The Dark Mare

by MagnetBolt

Balancing Act: Mother's Love

Loopy hadn't been to town hall since the changelings had attacked. It wasn't that she avoided the place, it was just that she never really had a reason to go there. They even picked up their mail instead of having it delivered. Usually it was just a quiet place where paperwork was done and ponies made proposals to the Mayor about building permits and business plans.

Now, though, the Guard had taken over. All it took was one writ from Canterlot and they were in charge. Loopy wasn't even sure the Mayor was here anymore. Loopy couldn't help but shiver at the sight. Her deepest fear was to be caught by the Guard and treated like the rest of the changelings. The smart thing would be to lie low and avoid attention until they were gone.

She was instead doing the most dangerous thing imaginable. She shrugged her shoulders, trying to get used to the guard armor. She just had to hope nothing went wrong.

“Private Kicker!” Brass Shield said, as he spotted the mule. “You're supposed to be standing guard outside! What are you doing in here?” He frowned as he walked over to the stallion. Kicker stammered and backed up, lost for words for a moment. It was a strange reaction. Usually Kicker had a quick answer. Often a stupid one, but a quick one.

“I was, um, checking on a mare that was just brought in,” Kicker said, finally.

“I wasn't aware we had anypony in custody,” Brass said, frowning.

“You aren't?” Kicker frowned. He glanced at Brass' armor. “But you're a Captain. Shouldn't you know everything that goes on?”

“You're not wrong about that, at least,” Brass said. “What happened?”

“Lieutenant, um, what's her name. With the bandages?” Kicker gestured around his eye.

“...Private, I swear that if your head wasn't bolted to your neck you'd forget where you left it.” Brass sighed. It wasn't the stupidest question Kicker had ever asked. “I know the pegasai are in a different division but you've been working with Flight Lieutenant Songbird for months now. You need to make more of an effort to learn pony's names.”

“Y-yes sir!” Kicker saluted. It was the sharpest salute Brass had ever seen from him. He nodded in satisfaction.

“Now tell me about this mare that Songbird dragged in.”

“I swear to Celestia, I'm not Mare Do Well!” Jetstream said, desperately. Songbird had dragged her to one of the offices in the town hall to interrogate her, and the mare was watching the guard pace around the room and glare at her. The Lieutenant had sat her down at a table and ordered her to stay put.

“Then how do you explain this?!” Songbird threw the hat and mask onto the table. “They're the real Mare Do Well's! What, did she just drop them off at your door because you're her biggest fan?! It's obvious you're just making up stories to try and throw me off the trail!”

“I told you, it's not me!” Jetstream stood up, then shrunk back down under Songbird's intense glare. “I just found them in the garbage.”

“In the garbage?!” Songbird kicked the table hard enough to send a quill flying out of an inkwell, the black ink splattering on the wood. “I want the truth and I want it now! Where is she?! If you're not Mare Do Well then tell me who she is!”

“I don't know! I've been trying to figure it out for practically forever!” Jetstream sat back, sighing. “I've been working at it for months, and I haven't figured anything out. Nobody knows who she is.”

“Months?” Songbird frowned and looked at her. “Then tell me everything you've learned.”

“Well... she's brave, and strong, and tries to save everypony and she's super-cool!” Jetstream smiled. “She's completely fearless, and puts herself in danger to save ponies. She even saved me a few times.”

“I don't care about any of that!” Songbird snapped, growling. “Let's start with the basics. Is she a pegasus, a unicorn, what?”

“Oh. Nobody knows for sure,” Jetstream said. “I mean, you saw the costume, right? It's kind of one-size-fits all. I don't think I've ever seen her fly, or use magic, but it's hard to explain some of the things I've seen her do. Personally, I think she's an earth pony. If she was a unicorn she wouldn't need to use some of the gadgets I've found.”

“Like smoke bombs and flares,” Songbird mumbled. Jetstream nodded.

“Right! And if she was a pegasus, she'd fly everywhere. There's no reason to walk around. Not that I need to tell you that.” Jetstream snorted. “The only pegasus I know who walks more than she flies is Loopy, and that's only because she's too clumsy to stay in the air without hurting herself.”

“An earth pony...” Songbird sat down and tapped a hoof against the table. “She didn't seem nearly strong enough for that.”

“You'd be surprised. She always comes through in a pinch!” Jetstream sighed and smiled, daydreaming. “And one of these days I'm going to figure out who she is and tell her how I feel.”

“How you-” Songbird stopped tapping on the table and looked at the other pegasus. “What are you talking about?!”

“She's awesome, she saved my life, and everypony likes her. I'm gonna ask her on a date, obviously. She'll probably say no because it's hard to eat in a mask, but maybe if she goes in disguise or...” Loopy thought for a moment. “I guess she usually wears a disguise so she'd actually be in disguise when she isn't in disguise. Woah.”

“She's a criminal!” Songbird snapped. “She's going to get arrested and go to prison for what she did to me!”

“Let me guess, she gave you those bruises?” Jetstream smirked and waved a hoof at Songbird's bandages. “I bet you deserved them.”

“DESERVED THEM?!” Songbird screamed and flipped the table over, lunging at Jetstream and grabbing her mane painfully, jerking her head around. “She crippled me! I'm going to find her and throw her in the darkest hole in the dampest dungeon-” She raised a hoof to strike Jetstream, and was suddenly pulled back by golden magic before the blow could land.

“Flight Lieutenant!” Brass Shield snapped, walking into the office. “I don't remember giving you orders to question anypony, especially not on your own! Private Kicker had to tell me what you were up to since you apparently forgot to inform me!”

“I wasn't aware I needed permission to question a suspect,” Songbird growled, brushing herself off as Brass Shield let her go. “She knows more about Mare Do Well than she's letting on. Give me a few more minutes with her and I bet I can find out-”

“This interrogation is over,” Brass Shield said, with a tone that indicated that the argument was finished before it had begun. “I'm sorry miss-”

“Jetstream,” the pegasus said. “Thanks for the save.”

“There shouldn't have had to be a save,” Brass said. “I apologize for my subordinate. You're free to go.”

“Right,” Jetstream said. She hesitated at the door. “Are you really going to arrest her?”

“I'd prefer she comes with us willingly so we can ask her some questions,” Brass said. Songbird fumed, but he held up a hoof to stop her from saying anything. “She assaulted Songbird and several other officers and we have orders from the top to bring her in.”

“She's a hero, though!” Jetstream protested.

“If she's really a hero she should give herself up,” Brass Shield said. “Otherwise more ponies like Lieutenant Songbird could get hurt.”

“...Can I have the costume back?” Jetstream asked.

“No!” Songbird snapped. “It's evidence!”

“Oh.” Jet sighed.

“I apologize for the inconvenience,” Brass said. “Now, if you'll excuse us, Songbird and I have a lot to talk about.” He opened the door. “Private Kicker, can you escort this mare out and put the costume into evidence?”

“Oh, um... of course sir.” The mule had been up against the door, listening in. He almost fell in when the door was opened. Songbird shoved past him, almost knocking the mule over. Brass raised an eyebrow at that.

“And get yourself checked out. You seem like you're still shaken up,” Brass said, leaving.

“She's a suspect! We can't just let her go! At least keep her overnight!” Songbird argued.

“I admit the costume is strong evidence, but it's also the only evidence we have. And with your methods, we can't hold her without breaking laws.” Brass sighed and rubbed his snout.

“So what? That's just paperwork, and it's our word against hers.” Songbird folded her hooves, fluttering to hover above Brass to look down at him. It was a pegasus habit. Whenever she got into a real argument she always tried to stay above her opponent.

“That isn't how we do things,” Brass said.

“It used to be,” Songbird countered. “Before they made you Captain we would do whatever it took to bring down criminals! Now you only care about paperwork and making sure you write your reports to the Princess!”

“I have more responsibilities than I used to,” Brass said. “If I don't follow procedure, people notice. It's not like being out on the border with Griffonia where there wasn't anypony to answer to. We did what we had to there because there wasn't anypony who could help us if things went wrong.”

“And how is it different here? You're still the one in charge! You get to make the rules!”

“And because I make the rules I won't let us turn into thugs who beat suspects for information!” Brass stood up. “Songbird you were a damn good officer, but this situation is different. We aren't in the lawless flank end of nowhere. We're only a few days from Canterlot!”

“Were a good officer?! Were?!” Songbird's eye went wide.

“If you want it to be present tense then act like it. You want Mare Do Well more than any of us do. I respect that. But if you're going to catch her I want it done right. By the book. And you know why?”

“Because you think I have to prove myself-”

“No! Because the Princess is looking over our shoulders on this! And trust me when I say there's no one with more attention to detail than her. She's been sending back paperwork with corrections in red ink, like a damn schoolteacher!” Brass tossed a bundle of forms onto the desk. Each had been helpfully corrected by Princess Twilight. “That's why we can't mess around. You don't have to prove anything to me, Songbird. But if this isn't done right...” he sighed.

“Fine. Whatever.” Songbird grumbled.

“Just promise me you won't run off and do something stupid,” Brass said. “At least not without permission.”

“I'll... be more careful,” Songbird said.

“Good. Now go and-” Brass stopped, looking out the window. “Did you hear something?”

“Ugh! She was such a jerk!” Jetstream said. She glanced at the Private. “Is she like that all the time?”

“...As long as I've known her,” the disguised Loopy said, honestly. “She didn't hurt you, did she?” She looked over Jetstream. She seemed unhurt, just shaken up.

“I'm okay. Thanks for asking, though. You're sure I can't keep the costume?” She gave Loopy a pouting look. Loopy had it in a saddlebag. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with it, but she wasn't going to leave it here, just in case they had some kind of strange pony magic to track the owner down or she'd left some kind of clue on it.

“Sorry. If I gave it to you, they'd just take it back later.”

“Darn,” Jetstream said, sighing.

“Hey, did you tell them anything about Mare Do Well?” Loopy asked.

“What, are you gonna lock me up now too?”

“No, no!” Loopy waved her hooves. “I wouldn't! I just- I was curious. She seems like a nice pony and I just wanted to-”

“Sweet talking me isn't going to work,” Jet said, turning up her nose. “I didn't tell her anything, and I'm not going to tell you anything just because you're being nicer. I don't know who Mare Do Well is, and you're going to be the last people I tell if I ever do find out.”

Loopy smiled.”If you say so, Ma'am. Now I... did you hear that?” Loopy stopped to look. “Oh no.”

Old Hickory, the timberwolf alpha female, sniffed at the ground, growling. There were too many confusing scents here. Dozens of ponies mixed in with the scent of a city, an overwhelming and confusing scent to the forest-dwelling beast. And if that wasn't enough, there was all of the screaming. It was an awful lot of screaming. It was all ponies ever seemed to do, run around and scream. At least when Old Hickory was around.

She howled, trying to get them to be quiet. It was making her scarred face hurt. It only made them run around in circles faster, the scents and sounds sending her into a frenzy. She needed to lash out and make the screaming stop!

She seized a cart full of greens and threw it into the air, smashing it through the front windows of a shop.

“MY CABBAGE CART!” Screamed a pony, even louder than the others.

“What's a timberwolf doing in town?!” Songbird asked, shocked. “They never come into towns!” She and Brass were running towards the market. The beast was prowling around, confused. She had the sign from a hayfry shop hanging from her mouth. The timberwolf howled, dropping it to the ground as she opened her wide maw.

“I don't know. This is a damn peculiar situation,” Brass said.

“Think it's Labyrinth?” Songbird asked.

“The timing is too convenient otherwise,” Brass noted. “We need to find a way to bring it down.” He looked back at the half-dozen other guards that had followed. “Everypony spread out to surround that monster. We're going to try and draw it away from the ponies here and back to the forest. First priority is to avoid anypony getting hurt. If it wants to eat somepony's produce, that's better than getting it angry enough to eat a foal.”

“Yes sir!” They said, in practiced unison, spreading out. The timberwolf sniffed intently at the ground, pacing in a widening circle.

“She's looking for something,” Loopy said, watching the timberwolf. She could feel the confusion and worry radiating off of her. Only a changeling would notice that, but even a dull pony could tell she was searching the area, with the single-minded determination that only a predator could have.

“Shouldn't you get out there and help?” Jetstream asked. “I mean, you're one of the Guards, right? You need to go and help!”

Loopy frowned. “I'm-” She was disguised as one of them. She couldn't just say no. Loopy watched as the Captain ordered the guards to split up and surround the agitated animal. She felt her mane stand on end. That was only going to escalate the situation. They needed to try and calm the timberwolf down, not get her even more riled up. She hadn't been stable ever since she'd been hit by lightning and she'd tear them apart if they drove her into a frenzy.

“What? Don't tell me you're afraid!” Jet frowned.

“I'm not afraid. But you need to get out of here,” Loopy pushed her. “Sorry again about the way you were treated. You get clear to safety while... we handle this.” She pushed the pegasus again, trying to get her to leave. She didn't want her friend to get caught up in this mess.

Part of her hoped the guards would get themselves torn apart, just to make her life easier.

“Fine, fine, I'm leaving,” Jet said. She didn't mean it. Loopy groaned. She could tell the mare was just going to circle around and watch the whole thing. She'd done it enough times to Mare Do Well, why should it be different when she was dealing with the Guard?

“Just- stay out of trouble,” Loopy said, running off. She had no idea what to do. If she let the Guard keep going with their idiot plan, they'd end up making Old Hickory go completely crazy in the middle of town. If she stopped them, they'd probably catch her.

If she let the monster go crazy it'd solve her problem in one stroke.

No, Loopy corrected herself, as she ducked into an alleyway. It would solve one problem by making a lot more. No matter how much trouble she was in, she couldn't just let other ponies get hurt. She may have been a changeling but she'd lived with ponies long enough to pick up bad habits, and a conscience was one of them.

The real question was just what she could do to keep anypony from getting eaten. If she went out in this disguise she'd just be a dumb mule. She could hardly give orders that anypony would listen to. And Loop D'Loop was just a clumsy pegasus. The Guards would be trying to drag her off, not follow her lead.

She stopped in the shadows, the saddlebags heavy at her side. She still had the costume. She'd been intending to go bury it in the forest, but it seemed she was going to have to get some use out of it.

Old Hickory growled and snapped as one of the Guards approached her. Songbird flew up to a rooftop, stumbled as her lack of depth perception almost made her screw up the landing, and took a breath to steady herself.

“At least I can sympathize with it,” Songbird mumbled, looking at the timberwolf's lightning-scarred face. She touched her bandaged face with a hoof. “You two, try and get a rope around its neck! Maybe we can leash it!”

An earth pony and a unicorn worked together to try and lasso it. The rope tightened, pulling taught as the earth pony yanked on it, making the beast stumble towards him. Songbird smiled. It was working! Then the timberwolf reared up, and the ponies holding the rope were flung into the air screaming. Songbird jumped into action. She was the only pegasus here. The others were out searching from the air for any sign of Labyrinth or Mare Do Well.

She flapped harder, trying to get to the two falling ponies before it was too late. She grabbed the earth pony and reached for the unicorn... only to realize she had misjudged where he was. She felt her heart jump. She'd never be able to reach him in time!

A dark blur intercepted him, swinging back up and stopping at a roof.

“What?” She gasped, landing heavily with the pony she'd caught. She looked up, and her eye went wide as Mare Do Well set down on a rooftop and released the unicorn she'd caught, dropping the rope she'd used to swing in for the save.

“Are you alright?” Mare Do Well asked. The unicorn nodded, backing away in fear. She let him go and looked down at Old Hickory. “You ponies are out of your depth. Just keep everypony away and I'll deal with this.”

“What are you doing here?!” Songbird demanded. “Did you do this?”

“Don't be stupid,” Mare Do Well said. She jumped down, cape spreading wide as she glided down. She adjusted her hat and walked slowly towards the timberwolf. It took a few moments for the beast to notice her, and it spun to growl at the small mare.

“What's she doing?” Private Lucky Horseshoe asked. “It's just going to eat her!”

“Shhhh... calm down, girl,” Mare Do Well said, slowly getting closer. She was trying not to look like a threat, but she couldn't look like prey either. That meant moving slowly and calmly but not backing away. She'd dealt with Old Hickory before but she hadn't seen her this upset since the accident. Something had gotten her riled up enough to come into town.

Old Hickory howled and charged. She was too worked up to listen to reason. A magical shield shot up, trying to hold the huge wolf back. Old Hickory's eye glowed with a baleful light and she smashed through it, too strong to be held back with normal magic. The unicorn who'd created the shield gasped and fell to one knee, shocked by the feedback and unable to move as the wolf ran for him.

Mare Do Well ran over, cape billowing out, and stopped over the Guard, grabbing his helmet and throwing it at the wolf. The metal helm crashed into the wolf's wooden nose, making her close her eyes and flinch instinctively. Mare Do Well grabbed the unicorn and pulled him out of the way as the beast closed, blinded just long enough by the throw to make her forget how close she was to the town's general store.

Old Hickory crashed into and halfway through the storefront, the upper floor coming down to trap her. Mare Do Well looked at the unicorn she'd saved and let him go once it was clear the only thing wrong was a splitting headache from the broken spell.

“Everypony close in and restrain it!” Brass Shield yelled. Mare Do Well jumped in front of the stunned wolf protectively.

“Wait! She's not out yet! Just stay back!” The rubble started moving, and Mare Do Well turned to look as the timberwolf simply shrugged off most of a building, only dazed by the massive blow. The guards backed off as Old Hickory stood. Mare Do Well ran in, avoiding broken glass from the shattered windows, and grabbed for the rope that was still wrapped around the timberwolf's neck. Instead of trying to control her with it, the masked mare used it to climb onto her back, getting in place just as the beast completely freed itself from the rubble, howling and angry.

Mare Do Well hung on for her life, hunkering down low to stay on Old Hickory even as the timberwolf thrashed like a rodeo bull.

“What is she doing?!” Songbird asked, exasperated.

Loopy was terrified. She'd done a lot of stupid things in her life, but this was one of the few times when she was in danger of being both arrested and eaten by a wild animal. Actually, it was the only time she was at risk of both things occurring at once. They weren't the kind of things that typically went together unless you were in the habit of being a masked vigilante.

She closed her eyes to try and focus. Animals weren't as easy to read as ponies. Their feelings were stronger and more primal. If a pony's feelings were like music, a changeling's power was to hear the tune, and with practice to learn what the notes meant. Old Hickory's feelings were more like a deafening bass beat, all force and power.

Loopy tried to lose herself in it, to feel what she was feeling. She knew the timberwolf was searching for something, and she latched onto that. She wanted something enough that she was willing to come into town, to brave the strange surroundings of civilization. But what?

The scent she was seeking wasn't that of a pony. It was-

Loopy gasped, opening her eyes. She knew exactly what Old Hickory was looking for.

“Whatever she's doing, it's working,” Brass Shield muttered. The giant wolf had calmed, still agitated but not going crazy anymore. It was still looking around, and shied away when a guard strayed too close, but the immediate threat seemed to have passed.

One of his soldiers turned to him. “What do we do now?”

Brass hesitated at that. Songbird landed next to him and answered in his stead. “We should arrest Mare Do Well. She's clearly the one controlling the monster! She must have lured it into town to- to-” Songbird stopped there, not able to come up with a suitable motive.

“Well if she did it to get rid of us, she's doing a poor job of it with how she just saved two lives,” Brass Shield countered. “I don't like this much either but I'm not going to arrest her when she's keeping that damn thing calm.”

“How is she even doing it?” Songbird asked.

“Maybe she has a wolf cutie mark. Tartarus if I know.” Brass Shield snorted. Mare Do Well jumped down from the beast, then patted its front leg as if in sympathy. The wolf growled, and Mare Do Well turned away, as if listening to a distant sound. “What's she onto now?”

Loopy had to get down to have a chance at feeling it, even with Old Hickory calmed for a moment. The emotions of the ponies ran high and full of fear, excitement, anger in one case, and a lot of background noise, all faint and conflicting, a haze of emotions, a symphony where each musician was playing a different song.

She had to filter it out. There was something she needed to find. Old Hickory's primal emotions were powerful, but if Loopy could just focus, she could sense it. Something similar to her, a snare to her bass drum, not a pony but nearby. And with the timbre of fear to it.

She took a deep breath. Loopy hadn't even been sure it would work. She had to hang onto that feeling, moving her head, her horn acting as a beacon, helping to direct her the right way.

“She's moving!” Songbird hissed. “We need to take her down now before she gets away!”

“Hold on, that thing is following her!” Brass said, holding up a hoof. “Maybe she's leading it out of town.”

“No, she's leading it deeper into town, look!” Songbird pointed. Brass frowned. Mare Do Well was walking slowly like she was following an invisible trail.

“You get into the air and keep your distance. Soldiers, you spread out and make sure anypony in the way is evacuated. I'm going to try and figure out what she's doing.” Brass ran ahead, ducking into a side street to run parallel to the wolf and masked mare.

Mare Do Well stopped in front of a burned building. Brass frowned and got closer, creeping up from another angle to watch. She touched something on the steel basement door. Something shining. Brass got closer and saw it. A lock. A brand new lock. On the door to the basement of a ruined, burned building.

“What in Tartarus...” Brass whispered. He got closer as Mare Do Well stepped in front of the lock, her cape obscuring it. After a moment, there was a clattering and the lock fell to the ground, open.

“The locks the Flim Flam brothers sell can all be opened without the key if you know the trick,” Mare Do Well said, her voice rough. “Stay close to me. Old Hickory is only staying quiet because she knows I'm trying to help. You smell too much like a pony for her to be comfortable.”

“What?” Brass asked, confused.

“You just need a thin metal shiv,” Mare Do Well explained, answering the question that Brass cared the least about. She opened the door, which swung open without a sound on well-oiled hinges despite the apparent disrepair of the steel it was made of.

She disappeared into the darkness, running down into the basement. Brass hesitated, then a growl from behind made him turn to look, Old Hickory looming over him, closer than he had thought. He quickly followed down the stairs.

Mare Do Well was standing over a moving burlap sack. She glanced back over her shoulder.

“Help me with this,” She said. Brass trotted over to look, helping her get the complicated knot untied. A small timberwolf, only as large as a pony, looked out. It whimpered in fear. Mare Do Well touched it, and it calmed. “Its leg is hurt. A pony took it from the forest and left a trail for the alpha to follow.”

“How can you-” Brass asked. Mare Do Well helped the pup out of the sack, leading it towards the stairs.

“I know,” Mare Do Well said, her tone not allowing for an argument. The limited light from the open door vanished as Old Hickory looked in, her massive head filling the open space. Brass Shield created a light, and watched as she sniffed at the pup before picking it up carefully with her maw and backing away.

“I think she's actually leaving-” Brass Shield stopped. Mare Do Well was gone. He looked around in surprise. “How did she-” He looked back, spotting a stairway leading up, and ran for it. She'd obviously gone out the other way.

Loopy tried to keep perfectly still in the blackened beams above Brass Shield as he left. It was a good thing ponies never looked up.

“You let her go!” Songbird screamed. After the timberwolf had left town, Brass had put his soldiers to helping with the damage and looking for clues to who had set the beast on the town. So far they hadn't found much. Meanwhile, Brass Shield, thanks to his position, was left to do the paperwork. He had been in the middle of a report when Songbird had stormed in.

“I didn't just let her go. She vanished. You weren't able to find her either!” Brass retorted.

“How did she even get her costume back?!” Songbird demanded.

“It looks like Private Kicker was carrying it and she knocked him out,” Brass said, sighing. “He doesn't remember a damn thing. He woke up without his armor halfway across town.”

“She assaulted another guard!” Songbird said, knocking a stack of papers away. “We need to focus on finding her. I say we just go door to door and search every home until we find the costume and send whatever pony has it right to the dungeons!”

“No,” Brass said, simply. “She saved lives today. And more than that, we don't have the right to do that to innocent ponies. As far as I'm concerned, the next letter I write is going to be me telling the princess that I'm calling off the search.”

“You're- you're-” Songbird sputtered.

“It's the right thing to do,” Brass Shield said. Songbird stopped pacing, turned away from him. She reached up and took off her helmet.

“Fine. Then I'll find her myself. Without you and without this- this- bunch of useless foals you call a guard unit!” She threw the helmet at him, narrowly missing the unicorn. It was probably supposed to hit, but her lack of depth perception failed her.

“Flight Lieutenant!” Brass Said. She tore off her armor and dumped it on the floor.

“I'm going to find her and make her pay for what she did,” Songbird said. “She won't get away next time.”

She flapped her banded wings and burst through the window. Brass watched her go.

“Don't do anything stupid,” He whispered, knowing she couldn't hear him.