Mare-Do-Well sighed for the umpteenth time, her frustration displayed through exhalation. She had been looking forward to this interrogation for some time, and her excitement had increased tenfold upon learning that the culprit she sought had been none other than the History dean. A nagging feeling had stuck with her ever since her initial run-in with Brier, and now, at last, she was going to find out the whole truth about this shady business.
At least, she would, if the tottering old fool were conscious.
She didn't remember tackling him that viciously. Maybe he just hit his head on the floor too hard? Whatever the case, after his first expressions of pain, Brier had quickly slipped into a sleep-like state. Upon Daring's suggestion, the two mares had carried the surprisingly heavy stallion up the stairs and into Daring's third-story office, depositing his body unceremoniously in a chair while they awaited his return to the land of the living. Mare-Do-Well thought that he surely would have awoken by now, what with their unintentionally rough handling, but it was not to be. He simply lay there, his head lolled off to one side; his vital signs appeared to be normal, but he ardently refused to wake up. Stubborn old stallion.
By no means, however, was the room silent. A constant stream of muttering and grumbling emanated from the other mare in the office as she paced back and forth, clearly agitated. Mare-Do-Well couldn't make out any of the words, and Daring certainly didn't seem keen on letting her in on why she was so upset. Another sigh escaped her lips. This night had been a roller coaster, and it showed no signs of pulling into the station any time soon.
She took the opportunity to study Daring's office. It wasn't much more than a rectangle, with a single door leading out to the hallway and a window opposite the door. In between stood a desk, one chair positioned in front of the window and intended for the office's occupant, while two other chairs lay on the other side of the desk. One of these seats was currently occupied by Brier's body; the other two remained empty, Mare-Do-Well content to sit on her haunches beside the desk. The rest of the office was sparsely furnished, rounded out by paintings of various exotic landscapes upon the walls and a small bookcase underneath the windowsill.
Finally, Mare-Do-Well had enough of the unintelligible ramblings, and she stood in the path of the pacing mare and stopped her progress with a hoof. When Daring brought her eyes up, Mare-Do-Well asked, “Wanna tell me exactly what you're doing?”
An exasperated huff and a toss of the head were the first part of Daring's answer. The second part came in the form of words. “Not really, no.” The pegasus roughly nudged her way past Mare-Do-Well, muttering, “It's not like you'd understand anyway.”
As Daring stomped away, Mare-Do-Well turned to face her companion, who was now pacing in silence. When she didn't turn around once she reached the wall, Mare-Do-Well sighed – again – and said, “Try me.”
Daring's head whipped around surprisingly fast. The light in the room had not been turned on, for fear of alerting Night Watch that something wasn't quite right, but even just through dark vision and reflected moonlight, Mare-Do-Well could clearly see the fiery anger in Daring's eyes. “Okay, fine,” Daring began, seething. “You want to know what I'm doing?” She turned her entire body, stepping closer to Mare-Do-Well with each sentence. “One of my best friends and colleagues is dead. An artifact that I still don't understand completely was almost stolen tonight. And the pony who tried to take it is the dean of my department!”
She paused to breathe for a moment, then continued, “Only a few weeks ago, I was fine. I came to the university, I did my work, and I enjoyed it very much. There was no little glass pegasus, no mysterious crime lord trying to kill me and my friends, and no reason to think that I'd be inside my office in the middle of the night, with an unconscious dean and a pony in a mask, wondering if I'm even going to survive the week.” Her pitch rose. “I never asked for this. I just wanted to live normally, not get caught up in some huge...I don't even know what!”
She took in several deep breaths, exhaling slowly, and Mare-Do-Well waited, never breaking eye contact. Finally, Daring said, “I just want this to end.” A faint glimmer came from the corner of her eye.
“You think I don't?” Mare-Do-Well replied, her own voice taking on a timbre of frustration. Sympathy had never been her strong suit, but the sight of her companion coming to tears was forcing her to say something. “You think I want to see ponies die, or get hurt, or steal? That's why I put on this mask, and this outfit: so that I can stop those things from happening.” She brought a hoof up to Daring's cheek, and the pegasus' eyes met her own. “I want it all to end just as badly as you do, Daring, but I also know that's not going to happen unless we make it happen. Understand?”
Daring choked back her tears and caught her breath, visibly calming. At last, she whispered, “I think I do.”
A third voice interjected, “Well I don't!”
Mare-Do-Well nearly jumped out of her suit, but she recovered quickly as the source of the speech became clear. The good doctor had finally broken free of his slumber. She turned to face him, only to find that him sitting up in the chair, rubbing his head with a hoof and blinking his eyes. “Glad you could join us again, doctor,” she said, dripping with sarcasm. “Have a good sleep?”
“Buck me, is it you again?” Brier muttered as his eyes cracked open. “What was it, Miss Do-Good or something like that?”
Before the pony in question could respond, Daring stepped forward. “Her name is Mare-Do-Well, Brier, and you'd do well to remember that.”
The doctor turned his head, which he was still rubbing, and addressed the other mare. “Daring? You too?” Daring made a move to step forward, but Mare-Do-Well held up a hoof to stop her. The masked mare watched as Brier's lids slowly crept open, and he looked all around, blinking in confusion. “Is this...your office, Daring? What am I doing on campus at this time of night?”
Mare-Do-Well froze, her blood suddenly running cold as Brier made eye contact with her. From beside her, Daring pushed down the impeding hoof and strode forward to stand mere feet from the chair. The pegasus' wings began to flare out as she shouted, “Don't play stupid with me, Brier! You know full well why you're here, you dirty thief!” She gestured toward the corner, where the case containing the artifact sat secure. “You were trying to steal the glass pegasus, and now Annals is dead because of you!”
Mare-Do-Well barely registered what the other mare said, instead studying the face of the dean intently. Even as he looked away to face his accuser, she kept her focus on him, especially his irises. No, she thought, that's not possible. She took a step closer, scrutinizing every feature of the stallion, desperate to disprove her theory. His head suddenly turned to just the right angle, and beams of moonlight drifted through the window and caught his eyes. Mare-Do-Well inhaled sharply. She tapped Daring's shoulder.
It accomplished nothing, as the pegasus continued her rant toward the recently awakened dean, who was looking more and more perplexed by the second, stricken silent by Daring's fury. Several stray tears now flowed down Daring's cheeks as she yelled louder. “I trusted you; we all trusted you! Why would you do this?” She was practically screaming now. “You'll never see the light of another day, you...you murderer!”
“DARING!” Mare-Do-Well interjected, cutting the other mare off and causing both of the other ponies in the room to yield the floor to her. She cleared her throat, then said, “Look, Daring, I know you're upset about this whole thing, and Brier here seems like the pony to blame, but he's not.”
“What?!” Daring asked, whipping her head around to face the masked mare. “How can you even say that? We caught him in the act of stealing a priceless artifact!”
Mare-Do-Well swallowed hard, afraid to reveal what she was about to say, but the time for honesty had come. “We caught his body in the act, Daring, but not his mind.”
Daring's eyebrows rose, her fury giving way to perplexity. “What in Equestria are you talking about?”
Brier added from his chair, “I'm a little confused too.” He waved a hoof and added quickly, “No, no, check that...I'm a lot confused.”
Mare-Do-Well cleared her throat, feeling more like a professor than either of the two ponies with her in the office. “Daring, tell me: What color are Brier's eyes?”
“How is that even close to important right now?” Daring asked, incredulous. She looked as though she was ready to burst out into another tirade at a moment's notice.
“Just answer me,” Mare-Do-Well answered sharply. The time for sympathy was over. “What color?”
“I...I'm not sure,” Daring stammered. “Never paid that much attention to them.”
Brier answered, “They're light green. There, happy?”
Mare-Do-Well shook her head slowly. “I'm sorry, Brier, but that's the wrong answer.” Ignoring the insolent huff from the dean, she continued, “Daring, maybe you'd like to tell me the correct answer?”
Daring gave her companion one last confused stare before turning toward the professor and leaning close to him. At first, Brier leaned back to avoid her, but after a cough from Mare-Do-Well, he begrudgingly brought his head forward, allowing Daring to give him a thorough examination. After a moment, the pegasus turned to Mare-Do-Well and said, “They look kind of gray; I can't really see much color in them at all, except for a hint of green on the outer edge.”
“What?” Brier snapped. “No, that isn't right at all, they're light green through and through!”
“No, doctor,” said Mare-Do-Well. “I'm afraid she's right. There might be a little green in them now, but the rest of the pupil is gray, dull. You should be glad that there's at least a little bit of color coming back in. They should be back to normal within an hour or so, and your headache should have cleared up by then too.”
Two very befuddled faces looked back at Mare-Do-Well, and Daring posed the first obvious question. “Why are they...changing color?”
“And how did you know about the headache?” Brier added.
“How did you know about any of this in the first place?”
“And what does it mean?”
Mare-Do-Well held up her front hooves, silencing the onslaught of inquiries. It was time to divulge the truth, and she cleared her throat before beginning her tale. “I've fought crime for a long time in this city, and during that time, I've learned a few things. Once, I had a run-in with some unicorn robbers. Fortunately, they were a little drunk at the time, so their magic wasn't at its peak, but I quickly realized that magic is no easy thing to deal with, being an earth pony.”
“I imagine pegasi are no picnic either,” Brier added in a low tone.
“Don't interrupt,” Mare-Do-Well scolded, and she couldn't help but smile a little when Brier regarded her with a look of disdain but closed his mouth and sulked slightly. “Like I was saying, a pony with magical abilities can easily overtake me if they get the drop on me, and I wanted to make sure I had a way to fight against something like that. So, I picked up some books on unicorn magic and read up.”
“You mean,” Daring said, “that you actually did homework to help you with being a crime-fighter?”
“They say that 90% of a police pony's job is paperwork, you know,” Mare-Do-Well replied smugly. “Now, can I please finish?” Both of her students adequately chastised, interim professor Mare-Do-Well resumed her lecture. “Anyway, these books were full of information, most of which is probably only useful to a unicorn, but I did learn about some new schools of magic, including one that supposedly hasn't been around for centuries: mind magic. It was apparently extremely difficult to perform, so very few unicorns even tried to study it, but one group in particular devoted their lives to learning and mastering the art. Then, those unicorns started to get a little too greedy, and they used their magic to control the minds of a lot of innocent ponies. Princess Celestia herself had to intervene, and she managed to stop them.”
“How?” Daring asked.
“The book didn't say, honestly,” Mare-Do-Well answered. “Likely some kind of royal secret or something like that. Anyway, after that, the princess banned any more mind magic from being taught, and the scrolls that held the incantations were supposedly burned or hidden away. In the books I had, though, the author did say how to identify if somepony was under the control of a mind magic spell.” She focused her gaze on Brier. “The victim's eyes would lose their color, fading to a dull gray, as the effect of the spell took hold on their brain. The more control they lost, the dimmer their eyes would become, until eventually, when they were completely under the other pony's control, there wasn't any color there at all.”
Brier's eyes widened, and Mare-Do-Well felt relieved as she saw more clearly the light green hue returning to his irises. That apparently did nothing to allay the stallion's fears, however. “Are you seriously saying that I was under some kind of...mind control?”
“That's exactly what it looks like, Brier,” Mare-Do-Well said somberly. “The book even said that when the spell started to fade, the victim was likely to lose consciousness, and when they awoke, they would have a bad headache. I was very glad when I read that mind magic hadn't been around for a long time, but now...” She trailed off, not wanting to follow that train of logic to its inevitable destination.
“It all sounds like a giant excuse to me,” Daring said. “A convenient excuse.”
Mare-Do-Well regarded the other mare with a frown, even though she knew that it wasn't visible behind her mask. “All right, then let's test it out.” She turned back toward the dean, who was still sitting in stunned silence. “Brier, can you tell me the last thing you remember before you woke up here?”
He brought a hoof to his beard and scratched idly. “I went home for the evening after my work here, and I had just washed up a little after dinner...my wife had already gone to bed, and I was getting ready to join her when I heard a knock on my front door. The next thing I remember is coming to with a raging migraine in this office.” He paused, then shrugged. “Everything in between is...well, it's gone.”
Daring chimed in, “Mare-Do-Well, did the book say anything else about the mind magic? Like, what a unicorn who could perform those kind of spells could actually do to another pony's brain?”
Mare-Do-Well nodded grimly. “They could basically use the other pony as their puppet, planting ideas in their heads and making them do whatever they wanted. Often it was for something minor, like getting a guard pony to abandon his post or making somepony unlock all the doors in their house, but a few of the most sinister took it a step further, forcing ponies to throw themselves off bridges or buildings. Some of the more advanced ones could even erase whole patches of memory, make a pony forget what they had for breakfast or even make it so that they wouldn't recognize their own family.”
A whisper laced with dread came from the stallion. “Just like me.”
“Exactly,” Mare-Do-Well said. “I didn't want to believe it at first, but it looks like that's what we're dealing with.”
The room was silent as the implications of her statement washed over the three ponies. Mare-Do-Well had trained herself not to feel terror, not to be afraid even when the situation around her was hopelessly dire, but despite her strong exterior, she had to admit the presence of a creeping dread deep inside. This task she undertook on a regular basis had often been a source of suffering, but not of the mental variety; now, however, she found her mind burdened down by situations over which she seemingly had no control. From worries about her exposed identity to the current revelation, stresses heaped on stresses seemed the order of the day. Daring's words from earlier rang true: I just want this to end.
Brier broke the silence, snapping Mare-Do-Well out of her reverie. “Daring, when you were shouting at me earlier, you said a lot of things that I didn't quite get. Would you mind explaining?” Mare-Do-Well was surprised to hear that his statement was not tinged with neither sarcasm nor judgment, but rather genuine curiosity. She reasoned that the dean was just as terrified as she was about the whole affair, and probably even more so, given the fact that he didn't yet have all the facts.
For several minutes, the two mares remedied that, recounting the events of their very busy evening. From Annals' death, to the attack on Daring, to their visit to the university, they told their tales, and Brier listened, his eyes wide in shock from beginning to end. He seemed especially taken aback when Mare-Do-Well described how she took him down in the laboratories, insisting that he had no idea how he ended up there. Before tonight, Mare-Do-Well might not have believed him, but as the night had progressed, she had found herself developing at least a little trust in the gruff stallion. He may not have been the most social pony, but there was no doubting his commitment to his job, which made his “theft” all the more strange.
In addition, Mare-Do-Well began to notice a change in Daring. Her earlier depression and anxiety seemed to be fading away, replaced instead by a raw determination. Her eyes were sharper, her voice more keen; she sounded like she was ready for action. Sometimes it takes the death of somepony you care about. The unbidden thought tripped across her mind briefly, and she shook it off, refocusing on the conversation.
At last, the mares completed their story. After a few moments, Brier found his voice. “That's...unbelievable.”
“I thought so too, Brier,” Daring said, no longer shouting at the dean. “But after tonight, I don't think I have much of a choice but to believe it.”
Good, Mare-Do-Well thought. Maybe now she believes him. Out loud, she said, “Whatever the case may be, I think we can all agree that something has to be done to keep that safe.” She gestured toward the case that held the artifact. “Something big is happening, and I get the feeling that this thing is one of the last pieces of some giant puzzle.”
“That's how it looks,” Daring said with a nod. She turned back toward the dean. “So, Brier, care to join us on this little adventure?”
The stallion scoffed, smiling. “Honestly, Daring, at this point, I just want to head home and crawl into bed, get some proper sleep. But from everything you've said, I have to agree. We almost lost this find tonight, because of me, and I'm not about to let some creep get his hooves on it.” He hopped down off the chair to stand beside the mares. “I'll help you girls out as much as I can.”
Daring chuckled. “I feel like we should all join hooves or something, maybe say some kind of chant or catchphrase.”
Mare-Do-Well replied, “Honestly, I think we'd just make ourselves look silly.”
Brier opened his mouth to add something else, but he was interrupted by a loud crash coming from the door. Three heads turned rapidly to face the source of the commotion, and Mare-Do-Well flinched as her eyes were suddenly flooded with unnatural light. A male voice called out, “All right, what the hay is going on in here?”
The night guard from earlier, Mare-Do-Well realized too late, and she crouched down instinctively, ready to incapacitate the intruder. Before she could leap, however, Daring's voice came from her left. “Night Watch! It's me!”
The flashlight lowered, and Mare-Do-Well saw the guard pony standing in the doorway. If he had been confused before, now he was the absolute picture of befuddlement. His mouth opened, closed, then finally found words the second time around. “Daring? What in Equestria are you...” He took another moment to survey the scene more closely, and a slight smirk snuck onto his face. “Look, Daring, I don't care if you're into this kinda thing, but maybe you oughtta keep it at home and not in the middle of the night at your job.”
Mare-Do-Well had to suppress a snicker as Daring's face flushed with pink. “It's not like that, Watch.”
“Then what is it like?” the guard asked, his voice a little more serious. “You wanna tell me what else I'm supposed to think when I see you with two random ponies in the dead of night, and one of 'em dressed like that?”
Mare-Do-Well was tempted to take him down right then and there, but with great effort, restrained herself.
Brier addressed the newcomer before Daring had a chance to answer. “Two random ponies, Night Watch? I'm insulted if you really don't recognize me.”
Night Watch did a double take. “Dean Brier? Okay, now I'm really confused.” He pointed at Mare-Do-Well. “And I still have no idea who that is.”
“Watch, I can explain,” started Daring.
She was cut short by a raised hoof from the guard. “No, no, not here. If you're gonna do any explaining, Daring, we all should head down to the guard station. Okay?”
The pegasus sighed. “All right, that's fine.” Daring glanced at the other two, her eyes sending a clear message that the night guard was not to be harmed; Mare-Do-Well felt a pang of disappointment. “Please, lead the way.”
Night Watch turned his body, prepared to usher them out the door, but his hoof stopped mid-step. Mare-Do-Well's eyes shot open, and she watched in horror as the stallion's body locked up completely, his flashlight falling to the carpet below and flickering madly. Night Watch's expression would have been comical if his eyes weren't brimming with terror, and any attempts to cry for help seemed to die in his throat. He leaned precariously for a moment before dropping to the floor on his side, landing with a sickening thud. Daring cried out, “Night Watch!” and stepped forward, while Mare-Do-Well's instinct took over, and she lay herself as flat on the floor as possible, sliding away from the fallen stallion.
A voice like a coiled serpent floated through the air. “Don't bother helping him, Daring. He's not going anywhere for a little while.” Mare-Do-Well's blood ran cold, and she pinned herself against the wall to her left as she studied the doorway, waiting to see the source of the voice. The other two ponies froze in place as well, all eyes on the opening as their new guest strode in.
The light from the dying flashlight was enough to reveal a unicorn mare with a lithe, sleek body sashaying into the room, stepping over the form of the fallen guard with a delicate grace, almost as though she were afraid of chipping a hoof. Her coat was a light blue, and a spiky mane of two different shades of pink adorned her head. She would have looked quite stunning had it not been for the sheer hatred that seemed to pour out of her sharp magenta eyes, and Mare-Do-Well quivered a little as the mysterious mare spoke again. “As for you, I think you'll all be coming with me if you know what's good for you.” Her horn glowed, and from Night Watch's body, his nightstick rose, encased in the same color aura.
When studying how to fight a unicorn, Mare-Do-Well had learned that three methods to effectively deal with a foe capable of using magic.
First, bring a unicorn with you, or be a unicorn yourself so that the appropriate counterspells can be cast. Fight magic with magic.
Second, catch them off guard or flat-hoofed. Take them by surprise, and aim for the horn first. If you can disrupt their focus and strike their horn while they're casting a spell, they'll be momentarily stunned.
Third, get out of line of sight. Fast.
A quick survey of her current situation revealed that precisely none of these options were open to Mare-Do-Well at the moment, and she tensed her body as the imposing mare's stare swept the room. She needed to do something; otherwise, there would be no escape from their magical enemy. She glanced at the other two ponies, then at the artifact's container. Her muscles tightened, and she prepared for an attempt at a tackle, one which she knew full well would not succeed. It might, however, give the others time to get out somehow.
Her preparations were interrupted by Brier, who stepped toward the other mare and shouted, “Illusion! What in Equestria are you doing here?”
He knows who she is? Mare-Do-Well barely had time to ponder that fact before two things happened at once. The floating bludgeon zipped through the air toward the dean, who didn't have time to duck as it struck him full on the head with a harsh crack. In that same heartbeat, Daring jumped to the wall and grabbed the container in her teeth, her wings flaring out.
The unicorn turned her attention to the pegasus, and Mare-Do-Well saw her chance. With frightening speed, she propelled herself away from the wall and lunged toward the intruder. The magic-user had been distracted for a moment; perhaps it would be enough time.
Mare-Do-Well realized mid-flight that it would not when a pair of magenta eyes met her own, accompanied by a grin of sheer malice. The glow surrounding the unicorn's horn brightened, and Mare-Do-Well knew she had mere milliseconds before something terrible happened to her. She stretched out a hoof, desperately swiping at the mare in the doorway even as she felt her body being pushed back by a wall of magic.
Her leap had brought her close enough, and hoof made contact with horn. The dull thud of their meeting was followed an instant later by a near-blinding flash of light, and the unicorn cried out as her magic went awry. Mare-Do-Well's body flew backwards, propelled at a frightening speed, and her hooves flailed madly as she hurtled through the air, hoping to find purchase against some object but instead meeting only empty space.
She barely heard the crash, but she certainly felt the impact as her flying body made contact with the third-story office window, the pane giving way to her speedy trajectory. Time seemed to pause for a moment as she flew beyond the sill and out into the night air, innumerable shards of glass suspended around her and twinkling in the moonlight. She wondered what happened to the others, even as gravity took its toll and began to pull her down, down, down toward the waiting ground. Mare-Do-Well shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable impact.