It was a crisp cool morning when Crusaders decided to go ahead with their plan to visit Applewood once again. Miyagi had given them the week off (though they were to keep practicing) and they used most of it by doing stuff around town; making it less likely to be missed for a day of traveling.
Once more they got up early to avoid the crowd and boarded the train heading southwest. They used the four hours to get more Martial Arts practice done which had the extra benefit that the train was moving, making them need to use more balance than before. They had another compartment to themselves with nopony to bother them; though some did see what they were doing, causing the other passengers to not want to stick around out of fear of getting caught up in the training somehow.
Time passed quickly for the girls since they were focusing so much on their work and only the sound of the train whistle and a pony shouting that they had arrived pulled them out of their trance. The sights of the city were just as impressive as when they first came and they craned their heads to try and look at it all; unfortunately, this meant that they didn't see the green coated filly until they all crashed together.
“Sorry!”
“Ah'm sorry!”
“We didn't mean it!”
“Sorry, sorry.”
After a moment of untangling, the trio found themselves looking at a green with purple mane unicorn filly who looked back through half circle glasses.
As one the Crusaders bowed their heads and apologized once more.
“We're sorry!”
The new filly waved away the apology as she replied with a smirk.
“It's ok, I'm sorry as well. Should have looked where I was going... No one's hurt right?” The trio looked at one another before doing a quick check; nothing was hurting and they were right as rain.
“We're all good. Are you?” Scootaloo asked as she pointed with a hoof. The filly nodded.
“Yep, I'm good too. I'll be on my way then.” With that short farewell the green unicorn trotted off, searching the ground once more.
The Crusaders shared a look of confusion before continuing on their way; they wanted to give acting one more shot. After getting lost just a little bit, they started to recognize some of the area around them and found the rental place within moments; once inside they started to look at all the equipment, trying to find the cheapest deal once more.
The store clerk remembered the fillies however, and due to the damages done previously upped the cost of renting anything; instead of 150 bits, it was 300 to start with a greater cost for any damages done.
The fillies had scrapped and saved all they could, but they didn't have near enough for the new cost. Downcast, the girls left the shop as they tried to think of more ways to either earn Cutie Marks or bits.
They walked down the street slowly when Scootaloo noticed a news bulletin; when she realized what it was she perked up and rushed the other two over. Ponyville had something similar and she always found something useful anytime that she checked; surely this time would be no different.
“Come on! This has all sorts of news on it usually; it can help us find some jobs or even ideas for Cutie Marks!” The two friends grew a little more hopeful as they picked up their pace to look at the rather large news board; it was filled with ads for just about everything a filly could hope for.
“You see guys! Lots of stuff, like delivering newspapers!”
“Or being bodyguards for celebrities!”
“Or being newsponies!”
“Or construction workers!”
“There's even an ad for performers!”
“Well Ah'll be, these ponies sur' do look familiar... What do y'all think?” Apple Bloom turned to her friends before turning back and pointing with a hoof to a wanted poster.
“It's those Red Dragon Colts that we fought last time!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed in recognition as the others' eyes also lit in recognition.
“You're right! Wonder what they are wanted for?” Scootaloo squinted at the poster when Sweetie Belle piped up as she read it out loud.
“Wanted for questioning about possible involvement of theft, damaging property, assault and battery and extortion.” The pegasus and earth pony stared at the unicorn in confusion about some of the terms used.
“Well, what does that mean?!” Scootaloo frowned lightly as Sweetie Belle sighed.
“It's a lot of bad things. But look, there's a reward for either information about them or help with the capture of them; one thousand bits for it!”
The girls' eyes lit up in excitement at the prospect of a way to earn lots of bits in one go. They looked at one another with large grins.
“Cutie Mark Crusader Bounty Hunters, yay!” The trio shouted to the air as one, wild plans and fantasies of how they would catch the bullies running through their minds only to be cut short by a voice behind them.
“Wait, what? You're going after their bounties too?” At the sound of somepony behind them the girls turned as one to find the green filly from earlier staring back in surprise.
“Huh? Are ya goin' for them Dragon Colts firs'?” Apple Bloom asked with a slight frown; if somepony was already going for the bounty then it would be rude to try and do the same.
“Well, I am. But that doesn't mean that you guys can't as well.” The filly tilted her head while the Crusaders looked even more confused.
“Ok, soooo?” Scootaloo asked as she looked at the filly who seemed to grow excited as she hopped in place.
“So, we can work together! You seem to know who they are already too, that will help in the long run.” The purple haired unicorn nodded in satisfaction to herself.
“... You want to work together with us? Why? Who are you anyways?” Sweetie Belle asked with a small frown, confused and concerned about who this filly was and why she would want to work with them.
“Oh, right, we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Eripio Rescue, from Manehatten. I take it you guys are the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'?” Eripio asked with a curious frown as she made an educated guess; though she did notice that they didn't have Cutie Marks, so it would make sense to 'crusade' for them.
“You bet! I'm Scootaloo, this is Apple Bloom and this is Sweetie Belle. We're from Ponyville and we're trying to find our Cutie Marks all over Equestria! So, about this bounty...” Scootaloo raised a questioning brow at the unicorn before them once the introductions were out of the way.
“Well, four fillies working together would be better than just one or even three; you know the wanted colts, I come from a family of guards, rescue agents and detectives. I'm sure we can be mutually helpful to one another.” Eripio smirked at the trio huddled together and whispered to one another.
“What do you say girls?” Scootaloo looked to the others as they put their hooves on each other's shoulders.
“Well, Ah think tha' it would be ah good idea, she seems tah know what she's talkin' about. She may be able tah help once we get these colts.” Apple Bloom looked to Sweetie Belle for final comments before they came to a judgment.
“Well, I dunno. I mean, I guess so; she'd be able to help with knowing what to do exactly once we get them.... What about the reward? We'd have to split it to be fair.”
The other two Crusaders thoughtfully frowned at this new fact. After weighing the new information, they found themselves nodding along.
“Sigh, I guess so. It would split evenly, two hundred and fifty bits each; we'd be able to pay for a few things at least.” Scootaloo rolled her head slightly as she conceded the point and the three girls nodded as one before breaking the huddle and turning back to the new filly.
“Sure, we'll work with you. Even split of the reward?” Scootaloo looked to the unicorn with a raised brow as the trio stood in a single line.
“Reward? Oh right, the reward. Actually, well, it's a personal thing I'm doing; I'm not really interested in the reward. You guys can have it if you want.” Eripio held out a hoof to the Crusaders who all took turns shaking it. Once they were finished sealing the deal, Eripio looked at the wanted poster once more.
“So, what do you know of these colts?” Eripio asked in a professional voice as she looked to the Crusaders.
“Well, we know 'em 'cause we fought 'em befor'. They are part o' the Red Dragon Dojo, an' we know somepony who could help. Come on.” Apple Bloom waved for Eripio to follow after the Crusaders as they thought on the same wavelength and headed towards the apartment complex.
“Red Dragons? What Dojo? Where are we going? Who's this contact?” Eripio raced to keep up as the Crusaders continued on while giving mental eye rolls at all the questions.
“We're going to our friend Daniel Donut, who should know where we can find the Red Dragons, since his home is in 'their territory'.” Sweetie Belle explained looking over her shoulder at the green unicorn.
“Ooooh, you have a contact and informant already?! That's pretty neat, you sure you haven't been bounty hunters or detectives before?” Eripio asked as they neared the apartment complex.
Sweetie Belle grew even more excited, detectives sounded much cooler than bounty hunters!
“How about that you guys? We can be detectives!” She shrilly made the comment just as they turned the corner to come face to face with Daniel who had heard the shrill sound and came to investigate.
“Oh, hey guys! Nice to see that you're alright, never heard back from ya last time. Still Crusading?” Daniel smirked at the excited fillies, wondering what they might be up to this time.
“Hey Daniel! Sorry 'bout tha', we went and got proper trainin' fer Martial Arts, maybe we can show ya some later! Anyways, we're lookin' fer them Dragon Colts. They said this here was their territory right?” Apple Bloom asked as the four fillies stood in front of the colt; Eripio was interested in how the Crusaders seemed to be full of surprises and knowledge.
Daniel wasn't sure to make of the news and question; from the sounds of it the fillies were getting stronger and better than him (a colt!) and they were looking for the colts that dealt them a harsh blow the last time they were in town.
“Why do you want to find them? Sure, they might still be coming around and bugging me and the other foals who live around here, but how are YOU three -” “four!” Eripio cut in “-four fillies going to do anything to them?” Daniel raised a curious brow as he noticed that the Crusaders' eyes nor their smiles wavered even for a second as he posed his question.
“Don't worry about us, we'll just follow them and find out where their hideout is and report them. If they want to cause trouble, I think we'll have better luck this time around.” Scootaloo proudly exclaimed as she waved a dismissive hoof.
Daniel shrugged and decided to give in; who was he to tell them to stay out of trouble, he was getting into trouble with the Red Dragons as well.
“Alright, your funeral; don't say I didn't warn you. Those colts still come by this area every so often just to remind us that it's their turf... Actually, I haven't seen them in a few days, they're probably visiting today. They stick to the apartment blocks and only a few of the streets nearby. Good luck, hopefully you'll be in an ok shape to show me those new moves later.” Daniel waved a hoof in farewell as he made a fast-paced retreat to his house, unwilling to be nearby when all the fighting broke out.
The Crusaders were a little surprised at this hasty retreat but shrugged as one before turning around and beginning their search for the bully colts.
Luck was with the four fillies that day; after having checked all four of the nearby apartments, they found their targets exiting a grocery store in a cocky and swaggering manner, laughing at their latest 'score' and the fear they caused the store clerk.
“Guys, check it out, it's the colts! Let's follow them and find out where they are heading to.” Scootaloo commanded the others as they all got into sneaking positions; Eripio was a little amused at the seriousness of their sneaking but they were pretty good since they had so much practice at it already.
The four fillies followed their prey as the bullies stole from two other stores; during which Eripio had to hold back the Crusaders from rushing in and stopping the thieves, reminding them that they should see if there is a large gang hideout first before going for the take down.
They spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon following the colts, after each event the Crusaders grew more angrier at their treatment of the ponies around them and their attitudes. They soon forgot about the reward entirely and were determined to bring these troublemakers in, no matter what.
Finally after traveling all over Applewood, the colts went to a warehouse on the edge of the city and snuck inside. The four fillies shared an intrigued look before searching the entire building for other ways in or any signs of who else might be in there; they found that there were five entrances and none of them had guards on the outside at least, but no sign of who else might be in there.
The warehouse itself was at least two and a half stories tall and rather long, it seemed to have belonged to one of the many film studios in the past but was closed off due to non-use. The fence that once encircled the whole thing had a few pony sized holes in it, allowing for easy passage to the building.
Being extremely careful of extra sounds or ponies on the lookout, the four girls snuck inside through a different entrance than the one the colts had used and found themselves both amazed and disturbed.
It turned out to be an easy task to hide once inside since the warehouse was filled with boxes, crates and other things holding stolen loot. There was poor lighting and the entire building was filled with the talk of hundreds of colts (as well as a few fillies) as they did whatever they wanted to; they played poker, shot pool, played video games, skateboarded around the inside and more. It was easy for the girls to hide in the shadows and take in the large scope of the place before them, as well as finding their targets.
The colts wore red belts on their foreheads as they bowed respectfully to an older dark blue earth pony with a white mane and tail who seemed to be in charge; the older pony then nodded once to the colts before pointing a hoof towards the city, signally for them to return to the outside for whatever reason. The fillies scrambled to catch up with their prey while memorizing where the warehouse was located so they could tell the police after catching the bullies.
The three colts trotted quickly back to the city, taking sharp turns and heading further into backstreets of apartment buildings. The fillies continued to follow the colts when as they turned a corner into an alley between two apartments they found the colts had disappeared.
“What in th' world? Where'd they go?” Apple Bloom searched the alley they were in before turning to the others who were just as confused. Suddenly Eripio went stiff before shoving the Crusaders to the side with a shout.
“WATCH OUT!”
Where the four had been standing was now a large crate which had been pushed from the top of the nearby house by two earth pony colts who sneered at the girls when they searched to find where the crate came from.
“So, you it's you three again. Didn't learn your lesson last time huh? Well, there's no old pony to help protect you this time!” The pegasus flew down as his two friends jumped to encircle the four fillies, who tried to seem un-intimidated by the threat.
“Oh yeah?! Well, you guys are bullies and thieves and worse! You're gonna stop doing that or, or, or else!” Sweetie Belle shrilly shouted to the colts who began to laugh.
Without a moment's notice the colts rushed at the Crusaders who in turn pushed Eripio out of the way and farther towards the exit.
“Eripio, ya gottah go get th' police! We'll handle these here bullies.” Apple Bloom shouted to their friend before charging towards one of the earth ponies.
Eripio nodded once before turning tail and finding the nearest emergency phone to call for help. Meanwhile Scootaloo distracted the pegasus who had been about to go after the green unicorn by jumping from a nearby ledge and landing squarely onto his back, making him drop from the sky in surprise.
This wasn't the only surprise the colts suffered from as they hadn't expected the girls to get as strong as they did in the month and a half since their last fight. While the colts had used brute strength and numbers to win their fights, the fillies had worked on their balance and teamwork, causing the colts to crash into one another reminiscent of when Miyagi had fought them.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle fought the two earth pony colts while Scootaloo fought the pegasus; and while the pegasus filly still couldn't fly, all the practice with being in high places and learning of how pegasus usually fought in the sky helped to balance the fighting between the two. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom had an easier time with their fights, being essentially a ground based fight since the unicorn filly hadn't gotten full control of her magic yet.
While the colts fought on their own and snapped at one another when one got into their way, the fillies used teamwork, sending the boys crashing into each other often and even into the walls and ground around them. All their training on balance and repeating basic movements paid off as they had stronger and faster reaction time than the colts; often allowing them to escape in the nick of time from any punches or kicks the colts tried as well as having more power in their attacks in return.
The Crusaders did take some hits, but all their previous adventures helped them get over the pain and fight back. But what really tipped the scale into the girls' favor was when Eripio came back and joined the fighting.
Eripio may have liked to research, track, use facts and logic to win fights but she came from a family of guards, detectives and rescue ponies; learning and using self-defense moves was a normal thing in the Rescue Clan. She helped each of the Crusaders at one point or another, slowly but surely giving the girls the advantage while the colts grew more frustrated and sloppy with the fact that a bunch of fillies were beating them.
By the time the policeponies arrived at the scene, they found the fillies victorious and the colts lying on the ground in pain. After getting the complete story, as well as sending ponies down to the warehouse to round up the rest of the gang, the police had the four girls go to the station to fill out paperwork explaining what happened and receive their reward for their help in the capture of the thieves.
“Tha' was pretty cool Eripio, we didn't know ya can fight.” Apple Bloom said as she wrote what happened in the alley and what they found in the warehouse.
“Yeah, where did you learn all that?” Scootaloo asked while she filled out her own paperwork.
Eripio waved away the praise with a light blush, more interested in where the Crusaders learned to fight; she had never seen movement like theirs before and was amazed at how well they worked together.
“It's nothing. My family believes that it's a good idea for everypony to know some self-defense. Where did you guys learn your moves; I've never seen anything like it.”
“We learned from Miyagi, a Martial Arts teacher of ours.... Hmmm, Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle called softly to her friend, pulling her to the side. The pegasus looked confusedly back to the unicorn as they huddled close to Apple Bloom while hiding what was about to be discussed from all the policeponies around them.
“Scootaloo, if we put our names here, doesn't that mean that Pepper or anypony else can find us?” Sweetie Belle pointed to the papers in question, where the girls had indeed written their names and where they lived (or in Scootaloo's case, the general area). Scootaloo's eyes widened as did Apple Bloom since she was just barely able to hear what was said and realized the trouble they could have gotten themselves into had Sweetie Belle not notice in time.
“Shoot, you're right; I totally forgot about that!”
“But, we need tah fill out these papers befor' we can collect th' reward...” Apple Bloom frowned lightly as the girls sat in a circle thinking of a way to both get the reward and to go unnoticed.
Eripio noticed when the girls grew edgy and in the midst of their whispering walked up to the trio just in time to hear about being unable to collect the reward.
“Why can't you collect the reward?” Eripio asked the girls as they gave small jumps of surprise at the intrusion.
“Oh, uhm, well, we're not supposed to be traveling this far out by ourselves, so if we left proof that we were all the way out here we'd get in trouble, right girls?” Scootaloo elbowed her friends who then nodded along as she tried to keep the police from overhearing.
Eripio thought for a moment and nodded; she suspected that there may have been more to it but the Crusaders didn't want the police to know for whatever reason so she couldn't ask about it in the middle of the station.
“Ok, well how about you guys head outside while nopony is looking and I'll claim the reward and then give it to you instead? That way you don't leave proof that you got the bits and were in Applewood while still getting the reward.” The Crusaders looked at one another before nodding their consent and slowly edged their way to the outside.
They made it just in time, for not even a moment later a policemare came by and asked where they went. Eripio played dumb and made it seem like there hadn't been anypony else around; she made sure to destroy the half-finished papers the Crusaders had left behind and even started her own report over so that nopony else was named. The policemare was suspicious but since she couldn't find the trio she had to drop the subject and collect the one finished report; which she noticed also didn't say much about the Crusaders aside from the fact that some other ponies helped to fight the colts in the alley but had 'disappeared' before the police came.
Once all the paperwork was finished, Eripio claimed the reward and stepped outside, looking around for three tell-tale manes when she noticed a hoof waving at her from a nearby alleyway.
“I feel like we're doing some kind of illegal trade. Here's your bits, you guys did a good job! Maybe we'll see each other around, see you!” Eripio wasted no time in turning over the bits and heading home.
The sudden departure was another shock to the Crusaders but they figured that it must be how the Rescue family said goodbye; short and to the point. After checking that all the bits were there, the trio found that it was getting late in the day and they would have to head home if they wanted to avoid getting into more trouble.
“I guess we aren't bounty hunters or detectives, but it was pretty fun!” Scootaloo hovered for a moment before landing once more as they walked to the station.
“Yeah, and we may be hurt a little but at least it's not like when we first fought those bullies. We should try and figure out how to visit Miyagi more, we need to keep practicing.” Sweetie Belle stated as she quickly glanced at the others' and her own injuries, planning out the herbs and band-aides they would need to use.
“At least we found ah way tah earn more bits, we can pay back Grand Exchange now AN' still hav' bits left over. And here's th' train, perfect timin'.” Apple Bloom led the way onto the train back home during which the girls made plans and discussed ideas for how to keep on traveling and crusading without getting into trouble.
“What do you mean our Dojo in Applewood has been captured? How did anypony find us or even had the task-force to stop them?”
“Tono, the police were led by one of the Rescue Clan; the ones who found and gave this information to the police were four fillies...” A dark blue earth pony with white mane and tail shivered as he bowed to the figure sitting in the half dark.
“WHAT? Not only a pony of the Rescue Clan but four little girls helped to take down a Red Dragon Dojo? Find out who these fillies are, the Rescue Clan we shall deal with but none are to challenge the Dragons without getting burned! Go and do not fail me a second time...” The pony in the dark thundered to the one who was giving the report, who turned rapidly and exited the half dark room.