Defender of the Night

by DayDrifter75

Mystery of the Night

Mare-do-Well: A Canterlot Appearance?

At the break of dawn this morning, a figure was seen standing atop a vehicle full of stolen goods. Eyewitnesses say that this was costumed hero, 'The Mysterious Mare-do-Well', originally a mysterious mare who did good in the city of Ponyville. One bystander was able to snap a photo of the mare, though the quality makes it hard to recognise any noticable details, but the mare's trademark hat and cape are outlined on the silhouette. Along with the cart was crime lord Head Honcho, along with low-level criminal Shadow Sneaker. The two had...

"Impossible."

How could the Mysterious Mare-do-Well show up now? And in Canterlot, no less. This mysterious mare that does well had been a creation of Twilight Sparkle and four of her friends that they used to teach Rainbow Dash a lesson in humility. After that, the group decided that it would be for the best that they put the costume away, and disposed of it. All four of the Mare-do-Well costumes were incinerated that day, leaving no trace of the helping hero. But now, she had returned. And it could be no one but her friends, as they chose not to reveal the Mare-do-Well's identity to the public. But which one did it? Nearly all of her friends were in Canterlot at the time of the incident. The only one she could rule out was Fluttershy, who was left with herself in Ponyville.

Twilight stood up from her seat at her old, oak desk, allowing her issue of Equestria Daily to fall onto the wood surface. A full day of investigating was ahead, and she was prepared to disregard sleep if she had to. From a drawer that sat under one of the countless bookcases that lined the library walls Twilight levitated a folded parchment, which she brought back to her desk. The contents, after unfolding, read:

Pinkie Pie to leave for Canterlot-Delivering cake for the birthday of Money Von Richenburg
Rarity to leave for Canterlot-Business collaboration with FancyPants
Applejack to leave for Canterlot-Major applesauce delivery
Rainbow Dash to leave for Canterlot-'Being Wonderbolts' seminar, afternoon and morning
Leave for Canterlot-Meeting with Princess Celestia
CANCELLED

Let's see if Rarity has something to say about this.

---

Luna lay awake in her bed. She could not sleep. Images of everything she had gone through last night, swam through her head. She had personally attended to a crime. She stopped it with her bare hooves. Though there was nothing wrong with helping her little ponies, there was something wrong with breaking procedure. It would bad publicity for the citizens of Canterlot to find that their princess went against her own — in reality, Celestia's own — laws. She smiled. But hey, who cares about procedure. Going out, saving the ponies whose home had been robbed. The rush that it gave her, the sense of accomplishment; something she hadn't felt for quite a while. Not only that, but it felt amazing just to know she was helping. Just being the feeling of being able to help anypony without the struggle of rules holding her back.

Then it dawned on her. She had escaped being caught by Celestia for the time being, but her memory brought forth a horrifying thought. A picture had been taken of her at the time of the incident. Taken at point blank range, anypony would be able to tell it was her. She furrowed her brow. Her tightening eyelids hid her terrified eyelids. Luna ducked under her blanket, hiding herself from nopony in particular. What was she to do? It was already morning, meaning that the Canterlot News would soon be delivered to the castle.

"Argh... Can't sleep," she said. Her horn lit up and her bed sheets flew off of her body as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. When she stepped out her bedroom door one of Celestia's guards turned to face her and bowed.

"Princess Luna, shouldn't you be resting?"

Luna looked down at him with bags under her eyes. "I simply require a short walk."

He nodded in understanding, stood up, and left. Luna continued to make her way through the wide halls of the castle, the bright light beginning to sting her eyes. As she approached the monolithic doors to the throne room she began to think about what her response would be when Celestia found out about her illegal antics. Going against procedure could be wiped away if the reason was to stop dangerous criminals, right? She hoped by the light of the moon that was true.

Through the doors she went, revealing a near empty room, her sister, Celestia occupying one of two golden thrones and two unicorn guards by her side.

"Ah, Luna. What are you doing awake at this hour? You need your rest for tonight. Is there something you need?" The warm, motherly smile that her sister always wore was there. She did not look to be angry. Perhaps she was hiding it?

"I- er..." Luna stuttered. It was probably for the best to let her know. Besides, odds were she would be commended for such an act. "I have something that I must confess, sister. Last night, I-"

"Your majesty!"

The doors burst open, swinging inwards and smashing against the walls of the throne room's entryway. The forced caused terrible gashes in the walls. This happened every time this particular pony entered the room, the damage normally being painted over on a regular basis.

"Your majesty." The yellow colt bowed, nose nearly touching the ground before he recoiled. "The royal paper has arrived," he proclaimed in his posh accent that Luna thought to be ridiculous. His horn emanated a royal blue, the colour matching that of his eyes and swirly mane. From a worn leather saddlebag encrusted with gold, his magic produced a greyscale folded paper which he held to the sun princess. "Princess Luna," he greeted.

"Noseworthy," Luna huffed, sneering at the stallion.

"What was that?" he asked, rubbing the potato of a nose that brought upon such a nickname. "I couldn't quite hear that. Would you say that a bit louder?" If his smile grew any larger it would almost be the size of his nose. Celestia questioningly looked down at her royal message-tracker and her sister. Luna saw this from the corner of her eye and quickly caught on to what Noteworthy was looking for her to do.

"It was nothing." The sleep deprived princess continued to glare at the egotistical messenger while he joyfully handed over to Celestia her copy of the newspaper. How she just wanted to buck that ill-mannered pony in the face. A shame that Celestia would allow no harm to come of any of their subjects, regardless of their personality; or the evil deeds they may have done. Then Luna realized something. It would be guaranteed that her image would be in the paper, meaning that Celestia was soon to find out exactly what had happened last night. "Sister, I-" she started in hopes that she could break the news first, but Celestia interrupted her before she could finish.

"Luna," she said. "Have you seen the paper this morning?"

"I can-"

"The Mysterious Mare-do-Well: A Canterlot Appearance."

Luna began to say something, but she stopped herself and sputtered at what her sister had read. "I- buh. The Mysterious who-now?"

"Mare-do-Well," interrupted Noteworthy. "I am surprised that royalty such as yourself is so unknowledgable in such public affairs."

I hate you.

Celestia leaned forward and looked at Noteworthy, and said, "Noteworthy, why don't you run Luna through the details of who the Mysterious Mare-do-Well is. And while you're at it..." She smirked and set down the paper. "Allow Luna access to the vault."

Noteworthy's face was w mix of both surprise and anger, which he quickly hid. "But princess, you said that the vault is for your eyes only."

"Luna is a princess, and and a ruler of this nation. She has just as much of a right to anything as I do."

The stallion grumbled and quickly turned around. He then proceeded to walk out of the throne room. "Come then, princess. I shall show you to the vault."

Before leaving Celestia in the throne room, Luna turned and asked, "Sister, are you considering bringing this pony to justice?"

Celestia shook her head. "No, Luna, there is not yet a need for such a thing. Though against the rules, Mare-do-Well did something good last night."

Luna let out a sigh of relief.

"But I am going to have the guards keep an eye out. If she shows up again, something may have to be done."

Luna's eyes went wide. " Er, may I borrow that paper? It may help me er, learn about this 'Mare-do-Well character."

"Be my guest."

Luna levitated the paper to her and rolled it up, placing it behind her left wing for safe keeping and quickly trotted out of the room, being sure to softly close the doors behind her. Fast as she could, she caught up to Noteworthy, who was angrily mumbling something to himself that she couldn't hear, though she could guess what it was. "Noteworthy, I believe that you were ordered to tell me of this Mare-do-Well?"

"Ah, yes, I suppose I was," he groaned, quickening his pace, hoping to get this whole ordeal over with before long. "The Mysterious Mare-do-Well was a masked hero who took to the streets of a town called Ponyville about half a year ago. She saved ponies that were in danger, and the news of this hero quickly reached Canterlot. But then, not even a week later, she disappeared, leaving no trace of herself anywhere. Now it seems that she has returned, but is now in Canterlot."

So they think that it was this costumed hero that did that.

He stopped. "Anywho, here it is: The vault." He cast a spell with his blue magical aura covering his horn and shooting straight towards the middle of a large, circular iron door. The beam of magic struck the crystal in the centre, causing nearly the entire door to glow. The door began to recede backwards into the opening behind it before stopping and splitting directly down the middle, each side sliding outward to reveal a small wooden door.

"So this is the vault?" Luna asked her guide.

"Yes, now go in. Princess Celestia has not allowed me to know what is in it, but apparently she's willing to let somepony like yourself in. I shall leave you. Goodbye, princess."

He turned around, stuck his nose high into the air, and left. Quietly, Luna stuck her tongue out at him. "That arrogant prick is simply infuriating" she whispered, stomping her hoof with her final word. A stray tuft of hair fell down in front of her face, which she blew away.

Finally, it was time for her to enter the mysterious vault. What would be inside? Why did Celestia want her to see it? It was time to find out.

---

"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique!" Rarity said in response to the silver bell that would sound whenever the door opened.

The unicorn wiped the little sweat there was off of her forehead with a levitated cloth and took off her ruby red glasses. Turning around, she saw that the pony that entered was not another client, but one of her close friends, Twilight Sparkle.

"Ah, Twilight, it is nice to see you today. What is it you need?" she asked.

"Rarity, we need to talk," responded Twilight.

"You sound serious, Twilight. What's wrong?"

Twilight instantly cast a spell that closed up all of the blinds in the house and locked all of the doors. "It's about Mare-do-Well," she whispered.

Rarity put a hoof to her mouth. "You saw too?" Rarity brought a stray newspaper over and opened it to the correct page. "I wasn't sure I believed it, but somepony brought her back."

"You mean it wasn't you?"

Rarity gasped. "Heavens no! I would never be able to do such a physically taxing thing."

Twilight thought about this. She had a point. She doubted that a pony like Rarity could beat up a pair of thugs, but she could still have something to do with it. She could be lying. For all she knew, it could be the combined effort of all her friends again. Either way, Twilight would have to hide her suspicions until she got to the bottom of the whole thing.

"But there's something I don't understand. You were the one who made the original costume. You kept the design. How did whoever it is get the costume?"

Rarity shrugged. "Honestly, I couldn't say. It baffles me how they could obtain the costume. I would go interview somepony else. Maybe Rainbow Dash knows something."

Twilight's horn glowed and all of the curtains were raised, and all the doors unlocked. "Thank you, Rarity. I think I'll do that."

"Well, I wish you luck. Good day, Twilight."

She soon left the clothing store, on her way to Rainbow Dash's cloud home. She still couldn't cross anypony off of the suspect list, but at least she had a bit of information she could hold onto.

---

The room was empty except for one wooden cabinet emblazoned with the cutie mark of a pony that she knew well. The pink star that normally sat upon Twilight's flank was carved intricately into the wood. The container nearly dwarfed even her, an alicorn. Two small lanterns burned dimly on either side of the chamber.

Luna pulled open both doors of the cabinet with her deep blue magic. Inside was a series of scrolls, each tied with a red ribbon and stamped with her sister's cutie mark. There seemed to be about twenty to thirty scrolls in all. Below each one was a small plaque engraved with a date and a short description detailing its contents.

But there was one that specifically caught her eye. 'The Mysterious Mare-do-Well'.

Did Celestia want her to see this?

She pulled the scroll from its home in the cabinet and carefully removed the ribbon that held it shut. Unfurling the paper, she began to read its contents.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I learned that no matter how good you are at something, you shouldn't show off or push your talents on everypony else. Bragging isn't good. It can hurt your friendships, and hurt you.

This week, I was the talk of the town, flying around and saving ponies and stuff. But the real action started when a costumed mare showed up.

Mare-do-Well, Luna thought.

She pretty much stole all of my thunder when she was stronger, more agile than me, could fly, AND cast spells. I... I guess I got a little jealous. Mayor Mare named her the Mysterious Mare-do-Well, and was going to hold a big celebration for her. At least, until I crashed the party. I chased her down and around town until I finally caught her. But when I tore off her mask, I saw that it was one of my best friends. Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie!? The wild mare from my visit on Nightmare Night?

Soon, all of my friends revealed themselves to also be Mare-do-Well. They all went and posed as a single superhero to teach me a lesson on humility. It really worked, and I'm glad they did that for me.

-Your faithful subject, Rainbow Dash

Luna could not believe it. Mare-do-Well was really multiple ponies posing as one mare. And that's who everypony thought that she was. She was the spiritual successor to Twilight and the others.

I- I should just admit it now. Reveal that I am in fact not Mare-do-Well, and the entire thing is just a big misunderstanding. Celestia said that it was okay anyways. As long as I follow the rules next time, I won't get in trouble. As opposed to properly bringing the criminals to justice.

The whole situation was just racking her mind. It just felt so liberating to be able to do things without the rules and restrictions that kept a princess bound. Maybe it would be a good idea to continue. If she did it under the guise of Mare-do-Well, she wouldn't be caught. But on the other hoof, if she continued to ignore the law to exact justice, and if she did get caught.

She didn't want to dwell on the consequences. But she'd seen the kind of scum that resided in Canterlot. There wasn't even any telling the kinds of ponies that were spread out across Equestria. And it seemed like the law just wasn't enough to keep those kinds of criminals in check. It was time for action. Her appearance as the Mysterious Mare-do-Well was just an coincidence. Tonight would be a new beginning.

---

After a whole day of searching, Twilight Sparkle had no answers. All of her friends had denied having anything to do with the Mare-do-Well incident. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack; Twilight had no clue who could have done it, and she was tired of looking for the answer. It was time to sleep. Maybe something new would come up tomorrow.

Twilight cleaned herself up, preparing for bed by washing her hair and brushing her teeth. After putting on a purple sleeping gown, she levitated one corner of her star spangled bed sheet and climbed onto the soft mattress, allowing the covers to fall over her sleek body. It did not take long for Twilight to fall asleep and be sent off to dreamland.

Comments

[FloydienSlip]

Yay, an update!

I'll reiterate my sentiments here: I really like where this is going. I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen, but I can't wait for more.

[DayDrifter75]

2579123

Yay, a fan! I also don't exactly know where this is going. I like to let it roll on its own, but I have a few plans.

[Rainpath5466]

Twilight seems a bit OOC. She'd trust what Rarity said as truth, not continue to stay suspicious.

[DayDrifter75]

2592401

If someone seems to appear with a costume that was destroyed, wouldn't you suspect the original maker of the costume?

[Rainpath5466]

2592447
You're taking this the wrong way. I have no problem with the initial suspicion, but when Rarity outright said she wouldn't carry on the Mare-Do-Well act, I feel Twilight would take her word for it.

[Mint Swirl]

2592473>>2592447
Well f***. Both of you are making a good case and I can't pick who side with.

[Sparkler Hooves]

Hello. I'm Sparkler Hooves from A For Effort, and I have come to review your story!

Grammar: 10/10 Your grammar and choice of words are exceptional. One thing I noticed was that you didn't indent the paragraphs, but that is completely optional, so no harm there :)

Spelling: 9.8/10 Just one thing;

Noteworthy's face was w (a)...

The "w" is supposed to be an "a", but that's just a small mistake. You can avoid these little mistakes by getting a proofreader.

Originality: 10/10 It was original and really good! I've never seen anything like it. Good job :)

Sypnosis: 10/10 It definitely caught my attention and I can't wait for more. Very detailed and you allow the readers to visualize the scene.

Verdict

APPROVED

Good job :)