact that the Sparkle siblings are here and disguise themselves as them."
"Oh, I see. With the Canterlot police aiding the security, no one would question why Inspector Twilight and Lieutenant Spike are wandering around the castle," Starlight said.
"Or why they would go to where Rough Draft is since everyone inside knows he's the target," Sunset added.
"Hmmm. That sounds all well and clever, Shimmer, but how do you plan to leave with the prince?" Tempest asked.
"Uh, I haven't figured that out yet," Sunset admitted. "More than likely, they'll be holding him in one of the towers. Worst case scenario, we'll break a window in his room, use my grappling gun to safely take us down to the rooftops on the lower levels of the castle, and basically walk on the roofs back to the windmill and then walk back here on top of the aqueduct."
"I say that's risky, but that's nothing new when working with you, boss," Starlight said.
Sunset smirked at her friend before Tempest asked, "So, what am I doing?"
"You're going to be the lookout," Sunset answered. "If anything goes wrong, you're going to be the person we contact for help. We might be fighting our way to escape, so we'll look to you to come to our aid, sword ready."
Tempest frowned and said, "That's an insulting waste of my talents, but if that's what I need to do to get my thirty-five percent, then I'll do it."
"Excellent," Sunset said. "We'll begin the operation at ten tonight. Let's take that time to set up and rest before then."
"Sounds good, boss," Starlight said.
"Very well," Tempest said.
With that, Starlight opened the other case and started taking out the scuba gear and disguises while Tempest decided to take a nap while still on her chair. As her comrades were getting ready, Sunset turned to look at the castle again through the window. She took out her rose necklace from under her shirt and held it close to her as she looked at the towers where her beloved could be.
"Hang on, Rough Draft," she whispered. "I'm coming."
It was five minutes until ten at night. The moon was shining brightly again, and the town was asleep. But over at the Lunar property, Sunset and Starlight were getting into their scuba diving suits while Tempest kept watch at the top of the tunnel. Starlight had her anti-tank rifle put inside a waterproof bag that she strapped to her back while Sunset had a backpack that contained their disguises. The two of them got into the water, which went up to their chests, and Sunset loosened one of the bars blocking the tunnel before looking up at Tempest.
"Alright, ladies, it's time to get the show on the road," she announced. "Tempest, I'm counting on you to be ready for anything."
"Understood," Tempest said. "But since I'll be all the way here, I must ask: how do I know if you two have died while breaking in?"
"Er, just give us a couple of days," Sunset said with a shrug.
"A couple of days?" Starlight questioned.
"Hey, you never know," Sunset said.
Tempest thought about it before she hummed with her mouth closed and said, "Very well. I hope you don't waste so much of my time by making me wait to make sure that you died."
"Yeah, well, at least you'll have the money you earned for bringing our equipment," Sunset said.
"That isn't reassuring, Shimmer," Tempest said.
"No, I guess not," Sunset said. "Anyway, ready to go, Starlight?"
"I'm right behind you, boss," Starlight replied.
"Alright, then let's go," Sunset said.
Sunset gave Tempest a salute, who responded with a nod before the amber woman went through the gap in the bars, followed by Starlight. They walked carefully into the dark tunnel until they heard the sound of water falling. The two of them moved close to the wall as they looked down to find that the water was sliding down a long slope leading to under the clock tower.
"This is it," Sunset said. "We're swimming underwater all the way to the windmill from here."
The two of them put their regulators in their mouths and slid down the slope belly down with Sunset leading. When they reached the bottom, they started swimming further into the tunnel. Neither of them could see where they were going because the area was pitch black, so they were forced to trust the current. Eventually, they spotted a light on the other side and swam towards it, knowing they were heading in the right direction. They came out of the tunnel and saw that they were below the many gears inside the clocktower.
But as they went further down the stream, they looked ahead, and their eyes widened, realizing they were heading to a waterfall. Starlight swam to the side and grabbed a small gap between the bricks, but Sunset wasn't so quick. She turned around and moved her arms and legs as fast as she could, but that only delayed the inevitable as she moved closer to the edge. Starlight could do nothing but watch as Sunset went down the waterfall.
Sunset looked down as she fell, and her eyes widened with horror to find that she was falling toward the area between two moving gears. She quickly moved to the side of the waterfall before she could be crushed between them only to fall into the gap between two other gears. She slid down from one gap between gears to another, keeping her body straight, and her head turned to the side to barely fit into the right spaces. Finally, she made her way to the bottom and found another dark tunnel on the other side. Realizing the tunnel was leading the way through the aqueduct, Sunset swam towards that direction, hoping that she didn't have to worry about being crushed the rest of the way.
Back in the castle grounds, Twilight was keeping a watchful eye around the area. Her officers were back in their trucks, eating instant noodles before starting their patrol around the castle. The grayish mulberry woman scanned the castle's second-level courtyard as best as she could without getting hit by the lasers, but she couldn't think of a way Sunset could get inside the castle without getting killed. It didn't help that she still had the unsettled feeling that Adagio was up to something. She wished there was a way to find out what the queen was hiding.
"Twilight?"
Twilight snapped out of her train of thought and turned around to see Spike walking over to her, carrying two cups of instant noodles and chopsticks. Spike gave his sister a worried look and handed one of the cups and a pair of chopsticks to her as he said, "You're doing it again."
"Doing what?" Twilight asked.
"You know what," Spike said. "You're getting worked up about whether or not we will catch Sunset Shimmer this time."
Twilight sighed and asked, "Can you blame me, Spike? We've been trying to catch her for years, and every time we think we can catch her, she finds a way to outwit us. I want to think she's going to fail with all of this security, but I'm almost positive that she will find a weakness. There has to be a way that we can discover a flaw and stop her before she uses it."
"Well, you're not going to find out on an empty stomach," Spike said as he took out the lid to his cup.
Twilight smiled and said, "You're right, Spike," before she opened her cup and separated her chopsticks. The two siblings ate in silence, with Twilight still scanning the area as she slurped her noodles. Spike finished his cup first before deciding to strike a conversation.
"By the way, I called Rarity while I was heating the water for our noodles," he said.
"Oh, dear. What did you tell her?" Twilight asked.
"Just that she has nothing to worry about," Spike said. "I explained how tight the security is and why Sunset Shimmer isn't going to break in guns blazing this time. That seemed to assure her that nothing bad is going to happen."
"Good," Twilight said. "Is there a message for me?"
Spike smirked and said, "Just the usual warning: 'not a scratch, Twilight Sparkle. Not one scratch on my Spikey-Wikey."
"Seriously?" Twilight asked. "I get that she worries about you every time we're on an assignment outside of Canterlot, but you'd think she'd worry about her sister-in-law's wellbeing once in a while."
Spike chuckled and said, "What can I say? I'm very precious to my wife."
Twilight groaned and rolled her eyes before going back to her noodles. As she lifted her head to drink the remaining contents of her dinner, however, she noticed the windmill and stopped drinking in mid-slurp. Spike looked at his sister curiously as Twilight raised her eyebrow.
"What is it?" Spike asked.
"That windmill," Twilight said. "Do you know if that's used for anything?"
"Yeah, I heard from one of the guards that they use it to retrieve water from the river using the aqueduct," Spike said.
"Where does the water go from the windmill?" Twilight asked.
"It leads to a fountain up the third level," Spike answered.
Twilight frowned and asked, "Do they have any security there?"
"Huh? Why would they have security for a windmill?" Spike asked. "You'd have to be silly to think someone would install lasers or something to guard an -"
Twilight and Spike's eyes widened as it hit them. They dropped their chopsticks and cups and raced to the nearest staircase to the third level. They looked around until they found a fountain in the third-level courtyard. At the center of the fountain was a statue of a lion with water coming out of its mouth. Twilight and Spike looked at each other and nodded before they walked to opposite sides of the fountain. They stepped into the water and slowly walked to both sides of the statue before leaning in to look inside the mouth.
But while they were looking at the mouth of the statue, a police officer with white skin and navy blue hair ran over to them, panting before he saluted Twilight.
"Inspector, Derpy just received a call from Chancellor Neighsay," he said. "We are to withdraw and head back to Canterlot at once."
"What?!" Twilight screamed. "We're in the middle of trying to nab Sunset Shimmer! Why in the world does he want us to withdraw?"
"I don't know, ma'am," the officer replied.
Twilight groaned and said, "Come on. Let's get to the bottom of this."
The inspector and the lieutenant got out of the water and marched out of the courtyard, the officer following behind. For several seconds the area was quiet apart from the sound of water coming out of the statue's mouth. Then two amber hands came out of the mouth and pulled up for Sunset to slip out. She fell into the fountain and took a moment to ease up, relieved that she wasn't trapped inside the statue anymore before she stood up and took the regulator out of her mouth.
"Man, that was close," she whispered to herself. "Twilight's getting smarter."
Sunset ran to a wall covered in shadow and took off her scuba gear. She then opened her backpack and took out the same clothes Twilight was wearing, a wig, and a makeup kit, and started covering her face in grayish mulberry makeup. As she was putting on her disguise, she noticed Starlight's disguise as Spike still inside her backpack and wondered what happened to her friend.
Back at the property of the Lunar family, Tempest was on top of the wall next to the clocktower. She rested her head with her arms, already bored from keeping watch. Minute by minute, she grew eager to find out that Sunset and Starlight needed her help so that she could run on top of the aqueduct to the castle and start mercilessly cutting people down with her sword.
As Tempest dreamed for action, she heard the sound of someone coming out of the tunnel. She raised her eyebrow as she stood up and grasped the handle of her sword. The dark orchid woman waited until the person came out of the tunnel to draw her sword, jump into the water, and point her weapon at the unknown person.
"Whoa, whoa, easy! It's just me!" Starlight shouted, waving her hands in defense.
Tempest looked at Starlight, confused, and asked, "Where's Shimmer?"
"We got separated," Starlight said. "We were riding the current to the clocktower, but there was a waterfall, and Sunset fell in. I had to use the gaps between the bricks to climb my way back here."
"So, she's dead?" Tempest asked.
"I hope not," Starlight said. "There was no other direction the water could have gone that led to the aqueduct, so maybe she went the right way."
"Maybe isn't good enough," Tempest said. "Is there any way we can find out for sure?"
"I tried getting out of the water to look, but there are laser guns inside the clock tower, too," Starlight said.
"That's not good," Tempest said. "What do we do now?"
Starlight sighed and said, "I guess we're just gonna have to wait and hope she made it."
Tempest frowned and said, "I'm already bored from keeping watch for thirty minutes. Do you seriously expect me to wait a whole day or two for someone who might already be dead?"
"Tempest, if there's one thing I've learned about Sunset, it's that she's hard to kill," Starlight said. "With any luck, she's in the castle and is already using her disguise to get the prince. She'll figure something out."
"You better be right, Glimmer," Tempest said. "I didn't come all this way for a job that fails as soon as it began."
Starlight frowned and turned to the tunnel while Tempest was getting out of the water.
Back in the castle grounds, Twilight, Spike, and the white officer walked back to where the police trucks and Spike's car were. One of the officers, a gray woman with sapphire bluish-gray skin, grayish apple green hair and crossed moderate gamboge eyes, was carrying a large pack strapped to her back with a phone attached. The officer looked at Twilight, concerned as the inspector took the phone from her hand and held it up to her ear.
"This is Inspector Sparkle. What's the meaning of this?" She asked. "What? But chancellor, we have solid evidence that Sunset Shimmer is attempting to kidnap the prince. She said what? That's not true! But she permitted us to help her stop Shimmer. I don't care what she said. If she underestimates Sunset Shimmer, she wi - Hello? Hello? Augh!"
Twilight slammed the phone on the slot in the pack, frustrated. Spike and the officers looked at each other, concerned before the lieutenant asked, "What did the chancellor say?"
"He said Queen Adagio requested that we pull back, claiming that we insulted her by saying she has poor security," Twilight said.
"That's ridiculous. We never said anything like that," Spike said.
"That's what I told him," Twilight said. "Chancellor Neighsay also said that the queen was crying hysterically when she called him."
Spike frowned and said, "That doesn't sound anything like how she acted when we talked to her. Do you think she manipulated the chancellor to order us to leave?"
Twilight frowned and looked up at the castle with a suspicious glare, saying, "Yes, I do. This raises my suspicions that Queen Adagio is hiding something she doesn't want us to know about."
"What are we going to do?" Spike asked.
Twilight hummed in thought before she turned to her officers and ordered, "Derpy, tell everyone to get their gears ready and await further instructions."
"Yes, ma'am," the gray woman named Derpy replied.
"Spike, come with me," Twilight said.
"You got it, sis," Spike replied.
The two siblings marched their way back up the stairs to the main entrance of the castle. Unknown to them, however, Sunset was hiding behind the bushes next to the staircase. Her face and hands were covered in grayish mulberry makeup, and she had violet contact lenses in her eyes. She was dressed in Twilight's clothes and wearing a wig of the inspector's hair. The thief in disguise grinned as she quietly followed the police behind the bushes.
When Twilight and Spike made it to the top, two guards were standing on opposite sides of the entrance holding spears while Tirek and a couple dozen other guards stood behind them. Twilight marched ahead of her brother toward the entrance only for the guards to block her with their spears.
"I demand to see the queen at once," Twilight said.
"I'm sorry, but Her Majesty has strict instructions not to allow you or any of your police officers past this point," Tirek said with a smug grin.
"But Sunset Shimmer could be sneaking her way into this castle any moment," Twilight said. "How do you expect to stop her without help?"
"I don't," Tirek replied. "You were ordered to leave, Inspector. I suggest you do it."
"How did you know about that?" Spike asked.
Tirek turned to Spike and mockingly said, "Why do you think the mighty royal guards need help from little pipsqueaks to do their job?"
Spike grinded his teeth and marched toward the muscular man only for Twilight to force him back with her arm.
"Take it easy, Spike. He's not worth it," Twilight said. "It's obvious the captain relies too much on his muscles than his brains. It's no wonder he can't say insults worse than what a nine-year-old boy can think of."
Tirek frowned and asked, "Are you saying I'm dumb?"
"I didn't use the word 'dumb,'" Twilight taunted while smirking. "But if you're wondering if you are, it would explain why you think you need brawn over brains to capture a thief."
Spike snickered while Tirek grew angry and growled, "My men and I are the only security Queen Adagio needs. You're just a puny woman trying to act tough when you have never caught this Sunset Shimmer."
"True, but I'm smart enough to learn from my mistakes, and I've worked together with security from other castles. And do you know what they have in common? They're all smarter than you," Twilight countered. "They had brains as well as brawn to do their jobs. You? You probably rely on your sword and muscles so much that you can't even stop a teeny tiny mouse from entering the castle. In fact, I bet the teeny tiny mouse can do better at capturing Sunset Shimmer than you."
At this point, Spike was laughing out loud, and Sunset was covering her mouth to keep her enemies from hearing her laugh. Even Tirek's men were struggling to keep straight faces. Twilight crossed her arms and gave the captain of the guard a smug look as a way of saying, "Your move." Tirek's anger grew, and he barked, "Enough! I want you out of the castle grounds, and I want you out now!"
Twilight and Spike looked at each other, satisfied with the former's work before Twilight said, "Yes, I think we've overstayed our welcome. But, if Sunset Shimmer kidnaps the prince and the queen blames you for it, don't say we didn't try to help you."
With that, the siblings saluted the captain and started walking down the staircase. As they walked down, Sunset saw Spike looking back to see Tirek still annoyed and then turned to his sister, saying, "Thanks."
"Hey, I wasn't going to let him talk to my little brother like that," Twilight said. "Besides, you wouldn't have helped things if you tried to attack him."
"Yeah, I guess not," Spike said. "But, what do we do now? They might fail to stop Sunset Shimmer even with their tight security."
Twilight frowned and said, "We'll think of something. Hopefully, if she does, that will teach Queen Adagio for getting rid of us. But, if Sunset Shimmer does kidnap the prince, I hope she doesn't harm him."
"Heh. If only you knew about me and my baby, Twilight," Sunset whispered before looking back up the stairs with a mischievous grin. "So, the captain of the guard has a quick temper, eh? I think I can work around that."
She waited until Twilight and Spike were far enough down the steps to come out of her hiding place. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to get into character before running up the stairs, panting as though she had been running up the entire staircase. Tirek was turning around before he heard the thief climb up, and the two guards in front of him blocked the entrance again. When Sunset reached the top of the stairs, she got on her knees, pretending to be out of breath before looking up at Tirek.
"Were my brother and I here just now?" She asked.
"Yes, And I told you both to leave," Tirek growled.
"You imbecile! Those were Sunset Shimmer and her partner, Starlight Glimmer, in disguise!" Sunset shouted. "They were trying to sneak in, you big brute!"
Tirek and his men looked at Sunset, confused before the captain frowned and said, "You're just trying to get in to see the queen."
"Oh, come on! It's so obviously, not us!" Sunset rebuked. "Can't you tell how Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer sounded different from us? That wasn't even one of their best disguises! Why, I know security guards, who couldn't make it past third grade who could figure out that that was them!"
Tirek and his men stared at her, shocked by her claims. The captain of the guard began to grow angry again as he started to believe Sunset. The amber woman in disguise resisted the urge to grin over the fact that she had Tirek right where she wanted him.
"What's the matter, you brainless ape?! Are you going to let them get away?!" She mocked. "What if the queen finds out?! She'll probably want your head! On second thought, she probably wouldn't want your head because there's nothing inside! She'll probably just have you shot dead and be done with it! You must be so dumb that your mother turns in her grave regularly for giving birth to such a witless oaf! Now you and your men better go after those two right now before I tell the queen about how worthless her royal guard is!"
By this point, Tirek's already red face turned barn red, and even his guards were furious that they supposedly had been tricked. With bloodthirsty cries, Tirek and his men drew their swords and charged down the steps. Sunset backed away with an amused smirk as the entire royal guard passed by her. It wasn't long before Twilight and Spike, who were close to the bottom of the staircase, turned around to find Tirek and her men running toward them.
"You won't get away from us, Sunset Shimmer!" Tirek screamed.
"Sunset Shimmer?!" Twilight asked. "What are you talking about?!"
But instead of a response, Tirek let out another war cry, aiming his sword at Twilight as he ran down the stairs. It took a moment before Twilight and Spike realized that Tirek thought the inspector is Sunset in disguise and began running down the stairs for their lives.
"Officers, help!" Spike cried out as they ran.
The squadron on the ground floor heard the lieutenant and looked in shock to see the royal guard chasing their superiors. They quickly grabbed their clubs and ballistic shields and charged up the stairs to meet Tirek and his men. The two forces clashed into each other with the police surrounding Twilight and Spike. Tirek and his men were hitting the police's shields to no effect while the police tried to force the guards back.
"What in the world is with them?" Twilight asked. "I'm not Sunset Shimmer."
"I don't know," Spike said. "They couldn't possibly mistake any of us for her unless…"
At that moment, Twilight and Spike looked past the guards to find Sunset watching at the top of the stairs, still disguised as the inspector. Sunset could see the two of them while the police and guards were fighting, and she lowered her bottom eyelid and stuck her tongue out at them. Twilight and Spike clenched their teeth as the thief turned around and walked toward the main entrance.
"Hey! Sunset Shimmer is up there! She's disguised as Twilight!" Spike shouted.
"I'm not falling for your tricks again, Starlight Glimmer!" Tirek roared.
Spike frowned and turned to his older sister, asking, "What do we do now?"
Twilight thought about it and said, "I'll just have to sneak away and grab her myself."
"Are you sure you can do that?" Spike asked. "Let me go with you."
"No. Stay with the squad. They need you to lead them in my absence," Twilight commanded. "Just distract Tirek long enough for me to get through."
Spike's frown deepened, not wanting his older sister to chase Sunset alone. He sighed in defeat and said, "Be careful, okay?"
"You too," Twilight said with a smile. "Please don't get a scratch so that Rarity doesn't kill me."
"I'll do my best," Spike said with a chuckle.
The two siblings gave each other one last look before Twilight went down on her knees, and Spike turned to Tirek. The captain was slamming his sword against one of the officer's shields as Spike scooted his way to stand behind the officer.
"Hey, big, tall, and stupid! Not so tough with your muscles and pretty sword, are you?" He mocked. "You guys aren't doing anything to our shields!"
Tirek's face turned from barn red to mahogany, and he screamed, "I'm going to make you wish you never stepped into the compound, Starlight Glimmer!"
"Joke's on you! I'm not Starlight Glimmer!" Spike teased.
As the police and guards tried to push the other back, Twilight crawled on all fours, carefully making her way through the guards who were too focused on the fight to notice her. When she made it out, she stood up and ran up the stairs, taking out a pair of handcuffs as she ran.
Back up the staircase, Sunset walked over to the front doors and pressed her ear against one of them. When it didn't sound like anyone was on the other side, she carefully opened the door and found a bust of Adagio standing on a white column several feet from the entrance. Sunset looked at the statue suspiciously and carefully placed her foot inside. The floor seemed stable, but there was something about it that didn't feel right.
"Sunset Shimmer!"
Sunset jumped and turned around in shock to find Twilight at the top of the staircase. The grayish mulberry inspector held up her pair of handcuffs and charged at the thief, shouting, "You're not getting away this time, Shimmer!" But just as the inspector pounced, Sunset moved away, causing Twilight to run past her and burst through the doors. Twilight had a second to regain her balance before the floor suddenly opened beneath her. Sunset watched as Twilight fell down the hole, screaming before the floor closed up.
Sunset stared at the floor, surprised until she heard the sound of someone opening a door. She quickly closed the entrance door on the right and left the left door open just enough to see Cozy Glow open a hidden door on the wall. She walked to the head statue of Adagio, where a photo of Twilight falling into the trapdoor came out of its mouth. Cozy Glow chuckled with her mouth closed as she took the picture out of the statue's mouth and turned the head of the statue to face the wall.
"That stupid four eyes. She should have left when she had the chance," the teenager said before she frowned and looked at the entrance. "But, what are Tirek and his men doing away from their post?"
Sunset quickly moved to the side as Cozy Glow opened the doors and started walking down the steps. The amber woman waited until the maid was far enough down the steps to open the doors and quietly come inside the room. She walked over to the statue and inspected it before a devious smirk entered her face.
"I see. If the statue is facing the door, anyone who enters the room will fall into the trap, but if it's facing the wall, they'll be fine," she said to herself. "I think I have time for a little fun with this."
Sunset walked behind the statue and turned its head to face the door again before putting her wig and hat on top of it. She then took off her costume, took the violet contact lenses out of her eyes, and started using makeup remover to remove the grayish mulberry makeup on her face and hands to pass the time. She had finished removing the makeup on her face and left hand when she heard the sound of two people walking toward the entrance on the other side.
"I can't believe you let the inspector get inside!" Cozy Glow rebuked. "You're lucky she fell into the trap."
"I wish both she and brother fell in," Tirek growled. "I'm going to strangle that pee-wee if I get another chance."
"It's no use grumbling about it now, you buffoon," Cozy Glow said as she opens the doors. "We need to get back before Sunset Shim -"
The maid and the captain froze in place, and their eyes widened as they saw the bust facing them with the wig and hat on top of it. Sunset Shimmer turned to them while using the makeup remover on her right hand and gave them a smug look as she waved her hand and said, "Buh-bye," in a singing voice. The trap door opened, and Tirek and Cozy Glow screamed as they fell into the hole while Sunset laughed out loud.
"Mental note: thank the queen for the opportunity to pull that prank on those two," she said as she finished removing the makeup and started walking down the hall. "And now to find my Rough Draft."
On one of the higher levels of Castle Everfree, Flash was inside a dark drawing-room. He had opened a safe behind a painting on the wall and started looking through the files. But no matter what he found, there was nothing that gave a hint as to where the Horse Bills were coming from.
Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He let out a gasp and froze in place, worried that he had been caught by one of the queen's people. He tried to think of a way to escape until he heard a familiar voice whispering in his ear.
"You're cute whenever you break into a safe. You know that, Flash?" Sunset said.
"Sunset?" Flash asked, shocked as he turned around to see the amber thief. "I can't believe you made it up here."
"Aw! Is that all you have to say after two years? I'm heartbroken," Sunset said with a playful pout.
Flash frowned and said, "Drop the act, Sunset. I know you're only here for the prince."
"Oh, you know about my little message?" Sunset asked.
"I do," Flash said, crossing his arms. "Why are you trying to kidnap the prince?"
"Kidnap?" Sunset asked, pretending to be offended. "That's such a naughty word. I prefer the term ‘dashing rescue.’"
Flash raised his eyebrow and said, "Seriously, Sunset, why are you going after the prince?"
Sunset smirked and raised her eyebrow as she asked, "Why do you ask? Are you jealous?"
"Should I be?" Flash asked.
"Extremely," Sunset replied.
"Why?" Flash asked.
"Let me put it this way,” Sunset said as she reached under her shirt and took out her rose necklace. “You've always wondered where this came from, right?"
Flash stared at the necklace, taken aback. He looked up at Sunset, who gave him a serious look and a nod to confirm what he was thinking. Flash frowned as moments between him and Sunset in the past became clear just by looking at the necklace.
"I see," he said. "So, you're really here just for him?"
"I am," Sunset answered.
"Then, you're not here for the counterfeit money?" Flash asked.
"Oh, I’m here for that too, but I'm not going to try anything until Rough Draft is free," Sunset replied.
Flash hesitated and said, "Well, I'm here to find where the queen is printing the fake money. If I tell you where the prince is, will you not interfere with my job?"
"We'll see," Sunset said.
Flash frowned before he sighed, knowing Sunset well enough to know that was the best deal he was going to get.
"Fine," he said. "He's in the north tower."
Sunset smiled and said, "I knew I could count on you, Flash."
"Save it," Flash said. "Just don't cause any trouble."
"Hey, it's me," Sunset said with a cheerful smile as she walked away into the shadows.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Flash said before he went back to looking through the files.
The lights were out in Rough Draft's bedroom, and he was sitting on a chair next to the large window. It was over half-past eleven, but the prince couldn't sleep. His bed was left tidy and unused, and he hadn't changed into his nightclothes. He simply sat down and stared at the moon, which was the only thing that was giving light to his room. His face showed no emotion apart from the look of despair in his eyes, which grew as clouds covered the moon, keeping it from shining on him.
As he stared at the night sky, however, he felt a soft breeze blowing from behind him. He turned around to find the small window on the ceiling open, and there was a shadowy figure standing on the other side of the room. Rough Draft stood up and moved back to the edge of the window, worried that he was going to be attacked.
"Who are you? What do you want?" He asked.
The figure chuckled with her mouth closed and said, "Now, babe, I thought I told you you don't need to be afraid of me."
Rough Draft became confused with the figure's response until he realized that the person's voice sounded familiar. The figure walked over to him, and the clouds uncovered the moon just in time for it to shine on the room again, revealing Sunset looking at Rough Draft with a loving smile. The purple man stared in disbelief for a moment before his face lit up, and he ran towards her. The two of them squeezed each other as if it would make up for all the time away from each other's arms. Sunset sighed blissfully as she closed her eyes and snuggled her head on Rough Draft's shoulder.
"This is real," Rough Draft said. "You're really here."
"I can say the same thing to you," Sunset said.
Rough Draft smiled and rested his head on Sunset's as they hugged. Sunset felt a tear in her eye while her heart leaped at the feel of her beloved's arms. Eventually, the two of them broke the hug, and they stared at each other's eyes with Sunset caressing Rough Draft's cheek.
"What are you doing here?" Rough Draft asked.
"What do you mean, what am I doing here? I've come to save you, silly," Sunset said.
"Save me?" Rough Draft asked.
"Well, you want to get out of here, right?" Sunset asked. "You obviously don't want to marry the queen."
"Well, no, I don't, but there's no way we can escape," Rough Draft said.
"Aw, come now, Rough Draft. You should have more faith in me," Sunset said with a playful pout. "I made it all the way here, didn't I? That's much farther than the last time I tried to break into this castle."
"I know, but there's no way that you can keep me away from her for long," Rough Draft said sadly. "Adagio is a powerful woman, Sunset. She has the resources to get whatever she wants no matter what it takes."
"Oh, you mean like this?" Sunset asked as she took out Rough Draft's ring from her pocket.
Rough Draft looked at the ring in shock and hissed, "Sunset, are you crazy? I left my ring with you because I wanted it away from here!"
"I know, but I don't think we need to hide it anymore since I'm getting you out of here," Sunset said as she put the ring on his finger. "Besides, it's your father's ring."
Rough Draft couldn't help but smile at the way Sunset was being thoughtful. Sunset smiled back, glad to see the prince smiling before she frowned and moved closer to him with her hand on his cheek again.
"I'm sorry about your parents, Rough Draft," she said.
Rough Draft's face fell, and he placed his hand on Sunset's hand that was on his cheek.
"Thank you, sunshine," he said.
"Do you know what caused it?" Sunset asked.
"No. No one has any idea what happened," Rough Draft answered. "There was nothing in the remains that gave the firefighters a clue as to what happened."
"I swear, if I heard about it sooner and knew where you were, I would have come over to comfort you," Sunset said.
"I know you would have, sunshine," Rough Draft said.
The thief and the prince smiled before they rested their foreheads against each other. Sunset began to slowly caress Rough Draft's cheek as she fondly stared into Rough Draft's emerald eyes.
"Where did you go after your birthday, babe?" She asked.
Rough Draft's sad smile turned into an amused one, and he said, "My parents sent me to a monastery."
"What?!" Sunset shouted, moving her head back. "A monastery?! A freaking monastery?!"
"Yeah, it goes without saying that talking to them about our teenage love didn't go as well as I hoped," Rough Draft said. "They thought we were doing it since Granny Smith caught us in my room. I told them we weren't, but they didn't believe me, so they sent me to a monastery to atone for my 'impure deeds.' Spiritually, it was an enlightening time, but I didn't care for the people in Appleloosa or that I was so far away from you."
Sunset stared at Rough Draft in disbelief before she moved away from him and started pacing back in forth, growling in frustration.
"I don't believe this!" She snarled. "I looked everywhere from Canterlot to Manehattan, to Las Pegasus, to Saddle Arabia, and the whole time my boyfriend was in a monastery in some stupid apple farm town in the middle of the desert?!"
Rough Draft looked at Sunset, touched, and asked, "You went looking for me?"
"Of course, I went looking for you, you bookworm!" Sunset barked as she walked back to him. "How do you think I felt when I heard that your parents sent you away, and they didn't know where?"
Rough Draft smiled and pulled Sunset into a hug as he said, "Well, I think it would have been hard for us to meet in secret even if you did find me. A one-story monastery where I was staying in a tiny room isn't the same as my family's castle.
"That wouldn't have stopped me," Sunset said as she tightly hugged Rough Draft back in a possessive manner. "If the monks didn't like it, then they should have thought of that before keeping what is mine away from me."
Rough Draft chucked with his mouth closed and petted Sunset's head. The amber thief eased up as she felt her prince's hand on her head for the first time in years. The two of them embraced in silence again until Rough Draft frowned and said, "I heard about you stealing again while I was Appleloosa."
"Yeah, I am," Sunset admitted as she rested her head on Rough Draft's shoulder.
"I thought you weren't going to do that anymore," Rough Draft said.
Sunset pulled her head back to face Rough Draft and said, "I know, but when I used up all of my money looking for you and accepted that I would never see you again, it was all I could do. It's the only thing I've ever been good at, and it kept me going after losing you."
Rough Draft looked at her suspiciously and asked, "Does that mean you're here for the counterfeit money too?"
Sunset hesitated and said, "Well, that is originally why I came back to Everfree."
Rough Draft sighed in disappointment and broke the hug, saying, "I should have known."
"Hey, don't be like that, babe," Sunset protested. "That doesn't mean I'm not here for you too. I made it clear to my comrades that we're not going after the Horse Bills until you're safe."
"Yeah, right," Rough Draft said, turning his back on Sunset. "Nice to know I'm a little bonus for you."
"You're not a bonus!" Sunset hissed as she forced him to look at her. "My friends see you that way, but I don't. You're more important to me than the money."
"I don't believe you," Rough Draft said.
Sunset frowned and said, "Fine. If you don't believe me, then believe this."
She reached under her shirt and took out her necklace again, holding it up high so that the jewel was in front of Rough Draft's face. The prince stared at the necklace in disbelief and leaned his head closer to make sure that it was his present to Sunset. After a moment, he smiled and looked up at Sunset, who smiled back for a moment before she gave him a guilty look.
"I did try to forget about you, Rough Draft," she confessed. "I tried to convince myself that what we had was just a teenage romance, and I should move on. I even dated another guy at one point. But no matter what I did, I couldn't let go of you. I knew I would never forgive myself if I moved on or broke my promise to treasure my necklace. It's all I had left of you apart from our memories, but now that I found you, I want you back."
For a few seconds, Rough Draft did nothing but stare at the jewel again, making Sunset wonder if he heard her. Then, he reached into his pocket to take out the golden locket, pressed the button on top of the locket, and it opened to reveal Sunset's picture. The amber woman looked at the locket surprised as Rough Draft gave her a heartfelt smile.
"It turns out this was exactly what I needed before my parents sent me away," he said. "I admit I wanted to get over you too, but seeing your face in this picture helped me hold on. It kept me sane at the monastery, and while I've been stuck here in the queen's castle."
Sunset smiled while still looking at the locket. Rough Draft then lifted her chin so that she was facing him. They stared into each other's eyes a third time as Rough Draft put the locket back in his pocket before putting his hands on Sunset's waist, and she, in turn, placed her hands on his shoulder.
"Nothing would make me happier than for us to be together again, sunshine," he said. "Just promise me that you will find a way to stop Adagio."
"I promise," Sunset said.
With that, they tilted their heads, closed their eyes, and their lips connected. They kissed slowly at first, savoring the simple feel of each other's lips for the first time in years, and then the kissing sped up as Sunset wrapped her arms around Rough Draft's neck, and he pulled her closer to him. They moved their lips around passionately until they were out of breath and pulled back to look at each other lovingly again. The couple was silent for a minute until Sunset remembered something.
"You know, speaking of your fiancee, why does she want your ring?" She asked. "I read the inscription on it talking about light and shadow becoming one and something being restored, but what does it mean?"
Rough Draft frowned and said, "It's a prophecy made centuries ago about a hidden treasure."
"Oh, a hidden treasure? Do tell," Sunset said with a mischievous grin.
"Subtle," Rough Draft said sarcastically. "Anyway, Adagio also has a family ring that has the crest of the Celestial family. Somehow our rings are the keys to obtaining this treasure. That's why she's forcing me to marry her. Not only will it be good for her image to bring the families together, but she would become more powerful in terms of wealth than she already is from her counterfeit operation."
Sunset frowned and said, "I knew she's using you for her image."
"Uh, well that and she wants an heir among...other things too," Rough Draft said.
"Over my dead body," Sunset snarled. "How are you being forced to marry her, though? Did she threaten you?"
"No, she couldn't threaten me when my parents are gone, and you weren't here," Rough Draft said. "I'm engaged to her because, under Everfree law, people of royalty around our age have to be married whether we're ruling the land or not to keep both royal families alive. Add that to the fact that I'm an Everfree citizen, royalty or no, and Adagio kinda went all the way to Appleloosa just to command me to marry her, and I'm pretty much obligated to do it."
Sunset stared at her beloved, dumbfounded and said, "Good grief. That's ridiculous. Is there no way to avoid it?"
"Not really," Rough Draft answered. "If my parents were still alive, they would have prevented it because you have to get consent from a person's parents to marry them whether you're the ruler or not. As it is, I lost them and everything else in the fire. No castle, no money, and no political power whatsoever. It's just my lonely self and my family ring, and that's all Adagio wants."
"Well, bully for her," Sunset growled before she smirked and said, "Still, I'm going to enjoy disappointing her. After all, you're just one escape away from being mine again, and I'd be remiss if I didn't say I'm interested in this treasure."
"I thought I'm your priority," Rough Draft said.
"You are, baby, but there's nothing wrong with snatching this treasure from the wicked queen who is trying to use the love of my life like an object," Sunset said. "Besides, it kind of sounds like The Tale of Flaming Arrow and Silver Gleam. Don't you think? You are Flaming Arrow, Queen Adagio is the evil sorcerer, and I'm the heroic Silver Gleam who steals her handsome man and the powerful jewel that is your family's hidden treasure."
Rough Draft thought about it before he smiled and said, "Well, I've always seen you as the Silver Gleam to my Flaming Arrow."
Sunset's smirk turned into a sweet smile, and she placed her hands on both of Rough Draft's cheeks as she said, "And you're the Flaming Arrow to my Silver Gleam, and I don't know what I would do without you in my life."
"Nor would I."
Before Sunset or Rough Draft knew it, the lights in the room turned on to reveal dozens of Cozy Glow's Shadows surrounding them. The ones in front of them had their hands straight with the pointy ends aimed at Sunset. She moved in front of Rough Draft defensively, but two of the Shadows snuck up behind them and grabbed Rough Draft.
"No! No! Sunset!" He called out as they dragged him away.
"Rough Draft!" Sunset shouted.
Sunset turned around to go after Rough Draft, but more Shadows blocked her way, pointing their sharp fingertips at her. She backed away to avoid getting stabbed just in time to find Adagio and Cozy Glow standing beside the assassins with mischievous grins.
"Well, well, well. The notorious Sunset Shimmer herself," Adagio said. "I must say I'm impressed. You made my captain of the royal guard, and my most loyal servant, two of the most deadly people I know, look like a pair of clowns. I'd be enraged if it wasn't so amusing."
Sunset kept her cool and said with a boastful smirk, "What can I say? I'm just full of surprises. And your little maid seems to have gotten out of that trap sooner than I thought. Either that or I've spent too much time catching up with Rough Draft."
"Tirek and I may have underestimated you, Sunset Shimmer, but you're a fool to think we don't know how to get out of one of the castle's traps," Cozy Glow said
"Yeah, I guess so," Sunset said with an uncaring shrug. "Is Twilight still down there, though?"
"She is," Cozy Glow answered. "We've led the rest of the Canterlot police to believe that she drove on ahead back to Canterlot."
"Did you? I would think Spike would be very suspicious of that claim," Sunset said.
"Oh, he was," Cozy Glow confirmed. "But after we told him that the inspector was chasing you, he was quick to get their force to pull back and try to catch up."
"And how do you expect them to find her when she's still in your trap?" Sunset asked.
The young maid chuckled mischievously with her mouth closed and said, "People disappear when traveling all the time."
"Indeed," Adagio said. "But enough about Inspector Sparkle. Let's get back to you, Sunset Shimmer. You have my thanks for bringing the ring back."
"Don't flatter yourself," Sunset said. "I only brought it here to give it back to Rough Draft."
"Indeed? And what other business do you have with my fiance?" Adagio asked. "Were you hoping to use him to get to me?"
Sunset smiled proudly and said, "You can keep your little counterfeit operation for now, Your Highness. All I want is my Rough Draft."
Rough Draft looked at Sunset lovingly while Adagio frowned and put her hands on her hips.
"And what makes you think he belongs to you, thief?" She asked.
"Because I have his heart, and he has mine," Sunset said. "You just want his ring and his body, but I want the person."
Adagio gasped, pretending to be offended, and shouted, "How dare you! I value Rough Draft more than a criminal like you ever could!"
"And yet the two of us just agreed we want to be together," Sunset countered.
"Yes, I overheard," Adagio said, smirking. "The two of you think you're like two characters in some fairy tale book that are going to get a happy ending after years of being apart. How childish can one get?
"You can insult us all you like, Your Highness, but it won't change how what I have with him is greater than anything you'll ever have," Sunset said.
Adagio's smirk grew, and she said, "I should have Cozy Glow's Shadows tear you to shreds for making that claim, but I'd rather not have my groom's room tainted with your blood."
"You'll regret not doing that, Your Highness," Sunset said. "You'll never get another chance to get rid of me so easily."
"Oh, I beg to differ," Adagio said. "Now, if there's anything you want to say to Rough Draft before I dispose of you, now would be the time."
Sunset turned to Rough Draft, who was still struggling with the two assassins that were restraining him. The prince was visibly terrified for the amber woman's life. Sunset gave her beloved a small smile and blew a kiss before she said, "Don't worry, babe. I'm going to be fine."
"How do you know?" Rough Draft asked.
"Just have faith in your sunshine," Sunset said. "I'll be back soon enough."
Rough Draft stopped struggling, and he looked into Sunset's cyan eyes that showed incredible confidence in what she said. He smiled back, trying to look hopeful as he said, "I love you."
"I love you more," Sunset said.
Adagio chuckled and said, "That is so sweet. Truly it is. Now, without further ado, Sunset Shimmer, I must bid you farewell."
At that moment, the floor opened beneath Sunset's feet. The amber woman screamed as she fell down the hole, having not expected to be standing beneath a trap. Rough Draft's heart sank as the assassins let him go, and he rushed to the trap door only for it to close before he was close to it. He stared at the floor, afraid of what happened to Sunset while Adagio and Cozy Glow grinned.
"Even if the fall doesn't kill her, she'll still be in a foul pit where there is no escape," Adagio said before turning to the teenager. "Now, leave me. I must speak with my groom alone."
“At once, Your Grace," Cozy Glow said with a bow.
The teenage maid gave her Shadows a signal, and they all bowed to the queen before they disappeared within a blink of an eye. Cozy Glow took a moment to smirk at where Sunset fell into the trap door before she exited the room through the bedroom door. The room became quiet with Adagio watching Rough Draft staring at the floor before walking over to her fiance.
"You've broken my heart, dear Rough Draft," she said. "Snogging another woman days before our wedding? I expected you to be more loyal as my husband-to-be."
Rough Draft stood up and glared at Adagio, saying, "Spare me the act, Adagio. I never wanted to marry you, and you know it."
"I know, but I still expect loyalty as your future wife," Adagio said. "Besides, I may seem like a horrible person now, but I know that you will eventually see through my flaws and learn to love me."
"I doubt it," Rough Draft snarled. "Sunset is the only woman I will ever love."
"Oh, please don't give me that, my precious. You're a grown man. You should learn to move on from an ex-girlfriend from when you were a teenager," Adagio said. "Besides, it's not like I had her killed just because she tried to take you away from me. She was an international criminal after all, and breaking into the Castle of the Two Sisters has been punishable by death since before our families split apart."
"That won't change how much Sunset means to me," Rough Draft countered.
Adagio sighed dramatically and said, "I suppose that's fair, my love. Even when you do fall in love with me, it may be difficult for us to match what was special about an old flame. It's a challenge many married couples go through."
"You think?" Rough Draft asked.
"I'm counting on it," Adagio said. "But I'm not afraid. Let any challenges come after us. We will pull through as husband and wife."
"You're delusional," Rough Draft said.
"You may think that way about me now, Rough Draft, but you soon will accept that I'm right," Adagio said, placing her hands on Rough Draft's shoulder and leaning close to him with a kittenish look. "We're all that's left of the ancient blood of the sun and the moon, my love. For centuries, light and shadow have been kept apart, and thus our bloodline has been divided. It is our destiny to reunite the families of Celestia and Luna in holy matrimony. Our heritage, our legacy, and our grand future as the royal family of Everfree are ours for the taking, and I am thankful that I will fulfill the prophecy with you by my side."
The queen then moved her hand to caress Rough Draft's cheek, but he swatted it away. Adagio furiously slapped her fiance hard in the face, making Rough Draft step away backward, holding his cheek. The pale apple green woman walked over and grabbed Rough Draft's chin, aggressively, forcing him to look at her.
"You would do well not to do that again, Rough Draft!" She barked. "Even if we're not married yet, you're still an Everfree citizen under my rule! You will respect and honor me in the manner I deserve as your queen and your wife! When I tell you to come to me, you will come! When I tell you to do something, you will do it! When I want to touch my husband, even if it's a small stroke on his cheek with just one finger, you will not refuse me! Do you understand?!"
Rough Draft coldly glared at Adagio and said, "I'm not afraid of you."
"You will be if you keep up that rebellious attitude," Adagio snarled. "I'd rather not earn your love and respect through fear, but I'm willing to do anything to get what I want, including your heart. You and the hidden treasure will be mine, Rough Draft, and your beloved ex can't do anything about it."
But as Adagio and Rough Draft glared at each other, the moment was suddenly interrupted by a faint beeping sound. They looked at each other, confused until Rough Draft looked down and found that the beeping was coming from his ring. Adagio was baffled as she let go of Rough Draft's chin, and she lifted his hand to look closely at the ring. Suddenly, the top of the ring exploded with a pop, and small confetti came out of it, followed by a small statue of Sunset lowering her eyelid and sticking out her tongue on a spring. The queen looked in horror while Rough Draft gave his fiance a smug look.
"A fake?!" Adagio shrieked.
"Looks like you better be sure you're right about Sunset, Adagio," he taunted. "After all, my sunshine warned you about it being hard to get rid of her."
Adagio's face turned red in fury, and her hands became balls of fists. But then she took a deep breath and slowly regained her confident demeanor, saying, "Perhaps you're right, my love. Even so, no one has ever come out of the pit that your ex is in now. Dead or alive, it won't be difficult for Cozy Glow and her Shadows to get the real ring and make sure that she doesn't come back."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Rough Draft said. "I have faith that Sunset will outwit your people no matter what you throw at her."
Adagio smirked and said, "Then, I guess we'll just have to see what good that faith does. One way another, though, I will get the ring back in time for our wedding. Until then, I bid you goodnight, my dearest Rough Draft."
With that, the queen exited the room, leaving Rough Draft all alone. He stood still for a moment before he decided to walk over and sit back in his chair and began staring at the moon again. Then he took out his locket and opened it again to look at the picture of Sunset's smiling face. He smiled and thought about Sunset's promise to free him from Adagio's grasp, but the smile soon faded as a feeling of doubt entered his heart.
Sunset was falling for a couple of minutes, unsure of where the narrow hole led to. For all she knew, the trapdoor was leading to a pool of water for her to drown in or spikes on the floor. The uncertainty made her uneasy with whether or not it was possible to survive the trap, much less save Rough Draft. Finally, she fell out of the hole and found herself in a three-story catacomb. She quickly took out her grappling gun, replacing the hook with a claw, and fired at the ceiling. The claw pierced through the stone ceiling, giving it a tight grip that broke Sunset's fall with her holding on to her gun for dear life.
Sunset sighed in relief until she looked up and saw a skeleton right in front of her. She screamed and almost let go of her grappling gun before she looked around to find that she was surrounded by skeletons hanging from the ceiling. All of them were dangling with ropes tied to their necks, and most of their clothes had disintegrated. Sunset struggled to keep herself together with the smell of rotten flesh filling up her nose.
She pressed the button on her gun, and the rope extended, slowly bringing her to the ground. She detached the claw from her grappling gun and looked around to find several tunnels around where she was. There was a stream running down from them, and the stone pathways were covered with corpses. Some have decayed completely, and others have partially or mostly decomposed, stating that they had been dead for only a few years or so. Their clothes varied from suits, dresses, soldier uniforms, and other outfits decades, if not centuries back.
"So, the Celestial family has been killing people who opposed them for centuries," Sunset said. "Rest in peace, you poor souls."
She started walking down one of the tunnels, hoping to find a way out of the catacomb. But no matter how far she looked, there were no doors, and the windows high up in the wall were too narrow to squeeze through even if she could reach them with her grappling gun. Eventually, the path led her back to the center, and she tried a different tunnel only to end up back where she started again. Sunset grew afraid as she kept looking around only to find nothing but corpses wherever she went.
But as she walked, she saw an inscription on the wall above the corpse of a woman with blue and pink hair. Sunset reached into her pockets to find a flashlight, and she turned it on to read the inscription.
1904
Here lies Sweetie Drops: Special Agent of Chancellor Octavia Melody of Canterlot
Sunset looked at the corpse sympathetically, hating that inscribing on the wall as though it was her tombstone was all the poor soul could do in her last hours. At the same, however, for some unknown reason, her amber skin crawled, and she felt an urge to hold Rough Draft in an overprotective body hug from reading the name, "Octavia Melody."
Just then, she heard the sound of footsteps and saw light coming from the other side of the tunnel. She took a fighting stance, thinking it was the queen's assassins looking for her to finish the job. But then she eased up when the light came closer to reveal Twilight walking over to her while holding a flashlight. The grayish mulberry inspector was ambling, feeling drained from walking so much. Her clothes were torn and covered in mud and dirty water, and there were cracks on her glasses. When she was close enough, Twilight realized that Sunset was several feet in front of her, and her energy immediately came back as she rushed over to Sunset and grabbed her by the jacket with both hands.
"Don't move a muscle, Sunset Shimmer! You're under arrest!" She shouted.
"Are you sure about that?" Sunset said with a smug look.
"Of course, I am!" Twilight claimed. "Now, show me how to get out of here so that I can send you to prison in Canterlot."
Sunset frowned and said, "I hate to burst your bubble for once, Twilight, but I'm as stuck here as you are. I haven't found any possible way to escape."
Twilight looked at Sunset in disbelief before her legs gave out, and she began to cry quietly. Sunset kneeled to pat Twilight in the head before Twilight swatted her hand away.
"Don't touch me, thief!" Twilight said bitterly.
"Well, excuse me for having sympathy," Sunset said. "Contrary to what you might think, I don't like that you're stuck here either."
"Where is here?" Twilight asked. "A catacomb is hardly a place to be a gravesite."
"If I were a betting woman, I'd say this is where the Celestial family has left any of their enemies or people who have tried to discover their secrets to die," Sunset said.
"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked.
"Look at the inscription over there," Sunset said, pointing at the wall.
Twilight turned to the wall and used her flashlight to look at the inscription. Her eyes widened with horror as she read the inscription and then looked at the corpse of Agent Sweetie Drops.
"May the Lord rest your soul, Agent Drops," Twilight said as she crossed herself.
"Amen," Sunset agreed.
Twilight stood up and looked around the area to look at all the corpses and asked, "So, you think all of these people died because they opposed the family."
"It makes sense to me," Sunset answered. "With all of the tight security and traps that this place has, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they're protecting more than just the leader of the country."
Twilight frowned and said, "I had a suspicious feeling that Queen Adagio was hiding something, but I would never have guessed that she would go through such lengths to hide something her family's been hiding for years. This is sickening!"
"You can say that again," Sunset said.
"But, wait a minute. Does this mean you know about this secret, Sunset Shimmer?" Twilight asked. "Were you trying to kidnap the prince to discover what they're hiding?"
"I was after Rough Draft for different reasons," Sunset answered. "Otherwise, yes. I'm also here for the secret."
"And do you know what that secret is?" Twilight asked.
"I'd rather not say," Sunset said.
Twilight clenched her teeth, and she said, "Now see here, Sunset Shimmer, we may be enemies, but as long as we are stuck here left for dead, you might as well come clean about what you know! Besides, if you're attempting to steal whatever Queen Adagio is hiding, then how can you be okay with getting something that has cost so many innocent lives?!"
Sunset flinched at Twilight's question. She turned to Sweetie Drops' corpse, and then looked at all the other dead bodies surrounding her and Twilight. Sunset felt a painful sense of guilt in her heart for not considering how the counterfeit operation is to blame for so much death. She sighed heavily and said, "You're right, Twilight. This is more than I morally bargained for."
"I'm relieved to hear it," Twilight said. "Now, out with it already."
"Alright, alright," Sunset said. "Have you heard of the Horse Bills?"
Twilight looked at Sunset, surprised, and asked, "Horse bills? You mean the high-quality counterfeit bills that so many people confuse for the real thing?"
"The very same," Sunset said. "My partner and I found a large safe full of fake bills in Yakyakistan. That's when we decided to come here to find where it was coming from and take over the operation."
"What?! You mean all the money you stole from Gladmane's casino were fake?!" Twilight shouted.
"Ah, you heard about my little show?" Sunset asked, smirking boastfully.
Twilight took a few steps back until her back was against the wall and then slid down to a sitting position. She hugged her legs and stared at the stream, looking terrified as though she learned the world was going to end.
"Good heavens. If the Horse Bills are real, then we are at the source of so many economic catastrophes," she said.
"Economic catastrophes? What are you talking about?" Sunset asked.
"Are you kidding me?!" Twilight rebuked. "How could you know about the Horse Bills and yet not know about the trouble it has caused throughout history?!"
"Twilight, you of all people should know that I've been a thief since I was fourteen," Sunset said. "I didn't exactly have the time to finish school as a burglar, and you don't exactly need a history lesson to prepare for a heist. So, maybe you can enlighten me on how the legendary Horse Bills impacted history."
Twilight groaned like a teacher who has to answer a question from a student she should already know the answer to.
"Fine," she said. "The Horse Bills have been the cause of economic problems and wars over the past few centuries. No one knew where the fake money came from, but it was clear to many historians that whoever was making them were using it to support their allies and destroy their enemies. Fake Mt. Ares doubloons were used for funding General Seaspray's revolution that removed one of the country's royal families. Mysterious gold coins aided the Grogar Dynasty to invade the Badlands. Heck, the counterfeit money caused the Great Depression in Canterlot and Manehattan back in 1903."
"Ah, I guess that explains what our friend, Agent Sweetie Drops, was doing here a year later," Sunset said. "She must have been assigned to find the cause of said depression."
"Most likely," Twilight agreed. "Bottom line, Sunset Shimmer, authorities have been trying to figure out who has caused all this trouble to Canterlot and its allies, so forgive me if I'm having trouble believing that I might be forever trapped in the place where it all came from."
"Sure," Sunset said before something hit her. "Wait a second. You said this all started a few centuries back. How far back are we talking about?"
Twilight looked at her, confused, and said, "1479. Why do you ask?"
"1479? That's just a couple of years before the civil war between the royal families," Sunset realized.
"Seriously? How can you know so little history and yet know that?" Twilight asked, baffled.
"Er, my boyfriend is a bookworm. He used to read some Everfree history to me," Sunset said.
"Boyfriend? What boyfriend?" Twilight asked.
"That's not important right now," Sunset said. "The reason I asked is because if everything revolving Horse Bills throughout history started back then, I wonder if this is why the Celestial family beat the Lunar family during their civil war.
"What? You mean they used the fake money to fund their operations to win?" Twilight asked.
"Bingo," Sunset replied.
"But how do you know the Lunar family didn't partake in the counterfeiting before then?" Twilight asked.
"Because I recall my boyfriend saying that the Lunar family never had a chance during the civil war financially speaking. The Celestial family always had the upper hand," Sunset answered. "So, I think the Lunar family either knew about the Horse Bills and fought against the other family anyway, or most likely, they fought for control not knowing their enemies had an enormous advantage against them. There's nothing said about the fake money during that war, so either one might be true, but the only thing we know for sure is that the Celestial family has been using the operation to make sure everything goes their way. And while I don't know about what the Lunar family knew about the Horse Bills back then, I do know that Prince Rough Draft is against having anything to do with Queen Adagio, much less marry her."
"How do you know that?" Twilight asked.
"Let's just say I have a very reliable source," Sunset said.
Twilight frowned, knowing that Sunset was hiding something that would back up her information. She then looked down and thought about everything the criminal said, and asked, "Let's say for the sake of the argument I take your word for it. If the prince is against marrying the queen, then why is he?"
"Apparently, he has to since royalty at their age have to marry, and she ordered him to marry her, which made him obligated to do it since he's an Everfree citizen, prince or no," Sunset explained.
"Well, that's unfortunate for him," Twilight said. "Actually, is that a new law, or something?"
"No. Why?" Sunset asked, confused.
"Well, after discovering the lengths Queen Adagio's family has taken to get they want, I'm starting to think that the queen will come up with anything to reach her goal," Twilight said. "I mean, it seems awfully convenient that there are already laws that allow her to force someone into marrying her.”
Sunset stared at Twilight for a moment before she stared at the floor, deep in thought. Twilight watched the amber woman curiously as Sunset furrowed her brow while thinking. After a minute, Sunset looked up to glare at the wall like she was imagining someone was standing there. Her hands were shaking with her fingers bent, looking like she was resisting the urge to turn her hands into fists. Twilight grew uneasy at the violent look in the thief's eyes, having never seen her behave that way before."
"Shimmer!" She shouted, standing up.
"Huh? What?" Sunset asked, snapped out of her thoughts. "You say something, Twilight?"
"What was that about?" Twilight asked. "You looked like you wanted to murder someone?"
"I did?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah, what were you thinking about?" Twilight asked.
Sunset frowned and looked away and said, "It's nothing. Private business."
"That doesn't make me feel any better," Twilight said.
"I wasn't trying to make you feel better," Sunset said. "Besides, we need to focus on getting out of here."
"How? There's no way out," Twilight said. "No one knows we're here."
"No one but the queen and her security," Sunset corrected.
"Yeah, but there's no way they would come over here and let us out," Twilight said.
"Not unless we have something they want," Sunset said.
Twilight looked at the thief confused while Sunset reached into her pants pocket and took out Rough Draft's ring. The inspector tilted her head and asked, "What is that?"
"Something Queen Adagio wants very badly," Sunset said.
"And you stole it from her?" Twilight asked.
"Actually, it was given to me," Sunset said.
Twilight frowned suspiciously and said, "I'm having a hard time believing that."
"Believe what you want, Twilight, but this ring is our only ticket out of here," Sunset said, holding the ring up with an eager look in her eye. "Adagio is going to find out that I have it and send her assassins here, and when she does, we need to be ready for them. So, we're gonna have to work together to outwit them and get out of here."
Twilight hesitated, not wanting to work with the thief she wanted to catch before she said, "Okay, then I guess we're gonna have to have a truce. But once we get out of here and stop the queen, I'm taking you in."
"That's fair," Sunset said with a smug grin on her face, unintimidated by the inspector's claim. "Now, listen to me very carefully…"
Several hours later, light was coming from the small windows high up the catacomb. Not a sound could be heard apart from the water flowing down the stream. Two bodies were lying on the ground next to Agent Sweetie Drops' corpse wearing Sunset's jacket and Twilight's trench coat and hat. The bodies were lying down in sleeping positions with their faces hidden.
Unbeknownst to the two figures, two of Cozy Glow's Shadows were slowly emerging from the water with breathing masks. Their eyes were fixed on the two bodies as they quietly climbed up to the stone floor. They straightened their hands so that the points in their fingers were aligned, and held them up for a second before they jabbed at the bodies.
But instead of their gauntlets piercing through flesh, the assassins felt nothing but cloth and bones. They looked at each other before lifting the bodies to see that they attacked two skeletons wearing Sunset's jacket and Twilight's coat and hat. Suddenly, Sunset and Twilight emerged out of a pile of corpses behind the assassins. They encircled their arms around the assassins' necks and grabbed their biceps with their other arms, and began chock holding them. The assassins struggled, flailing their arms helplessly until they eventually lost consciousness. Sunset and Twilight carefully laid their enemies down before Twilight let out a heavy sigh.
"I can't believe you talked me into this," she said as they put their damaged coat, and jacket back on. "We better not have caused any serious injuries on these guys, Sunset Shimmer."
"I doubt we did," Sunset said. "Neither of us are particularly strong, and that was your first time doing that after having only hours to learn how to do it. Nicely done, by the way."
"Thanks," Twilight said sarcastically as she put on her hat. "How do you know how to do that, anyway?"
"I learned it from some ex-security guard named Bulk Biceps," Sunset answered. "You just never know if you need it during a heist."
"Heaven forbid that you'd be unprepared," Twilight said, rolling her eyes. "So, now what do we do? We don't know the way out."
Sunset smirked and looked at the unconscious assassins, saying, "Not yet, we don't. Thanks to these guys, we now know that there's a way out underwater. Shouldn't take long to find it and escape with our new disguises."
Inside a small room, Cozy Glow and Wallflower Blush were staring at a square hole of water with an open gate attached to it. Wallflower Blush was holding a lantern while Cozy Glow was tapping her feet impatiently.
"What's taking them so long?" She asked. "Shimmer can't be that hard to find."
"Well, the catacomb is pretty large, and she could be trying to hide somewhere if she survived the fall," Wallflower Blush said.
"Possibly," Cozy Glow said. "Even so, I prefer that we get that ring back to Her Highness before she -"
Just as she was about to finish her sentence, two of her Shadows emerged from the water. Cozy Glow's eyes immediately turned to the assassin closest to her, for it was holding Rough Draft's ring with two of its claws.
"Finally," she said before she knelt down and reached for the ring.
But as she was about to take it, the Shadow grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the water. Wallflower Blush only had a moment to react before the other Shadow grabbed her ankle and pulled her into the hole. Before the maids knew it, the assassins had climbed out of the hole and closed the iron gate above them.
"Let us out!" Cozy Glow screamed. "What are you doing?"
The assassins took off their helmets to reveal themselves to be Sunset and Twilight. Cozy Glow and Wallflower Blush's eyes widened as the thief bit her thumb at them, and the inspector gave them a taunting salute. The maids started shaking the gate and begging, "Let us out," and "I can't swim," while Sunset and Twilight exited the room. They ran up a spiral stairway and opened the door at the top, only to take a few steps inside before they realized where they were.
"Oh, my gosh!" Twilight exclaimed.
"There it is!" Sunset chirped.
The women found themselves on the second floor of a two-story hall full of printing presses. Beside the machines were desks for designing fake money and boxes full of counterfeit bills. Sunset and Twilight climbed down the ladder to the first floor, and the amber thief started opening the boxes while a stunned inspector stared at a roll of fake Mt. Aris doubloons.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing," Twilight said.
"Me neither. This is incredible," Sunset said with stars in her eyes. "There's fake money for more countries than I thought. Aquastria, the Crystal Empire, Griffonstone, heck, I have no idea what these bills are. They must be from countries outside of Equestria."
"What? Let me take a look," Twilight said.
Sunset took out a roll of bills, each from several boxes, and handed them to Twilight. Twilight looked at them closely before she gasped loudly.
"You're right, Sunset Shimmer. These are from places outside of the continent," she said. "Marapore, the Dragonlands, even Somnambula. Good grief, most of these are fake currency to counties on the complete other side of the world."
"You're kidding," Sunset said, amazed. "So, Everfree has been sending counterfeit bills to the whole world?"
"Looks like it," Twilight said. "I can't believe this. A high-quality counterfeit operation that covers the whole world and is hiding under the royal castle of the smallest country there is?"
"Well, that's what makes it the perfect place to do it. No one would suspect that it would be in a small country, much less being run by its ruler," Sunset said. "If I didn't find out that the Celestial family has murdered so many people to keep this a secret, I'd be losing my cool over the fact that I finally found this place and I would make more money than I could imagine by taking over."
Twilight frowned and said, "Well, you have found out, and now you know we have to stop the queen. And I don't want you getting any crazy ideas, Sunset Shimmer. I want to bring this operation down by the book. I'm going to be looking for evidence to bring to Canterlot along with you in handcuffs. You understand?"
"Yeah, sure. Find your evidence," Sunset said uncaringly. "Though I think we're going to need another one of my 'crazy ideas' if we're going to get out of here."
Twilight frowned and asked, "What kind of crazy ideas?"
The bell inside the clock tower rang, announcing that it was seven in the morning. Tempest was still keeping watch on top of the dam while Starlight was sleeping on the ground, holding her rifle. The purple woman was snoring softly until the loud bell woke her up. She sat up and stretched before she looked up at the clock.
"It's morning already?" She asked before turning her head to Tempest. "Is there still no sign of Sunset?"
"Nothing," Tempest said, still looking at the Castle Everfree. "I've been watching all night, and I've seen nothing happen after the Canterlot police left."
"I was afraid you'd say that," Starlight said as she stood up. "She's sure taking her time getting the prince."
"If she's even alive," Tempest said. "Which at this point I'm certain that she isn't."
"We don't know that for a fact. She could still be alive," Starlight said.
Tempest huffed and said, "Glimmer, I admire your devotion to your partner, but we must face facts. Her plan was to use her disguise as Inspector Sparkle to make her way to the prince, simple as that. It's been almost twelve hours, she's not back with the prince, and the police are gone. Assuming she made it inside, odds are they found her and killed her, which is why the police left. Frankly, we're better off leaving because there's little reason to think they captured her alive."
"Or she could be hiding and decided to improvise," Starlight said. "We both know it wouldn't be the first time she did that."
"Even so, it's likely that we're wasting our time," Tempest said. "Sooner or later, Glimmer, you're just gonna have to face the fact that not even someone as crafty as Sunset Shimmer could poss -"
The dark orchid woman stopped herself in mid-sentence as she noticed something black coming out of the lower levels of the castle. She lifted her hand above her eyes and squinted, confusing Starlight.
"What is it?" Starlight asked.
"I see smoke," Tempest said, pointing at the castle. "There's smoke coming out from inside the castle over there."
Starlight looked where Tempest was pointing and squinted her eyes to see a black cloud of smoke coming from inside the third level of the castle. She took out Sunset's binoculars and looked closer to see guards, butlers and maids running toward where the smoke was coming from, carrying fire extinguishers. Starlight smirked as she put down the binoculars and gave Tempest a smug look.
"What did I tell you? That has Sunset written all over it," she boasted.
Tempest frowned and said, "This does look like something she would do, but why?"
"No idea," Starlight said. "But whatever it is, it's something sneaky."
Back in the north tower, Flash was standing guard in front of Rough Draft's bedroom door. He was trying to hide his unease overhearing that Sunset might have died from falling into the trap door. He always knew that his ex had a habit of being careless, but he hoped it wouldn't have led to her death, leastways when she was trying to save the prince. Now, he wished more than ever that he could find the printing presses so that the queen could be stopped.
But as he thought about what he could do, his walkie talkie was beeping. He took it out of his belt and adjusted the frequency before holding it close to his mouth, saying, "This is Canterlot 4."
"Agent Sentry, you are to abort the mission and return to Canterlot immediately," Commander Harshwhinny said.
"What? Why?" Flash asked.
"Chancellor Neighsay forced me to drop the investigation," Harshwhinny grumbled. "Apparently, there's some clause to the treaty between Canterlot and Everfree that dictates that all personnel are to pull back if we try anything that might offend our ally. By the sound of things, having a police squadron come there and cause a commotion is all the chancellor needs to shut down the investigation."
Flash groaned and said, "Understood. Though if I may ask, I would like permission to take the prince with me."
"Why would you do that?" Harshwhinny asked. "That would make things worse."
"Not necessarily," Flash said. "Prince Rough Draft is held up here against his will, so it would be our moral obligation to assist him. And besides, he knows about the Horse Bills and what the queen is planning, meaning that he can testify that what we're looking for is there. If I recall correctly, there is a part of the treaty between the countries that makes the chancellor obligated for us to investigate further if we have any witnesses."
The walkie talkie was silent for a moment, making it clear that the commander was thinking about Flash's idea before she replied with a devious tone in her voice, "Permission granted. Be cautious, though, Agent Sentry. You must act as quickly and stealthily as possible so that we don't cause any more trouble."
"Yes, commander," Flash said. "I'll contact you when I have left the country with the prince. Over and out."
Flash put away his walkie talkie and pressed a button on the wall. A rectangular part of the wall opened to reveal a large, black briefcase, and he grabbed it before entering the bedroom. Rough Draft was sound asleep in his bed, wearing pajamas. The secret agent walked over to the bed and shook the prince until he woke up.
"Uh. Huh? What? What's going on?" Rough Draft asked, as he sat up and yawned.
"Pardon me, Your Highness, but I've come to get you out of here," Flash said.
"What? You are? Why?" Rough Draft asked.
"Well, you see, I'm not who you think I am," Flash answered. "I'm not a security guard working for the queen. I'm Agent Flash Sentry of Canterlot's secret service."
"Secret service? Then what are you doing here?" Rough Draft asked.
"I was on an assignment to find the printing presses where Queen Adagio has been making the counterfeit money," Flash explained. "But I just got ordered to abort the mission with permission to get you out of here. My commander is hoping you will testify that the Horse Bills are real so that I can go back to finding them and nabbing the queen."
"Yes, absolutely," Rough Draft said. "I will do anything to stop her. But is there any way we can find out if someone I know is still alive first?"
"I assume you mean Sunset Shimmer, Your Highness?" Flash asked.
"You know her?" Rough Draft asked.
Flash scoffed and said, "Know her? I dated her."
Rough Draft stared at Flash, taken aback, and said, "So, you're the guy she mentioned."
Flash looked back at the prince, astonished, and said, "Seriously? She told you that she dated another guy? She must trust you more than anyone else."
"What do you mean?" Rough Draft asked.
"Well, without going into too much detail, Sunset and I were kinda doomed from the start," Flash said. "We kept going back and forth between being enemies and allies, flirting in the process, before we finally started going out. But no matter how fun it was, she was always holding back. Sometimes I would find her looking at a rose necklace she hides under the shirt when she thinks no one was around. Whenever I asked her about it, she acted hostile and refused to give me an honest answer. Eventually, I ended it because I knew she was never going to trust me completely."
"Really?" Rough Draft asked. "She did promise to always treasure her necklace when I gave it to her, but I didn't think she would act that way over it."
Flash smirked at the prince and said, "Honestly, Your Highness, man to man, I think dating me was just a means to try to fill a void in her heart. But, after the mistrust we had and seeing her go through the lengths she made to help you, I think we can both agree that there's only one person who can fill that void."
Rough Draft briefly smiled before he looked away with an uneasy look.
"I hope she's okay," he said.
"So, do I," Flash said. "I want to say Sunset's been in worse spots than what she might be in now, but after seeing all the traps and security this place has, I would… wait a second."
Rough Draft looked at Flash, confused as the secret agent made a funny face, and started sniffing. He then felt a strange smell touching his nostrils and started sniffing too.
"Do you smell smoke?" Rough Draft asked.
"Yeah, I do," Flash said. "I think it's coming from outside."
The two men walked over to the large window and looked down to see the smoke reaching the top of the castle. They looked down and found Adagio's people running towards where it was coming from inside.
"The castle is on fire," Rough Draft said worryingly.
Rough Draft turned his head to Flash and asked, "How can you be sure?"
Flash smirked at the prince and said, "Your lady is many things, Your Highness, but subtle isn't one of them. I think she caused the fire to create a distraction."
"A distraction? For what?" Rough Draft asked.
"More than likely, to save you," Flash said. "And if she is, we better be ready because she's going to do it in a way that's going to attract attention to anyone who isn't focused on that fire, and we might have to fight our way out of here."
"I see," Rough Draft said. "Then I better get dressed for when she arrives."
"That would be best, Your Highness," Flash said.
Rough Draft nodded and hurried to his wardrobe to start changing out of his pajamas. Flash, meanwhile, took off his coat, opened his suitcase, and took out a double shoulder holster. As he put it on and started loading two pistols and a submachine gun, he glanced at the window where the smoke could still be seen.
"You better know what you're doing, Sunset," he whispered.
Back in the printing room, Sunset had set a pile of fake money ablaze. The fire was covering the room with smoke as she tossed boxes of counterfeit bills to keep the fire going. Twilight was rapidly going through papers on the desks, eager to find anything she could use to make her case against the queen. Sunset tossed more fake money with a mischievous grin until she heard fire alarms sounding off.
"Hurry up, Twilight! They're going to be here any minute!" She called out.
"Not until I find the evidence I need!" Twilight shouted.
"Twilight, that evidence isn't going to do much good if we don't start hiding!" Sunset yelled.
"But I need it!" Twilight shouted.
Sunset growled in frustration, irritated by Twilight's stubbornness. She looked around to find a couple of blueprints next to her and grabbed it and several rolls of fake bills. She ran over to Twilight, forced her to turn around to face her, and stuffed the blueprints and the fake bills into her trench coat pockets.
"There. Enough evidence to bring down an empire. Now, let's go!" She shouted.
Sunset grabbed Twilight’s wrist and dragged her to the back of one of the printing presses next to the main entrance. Sunset peeked around the corner of the machine just in time to see the doors burst open, and several guards, maids, and butlers came in, led by Tirek. The maids and butlers were carrying fire extinguishers while the guards were holding a large water hose. The servants started using their extinguishers on the edges of the fire while Tirek's men shot a long beam of water at the center of the fire.
"Okay, it looks like they're completely focused on the fire," Sunset said. "Now, when I say go, we're going to sneak past them and make our way outside."
"Got it," Twilight said before something hit her. "Hey, is this how you snuck past me when you stole the diamonds from that museum last year?"
Sunset gave Twilight a smug look and said, "Come on, Twilight. You're the inspector. Surely, you can figure it out on your own."
Twilight glared at the amber thief, who turned her head away to look at the guards and servants taking out the fire. Sunset lifted her hand in front of Twilight, signaling her to get ready. After waiting a couple of seconds, Sunset prepared to signal Twilight to go until she heard a familiar young voice.
"Tirek! Where's Sunset Shimmer and the inspector?!"
Sunset and Twilight looked at each other, shocked before the latter took a peek from the other side of the printing machine and saw Cozy Glow and Wallflower Blush on the second floor. The greenish-gray maid wrung the water out of her dress while the pinkish-gray one looked at Tirek with a murderous look in her eyes.
"What are you talking about? They're dead," Tirek said.
"They escaped the catacombs and trapped us in the waterhole before coming this way!" Cozy Glow shouted.
"We haven't seen anyone coming down here, so they must still be here somewhere," Tirek said.
"Find them!" Cozy Glow yelled.
Twilight turned to Sunset, who groaned childishly and pinched the area between her eyebrows, having overheard the maid and the captain.
"Why won't the people I trap in this heaven-forsaken castle stay trapped?" She whined.
"What do we do now?" Twilight asked.
Sunset huffed and said, "There's only thing we can do, and you're not gonna like it."
"And that is?" Twilight asked.
"Run!" Sunset yelled.
Before Twilight knew it, Sunset had already left her hiding spot, and she hurried to catch up with the thief. The guards and servants were too distracted by the fire to notice the two women running towards them before Sunset and Twilight barged through them. By the time Tirek realized what happened, the thief and the inspector were racing up the stairs.
"There they are! Get them!" Tirek shouted.
"No! You focus on the fire! I'll go after them!" Cozy Glow shouted as she climbed down the ladder and chased after them.
Sunset and Twilight climbed up the stairs as fast as they could, shoving maids and butlers that were walking down the steps with fire extinguishers as they ran. They made their way to the exit and found themselves inside a three-story tall chapel. They looked around the area and realized that the stairway to the printing room was behind an altar with a tall golden, ornate cross standing on top of it.
"Double or nothing, Queen Adagio has this chapel for show and doesn't practice the faith," Sunset said.
"That goes without saying," Twilight said. "Now, keep moving!"
They ran to the other side of the chapel and found themselves outside in the third-level courtyard. Sunset and Twilight had a moment of relief to be out until they saw several more guards running towards them from the other side of the yard, swords ready.
"Great. They're everywhere. How are we going to get to the prince?" Twilight asked.
Sunset frowned, unsure of how to answer Twilight's question. She looked around the area until she noticed an outside staircase leading to the top of a tower. She looked up and saw that at the top was the landing platform where the autogyro was. The amber woman had a wicked grin on her face as the wheels in her head turned.
"Tell me, Twilight, do you have a fear of heights?" She asked.
Twilight looked at Sunset, confused before she turned to where Sunset was looking. It took a couple of seconds before she understood what was on Sunset's mind, and her pupils shrank.
"Oh, no," she said. "There is no way we're going to do that."
"It's either this or we keep tackling people all the way to Rough Draft's room and back, hoping we don't fall into any more traps," Sunset said.
Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but she stopped herself and thought about it before she reluctantly accepted Sunset's logic.
"You better know what you're doing," she said.
"We'll find out soon enough. Now let's go," Sunset said.
Twilight huffed before she followed Sunset to the stairway. By the time they started climbing up the steps, Cozy Glow and Wallflower Blush were outside, and the former immediately spotted Sunset and Twilight.
"They're heading for the autogyro!" She shouted.
"Why are they going there?" Wallflower Blush asked.
"Sunset Shimmer is probably trying to use it to get the prince!" Cozy Glow answered. "Go after them! I'll contact the queen!"
"Yes, ma'am," Wallflower Blush answered before turning to the guards. "Everyone follow me!"
The greenish-gray maid started rushing up the stairs with the guards running behind her while Cozy Glow ran to the other side of the courtyard toward the elevator. She grabbed a walkie talkie from the butler standing next to the elevator before she went inside and pressed the button to the top floor. As the door closed and the elevator went up, she adjusted the frequency to the walkie talkie before holding it close to her mouth.
"My queen, come in. This is Cozy Glow," she said.
"Cozy Glow, what is going on down there?" Adagio asked, irritation filling her voice. "Tell me you have the ring."
"I wish I could, but Sunset Shimmer and Inspector Sparkle escaped the catacombs," Cozy Glow answered. "They set a fire in the printing room and are now heading to the autogyro."
"Imbecile!" Adagio barked. "Why is it so hard for you to kill two women?!"
"You can rebuke me all you like later, Your Majesty. Right now, we need to stop them from getting to Prince Rough Draft," Cozy Glow said.
Cozy Glow heard a vicious growl from the speaker before Adagio said, "Have everyone closest to the north tower arm themselves and meet me up there! Rough Draft does not leave that tower!"
"At once, Your Grace," Cozy Glow said.
Meanwhile, Sunset and Twilight made it to the top of the tower with Wallflower Blush and the guards still chasing after them. Sunset climbed into the cockpit and looked at the various levers and buttons, instantly nervous. Twilight climbed up to the side of the cockpit and noticed the amber woman's look of unease.
"You said to come up here, and you have no idea how to pilot an autogyro?!" She screamed.
"Hey, I'm figuring things out as I go," Sunset replied.
"Oh, Lord, help us," Twilight groaned. "This is what I get for listening to you of all people."
Sunset bit her lip as she looked through the labels for the switches before she said, "Okay, I think I got it."
She flipped the switches before she pulled the lever next to the steering wheel. The engine started to turn on, making Sunset smile boastfully before it slowly turned off with a whine.
"Okay, I don't have it," she confessed.
Twilight scoffed and leaned closer to the cockpit to look at the labels herself before saying, "You're supposed to turn off the brake. It's right next to the ignition."
"Oh. I knew that," Sunset said sheepishly before she followed Twilight's instructions.
The engine roared, and the blades on the top and the tail of the autogyro started spinning. Wallflower Blush and the guards made their way to the top just in time to see the flying machine rolling toward the edge of the platform. They ran toward the autogyro, desperate to stop Sunset and Twilight from taking off, but by the time Wallflower Blush could grab the flying machine by the tail, Sunset lifted the autogyro up, causing the maid to nearly fall off the edge. Wallflower Blush and the guards could only watch as Sunset slowly managed to keep the autogyro steady.
"See? No problem," Sunset said. "I knew I'd figure it out
"No, you didn't!" Twilight rebuked while holding on to the side of the cockpit for dear life. "Now, how do you plan to leave with the prince when there's room for only one person in the cockpit?"
"Oh, I have a good idea for that," Sunset said with a flirtatious look in her eyes. "Now quit criticizing me and hang on. I'm gonna try to turn this thing."
Twilight tightened her grip on the side of the cockpit as Sunset carefully turned the steering wheel clockwise, trying not to make a sharp turn that would cause Twilight to fall off. The autogyro slowly turned around, making a U-turn until it was facing the north tower. Sunset then pulled the lever on her left side, and the autogyro levitated higher until it was at level with the roof of the tower.
"Okay, Twilight, this is the tricky part," she said. "You're gonna have to fly the autogyro while I get Rough Draft."
"What?! I can't do that!" Twilight shouted.
"Sure, you can," Sunset encouraged. "Just keep it steady while I hop on the roof."
"But I've never flown one of these things before," Twilight protested.
"Neither have I, but I've managed to do okay," Sunset said. "Now get ready. I'm about to get out."
"Wait! No! Hol - Sunset Shimmer!" Twilight screamed.
Sunset climbed out of the cockpit, and Twilight quickly grabbed the steering wheel to keep the autogyro level. The poor grayish mulberry inspector reluctantly climbed inside the cockpit while Sunset carefully walked on one of the autogyro's wings and jumped onto the roof. She walked over to the window, carefully trying not to slip and fall off the edge, and kicked it open. Sunset leaned her head in the window and smiled warmly to find Rough Draft and Flash looking up at her.
"Sunshine!" Rough Draft shouted with a bright smile.
"Did someone order a heroic rescue?" Sunset asked.
"No, but I'll gladly sign for it," Flash said. "I hope you know how to get us up there."
"I sure do," Sunset said as she took her grappling gun out of her belt. "I trust you still remember how to use this."
She dropped her gun into Flash's hands, and he took a couple of steps back before he fired it at the window. The hook attached itself to the edge of the window, and he gave it a good tug to make sure that it's secure before turning to Rough Draft.
"You go first, Your Highness," he said.
"Okay, but how do I use it?" Rough Draft asked.
"Just hold on tight and press the button on the right side," Flash answered.
Rough Draft hesitated, feeling nervous until Sunset called out, "Don't be afraid, babe. I'll pull you up at the top." The prince gulped before he pressed the button, and the gun slowly lifted him to the window. Sunset reached out for Rough Draft until he made it to the top, and she grabbed his hand and pulled him up into her arms. The couple hugged each other tightly before as they kissed.
"I told you I'd be back soon," Sunset said.
"Yes, you did," Rough Draft said. "I'll never doubt you again."
"You won't need to once we're free," Sunset said.
Rough Draft nodded before he frowned and asked, "But how are we going to escape on the autogyro with Flash and the inspector?"
Sunset chuckled while looking at her beloved flirtatiously and said, "Oh, I was thinking Flash and Twilight hold on to the sides of the cockpit while I fly with my sweet prince on my lap."
Rough Draft stammered and looked away with his cheeks turning red. Sunset giggled before planting a kiss on his cheek.
"I miss seeing you blush, Rough Draft," she said. "It's as adorable as ever."
"S-s-stop it! That's not helping!" Rough Draft shouted, his cheeks turning crimson.
"It wasn't supposed to, lover boy," Sunset said.
"Hey! You think you can stop being snoggy-woggy and help me up?!" Flash called out.
Sunset snapped out her loving gaze and sheepishly said, "Oh, yeah. Sorry, Flash."
She undid the hook on the edge of the window and dropped her grappling gun into the grayish amber man's hands again. But, just as he was about to fire the gun, the bedroom door opened, and a couple of butlers and maids walked in with guns. Before the servants could do anything, Flash drew his submachine gun and fired, forcing them to exit the room. He threw a grenade for good measure before looking up the window.
"You better get that autogyro ready, Sunset. Odds are I won't hold them off for long!" He called out.
"Got it," Sunset said before turning to the autogyro. "Alright, Twilight, bring it back over here!"
"I'm trying!" Twilight shouted as she struggled with the controls.
The autogyro moved back and forth, barely staying level. Twilight panicked as she accidentally lifted the machine higher, causing it to fly over Sunset and Rough Draft's heads. Sunset ran up the steep roof, hoping that Twilight would fly close enough to the top that she could jump back into the autogyro and take over.
But suddenly, the amber thief felt something small zoom through her body. She stood still in shock and looked down to find a hole in her shirt right below her chest. She stared at the hole in a state of shock, not hearing Rough Draft screaming her name before her legs gave out. Sunset rolled down the slope toward the edge of the roof before Rough Draft dived in and stopped her with his body. At the same time, Flash made it up the window with the grappling gun before several bullets flew past him, causing him to drop his gun and take cover.
Rough Draft looked up to find one of the tall windows in the corner of the tower turned into a platform where Cozy Glow was holding a machine gun attached to the railing and Adagio was standing beside her. Rough Draft and Flash turned their heads to find another platform on the other side with another maid aiming her machine gun at the special agent. Adagio smirked triumphantly as she looked at where Flash was hiding behind cover.
"So, it seems I have a rat in my castle that I let stand close to my beloved groom. How careless of me," she said. "I'll have to interrogate you later, Mr. Rat. But first, kill Sunset Shimmer, Cozy Glow."
"With pleasure, My Queen," Cozy Glow said as she aimed her gun at Sunset with a sadistic grin.
Rough Draft covered Sunset with his body, and Adagio said, "Rough Draft, move away."
"No!" Rough Draft shouted. "You'll have to kill me to get to her!"
Cozy Glow fired her weapon, and Rough Draft ducked as bullets hit the area surrounding him and Sunset. He covered the love of his life as best he could until Adagio lifted her hand, and the maid stopped shooting.
"You're very brave, Rough Draft. Loyalty is a valuable trait in a husband," Adagio said.
"I'm not your husband!" Rough Draft shouted.
"Not yet, anyway," Adagio said. "Since you're so devoted to your thief, my love, I'll make you a deal. If you cease your rebellious ways and marry me, I'll forgive you and make sure Sunset Shimmer gets medical help."
"Yeah, right! You're obviously lying!" Flash called out from his hiding spot.
"I've never lied to my groom, Mr. Rat," Adagio said. "If he comes to me with the ring, I'll make sure Sunset Shimmer gets the best medical attention money can buy."
"How do I know that I can trust you?" Rough Draft asked.
"What other choice do you have, Rough Draft?" Adagio asked. "Your thief is getting weaker by the second. She just might die right here while you're trying to protect her. So, what's it going to be?"
Rough Draft hesitated, feeling stuck in the situation. He looked at Sunset, who had her eyes shut and was clenching her teeth, trying to ignore the pain. A stream of blood was running down to the edge of the roof. He wished he could think of an alternative, but he knew that he had no power over what was happening apart from choosing whether or not to help Sunset.
"Sunset, where is the ring?" He whispered into Sunset's ear.
"No. Don't do it, Rough Draft. She's lying," Sunset said weakly.
"I have to take that chance," Rough Draft said. "I'd rather marry her than let you die."
"No. I won't let you," Sunset said.
"Look into her right jacket pocket," Flash said. "She always puts things in there."
"Darn you, Flash," Sunset growled.
Rough Draft reached onto Sunset's pocket and took out his ring. He then kissed Sunset on the head and said, "It's going to be okay, Sunshine. I promise." Sunset whimpered in protest as Rough Draft stood up and held out the ring close to the edge with a serious look.
"I have the ring," he announced. "Now have your maids drop their guns and back away. If I see either of them attempt to grab their guns and shoot Sunset or Flash, I'll throw the ring into the lake."
Adagio smirked and said, "You heard your future king, ladies. Back away."
Cozy Glow and the maid on the other side of the tower frowned before they reluctantly lowered their weapons and backed away.
"You too, Adagio. Back away," Rough Draft commanded.
"As you wish, my love," Adagio said as she backed to the other side of the railing.
Rough Draft looked down at Sunset, making sure she was still alive before walking over to Adagio. He turned around to make sure that the maid on the other side didn't try anything as he walked. The queen and her head maid waited patiently for him while the teenager leaned her head close to her mistress.
"Are you going to give the criminal medical help, Your Grace?" She whispered.
"I'm a woman of my word, Cozy Glow, and I intend to earn Rough Draft's trust," Adagio replied. "But just because I'm giving her medical attention doesn't guarantee she's going to be saved from her wounds."
Cozy Glow resisted the urge to smirk so that Rough Draft wouldn't get suspicious. But suddenly, a heard loud crash was heard, and everyone but Sunset looked up to find that Twilight had smashed through the roof. With the inspector losing control of the machine, the autogyro slid down the roof, causing Rough Draft, Adagio, Cozy Glow, and the other maid to duck and cover. Seeing this as the opportunity to escape, Flash emerged from his hiding spot and scooped up Sunset just in time to grab the plane by the side before it fell off the roof. Cozy Glow took her gun and started firing at the autogyro before Rough Draft ran over to the platform and forced the gun to face up. Adagio grabbed the prince by the wrist and pulled him into the platform, holding him down to the floor. The two of them struggled until the queen took the ring out of Rough Draft's hand.
"Finally, I have it back!" she said triumphantly.
"Sunset was right! You are a liar!" Rough Draft barked.
"Oh, don't give me that, Rough Draft. I didn't lie," Adagio said. "I said if you gave me back the ring I'll give Sunset Shimmer medical attention. It's not my fault if that idiotic inspector intervened, and the rat used that to take her away."
"And yet you didn't hesitate to fire at them," Rough Draft said.
"That was Cozy Glow, not me," Adagio said. "I didn't give her the order to fire upon them. Did I, Cozy Glow?"
"No, Your Majesty, you did not," Cozy Glow replied.
"You're making excuses. You never intended to let them live at all," Rough Draft accused.
Adagio shrugged and said, "Well, I would have kept my word for you, my love, but if they didn't survive, it wouldn't be so terrible. Your ex is still a criminal, after all, and I can't have any of them snitching about my operation. I know you understand."
Rough Draft glowered at the queen and said, "Say whatever you want, but I will die before I marry you, Adagio."
Adagio frowned and said, "Is that so? Well, there are ways that I can keep you from doing that, my love."
Back near the clock tower, Starlight was looking through Sunset's binoculars in horror, having seen far enough to witness everything that happened at the noth tower. The autogyro was heading toward them with smoke coming out after crashing into the roof. Twilight was still struggling to stay airborne while Flash had one hand on the side of the cockpit, and his arm wrapped around where Sunset was shot. The secret agent saw Starlight and Tempest at the top of the wall and mouthed something out to them.
"What's he saying?" Starlight asked.
Tempest lifted her hand above her eyes and squinted to get a better look. She analyzed Flash's mouth movements closely before her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped.
"He's going to drop Shimmer!" She shouted. "I think he's expecting us to catch her!"
"What?!" Starlight asked. "How are we supposed to do that?!"
Tempest took a second to think before she ordered, "Get in the car!"
Starlight didn't hesitate to do as she was told as she grabbed her anti-tank rifle and rushed to the slug bug with Tempest. The purple woman turned on the ignition and slammed on the gas while the autogyro was getting closer to them, and Flash turned to Twilight.
"Hold steady so that we're right above the car," he instructed.
"I'm trying!" Twilight shouted in panic. "I can only do so much when this thing barely has a tail!"
Flash turned his head and realized that the tail of the autogyro was falling apart. He muttered under his breath and looked down to see that they were getting closer to the car. Tempest climbed up from the sunroof and held her hands up while Starlight was driving. The grayish amber man waited until he was just above them before he let go of Sunset, and she landed right into Tempest's arms.
"There are entrance and exit wounds right below her chest area!" Flash called out.
"Understood!" Tempest replied.
The dark orchid woman climbed back down and laid Sunset down on the backseat. Starlight slammed her foot on the gas and drove ahead while Flash climbed up to the cockpit.
"Come on. We gotta get off now," he said.
"I can't!" Twilight shouted in fear.
"Yes, you can," Flash said. "This thing is not going to last much longer. We need to jump off right now!"
"We can't do that!" Twilight shouted. "At this height, there's no way we can -"
"Trust me, we're going to be fine," Flash said, stretching out his hand. "Now, take my hand and get out of that cockpit now!"
Twilight hesitated, unsure of whether or not to believe Flash until she realized that the autogyro was heading straight toward a tree. She took Flash's hand, and he pulled her out of the cockpit, wrapped his arm around her waist, and jumped off. Twilight screamed in fear until Flash took out Sunset's grappling gun and shot it at a nearby tree. The hook wrapped itself around a branch, and the rope broke Flash and Twilight's fall, leaving them dangling a few feet above the ground. Flash pressed the button, and the gun lowered them to safety as the autogyro crashed and burst into flames. Twilight took a moment to collect herself before she saw Sunset's car driving away.
"SUNSET SHIMMER!!!" She shouted with her hands on both sides of her mouth. "DON'T YOU DARE DIE BEFORE I CAN ARREST YOU!!! DO HEAR ME!?! I'M STILL GOING TO BRING YOU TO JUSTICE!!!"
Flash snorted out a laugh, and Twilight glared at him, asking, "What's so funny."
"Oh, nothing," Flash replied. "I just think you look cute when you're acting authoritative, miss."
Twilight's cheeks turned red, and she barked, "The name is Inspector Sparkle, buster. Now, take me back to Canterlot."
"You can't command me. I'm a special agent," Flash said, smirking.
"Prove it," Twilight said.
Without hesitating, Flash took out his badge and held it up to Twilight. She adjusted her glasses to read the badge and said, "Okay, so you're a special agent for Canterlot. In that case, that makes you even more obligated to help me get back."
"And why is that?" Flash asked.
"Because I need to get to Chancellor Neighsay and give him proof that there is a counterfeit operation in Everfree," Twilight replied.
Flash's smug expression instantly disappeared. Twilight tilted her head in confusion as the grayish amber man stood still like a statue.
"I'm sorry. Did you say you have proof that the printing presses are there?" Flash asked.
"Do you know about them?" Twilight asked.
"I've been undercover looking for those machines for months," Flash said. "Chancellor Neighsay just forced my superior to have me pull back before you and Sunset tried to rescue the prince."
"Really?" Twilight asked.
"Really, really," Flash replied. "So, on behalf of Canterlot Secret Service, Inspector Sparkle, please tell me you have legitimate evidence."
Twilight smirked and reached into her pockets to take out the folded blueprints and the rolls of fake bills. Flash gazed at the evidence in awe as though he was looking at the holy grail itself. He then looked up at Twilight and smiled as he stood up straight and put his hand behind his back.
"Why don't we start over," he said before he took a bow. "Special Agent Flash Sentry at your service, Inspector Sparkle."
Twilight couldn't resist the urge to giggle, finding Flash's sudden change of demeanor to be amusing before she played along and gave him a curtsey.
"Inspector Twilight Sparkle at yours, Agent Sentry," she said.
Flash chuckled back and said, "I think we're gonna have a lot to talk about, Inspector Sparkle."
"Twilight," Twilight said.
"Twilight," Flash corrected with a smile. "So, tell me, how did you come across this evidence?"
Meanwhile, while Starlight was driving, Tempest was tending to Sunset, who was lying down on her back in the backseat. She removed Sunset's jacket before she opened a briefcase behind Starlight's seat, took out a first-aid kit, and started cleaning the wounds as best as she could. Sunset was moaning and whimpering with her eyes shut as Tempest put pressure into the bullet holes.
"We need to get her help fast," Starlight said, terrified for her friend.
"The queen might send her people after us," Tempest said. "We should leave the country and get Shimmer help beyond Queen Adagio's jurisdiction."
"We can't do that," Starlight said. "She'll never make it if we take that long to get her proper care, and there's no way the guards would let us leave with someone bleeding to death in the back."
"Then what are we going to do?" Tempest asked.
Starlight bit her lip, unsure of how to answer the samurai's question. Her grasp on the wheel tightened as she shut her eyes and said the first thing that came to her mind.
"I think I have an idea," she said. "It's a risky idea, but if it saves Sunset, I'll try anything."
"Okay, what is it?" Tempest asked.
"First, we gotta go far enough to make sure they haven't followed us, and then we're turning back," Starlight said.
"What?! Are you out of your mind, Glimmer?!" Tempest shouted.
"I told you it's risky," Starlight said. "But there's someone back at the Castle of Luna who's the caretaker of the place. If they're not following us and if we're careful enough, we just might be able to find her and convince her to help us with the queen and her people having no idea that we're still in Everfree."
Tempest frowned and said, "That sounds too risky."
"Anything we try is going to be risky, Tempest!" Starlight barked, glaring at Tempest through a rearview mirror. "I'm going to roll the dice with whatever is the best chance Sunset has, so are you with me or not?!"
Tempest glared back at Starlight through the mirror. Then, she sighed and hung her head, saying, "Fine. Do what you think you have to do. Just don't get us all killed while doing it."
"Fair enough," Starlight said as her eyes went back to the road.
Tempest grumbled quietly before going back to focusing on Sunset. The bleeding had stopped, and Sunset's breathing was starting to slowing down. The amber woman quivered in pain, but she also looked sad as though she was having a nightmare. Tempest could only watch as Sunset kept muttering two words before she lost consciousness.
When Flash and Twilight returned to Canterlot, Spike and the squadron were relieved to find out that Twilight was okay. Spike explained how the queen's people said she went out ahead of them back to Canterlot, but when they didn't see her already back home, he was worried that something happened to her. The grayish mulberry inspector furrowed her brow when she realized that the queen deceived her brother as a means to hide that she was left to die in the catacombs, but then she grinned and explained to her squadron everything she and Sunset discovered under the castle. Twilight went on to say that she was confident that they were going to move out to arrest the queen as soon as she and Flash brought the evidence to Chancellor Neighsay.
The two of them went to the headquarters to Canterlot's Secret Services, where Flash introduced Commander Harshwhinny and showed her the proof. The commander had a mischievous grin on her face as she looked at the evidence, excited to show it to the chancellor, who she thought he would feel ashamed for discrediting her operation. She also checked the secret service's databanks and confirmed about Agent Sweetie Drops going missing while finding the Horse Bills. The brilliant orange woman expressed her most profound gratitude for Twilight's accomplishment in discovering the printing presses before the three of them left to meet the chancellor.
Inside Canterlot Castle, Chancellor Neighsay was in his office in one of the highest towers in the palace. He was a thin man with light azureish gray skin, dark grayish azure hair that was pulled back, and a small goatee. When Twilight entered the office with her backup pair of glasses followed by Commander Harshwhinny and Flash, Chancellor Neighsay looked at them with a stern look in his moderate turquoise eyes as he rested his elbows and clasped his hands together.
"Inspector Sparkle, you did not immediately return with your squadron as ordered," he said sternly. "I cannot overstate my disappointment that a woman of your stature would disobey direct orders because you are determined to capture one thief."
"My apologies, Your Excellency," Twilight said, unintimidated by the chancellor's words. "I'm afraid there were some unfortunate setbacks that misled my squadron into thinking I went ahead of them with returning to Canterlot."
"Indeed?" The chancellor asked before turning to Harshwhinny. "May I ask what business you have to come to my office without permission, commander?"
"Sir, Agent Sentry returned to Canterlot with Inspector Sparkle, and they have made discoveries in Everfree that require your attention," Harshwhinny answered.
"Discoveries?" Chancellor Neighsay asked. "Please don't tell me this has to do with your daft claims that Queen Adagio is running some counterfeit operation."
"I'm afraid it does, Chancellor," Harshwhinny said. "And the matter is worse than we suspected."
Chancellor Neighsay furrowed his brow, displeased with her response. Twilight took his silence as her moment to take out the blueprints and the rolls of fake bills out of her pockets and put them on the chancellor's desk. Harshwhinny and Flash smirked as Chancellor Neighsay looked at the evidence.
"As you can see, chancellor, these are blueprints of the printing presses inside Castle Everfree," Twilight said. "There is a large hall full of these machines that are making fake bills for Canterlot and its allies, as well as countries outside of our continent. In other words, the queen of Everfree is creating false money all over the world. Furthermore, I have discovered catacombs deep under Castle Everfree that contain countless bodies of people who have opposed the queen and her ancestors, signifying that -"
"Silence!" Chancellor Neighsay shouted.
Twilight jumped and took a step back, taken aback by the way the chancellor angrily interrupted her. Flash and Harshwhinny were also shocked as the gray-skinned man glowered at them.
"Claiming that Everfree is sending counterfeit money all over the world? Putting so-claimed blueprints on my desk? Saying that the queen has a catacomb full of dead bodies? How dare you speak such nonsense in front of me!" He growled.
"It's the truth, chancellor," Twilight protested. "These are real blueprints from their printing room, and I saw the catacombs myself. There are bodies everywhere, including the body of a special agent from Canterlot named Sweetie Drops."
"It's true, Your Excellency," Harshwhinny said. "We checked our databanks after Inspector Sparkle testified to us and there was an agent named Sweetie Drops who was sent to Everfree by Chancellor Octavia Melody to find the counterfeit operation in the country and went missing and was later declared K.I.A."
Chancellor Neighsay turned to Harshwhinny and said, "Now you're creating stories to back up your obsession on an old myth, commander."
"Obsession? The evidence is right here in front of you. What more do you want?" Flash rebuked. "Are you in so much denial that you can't just admit that you've been proven wrong like an adult?"
"I resent that accusation, Agent Sentry!" Chancellor Neighsay growled. "The fact is you just walked into my office trying to convince me to try to arrest the ruler of one of our allies. Even if a single word of what you're saying is true, it is not within my power or the power of our allies to meddle in the affairs of another country, leastways a small, well-respected country like Everfree."
"Meddle in the affairs of another country? This is no political matter!" Twilight shouted. "Ruler of a country be disregarded. Queen Adagio is a criminal, and with this evidence, we have her dead to rights."
"And I only have the desperate words of two members of our secret service trying to prove that a myth exists and an inspector who has a bad public image of late to go by," Chancellor Neighsay said.
"Bad public image? What are you talking about?" Twilight asked.
"You mean you haven't read the morning papers?" Chancellor Neighsay asked. "It's been in the talk of the city for the last two days."
He took out a newspaper lying next to him on his desk and put it on top of Twilight's evidence. Twilight slowly picked it up and looked closely before she gasped. Flash and Harshwhinny looked over Twilight's shoulders, and their eyes widened as the headlines read, "Queen Adagio bravely saves her fiance from a criminal mastermind." There was a large picture of Adagio in a full-body photo standing tall and proud and waving at the camera on the front page. To the left of the photograph were half-body pictures of Rough Draft and Sunset. The prince was sitting on a chair with a melancholy look, and the image of Sunset was a mugshot.
"They say that Sunset Shimmer attempted to kidnap the prince and hold him for ransom," the chancellor said. "They've also been talking about a henchman disguised as you tried to help her."
"That wasn't a disguise. That was me," Twilight said.
Chancellor Neighsay frowned and said, "You mean you knowingly aided a criminal attempting to kidnap the prince?"
"Uh, no, we weren't kidnapping. We were rescuing," Twilight said.
"Rescuing?" The chancellor asked unfazed.
"Yes, sir. The queen is holding Prince Rough Draft against his wishes and blackmailed him into marrying her," Flash said.
"A royal wedding arranged through blackmail? This is by far your tallest story yet," Chancellor Neighsay said.
"But it's the truth," Twilight protested again. "Since when has my word and the word of Canterlot's secret service accounted for so little?"
"That's right. No matter what you believe, Your Excellency, you have solid evidence right in front of you that Queen Adagio is committing a horrible crime," Harshwhinny said.
"What I have is fake money and blueprints that could have come from anywhere along with your words against the queen's, and to be blunt, I believe the queen," Chancellor Neighsay said.
Twilight stared at the chancellor in disbelief and asked, "I'm testifying as an eyewitness. How can you be so dismissive about the evidence right in front of you just because the person in question is a queen?"
"It's quite simple, Inspector Sparkle. The world believes what it wants to believe," Chancellor Neighsay said. "It believes that the queen of Everfree is a courageous hero who protected her future husband, and that, whether you were there or not, you have some part in an international thief attempting to commit a heinous crime. What you consider to be the truth is irrelevant. No matter what you say, these claims are coming from an inspector who has defied orders and two members of our secret service who are desperate to be seen as proven right."
"Your Excellency, please be reasonable," Harshwhinny said. "It can't be that -"
"Enough!" Chancellor Neighsay growled. "I will say no more about the matter. Harshwhinny, your case is closed. Inspector, I'm going to discuss your past actions to the commissioner and recommend that you are suspended from the Canterlot police."
"Suspended?!" Twilight shouted. "But I -"
"Dismissed! All of you!" The chancellor barked.
Twilight, Flash, and Harshwhinny looked at Chancellor Neighsay in disbelief before they sadly left the office. Neither of them said a word to each other as they exited the castle. It was dark out when they left, and Spike and the rest of Twilight's squadron were waiting for them in formation in front of the castle gates. The lieutenant smiled and saluted his big sister.
"Everyone is ready to go, Twilight," he said. "Just say the word, and we'll be back in Everfree before you know it."
Twilight gave her brother a sad smile before she looked down in defeat and said, "No one's going anywhere, Spike."
The squadron looked at each other confused, and Spike asked, "What do you mean? Didn't you give the chancellor the proof?"
"Chancellor Neighsay didn't believe us," Twilight said. "He said the bills and blueprints could have come from anywhere and said he's going to recommend that the commissioner suspends me."
"What?! But that's ridiculous!" Spike shouted.
"Understatement of the century, Lieutenant," Flash said.
Twilight sighed and said, "Just go home, everyone. There's nothing we can do about Chancellor Neighsay's decision. More than likely, he'll have the commissioner replace me before long."
The squadron looked at her in disbelief and shouted words of protest until Twilight held up her hand and said, "Disperse. That's an order." The officers reluctantly did as ordered, glumly leaving while occasionally glancing at their leader as they walked as a final act of loyalty. Before long, Twilight, Spike, Flash, and Harshwhinny were the only people left. The purple man with green hair walked over to his sister and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Twilight, is there anything I can do?" He asked.
Twilight gave Spike an appreciative smile before she frowned again and said, "No. There's nothing. Go home, Spike. Rarity's waiting for you."
Spike opened his mouth to object, but then he closed it and reluctantly walked away. Harshwhinny then walked in front of Twilight and gave her a sad smile.
"You have my deepest apologies for what happened there, inspector," she said. "If it's any consolation, I want to thank you for your contribution to our case. Without you, the Horse Bills would still be just a myth."
"Thank you, Commander," Twilight said in a monotone voice.
Harshwhinny then turned to Flash and said, "I want a report on your investigation by the end of the week, Agent Sentry."
"Understood, Commander," Flash said.
Harshwhinny gave her agent a short nod before she walked away to her own home. Twilight hung her head and put her hands in her trench coat pockets as she started walking down aimlessly down the city streets. Flash watched her walk away sympathetically before he looked down and scratched the back of his head. He then ran over to catch up with Twilight, who turned to him, having heard him running toward her.
"Hey, listen, do you want to go get a drink or something?" He asked.
Twilight frowned and asked, "Are you asking me on a date after I just found out that I'm going to lose my job?"
"No, I mean, do you want to get a drink after everything that happened in there?" Flash clarified. "I mean, I don't know about you, but I just learned that the assignment I've been working on for months has been for nothing, so I could certainly use something."
Twilight took a moment to think about Flash's offer and said, "I don't want a drink. I want comfort food. Something sweet."
Flash smirked and said, "In that case, I know just the place that's open at this hour."
Twilight smiled, feeling hopeful that what Flash is thinking would be just what she wanted. She followed the grayish amber man to the other side of the city, where there was a small donut restaurant close to the city walls. When Flash and Twilight came in the front door, a little bell rang, alerting a tall man with light amber skin, moderate orange hair, and broad shoulders standing behind the counter. The man turned around to see Flash and Twilight walking over to them and gave them a friendly smirk.
"Well, well, well. As I live and breathe. Flash Sentry," he said. "Haven't seen you around these parts in some time, old buddy. Where have you been?
"Oh, I had a long business trip," Flash replied.
"I see," the man said before turning to Twilight. "And who is she? Your girlfriend?"
"He should be so lucky," Twilight said. "I'm just someone he met during his...business trip. I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"Pleased to meet ya. I'm Donut Joe, but you can call me Joe," Joe said. "So, what can I do for you two?"
"I'm craving for something sweet, and Flash recommended your establishment," Twilight replied.
"Did he now? Well, you've come to the right place, Ms. Sparkle," Joe said proudly. "When it comes to donuts and coffee, you'll never find a better restaurant than mine."
"That's quite a claim," Twilight said. "In that case, I'd like a half dozen of your best donuts and a cappuccino, please."
"Excellent choice," Joe said. "How about you, Sentry?"
"I'm thinking of a long john and a cappuccino myself," Flash said. "And I'll be paying for both of us.
Twilight frowned and said, "You don't need to -"
"I insist," Flash said with a smile. "We're here more for you than me."
Twilight continued to frown at Flash for a moment before she smiled and silently accepted his offer. Flash took out his wallet and paid Donut Joe before he and Twilight found a booth to sit on next to a window. For a minute, the two of them were awkwardly silent as they waited for Joe to bring them their orders.
"So…" Flash said.
"So…" Twilight said back.
"I guess this is redundant to ask, but how are you feeling right now?" Flash asked.
Twilight was silent for a couple of seconds before she sighed and said, "I don't know. I guess I'm sad, but at the same time, I feel frustrated and confused. Nothing makes sense anymore."
"What do you mean?" Flash asked.
"I mean nothing goes the way it should," Twilight said. "When I decided to be an inspector, I wanted to find and bring down criminals using logical deduction and solid evidence. Nothing about my job should be simpler than that. I may not always succeed just on account of trying to hunt down Sunset Shimmer alone, but I give myself some grace considering how she is by far the most cunning and resourceful criminal there is."
Flash nodded in understanding while Twilight continued.
"So, when I discover something as atrocious as what the monarchy a country has been doing for centuries, was able to escape with solid evidence of what is happening, I expect someone like Chancellor Neighsay to see the truth and act on it. And yet, just because of what the newspaper says and I ignored an order, my evidence is discredited."
"Yeah, I know. It doesn't add up," Flash said, sadly.
The two of them became silent again, feeling defeated by the situation. After another minute, Joe came back with their drinks and pastries on a tray. They politely thanked him as he put the orders on the table before he went back to the counter. As soon as he was gone, Twilight opened her box of donuts and dove right into one. She munched hastily until her mind fully processed the sweet taste, and she chewed slowly to savor the donut before swallowing. She grabbed another donut and took a smaller bite to relish the taste while Flash was eating his long john at a moderate pace. The edges of Twilight's mouth curled up as she finished her second donut.
"I take it that hits the spot?" Flash asked, smirking.
"Good golly, does it ever?" Twilight replied as she took another donut. "How have I not heard of this place before?"
Flash chuckled and said, "Well, Canterlot is a big place, so there's going to be hidden gems when it comes to food."
"No kidding. My sister-in-law would love these," Twilight said. "This is just what I needed."
"Glad to hear it," Flash said. "I usually come here to reward myself after completing an assignment."
"How long have you been in the secret service?" Twilight asked.
"Eh, about eight years or so," Flash answered. "How about you with becoming an inspector?"
"About the same," Twilight said.
"Yeah? How long have you been trying to catch Sunset?" Flash asked.
"Seven years," Twilight answered before it hit her. "You know, I think I've read something on the file for Sunset Shimmer saying that she dated a special agent when I started looking for her."
"Uh, really?" Flash asked, nervously.
"Yeah, do you know anything about that?" Twilight asked.
"I...might have an idea," Flash answered, looking away from Twilight.
Twilight tilted her head, puzzled by the way Flash was acting. He was looking down, facing the floor while scratching the back of his head. It took a moment before it hit her, and she looked at Flash in disbelief.
"You dated her?" She asked. "What in the world possessed you to do that? She's a criminal."
"It was during my early years as a spy," Flash answered, looking at Twilight again. "Every now and then, she would be there when I was on assignment to steal something. Most of the time, she was my enemy interfering with my job, but other times she and Starlight Glimmer were my allies. Though even when we were, it was because Sunset and Starlight could get something valuable like jewels or money out of helping me. Eventually, Sunset and I got to a point where we would secretly date."
"Seriously? You could get in huge trouble for that," Twilight said.
"Oh, I did," Flash confessed. "Commander Harshwhinny was fuming when she learned about us. She looked the other way when we needed her for our operations as long as I completed my assignment, though."
"And Sunset Shimmer was okay with helping you just because you were her boyfriend?" Twilight asked.
"Partially, but I think it's really because she and Starlight have a moral obligation to do the right thing when there's something worse than stealing is happening," Flash answered.
Twilight looked at Flash dumbfounded until she thought about it and said, "That does add up. Sunset Shimmer was disgusted by how the Celestial family has killed so many people to hide their counterfeit operation. She didn't want to take over anymore after that."
"Exactly," Flash said.
Twilight frowned and said, "But I hope you realize that doesn't excuse her crimes. If I don't get suspended or eventually get my job back, I still intend to lock her up once and for all."
"I would be disappointed if you weren't planning to do that," Flash said with a smile. "Truth be told, after traveling back here from Everfree and seeing you so determined to get the chancellor to accept the truth, I admire your passion for justice."
Twilight smirked and asked, "Did you just say that to make a move on me?"
"I said that because it's the truth," Flash insisted before he played with his fingers and said, "Though if you were flattered in that way, I wouldn't mind."
Twilight covered her mouth to hide a snicker while Flash looked away shyly. Then he turned back to her, and the two of them smiled while looking into each other's eyes. But while Twilight was staring, she noticed something at the corner of her eye and looked away from Flash, furrowing her brow. Flash was puzzled by her change in mood until he turned his head to where Twilight was looking and frowned.
On the black square tv hanging above the wall behind the counter, a news station was reporting on Adagio and Rough Draft's wedding. The station then cut to Adagio standing in front of the front gates of Castle Everfree with a stand holding several microphones in front of her, waving with pride as photographers took pictures. The sound of journalists trying to get the queen's attention roared through the TV speakers until Adagio pointed at one of them.
"Your Highness. Snappy Scoop from the Baltimare daily news," a journalist said. "How are you feeling about the wedding just days away."
"Oh, there are no words to describe how I feel," Adagio said blissfully. "I always believed that Rough Draft and I would be the ones to unite our families after centuries of separation, and our wedding will be a day that I will treasure always."
"Your Majesty. Press Release of the Las Pegasus Journal," said another journalist. "Where is Prince Rough Draft right now?"
"I'm afraid he is staying in his quarters right now," Adagio said. "The poor dear is still traumatized from the attempted kidnapping, but he will be right as rain in time for the wedding."
"Your Highness. Buried Lede of the Manehattan Post," said the third reporter. "How are you holding up after saving your fiance from the international criminal, Sunset Shimmer?"
Adagio let out a soft gasp and placed her hand on her heart.
"The mere idea that the coldhearted villain, Sunset Shimmer, came so close to kidnapping my precious groom still haunts me,” she said. “But I assure you, my courageous act has never made me feel prouder of myself. As far as my people and I are concerned, I have proven that I will be a loyal and protective wife to my husband and king. As long as we are together, Rough Draft will worry for nothing."
"Oh, brother," Twilight groaned.
"But can you say for an absolute fact that Sunset Shimmer is dead?" Buried Lede asked.
"Absolutely," Adagio claimed. "She was mortally wounded when she tried to kidnap Rough Draft. I offered medical attention from the goodness of my heart, but the prideful woman refused and tried to escape with her life. We have not found the body yet, but at the critical state she was in, there can be no doubt that she succumbed to her wounds."
"Pfff. Yeah right. If you call blackmailing the prince an offer from the goodness of your heart," Flash grumbled.
The news then cut back to the newscaster who said, "Citizens of Everfree and tourists alike have grown more excited for the unity of the royal families as the festivities continue in the country's capital. The Archbishop of Mt. Aris has already left for Everfree to officiate the royal wedding. Queen Adagio has only allowed your Canterlot 9 News to record the wedding live, and we will broadcast the historical event worldwide."
"This is ridiculous," Twilight complained.
"No kidding," Flash said. "If you ask me, the queen is overcompensating by having the archbishop marry her and Prince Rough Draft."
"That and having it shot worldwide," Twilight agreed. "She probably expects everyone in the world to watch."
Flash hummed in agreement, while still looking at the TV. But after a second, his eyes widened, and the edges of his mouth curled up. He sprang up from his seat, startling Twilight as the grayish amber man started laughing like a madman.
"That's it!" He shouted.
"What's it?" Twilight asked.
"The whole world is going to see the broadcast," Flash said.
"I'm not following," Twilight said.
"Twilight, don't you see? We can use that to reveal the Horse Bills to everyone," Flash said.
"What? How in the world are we going to do that?" Twilight asked.
"The newscaster said that only Canterlot 9 News it's going to record the wedding," Flash explained. "If I can get Commander Harshwhinny to have me and a couple of my fellow agents pretend to be the news crew going to Everfree, we can prove to the whole world about the printing presses under Castle Everfree. You said there's a stairway that leads to the printing room inside the castle's chapel, right?"
"Right. Just behind the altar," Twilight said.
"There you have it. We'll already be inside the chapel to shoot the wedding, so all we have to do is get behind that altar and go down to the printing room for the entire world to see," Flash asked.
Twilight hummed and held her chin in thought before she said, "That sounds well and good, Flash, but how do you plan to get to the altar unnoticed?"
"Well, that's where Sunset and her friends come in," Flash said. "If she is still alive, and we inform her about the wedding, she will no doubt crash the ceremony and prevent the prince from marrying the queen. That'll give us a big distraction while we sneak our way there."
"That sounds like a big risk to assume that Sunset Shimmer is alive and will be able to crash the wedding," Twilight said.
"True, but if she does it, it will be smooth sailing for you and me to sneak inside the printing room," Flash said.
"But I can't do that, Twilight said. "I'm going to be put on suspension, remember?"
"But you're not in suspension yet, so technically you're still on the case to hunt down Sunset," Flash pointed out. "You're not exactly disobeying orders if you're going back to Everfree because Sunset Shimmer is there, right?"
Twilight thought about it before she smiled brightly and stood up, saying, "That's right. I can take my squadron back to Everfree in secret, and if Sunset Shimmer appears at the wedding, we'll charge right into the chapel, pretending to be chasing after her. No doubt she would do something over-the-top to get away with the prince, which can be used for us to sneak our way to the altar in all of the confusion."
"Exactly," Flash said with a grin.
Twilight smirked at Flash and crossed her arms as she said, "You know, this plan of yours sounds like something Sunset Shimmer would conjure up. Clearly, she rubbed a bit of her mischievous mind on you."
"Is that going to be a problem between us?" Flash asked.
"Not unless you come up with ideas like choking people unconscious or flying an aircraft neither of us have used before," Twilight said. "And you better not try anything to stop me from arresting your ex when this is over."
"Then I shall do everything in my power accomplish our goal with a little restraint, my lady," Flash said with a smile and a bow.
Twilight giggled and asked, "Are you going to do that every time you say something to try and please me?"
"I don't know. Let's find out after we take down the queen," Flash replied.
"Fair enough," Twilight said. "So, how do we find out if Sunset Shimmer is alive and bring her into our little plan."
Flash's smile turned into a smirk, and he said, "You just focus on getting your squadron ready for a fight, Twilight. Leave Sunset and everything else to me."
Starlight didn't sleep much after Sunset got shot. She was in a small bedroom, sitting on a chair in front of a bed, where Sunset lay unconscious with bandages wrapped around her wound while Tempest sat on a chair at the other side of the room, holding her sword close. A gas lantern lit up the room on a bed stand while the window beside the bed was covered in darkness. An old brown collie was lying down close to Sunset on the bed, cuddled up in a little ball as it slept. All Starlight could do was stare at her friend, worried about whether or not she was going to wake up.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Starlight drew her magnum, and Tempest stood up and prepared to unsheath her sword.
"Who is it?" Starlight asked in a hostile tone
"It's me," said a woman in a southern accent.
The two women eased up, and Starlight stood up and opened the door to reveal Applejack on the other side. The grayish gamboge woman gave them skeptical looks as she entered the room, carrying a basket of food.
"Now, why would you think anyone besides me would be coming in when I'm already inside my own house?" She asked.
"We can't be too careful, Applejack," Starlight replied as she put away her gun. "The queen and her people are a persistent bunch."
"So you've told me," Applejack said. "Anyway, I got some food for y'all."
"Thank you," Starlight said as Applejack gave her the basket. "And thanks again for taking us in, by the way."
"You should be thanking my dog," Applejack replied. "If it weren't for the way she's been acting around your friend, I wouldn't have thought twice about not letting you in my home. She doesn't normally like strangers."
"You could have fooled me. That dog refuses to leave Sunset's side when it doesn't need to go out to go outside to use the restroom," Starlight said.
"Indeed," Tempest said. "It's nothing short of peculiar."
Applejack hummed in acknowledgment before her eyes turned to Sunset, and she asked, "How is she, by the way?"
"Well, her fever is gone, and it looks like the wound is almost closed judging by the last time we changed bandages," Starlight said. "We just have to hope she wakes up soon now."
"The sooner, the better," Tempest agreed.
But while they were talking, Sunset's mouth twitched, and she let out a quiet groan. The collie's ears perked up, and it raised its head to find Sunset turning her head and slowly adjusted her body. Starlight, Applejack, and Tempest noticed Sunset waking up, and the purple woman sighed in relief.
"Oh, thank God," she said.
Sunset slowly opened her eyes, and they instantly met the collie's black eyes. The dog immediately stood up and walked over to lick Sunset's face with its tail wagging rapidly. Sunset chuckled with her mouth closed as she reached over her head to pet the dog as it licked her.
"Hi, Winona," she said. "How's my good girl? Who's a good Winona the dog?"
Starlight smiled as Sunset pet the dog, and the side of Tempest's mouth curled up, secretly glad that her client was awake. Applejack also smiled for a moment before she gave the amber woman a puzzled look.
"Wait a minute. How does she know the dog's name?" She asked.
Starlight looked at her, confused, and asked, "Isn't its name on its name tag?"
"It is, but there's no way she can see it with Winona so close to her," Applejack said.
"Who's such a loyal dog?" Sunset asked as Winona continued to lick her. "Where is your master, though? Shouldn't he be with you?"
Starlight, Applejack, and Tempest looked at each other before the grayish gamboge woman walked over to the bed and asked, "How do you know the dog's name? The only people who should know about Winona are Prince Rough Draft and me."
Sunset looked up at the ceiling while Winona was still licking her. She hummed as she smiled as though she was still asleep and having a good dream.
"Prince Rough Draft," she mumbled. "I like that name. Rough Draft...Rough Draft...babe…"
Suddenly, she gasped and sprung up into a sitting position. She turned to Starlight and asked, "How long was I out?!"
Starlight hesitated before she answered, "Three days."
"Three days?!" Sunset shouted. "The wedding is tomorrow! We gotta save Rough Draft! We need to - ACK!"
Sunset hugged her stomach and bit her lip as she felt the sting of her wound like several swords piercing her body. Starlight lightly pushed her down to a lying position, but the amber woman forced herself back up.
"Sunset, lie down. You're going to reopen your wound," Starlight said.
"I can't," Sunset said, fighting through the pain. "I need food."
"I got ya covered there, partner," Applejack said. "I got some bread and cheese in the basket."
"No, I need a feast!" Sunset demanded. "I don't care if I blow up like a balloon from overeating! I'm low on blood, and I need to build up my strength! I'll pay for whatever I eat! Just keep it coming! I'm not letting Rough Draft marry that witch!"
Applejack frowned at Sunset's demands. She turned to Starlight, who gave her an apologetic look for her partner's behavior, and then to Tempest, who looked at her with her stone eyes before she shrugged.
"That would be the best way to get her to heal quickly," she said. "And when she says she'll pay you back, she'll do it."
Applejack looked at her skeptically before she sighed and said, "I'll see what I can do."
By the time Applejack had finished preparing more food for Sunset, she had long finished eating the bread and cheese from the basket. The grayish gamboge woman came back to the room with a large tray full of bread, sausages, chicken, fruit, and more cheese and bread. As soon as she placed the tray down on the bed, Sunset immediately started devouring her large meal like an animal. Applejack, Tempest, Starlight, and Winona watched in silence as Sunset shoved handfuls of food into her mouth.
"Boss, take it easy. If you don't chew, you're going to get indigestion," Starlight protested.
"Clam it, Starlight. I've never had indigestion in my life," Sunset rebuked after drinking a large gulp of water to wash down the cheese and sausage in her mouth. "Just give me twelve hours, and I'll be fine."
Starlight and Applejack looked at each other concerned as Sunset started eating a drumstick with one hand and a pear in another. Winona tilted her head as it sat next to Sunset on the bed, bewildered by the way her old friend was acting. Even Tempest was silently amazed at how much food Sunset could eat so quickly. Finally, Sunset gathered the remaining slices of sausage, ham, bread, and cheese and shoved it all into her mouth with both hands. She slowly chewed the large amount of food in her mouth that made her look like a chipmunk holding acorns in its mouth until her amber face turned apple green, and she covered her mouth.
"See? What did I tell you? You're gonna choke," Starlight said.
"Get a water basin. She's probably going to puke," Applejack said.
Starlight and Tempest looked around until the latter found a water basin on the corner table. She quickly picked it up and brought it over to Sunset, but the amber woman held her finger up in front of her. Everyone waited carefully as Sunset slowly chewed and swallowed her food bit by bit. Eventually, Sunset swallowed the last of her food and chugged the rest of her water before laying back down with a plop. Tempest kept holding the basin just in case while Sunset moaned and patted the big lump in her belly with her eyes shut.
"Are you full?" Starlight asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm full," Sunset groaned.
"Well, that's a relief," Applejack said. "Any more and there wouldn't be any left for the rest of us. You must have the stomach of a full-grown stallion."
"That would be news to me," Starlight said. "I've never seen her eat that much before."
"It is unusual for her. I agree," Tempest said. "She must be really determined to save the prince."
Applejack furrowed her brow and said, "Speaking of which, none of you ladies have told me why your friend is so determined to rescue the prince."
"Well, Sunset secretly dated the prince when they were teenagers," Starlight said.
Applejack looked at the purple woman curiously before turning to Sunset and saying, "So, you're the girl my grandma found with Prince Rough Draft in his room all those years ago."
Sunset opened her eyes and turned her head to Applejack, asking, "Granny Smith is your actual grandmother?"
"Was," Applejack corrected. "She passed a few years ago."
"Sorry to hear that," Sunset said.
"Thanks," Applejack said. "Anyway, I was heading home from school when she told me about the prince fooling around with some girl in his room. Couldn't believe that he would do that considering his upbringing."
"And you shouldn't believe it," Sunset said with a serious look. "Rough Draft and I weren't fooling around."
"Says the lady he was with," Applejack said.
"We. Did. Not. Do it," Sunset insisted. "Heck, your grandma caught us dancing. That's it."
Applejack crossed her arms, and asked, "And why should I believe you?"
"Do you think that I would go through so many lengths to save him just so that I can do it with him?" Sunset challenged. "For heaven sakes, the queen is only marrying him for that and so that she can get her hands on some treasure."
"Treasure?" Starlight and Tempest asked simultaneously.
"What are you babbling about?" Applejack asked.
"It's why Queen Adagio wants Rough Draft's ring," Sunset explained. "He told me Adagio also has a ring that has been passed down in her family for centuries. Somehow both rings are the key to some mysterious treasure, and she's marrying Rough Draft to get it."
Starlight looked at her partner, puzzled, and asked, "How great is this treasure? Is it supposed to be more valuable than any wealth the queen has from making the Horse Bills or something?"
"I don't know, but the queen wants it bad. That's why she's been so determined to get Rough Draft's ring," Sunset said.
"Horse Bills? You mean you believe that nonsense about the Celestial family making a bunch of counterfeit money?" Applejack asked.
"I know they are. I've seen it myself," Sunset said.
"Really? You've seen where they make them?" Starlight asked.
"There's a large hall hidden underneath the castle's chapel full of printing presses," Sunset said. "They're making fake money to countries all over the world."
By this point, Starlight was beaming the more Sunset explained what she saw. Even Tempest's had a sinister grin on her stone face as she said, "So, the legend is true. We're going to have more wealth than we can imagine."
Applejack frowned and said, "Now see here, I've tolerated having you three in my house, but I will not have any thieves trying to take over something so disgraceful under my roof."
"Good, because we're not going to," Sunset said.
"What? What are you talking about, boss?" Starlight asked.
Sunset turned to her friend and said, "Starlight, when we became partners, we agreed that we would never murder anyone to get what we want, right?"
"Yeah, so?" Starlight asked.
"The Celestial family has been murdering people for centuries to hide their operation," Sunset said. "There are catacombs under the castle that Queen Adagio dropped me in when I got caught. Twilight was there too after she fell through a trapdoor. The place was full of skeletons and rotting corpses. Hundreds of people were left to die for opposing the monarchy or trying to find the printing presses. If the queen didn't send her assassins to find me when she realized I still had the ring, Twilight and I wouldn't have found a way out, and we would have starved to death down there."
Starlight and Applejack stared at Sunset, shocked with the latter covering her mouth. Tempest frowned as she put down the water basin in her hand and picked up her sword lying on her chair. She unsheathed her weapon and stared at her reflection on the blade before she closed her eyes and sighed through her nose.
"I consider myself a samurai with some honor despite stealing and selling weapons," she said. "When the situation demands it, I will take action with my sword drawn, cutting down all who oppose my clients and me. But I will never kill a defenseless person."
She sheathed her sword and turned to Sunset, saying, "You're one of the most deceitful people I know, Shimmer, but you've never lied to me or Glimmer. If what you're saying is true, then I have no desire to take over those presses and live off the wealth that has cost so many innocent lives."
"Me neither," Starlight said.
"I can't believe that the ruler of my country would do such a thing," Applejack said. "I never respected Queen Adagio apart from what is obligated for me as an Everfree citizen, but I never imagined that she would do something so horrible.
"Yeah, well now that you know, that gives us all the more reason to stop her," Sunset said. "Twilight took some blueprints and rolls of fake bills from the printing presses when we were escaping. Hopefully, she's back in Canterlot, and the chancellor will get the other nations to investigate and bring her down. Until then, we need to focus on saving Rough Draft before he marries her."
Applejack nodded in agreement until she realized something and asked, "Hold on. Assuming you succeed in rescuing the prince, does that mean you're gonna try to get back together with him?"
"Of course," Sunset said without hesitating.
Applejack furrowed her brow and asked, "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"
"What do you mean?" Sunset asked. "I love Rough Draft, he still loves me, and neither of us want to be away from each other again."
"I understand that, but have you considered that there might be repercussions if you do?" Applejack asked.
Sunset gave Applejack a puzzled look and asked, "Like what?"
"Well, if Queen Adagio is brought to justice for everything that she and her family has done, the country will be in a fragile state because of all the things its monarchy has done against its allies," Applejack explained. "She might even be arrested, and thus Prince Rough Draft will have to take her place as ruler of Everfree."
Sunset looked at Applejack as if the grayish gamboge woman said something silly and said, "So? What's the matter with that? Rough Draft is a good man, and he'll make a great king. I'd be proud of him as his girlfriend."
"I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about what the prince being with you could do to the country," Applejack clarified.
"What does that have to do with the two of them?" Starlight asked.
"Think about it. When the world finds out what the government of Everfree has done for so many years, the trust between Everfree and its allies are going to be frail at best," Applejack said. "Prince Rough Draft might be able to mend that trust if he proves himself a good king, but that will be difficult to do if he's dating a criminal. An international criminal at that. As far as the world would be concerned, it would seem like Everfree is not much better under Prince Rough Draft's rule than the queen's. Can you honestly tell me that you would be okay with what that might do to the country's future just because you want to be together with him so badly?"
Sunset stared at Applejack, not knowing how to answer her question. Starlight looked at her friend concerned while Winona was still lying down next to Sunset. Tempest stared at the wall and hummed in thought before turning her head to Sunset.
"I'm afraid she has a point, Shimmer," she said. "You are an international criminal who has stolen from various countries throughout your career. You're not a murderer like Queen Adagio, but you're still a criminal mastermind like her. If you got together with the prince and maybe even marry him, the country may as well have traded one criminal mastermind in the country's monarchy for another. That might cause problems for the country in the long run, considering that it's a small country of little significance apart from all the money that the queen is made through the counterfeit operation. It would not be fair for things to get worse for Everfree if the country has to deal so much just because of what you want."
Sunset winced at her words as if Tempest touched her bullet wound. She turned to Starlight, who gave her an apologetic look, silently agreeing with Applejack and Tempest. Sunset then turned her head to her rose necklace, which was lying on the bed stand, and reached out for it with her left hand. She held it up to her face and slowly rubbed the surface with her thumb, imaging she was looking at Rough Draft. Starlight and Tempest looked at each other with grim looks over the way Sunset was disheartened.
But as Sunset stared at her necklace, she felt something wet, and she turned her head to see Winona licking her hand. The collie turned to her and sat down on her bottom, knowing that she has the amber woman's attention. Sunset knew that the dog couldn't say anything or show any certain facial expressions, but she could tell that Winona was trying to cheer her up. She smiled and petted the dog behind her ear, feeling a little better from Winona's encouragement.
The moment was interrupted; however, when a knock on a door outside of the bedroom was heard. Starlight and Tempest readied their magnum and sword respectively and silently left the room with Applejack in front of them. The thief and the samurai put their backs to the wall on both sides to Applejack's front door, ready to fight if the person on the other side was an enemy. Applejack took a deep breath before she slowly her front door, only to find a car driving away from her property in the distance. The grayish gamboge woman watched the car drive away, confused until she looked down and saw Sunset's grappling gun lying on the porch.
Starlight took a peek from her hiding spot and noticed the gun, saying, "Hey, it's Sunset's grappling gun."
"This is your friend's?" Applejack asked as she picked up the gun and handed it to Starlight. "What's it doing here?"
"I dunno, though now that I think about it, I don't recall her having it when she escaped," Starlight said.
"Maybe the note will give us a clue," Tempest said.
Starlight looked at Tempest, confused until the dark orchid woman pointed at a rolled-up piece of paper tied to the hook. She took it out and saw a stamp of a blue shield with a yellow lightning bolt in front of it and said, "It's from Flash."
"Who?" Applejack asked.
"Flash is Sunset's ex who works for the secret service in Canterlot," Sunset explained. "Wonder why he had it."
"Better show that to Shimmer," Tempest suggested.
Starlight nodded before the three women went back to the bedroom, where Sunset was petting Winona again. Sunset noticed them coming back from the corner of her eye and turned her head to see her grappling gun in Starlight's hand.
"Ah, so Flash gave it back," she said.
"You gave it to him?" Tempest asked.
"Just so that he could escape from Rough Draft's room," Sunset said. "So, I guess it was him outside?"
"Looks like it,” Starlight said. "He left a note for you too."
Sunset looked at her friend curiously as Starlight gave her the rolled up piece of paper, and she started reading. Starlight, Applejack, Tempest, and Winona watched patiently until Sunset gave the note a bewildered look.
"I don't believe this," she said. "Chancellor Neighsay disregarded the proof Twilight and Flash gave him."
"What?! Why?!" Starlight asked.
"He said there was no proof that it came from Castle Everfree, and he was more concerned about Twilight disobeying orders and what Adagio is making the world believe," Sunset said.
"What kind of chicken crap is that?" Starlight asked.
"Disapproving of that kind of talk in my house aside, I can't believe it either," Applejack said.
"Mmmm. It seems you went through all of that danger in Castle Everfree for nothing, Shimmer," Tempest said.
"Hold on guys, there's more," Sunset said. "He said that he and Twilight have a plan to expose the truth during the wedding, but he's looking to us to make a distraction during the ceremony."
"Does he have an idea of how we're going to do that?" Starlight asked.
"I'm not sure. The last thing he says in the note is that the Archbishop of Mt. Aris is coming tomorrow through the main road to perform the ceremony," Sunset said.
"Why would he tell us that?" Tempest asked.
Sunset furrowed her brow, unsure of how to answer the samurai. Then, she looked up the ceiling with her eyes wide, and a mischievous grin entered her face. She then turned to Applejack, who immediately became uneasy with the way she was looking at her.
"Applejack, how would you like to meet the Archbishop?"
It was almost noon the next day, and the main road to Castle Everfree was packed with cars. Drivers were honking their horns despite knowing that they were completely stuck, surrounded by other vehicles close to each other. Some of the drivers decided to park their cars and take a nap on the driver's seat while waiting for traffic to move. Others chose to hold picnics with their families or let their children run and play in the field while they and their spouses stayed in their cars. No matter what anyone did, however, there was no chance that anyone was going anywhere.
But while everyone else accepted that they were trapped, a blue car was driving on the grass beside the road. A plump moderate orange man with a white beard that covered half of his face dressed in gold and white robes was playing with the large hat in his hands as he sat on the back seat. His chauffeur was struggling to drive through the grass while being careful not to hit anyone along the way. Unfortunately, his path was blocked by a blue couple who had set up a table and umbrella next to their car and were sitting on folded chairs, playing cards under the shade.
The chauffeur honked his horn and asked, "Hey, could you two get out of the way? We're trying to get to Castle Everfree."
"Join the club, buddy," The blue man with dark grayish phthalo blue hair said. "Everyone's trying to get there."
"But this is the Archbishop back here," The chauffeur said, pointing at the orange man in the back with his thumb.
"Doesn't matter if he's the king of the world, dude. It's completely jammed up ahead," the blue woman with rainbow hair said. "They say there's a landslide about seven kilometers from here."
"But we can't miss the wedding," the Archbishop said. "I'm supposed to marry the queen and the prince."
"Hey, I feel ya, Your Holiness, but there's not much that you can do," the rainbow-haired woman said. "You're gonna need a miracle to get to that wedding on time."
The Archbishop grew anxious and tightened his grip on his hat. He bowed his head and started praying while his chauffeur tried to think of a way past the traffic. Just then, they heard the sound of someone walking over to them, and they turned their heads to see Applejack walking over to the car, carrying Winona with both arms.
"Excuse me, but would you by chance be the Archbishop?" She asked.
"Yes, that is me," the Archbishop replied. "What can I do for you, my child?"
"I was wondering if you could bless my dog," Applejack said. "Poor girl hurt her paw while playing out in the field."
Winona let out a whine, pretending to be in pain. The Archbishop sighed before he made a sign of the cross at the collie. Then the chauffeur noticed Applejack's caretaker clothes and asked, "Hey, do you live around here?"
"Yes, sir. I do," Applejack said. "I live in a cottage not too far from Castle Everfree."
"Do you know another way to the castle?" The Archbishop asked.
"Sure, there's a couple of country roads that are rarely used," Applejack answered. "It's not a smooth ride, but it'll get ya there."
"Could you show us the way, please?" The Archbishop asked.
"It would be my honor, Your Grace," Applejack replied with a smile.
"Fantastic. Hop in," the chauffeur said.
Applejack nodded, and the Archbishop opened the back door for her to get in. After she placed Winona on the car floor in front of her seat and put her seatbelt on, the Archbishop asked, "What is your name, my daughter?"
"Name's Applejack, Your Holiness, and this here is Winona," Applejack replied.
"Applejack, Winona, bless you both," the Archbishop said, crossing the gamboge woman and the dog.
"Now, now, please hold your praises, Your Holiness," Applejack said. "We've got quite the journey ahead of us."
Back in the city, the festivities were livelier than ever. Banners were hanging up on top of buildings, and people were waving Everfree flags out on the streets. Some of the roads were cleared so that people could play music and dance, and tourists were wandering all over the place, taking pictures, or interacting with natives.
On the main road, two, two-story buses with large satellites installed on top of them were driving down toward Castle Everfree. The people nearby were cheering and shouting out hello to the buses as they passed by. Flash was in the leading bus, sitting in the passenger seat dressed as a field reporter with sunglasses, a black wig, and a hat to cover his face. A man named Micro Chips who had pale, light grayish violet skin and dark grayish sapphire blue hair wearing glasses was driving the bus. A third secret agent with light grayish amber skin, and grayish harlequin and moderate pistachio hair named Sandalwood was driving the second bus. Flash was waving back at the people, pretending to be invested in the festivities until he heard a voice.
"Are we almost there?"
"Almost, Twilight," Flash replied without looking at the grayish mulberry woman hiding behind his seat. "More than likely, the royal guard will want to make sure we really are Canterlot 9 News, so make sure your squadron stays hidden."
"Got it," Twilight said.
She turned around to where Spike and half of her troops were cramped in the back of the bus. Having overheard Twilight and Flash, Spike took out his walkie-talkie to inform the rest of their squadron hiding in the second bus that they were close to the castle. Twilight gave her brother a small smile as she sat next to him.
"How are you feeling, Spike?" She asked.
Spike shrugged and said, "I'm a little uneasy."
"Thinking about Rarity?" Twilight asked.
"How can I not be?" Spike asked. "She was so upset that we have to go back, and after everything you told me about the catacombs and traps and everything, I'm worried that we won't be enough. Rarity already worries whenever I'm away as it is. I hate to think of what she would do if we get killed inside that castle. She's probably going to be watching it live at home."
Twilight smiled and wrapped her arm around her brother, saying, "Don't worry, Spike. There's no way there will be death traps in the chapel. There are going to be dozens of country officials in that place. The queen wouldn't dare use up traps in front of people like that. Worst case scenario, we're only going to be dealing with the royal guard, and we've faced them before. How much more threatening can they be in a few days."
Spike smirked and said, "Probably less threatening with that big dumb oaf, Captain Tirek, leading them."
"Exactly," Twilight said with a giggle. "Besides, I won't let anything happen to you. Rarity will kill me if you get hurt, remember?"
"Yeah, I do," Spike said. "And you better make sure that the whole squadron gets out in one piece too. We're all risking our necks and, most likely, our jobs helping you, after all."
"Deal," Twilight said.
Spike smiled at his sister appreciatively, and the other officers gave the inspector approving looks. Meanwhile, the buses were entering the front gate of the castle, where two butlers were waiting for them. Twilight, Spike, and their troops got as close to the floor as they could with the tight space they were in as Flash, Micro Chips, and Sandalwood got out of the buses to greet the servants.
On the second level of the castle, Cozy Glow and Tirek were watching the men disguised as a film crew discuss where they will be shooting with the butlers. The teenage maid grinned at the sight while Tirek watched skeptically.
"I still don't think it's a good idea to have a film crew here," he said.
"Well, the queen thinks it's a great idea, and I agree with her," Cozy Glow said. "She wants everyone to know that her marriage to the prince is completely legitimate and that their union is a historical event."
"Be that as it may, I feel we should be keeping an eye on them," Tirek said. "We've never allowed the news media to enter the compound before."
"That's why those two butlers are there to make sure the film crew doesn't go somewhere they shouldn't be," Cozy Glow said.
Tirek hummed and nodded in approval before the two of them noticed a blue car entering the compound. The car parked behind the two buses, and a maid stepped in to open the back door to reveal the Archbishop.
"Excellent. The Archbishop arrived just in time," Cozy Glow said. "The queen will be pleased."
The Archbishop came out and crossed in front of the maid as a way of blessing the women. Then he faced the castle and made a cross in front of it too. Cozy Glow bowed her head and crossed herself, making Tirek raise his eyebrow.
"Since when have you become religious?" He asked.
"I'm merely playing my part to pretend we share the Archbishop's beliefs," Cozy Glow said. "Besides, there's little harm in praying just to be sure that Sunset Shimmer doesn't somehow disturb the wedding."
"I thought we all agreed that you killed her," Tirek said.
"She might have succumbed to her wounds, but we can't say that for a fact when we haven't found the body," Cozy Glow said. "My Shadows and I are going to be hiding all over the chapel in case Sunset Shimmer tries anything. You and your men just focus on guarding the front gate."
"Understood," Tirek said.
Cozy Glow looked down from the balcony and smirked as the Archbishop walked toward the castle entrance. The guards were bowing their heads as he passed by them. Cozy Glow made a sinister chuckle with her mouth closed and said, "The Queen has been waiting a long time for this day, and everything has to be perfect. Nothing's going to make me happier than to see my mistress find that treasure she's wanted all of her life."
Tirek sneered and said, "Ever devoted to the queen till the end. Eh, Cozy Glow?"
"Till the very end, Tirek," Cozy Glow confirmed. "Till the very end."
It was a minute until nine o'clock at night, and the chapel was packed with high-class people, officials, and royal families from countries all over the world. Dozens of candles lit up the stage where the Archbishop stood in front of the altar. On the right side, Flash and Micro Chips were high up on a balcony where Flash was holding a microphone, and Micro Chips had a large camera set up on a tripod while Sandalwood had another camera set up on the left balcony. Flash took deep breaths through his nostrils, getting ready to get into character for when the ceremony started.
Eventually, the sound of the clock tower ringing nine times outside announced that it was 9 o'clock, and everyone in the chapel became silent. The Archbishop raised his hand and said, "Let the ceremony commence." A woman began playing the pipe organ, and the audience turned around to face the entrance. Two butlers opened the doors to reveal maids and butlers dressed in black robes and pointed black hoods with eyeholes holding swords with both hands standing in two lines. They marched down the aisle until they covered both sides of it, and then faced each other and held their swords up to make a saber arch.
Finally, Adagio and Rough Draft entered the chapel with Adagio's arm wrapped around Rough Draft's. The queen was wearing a white dress with a long golden train and wearing a large, golden crown covered in rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and other jewels. The crest of the Celestial family was strapped to her chest with golden sashes for everyone to see. Rough Draft wore a black tuxedo with the crest of the Lunar family sewed to the upper left side of the coat that was partially covered by the boutonniere in the colors of Adagio's skin and hair attached above it. On his head was a silver, crown half the size of Adagio's.
The queen smiled as she walked down the aisle with her groom, playing the part of a blissful, innocent bride with her eyes fixed on the Archbishop who will unite her with the man of her greedy desires. Rough Draft, on the other hand, showed no emotion as he walked down the aisle. His pupils were so small that his eyes looked like plain, green circles, and his movements were wooden as if he was a robot. If anyone noticed the prince moving like a zombie, they didn't say anything out of respect.
Once the bride and groom made their way to the Archbishop, the hooded servants lowered their swords and faced the stage as the woman on the stage stopped playing the organ.
"My children, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Queen Adagio Kristina Dazzle of the royal family of Celestia, and Prince Rough Muriel Draft the third of the royal family of Luna in the bonds of holy matrimony," the Archbishop said. "May we have the proof that you are the legitimate heirs to the ancient families?"
Adagio turned to a hooded butler standing next to the stage and nodded to him. The butler stepped up to the Archbishop, holding the rings in a maroon and gold pillow. The Archbishop nodded and said, "The exchange of these rings shall reunite the two families who have been divided for centuries as is custom under Everfree law. By your own free will, do you, Adagio, consent to this marriage between you and this man?"
"I do," Adagio said proudly.
"And do you, Rough Draft, consent to this marriage between you and this woman?" The Archbishop asked.
But instead of an answer, Rough Draft continued to stand still like a statue. The audience looked at each other confused, wondering why the prince wasn't giving the Archbishop a response. Adagio turned her eyes to Rough Draft, and her smile grew, knowing that Rough Draft was unable to say no.
"If you choose to remain silent, we shall assume that the answer is yes as is custom," the Archbishop said. "All present shall bear witness that the groom expressed silence as his consent. Do you agree?"
"We do," the guests say simultaneously.
Adagio resisted the urge to grin as the Archbishop grew closer to pronouncing her and Rough Draft man and wife. The Archbishop held up his right hand and said, "May God bless you with this unity, my children. Now, let us have the rings, and we shall -"
"I OBJECT!"
The audience jumped and looked around the chapel, startled at the sound of a woman shouting coming from all over the hall. Adagio frowned and the Archbishop wondered what was happening while Rough Draft continued to stand still.
"I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS WEDDING TO GO ON!" The voice boomed. "IT IS AN ILLEGAL AND UNHOLY PLOT TAINTED BY CENTURIES OF MURDER AND DECEIT!"
The audience grew worried as they still could not figure out where the woman's voice was coming from. It seemed as though it was coming out of thin air. Adagio's frown deepened as it became clear whose voice it was. Suddenly, the blade of a samurai sword stuck out from the center of the altar and zoomed around it, cutting the altar in half in a perpendicular stroke. The top half of the altar slid down, causing the tall cross to wobble before falling off, front first. Adagio, the butler carrying the rings, and the Archbishop ran away with the Archbishop moving Rough Draft away before the cross landed where they were standing with a loud crash. The candles lighting the chapel suddenly went out, and the crowd panicked while the hooded servants surrounded Adagio, Rough Draft, and the Archbishop with their swords drawn.
After a moment, a light came out of the hole in the altar. Everyone but Rough Draft watched Sunset emerge from the hole, sitting on a chair that Starlight and Tempest were supporting using carrying poles. The amber woman's head was completely covered in bandages save for her left eye. Tempest held her sword with her free hand while Starlight had her anti-tank rifle strapped to her back and was holding a lantern with her free hand. The guests grew fearful as Sunset spoke in a ghostly voice.
"I represent the helpless victims of five hundred years of villainy," she said. "Tonight, the Celestial family shall be recognized for the blood they have on their hands."
Adagio clenched her teeth as she realized what Sunset was doing. The guests were confused as to what she was talking about while still afraid of the bandaged figure. The Archbishop whimpered as he backed away while holding his arm in front of Rough Draft defensively.
"God, help us! It's an evil spirit!" He cried out.
"No, it isn't, you fool. It's just a woman trying to scare you," Adagio said.
On the balconies, Micro Chips and Sandalwood had their cameras focused on Sunset, Starlight, and Tempest while Flash held the microphone close to him with a mischievous smirk as he got into character.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like the criminal mastermind known as Sunset Shimmer has crashed the wedding," he said. "The woman that Queen Adagio said died from her wounds appears to be alive. But what could she be talking about with her claims of the Celestial family having murdered people for centuries?"
"Rough Draft. Rough Draft. Rough Draft, can you hear me?" Sunset called out.
But Rough Draft remained still like a lifeless doll. Adagio stood in front of Rough Draft and the Archbishop as Starlight and Tempest carried Sunset toward them.
"Oh, Rough Draft, my poor prince," Sunset said. "They drugged you, didn't they? The queen didn't want you to be able to speak against marrying her! Curse you, Queen Adagio! You'll pay for taking away his free will!"
The guests' fear began to die down, and they whispered among themselves, wondering if what Sunset said was true. Adagio furrowed her brow and raised her hand towards the criminals. Without hesitating, the hooded maids and butlers charged towards them, and Starlight and Tempest dropped the chair and moved away.
At that moment, Rough Draft uttered a soft groan, and his pupils slowly returned to normal size. He heard the sound of blades piercing through something relentlessly as the drug started to wear off. When he completely regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was Sunset's body dangling in the air with the servants holding her up by their swords, impaling her body. His stone face turned into a look of devastation, and it took a second before he found his voice.
"SUNSET!!!"
He took a step to run to the body, but the Archbishop forced him back while he screamed, "NO!!! NO!!! SUNSET, NO!!!" The guests gasped in alarm at the disturbing sight of the dangling body while Adagio let out a triumphant laugh.
"At last, there is no doubt that the master thief, Sunset Shimmer, is dead!" She roared. "Let her friends die, knowing that they have attempted to kidnap my groom for the very last time!"
Starlight and Tempest moved back as the remaining hooded servants surrounded them with their swords ready. Tempest took a defensive stand with her sword while Starlight took out her rifle and aimed it at her enemies. Rough Draft kept trying to break free from the Archbishop’s grasp until he began to break down in tears. His legs gave out, and the Archbishop caught him before he got on his knees. The prince cried out loud until he heard a soft voice whispering in his ear.
“Don’t cry, babe. Your sunshine isn’t going away that easily.”
Rough Draft stopped crying, and he lifted his head and looked around, wondering where the voice came from. But then he heard a hissing sound and all eyes were on Sunset's body, which was inflating like a balloon. The body exploded with a loud boom, and everyone moved back in alarm. Sunset's voice could be heard all over the chapel again, roaring in laughter while pieces of paper flew all over the place.
"How do you like my wedding gift, Adagio?!" She shouted. "Countless counterfeit money from all over the world that your printing presses have made! Consider it my payment for Rough Draft and the rings!"
The guests were confused again as some of the fake money landed in their hands, and they started looking closely at them. Adagio was livid as she and her servants looked around, wondering where the thief's voice was coming from. She then looked down to find Sunset's head in front of her feet and found wires and gears appearing below her neck. The queen growled in anger as she smashed the mechanical head with her foot.
"Stay alert! She could be anywhere!" She barked.
But while they looked around, the Archbishop looked at the rings the butler was holding with a mischievous grin. He looked around to make sure no one was looking before he reached out and snatched the rings off of the pillow. The butler looked down and gasped loudly, and Adagio turned her head to find the rings missing. Her anger turned into shock until she heard the Archbishop giggling. She turned to see him holding the rings with his left hand and his right arm wrapped around Rough Draft's waist.
"Well, would you look at that," he taunted in a singing voice. "I have something you don't have."
"What is the meaning of this?!" Adagio barked.
The Archbishop giggled again in response before he reached under his neck and ripped his face off to reveal Sunset, giving Adagio a mocking grin. Adagio and her servants looked at the thief dumbfounded while Sunset threw the mask into the ground and knocked her hat out of her head to let out her fiery red and yellow hair. Rough Draft took a moment to process what was happening before his face lit up like a candle, and he pulled Sunset into a tight hug. Adagio clenched her teeth again as her groom kissed her enemy’s cheek.
"Shimmer!" She screamed. "How dare you make a fool out of me at my wedding!"
"It's your fault for not getting rid of me when you had the chance, Adagio," Sunset said. "I told you I don't die so easily."
"You'll pay for this with your life!" Adagio barked as her hooded servants surrounded Sunset and Rough Draft.
"I don't think so. I still have plenty of tricks up my sleeve," Sunset said. "Or have you forgotten that I don't have a stout figure like the real Archbishop?"
With another giggle, Sunset spread out her arms to reveal several dozen lit fireworks strapped underneath her cloak. Before anyone could react, the fireworks shot up and exploded into the air. The guest screamed and ran out of the chapel, while Adagio and her servants covered their eyes from the flashing explosions.
Adagio opened her eyes to find Sunset sticking her tongue out and lowering her eyelid at her before she put the rings in her jacket pocket, wrapped her arm around Rough Draft again, and fired her grappling gun at the ceiling. Before the queen could run towards the thief, the grappling gun lifted Sunset and Rough Draft into the air. Once they were at the height of the chapel's glass windows, Sunset stopped pressing the button, leaving her and Rough Draft hanging into the air. She swung her body back and forth until the two of them burst through one of the windows.
The queen shut her eyes, closed her fists, lifted her head, and let out a scream of rage that was drowned out by the exploding fireworks. She took her crown and veil off her head, ripped the long train off her wedding dress, grabbed a sword from one the maid's hands, and ran out of the chapel. All the while, the Canterlot secret agents were recording everything live with Flash still announcing with a grin.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this has been an unexpected turn of events," he said. "The notorious Sunset Shimmer has run away with Prince Rough Draft, and Queen Adagio Dazzle is chasing after them. And now it looks like Sunset Shimmer's companions are about to fight the queen's guards and some strange ape-looking figures."
Starlight cocked her anti-tank rifle as Cozy Glow, and her Shadows appeared from behind the hooded servants that were surrounding her and Tempest. Starlight fired her rifle at one of the assassins charging after her, and the bullet zoomed through the assassin's chest and sent the body flying, toward the servants behind him. The Shadows and armed servants looked at the limp body in horror while Starlight looked at her rifle in awe as if it suddenly turned into gold. She laughed like a madwoman before aiming her rifle again at her terrified enemies.
"Yeah! How do you like that?! Not so tough when your armor don't mean jack, are you?!" She boasted. "Now, who wants to go next?! Don't be shy! I'll give a big, warm welcome to anyone who wants to go toe to toe with Starlight Catherine Glimmer!"
The purple woman laughed maniacally again as she continued to shoot anyone who came near her. Meanwhile, Tempest took another defensive stance with her sword as two hooded butlers came at them with their swords. The dark orchid woman swung her blade as quick as a flash, and the blades came off of her enemy's swords. The two men looked at their broken swords in shock while Tempest zoomed past them to cut off the blades of her other opponents' swords.
While the hooded servant stood still defenseless and dumbfounded, some of the Shadows charged at the samurai. Tempest smirked as she dodged every thrust from the assassins before she did an uppercut with her sword, slicing through a Shadow's arm. The Shadow screamed in pain as she watched her hand fall off her arm like a dead tree branch. The other Shadows looked at her in disbelief before they turned back to Tempest, who was chuckling with a toothy grin.
"Finally, some action worthy of my blade," she said.
The assassins looked at each other before they bravely attacked the samurai, hoping that their numbers would prevail. Flash's grin grew as he watched Starlight and Tempest take down their opponents.
"What an exciting turn of events," he said before turning to the entrance. "And what do we have here? It looks like Inspector Twilight Sparkle from Canterlot has come in with her squadron."
Micro Chips and Sandalwood moved their cameras to the entrance where Twilight, Spike, and their troops came in with their clubs and shields. The grayish mulberry inspector yelled, "Charge" before they raced toward the fighting, ramming their shields at the hooded servants from behind. Some of the Shadows noticed the police and came over to attack them, hoping they would be easier prey, but while they had no means to take down their enemies because of their armor, the squadron stood their ground as they blocked the Shadows by huddling together to create a wall of ballistic shields.
"The Canterlot police are putting up a fierce fight against Queen Adagio's force," Flash announced. "And it looks like the queen's royal guard is about to join in."
As the police forced the Shadows back, Spike heard the sound of men letting out battle cries behind him. He turned his head to find Tirek and his guards charging after them with their swords ready.
"Twilight, they're here!" He called out.
Twilight turned her head to see the guards coming, and she raised her hand that was holding her club, shouting, "Take point in the rearguard!" The troops formed into a circle just in time to block the charging guards. Tirek and his men hit the police's shields while the police pushed back. Before long, the police were surrounded by hooded servants who lost their swords huddled together, trying to push the police back like football players.
"Stand your ground!" Spike shouted. “Do not give them an inch!”
“Spike, I need you to keep them occupied,” Twilight replied. “I’m going to lead Flash to the printing presses.”
Spike turned to his sister and nodded, saying, “Go. Do what you got to do.”
“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said. “Don't forget, Rarity might be watching the broadcast, so be careful.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Spike said.
The siblings gave each other one last look before Twilight got on her hands and knees and crawled past the Shadows and hooded servants, unnoticed. Spike took a deep breath before he raised his club and shield and turned to Tirek, who was attacking Derpy.
"Hey, peabrain! Remember me?!" He called out.
Tirek turned to the shorter man, and he growled like an animal. Spike grinned as he walked over to the captain, holding up his club and shield like a medieval knight getting ready to fight a ravaging beast.
"You!" Tirek snarled. "You should have stayed in your prissy country when you had the chance!"
"And you shouldn't have had all of your men guard the front gate," Spike said. "Or are you too dumb to think that we could have hidden inside the news buses in the courtyard and get inside the castle before you could do anything?"
Tirek growled again and yelled, "That's it! I'm gonna break your head open and crush every bone in your body like twigs!"
Back in Canterlot Castle, Commander Harshwhinny was walking down the halls of the palace. Two guards were walking close beside her with stone faces as though they were taking a prisoner to jail. The brilliant orange woman kept her chin up, refusing to show a hint of concern. The guards guided her to one of the towers where a cross Chancellor Neighsay waited for them in his office. There was a TV on the left side of the room where the broadcast of the wedding was showing. Harshwhinny glanced at the television where she could see the police, Starlight, and Tempest fighting Adagio's people on the screen. Chancellor Neighsay waved his hand, and the guards saluted before leaving the office, closing the door behind them.
For a moment, the room was silent apart from the sound of the fighting coming from the speakers.
"Commander Harshwhinny, did I or did I not tell you that your case regarding a so-claimed counterfeit operation in Everfree was closed?" Chancellor Neighsay asked.
"You did, Your Excellency," Harshwhinny replied.
"And did you knowingly defy orders by having Agent Sentry go back to Everfree to find said operation with Inspector Sparkle who is subject for suspension?" Chancellor Neighsay asked.
"No, Your Excellency," Harshwhinny answered.
"Then how do you explain the inspector's squadron in Queen Adagio's chapel fighting her security with Agent Sentry pretending to be an announcer?" Chancellor Neighsay asked.
Harshwhinny turned her head back to the TV, where the fighting was still happening just in time to hear Flash's voice from the speakers.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have never seen such a heated battle," he said. "Look. There's Canterlot's very own Lieutenant Spike Sparkle facing Captain Tirek of the Everfree royal guard."
Harshwhinny turned her head back to the chancellor and said, "Simple. I gave him a new assignment, and allowed Inspector Sparkle and her squadron to go with him with the commissioner's consent."
"Consent?!" Chancellor Neighsay barked. "She's subject to suspension! She isn't allowed to go anywhere!"
"The commissioner does not share your train of thought, chancellor," Harshwhinny said.
"What do you mean?" Chancellor Neighsay asked.
"Interestingly, while he did find Inspector Sparkle disobeying orders out of character, he found that there are regulations against outright suspending an officer just for disobeying a superior one time," Harshwhinny said. "Furthermore, the commissioner found the way you disregarded clear evidence after seeing it for himself along with the testimonies of Sentry, Sparkle, and her squadron peculiar."
"Are you insinuating something?!" The chancellor snarled.
"Not at all," Harshwhinny replied before turning her head to the TV. "Speaking of which, though, what do you suppose Inspector Sparkle is up to?"
Chancellor Neighsay turned his head to the TV to find Twilight sneaking her way past the fighting to the broken altar. She looked up to face the camera and pointed at the staircase beneath the remains of the altar with a grin.
"What's this? I think Inspector Sparkle is trying to tell us something," Flash said. "Could it be that she knows where Sunset Shimmer took Prince Rough Draft? Let's go to our remote camera and find out."
"Why would he think Sunset Shimmer took the prince there?" Chancellor Neighsay asked. "She escaped with him through one of the windows using some grappling thing."
"Oh, did she?" Harshwhinny asked.
Chancellor Neighsay glared at Harshwhinny and said, "Cut the act, commander. You know she did."
"Actually, I don't," Harshwhinny said. "I haven't been watching much of the wedding before you summoned me, chancellor."
Chancellor Neighsay kept his glare on Harshwhinny, refusing to believe what she was saying. He then turned back to the TV where Flash had climbed down the stairs from the balcony, holding a camera on his shoulder to meet Twilight behind the altar.
"Inspector Sparkle, this is Canterlot 9 News," Flash said. "What is it you found?"
“Isn't it obvious?" Twilight asked with a smug look. "There is a staircase hiding where the altar used to be. Wherever it leads, Sunset Shimmer must have taken Prince Rough Draft there."
"And what makes you think Sunset Shimmer would take him there?" Flash asked.
"Years of tracking her down, my good man," Twilight replied proudly like a teacher teaching a student. "Wherever you think she was going is a trick. She led Queen Adagio away so that she could get away with the groom unnoticed, but after investigating this area, I can deduce that Sunset Shimmer went down to this secret entrance with the prince. What she doesn't know is I've figured out her scheme, and I'm going to catch her by surprise and bring her to justice at last."
"Can I come with you to witness your victorious feat?" Flash asked.
"Absolutely!" Twilight chirped. "Follow me!"
"What do they think they're doing?" Chancellor Neighsay asked. "Are they looking for the counterfeit money?"
"I don't think it's appropriate to say they're looking if they're heading to a place they've already found," Harshwhinny said.
The Chancellor winced at the commander's explanation. Harshwhinny looked at the leader of Canterlot curiously while he watched Twilight run down the staircase with Flash running behind her with the camera.
"Sunset!" The grayish mulberry inspector called-out in a singing voice. "Oh, Sunset Shimmer! Your crime days are over, you no-good, thieving, rapscallion!"
Chancellor Neighsay clenched his teeth and shouted, "Pull them back, commander! Call then off now!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Your Excellency," Harshwhinny said, giving the chancellor a smug look. “Even if I wanted to, there's no way I could contact them before they reach their destination."
Chancellor Neighsay let out a frustrated growl and said, "I'll see you all imprisoned for this."
"I don't know, chancellor. I don't think you will have the right when it's revealed that the Horse Bills are real," Harshwhinny said.
"They are not real!" Chancellor Neighsay growled.
No sooner did he make that claim than Twilight and Flash made it to the bottom of the steps, and opened the door in front of them to reveal the hall of printing presses. The two of them let out over dramatic gasps as Flash moved the camera around to show the entire room.
"Inspector Sparkle, what are these machines?" He asked.
"Oh me, oh my. Those look like printing presses," Twilight said, facing the camera with her hand on her cheek.
"Printing presses? What could they be for?" Flash asked.
Twilight frowned and squinted her eyes as she said, "I don't know, but I'm going to find out."
Harshwhinny covered her mouth to hide a snicker while Twilight and Flash were walking towards the presses.
"You know, those two are terrible actors, but at least they are having fun," she said. "Wouldn't you say, chancellor?"
But when she turned to the chancellor, her snickering stopped, and her amusement turned into a look of confusion. Chancellor Neighsay stood up from his seat with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in apprehension. He stared at the TV as though it had turned into a carnivorous animal, preparing to pounce at the man if he made a wrong move. The commander of Canterlot's secret service looked askance at Chancellor Neighsay before she then turned back to the screen where Twilight picked up a large sheet of bills and let out another overdramatic gasp.
"Why this is Yakyakistan money," she said.
"Why is that being printed here in Castle Everfree? Could those be counterfeit?" Flash asked.
Twilight put her hand on her cheek again, pretending to be shocked. She looked closely at the sheet and ran her fingernail through it before she gasped loudly again.
"Oh my goodness. Yes, they are indeed counterfeit, she said. "The best I have ever seen. And look over there."
Flash turned the camera to where Twilight was looking and said, "Oh, would you look at that? I see sheets of fake money for Mt. Ares, Saddle Arabia, Aquastria, the Crystal Empire, Griffonstone. Good heavens, even Marapore, the Dragonlands, and Somnambula."
"Marapore? Somnambula? But those countries are practically half a world away," Twilight said.
"Inspector Sparkle, could Queen Adagio, the ruler of Everfree, be sending fake money to every nation in the world?" Flash asked, turning his camera back to Twilight.
"Oh, dear. I think she is. What a surprise," Twilight replied.
"What a surprise indeed," Harshwhinny said with a grin. "And now no one can deny that the Horse Bills exist and are being made in Everfree, right chancellor?"
But when she turned her head to look at the chancellor again, she found him still looking afraid. The brilliant orange woman tilted her head in curiosity, wondering if something else was on his mind. The terror in the man's moderate turquoise eyes grew when Flash suddenly turned the camera to a desk containing several folders on a rack.
"Inspector Sparkle, what do you suppose are in those folders?" He asked.
Twilight walked over to the folders and took one out to look at its contents. She stood still like a statue for a moment, staring at what was inside the folder in disbelief before she shook her head, took out a handful of papers from the folder, and held them up in front of the camera.
"These are orders for fake money," she answered.
"Unbelievable! The queen must have secret clients all around the world," Flash said.
"Indeed, she does," Twilight said as she started looking through the papers. "There are orders from the Flim Flam brothers from Las Pegasus, Emperor Sombra of the Crystal Empire, Chief Ahuizotl of Tenochtitlan Basin, fashion designer, Suri Polomare of -"
Twilight's voice died in her throat as she looked at the next order. She covered her mouth to hide a giggle before she got back into character, held the piece of paper in front of the camera, and said something she didn't expect to say.
"There's even an order from Chancellor Neighsay of Canterlot."
Chancellor Neighsay's gray skin turned pale. He could hear Flash trying not to snicker from the TV speakers while Twilight covered her mouth again with the orders to hide a giggle. Harshwhinny covered her mouth in shock before turning to the horrified chancellor with a smug look.
"Well, well, well, this explains an awful lot," she said.
Chancellor Neighsay snapped out of his terrified state and glowered at Harshwhinny, shouting, "You planned this from the beginning! Those orders are fake! You must have had Inspector Sparkle and Agent Sentry make a fake order to frame me out of petty vengeance!"
"They didn't plan anything apart from making sure the world knows the truth," Harshwhinny said. "Plus, judging by the inspector's reaction before revealing that order, it seems very clear that she was surprised to find those orders."
"Liar!" Chancellor Neighsay hissed. "This is a conspiracy against me, and I will not tolerate it! I will make sure the world knows that you three are trying to frame me!"
"I doubt you can," Harshwhinny said calmly. "After all, it's like you said, chancellor. The world believes what it wants to, and right now, it believes the truth over you and Queen Adagio. Good evening, chancellor."
"Where do you think you're going?" Chancellor Neighsay barked. "I gave you no permission to leave! You stay right here until -"
But before he could finish his sentence, Harshwhinny had already exited the room and closed the door behind her. The gray man took a step to go after her, but he stopped himself, accepting that it was pointless. He could hear the brilliant orange woman laughing with glee as she climbed down the tower despite the door being closed, unknowingly adding salt to his wound. The powerless Chancellor Neighsay plummeted to his chair and let out a frustrated growl, accepting that he had been beaten. He rested his elbows, lowered his head, and ran his fingers through his hair while hearing Twilight still playing her role on the TV.
"Oh, my goodness, what an unexpected turn of events. I came here to stop Sunset Shimmer and found myself discovering a horrible conspiracy," the grayish mulberry inspector said before lifting her head up, holding her hand up to her forehead, and letting out a loud sigh like a soap opera actress. "Oh, what to do? What to do? What. Am. I. Going. To. Do?"
Outside of the chapel, Sunset was running across the courtyard with Rough Draft holding her hand as he followed. The thief looked behind her, making sure that they were not being followed before taking the stairs to the third floor. The couple ran across the courtyard to the windmill, and Sunset fired her grappling her gun at the roof. She wrapped her arm around Rough Draft and pulled both them up to the top of the windmill, where there was a platform inside. After they got in, Sunset took another look at the courtyard and sighed.
"Okay, I think we can stop here," she said.
"Are you sure no one knows we're here?" Rough Draft asked.
"Positive," Sunset replied.
"Good," Rough Draft said.
The next thing Sunset knew, Rough Draft placed his hands on both of her cheeks, turned her head to face him, and smashed his lips together with hers. Sunset stood still, taken aback before Rough Draft started smothering her face with kisses.
"Uh, Rough Draft, baby, I love you too, but now's not the best time for this," she said, nervously. "We still need to escape from your angry bride before she -"
Rough Draft pulled Sunset closer to him and firmly kissed her on the lips again before she could finish her sentence. Sunset resisted for a second before she closed her eyes and gave in to the moment, moaning as she kissed Rough Draft back with her left arm around his neck and her right hand on his cheek. When they parted, they stared into each other's eyes lovingly before Rough Draft cleared his throat.
"Sorry. I know we haven't escaped yet," he said. "It's just that the last time I saw you, you got shot, and then I saw you die in front of me two minutes ago, so I needed a moment to be happy that you're okay."
Sunset gave Rough Draft a sweet look before she gave him another kiss with her arm still around his neck and her hand caressing his cheek.
"You're as sweet as ever, babe," she said. "But seriously, we need to get out of here, or we’re not going to be okay for very long."
"Right. Got it," Rough Draft said. "So, what's the plan?"
"We're going to get down to the top of the aqueduct from up here and run to the clocktower," Sunset answered. "From there, we're going to get up on the dam with my grappling gun to your family property. Our friend, Applejack, is going to secretly meet us a couple of miles from there in her car, and we're going to hide in a safe place."
"Applejack is here in Everfree?" Rough Draft asked.
"Yeah, she's the caretaker of the property," Sunset said before adding with a smirk. "And Winona is with her."
"She is? I've been wondering what happened to her after the fire," Rough Draft said.
"Well, she's alive and well and is eager to see her master again," Sunset said with a smile.
"I'll bet," Rough Draft said before he frowned and asked, "But are you sure hiding is such a good idea? Even if we escape, Adagio will look everywhere for us."
"True, but Flash and Twilight are doing something to expose her counterfeit operation underneath the chapel," Sunset said. "All we have to do is stay in our hiding place, kissing and cuddling until not having my baby or the rings are the least of the queen's problems."
Rough Draft smirked while his cheeks turned red and said, "You had me at kissing and cuddling."
"I figured I would," Sunset said with a kittenish look. "I think we deserve it after years of not getting quality time like that and having to deal with the evil queen and her cronies. Don't you?"
"You have no idea, my sunshine," Rough Draft replied. "In any case, that sounds like a great plan, so let's get to it."
Sunset nodded in agreement, and they walked to the other side of the windmill where the aqueduct was. Sunset used her grappling gun to attach the hook to the roof again while Rough Draft took off his suit jacket and crown. When the hook was secure, Sunset wrapped her arm around Rough Draft, and he wrapped his arms around her neck. They climbed down with the grappling gun and landed on top of the aqueduct before Sunset detached the hook. Sunset and Rough Draft grabbed hands again, and they raced across the aqueduct as fast as they could until they made it to the front of the clocktower. Rough Draft leaned against the wall panting while Sunset bent down with one hand on her knees and the other hand on her stomach.
"Isn't your wound going to open with you being this active?" Rough Draft asked.
"Nah, it's fine," Sunset claimed. "I honestly feel better than ever."
"Well, please don't strain yourself. I don't want to see you bleeding again," Rough Draft said.
"As you wish, babe," Sunset said.
Rough Draft smiled appreciatively at his beloved, trusting that she will do what he asked. After catching her breath, Sunset took out her grappling gun and held it up, aiming at the top of the dam. Before she had her finger on the trigger, however, she noticed something inscribed on the front of the clocktower. She squinted her eyes and saw a crest with two horses facing each other. One had the sun symbol of the Celestial family on its flank, and the other had the symbol of the Lunar family on its flank. Sunset observed the crest curiously while Rough Draft looked at her, confused.
"What is it?" He asked.
"It's that crest up there," Sunset said, pointing at it. "The one where the horses facing each other."
"What about it?" Rough Draft asked.
"It just seems peculiar that that crest would have the symbols of both royal families would be there when nothing else does," Sunset said.
"So? What does that matter?" Rough Draft asked.
Sunset looked down and scratched her chin in thought, leaving the prince annoyed that she didn't answer his question. She took out the rings from her jeans pocket and moved her head up and down, looking at the crest and the rings as the wheels in her head turned. After several seconds, she put the top of the rings together and rotated them until she saw gothic text appearing from the edges of the rings.
"Just as I thought. This is how the rings reveal where the treasure is when you put them together. That's the only way to get the message," she said. "The text says 'time is measured by light and shadow. When light and darkness are joined, tolling the hours is the horse on high into whose eyes -"
"'Into whose eyes I bid you face me,'" Rough Draft finished.
Sunset looked up at Rough Draft, confused, and asked, "How did you know without reading the text?"
"Those are old words passed down to my family," Rough Draft answered. "My father said that the horses on the tower represent day and night, hence why they are the symbols of the royal families. He would tell me those words daily when I was growing up until I had it memorized."
Sunset looked at Rough Draft puzzled and asked, "So, the hidden message that Adagio has been working so hard to get happens to be something the Lunar family has been passing down for centuries?"
"I guess so," Rough Draft said.
"But that doesn't make any sense," Sunset said. "If they already knew the clue to finding the treasure, then why hide it with a pair of rings? Did the Lunar family just not want it?"
"When you put it like that, it seems like Adagio wanted to marry me for nothing as far as obtaining the treasure goes," Rough Draft said. "All she needed was me telling her those words, and she'd have it all for herself by now."
"No. I don't think that's the case," Sunset said. "It said something about light and shadow being joined together and putting something into the eyes of a horse. That tells me she would still need the rings, but where would the horse be?"
"Beats me," Rough Draft said. "For all I can tell you, the horse that the message is talking about is somewhere in the clocktower if it's the only thing that has the symbols for both royal families on it."
Sunset hummed in agreement while still deep in thought, but then she lifted her head with a look of realization on her face. She put the rings back in her jacket pocket, took out her binoculars from her other jacket pocket, and took several steps back. She scanned the clock tower through her binoculars until she saw something peculiar on the clock facing Castle Everfree.
There was a doorway above the center of the clock, and next to it were stone blocks that could be used as a ladder. The ladder led to a stone ledge that someone could use to walk to where there was a statue of a horse carved on the left side of the number one on the clock. Sunset stared at the statue for a moment before she started laughing, and ran back to Rough Draft to kiss him several times on the lips with her hands on his cheeks.
"Rough Draft, you're a genius!" She praised.
"I am?" Rough Draft asked, confused with his cheeks heating up.
Suddenly, a bright light shined on the couple, and they covered their eyes with their arms. When their eyes adjusted, they lifted their arms slightly to find the steamboat heading their way with Adagio and six sailors on board. The queen was still holding a sword while the sailors were armed with machine guns. Several bullets started flying past Sunset and Rough Draft, and they sprawled face down for cover.
"Fine time to forget that they have that steamboat," Sunset said.
"We better get up the dam quick," Rough Draft said.
"No, we can't do that," Sunset said. "If we grapple up, we'll be easy targets. They'll gun us down before we're halfway up."
"Then what are we going to do?" Rough Draft asked.
Sunset looked around until she noticed a stone ledge that connects to the aqueduct and surrounds the tower. The ledge looked long enough that someone could stand on it. Sunset debated in her mind for a moment before she said, "I got an idea, but you're gonna have to trust me, Rough Draft."
"I trust you, Sunshine," Rough Draft said without hesitation.
Sunset gave her beloved a sweet looked and said, "Alright. When I say go, we're going to walk across the ledge and hope that there's a way into the clocktower around the corner."
Rough Draft looked at the ledge and became afraid that he might fall. Sunset moved his head to face her and said, "It's going to be okay. I'll be right beside you."
Rough Draft hesitated before he took a deep breath and gave Sunset a nod. The amber thief smiled and pecked his lips before they turned around to face the wall. Sunset raised her hand, signaling Rough Draft to wait. She carefully watched the bullets still hitting the wall until the sailors were out of ammo.
"Now!" Sunset shouted.
The two of them sprung up on their feet and carefully got on the ledge. They slowly walked across it with Sunset leading and Rough Draft fighting the urge not to look down while he followed her. They walked around the corner of the ledge, where there was a stone window on the other wall. Sunset climbed through the window and helped Rough Draft in before the sailors started firing again.
They climbed down the window inside the tower, where there was a staircase below it. Countless gears were turning at the center of the building, and the stairs led to the next floor. Sunset grabbed Rough Draft by the hand again and started leading him up the stairs.
"Are we trying to find an exit to the top of the dam so we can escape?" Rough Draft asked.
"Not exactly," Sunset said.
Rough Draft looked at her, confused while they climbed up the stairs. They then heard the sound of a wooden door opening, and they looked down to find Adagio and the sailors entering the tower from the ground floor. Sunset smirked and reached into her jacket to take out her pistol, but as she did, Rough Draft saw two laser guns aimed at them. He grabbed Sunset by the arms and pulled her away, making her drop her gun just as the lasers instantly melted it into a liquid substance. Sunset paused for a second to realize what happened before she and Rough Draft started running up the stairs as fast as they could while the lasers were shooting at them.
"Shut down the lasers!" Adagio shouted. "I want them alive! Shoot only to wound!"
"Ugh, she could have said before the lasers destroyed my gun," Sunset grumbled as she ran.
Before long, bullets zoomed past Sunset and Rough Draft again as the sailors were running up the stairs with Adagio. Eventually, the couple made it to the door that led them to the next level. Sunset grabbed the handle and tried to force it open, but it wouldn't budge. She looked back down to find Adagio and her men catching up and then turned her head to a large gear turning up through a narrow hole on the ceiling. Sunset furrowed her brow before she turned to Rough Draft and wrapped her arm around his waist.
"Hold tight, Rough Draft. We're taking a detour," she said.
Rough Draft looked at her, confused until he saw what she was looking at. It took a second before he realized what Sunset was doing and instantly wrapped his arms around her as tight as possible. Sunset took a step back before she ran to the edge, carrying Rough Draft, and jumped toward the gear, barely catching it by one of its teeth. The gear lifted them up to the second level, and Sunset hopped to a nearby gear while still holding Rough Draft before the two of them were squished from the first gear meshing to a gear above it.
Sunset hopped from gear to gear, pulling her and Rough Draft higher up the tower. Eventually, they found a platform in the stairway against the wall, and they jumped into it for safety. Sunset and Rough Draft sighed in relief until they heard men panicking below them. They looked down to find that some of the sailors were trying to get up to the next level using the gears as well, but they couldn't find the next gear to jump to in time. The couple shut their eyes, looked away, and covered their ears in an attempt not to hear the screams and the sound of crunching bones.
Just then, the door to the level opened, and Sunset and Rough Draft started running up the stairs again before the remaining sailors began firing at them again. Fortunately, thanks to going so high up using the gears, the couple had a big head start from their pursuers. They ran up to the entrance to the next level, and Sunset kicked the doorknob on the side until it came off, and she and Rough Draft went in.
When they were halfway up the final level, they found a room containing various tools for the clock. Sunset looked at a large, two-handed hexagonal wrench hanging above the wall and turned down to the entrance to the level where their pursuers haven't entered yet. She then looked at a large gear hanging above the stairway and spinning vertically in the direction of the doorway. The amber thief smirked as she grabbed the wrench and turned to Rough Draft.
“Be right back, babe,” she said.
Before Rough Draft could reply, Sunset jumped on a nearby gear spinning horizontally. She hustled from one moving gear to the next as if she was in an obstacle course until she made her destination, landing on the thick pole pointing at the wall that was holding the large gear. She walked over to the bolt holding the rod and the gear together, sat down in front of it with her legs open, and started to move the bolt clockwise. She shut her eyes as she pulled the wrench as hard as she could while hearing footsteps coming from the doorway and guns firing at her again.
Finally, with one last pull, the bolt popped out of the hole. Sunset stood up while still holding the wrench and stomped on the pole. She jumped onto a gear moving horizontally before the pole broke off, and the large gear crashed onto the staircase and started rolling downward toward the doorway. The sailors screamed and ran for their lives before the wheel crushed the entrance into rubble. Sunset smirked, pleased with her handiwork before she started jumping her way back to Rough Draft. Her smile grew as she got closer to reuniting with the purple man, sure that all of their enemies have been thwarted.
“Sunset, watch out!” Rough Draft screamed.
Before Sunset knew it, Adagio was lifted up in front of her by one of the gears moving upright, and she jumped toward the thief with her sword pointing forward. Sunset moved away before the blade penetrated her chest, and she jumped onto another gear moving sideways before the queen’s uppercut swing touched her neck. Adagio jumped onto the gear Sunset was on, landing on the opposite side from where her enemy was standing. She glowered at the amber thief with her raspberry eyes while Sunset held her wrench up with both hands and her knees apart.
"So, it's finally come to this," Sunset said. "What say we settle this once and for all, woman to woman?"
"It will be my pleasure," Adagio agreed.
The queen put her legs together and held her sword in front of her face like she was in a fencing match. She then took a stance with her left foot leading and her sword on her right hand. The women paused for a moment, thinking about their first move before they ran towards each other.
Sunset started on the offensive, swinging her wrench like a club. Adagio blocked Sunset's attacks with ease, using her training and speed with a lighter weapon to her advantage. The queen waited until Sunset's attacks grew weaker from using so much energy before her movements grew aggressive, forcing Sunset back. Sunset retreated to the edge of the gear, and when Adagio prepared for the final blow, she jumped off and landed on a gear moving vertically. She struggled to keep balance as she ran to stay on top, using the tip of the gear's teeth. By the time she adjusted, Adagio had landed just a few feet away, and the dual resumed.
Rough Draft could do nothing but watch as though he was simply the audience watching two characters in a play fight to the death. His fear grew as Adagio was forcing Sunset back, trying to make her fall off the gear. Sunset looked around as she defended herself before jumping on another gear to lift her up. Adagio grew irritated by how her opponent was using the many moving gears surrounding them to her advantage. Sunset climbed further up until she found another gear moving in a parallel angle to stand on. She bent her knees and used the wrench as a crutch as she tried to catch her breath. Her moment of respite only lasted for several seconds, however, before the queen caught up and lunged at her again.
Sunset moved back while blocking her enemy's attacks again until the women were caught in a blade lock. Adagio tried to push the thief to the edge until Sunset moved her head back and slammed her forehead against Adagio's. The queen moved back with her hand on her forehead, almost falling off the gear. Sunset smirked and held her weapon up again while Adagio scowled at her enemy.
"You fight dirty, Shimmer," she said.
"I fight however I have to to protect the man I love," Sunset countered. "I couldn't care less about your approval."
"Surely, a thief like you has a sense of handling things properly," Adagio said. "At least I had the means to make my engagement to Rough Draft legitimate."
"You call murder to get to a man legitimate?" Sunset asked.
Adagio's menacing glare weakened, and Rough Draft looked at Sunset confused, both unsure of what she meant. Sunset stared at her opponent with a look of hate as she elaborated.
"I thought about this while I was recovering from my wound," she said. "Rough Draft told me how no one knows what caused the fire that killed his parents, and they would have rejected your request to marry their son."
Adagio's eyes widened as she realized what was on Sunset's mind. Her look of rage returned, and she charged at the amber thief, who blocked her attacks as she continued.
"And when Twilight and I were trapped inside the catacombs, she made an interesting point about how convenient it was that there were laws that allow you to make him marry you under the right circumstances," she said. "And with all of those corpses proving that your ancestors have been secretly killing people for years, you'd have no problem using your assassins to get what you want. Would you?"
"Shut up!" Adagio screamed.
The queen continued to attack her opponent with a bloodthirsty look in her eyes, but through her anger, her attacks became flawed. Formless. Reckless. Easier to block. Sunset held her ground as her enemy hit her wrench violently as if it was the thief herself. But no matter how hard Adagio tried, there was nothing she could do to stop Sunset from speaking again venomously.
"Admit it! It was you!" She shouted. "You're the reason Rough Draft's parents are dead!"
"What?!" Rough Draft shouted.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Adagio screamed, still swinging her sword at Sunset.
"I think I do!" Sunset shouted. "That fire didn't just come out of nowhere! There had to be something that caused it! Something like professional assassins who could set a fire that would kill the people inside the castle! Maybe even make it so that there's no evidence of what caused it!. No one else would have the cause to murder them but you!"
"You're making up a story!" Adagio accused.
"Tell that to Rough Draft!" Sunset challenged. "You claim you never lie to him, right?! Look at him right now and tell him you didn't have his family killed!"
Rough Draft's eyes widened when he realized that he had the power to gain a confession. He took a moment to think about Sunset's argument before he looked at the queen, who was still swinging her sword at the woman of his heart.
"Adagio!" He shouted to gain her attention. "Tell me, right now! No lies, no half-truths, no excuses! Did you do it?! Did you have my parents killed?!"
Adagio stopped attacking and looked up at the prince as best as she could while still standing on a spinning wheel. She considered saying something to contradict Sunset's accusations again, but what little of honor or honesty she had just for the sake of obtaining the purple man forbade her from lying. Adagio struggled with her mind before she let out a growl and gave Rough Draft her answer.
"Yes," she hissed. "Yes, I had them killed. They denied me your hand without hesitating, so I got rid of them."
Rough Draft looked at Adagio speechless. Even though he started to believe Sunset's argument, hearing the queen admitting that she caused his family's death still hit him hard. All the time, he thought his loss was just a sudden unfortunate event without a possible explanation when his parents' deaths were really an assassination. He grew further into a state of disbelief as he realized how close he was to marrying Adagio until his moment of disbelief turned into hot anger. He resisted the urge to go after the armed woman several gears away, leaving him unable to do anything apart from closing his fists and screaming.
“Murderer!!!” he yelled.
"Murderer indeed,” Sunset said. “You kept claiming that you love Rough Draft, and yet you took away his family just for your twisted desires. Just as greedy and manipulative as her ancestors before her.”
“Don’t talk to me about manipulation, Shimmer!” Adagio snarled. “You’re nothing but a thief who uses tricks to take whatever you want. The only difference between the two of us is that you exploit your criminal deeds while I hide mine.”
“Sunset is nothing like you!” Rough Draft barked. “She may be a thief, but she’s not a killer!”
“Perhaps, but she’s still a criminal through and through,” Adagio said.
“You’re right. I am,” Sunset said as she took another stance with her wrench. “And now we end this.”
Adagio only had a moment to realize what Sunset was doing before she quickly blocked the wrench with her sword. But Sunset didn’t stop there. She swung her wrench aggressively, forcing the unprepared Adagio to move back while deflecting with her thin, one-handed weapon. The queen became so focused on protecting herself that she lost her footing and fell on her back close to the edge of the wheel. Sunset swung her wrench down at her opponent like a sledgehammer, forcing Adagio down while keeping her sword up. But as Sunset prepared for another swing, Adagio round kicked her legs, forcing Sunset to drop her weapon and lose her balance. Rough Draft watched in horror as Sunset fell off the gear, screaming.
“SUNSET!” he shouted.
“About time,” Adagio grumbled before looking up at Rough Draft. “And now it’s just you and me, my dear.”
The blood drained from Rough Draft's face. His fear grew as the queen began hopping her way back to the staircase. His instincts kicked in, forcing him to run up the stairs again until he reached a wooden door at the very top.
He opened the door and went in, only to find himself on the face of the clock facing Castle Everfree. The hands on the clock were spread out evenly, for it was 9:15 at night. He slowly backed away until he turned around to find the tip of Adagio's sword inches away from his stomach. The queen chuckled with her mouth closed as she looked at Rough Draft with a sinister smile on her face. Desperate to survive, Rough Draft stepped onto the dial of the clock. He crawled on the minute hand, careful not to fall, but it wasn't long before he was at the tip of the needle. Adagio let out a maniacal laugh as she got on the dial and walked on the minute hand, standing up.
"It seems you have nowhere else to go, my dear," she said. "Sunset Shimmer can't save you anymore."
Rough Draft struggled to put on a brave face as he slowly stood up to face Adagio and said, "Go ahead. Run me through. You have no choice, right? I know everything you did, and you don't want anyone to find out."
"You're right. I don't," Adagio said. "I don't want to kill you, but you leave me no choice. A part of me hopes that the treasure will compensate me for what I have to do."
"You'll never get the treasure," Rough Draft said, with a bitter glare. "Sunset had the rings. There's no way you can get them now."
"Not necessarily," Adagio said. "It'll be tricky since she probably has been crushed by the gears, I grant you, but I can have my people retrieve the body and thus the rings. I always get what I want one way or the other."
"Except me," Rough Draft countered.
"Ah, that is true," Adagio said with a sigh. "Though perhaps this was meant to be. After all, I already had your parents killed, so it seems only fitting that I finish the job, thus ending the pathetic Lunar family once and for all."
Adagio stepped closer to Rough Draft, who moved his body to face her, ready to die. Adagio stopped walking when she was two feet apart from Rough Draft and gave him a twisted look of sympathy in her cold, raspberry eyes.
"I hope you're happy spending the afterlife with your parents and your precious thief," the queen said as she raised her sword. "But for what it's worth, my love, I want you to know that I would have waited our entire married life to gain your affection."
"Stop right there, Adagio!"
Rough Draft's heart skipped a beat, and Adagio let out an annoyed growl. She turned around to find Sunset standing on the dial, glaring at the queen while panting.
"You. You just don't know when to die," Adagio snarled. "Probably used that grappling gun to save yourself and ran up here. Am I right?"
"That's right," Sunset replied. "Now, let Rough Draft go."
"You're in no position to make any demands," Adagio said. "I will kill him in front of you, and you can't stop me with one of your tricks."
"I'm not here to trick you," Sunset said. "I know how to get the treasure. If you spare Rough Draft, I'll tell you, and then you can keep it for yourself."
Adagio looked at Sunset suspiciously and said, "Tell me the secret first."
Sunset took the rings out of her jacket pocket and said, "The rings contain a secret message when you put them together. The message says, 'time is measured by light and shadow. When light and darkness are joined, tolling the hours is the horse on high into whose eyes I bid you face me,'"
"What does that mean?" Adagio asked impatiently.
"Look up at that horse statue next to the number one on the clock," Sunset said. "There are holes in its eyes, and there is a stone ladder and a ledge to get you up there. If you put the rings in the horse's eyes, it'll give you the treasure."
Adagio looked up at the statue and then at the ladder and ledge leading to it. She thought carefully to make sure everything Sunset said added up before she smirked and looked up at the amber thief.
"It seems your clever mind has become useful to me for once, Shimmer," she said. "Very well, we have a deal."
Sunset nodded before she turned around and walked on the hour hand, placed the rings in the middle of it, and walked to the end of the hand before facing Adagio and Rough Draft again.
"There. The rings are yours to take," Sunset said. "Now, let Rough Draft go back inside. If you harm him, I will throw the rings into the lake, and then I will kill you."
Adagio hummed in acknowledgment before she grabbed Rough Draft by the wrist and dragged him as she walked toward the rings. When they made it to the dial, Sunset lifted her hand and said, "That's far enough, Adagio. Let Rough Draft go, or the deal's off."
"Oh, really?" Adagio challenged. "You love him that much, do you?"
"Yes," Sunset said without hesitating.
"Good," Adagio said. "Then, if he means that much to you, go get him!"
Without warning, she tugged Rough Draft hard, and he lost his balance, falling off the dial. But as he fell, he grabbed Adagio by the bottom of her wedding dress. Adagio let out a high-pitched yelp as she dropped her sword and fell off the dial before grabbing the hour hand by the edge, leaving her and Rough Draft hanging in the air.
"Rough Draft!" Sunset shouted.
She ran over to Adagio and Rough Draft, ignoring the rings on the hour hand that she promised to throw away. Rough Draft reached out to grab Adagio's dress with his free hand so that he could hold on with both hands, but Adagio began stomping him on the head, desperate to lose the extra weight.
"Let! Go! Of! My! Dress!" She screamed.
"Hold on, Rough Draft!" Sunset called out.
But try as he might, the impact from Adagio's stomping was becoming too much for Rough Draft's head. Finally, Adagio moved her leg up one more time before slamming her foot on the top of Rough Draft's head, knocking him unconscious. The edge of her dress where Rough Draft was holding on tore off as he fell.
Without a missing a beat, Sunset dived off of the hour hand, face down toward her beloved. She kept her arms and feet together until she reached the unconscious prince and pulled him into her arms. She then took out her grappling gun and fired at the top of the dam. The hook took hold of the cement, and Sunset and Rough Draft swung towards the wall with Sunset stopping them from hitting it with her feet. She sighed before turning to Rough Draft and leaning her head close to his mouth until she felt a touch of air.
"Oh, thank God," she said before she pressed a button and the gun lifted them to the top.
Back up the clocktower, Adagio climbed back on the hour hand and let out a sigh of relief. She then walked over to where Sunset had placed the rings and picked them with a devious grin on her face. The queen put the rings in her mouth before climbing up the stone ladder and carefully walking across the ledge to the horse statue. With a devilish smirk, she took the rings out of her mouth and put them inside the holes face first. Once they were attached, she pressed on the rings until she heard a click, and they were suddenly retracted inside the statue.
For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, Adagio heard the sound of gears moving quicker and louder than before coming from the other side of the holes. She looked down and saw the hands on the clock weren't moving, and grew uneasy as she heard a rumbling sound and decided to go back inside.
But before Adagio could take a step towards the ladder, the stone ledge beneath her feet began to shake. She grabbed the horse statue by the ears before her feet slipped from the edge, leaving her hanging on to the statue for dear life. She tried to put her feet back on the ledge, but she couldn't keep her footing at the rate that the tower was vibrating. She whimpered as she helplessly held on to the statue with her legs kicking in the air.
Suddenly, her heart stopped at the sound of stone cracking down below. She dared to look down where the foundation of the tower was breaking. Adagio's whimpering grew louder as it became clear what was happening.
"This isn't fair," she said quietly before she looked at the face of the horse statue and yelled, "It's not fair! You have to give me a chance! Let me get down! You can't do this to me! I did everything I was supposed to do!"
The statue was motionless. The foundation broke more and more by the second, and the building began to wobble. Tears ran down Adagio's face as she stayed trapped in a position no money, or servants could save her from. All she could do was scream at the statue as if begging at a lifeless carving would reward her with her life.
"PLEASE!!!" She screeched. "PLEASE STOP!!! I WANT TO LIVE!!! I WANT TO LIVE!!! I WANT TO LLLLIIIIIVVVVVEEEEE!!!!"
Meanwhile, back in the castle, the fighting spread outside of the chapel and in the courtyard. The Canterlot police were driving the royal guard back with Spike still facing Tirek. Micro Chips and Sandalwood joined in with their pistols in a shootout with Starlight against hooded butlers and maids that came in armed with machine guns. Tempest was keeping Cozy Glow and her Shadows at bay single-handedly with her sword cutting through their armor. Some of the Shadows were so afraid of getting cut that they aimlessly fled too far into the courtyard where the lasers shot them down.
But while they were fighting, they heard a loud rumble coming from outside of the castle. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to the clocktower where the bottom of it was breaking, and it was tilting back and forth. On the face of the clock, they could barely see someone dressed in white with a large head of vivid orange hair holding on to the top right side of the clock. Cozy Glow removed her helmet and stared at the person trapped on the clock with horror, instantly knowing who it was. The more the tower moved, the more her heart began to sink.
Finally, the building leaned forward, facing the castle and the aqueduct, and the person on the clock tower lost her grip and fell. The sound of someone screaming could faintly be heard before the person landed on the aqueduct.
"My queen," Cozy Glow whimpered.
The rest of the servants and guards watched in devastation as the tower fell onto the aqueduct, crushing half of the stone bridge. Leaderless, they dropped their weapons, got on their knees, and bowed their heads. It took a moment before Spike, and the rest of the Canterlot police realized that their enemies surrendered before they started cuffing them with Micro Chips and Sandalwood helping. Starlight and Tempest took the police's focus on the servants and guards as their chance to sneak away before anyone thought of arresting them too.
But as Starlight and Tempest snuck away, they saw that there was a giant floodgate appearing in place of where the clock tower was. They looked at each other, confused as the floodgate poured enormous amounts of water into the lake surrounding Castle Everfree. The title waves were so strong that the steamboat tipped over and sank. As they watched the lake rise up, they wondered if Sunset and Rough Draft were okay.
Rough Draft groaned as the morning sunlight hit his eyes. He lifted his hand in front of his eyes before slowly opening them and looking around to find that he was inside the gazebo in his family garden which was covered in vines and flowers. He could hear birds chirping as he saw the remains of Lunar Castle from a distance. Rough Draft then realized that he was lying down on his side on a bench, and his head was resting on a pair of legs. Curious, he turned his head up to find Sunset's smiling face.
"Good morning, my Flaming Arrow," she said as she gently ran her fingers through his short, black hair.
Rough Draft smiled back as he rolled his body on his back and lifted his hand to caress Sunset's cheek.
"Good morning, my Silver Gleam," he replied.
Sunset hummed and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of Rough Draft stroking her cheek. The couple blissfully enjoyed the moment in silence as though they were teenagers again; young, naive, and lost in their sweet love. Then, Rough Draft remembered the events of what happened the night before, and he shot up in a sitting position only to feel a sharp pain on the top of his head.
"Take it easy there, babe," Sunset said. "Adagio hit you pretty hard on the head."
"Adagio," Rough Draft whispered before he turned to Sunset worryingly. "Where is she?"
"Relax, Rough Draft. She's gone," Sunset said calmly.
"Gone? What do you mean she’s gone?" Rough Draft asked.
"Take a look at the dam," Sunset said, pointing behind her with her thumb.
Rough Draft turned his head to where Sunset was pointing and was bewildered to find the clocktower gone. He stood up and walked over to the top of the dam with Sunset following him. When he looked down, he saw that the lake surrounding Castle Everfree had risen up, and only half of the aqueduct was still standing. Rough Draft then leaned closer to the edge and turned his head to find the floodgate where the tower was.
"I don't understand," he said, turning back to Sunset. "What happened?"
"Well, I didn't see everything since I had already brought you up here when it happened, but I think I have a solid idea," Sunset replied. "When Adagio put the rings in the statue's eyes, it must have activated something inside the clocktower that was designed to have it detach itself from the dam and fall into the lake. It happened so soon that Adagio couldn't get to safety in time, so she fell."
Rough Draft stared at his sunshine perplexed and asked, "So, she's dead? You're sure she's really gone?"
"She's really gone, Rough Draft," Sunset assured. "If the fall didn't kill her, getting crushed by a falling building did, or I'm not a thief. You don't have to worry about her anymore. You're free."
Rough Draft kept staring at Sunset for a moment before he looked down at the ground and thought about her last two words. The edges of his mouth turned up as it hit him. Sunset walked over to him and wrapped her arm around him in a shoulder hug, and put her hand on his arm. Rough Draft looked up at her and smiled, gazing into her cyan eyes before he realized something.
"But wait a minute, if using the rings kills the person who activates whatever it activated, then what was the point?" He asked. "Does that mean there was no treasure the whole time?"
"Actually, no. There is a secret treasure, and it's pretty amazing," Sunset said. "Let me show you."
Sunset took Rough Draft's hand and led him through his family's garden. When they were on the other side, Rough Draft's eyes widened, and his mouth hung open in awe as he saw dozens of Roman-like buildings in place of where his family lake used to be. There were temples, courtyards, fountains, columns, arches, and even an amphitheater. Every stone building or statue was more majestic than the last, and they looked as if little to no time had passed since the days they were built. What's left of the water in the lake was going down to the floodgate where the clocktower was.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sunset said.
"It is," Rough Draft said, smiling. "But does that mean this was the treasure all along?"
"Looks like it," Sunset answered.
"But what is an ancient city doing at the bottom of the lake in my family's property?" Rough Draft asked.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Sunset said. "You're the bookworm, remember?"
Rough Draft frowned and thought about it before saying, "Well, I do recall reading how some ancient civilizations would hide their towns or cities to prevent them from being found by the enemies they were fleeing from. So, this must be one of them."
"I see," Sunset said. "Then I guess the people from this ancient civilization built the dam and the floodgate, and then submerged their city so that it couldn't be found. I guess your ancestors inherited it long ago and built the clocktower to hide the floodgate until a time where the secret behind the rings would be discovered."
"Hmmm. That does add up," Rough Draft said. "But that still doesn't explain why my ancestors made it so that putting the rings into the eyes of the horse statue was essentially a death trap."
Sunset frowned and said, "Yeah, I'm not sure why they would do that, but I have a theory."
"And that is?" Rough Draft asked.
"Well, it's very out there, but I had a lot of time to think while you were unconscious, and I think your ancestors intentionally made it a trap, believing that a descendant of the Celestial family would try to discover the secret," Sunset said.
Rough Draft looked at Sunset skeptically and asked, "Where do you base that on?"
"Well, for starters, it was odd that the Lunar family already knew what was the secret message when you put the rings together while the Celestial family didn't," Sunset explained. "The date on your ring was around the time the Celestial family won the fight between the royal families, so the Lunar might have set up a trap as an act of revenge against the other family. They assumed that if the Celestial family were to know about the secret treasure in the future, one of their descendants would try to use their power to retrieve both rings. Basically, they would use the greed of the family who gained unimaginable wealth through illegal means to trap their descendants, leading to the downfall of the superior royal family."
"You really think they believed the Celestial family would be as greedy in the future as they were back then?" Rough Draft questioned. "What if having a Celestial fall into the trap wouldn't be their downfall because he or she wasn't the only one? What if at some point the Celestial family stopped being so greedy, and it was the Lunar family who selfishly wanted the treasure instead? Maybe a Celestial and a Lunar sincerely wanted to marry each other and find the treasure together."
"I know. I know. There's a lot that doesn't add up to what I'm saying," Sunset said, holding up her hand. "It just seems to make sense since the rings were made at the time when the Lunar family was probably bitter for losing so much political power, and they might have already known what the treasure is since it's in your family's property. So, they kept it a secret from their descendants while secretly building it up to something that the Celestial might want more than a submerged ancient city."
Rough Draft raised an eyebrow at Sunset before he looked down and thought about what she was saying.
"Well, if that's what my ancestors believed would happen, they were ultimately right," he said. "A greedy descendant of the Celestia did do everything in her power to obtain a treasure that was something she would have found no value in."
"And in the end, it led to the end of the line of Celestia, thus making the Lunar family's revenge complete," Sunset added. "And to top it off, the Lunar family would be left with a treasure far more valuable than any wealth you can possess. A treasure that should be shared with all of mankind."
"You're right about that, Sunset. This city should be shared with all of humanity," Rough Draft said. "This treasure maybe my inheritance in a way, but it's too great to be kept by one person."
"I'm glad to hear it, Rough Draft," Sunset said with a proud smile.
The two of them stared into each other's eyes again, glad that they felt the same way about the treasure. Sunset then wrapped her arm around Rough Draft's arm, and they silently decided to look around the stone city. From building to building, they admired the beauty that had survived after being buried underwater for so many years. Eventually, they found a fountain and sat down on the ledge with Sunset resting her head on Rough Draft's shoulder while still holding his arm. But while they looked at the beautiful statues surrounding the fountain, Rough Draft turned his head to Sunset and noticed that she was feeling down.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Sunset raised her head to look at the prince's confused face. She then looked down and thought about what to say before giving him an answer.
"Rough Draft, I can't stay here," she said.
"What do you mean?" Rough Draft asked.
"I mean, I can't stay in Everfree with you," Sunset clarified.
"What?" Rough Draft asked. "But we're together, and Adagio's gone. There's nothing that should stop you from staying here."
"Except that I'm an international criminal," Sunset said.
"What does that matter?" Rough Draft challenged.
Sunset's frown deepened, and she placed her hand on Rough Draft's cheek as she said, "Babe, now that the secret of the Horse Bills is most likely out, Everfree will lose the trust of its allies. You're going to be the king, and it'll be up to you to mend the trust between the allies you need. You can't do that if you're together with someone like me."
"Sure I can," Rough Draft protested. "If I'm the king, I can just pardon you so that you're not a criminal anymore. I mean, you're a hero now, so that has to justify it."
"I wish it were that simple, but that won't be enough," Sunset said. "Even if I'm not a criminal here, I am a criminal who has caused a lot of trouble in other countries. If you allowed me to stay just so that we can be together, it would be as if Everfree traded one corrupted ruler for another. That could be trouble for Everfree and its people if they lost their allies because of us."
"But I want you to stay," Rough Draft said.
"I do too, Rough Draft," Sunset said, taking both of Rough Draft's hands with hers and holding them up. "Believe me. I don't want to leave any more than you do. If I could undo every crime I've done so that I can be with you, I would do it, but I have too much dirt on my hands. I have to go."
"Then take me with you," Rough Draft demanded.
"I can't do that," Sunset said.
"Sure you can," Rough Draft insisted. "I may not be a thief, but I can learn. We can have all sorts of adventures together. I don't care what we do as long as we're together."
Sunset gave him a sad smile and said, "That does sound fun, but I don't want you to take the same path I've taken. Your honest heart is something I've always loved about you, and I won't let you lose that. Besides, your people need you."
"I need you," Rough Draft countered.
Sunset's smile grew slightly, and she scooted closer to Rough Draft while still holding his hands and said, "I need you too, babe, but we can't risk what happens to Everfree's future just for us. It wouldn't be fair for anyone."
Rough Draft stared at Sunset for a moment before he let go of her hands and hung his head low, defeated. Sunset frowned and rubbed his back, knowing that his heart was breaking.
"So, that's it?" He asked. "We're done just like that?"
Sunset sighed heavily and said, "I don't know. Maybe. If there's a way we can work around this in the future, I can come back."
Rough Draft lifted his head with a look of hope and asked, "Do you think that's possible?"
"It might be," Sunset answered. "It'll take time. Probably a few years before I could think of something. I can't guarantee anything, though."
"You'll do it," Rough Draft said confidently. "After all, you went so far as to look for me until you were out of money and risked your life to rescue me inside a castle full of traps."
Sunset smirked and said, "Don't forget taking a bullet for you in the process."
"Ugh. Don't remind me," Rough Draft said with a shudder. "I'm still a little tormented from that."
"Sorry," Sunset said.
The two of them smiled with Rough Draft feeling slightly better. Then, the prince frowned and took Sunset's hand and said, "I will wait for as long as it takes for you to come back, Sunshine. I swear it on my crown as king."
Sunset gave him a sweet smile and began caressing his cheek again.
"I'll hold you to that," she said. "Just promise me that you'll get rid of those deathtraps so that I don't have to worry about those when I come back."
"Absolutely," Rough Draft said. "And while we're still making promises, please be careful while you're away. I know you love challenges, but don't get yourself killed out there."
"I promise," Sunset replied.
With that, the couple kissed before they went back to admiring the ancient city. Sunset wrapped her arm around Rough Draft's arm again, and she rested her head on his shoulder. Rough Draft, in turn, placed his hand on top of Sunset's hand and rested his head on hers. Their smiles slowly faded as they became worried that this moment alone could be their last. Rough Draft took Sunset's hand and kissed it, and she tightened her hold on his arm.
At that moment, all they wanted was to be alone in the stone city forever.
Back at Castle Everfree, Twilight's squadron escorted their handcuffed prisoners to the central courtyard. Depry was using her phone attached to the pack on her back to request helicopters for pickup. Cozy Glow was sitting down on the ground next to Tirek, despondent over Adagio's death. The captain of the guard looked at Spike bitterly as the lieutenant oversaw the prisoners.
"You only won because we don't have our queen anymore," Tirek said.
"Perhaps, but it also means all brawn and no brains meant nothing in the end," Spike said with a smug look.
Tirek growled with his face turning a deeper shade of red. The purple man chuckled mockingly until he looked up from Tirek to find Twilight and Flash exiting the castle. They were carrying large bags on their shoulders and holding hands as they walked. Spike's face lit up, and he raced toward his sister to give her a tight hug.
"Whoa, easy there, Spike," Twilight chuckled.
"Sorry," Spike said as he broke the hug. "I'm just glad that you didn't get trapped inside the castle this time."
Twilight smiled at her little brother and said, "I was only going to the printing room, silly. Besides, Flash was with me."
Flash smiled bashfully and scratched the back of his head as his cheeks turned pink. Spike turned to the secret agent and gave him a death glare, silently stating that he saw him holding hands with his sister. Flash took a step back with a twinge of fear while Twilight padded Spike's shoulder as a way of telling him to ease up. Spike kept his glare for a moment before he silently complied and turned back to his sister.
"So, what's with all the bags you're carrying?" He asked.
"Oh, just a bunch of rolls of counterfeit bills and all of those orders we found plus a few printing plates, Twilight responded.
"Orders?" Spike asked.
"Yeah, we found some very interesting invoices for the Horse Bills," Flash explained. "There was even one from Chancellor Neighsay."
Spike's eyes widened, and he covered his mouth in shock before he said, "You're not serious."
"Oh, aren't we?" Twilight asked in a singing voice.
She opened her bag, reached into it, and took out the invoice. Spike took the piece of paper and stared at it in disbelief before he started laughing.
"I don't believe this," he said, putting his hand on top of his head. "This explains so much."
"You're telling us," Flash said. "It's going to be interesting when we get back home."
Just as he said that, Depry walked over to them, holding up the phone attached to her pack, and said, "Excuse me, Inspector, Agent; you have a call from Commander Harshwinny."
"Ah, thank you, Derpy," Twilight said.
Twilight took the phone from Derpy's hand, and she and Flash leaned their ears close to the reciever before Twilight said, "Hello?"
"Inspector Sparkle, is Agent Sentry with you?" Harshwinny asked.
"I'm here, commander," Flash replied.
"Ah, good," Harshwinny said. "I wish to congratulate you two on a job well done. The secret is finally out, and there is nothing that can be done to cover it up."
"Thank you, commander," Flash said. "Though Twilight and I have some more evidence to bring back home just to be on the safe side."
"Good call, Sentry. Though, I assume it won't be necessary now that the chancellor's position in Canterlot is in critical condition," Harshwinny said. "But what of Queen Adagio?"
Twilight and Flash frowned and looked at each other before Twilight asked, "Spike, where is the queen?"
"Oh, Queen Adagio is dead," Spike said.
"What?!" Twilight asked.
"Dead? How?" Flash asked.
"Sentry? Sparkle? What's going on over there?" Harshwinny asked. "I thought I heard something about somebody being dead."
"You did," Twilight answered. "My brother just said that Queen Adagio had died."
"What?! What do you mean?!" Harshwinny asked.
Twilight thought it for a moment before she handed the phone to Spike and said, "Here. Tell it to the commander, and we'll listen."
"Uh, okay," Spike said hesitantly as he held up the phone to his ear. "Hello? Lieutenant Sparkle speaking."
"Lieutenant, this is Commander Harshwhinny," Harshwinny said. "Can you explain to me how Queen Adagio is dead?"
"I'll do my best, ma'am, but frankly, I don't have the whole story," Spike said. "Basically, during all the fighting, she was hanging on up at the clocktower before it suddenly broke and fell, and she fell to her death."
Twilight and Flash looked at Spike befuddled while the phone was silent for several seconds.
"Are you making this up, Lieutenant?" Harshwhinny asked.
"No, ma'am," Spike replied. "I couldn't tell you for the life of me why she was up there, but if you ask the rest of the squadron, they will tell you the same thing."
"It's true," Derpy said to Twilight and Flash. "We all saw her die. That's when her people surrendered to us."
The inspector and the secret agent stared at Derpy before they looked at each other, still baffled. After a few seconds, Flash shrugged and said, "I'm sure it has something to do with her chasing after Sunset and Prince Rough Draft.
"I guess," Twilight said.
Spike nodded before he heard a sigh from Harshwinny, who could not hear what Twilight and Flash were saying through the phone.
"Very well," she said. "Can you put Inspector Sparkle and Agent Sentry back on please, Lieutenant?"
"Sure," Spike replied.
He handed the phone back to Twilight, and she and Flash leaned their ears close to the receiver again before Twilight asked, "Hello, commander?"
"Inspector Sparkle, Agent Sentry, I would like for you to gather as much information as you can regarding the queen while we send backup for your prisoners," Harshwhinny said.
"Yes, ma'am," Twilight said.
"Understood," Flash replied.
"That aside, you have my gratitude for accomplishing this operation," Harshwhinny continued. "The world will have a hard time adjusting to the truth, but justice has been served thanks to you."
"Thank you, commander," Twilight said. "Personally, I hope what we've done will put the souls of the people who are trapped in the catacombs at rest."
"Amen," Flash said.
"Quite," Harshwinny said. "In any case, I shall want a report on this operation once you have returned to headquarters, Sentry, and I think I can speak for the commissioner when I say that he'll want one from you too, Sparkle."
"Yes, ma'am," Twilight and Flash said simultaneously.
"Very well. Good work again, you too, and have a safe trip home," Harshwhinny said.
With that, Twilight handed the phone back to Derpy, who hung it back on her pack. For a couple of seconds, everyone was silent until Flash cleared his throat.
"Well, it's a shame we couldn't bring Queen Adagio to justice," he said.
"I would have liked to have her brought down by the book," Twilight agreed.
"Well, at least she didn't get away with all of her manipulation and murder," Spike said optimistically.
"That's true, Spike, but it does mean Everfree is without a leader," Twilight said.
"Eh, if I know Sunset, the prince is completely safe, thanks to her," Flash said. "So, when he comes back here, he's likely going to be the king."
"Well, that's a relief, provided that you're right about her allowing him to come back here and be king," Twilight said, crossing her arms at Flash said with an unconvinced look.
The grayish amber man chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. Just then, the phone on Derpy's pack rang again, and she picked it up.
"Hello, this is Private Hooves," she greeted.
Spike, Twilight, and Flash looked at Derpy while she was on the phone. Derpy's face went from cheerful to grim before she turned to Twilight and offered the phone to her with a look like she was a doctor giving a patient bad news.
"Call for you, inspector," she said. "It's your sister-in-law."
Twilight's eyes shrunk, and the blood drained from her face, turning her grayish mulberry skin thistle. She slowly turned her head to Spike, who had a cut half the size of a thumb on his cheek from fighting Tirek. Her brother gave her a worried look as the same thing was flowing in his mind while Derpy took off her helmet and held it to her chest with her free hand. Twilight gulped before she collected herself, took the phone, and held it up to her ear.
"Hi, Rarity," she said in a friendly tone. "How are things back in -?"
"TWILIGHT JOSEPHINE SPARKLE!!!" A female voice screeched so loudly that Twilight moved her ear away from the receiver. "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT MY SPIKEY-WIKEY!?!"
Twilight chuckled nervously as she brought the phone back to her ear and said, "Rarity, please let me ex -"
"I'VE TOLERATED YOU CONSTANTLY TAKING HIM AWAY FROM ME JUST TO CHASE SOME THIEF HALFWAY ACROSS THE WORLD FOR SEVEN, HEART ACHING YEARS, AND ALL I ASK IS THAT NOTHING - NOT ONE THING HAPPENS TO MY HUSBAND!!!" Rarity screamed. "HE IS TO BE BROUGHT BACK TO ME IN MINT CONDITION FROM TOP TO BOTTOM ALWAYS!!!"
"I understand that, Rarity, but it couldn't be helped," Twilight protested. "We had to stop a major conspiracy, and -"
"I DON'T CARE IF YOU WERE TRYING TO STOP THE BLEEDING APOCALYPSE!!!" Rarity shrieked. "WHEN I WANT TO BE CONFUSED WITH A WOMAN WHO WANTS SO MUCH AS ONE HAIR ON HER SWEET, ADORABLE, CUDDLY MAN'S HEAD OUT OF PLACE, SO HELP ME I WILL GET DOWN ON MY KNEES AND BEG!!! YOU BETTER PRAY I DON'T HUNT YOU DOWN AND SLOWLY RIP ALL OF YOUR HAIR OFF ONE STRAND AT A TIME!!! DO YOU HEAR ME!?!"
By this point, Derpy was uncomfortable while Spike was sympathetically watching his sister try to calm down the hysterical woman. Rarity's voice was so loud that everyone within a ten-foot radius could hear everything coming from the receiver. Flash watched what was happening, completely lost before turning to Spike.
"Who's Rarity?" He asked.
"My wife," Spike answered with a sigh.
"Your wife? Why is she calling Twilight, and not you?" Flash asked.
"Well, since I'm her second-in-command and her brother, Rarity looks to Twilight to keep me safe, and it looks like she was watching me fight Tirek when you and your guys were recording the wedding," Spike answered. "It's normal for a cop's wife to worry about him, but my sweet Rarity loves me so much that she's terrified if I get so much as a papercut when I'm not back in Canterlot where I just work eight-hour shifts at the station and come straight home afterward."
"Seriously?" Flash asked. "Man, talk about overreacting."
"Yeah, well, just comes to show how much I mean to my wife," Spike said with a shrug. "On that note, I better go calm her down."
Spike walked over to Twilight and held out his hand. The grayish mulberry woman gave him an appreciative look before she gave the phone to him and stood next to Flash, massaging her ear. Spike took a deep breath before he slowly held the phone to his ear and said, "Rarity."
Immediately, the phone became silent. Everyone around Spike sighed in relief, thankful that they could hear their own thoughts again. After a few seconds, Rarity's voice came out of the receiver again, sounding frail and squeaky.
"Spike? Spikey-Poo, is that you?" She asked. "Precious bear, are you alright? Are you in any pain? Please tell me you're not getting an infection from your wound."
"Relax, Rarity. I'm fine," Spike assured. "It’s just a tiny cut. Nothing a bandaid can't handle. Besides, you should see the other guy."
"Oh, I did. I did," Rarity swooned. "I saw the whole thing on the TV. You were leading the squadron while fighting that big ugly brute. Oh, my courageous Spikey-wikey!"
Spike chuckled while his cheeks turned pink before turning to Twilight and giving her a thumbs up. Twilight let out a heavy sigh, glad that her sister-in-law had calmed down before turning to Flash. The two of them stared into each other's eyes until the inspector realized what she was doing and shook her head while her grayish mulberry cheeks turned pink.
"So," she said.
"So," Flash repeated with a smile.
"I, uh, had fun exposing the printing presses with you," Twilight said shyly.
"Me too," Flash said. "Maybe we could do something like that again sometime."
Twilight smirked and said, "I'd like that, but I think I'll be busy hunting down your ex for a little while."
"That's a shame," Flash said. "But hey, if we're ever both back in Canterlot, we could always visit Donut Joe's shop again or maybe grab dinner and catch a movie."
Twilight's smirk turned into a kind smile and moved her hair back from her ear as she said, "I'd like that."
"Then I wait until that opportunity arrives, my lady," Flash said as he took her hand and kissed it.
Twilight covered her mouth with her free hand to hide a giggle while looking away from Flash again. The two of them began staring at each other again until Derpy cleared her throat.
"Uh, Inspector, I hate to ruin the moment, but didn't you plan on capturing Sunset Shimmer right after we won?" She asked.
Twilight gasped loudly and hit her head with her palm, shouting, "Crap! You're right! And I got so focused on nabbing the queen that we don't have any police cars to nab and arrest her!"
"Well, you could borrow one of the TV buses and catch her that way," Flash suggested. "It's not as fast, but it's better than nothing while she's likely still in Everfree."
"Oh, Flash, we can't do that," Twilight said, waving her hands. "We still need to escort our prisoners to Canterlot, and you need to return them back to the TV station, right?"
"Ah, I can just tell them that we need it for a little while longer, and then you can return it the next time you are in Canterlot," Flash said. "Besides, you can keep some of your officers here, and I'll supervise with Micro Chips and Sandalwood until the choppers arrive."
Twilight took a moment before she smiled sweetly at Flash. She walked closer to him and pecked his cheek.
"Thank you," she said.
Flash's cheeks turned pink, and this time he looked away, much to Twilight's amusement. She then turned to Derpy and Spike and said, "Spike, say your goodbye to Rarity. It's time we take down Sunset Shimmer once and for all!"
Back over at the Lunar property, Sunset and Rough Draft left the ancient city and walked back to the remains of his family castle. Sunset was still resting on Rough Draft's right shoulder while holding his arm with both arms, and her hand clasped with his. The two of them were still feeling dread over the fact that Sunset would have to leave Everfree. As they made it to the front entrance to the Castle of Luna, Rough Draft turned his head to his beloved with a smirk.
"Hey, Sunshine?" He asked.
"Hmmm?" Sunset hummed.
"Did you think there was going to be a trap before Adagio used the rings before you made your theory?" Rough Draft.
Sunset lifted her head to look at him and said, "Kinda."
"Does that mean you lied to her when you said you weren't there to trick her?" Rough Draft asked.
Sunset looked away from him with a hesitant look before she shrugged and said, "I don't think it counts as lying when I didn't know for sure what was going to happen."
"Uh-huh," Rough Draft said, unconvinced.
As they were walking, they saw an old truck driving toward the entrance. The truck stopped a few yards in front of them and was turned off before Applejack opened the car door. No sooner did both of her feet touch the ground than Winona jumped out of the car and raced toward the couple, barking as she ran.
"Winona!" Rough Draft shouted, beaming.
The prince got down on his knees just in time for his dog to jump into his arms. Winona licked Rough Draft aggressively as he pet her.
"Hi, my good girl. How's my good girl?" He said between laughs. "I missed you too, Winona. Yes, I did. Oh, yes, I did, fluffy dog."
Sunset smiled fondly at the reunion while Winona was licking Rough Draft all over his face. Applejack smirked as she walked over to them and said, "Hey there, Your Highness. Glad that you're okay."
"Applejack," Rough Draft greeted, still giggling from Winona's licking. "Long time, no see."
"I'll say," Applejack chuckled. "I'm relieved that you're okay."
The doors on the other side of the truck opened to reveal the Archbishop and his chauffeur coming out. The stout man was in his white and gold inner robe as Sunset walked over to them and bowed her head.
"I am glad that you have completed your quest, my child," the Archbishop said.
"Thanks, Your Holiness," Sunset said. "I trust that Applejack treated you well."
"Oh, yes. She has shown great hospitality," the Archbishop replied. "Though from what we've been watching from the news, it appears your rescue caused several deaths, including the Queen of Everfree."
"I'm afraid it was unavoidable given the circumstances, Your Holiness," Sunset replied. "I did tell you that violence was to be expected for what we had to do."
The Archbishop furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. Sunset scratched the back of her head, avoiding eye contact with the plump man. Luckily, she found a way to change the subject when she saw her slug bug driving toward everyone. The car stopped next to the truck, and Starlight and Tempest got out to run over to the amber woman. Starlight pulled her partner into a bone-crushing hug that made Sunset whimper while Tempest gave her client a respectable nod.
"Oh, I'm so glad that you're okay," Starlight chirped.
"Yes. We were unsure of what happened to you or the prince after you left the chapel," Tempest said.
"Aw, Tempest. How nice of you to care," Sunset said.
Tempest frowned and said, "Don't misunderstand me, Shimmer. I only say that because I do not wish to lose a high-paying client and nothing else."
Sunset scoffed and said, "Whatever you say."
Starlight chuckled until she turned to the ancient city and asked, "So, you wanna tell us what's all that doing where the lake used to be?"
"Well, simply put, ladies, this is the treasure," Sunset replied with a shrug.
Starlight and Tempest looked at her as though she said a terrible joke and the latter said, "Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Sunset said. "Turns out the Lunar family inherited a lost ancient city and made the rings the only way to reveal it."
"You mean not only did we not get the counterfeit operation, but the treasure is just a bunch of stupid stone buildings?" Starlight asked.
"Hey, don't be like that, Starlight," Sunset said. "This is a valuable treasure. It's just not our kind of treasure. That's all."
"Humph. Next, you'll be telling us you didn't get the prince in the end either," Starlight said, pouting with her arms crossed.
Sunset hesitated and looked around as if everything that wasn't Starlight or Tempest was interesting while scratching the back of her head. It took a moment for Starlight to realize what Sunset was expressing and shouted, "Oh, come on! You didn't even get back together with the prince?! What is with you, Sunset?!"
Sunset sighed and gave her friend a serious look as she answered, "I decided that Applejack was right. It wouldn't be right for us to be together right now with what Everfree will be going through now."
"Mmmm. Seems you made the right choice in that regard," Tempest said calmly. "I'm glad that you took Applejack's and my words to heart."
"Augh! This sucks!" Starlight whined. "After everything we went through, we have no counterfeit scheme, no treasure worth our interest, and you don't even get the dude?! We spent all this time in Everfree for nothing!"
"Aw, come on, Starlight. You know that isn't entirely true," Sunset said. "You got your anti-tank rifle now, dontcha? You love that thing."
Tempest let out a brief chuckle with her mouth closed and said, "You did have a lot of fun last night, Glimmer."
"That's true," Starlight said, looking up at the sky with a blissful look. "But you had a little fun yourself, Tempest."
"You're right. It has been some time since I fought like that. It almost makes it worth having done close to nothing before that," Tempest said before frowning at Sunset. "Still, it seems you didn't gain much either, Shimmer."
"Are you kidding?" Sunset asked. "I got to see my Rough Draft again for the first time in years, we're just as in love with each other as we were before, and I saved him from a horrible fate."
"But you're still not getting back together with him," Starlight said worryingly.
"I know, but we've talked about it, and we like to believe I'll find a way for us to be together someday," Sunset said. "It's a long shot, but I'm willing to try anything to be with Rough Draft again."
"And I'll be waiting for when she succeeds."
Sunset turned her head to see Rough Draft walking over to them with Winona beside him. He wrapped his arm around Sunset and pulled her into a side hug as he looked at Starlight and Tempest. Starlight smirked at the purple prince while Tempest's wooden face disappeared, and she stared at him, captivated.
'So, the pretty boy that Sunset's been going crazy over at last," Starlight said. "How's it going, Your Highness?"
"Just Rough Draft is fine," Rough Draft said. "You don't have to be formal with me when you're friends of my Sunshine."
"Oh yeah, introductions," Sunset said. "Babe, this is my long time partner, Starlight Glimmer."
"What's up?" Starlight greeted.
"And this is Tempest," Sunset said, pointing at Tempest. "She's a samurai from the Badlands who I occasionally commission for weapons, gadgets, and disguises."
Tempest let out an incoherent mutter while staring at the prince. Sunset, Starlight, and Rough Draft looked at her confused before she shook her head and awkwardly said, "Greetings…Rough Draft."
"Uh, greetings," Rough Draft replied before whispering into Sunset's ear, "Is she normally like this?"
"No, she's usually very serious," Sunset whispered back. "I don't know why she's acting like this all of a sudden."
"I see," Rough Draft said.
As they whispered to each other, Applejack, the Archbishop, and his chauffeur walked over to the prince, Winona, and the three criminals. The gamboge woman sighed before she tapped Sunset on the shoulder, and she and Rough Draft turned to face her.
"I hate to interrupt, but I think you three ladies better get going before the police get their backup," she said.
Sunset and Rough Draft instantly felt their hearts ache before turning to each other with crestfallen looks, knowing that Applejack was right. Without a word needed to be said, they smashed their lips together with Sunset's arms around Rough Draft's head and Rough Draft squeezing her. Starlight watched her partner shed a tear as she kissed the love of her life with a sympathetic look while Tempest's eyes were still on Rough Draft. Winona let out a whine, sensing that her master's beloved was going away. When they parted, Sunset and Rough Draft pulled each other closer, resting their heads on each other's shoulders. Sunset could feel more tears running down her face as she ran her fingers through Rough Draft's short hair.
"I love you more than all the riches in the world, Rough Draft," she whispered in his ear. "Don't ever forget that."
"I won't," Rough Draft whispered back, fighting his own tears. "Please don't take too long to come back."
They moved their heads back and stared at each other for a moment before briefly kissing one more time. Sunset then reluctantly let go of Rough Draft and kneeled down to pet Winona. The collie didn't waste any time licking her face as the amber woman pet her.
"Take good care of him, Winona," she said. "Don't let him get into any more trouble while I'm away."
The dog replied with another whine before Sunset picked her up for a hug. Rough Draft watched Sunset and Winona's moment sadly before turning back to Starlight and Tempest.
"Make sure she doesn't get into any more serious trouble either," he said. "I'm counting on you two, Starlight, Tempest."
Starlight smirked and nodded at the prince and said, "No problem." Tempest, on the other hand, kept looking straight at Rough Draft before she looked away and shyly muttered a word.
"Fizzlepop."
All eyes were on the dark orchid woman as though she said random gibberish. Her cheeks turned pink as she felt everyone looking at her. She took a deep breath and turned to face Rough Draft before shyly saying, "Call me Fizzlepop. That's my real name, Your Highness. Fizzlepop Jane Berrytwist at your service."
Sunset stated at Tempest with her mouth hanging open while still on her knees and holding Winona. She turned to Starlight, who was resisting the urge to laugh, and then to Rough Draft, who stared at her confused before replying with a smile.
"Okay then, Fizzlepop," he said. "I'm relying on you two to keep my sunshine safe. Okay?"
"It shall be done," Tempest replied, bowing her head with her cheeks turning redder.
Starlight covered her mouth with both hands while Sunset continued to stare at the samurai dumbfounded until she shook her head to snap out of her confused state before petting Winona one more time and putting her down. She then stood up to look at Rough Draft, whose eyes immediately met hers. In their hearts, they wanted to kiss and hold each other again, not caring if everyone was watching, but they knew that their time was up. All they could do was have one more brief kiss before they finally let go.
"I love you," Rough Draft said as Sunset, Starlight, and Tempest walked to the slug bug.
"I love you more," Sunset replied, giving her prince a sad smile before she got in the car.
Rough Draft smiled back as Starlight turned on the ignition and turned the car around. Sunset stood up from the sunroof, blowing a kiss at Rough Draft as the slug bug drove away. The couple looked at each other as Sunset stayed standing on the sunroof until she could no longer see the prince.
With a downcast look, Sunset got down from the sunroof and sat down on her seat. She reached under her shirt and took out her rose necklace hanging around her neck. The amber woman sighed through her nose as she rubbed the rubies with her thumb, already missing Rough Draft Starlight was glancing at her friend sadly as she was driving while Tempest looked at her from the back seat. Sunset rested her head with her hand and her elbow resting on the car door as the car entered the main road.
"You gonna be alright, boss?" Starlight asked.
Sunset was silent for a moment, still staring at her necklace before she turned to Starlight with a reassuring smile.
"I think so," she said. "After all, Rough Draft is safe, he's going to be the king, and he still loves me. We're going to be apart again, but at least this time I know where he is and that he's waiting for me. That means I can leave Everfree with a lot more hope than I did ten years ago."
"I hear you, boss," Starlight said, smiling before looking up at the rearview mirror to look at Tempest. "On a different subject, what was with the Fizzlepop talk, Tempest?"
"Hey, yeah," Sunset said as she turned the upper half of her body to look at the samurai. "Is that your real name?"
Tempest immediately looked down, her dark orchid cheeks turned pink again, and muttered, "It is."
"And why did you feel the need to tell Rough Draft that?" Sunset asked.
Tempest's blush grew, and she lowered her head more as she bashfully replied, "He is a cute guy."
Sunset looked at her befuddled while Starlight hid her face with the steering wheel, struggling not to snicker.
"Wow, first Sunset and now you," she giggled. "Next thing you know, I'm gonna want to nab myself a boy too."
"Hey! My Rough Draft is a man, not a boy!" Sunset rebuked.
"Pff. Yeah. A 'man' who frequently needed to be rescued," Starlight teased.
"And has the heart of a hottie like me on top of soon becoming a king," Sunset countered.
"Heh. Alright, I'll give you that," Starlight said. "Still, if the queen was willing to kill to possess him and the treasure and even Tempest is acting a little shy around him, perhaps there's a guy out there for me."
Sunset gave her partner a friendly smile and said, "Maybe. We're just gonna have to find out while we plan our next big heist."
"Now you're talking, boss!" Starlight said gleefully. "How about you, Fizzlepop? Wanna find yourself a guy while we -"
Before Sunset or Starlight could blink, there a knife pressed against the purple woman's throat. Starlight stood still like a statue, her hands still on the wheel as she saw Tempest glaring at her through the rearview mirror like a lion preparing to pounce.
"The name is Tempest Shadow to you, Glimmer!" She hissed with her teeth clenched.
"Okay," Starlight squeaked.
Tempest moved the blade away from Starlight's neck and sat back down before she cleared her throat and calmly said, "Anyways, I don't see myself with a man regardless of how attractive some such as the prince may be, but if this trip has taught me anything it's that strange things can happen."
"As someone who was trapped in the catacombs with Twilight and fought an evil queen with a wrench inside a clocktower, I'm inclined to agree," Sunset said.
Starlight hummed and nodded in response with her eyes on the road, but then she glanced at her side-view mirror, and her face fell.
"Uh, speaking of Twilight, you better look at what's behind us, boss," she said.
Sunset looked at her, confused until she looked at her side-view mirror, and her eyes widened at the sight of Spike driving one of the TV buses with Twilight sitting next to him. The inspector stuck her head out of the car window and looked at the slug bug with a triumphant grin as she took out a horn speaker.
"SUNSET SHIMMER, THE TRUCE IS OVER!!!" She called out through the device. "ON BEHALF OF CANTERLOT AND ITS ALLIES I AM PLACING YOU AND YOUR ASSOCIATES UNDER ARREST!!! SURRENDER QUIETLY, OR WE WILL USE FORCE!!!"
"Seriously? She's so persistent that she's chasing us with a bus?" Sunset asked.
"Well, it's like Tempest said, boss. Strange things can happen," Starlight said. "So, how do you want to lose them this time?"
Sunset scratched her chin in thought before she opened the glove compartment and found Starlight's magnum and a bag of smoke and flash bombs. She picked up one of the smoke bombs and stared at it with a mischievous grin.
"Let me answer that question with another question, Starlight: who wants to crash a bus?" She asked.
Starlight and Tempest gave her sinister grins, already having a brilliant idea of what she's thinking. Sunset handed Starlight her magnum while Tempest prepared to jump out from the rooftop and draw out her sword. After Sunset grabbed a handful of smoke bombs, she held her rose necklace up and kissed it.
"Don't worry, baby," she said quietly. "I'm coming back someday."
The next few years were hard for the people of Everfree.
As king, Rough Draft worked hard to show his integrity as the new leader of the country. He explained what the Celestial family did as best as he could to his allies, along with burying the bodies that were in the catacombs and starting a campaign for finding and destroying Horse Bills all over the world. The reveal of the counterfeit operation caused severe issues for not just Everfree but the global economy with nations doing everything they could to arrest the people who commissioned the fake bills. Some democratic leaders like Chancellor Neighsay were impeached or forced to resign, while monarchs who ordered the bills lost immeasurable trust and respect from their people, weakening their rule. Even Rough Draft's citizens struggled to adjust to him as their new ruler and that they had lost one of their royal families with the smaller family ruling.
Thankfully, by Rough Draft's fifth year as king, the world was slowly adjusting. There were still many things to be done, and no one would ever find all of the counterfeit bills, but many of the nations of the world were able to bring their economies back into balance. With the general trust of his allies regained, Rough Draft finally shared the discovery of the ancient city to the other countries. The city became a popular tourist attraction, and historians and scholars wanted to discover more about the city, the floodgate, and how it was hidden. Rough Draft refused to say anything about the rings or the legend, but he was thankful that so many people found as much value to the lost city as he did.
True to his word, Rough Draft also had much of Castle Everfree remodeled to remove all of the traps. The printing presses were destroyed, and the stairway to the printing room was boarded. A new altar was built over it that was not overly glamorous like the one before. Rough Draft made Applejack the head of the castle, and she oversaw hiring new staff and security.
Sadly, during Rough Draft's third year as king, Winona passed away. She was nearing her fifteenth year when she was growing weak. Rough Draft was upset that he was there for only a third of her life, but at the same time, the loyal dog and her master were grateful that she was able to live the rest of her days by his side. Applejack and Rough Draft privately buried Winona near the abandoned shack, and the two of them visit her grave whenever they could.
All the while, Rough Draft waited patiently for Sunset to return. Some of the princesses and other high-class women from other countries became interested in meeting him when the world began to believe in his quality as king. His citizens started to hope that he would find someone to marry if for no other reason than because they were worried that they might suddenly lose their last loyal family before he did. But Rough Draft refused to look for a wife, for he continued to believe that Sunset would find a way for the two of them to be together. He would see articles about her latest heists in the newspaper, which were amusing to read, but at the same time, he would worry about whether or not she'll be able to come back at the rate that she kept causing trouble for the world.
But then one morning during his fifth year, Rough Draft was sleeping in his bedroom when there was a loud knock on the door. He groggily got up and put on his bed robe before opening the door to reveal Applejack holding out a newspaper with a sad look. Rough Draft wondered what was wrong until he looked at the headline on the front page of the newspapers.
International Criminals Sunset Shimmer And Starlight Glimmer Killed In A Gas Explosion
Rough Draft snatched the newspaper from Applejack's hands and stared at the page in disbelief. The article said that Sunset and Starlight were in the middle of a robbery in Baltimare when the bank was suddenly surrounded by police aided by Twilight and her squadron. They distracted the police with smoke bombs and then drove past them with their car, but the slug bug was only half a mile away before it exploded. By the time the fire department came, there wasn't much of the car left. It was examined that there was a gas leak that caused the explosion, but there wasn't enough evidence to say for sure. When Twilight had the entire area of the bank thoroughly checked and found no proof that Sunset and Starlight were still there or used the car as a distraction to escape, it was declared that they were in the car when it exploded.
Few words could describe how devastated Rough Draft was. His heart broke as he read the article numerous times, looking for some hint that it was a hoax. Applejack walked over to hug him before he started breaking down in tears.
From that day on, the King of Everfree was spiritless. He forced himself to appear strong and wise in front of his citizens and his allies, but even if it was enough for the rest of the world, the people of Everfree could tell that something was different. Whenever he wasn't carrying out his duties, he would stay in the castle library and read, hoping that any of the countless stories it had to offer could numb the pain.
Eventually, Applejack decided to try and force Rough Draft to find a wife for him. As head of the castle, she made appointments for Rough Draft to meet with princesses and high-class women. He was kind, patient, and listened to what they said as any man should, but he never agreed to a second meetup with any of them. The more he rejected, the more Applejack was worried about his well being.
It was a year after the news of Sunset's death, and Rough Draft was in the castle library spending the Saturday afternoon lying on a sofa and reading a book. A record player quietly played music on a table near the couch as he read. He was reading a book about two adventurers going on a journey to find and destroy a white jewel that an evil emperor wants to control a terrible beast for his destructive desires. The story was perfect entertainment for a reader like Rough Draft, but he looked through the pages with a melancholy look in his eyes.
There was a knock on the door, and Applejack quietly entered the library wearing a pine green suit. She walked over to Rough Draft, who kept his eyes on his book, pretending he didn't hear her come in. She frowned, knowing what he was doing, and turned off the record player to get his attention.
"Turn it back on," Rough Draft said, without looking at Applejack.
"No, it's time for your next appointment," Applejack announced in a motherly way.
"It's Saturday. I don't have any appointments," Rough Draft said.
"You do now," Applejack said. "There's a princess who just came to Everfree and wishes to meet you."
"Tell her she needs to schedule an appointment a week in advance like everyone else," Rough Draft said.
"Nope. I already accepted her request, and you're meeting her right now," Applejack said.
Rough Draft frowned and put his book down before standing up to face Applejack.
"That's not what we agreed on, Applejack," he said.
"Tough luck, Your Highness. You're gonna meet this lady, and you're gonna start a courtship with her," Applejack said.
"You can't make me start a relationship with someone I don't know, Applejack," Rough Draft said.
"Maybe, but I can try," Applejack said.
"And how do you know meeting her won't end up like with all of the other women?" Rough Draft challenged.
"How do you know it won't?" Applejack countered.
"You know how," Rough Draft replied.
Applejack sighed and said, "Look, Rough Draft, it's been a year. Do you think Sunset would be okay with you constantly refusing to open up to someone else?"
"I think she'd understand if I can't connect with someone else no matter how much I try," Rough Draft said.
"She'd also want you to be happy," Applejack said.
"Happy? Happy? Applejack, Sunset is the only person I've been in love with for most of my life," Rough Draft said. "Why should we still be putting any of these women's hopes up when they're going against the memory of someone who risked her life multiple times to save me? It's not fair to them."
"I realize that, but you should still try," Applejack said. "Think of it this way; Sunset risked her life so that you could be free to live your life. Would you really be honoring her memory by not trying to live your life to the best of your ability just because she can't be here with you?"
Rough Draft flinched at Applejack's words. He still saw little hope in finding someone he would want to marry, but he would never want to dishonor Sunset's memory no matter what. As much as he wanted to go back to his book, he knew that he should make an effort for his beloved.
"Fine," he said. "Where am I meeting her?"
"She's outside in the hall waiting to come in here right now," Applejack said.
Rough Draft looked at Applejack, confused, and asked, "She wants to meet in the library and not one of the courtyards? That's unusual."
"Well, she said she has a thing for books," Applejack replied.
Rough Draft stared at the head of his castle, still puzzled by the information. Many of the women who made appointments to meet him weren't the type to want to meet in a part of the castle that is not considered a proper place to meet potential suitors. He started to wonder if there might be something special about this princess that he might already have something in common with. It seemed like an opportunity Sunset might want him to take.
"Very well. Let her in," he said.
"Yes, Your Highness," Applejack said.
Applejack walked back to the library entrance, opened the door, and leaned her head outside, calling out, "Come on in, sugarcube." She moved back and held the door open for a veiled woman in a yellow and purple-pink dress to come in. Her body was covered from top to bottom, for the golden veil completely covered her head and went down to her chest, the sleeves of her dress covered her arms up to her wrists, she was wearing white gloves, and her skirt nearly touched the floor. Rough Draft would have confused the figure for an animated statue or puppet of sorts had not a soft voice come out from behind the veil.
"Your Majesty," she greeted with a bow. "I am grateful that you have allowed me to see you on such short notice."
"Not at all," Rough Draft said politely with a friendly smile. "It would be abysmal of me not to make time for a foreigner in my kingdom, Ms…?"
"Oh, dear me. I haven't introduced myself. Have I?" The woman said, acting sheepish. "I am Princess Sunshine, if it pleases you, Your Grace."
Rough Draft flinched at the sound of the woman's name that made his heart feel like it had suddenly been stabbed by a nail that was hammered to his chest. Rough Draft quickly regained his friendly smile before Princess Sunshine lifted her head back up.
"Sunshine. That's a pretty name," he said.
"You're too kind, Your Highness," Princess Sunshine said.
"Er, please just call me Rough Draft," Rough Draft said.
Princess Sunshine was silent for a second, presumably smiling through her veil before she said, "Very well, Rough Draft."
Applejack smiled and said, "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Let me know if you need anything."
"Thank you, Applejack," Rough Draft said.
The gamboge woman gave her king a bow before she left the room. Unknown to Rough Draft, she secretly glanced at him and smirked before she closed the door behind her. Rough Draft turned to Princess Sunshine, who was looking at the many books on the bookshelves. He took a deep breath out of hopes that it might help keep his cool around the woman with a name that was Sunset's nickname before he struck a conversation.
"So…" he began awkwardly. "Applejack said you have a thing for books?"
"I do," Princess Sunshine answered, still browsing.
"Do you have a favorite genre?" Rough Draft asked.
"Oh, yes, I do," Princess Sunshine replied as she turned to face him with her hands clasped together. "I love adventure and suspense stories. They keep me wondering what happens next. Why sometimes I stay up later than I should at night because I'm so eager to know how a story ends. Each one is quite an experience. Don't you agree?"
"Yes, I do," Rough Draft answered. "I enjoy reading adventure books myself."
"Is that what you were reading before the head of the castle, and I came in?" Princess Sunshine asked, pointing at Rough Draft's book that he left on the sofa.
"Yes, it is," Rough Draft answered.
Princess Sunshine walked over to the sofa and picked up the book. She examined the front cover with an intrigued, "Mmm," and Rough Draft watched, still struggling to keep his cool. So far, she seemed like a nice person with similar interests as him, but he was still uncomfortable about her name. He began to wonder if he could eventually overcome his unease if he decided to pursue a courtship with Princess Sunshine. It would be a challenge to hide it from her, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings.
"Rough Draft, can I ask you something?" Princess Sunshine asked as she put down the book.
Rough Draft broke from his train of thought before he shook his head, and politely said, "Certainly."
"Is there something wrong with my name?" Princess Sunshine asked, turning to him.
Rough Draft froze like a statue. Even though he could not see her face, he imagined Princess Sunshine looking at him with a hurt or skeptical look. For several seconds he was speechless, struggling with how to answer.
"Wrong, my lady?" He asked. "Why would there be anything wrong with your name? I said it was a pretty name."
"I saw you flinch while I was bowing," Princess Sunshine answered. "Something about my name bothers you."
"Uh, no, that's not it. I was just taken aback by what a nice name it is," Rough Draft fibbed.
"Don't lie to me," Princess Sunshine rebuked. "I don't appreciate being lied to, Rough Draft. If you're even half the decent man that I've heard you are, then I want you to tell me the truth. What's troubling you?"
Rough Draft winced and looked away shamefully. He didn't want to tell someone that he had just met about Sunset, but he owed an explanation after offending the woman. He sighed and faced Princess Sunshine sadly.
"I apologize, my lady," he said. "It's just that sunshine was a nickname for someone close to me."
Princess Sunshine gasped softly and held her hand close to her covered mouth.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "Was it for a close relative or a friend?"
"A girlfriend," Rough Draft answered. "She passed away not too long ago."
"Oh, I see," Princess Sunshine said. "You automatically thought of her when you heard my name?"
"I did," Rough Draft said. "I don't want to hurt your feelings, madame, but it's hard to hear your name when my late-girlfriend is what I might always think about when I hear that name. She meant everything to me."
"I'm happy to hear that, babe."
At that moment, Rough Draft's eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat. Princess Sunshine's voice did not sound like it did before. It almost sounded like a different voice altogether. It sounded familiar. Sounded like the voice of someone precious to him.
The king stared at the woman as she slowly lifted her veil to reveal Sunset Shimmer looking at the love of her life with a heartfelt smile. Her rose necklace was shown hanging around her neck. By the time Rough Draft processed what just happened, he was already rushing into Sunset's arms.
The amber woman let out a moan of pleasure as her beloved pressed his lips against hers fervently. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss while he squeezed her. When they parted, Rough Draft studied Sunset's face to make sure that she was there. The king beamed as Sunset placed her hands on his cheeks, but then he frowned and suddenly slapped her upside the head.
"Ow! What the heck, babe?" Sunset asked, rubbing the top of her head.
"Don't 'what the heck, babe' me," Rough Draft rebuked. "What were you thinking, putting on an act like that? You should have just revealed that it was you right away. And you didn't keep your promise about being careful out there."
"I wanted to surprise you," Sunset said. "And I was careful. The whole thing with the car blowing up was completely a trick. Starlight and I planned the whole thing months before we robbed that bank."
"That shockingly doesn't make me feel better," Rough Draft said. "Do you have any idea what I've been going through?"
Sunset looked at him sadly and said, "Yeah, Applejack told me. I wanted to come back to you as soon as we were declared dead or at least give you a letter or something so that you knew what was going to happen, but I couldn't risk it. Starlight and I had to stay low all this time so that the world would believe that we're really dead while we created our new identities. If I wasn't careful, the whole thing would have been ruined, and I might never have been able to come back. I didn't want to risk it when the chance to be together with you again was on the line."
Rough Draft's anger weakened as he began to understand her explanation. Sunset's frown deepened as she moved closer to him and placed her hands on his cheeks again.
"I'm so sorry for all the misery you've been going through, Rough Draft," she said. "Not a day went by that I wasn't worried about what you've been going through, but I'm here now. I'm going to stay by your side always, okay?"
Rough Draft was silent again, making Sunset unsure of what his response was going to be. Then he smiled with his eyes watering and said, "Sunshine, I'm never letting you out of my sight again."
Sunset smiled back before the two of them kissed again. When they parted, they hugged each other with their eyes closed, Rough Draft's arms around Sunset's back, Sunset's left arm around his neck, and her right hand stroking his hair. Tears came down Rough Draft's face as he rested his head against Sunset's. For several minutes, they kept holding each other, treasuring the heartwarming reunion until Rough Draft broke the silence.
"So, is Princess Sunshine a genuine identity?" He asked.
Sunset chuckled with her mouth closed before she pulled her head back and said, "Yep. That's legally my name."
"Does that mean you're in a royal family from a different country or something?" Rough Draft asked.
"Not exactly," Sunset said hesitantly. "You see, Princess Sunshine doesn't have a kingdom. She's just a princess."
"Uh, you can't be just a princess, Sunset," Rough Draft said.
"You can if your citizens are so eager for you to marry that they don't care who you choose as long as she has the title of princess or has a lot of money," Sunset said. "I've been hearing about how you've been attracting quite a few ladies for being the leader I knew you’d be and how not courting any of them is driving your people crazy. I don’t think what kingdom Princess Sunshine comes from is a concern for them as long as you court somebody. After all, they didn’t mind that it was so sudden that Adagio was wooing you as long as it looked like the royal families were going to be reunited.”
“I guess that’s true,” Rough Draft said. “And I guess the name Sunshine is supposed to be your legal name to make it easier for me on what to call you from now on?”
“Something like that,” Sunset said. “You can call me whatever you want when we’re alone, but calling me by my nickname wouldn’t be a bad idea for when we’re in public. Don't want to confuse them by calling me Sunset."
"Gotcha," Rough Draft said. "But what about Starlight. Where is she?"
"She moved to the Crystal Empire under the name Blazing Guns," Sunset answered. "She's a weapons specialist for the empire's army. Last I saw her, she's having a ball, handling all sorts of weapons. She's even started dating the emperor's right-hand man, Sunburst, or Sunblast, or something along those lines."
"And what about Fizzlepop?" Rough Draft asked.
Sunset looked at Rough Draft, confused for a moment until she remembered that Fizzlepop is Tempest's real name, and said, "She's still selling weapons and gadgets and stuff from the Badlands. We offered to make her part of the plan so that she could start a new life too, but she's content with where she is."
"I see," Rough Draft said. "And I suppose you're hoping to live here in Castle Everfree?"
"Maybe," Sunset said with a playful smirk.
"Then you should be aware that the king and the person he's courting can't live in the same place unless they are engaged," Rough Draft said.
"I do," Sunset said. "And I was planning to fix that. I'm not saying we should get married right away, of course. We should start our relationship again and develop it further first. We haven't been officially dating in sixteen years, you know."
"I completely agree, Sunshine," Rough Draft said. "So, there's just one thing for me to do."
Rough Draft took a step back and got down on one knee. He opened his mouth to speak until Sunset smirked and said, "What do you think you're doing, mister?"
"Uh, isn't it obvious? I'm proposing to you," Rough Draft said, confused.
"No, you're not," Sunset said. "I made the suggestion, so I'm the one who is going to propose."
"But I'm the one who has to do it under law," Rough Draft said. "It's the king or prince who is supposed to choose his suitress."
"Babe, I may be going legit now, but no one has to know who proposed to who when it's just us here," Sunset said. "Besides, I'm the one with a ring."
Sunset stretched out her hand, and with a flick, a small, black box appeared. The king looked at her, surprised by the magic trick as she got down on her knees. The amber woman smiled as she opened the box to reveal a silver band.
"Rough Draft, I know I said something similar when I left, but you're the only thing I value more than any riches in the world," Sunset began. "We’ve been apart for most of the time that we've known each other, but now I want us to stay together for the rest of our lives. I'm never going to steal or manipulate anyone ever again, and I want to help you lead your people - our people to a brighter future. Will you marry me?"
The edges of Rough Draft's mouth curled up, and he looked deep into Sunset's cyan eyes as he said, "I will." Sunset beamed and put the ring on Rough Draft's right hand before the two of them started kissing again. They then hugged each other again, still on their knees with Sunset stroking her fiance's hair again as she rested on his shoulder.
"Did you tell Applejack that you're going to propose?" Rough Draft asked.
"I gave her a hint," Sunset answered.
"Of course, you did," Rough Draft said. "We'll need her to prepare a room for you to stay in while we're engaged."
"Sounds good as long as it's not the bedroom at the top tower," Sunset said.
"As you wish," Rough Draft said. "Though I should note that there aren't any traps in the castle as I promised."
"Good," Sunset said. "And I want to have a private wedding before we publicly get married."
Rough Draft moved his head back to look at Sunset, still holding her, and asked, "Why?"
"So that I've married you as Sunset Shimmer and not Princess Sunshine," Sunset explained. "I want to have a separate wedding license that signifies that I'm Sunset Draft of the Lunar family."
Rough Draft smiled and said, "I like that idea. Though our family is going to be acknowledged as just the royal family and not the Lunar family since it's the only royal family left."
"Maybe, but I prefer to address it as the Lunar family," Sunset said. "After all, I'm going to be your wife, and as the queen, I'll have the duty to bear the next generation of your family."
Rough Draft grinned and said, "You already think about us having kids?"
"Well, we definitely shouldn't have kids as soon as we're married, but I've thought about it over the last six years," Sunset said while walking her fingers up Rough Draft's chest. "I was thinking we have a girl first, then a boy, and then a twin boy and girl so that we have two of each. Of course, since you're the one who was raised with loving parents, I'll need your help with learning to be a good mom."
Rough Draft chuckled with his mouth closed and said, "Well, we're going to be by each other's side for the rest of our lives, so we have to figure it out together. Besides, someone has to keep a close eye on our kids to make sure they don't develop habits of lying and stealing like their mischievous mother."
"Mischievous?" Sunset asked, pretending to be offended with her hand on her chest. "How dare you speak to me that way. I'm going to be the queen."
"And right now, you're just a princess," Rough Draft replied with a teasing smirk. "Heck, realistically speaking, you're not even really that."
"Excuse you, buddy, I may not be a real princess, but I still deserve respect as your fiance," Sunset said.
"Heh. Yeah, you're right," Rough Draft said. "And even if you're not the queen of Everfree, you are the queen of my heart."
Sunset burst out laughing, holding on to her gut as tears ran down her face. Rough Draft waited patiently, still on his knees as Sunset curled into a ball as she laughed.
"Did you get that from one of your books?" Sunset asked in mid laughter.
"I may have read something along those lines in one or two of them," Rough Draft answered, smirking.
"Bookworm," Sunset giggled.
"Thief," Rough Draft countered.
Sunset continued to laugh for another minute before she calmed down and stood back up on her knees to look into the king’s emerald eyes with a fond smile. She then placed her hand on Rough Draft’s cheek before they lean their foreheads together as they stared into each other’s eyes. For the next several minutes, the couple cherished the feeling that their future was secure, already thinking about the days that they will eventually marry and start a family. Then, Rough Draft stood up, confusing Sunset as he walked over to a bookshelf containing several records.
“What are you doing?” Sunset asked.
“I was just thinking that we never got to finish our dance on my birthday all those years ago,” the king answered as he took out a record and turned to face Sunset again. “Since we’re back together with no need to keep our love a secret, I think now’s a good time to fix that. That is if my bride-to-be wishes.”
Sunset looked at Rough Draft touched and said, “I’d like nothing more.”
Rough Draft smiled and walked to the record player to switch records. When he put the needle on the record and turned the player on, he held his right hand out to Sunset and said, “My Silver Gleam.”
“My Flaming Arrow,” Sunset replied as she took his hand.
Rough Draft pulled her close until their noses were almost touching and wrapped his arm around her waist. Sunset, in turn, put her free hand on his back, and the two of them slowly moved back and forth as jazz music started playing. Sunset snuggled her head on Rough Draft’s shoulder and closed her eyes as she felt Rough Draft resting his head against hers. The amber woman let out a blissful sigh and tightened her hold on her future husband, feeling complete. Her adventures as a master thief were over, and the adventure she waited so long to start with Rough Draft had finally begun. With a joyful smile on her face, she moved her head back to stare into the eyes of her most precious treasure before they leaned in for a kiss.
