How Far Would You Go? (1x1 between Rainbow Eclipse and FortyTwo42)

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

OOC: http://mlpforums.com/topic/109161-how-far-would-you-go-ooc/

 

@@FortyTwo42,

 

"So, think you can upstage Robin Hoof's long-lost sister, eh? Let's see how well you do in the dark of the night!" said Anala to Aero, as she set up the archery equipment for them to use in their next session of shooting. But this time, it came with a twist... it was nighttime.

Edited September 1, 2014 by Rainbow Eclipse

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

'I'm up for the challenge! It'll be interesting to see how the nighttime darkness changes things up!' Aero picked up a bow and some arrows once everything was set up. He aimed and and fired at the target, but his first shot completely missed the target. 'It sure makes things harder.'

 

Unbeknownst to the two of them, there was another pony hiding nearby, watching them...

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

"You bet it does," replied Anala, taking a bow and an arrow. "Something tells me that this session will turn the tables a li-"

 

*PONG!*

 

Anala heard the sound of a frying pan hitting something, and then Aero fell to the floor, eyes closed and mouth open.

 

"Aero?! What just hap-"

 

*PONG!*

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

The next day...

 

As part of her morning routine, Shadowhide checked her mailbox, and brought inside the single envelop she found inside. She opened it and read the letter inside:

 

'Dear Shadowhide,

If you ever want to see Anala or Aero Wind again, you will meet me at the archery field tomorrow night at 12:00AM, with 1,000 bits. Do not tell the police about this letter.'

 

'N-No! Aero has been... I need to go save him!' Shadowhide quickly grabbed a saddlebag with a few bits in it, and rushed outside, heading straight to the last place she knew Aero had been: the archery field.

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

The next day, Riley looked through the mail. "Bills... coupons... huh? What's this one?"

 

Riley opened the unusual letter. The horror on his face grew as he read...

 

'Dear Riley,

 

If you ever want to see Anala or Aero Wind again, you will meet me at the archery field tomorrow night at 12:00AM, with 1,000 bits. Do not tell the police about this letter.'

 

Forgetting to take his bathrobe off, Riley galloped to the field. 'I swear to Celestia, if Anala hasn't pummeled the manure out of that kidnapper already...'

 

He bumped into a mare who was also galloping. "Shadowhide?"

Edited September 7, 2014 by Rainbow Eclipse

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

'Riley!' Shadowhide called out. 'Are you aware of what happened to Aero? Somepony kidnapped them, and I'm going to find out who it is. I'm heading to the field to look for evidence before anypony can tamper with it.'

 

Shadowhide suddenly pointed a hoof at Riley. 'You were heading to the field too. Not to remove evidence, I hope. You weren't the one who kidnapped him, were you?'

Edited September 7, 2014 by FortyTwo42

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

"No! Not at all!" said Riley, backing away from the mare until he bumped his flank into a lampost. "I was just heading my way to go and save him and Anala! The love of my life is trapped somewhere, and no way am I just going to stand by!"

 

"Were you on your way to do it too?"

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

When Shadowhide heard Anala's name, she put her hoof back down and the glare disappeared from her face. She took a quick moment to calm herself and consider what he said.

 

'I never said Anala's name. So, you know Anala was kidnapped too. You also said she was "the love of your life", so it seems you two know each other very well. Did you receive a letter demanding a ransom for their return too? I've yet to meet Anala in person, so it wouldn't make sense for the kidnapper to use her to get a ransom from only me.'

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

Riley held the ransom note in front of Shadowhide. "Yeah, I know her. And the whole love thing... well..." He blushed red under his red coat. "It's... really more of a one-way thing. I've yet to let her know."

 

Riley was an eccentric young soul, but his affections for Anala was something he took seriously.

Edited September 1, 2014 by Rainbow Eclipse

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

Shadowhide took out her ransom note too. 'Here's mine. It seems we have a common goal, so I propose we work together to save them. I'm Shadowhide.'

 

Now that Shadowhide has calmed down and found out Riley's an ally, another look as him makes something immediately stand out to her. 'Why are you wearing a bathrobe?'

Edited September 1, 2014 by FortyTwo42

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

"Then it's settled! Let's go save Anala and Shadowhide!" said Riley, raring to go.

 

"Why are you wearing a bathrobe?" asked Shadowhide.

 

"Huh?" Riley looked at himself. "Heheh... whoops." He took off his bathrobe and boxers.

 

"Love makes you do crazy stuff, I guess. I was in such a rush."

Edited September 7, 2014 by Rainbow Eclipse

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

Shadowhide nodded in acknowledgement. 'I reacted similarly. Aero is a close friend of mine, so I also rushed out the door upon reading the note.'

 

'We should get going again. We may need all the time we can get,' Shadowhide said, as she resumed galloping towards the archery range.

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

"Right behind ya!" called Riley. He spread his wings and took off, flying next to Shadowhide.

 

Riley thought about telling Shadowhide all about the fun times he and Anala had in the archery field as younglings. Nah. Shadowhide might accuse him of "getting distracted".

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

They shortly arrived at the archery field. Upon arriving, Shadowhide scanned the field, looking for any signs that could point to the kidnapping. She noticed some archery equipment left out in the field, and began walking over to it. On the way, her horn began glowing, and suddenly a bunch of purple hoofprints were visible for about 2 metres behind Shadowhide. She seemed to be focusing on the ground in front of her as she walked over to the equipment.

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

"They must have been shooting some arrows before the kidnapping," stated Riley, hoping not to get a sarcastic "Gosh, what gave that away, Sherlock Hooves?" in reply.

 

Riley flew over the footprints, so as not to contaminate them somehow, as he slowly followed them.

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

'What a brilliant deduction,' Shadowhide sarcastically responded.

 

Shadowhide noticed Riley seems to be staying in the air since they arrived at the field. 'You can land. I won't confuse your hoofprints with those of Aero's, Anala's or the kidnapper's.' Shadowhide resumed briefly, before she realized something she should ask. 'On that note, what colour is Anala's coat?'

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

'I knew I shouldn't have said that,' thought Riley.

 

"On that note, what colour is Anala's coat?" asked Shadowhide.

 

Riley knew that Anala's coat was a very, very light shade of grey rather than pure white, but he would probably end up annoying Shadowhide further if he said that.

 

On the other hoof, wasn't it important that cops and detective got every single little detail?

 

"Most ponies would say she's white, but she's actually a very, very light shade of grey," he responded at last.

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

Shadowhide nodded. 'Light shade of grey,' she repeated in acknowledgement.

 

When Shadowhide got really close to the archery equipment, she found a trail of very light grey hoofprints, and a trail of light green hoofprints next to them. 'Riley, over here.' Shadowhide called out.

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

Riley trotted over to Shadowhide and looked down at the footprints that had been left on the ground. "So, I guess the white.. erm, light grey ones belong to Anala, and the green ones belong to Aero," he said. "In that case... what colour footprints would a zebra have?"

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

Shadowhide nodded when Riley mentioned who he things each set of hoofprints belongs to. Then he asked the question about a zebra's hoofprints. 'Irrelevant,' Shadowhide simply stated.

 

Shadowhide followed the hoofprints to the archery equipment to see if she could find out anything about when the kidnapper arrived. However, the hoofprints eventually end in positions where Aero and Anala would naturally be if Aero was shooting arrows at the target. No third set of hoofprints were there.

Edited September 1, 2014 by FortyTwo42

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

'Irrelevant? Now that's a colour I've never heard of. Perhaps you could tell me about it sometime.'

 

Riley prowled around the field, but there was indeed no third set of hoofprints.

 

"Maybe the kidnapper was a unicorn, and teleported them away?" he suggested.

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

'That's one possibility,' Shadowhide responded. 'My thoughts are it could also be a pegasus, who carried them away through the air. If they didn't land, they wouldn't leave hoofprints. However, it's rather difficult to teleport or fly long distances when you're bringing two others with you.'

 

Shadowhide cancelled her spell, and the hoofprints vanished. 'Hoofprints aren't telling us much, so let's focus on finding other clues.'

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

As Riley's gaze wandered around the field, his mind skimmed through all of the possibilities until he had a stroke of genius... well, that was what he liked to consider it, at least.

 

"Perhaps it was more than one pony who kidnapped Anala and Aero?" he suggested.

[FortyTwo42 1,287]

@@Rainbow Eclipse,

 

'That seems to be the likeliest possibility,' Shadowhide responded. 'It's much easier to carry one pony instead of two. It would also help them in attacking Aero and Anala, since they could get both of them simultaneously, preventing one of them calling for help.'

 

'Speculation won't get us very far. If we want to find out what happened, we'll need to find some clues. I propose we start by looking where Aero and Anala were last standing.' Shadowhide briefly activated her magic to see where Aero was last standing, then began looking very closely around that area.

[Rainbow Eclipse 3,926]

@@FortyTwo42,

 

Riley squinted to see some sort of... marking on the road next to the field. He hadn't noticed it on the way in. He flew over to it. It looked like... tyre tracks. As if a car had started to move quickly enough to leave them there.

 

"Yo, Shadowhide! Come check this out!" he called.