The Adventures of the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well!

SOMEWHERE ON THE EDGE OF CANRTLOT CITY

I really should try to start leaving work early since the bus ride back to my apartment wasn’t always the quickest. But over time, I grew to enjoy the peace the night had to offer. The moonlight and stars added a sort of comfort to my ride back home. Especially the walk from the bus stop to my complex. Although I lived a little close to the downtown limits, I was still in the area most residents of Canterlot considered ‘safe’. The suburbs that surrounded Canterlot High and Crystal Prep Academy. But I would hear the occasional police sirens and police choppers passing by, and although a much rarer occurrence, gunshots sometimes echoed just down the street near the entrance of the downtown slums. But nothing ever went past it. I say all this because in my entire life of living in such a wonderful and peaceful community, I’ve never once been scared. That was until tonight.

I hadn’t noticed them at first, but ever since I hopped off the bus and began walking to my residence, a group of three men began following me. They were originally just hanging around the parking lot of a closed McDonalds across the street from the bus stop. But once I got off, and the bus left, they began to cross the street towards me. I had never seen the three of them before, but their demeanor, well, I hate to be so judgmental, but they looked like hoodlums. I guess it didn’t help that I was the only one that got off the bus, and this neighborhood, or the entire Canterlot suburbs for that matter, didn’t exactly have a lively night scene. Everyone usually went to bed or stayed indoors after 8pm, which was around the time I got home.

Doing my best to ignore the trio, I began walking towards my place. I could hear the three giggling to themselves right behind me, and it was obvious that they were following me. The sounds of their footsteps felt heavy, and although I’m not somebody who fears my fellow man, I started to fear for my life the second they began to call out to me.

“Damn baby, where ya going?” one of them shouted. But the way he said it though is what really scared me. It wasn’t in the typical way you’d expect some creep to cat call you, nor did it sound like some dumb kids messing around. The way he said it was monotone, fast and abrasive. It sounded as if he were on some type of medication or substance. I started to pick up my pace, and to my utter horror, I heard their footsteps quicken as well.

“Hey, come back here. We just wanna talk!” At this point I had turned my walk into a run, and the sounds of their heavy steps matched in speed. They began to laughed like a group of wild hyenas. But again, much like his voice, it didn’t sound natural. As panic started to form in, I ran into the alley of my apartment complex. It was a single building with about five tenets on each side. Once I ran past the corner behind the building, I was tackled off my feet and into the ground. My assailants didn’t allow me a moment to breathe, as I was forcefully lifted up off the ground, and thrown into the nearby fence.

My heart started to beat rapidly, and tears began to form in my eyes as I looked around. The three of them cornered me like ravaged wolves hunting for prey. All three of them looked dirty and unkept. The one in front of me was tall and lanky. He had a black hoodie and long dark green shorts. His wallet chain clanked as he walked towards me. Light whiskers covered his face, and he had on a black beanie that covered half his eyes. But still, it didn’t detract from the horror in his eyes. They were lifeless, wide and alert. He didn’t blink or take his sights off of me. His constricted pupils seemed to be glowing through the darkness.

“We said we just wanted to talk, yeah.” His voice still sounded unnatural. The man to the left of me grabbed my medical bag and purse and ripped them from my grasp. He was shorter than the other two were, but much bigger. He had on black pants, a brown sweater and a black bucket hat. His eyes were no different from his friends, but he seemed to have been breathing heavily. The man to my right was as tall as the one in front, though he slouched a bit. His body movements were just as unnatural as the others. He let both his arms dangle down to the floor, and his face kept changing from a smile to a frown. Although his eyes were similar to his friends, they kept twitching. It was obvious that all three of these men were on some kind of drugs.

“Please, just leave me alone,” I began to sob. But the one in front lunged at me, pinning me up against the fence while covering my mouth with his giant hand.

“Shhh,” he began. “I don’t like it when you scream. It ruins everything. Just hush now, and your treacherous life of suffering and agony will soon end.” I didn’t see him pull it out, but my eyes widened in terror as the cold steel of a knife pressed against my throat. I began to move around, trying to fight against him, but his grip around me was so strong. His two friends stood beside him, both shoving their faces into mine.

“Wait, I want to see.”

“Her eyeballs, her eyeballs. I want her eyeballs!”

The world began to turn red for me, and through watery eyes, the three monsters began to blur and darken. But their nasty smiles still etched themselves in my vision. These men were going to kill me and do God knows what afterwards, and there was nothing I could do about it. But I didn’t want to die, not like this, so I kept trying to fight until the very end. But as I felt the blade pierce through my skin, I knew it was all in vain. So, as I looked up, their faces were all that I could see, and they would be the last things I ever set eyes on. The dedication I had for helping people would all end in some alley next to a trash can. As I slowly began to cease fighting, I just sobbed quietly. Even with his dirty hand covering my mouth, I sobbed uncontrollably. But that’s when it came.

I barely saw it jumping from the roof of my apartment and landing on top of the guy that was holding me. It was as if the shadows themselves consumed him. He let go of me completely, and his blood curtailing screams were all I could hear as the ghost dragged him into the shadows. Once he was gone, there were horrid sounds of bones cracking, followed by a frightening silence. The other two looked at each other, both clearly petrified. That’s when the ghost shot out of the darkness, jumping straight at the man to my left. I fell onto the ground, huddling up against the fence out of fear. The ghost wrapped its claws around the man’s head, and began slamming it into the concrete.

“Lunatic,” It snarled. Its voice was so haunting. I couldn’t even process the speed at which it hopped off the man, and jumped right at the final culprit who had been running away. I could barely see as it began to repeatedly beat down the man, grunting violently as it did so. Once it stopped, the ghost simply stood up and disappeared into the shadows. I sat there curled in a ball, crying to myself. I couldn’t even process everything it was that had just happened... and then the ghost came back from the darkness, extending its arm at me. It was clutching the straps of my purse and medical bag.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now,” it said to me. Despite its foreboding voice, I felt calm in its presence. The way it spoke to me was with kindness and compassion to the likes of which I haven’t heard in years. I felt comfortable enough to retrieve my items from its hand. Wiping away my tears, I cleared my eyes and looked up at it, stuttering to get the words out.

“Th-thank you. Really...you....oh my God,” that’s when I got a clearer look at my little ghost hero. Though, that’s when I realized it wasn’t a ghost. The state my hero was in was horrible, the dark purple costume that hugged their body was ripped and torn beyond whatever its original recognition. What I assumed to be part of a cape blew ever so lightly as the piece of ripped cloth hung just below their shoulders. Their mask was shredded on one side, exposing half their face. The one eye that stared down at me was bloodshot red, and the amount of blood and other stains they were covered in was staggering. Even with that awful looking fedora lowered to cover their face, I could still clearly see the fatigue that was present in their eye.

“You, oh my God, you need to get to a hospital-”

“NO” she shouted. The ghostly whisper in her voice broke and revealed the sound of a woman underneath. I moved back in fear, taken off guard by her anger. She must have noticed this because the next words that came out of her mouth weren't as hostile. “Just, no, forget about it. You’re safe, that’s all that... matters. Call the police so they can have... these guys locked....” She started to trail off mid-sentence as her body swayed back and forth. That’s when she collapsed to her side.

***

I paced back and forth in the living room of my apartment, my mind racing as panic filled my thoughts.

“Okay, just calm down Red Heart. No need to panic. Just take a breather and think,” I kept repeating to myself out loud, but it failed in quelling my nerves. I looked down to what was clutched in my right hand. A torn up, blood-soaked purple mask. I could feel the weight of it as I stared deeply into its one blue acrylic eye. That’s when I heard the ruffling sounds of bed sheets coming from the young girl who was lying asleep on my now blood-stained sofa.

“Oh Sunset...what have you gotten yourself into?” I walked over to the dining table next to the TV, throwing that awful mask into a trash bag with the rest of the tarnished...whatever that uniform was. I then took a seat and watched the girl rile around. The anguish on her face told me just how much pain she was in. It also told me she must have been having a nightmare of some sorts.

On the list of people I’d never expect to be in my home, Sunset Shimmer was pretty high on that list. To say that me and her were on the best of terms would be a lie. A year ago, she shoved Fluttershy into a locker, and once the staff had gotten her out, I took her to my office to bandage a cut she had received. Poor girl was so traumatized that she didn’t even speak. Eventually when they caught Sunset, I had gone to Principal Celestia’s office to confront her personally. She sat there in the chair with her arms crossed, examining her nails with a smug look on her face as if all of this were a game.

I remember yelling at her, “how could you harm such a kind girl like that? You cut her arm when you pushed her in the locker and left her in there for over an hour. You know Fluttershy can’t scream that loud!” My blood was boiling at that point because all Shimmer did was roll her eyes and throw her feet on top of the principal's desk.

“Oh please, it’s not my fault baby shy doesn’t have a back bone,” Sunset said.

“You’re an awful little girl miss Shimmer, maybe one day you should learn that -”

“Ms. Heart, please. That's enough,” Celestia had stopped me. Sunset just snickered to herself.

“Yeah, Miss Red Heart, that’s enough. Go back to giving little kids lollipops you failed wannabe doctor.” I hate to admit, but I cried to myself in my office after that rude remark. That was the last time I spoke to Sunset Shimmer. Even during the Fall Formal, I didn’t check on her after Twilight and the girls had blasted her into a crater. Maybe it was because I was so shocked at the display of other worldly magic, but perhaps that’s no excuse. I hate myself for thinking it, but at that moment all I viewed her as was a monster from another world, but even so, the thought went against my principals. There were times when she sent other students to my office for minor injuries like cuts and bruises. Usually for tripping them or shoving them into walls or lockers and such. Each time I had wished...well...I wished one day she got a taste of her own medicine. Because each time Celestia would just give her detention or in school suspension, which she would never go to. I just didn’t like people who hurt others. Who cause pain and suffering to others. The health of people was a sacred thing, and Sunset would treat it as mere child's play. Much to my own hypocrisy, I wanted her to feel what it was like being on the receiving end just once.... but.... dear God not like this.

I had spent the past two hours tending to her wounds, to which there were so many. Stab wounds, two gunshot wounds, shards of glass stuck in multiple parts of her body, fractured hands, a missing tooth that looked to be infected, torn blood vessels in both her eyes. I’m surprised she didn’t wake up when I recentered her dislocated nose, and the bruises. So many bruises all over her stomach, chest, arms and face. There were two huge gashes on the side of her head, indicating that something very hard was smacked over her skull. Another thing that took a while to fix were the multiple awful looking burns. Especially two on her leg and arm. To my horror, it looked like an attempted self cauterization. A very crude, and awful attempt. I had to wash her too, the smell of sewage and feces was incredibly strong. I might be up all night disinfecting my apartment, and I'd probably spend half my Saturday replenishing medical supplies.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Sunset began to rile around, mumbling to herself and shaking uncontrollably. I was about to stand up to go check on her, but taking me by surprise, the girl gasped for air and shot up from the couch. Sweat was pouring down her face, and a look of terror was etched in her eyes.

“Huh? What? Where am I?” she started to say, the panic in her voice was evident by how fast she was speaking. I stood up from my chair, raising both my hands up to try an ease her down.

“Hey, shhh, it’s okay Sunset. You’re safe,” but this only seemed to put the girl further into panic mode. She touched her face, feeling her soft skin with her bare fingers. Her eyes widened as she threw the sheets off her and looked down, seeing the white t-shirt and grey sweatpants she was wearing. She then looked up to me with wide, horrified eyes.

“No,” she muttered to herself, and shot up from out of the couch. “No no no no no no,” she started to back away from me before bumping into a wall. I slowly got a bit closer, trying to calm her down like she was some scared animal.

“Hey, it’s okay Sunset Shimmer. Just calm down, okay? Just breathe and relax.” This seemed to have sort of worked as Sunset’s breathing started to slow down and her eyes stayed maintained on mines. The black circles around them were now more noticeable than before, and judging from how sunken in they looked, I questioned when was the last time this girl slept.

“Okay...alright, who else did you tell?” Sunset asked, the panic in her voice almost completely disappeared, and was replaced with a sharp and serious tone. I looked at her a bit confused, tilting my head with a raised eyebrow.

“I... Sunset nobody knows you’re here. I brought you in here because you collapsed outside. You know, after you saved my life,” I said, trying to keep my voice as low and steady as possible. Sunset looked around the place, analyzing her surroundings.

“Where’s my face?” she said. Though it was almost like a growl, low and foreboding. Her left eye was twitching as she said this.

“What?” I asked, genuinely unnerved by this. Sunset shook her head, and rubbed her face with her hands before taking another deep breath.

“Sorry, I just...where’s my uniform I met?” Her voice was a lot calmer, returning back to how it normally sounded. I pointed at the trash bag on top of my dining room table, and Sunset practically sprinted towards it. She ripped open the bag, like a wild cat tearing open dead prey. After fishing around in it for a bit, she pulled out the mask, clutching it in her hands tightly. It almost seemed like...she had calmed down entirely because of this. The panic and dread that she had displayed only a couple of seconds ago had completely vanished. It was almost as if that mask had grounded her back to reality.

“Why did you help me?” she asked, still looking down at the mask. I was taken aback by the question.

“Why would you ask that Sunset? You were literally dying; I wasn’t going to just leave you there to die.”

“You should have,” she whispered. It was so quiet that if it wasn’t for the deafening silence in the complex, I would have missed it. I chose not to respond to this, instead moving on to the burning question I had.

“Sunset...what is this? What are you doing?” The girl just stood there, staring down at the mask with an emotionless stare.

“It’s none of your business Nurse Red Heart,” she said coldly. This was the first time Sunset had ever addressed me by my proper name. It was usually ‘wash up’ or ‘wannabe doctor’ or some derogatory name.

“I’m sorry miss shimmer, but when one of my students shows up on the verge of death after rescuing me, it is my business.”

“I’m not your damn student,” she said bluntly. I had never heard Sunset say something so cold. Nor have I ever heard her swear before. Sure, she had always been a heartless bully in my eyes, but it was akin to a spoiled whinny brat. But this, I mean the way she said it. It sounded so... dead inside. She was a little intimidating if I was being honest. But I tried my best to regain my composure and stood up straight.

“Believe what you want Sunset. But you are a student at Canterlot High, and as the nurse of the school, your wellbeing is also part of my responsibility. So please, tell me what this is about.” Without turning her head, her eyes looked over to me, and my composure immediately cracked. Her eyes were stone cold, devoid of any light or emotion other than deep-rooted anger. My confidence shattered right there under her intimidating glare. I stood there in silence, scared of what she would do next. But to my surprise, she just sighed and threw the piece of cloth back onto the table, and took a seat where I had been sitting only moments before.

“Okay, since you’ve seen me like this, I guess there’s no point in hiding anything from you. What do you want to know?” My words were stuck in my throat, and I began to have cold feet. I really didn’t think she would be so forward with this. She must have noticed this because she took another sigh, and began speaking.

“The media hasn’t picked up on any of this yet, just the police. But I’m on a mission to take down an elaborate drug operation here in Canterlot. That's all you need to know.” That left more questions than answers, but a part of me was a little scared to ask any more questions. Yet, I did anyways.

“You’re...a vigilante?” I asked. She shrugged and leaned back into the chair.

“If that’s what you want to call it, then sure.”

“But why? Why are you doing this?” I asked. She looked down to the floor, as if she were ashamed of something. That’s when it started to click together for me. “Sunset... are you doing this out of guilt?”

“I don’t know anymore.” Her voice sounded so defeated. She looked back up to me with a stern expression. “Regardless, don’t tell anybody.”

“Sunset you know I can’t-”

“FOR GOD SAKES RED HEART, PLEASE.... please.” Something about the way she said the final word touched my heart. But my primary responsibilities as part of school faculty still took lead.

“Sunset. Look at you. I cannot in good faith let a student of mine put themselves through-”

“I’m not your damn student, I've already told you that. Honestly, what the hell is yours and Celestia's problem? I don’t even belong in this world. I’m just some demon that came into your world and caused nothing but pain!” Tears were starting to fall from her tired eyes, and her voice began to crack. “I’m not worth it! I've treated all of you like nothing. Red, you should be hating me. Wanting me to suffer for God’s sakes. I am nothing but an awful person who causes nothing but pain and sorrow everywhere I go.” She continued to weep, holding herself tightly as she shut her eyes and grimaced her face. I stared at her with my mouth wide open. I didn’t know what to say, but I had heard enough. So, I walked over to her, and wrapped my arms around the girl, embracing her in a hug. She tried to fight back a bit, but eventually caved in and cried harder in my stomach.

“Sunset... you saved my life.” She cried even harder as she held me tightly.

***

It had been late into the night, but honestly time seemed to stand still. I sat on the other side of the table, watching the young fiery haired girl scarf down what must’ve been the third plate of rice and steamed vegetables. After our little embrace, the rumbling of her stomach interrupted the silent moment we had. After which I asked her when was the last time she ate, to which she said she didn’t remember. Nor did she remember the last time she fell asleep. She told me she’d been out in the city since Friday, the day she got suspended. Speaking of which, I now realize the whole Gabby Gums incident wasn’t her doing. She of course stubbornly wouldn’t deny it, but I wasn’t stupid. But still, that would mean that she’d been out crusading for about a week straight. No food or rest minus the occasional moments of unconsciousness after fights. The horrid smell was from some adventure she had in the sewer. She wouldn’t tell me why she was down there, but she also told me she didn’t know exactly how long she was down there for. She believes it was for an entire day. Afterwards she had jumped straight into finding another group of bad people, finding herself competing in some underground fighting ring, to which she of course wouldn’t tell me the details of. But even if she wanted to, she said that she sort of blacked out near the end of the fight, not knowing exactly what was going on. My guess is her mind and body went on autopilot after days of no sleep or food. For the next hour afterward, we just talked as I cooked a meal for her.

“You feeling better?” I asked, resting my head on my hand.

“No,” she said, still shoving the food into her mouth like an animal. I smiled and reached for the trash bag on the ground, pulling the mask out and examining it.

“You know, you should really fix this thing.”

“I’ll sew it back up when I get home. I gotta go back out later tonight anyways. On the trail of something.” She continued to eat every last piece of food on the plate. I wanted to say something in protest, but tonight showed me just how futile it was.

“Why don’t you tell your little friends about this? Maybe that fashionista can make you something new. Something better and more practical.” She glared up at me from her plate.

“Absolutely not. First, they’re not my friends. Second, they’re never going to know about this shit.” I rolled my eyes at this and leaned back in my chair, dragging my fingers through the hole in the mask.

“Of course, silly me. I almost forgot that the big bad Sunset Shimmer doesn’t need anybody. Especially not a group of kind girls trying to offer her friendship," I mocked. She grinned, before scarfing down the remainder of her plate.

“Exactly,” she said once she was done. She stood up and grabbed the bag from off the floor, taking out its contents and throwing them onto the table.

“You're leaving?” I asked, throwing the rugged mask to her. She caught it with one hand, and threw it onto the table with the rest of the uniform before taking her shirt off, revealing the white bandages and stitches I had given her.

“Yep, like I said, I have to get home, fix this shit, shower and get back out there.” I looked at her, eyeing her up and down, feeling my heart shatter a bit.

“Fine. But remember, once you put a stop to the drug game here, you’re done. That’s our deal for me keeping your secret. If you don’t, so help me, I’ll inform the police.” Sunset nodded in understanding, slipping on the torn-up cloth spandex suit over her body. She then draped her cloak, or whatever was left of it anyways, over her shoulders.

“And Sunset. I swear to God if I see you hurt beyond any form of repair, I’m putting a stop to this once and for all. Also...if you kill anybody...if you cross that line, you're done. Do you understand?” She looked at me, and nodded again before putting that awful mask back on. After putting on her boots and leather gloves, she grabbed her hat and began walking towards my window. It didn’t feel right, letting her go off like this. I was allowing her to practically kill herself. Not only that, but I was allowing her to hurt others, something I was strongly against. Regardless if they were awful people like the ones who had attacked me tonight. But after tonight's long, insightful and honestly depressing conversation, I believed I would do more harm than good if I tried to stop her. Sunset was hellbent on this, and the state of mind she was in... well, I felt it was best if we came to an agreement. Besides, she told me that she doesn't kill anybody nor ever will, and the sincerity in her eyes and voice made me believe her on this. As I sat there wondering if I was making the right decision, Sunset stopped right at the window, and turned her head to the side to look at me through her one exposed eye.

“Hey... Red Heart.”

“Yeah Sunset?” She turned to face me fully, and what came out of her mouth next changed my whole perspective on this situation.

“I’m sorry. For everything I’ve ever done to you.” I sat there shocked. Earlier when I was cooking, Sunset told me she hadn’t apologized to anyone for her actions for various reasons. So that met this was the first time she ever did so.

“I forgive you Sunset Shimmer...please, if you ever need medical attention, come to me.” I met it too. If I was going to just allow her to go down this path, I'd be damned if I would just stand back and let her do it alone. She nodded, and turned back around, opening the window and disappearing into the night.

I don’t know if I made the right decision tonight, but only time would tell.