Oh, Sassy Saddles, don't you just love my new Femme Mystique Chic line of gowns!
Sequins and sashes, Rarity!
They're exquisite!
Where in Equestria did you find the inspiration?
I modelled them after the adventures of Shadow Spade.
Whose stories are always full of mystery and suspense and, best of all…
Fabulous costumes!
They're perfect!
What're you doing?
Just making some minor adjustments.
Shadow Spade believed it all comes down to attention to detail.
And so do I.
There.
Now it's perfect.
Hey guys! How's it…
My bad.
Sorry I messed up your dress thingy.
Nothing we can't fix in a stitch.
What are you doing in Canterlot?
I'm here for Princess Celestia's Royal Garden opening tomorrow.
Oh, yes! Rumor has it the gardens are especially lush this season.
I heard that the Wonderbolts will be kicking things off with an aerial display.
You heard right.
And Rainbow Dash is here to fly with them.
So exciting!
Well, kind of exciting.
Technically, I'm not flying.
I'm just the lucky Reserve who was called in to be the backup flyer
in case a Wonderbolt can't perform.
Oh, don't be so modest.
Out of all the reserves, you were the one chosen.
It is pretty sweet.
And I do get to stay in the castle, hang out with the Wonderbolts,
and eat awesome food at the dinner tonight.
Speaking of the dinner, you're still coming, right?
Heavens, yes!
A chance to dress up, be charming and show off my newest femme mystique couture?
I wouldn't miss it for all of Equestria.
Great! See ya tonight!
The rhinestones I ordered.
There's been a mistake.
I've ordered dragon-cut stones.
And these are hoof-polished.
I'm sorry, but I've got a full load of deliveries today
I'm not sure I have time to redo your order.
Of course you don't.
Your job is so difficult.
Honestly, I don't know how you keep all of those orders straight.
It is pretty tough.
What with the boxes all being box-shaped.
Oh, yes. And I very much appreciate it.
But… If there was any way you could squeeze in one more little delivery
I would be eternally grateful.
Well, for you, Rarity,
I'll see what I can do.
Rarity, you could sweettalk a filly out of candy.
Oh, it was nothing.
Nopony minds a compliment.
Now you simply must help me pick up an outfit for tonight.
Something from the new collection, of course.
Let's grab some grub!
Is that Juniper Phoenix I smell?
No, it's broccoli!
Yeah, Juniper Phoenix is one of my favorite stallion colognes.
Mine as well.
It's masculine and yet soft.
But the barest tint of floral note, and…
Rarity, don't you know who it is?
A gentlepony with fabulous taste in colognes and scarfs?
It's Windrider!
So nice to meet you!
You didn't let me finish.
He is a living legend!
He holds the wonderbolt record in the mustang marathon!
Well, that was a long time ago.
Honestly I can't believe I still hold the record.
Windrider, I see you met Rainbow Dash,
She is one of our most promising reserves.
She just might beat your record.
Really now?
I'm nowhere near as good as you.
I mean I'm fast, but
I don't have endurance to go long distances.
Don't be modest.
A little practice and you'll be beating records in no time.
Well, it's nice to meet you, fillies.
Not as nice as it is to meet you, sir.
I can't believe I just met Windrider!
Yeah, he is coming out of retirement to take the spot of honor in the center of our aerial flower formation tomorrow.
Really? That's incredible!
Guess I'll just watch Windrider being awesome from the sidelines.
Practice tomorrow is gonna be so boring.
I don't suppose I could keep you company?
You could!
They always let friends and family come watch practices.
Sorry about that…
Let me help clean that up.
Uh… No-no.
It's almost impossible to get stains out of silk,
but not to worry.
I've come prepared.
That dinner was absolutely divine.
Thanks for inviting me.
You're staying in the east tower?
Those rooms have the best view of Canterlot!
How lucky are we!
Well, we better get some shuteye before practice.
See you tomorrow, Rarity!
Good night!
Thanks for keeping me company, Rarity.
If you weren't here…
Well, I don't know who I'd be talking to right now.
Eh, you'd be talking to me.
Rainbow Dash,
Spitfire's mom sent her message that she was sick.
She had to leave to take care of her.
Oh no…
I hope her mom's okay.
Me too.
In the meantime,
We need you to fly in her place.
Like, in the actual show?!
Unless Spitfire comes back, yes.
I won't let you down, Soarin.
This is the best thing ever!
I'm gonna get to fly with Windrider and the Wonderbolts
cause I'm the bestest
and I'm awesome
and they know it…
Rainbow Dash?
Let her have this, darling.
Hello there.
Friend or family?
Family.
My daughter is a Wonderbolt.
But I don't see her up there.
Do you know Spitfire?
Ooh, you're Spitfire's mom?
But I thought you were sick.
What?
Well, Spitfire got a note from you saying you're not feeling well, and
she went home to take care for you.
I didn't send a note.
That's so strange.
Stormy Flare?
Aren't you supposed to be sick?
Okay, what't happening?
I don't know.
But I do know I didn't send my daughter a note.
Could somepony have sent Spitfire a fake note?
Who would do such a thing?
Somepony who wanted her out of the show, I suppose.
Why would anypony want that?
Maybe so they could take her spot.
Me?
I would never do that to Spitfire.
Why would you think it was me?
I did see you and Spitfire leave the dinner together.
We were room neighbors at the castle!
And you did say you'd do anything to fly with Wind Rider.
Yeah, but I didn't mean "anything"!
Spitfire came by my room and told me she had to see her mom in around midnight.
Where were you then?
I was asleep at midnight,
having this totally amazing dream.
There I was, at the arena,
flying with Wind Rider and the Wonderbolts,
like I always wanted to!
Nevermind.
Not helping.
Rainbow Dash,
if you can prove that somepony else is behind Spitfire's disappearance
before the start of the show,
Then you can still fly with us.
In the meantime, Misty Fly, Blaze,
head over to Stormy Flare's house,
And try to find Spitfire and bring her back.
I'll have to warn you.
If you sent that letter,
the bylaws are clear.
I'd have no choice but to ban you form Wonderbolts
forever!
Understand?
I understand.
But how am I gonna prove I didn't send a letter
that I didn't send?
With me!
Detective Rarity is on the case.
And we're going to get to the bottom of this
faster than my costume change!
Yeah…
What's with the getup?
Obviously, I am channeling Shadow Spade to these gorgeous garments.
And she would say that the best way to prove that you didn't send the letter
is to find out whoever did.
First stop — the scene of the crime!
We had a long road ahead of us, Rainbow Dash and I.
Well, not too long, because we didn't have much time.
But the point is,
I was up for the challenge.
There I was, surveying the crime scene
and looking très chic while doing it.
This must be the envelope for the letter Spitfire got.
These look like hairs from a rainbow mane!
That's not good.
Rainbow dash was getting antsy.
But I have faith I can clear her name
and find a real culprit.
What are you doing?
Oh, just thinking thoughts.
Rainbow Dash was right.
In order to solve the mystery we had to be focused,
gripping one hundred percent in that…
That damasque pattern on these curtains is exquisite.
Oh, and this velvet rope holder, oh, it's just…
We don't have time to look at the decor.
They're gonna kick me out of the Wonderbolts unless we solve this thing!
I know, Rainbow.
And I'm on this case like a charm on a bracelet.
Here's what I'm thinking.
Somepony had to bring Spitfire that letter,
which means somepony must have seen them!
I just have a few questions for you.
And I'm sure once we get something's cleared up, we'll…
Come on, Rarity, we don't have all day.
Where were you on the night of last night and midnight!?
We were here, guarding the hallway entrance like we were supposed to.
A likely story.
I'm telling you, we were there all night,
and no one were in or out of that hallway.
Except for you.
What are you trying to say?
Just that there're only two rooms in the northwest wing.
Yours and Spitfire's.
So the only other pony that had access to that wing,
was you.
The waters were getting choppy.
Rainbow Dashes' tactics were, well,
hurried.
It was time for another approach.
Perhaps, I should take it from here.
You castle guards have such a difficult job.
I'm guessing that at times it can be rather…
boring.
It is.
I've counted all three hundred and fourty five bolts in the ceiling tiles two hundred and ninety three times.
And, of course, being a castle guard can be thankless work.
I'm not saying you did, but if
you took a break,
you more than deserved it.
You're right!
We don't get a lot of recognition for what we do.
Except for last night when somepony was nice enough to leave a cake for us,
so we did take one little break when we ate that cake.
What kind of cake was it?
Cherry with a custard filling
Was the frosting vanilla or chocolate?
Chocolate.
Was the base of the cake decorated with butter cream rosettes?
It was.
Who cares how it was decorated?!
Rainbow Dash was questioning my methods,
but I knew what I was doing!
Do you?
Did I say that one out loud?
I mean, even I think I'm guilty at this point.
I really did want to fly in that show.
What it I wrote that note when I was asleep?
Do you know what I do when I sleep?
Because I sure don't!
Calm down, Rainbow Dash.
We'll get to the bottom of this.
There's only one bakery in Canterlot,
that makes a chocolate cherry cake with custard flling and butter cream frosting rosettes, and that's…
Cinnamon Chai's tea and cake shop.
Hello!
How can I help you?
I've heard you had the best chocolate cherry custard cake with buttercream-frosting rosettes in town.
Oh! You travel in the right circles.
We have the only chocolate cherry custard cake with buttercream-frosting rosettes in town.
Oh, no! But somepony's already bought it.
Who was the lucky pony?
I can't even say!
Why, because it was somepony famous?
No!
Because it was hard to tell.
She was wearing a trenchcoat, sunglasses,
and a scarf around her head that covered most of her face.
But I do remember
she had a really deep, raspy voice.
What do you mean, raspy?
Well, kinda like yours.
If there's anything else you can remember, dish.
Well, have I got a story for you!
The pony who bought the cake threw a big fit
when she accidentally got chocolate ganache on her scarf.
That's terrible!
What color was the scarf?
White.
No, maybe more an ivory.
You don't say!
I can't believe you're talking fashion at a time like this!
Rainbow, don't panic.
I need you to trust me.
Trust you?!
You've spent more time changing clothes than trying to help me!
I'm doomed!
No, you're not.
Come on!
Rainbow Dash was obviously upset,
but I had all my ducks in a row.
Except one.
She was not going to like it, but there was only one way
to find out if my suspicions were correct.
We looked everywhere,
but Spitfire wasn't at her mom's house!
Where could she be?
I found the culprit!
Somepony sent Spitfire away and framed Rainbow Dash for it,
and that pony was none other than…
Windrider!
Rarity, I can't believe you would accuse Windrider of framing me!
He's a living legend, for pony's sake!
All the evidence points to him.
What evidence could you possibly have?
All you did was ask about cake, admire decor,
and change outfits a gazillion times!
Let me explain.
I never believed you would send Spitfire away.
When we found the Rainbow hairs in Spitfire's room,
I could tell they didn't fall out.
They were cut!
No pony loses hair in a chunk.
And look at the ends.
It's a straight line.
They were clearly cut with shears!
Which means somepony planted it!
Then, when we were examining spitfire's room,
I smelled something on the envelope.
Juniper Phoenix,
wind rider's cologne of choice!
Then, in the castle hallway,
I noticed some of the damasque curtains fell out of their velvet rope holder,
indicating that somepony had been hiding behind them.
Perhaps after they dropped off the fake letter?
Juniper Phoenix is a very popular fragrance
and anypony could've moved those curtains.
Precisely why I questioned the castle guards.
They were at their post at the entrance to the hallway all night,
except for a small window of time
when somepony brought them cake.
A cake that was ordered by a girl pony
with a raspy voice.
Whoever ordered the cake
got a chocolate stain on their ivory scarf.
And I couldn't help but notice that Windrider's scarf
is tied in a tight windsor knot,
instead of its usual loose slip knot.
And why is that?
Is it to hide
the chocolate stain?!
Ah, this is preposterous.
Wonderbolts, you don't believe a word of this, right?
Just admit it. You're just as guilty of framing Rainbow Dash
as you are of ruining that ivory scarf!
Ah, fine!
You caught me!
I did it!
But why, Windrider?
Is it because I took the last broccoli at the dinner
and you really, really wanted it?
No!
It was because he was afraid
that you would break his long-distance wonderbolt record.
I heard him, when Spitfire said
you were close to breaking his record.
He said, and I quote,
"Heh-heh."
That's the polite, but disingenuous laugh you make
when you want to seem happy, but, really, you're not.
I thought, if I could get Rainbow Dash
kicked out of the wonderbolts forever,
my record would be preserved.
Really?
That is so not cool,
and I thought you were the coolest wonderbolt, ever, until now.
I did what I had to do to protect my record.
Sometimes you gotta play dirty to be the best.
That's not what being a wonderbolt is all about.
She's right!
Wonderbolts look out for each other.
Which reminds me — where is Spitfire?
I sent her the letter pretending to be Stormy Flare.
I told her I had pegasitis
and the only cure is the ice iris in the crystal mountains.
No wonder she's been gone so long.
Ice irises are almost impossible to find in spring.
The crystal mountains are too far
for anypony to make it there and back
before the royal garden opening.
Rainbow Dash,
we need you to fly in Spitfire's place.
But Spitfire shouldn't have to miss this.
I'm gonna get her.
Well, you'll never make it in time.
Then there's no time to lose!
Rainbow Dash is still gone!
Oh, don't panic.
If I know Rainbow Dash, she'll come through.
Spitfire, you're back!
I can't believe you made it!
I wouldn't have, if Rainbow hadn't found me so fast. →
It gave me enough time to fly back.
Rar, I couldn't have done it without you.
And I'm sorry I doubted you,
but why didn't you tell me what you were doing?
Well, I didn't want to get your hopes up until I was sure,
and I couldn't be sure until I saw that chocolate stain.
Thank you for believing in me,
even when I was doubting you.
I'm some friend, huh?
Actually, you're quite a good friend.
You went to get Spitfire,
even though it meant you couldn't fly today.
I'll get my chance, one day.
Or today.
How'd you like Windrider's spot in the show?
Wh-wh-what?!
You can't do this to me.
I'm one of the greatest Wonderbolts there ever was!
Not anymore.
For attempting to frame Rainbow Dash,
I hereby strip you of your wonderbolt status!
So, would you like to fly with us?
Would I?!
Rainbow Dash?
Coming!
So, my friend got her moment in the sun.
Or the center of an aerial flower, as the case may be.
And, as for me,
I got a chance to show off my femme mystique chic collection.
That's nice, dear.
Oh, did I say that out loud?
anon2anon sunnysubs.com