The Federal Reserve Bank of Cloudsale was perhaps the most important financial institution of the pegasi. Not only was it safekeeping the money of some of their most prominent figures, but the most elite fliers of Equestria, the Wonderbolts were also keeping a large percentage of their budget here. As such, they took very serious precautions concerning their security. They hired the best muscle the pegasi had to offer and employed the most advanced magical safety measures there were. So when a new client entered the bank to do business, they could be perfectly reassured that their money would be in safe hooves.
Such were the thoughts of Wonder Flight, a pegasus stallion dressed in a sharp black suit and wearing a pair of sunglasses. He looked around the hall before making his way towards the reception counter where a mare was sitting, working on her computer. The stallion cleared his throat and the mare looked up at him inquisitively.
"Good day." She greeted. "How can I help you?" Wonder Flight smiled back.
"Would you be so kind and tell Mr. Stock that Mr. Wonder Flight is here for their mutual appointment?" He asked. The receptionist nodded.
"Of course, sir! One minute please!" As she contacted her superior through a phone on the counter, Wonder Flight looked over her shoulder into the direction of the hallway that lead towards the vault. He was well acquainted with this place, but there was no reason for his negotiation partners to know that. He then reached inside his suit and pulled out a pocket watch. Mr. Stock wasn't the only one of his partners he was waiting for in that bank. He only hoped his other associates managed to make it in time.
In a warehouse on the outskirts of Canterlot, the workers were just finishing loading up a big shipment of money that would go straight to the Cloudsale Federal Reserve Bank onto a flying carriage. While the shipment was an important one, the workers were not worried about any potential robbery attempts. It would take a fool to attempt such a thing with this bank. Not only was it one of the best defended in Equestria, but even this warehouse was full of well armed guards and an impenetrable wall was surrounding it's courtyard where they were currently working. But alas, in such safe circumstances, ponies tend to get complacent. And when ponies get complacent, they also get careless.
As one of the workers carried the last supply of moneybags towards the carriage, he couldn't help but notice that the temperature was beginning to grow to an unbearable level as he walked next to the wall. That perhaps wouldn't have surprised him that much as it was a rather hot day, but when he stopped for a moment to wipe his forehead, he noticed that parts of the wall began to melt away.
"What the..." He whispered in alarm as he leaned closer. As another molten piece of metal fell to the ground, he jumped back in fright. "Guards! There's something behind this wall!" This perhaps wouldn't have been such a cause for concern anywhere else, but with so much money in this building, any potential intruder would have alerted the guards.
Two pegasi guards immediately reacted and flew over the wall to see what was happening. They didn't know what to expect but it certainly wasn't a short pegasus stallion dressed in a red and black suit firing a flamethrower at the wall from the other side. Even more stunning was the fact that this wall was made from the strongest metal known to ponykind and had an insanely high melting point. The two guards couldn't begin imagine just how hot that flame was. For a moment, they were almost too afraid to intervene, but eventually, they managed to gather their courage.
"Hey! Stop right now!" One of them shouted to him, but the stallion paid them no mind. He just kept flaming the wall and was almost done melting it into butter.
"Are you deaf, buddy?" The other guard shouted, starting to lose his temper. "We said, knock it off!" When the stallion ignored them again, they had enough and went to take him into custody, but they didn't get the chance. A boomerang coming seemingly out of nowhere flew past them and hit them on the back of their heads, making them black out and fall on the ground.
"Well, I'd say that's more of knocking it out than off, but nevertheless, I hope it'll suffice." A voice laughed as two other pegasi walked out from between the bushes. The one who spoke reached out with his hoof and caught the boomerang as it came back before tucking it back inside his coat. "Let's grab their uniforms." He told the mare next to him. "We'll need them up there." As they pulled the guards aside and stripped them of their clothes, their partner finally finished melting off a huge chunk of the wall and creating a hole big enough for them to fit through. On the other side of the wall, the guards were already waiting for them, armed to the teeth.
"Halt!" The leader of the guards cried out. "Drop your weapons and surrender immediately!" The stallion holding the flamethrower didn't respond to the order. He just flicked a switch on his weapon and aimed at them, causing them to to aim their weapons directly at him. "Last warning! Drop your weapons or we'll open fire!" The guards shouted. The only mare of the group smirked.
"Good luck with that!" She said before spreading her wings and sending several glittering shards flying all over the courtyard. Before the guards could react, they found themselves surrounded by mirror images of the three ponies in front of them on all sides. As they were trying to figure out what to do next, the one with the flamethrower pulled the trigger on his weapon and unleashed a powerful blast of fire on the ground, right at the hooves of the guards. The resulting explosions sent a group of guards into the air, either knocking them out or injuring them enough to incapacitate them. He repeated this process a few more times until the whole courtyard had been cleared of guards.
"Nice work, Heat Wave!" The mare complimented. The stallion addressed as Heat Wave smirked back at her.
"Couldn't have done it without your distraction, Mirror Master."
As the two exchanged their appreciative glances, the third pony of the group noticed the workers still hiding behind the crates. When they saw they were spotted, they instantly fled towards the exit. If they got away and alerted the authorities, their whole plan will be ruined before they even began the execution.
The stallion reached into his coat and pulled out several boomerangs before throwing them at the workers. Each of the boomerangs found their targets and flawlessly hit them on the back of the head before making their way back to the hooves of their thrower.
"Nice throws, Captain Boomerang!" His partners complimented.
"Now then..." Captain Boomerang said as he put his weapons away. "...if there are no further interruptions, let's get started, shall we?" Heat Wave and Mirror Master quickly switched their clothes to the uniforms they took from the guards and got into the harness of the carriage while Boomerang got into the cargo hold and locked the door from the inside. He looked around in the cargo and grinned when he saw all the money bags.
"Well, hello there, beautiful!" He said smoothly as he picked one up. "I see the two of us having a beautiful future together!" The other two criminals heard him from outside and they banged on the carriage angrily.
"Knock it off, Boomer!" Mirror Master yelled as she and Heat Wave took off with the carriage. "You remember what the boss said! We're only taking money from the targets!" Boomerang heard them loud and clear but that didn't mean he would have to comply. After all, they weren't the boss himself, were they?
"Well, what the boss doesn't, know, won't hurt him." He laughed, slipping the bag inside his coat. "And it won't hurt me either."
Wonder Flight sat painterly in the lobby of the bank, waiting for Mr. Stock to show up. He kept checking his pocket watch and the receptionist began to suspect that her was running out of patience. She grew worried that he may eventually leave and losing a potential client was bad for all the bank and all of it's employees.
Little did she know, Wonder Flight had no intention of leaving. No matter how long he had to wait for the bank manager. There was an entirely different reason for his constant checking of the time. Her nervousness only faded when Mr. Stock finally did manage to show up. The brown unicorn stallion with dark red mane and a matching beard was hurriedly making his way through the crowd to reach the lobby and greet the promising new client personally. He was in such a rush that he bumped into several other ponies on the way. Wonder Flight smirked slightly when he saw him approaching. He put his pocket watch back into his suit and stood up to walk over to him.
"Welcome to our bank, Herr Wunder Flight! I am Developed Stock, ze manager, but please just call mich Dave!" He spoke with a very strong Germane accent as he shook hooves with him. "I'm terribly sorry ze delay, but I vas supposed to personally supervise a very big delivery of money to our bank today and it still hasn't arrived yet." Wonder Flight frowned.
"My, that is worrying indeed." He replied with worry. "I do hope nothing serious is delaying them." The other stallion merely waved off his concerns.
"Zere is no fear of zat. Nopony would be foolish enough to hijack one of our deliveries. Half of ze Royal Guard would be on them before zey alter ze supposed course." He explained before turning away and leading his client deeper into the bank. "So if I understand correctly, you are interested in a currency exchange." Wonder Flight nodded.
"That's right. I am considering several new business investments with strong Germane interests and I believe it would make things significantly easier if I used their currency from the start."
"Ah! Trying a new field of business?" Mr. Stock asked. The other stallion nodded.
"Yes. You could say that."
"I see. Vell, you see, ve are not a commercial bank in ze common sense. Ve primarily deal with private interests, such as safekeeping ze Wonderbolts budget." Upon the mention of the Wonderbolts, Wonder Flight's expression turned sour, but the manager either didn't notice or didn't care. "But ven I heard how much money you plan to invest in our institution I immediately realised ze great business opportunity." Their conversation was interrupted when one of the security guards approached them and whispered something in his ear. It must have been pleasant news because his face lit up with excitement.
"Ah, wunderbar!" He exclaimed. "Ze delivery has finally arrived from Canterlot! I apologise, Herr Wunder Flight, but I must attend zis matter at once. But perhaps you could accompany mich and ve could discuss ze details on ze way? Ze sooner ve tie zis business up, ze better!" He proposed. His client responded with a nod as he started following him towards the vault.
"I couldn't agree more."
The moment the guards noticed the money carriage arriving, they scurried to open the gates on the bottom of the cloud building that lead inside. They have been waiting for so long that they almost believed the carriage wouldn't be arriving today so they stopped waiting for it. It's sudden arrival sent them bolting to their posts.
The carriage flew inside and once the gates were closed, it landed and the two pegasi that carried it took off their harnesses. They looked around and noticed the several security cameras monitoring the room. The purple mare spread her wings, imitating a stretch and she sent small, almost invisible mirror shards towards them, covering their lens with their reflective matter, making sure that the ponies watching them only saw the one still image they were seeing now. She looked at her partner with a smirk and nodded at him, making him smirk.
"About time you showed up!" The guards' chief reprimanded them as he approached the carriage. "You know perfectly very well that everything can be late except money!" The mare saw that her partner was about to blow up on the chief, so she quickly intervened.
"Sorry, chief! We got a little held up. Best get to unloading the cargo at once to make up for the lost time, eh?" Despite his ire, the angry chief seemed to agree as he went behind the carriage to open the cargo hold. But when he did, his anger quickly changed to shock.
"What the..." He never got to finish as a boomerang collided with his forehead. The boomerang was followed by two others that flew around the room and incapacitated several more guards. Taking advantage of the commotion, the two pegasi who drew the carriage switched into their Mirror Master and Heat Wave costumes before joining the fight.
Captain Boomerang jumped out of the carriage and grabbed two of his boomerangs upon return and knocked out two other guards standing beside him before throwing one of them at another one, making room in his hoof to grab the third one and resume his assault.
A few guards managed to grab their weapons, but Heat Wave blasted them right out of their hooves with his flamethrower and the flames heated them us so much that they couldn't even pick them back up. Meanwhile, Mirror Master used to the same tactic as before and created several decoy targets of herself, confusing the guards long enough for Boomerang to finish the job.
"Nice work, Rogues!" Mirror Master cheered as the three ponies shared a three way hoofbump once all the guards were rendered unconscious.
"And now, to the vaults!" Heat Wave exclaimed as he prepared to ran off but the mare restrained him by putting a hoof on his shoulder.
"Slow down, Heat Wave! We won't be able to get inside without the key card of the manager." Heat Wave raised an eyebrow.
"And you only tell me this now?"
"No! We all told you several times during the planning stage. It's not out fault you didn't listen." Mirror Master deadpanned.
"No matter." Captain Boomerang said with a shrug. "The boss is getting that card as we speak. We just have to get to the entrance by the time he gets there." The three criminals approached the door leading inside vault and Boomerang turned to the shorter stallion. "Melt the alarm system! We don't need anymore unwanted attention."
Heat Wave nodded and aimed his weapon at the door, releasing a stream of fire that melted both the door's lock and it's connection to the bank's alarm system, cutting it away from the rest of the building and granting the three intruders entrance. They marveled at the sight of giant piles of money and gold in front of them.
"Welcome to the promised land." Boomerang mused with a smirk.
Developed Stock and Wonder Flight made their way to the entrance of the vault while discussing the details of the latter's transaction. But once they reached the huge armored door leading to the money the bank stored, the manager held out his hoof in front of his client.
"Please, forgive mich, Herr Wunder Flight, but it is bank regulation zat only staff members may enter ze vault during money transfer." He explained.
"Of course." Wonder Flight nodded in understanding. "I don't suppose you will be in there for very long."
"Don't vorry." Mr. Stocks answered before reaching into his vest and pulling out a card attached to a string around his neck. "I vill just open ze vault vit mein keycard to allow ze guards to get ze money inside. It vill not take more zan a minute. I vill be right back." He then opened the armored door and stepped inside, but the sight that greeted him was not what he was a expecting.
Instead of the guards and the piles of money they were supposed to carry inside, he saw three pegasi dressed in colorful costumes and holding strange looking weapons, while being surrounded by unconscious and badly bruised guards. They were giving the manager smug and pointed looks, more precisely, the item he was holding in his hoof, making it very clear what they were after.
The manager immediately turned around to bolt out of the vault and call for reinforcements, but he found his path blocked by none other than his future client, Wonder Flight. The stallion closed the armored door behind himself, trapping them with the would be robbers, much to the manager's confusion.
"But... But I thought zis vas a currency exchange." He stammered. One of the robbers stepped forward and tossed something to Wonder Flight, which turned out to be a white gun. He caught it without even diverting his gaze from the manager and smirked down at him.
"Oh, I think we'd go straight to the withdrawal." He said before aiming his weapon at him and pulling the trigger. A chilling cold swept through Mr. Stock's body as a beam of cold energy hit him and rendered him motionless inside a block of ice. But he was still aware of his surroundings and saw it when the other stallion pried the keycard out of his frozen hoof. "Danke, Dave."
Upon obtaining the card, Wonder Flight discarded his suit and sunglasses to reveal the Ex-Wonderbolts member, Soarin. He then put on a blue coat with a thick white parka and placed his weapon into a holster on it's hips before walking up to the security door and inserting the keycard into it.
With the last obstacle out of their way, the robbers made their way down a long corridor of safes, each of them marked for a specific client. But they paid them no attention. They were here for a very specific safe and it was located at the end of the corridor. As they approached the safe door, the name on it became visible. The Wonderbolts.
"Here we are." Soarin said with a smile. He got his weapon out and fired a blast of cold energy at the electronic lock, freezing it solid and destroying the mechanism inside it. The rest of the Rogues then opened the door, revealing the huge amount of money hidden inside.
"Whoa!" Captain Boomerang gasped at the sight. "I know you said the pricks were loaded, but I wasn't ready for this. That's a lot of cash!" Soarin nodded.
"All to be ours soon." He replied before pulling out three saddlebags and tossing them to his partners in crime. "Pack them full and carry them back to the carriage!" He ordered as he pulled out a bag for himself. The robbers filled their bags with as much money as they could and then took them back to the vehicle they arrived in, unloaded them and repeated the process until the Wonderbolts' safe was completely empty. With every security measure taken care of and all guards incapacitated, they were able to easily make their escape, taking their loot to a hiding place known only too themselves.
The Rogues have struck for the first time. But it wouldn't be the last.
Rainbow Dash was awakened by persistent knocking on the door of her hotel room but she slept so deep that she didn't even hear it at first. It took almost a minute for the loud bangs to reach her brain. She returned to the world of consciousness with a groan as she crawled her way out of the pile of pizza boxes she fell asleep between. She checked her clock. It was almost half past eight and despite her super speed, it took her a few moments to register what this meant.
"MOTHER OF CELESTIA! I'VE OVERSLEPT AGAIN!" She screamed at the top of her lungs before jumping out of bed and racing towards the door. She looked through the peephole, fully expecting to see a furious Spitfire standing there, ready to give her another piece of her mind, but she sighed in relief when she saw that it was only her father, Bow Hothoof. But her relief was short lived when she saw the troubled look on his face. It became evident to her that her father was not the bearer of good news.
"Finally!" Bow shouted when Rainbow finally opened the door. "I've been banging on this door for minutes! What took you so long?!" He raged as he walked in.
"Good morning to you too, dad." Rainbow replied groggily, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. Bow raised an eyebrow.
"You just woke up?" Rainbow shrugged before yawning.
"Yeah, super speed is awesome and all, but it has it's drawbacks. My body needs more rest than that of an average pony. And also burns calories much faster, meaning that I have to eat for like five ponies." She explained as she pointed at her bed littered with pizza boxes. Bow nodded.
"That I do know. Which is why I brought you breakfast." He said, holding up two large pizza boxes. Rainbow's eyes lit up before dashing to embrace her father.
"You're the best, dad!" She cried out. She flew to the kitchen table and instantly began devouring the first slice. "I guess there are upsides to it as well. I can eat as much junk food as I want without getting fat." She laughed. "So what's up?" Bow looked at his daughter like she just asked who the ruler of Equestria was.
"You really haven't heard it yet?" He asked.
"Heard what?" Rainbow replied, chowing down another pizza slice in seconds. Bow pulled out a newspaper and spread it out on the table, causing Rainbow to nearly choke on her pizza. "If this is about another costumed villain rampaging somewhere in Equestria, I had nothing to do with it! I haven't been Flashing around since the Baltimare show!" She swore, putting a hoof over her heart. "Scout's honor!"
"You never were a scout." Bow replied unamused. "But that's not why I'm here. Read the headline." Rainbow did as she was told and when she saw what the paper was writing about, she immediately understood her father's grim expression.
Bank heist in Cloudsale!
Costumed robbers empty the Wonderbolts' vault!
Annual tour in danger of cancellation?
"What... How... When did this happen?!" Rainbow stammered, unable to comprehend this.
"Earlier this week." Bow replied. "They took everything from the vault. Spitfire is afraid there isn't enough money left to set up the last performance of the tour. She called together the whole team to discuss the situation. In fact, she sent me to get you..." Before he could finish that sentence, Rainbow bolted out of the room so fast that she didn't even see her move. All be saw was a few remaining cracks of electricity and unfinished pizza slices.
"Well, I suppose I could use some breakfast too." He mused, picking one of the slices up. "It would be a shame to let it go waste."
With her super speed, Rainbow Dash made it to the Wonderbolts gathering within seconds and without anypony noticing. The last line of the headline article kept bouncing around in her head. The tour may be canceled? No. That was unimaginable! Unacceptable! The Wonderbolts were able to overcome any challenge. Would it be the biggest evil in the world to finally force them on their knees? Money?
Of course, she heard about some issues they have been having for the past few weeks. Ever since the fire that mysteriously started in the storage room of the Baltimare stadium and took out most of the equipment they used during the show, it was like they were plagued by bad luck. And now there was this robbery story as well. Rainbow already knew that Spitfire would be infuriated by these news. She gulped as she thought about how mad her captain will be when she gets in front of her being late once again.
By the time she reached the place of the meeting in the hotel's auditorium, it was already adjourned. Her fellow Wonderbolts were leaving and Spitfire was making her way down from the podium. Rainbow would have been nervous to talk to her after missing the meeting but the sad and dejected looks she saw from her teammates made her overcome her fear. She had to know what was going on here.
"Spitfire!" She yelled once all the other pegasi left the room. "What's going on here?!" To her surprise, Spitfire didn't even bother with a lecture, or even an angry or disappointed glare this time. Her expression remained sorrowful and hopeless.
"Well, look who decided to grace me with her presence at last." She spoke with no emotion in her voice. Normally, Dash would have been intimidated by that comment, but this time, she wasn't in the mood for her superior's sass.
"You just dismissed the meeting without me? Something is bothering everypony in the team and judging from how glum you all became, it's very serious!" Spitfire sighed.
"I told Fleetfoot to fill you in when she sees you. Apparently, she didn't." Rainbow was dumbstruck. If she couldn't even be bothered to be upset with her, then things were serious. "I guess your dad already told you about the bank heist." Rainbow nodded. "Well, you see, over half of our budget was in that bank. The last show of our tour in Maretropolis is already covered but with all our additional expenses this year, we're already in a financial decline. The city offered to cancel the show and refund the money, which would allow us to break even by the end of the year. That's what I've been discussing with the others."
Rainbow's eyes widened. A Wonderbolts show getting canceled? She had no recollection of such a thing ever happening. Certainly not during her time on the team.
"So they're just gonna let them get away with it or what?! Didn't the police tell you anything?" She asked frantically.
"They have no leads." Spitfire answered. "The guards were all knocked out and don't remember anything and the security cameras didn't get anything, they were all blocked with some reflective matter, making them only see one still image of the room. The only thing they have is the testimony of the bank manager. He was frozen solid in a block of ice and when they thawed him out, he rambled on about some costumed robbers and some client of his called 'Mr. Wonder Flight.' He was able to give descriptions but since they were in costumes, it's not much to go on."
"Is that it?" Rainbow asked. "There has to be something else!" Spitfire thought for a few moments.
"Well... Our vault was the only one they emptied. This may suggest they were targeting us specifically, but that's just a theory." This actually caused Rainbow to think.
"Like somepony with a grudge? But who would have anything against the Wonderbolts?" Spitfire scoffed at the question.
"All the Washouts who never made it onto the team? The ones we let off to make room for the new arrivals? A rival stunt team?" She suggested. "Come back from your fairytale land and join reality, Rainbow Dash! Nopony is perfect and we are no exception. We have made enemies, but none of them would be bold enough to plan something like this. I don't think this means anything."
'Now who's living in a fairytale land?' Rainbow Dash thought to herself. She never would have dared to say it to her face, but Spitfire tended to be almost as full of herself as she tended to be. As the leader of the Wonderbolts, she felt herself untouchable and believed that nopony would dare to cross her. It was frustrating, but if she wanted to get her cooperation, she had to use a gentler approach. Gentle was never her thing.
"Are you sure? Maybe it would be a good idea to tell them to increase security around our other vaults." She suggested, but once again, Spitfire scoffed.
"And have this insane conspiracy go public?! Do you have any idea how much negative press that would bring us?!" Spitfire countered. Before Rainbow Dash could make another argument, the yellow mare held up a hoof to stop her. "Look Rainbow Dash, no offense the last pony I'm going to take advice from on this matter is the one who never bothers to show up on time! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to think of an actual solution instead of arguing with you!" She snapped in frustration before she left, leaving Rainbow alone with her thoughts.
The colorful mare found herself growing more and more unhappy with her superior. She had serious doubts that she would be able to come up with a solution on her own. She was gonna need help, but apparently, her pride prevented her from asking for it. Fortunately for her, there was another proud individual who wouldn't take no for an answer. One who had far better opportunities to investigate this case than even the world's greatest detective.
This was a job for the Flash!
Bow Hothoof just finished consuming the remainder of the pizza he brought for her daughter, when the door of the hotel room was slammed open, making him jump in his seat. He looked up to see his daughter enter the kitchen, carrying a variety of food items which she then placed on the kitchen table. She wasted no time. She immediately sat down and began downing bite after bite at lightning speed, while Bow only stared in shock.
"I take it practice is gonna be especially hard today." Bow said once he found his voice again. Rainbow finished consuming a granola bar and gave her father a dry look.
"The way things look right now, there might not be practice for a very long time. Spitfire is thinking about canceling the last show of the tour." Bow's eyes widened.
"Are things that bad?" Rainbow nodded.
"Yes. Turns out, over half of the team's budget was in that vault. The police can't do anything and Spitfire seems like she's just gonna sulk about it without actually trying anything productive." Rainbow complained before opening a bag of hayburgers.
"Well, if there's no practice today, why do you need all this?" Bow asked referring to the pile of food on the table. Rainbow gulped down the last burger from the bag and answered.
"Just because there's no practice, doesn't mean there's no work for me." It took some time for Bow to understand what his daughter meant, but as Rainbow expected, he wasn't happy when he did.
"Rainbow, please don't tell me..." Rainbow just punched the table and sprung up from her seat.
"I am not letting the Wonderbolts go bankrupt!" She shouted, full of fiery passion. "You know being on this team was my lifelong dream, dad! Now somepony is targeting them and if nopony else can do anything about it, then I will!" Bow just stared at her in confusion.
"Targeting them? What are you talking about?" Rainbow picked up the newspaper and pointed at one very specific line.
"Thier vault was the only one they raided! Why would they leave all that other money behind? This was a targeted attack!" Bow didn't look convinced.
"You don't know that, Rainbow. The Wonderbolts' vault was still stacked. Perhaps that was all the money they wanted."
"That's a load of horseapples, dad and you know it!" Rainbow argued. "Somepony is out there trying to ruin the Wonderbolts. I'm going to find out who it is and I'm going to stop them!" She declared. The statement was absolute and Bow saw that she will not argue on this any further. He didn't like it but he had learned to accept that Rainbow is never going to listen to him a long time ago.
"Well, you never listened to me before. Why start now?" He said dejectedly. "And do you plan to start? Do you have a plan?"
"I had a plan before I went to buy all this food, dad." Rainbow replied as she tapped the side of her head proudly. "Another perk of super speed. These jerks out there are after the Wonderbolts' money, so no doubt their next target will be another bank hiding a Wonderbolts vault."
"That still presents a problem. Only Spitfire knows which banks those are and I hardly think she'll share that information with an ill-disciplined cadet." Rainbow's face fell a little.
"Yeah, she did mention that. But she doesn't have to tell me anything. I know where to find that information." Bow saw the implication his daughter was making and he really didn't like it.
"Wait a minute! Are you planning to break into the Spitfire's office now?" He asked incredulously. "You do realise that that's a crime right? Two wrongs don't make a right, Rainbow! That's not how I raised you!"
"Well, technically it's not breaking in when I'm not forcing the door open." Rainbow replied. "I can just phase through the walls and get the information I need before anypony can see me. They will never know I was there!" She saw that her dad was about to argue again, but this time, she didn't give him a chance.
"Look, dad, you already know my mind is made up and you won't be able to change it. If you feel like reporting this to Spitfire and the authorities is the right thing to do, then go ahead and do that! But I don't think you're going to. Because deep down, you know I'm right. You know what I'm about to do is the right thing to do."
Rainbow's voice was more determined than Bow had ever heard. Not only was she perfectly sure that this was what she had to do, but she was also so certain that it was right that she made even Bow doubt himself. She was right about one thing.
"I won't say a thing to Spitfire, or anypony else." He eventually conceded with a sigh. "But if this turns out badly and everything comes crashing down around you, I'm going to be there to say 'I told you so'." Rainbow Dash chuckled.
"It's a deal." She said before running off to get her suit. A few seconds later, she was standing fully dressed at the window. She cast one last glance at Bow who just gave her an affirmative nod.
"Go. Just please, be careful." Rainbow smirked.
"Aren't I always?" She replied before disappearing in a flash of electricity, out the window.
"That was exactly what I feared you would say."
If one were to ask Rainbow Dash what she loved most about running and flying at super speed, her response would probably be the sight and feeling of the world passing her by. She left the City of Baltimare in seconds but even that was enough for her to marvel at all the famous landscapes and skyscrapers dashing past her vision.
Outside the city forests, plains and mountains followed. And then came her absolute favorite, a large lake in the middle of a forest. She didn't slow down, just kept running at the same superpowered pace and crossed the lake's surface as if it was dry land. She had to restrain herself from giggling like a schoolgirl. No matter how many times she did this, it never got any less cool.
At this point, she ran across Equestria so many times that she knew exactly when she would arrive at Cloudsale. When she was certain the pegasus city would be within viewing distance, she spread her wings and began flying up towards it. This required far more focus and concentration. Running at super speed was foal's play, but flying? That was a different matter entirely.
She kicked herself off the ground and flapped her wings until she was flying straight towards the city. She had to be careful with her the movements of her wings. Their rythm had to be consistent if she didn't want to break her trajectory and her speed. It was always hard, but she did manage keep up her focus long enough to reach the cloud. From there, she would find the Wonderbolts HQ with her eyes closed.
With most of the team on the tour, the base was all but abandoned at the time. Apart from a few security ponies and janitors, Rainbow didn't see anypony around and even without her super speed, they were easy to avoid. She knew exactly where to find Spitfire's office, she has been there several times, for better or for worse. Once she got there, she looked around and once she saw the coast was clear, she phased through the wall.
"Alright." Rainbow said as she looked around the office. "If I were Spitfire, where would I keep info about the Wonderbolts' finances?" The question answered itself when she saw Spitfire's computer on her desk. "Of course." Rainbow said, feeling a little sheepish for that not being her thirst thought.
She sat into Spitfire's chair and activated the computer, but much to her frustration, she found that it required a password. Rainbow put a hoof to her chin in thought, trying to deduce what could Spitfire use as a password. She typed in 'Wonderbolts' and pressed enter, only to get an 'incorrect password message. She then tried,' Cloudsale', 'Wing', 'Feather' and driven by a random thought 'Mayonnaise', only to get the same message. In frustration, she then typed 'Buck you!' and of course, that was incorrect as well.
Rainbow groaned before looking around the office, searching for anything that might indicate what the password may be. Perhaps a picture of Spitfire's family or a pet or maybe a potential mate, but she found nothing. Spitfire was truly a workaholic. As her gaze darted around, it fell back on the computer screen and she noticed something she hadn't before. A small caption was now visible that read 'Hint: What's the magic word?'
Rainbow's brow furrowed upon reading that. Spitfire apparently added that to remind her of the password in case she forgot, but the implication was just ridiculous. There was no possible way that the Captain of the Wonderbolts actually used that word as the password to her computer. But it's not like Rainbow had anything to lose so she took the bait and typed in 'Please'.
'Password accepted.'
"You have got to be kidding me!" Rainbow sighed, putting a hoof on her forehead. Of all the words she could have picked... She shook her head. She got in, that's all that mattered. She quickly began searching through the files for anything related to their finances until she found the transaction history.
"That should do it." She whispered before clicking on it. "Okay, according to this, we have transferred money to the accounts of three banks. One in Cloudsale, that's the one they robbed this week. The other's in Manehattan. Hmm... The Bat probably has that covered. Now where's the third one located..."
As soon as she found out the answer to that question, she smacked her forehead, cursing her own impulsiveness and impatience. If she had simply stayed on her flank and waited like her father advised her to, the problem she wanted to fix would have come to her. For the third bank she was looking for...
...it was in Baltimare.
On the road to Baltimare, an armored money transport carriage was making it's way towards the city's biggest bank. The crew of the carriage were understandably nervous. Ever since the heist in Cloudsale, security around the banks where the Wonderbolts keep their money has been tightened. But that would do little good to the transport vehicles passing between them. After all, the last heist was committed with a stolen transport vehicle as well and nopony was doing anything to increase their safety. And the robbers probably banked on that fact. Such were their worries and they were just about to find out how well founded they were.
When they approached the bank, their worries began to ease a little as nothing had happened since their departure from the small money institute in a backwater community that nopony cared about. They started believing that this delivery might go smoothly after all. The head of the security staff - a yellow pegasus stallion with light blue mane - approached their carriage with two heavily armed guards behind him.
"Papers!" He instructed. As the driver gave him the documents, the two guards went to the back of the carriage and opened the cargo with their weapons ready. They saw nothing but well stacked bags of money lying on top of each other. They closed the doors and nodded to their boss.
"All good!" They shouted to the pegasus. The chief nodded and returned the documents to the crew.
"Have an equally safe trip back, ponies!" He said before standing aside.
"We hope we will too, chief!" They replied and pulled the carriage inside the building. Once they reached the vault's entrance, they got out of the harness and began unloading the moneybags for the bank's crew to carry inside.
All of a sudden, one of the ponies noticed the carriage's rearview mirrors beginning to glow. Quickly growing suspicious, he approached the mirror that began to glow brighter by the moment. When he was mere inches from it, he narrowed his eyes as he thought he could see an equine shape inside the mirror that was increasing in size. Before he even knew what was happening, the very same equine shape burst out of the mirror and knocked the stallion unconscious. The mare that burst through the mirror was soon followed by three stallions and the commotion quickly attracted the attention of the other workers.
"Good day, gentlecolts!" The one with the parka and coat siad jovially. "Thank you for your assistance in getting us inside this institution, but I'm afraid your services are no longer required. Captain boomerang?" The addressed stallion pulled out two boomerangs and threw them away, knocking out the workers before they even had the chance to scream. "And they even left the vault open for us! How generous!" The leader of the group laughed before leading his cohorts inside.
"Those upgraded tricky mirrors of yours really work like a charm, Mirror Master!" Heatwave commented.
"They sure do! Any reflective matter can now serve as a gateway to our next score!" The mare boasted in reply.
"Speaking of which, the cameras, M&M!" Captain Cold instructed, causing the mare to frown at him.
"Don't call me M&M!" She growled but nevertheless complied. She spread her wings and waved them towards the cameras, sending her special reflective lenses towards them and concealing their presence from their gaze. Unfortunately for them, they were still visible to others.
"There they are!" The Rogues turned to two dozen of security guards swarm out of the vault and block their path. The guards all aimed their weapons at them, ready to fire. "Freeze!" Their leader shouted. The Rogues exchanged glances before their leader turned back to the guards with a smirk.
"You got it!" He said and then quickly drew his weapons form their holsters. Before any of the guards could pull their trigger, the whole group was frozen. "Now then, if there are no further interruptions, let us see that vault."
Rainbow Dash made it back to Baltimare in no time, but since the stadium was the only landscape she saw during the tour, it still took her a little time to find the Bank. She quickly found herself a place on the top of an opposing apartment building where she could get a good view of the building without getting spotted and returned her body to normal speed.
From where she stood, everything looked normal. She saw clients entering and exiting and security guards patrolling around the bank with no sign of alarm. That means the robbers didn't hit this one yet, however they will more than likely will in the future and with the Wonderbolts pressing financial issues, it wasn't likely they'll leave the city anytime soon. That means she will be here when they do.
She was about to call it a day and run back to her hotel room, but then she remembered something. The thieves she was after somehow managed to rob the bank in Cloudsale without gaining attention and even triggering the alarm system. For all she knew, they could be robbing this bank right now behind the closed gates and they wouldn't know until they opened the vault again.
Rainbow narrowed her eyes. She won't let these bastards get away with another heist even if that meant she had to check this bank every single day. And there was only one way to be sure. She knew that what she was about to do was crazy beyond compare and was considered a crime, but she was certain she would be able to pull it off. And if she did, they would even celebrate her a hero if she caught the thieves while doing it. With her mind made up, she switched to super speed and headed towards the bank's garage.
Upon entering the underground area via phasing, she immediately saw that her hunch was correct. A money transport vehicle was standing there with it's crew rendered unconscious around it. She also noticed a group of security guards frozen in blocks of ice as she headed deeper inside the vault. At first, she wanted to break them out, but she was worried she might do some damage to their bodies. She will have to thaw them out once she rounded up the robbers.
Speaking of which, as she was about to enter the vault, she heard the sound of approaching hoofsteps. She looked up to see a familiar pony standing at the door. Her eyes widened in surprise.
'No way! What the hay are you doing here?!' She screamed inside her head as she recognised Zephyr Breeze. The stallion had large bags full of money hanging from her back and he also looked rather surprised to see the costumes crime fighter standing in front of him. The two stared at each other for a few seconds and eventually, it was Rainbow who found her voice first.
"Going somewhere with those?" She asked challengingly, almost daring the stallion to take another step. He didn't. Zephyr's only response was pulling a boomerang out of his coat and throwing it at the mare. Rainbow Dash was baffled by this move. Did he not know who he was facing? There was no way this silly little toy would ever have a chance at even scraping her tail. With her super speed, she easily dodged it and smirked back at Zephyr.
"Did you really think that this would work on me? Apparently, you don't read newspapers." But Zephyr didn't fret. He kept eye contact with the mare to not draw her attention to what was happening behind her. As the boomerang he threw turned back, it split into two and revealed a thick rope that tied them together. "Now what do you say we skip your hopeless struggle against me and give me those moneybags before you embarass your... Whoa!" She was cut off when the rope wrapped around her body, making her lose her balance and fall on the ground. Zephyr smirked down at her and before she could phase out of the ropes, he leaned over her head.
"Gotta think fast to be fast." He taunted before raising his hoof and stepping down on her head and knocking her out. "Lights out, flasher dasher."
"What the hay are you doing?" Zephyr turned around to his three companions standing behind him with stuffed moneybags of their own hanging from their backs. "These are the last bags from their vault." Captain Cold said. "Let's load them up and get out of here!" Zephyr just gave him a smile in response.
"Check this out, Cap! I caught a little meddlesome mare." He said, stepping aside and revealing the unconscious Flash to them, much to their shock.
"Hey, isn't this that speedy mare from the papers?" Heat Wave asked. "The one that beat Metallo?"
"The very same, Heat Wave." Captain Cold replied. "Apparently, she's been looking to add some more tally marks to her rogues gallery." Heat Wave glared down at her.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Put her on ice already!" He told his boss. Captain Cold looked down at the mare in contemplation. Of course the idea of freezing her and preventing her from following them had crossed her mind, but as he kept thinking, another plan began to formulate in his mind.
"No." He said finally, greatly surprising the others. "I have a much better idea." He then turned to Zephyr. "Untie her." The boomerang throwing theif's eyes widened at the order.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Just do it!" Cold ordered before turning to the other two. "Mirror Master, prepare the mirrors for our escape! Heat Wave, trigger the alarms. If this works out, not only will we be rid of her interference, but the police's as well."