"Anything?" Lieutenant Yellow Ford asked his gathered Guards.

"Nothing, sir," his master sergeant replied, shaking his head and mopping his head with his beret. "Apparently, nopony in the village knows anything."

"Or at least isn't saying anything," a corporal added, glancing suspiciously over at the house she'd just visited. There was a flicker of movement in an upper window, like somepony ducking back behind a curtain. "Something's not right here, boss."

"I agree," Lieutenant Ford muttered. "Has anypony seen Phillip Finder or the mare he was with?"

"No, sir," the master sergeant answered. "Nopony's seen 'em for at least a half hour."

"Damn," the lieutenant grunted. "Where are they?"

"Excuse me," a timid voice spoke. Everypony turned to see a small colt with a scruffy straw mane looking up at them with wide, fearful eyes. In his hoof was a rainbow-colored candy wrapper.

Three mobsters rushed Phillip at once from all directions. He kicked the one coming up behind him the chest to knock him down, then ducked to the side to avoid a knife slash to his head. The thug cut at his face again, but Phillip grabbed his foreleg and swung him around, smashing his elbow against a stone stalagmite with enough force to break his arm. Simultaneously, Phillip stunned another attacker with his baton and shoved him into the one with the broken arm.

"Be careful!" Bon Bon warned, crouching in the corner behind Lyra, who was holding up her trembling shillelagh in a guarding position. One of the mobsters turned his attention from Phillip to the two mares and began to approach, grinning as he shook a length of chain threateningly. Bon Bon squeaked in fright and curled up in a tighter ball; Lyra pointed her weapon at him, determined to at least try to make a stand.

But the would-be attacker had only taken two steps towards them when a spinning boomerang caught him in the back of the head, knocking him down. Lyra quickly seized the opportunity to knock him out permanently with a blow to the temple, but while Phillip was briefly distracted with catching his boomerang, one of the mobsters ran up and tackled him from behind. He rolled over and pushed the thug off him, but found himself cornered by more enemies.

"He needs help," Lyra said, more to herself than Bon Bon, and hurried over despite Bon Bon's attempt to pull her back. With a brave shout, Lyra swung her shillelagh through the air, knocking one attacker out with a heavy blow to the back of the head. She turned to another opponent, striking with confidence down at his head. Turning just in time to see the attack coming, he ducked beneath the blow and grabbed her shillelagh, pulling her in close. Yanked off-balance, Lyra had little opportunity to avoid the incoming counterpunch. In that moment of panic, all her training seemed to vanish from her head, burnt out by her fear. Desperate, she used her magic to shove her opponent away, trying to regain some distance; but no sooner had she managed to push him away than she was struck from the side by a powerful kick. Staggering back, she turned to face her new opponent, but was caught in the side of the head with another blow. The attacks came from all directions, giving her little chance to defend herself. Panicking, Lyra scrabbled away, swinging her shillelagh with abandon to try to force her attackers back. Phillip tried to rush over to help her, but a burly unicorn trapped him in a bear hug.

Blackwater Thorn let out a raspy laugh. "That's it, lads! Beat 'em down, one blow at a time!"

Bon Bon hid behind a large wooden crate on the floor, fearfully watching the one-sided battle. There would be no rescue; after everything they'd gone through, all they'd fought for, all three of them would die down here in these caves. The Guards didn't know where they were. Phillip was helpless. Lyra was helpless.

Which meant it was up to her.

The image of Tootsie Flute flickered into her mind, a horrified, confused, pained expression on her face: the face of a child who has just been told that her parents are not coming home. Determination flooded her body, pushing aside her cowardice. Her eyes narrowed and she focused on one of Lyra's enemies: a laughing pegasus that she recognized as the sleeping sentry from the entrance. Without thinking, without pausing to remember that she was one mare up against an army, she rose and ran right at him. The pegasus turned towards her, his eyes widening in shock as Bon Bon rise up two stand on two legs, drew back her right hind leg, and snapped it forward with a shout of "MotherBUCKER!"

Her hoof connected solidly with the pegasus' groin, hard enough to lift him off his hooves. He promptly collapsed to the ground and curled up into a ball, whimpering in a high octave.

Taking advantage of the distraction that Bon Bon had provided, Lyra knocked over another mobster with a sweeping strike to the legs and broke the jaw of his partner with an upward jab. Bon Bon rushed in and swung hard, connecting with a solid right hook that sent the thug sprawling. She stared at her hoof in amazement. "Wow. I guess those kickboxing classes really did do some good!"

"They get a real kick out of us!" Lyra grinned. "Come on, Bonnie!"

Working side by side, the two mares began to carve their way through the Mareish Mob. Taking on the mobsters one at a time, they singled them out and took them out in combined assaults from Lyra's shillelagh and Bon Bon's hooves.

"Bon Bon, catch!" Phillip shouted, pulling something out of his vest and tossing it to her as he dodged away from an attempt to tackle him. Catching the object in his hoof, Bon Bon saw that it was a black spray bottle. A second later, a unicorn carrying a knife leapt at her. Instinctively, Bon Bon sprayed the bottle's contents right into her attacker's face. The unicorn shrieked in pain and clutched his face, blinded by Phillip's homemade pepper spray; the next moment, he was knocked out by a hook-cross-uppercut combination to the jaw. With aid from Phillip, the mares began to gradually turn the battle in their favor, striking down one enemy after another with simultaneous strikes that punched through every defence.

Bewildered at this sudden turn of events, Blackwater snarled and reached up to unsheathe his enormous shillelagh. "Stand back, lads!" he shouted. "I'll take care of 'em myself!" With a bellow, he ran right at Phillip, who dived out of the way just in time to dodge the huge weight coming down on his head. The impact of the heavy knob against the ground carved out a small crater into the ground.

"Leave him alone!" Lyra shouted, jabbing at Blackwater's ribs. Spinning around, he deflected her attack with his own weapon and countered with a swing at Lyra's head. She ducked, but Blackwater pulled back and struck again almost immediately, forcing her to block sloppily. She managed to avoid any damage, but the impact knocked her off-balance. Blackwater then spun around and punched at Bon Bon's head, forcing her to jump back. Simultaneously, he parried Phillip's baton strike and forced him away with a quick swipe.

"You maggots think you can beat me?" he boasted, faking a low strike at Phillip then striking him on the crown of his forehead, kicking Bon Bon in the face and punching Lyra across the jaw. "I've beaten a hundred ponies just like you! Nopony's ever beaten me, and nopony ever will!"

"Kill 'em, boss!" one of his thugs shouted. A chant started amongst the watching crowd: "Kill' em, Thorn! Kill 'em, Thorn! Kill 'em, Thorn!"

Bon Bon slowly got up, blood dripping from her nose as she glared at the mob boss. Noticing a sizeable rock on the cave floor, she picked it up in one hoof. "I'm not going down to you," she growled. "I'm not letting anything stop me from getting home to my daughter!" And with a shout, she charged right at Blackwater, who stepped to the side and swung right at her gut.

But at that moment, Lyra appeared out of nowhere and knocked his shillelagh down, blocking his attack. At the same moment, Bon Bon struck Blackwater across the jaw with the rock. With a grunt, he knocked Bon Bon aside and turned his attention to Lyra, jabbing at her with the thin end of his stick. While he was distracted, Phillip ran up, spun around and bucked him hard in the back, knocking him off-balance. Blackwater turned towards him, parrying Lyra's counterattack, but was struck in the chest by Bon Bon's thrown rock. Momentarily distracted, the mob boss was hit in the back of the knee by Lyra's spinning strike. Bon Bon rushed in and tried to spray him in the face, but he raised his foreleg to block it, leaving his side open to Phillip's elbow strike. Growling in pain and fury, Thorn swung his shillelagh at Bon Bon and Phillip, forcing them both to dodge back.

"Stand back, you two!" Lyra shouted, rising up to her full height and gripping her shillelagh in both hooves. Her horn lit up and she surrounded her weapon with an aura of golden magic. She glared at Blackwater Thorn, who snarled back, sliding his jaw back and forth. "He's mine!" Lyra declared.

Phillip gripped his baton tighter and started forward to help, but Bon Bon held out a hoof and stopped him. She recognized the look in Lyra's eyes: the look of a determined mother.

"ÉIRINN GO BRÁCH!" Lyra bellowed, sprinting right at Blackwater and attacking. He parried the blow and counterstruck, only to miss completely as Lyra ducked beneath him, hitting him in the gut as she darted past. Blackwater struck again and again, but missed almost every time: Lyra's smaller size and speed worked to her advantage, and with her magic enhancing the power of her attacks, she slowly whittled him down, blow by blow.

Panting heavily, Blackwater swung at her head. Lyra ducked beneath the blow, striking down at his hoof, then immediately swinging upwards and knocking his shillelagh up from beneath. The weapon flew out of his grip and up into the air. "Now!" Lyra shouted, jumping back to avoid his attempt to grab her.

At his word, Bon Bon and Phillip sprinted forward. Seeing Bon Bon coming, Blackwater raised his foreleg to guard his face, but the spray of pepper spray came from Phillip: they'd traded the weapon right before they'd attacked. Blinded, Blackwater swung his hooves wildly towards Phillip. Bon Bon wound up and kicked him as hard as she could in the chest to double him over, then in the thigh to drop him to a kneeling position. Phillip ran past him, kicked off the back of the cave wall, and swung around, hitting Blackthorn in the back of the head with a flying elbow, somersaulting away as he touched the ground. A split second later, Lyra raced in and swung her shillelagh upwards as hard as she could, her war cry echoing off the cavern walls. The magically-enhanced blow was hard enough to lift Blackthorn right off his hooves; he flew back and sprawled to the floor, knocked out cold. The three victorious warriors stood over his vanquished form, all of them breathing heavily.

For a moment, there was complete, stunned silence: the Mareish Mob was unable to comprehend what had just happened. Their boss, their undefeated champion, had just been taken down by an gray-maned private detective and two mares! But gradually, their confusion was replaced with anger. With one movement, the remaining mobsters moved forward to attack. Lyra, Bon Bon and Phillip stood back to back, ready to fight to the end.

"EVERYPONY FREEZE!" Like a flood of green and orange, City Guards rushed into the room, their swords drawn, and quickly formed a protective circle around the civilians. Heavily overmatched, the Mareish Mob had no choice but to surrender.

"You three all right?" Lieutenant Ford asked, his face a mixture of concern and astonishment.

"About bucking time!" Bon Bon snapped at him, wiping sweat off her brow and grinning.

"We're all okay," Lyra said. She picked up Thorn's large shillelagh and smirked at it. "I guess you could say that these guys got the wrong end of the stick! Get it?"

Lyra and Bon Bon both laughed, mostly out of sheer relief. Everypony else just groaned and rolled their eyes.

The next day, the sun sat in a clear blue sky over the Heartstrings Manor, providing the perfect setting for the final day of the Shamrock Day celebrations. The entire clan was standing out in the warm grounds, which smelled of fresh food and shamrock shakes. The rapid beating of a drum sounded through the crisp air, quickly joined by the merry singing of flute and violins. Encouraged by the music, stallions wore brightly colored vests and sequined pants and mares adorned in intricately decorated dresses that floated on the air swarmed onto the wooden dance floor that had been set up.

Among the dancing couples was Lyra and Bon Bon. Lyra wore her favorite green and orange dress, while Bon Bon wore a more simple blue and gold dress decorated with rainbow swirls. Standing on their hind legs, the two circled one another, beating out a fast rhythm against the wood with their hooves, occasionally leaping into the air to click their hooves together.

"You were so brave, love," Lyra said, expertly swinging Bon Bon around.

"So were you," Bon Bon replied, scuffing the floor with her hooves. "Even though this whole mess was entirely your fault."

"I know," Lyra said, hanging her head a little bit and slowing her movements in shame. "I'm sorry, Bonnie, but the thought of those gangsters pushing around my family..."

"I understand," Bon Bon said, patting her wife's cheek reassuringly. "But from now on, no more messing with organized crime!" She paused for a moment, then added, "At least, not without my help."

Lyra grinned and took her wife around the waist, eliciting an excited squeal from the candymare and eagerly whirled her into the next move.

Clover Step and Rose Jig watched happily from the edge of the dancing floor. "You know, I worried so much about her when she dropped out of college and left Mareland," Rose said, nestling against her husband. "But seeing her now...I couldn't be more proud of her."

"Me neither," Clover agreed. "She's our little Irish rose, and she's blossomed into a fine, strong flower."

"With a family of her own," Rose added.

"Our family," Clover said, taking Rose by the hoof and pulling her onto the dance floor. "Which is what this is all about!" The couple began to dance, giggling like the younglings they had once been.

Amongst the chattering and smiling crowd stood Phillip Finder, hovering near the edge of the crowd as if unsure if he was supposed to be there, despite having been invited by Lyra and Bon Bon. The Heartstrings had been delighted to have their daughter returned safe and sound, and insisted that he join the celebration. He thoughtfully swirled the glass of cider in his hoof, looking out towards Bon Bon and Lyra with satisfaction and, perhaps, a slight touch of envy as his mind wandered to memories of parties on the Sydneigh beach...of standing on the stage with his father and the band, saxophone reed between his lips...

"Uncle Phil?"

Phillip looked down and saw Tootsie Flute standing in front of him. "Are you all right? You look kind of sad."

"I'm fine, little sheila," Phillip replied. Tootsie Flute sat down next to him and gently hugged his foreleg, much to his surprise.

"Thank you for bringing my moms back," she said, smiling up at him.

He smiled back and tussled her mane. "No worries."

Tootsie grinned and began tugging on his foreleg, trying to pull him towards the dance floor. "Come on, let's dance!"

"But I don't know how to," Phillip protested, reluctantly following.

"I'll teach you!" Tootsie declared eagerly. "You gotta dance; it's Shamrock Day!"

"But I'm not Mareish," Phillip pointed out.

"Of course you are!" Tootsie declared. "You're family!"

Phillip paused, a sudden lightness spreading through his chest. With a genuine smile, he happily followed Tootsie onto the wooden dance floor, joining the other couples.

The music and dancing continued long into the night, until everypony was too tired to celebrate anymore. As they dispersed to bed and prepared to return to their homes the next morning, all of them—including Phillip—agreed that it was the best Shamrock Day that they had ever had, and that they couldn't wait until next year.

Coin Toss sat up in the cot of the jail cell, staring forlornly at the wall. It was all ruined: the Mareish Mob was crippled, forced to retreat underground to escape the relentless, merciless Royal Guard. The thought of his people, his family, being rounded up like sheep and locked away made his blood boil.

Damn Phillip Finder. Damn him! This was all his doing! He had torn him apart and left him to rot! And if it took him until the the day the sun and the moon went out, he would see him pay! Of course, there was the small issue of his being in jail...

"Hello, mein freund."

Coin Toss whirled around. Standing in front of the bars of his cell door was a smiling unicorn with a tan coat and walnut hair, dressed in an expensive suit and smoking a goldleaf cigarette. The unicorn's eyes were as a deep, empty black, focused directly upon him. His cutie mark was a black king chess piece.

"Who are you?" Coin asked.

"My name is Zugzwang," the unicorn said in a voice as cold as ice water and as slick as oil. "I'm here as a visitor, to make you a proposition."

Coin's ears perked up and he walked over to the cell door. "I'm listening."

"We have something in common," Zugzwang continued. "We both hate Phillip Finder. He tried to destroy us; he took away our lives, everything that we hold dear, for no just cause."

Coin Toss gritted his teeth. "I'll kill him for what he's done to me," he growled.

"Good," Zugzwang nodded happily. "That's what I want you to do. I can give you that chance, but I will need something from you."

"Anything you want, I can get," Coin said, his hate-fueled heart pounding in his ears.

"I need an army," Zugzwang told him. "Dozens, hundreds of well-trained, vicious soldiers at my command. And the Mareish Mob is filled with such soldiers. And you can help me contact the Mob." He stepped closer to the bars. The empty black eyes filled Coin Toss' vision. "I can restore the Mareish Mob to it's former glory and take them beyond. I can give you what you've always wanted: an independent, free Mareland. But first, I need their help to kill Phillip Finder, to do to him what he has done to us." He puffed on his cigarette, blowing smoke rings into the air. "Help me do this, mein freund. Let us save the Mareish Mob. Let us take vengeance. Do this for me, and I will make you a king."

Coin Toss greatest dreams, his most desperate hopes that had been implanted in his heart by his grandfather and his father, danced before his eyes. It only took him a second of consideration to make his decision. "I'll do it," he said.

Zugzwang grinned and reached a hoof through the bars. Coin Toss took it and gripped it tightly.

"Tiocfaidh ár lá," Zugzwang whispered, his Mareish pronunciation perfect.

"Tiocfaidh ár lá," Coin Toss repeated the oath. Our day will come, brothers, he promised to himself and to his family. We will make it over Phillip Finder's dead body.

Author's Notes:

Happy Saint Patrick's Day, everypony (well, what little is left of it anyway)! Yes, I totally meant to wait until today to release the last chapter of this story! It was completely intentional!

Anyway, that'll wrap up this story. I hope you enjoyed the latest edition to the Phillip Finder series and are looking forward to the next one!