Trixie ran as fast as she could. She didn’t care where she would end up as long as she would be alone. When she could no longer hear the crowd’s cheers, Trixie slowed down and took a look around. After confirming that she was by herself, she sighed. Apologizing to Twilight during the magic show was definitely the right thing to do. Unfortunately, she ran off without thinking of what to do next. "What am I going to do now?" Trixie asked herself. "I spent all of my bits on that stupid alicorn amulet. I guess it's back to the rock farm..."
Trixie wandered through the streets as she went over her options in her head. I could always go back to being a stage magician. But then again, I’m already the laughing stock of every town in Equestria. Either way, I can’t stay here. Lost in thought, Trixie had failed to watch where she was going.
"What the..." Trixie barely registered what had happened as she bumped into a trash can and tumbled into a pile of garbage. After shaking off her dizziness, Trixie muttered to herself. "Stupid garbage can. Don't ponies know better than to leave their trash lying around in the middle of the..."
Trixie stopped as she saw what had been dumped out in front of her. There, lying on the ground, was a beautifully made costume. The body and hat were colored in a deep, royal magenta, while there was midnight blue cloth wrapped around the hat and hooves. The dark-blue mask and cape added an air of mystery to the ensemble, and to top it all off, a round button with an "M" was sewn onto the chest.
"W-who would throw away such an amazing costume?" Trixie looked up at the building behind her and had recognized it as the Carousel Boutique. "Well if nopony wants you, then I suppose nopony would complain if I took you for myself." Trixie got up, brushed herself off, and thoroughly cleaned the suit with her magic. "There we go. Now let's see if you'll fit." Trixie untied the strings and slid easily into it easily. The cloth was comfortable and fit her perfectly. When she tied it back up, she looked at her reflection using the windows of the boutique.
Trixie made a few heroic poses and laughed. "Is there anything I can’t fix?" A moment later, she sighed. "My big mouth for starters... Oh, who am I kidding? There's nothing special about me. I might as well just throw this thing back in the-"
"SOMEPONY HELP!" shrieked a nearby voice. Trixie was startled, but quickly shook off her stupor and ran towards the source of the screams.
"Get AWAY from me!" Bon Bon yelled as she kicked and punched the stallion that was trying to take her bag. She had just closed her shop and was heading home when a mugger had stopped her in an alley.
"Just let go of the purse, damn it!" growled the assailant. He raised a hoof to knock her out when, out of nowhere, a mysterious figure appeared.
"Stop right there!" Trixie exclaimed. She stood at the entrance of the alleyway. The moonlight shone behind her, providing both a beautiful and an intimidating glow.
"M-Mare-Do-Well?! I thought you left Ponyville!" the stallion said shakily. He had heard rumors of the masked hero of Ponyville, but had never expected them to be true. He quickly took out his switchblade, wrapped his hoof around Bon Bon's neck, and held the knife up to her face. "Don't move! If you take another step closer, she's dead!"
Mare-Do-Well? Is he talking about me? It was apparent to Trixie that the thug was afraid of this “Mare-Do-Well”. So she decided to just go along with it. "Y-yes! I am great and powerful Mare-Do-Well! Give up now, and I'll let you leave quietly!"
The stallion laughed nervously. "You think I was born yesterday? As soon as I let her go, you'll just take me down and turn me in! Why don’t you just back off before somepony gets hurt?” He pressed the blade against Bon Bon's neck and drew blood in order to make his point.
Trixie had to think fast. She couldn’t risk Bon Bon getting hurt over a bluff. Trixie began backing away slowly.
“That’s right, keep moving!” The thug smiled cruelly. He held all of the cards. He had nothing to worry about.
Calmly, she levitated a small pebble and threw it at the back of the mugger’s head. Luckily for her, the hat was able to hide the glow of her magic.
“What the-” Afraid that somepony had gotten behind him, he looked over his shoulder. Big mistake. Trixie used this opportunity to cast a small fireworks spell and aimed it at his head. When he had turned his attention back to Trixie, his face had been blasted by the scorching hot ball of magic. The sheer force of the explosion blew him back, causing him to let go of Bon Bon. He slammed against a wall and screamed in agony.
Trixie quickly grabbed Bon Bon and ran. They took multiple turns to make sure that he wasn't following them. When Trixie was sure that they were safe, she slowed down and faced Bon Bon. “Are you ok? Were you hurt?”
Bon Bon shook her head. “I’m just fine. Thank you so much for saving me! Is there anything I can do for-”
Trixie lifted a hoof to stop her. “There’s no need. After all, something like this is nothing for the GREAT and POWERFUL, TRRRI-” She stopped herself mid sentence. Wait a second... This my chance! No pony will recognize me with this costume on. I could start over! Be *worth something*. At that moment, Trixie had made the decision to no longer live the life of a failed stage magician. From this day forward, she was Mare-Do-Well, defender of Ponyville.
“I-I mean. Something like this was nothing for the GREAT and POWERFUL, MARE-DO-WELL!!” Trixie galloped off into the night, leaving Bon Bon with no chance to respond.
“Wait, what about the guy back-” Bon Bon stopped shouting when Trixie was too far to hear her. "I guess I’ll just have to alert the guards," Bon Bon sighed. She slung her purse back over her shoulder, and started laughing. It was painfully obvious to her that Trixie was the one behind that mask. “Mare-Do-Well huh? Good luck, Trixie. You’re gonna need it.”
Hollow Eye limped back to his broken down apartment. Empty beer bottles and burnt cigarettes were littered around the floor. No longer able to support his own weight, he held his hoof to the wall and slowly made his way to the bathroom. After shoving everything off of the bathroom counter, he stared into the mirror.
His jaw was bent at a horrible angle. The skin on his face was burnt, some parts charred into a permanent black color. But worst of all, his left eye had been burnt to the point where he could no longer see through it.
Hollow punched the mirror and it shattered to the floor. “Damn you Mare-Do-Well. DAMN YOU! I swear, that everything you love will BURN to the GROUND!” His face twisted into a maniac smile. “HehehehaHAHAHAHA!! BURN TO THE GROUND!!”
