The Trials we Endure: Hero

A sigh escaped her lips... from her mask that is. Mare-Do-Well stood on top of the Town Hall Center building. From here, her eyes covered Ponyville from all around. From the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, to the Schoolhouse on top of the hill, to the train station that would leave off to anywhere in Equestria. And somewhere in the mountain distance, the light of Canterlot where seen from there.

The night was warm; it being summer time. The lights and activity would be somewhat low and it gave her a chance to really do some good. She knows that despite the bizarre things that happen in Ponyville, many are either blind or ignorant to what happens to the little town at night,

Many are in their home, sleeping away peacefully, unaware of the monsters that come out and play. This is where she comes in.

Right now... it’s been quiet. Too quiet. Not to say it was a bad thing but sometimes it meant that either the criminals were staying low or out of the way or... this would be the first time in a manner of years that it was truly quiet. Standing on top of here and doing nothing was boring her.

There was plenty of crime going around, that was for sure. The illegal activity of selling magic enhancers, large quantities of SALT-X (the baddest drug of all), rape, prostitution and finally... members of the Nightmare Fraternity. They were known as the Nightmare Children.

The Nightmare Fraternity was different from the Nightmare Worshippers and clubs. While others are non-violent and even religiousness about the return of Nightmare Moon, the Fraternity or 'Nightmare Children', are a bunch of cultist who are trying to resurrect Nightmare Moon, by either bloodshed or magic. Most of the magic is illegal, dark magic and it often requires a sacrifice or some magic from Princess Luna.

So far... those plans have failed in the end. They either get caught in their own crossfire with the magic, or they are found out by the guards. Their practices lied within Ponyville since she once arrived here. They believe that with her first arrival here, they would be able to bring her back the same way.

Bunch of idiots. SALT-X is and still the biggest drug out in the black market. Salt is legal here in Equestria... to a certain extent, but when it has illegal properties added to it, then it becomes a problem. The drug poses a problem because it causes violent lash outs, short-temper, hallucinations, and a bunch of other things. Manehattan has the worst of it.

Magic enhancers are other stories. The ability to enhance your magic without proper training or control can lead to some becoming fearful. If ponies like say a unicorn were to get their hooves on it, they could be able to cast spells without end or take out a small army. They wouldn't be able to control themselves and that could lead to chaos and casualties.
Pegasi could use it to escape guards, cheat their ways to competitions, or do dangerous maneuvers that can get themselves hurt or others.
Earth Ponies taking these things could crush any pony in their way, including guards or take out a number of ponies.

All of this, all this... harm being caused is happening right now... had to be stopped. That is why she was here. That is why she was where she is at now. Not because she wants to be here, but because she needs to be here. The Elements of Harmony can only do so much but they cannot protect all of Ponyville, let alone at night when they sleep.

That is why the criminals do their crimes at night. When the world sleeps away, their minds come to play. And when they come out to play, Mare-Do-Well is here to make them pay. She thought back about how this all came to be.

At first, it wasn't easy to don the mask and costume. She first had to find out if the Mane 6 had kept the original clothing from their charades with Rainbow Dash, or they discarded them. Once she found out that her sister had managed to keep the customs, either it being the real ones or one of many knock-offs that the town created for merchandise and all, she decided to take it.

Now, unlike the ones the six or... five, had used before, this one was made for a unicorn, so the situation made it easier for her to use. However, thanks to some lessons from her sister, she managed to make it better.

It took a month and a half to retrofit the costume to her specific needs. That included pockets, lightweight, yet durable materials, tech-goggles for different situations, and the hat and cape to hide what type of pony she was.

After that, she had to buy, from the allowance she got from her parents, her sister, and maybe a little from the guards, any other necessary extras to help her fight and to protect herself as well. She bought lightweight Kevlar, stainless steel bracelets, to block incoming knifes. She got goggles that fit nicely into the mask, without sticking out too much. Nearly an inch thick, the goggles provided night-vision, magic vision, which allowed the user to see where magic is or was at, at one point. It also provided Changeling-vision, which of course allowed the user to know when a changeling was in disguised.

Now all of this was only available to the Royal Guards or those who had a heavy sack of bits. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie got her own for some reason. She bought one from her, telling her that it would help her feel safe at night and... maybe it would have been my cutie-mark to be a Changeling-finder.

A half-lie to her. One, I did want to feel safe at night, knowing that I can see at night and still find changelings and two; I already had a cutie-mark that meant to protect ponies... from changelings. That meant finding them and taking them down.

With all of that costing her a nice back of bits, she finally had a suit worth fighting in. She had the means to stop those who would do harm or evil.

She also got the list of illegal activity from the guards, which also was easier. Flashwing, her mentor from the guards, helped her get all that she could and need to help her fight crime. She even kept her secret of becoming Mare-Do-Well.

It took a while before she gained any real courage to come out and reveal herself. It began with a few changelings where hiding about in Ponyville and she so happened to see the transformation when a changeling took on the shape of Ditzy Doo in a back alley from her room. Though she didn't have all of her equipment on, she did have the costume on and that was enough. She took off from her room, jumped into the alley, and beat the green, gooey snot from the changeling with her bare hooves. The commotion brought a lot of ponies nearby to witness the act.

When she was done, she was panting heavily. Ditzy was alive and unhurt, the changeling was knocked out cold, and she saw that ponies where staring at her. The mane 6 immediately came through to see the commotion. At first, Rainbow Dash was about to freak out, and even she saw that coming. But when she saw that all her friends, and most of Ponyville was there, they remained silent.

From there on, she knew that no matter what, her life would change. The way they all saw her defend a helpless, strange mare from a changeling. The way they saw her take on little more than a costume and take on trouble. She saw something that she wanted to see. She saw, for a few minutes, that there will be a hero here, whether it is permanent or short term, they would have a hero.

She saw fear leaving them and was replaced with hope.

She saw fillies and colts with joy, knowing that they had a hero to protect them.

She saw mares and stallions who no longer have to fear the night or for their children.

She saw her sister and the Elements of Harmony with confused but soft eyes, knowing that, no matter whom it was under there, it would now be her responsibility to take of that town like they did.

They saw Mare-Do-Well and that was all that they needed to see. Turning to her side, she picked up the unconscious changeling with her magic and threw it at the town's hooves.

Ditzy gave her a smile and a hug.

“Thanks Mare-Do-Well! You saved my life!” When she was done with the hug, she saw her turn into the crowd, and saw her daughter, Dinky Doo, jumps onto her mother and gave her mother a crying hug.

This got everypony to slowly starting stomping their hooves and began a cheer. The whole town whooped and cried out for her. She actually did something that made a difference.

That was two weeks ago....

With all that in her mind, she barely managed to catch the sound of air behind her. Her mind would have quickly reacted to it and attack or jumped at the sound, but she knew what it was... or in this case who it was.

“You know, if you’re going to be playing vigilante,” spoke a smooth, feminine voice, which carried a grin, despite not seeing her face. “That you would do your best to keep your appearances low, especially to a night guard.”

Mare-Do-Well sighed.

“Nice to see you too... Flashwing.” Her voice spoke out, almost to that of an older mare. She turned to see a black, Night Guard with a grin standing behind her.

She was a bit taller than Mare-Do-Well and had experiences to pass her as well. Her long dark silver mane flowed back from her head to her higher front legs. Her eyes were just like the other guards; the usual dragon-like slits with yellow eyes and snake like fangs. Her black coat almost blended to the black night behind her. If it weren't for her purple armor, it would be almost difficult to see her.

Her Cutie Mark was of course covered but that didn't do much when most of her body was less covered which included lower belly, lower legs, tail and neck. Flashwing liked to play dangerous and fast, but mostly fast.

If anything... her name did her status and her status made her one of the best.

Flashwing gave her usual grin and sat on her rump.

“So... 'Mare-Do-Well',” she said with a somewhat small, teasing tone. “How goes your hunt?”

Mare-Do-Well blinked, but Flashwing didn't know that. She didn't have to know that because she already knew who was behind the mask.

Flashwing then rolled her eyes.

“Before you speak, please remove that voice changing spell. It gets annoying when I am picturing a filly in there with an older mare's voice. Doesn’t do you good.”

Mare-Do-Well sighed. With a flash of her horn from within her hat, her voice returned and was soon back to a normal, teen filly.

“I hate it when you make me do that, you know?” she spoke an almost whinny teen-like voice. “I am trying to be serious!”

Flashwing couldn't help but giggle. This caused Mare-Do-Well to groan a bit in anger.

“Really? You being serious? I never knew!” Laughed Flashwing. “I thought that you just like playing super hero and get your hype up when you kick some flank.”

Mare-Do-Well, defender of the night, masked mare of fear, and most respected idol of all of Ponyville, dropped onto her stomach and groaned.

“How can I be taken seriously if you keep coming here just to ruin it for me?”

Another giggle rang out.

“Well for one thing... you’re standing here doing nothing. You’re just waiting. Usually when somepony is doing a stakeout or searching for crime, they go looking around the area to see if they are moving behind your back. What? You’re expecting crime to pass in front of you?”

MDW slumped even further and finally gave in. Flashwing dropped her grin a bit and gave a reassuring smile. She walked over and sat by her side, letting her head rest by her legs.

Despite the odd sense between the two, Flashwing was more of a second sister or cousin to Mare-Do-Well than a mentor. Sure, she had her ass kicked by Flashwing and had a few names called on her, but that was part of the training. Otherwise, when she wasn't training her, Flashwing to the side, was a pretty chill pony. She took her out whenever they could. They went out to late night movies, parties, eating out or just hanging out with other guards.

At first, the others were skeptical about a filly joining or even hanging with them, but after her first few practice match-ups, they gained her noticed and a few, respect.

But Flashwing is the only one she truly felt comfortable with and even now, she bonded with her once-mentor. The two of them were great friends, and often enough, rivals. It wasn't true rivalry but neither was it friendly. Flashwing often came to teach her more new tricks and even fight crime with her. Being the second-in-command of the Night Guard did give her a lot of benefits after all.

That is why when the filly revealed her plans to become Mare-Do-Well, she approved. Not right away, but after she saw the dedication that the teenage pony went through, she approved of her actions and remained quiet about her being Mare-Do-Well

With not much else, the two were great with each other.

“Come on squirt, you really gonna stop playing hard ball?”

Flashwing was about to puller mask before an electric shock ran through her hoof and she issued and…

“OW! BUCK!” she shouted.

This got the filly to laugh. A true, genuine laugh... something she hasn't been able to do in months.

“What the buck!?” she half-yelled.

This got Mare-Do-Well to laugh full on and was rolling on her stomach and holding to her sides. Once the shock cleared with a shake of her hoof, Flashwing glared down at her.

Almost ten seconds later, Mare-Do-Well calmed down. Even through the mask, the outline of her smile was still seen.

“What the buck was that?!” she said an angry tone.

With still the same grin, she spoke. “Sorry about that, but that prevents anypony but me from removing my mask but me. Lucky for you, you slowly reached for it. If you went a bit faster to pull it off, it would stun you’re flank. For a unicorn, they would get the shock and their magic stopped for a bit.”

A small giggled escaped from her, as she remembered her face. Flashwing held her hoof, looking at it before giving a small smirk.

“Smart idea, kid. Let's the bad guys know you ain't bucking around. But where did you learn that from?”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle. She may be a bookworm, even as a princess, but she knows some pretty advance magic for defensive and offensive magic. Not to mention, right after I stopped training with the guard, I become her student.” She paused before continuing. “I still am her student and I am still trying to get her to teach me more.”

Flashwing stared at the mare wanting to reach for it again, but hesitate.

“Can I remove it now?”

“Sure,” she said all too quickly.

Flashwing gave a small glare; she easily saw the smile on the mask.

“I swear to Luna, that I will give you a Charley-Horse so hard, that your grand-children will feel it!”

A giggle escaped through the costume.

“Fine... You know, you used to be funnier with these type of things?”

Flashwing gave a small grin.

“Yeah... when I was doing it to you.”

As MDW began to remove her mask, the sound of glass breaking caused both of them to spin around. At the floor below them, two forms, ponies in this case with masks and black covering, have jumped out of the broken windows, leading it to be the Quills and Sofa's shops. They both quickly looked at each other before running east, past the MDW and Flashwing unnoticed.

MDW and Flashwing looked at each other, quickly getting ready.

“Want to take ‘em on? For old time sake?” Asked Flashwing with a grin.

MDW gave a grin back.

“You know it! But you might need your to cloak yourself if you don't want your guards to know you've been ditching work.”

With that, she took a run and then a leap, before flipping in the air and landing on another building and galloped after the no-gooders. Flashwing smiled and did a massive jump before disappearing in the night sky.

MDW quickly caught up to the two crooks and saw them running towards the edge of town. Quickly using her magic, she teleported to the side of them, and before they could glance at her, she ram her body with both of them. Both crashed with cries and into a wall.

Quickly recovering from her stunt, she quickly stood on her legs, used her magic to alter her voice and eyed the crooks.

The two slowly stood up on shaky legs, with one of them growling at the other.

“You idiot! Watch where your bucking going!”

The other quickly looked at the other.

“It wasn't me, boss! I swear!”

Clearing her throat, the two quickly shot their eyes towards her.

“Yeah, uh that would be me who did that, and if I where you two, I would surrender now before your flanks will hurt more than they do now.”

“M-Mare-Do-Well!” feared the second one, while the other one just growled.

“You don't scare me, Mare-to-slow! I fought bigger stallions then me and you!”

MDW glanced behind them, seeing as Flashwing suddenly appeared behind them, without making a sound. She smiled.

“Then where going to have to change that.”

With that said, the second stallion cried out as he was suddenly dragged into the shadows with a terrifying scream. The other quickly turned to see his partner disappearing into the shadows with yellow eyes.

He quickly did a 180, making sure he wasn't next, and checking on Mare-Do-Well.

“What the bucking Tartars was that?!” He turned his head back to her. “What did you do to him?!” he yelled half angrily, half terrified.

MDW slowly began to approach him.

“The same thing I’m going to do to you if you don't surrender.”

The crook, looking beyond terrified, still had some back bone. Desperate to get out, he quickly pulled out a large knife from his side pocket and held it with his maw.

“Don't make me use this!” he yelled, though it sounded more... whisperer.

MDW stopped. She saw the knife and it took her a moment before she started laughing, out loud. The stallion only held on tightly.

Gaining her composure, she looked up at the stallion.

“Really?” she asked? “You've taken on stallions bigger than you, yet you use a knife to fight?”

He stood shakily on his legs and the knife in maw started to shake with his body. His anger was slowly dissipating but he remained defiant.

With a sigh, she ripped the knife from his maw with her magic. The stallion, or colt in this situation, let out a coltish scream and fell to the floor, rubbing his maw. MDW saw that a single tooth was stuck on the knife. She gave a disgusted look before turning to the stallion.

He laid whimpering, pathetically in fetal position. From the shadows, Flashwing appeared, with a smile.

“Nice job! You made this tough guy look like a baby colt.”

MDW nodded.

“Did you take care of the other one?”

Flashwing nodded. She was about to comment more, before the Police Ponies, as well as several residences begun coming over.

“I gotta go, can't let the folks know that a Night Guards out here. Maybe next time we can hang out more?”

MDW nodded.

“Of course. Hopefully we can catch a movie together or at least beat the crap out of crooks again.”

Flashwing grinned.

“Yep and next time I will be the one to take the glory.” With a quick hoof-bump, the mare flared her wings and took a massive leap, disappearing into the night. MDW saw her leave, before the wave of ponies came to the scene of the crime.

Instantly, she was bombarded with lights, cameras, yells, questions and more. Yep... another day, another crime stopped, all thanks to Mare-Do-Well.

And it was late, really late, which meant that she would have to wake up in a few hours and begin her life once more as a normal teenaged filly. Her work for the night was done. With a flash of her magic, she teleported, leaving the crowd to see the two crooks on the floor. A job well done in deed.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so freckin long to do this but ... well the usual. Lifes a bitch, school, work, bla, bla, bla.... Anyways, no clop in this one but maybe in the next. Will have to see. I start school this week so, it might help me get back in track.

Thanks to Sirius_Face, for helping me edit, though I quickly did only a few edits here and there. I blame myself for not taking much of his advice. but still, thanks to him.