Mare Do Well: Rainbow Factory

Mare Do Well growled as the large doors in front of her shut tight. It was then that a voice called out to her.

"Quick, get in here! Before more of those things come!"

Mare Do Well looked and saw a battered Factory Guard gesturing to her. As she approached the guard, she said, "Discord went through that door. What's on the other side?"

"We call it Extreme Isolation. The only way inside is through the transport system," explained the guard.

"Can you open it?" asked Mare Do Well.

"Sure, I'll just need to call another cell."

As the guard worked on his task, he quickly found that there was a problem.

"Huh. That's weird. The main security loop is locked..." muttered the guard.

"Having a little trouble up there?" said an all-too-familiar voice.

Mare Do Well turned to face a nearby monitor, on which was the smiling form of Discord.

"Discord..." the Dark Mare growled.

"You were expecting maybe Nightmare Moon?" said Discord.

"There's no escape, Discord. I will find you," said Mare Do Well.

"Silly little pony! I don't want to escape! I'm having way too much fun! I even have you here to help keep a smile on my face!" said Discord.

"Not for long," growled Mare Do Well.

"Really? We'll see! Toodles! Oh, before I forget, in case you were thinking about following me, I've arranged a little insurance," said Discord, before adjusting the camera to show what was unmistakably a Factory Guard beating Applejack to the ground. "The cowpony is on her way to Pinkie as we speak!"

Mare Do Well's fists clenched up. She recognized that guard.

"Officer Holes," she growled.

Discord laughed. "If I see you trying to follow me, she dies! Pinkie's really looking forward to it! Maybe I'll film it and post it on the internet!" said Discord, before he started to laugh his head off and the feed ended.

The guard sighed. "Sorry, Mare Do Well. The main security loop is locked. The best I can do is open the door you came in," he said.

Mare Do Well nodded. Finding Discord and beating him senseless didn't matter right now. She needed to save Applejack

I should go back to the Holding Cells. Holes wasn't too bright. He'll have left a clue, thought Mare Do Well.

As Mare Do Well ran through the door, she was contacted by Apple Bloom.

"Mare Do Well! What's happening?" asked Foresight.

"Foresight, Discord escaped. He's sealed himself off. He's got your sister," said Mare Do Well.

"Applejack! If Ah weren't stuck in this here wheelchair, Ah'd be suitin' up and headin' over to the Factory right now!" said Foresight.

"I'm gonna get her back," said Mare Do Well.

"Ah know, but-"

"Foresight, I'm getting her back. Discord will not win. I won't let him. I'm starting where he was taken. A guard named Diggin' Holes attacked him. If I find Holes, I'll find your sister."

"Okay... Twilight, hurry, please."

As Mare Do Well ran down the hallways back towards where Discord broke loose, the insane draconequus himself appeared on the monitors.

"I bet you're wondering how I did it! Was it a clue that the Great Detective missed?" said Discord, laughing as Mare Do Well ran into a couple of his thugs. Discord continued as Mare Do Well bashed one of the thugs' heads in. "Oh, me and Digsy go way back. I got him out of a spot of... bother a few years ago. So, when I need security codes or a police commissioner clubbed to the ground, I know just the pony to ask."

Just as Discord finished speaking, the Dark Mare broke the arm of the second and last thug. Her foes beaten, Mare Do Well made it to the room where Applejack had been captured.

"Foresight, I'm at the Holding Cells, and I'm setting up a crime scene," said Mare Do Well.

"So, what's the plan? Isolate somethin' in that room unique to Holes?" asked Apple Bloom.

"Exactly," said Mare Do Well as she booted up her mask's Detective Mode and scanned the room.

Moments later, she found something: an empty flask of bourbon.

Sloppy. This should lead me right to Holes, thought Mare Do Well as she used her magic to calibrate her mask's scanner to trace the alcohol from the air.

"Foresight, I've got a trail," said Mare Do Well as her mask finished calibrating.

"That's great! You follow it. Ah'm pulling up every reference to the Rainbow Factory I can find. It might be useful later," said Foresight.

...

As Mare Do Well followed the whiskey trail, she came to the Secure Transit elevator, where a guard was trying to get the elevator to open.

"Stupid- unreliable- " growled the guard, before he turned to face Mare Do Well. "How did Discord get free?"

"Be quiet," said Mare Do Well. The trail was leading directly upwards, indicating that they'd taken the elevator.

But, before Mare Do Well could do anything, Pinkie Pie came down, landing smoothly on the pulley system.

"Nuh uh uh, MDW! Mr. D doesn't want you following us just yet!" said Pinkie, before she pressed the button on what was unmistakably a detonator.

Up above, a bomb exploded, sending the stuck elevator plummeting down towards Mare Do Well and the unsuspecting guard, while Pinkie got a breakneck ride upwards and onwards.

"Whee!" yelled Pinkie as she flew upwards.

"Look out!" yelled Mare Do Well, pushing the guard out of the way of the falling elevator. She herself barely got out of the way in time. A piece of shrapnel left a slash in her armor, leaving the flesh just above her right breast exposed.

As the dust cleared, Pinkie's voice rang out.

"How do you like that, MDW? Now you're trapped down there until me and Mr. D are ready for you! Ha ha ha!"

As Mare Do Well got up and looked around, she saw that the elevator was totaled.

If they took Applejack up to the surface in the elevator, then I'm going to have to do this the old fashioned way, thought Mare Do Well, using her grapple gun to ascend to the top of the elevator shaft.

As Mare Do Well climbed upwards, Discord's voice rang out over the loudspeakers.

“Hey, MARY! I know you can hear me with those pointy blue ears of yours. I’ve got a little something to show you!!! Pinkie and Digsy are nearly out of the building with the cowpony. But, how, oh, how are they going to get past all those guards? Let's have ourselves a little listen, shall we?"

Moments later, an unfamiliar voice came on over the loudspeakers.

"Hey, Holes, where you've been?" asked what Mare Do Well suspected was an unsuspecting factory guard.

"What're you all standing around here for? Discord's got more soldiers on the way! Come on, everypony cover the main entrance! Damn it, come on!" said the falsely panicked voice of Officer Holes.

"How many are there, Holes? Hold on a sec, how'd you know-?"

What followed later was a series of gunfire and cries for help. When everything got quiet again, Holes' voice came back on.

“Pinkie, it’s clear! Get your ass in here!” called Holes.

Pinkie’s voice then came over the loudspeakers. “You’re a real piece of work, Digsy. A filly could fall for a colt like you,” she said.

“Stop flirting with the hired help, Pinkie!” yelled Discord.

“Don’t worry, sweetie! You know I only have eyes for you!” replied Pinkie.

“Well, I don’t know about you, Mary, but I think Digsy’s working out just fine! Another valuable employee for the organization,” said Discord, before he giggled once again.

As Mare Do Well continued her ascent, something caught her eye: a strange symbol with bizarre markings around it.

Odd… what’s that doing here? thought Mare Do Well as she approached the symbol, scanning it with her mask’s lenses. Much to the Caped Cavalier’s surprise, the scribbles began to form some kind of message, which Mare Do Well began to read aloud.

“‘I am the spirit of Aurora Dawn. Through my actions, I have saved this accursed city, though my own curse is to forever remain in the shadows. My story is carved into the very soul of the Rainbow Factory, and will only be revealed to those dedicated enough to discover it,’” Mare Do Well read aloud. The egghead inside of her was quite intrigued, but that didn’t matter right now. She needed to find Applejack.

As the Dark Mare neared the end of her climb, she caught sight of four of Discord’s minions, who were standing over the body of yet another factory guard.

“The guards didn’t put up much of a fight,” one of the thugs commented.

“Discord was right! This is easy! Bring it on!” said another thug.

“Careful what you wish for,” said Mare Do Well as she climbed up onto the platform the goons were on.

“It’s the freak!” yelled one of the henchponies, before he and his friends ran at Mare Do Well.

Not even five minutes later, there were four unconscious Discord Followers with various broken bones lying on the ground.

“Mare Do Well! How’s it going? Any sign of mah big sister?” Apple Bloom asked over the comlink.

“Not yet, but I’m getting close. Pinkie Pie slowed me down. She dropped an elevator on me," said Mare Do Well.

"Did it work?" asked Foresight.

Mare Do Well chuckled. "Of course not. I'll keep following the trail and let you know when I find your sister," she said.

With that, Mare Do Well tried to proceed through the door leading onward, only to find it locked. Luckily, there was a conveniently placed vent. Ripping the cover off, Mare Do Well entered the vent. As she made her way along, the Dark Mare heard what sounded like gunshots. When she reached the end of the vent, she had no choice but to watch as armed Discord Followers advanced on an injured guard.

"Please! You don't have to do this! I have a foal!" the guard whimpered.

"You're right. I don't have to do anything," said one of the followers, before pumping the guard's guts full of lead. "I just want to." The goon turned to face his comrades. "Alright, you guys know what to do. Anything moves, shoot it!"

Mare Do Well activated her comlink. "Foresight, it looks like Discord's minions have taken control of the cell transfer corridor," she said as she carefully removed the vent cover.

"That's not good. Ah've patched into tah guards' radio feed. It looks like Discord's goons got themselves some firepower," said Foresight.

Mare Do Well frowned. If only she'd brought that Disruptor she'd aquired a few years back. And the Shock Gloves. And all the other nifty toys she'd gotten that Hearth's Warming Eve. But, for now, she'd have to simply adjust her mask's vision mode to isolate armed henchponies. Once that was done, she aimed her grapple gun at a stone gargoyle and fired, pulling herself safely onto a platform directly over the Discord Followers' heads.

"So... is Mare Do Well really coming this way?" one of the thugs asked.

Another scoffed. "Who cares? She sticks her fedora-wearing head in here, she's dead!" he said.

No sooner had the Follower said this than did Mare Do Well put the goon in a sleeper hold, rendering the pony unconscious, before she quickly did the same to the other two thugs.

With all three thugs knocked out, Mare Do Well quickly discovered that the bulkhead door leading onward had been blocked off. Looking around, Mare Do Well noticed that a side door was open. As she made her way up a short flight of stairs, the Dark Mare heard voices.

"The guys are just finishing up now, boss. Those factory chumps never stood a chance," said what had to be a Discord Follower.

"Good! Our friendly neighborhood mystery is on her way there. You'll need to set a trap! A good one, mind you. I'd really hate to have to punish your family just to teach you a lesson," said Discord.

"But, boss!" protested the goon.

"But nothing! You do as I-" said Discord, before the henchpony he was talking to found himself in a sleeper hold. "Oh, look who it is! Are your pointy ears burning? Well, I suppose I'd better tell my boys you're on the way... hey, maybe I won't ! It'll make a nice surprise!"

Mare Do Well scowled as she ripped off a nearby vent cover. As Mare Do Well made her way through the vent, she heard Discord's voice again.

"Hey, kiddies! It's your Uncle Discord here with a quick update on what's new in the Rainbow Factory! I have just been informed that we have an escaped patient! Apparently, this patient seems to enjoy leaving perfectly good henchponies with multiple broken bones miles from the nearest emergency room. She must be stopped, before she gets someone hurt!” said Discord, before he giggled.

Mare Do Well growled as she finally found the exit vent and kicked it open quietly as she was above ground a good distance and there were thugs nearby. She softly landed behind one and smothered him to submission. Quietly moving along she did the same to another thug before she shot a grapnel hook to a nearby gargoyle. Looking down she saw that a thug was all by himself and soon she took flight. Knocking him down and then punching him in… best left to the imagination but the point is he wasn’t getting back up.

Discord's voice once again rang out over the loudspeakers. "Did you really think it was going to be that easy? I've sent a few more of my boys your way. Let's see how you deal with these odds!"

At that moment, the Caped Cavalier heard a voice call out, "Discord wants Mare Do Well found! Spread out!"

Damn,thought Mare Do Well, quickly using her grapple gun to ascend to nearby gargoyle before the goons saw her.

As the thugs moved about below her, Mare Do Well activated her Detective Mode. After waiting patiently for a moment, Mare Do Well finally managed to spot a Discord Follower on his own, and luckily enough, directly in front of her perch. Jumping off, Mare Do Well spread out her cape to control her decent and kicked the goon, knocking him down before slamming his head into the ground, knocking the lowlife out cold, before grappling up to different gargoyle.

It wasn't long, however, before another one of Discord's minions found the unconscious body, and called out to the other guy.

"Come on! Wake up!" hissed the goon, before he found himself in a sleeper hold, courtesy of Mare Do Well.

The last thug was also rendered unconscious by the Dark Mare, and Discord wasn't too happy about it.

"How could you? They were just like family! Boo hoo hoo hoo heh ha ha ha ha!" the monster laughed.

As Mare Do Well made her way to the exit, she saw that a gurney was placed in front of the door, and strapped to it was none other than Holes himself, dead as a doornail.

Well, guess that trail ends here, thought Mare Do Well, before a loud crackling sound echoed through her comms channel.

"-Can you hear me, Mare Do Well? I know you can. It is I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, the Puzzler, and more importantly, your intellectual superior. My genius has allowed me to hack into your primitive communications," boasted The Puzzler as Mare Do Well tried to pinpoit her location, but with no success. "My goal is simple: you complete a series of amusingly taxing challenges, and... well, you'll see. Are you ready for your first one?"

"Fine, whatever, just make it quick. I have more important things to do than play games with you, Trixie," grumbled Mare Do Well.

"Good! But, I'd be careful. Don't CUT yourself on this SHARPLY observed portrait,"said Trixie.

After looking around for a moment, Mare Do Well saw a painting of Warden Sharp, and scanned it.

"Well done! I would've expected a mere foal to work that one out, let alone the World's Greatest Detective," said Trixie.

Mare Do Well was just about to say something when a nearby door opened and a guard called out to her. As she approached him, the guard explained what had happened.

"It was a massacre. Holes came in and started shouting about Discord's army coming through the main gate," he said.

"Was Holes alone?" asked Mare Do Well.

"Thought he was. But, then I saw Pinkie Pie standing behind him. She was surrounded by Alkatrot Prisoners. They were just killing everyone in the room. I had no choice, I grabbed North Star in here and blocked the door... but, I could see everything on the security feed," said the guard.

"Holes is dead. It looks like they carried on without him. He must've outlived his usefulness," said Mare Do Well.

"Good! He was scum."

As the guard attended to his fallen comrade, Mare Do Well moved past him and into the hallway. But, she didn't get too far when...

"You know, I've always said that news reporters were bloodsuckers," said Trixie over the coms.

Not even a moment later, a nearby radio began making a news report. "We interrupt our regular program to bring you an update on the situation on Factory Island. Here's VampDash with the story," said the news anchor.

"This is VampDash, reporting live from the Manehattan bay. The Rainbow Factory remains under lockdown, as inmates from Alkatrot are running uncheck throughout the entire facility. Just six minutes ago, we received this taped message," said a young stallion with an east coast accent.

"Greetings, Manhattan! This is the voice of your new master! Oh, damn, I skipped a bit... let's see here... ah! Here we are!" said Discord, before he cleared his throat. "Greetings, Manhattan! Discord here! I've taken control of the Rainbow Factory, and you can all consider the island out of bounds! If I see so much as a twinkle from a lawman's badge or hear a swish of some tight-wearing do-gooder's cape, I'll start detonating random bombs all around Manehattan. Unfortunately, I don't exactly remember where I left them. A billionaire's mansion? The house of a political figure? Who knows?!"

VampDash returned as Mare Do Well scanned the radio. "The police have restricted all access to the Rainbow Factory, and early reports suggest that Mare Do Well herself is trapped on the island. More on this story as it develops,"

But, by the time the report finished, Mare Do Well had already left the room, and was already crawling through a vent shaft leading out of the Intensive Treatment building.