AyeeWolfe

I DARING Another Day, Another Trap Even before she met the three-legged pirate, Daring wasn't having the best of luck. It wasn't the sinister scores of poisonous snakes, or the band of bitter biting monster bears, or even the numerous nefarious ninjas that annoyed Daring Do. No, if she had to pick the worst thing that happened to her that day, it would definitely be having to sit through yet another of Ahuizotl's infamous monologues. Nothing ruined a death trap more than Ahuizotl ranting on and on about how Daring is feeble compared to him, about how the world will soon be his! Yammering seems to be his specialty; failure is a close second, however. Daring Do was tied up neatly, dangling one hundred feet over shark infested waters of which the aforementioned creatures were outfitted with strange devices at the tops of their heads. It was probably ornamental. Then one of the sharks briefly breached the water, his head pointed at her, when a laser discharged from the device and nearly nicked Daring's neck. Just my luck, thought Daring. To her right was the open sea, glittering almost mischievously in the afternoon sun, sea-salt and assorted daffodil delicacies assailed her senses and made her nostalgic. She had spent many a vacation here when she was a filly, and now she was going to meet her doom only a few meters away from the beach; how fitting. Over to her left was the Arion Temple, sitting at its entrance was Ahuizotl in all of his obnoxious glory. He cackled gleefully, overlooking the hill where the temple was situation on, and down to the waters where the sharks impatiently roamed. With each passing second Daring was dropped a few inches closer to the water. "Oh, Daring Do, how I've enjoyed this little game of ours," said Ahuizotl, "This cute little… chase we engage in. I the cat, and you the insignificant little mouse." Dare struggled a little more, causing the rope to be lowered a little faster. The sharks below continued to fire their laser beams, barely missing Dare. … Just maybe… "While all of this has been fun, I am afraid this is game over for you," he brandished the artifact that Daring has sought for all this time. Arion's Amulet. "See, as swift and heroic as you may be, you are terribly predictable." "Oh yeah?" snapped Dare, "Why don't you take me down from this stupid trap and we'll see who's the predictable one!" She swung sporadically, going side to side and nearly hitting the cliff Ahuizotl laughed, as if Dare was a small creature who had done something amusing for her master. "Come now, I would expect a pony of your stature to be more graceful in defeat." "I hate losing, but the good thing about me is-" Daring swung one more time, finally hitting the cliff where she kicked off and swung toward the ocean with gusto. The sharks breeched once more when Dare nearly touched the water with her tail and their lasers went off again, this time, searing the ropes that bonded her. The ropes broke instantly and Daring temporarily floated above the ocean, now that her wings were free she unfurled them and took flight using the momentum from her swing. Ahuizotl only had enough time to react in pure horror as Daring swooped down, snatched the amulet from his paw and landed in front of him, "I don't lose." "Get her!" That was a mighty fine indicator to make herself scarce. Dare galloped opposite of Ahuizotl, she made it halfway down the pier when the screeching of her pursuers shook her eardrums. If this "evil henchcat" business didn't work out for them, they had lovely singing voices. Rounding the corner she was greeted by the sight of the town only a few feet away. One henchcat tackled her before she can go, causing her to drop the amulet. It was a massive jaguar that tackled her; he took a moment to look at the dropped amulet. Daring kicked at his gut and using her forelegs, she pushed on the ground and launched herself up – pushing the jaguar off. He crashed through the shop window but Daring didn't stop to admire her work. She picked up the amulet, placed it inside her hat, and proceeded to run off. After a sufficient running start, Daring took to the winds and flew above the small town. It was a quiet, rustic town. Completely docile in comparison to the bigger cities. Overall, the little village seemed to be preoccupied with something as there were no ponies in the streets. It must have been some sort of celebration, as when Daring flew over the town square she noticed a huge line of ponies heading towards the town boundaries to a little farm. It made Daring homesick seeing all of these neighborly ponies chattering amongst each other; they probably didn't want some silly Pegasus ruining all of this fun. From behind her, the pursuers continued to dog her. Huge cats that seem disturbingly hungry for a little pony like Dare. She flew faster, wanting to fly higher in the skies to reach the clouds but the clouds were too dark and too low. It would've been freezing up there and Daring would've been flying blind, literally. Lost in her thoughts, Dare didn't notice one of the jaguars launching himself toward her. Tackling her mid-air, pony and cat tumbled downward. Arion's amulet around her neck was let loose and fell toward the line of ponies. "Ah, pony feathers," Daring muttered as she and the annoying cat crashed into the line. Comically, a dozen ponies were blown by the momentum of the crash and Daring finally managed to untangle herself from her attacker. But, before she could spit the fur out of her mouth she noticed him standing in front of her and he certainly didn't look happy. "Nice kitty," Daring cooed calmly; she knew this meditative mantra wouldn't calm him, but she needed to bide her time to search for the amulet. They walked slowly in a circle as ponies everywhere panicked and ran about, mostly toward the farm (probably to get ahead in line) and mostly away from this conflict. "Can't we, uh, talk this out?" she asked. As expected, the jaguar growled and licked his lips; the tasty prospect of Pegasus must have been cooling his temper. From the corner of her eye, she spotted the sparkle of the precious metal. It gleamed so reassuringly and gave Dare hope, that is, until she saw a great number of Ahuizotl's henchcats, followed by Ahuizotl himself. "Looks like you were wrong Ms. Do," Ahuizotl purred as he approached the amulet, "It seems you do lose." He bent to pick up the amulet and in that split second Daring jumped. Dare was never the fastest or fanciest Pegasus in her class, but if given the chance she was the best flyer in all of Equestria. Before Ahuizotl even realized she had moved, Daring had already grabbed the amulet and was making her way past him. Although her maneuvers were at the professional level, she miscalculated her speed. Her wings couldn't stand the strain of moving so fast at such a low altitude and faltered for a moment; that instance tripped her up. Losing control, Dare fell over her hooves and rolled awkwardly into a fruit stand. The vender was hardly startled by Dare's sudden entrance and kindly offered her a deep fried crepe with cheery filling. It sounded good but Ahuizotl's screams jolted her back to reality. He and his group made it into the town square just in time to see Daring Do take to the skies. As she left the humble little town, she could hear Ahuizotl curse her; music to her ears. ~--~ "Ow!" Herpy cried, nursing his bruised shoulder that Daring had reflexively kicked when he tied her bandage a little too tight, "Thank goodness my face wasn't there!" "Sorry," she muttered. From her little crash she had managed to pull a muscle and injured her right wing and left foreleg. Just a few bruises and minor scratches, she had seen worse after all. Herpy walked off, looking at the amulet in his usual calculating and distracted manner. Although a bit eccentric, Herpy was certainly the reliable pony when Daring was in a pickle. He was no adventurer but was practically a walking encyclopedia. His intelligence and enthusiasm was heart-warming, and his ways around magic was certainly impressive as well. The unicorn had been with Daring for years now, sticking with her through thick and thin and she appreciated his loyalty; plus, he makes a mean cup of Joe. He spoke to himself as the amulet floated in front of him, when he got really focused on his work he would block off the world. Talking to him in this state was harder than, well, evading laser sharks and giant cats. "It's odd that this is in such pristine condition," Herpy remarked. "Think it's a fake?" Dare countered, although she didn't have his brains she knew a fake from the original artifact. "No, no, of course not, just thinking out loud." "What would he want with that thing anyways?" Daring asked, "It isn't magic, doesn't do anything." She hopped off the table to follow Herpy. The Royal Canterlot University library was certainly a sight to behold. With over twenty-five thousand books and an increasing number every day, this was a paradise for any bookworm. Although Daring had her own little office on the second floor of the University, she preferred to conduct this little meeting here. Mostly because the library made her comfortable, and mostly because Herpy would've come down here anyways. As expected, Herpy levitated a book from the Pre-Classical Era shelf and went through its pages so fast Daring wasn't sure if he was actually reading it. "Even if it isn't magic, this is still an important amulet," Herpy answered, "This is the amulet of Arion, such a thing is priceless! Worth millions Dare!" "I thought you said it was priceless." He ignored her and continued to read, "Ah! Here it is!" Shoving the book in Daring's face, the text read a biography of Arion the Swift. "'Arion the Swift,'" Herpy recited after pulling the book back, "'Known for his speed and heroism during the Diamond Dog rebellion, Arion was the fastest Earth Pony to ever live. To date, there hasn't been anyone to exceed his top speed of three hundred forty meters per second.'" "Wow, fast," she remarked, taking the amulet from Herpy, "Arion doesn't seem to be the type to have bling." "I guess this is going to the museum?" Herpy asked. Daring thought about it for a second. Though typically, every artifact that Daring had acquired in her travels had gone to the Canterlot Historical Museum as donations, Daring hesitated when it came to Arion's Amulet. She wasn't sure why, but she wanted to keep the trinket for a little longer. "No," she answered, "I'll hold on to it for a bit-" she took the amulet and proceeded to the door, "-In case Ahuizotl is still a bit sore about losing it, it'll be in safe hands." "The security in the museum is top-notch Dare, you should know. You designed it." He objected. "Can't talk now, I'm late for class. Hey, send me up some of your world class coffee for me." When she arrived for Equnology, the students were already restless. She walked inside and one student immediately cried, "Ms. Do! Where were you?" "Probably with Bravado again right?" "Aren't you guys married?" "What's with the bandages?" Dare shot a don't-make-me-fail-you glare at the ponies to shut them up, but they kept giggling. She stood at the front of the class, in front of 50 eager ponies ready to learn. "What happened to your wing?" one student asked. Maybe they weren't there to learn about Equinology after all. "That, Strawberry Roll, is none of your concern," Dare answered, anxious to change the subject, "What should be your concern, as with the rest of you, would be finals." A collective groan and protest made Daring smile. "Come on Ms. Do! We're working our butts off to barely pass here, cut us a break?" another student pleaded. "You should know better Top Heavy, that I, of all professors, am not the pony to ask for a break," her mischievous smile spread across her face. After a stressful morning, this was an excellent way to blow off some steam. Despite her best efforts to hide her adventures from most ponies, especially her students, it is no longer a secret that Daring is an adventurer. And quite often her students tease her about that aspect and enjoy taking advantage of Daring's tendency to fall into tangents when she recounts her escapades. This has more than once caused her students to produce unfinished tests, absent homework, and blank notepads. Thankfully, Daring is rather lenient about that seeing as she caused those mistakes. The class went swimmingly with a few outbursts intended to pry into her injuries here and there. Daring was so absorbed into her lecture, however, that she hadn't noticed the pirate at her door. "Ms. Do," Top Heavy called out. "I told you Top Heavy," Daring answered facing the blackboard, "You should've gone before class started." "Aye, the lassie her' has a point!" She turned and saw Blackmane. Well, it wasn't actually Blackmane, just someone who dressed so similarly that she had to correct herself in calling him out as the infamous pirate. His mane was, of course, black with dirt and brim. His body was black as well with suspicious red stuff caked slovenly all over. His tail, like the rest of his body, was messy and showed no evidence of proper care. The pirate wore typical seafaring clothes that reeked of seaweed and fish, when he smiled he showed exactly three black teeth. The only difference between him and Blackmane would be his size. The real Blackmane was much bigger and stout, but this imitator was puny (even smaller than Daring), his knees wobbled and his back was bent with time. And the most important detail was that this old pirate had one peg-leg, as far as Daring was concerned, Blackmane didn't have a peg-leg. "Um," Daring looked at the clock, there would still be ten minutes left of class, "Spend this time reading pages one hundred ten to one hundred thirty in your book. I have some business to attend to, apparently." The class groaned at the burden of reading - shocker - but Daring went off with the pirate immediately regretting that decision. "Don't you guys know it's rude to interrupt a class?" Daring asked, annoyed at this pirate's presence, "Seriously! It's like you guys just all collectively decide to ruin class for me." The pirate blinked, confused at why Daring was reacting this way. Whatever he came to ask Daring to collect didn’t involve listening to her ranting. Before he could get a word in edgewise, she continued to rant and rave, "Oh, and who are you supposed to be? That Blackmane outfit is terrible by the way, you're missing the beard. What did you want me to collect? Your parrot? Wood polisher for your peg-leg?" "Nothin' like that lass," he answered, "I just need ya to find a snake." II MARE DO WELL The Daily Bridle Night came quickly for Manehattan during these latter months of winter. Darkness clouded the skies and flooded the streets. It wasn't strange, however, to hear city noise even at the dead of night in this metropolis. Being the infamous city that never sleeps, Manehattan is always rife with activity no matter the hour. The night was always filled with some motion, from the casual midnight shopping to more sinister objectives. At the corner of east 125th Street and Malcolt X Boulevard stood a tiny, humble dessert shop, The Flying Cupcake; it was a traditionally ran store that sold a variety of treats and, ironically, muffins rather than cupcakes (the owner has reported being allergic to cupcake frosting). The shattering of windows took precedence over the noise of automobiles and broke through the night. Three large stallions, clad in dark clothes that obscured their cutie marks and faces, quickly hopped through the newly formed entrance. One went for the register up front, the second went for the back for, presumably, any leftover muffins or cakes, and the third strangely started to snatch the napkins set at each table. "No alarm," remarked the napkin-thief. "What can you expect from a place like this?" sneered the unicorn at the register, "Look, thirty-four bits? Geez, why'd you pick out a place like this Rocky?" "Just shaddup and get this over with!" called out Rocky from the back. The pillaging only took a few minutes and they left as fast as they arrived. Leaping through the window, the three carefully looked at each end of the street to ensure there was no police response. Making their way down the street, they muttered amongst themselves in a strange combination of annoyance, pride, and fear. "So, do you think that… you know, she's around?" asked Rocky. "No way," snorted the unicorn, "You've got as much chance meeting her than you do winning the Powerball." They laughed at that prospect, unaware of their stalker shrouded in the night. She stood atop the building, watching the would-be thieves cackling amongst themselves. Her cape billowed in the dry night air, her hat, extravagant and prideful, cast an uneasy shadow on the street. Noticing the shadow, they looked at it and eventually at who was casting it. The Mysterious Mare Do Well was as imposing as ever. Her mask was a veil of darkness save her expressive eyes which glowed with ghastly power. "T-that's her!" Rocky cried. Without another word, they ran off screaming. Mare Do Well took chase. Running alongside the building edge, she kept up with them fairly well, but would not be able to capture them unless she was at ground level. With a quick click to her belt, a device the shape and size of a baseball popped from the belt and onto her hoof. Casually, she tossed it at the group. The ball expanded until it became a large net with two heavy counterweights. It collapsed on one of the stallions but Rocky and the unicorn barely dodged it. Mare Do Well took her chance and leapt from the building, her wings unfurled and leveled out, cushioning her fall. But she didn't take to the skies and instead relied on her acrobatic ability, landing on a lamppost she pulled out a whip from her belt and lashed it out to Rocky. Catching his hind leg, she quickly tied it to the lamppost and proceeded to chase the last thief. He turned into an alley, only to find a dead-end. Turning around, Mare Do Well blocked his exit. He whimpered but charged his horn with magic. "I-I don't wanna hurt you!" warned the unicorn thief, but that did not impede Mare Do Well. She continued to trot toward him. With two quick magical bolts, he fired at her intending to disable her legs. His magic was, however, parried by a magical shield erected by Mare Do Well. "It's true? You have wings and magic?" this time he fell on his butt, cowering before the winged unicorn, "What are you?" Mare Do Well stopped in front of him, pausing as if she were going to say something. But, instead, she conjured up more magic, enchanted some more rope from her belt and neatly wrapped up the unicorn for the police to handle. When the police finally arrived, an hour later, they had found all three thieves tied up together like a present. Along with that was a bag filled with all of the stolen stuff and a note that read: "Here you go! Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Mare Do Well!" ~---~ Daylight filtered through the windows, brushing down on the lump huddled up in the bed nearby. The room, save the spot of light created by the window, was absurdly dark. Dust danced and fell like snow in the light, it was depressingly musky. A single dresser stood opposite of the large queen sized bed pushed up against the wall, off to the right was the "writer's corner" with tall stacks of paper, broken, discarded quills, and an old computer model buried underneath the maelstrom of creative stagnation. Several degrees and pictures were pinned up to the walls, but they were marred with dust and rendered illegible. The ceiling fan pathetically squeaked as it rotated in a quiet, incoherent cadence. And on the bed, the pony shifted uncomfortably and muttered despondently. The alarm clock atop the nightstand buzzed when the time morphed into 9:23 AM. A tired hoof reached out and clapped the clock, ceasing its incessant screech. After a few agonizing minutes, she got up from her warm cocoon and trotted over to the dresser. Felicity Peridot's lime-green mane was an unholy nightmare to those with a penchant for hygiene. Since it was naturally curly, it expanded and frizzed up, going ridiculous lengths to embarrass its owner. Her horn was hidden underneath the mess of hair and glowed a dull green, levitating a brush that tried to undo the horror her mane had created. The clock read 9:40 by the time she was able to tame that mane. Once satisfied, Felicity went into the kitchen for some breakfast. Her home was a tiny one-room apartment laid smack-dab in the Upper East Side of Manehattan. It wasn't fancy and clearly reflected her salary. There were little to no personal touches to this apartment; no family pictures, no art, not even a plant. Newspapers and articles laid scattered virtually in every nook and cranny of the apartment. There were a dozen of articles on the enigma Mare Do Well, but there were dozens more on other things, as if Felicity wanted to focus on something other than a crazed, masked vigilante. At least, that's what the newspaper wanted you to think she was. The reality is, the Mysterious Mare Do Well wasn't a very mysterious mare at all. She was just a humble reporter, living in the Upper East Side with a sudden craving for Daisy omelets. It was strange how somepony like Felicity could get into the vigilante business, although it wasn't very heroic to be honest. It wasn't as if she was bitten by a radioactive crocodile, or that her parents were billionaires, she doesn't have a high-tech power-armor, a magical hammer or shield. It all happened one day when a hot-air balloon operator spiraled out of control, it was night at that time and Felicity was the only one out there. She saw the balloon fall and went to action, leaping from building to building to eventually intercept the falling operator, saving her. Felicity's face, however, was obscured by the darkness and the operator never really saw her. She described Felicity as a swift, heroic and strong mare! She nearly tripped over herself when she heard that description. Felicity wasn't the most graceful of ponies; it was sheer dumb luck that she managed to save that pony. And soon the mysterious, heroic mare was nicknamed (wait for it) The Mysterious Mare Do Well. After that day, Felicity donned a hoofmade outfit and saved a few more ponies. There was that incident with the out of control carriage carrying conspicuous tourists, that particularly precarious part with the collapsing construction field, and the dangerously destructive damaged dam. She had gained a reputation and for some reason wanted to continue. It wasn't particularly dangerous, except when criminals are involved, and plus it gave her life a new meaning. Staring down at her quill-to-paper-and-hat cutie mark, Felicity felt disappointed that journalism would be her destiny. She loved journalism, don't misunderstand, but it made her feel limited, restricted to one talent. With Mare Do Well, she could help ponies and provided some meaning to her talents. Someponies wouldn't understand that though. The front door swung open and a tall Minotaur crashed through. This may seem like a strange, if not chaotic, occurrence, but Felicity didn't bat an eye toward the clumsy Minotaur. He was incredibly large in stature; had snow white fur with grey specks frosted on his coat, bright green eyes and crooked horns. His name was Aberrant Flair, he was Felicity's partner-in-crime and photographer for The Daily Bridle. Lumbering over to Felicity, Flair's frantic attitude made it difficult to take him seriously. He wore a silly red bowtie, a black waistcoat under a gray jacket and pants that did nothing to cover up his hooves. He was strange amongst Minotaurs, according to him he is much smaller than most Minotaurs his age and he was deemed a deviant in his tribe. Minotaurs ruled with strength, power, and brawn, but Flair wasn't as strong as his kind and he certainly had no interest in fighting but rather books! Minotaurs weren't necessarily intelligent and Flair was a genius compared to them (even compared to most ponies). Even his name shows how strange he is. Minotaurs are named after one year has passed, their name is decided based on how they behave in that one year and it reflects their personality traits and what is unique to them. Flair took interest in books even at that age and decided to devote himself to the pursuit of knowledge, much to the chagrin of his parents. "Have you heard?" Flair cried. "I, uh, just woke up there Flair," Felicity admitted, "If you're referring to my loud alarm clock, then yes, I did hear it." "No, no, your article is being pulled from this week's column!" "What?!" Felicity stood suddenly, startling the Minotaur and spilling her breakfast as well, "Why? Who's doing it? I swear if it is Quill Tip-" "No," Flair put down an article on the table, "Jog decided that this would be much better than your original work." Felicity looked at the article and rolled her eyes. It was something she had written to please the Editor in Chief, Jog Jockey Jennet (never call him by his last name if you value your life). Ever since Felicity created her alter-ego, The Mysterious Mare Do Well, Jog has been obsessed about her but not in a good way. For some deluded reason, Jog thinks that Mare Do Well is a maniac, a menace, a monster that must be stopped! And using his journalistic connections, he wants to show everypony how much of a menace Mare Do Well is. Not only that, but Jog is also obsessed about finding out who Mare Do Well is. "If she's such a hero," he said once, "Then what is she hiding underneath that mask?" So, now Felicity has to deal with a single-minded boss who will stop at nothing until he unravels the mystery that is Mare Do Well. But there is a silver lining in all of this; Felicity can pretty much cash in on this Mare Do Well controversy. It isn't like she enjoys perpetuating this fiasco, but a journalist like Felicity doesn't exactly have high living standards. Having Flair take a few photos of Mare Do Well, while she writes up something about the alter-ego and bam, she has guaranteed that she is eating breakfast next week. But not this time. This time, Felicity wanted to write about something other than Mare Do Well, she wanted to cover the upcoming Solar Eclipse that Princess Celestia is producing. She was one of Celestia's private students, and she wanted to honor her teacher in covering the eclipse. Not only that, but eclipses are rare events. As the princess needs to strain herself to create an eclipse that lasts five minutes, she was so spent afterward all the cake in the world wouldn't rouse her. It was a spectacular event that deserved coverage, and is certainly more important than some silly little mare running around in tights. "Come on, I've got a bone to pick with him." Felicity stormed out, mane ruffled and everything. When they had arrived at The Daily Bridle, Jog was having his mid-morning rants about Mare Do Well. "Thief!" he shouted when Felicity stepped inside, she was so frazzled by her previous anger that she thought Jog was talking about her, "That Mare Do Well needs to be stopped!" Well, technically that was about her. "She stopped a diamond robbery, singlehoofedly, before the guards could arrive," placated Emerald Klondike, a fellow journalist. Klondike (or as he preferred, Klon), was a tall stallion, a unicorn like Felicity. His coat was pure white and his chocolate brown mane was messy, as usual, but Felicity didn't mind. The way his green eyes twinkled when he talked to her, or when his goofy little mane spilled over his eyes was only a few of the things that she liked about him. The fact that he was the only pony that treated Felicity with respect also drew her to him. But Felicity's personality usually enjoys sabotaging her. By making her clumsy or silly around him, she couldn't keep her mind straight and become flustered. Just like now. "Fleece?" Klon asked, "Uh, you okay?" She blinked and shook her head, embarrassed, "Y-yeah, of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay? It's a beautiful day out after all." The windows hummed from the force of the powerful winds and rain, Felicity had a strong urge to stick her head in the sand. But, to her relief, he laughed, "Yeah, rainy days are nice too." "What've you got for me Peri?" Jog asked, anxious for another Mare Do Well piece, "Mare Do Well with her hoof in the cookie jar?" Jog wasn't exactly an intimidating pony. He was stout with a sour, pinched up face, like he ate something bad, and was quite short. Felicity was taller than him by just a bit, but that didn't stop him from causing his workers to cower in fear. What he lacks in size, he makes up with attitude and volume. His voice was gravely, like rocks in a blender, and he spoke with such power it was like listening to someone with a megaphone. Jog's appearance even matched that loud abrasiveness of his voice. His coat was gray with age, his mane was salt and pepper like, and it wouldn't be hard to call him handsome if his perpetual frown went away. He always had stubble, as if either he can't grow a full beard or his razor was just that bad. His voice managed to get her focused on why she was here, "No, J.J. why did you pull the eclipse story?" For emphasis, she slammed her article on his desk, "You know how much I wanted you to go with that over the Mare Do Well piece. So, why?" "You're the only one who has managed to get photos of that bug Mare Do Well," Jog said simply, "You and that Minotaur of yours-" "Flair," she corrected. "So, why waste time covering the eclipse? Everyone already knows about it, there's no need for more coverage. I need my best ponies to expose Mare Do Well for what she is, a no-good, self-righteous vigilante! That includes you." "But-" "This isn't up for discussion Peri-" (how she hated that nickname), "-Your eclipse piece, as good as it was, isn't going to be used." Felicity couldn't believe it. Her alter-ego was stopping her from writing what she wanted! If she wasn't Mare Do Well, she would sock that hat-wearing mare right in the face. "But, yo-, you can't-" "I can, and have." Klon looked at Felicity sympathetically, but she was so angry that she couldn't bring herself to look back. Instead, she just walked out. Flair was waiting for her outside, the doorway was much too short for his absurd height, "So? How'd it go?" "It didn't," she answered miserably. He said nothing. He, after all, knew exactly what kind of pony J.J was, stubborn as a mule. "Fleece," said Klon as he approached her, "Hey, I'll try to talk to J.J. about your article, try to see if he'll reconsider." She knew he wouldn't, but the sentiment was nice, "Thanks Klon." Noticing her mood hadn't improved, Klon tried something else; "I read that eclipse piece by the way. It was good and deserved to be in the front page." Feeling self-conscious, Felicity mumbled her thanks. When he left them, Felicity felt conflicted, both wanting to punch out J.J. and wanting to hug Klon. Unfortunately, she didn't have the guts to do either. III DARING The Turquoise Serpent Trekking through the jungles of South Amareica wasn't exactly an ideal luxury vacation. As Daring had experienced firsthand, it was considerably dangerous and not for the light-hearted. Pushing through dead ferns, the adventurer sighed as she felt her wings grow sticky with sweat. Proper wing maintenance was hard enough without all of this sweat; washing them isn't a very easy task. The three-legged pirate, whose name was Corkscrew, had told her to find a snake in isolated ruins here. He had been kind enough to offer a map and even a little dinghy. Though the boat wasn't helpful, Daring happily accepted the map. It took half a day to fly over there and after meeting up with a few locals, Daring got herself right on track. But, after a horrible navigation through these dense, humid forests, Daring came to the bitter conclusion that she was lost. Pulling out the map, she tried to make sense of it. It didn't help that it was crude and illegible, but if this map was correct, Daring was right in the middle of the ruins that he marked. She looked around. Tree, tree, tree, spider monkey, and tree. Okay, unless these were the ruins for the ancient Spider Monkeys, Daring figured she wasn't anywhere close to these ruins. "Maybe it was a scam," Daring pondered. This entire adventure felt like a wild goose chase. Corkscrew wasn't a reputable character; he was shifty and looked nervous when they spoke. He had explained that there were several devious ponies after this snake of his and that it would be wonderful if she could retrieve it in an expedient manner. The turquoise serpent, he had explained, was a rare treasure and an incredible mythological icon to the native ponies in this land. It was supposedly based off an ancient god and according to the mythology, upon the end of this god's life he was reduced to the stony form of a snake. It sounded cool and the mythology behind it was intriguing, but Daring was wary of snatching a religious icon from these ponies. She wouldn't want a repeat of that incident with the wooden mask. The humidity was nightmarish as Daring continued through the jungle; the animal cacophony was her only company and reassurance that she wasn't here alone. The sun soon dipped under the cover of the forest canopy like an elusive carrot. Daring longed for some water and a dependable map and compass, both of which were rendered useless ten minutes into this adventure. She bit back a curse to three-legged pirates everywhere. By the time she had made it out of the jungle, it was night-time. The cool air provided little solace to the fact that it was completely dark; like, unable-to-see-your-hoof-in-front-of-you-dark. But her luck must have been improving, because not five steps out of the jungle she had found herself before a massive stone pyramid. "That's it." It wasn't her expertise or her vast knowledge of exotic pyramids, it was the fact that this was the biggest, and only, landmark that Dare has come across this entire adventure. It would be a silly, yet rational, notion to think that her treasure was in another set of ruins, but the day was beginning to escape her, this is literally her best guess. She trotted toward the pyramid, annoyed again at the humidity, she tried her best to air dry her wings to no avail. Standing in front of the pyramid betrayed her previous impression of it. She had severely underestimated its size as it stood like a stone monolith, imposing and gleaming archaically at the rising moon. The steps that ascended up the pyramid were worn down but oddly immaculate. However, for her size, each step was four times her height; she had to glide slightly to reach each step. Since there was no remarkable entrance, she had to check the top of the pyramid to find a way in. Sweaty and tired, Daring finally made it to the top. It was a luxury to guess that there would be a perfect pony-shaped hole at the top, but Daring could barely afford luxuries like this. So, instead of a pony-shaped hole, there was no top step, instead there was only a huge gap. The more she observed the hole, the faster she noticed that the hole was not a natural formation; somepony, or something, tore open the top rather viciously. She didn't spend too long admiring their work and flew inside. The only light to provide solace in this oppressive atmosphere was the moon shining above. It must have been the fact that she wasn't in any of the big cities, but the moon seemed brighter than usual, it glowed beautifully but unnaturally. She didn't complain as the pyramid was pitch black. Reaching into her backpack, she pulled out a large glow stick. After lighting it up and placing it atop her hat, she marveled at this room. The ponies that made this pyramid were geniuses of architecture. There were perfectly reserved glyphs resembling pony mythology. Daring wasn't an expert in this field, but she managed to recognize the old pony Titans, and some of the other gods that they worshiped back then. There was the pony goddess of wisdom, the god of the sea and the sky. It looked like there was a conflict between these gods, she couldn't translate any of it but there were a bunch of the gods combating the goddess of the moon. It was eerie because the goddess of the moon looked exactly like Nightmare Moon. She shook her head; it wasn't a coincidence, it was a designed occurrence. Nightmare Moon was based on this goddess and dreamt up with this mythology in mind. There were no such things as pony Titans. Reassuring herself, Daring moved on. It wasn't very difficult to navigate; the pathways were linear and consequential to each other. She wondered why that ratty old pony Corkscrew couldn't get somepony else to do this. Then, she met her first trap. A step had decompressed and hissing assailed her as the all too familiar sense of fear ambushed her. Dodge rolling forward, instinctively; she felt the wind of a dozen arrows fly over her hat. As she landed, another step decompressed and she swore as the floor before her opened up revealing a lava pit underneath. That trap was too easy to avoid, she simply flew over the lava pit but as she took flight she hit a trip wire which released a thick gas from the ceilings. Temporarily blinded, Daring tried to navigate but the gas got into her body and she began coughing, losing altitude consequently. Something else was released and Daring folded her wings and rolled to the ground. A giant axe swung over her in a perfect pendulum, nearly nicking her wings. The exit was only few feet away, so close. Suddenly, the walls on either side of her began to close in. Galloping, Daring raced to the exit. She couldn't afford flight as her flying speed was inadequate. Two feet away and the walls began to scrape against her wings; she dove and nearly got her tail stuck at the enclosing wall behind her. It sealed behind her and Daring soon found herself in some sort of mausoleum. It was twice the length of the Canterlot library and three times the height. For some reason, as she stepped inside the glyphs carved in the walls glowed green. Magic, Daring decided. This place was probably charmed centuries ago, but the fact that the charm, and death-traps, was still operational was disturbing. Just how good was the magic of these old ponies? In the middle of the room stood a huge shrine with (of course) huge stone steps leading up to the top. More glyphs were on the steps themselves and there was a large stone snake wrapped around the shrine and had its massive mouth open at the top where, Daring presumed, the turquoise snake lay. "Okay, easy now," she said aloud. The climb up wasn't as grueling as the initial one outside, but it wasn't any less tedious. When she reached the top, she set her eyes upon the important, life-altering relic that will change the course of her life… a small, four inch stone snake, wrapped within itself, sat in front of her. Daring stared at the snake for a few seconds, to make sure that her eyes weren't fooling her. Yep, it's a puny snake. Nope, she isn't going crazy. It didn't look valuable, heck it didn't even look turquoise! It was stone! It looked like it would shatter in Daring's mouth if she picked it up. She glanced at the larger snake wrapped around the shrine and wondered if she could take that instead. After her internal debate, Daring settled for the small fry. Taking the snake in her mouth, she deposited in her hat and started to head down the shrine. The entire room rumbled, nearly knocking Daring off her feet. Turning to the source of the minor earthquake, the huge snake decoration began to shake and untangled itself from the shrine. Perfect. The snake's head was free and it stared at Daring with a curious expression, like, "Why is this puny pony stealing my brother?" She didn't want to stay for a conversation, so, she jumped. Falling forty feet to the ground is fine if she was in the open sky, but this was a windless room. She wouldn't be catching any air soon, so she extended her wings and flapped. Managing to create some wind with her passive Pegasus magic and with a little luck, she cushioned the fall slightly but still had that nasty gravity to deal with. Looking behind her, the snake had freed half of its body at this point and wasn't impressed with her flying. The head glowered toward her and snapped. For a big snake, it could move fast. Daring only had a second to dodge - and it was a stretch to call it dodging instead of awkwardly falling to the ground. She fell like a stone snake, and barely missed the guardian’s fangs. It wasn't poisonous but that didn't matter, he had the jaws that could swallow this whole pyramid whole if he wanted to. Daring crashed to the ground, rolling at the last second to save her legs from being snapped like twigs. The snake having more than enough time to recover decided to unravel himself from the shrine entirely. He looked at Daring and hissed darkly, it sounded like a hundred snakes hissing at her at once. Its eyes were of a dull green and glowed, just like the glyphs. Great, it was a magicsnake. It lunged at her but she jumped, landing on its right eye and used its momentum to springboard higher. Her speed was excellent if she wanted to splatter into the wall like a bug. Extending her wings, she steered herself toward the exit the snake swiftly at her tail feathers. Gratefully, the doors were magically opened when she grabbed the snake. She made it to the door before the snake; it was much too low for its incredible heights and would break apart upon attempting to muscle through. The door broke like wet paper and the snake hissed again, filling the formerly noiseless corridors with the sound of a thousand tires going out at once. Unfortunately, the traps she had activated before seemed to be inactive, it would've been nice to use them against her pursuer. She flew desperately through the maze of hallways. She knew there wouldn't be a proper exit but she had a 20 ton battering ram at her disposal. Daring flew into a dead end. The wall was absurdly tall and as thick as the snake. She wouldn't be able to open that even with a dozen ponies helping. Stopping at the wall, she turned around and watched the snake slither to her with incredible speed. It was a simple plan; bait the snake into rushing into her, roll out of the way at the last second, the wall is then broken down and the snake is either destroyed or damaged. However, simple plans don't go along with Daring Do. Firstly, she miscalculated how fast the snake was moving. In her theoretical situation, the snake was traveling at a measly ten miles per hour. But in real life, he was moving at a startling forty miles per hour. Startled by this sudden burst of speed, Daring rolled to her left as quickly as possible. The snake, not having time to turn, crashed into the wall as planned but here is her next miscalculation. She figured the snake would be destroyed, or at least damaged, in the impact, but when the smoke cleared the snake glared at her with no so much as a chip out of place. "Oh come on!" Daring was covered in dust, her legs ached and her wings were sore, but the snake looked like it could go 12 rounds with her! She raced to the snake's body, jumped on it, and ran up its neck. The snake, not having any of this, turned and lunged at her. Daring flew over the snake's head and dove for the exit. The night air was thick and humid. The wildlife in the forests were much louder than before, as if the excitement of a giant stone snake combating a puny pegasus made all of them make rushed bets. Daring had a feeling that the odds were stacked against her. The entire right half of the pyramid exploded as the snake pushed its way through. Daring could get a better impression at this snake's size in the light of the moon; it was just as tall as the pyramid. "Why did it have to be a snake?" Daring wondered. The snake tilted its head, opened its mouth, and a column of fire shot out of it. Its aim was bad, or it was deliberately trying to intimidate her. The fire hit the forest canopy above her and lit the world on fire. Daring had to dodge a few falling flaming branches, but was otherwise okay in spite of how low her morale was. "Fire-breathing snake, what's next? Acid?" Sometimes, Daring felt she should seriously keep her mouth shut. The snake tilted its head to the other side and when it opened its mouth, a blob of green mush fell out of its mouth. There was enough of it to fill two swimming pools, and it was headed right for Daring's eyes. She flew to the right and decided to try outrunning the snake. Racing through the forests, she had to weave to avoid trees and angry spider-monkeys. But flying in the dark while a giant fire-breathing, acid-spewing snake chases after you isn't optimal working conditions. A wall of fire exploded to her left and she fell out of the skies, crashing through a dead tree. Looking up she noticed that she was surrounded by fire. Okay, she'll just fly up... The snake's head mischievously popped up in the tree line. Ah, ponyfeathers. There was no escape. Surrounded by fire, facing down a giant snake much faster than her, there was nothing she could do. Dare flew toward it at full speed. The snake opened its mouth, preparing to belch out some more fire. A massive fireball found itself between Daring and the snake. The heat was so intense; closing her eyes wouldn't keep it from blinding her. Her mane felt like it was going to burst into flames, it felt like standing right next to the sun. Desperately, she flew up and over the fire. Her entire body screamed in pain as she maneuvered over the fireball. Finally, she had cleared the fireball and was tumbling toward the snake. She extended her leg out for a kick, "HYAH!" Her hoof clinked against his eye, uselessly. But she wasn't trying to harm, she was getting his attention and boy did she have it. It opened its mouth again and Daring jumped off and landed on its back. The snake turned its mouth open but instead of fire the acid came out like a nasty snotball. But that was exactly what she wanted. Rolling for all she's worth, she fell right off the snake's back just as the acid hit - and instantly dissolved - the snake's body. The acid reached up to the snake's head and destroyed it as well. The entire stone body didn't even have time to crumble to the ground properly; it just evaporated in the air, like mist. The jungle was dead silent, save the crackle of the forest fire and the occasional chirp from the lone insect. Daring had beaten the odds again. Standing up, Daring's legs were killing her. She quickly examined herself, to see that her clothes were slightly singed; her mane, tail, and even wings were black. Other than a few bruises and cuts, she felt fine. Removing her hat, she looked at the stone snake. Grimacing at the sight of this simple statue, Daring wondered what was so valuable about it. It felt brittle, like it could break right in her hooves. She didn't know anything about the mythology behind these ruins and the statue, so its relevance was lost to her. But, she did understand one thing: she had a bone to pick with Corkscrew. Daring placed the statue back in her hat and turned toward the still burning forest. Perhaps Herpy could be bothered to look up some information about this statue; it was, after all, his job. A whistling noise cut through the night and before Daring could react, a boomerang-like projectile pierced her hat, pinning it to a tree. Looking toward the attacker, she couldn't believe who it was. To be honest, she couldn't take this pony seriously; the giant snake looked more worthy an opponent. She stood atop a rock, with the moon behind her, illuminating her entire body. She wore a form-fitting outfit comprised of dark colors; purple, and navy blue. Her cape billowed in the cool air, and her distinctive hat partially concealed a glowing unicorn's horn. "Why do I always attract the weirdos?" she muttered to herself. "Listen, I'm sure you didn't mean anything by attacking my hat. So, because I'm a nice pony, I'll drop it, okay?" This mysterious mare was either hard of hearing or simply didn't care. She leapt from the rock, unfurled her wings, and kicked at Daring. Expertly dodging, Daring found herself going hoof-to-hoof with this masked weirdo. "Fine, have it your way." IV MARE DO WELL Diamond Dog Day Afternoon It had been two nights since Felicity learned about her story being pulled, and she still hasn't gotten over it. The city lights made Manehattan glow to absurd lengths; Felicity had night-vision installed in her mask but with this many lights it wasn't helpful. She was out on patrol, as usual, flying over the city to keep an eye on things. Although the police had announced that Mare Do Well was a dangerous vigilante who needed to be stopped and would try to arrest her on sight, she didn't err on the cautious side. Felicity was confident that if she was in a chase that she could get away. Although she isn't a Pegasus, her flying skills must be commended. She had Flair produce a pair of lightweight, flexible wings that, when charmed with her magic, can generate passive Pegasus magic so she could manipulate the air currents under her wings. The wings also moved due to her magic; it was awkward at first but thanks to her magic, the control she had over her wings was nearly Zen-like. Of course, she would never say that around any Pegasus she knew; that was a good way to get trampled to the ground. Her entire ensemble was reinvented from the first time she wore that ratty hoofmade outfit. She had a fancy utility belt that carried everything from knock-out gas to candy bars. Her boots were charmed with magic so that she was able to stand on, and manipulate, clouds. As mentioned before, she had night-vision in her mask and UV vision; she also had a filter that gets rid of any foreign gases within her proximity. The fabric, as fabulous as it was, was also thick yet flexible, so she was protected against any projectiles and from getting cut. The only normal thing about her outfit would be her hat; it did nothing but look cool. "Fleece," Flair's voice crackled in through her headset, "The scanner seems clean, nothing major going on tonight it seems." Behind the mask, she grimaced slightly. She was still steamed about the whole fiasco with J.J. that she wanted to blow some of this steam by pummeling a few bad guys; it was therapeutic and conducive to crime fighting. "Whatever, I guess I'll head back," she answered finally. Radio silence… "So, how are things going with Klon?" he asked mischievously. "Flair," she sighed, "I'd like to concentrate on my work. I don't have time for distractions." It was a total lie and Flair knew it. He has encouraging Felicity to ask Klon out for months now, but she doesn't have the courage to do it and it was baffling. She could happily beat down bad guys but couldn't ask out her crush; go figure. "Sure, sure," Flair laughed, "And I'm a griffon. By the way, nice job with the weather comment, real smooth." Maybe Flair wouldn't mind being Felicity's punching bag. She stopped atop one building and overlooked the streets from the rooftop. From here, she could see the entire Middle Park and even hear some of the animals that lived there. Although Manehattan was the center of contemporary modernization, it was still a beautiful place to live. The buildings that light up brighter than stars at night, the somehow relaxing noise of Shim-Sham mobiles honking in the distance, the cultural brew that produced a complex, and diverse, smorgasbord of food. It was lovely and intoxicating, and even though she was so far away from her parents and from Celestia, she wouldn't trade this home for anything in Equestria. "Silent alarm was tripped at a bank nearby," Flair dispatched, "Check it out." Finally, something interesting. On Fourth Avenue there was a bank, Ponygroup. The place was well respected and held up to 100,000 bits every day, on good days, it went up to 500,000. Consequently, the security is top-notch and, reportedly, a fly wouldn't be able to enter undetected. But, if one manages to sneak inside, or break in, they would find themselves in front of a 3 inches thick door whose metal is ten times stronger than most conventional vaults. Behind the vault would be, of course, all of that sweet money. Four diamond dogs, disguised in dark outfits, slithered behind the teller booths. The biggest one, Clifford, quickly tore down the door leading to the vault. "Thanks to you Uggie, the alarm has been tripped, we've only a few minutes," he snarled at the smallest one of them. "Don't worry," placated a medium-sized diamond dog, whose snow white fur stuck out through his black outfit, "I don't think it'll be that tough." "But Bolt," grumbled Marley, the second biggest one of the bunch, his speech pattern was slow and deliberate, "What if those ponies show up?" "That's why you've got me, of course," Clifford answered, "You boys couldn't lead your way out of a paper bag. Plus, I'm the muscle of the group; I ain't seen a pony yet that can take me." "What of that pegasus?" wondered Bolt, "The one that could outdrink you? What was her name again..." Clifford turned and slapped Bolt so hard he went flying to the wall behind him. The force was so great, that the wall crumbled under Bolt's impact. But, Bolt stood up, dazed, but otherwise okay. "Idiot! That was a fluke. And you are not to remind me of that infuriating Pegasus! Now quickly, where is the vault again?" The diamond dogs grumbled and awkwardly plodded down to the vault while Mare Do Well was hot on their trails. She stuck to the walls, silently following the thieves. Thanks to powerful microscopic hairs at the ends of her hooves that produce a molecular attractive force to anything it touches, she is able to, essentially, climb walls. "Wow," Flair's shaky voice was made all the more obvious through the radio static, "Real sturdy aren't they?" "We'll just see about that." Felicity continued to trot in the diamond dog's direction, hoping that her cape wouldn't give away her position like a big awkward bat of the night. "Wait, Fleece, I think this is too much for you to handle," Flair said, "I mean, those guys are too tough. You're just one mare, no way you can take out four of them. I'm not even sure your rope can handle their kind of weight." "So, what am I supposed to do? Just wait helplessly for the police to come?" "No, but-" "By the time they get here, those diamond dogs will be long gone, they never show up conveniently. Either I stop them here, or they get away." Flair didn't respond, he knew that Felicity could be legendarily stubborn when she wanted to be and knew that arguing would only serve to give away her location. Besides, there wasn't much he could do to stop her, while she was out fighting crimes, Flair was sitting comfortably in his home, listening to the scanners and providing Felicity feedback. Maybe he could side-kick one day, the Amazing Flying Minotaur, or something. She had made it inside the vault room, to see the group trying to get through it. In spite of how thin the vault actually was, it was tall; eleven feet tall, easily surpassing Clifford's height. It would be tough to crack it, since it was heavily reinforced. Brute force wouldn't get through so easily, it would take finesse and proper execution. Felicity laid in wait, anticipating one of the diamond dogs pulling out some highly sophisticated piece of technology that would unlock the door with a few button inputs. Clifford approached the door, sized it up momentarily, and looked at the security keypad at the side of it. Perhaps he will try to hack it instead. He reeled his fist back and punched straight through the door as if it were made of papier-mâché. So much for sophistication. He tried to pull his fist out, but it was stuck in there good. After a few pulls, he managed to free his hand… along with the door and the frame. Felicity didn't want to know what kind of damage that punch could do to a small, fleshy pony like herself. Shouldering multiple bags, the diamond dogs stepped inside the vault. Approximately 120,000 bits sat in the vault; just looking at all that money made the diamond dogs lustful for it. "Fill the bags," Clifford ordered. They didn't need any more incentive. The diamond dogs hoarded so quickly and with such enthusiasm it felt like watching a foal in a candy shop. It only took two minutes for them to fill the bags entirely, too short for Felicity to come up with a decent plan. "Let's go, the police will be here shortly." They marched out the vault. Felicity's mind raced; if they managed to get outside she wouldn't be able to track them down so fast. Even with her wings, diamond dogs are faster than her. She needed to keep them inside. Felicity reached down for her belt and clicked what she thought was the button for the net, but instead two metallic boomerangs came out. She rolled her eyes, Flair thought the boomerangs would make for effective weapons but she thought they were too silly. Still, better than nothing. She tossed the boomerangs at the diamond dogs in front, Clifford and Bolt, and they connected with the backs of their hands. In surprise, they dropped two of the bags and snapped their heads back at Felicity. "Mare Do Well!" Clifford growled; he probably didn't want to ask for an autograph. Reaching for the first thing he could find, Clifford threw a few hundred pounds in bits at her with incredible speed. Dropping down from the ceiling, Felicity avoided the impact but the bag exploded from the throw and bits rained down on her. Uggie and Marley stampeded toward her, both of them extending their hands up in twin hammer strikes. She rolled between Marley's feet while they both dented the ground. Using some strong wire, she wrapped it around their feet, tying them up. They may be fast and strong, but they were predictable. Uggie and Marley desperately tried to break the wire by separating their feet, but instead tripped themselves up and fell over each other. She popped another button on her belt and a spray can came out, levitating and activating the can with her magic, foam covered the entangled diamond dogs but it hardened instantly to cement. Two down, two to go. She looked back up to see Clifford inches in front of her. His shoulder out, he rammed Felicity and sent her back into the main lobby, crashing through a few sets of booths. The experience was so jarring that she couldn't recall how she got there in the first place. Her hat flew off in one direction and her head felt like a cow has been using it as a chair. Clifford scuffed, "Puny pony." She was too dazed to respond or to even notice that Uggie and Marley broke through her cement foam. The four diamond dogs now began to surround her. She stood, wobbly at first, and tried to shake the disorientation that she felt. "So, you are Mare Do Well?" Clifford asked, "I wonder what is so great about you! You are nothing but puny pony with a mask." Bolt charged, hands held up high for a strike that will no doubt make her head concave. Mustering up enough magic, she teleported out of the way. Bolt's strike missed its mark entirely and Felicity teleported right behind them. Who knew that teleportation spell would come in handy? It was the first spell Celestia taught, but it was dangerous to use. Sometimes she would end up in a different place than expected or would end up with her mane burnt off. Clifford turned faster than expected attempting to knock her block off (literally). She ducked, dodging the attack, but he raised his other fist to generously make her and the ground one. Stepping into the attack, she jumped up, letting him miss his mark, and kicked his jaw. The recoil made his snap upward, as expected, and she prepared her next move. Clicking her belt, another strip of wire came out but this time it had hooks in it. Hooking one end to Clifford's shoulder, she landed, crouched as low as possible, and ran underneath his feet. The wire pulled him down so fast he hit the ground hard. The rest of the gang lined up perfectly for her, they ran toward her attempting to hit her, but she jumped, rolled, and dodged around and through them. With the wire held firmly in her mouth, she had managed to tie all of them up together. The danger wasn't the fact that they were wired up, but the fact that the wire was so thin and durable that if they moved against it, they would cut themselves deep. Letting go of the wire, it snapped back into place and slammed all of the diamond dogs into one pile, wrapped up so nicely that she wanted to put a bow on them. They roared in anger and tried to break the wire but only managed to get themselves more tied up. "PUNY PONY!" screamed Clifford, "RELEASE ME SO I CAN SMASH YOU!" Felicity sighed; her head was killing her and she still had double-vision, but hey, she stopped a bank robbery. Flashing lights poured in from the windows, the colts in blue are finally here! She needed to leave, although she did some good here, they wouldn't appreciate her participation. She ran opposite of the main door and left from the side door while the police crashed inside the bank. They found four sour diamond dogs tied up and one large purple hat, sitting in an isolated corner; it wouldn't take Fetlock Holmes to deduce that Mare Do Well was here.