The Butterfly Bandit

“Oh, I’m so excited!” said Rainbow. She and Fluttershy were standing in line at the Cloudiseum, waiting to be let in for the Wonderbolts show. Or, rather, Fluttershy was standing. Rainbow Dash was happily hovering next to her, trying to see over the long line of pegasi.

“I’m just glad you’re happy,” Fluttershy smiled.

“Thanks again, Fluttershy,” Rainbow smiled back, pulling her into a quick hug. “I really owe you.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Fluttershy smiled, returning the hug. “Being with you is enough.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, when a voice interrupted. “Ah, Madam Rainbow Dash! Madam Fluttershy! What brings you two to Cloudsdale?”

“Eep!” Fluttershy gasped, letting go of Rainbow in surprise.

“I believe you surprised them,” said Voltage, as she and Emerald trotted up.

“Aren’t you those detectives that crashed my party?” Rainbow asked.

“Indeed!” Emerald smiled. “I am glad you remember us.”

“I’d prefer if they remembered us in a more flattering light,” muttered Voltage.

“Well, you’re better than that Inspector, at least,” said Rainbow, landing back in line next to Fluttershy.

“Pond scum is better than him,” said Voltage. Her eyes widened. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

“So I can surmise you two are here to see the Wonderbolts performance, yes?” Emerald asked.

“Yeah!” said Rainbow. “Fluttershy here gave me two tickets for my birthday, so here we are!”

“A-are you two here to see the show, too?” Fluttershy asked.

“Alas, no,” said Emerald. “We’re here on business.”

“DETECTIVE!” a voice screamed from the front of the line. “QUIT WASTING TIME AND GET OVER HERE!”

“I’d recognize those angered screams anywhere!” smiled Emerald.

“Inspector Storm Chaser,” Voltage sighed. “Enjoy the show, you two.”

The two of them trotted off, Voltage sagging under the saddle bags in depression, Emerald with a smile and her head held high.

“I’d hate to be them,” said Rainbow. “Stuck working with Storm Chaser instead of seeing the performance.”

“Y-yeah,” Fluttershy stuttered. Why are they still here!? They can’t suspect the Bandit is here, can they!?

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked, giving her a concerned look. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting kind of weird lately.”

“Oh, I-I’m fine!” Fluttershy replied, forcing a smile. “Oh, look, the line’s moving!”

“Finally!” Rainbow smiled, trotting forward with Fluttershy. Her smile slipped as she kept glancing over to her shy friend.

Storm Chaser, Emerald Loupe, and Voltage Scholar were watching the crowds as they entered, looking carefully at each pony that handed in their ticket.

“One thousand suspects,” muttered Storm. “This is going to be hell.”

“There’s only one thousand suspects if you don’t know anything,” muttered Voltage.

“What did you say!?” Storm snapped, glaring at the pegasus.

“Tell him, boss,” said Voltage.

“The Butterfly Bandit is a pegasus mare, who has been in action for ten years,” said Emerald. “Therefore, all colts, stallions, fillies, and mares under the age of… let’s say, twenty are exempt from this. I doubt a mere filly could pull off robberies of this magnitude, at least.”

“Okay, so that leaves us with how many suspects?” Storm asked.

“Only two hundred and seventy two, based on that criteria,” said Voltage. “But you have to remember that Bandit stole two tickets.”

“So she’ll likely be here with a companion,” said Emerald.

“…You know what, you two handle this,” said Storm. “This elimination nonsense is giving me a headache.”

“We’ll debrief you later, Inspector Storm Chaser,” said Emerald, not even looking as the stallion stormed off.

“How unprofessional,” said Voltage.

“Ignore him, Voltage Scholar,” said Emerald. “We have more pressing matters to attend to. If we mess up this chance, the Bandit may never be brought to justice.”

“R-right,” Voltage stuttered, before looking back at the crowd.

Fluttershy was sitting nervously in her seat, glancing around at the crowd of ponies filling the Cloudiseum.

“Hey,” said Rainbow, tapping her on the back.

“Eep!” Fluttershy gasped, leaping into the air.

“Whoa, calm down, Fluttershy,” said Rainbow, pulling her back to the cloud as she sat down. “It’s just me.”

“R-Rainbow,” Fluttershy stuttered. She looked down, her cheeks reddening. “Y-you startled me…”

“Sorry,” said Rainbow, before picking up a paper food tray. “I bought us some nachos in case you get hungry.”

“Huh?” Fluttershy asked, looking up. “Oh, you didn’t have to, I brought more than enough to buy us both food.”

“After you spent all those bits on the tickets?” Rainbow asked, a smile on her face. “Flutters, I appreciate how much you want to do for me, but at least let me buy you a snack to pay you back.”

“I keep saying you don’t owe me anything,” said Fluttershy. “It was a gift, and…”

“I don’t care if I owe you or not,” said Rainbow, a stern look on her face. “I wanted to buy you a snack, so I did. Now, there’s a lot, so please don’t make me eat all of them on my own, or I won’t be able to fly home.”

“O-okay,” Fluttershy stuttered, grabbing a chip, her face blushing an even deeper shade of red. “T-thank you, Rainbow…”

“No problem,” said Rainbow. “They’re just nachos.”

“I know,” said Fluttershy, “it’s just nice that-”

“Fillies and gentlecolts, the Wonderbolts performance is about to begin!” an announcement rang out, interrupting Fluttershy.

“Ahh!” Rainbow squealed, her joy drowned out by the cheers of the rest of the stadium.

Spitfire flew out first, leading six other Wonderbolts out into their opening formation. Rainbow stared up, eyes wide, and a huge smile on her face. Fluttershy smiled too, though her eyes weren’t looking at the Wonderbolts.

“That was awesome!” Rainbow smiled, as she and Fluttershy trotted out with the crowd. The sun was beginning to set by the time the show ended. “What did you think, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy was staring at Rainbow Dash as they trotted through Cloudsdale, a small smile on her face.

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” said Fluttershy. “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

“Daydreaming, Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked.

“Um, yes,” said Fluttershy. “Sorry.”

“It’s no big deal,” said Rainbow. At least, I don’t think it is… Rainbow frowned. “Uh, Fluttershy? Are you-” Rainbow stopped midsentence as she saw a small statue that looked exactly like- “Is that the Sapphire Statue from Daring Do!?”

“Huh?” said Fluttershy, turning to look into the shop window with Rainbow. “I… I think so.”

Rainbow smiled, quickly ushering Fluttershy into the shop. Rainbow’s jaw dropped, as she saw the store was filled with different pieces of Daring Do replicas.

“What is this place?”

“Welcome!” the shopkeeper greeted them. She was a red pegasus with a blue mane, and was dressed up in clothes made to look like Daring Do’s iconic outfit. “I take it you two are Daring Do fans, too?”

“Totally!” said Rainbow.

“Hey, you sort of look like that pony on the cover of the newest book,” said the shopkeeper.

“Does that mean she can get a discount?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes wide as she examined the price tag.

“They are a bit pricy, aren’t they?” the pony asked. “They’re one of a kind replicas of the most recognizable artifacts from the series. I’d love to give a discount, but I need to make a living in this shop, you know?”

“It’s fine,” said Rainbow, glancing sadly at the Sapphire Statue. “Let’s go, Fluttershy. Everything here’s too pricy for us.”

“O-okay,” Fluttershy stuttered, sadly trotting out of the shop after Rainbow.

“Sorry I couldn’t help you!” the shopkeeper called after them.

By the time the two pegasi made it back to Ponyville, the moon had risen. Exhausted from the day’s excitement, Rainbow quickly parted ways with Fluttershy, heading to her cloud home. Without even making herself dinner, Rainbow dove into her bed, and snuggled up under the blankets.

“G’night, Tank,” she said to her pet tortoise.

She lay back against the pillow, and closed her eyes, letting out a sigh as she tried to fall asleep. Barely ten seconds later, Rainbow began tossing and turning, slamming her head angrily against the pillow as she tried to get comfortable.

“Agh!” Rainbow snapped, tossing the blankets off, and staring up at the ceiling. “Why can’t I get to sleep!?”

Tank poked his head out of his shell, and turned to look at the nightstand next to Rainbow’s bed.

“Hm?” Dash glanced at Tank and turned to follow his eyesight to what sat on top of the stand; a photo of her and Fluttershy from back at flight camp shortly after they earned their Cutie Marks. The photograph’s Fluttershy shyly pressing her head against photo Rainbow’s chest made the actual Rainbow’s eyes wide, as something clicked in her head.

“I still haven’t talked to her!” Rainbow slapped herself across the face. “I’m such an idiot! I keep getting distracted by such stupid stuff like work and Wonderbolts! Thanks for reminding me, Tank!” Rainbow leapt out of bed, and flew out of the window in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage.

Tank stared after her, before slowly pulling his head back into his shell.

In almost no time at all, Rainbow reached Fluttershy’s bedroom window. She tapped on the glass, peering through to her friend’s room, narrowing her eyes at the bed. “Fluttershy? You in there?”

Letting herself in, Rainbow landed and found herself alone in the room. Not even Angel Bunny was there. Rainbow peeked out into the hallway, training her ears to pick up any sounds. All she could hear was the sound of animals sleeping.

Sighing, Rainbow shut the bedroom door again. Guess I’ll have to come back tomorrow. Hm? Just as Rainbow turned to leave, she saw a broken bottle on the floor near the window, a strange, powdery substance glittering in the moonlight.

What's that? Oh, please tell me I didn’t just break Fluttershy’s make up, or medicine, or something... Nervous curiosity getting the best of her, Rainbow trotted over to take a sniff. The powder was very lightweight, and was sucked up Rainbow’s muzzle.

“Ack!” Rainbow coughed, the sudden inhaling of powder surprising her. “Achoo!” The sudden inhale before the sneeze sucked up the rest of the powder, and left Rainbow rubbing her nose in irritation.

She looked up, and spread her wings to fly home, but her vision began swimming and her wings fell limp faster than they rose. Stifling a yawn, Rainbow glanced over at Fluttershy’s bed and stumbled over to it.

“I’m… sure Flutters won’t mind if I… spend the night…” Rainbow mumbled before flopping on top of the bed, snoring as she fell sound asleep.

The Butterfly Bandit landed silently atop a cottage, staring at the Ponyville Bank across the street. A small, white bunny hoped off her back, holding an air horn.

“Angel,” the Bandit whispered, “if you see somepony about to enter the bank before I can get out, sound that horn.”

Angel saluted, and started taking watch. The Bandit spread her wings, about to swoop down, when she glanced over at the bunny in a glare. “And try not to drop it like you did that bottle, please? It takes the butterflies a year to make that powder, and even then I don’t get much.”

Angel looked down embarrassed, before giving another salute. With a satisfied smile, the Bandit checked to see if anypony was able to see her before swooping down to the bank.

Diving down into the back alley, she landed next to the staff entrance, pressing an ear against the door. She stepped back with a frown the moment she heard voices, and she quickly looked around. Her smile instantly returned the moment she spotted an air vent above the entrance.

Flapping her wings, she hovered up silently next to the vent, peeking inside. There was no passage hidden in the inside, and the vent just led directly into the hallway where, after tilting the metal flaps to direct air downwards, contained two guards. One sat right up against the staff door, while the other leaned against the entrance to the vault.

“I’m just saying, there’s a Princess living in town,” said the guard against the vault door. “Regardless if you can pull off a theft against a robbery, nopony in their right mind will pull something off right under the nose of a Princess.”

Struggling not to giggle, the Bandit pulled out a bottle of powder, opening and gently blowing the stuff through the vent and into the hall with the guards. Once the bottle was empty, she slid the metal flaps of the vent back to their normal position, dropping down to stand in front of the door again.

Not noticing the powder drifting through the hall in the dark, the guard against the door took a deep breath, before letting out a sigh. “Maybe,” said the guard against the door. “I’d still feel better if they gave us a few extra guards, though…” The guard trailed off at the end of his sentence, letting out a huge yawn.

The guard at the end of the hall began laughing, inadvertently inhaling the remaining powder. “Am I that boring to… you…?” He trailed off as he let out a loud yawn of his own. The two quickly collapsed, snoring softly as they fell into a deep sleep.

Taking out the two pins again, the Bandit picked the lock to the staff door, gently opening and catching the guard that slept against it. With a deep breath, she lifted the guard the best she could, dragging him gently down the hall. She set him down and closed the staff door, before moving the guard that lied against the vault door as well.

After double checking to make sure the two guards were still sleeping soundly, the Bandit turned her attention to the bank vault door itself. After determining it wasn't very thick, she spread her wing and made a soft clicking sound. A bat flew out from under her wing, and landed on her head. Going right up against the vault door, after the Bandit determined the location of the tumblers in the lock, the bat let out a soft screech, and listened for the echo. Making clicking sounds, the bat relayed the position of each part to the lock, allowing the Bandit to quickly figure out the combination and unlock the safe.

His job done, the bat happily flew back under the Butterfly Bandit’s wing, as the Bandit herself trotted inside, and cleaned out all the bits inside into a large bag. Placing her calling card on the vault floor, the Bandit staggered out of the bank under the bag’s weight, locking both the vault and staff doors behind her.

Seeing she made it out safely, Angel climbed down from the roof, and hopped over to keep watch for his owner as she staggered through the alleyways. Waiting in the dark near the edge of town was a large bear who, seeing the Bandit struggling under the weight of the bits, grabbed the bag to carry it back for her.

“Thank you, everyone,” the Bandit smiled, as the bat flew out from under her wing to fly beside her. “You were all a big help.”

Making it back unseen, the Bandit and her animal accomplices quietly entered her cottage. After peeking out the window to make sure she wasn’t followed, Fluttershy lowered the hood to her costume, and let out a sigh of relief.

Her face quickly turned to a panicked one as she heard sounds from up in her room. Slowly flapping her wings, Fluttershy quietly hovered upstairs, and peeked through to her bedroom.

Her face turned red upon seeing Rainbow Dash draped across her bed, shamelessly sleeping away. Quickly flying back downstairs, she slid out of the costume, and turned to face Angel.

“Angel, she’s here!” Fluttershy said, a mix of fear and joy in her voice. “Rainbow’s here! Sleeping in my room! Ahh!” Letting out a squeal, Fluttershy quickly darted back up to her room.

Rolling his eyes, Angel picked up the Butterfly Bandit costume, and helped the bear store the bits away.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, slowly entered her room, blushing heavily as her eyes looked over Dash’s sleeping form. As gently as she could, she lifted Rainbow up and slid her under the covers, tucking her in after laying her head against the pillow.

Though she didn’t wake, a small smile crept its way onto Dash’s face, as her body snuggled itself deeper into the blankets, inhaling deeply as she rolled over in her sleep.

Fluttershy smiled, before trotting over to clean up the broken bottle by the window. “Oh, Dashie, did you inhale the whole bottle? That’ll knock you out for hours!” She turned to look at her sleeping friend. “Though, maybe it’s not so bad after all.”

Trotting over to stand next to her, Fluttershy felt her pulse quicken, sweat rolling down her face. Gulping and taking a deep breath, Fluttershy leaned in to steal a quick kiss on Rainbow’s forehead. Pulling away quickly, her face blushing a deep red, Fluttershy let out a nervous giggle.

Stealing a kiss like that… Hee-hee! Fluttershy thought, a huge smile on her face. She looked up at Rainbow, who continued to sleep. It may have just been her imagination, but Fluttershy could have sworn that Dash’s smile grew slightly larger.

“Sleep tight, Dashie…” Fluttershy whispered. “I’ve got a lovely surprise for you in the morning.” And with that, she trotted out of the room, closing the door behind her, before happily prancing down to her living room.

The sun had barely risen, but Twilight Sparkle was already frantically galloping to Ponyville Bank, Royal Guard officers leading the way. They charged in through the staff entrance, where Emerald Loupe and Voltage Scholar were already waiting.

Emerald gestured with her head towards the vault, cueing Twilight to look inside. She glanced in nervously and her eyes were met with exactly what the guards had told her; an empty vault devoid of bits. The only thing in there was a butterfly adorned business card lying on the floor.

Nervously, Twilight levitated the card up with her magic, bringing it close to her face to read the message written on the other side.

“My deepest apologies, but I just couldn’t help myself under the circumstances. I am sorry for stealing the contents of your vault. Yours Truly, The Butterfly Bandit.”

“How odd,” said Emerald, as she and Voltage trotted into the vault behind Twilight. “According to all the information I’ve gathered on her, the Butterfly Bandit only strikes once each season.”

“Perhaps she’s trying to make up for the years she missed?” Voltage suggested.

“Perhaps,” said Emerald, biting her lower lip. “Or something’s changed in her personal life. If we can take advantage of that, she just might slip up. Justice will finally be served.”

“You have information on her?” Twilight asked.

“But of course, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” said Emerald.

“You don’t have to use my full name,” Twilight mumbled. “But, anyway, do you think I could see some of it? I might be able to help in your investigation.”

“If you don’t mind accompanying us to our office,” said Voltage. “There’s a lot of information.”

“I don’t mind,” said Twilight, as Emerald grabbed the Bandit’s card to look over.

“Then come along, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” said Emerald. “Come and let me regale you of the tale of the Butterfly Bandit.”

Emerald led the way, with Voltage, after adjusting her saddle bags, following directly behind. Twilight sighed, before trotting after them. Seriously, why does she keep using everypony’s full name and title?

Fluttershy landed in Cloudsdale in front of the Daring Do shop from yesterday, gasping as she caught her breath. A heavily muscled, white stallion landed behind her, a large sack in his mouth.

He dropped the bag at Fluttershy’s hooves, and Fluttershy fished around inside for a large collection of bits. “Here you go. Thank you so much for helping me carry this up here.”

“Y-yeah…” the stallion stuttered, nervously glancing at Fluttershy’s Cutie Mark.

Fluttershy glanced at it too, a confused look on her face. “Um, i-is there something wrong with my flank?”

The stallion shook his head, before flapping his tiny wings, and flying away. Fluttershy sat down, her head tilted in confusion. What an odd pony… With a shrug, she stood up, and dragged the bag into the shop.

The shopkeeper looked up in surprise. “Hey, it’s the pony from yesterday? Where’s your rainbow-maned friend?”

“She’s still sleeping,” said Fluttershy. “She had a long night.”

“Mhm,” the shopkeeper nodded. “Well, is there something I can help you with?”

“If I made a purchase, would you be willing to deliver it for me?” Fluttershy asked, looking around at all the artifact replicas. “I don’t think I could carry these on my own.”

“Certainly, I could,” the pony said. “It’ll cost a bit extra, though. Are you sure you have enough?”

Fluttershy tilted the bag over, letting the pile of bits spill out. The shopkeeper stared at them wide eyed, his mouth hanging open.

“I think I might,” said Fluttershy. “If you could deliver all the artifacts to Ponyville for me, you can keep the change, too.”

The shopkeeper picked one of the bits up, examining it. Upon determining it was genuine, she looked up at Fluttershy. “All of them, you said? Would you like those gift-wrapped?”