//------------------------------// // Ending: Troubles By the Score // Story: Equestria Noire // by PonyManne215 //------------------------------// ‘Proverbs 29:7 - 
The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.’ “Get Rarity, Twilight. You can save her with your magic. Leave the three to me.” Cole looked to the moving car. “Are you sure?” Twilight inquired with a doubtful look. “Go.” Cole told her, pointing towards the dam without looking. He could feel every single nerve in her body telling her to stay with him, but she reluctantly started to gallop away. When he felt she was a good distance from them, he ran towards the vehicle. Flim was shooting green magic his was as Cole moved left and right, dodging anything that could harm his ability to give chase. The mud under the wheels of the contraption was kicking up, flinging itself onto the wood exterior of the car. The weather had changed all of a sudden, most likely due to a scheduled shower from the Pegasi. It changed from a hot sunny morning to a drizzling afternoon. Cole, having been a track runner in high school, paced himself as he ran after the runaway machine. Berry Punch and Flam operated the controls as Flim covered them, still desperate to shoot Cole dead on. Phelps couldn’t give up now, the fate of Equestria depended on him. If he didn’t save it, all might be lost. He had not even noticed that his clothes were soaking wet yet again and his shoes were tracking mud. He was a mere ten feet away from them. All he needed was to jump onto the thing and pull himself upwards. But as fate would have it, Cole slipped on the ground as the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 tumbled over a bit due to the friction of the floor. But this was not in ill of his favor, as he grabbed hold of the rickety cart as he fell. But not before he slammed his head against the hard wood, causing the spot to bruise and bleed. He dangled along the edge, being swayed back and forth by the movement. But regaining his sense of direction and balance, Phelps turned around and grabbed ahold of the back. He started to pull himself upwards, feeling the top of the car and ready to take out all three perpetrators. But alas, he was knocked on his face as a pair of hooves smacked him on his nose, causing it to bleed. He stumbled back and lost his grip, falling back to his original spot. But he did not quit. He pulled himself up again and dodged the oncoming attack, pulling Berry Punch’s hooves down as he came up. He saw her fall off of the side as he got on it. She screamed as she fell over the edge and hit her head straight on the dirt. What happened to her didn’t matter to the human detective. Stopping them was his number one priority, even if it ended in their deaths. He thought he saw a pool of blood form around her mane but he wasn’t entirely sure, due to the fact that he was bleeding from the nose and the forehead. He pulled his attention away from her and turned around as he was punched in the face. “You think we salesponies can’t fight?” Flim grinned as he saw Cole spit out some blood. Cole lunged forward with his left hand and got Flim on the snout, causing the stallion to fall back on his haunches. Flim tried to get back up but Cole didn’t want to be gentleman like about this. He jumped on top of Flim and punched him relentlessly, that is, until Flim shot Cole off of him with his magic. Phelps landed on his back as he tried to get back up. He felt for his gun but saw it had slid out of the holster from his push. He tried to reach for it but felt a heavy weight on his chest. He looked up and saw Flim smiling triumphantly. “You never could stop us, detective. This was over to begin with. Now stay still...” Flim’s horn began to glow a bright green, a large orb circled the tip. Flim was going to use a powerful spell that would end Cole Phelps right there and then. Cole tried desperately to reach for his pistol as the orb grew in size. His fingers felt the very chamber of the gun. All he needed was to pull. The orb on Flim’s horn had grown immensely, almost to its peak level. “It’s over.” Flim turned down to see his victim , expecting a grimace from the human. But all he received was a grin in return. “You’re right. It’s over.” *Bang* The bullet went right through Flim’s head, right between the eyes actually, and caused the cream-yellow coated unicorn to fall beside Cole lifelessly. He was no more as a pool of metallic blood exited the dead body’s wounds. The transport kept moving however, as Cole got up to his feet and looked at the final remaining criminal. He wiped his mouth with his hand as the blood was cleaned from his face. He walked up to the older brother quietly. “I say, Flim, did you get him yet? Did you give him the ol’ one two shot? Hmm?” Flam began to chuckle as his red mustache was soaked from the rain. After receiving no answer, he turned his head to look back, only seeing something tall in front of him and something metal and shiny in his face. “Give Flim my regards.” *Bang* And it was over. The expertly developed and well-planned scheme was no more. The two proprietors, Flim and Flam, had ceased to live. No other form of justice could exist in Cole Phelps’ mind except the death penalty. And this was no court or prison, this was the outside. Cole jumped off of the motionless vehicle as he walked back up the hill. The rain had subsided considerably. The sun had come back out again as it warmed his cold body and wet clothes. Royal Guard ponies started to fly in from the sky, checking the perimeter and cleaning all messes. Some glanced at Cole Phelps, giving him questioning looks. But none dared to speak with him. For he looked like death, itself. The sounds of the stallions conversing was soon replaced by Twilight Sparkle galloping towards. “Cole! Are you alright!?” “I’m fine. Where’s Rarity?” Twilight kicked at the floor, almost afraid to speak. She just shook her head and pointed towards the distance where a group of guards had made their way. “You don’t mean...” Twilight nodded her head. Cole couldn’t believe it. No, it wasn’t true. She had to be alive! He ran as fast as he could towards the group of ponies blocking his way. He pushed, shoved, and hell, even punched a few guards to get to the epicenter of the commotion. He gasped when he saw what was there. It was Rarity. But.....she was..... “What are you all looking at?! My coat is absolutely dirty! Somepony get me to the beauty spa!” Rarity’s white coat was plastered with giant splotches of brown. Cole Phelps, a dark and grim man, barely a hollow of what he was before the war, master detective, solver of crimes, murder and otherwise, laughed his ass off. Rarity looked annoyed and approached him. "And what is the meaning of this?! This is a serious matter!” Cole got up after wiping some tears from his eyes, and ruffled her mane, to which she recoiled but embraced. But then she kicked him back. “You could’ve went after me, darling!” “I needed to end this. So, where to now, my lady?” Cole brought out his arm, waiting for Rarity to take it. Rarity took his arm in hoof and walked off towards Ponyville with him. “Firstly, we are going to pay a visit to the Spa! Then we are- what’s that awful smell?! And what is that hanging out of your pocket?!” Rarity asked as she pulled out a muffin container out of his pocket. She looked at him angrily. “About that...” And so, Equestria was saved once again, but by another being. A human. A dark figure in a shady room was reading a newspaper. The headlines read “Equestrian Hero Saves the Day!”. There were multiple sub-headlines that pertained to the mystery. They all read as follows. “Barkeep Arrested! Tried for Conspiracy Theory!” “Ponyville local turns out to be part of huge scandal and fraud. Being tried for more than 25 years in prison! Defendant Punch says ‘They had me under a brain-washing spell, I swear! Get that damn camera out of my face you piece of sh-’. More about the sentence on page 3." “Musicians Finally At Rest.” “After a lot of unsuspected crimes involving Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Lyra Heartstrings, and Bon-Bon, all residents of Ponyville, they have come to learn the meaning of peace. See page 8 for details on speech of Lyra Heartstrings speaking on same sex marriage.” “Griffins Gone Mad” “Mercenary griffin criminals went crazy while being injected with sedatives in the Ponyville General Hospital. A strange being went inside and put them down with a mysterious device. Sources speculate it was the new hero, himself. See more on page 19.” “Insurance Policies At Wits’ End!” “A large insurance fraud scheme gone wrong has been foiled, leaving the ponies whose homes have been destroyed rich as day. One Miss Applejack Apple had this to say. ‘Ah reckon those darn varmints learned their lesson. Now if you’d be so kind, everypony! Come to Sweet Apple Acres, we got the best darn tootin’ apples in all of Equ-’ Her self advertisement was cut short due to the lack of clearance.” “Local New Hero Establishes Police Force.” “A seemingly new individual of a completely foreign, yet similar race has stepped forward, showing the true meaning of justice. With his presence, more judiciary organizations have been formed, including a police force. New Captain of the Ponyville Police force, human Detective Cole Slaw, had this to say. ‘Stay out of trouble ponies. There’s a new sheriff in town. Heh, just kidding. But remember, a police officer is your best friend. Stay on the good side of the law, crime never pays.’ Yes indeed, Captain Cole Slaw has been a great help, rounding up twenty crime lords from different cities in mere days! The Police Force is calling new recruits, and you can be an officer of the law, today!” The door to the dark room was kicked open. A pony in a dark blue uniform with a shield badge and a similar badge upon her hat came inside. Her mane flowed in the wind from the outside. “Captain! They say the Cupcake Killer has struck again!” The figure she spoke to had their back towards her, looking out of the window with the newspaper in hand. His legs were folded across each other, his arms crossed behind his head while the folded paper hanged. “Can you believe this, Officer Dash? They got my damned name wrong again. How do you get ‘Cole Slaw’ from Cole Phelps? I’m not a damned food.” He turned around and slammed the newspaper on the desk. It was laden with a picture of him, his wife and two daughters. Opposite of that was another picture of him, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle, all smiling as Cole blew his birthday cake. “I...don’t know what to say...but we have to get going! Head Detective Sparkle needs you there!” Officer Rainbow Dash stammered. Sighing, the new Police Captain of Ponyville rose from his chair. He straightened his jacket and put on his hat. He took a nearby bottle of whiskey and drank it. “Tell Rarity I’ll be home late.” “Yes, sir!” Officer Dash waited by the door as Captain Phelps walked over. He took out a pair of keys and locked the door to his office. “Ready sir?” “There ain’t no rest for the wicked, is there?”