Stranger Than Fiction
Chapter One: Stranger Than Fiction
A bracing wind howled in the air, prompting Daring to grab hold of her favourite helmet, lest it be caught in the gust and blown overboard. She secured the main sail of the boat and allowed the wind the carry her forward to her destination.
While by definition it was an island, it looked more like a giant slab of rock protruding out of the open sea. The island had sheer cliffs on all sides which towered above Daring and her boat, with vegetation covering the top. To reach the top of the island would be difficult for anypony without the ability to fly. That being said, the top of the island wasn’t Daring’s target
Daring grabbed hold of the rudder, steering the boat around the island and keeping an eye out on the bottom of the cliffs. Eventually, she found a pitch black cave in the bottom of the rock, just big enough for the boat to fit into. She stopped the boat briefly to check her notes.
“This just has to be it,” Daring whispered. “The Soulpeace gem is almost mine,” steering straight on course for the cave. Daring soon realised she had already let her guard down. As the boat entered the cave, something snapped from under the water and the rocks above her started to rumble.
Daring was forced to take to her wings as a hail of rocks fell from above, smashing her boat to mulch. She swerved around to avoid the rest of the rocks as they splashed into the water below. As things calmed down, Daring breathed a sigh of relief, only to be met with the unwelcome sight of another, cream-coated pegasus.
“Getting a bit complacent, aren’t we?” the other pony snarked.
Daring’s brow furrowed at the sight of him. “Hoard Hunter. I should have known. Why can’t you get your own treasure?”
“I guess I just can’t stay away!” Hunter announced, launching himself further into the cave. “Ta-ta!”
“Oh, no you don’t!” Daring shouted back, dashing off into the darkness.
As she pressed further in, there were torches lining the walls of the cave, which served to illuminate the dangerous obstacles covering almost every inch of the cavern walls. Sharp stalactites hung from the ceiling with a series of metal spikes sticking out of the walls, and razor wires stretched across the cavern. Daring put her experience avoiding traps to good use. She strafed around the spikes and flapped her wings to swerve above and below the wires, many of them only missing her by inches. This continued until Daring was faced with a whole wall of spikes and wires, making it nigh impassable save for a small opening. Daring breathed in and focused on that one point. At the last second, she folded her wings and legs in, just barely getting through unscatched.
“What’s the matter, Daring?” an obnoxious voice from ahead echoed out. “Too much danger?”
“I’m just getting warmed up!” Daring called back, racing ahead as fast as her wings would go.
Rainbow Dash was completely absorbed in the book she was reading: Daring Do and the Cursed Soulpeace. Reading it along with the four books that came before it had forced her to use a whole week of her vacation time. To her, it was a trade-off she didn’t regret at all. Each book had been a roller coaster of hoof-biting tension, exciting action, and intense showdowns.
Rainbow Dash yawned and looked up at the clock on her wall. 9.15 AM. At this point she had at least decided to stop staying up all night to read, as it rarely ended well. That being said, the thought of reading the next part of each book was far better at getting her up than weather duty ever did.
She took a quick look at the pages in the book.
“Hmm, not much left. Oh well, now to the good part!” Rainbow Dash got straight back in at the point she left off.
Twilight shelved the last book, and released her focus on her horn. “Well, that just about wraps things up.”
“About time, too.” Spike noted. “I’m starving.”
“I guess now would be a good time to go and have lunch,” Twilight agreed after checking the clock. “Do you mind going ahead? I still have to...” Twilight ears suddenly perked up. It didn’t take her long to figure out why.
“Brace yourself, Spike!” Twilight said as the source of the noise came closer.
“Twiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiight!” the emerging voice called out as a prismatic blur came crashing in through the window. Fortunately, Twilight had anticipated such and thing and had left the window open.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight magically grabbed Rainbow Dash before she crashed into a bookshelf and ruined her hard work. “You’re finished already?”
“You know me, Twilight! Once I start one of these, I just can’t put it down! Well, most of the time, anyway… I still gotta eat and all that.” Rainbow Dash took the copy of the book from out of a saddlebag. “Wasn’t this one just awesome? The puzzles, the danger, even the ending! Who’d have thought Daring would have chosen to save Hunter?”
“I guess in that way, Daring’s a little bit like you, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said.
“Oh, you’re just saying that.”
“No, really! She’s bold and loves a great adventure, but in the end she won’t leave anypony hanging!”
“Well, when you put it that way…” Rainbow Dash mused with a silly smile.” Oh right!” She handed the book back to Twilight.
“So, where’s the next one?”
“I’m afraid there isn’t a next one. It hasn’t been written yet.”
“You gotta be kidding me!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, throwing her hooves into the air. “I have to know about Daring’s next adventure!”
“I’m sorry, Rainbow. You’ll just have to wait for Phantom to finish the next book like the rest of us…”
“Awwwww,” Rainbow Dash groaned before part of Twilight’s last statement sunk in. “Wait, Phantom?”
“Of course, he’s the writer of the Daring Do series,” Twilight explained. “Or she. Nopony actually knows.” She held the book up for Rainbow Dash to see. Sure enough, on the bottom of the book was the name Phantom Placer.
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at the name. “So uh, has old Phantom done any other books?” she asked.
“Well, I had a look, but I couldn’t find any titles by that name besides the Daring Do series, even out in Canterlot,” Twilight said. “Phantom Placer is a bit of a mystery to just about everypony.”
“Then how do you know he’s old?” Rainbow Dash noted, her forelegs crossed. “Or she.”
“To be honest, I don’t.” Twilight pulled out one of the other Daring Do books off one of the shelves with her magic and opening it up. “None of these books say anything about who Phantom is. It’s more of a nickname ponies thought of than anything else.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “It just sounds weird to me. I wouldn’t like it if anyone called me old right now.”
Twilight chuckled at the remark. “I guess not, but it’s just a bit of fun. Who do you think Phantom Placer is?”
“I dunno, somepony awesome! How else could they make Daring Do? He or she probably didn’t like their name before, so they changed it. I know that’s what I’d do!”
“Ponies don’t often have their name changed, though it’s possible. At the same time why would they have a name related to ghosts? There has been no known existence of undead ponies or spectres over the past few hundred years. Well, at least according to my Unabridged Guide to Supernatural Beings, which suggests that the name is...” Twilight noticed Rainbow Dash’s eyes starting to slip shut and cut herself off. “Oh, sorry. Look, the point is... oh, never mind. Say, Rainbow Dash, do you want to try out another book? You might find something else you like.” Twilight placed the Daring Do book back into its shelf, then pointed out the shelf for Rainbow Dash to search.
“Well, I guess I haven’t got much else to do.” Rainbow Dash flew over to the shelf Twilight had shown her and inspecting the titles on each one.
“Just try not to mess anything up, okay?” Twilight asked.
Just then, a knock came from the front door.
“Coming!” Twilight walked over to the door and opened it up. Rarity was standing outside, checking for dirt in her hooves. “Oh, hello, Rarity. Is everything alright? You look worried.”
“There’s a whole rabble of ponies over by the town hall.” Rarity gestured towards the area of the Town Hall. “The mayor asked for you specifically. Something is going on around here.”
“Why would the mayor want me?” Twilight asked.
“Well, I can’t say for sure. I do know she wouldn’t ask for your help if it wasn’t of the utmost importance. If the gathering crowd is any indication, this requires your immediate attention.”
Twilight put her hoof up the her chin and stared intently at the ground for a moment. “Alright, but I want you to come with me. You too, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash stuck her head out from around the top shelves. “What? Oh yeah, sure.”
When they arrived outside the Town Hall just a few minutes later, the three of them found their way into the Hall blocked by the gathering ponies Rarity had mentioned.
Rarity extended a leg over her eyes and scanned the crowd. “My, there’s even more ponies here than before!”
“We don’t have time for this,” Twilight said, focusing some magic on her horn. “Girls, grab my legs.”
“You’re not gonna?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“She is.” Rarity sighed. The two of them reluctantly touched Twilight’s forelegs, at which point they all disappeared in a flash, reappearing in front of a door with a golden plaque marked ‘Mayor’. Twilight knocked on the door sharply.
“Come in!”
Twilight opened the door and the three of them went in. A few filing cabinets sat against the walls, along with some cabinets lined with thick books and other ornaments. In the centre was a fairly ornate desk the mayor was sitting behind.
“Ah yes, Twilight, do come on in,” the mayor said. She was flanked by a stallion wearing armour similar to a royal guard. On closer inspection, the armour was more ostentatious, with more sheen than normal and a red jewel encrusted in the
forehead. “I’m glad you could make it Twilight. You’ve probably noticed that there’s quite a bit of unrest amongst our fair citizens.”
“Yes, we noticed. What exactly is this all about anyway?” Twilight asked.
The mayor hopped out of her chair, putting up a hoof up to her forehead. “There’s a criminal, a criminal here in Ponyville!”
“But there’s never been anypony like that around before,” Twilight said. “At least, not since I first got here. Are you sure?”
The guard stepped forward, presenting the three of them with a piece of paper. At the top of the paper was the emboldened word ‘WANTED,’ accompanied by a picture of a young looking unicorn mare with a blue coat, light green, polished mane and golden eyes. Beneath that was the name ‘Opal Parchment,’ above the offer of a reward of thousand bits for her capture.
Rarity took a look at the poster and supressed a laugh. “Really? This looks like something they’d use out in Appleloosa. Don’t tell Applejack I said that...”
“Trust me, this is a very real problem. We caught sight of her jumping the train here in Ponyville. We’ve posted a couple of guards at the station to stop her from escaping, but we don’t know this town very well so we’re afraid she might escape some other way. ”
“That isn’t likely.” Twilight started pacing the office. “The only other ways out of Ponyville are open plains, or the Everfree Forest, which is dangerous at the best of times. Her best chance right now would be to stay put and hide.”
“Hmm... polished mane, fancy background... this pony is from Canterlot, am I right?” Rarity asked. The guard paused for a moment, then nodded. “What exactly is she wanted for anyway? Your little poster doesn’t say.”
“I’m... not at liberty to disclose that.” The guard tensed up slightly. “It’s an important secret.”
“I bet she’s a spy!” Rainbow Dash suddenly blurted , throwing her hooves up into the air, before looking around to find everypony else staring blankly at her . “What?”
“We’d be more than willing to help you with this, but what do you need us for?” Twilight asked, giving the poster back.
The mayor looked outside the window. “I take it you’ve seen the crowd gathering outside. As far as we’re aware, none of them know the whole truth, but somehow they’re aware that something is going on. We can’t afford to allow them to descend into a full blown panic. We need to assure them that there’s no danger.”
“I thought giving good speeches and such was your area?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
The mayor sighed. “That is true, but I’m not so great at writing them. Normally that isn’t a problem as I have more time to prepare, but that isn’t the case today. I want you to help me write something I can use to address the crowd. What we need is something to calm down the crowd. I would also prefer if we didn’t have to resort to lying. If we can do that, hopefully the ponies will return to their normal lives and we can search for this Opal in peace.”
“Alright then,” Twilight said, taking another look at the poster. “Let’s go over what we know.”
A few minutes later, and Twilight and the others went outside to greet the massing crowd of ponies outside. The majority of them were talking amongst themselves in concerned tones.
“Alright, let’s put an end to this.” Twilight went up the crowd. “Attention everypony!” she called out. Everypony continued to mutter to themselves. “Attention!” Still no response. “QUIIEEEET!” Twilight yelled out, magically amplifying her voice. It seemed to work, as everypony in the crowd was now silent and focused on her. The level of volume also meant most of the ponies closest to her had to cover their ears. “Sorry.” Twilight slowly stepped back to where the mayor was. “I think you should get started.”
“Thank you, Twilight.” The mayor stepped forward in front of the crowd. “Attention everypony. We want to assure you right now that there is nothing to worry about.”
“And what makes you so sure?” a voice called out.
“I heard there’s a wanted mare here!”
“How are we supposed to keep our little fillies safe?”
“Quiet!” Twilight snapped, taking a step forward.
“Please, calm down,” the mayor added. “Yes, it’s true. I’m not going to lie to you. We believe that there is a wanted mare here in Ponyville.” As the mayor said this, the crowd slowly became vocal again, most of them sounding panicked. Twilight quickly stepped forward and cleared her throat, which quickly caused their voices to die down again. “I told you that there’s no danger right now. While it’s true there’s a criminal in this town right now, we believe that she is here to hide, not cause trouble. There are already guards on the case looking for her, and we don’t believe her to be dangerous. If you see her around, be sure to inform one of the guards around the town. We’ll have this resolved within the next day or so, I promise.”
At first, everypony remained silent. Soon enough, the crowd soon started to disband as the townsponies left to go back to their usual business.
The mayor approached Twilight. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. Things might not have gone as smoothly without your help. I just hope we really can resolve this quickly.”
The guard approached the two of them. “I’m afraid that might not be possible. If Opal really does choose to hide, it’ll be tough to find her. We’re stretched a bit thin and we’re not familiar with this town.”
“I might be able to help there,” Twilight offered.
“I’d appreciate that. We should go inside and discuss this further.”
Rainbow Dash flexed her forelegs in a mock fighting stance. “Hey, Twilight. If there’s a pony up to no good, we want to help too.”
“Sounds good to me.” Twilight looked around briefly. “Why don’t you go back to the library and I’ll meet you there a bit later?”
“Good call. Rarity, I’m gonna go get Applejack. I’ll catch up to you!” Rainbow Dash flew off.
“Rainbow Dash, wait... ” Rarity sighed. “Alright.”
While the mayor had addressing the crowd, a cloaked figure had been lurking in a nearby alley, listening intently to what was being said. The figure was gone by the time the crowd of townsponies had started to disband.
The pony underneath the cloak was Opal Parchment, the mare who now had a price on her head. Underneath the cloak was a single saddlebag and a cutie mark of silver, gleaming quill.
Looks like I can’t hide here any longer. They’ll be on the lookout for me now, Opal thought, cantering briskly to Ponyville Station. There were still very few ponies around, but she kept herself from breaking out into a gallop nonetheless.
The station was a rather modest affair, with a small ticket office providing access to the platforms. Opal turned to corner to face the station, but forced herself back behind the house she had just walked past when she just when she noticed a pair of guards standing at attention outside the entrance. Opal poked her head out to get a better look. The guards stood at either side of the entrance, with their typical stony expressions.
That’s the only way in. No way am I going to slip past. There has to be another way out of here, and quickly, Opal thought. She wished, not for the first time that she had wings like a pegasus and she could just fly away. As it was, she walked across the street towards a signpost.
Town Hall, Library, Sweet Apple Acres? Blast, nothing I can use. Think, Opal, think.
She was pulled out of her thoughts when the wheel of a cart, being pulled by a green earth pony stallion just behind her snagged on her cape. She tried to pull it loose, but the cloak was stuck fast. The cloak started to pull Opal, so she slipped out of it, leaving the cloak to wrap itself around the wheel.
“Hey, what do you think you’re…?” Opal started, turning round to reprimand the pony who blown her only source of cover. However, she stopped when her eyes met with one of the guards standing outside the station not ten metres away. “Oh no…”
“That’s her! Get her!” one of the guards shouted out, the pair of them now galloping after her. Opal broke out into a gallop in the other direction, abandoning what was left of her cloak. She quickly turned into a narrow alley, but the pair of guards managed to keep up, never losing sight of her. Opal soon came up to a junction where a small crowd of ponies were standing, with a few market stalls on each corner.
No time to go around, Opal thought. She picked up speed until another unicorn stood in her way, this one with a yellow coat and carrying assorted fruits in her saddlebags. Opal waited until the last possible moment, then pushed off of the ground with all the strength her legs could muster. She flew a few feet in the air, barely avoiding the unicorn below her. As she landed, the other unicorn called out to her, but Opal was too busy running to hear what she had said.
Phew, that was close. Good thing I… gah! Opal realised too late that a table lined with various flowers was right in her path. Almost instinctively, she tipped herself over sideways and slid under the table. She quickly got up, and winced in pain.
My flank... I’m not doing that again anytime soon. She took off into a gallop again, the crowd of ponies finally behind her. She checked behind her a minute later, and found the guards still on her tail in the distance.
“Go...away!” she gasped between deep breaths. Between her shortness of breath and each step bringing her legs closer to locking up, Opal knew she didn’t have long.
I should have exercised more when I had the chance. I just can’t give these guards the slip. Then, she noticed a narrow alley lined with all different kinds of containers. Unless...
Opal skidded to a halt, then ran down into the narrow alley. About fifteen seconds later, the pair of guards entered the alley, but there was no sign of their target.
“Where’d she go?” one guard asked, looking at the other guard.
The other guard just rolled his eyes. “She must have tried to lose us in this alley. Come on, she can’t have gone far!” The pair of them galloped off through the alley, unaware of what had really happened.
As the guards galloped away from the alley, it fell silent. That was, until one of the open barrels started to shake. A few moments later, Opal slowly stuck her head out.
My neck... that was even more uncomfortable than I imagined. Opal had dived headfirst into the barrel the moment she saw it, and had been stuck flank up until she couldn’t hear any more hoofsteps and felt safe to start moving. It also appeared that the container was lined with something similar to vegetable oil, which had rubbed into her coat.
Well, at least it seems to have worked. She couldn’t see anypony around, least of all the guards, so she climbed out and stepped back down on the ground.
Great, my legs ache, my flank still burns a little and now I smell like goodness knows what. At least my bag is still intact, somehow. I just need a few minutes to catch my breath. But it probably isn’t safe here. Opal walked back the way she came, looking for a better hiding place. When she emerged from the alley she noticed a strange looking tree lined with windows and even a balcony. What caught Opal’s eye however was the front door, and a sign adorned with the image of a book.
Perfect.
Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash had met up in the library just minutes before, and had begun discussing their plans. Rarity was sipping a glass of apple juice, while Applejack was busy tying a rope into a lasso. Rainbow Dash was flying back and forth with her face scrunched up.
It was Applejack who finally broke the silence. “Are ya sure about this, sugarcube? I mean Twi and the others look like they can handle things themselves.”
“What’s the matter, Applejack?” Rainbow Dash asked, breaking out of her contemplation to face her. “You’re not scared, are you?”
Applejack gave her an indignant look. “Scared? Me? I just don’t think we should be goin’ to all this trouble when Twi said she’d handle things.”
“Come on, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash replied. “And miss this chance? No way. If anypony can save the town from this criminal pony, it’s me! I mean us.”
“I never thought I’d say this,” Rarity interjected, dropping her glass. “But you’ve been reading far too many of those books. This isn’t just some adventure you know. Nor is it one of your little acts of heriocs. We don’t want that to get out of hoof all over again.”
“Hey, I had a good thing going there,” Rainbow Dash retorted, pouting. “You saw how everypony was acting about this, Ponyville could be in danger. I’m sure if we work together, we can take this bad pony down and save our town! What do you girls say?”
Applejack paced briefly, trying to avoid eye contact with Rainbow Dash. “Well I dunno, are ya sure we should be the ones to do this?”
“Come on Applejack,” Rainbow Dash assured her, grabbing her by the shoulders. “We’ve been through worse than this. Don’t you want to help out? I’m sure you could use that reward.”
“Well okay,” Applejack trailed off. “But only ‘cause I wanna help out, ya hear?”
Rainbow Dash smiled and looped through the air and smiled. “That’s the spirit!” She then turned to Rarity “How about you, Rarity? You up to this?”
“Well, as much as I’d hate to dirty my hooves,” Rarity started. “We can’t have some criminal going around ruining Ponyville’s good name, can we?” She took another sip of her drink and turned to Rainbow Dash. “So, what’s the plan?”
Rainbow Dash laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, still kinda working on that.” Her smile quickly faded as she noticed the others weren’t smiling. “Look, all we gotta do is find this pony and catch her, you know? That’s where you come in, Applejack.”
“If ya say so,” Applejack agreed. “I’m just not used to wranglin’ other ponies, just so you know.”
Rainbow Dash grabbed the rope Applejack had been playing with. “I’m sure you’ll do fine.” She dropped the rope and glided over to Rarity. “Okay, and you can, uh...”
“This is what I was afraid of,” Rarity said, sighing. “I suppose I could help flush her out, but I’m afraid I may not be much help catching this mare.”
“Well I guess that will have to do,” Rainbow Dash admitted, noticed Rarity frowning briefly. “Hey, that’s still better than nothing. “It’s not like she’s just gonna come to us...” Rainbow Dash flinched as she heard the front door open, then close again a couple of seconds later. “That must be Twilight. Good, we can tell her our...” Rainbow Dash stopped herself when a blue unicorn rushed in, gasping for air.
“Wait, yer not Twi. Who are ya?” Applejack asked, approaching the new entrant.
Opal looked up at the other three ponies, and her legs started to shake. “I, um...”
Rainbow Dash broke out a grin. “Well, speak of the Nightmare. Looks like we won’t have to go looking for you after all.”
Rarity took a look at Opal, then her face recoiled slightly. “Are you sure she’s the one? She’s so much scruffier than in the picture. And what is that smell?”
“So what if she smells? The colours all match up,” Rainbow Dash said, holding a copy of the poster.
“Wait, no, I...” Opal stammered, stepping back slightly.
Rainbow Dash slowly closed in on Opal. “Now come quietly, or you’re gonna regret it!”
Opal‘s eyes darted around the room. There was just a table between her and Rarity, and nothing holding back Rainbow Dash or Applejack. There wasn’t much to the room they were in besides the shelves lined with books. Opal closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “I just have one thing to say.”
Rainbow Dash flew back a bit, eyebrow raised. “Yeah, and what’s that?”
Opal’s horn suddenly flared up. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, what are you... gah!” Rainbow Dash was suddenly pummelled by a small landslide of books, displaced from their shelves by Opal’s burst of magic. Rainbow Dash fell to the floor under the weight of the makeshift avalanche. The noise from the crash startled Rarity momentarily, which was all Opal needed. She jumped up onto the table, kicking the glass of apple juice into her face.
“My mane!” Rarity squealed, trying to rub her face clean. Opal looked to Applejack, who was now preparing her lasso. Opal jumped off the table and landed less than a foot away from Applejack.
“Yer not stoppin’ me!” Applejack declared. However, Opal had other plans. She grabbed the brim of Applejack’s hat and pulled it down as hard as hard as she could. The hat slid down Applejack’s head, obscuring her vision.
“Why, you...” Applejack cursed, trying to stop the lasso so she could pull her hat back into place.
Opal was already on the move at this point. “Sorry!” She called out as she ran to the other side of the room. Opal jumped up onto another of the tables in the room, and then up through the window that had been left open before. The underside of her body clipped the bottom of the window frame, making her wince slightly, but she landed on her hooves and proceeded to gallop off.
Applejack struggled against her hat until it finally came unstuck, and returned it to its rightful place. The scene that greeted her eyes when she did was one of chaos. The only sign that anypony was still here was a single cyan hoof sticking out of a messy pile of books. Applejack grabbed the hoof and pulled it as hard as she could. “Come on, Rainbow Dash,” she grunted. “Up an’ at ‘em.”
Rainbow Dash rose through the books to her hooves with the grace of a sleep-deprived elephant. “Urgh, my head,” she said, rubbing her head with a hoof and finding several sizable lumps.
“You okay, Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow Dash looked over the rest of her body. She had a few bruises. “I’ve had worse,” she replied. She turned back to Applejack. “What just happened?”
“That little snake pulled a fast one on us,” Applejack said with a scowl. “I think Rarity musta ran off, not sure where .”
Rainbow Dash took to her wings again. “Well, she sure managed to make a mess of the place, that little trickster.” She looked out the window, seeing a trail blood leading outside. “We’re not letting her get away with this.”
“Don’tcha worry, sugarcube,” Applejack said, picking up her lasso again. “We still got a plan. We just gotta be smarter is all.”
Opal continued to run as fast as she could after she had escaped the library, ignoring all of the painful experiences she had suffered over the last hour or so. She made her way back to the alley she had hidden in just a few minutes ago, and stopped there, once again out of breath.
There just had to be several tenacious ponies in the library. Just my luck really, Opal thought as she panted.
Wait, what’s that on my flank? Opal had suddenly noticed her right side felt somewhat wet. When she turned around to check it out, she noticed a crimson stain running along the bottom of the right side of her.
Blood. I must have cut myself during my escape, but if I’m still bleeding. Oh, oh no... Opal checked the area she came from. Just as she had feared, there were drops of blood leading the way she came from.
“To think, you almost got away,” a voice behind Opal said.
Opal’s eyes widened, as she slowly turned around towards to source of the voice. Her heart skipped a beat as her eyes came inches from those of the blue pony from the library. Opal quickly stepped back. “What, how did you.. ”
“How did I find you, or how did I get out so quickly?” Rainbow Dash started, launching herself gently into the air. “Well, the answer to the first is that you left behind a trail I couldn’t miss. The second is that nopony, nopony stops Rainbow Dash. Least of all, you.”
Opal took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I can’t get caught. Not after everything I’ve been through. Please, get out of my way.” Opal opened her eyes and stared at Rainbow Dash, flaring up her horn.
Rainbow Dash just gave her a sly smile. “Oh, I’m not going to stop you. I’m the distraction!”
Opal quickly rose up to all fours, when a lasso dropped onto her from above. It pulled itself taut when it reached Opal’s legs, forcing them together and toppling Opal.
“Yee-haw!” Applejack called out, holding the other end of the lasso with her tail. “That’s how we do things down at Sweet Apple Acres.”
Opal struggled against the lasso around her legs, pulling on it as hard as she could. “Let go of me!” Opal sparked up her magic and tried to pull on the ring of rope with it.
Applejack grabbed her end of the rope with her mouth, pulling on it even harder. “Ren-Bow Dash... now!”
Rainbow Dash perked up. “Oh yeah!” She pulled out a metallic cone shaped object out of her mane and slammed it on Opal’s horn.
Opal tried to continue to struggle with her magic, but the device now stuck on her horn reacted and shocked her.
“A little something we borrowed from Twilight.” Rainbow Dash said, hovering over Opal’s head. “Thanks to this, you won’t be using any more magic. So don’t try anything!”
Opal continued to struggle against her binds. “Let go of me!”
Applejack walked up to Opal, still holding the rope. “After all the trouble you caused, yer going nowhere.”
Rainbow Dash started towards the end of the alley. “Oh man, Twilight’s gonna freak when she finds out that we got her. Come on, let’s turn this no good mare in.”
Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash’s hind leg. “Now hold on a mite, Rainbow. We should at least tell Twi about this first. Don’t wanna leave her waitin’ on us and making her own plans fer nothin’.”
Rainbow Dash turned around and sighed. “Fine. Just make sure she doesn’t try anything.”
Applejack smiled. “Don’tcha worry, she’s not getting outta this.” Applejack walked back to the entrance of the alley, dragging the rope Opal was tied to by her mouth.
“Stop it, stop it!” Opal snapped. “You’re hurting me!”
Applejack turned around, and faced Opal. “You gotta lotta nerve talkin’ like that after what y’all did to us!”
Rainbow Dash turned around. “You know, she’s probably not gonna shut up about it.”
Applejack fumed slightly. “Yeah, I betcha you know all about that.” Applejack took another look at Opal. “Alright Rainbow Dash, but I’m gonna need your help.”
“I’m on it!” Rainbow Dash gave a salute, and proceeded to lift up Opal by the rope, while Applejack held it steady. Finally, Rainbow Dash lowered Opal onto Applejack’s back. “Now will you be quiet?”
“This is so humiliating,” Opal muttered. She noticed Rainbow Dash still glaring at her. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Though it was only a short distance back to the library, Opal proved surprisingly heavy, even for somepony as strong as Applejack. Even so, it only took a couple of minutes for them to make it back. Rainbow Dash had gone on ahead, although she had tactfully gone through the front door. When she went in, Twilight was there, standing of the rough pile of books from before.
“Oh hello, Rainbow Dash. Any particular reason my library is in a mess?” Twilight asked, her face slightly contorted.
Rainbow Dash just couldn’t hold back a grin. “You’re not gonna believe this!”
“Believe what?” Twilight asked. Just then, Applejack came in with Opal still on her back.
Rainbow Dash turned to Applejack, then back to Twilight. “Good timing. See Twilight, I told you.”
Twilight’s jaw dropped. She ran over to get a better look, and noticed the state Opal was in. “Well, it looks like her. But what did you do to her exactly?”
“She did this to herself, believe me,” Rainbow Dash said, looking over to the mess of books. “She was also the one who did this to those books, on top of me.”
Twilight looked Opal in the eye. “Is this true?”
Opal sighed. “Well, yes, but.”
“There ya have it,” Applejack cut in. “Now can we hoof her in? I still got things ta seein’ to, and we can really use the reward.”
Twilight closed her eyes briefly. “Not just yet. I’m still curious as to why this all happened. Applejack, why don’t we start with what went on here.” Twilight gestured towards the library in its current state.
“Well, I guess it started when we were makin’ our plans,” Applejack started. “Suddenly, she pops in outta nowhere. We almost had her, only she goes and throws anything she can at us, includin’ those books. She almost got away too, but we were on her trail and we caught up to her before she knew it.”
Twilight smiled at Applejack. “Good work. Now, I’d like to ask her a few questions. Do you mind setting her down and removing the rope?”
Applejack blinked at the remark. “Yer sure about that, Twi? I don’t wanna hafta go through all that trouble again.”
“Don’t you worry Applejack,” Twilight said, already loosening the lasso with her magic. “I won’t let her go anywhere.” Twilight gently pulled the rope away and let Opal down the floor. Opal’s legs wobbled a bit, but she managed to stay upright.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood on either side of Opal, watching her closely.
“Alright,” Twilight started, pacing in front of Opal. “First of all, why is it you’re wanted? It must be pretty serious for you to go to all this trouble.”
“You heard her,” Rainbow Dash snapped. “Start talkin’!”
Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash! Let me handle this.”
Rainbow Dash blushed, and give a silly smile. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”
Opal cleared her throat. “I went to all the trouble because everypony has already sided against me. Clearly they already think I’m guilty. The truth is I haven’t done anything at all. Why, what do you think I’ve done?”
Twilight’s face scrunched up for a moment. “Well, to be honest we never were told what you were wanted for. They insisted we were better off not knowing. If you really haven’t done anything wrong, why are they after you?”
“Now hold on a second, Twi,” Applejack cut in. “Ya don’t actually believe her, do ya?”
Twilight picked up a quill and parchment with her magic. “Let’s just see what she says for now. Right now we don’t have enough information. I promise you I’ll figure out who’s lying. Now please, miss Opal, continue.”
Opal was checking her wound, but she quickly turned back to Twilight. “It’s my stupid father. He wants me to get married, but I can’t do it. Not just yet.”
Twilight was busy scribbling notes on the parchment. “So hold on, you’re being chased because you had second thoughts about getting married?”
Opal snorted. “Second thoughts? I never wanted to get married in the first place! It’s all a part of a business deal, nothing more. If that wasn’t bad enough, he had to move the date up to tomorrow. But I can’t do this; not just yet.”
Twilight nodded, still writing notes. “Why not? Why did you have to run away?”
Opal turned her head away from Twilight. “I can’t say. It’s a secret.”
Twilight tried to look Opal in the eye. “If you won’t tell me, I can’t help you.”
“Forget this,” Rainbow Dash cut in, snatching Opal’s saddlebag and flying a few feet away. “There’s more than one way to find out.”
“Wait, no!” Opal called out, trying to give chase. Applejack jumped on her before she could get anywhere. “You can’t go inside, it’s private,” Opal insisted.
Rainbow Dash smirked at Opal. “Well then, maybe this is what you’ve been hiding. Whaddya say, Twilight? Why not take a look?”
Twilight stared at the saddlebag for a moment. “Well, I guess it would help. But let me look inside, we don’t want to damage anything.” Twilight set her quill and parchment down, and pulled the saddlebag down to eye level with her magic. “Now let’s see here.” Twilight carefully unbuttoned the bag and pulled it open, checking the contents.
“Well, what’s in there?” Rainbow Dash asked, trying to get a look.
Twilight pulled out the pair of objects inside. “Looks like a purse and a folder.” The purse was rather uninteresting, and only contained bits, so Twilight set it aside. However, she showed more interest in the folder. It was a bright red, and was rather beat up. It bore an insignia of a compass on the front, and a sleeve holding a quill along the spine.
Rainbow Dash took a closer look at the front cover. “I swear I’ve seen this before.”
Twilight pulled the folder away. “Well, let’s look inside, shall we?” Twilight opened up the front cover. Inside was a stack of papers, the front one covered with text and a title at the top. “Daring Do and the Treasure of the Blind Swordsmare? What is this?” Twilight flicked through the rest of the papers. After a point about three-quarters through, the text ended and the rest of the sheets were. “It looks incomplete.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “Of course. This must be the next Daring Do book.” Rainbow Dash stared at the pages intently. “Oh, I get it now!” Rainbow Dash flew right up in front of Opal. “You stole this, didn’t you? That’s why they’re after you!”
Opal furrowed her brow. “I told you, I didn’t do anything wrong! Least of all steal.”
“Don’t give me that,” Rainbow Dash snapped. “Everypony knows that Phantom Placer wrote the Daring Do series. Why would he give this to the likes of you? Or she.”
“Rainbow Dash had a point,” Twilight noted, still checking the folder. “How do we know you didn’t steal this?”
Opal paused for a moment, before sighing. “Well, since you’ve gone this far. The truth is there is no Phantom Placer.” There was a moment of silence as the statement sunk in.
“You’re kidding me!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “He only wrote the entire Daring Do series! Or she.”
Opal smiled slightly. “You insist that Phantom Placer is real, when you don’t even know if they’re a filly or a colt. Doesn’t that strike you as strange? Also, doesn’t that name sound strange to you at all?”
“I still think you’re lying,” Rainbow Dash insisted, turning to Twilight. “Don’t you think so, Twilight?”
Twilight had set the folder down and was scribbling away at her notes again, only more quickly than before. “Hang on Rainbow Dash, I need to check something.” Twilight continued to write, slowing down occasionally to check her earlier writing. “Interesting.” Twilight set the quill and parchment down. “Girls, I have to go check something. Can you hold things down?”
“Well, sure,” Applejack said, still on top of Opal. “Where ya goin’ though?”
Twilight’s horn lit up. “Somepony isn’t telling us the truth. I’m going to find out who it is.” Twilight teleported away.
Twilight appeared in front of the mayor’s office, and proceeded to knock on the door.
“Come in!” the voice from the other side called out, exactly the same way as before. Twilight opened the door and found the same two ponies inside as last time.
“Good, you’re still here,” Twilight said, walking in.
“Is there something I can help you with?” The mayor asked.
“Actually, I was hoping I could ask the guard here something.”
The guard looked up from some papers. “Ah, yes. Miss Twilight was it? I must thank you for your assistance earlier. My guards told me they almost got her earlier. I’m sure she won’t be able to hide for long.”
Twilight gave a shallow laugh. “Actually, that was what I wanted to talk to you about. You see, I’d really feel a lot better if we knew why exactly this Opal Parchment is so dangerous anyway.”
The guard walked up to the window. “I told you, I’m not at liberty to discuss it.”
“I think given the situation, we have the right to know.”
The guard simply closed his eyes and turned his head up. “We’ve already been through this. The information is classified, and it’s better you don’t know.”
Twilight furrowed her brow as far she could. However, a moment later a smile appeared. “Well, if you won’t tell me, I’m sure the princess will.”
“You, you know the princess?” the guard stammered.
“Well yes, this is Twilight Sparkle, student of the princess,” the mayor interjected. “You didn’t know that?”
Twilight nodded at the mayor. “Thank you.” She then turned to the guard. “You see, all I need to do is send one letter the princess. I’m sure, given the situation, she’ll be willing to tell me what I need to know. I hope for your sake that it’s as serious as you make it out to be.” Twilight turned around towards the door.
The guard stepped forward. “No, wait!”
Twilight turned round, smirking. “Yes?”
The guard sighed. “Alright, it’s true. Opal Parchment isn’t a criminal at all.”
“I knew it!” Twilight exclaimed, getting closer to the guard to the point where he started to shake. “Care to explain why you put us through all this trouble?”
The guard backed away slowly from Twilight’s glare. “Okay okay, it was this stallion, Opal Stone. He... well, he coerced me into setting this whole thing up. He said that his daughter had run away and he needed to get her back, by any means necessary.”
“Including this web of lies you spun over the whole town,” Twilight snarked. “Just why are you working for her father anyway? You’re supposed to answer to the princesses, not some stallion.”
“He’s not just some stallion,” the guard shakily replied. “He’s one of the biggest gemstone magnates this side of Equestria. He’s contributed huge sums of money the royal treasury, and he’s a pillar of Canterlot society.”
Twilight gave a heavy sigh. “You rehearse that?”
“Look, I have my own reasons for going through with this. Let’s just say he’s helped me out in the past, so I just couldn’t say no.”
“Just get out of here,” Twilight demanded. “You can be sure that the princess will hear about this, and my brother as well. I honestly expected better from the royal guards.”
The guard stood there shaking for a moment, then ran out of the office, not even bothering to pick up his papers.
The mayor watched him go, then sighed. “Looks like I’d better straighten this out. To think if it weren’t for you Twilight, we’d be none the wiser.”
Twilight blushed. “Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m just glad we found out the truth. I think I’d better go now.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to...?” The mayor started, only to notice Twilight had already teleported away. She sighed “Never mind.”
“Would you please loosen up a bit?” Opal asked, still struggling against Applejack.
Applejack just pressed harder. “Sure, and let ya slip away again? I promised Twi I’d hold ya down, so that’s what I’m doin’!”
“That’s. Not. What,” Opal stammered, now struggling to breathe. Just then, Twilight appeared in front of them in flash of light. “Can you please... tell her to get off of me?”
Twilight turned to Opal. “Actually, yes. It turns out we owe you an apology. Applejack, do you mind releasing her?”
Applejack frowned. “Whaddya mean? She’s a criminal, remember?”
“Just trust me on this,” Twilight asked. “I’ll explain this all shortly.”
“Oh, alright.” Applejack climbed back onto her hooves, allowing Opal to breathe again.
“Thank you,” Opal gasped, still lying on the floor. Twilight lent Opal a hoof and helped her up.
Once Opal had gotten her stability back, Twilight took a look at Opal. “Are you alright? You don’t look so good.”
“You’re telling me,” Opal admitted. “It still stings a bit. Turns out I’m not quite the escape artist I made myself out to be.” Opal gave an awkward chuckle.
“Now wait just a second,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, flying close to Twilight. “Since when are we all friends now?”
Twilight pushed Rainbow Dash back with her magic. “Please, let me explain. You see, at the time the so called ‘guard’ wouldn’t tell us why they were after Opal. It sounded strange at the time, but it seemed more suspicious after Opal denied any wrongdoing. So I decided to go have a little ‘discussion’ about what was really going on here.”
“So ya made him tell th’ truth?” Applejack asked.
“Well, he wasn’t exactly willing to tell me, but yes, I did. Apparently the whole wanted thing was just a idea they threw together, and they were made to do it by a stallion named Opal Stone.”
“That would be my stupid father,” Opal spat.
Rainbow Dash pushed her cheek on her hoof. “Alright. But what about the Daring Do writing we found. How do you know she didn’t steal it?”
Twilight picked up the page of notes she had been writing earlier. “Well, I’m sure Opal must be telling the truth about that, too. I didn’t see it at first, but Phantom Placer is just a clever pseudonym.”
Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “A what now?”
Twilight sighed. “A false name. A name somepony made up to hide their true identity. But it’s not just a false name. It’s also an anagram!” Twilight noticed the blank expressions on Applejack and Rainbow Dash’s faces. “A set of words made by rearranging other words.” Twilight showed them her notes, demonstrating that that by moving the letters around the name Phantom Placer could be changed to Opal Parchment.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “So wait, you’re saying the real writer is…”
“Standing right in front of us,” Twilight finished. Opal clopped a single hoof on the floor slowly a few times, and a long, awkward silence followed.
Rainbow Dash stood there with a blank expression. “So she’s… but she can’t…” she stammered. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh…” she zoomed up to Opal. “So you wrote the Daring Do books? That’s so awesome! You just have to tell me what happens next. I just know it’s going to be... gah!” Rainbow Dash was sharply pulled back by Twilight’s magic.
“Calm down, Rainbow Dash. Opal’s been through a lot today, she doesn’t need this right now,” Twilight said.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes were downcast. “Yeah, alright...”
“What was that about?” Opal asked, barely moving from shock.
“Rainbow Dash is a big fan of Daring Do, so it was a surprise to hear to you wrote them,” Twilight explained. “Actually, I was surprised too. Why don’t you tell us what a big, famous author is doing all the way out here anyway?” Twilight blushed slightly.
“You know, I didn’t even realise there were that many ponies who even read my work,” Opal started. “As you’ve already realised, I’ve been writing under a false name. You see, my father doesn’t exactly approve of my writing.”
“Just who does he think he is?” Rainbow Dash demanded.
“My father thinks it’s a waste of time,” Opal continued. “You see, he runs a company that deals in gem stones. He expects me to help as much as possible now I’m growing older. Which is where the marriage I mentioned comes in. You see, my father is trying to strike a deal with a mining company out in Manehattan. He tells me he can double his wealth if it goes through. Only thing is, the other company expects a sign of good faith, something to ensure my father doesn’t back out. So now he expects me to marry some colt I’ve never even met.”
Twilight looked down intently for a moment, before looking back up to Opal. “Well, I know I wouldn’t like being forced to marry somepony I didn’t know. But what does this have to do with Daring Do?”
“Only everything,” Opal said softly. “I wouldn’t have been able to write any of those books without the appropriate research materials. Manehattan may be a nice enough place, but its libraries aren’t nearly as good as the ones out in Canterlot.”
“I understand what you mean,” Twilight said. “Is that really it though? That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Of course not,” Opal continued. “Like I said, I’ve written all the books in complete secrecy. Once I move out and get married, that probably won’t be possible. Writing adventure books isn’t exactly a high society thing, you know.” Opal turned away from the others. “It wouldn’t be a problem, as I still had time to finish my last work. Then my father just had to get impatient and move the wedding up. So I ran away. I was hoping I could go see my mother out in Fillydelphia, but it turned out my father wasn’t far behind, and I had to get off of my train here in Ponyville. I’m sure you know the rest. As it stands, I won’t be able to leave Ponyville with those colts around. If they catch me, I’ll be forced to go through with the wedding, and I may never get to finish the book.”
Twilight sighed heavily. “Let me guess, you want our help.”
“I’m not asking you for anything,” Opal retorted. “You can hoof me over and take the reward right now; or you give me enough time to finish Daring Do’s last adventure.”
“Wait,” Twilight interrupted. “Haven’t you talked to your father about this? Tell him you don’t want to go through with it.”
Opal sighed heavily. “Believe me, I’ve tried. My father won’t take no for an answer. So I ran away, which only made father sent those colts after me. I wish there was some way out of this, but my father just won’t give up, not when there’s so much riding on this.”
“I dunno,” Applejack trailed off, adjusting her hat. “Are ya really sure she wrote those books, Twi?”
Twilight remained silent for a few seconds. “Well, I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, given the circumstances.” She then turned to Opal. “If you really are the writer of Daring Do, I’d never be able to forgive myself if I didn’t let you finish your last book. I’m sure Rainbow Dash agrees with me.”
“Hay yeah! I wouldn’t miss the next Daring Do book for all of Equestria!”
Twilight smiled. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. Opal, I want you to prove beyond any doubt that you are the writer you claim to be. If you can clear up any doubts we have, you can stay here as long as you need.”
Opal nodded at Twilight. “Thank you. I promise I won’t let you down.”