The Adventures of the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well!

A WAREHOUSE SOMEWHERE IN CANTERLOT

Another warehouse...great. Despite it being hot as shit earlier in the day, it was now freezing outside, but I guess that’s just to be expected with how far up north we are. The hills and mountains that surrounded Canterlot didn’t help either. I was hunched over on the ledge of the building, looking out into the parking lot that was in front of an empty field. In the distance were tall mountains stretched over the night sky, and the howling wind and distant rumbling of thunder accompanied by the chirps of crickets sounded so soothing to my ears. I wrapped myself with my cloak, attempting to block out the cool breeze. But it was a futile attempt. It was times like this that I wish I was still a pony. I hated wearing clothes, but without fur, they were the only real protection against the cold. I’ll need to find some way to insulate my costume before the start of the winter this year...assuming I’m even alive for that long.

Still, I think I can confidently say that I love the night. I was a little disappointed with the weather when I first arrived in this world. Since Canterlot is so far up north bordering with Canada, we experienced long winters, long nights and short days. The sun was never out for long, and when it was, it was usually covered behind thick grey clouds. But now, I find it rather comforting. If I wasn’t the Mare-Do-Well, I think I’d still choose to not sleep just to experience the beauty of the night. My light daydreaming was interrupted by the voice in my ear.

“Okay, I rechecked the plates. You’re at the right place,” said Red through the earpiece under my mask.

“Yeah, I already know that. Give me the files on the Flim Flam Brothers,” I demanded.

“Oh, well a little thank you would be nice. Honestly, I’m up at one in the morning with you on a school night and that’s how you thank me?”

“You’re the one who insisted on this stupid communication channel. I told you to just go home, but no, you wanted to play oracle with me in the middle of the night.” I could hear her scoff on the other end.

“Don’t start with me Shimmer. I am literally letting a student who attends the school I work at go out and play dress up at night to fight bad guys. All while knowing she isn’t all the way there mentally. If you think I'm just going to let you go out there alone without keeping tabs on you then you should have your head reexamined just as much as I should have mine.” I sighed and rolled my eyes. This little set up of ours didn’t really bother me, but it was just something far out of my comfort zone. I guess on the bright side, I wouldn’t be talking to myself like a crazy person while I’m out here.

“Fine, but at least make yourself useful.” I stood up, turned around and began to walk across the rooftop of the warehouse, letting the cloak drape over my shoulders like a ghost. I could hear Red typing on my computer, presumably looking for the documents I had created on the brothers earlier today after I left AJ’s place. I didn’t need them of course, but I figured it would be better than just letting Red sit there bored out of her mind or worry so much that she’ll end up coming out to look for me. Besides, depending on how long this little shindig agreement of ours last, perhaps this could be favorable in the long run for times I do need someone at a computer for me.

“I don’t know if I ever said this, but I hate that voice you do when you wear that thing. It sends a shiver down my spine,” she said while typing.

“That’s the point.”

“Yeah but, I mean, I think you find comfort in it. Earlier today when I was patching you up, you kept letting it slip out.” I didn’t say anything as I entered the door of the rooftop exit. “I mean, you have a really nice voice Sunset. The few times you let it be heard without anger or sadness...it’s a beautiful voice. This one though, it just sounds so dead. I know you say it’s for the persona...but the growl in it, I feel like it’s slowly becoming your-”

“Be quiet. I’m in.” I didn’t like talking to her like that, but I didn’t need someone playing psychiatrist with me. Not when I’m wearing it. I know this is hard for her, and her worries will always stem from her being a nurse for school kids, and I unfortunately am a school kid...But I don’t give a damn. She’s going to have to learn that there is no screwing around when I’m out as the Mare-Do-Well. Sunset doesn’t exist when I’m in this thing, only the ghost. Regardless of what the agreement is. My demand must have gotten through her head, because after that she didn’t speak.

As I walked through the dark hallways of the office floor of the warehouse, I peered out the window that led to the warehouses ground floor. It was too dark to see anything, but I could faintly see the silhouettes of large machines tucked in the furthest corner. I continued to walk, not making a sound as my boots met the carpet floor. I’ve been getting better at moving silently like a ghost. Eventually I arrived at a door, the only one that was marked. A plaque that read Shill was the only indication that this entire place wasn’t abandoned. I reached into my left boot and pulled out a set of lock picks. I really need to look into getting a utility belt. Wasting no time, I dropped down to one knee and began to quietly pick the doors lock. After a few silent moments, an audible click from the doorknob was heard, and just like that, the door opened effortlessly. I put the picks back into my boot, and then pulled a small flashlight out of the right one.

The office was small, and surprisingly quite empty. No pictures, or papers, or even a computer. None of the type of shit you’d expect from a typical office space. The whole thing felt quite peculiar. The only thing in the room was an empty wooden table with a single pen in the center of it, and a loan chair facing the corner across from the desk. I shined the light over to the chair, unnerved by the sight of it. It looked stained with something, but the stains were so black that I couldn’t tell what it was. I turned the light over to the desk and walked over to it.

What the hell? I thought to myself as I walked around the desk, perplexed that nothing was around it. That’s when I noticed some drawers on each side. Pulling out the first one, I was surprised at what was in it.

“There’s a box of bullets in a desk on the second floor of this place,” I said, picking up the box with one hand while shining the flashlight at it with the other. “It’s a box of a hundred 9mm rounds...but,” I set the box down on the table, opening it up to confirm what I worried.

“But what?” asked Red.

“There’s not even a fraction of that in here.” I began to open the other drawers, slowly realizing that there was no gun in either of them. When I opened the last two, my heart skipped a beat at what was in them.

“There’s a rope in one of these.” I picked up the rope and shined the light at it, my heart beating rapidly as I did so. “It’s a short rope, probably no longer then fifteen feet. The fibers are loose on it, and it’s stained in blood.” I shined the light back to the chair that was in the corner, grimacing to myself as I concluded what this was. “I think they tortured people in here.”

“Oh my God,” said Red. I could hear her voice muffle, probably because she covered her mouth in disbelief. I threw the rope back into the drawer before opening the last one. Inside of it was a thick envelope with multiple papers. Throwing them onto the desk, I lifted my mask up halfway, putting the flashlights end in-between my teeth to hold it. With my now two free hands, I began to dig through the file.

“What else is in there.... Sunset?” I ignored Red, skimming through the sheets of paper. Damn, each paper had information on various business establishments. Quills and Sofas, Canterlot pawn shop, and a few restaurants. But two in particular really grabbed my attention. I looked at the first document, it was one about the Tasty Treat restaurant that had burned down last night. It was unbelievable what information was present on this paper. Sales revenues, profit margins, expenses, liabilities, assets, every number that went into running a business. The price of every single item that was in the kitchen to the chairs was listed. Looking over to the next sheet though really turned my blood cold.

It was profiles on the two owners of the place, Saffron Masala and Coriander Cumin. Everything about them was listed. Addresses, social security numbers, bank account numbers, social media logins, family addresses. There was even information dating back to their homeland. Old addresses in India, more family, where both went to school, anything you could think of. The part of the document that really interested me though was what was said at the bottom of the paper.

Refer to hard drives for contracts

I looked all around the desk again, then rechecked the empty room, but there weren’t any hard drives in sight. This hard drive must’ve been on their persons I thought. I went back to looking at the other set of documents that caught my attention. It was about Sweet Apple Acres. Just like with the Tasty Treat, it had every single monetary value listed that went into running that farm, and just like the Tasty Treat, it had another paper listing every bit of information on the apple family. I stared at the picture of Applejack that was on the paper, clenching the sheet as I felt anger build up in me while I read the information present about her. Deciding I’ve seen enough, I put the sheets back into the envelope and took the flashlight out of my mouth.

“They’re extorting businesses,” I said.

“What? What do you mean?” asked Red. I put the flashlight back into my boot and left the office with the files in my hand.

“They have files on all of the businesses that burned down. I think they’re extorting them, trying to generate income off of them before burning them to the ground.” Reaching the end of the hall, I took the stairway exit, planning to go down to the warehouse itself.

“Wait, you’re saying that the Flim Flam brothers are extorting small businesses in Canterlot? How are they pulling that off? Didn’t you tell me that they threatened Applejack? Surely someone would have came forward.”

“Well, I overheard them talk about some kind of contract, and on the sheets, it refers to a contract on a hard drive. I don’t know how yet, but I think somehow, they’ve swindled these people into signing some kind of partnership with them, I assume to just make the income seem legit to the IRS. Once the victims wise up and threaten some kind of legal action, they pull out blackmail. Easy Glider told me that every business owner they’ve questioned had shown some kind of fear. Which makes sense, it would be terrifying to have criminals name off every single piece of information that pertains to you, especially with family members. If any victim can’t keep their end of the contract, they destroy their business and threaten them even further if they say anything. It just leads to more fear for the next victim. Would you want to go to the police if some maniacs who you know nothing about could just destroy your livelihood and threaten to harm your loved ones? I don’t blame you if you wouldn’t.” I exited the stairway and entered the warehouses main floor. Much like the office space, the whole area was empty save for some larger objects and crates in the corner.

“I guess you’re right. Okay, so just take the documents to Easy Glider and let the police deal with it.”

“That’s not happening.”

“Are you serious Sunset? You’re not going to do the responsible thing?”

“Think for a second Red. This isn’t enough evidence to get the police involved. It’s weird as hell, but nothing criminal, even if they could make some kind of connection with the establishments that had burned down. I mean I don’t even know if this building is legally in their name. On top of that, I don’t know what these brothers are capable of. If I have the full weight of law enforcement on them, then they might do something drastic with the information they have. I mean for God sakes Red, they have the entire school schedule of Appleblooms cousin Babs who lives all the way in New York. I have to assume that the information in this file is also on the hard drives.”

“And what? They won’t do anything drastic with you on their tail?”

“No. I’m not the cops. I’m just some nobody nutcase in a costume. They’ll think they can handle me. Now, tell me what’s on the files for Flim and Flam.” I heard Red sigh on the other end accompanied by the sounds of a mouse clicking. When I got to the objects in the corner, I pulled my flashlight back out and shined it over them. They were covered in a black tarp, but they were clearly huge, towering over me like Cercus did. I focused on the crates in front of me first, examining them while Red spoke.

“Okay, let’s see. It says here that Flim and Flam both have criminal records. The earliest record dates back to 2007, at least for both. Flam seems to have a theft charge from 2003. He stole clothes from stores and flipped them. I can’t find anything earlier on Flim though.” I wrapped my fingers around the lid of the crate, sliding it off and throwing it onto the floor.

“What’s the charges both had in 2007?” I asked while shining my flashlight into the crate.

“A minor fraud offense. Looks like they scammed some people down in the south. They were trying to sell a tonic that promised it could heal any injury with one sip. I can’t believe people would fall for such an impossible medical feat.”

“People do dumb things when they’re desperate,” I said. Inside the crate were green and blue canisters divided half in half. Picking a green one up, I looked at the label on the back, the only thing that was on the can, frowning to myself as I began to read it. “I think I know what they’re doing now.”

“Really? What’s your theory?”

“It’s not a theory, I’m positive I’m right. I think they’re artificially creating problems for these businesses, and when the owners get desperate, they come in with an artificial solution, binding them into a contract in exchange to deal with it.”

“Wow, that’s some theory. What makes you think that?” I threw the green cannister back into the crate before picking up one of the blue ones.

“Because, I'm looking at a crate full of pure Imazapyr, a type of herbicide.”

“Say what now?”

“Imazapyr is a slow acting inhibitor that’s used to destroy invasive plants, primarily trees. It’s one of the strongest types of herbicides you can use, normally not recommended for home use since the effects of it can remain in the soil well past a year. It messes with the synthesis of proteins that are exclusive in plants. They mentioned that AJ’s trees were dying to a disease and that they had the solution to it. I think they’re injecting this into their landscape, and I assume the blue cannisters are an agent that can reverse the process of the herbicide. Poor Applejack, she has no idea how much they’re playing with her.”

“VERY SMART INDEED OUR LITTLE GHOST FRIEND,” said a loud speaker above me. I threw the blue cannister back into the crate and jumped away quickly, retreating into the safety of the shadows. “OH THERE’S NO USE FOR THAT, YOU’RE GHOSTLY DISAPPEARANCE CAN’T HIDE FROM US,” said the voice.

“Shimmer, what’s going on?” Red asked.

“They’re speaking to me through the buildings intercom system. I don’t know if they’re in the building or not, but they can clearly see me. They must have night vision lenses, but I can’t find the cameras,” I whispered quietly while hiding behind my cloak.

“WELL BROTHER OF MINE, IT APPEARS THE CITIES RUMOURS ARE TRUE!” said what I assumed to be Flim based off the voice and the files I read.

“INDEED BROTHER, IT DOES SEEM LIKE THE GHOST OF CANTERLOT DOES EXIST. WHAT’S IT’S NAME? I DO TEND TO FORGET,” said Flam.

“THE MARE-DO-WELL I BELIEVE IS WHAT THEY CALL IT. THEY SAY OUR FRIEND HERE IS A WOMAN. IT APPEARS SHE HAS A FRIEND CODENAMED RED SOMEWHERE ELSE THOUGH.” I heard Red squeak on the other end.

“Did he just say-?”

“Relax, they think it’s a codename. Which means whatever system their using has amazing audio pickup. That’s why I’m whispering to you right now, so just calm down and refrain from saying my name. They haven’t said anything about that so it’s safe to say they aren’t eavesdropping onto this call,” I whispered quietly. I stepped out of the shadows a bit, looking into the air, trying to find any camera or light.

“YOU’RE QUITE THE SMART ONE MARE-DO-WELL. I WON’T SAY YOUR HYPOTHESIS IS CORRECT, BUT I WILL SAY YOU’RE FAR MORE INTELLIGENT THAN WE THOUGHT,” said Flam.

“OH YES, FOR SURE BROTHER. WE CAN NOW SEE WHY THE NEANDERTHALS THAT INHABIT THE WRETCHES OF THIS CITY HAVE BEEN HAVING QUITE THE DIFFICULT TIME EXTERMINATING YOU,” added Flim. I think I’ve been severely underestimating my influence in the underworld.

“Give it up you two. Turn yourselves in and hand over all evidence to law enforcement. I’m only going to ask you to do the right thing just this once,” I declared. But my declaration was mocked with the howl of laughter by the two maniacs.

“OH PLEASE, AS IF WE COULDN’T HANDLE YOU!” The venom in Flim’s voice when he said that last word almost unnerved me. “OH SHIIIIILLLL,” he sung. The sound of footsteps coming from the other side of the warehouse grabbed my attention. I didn’t even realize someone else was in here with me. But my caution subsided when all that emerged was a short skinny grey man with slicked back dark grey hair and a dark grey suit. The nervousness plastered on his face puzzled me, as if he weren’t entirely on board with whatever was transpiring here.

“SILVER SHILL, BE A GENTLEMAN AND EXTERMINATE THIS MINOR ANNOYANCE FOR US,” ordered Flam. The man gulped and looked up to one spot on the ceiling, nervously nodding his head in understanding. “I DO WISH WE HAD THE PLEASURE TO MEET IN PERSON MARE-DO-WELL, BUT YOU’RE JUST NOT THAT IMPORTANT TO US. SO, WITH GREAT CURTESY ON BOTH ME AND MY BROTHERS PART, WE WISH YOU ADIEU.” With that, the warehouses intercom system went dead. I looked back down to the man named Silver Shill, standing up confidently with my fist clenched as I walked over to him.

“I don’t know what this game is sir, but you and I are going down to the police station.” He nervously backed away, keeping one hand in the pocket of his suit while he raised the other up defensively. My instincts told me to be smarter, that something was wrong. But my stupid head decided to engage with him based solely off his appearance. But I stopped dead in my tracks when his nervous smile turned into a freakish grin.

“I’m not going anywhere, but you’re definitely going somewhere. TO HELL!” He flung his hand out of his pocket and pointed it at me, clenching a small remote control with a small joystick and red button in the center. He slammed his thumb down onto the red button, and a small red light illuminated from the front of the remote. The sounds of gears turning and the screeching of machinery roared in the darkness behind him, and my knees began to tremble when two large red eyes shined from right behind him before slowly elevating in height until it stopped right under the balcony of the second floor.

“What the hell is tha-UGH." A large metal claw shot out of the darkness beside Silver, shooting at me at such great speed that I couldn’t even process it until its metal grip clamped around my entire body, making me drop the files. “AAARGH!” I scream as the clamp tightened around me, crushing me as the popping of my bones echoed in the warehouse.

“SUNSET, WHAT’S GOING ON? ARE YOU OKAY?” Red shouted, but I just continued to scream.

“Oh no no no. I won’t let you die that easily Mare-Do-Well. I want to have some more fun with you before I flatten you,” exclaimed Silver Shill gleefully. He looked down at his remote, flipping it open like a flip phone, revealing more buttons. “Hmmmm,” he sarcastically thought. “Let’s see what this button does!” He slammed his finger onto a random blue button, and the metal arm became engulfed in electricity.

“AAAARGH,” I screamed in pain as I felt my body fry from the shock, all while Silver jumped up excitingly like some kind of happy school girl.

“Oh my God, Sunset please respond. What’s going on?” Red pleaded. The shock lasted about five more seconds before subsiding, and slowly the rest of the robot began to emerge from the shadows. Its main body was a red sphere with gears and tubes protruding from its back while smoke ventilated out of the exhaust pipes sticking out of its shoulders. Its arms were chrome with red gauntlets around its wrist, and iron clamps for hands. With each step it took, the ground cracked under its thick elephant like red feet.

“I’d like to introduce to you the Super Speedy Clamper 3000. Or, the crusher as we like to call it. Though, I do assure you that it can do a lot more than crush things. Like this!” Silver turned a nob on the controller, and the robot's arm that was holding me began to spin in a wide circular motion, causing steam to blow out of its arm. Within seconds I was swirling around and around faster than any ride at Equestria Land. Eventually my entire body began to feel overwhelming pressure closing in around me while the wet sensation of blood spewing out of my nose and ears felt warm against my mask. After what felt like an eternity of spinning at high speeds, the robots clamp released me, sending me flying into one of the crates like a speeding bullet. My attempt to stand up was in vain, as immediately I fell back onto my side out of dizziness, vomiting out uncontrollably through my mask. “Ouch, that looked really painful. I’m honestly surprised you’re not dead. How about we go for another spin?” mocked Silver as he pushed on the joystick on his controller, controlling the robot to move towards me.

“Sunset, please say something, are you okay?” said Red again, the terror in her voice sounding more apparent. I got to one knee, lifting my mask up halfway to spit out any remaining bits of blood or puke.

“I’m good, I just felt like my insides were being crushed.” I felt the warm trickle of blood escape my eyes and roll down my cheek, but I didn’t bother wiping it off, instead pulling the mask back down. “Send the police to this location in five minutes.”

“But why in five minutes?” I grabbed my fedora off the ground and placed it back on my head before taking one of the canisters near me that had fallen onto the ground after being knocked out of the crate.

“Because I’ll have this mechanized son of a bitch taken out by then.”