Two fillies remained on the lam. One was an old pro at dodging the authorities, while the other was learning on the fly. Cozy had long since learned that adults rarely paid attention to foals, and was a master at exploiting it to her advantage. Petunia was a fast learner. She hadn’t intended on a life of crime, but Cozy Glow was the only pony willing to reunite her with Gertie.
The price was steep, but she’d pay anything to have her dinosaur back. Helping Cozy take over the world? Well, it wasn’t her first choice as a profession, and she certainly didn’t want to end up in the statuary. She’d rather be executed and allowed to fossilize. Being turned into a statue wouldn’t give future generations the chance to dig her up and theorize about how she’d lived and died.
Besides, she was rubbing off on Cozy as much as the notorious pegasus was changing her. She suspected that she was the first real friend Cozy had ever truly had, though she was also positive that the other filly wouldn’t hesitate to stab her in the back if it was convenient. Or even if it was inconvenient. Or just for fun.
The news hadn’t reported Gertie’s location. She was no longer ravaging the countryside, devouring anything in her path, so the journalists stopped caring. If it wasn’t bad news, it wasn’t profitable, and hence not newsworthy.
No, it was one of thousands of identical flyers that caught their attention. The flyers were crudely drawn and cheap, but there was no mistaking the classic sauropod shape. Petunia recognized Gertie instantly. Cozy, being more meta, immediately recognized the flyer as the work of Flim and Flam. Nopony else could reproduce something so quickly and so shoddily.
The hardest part was getting to Las Pegasus. Once they were there, liberating Gertie from Flim and Flam had been the easy part - like taking a dinosaur from con artists.
The fillies rode Gertie’s back as she trudged into the sunset. Wanted criminals, they’d adapted to a mercenary lifestyle surprisingly well. Especially once they’d recruited three other fugitive fillies that they found wandering the badlands half-starved near Chevrolet Nissan Dodge Junction. Which was nowhere near Protocera.
If you have a problem, if nopony else can help, and if you can afford them, maybe you can hire the Dino-Riders.