Daring Do and The Turquoise Serpent

by Time Pony Victorious

Chapter 4

IV

MARE DO WELL

Diamond Dog Day Afternoon

It had been two nights since Felicity learned about her story being pulled, and she still hasn't gotten over it. The city lights made Manehattan glow to absurd lengths; Felicity had night-vision installed in her mask but with this many lights it wasn't helpful.

She was out on patrol, as usual, flying over the city to keep an eye on things. Although the police had announced that Mare Do Well was a dangerous vigilante who needed to be stopped and would try to arrest her on sight, she didn't err on the cautious side.

Felicity was confident that if she was in a chase that she could get away. Although she isn't a Pegasus, her flying skills must be commended. She had Flair produce a pair of lightweight, flexible wings that, when charmed with her magic, can generate passive Pegasus magic so she could manipulate the air currents under her wings. The wings also moved due to her magic; it was awkward at first but thanks to her magic, the control she had over her wings was nearly Zen-like.

Of course, she would never say that around any Pegasus she knew; that was a good way to get trampled to the ground.

Her entire ensemble was reinvented from the first time she wore that ratty hoofmade outfit. She had a fancy utility belt that carried everything from knock-out gas to candy bars. Her boots were charmed with magic so that she was able to stand on, and manipulate, clouds. As mentioned before, she had night-vision in her mask and UV vision; she also had a filter that gets rid of any foreign gases within her proximity. The fabric, as fabulous as it was, was also thick yet flexible, so she was protected against any projectiles and from getting cut.

The only normal thing about her outfit would be her hat; it did nothing but look cool.

"Fleece," Flair's voice crackled in through her headset. "The scanner seems clean, nothing major going on tonight it seems."

Behind the mask, she grimaced slightly. She was still steamed about the whole fiasco with J.J. that she wanted to blow some of this steam by pummeling a few bad guys; it was therapeutic and conducive to crime fighting.

"Whatever, I guess I'll head back," she answered finally.

Radio silence…

"So, how are things going with Klon?" he asked mischievously.

"Flair," she sighed. "I'd like to concentrate on my work. I don't have time for distractions."

It was a total lie and Flair knew it. He was encouraging Felicity to ask Klon out for months now, but she doesn't have the courage to do it and it was baffling. She could happily beat down bad guys but couldn't ask out her crush; go figure.

"Sure, sure," Flair laughed. "Whatever you say. By the way, nice job with the weather comment, real smooth."

Maybe Flair wouldn't mind being Felicity's punching bag. She stopped atop one building and overlooked the streets from the rooftop. From here, she could see the entire Middle Park and even hear some of the animals that lived there. Although Manehattan was the center of contemporary modernization, it was still a beautiful place to live.

The buildings that light up brighter than stars at night, the somehow relaxing noise of Shim-Sham mobiles honking in the distance, the cultural brew that produced a complex, and diverse, smorgasbord of food. It was lovely and intoxicating, and even though she was so far away from her parents and from Celestia, she wouldn't trade this home for anything in Equestria.

"Silent alarm was tripped at a bank nearby," Flair dispatched. "Check it out."

Finally, something interesting.

On Fourth Avenue there was a bank, Ponygroup. The place was well respected and held up to 100,000 bits every day, on good days, it went up to 500,000. Consequently, the security is top-notch and, reportedly, a fly wouldn't be able to enter undetected.

But, if one manages to sneak inside, or break in, they would find themselves in front of a 3 inches thick door whose metal is ten times stronger than most conventional vaults. Behind the vault would be, of course, all of that sweet money.

Four diamond dogs, disguised in dark outfits, slithered behind the teller booths.

The biggest one, Clifford, quickly tore down the door leading to the vault.

"Thanks to you Uggie, the alarm has been tripped, we've only a few minutes," he snarled at the smallest one of them.

"Don't worry," placated a medium-sized diamond dog, whose snow white fur stuck out through his black outfit. "I don't think it'll be that bad."

"But Bolt," grumbled Marley, the second biggest one of the bunch, his speech pattern was slow and deliberate. "What if those ponies show up?"

"That's why you've got me, of course," Clifford answered. "You boys couldn't lead your way out of a paper bag. Plus, I'm the muscle of the group; I ain't seen a pony yet that can take me."

"What of that pegasus?" wondered Bolt. "The one that could outdrink you? What was her name again..."

Clifford turned and slapped Bolt so hard he went flying to the wall behind him. The force was so great, that the wall crumbled under Bolt's impact. But, Bolt stood up, dazed, but otherwise okay.

"Idiot! That was a fluke. And you are not to remind me of that infuriating Pegasus! Now quickly, where is the vault again?"

The diamond dogs grumbled and awkwardly plodded down to the vault while Mare Do Well was hot on their trails. She stuck to the walls, silently following the thieves. Thanks to powerful microscopic hairs at the ends of her hooves that produce a molecular attractive force to anything it touches, she is able to, essentially, climb walls.

"Wow," Flair's shaky voice was made all the more obvious through the radio static. "Real sturdy aren't they?"

"We'll just see about that." Felicity continued to trot in the diamond dog's direction, hoping that her cape wouldn't give away her position like a big awkward bat of the night.

"Wait, Fleece, I think this is too much for you to handle," Flair said. "I mean, those guys are too tough. You're just one mare, no way you can take out four of them. I'm not even sure your rope can handle their kind of weight."

"So, what am I supposed to do? Just wait helplessly for the police to come?"

"No, but-"

"By the time they get here, those diamond dogs will be long gone, they never show up conveniently. Either I stop them here, or they get away."

Flair didn't respond, he knew that Felicity could be legendarily stubborn when she wanted to be and knew that arguing would only serve to give away her location. Besides, there wasn't much he could do to stop her, while she was out fighting crimes, Flair was sitting comfortably in his home, listening to the scanners and providing Felicity feedback. Maybe he could side-kick one day, the Amazing Flying Minotaur, or something.

She had made it inside the vault room, to see the group trying to get through it. In spite of how thin the vault actually was, it was tall; eleven feet tall, easily surpassing Clifford's height. It would be tough to crack it, since it was heavily reinforced. Brute force wouldn't get through so easily, it would take finesse and proper execution.

Felicity laid in wait, anticipating one of the diamond dogs pulling out some highly sophisticated piece of technology that would unlock the door with a few button inputs.

Clifford approached the door, sized it up momentarily, and looked at the security keypad at the side of it. Perhaps he will try to hack it instead.

He reeled his fist back and punched straight through the door as if it were made of papier-mâché.

So much for sophistication.

He tried to pull his fist out, but it was stuck in there good. After a few pulls, he managed to free his paw… along with the door and the frame.

Felicity didn't want to know what kind of damage that punch could do to a small, fleshy pony like herself.

Shouldering multiple bags, the diamond dogs stepped inside the vault.

Approximately 120,000 bits sat in the vault; just looking at all that money made the diamond dogs lustful for it.

"Fill the bags," Clifford ordered. They didn't need any more incentive.

The diamond dogs hoarded so quickly and with such enthusiasm it felt like watching a foal in a candy shop. It only took two minutes for them to fill the bags entirely, too short for Felicity to come up with a decent plan.

"Let's go, the police will be here shortly." They marched out the vault. Felicity's mind raced; if they managed to get outside she wouldn't be able to track them down so fast. Even with her wings, diamond dogs are faster than her. She needed to keep them inside.

Felicity reached down for her belt and clicked what she thought was the button for the net, but instead two metallic boomerangs came out. She rolled her eyes, Flair thought the boomerangs would make for effective weapons but she thought they were too silly. Still, better than nothing.

She tossed the boomerangs at the diamond dogs in front, Clifford and Bolt, and they connected with the backs of their hands. In surprise, they dropped two of the bags and snapped their heads back at Felicity.

"Mare Do Well!" Clifford growled; he probably didn't want to ask for an autograph.

Reaching for the first thing he could find, Clifford threw a few hundred pounds in bits at her with incredible speed. Dropping down from the ceiling, Felicity avoided the impact but the bag exploded from the throw and bits rained down on her.

Uggie and Marley stampeded toward her, both of them extending their hands up in twin hammer strikes. She rolled between Marley's legs while they both dented the ground. Using some strong wire, she wrapped it around their feet, tying them up.

They may be fast and strong, but they were predictable. Uggie and Marley desperately tried to break the wire by separating their feet, but instead tripped themselves up and fell over each other.

She popped another button on her belt and a spray can came out, levitating and activating the can with her magic, foam covered the entangled diamond dogs but it hardened instantly to cement.

Two down, two to go.

She looked back up to see Clifford inches in front of her. His shoulder out, he rammed Felicity and sent her back into the main lobby, crashing through a few sets of booths. The experience was so jarring that she couldn't recall how she got there in the first place.

Her hat flew off in one direction and her head felt like a cow has been using it as a chair.

Clifford scuffed, "Puny pony."

She was too dazed to respond or to even notice that Uggie and Marley broke through her cement foam. The four diamond dogs now began to surround her.

She stood, wobbly at first, and tried to shake the disorientation that she felt.

"So, you are Mare Do Well?" Clifford asked, "I wonder what is so great about you! You are nothing but puny pony with a mask."

Bolt charged, hands held up high for a strike that will no doubt make her head concave.

Mustering up enough magic, she teleported out of the way. Bolt's strike missed its mark entirely and Felicity teleported right behind them.

Who knew that teleportation spell would come in handy? It was the first spell Celestia taught, but it was dangerous to use. Sometimes she would end up in a different place than expected or would end up with her mane burnt off.

Clifford turned faster than expected attempting to knock her block off (literally). She ducked, dodging the attack, but he raised his other fist to generously make her and the ground one. Stepping into the attack, she jumped up, letting him miss his mark, and kicked his jaw. The recoil made his snap upward, as expected, and she prepared her next move.

Clicking her belt, another strip of wire came out but this time it had hooks in it. Hooking one end to Clifford's shoulder, she landed, crouched as low as possible, and ran underneath his legs.

The wire pulled him down so fast he hit the ground hard.

The rest of the gang lined up perfectly for her, they ran toward her attempting to hit her, but she jumped, rolled, and dodged around and through them. With the wire held firmly in her mouth, she had managed to tie all of them up together.

The danger wasn't the fact that they were wired up, but the fact that the wire was so thin and durable that if they moved against it, they would cut themselves deep.

Letting go of the wire, it snapped back into place and slammed all of the diamond dogs into one pile, wrapped up so nicely that she wanted to put a bow on them.

They roared in anger and tried to break the wire but only managed to get themselves more tied up.

"PUNY PONY!" screamed Clifford, "RELEASE ME SO I CAN SMASH YOU!"

Felicity sighed; her head was killing her and she still had double-vision, but hey, she stopped a bank robbery.

Flashing lights poured in from the windows, the colts in blue are finally here! She needed to leave, although she did some good here, they wouldn't appreciate her participation.

She ran opposite of the main door and left from the side door while the police crashed inside the bank. They found four sour diamond dogs tied up and one large purple hat, sitting in an isolated corner; it wouldn't take Fetlock Holmes to deduce that Mare Do Well was here.

Comments

[Xerzes]

You'd benefit from an editor, but I'm really enjoying this.