As she stopped to catch her breath, she looked back. Garbage bins rattled in the distance, signaling her pursuers had come across her feeble attempts to slow them down.
Her legs ached as she forced herself to continue her manic race to escape her attackers. ‘Why are these alleyways shaped like a bucking maze?!’ the thought whizzed through her head as she took a right turn, then a left, and another left, then right again. ‘As long as I just keep going, I have to come out into a main street somewhere.’ she rationalized. From there she could gather her bearings and head to the nearest police station for protection.
‘Why are they even still after me?! Are muggers normally this persistent?’ She rounded another corner, kicking another garbage can behind her to hopefully trip her attackers and buy her a few precious seconds.
Running was not something Gracious Heart was used to, and it was becoming more evident the more she did it. She had come dangerously close to tripping and spraining something, which would have ended the chase in a manner she didn’t want to think about. ‘I have to be coming up on a road soon,’ The thought kept her from noticing the burning in her legs and the knife repeatedly stabbing her lungs.
Rounding the next corner, she skidded to a halt as a large brick wall halted her progress. Her legs shaking, she went up to the wall, frantically searching around for some entrance, some passageway to continue running. The thundering of her pursuers hooves grew louder.
She looked to the surrounding walls, seeking a door, a window, even a fire-escape ladder, something to get away. Her ear twitched.
The sound of hooves had stopped.
She whipped around to the entrance of the small dead end. Barely illuminated by a unicorn’s horn, three stallions stood, panting from effort, but grinning wickedly.
Gracious whimpered. “P-please, take whatever you want, j-just leave me alone!” Her legs seemed to give out on her, as she fell against the wall behind her, sliding down into a prone position.
The unicorn laughed, a short, harsh sound. “I think we’ll do just that.” He growled as he slowly advanced towards her, the others following suit behind him.
Her eyes were fixed on the unicorn as he swaggered towards her, closer and closer. As he closed in, she shut her eyes tight, wishing she were back home in her warm blanket, reading one of her favorite books.
There was a sudden, loud grunt of pain, followed by the sound of something falling to the ground. Gracious’ eyes shot open, but the light from the unicorns horn was no longer present, and without it the alleyway was little more than vague shapes, moving and flitting about at the corner of her vision.
She heard surprised gasps, then the sound of hooves on concrete and flesh. Her eyes darted around, trying to find clues as to what was happening. Her heart raced, her breath came in quick short gasps as the sounds of a struggle continued.
Finally, there was silence.
Her heartbeat sounded loud in her ears, as the silence and darkness began to overwhelm her. Just as she was about to cry out, a light made itself present.
A unicorn, covered head to toe in a black and purple suit stood before her. The illumination from this horn was considerably stronger than the spell conjured by the other unicorn.
The bodies of the three stallions lay on the ground around the new arrival, unmoving, but breathing. The stranger looked around the alley for a few seconds, before turning to face Gracious.
On the unicorns face was what appeared to be a simple pumpkin shaped mask one might pick up from a costume shop. The absurdity of seeing this pony in such ridiculous attire during such a dire time struck her as one of the most ridiculous things she had experienced all week long.
The stranger spoke, “Well, looks like they got what they deserved!” The first thing Gracious noticed was that the cheap pumpkin mask’s mouth had moved as the unicorn had said the words, and that the mask was now grinning. The second thing she noticed was that even after hearing the voice, she had great trouble discerning the gender of the unicorn stood before her.
The pumpkin mask frowned as if in thought. “Wait… there’s not a pun in there…” It looked back to the three stallions. “Is there even a pun to be made from this? Mugging? Mug? Drink? That’s probably stretching it…”
Gracious found her voice. “Who are you?” she squeaked, still rattled by the situation. “And,” Indignity began to burn within her. “And why in Equestria are you trying to make a pun?!” She managed to not squeak this time.
The odd mask seemed to pout as it turned towards her. “Of course you wouldn’t understand the importance of puns in this line of work. Couldn’t even laugh during that charity ball!” It said accusingly.
Her mind was still addled from having run for what felt like ages, but she still racked her memory for some sort of charity ball. She seemed to recall something along those lines, from a little while ago.
“Because that pony wasn’t at all funny!” She stood, her legs shaking but holding. “All he did was make crude jokes about the other guests! And furthermore, he didn’t-” She stopped, suddenly realizing something.
“Hold on, that means you were at that ball, too!” She pointed her hoof at the mask, which, if possible, began to pale.
“So what if I was?” It asked.
“So what? That, coupled with you knowing how I reacted, means you must have been sitting close to me when we were there! Is that you, Pocketwatch?” She walked towards the pony as angrily as her legs allowed her, and swiped for the mask.
The pumpkin pony was far too quick for her tired limbs, easily avoiding her hoof. “It could have been any number of ponies!” It said, rather defensively. She swiped for the mask again, and grasped empty air. “And Pocketwatch? The pony who called the local exterminators to take care of one spider? I’m insulted!” Another swipe, another miss. “The point is, you’re welcome for taking care of these muggers!” They said, exasperated.
In the middle of preparing another tirade, she paused. She very much wanted to continue being cross with this odd pony, who might possibly be somepony she knew, but the fact remained they did save her from Celestia knows what.
Setting her hoof down, she took a deep breath. “Yes,” She began. She sorely wished she could continue being angry, but Gracious Heart always gave credit where credit was due. “Yes, thank you very much for dispatching these… thugs.” She spat the last word. “I would have been at quite a loss had you not intervened.”
The pumpkin mask smiled, and the pony bowed to her. “‘Tis my duty, ma’am.” As it righted itself, it walked to the nearest stallion, reaching into a fold of it’s clothing and producing a bunch of ropes. It began tying up the muggers with the aid of magic, while Gracious simply watched, coming to terms with all that had happened in the last eternity.
She had gone to listen to a prominent singer, left to be attacked by thugs, then saved by this odd pony who seemed to know her from a charity event. When it was summed up like that, it honestly didn’t sound like a lot. But still, this was far more excitement than she wanted for a day.
She was reminded of just how unused she was to such physical strain as her legs buckled, and she collapsed with a pitiful squeak.
The pumpkin mask turned to look at her. It sighed. “I suppose I’m going to have to carry you home?”
She shook her head. “Nonsense, I am perfectly capable of walking home by myself.” She was quick to recompose her demeanor. If Gracious Heart needed help, she would ask for it. “Simple directions to get out of this maze of alleyways is all I require, thank you.”
The pumpkin stared at her in something close to disbelief. It sighed, pulling the last knot tight on the third stallion’s hooves.
Gracious felt herself being enveloped by a magical aura and being lifted off the ground. She huffed indignantly. “There’s really no need for this, I insist you put me down!”
“Oh, hush.” The pony replied, lifting the other stallions with magic as well and beginning to walk, carrying the four with it. “You don’t live too far from here, anyways. I’ll drop you off, you can go to your room and call up Rose to chat while you sip some wine. Possibly straight from the bottle.”
Her indignant anger born anew, she frowned. “How do you know Rose? And where I live? Just who in Equestria are you?!”
The pony stopped in it’s tracks, slapping it’s face with a hoof. “All right, look, no more questions!” It resumed walking. “No more names, no more places, no more talking in general, okay?”
“It is certainly not okay! I demand-” She was cut off as the pony spun around, bringing her nose to nose with them.
“If you keep asking questions, Celestia help me, I will take you across town and leave you there to navigate home by yourself!” Gracious was so taken aback by the sudden closeness of the weird mask, all she could do was nod. Up close, she could see the pumpkin mask moved as if it were an actual face, filled with intricate muscles and ligaments. Even the eyes could convey their annoyance.
After holding the stare for a second longer, the pony nodded, before turning back around and quickening their pace into a quick trot. Gracious was left to think on events. Would this pony really have done what they said, just to spite her? She didn’t know them, though it seemed they most likely knew her.
She tried her hardest to remember who all had been near her, or even at her table, at that charity ball event that was… how long ago was it? She couldn’t even remember if it had been two months ago or four. Well, that train of thought turned into a dead end.
She turned her attention to the pony, looking for any recognizable features. Of course, their cutie mark was obscured by their suit, and they seemed to be of average height, if not maybe a hair shorter. If they had better muscles than the average pony here in Canterlot, the cloth did well to hide it. Their face, besides the pumpkin mask that seemed to fully function as a face, was remarkable in how unremarkable it was. The jawline curved just enough to maybe be a mare’s snout, but there was still plenty of room for doubt. Enough for any passerby to stare a fraction of a second longer before turning away and pretending nopony else existed.
They cleared their throat, bringing Gracious out of her thoughts. “So…” They began awkwardly. “How did you come to be chased down alleyways by a group of muggers anyways? I mean, it was pretty convenient that you caused enough commotion to catch my attention, on my first night, too!” They chuckled.
Gracious stared, mouth agape. “Your first night?” The pumpkin hissed through pristine white teeth, clenching it’s eyes shut.
“Answer the question, please.” They groaned, continuing their trot.
Taking a few moments to think over this new tidbit of info, Gracious began to recall the events of the night. “Well, I had been invited by my friend to attend a concert, where a new pony in the singing business seemed to be making her name well known.” Silver Wing certainly had a wonderful voice, Gracious could easily imagine her becoming a media sensation. “After the concert, it was dark out and I was on my way home, when I passed by an alley and heard somepony calling for help in a pitiful manner.
“Being the generous pony I am,” She sighed, putting a hoof over her head. “I fell for their ruse, and ventured into the alleyway seeking to offer aid if I could, or at least call for a doctor. Of course, as you can assume, these three scoundrels ambushed me and proceeded to chase me down to take whatever valuables I might have had, and…” She shuddered, “And Celestia knows what else.”
“And then you came along.” She brought her gaze back to this oddity that had saved her from a fate she did not want to ponder.
They chuckled. “Yep, I did. Kicked their flanks, tied them up, and working on the ‘turn them over to the cops’ part right now. After dropping you off, of course.”
“Of course.” Gracious nodded, frowning slightly at how lighthearted the pony seemed to take the events of the night.
“Speaking of, here you are, ma’am.” The pony all too cheerily set her outside a walkway to a moderately decorative house.
Her legs still felt quite weak, but she knew they could hold her until she made it to her kitchen. She had a bottle of something much stronger than wine that she felt she would need dearly tonight.
The three other stallions still in tow, the pony bowed again before wordlessly turning and trotting away.
“What may I call you?” She suddenly called out to the pony. The thought had only just struck her, and it seemed important to be able to attach some kind of moniker to this pony.
They paused, and stood still for a few seconds.
Gracious thought to call out again, but before she could, the pony turned. “I am Equinox.” They proclaimed. “I walk the fine line between many things. Between good and evil, between heroics and vigilantism, between justice,” they paused, bringing a hoof to his chest. “And revenge.”
They turned, continuing their trot. “If fortune shines, we may meet again, Gracious!”
She scoffed. “No doubt we’ll meet again…” she muttered, heading up to her house. “I’ll probably see you over morning tea and not know it!” She slammed her door behind her.
She reflected as she made her way to the kitchen. It had been a long night that brought up many questions. Who was that masked pony? Were they somepony Gracious knew? Or did the pony simply have an expansive knowledge of her and her friends?
She shook her head as she pulled out an unlabeled bottle from her liquor cabinet. Whoever they were, she would just have to keep an eye out on her friends and acquaintances, see if they were acting unusual. Maybe she’d be able to figure it out in a few days. Maybe it really was Pocketwatch. Or maybe it was Blazing Pines, she had been buying a lot more fabric for her store recently, perhaps some of it went towards a costume so she could traipse about the city at night fighting muggers and criminals. Of course.
She poured herself a shot.
Author's Note
Again, I have no plans to continue this story beyond where I have ended it. This has been the first thing I've written in over two years of being too afraid to open a blank word document, I'm just happy that I've made something that isn't too horrid.
If you find the concept interesting, feel free to expand upon it in your own story! Just please give credit to this little bit of work!
Thank you so much for reading!