A/N: As a side story, this could be considered canonical within TGWP's continuity, and won't be as cracky or random as the alternate endings have been. Don't read this expecting a barrel of laughs. It's not heartbreakingly depressing, but it's more serious in tone.

"Whatever Happened to the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

The Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse may not have been the best place to meet that afternoon, given the weather, but they had nowhere else to go. Their only other options were Carousel Boutique, but Sweetie Belle had been told to stay away, or the Apple house, where they would've had no privacy. After all, Applejack tended to mother her sister, and would've constantly been hovering and dropping by to check up on the three of them. That left only the treehouse, so it was there that the Cutie Mark Crusaders reluctantly gathered, dressed in their scarves and jackets.

The plan for the day had been to look into cutie marks that involved fire and heat, mostly because the clubhouse had no heat source and the three of them were freezing. Somehow, the conversation ended up drifting from lighting fires to magically igniting things to spontaneous combustion to arson and then finally to fire-eating, when Scootaloo had caught a glimpse of Rainbow Dash and promptly leapt out the window to go meet her.

Apple Bloom had brought spiced cider for the three of them, cider that had been specially prepared by her sister when Applejack had heard that they'd be playing outside; but by the time Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had left, the once-steaming drinks had cooled considerably in the chilly open air of their headquarters. But that didn't stop Scootaloo from taking a great big swig of hers the moment they'd returned to their base.

"Okay!" she said eagerly, slamming her mug back down on the table and wiping her mouth. "So forget about the fire cutie marks -we're gonna be Cutie Mark Crusader Mystery Solvers! How should we start?"

"Well, Pinkie Pie said that she and Rainbow Dash were gonna go talk to Applejack," Apple Bloom drawled, nibbling on one of the charred black lumps that Sweetie Belle claimed were cookies. The little unicorn was a terrible chef, but it was an unwritten rule among them that Apple Bloom and Scootaloo would always sample whatever Sweetie brought in, just to be good sports. But that didn't stop Apple Bloom from making a face and wincing as she gulped it down. To her credit, she didn't audibly gag. "An' that probably means they think she knows something. But they didn't say why they thought that."

"I bet that's why they were talking to my sister yesterday!" Sweetie Belle offered excitedly, practically bouncing in place on her haunches. "I was making those cookies for Rarity, then Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie came by and she told me to go find you guys; but I wanted to hear what they were talking about, so I stayed behind to listen. I bet they were interrogating her!" Her voiced dropped a bit at the end, taking on a hushed tone as Sweetie leaned forward in a conspiratorial way.

"Really?" Scootaloo cried, sounding just as excited as the unicorn did. "Good job! What did you hear?"

"Um...I can't really remember. I didn't hear that much, anyway," Sweetie confessed, looking more ashamed at having failed to gather information than she did about spying on her older sister. "Rainbow Dash asked her about flowers, I think. That's what it sounded like, anyway. And then Rarity got excited."

"What else did they talk about?" Apple Bloom asked, sounding just as curious as Scootaloo had moments ago - but the orange pegasus now looked stricken, as though she was envisioning her hero presenting somepony with a bouquet of roses.

"I dunno. Pinkie Pie caught me around then. But she thought it was funny and laughed and promised not to tell on me if I helped her find Rarity's office. She said she was gonna pull a prank on her."

"What kind of prank?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "I showed Pinkie my big sister's office like she asked, and she kind of dug around her desk for a bit. It's not like Rarity keeps anything private there; it's probably not that big a deal if Pinkie Pie looked through her stuff. But I'm not really sure what she was doing."

"She didn't take anything?" Scootaloo demanded, having apparently recovered from her temporary bout of shock.

"I don't think so, but it's not like Pinkie Pie would do anything bad, right? And then she and Rainbow Dash left."

The orange pegasus only scowled.

Apple Bloom had listened to this entire exchange between her friends in silence, quietly sipping her cool cider and wearing a thoughtful expression; but she took advantage of the lull to say, "Well, we know that whoever Mare Do Well is, she likes Rainbow Dash. And she wants to kiss her, too."

"We don't know that," Scootaloo said quickly. "Pinkie Pie was probably just saying stuff."

"Rainbow Dash looked really embarrassed, though, so maybe it is true," Sweetie Belle added. "I bet Rainbow Dash likes her back, and that's why she was asking my big sister about flowers."

A strangled noise erupted from Scootaloo's throat.

"That doesn't matter if it's true or not," she managed to choke. "All that matters is that - "

"Yer just jealous," Apple Bloom giggled through a mouthful of blackened cookie. Sweetie Belle giggled as well, and Scootaloo's face flushed a deep red.

Sulking, she plopped down and sullenly reached for her cider to take another gulp.

"Aw, calm down, Scootaloo," Apple Bloom said warmly, nudging the pouting filly with a hoof. "We were just teasin'."

"Well, we know that Mare Do Well's back, and...and that Pinkie Pie thinks she likes Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said quickly, as if to change the subject. The wooden floor was cold, and sitting on it was uncomfortable; she shifted, adjusting her weight and trying to find a better position. "And we know that Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are investigating, too, and that they already talked to your big sisters. So tonight, your jobs are to find out what Applejack and Rarity know, okay? And I'll do some investigating of my own, too, to see if I can track down some clues!"

"Who made you the leader?" Apple Bloom asked with narrowed eyes.

"I'm the leader because I started the Cutie Mark Crusaders," Scootaloo answered primly. Apple Bloom looked as though she wanted to argue this point, but a meaningful look from Sweetie Belle silenced her. "So we all know what we're doing, right? We're gonna find out who Mare Do Well is. Because we're..."

Scootaloo paused, grinning, and the three of them finished together.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER MYSTERY SOLVERS! YAY!"

They slapped hooves.

-----

If somepony had asked Scootaloo to place a bet regarding Mare Do Well's identity, she would've said that stupid Pinkie Pie. After all, it was obvious to anypony with eyes that Pinkie had a crush on the pegasus, and quite frankly, it made Scootaloo sick. Like the way Pinkie had so nonchalantly strolled up beside Rainbow Dash earlier that day; the casual possessiveness of the gesture, as if to say yes, I belong here. What of it?

It made her feel nauseous.

But the irritation didn't stem from jealousy, like Apple Bloom had suggested. Scootaloo just didn't like watching another pony fawn all over her hero like that, simpering and practically begging for attention that Rainbow Dash was way too cool to give. It was undignified, and therefore, Scootaloo couldn't help but feel embarrassed on Pinkie's behalf.

Mare Do Well had initially appeared out of nowhere, only to vanish soon after, her identity never revealed. And then, for some reason, she seemed to have  reappeared; but from the stories Scootaloo had heard so far, both from the other Crusaders and from eavesdropping on older ponies, Mare Do Well hadn't been doing any of the normal superheroing - instead, she'd just kind of zeroed in on Rainbow Dash. And only one pony would be as pathetic and obsessive as that.

The thing was, Pinkie Pie wasn't nearly smart enough to have pulled off a stunt like this. Especially a stunt that had even Rainbow Dash fooled.

Scootaloo rarely wandered Ponyville at night, and it almost felt like a completely different village when the moon was out. The streets were surprisingly empty and still. No wonder Luna had grown lonely.

Theoretically, she could've sought out Rainbow Dash herself, or even that stupid Pinkie Pie, or maybe Twilight Sparkle or Fluttershy for interrogation. In fact, that was exactly what Scootaloo had tried to do; but Pinkie Pie had been nowhere to be found, and the one time she'd thought she'd seen Rainbow Dash, the pegasus had been flying too fast for her to follow. She'd been heading downtown, though, and that was where Scootaloo now wandered.

There were practically no other ponies in sight at all, let alone other fillies. Luckily, if any of the adults she passed by on her scooter thought to question why one so young was out on her own, they never actually stopped to ask.

She scooted through the twisting streets for what felt like hours, but was in reality likely only a few minutes. And yet, Scootaloo never saw Rainbow Dash once. Even as the sun set, there was nothing of interest to be seen, and at last Scootaloo decided to give up.

When she came to a stop, the sky was blazing orange with the rapidly fading light, and the faintest glimmer of stars could be seen dancing through the evening. The buildings and lampposts cast long, spooky shadows that crawled down the streets like creatures from some kind of nightmare. But only a coward would be afraid of the dark or the night, and Scootaloo wasn't a coward. Definitely not.

In a certain area of downtown Ponyville, there was a row of condos and shops lined along a brick wall that served to create a series of cul-de-sacs down that particular street. Every alley had a dead end, and along the wall the buildings were lined against there was a gathering of trashcans and dumpsters for the use of the residents. That was where Scootaloo now stopped, parking her scooter and propping it up against a wall as she removed her helmet and sighed in frustration.

With a growl, she chucked her helmet off to the side, actively choosing not to notice when it fell amongst the cans with a noisy clatter. She slumped against the wall, once again sighing heavily, as if she was waiting for somepony to ask her what the matter was.

And then Scootaloo felt it. The familiar pricking feeling in the back of her neck, and the odd sensation of a chill suddenly washing over her and making her shiver. As though she were being watched.

She leapt upright and whipped around to see who was behind her. Scootaloo glimpsed her watcher only briefly; but that flutter of a black cape, quickly ducking out of sight behind the wall and back into the alley, was enough for her. Whatever else she was, Scootaloo was definitely one thing - fast. It only took a moment for her to react. With a cry and a leap, Scootaloo crashed on top of the trash cans that hadn't yet been knocked over, propelled by her tiny wings as she attempted to scramble over the wall.

"Hey!" she shouted, pulling herself over the edge. "Why are you - "

But as it turned out, Scootaloo didn't need to shout, because Mare Do Well was right there, perched atop the closed lid of the alley dumpster.

Scootaloo froze. She had very nearly climbed over the wall completely, but had only made it halfway, and was now practically hanging from the ledge. She could feel her eyes widen as they met Mare Do Well's. Even with the distance between the two of them, the mare's eyes felt almost piercing in the dark.

Neither of them spoke. The only sound Scootaloo could hear was that of her own breathing. Her forelegs were beginning to ache from the strain of holding on.

When Mare Do Well had first made her appearance in Ponyville, Scootaloo had fallen under her spell, just like everypony else. There was something undeniably exciting and hopelessly romantic about the idea of a cape hero seeking justice for the weak; now, though, the mare seemed more ominous than anything else.  

There was something so quiet about the figure before Scootaloo; something silent and still, like the shadows that the mare stood amongst, melting perfectly into the scene of a cul-de-sac at night. The eerie blue eyes of the mask almost seemed to glow, wide and staring and unblinking, and although Scootaloo definitely wasn't a coward, she couldn't help but feel a thrill of fear right then. Fear, or something like it. Maybe it was silly for her to look upon the visage of a supposed superhero and feel afraid, but there was something downright chilling about those eyes that shone so brightly in the dark.

Grunting in exertion, she managed to hoist herself over the wall, and attempted to steady herself once she was on top.

"Do you need something?" Mare Do Well asked quietly.

Her voice. Scootaloo had never heard Mare Do Well's voice before, and yet somehow, it was simultaneously exactly what she'd expected and completely foreign to her. Deep and throaty, with a trace of huskiness. Utterly unrecognizable as belonging to anypony she actually knew. Hearing it for the first time took Scootaloo by surprise, and although the masked mare had asked her a question, she found that she was unable to answer.

"I said, do you need something?" Mare Do Well repeated. This time, she sounded almost bored.

"Were you spying on me?" Scootaloo blurted. It was the first question that came to mind.

When she spoke, Scootaloo tried to make her voice sound strong and unwavering. If Mare Do Well was causing Rainbow Dash some kind of trouble, then it was up to her to take care of it, and she wouldn't be able to intimidate anypony if her voice shook. Even if Scootaloo did suddenly feel incredibly nervous.

"I wasn't spying on you. I heard the noise you made and wanted to make sure nopony had been hurt." Mare Do Well answered calmly. "You shouldn't be out here, though," she added, chiding Scootaloo, but almost as an afterthought. "It's not safe."

There was definitely something about Mare Do Well's voice that Scootaloo found unsettling. So soft and low. Almost dangerous. Although, maybe her perceptions were being colored by what Scootaloo knew - that the masked mare had been harassing her hero, somehow.

The menace pervading from her begged the question, what if Mare Do Well isn't the hero anymore?

But that was dumb.

"What are you doing here?" Scootaloo managed to ask. She had never felt as uneasy as she did right then, and the words were almost impossible for her to force out.

"That's none of your business."

"Well, I mean...you're right here. Anypony could see you."

"You're taking this surprisingly well. You run into a superhero and your first concern is for their secret identity?"

"You're not a superhero," Scootaloo retorted. This, she said with confidence.

All Mare Do Well replied was, "Very smart."

"But why are you here?" the pegasus filly demanded, her wings fluttering irritably. "If you're trying to be all sneaky, this isn't the best place."

"Well, I don't know. It's served my purposes so far. And I'll be honest; I wasn't expecting to be seen. I've had pretty good luck as of yet," Mare Do Well answered in a conversational way, sounding friendly enough. "I've felt fairly assured of my invisibility, unless somepony were to intentionally go out of their way to locate me, or if I were to choose to make myself seen. So - "

"I bet you're just waiting to bug Rainbow Dash again!" Scootaloo finally blurted, trying to twist her face into a fierce scowl. And to her shock, the intimidation tactic actually seemed to work, because the next thing she knew, Mare Do Well had stopped speaking.

"I find it hard to believe that she'd be confiding in you," the mare replied curtly, all prior traces of friendliness gone, the pretence of amicability dropped for now. But Scootaloo stood her ground - or rather, her brick wall - refusing to flinch.

"She didn't, but I found out anyway. And me and my friends are gonna get our cutie marks in mystery solving by, um, solving the mystery! So there!" Scootaloo retorted. It would've been an excellent moment to stick out her tongue in defiance; but Scootaloo liked to believe that she was a little more mature than that, and mature ponies were above sticking out their tongues at one another.

And Mare Do Well started to laugh.

It sounded desperate and angry, but it was still a laugh.

"Sorry," she said after a moment. "Sorry. I'm not laughing at you. I'm laughing because it's sort of ironic. You think you can impress her by taking me down, and that then she'll be grateful to you, don't you?"

"Um - "

"It won't work. Trust me. She'll just be annoyed that you didn't let her take care of it herself. She doesn't want help, and she'll only feel humiliated and resentful if you go ahead with your little plan. But by all means, prove me wrong. Maybe I'm mistaken and she'll be utterly charmed by this little display of loyalty; although I seem to remember that you didn't exactly rush to her side the first time."

Mare Do Well's words came out in a rush, flowing as smoothly as a stream of water. Calm and thoughtful, and above all, continuous; to give you no time to react, and to ensure that Mare Do Well retained control of the conversation. Luckily, this was a tactic that Scootaloo recognized. It was common amongst those bullies who specialized in taunting and harsh words. This was a game she was used to playing.

"First time?" Scootaloo shot back. "You mean the first time you made her totally hate you? Pinkie Pie?"

Scootaloo had been expecting some sort of tell to come from her wild accusation - one that she deeply suspected may somehow be true - such as a pause, or a laugh or a gasp. Instead, Mare Do Well only said, "I doubt it would've hurt her so badly if she'd had somepony who'd stayed by her side through it; but you didn't, did you?"

A beat.

"Wow, you're mean," Scootaloo finally whispered; but she didn't whisper because of anguish or distress, but instead because of how impressed she suddenly felt at the depths the mare seemed willing to stoop to.

"I am, aren't I?"

"Did you even hear what I said before?"

"About being Pinkie Pie? Yes. But we both know that you have no evidence at all regarding my identity, so there's no point in obsessing over it."

And then, there was silence. Shadows pressing in from all sides, oppressive and hiding the unknown from view. The bitter, tingling cold. Scootaloo, trying to stand brave and tall, confronting those eerie blue eyes in the dark.

"Go home," Mare Do Well said after a moment. The venom from before had left her voice. "It's not safe for a filly alone at night. Besides, it's cold. And I'm sorry about what I said. I lost my temper. I didn't really mean it."

Scootaloo didn't move.

It was a clear night. Early still, the sun having only just set. What little light there was in the alley was, for the most part, cast by the stars overhead. With this light, Scootaloo could see the way her breathing sent tiny white puffs of cloud into the air. She couldn't see Mare Do Well's breath at all. Like the mare was dead and didn't breathe at all.

"I'll let you in on a secret," Mare Do Well said suddenly. Still so gentle. "I'm waiting for Rainbow Dash right now. That's why I'm here. I'm not going out to look for her, and I'm not planning to hurt her. She's coming to me. The only reason she isn't here yet is probably because she went to Sugarcube Corner to see Pinkie Pie first."

"..."

"If you leave, I promise I won't tell her you were here tonight. And trust me - I know from personal experience. Rainbow Dash won't like you for trying to step in and help her."

The masked mare sounded almost sad.

Scootaloo's eyes narrowed.

"Fine," she answered, her voice ice. "I'll leave for now. But I don't believe you, and I don't like you very much anymore, either."

"Did you ever?" Mare Do Well asked, sounding amused, even as Scootaloo turned and walked away.

-----

Scootaloo wasn't stupid and wasn't about to miss a chance to spy on the mare. Not after an encounter like that, which had only served to make Scootaloo dislike Mare Do Well more than she'd even thought possible. Not when the opportunity to do so had practically been gift-wrapped and presented to her with a big red bow.

She'd thought that Mare Do Well had been bluffing to get Scootaloo to leave, and that the moment the filly had gone, the mare would flee in pursuit of Rainbow Dash. But Scootaloo hid herself, crouching on the portion of the wall hidden by the building lined against it, just out of sight, only to see Dash actually fly overhead and descend into the alley after all.

No. Why would Rainbow Dash -

Slumping against the wall of the building, she closed her eyes, covering her ears with her hooves and trying to block out all sound and sight.

After a while, being careful not to make a sound, Scootaloo crept away from her hiding place and peered around the wall and into the alley.

She could see them. Two shadows huddled together. Way closer than they had any need to be. And two voices - one low and seductive, one scratch and rough and practically breathless - drifting out into the street. Almost inaudible; but is Scootaloo stood utterly still, not even breathing, she could just barely make out what they were saying. Even then, she caught only occasional snatches of conversation.

"...it'll be romantic. Please?"

"You liked that?"

"Relax, Dashie."

The two shadows pulled apart, only for one of them to press forward again. The second shadow didn't move. It looked almost like -

Are they kissing?!

It was too dark to see for sure, and the sounds were too low and quiet to truly catch, but that single glimpse of the shadows together was all it took for Scootaloo to jerk away as though burned, scrambling back around her corner.

A bitter anger; a resentful disgust. Simmering within her.

Her friends teased her and Scootaloo denied it, but now she knew exactly what that feeling was.

Jealousy. The same burning jealousy that she felt whenever that stupid Pinkie Pie was hanging out with Rainbow Dash instead of her, when Scootaloo had no place with them. A sense of righteousness, born not of justifiable anger, but of envy that Scootaloo couldn't be there instead.

The pegasus shadow hadn't pulled away, and her wings had been flared. Everypony knew what open wings meant.

Scootaloo's stomach was twisting, turning, churning with pure dislike. Had Mare Do Well done it on purpose? Had she somehow known that Scootaloo hadn't truly left, and so she'd put on a little show accordingly? Flaunting her unfathomable proximity with Rainbow Dash and the intimacy that she and Scootaloo were never going to share? Had she done it just to get at Scootaloo?

Well, it had worked.

Scootaloo didn't stay behind to see what happened between them next. Instead, she leapt off the wall and grabbed her helmet, yanking it on with shaking hooves, her vision blurred with furious tears.

-----

"Applejack said that Rainbow Dash did talk to her 'bout something', but she wouldn't say what, so I gotta find a way to make her tell me!"

"Rarity just got mad that I'd been eavesdropping," Sweetie Belle confessed.

Apple Bloom giggled. "Why'd you tell her?"

"I didn't mean to! It just sort of happened! Then she sent me to Sugarcube Corner, and Pinkie Pie watched me for the afternoon, so I didn't really learn anything. She let me help her make cupcakes, though, so that was fun. And they didn't even burn!"

Stupid. Stupid Pinkie Pie. Stupid Mare Do Well. Stupid flowers and stupid alley and stupid -

"Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asked, bringing Scootaloo back to the present with a jolt. "Did you learn anything about Mare Do Well?" She waggled her eyebrows and grinned.

Both of Scootaloo's fellow crusaders were looking at her with expectant, smiling eyes. They were treating it like a joke. A game. No wonder none of them had gotten their cutie marks yet.

Mare Do Well and Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.

There was nothing official yet. They weren't actually dating or anything. Not really. But what would happen if Rainbow Dash found out...?

No. No way. That couldn't happen. Just because Rainbow Dash might have let Mare Do Well kiss her, didn't mean she actually like the masked mare. Maybe it had been an accident, or maybe Scootaloo hadn't seen it right.

That stupid Pinkie Pie...

"Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle repeated, now with a note of concern in her already musical voice.

"Nah," the pegasus filly declared abruptly, forcing a bold grin on her face. "I didn't get anything good. This whole thing is stupid, anyway." Stupid. Right. Stupid - "Let's forget it. I mean, what would mystery-solving cutie marks look like anyway? Right?"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom exchanged a glance.

"Um...question marks? Or magnifying glasses?" suggested Sweetie Belle.

"That actually sounds pretty neat," Apple Bloom said slowly.

"No, they sound lame," Scootaloo interrupted with an air of finality. "Let's check out fire-eating again!"

That was all it took to completely change the flow of the crusaders meeting, all in one fell swoop. Soon it was as if Mare Do Well's name had never been mentioned in the clubhouse at all. But a shadow darkened Scootaloo's smile, a shadow that she would never confess to carrying.

A secret worry, a nagging suspicion, so close to touching the truth at the heart of the matter. A memory of something she now desperately wanted to forget. All of it, kept close to her heart and now pushed down deep inside, deeper and deeper, until it was far enough out of sight for her to forget it entirely. Or to at least to convince herself that she had. Next Chapter: Omake: The Games We Play, 20% Cooler Edition Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 58 Minutes