Mare of the Shadows

by Nightmare_0mega

File 02: Shadows

As the night aged, ponies left the shops and restaurants to return to their homes with bellies and satchels full. Streets filled and thinned as the minutes melted to hours, up until only the light of lamps of the districts remained. It was a cool, placid night, promising sweet dreams and peace. At least, that's what Lock Amato assumed, as he leisurely made his way down the empty walkways of the city, heading home after a night of coffee, good food, and listening to his favorite sport on the radio. It was only a shame the night turned out so average.

"Wish he stuck around, though," he bemoaned to himself, "Night's not as fun without a friend." He gave a light sigh, as the chilled air swirled before him, before he bit the side of his overcoat and pulled it tighter against his body. "Maybe next time..."

However, before long, he found his verbal thoughts were bombarded as a loud crash erupted from a nearby alleyway. Following this, a very large, very muscular green earth pony with a dirty blond mane and a black mask galloped across the somewhat startled teacher in a panic. The fleeing individual sped right across the street, directly to a stairway, and leaped over the railing. Lock was stunned at the display, but soon the reason for the fleeing stallion presented itself to Lock.

Bounding high into the night sky, silhouetted against the light of the moon, a slender, clearly feminine form complete in dark tights, cape, and hat descended to the rooftops nearby. As the mysterious mare landed, she then gave chase to the burly, masked earth pony. easily clearing the gaps between the buildings in effortless jumps to catch up.

Intrigued and brimming with adrenaline from this peculiar sight, Lock Amato swiftly followed the two, heading down the stairs that the other earth pony took as quick as he could, watching the mare clear more roofs along the way. Noticing that he was being left in the dust, and that the stairs themselves were slowing him down, he paused himself, and looked below the stairwell for a safe landing spot. He spied a wooden shed below, and felt it would be a good enough platform to land on to make headway in his pursuit. Upon vaulting over the railing, however, he completely misjudged the weight of his frame and the sturdiness of the wood, as he crashed right through the top, and ended up inside what seemed to be a chicken coop. Struggling with the angry poultry, Lock Amato scrambled out of the now ruined coop, and began running down the hill he was now upon, spying that the two mystery ponies had stopped at an arched suspension bridge nearby.

It took him several minutes of hard running, hooves clacking furiously against the hard road, pushing the limit of his speed so hindered by his stacked body, before he finally ended up at the opening of the bridge. He stopped to catch his breath, but the shock caused it to become lost again. There before him was the rumored Mare-do-Well, clad in her described jumpsuit, full-faced mask, lengthy and obscuring cape, and the large rimmed hat that completed her ensemble. Below her, lying deathly still, face twisted in pain and terror, was the large green earth pony she had been chasing. What in the name of Celestia was going on? Lock asked himself.

Before he could take a step forward, Mare-do-Well turned back to him, as if to sense he was here, or at least had heard his hefty breathing from his exertion.

"You?" she questioned in disbelief, throwing Lock's already frazzled mind into further confusion. As he took a step forward, almost unconsciously, she took a step back, before barking, "STAY AWAY!"

Lock, however, was far too curious to just back down, despite the authority in her voice. As he continued to take tentative steps forth, she lightly crouched for a moment, before leaping impossibly high into the air, landing at the very highest tip of the arching suspension bridge and seemingly disappearing from sight. He gazed into the darkness, trying to find if he could spot her once again, but it was no use. She was gone as quickly as she revealed herself to him. With one mystery eluded, he turned his gaze downward to the massive pony that was still on the ground. He approached him gingerly, and gently touched his neck, checking for a pulse. Within mere moments, the body of the pony began to shine a brilliant green light and became hot to the touch, causing Lock to pull his hoof away and shield his eyes. Soon, as vapors began to appear, the form of the body began to deflate and disappear, leaving behind only the clothes the former pony wore.

"What the-" was all he managed to mutter. Slowly, he pulled his forelegs away from his face as he began to approach the remains of the mysteriously vanishing pony. He picked up the sleeves of the garb gently, inspecting the fabric for any clues or abnormalities within them that could make sense of what just happened, or what Mare-do-Well was trying to stop him from seeing. As luck would have it, however, from inside the shirt, a small glowing green vial dropped out and clinked against the hard ground. Lock's eyes immediately fixated upon it as he picked up the mystery vial, and inspected it closely. Considering his options, his talent as a chemist and biologist, his curiosity, and the fact he was the only one around at the moment, he pocketed the vial.

As he raised back to his full height, he took one last look around the immediate area, one last look up the overhead heights of the bridge's arches, and satisfied no one was there, began to turn away and head home.

High on one of Canterlot's many buildings that overlooked the bridge, shrouded in darkness that the moon couldn't reveal yet, the mysterious lady of the night watched her impromptu stalker. With a scowl under her mask, she noticed yet another of her prey skulk the alleyways, now intent on following the curious pony. With that, she began her pursuit, following the teacher so oblivious to the danger he was in.

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Comfortably inside of his top floor apartment of a five floor building, especially after removing his weighty overcoat and locking the door, he retrieved the vial from his coat pocket and sat upon the chair at his work-desk. From there, with squinted eyes, he once again slowly inspecting the vial. It was a simple thing: A small glass tube with a rather tight twist top to it, and a viscous, glowing green liquid filling the inside. He looked off to his side and noticed he still had some chemistry lab equipment and a microscope set up from one of the lessons he was designing for the first quarter of the school year. With a shrug, he decided it wouldn't hurt to use them in an effort to find out what exactly was in the little glass tube.

It proved to be both more difficult than he realized, while simultaneously much more simple than he thought it would be, as the tough and tight top of the vial remained stuck for a while, before suddenly opening and causing him to spill a small drop upon his hardwood floor. It singed the surface with an audible hiss, leaving behind a black mark and small vapor cloud that very quickly dispersed.

"Is this... an acid?" he asked himself aloud. Even for an industrial strength acid, this seems WAY too powerful. And I certainly don't remember reading about an acid that does THAT. He quickly resealed the vial, and considered how safe it would be to try and run experiments on it now, leaning more towards "no" after the accidental demonstration. At least not now. He'd need to be in a much more controlled environment, hopefully with a colleague that could help him out if things get dicey. "It's just too dangerous right now," he said, screwing the lid back on as tight as possible and slipping it into the drawer of his filing cabinet.

As if on cue, his window swung open, causing the curtains to flutter against the nightly wind, as a darkened, slender figure stepped through the frame. Lock couldn't believe it. She had followed him to his home.

"How did-" he started, before realizing how foolish it would be to ask, considering how effortlessly she had managed to traverse the city rooftops during her all too recent pursuit. "N-nevermind, what do you want?"

"The vial," she stated simply, scowling beneath the mask.

"What vial?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

"The one you took. It's mine. Give it back to me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied, slowly side-stepping towards the other end of the room to keep her attention away from his desk and cabinets.

"You must have it," she insisted, pointing her right hoof at Lock. "Please, just give it to me."

Lock looked her over, and noticed a few distinct attributes: The first was that the pony before him sported wings, though well hidden with the way the suit fit her, as well as the cape that draped against her. It made sense now as to how easily she had been able to go from roof to roof and jump with such ease. However, what threw him off was what he caught a glimpse of on her head under her hat. For a brief moment, as she turned her head, as if to check something outside the window, he noticed what seemed to be the curve of a unicorn's horn, covered by the mask and hidden by the large rimmed hat. An Alicorn? What's going on here?!

"What ARE you?" he blurted.

"I don't have time for this," she seethed, "Give me the-" was all she was able to say before a jolt of green electrical energies sparked from her left foreleg, causing her to falter and drop to the ground with a grunt and a heavy, painful sigh. She rapped her right foreleg around the left, trying to ease the discomfort.

Lock rushed up and knelt down before her, concerned with the sudden change of circumstance. "Are you alright? Is there anything I can get you?"

She gave a stern glare through her mask, but upon seeing the genuine, worried expression upon his face so close to hers, she couldn't help but soften her own. With a pain-tweaked sigh, she finally responded with, "You're in great danger. Please, just give me the vial, Lock."

"Wait, how do you know my-" was all he managed to say before he heard a loud bang against his door, causing them both to relinquish attention to the noise. Their gazes were then punished as the door gave way to a deafening crash, with the perpetrator tumbling into the apartment. It was another huge, green coated, dirty blond stallion, face twisted in anger underneath the black mask. Upon regaining its composure, as Lock rose back up from the floor, the massive thug charged forward, making a bee-line for the still downed maiden. Lock coiled himself back, ready to give a heavy forward buck in defense of himself and his costumed guest. However, just as easily as the door was completely destroyed, so too was Lock tossed off to the side like a sack of potatoes as he slammed against the wall and landed upon the couch with a groan. Right in tandem with that action, the burly, aggressive pony took a swing at the dark maiden, whom swiftly dodged the attack by leaping up into the air. Once at head level, she flipped back, and kicked her back hooves out, striking the pony in the face and forcing him to stagger back a good distance away from the two.

The green thug recoiled for a moment, before grabbing the work desk with his teeth and began to swing it at his target, missing once, twice, three times before slamming it against the floor in an overhead swing; only to obliterate his impromptu weapon with the force he put into it. It was then the darkly maiden took her opportune counterattack, uppercutting the pony, before giving a quick combo to the exposed barrel, and then a final buck to push away the aggressive stallion. However, upon the final attack, pain surged up her foreleg, stalling her enough for the green giant to rise from the floor and retaliate. Swinging his massive hoof, he struck her square in the face, and kept pushing until her head hit the wall with a bone chilling crack.

"YOU KILLED BROTHER!" the stallion screamed at the top of his lungs, eyes glowing a deep blood red as he kept pressing his hoof against her head, aiming to crush her against the cracking wall.

Lock, upon finally shaking the stars from his eyes, noticed things were starting to look grim. In his infinite wisdom and for the sake of others, he quickly scrambled back to his hooves, ducked himself low as if to coil like a spring, and then shot forth as fast as his body could take him, slamming into the violent attacker. Unfortunately, he overshot his attack, as the green pony's hoof slipped upon a loose rug, and sent both he and the green giant out the window, crashing through glass and wall, where the two were now doomed to plummet. Lock's life flashed before his eyes for the seconds that went by as the ground below grew swiftly and dangerously close. It was only when he noticed that Mare-do-Well, whom he thought was still in his apartment, had shot down past him like an arrow, coiled under his large frame, and effortlessly kicked him back up to the opening of where his window used to be. After he managed to pull himself up from the ledge, Lock took a look back down, only to catch the green attacker slam against a guard rail and fall into a stairwell leading to a lower section of the city. Said attacker was almost immediately followed by the maiden, whom managed to miss the now bent guardrail by inches.

As a moment of crushing silence passed, Lock watched as yet another brilliant green glow shined from the spot where the pony had seemingly landed, before the light and vapor dissipated, leaving only the dark shadows. He backed away from the gaping hole in his wall, and staggered out of his apartment, intending on inspecting the location of what he just saw more closely.

Heading down the building and out the door, he made a straight shot towards the landing spot, only to find that the maiden was gone, and only the clothing from the big green pony remained, along with an empty vial. Lock's face scrunched in curiosity and from the light pain he was still experiencing, as he walked back up the stairwell, only to be greeted by a small troop of Royal Guards.

"Evening gents... what brings you here at this hour?" Lock said with a strained, wry smile.

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"And so, they searched the entire apartment complex and asked all of us a bunch of questions about the incident," Lock continued, taking a drink of his third cup of coffee of the evening.

"I hope you managed to finish your school work, regardless of the excitement," Arie stated, taking a small sip from his cup, "So, did they find anything out?"

"Nope. Not a coat or mane hair could be found of either of them. Just the strange clothes that were left behind, but aside from some dirt, it was as if no one was wearing them in the first place. Freaky, eh?"

"Indeed. Freaky." Arie took another sip with a nonchalant look on his face.

Lock paused for a moment as he watched his new friend's reaction to the news. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"What? Oh, no no no," he denied, "It's just, well, a little hard to believe. I mean, come on, big green monster ponies that evaporate? It sounds like something out of a comic book. Wouldn't you be skeptical too?"

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, yeah, I probably would be." Lock sighed again, taking another sip of his coffee. Taking a moment to savor the flavor, he recalled the other thing he wanted to discuss. "But what's really weird was Mare-do-Well."

Arie paused for a moment, before he said, "What do you mean?"

"Well, I never got around to describing her."

"Actually, you did: Dark tights, cape, large-rimmed hat, strange but beautiful."

"Did I say that last bit?" he asked with a blush of embarrassment, as Arie raised an eyebrow for a moment and took another sip of his own coffee, "Heh, maybe I did. But, no, that's not what I meant. What I mean is that I saw she had wings-"

"Considering how you said she could leap buildings in a single bound-"

"-AND a horn."

Arie paused. "What?"

"Yeah. It was quick, but I managed to actually see a horn under that hat of hers."

"Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you."

"Oh no, I'd never forget something like that. Even stranger, her bone structure suggested that she SHOULD be an earth pony... albeit a slender one."

"Come on. Are you telling me she's-"

"An Alicorn?"

Silence drifted through the air for a moment as Lock said those words and took another sip of coffee.

"You must have been dreaming, 'cause that's a silly idea right there. The only known alicorns in Equestria are the princesses: Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight, and Flurry. Are you suggesting that one of them is this mysterious 'Mare-do-Well'?"

"Dunno, really. She didn't look like any of them. Too short to be Celestia or Luna. Too tall to be Twilight... Too old to be Flurry."

"And Cadence?"

"She rules the Crystal Empire, remember? She's probably far too busy to be hopping around the roofs of Canterlot like that." He took another sip. "Besides, I can't really see someone like Princess Cadence playing the part of a vigilante."

"Then, what do you suppose?"

"I don't know, really. All I know is that was probably an Alicorn after what I saw." Lock sipped his coffee one more time, before he realized he had run out. Calling out to the waitress, he asked for a refill, before he picked up his jacket and fished out a few extra bits. "Oh, and there was one other thing..." he said, as he slowly reached into his pocked, and gingerly pulled out the vial.

Arie's eyes widened upon seeing the strange, glowing object, before he put his own coffee cup down and looked around the dining area to see if anyone else had noticed. "Put that thing away!" he demanded with a hushed voice.

"Sorry, but I had to show you. I was thinking that maybe I could get this looked at and conduct a few experiments back at the school, and I need someone I can trust to help me with that. Figured you might be able to-"

"That isn't right, Lock. You don't even know what it is!" he snapped, still trying to stay as hushed as possible.

"I know, but that's why we need to find out-"

"You should have just given it to her..."

Lock paused for a moment. "Pardon?"

Arie sighed for a moment, before he looked to Lock. "Look, I'm not much of a chemist. I don't know HOW I'd even be able to help you, even if I wanted to." As he said this, he rose from his seat, tossed some bits on the table, and gathered his coat. Lock watched with a gobsmacked expression, until Arie ended his end of the conversation with, "Be careful, Lock."

As he began to leave the restaurant, Lock shook his head for a second to process what he meant, before fishing out his own bits, quickly putting his own coat on, and began to rush out the door after his friend. "Arie!"

"Wait, Mr. Lock! You forgot your coffee!" the waitress called after the two exiting teachers, before giving a dejected sigh, collected the dishes, and wandered back to the till with the left behind refuse and money.

Outside of the restaurant, Lock looked about, trying to see where his friend had gone off to, before he spied him cross the street and head towards the steps that lead to a lower street of the city. Lock picked up his pace and chased after him. It wasn't hard to keep up, but Lock was a little surprised Arie seemed to move faster than he appeared

"Arie! Wait up!" Lock called out as he caught up to his fellow teacher, whom was already down the flight of steps. As soon as he got beside him, he took a short breath as they walked in tandem, side by side, in total silence. In an effort to break the silence, the biology teacher spoke again. "What's wrong?"

Arie sighed for a moment, but kept his gaze forward. "Still plan on conducting your experiments on that vial?"

Lock grimaced. "I was hoping you'd help. But seeing that you're not up for it, I'm not so sure anymore." He looked to the literary teacher, and noticed the sullen look upon his face. "I can't exactly just give it to the Guard now, can I? Not without knowing what it is, and why she found it so important."

"She could be dangerous, Lock."

He huffed, "Yeah, I doubt that."

"How can you be so sure?"

"She could have easily beat me to a pulp if what she did to that big guy was anything to go by." He then rubbed his shoulder a bit with his hoof, as if massaging a sore spot. "That THING was no joke."

"All the more reason to be worried."

It didn't take very long for Lock to reach his apartment building, at the foot of the incident, with Arie at his side. As they stepped before the front doors, the sun set behind the horizon and the moon began to peek through the inky ocean of stars and clouds. It was yet another lovely night, but also yet another that hid more mysteries than wonders.

As the two teachers ascended the stairwell of the building, figures of a nefarious origin scrambled out of Lock Amato's apartment, headed for the elevator, and made their way to the ground floor. With the ping of the lift signalling the phantom departure, the two finally reached the top of the stairs. Lock was first to notice his door adjar and his lights still on, causing him to flatten himself against the wall. Arie followed suite behind him, sensing Lock's own caution. The biologist swiveled his ears for a moment or two, listening closely for sounds to see if there was anyone else nearby. Aside from the hum of the elevator and the normal chatter of the random tenants, he and Arie were oblivious to the previous invaders' long distant presence. Feeling it was safe to go in, they approached the door swiftly, whereupon Lock only found ruin. All of his furniture was totally destroyed now, along with his papers having been scattered about and torn, and his clothing tossed every which way and obviously searched. It was a fitting, albeit depressing addition to the haphazard and impromptu boards that covered the giant hole in the wall that used to be his window, and the plastered cracks and craters from the brawl.

Lock began to gather up the scattered papers with a darkly expression, moving slow and sombre to the revelation that his choice had yielded more grief and vandalism in such a short time. Whoever was here was very intent on finding something important.

"Next time," Arie said with an angry, yet pained tone, "give her the vial!" With that ringing through the room, Arie bolted out of the apartment, down the stairs, and out of the building, making his way to his own apartment building streets away.

Lock simply looked back to the door-frame Arie had stood at in silence for a moment or two, before returning to his futile attempt at tidying up his ransacked room. "Yeah, maybe I should..."

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In the upper echelons of Canterlot's more well respected neighborhoods, hosting buildings of the highest pedigree and historical significance, also stood a set of high rise buildings made for the privileged. High, gothic walls and intricate designs decorated its moon-bathed side, as tired businessponies, professors, artists, politicians, and nobles were all sound asleep under the silvery gaze of Luna's gift. All but one, as Arie, having discarded the jacket but stayed in uniform for the time being, watched the sky with brief moments of meditation.

"It's my fault."

The light was off, the sky was clear, and only shadows stirred within the room that belonged to Arie Saddlemore, whom continued to watch the still city through the window.

"If I hadn't come here..."

Hooves clapped against Arie's face, before glasses were torn away from the eyes and tossed to the side.

"Hooves, tail, a heart... but, I'm not like them." Arie's voice grew softer, dipped with a hint of sadness, as thoughts and secrets began to slowly inch their way in. "I don't need a friend... do I?" Silence lingered for a second, until the wind gently whispered through the cracks of the window, as if to cast a warning. "He's in danger."

With that said, Arie Saddlemore, literary teacher of a modest school within the heart of this fair city, had slowly melted away as clothing was discarded, mane was let down, and wings were allowed to stretch and breathe, revealing the true form. There she stood, naked in the moonlight, as the silver shine danced across her fair coat for the moment, and gently smiled in the night, before she took up the darkly tights, hoof covers, mask, hat, and cape. Swiftly, she pulled the ensemble together, zipped up the costume, and tied the hoof covers up tight, before finally placing on the hat to cover her horn. Once ready, she opened the window before her, letting the silky translucent drapes dance in the wind along with her cape, breathed in the nightly air, before leaping from her windowsill and bounded from roof to roof on her way to Lock's apartment.

"I hope I'm not too late."

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Far below the broken and boarded up window, tired, crimson eyes slowly blinked for a moment before a yawn escaped the lips of the unnaturally large and burly earth pony. As soon as it ended, a small, light tan hoof reached out and struck the head of the large stallion, causing him to shrink away for a second.

"Wake up, you idiot!" José barked, as he swiftly pointed to the former window with the same hoof he struck the Fixed Idea with. "Pay attention, and watch!"

"Watch what?" the pony like creature asked, groggy and partially confused.

The little colt growled and gritted his teeth for a moment, wanting nothing more than to kill the simpleton, before he finally exclaimed, "The APARTMENT, you fool! We observed that stupid earth pony all day, remember? He DEFINITELY has the vial, but I'm sure he isn't the one to kill the two of you idiots. Whoever did it will probably come back very soon. If not tonight, then tomorrow. We're to stay here, and keep an eye on the situation."

The large pony shrugged, and turned his gaze back to the boarded up window. José huffed as he climbed back down the head of the Fixed Idea he rode, only to sit and relax on his back, lightly kicking the air and waiting for something to happen. In all honesty, while he did want to fulfill his father's request, all he really wanted to do right now was just kick back and rest. The young colt of the New Lunar Republic had been scheming for months on how to utilize his position and pedigree, not to mention the variable armies of Fixed Ideas he had at his disposal, to make things more interesting to him, and he was all too keen on taking a break from the plans and footwork. Once the job is done, he thought, Father can shove it. I'll be doing things MY way from then on.

"Boss, Boss!"

"What is it?" José responded bitterly.

"See something!"

José scrambled back up the neck and head of his carrier Fixed Idea just quick enough to see a dark, slender figure fly through the air and crash right through the boards of the former window. The young colt and his cohorts stared for a moment, almost in disbelief at how brazen the entrance was, not to mention how prompt their supposed interloper had decided to show up.

José turned back to the young stallion that had accompanied them, and barked orders for him to return to the warehouse and put everyone there at high alert. The pony in question then departed without hesitation, leaving his boss and Fixed Ideas behind.

"To the apartment, you clods! Don't let her escape!"

The clumsy but obedient mutant ponies did as they were told and headed directly for the front entrance, as José clung to the back of his ride for dear life.

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Lock rummaged through his belongings, finally able to sort out the rest of his papers, and finally get his night sorted. It was a downtrodden turn of events, to be sure. He wasn't quite clear as to what he should do now, especially with the unknown vial. He figured that maybe his friend was right, and that he should just hand it over to Mare-do-Well. While his intellectual curiosity begged him to continue holding onto it, his heart told him the right thing to do would be to relinquish it and forget his desires of scientific discovery.

Just as those thoughts flowed through his mind, a sudden crash was heard, as he whipped around and found Mare-do-Well, standing where the boarded up hole in the wall used to be, with bits of wood scattered about. Her stature seemed serious, as she marched up to Lock with determination ebbed in each pace she made.

"You have to get out of here, now." She ordered, "It won't be long before they come for me. Give me the vial, while there's still time."

Lock wanted to protest, but the sudden bash against his door and the give of the locks convinced him otherwise. He then nodded, and produced the vial from his jacket, which was suddenly enveloped by a light mulberry aura and brought to her. Lock gasped lightly, before he gave a smirk. "So, you ARE an Alicorn, aren't you?"

"What?"

Before further questions could be asked or proper answers could be given, the door suddenly crashed open once again, scattering wood and broken locks about, as several Fixed Ideas ran into the room. Lock got into a defensive stance, which wavered as a small colt then strutted in front of the big green monster ponies, marching up to the center of the group of intruders, and halted before them. The little colt before them gave a wicked smile, as if he had won the game.

Mare-do-Well took a step back, raised her left foreleg, and gripped the tight sleeve with her magic. With confidence, she asked the intruders, "Am I who you want?!" before she pulled the sleeve back, and revealed a mark embedded into her coat. The label was clear as day:

CYBER-006

José took a step back in shock and disbelief, as he muttered, "A Cyber?" to himself. Recollections of his father talking about his experiments suddenly flooded his mind, with the Cyber Project being on of the main creations. It was equally unnerving as, for all intents and purposes, the scientist in charge had shut down the Cyber Project years ago, with all living Cybers having supposedly been dismantled and destroyed as a result. Regardless, if she truly was a Cyber, she was equally extremely valuable, and extremely dangerous.

"GET HER, YOU STUPID MUTANTS!"

"Catch!" Mare-do-Well shouted, as she picked up the large desk lamp, and threw it with great force at the small colt, whom quickly dodged the incoming object. The Fixed Ideas, more focused on their master's distress, backed away to let José get to relative safety. Distraction set, she then leaped into the air, raised her right hoof, and slammed it against one of the Fixed Ideas before vaulting over and landing behind him with grace. The group of intruders spread out, now aware of how dangerous she was, and kept a safe distance before they were willing to take a shot at any opening presented.

One charged forth like the dolt he was, swung for a crushing forward stomp, which only prompted Mare-do-Well to hop back and lunge forward with a quick combo to the neck, before back flipping with a kick to the jaw, knocking the pony away. Before she could continue or even react, another fixed idea jumped her and pinned her to the wall, getting ready to pound his hoof into her head with all his might.

It was then that Lock decided to join the fray, leaping forward to strike the barrel of the imposing Fixed Idea that had the Mare pinned. Hitting a rather sensitive spot, the mutant coiled away in pain, releasing the Cyber from his powerful hold. While Lock was successful in that moment, the Fixed Idea wasn't completely out of the game, and just as quickly whirled around and bucked the biology teacher in the face, sending him flying. He crashed hard against the wall, before sliding to the floor, dazed and throbbing in pain.

"HEY!" Mare-do-Well called out, attracting the attention of the boy and his mutant henchponies. With all eyes on her, she reached into her costume with her magic, and produced the glowing vial. "If you want your vial so bad, you're going to have to catch me first, Little Boy!". With that said, she jumped out of the hole in the wall and onto a rooftop across the street.

"CATCH HER, YOU OAFS!" José commanded, as most of his accompanying Fixed Ideas took off running and leaping, intending to follow their nuisance. "Not you," he said as he grabbed the pant leg of one of his subordinates, "Take me to the warehouse. We need to wrap up the procedure while she's busy."

"But-"

"Father will understand when we tell him. Now, HURRY UP!" He barked. Having no choice in the matter, he scooped up the small colt and placed him on his back. "To Sunset Wharves!"

As the two made a swift exit, Lock slowly returned to the waking world, able to catch what the small brat had said. Once he was alone, the burly scientist rubbed his head vigorously, and slowly rose to his hooves.

"The Wharves, eh?" he muttered while giving a low grunt in his sore state, "Can't be up to anything good there." He gazed about his entirely trashed apartment, and out the gaping hole that used to be the window wall. Probably never getting the deposit back, he chuckled. Grabbing his coat with his teeth, he threw it back on himself swiftly, and made his way outside the building.

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At the other end of the city, within the forsaken warehouse at Sunset Wharves, several Fixed Ideas monitored equipment as muffled screams of pain petered out of the unfortunate unicorns that were tied down and hooked up the devices. It was only when the power was cut from the machine that the victim had a moment of respite, and that the one of many tanks nearby stopped filling with concentrated magic.

"He's got a little more in 'im. Turn on the juice for another minute," said the black maned colt.

The mutant nodded, as he turned the power back on once again, reigniting the painful screaming for those precious few minutes. The tank filled up a little more for another thirty seconds before fizzling to a stop, and the pony "dulled".

"Eh, not as much as I thought. Alright, get him back in the pen, and load the next one up. I'll go check on number 3 and number 4." With that, he wandered over to other devices with other screaming ponies, being extracted for every last ounce of their magic.

The many Fixed Ideas that patrolled the warehouse kept their red eyes peeled for intruders, all while maintaining the horrible machines that harvested the magic right from their victims, unless they were guarding the cages of “fresh” and “spent” ponies. Frantic and exhausted cries for help were hushed by the angry bucking and snarling of the mutant ponies.

High above in the rafters slunk a slender shadow, avoiding the moon’s prying light and maneuvering around the wooden support beams, the phantom heroine gazed at the scene below. As sorry as the circumstances were, she had no time to feel much disgust or empathy for the poor souls being used up like batteries. Instead, she used what little time she had to spy a lone Fixed Idea, leap down from her rail, and nail the monstrous stallion in the back of the head with a lethal stomp. The sound was muted, but it was enough for another to become curious.

“Brother?” it muttered, before walking up the stairs to check on its sibling. Upon reaching where the fellow Fixed Idea was supposed to be, no one was present but shadows. “Brother, where you go?”

There was a small clack, before a slender hoof struck the base of the neck, severing a vital and silently taking out the brute. She would have to toss the body into the same spot she put the last one, only to darkly muse that if she kept doing that, she’d end up with an inconspicuous pile of clothes and empty vials.

But, she wasn’t here to harvest sustenance. Tonight, she was going to shut down this strange kidnapping operation to make the city safe enough for another night of peace and quiet. For her sake and Lock’s. With that goal resolute, she slipped back into the darkness, and wandered closer to the cages of the ponies, only to be shocked at the drained and grayed out heaps of magically deficient mares and colts barely able to move. She swallowed her shock, and approached the cage full of the livelier victims. Upon reaching the bars, she tapped the metal gently to gain their attention.

“It’s Mare-do-Well!” one of the mares said with rising hope, as others began to murmur.

“Shhh,” she hushed. Upon their silence, she flared her horn, and slowly bent the bars of both cages. Remaining as quiet as possible she instructed the still capable ponies to, “Take the others, and get out of here as fast as possible. I’ll keep them busy.”

“But, what about the others in the machines?” a stallion asked in worry.

“I’ll try to get them out, but there’s no more time for questions. Now, go!”

The scared but still very up to snuff civilians did as they were told, each taking one or two of the drained victims each, and proceeded quietly out the nearby exit that she managed to clear a path to prior. With all of that out of the way, she crept up behind the guard that remained so blissfully ignorant of the escape, and swiftly dispatched the oaf without a sound. Before the body could begin to evaporate, she decided it was time to use it to introduce herself properly and draw attention.

With a flair of her horn, she lifted the dead weight into the air and sprinted towards the main operating area, which was full of machines and mutants. Leaping into the air, high above the workers, she cast a stark shadow over the villains just before she spiked the carried body into some pretty sensitive equipment. As she landed, the crackling of electricity echoed about the room just as the devices shut down for the last time.

They stood stunned for a moment or two, just staring shocked daggers at their darkened intruder, before the spindly stallion that was managing the show finally spoke up. “GET HER, YOU LUMPS!”

With that, the Fixed Ideas in the area all charged at her with clumsy, murderous intent, only for her to effortlessly leap over the crowd in an attempt to dive bomb the current leader of this façade. Despite her efforts, the worm of a young stallion evaded her attack and took off running. Mare-do-Well had more pressing matters, despite wanting to catch that cockroach, as she evaded a sudden lunge from a Fixed Idea that managed to break away from his brothers in the previous all out attack. She danced away, making her movements look easy, but every near hit was a close one. Never the less, as the other Fixed Ideas began to join their brother in this tango, she started going on the offensive, blocking and tossing away one, uppercutting another, right before leaping up and spiking one in the top of the head, and using the momentum and force to front flip off and jump on another one.

As the fight continued, the warehouse’s front gate slid open as a carriage pulled by a pair of Fixed Ideas rolled in and parked near the commotion. For a moment, the action stopped for all eyes to direct attention the new arrival. As the drivers unbuckled themselves from their harness, the passenger door was violently kicked open by a small hoof. Out trotted José, with perhaps the angriest expression on his face. Before he could say anything, the carriage suddenly busted open from the back as an impossibly massive Fixed Idea exited its confinement and joined the side of his master.

“Cybersix,” José sneered, “I had a feeling you’d be here, and I’m so sorry I arrived so late to greet you properly. It’s quite difficult dealing with IDIOTS WHO DON’T KNOW HOW TO READ A MAP!” His angry shouting didn’t go unnoticed by the two drivers that had just previously pulled his carriage, only to shift in shame over their blunder. “I hope you were well entertained. If not, I’ve certainly got the remedy.” He clacked his hoof against the ground as he straightened up, before pointing to the interloper. “AFI, apprehend Cybersix. Even if you need to use a body bag. Please try to leave her in one piece, though. I’m sure father would appreciate such a gift.”

The massive Fixed Idea stepped forward as all other opponents backed away from the Cyber. She glanced to the cowering Fixed Ideas, only to snap into a defensive stance as the mammoth bruiser rushed forward like greased lightning, already trying to stomp on the slender alicorn. Surprised to learn how quick the burly monster was, she narrowly avoided being crushed with a quick jump backward following a backflip, only to charge forward herself in an effort to counter. Throwing a spinning back kick, she aimed for the creatures face, only for the blow to be blocked by one of its hooves, before the other hoof shot up and grabbed hold of her leg. Unable to pull away from the iron clad grip, the goliath of a pony swiftly raised her up and swung her against the ground, causing her to crack the hard floor beneath her upon impact. The collision and shock was enough to knock the wind out of her, before she was violently tossed into a support beam with a horrible crunching sound. She fell to the ground for a moment, only to get up with a slight shake in her step.

However, there was no time to lick her wounds, as the other braver Fixed Ideas began to rush her in an attempt to land a hit now that their bigger brother tossed her about like a rag-doll. Their first mistake was assuming her injuries would do anything to hinder her actions against such fodder, as she easily dodged a swing, only to grab the foreleg and use the momentum of the attack to throw it at the approaching “AFI”, as José called it.

Despite the size of the living projectile, and the fact that it considers the bigger monster a brother, AFI simply stomped down and crushed the flying Fixed Idea as if stamping a tiny gnat out of the air, before rushing forward like a freight train in pure, primal rage. Avoiding the incoming monster, she leaped off to the side and ran up the metal stairs and onto the walkway, trying to get a height advantage. AFI simply jumped up to the walkway itself to greet her, landing with a heavy crunch as some of the metal bent under the monster’s massive size.

As that confrontation was going on, while everyone was very well busy and distracted, Lock Amato had finally reached the warhouse where everything was going down. Creeping through the back, he stuck to the shadows and kept his eyes peeled at the mutant henchponies that were either trying to fight Mare-do-Well or help José load up a bunch of barrels with seemingly unknown contents. A few poor, faded out ponies were still bound to the failed and broken machines, but were otherwise unhurt and relatively unguarded. He quietly sneaked up to the machines and approached to victims. Upon seeing Lock, they managed to give a smile as he assured that he’ll have them out in a jiffy.

His efforts were swift, but not enough to remain undetected, as upon reaching the last pony, a Fixed Idea approached with a menacing grin, ready to break his bones for trespassing. Lock, having been in a face to face encounter with one of these mutants already, got into a defensive stance with a sly grin, before motioning with his hoof to step closer. The Fixed Idea was confused for a moment, wondering why this pony wasn’t backing down or running away, before the gesture he made finally registered in its head as a taunt and caused the mutant to rush the teacher. With a sly duck to the side, he gave a hefty barrel punch to his foe, before giving a hook to the side of the head to back the monster off. Nearly tripping over its own legs in a daze, the Fixed Idea fought to shake the stars from its eyes and pain in its gut, before facing Lock, whom had knocked over a barrel and kicked it hard enough to launch it at the burly pony. The force was enough to knock out the Fixed Idea instantly and cause it and the barrel to crash into more of the offending and unknown containers.

With the face-off over, Lock turned to the final prisoner and finished what he started. As the victim weakly fled, Lock noticed something shimmering and leaking out of one of the barrels.

“Is that,” he started, taking a sniff, “liquid magic?” The color then drained from his face upon realizing what was going on here and how much danger they were all in if a catalyst struck any leaks. He turned back to the exit the victims all filed out through, and found that they had all fled. It would only be a matter of time before the Guard was called to take over the situation, and hopefully deal out justice to these monsters.

Before he could make his next move he looked back towards the brawl between Mare-Do-Well and the mutant pony monsters. The heroine was having trouble from time to time, but ultimately held her own against the dangerous foes. Lock then looked a bit beyond them and noticed that the boy and a few of his burly lackeys were beginning to collect a few of the barrels that contained the extracted liquid magic.

He clicked his tongue. “Don’t think we have time to wait for the authorities. Whatever their ultimate goal is, letting them have this much magic only spells out disaster.” He then looked to one of the broken machines that seemed to still have power running through it, and noticed the exposed, broken wires, still sparking with electrical energy. With a well placed kick, he thought, I might be able to stop them. He then galloped up to the machine in question, turned around to position himself for a mighty buck, only to call out to the villains proceeding to load their cargo.

“Hey KID! Don’t forget to pick up your TOYS!” he shouted, punctuating it with the hardest back kick he could muster, sending the machine flying at the working Fixed Ideas and barrels. There was no time to even yell in surprise, as the now lump of scrap bowled over one of the mutants and opened up a few of the barrels, which were now dangerously leaking contents close to broken machine.

“You FOOL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” He panicked, before turning to his last subordinate, “GET ME OUT OF HERE, NOW!” The Fixed Idea then dropped the barrel, ran to his boss, picked him up, and began running for the carriage. By then, time was up, as the electrical fire that had started finally made contact with the leaking magic, and began to ignite a blue flame rather quickly.

Lock then began to run, knowing full well what was going to happen next.

Meanwhile, as the AFI squared off against its nimble foe, both he and Mare-Do-Well heard the commotion and stopped their fight to hazard a glance. The blue fire that began to rise, and the first explosion that followed, caused the mammoth sized pony to stagger while still transfixed upon the foreboding sight. However, while his attention was still drawn, the heroine was more determined than ever to finish the fight. Taking a running start, she leaped into the air, tilted back, and landed a flying two-hoof dropkick on the monster pony’s face. The force was enough to launch the pony close to the fire, dazed and confused.

She then grabbed on of the barrels, punctured a hole, and lifted it above her head before throwing it at the mutant. Before it could react, the liquid magic that sprayed freely from the hole caught fire. Upon impact, the barrel erupted with a hefty explosion, casting blue fire everywhere and vaporizing the creature.

Mare-Do-Well watched for a moment, making sure her foe was dead and gone, before looking towards the open warehouse gate, noticing the carriage was missing. She clicked her tongue before thinking, Damn, he got away.

She then looked about the warehouse that was slowly becoming an inferno, and would soon become a blast zone, looking for the last remaining trapped ponies. However, she soon noticed that not a soul remained, as if somepony had already shown up to rescue the last few prisoners and just as quickly disappeared.

With nothing further to do and no one left in danger, she knelt down briefly and sprung straight up, crashing through the roof, and bounded away from the scene.

The following explosion leveled the warehouse, leaving nothing but blue and orange fire to smolder the remains, and severely damaged the neighboring buildings.

=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=

“- all in all, damages were kept to a surprising minimum and the magically induced fire was able to be put out quite effectively, police said. All missing ponies over the last several weeks are accounted for, but many of them will have to undergo extensive magical therapy to recoup the stolen magic.” Lock read, as he glanced across the table to Arie, whom joined him for an early morning coffee. “The victims involved claim that Mare-Do-Well and a handsome blond stallion rescued them moments before the fire started.” He then gave a smile. “Ya know, I was that handsome blond stallion.”

“Right, and I’m an Alicorn Princess. Like I’d believe you’d do something so dumb as get into a scrap with a gang of thugs, let alone whatever happened over there,” Arie said with a coy smile.

“Eh, I’ve been known to do a few stupid things,” he said, grinning ear to ear in pride.

Arie just laughed, “Seriously, Lock.”

“I am being serious.”

The teacher stared for a moment before giving a sigh, “Whatever you say. If you were involved somehow, why didn’t the Guard question you?”

“Oh, they did actually. They weren’t exactly happy that I was involved in another strange case. I was going to be treated as a suspect and arrested, but some of victims spoke up for me. They let me off with a warning.”

“Why are you acting so casual about this?” Arie asked in concern, “If what was in the paper was true, you could have been seriously hurt, or killed.”

“Because,” he replied, “while Mare-Do-Well is AMAZING at what she does, she was in serious trouble at the time juggling those monsters and rescuing those captives, and there was no way I was going to let her save my bacon and NOT have some backup,”

“Oh, so your a fanboy?”

“Yup,”

“Don’t you have any shame?”

“Apparently not.”

Lock then began to laugh. As it carried on, Arie laughed in kind, before giving another sigh followed by a sip from the cup in hoof.

“By the way,” Lock started, “It sounds like Dusty Tome was among the victims present. Glad he’s safe and sound, though I doubt he’s going to be coming back to teach any time soon. Hope his insurance compensates him for this. Ah well, you’ll fill the void in his absence as intended well enough, right?”

“Yeah. I’ll certainly do my best,” Arie said with a smile, glad things were seemingly coming back to a proper normal. At least you’re ok, Lock.

=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=#=

Back at the abandoned mansion, where José and his crew had all gathered into the study, standing in attention but clearly distressed, an angry voice rang out. Said voice belonged to Dr. Sieg von Freudlos, and his patience was wearing thin.

“You LOST the CARGO!? AND YOU LOST YOUR ADVANCED FIXED IDEA?!?”

“I-I’m sorry, Father. Things were going well. We even had enough magic to proceed to the next phase, but-”

“Buuuut?”

“The interloper. The one you asked me to take care of? Well, she proved to be... far more resilient than we anticipated.”

The air grew cold as the shadowy, slender figure in the now moving portrait remained silent. The Doctor then clacked his hooves together in contemplation for a moment, before he asked, “And what, pray tell, did you find out about our interloper?”

“You aren’t going to like this, father.”

“Spit it out already, boy. I don’t have the time or patience to dance around the subject.”

José swallowed hard, only hoping that the wrath that was sure to follow would be as painless as possible. “It’s a Cyber. Model code Cyber-006.”

“Cyber... six?”

“I’m so sorry, Father! Please don’t punish me! I promise to capture her by any means necessary!”

“Cybersix is... alive?”

José, slightly flabberghasted by the reaction, just stared up at the shadowy figure in the portrait that had proceeded to get up from his chair and walk away from view. “Father?”

“My most profound failure... alive?!”

Lightning from within the portrait crackled, briefly illuminating the shadowy doctor, whom now stood far behind his chair, as he looked up into the darkening, ominous sky. His past has come back to haunt him and any plans he had for Equestria was now to be put on hold. As long as she lived, as long as she remained, there would be no respite from her meddling.