[Ponyville] The Mystery of the Missing Copy of the Mystery of the Manehattan Minute! [Open]

[SteelEagle]

OOC- PATHFINDER

She raced through the sky, the clouds seemingly parting ways for the pegasus in motion. She made no claim to the titleholder of fastest in her class or most skilled flyer, but few could match her manic and determined sprint through the skies. Few times in her life could she even remember this type of relentless beating being delivered unto the skies by her relatively small wings. Then again, had any event so deeply disturbed her, so cut to her core? She reasoned that the answer was no and that the haste that had made home in her breast was the appropriate response.

She soared high to save time and when it was appropriate, she dove to increase her speed. There in front of her lay the small city of Ponyville, a town with recognition that far outstripped its real, pertinent value. Normally, it would have been a nice, somewhat notable place to lay her head down for a night and then seek out adventure until the grateful townspeople tossed bits her way and pointed to another worthy location. This day, however, it was her destination, every beat of her harried heart and every stroke of her frantic wings honed to the purpose of arriving in Ponyville as swiftly as she could.

She spotted what appeared to be the town hall, the area around it clean and open for a while before bridges and buildings took their positions. Ponies milled about, discussing Celestia knows what. It didn't matter; Pathfinder had her landing zone. She pulled up briefly to get into position as she flew over the town, then angled herself towards the open portion. She rocketed towards the ground, slowing down just before impact. It didn't really work as her hooves had a hard time keeping up her landing speed and after nearly tripping she launched herself back into the air, gliding in order to slow down. She landed with some speed and her gallop was somewhat unrestrained as she came to a screeching stop less than a foot from the side of some building.

She took a breath and gave a deep smile.

That had been one heck of a landing! It hadn't worked and it had nearly ended with her head-first into a building, but nothing ever came easy for an adventurer, whether that was Daring Do or Pathfinder. That was why she loved Daring Do soooo much- they had so much in common! High adventure! Action! Excitement! Treasure! Her friends, foolish as they were, would claim it was more life imitating art than art imitating life, but she would have none of it! She had always seen herself this way and those who said otherwise were sticking their snouts where they didn't belong. Her seemingly earnest and honest devotion and love to Daring Do and her exciting adventures had been an important part of her marehood, and the midnight releases, the Luna Hour Release as it was widely known, of her favorite series were filled with more honest excitement and love than any of the Hearts Warming Eve celebrations she was dragged to. Who needed to hear about Hearths Warming Eve when Daring Do was freakin' base jumping into a volcano to escape from crazy land sharks?!

Not Pathfinder! And as both a fan-club president and lover of the series, the midnight releases were near religious experiences for her. Always first in line, signed limited editions lined up and paid for, spoilers ruthlessly ignored and spoilerees trampled underhoof. On that day of the release, as the ponies waited for their wares, she always felt special, happy, and loved to be amongst so many other fans.

And now that love had turned to anger. Anger! ANGER! Somepony had snuck into a bookstore in Ponyville and stolen- outright stolen- a signed limited edition copy of the newest Daring Do novel, Daring Do and the Mystery of the Manehattan Minute, that was meant for Ponyville's Daring Do fanclub president. If this vile, thieving Pony started spoiling the novel for others, it would be a disaster. This was the mist anticipated release in the series for quite a while, as the author had made the decision to have her traverse the urban jungle of Equestria's largest city in place of some exotic locale. No one knew what to expect, and this thief may very well ruin it for everyone!

Not to mention she wanted to read it first. It irked her that the author had stopped sending passages from future works to the fan club. Had her critiques of the author's characters angered him? She certainly wished not. Any true artist demanded critique and she knew he was a true, beloved artist.

No matter! Someone had broken the law, broken that code by which all fans lived, and probably broken the spirit of the fan club president in the area. Dastardly deeds called for a heroic response, and Pathfinder was willing to deliver. She would recover the book, capture the thief, and restore the shattered spirit of the local president. She would be a hero- for Daring Do!

The backwash from the speed of her landing finally hit her, ruffling some feathers and jostling her tightly strung, officially licensed and privately modified Daring Do hat. She turned to a Pony not far from her.

"Ponyvillian, where is your book store, and where is the Daring Do fan club president?" She asked, confidence and aggressiveness dripping from her every word.

[MicroChip]

Page Turner had made his choice to close his shop early. As much as he loved serving foals, the fact that they were bugging him to let them get the new Daring Do book before it was to be released was starting to get a little old. Besides, it was the job for the local bookstore (the one that wasn't mounted on wheels) to have popular books in stock for their release day. Page would just pick up a stack of copies after a week or so when most of the fans already had a copy.

There were stories flying around about how someone had broken into the bookstore and taken a book of some value. Page hadn't been able to get any details, and was on his way to find out exactly what had happened.

His path took him right through the center of town, where the usual crowd had formed for the market, forcing Page to find an alternate route. He had soon made up the time, and was felling rather good about navigating a part of the town he'd never been in. That is, until something raced across his path, only to stop a moment before smashing into the side of somepony's house. Page frowned as he saw the mare clearly. It was obvious that this was a fan of the Daring Do series, as proven by the hat and coloring. Weren't all the dress up competitions happening during the official release? It seemed somepony just got excited and prepared themselves a little early.

Still, that wasn't an excuse for flying so fast through the streets like that. She had barley missed him. He was about to give her a piece of his mind when she turned to look at him.

"Ponyvillian, where is your book store, and where is the Daring Do fan club president?"

Page couldn't help but notice the tone. This pony had some heroic plan in mind. He'd seen it countless times, usually from colts.

"I assume you want the bookstore that will have the new Daring Do book? That direction. I'm on my way there now. As for the fan club, I have no idea. Never even knew there was one here. Sorry."

He looked over the mare in front of him again.

"Are they holding some kind of all day party or something?"

[SteelEagle]

"I assume you want the bookstore that will have the new Daring Do book? That direction. I'm on my way there now. As for the fan club, I have no idea. Never even knew there was one here. Sorry."

How could someone not know of the official fanclub of the greatest literary series and character in the history of Equestria? That was almost as bad as not knowing who Princess Celestia was, or having to be told that Princess Luna was back. Who was this poor fellow, so sadly misinformed of events around him?

But at least the glasses wearing stallion had pointed her in the direction of the book store. And, if her experience with book stores and libraries was any indication, he worked there- ponies with glasses who knew the way and were on their way there at this time of the day almost universally fell under this rule. She wondered sometimes whether it was somewhat sad that she could say that with such certainty, and decided swiftly that it was actually a sign of experience.

"Are they holding some kind of all day party or something?"

She scoffed before she caught herself and started to respond, keeping her voice level and cool.

"Well, yes, we will be holding all sorts of awesome events for the Luna Hour release. But that isn't the point! Someone has stolen a first edition signed limited copy of the Mystery of the Manehattan Minute, meant for this town's fan-club President!" Pathfinder said with all of the drama she believed this event deserved, which was quite a lot. She then gave the stallion a quick conspiratorial squeeze with her right foreleg, her left foreleg pointing and accusing the entire breadth at the town.

"Somewhere out there is a villainous villain, a treacherous thief, a dastardly do-eviller who stole a highly sought after piece of art! Oh Celestia, imagine the horror if he starts spoiling it for the rest of us! He must not be allowed to do so! So I, Pathfinder, adventurer extraordinaire and Cloudsdale Daring Do Fan Club President, will find this thief and find this work of art no matter where it takes me, whether it is the highest mountain peak or the deepest, darkest cave. Now, to the book store!" She said with the greatest enthusiasm, her voice loud and bellowing and her face breaking out in a determined and excited grin.