Transparent Living

by PinoyPony

Chapter 38: Pursuit

Dazzle took off down the sidewalks weaving through the ponies milling about. Some were running, some were walking, but altogether, Dazzle was thankful that she was small. Some would yelp in panic, some were too busy gawking at what was occurring, and some would shout at them to be more careful. Dazzle knew better though. This was a rough and tough town. Now, this time, she needed to be rough and tough.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Underdog coming up to her side before weaving through another patch of rough crowd. He wrapped the scarf awkwardly, since the other three legs were hard to balance on.

The second time Underdog was to Dazzle’s side, he quickly said “We are losing them! Quick! Follow me!”

Dazzle found it easy to keep up with him, but she wasn’t prepared for when he dove into the street. Coco had always taught her to be far from the edge, but this was madness.

“Dazzle! Quick! They’re getting away!” Underdog shouted once he crossed to the other end.

“But there are carts!” Dazzle shouted. “How am I sup―”

“Dazzle! Live a little dangerously!” Underdog coaxed.

Dazzle took a careful step across the road.

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake!” He ran across the street, just in time as a cart nearly hit him the Flank. No wonder he had so many scars... Well… no time like the present for her to get some more.

“How do I cross without getting run over?!” Dazzle shouting in panic.

“Count! We have two seconds before that cart from that Crosswalk comes here!” Underdog waved towards the traffic. “It’s all timing. If the cart hasn’t got past the white bars of the crosswalk, you are safe, anything past that is asking for it!” He took her by the hoof and charged to the other side of the road.

Dazzle squeezed her eyes shut. She felt the rushing wing of passing carts behind her. Nearly tripping as she took the final step up onto the sidewalk’s threshold, she opened her eyes.

Underdog pointed down the sidewalk, towards the mare and the filly who were a good two blocks away.

Dazzle’s heart never seemed to catch a break in this. The rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins as she weaved past ponies. Every part of her body screamed for her to stop, but at least this made her feel alive. Anything to dispel the numbness if only for a second.

They were gaining. No longer two blocks away, but closer to one. She felt bad for disregarding traffic, but once she saw the filly up ahead with the saddlebags disrupting traffic to make a getaway, she had to worry about the task at hoof: Underdog and her completing the grueling task of catching a thief.

Half a block. Underdog was ahead of her, it made it easy for her to navigate the crowd since most were parting from the impromptu parade: a filly, followed by the mare, followed by Underdog, and finished by Dazzle.

Quarter block. So close. In an instant, the filly dove straight into traffic, taking a diagonal route to the other side of the road. Underdog dove into traffic the same way, leaving behind the mare, who did not dare to jump into the bustling streets.

With a deep breath, and with all the focus she could muster, she dove into the belly of the beast. Quickly, she passed by Underdog who narrowly rolled out of a gap as a cart rear-ended another. This was a good sign that she was near.

She saw a blur of color- gray coat and lime green mane dash past. Acting on instinct, she pounced for it like a lion sinking its claws into a gazelle. She nicked the filly in the flank.

Her hooves didn’t find purchase in the filly’s back though. She felt the rug burn of friction on her frogs. Throwing her more off balance, something knocked the wind of her. She struggled to brace as her hooves met the road. As she struggled with disorientation, her hooves grinded against the blacktop. The felt the grainy gravelly surface slip and slide underneath.

As she struggled to regain her balance, a hoof reached out. She quickly clung onto it. The hoof pulled her towards the other sidewalk.

Once the dizziness wore off, and she caught her breath.

“You okay? You just got T-boned by a cart!” Underdog shouted.

“Yeah, yeah…” Dazzle waved him off. “Get her! You’re so close!”

Underdog shook his head and motioned to her barrel. “You’re hurt!”

Dazzle noticed the red stripe of blood inking in and running down her sweater. She grit her teeth and got up.

Underdog pushed her back down. “Stay down!”

“She’s getting away!” Dazzle shouted.

“No, she isn’t.” Underdog held up a pair of saddlebags. He chuckled. “Dazzle, you are one crazy filly. That dive was both stupid and awesome.”

“What?” Dazzle asked. “HOW?”

Underdog pointed towards the other corner of the street. “Check and mate.”

On the other corner, through blur of the passing carts, Dazzle saw the filly pinned down with some type of aura. A Unicorn bystander was using a spell to hold down the filly.

Suddenly, a mare came up to them. “Thank you for helpi― oh Celestia’s mercy!” The mare screamed.

“Can you get help?” Underdog smiled sheepishly. “My friend is a little feisty, and I cannot leave her unattended.” He held out the saddlebags. “I believe this will help.”

The mare smiled nervously, fastened her saddlebags back and then galloped off.

“So… where was I?” Underdog said with a look of worry yet light-heartedness in his eyes. “You are a crazy filly, Dazzle. Once you knocked her in the flank, she yelped and dropped the saddlebags. It gave me enough opening to kick her to the curb, pick up the saddlebags, and drag you to safety.

“HEY! YOU OKAY?” A stallion asked. He stared down at Dazzle and gasped. “Oh no!”

Dazzle shook her head. “Can I get up?” She lifted a hoof up, but a sharp pain danced down her rib cage. “Augh! That can’t be good.”

“It’s probably a huge blood blister that popped or something.” Underdog said. “Not fond of complex medical terms. A-Braze-something.”

“Abrasion.” Dazzle finished, recognizing the term from her scholarly chats with Yttrium.

A crowd was gathering by the second. Some ponies chose to look away. Dazzle didn’t blame them. She dared a glance at her side, seeing the fabric of her sweater slowly being soaked in blood.

“Wait… kid! Your flank!” the stallion from the cart said.

Underdog checked his side, which began to glow faintly. His eyes widened. “No way! How in Equestria did that happen?”

Dazzle swiveled around, carefully trying not to arch her back or twist her barrel. On Underdog’s flank, as bright as day was a brand-new image of a paw print over the image of a shield. On one side, it was taking a hit, marked by a couple five-sided yellow stars. On the other side were a couple pink hearts.

“Thank you Dazzle!” Underdog shouted. “I would hug you, but ya know…” He smiled. “I know you said it might not happen anytime soon, but isn’t it funny that it happened now?”

“Yeah.” Dazzle said. “It’s been a crazy day.”

Suddenly, medical ponies, some that she recognized came rushing in. “Okay, mister, tell me what happened.”

The stallion from that cart jumped in. “She got hit by a cart.”

“You’ve should’ve seen it! This was hectic!” The mare from before jumped in. “These two helped me get back my property!”

The paramedic gestured to the rest of his team. “We’ll get her into a stretcher.”

Dazzle took a few breaths and focused on breathing. This was fun. Sure, it was hard to focus with the commotion, but altogether, she felt like she did something right.

As she was loaded into the cramped ambulance, she started to regain her bearings. That actually happened! She was sure that she wasn’t dreaming. The pain, the detail of the ambulance’s interior, Underdog. All real.

While paramedics rushed back and forth outside, Underdog scooted to her bedside, or technically… stretch-side. “Thank you for everything. I owe everything that happened today to you.” He said, leaning on the edge of the stretcher.

“Nah. I just encouraged it,” Dazzle said. “It’s your day in the sun. It’s not everyday that a colt gets his cutie mark!”

A paramedic entered the back before the doors slammed behind her. The ambulance lurched forward, speeding down the streets of Mane-hattan.

The paramedic donned a ventilator over Dazzle’s muzzle. Dazzle took a few breaths and calmed her. Her heart slowed.

“This will only pinch a bit.” She tugged on her sweater sleeve.

Dazzle knew what was happening. They were going to put an IV in. “Wait! Stop!”

But it was too late. The Sweater sleeve rolled up. The paramedic paused for a second to process what she was seeing

Underdog’s smile dropped off his face. “What in Equestria?!”