Author's Note
It's pronounced Coke-I-Tis and Fleg-eh-thon. Finally, the bounty hunters actually hunt a bounty this time. If this goes well I'll write more stories like this. so let me know what you think. OH! And stay kawaii
A Hunt of Fire and Ice
Braeburn was walking along the Appleloosan square when he saw a crowd gathering around the town bank. Curious, Braeburn trotted over to see what all the commotion was about. Sheriff Sliverstar was behind the building just barely in view from where Braeburn was standing. Braeburn walked up to the sheriff and saw what had caused the crowd.
A large chunk of the wall was gone, leaving the now-empty vault wide open. Where the wall should have met the floor was a puddle of water. That wouldn't have been unusual in any other circumstances but it hadn't rained for three weeks in Appleloosa and it wasn't scheduled to for another two.
"Hoo-wee, Sheriff!" Braeburn shouted. "What in Equestria happened here?"
Silverstar growled under his breath. "The Freezer-burn twins..."
"Pardon?"
"A couple of unicorn bandits by the name of Cocytus Freezer-burn and Phlegethon Freezer-burn." The sheriff explained. "Cocytus is a cryomancer, freezin' everything up with her magic, while Phlegethon uses pyromancy to melt down every darn thing his sister freezes."
Braeburn turned to the empty vault then back to Silverstar. "Gosh, Sheriff. This is the most excitement we've had since that skirmish with the buffalo. How much did they git away with?"
"The entire Celestia damned vault. Not one bit left." Said Silverstar.
A few days later in Canterlot, Long Shot sat at her laptop, listing all the most recent bounties posted for Shadow Strike.
"How about this one here? Black Smoke? Wanted for possession of illegal narcotics and suspected intention to distribute. Reward is five thousand bits." Said a tired Long Shot.
Shadow Strike let out a yawn and asked, "What's his last known location?"
"Let's see... Says here that Mister Black smoke was last spotted around Baltimare."
Shadow Strike responded with a groan. "Five thousand bits aren't worth a two day trip by train."
Long Shot nodded. "Okay then, how about her? Luxury Bliss, wanted for prostitution and suspected murder."
"I don't really enjoy hunting whorses." Shadow said.
"What about these two? Cocytus and Phlegethon Freezer-burn. Wanted for the robbery of several banks near Dodge Junction and Appleloosa. They were last seen heading for Canterlot and the reward is-" The sniper paused and let out a whistle. "Twenty thousand bits!"
Shadow moved over to the computer screen. "Eesh, that's a lot of money. I'd be willing to hunt these two."
Just then, a creak was heard,and with it, a tiny voice. "Daddy... Too loud."
"Oh, sorry Pupa. Go back to bed, we'll be more quiet." said the sword-slinger.
The nymph nodded and went back to her room.
Shadow Strike yawned. "Well... I think I'm gonna hit the hay as well. G'night, Long Shot."
"G'night, Shadow". But Long Shot did not go to bed just yet. Instead, she logged off the canter-net and booted up a game of "Discord-erlands: The Pre-Sequel".
The following morning, Shadow went down stairs for breakfast and found Long Shot face down on Donut Joe's counter. Moaning something about "pony-ridians", what ever those were.
Shadow approached the drowsy mare and gently poked her shoulder with his horn. "Long Shot. Did you stay up all night playing that game again?" he asked.
A groan came from Long Shot who then proceeded to nod slightly.
Shadow put a hoof to his face. "For the love of... Look, when I said not to play that game in front of Pupa, I didn't mean to stay up all night."
The sniper raised her hoof to Shadow in a gesture known as "giving the hoof", while keeping her lethargic face planted firmly against the granite tabletop. Quietly she mumbled into the counter "Buck... You."
The sound of tiny hooves on linoleum grew louder. From around the corner in front of the stair case, Pupa, in her pony disguise, Hope Ember, poked her head out and spoke. "Good morning Daddy. Good morning miss Long Shot."
"Morning sweetie", the two bounty hunters said in unison.
Pupa sat down next to Long Shot and asked, "What's wrong miss Long Shot?"
The sniper slightly turned her head, "I had a long night sweetie. I just need to take a nap later."
Shadow trotted over to Pupa and started rubbing the top of her head gently. "So Pupa. Are you ready for your first day at school?" the sword-slinger asked? Ever since Winter Wrap-up, Shadow was looking to enroll Pupa in school. He would have been more than happy to have her home-schooled, but he was no substitute for a real professor. Also, public school would be a great place for Pupa to learn social interaction and the ins and outs of pony social behavior, which again, Shadow couldn't teach nearly as well as the real deal.
Pupa eagerly nodded. "Yes, daddy. I'm all ready."
Shadow Strike chuckled. "That's my girl. We'll leave around eight. Alright?"
As Pupa bounced up and down with excitement, Joe came down the stairs, ready to open up shop. He dusted off his apron and addressed the group "Mornin' everypony."
"Good morning Joe." all three replied.
"Hey, Hope," said the donut maker. "I got something for you." Joe reached into a drawer underneath the counter and pulled out a large donut display case. Joe lifted the lid off then grabbed a large donut with chocolate frosting and lots of sprinkles. "Here you go. Have fun at your first day of school." Joe then proceeded to hand the donut to Pupa who devoured it eagerly.
Shadow looked down at his adopted daughter, "What do we say when somepony gives us something?"
With a mouthful of donut, Pupa managed to sputter out, "Thank you, Mister Joe."
After an hour and a half, Shadow Strike helped Pupa pack her saddle bags and get on her way to Canterlot Elementary. "Okay guys. I'm going to take Pupa to school, meet with her teachers and then I'll be right back. See ya later."
The disguised nymph shouted with excitement, "Bye everypony!"
"See ya." Said Joe.
"Have fun." Said a much more awake Long Shot.
On the way to the school Shadow turned to Pupa and spoke. "Alright, let's go over how you're going to introduce your self."
Pupa responded, "Hello everypony. My name is Hope Ember. I am six years old and I live with my daddy, his filly friend and a friend of his."
Shadow beamed with pride. "That's perfect, sweetie. Just introduce yourself like that to the class and you'll be golden."
About fifteen minutes passed before Shadow and Pupa reached Canterlot Elementary. It was a simple two-story brick building. Shadow approached the main entrance and walked inside, beaconing Pupa to do the same. Together, they entered the main office. Shadow approached the mare working the counter. "We have a meeting with the principle. Name of Shadow Strike and Hope Ember."
After a few seconds of waiting, an older stallion emerged from an office. He turned to Shadow Strike and said, "Mister Strike. We're ready to see you and your daughter now."
The pair stood up from he chairs where they were sitting and trotted over to the stallions office. "Your the principle, I assume?" Shadow asked.
The stallion said "That's me. The names Mr. Inkwell. And this must be Hope Ember."
Pupa smiled at the mention of her alter ego's name.
"Nice to meet you, Hope. Your teacher, Mrs. Write, will be along shortly to show you to your classroom. In the meantime, may I speak to father in private?" Asked Mr. Inkwell.
Shadow Strike knelt down next to his adopted daughter and kissed her forehead. "Go on, honey. I'll pick you up at three o'clock." He kissed Pupa's forehead. "I love. Be good."
Pupa nodded and took a took a seat back by the entrance.
Shadow entered the office with the principle. The room was fairly bland except for a motivational poster, a teaching certificate, a desk, a computer and a few chairs. Mr. Inkwell sat down behind his desk and addressed Shadow Strike. "Mr. Strike, due to the irregular circumstances in which your child has been enrolled, I wanted to ask you a few questions."
"I wasn't aware of any 'irregular circumstances'", responded Shadow Strike.
"Well, you see Mr. Strike, I couldn't pull any record of Hope Ember's previous education." Mr. Inkwell explained.
Shadow Strike quickly said, "She was home-schooled."
The principle looked at Shadow Strike and examined him closely. "If you don't mind me saying so, you look and Hope Ember hardly look anything alike. Was she adopted perhaps?"
"Indeed." Answered Shadow.
"Is she aware of this?"
Shadow nodded, "Yes. She's only been my daughter for about three months."
If any shock or disbelieve was felt by the principle, his stoic expression betrayed none of it. After a moment or two, Mr. Inkwell spoke once more, "Well, Mr. Strike, I'd Like to ask a few more questions if that's alright with you."
The bounty hunter merely said, "Ask away."
"Alright. What do you do for a living?"
"I help out sometimes at my friend's donut shop and I also am a bounty hunter." Shadow explained
Mr. Inkwell's eyes widened and he wrote something down on a notepad, but beyond that he remained silent. "What's your living situation?" Inkwell asked next.
"Hope Ember, My friend Joe, my fillyfriend, and I all live in Joe's house on the second floor." Shadow answered.
Mr. Inkwell wrote another thing down. "Alright Mr. Strike, one more question then your free to go. Does Hope Ember have any health or mental problems that we should know about so we can make special accommodations for her?"
Shadow thought about the inquiry for a minute. Mentally, Pupa was no different than a typical filly of her age, but physically changelings were incredibly sensitive to the cold.
Shadow spoke, "She is very bothered by the cold. Perhaps if you could keep her inside as much as possible once the pegasi begin to lower the temperature, that would help."
The principle wrote down one last thing and stood up from behind his desk. "Well Mr. Strike, I think that just about covers it. Your free to go now."
Shadow shook Mr. Inkwells hoof and walked out. Pupa had already been escorted to her classroom so Shadow left the building and went home.
Shadow found Joe tending to some customers and Long Shot upstairs playing her game. "Long Shot. I'm home" he called out.
The sniper took her earbuds out and turned to Shadow Strike. "Welcome back. How did it go?"
"The principle seemed like a nice stallion. But let's get down to business. Did you find anything out about those two bandits while I was gone?" Shadow asked.
Long Shot saved her game then closed it. She pulled up a webpage and pointed to the screen. She said, "It seems here that Cocytus and Plegethon have an accomplice here in Canterlot. Somepony by the name of 'Safe Word'. Supposedly, he frequents a bar down in the south side of Canterlot called 'The Watering Trough'."
Shadow Strike recognized the name of that bar. The Watering Trough, was the go-to location to get anything that can't be obtained through legitimate means. Drug, weapons, information, the whole enchilada. Shadow wouldn't be surprised to find this Safe Word pony there.
"Anything else?" Shadow asked.
Long Shot scanned the screen of her laptop. "Nothing concrete or useful. I say we pay a visit to this Safe Word pony on friday so we don't have to worry about picking Pupa up from school."
"Nice thinking Long Shot." Replied Shadow.
The week passed. Long Shot and Shadow Strike took turns dropping off and picking up Pupa from school. On friday night, the two suited up to begin their hunt. Long Shot equipped a bandolier filled with nine millimeter pistol rounds and strapped a holster to her left hind leg over her cutie mark. She placed an earth pony revolver in her holster and donned a light jacket to cover her inventory. The reason she was bringing a pistol instead of her typical rifle was to avoid startling The Watering Trough's collection of fugitives, gangsters and other seedy patrons. Shadow Strike used his changeling abilities to morph into a form that was similar to his normal disguise but took a much more "Rough and Tumble Thug' motif, with a scar on his right eye and a burn mark on his right foreleg. Instead of his katana, Shadow opted to bring a small dagger, which he hid in one of his boots that he wore as part of his disguise.
The Watering Trough looked exactly as the pair of bounty hunters imagined it would. Ramshackle and seedy. From inside one could hear the sounds of rave music and drunken ponies yelling at each other and participating in various acts of perversion.
Just great, thought Shadow. I'm surrounded by criminals AND prostitutes.
The pair entered the bar and looked around. Shadow turned to his fillyfriend and asked "So what exactly does Safe Word look like?"
Long Shot answered, "He's a reddish-purple pegasus with a vault door as a cutie mark."
Far in the back of the bar, Shadow spotted somepony who matched that description to the letter. The pony in question was wearing a fedora and a pair of large sunglasses.
The couple approached this stallion and asked, "Are you Safe Word?"
The stallion looked at the two. "Depends on who's askin'." He said.
Shadow Strike spoke. "A couple of interested clients. Word on the street is you can get dirt on just about anypony."
"You've heard correctly." the stallion stood up from his booth and looked around, checking to make sure nopony was listening. "Follow me." He said when he made sure the coast was clear. He took the bounty hunters into a room behind the counter and told the barkeeper not to let anypony bother them.
The room was fairly empty except for a table and a chair in which Safe Word sat down. "Now, What can I help you with?" Asked the informant.
Shadow stepped forward and spoke. "We're looking for Cocytus and Phlegethon Freezer-burn. What do you know about them?"
Safe Word growled and looked slightly to the left. "I don't know who your talking about..."
This time, Long Shot spoke. "Oh really? Because your listed as a known accomplice on the Equestrian Criminal Database."
"I don't have to tell you little shits anything..." Safe Word said defiantly.
Long Shot reached into her jacket and pulled out the revolver she was keeping hidden. She cocked back the hammer and aimed it at Safe Word. "There are three ways you getting out of here, Mr. Safe Word. If you cooperate, you'll walk out unscathed, but if you don't give us what we want you'll be leaving cuffed down or in a body bag." The last threat was a bluff. Long Shot's revolver wasn't loaded and the dagger Shadow Strike had on him was enchanted with the same lethality spell as his normal katana.
Suddenly, Shadow Strike appeared behind Safe Word. Shadow Lifted up Safe Word's head and the blade of his dagger hovered only about an inch away from the informant's neck. Unbeknownst to Safe Word, Shadow had activated deception while Long Shot was talking and managed to sneak behind him. Shadow spoke angrily. "Talk! You little bastard!"
Safe Word shouted nervously. "OKAY! OKAY! OKAY! I'LL TALK!"
Shadow let go of the pegasi's head and backed up.
"They're planning on robbing the Canterlot shipping depot tomorrow night. They're looking for some jewel, the 'Eye of Celestia', that was just shipped in to be put on display in the Canterlot Castle museum. They called me a few days ago and asked me to set up a dead drop to stash their loot and to set up a safe house. That's all I know no please let me go!" Explained the sniveling Safe Word.
The bounty hunters holstered their weapons. Long Shot turned around and said "Thank you for your cooperation."
Shadow Strike looked at the shaken informant and growled, chuckling as Safe Word recoiled in fear.
Once the two were safely out of the bar Shadow turned to Long Shot and said "Canterlot Shipping Depot. It might be a good idea to get ready tonight and set up camp at a good vantage point in case they try to strike early."
Long Shot nodded and set off for home.
Shadow returned to his normal pony form and discarded his boots. He threw on his scabbard and drew his sword, checking to make sure it was as sharp as possible for the upcoming hunt. Long Shot replaced the pistol rounds in her bandolier with sniper bullets and tranquilizer darts. She threw off he jacket and donned her four combat boots. The boots were black leather with flame patterns on the front. Long Shot grabbed her rifle and made sure it was in ready condition. She cleaned the barrels, re-calibrated the sights, and once she was done she attached it to her bandolier. To finish her preparations, Long Shot put on her signature W-shaped sunglasses.
The two hunters made their way to the CDP at about three in the morning. Under the cover of Luna's glorious night, Shadow Strike and Long Shot managed to find a good vantage point among the crates. The couple sat down at their perch and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The only time the bounty hunters moved was one time when they thought a guard was coming, but no guard ever came.
Then, finally, at nine p.m. the next night, the hunter's prey made they're move.
Two unicorns walked right into the warehouse. Neither of them wearing a guard's or worker's uniform. The stallion was tall. He had an orange coat and a white spike mane. On his flank was a cutie mark that depicted a campfire. The mare was shorter. She had an icy blue coat with a mane the same shade of white as the stallion, the only difference was that her mane was styled in a way that obscured half her face when being viewed from the front. Her cutie mark was a simple snowflake. The mare turned to the stallion and said. "Alright, Phlegethon, you know the drill."
Phlegethon turned to the mare and said. "Right, Cocytus."
Shadow Strike whispered, "Looks like we have our targets."
Long Shot nodded. Shadow grabbed his sword with his hooves. Long Shot readied her sniper rifle.
Shadow leapt down in front of the two unicorns.
Phlegethon jumped back slightly. "What the!? Who the hay are you?!" The orange stallion asked.
Shadow merely chuckled and said, "You know, if the Equestrian criminal database is to believed you two have some of the most powerful elemental abilities ever recorded and the best you can think of is robbing banks and warehouses? That's just sad."
Phlegethon spoke, "Why you little-"
Cocytus placed a hoof out and stopped her brother. "Let it go, Phlegethon." She turned to Shadow and said. "I notice you use your hooves to hold your blade instead of telekinesis."
Shadow responded the same way he always did when ever that topic was brought up. "I have Anti-Telekinetic Syndrome." This was a lie of course. Few changelings had any magical abilities besides their shapeshifting and love leeching powers. Shadow Strike could use telekinesis, but it drained his energy extremely quickly. Even levitating Pupa into the water basin when Shadow Strike first met her left him feeling woozy. Shadow could use the power from the love energy that Pupa and Long Shot fed him, but he preferred to say that energy for emergencies.
Cocytus nodded her head. "Ah. We also suffer from ATS. But..." The floor under the icy mare began to freeze. from the ice formed to two arms. On either side of Phlegethon, a fiery three clawed hand materialized. "...We developed a work around."
One of the ice arms picked up a crate and threw it at Shadow Strike, who did a barrel roll to get out of the projectiles path.
A gunshot was heard and the frozen limb shattered.
Cocytus turned to the limb as it regenerated. Once the arm was whole again, Cocytus looked up and saw Long Shot holding her rifle with a smug look on her face. Cocytus turned to Phlegethon. "Phlegethon. Take care of that one. The silver one's mine."
Phlegethon grimaced. "With pleasure." Phlegethon used the two flaming hands he spawned to launch himself up to the ledge where Long Shot was set up. He dashed at her, his body surrounded in flames, making him look like a meteor or a comet. Long Shot Jumped out of the way, and the fiery pony crashed into the wall. As Phlegethon struggled to pull his horn out from the wall in which it was embedded, Long Shot took the opportunity to swap out her lethal rounds with tranquilizer darts. She pressed a knob on the side of her rifle and the magazine popped out and clattered to the floor. Long Shot reached to her bandolier and pulled out a new clip, one loaded with non-lethal rounds. She placed the new magazine in her gun and lined the rifle up with her target.
Phlegethon pulled himself free and turned around as a tranquilizer dart whizzed past his ear. He heard Long Shot utter a profanity and rushed at her once more. He shouted as he threw his hooves at her. Long Shot fell down and turned on her back. As Phlegethon passed over her, she kicked out at him with all of her might. The stallion went flying from the force of the impact and struggled to his hooves. He just had enough time to look at his opponent before he felt something pierce his neck. Phlegethon pulled felt at his neck and pulled out a tranquilizer dart. As he stared at it, he felt his legs get weaker and his vision blurred. After about fifteen seconds, Phlegethon fell over, unconscious.
Mean while, down below, Shadow Strike was busy dodging the crates that Cocytus kept throwing at him. Shadow ran in, rolling out of the way of several crates. Once he was close enough he slashed one of the ice arms apart. Cocytus retaliated by hitting Shadow with an ice blast that sent him flying, giving her time to let the arm reform. Shadow returned to his hooves and re-assumed his stance. He jumped up and tried to slice at Cocytus from above. The Icy mare jumped back and countered a beam of cryogenic magic.
"Mastery of ice/ Wasted on a criminal/ How unfortunate." Shadow said as he leapt out of the way.
Cocytus paid no attention to the taunting poem. Her stare was as cold as the ice she manipulated. She pointed her horn at her opponent and let loose another blast of cryomancy. Shadow Strike once again sidestepped the blast and proceeded to slowly walk toward Cocytus.
Cocytus threw a crate at Shadow, who then proceeded to slice it in half. Desperate, Cocytus once again shot a massive ice beam at Shadow, only this time, Shadow made no attempt to get out of the beam's way. Instead of freezing Shadow Strike, the blast simply passed right through him.
For the first time, Cocytus' stoic expression was lost.
The icy mare continued to blast ice at Shadow, who never made any attempt to move out of the way.
As Shadow got close to Cocytus, she shouted, "Are you some kind of god!?"
Cocytus heard a voice from behind her. "You've been deceived." it said. Cocytus turned around quickly just in time to see Shadow Strike throwing a strange horseshoe shaped device onto her neck with his hoof.
As the device locked itself around her neck, Cocytus felt a surge of electricity pass through her body, forcing her to the ground in agony. She struggled to he hooves and tried to blast at Shadow, but no magic came from her horn.
"What... What did you do to me?" Cocytus demanded.
Shadow snickered and replied, "That device is a portable magic neutralizer. You can't do any magic while your wearing it."
"Damn you..."
"What happened to you?/ So strong and so imposing/ Oh yeah, I happened."
Long Shot called from her perch. "Phlegethon has been neutralized!"
Shadow turned to her and asked, "Did you remember the PMN?"
"Yep."
Shadow smiled. "Awesome. Now Let's turn these scum stains in and get that money."
Long Shot called the police while Shadow Strike stood watch over the two bandits. Once the two collected their reward money at the police station, after Cocytus and Phlegethon were detained, Long Shot and Shadow Strike went home and spent the rest of the night relaxing with Pupa.