//------------------------------// // Twin Shadows: Solitary Confinement // Story: The Dark Mare // by MagnetBolt //------------------------------// The Dark Mare Twin Shadows: Solitary Confinement by MagnetBolt “I found the Captain!” Hardback shouted. “Is he-” Songbird ran over as the unicorn pulled Brass Shield out of the ruin of the warehouse. “He's alive. But I can't get him to wake up.” Hardback looked back at Songbird. “We need to get him to the hospital. I can't believe with all of this that...” Songbird looked down. “How could we be so unprepared? I wasn't even here! I was too busy being an idiot and-” She kicked a rock, frustrated. “Ma'am!” Kicker shouted. He should have been going to the hospital himself, but the mule had somehow shrugged off being stepped on by El Toro and almost crushed under a door. He was almost certainly more injured than he was letting on, but he had refused to leave. “What is it?” Songbird asked. She sounded exhausted. “You better come take a look,” Kicker said. He sounded afraid. Songbird looked over as Hardback tried to make Brass Shield comfortable, then ran over to see what Kicker had found. Her eyes went wide as he shifted a broken door to the side. “Get a light over here!” Songbird yelled. A beam of light struck past her into the room, revealing what was inside. Loopy had been left in the conference room like a trophy, dark ichor splattered across the floor and walls. Her chitin was broken, her wings were tattered. Worse than any of that was the way she was laying, her back twisted and her legs sprawled out like a doll's. If she'd been a normal pony it would mean her spine was snapped. Was it the same for changelings? Did they even have spines? Songbird shuddered. “Is she-” Kicker looked at Songbird. “I don't know.” Songbird swallowed, feeling sick. “We need to get her to the hospital. Maybe... maybe somepony there can do something for her.” *** Kudzu Henge watched with the rest of the crowd as the guards were brought to the hospital. It was a sobering sight. Of the dozen that had come to the town, almost half were dead, and most of the rest were injured. The commotion had roused ponies from their beds, and they all stood, mumbling and tired, watching in the predawn gloom. “Weren't they supposed to protect us?” whispered a mare behind her. “They haven't even managed to catch one criminal!” said another. Kudzu heard the rest of the crowd murmur in agreement. “Tin,” Kudzu whispered, looking at her coltfriend. Tin Roof looked down at her, the strong stallion as worried as she was. “Let's go back to the farm.” “What's wrong?” he asked. “I just... I don't feel safe. I'm worried something terrible is going to happen.” “Is this another unicorn thing?” He asked, trying to lighten the mood. Kudzu shook her head. Before she could explain, the mayor started yelling, his voice carrying over the muttering of the assembled crowd. “Ever since you came here, we've had to deal with disaster after disaster!” The mayor stomped on the ground, glaring at one of the guards. The mare, a pegasus with an eyepatch covering her right eye, glared as he yelled in her face. “First there was the fire, then everypony went crazy, and now this! Everything was fine until you all came here!” “We're trying to protect you,” the guard said, gritting her teeth. “If you'll excuse me, we have to get these ponies into the hospital so they can be treated.” “You're obviously failing completely at protecting us! Where were you when we needed you?! Half the town is gone and all you've done is scare everypony about changelings!” The mayor got in front of the guard when she tried to leave, poking her chest with his hoof. “Sir, if you don't get out of the way I'm going to-” the crowd collectively gasped before the guard could finish her threat. One of the nurses had moved a blanket aside, revealing a badly injured changeling. “Is that a changeling?!” somepony demanded. “The guards were right!” “Mare Do Well...” Kudzu gasped, as she was taken inside. She felt a chill go down her spine. That meant there really wasn't anypony left to protect them. *** A dark gray pony set down in the ruins of town hall, bat wings folding against his sides as he landed silently. He looked around, not turning as a second, almost identical stallion landed next to him. His yellow eyes seemed to glow in the darkness as the two started walking slowly through the burned, still-damp wreckage. “Were we seen?” The first asked. “No. Flying in from the other direction as the convoy from Cantelot was a good call, even if we barely got here before dawn.” The first batpony grunted, quietly moving the remains of a burned desk. “Be careful, Cloak. The floor is close to giving out,” the second one said, as he felt the boards bend underhoof. “It's surprising they haven't already, Drake,” the first, apparently named Cloak, noted. “Look at the burn patterns. Definitely an accelerant.” He scraped at the ashes, sniffing. “You smell that?” “Sharp and sweet. Mineral oils mixed with a sugar paste.” “Mm. Sticks to everything and burns hot for hours.” “That fits with what we know. We need eyes on the ground to see what's been going on around here.” Drake looked around the black ruin. “Even the royal guard didn't have anypony stationed here permanently.” “Of course not. They're too worried about external threats. As soon as something slips through they fall apart from within. Remember the mess in Canterlot?” Cloak opened a scorched cabinet and found a rack of files in folders. He flipped through the damaged papers as he spoke, skimming them and replacing the contents. “How could I forget? Though it did make things easier for us.” Drake wiped soot from a wall display showing Mare Do Well and a number of suspects for her identity. “A blessing in disguise,” Cloak agreed. He glanced around. “The fire and melting ice destroyed too much here. We should leave.” “It was best to come here first, though,” Drake noted. “I don't like working in the middle of town during the day. Too many eyes.” The two unfurled their leathery wings and took off into the sky, dawn just barely starting to peek over the horizon. *** A chariot approached the town. It wasn't an ornate chariot like one of the princesses would use, and it held a unicorn in very plain looking armor. He looked down at the town as he flew, obviously displeased by what he saw. The two pegasai bearing him didn't speak or look back, moving with disciplined coordination and silence. Two more followed in formation, bearing more unicorns, all of them wearing full helmets that obscured their faces, making them even more uniform and anonymous than the average royal guard. As they flew, Songbird joined them, flying up and coming alongside the lead chariot. “Sir!” She yelled, over the wind. “I'm here to escort you to the hospital.” “Flight Lieutenant Songbird!” He said, smiling. His bright green eyes glanced over her. “I never forget a face! We briefly met in Canterlot! My name is Subcaptain Typhon! I'm not sure if you remember me!” “It was in the recovery ward,” Songbird said. “You came to interview me after...” She trailed off. The unicorn winced. “I'm sorry for bringing up bad memories. Let's talk on the ground where there isn't so much, ah,” he motioned around them with one hoof. “Wind! Where's your base of operations? The town hall seems a bit more open-air than I remember from when I was here before!” “We don't have one,” Songbird admitted. “We're using the hospital for now as we have to guard the injured!” “The hospital?!” Typhon looked surprised. “We'll have to talk about that when we get down!” He frowned, obviously displeased. Songbird nodded glumly and led the way. *** “There he is,” Said one of the batponies. They were in the shadows of an alleyway, watching the sky. “Looks like he brought his whole retinue. The rest are marching in from the same direction. They'll be here in a day or two.” “Of course he did, Drake” The other batpony followed his gaze, neither willing to leave the gloom in full daylight. “It would have been hard to say no. Between Labyrinth destroying the team that was already in place and the changeling being discovered, making this fall under his purview, I doubt anypony even considered asking him to bring less than two dozen soldiers.” “He'll have this town locked down once the bulk of his force arrives.” “We need to make sure we get our job finished before then.” *** Typon jumped out of the chariot before it even completely stopped on the grass, striding over to Songbird and giving her a big smile despite the frown he'd had on before. The dull armor he and his men wore was a stark contrast to the usual golden armor of the royal guard, though each of them had a sash that gave them at least a splash of color. Songbird couldn't help but feel uneasy that she couldn't see their faces. The helmets were intimidating, something for a battlefield, not a town. “So, I heard about your capture of Mare Do Well, though perhaps things have gone worse than I had thought if you're all in the hospital.” “We've been under almost constant attack from Labyrinth,” Songbird said. She forced herself to look away from the anonymous guards. “Last night things took a turn for the worse. We lost some good ponies when our temporary headquarters was attacked.” “I take it that's why Captain Brass Shield isn't here to greet me,” Typhon said. Songbird nodded. “He has a fracture along his horn and a mild concussion, not to mention severe magical strain. The doctors are keeping him sedated to help him recover.” “I'm sorry to hear that,” Typhon said, quetly. “They say he'll make a full recovery,” She added. Typhon smiled a little at that. “Some good news in all the bad, then. What about the changeling?” Songbird looked away, gathering her thoughts. “She's... not doing well. It looks like she got caught in the fighting. She might have been the target all along. The doctors don't know what they're doing, frankly. Nopony knows how to treat a changeling's injuries.” “Well, at least I can help with that,” Typhon said. “I have a lot of experience. Well, more than anypony else in the Guard, at least. Which likely makes me the foremost expert in Equestria, for better or worse.” He looked around. “So. Since there's no headquarters, we'll need to find somewhere to house my soldiers.” “We can-” “Have one wing of the hospital cleared out for our use,” Typhon said. Songbird blinked. He took her hesitation as confusion and explained. “It's not ideal, but we do need to guard the injured in case Labyrinth attacks again. The hospital is more than large enough for all of us and I find it's better to have horsepower concentrated in one place when on the defensive. Which we unfortunately are, until the rest of my team arrive.” “The rest of your team?” Songbird frowned. “We requested reinforcements from the general guard. We need to stop Labyrinth, not hunt down changelings. As far as we know, Mare Do Well was the only changeling in the town.” “Ah, I think we'll find that's not quite true,” Typhon said, fixing her with a suspicious gaze. Songbird's hoof almost went to her eyepatch, sure for a moment that he could see right through it to the unnatural eye below. “W-what do you mean?” Songbird asked eventually. “Well, let's just call it a feeling,” Typhon said. He broke the gaze and smiled. “And I find my feelings are usually correct. I have a very strong intuition, you see. It's something you have to rely on when dealing with changelings.” “I see,” Songbird said, unsure. “Don't worry, Flight Lieutenant. You'll see I'm not such a bad commanding officer. You know, I almost asked to have you transferred to my unit, but I hadn't seen you in action. Maybe after this, if you do well, I'll reconsider stealing you away from Brass Shield.” “Commanding officer? With all due respect, Captain Brass Shield is in charge here.” She put a lot of emphasis on his title. “And while he's incapacitated, that falls to me.” “I was hoping I wouldn't have to quote regulations at you, Flight Lieutenant,” Typhon sighed, also emphasizing HER rank. “In that case, I am officially notifying you that I am exercising my privilege as the Subcaptain of the Changeling Detection Division of the Equestrian Royal Guard to assume command over this post and all personnel involved until such time as we have resolved the current crisis.” “You can't do that! The only changeling-” “The only changeling is lying nearly dead because you failed to protect her,” Typhon said, quietly. He didn't sound accusing, but like he was just stating sad facts. “Her well-being is very important to me. If you'd like to make a formal complaint about the transfer of command, I'll have it noted. It would be better, though, if things went more smoothly between us, no?” “...Yes, sir,” Songbird said, looking down. *** Kudzu groaned as she got to her front door. It seemed like ponies were always knocking at the farmhouse door these days. She hoped it was good news this time. When she opened the door, though, she found herself looking at two very strange-looking ponies in black. “Miss Kudzu Henge?” Asked one, his yellow eyes piercing out of the gloom of his hood. “Y-yes?” She asked, taking a step back. “My name is Drake. This is Cloak. We'd like to talk to you about the changeling.” “I-I certainly don't know anything about that. M-maybe you should talk to the royal guard?” Kudzu really wished she wasn't alone in the house. Tin Roof had stayed in town to help with repairing some of the damaged buildings, and her parents wouldn't be back for a few days. “We've read their reports already,” Cloak said. “Your name was mentioned. We wanted to interview you in person.” “I told them everything I knew already!” Kudzu pleaded. “If you read them, you know what I have to say! N-now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to what I was doing-” “You held back a lot of information on those reports,” Drake said. “If I was the type to read between the lines, I'd say you were trying to protect the changeling.” “I only told the guard officers the truth. Now, unless you-” Kudzu trailed off as Cloak handed her a sheet of parchment. She skimmed over it, growing pale. “Let's talk inside,” Cloak suggested. *** Jetstream couldn't look away. “Pulse is getting weaker,” Reported a nurse, looking back at a doctor whose gloved hooves were covered in ichor up to his fetlocks. “We're losing her,” the doctor noted, no emotion in his voice. He reached into the wide gap in the chitin on the changeling's belly. “Everything inside is just ruptured. She's been squashed like a bug.” The nurse smirked a little at the small joke. “Do we want to try a transfusion?” Asked the other doctor. The surgeon shook his head. “No. I'm not even sure a monster like this can use pony blood.” “I heard they drink it,” the nurse said. “Well it's no big loss either way,” the surgeon said, rummaging around inside her body cavity. The changeling on the table moved slightly. She looked at Jet, and the pegasus realized that they hadn't even sedated her. “She's just a monster,” the second doctor agreed. “Really, they should have gotten a vet. We have more important things to do.” “How about we go get some lunch?” the nurse asked. The two doctors nodded in agreement, leaving the changeling on the table, ichor pooling around her. Loopy looked pleadingly at Jet with her blue eyes. “I-I need you...” She gasped, as alarms started to blare and her eyes went black. *** Jetstream woke up in a cold sweat, springing up in her hospital bed in alarm. “Woah there!” Somepony said, pushing her back down. She looked at her and saw Songbird there, the guard wearing an eyepatch over her unusual eye. “I'm... in the hospital?” She started to calm down. “Then that was just a dream...” She sighed, smiling. “After all those windigos and mind magic it's no surprise you're having some bad dreams,” Songbird said. “You're fine, by the way. The doctors say you'll be out of here in a few days. I came to check on you and get away from... some professional problems.” “I don't feel fine. I feel like somepony ran me over with an orphanage.” “...You can't run somepony over with a-” “There was an incident a while back with a come-to-life spell. But it worked out okay! Mare Do Well was there to save the day!” Songbird looked away when she sat down. “Yeah,” the guard said, quietly. Something about the way she said it made Jetstream nervous. “S-so did she turn herself in like she said she would?” “No,” Songbird said. That made Jetstream even more nervous. Songbird sighed and continued. “They had to arrest her. Brass kept me away from the operation. She wasn't hurt. Much, anyway.” “Oh.” Jetstream took a deep breath. “A-and then what?” “It... you need to rest. I should go.” Songbird stood up, losing her nerve. “Tell me what happened!” Jetstream yelled, trying to get out of bed. She struggled with her blankets, wincing as her IV tore free, blood flowing from her leg. Songbird rushed over. “Stop it! You're hurting yourself!” Songbird said, looking at her leg. “Celestia's beard you just don't listen to good advice, do you?” “Tell me,” Jetstream said, quietly. “She means... a lot to me. She's my best friend e-even if she is a changeling.” Songbird gathered her thoughts. “...Last night, while we had Mare Do Well in custody... there was an attack. She got hurt. So did a lot of us. Three guards died.” Jetstream gasped. “W-where is she?! I need to see her!” “You can't. Reinforcements from Canterlot got here and they've taken command over from me. I can't do anything until Brass wakes up. They're keeping everypony out of the hospital's south wing. Just... try not to worry. Subcaptain Typhon is going to be treating her for the injuries.” “How bad are they?” Jetstream asked, quietly. “Bad,” Songbird replied, unable to meet her eyes. “Is she going to-” Jetstream stopped. She couldn't finish the sentence. “I don't know,” Songbird said, honestly. *** “How long have you known that Mare Do Well was a changeling?” The batpony asked. They were sitting at Kudzu's kitchen table. Most of the damage from the blizzard and everypony going crazy had been cleaned up, so things looked nearly normal. “I found out at the same time everypony else did,” Kudzu said. “The guards found out and made sure word got around.” “Stupid thing to do,” Drake said. “They only caused a panic and made her want to leave the public eye,” Cloak agreed. “It'd be the fastest way to get her out of the way,” Drake added. “Wait, you're saying they did it on purpose?” Kudzu narrowed her eyes. “We're not suggesting anything, Ma'am,” Cloak said. “Did you have much contact with the guards? From what we understand they used your farm as a staging area when they were trying to capture the changeling.” “I... talked to them a little,” Kudzu said, shrugging. “Some of them came here during the blizzard to make sure we had supplies, too.” “Did any of them seem strange?” Drake asked. “What do you mean?” “You might have overheard them discussing things. Or seen them do things that didn't seem to make sense.” “...You aren't here about Mare Do Well at all,” Kudzu blinked with surprise. “You're here about the guards.” *** Songbird walked towards the hospital's south wing, not really watching where she was going. Consequently she almost ran right into an armored pony as he stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She stumbled back, almost falling. “What are you doing?! I almost ran into you!” Songbird glared at the guard. “Get out of the way, I'm going to check on the changeling.” “This area of the hospital is off limits,” he said, his voice distant from within the thick helmet. “I outrank you...” She glanced at his sash, seeing the rank pins there. “Corporal. Get out of the way before I have you busted down to cleaning latrines and using that helmet as a bucket!” “You don't have the authority to do so, Ma'am,” he said. “My orders come from Subcaptain Typhon. Nopony is allowed in this part of the hospital. No exceptions.” “Well go and get Typhon and we'll get this little... 'misunderstanding' cleared up!” Songbird yelled. “No, Ma'am. He specifically mentioned that you and the other guards are not allowed past this point.” The guard's horn started to glow, and four short blades rose into the air around him, pointing straight up but a clear threat. “Please leave before I have to make you leave.” “This is a clear violation of his authority!” Songbird took a step towards the armored pony, not afraid. At least not until the blades hovered around her neck, only a hoof-width from her skin. They moved, and she was forced back by the collar of blades. “You can make a formal complaint when the operation is over,” he said, the blades retreating when Songbird was further down the hallway. “We'll see about that,” Songbird grumbled, turning and snarling. She at least had the restraint to wait until she was around the corner before she kicked the wall in frustration. “How dare he just show up and take over like this!” She bit her lip, having a stray thought. Typhon was only a Subcaptain. Even if he outranked her, he didn't outrank Brass. “I just have to find a way to get that warhorse up on his hooves and a doctor smart enough to certify him as fit to return to duty...” She smiled, running down the hallway. *** Loopy opened her eyes, groaning. She felt cold. She was lying on some kind of table. She groaned and tried to move, and the cold was replaced with pain. Even the smallest motion sent agony through her like electric shocks. Somepony was singing. It was the song of somepony happy with themselves, unconcerned if anypony was there to listen. “Alone, we're both alone, apart In the dark place in my heart I think I might Find what I was looking for Burn the lies away with light But the truth will be alright Because I know The answer will be won So, I'll bring it into view The answers from me and you I'll find it all And leave the darkness I'll be sad when I end this act What was a lie is now a fact You'll tell me everything You can't leave until I'm done” It wasn't the voice of a trained singer, but the voice was resonant and deep, a beautiful voice. It was unnerving and for some reason Loopy couldn't feel anything from the singer. Was she so badly hurt her magic had stopped working entirely? “Ah, I see you're awake,” said the voice. Loopy turned her head slowly, fighting against the pain, to see a white unicorn with green eyes and a dark mane, wearing dull-colored armor and a bright sash trimmed with gold. “Where am I?” Loopy asked, her voice breaking. “You're in the hospital. You were taken here after you were found in the warehouse. I have to admit that I'm rather impressed. You could have run, but you decided to try and fight. Though it doesn't seem you had much luck.” “H-how bad is it?” Loopy asked, afraid to look down. “Let's just say that it's a good thing I'm here,” the stallion smiled. “I happen to be an expert with changeling anatomy. One of the many reasons I've been placed in charge of the Princesses' special task force. You might have heard of me. Subcaptain Typhon at your service.” He took a short bow. “S-so you're here to take me to Canterlot?” Loopy asked. The unicorn shook his head. “Not in your condition. We have some work to do before you can go anywhere.” The unicorn looked down over her. “I had to send the other doctors away. I work best alone, and they would have only gotten in the way.” “I-I can't move,” Loopy said. “Mm. That's partly the restraints and partly nerve damage. It seems El Toro did a real number on you. Not to mention lingering frost burns on your back leg and wings. You really do need to take better care of yourself, little Scout.” “I'll k-keep that in mind next time s-someone tries to kill me a-almost every day for a week.” “I wouldn't worry about that. The guards are here. You should be worried about your health.” The unicorn held up some gauze and started unwrapping the bandages from her thorax. “I'm going to change your bandages while we talk. I need to make sure the bleeding has stopped.” “I guess you don't want me bleeding everywhere when you present me to the Princess as your latest trophy,” Loopy mumbled. She closed her eyes as he got to work, wincing as he pulled away bandages sticky with clotted ichor and replaced them. The dull pain of her injuries was replaced with sharp stabbing pains that, mercifully, faded quickly back to the throbbing background agony. “Royalty does tend to be picky,” the unicorn said. “You're very important, you know. That may seem hard to believe right now, but a lot of people are paying close attention to you.” “Songbird told me one of the Princesses had taken a personal interest,” Loopy said, her eyes still squeezed shut. “That's quite true,” the unicorn agreed. “She had no idea you were a changeling, though. I have to admit it's rather clever of you, too. No one would expect a changeling to use a mask, of all things. A changeling should never need one.” “Not clever enough,” Loopy mumbled. “Otherwise I never would have been caught.” “Oh it worked well enough. There were just a few holes in your plan. The changelings that we – well, that you captured for us – were more than willing to talk about what had happened. Of course, prisoners tend to say all kinds of things, especially under duress.” “Duress?” Loopy asked, a chill running down her spine as she looked at the unicorn. “Mm. As you can imagine, at the time the nobility was calling for blood. A lot of hooves were being pointed, especially at the guard. There were official reprimands and a few demotions in the wake of the event. It rather cleared the path well for Brass Shield to assume his position, and for me to climb to my own.” The unicorn smiled. “What did you do to them?” Loopy asked, afraid. “Oh don't look so scared,” he said, waving a hoof. “That comes later. Right now we're just having a chat. As I'm sure Brass Shield has told you during his little interrogation, we have a sort of script we need to follow. The Royalty was very particular about it, especially in your case. Now what was I supposed to say? Ah yes...” Loopy watched in horror as he blinked and his eyes turned a flat, glowing blue. He smiled, showing fangs that hadn't been there before. “Queen Chrysalis sends her regards.”