For having helped to save Camp Everfree, the Rainbooms are invited to the set of the latest Daring Do movie. However, things soon start going wrong. Props vanish, sets collapse, and generally mayhem ensues. Can anybody stop the fiend behind the madness, or will the film never see the light of day?
Thunder and Lightning thundered overhead in a dark sky riven with clouds. Rain poured down as a volcano bubbled, thick, hot magma oozing down the sides toward the ground. Through the scene, a man with grey skin and black hair, who bore a passing resemblance to Clark Gable, walked down a poorly maintained path, a cloak billowing in the wind. He dropped the hood, revealing a moustache that radiated pure evil. He let loose a loud booming laugh, as if his evilness (is that even a word? It is now) was not yet apparent, and began to speak.
"It is almost time," he said, surveying the land and the volcano before him as if it was simply keeping his throne warm. "Once I have all Three Relics," he continued, producing a golden staff with a red gem inset on the body, "nobody will be able to stop me, and Mareapore will fall." He raised the staff aloft. "FOR I, AM STALWART STALLION-!"
"WHOA WHOA WHOA!" Shouted a disembodied raspy voice from somewhere. Stalwart looked annoyed, whilst a man sitting in a director's chair was thoroughly nonplussed, judging from the look on his face.
"Ugh!" He groaned. "Cut! What now?"
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Sorry! But at this point in Daring Do and the Masked Thief of Mareapore, Stalwart Stallion would be known at this point in the story as 'Mojo'." When Twilight looked at her, confused, Rainbow Dash looked her in the eye. "What? You think he wants Daring Do fans calling him out on a mistake like that?"
The director sighed. "Fine," he grumbled. He raised his megaphone. "Let's go again, but this time say 'Mojo', instead of Stalwart Stallion, OK?"
The actor shook his head, but Rainbow Dash beamed with pride.
"I cab't believe we're actually here!" The prismatic haired athlete, and secret bookworm, cried, as they were led through Soundstage A. The Rainbooms, in cooperation with the Shadowbolts, had won a dance competition that had allowed for not only enough money to repair Camp Everfree from the damage it had suffered, but that the Shadowbolts could have their prom on a yacht (which was where they were now). In the meantime, the Rainbooms had been invited to Hollywood, Pinetree Studios to be exact, to see the making of the newest Daring Do film, one of the biggest movie franchises of the day (although there had been legal issues surrounding similarities to Indiana Jones).
"Thank you so much for letting us come, Mr Zoom!" Twilight said, referring to the man leading them through the studio. Mr Canter Zoom was a man in his late 50s, with green hair and beard; if viewed from a distance, he could easily have been confused for Steven Spielburg. He wore a long sleeved green shirt, a grey utility vest, and grey pants combined with similar trainers.
"We promise we won't get in the way," Sunset added. "Again," she observed, pointedly glaring at Rainbow Dash. In response, Rainbow Dash just shrugged her shoulders and laughed nervously.
Canter turned around and smiled, speaking and walking backwards at the same time in that disconcerting way some people can, without crashing into anything. "As a fellow Camp Everfree alum," he began, "I was more than happy to afford the girls who helped save it the chance to visit the set of our little film."
Rainbow Dash looked stunned at Canter's words. "Eh-heh! Little?" she exclaimed. "This is Daring Do we're talking about, one of the biggest film franchises of the last decade! This movie is gonna be huge!"
The excited conversation was interrupted when a woman with purple hair and blue skin turned up, speaking into a microphone mounted to her ear. "Uh, there's a problem in wardrobe. They can't find the costume Daring Do is supposed to wear in the nightclub scene."
Canter facepalmed in frustration. "Again? That's the fourth time this month!" He turned to the others. "At this rate, the film will be huge if we ever manage to finish it, which will frankly be a miracle if we do." He headed away into the crowd, sighing as he did so. "I hate my job sometimes."
Twilight adjusted her glasses and looked at her schedule and map. "According to our visitor schedules, they won't start shooting the next scene for a while, which means we have time to-"
"Get my picture taken with Chestnut Magnifico, the actress playing Daring Do!" Rarity squealed excitedly.
"Didn't she start her career modelling shampoo or something like that?" Sunset asked. "Kinda like that guy in Vikings."
"We all have to start somewhere," Fluttershy said. "I want to ask her to sign my petition to bring more bird feeders to Canterlot High!" When everybody looked at her in varied states of confusion, she added; "Well, Chestnut Magnifico is an avid supporter of a foundation that helps build homes for animals in need."
Twilight tried to get the conversation back under control. "Well, uh, OK. But I was thinking that we could-"
"Check out all the sets?" Sunset asked excitedly, which was odd for her. Normally she maintained a fairly level tone whilst speaking.
"Ah'd sure like to get a closer look at that volcano," Applejack added, much more calmly in comparison.
"I'm not sure they'd let you wonder the set without a tour guide," Twilight replied. "I know you can at Leavesden, but everything of concern there is roped off. Besides, I thought we'd-"
"Find the buffet!" Spike cried. Twilight was still getting use to the fact her dog could now talk, which was still a little disconcerting.
"And the cupcake fountain!" Pinkie Pie cried. How that girl didn't end up overweight, given her preoccupation with sugary drinks and food, nobody knew.
"I don't know what a cupcake fountain is," Rainbow Dash sighed, "but I'm pretty sure they don't have one. How would a cupcake fountain even work? I thought fountains were for liquids, not solids!"
Pinkie grinned. "Of course they do. I read it in my 100 Things You Didn't Know About This Movie Studio: Insider's Tour Guide."
"Was that on the front desk?" Applejack asked. "And is the number one thing we didn't know was that the guy who founded this studio was an eccentric oddball with a sweet tooth?"
"Quentin Tarantino?" Rarity suggested.
"Oh! Yes!" Pinkie exclaimed. "But not Tarantino. His fountains would spew expletives!"
Twilight shrugged, and glanced about her. "I guess we're splitting up?" she said, with a sigh. A few murmers and nods later, the friends all headed off in different directions to different parts of the set. She glanced over to Rainbow Dash. "I don't suppose you want to-"
Rainbow Dash cut her off before Twilight could finish. "Check out the props that A. K. Yearling designed specially for the movie?"
"You read my mind!" Twilight exclaimed. "You know, Applejack told me the reason you got into Daring Do was because you were sick in hospital and had nothing else to do."
"Pretty much," Rainbow Dash replied. "Best set of flue jabs ever!"
Twilight nodded. "The series sure is a juggernaut, even though my mom has questioned whether they suit my reading age."
"Says the girl who reads scientific textbooks over lunch!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"Touche."
A few minutes later, Rarity and Fluttershy stood outside a trailer parked on the studio lot (and not the faculty lot, which was fortuitous, as parking was permitted). Fluttershy looked nervous, which wasn't a real change from the usual.
"Um," she said quietly, "maybe we shouldn't bother her when she's in her trailer."
Rarity scoffed, making that strange beatboxing sound she often did when doing so. "Darling, please. Actresses love interacting with their fans."
Just then, the door flew open, and the door handle crashed straight into Rarity's face. Recovering almost immediately, she launched into her spiel. "Ah! Miss Magnifico," she said, referring to an orange skinned woman with yellow hair with pink highlights. She wore a hideous pink and purple dress with a white jacket over the top, and her eyes burned with rage. "I-!"
Before Rarity could continue, the woman, whom I can now reveal to be Chestnut Magnifico, began ranting into her phone. "Ugh!" She cried. "I don't care if I'm under contract! This whole thing is a joke, and I want it SHUT DOWN! DO YOU HEAR ME?" Not considering the feelings of the poor soul who had to take the call, she ended the call and stomped onto the lot.
Rarity just looked shocked. "She probably didn't see us," she said quietly.
Meanwhile, Applejack and Sunset walked across the set of the volcano, astonished by the complete lack of security guards on site. "Hmm," said Applejack quietly. "Ah wonder how lon' it takes to build somethin' like this?"
"Given it looks like a cardboard cutout, several weeks, I'd bet," Sunset replied.
"They sure do go all out makin' it look like the real deal, huh?" Applejack replied. "Maybe Ah shoulda brought Apple Bloom. She's more of a Darin' Do fan than me."
Sunset nodded, but suddenly trod on something, which made a rustling noise. She bent down and picked up what looked like a candy bar wrapper. "Though I don't think the rainforest is known for its... Bon Mott peanut butter praline crunch bars."
"Those make ya hyper," Applejack said. "Better pocket that; ya don't want it ruinin' the shot." She looked more closely at it as Sunset popped it in her jacket pocket. "Who's 'J', though?"
Elsewhere, Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked onto the Mareapore set, which bore more than a passing resemblance to the Cairo set in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Wandering past the North African style buildings, the duo suddenly saw a box on set with a glass lid. In it were three objects. The first was a golden arrow with red gems set into the shaft, and a purple head. The second was a gold sword with green Aztec markings, and it glowed green too. The third was a golden sceptre with red gems set into it, as well as a ruby set into the top, surrounded by three golden plates.
"Wow!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, looking at the three objects. She and Twilight rushed over to them. "These are the three Altoriosa relics!"
"The staff!" Twilight exclaimed suddenly.
"The sword!" Rainbow Dash added quickly, her eyes quickly moving up the storage box.
"Don't forget the Arrow of Altoriosa!" added a third voice. Twilight and Rainbow Dash turned around to see whom the voice belonged to.
Standing a short distance behind them was a girl with yellow skin, blue eyes, and multicoloured blue hair, done up in a pair of pigtails held in place with button hairbands designed to look like reel holders on old film projectors. She wore a pair of purple glasses that accented her eyes, a light blue blouse with a white collar, a purple jacket with a symbol of a tree on one of the lapels, a black skirt with pink dots set in two rows, a pair of white socks, and purple slippers (or formal shoes).
"You're the girls from Canterlot High, right?" the girl continued. "I'm Juniper Montage. I'm Canter's niece. The props are pretty cool, right?"
"They're awesome!" Rainbow Dash replied, a gigantic grin on her face. "Is it true A. K. Yearling herself oversaw their production?"
"Yep!" Juniper replied. "I've only met her once, when she came over to see how production was going and to ensure the props were to her liking." She leaned over to Twilight. "I did get her to sign a copy of the latest Daring Do book though!" The two girls Squee'd with glee.
"So," Twilight began.
"A needle pulling thread?" Rainbow Dash suggested.
"What do you do here, Juniper?" Twilight continued, tired of interruption.
"I mostly work as a gopher," Juniper replied. "I take people drinks and help get the place set up for shooting, as well as move props around. I've worked here part-time for a while, since they made Intercity."
"Wasn't that the comedy about two guys who restore an Intercity 125 and run it as a passenger service?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yep!" Juniper grinned. "We've still got the train on the backlot. Still works, too. I know this place pretty well now, practically like the back of my hand." She giggled, before her face sank. "I did ask if I could appear as an extra in this film, but Canter didn't really go for that." Her face brightened up shortly after. "Fancy a backlot tour? I have keys to practically everywhere on site!"
A moment later, the trio set off, unaware somebody was watching them.
Pinkie Pie sat in the chair, thoroughly annoyed. Her search for the mythical cupcake fountain had not succeeded, and she had gotten lost in the studio buffet. She sighed. "Three lunch buffets, six different kinds of fondue, two rooms with nothing but candy, and still NO CUPAKE FOUNTAIN!" She glanced to her right. "Oh, well. At least we found those peanut butter praline crunch bars! They weren't in my guidebook, but they sure were delicious!"
Spike, who was sat on her right, looked like he was thoroughly stuffed. He sighed loudly. "I'll say. You think they got any more? I really have no idea how the chocolate in the crunch bars hasn't affected me, but I think we can chalk that one up to Equestrian magic, as with most things here."
Suddenly, Canter Zoom entered, alongside a rather irate Chestnut Magnifico. He looked incredibly worried, and had the look of a man who had just experienced the full wrath of a complete drama queen. "Ahh!" he cried in frustration. "One more month, Chestnut! That's all we need!" He began frantically waving his arms about in his efforts to convince her to see his point of view. "I'm doing everything I can to keep us on schedule! But with all the setbacks we've had, I don't think we can do it! If you could just agree to stay on for one more month-!"
"Where are my imported peanut butter praline crunch bars?!" Chestnut demanded. "They keep going missing, and I demand to know who is stealing them from right under my nose!"
As she stomped off, and Canter followed frantically, trying desperately to salvage the situation, Spike looked at Pinki,e not entirely sure what he had just witnessed. "Now would probably be a good time to resume the search for that cupcake fountain," he whispered to Pinkie, and the pair beat a hasty retreat.
Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Juniper wandered the backlot with smiles on their faces. They (Twilight and Rainbow Dash at least) were getting an exclusive guided tour of movie history, with so many classic sets and probs on display before them.
"And this," Juniper told them, "is the golem from Daring Do and the Purple Rose of Cairo!" She pointed to a large rock figure. "That was the first of the Daring Do movies we shot here, and the prop was powered by a combination of electric motors, powered from an off screen generator, and puppetry."
"You were on set for that?" Twilight asked. "It must have been quite a sight to see."
"That was before I worked here," Juniper stated. "Canter is just one of several directors who works here. We also have Mr Wheedon, who's working on the Power Ponies reboot, and John Lassburger is currently working on Electro cycles. I have no idea if it'll ever catch on."
"I've only seen Canter's name on the most recent films in the series," Rainbow Dash noted. "But the franchise stretches back decades. Who else has directed them?"
"Michael Bay," said a fourth voice, which caused the three girls to jump and looked behind them. Standing there was a man in a white shirt, jeans, and black shoes. He had white, short hair in a military haircut, and pale eyes. He was very big and muscular, and was clearly quite a strong fellow.
As he stepped toward them, he continued speaking. "I have no idea who thought giving those films, let alone any film at all, to Bay was a good idea. Sure, the explosions were good, but the shaking camera meant you had no idea what was going on."
An awkward silence followed. A few seconds later, Juniper decided to break it, speaking up. "Uh, guys? This is Mr Anderson, the facility caretaker and all around handyman! He's also been here the longest of any of us, having worked at the studio since it opened!"
"Which was in 1975," Anderson informed her, looking over to the trio. "I appreciate that you are fans of these films, but please do remember that this is an active film studio and not a museum or convention. As a result, please take care and watch the fangirling- some people around here find it very annoying." He paused. "While you are at it, listen out for all bells and announcements." He took out a set of keys. "You wouldn't want to get locked in here, would you?" With that, he walked away and into the open sunlight.
Twilight looked at Juniper "What's up with him?"
"Oh, he's like that with everyone!" Juniper laughed. "But he's a nice guy really, and super dedicated to his job. Once I locked myself in one of the soundstages, and he drove all the way over to get me out!" Deciding to change the topic, she pointed over to two robot like objects on the wall. "Those look familiar?"
"Aren't those Amplified Mobility Platforms?" Twilight asked.
"What now?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Avatar?" Twilight prompted.
"Those two weren't used in the movie, but were exibited at E3 in Los Angeles in 2009 and 2010 respectively," Juniper exclaimed. "They filmed some of the motion capture footage here, and in return 20th Century Fox let us store them. Canter's an extra in the film, and even got James Cameron's autograph. A shame Avatar 2 got delayed." Juniper led her two friends out of the soundstage, and the trio walked around a bend, where railway tracks were layed into the ground. "And now, the piece de resistance of the tour! The Intercity 125, from Intercity!"
The train consisted of 10 passenger carriages, and two power cars, all painted in a blue and grey livery. The front ends of the power cars were painted yellow, as warning to those who might get in the way, and had sharply angled front ends with windows that looked more like old fashioned TV sets than an express train.
"This," Juniper told them, "was built as an exact replica of the real life prototype High Speed Train in the UK. They've even got fully working Paxman Valenta engines, the last ones in the world!"
"Can we hear them running?" Twilight asked. "I'd be interested to analyse the fuel consumption to volume ratio produced by such an engine."
"Not today," Juniper explained, "as we only run it on certain days. But the engine still works." She walked past the engine and towards a building nearby. "Fancy a stop at the Backlot Barbeque? Miss Eisley does an amazing strawberry smoothie. Just don't shoot first!" There was a pause. "You haven't seen my Bon Mott peanut butter praline crunch bars anywhere, have you? They've been going missing for some reason, and it's very annoying."
Later that day, the friends gathered at the volcano set for another shoot of Mojo's debut scene. Rainbow Dash seemed especially excited. "We got a free backlot tour from Juniper, but you guys should've seen the relics. Her voice suddenly switched to excted mode, with the volume to match. "They were amazing!"
Canter turned back, by now back in his director's chair, and with a visible look of annoyance on his face, now that his film shoot was being interrupted again. "Ugh!" He exclaimed. "Quiet on set, please!"
Rainbow's cheecks went red. "Sorry!" she whispered. "Maybe I'll just go take one more peek at them." And with that, she disappeared off faster than you could say 'Chestnut Magnifico'.
"And... action!"
Sure enough, filming resumed momentarily, but a huge crack developed in the set, which suddenly and very violently broke open, the volcano falling to pieces before everybody's eyes. Gable ran for his life, keen to avoid being hit by falling debris, whilst a collective gasp echoed from all standing offstage.
"Cut! Cut! Cut! Canter called. Looking at the absolute chaos before him, he sighed in disbelief. "What is going on around here? We just filmed on this volcoano, and it was fine! This could set us back weeks!"
"They're gone! They're all gone!" shouted the voice of Rainbow Dash, who was running onto the soundstage from the town set nearby. She looked utterly shocked, and came to a stop, her face pale. However, nobody was entirely sure whether this was from shock or running.
Canter, by contrast, stared at her blankly. "What's gone?" he asked, unsure what she was referring to.
"The relics!" added the voice of Juniper Montage, sounding as if sge was in a total panic. She skidded to a stop a few seconds after Rainbow Dash, and began breathing heavily, clearly completely out of breath and panting louder than a Westinghouse air brake fitted to an 02 at Ryde Pier.
Their was a horrified gasp from all. If the probs were gone, it meant only one thing.
The Rainbooms, Juniper, and Canter all gathered on the Mareapore set, looking closely at the box that had contained the relic props. To say there was an atmosphere of panic was something of an understatement. The lid was closed, alright. But the relics were nowhere to be seen.
Rainbow Dash was trying to explain to Canter what she had seen, all the time gesticulating wildly as she spoke. "I wanted to check them out again up close, and they weren't there!"
Twilight leaned in more closely to look at the box. "The lid is in the down position," she observed, "but there's no sign of the attached padlock being forced or broken. In fact, it looks as though somebody unlocked the padlock, took the relics out, then closed it again. However, they either lacked the time or skill to relock the padlock, which is why it is open."
Canter's face was an expression of horror. "Who has the keys here?" he asked, glancing at Juniper. "As far as I'm aware only one person has the keys on them at all times!"
"I got here after Rainbow Dash did!" Juniper protested. "I'd just come back from a coffee run, then heard Rainbow yelling and came to find out what the fuss was about!"
"I can back her up on that one," Dash replied. "She entered from stage left after I did, and they were gone when I was here."
"Should we check the security cameras?" Twilight suggested.
"We don't have any covering this section of the set and most are down for maintenance," Canter admitted. "Argh, whose idea was it to display the relics with no security? This can't be happening! What are we gonna do?!"
"Couldn't you just get the prop department to make new ones?" Sunset, ever the pragmatist, suggested.
"The missing relics were personally approved by A. K. Yearling!" Canter explained, sweat trailing down his face. "We could have new ones made, but we can't use them until Miss Yearling has given them her official stamp of approval! You think it'd be easy to reach someone who is always holed up in her office writing, but Miss Yearling is a very difficult woman to track down."
Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, had a look of worry in her eyes. "I-It'll be okay, though, right?" she asked, seemingly on the verge of tears.
Canter shook his head. "Things couldn't be worse. Chestnut's contract with us is almost up, and with Mount Vehoovius collapsing, and now this, I fear we'll have to stop production altogether, or worse cancel the film altogether!"
"But- but you have to finish this movie!" Rainbow Dash stammered. "Think of all the Daring Do fans who'll be so disappointed if you don't!"
Twilight began asking a question. "Are you sure there's nothing you can do to-" Suddenly, an ear splitting crash interrupted her.
Canter looked over in a panic. "I'm so sorry. Please excuse me. Juniper! We need to run damage control!" As they walked away, Juniper suddenly said something very odd.
"I did suggest to have backups made, but that wasn't approved for some reason."
Twilight put her hand to her chin. "Hmm... There was trouble with one of the costumes when we first arrived. A set that was fine yesterday just collapsed. And now, the most important props in the movie have been stolen. I don't think these are just coincidences."
"Me neither," Sunset replied, looking around the set as she did so. Her hand rang along the top of the glass lid of the relic prop box. "All the things that have gone wrong on set have put production on hold. It seems to me like someone is going to a lot of trouble to make sure this movie doesn't get made, which is made easier by the complete lack of security around here."
"Who would want to-?" Spike began to say, before Fluttershy cut him off.
"Oh, dear! You don't think..."
Rarity then cut her off. "Oh, no no no no. Certainly not!"
"What are you getting at, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"When Rarity and I followed Chestnut Magnifico to her trailer, we overheard her saying something about shutting down the movie..."
Rarity interrupted again. "Yes, but she said she wanted something shut down. We don't know that she was talking about the movie."
"Besides," Twilight said, "as far as we know she doesn't have access to the keys, making it impossible to open the box and take the relics. As I said, there appears to be no sign of forced entry."
"Maybe she's just really mad that they're always running out of her imported butter praline crunch bars."
Pinkie's comment caused Sunset's eyes to light up. "Bon Mot butter praline crunch bars?" she suggested, taking out the discarded wrapper she had picked up earlier. "But this one has the letter J on it, and Chestnut's name begins with a C, which would... oh no."
"Those are the ones!" Pinkie explained.
Spike looked sheepish. "We, uh... may have tried a few ourselves. Heh," he said quietly.
"Sunset," Twilight asked, "what are you getting at?"
"We found this on the Mount Vehoovius set right before it collapsed," Sunset said. "This one has a J on it, which would suggest it belongs to Juniper. If my thinking is correct, that would make her responsible for the set collapsing. There are only two exits for that soundstage, one of which results in you arriving from stage left on the Mareapore set. If Juniper had unlocked the case and moved the relics, she would've had ample time to sabotage the volcano set and then appear as if she had only just arrived!"
"And she's the only one we know of with the keys," Twilight noted. "It sure seems like all signs are pointing to Juniper as the one causing all the problems around here."
"I don't know who's behind this or what's going on," Dash exclaimed, "but the first thing we need to do is find those relics so production can resume!"
"I agree," Twilight answered. "The relics were here earlier, and if Juniper is behind this, then they must still be around here somewhere. If they vanished shortly before Dash got here, that would mean that they are still on the lot!"
Yes darling," Rarity interrupted, yet again, "but what does Juniper have to gain from jeopardizing her own job by disrupting production? I find it implausible she would do something so dramatic, as it would leave her unemployed!"
"Trust me," Sunset snorted, "back in Equestria I saw nobles do far more stupid things for utterly petty reasons."
"Well, she might do somethin' like this if she was tryin' to get out of workin' on a movie she didn't want to do." Applejack had been completely silent up to this point, but her comment suddenly made them think.
Twilight, in particular, had the cogs in her head turning so fast steam was coming from her ears. "Wait a minute," she said. "Juniper is a Daring Do fan, so her not wanting to work on a Daring Do film makes no sense!"
"Why don't Fluttershy, Pinkie, Spike, and I follow Juniper, figure out where she's gone, and see if we can find anything out?" Sunset asked.
"Let's do it!" Pinkie cried. "We're certain to find the cupcake fountain that way!"
Most of the girls just looked at her in disbelief. "Not our biggest priority right now, Pinkie!" Dash exclaimed.
"In the meantime," Twilight continued, asserting control over the conversation, "we should look for the relics."
"Where do we even start?" asked Applejack. "Life ain't like Scooby Doo. It's not like there's some mysterious, thievin', cloaked figure we can chase after and say, 'Hey, tell us where you're keepin' the relics'!"
"You mean, like that one?" Rarity asked. Leaning against a wall on the back of the set was a figure dressed from head to toe in black, wearing a hood. They suddenly seemed to notice them, and sped off.
"Do you think that's-" Sunset started, but Rainbow Dash was ready to go into action.
"Hey! Stop right there!" she shouted. Activating her geode, she thundered away, leaving a rainbow trail behind her and a group of frazzled students.
Rainbow Dash flew down corridors and skidded around bends, trying to keep up with the mystery person up ahead. But no matter what she did, she didn't seem able to keep up with them, as they kept vanishing. She skidded to a stop in the centre of an access corridor, puffing and panting as her friends caught up.
"I can't believe I lost them!" she exclaimed angrily, grabbing her geode as she did so. "My geode gives me super speed, but I guess being awesomely fast doesn't help when the person your chasing knows their way around better then you do."
"We know how your geode works," Sunset said, appearing from around a corner.
"But those audience members who didn't see Legend of Everfree wouldn't," said Pinkie.
There was an awkward silence as everybody stared at her. Then Applejack broke the silence. "Any luck findin' Juniper?" she asked.
"We couldn't find her," Sunset replied, annoyed.
"But," Pinkie said excitedly, "we did find the cupcake fountain!"
"Then we got lost," Sunset continued, "and somehow ended up here."
Rainbow Dash glanced over at her. "We saw this super suspicious cloaked figure, but they got away." She sighed. "They're here somewhere."
Suddenly, a nervous production assistant appeared, with blue hair and pink skin as well as a blue shirt and khaki slacks. "T- there you are!" he exclaimed. "W- where are your costumes? We've got to hurry! I- I- I'm gonna be so fired if you aren't ready! The director wants to shoot in three minutes!" And he bundled the girls off before any of them could protest.
Suddenly, a nervous production assistant appeared, with blue hair and pink skin as well as a blue shirt and khaki slacks. "T- there you are!" he exclaimed. "W- where are your costumes? We've got to hurry! I- I- I'm gonna be so fired if you aren't ready! The director wants to shoot in three minutes!" And he bundled the girls off before any of them could protest.
Minutes later, the girls were shoved onto the set, wearing a collection of odd costumes. Each wore a jumpsuit of a varying colour, with boots and heels to match. Twilight was in purple, combined with a face mask. Rarity was in dark blue. Applejack was dressed in red (with a face mask to boot), Rainbow Dash in black with lightning bolt patterns, Pinkie Pie in, well, you guessed it, pink, and Fluttershy in green and purple. Sunset had the strangest outfit on, which consisted of a purple bodysuit with black accents and gold stripes, as well as a hideous green wig. "Er," Applejack called, having no idea what was going on, "Ah think there's been some kind of mistake."
The director's attention was caught, and he suddenly looked a lot more closely; he was an older man with pale skin and orange hair, combined with an equally impressive orange beard and moustache. He wore the typical clothing complement of a pale blue T-shirt, a dark green jacket, blue jeans, and brown boots. "Wait, wait," he asked, looking at the careless production assistant in confusion. "Who are these girls?"
"They're the Power Ponies!" the production assistant replied.
The director facepalmed. "These aren't our actresses, you dummy!" he snapped. "I've never seen these girls before in my life! How did our costumes fit them perfectly, anyway?"
There was a moment of silence. "I'm fired, aren't I?"
The director nodded. "So fired," he said through gritted teeth. "Expect to receive your 90 day notice tonight."
Rainbow Dash looked at Rarity. "Isn't this the Power Rangers knockoff?" she asked.
"I heard that!" shouted the director.
Suddenly, the mysterious figure, who seemed to have difficulty hiding when crossing through edges of sets, appeared at- you guessed it- the edge of the set. "Hey! There they are!" Applejack called. The girls ran over to the gap in the set- only to all get wedged in with one another.
Running after the figure in black proved to be hard work in those costumes (spandex does rather limit your movements), and the mysterious figure had a mysterious knowledge of the mysteries of the corridors. They raced well ahead of the girls, who could barely keep up as they were led from set to set. They sped through New York's Grand Central Station. They roared through the King's Chamber from The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers. They even ran through the set of Cars 2, Tokyo section, which was somewhat odd as that was an animated film. Pinkie even managed to set off a car alarm on one of the cars, which was even more confusing!
Then, for no reason at all, they found themselves running through a space corridor which bore more than a passing resemblance to the Umbillical in Aliens: Colonial Marines. "That... was.... a... terrible... game!" Sunset wheezed, by now very out of breath from the amount she was sweating and the distance she had run. You could say she had the Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner! OK, I'll stop now.
They then crashed through the doors of another soundstage (which for some reason were not only left unlocked, but opened inwards, thereby breaching safety rules), and surveyed the scene before them. Set before them were a set of buildings covered in what looked like mud.
"Uh, what's this place supposed to be?" Applejack asked.
"And slightly more importantly, where did they go?" Rainbow Dash asked as well.
Twilight paced about the room, glancing to the roof occasionally. "They must be around here somewhere. Wherever here is."
Pinkie had a moment of realisation. "Are you kidding?! This is the set of Stormy with a Side of Pudding!"
"Stormy with a side of what, now?" Applejack asked. "Ah'm pretty certain that Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was an animated film or somethin'."
"No, Stormy with a Side of Pudding!" Pinkie repeated, walking over to one of the buildings. It's only my all-time favorite movie! I've tried to get you all to watch it, like, a kazillion-billion times!" She walked over to one of the structures on set and wiped her finger on it. "I've heard they use real pudding!" she added, before licking it. "Oh, they do!"
Rarity facepalmed. "Darling, that is simply disgusting."
"Ugh!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed in frustration. "We're running out of time! We're supposed to be hunting down the missing relics and catching the bad guy, not eating pudding!"
"Why are we all talking like Scooby Doo characters?" Fluttershy asked.
"We're trying, Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied. "Maybe we should make our way back to the Daring Do set. There might have been some clues we missed."
Suddenly, a net flew through the air, coming from nowhere, and trapping the girls underneath it! All the girls except Rainbow Dash, that is. "Don't worry! I've got this!" she cried, and sped off.
Sunset shook her head. "The last time we heard that," she sighed, "things went really badly. Speaking of which, how's Timber, Twi?"
Rainbow Dash skidded to a stop in an atrium. "I saw you come in here. Where are you?" She jumped as the figure suddenly flew past her and into a nearby storage room. When she stepped inside, nobody else was around. Every sound and every shadow was spooky. Sparks showered from a malfunctioning air conditioning unit overhead. Rainbow Dash was beginning to feel very scared. This reminded her of an episode of Thomas and Friends that had given her nightmares when she was four. "Alright, where are you?" she demanded. "Who's there?"
She walked towards an old storage locker, and then came face to face with an old prop. Jumping back in fright, she soon realised her error, and laughed it off. She stepped out to the old storage locker, and suddenly saw something she recognised from the Daring Do books.
"Hey!" she asked. "This is just like the outfit Daring Do wears in the nightclub scene. What's it doing in here?"
Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind her, and a loud clunk confirmed a key had been turned in the tumbler mechanism, locking the door completely. "Hey!" she shouted. "Hello? Anybody out there?" She paused. "No problem! I'll just call my friends and let them know-" she paused, and groaned. "Except I can't because security took all our phones when we got here." She began to hammer on the door, and in doing so set off an old prop- of all things, a steam whistle. "HELP!" she cried, competing for sheer volume with the whistle. "I'm trapped in here!"
Meanwhile, Twilight and the others had successfully extricated themselves from the net. "We have to find Rainbow Dash." Applejack said grimly. "Ah always thought she was too impulsive."
"Says the girl who assumed Apple Bloom was behind Anon-a-Miss based on NO EVIDENCE," Sunset reminded her.
"Besides," Rarity interrupted, "I don't see how we can find Rainbow Dash. She moves so fast, she could be anywhere on the lot by now. Why she felt it necessary to wear the geode that gives her super speed to a movie set, I'll never know."
"I wish I'd brought mine," Sunset sighed. "One touch and I'd be able to see Juniper's memories and get to the bottom of this whole thing."
"Are you absolutely certain that doesn't breach the 4th Amendment?" Twilight asked.
Pinkie had been oddly quiet up to this point, but suddenly spoke, causing everybody to jump. "I know how to find Rainbow Dash! Follow the pudding! See?" Running away from them was a long, thick, sticky trail of chocolate desert, which started at a bucket that Rainbow Dash had knocked over.
"Follow me!" Spike called, and set off.
"You're a genius, Pinkie Pie!" Twilight called.
Pinkie shrugged, and picked up the bucket. "I know! Eh, for the road!"
"Come on, this way!" Sunset called.
A few moments later, Spike had finished sniffing, which meant only one thing, a state of affairs that Pinkie voiced seconds later. "There's no more pudding. Which means she must be here somewhere."
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Twilight called.
"Rainbow Dash? Where are ya?" Applejack called. Just then the sound of a steam whistle stopped abruptly, and a muffled voice could be heard.
"Help! Somebody! I'm trapped in here!"
"Hello?" Fluttershy asked. "Rainbow Dash? Are you in there?" She went right up to the door, and pressed her ear against it.
"I'll go find somebody with a key," Sunset added. When who should suddenly arrive on the scene, but-
"Did somebody say they needed a key?"
The girls all looked over in surprise. "Juniper Montage?" they asked.
"What are you doing here?" Rarity asked.
"I was dropping off some scripts for one of the other directors on set when I heard a commotion here, and that steam whistle we used in the filming of Old Iron." Juniper walked over to the door, pushed a key into it, and rotated it in the lock. The tumbler clunked back, and Rainbow Dash flew through the door and into her.
"Boy, am I happy to see you!" she cried, having no idea who she was talking to. "How did you find me? I gave up banging on the door five minutes ago."
"Pudding never lies." Pinkie grinned, and licked some off her finger.
"Eww," Rainbow Dash replied. "Pinkie, that's disgusting." She held out the costume she had found inside, and Sunset looked in astonishment.
"Hey, is that the costume that went missing when we first got here?"
"Yep," Dash answered. "But I didn't see the person who locked me in, and there's still no sign of the relics. We're at a dead end."
"Huh. Ah say we head back to the scene of the crime." Applejack paused for a moment. "Maybe there's somethin' there that could lead us to the relics."
Juniper put a hand to her chin. "The box with the relics in was locked with a key. And from what I remember, only two people here have every single key. I'm one of them, but I'm not too sure who the other is."
"Well, I think we can rule you out," Twilight replied. "But we can still let the culprit lead us to the stolen props. We need to set a trap. And for that, we need Canter's help."
"You found this in a supply closet?" Canter asked, staring in disbelief. "Why did nobody think to look there?"
"According to the diagram," Juniper commented, "it was 'strictly off limits'. I have no idea why though."
"We didn't find the relics," Twilight added, looking grim and grave before her face brightened up. "But we don't think the thief has had a chance to take them off the lot yet." She glanced about as Pinkie began scouring each and every part of the set with a magnifying glass. "We wanted your permission to search the Tricorners Village set from top to bottom. Maybe we'll find a clue that would lead us to where they're hidden."
"Of course," Canter replied, glancing over to Chestnut. At that moment in time, Chestnut was trying to make sense of Pinkie's bizarre behaviour, and turned around once Canter began speaking again. "Chestnut, I need you to get into hair and makeup." A manic grin appeared in his face and he began swinging his arms back and forth. "As soon as we get the relics, we're gonna start shooting again."
Chestnut huffed, and puffed, and blew-
That's enough referencing the Three Little Pigs.Chestnut huffed loudly, and turned away. "Hmph. We'll see."
Canter then continued issuing instructions. "Juniper, can you do a smoothie run? I'm sure all this sleuthing is gonna make everyone thirsty."
"Absolutely!" Juniper exclaimed, before heading off the set.
Twilight, in the meantime, flicked on a radio. "Sunset, how is the security system holding up, over?"
"The cameras are up and running now, over," Sunset replied. "All corridors are covered, so we'll be able to see if anything odd is happening, over."
"Excellent, over" Twilight replied. "Keep your eyes peeled and inform me if you see anything odd. Out."
Up in the security room, Sunset sat in a swivel chair, sliding between desks. Above her were several large monitors covering the various corridors in the site (the screens were, of course, linked to the cameras which had only just recently been got working again). She shook her head. If the CCTV had been running earlier, none of this sleuthing would have been neccesary. But oh well, none of that mattered now. Sunset scanned her eyes across the monitors to see what was going on. There was Chestnut, heading towards hair and makeup, talking on her phone with someone (though what about we will never know, the cameras not picking up sound). She then sighted Juniper, who opened a door to the backlot and began walking toward the Backlot Barbeque (according to her map), whilst carrying a huge pile of drinks bottles. And then...
A figure dressed from head to toe in black, who looked just like the one they had chased, appeared from the caretaker's office and headed off in the direction of a storage room.
"There you are," Sunset smirked, before deploying her microphone. "Girls, I think we have our mystery thief. They're heading for Storage Room 3-B. I repeat, they're heading for Storage Room 3-B. We're moving in to apprehend."
The person in black stepped across the storage room floor, treading across a crash mat that made no sound at all despite the person's boots. They walked over to a box, and prized open the lid before lifting out three very familiar objects. As they turned to go, the hood slipped.
"I told you all it wasn't Chestnut!" exclaimed a voice. Rarity appeared from behind a box. Sunset followed shortly after. "Though I daresay I have no idea who you are."
"That's Anderson," Sunset explained. "He's the caretaker around here, though I suspect not for much longer. 'His eye unyeilding, relics wielding, here he stands, the man in black'!"
Anderson blinked back, as the rest of the Rainbooms arrived, followed by a seriously confused Canter. "Well, well, well," he replied coldly. "If it isn't the Brother's Grimm. Here to clean up before the Police arrive?"
"What's going on here?" Canter asked. "Why is my own caretaker in black and holding the relic props?"
"You should really keep a better eye on your employees, you know," Anderson replied.
"He stole the props," Sunset explained.
"He... he wouldn't. He's one of my longest serving and most faithful employees!"
"I work for the studio, not for you," Anderson replied. "You simply lease the space from us."
"He would," Twilight explained. "And he most certainly did. He set off the collapse of the volcano set, but before then he had to lay a trap. So he planted a wrapper from one of Juniper's peanut butter praline crunch bars, playing off the known tension between her and Chestnut. This would make you suspect her.
"Then, he used the distraction to unlock the relic box and remove the relic props, using the keys he had on him when Juniper, Rainbow Dash, and I encountered him on the backlot. But he was disturbed by Rainbow Dash and Juniper when he attempted to remove them to a safer hiding place, which was why the padlock was open. So he was forced to hide them in the first place he could find."
Anderson pulled the relics free from the box. They were wedged in pretty tight, but he was able to pull them out with minimal difficulty. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from two directions, and leaped behind a vendor's stall before Rainbow Dash and Juniper arrived, the former gawping in horror at the scene before her.
"Ah! They're gone!" the former cried, her face stuck in an expression not disimilar to The Scream.
"What happened?" Juniper asked, looking closely.
"The relics are gone!" Rainbow Dash called. "C'mon! We have to find Canter!"
"How did you know how to rule out Juniper?" Sunset asked.
"I took a look at the schedule," Twilight smiled, "and her alibi of dropping off a script for another director adds up completely. I even went and checked with said director that said script had been dropped off with him, and he said that said script had reached said director in said location."
"Please use a thesaurus," Anderson groaned. "The lack of variety in your English is distressing."
"Didn't Daring Do encounter one of those?" Pinkie asked.
"Anyways," Twilight continued, "Anderson knew he couldn't leave the relics there. So he took his first opportunity to sneak them off when he could, and unfortunately (for Anderson at least) we spotted him! However, he knows each and every part of this place like the back of his hand, being the oldest employee here by a considerable margin, and was able to not only trap us by demolishing a gantry, but also lock Rainbow Dash in the supply closet with his aforementioned keys. Giving him plenty of time to hide them."
"When did you figure out it was him?" Rainbow Dash asked, astonished.
"I started to piece things together when Juniper unlocked the door to get you out of the supply closet." Twilight paused. "But I knew Anderson would never admit he was the one who had taken the relics."
"Unless, of course, he was caught in the act of trying to move them again!" Sunset observed.
"Exactly," Twilight smiled. "Which is why I told you to send Juniper on that smoothie run. By this point, the CCTV cameras were running again, and we could conclusively prove Juniper was innocent of the crime. And we snapped up Anderson when we saw a figure in black leave the caretaker's office."
There was a slow, sarcastic clap. "Very clever, Sherlock," Anderson applauded. "Very clever. You should consider law enforcement as a line of work."
"Why would you do this?" Canter asked, his voice starting to break in shock at one of his oldest friends turning on him like this.
"Why would I?" Anderson replied. "It is simple; you are running this place into the ground. You were once a great director, helming such classics as Hinny of the Hills, the remake of The Sound of Music, and even Intercity (even if slapstick isn't really my thing). But then? You take on a string of bad projects, such as this insufferable nonsense like Daring Do! Hasn't anybody noticed that those books are essentially Indiana Jones clones?"
"No they're not!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"What happens to Daring Do in the opening act of the first book?" Anderson asked rhetorically. "Oh wait; she gets chased by a boulder in an underground temple. No wonder A. K. Yearling rarely shows her face; she must spend a lot of time fighting lawsuits."
"That's hardly a reason to go-"
"And your casting decisions are terrible. I told you, over and over, that casting Chestnut Magnifico, an actress who works in hair commercials of all things, was an apalling mistake! Let me spell it out; Chestnut. Magnifico. Cannot. Act. I'm willing to bet that insufferable niece of yours would be better!"
Canter was stunned into silence at the fact Anderson felt so strongly over this. So Anderson continued.
"So, if enough things kept going wrong, you would can the project and make a good film for a change. Maybe try a zombie movie."
At long last, Canter finally found words to speak. "So, let me get this straight; because you objected to what films I made, you sabotaged production, stole equipment, put lives at risk, and tried to frame other members of the production team- all to get a film shut down. That is incalculably stupid!"
Anderson blinked. "I suppose it is," he replied. "So I'll save you the bother of sacking me. I quit." He removed the keys from his jacket and dropped them on the floor, before smashing them. "Have fun cleaning up the mess." As two burly men dragged him to the door, he glanced back. "Mark my words. Daring Do and the Masked Thief of Mareapore will never be exhibited. You can count on it."
Moments later, Chestnut appeared through a door, quite out of tone with the scene that had just passed. "Canter, there you are!" She laughed. "So sorry I'm not in makeup, but I've just gotten a call from my agent. I no longer have to work on that ridiculous documentary about nests next month. Ha-ha!" She paused. "I swear, when they approached me, I thought they wanted to do a documentary about my organization for homeless animals, not on various "nests" around the world! Completely misleading! But no matter! That's all behind us!"
"Well that was convenient," Rarity said.
Just then, Juniper appeared with a tray covered in smoothies. "Smoothie run!" she called, putting the tray down. She looked puzzled. "Wait a minute," she said, and counted. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, te-" She stopped. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two-" She facepalmed. "I've done it again, haven't I? Made too many!"
"Have that one for yourself," Canter told her. "I don't think we'll have any more problems on set for a while."
"Indeed!" Chestnut smiled. "No more scheduling conflict! I can extend my contract and continue filming Daring Do. Hey, are those the missing relics?"
"Yes," Canter replied. "And I don't think we'll have to worry about them disappearing again. And it's all thanks to our visitors from Canterlot High. First you save Camp Everfree, now the Daring Do movie. Y'all are certainly on a roll."
Rainbow Dash laughed. "Uh, speaking of roles... Don't suppose you've got any extra parts my friends and I could play? You know, heh, as a reward for saving the day?"
Canter made a picture frame with his hands, moving it backwards and forwards a few times. "I think we could figure something out. Juniper?"
"Yes boss?"
Canter turned to his neice. "How would you like to be an extra in the final scene of the film?"
Daring Do dashed through the streets of Mareapore, carrying the sword of Altoriosa. She splashed through a puddle, running past Sunset and Rarity examining quilts, and Applejack selling apples (most odd for the Middle East). Pinkie was busy entertaining a crowd of jugglers, by being a juggler, whilst Daring prevented Twilight from dropping her books.
Then she pushed Fluttershy back. Before them stood his evilness, Stalwart Stallion (no longer Mojo, as we are a LOT later into the story). "You will give me the Sword of Altoriosa!" he boomed, cackling loudly.
"I don't think so, Stalwart!" Daring Do shouted back, in possibly the most nebulous accent possible.
"Have it your way!" Stalwart replied, before starting to speak in a strange language. The sword flew out of Daring's hands and into a vast energy field. "Give up, Daring Do! The Sword shall be mine!"
Suddenly, there was a wolf whistle, and who should appear but Rainbow Dash! She threw a whip to Daring Do, as music that was as close as possible to the score of Raiders of the Lost Ark without incurring the wrath of Speilburg's lawyers started up. Daring cracked the whip, and it flew forward, knocking the Staff out of Stalwart's hand.
"This is so awesome!" a voice said from offstage.
"Cut!" Canter yelled, as the other actors looked very cross. "AGAIN?"
Rainbow Dash looked very silly. "Uh, sorry."
Juniper turned to her uncle. "I know it's late in production, but can't you just dub over it?"
CAST- IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE Charles Zuckerman- Stalwart Stallion, Power Ponies director Ashleigh Ball- Rainbow Dash, Applejack Andy Toth- Canter Zoom, Male production assistant Tara Strong- Twilight Sparkle Rebecca Shoichet- Sunset Shimmer Tabitha St. Germain- Female production assistant, Rarity Andrea Libman- Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie Cathy Weseluck- Spike Kira Tozer- Chestnut Magnifico/ Daring Do Alie Liebert- Juniper Montage Julian Sands- Anderson
The Rainbooms and Juniper Montage will return in- THE GREAT MOVIE RACE!
