//------------------------------// // Part VI: The Gangsters // Story: Dinky Doo and the Quest for the Sacred Treats // by PaulAsaran //------------------------------// Merry was the band that traversed across the village of Ponyville that Nightmare Night! The Paper Squire had won three of the five sacred treats, Marelin was pleased with her work, the three witches were scheming their next great feat of Mark Conjuring, Pip the Pirate hadn’t drawn his sword at a hapless foe in almost ten minutes, and Tom Dumb and G’rain the Adventurer had nearly met their quota of sweets. All seemed well, and the Paper Squire was confident that she would end this night with the praise and love of her noble mother. But then, when they were nearing the home of the fourth Hero of the Kitchen, in the Lonely Alleyways where few wished to venture for being too far away from the festival, the party was ambushed by a most unusual pair! Rather than swords and cloaks, these rascally foes donned suits and caps, bearing knives of wicked-looking plastic. “A-ha!” cried the leader, a pink pony in a slick brown suit. “Look at what we have here, Silver Bonnet! A group of blank flanks.” And Silver Bonnet did giggle at her foes, waving her knife in the air and delighting in their hesitation. “Indeed! And look at their costumes, Clydesdale Diamond. Peasants if I ever saw them.” Frustrated by this interruption, Marelin knocked her staff upon the earth, bringing forth a bright light from its head. “Bonnet and Clydesdale? What do you think you’re doing?” “We’re on a sacred quest,” the Paper Squire declared with great pomp, standing up to the much larger Clydesdale. “Please leave us alone!” “Oh dear, a sacred quest!” cried Clydesdale. “A quest to appease a monster that doesn’t even exist, probably given by that lame-o mother of yours.” So painful was this verbal assault that the Paper Squire did fume and prepare her blade, but Marelin pulled her back and prevented her assault. Coming to her aid were the witches And, Anti and Ben, who threatened the notorious, era-inaccurate gangsters. Yet Bonnet and Clydesdale were not disturbed by their intimidation, and Bonnet said, “So you’re witches now? Great choice, Cutie Mark Losers. Two of you don’t even have horns!” “Yeah,” Clydesdale added with great mockery. “And the one who does can’t even lift a broom. So whose brilliant idea was that?” The witches did share concerned expressions, and Ben admitted, “Yeah, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?” “What?” cried Anti. “But you said it was a great idea.” “To be honest, I never thought it was all that great,” confessed And. Thus did the witches begin to debate amongst themselves, and the notorious gangsters strode past amidst their own giggles. Their advance was thwarted, however, by the Dreaded Pirate Pip, who aimed his lethal wooden sword at the chest of Clydesdale and issued challenge. “Oh, I’m so scared,” teased Clydesdale. “A pirate without a ship or even an ocean to sail it on!” “I don’t need a ship or an ocean,” the heroic Pip announced. “I have my friends, and I will protect them!” “Then you’d best turn around and deal with the traitors in your midst,” Bonnet suggested, aiming her hoof to Tom Dumb and G’rain the Adventurer. “Didn’t you know they plan to take all the candy for themselves?” When Pip turned upon his companions, Tom Dumb did back away from his aggression. “No, we wouldn’t! We learned our lesson from eating too many sweets last year!” “Uh…” mumbled G’rain the Adventurer, “but we did think about it.” “Snails!” So enraged was the pirate at this revelation that he advanced on the two, forgetting all about the tricky gangsters. Seeing the Sacred Treats undefended, Clydesdale Diamond and Silver Bonnet donned wicked grins and prepared to make off with their ill-gotten bounty. Marelin did see through this clever ruse, but her priority was to her charge before her quest, and she devoted herself to the Paper Squire’s plight. “Come now, my brave little friend,” she spoke to the distressed soul. “Do you not recall the night your family was blessed by the Princess of the Moon, and she did come to you in your dreams? Do recall her sage advice to face such wicked bullies as these.” And the Paper Squire did remember the words of the princess, the same princess to whom her noble family owed its allegiance and honor. Emboldened by this fond memory, she turned upon the villains just as they were to collect their prize. “Hold it right there, you meanies!” Startled by the squire’s hasty recovery, they did turn on her to deliver more insult, but their words fell upon the Paper Squire as waves upon a battlement. “Mommy is not a lame-o!” the Paper Squire did cry. “She takes me flying and she works hard to make me happy. Can your mommies take you flying?” Stumped by what was undoubtedly an iron-clad argument, the gangsters sputtered and struggled to form a proper rebuttal. Yet the Paper Squire gave them no time to do so, instead bounding amongst the witches and their heated debate. “Enough, you witches! You are sisters, and sisters shouldn’t fight!” So sudden was this interruption, and so touched were their hearts by this spectacularly graceful showing of wisdom, that the witches did lose their will to argue and looked upon the Paper Squire with awe and appreciation. She then stood between Tom Dumb and G’rain the Adventurer, protecting them from the fury of the Dreaded Pirate Pip. “Stop it! These two want to help, and I trust them. We shouldn’t be fighting each other.” And Pip did restrain his enthusiasm before her brilliant form and lay down his weapon. “If you trust them, my lady, then I shall give them a chance. But I’m watching them!” “Yes, watch them! They’ll do good things, you’ll see. We’re all friends, and we won’t fight each other!” The heroes did cheer, united in their renewed camaraderie and the Paper Squire’s stellar example. “And where do you think you’re going?” Marelin queried the retreating gangsters, and she did seize them with her magic and brought them forward to face justice. “You tried to divide my friends so you could steal the candy reserved for Nightmare Moon! What have you to say for yourselves?” “It’s a waste, giving the candy to Nightmare Moon,” declared Silver Bonnet in her vast ignorance. “Why should we give her our hard-earned candy?” asked Clydesdale Diamond, who struggled mightily yet in vain to break free of the wizard's superior grasp. “She’s greedy and doesn’t deserve it!” “If you want to know why Nightmare Moon wants our candy, why don’t you ask her yourself?” inquired the witch Anti. “That’s a great idea,” announced the Paper Squire with great cheer. “Join us in our quest, and when Nightmare Moon comes you can ask!” “Oh, no!” The face of Bonnet became as pale as the moon itself. “But what if she tries to eat us?” With great disdain did Clydesdale reply, “She’s not going to try to eat us, Silver Spoon. She’s reformed, remember? So why should we join you blank flanks on this silly quest?” The wizard Marelin did smirk, and released the two gangsters from her magic. “Because if you don’t, I’ll inform Filthy Rich and Silver Dollar of just what their naughty children have been up to tonight.” As a blur of amaranth and gainsboro, the two ponies appeared at each of Marelin’s sides, donning their most authentic grins. “So, where next?” queried the eager Silver Bonnet. But Marelin bade the heroes to wait as she sought a private word with her charge. She praised the Paper Squire for standing up for her mother, and resolving the conflicts that had arisen without resorting to bloodshed. The squire was so taken by this praise that she became enraptured in good cheer, confident that her honorable mother would be pleased with her efforts on this glorious quest. But the journey— “—is far from over!” The adventurers cried out in shock at the arrival of a pink and white face from the shadows, the identity of which was clarified by the sagely bill set upon its muzzle. “Pinkie!” cried Marelin in alarm. “Didn’t anypony ever tell you not to sneak up on ponies?” “Relax, Marelin,” the Ceiling Duck – or perhaps an Alley Duck, now? – replied with unabashed merriment. She turned her all-seeing gaze upon the sour-faced gangsters. “Quack! I see you bested Bonnet and Clydesdale. Great job, everypony!” “How did you even know they were gonna be here?” asked the witch Ben. “A wise duck never reveals her secrets, my caped friend. Quack!” Then did the Ceiling… er… Alley Duck’s visage turn ominous. “But they were only the first of your foes. Beware the evil Organ le Bray…” “Oh, no!” spoke Marelin, “not Organ le Bray! She’s…” “The servant of the wicked Sir Laughs-a-Lot!” Marelin did stare at her old friend in stunned disbelief. “What? There’s not supposed to be a—” “Good luck, my little ponies!” And with a mighty swish of shadows, the mysterious Alley Duck disappeared into darkness. All eyes turned upon Marelin, who did press her forehead to her staff with a groan. “Why can’t these adventures ever go as planned?”