===========================================

Canterlot City Mall; National Ancient History Achieve

Rainbow Dash was ecstatic! This past summer right after they had gotten out of school Rainbow's mom and Dad sent her on a trip to a Daring Do convention which sadly fellow super fan Twilight Sparkle couldn't attend because she had egghead things to do. She had promised the bookworm she would bring her back plenty of trinket's and of course if possible an autograph on her Daring Do books by the author A.K. Yearling. The entire convention was a blast, there was this one annoying prick Quibble Pants who original was cool but then was totally uncool, but the highlight of the entire ordeal was when she managed to get an autograph from A.K. Yearling on her books but forgot to get Twilight's signed. Feeling guilty Rainbow had rushed to try and get A.K. to sign the books before she had left the convention but it lead into Rainbow getting caught in the middle of a treasure hunting battle between the villainous treasure hunter Caballeron and his rival/arch nemesis...DARING DO!!!

Every time she thinks about the moment she realized A.K. Yearling and Daring Do were one in the same she felt like she could die and come back to life with how much joy surged through her body which she could only compare to Pinkie when it came to levels of joy. Standing there was her once thought fictional hero in real life and with her amazing super powers she was surely able to help Daring Do right? Nope; at first all Rainbow did was fan girl over Daring even though she was very clearly outmatched and could have greatly used help from Rainbow and her super speed. Then Rainbow started to use her powers but to show off in front of Daring Do which only complicated things leading to Daring Do telling her off saying that she preferred working alone and didn't want Rainbow getting in the way anymore.

That moment had crushed Rainbow Dash, to have her hero tell her to buzz off and go home? She wanted to cry but she was strong and knew she couldn't let Daring go into a situation that was way over her head especially when Rainbow had seen magic was involved and she had to handle it on her own without her friends aid. As it turns out there were tons of cursed and or magic relics in the human world that had nothing to do with the pony world Sunset Shimmer had originally come from, the one that Caballeron and his gangsters were after was an ancient staff that was said to hold the power to control and create storms which could lead a path to the lost and also cursed city of Cloudiouso.

After regaining her confidence and remembering that she had made a vow as a Daring Do fan to remain loyal to A.K. and Daring to the end she raced off to help Daring Do and it was a good thing she did! She had to help Daring fight off Caballeron who had gotten his hands on the storm scepter and crown of the storm king only to be morphed into a Yeti like beast that could control lightning and roared loud as a thunderclap. It was in this moment she saw just how good Daring Do was with guns and bombs and Rainbow would be lying to herself harder than young Applejack if she had said she didn't get aroused by it, Daring Do was incredibly fit and a lot curvier in real life! Using their equal cunning they managed to destroy the scepter and the entire cloud city was destroyed and Rainbow got to play the hero and save Daring Do again by swooping through a bunch of falling debris from the cloud city and saved her just before a giant statue crushed her in the ocean below and she still remembers what Daring had said to her after that moment as she soared off to safety with Daring literally in her arms.

'If you were legal you would so be getting laid tonight'

She cursed herself in the moment for only being seventeen years old! She totally understood however but Daring DID make it up to her by signing ALL of Twilight's books, giving Rainbow her 'personal number' and giving her a personal special trinket she had gained from the adventure which was an bracelet with a gem made of the same magic gem the scepter had used which gave the wearer the ability to control the weather and since that day? Rainbow almost never took it off except to sleep or shower; next to her geode it was her most valued magical treasure and one she had kept a secret from her friends. She didn't wanna go exposing Daring's identity to everyone as the woman liked her privacy and so it was hard keeping the secret from her friends especially Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer who were also Daring Do fans like herself and while Sunset could have read her mind to see what had happened she respected Rainbow's privacy and didn't pry when she insisted on it even much to the annoyance of Twilight Sparkle.

And so now what brought her to this bookworm fest with Sci-Twi and Sunset was the fact that A.K. had called her personally and said she would be in town for a few signings but that she also needed Rainbow's help in a 'special matter' and she had left it at that being very vague about it. Now Rainbow Dash was a smart girl, smarter than others gave her credit and smarter than her report card tended to show most times; everyone always would label you the dummy if you got held back a grade, it wasn't HER fault second grade was so boring!

Anyway Rainbow was pretty smart and so when A.K. said 'a special matter' she automatically knew that it likely had something to do with magic and some kind of treasure hunt! At least that's what 'logical Fan Girl Dash' was thinking, 'Crazy Fan Girl Dash' was thinking this was more along the lines of something a bit more sensual or at least hoping it was! Rainbow had turned eighteen in April and they were currently on Spring break! Rainbow had also read(in secret) some of Daring Do's more saucy novels too since it was very clear A.K. Yearling was no prude and there were plenty of stories that showed Daring Do was a very wild woman when she wanted to be.

'If this does turn into some kinda crazy magic adventure I swear I am getting laid by the end' Rainbow thought as she tapped her foot erratically and then also thought. 'That's IF these two eggheads ever show up!'

Being the fastest also meant she was the most impatient and so she was getting annoyed that her two friends hadn't shown up yet and was constantly checking her phone to see where the were. A.K. Yearling hadn't shown up yet either but that was because she was on a schedule to keep up appearance but according to her clock and the schedule she was given? She should be arriving soon and she didn't want her friends to miss anything which is why she was getting so frustrated as she knew that this entire thing had underlined importance to it. However then just as if on cue she could hear Twilight's high pitched yet admittedly adorable voice and then heard Sunset's voice as well, she then heard them call out her name as she turned to greet her friends with a smile.

"Hey Rainbow!" Sci-Twi said rushing over as soon as she saw where A.K. Yearling would be signing autographs and taking questions with an excited squee. "THIS.IS GONNA BE.AMAZING!!!!"

"Sup eggheads" Rainbow said with a chuckle as she greeted Sunset with a handshake and hug.

"Nothing much, got that 'urgent' call from you and as soon as Twi saw what the 'emergency' was? I couldn't get her to stay still in the car." Sunset giggled with smile seeing Sci-Twi blush at how excited she was. Sunset out of all the girls next to Rainbow, Pinkie and sometimes Rarity had the knack for teasing young Twilight but always in a kind and friendly way and it was usually just about how adorkable the adolescent genius was.

"Ha I bet, I mean as soon as I found out? Guess how many seconds it took me to get here?" Rainbow asked with a smirk and a hand on her hip knowing she could ask that question confidently and know she would get the type of answer she wanted. Anyone who knew her knew that speed and going fast was apart of who Rainbow was and ever since she got her super speed? While she had tried to use it in moderation she couldn't help but race here when she got the text from A.K.

Both Sunset and Twilight replied at the same time with. "Ten seconds flat?"

"Hehehe you both know me so well; but can you believe it?! A.K. Yearling is gonna be unveiling her newest book today!!" Rainbow squealed with excitement in a way no one thought her capable of when talking a book unless it was a comic book or online manga chapter. Truth be told Twilight and Sunset had made a honorary bookworm of sorts of out Rainbow Dash in their short years knowing her having grown closer to her through their mutual love of Daring Do even though Sunset was only a recent fan of the series of books. Rainbow did enjoy reading other things though like comic books about her favorite super hero who just like her had super speed or manga that usually had a lot of action in it and she typically read that online.

"I know! I heard rumors that it's going to be the start of a new saga for her books! You know it'll be her 20th anniversary soon right?" Sci-Twi stated as she pushed up her glasses as she spoke to Rainbow Dash.

"Pft course I know! I'm like her BIGGEST fan" Rainbow insisted still refusing to tell Twilight exactly why because she promised to keep it a secret.

"But I've been her fan longer than you AND have more vintage copies of original works!!" Sci-Twi fumed with the most adorable pouty look on her face.

"That's nice egghead; so what do you two wanna do till the unveil starts? They got a couple cool exhibits for artifacts that A.K. has written about. Hard to believe that she just can LOOK at an artifact or ancient trinket and make an entire adventure story out of it." Rainbow said as she pointed Twilight in the direction of the artifacts in which she spoke of and it didn't take long for the bookworm to rush over with stars in her eyes looking over all the stuff and then Rainbow who was still standing next to Sunset grinned at the former pony girl.

"So like are you gonna make a move finally? Cause seriously Shim...Daaaaayum" She looked over Sunset and whistled at what the girl was wearing and was very impressed by what she saw both in general and in how accurate the costume was and was positive it had to have been made by Rarity. She was most certainly trying to win Twilight Sparkle over and given the girl was such an oblivious little nerd? She could understand Sunset's push. Sunset Shimmer was clad in appropriate cosplay for this event they were attending, as well as being a book signing, unveil and grand opening; it was also a convention of sorts and people were all dressed in varying outfits.

Rainbow Dash had merely decided to dress as herself, wearing the exact same outfit that she wore when she had met Daring Do the first time which was her normal white and blue t-shirt with what Sunset called her 'cutie mark' on its front. a blue jacket with yellow stripes on the sleeves,dark blue yoga pants with a rainbow lightning stripe going down her thighs and to her ankles and her sneakers. Around her neck was her magic geode and around her right wrist was her magic storm bracelet which was tucked beneath her wristband.

Sci-Twi had decided to stick true to her nature as a scientist and to break away from the norm and not go as Daring Do but her other favorite character in her series of books. From time to time Daring would need technical support and a mind greater than hers to solve problems and so she would enlist the aid of a reporter and part time mad scientist Starburst who had aided Daring on cracking an ancient riddle or helped her break into a highly secure facility more than once and Twilight simply adored her character. She was smart, witty, clever, knew how to handle a gun and from A.K. Yearlings written description of her? Very beautiful and someone that Daring Do had 'relations' with after a very close call on a job that was very personal for the cute bumbling scientist.

Sunset Shimmer however? She had decided to go all out and go as one of the newer characters in A.K.'s books by the name of Phoenix but A.K. Yearling and by extension Daring Do called her Nix, whom was another favorite of Twilight's and one that she shipped with the character she was currently dressed as. Sunset Shimmer was a clever little pony indeed.

She was formally one of Daring Do's female villains/rivals but after the end of the last saga of books the woman had turned over a new leaf after a treasure hunt that hit close to home for both her and Daring Do so she decided to leave behind her old ways and start a new with Daring Do as her partner. In the current state of the books which is the one before the one to be revealed today, Nix had been captured by a mysterious new crime organization and Daring was attempting to rescue her but had to jump through quite a few hoops to do so.

As one could imagine Sunset loved a good redemption character since in essence she was one herself. Phoenix had grown up much like Sunset did in fact, born to a rich and powerful family, all the resources she could ask for or need, all the personal training; she had it all. Not only that she was smart, a genius in fact; but she was also brash, cocky, arrogant and selfish. She wanted only glory, money and power; to prove she was above everyone else only then to have Daring Do swoop in and at every single turn outdo her and stealing her spotlight. Her lust for glory had lead her to a cursed treasure and turned her into a monster that Daring Do and Starburst had to battle and just as Daring was about to kill Phoenix, Starburst stopped her and had gotten her to see there was still humanity and good in Phoenix having spent some personal time with the rival thief after having been her captive.

Daring had spared her and offered her a chance to start over and so she took it and had become Daring Do's new partner. Sunset was now currently dressed in purple denim short shorts and a belt that held a holster for a gun on each leg, a orange V-neck t-shirt with a sports bra underneath and her magic geode around her neck,her black short leather jacket, her crimson and yellow hair was tied into a braided ponytail with a few of her bangs going down the front of her face and she also had a brown backpack on that doubled as a holster for the prop A.K. 47 on her back, on her legs in the holsters were two custom hand cannons one with the word 'Bolt' written on it and the other with the word 'Sentinel'. The aviators that the character wore were framed upon Sunset's forehead and just like the character usually was Sunset was chewing gum.

With a proud and cocky smile Sunset Shimmer blew a bubble, popped it and chuckled as she looked over Rainbow Dash's shoulder to see Sci-Twi still geeking out to make sure she wasn't paying attention to them.

"Oh totally; I think she's well enough over Timber Douche by now." Sunset made sure to say his name with disdain as she was still upset with him for how he hurt Twilight and had to nerve to break up with her for another girl...AFTER she had caught them cheating on her with one of the 'Flower Trio' from school! Taking a calming breathe she remembered that she was here for Twilight, not to get triggered over those two.

"Figured I'd treat her to something nice and kill two birds with one stone." Sunset stated

"Yeah I still can't believe that guy and the fact you caught him red handed-?" Rainbow was trying as well not to get mad. She HATED cheaters, she herself was single but she always told herself whenever she did get into a relationship she would as always be loyal and cheating on her partner was one thing she'd never do. The fact it happened to Twilight made her feel so bad for the bookworm and so angry as the forest prick who betrayed Twilight's trust for some flower lover.

"Quite literally" She grumbled considering that she had caught them in the act of sex in the Everfree Forest not to far from Camp Everfree when she had gone there to speak with his sister about using the camp help Trixie put on a magic show for the kids that Summer before school started back up. Sunset was so disgusted by what she had seen and had kept it secret from Twilight for all of a week because she didn't know how to break it to her. Then Timber had broken up with Twilight and she didn't know the reason why but then Sunset finally snapped and used her magic to share her emotions and memories and what happened next? Heartbreak the likes of which Sunset had never seen before on anyone. Seeing Twilight cry and sob like she did after knowing the whole truth broke Sunset's heart and the only consolation was that she was able to hold Twilight through it all and comfort her the whole while. She had promised at that moment that when Twilight was ready? She would take the chance and ask her out and today was that day.

"Yeah like seriously fuck them; you go and get Twilight, you deserve her and honestly? Took you long enough...Seriously I've been waiting for you two to hook up since the friendship games!" Rainbow almost shouted and then chuckled playfully punching her friend in the arm. Rainbow wanted both her friends to be happy and her loyalty and dedication to them both would push her to ensure that the two had a good time here along with her.

"Well if all goes well? By the end of all this me and Twilight will be a couple. So c'mon let's go catch up to her before she starts bombarding random people with facts and questions." Sunset said as she walked off into the area where Twilight was and then looking back at Rainbow she chuckled noticing how her eyes were glued to her ass. "Too little to late Rainbow" Sunset Shimmer said with a cheeky grin as she turned to walk again purposely swaying her hips as she walked away and all Rainbow Dash could say was.

"Damn that nerd is lucky" Rainbow said with a small shake of her head as she jogged a bit to catch up to Sunset and walk side by side with her.

From around a nearby statue Sly made himself appear as if out of nowhere and said

"Heh I agree" Sly said as he stalked them from a reasonable distance. He kept close but out of sight, weaving through the crowd of people with little to no effort at all and hardly anyone had taken notice of him as he tailed the three girls and eavesdropped on their conversation. Sly was a womanizer through and through just like his father was and had to admit Sunset Shimmer was indeed very beautiful with enough sex appeal to make Daring Do blush if she got sight of her in this way which was likely to happen soon.

'Don't forget the objective Sly! You need to get those geodes and get out of there!' Bentley stated over Sly's com-link

'Relax buddy; I got this. Let me know the moment the software picks up A.K.'

'Roger that, All-Seer protocol is running smoothly; soon as she steps foot in this building I'll give you an update'

'Awesome; and Murray? Stay on standby, never know when we'll need some muscle'

'The Murray will be ready to-Uh five number four's please?...Thank you. OK yeah the Murray will be ready to go!'

'Well that was fast! Sly; we've got her, she just entered through the rear entrance...looks like she's rushing. oh no...Oh no this is bad!'

'What's up?'

'She's got company and not the friendly kind, not to her OR to us.'

'Who's after her this time?'

'Well these goons here are a part of a local gang of misfits called the Dragoons but its not just them...they've got Bulldogz with them!'

'What?! Muggshot is here!? Alright now this just went from not exactly our business? To absolutely our business if he's involved...A.K. and these girls are in trouble if these guys get their hands on them. Murray finish up eating and meet up with me, Bentley get ready for a quick escape and tell Dimitri to bring the van around in 20 minutes.'

'Roger that; what about you?'

'Me? I'm gonna go introduce myself and say hello to a few old friends.'

'Sly what're you-'

'Don't worry pal; I got this!'

Sly said as he got off his com-link and then activated his aura. Sly himself was a mystery, he was a man who held abilities one could only call magic and one of those abilities was the power to turn invisible and move freely and that helped especially when you were as agile and nimble as he was. Leaping from wall to wall he'd scale up to the rafters and then run through them quickly jumping and sliding on wires and swinging from hook points with his cane like it was a video game. Once he got to the desired vantage point he got a good view of the entire convention. With his cane slugged onto his shoulder and held in one hand he chuckled as he looked upon a treasure he longed to have but it was playing really hard to get with being on opposite sides of the law.

'Hello beautiful' Sly thought with a grin

The woman was tall and tanned with long flowing sapphire blue hair that was put into a stylishly disheveled ponytail. Around her neck was a choker with a badge on it, she also wore a short zip up shirt that was small enough to look like a sports bra and a lemon yellow jacket along with gloves to match it,blue jeans with a brown belt that held two silver straps on it that were magnets for the customized special hand cannon on her hip that was red with a gold barrel and a star on the side of it. She was a few inches taller than the officers next to her because of the combat boots she wore and out of all of them she asserted the most level of authority with a very straight face showing she was no nonsense. It was then a young man dressed in a police uniform approached her, he had pure white skin and blue hair and seemed to have quite the few number of honor badges to his name meaning he was a high ranking officer and likely Carmelita's partner for whatever job she was here on.

"Anything to report Detective Armor?" Carmelita asked with the Latina in her accent very clear.

"The artifacts are safe and secure and we've got plain clothes offices armed and ready to act should someone try and steal them." Shining Armor said with confidence.

"Oh trust me, SOMEONE will try and with my luck? He's probably already trying" Carmelita said with clear irritation in her voice.

"Sounds like this is kinda personal" Shining said with apprehension.

"Make no mistake; Sly Cooper and all the stories about him and his gang have not been exaggerated, he is every bit as cunning, skilled and frustrating. His gang have pulled off the impossible and they are unpredictable. That's why the only one well equipped enough to deal with him is me, which is why I have been sent here remember? This place is a good target for him and apparently he has been spotted in this city more than once over the past few weeks." Carmelita stated as she began to walk into the museum area casually.

"He's about to make a play; I know it."

"How?" Shining asked

"Because I know him" Carmelita stated matter a fact like.

"Well don't worry, he's not getting in or out of here; hey can you hold the fort down here? My little sister is here today and I wanna go see how she's doing, BBBFF stuff." Shining stated and only got a confused look from Carmelita and then he responded. "Big Brother Best Friend Forever."

"Ah; yeah sure you go on ahead but be ready for action the second I call you" Carmelita said waving him off as she walked back to her post.

"Yes ma'am" Shining saluted and rushed off to find his little sister who to his understanding was with her friends.

Carmelita giggled shaking her head at how formal he was. She outranked him yes but she felt it unnecessary for him to call her 'ma'am' or salute her but at the very least he was respectful. This time she WOULD capture him and anyone who got in her way? They were going down! Anyone who willingly allied themselves with Sly Cooper unknowingly signs their name on her shit list. As she walked around then then noticed a woman with tan skin a blueish grey bonnet with a white ribbon, red glasses and a flowing purple garb running and a small glint came from under her robe that Carmelita noticed. Her curiosity peaked she began to move forward and follow her just to see what the deal was.

"Well this is about to get interesting...hm looks like Daring needs some help." Sly said cracking his trademark grin as he dashed off through the rafters again and tracked from above and waited for the right moment to take out the thugs without causing a panic.

=======================================================================================

"Shit...Shit....Shit-!" Daring Do thought as she dashed and weaved through the crowds of people dressed in her normal civilian clothing. She had no idea how these goons managed to track her but the fact that there were this many?! This was gonna complicate things and she needed to find these girls before they did! With a bit of quick thinking she remembered she was in a place full of Daring Do fans! No one knew that Daring Do was actually real except for Rainbow Dash and those who she trusted most like Phoenix, Starburst and Cooper. However right now? Phoenix and Starburst were captured by gangsters and Cooper was god knows where stealing who knows what!

"Alright, time for a costume change...and to shake this cop" Daring said with irritation having noticed the cop tailing her since she ran by her, she wasn't very discreet with that badge around her neck. Making sure to get lost in a large crowd of people dressed as Daring Do for a costume contest she stripped away her long flowing purple robe, hat and pocketed her glasses and everything else inside her backpack quickly and donned her pith hat and whip at her side. Seeing that the cop was confused and lost track of her she made her way through to the location where she said she would be meeting Rainbow Dash and her friends.

After getting into the archives she took out her phone and shot Rainbow Dash a quick text message as she continued to move so she could make sure she wasn't in one place for too long.

I've arrived, brought some 'company' so change of plans! Be ready to move!

Putting her phone away she looked around to make sure she wasn't being followed but she knew it was only a matter of time and a matter of her luck that they would find her again. She hated to have to disappoint her fans but she would surely reschedule the unveil and signing and have it be a more grand event, money and time she had...as long as she lived through her treasure hunts that often involved gun fights. She also wished she didn't have to drag these girls into all this mess but they were no doubt tied to it all whether they wanted to be or not and she wouldn't let anything happen to them if she could help it.

It was then she got a text message back from Rainbow Dash that began to worry her.

Is your 'company' The Dragoons?! They REALLY hate us! Oh no, they're following us! Crap they have guns!

With an irritated groan Daring rolled her eyes. "Ah crap..."