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! 👋