The masked mare stood at the edge of the roof, fully clad in midnight blue, looking down at the street far below and feeling like a pegasus foal before her first flight.

At least the knot in her stomach must be the same. And the feeling of weakness, notably on her wobbly knees. Fighting a whimper — a losing battle if she ever saw one — she stepped back, arresting her retreat just enough to keep the unicorn stallion below in sight.

A green unicorn that was masked too, though his was just a domino mask, with matching patches to cover his cutie mark. And that had just finished picking the lock of the Western Equestria Trading Company warehouse across the street. Opening the large doors just enough to squeeze through the unicorn entered, the doors closing after him with a soft clanging noise.

As if to mock her, the sweet smell of violet, lilac, marigold, and other refined foods wafted from the warehouse, reminding her of the dinner she skipped to be here. The burglar would even have the chance at a snack, while she sat up the roof on an empty stomach, scared like a filly seeing her first hydra.

The masked mare dropped to the roof. She was sure she was better than that, she wanted to make a difference, but… she felt so powerless. All her training, more hours and days than anypony would believe, felt empty, worthless; with her body so far from its peak condition, her wings feeble, her —

“No,” she said, softly but with steel in her voice. She would not wallow in pity, could not allow herself to. She wanted to make a difference, and she would make a difference. What if her body was unwilling? She just had to find a way that didn’t require raw prowess.

A way that a filly could do; she almost laughed as the thought hit her. In her weakened state, with things she never gave a second thought about now beyond her means, she surely felt like a filly. And she could work with that; she had seen small fillies and colts rise to the challenge more than enough times. She stood again, propped up by hope. Now, how could a filly stop a burglar?

Her ears perked, her muzzle opening in a grin so wide her mask couldn’t contain it. She heard whistling. And not just any whistling, no; it was the kind of out of key, bad whistling that only somepony bored out of his mind, like a guard doing his rounds, would attempt.

Not exactly heroic, but it would do.

The masked mare wasted no time in clumsily getting airborne, only to land again on the other side of the roof. Was it okay for her to appear in front of the guard? How could she get him to investigate without stopping to explain things? She was, after all, masked for a reason.

She heard then the warehouse door opening slowly, taking the choice away from her. The burglar would escape, and that foal of a guard wouldn’t hear anything over the sound of his own whistling! Fighting her panic down, the masked mare kicked a tile in front of where she thought the guard was…



Stainless Eyes paused his whistling, his ears perking. He was sure he heard something, but he couldn’t quite place where from…

A roof tile dropped to the ground in front of him; Stainless Eyes jumped back, shielding his eyes from the fragments, and looked up. A pegasus was diving just ahead in the alleyway, avoiding the boxes and bins with some difficulty. A pegasus wearing…

He lost a full second just gaping. Who the hay uses a purple wide hat and a cape? On top of a dark blue full body suit?

“Hey, you! Stop!”

The figure circled around the building at breakneck speed; Stainless Eyes lifted his spear in his magic and followed, faintly registering the flowery smell coming out of an open warehouse.

The He was about to give up on the chase when he heard a muffled yelp just beyond another corner; redoubling his efforts, he sped towards the bend, spear at the ready. Then he stopped to rub his eyes.

In front of him two ponies were fighting, both masked; the behatted pegasus from before and a masked green unicorn. As soon as the behatted pegasus saw him, he — or would it be she? — turned and bolted, attempting to buck the unicorn on the way. The unicorn was faster, though, sidestepping the kick and pulling hard on the cape with his magic.

Stainless Eyes could hear the strangling noises. He jumped into action, yelling “Hold still!”

The unicorn looked; the behatted pony took the opportunity to jump back, slackening the cape enough for him to undo it’s clasp and, with a last kick to the unicorn, fled down the alley.

Stainless Eyes was preparing to follow the behatted pegasus when he noticed a dropped large box, bits spilling from it. The pegasus didn’t have this on their first meeting, which meant…

“You are under arrest,” said Stainless Eyes to the masked unicorn, who was unfazed by the previous kick. The masked unicorn gave one look at the still floating, and (Stainless Eyes hoped) ridiculously menacing spear, and lowered his head.



A rat scurried away from a dumpster as a large and wide brimmed hat arose from it. The masked head under the hat looked around, a smile playing on hidden lips when the masked mare confirmed that she was alone. It had been a close call, but everything worked out in the end.

She started to get out of the dumpster and dropped back in, wincing and holding her side. That darned burglar knew how to kick! And this smell! She looked around, trying to identify what was inside.

That was when her costume, already scratchy at best, started to itch around the stitching like jalapeno-laced poison oak. Leaping like a jackalope, the pain in her side overwhelmed by the itching, she raced down the streets looking for a place where she could drop her costume. No, not just drop; whatever had gotten in it, between the itching and the smell, she was sure it would be better to burn it.

In her itch-induced frenzy, a part of her mind still had time to ask: what the hay was a Royal Guard doing patrolling the warehouses?

---

Shining Armor stood outside the throne room, shifting uncomfortably, a copy of the newest edition of Equestria Daily floating in his magic. Why had Stainless Eyes to blab about that masked figure? And why did I have to choose this day, of all days, to wait until morning to debrief my guards? He kept rehearsing what he would say, hoping to find a better way to tell Celestia that —

“Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard.”

Shining Armor gulped, removed his helmet and entered the room, passing through a pair of leaving nobles. He stopped at the foot of the throne, where Celestia was smiling her usual faint smile; Luna was sitting to her side, looking bored. “Your highness…”

“Shining Armor, have you seen the news about the masked mare?”

“I —” Shining stopped. Mare? “Just a moment, your highness,” he said, already quickly scanning the article.

“I see you have. It seems to me that this mare has her heart in the right place, but is not acting according to our laws and is perhaps courting danger too closely. The fight described by the witness, your subordinate, could have left this mare with grievous injury. I henceforth leave the Royal Guard with a standing order: should this mare be seen, keep her safe and help her in bringing criminals to justice, but should the opportunity present itself apprehend her for questioning.”

Shining Armor looked from one princess to another, and nodded. “As you wish.”

“One more thing. No violence is to be used to apprehend this mare unless she uses violence against the guard first.”

“It will be done as you say.” Shining Armor kept looking at Celestia’s still faintly smiling face, hoping for any hint of her thoughts; like every time when she was presiding the court, there was none.

---

The masked mare was flying over Canterlot, racing against time just as her mind raced with thoughts. Those last weeks had been interesting, with the Royal Guard out to both help and capture her, but they were getting close. At least she didn’t feel so weak anymore; well, she was still weak, and her physician had assured her that time and rest were her only remedies, but she was learning to work around it.

And, she thought with a chuckle, at least she had learned to sew, what with having to repair or create anew her costume almost half a dozen times already. Her new costume looked the same — symbology was something she had a deep understanding of — but it certainly felt different, comfortable even.

At least she was allowed to sew. She frowned; with her weakness, even though she felt better every day, she was still barred from doing any of her duties, as well as much of what she used to do for enjoyment. While she was sure the intent was just to protect her, it still made she feel like a foal, somepony that isn’t still allowed to decide things for herself.

She shook her head, clearing the bad thoughts and bringing the matter at hoof. An upcoming robbery. At least this time she had good intel. And she had been able to catch dinner, so she wouldn’t be fighting on an empty stomach, which was always a plus. Perhaps she could even get there before —

Or not. The museum came into view, and from her vantage point she could see faint lights moving inside. The pattern was too erratic to be the guard ponies, and one of the windows was broken. Well, better late than never, but plan A was out.

She adjusted her flight towards the back, trusting her midnight blue costume to keep her hidden against the sky, and looked carefully inside the museum as she passed the windows. No movement towards the back; good. Now, if her info about the robber’s escape route was right…

She carefully tested the back door; it opened easily, and thankfully also silently. She stopped for a bit, scratched her chin, and latched the bar; let the bad guys have some trouble when they try to flee.

The masked mare hid in the shadow of a statue and looked around, both to get her bearings and to match what she saw against what she suspected of the robber’s plans. The interior of the museum was dark, except for the dim beams of light the robbers were using; with her exceptional night vision she could use this to her advantage. To one side she could see three tied up ponies, two of them strong looking and in guard uniforms, the last one an older looking pony with an expensive suit and a monocle. Standing in front of them was one masked pony, the only robber without a light, or at least she so hoped. He was a… yes, she could make out the wing; a pegasus.

The other robbers were easy to see, and to hear; one bobbing light in the middle of the permanent exhibit, going from piece to piece and held by a masked earth pony; and, from inside the office, what seemed like another two moving lights. They weren’t attempting to stay silent, and the soft clip-clopping resonated inside the large exhibit room.

The masked mare stopped and looked at the exhibit; she was familiar with it, having already visited this museum — as well as every other museum in Canterlot — thanks to her neverending boredom. This was the permanent magical artifact exhibit, though most of the pieces were replicas, enchanted to create amusing light shows that resembled, to the untrained eye, the effect of the originals. It made sense; leaving priceless, and potentially dangerous, artifacts where anypony could take them would be foalish.

The exhibit seemed to be mostly undisturbed, except for… the masked mare closed her eyes, her brow invisibly frowning under the mask. Yes, the fools had gotten only the most expensive looking, gem-studded objects. Cheap, powerless, but expensive-looking replicas to the last of them. And thankfully had left what she needed for plan C. And maychance even plan D, though the mare, as she put a simple, metallic disk with Zebrican runes inside a pocket.

Shuffling surreptitiously, the masked mare wandered among the exhibits, pocketing the unremarkable black globe labeled as the Gryphes Orb, which was reputed to be able to level a small palace; and strapping to her back the artifact labeled as the Wintry Rod, said to have a trapped Windigo spirit inside. Those should do for plan C, even though she hoped she wouldn’t need them.

She hid behind the pedestal that held the Wintry Rod, scanning the museum. She now had a clear view to the office, where she saw that there were indeed two robbers inside, mare and stallion unicorns. They were trying to get open a barred door, the one that led to the strong room where the actually dangerous magic was stored. The masked mare stared intently in an attempt to find how close they were to opening that door...

“Who are you?”

Plan B was now officially out. The masked mare spun in place and squinted at the light. What was again that phase she had memorized for this? “Surrender or I will defeat you all in a fili-second!”

The robber stopped his approach. The masked mare looked around; the two unicorns in the office were looking agape at her, as was the pegasus guarding the hostages. Could it be that it did work?

Laughter erupted all around her. Well, of course it didn’t work. Not that she expected it to.

The unicorn mare stopped laughing for a moment. “It’s just some egghead that thinks a costume gives him powers. Grab him while we open the gate.”

Over a month and ponies still thought her a stallion more often than not; perhaps there was such a thing as too good being bad when it comes to disguises. With a sigh, the masked mare tried to put some distance between herself and the earth pony, only to have her route blocked by the faster moving pegasus; both robbers had their eyes fixed on her every move.

Exactly like the masked mare wanted. She wished they could see her smile as she lifted the black Gryphes Orb, closed her eyes, and triggered it.

The orb did what it was made to; a light and smoke show meant to mimic the real Gryphes Orb, which in turn was a magical bomb capable of leveling a city block. The masked mare had seen a demonstration by a tour guide, during the day and with ample warning, and it left her seeing spots for minutes; the robbers had just seen it in the dark and without warning.

“What are you fools doing?” bellowed the unicorn mare as she left the office and started walking towards the masked mare. Horse apples, she had been looking to the other side.

“Taste the lightning of justice!” said the masked mare, taking out the Wintry Rod and trying to aim it with her forehoof —

Just to have it hurled out of her hooves by a thrown statue head.

“First Filli-second, now Zapp? What, did you swallow a Power Ponies comic?” The unicorn mare lifted the masked mare in her green magical aura, bringing them muzzle to muzzle. “Why don’t you go lie with the director and the guards and stay quiet? You two,” she turned to the other two robbers, who had stopped running into things, “go tie our guest.”

The masked mare yelped as she was unceremoniously, and quite rudely, thrown atop the other hostages.

Nearly panicking, she took a cylinder from a pocket and pointed it outside; the lantern briefly projected the image of a blue star on the sky, before being snatched by a green magic aura. The earth pony and the pegasus robbers continued to advance.

Before the two robbers could reach her a pink bubble-shaped shield appeared. What do you know, plan D worked.



Shining Armor waited impatiently, pacing from side to side. The Royal Guard had the museum discreetly surrounded thanks to an anonymous tip, and he should be inside the museum, fighting the robbers, but they had taken hostages before the Royal Guard arrived; he now had to wait for a chance to rescue mister Growing Stone and his two guards.

And now that costumed fool decided to take matters on her hooves. While the robbers thought her harmless she would be safe; they would appreciate having more hostages, and would avoid harming her. But if she proved to be actually competent, or if any guard invaded, her live would be at risk.

“Sir!”

Shining armor looked at where his lieutenant was pointing; the guard emblem, a blue star, briefly shined from one of the museum’s windows. With reflexes and precision honed through many hours of practice Shining Armor threw a shield around the signal’s source; what do you know, the foolish mare actually came through.

“Everypony inside, now!” Shining Armor was already racing towards the front doors before he finished the order, blasting open the large double doors with a telekinetic blast.

He was going to fast to notice the pegasus hurling towards him like a ballista bolt. Luckily for him, his lieutenant, Stainless Eyes, noticed the opponent; using his spear like a staff he swept the pegasus out of the air, landing him unconscious at the other side of the museum.

The two guard stallions turned towards the other three robbers; the standoff didn’t last long, though, as a dozen other guards formed behind the first two. The three robbers raced to the back of the museum, loudly crashing against the back door as it refused to open.

“Take them.”

A dozen guards moved to obey the order of the smiling captain. Now, he just had to free the hostages, and take the…

Shining Armor blinked. There was a hole in the back of his force field, a metal disk in the ground close to it. The Zebrican Shield Shaper, one of the few real artifacts in the whole exhibit.



The masked mare was flying back home, wincing from time to time; she was starting to wonder if she broke something when she was thrown. Being sore was getting really old.

But she did it again; she found out about the robbery from some child that heard the plan, found the missing details through research, alerted the guard, and stopped the criminals. She looked up to the moon, her nocturnal companion; even if it did feel different — as everypony with a half brain that met the princesses knew, Luna was still too weak to move the moon on her own, so this was, for the moment, Celestia’s moon — it still calmed her.

Not that the masked mare could complain. It even had a nice feeling, as if Celestia was watching over her.

---

Celestia was in the middle of her morning paperwork when Shining Armor, with the dignity and decorum expected of the captain of the Royal Guard, entered the throne room. “How may I be of service, your highness?”

Princess Celestia glanced around, her expression the one her helpers secretly — or at least so they thought — named “a little privacy please;” In seconds all the guards and aides left the throne room, leaving the princess alone with Shining Armor.

“Feel free to speak freely; this meeting is off the record. I have called you here to tell you that the matter of the masked mare has ended.”

Shining Armor smiled jovially. “You mean Princess Luna decided to stop that costumed vigilante nonsense?”

“So, you knew it already?”

“Hard not to.” Shining Armor made a gesture encompassing the throne room, and Celestia. “My duty is to protect both princesses. When Princess Luna skipped dinner and vanished a few weeks ago I sent some of my guards after her; one of them saw a masked figure fighting a burglar, and soon after Princess Luna returns complaining that her body is all sore. The next day you ask me to keep my eyes open for a costumed mare, when nopony knew if it was a mare or a stallion.”

Shining Armor looked right at Celestia’s eyes, grinning. “And that is why I didn’t tell, if you are wondering. I knew you already knew, and you wanted to keep it a secret.”

Celestia nodded. “You are right, of course.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did Princess Luna do that? And why stop now?”

“As you well know, my sister was returned to us, after her… absence, only recently.” Celestia averted her eyes, but not fast enough to hide how moist they already were. “She was left weak, unable to resume her duties. She felt worthless. I believe this fancy of her was an attempt to prove to me, and to herself, that she could still be useful, still make a difference.”

“So you set the guard against her in a way that would test her, but at the same time keep her safe,” said Shining Armor.

“It was the best way to allow my sister to indulge in her fancy while keeping her safe.”

Shining Armor nodded. After a few moments he spoke, “If she wanted to help the guard she only had to ask. We are her sworn servants and protectors.”

Celestia shook her head. “Tell me, Shining Armor. If you had been offered the captain post you now hold only because your sister is my personal student, would you have accepted?”

“Of course not! But what does —” He cut his outburst short, eyes opening wide. “Oh!”

“Indeed. She wanted to prove beyond a doubt that she was capable, without the benefit of her title. And, while I’m sure she will keep helping our city and kingdom, she will do so without the mask because of this.” Celestia floated an early edition of the Equestria Daily.

The first page had a drawing of the costumed mare. The article itself went on about how the unknown mare had proved to be a hero to Canterlot, after a rocky start, ending with risking her life to rescue hostages at a robbery.

“I see. Tell Princess Luna that I will gladly accept her help whenever she wants to offer it. Now, unless you still need my services, I ask—” Shining Armor started to bow.

“Before you go, there is one more thing. Something I want to ask of you not as your princess, but as your friend.”

“Anything, Princess.”

“No,” Celestia shook her head for emphasis, “no ‘princess’ this time. My sister wasn’t the only one wearing a mask. I have seen in your eyes, in your voice; you are concerned about Luna. But there is something holding you back.”

Shining Armor looked down. “It would not be proper for a guard to intrude on the princess like that. Not even the captain of the Royal Guard.”

“And still you now speak freely to me.”

Shining Armor shook his head. “It’s different, pr— I mean, Celestia. You asked me to, and I have known you for a long time. You are like a second mother to my sister, and the adoptive aunt of the mare I love.”

“And now I ask you, as a friend. Extend that same friendship to my sister. She is too proud to ask, too set on her old ways, and she needs friends now more than ever; everypony she knew, except for me, is long gone.”

Shining Armor nodded. “I will try.” He lifted his head, a smile growing. “As long as she doesn’t scream at me for breaking protocol I guess we will get along just fine.”

“Neither me nor my sister are fans of protocol, believe me. I think she will be thrilled,” said Celestia with a chuckle.

“Now, if you excuse me, I really need to be going. I’m already late to supervise the cadet’s training session.” Shining Armor started to bow and stopped midway, turning instead and trotting to the door. Just before opening the door he looked back. “See ya, Tia!”

Celestia laughed and lowered one eyebrow. “Don’t abuse it, Shiny.”

The door closed, leaving the throne room in silence. After a few seconds Celestia turned and, circling around the throne, came to a stop in front of the tapestries. “Now you believe me, sister?”

A small alicorn, blue with a lighter mane, stepped from behind the tapestry and embraced Celestia, tears streaking her face.

---

At Ponyville’s spa, five friends were discussing an absent common friend.

“Ugh! Rainbow Dash is becoming more insufferable each day!”

“Ya think? I reckon her ego is already bigger than her head.”

“Yeah, soon her ego will be bigger than Ponyville! Wait, does this mean her ego will be visible from Canterlot? That would be fun!”

“But, uh, what should we do? We can’t just accuse her of being a braggart, it would hurt her feelings.”

“Idea!”

The current edition of Equestria Daily was floated between the friends, open on an article about a vanished hero; the accompanying image showed a masked mare with a wide brimmed hat and a cape.