For a moment, no one moved, considering the standoff they had found themselves in. The total silence grew deafening, the tension building.

The standoff broke suddenly when Phillip, in a single motion, drew his boomerang from a back pocket on his vest and tossed it out, striking the unicorn with the broken bottle in the forehead and knocking him down. "Flash, protect Twilight!" he shouted, striking another would-be attacker across the jaw with his baton.

Several other ponies moved to attack him, but Daring Do pulled her whip out of her coat and snapped it out three times, the loud cracks stunning them and giving her time to charge, knocking down two of them before springing back up into the air and taking flight, stunning another attacker with a whip crack to the face.

The other thugs all moved in to attack, swarming Daring and Phillip from all sides, forgetting Flash and Twilight. The pair continued the assault, moving from enemy to enemy, never standing still. The pegasus with the billiard stick sprinted towards Phillip. Both he and Daring charged right at him, then when they got close, they suddenly split, going to either side of the pegasus and dodging his wild swing with his makeshift weapon. Phillip countered by springing up and striking him in the jaw with his baton, knocking him off balance. Daring leapt up, grabbed the pegasus' head and slammed it down hard on the table, knocking him out.

"Wow," Flash said softly, genuinely impressed by the tag team attack. Stunning another attacker with an elbow strike to the face, Phillip whipped his trilby off his head and flicked it into an earth pony's face, causing his wild swing with his blackjack to miss. Taking advantage of his momentary blindness, Daring bucked the earth pony hard in the gut, bringing him down while Phillip took down a pair of knife-wielding unicorns. Seeing another unicorn preparing to send a spell in his direction, he dodged to the side, simultaneously throwing a boomerang out. His weapon arced through the air, striking the unicorn and stunning him, continuing through the air towards Daring. Daring caught the boomerang and threw it out again, hitting an earth pony that had been trying to sneak up behind her. The boomerang ricocheted off him and flew back to Phillip, who caught it without looking.

"Amazing!" Twilight said. "They fight like one pony!" She saw motion in the corner of her eye and turned to see that the pony with the boxing glove cutie marks was trying to sneak towards the back door. "Oh, no, you don't!" she shouted, grabbing his tail with her magic and dragging him back towards them, casting an immobilization spell over him to prevent him from running off again.

Daring finished off the last thug with a flying knee to the jaw, sending him crashing down into a corner booth, where he lay still. The bar was now almost completely wrecked, groaning and unconscious ponies lying amongst broken tables and chairs. The skinny bartender was examining the wreckage with a horrified expression.

Phillip and Daring, who had both lost their hats, glared at each other. "You've gotten sloppy, Daring," Phillip said quietly.

"I was just about to tell you that, old stallion," Daring replied back sharply. "You're even slower than I ever remember."

"I was giving them a chance," Phillip replied. The two glared at each other a moment longer like a pair of timberwolves fighting over a scrap of meat, while Flash and Twilight looked back and forth between them nervously. Then the two of them relaxed, bending over to retrieve the other's hat from the floor, dusting it off and giving it back to its owner.

"You haven't changed," Phillip said with a small smile.

"Neither have you," Daring replied, also with a small smile. "So how long did you know I was following you?"

"Since a little after the museum. You've improved."

"Thanks."

"Wait a minute," Flash said. "Do you two know each other?"

Daring gave him a dry look as she put her pith helmet on. "Quick on the uptake, isn't he?" she said. "Where'd you pick up this tenderhoof?"

"His name is Flash Sentry," Phillip replied evenly. "And he's one of the best Guards I've ever seen."

Daring gave a small grunt, obviously unimpressed. She turned to Twilight and nodded. "Princess Twilight. How's Rainbow?"

"Eagerly awaiting your next book," Twilight replied.

"Still writing it," Daring replied. "That's why I came here. I needed the Mare Lisa."

Twilight's eyes widened as she made the connection. "The rumors about it having a hidden message...they're true?"

"Yes," Daring said. "Of course, now it's been stolen."

Phillip looked down at the pony with the boxing glove cutie mark, who was trembling within Twilight's immobilization spell, looking up at his captors with fear. "You know this wanker?"

"Left Hook," Daring said, glaring at the trapped pony. "One of Charlie Silvertongue's favorite henchponies. Which means that Silvertongue's got the Mare Lisa now. Right?" she growled.

Left Hook nodded rapidly. "Yeah! I paid Brush to make the phony and stole the original myself last night! Gave it to Silvertongue!"

"Hold on," Twilight said. "Charlie August Silvertongue, the art collector?"

"Also a blackmailer and one of the biggest dealers on the black market, backed up by an army of lawyers that always keep him out of prison," Daring said. "And one of Ahuizotl's closest friends and suppliers. If Silvertongue's got the Mare Lisa, then Ahuizotl will get his hands on it soon."

"Then we have to get it back," Phillip said. He turned to the bartender, who cowered behind the bar. "You. Call the Guard and tell them to arrest that pony there. He's wanted for murder."

The bartender nodded rapidly. Phillip and Daring turned and left the bar, with Twilight and Flash following.

"Do you really have to bring them along?" Daring asked Phillip, glancing over her shoulder at the other two as she put her disguise back on.

"They're with me," Phillip said, a firm edge in his otherwise even voice that indicated he would not accept any argument. "We might need their help."

Daring sighed in annoyance, but said nothing more.

"She like this the last time you saw her?" Flash whispered to Twilight, scowling. Twilight nodded.

"I don't see what the big problem is," Flash said later in Daring's hotel room. Paranoid of being seen together, she had arranged for them to meet up later, having all arrived at the hotel separately. "We have Left Hook's confession. I can get us a warrant, have Silvertongue's mansion searched."

Daring snorted. "Even if you could find a judge in this city that isn't in Silvertongue's pocket, if you tried to serve that warrant on him, he'd just get his lawyers and have that warrant tossed out before you could blink. And then he'd sue you for everything you've got for defamation."

"Unfortunately, she's right, mate," Phillip said. "Silvertongue's too well-protected against legal means."

"But we can't let him have the Mare Lisa, and we especially can't let him give it to Ahuizotl," Daring said. "The Mare Lisa has a map that leads to da Whinny's hidden treasure; it's rumored that the secret to ultimate power may be hidden in there. If Ahuizotl gets his paws on that...well, you know."

"So what do you propose we do?" Twilight asked.

"I break in there and steal the Mare Lisa back," Daring said.

"Wait a minute," Flash said. "Break in and steal it? Are you serious?"

"The alternative is worse," Daring said plainly.

"I'm with you," Phillip said.

Flash stared at his mentor in astonishment, then looked at Twilight. "We're not having any of this. Come on, Twilight."

"Wait," Twilight said. She turned to Daring. "Is this all for real? The map, the treasure?" Daring nodded grimly. Twilight thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'll help you anyway I can."

"Twilight, I can't believe you!" Flash exclaimed. "You're a Princess; you're supposed to uphold Equestrian law!"

"But I'm also supposed to protect the Equestrian ponies," Twilight replied. "And if these ponies get the Mare Lisa, that could put all of us in danger. And besides, it's not really stealing; at the very least, we'd be getting the Mare Lisa back."

"Two wrongs don't make a right and you know it," Flash said firmly. Twilight grimaced, wavering between her two choices. "As your guard, it's my duty to protect you, even from yourself. Now, let's get out of here." He took Twilight by the shoulder and started guiding her out the door. She paused at the door, looking back at Phillip and Daring. Phillip met her gaze, but Daring ignored them.

"It's all right," Phillip said. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Twilight turned back to Flash. "They're our friends. We should support them."

"If they were going to jump off a bridge, would you support them?" Flash said stubbornly.

"Look, I know stealing is wrong," Twilight said, forming her argument in her head. "But letting a bad thing happen is wrong, too. And maybe...maybe sometimes a bad thing done for the right reasons isn't so bad." She took a breath. "No. I'll stay. They need our help."

Flash looked at Twilight and realized that she had made up her mind. He sighed in annoyance, shaking his head. "Fine. But I'm only helping because you're too stubborn to listen to me."

The two reentered the room. Phillip nodded to them, then bent over the map that Daring had laid out. It was a detailed, hoof-drawn blueprint of a large mansion.

"Silvertongue will have the Mare Lisa in his safe in his basement," Daring said. "That's the biggest problem, though: the safe can only be opened with an enchanted key that he keeps on him at all times."

"Guards?" Phillip asked.

"He has six on patrol 24/7," Daring said. "Two outside and four inside the mansion."

"You have a way in?"

"Several," Daring said. "One thing I thought of was this." She reached into a back pocket and pulled out a small porcelain plate, engraved with Japonese symbols.

"He loves Japonese ceramic. This is part of a rare set; he's got the whole set except this one. I bought it in a market in Cowsaka."

"You can get in by pretending to sell it to him?" Twilight said.

"That was the idea," Daring said. "Problem is, it would be harder for me to get to the safe with their eyes on me all the time. Plus, Silvertongue's seen me enough times that he might be able to see through a disguise."

"I have an idea," Twilight said. "Maybe I could try to sell him the piece?" Daring looked up at Twilight, expecting her to continue. "I've heard of Silvertongue; I've actually met him once or twice. I could get in and try to sell him that plate, and when he's distracted, I could get the key and give it to you."

"There's an idea," Phillip said.

Daring nodded. "Not a bad plan. Now, let's see..." Daring bent over the blueprints, highlighting possible entry and exit routes, Phillip and Twilight debating pros and cons. Flash moodily hung by the side, saying nothing.

Finally, the three of them had worked out a plan. "When do you want to do this?" Twilight asked Daring.

"Tonight," Daring said. "Once the sun starts going down. It'll make our entry easier." She looked out the window. The sun was starting to head towards the horizon, but it would still be about an hour before it started to get dark. "Let's meet up in the alley behind here in an hour."

"All right. See you then, Daring," Twilight said. She, Flash and Phillip got up and left. As Phillip exited the door, Daring reached out and touched his shoulder, stopping him.

"Listen, this is only this one time," she whispered, her eyes narrowed. "After this, we go our separate ways again. Right?"

He gazed coolly back at her, answering silently. She released him and turned away, allowing him to leave, closing the door behind him.

"So how do you know Daring Do?" Twilight asked.

"She and I were in the same class at Pranceton," he replied, following the other two out of the hotel building. "We were the top two students. After I left the Guard, we worked together for a few years."

"Rainbow's going to freak when she finds out that you knew her," Twilight said with a small laugh, though neither of the stallions laughed.

"So how come Daring's never mentioned you in her books?"

Phillip grimaced slightly. "Let's just say we both did things that we're not proud of and leave it at that."

Flash glanced at him. "So you and she...you never..."

"If you're asking if we had sex, the answer is no," Phillip said, giving Flash a withering look. Twilight turned very red. "She and I were never attracted to each other. It was a professional relationship."

And with that, the discussion was over. The trio left to find something for an early dinner.

Author's Notes:

A little flank kicking, a little planning, and a little chat.

Now for some treasure-hunting action next chapter.

(And no, they didn't. Get that image out of your head.)