The Pegasus mare grunted slightly as she used more strength than she had needed to in a while to kick her assailant and send her smashing through the wooden wall, reducing it to scrap wood and kindling in a moment.
She was back to facing her already and trotted forward, quickly breaking into a run to pursue her foe who had gotten up and was now attempting to run down the hall to escape her.
(Some minutes earlier)
Daring Do walked slowly and silently up the dark path set of stairs, her sharp ears on high alert for any possible danger as a light rain fell.
More than once she needed to stop and listen carefully, and it was then that she really felt the danger she was in, being in this area this late at night and on this set of potentially creaky stairs. If she tried to fly, she’d run the risk of being too visible to hostile eyes. Her best option was to walk while being as careful as possible and hope that the falling rain would muffle any mistakes she might make.
This case was an infuriating and tragic one. She needed to find the unknown killer of a filly who had been shot at the playground at Filly’s Golden Tower Elementary School several days ago.
The poor little thing had received a small shuriken to her chest from Daring what had quickly deduced was a Military-grade Slingshot, and reportedly the unseen assailant had also already been in their getaway vehicle and sped off right after.
Two other foals were hit as well, but barely survived.
The golden Pegasus mare had been on this case for two days now and was a bit tired from lack of sleep, but she was getting closer and closer, and her current trail had lead her here to the first Ponyville train station, an old closed down industrial area that was used often for a tourist attraction and where local gangsters were known to gather whenever it was not in use.
This has been the sight of several other jobs Daring and Rainbow Dash had been involved in, and the results had always been bloody.
But it mattered not. The most recent clue, that being the sighting of her top suspect, a gray Earth Pony mare named Asphalt Run, had lead Daring to realize that she had been seen coming here repeatedly in the last few days, and the ponies Daring herself had interrogated who knew the killer had all individually agreed that Asphalt seemed to have been in a hurry in the last few days.
Another thing was the weapon in question.
According to one exceptionally dangerous and highly sought-out information dealer and crime boss named Ice Pick, Asphalt Run had come to him and purchased a recently used a 1899 Colt Slingshot Model about one week ago prior to the attack, and had even snuck by and secretly returned the weapon to one of his buildings just one day before Daring Do herself had shown up.
This had hammered the nail into the coffin for the bounty-hunting sleuth in regards as to who was the foal-killer, and with a tip from Ice Pick about how Asphalt Run was seen by a subordinate to have recently been seen going towards Ponyville’s old train station just a half hour ago, the outcome of this case was looking clearer by the second.
Especially when Daring took the opportunity to make a last-minute phone call to her unofficial client to meet her at the defunct train station, promising the Mare in question that she would soon have the chance to get her long-overdue revenge.
But anyway…
“This is the place. The old coal house…”
Daring whispered to herself.
This was the place where Asphalt was going to be. The filly-killer had been seen coming into this particular building by an old local stallion who worked here and had taken the night off to avoid being caught in any possible crossfire.
Of course, this information had cost a few bits to be given out, as nothing was free in this line of work.
Getting up in front of the door, Daring steadily placed one hoof on the handle and almost imperceptibly moved it.
Immediately, she could feel that it was locked and that it would require her to either seek another way inside or find a way to open it using her other skills… like lockpicking, which she set on doing.
Within a minute, the door was slowly opening and the mare quietly slipped inside.
The shadowy room was rather bare, with only a raggedy table and a few utensils with a chair in the center of the room and a few other small random items here and there.
It was clear that nopony was actually living here, just using it as a sort of hidey hole.
There was also an old stove model to the left side of the room, the smell of somewhat freshly baked potato and Lima beans was in the air, and the faint sound of hooves hitting the floor sounded off in her ears as she watched the door on the other side of the room opposite her position.
So she was still here and was soon to enter this room again, presumably to now truly escape the city that had placed a serious bounty on her head.
Daring would not allow that to happen, and she silently tip-hoofed across the room and to the right side of the door, which would put her on Asphalt’s left side.
She waited for the door to open and for the other mare to walk in, but just as she did so and Daring made her move, the Earth Pony immediately got a jolt born of pure survival adrenaline and stumbled to one side in an effort to avoid whatever attack she felt coming.
The result was that the initial punch missed her jaw by inches, but Daring simply regained her balance and swung her legs around to deliver a strong double leg kick, the exact move that country mare named Applejack had demonstrated the power of to a rare few others.
The result was Asphalt grunting painfully as both powerful back hooves smacked right against her left side and sent her crashing through the wall as easily if it were brittle ice from the power of the kick.
Scrambling to her hooves, the adrenaline-filled mare immediately fled down the hallway and turned the corner in seconds, trying to reach and escape through the door that lead out into the coal pits.
If she could get out there, where she had spent some time before and thus probably knew the area better than whoever her assailant must be, she would have the advantage in the darkness and familiar terrain.
Under many other circumstances, the Earth Pony would have been able to successfully pull it off… but not now when she was trying to outpace a PEGASUS, who could keep pace with the one and only Rainbow Dash for a period of time, in a desperate chase!
She cried out in pain and terror when two fast-moving hooves crashed into her shoulders from behind and sent her rolling across the hallway floor with enough force to crack the wall she slammed into and sent her bells ringing.
Derring Do stopped flying where she hit the Earth Pony and now walked towards her instead, a look of restrained rage on her normally calm face.
“You like it, don’t you?”
She asked venomously, waiting for the other mare to regain her bearings and get back up.
“You like hurting fillies and colts?”
She spat out.
Asphalt Run was by now fully aware of what Daring was saying, and slowly turned around it face her.
“I don’t know wh-“
Daring didn’t let her final that pitiful attempt at a false explanation.
“Don’t bother trying to lie. I saw you get out of that Ford Escort this morning in Big Mac’s Garage and walk out, I simply was waiting for you to return here so I can do what I wish without being seen!”
Asphalt shuddered just a bit at those words.
“H-how did you find me? How!?! There wasn’t anypony in that garage, I am sure of it!”
And here, Daring smirked and shrugged.
“You are right. I wasn’t in the garage to see you.”
“What?! Then you have NOTHING to pin on me! Unless… no, no you didn’t!”
“…yeah. I did.”
And now Daring reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small recording device and held it out dangerously close to Asphalt as if mocking her… and the Earth Pony struck out with her right hoof as fast as she could and slapped out it away, sending crashing against the wall and breaking it into numerous pieces.
But just as she looked up at the Pegasus mare to either attack or insult her… she saw that the latter was still smiling mockingly.
The sight and the increasingly dangerous aura coming from her was alone more fear-inducing than the physical attack had been so far, and Asphalt backed up a step, her flank softly hitting the damaged wall.
“You didn’t really think that I needed a recorded confession, did you?”
Asphalt flinched at the cold tone that came out of the mouth of the young Pegasus mare, especially as the latter still wore her smile for a moment longer before it turned into a dark glare.
“I was only waiting for you to confirm what I already knew you are guilty of: that you killed an innocent foal in cold blood and attempted to do the same to two others. All for a few hundred bits.”
She now coldly took off and threw her pith helmet to the floor as she took a step forward, her voice and face no longer hiding her dark intentions at all.
“I didn’t need to scrape enough hard evidence to supposedly “have an excuse” to give you what you deserve. I simply wished to trick you into confessing to it yourself… and you did exactly that.”
At this point, Asphalt Run knew that there was no way out by running. She couldn’t evade this MURDEROUS Pegasus, and deep down she knew she couldn’t convince her to have mercy with either begging or bribery.
So, she did the only thing she could do: she threw the first punch, desperately and wildly, and the other pony simply leaned back and dodged it.
“Buck you!”
Asphalt snarled and now moved her body and threw a fierce kick, but Daring simply moved her own body just enough to one side so that the kicking leg just BARELY missed grazing her right shoulder.
And Asphalt herself felt a sudden blow strike her lower abdomen as Daring’s counter jab struck in perfect harmony with the flow of the fight.
Daring herself knew that she had pushed her enemy to desperation. The Earth Pony now was convinced that her life was lost unless she somehow managed to beat her pursuer in this fight.
And in the closed confines of this hallway, she had an increased combat advantage over a Pegasus.
Well, over MOST Pegasi.
The scuffle was brief and brutal, but Daring could easily read her foes increasingly erratic and aggressive attacks and she dodged just enough to avoid being struck while delivering her own devastating counter attacks on her foes weak spots.
She had learned these skills via reading certain books with Rainbow Dash’s book-smart friend Egg Hea-Twilight Sparkle, as well as practicing them in more than one deadly fight she’d been involved in.
Her keen eyes and highly trained senses had picked up on these moves, the art of striking nerves and vulnerable muscle points just right.
The liver was struck harshly.
Then the calf when that same leg was used to kick.
Then the FUNNY BONE, and that arm was worthless.
Then the throat.
And within a dozen or so seconds Asphalt was staggered and slowing down rapidly.
“I’m not going to kill you, you monster. That isn’t my privilege.”
Daring said with icy calm, and then whirled around and drew her legs back, preparing nearly all if her remaining strength in her legs for this final blow.
The other pony, already dizzy and struggling to see straight, could only gasp and widen her eyes in terror as both hind hooves shot toward her at breakneck speed, striking her with stupendous force in the chest with a bit of a crushing sound, making her obliterate the already damaged wall, fly through the next room, and coincidentally smash through and out the window of the final room, which meant her battered body was now outside the old coal building.
The assassin pony fell limply through the air and landed heavily on the cold hard ground with a loud and painful *THUD*, any remaining air at all completely knocked out of her lungs.
Her limbs either mostly numb or burning up in pain, her chest feeling like it had just been struck with a sledgehammer and struggling to take air, her head feeling light and dizzy and horribly frail right now… Asphalt Run had ever been so utterly HELPLESS!
And a number meters above her, despite being blurry a bit and having multiple versions all standing together in nauseating fuzziness, the Pegasus mare slowly flew out of the shattered window and hovered over her crumpled form.
Then the blurry figures moved to the side and out of her immediate sight, and for a few tormented seconds the battered and beaten Earth Pony had some form of peaceful suspense.
Meanwhile, Daring Do landed softly on the concrete ground and merely watched the shuddering form of the hired killer for several long seconds.
Indeed, she knew why Asphalt Run had shot those foals. It was because she’d been hired by another group of gangsters to intimidate the locals by targeting their offspring and get them to give in to the demands of said gang.
A despicable tactic, and a potentially suicidal one at that. Even in Ponyville’s darker organizations, targeting somepony’s foals was considered a near-absolute form of taboo crime everywhere, and Ice Pick was more than willing to help Daring find them for that reason alone.
Indeed, she didn’t even need to track down those idiots who had decided to do this. The local news spreading recent stories about Police brutality and even more brutal vigilante justice occurring was proof of that fact, and all she was doing was finding the hired shooter herself while leaving the gang to the non-existent mercy of the city.
And it wasn’t just for her own satisfaction that Daring had down this, as the other reason now came into view from the other side of the walkway and out of the shadows.
Daring Do waited for a few more moments before speaking.
“I said that I was not the one who would kill you, Asphalt Run.”
She could tell that the other pony’s vision was slowly clearing up a bit already and that she could see more clearly. She also didn’t reply immediately to the statement, and so Daring continued.
“That privilege… goes to another mare. A pony who you’ve hurt more deeply than most others.”
“W-w-what?”
The shaking voice was proof enough of the fear that was fast overcoming the killer. She had now managed to roll slowly onto one side, and was facing the other pony who had quickly picked up the pace and now stood in front of her.
The new pony was a mare, a light gray mare, and she had a shade of faded yellow hair as her mane and had on a sort of uniform.
A mailmare uniform.
She leaned down to Asphalt and Daring could see was holding a small picture in one hoof. The picture of a small filly.
“Do you recognize the filly in this picture, at all?”
She asked, her normally bubbly and cheery voice that Daring was familiar with from several meetings in the past replaced by a tone so utterly cold that it could send shivers down the spine of almost anypony.
Asphalt made a small guttural grunt and seemed to be trying to remember, but the new mare simply pushed the picture down into one of her hooves now.
“Look at it closer, just for a few moments. You will see it soon.”
“I-I, um… uh, ok…”
The wounded and increasingly fearful mare managed to reply, and she slowly raised her trembling hoof and tried focusing as best she could on the picture of this little filly.
The picture was of a light purple Unicorn filly with golden eyes and a happy expression on her adorable face as she looked up at the other pony in the picture with her.
And that other pony had a light gray coat and a yellow mane…
With a sudden grunting gasp, Asphalt Run finally remembered who the foal in the picture was.
She had seen this mare and this filly before, about a year ago.
A little one who had reportedly barely been killed in an “accident” that had resulted in the deaths of two ponies and the hospitalization of three others.
A terrorist attack that Asphalt Run and a few others had perpetrated at the behest of the Red Hoof String Organization, a criminal group that had terrorized Ponyville for several years and had just recently been shut down by a concentrated group effort from all branches of the Ponyville Police Department (PPD), which also saw the deployment of the newly reformed, retrained, and much deadlier paramilitary unit of law enforcement known as SWAT.
And now the hired killer knew exactly what was going on, and she then heard/saw a flash of something metallic before the blades suddenly sliced into her field of vision on either side of the picture... and straight into her throat.
Weaponized wings, the favorite form of weapon-based combat that Pegasi preferred to use.
The mare’s wing feathers were laced with a sharpened number of intricately interconnected blades that didn’t do anything to hinder a Pegasus from flying at all, and yet could be drawn or sheathed with but the simplest twinge of their wing muscles and the sacred magic that flows through their bodies from their very souls.
And those eyes… those seemingly stupid and helplessly derped-out eyes… Oh Celestia, those horrifyingly unfocused eyes!
They were looking not at her, but INTO her. That face was completely expressionless and seemingly empty of any sort of emotion or awareness, but those eyes… they were very much aware of everything.
Derring Do watched silently as the mailmare slowly lifted the gurgling and spasming body of her victim off the ground with the wing blades skillfully stabbed through the pony’s neck and throat.
She watched as, with blood flowing down her body, Asphalt Run eventually stopped moving except for some muscle twitches, and she both saw and heard as the wings were suddenly withdrawn in a flash with a high-pitched slicing *SHING!*, a number of blood drops flew in several directions from the speed of the movement, and the corpse fell to the ground in a pool of its own blood, spasming again upon hitting the ground.
She watched without a word as the gray mare looked down at body for several seconds, then raised her head and fixed Daring herself with the same loppy-eyed expression… and then a small simple smile came to her face.
“Thank you, really. I always knew that she was the one who killed my little filly, but I couldn’t prove it or gain my revenge without your help. I’ll never forget this, cross my heart.”
She said softly. Then she simply turned around and flapped her wings swiftly a few times, shedding a few more drops of blood off of them, and took off.
She had a job to get back to, and the grave of a certain little pony to visit, with good news this time.
Daring simply waited until the mailmare had disappeared, then she simply started walking out of the narrow area towards home.
The case was done, and it was now time to get back to her crumpy bed and take a well-earned rest.
But as she got out into the street, she sighed as she found herself surrounded swiftly by a small crowd of others, both Earth Ponies and Unicorns.
“And just what’s a pretty young Pegasus filly like yourself doing here at an hour like this?”
A stallion stepped forward and asked, although it was obvious by his tone of voice and facial expression what his intentions really were.
But Daring simply sighed and looked up, even as she felt a mystic force weighing down on her as the Unicorns immediately held her down with telekinetic energy.
“Cmon Dash, I can feel your eyes on me. Hurry up alrea-“
Before she could even finish her sentence, a blur of blue and streak of rainbow came speeding down with such force that the air itself seemed to explode in all directions as it zipped by, and the gangsters went flying in all directions as they were struck either by a pair of outstretched hooves or the force of the air blast.
Daring herself charged now and grabbed the nearest Unicorn and slammed his head into the ground, a loud crack being heard.
She leaped back and attacked the next pair she saw, an Earth Pony and a Unicorn, and her speedy hooves smashed against their noses and front leg joints with pinpoint accuracy and took them down.
She turned around, and saw that only one pony out of the gang was left standing, Dash herself holding one and doing the “stop hitting yourself!” thing she sometimes did with individual thugs when she had the chance.
Daring rolled her eyes, locked on to the now-fleeing pony trying to escape from the multicolored speedster, and put all her power into her wings and legs for this one attack.
Then she hurled herself forward and caught up to the unfortunate wretch in an instant, and let’s just say that he was sent rolling and bouncing along the ground for a pretty good distance.
(An hour later…)
Daring Do sighed as she and Rainbow Dash finally walked in through the door of her home, located on 123 Cookie Cutter Street.
And of course, she wasn’t surprised when she felt Dash gently grab her and give her a long overdue kiss, deep and meaningful, before leading her to the bedroom.
The two mares took off their clothes(and the pith helmet, since Daring had retrieved it from the coal building) and washed up briefly in the bathroom shower, Dash not trying anything on her at all in the shower and even combing Daring’s mane and then her own, surprisingly enough.
“You don’t need to do that, you know.”
Daring said quietly. But she knew that it was pointless to say that. It was just a habit at this point between them.
“I want to, though.”
Dash replied knowingly, and then picked up and CARRIED Daring to the bed and deposited her onto it before lying down next to her.
But she immediately sat up and looked down at the other mare.
“You ok, there?”
“Yeah, yeah sure. I’m just…”
She shifted a bit and looked up at Dash for a second, and Dash looked at her with both concerned eyes and patience, waiting for her to speak again when she was ready to.
Daring sighed again and resumed.
“I mean, I AM tired and all and I’ve earned my freedom to rest. But still… I just feel… I want to be comforted a bit. We haven’t fooled around for a while now, ok? And after these last few days, I think I could use some extra attention.”
She didn’t miss the smirk that lit up on the rainbow Pegasus face. Dash chuckled as she now crawled atop and stood over the other mare, staring down at her.
“Are you saying that you want to do what us two filly-foolers do best tonight, besides kicking flank and taking names?”
“No. I’m saying that I want YOU to do what you do best besides all the other fun stuff, while I just lay here and enjoy it all.”
Dash couldn’t help but laugh at that for a moment, and grinned from ear to ear when she looked down and saw Daring’s adorable little pout. She then leaned down and kissed her, straddling the other mare in a dominant, but still gentle way.
“Then don’t worry,” Dash whispered against the others muzzle before pushing her partner’s head up gently and starting to kiss her sensitive throat, leaving a trail of steamy kisses slowly leading down and then back up to the other mare’s face and lips while also sending a flow of heat throughout her body.
“You are right, you know. You’ve more than earned everything I can do for you, and then some. And after you’ve had your first reward, you’ll be able to sleep like a foal…”
Suddenly, as she gasped softly from Dash’s tender and wonderful ministrations, Daring felt absolutely certain now that she wouldn’t be getting any sleep AT ALL.
Author's Note
Whew! Longest one I’ve ever written so far!
So yeah, I initially wanted to try adding guns to this world, but ultimately… I just couldn’t find a way to make guns that ponies could shoot. I mean, unless they ALL use magic or some kind of complex mechanism that I can’t describe very well, then firearms simply can’t be used by their hooves.
So I decided instead on having an advanced magitek society that uses a combo of a little science and a lot of magic, and to use the cool fanon idea: Pegasi fight using their own weaponized wings along with their hooves!
Basically, they can use ALL SIX LIMBS instead of just four. In canon, the Pegasi were a warrior society, so I think that they’d invent and master the art of wing-to-wing combat in addition to hoof-to-hoof.
Plus, I love the idea of Badass Derpy, and it was so much fun writing her! Sorry for killing off Dinky though…
See y’all in the next update… whenever I have time to do it.
The night held a slight chill to it as the moon shone brightly down upon the many towers and streets and alleyways of the city, along with the various vehicles that moved through the streets in their paths.
The lunar rays were joined, though much more faintly than in previous times, by the light of the stars, and they gleamed off the rows of panned glass windows on stone skyscraper towers that were themselves higher then ancient Canterlot had been long ago, with the sounds of countless tromping hooves and paws and innumerable creature’s voices mingling with the droning of magic-powered cars and trucks and motorcycles to form the ambience of the city nightlife.
Here and there as well, a car horn or screeching tires and alarmed cries echoed for short distances in different districts or simply between different city blocks, and the alarm of local law enforcement pursuing a suspect or responding to a distress call could be heard in different areas.
Various shops that were still open had their advertising signs on brightly, powered by mass-produced magic crystal power generators akin to those used by vehicles, as well as Aether power lines running inside the walls and beneath the floors to grant light and other services to employees and customers.
In some restaurants and food stores, the delicious smells of freshly baked goods wafted out, inviting any of those who walked by to have a stop inside and maybe spend a few bits on a tasty treat. In others, different foods like natural fruits and different kinds of bread were sold, inviting those with more unique culinary flavors to come inside and purchase a satisfaction to their cravings.
There also was the more fancy Boutique block, with every kind of lovely clothing and beauty product that probably anypony or other creature could desire, and countless new and old designs were skillfully crafted and shuffled in rows for the customers demands.
Here, thankfully, there was a solid security presence which diverted most thieves and other petty thugs from trying to take advantage of the richness of this particular area of market.
Meanwhile in many alleyways and in the more common and shadier streets, small groups of various types of ponies and griffins and occasionally other creatures gathered and met, either discussing future plans, reporting personally on the movements of law enforcement and other gangs, or trading various contraband that would be sure to land any creature possessing them either on a serious watchlist or directly in prison.
The smell of cigarette smoke and other unpleasant substances filled the air here each night, and in some cases, full trash bags were secretly placed in garbage piles out of sight of the law.
Yes indeed, despite being such an advanced and decently organized place, Ponyville was still raked with a wide variety of problems.
Problems that festered in the underbelly of the massive city and often made their way dangerously close to the surface.
Problems that were often of an incredibly darker, more brutal nature.
-
Stretching now from one side of the horizon to the other as far as most eyes could see, the great magical modern city of Ponyville was truly a place of dreams and lovely growth, but also of nightmares and painful loss.
Indeed, even classical Equestria had plenty of internal issues to deal with, such as corruption with the Nobility and petty crime, and this had only grown along with the population and the increased development of Magic and science.
There was no shortage of stories about ponies who had come to the small-town-turned-megacity only to have their hopes and dreams crushed, either forced to turn to desperate measures, leave and go someplace else… or simply disappear entirely, swallowed up in the city’s depths never to be seen again.
Since the beginning, all those centuries and centuries ago, this land had been plagued with strife from all shapes and sizes, whether it be other ponies or entirely different creatures, such as griffins or dragons or hybrid demons… or even the very embodiment of Chaos himself!
And while, sure, there wasn’t any need to worry about a demonic creature that drained magic itself attacking the entire world, or an over-the-top magical apocalypse or something else like that, there were still plenty of problems and issues that needed to be dealt with these days…
Standing on hind legs and leaning on the traffic light pole with her front legs/arms crossed over their chest, a light blue pony mare wearing a black hoodie with a yellow lightning bolt symbol on each shoulder and with the hood pulled over her head waited silently for her chance to cross, her beautiful wings carefully wrapped up in additional cloth that was only there for appearance and could easily be broke if she needed to fly, allowing anycreature that thought she would be an easy target a chance to try nabbing her.
To say she was confident in her ability to defend herself was an understatement. She had earned this confidence as well.
On numerous occasions.
The signal button on the pole that had been installed at around hip height for this purpose had already been pressed twice, and so the light blue pony waited for the chance to cross.
Although there were vehicles available for commercial use, a large number of ponies surprisingly still preferred to either walk or fly, depending on the species/breed, and so there weren’t as many automobiles in the streets as there would be in those of other worlds.
But, however, there was still a need for a magitech traffic light to slow oncoming traffic and allow pedestrians to walk or trot across the paved road.
All around her were the bright lights and innumerable sounds of the Ponyville night life, and her head raised up just a bit at the massive skyscrapers that shot up hundreds and a few even THOUSANDS of feet, all of which were also partially decorated with their own special light effects and added to the overall brightness of the megalopolis.
Her powerful strawberry pink eyes didn’t miss a detail as the Pegasus police glided overhead, keeping a careful eye on the countless ponies walking and trotting and driving below, as well as making sure they their own fellow Pegasi moving about in the carefully patrolled airspace between buildings weren’t doing anything rash or suspicious.
Higher still, in the few permanent clouds that currently hung over the city and were carried across it’s space by the winds of Equestria, was the carefully crafted and well-fortified building that made up the main headquarters of the Ponyville Pegasus Police Force, aka THE PPPC or “the triple-PC” as was the slang term.
The thing that kept the police headquarters from simply being carried away from the city entirely was the
Here, the officers of Ponyville’s finest law enforcement branch could keep a Pegasus-eye view of the entire megalopolis 24/7 and respond accordingly to any calls for help or assistance, and this structure also served as a perfect temporary holding point for captured suspects to keep secure until they would need to be moved elsewhere.
A large truck, probably carrying food supplies to one of the many restaurants and food shops on this block alone, suddenly zoomed right by in front of her, but the hooded pony didn’t react at all. She’d seen and experienced far worse in her own life than a truck simply passing by a few yards in front of her at dangerously high speeds, and apparently being chased down by several Pegasi police officers.
A few pairs of eyes followed the chase for several seconds, but soon this too was abandoned and the pedestrians and scooter-users and cyclists resumed walking their own paths again.
Now the light flashed red and the “YOU MAY WALK NOW” sign on the opposite traffic light pole flashed on, and the pony dropped to all fours and slowly clopped across the walkway to the other side.
As she reached the other side of the road and started walking again past numerous other creatures and down this street, however, she was by no means unaware of the instinctive tingle she felt skitter from her neck and go down her spine.
She was well-acquainted with this feeling, this sixth sense warning:
There was another creature specifically following her. Probably another pony, considering she didn’t feel THAT level of alarm that she would had it been a griffin or something that was naturally a bigger threat.
Not giving off any indication that she was now aware of her silent follower, the mare calmly(at least on the outside) walked down the road, passing by numerous other ponies and even passed a few local griffins, who were more than likely part of a gang, considering many were in this part of Ponyville.
Still she could feel the presence stalking her, never slowing down at all.
For a good long while the cyan Pegasus continued walking down the sidewalk, picking up her pace more and more very few minutes.
Carefully, she was making her way to a slightly less crowded spot in this part of the city, the kind of place where a fight could be had without the chance of being immediately spotted.
She had no intention of leading her stalker to her living quarters, obviously, and would deal with them in her own preferred manner very soon.
Soon the roads became less crowded, the buildings became less massive and fancy, and the various lights became steadily dimmer as she got to a less well-off area of the great city. A part of the city where crime rates were rising higher at a rather unnerving rate.
This is the place, she thought. This was where she’d face her mystery pursuer.
The rainbow-tailed Pegasus mare now broke into a rapid trot and her sharp ears picked up the unmistakable sound of the pony not too far behind her immediately doing the same, but rather going at a full-on gallop!
But the targeted place was already reached, and the mare made a tight turn and dashed into an alleyway.
In seconds, the pursuer friend the corner as well, and the Pegasus mare threw a large bag of trash at her foe at that moment and lunged forward right after.
The mystery pony ducked and avoided being hit by the projectile, but was tackled to the hard ground and almost got pinned.
Almost.
Instead, the hooded mare was sent flying overhead by a skillful positioning of hind legs to her gut and hit the road several yards outside the alley. In a second she was already on her hooves and had darted back into the fray!
Her foe was a pony alright, and clearly a mare too, judging by “her” size and build and the soft grunt she made when tackled.
And the fact that she too had her wings tied down in fake rope, she also was a skilled Pegasus who didn’t need her wings to fight.
She also had a black mask covering her face and muzzle, and wore a gray jacket and pants which apparently was all meant to hide her body color and thus finish the job of concealing her identity.
The two mares circled each other at a surprisingly fast pace, two sets of sharp eyes scanning carefully and looking for any opening, any exploitable weakness.
“So, who sent you, exactly?”
The mare asked, her voice having a cheeky, cocky tone.
“A big mob boss? A disgraced cult figure?”
Her eyes then suddenly narrowed, “An ex-lover?”
The masked mare didn’t say a word, but for a half-second… she seemed to slow down just a bit, her fighting stance just slightly faltering.
This mistake was costly for her, as the cyan mare instantly exploited the sudden momentary weakness and launched a leapt forward that was quickly followed up by a swift jab with her left hoof.
The blow landed before it could be properly blocked or dodged, and the blue Pegasus grinned as she felt and heard her strike land perfectly against the other pony’s nose, another pained grunt sounding off.
The right hoof followed immediately afterwards, the combat technique famously called the “one-two”.
Almost ANYPONY and even some other larger creatures could be beaten quickly with a well enough executed one-two, and only exceptional ponies could take it and still have the ability to properly fight.
And very few could take a technique like that from this Pegasus mare in particular. The first blow would serve to disorient the opponent, the second would finish them off.
And with the first punch landed successfully, the hooded pony’s second punch was guaranteed to end this fight… which was why it was legitimately surprising when the right hoof instead hit empty air, and the mare found herself being grabbed around her right front leg and tossed through the air again and colliding with the brick wall hard enough to leave two small webs of cracks!
It may have hurt her back a bit if she hadn’t instinctively moved her hind legs into position and instead her stronger back hooves took the brunt of the force.
The masked mare was on her in an instant, but her own follow-up kick was dodged just barely, and the hooded one quickly moved to the side and managed to parry a punch aimed at her face.
Now they both circled each other again.
“You seemed upset at that personal jab, I noticed,” she said again.
“S’matter, did I steal your coltfriend some time ago… or maybe it was your fillyfriend?”
Her mocking tone of voice was back in full swing, but this time the mysterious mare didn’t have any reaction to her taunts.
She remained physically distant for a few more moments and then lunged forward, coming low.
They both clashed again, but this time the hooded cyan pony let a quick series of jabs at her face and throat get just close enough to graze her skin, and then her front legs shot up at the right moment and she successfully grappled her opponent’s right front leg!
She had already maneuvered her hind legs in the correct positions, and now she expertly swung the other pony overhead in a perfect overhead judo flip!
“Nighty night!”
She said quickly as she performed the technique.
This particular technique itself was also often another winning attack, as slamming another pony’s skull into the hard road would often KO many, and was used in the deaths of some others.
Sure, pony’s in general were significantly tougher than they appeared at first glance, but they were still invulnerable.
But as the other mare was swung overhead, the cyan pony’s sharp eyes were able to catch the completely unexpected movement.
The movement of the other mare’s body swiftly moving in response to the technique, with her hind legs swinging down in advance of her torso and head, the back hooves slamming down onto the cold hard ground… and the masked mare using her own momentum mixed with that of her foe to flip HER overhead instead, and successfully slam her down!
In doing so, the hood was flung back by the force of the air.
Her head now fully revealed and herself on her back, the rainbow-maned mare briefly had a slightly widened eyes which quickly became narrower and she spoke with a tone of excitement and realization,
“There’s only one other pony in Equestria who can pull off that move.”
And she immediately leapt up with a burst of speed and tackled the other pony to the ground.
They both rolled around for a second before the rainbow-mare skillfully managed to simultaneously yank off her opponent’s mask and pull her up to her feet and pin her to the wall… and sealed her lips with a sudden and deep kiss!
The other mare quickly stopped fighting back as soon as the kiss was joined, and two muffled moans mixed together as one.
Then the apparent victor pulled away after several long seconds, but kept her forehead pressed gently yet firmly against the other’s.
“Still pulling off these daring stunts, Daring Do?”
She asked with a cheeky tone, a smirk on her face and a glint in her eyes.
Derring Do didn’t reply with words. Instead, she simply leaned her own head forward and caught the other mare’s lips with her own in a second kiss before grabbing her by the shoulders and spinning her around, reversing their positions and pressing the other’s back to the wall in turn.
The kiss was deepened now, and for several seconds the surprising and rather intense scene played out further, until Daring finally pulled away.
“Still always making the first move, eh, Rainbow Dash?”
She said in turn, panting a bit and leaning back.
Rainbow Dash grinned at her.
“Well, somepony’s got to,” she said with a giggle.
“If you don’t, then it must be me.”
And here she now brought up a hoof and placed Daring’s hat back on her head, the same hat she had been carrying secretly in her hoodie this whole time.
The two fillyfoolers pulled away from the wall and now stood in the middle of the alleyway.
“So, why’d you chase me all this way? Not that I’m complaining of course.”
Dash said with a chuckle.
Daring simply shrugged.
“I wanted my favorite headgear back.”
Dash looked mock-offended at the statement and put a hoof over her heart.
“And here I thought that you simply couldn’t get enough of awesome lil’ ol’ me. Speaking of which, why the ninja outfit?”
The two now were walking down the alley to enter the street again, and Do looked Dash in the eye seriously.
“I didn’t want you to recognize me and thus proceed to ‘greet’ me your favorite way on the street side, where a thousand pairs of eyes would be on us in seconds. You know how I feel about PDA.”
“Aw, calm down, Do. I can’t help it, ok? Every time I see you, your lips are telling mine that they are cold and need to be covered to get warmed up.”
The golden Pegasus rolled her eyes.
“Then at least try to contain yourself until we are somewhere more private, ok?”
And with that she suddenly felt a good go around her shoulder and she was pulled back into the alleyway and pushed back against the wall.
Dash smiled at her, and she had that look in her eyes that always managed to make Daring feel just a bit excited.
“If that’s the way you want it, Daring…”
Dash kissed her again, gently this time.
Above them, the residents of the two buildings either were in bed or were not home yet from doing their own things on the town at this hour, and all around them, the wind blew softly in The City of Dreams.
Author's Note
Hey y’all! I’ll make this short.
Yeah, I did base this off of the awesome Ponyville Noire series, starring Daring Do and the OC Philip Finder. You can read out them here:
https://www.fimfiction.net/bookshelf/1052669/noireverse
This will be a series of pulp-fiction type detective action thriller stories, kinda like the James Bond films, rather than trying to create a massive, multi-layered narrative. I’m not that good at writing, not at all.
Truly, I am simply a normal person like you all out there. I’m not some great professional author or scholar or anything like that. I’m simply a young man at home with a love for MLP and a desire to share his ideas with others.
Take care everyone out there, and I hope you’ll give my tale of these two a chance! 👋
