The Alicorn Job

by Tumbleweed

First published 25th of October, 2016

When the Ponyville History Museum puts a strange and mysterious artifact on display, Sunset Shimmer starts acting strangely. And so, it looks like Twilight's the only one who can stop her ... or will she help her instead?

When the Ponyville History Museum puts a strange and mysterious artifact on display, Sunset Shimmer starts acting strangely. And so, it looks like Twilight's the only one who can stop her ... or will she help her instead?

More in my Equestria-Girls continuity! (But again, not intricately tied to the other stories, so it works as a standalone). Set vaguely before the Camp Everfree movie, but after Friendship Games.

Chapter 1

“This way, class!” Principal Celestia's voice was as clear and melodious as a church bell. She practically bounced on the balls of her feet, her lush hair trailing behind her like a banner. “We've still got three more wings of the museum to tour!” The chance to get out of her office, and out of her school had obviously invigorated her as she lead her gaggle of students through the high-vaulted halls of the newly opened Ponyville History Museum.

Unfortunately, not all of her students shared her excitement.

“This is totally lame. It's just a bunch of old pots and jewelry and stuff.” Rainbow Dash grumbled, hands thrust into her pockets. She lingered at the back of the field trip crowd, as far from Principal Celestia's totally-not-cool enthusiasm as she could manage. “How come we couldn't take a field trip to somewhere cool? Like, I dunno, a monster truck rally or something?”

“I'm not sure if there's much in the way of educational value at a monster truck rally.” Twilight fiddled with her glasses by reflex. Where Rainbow Dash lingered out of boredom, she kept to the back of the tour both to stick close to the rest of her friends, and so she wouldn't miss anything as she made her way through the museum as slowly as possible.

“Sure there is!” Rainbow Dash said with a grin. “We could learn about, like … mechanics! And physics! And dinosaurs!”

“Truckasaurus ain't a real dinosaur.” Applejack said.

“It's still rad!” Rainbow Dash squeaked.

“Please, Rainbow.” Rarity laid a delicate hand at the soccer-star's elbow. “You should keep an open mind. It'll do you some good to take in some culture. Why, I understand this museum has an absolutely spectacular collection of ancient Greek sculpture.”

“I reckon you just wanna see them statues of naked dudes playin' frisbee.” Applejack said.

“Why, I never!” Rarity glared at the cowgirl. “That's just the way art was done back then, you know. Not to mention the proper term is discus.”

“Hold up, who's naked?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Who isn't?” Pinkie Pie beamed. “Seriously! All those old timey statues and mosaics and paintings are just full of naked people! I guess they just didn't invent pants yet!” She giggled.

“Actually,” Twilight held up a finger, lapsing into lecturing mode. “Archeologists discovered a three-thousand year old pair of pants in a central Asian tomb fairly recently. That's at least a couple of centuries before the period we come to think of as ancient Greece, so it's entirely possible that they knew what pants were, they just preferred not to wear them.”

“They sound like my kinda people!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Except for the fact that many ancient Greek city-states had few, if any rights available for women.” Twilight rubbed at her chin. “Though it did vary from city-state to city-state. Even still, women were universally excluded from major social events like the theater or even the Olympics.”

“So … not my kinda people.” Pinkie Pie deflated a little, and snapped her fingers. “Nuts.”

“Come along!” Principal Celestia stuck her head out from around a corner, looking pointedly at Rainbow Dash and company. “We haven't even made it to the Hall of Arms yet!”

“Arms. Great.” Rainbow Dash muttered. “What's next? The Leg Exhibit?”

“She's not talking about anatomy, Rainbow.” Rarity noted. “She's talking about … you know. Weaponry. Rapiers and arbequesues and glaives and the like.”

“Sounds scary.” Fluttershy murmured.

“Sounds awesome.” Rainbow Dash perked up. “Why didn't any of you guys tell me? I call dibs on the ninja sword!” And with that, she took off at a sprint to catch up with the rest of the field trip.

“That ain't how it works!” Applejack sputtered as a matter of principle, and took off after Rainbow Dash before she could wreak any more havoc. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy soon followed, chattering amongst themselves.

Meanwhile, Twilight just smiled, and let out a wistful sigh. A warm, fuzzy feeling welled up inside her, to be surrounded not only by so much knowledge, but also to be surrounded by her friends-- most of them, at least.

Twilight looked over her shoulder. Sunset Shimmer stood at the far end of the ancient jewelry exhibit, staring at the same display case she made a beeline to as soon as they walked in. Sunset raised her hand and let it drift forward, fingertips inexorably drifting towards the glass.

“You shouldn't touch the display case.” Twilight blurted, for lack of anything better to say.

“You're right.” Sunset drew her hand back to her chest, but didn't take her eyes off the case. “There's vibration sensors worked into the glass, and a weight-sensative pressure plate underneath the display. It might even be pressurized, too. One wrong move and this whole museum would lock down.”

“Or, um, I was gonna say it's rude to smudge the glass, but that works too.”

“Oh, uh, right.” Sunset forced a grin. “Leaving fingerprints-- I mean, uh, smudges, would be bad.”

Twilight frowned. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine.” Sunset Shimmer said in the too-confident tone that said she wasn't.

“You know you can talk to me, right?” Twilight said. “About, you know … stuff? No matter what it is?”

“I do, I do. I … just got a little sidetracked, that's all. Distracted, even. Every time I feel I've gotten used to this dimension, well, I find something new. Funny how that works, right?” She gave Twilight a light, awkward punch on the arm.

“I guess?” Twilight rubbed at her bicep.

“Oh. Shoot.” Sunset looked across the exhibit hall, to where the last few stragglers of the field trip were meandering towards the next display. “We'd better move, or else they're gonna leave us behind!” Sunset Shimmer thrust her hands into her jacket pockets and hurried off.

Twilight took a half step to follow-- but she stopped herself before she could get too far. Curious (though not curious enough to commit the museum-sin of touching the glass), Twilight leaned in to examine the necklace within the display case. There must have been something that made that little scrap of metal so interesting, even if Twilight didn't know what. Not yet, at least. She fiddled with her glasses again, and her eyes took in the otherwise unremarkable placard at the base of the pedestal.

Chapter 2

“What is the Alicorn Amulet, and why is it so important?” Twilight kept her voice low, so as not to be heard over the raucous din of a school bus full of teenagers.

Sunset Shimmer's eyes went wide, and she clapped a hand over Twilight's mouth, using the other to hold a finger to her own lips. “Shh!” She said, desperate. “Who told-- nevermind. We can't talk about it here.”

“Can't talk about what?” Pinkie Pie poked her head up from the seat behind them.

“Uh.” Sunset looked up at Pinkie. “Private stuff?”

“Kay!” Pinkie Pie said. “Just try not to start making out 'til you get off the bus! Then you can really get--”

Sunset Shimmer blushed, but narrowed her eyes at her friend nonetheless. “Pinkie.”

“Oh, fiiiiiiine.” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, and sank back down into her seat. “I swear, nobody around here appreciates a good pun.”

Twilight pulled the hand off of her mouth, and blinked a few times. “Sunset? What's gotten into you?”

“Later.” Sunset crossed her arms across her chest and sank down in her seat.

“If there's anything I can do, all you have to do is--”

“Later.” Sunset hissed.

Twilight didn't say anything for the rest of the bus ride.

Neither did Sunset.

The school bus pulled into Canterlot High's parking lot just as the final class bell rang. The field-trippers piled out of the bus, mingling with the steady stream of students jostling and shoving at each other with youthful rowdiness.

Sunset Shimmer leaned close to Twilight. “Follow me.” She said, and then stood up. Sunset made pleasant small-talk with the rest of her friends as she exited the bus, waving to them as they split off in different directions to head home.

Sunset watched them go for a minute, and then let her smile falter once she was confident they weren't looking. She nodded to Twilight, and then wordlessly went into the Wednesday-afternoon-empty high school. Picking an empty classroom at random, Sunset ducked inside and pulled Twilight along with her.

“Okay. Now we can talk.” Sunset Shimmer closed the classroom door behind her, and peered through the little rectangular window out into the empty hallway beyond.

“You're scaring me, Sunset.” Twilight said, and rubbed her upper arms.

The stress in Sunset's face melted into concern, and she ran her hands through her lush hair. “I'm sorry.” She said, and leaned back against the door. “I didn't mean to, well, be mean. But the fewer people who know about this, the better.”

“The fewer people who know about what?”

“The Alicorn Amulet. It was-- is, an artifact of great power. It can enhance someone's magic to an exponential degree … but it drives the wearer insane in the process. I thought about tracking it down, back when I was still … megalomaniacal, but even then I decided against not to. It was too dangerous, even then.”

“And now it's here.” Twilight said, slowly.

“Or its trans-dimensional counterpart.” Sunset took another wary look out the window, nodded as she didn't see anyone in the hallway, and then crossed over to slump into the chair behind the teacher's desk. “I haven't figured that out yet. I haven't figured a lot of things out yet.”

“Then let me help you. It could be, you know, fun?” Hope, however vain, tinged Twilight's voice. “You'd think after all these times we've saved the world, we'd be used to it by now. I bet if we got everyone together, we could--”

“No.” Sunset said, flatly.

“What do you mean, no?”

“I mean, no. I was going to take care of this myself, but you found me out. But it stops here. I don't want to get anyone else involved.”

“But why?”

“Because I'm going to steal the Alicorn Amulet.”

“What?”

“It's not safe out there in public. I've got to contain it. Or destroy it. But I've got to do it alone-- I don't want to get the rest of you in trouble with the law.”

“Uh. We once used magic to defraud a casino so we wouldn't have to pay our hotel bill.” Twilight said. “So … it wouldn't be the first time we got a little, uh, crimey?”

“Okay one, 'crimey' isn't a word.” Sunset smiled. “And, well … this is different. Pinkie and Rainbow are both too loud, Rarity is too dramatic, Fluttershy is too scared, and Applejack is the literal incarnation of honesty.”

“But … but there's got to be a better way to handle this. Isn't there?”

“Like what? You know we can't just go to the police and say 'by the way, there's a necklace at the museum that will give you magic powers and turn you crazy.' We'd be institutionalized, if we were lucky.”

“But that's it! It's in a museum. Just sitting there, under all that security you were scoping out-- the pressure plates and stuff. That's pretty much the safest place it could be outside of a bank vault, right?”

“Under normal circumstances, yes. But, remember the placard? It said the amulet was on loan from an anonymous donor.”

“So? People loan stuff to museums all the time. It's like a tax writeoff or something.”

“But it's anonymous. Don't you see? We don't know who owns the amulet, or when they'll decide they want it back. Or even how they keep it. Or … what if the amulet belongs to somebody like this dimension's version of Tirek?”

“Who?” Twilight blinked.

“Evil magic-eating centaur-wizard demon.”

“Oh.” Twilight pushed her glasses further up her nose, and then edged closer to Sunset, laying a tentative hand on her shoulder. “But … don't you think it's a little bit, I dunno, presumptive to assume that you're the only person who can handle this?”

“There aren't many pon-- people.” Sunset corrected herself. “There aren't many people from Equestria, like me. Nobody else knows just how dangerous the Alicorn Amulet is.”

“But what about Twilight? Er, other Twilight, that is. The Princess? Can't you just write her in that magic book and ask for help?”

“I would. I mean, I will. But it takes Twilight-- Princess Twilight time to respond, usually. Sometimes even days, if she's off doing, you know, Princess stuff. I don't know if we have enough time.”

“We don't know a lot of things.” Twilight squeezed Sunset's shoulder, suddenly resolute. “And that just means we have to find out!”

“We?” Sunset Shimmer shook her head. “No way. You know too much already.”

“Exactly.” Twilight nodded. “I'm already in too deep! I'm not going to turn you in-- again, most people would think I'm just crazy, but--” Twilight held up a finger. “I can at least watch your back.”

“I'm not gonna be able to talk you out of this, am I?” Sunset said.

“I was thinking the same thing, actually.” Twilight said.

Sunset Shimmer shook her head, both impressed and frustrated at her friend's persistence. “Okay, fine. You can help, but this stays between us. We can't get the other girls involved. If you tell anyone, anyone, I'll just have to go off and do something stupid and dangerous by myself.”

Twilight pulled in a deep breath. “I … I don't like this, but if that's what it takes, then fine. But if this is what we're going to do, we need to do this right, and take our time.” She rubbed her hands together, and nodded. “You can go home and write to the other me-- er, to the Princess, and I'll do some research on the amulet, and on the museum, and then we can compare notes tomorrow. No grand larceny until then. Deal?”

“Deal.”

The next day, Twilight tried to focus on her classes, to little avail. She saw Sunset a couple of times throughout the school day, but neither one spoke of their potential scheming. Finally, classes let out. Applejack and Rainbow and the rest all wandered off to catch a movie, but Sunset Shimmer had been able to make up some lame excuse. Said excuse earned an innuendo-laden wink from Pinkie Pie, but it worked well enough anyway.

Sunset didn't turn the classroom's lights on, working only by the rays of sunlight streaming in through the venetian blinds. The parallel lines of light stretching across the room gave the room a vaguely noir-ish air (just without the cigarette smoke and vintage hats).

Twilight pulled a chair up to the teacher's desk, even though the disruption of the typical classroom setup bothered her. She set her backpack by her left foot, and started pulling out reference books and photocopies from the library. “I'm afraid I wasn't able to find much out about the Amulet. Based on the metalwork, I think it might have come from somewhere in Central Asia-- maybe Persia, or even one of the Babylonian dynasties. But, in perusing folklore from the region, I haven't found any references that seem to fit the whole 'gives you superpowers and drives you crazy' sort of thing. So … that's good, right?”

“Maybe.” Sunset Shimmer said. “Or maybe that just means it's the same amulet from Equestria, so it doesn't have a history in this dimension. That doesn't make it any less dangerous.” She drummed her fingers on the desk. “Anything else?”

“I've memorized the Ponyville History Museum's artifact cataloging system, along with a list of the primary curators? Or, uh, I actually had all that memorized before we went on the field trip, but that could be useful, right?”

“Every little bit helps, I guess.” Sunset Shimmer shrugged.

“What about you?”

“I wrote Princess Twilight.”

“And?”

“She hasn't gotten back to me yet.” Sunset Shimmer pulled a heavy, cloth-bound book from her backpack and set it on the desk. She opened it up and leafed through the pages. “I've been checking all day.”

“Oh. Well, I guess we're stuck, then.”

“But, silver lining is, I made this.” Sunset unfolded a large sheet of paper she pulled out of her backpack. Twilight leaned over, eyes scanning over the neat lines and notes

“Where did you get a map of the museum?” Twilight held a hand up to her mouth.

“I took a lot of pictures during the field trip. This is just a rough compilation of what I saw, cross-referenced with the blueprints the architect submitted when the museum was built. The red 'X's are motion-activated security cameras, and the green circles are checkpoints on the security guard's patrol route. The daytime route, at least. ”

“That's a lot of security.” Twilight said.

“I know.” Sunset Shimmer said. “There's no way to go after the amulet directly. Security is just too tight.”

“You know … ” Twilight smoothed out Sunset's map of the museum. “Once you get past how ridiculously illegal all of this is, this is … actually kind of an interesting thought exercise. It kind of reminds me of some of those old point and click puzzle games, you know?”

Sunset stared at Twilight for a moment.

“Okay, you don't know. That's alright.” Twilight smiled with her typical nerdy enthusiasm. “See, they're all about lateral thinking-- more in depth than the usual shoot 'em up video game, right? So instead of blasting monsters, you just have to think of ways to get around them, using the limited resources you have! Which, okay, sometimes can be a pain when the programmers had some very odd and specific circumstance in mind, but when it's done right, it's super fun.” She rubbed at her chin. “I mean, looking at it that way … if the guards are the only ones who can open the display case, why don't we just have them open the display case for us?”

“How?”

“Well … “ Twilight rubbed at her chin, and then started tracing a finger over the map. “Let's see. The security is primarily on the interior, not the exterior. So … assuming the patrol goes by here, and the employee parking lot is there … and, hold on--” Twilight pulled her phone out of her pocket and punched in a quick search. “Right, the museum closes at six on Thursday nights … I think I know how we can get the amulet!” Twilight beamed, proudly, temporarily forgetting the criminality of the situation.

“Really?” Sunset Shimmer said.

“Yep!” Twilight nodded. “But first we'd need to swing by my house and pick up a few things … and then we get to the hard part.”

“Stealing the amulet?”

“No. Catching a squirrel.”

Given the right motivation, it's surprising what one can do with a handful of peanuts and an old cat carrier. A bottle of iodine is optional, but quite useful for the inevitable little cuts and scratches. The same can be said of an up to date vaccination record. They could've just asked Fluttershy, Twilight mused, but that would've gotten her involved with the criminal scheme. Plus, she probably wouldn't approve of what they had planned …

“Do I get to chase the squirrel yet?” Spike wriggled happily in Twilight's arms, clawing at the air with his stubby little legs. He kept his eyes locked on the plastic pet carrier Sunset carried, and twitched his ears every time the rodent within chattered angrily. Which was often. “I'm really good at chasing squirrels.”

“Soon.” Twilight pet Spike's head. “Just remember, don't talk.”

“Right!” Spike nodded, and then made another eager lunge for the squirrel-bearing pet carrier. “I mean, uh, bark?”

Sunset Shimmer checked her watch, and then leaned around the corner, watching the last few patrons stream out of the Ponyville History Museum. “Okay. Last chance to back out, Twilight.”

“Hey, we've come this far, right?” Twilight forced a wan grin. “Turning back now would be the sensible and responsible thing to do. Which means I won't. Ha ha.” She said.

“If you get caught, just tell them it was all my idea. I'll take the fall.”

“I don't plan on getting caught.” Twilight said, resolute.

“Nobody does.” Sunset Shimmer said. Her watch beeped, and she nodded, resolute. “Alright. Go time.” And with that, she crept up to the as-of-yet unlocked museum door. After a quick glance upward to make sure that she wasn't in the view of any of the interior cameras, Sunset unlatched the door to the pet carrier, and dumped an irate and high-strung squirrel onto the marble floor. The little ball of rodent rage chittered, and streaked off into the museum.

“Now, Spike!” Twilight said. His little legs were already pawing at the air by the time Twilight set him on the ground, and he streaked after the squirrel in a bolt of purple fur, trailing a long leash behind him.

“Bark! Bark! Bark!”

“You think he'll be alright?” Twilight watched him disappear into the museum.

“I'll take care of him, don't worry.” Sunset Shimmer smiled, and handed the cat carrier back to Twilight. “Besides, dogs don't go to jail. Now go-- we don't have much time.”

“Uh, right!” Twilight said, and slipped back into the alley.

Sunset Shimmer's heart beat faster in her chest as she pushed through the door, heading after Spike. “Spike! Spike! Get back here!” Her voice echoed from the museum's tall ceilings, joining Spike's eager barking and the scrabble of claws on tile floor.

A grey-haired, pot-bellied guard trundled out from around the corner, and stood for a moment in shock as he watched Sunset chase Spike, who in turn chased the increasingly frantic squirrel.

Sunset Shimmer skidded to a halt in front of the security guard, and looked up at him with a wide-eyed, desperate expression. “I don't know what happened, he just took off! I'm so, so sorry about this!”

“It's alright, Miss. Just calm down, and we'll get--”

“Oh! There he is!” Sunset Shimmer said, seeing her opportunity. She dashed past the security guard, heading after Spike-- who had chased the squirrel into the next exhibit hall. Bracing herself, Sunset dove forward, hands grabbing at-- and missing Spike's leash. She hit the tiled floor. Hard.

“Miss!” The guard called out. “Watch out for--”

With the floors freshly waxed and polished, Sunset skidded across the tile-- and into the display case holding the Alicorn Amulet. The air left her lungs in a single whuff, and Sunset winced to think of what kind of bruises she'd have the next morning.

Sunset groaned, and pushed herself back to her unsteady feet. Across the hall, the guard called out-- but too late. She reached out with one hand to steady herself, planting her palm on the display case. Sunset leaned hard against the wood and glass case, at which point it proved that the 'no touching' signs posted all around the museum weren't there for show.

The case teetered, and then toppled over with a crystal chord of shattering glass. Immediately, the case's many security precautions kicked in, and an ear-splitting siren began to sound through the entire museum, accompanied by blinking strobe lights.

“I'm sorry!” Sunset looked at the destruction she wrought, aghast. “I'm sorry! I didn't know it was there!” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the alarms, but at least the pain shooting up her side made the tears welling at the corners of her eyes genuine. “I was just trying to get my dog!” she sobbed.

The guard winced, and then brought his walkie talkie up to his mouth. “False alarm.” A pause, and a crackle. “I said, false alarm. It's under control now. Cut the sirens, Jimmy.”

Jimmy said something unintelligible from the other side of the radio, but apparently he'd heard enough, as the alarms soon shut down.

Sunset Shimmer stared at the guard and shrank down a bit. “I didn't mean to!” She sobbed, and let the tears roll down her cheeks. She pouted her lower lip out, and trembled, just slightly, projecting vulnerability. Spike, having apparently lost track of the squirrel, trotted back over to Sunset and looked up at her with a pained whine. She scooped up the puppy and pulled him close to her chest-- and soon the guard found himself on the receiving end of two teary, wide-eyed looks of shock and fear. “I should have held his leash tighter.” Sunset murmured.

The guard just stared at the broken display case, and sighed. “Miss, are you hurt?”

“I don't think so?” Sunset sniffed. “I'm not in trouble, am I?”

“You're--” The guard looked over Sunset's shoulder, towards the shattered glass behind her. “You're not in trouble. It was just a freak accident.” He took off his hat and ran a hand through his thinning grey hair.

“I know you're not supposed to bring dogs into the museum,” Sunset said, “but Spike just saw a squirrel run in and he took off!”

“Bark!” said Spike.

“And then I fell, and, and--” Sunset Shimmer breathed in deeper, preparing to launch into a fresh fit of hysterics.

“Calm down, miss. Please. You're fine. I know you didn't mean to.” The guard said, awkwardly. He placed his hat back on his head. “Accidents happen. I just need you to stick around for a little bit so we can file a--” The guard's radio crackled again, and he rolled his eyes, bringing it to his mouth to mutter a response.

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Jimmy. Look, we need to get exhibit 44-M packed up. The case is broken, but the contents are intact. Got it?”

“Um, officer security guard sir?” Sunset Shimmer said in a small voice. “Can I … can I go outside? Spike gets a little, um, excited after he runs around a lot, and I don't want to make any more of a mess.”

“Any more of a--”

Spike whined.

“Oh. Right. Go ahead and take him outside.” And, no sooner had he said the words, Sunset Shimmer scooted out of the museum as fast as she could manage. The guard just shook his head, and stared at the wrecked display case with a wince.

“Makes me glad I have a cat.”

Meanwhile, as Sunset careened across the Ponyville History Museum, Twilight played her part. She hurried down the alleyway, tossing the cat-carrier into a dumpster before pulling a labcoat and a clipboard from her backpack. She shrugged into the white coat, and then crept across the employee parking lot at the rear of the building. She pressed her back against the wall and scooted closer towards the employee entrance. It didn't take long for a few lab techs in identical labcoats emerge from the employee entrance, laughing and joking amongst themselves. They didn't notice Twilight lingering near the door, and they didn't hear the faint click of metal on wood as she slipped her clipboard into the doorjamb before the door closed completely.

Twilight waited 'til the techs were in their cars before she levered the employee entrance back open and slipped inside. She kept her eyes cast downward at the meaningless checklist on her clipboard, and hoped that her disguise would hold up under passing scrutiny. She filed past the breakroom, and then into the archives-- tall banks of drawers stretched up to the ceiling, each marked with an alphanumeric code. She couldn't help but smile, marveling at such a feat of organization. To think, someone had been given the task of cataloging artifacts ranging from ancient potsherds to steam locomotives, and they'd pulled it off in a completely logical manner.

Twilight nearly jumped out of her shoes when the burglar alarms started to howl, but she reminded herself it was all part of the plan. That didn't keep her from clutching her clipboard tighter, though. She perused the stacks of drawers, winding her way towards the door to the exhibit hall, and waited. And soon enough, a security guard came through, with a wooden box under his arm and a harried look on his face.

“You're working late.” The guard said, eyeing Twilight curiously.

“Doctor Ravenwood wanted me to inventory the Ming era ceramics in subsection G.” Twilight said, forcing a nervous smile. “They always give the boring stuff to us interns, right?” She said.

The guard rolled his eyes. “Huh, guess so.” He shrugged, and then passed a plain wooden box to Twilight. “There was an accident at exhibit 44-M. Make sure this gets put in the right place, okay?”

“Oh, uh, right.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. The guards' marked patrol routes went nowhere near the storage and restoration rooms at the back of the museum. As such, the guards wouldn't recognize the lab techs on sight-- so long as one looked the part (with, say, a labcoat, a clipboard, and a generally frazzled academic air), there wouldn't be any questions.

She took the box, and waved to the guard as he walked off, muttering something about cats. The door to the exhibit halls of the museum closed behind him.

Twilight's mouth went dry as she realized she was alone with the ancient and possibly magical artifact. It had worked! The box in her hands felt warm, almost humming with energy.

“I … I should just make sure we got the right thing.” She said, and gingerly opened up the case. Sure enough, the Alicorn Amulet sat on a velvet cushion within. And … perhaps it was a trick of the light, but the bit of jewelry looked almost as if it was glowing. “That's odd,” Twilight murmured to herself, “maybe I should examine it more closely. “

“You there! What're you looking at?” A woman's stern voice cut through the silence of the archives.

Twilight snapped the case shut, and spun around. She recognized the dark-haired woman in the labcoat-- but not the tall, broad-shouldered man in a double-breasted suit behind her.

“D-Doctor Ravenwood!” Twilight gasped. “I, uh. One of the security guards asked me to pt this away.” Which, Twilight mused, was entirely true.

“Is that 44-M?” Dr. Ravenwood glanced over her shoulder at the bored-looking man, and then back to Twilight.

“Um. Yes?” Twilight managed.

“That saves us some trouble, at least.” Dr. Ravenwood stepped over and neatly took the case from Twilight's suddenly limp hands. “It seems that our … benefactor has decided to return his contribution to his private collection.”

“Benefactor?” Twilight looked past the curator to the man in the navy-colored jacket. He hadn't bothered to acknowledge Twilight's existence just yet. “I mean, uh, isn't there, like, paperwork or something that needs to be done before he, uh, takes stuff?”

Dr. Ravenwood rolled her eyes. “Interns.” She shook her head. “Look, I know you've got your heart in the right place, but some of our more … involved donors like to be a little more hands-on in regards to their contributions.”

“Oh. Uh. Okay?” Twilight murmured.

“Now go home.” Doctor Ravenwood made a shoo-ing little gesture with one hand. “It's been a weird enough day already.”

For lack of any other options, Twilight complied-- though she walked slow enough to eavesdrop on the pair.

“I'm sorry.” Doctor Ravenwood's voice was apologetic. “We've got a fresh influx of volunteers who haven't--”

“Spare me.” The benefactor said, voice heavy with a refined, old-money accent. “Is the amulet damaged?”

“Not at all. The case took the brunt of the damage.”

“Good. I'll just be going then.”

“Of course. If there's anything else we can do for you, just let us know, Mr. Blueblood.”

Chapter 3

“Bertram Billingsley Blueblood the Third!” Rarity gave a delighted, dumbfounded squeal, and grabbed onto Applejack's arm for support.

It had been a typical Friday morning up until that point-- the gang had gathered together in front of Canterlot High and made small talk before classes started. Twilight and Sunset were a bit quieter than usual-- though before anyone could ask, a sleek, charcoal-grey luxury sedan had pulled up in front of the school, and Rarity started going into hysterics.

“He's practically royalty!” Rarity gasped. “I mean, look at him! The man's one of the eligible (and, I might add, well-to-do) young bachelors in the world! Why, just look at his suit! Custom tailored, of course. And those loafers. Mmmh.” Rarity shivered, and wet her lips. “Did you know he holds the record for most appearances on the cover of Yachting Gentleman magazine?”

Applejack blinked. “Since when do you like sailing?”

“I don't.” Rarity huffed. “I just like gentlemen who own yachts.”

“Ya don't say.” Applejack said, deadpan.

“What's he doing here?” Sunset Shimmer peered curiously at Blueblood as he strode across the courtyard, towards the school. She shared a look with Twilight, who could only offer a bewildered shrug in return.

“Oh! Oh! I know!” Pinkie Pie waved a hand in the air, as if she were in class. “Maybe he had a party last night, and then he met some girl at the party, but she had to run away before he could get her name but she lost a shoe and whats-his-face found the shoe and now he's gonna make all the girls in school try on the shoe so he can find the girl who lost her shoe and then they can get married. Yay!” Pinkie Pie threw twin handfuls of confetti into the air. “Or maybe he's just a weirdo with thing for feet.”

“He better not be. That overstuffed peacock gets anywhere near my boots, I'm a kick 'im in the head.” Applejack narrowed her eyes, wary.

“Applejack!” Rarity huffed, and batted lightly at the cowgirl's arm. “You will do no such thing! Not just because he's certainly not here to re-enact the finale to Cinderella, but also because cranial trauma leaves a bad impression.”

“Oh, I bet it'll leave a huge impression.” Rainbow Dash leaned over, grinning. “In his head!” A pause, as her friends stared at her. “You know. 'cause he's gonna have a dent in his skull? From Applejack kicking him?”

“I got it.” Fluttershy murmured. “I just didn't laugh 'cause I don't want anyone to get hurt.”

“Tough crowd.” Rainbow grumbled.

A bell rang, and the girls picked up their bookbags to head to class, joking and chatting happily amongst themselves. Sunset Shimmer hung back and laid a hand on Twilight's shoulder to pull her back as well. She waited 'til the rest of her friends were well out of earshot, and then leaned in close.

“That's who you saw at the museum, wasn't it?” Sunset said.

Twilight nodded. “That's him. But what's he doing here?”

“That's why we're gonna find out. Come on.” Sunset Shimmer said.

“But … but it's time for homeroom!”

“Last night, we tried to steal an ancient and priceless piece of jewelry, and you're worried about missing homeroom?” Sunset cracked a grin, “Twilight, never change.”

“Thanks. I think.”

“Now c'mon.” Sunset stood up on tiptoe, and scanned the throng of students as they filed into their respective homeroom classrooms. She homed in on a head of heavily-gelled hair, and tugged Twilight along. “It looks like this Blueblood guy went into Principal Celestia's office.”

“Principal--” Twilight went pale. “Oh. Oh no. He knows! He knows and he's going to tell the Principal and then we're going to get expelled and then we'll go to jail and then we'll get prison G.E.D.'s that give you gang tattoos instead of diploma certificates!”

“Calm down.” Sunset Shimmer said, even as she planted her back against the wall and scooted closer to the open door to Principal Celestia's office. “If we were going to jail, the cops would talk to the Principal after we got arrested. Now keep quiet.” The hallways had emptied, and Vice-Principal Luna's voice crackled over the intercom system with the morning's announcements. Sunset tried to tune them out, and edged closer to the edge of the doorway, with Twilight pressing up against her right side in a sensation that would've been pleasant if she wasn't distracted by the matter at hand.

“Mmmm.” Blueblood's refined voice filled the small but tiny Principal's office. “I'll never understand why you waste your time here, Auntie. Shouldn't you have enough tucked away that you don't need to toil for a paycheck like a common plebeian?”

“Nobody goes into education for the money, Bertram.”

“Yes, yes, I know. Everyone has their calling. But really, it's possible to contribute to society as a whole without … you know. Working.” Blueblood made the 'w' word into a mild obscenity. “Why, I even made it a point to foist a few baubles from great-grandfather's collection onto the local museum. Did you notice?”

“I was a little busy at the time.”

“Of course you were, molding the young leaders of tomorrow, et cetera, et cetera. You'd really have to look to notice, however, since I had myself listed as an anonymous donor.”

“That's surprising. I would've thought you'd let everyone know just how 'generous' you were.” Sunset could practically hear Principal Celestia's finger-quotes.

“Oh, they will. I imagine they'll name a wing of the museum after me in a few years. In comparison, attaching my name to a couple of ancient trinkets seems a bit insignificant in the grand scheme of things, don't you think? I do have a legacy to consider, especially now that I'm getting older.”

“Please tell me you didn't come here just to brag.”

“That's just a bonus, Auntie. I really came here to invite you to a birthday gala at my lake house tonight. It's just a small gathering-- just a little over a hundred of the city's best and brightest stopping over for champagne and cocktails. You know how it is.”

“Unfortunately.” Celestia said, deadpan. “But, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it.”

“I expected as much, but I felt obligated to make the offer. Still, I'll leave the invitations here in case you-- or Auntie Luna change your minds.”

“Not going to invite her yourself?”

“I'm sure she has better things to worry about … not to mention that she frankly intimidates me.”

Celestia's laugh bubbled through the open door. “Did she ever tell you what she did when she was your age?”

“Fortunately not. I'm sure it's terrifying.”

“You don't know the half of it.”

“Now, if you'll excuse me, dear Auntie, I'd best be going. You wouldn't believe how much preparation goes into a small soiree like this one. Why, the ice sculptor should be arriving any minute. Ta!”

Blueblood breezed out of Principal Celestia's office, already checking his cellphone. He didn't even notice Sunset and Twilight pressed up against the wall. Sunset grit her teeth and watched him disappear around the corner.

Twilight's shoulders slumped as a relieved sigh whooshed past her lips. “Okay, now what do we-- Sunset!” Twilight sputtered-- as soon as she looked up, Sunset was walking into Principal Celestia's office. Twilight made a pained little squeak of dismay, and then risked a peek around the corner.

“Sunset Shimmer?” Celestia looked up from her paperwork, blinking. “Shouldn't you be in homeroom?”

“I know, I know.” Sunset Shimmer managed a guilty grin. “It's just … uh. I … something's come up, and I don't know who else to talk to.”

“Oh?” Celestia carefully put her papers down, and gestured to one of the empty chairs in front of her desk. “Is this another one of those, ah … unique matters? The kind that usually ends in someone growing horse-ears and glowing”

Twilight tightened her fingers around the doorjamb. This was it. This is what they should've done from the start. Go to a respectable and understanding authority and explain everything so they didn't have to break the law.

“Oh! No.” Sunset Shimmer said. “It, uh, it actually was about boys.”

“What.” Principal Celestia said.

“Well, um … “ Sunset twirled a lock of red hair around her finger. “I was just thinking about auditioning for the drama club because there's this one boy who also really likes drama and I was wondering if you knew what the next play they were going to do was because then I'd know if I might have to kiss him on stage in front of everyone.”

“Miss Shimmer.” Celestia said, flatly. “That strikes me as a question more appropriate for Curtain Call, our drama teacher, don't you think?”

“Oh. Right. I guess that makes sense.” Sunset Shimmer scratched at the back of her neck. “I … I guess I didn't know who else to ask.”

“Now you do.” Principal Celestia started ruffling through her paperwork again, and sipped from a sun-logo emblazoned coffee mug. “You can ask Mr. Call what he has planned after your classes, Miss Shimmer.” On cue, the bell signaling the end of homeroom rang.

“Right!” Sunset Shimmer said, bubbly. “Thanks!” And with that, Sunset turned and walked out of Principal Celestia's office. Twilight hurried to catch up to Sunset, though she lingered long enough near the door to hear Celestia grumble.

“At least she's not pregnant … “

“What was that?” Twilight Sparkle kept her voice low, but the general din of students pushing out into the hallways on their way to their first class made whispering somewhat redundant. “You lied to Principal Celestia!” A pause. “You … were lying, weren't you? Because if you were really crushing on one of the theater kids you'd tell me, right?”

“Not jealous, are you?” Sunset Shimmer nudged Twilight with her elbow.

“I--” Twilight's jaw flapped around like the mouth of a broken puppet.

“Relax. I just made all of that up.”

“But why?”

“Because it was just the kind of banal teenage drama that'll make any teacher's eyes gloss over. The perfect distraction for me to snag these.” Sunset Shimmer reached into her jacket, pulling out a pair of finely embossed envelopes.

“You stole Principal Celestia's party invitation?”

“And Vice-Principal Luna's. One for each of us.”

“But, but--”

“It's not like they were gonna go anyway.” Sunset Shimmer neatly slid the envelopes back into her pocket. “Honestly, this'll be even easier than the museum. All we have to do is put on some party dresses, get inside Blueblood's mansion, and then get the Alicorn Amulet.”

“How? We don't have blueprints! And you haven't cased the place! There's no way we can figure out where the amulet is, or what kind of security's around it.”

“I've already thought of that. You still have that little magic-detector gizmo, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Perfect. The invitations get us inside the party, and your magic detector will take us straight to the amulet. I'm willing to bet that Blueblood's not going to have all the motion detectors and alarms that the museum had. We nab the amulet, sneak out, and we're home free.”

“But what if we get caught?”

“That's the best part!” Sunset Shimmer said. “Breaking into a museum is one thing, but gatecrashing a fancy party? That's got to be less illegal.”

“But still illegal.”

“Details.”

Chapter 4

Twilight fidgeted through another day's worth of classes, and then bolted home afterward to get the nessescary gear. She stuffed her magic-detector into her purse, and picked out a velvety black dress that looked vaguely like something out of a spy movie.

One of the key advantages to being Rarity's friends was a well-stocked wardrobe. Even in the few months she'd known the designer, Twilight had received a new dress or outfit on nearly a biweekly basis-- or even weekly if Rarity was feeling 'inspired.'

Twilight's phone buzzed as she was buckling the straps to her heels. Twilight reached for where she'd left the phone on her nightstand, overcompensated for the heels, and wound up toppling face-first onto her pillows. She closed her fingers around her phone and rolled over, grateful nobody was around to see.

“Hey.” Sunset's voice came over the phone. “I'm outside.”

Twilight sat up and peered out her window-- where, sure enough, Sunset Shimmer stood in a frankly stunning evening gown in a light green. She leaned against the back of a black luxury sedan, and raised one hand in a wave.

“Where'd you get a car?”

“It's not my car.”

“You stole a car?”

“Relax. It's just one of those fancy rideshare deals. I had a coupon. Ready to go?”

“Uh, sure!” Twilight blurted, and pushed herself back to her feet. She managed not to trip over her own feet as she headed down the steps, and with a hurried “bye Spike!” she slipped out the front door and walked out to where the car waited at the curb, German-built engine purring away.

Sunset raked her green eyes up and down Twilight's dress, and smiled. “Nice outfit.”

“Uh, thanks? I wasn't sure what to wear to, you know, a crime.”

“Something you can move in, but still with a low enough neckline that nobody's looking at your face.” Sunset said, perhaps a little too quickly for an ostensibly law abiding citizen. “But, uh, let's keep that between ourselves. Wouldn't want the driver to overhear, right?”

“Oh, uh, right.”

“Now c'mon.” Sunset Shimmer opened up the door and slid onto the black leather seats. “We've got a party to crash.”

Blueblood's lake house was a modernist stack of glass cubes, perched above a long wooden dock, which in turn was the home of a gleaming white yacht that looked more expensive than seaworthy.

A simple wave of the invitations (along with the appropriately haughty attitude) was all it took to get past the two men in dark suits at the door, and then it was onto the party. The sun crawled down below the horizon, and the party was tastefully lit by strings of lights suspended between the trees. Waiters in immaculate white shirts and vests cruised through the crowd, dispensing flutes of champagne and intricately-decorated appetizers as necessary.

Sunset slid into the party as easily as a tigress disappearing into jungle undergrowth. She plucked a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, and Twilight gasped softly.

“What're you doing?” Twilight murmured.

“Blending in.”

“But … but you're underage!” Twilight said. “Aren't you? I know time passes differently over there, and--”

“It's just a little champagne.” Sunset offered the tall glass to Twilight.

“You are such a bad influence.”

“Remember why we're here.”

“Well … in comparison, I guess that's not so bad.” Twilight closed her fingers around the neck of the champagne flute, holding it as delicately and carefully as a flask of some volatile chemical (which, in a manner of speaking, it was). Her nose crinkled as she sniffed it, and then, taking in a deep breath, she tilted the champagne back and took a sip.

Twilight immediately broke out in a coughing fit, while Sunset reached over to take up the champagne glass. “I think that's enough blending in for now.” She took a the flute back and looked over her shoulder-- thankfully, it looked like the other guests were too distracted with their flirting and gossip and other social maneuvering to notice.

“Fizzy.” Twilight blanched. She coughed again, thumped the center of her chest, and blinked tears from the corners of her eyes. “I'm fine. Really. I'm fine. Let's, um. Let's get to work.” She reached into her purse and pulled out what appeared (at a distance, at least) to be a simple makeup compact, and flicked it open. Immediately, the little lights within began to beep and blip. Twilight turned one way, and then the other, rotating in place like she was orienting a compass.

“Alright, this way.” Twilight said, and crept around to the back of Blueblood's lake house. Her heels sank into the soft earth as she stepped off the path, but she managed to keep herself upright (despite the occasional wobble). They finally got to the back door, and, after slipping past a bored-looking caterer playing with her phone, made their way inside.

The inside of Blueblood's home was sterile enough to serve as a furniture catalog. It was all stark, modernistic, and entirely unlivable.

“He doesn't have any books.” Twilight murmured, stepping carefully past shelves artfully arranged with an eclectic array of small sculptures and other art pieces. “How can you live in a house without any books?”

“We can worry about that later, Twilight.” Sunset Shimmer peered over her friend's shoulder. “Any word on the amulet?”

“Oh, right, it's this way.” Twilight said, and headed deeper into the house. She headed down a stairwell, and into the study-- or at least what could've been a study if Blueblood had bothered to actually buy some books. The mahogany shelves were piled with more sculptures and other artifacts-- those these were far older (and less fashionable). A carved wooden mask was propped up next to the remnants of a classical bust, which in turn sat on a shelf beneath a curved cavalry saber in a gilded scabbard.

And, at the center of the room, was the Alicorn Amulet. It sat on a small velvet pillow, which in turn rested in a wooden display case-- much like the one it sat in at the museum, though with only a small padlock to keep it in place.

“Jackpot.” Sunset Shimmer grinned, and ran her fingers over the padlock. “I told you this'd be--”

“And here, darling, is where I keep my special collection.” Blueblood's voice carried easily through the house.

“Quick, hide!” Sunset grabbed Twilight and drug her around the corner, back into the chamber of gleaming steel and marble that could ostensibly be called a 'kitchen' if someone had bothered to actually cook in it. Twilight and Sunset ducked around the corner-- though in the polished surface of the refrigerator, they could see Blueblood's reflection-- as well as that of his companion.

To say the tall woman was out of Blueblood's league was an understatement. She stood easily half a head taller than he did, carrying herself with a refined, almost regal air. Her features were more striking than beautiful. She wore heavy gold jewelry around her neck, with matching hoop earrings, while her dress was a multi-patterned affair that would've made Rarity jealous in how it combined traditional African fabrics with modern dress patterns.

She swept her gaze over the room, and nodded a silent approval.

“I inherited the most of this from my great great grandfather, you know. He was one of those 'gentleman adventurer' sorts. Always trekking to someplace new in order to bring back various bits and bobs to prove he'd been there. Very dashing. It runs in the family, you know. I envy him, really, as back in his day there were still things worth discovering. But, I make do with what I can-- what, with the yachts and all. Perhaps we can take a look at one of those, next? We could even go out on starlit cruise … “

The tall woman drained the last of her champagne and then wordlessly foisted the empty glass onto Blueblood. He blinked, and then smiled, taking up the glass. “Oh, right! Something to keep the chill off.” He grinned, and then turned to head for the kitchen.

Seeing Blueblood approach from the study, Sunset grabbed hold of Twilight and dragged her towards the exit-- but they were too late. Blueblood blinked as he caught sight of the pair, and arched one brow. “Well, this is a surprise.”

“Don't mind us!” Sunset Shimmer said. “We were just, uh, looking for the bathroom, that's all.”

“Of course, need to powder your nose, hm? It'll be the third door on the left, there.” Blueblood nodded to a hallway leading out of the kitchen, and then opened up the refrigerator in search of a fresh bottle of champagne.

For lack of any other options, Sunset and Twilight just nodded and slipped down the indicated hallway, ducking into the bathroom in order to regain their bearings.

“Is that a jacuzzi?” Twilight peered to an array of nozzles and drains and such set into the floor. “I don't know if that's impressive or just kinda gross.”

“Both?” Sunset said. “It's probably better if you don't think about it much.”

“Then what should I think about?”

“Uh. Literally anything else? Just play cool.We just need to wait 'til Blueblood takes his date off somewhere else, and then we head back to finish the job.”

The 'pop!' of a champagne uncorking echoed from the kitchen, followed by Blueblood's slightly forced laughter. Sunset couldn't help but think it was a metaphor for something. She cracked the door open and looked down the hallway. Finding it clear, she beckoned Twilight to follow her back through the hallway, and back into Blueblood's study. The room was empty, as Blueblood had apparently whisked the tall and elegant woman off in an attempt to impress her with something else.

“Okay, we got this.” Sunset nodded. “I figure we can just break that little lock if we find something heavy enough … “ she trailed off, and reached for the saber left haphazardly on one of the study's shelves.

“Wait!'” Twilight blurted. “Don't start smashing things! I think I've got this.” One of Twilight's hands went to her hair, and pulled out a simple hairpin. She straightened the little bend of metal between her fingers, and after wiggling the metal back and forth a bit, managed to snap it in two.

“Twilight, are you doing what I think you're doing?”

“There's a well established tradition of lockpicking in the country's most elite technical schools. I … just thought I'd get a head start. It's actually fairly interesting, if you look at it from a purely technical standpoint.” Twilight fit the two broken ends of her hairpin into the padlock, and started twisting them about. “It's kind of like a puzzle. All you've got to do is apply torsion with one hand, and rake the tumblers with the other. There can't be more than three on a lock this small, and--” the padlock went 'click!' and popped open. “There you go.”

“If I didn't know any better,” Sunset Shimmer said, “I'd say you were getting good at this 'crime' business.”

“Don't remind me.” Twilight slid the open padlock away and opened up the display case, revealing the Alicorn Amulet to open air. She reached for the necklace … and stopped short. “Something's wrong.” She said, flatly.

“What is it?” Sunset Shimmer put her hands on Twilight's shoulders and leaned in. “It's not tempting you with promises of ultimate magical power, is it?” She asked, perhaps a hair too eagerly.

“The opposite, actually.” Twilight said. “I … came close to the Alicorn Amulet last time around. It felt a little … tingly. I'm not getting that vibe here.” She set her jaw, and then reached out to pick up the necklace. It sat heavy in her fingers … but other than that, it felt like any other cold lump of metal.

“So you're saying … “ Sunset Shimmer trailed off.

Twilight curled her fingers around the amulet.

“It's a fake.”

Chapter 5

“You're sure?” Sunset Shimmer poked the faux Alicorn Amulet. There was no sparkle of magic or promise of power; she wasn't sure if she should've been relieved or not.

“Look.” Twilight pulled out her magic detector and passed it over the amulet. “No magic. Not here, at least.” She tapped the side of the detector, and a direction light began to blink. She looked over her shoulder. “I'm getting readings going in that direction--”

“Blueblood's … friend must have grabbed it while we were in the bathroom. Replaced it with a replica so nobody would notice.” Sunset put the fake amulet back into the case, and eased it closed. “Wish I'd thought of that. Not that we had the time to do it, but … whoever we're dealing with, I bet they've been planning this for a long time.”

“So now what?” Twilight said.

“Same plan as before. We use your detector to find the amulet, then we steal it, and then we get out of here. It should be easy-- either the thief has stashed the real Alicorn Amulet somewhere, or she's got it in her purse. It's what I would do.”

“What if she puts it on?”

“Then we're really in trouble.” Sunset closed her eyes, pulled in a breath. “So let's make sure that doesn't happen.”

“All aboard!”

Blueblood stood at the bow of his yacht, basking in the polite applause that rose up from the other socialites. A good number of them soon made their way up the boarding ramp and onto the boat, while a couple of burly men in striped shirts and knit caps bustled around taking care of the actual work.

Twilight and Sunset joined the throng and climbed aboard. Twilight, nervous, kept quiet, while Sunset made idle small talk with a few of the other guests. Another cheer rose up from the guests as the ship pushed off, its twin engines thrumming to life as the yacht cruised out onto the lake.

Blueblood's yacht was just as lavishly decadent as his house-- to look inside the main cabin, one could be forgiven for mistaking it as the interior to some posh cocktail bar, instead of a boat. It was a little more cramped than the party itself, but copious amounts of champagne helped things along.

“There she is.” Sunset Shimmer murmured. Twilight turned her head just in time to glimpse the tall woman with the colorful dress walk through a doorway out to the exterior deck. “I'm gonna follow her, see if I can get some intel-- or maybe even snag the amulet when she's not looking. You wait here and hold my drink.”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but before she knew it, Sunset had foisted a flute of champagne onto Twilight and disappeared out the same narrow doorway. Twilight blinked a few times, and pushed her glasses further up her nose with her free hand. She edged towards one wall of the nautical 'lounge,' and leaned her back against the wood paneling, instinctively retreating to where nobody could creep up behind her.

After a few long, terrible moments of solitude, Twilight realized that it wasn't so bad. For the most part, the well-heeled party guests ignored her, wrapped up in their own little dramas. Twilight looked down at her champagne glass. One delicate sniff was all it took to remind Twilight of just why she'd devolved into a coughing fit last time she tried.

Twilight shifted from foot to foot, both out of nervousness, and from the gentle swaying of the yacht. She wondered if the uneasy feeling in her stomach was seasickness or just anxiety from being half of a criminal conspiracy to steal a potentially cursed artifact of untold magical power. Still, Twilight realized, she'd gone her whole life as a wallflower-- maybe now it could work to her advantage. It's not like anyone else on the yacht had ever seen her before. Except for Blueblood, but he seemed too dense and distracted to really notice. All she had to do was stay quiet and unnoticeable until Sunset did the actual crime, and she'd be fine.

“Twilight Sparkle, is that you?”

Twilight whipped her head around, and found herself staring up at none other than Principal Celestia. She still wore her typical white principal-ing blazer, along with a typically principal-ish expression of stern disapproval.

“Uh.” Twilight said, mouth going suddenly dry. “No?”

“What're you doing here?” Principal Celestia strode across the lounge, pushing a young man in a silk shirt out of the way. “Is that champagne? Have you been drinking?”

“Yes-- I mean, uh, no!” Twilight cringed back against the wall, looking in vain for a hiding place, or a means of escape. “I mean, um, it is champagne, but I haven't been drinking so … that's okay, right? Just … having a good time. That's not a crime, is it? Not that I would ever do any crimes ever because I am an upstanding and responsible citizen as well as a good student and please don't put this on my permanent record.”

Principal Celestia narrowed her eyes. “We're going to get to the bottom of this, young lady. Follow me.” She turned on a heel and strode out the main door, to the rear of the yacht. Twilight followed, taking hold of the railing with her free hand to keep herself steady. Wind whipped at her hair, and she looked out at the receeding lights from the shore. She could probably swim that distance, if she had to … and then after that, all she would have to do was flee the country. Maybe she could even make it that magical pony dimension. Being a tiny horse couldn't be that bad, could it?

“Bertram!” Principal Celestia's education-trained voice cut over the drone of the yacht's engines, and shook Twilight out of her escapist fantasy.

“What is it now?” Blueblood's head poked out over the edge of the yacht's observation deck, easily twelve feet above. “I already apologized for that business about the invitation, Auntie!You should've just told me you lost--”

“Get down here!” Principal Celestia's voice brooked no dissension.

Blueblood blinked, and then slid down the ladder to the main deck, landing nimbly next to Celestia and Twilight. “Do you really need to yell like that? It's embarrassing.”

“This is low, even for you, Bertram.”

“What?” Blueblood's eyes went wide in shock.

“What kind of sick game are you playing? Inviting one of my students to your party? Just so you could get her drunk and … and … “ Celestia grabbed hold of Blueblood's blazer, eliciting a shriek from the would-be yacht captain. “I aught to have you arrested.”

“That's insane!” Blueblood's voice cracked. “Why would I even do that? What kind of man do you think I am?”

“I don't even know.” Celestia slammed Blueblood's back against the deck ladder. “You wanted me to see this, didn't you? You never could resist gloating.”

“Gloating over what?” Blueblood wailed.

“Stop!” Twilight blurted, dropping her champagne flute to let it shatter on the deck. “It's not his fault!”

Celestia and Blueblood both turned their heads to stare at Twilight.

“I'm sorry, who are you again?” said Blueblood.

“You. Shut up.” Celestia jabbed an accusatory finger into Blueblood's chest, and then wheeled around on Twilight. The nerdy girl cringed back from Celestia's pointing finger as if it were the barrel of a gun. “You. Explain.”

“I … I snuck in.” Twilight clutched her purse to her chest. “It's not his fault. There's nothing, um, weird going on. At least, uh, not what you think. I just overheard Mister Blueblood bragging about his antiquity collection and I was so impressed from the field trip to the museum that I wanted to see what else he had so here I am.” She rattled on.

“That … sounds surprisingly plausible.” Principal Celestia said.

“So … that means I'm not in trouble, right?” Twilight said. “I mean, um, I know it was wrong to sneak in but I only did it because I wanted to learn, and that makes it okay?”

“Not exactly.” Principal Celestia said.

“Well, now that we've gotten that settled, and, I should note, none of this is my fault, let's just put this behind us, hm? Auntie, I trust you can watch over your student here while I go … mingle? I've certain responsibilities to attend to as host and captain, after all.”

“Responsibilities.” Celestia's voice was deadpan.

“Oh, yes. One doesn't grace the cover of Yachting Gentleman without being a master sailor, after all.” Grateful for an excuse to escape, Blueblood clambered back up the ladder. “Why, without my expert captaining, we'd no doubt be struck by some horrid disaster!”

There was shouting from the bow of the ship, followed by a splash.

“See?” Blueblood said, smug.

“Man overboard!” Someone cried from up front.

“Where!?” Someone else yelled.

“I can't see them! Someone get a flashlight! Turn the boat around!”

Twilight paled. “I need to make sure Sunset's alright!” she blurted, and scrambled towards the front of the ship, gripping the chromed railing to make sure she wouldn't be the next one pushed over.

“Sunset? As in Sunset Shimmer?” Celestia pushed after Twilight, shouldering panicked and not-entirely-sober socialites out of the way on the suddenly crowded deck.

“I can explain!” Twilight blurted. She squeezed through the crowd and stumbled onto the main sundeck. “Just, um, later?”

Sunset Shimmer stood at the very prow of the boat, facing the water like a living figurehead. Her hair streamed behind her, flamelike in the soft glow of the yacht's lighting. The boat tilted to the side as it made a hard turn to port-- Twilight, Celestia, and all the other passengers reeled and flailed for handholds, but Sunset Shimmer remained steady.

“Sunset!” Twilight said, relieved. “What's happening? Do you know who fell off the boat?”

Slowly, gracefully, Sunset Shimmer turned. It took Twilight a moment to notice she wasn't standing on the deck-- she floated. The Alicorn Amulet nestled into the hollow of Sunset's neck like a tumor, pulsing faintly with energy.

“No. Nonononononono.” Twilight staggered backwards, and would have toppled over the railing if Principal Celestia hadn't caught her. “This isn't happening. This isn't you, Sunset!”

“You don't know who I am.” Sunset Shimmer's voice echoed with power. She raised a hand, and the yacht shook, suddenly grinding to a dead stop in the water.

“But I do!” Ragged desperation tinged Twilight's voice. “You're not a villain, Sunset! Not anymore!”

“Quiet.” Sunset Shimmer's glowing fingers cut through the air. “I'm working.” She swept her hand through the air, and streams of ethereal energy shot from her fingertips, out into the dark of the water. Sunset curled her fingers, pulling on the lines of magic like a puppeteer. In the distance, something splashed out of the water, floating through the air.

Twilight squinted into the darkness, and corrected herself. It wasn't something, but someone. Sure enough, it was the tall woman she'd seen on Blueblood's arm, though she looked a lot less elegant now after a dip in the lake.

“Looks like you were right.” Sunset Shimmer drifted through the air, hair and skirts rippling with magic as she came to peer at the sodden woman she'd pulled from the lake. “Funny how such a little trinket can hold so much … power.” Sunset savored the p-word, and licked her lips. Sunset held her twinkling fingers up in front of her face, and wiggled them, as if showing off a new manicure. “Oh, the things I could do … “ Sunset's eyes scanned the small crowd of shocked party guests, finally settling on Twilight.

“Please!” Twilight pleaded. “Sunset, I--”

“I know.” Sunset said. She made a slashing motion with her hand, and her magic-bound prisoner dropped to the deck. The yacht shuddered as the otherworldly force holding it in place let up, allowing the engines to start pushing it through the water again. Sunset tightened her hands into fists, and then opened them, slowly drifting back to the deck. She stumbled slightly, the motion oddly, gratifyingly humanizing after her earlier displays of power and grace. And then, with measured deliberation, she reached behind her neck to undo the clasp to the Alicorn Amulet. The faint sound of breaking glass echoed over the lake, and the otherworldly glow surrounding Sunset Shimmer flickered to nothingness.

Sunset pulled the amulet from her neck, looking at it in her hand for a terribly long moment. She closed her eyes, and wordlessly passed it over to the woman she'd pulled from the lake moments before.

Wasting no time, the taller woman made a complicated sign with her free hand, and sketched out a quick chant over the amulet. Faint particles of magic wafted up from her closed fingers, like embers from a campfire.

At the last line, the woman hurled the Alicorn Amulet far into the lake, where it hit the water with a soft 'plunk!' and disappeared from view.

As soon as the amulet hit the water, Sunset collapsed to her knees. A moment later, Twilight was at her side, fairly hyperventilating with concern. “What was that? What did you do? Why did you do it? You're not evil now, are you? Please don't be evil!”

“I … I'm fine.” Sunset closed her eyes, and leaned against Twilight. “I just did … something really stupid, that's all.”

“That doesn't help!” Twilight blinked tears from her eyes.

“So, uh, maybe I should explain some stuff. Twilight Sparkle, meet Zecora Oromo.” She nodded towards the tall woman, who just smiled and nodded back. “She kind of specializes in tracking down and securing artifacts of great power. And apparently she's a lot better at it than we are.”

Zecora shrugged, neither confirming nor denying the statement.

Sunset Shimmer leaned on Twilight, and forced herself back to her feet. “Zecora and I had a … discussion. I didn't trust her at first, and so I tried to lift her purse. She noticed when I did, and, uh … that's when she went overboard. I didn't want to kill her, so … well, the only thing I could think of was to use the Alicorn Amulet's magic.”

“Y'know,” Twilight said, “most people would've just thrown a life preserver or something.”

“Hey,” Sunset Shimmer said, “when all you have is a magical amulet, everything looks like a nail. Or … something.”

“This is one of those things, isn't it? Something magic?” Principal Celestia rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “I knew I should've brought my sister.”

To his credit, Blueblood didn't need any encouraging to turn his yacht around. The other guests had already started rationalizing what they'd seen as some kind of odd in-cruise entertainment or at least drunken hallucinations. To which their logical response was to simply drink until they were actually hallucinating, which made the cruise back to shore even more raucous. The guests yammered on amongst themselves on the sundeck, where even Principal Celestia enjoyed a much-needed cocktail.

“Twilight, I'm sorry.” Sunset sat near the stern of the yacht, distant from the rest of the party, hugging herself. “This whole thing has been a disaster.”

“It's not any more of a disaster than, y'know, like every other weekend we spend together.”

“I still went kind of magic-crazy.” Sunset hugged herself and curled up a little, making herself smaller.

“Better you than me!” Twilight said.

Sunset looked up at Twilight and blinked.

“No, I mean it!” Twilight blurted. “I mean, I don't even know how much magic that amulet had, but you could handle it! Not to mention the fact you put it on with good intentions-- you wanted to save Zecora, not conquer the world. And once you did, you took it off! I don't think I could've walked away from unlimited magic power if someone offered it to me like that.”

“I bet you could.” Sunset Shimmer leaned back. “You're stronger than you think, Twilight.”

“And you're stronger than I am.”

“You don't know that.”

“Oh, I do.” Sunset reached over and twined her fingers with Twilight's, and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Don't sell yourself short.”

“So, um … now what?” Twilight said.

“Now? Well, we … kind of did our job. I mean, the Alicorn Amulet is hundreds of feet underwater, not to mention it's protected by whatever magic Zecora tossed on it. I kind of wish I'd known Zecora was on the case, or even who she was, before all of this started. She could've handled this whole 'magic amulet' thing without us.”

“And we wouldn't have had to break all those laws!” Twilight Sparkle said. “Oh jeez, what happens when we get back to the shore? Are we going to get arrested?”

“I doubt it. I mean, so long as we're not actively making trouble, there's no real reason to arrest us. Especially since it's really, really hard to secure a conviction when the motive is 'we wanted to protect the world from a crazy magic artifact.' The jury would just think we're insane-- which can be a surprisingly good defense. And with the forgery amulet back at Blueblood's house, it's almost like it was never stolen to begin with. Especially since the main difference was magic, and I'm pretty sure that's inadmissible in court. Plus, since we're not on school property or on an official school event, we technically haven't broken any school rules. I mean, Principal Celestia may be a little annoyed with us crashing her nephew's party, but I'm sure she's got better stuff to worry about.”

“Should I be worried about how much thought you've put into alll this?” Twilight pushed her glasses further up her nose.

“Probably.” Sunset Shimmer cracked a grin. “But at least I've got you here to keep me in check.”

“So I'm your conscience now?”

“More like you're someone I don't want to get arrested for being an accomplice.”

“Thanks. I think.”

Sunset Shimmer turned towards Twilight, expression going serious. “I mean it. If I ever start getting too close to the edge, you'll pull me back, right?“

“I won't.” Twilight said. “I mean, uh, I won't have to. You're better than you think you are, Sunset. Especially since if anyone here is going to go crazy and try to take over the world, it's me.”

“I doubt that. You're too nice. Too caring. You just got a little … carried away that one time, that's all.”

“Aw, thanks.”

“Not to mention you're terrible at Risk.”

“Hey!” Twilight broke out laughing, a night's worth of nervous tension draining away in an instant. She swatted at Sunset's hand in retaliation for the slight. “Risk is a terribly abstracted game that fails to account for the key socio-economic logistics required for a true global conflict. If we played a more advanced board game, I'm sure I'd conquer the world in no time. Er, just in the strictest simulationist sense.”

“Maybe I'll take you up on that sometime.” Sunset Shimmer said.

“I'd like that” Twilight said with a smile. She looked at Sunset for a long moment, bit her lip, and then looked away once she realized how close they were. “Uh, I mean, anyway … do you think Zecora can teach us about magic? I've read about rhyming cant being used as a focus for magic spells, but I'd never seen it in effect … do you think it has anything to do with the way you start channeling Equestrian magic whenever your band plays?” Twilight spoke faster and faster as the ideas started popping up in her head-- and then directly to her mouth. “If Zecora has somehow found a way to codify that phenomenon and compress it into simple verse … I wonder what would happen if we started working with other rhyme schemes? Would a limerick be less powerful than a sonnet? Or maybe using a more complex form like iambic pentameter would allow for the manipulation of more powerful magical forces and … and, why didn't I think of this before!”

Twilight stood up, only to flop back down on her butt as the boat shook from gently bouncing off the rubber bumpers along the pier. The stripe-shirted sailors deftly hopped off the yacht and set about tying it in place.

The guests began to walk down the boarding plank, back towards Blueblood's house (and the still-stocked cocktail bar). Zecora moved easily among them, somehow going unnoticed despite her tall and striking figure. She lingered near the rear of the boat, just long enough to offer Sunset and Twilight a knowing nod and a wink. She then disappeared into the throng of guests, fading away into the sea of formal wear as if she were stepping into deep forest underbrush.

“Or maybe she won't teach us rhyme magic.” Twilight said, shoulders sagging a little in disappointment.

“I wouldn't worry too much about it.” Sunset said. “Something tells me we haven't seen the last of her. And now that we know who she is, that'll make things easier next time we've got to plan a-- I mean, um, save the world from magic stuff. But for now, I'm ready to take it easy. Maybe even try one of those conquer-the-world board games you were talking about.”

“Really?” Twilight said.

“Really.” Sunset Shimmer stood up, and offered her friend a steadying hand as she did the same. “Empress Twilight has a certain ring to it, don't you think?”

“Don't tempt me.”