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// Case 2: The Fall and the Fawn 
// Story: Clover Clues and the Fugitive Fawn 
// by Argentium 
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As the ground rapidly approached, I didn't have time to think about any past regrets or my life yet unlived. I simply closed my eyes and hoped that it would be over quickly. I felt weightless and suspended in the air. After a few moments of not dying, I opened my eyes to see that I was indeed suspended in the air. I looked up to see none other than Princess Luna herself, holding me aloft. "That was rather reckless, Detective Clues. The Royal Vestments are merely objects; a pony's life is worth far more."

Tears welled in my eyes as I looked up at her. "Princess, I--"

Luna looked at me and smiled. "You may thank me later. We have a thief to catch!" She held me tighter as we picked up speed. She was...soft. I shook my head and focused on the task at hoof. Carried by Luna's powerful alicorn wings, we quickly overtook her batpony guards and caught up to the thief, running from rooftop to rooftop with remarkable agility.

I shouted above the wind noise. "I want you to fly low and drop me!"

Luna shouted back, "I will just blast her with my magic!" Her?

"No, Princess! I don't want to risk harming the crown jewels!" Since the distance was closing between us and the black-clad criminal, I could see her more clearly. She was indeed female, but she didn't look to be a pony. Her limbs were too skinny and pointed, and she moved with a light, springing gait. My best guess was that she was a young deer. What was this fawn doing stealing royal jewelry?

"Alright, get ready!" Luna beat her wings forward, swiftly slowing her airspeed.  She let me go, and I dropped in front of the thief as she ran along the long roof of a dockside warehouse. Luna's guards caught up and guided her away from the dangerous assailant.

"Don't move another hoofstep unless you want some magic between the eyes!" My horn crackled with a severe green light. The masked deer reached a cloven hoof into a small pouch on her back. Before she could throw yet another weapon, I blasted her with a stunning spell. She ducked, but the spell grazed her head, wrenching the cloth mask from her face. She was an arrestingly beautiful fawn.

"Kutabare!" she screamed, glaring daggers at me with fierce amber eyes.

"Same to you, sweetheart," I growled. She ran at me swiftly as I readied my horn for another blast. She sidestepped my second shot and headbutted me with surprising force for her size. While I was dazed, she gracefully somersaulted backwards and kicked me in the face. I landed on my back in a groaning heap. She was long gone before I recovered.